The Assistant- 6 {Levi x Reader}

Everything hurt. It was hard to discern more than that.

It was as if a smothering blanket of pain lay over you, and washed everything else out.

Blinking hard you tried to adjust to the scene around you, frozen terror settling in your chest when you recognised where you were, and heard yourself muttering 'no' quietly, over and over. You were back. Back in the hole. Only this time it was surrounded by a thick grey mist that made the cold sad bricks more menacing, shadows elongated to sinister spikes.

You glanced up instinctively, and through the bars at the top, He peered down. The one you hated, His eyes burning red like an ember. Your 'no's got louder, more rapid, rising to a crescendo as He removed the grill from the top of the brick hole. Curling yourself into a corner as He descended the ladder. Closing your eyes as he reached the floor.

"Have you learnt your lesson now [Name]?" He asked, dangerously softly. You whimpered, trying to make yourself nothing.

"You know what happens when you don't finish a job," he murmured, pulling from behind his back the red hot poker. Suddenly he stopped, hunching over as if in pain. Bones cracking grotesquely, he began to grow, red eyes turning green, and suddenly it was Eren's titan looming over you, maw open and saliva dripping from his foot long teeth.

You shut your eyes and screamed as hands grabbed you, shaking you hard.

"Stop, [name], wake up," a voice demanded urgently, and your eyes flew open. Panicked, you tried to scrabble away from the hands and voice, hissing as pain shot through your arms, forcing you into lucidity. You were in a white bed, in a room you quickly recognised as the small hospital ward the Survey Corps maintained on the left side of the castle.

Eyes flying to the hands that continued to hold you still, your gaze slowly travelled up the arms to their owner.

Grey eyes watched you intensely, a little wider than you were used to seeing them and filled with worry. You breathed out, settling back into bed, feeling all at once completely safe.  Levi was here, sitting next to you in a chair by the bed. 'He' wasn't here. He was dead, He couldn't get you.

Calming down you raised your hands to remove his from your sides, shocked to find them covered in layers of white bandages from your fingers to your elbows, mouth hanging open.

"You burnt them trying to get Eren out," Levi's gruff voice jolted you out of your surprise. Waggling your fingers experimentally you gasped, biting your lip. They stung like mad. You glanced at the captain's bandage free hands and tried to ask irritably why HIS hands weren't burnt to pieces, your own flying to your throat when only an unintelligible croak emerged. You tried to speak and failed once more, starting to panic again, when Levi's cool hand met your cheek.

You froze, panic forgotten, utterly baffled.

"It's ok, your throat is just damaged from the steam. As are your hands, arms, face- just what the Hell were you thinking? You promised me you'd stay safe, and instead-" he broke off, glare so filled with rage you began to tremble slightly, much to your instant regret. Levi pulled his hand away and forced his face back to neutral, watching you warily.

But you had other priorities. You raised your hand to your face, first feeling your cheek still tingling from his touch. Then the other- and your fingers recoiled. It was covered in a thick gauze, the feel starting a trickle of cold fear that pooled in your gut. Gesturing wildly you wanted paper and a pen, you tried to stay calm. Levi barked to a cadet at the door for a note pad and something to write with, and you put your face in your hands.

"It's going to be alright [Name]," he said, hands gripping the side of the chair, knuckles white as if it was all he could do to keep them by his side. You shut your eyes tight, determined not to cry, instead touching Levi's exposed forearm. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows, his trousers rumpled and his hair askew. He paused mid breath, before swallowing to answer your unspoken question.

"I didn't manage to get to you and Eren till a few minutes after you'd gone in. The titan form was much cooler," he said softly, obviously doing his best not to scare you again, eyes glued to your bandaged arms. They snapped up unexpectedly.

"I'm so sorry I didn't get to you earlier," he muttered, scowling darkly. He rose as the cadet came back through the door, grabbing the small paper pad and heavy metal pen from him, and dismissing him brusquely. You sat up, reaching for the pen and pad eagerly, scribbling away the moment he placed it in your hands.

why are you apologising, not your fault

Levi took the pad and read it, huffing slightly.

"I..." he began, and it was the first time you'd seen him unsure of what to say. "I was keeping an eye on you for most the day. Of course the exact fucking moment I stop would be when you managed to get yourself into shit," the swearing was back. It reassured you in an odd way. So, Levi had been watching you? You blinked at the information, unsure how to take it.

You looked down at the paper, remembering all at once the bandage on your face. With trembling fingers, clumsy already from the burns, you managed to scrawl out:

my face. How bad?

Shoving the pad in his lap you curled up in the bed, hugging your knees and watching his face intently for his reaction. He read it and 'tch'ed.

"The only bad burn is on your cheek, lucky you had enough sense to wrap your jacket round your face, your eyes and nose are fine" he said, handing you back the pad.

You took it, absorbing this slowly. Trying not to imagine to stares, the insults, the shit a whopping burn scar down your face would bring. You wiped fiercely at the tears escaping your eyes. You were being ridiculous, you should just be happy to be alive, who gave a rats arse if you looked... Not so attractive.

'Levi might,' a snooty voice whispered at the back of your brain, and you had to clench your eyes tight to stop the tears, chest painfully tight.

"Why are you-?" The captain's voice made you glance up, wincing at his pained expression. "[Name], why are you crying?" He managed to ask, and any other time you would've laughed at his bemused expression. Now your chest just felt tighter, making it hard to breath.

You'll think I'm stupid you wrote hastily, tilting it so Levi could read it. He frowned.

"Just fucking spit it out," he said calmly, one hand springing free. It seemed for a second it would envelope your own, but at the last second he paused, leaving his fingers just a hairs breadth from your own. Chewing the inside of your cheek and wiping away the last of your tears, you slowly jotted down

the burns on my face and arms you hesitated, pen shaking as you held it, poised to write the next sentence. Levi leant in close to read your sentence, a gesture which would've driven you wild at any other moment. Now it only filled you with shame.

I'm going to be ugly you scrawled it down fast as you could, tossing the pad at Levi, face burning with humiliation.

Levi read it. Then seemed to re-read it. You stared down at your bandaged hands instead, pink raw skin visible at your finger tips. Suddenly Levi did the least expected thing, possibly ever.

He chuckled. A deep quiet sort of chuckle that did pleasurable things to your insides. You turned your head and glared at him, rasping unintelligible swears through your sore throat. He looked up at you, face returned to its sombre norm, grey eyes assessing.

"[Name] you're a complete dipshit," he said quietly. "It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, you are... attractive where it counts," he continued, as if commenting on the weather, face and voice emotionless. You managed a half smile, and grabbed the note pad back.

you mean my boobs right you wrote, half smile evolving to a full on smirk which fled quick as it had arrived as your cheek flared up with pain at the movement.

"Idiot," Levi said as he read it, though you could tell he found it funny. You smiled quietly, a sadder smile- not everyone would be as kind about it as Levi. Though associating kind and Levi in the same sentence was a very odd mix. You brought your knees to your chest again and rested your chin on them, making yourself small.

Your (e/c) eyes found Levi's, and you blinked tiredly and yawned. Noticing once more his rough appearance, and the bags under his eyes, you jotted down

you can go if you like, you look tired

"Cheeky little shit, that's the thanks I get for sticking around," Levi mumbled grumpily, shifting closer to glare more effectively. Sitting up you leant forward and wrapped your arms round him slowly, giving him a chance to move away from the hug. He didn't, and you took the opportunity to enjoy the contact.

"Thank you," you managed to whisper, wincing as you did so. Levi pulled out of your reach and mumbled something about it being about bloody time you showed some gratitude. You didn't listen properly, you were already falling fast asleep once more, nightmare free courtesy of the captain's presence.




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"Did you ask her?" Hanji asked Levi as they sat by your bed, where you lay blissfully asleep.

"No, finding out she was burnt to shit panicked her." He replied quietly, grey eyes thoughtful as he gazed at your face, so small beside the huge bandage across your left cheek, making your features seem even more delicate. "Didn't want to push it," he continued.

"I want to know how she got all the other burn marks," Hanji said, voice lowered, hunched over in her thinking pose, for one serious. "They're old, but the scar tissue..." she trailed off. "They were very serious burns," she said.

Levi scowled at the thought of you being hurt before the survey corps, fury igniting as he recalled the scars revealed when the doctors had worked on you. They littered your torso like someone had come at you with a branding iron. It made his blood boil, the very idea someone had dared-

He took a breath and cut off his thoughts. He had to maintain clarity, though it was hard around the topic of [name] [Lastname] sometimes.

"She will tell us if she wants to," he said with finality, steepling his fingers and lapsing into a silence that would last the rest of the day.