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

A Night at the Infirmary

The full extent of Hanji's exhaustion revealed itself to Levi when she fell asleep mid-sentence. Her voice trailing off, she tilted forward slowly, keeled over... and then curled up and started to snore softly.

Ha. Served her right for neglecting to eat and drink all day and making him worry about her.

Levi got up with a sigh and stared down at her. She was a goddamn pain in the ass. How in hell's name would he convince her to do the sensible thing and stay here?

But I want her to come with me.

Should he tie her up so she wouldn't follow? Of course. Would he endanger her if he didn't? Hell, yeah. Was he a selfish prick because he didn't want to? Yes.

She wasn't behaving like a spoiled rich kid, but she was highborn and despite her undisputed skills as a soldier and scientist she did not belong in the filth and despair of the underground city. No doubt that she was tough, out of necessity and due to her considerable inner strength. But selfless people like her had to be sheltered and pampered. She needed someone who put her on a pedestal, put food into her mouth if she got into one of her brainiac obsessions, and checked her equipment for her in case she was distracted by other things. People who took off her glasses when she fell asleep on the floor. People who wiped the drool from her chin. People like Moblit and Zacharias.

Someone like her should never be tarnished by the hell pit beneath the shining, clean city of Mitras she had grown up in. She should continue her life hating and killing Titans, not abhorring humans too. She should not have to ask herself how it was possible that the rulers of humanity could allow such suffering to continue right beneath their feet.

He should be a fool and insist on going alone, like a noble, honorable person. But he wasn't noble, had never been, would never be, nor was he honorable. That was for people like Mike who had choices. The only thing he knew was that with her as backup, he had a good chance of going down there and coming out in one piece. without her, not so much.

Access to the underground city was tightly monitored by the Military Police at the entrances above and the criminal gangs at the bottom of the stairs. They would need access papers and fake IDs. They needed ways to disguise themselves. And they needed a foolproof plan so that he wouldn't be recognized immediately.

And if they made in and out unharmed... if... then he would deal with the consequences. He would apologize to her for using her and he would pay the necessary price.

Even though he had recently vowed not to be nice to her anymore, Levi bent down and lifted Zoë up. He wasn't cruel enough to let someone like her sleep on the dirty floor like this. She was lighter than he had expected. No wonder if she didn't eat properly.

"Tch," he said quietly, "silly, careless woman."

Breaking into a sudden smile upon hearing his voice, she snuggled her face against his chest and murmured something that sounded like "ackflackak".

Levi froze, his heart hammering in his throat.

But she wasn't done. She pawed his naked chest, then put her arms around him, cooing happily. Her drool wet his stomach but instead of feeling disgusted, blood surged to an inconvenient part of his body and he heard himself respond with a deep, guttural sound.

And cringed. Hell. If something as inconsequential as this from someone like her roused his body to such a reaction, he had obviously been without a woman for far too long.

With a suppressed curse, he dropped her on the nearest bed. She didn't budge. Carefully removing her glasses, he put them on the bedside table. After putting on a slightly oversized, clean shirt that he found in a cupboard - his other one was sadly and thoroughly ruined - he sat down in a chair from which he could watch Maria and Zoë at the same time.