I see what people can't (rivamika)

Thunderstruck Fear

Warning! Slight mentions of self harm. If you are a person who is disturbed by the thought or is/has experienced it then proceed at your own risk. Other than that, enjoy...

Levi's POV...

I arrived late at the house, soaked from all the rain that has stormed up outside. God I'll have to clean all that later but right now I gotta check on Mikasa. "Brat, I'm home" I lightly shout hoping she's not asleep already. "Mikasa?" I kept shouting. Maybe she is.

I lightly trace up the stairs towards her room. I knock gently but no response so I decide to check if she's asleep. When I opened the door she wasn't there. Strange, where could she be.

I walk to my room trying to think of where she could be but nothing came up in my mind. I have no idea where that brat is. I walk into my room and to my surprise I see my bedsheets are a lot higher than they normally should be. Mikasa was under my sheets for some reason.

I carefully walk closer silently and I pull the sheet off her to see Mikasa's frightened look staring back at me as she tries to hit me.

"No let me go! Please not again, stop!" she kept screaming. She kept trying to hit me and run away but I grabbed her wrist to prevent any breaking inside my room.

"Mikasa calm down, it's me" I kept trying to calm her down but she wouldn't listen. Her constant screams and struggles were nothing short of annoying and somewhat saddening for me. I decide I can't let her keep flailing herself around like tuna so I pulled her by the arms close to me and hugged her. She kept struggling until she smelled my signature scent. She stopped trying to get out and instead latched onto me tightly, her arms and legs wrapping fully around my body.

"There there Mikasa, it's me. No one's here to hurt you. I promise" I try soothing the back of her head while holding her tight myself afraid of what she might do if I let her go. "What happened?"

She tried replying but her cries wouldn't let her speak a word. Instead she tightened her grip on the shirt and cried more. Her tears and nails ruining my recently ironed shirt but right now all I could think about was her and her problem.

"Mikasa" I say cupping her face and making her look at me in the eyes. "What's wrong? Who hurt you?" I ask her trying to get to the bottom of her erratic behaviour. She could barely focus her gaze on mine, her tears burning her flaming red cheeks and her hair was a mess that could take days to untangle.

"L-Levi..." she stuttered through my name and hid her face back into my chest, her cries muffled by my shirt once more. I was at a loss on what to do, how do I help her?

Just then, lightning struck outside providing the nearly silent atmosphere with a loud thud. Mikasa screeched in fear and hugged me properly leaving me no space to breathe.

"It's alright now brat, I got you, I got you. Just relax for me ok? No one will hurt you" I keep telling her to keep her calm which seemed to work alright. I wonder, does Mikasa have a fear of thunderstorms? Why would she be?

"I'm so sorry L-Levi, I'm sorry. Please, don... don't let me go" she whispered barely loud enough for my to hear and I held her tighter while soothing her back. Her body trembling and her tears not stopping for a bit.

After a couple of minutes she started to calm down and so did the storm. She hadn't let go of me for a second and I decided it was time to get some answers from her. I gently lift her chin up to face me and said "Come on, let's have a smoke shall we?"

She nodded slightly and so I stood up and was about to walk towards the door but Mikasa pulled me back by my hand. "Please don't go yet! I can't leave" she said with teary eyes that sparkled with a grey tint. I sighed and just leaned towards my window and opened it before sitting down again. I then went into my bedside table and pulled out a spare ashtray I keep for emergencies.

"Here" I say passing her a fag and a lighter for her to use. She tries to force a smile on her face which evidently failed and lit her fag before giving me the lighter to do the same. "T-Thank you"

"No need to thank me, but I want to know what's wrong. Are you afraid of thunderstorms?" I ask her, taking a puff off of it and turning to look at her. She was still shaking uncontrollably but her tears had subsided.

"Umm, I mean... yeah..." she looks down at her legs in a pout and makes fist with her hands. "My parents were killed during a storm and lightning struck near the car that abducted me when I was young. It stayed with me and I just can't stop it, I panic when a storm brews up" just as I thought, it has to do with it.

"Mikasa? I need to ask you to do something and I want you to trust me without question. Do you understand?" I speak in a calm but firm tone trying not to sound too aggressive.

"Uhuh" she nods and looks at me in suspicion. I take her hand in mine and I look at her in the eyes. " I want you to show me your legs" I say. Her face switching suddenly to a concerned look as I give her my request.

"W-What? Really? Now? This isn't the time for that" she says in disgust and I couldn't help but sigh at her horrible attempt to hide them. "Mikasa I know you have them, no point in hiding them" I say which shocked her beyond belief. Her cheeks turning crimson once more.

"I uhhh, I just, I mean I, but... sigh" she exhales in defeat and slowly stands up. She looks at me in embarrassment and pulls her trousers down to reveal exactly what I suspected, scars. Lots and lots of deep scars.

There were too many to count but I'd have to guess about 30 on each leg. Some are old, others are fresh, some are small and faded, others deep and still bleeding.

"Oh Mikasa, why?..."