#I’ve been practicing for like 9 years 🎉 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lady-eny · 2 years ago

Text

TITLE: ON THE NATURE OF DUTY (10/17)

Some tags: AU - Spies & Secret Agents, Enemies to Lovers, Action, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Mikenana, Minor Zekehan, Minor Character Death, Reincarnation

Summary:

When Levi, Eldia’s best agent, is sent to kill the marleyan star analyst Hange Zoe, he doesn’t expect what awaits him.

Forced to team up with his enemies to save the world, he soon starts losing sight of his duty. Despite reminding himself how much he hates her, Levi can’t prevent his brain from scrambling at her mere presence, ever closer…

Perhaps it’s that he knows her from a long time ago…

CROSS-POSTING ON: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 Notes: We're in the second half now! O.O And I've got news: Tomorrow begins the Levihan Drabble Week!!🎉To avoid overwhelming you, next chapter will come out in two weeks (meaning: around JUN-17)

I'm sure this week will be full of amazing works, so pls support the Levihan fam! Thank you so much for reading! See you soon!

✨Feedback is very much welcome! Hope y'all have great two weeks!

Chapter 10

She threw her ODM gear and dropped to the ground. Raised her goggles to her forehead and looked up at the starry sky.

“Come see this! I don’t think I’ve ever seen them shine so brightly...”

He winced at the dirt she was wallowing in. “No way.”

She tugged on his pants. “I promise not to ask you to capture a titan for me all day tomorrow.”

“For a week.”

“Three days.”

Reluctantly, he flung himself down next to her and allowed his muscles to relax. She snuggled closer to him and an unusual warmth washed over him.

Maybe being down here wasn’t so bad...

Levi didn’t know how used he was to meeting Hange’s eyes whenever she was around until now that she’s purposely looking elsewhere. Though he maintains he didn’t say anything incorrect. She acted wrong and trusted way too much back at Tybur’s. Excessively so.

At least they’re on the right track, which makes him assume they can succeed. He’s closer to completing this mission, returning to his apartment, and living like nothing ever happened.

Bliss.

First things first. They have to uncover those bastards and stop them. A step forward is not yet the finish line.

As soon as they enter their new hotel room, Levi pulls out his phone and dials Erwin, anxiety quivering his insides. They continue in Helos, the city of Tybur’s primary headquarters. He’d have preferred to stay in one that practically doesn’t belong to that company, but it couldn’t be helped—the yacht party will be held close.

He sits at the desk next to one of the three identical beds. Twists his neck while waiting for his boss to answer, dreading the sound of his voice. Like yesterday, he’s been out of reach the entirety of the day, something Erwin absolutely hates.

“Ackerman,” Erwin answers dryly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

An expected reaction from Erwin. Levi blows out a breath and briefs him on today’s happenings, everything orbiting around the same simple implication: he had no time to call back—even when, truth be told, he did.

“You took such a great risk for nothing,” Erwin concludes, disapproving. From the years Levi’s known him, he can tell Erwin’s hardly containing a scold.

“Not really. I…” Here comes the hard part. Levi glances at Hange and Mike, who are acting all busy with their bags but secretly remain attentive to his conversation. It’s kind of awkward, speaking with Erwin under their scrutiny. How are they perceiving the exchange? “I… We need an invitation to a birthday party in honor of Willy Tybur. We’re certain it’ll take place tomorrow night.” Silence on the line. “I know you have many favors stored from the times when Eldia and Tybur were on friendly terms, so…”

Securing an invitation to that precise event wouldn’t be an easy feat. Levi knows it. Yet their stolen one won’t do it, as it contains a code that won’t be admitted unless issued correctly. In addition, it’s addressed to Mr. Magath, a prominent businessman who’ll be in attendance. Without the invitation in its rightful owner’s hands, the code will surely get deactivated. Erwin, for instance, can move his numerous contacts and collect some favors to attain a genuine one—if he wishes to.

“So, you’re requesting something from me after disobeying my every order for the last few days? Even when your behavior has been nothing but irrational as of late?!” Erwin’s shout resonates through the room. By Hange and Mike’s bug-eyed expressions, they overheard it.

Levi clears his throat. “Err… Yes?” He won’t dwell on explanations while the gaze of those two burns on his nape. “In that party, we can find out if Tybur’s indeed implicated and how to end this. And successfully fulfilling this mission would position us on good terms with the WCO—no more public censorship, no more exorbitant fines.” Levi’s aware his convincing skills are rusty at best. That doesn’t stop him. “This can be good for us in the long run.”

“I wonder if we’ll get any direct benefit from this in the end.” Another thing Erwin hates? Someone else telling him what would be best. It’s one of the reasons he’s constantly fighting with their superiors. “No eldian has been killed in the recent attacks. Furthermore, it will do us little good to be on friendly terms with the WCO if the war resumes and our most valuable agent is incapacitated. Or dead. Stop being delusional,” Erwin fumes. The optimism Levi gained prior to this topples. He doesn’t even want to imagine the face Mike and Hange must be making.

“I’m asking for this favor as your f—friend.” Levi internally coils at the break in his voice.

After a moment, he hears Erwin sighing. “I’ll see what I can do. But if you disappear like this ever again, Ackerman, consider your salary cut to half. Permanently. Wait for my call.”

Erwin hangs up and Levi lowers the phone with an exhalation. For some reason, Hange’s reports to Nanaba come to his mind. Even when one of them was in a higher position, they never talked with each other as boss and subordinate. Rather, they did it as comrades. Friends.

Because above all, that’s what they were.

Maybe he and Erwin have never been real friends. Maybe he’s the faulty one for believing so, due to never knowing what true friendship looked like. Until now.

“That was…” Mike trails off, sounding insecure. “How much time should it take him?”

Levi shrugs. “Some hours.”

Mike throws himself into the middle bed and turns on the TV projector up front. In the meantime, Hange puts on her sweater.

“I’ll get something to eat,” she announces, walking to the door.

“I can go instead,” Levi suggests, quite futilely. Hange doesn’t as much as acknowledge his words before leaving.

Uneasiness crawls under his skin. He’s juggling with the idea of following her when the TV projection captures his attention. A reporter is talking.

“As far as we know, the explosion in Liberio hasn’t shed light on the investigations. We obtained some footage of the moment of the explosion. Viewer discretion is advised, as the following images might contain sensitive content.”

The screen shows the late airport. Levi’s brain struggles to link that massive building with the pile of rubble he saw this morning. In the bed, Mike stiffens when a smiling red-headed woman appears on the screen, talking to the camera about her travels. She’s showing her cellphone when a violent boom deafens her. The airport behind her explodes, and then there’re only screams. The video fades to black and the reporter returns into view.

Levi doesn’t get to hear the reporter’s next words.

The bathroom door slams shut. Mike’s no longer in the bed. Levi didn’t see him moving, abstracted by the screen as he was. Unsure of what to do, Levi uselessly hangs in the same spot. Ignoring the constant danger of Hange exposing herself in public, this is another excellent reason why he should have gone looking for food instead. Unlike him, Hange would know how to deal with her friend. He awaits her coming in at any second.

She doesn’t.

Does he have another option? He drags a hand through his hair and knocks on the bathroom door.

“Mike? Are you alright?” Mike doesn’t reply, so Levi lets himself in.

The blond is on the floor with his head between his knees. Levi shifts uncomfortably in the doorway. Finally, opts to sit at Mike’s side, whose faint cries echo in the bathroom’s acoustic. Settling, the white tiles under him are ice blocks and the whole space smells like toilet paper—not so bad, taking into account how most bathrooms reek.

Mike’s shoulders are shaking. Levi looks from his hands to the ceiling. What can he possibly say?

Mike beats him to it. “I didn’t see it happening live before. T—The explosion. I should have been there…” Mike chokes through his tears. Levi identifies this feeling, blaming yourself for not preventing a loss. Knows it overly well. He recalls wild desperation in his legs, a sensation from a bygone day compelling him to run faster and faster. And still, no matter how hard he forced himself to move, arriving when everything was already in motion. His mother calling him with her last breath. Chaos all around. Too late. The memories make him heavier, but Mike’s cries remind him that his pain isn’t unique. “I only want for her to come back with her sly smile. To stop feeling like shit. I miss her. Will I ever stop?”

Levi has no good answer. His features and voice soften. “I don’t know... I hope it gets better.”

One doesn’t feel like shit every single day afterward. But in his personal experience, it’s because he hasn’t been feeling much since that day. Is that preferable to constant pain?

“This is embarrassing.” Mike wipes his tears with the back of his hand and throws out a teary laugh.

“No, it is not. I… I also know how it feels to lose someone who mattered too much,” Levi admits, a phantom ache squeezing his chest. Mike meets his eyes, and Levi encounters a sense of understanding between them. Reassuring in some way, knowing that someone else goes through the same. After all, it proves they’re not completely alone.

Silent minutes tickle by until Mike’s faint sobs subside and his spine erects taller.

“She isn’t mad at you.” At his confusion, Mike explains, “Hange.”

“Brilliant way to show it.”

“She’s mad with herself. And ashamed for putting lives in danger. I don’t think she considered that possibility.”

“Clearly.”

“Hange,” Mike begins with a fond tone, “is very trusting, which can be a problem. Still, she’d never put someone in danger on purpose.” I know, Levi sorts out. “She believes union is one of the many things needed to end the war, for which we should rely on each other. But… I think not everyone deserves her faith.”

Levi wholly agrees with Mike, as he’s the first one undeserving of it. He lies his head on the tiled wall behind him, which is like touching snow to his skin. Ignores all the germs that must be rubbing on his hair. “She has never had trouble sleeping in a room with me.”

Mike snickers. Levi lifts an eyebrow at him. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just that… I didn’t mean you. You’ve proven yourself highly reliable relating to her.”

What? “Are you nuts? I’m the last person she should count on. I’m an eldian.”

“So what? Do you really fool yourself into thinking you hate her?” He shakes his head. “And what if she’s a marleyan? I didn’t peg you as the prejudiced type.”

“I…”

Do you really fool yourself into thinking you hate her? Mike’s words reverberate in his head. He… can’t, because he truly doesn’t. Not completely, at least, and not anymore. Hange might not be one of the worst creatures to ever inhabit this planet, as he once believed.

Levi glances at the disgusting floor where he’s sitting, focusing on the dirt between the tiles which he hates so much. But maybe, just maybe… He doesn’t. Maybe he’s always forced himself to despise it, because otherwise, how could he continue living, knowing how much of it he’s swept from this earth?

The main origin of his strong loathing used to be more due to his body feeling out of control in their first meeting than her nationality. However, now… He still dislikes her, of course—being her a marleyan, that couldn’t be any different. And yet…

“I don’t hate her,” Levi states. His declaration doesn’t surprise Mike in the slightest. While he doesn’t hate her, she remains a marleyan, something he can’t forget at any cost. Doing so could only harm his land and himself. “I just don’t get her. What are her motives?”

It’s challenging to shake out the idea of marleyans being deceptive, except… Hange looks so open—so sincere, saying she wouldn’t let his leaked information be used for anything but.

Can he believe her?

He can’t. Shouldn’t. But… he wishes he could.

“Ask her, then.” Mike jerks a shoulder as if that was the most evident, easiest solution to everything. Which may be.

“Mike? Levi? Where are you?” Hange’s muffled voice comes from out of the door.

In an instant, Levi becomes aware of where he is, and what he’s been talking about with Mike. A feeling of camaraderie was flowing between them, but her voice woke him to awkwardness. Dammit, perhaps Hange’s teeming openness has infected him.

“Here!” Mike stands and goes back to the room. “What did you bring?”

Hange’s slit eyes glide from Mike to Levi with suspicion before handing them packets of cookies. Popping cookies in his mouth as if they were candies, Mike sits down on his bed, and Hange on the floor. Levi takes the desk chair and starts eating, the TV noise filling the room. Hange looks weary, hands slow and posture slouching. Chewing, she glances up and catches his gaze for the first time tonight. He can’t read her expression, but her hazel eyes appear dimmer. She lingers on him for a moment without expression and then turns to the TV.

It stings.

In the news, they’re interviewing relatives of today’s explosion victims. It dawns on him that the reason those people lost their families is because of them. Because they haven’t done a good job unveiling those responsible for this. The previously sweet chocolate cookies taste rancid in his mouth. Mike and Hange seem to be sharing his thoughts; he looks like eating shit while her shoulders sag lower. Her hand reaches out, in search of what Levi now recognizes as reassurance from the fur peeking out of her bag. She clings to Mr. Sonny as unnecessary repetitions of the explosion play on the screen. But neither of them makes a move to change the channel.

On the nightstand next to Mike’s bed, Levi’s phone rings. They all look at each other. Levi strides to the phone and looks at the screen—an unknown number. He accepts the call with his guts tied up.

“… Yes?”

“Ackerman?” Probes a fruity voice.

His guts untie. “Petra,” he breathes out. “What’s wrong?”

Hange’s head snaps to him with a deep-set frown on her face, looking even more bothered than a minute ago. Levi flops on Mike’s bed, rubbing his brow. How did Petra get this number?

“Erwin told me to call you,” she reveals. Naturally. “Erwin got to convince someone about the invitation, the people with it merely need an address to send it.”

He taps his feet, thinking of logistics. “I’ll send you a location.” He can pick it up in the morning.

“Very well. And… Ackerman.” A pause. “Even though I can’t make a lot of questions, I know this has something to do with Tybur, so… Take care!”

Levi smiles. Petra’s one of the best people in his life, always taking care and worrying about others. “I will. You take care, too.” He gets off the phone.

Mike cocks his head to a side. “What happened?”

“Erwin got it.” Tomorrow they only have to study the area, make the preparations, and lastly, adhere to the plan.

“All is settled, then.” Hange immerses herself in eating her remaining cookies.

Mike finally switches channels to one with a movie where a spy is parkouring from one building to the other. Levi scoffs; that’s sheer fantasy.

“Ackerman,” Mike says, “I wanted to ask you this since I met you… Is the rumor of you jumping from a third floor with only a blanket as a parachute, and still surviving with an insignificant wound, true?”

Levi scratches his heated cheek. Understanding he possesses a reputation is never the same as hearing one of the many rumors surrounding him. Some people even consider him to be a myth, and he prefers it like that.

“It is,” Hange affirms. Grimaces instantly, as if regretting saying it a second too late.

“How do you know?” Levi wonders. She’s right; it is true—it wasn’t as effortless as Mike implied, but no one but him and Erwin should know it for sure.

Mike grins. “Don’t you know how much of a fan Hange is? She has probably watched all your supposed videos, although I believe half of them are fak—”

Hange shoots Mike with a glare so intense that the blond shuts up mid-sentence. And with that, the silence restores.

Mike falls asleep first, his loud snores almost rumbling the entire hotel. Levi climbs to the bed nearest to the door and lies down. Instead of following suit, Hange slides open the balcony door and disappears from his sight. He hesitates for a split second before joining her.

She’s observing the horizon, the glistening and colorful lights from the many billboards shining over her skin. Without a look back at him, she collapses to the floor. There, those artificial lights can’t reach her. Her back leans on the side concrete fence of the balcony, head tilted up at the starry sky.

He settles across from her, one leg outstretched and another bent to support his arm. Arctic wind blows against his skin and chills his bones, but he doesn’t come back inside. He has something to say.

“I… I’m sorry for snapping at you. Earlier.”

She doesn’t reply right away. Her gaze won’t meet him yet.

“It’s okay,” she eventually says with a hint of tiredness, pushing her glasses up her nose. “You weren’t wrong. I didn’t consider the girls’ safety. Even without that, we didn’t know anything about them. It was a mistake…” Her shoulders hunch along with her head, bangs shadowing her eyes.

Levi strokes the back of his neck. It’s less sore than most of the time. “Right. You can only trust yourself.”

“There I disagree.”

His frustration mounts at the sight of her defiant chin. “Oh?”

Her eyes finally catch his. She crosses her arms over her chest. “To achieve great things you need other people, to work together and believe in them. I firmly believe it. Maybe I overdo it, maybe I need to doubt more, true. But confiding in no one, never? That’s not the solution but the problem, and the reason why we’re still in this fucked-up conflict. We never let our guard down.”

Because your people have betrayed us on countless occasions.

An impatient snort from him. “It’s better to work alone.” Less danger and risks for everyone. Levi likes the control it confers him, the steadiness. Why would he prefer the contrary?

“It isn’t.” Her jaw sets. “Such as today. The plan would have worked better if only you had waited for me and trusted me.”

“Trust is difficult to achieve,” is his brusque reply. He knows better than to rely on someone working for the enemy.

“Because you don’t put anything of yourself into trying!” Her nostrils flare. “Do you know how difficult it is…” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in. “How many times have I told myself I shouldn’t even talk to you? You literally tried to kill me!”

Her statement floats in the space between them for a while, making the air dense.

Levi wants nothing but to dissipate the tension, but a thickness in his throat prevents him from responding. Unable to bear her glare, he angles slightly away from her. Summons her words; she said it was difficult not because he’s an eldian, but because he tried to kill her. Somehow, how genuinely unprejudiced she is keeps taking him aback.

“How come you don’t hate me?”

“In truth, I used to hold only hate for eldians. Raw, bitter, consuming hate. But then I thought, this will never get me anywhere. There and then I chose to stop.”

Levi flaps a dismissive hand. “Pff. You make it sound as if it was something you could just decide and voilà. No more hate. Choices aren’t that almighty.”

Her expression grows turbulent. “Oh, but they are. Our choices define us, wholly and entirely. Regardless of what happens at the end of our lives, everything hitherto is simply a succession of them. That’s what we are. Choices. We keep making them and following those we believe are the best.” A tight smile forms on her mouth. “But you’re partly right. It is not easy at all. Wasn’t. Yet it was my choice and I stood by it. Even so, I was wary of eldians afterward and for a long time. I didn’t genuinely try to understand your lot until recently. I have to thank you for that.”

“Me?”

She doesn’t reply, her gaze lost in the distance. Completely disregarding his presence.

He wishes he could fade into the floor underneath him. It’s like they crashed into a wall. A massive, solid wall they can’t get past unless he does what, deep down, he knows he should have done a long time ago.

Levi clears his throat. Glances at his hands. Swallows.

“I’m sorry… about that night. In Odiha.”

She flinches. And something between them fractures. More importantly, something in him shatters; the idea that his work justifies the damage he inflicts. That by protecting his people, the corpses he leaves behind are unimportant.

They aren’t.

They’re significant.

They matter to him and have always done so.

His head hangs, and there is this empty, draining feeling.

She purses her lips, pensive. “Do you enjoy it?”

“Enjoy what?”

“Killing.”

His head jerks up, muscles tensing. How can someone enjoy something like that? He feels like dying little by little with every life he takes. If those missions were more constant, would there be anything left of him?

“No.”

“Okay, then.” She droops against the wall and presses her palms over her eyes, glasses askew. “Apology accepted.”

Albeit her words are agreeable, he can practically touch the waves of anger still coming out from her.

“What do you want from me?” He blurts.

“Excuse me?” She drops her hands and blinks. He repeats the question and her eyebrows furrow. “To be friends. I want to be your friend. But you don’t… you can’t trust me, can you?”

How can he? It’s not like she isn’t harboring secrets. “You say you want to be my friend and talk about trust all the fucking time, but you don’t trust me either. Why were you going to that museum that night?” Her teeth clink loudly by the speed with which she closes her mouth. “See? You ask me to do something but you won’t do the same.”

“I…” Her eyes snag on his. “I was looking for my sister.”

Her… sister? Didn’t she say she was dead? Levi racks his brain, but actually, she didn’t. He just concluded it. Didn’t she disappear more than ten years ago, though? To continue looking for her sounds…

“I’ve been seeking information on what happened to her ever since she went missing,” she mutters, and his chest folds painfully at the tinge of sadness present in her voice. “Well, not ever since—I was pretty young when my parents died, and then I moved with Nana’s family, which… wasn’t a pleasant experience, so I left after a year or so. It was when I moved to my last home that I started looking. The caller told me he had information about her, so… I stupidly went.” She toys with the hem of her shirt.

The unexpectedness with which she flew from Marley, the recklessness in her act… Was it all because of her sister?

“I see.” Levi wants to express how sorry he is, to remove some of her glaring sufferings, but he’s unable to do it. After some sluggish minutes, he changes the subject. “You really used to watch my videos?”

Hange’s eyes widen, cheeks flushing red. “No! Yes. Umm, I mean… you’re famous for your exceptional fitness… which I’m interested in… Ah! I mean… interested in the scientific aspect of it, as expected…”

Her sputtering sparks a weird twinge in his chest. A sensation of contentment spreads throughout his limbs. “Now I know why you recognized who I was in the elevator.”

“Your fighting style is unmistakable,” she nods, a smile dangling at the corner of her lips. “You should start diversifying a bit.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Hange dedicates him a smile, her hazel eyes bearing humor in them. Once more, meeting his eyes with ease. He returns the smile.

For the first time, he envisages how everything would be if Hange wasn’t a marleyan. Would they be friends? Best friends, maybe? Recalling how loose he felt talking with her last night, he can see it. And… doesn’t entirely hate it.

Nevertheless, things are as they are, and the reality is that she’ll always be his enemy and he’ll always have to eliminate her. There’s no point in crying over spilled milk. And crying, he never does.

She places a finger over her mouth. “Why do you think they didn’t ambush us on Tybur’s? I wasn’t even wearing a costume, as the last time they did it. Could they have given up?”

Whatever refrained them from going after her today, he doesn’t think it was for lack of motivation. They had plenty of chances for that before. So why stop now?

“It’s odd,” it’s the only thing he says.

Levi lets his muscles go slack under their comfortable silence. She lies down, her long fingers laced together loosely on her abdomen.

“Why don’t you like them?”

He notices her line of sight, toward the stars above them. Watches them, too. “I never said I didn’t. I do, and am glad to be able to see them from here.”

“Don’t you want to know how they look from closer?” Her tone is dreamy.

“No. Humans are fucking plagues. I don’t want to witness how the planets orbiting them are dying for yet more humans.”

“That’s so pessimistic… I think we’re bringing life to those lonely planets and that the stars enjoy the new company, don’t you think?”

Levi opens his mouth and closes it. He never saw it like that and doesn’t dislike her perspective. It’s a brighter picture he couldn’t have conceived by himself, one that makes him feel somehow better.

The canvas of the night is usually painted with gray and heavy clouds. But tonight it shines brightly, the points of light in the distance seeming, for a flicker, colorful. With her steady breathing and earthy scent floating to him, Levi feels so light. He takes a deep, satisfied breath in, and closes his eyes…

They left their building behind and went deep into Marley’s streets. Hours ago, he was feeling rather ill, so Hange and he separated from the others to get some rest. But she insisted on catching up with them, now that he was feeling much better.

“We’ll get lost,” he muttered, meaning that he was already lost.

Hange put a finger over her mouth. “Onyankopon said three blocks to the right… Oh, excuse me,” she said to a woman in a street stall. Marley had lots of these, he’d noticed since arriving. “Do you know where the theater is?”

“Four blocks in that direction,” the woman replied, pointing to the left. He sighed; Onyankopon got it wrong again. “Where are you from?”

“Ahhh… From far, far away!” She looked around in a panic, as if trying to find an answer. Slang an arm around his shoulders. “My dear brother and I got lost from our group.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “You look nothing alike at all.”

“She was adopted,” he explained.

“Me?” She made a scandalized face. “But I’m the one who looks the most like mom!”

He couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping him. This was kind of fun.

Following the woman’s instructions, they arrived at the theater. Armin was the first to spot them.

“You made it! Come this way, the view is much better,” Armin urged, pulling them toward the front line, where the other kids and Onyankopon were already settled. Everyone looked overly enthusiastic—even Eren, who had been down lately.

A red curtain opened in front of them, and the show started.

Two hours later, the group left the theater with equally down faces.

Mikasa brushed a tear from Sasha’s cheek. “It was… so sad!” The brown-haired cried, chewing a blue cotton candy.

Jean and Connie agreed with a nod. Levi exhaled; it was definitely not what he was expecting.

Hange stepped in front of them, hands on her hips. “It wasn’t sad.”

Onyankopon glanced at her with confusion. “They all died!”

“Mmm.” She paced in front of them, a hand holding her chin. “But didn’t you see everything they suffered before? And it was implied that they reunite afterward. It was happy,” she declared.

“That’s true…” Armin rationalized. “It wasn’t that sad after all!”

The smile resurfaced on the other’s faces.

“Exactly.” Hange clapped. “Now, we should go looking for something to eat.”

“Yesss!” Sasha shouted, leading the way ahead.

Hange turned to him and tilted her head. “Shall we?”

Levi’s stomach fluttered. He was aware she also found the show sad—he was right beside her, hearing her sniffling. Still, she put her emotions aside and found a way to make the kids happy, offering them an alternative viewpoint where it all looked more radiant. That’s what she always did: examined all the possible aspects to find the correct answers, the beauty in the ugly. Either with titans, people, or plays…

“I won’t eat whatever crap Onyankopon suggests tonight,” he replied, following the others with her by his side.

Her eye acquired a thoughtful quality. “I read that the fish here is prepared differently…”

Everything always looked better when she was around, more so in these depressing days, when she became the Commander they needed the most… Constantly looking forward.

***

D-5

Hange hasn’t breathed once since they started their march to the yacht. They reach the guard at the beginning of the boarding ramp and hand him the valuable invitation. The guard dedicates a brief look at the paper, scans it with a little device in his hand, and nods at them. Just then, Hange expels all her breath.

The night is clear and the wind pure and refreshing as they walk through the ramp. No one pays them any attention as they blend with the crossing crowd. Yet Hange clings to his arm, her fingers curling and uncurling in anxiety.

“We are completely, one hundred percent sure he’s here, right?”

“It’s his birthday. Plus Erwin confirmed it himself. He’s here.” Levi controls the impulse to pat her arm in reassurance.

They pass the narrow yacht’s threshold, and Hange looks around in apprehension. “We could try some other way.”

Levi looks at her. Her hair falls around her shoulders in soft jagged waves; one hand is smoothing down her onyx dress, while the other’s nails are biting into his skin. Forcing himself not to linger on her current appearance, he quickly directs his attention to the long hallway at their front.

“We don’t have time for any other way,” he retorts, dusting off an imperceptible fluff from his sleeve. He adjusts his suit jacket. The clock is unstoppable as it ticks-ticks toward another explosion. They have to hurry and act promptly.

There isn’t a better time to fool one of the most powerful men in the world than now.

Or attempt to do so.

They discovered the yacht is Tybur’s property of many years, so the hope is he spends some time here, thus leaving personal stuff behind. Their plan is straightforward. Levi tries to find something that could lead them to the criminal organization (unlikely to succeed), while Hange goes to Willy Tybur and clones his phone (likely to succeed). That way they’ll get a glimpse into his private matters, and hopefully, something relating to the attacks. Even if they don’t, it’d help them locate Tybur wherever he hides later. With that sort of information, getting him in a less crowded place should be easier. Or so he was told.

“He could have hundreds of phones,” he complained earlier, when they were in the middle of their planning session.

Hange scoffed from where she was sitting on the hotel room’s floor. “That’s an overestimation.”

“He might,” Mike agreed with him. “But the man believes himself untouchable. He must carry a personal one with him.”

Levi wasn’t convinced. “Say you’re successful. Say we get out of there alive. Will we have a chance if we let him go tonight?”

“It’s the only choice we have.” She had a point there. “We can’t kidnap him with all the security he’ll have around. And we’ll be in the middle of the ocean without resources. I say this plan is as good as it’ll get.”

“Well, maybe,” Levi conceded. “Is he even that smart if he’s one of the people behind this? They must know the government will never resign their power but still made that silly demand.”

She rose to her feet, as if assaulted by an epiphany. “Maybe they do know it. The public didn’t know them before. Now they do and the ones in power are painted as the true villains. Maybe that was their goal all along!”

In that case, it isn’t they aren’t smart, Levi mused. They must be pretty damn intelligent, because it’s working. The public is giving their backs to their leaders.

Mike nodded. “Yeah. Years ago in my psychology class, I learned people tend to associate things. Here they must be associating the murders with the ones they can see and easily blame. Their governments and the WCO.”

Instead of regarding most of his words, Levi got fixated on one part. “Psychology classes? Aren’t you an agent? What do you actually do for a living?” Hadn’t he mentioned something about acting classes just yesterday?

Mike shrugged. “Why should I do one sole thing my entire life?”

“I can’t stop feeling there’s a reason we’re habitually a step behind.” Hange was pacing in the room. Suddenly, she stopped and snapped her head at Mike. “Mike. Don’t inform the WCO about the yacht location.”

“Okay?”

“Thanks. And Levi…” Her pleading gaze met him. “Just trust me on this. Erwin didn’t see the invitation before, right? So just don’t tell your people and I won’t tell mine. At least until we’re already on our way there.”

“… Fine,” Levi said after a few uncomfortable seconds. He didn’t fancy the idea; in fact, he did it so little that in the end, he couldn’t keep his word.

Erwin hadn’t known much about the Yacht party. He’d only asked for a favor and received the invitation, but never held it in his hands. Yet he knew of its existence and Levi’s future assistance, so he couldn’t possibly keep him in the dark. Therefore, when he called, Levi left the room and the prying ears to provide his report. Sharing his whereabouts with his boss and obeying, as he must have been doing all these days, was somewhat relieving.

That’s why he’s currently relaxed. A weight is off of his back. He’s finally doing his duty, behaving as the eldian agent he is. And they’re about to take a massive step toward the end of this, so, yeah.

It’s a good night, isn’t it?

Following the flow of people, they pass the deck and enter a barely illuminated hall. Underneath their feet, bright green and blue water blend, and in each corner rests a vertical green water tank with a woman swimming and dancing inside. It must be some kind of android or hyper-realistic projection, obviously. No one would survive that long without oxygen.

In the center is the bar, whose ceiling is surrounded by green lights. Although there are tables with velvet lounges, they move to the bar—or struggle to do it. They can’t take a step without running into someone with increasingly extravagant and phosphorescent makeup; gleaming yellow, purple, and blue lipsticks glowing in the darkness. Despite the coolness outside and the air conditioning inside, Levi feels sweat trickling down the back of his neck.

Hange and he finally make it to the bar, where Levi glares at the seats. Is everyone a fucking giant, or what? Hange stifles a laugh at his face while he hoists himself onto the too-high stoll next to her.

“This is the biggest yacht I’ve been into,” Levi comments, glancing at the high ceiling and the breadth of the place; and he hasn’t even seen the room’s section, whose corridor he can catch a glimpse of on the other side. Maybe someday he’ll come to one invited for real.

“This is the only yacht I’ve been into.” Hange snatches a wine glass from a waiter’s tray and empties it at once. Takes another one. “Want some?”

Levi shakes his head and asks for a glass of water from the barman. Just when she’s about to booze the drink, he plucks it. The last thing they need right now is alcohol.

“Boo! I won’t get drunk!” She complains and retrieves it. “It tastes great…” Another waiter walks by, and Hange steals yet another drink before Levi can react. She offers it to him. “Want to taste it?”

Levi takes a sip and then drinks it in one gulp. “Now we should focus.”

She nods, and then mutters, “You look great.”

Heat consumes him from all around. “Ahh… thanks. You… too,” he says, sounding strangled.

I look great, he tells himself. She’s plainly stating a fact. Nothing else. To make himself think about something else, he turns to the bar and sips his water, examining all bottles displayed. Some must be worth more money than himself.

Hange blows a short breath. “Alright. It’s that one over there, yes? He looks like Tybur-father, at least.” Her chin gestures to the left, where three men in tailored suits huddle around another man with long, blond hair and a charismatic smile.

“By the way everybody glances at him,” Levi says, observing the people at the party, “I’m inclined to agree.”

Erwin told him the Tybur heir looked much like his father, and he has no siblings, so…

“I’ll go now, then.” She swivels, but Levi puts a hand on her arm before she leaves.

With Mike, they went over the plan hundreds of times: Hange merely has to butter up Tybur long enough to get his phone cloned. With that, they’ll get knowledge of his locations and conversations. Simple enough.

Only, Levi hadn’t paused to think what Hange would have to put up with, just to entertain that man—up to now.

“I…”

A red tailored suit hogs Levi’s vision. He looks up.

Argh.

He knew there was a reason why the air suddenly reeked acridly.

Hange’s hand flies to her chest. “Zeke! What are you doing here?”

A bottle of beer dangles from Zeke’s fingertips as he looks at Hange from head to toe. Levi feels a weird drop inside his chest and straightens. What the hell is he doing here?

Zeke shares a smile that dsplays the teeth, his hair combed back with something that stiffens it and makes it shine. “You told me you’ll come here and I was nearby. I thought backup wouldn’t hurt.”

Hange takes a sharp breath in, gaining a squint from Levi.

When did she tell him the location? How close was he? How did he even get in? Could whatever he was doing have something to do with Eldia? Erwin doesn’t swallow the ‘family matters’ explanation; he theorizes Zeke is secretly working on something relating to their war, something shitty. Levi can’t disagree, but is aware his personal bias is an influencing force in his opinion. Better said, it most surely is.

“Oh, really? I merely told you half an hour ago,” she says, her voice unnaturally monotone. Levi has spent so much time observing her, deciphering the nuances in her expressions to later use against her, that he can’t but notice how something in her face is… off.

Zeke grabs her hand and kisses her knuckles. “By all means, I couldn’t let you take such a risk without me around.”

She wraps her arms around his neck. Levi adopts a sullen look while hot spots burn in his stomach. They don’t have time for this bullshit! Hange needs to get to Tybur as soon as possible, not to fraternize. They’re losing momentum.

Hange separates. “Thanks for coming. You’ve seen Tybur before?” She inquires, still sounding flat.

“No, no. Yet I’m sure you won’t have a problem with him—all the time we had to sweeten those tycoons will finally pay off.”

She responds with a tiny smile. Levi’s mind stirs under the new pictures parading behind his eyes, of Hange and Zeke attending fancy parties, of them working together toward their shared goal, Marley. How many memories do they share that he’d never know about? Not that it’s important at all, it’s just… a little annoying.

“I’ll go now, then.” Hange tips back the rest of her drink. Looks ahead, betraying her emotions, which summarize as: quite frightened.

Levi takes her elbow aside. Draws her closer and inclines to her ear, all but touching it. “Are you okay? Don’t do anything too uncomfortable, we can always find another way. And… don’t you dare die tonight,” he whispers at her neck. “I’ll be close.”

She quivers. “I know… See you later.”

For some reason, her phrasing evokes a sense of dread to his chest. Levi empties his water glass as she slides to Tybur, her spine firm and confident, dress slipping behind her and gleaming with the greenness of the floor.

“Wonderful, right?” Zeke asks, glowering at him with contempt.

Hange or the party? Levi decides to interpret it the easier way, and spits, “Snob’s party.”

Zeke bursts a laugh. “So, tell me, Ackerman. How much do you tell your superior? Erwin’s his name, I believe?”

Levi’s face automatically fades to neutral. What is he getting to? “Uh?”

Despite the loud music, Hange’s laugh reaches his ears, followed by Tybur’s. Levi hopes it’s a good sign.

“I’ve been investigating,” Zeke explains. I couldn’t care less, Levi thinks and huffs. “Part of my work is knowing everything that’s happening everywhere, and I just tripped over something beyond interesting. Seems like the ones who have been trying so hard to kill our dear Hange are related to Eldia.”

Levi paralyzes. “That’s… impossible,” he states, though lacking conviction.

“It truly isn’t. I actually know for a fact that Eldia has been the one giving the orders.”

Levi’s mind speeds.

No. They wouldn’t, would they?

Yes, they would.

But without notifying me?

Levi’s brain goes memory after memory to prove Zeke wrong. He remembers the call after meeting The Ripper, Erwin ordering him to let her die and even to help if necessary. Everything sorts itself in his brain; how Erwin knew about the bridge without him mentioning it, how familiar the man he fought with was, how angry Erwin got with Levi’s interference… The reality hits him and settles like acid in his gut.

“You honestly didn’t know?” Zeke smirks. “Didn’t they initially send you for that?” The little alcohol Levi drank sloshes around his stomach. Levi’s eyes throw flames at the other man, whose curled mouth and ugly beard and ridiculous glasses… “Oh, you like them?” Zeke takes his glasses off. “Hange made them for me, years ago. Aren’t they special? Just like her, and us, of course.”

Levi glances at Hange, whose hands wave while speaking with Tybur. Her head tilts the slightest bit to a side to hear him with attention—and she always pays attention, Levi realizes. Colorful light dances over her smooth skin as her pinkish and silky lips curve into a smile.

Unable to look longer, he gives her his back and supports his weight on the bar counter. The acid recedes, but it’s replaced by a dead weight pulling him down.

Yes, they did it. He’s sure.

Eldia desires her death above everything, and he knew it all this time.

Could that mean they’re also behind the bombs?

No, Levi instantly rejects. That would be going too far, even for them. He’d never doubt his people, not even for a second, on something of that scale. And about this… He can’t blame them for trying to kill her. It’s their job. His job. Constantly out of her home’s protection, she’s an easy target: someone dangerous in need of extermination. It’s a logical tactic he should have recognized sooner. An understandable one, but—

Wait.

Levi’s muscles freeze. He leans on the bar counter…

We need to get out of here.

He swivels. Hange is nowhere in sight, and neither is Zeke or even Tybur. Where did they fucking go? He goes straight to the dancing crowd, head snapping from side to side in search of a glimpse of her. Bodies push and pull him, their body odors asphyxiating him from all around.

She’s not here.

He drags himself out of the throng and hurries to the door through which they entered. Outside, couples are looking at the vast ocean before them, smiles on their faces. Levi throws himself to the rail. His breathing comes faster and faster until he’s gasping. He looks up at the same ocean which seems to be so beautiful to the others. To him, it’s only one thing: deadly.

Erwin knows they’re here.

They’re here, isolated in a yacht in the middle of this trashy body of water with no easy way out. Only sea and more sea surrounds them. The perfect place to attack, without reinforcements or anything able to aid her in time.

Levi grips the icy rail with force. How could Erwin keep him in the dark about this?

He dashes back inside. Pads down the hall to the room corridor, where the men who used to be with Tybur are chatting.

“Where are they?” Levi spits to them.

“Who?”

Levi seizes a man by the neck and pins him against the wall, lifting him off the ground. The man’s wine glass falls to the ground and shatters with a crash.

Many heads turn at the disturbance, their wary eyes on Levi. He doesn’t care. Fuck anonymity.

“Where. Are. They? Tybur and the person he just met! Which room?”

“Whoa, calm down buddy.” The man raises his hands in surrender. “No idea!”

Hange and Tybur must be in one of the rooms, but which one? Levi lets the man go. Sweeps the corridor. He hears nothing. Jolts the doors to find them all locked. Does he have time to break into every single one?

Against Tybur and whoever dares to confront her, Hange can handle herself just fine—he knows it. But Erwin’s men… some of them even trained with him. She wouldn’t be able to hold on forever—not without a weapon, a place to run, or a warning. Not alone.

At the end of the corridor opens another hall, this one elegantly adorned with a gold chandelier hanging on the ceiling, tables with white tablecloths, and velvet crimson curtains on the walls. Elegant people wander around; dark black hair, long tanned neck, thin-fabric dress, red hair, green suit… None is Hange.

Where is she?

Levi advances, pulse elevating. His finger taps his thigh uncontrollably as he looks around, and around and around at the dozens of faces that look the same.

Suddenly, a door opens from the corridor he just left, and a disheveled Hange comes into view along with Tybur. Levi stops breathing, his body going limp at her sight. His hand covers his forehead to recover.

She’s fine, and he found her. Now they can get the hell out of here.

A touch of red infuses her cheeks as she nods at something Tybur is muttering. The man hands her a wine glass, and she’s accepting it with a grin the second she encounters Levi’s gaze. Hange glances at Levi over the rim of the cup, eyes smiling; discreetly, she gives him a thumbs-up, communicating her success. Levi can only look at her from a distance.

All this time, his people have been the ones trying to hurt her.

Whatever his expression is, it manages to wipe the grin off her face. She opens her mouth as if to say something, and...

The sound of a gunshot reverberates through the room, stunning everyone present. Screams. Running. Panic.

Levi doesn’t move. He stands in the same spot, watching as Hange’s eyebrows begin to crease and her skin pales, as her hand reaches to hold her side and redness drips to the floor.

Tybur reacts first. He pulls Hange’s arm and bodyguards appear out of nowhere to spread around them, forming a protective wall that moves in unison towards Levi’s opposite direction.

Their departure wakes him up.

He rushes towards them, running into the panicked crowd that drives him in the opposite direction. And then, men dressed in brown, a badge he now recognizes, pour into the hall. Levi tries to run away, but in his frenzy, the men detect him and lunge at him.

They surround him. Levi steps back until slamming into a table.

“Don’t let him interfere,” a tall, masked woman commands. Accompanied by many others, she slips into Hange’s direction. The remaining half encircles Levi. His mind tries to find a way out without harming them. It’s his people, after all, even when they don’t understand that she matters. That she can save this fucking world if only they let her.

He should allow them to do their job and do his, which is following orders, the ones that stipulate he must do nothing. He’s sick of failing them, but—

The boom of more gunshots resounds loud and potent in his ears.

Levi just can’t let them.

He drops to the floor and crawls back under the table. The men charge at him. Too soon, Levi jumps to his feet at the other side and pushes the table to them. He needs to get out of here, not to hurt them. Just get to her.

Levi bolts to the room’s corridor. But someone grips his shoulders and sends him spiraling against a wall.

The men must have orders not to injure him seriously, because instead of pulling out his gun, this agent uses a dagger. Aims at Levi’s arm. Moving more swiftly than the man’s reflexes, Levi easily ditches the attack. Kicks the man on the chin. On the neck.

Another agent grips him from behind and tries to tie his arms. Levi dips his heels on the carpet and rotates the man over his back and to the floor.

The others are struggling to get to him, stopped by the frightened people rushing around.

One frees from the crowd. Levi takes a food tray and throws it like a frisbee to his head. It knocks him with a metallic sound, and the man falls. Levi ducks, narrowly avoiding the punch of another agent, who collapses from the impetus. Another directs a dagger straight to his head—perhaps they weren’t ordered to avoid anything. Levi grabs the heavy curtain behind him and manages to stop it, trapping the dagger in the material and snatching it from the man. Levi points the dagger at them, yet more and more come to encircle him.

Levi glances back. The curtains must cover something, right? He slides them open. Even though he’s no expert in the matter, the glass in front of him looks thin. Fragile. He grasps a chair as the men get closer and closer. Hurls it at the window, breaking it with a loud crack followed by tiny tinkles. Levi jumps out the window and runs as fast as he can. Footsteps soon rumble behind him, but not many people are faster than him.

He strides into the hall where the bar is. It’s deserted.

They are not here.

But they came in this direction, so they must be nearby.

Levi seals the door behind him, blocking it with tables. It shudders with every hit from the men outside, not budging. Across from him, a door is ajar, swinging in the wind. They must have gone that way.

From his peripheral view, Levi catches sight of a stocky man in a dark suit coming at speed. Levi lunges toward the swinging door, but the man charges first. He crushes Levi with his heavyweight, knocking him to the floor. Levi’s forehead hits and bounces off the glass that covers the glittering green water on the floor, causing a break in the surface. His head spins, a metallic taste filling his mouth.

Levi tries to get rid of the weight, but it’s too much for him. He can’t move, and with difficulty manages to breathe. He feels something hard against his head and hears the familiar click of a gun.

“Don’t move,” the person above him orders.

And Levi recognizes the voice.

From the doorway, the icy wind brings whinings and a cacophony of gunfire. Louder screams explode in the air, halting his heart.

They’re Hange’s.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #levi x hange #levi x hanji #levi ackerman #hange zoe #aot #aot fanfiction #snk #mine #myfics #OTNOD #multichapter

17 notes · View notes