The Experiment (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) (Part 1)

Segue 2 - Conversations with Levi

> Levi and Annika, Survey Corps Headquarters - December 19, 845

It was fucking cold this morning with a biting wind that drove tears into his eyes as it whipped his cape around him in the courtyard, attacking his ears, fingers, and toes with icy cruelty. But even though his extremities felt like they were about to wither and fall off, Levi felt a rather unusual excitement: the gloomy air was full of that strange taste and feel that indicated a winter miracle.

Snow!

Nobody had caught on last year that he had never seen snow before - because he was an expert at keeping emotions off his face. After his mother's death, Levi had very quickly learned from Kenny that even just the glimpse of an emotion gave his enemies an opening to attack where it hurt the most. Hide them well or even better, have no emotions at all... something he had never managed. Instead he was choke full of stupid emotions, every day.

Which, all things considered, was no tragedy. Nobody here was an enemy. The Survey Corps had made a place for him in its midst, accepting him as someone to rely on, to respect, even. It had happened after his unexpected return from the Underground, so subtle a shift in his fellow soldier's behavior that it had taken him several days to notice. No, nobody here was an enemy - they were his comrades, every one of them.

But that didn't mean he would show them his emotions. There was only one person here whom he had dropped his guard with completely and... he would never do it again. It had brought nothing but trouble and pain.

With a small sigh, Levi turned his face up to the grey laden sky. He'd sneak up onto the roof later where nobody could see him make a fool of himself. He'd stick out his tongue as far as he could to catch the pretty flakes that would start drifting from the sky soon. He'd watch their graceful descent to earth, from up above where no human had ever been. And he would ask Hanji...

No. He would not ask Hanji.

Even though he was burning with questions about why sometimes, the sky sent a mere trickle, sometimes a heavy downpour, sometimes ice as fat as goose eggs, and sometimes the miracle of snow. Hanji certainly knew these things but he'd just get entirely lost in the sound of her voice, lost in her excitement that was very freakish yet irresistibly cute and suddenly... he would lose all sense of the here and now again, not knowing what was real, what was memories, what was dreams.... and only her could bring him back, could speed up time and anchor him in reality and that was...

Levi inhaled sharply and balled his ice-cold hands into tight fists. Why could he not get a fucking grip on himself? The world within the walls was full of women, many of them willing to spend quality time with him. More so now that his status as "humanity's strongest soldier" had been cemented by silly and fast spreading tales about his miraculous return from the dead. But no, he could not stop comparing them to Hanji when they strutted around him to show off their assets. Not one of them interested him. Boring. Dull. Superficial.

Fuck this. Levi groaned miserably. He needed some tea.

"Hey," a female voice said behind him, making him tense in sudden alarm. No enemies here? Well. That did not exactly apply to this person.

"Annika," he slowly turned towards the newcomer, eyes narrowed and ready for anything. But there was no belligerence in her, only softness. Her locks were buried underneath an opulent fur hat and her face half-hidden by a fluffy pink scarf. She radiated innocence, which was fucking hilarious. She was an excellent actress - so good that she managed to even fool herself.

"Watcha doing, Levi?" she looked at him with eyes that sparkled despite the overcast sky. "Scowling at nothing?"

"Thinking about how to get rid of you," he snapped. Oh, he had heard how she had risen from the quasi dead just like him. The mystery that surrounded her was like a beacon for pretty much all the male members of the Corps - it drew them like moths to the flame.