Part IX
Time

How long has it been now? A year? Two years? Fury lost track of time. Lately, it felt meaningless to her anyway. In her eyes, time is inevitable. If there's one thing that continues going forward in this world was time. For humans, time lead them all to the same end. That was their own time stopped whilst the rest of the world left them behind as nothing more than a memory, should anyone still remain that even remembers them. Yet, in a way, remembering someone could, in sense, keep them alive. The memories of being with them. Without those memories, is that when one truly dies?

This was all Fury would be one day. A memory. Difference being, she couldn't care less if she was remembered or not. What was important to her is that she lives a life worth the passing of time. It would end one day, whether naturally or abruptly. And she had accepted that.

"Have you finished your cleaning?" Spoke Levi, interrupting her thoughts. That's another thing she's learned to master; selective hearing. "Don't ignore me."

"What am I, your house wife?" Complained Fury, sighing as she wiped down the table with a soaked cloth.

"I wouldn't treat you any differently if you were." Levi made that rather clear, not that it surprised her.

She rolled her eyes as she then placed the damp cloth into a basket that Levi would no doubt clean again later. "Is Farlan back yet?"

"Does it sound like he's back? I thought it was quiet..." Levi's sarcasm was always somewhat worse than Fury's. That infuriated her at times. "Are you getting any better with the ODM gear I gave you yet?"

And he was always good at changing the subject. "Only slightly. It's the balance. It's that which screws me over…"

"Well then you're gonna have to get better at it, aren't you?" He responded, sitting down, crossing one his legs other the other. "You've been tagging along with us for nearly 2 years now. I still don't quite remember you telling me why it was you told Farlan you wanted to see me that day."

He's bringing that up now? Why? Had he found out? Fury's thoughts pondered back to time again. Time has moved by so quickly that it would seemingly be too late to tell Levi of Kenny now. She wasn't sure how he'd react. She definitely didn't want to jeopardise her friendship with them. Time had beaten her on this. But her refusing to tell him… is that the same as lying?
It felt impossible for her to speak of Kenny's name now.

"Oh… I… Barely remember myself. Honestly, I think it was to do with money. Most things come down to money."

Levi raised his eyebrow. He'd noticed her shift in behaviour. It was more outspoken, erratic. He knew that wasn't how she usually spoke. To him, it almost felt like she was holding back most of the time. For now, he would play along, he would accept the tale she spun. What was she hiding though? He knew she wasn't a simple being, always felt like there was more to her than meets the eye. Rarely is Levi unnerved but this concerned him at most. He had enemies down here. Was Fury one of them?

"Make some tea." He then ordered.

"… I think you're capable of making it yourself." She replied, scoffing at his order.

"You're right. Tea is expensive. I don't want you wasting it by making it taste disgusting again."

"It was one time!" Fury barked. That's one grudge Levi seems to be holding against her. She then sighed. There was something she wanted to say, badly, but her disconnection with her emotions seemed to be stopping her. This was the side Fury hid so well. Her insecurity, her concerns and worries. Always keeping them locked away, pretending like she barely cared about a thing. Levi was hardened too, when it came to emotional prospects. But even Fury knew he was capable of showing some fondness now and then if he trusts you. She's had to show a sense of independence most of her life, not that she remembers some of it. May be that was something else that time would reveal eventually.

"I don't think it's fair…"

"What are you talking about?" Muttered Levi as he made his black tea.

"That people have the right to control… other people. I'm talking about those in the Government. Who gave them that right? Words on a piece of paper that says so? Or did they wake up one morning and figure it was time order was put into place?"

"I agree that there are corrupt bastards within the Government, but we also need it. It would be nothing but chaos if there was never any system in place that keeps us all in check when inside the walls."

Fury looked at Levi, shaking her head as he sat down opposite her with his cup. "No, I mean, who gave them the right to look at us and presume that we mean nothing to society? This place was built for people like us. People who were seen as stain to the rest of humanity. Not just to keep us safe from the Titans, else we'd all be down here."

"I was born down here. You think the Government had something to do with that too?"

"I'm being serious!" She snapped, slamming her fist onto the table, not that it phased Levi. "We should be allowed to come and go from the surface at any time, but instead we have to pay a huge fee to get up there? And who's to say we'd be allowed to stay even if we have citizenship? What humans do best is look down on those who've lived difficult lives and they do nothing but judge."

Levi sipped his tea, stirring it when he could. "It's why people down here learn to ignore the stereotypes and the prejudice. Like you said, it's something humanity does best. Which means those living down here are no better than those who live up there. There's one worry we don't deal with down here, and that's Titan's. Will you have that same attitude when those on the surface look to find refuge down here because it's somewhat safe?"

Fury looked down, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Okay Levi… you made your point."

"Not something I want to make a habit of, but I don't want you running off doing something ridiculous because your head is suddenly torn." The male closed his eyes, sipping his tea casually.

"Careful." Fury couldn't help but almost smirk. "You might come across like you care about me."

"You'd be lucky." He somewhat mocked as the front door opened and Farlan strolled through. He looked happy enough. Being still in the middle of getting used to the ODM gear, Fury rarely gets told what the two of them are up to. "Is it done?"

Farlan stretched, falling onto the sofa, laughing. "Yeah, yeah. It's taken care of. It'll happen a week from today."

"Good." Levi responded, though he frowned now. "We need this to move forward. As for now, we go on like nothing has changed."

"What are you two up to?" Fury asked, obviously curious, but at the same time she felt left out. Not that she'd admit to it.

"Haven't you got some balancing to get used to?" Levi snapped as he stood to leave for his room. She knew he needed his space. He'd even left his cup on the table without cleaning it, which was always unusual for him to do. Farlan chuckled as Fury was somewhat told off and she quickly turned to him and frowned deeply, causing him to stop out of unease.

Again, it was all down to time for Fury to even find out what these two were planning. Why did the passing of time cause fear for her? The goals in which she had crafted for herself, would time allow her to achieve them? And in a sense, only time itself will tell.