Work Text:
Ace is awfully quiet, which is an unnerving statement to ever make, but that’s to be expected, Levi supposes. Talking now probably hurts more than whatever Ace would get out of screaming at Levi again.
It’s good that he’s cooperative. A stubborn patient is more irritating to deal with than a pliant one. Not that Levi would have much trouble getting Ace under control, the way he is now. He’d have to use other measures besides knocking him out the normal way, since the goal isn’t to kill him, but Ace is so small that even with Levi’s injury, it would be no problem.
He wipes off as much of the blood as he can with his vile thoughts, before pressing down hard on the wound with the gauze pad. “Okay, Ace. Hold that down just for a second as I apply the rest of the bandage.”
And Ace… does. Levi could have done this on his own, with blood and unwilling people below him having never been an issue in the past, but it’s rather kind of Ace to finally trust him again, in some capacity, anyway. He hasn’t bolted out of the room at least.
Levi is glad, as the rest of the bandage wraps around Ace’s thin neck, that he can tolerate Levi again. His hand is large enough to cover the entirety of Ace’s neck, to crush, and yet, Ace stays. He isn’t glaring, just watching a predator carefully. That is somehow more unsettling than if he was glaring.
Well, the prey won’t find the predator. Levi has left that behind.
He hopes.
“There,” Levi says, firmly securing the bandage looped around Ace’s neck and shoulders, and wiping off the remaining blood from Ace’s tender, emaciated body. “That should do it. The wound was fairly severe, so I applied the bandages very tight. Let me know if you feel any faintness, dizziness, or have trouble breathing.”
Ace remains silent. Levi hasn’t tied it so tight he’s choking on his tongue, Levi hopes, though Levi hasn’t dealt with something so small and fragile for a while. All his brothers grew up to be whatever the opposite of tender was. Whatever the opposite of honest and good was. Just like Levi.
Finally, Ace finds his voice. It’s hoarse, slow syllables, but the words strike just as deep. “You have blood all over your sleeves.”
Levi startles. That he does. He can already tell that it will be a pain to get all this blood out— MonoTV hasn’t provided them with any truly powerful forms of peroxide, though after what happened to Xander— “Please don’t worry about that. I’ll clean that off later. How are you feeling?”
Ace ignores his question. “You didn’t even notice, did you?”
Levi tries not to be cowed. Or, in the rules of his old home, appear so. “I’m sorry?”
Ace’s voice is a croaky thing, weak, like the owner of its body, yet he strikes like a flurry of quick stabs. “I saw the way you were lookin’ at me. It was like… you were seeing nothing but a piece of meat. You weren’t staring at the bandages, or at my wound. You were looking at my veins. And the way you climbed all over me— you looked like you were gonna strangle me. I bet you wanted to.”
“I,” Levi starts foolishly, realizing that yes, he had gotten uncomfortably close back there, that’s when the rancid stink of blood had stuck to his clothes; he had been measuring the length of his hand around the span of Ace’s neck— “I wasn’t—”
“I know what you are.” Ace laughs, all bravado, all impulse, the truth. “You’re a killer.”
Levi swallows. “You are hysterical.”
Ace grins that reckless, suicidal grin again. That grin that says he’d rather die than show weakness in front of Levi again. That Levi is just another threat too, not the older brother figure that Levi had tried so desperately his entire life to be, only to fail. “Maybe,” Ace admits, bitter and scathing. “But I know I’m right, and don’t even bother denying it.” He slaps Levi’s stupidly outstretched hand away, all of Levi’s hopes for anything at all in his life denied. “G’night, Levi. And don’t bother tryin’ to kill me. Eden and Teruko saw us earlier, so you’d get your shit caught instantly.”
“Ace,” Levi growls, molars grinding down hard. What Levi wouldn’t do to put Ace in his place, hold him down— apologize. “Please, Ace. What more do I have to do for you to forgive me?”
But he’s talking to nothing but ghosts, as Ace has already left him behind. Levi huffs. His eyes burn for some inexplicable reason, but nothing comes out. Strange.
He looks at his bloodstained sleeves and doesn’t take them off. Doesn’t try to wash the blood away. He cleans up the rest of the infirmary and leaves, still walking with the blood on hands and the anger of a lost friendship sitting uncomfortably in his gullet as he tries to ease the grief sitting like a lump in his throat.
How strange. Ace hadn’t been wrong at all, and even though Levi’s suffered no physical wounds, he somehow thinks he’s been hurt more.