Sillage

Chapter 8: Romance. Betrayal.

TW LOTS OF SWEARING

Levi remembers everything.

The very first time he saw the doctor, during the funeral inside Trost, she was crying. Embers were flying and dancing everywhere, while the huge pyres were reaching their flames towards the sky, illuminating everything in a faint orange glow. The strong stench of burned corpses and death filled the air, while the sobs and desperate pleas of the people travelled to him, before he even stepped foot in the area. She was wearing her dirty and ripped white coat, stethoscope hanging loosely from her bruised neck. Her hair was pointing in different directions and dry blood covered her skin and clothes from place to place. Despite this, her gentle looking hands were the cleanest pair of hands Levi's ever seen. But it was not her disheveled appearance that stuck with him. It was the look inside her glossy eyes and the way her ongoing tears were reflecting the light of the fire, long lashes casting shadows on her stained face. No matter how much she tried to wipe away the tears, water was still coming out, as if she hadn't cried in ages. The moment he made eye contact with her, for a split second, he thought he was the reason for her tears. And that made him uncomfortable. It made no sense, but he wanted to punch Pyxis for making her cry. He registered their first encounter but stopped thinking of it the moment he left with the two Commanders.

The second time they met, a fire was burning in her eyes. The messy looking doctor from the other day disappeared, and in her stead stood a polished, determined woman. Levi studied her carefully the entire time. She had the courage to meet his eyes and stare back at him, as if daring him to intimidate her. She soon realized she has no chance of winning against him, but Levi was still impressed she stood her ground that long. She was very intelligent, given her answers to Erwin's interrogation, there was no doubt about that. But the timing was too perfect, and just as Erwin said, suspicious. They needed to be wary of everyone now. He received his orders from his Commander, and in the blink of an eye she ended up in his squad.

And the third time they met, she was just an empty shell of a woman, haunted eyes not even daring to look anywhere other than the ground. She looked even worse than the first time he saw her, if that was even possible. Sure, she was not as dirty, but the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her face spoke for themselves. Despite his better judgement, Levi wanted to hear her story and find out what happened in less than 24 hours. But he bit his tongue and didn't comment on her appearance. For some reason he wanted to bring back the feisty woman from the other day, yet he didn't know how. The last thing he needed was a depressed doctor on his team. The moment that child ran to her and embraced her, he knew he found his answer. To say he was not taken aback by the number of people who came to greet her, people who she'd probably helped, would be a lie. Levi was not one known for being late and making his squad wait, but that day he made an exception for her. Why he did all of that for a mere suspicious doctor, was still a mystery to him.

And now he's watching her again from his office window, carefully hidden by shadows. She's striding over to Eren's slouched form sitting on the ground in the castle's yard. She takes a seat next to him and starts talking. No more than a few seconds in their discussion, and she's already made the gloomy brat chuckle. He can't hear anything they're saying, but if she's as intelligent as he thinks she is, she's probably trying to fish information out of Yeager. The questions are what does she want to find out and why?

Pure curiosity?

Or could Erwin be right, and she is gathering intel for the MPs? Levi has a hard time believing that. She may be crazy for joining the Scouts and basically embarking on a suicide mission, but the talk he had with her the other night confirmed she is just another hopeless fool, chasing for something more than what these Walls had to offer. Just like all of them.