"Levi?"

He tried to calm down his breathing – hyperventilating only made his ribs hurt more, if possible –, succeeding only mildly. He felt light-headed, on the verge of passing out.

"Where are you? I heard a weird noise…"

He tried to get back to his feet, cursing his shaking arms, but his cast slipped and collided with the bathtub, making him cry out in pain.

"Are you okay?"

Hange's voice was closer now, just on the other side of the bathroom door. Part of him wanted them to go away, hated the thought of them seeing in this state, but he just didn't have the energy it would take to deter them from checking on him. He stayed silent, trying his best to cope with the pain, as the doorknob slowly turned.

"I'm coming in."

I can see that, you idiot.

He watched the door open slowly, then Hange's boots entered the small room, stopping as soon as – he assumed – their gaze fell on him. He probably looked pathetic right now, sitting half-naked on the bathroom floor, almost as pale as the bandages around his chest. His black hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat, dark circles under his reddened eyes.

"What happened?" they asked after what felt like an eternity.

He couldn't help but snap at them:

"Nothing, just chilling there. Fuck, idiot, what does it look like?!"

Hange frowned and crossed their arms.

"It looks like you fell."

"What a brilliant deduction."

"Which led me to my initial question: what happened?"

Levi sighed.

"I realized I was out of painkillers last night," he reluctantly explained. "I wanted to sleep it off, which didn't work so well, and now, I was trying to have a quick wash before heading to the infirmary. That neither didn't go as planned, obviously."

"Okay. Stay here, I'm going to fetch these painkillers."

Before he even got the time to say something, anything, they had already turned tail and one second later, he heard his door open and close. He let out a slow exhale, resting his head against the wall.

Not like I will run out anywhere, four-eyes…

He didn't think it would hurt quite that much without the meds. Compared to his ribs, his broken leg felt almost fine, as long as he left it alone. Although, the same was probably true for his chest – if only he could find a way to stop breathing.

He barely heard Hange coming back and the sudden appearance of boots in his field of vision took him by surprise.

"Here."

They handed him a tablet of small, oval white pills. He popped out two and swallowed them dry.

"Now, if you still really want to bathe, I could-"

"I don't need your help."

Hange shook their head, not giving in an inch. They were the only one that never faltered under his ice-cold glare, much to his annoyance most of the time – or so he tried to convince himself.

"How many times have you knocked me out just to bathe me?" they argued. "Come on, just let me return the gesture! Without the unconscious part of the deal, of course, because you have had enough of that already. And eh, I have had broken ribs too. I know first-hand that it means you can't bend, you can't raise your arms, you can't twist to reach your back. Tell me, how do you even plan on taking off the bandages?"

"Tch."

He looked away, breaking eye contact. He hoped Hange would take the hint – he would really hate to have to admit defeat out loud. He heard footsteps approaching.

"Come on, turn that way."

He did as told, and soon he felt cool fingers brush lightly against his skin, carefully undoing the bandages holding his ribs in place. He took the opportunity to try and breathe more deeply – that was a mistake. He bit down on his lip, hard, fighting back the tears that welled in his eyes once again.

As the pain subsided enough for him to form a coherent thought, he noticed Hange's uncharacteristic silence. He heard them exhale shakily.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You just… you look terrible."

He said nothing.

"Like, your back is just black and blue", they went on. "You know, there are less extreme ways of changing your skin tone. I get that you could grow tired of being pasty white, but-"

"Look, four-eyes, if you're trying to make me laugh, don't."

"I-"

"Because I'm pretty sure it's gonna hurt like a bitch."

"Ah." They let out a chuckle. "Anyway, since when do you do laugh, you grinch?"

He rolled his eyes – pretty glad that Hange couldn't see the stupid smile tugging at his lips.

"Maybe it's just that your jokes are just so god-awful. And come on, help me out of these pants."

A few – painful – minutes later, they had managed to get in the bathtub, Levi's injured leg propped up so the cast would stay dry. They were in a rather awkward position, with Hange sitting behind him, their legs on each side of his body. He could feel the heat radiating from them.

The cool water felt good against his skin, dulling the throbbing from his injuries a bit. Hange grabbed a cloth, rubbed the soap against it, and began to wash his body as gently as they could – that was definitely not their strong point –, avoiding the darker bruises. Neither of them talked, the only sounds being their quiet breathings and the water dripping against the ceramic.

"I'm going to take it from there," he said, taking the cloth out of their hands when they neared his inner thighs.

"Oh, are you shy?" they teased – and he swore he could see their damn too-wide grin in their voice.

"You're disgusting."

"Say the guy who strip me when I'm blacked out on a regular basis," they fired back.

"Wouldn't happen if you weren't so much of a health hazard."

"Hm-m. That's what you said."

He passed them the cloth back and they turned the water on again, rinsing away the soap and wetting his hair in the process. He relaxed a bit under their touch as they slid their fingers through the black locks.

"It's soft," they commented.

"That's what happens when you wash it regularly."

The half-hearted jab made them laugh.

"Four-ey-… Hm. Hange."

"Yes?"

"Why did you come back for me?"

"Outside? It's simple, really. I wanted to tell you about that abnormal I saw, but you weren't there."

He chuckled, then winced.

"Ah, what did I tell you about making me laugh?"

"I was just telling the truth! You're the one who asked."

"Yeah, right."

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Levi was enjoying the feeling of Hange's fingers on his scalp, almost drowsing off now that the painkillers were starting to take effect.

I can picture why they don't resent too much the forced baths...

"I'm very glad I did."

It was barely a whisper, but they were so close to one another that he heard them anyway.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm very glad I came back for you."

"Ah. Well, me too, I guess."

"I was really scared of losing you," they added, their voice still unusually quiet. "I don't know what I would have done."

He wanted to shrug but his body didn't quite respond.

"The same thing we do each time a soldier dies," he said instead. "Go on with our lives."

"You're not just another soldier. Not to me, at least."

Hange's hands came to rest on his hips and he could feel their breath against his neck. He awkwardly patted the leg he could reach.

"You're special to me too, four-eyes."

They cooed and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before straightening up.

"Come on, let's get out, the water is getting cold."