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Part 2 of Levihan Tumblr Prompt Responses
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Tumblr Prompts and Oneshots (Tundrainafrica)
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2021-01-05
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Summary:

"Erwin first suspected that there was something going on between the squad leader and the captain during one of their strategy meetings. It was in the greetings and farewells they exchanged as fellow soldiers."

The development of Levi and Hange's relationship from Commander Erwin's POV

Notes:

This was originally written for the Levihanangstober 2020 for the prompt, "Greetings and Farewells" I was just generally unsatisfied with how it turned out so I decided to write "free spot" instead. Since this paled in comparison, I kinda had this idea that it was horrible. But reading it again now, it wasn't bad per se. In fact, I had fun looking back at this fic.
Thank you to the anon for the ask. That got me the courage at least to reopen this file.

Either way, I hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Erwin first suspected that there was something going on between the squad leader and the captain during one of their strategy meetings.

It was in the greetings and farewells they exchanged as fellow soldiers.

Or their lack of it at least. Erwin thought to himself as he watched the two make their way out of the office and into the hallway together.

The meetings usually ended at nine in the evening. With physical drills awaiting them early the next morning, officers usually went straight to their rooms. Although his room was more accessible to the corridor on the right, Levi always accompanied Hange as the latter exited through the left.

Erwin had discounted it the few times to survey corps business between the two, maybe training, maybe collaborations. Hange would want to test different weapons on titans or secure samples out in the field and to prevent unnecessary deaths, it was only natural she would coordinate with Levi to help secure her projects.

Erwin started to watch their dynamics more closely when he noticed that their leaving meetings together had become routine. Having spent a fair share of his younger years hanging out in bars with Nile and dating women, he was confident he could pick out a developing relationship if it bloomed right in front of him.

The pattern was there. Erwin just had to press the right buttons.

The next meeting, Erwin took note of the body language of the two as he summarized the agenda towards the end of the meeting. That was usually the point where everyone started tidying up their paperwork and sat up straight, ready to leave.

While Hange had also started to pick up her paperwork, Erwin could not help but notice that she had snuck a glance at Levi more than once.

"Levi. Stay behind."

"Sure." Levi was quick to reply, his tone as neutral as it always was.

Erwin kept his eyes trained on Hange. If he had not been purposefully observing her, he probably would not have caught it. For a second Hange had looked surprised but a little panicked at the sudden order he made.

He needed to probe more to be sure. That night, he drilled Levi for updates on his squad so as not to raise suspicion for having made him stay in the first place.

The meeting after that when Erwin ordered the same thing to Hange, Levi had briefly glanced at the brunette before looking back again at his paperwork, his expression unchanged. Levi's reaction was more subtle but Erwin had worked with the captain long enough to know that any reaction from someone as stoic as him was big news.

He drilled Hange on any developments with her research. They were already starting to plan their next expedition so it was only natural that he would want to talk to the logistics leader.

"There's this new test I wanted to try. We've already proven that titans use their sight often with hunting. I want to get more information on their hearing and maybe create a sound grenade." Hange explained.

"Have you tried collaborating with Levi?" Erwin suggested. It was an unnecessary suggestion Levi had become valuable to Hange's research already. With his fighting skills, he was easily able to secure areas outside the wall, and had prevented unnecessary deaths during her previous research activities.

"I've been working with Levi lately actually. There were so many things I wanted to try out so I have been bothering him a lot. I haven't told you about it?" Hange gave Erwin a sheepish grin.

Erwin noticed a slight blush but at that point wondered if it was just excitement and maybe slight embarrassment at failing to properly report her progress to him. "Just do what you need to do to keep your department running." He said. "If Levi is free and you need someone to accompany you, I don't mind you asking him for help."

"Yes sir." Hange looked more relaxed.

Erwin started to think that he could be wrong about a relationship blooming between them. He had seen Hange blush the same way when she enthused about titans and research. He had never seen Levi blush though and wondered if he did at all.

Hange and Levi had similar goals and may have just decided to work closely to achieve them, they were aberrant humans, their personalities at complete ends of the spectrum, coincidentally working towards similar goals. Erwin eventually realized that his experience with relationships did not cover those eccentric enough at least to join a group with mortality rates as high as that of the survey corps. He was the only one from his own group of friends among the cadets who had joined the survey corps after all. He conceded that with what he knew then, he could not assume the status of their relationship.

"Hange," Erwin started as the brunette made her way to the door. "Remember, the preservation of humanity should always be your ultimate goal of your research. You made that oath when you joined the survey corps. Don't lose sight of it."

Just in case his first suspicion was correct.

 

 

He might have been thinking too far with what he suspected. The inkling that something might still be there remained. To placate it when he could though, Erwin decided at least to try for some extra assurance.

That night he took the corridor to the left on the way back to his room. It circled the whole camp so it meant an extra ten minutes to get to his room.

Why would Hange and Levi take that extra ten minutes to their room? Unless there was some place they would want to visit after meetings.

It was easy to deduce after that train of thought that the only place worth staying in after dark was the dining hall.

He was proven right when he neared the dining hall and heard the distinct voice of one Hange Zoe. He could not make out what she was talking about as he stood outside but he could make out her voice, her tone and a distinct softness he had not heard before. Hange was generally an emotional person and she spoke to her subordinates with a unique tone that exudes both authority and gentleness.

At that moment though, talking privately to Levi, her tone was much softer and warmer. It was not the tone anyone would expect from a soldier.

"Knowing you four eyes, you'd fuck it all up…" Levi's voice seemed more relaxed.

A change in tone when talking to someone one's attracted to was evidence in itself of a possibly blooming relationship. Given their eccentric personalities though, Erwin was not satisfied.

Erwin entered the dining hall. "You too, what are you doing out so late at night?"

Before Erwin could even catch their expressions, both faces had morphed into that of complete astonishment at the sudden entrance of their commander.

"Commander Erwin…" Hange's eyes widened in surprise.

"It isn't healthy to stay up this late," he lectured as he approached the table they occupied towards the corner of the room.

"We don't sleep much anyway." Levi answered as he took a sip of tea.

"Talking about new developments?" Erwin asked, keeping his eyes focused on their expressions.

Levi's expression as usual, was unchanging.

Hange on the other hand, grinned at Erwin excitedly. "He agreed to test the sound bomb with me outside the walls. I was about to explain to him how I created it actually."

Erwin sat down on a chair next to them. "If you don't mind me here, I'd like to listen too."

If there was something going on between them, they probably would have at least looked a little disappointed to have a third wheel hanging around. Erwin surprisingly felt welcomed as Levi moved a little to the side to give Erwin leg room and Hange continued on to her tirade on her new invention.

Erwin started to see that it was in the way they talked, and the way they peppered the conversation with their personality. Hange would sometimes briefly digress from the main topic to rave about miniscule details and Levi noticeably made more vulgar jokes in between. Their shift in their tones towards each other did not change even as Erwin joined them.

As they exchanged ideas, Erwin saw that their expressions were very much consistent with their shifts in tone. Hange's eyes were somehow brighter as she enthused about her inventions and Levi somehow lost his almost perpetual sullen manner as he responded to her.

Back when he was dating, Erwin had felt self conscious about those small details when talking to Marie. He had always tried to remain stoic while with Marie to preserve the peace between him and his friend.

Those two did not seem self conscious at all to be showing this side of themselves to Erwin.

"You two talk like a married couple." Erwin commented.

They both turned to Erwin, looking genuinely surprised at his comment. A few moments later, their faces turned pink at the realization of what he just said.

At least we know they can be self conscious.

Knowing their personalities, Erwin realized he shouldn't have been surprised if they did not notice it. They did not look like the types to just jump into a relationship or even know how it usually develops in the first place.

Erwin just nodded in fake agreement as he listened to the pair scrambling for a justification for their too friendly exchanges. The latter was too busy fitting the pieces together to even make sense of it.

There was something going on between them. They just didn't know it yet.

 

 

Erwin had let that complicated relationship between the two parties continue as it did prove to come with its own results.

The researches of Hange were done efficiently with little to no unnecessary deaths in the process. While working together, the two had reported success in the invention of the flash bomb, the sound grenade and further improvements to the gun used for scouting formations.

While it did develop, Erwin started to worry. The reason he had broken up with Marie in the first place is because he also knew that love could be a distraction. At that point in time, it proved to have been an inspiration for both of them.

What would happen if they figure out their feelings for each other? If they do get together?

In his many years in the survey corps, Erwin had not seen any relationship end well since most anyone who had fallen in love within the survey corps, had their vision clouded at one point and ended up dead.

The saving grace came in the fact that both soldiers were just too dense to figure it out for themselves and had attributed the passion and exhilaration that came with being together to a passion for their jobs. 

Erwin thought it better to keep it that way. For the betterment of the survey corps.

He could not risk losing his two best soldiers.

 

 

Fortunately for Erwin, within a few years, the establishment of the Special Operations Squad, Hange and Levi continued to find more reason to work together. With the survey corps constantly developing and constantly on the move though, the two never did probe further into that bond between them.

Erwin still continued to keep close tabs with them, enlisting the help of Mike.

With Hange's new resolve to capture a titan came new developments to their relationship beyond their hanging out together until the wee hours of morning.

As Hange started to push her agenda for capturing titans, she started to become more reckless. Erwin did not know at first whether that may have been from the actual excitement or a development. When Levi initially vocalized his rejection during their meetings, looking to have his squad's safety in mind, Erwin suspected the former.

One expedition, Hange rushed to the forest to chase an aberrant. Erwin had confidence in her ability to stay alive but had ordered Levi to chase after her. The latter was already on his horse when Erwin turned to him.

He wondered if he should have let Miche go instead, when they came back with a journal and Levi's sudden 180. The journal proved to be a breakthrough of a discovery and with two of his most trusted officers pushing for the agenda, he ended up approving it anyway.

How had she convinced Levi to help her capture a titan?

During the capture mission, there were no casualties so he could rest easy, knowing that they were at least still thinking straight.

Either way, the possibility of their relationship deepening continued to weigh on Erwin's mind.

In the case that they did start to suspect, would he let it happen? Or would he try to stop it?

They had become two of his closest friends over the years and as someone close to them, he felt it was his duty to at least nudge them in the right direction. His duty as commander protested this sentiment and in the end, he chose to err on the side of omission. If they did get together, he could at least convince himself that he had been busy with other things.

After the assault at Trost, Hange had busied herself with her new captured titans while Levi took custody of their newfound titan shifter Eren in the old scout headquarters.

A few days before their 57th expedition, Erwin called Moblit in for a quick report on the squad leaders movements, feigning worry over the Hange's sleeping schedule.

Moblit reported that Hange had visited the quarters a few times to experiment on Eren. Of course Hange would have been interested in the titan shifter. As the assistant reported to the commander, he did not look like he suspected anything at all.

Valid reasons at least.

The night the new captured titans were found dead, Erwin in between preparing for the 57th expedition in barracks and pondering the culprit, found Levi along the corridors of the barracks.

The scouting headquarters was at least a few hours ride away from the barracks.

"How's Eren?" Erwin asked. What are you doing here?

"Eren is in the basement of the old castle now so he wouldn't give my squad too hard of a time if he transforms."

"Tell Hange we're meeting tomorrow night in my office. I need to share something about the next expedition."

"WIll do."

As Erwin watched Levi make his way to the corridors to what he was sure was Hange's room, he could not help but note that Levi was not at all defending his effort or his motivations for visiting the barracks for the night.

Erwin felt his heart constrict and allowed himself to express some empathy for the two as soon as he got into his office. He sat on his chair, looked up at the blank ceiling of his empty office and closed his eyes.

Do you really not see it? He let out a painful sigh.

 

 

The night after the 57th expedition, having sustained multiple losses, he knew he would be facing trial at the capital. They had discussed the certainty of Annie being the female titan but by then, Erwin was considering the possibility that they could be wrong, and the survey corps could get dissolved.

After that, Hange helped an injured Levi to an empty meeting wrong, most likely to tend to his wounds and console the captain after he had lost his whole squad.

He did not know what happened between them in the room. Levi though, was due to accompany him to the capital. When he came out of the headquarters and into the carriage with a dinner jacket a few sizes too big for him, Erwin knew something was up.

"That's Hange's jacket."

"She lent it to me."

He did not question any further. There were far more important problems to consider than the relationship between his two soldiers. He distracted himself by furtively observing the body language of Levi. As they got closer to the capital where they were to stand trial, the captain held the dinner jacket closer to himself.

Seeking her warmth? Erwin thought. That unfunny joke was mostly for himself. Somehow he knew, that would be the last time he'd have time to think about them for a while.  

The capture of the three titan shifters and the impending coup d'etat kept Erwin busy. Too busy to even consider the possibly blooming relationship of the two.

It was only after losing his arm and ending up out of commission did he have time to think about them again. 

Especially with Hange as the new commander. As he lay in bed that one night, he allowed himself a few seconds to wonder what Hange's appointment as commander could mean for their relationship. A few times since then, he had considered telling them. His inclination to keep the future commander focused won over.

With the crowning of the new queen and the operation to take back Wall Maria nearing, Erwin was sure there were soldiers who would not make it back. Hange and Levi were no exceptions.

After he had brought that reality up in their meeting and after Levi had confronted him on his own intentions to join the operation, the next few times he saw Levi, the latter was with Hange.

Erwin noticed that they had watched each other's backs as they arrived on the wall at Shiganshina. As Erwin assigned Hange and Levi's squad to the armored and colossal titan  and Levi to take care of the horses, he snuck a glance at Levi and Hange who had given each other one last look before separating. From his angle, he could only see Hange's face.

A face that made his lip quiver and his stomach drop. A face of painful surrender.

 

 

"What happened to Hange?"

When Levi asked that in the middle of the already bloody battlefield, Erwin felt his chest constrict. He scolded himself a few seconds later for having even taken up valuable mind space to consider their relationship.

Erwin looked to Levi, keeping his face expressionless. "I don't know."

She was most probably dead. No one could have survived the explosion and Erwin had felt a small twinge of guilt at having assigned Hange there in the first place.

Levi was an important piece in the battlefield though and as commander, one of his priorities was to keep Levi on his feet. If it meant lying, then so be it.

 

 

Dedicate your hearts. Death came in slow motion.

It gave him enough time to come to terms with the reality of the war and his own decisions. He himself had thrown out his humanity, his relationships and his worldly attachments for the knowledge and the freedom he had promised his father he would attain.

For a second, he considered as well the other soldiers who would be following the same path. And the one soldier who would be filling his shoes soon enough.

Hange.

And by extension, that one soldier that had been joined to her hip since day one, despite their being on different squads.

Hange and Levi had made that same salute countless times, further proving their dedication through the years they had spent working under him. He couldn’t help but think the vague relationship the two had set up for themselves had brought forth all the developments to make the take back of Wall Maria possible. It could have also been the other way around.

Nagging regret had clung to his chest despite having pushed his thoughts elsewhere.

Had he really done it on purpose? Was it a conscious decision on his end to have kept the two from even understanding the inkling of a relationship between them? The inkling of a feeling, a sense of trust that dug deeper than a close friendship?

Did you do it for the right reasons? He allowed himself a glance at Levi who was starting to cut at the titans at the wings of the beast titan. His thoughts shifted there. Would Levi have been able to manage this feat if he had known?

It was a hypothetical and Erwin was sure he would never know. As the rocks sailed towards him, Erwin set aside all regrets, all the thoughts that had left him almost tempted to turn back.

Victory for humanity. He let those words echo in his head and overpower his laments and regrets.

Victory for humanity. In the end, that’s all that matters.

Notes:

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