Recall - Levi Ackerman x Fem OC (An Attack On Titan /// Shingeki No Kyojin ff)

Chapter 10 - The Raid On Stohess (End Of Season 1)

Levi threw Leah a green cape and she caught it but only to quickly drop it to the dusty ground at her feet to instead start adjusting her attire for combat. "Ugh, now it's going to be all dirty." Levi scolded her action as he copied her, starting to fiddle about with the cravat at his neck. His fingers wrestled with the fabric around his neck, clearly trying to rush but failing miserably. Leah rolled her eyes at his struggles and approached him, having already rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and tightened her belt around her waist.

"Let me do that. Bet you're now wishing you didn't wear that ridiculous thing." She retorted as she began untying his cravat for him, her forearms resting on his slowly rising and falling chest. Levi, surprisingly, just stood there and let her. His focus was on how close she was standing to him. It had been a long time since he'd stood at this proximity with someone. "How are your ribs doing?" Leah could feel his eyes on her and at this closeness felt his warm breath on her face but she trained all her attention on working the fabric. "A bitch. And your leg?" Leah discarded the frilly fabric to the ground and swiftly undid the top button of his shirt, shooting him a questioning look as she ran her hands across his collar in an attempt to smooth it over. Leah's fingertips lingered on his collarbones for a second but she felt Levi's eyes lock on her and she quickly retreated from his intense gaze, turning hastily away and busying herself with her own clothes again. "A bitch." He repeated the same phrase she'd used in a somewhat distracted tone.

"Come on, let's get going." Leah said, affixing her cape around her neck before reaching down to start attaching her ODM Gear to her waist. Levi mirrored his partner and before long they were both weaving through Stohess streets towards where the obvious commotion was. The intensity of using the ODM Gear caused Leah's ribs to burn violently, but it was nothing she couldn't deal with for the short time they were going to be in conflict.

"These dumbasses make it so easy to track them. Just follow the chaos. Or the creepy-ass screaming." Levi commented as he swung confidently past the bronze haired woman. "Yeah, so much for catching her quietly." The female grumbled, speeding up to over-take him in a competitive manner and flashing him a cheeky smirk. They were closing in fast and Leah wasn't going to just willingly concede the killing blow to Levi. However, on reaching the scene, they quickly realised there wasn't much left of the female titan to go for. The air held a strange blue tint as Eren's pained screams filled their ears. It wasn't immediately clear where the female titan began or where Eren's titan ended. The two titans seemed to be... merging.

Leah watched as Mikasa leapt down from her vantage point on a roof and ran straight into the chaos, drawn in by Eren's blaring screeches. "Stop it, Eren!" She cried out. If she gets any closer she's bound to get caught up in the crossfire on the off chance Eren loses control. I need to get her out of there. Without missing a beat Leah dropped from the air and dived straight for Mikasa. Simultaneously Levi shot towards Eren's nape, slicing it clean open and revealing Jaeger's real body. Leah hooked an arm around Mikasa's torso and lifted her into the air, swinging for the roof of the nearest building which happened to hold a handful of other Scouts.

"C'mon kid, let's stay out the way." Mikasa's Captain said as they landed. She didn't fight back, but instead gave Leah a distracted nod of acknowledgement, not removing her eyes from Eren once. Levi cut Eren free and hauled his limp body into his arms before alighting on the ground below them. He dumped Jeager's body at his feet and, with his nose scrunched up in repulsion, wiped off splatterings of steaming titan flesh. Mikasa and Armin immediately scampered down and Leah followed close on their heels. "Is he breathing? Is he alright?" Mikasa panicked, kneeling behind Eren and lacing arms under his to lift him into grasp. She hugged him close as Leah crouched slightly to get a closer look at his condition. Curious red diamond shaped markings were scarred into his skin all around his cheeks, forehead and eyes. She furrowed her brow but just as she was about to inquire about these markings, Eren started to stir from his unconscious state.

"Eren." His eyes fluttered open at Mikasa's voice and he angled his head wearily to see her face. "Mikasa, is Annie.." He trailed off, his head dropping slightly. Mikasa gave him a sad look and Leah forced herself to move away from the trio of cadets. She felt like she was intruding on something very personal; nobody wanted their Captain standing in on a moment like that.

Instead Leah wandered through the flurries of steam, given off by Eren's disintegrating titan form, over to where Levi, Hange and Jean were stood, gazing at the giant steaming titan carass. "Nice work, Levi." Leah muttered, slightly in awe at the sight before me. She lifted a trembling hand to massage her ribs absentmindedly. Off to the side, Mikasa continued to pour herself over Eren's exhausted body as Armin watched nervously from the side. A small group of Scouts had made their way into the clouds of steam to try and recover Annie's body. It took every inch of power in Leah's body not to act rashly and charge in after them.

"Did everything go to plan then?" Leah asked Hange as their small group made their way gingerly through the steam. Before they could answer a giant crystal came into view. They stopped dead in their tracks and Leah's breath hitched in her chest. It was Annie; locked away in a thick layer of a see-through crystallised substance. Hange let out an animated gasp and charged forward to investigate.

-

Captain Leah watched on as Jean angrily slammed his sword against the crystal surrounding Annie again, and again, each time more of his blade snapping off and flying into the air in every direction. The crystal remained unscathed. Leah stood back, frozen as she stared at the blonde girl encased within the indestructible solid. She felt like a void. All this effort and she wouldn't even grant us the honour of killing her. Leah needed this, owed it to her ex-special ops squad. The capture brought no feeling of victory and no satisfaction for the revenge she craved. It felt as if all the deaths had been for nothing. They had her in their grasp, but in this state she was rendered practically useless. Leah just stared. Completely empty inside and heartbroken that she couldn't fulfil her promise to her dead comrades. I'm sorry, Petra. Oluo. Eld and Gunther. I'm so sorry.

"That's enough." Levi's voice anchored Leah in reality and she watched as he put a hand on Jean's shoulder to stop him before he did any damage to himself in his fit of fury. Leah wasn't surprised by how level-headed Levi was being in the presence of his squad's murderer, she'd expected nothing less from him. Her usual urge to scream, cry and hurt was absent; it felt like all the strength in her body had been drained. Her chest ached horribly. "It's over." Levi said simply.

Leah timidly shuffled closer to the giant cocoon-like structure now that Jean had moved out of the way. She pressed a hand warily against the clear substance. It was cool and refreshing in the presence of the surrounding steam and she let herself take in the peaceful look on Annie's face. Her eyes were closed, her lips pressed together in a thin line. She looked so young, completely guileless. But just the sight of her made Leah's stomach churn. Images of Oluo's crippled body and Eld's legless torso flashed before her eyes. Then the cartfuls of her comrades corpses. Bile rose in her throat but she swallowed it back, refusing to give Annie the pleasure of knowing the effect she had on her.

"You killed... so... many..." Leah whispered under her breath, my words barely audible. "And for what..."

Hange was stood off to her side, she could tell they were thinking the same thing. They closed the distance between them after a moment of silence. Wordlessly they put a hand on Leah's back and led her away from the murderer before them. It's over. Levi's words reverberated in Leah's head. It's over.

(1461 words)