LEVI'S P.O.V.
Levi woke with a raging headache. His mouth was dry, his throat felt like he had been previously chugging acid. He was almost certain his lungs were stuffed full of cotton wool and his stomach churned with every small movement. Levi took a few deep breaths before opening his heavy eyelids and staring up at the white ceiling.
He took a moment to work through his scrambled thoughts wondering why he felt like utter shit and why he was in what he assumed to be the infirmary. The air had the distinct bleach smell to it that he knew from nowhere else.
Suddenly everything came back and he groaned in annoyance.
How fucking stupid are you? You let yourself get poisoned! Dilan will never let me live this down.Levi thought before his eyes widened and he forced himself to sit up, ignoring the nausea and looking left and right for his annoying friend. Odd. He assumed she'd be here. He doubted anything was wrong though. Maybe she was busy with training. Yeah. Training seemed right.
And yet, he was having trouble convincing himself and ignore the dread in his stomach.
"Han-" Levi coughed. Holy fuck was his throat rubbed with sandpaper or something? He looked around, thanking all gods when he saw a glass of water on the side and picked it up, about to glug it down when an unfounded paranoia hit him, and he put the water back down.
Accepting unknown liquids was what got him into this mess in the first place wasn't it? He will never be doing that again.
"Hanji?" He called; his voice sounded like shit, but he'd manage. He raised an eyebrow as he heard a yelp and a crash, assuming Hanji had fallen asleep on a stool again.
"Levi!?" Her shrill voice came as he heard her scramble to get up and Levi's face fell, instantly regretting calling her. He could have gotten a few more hours sleep. Well. He'd opened the can of worms now. Hanji gasped as she rounded the corner before a manic grin filled her face and she ran at him like a bullet. "LEVI~!" Hanji screamed, ignoring his colourful protests before she collided into him, hugging him tightly. Levi frowned in annoyance, repressing a cough at the impact but allowed the crazy shit to hug him. He supposed he did almost die.
"Okay, enough, enough." He snapped, agitated she was taking so long. Hanji cackled and pulled back.
"10 seconds. That's the world record without me getting my face kicked in." Hanji said with a grin like the crazy shit she is. Levi glared at her.
"Where's Dil?" He got straight to the point, glancing at the door like he expected her to walk through at any second. In truth, he did. Hanji's face fell a bit at that, and Levi was immediately on edge. "Hanji, where is she?" He demanded. Hanji sighed.
"Look a lot happened while you were out. Let me finish without interrupting, yeah?" She said sternly. Levi frowned but nodded anyway. He was actually pretty curious to how he was alive. "We got you onto the cart and you weren't in good shape. After stopping Dilan from killing Stacy she explained the truth about her past. Apparently, she's Kenny's daughter-"
Levi's eyes widened at that.
"-and he made her enlist in the military age 13 to keep tabs on you. She was given the orders to kill you a while ago. She also gave us the antidote to the poison that she claimed was given to her by Kenny as a contingency, encase she was forced to drink the poison too. We gave it to you, and you started getting better. That's when the titan horde attacked and took down three squads. It was still catching up, so Dilan left to deal with it." Hanji explained and Levi's heart jumped. "She's alive." She reassured quickly and Levi sighed in relief. "But her gears stopped working in the middle of the fight and she suffered a head trauma. Stacy fought of the titans while I preformed first aid. Stacy didn't make it." Hanji informed.
Levi sighed, raking a hand through his hair. She may have tried to kill him, but it was only because she was desperate. He knew full well how manipulating Kenny could be. She didn't deserve to die.
"Luckily the rest of the trip back to the walls went without fail. I got you back to the infirmary in time as you went into cardiac arrest." Hanji continued and Levi was pretty shocked. He hadn't been that close to death for a long time. "Obviously we managed to stabilise you and you've been in a coma ever since while your body healed itself." Hanji said and Levi nodded.
"And Dilan is?" He refocused, not really giving a flying fuck about his health right now. Hanji chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, that's the tricky bit to explain. After getting you back... Dilan kind of... she yelled at the Commander for ordering her to stay put and not go after you earlier." Hanji explained and Levi's stomach dropped.
"Oh shit."
"Yep. She went full out. Told him to shut the fuck up. Called him a reptile. Said she was lucky she wasn't going to beat his ass." Hanji explained with an amused smiled. Levi didn't know if he was proud or angry.
"What happened?" He asked. Hanji sighed.
"Well... at the time, I thought she'd pulled it off. He let it go and then Dilan had her accident and passed out. But she woke up when we got back to the grounds and Erwin ordered his guards to restrain her and take her down to the cells in the basement as punishment for her insubordination. You can imagine that didn't go down well with her, especially being separated from you. She knocked out 7 guards before they restrained her, even with a concussion. She's been down there ever since. Erwin said she would remain without food down there for as long as you remained unconscious." Hanji explained sadly. Levi felt his anger rise.
"And how long have I been unconscious?" He asked through gritted teeth. Hanji hesitated before answering.
"4 days." She admitted and Levi's heart jumped in panic.
Shit.
"Get me my uniform." Levi said seriously.
"Levi, you were poisoned by one of the most dangerous substances in the walls. You just woke from a four-day coma. You need to rest." Hanji protested and Levi glared at her, unrelenting. It only took 10 seconds before she gave in. "Fine. I'm coming with you though. I miss Dilan. He didn't allow me access to see her." Hanji frowned, standing up to leave the room and fetch one of his uniforms. Levi sighed and leant back on the wall, rubbing his face.
Fucking hell, you like to get yourself into such trouble. Protective brat.
20 minutes later and Levi was in Erwin's office, demanding the keys to the dungeon. Levi was not impressed.
"...I mean who the fuck do you think you are!? She's not an animal that you can lock up whenever you fucking want! She has opinions and she should be allowed to express them without you throwing a pout like a child. So, stop allowing your shitty ego to cloud your judgment and act like a fair leader. Dilan's been here for a year and a half now, she's not a criminal anymore, she's my fucking second in command. You don't get to treat her like this and if you ever do again, I'll make your life a living hell." Levi growled, completely infuriated. Erwin looked up at him curiously.
"It's nice to see you alive, Levi." He said simply and Levi was about to punch him in that smug face of his.
"Erwin, Levi is awake. That was length of the punishment. I'm pretty fucking pissed too, you know. She had a fucking head injury, she needed comfortable rest and food and you denied her both of those things. She's your second strongest soldier not a dog. You can't treat people this way. It makes you a dictator." Hanji added, crossing her arms.
Erwin heaved a long sigh.
"Yes, I suppose you're both right. I was worried about your reaction when you woke. I was also worried about Dilan's reaction when I finally let her out. Apparently, she's tried to escape repeatedly, she's been a real hassle for the guards." He said with a chuckle and Levi looked at him with exasperation. Was he even human?! Hanji looked disgusted too.
"Erwin, I swear to god. If you don't give me the keys right this fucking second, I will do something we'll both regret." Levi warned seriously. Erwin stared at him for a second before relenting, reaching into his desk draw and throwing the metal keys on his desk. Levi took them and turned on his heel, walking away without another word. He hurried towards the cellars and Hanji was quick to catch up with him. "That man makes me sick." Levi spat, pushing open the door with more force than necessary. He was positively fuming. Hanji sighed.
"He can't help it. He's a machine. Machines have no feelings." Hanji shrugged and Levi would have to agree. The man was a genuine psychopath.
"Stop. You don't have access-" One of the guards started who was posted outside the door that leads to the cells before they saw their faces and both the guard's eyes widened seeing their Captain and Section commander. They formed stiff salutes instantly. Levi noticed, with proud amusement, that one of the guards had a broken nose, black eye and a bruised jaw, the other, a bandaged head and an arm in a sling.
Apparently, Dilan gave them hell.
"Move aside, idiots." Levi glared and they did so without missing a beat. Hanji sniggered at his authority. Levi had to admit. Intimidation had its perks. He opened the door, closing it behind him and Hanji. The cells had been dormant for years so he doubted it would be hard to find her.
"Dilan?" Hanji called as they walked through the eerily silence, their boots clicking on the stone floor. The place was a mess and horribly filthy. Even thinking about Dilan being down here for an hour made him feel ill, let alone four days. And without food.
Levi picked up the pace, starting to get worried. It was too silent.
"Dil?!" Hanji called a little louder and a small sneeze was their only response. Levi and Hanji shared a look before going in that direction.
Levi's eyes widened and Hanji gasped. Looking through the bars they saw Dilan huddled up on the crappy wooden bench without so much as a blanket, still in her uniform from the expedition. There was blood on her face from her wound that hadn't been treated since then.
Holy fuck, I'm going to kill that blonde bastard.
He hurried to open the doors, Hanji urging him to get a fucking move on and he snapped at her that he was trying. It was a very old door. Eventually it creaked open and they ran over to Dilan. She hadn't looked this weak since that day he and Hanji found her in Madam Han's base. It made Levi's heart lurch.
"Brat?" Levi asked, gently shaking her. Dilan didn't move and Levi started to panic. Hanji checked her pulse and her temperature.
"She's fine, I think. Possibility of infection but we'll need to get her back into the infirmary to check. Wait..." Hanji frowned, bending down to pick up a syringe on the floor, some clear liquid dripping out of the needle. They both stared at it in shock. "They didn't..." She mumbled in disbelief. Levi knelt down, taking Dilan's arm, he pulled up her sleeve and they both stared at the needle marks in horror.
Levi swallowed hard, trying to contain his rage.
"Bastards." He gritted. Hanji took a breath and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Dilan's first priority, okay? I promise you the people who did this will be taken responsible, Levi, but we need to focus on Dilan right now. Do you feel well enough to pick her up?" Hanji asked, speaking logically and Levi calmed down, nodding. He felt a little shitty, but the four-day rest did him good.
Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty. If he had woken up earlier Dilan wouldn't be in this mess. If he hadn't let himself get poisoned, Dilan wouldn't have yelled at the Commander or disobeyed his orders anyway. Levi shook his head of the thoughts before he got angry again and carefully picked Dilan up. She remained unconscious but she did curl into him, shivering slightly. Levi felt a pain in his heart noticing how light she was. This was barbaric. Levi could literally feel the anger emanating from him, but Hanji was right. Dilan was first priority.
They walked back out and Levi stopped to address the two guards that had saluted again.
"You shits keep watch over her the whole time?" He asked, monotoned. They nodded.
"Yes, sir!" They replied and Levi tried hard to keep the disgust off of his face.
"Names." He ordered and they looked confused. "Now." He said sternly, anger seeping into his voice and they flinched.
"Wilcox, sir!" The one with the busted face replied quickly.
"Tilson, sir!" The arm guy said. Levi would be remembering those names. He glared at both of them and they started to sweat.
"Pathetic." Levi muttered as he turned away, loud enough for them to hear.
They walked through the halls, back to the infirmary. Levi laid her down on one of the beds and Hanji rushed over to her, gently rolling her onto her side and checking her bandages.
"Shit." She muttered and Levi looked at her with worry.
"What?" He asked. Hanji sighed, taking off the bandages.
"The wounds infected. Not surprised really, the fucking unhygienic conditions down there." Hanji muttered the last bit. She told him to go heat up some water in the lab while she changed her into a medical gown.
Levi nodded and left the room boiling a kettle, he poured some warm water into a bowl and threw a few cloths in there before coming back over to Dilan who looked a lot cleaner now she was out of the bloody clothes.
"Clean the blood off the side of her face will you, I'll deal with the injury." Hanji said and Levi nodded, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves slightly, like Hanji did, he grabbed a sloth from the bowl and rung it out, starting to wipe the dried blood that was caked on the side of her face.
"How bad is it?" Levi dared to ask. Hanji sighed.
"I think it will be fine. Thankfully the infection isn't that bad but considering how she hasn't had any food, and likely little water, the infection could be worse than I can tell from limited data. Plus, I have no fucking clue what drugs are in her system, I need to take that into account. Shit, I can't believe Erwin would do this just because she shouted at him. Do you think there's another reason why he resents her so much?" Hanji asked, completely baffled.
Levi thought about it for a moment.
"You don't think... it's because Dilan's related to Farlan, do you?" Levi managed to force the words out, ignoring the pang in his chest. Hanji looked surprised that he brought it up, considering he had been ignoring the topic for the last week, but moved on quickly.
"Perhaps. He did seem pretty pissed of about it. Completely ridiculous." Hanji sighed and Levi looked down as Dilan winced and her face scrunched up in pain. Levi crouched down, taking her cold hands in his. A tear rolled down her face and Levi wiped it away with his thumb, supressing a smile as Dilan relaxed and lent into the hand. "Jeez, shorty. You got it bad." Hanji sniggered, finishing with Dilan's head and rebandaging it before taking the, now, bloodied water and cloths over to the side.
"Shut up, four eyes." Levi mumbled without any real malice. He wasn't in the mood to argue today. He was tired and he just wanted to be there for Dilan. Hanji chuckled, coming back with a syringe. Levi looked at it sceptically. "What are you doing with that?" He asked. Hanji rolled her eyes.
"I need to take some blood to see what's in her system." Hanji explained, taking her arm and gently inserting the needle, unlike what those bastards did, stabbing it in and making the surrounding skin go blue. Hanji drew some blood then walked away towards her lab. "There should be a blanket somewhere!" Hanji informed and Levi agreed that Dilan looked too cold. He looked around, grabbing a folded blanket in the corner before coming back over and covering the brat. He sat back down in the armchair and took her hand, stroking some black hair behind her ear and hoping she would wake up soon. "Hmph... just as I thought, the bastards." Hanji mumbled in the background. Levi looked over to her as she came back through.
"What is it?" He asked, concerned. Hanji smiled sadly.
"Sedatives. I'll need to set up an IV drip to flush it out of her system which I was going to do to help with the infection too." Hanji explained, grabbing a glass bottle of clear liquid. She inserted a needle into Dilan's vein, securing it with a bit of tape before hanging the bottle upside down on a metal pole she brought over. The liquid started to drip down the thin rubber pipe and into the needle. "You had one of these when you were out. Flushed the poison out, sped up recovery." Hanji explained and Levi nodded, slightly distracted.
"When will she wake up?" He asked. Hanji opened her mouth but was interrupted by a small groan before two orange eyes cracked open into narrow slits.
"Now, I suppose." Hanji smiled as Dilan blinked in confusion.
"Hanji?" She whispered hoarsely. Hanji smiled and nodded.
"Your safe in the infirmary now, Dil. Don't worry."
"W-where is he?" She mumbled, trying to wake up. Levi felt his heart warm, wondering how she was concerned for anyone but herself right now. Hanji smiled reassuringly.
"I'll leave you two to talk." Hanji said kindly and Dilan tilted her head.
"Two?" She blinked. Levi smirked, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, stupid." He spoke and Dilan's head snapped round to see him, a massive grin coming to her face that warmed his heart yet again.
"Levi!" She said excitedly, throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tightly around the neck, almost knocking over the metal pole which luckily Hanji steadied while chuckling before she left the room to give them some privacy.
Levi smiled, hugging her back.
"Careful brat. You're not well." He reminded in a tease. Dilan scoffed, pulling back slightly to punch him on the arm.
"Shut up. You were fucking poisoned!" She exclaimed before hugging him again. Levi laughed a bit, a pure happiness filling him up.
"You worried about me, brat?" He asked with a smug smile. Dilan glared at him.
"Tch, egoistical bastard. I don't care as much as you think I do." She huffed, sitting back in her bed and crossing her arms. Levi smirked.
"Oh yeah? Says the girl that climbed down the front of a fucking four story building just so I could get another hour of sleep." He said gleefully. He had been waiting to use that one on her. Dilan gawked at him.
"You knew about that?" She asked in shock. Levi chuckled.
"Only after when Hanji told me she saw you climbing down. You're so fucking stupid, you know that?" Dilan frowned.
"Shut up, I am not!" She protested. Levi rolled his eyes at her brattiness.
"Are too." He said in a bored voice. Dilan opened her mouth to retort but a wince cut her off and she felt the back of her head, her face twisted in confusion.
"Wait... how did I get here..." She mumbled, looking disoriented. Levi guessed all the sedation must have fucked with her head.
"Hey, relax, you've had a hard few days." Levi said in a softer tone, helping her lay down. Dilan shivered slightly and Levi pulled the blanket back over her shoulders. Dilan reached out for his hand that Levi gladly gave her, smiling a bit as she relaxed.
"I've been worried about you. How do you feel?" Dilan asked, looking up at him. Levi smiled reassuringly.
"I feel fine, brat. You're in worse shape than I am right now." He reminded and Dilan frowned slightly.
"They wouldn't let me see you... t-they wouldn't tell me if you were okay." She sniffed, tears collecting in her amber eyes. Levi's heart hurt but he smiled anyway, squeezing her hand for support. He knew if things were the other way around and Levi was in that dungeon not being allowed to see Dilan, he would have raised hell.
"I'm okay, I promise. How are you feeling?" Levi asked, noticing she looked really pale.
"I um..." She bit her lip, trying not to cry. "I don't feel right." She admitted quietly. Levi supressed the urge to find those guards and shove blades up their asses before roasting them over a burning fire and decided to focus on Dilan for now.
He could do the pole thing later.
He saw Dilan was shaking slightly again so he stood up and took of his boots. Dilan got where he was going and moved up so Levi could sit down on the bed with her, Dilan cuddled up on his side, leaning her head on his chest and sighing in relief. Pleased, she wasn't panicking anymore, Levi pulled the blanket back over her, his hand finding hers.
"Tell me what happened." Levi suggested.
"I kicked their asses." She sniggered and Levi smirked.
"Yeah I saw your work, nice broken nose, by the way." He commented and Dilan laughed.
"Thank you." She said proudly.
"Your welcome. But I was kind of talking about after." Levi said carefully and Dilan tensed slightly but relaxed again.
"Well... I kept trying to get out and I got close a few times. But I was pretty weak, and they normally called for reinforcements. Then they started drugging me and it really fucked me up. I had these weird hallucinations and dreams. They only got worse the weaker I got. I looked at my arms once and they looked all bloody and cut up, I thought I'd cut again but I took a second glance and they were back to normal. It got so bad I wasn't even sure what was real anymore. It was really horrible." She admitted with a sniff. Levi squeezed her hand for comfort, again supressing his rage. Someone was going to pay for this.
"I'm sorry brat. I should have woken up sooner." He apologised quietly. Dilan looked up at him and smiled, shaking her head.
"Don't be stupid. I'm fine now anyway. You're here, we're both alive. The death pact is still on!" She said in triumph. Levi laughed, rolling his eyes.
"You're such an idiot." He chuckled. Dilan shrugged, snuggling into him slightly and Levi felt his heart beat faster at the endearing action. Still, he swallowed down his feelings. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.
"Perhaps." Dilan replied tiredly. "Do... do you know about Stacy?" Dilan asked quietly. Levi sighed.
"Yes."
"I know she tried to kill you and stuff but... it still kind of hurt, you know?" She mumbled. Levi nodded in agreement.
"She was your friend. You're allowed to grieve her." Levi pointed out softly. Dilan smiled sadly and nodded.
"I know. She was a good kid. She was just a little fucked up." Dilan sighed. Levi hummed in agreement. Who wouldn't be fucked up under Kenny's care? Perhaps if the man didn't abandon him, Levi would have ended up doing something similar to someone else. "Hey Levi?" Dilan asked after a moment of peace.
"Yeah brat?" He looked down to see Dilan had a face of confliction. Levi gave her time to speak and eventually she answered.
"You'll... you'll be Levi from now on, right? You'll be my friend again?" She asked hopefully. Levi felt guilt twist in his stomach, and he was quick to reply. While he had his reasons before, they had both almost died and almost dying puts things into perspective. He was stupid to stay away from her. He needed her in his life, and he knew Dilan felt the same way.
"Course. I'm sorry for being an ass." He said genuinely. Dilan smiled happily at that.
"You're always an ass." She teased and Levi smirked, flicking her on the forehead. "Ouch!"
"And you're always a brat." He shot back as she glared up at him.
"Jerk." She pouted and Levi chuckled. "So now that we're friends again will you tell me what's been bothering you?" Dilan asked and Levi had to stop himself from tensing at the mention. He knew he would have to tell her eventually. The secret was too big to keep to himself if they were going to remain friends. Levi just hoped she would be able to get past it. Still, he wasn't ready to tell her right now.
"I will, I just need some more time. Will you give me it?" Levi asked carefully. Dilan smiled and nodded.
"Course, grumps. You just need to come to me when your struggling, like you tell me to do. Don't push me away, okay?" She said kindly. Levi smiled and nodded, a warm feeling in his chest. "Good." She sighed in relief.
The peaceful silence was interrupted by a loud stomach rumbled and a moment of quiet followed before they both burst out laughing.
"Hungry brat?" Levi chuckled and Dilan laughed, nodding.
"Starving. Holy shit, I forgot how hungry I was. How long was I down there anyway? Drugs made time weird down there." She asked.
"4 days." He informed and Dilan nodded in understanding. He knew she had been through worse periods with no food. Levi had been too. "I'll get you some food. What do you want?" Levi got out of the bed, pulling his shoes back on. Dilan hummed while she thought.
"Apples." She said seriously. Levi gave her a deadpan look.
"Just apples?" He said, monotoned. Dilan smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I don't mind, whatever's on offer at the mess hall. Make sure you get some food for you too though; you look like you need it." She pointed out and Levi guessed he hadn't had solid food for four days either. He had lost some strength from the experience.
"Probably right. I'll be back in a bit then." Levi said and Dilan nodded. He turned and walked towards the door, not getting far when Dilan called his name.
"Levi?" She said and Levi glanced back at her.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." Levi raised an eyebrow.
"What for?" She smiled.
"For coming back." She explained and Levi tried and failed to supress that smile, averting his eyes before he ended up blushing. Dilan chuckled at his reaction and Levi glared at her. "Go on then, I'm fucking hungry!" She whined. Levi rolled his eyes but smirked anyway, turning around and leaving the room on a quest for some food.
He sighed in relief; thankful the brat was alive. Thankful to be alive. It had been an eventful expedition. One, he hoped, no expedition would be able to surpass.
A few hours later and Dilan and he had eaten. They had spent the day in the infirmary together. Hanji had gone to get them a change of clothes. They both showered since they smelt like shit and changed into clean clothes after their food. They relaxed and talked. Levi decided to take it easy for a while. He could worry about work tomorrow.
At some point they ended up in a very competitive game of cards, one of which went on for an hour straight because both of them were too stubborn to forfeit. Dilan lost eventually and Levi made it a big deal to brag about it, to which Dilan responded by throwing a boot at his head. Levi managed to dodge, already having expected this reaction. The brat was a very sore loser.
Eventually Dilan got tired and Levi told her to go to sleep. Dilan tried to protest but during her retort she forgot what she was even talking about, sinking into the covers and closing her eyes. Levi had smiled, amused by the sleepy brat, pulling the covers over her shoulders, glancing at the IV drip that was still connected to her skin and frowning slightly.
He had been able to forget what happened to Dilan during the day, just wanting to spend some time with her and get both their minds off of it but now that he was alone again, he felt his rage starting to bubble over. Now someone had to pay.
Levi grabbed his uniform that he had folded neatly and changed in the bathroom, stepping out into the hallway he was met with Hanji.
"Hey!" She smiled. Levi closed the door behind him quietly, not wanting Dilan to wake up from Hanji's loudness.
"Where've you been four-eyes?" He questioned, walking down the hallway. Hanji kept pace with him.
"Well I wanted to give you two sometime together, but I had a lot to do as well. Hey, you should be resting." She frowned; her tone disappointed. Levi rolled his eyes. He felt fine. There was just a small burning in his lungs and an ache in his muscles, but it was completely manageable.
"I rested all fucking day even though there's nothing wrong with me." He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. Hanji narrowed her eyes at him.
"Levi, you were poisoned. You almost died." She reminded. Levi brushed her off.
"Well aware. It's not like I'm going to jump back into training straight away but I'm not going to stay in bed all day like a sick person." Levi scoffed. Hanji sighed, knowing there's no way of convincing Levi out of something. He was a stubborn shit, through and through.
"Fine. Still you have to take it easy, drink lots of fluids and I'm forbidding you from training for the next week." Hanji said sternly. Levi looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Forbidding me?" He asked, almost amused. Hanji crossed her arms, nodding firmly.
"If I suggest things to you like a normal doctor, you'll just ignore them. I am forbidding you." She smirked. Levi rolled his eyes and kept walking. "How's Dilan been today?" Hanji asked.
"Alright, all things considering. She ate pretty well. A bit shaky but whatever that stuff you hooked her up with is, it helped. She'll be fine, she's sleeping it off now." Levi said, thankful he wasn't lying. The brat had been pale and shaky at the beginning of the day but after food and a shower she livened up a bit. The card game certainly got her back to her usual bratty self. Levi didn't know if he had ever heard her swear so much.
Hanji smiled.
"Good, I'm glad." Hanji sighed in content. Levi nodded.
"What have you been so busy with then?" Levi wondered, considering he hadn't seen her since she gave them a change of clothes. Hanji chuckled.
"Well with you and Dilan out of commission the last four days, I've been taking on your paperwork duties. I honestly don't know how you do it. Thankfully Moblit helped me out or I would have been drowning in it by now." She sniggered. Levi gave her a grateful look; glad he didn't have to return to stacks of paperwork.
That was nice of the crazy shit to do.
"Oh, by the way, I told the squad you and Dilan were up and about. They wanted to see both of you, but I told them to stay put since you'll be going back to the Inn tomorrow." Hanji informed. Levi nodded; thankful he hadn't had to deal with the squad today.
He appreciated that they were concerned, and he couldn't blame them considering during the length of an expedition one member of their squad had been killed, another imprisoned and the last reduced to a coma, but he just wanted to relax and hang out with Dilan today. He didn't want to be 'the Captain'. Dilan was the only one he could be himself around and he needed that today.
"Hey Levi?" Hanji asked after a moment of silence.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you going?" She asked slowly. Levi turned the corner and he thought the answer was pretty clear as Erwin's office door came into view. Hanji's eyes widened. "Levi... what are you doing here?" She questioned reluctantly.
"Getting some answers." Was Levi's curt reply and Hanji gulped as he knocked loudly on the door. It was pretty late, but he knew the Commander would still be here. Erwin spent most of his nights at his desk.
"Name and business." Erwin's stoic voice replied. Levi ignored him and opened the door, also ignoring the look from Hanji that asked him what the fuck was he planning on doing.
Levi stepped inside, Hanji trailing in after and shutting the door. Erwin looked up from his papers, his icy blue eyes narrowing slightly at the disrespectful intrusion.
"Levi. Hanji." He greeted, gesturing to his seats. Levi crossed his arms and remained standing. Hanji looked between them nervously.
"Did you know?" Levi asked, trying hard not to grit his teeth as he spoke.
"Know what?" Erwin replied. Levi glared, not buying the innocent façade.
"Did you know that your guards were drugging her?" Levi elaborated, catching Erwin's eyes widening a fraction before he returned to his stoic demeaner.
"I did not. What with?" He asked.
"Sedatives. I checked my supply; someone's been stealing from the infirmary. Not only is it immoral, but this is a massive security breach." Hanji said seriously. Erwin pursed his lips, taking a moment.
"I'll see the guards that were posted are punished accordingly and their belongings will be searched. I'll have someone change the infirmary locks first thing tomorrow." Erwin reasoned before getting back to his papers. Levi and Hanji shared a look, unsatisfied.
"Not good enough." Levi said bluntly and Erwin's icy gaze fell upon his again.
"Oh?"
"Do you know how barbaric what you did was? Those cells haven't been used for centuries. They aren't fit for imprisoners, let alone an injuried soldier who did nothing wrong in the fucking first place." Levi clenched his fists, trying to stay calm. Erwin's eyes hardened.
"She was insubordinate."
"As are many. A punishment, is stable duty, scrubbing the mess hall, sharping the corps' blades. What you did was worse than she or anyone deserved. Especially for saving my life. You were starving her, Erwin. Fucking starving her like a slave that spoke out of turn. She got an infection from the conditions down there. What if I didn't wake up? Just how long did you plan on torturing her?!" Levi demanded to know. Erwin remained unfazed.
"As long as it took." He answered coldly and Levi was barely restraining himself. Hanji could clearly tell.
"Okay, let's just-"
"The guards that drugged her. I want them disbanded from the military. Dishonourable discharge." Levi said seriously and Erwin raised an eyebrow for a brief moment before shaking his head.
"Denied. We're running out of soldiers as it is." Erwin mumbled but Levi wasn't giving up so easy.
"We don't need filth like that in the corps. One day they steal sedatives, the next they'll be selling equipment to the underground or information to the MP's." Levi pointed out.
"He has a point, Erwin. A simple punishment doesn't justify what they did to Dilan." Hanji backed him up and Levi was grateful. Erwin sighed.
"I believed I said denied." He replied, a bit of anger seeping into his voice.
"I believe I said not good enough." Levi gritted. Erwin frowned.
"And what do you intend to do about it?"
"Either those bastards get a dishonourable discharge, or I resign." Levi said seriously, in a low tone. He was getting justice for Dilan, even if he had to risk everything. Hanji looked at him in shock and Erwin looked slightly taken aback too.
A moment of silence passed.
"You're serious about this?" He asked after a moment.
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't." Levi replied. Another long stretch of tense silence followed.
"Very well, Levi. I suppose you leave me no choice. They'll be out of the gates by tomorrow morning, dishonourable discharge, as per your request." Erwin replied, only a tinge of annoyance in his tone.
Internally, Levi sighed in relief.
He had no idea what the fuck he was going to do, had Erwin accepted his resignation. The corps were his life, he surprised even himself by wagering his position, a position he worked so hard to secure for himself. Perhaps Dilan meant more now. The thought didn't surprise him much. Of course, she meant more. If giving up his role as Captain, meant protecting her, he would do it without a second thought.
Levi nodded in approval, satisfied with his commander's answer. Erwin stared at him for a moment before looking back down at his papers.
"If that's all. Dismissed, Levi. Hanji, stay." He spoke. Levi turned, giving a glance to Hanji on his way out. He wondered what the blonde bastard wanted with shitty glasses, but he was too tired to find out.
He was quick to walk back to the infirmary, change back into his more comfortable clothes and refold his uniform.
Dilan was still sleeping soundly, although the stupid brat had managed to end up half hanging off of the bed. Levi rolled his eyes, smiling in amusement as he walked over and gently helped her back up, so her head was on the pillow.
What an idiot.
Dilan hummed softly, settling into the covers that Levi placed back over her, seemingly more comfortable. Levi sighed, moving some hair out of her face. He wondered when he would find the guts to tell her about Farlan. Would things ever be the same if he did?
Levi shook the thought from his head for tonight and slid under the covers of his own single bed, a meter away from hers. Levi looked at the peaceful brat, smiling subconsciously as he closed his eyes and drifted into an easy sleep. Sleep seemed natural when the brat was by his side.
A/N: Hey! Hope your having a good morning!
Guys we are so close to the reveal. I promise you this. I just need to put up a few more chapters before we get there. Some things need to be set up, another person needs to be reintroduced. Roughly 5 chapters and we'll get there, I promise. Trust me, okay? :)
The good thing this is I have pre-written the next few chapters already so considering I don't have to edit them too much I will post them every day like always. You won't have to wait too long. It's going to be epic! So fricking emotional.
Little hint though, Erwin ordering Hanji to stay behind to talk was important. I'd advise you remember this.
Otherwise, thanks for reading as always! Stay safe! X