Ayato shook his head. He'd gone outside to send a messenger, but the reply was as he'd expected. "I tried to get names but it's classified too highly for me, and while my father may have lent us the key, he's definitely not going to give me the rotation schedule."
Levi kept a blank face for exactly two seconds before his fist slammed into the wall, indenting a large crater into the drywall as it crumbled around the force of his punch. "So you're telling me that this guy is out there, being protected by the Military Policy for tort-" His throat got stuck on the word torture, and he had to abort it. "-hurting Hiiro? That's sick. That's f**king twisted."
"Levi..." Ayato frowned, looking down before looking back up at Levi's back. "I don't know that we can assume that it was just one guy."
"Shut up."
"I know it's easier to imagine beating the shit out of one rogue soldier-"
"Shut up."
"-but it's far more likely to say that a lot of people took part-"
"SHUT UP."
"-and that you won't be able to get a single one of them."
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Levi screamed, adding several more craters to the wall.
Ayato's frown deepened. "The people who are tasked with guarding prisoners are sick. This is probably something they've done before and something they'll do again. The higher-ups will protect them because of the necessity of their duty."
"But they hurt Hiiro," Levi snapped, his voice rough as he tried to find some, any, semblance of control. "They f**king took his eyes out, Ayato. I can't, I can't let them just walk around, laughing at him..." Levi growled just imagining it. "I'll rip their throats out. Then their eyes, to see how they like it. Then I'll cut off their-"
Ayato stopped Levi by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look. I'm not usually the one to nix the revenge plans, but...well, you've got two options. Abandon Hiiro while you pick a fight with the entire MP, or forget about it-"
Levi tensed, pissed.
"-temporarily- while you take care of Hiiro. And Levi? He needs taking care of. A lot of it."
Levi was silent for a long moment.
"Levi?"
"He's been quiet for a long time now," Levi snapped quietly, pushing around Ayato and going into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him.
Hiiro was sitting in the car end of the tub, his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms circling his knees, his head tucked down on top of his knees.
"The whole f**king point of a bath is that you lay down," Levi said quietly, gently.
Hiiro looked up. Well, he wasn't looking at anything, but his head rose. "Levi?" he asked. His voice was quiet, so quiet. If the water had been running, Levi wouldn't have been able to hear him.
"Yeah, it's me," Levi said, smiling ever so slightly as Hiiro reached out with one hand, gripping the tub for a second before patting gently on the rim, feeling around for something.
Levi sighed before slipping his hand into Hiiro's, and Hiiro stilled.
"I...hate being touched," Hiiro whispered.
Levi instinctively pulled back, his hand pulling out of Hiiro's weak grip. "Then the f**k are you grabbing my hand for?"
But Hiiro just kept patting the rim. "But, it's okay when it's you. But just you."
Levi sighed again. "Brat." But he put his hand back on the rim of the tub and waited for Hiiro's fingers to gently tap their way along until they met with his warm skin. Then Hiiro rested his hand on top of Levi's, not intertwining their fingers, just stealing a bit of warmth.
Levi sighed for the third time. "All right, I'll let you hold my f**king hand, but you need to hurry up and actually get all the way in the bathtub."
Hiiro shook his head.
"Brat, don't make me get in there," Levi threatened, but after a moment, his voice softened. He flipped his hand so he was gently grabbing the underside of Hiiro's wrist, and Hiiro drew in a quick breath, going still. "Why won't you get in the water all the way? What's wrong with it?"
Hiiro started shaking uncontrollably and drew his hand away from Levi's to put both hands over his ears, trying to shut out sounds that were only in his head as he started rocking back and forth, sloshing the water over the rim of the tub and partially soaking Levi.
"Shit, Hiiro, stop-" Levi started, but it was useless. Hiiro wasn't listening to him or anyone right now.
"Damn it," Levi said before lunging forward and putting his arms around Hiiro, hugging him to stop his from rocking, and Hiiro went still again. "Hiiro?"
But Hiiro wouldn't uncover his ears.
Levi sighed (fourth time) before trying to help Hiiro to a stand, but Hiiro's legs shook with the effort and collapsed beneath him. Levi caught his limp body before he could fall back into the water and lifted him out of the tub, sitting him down on a stool while he grabbed a towel, all the while trying to ignore how light Hiiro had been in his arms.
Levi quickly dried Hiiro's face, hair, arms, and chest before wrapping the towel around Hiiro's midsection. Then he leaned Hiiro against himself, taking on his weight while Hiiro put one foot in front of the other. Levi lead him out the door and to the bed, laying him down gently.
Ayato stood there silently, watching with pity.
From the bathroom to the bed, Hiiro had left behind small wet footprints resembling a child's.
His hands remained over his ears.