Until the End || Levi x Reader Insert Fanfiction

Ch 3- A breath of fresh air

Without another word, the pressure of the ODM gear sets off as Levi leaves the premises and goes through the forest. You admire his speed and skill, he's definitely gotten better after all of those years together, you think to yourself. Unlike your unsurprised expression, the others, Flagen included, looked at him in shock as he sped through the training grounds with ease. "Was he in the Cadet Corps," Hange, the one you learned to have the glasses, looks to Levi with the rest of the group in curiosity. "Nope," you grin as you double-check your gear. "Nice, this fires me up!" You look up at the sound of Hange's voice rising slowly as their expression morphs into one of certain ecstasy. "It all depends on how you do it. Searching for Titans, subduing them...," Hange continues on with a strange squeal as you decide to ignore their... weird reaction to the situation. "Things are getting exciting!"

You decide to look over to Levi, who seems to have noticed his first target as a makeshift Titan rises into position. You see him quickly change direction, only stopping briefly to look at the 'Titan' and position his swords in the way he had chosen, before pushing off a tree and cutting the 'nape' of the Titan with ease, eyes sharp as he continues his pursuit. Hange squealed in delight as you sweat-dropped at their shenanigans and decided to join Levi as he made his way through the course. Hange looks up to you, "Oh, [y/n], you gonna go now too?" But before they can finish, you're already gone, as you leave them to stare blank-faced at the spot you stood mere seconds ago. "Huh? HUH?!?" You whizz past, cutting through makeshift Titans like the breeze as the Scouts look at you, eyes wide with shock, "and I thought he was fast," Flagen mutters as the Scouts can't help but agree, mouths agape at your speed and Levi's skill.

You catch up to Levi with ease as you notice another 'Titan' that rises thanks to another cadet, but before Levi gets the chance to move, you fly past him swiftly, he only sees a blur that he recognizes easily. You twirl your body around to change direction, and before the cadet below holding up the 'Titan' can so much as react, you have already sliced through its nape. The cut wasn't as deep as Levi's but you had 'killed' it much faster. "Tch", you look behind to Levi, who gives you a glare, "Oi, that one was mine," he growls, but your smile does nothing to waver. "Hmm, should have gotten to it sooner then," you grin as his expression darkens a bit more. You laugh at his never-changing attitude, carefree under the light of the sun and fresh air as we continue our pursuit, not noticing the way his expression softens a little when you are not looking.

.....

As the sky dims in the twilight and training for the day is finished, you find yourself outside a set of wooden doors with Levi and Isabel as Furlan goes into Erwin's study, in search of the documents the man in the carriage had been so adamant we find. Furlan had only just learnt that Erwin would be in a meeting, giving us a brief window of time. He had said that it seemed Erwin only had a few belongings which may help the ease of our search but you didn't hold onto hope too much, something about this man made you weary, but you decided to swallow your concerns. It had been a good few minutes into Furlan's search when Levi noticed that Erwin was coming our way. Isabel quickly gave the signal, the sound of a bird, to alert Furlan, and the four of us hastily escaped the area.

Making our way to another room, you let out a sigh of relief as you leaned against a wooden crate. "I keep coming up empty, we should assume it's not in his room." Furlan looks at us with a grimace, irritated that we have found nothing again. "Huh, then where is it?" Isabel asks as she looks at Furlan with a confused look on her face. "What do you do with something you absolutely don't want taken?" Furlan asks, but you realise the truth we had been trying to avoid, "he carries it around," you reply, a grim expression on your face. Furlan looks to you and nods, "It occurred to me... we should use the expedition beyond the walls. Out there, his and everyone else's attention will be focused on the Titans. We're sure to find an opportunity." You think over his words, an anxious bubble rising inside you, "Makes sense, I like that," Isabel, who seems unconcerned, looks up with glee at Furlan's plans. "Okay, Levi?" You look over to Levi as he leans against the crate beside you and glares at the ground, quiet.

"Yeah," he then looks at you briefly before continuing, "but I'll go by myself." You look to him in surprise. Just what was he thinking? "You three, come up with some reason to stay behind." Isabel turns to him, expression turning angry, "What for?!" Levi looks down again, avoiding our eyes as he mutters in a low voice, "We've never seen a real Titan, and we've never been outside the walls. It might take all we've got just to make it back." He then looks back at us, new determination on his face, "If I'm alone, I'll manage somehow." You grip your arms around you tightly. Seriously? He's going to play that card now? After all we've been through together? Isabel starts shouting irritably again before Furlan interrupts her, "In other words, the three of us can't handle it?" Levi and Furlan's glares meet each other as he replies, "That's what my gut tells me." He walks off, leaving the rest of us in silence, as you look to his back and grit your teeth.

.....

"Levi, let's talk." The moonlight hid in the dark of the cloudy skies above as you looked at Levi, who had made himself comfortable on the rooftop. It had been a few hours since our group had diverged after the argument, and he had been avoiding us. You sigh inwardly, but at least he acknowledges you as you sit next to him, glancing at the clouded sky. You knew Levi well enough to know that the outburst he had was just him being worried, as usual, but you still weren't letting him off the hook. "Just what was that about back there," you ask, slight irritation breaking through, "you don't actually think you going alone is the answer to all this." He avoids your gaze as he continues to look at the sky. "Levi, this is our chance. This is all we've talked about: completing our job, living up here, taking a step toward freedom. Don't tell me you're going to back out now." He looks down from the sky and finally looks into your eyes, "Don't you remember," you ask, "This is our dream. One we finish, one we fight for, together."

You see slight hesitation in his eyes, but they dim as he looks to the sky again, "It's all the same." You look at him in question, but he continues, "When there's no moon or stars, the dark of night is the same above or below ground." You join him, looking at the stars. You think back to all the times we lay in the Underground looking up and meeting the same darkness. "Hmm, yeah, it's the same," You agree as he looks at you. "It's the same darkness, but it's still different." You smile softly at him, "Can't you see, there's no ceiling above us that confines us, there's no stench to the wind that suffocates the living hell out of us, and," You look up now to the sky as the clouds slowly part, "look, there's the moon." Sure enough, rays of bright light seep through the darkness, illuminating our faces as we look on, enchanted by the beauty in front of us.

"That's right," You looked behind you to see Furlan and Isabel had also made their way up to the rooftop and now joined us. "This isn't the Underground." Levi turns to us with a face of slight defeat. We take a moment to look to the skies together as Isabel and Furlan sit, one on either side of you and Levi. You grip Isabel's hand as she decides to sit by you. She gives you her signature grin. Furlan also gives you a kind smile from next to Levi as we look to the stars and the moonlight and take a moment to revel in its beauty with each other's presence. "We're never going back down there," Furlan says after a moment. "That's right, big bro, like big sis said, we always get through everything together, the four of us! The Titans are no different," Isabel continued to grin as Levi met your eyes, and you saw his expression soften as you gave him a reassuring smile despite your anxious thoughts.

"Levi, have some.... faith in us," the three of us look to Furlan as he stares at you and Levi as if he knew you had slight doubt as well. The skies had now cleared, giving way to the billions of stars above and another gentle breeze that seemed to take your breath away. You get the same feeling of joy you had when you released Isabel's bird, and you see Levi does too, as he gives in, "Alright. I'll have faith." Isabel shouts in delight, and Furlan laughs as Levi gives us a rare smile. You find yourself laughing with the rest of our group as the night passes. You let yourself continue to drown in this brief joy, this new beginning, all four of you, together.