Levi leaned back in his chair comfortably and sipped his tea. The conference room was empty, save for himself and Hanji, who was sitting near him and flipping through a large book. Hanji paused suddenly, adjusted her glasses, and closed the book, sighing.
"I need a new book." She said. She pushed her teacup toward the middle of the table, where the tea pot and a small bowl of mints were sitting, and got up. She left her chair pushed away from the table and left the room. Levi leaned forward and grabbed the tea pot, refilled his cup, then put it back where it had been. He looked at the bowl of mints, then took one and popped it into his mouth curiously.
Levi realized immediately that whatever the round white objects were, they certainly weren't mints. It dissolved in his mouth, leaving behind a dry and chalky taste. He choked and took a gulp of tea to wash it down. Levi looked up as Hanji came back in the room, carrying three large books.
"Ignore the mess in there," she dumped the books on the table and plopped back down into her chair, "the bookshelf tried to attack me, and..." Hanji suddenly noticed Levi's expression, and the bowl on the table that was slightly out of place. "You did not just eat one of those..."
"What kind of mints are these?" Levi asked, picking up the bowl. Hanji leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands.
"Levi...those aren't mints." she said.
"Well then, what are they?" Levi asked.
"Urinary Tract Inhibitors." Hanji said simply. Levi stared at her for a minute.
"Excuse me?"
"They keep you from peeing." Hanji explained. "Like, full-on prevent it. So our new members don't ruin their uniforms when they see a titan." She covered her mouth with her hand, a weird scrunched-up expression on her face.
"For how long?" Levi asked.
"Hours...possibly a day." Hanji shrugged, struggling to maintain a straight face.
"A full day?" Levi exclaimed. He wasn't completely sure how Hanji's experiment worked, but he was not too keen on the idea of holding his urine for a full day. Hanji finally lost it, burying her face in her arms on the table and laughing hysterically. "This is not funny!"
"Why?" Hanji giggled, "Why would you just eat something sitting out like that?"
"Because normal people don't leave experiments laying around!" Levi glared at her angrily. Hanji's laughter turned to high-pitched giggles and snorts, then tapered off.
"Are you angry?" she looked up and started giggling again at Levi's expression. Levi groaned in frustration and rested his head in his hands.
"What exactly do you mean by 'prevent it'?" Levi asked.
"Well, your kidneys and bladder still function, of course, but your sphincter muscles clench up. It makes it impossible for your bladder to empty." Hanji straightened up, adjusting her crooked glasses.
"Why would you make something like that?" Levi asked.
"I just told you!" Hanji giggled again, then suddenly looked serious. "If you were smart, you would go now before it hits your system."
"Fine." Levi got up from the table and left the room, heading for the bathroom down the hall. He kind of needed to go anyway.
When he returned to the conference room, Hanji was reading again. Levi sat down in the chair he had been sitting in earlier.
"Didja go?" Hanji asked, glancing up from her book.
"Yes." Levi pushed his tea cup away and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Hanji buried her face behind her book, trying not to giggle. "This isn't funny. Were you seriously going to give these to the new recruits?"
"Of course not." Hanji licked her finger and turned a page. "They haven't been tested yet..." Levi groaned.
"Perfect..."
"Don't worry, it'll be out of your system before you know it." Hanji said, smiling at him reassuringly.
"And if it takes a whole day?"
"Um..Don't think about running water?" she suggested.
"Oh, that's helpful." Levi said bitterly. Hanji shrugged and returned to her book.
They passed several hours in silence. As time wore on, Levi struggled to maintain a relaxed position. The tea he had been drinking was making it's way through his system, and he realized he was actually needing to fidget. His bladder was definitely an annoyance, and Levi felt anxious. Just how long is this going to last? He wondered.
"So..." Levi finally broke the silence, needing a distraction. Hanji looked up from her book, light from the gas lamps around the room glinting off her glasses. "What made you come up with the idea to make this in the first place?"
"Well..." Hanji closed her book, "think about it. Isn't it a bother needing to piss while you're on duty? Fighting titans?"
"Yes, but don't you think this is a little extreme?"
"Levi...look who you're talking to." Hanji said. Levi sighed. Hanji always had good intentions, but she tended to go overboard with things.
"Still..." Levi shifted in his seat, trying to find a position that didn't put pressure on his bladder, "this seems like it'll end up being more bothersome."
"That's why things go through test runs first." Hanji shifted her gaze, looking at the table thoughtfully. "I was going to try it on Moblit..."
"Tch, you should try it on him too anyway."
"Hmmm...No, not my poor Moblit...He has a spastic bladder." Hanji picked up her teacup and took a sip from it. Levi watched her, annoyed. He felt thirsty, but didn't want to add anything else to his bladder if he was unable to empty it.
"You just gonna sit here all day?" he asked.
"I want to observe you." Hanji said, peering at him over the rim of her cup.
"Why."
"To see how those tablets work, of course!" She leaned over suddenly and jabbed a finger into his bladder. Levi didn't flinch, but the jab definitely worsened the urge. "Nothing yet, huh?" Levi scowled at her and stood up.
"I'm going to see if it's even working." He said, storming out. He sincerely wished they didn't. His bladder was already full, and he had no idea how long he could bear not being able to pee.
"Great idea!" Hanji followed him, jogging to keep up at first. Levi entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
"You are not following me in here." Levi said, locking it. Hanji was silent for a minute.
"Wouldn't be the first time, you know!" she called. Levi rolled his eyes and stood in front of the toilet. He undid his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, then pulled himself out and waited. And waited, and waited... "You fall in, shorty?" Hanji called. "Did Mike leave the seat up again?" Levi ignored her, trying to relax his sphincter muscles. But still, nothing happened. A few minutes passed, and Levi gave up. He just couldn't go, and trying was making him need to go even more. He tucked himself back into his underwear, zipped and buttoned his pants, buckled his belt, and washed his hands.
Hanji was waiting right outside the door when he opened it, looking like she was about to laugh again.
"I told you..." she said. Levi glared at her.
"They work. Happy?" Levi shifted his weight uncomfortably. Hanji grinned. Levi scowled and pushed past her. Instead of going back to the conference room, however, he went into a small sitting room that was closer to the bathroom. The room was empty, thanks to a good chunk of the Scout Regiment being out training the new recruits. Any other senior members were probably resting, or getting paperwork done. Levi sat down on one of the couches and crossed his legs. Hanji walked over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "This better not last more than a few hours..." he muttered.
"Levi, I can't guarantee anything." Hanji watched his occasional movements and barely noticeable fidgeting. "Just sit back and bask in the glory of the fact that you did this to yourself, and it wasn't my fault." She smiled. "It feels good when it's not my fault."
"It is your fault, four-eyes. You left them sitting out."
"You were dumb enough to eat one. You're lucky they were even edible to begin with." Hanji ruffled his hair. Levi sighed.
"Well, hope this helps your stupid experiment..." he muttered sarcastically.
"Just relax, Levi." Hanji sat down in a chair near him, still watching him. Levi tried to. He leaned back and stretched out his legs, trying his best to get comfortable.
A couple of hours later, Levi was the farthest from relaxed and comfortable he could possibly be. He sat stiffly, his legs tightly crossed and his back straight as a rod. His bladder was more than full now, stretched out to accommodate it's contents, and throbbing.
"Feeling okay over there?" Hanji asked.
"Not really." Levi shifted suddenly. His bladder begged for release, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Hanji got up from her seat and walked over to sit down next to Levi.
"How bad?" she asked, poking his bladder. Levi flinched and smacked her hand away.
"It's more than just an annoyance..." Levi said. Hanji looked at him, concerned.
"You mean it hurts?" she asked.
"A bit, yeah..." Levi said. Hanji shook her head.
"No, no, it's not supposed to hurt...I need to take a look at this..."
"Huh?" Levi gave her a questioning look. Before Levi could react, Hanji grabbed his ankles and roughly pulled his legs up onto the couch, then scooted him toward her so he was in a laying position. She settled her weight onto his legs and reached for his belt. "Hey!" Levi sat up and tried to push her off.
"Hold still!" Hanji fought him, finally getting him to fall back into a laying position when she put pressure on his bladder while unbuckling his belt. Levi groaned and fell back onto the couch. "Don't worry...You can keep your pants on..." Hanji got his belt undone and unbuttoned his pants.
"Get off me!" Levi demanded, trying to sit up again. Hanji grabbed hims arms and pinned them down.
"Levi, relax. Unless you want this to be irreversible..." Levi froze. "Just hold still." Hanji rolled up his shirt carefully, looking at his abdomen. She could see how full his bladder was. There was a definite bulge poking out from his lower abdomen, pushing against the waistband of his pants enough that the button side separated from side with the buttonhole. Levi winced as she traced her fingers over the bulge. "Hm..." She pressed down on various spots on his lower abdomen, then traced her fingers down his hip bones. "Does this hurt?" she asked. Levi shook his head. "Okay, good." Hanji got off of him. Levi sat up slowly, loosely buckling his belt.
"What were you looking for?" he asked.
"I was making sure your sphincter muscles didn't fuse together." She sat down next to him. "The good news is they aren't fused. The bad news is, you will probably have a killer infection after this..."
"Great..." Levi crossed his legs again and leaned back.
"I'm so sorry, Levi..." Hanji covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a giggle. Levi glared at her.
"This isn't funny, four-eyes."
"I laugh when I can't cope, Levi..." Hanji sighed. "I'm actually crying on the inside." She rested her head on her knees. "I broke the captaaaaain." She whined, her words muffled.
"Tch. I'm not broken, Hanji..." Hanji sat up quickly.
"You're right. Could have been worse. Could have been a different kind of inhibitor. Could have sterilized you."
"And why would you make that kind of inhibitor in the first place?" Levi asked. He didn't really care that much, he just wanted to keep her talking. Her babbling was a distraction from his bladder.
"Oh, I haven't made it. Not yet, anyway. But think about it," she looked at him, moving her arms excitedly as she talked, "men going to serve as guards for the royal family...Would you rather be castrated or just take a pill?"
"Personally, I'd rather not do either." Levi paused, then, when Hanji still stared at him expectantly, said, "But I suppose taking a pill is better than castration."
"Hm...I'll keep that in mind..." Hanji grinned at him. Levi shook his head and fidgeted slightly, his bladder throbbing.
"Do you think it could have worn off by now?" he asked. Hanji scooted closer, then pressed down on his bladder. Levi grunted in pain and twisted away. "Did you wet yourself?" Hanji asked. Levi groaned quietly, his bladder throbbing painfully. "Levi?" Levi turned to her, glaring at her angrily.
"Does it look like I wet myself?!" he growled.
"Then no, it hasn't worn off." Hanji said. Levi groaned and leaned back again. "Sorry little guy." Hanji reached over and rubbed his stomach. Levi pushed her hand away. "You'll find it in your heart to forgive me." Hanji smiled. Levi sighed and tilted his head to look at her. He was definitely annoyed with her at the moment, but he had always liked Hanji, even if he didn't really show it. Sure she was messy, annoying, eccentric, and maybe a bit on the crazy side, but she was passionate, caring, and she always had good intentions.
"Maybe." Levi said. "After all of this is over." He glanced up as Hanji rose from her seat. "Where are you going?" he asked. She said nothing, already out the door. Hanji returned a few minutes later, carrying an ice pack. She handed it to him. "What's this for?"
"The throbbing." she explained.
"I don't think putting ice on it is going to help..."
"You're going to need it. I'm going to have to fix this..." Hanji snapped on some gloves, "maually." Levi looked at her, apprehensive.
"How, exactly?"
"You'll see. Let's go to my lab." She waited for Levi to get up, then left the room and started down the hall. Levi followed, walking a bit slower than usual from all the liquid sloshing around in his bladder. Hanji was bustling around the room when he entered her lab, placing a pillow on a gurney in the center of the room before walking over to a cupboard. "Go ahead and lay down." Hanji said, pointing at the gurney. Levi watched her for a minute, still standing in the doorway.
"Just what exactly are you going to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to have to stimulate the muscles myself." Hanji said. She placed an empty bucket on the floor near the gurney and set a pitcher of water on the table she had pushed toward the middle of the room. Levi looked at the setup, wondering just how far Hanji would go to get him to empty his bladder. "Warning you now, I have no idea what I'm doing." Hanji dug through a box on her desk. Levi sighed.
"Let me try again before I let you try something crazy..." Levi put the ice pack on a table and left Hanji's lab, walking to the bathroom across the hall. He entered, locking the door behind him, and positioned himself in front of the toilet. He relaxed and waited, staring at the wall. His bladder throbbed painfully, but still nothing happened. He gave it a few minutes, then gave up. His sphincter muscles simply refused to budge.
Hanji was draping a towel across the middle of the gurney when Levi re-entered her lab. He made his way over to her, then stopped by the gurney, shifting and fidgeting while he stood there. Hanji looked at him sympathetically.
"Alright. Get your scrawny butt up here and let's see if we can make you feel better." Hanji patted the pillow. Levi got up onto the gurney, laying down on his back. Hanji leaned over him and unbuckled his belt, then pulled his shirt up. She turned to the pitcher and dunked a cloth into it. Levi closed his eyes, bracing himself as she laid a warm wet cloth across his lower abdomen. Levi relaxed at first, the heat easing the throbs from his bladder, but started squirming a bit when it increased his urge. "The bucket is right there if you think you're going to go." Hanji said, flipping the cloth over. Levi nodded, watching Hanji as she dipped the cloth back into the water. She took it back out, then held it over Levi's lower abdomen, letting the excess water drip onto his stomach and waistband of his pants. She twisted the cloth, squeezing more water onto him. Some of the liquid managed to soak into the crotch of his pants. Levi sat up quickly and shifted toward the edge of the gurney, feeling like he was about to wet himself. But the sensation disappeared as quickly as it had come, and he was back to just feeling his bladder throbbing. Hanji looked at him questioningly.
"False alarm." Levi laid back down.
"Alright..." Hanji dunked her hands in the pitcher for a few moments, then began massaging Levi's abdomen. She smirked suddenly.
"What are you smirking about, four-eyes?" Levi asked. He grimaced as Hanji put pressure on his bladder for a moment.
"You have really nice abs..." she said. Levi stared at her.
"Is this...really an appropriate time to mention that?" he asked. Hanji opened her mouth to respond, then turned her head when she heard someone enter the room. Moblit walked in, holding a mess of papers.
"Hey, Hanji, I was won-" Moblit went silent mid-sentence, staring at Levi and Hanji in confusion. "Uh..." Hanji stared at him, her mouth set in a grim line as she tried not to laugh. Moblit stared back for a minute, then turned around and walked back out quickly.
"I'll swear him to secrecy." Hanji said, continuing to massage Levi's abdomen. He sighed. He appreciated Hanji trying to help, but so far she was just making him feel worse.
"You should probably get rid of the rest those tablets..." he said.
"All in due time."
"Good, because this would be a lot more distracting and inconvenient in battle than just stopping to piss."
"Would you like me to hire you a taste tester?" Hanji grinned. "So you won't go popping random things in your mouth?"
"No." Levi closed his eyes and tried to relax as Hanji massaged, but when she pushed against his bladder again briefly he couldn't take it anymore. He pushed her hand off and sat up.
"Gonna try to go?" Hanji asked. Levi nodded and stood, positioning himself in front of the bucket and keeping his back to Hanji. He exhaled slowly and tried to relax his sphincter muscles again. Once again, nothing happened. He grit his teeth. After a few minutes, he heard Hanji sigh. "Well, I could always cath you..." she said.
"Absolutely not." Levi tucked himself back into his underwear and zipped his pants.
"What about a hot bath?" Hanji asked. Levi turned toward her and tucked his shirt in.
"If you think it'll help..." he said.
"Onward, then." Hanji led him out of her lab, walking upstairs toward the living quarters. They passed the many rooms that belonged to the new recruits before they got to the rooms at the end of the hall the older members of the Scout Regiment slept in. Hanji pushed open the door to Levi's room, which had its own private bathroom. Levi shut the door behind them and followed Hanji into the bathroom, where she was already running a bath. He stepped back into his room to strip out of everything but his uniform pants, and grabbed a pair of loose black pants out of his dresser. When he returned to the bathroom, the bath was filled. Levi set the pair of clean pants on the bathroom counter and waited for Hanji to turn around before he stripped out of his pants and underwear and got into the tub of hot, bubbly water. Hanji sat down on the floor next to the tub, watching Levi's expression.
"Try to go in the water." she said.
"Gross..." Levi muttered. But the hot water was too tempting, and Levi was so desperate he probably would have gone anywhere if his sphincter muscles would let him. He leaned his head back against the the edge of the tub, relaxing. Hanji positioned herself behind him and began rubbing his shoulders. Levi actually began to feel a little better, to his surprise. The heat eased the pain in his bladder, though he still hadn't managed to empty it. But, though it wasn't quite as painful, he still desperately needed to pee, and the hot water made the urge to go even stronger. At first he merely relaxed, hoping his sphincter muscles would relax as well. When they didn't, he bore down on his pelvic muscles, trying to force the urine out. But still, they wouldn't budge. He gave up, sighing.
"Nothing..." he said quietly. Hanji sighed in defeat. Levi sat up a bit and propped his left elbow against the edge of the tub, resting his head in his hand. "This is just..." he shook his head, "you know what, keep those tablets. You could probably use them to torture someone." He shifted slightly, tilting his hips forward and tensing his abdominal muscles, trying every trick he knew to put more strain on his bladder to try to force his sphincter muscles open. "Still nothing..." He relaxed his muscles. Hanji rested her cheek on top of his head.
"I'm wracking my brain here, Levi..." she said. Levi shifted again, pulling one of his legs toward him. His right knee stuck out of the water now, and his elevated thigh was putting pressure against his bladder. He groaned, frustrated.
"No rush or anything, four-eyes." He growled. His bladder was becoming painful again. Levi stretched his legs out and reached up, ruffling Hanji's ponytail. He knew he had sounded harsher than he had intended. Hanji leaned a little closer, laying her chin on his shoulder and resting her head in the crook of his neck.
"Mmm...this is kind of nice, despite everything..." Hanji said, inhaling his scent. "One day we'll be laughing at this." Levi glanced at her, and saw that her glasses were fogging up from the heat of the bath.
"One day, maybe." He closed his eyes and relaxed, breathing slowly and trying to let his bladder empty on it's own. It was kind of nice, in a way. Despite the terrible circumstances, he was at least getting to spend some time with Hanji. His mind wandered, and he wondered vaguely whether he could convince Hanji to get into the bath with him. Mostly because her hair was extremely greasy and it was irritating him. Mostly.
Levi's thoughts were interrupted by a very sudden, very sharp pain in his bladder. He cursed under his breath and sat up quickly, his abdominal muscles tensing.
"Levi?" Hanji watched him anxiously. "What's wrong?" Levi shifted, wrapping his arms around his lower abdomen and leaning forward. The pain wasn't fading. His bladder was already so full, and whatever tea and other liquids he had drank earlier were still making their way there as well. His bladder felt stretched beyond what it ever should be, and he was suddenly in so much pain he felt sick to his stomach.
"It hurts..." Levi spoke through clenched teeth. Hanji moved around the side of the tub, digging around in the back pocket of her pants.
"Well, here...Let me..." Hanji suddenly pulled a large syringe and needle out of her pocket. She uncapped the needle and jabbed it into a spot a few inches above Levi's left hip bone. Levi cried out in surprise and looked at her, pained and bewildered. "I just gave you a horse tranquilizer." Hanji explained. Her words barely registered with Levi, who was already feeling sleepy and out of it. He passed out, his head lolling forward into the water. Hanji grabbed his shoulders and moved him so he was half-floating on his back, then sat behind the tub again, holding his head in her hands to keep him from drowning. "If that doesn't relax every muscle in his body, I don't know what will." Hanji watched Levi closely, watching for any signs of urination and making sure he continued to breathe. "Come on...empty your bladder already..." she muttered to herself. She glanced down at Levi's lower abdomen, and was startled to see that the bulge from his bladder hadn't shrunk at all. Before she could try any other method to get his bladder to empty, however, she heard a sleepy moan from him.
Levi was extremely groggy. He felt like he was floating, wrapped in a cocoon of warmth. A wet cocoon. A wet cocoon that did not feel very good with the enormous pressure in his lower abdomen. He moaned sleepily, pushing against his sphincter muscles and trying to get rid of the pressure inside him. Nothing happened. He blinked slowly, squirming and shifting. He had never had to pee this badly in his entire life.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Hanji leaned over him, her expression anxious. "This would've put down a Clydesdale three times his size! He's lucky his heart hasn't stopped! " Levi looked up at her, blinking slowly to get her into focus.
"Hey. Four-eyes." Hanji looked at him, completely bewildered.
"Levi? You okay?" she asked. Levi grimaced at a sharp throb from his bladder, then watched Hanji. She looked frazzled, her glasses fogged up and slightly crooked, her hair a greasy and frizzy mess, and the ends of her sleeves were wet. She looked worried. Levi didn't want her to be worried. He reached up and grabbed her by her messy ponytail, tugging her head closer to his. Hanji didn't fight him. Her bangs dipped into the water, and she watched Levi, transfixed. Levi gave one more tug, pulling her close enough to press his lips against hers. Hanji tensed, flailing at first and almost falling into the water, then relaxed and leaned into the kiss. She pulled away when Levi's jaw slackened, his hand sliding from her head and falling into the water. "L-levi?" she asked. Levi laughed quietly, then grimaced. Hanji stared at him, dumbfounded. Levi lay in the water for a while, sleepy. He wondered what was keeping him from sleeping when another sharp pain in his bladder hit him.
"Ooh..." he sat up and leaned forward, holding his stomach. He winced at a shooting pain in his lower back, hardly aware that Hanji was calling his name, and slumped sideways. Levi shook his head, trying to clear it.
"...and how are you still conscious?!" Hanji leaned over him, shaking her head. "Never mind. Just please empty your bladder so I can get you out of there before you drown." Levi was confused. He was trying to empty his bladder, but nothing was happening. Hanji groaned, frustrated. "Okay..." She gently shifted him so that he was no longer balled up. "I am so, so sorry for this..." she thrust her fist into the water, punching Levi as hard as she could in the bladder. Levi yelled in pain and immediately curled up, resting his head on his knees and holding his stomach. The blow caused the worst pain in his bladder he had felt yet, and more shooting pains in his lower back. He breathed shallowly, feeling like he was going to be sick. "Sorry!"
"Hanji..." Levi groaned. "I can't..."
"Levi I am so sorry!" Hanji said anxiously.
"Turn around..." Levi straightened out slowly and crawled out of the tub, stumbling and almost falling over as he did so. He felt dizzy, and he swayed slightly where he stood as he somewhat dried himself and slipped into his underwear and pants. "You can look now..." Levi leaned his back against the wall, sliding the waistband of his pants down so that they weren't cutting across his bladder. Hanji turned toward him, looking panicked.
"I am so so sorry, Levi! I really thought that would work!" she glanced at his abdomen, then stared, eyes wide. Levi glanced down, wondering what she looked so shocked about. He saw it immediately; the enormous bulge from his bladder. It was much more noticeable when he was shirtless, and the way he currently had his pants showed it more instead of hiding it. He was shocked too. Levi knew he was desperate to pee and had expected to look a bit bloated, maybe, but not like this. Hanji looked horrified. "C-come on, it shouldn't be too long before they wear off, and the tranquilizer should take the edge off the discomfort..." she picked up the towel off the floor and draped it over Levi's head, noticing his dripping hair. "I still don't know how you're conscious, alive, and mildly coherent after that much medicine, for that big of an animal, used on someone so...not big." Levi leaned his head forward slightly, trying to dry his hair as she talked. "Woah, careful!" Levi realized he was falling forward right before Hanji caught him. Levi wrapped his arms around her waist, dizzy and sleepy. "Here..." Hanji helped him upright, pulling one of his arms around her neck and wrapping her arm around his chest, avoiding putting any pressure on his abdomen. Levi laid his head on her shoulder as she helped him into his room, leading him over to his bed. She lowered him into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, and Levi immediately slumped over. He curled onto his side, holding his stomach again.
"Hanji?"
"Y-yeah?" Hanji placed a bucket on the floor next to the bed.
"Hanji..." Levi groaned. "I'm going to burst..."
"Levi, please don't...Not all over your nice clean bed." she looked at the bulge on his lower abdomen, thinking. "Also, a ruptured bladder will kill you..." Levi blinked sleepily, looking at the bucket. He sat up slowly, then got to his feet and positioned himself in front of it. Hanji put a hand on his shoulder to hold him steady, looking away. Levi waited, his mounting frustration dulled under the veil of sleepiness and confusion. His bladder literally felt like it was going to explode, he had a bucket right in front of him, and yet he still couldn't go. He groaned, tucked himself back into his pants, and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling defeated. Hanji turned toward him and pushed him into a laying position. Levi rested on his back. "It should be wearing off soon." Hanji assured him.
"How soon?" he asked.
"An hour or two...?" Hanji said, uncertain. Levi stared at her for a second, then nodded. Hanji sat down at the end of his bed, looking at his swollen lower abdomen. "Maybe time will pass faster if you try to sleep." she suggested. Levi closed his eyes. He was really sleepy...
He drifted off, half asleep but still aware of Hanji shifting around, moving up toward the head of the bed and settling beside Levi. The tranquilizer made him extremely tired. He knew he'd be sound asleep if it weren't for his throbbing bladder and nausea. Levi was pulled from the sleepy limbo when he felt Hanji running her fingers through his damp hair. He opened his eyes briefly to look at her, then closed them again.
"Hey, four-eyes." he said quietly.
"Yeah, shorty?" she asked. Levi looked up at her and tapped her glasses briefly.
"If my bladder ruptures, I will come back and haunt you and your stupid glasses forever."
"Oh, stop being so over dramatic."
"Tch..."
"Don't you "tch" me, young man. I will rub my greasy hair all over your pillows."
"Oh?" Levi turned his head to look at her better.
"Yep." Hanji rubbed her head all over the other pillow. Levi reached over and flicked her on the cheek, missing her nose.
"Ouch." Hanji tugged on a strand on Levi's hair. Levi reached up and took her hand, and she twined her fingers with his. They lay there for a while, Hanji dozing off and Levi drifting back into his tranquilizer-induced haze.
Levi inhaled sharply, jerked out of his haze by an agonizing pain in his bladder. He turned onto his side and scrambled out of bed. Hanji shifted sleepily behind him.
"Levi?" Hanji asked. Levi ignored her, positioning himself in front of the bucket and desperately hoping the pill had worn off. It hadn't.
"Do you have any other ideas, four-eyes?" Levi asked.
"No..." Hanji muttered. Levi sighed in defeat and tucked himself back into his pants. Levi briefly considered his options, then made his decision. Ten minutes. He thought to himself. If I can't go in ten minutes I'll tell her to cath me and get it over with.
"Well...it has to wear off soon...I'll be right back..." he crossed the room and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Levi got into position in front of the toilet once again and waited. The pain in his bladder had spread, a burning sensation moving across his pelvis and an uncomfortable sting at the base of his manhood. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his body being pulled in and out of the sleepy haze as the tranquilizer and pain fought for his attention. He half fell asleep where he was standing, then was jerked awake by a sensation he had been waiting to feel for hours.
His sphincter muscles released all at once, and urine spilled out of him forcefully. Levi groaned in pain and clutched the counter with one hand. He felt spasm after spasm in his bladder as it emptied, the overfull organ trying to push its contents out as fast as possible. His bladder seemed to take forever to empty, and he didn't even begin to feel any relief until it had shrunk down to it's somewhat normal "I'm really full." state. The pains in his lower back faded, and Levi slipped back into the tranquilizer haze, aided by the incredible relief he was feeling.
Levi came around again as the last few dribbles left his bladder. He let out a long sigh of relief, tucked himself back into his pants, flushed, washed his hands, and exited the bathroom. He held his now flat lower abdomen with one hand, his bladder empty but still throbbing occasionally. Hanji was right, he was definitely going to have a bladder infection after that. Levi flopped onto the bed limply, his face pressed into his pillow and his right leg dangling off the bed.
"Did it work?" Hanji asked anxiously.
"I finally pissed, if that's what you mean." Levi said, his voice muffled.
"Oh thank sweet Maria..." Hanji flopped down next to him. Levi shifted onto his right side, glaring at her.
"Don't leave shit like that laying out..." he closed his eyes. "You have no idea how painful that was..." Hanji grabbed him suddenly, pulling him into a tight hug. Levi was too worn out to even react.
"I'm so sorry!" Hanji exclaimed, sounding like she was on the brink of tears. Levi roused himself from his stupor enough to wrap his arms around her, then relaxed in her embrace. "So so so sorry..." Hanji grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face into her bosom. Levi didn't move. He was fast asleep. Hanji kept apologizing, then, noticing Levi's slow breathing and realizing he was asleep, she shifted, resting her head on a pillow and pulling the blanket over the two of them. She made sure Levi was in a somewhat comfortable position, then slipped off her glasses. She tossed them carefully onto Levi's bedside table and closed her eyes. Levi was probably going to sleep for a while...
