12
R E S E A R C H
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LEVI'S NOSE SCRUNCHED UP underneath his surgical mask. Through it, he could still smell the disgusting scent of the strange rice, mash potatoes, beans, and soup.
"Try to at least smile with your eyes," the boy next to him whispered as he shot him a quick look. "It's already enough that you're wearing that mask; you're scaring them away with those cold and hard eyes of yours."
"How about you mind your own business before I shove this down your throat," Levi threatened, scowling at the young boy next to him as he tightened his grip on the large spoon in his hand.
He tensed, quickly looking away. The boy continued to smile at the people that came to get their food, but it was weaker and tighter than before. Levi noticed that he was the youngest one among them. It made him wonder what he had done.
"Is this gluten-free?" asked the man in front of Levi. His plate already had the soup, mash potatoes, and rice.
"What?" Levi questioned, glancing at the food he was in charge of serving.
"The beans," the man continued, his plate moving forward to show what he meant. "Wheat can sometimes be added to the beans. Gluten is-"
"I know what gluten is," Levi interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "Just take the beans," he said, grabbing a spoon full and dumping them onto the man's plate. The splatting sound made him scoff in disgust.
"Mr. Ackerman, a word, please. Eren, take over."
Levi dropped the spoon in the puddle of beans. He shot a glare towards Eren. The boy had already begun to apologize for Levi, stating that he didn't know what he was doing. It made his eyes roll at how hard he tried.
He made his way over to the tall man who held a clipboard. He was his patrol officer that was supposed to help keep an eye on Levi. The man was put in charge of making sure he didn't get into any more trouble.
"Levi, you need to get your temper under control," Mike advised gravely. Levi glared at the him, jaw clenching.
"Who the actual fuck asks if there's gluten in beans?" Levi glowered, his voice low and dangerous. His eyes had gotten colder and harder. It was obvious that he was angered, but Mike held his stern and calm demeanor.
"For some people, it can affect their health," he responded calmly, a frown on his face. "Just ask Hanji. She's over there." He nodded his head to the left, his hand motioning towards the area.
Levi snapped his head in the direction where Mike had motioned to. He froze when he saw the insane brunette sitting on a chair, doing checkups to the homeless with her eyes twinkling ecstatically.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Levi swallowed back his anger and turned away from her before she could feel his intense gaze on her. He shot a glare at Mike. "Is that all?" Levi questioned in between his teeth.
He nodded and Levi turned, walking back to where he had been working. The teenage boy glanced at him before he went back to his spot once Levi was close enough.
Levi returned back to saying 'you're welcomes' and serving the food. Unlike they did with Eren, they didn't try to make a brief small talk. He had never even tried to smile once at them. It made the green-eyed boy next to him mumble underneath his breath saying he was going to drag them down. Whenever Levi heard him make a snarky remark, he would slyly kick him when no one was looking.
Once his break came around, he immediately went to wash his hands. Going to the restroom was easier than exiting the building for fresh air. The setting for where Hanji sat was near the restrooms, and the first time she didn't spot him because he had made sure that she was occupied and distracted with her work. The second time, Levi wasn't slick enough and she had spotted him when he tried to scurry past her to a far, empty table.
"Levi~" Hanji sang, quickly skipping over with a cheeky smile. Levi scowled, ignoring her as he made his way over to an empty seat. "How are you liking your new job?" Hanji asked, following him like a lost puppy. "The pay is absolutely wonderful from what I heard from Irene!"
"Go away," Levi grumbled, taking a seat on a chair. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. The pain on his body had eased after taking two more pills.
"Come on. Tell me how you're liking it. I wanna know," she pushed, standing in front of him, her silhouette casting over him. The woman knew that he didn't like it when her shadow loomed over him, yet she still did it. It made him clench his fist knowing she was doing it on purpose.
"It's a job," he said, his eyes opening and meeting the brown set of eyes, scowl still intact. "It doesn't matter whether I like it or not. As long as I'm getting paid, I don't care."
Hanji hummed, pressing her lips together as she grabbed a chair and sat in front of Levi. She placed an arm on the wood table, and rested her head on the palm of her hand. "I suppose. But how are you liking Irene? You're lucky she even decided to hire you."
Her question made him recall him making her cry and the entire eerie situation at the restaurant. He pitched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in frustration. "It's disgusting how she reminds me of you with her—"
"Aw, you think about me?" she teased, making his eyes open to shoot a deadly glare. An ear piercing laugh left her. He clicked his tongue, scoffing afterwards.
"Shut it, four-eyes," Levi warned, only earning a triumphant smile. The smile made his jaw clench, releasing she had purposely wanted to vex him. His eyes rolled.
"Sorry, sorry," Hanji apologized, stiffing a laugh, knowing she isn't. "Go on."
He paused for a brief moment, eyeing the brunette in front of him before continuing. "It's annoying how stubborn that woman is. Her mood swings are as well."
Hanji stared at him, as if expecting more before nothing else left his mouth. She frowned and hummed before breaking into a smile. "She is pretty stubborn, huh?"
"She probably gets it from hanging around you too much," Levi commented nonchalantly, earning fits of giggles from the brunette.
"She's just a worrier," Hanji corrected, a bright smile tugging her lips. "Irene is pretty understanding. Does she know you're doing community service?"
Levi shook his head, narrowing his eyes. Hanji's smile faltered and before she could speak, he beat her to it. "It's none of her business. The contract I signed with her didn't say anything about informing her about this type of stuff."
"It's required," she reminded gravely, a frown ceasing her face. "Levi, just by not telling her, you're at stake of being fired—"
"She won't fire me," Levi grumbled, glancing at the clock to see he still had time until his break was over. Hanji sighed in defeat, even she knew Irene was too kind to do so.
Hanji looked up at the ceiling, her bubbly demeanor vanishing into thin air. Levi frowned as he saw how deep in thought she looked. She looked back at Levi with her typical smile.
"Anyways, have you pissed her off yet?" Hanji asked, resting her chin on her hands. "I was on the phone with her the other day and she seemed to be a bit more irritated than usual. Did she snap at you?"
More like sad, Levi thought, recalling how he made Irene cry. He still didn't understand why she had been so attached to what he said. It made no sense to him no matter how hard he tried to ponder on it.
He debated whether or not he should tell her he made cry. Levi heaved a sigh and glanced to his side. "I made her cry today," he admitted, "all I asked was why she hired me and that some brats that—"
"You made Irene, your boss, cry?!" Hanji exclaimed, eyes growing wide.
Levi shushed her, glancing to see others looking their way. He scowled at Hanji. "I didn't expect her to. All I did was make a judgmental comment towards these kids that had their photo taken."
Hanji heaved a sigh, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She frowned at Levi as she lowered her hand onto the table. "You know, Irene has been acting off lately," Hanji mused, "but either way, she takes her job pretty seriously. You shouldn't say things like that; she can be fired if you do."
"She told me that," Levi said, glancing around him.
He took a brief pause, recalling how tense she had acted when he asked how she had met Hanji, and her eerie behavior. The longer he thought about it, his desire to know why she acted that way grew.
Finally, he gave in to his curiosity and looked over at Hanji. "How did you meet Irene?"
His question clearly took her back, her brown eyes widening a bit before her bubbly vibe morphing into a composed one. A small smile graced her face as her eyes softened. She seemed to be looking back to a dozen memories.
"High school. She was in yearbook and I needed a retake and she personally helped me since they couldn't let me. We just kicked off from there."
A smile formed on her face and Levi couldn't help but wonder further into their meeting. Unlike Irene, Hanji was more open and showed more emotion while Irene seemed wary of every word she spoke, keeping her answer curt.
"I see," he said nonchalantly, looking back at the clock to see his break is over.
He wanted to ask more questions about Irene, but it wasn't his place as her employee to do so, and he didn't want to risk being fired.
"Yup!" Hanji exclaimed, her calm and soft smile morphing into a euphoric one. "Why do you ask?"
Levi ignored her and stood up, pushing his chair in as he closed his eyes and collected his thoughts. After a brief moment, he opened them back up and looked over at her. "To understand certain things better."
Hanji's smile faltered, confusion flooding her eyes, but she didn't get a chance to speak before Levi turned and walked away, back to where he was.
He did need to understand things better. To understand her caution.