friendship fic, taken halfway through the female titan arc.
He’s awake for three days before she can finally convince him to go to bed. Even then it is not a real victory. He’s tired, broken, and hurt; a passive version of himself she has not seen in years.
She should feel bad, she reasons, for what she is about to do to him. She doesn’t. He would do the same to her. For her.
“I… I brought this for you.” she whispers and hands him the cup of coffee. It’s hot, but not scalding.
He grabs the cup from her, sniffing its contents (it’s not as good as Petra’s, she knows this, but that is not the point) before downing it all in three quick gulps. The look he gives her as he hands the cup back is all she needs from him.
He knows, she realizes, and the forced smile he gives her only enforces that fact.
“Thank you, Hanji.” he says before leaning back in his chair. She nods and sits the cup down on the table next to him. Taking his hand, she slides down in front of him, resting her cheek against his knee. She waits for the her gift to take effect.
He does not say anything else to her. A gentle squeeze of her hand is a second affirmation from him that she has done the right thing. She rests quietly and listens patiently for his breathing to even out. Only when she is sure her dear friend is finally asleep does she begin to move.
She looks him over. There had always been jokes about his height from their superiors but until now she had never found it in her to call him small. He had always just been Levi, defined by nothing other than his harsh personality and commitment to his word. Like this, though, sunken back in to his chair and unable to hide all the pains the world had inflicted upon him - here she could see the price of what had been taken from him.
Small, she thinks. They took your world from you and left you by yourself again. Small, and alone, just like a child. Death did that to people. It took away what made them great and left them alone as they faced the hell of a quiet room.
Well, not quite. Levi wasn’t entirely alone just yet. She was still here… her, and Mike, and Erwin, and even Eren, as new as he was to their group.
She would remind him of that in the days to come.
"Not everything has been taken from you." she whispers as she kisses him on the forehead. There are still those who love you. And they’re going to take care of you.
This is my first time writing fanfiction (or anything in general, tbh) in a loong time… any comments are more than welcome. Criticism especially. I’d love to hear your thoughts!