Pluviophile | Levi Ackermann × Reader |

|Chapter 21| Epiphany

There was a click, and then a chirp, and then a song. There was a shadow, a light, and then a bed. There was a world of color and beauty. There was a world of life and brilliance, a world where death didn't exist. And for a long while, it was the only thing to occupy the dusted room.

I drowsily opened my eyes, a soft silky feeling touching my arms. There was a warm orange light filling the room, spilling over things that would have been cold without it. It spilled over me, and the large white curtains that were drawn to my left and right, and it spilled over the bed I was ridden to.

I brushed my hand over the white sheets, sitting up. My body hurt all over, and my ribs squeezed the air from my body. I groaned, holding my head to ease the headache throbbing inside.

I breathed in all the air my lungs could hold, watching the dust particles dance around the room and around me.

After awaking, I realized where I was, soaking in the comforting knowledge that I was in the Med Bay.

"Oh my god," There was a crash near the door, and I looked over to see who had caused it.

"... Petra?" My voice was scratchy and quiet.

She had dropped a vase of flowers beside the door she had entered through, looking at me with shock and excitement.  She scooped some of the glass up and placed it on a desk but left the rest as she sped up to my bedside. "You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I coughed, feeling the pain of my ribs as I shook. There were bandages used to support my body, but it helped little to none.

"You've been asleep for five days!" She explained, handing me a glass of water that was sitting on an intable. "Here, have this."

I took it, chugging the water, extremely parched. I spilt some of it on the bed.

"Five... days?" I repeated, still trying to register the fact. My head rang with images, and the my heart began to race again. "Petra, where is he?!"

"You mean the Captain...?" She averted her gaze sadly, eyeing the floor. My eyes clouded with grief.

"Please... Don't tell me that he's-"

"He's... Alive," She said. "Somewhat."

"Somewhat?" I watched as she stepped over to the curtain to my left. She pulled it back, revealing the body of the man I had undying feelings for.
But he wasn't truly there.

"He's in a coma," She stated solemnly. "But if he doesn't wake up soon... He's going to die," She got out of my way so I could see his face. He was deathly pale, lips chapped and eyes sunken in.

"The doctors can barely get enough fluids in his body to get him by, and food is an entirely different story. We don't have the technology to efficiently keep him alive."

My face was plain as I barely took in what she was saying, my eyes still on his face. He looked the same, but so much different all at the same time.

I went to pull the sheets off of me and go over to him, but Petra held me back. "Don't, you need to let yourself heal. If you get yourself killed before he wakes up you'll never forgive yourself."

I hesitantly placed the sheets back over me. Petra went back over to the door. "I'll call for a doctor so they can check up on you, alright?" She clicked it open. "I'll be back to visit."
-

|Chapter 21|
Epiphany
-
I wasn't paying attention to the doctors that poked and prodded at my skin. All I could look at was Levi. He was all I cared about. I examined as one of the other doctors tended to him, and I was in a complete daze as I stared over at him. There were no words of encouragement or care that could ease the feelings I was experiencing right now. Everything reminded me of how much pain he must be in right now. Every thing reminded me of how I had almost lost him, and now it was happening all over again.

He needed to wake up...

"Ma'am?" One of the doctors spoke to me. I turned to look at her. "Did you hear anything we just said to you?"

"Oh yes, sorry I was just...-" I lied, sighing. The doctor read through my lie, walking over and handing me another glass of water as well as two brown pills. "Takes these every day. You'll need to stay here for the rest of the week before you can return to you own room."

I took the pills swallowing them with the water. The two doctors cleaned up their supplies and headed off. They had rewrapped my bandages and given me my medicine, and that was all.

I looked over to the remaining doctor. She was prying off Levi's bandages on his stomach, and If I was standing, my knees would have buckled at the sight. He had a deep wound, dry blood and puss coloring his skin. There was a bit of fresh blood, a red river streaming down his side and onto the white sheets of the bed.

The doctor cleaned his wound gently, softly lifting him up as she put the bandages around him securely, ensuring it would stop the flow of any blood that tried to pour out.

She met my gaze.

"Is he... Going to be okay?" I asked. She looked back down at Levi.

"I will do what I can to ensure that he will be," She stepped away from his bed. "... My only hope is that Humanities Strongest can pull through these kinds of fights as well..."

She gave me a gentle and kind smile before leaving.

I sat lonely now. Levi was here, but he wasn't.

I knew I shouldn't risk injuring myself any more, but resting my eyes on him gave me a power I didn't know I had. I slipped from under the blanket, wobbling on my feet as I stood.

I hadn't walked in days, so I used objects to my advantage as I made my way to his bed, leaning over him. A tear trickled down my face, dripping off my chin and down onto his face.

I clasped his hand in mine, sitting on a stool that was already by his bed. I held his hand for minutes, hours...

I wouldn't leave his side no matter what. I buried my head into his chest that was covered by the sheets, listening to his heartbeat. It was slow and shallow... But it was there.
And that was all that mattered.

I lifted my head off his chest.

"Levi..." I said to him, using a finger to push a strand of hair out of his face. It fell down to his ear. "Please wake up..."

No response.

The world was nothing without him. It was like a room with no furniture.

I brushed my thumb over the palm of his hand, feeling his slender fingers between mine.

I looked at his eye bags once again, seeing how they darkened his eyes more than they normally were. He was alive, but he looked lifeless and limp. It was like staring at a dead man.

I planted a soft kiss on the tip of his nose, thinking that perhaps he'd wake if I made his heart pound faster. He always got flustered over the smallest things, and I desperately placed another kiss on his cheek.

When I leaned away, I saw that my attempts at waking him were futile.

My eyes fell to his stomach, and I pictured the blade in there again, feeding into my despair. I turned my gaze away quickly, sinking back into his chest and letting his heart lull me to sleep.

It was a soft lament, a song of peace and a song of pain. I closed my eyes tightly, still holding his hand in mine.

"Levi, I will forever remain by your side," I told him. "So please-"

"Don't leave mine."