Longing to Be Known | Levi Ackerman x OC

82

[A/N: This chapter is dedicated to @VoidxWalker2, @VeCnUsSy04, @i_iskatie, @SharapovaDeang, @itnotviky and @theyhelladead for their encouraging words last chapter.]

-Kaisa-

A ressurection has taken place in the form of Armin through Bertholdt. With one last thing to accomplish before we head back, Hange, Levi, and I decide to leave our squads behind while we head out to the basement.

"K3 listen up, you guys will—" The words get caught in my throat—they're no longer K3; it's no longer Kei, Kiyoko, and Kageyama. It's just Kei and Kiyoko now.

"K2, you will stay here with the Levi Squad to watch over the horses and everything else. Levi, Hange, Mikasa, Eren, and I will be heading out."

"Where to, captain?" Kiyoko's voice softly asks.

"The basement."

They nod their heads, turning to face their other friends as they process the current events. I wish I could have been around a little longer, especially after the new changes to our squad. Footsteps approach from behind me, and I turn to face the person.

Levi's there, a hand on the side of his ODM gear, "It's time."

Instead of answering, I walk by him to where Hange, Eren, and Mikasa stand waiting. He follows alongside me, keeping to himself despite the weight of Erwin's death hanging over his shoulders. The three scouts in front begin to lead the way to the basement, both Levi and I trailing behind by approximately ten meters.

Once we turn a couple corners, I gently brush my hand against his. Without hesitation, Levi covers mine with his, the palm of his calloused hand presses against the back of mine while his fingers wrap around my palm. It's an unconventional way of holding hands, but its comforting hold tells me more of his current state of mind than any words could. His hand is trembling, but when I glance at his face, he shows no sign of discomfort.

Even though there's so much I want to say, I keep the thoughts to myself; the last thing we need is to be overstimulated more than we already have been. We can process everything at home, but as for right now, our goal is to figure out what important information has been left in the basement from Eren's dad. Upon arrival, Levi and I pull away from each other, hardening our exteriors.

We clear the wood and the rubble above the basement entrance, discovering a set of stairs that appear to have been left untouched. Our boots thud with every step, every one of us tired beyond exhaustion. At the bottom, we stand in front of another door, one that seems to have a lock for entry.

"The key?" I ask.

Eren takes a moment before nodding, most likely lost in his own thoughts. From the way he and Mikasa turned their heads every now and then, eyes lingering longer than usual, it's clear they were reliving memories sealed away. The boy tugs the key out from underneath his uniform, pulling the necklace off his neck. We stand behind him while he fumbles with the lock, only to turn back to us with panic written across his face.

"It's not unlocking..."

Levi pushes the boy to the side, "Let me take care of it." Humanity's Strongest lifts a leg before kicking the door open without struggle.

We follow in after him, immediately lighting a lantern that had been left inside. Surprisingly, it works perfectly fine and we start our search to see if there's anything information that could be of use to us. After thoroughly examining the books on the shelf, it becomes clear that there's nothing of particular interest; it simply looks like a doctor's headquarters, which would make sense given Grisha Jaeger's profession before his passing.

"There's gotta be something in here...he told me there would be." Eren stresses, hands tangled in his hair.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Let's just look over the room one more time to make sure we didn't miss anything."