They followed the boy downstairs, Levi having brought his tea with him, and found Eren and Mikasa already there, as well as a few other kids she didn't recognize.

"Good evening," Erwin said as he made his entrance, "Thank you all for coming. We have much to discuss."

"No shit," Levi mumbled, crossing his legs.

"Right, well, I'll be blunt: the Military Police will be taking custody of you, Eren. We've been ordered to hand you over."

She bristled at that. She wasn't fond of anything that had to do with the Military Police, considering they'd spent time investigating her crimes.

"I can kill them," she offered.

Levi sighed as one of the other kids choked.

"That won't be necessary," Erwin replied tiredly, "I have a plan to lure the Female out. I hope it'll save Eren in the process."

"You do?" Armin asked, sitting up in his seat a little.

"When we pass through Stohess, we're going to have Jean pretend to be Eren. Armin, Mikasa, and Eren will lead the target into an old underground district. If we can get her to the lowest level, given the tunnel's size and structural integrity, we can immobilize her even if she transforms. But if she transforms before then, Eren, we'll need you to stop her."

Blake was a little surprised by how quickly Erwin had formulated this plan. It had only been a few hours since their last failure, but he was already coming up with a new strategy. Her respect for him grew a bit, and she felt better about entrusting the fate of her brother to the Scouts.

"Yes, sir," Eren agreed, "But are you sure the target will be in Stohess?"

"Yes, our target is a member of the Military Police."

"Go figure," she scoffed, leaning back in her chair. Levi glared at her.

"Really? The Military Police?" the boy asked, eyes widening.

"It was Armin who came to that conclusion. He also believes that she killed the two captured titans. She may be a former trainee from the 104th, the same as you."

Another kid. Not one, but two teenagers were capable of transforming into titans. The monster responsible for killing so many people—Petra, Oluo, Gunther, Eld—was only a child. The realization made her uneasy.

Eren sat up, stuttering, "Wait a second, the 104th?"

Erwin was unbothered. He continued.

"The name of the girl we believe to be the person of interest is Annie Leonhart."

Eren didn't seem fully convinced, despite his apparent trust for the blonde boy.

"Annie? Why do you think that, Armin?" he asked, sounding desperate.

Armin listed off several reasons, the one that caught her attention being the slaughter of Hange's titan experiments.

"Do you have any other evidence?" Levi asked, examining a sheet of paper.

"I don't."

"So you have no proof, but you'll do it anyway," he said, phrasing it less like a question and more like an indisputable fact.

Eren pried at Armin more, demanding to know why the other boy would propose such a thing if he had no real proof. The others seemed to understand, however, and Erwin had made up his mind. Mikasa continued to force Eren into a sad acceptance of the situation, inspiring memories of the aforementioned Annie's fighting style. Poor Eren looked devastated, like he was the type of person to trust others wholeheartedly. Even if he didn't know Annie extremely well, it probably still felt like a huge betrayal.

Erwin instructed everyone on where they'd be positioned when the time came. She was told to prepare a trap with Hange in case the other plans fell through. Erwin suggested doing this on a rooftop somewhere, and that's when she grew concerned.

"Hey," she interrupted, "If we're gonna be on random buildings, shooting out wires and shit, doesn't that mean that the people in Stohess will be in the line of fire?"

"If the situation is contained well enough, I hope that we won't have to endanger any civilian lives."

"But you have a list of backup plans that account for the Female transforming in the city, so that's clearly nothing more than a hope of yours. Will civilians have to die?"

Erwin said nothing at first and simply stared at her with a quirked eyebrow. She could almost read his mind, as she was sure that he was wondering when she became concerned with the lives of others. Levi was staring at her too, though his expression was much less decipherable.

"I want to avoid civilian casualties as much as you do, Varga."

"Stohess is more financially stable than the districts within Rose and Maria. Even if there is property damage, they'll be able to rebuild it, won't they?" someone, a girl whose name she didn't know, asked.

"No," Blake said before Erwin could get a word in, "Stohess won't have any effective procedures in place for combatting titans. The people there feel like they're way too far removed from the risk to even care. If you have to fight a titan there, you'll be on your own. The Garrison there won't be any help to you because they never actually fight titans, and I'm sure I don't have to explain why the Military Police would be useless."

"We're used to being on our own," Levi snarled, "It's not like they've ever helped us before."

"I wasn't operating under the impression that the other branches would be doing much for us," Erwin clarified.

"Then what're you going to do? You just lost some of your best soldiers, and Levi's injured. And not to be an asshole, but we can't rely on Eren to fight someone who has obviously had more training and guidance as a Titan. I'm all for taking risks, but you don't have many more soldiers left to sacrifice, Erwin. Not only that, but once civilians start dying because of your plan, you're gonna lose support from the people in power. You're pinning the future of your entire division on a fifteen year old boy."

Nobody spoke for a moment, but they all regarded her curiously. Levi could've been infuriated, she still wasn't sure, and he looked at her through narrowed eyes. Erwin cleared his throat.

"Those are all perfectly reasonable concerns," he began, "And as much as I want there to be a better alternative, I am much more afraid of what a Titan shifter would do so close to the central government if left unchecked. This is a lead we have to follow, lest we may be faced with devastation on the same scale of the fall of Wall Maria. Now, Armin, I think that you should be the one to approach her. Try to..."

She stopped listening at that point, focused on his words from before. Destruction like what happened when Wall Maria fell? In Sina? It seemed unimaginable, but she supposed that the citizens of Maria might've felt similarly when they witnessed the breach.

"If you wanna say some shit to Erwin, do it when we're alone. You wanna make yourself stick out even more?" Levi whispered, his face suddenly very close to hers. His breath fanned across her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. She couldn't tell if he was threatening her or giving her friendly advice.

"Had to be said," she replied, kicking his foot under the table.

He snorted and crossed his arms, cocking his head at her a little.

"Since when do you care about civilian lives? Don't you usually take them?"

"Only people who deserve it."

"Oh? And who are you to play God, Varga?"

"God? You didn't strike me as the religious type, Levi."

"Stop flirting while Erwin's talking," Hange teased, shoving Levi with their elbow.

He practically growled at them, kicking their chair so hard that it almost toppled over. Their eyes widened when their glasses hit the wooden floor. Levi seemed pleased, turning his attention back toward Erwin.

Not much else was said on the manner. She was to help Hange fire off wires to trap the Annie if she transformed, and Levi was to accompany Erwin in the carriage ride to turn over the disguised Jean. When everyone was dismissed, she tried to stand. Levi put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into her chair, Hange, Erwin, Moblit, Nanaba, and Mike still in the room. Everyone stared at her skeptically, except for the captain himself, as he was still standing behind her.

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"You know Stohess well," Erwin replied, pushing his knuckles against the table as he loomed over it.

"When did I say that?"

"You didn't have to. Maybe you kill less people there than the other outer districts of Sina, but these are still you, right? 'High-ranking Merchant Found Dead' and 'Justice for Pastor Driscoll? Officials Have No Leads' or—"

"You can't prove that I did those things," she pointed out, leaning back so that her head hit Levi's chest. She heard him inhale, but he didn't flinch.

"I assume that any crime against the nobility without a clear suspect can reasonably be traced back to you."

She shrugged.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Commander. You'd be surprised. Anyway, who cares if I've been to Stohess? Aren't you just gonna smash it to pieces anyway?"

Erwin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm failing to see what you'd rather have me do, Miss Varga, but I'm giving you an opportunity to keep Stohess as safe as possible."

"What do you want me to do?"

"How many entrances are there to the underground city?"

"Three."

"Which one do you advise we send Eren through?"

"Probably the southeast entrance. It's a farmer's market, so it only gets busy on the weekends."

"Where do you suggest setting up the wire traps?"

"Most of the apartments in the Stidwell Complex are vacant right now. The owner is a pervert, so don't feel too bad if his property gets destroyed."

"Places to avoid?"

"Huh? The church, obviously. They hold sermons there almost daily. And those wall cultist pastors usually have a high social status. You don't wanna squash someone with power. Also, Captain Haldridge's wife is good friends with the owner of Floral Sweets. She leaves Mitras to get flowers there every two weeks. You'd be rivaling with an MP officer if you destroyed that place."

Hange stared at her for a moment, and then in one sudden, terrifying movement, grabbed her face and squeezed.

"Criminals are always so helpful! Right, Levi?" they hollered.

The captain choked as Mike laughed, and Erwin showed visible discomfort for the first time since she'd met him. She recalled the rumors that Lewis had been so hesitant to spread, and the urge to gossip with him about Levi's apparent criminal record was pretty high at the moment. Something about the way Erwin was looking at her discouraged her from pressing the issue any further, though.

"Thank you, Varga. You're all dismissed."

She followed Levi upstairs, Hange and Mike on their heels. When they reached his room, he allowed her to come inside, but made quick work to slam the door in Hange's face. The section commander must've seen this coming, as they pushed back against the wood with their full body strength.

"Liquor?" they asked, slipping their hand through the crack in the door.

"Get out."

"What? C'mon, Levi. It's been a terrible day, and tomorrow could be worse. Nanaba and Moblit agreed to drink with us!"

"Good for them. Leave before I break your fingers."

"So you can sulk by yourself? Not a chance."

"I'm not sulking, Hange. I have shit to do. I'm also not by myself."

Blake felt her cheeks warm at that, just a little, and she wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was because Levi had explicitly told everyone to leave him alone except for her. Maybe she felt special.

"Nonsense. Blake's gonna drink too. She doesn't want to isolate herself with you," Hange argued.

Levi raised his brow at her, and she suddenly felt very pressured and torn.

"Well?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Um, I don't—"

"Jesus, Hange, you're wasting everyone's time. Just tell him where we're drinking," Mike interrupted, saving her from having to make a verbal decision.

"Oh, right. Erwin's office."

That caught Levi's attention, prompting his eyes to widen ever so slightly.

"You can't turn Erwin's office into a tavern when he's not there," he said, frowning.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that Erwin's gonna be there then."

"You're full of shit. Erwin isn't unprofessional like you are."

"Come see for yourself," Mike challenged, turning to walk away.

Hange followed him, wiggling their eyebrows as they left.

Levi sighed, sitting down on his mattress. It's the first time she'd seen him make any contact with his bed.

"We don't have to do anything that you aren't comfortable with, y'know," she offered, sitting beside of him.

"We?" he asked, looking at her skeptically.

"I just—Hey, no, I'm trying to be nice. Don't be weird about it."

"I'm not being weird," he huffed, "I'm just tired."

"And sad."

"Yes, Varga. And sad. Thanks for adding that."

"It's good to be honest about how you feel," she argued.

"You're the last person I want advice from."

"You're being mean to me. Actually, you've driven me to drink. I'll be joining your sexy commander now. Goodbye, Levi."

"You're actually going?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"Is that allowed, Captain?"

"I don't trust you to behave while shitfaced."

"I guess you'll just have to come with me, then. To make sure that I don't get into any trouble."

"You should sleep. This isn't a healthy way to deal with things."

"What if I die tomorrow?"

He stood abruptly and walked towards her, stopping inches from her face.

"That's not funny," he said sternly, looking her in the eye.

She inhaled, shaking a little as she did so, wrapping her arms around herself. She was still in her nightgown, Levi's coat hanging from her shoulders. The length was fine, as they were relatively close in height, but he was slightly broader through the chest than she was. This must've been tailored to him specifically.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling bad about saying things like that to someone who had just lost his comrades.

"I think—" he began, still standing across from her, "Did Petra ever—"

"Yes," she said, smiling softly, "She talked about you a lot. I think she had a little crush on you. You were a hero to her. It was cute." 

His face paled as he closed his eyes. Apparently those hadn't been the right words.

"I don't understand," he mumbled, looking at her again, "Sorry. I was just wondering. We can go now."

"I heard what her dad said to you."

He didn't react. Instead, he opened the door, waiting for her to follow him out. She silently walked beside of him on the way to Erwin's office.

The shift in mood was startling. Mike and Nanaba sat in one corner, his arm resting on the back of her chair, and Hange was pouring a drink for Moblit. Erwin leaned back in his office chair, his feet propped up on his desk, a half-full glass in his hand.

"Jesus, Erwin. That's disgusting," Levi muttered, crossing his arms and moving to the corner.

"Levi," was Erwin's simple reply.

She couldn't tell if his tone was one of surprise, delight, or a combination of both. His cheeks were slightly pink, his features much more relaxed than usual. Levi frowned.

"Have a drink," Mike said, gesturing towards the bottle of whiskey on the table.

She nodded and grabbed a glass, pouring herself a little before getting one for Levi. His hand wrapped around her wrist.

"I don't drink," he said simply.

"Levi!" Hange cried, having only just noticed his arrival, "I'm so glad you're here! I love you so much!"

They slung their arms around him hastily, catching him off guard. He nearly fell, but she grabbed his arm quickly. He looked at her with wide eyes.

"You should be more careful, Levi. Especially with your injury."

"Injury?" Erwin asked, swinging his legs down and leaning forward, "You're injured?"

"Yes," she confirmed, placing a gentle hand on the captain's shoulder, "He's been limping since we left."

"Oh, I thought that was from—"

"Hange!" Moblit cried, taking the drink out of their hand, "Enough for you. I'll finish that."

"Hah! You just want my drink, you devil. Give it back."

They tried to wrestle it from him, the two of them clumsily dancing across the floor. Handing her glass to Levi, she stepped forward, grabbing Hange by the collar of their shirt and shoving Moblit in the opposite direction.

"If you two want to beat the shit out of each other, be my guests, but you're currently banned from being within three feet of Levi until he feels better," she declared, eyeing them both.

"She has to—has to protect her baby. Baby Levi," Hange snickered.

Mike chuckled a little too, covering his mouth when he noticed Levi's glare.

"The mission," Erwin said, "Gotta get Eren to Stohess tomorrow. You're injured?"

"I'll be fine," Levi promised, growing more and more on edge the longer they stood.

"He'll go to the infirmary in the morning. Until we know what's wrong, though, don't depend on his skills too much in your scheming," she told him.

"Blake's telling Erwin what to do," Hange laughed.

"That shouldn't be a problem for Erwin. He loves taking orders from pretty women," Mike slurred, crossing his legs and closing his eyes.

Levi somehow grew even more rigid, while Erwin's face turned a little pinker. She coughed awkwardly and poured herself a drink. She hadn't been called pretty since she was a child. Even then, she was hardly as pretty as her friends, especially considering how close her family was with—

"How long do you think we'll have to stay separated tomorrow?" Nanaba asked, moving her glass in circles.

That's right. Mike, Nanaba, and some others would be keeping an eye on the 104th, as it seemed like Erwin hadn't cleared everyone from his suspicions yet.

"I'm not sure. That all depends on Leonhart's cooperation. And her guilt," the commander replied, slowly sipping his drink. She mimicked him.

"How confident are you that it's her?" Levi pressed.

She thinks it might've been the first time he'd spoken since he chastised Erwin.

"Almost indubitably."

"Almost indubitably," Levi mocked, crossing his arms, "Who the hell talks like that?"

"That word too big for you, Captain?" Mike teased, only halfway paying attention.

Something in Levi visibly changed, his shoulders tensing and his jaw clenching shut even tighter. She was worried he'd say something vile in retaliation, his eyes narrow and menacing. When she went to anxiously take another sip of her drink, she realized it was gone. That probably wasn't ideal, she noted.

"You're all idiots. Try not to stay up too late. We actually have a job to do tomorrow, believe it or not."

With that, he left, the office door slamming behind him.

"Oh. Oooh," Hange said slowly, shifting around in their seat.

"Bad mood," Nanaba replied, "Moody."

"No, no, I think—" they hiccuped before continuing, "I think we're not being very sensitive to him. I think."

"Levi's not a sensitive guy," Moblit argued.

Erwin exhaled.

"No, hear me out: I made kind of a weird comment to him earlier. Then Mike just said that. Also, Blake's here, which might make things worse."

She was confused, her mind already fuzzy, and the words made her blood feel icy.

"What?" she asked softly, but nobody acknowledged her.

"Oh, huh. Should I apologize?" Mike wondered, expression comically contemplative.

"No," Erwin said sternly, "Just leave him alone."

"I forget sometimes. Sorry," Mike explained.

"Why do I make things worse?" she said again, her voice a bit louder this time.

"Oh," Hange replied, visibly trying to string the words together in their head, "It's not anything you're doing, no worries. You just probably remind him of stuff. Stuff he doesn't like. How he used to be. It's not a big deal."

It felt like a big deal. It felt like a really big deal. She frowned and finished nursing her second drink, waiting a few minutes before making her exit. She didn't want it to seem like she was mad at anyone.

"I'm sleepy. I'm gonna go get some rest," she announced, only half-lying.

"Aww, don't go! It's still so early," Hange slurred.

"Maybe, but I need to be able to sleep this off. G'night, guys."

She shut the door gently behind her, starting on her impaired journey to nowhere. She wasn't sure where she was stumbling to, because if she made Levi feel bad, then she couldn't go to his room. She wasn't quite used to being back in this building yet, either. She doubted there would be enough space for her to have her own room here, away from the old base. Sighing, she sat on the stairs, leaning against the wall and burying her head in her hands. She didn't feel good.

For several years now, she hadn't been in the habit of making friends. She had Lewis, and she was friendly with some local business owners, but her lifestyle didn't allow her to get close with many others. Surprisingly, being in the Survey Corps was a grand social experience for her. She got close with people. She had friends.

Most of them were dead. How many more would die? How many more friends would she have to lose before seeing Lewis again? She was no stranger to heartbreak and loss, but this was another level. Death lingered wherever the Survey Corps went.

Petra was dead. That hurt the most. She'd never had many positive experiences with other women, as she had grown up competing with them, and Petra had been one of the first girls she'd had a healthy relationship with. It felt nice. There was a sense of solidarity there that she'd never witnessed before. Petra seemed to appreciate having her around too, even if she made countless complaints and remarks about Levi. She was a sweet girl.

She wondered if Levi had been the one to find her—if he had been the one to find his entire squad. She wondered exactly what happened. Out of those she'd gotten close with, Levi was the only one left. She wanted to comfort him, and for him to comfort her, but apparently, she made him feel bad. Was it her humor? She thought if she crossed a line, Levi would tell her. Maybe she had been too irresponsible, too rigid and vulgar. At this point, as weird as it seemed, he was probably her closest friend. They spent a lot of time together and seemed to function naturally in each other's company. Apparently their companionship was one sided.

She wasn't sure when she started crying, but her palms were soaked with the evidence of it. She didn't like this. Nothing about this felt good. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to go home. She wanted things to return to normal. She pulled her hair a little harder as each minute ticked by.

"The hell are you doing? Don't sit there. It's hard to tell how many shit stained boots have walked on that."

His voice startled her, but she didn't look up at him.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, shielding her face. She wanted to sob.

"Don't be sorry," he snorted, "You're the one sitting in shit. Not me."

"Sorry," she whispered again, "I'm sorry."

He said nothing. He made no sound. They remained in silence for what felt like several minutes, but was probably only thirty seconds.

He sat down beside of her. It surprised her so much that she looked at him.

"You can't sit here," she said in a panic, shoving his shoulder with her hands. He didn't budge.

"As if you can tell me what to do."

"You can't!" she exclaimed, her outburst surprising him, "You can't, Levi! It's bad. It's a bad stair. It's covered in dirt."

He cocked his head a little, eyeing her suspiciously.

"You're drunk."

"Go away. Please."

"This is stupid. Let's go upstairs."

"I can't."

"You're too messed up to walk?"

"I can walk. I can't go upstairs. I don't know where to sleep."

"So you suddenly feel bad about being a parasite? You always sleep in my bed. Don't expect anyone to waste money or space getting you your own bunk when you just leech off of me anyway," he replied with no real venom.

"I can't go in your room."

"What? Why not?"

"You hate me!" she cried, her vision blurry from her tears, "I'm bad."

Levi looked dumbfounded. His lips parted a bit, his mouth barely open and eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me?"

"You—," she hiccuped, pulling at her hair again, "I'm bad. I make you feel bad."

"Where did this come from? You're being ridiculous."

"They told me. The people."

"The people," he repeated, not understanding.

"The people. The important people with the whiskey. I don't like whiskey."

"Oh," he replied, "I see. What did they say?"

"You already know. You know why you don't like me."

"There's a lot to dislike about you, Varga. You're gonna have to be more specific."

"I make you feel bad. I remind you of bad stuff. I'm sorry. I didn't know I was doing that."

A few seconds ticked by before a look of realization settled upon Levi's face.

"Oh," he said, "Oh."

His tone became a little sharper, and he looked much angrier than he did a moment ago.

"It's true," she whispered, "You hate me. I suck."

She heard him sigh. His irritation only made her more upset, and the knowledge that he really didn't like her brought more tears to her eyes. She wanted to go home. She wanted her brother.

"Blake," he said sternly, grabbing her shoulder. She flinched in surprise. Levi never touched her.

"I don't hate you. If I did, it would be a lot more obvious. I'd have made your life here miserable—more than I already do. You wouldn't be in my space all the time, no matter what Erwin said."

"But—"

"Don't interrupt me. Listen, okay? Whatever they said, it's not true. They don't get a lot of shit about me, and what they're referring to is a huge part of what they don't understand. They think I'm ashamed of my past, but I'm not. I don't have any regrets. I can't afford to live like that."

"I'm confused," she admitted, frowning. 

"I can tell you more later. It's not something I really want to talk about, especially not when you're drunk, and not on these shitty stairs. Let's go to my room, okay?"

Her brain wasn't really working fast enough to process most of his words, but she understood that he had said that he didn't hate her. That was okay for now, maybe. He stood and offered her his hand. Shaking a little, she accepted, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She swayed.

"Are you usually an emotional drunk?" he asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder so he could support her.

"I don't know. I don't know anything."

"That's the truest thing you've ever said."

"You're mean. You have to be nice to me when I'm crying."

"Even as a pathetic drunk, you're still manipulative."

She huffed, allowing him to guide her up the stairs and into his room, dramatically plopping down onto his bed and staring at the ceiling.

"I'm mad at you now."

"Okay," he snorted, making himself some tea.

"Gimme," she demanded, pointing to her mug.

"Why should I make you tea? You're being a dick."

"No," she argued.

"Convincing. Lavender?"

"Yes."

He brewed it and handed it to her, sitting in his chair with his own tea.

"Put your chair over here."

"What? Why?"

"I want you to be over here."

He sighed and lifted the chair with one hand, carrying it to the bed.

"Thank you."

He didn't say anything, sitting down again.

"I changed my mind."

"I'm not moving it back."

"No," she said, reaching out and grabbing the chair leg, yanking it closer, "No chair. The bed."

"Absolutely not."

"Why? Lonely. Please."

"You're disgusting. I'm not sharing a bed with you. I don't even sleep in my bed."

"I showered earlier. Clean. You don't even have to make it a big deal, 'cause I'm drunk and it doesn't mean anything. Just sad and lonely."

"No. You'll throw up on me."

"Will not."

"I'm serious. I'm not sharing a bed with you."

She huffed, handing her mug back to him and rolling over on her side.

"Rejected," she murmured, drifting off. Levi didn't acknowledge her.

༻✦༺

Roughly two hours later, she woke up. Levi sat at his desk, the death notices he was signing illuminated by the candlelight. She sighed.

"Levi," she whispered, "It's time to sleep."

"Shut up," he hissed, but his tone wasn't laced with any real venom.

She stood, feeling much more sober than she had when she first fell asleep, her bare feet touching the cold floor. She sat on the corner of his desk. He glared.

"You need to rest. Just for a little while. Tomorrow is important."

He scoffed, doing his best to ignore her presence.

"Stop punishing yourself, Levi. It's not your fault."

"Shut up," he repeated blankly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You need—"

"Okay. Okay, I'll sleep. Jesus," he snapped,
shoving his quill away and glaring at her once more.

"Can you leave me alone now?" he asked, staring up at her with as much hate as he could muster.

She narrowed her eyes at him, glaring back.

"I know what you're doing, Levi," she told him, sighing, "And I know that it's not my place to beg you to let me in. You can shut me out if you want. But don't waste your time trying to intimidate me."

She wasn't stupid. She'd seen many different types of hurt in her lifetime, and what Levi was doing now was just that: hurting. However, not only did she have little experience with comforting Levi, but also with the level of loss that the Scouts are dealt regularly. She knew so little about all of it that it seemed unfair to try to console him without his explicit permission.

He said nothing, closing his eyes and feigning sleep. It was a low blow, especially considering his apparent clinical insomnia.

"You dick," she huffed, grabbing his coat, the same one she'd worn hours prior, and throwing it over him as a makeshift blanket. Annoyance began to flash over his face, but he seemed to remember that he was pretending to be asleep in the middle of it, relaxing his features.

"You're a dick," he sneered back, aware that his cover had been blown.

"Maybe, but you're in a league of your own. Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight? You should be pretty tired."

"Don't know," he replied, eyes still closed, "Probably not."

"Can you try?"

"Yes. Go back to bed and stop talking. You're giving me a migraine."

"You're a real delight, Levi. Goodnight."

"You're not a joy to be around either, Varga. Night."

She laughed softly to herself as she crawled back into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her eyes. She wondered if sleep would come as easily to her as it had a few hours ago when she was drunk. Probably not, she figured, but she'd try anyway.

After all, tomorrow seemed like it would be important.

a/n: wow ermmm sorry for not updating for several months 😭
ANYWAY, enjoy a longer than usual chapter as i repent 🙏🏻
hope you're all safe and doing well!