In the process of re-uploading the old chapters to make them a little easier to read ~

I own none of these characters :p
-

"Levi!" Her voice rang through the fortress, happily, loudly and obnoxiously, just like her and all Levi could do was roll his eyes and press his fingers to his temple as the hurricane that was Hanji ran his way, all the while praying she forgot where his room was.

"There you are, Levi! Didn't you hear me calling?" Oh, and he had no such luck.

"I heard you." He replied dryly, turning from where he sat at his desk drinking tea, silently wishing he hadn't heard her, he was so enjoying the silence of the last few minutes.

"Ah, well I have a new theory as to why the titans disappeared do you want to hear it?!"

"No."

"Awww, come on all of the other guys left since the titans disappeared, they went to go explore the outside world, but I can't leave this stupid fortress after the last battle and all." She pouted and Levi let out an irritated sigh.

That's right, the very last battle, the female titan had returned broken the gates, let in the other titans, and in what seemed like a last ditched effort to wipe out humans, they went after the human females, before the titans all simply vanished. No, no trace, they were just all gone and no one had seen them since. Though it took awhile, people eventually started venturing out eager to see what the world had to offer without fearing the titans. Not a lot of women remained, so those who had chosen to stay in the city rather than travel were given positions of power, as an incentive to stay and help repopulate humanity. Most if the women from the army perished honorably in combat, while many of the men either became city guards or chose to see the freedom they fought for, and then there was Levi. Levi had decided to stay behind, the throne had been recently overthrown, the general and much of the people above him in the army had left to explore leaving a flimsy government behind and giving him a far higher ranking job than before, allowing him more access to make proper changes for a better stronger government, nevertheless, there were still people higher ranking than himself, and unfortunately for him, he was given orders by them to protect the most desirable female left that humanity had; Shitty Glasses.

Levi looked Shitty Glasses up and down trying to figure out what the world had come to that she was the most desirable woman left. The titans were gone, yet she still stayed in the fortress to research, she still refused to leave, her hair was still oily and unkept, she still forgot to bathe regularly, she was still the same strange creature she'd always been, and her glasses were shitty! But he couldn't turn down orders and risk his rank, not when he had so much to do, but… It was tempting.

"So, you gonna let me tell you my theory?" She asked again, eyes lit up behind her goggles. He looked at her silently from where he sat and raised himself from his desk, walked right over to her, looked her dead in the eyes and said…

"No." Dammit! He wished he was taller, looking down at her would have had a better impact, oh well, all the same. He walked past her and headed for the hallway to attempt to retreat to the bathroom where he hoped she had the decency to leave him in peace, but he wouldn't get his hopes up.

"Awww, why so sour?" She called after him, buzzing around like a fly. He wished he only had a fly swatter big enough, but no think of, the mess it would leave behind…

"Because my job is to look after you, not converse." He replied with a deadpanned glare.

"So? That means we can't talk, we always spoke back in the titan days." She snorted a laugh, playfully punching him in the arm.

"Because we had business to discuss."

"Don't we have business to discuss now? I mean; Titans! Hello!?" Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"No we do not." He stopped walking so that he could make sure she he had her full attention when he said this next bit, "Now, part of my job is to look after your safety. The titans are gone, and don't seem to be coming goal to see the end of titans is now complete, I have a new goal now, and achieving that goal means I have to do things I don't like, just like in the army days, but now that job is looking after you. The only business we have now is if someone sneaks in your room and tries to snatch you, or tries to lob your head off, then you may feel free to come discuss that with me, but until then, we have no business." his voice was steady and low as he hoped they at least sunk a little into her thick skull but the look in her eyes said she'd ignored the bits she didn't like.

"Oh come on Levi, no one is really after me, I mean, me desirable? Hah!" She laughed hard, too hard, to her own ears it sounded a bit forced, but she was pretty sure Levi wouldn't notice. Being the most desirable woman humanity had left wasn't really what she wanted, she still wasn't sure what to think about it even after it was announced 2 years ago. After all, her research was all she had now, if the titans returned all she wanted was to be ready, but because of her mental and physical prowess, she was left being the most desirable female humanity had left, but it wasn't because anyone who called her that actually knew her, they just wanted her like a trophy! As if she would play along with that!

"Look, you and I both know that this 'desirable woman' thing is stupid, but the higher ups think you need extra protection, so let's just make this as painless as possible." he started walking into the men's bathroom now.

"But, Levi-"

"Ah!" He snapped pointing at the men's only sign.

"You think I won't follow you in there?" she threatened.

"I think you won't." he said nonchalantly over his shoulder as he entered the room leaving her behind.

"Dammit! He called my bluff." Sure she knew she was a little 'off', but walking into the men's room and seeing a smoke room full of sausages wasn't something she was eager to see.

"Ahh, but everyone we knew back in the old days left here to start new lives… All these punks in the fortress don't know the stuff we knew about the Titans, talking to them would be boring." She muttered to herself as she trudged down the hall towards her room.

Hanji really hated the new guards, they were weird, but most of all, they weren't the people she knew, they weren't her friends… But with how Levi put it, maybe in the end, none of them from the old days were her friends in the first place, which was fine, but now she couldn't talk titans with anyone!

"Hey is that Hanji?" she heard the guards further off talking as she slowed down to hear better.

"She's the most desirable woman? She's a woman?" he laughed.

"Hey, hey," another guard whispered, "Maybe she doesn't look like that, but under all that old 3-D maneuver gear and stuff, I bet she's a babe." She could feel their eyes on her and it made her skin crawl, with a shudder she quickly retreated to her room.

"Bean, where are you when I have such fascinating theories?" she sighed to herself as she pulled the door to her room shut behind her. Her eyes scanned her room. Research supplies were everywhere, her bed couldn't even be really seen in the wreckage, but it was the most comfortable place on earth for her, she thought as she sighed. That's when she smelled it; her hair smelled horrible. "Has it already been so long? Hah! I guess I got carried away researching, I guess I have some free time now." she hummed to herself as she walked to her dresser and gathered some clean clothes. The plus of being the only woman in the fortress? Private bathroom, connected to herroom, aww yeah.

In a matter of moments Hanji was filling a tub and settling into the thick suds of the water, relaxing as the warm water worked wonders on her sore muscles, and the oil from her hair washed away.

"Hmmmm." She hummed contentedly, "Maybe when I get out I'll see if I have anymore old notebooks with titan info." she mumbled to herself as she sunk sleepily into the bubbles. With all of the coffee she'd been drinking lately, the last few days of all nighters hadn't really bothered her, but now as she felt herself relax, the need for sleep was viciously clawing her eyelids down, ignoring her desire to keep them open and avoid potentially drowning, but before she knew it her eyes betrayed her.

She was too tired to dream as she slept, or at least she thought so, because after awhile, she was pretty sure she was hearing someone speaking.

"-an, you were right she does have boobs under all that crap, alright, you win the thirty dollars."

"Man it's been awhile since I saw a woman even if she's not that sexy, I wonder if we could-"

Hanji's eyes snap open as she realizes she's sitting in a tub of freezing water, a conversation is happening over her and that at this very moment, the same little shit of a guard who said she had no boobs in the hallway was staring at her like a deer in headlights, his hand frozen inches away from her chest.

They all froze like that, no one even blinked as she looked up at him, he stared down at her and his friend looked just as shocked as he did, for a good minute before reality sunk in for Hanji, and she didn't like it.

"Why is Shitty Glasses so late for dinner? If she starves, that's my ass." Levi mumbled as he marched towards Hanji's room with a purpose. Since he chased her away earlier, he thought he had been lucky not to see her again, lucky, yet unnerved. It wasn't like her to give up on annoying him so quickly, he figured she maybe learned a lesson about bothering him, but now that she was an hour late for dinner, he'd sent some men to get her but they hand't returned, now he had to wonder if something was wrong. His hand was raised, ready to knock at her door when he heard it; a shrill high pitched scream.

Without any hesitation Levi kicked the door down and ran into her room, but no one was there, the scream pierced the air again and he realized it was coming from the bathroom.

"Hanji!" He yelled urgently as he burst into the room, "What in the hell…?" The scene was not at all what he'd expected.

A naked and clearly furious Hanji stood in the bathtub, one of the guards he'd sent was unconscious and with a bloody nose sprawled out on the floor, the other one blocking his face as Hanji grabbed him by the collar and held her fist in the air as he screamed the highest pitched scream Levi had ever heard in his life.

"You little scum!" Hanji yelled angry and flustered as he fist flew into the guards face and he fell whimpering to the ground, "How dare you say I'm not sexy, bodies aren't the only attractive thing! I have a sexy mind okay!?" she screamed.

Levi quirked an eyebrow as he put the situation together. It was pretty clear the men he sent got caught up in stupidity and tried to get a feel while she was bathing, but she was most angry about not being sexy? "Stupid." Levi chuckled under his breath, but that was enough to get Hanji's attention.

"Ah! Levi!" She calls squinting as if she can't tell without her glasses, "You came to hear my theory I assume?!" She sang, in no shame or concern of her nudity, after all he'd seen her naked before that one time- Oh! But wait, they both agreed to never even think about that again.

"Put some clothes on, Sh-" he starts to call her shitty glasses, but it seems odd since she's not wearing them so the words are dropped.

"Oh yeah! Right clothes." She snorts, fumbling blindly as she stepped out of the tub, before letting out a loud sneeze followed by two more sneezes that sent her flying back into the tub, "I'm okay!" She gurgles up from the water before Levi can even fully process the train wreck he is watching unfold before him.

With a sigh, he kicks the two uncurious guards across the floor out of the room in the most literal way, he then goes into her room and grabs her glasses and some towels before returning to the bathroom where Hanji is still climbing out of the water.

"Did you hit your head just now?" He asks walking closer as he unfolds the towels.

"Nah I'm fine," She laughs sitting on the edge of the tub and taking the towel he held out to her, "A little cold though."

"Hmm." Levi grunts in reply as he places the second towel over her dripping hair, his hand brushes her skin and he's shocked by how cold it is , "How long were you in there?"

"I don't know I fell asleep." She shrugged as she wrapped the towel around herself lightly, still shivering.

"Don't sleep in the tub, stupid." he snorts looking over at her shivering as he dries her hair with the towel thinking how annoying it would be if she got sick. It was strange, her own lack of concern for her nudity made him forget that she was indeed nude. He could smell the shampoo from her hair and her freshly washed skin as he pat her hair dry, it smelled like honey and milk, her hair wasn't all oily it looked soft as it framed her face, though he wasn't trying to look, he could clearly see down her towel from where he stood and he felt it in his gut, it all somehow made him aware suddenly, that Zoe Hanji was indeed a female, and was indeed nude, and that staying in the room was inappropriate.

"I only came to tell you dinner is ready, finish up here and hurry up." Levi reported lifting his hands from the towel and taking a step back. He saw her nod, and only now he saw her eyes were sad, her usual energy gone as she gazed at the bloody spot on the floor where the young guard's nose had bled. It made Levi uncomfortable, she seemed different now, she smelled better for one, and the usual excited energetic look on her face was no where to be seen, now she looked sad, like something was bothering her, and Levi wanted nothing more than to avoid her trying to become more personal with her than they had to be especially in this moment; this was only work after all. He took the sad nod she gave him as a sufficient agreement and turned to leave the room, but then she spoke and he stopped in his tracks.

"Is this it for me now? Is my life going to be getting stared at because of some stupid label I didn't even want? Am I gonna have to deal with guys like those guys from earlier all of the time? Ugh, humanity's most desirable woman… my ass, they just like the title, I'm not even attractive." She mumbled.

Levi sighed in annoyance,he had to say something right? "Look, this label will only mean as much as you let it. Just live your life however you want. People might stare at you now, but who cares? As long as they don't try anything, and even if they do try anything, they'll have to deal with me." He assured her, "After all, that is my job." He added, leaving it as he said it before seemed a little to personal for him and he sure as hell wasn't going to comment on the attractive bit. He personally didn't particularly find her attractive, he hadn't really thought much of her than being a weird former working acquaintance to him, but at that moment just now, he had to admit, even Shitty Glasses could have some physical appeal, if you looked really hard, from a certain angle and tilted your head a bit that is. That's all he would give her.

She seemed to be considering his words as they both were silent for a moment before she spoke, "You're right." She said with a smile as she gets up and walks over to him, "I'll just keep living my life."

"Good." He replies simply as her eyes light up again.

"Speaking of living my life, you want to hear my theo-." she shifted, the smell of milk and honey met his nose again and for the slightest fraction of a second, he wanted to drink that scent in from her skin, but the thought was gone in a second as he cringed at it.

"No." and with that he was gone.

"Who falls asleep in the tub…" He mumbles as he marched irritatedly into the hallway from her room, dragging the two unconscious punk guards from earlier down the hall as the other guards stare at the scene. He can feel their curious eyes and figures he can take advantage of the situation, "Hey, what are you looking at? Just keep your thoughts on your job, you mess up and try and sneak over to see that woman you were hired to protect and you'll end up like these two, curtesy of me." He grumbled as the guards scurried away with fear in their eyes. Good, they would pass along the message not to mess with Hanji and make his job easier. Levi had every intention of beating the crap outta these two muck ups of guards just to get the smell of milk and honey out of his nose and the lingering memory of his hand brushing Hanji's cold, smooth skin out of his head.

-
Two hours later Levi sat in his own room, tired. He'd spent the last 2 hours making sure the two guards from earlier, as well as the other guards knew better than to ever try a stunt like that again, cleaned up his demonstration, and then came to take a bath in his own room to wash off the scent of fear that he swore lingered on him from his meeting with the guards and now he sat at his desk with a tea tray in front of him and the cool night breeze greeting him through the window.

It was utterly silent except for the sounds of nature, the cry of people dying on the streets or in fear of titans was no more, and he was thankful for that everyday that passed since the disappearance of the titans. He looked down at the tea tray in front of him and began to pour honey into the cup of tea in front of him, his hand reached out for the milk, but then paused as his mind played back to Hanji. His hands stayed frozen near the small container of milk for awhile as the look on her face, the smell of her skin and damp hair that clung to her face played back in his mind. The next thing he knew he was pouring the cup of tea out of the window with an irritated sigh, before walking to his bed and settling in, trying to forget all of the idiotic things that happened to day when-

"Levi!" the familiar voice came from down the hall and Levi cringed, praying it was some sick prank his mind played on him. "Oi! Levi I'm calling you!" The voice was closer now, he could hear the door crack open and light poured in from the hallway as his prayer for it all to be a dream burned away.

"Hey you kicked my door down earlier!" she protested, "Some of the specimens I collected escape into my room." Levi slowly sat up in his bed to see her standing there in baggy shorts and an old shirt looking irritated, "Take responsibility and find the specimens in my room!" She demanded.

"…. My job is to protect you, I kicked the door down trying to do that, collecting specimens is not in the job description."

"Well some of them are poisonous, that's a danger! Oh and those stupid guards keep peeking in my room since the door is gone, so isn't it part of your job to keep them away?"

"I…" he started, but she could tell by his eyebrow twitch and that irritated that she's right, and she's really not up for waking up and having to beat up another guard.

And that's how Hanji found herself snuggled up in the ever orderly bed of Levi. She had to admit, she really liked his bed, the sheets were soft, and they smelled nice, they were warm from where he had been laying earlier, they smelled like him. She couldn't help but hold the sheets up to her nose as she felt sleepiness wash over her "Sleep tight, Levi, and thanks." She murmured before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, Levi was down the hall and up the flight of stairs that led to Hanji's room trying to figure out, what it was that kept shifting around her room, where the bed was and how the hell she could put up with this mess and the smell. "You better be enjoying that room Shitty glasses, tomorrow I'll build you a door if it means I can avoid this insanity. Levi sat on the floor outside of her door, unable to bear the thought of sleeping in her room as he drifted off to sleep, throughly comforted by the realization that his earlier mild and mistaken attraction to her truly had been nothing but a momentary weakness, thank god.

Aaand, that's chapter one, this was pretty fun to write, hope you liked it if you read it, reviews are super helpful and lovely, I'll try to update it ASAP while I'm in the zone o_o