Thank you so much for your reviews. Thank you for the incredible praise you bestow on me about my writing, thank you for foregoing sleep to read this and deciding to tell me so. I'm insecure as shit yet also very passionate about writing this, so your feedback means more than I can express.

This is a day early because I've got a little something from Levi's POV planned for this week. If you're interested, keep an eye on Same Time, Same Place...

Chapter 25: The Harsh Light of Day

The spray of the shower was hot on her skin, the scent of Levi's soap hanging in the steamy air around them. They took turns soaping up and stepping under the stream of water, coordinating their actions without using words.

Nora's sense of unreality heightened as she watched him swipe his soaked, true-black hair from his face; for whatever reason, Levi looked positively irresistible when he was wet. Rainy training days and the encounter with Rod Reiss's massive, scalding hot titan had taught her that much. The effect was reinforced a hundred-fold by the lack of clothing; thin rivulets of water trailed down his lean, chiselled body, following the ridges and outlines of his muscles.

This night felt like a weirdly detailed fever dream she didn't want to wake from.

They got out of the shower, and as she reached for one of the towels Levi had laid out before, his hand closed around her wrist. She turned with a questioning look, and the tips of his fingers trailed over her hipbone. Nora suppressed a shiver.

"Did I do that?" Levi was frowning at the spot he'd just touched, and she looked down. On the soft skin around her hipbone were five oval, red marks that looked suspiciously like fingerprints. Beginning bruises.

Huh. Interesting. "Well, I didn't run into any hand-shaped objects full force recently, hip first, so..." Nora met his eyes, shrugging.

His gaze darkened, landing on a point near her shoulder. "And that one here is pretty self-explanatory as well." She went to the mirror over the sink. Because she hadn't wanted to get it wet, her hair was up and out of the way, which was why the purplish bite mark on the crook of her neck was on full display. "Shit. Sorry." Never before had Levi sounded so… chagrined.

How unnecessary. Nora rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be ridiculous. I've had worse from you, time and again." They were soldiers, after all, and he hadn't exactly been lenient with her when they'd sparred.

His jaw tensed. "That's different. Why didn't you say anything, you idiot?"

"You mean like, 'ouch'?"

Clearly, Levi wasn't in the mood for her jokes. "Can you be serious for once, with that shitty mouth of yours?"

Nora wrapped the towel around her frame, huffing in annoyance. "I didn't even notice—just like you, obviously. It's no big deal." It was true. She had felt a lot of things, earlier, but pain hadn't been one of them. To him, his touch had probably seemed delicate, distracted as he'd been. As they'd both been. "We both know you're stronger than, well, normal people."

"Yeah, but usually I can..." Levi broke off and averted his face, scowling at the tiles of the bathroom floor.

"You can what?"

"Forget it."

"Fine. Be difficult."

"Tsk."

Nora could have told him she would have happily put up with a lot more bruises if it meant seeing him so utterly unguarded, as absorbed with her as she had been with him. But the words eluded her. Besides, he'd probably just get angrier, call her a nutcase and flick her forehead.

Seeing, hearing and feeling Levi, always so cagey and restrained, come undone completely all around her, inside her… Just thinking about it had heat pooling low in her belly once again. Maybe she had a masochistic streak, but Nora embraced every single bruise borne from this.

He might have brought her down, but she had dragged him right along with her.

#

"Hey, brat." Someone with the nicest voice and a terrible attitude was nudging her shoulder. "Wake up."

Grumbling, Nora swatted at whoever was disturbing her peaceful slumber. She was warm and safe and cosy, and she couldn't even remember dreaming anything. The hand she'd lazily slapped at caught hers. Blinking her eyes open, the first thing she saw was Levi's face, propped up on the knuckles of his other hand. Next, she became aware of the source of her contentment; under the blanket, they were lying skin to skin, legs entwined. Stark naked. He was like a furnace. A man-shaped, hard, muscled, awesome-smelling furnace.

"Good morning to you, too." Her tone was drowsy, reproachful, and biting at once. She was peeved he had shaken her awake. It faded quickly when he shifted against her, drawing her closer by the hand still clasped in his, and Nora felt yet another body part of him that was hard, pressing against her lower abdomen. "You seem quite... awake already. And I definitely don't mean your eyes; they look tired as hell." It was true; Levi's lids were especially heavy, giving him that extra glum look he always sported on early mornings.

"You sure have a lot to say about my 'stupid, fucking, permanent bedroom eyes'." His voice was delectably rough from sleep, and this together with the reminder of how transparent she had been about her obsession with his damn pretty eyes brought heat to Nora's cheeks.

"No, that about covers it," she muttered. He hadn't left out a single descriptor.

Levi was gazing at her through lowered, black lashes, heating her up all over. His hair was somewhat tousled, and Nora thought no one should be able to look that good right after waking up. Unfortunately, she could guess at her own appearance from more than two decades' worth of experience: Her hair was probably a wild mess around her head right now. Overnight, thick, unruly strands had escaped from the loose bun and were tickling her face and around her shoulders. Well, it was far too late to feel embarrassed.

Something beneath the calm exterior of Levi's expression was stirring; reeling in that inscrutable, turbulent mind of his. She didn't even know how she could tell, but she saw it, and it brought forward her own restlessness.

"We have to get up," he said after a short while, his lips curling down in distaste. Nora's chest twinged with disappointment as he let go of her hand and inched away, leaving her feeling cold and incomplete. "We're supposed to be off early today with Eren and Hange, remember? Or do you want her marching in here because we're late?"

"Hell, no." She grimaced as she sat up and tried to disentangle the hairband from her mane. "And some time for tea would be nice, as well."

#

Minutes later Nora stepped into the corridor, closing the door to Levi's office carefully, quietly. She turned to go—and came face to face with Hange.

Dammit.

Her best friend broke into a shit-eating grin.

"What are you doing here, this early?" Nora groused.

"I would ask you the same, but that's kinda obvious, isn't it?" Obnoxious as she was, Hange waggled her eyebrows at Nora. "I wanted to fetch you for breakfast. When you weren't in your room, I thought I might find you here."

"You're impossible." Nora broke into a brisk walk. With her longer legs, Hange matched her pace without effort.

"No—I was right." Hange's grin stayed firmly in place, warm russet eyes glinting behind glasses. Her short ponytail was particularly messy today.

Alright, a change of subject was in order. "Why are you up this early, anyways? And so chipper… I thought you might skip breakfast in favour of sleeping in."

"Are you kidding? I'm far too excited! We're doing hardening experiments, baby!" Pumping her fist, Hange was all but bouncing in her step, barely containing herself. The pitch of her voice had climbed up an octave.

Pressing a finger to her left ear, Nora grimaced. "Yeah, that's great and all, but you're waking up the entire corridor."

"Is Shorty's grumpiness contagious, or is he just that bad in the sack?"

"Shh!" Nora looked around frantically. Thankfully, no one was nearby to overhear. "Can you just—not, please? I haven't even had tea, yet."

"Alright, alright. Just thought you'd be in a better mood after you've finally gotten some—ow!" Hange broke off, holding the spot on her arm Nora had just punched.

Ever since they'd left the bed—left that strange, dream-like realm where walls of any kind didn't exist—her mood had been souring steadily. The night was over now, wasn't it, and her overactive brain had returned from its temporary vacation.

"Anyways," Hange said, "Why are we going to your room instead of the mess hall?"

Nora sighed. In a low voice, she answered, "I want to change into a fresh shirt. And fresh knickers."

And she retreated into her bedroom, Hange's laughter ringing through the closed door.

#

The first few nights after the incident, Nora lay in her own bed, her thoughts nothing short of agony. Nights were always worst, with how busy their days were. How could anything make her feel so happy and terrified at the same time? Ensnaring her. From the beginning, he had been a trap she had walked straight into, eyes open. Over the past weeks, she had thought it couldn't get any worse, at least.

She had been wrong. It got worse with every look, every word, every touch, every kiss. It would get infinitely worse with every night she spent with him.

How she wanted to run away. How she wanted to go to his room and have him again, and again, each night.

The more she'd give in, the more it would absorb her, the less she would be able to think of anything else. But running wasn't an option, either; she wouldn't be free of him, no matter how far she went.

Trapped.

Over the course of the days, passing in a blur of experiments, preparation, and training, she had gotten equally ambiguous signals from Levi. He'd be reluctant to get close, to look at her, even, but the few times he did... By the Walls, the intensity of his gaze shot right through her heart and between her legs, weakening her knees. Whatever his thought process was—and wouldn't that be quite something to know—there seemed to be parallels to hers.

No matter what would happen next; there was no turning back, Nora knew that much. And even if she could, she wouldn't want to.

#

"That's a decent amount of light from such a small piece. I could really use this for some night-time reading." Nora lifted the glowing, blueish-white ore from Hange's desk. As soon as her hand closed around it, the room grew dim. Only slivers of the cool light shone through her fingers, lending an eerie glow to their surroundings.

"With a few of these, nightly scouting missions to route the best path to Shiganshina won't be a problem." Hange's face was half obscured by dark blue shadows playing over her face as Nora turned the stone in her hand. "Unlimited energy. Fascinating." Her friend's glasses reflected the light, hiding her eyes.

"Turn the lamp back on, please," Nora said, putting the small stone from the collapsed cavern that had once been underneath the Reiss Chapel back on the desk, "You look positively scary, grinning like a lunatic in the half dark."

"Well, you look white as a ghost. Not exactly flattering, either." Hange chuckled, but complied, and the warm glow of the gas lamp filled the office a moment later.

"I can't help that I'm pale."

"Go into the sun more."

"Not everyone gets a pretty, golden tan like you. You know perfectly well that I only turn red, and, after my skin has peeled, white again." Nora scrunched up her nose.

"That's right. I remember last summer. Must be your delicate, noble skin." Hange grinned when Nora shot her a glare. "Even Levi doesn't get sunburn as easily as you, and he grew up in the Underground. But then, that might be linked to his abnormal healing capabilities—"

Nora interrupted before the overly curious, easily-distracted woman could go off on another one of her tangents. "As interesting as this is, Hange, didn't you want to show me the final plans for the new weapons?"

Hange's eyes lit up. "Right. Here they are." She shoved two pieces of paper from a random stack towards Nora, sitting on the opposite side of the desk. "Prototypes are being engineered as we're speaking." She managed to give her friend maybe a minute to study the plans before speaking again, her tone eager. "I already picked names. Wanna hear 'em?"

Brows furrowed in concentration, Nora took a few seconds, caught up in the details of the sketches, before glancing up at Hange with a small smile. "You know I do."

"This one I call the Executioner from Hell." She pointed to the big guillotine-like construct depicted on a wall. "And these..." Hange indicated the second drawing that showed iron rods with an explosive mechanism. "...will be the Thunder Spears." There was dirt under her fingernails.

"Excellent names, don't get me wrong," Nora said, taking in the dark circles underneath her friend's bright eyes, "But certainly quite optimistic." Her gaze travelled to Hange's hair; it was so greasy and messy it didn't even count as ponytail anymore; chunks of hair had come free of their restraint, falling into her face and sticking up in all directions.

"Just you wait. We'll get to test them soon, starting with the executioner, courtesy of Eren's hardening, at the destroyed gate of Trost." The dishevelled woman beamed at Nora.

She nodded absently, frowning. "Hange… When was the last time you slept, ate, and showered?" So many new discoveries and possibilities at once clearly had the scientist too excited.

Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Hange said, "You're starting to sound like Levi. Don't worry, I'll go wash up eventually. When I find the time."

"I'm not worried about your personal hygiene, you nut. I'm worried about you." Nora directed her gaze at a point above her friend's shoulder.

Hange's voice softened. "That's sweet, but unnecessary. You should worry about yourself—you look hella tired."

So, maybe Nora could relate to her friend's current occupation with everything that was going on or was about to go on, soon. Just another reason to try not to think too much about a certain problem she most definitely had not in common with Hange. Admittedly a major factor why she had even more trouble sleeping than usual. "Suggestion: We're both finishing up early today and get us an extra helping at dinner."

"Deal. Now that that's settled... Back to Levi." Smirking, Hange leaned over the desk on her elbows. "Did he fold your clothes before he ravaged you?"

Ignoring the warmth rising in her cheeks, Nora scowled. "Are you just making fun of me or do you actually want an answer to this?"

Hange's grin broadened. "Yes."

That earned the nosy woman an exasperated sigh. Against her better judgement, Nora's mind went back to several nights ago, her blush deepening. "You noticed how he doesn't shy away from getting himself dirty when fighting?"

Hange nodded, eyes wide and expectant.

"Well… That's not the only instance where he is like that."

As Hange's grin reached a shit-eating level, Nora's lips quirked up despite herself.

"Good to know the man has his priorities straight." Eyes glinting behind her glasses, Hange settled back in her chair, stretching her arms and popping the joints in her shoulders. "It was about time you two got together, really. Though it still gives me quite the chuckle to think Levi of all people is anyone's boyfriend—"

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." Alarm bells shrilled in Nora's head, heart stuttering, stumbling over her own words. "He isn't—we aren't—"

"Good grief, calm down. No need to start hyperventilating." Hange shook her head, clearly amused.

"I'm not hyperventilating." Glaring, Nora struggled for composure. "We've just had sex once. Twice. One-and-a-half times—depends on the definition of—whatever. We didn't talk about anything like—" Somehow, it felt like a lie, even though it was technically true; he certainly hadn't mentioned any… further intentions, and neither had she. Just thinking about the word 'relationship' in that context paralysed her.

"Yeah, of course, you didn't. You two are so close, and you clearly can't resist jumping each other's bones, yet you stubborn idiots never talk about stuff like that." Crossing her arms over her chest, Hange regarded her with raised brows.

The frustration that had been simmering in Nora's stomach for weeks finally boiled over. "And why would we? There's no fucking space for this shite! I don't have to explain that to you, do I?" Her voice was too loud, almost shrill.

Hange's expression grew unusually serious. "No, you don't. But trying to ignore it hasn't exactly worked out, for neither of you."

Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Nora drew in a long, steadying breath through her nose. "I'm just trying to… to get through one day after the other, dammit." And now her mouth was running, like her mind, and she was explaining, after all. "I feel like if I let myself think about it, I'm gonna freeze. I became a Scout to find out the truth about the world, and the titans, and to fight for freedom—mine and everyone's. To get out of these bloody Walls, and away from the arseholes inside. After my mum died, there was nothing and no one holding me back, and I was just minding my own damn business. It was all I ever wanted, anyways." Blinking back tears, impatient with herself, she pressed on. "And then I met you, and thought, well, that's a bit of a complication, but it's also nice, and then there's him—" Nora's voice wavered, and she swallowed once. "And I really didn't expect it, anything like it at all, I thought I'm just not built that way, you know? And before I know it, everything gets more and more complicated with each passing day, and suddenly my priorities are all screwed up." Somewhere in her speech, she must have started gesticulating. Becoming aware of this now, Nora clenched her hands into fists in her lap.

If Hange was surprised about the outburst, she didn't show it. Her gaze was even and thoughtful. "You can't change that you care about certain people, Nora. You can't control how much you care. Trust me that I know. Who says it's a bad thing if your priorities changed, or rather, expanded? And while I don't have someone in my life like… whatever you and Levi are to each other, I know how it is to lose someone you consider family."

Nora's rapidly beating heart had calmed down a bit. The stinging in her eyes eased. "Yes, you do. You're so fucking, incredibly strong, that you press on regardless, never once losing sight of your goals. You have no idea how I admire this about you." She met Hange's gaze, warm and slightly surprised. "If Levi is the kind of person who never falters, never falls, then you're the kind of person who gets back up, again and again, no matter how often she is brought down. And I fear… I fear I might be neither of those."

"I think you might be wrong on all three accounts." Hange's eyes were shining, her voice quiet and… full.

Shrugging, Nora gave a joyless smile, thinking of the battle waiting for them in Shiganshina. "It probably doesn't matter, anyways. In not even two months from now, I'll likely be dead—and not just me. Then, I'd at least be done with the stress, done with worrying, done with caring who lives and who dies. The one perk of not existing anymore."

"Don't say that." Hange took off her glasses, rubbing at her eyes. "I know as well as you that this might come true, that this is our reality as Scouts. Regardless, do you have any idea how I would feel, if it came to that? Let me tell you I wouldn't just stand up and brush it off. Not even close." She looked at her with a rare, severe intensity. "And Levi would… No, I won't get started on this. You wouldn't believe it, anyways, and I'm not quite sure I can even imagine."

Tired, Nora slumped in her chair, barely able to comprehend her best friend's words, drained by the raw, emotional discussion. How it was so easy for Hange to live in the present, and to accept and express her feelings, after all the loss she had faced and the losses yet to come, was another thing she couldn't understand and admired deeply. "I'm sorry, Hange. I know my whinging doesn't help, and I know it's always been like this, for us. We will all fight to the last soldier standing, because it's all we can do. I guess those past weeks of constant death and near-death have just gotten to me." She sighed. "And you were probably right with what you said about Levi and me, but that doesn't make any of this shit easier." At the moment, she felt more like a cornered animal than free.

"You have nothing to apologise for. You aren't wrong, either. For the most part." Hange's small chuckle turned into a warm smile. "Just do me a favour and try not to forget living between all that brooding. We devote ourselves to the cause, to our dreams, and aside from that, the here and now is all we've left." The vague nod Nora gave seemed a satisfying enough answer for Hange, and she added, "You know, I think there's another person who'd benefit from this advice, as well."

#

A letter from Historia arrived later that week—it was more a small package, really. Nora went through it in the privacy of her room. At the top lay the only family portrait she owned and had sent to Historia as proof. It was nice to have it back. Then there was a handwritten letter from the new queen herself, as well as various documents.

It was a lot to take in at once—Nora felt her heart beating in her throat. A family tree, two portraits—one of which included her father, the similarity to the picture Nora possessed staggering—and notes detailing the arrests of two living family members. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she spread everything out in front, glancing repeatedly back and forth between Historia's letter and the other papers. Apparently, she had a cousin a few years younger than herself; the heir to their grandfather. Her father's father, who was responsible for his own son's torture and murder.

"Frank Rosenberg," Nora muttered, pursing her lips.

So he was still alive. One of the closest associates to the Reiss family, he had been a highly influential member of the Royal Assembly and therefore had a lot of blood on his hands. No wonder that he was held in Mitras, while they had brought her cousin to a smaller prison in the north of Sina.

Historia had sent another important thing. A key, together with an address on a small note. Former Rosenberg estate, stood there.

Nora stood, gathering everything with shaking hands, and went straight to Levi's office.

"Good—you're here, too," she said as she entered and saw Hange, leaning her hip against his desk. Thank fuck they weren't alone. Levi frowned at her from his chair; her relief must have been a bit too evident in her tone. "That way, I can ask you both at once," Nora clarified. "Is there anything up, this weekend?"

"Nothing special," Hange said, "I was gonna take a look at the titan injection Levi got from Kenny, but I don't think there'll be much I can do."

Levi's gaze caught on the documents Nora was holding against her chest. He lifted a piece of paper from his desk between two long fingers. "I got one, too." Voice blank, his expression drawn into the usual, slightly frowning mask of detachment, he didn't seem too happy. "Could have gone a bit longer without visiting the stinking capital again."

"Is yours about the orphans Historia wants to rescue from the Underground?" Nora asked. "She mentioned her plans in the letter she sent me."

"Yes. I'll speak to the Assembly on her behalf."

Of course, he would. Nora suppressed a smile. Her captain was without a doubt the ideal person to back up those plans. For the first time since they'd emerged victorious from this chaos, it really hit her that they could make a difference now, make things better—both inside and outside the Walls.

Provided they, and the rest of humanity with them, survived long enough.

"Seems the two of us are going on a trip this weekend," Levi said, and Nora's heart skipped a beat.

Why did that sound menacing to her ears?

AN: I can't tell if this turned out a bit bland, so... my bad. I tried. Hope it flows at least somewhat nicely.