chapter two / wren

Levi awoke with a small lump in his throat. Hot tears rolled down his face as he looked about his surroundings. He was in his room, and Hange was wrapped in his arms. Levi quickly sat upright in his bed and thought of the night. He hadn't done anything rash, had he? He remembered being in Hange's office and falling asleep on the wooden stool near her desk. Levi couldn't remember anything past that.

He peered his eyes to the window. Levi heard a small red-backed wren singing a morning song. Levi wiped the tears from his dreams, and softly layed back onto the thick covers. He could hear Hange breathing deeply. Levi rolled over to his side to look at her face.

Hange is actually really attractive, Levi thought.

He took a few long, drawn out moments to gaze into her features. The lines around her eyes from smiling, the way her nose was so straight, the soft edges of her jawline. Everything seemed right with her. She was brilliant, beautiful, honest - well, maybe too honest.

Hange seemed to be the yin to his yang.

She's messy, loud, reckless, and she doesn't even remember to keep herself in check. Why is she even in my bed with me?

Levi took a breath and placed his hand on Hange's shoulder, and gently shook her awake. Hange moaned quietly. Levi's ears and face turned purple as he shook her again, but this time with a bit more urgency. Hange started coming around.

Levi started, "Hange, wake up. It's morning. The birds are already out."

Hange responded by putting the covers over her head. She moaned again, but it was threatening. Levi shook her again, vigorously and proceeded to shout,

"HANGE. GET OUT OF MY BED, FOUR EYES."

Hange slowly got out from under the covers and turned her head around. Hange looked at Levi with a utterly terrifying gaze, yet she spoke low and quietly.

"What did you just call me?"

Levi has never been intimidated by Hange, so this was a first. He was flustered and vulnerable, he had never felt this way before. Levi blushed furiously and said,

"Get out of my bed, Hange."

It was as if Hange was never really there until she saw Levi act this uncomfortable. She suddenly gained all of her senses and had full consciousness, springing herself out of his bed. Her face held so much embarrassment, it was funny. Levi, as flustered as he was, couldn't help but laugh. Hange was genuinely surprised by this. She hurriedly smoothed our her shirt and left his bedroom. Even as she left, she could still hear Levi's pleasant laugh echo throughout the halls of the Survey Corps.

Levi smiled to himself as he ran his fingers through his hair.

huh?

Levi thought over his recent encounters and realized he had started to grow soft to Hange.

Tch. Need to fix that faster than immediately.

As Levi changed into a fresh change of clothes, he caught a glance at something reflecting off his nightstand. When he looked over to see what had caught his eye, Levi saw a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. They were bent and filthy, and Levi picked them up gingerly, afraid he might break them.

Tch.

Levi glided to the bathroom where he washed the thick lenses. He looked around his room for something to better hold the frame together, and spotted a thick piece of thread neatly placed in a miscellaneous desk drawer of his. After looping the string around, the glasses held slightly more firm, and held its shape. Levi held them up to the window, double checking he hadn't missed any grime on them. They were now spotless.

Levi's eyes had returned to their cold and unfeeling gaze as he strutted out of his room. It was just a after dawn as he came down the hall, glasses in the small pocket attached to his hip. His stride was long and barely audible as he rounded the corner near Erwin's office.

A loud crash suddenly sounded from the other end of the hall where Hange's makeshift laboratory was. The sound of Hange's bloodcurdling scream erupted into the air. Levi's eyes went wide as he burst into Hange's office to find her kneeling to a pile of broken glass. A translucent white liquid was etched along all the grout and tile on the floor. His sudden entrance startled Hange, making her turn her face over to him. Levi's breath caught when he saw her face torn from the shards of contaminated glass. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears rolled down the sides of her jawline. Hange's voice broke as she cried out and squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands were bloodied from the glassware, and her wrinkled uniform was stained deep reds.

Erwin came just seconds after Levi. He quickly shouted orders that could be heard from the other side of the building. Hange continued to sob as she clutched her bleeding sides, helplessly delirious. Levi grabbed her wrist and looked into her blurry eyes.

"Hange."

She tried and failed to stifle her screams and wails.

"Hange, look at me."

Levi's tone was serious and urgent. He needed her to listen to him, to calm down.

"Breathe."

Hange looked at him so desperately as she looped her fingers around his. Her words were barely decipherable as she tried to talk to him. Hange tried to whisper around the large lump in her throat.

"It hurts, Levi. It hurts so much. The glass. The glass is still. . . stabbing. . . into my. . . side."

Levi looked down at the red that had stated to pool around her. He couldn't see where the original puncture wound was.

Tch.

The room then started flooding with soldiers and nurses. They ripped into her shirt, trying to find the source of all the bleeding that had pooled around her kneeling body. Levi looked at Erwin, whose face was grim and stricken with concern. He looked over at Levi,

"Has any other broken equipment harmed her?"

Levi shook his head as colour left his already pale face. Hange's wails started to die as they pulled out a large piece of glass from her abdomen. Her breathing was labored, but it started to have a tempo as the sharp pain dulled into an irritating throb. Levi looked across at Hange's desk and saw a pair of thick and worn pair of glasses. Straps made from rabbit hide were slightly discoloured from sweat and blood. He dug into his side pocket and found the thin rimmed pair. Levi took Hange's hand and placed her glasses inside her palm. He wrapped her finger around them, allowing her to identify the foreign object.

She sucked in a quick breath.

Hange's face flushed and her eyes were searching between scorching tears.

She found Levi's hand and sqeezed it tight, and Levi squeezed back.

After Hange had fallen asleep in the infirmary, Levi came to clean up her office. He was determined to set everything so that it nothing would fall and break. Outside the window, a small wren sang its song once more.