The Experiment (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) (Part 1)

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"Levi... oh, Levi..."

Why was that woman crying? Annoyed, Levi narrowed his eyes at her. She was still very beautiful, with raven-black hair, slightly slanted dark eyes, a heart shaped face and skin that reminded him of peaches. He had expected to see her face and instantly feel an impulse to kill her. Instead, he looked at a beautiful, aging prostitute and felt... nothing.

He had spent many hours sitting in his mother's cupboard, he mused. Maybe that's why he reacted to the perfume more than the face? Or maybe this was the state of mind you got yourself into when you stared at cherubs with huge erections for a whole day, feeling sorry for yourself because of a woman.

"What have they done to your face..."

Absentmindedly, he touched the new swellings the Hange guards' boots had administered. They hurt, but that didn't matter. His lip had stopped bleeding a while ago - his tongue felt the new scabs forming. That didn't matter either. His lips were not needed for anything gentle in the future.

"You look just like her," Xandra sobbed, "I wasn't prepared..."

And on she went with the wailing and reminiscing. Levi wasn't in the least moved nor interested in her lamenting. She was of course lying about everything, most of all her tender, protective feelings for his mother. Xandra was one of the most powerful figures in the underground now, a clear indication of her ruthless brutality. A woman like her did nothing without gain. So... what did she gain from humoring him?

He looked at the elegant furnishings in the room, the expensive carpets, the filigrane tea cups on the table. This was a conundrum, really. What did it matter to people in the underground where he spent the rest of his life? Why did it matter whether he died fighting Titans or from living in this dirthole? He felt the woman's eyes on him, searching... for what?

Fine. As long as he didn't understand what was going on, killing 'Mother' wasn't a good idea. Besides, he wasn't in the mood for killing. God, everything was so annoying. He wanted a bath quite desperately. And more to eat - that little piece of bread Maria had shared with him had only made him hungrier.

"I was told you have information?" he cut her off.

She looked taken aback, almost offended by the interruption. Because her pity-act had no effect on him? She sat a little straighter, her bosom swelling enticingly in the dark blue silk dress. Levi wasn't surprised that she had managed to catch Erwin's attention. She was the kind of woman someone like their commander would fancy - with a history full of cutting throats. And didn't he know himself from recent experience just how muddle-headed men got around women they felt attracted to?

"You must be hungry," Xandra murmured and clapped her hands. A giant, bald man appeared at her elbow, folding his tree-like arms demurely while Xandra murmured something into his ears. He nodded and disappeared just as silently as he had appeared. Impressive.

"Will you sit down?" Xandra asked Levi.

Why not. Despite lying around all day, he felt exhausted and listless.

"I need new clothes," he said, again conscious of the ripped shirt that he was wearing. Hanji's shirt. He tugged it closed over his chest, feeling this woman's eyes travel over him in ways that discomforted him.

"What else?" she asked.

"My knife," he frowned. That's how muddle-headed one got. To the point where one forgot one had no weapon. Had Renzo taken it? There were better blades but he was quite attached to his old one.

"Don't tell me it is the one used to slit military police officers' throats."

Levi frowned at her, a sinking feeling in his stomach. She was right, Annika had used it to slit a throat. And then... had she taken it? His frown deepened as he tried to recall the details of the scene with Treibel and Esmelda. Had he... had he dropped it?