Attachment

Author: Cigamina

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Protagonists: Irvin Smith and Levi are the main focus

Part: 9/?

Warnings: violence , foul language

Rating: will be M

Disclaimer: Characters unfortunately aren't mine, therefore no money-making~ XDDD

Notes: Not too much yet, story starts a few years before the plot in the anime/manga evolves, in year 835.

Please forgive me for making so many mistakes, English is not my native language and I'm sure you will find plenty of mistakes in there!

Songs I heard while writing the story below:

Benassi Bros Feat. Dhany - Hit My Heart

Daniel Portman - Galvanized


Notes²: I want to thank all people who write me comments and just everybody who reads this story! I really appreciate that and I'm happy about the attention this story is getting! I love you all!

There's a lot more coming up, I'll do my best to update as fast as I can!

Be patient with those two! They still have a veeeeery long way to go! XDDDD


Attachment– Chapter 9


"Here you go, corporal. As good as new."

Irvin smiled and reclaimed the operating device's right handle of his maneuver gear when it was held out to him, trying the mechanism to assure himself that its performance was restored to the way he needed it to be. Pulling the handle that usually made the blade drop from the grip had had become a hard-steering movement with the time and frequent use –which had been taken care of, indeed, the mechanism was smooth-working again.

"Thank you, Simon. I'm glad I could have it taken care of by the professionals."

He was currently at the facility where Hermiha's Military Police stored their gears, the weapons were administrated here and they also had a maintenance center. While Irvin was able to disassemble his gear, clean it properly and put it back together he had preferred to have it repaired for real instead of trying to fix it himself. Those things were his life-insurance, he wanted them to be maintained skillfully when it was possible. And as he was here in the city anyway he could as well do it this way.

The dark-haired soldier smiled back and saluted. "Anytime, sir. That's what we're here for."

Irvin nodded and refastened the handle to his gear, shrugging into his leather jacket that he had taken off while waiting for his gear to be repaired.

"How much do I owe you?"

The maintenance centers weren't staffed by soldiers, as far as Irvin knew, so he expected to pay for the service he had received. Maybe the Military Police's issues were covered, as they were the ones stationed here, but even though they were one army the three branches were treated quite differently. And he was already used to the Scouting Legion being disadvantaged in some ways.

The dark-haired man just shook his head, still smiling.

"Nah, you're wearing a uniform. I don't care about wings, roses or unicorns, you all do your duties. Maneuver-gear-maintenance is covered by the government."

It surprised Irvin, honestly, but he wasn't one to question such things. He gave the man another smile, returning the salute he had been given a minute ago.

"Thank you, I'm definitely coming back next time."

The man laughed and Irvin gave him a pat on the back, winking at him.

"I still hope not to see you again soon, professionally."

He turned around to leave, raised his hand in greeting before leaving the building with a brief glance at the clock attached to the wall. Eleven. Good, he was still on schedule. He had to do a few things before he would go see his sister and he wanted to finish them quickly as his time with Bethy had already been cut short by his commander this morning.

His mood darkened considerably when he thought of the function he would have to attend that evening and he started walking briskly back to the garrison. He had really wanted to spend his time differently… but he couldn't decline an invitation from his commander, work always came first. He had been made corporal just a little while ago and people wanted to know who he was, Dallis Zacklay HAD to introduce him to some people. Irvin was sure he would meet some higher-ups that evening, maybe even their generalissimo. It was important, he was very aware of that and he knew that Bethy would understand as well. He nevertheless mourned the lost time.

Taking a turn he soon left the broad streets of the city, deciding to walk through the more narrow streets to save time and steps. In retrospect it seemed a much less brilliant choice to walk instead of taking his horse for covering the distance between the garrison and the maintenance center but he had felt the need for moving his feet – now he was regretting it as it would take him much longer to go back by foot.

His steps echoed from the high stone walls and they were accompanied by the familiar sounds of the maneuver-gear attached to his hips and thighs. Just for a moment he flirted with the thought of just using the metal cords of the gear to move so much faster but eventually refrained from doing so. Soldiers needed a special permission to use their maneuver-gear inside the walled cities and as it constituted to be a dangerous weapon Irvin approved of this. Not even the soldiers of the Military Police were allowed to wear theirs, they were equipped with rifles for their daily duty. The Scouting Legion even had to get a special permission for the days that they traversed walled cities to reach a gate for leaving wall Maria, they had a special permission for the next day as they would be leaving Hermiha carrying their weapons with them. Those permissions were only given for a good reason – and Irvin's laziness certainly didn't pose one. So he just stuck to walking.

Meandering through the narrow streets he also crossed uglier parts of the city as the shortest way back to the garrison was straight through them. He didn't pay too much attention to his surroundings, he also didn't come across many people. For a brief moment he thought of Levi, how the boy had spent his life mostly right here, hidden in the shadows of the shabby houses – he must have been lonely, very very lonely, especially after the loss of that man he had been living with.

At first he thought his ears had fooled him when he heard the sound - but when he looked up into the direction that sound seemed to have come from and a body fell off the roof of the house right in front of him he was assured that his ears were working properly. His eyes widened and he was about to dash forward, trying to… do something, catch the body, whatever it was he could do, when he stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the body that seemed to float in the air for a few fractions of a second before it uncurled, arms and legs shooting out when he started falling. A knife was practically conjured in his hand and he drove it into the wooden planks that covered the façade of the building, slowing his fall. For a brief moment Irvin reflected that this knife had to be made of a special steel, much like the soldier's blades, to cut through wood – but it didn't matter as he watched the boy bring up his feet to the wall, pushing himself off it in order to free the knife he had slain deep into the wood with some ridiculous force that seemed impossible to have been mobilized in that thin arm. The boy turned in mid-air and landed on his feet in front of Irvin, crouching down to stave off the force of his impact and then looking up. For a brief second they just stared at each other, it only took the panting boy that long to realize who he was seeing – and Irvin even less to accept that yes, it had indeed been Levi flinging himself off that roof.

"What the…? Levi?!"

The boy didn't lose any time, he jumped back up and dashed towards him, grabbing his wrist with the clear intention of dragging him with him.

"MOVE, we gotta run!"

He was stunned for a second, his thoughts tumbling all over each other until he shook himself out of it, complying to Levi's command and running after him. The boy let go of his wrist and sped around a corner, not slowing down in the slightest but rather accelerating even more. Irvin cursed under his breath and followed him when he heard the sound again, this time recognizing it without any doubt. That was a shot. They were being shot at. The bullet missed them as they had just taken a rough turn but it made Irvin run faster, putting his long legs to use as he closed the distance and caught up with Levi, staring at the boy.

"Why are you being shot at? Who's shooting? Military Police?", he inquired, his breathing going faster from the physical exertion and the shock about being shot at. He knew is wasn't advisable to talk when running, it might cause a stitch, but he was so confused, angry even, that he couldn't refrain from questioning the boy. WHAT the fuck was happening? WHY hadn't he just stayed out of trouble for one bloody day, how could Irvin have deluded himself into thinking that Levi could manage that?

The boy turned his head to him, briefly, before dashing around the next corner and then another one right after, changing directions like a rabbit would do when being hunted. The expression on the boy's face did nothing to calm his anger but he did see the exhaustion on the shadowed face, the sweat glistening on his forehead and the stains of dirt on his cheeks – he had been running for a while and falling, apparently.

"The fuck do I know, but it's not the Military Police. Never seen the asshole before." , he gasped, sounding hoarse and his voice was breathless.

Irvin frowned, not getting the situation at all. What the hell?

"What did you do? There has to be-"

The boy didn't even let him finish, he just glared at him and sped around another corner.

"I fucking didn't do anything, shut the hell up and run! You can pump me for information later.", he actually growled at Irvin and somehow managed to speed up yet again. How he did that Irvin didn't know, he had difficulties keeping up with him. The boy was agile and efficient, damn it. Irvin suddenly understood more than ever why the Military Police had never managed to get so much of a glimpse on the boy, let alone catch him. Cursing again he didn't say anything else, just willed his body to move faster in order to not lose Levi in the labyrinthine streets – he realized that it was just what the boy was planning, losing their pursuer by taking as many sharp and unexpected turns as he could. And the strategy seemed to be playing off, he didn't hear another shot fired at them, the person chasing them just didn't get a clear shot. He congratulated Levi silently for being quick-thinking.

He managed to catch up with Levi by mobilizing everything he had, thinking that never once in his life he had had to run for his life like he was doing now. Of course, he had more than once narrowly escaped a titan's slobbering mouth and then sped away on a horse's back, but this was different. This was a human being trying to kill him – somehow this was surreal to an extent that it almost went back to being funny. He had survived five expeditions outside the walls, had taken down 10 titans on his own – and now he was dangerously close to being shot by some asshole that he didn't even know? Fate did always have a sense for dark humor.

His lungs were burning and he heard Levi's heavy panting as they ran, wondering how long the boy had been running up to now. He didn't really have the chance to wonder for long, though, as Levi suddenly slammed into him to tackle him right into a narrow little cleavage between two high stone walls. Irvin almost lost his footing and it was only due to his body control that he didn't, regaining balance after two stumbling steps. His eyes adjusted to the sudden lack of light right in time to see the huge stack of rumble blocking the passage and he jumped onto it with great presence of mind, climbing on top of it and hopping down on the other side. He felt Levi's lithe body right behind him and the boy's hand shot out, clasped around his wrist. Irvin spun around when Levi yanked at his arm, already crouching on the ground with his back flat against the wall, and Irvin mirrored him. They both held their breaths, cowering into the corner as much as possible while they waited, listening carefully. Tension was almost sizzling in the air when they heard footsteps coming their way, hurried, getting louder and louder and louder and they heard him pant, curse underneath his breath, for a brief second as he passed the cleavage – his footsteps grew fainter and fainter and fainter, then, until they eventually disappeared behind another corner.

There was perfect silence for a few seconds, the absence of sounds almost shrill in Irvin's ears until Levi released a harsh breath, then gasped for air desperately. Irvin did the same, turning his head to see the boy sink to the ground, his forehead leaning against the pile of rubble as he tried to get oxygen into his lungs. One of his hands clutched at his chest while the other clawed into the rubble as if he was trying to get a hold of the situation, to center himself.

Irvin closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to calm himself enough to breathe in and out evenly, and sat down on the ground as well, not caring about the dirt at all. That… had been narrow. And it might have cost him years of his life.

About to start his questioning right away, because he really, really wanted to know what that had been about, he fixed his eyes on the back of Levi's head, already opening his mouth – when he realized that the whole boy was shaking, still gasping for air harshly. Frowning he hesitated a few seconds, waiting if he would calm down, but when he didn't he reached out and put his hand on Levi's back. Not sure if the boy was just really, really out of breath or experiencing something close to a panic attack or being flooded by adrenaline and relief so much that it kept him in the frenzy he had been running in, Irvin watched him closely as he moved his hand up and down Levi's back, feeling the cramped up muscles underneath his palm and fingertips. He couldn't tell if Levi had tensed up even more due to the unexpected touch, he just knew that he didn't flinch underneath his hand this time.

"Shhhh. Breathe, Levi. Relax and breathe."

For once he didn't receive a smart reply, the boy just continued to take wheezing breaths underneath his hand. But the tension in his back loosened little by little the longer he rubbed it up and down comfortingly, it worked the same way it had been working when Levi was sick. It was interesting to see him react favourably to touch even though he usually avoided it as much as possible – he only was amenable to touch when he wasn't really thinking about it, when the situation made him crave the comfort. It might be a subconscious thing, Irvin mused to himself, the moment he was allowed thinking straight enough for wondering about the motives of the person touching him he went back to avoiding it. It was becoming a pattern that Irvin needed to expand if he wanted to thoroughly understand the boy one day – he made it his personal challenge there and then.

It took Levi a few minutes to calm down, until his breathing evened out and his hands stopped clawing into clothes and rubble but eventually he did. Irvin didn't mind waiting, knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of Levi anyway until the boy was back to thinking properly – his concern for Levi's well-being had overpowered his immediate need for wanting to know what was going on.

He didn't think much of it (or maybe he was just plain curious about what would happen) when he pushed his hand up the boy's back to thread his fingers into the dark hair, taking to stroking the boy's hair instead of his back.

The reaction wasn't anywhere near what he had expected, except for the slight tensing in his shoulders. Levi didn't flinch, he didn't even pull away either, no. It took a little while, a few gentle strokes through thick, damp hair, but the boy did title his head into Irvin's touch, just the slightest bit. Interesting, Irvin thought to himself, when he gently rubbed his fingertips against his scalp and Levi rolled his head a little, pushing back into his touch.

He knew there was no trigger, not an unwelcome movement of his part that caused Levi to raise his head after a few more seconds of playing with the boy's hair. He wasn't shaking him off, he just shifted until he leaned back against the wall next to him, causing Irvin to pull back his hand. Dark-blue eyes threw him a glance which he couldn't quite place, his face being impenetrable once more, but there wasn't anything negative radiating off him. When he spoke his voice was calm.

"Don't touch me, I'm filthy."

Irvin almost laughed at that, despite the fact that the order had come a little too late the thought that Levi was most concerned about a little dirt in his hair and on his clothes was just a little absurd taking, their current situation into account. They had just been chased through the city and nearly been shot – Irvin had other concerns than Levi being a little dirty.

"Don't worry, I've touched worse."

Levi just snorted softly and looked down, patting his clothes to get rid of more dirt stuck to them. In the semi-darkness of the narrow cleavage Irvin looked the boy up and down, silently searching for indicators of injuries like torn clothes and blood-soaked cloth, but as far as he could see there wasn't anything. Levi was unbelievable… in the likely case that the crazy maneuver Irvin had witnessed had not been the only one Levi had performed brilliantly to have avoided being severely injured – and Irvin had seen his expectations already confirmed. The boy's body control was endless, he didn't panic even when falling (except that he hadn't exactly been falling, he had deliberately flung himself off that roof because he had known of the wooden consistency of the wall, he hadn't been running blindly; he had done so with a clear route in mind) and he used inertia and gravity consciously when maneuvering in mid-air. This boy would have no problems mastering the 3D-maneuver-gear, no problems at all. He couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Irvin leaned his head back against the wall, analyzing their situation for a few seconds. He was trying to make up his mind whether it was better to stay right there for some time or to get away from there as quickly as possible. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages but in the end he settled with staying there for another little while. Maybe the man would give up searching for them after a while - this way they wouldn't risk running into him, at least.

Clearing his throat he addressed the subject, then, believing Levi to be calm enough for talking about it. He looked at him, Levi had drawn his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms between them and his body.

"What was this about?"

The boy shrugged, looking up at Irvin for a second, before facing the opposite wall.

"I already told you, I have no idea. He attacked me out of nowhere, I've never seen him before."

Irvin frowned, the answer wasn't a really satisfying one. He had already been given that when they had been running but that didn't explain anything. There had to be more to this, you didn't deliberately chase a boy through the city, trying to shoot him.

"Never? Are you sure?", he asked him, his voice anywhere near accusing and maybe that was the reason why Levi didn't just snap at him. He did roll his eyes, though, letting his knees sink to his sides until he sat cross-legged next to Irvin.

"I'm good with faces, I'm absolutely sure."

He didn't doubt that first piece of information at all, and he nodded when he got the second one. He believed him, Levi didn't have any reason for lying to him. It still was bizarre, the whole thing, so he decided to go into it again.

"Somebody out for revenge, maybe? Settling an account?", he asked him, hoping to make Levi remember something that he might have forgotten, or something that he had underestimated until now.

The dark-haired boy clicked his tongue softly and looked at him, shaking his head.

"Sorry to disappoint your expectations but I didn't take part in… organized underground crime or something fancy like that. If I've crossed some asshole then I did so without knowing."

It occurred to Irvin that he hadn't expected anything regarding Levi's past - because he hadn't yet thought about it at all. The part where he had committed crimes that Irvin covered for him. The boy having taken part in organized underground crime sounded very wrong in Irvin's ears, it didn't fit into the picture. He had been operating alone and, as far as he knew, he had done what had been necessary for staying alive. He had killed people, yes, because they had tried to kill him first. Or because they had kept him away from food, Irvin didn't know. He believed him when he said that he hadn't picked fights, open accounts with people that he had outwitted and tricked. No, he wasn't that kind of criminal. In Irvin's eyes he was a victim of their cold, selfish and uncaring society - he wouldn't protect him if he was a criminal of any other kind.

He nodded, letting the matter drop with his next words.

"Fair enough. What did he look like? He seemed to have been a skilled fighter."

Levi's expression went right back to impassive and Irvin preferred that by far to sneering. Even though they had managed to create a base that they could build their relation on he still had to be carefully tiptoe around landmines if he wanted to keep their conversations productive. Being empathic for sensitive topics was key.

"Normal…? He had dark blond hair and a beard and he was wearing dark clothes… and yes, skilled fighter. I suppose he only didn't land a hit because I sliced his arm."

That made Irvin take notice, he frowned and looked the boy up and down again involuntarily even though nothing had changed until he had so for the last time.

"Did you fight?"

Levi nodded, throwing him a nasty look that Irvin didn't understand until the boy spoke again.

"Yes. And I had the chance to kill him. But I 'refrained from taking care of anyONE'.", he said, stressing the last few words in a way that made Irvin think about them for a few seconds - until he realized where he had heard those words before. He couldn't help but smile a little, which caused the boy glare at him but he turned his face away a moment later.

"I'm glad you did." Not only because it would probably have caused more trouble than it was worth but also because he knew that Levi had held back for him. The conversation about everything Levi did falling back to Irvin in some way seemed to be still present in the boy's mind and he was glad about that. He had also shown his acknowledgement of the responsibility he carried.

Feeling content about this newest development he went back to matters at hand. "Are you injured?"

Levi shook his head, moving his limbs slightly to prove his point.

"No… but there's nothing in my body that doesn't hurt right now."

That he could very well imagine. The crazy race through the city and the maneuvers he might have performed while trying to lose the man shooting at him were bound to have left traces on him, he would probably sport a few bruises and abrasions the next day.

Irvin fell silent for a little while, rid of the questions he had wanted to ask. Replaying the events in his head he felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards when he realized something that he hadn't been aware of before and didn't hesitate to express his thought.

"You might have saved my life today, Levi."

Even though the shooter had been clearly after Levi the boy hadn't hesitated to make sure Irvin got away as well. He hadn't necessarily needed to do so - but he had been concerned for Irvin's well-being. Maybe the shooter wouldn't have paid Irvin any attention - but maybe he would just have shot him on sight. As they didn't know anything about neither his identity nor his motives there was no telling what he would have done - but Levi had been insisting on avoiding any confrontation.

Levi threw him a glance and then looked away, tzking softly.

"Don't make it sound so cheesy, I couldn't just leave you stan there looking dumb-struck."

Irvin smiled and flipped an undefined piece of dirt off his pants, making it bounce against the opposite wall and disappear on the ground.

"Thank you."

Making an abysmal little noise Levi turned to look at him, his face contorted into something between a frown and a sneer.

"You're my ticket out of here, couldn't have let you die now, could I?" The strangely amusing expression on his face didn't last long, however, his features relaxing into his usual stoic expression. He lowered his eyes, avoiding to look at Irvin without appearing the slightest bit bashful. "…anytime."

His smile just broadened.

A few seconds passed in comfortable silence until Levi pulled his legs underneath himself and got up from the ground, wincing a little when doing so. Irvin wasn't really surprised, the boy had said that his whole body was hurting - his body was translating the over-exertion into overstrung muscles and stiff bones, he was probably bruising already.

The boy patted his clothes down again, checking them for damage while he was at it and grimaced at the stained cloth.

"We should get away from here.", the boy said, looking at Irvin who nodded and got up from the ground, briefly dusting off himself as well. He guessed that this moment was just as good as any other for them to leave their hide-out, they had waited there a little while - if the man was still searching for Levi now he's probably still do so in an hour. And Irvin didn't want to spend the whole day here.

He turned towards the heap of rubble, ready to climb it again, when he spotted Levi look up towards the sky, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth while he thought.

"It's probably best to go back to the roof tops. He won't be able to sneak up on us there, it's an advantage.", he mused aloud and turned to look at Irvin. "I suppose you can manage that. If he could follow me the Scouting Legion's corporal can easily do it."

There was no mockery in his voice and Irvin didn't doubt for a second that he could do it - his concern was something else. The boy was exhausted, his body tired and moving hurt. While he was certain that he would perform impeccably if he needed to he wasn't sure if his body could endure another few stunts like the one Irvin had witnessed. If Levi had, he was using his vivid imagination, jumped down several stories and grabbed wood or whatever there had been to grab several meters below he might have hurt his shoulders. He was lucky to not have had them dislocated, which might only be due to his insignificant weight. Irvin didn't want to think about what would happen if they DID dislocate during another crazy chase through the city. No, that was not really an option, Levi wouldn't move up onto those roofs again until he had recovered. It was dangerous, for the both of them. But the boy was right, walking through the little streets might be just as dangerous.

About to express his thoughts about the dilemma they thought they had he paused, looking down his body. And frowned when he realized that they had another option - question was if he wanted to consider choosing it. Because he shouldn't - on the other hand this was close to being an emergency and he was allowed to do it in the case of an emergency.

"Are you spacing out on me?", the boy asked while snapping his fingers in front of Irvin's eyes, making him blink and look down at Levi. He nodded at the dark-haired boy who considered him a little warily, his brows furrowed.

"Please forgive me, I got lost in my thoughts."

The boy muttered 'I noticed.' and Irvin smiled apologetically, raising his hands to grab his control unit's handles.

"I was thinking of using this for our escape." He held the handles out for the boy to see, recognizing the moment when it dawned to Levi what Irvin was insinuating. He frowned at him, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"OUR escape? YOUR escape maybe, I don't think you'll shake another gear from your sleeve."

He laughed at that, momentarily having to imagine himself doing just that before growing serious once again.

"While having a second gear would certainly be more convenient I'm totally capable of taking you with me."

The boy's frown deepened while his narrow dark-blue eyes were staring at Irvin warily, flicking back and forth between his face and his gear.

"You'd carry me.", he said, his statement being just that instead of a question.

Irvin raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side.

"Basically, yes. Don't worry, I can still maneuver perfectly with a little additional weight."

The boy pursed his lips, looking entirely displeased with the prospect of being carried and flown around. While Irvin could relate to that he found it wasn't the right time to question things, they needed to get away as quickly as possible, and the best and safest way was to do it Irvin's way.

"That's not what I'm worried about.", he muttered and then paused, contemplating Irvin for a moment before looking down at his own body. Irvin quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'll soil your clothes."

It was Irvin's turn to stare at Levi when he heard those words, unsure whether he was supposed to think that the boy was serious or not. He had expected several kinds of possible interjection, ranging from 'being carried by you makes me feel humiliated' to 'I'll cut your arms off if you as much as try to touch me') - but Levi fearing that he would ruin Irvin's clothes was about the last thing he had thought of. And it was also the last thing he cared about.

He smoothened his bemused expression out into a pleasant look, somehow being relieved about the fact that the main thing Levi worried about was something as mundane as dirty clothes.

"Those clothes are used to way worse, believe me. In addition, they can be washed." Levi's frown remained on his face, he was still eying Irvin warily, so he tried smiling at him encouragingly. "Just trust me, I'm used to getting people out of the hazard zone." Maybe he did have other objections about this and if that was the case Irvin wanted to hear it.

Levi contemplated him with narrowed eyes for another little while but apparently he didn't have another objection that he wanted to mouth so he ended up producing a little huff and pressing his lips into a tight line.

"Fine.", he muttered, still frowning when he was looking Irvin up and down. "…how?"

He smiled and cocked his head to the side. "Well you can either put your arms around my neck and I'll hold you by your waist or I'll carry you like a bride.", he said, carefully keeping the humor out of his voice when he used his arms to illustrate his words.

The boy stared at him, his eyes narrowing with each word he was saying, and when he explained the second way of carrying Levi the boy sputtered in mortification. "The fuck, NO."

Irvin just smiled pleasantly, enjoying to have coaxed Levi out of his indifferent shell even though this was neither the time nor place to start a fight over something as insignificant as this.

"It's option one, then."

Levi stared at him and for a moment Irvin thought the boy would announce that he'd rather walk - but then he took a step towards him, glaring daggers all the time.

"This is fucked up."

Irvin chuckled and moved to stand next to him, opening his arms for the boy.

"This whole thing was entirely unpleasant - just let's get back to the garrison quickly."

Levi shot him another glare but then nodded, raising his arms to put them around Irvin's neck - and winced when he did so. Irvin frowned while Levi awkwardly put his arms his neck anyway, swearing under his breath.

"You hurt your shoulders?"

"Nothing in my body that doesn't hurt right now, remember?", the boy repeated his words and held onto him, his arms trembling a little from the overstraining movement. His frown deepened when he put his arms around Levi's narrow waist, looking down at the dark-haired head from the corners of his eyes.

"Can you still do it? Holding on for a little while?" It would be highly dangerous if Levi had to let go of his neck in mid-air, Irvin might not be able to catch him in time.

A growl was the answer and the boy nudged his knee against his thigh.

"It's fine.", he put of lot of emphasis on the word, "Let's fucking go."

Irvin hesitated for another second but then grabbed the devices of his control-unit. He'd trust Levi's judgment, the boy surely knew his body best.

"Hold on tight."

He felt the boy entwine the fingers of his hands at the back of his neck and tightened his arms around the boy's waist in return before pulling the trigger. The hooks attached to the steel cables shot from the drums they were usually stored in and Irvin hopped off the ground, pulling the second trigger to release the gas that was held under pressure in the cylinders on top of the blade boxes through the fan unit. He immediately felt the familiar pull to the leather straps that circled his body and heard a strangled gasp from Levi when they were skyrocketed off the ground, speeding through the air towards the hooks. They were accompanied by the metallic sounds of the steel cables rolling themselves back up into the drums when they flew past stone walls, Levi twisting his head around to see what was happening around them. Irvin snapped back the hooks, turned in mid-air and fired them again, changing directing by stopping the flow of gas for the moment of turning and then emitting more gas to accelerate again. He heard another soft gasp slip Levi's throat when they were hauled forwards again, knowing how much the jolt of the movement could press the air from your lungs when you didn't know what to expect.

Moving them up above most of the rooftops, using the higher buildings of the city to fire his hooks into, he threw Levi a short glance before shifting his visual attention back to the course in front of them.

"Are you alright?"

He rather felt the boy nod than actually being able to see it, he just knew his arms were still trembling but still holding onto his neck stubbornly. The garrison wasn't far and they were moving fast, the boy didn't have to suffer for much longer.

"Why shouldn't you use it?"

The question surprised him a little but then he recalled having pointed out something like that when suggesting the usage of the gear for transportation. He turned another time, noticing that Levi didn't gasp this time.

"Because I usually need a special permission to use it within the cities. If I'm being asked about this I'll have to think of a good pretext."

While getting them out of a dangerous situation totally justified the unauthorized usage of the gear Irvin would rather not tell anybody what they had been running from. As long as they didn't know what the whole thing had been about he preferred to not let anybody know about it - it might raise questions regarding Levi's background and that was the very last thing he wanted.

Levi snorted in his arms, his unruly hair whipping around them in the fierce airstream of their flight.

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

Irvin chuckled, affirming Levi that indeed, he would - he had made up his mind already, not liking to make decisions he couldn't back up 100%. If, in the highly unlikely case of all those things happening, they were seen and he was recognized and reported, he would simply state that his gear had been repaired and he had simply done a short test-run. He could prove the repair-part so there was not much that could be said against it.

They continued on their way, the sound of the fierce wind and the metallic snapping of the wires in their ears. Levi had at one point turned his head away from the direction they were going in and he let Irvin know the reason for this a few seconds later, nudging one of the blade-containing boxes with his knee.

"This thing is amazing… you control it all with these?"

Knowing that they would move straight ahead for a few seconds he looked down, seeing that Levi watched his hands that were holding the control unit's handles. He smiled, watching Levi's eyes follow the cables that went from the handles to his belt, and nodded at the boy.

"Exactly, that's the control unit. I fire the hooks and control the emission of gas with these - and they're usually attached to the blades in the boxes down there,", he said with a brief gesture towards his hips, "to form the swords we fight the titans with."

The boy nodded, having another few inspecting looks on the different parts of the 3D-maneuver-gear and Irvin smiled before looking up, changing their direction again. He had briefly explained the mechanisms of the 3D-maneuver-gear to Levi the first night he had come to see him but seeing/experiencing it in action was another story. He was pleased that Levi seemed to remember a few things, though.

The dark-blue eyes fixing on the strap across Irvin's chest was the last thing he saw before looking up, firing the hooks again to keep them going.

"And all that… you need for maneuvering? Like… shifting weight and moving limbs to change course?", he asked, his voice calm and nothing indicated that he was particularly bothered by the fact that he was flying through the air for the first time in his life. He was just genuinely curious about how it worked, a characteristic that Irvin had noticed before and that he appreciated, and therefore he didn't mind explaining things to Levi.

"Basically, yes. The belt and the straps help you stay balanced and upright and the rest is up to you, the way you move your body determines the way you fly. It's a matter of practice, a lot of the time you spend in military training is dedicated to improve your maneuver-skills."

He felt Levi nod and changed direction for the last time, knowing they would soon arrive at the garrison. He couldn't help but think that despite the lousiness of the whole incident it had ended in him being back at the garrison earlier. Even counting in the time they had spent recovering from the chase he had still saved some time - all the better, he would have a little more time to get his work done.

Not about to just land in front of the garrison's front door he chose a little street around the corner to get back to the ground into, stopping the emission of gas to start descending. He snapped back the hooks when he reached the range of comfortable altitude and landed on his feet safely, taking a couple of steps to stave off the drive of the movement. The moment he set Levi back down onto the ground the boy removed his arms from Irvin's neck, stifling a groaning hiss when he did so. He even hunched over a little when he swore under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest to rub his apparently very sore shoulders. Irvin loosened his hold around Levi's waist and tucked the operating devices back into their holsters, looking down at the boy worriedly. He extended his hands and placed them at Levi's elbows, making the boy look up at him.

"May I?"

Levi frowned, apparently unable to fathom what Irvin had in mind, but he gave his permission anyway by nodding. Irvin gently pushed up his elbows, careful not to lift his arms above his shoulders, and experimentally moved his arms back and forth. Watching Levi's face for any kind of reaction he lowered his arms and then lifted them up again, just the slightest bit above his shoulders - and immediately stopped when Levi released a harsh breath, his face contorting with pain, which he quickly apologized for. He lowered the boys arms and let go of them, making Levi go back to rubbing his shoulders right away.

"I'm not a doctor but I think you just overstrained them severely. 'Just' meaning 'luckily not worse'. They're not dislocated or broken, you'd be in much more pain if either of that was the case."

Levi swore under his breath again and threw him a dark look, still massaging his shoulders.

"It hurts like fucking hell anyway."

Irvin gave him a genuinely sympathetic look and gently patted Levi's back, jerking his head into the garrison's general direction .

"I can imagine, I'm afraid there's just not much you can do about it except for taking it easy for a few days. Let's just go back for now."

The boy nodded and started walking, Irvin moved to fall in step with him. They chose to take the way through the courtyard to enter the building, hazarding a few more steps in favor of higher chances on staying undetected. Most soldiers would be in their rooms or in the town, using their free time to full capacity, so Irvin hoped for clear passage.

His calculations paid off, they really didn't meet one single soul on their way up to his rooms, and Irvin heaved a sigh of relief once he closed his office's door behind them. At least something that had gone smoothly this morning… pushing away from the door he followed Levi who hadn't even stopped, heading for the bedroom directly. Envisioning easily what the boy had in mind he entered the bedroom as well, finding Levi being in the process of taking off his shoes. He did the same, leaving his boots in a messy heap in front of his bed because he would pull them back on in a few minutes anyway.

"I suppose you're going to take a bath?", he asked, already knowing the answer to the question before Levi nodded. "I suggest you soak for a while, heat might be favourable to you shoulder's healing process." He received another nod and moved over to the wardrobe to get a new change of clothing, unwilling to go see his sister in the partly stained clothes. Smiling at Levi he gestured in the bathroom's direction, the boy had just been about to gather up the clothes he slept in.

"May I occupy the bathroom for a few minutes? It's all yours afterwards." He waited for the boy to nod before he thanked him and went to use bathroom. True to his words he made it a brief stay, washing off and changing into clean clothes afterwards. Putting his dirty garments into the laundry basket his gaze fell onto the cupboard next to it and a thought crossed his mind. He knelt down on front of the closet and produced the medical kit stored in it from there, opening it to rummage through it. Frowning a little at noticing that there were a few things missing, things like bandages and compresses, he realized that the thief was Levi who treated the wound at his thigh the way he was supposed to, changing the bandages and putting new compresses onto it.

When his search was finally successful he extracted the item of interest and put the kit back into the cupboard, straightening up afterwards. He walked over to the door and left the bathroom, smiling at Levi who he found sitting on the broad window sill. Gesturing at the bathroom he stepped away from the door, clearing the way for Levi.

"It's all yours."

The boy nodded and got up, retrieved the clean clothes from his bed and then moved to claim the bathroom. When he walked past Irvin he held out a little jar to the boy, making Levi frown up at him. Irvin smiled, urging him to take the jar.

"Put that onto bruises and your shoulders, too, it might also be accelerating the healing process and prevent some swelling." Levi accepted the jar and quietly thanked him to which Irvin smiled. "Anytime. Just put your clothes into the laundry basket, I'll take them down to be washed when I leave later." Another nod and he mirrored the gesture, pointing at the door leading to his office. "I'll be over there, getting the last few things done, if you need anything just call me." While he was fairly sure that Levi wouldn't he just wanted to have made the offer.

He left Levi alone, then, entering his office and seating himself behind his desk. A glance at the clock told him that it was only quarter to twelve, which really surprised him. So much had happened in this last 45 minutes… but everything had happened very fast, that was why it appeared like several hours to him.

Irvin got to work right away, succeeding in blanking out the thoughts about those strange events in favour of getting his work done. And he really was efficient, an hour later he only had one file left - which he couldn't finish here, anyway, as it was related to the possible armament of Wall Maria. He would have to go over this file and the appendant construction plans with the commander and an architect they were employing, and then he would meet Shinganshina's governor for first negotiations. Dallis Zacklay had assigned the job to him and considering that the general idea had been Irvin's this had been legitimately done so. While the whole matter still wasn't finally decided by the Military tribunal Irvin was sure that they would get permission to equip the walls with canons as it just seemed suicidal not to do it. They couldn't kill titans with canons alone but they might be able to handicap them enough for the soldiers to take them out quickly.

After dividing the files into two stacks, one bigger one to deliver to the Military post office when he went out and a second smaller one to take back to the headquarters, he opened the desk drawer to see if he had stored something of his own in there. All the spare quarters' offices were equipped with ink, quills and parchment, he hadn't needed to bring the basic things along - but his seal and a few other things were his and he had to retrieve those.

Having a short look into the drawer his eyes were caught by a small bottle of pills. Those didn't belong to him personally, in fact he had taken the painkillers from the same medical kit he had taken the ointment from, when he had been suffering a headache a few days ago. He would put back into the kit later - but maybe he should do something before that he thought to himself, grabbing the bottle and getting up from his desk. Why hadn't he thought about it earlier? Making Levi put ointment onto his bruises was one thing but giving him a painkiller had practically suggested itself and Irvin hadn't thought about it. He would correct that right away.

Walking back into his bedroom he knocked at the bathroom door a few seconds later, thinking the boy might already be done with his bath. "Levi?"

He waiting for the boy to react verbally and was a little surprised when the door was opened a few moments later, revealing the boy. He was dressed in his clean clothes and had apparently just started drying his hair, the towel was still on top of his tousled damp hair. Irvin had to smile at that and the boy arched a thin eyebrow at him, making him remember what he had disturbed Levi for. He went over to his nightstand, poured some water from the clay jug into the mug and returned to Levi, holding the mug and the pills out to Levi. He earned another frown at that and dark-blue eyes scrutinized the pills cautiously, making Irvin explain himself.

"Those are painkillers. Which is self-explanatory, I guess." The bored look he received from Levi proved him right. "You swallow them with the water. Just take one, they're rather strong. I assure you, the pain will fade within minutes."

The boy still seemed unconvinced, looking up at Irvin warily.

"Will they… make me go fuzzy or something…?", he asked hesitantly, clearly telling Irvin that he had never taken painkillers before. He shook his head, smiling reassuringly at the boy.

"No. A little sleepy at the most, if at all, but I assume you'll spend the rest of the day in here anyway." Going outside on his own again today was highly not advisable, he would do better resting and writing letters.

He nodded to that and accepted the bottle of pills after another brief moment of hesitation, shaking one out into his palm and returning the bottle to Irvin right away. Bracing himself he slipped the pill into his mouth and his face immediately contorted with disgust, the bitter taste of the pill made him gush down the water with only a few draughts. Wiping his mouth he scowled at Irvin and thrust the mug back into his hand, making him chuckle apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you of the dreadful taste."

Levi crinkled his nose and reached for the towel that was still on top of his head, turning on his heel to retreat back into the bathroom.

"Next time I'd rather take the pain."

The statement surely would have been more believable if he hadn't hissed in pain when he lifted his arms to rub his hair. But he did hiss and cringed, lowering his arms to rub at his shoulders again. Irvin frowned, wondering how the boy had managed to wash his hair if his arms hurt so much. Not even speaking of undressing. The stubborn little fool.

Placing the bottle and the mug aside he followed Levi into the bathroom, catching him during a new attempt to rub his hair dry. He had moved in front of the mirror which enabled him to see Irvin align behind him, dark-blue eyes watching him attentively from a visibly pained faced.

"Let me do that."

Without waiting for an answer (because he wouldn't accept anything but an 'okay' he put his hands on Levi's upper arms and pushed them down before grabbing the towel with his own hands. Starting to rub the wet hair down carefully he made sure to not accidentally slap the towel across Levi's face while he worked. He didn't receive any resistance from the boy, he was merely watched through the mirror by dark-blue eyes and he held his gaze, attentively searching for signs of discomfort should something become visible.

He didn't find any, though, and he wasn't watched for long, either. While he was leaning his palms onto the sink the boy's eyelids started dropping little by little, growing heavier until his eyes slid shut underneath Irvin's massaging hands. He tried to fight it, forcing his eyes to open again and again but lost his battle, finally resigning to fate by hanging his head a little. Irvin smiled, the whole thing not entirely unexpected but touching in one way or another. Without really searching for it he had apparently discovered one of the boy's soft spots.

He chose to address him then, when he was rubbing the thick hair on the very top of his head.

"You could have called me to help you if your shoulders hurt so much; you're supposed to go easy and not strain them even more."

The boy opened his eyes a little, weakly glaring up at him but dropped his head again when Irvin moved his hands to rub the back of his neck with the towel.

"To have you undress me and wash my hair.", he scoffed, expressing how much he found the whole idea ridiculous while Irvin didn't find it ridiculous at all. He didn't really see the problem with that but he hadn't been living alone and away from human contact for a decade, either. The isolation and lack of human affection during his younger years might have contributed to his being reclusive, among a range of other possible things that Irvin didn't want to either border or dismiss.

He smiled softly, knowing that the boy wouldn't see it because he still had his eyes closed.

"I've been told I was good at that.", he said, not thinking much about it when he mouthed his words. It wasn't until Levi's head shot up and dark-blue eyes were staring at him strangely that he thought about his words, and still he was unable to find the strangeness in them. Levi's flat "At undressing people." finally made him pick up upon the ambivalence of his words and he was already thinking about correcting him, telling him that he had been talking about washing other people's hair because he had done that a lot with his sister's hair when they had been little, long and thick as the blond curls had been she had never been in the mood to do it herself. But he chose different words, smiling when he said them.

"I'll leave that to your imagination.", he chuckled, thinking the words expressed more than enough. It was endearing to see Levi blush at his words and the boy quickly averted his eyes, making Irvin chuckle again as he removed the towel from Levi's head, knowing the thick hair wouldn't get any dryer now.

His hair looked like a dark bird's nest, tousled and unruly as it was, and Irvin placed the towel aside to get the brush from the shelf Levi had placed his belongings onto. The boy also went for the brush but Irvin beat him to it, snatching the brush from the bony hand and looking at Levi dispraisingly.

"You rest your shoulders. Don't worry, I'm good at that as well." He had also brushed his sister's hair countless times, braided it even after she had taught him how - they had been really close when they had been little.

Levi glared at him but then stilled in defeat, warily watching Irvin carefully start combing out the multitude of knots in the tips of his hair, working his way up. Apparently he hadn't forgotten how to do it, the boy didn't even complain once about his hair being pulled painfully.

When he reached the top of his hair he arranged it back in the side parting it had been in, smoothing down the hair with his free hand. Combing through the dark mane for another few times he couldn't resist sliding his fingers through the dark strands, receiving a curious stare for his troubles. He smiled, sliding his fingers in deeper and gently grabbing a handful of it without pulling, just feeling it before letting go again.

"You have incredibly thick hair. Isn't it dreadfully warm in summer?" He had to be sweating underneath the mass of hair when it was hot outside. While he could imagine it being nice in winter he would probably go insane with all that hair in summer.

Levi nodded, apparently entirely unfazed by Irvin touching his hair yet again, which he most attributed to the mirror enabling Levi so see exactly what he was doing."It is. I usually cut it all off in spring."

That made sense, Irvin thought to himself, trying to imagine the boy with short hair. It would probably suit him, too, but having met him with the shoulder-length-hair it was hard imagining him looking different. But he would get used to it, of course, just like the boy might have to get used to wearing his hair shorter permanently.

He pulled the brush through the thick hair again and then put it aside, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"You might want to think about cutting it earlier this time." When Levi arched an eyebrow at him he went to elaborate. "It's highly advisable to either tuck back long hair in a ponytail or cut it off before staring maneuver-gear-training. Long hair whipping around can get stuck in cables or slap you in the face and both can turn ugly when it happens while fighting titans." Irvin had never really had hair that grew past his ears but he had started wearing it rather short in Military training, after witnessing a girl losing half her hair (and part of her scalp) in a very ugly accident during training - that had cured his entire trainee squad from any further rebellion against the hair-style-recommendation.

The dark-haired boy nodded in understanding, moving his eyes up to look at Irvin's own hair through the mirror.

"So that's why you wear yours so short.", he stated and Irvin nodded, smiling when he moved his hands up to Levi's hair again.

"That's partly correct, I also deem it practical. You might want to think about shaving parts of yours off, too, like here.", he said, gently turning Levi's head to show him the invisible line he was drawing with his pointer. "… because of the mentioned dreadful heat underneath it." If it was his to decide he would cut the boy's hair off to the length just above his ears and then shave his neck, going so far as to shave around his ears and even up to his temples because his hair war so thick. The remaining hair would still be voluminous enough to fluff up a little.

The boy had watched him, contemplating his words, and nodded after a few seconds.

"Yeah, something like that. Ponytails are stupid."

Irvin smiled and gave Levi a gentle pat on the top of his head before stepping away from him, giving the boy some space.

"I can cut it for you when we're back at the headquarters, I have the utensils to do it there."

He gave his consent after a brief moment of hesitation, probably thinking that he might rather have Irvin at the back of his neck with a sharp knife than anybody else. Smiling he went out of the bathroom to place the bottle of pills and another mug filled with water on Levi's nightstand, positive that the boy might want to take another painkiller later that day. Already in the motion of going back to his office he turned around to enter the bathroom again, instead, looking at Levi questioningly.

"Would you prefer to eat up here today? I would get our food, then."

The boy didn't need to think about that for long, he nodded, just like Irvin had expected him to.

"Good, I'll deliver the dirty clothes downstairs while I'm at it."

He crossed the room to reach into the laundry basket, curling the dirty clothes into a bundle and went to carry them downstairs. He stopped by the kitchen to get them another tray of food, assuring the woman that Levi was fine and promised them to take the boy downstairs the next day for the woman to wish him farewell.

When he got back into his office the boy was already sitting at Irvin's desk, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Smiling at him he went over and set the tray down onto the wooden surface, scattered the plates and bowls and sat down as well to start eating.

The boy's appetite was as immense as always, he started raiding the dishes of their contents right away and did only stop when he had devoured his share, after having been reminded not to eat too much bread. It was pleasing to see Levi sip his milk after having finished eating, maybe he would really grow a little taller - if not he would at least be fed properly, prepared for the rich food he would be served during Military training.

He watched Levi unobtrusively, noticing that he was still holding his mug in that strange way. He had done so since their first meal together but Irvin had somehow thought that Levi would stop holding the mug at the very top edge, as if afraid to touch it any further. He hadn't, still sipping his drinks holding the mug in that peculiar way.

When they were both done they put their used dishes back onto the tray and Irvin addressed Levi, looking at the boy who was still curled up in his chair. He really only did that when nobody else was around, Irvin reflected briefly.

"I'll spend the afternoon in town - I assume you stay here? Resting and… not meeting strange people shooting at you might be a good thing."

Levi snorted at him but nodded, gesturing at the book Irvin had given him the day before.

"I have letters to write."

Irvin chuckled and pushed the book over to the boy, taking out quill and ink from the drawer he had stored it into earlier. "I really praise your obstinacy."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

He smiled again and then pulled a key from his pocket, placing it on top of the spelling book. He received an arched eyebrow instead of a question and he went to elaborate, pointing at the office door when he did so.

"It's the key to these rooms. I don't think there's going to be any need for it but should you like to lock yourself in here, feel free to do so. Just remember to unlock the door tonight, I'll be back from the function at some point during the night."

The boy looked like he wanted to reject the key right away but then he thought about it again and ended up refraining from doing it, accepting the key instead.

"Understood."

"Good. I'll get ready and then I'm off."

Leaving the tray for a few minutes he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put on some of his cologne, grabbing his leather jacket from his bed when he went back to his office. He shrugged into the jacket and then moved towards the desk to pick up the tray. Levi looked up and sniffed when Irvin was standing close to him, throwing Irvin a flat look.

"Are you trying to impress a girl?"

Irvin tucked the files he needed to deliver to the Military post office under his arms and picked up the tray, smiling cheekily when cocking his head to the side.

"In fact I am." Never mind that the girl was his sister Bethy. "See you tomorrow, Levi."

He left the boy with the impenetrable expression of his, pulling the door to his office closed by using his unoccupied elbow. Returning the tray to the kitchen he left the garrison a few minutes later, looking forward to spending a few pleasant hours with his sister.


OH MY GOD GUYS I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I SHOULD START APOLOGIZING FOR THE GREAT DELAY BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU IT WAS FOR… REASONS. *cries*

Let me just tell you briefly how much work, time and tears have been poured into these damn 23 pages of this sorry story. _

When I wrote the chapter for the first time it didn't really work out. Characters not doing what I wanted, they acted peculiarly, I was very unhappy. So I changed it all, wrote several passages again. Erased some of them and restored the way they had been before. The whole chapter sucked so much but in the end I had done a halfway decent job, I only had a few paragraphs to go until it would have been finished - and then my hard-drive crashed. |D Broken beyond repair, a week of crossing fingers for nothing as the data was gone. GONE. LIKE COMPLETELY GONE. FOREVER.

I cried.

Then I restarted writing the chapter, after two days of not being able to even look at 'Attachment' because I was so fucking furious.

So I write it again - and changed the whole chapter. 8DDDD Of course, because I hadn't liked it anyway, so I wrote something completely different, for the 328938293 time.

BUT~ I like what I've come up with this time best. I can upload it with a clean conscience. XD

I won't promise anything for the next chapter, oh no, because that might just jinx things again, but I hope it won't even nearly take that load to upload the next chapter ever again!

Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy reading this! * 3 *

AND I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! *_*