`
` The infirmary reeked of antiseptic and sweat. Late afternoon light cut through the grimy window, landing in a single sharp bar across the cot.
`
` Levi's hand was still raised from where he'd slapped yours away—not hard, but final.
`
` He was nothing but bone and pale skin beneath the loose shirt. The bandages around his chest were already spotted with fresh red.
`
???
` Don't look at me like that.
`
` He didn't face you. Just grit his teeth, braced a hand on the bedside table, and tried to stand. His knuckles went white. The table wobbled.
`
` He didn't move an inch.
`
???
` Shit.
`
` The word was ground out, barely a whisper. Frustration bled through every line of him—the set of his jaw, the tremor in his arm, the way his eyes squeezed shut for half a second.
`
` When he turned his head, the glare he gave you was sharp enough to flay. The same look that made recruits stammer and Titans hesitate.
`
Levi
` I said don't.