The Fragments of Us | Levihan |

|{|}| ONE |{|}|

Three Months Later

"Dammit!"

The pencil slips from Levi's mangled hand, and a long streak of graphite scars his fifth piece of parchment. The pencil clatters to the floor.

He had only managed to write two sentences this time.

"Tch," grumbles Levi under his breath. He leans over the side of his chair and reaches down to pick up the pencil, struggling to hold it with what's left of his right hand.

Wim, the Yeagerist soldier posted at the front door, watches in amusement, smirking. Levi shoots him a withering glare before glancing down at the floor to check for pencil marks—and holds back a shudder. Muddy footprints and blades of grass cake the polished mahogany that he so diligently scrubbed for hours before the guard change.

Almost eleven weeks of house arrest, and still. None of his probation officers had the decency to wipe their boots before stepping into his cabin.

Levi utters another curse and slams the pencil onto his desk. He pushes himself to his feet, wincing as he puts weight on his left leg. The metal leg brace supporting his knee does little to help. He can barely toddle, let alone walk to his closet to fetch the broom. Wim's eyes follow his every move.

"You've been standing there since noon. I bet you've been holding in a long shit all this time," comments Levi.

"Say whatever you like, Captain Levi, but Eren Yeager's orders were clear," says Wim smugly. "Eren freed us when he sent those Titans to crush the world to dust. We can live in peace now."

"In a land with no agriculture, no biome, and air so toxic we need fucking gas masks to breathe. You call this peaceful living?"

"He's our hero; you should be on your knees worshipping him. Instead, you betrayed him for a world that wanted us dead."

"Are you so full of shit that you're assuming all people beyond the Walls hated Eldians?" says Levi languidly as he continues to sweep.

"They would've wiped us out if they had the chance!" growls Wim.

"Bold of you to say that when you've never stepped foot off this island."

Wim sighs exasperatedly, not meeting the Captain's gaze whose focus is now on sweeping the mud out the open door. "I used to admire you: Humanity's Strongest Soldier, now reduced to a crippled half-blind fool. You fought so hard, and for what? To sit back and watch as enemy nations slaughter your own people?"

Levi shuts the front door and drawls through gritted teeth, "You forget there were Eldians living in those nations that were crushed by the Titans too."

"A necessary sacrifice for the future of Paradis."

"There were other ways."

"And we were out of time!" Wim spits, his patience reaching its breaking point. "You're nothing but an idealist and an idiot, just like Commander Hanji—"

Levi makes a fast lunge at Wim, a black blur in the air. Wim's back hits the wall, the broom pinning him against the yellow wallpaper by his throat. Levi's hands press against the wooden handle in a bone-crushing grip, threatening to rupture the Yeagerist's windpipe.

His eyes are blazing ice. "Keep her name out of your goddamn mouth."

Wim wheezes, struggling against the Ackerman's brute force before he finds the strength to shove the broom away. Levi stumbles back as his bad leg gives way beneath him, crashing to the ground on all fours. Levi starts to pick himself up—then stops when he feels cold steel against his skin. He lifts his head and finds himself staring up the barrel of a rifle. The sound of a bullet clicking in place follows.