The Fight for Mankind

There is Beauty in the Dark

LEVI

Two weeks had passed, and it had been the longest of my life, Erwin was still completely out of it having lost too much blood during his Titan enforced amputation, half the soldiers were on their death beds, the brats were all deep in their grief and Aurora was as distant as she had ever been, her silent, methodical routines scaring the shit out of me in a way I had never been scared before.

It had started the morning after she had collapsed in the courtyard, raving in the throes of delirium about lights before Eren had rushed over to us, and whatever it was she thinks she saw; I was glad for it because after we got her back into her bed, her fever broke during the night and the next day she was sitting up and looking with unclouded eyes, only issue was she was dead behind them.

I had sat shitting myself as I had watched her barely acknowledge her brats as they explained what had happened to her brother with a vacant look on her face, and I had shit myself even more, when Hange had given her the all clear to leave, and I had brought her back to our shared accommodation. Entering the room, she had sat in the chair by the window staring outside and even though I tried talking to her, touching her, there was no response, and I began to fear she had died out there with her brother.

Shock Hange had called it as we inched into the second day, and as I watched her succumb to her grief I grew angry, so fucking angry, because here I was, humanities so-called strongest and I could do fuck all as she sunk in on herself and I would have given anything to have her look at me, scream, shout, cry, something.

Of course, it didn't help that thanks to Erwin being effectively useless, and with Miche gone, running the scouts fell to Hange and by extension to me, and though it had pained me to leave her I had done it to see to the endless list of tasks and reports that had needed doing, however when I had returned I had found her missing. Panicking I had raced around HQ, desperately looking for any sign of her when by hazard chance I had walked by the gym and found her there, Jean and Mikasa watching her with faces of concern, as she benched weights, punched the bags and wore herself into exhaustion.

It wasn't exactly the best thing for her to be doing so soon after what happened to her, which I still couldn't get my head around even after Hange had explained, but it was progress, it was something. That's when the routines came into place, it was methodical, it was planned, it was safe. Get up, wash, eat, gym, reports, eat, sleep, and repeat. I understood it, it was the mentality of one step at a time, and it did help some, she began to answer to her name, she began to respond appropriately to what was asked, she would let me hold her, but she was still so distant, just as she was right now.

I sat watching her move about the room in her nightdress, folding her clean shirts before moving over to the dresser from my seat at my desk, hoping against hope that tonight would be the night I would see some of the woman I had fallen in love with, but as she moved around completing her silent routine, I was beginning to lose out on that hope when she passed by the washbasin in the corner of the room that held bottles of fragrances and ointment for her wounds and suddenly she froze, her eyes widening as she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

That isn't good...

Gently pushing back from the desk so as not to spook her, I had barely gotten to my feet when out of nowhere, Aurora screamed in rage and grabbed a bottle from the basin before throwing it against the mirror, shattering it to pieces, and jumping over the desk, with my heart in my throat, I seized her from behind as she grabbed another bottle and threw it against the wall.

"Aurora stop!" I commanded, my arms struggling to contain the smaller woman despite her weakened state as she resisted.

What the hell has she been doing at that gym!?