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

A Warning

Hange woke abruptly in the dead of the night. Her head and heart pounding, she lay stockstill, expecting mayhem and carnage, but the quiet darkness around her held no such threat.

A nightmare, she realized. It had only been a goddamn terrifying nightmare. The images were fleeing her awareness fast, making it impossible to hold on to more than a few impressions, but it left behind a deep, soul-shattering feeling of loss and sadness.

Zoë sat up with a suppressed whimper... she was bathed in sweat and everything about her hurt. Groping for her glasses, she lit a candle and dragged herself over to the window. There was a faint waning crescent moon in the Western sky. It had a red tinge to it and she couldn't help but shudder at the sight.

After gulping down four large glasses of water, her body would finally stop shaking. Even if she had decided to believe only in what her eyes could see, her nanny's superstitions were lodged deep inside her brain and interfered at their own convenience. A waning crescent moon is a symbol for change, for life and death. If you gaze upon the moon's face after a nightmare, bad things are sure to happen.

Zoë opened one of her drawers and rummaged through its contents until she located the small wooden box she had put there a while ago. It contained dried leaves from a tree the Survey Corps had discovered during their last expedition. She hadn't had enough time to ensure this plant had true medical use with no side effects, but that didn't stop her from trying the leaves on herself. She took one out and put it into her mouth, chewing slowly. It was disgusting and bitter as gall, but immediately, a soothing numbness spread in her mouth and from there through her body like the first time she had taken one.

In the sparse light, she checked her injuries - all healing well. Calming herself further, she told herself that her muscles hurt from sheer exertion. Her backside hurt from falling on it countless times. Her feet hurt were cut from shuffling around barefoot in the courtyard. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

With a shaking sigh, Zoë grabbed her hair and tied it up into a loose ponytail. After changing into a clean, dry nightshirt, she put on her slippers and left her bedroom, a flickering candle held in front of her.

The hollow emptiness of the castle and the lurking shadows did nothing to quench her fears. In contrast, her anxiety skyrocketed and soon, her heart was beating so fast she could feel her pulse in her throat.

"Don't be stupid, Hanji," she told herself. "Look around you. Nothing bad has happened. Everyone is alive."

He is alive.

She only noticed where her feet had taken her when she stood before Levi's room. She shook her head at herself. Really? But he had been in her nightmare, she was sure of it and some part of her had to...

The door swung open and there he stood. Scowling at her, fully dressed and not a hair out of place.

"I...," she said, swallowing hard. "I couldn't...."

"Something the matter?" he asked in a low voice, his eyes sweeping over her with disapproval.

"I wanted... no," she gulped.

There were blonde locks on the pillow of his bed, a small body snuggling underneath the covers that slowly lifted and fell with his guest's regular breathing.

"I'm sorry," Zoë wanted to flee in mortification, but Levi stepped into the corridor, closing the door behind himself with a soft click.

"What is it?"

Zoë stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. She felt so stupid.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted, finding her voice shaking.