Together We Fall (Childhood Friends Sequel// Levi Ackerman Fanfiction)

Extra Episode 2 - Two Rays of Sunshine

Levi groggily rubbed his eyes. The sun was starting to rise on the horizon, just barely shining a pale yellow light over the top of Wall Sina. He wasn't sure what had woken him up; there was no sweat covering his body or hair from his fringe clinging to his forehead, meaning that he definitely hadn't had a nightmare.

He hadn't had those in months, anyways.

"Nora?" he asks, voice still raspy. He clears his throat, lazily reaching an arm over to her side of the bed.

She's not here?

The tired man turns, hands touching the place where she should be sleeping, head tilted in confusion. He'd have felt her leave the bed, wouldn't he? She was thirty pounds heavier than usual and moved like a turtle stuck on its shell.

His eyebrows knit together in confusion, feeling the dampness of the sheets. "The fucking hell?" he mumbles quietly to himself, sitting up in the bed. He reaches for a shirt folded neatly on his nightstand, pulling it over his head before getting out of bed, head perking up at the faint sound of Nora's labored breathing.

He knocks on the door, heart clenching as he hears the pained way she tries to steady her breath. She mumbles a breathy "I'm fine!", causing Levi to roll his eyes and lean against the door.

"I'm coming in, okay?" he says, carefully opening the door. He frowns seeing her - she was laying in the door with her back against the wall, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to calm her breathing. Her nails were digging into her palms, resting on her mouth to stifle her wailing. "Nora, what the hell happened?" he asks, running the few steps to her side before kneeling next to her. "Hey, calm down. Talk to me."

"I'm sorry!" she cries, hot tears rolling down her blotchy cheeks. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"What're you sorry for?"

Her trembling hands go to her stomach, biting her dry lips. "I-I woke up in a puddle of blood. I lost the baby," she says, voice trembling. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Levi's heart drops into his stomach. He swallows thickly, eyes darkening. He places a quick kiss on her forehead, standing up and turning away from her. "I'll change the sheets. Wait here."

He closes the door behind him, feeling the tightening in his chest as the tears start to prick at his eyes. He felt like screaming and crying, yelling into the sky at whatever gods were or weren't up there. It wasn't fair, was it? No, it's what you deserve, he tells himself. You're a fucking monster, you don't deserve that level of happiness. He falls to his knees, forcing himself to hold back his tears. She needs you, don't fucking cry. With shaky breaths he pulls himself from the floor, dragging himself over to their bed before ripping the sheets from the bed, angrily throwing them to the floor.

We were so, so close.

With a heavy heart Levi bunches up the sheets before bringing them downstairs to the washroom. He drops the ball of sheets on the cold tile, hands going to the sides of his head and knotting in his own hair.

I'll take down the nursery later tonight.

As Levi lit a lantern, he couldn't help but think of how cruel life really was. Nora was already eight months pregnant. It was cruel to get their hopes up like that.

So fucking cruel.

He takes the fitted sheet, placing it in the sink and running the tap. To get the blood out, he'd have to let it soak now, at least. At least I'm used to blood, he thinks to himself. The disgusting shade of crimson, the awful smell of rust, the-