Hanji couldn't help but come up with experiments even when a certain titan was on his day off.
An oddly terrifying gleam reflected off of Hanji's glasses as they stared at Levi in anticipation. Somehow they had lured the captain into their lab before cornering him in an attempt to get him to be tested. Of course, they didn't tell the captain what it was until the two of them arrived at the lab.
"I have figured out a solution to the soldier's sleeping issues! This liquid has the ability to give you the energy you don't obtain from too much lack of sleep! It'll be a life saver for many soldiers on expeditions."
One of Levi's eyes almost twitched in annoyance at the other's excitement. He should've seen this coming when Hanji suspiciously asked for his help. He stood his ground even while they crowded his space, "And why do you need me for this experiment? Go pick on one of the new brats."
Hanji raised a finger in front of his face, grinning even more. "Ah, but you'd be the best person for this! Since your eye bags make you look like you haven't slept for more than a few hours in your life, it would be obvious to see the change," they laughed, unaware that Levi was most definitely giving them a glare that could kill Titans. They just continued, "It will make you feel youthful! What could be wrong with that?"
By now, Hanji had placed both hands to the wall on each side of Levi, successfully blocking him from leaving. Honestly, he could've tried ducking out of the position, but something in Hanji's eyes told him that they would do whatever it took to experiment on him. He didn't want to be tackled to the disgusting floor by them just from trying to leave. He sighed as he weighed his options, slowly losing hope that there was a good way out of this.
When Hanji's face got way too close for comfort while waiting for an answer, he shoved them back and spat out, "Fine, but just a little bit. Don't think I'll be your guinea pig all day. I have real work to do, you know." He couldn't tell if he had just signed himself up for an early death when Hanji practically squealed in delight and jumped, clapping at their success. He was just glad they moved away. Hanji most likely hadn't showered in days, too busy working on their questionable experiments for Eren. He could smell it. Not like he could get Hanji to clean more often. He'd tried that already.
"Okay, so go to that bed over there and sit down while I get the mixture," Hanji said, waving over at the cot by the corner as they practically bounded over to their experiment tables. Levi did as they said, just hoping that this would end quickly… and positively.
He looked down at the messy cot in disgust, noticing how the covers were disheveled. Eren had probably been there for some experiment the other day. He'd probably been on it for many days without the sheets being washed, actually. He obviously distrusted Hanji's idea of cleanliness with a passion. Levi decided to push the top covers all the way to the edge and had just sat down when Hanji suddenly appeared in front of him, a cup in hand with seemed to be a tea bag floating in the drink.
"What? Did you find out that tea is what's going to be our savior?" he asked dryly, taking the cup and looking into it.
Hanji blinked at him owlishly for a moment before bursting into a roar of laughter, "Hahaha! And people don't think you have a sense of humor!"
Levi couldn't help but groan at her in his rising annoyance.
"That bag just holds the ingredients that can't be mixed until they're used. When you add it to the liquid here, it starts the reaction between the ingredients to activate the solution!" Hanji stated, as if it would be fascinating to Levi. It wasn't.
"Okay, so I just drink this and, what, wait to feel different?" Levi replied, blowing on the hot drink. At least he could pretend it was something normal like tea. That made it easier to even think about drinking whatever it was in this situation.
"Basically!" Hanji said gleefully, watching intensely as they waited for Levi to take a sip. As if the effect would be immediate or something.
Levi rolled his eyes at the crazy commander. They really needed a new hobby outside of experimenting and Titans. Not that he could say anything. He blew a few more times in the cup, making sure he wouldn't burn off his tongue in the process, then finally took a tentative sip.
Hanji seemed to move closer, like would make the view more interesting in some way. "Go on. You can't get the full effect from just one sip."
Levi looked back up at them and glared, "Don't rush me, I'm just testing the temperature, Four-Eyes." He wouldn't admit to them, but it didn't taste half bad. He started taking bigger sips, finally making a dent in the drink. "So, how did you test this out before me?" he asked in between two rather large sips. He wanted to finish this quickly so he could leave the uncomfortable stare that belonged to Hanji.
"Oh, I've had about six rats drink it. So far, they've all reacted very well!" Hanji stated, nodding seriously.
It couldn't be helped when Levi spat some of the drink out, not even feeling bad that he'd sprayed the other in the face. "On rats?! Just rats?! You've got to be shitting me, Four-Eyes." And there was his death glare sported on his face again.
Hanji stepped back, wiping their face before shrugging, "What? You're the first person who actually let me test you for this! You can't stop now, you've already finished most of it, anyway." Even when Levi was attempting to kill them with his gaze, they couldn't help but anticipate the end results of their subject.
"I will kill you slowly and painfully if this goes wrong," he said, gritting his teeth. Oh, he was searing with anger, but unfortunately they were right. He had downed almost the entire drink. He collected himself and sighed, regretfully putting the cup back to his lips and taking the last mouthful of liquid. Oh, Hanji was going to get some major payback in the near future.
They were either not aware of their own impending doom or didn't care, because they were grinning from ear to ear. He seriously wanted to punch it off Hanji's face. "So now wha— "
Levi was cut off by the door opening, an unknown soldier popping his head in. He almost looked frightened when he realized he had walked into some engagement between the two higher-ups, but he cleared his throat. "C-commander Hanji Zoe, Commander Erwin Smith would like to speak to you in his office."
Hanji turned and smiled to the soldier, waving him off. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute!" They turned toward Levi, who was looking at them like 'don't you fucking dare leave me here', but of course they both knew it couldn't be helped. "I'll be back as soon as possible! You just stay right where you are, okay? Thank you so much for doing this!"
Levi just grumbled a "fuck you too," under his breath as he watched them disappear from the room, the silence suddenly pressing into him with an ominous feeling. Knowing fully well that he could have swallowed poison, personally made by a psychotic doctor, he couldn't help but fidget in his spot. It should only be a matter of time before the effects would become noticeable. Levi suddenly understood why that radical religious group prayed. He really hoped in this moment that whatever cosmos that was watching them was giving him some sort of good will. Honestly, he'd rather die by a titan than Hanji. Not that there was much difference, he joked blandly.
After a few minutes, Levi started to feel the effects, however, it was the opposite of what he was expecting. His eyebrows furrowed in concern. Why was he feeling unnaturally drowsy? Shouldn't he be more awake? Something was wrong. He had to go find Hanji.
Unfortunately, his body screamed otherwise and he was starting to think the crusty, old cot was becoming comfy. Really comfy, in fact. Maybe he should listen to Hanji and stay here. He could simply lie down and ride it out. This is exactly what he did, and soon after relaxing against the covers, his eyes fluttered shut. Hanji could wake him up when they came back.