That Heart Of Gold | Levi X Reader

chapter twenty-five

Annie Leonhart.

The Female Titan. The person responsible for the deaths of the Special Operations Squad.

She must've woken up a while ago.

Smoke bellowed from the small bonfire that Hange had set up. Pieck was still in her Titan form, dozing peacefully with Reiner, Falco and Gabi leaning against her. Magath, Yelena and Onyankopon were nearby. Armin, Mikasa, Jean and Connie were stood in a line, their bodies stiff and their fingers twitching, as if they were aching to reach for their weapons. And Hange was in the process of making stew over the bonfire.

Levi slept peacefully behind you as you sat in front of the cart, your back leaning against it with your knees pulled up to your chest. You'd obtained a set of gear from the supply cart, your blades next to you, just in case you needed them.

With the amount of tension in the air, you'd need them very soon.

For a while, it was quiet, noting but the sporadic crackling of the fire filling the air.

It was a cloudy night.

"Wanna stop glaring at each other and give me a hand?" Hange mumbled, her eyes flicking up towards the small group of people you'd teamed up with.

"Sharing a meal with enemies of war, huh? I'm curious... what changed your mind?" Magath asked, aimlessly holding a bottle of what you assumed was wine. You winced at the sight of it. "If you let Eren succeed, you'll get your ideal world - a paradise for island devils. We would've stopped Eren and Zeke from coming into contact, had you guys not helped them."

You weren't exactly sure of what happened in Shiganshina, but you weren't surprised that the Scouts helped Eren. How could Mikasa have done anything else?

"We already explained, General," Hange said immediately. "We don't wish for genocide. Otherwise, we wouldn't be hiding in the forest making stew."

"Found a sense of justice, huh?" Magath continued, unaware of the blistering glare that he was receiving from Jean.

"Justice?" Jean seethed. "You wanna talk to us about justice?" He lifted his hand and pointed straight at the General, his voice coming out in a growl. "You think we're devils for fighting off the Titans that you sent?" Jean started walking towards Magath, so you lifted yourself into a crouch, just in case you needed to hold him back. "Listen, we fought our asses off 'cuz we didn't wanna get eaten alive! Does that should like devils to you?"

"Jean-" you started.

"Yeah." Magath took a sip of his wine. "You seem like devils to me. The threat of Paradis came true and now the world's in danger. This is where all your fighting got you... Am I wrong?"

Your eye twitched in anger. Was he serious?

"If not for the wall falling and Eren having to see his mother get eaten alive, he wouldn't have done this! You made Eren use the rumbling!" Jean snapped.

You stood, grabbing one of your swords as you glared at Magath.

"You wanna talk history, do you?" he asked, a smirk on his face that you desperately wanted to punch off. "You know that Marley was tyrannized and devastated by Eldia first, right? Still playing the victim after two thousand years?"

The grip on your sword tightened.

"It's like I'm talking to children," Magath continued. "The island's suffering is a joke compared to two thousand years of tragic history."

There was silence for a few moments, and you saw Jean tense as he listened to the stubborn General's words. "Excuse me?" Jean's voice was eerily low.

Luckily, Hange interfered. "C'mon, that's enough," she mused, giving you a pointed look. You rolled your eyes as you sat back down, but you didn't let go of your sword. "It's silly to talk about the past when none of us were there." She started stirring the stew as she spoke. "Jean, the General has trouble understanding us. We're weird devils who would give up our paradise to help the very world that wants to exterminate us."