Troublesome - Levi x Reader x Eren

"Squads 6 & 8! Cover the left flank!"

You steered your horse in the direction of the left flank and galloped after the Abnormal Titan that had begun its chase on the front squads. Following dangerously close behind the monstrous form, you waved your right arm out to signal the squads behind you to head to the right flank. 

"Squad leader ______." An all too familiar stoic voice was now present next to you. You turned around to face the Lance Corporal Levi. 

"Captain," you answered back almost calmly as the two of you rode side by side after the Titan. 

"What is your plan of attack?" 

"Surround the Titan along the right and left flanks to steer it away from the front squads. Once one of the flanks have its attention, we attack it from behind." You held your panic still because what good will panicking do in this situation?

You and Levi continued to chase after the Titan. The left flank had managed to attract the attention of the beast to which it chased after the soldiers on horseback. You and Levi picked up the pace and you pushed back the folds of your green cloak before shooting the cable of the 3DMG into the shoulder of the Titan. 

Levi followed suite and hooked onto he opposite shoulder. The two of you held onto the cable for dear life as the Titan took no notice of you and kept running. Levi grabbed onto a lock of the Titan's hair and sliced the nape of the Titan, cutting it deep. To make extra sure it was dead you raised your sword and swung it across the nape of the Titan's neck, killing it. The steam hissed out of the Titan and directly into your face. 

"AH-!" You hissed in pain as it hit your eyes and skin.

You covered your eyes, forgetting about the cable that kept you stable. You fell as the Titan collapsed to the ground. You just barely felt Levi's hand grab yours and slip from your temporary blind grasp. You desperately reached out for anything to grab onto as you opened your eyes, your vision still blurred. 

The Titan hit the ground with an almighty thud, shaking the earth beneath you.

"AHHH!!!" You screamed as pain racked through your being.

You were currently trapped underneath the Titan's torso. Your top half was visible, but your lower half was weighed down by the Titan. You struggled to free yourself. You felt your 3DMG equipment digging into you, causing more pain. Pulling and pushing was impossible considering your size in comparison to the Titan. You may have been a strong warrior but in certain circumstances, you were just an ordinary girl. Grunting and attempts to push the Titan off you were futile. You could simply wait for the Titan to evaporate, but that might cause you more pain considering the heat of the steam. 

"Come on....! Come on!" You yelled to no one in particular. 

"Stay still." That bland and expressionless  voice was back. 

You glanced behind you to see the Lance Corporal reassuringly patting your shoulders, keeping your nerves calm. You turned back around and slowly but surely felt the Titan's body being pulled off of your small body. Once you were free, you slowly stood up in case of any broken or damaged bones. You looked over the dead form of the Titan and saw a couple of squads with their 3DMG cables attached to the body of the Titan and slowly dragging it over the ground via horseback. 

Dusting yourself off, you thanked the squads and Levi for freeing you. You walked away from them and saw Armin beckoning you over.

"Yes?"

"May I fix that?" He asked and pointed to your forehead. It was stained with blood from a large cut you obtained.

You sat in front of him while he cleaned the wound and any excess blood and tightly wrapped a bandage around your forehead. Tying it off and tapped you gently on the shoulder and you smiled at him in gratitude. You began to stand up and used your right arm to push yourself off from the ground. The moment you exerted too much pressure on the arm, a sharp pain ran up your arm. You pulled your cloak back and saw a large cut through your jacket that had also cut through your undershirt leaving a large bloodstain around the area. A large gash had ripped your skin but it wasn't too bad. It definitely could wait until you returned back to the wall.

"Do you want me to patch that up? It looks serious..." Armin murmured in worry.

"No. It's fine. I'll fix it up when we get back," you told Armin while wearing a warm smile.

You thanked Armin once again as you climbed back onto your horse and directed your squads back to the city. As you rode, you could hear the clanking of metal that signalled that your gear was damaged. You figured it was crushed by the weight of the Titan. You growled in annoyance. 

"Squad leader ______!"

You turned around in your saddle to see Levi urging his horse faster to catch up to you. You pulled back on the reins and slowed your horse down enough for him to ride beside you. 

"Are you alright? Anything broken?" Was that genuine concern in his voice?

"Mmm. I'm fine. Only thing that's broken is my equipment. Easily fixable though." You kept calm as you continued to ride back home, not letting him catch onto the gash on your arm. 

"Are you sure? Don't lie to me." His voice was pressing now. 

"Yes, sir. Everything's fine." Your irritation was intensifying.

He really knows how to carry on like an over-protective parent at times.

His cold stare was piercing your eyes now. You glared back and turned the other cheek. You could still feel him staring at you. Urging your horse faster, you rode ahead to catch up with Eren. At least he wouldn't press on if there was something wrong. 

Even at the front of the formation, you could still feel Levi staring at you from behind. Damn, he was persistent. The only injuries you had sustained was a gash on the shoulder and cut on the head, which had been bandaged up by Armin who received the same injury, and your vision had returned. 

He worries far too much.  

You reached the gate of the wall and rode through slowly. You had encountered heavy losses this time. You already heard the whispers of villagers, accusing you and the Scounting Legion of practically murdering others and sending soldiers to their deaths. You hung your head in an attempt to hide your eyes behind your hair and gritted your teeth. Your grip tightened on the leather straps of the reins. You could feel Eren becoming angrier and angrier with each comment that was thrown out at you. You reached across and placed a hand on top of his, calming him right down as you looked at him reassuringly. You continued to ride back to HQ and unpacked from the expedition. You lead your horse back to the stable and fed him and some of the other horses. You walked up to Levi's horse and held out a bucket of oats. His horse gladly accepted the food and you watched him silently as you placed a gentle hand on his soft neck, running a hand across it gently. Levi had such a beautiful horse. 

Once you had finished in the stable, you sauntered down to the armoury to fix you equipment. You undid the straps holding the gear in place and set the broken pieces on the table. It was a mess. Pushing your hair out of you face, you set to work. Unscrewing nobs and realigning the cable was a time-consuming job. You spent the next hour tossing useless metal aside and replacing it. Before too long, you sat back in the chair you had occupied and decided to take a short break. You sighed heavily as you tried to bury the memories sustained from today. 

"Fixed it yet?" 

The same monotone voice brought you out of your thoughts and you blankly stared at the doorway where Levi was leaning against. He had his arms crossed and wore the same expression as always. 

"Almost," you replied. 

He wanders over to you as you resumed your previous actions. You tightened screws and fixed the cable making sure it would fire properly. He placed a hand on your shoulder and you stopped working. You glanced up at him and he glared back. 

"Is there something I can do for you, Corporal?" You asked, slightly urging for the reason he had his hand on your shoulder, not that you minded it. 

He kept his hand firmly placed on your shoulder and eventually began to slowly slide his rough hand down your arm, landing near the area of your gash. You watched him do this and mentally took note of what was looking for. He reached for the edge of your cloak and pulled it back, revealing the gash on your arm. He glared at it and then at you.

"______. This is not 'nothing'," he scolded you.

"It's just a cut."

"Then why does it look like this?"

Your eyes widened in confusion and quickly looked at your shoulder. The cut was flaming red and swollen. 

"It wasn't this bad before!" You quickly stood up and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness overcome you from the pain of your arm and head injury. 

You lost your balance and fell back towards the chair. Levi caught you just in time before you collided and swept you up into his arms. At first your head hung back over his arm until he adjusted your position in his arms and rested your head softly on his shoulder. With one arm around your waist, one arm underneath your legs and your head rested against his shoulder, Levi carried you to your room, ignoring all the curious looks he was given by those who passed you two in the hallways. He could feel your slow and warm breath on his neck which sent a single shiver down his spine. 

Once Levi reached your room, he set you down your bed and quickly helped you remove your cloak and jacket. You watched him through glazed eyes as he darted about, preparing a medical kit and a wet cloth. He lifted your cut arm tentatively and wiped the excess blood away with the cold cloth. Watching him do this, you let a soft sigh escape your lips. 

"You don't have to do this," you muttered to him. 

"Shut up." He continued to tend to your arm. 

"I can take care of myself."

"Shut up." He gripped your wrist tightly as a warning. 

You rolled your eyes and turned your head away from him in an attempt to hide an ever growing blush. 

Why is the Corporal being so nice to me? Usually he wouldn't give a toss if one of us had a cut on our arm...

You felt him place a stinging antiseptic over your wound. You hissed in pain and squinted your eyes shut. Eventually the pain subsided and all you felt was a tingling sensation radiating around the wound site. The redness had gone down and so had some of the swelling. He wrapped a bandage around your arm and over your shoulder. Even though he had finished, he still kept his hand on your shoulder. 

"You can let go now, Corporal..." You said to him, your voice was just barely above a whisper. 

"Tch. You're so troublesome." Your voice brought him back into reality but he didn't let it show. 

He gathered his composure and left towards the door. He grabbed the handle and turned back towards you. 

"If you need anything or if the wound gets worse, come straight to me or Hanji. Is that understood?" His voice was stern as usual.

You sighed heavily and looked away from a brief second before glancing at him without turning your body and saluted him.

"Good. Get some rest," he said, satisfied with your answer. He opened the door and closed it lightly allowing you some time to rest.

You folded your left arm behind your head and lay it atop of your arm, drifting off into sleep.