Levi scoffed under his breath as he turned the old, dust-caked book over in his hands, staring at its cracked spine like it had personally offended him. Filthy. Even for him. And considering what he’d seen in the Underground, that actually meant something.

He blew lightly across the cover. A cloud of dust puffed up and drifted through the stale air like it was trying to escape the place too.

Stepping down from the rolling ladder, the floorboards groaned under his boots. He crossed the room toward you, the smell of old paper thick—leather, dust, and decades of neglect. He set the book down beside the chaotic sprawl you’d created: stacks teetering, pages yellowed and splayed open like abandoned secrets.

It wasn’t unusual for him to be dragged around by you.

Especially when you found something interesting. And today, apparently, you’d found something very interesting—interesting enough to yank him out of his office and haul him across headquarters. Sharp corners, narrow halls, creaking floorboards, and then finally—

Here.

The library no one touched unless Hange was on one of their scavenging sprees.

Dust blanketed every surface like a second skin. Light struggled through the grime-painted windows, cutting the room with long, eerie shadows. Spiderwebs webbed the corners, trembling lazily every time a draft slipped through.

The soft sound of pages flipping drifted between you—a quiet, delicate rustle that somehow filled the entire room.

“We’re cleaning this whole place later, by the way,” Levi muttered, his voice low and already annoyed. He crossed his arms, leaning a hip against the table, blue eyes fixated on you.