"Shitty glasses," he says, and closes the door behind him.
She's been avoiding him. He knows it. In fact, he knows that she knows that he knows it because the momentarily startled look in her eyes confirms his suspicions. Wide, deer-in-the-headlights. Caught red-handed. Well, whatever it is that he is catching her in.
Hanji says, "Levi," and goes back to intently studying the supplies stocked on the shelves. She strokes her chin, chewing on her lips, as the silence between them ensues. Clearly, the scientist is not going to be the first to talk, which is surprising because she never shuts-up.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
There. Out in the open. Exposed in full view. Hanging in the air – why the hell is she not answering? Levi taps his foot, crossing his arms as he watches her still observing their stock supplies. Surely, she doesn't believe that she can get away with not responding to anything when they are within a few feet from each other enclosed in the storage closet. Unless…
"Oi!" he snaps his finger. "Is your hearing going shitty too?"
Hanji taps her fingers against each crate. "I'm counting the supplies, Captain Levi. Making sure I'll have enough to ensure my experiments so that I can test some of the speci – I mean…I'm just counting the supplies."
She stiffens, eyebrows furrowing, because she knows he's smirking. She knows she said too much when in actuality she is trying to give him the silent treatment. At least that's what he thinks. Levi's cool blue eyes glint. If one thing is certain, Hanji's a natural blabbermouth. It had to be killing her to not spout some random ass Titan bullshit. Or just bullshit in general.
"You know what I mean."
Hanji shrugs.
"I've been able to drink my tea without any surprises."
She squats, tilting her head as she inspects the bottom row.
"Write my reports without any visits."
Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she starts to hum.
"Jerk off without any interruptions."
Hanji shoots up.
In any normal circumstance, Levi should have been delighted that Hanji had become more distant towards him. In a perfect world. Even while he was listing things off, he started to wonder if her absence was really much of a big deal. But the twisting feeling in his gut told him otherwise. Ugh, fucking hell.
"What're you trying to say, Levi?"
He shrugs.
"Because if you're trying to say something, just say it."
He tilts his head.
"I mean, I thought you liked being alone?"
He leans back against the door.
"So if you have any painstaking questions or concerns, just talk to Petra. I'm sure she'll be of service."
At that, Levi raises his eyebrows and, if only they could possibly crawl further up his forehead, because he notices rose starting to dust Hani's cheeks.
"Why should I ask her anything? She's my subordinate. I barely know her."
"I know that." She fiddles with the straps to her harness but then promptly stops. "I'm still checking inventory though. Really."
So he spins on his heel, swinging open the door to leave the scientist to her task of being weird. Levi heads to his office and sits down at his desk. Three pencils lay neatly to his right, while four quill pens lay at the other side. A stack of papers rest in the middle, and his books sit nearby. He adjusts a quill and glances at the clock, wondering how long it will take until Hanji bursts through his door and ruins the documents.
And so Levi waits but tries not to wait.