"Have you ever been in love, Levi?"
She asks out of the blue just before he walks out the door. The corporal's shoulders jump a little.
"Stupid question again? I can see your brain cells have completely vanished." He snarls, but Hanji takes it in stride and grins. "Just curious, given that attitude of yours. I wonder how you act if you are."
He sighs and commands, "Sleep, before I am forced to knock you out." to which Hanji cackles, "I can't believe you're shy about this topic!" She shuts up as soon as he shoots her a glare. He had enough of enduring her three-hour Titan talk for the night.
"Answer me when you're comfortable enough." She breezily states in finality as she blows off the lamp. "Thanks for today, Levi. Good night."
He shuts the door without looking back. However, he lingers at her doorstep. Approximately five minutes later, he opens the door and gives time for his sight to adjust in the dark. In the shadows, he makes out the contours of Hanji's sleeping form, limbs splayed on both sides, drooling slightly which indicates she really had a tough day. It scares him how he knows Hanji well enough already, to the point of knowing exactly how many minutes it takes for her to doze off after lying on her bed.
"Tch, shitty glasses. Not even bothering to take them off. Every damn time." He mumbles under his breath as he carefully lifts her glasses off her slumbering face. He stoops a little and takes a lingering look at her features. A part of him wishes she's just asleep like this so his everyday will be peaceful. This nightly sight of her will be his daily reminder that no matter how annoying and nerdy she is, she is still a woman, vulnerable… without her damn glasses.
He inspects her eyewear closely, noting the hinges that are soon to fall apart, then wipes the lenses clean with his cravat. He instantly remembers their trainee days; she was just as reckless, studious and curious. She spends nights relentlessly gathering information to the extent of having severe headaches the morning after. Even though he admired her passion, he knew lecturing a restless mind to get enough sleep will be futile. However, he decided to take (covert) action when he saw her degrading points in the practicals, and its all due to failed aiming and inability to see far targets properly.
A day after her disappointing performance, Hanji receives a pair of glasses from their commander. It even came with elastics so it won't fall apart during combat; this novel idea amused her immensely. From then on, Hanji yaps about Commander Erwin being such a very kind person to notice her disability, and Levi stands at the sidelines. Annoyed of her giving so much glory to their senior, he decides to call her "shitty glasses" and always demands to have her eyes checked at least twice a year because her disability might cause their downfall and even her own death. She understands and pokes fun at how forceful he is when it comes to her.
They have carried on this habit until they became squad leaders. This time Hanji assures Levi she had her eyes properly checked prior to an expedition to quell his worries and Levi tells her never lose her glasses, implying that she could not, should not, die out there. However, no matter how powerful her eyeglasses and regular her check-ups are, she is still blind as to who actually gave her her renewed vision. And he still refuses to speak up.
So the next time the earlier scenario arises, he swears to himself he'll reply, "Look closely. The answer's right across your face."
He quietly leaves her room.
—-
Knowing that it is her day off, Hanji wakes up later than usual. To her surprise, her glasses are neatly folded on her bedside table, mysteriously fixed.