Chapter Text
“Spar with me.”
The request was odd, out of the blue, and requested by the last person Levi wanted to see at the moment.
Hange Zoe stood in front of him, bold as brass with that lopsided shit-eating grin glaring into his face. Everything about her was just so -- bright. From her voice, to her personality, to her eyes which gleamed with obsessive interest. Levi mused, even her shirt was bright yellow. He had asked himself on more than one occasion if it had originally been white, and unable to withstand Hange’s lack of hygiene.
As he returned her gaze he sported a tight grimace. A nagging pain began to pool between his eyes migrating to the base of his skull.
“No.” He replied with a straight face.
Hange pouted. Over the past couple days Levi had done his best to avoid everyone. Once the remnants of their squads had made it back to the base; torn up, bandaged, bleeding and half eaten, he made a sharp B-line for the showers and a straight shot for a secluded perch on the roof.
The following days he avoided the mess hall, choosing instead to grab loose apples or boiled potatoes from the kitchen. When he slept -- that is, if he slept, it was never in his bed, and only for a few hours at a time. Of course sleep never came, not truly. It seemed like every time he closed his eyes images of slick blood stained grass and heavy rain haunted him.
“I haven’t seen you on the training grounds in a while….” Hange shifted on the balls of her feet.
A nervous habit really.
“Haven’t seen you at all actually.” She laughed.
That laugh….
The woman in front of him, if he could even call her that, was an entity of mayhem. Hange had been crowding him all morning. It was half past noon and he was biding his time till everyone left the training fields for lunch, so he could stay behind and blow off some steam.
Levi stared at her blankly. Irritation evidently radiated off of his person, but Hange pushed on. She either paid no mind or just didn’t notice.
Was she really that obtuse?
“Come on.” She urged. “Spar with me! I just got warmed up and I want to get a good workout in.”
“Get it from someone else, shitty glasses. I’m not interested.” His voice was firm and clipped, leaving little to no room for argument.
However, Levi was about to meet his match in stubbornness.
“Just this once. Pleeeasee?” She hummed in a sing-song voice, placing a hand on her hip. “Best two out of three, then I’ll get out of your hair. I promise!”
“No.” Levi's head pounded painfully at the sound of her chipper voice.
“You’re the best fighter we’ve got.” She leaned in close to his ear, nearly brushing messy stray strands of hair against his collar. His eyes narrowed to thin slits and his shoulders hiked up at the invasion of space. “I’ve got a theory you might even be stronger than Mike. You could give him a run for his title.” She fucking winked.
Levi fought the urge to die on site.
Mike? Humanity's strongest?
Huh.
Levi looked unimpressed. Strongest? No. Perhaps humanities tallest, or even humanities strangest, with that weird habit of sniffing things. No, no. Mike was strange, but the crazy broad infront of him could give him a run for that title. There was definitely something off about her personality.
“Fuck off, four eyes.”
“Oh.” Hange pursed her lips and scratched at the tangled pony tail atop her head. “Well, what about a deal?”
Levi was silently impassive. He hadn’t walked away yet, and Hange took the opportunity to continue while she still had his attention.
“Spar with me, and I’ll stop pestering you.”
Hm. Levi sighed, now that was mildly appealing.
What the hell. Sure. She was practically begging him to kick her ass for being annoying. So why not kick her ass, AND have her leave him alone. Seemed like a win-win. Right?
His gaze fell from her hopeful face to her boots.
Absolutely filthy.
Caked in hey, dirt, horse shit, and….dried blood?
Levi felt his stomach twist.
He stood up stiffly and with purpose. Pushing past her he fought the urge to look at the stains caking her heels.
The uncomfortable fact of knowing that it was only titan blood that evaporated made the stains all the more unsettling.
“Two out of three, and you leave me alone.” He called back to her, taking a stance in the field.
“Perfect!” She clasped her hands together flashing him a look of pure delight. “Don’t go easy on me, ok!?”
Her hands formed tight fists as she punched the air in a show of barely contained excitement.
Hange met Levi out in the middle of the field where an opening had appeared. A few pairs of recruits meandered about going through basic maneuvers. They passed a pair diligently trying to pull each other to the ground in a fleeting tug-o-war. Another pair behind them half heartedly practicing forms with wooden knives.
Thus was the attitude of the field. For the scouts this was little more than a smoke break from their normal activities. A dagger and a punch was a poor replacement for 3DM gear, but still necessary as part of basic military training.
Levi stood in front of Hange appraising his new sparring partner. She was tall, but then again most people were to him . He hadn’t really seen her operate 3DM gear yet, so he had no idea as to her speed or ability. Her arm span would be longer than his by a few inches, but she was also quite thin and from what he’s observed of her -- a bit of a clutz. He couldn’t imagine she was hiding much muscle under her uniform, and the fact that she even asked him to spar was a credit to her idiocy.
She’d seen what he could do.
Levi’s stance was immaculate as he locked his sites onto his target.
“Wait!” Hange’s hands went up, motioning for a time out. Levi ignored her and instead dropped to the ground, side sweeping her legs from underneath her.
She landed hard with an ‘oof’, ass first in the dirt. Any words left choked in her throat, and hands still motioning dumbly for a time out. Her mouth hung open in loose shock as Levi straightened up and rolled his eyes.
“One to zero. Hurry and get up. I wanna get this over with.” He brushed some dust from his palms.
“Not fair!” Hange yelled. “We were on time out!!”
“I don’t do timeouts .” He spat the word.
Time outs were for children playing tag. Timeouts in the underground were the blackout after a hit to the head. Timeouts in the survey corps were the precious few seconds of life left while staring down the throat of a titan.
Timeouts were a luxury. A myth. The world never stopped turning to wait on you and your problems. Why should he?
The quicker she learned that the better. But why try to help her anyway? Levi frowned.
“Get up. I need to kick your ass two more times.”
Hange was able to snap back from her state of shock mumbling something about “pent up aggression and short angry midgets.“ He’d either not heard or let that one slide.
She gave him a curious sideways glance from her seat in the dirt.
“If you win I leave you alone.”
“You little shit. You said if I sparred with you, you’d fuck off.”
“Ah, technically you inferred that one. I said I’d stop pestering you. That could have many interpretatio-”
“Four eyes…” He warned.
“Hear me out!” She put her hands out in front of herself slightly wary his wrath might overflow and cause an imminent attack. “Yes, if you win I will leave you be. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
He didn’t answer, but she took his no response as a tentative ‘yes.’
“But what if I win...” She continued.
“You leave me alone.” He crossed his arms.
“That's still not how it works.”
“Fine. I leave you alone.” Levi thought that was the second best option.
“How about I buy you that lunch I promised you.”
Levi felt a pang in his chest.
“If we make it back alive I’ll buy you guys lunch!”
An image of Hange’s retreating figure played in his mind and the voices of his late friends echoed in his head.
“What a strange person!”
“Definitely doesn’t care what people think!”
“Get up.”
“Wait, you haven’t agreed to my terms yet!” Hanji complained.
“I said.” Levi’s eyes hardened. “Get the fuck up.” Each word was accented with a little too much venom.
Hange paused for a moment. An unreadable expression on her face, and Levi half wondered if she was about to leave, complain, or cry. He had half expected all three at the same time. What he got instead was something entirely different.
She smirked.
The crazy four eyed freak smirked. Then...
She rushed him.
Using all the momentum from being grounded she pushed her dirty boots into the grass and aimed for his waist knocking the air out of his chest, catching him off guard enough to throw him onto his back with her on top.
Levi was livid.
Hange was surprisingly stronger than her lanky frame let on. She had hit him like a freight train while he had been distracted. Her shoulder dug into his solar plex and her hands had gripped around him so tightly he had thought she was trying to break his ribs.
He brought an elbow down into her back and pushed up with his knees to shove her off.
She was unrelenting. A grunt escaped her as the blow hit.
“If I win, I get to buy you lunch.” She repeated through clenched teeth.
Her face was hidden just below his right arm and her legs were awkwardly tangled with his. Levi could smell her sweat as the heat of her arms and chest radiated around his midsection. A few people began to stare at their odd sort of position, and in an effort to remain discrete Levi lowered his voice.
“Hange. Get the hell off me. Now before I break all your ribs.”
“Not until you agree to my terms.”
“You wanted this fight, not me. You're in no position to make demands.” He hissed.
She smirked, finally raising her head, but still gripping to him like a python.
“You’re just saying that because it’s one-to-one now.”
Levi blanked.
This didn’t count.
Whatever this move was, it was idiotic and crazy, and half assed….just like her. But the determination showing through her eyes pierced through her spectacles and let him know she was not the type to take an answer such as ‘no’ easily. How bad could a lunch be? Plus, it was unlikely she could beat him.
He decided. He would kick her ass one more time and be done with the annoyance that was Hange Zoe for good.
“Fine.”
Her face lit up and in a flash and her arms retracted in a flutter as she bounced to her feet to give him space.
“Great! I promise, you will get something out of it.”
He doubted that.
He stood once again readying to fight. Hange met him in the middle and they started trading blows.
It took a little bit longer this time for Levi to get the drop on her. She was good, but not good enough. With a swift kick to her abdomen she was pushed back barely catching her footing, and sporting a newly bruised rib in the process.
She took a beating well though, he could commend. She steadied herself quickly with a new type of focus he hadn't seen in her before. Her eyes darted about quickly.
Observant.
She wasn't very quick, but she was flexible and knew how to grapple to use the few inches she had on him to her advantage. Levi winced as a hefty punch hit him in the ribs. Her strikes were few, but strong and calculated. There was no reason or rhyme to her attacks. They were random and unpredictable, but he knew better. She was calculating each hit. She pivoted on her feet till she found an opening, and Levi had stupidly left one for her while contemplating the chaos in her movements.
The sun was waning behind heavy billows of clouds, and the sweat on their faces grew cold. His brow furrowed in concentration. He stole a glance at her eyes and soon regretted it.
She had that look. That same goofy stupid optimistic smile. The one Isabel wore while flying through the trees. The Farlan sported after a successful heist.
She was enjoying this.
Levi felt his gut wrench.
A flash of lighting.
Steam.
Dull lifeless eyes and blood stained pigtails
A crowd began to form and suddenly the training fields melted away. Levi was back underground where the sun touched no one. He felt.....exhilaration and something else.
Whatever it was had broken loose inside his chest and surged throughout his body.
The synopsis in his brain fired rapidly and before he knew it, he had Hange on the ground face down with a hard thud.
A few flinches and ‘oofs’ were uttered amongst their audience, but they went unheard as Levi gripped Hange’s left arm, and twisted it back painfully eliciting a strangled gasp from her lips.
Rage. And lots of it was evident on the man's face.
There was a sickening pop and then an even sicker scream as the heel of Levi's boot slammed into Hange’s protruding shoulder blade.
Their fellow soldiers no longer winced in silence. A few yelled, intelligible things. Levi thought he heard someone yelling stop. Another yelled his name? Another.... concede ??
"C-concede." a voice shuttered, muffled by dirt. "I concede!!" The mad tapping of a fist on the ground accompanied it.
Before anyone could reach him, before anyone could intervene he realized the woman underneath his boot had forfeited.
He paled and released her arm like it was a smoking gun.
He'd lost control. Again.
Even worse, he'd injured her.
She didn't move at first. Choosing to lay on her belly in the dirt. Levi wore a hard look on his face, something mixed with disgust and horror.
A couple people inched forward to assist her, but stopped short of the brooding man standing above her. Had Mike or Erwin been there, one of them would have likely braved the situation. However, these new recruits had no backbone yet, and the scene in front of them was far too tense to think of growing one now.
Hange lifted her head, bracing her upper body with her good arm, as her dislocated limb lay limply at an odd angle to her side.
"P-put...put it b-ack." She gritted out, eyes shut tight in concentration. Perhaps trying not to vomit or tear up.
Levi blinked.
Had she just?
Did she actually want him to touch her? Had he heard her right?
He had just dislocated her shoulder, possibly broken her collarbone, and definitely bruised her.
And she was asking him....to fix it?!
She really was crazy.
"Levi...." She groaned. "I said, put it the fuck back!"
And just like that he grabbed her by the shoulder, hoisted her arm forward, and pushed.
There was another scream, one less charged and closer to a yelp, but still riddled with pain. She panted. The sensation of a newly connected arm and the descent of searing pain was enough to soothe her.
"Thank you...." she choked as she pulled herself to her knees, her battered body trembling slightly in the breeze.
Levi was at a loss for words. The adrenaline had subsided and he was left feeling hollow. Had he really done that? To a fellow soldier. To her, of all people. Harmless ditzy Hange?
As the crowd parted for him, he did the only thing he could think of.....he walked away. Briskly and with purpose towards anywhere but there.
As his footsteps quickened he heard a voice calling after him, accompanied by a painfully awkward laugh that nearly made him flinch and want to turn around.
“Best out of five?!”
She didn’t know when to quit...