The Fragments of Us | Levihan |

|{|}| FOUR |{|}|

"You think I can help you... even though I'm a Subject of Ymir?" says Levi.

"Yes... precisely because you're a Subject of Ymir," Hanji proposes. "You were there when Eren Yeager attacked Liberio, so you must be very knowledgable about Paradis and the Eldian Empire. You also said we were comrades... I believe you."

Levi startles, mouth agape. The tension in his guarded expression gradually melts away, overcome by a surge of emotion. Relief.

"You do?" he says, voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes."

"... What about him?"

Hanji shakes her head, all traces of her cheeriness gone. "I know the dogma Emmanuel spews. He says the Subjects of Ymir are a race of devils... but I don't think it's true. When I've asked people about the Eldian Empire, no one wanted to talk about it. I know they'll say it's because they're afraid of reawakening old resentment... but I've seen how they treat Eldians in the camp. So I want to look at the Subjects of Ymir from a different perspective, to look at history with eyes unclouded by hate. I might just be spinning my wheels here... but I'm gonna do it."

Levi tilts his head in intrigue. "And how do you know you can trust me?"

Hanji hesitates, hands idly fidgeting with her mug. "Because looking into your eyes, I can sense pain and loneliness in you, and when you called me 'Four Eyes...' I don't think anyone, not even a devil, can fake that. I feel you have suffered tremendous loss and grief."

She looks at Levi with such an intensity, he feels as though her very eyes are peering right into his soul, seeing the gaping holes of missing fragments he had lost from every life he took. Every failed expedition beyond the Walls. Every person who came into his life and just as easily walked out of it.

Levi drops his gaze, staring down absentmindedly at the grisly stumps on his right hand where his second and third fingers used to be. "... You're right. I've lost too many people to count... I thought I lost you, too."

Levi didn't know what to expect from this morning, but his best friend (who was presumed dead for three months) showing up on his doorstep and having tea with him was certainly not on the list. It's almost absurd, to say the least. To his even greater surprise, Hanji reaches across the table and rests her hand on top of his uninjured one, squeezing it gently. He slowly looks up.

"Well... I'm here now, aren't I?" she says softly, offering a small smile.

Levi studies her. While Hanji has retained her kind and empathetic temperament, there's also an innocence about her, as if she were a naive and unworldly child untainted by the horrors of their grim reality. It's the Hanji he first met when he was a fresh recruit and she was not the 14th Commander. The Hanji who wasn't crushed by the weight of duties and expectations. The Hanji who was just an unhygienic oddball with an affinity with Titans and discovering the unknown.

The Hanji he had fallen in love with.

Hanji lets go of his hand and rubs the back of her neck, cheeks flushing pink. "Sorry... sometimes my emotions get the better of me. Emmanuel says I should be more self-controlled—"

Levi scoffs. "What does he know about self-control? He was losing his shit last time I saw him. Probably needed to take one, too."

Hanji frowns at him, silent, and Levi feels a twinge of regret. But just when he's considering apologising, she lets out a bellow of laughter.

"You're right about that. I tell him not to be so uptight all the time," she giggles, and Levi lets out the breath he's been holding. A comfortable atmosphere fills the room.