Pluviophile | Levi Ackermann × Reader |

|Chapter 22|Wake

"Y/n, you need to care for yourself..."

Hange had been trying to persuade me to take some time away from constantly being by Levi's side. She told me that I needed to take some time for myself, heal both mentally and physically.
And I knew she was right, but I just couldn't bring myself to go more than a few feet away from him.

It had been nearly three weeks now, and Levi wasn't going to last much longer.
If he were to die while I was away, I would never find it in me to forgive myself.

"Levi would want you to be happy," Hange and I were standing at the foot of his bed. He was looking worse and worse by the day, and it suffocated me to think of him breathing his last.

"I know, Hange," I placed my hands on the bed frame. "But I just can't bring myself to leave his side."

"You're barely eating," Hange frowned. "You're starting to look just like him."

I could tell she was trying to lighten the mood with the joke, but it just made me feel even more defeated.
My shoulders shrunk.

"... If you won't listen to me as your friend, listen to me as his," She glanced at both of us. "I've known Levi for years, and if anyone can see through the wall he puts up, it's me and you," Hange placed both her hands on my shoulders. "Levi would tell you the same thing I am right now."

She was right again.

I cast Levi one last glance before nodding slowly. "Okay..."

"That's the spirit!" She cheered, patting me on the back and leading me out the door. I was still unbelievablely bruised from my ribs, and they still weren't fully healed. I had to walk with crutches.

By the time we arrived at the Mess Hall, people were greeting me with delight, an unusual thing for me. I hadn't been in the Mess Hall since the day the I kissed Levi in front of everyone.

I grew sad at the memory, remembering how happy I had felt to finally have kissed him.

Hange aided me in sitting down at a table, and she handed me a bowl of oats. It was early in the morning, and that was the usual breakfast.

I dipped the spoon into the bowl, looking at it in disgust. I had lost my appetite after the incident, and stomaching food was not something I wanted to do right now.

But Hange's watchful eye persuaded me into swallowing at least a few bites, choking it down.

"That's all that's gonna go down," I pushed the bowl away, and she heaved a sigh.

"Well, it's better than nothing. I won't force you to eat it."

"Section Commander Hange! Y/n!" I heard the voice of Petra scamper over to us. She took a seat beside Hange. "How are you two?"

"I'm doing swell, thanks for asking!" Hange and her side by side was almost too blinding for me. They were both bubbly and kind by nature.

"What about you Y/n?"

"Quite honestly, I've been better,"I rested my head in my palm, elbow propping it up.

"I'm... Sorry to hear that," Petra said. She obviously knew it was about Levi, but didn't bring him up out of respect for how I was feeling. "How are those crutches holding up?" She changed the topic.

"Fine," I mumbled, tapping one of them that was propped against the table. "Walking with them is a real pain in the ass though..."

"I'd imagine."

Both her and Hange then broke into a conversation of their own, trying to include me but failing. I was still so torn by the fact Levi was dying a little more every day.

And until the day he actually passed, I'd never get over it.

"I think I'm going to head back up to the Med Bay for a-"

"Wait!" Hange grabbed my wrist and held my in place so I couldn't go anywhere. "I want to show you something."

She stood, and I grabbed my crutches so that I could follow her. She waved goodbye to Petra before wandering off into the halls, taking me outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," Hange eased my impatience.

We went down to a little area nearby the stables, walking down a dirt trail. I could hear birds chirping in the trees, a warm feeling embracing me.

We were at the garden, and Hange plucked a rose from it's stem. "Look," She held it up to me. "They're growing more beautifully now than they do in the winter. Everything is."

I looked around me, and the world suddenly changed. I hadn't realized how green everything had gotten, and I hadn't seen the flowers that now grew without the restraint of the snow. It had been three weeks since the incident, three weeks since the last snow.
In that short amount of time, the world had grown all the more lovely.

"You see it now, don't you?" Hange went on.

"Yes... I do."

"There's always an aspect of something you love even after it's gone," Hange handed me the rose. "Levi loves these flowers. He planted them himself."

"Just don't tell him I plucked that from the bushes when he wakes up," She added, chuckling.

"If... He wakes up," I corrected, placing the flower close to my heart.

Hange only shook her head at my words, returning to the garden. "I'll tend to the plants here if you want to return," She said.

"I won't stop you."

"No," I said, carefully placing my crutches down as I bent to trim a rose bush, grabbing the shears that sat beside me.

"I think I'll stay here for a little while longer."

Hange smiled. "That's the spirit."
-

|Chapter 22|
Wake
-
I shut the door of the Med Bay, clumsily setting my crutches on my old bed. I wasn't required to sleep here anymore, but I did anyways in order to stay with Levi.

I walked over to him, placing the rose in his hands.

It had already begun to wilt, and the more I looked at him, the more he resembled the rose.

I sat drearily on the stool next to him, my palms resting on my lap.

I was voiceless in the lonely room. It was night now, and the moon was peeking in through the window and lighting up Levi's pale complexion. My stomach churned whenever I saw his bandages, and I pulled the blanket up closer to his chest to hide it.

I knew asking him to wake up wouldn't change anything.

I just studied him in the dimly lit room, feeling the draft from the window settle comfortably around me. It was warm, a delicate touch that healed my wounds from the winter.

I got off the stool, longingly looking at Levi as I went over to the window. I opened it wider, drinking in the breeze that ran through my hair. I could hear the crickets much louder now, seeing how the stars reflected off the puddles outside. Spring was setting in. A new season.

I absorbed every detail outside, leaning against the window in peace.
For just a little bit, I felt my worries melt away.

"I wonder if Levi has joined the stars already..."

...

"... Are you giving up on me that easily?"

My eyes snapped over to his bed, my brows raised in an overwhelming feeling of relief and wonder. I saw Levi, his eyes full of the life I had thought was gone forever.

He was awake.