A/N: Some violence here. Nothing graphic or major, just a brief summary of... the result of Levi's visit. Just so you're ready for it. (I so wanted to name the chapter "Crime & Punishment" but that would break the pattern (and would sound terrible if combined with the A Little Bundle of *insert chapter title*)

Marzell squirmed in his cell, body protesting loudly as the wounds he had received from the furious alpha girl and later, for some reason, the Commander himself, still weren't healed. He didn't understand what was going on. Sure, he lied and caused trouble, endangered the precious "human weapon" but he just couldn't comprehend why that initiated such over-the-top, violent reactions. And locking him up as if he were some criminal to be put on trial. He'd understand some disciplinary action but to be held in a cell?

He was brought from him musings when the door leading to the holding cells, all empty save for his own self, creaked open and, after a long pause, a head suddenly poked in. He jumped a little, his bruised shoulder hitting the wall painfully. Damn Squad leader Hanji and her love for dramatic entrances.

Hanji grinned when she received her intended reaction from the lone prisoner before turning around while kicking the door open more widely. Soon, Marzell understood why as she took a lamp and a tray with some food from her assistant Moblit.

"Squad leader are you sure I shouldn't stay?" Moblit asked anxiously, his hands twitching to take at least one of the items from Hanji's hands. Marzell could see why, as it looked like the lamp was close to slipping from her fingers and breaking on the floor, drenching the floor and the Squad leader in oil and setting everything on fire.

Hanji only laughed maniacally, "Nah, there's no need! You just go and make sure to keep Eren away from here."

Moblit saluted hesitantly, throwing one last uncertain look at her as he walked off.

Marzell wasn't sure but as the squad leader turned to face him, it seemed like the amusement drained from her eyes and left them hard and cold even as her smile stayed firmly in place.

But it could be the light playing tricks on him just as well.

He was at least certain her grip on both the tray and the lamp became much more sure than it was before Moblit left as she took two steps towards the closest chair and carefully left the burning lamp standing on it, making sure it was steady before letting go and, holding the tray in one hand, fished around her pocket for the keys to the cells.

Not a minute later, Marzell was once again locked inside his cell, but now with a tray of food – slightly hard bread and cold, bland stew. Only when he took the first bite did he realize he was hungry. His stomach agreed as it let out a growl that echoed around the large, stony room.

Hanji let out a chuckle where she stood outside his cell, keys still in hand. "Sorry, sorry. Seems you didn't get lunch before and I almost forgot to bring you your dinner! It's actually almost curfew now, can you believe it?" she let out a little apologetic laugh. Marzell couldn't put his finger on it but somehow, it didn't sound like it was entirely true. She definitely didn't sound sorry.

He expected the Squad leader would leave then when she reached for the lamp standing on the chair but she just placed in on the floor instead. Then she turned the chair around and sat on it backwards, using the back to put her hands on and resting her chin on them as she watched him.

Her stare was so piercing it made him uncomfortable. It made it harder to chew for sure, making him conscious of his every move. He felt like one of her subjects of study; the fact he was sitting in a metaphorical cage not helping with the imaginary the slightest bit.

Like this, it took him a long time to finish eating but eventually, he managed, placing the tray carefully back on the floor in front of the door where Hanji left it for him before to pick up.

This time, he expected she really would just take the tray back and leave but she didn't move. Just continued to stare at him which made him more and more nervous. Just what was going on? Was he to be used in experiments as punishment? Was there something in his food and she was just waiting for it to start taking effect?

He gulped loudly, eyeing the Squad leader carefully.

For a long time, nothing happened but finally, she spoke up, "Say, Marzell," she drew out the last syllable slightly, as if she was thinking. "You did something very bad, do you realize that?"

Now he was sure any amusement was gone from both her voice and her expression. In that moment, she looked cold, distant, and dangerous. Marzell felt an urge to cower but there was nowhere to hide so the only thing he could do was drop his gaze.

He didn't give her an answer; doubted she wanted or expected one anyway. Still, she paused as if waiting for one. Before the silence stretched to become too uncomfortable, she laughed again. The sound sent chills down Marzell's spine. In that moment he was only glad the Squad leader wasn't an alpha. He somehow doubted he wouldn't be whimpering and pleading for mercy by this point if she were.

"You know, Eren is a very important member of the Corps." She paused, he gaze wandering towards the door as she rubbed at her chin in contemplation. "He's a very valuable asset to our battle power as well as a source of much information. We've made more progress with our research the very day his power was discovered than we have since starting it years ago. He brought the first ever victories to humanity." Her eyes shifted to bore into him again accusingly, her words heavy despite the deceivingly light tone and Marzell froze completely. "And because of you we almost lost him."

Now he had to bite his tongue inside his mouth to keep the fearful noises in.

But Hanji paid him no mind, continuing with her monologue. "And that's not all he is, he hold much more power in here than just that – besides the fact he's a precious boy who doesn't deserve this treatment – and omega prejudice.

"Hey, Marzell, do you have a family?"

Marzell blinked a few times, taken aback by the sudden change in topic. What did his family have to do with anything? He raised his eyes carefully to give Hanji a questioning glance but she only stared back. As the silence stretched on, he realized that yes, he was mean to answer, so he slowly, almost unnoticeably, nodded.

"Hm? You do, I see," Hanji said in a neutral tone before questioning further. "Any wife or kids?"

This time he shook his head, eyes going wide. "N-No. Just..." he gulped even as his mouth was dry. "Just my parents and older brother."

"So no bond, yeah?" she confirmed and he nodded, before she muttered to herself, barely audible, "Well, beta bonds are weaker anyway..."

Marzell frowned, not understanding where this was going.

Noticing his expression, Hanji smiled wryly, slumping forward to hang over the back of her chair. "You see, Levi used to have family. Lost it every time. The last time it happened, it was his first mission. Hit him hard. I was there and saw him, sat with him as he got shitfaced trying to forget they were gone. After that he swore he'd never get this attached. I think he was convinced he was cursed or something. Well, he's soft so he cares anyway but still; he kept his word and never let anyone close enough to call family. As his best friend, I, too, swore something later." Her head dropped slightly and the light from the lamp danced over her glasses, making it difficult to gauge her expression. "I swore that if he ever found someone important enough to let in, I'd give my life to protect that person."

A heavy silence descended upon them, the weight of what Hanji just said, even as out-of-context as it seemed, hit Marzell hard. He felt like he'd committed a very grave crime unknowingly, yet he still didn't understand why the Squad leader was telling him this or how it related to the thing he had actually done.

Meanwhile, Hanji was lost in her memories of the times Levi cracked in front of her, telling her everything about his mother, the man who took care of him and then abandoned him, about Isabel and Farlan. About Eren. She hurt for her friend when she imagined what he had to go through in the past and what he almost had to go through now.

Marzell jumped when Hanji finally moved again after a long, long while. Her head shot up and she stared at him with that piercing gaze again, but now the gaze was softer. It almost seemed pleading. "Anyway; without realizing what you were doing, you did something we can't forgive. None of us. So please don't hate us for this."

The frown was back on Marzell's face, even deeper than before. Hate them for what? Hate whom for what?

His mouth fell open, ready to ask something but Hanji closed her eyes and shook her head as if to clear it, before she stood up, took her lamp and headed for the door after retrieving the empty tray. She only paused for a moment with her hand on the handle, but she didn't say anything, didn't turn around. Just left and only silence and unsettled, foreboding feelings remained.

Hanji closed the door behind herself, slumping against it immediately. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bumping her head against the wood softly a few times. 'Stupid, stupid,' she thought, berating herself, yet not sure for what exactly.

She wasn't surprised when a level voice interrupted her, alerting her that she was not alone. "I always knew you were going to kill yourself one day. I just assumed it'd be in some shitty titan's mouth, not by you splattering your own brains on some door."

Hanji laughed loudly, as Levi continued to expressionlessly stare in front of himself, leaned against the adjacent wall with his arms crossed. "Good one, Levi!" Hanji said when she caught her breath. "Glad to see you care."

The alpha gave her a blank stare which Hanji returned with her teasing one. "You've been in there for a while, having a good shit or something?" He said instead of commenting.

Hanji took the wording in stride, not even blinking. She'd heard something similar too many times for it to still throw her off. "Something like that."

"Hope you didn't say anything unnecessary," Levi said after a pause.

Hanji cocked her head to the side as if analyzing the words she had said inside the room behind her back. "Define unnecessary."

Levi rolled his eyes at that, making Hanji snort. "Great."

"Yep," she nodded with a grin, belying her own conflicted feelings on the matter.

They stood there together for a long while, neither saying anything, each mulling over their own thoughts. Neither even moved, just Hanji's grin was gradually changing into something calmer, more solemn.

Only when Levi uncrossed his arms did Hanji say something again. "Eren?"

"I told him I had to take care of something. He was exhausted anyway so he's probably asleep by now."

Hanji nodded moving away from the door, yet still looming close by. It was obvious she wasn't planning to leave and somehow, Levi was grateful for that.

He moved over to stand next to her. "If he comes here, don't let him in," he said resolutely, accepting without a word Hanji's silent support.

The beta frowned, looking at Levi's calm profile. "I sent Moblit to keep him away if necessary but if you can't keep yourself in check enough and he comes running down here, there's no way to keep him out of the loop."

Levi was quiet for a second before he took the last step towards the door, resting his hand on the handle. "Just don't let him in." He pushed down, ready to open the door when Hanji's hand on his forearm stopped him.

"Wait," she said and he looked back at her questioningly.

As soon as he did, Hanji retreated her hand as if it got burned before she laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. Great, Levi thought, he didn't even realize but if his eyes were glowing already there was no way he'd be able to not alert Eren of this happening by the time he was finished.

He sighed and tried to calm down. "What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible. Which was hard to do. He already felt – or more like smelled, probably, if what Hanji said about pheromones was the real thing – there was a scared little beta behind this door who needed to be punished for his crimes. Badly. But still. He was no animal. He could keep himself calm if he tried.

At least that was what he tried telling himself.

Hanji visibly gulped before bracing herself and meeting his eyes again. She flinched a little but held his gaze for a bit before saying softly, "I know Erwin said he's all yours but... try not to overdo it."

A beat of silence passed before Levi broke the eye contact with a firm, "I know."

With that he was gone, inside a what Hanji now saw as a mystery box. Anything could happen inside and she was scared of what she'd see once it was opened.

Hanji was forced to move away from the door by her instincts and the occasional muffled screams. That's why she was leaning onto the wall several feet away instead, contemplating her life choices, when her attention was drawn towards two sets of footsteps and a pleading voice she was all too familiar with. Not unsurprising, but what confused her was that they were going at normal speed. No rush, no frantic searching, no panic. Just... walking with the destination already in mind.

She cocked her head to the side curiously, waiting for them to round the corner.

"Eren, please, just go back to bed. You're tired!"

"I'm sorry, Moblit, but I can't." Hanji was again surprised by how calm, if a bit strained, Eren's voice sounded. She expected screaming and rage or something equally explosive.

A split second later she could only think, 'Ah, there it is.'

The two appeared before her and so she could see plainly how bright Eren's eyes were, probably in response to Levi's own, and how tight he was clenching his jaw and fists in his effort to keep calm. Hanji could only smile even when she instinctively felt like she should get out of this omega's way.

"Squad leader, I'm sorry but there was no way I could have-" Moblit tried to apologize and explain his failure of following his orders, but Hanji's raised hand stopped him. There was no need. Hanji could only thank the man later for trying.

"Hey Eren, what are you doing here?"

Eren glared at her but Hanji only smiled wider. This was, in the end, no different than suppressing her fears when facing titans. As long as she kept her distance, she'd be fine.

The young omega let out a frustrated noise before running a hand through his hair maybe a bit more aggressively than would be strictly necessary. "How long has he been in there?" he asked in form of answer.

Hanji was a little taken aback by how direct Eren was but she gave her estimate right away, not about to rile Eren up more. "About 10 minutes, I think. He should be done soon."

Eren closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he groaned and let himself fall against the wall. Hanji couldn't help but note with some undeniable amusement that he ended up in almost exactly the same place where she found Levi a while ago.

Moblit immediately jumped towards him, hovering a bit away still, not daring to come any closer. "Eren, are you okay?" he questioned, worry apparent in his voice.

"Yeah, just... Give me a moment. This a kind of difficult," Eren growled through clenched teeth.

Hanji looked on sympathetically, having no idea what Eren was going through but she had read enough about mate bonds to have a vague idea. In that moment, they were probably lucky their bond was so dulled emotionally. Otherwise it might get dangerous for both Eren and the little one to get so riled up so soon after the stressful few days they've just left behind.

Eren took a few more deep breaths before finally opening his eyes again, looking at Hanji uncertainly. She smiled more gently and Eren felt a little reassured, some of the tension leaving him. So he let himself slide down until he was sitting on the floor, staring intently at the wall directly opposite of him.

Hanji frowned. From the corner of her eye she could see Moblit slink away, probably to stand guard and give them some semblance of privacy. She made a mental note to buy him a cake the next time she goes to town. But now her attention focused on Eren. "You're not trying to stop him? Are you actually okay with this?" she questioned.

Eren's brows drew together as he contemplated his answer. "Well, no. I mean, I'd love to punch the guy too but... well." He paused, thinking over what he was trying to say next. "But I figure he needs it. I already took everything out on him; he deserves to take it out on something too. And what better thing than the one who caused it in the first place."

Hanji was silent, studying Eren as he sat there, flexing his hand nervously. He sighed and continued, "Not like I'm happy about it, I doubt he'll be either when he calms down, but I don't know how else to, I don't know, help him."

Hanji hummed noncommittally, letting her head fall back against the door and studying the ceiling a for a bit. "I think just being there for him will be enough, Eren," she said finally.

Eren frowned but didn't say anything to contradict her, even though Hanji could tell he wanted to.

It wasn't long after that when Levi emerged, considerably bloody but calm. He was taken aback that Eren was waiting for him there, but he didn't comment and only let himself be led upstairs to take a bath and go to sleep.

Hanji then took Levi's place inside the room, looking over the damage done. In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as she feared, though the result wasn't pretty. Marzell was very much unconscious and covered in his own blood, but it seemed like most of it came from the broken nose and a split eyebrow, both extremely minor injuries. The broken leg and ribs were worse, along with his right hand which looked suspiciously like someone stepped on it, not to mention the forming bump and accompanying bruise on his head that looked pretty nasty. He'd have to be checked for concussion, which he will undoubtedly have. He – and everyone else, honestly – should probably hope it will be bad enough to make him forget about this incident entirely.

Hanji had Moblit help her move the unfortunate guy to the infirmary before dragging him to the lab. He didn't even protest when she dug out a bottle and two glasses, pouring a shot for both of them.

"Sorry about that, Moblit. And thank you, really," she said, cringing slightly upon remembering what the guy had to go through constantly.

When all Moblit said was a quiet, "It's okay, Squad leader," Hanji frowned.

"You're not even going to ask what's going on?" She was incredulous. Nobody told Moblit anything and then suddenly he's asked to keep an omega, who's furious for apparently no reason, away from the holding cells, from where Captain Levi then exits drenched in the blood of a beaten half-to-death soldier, after which said omega and Captain Levi leave together without a single word.

On second thought, maybe it was obvious.

Moblit shook his head. "I kind figured," he said, confirming Hanji's suspicions. "And anyway, it's not my place to question orders and actions of superiors I trust. Either you tell me when it's time or you don't." He shrugged, a mild blush appearing on his cheeks soon after.

Hanji was silent for a beat before she let out a bark of laughter, covering her eyes with one hand. "Haha, you really are incredible, Moblit."

The man in question only looked away, taking a sip from his glass.

"Hey, Moblit..." Hanji said quietly.

"Yes, Squad leader?"

"Families are amazing, aren't they?" There was some sort of melancholy in her voice that made Moblit look at her. She was still in the same position, hand over her eyes and slight smile on her lips. Moblit wasn't sure what the smile meant, if it even meant anything at all.

He could only nod in response.

A/N: ...Can't I go a chapter without making somebody have a drink? Apparently not. But they all need it, you can't deny that! Right? Right?

Anyway, I actually kinda like this chapter; hope you do too? ((Tell me you do, I'll cry if you don't.)) I hope I managed to convey the mood(?) I was going for at least...