Work Text:
It was already way past midnight when he passed silently through the empty hallway, past closed doors and deserted rooms - something Levi didn't want to give too much of his attention right now. Opening the door at the far left, he stepped over the threshold and into the cramped and messy office with two cups of tea in his hand he had prepared meticulously. It was nothing extraordinary, these late nights filled with paperwork and other pain-in-the-ass obligations they didn't have the chance for during the day. Late nights and infinite work to do and never enough time; it was an endless circle.
Something caught his eye as he came closer to the slumped figure behind the desk. He stopped in front of her, frowning, putting down the teacups. "Oi, Hange." He wrinkled his nose. "You're dripping blood all over your important documents."
Hange blinked away her musings, brought a hand up to her nose, staring bewildered at the red liquid coating her finger when she pulled away. "Oh." She gave a tired chuckle, shaking her head, sinking even deeper into her wooden chair, raking a hand through her hair. "Must be the dry air or something." She sniffed.
"Here." Levi dug into his pocket, pulling out a fresh handkerchief, offering it to her. Hange took it from him. "Thanks." He watched, arms crossed, as she wiped her nose, trying her best to stop the flow. Levi eyed her appearance. Hair in a messy ponytail, dark circles under her eyes, and clothes rumpled. He also hadn't missed the tension in her shoulders that seemed to be there permanently these days.
He knew Hange was grappling with the workload and the responsibilities that came with holding the position of Commander of the Survey Corps. And with everything that had happened - with everything that was still going on-
Levi leaned forward, bracing his palms against the dark wood of the desk.
"Hange."
"Hm?"
"For fuck's sake, take a bath. And then go to sleep."
Hange chuckled, facing the mess of papers and empty cups on her desk. "I still have work to do, Levi." She glanced up at him, expression tired. "Otherwise, it will never get done. I'm already behind on schedule and tomorrow- oh shit." Burrowing her face into her hands for a moment, she breathed out a long sigh.
Levi watched her, observed the mess on her desk with a grimace. "Give me a pile. I will work through some of it while you take that goddamn bath."
She drew her hands away from her face, looking up at him once more, raising an eyebrow. "You will?"
"Hm, yeah." He gestured impatiently. "Now come on. Get your ass off that chair."
When Hange got back from the baths, Levi was seated on the couch, hunched over his share of documents balanced on his knee, a cup of tea on the small table next to him. Hange lingered by the door.
He glanced up at her shortly before turning his gaze back to the papers on his lap. "Go to bed, Hange."
Her fingers traced the wood of the doorframe. "I don't think I can sleep."
He stilled his writing, looked up, this time keeping her gaze. After a moment, he sighed and motioned. "Come here and lay down."
Hange bit her lip, looking a tad unsure. "You sure?"
"Yeah." He watched her, eyes scrutinizing. "You've bathed, so it's okay. And you've got a headache, right."
Of course, that small detail would not go unnoticed by him. Hange stared at him a moment longer before she gave in. She sighed, finally padding over to the couch. She laid down tentatively and placed her head against his left thigh, propped up on her towel as her hair was still relatively damp from her bath. It was a bit cramped with the two of them like this, but it was doable. Levi resumed his writing in silence with the documents positioned a bit awkwardly on his other leg. She closed her eye, the injured one pulsating achingly, and she had to resist the urge to touch the bandages, trying to relax her tense muscles and stop her racing thoughts.
Hange startled a bit out of her musings when she felt Levi suddenly wave his fingers through her still damp locks, the touch unexpected and light but easing the aching throb in her head a little. She opened her eye, squinted up at him for a moment, but he just continued to stare at the papers. "Maybe I can sleep after all," she murmured after a while, the exhaustion from the stress and the too many all-nighters finally taking hold. Levi merely grunted, the sound of the pen scribbling away on paper proceeding without a pause and lulling her thoughts.
The feel of another person breathing next to her, the quiet rustling of paper - it reminded her of other times. Times now long gone.
000
Hange had come here because her room seemed just too cold and too empty at the moment. She had come here because she did not want to be alone, alone with her thoughts, left solely with her only her imagination of what could have occurred to keep her company.
She had come to Levi's room and now lay curled up on the pristine white sheets with the familiar and gentle scent, staring at the dance of shadows on the wall created by the flickering candlelight. Erwin's words echoed through her head. "I'm sorry, Hange. Mike didn't make it back." Of course, she had already known, she wasn't stupid - but hearing those words-
Hange swallowed around the jaded feel in her throat. Eventually, the soft noise of the scribble of a pen on paper that seemed to fill the otherwise quiet room was able to calm her roaming thoughts. She balanced in a state between sleep and awareness for a while. And a few tears trailed down against her will, wetting the pillow beneath her cheek. Time eluded her as she lay there staring at the wall with unseeing eyes, mind roaming and attempting to stop the spill of more burning tears. At some point, the bed behind her dipped slightly, and she felt a blanket cover her, shivering a little and the sudden warmth. A hand came down on her shoulder and rested there for a moment before disappearing again. And with that, finally, she let herself drift off, lulled into a fitful sleep by the familiar scribbling sound of a pen on paper in the background and the knowledge that here there was another person, breathing, alive.
000
"Levi?"
Someone- Hange- was leaning over him. He failed to stop the groan leaving his mouth, the white-hot pain of the migraine rolling through him without mercy.
"Fuck off." He nearly gagged. Even simply talking made the world around him spin more than it already fucking did. Shit. He needed- Control. Yeah, control, that's what he needed - a world that didn't turn with every breath he took - a world where it didn't feel like his brain was trying to burst out of his skull. Levi grasped blindly at the arm close to him, knuckles whitening with the force of his hold. From somewhere far away, his mind supplied that his grip had to hurt. He let go promptly, rolling away.
"Are you gonna throw up?" Hange's voice drifted somewhere above him, piercing through the fog that had filled his brain. "No." He clenched his teeth, closing his eyes tightly. For a moment longer, he fought against it but then lost. A bin found its way under his nose just in time before his stomach emptied itself. Swearing under his breath, he turned onto his side. Levi wiped with the back of his hand across his mouth. A shiver made its way down his spine at the action. He hated this and himself, always had. Fucking disgusting and pathetic.
It had been years since it had been this bad.
"Levi?" Soft hands found his shoulders, and he swallowed, eyes still tightly shut against a world around him that wouldn't stay still. He wanted to brush his teeth, get rid of the revolting taste in his mouth. But even that simple task seemed impossible right now. "I'm gonna fucking die," he muttered, feeling utterly wretched.
"No, you're not," Hange shushed him. With some difficulty, she let him drink some water and wipe his face. Levi drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, mind spinning. Suddenly his head was lifted and gently settled onto- a lap? He frowned. "What are you doing?" He grunted, not daring to open his eyes. Hange placed a hand on his forehead, her palm feeling pleasantly cool against his warm skin. "I'm trying to make you more comfortable." Any other time it would have been utterly embarrassing - any other time Levi would never even have let this fucking happen in the first place. On any other day, he would put her through a window if she tried something like this. Second floor or not.
Careful fingers weaved through his hair, softly caressing his scalp. He let out a breath, feeling his taut muscles uncoil somewhat, giving in to the offered comfort. "Sleep, okay." Hange's voice appeared far away suddenly. And he murmured something unintelligible that even he couldn't quite grasp.
When Levi awoke, he was a bit disoriented for a second, remnants of confusing dreams flashing through his mind. As soon as he opened his eyes, blinking against the faint light in the room, the events of earlier in the morning came flooding back to him, together with the sensation of a diminished pounding in his head and a world that still wouldn't stay put like it was supposed to. He had fallen asleep, with his head perched on Hange's lap like some damn child. The rustle of paper obtained his attention. He shifted a bit, tongue going over his dry lips, and squinted up. "What are you doing?" he rasped.
Hange found his gaze, smiling softly. "Hey, slept well?" He grunted in response, and Hange returned her attention to her paperwork for a moment. "I'm doing some of the work I'm behind on." She sighed exaggeratedly. "You know how it is. Moblit has been pressing me about it. I asked him to bring it to me since he came looking for me because I missed this morning's meeting."
Levi frowned. "Hange-"
She patted his shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry, Erwin understands."
Levi stared up at her, feeling too tired to be annoyed.
She looked down at him, searching his face. "You feel a bit better? If you can sit up, I'll bring you water and your toothbrush so you can brush your teeth."
000
Hange awoke feeling more rested than she had in a long while. She shifted, blinking her drowsiness away, wincing at the feel of her injured eye, and found Levi asleep, with his head leaning against the soft cushions of the couch, paper forgotten and clasped between his limp hand and knee. The unexpected sight made something in her chest flutter. She knew all too well that it was hard on Levi too. They all were struggling, going buckled under the pressure - grappling with the immense void that Erwin had left behind. The grief for all the lives that were lost that day tearing at them.
A soft and sad smile made its way onto her face. She was glad Levi was getting at least a bit of sleep right now. Hange had been silently worrying about his seemingly permanent lack of rest, the dark circles under his eyes being even more prominent than usual, a sharp tension coiled around his body, apparent with the stiff way he moved. He had been eating less too. Despite the chaos, her heavy workload, and her own sorrow pressing down on her, she hadn't missed those signs - the crystal-clear signs of the too-familiar struggle with grief and pain and guilt. Maybe it was time for her to sneak some food into his room. Not that Levi would appreciate that, of course. And the image of the face he would make almost made her grin. Hange sighed, chest heavy, her fingers threading through silky locks of dark hair. Levi didn't stir at her touch. He had to be exceptionally exhausted because usually, he would be up at the faintest sound. She scanned his face. Even in his sleep, the frown was still there, etched into his features. And Hange hoped that perhaps one day that perpetual scowl could be eased. She hoped that one day, they could live freely - in a world liberated from the titans - a world free of the infinite threat of impending war.
There would always be suffering in the world, and there would always remain conflict. However, the strife for freedom was what the Survey Corps stood for, no matter the odds. A fight for a better world for those around them. Even now, with just the 9 of them left.