Hanji's POV

The scars on my back began to heal after a month or so. Sure, it still hurts, but it's not that bad. Levi stopped looking at me recently, and I could tell he blames himself for my injuries. Sometimes when he's asleep, I could hear him muttering that everything was his fault. I don't want to sound like I'm invading his personal space... but I have to do something about it.

One night, it was thunderstorming. The howling wind against the house always scared me to death. What if the wind is so strong that it blows the walls down? What if a tornado came by and destroyed this place? I couldn't stop shaking the entire night.

"You're still up?"

I jumped when I heard his voice. "Y-Yeah, I am..."

"Worried about something?"

I shook my head as he walked straight into the kitchen- no doubt for a cup of tea. "No. I can't sleep with this thunderstorm."

"Doesn't explain why you're down here." He says softly. "Why are you down here?"

"Well, since I couldn't sleep, I wanted to watch TV to pass the time. Then, I didn't have the courage to stand up to get the remote. Plus, I heard you were sleeping soundly... I didn't want to wake you up."

Levi puts a kettle on the stove before turning a knob to light the kettle ablaze. "So... you're telling me that you couldn't sleep, so you came downstairs to watch TV. But you were too afraid to grab the remote and didn't want to disturb my sleep in the middle of a thunderstorm? I don't see any logic."

I gave a nervous chuckle, looking down at the swirly patterns on the rug. "I guess there's no logic. I wasn't thinking right." Then, I couldn't help but blurt it out. "It's not your fault, you know."

"What?"

"Hitting me with your car. The scars on my back. None of it is your fault. It's mine. I was in the middle of the road, not paying attention. And I decided to jump in front of that werewolf... to protect you. Those were my fault. Please don't blame yourself. Don't blame yourself of what happened with Petra."

Levi gave a heavy sigh as his footsteps grew closer to me. He leans against the couch, giving another sigh. "Some of those things I do have to blame myself. Sure, you can say that you were in the middle of the road and you weren't paying attention. There wasn't any light when I hit you. Though hitting you... that could be my fault too. The scars on your back... I should've been aware. I know you said there were 9, but I didn't think there were more. And Petra... that one is also my fault."

"But-."

"I knew she wanted children... but I was selfish. She stayed with me, despite the fact she knew that I didn't want any. I pushed her away. I kept her here because I didn't want her getting hurt... like how you got hurt."

"Is that why you're pushing me away as well?" I ask, turning to see his solemn face. "I can protect myself, Levi. I'm a werewolf, I'm supposed to be strong. Sure, I'm not in a pack, but consider me as a partner. Just until I find my pack. Trust me, I can fight."

"I know," He chuckles a bit, "3 werewolves were dead when I got to you."

"Then please, don't blame yourself. If something happens to me, it'll be my fault. If something happens to you, say it's your fault. Don't blame anything else on you just so you can see yourself as some horrible person, Levi. Because you're not."

"Can you tell?"

"I can. It's in your scent. Horrible people will always have some sort of... I guess you can say... a disgusting smell. You are a good person. I smell that. You're a good person." I smiled at him, "Please don't think otherwise-."

The crash of thunder boomed, shaking the windows and flooding the room with a bright light. I gave a shriek before covering my ears with my hands. Once the sound reverted to the soft pattering of the rain, I heard Levi's chuckle, and I could tell he was smiling.

"Let's have some tea," He says, tapping my shoulder, "And you can sleep with me. Just for tonight... if you're still scared."

"Just because I'm taking up your offer to sleep with you doesn't mean I'm scared."

"Whatever."

*   *   *

As we were waiting for the water to boil, Levi put on a movie for us to watch. We barely got off the couch- except for the tea and bathroom breaks. The thunderstorm began to die down by the time we were halfway through the movie, and I wasn't scared anymore. With our stomachs warm with tea, I laid my head on Levi's chest, feeling my eyes starting to close.

His arms began to wrap around my body, pulling me close. I feel... protected when he's here. I hope he feels the same way. 

I'll find my family...