She hadn’t realised it until she saw it. And even when she did, she still didn’t hold it in. She needed more time. She needed time to realise that…
Gunther’s body was the first that they found. They were on their way to gather their squad and the kid. Gunther’s body was hanging from the cables of his ODM that was tangled on top of a tree. His neck, split open. The blood had almost drained off of his body, but Nathalie chose not to say anything. She just looked at the dead body for a mere second. She tried to keep up with Levi who didn’t seem to want to speak either. And then…
It was nothing but a few metres away where they found Eld… or whatever was left of him. Eld had a pregnant wife, hadn’t he? Nathalie didn’t say anything again. She just tried to follow Levi as they passed Oluo’s body, and then Petra. The three corpses were near each other.
Levi stood beside Petra’s body. Her neck was too split open, probably from her unceremonious landing on the bark of the tree. Her honey-brown eyes were still open, looking lifelessly up. Nathalie just stared wide-eyed. She hadn’t even noticed she collapsed on her knees, and her vision got blurry from the tears. They had known them at least five years now. Her comrades… her children were gone. She could still remember teaching them Levi’s tricks. She could still remember all those feasts that Oluo’s parents would throw for them after an Expedition. And they’d gather around and eat, and talk and have fun all night, thanking whatever force it was that had kept them alive, but this time…
Levi stared wide-eyed down on Petra’s corpse. It was only last night that they had gathered in the dining room for dinner. It was only a few hours away when he stared at them as they laughed and ate and made their jokes and teased each other. And now… now… How was he going to explain to their parents why he had failed to bring their children back alive? How was he going to explain why he had failed to lead them back home?
It was all the same just like before. The same terror. The same shock as the one back then, when Furlan and Isabel died. It was all the same. This time he had trusted his comrades, but he got the same result. There was no right or wrong choice after all. Everybody dies one day, and Levi would always have to be the one to hold the blame. The one to survive and return back home and face the relatives of his comrades, who always waited for them, and explain why he had failed.
He shouldn’t even be surprised. He knew they’d die. If they didn’t die today, then they would die tomorrow, or some other day, but he was always doomed to survive and bear it all.
Levi gritted his teeth. They did not have time for this. The mission wasn’t finished yet. He couldn’t defeat the Female Titan in his and Nathalie’s current state. All he could do was save the kid and hopefully get out of there alive. No. He didn’t want to get out of there alive. Not after this.
“Get up,”
Levi’s voice drew her attention. Nathalie had taken off her glasses. She had buried her face in the palms of her hands, weeping silently, but he could still hear her. She couldn’t tell whether he had actually spoken or whether she had just imagined those words coming from him.
“Get up, Nat. We’ll have enough time to mourn later,” He hooked himself on the bark of a tree and started flying away.
How could he be so cold-hearted?! No. He wasn’t being cold-hearted. He was trying to do what must be done no matter how much he wanted to cut open his wrists with the swords in his hands, and die right there with his comrades. The Captain should go down with his crew. He shouldn’t just watch the dead bodies of his soldiers and continue living with himself as if nothing had happened.
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Broken Hearts, Severed Limbs (Levi x OC x Erwin)
FanfictionNathalie and Levi have been together ever since they were children. They had nothing and no one to rely onto but each other. Both, broken by the loss of their friends Isabel and Furlan, accept their fate to serve under Commander Erwin Smith as soldi...
