Hello again! Just wanted to remind you that the rest of the story picks up a couple of years after the Prologue. The setting is supposed to take place shortly before the retake of Wall Maria. They seemed to have a lot of down time during then so I used it to set my story timeline. Anyway, Enjoy!

Commander Hanji had pulled on a pair of khaki pants from her wardrobe, followed by an olive green blouse. She went over to the mirror in her bathroom and debated on keeping her hair up, as usual, or down.

Guess I'll keep it up, she thought. It's a bit warm out and I'm going to do a bit of walking... She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and put on her glasses. While doing so, she flinched slightly at the pain on her shoulder. After their most recent battle with the enormous Titan known as Rod Reiss, Hanji was still recovering from her shoulder injury. She brushed it off and left her office/room.

She headed down to the mess hall and went into the kitchen and food storage area. She began scribbling notes on the inventory of the food that was running low, making a list of things to buy at the market.

Once she finished, she made her way to the castle exit so that she can have a carriage take her into the nearby town for shopping. Hanji nodded and waved at some of the soldiers who were sitting at the tables, enjoying their breakfast. As she made her way through the mess hall, she passed Levi, who was eyeing her with his usual resting face.

It's Hanji's day off today, Levi thought. I wonder where she's heading off to?

He cleared his throat noisily as she passed him. "Where you going?" he asked. However, she didn't respond. "Oi! Shitty Glasses!" he called out to her. She paused and turned to see Levi.

"Oh Levi!" she greeted. "Good morning!"

"Where are you going?" he repeated, avoiding the formalities as he was enjoying his morning tea with some toast.

"Shopping," Hanji answered with a smile. She was in her usual cheerful mood today. "There's some things that we need to stock up on."

"Why not let someone else take care of that, like Moblit?" Levi asked, annoyed. "You're acting commander in Erwin's place. Don't you think that you're more needed here?"

"I guess that true," Hanji pondered aloud. "But I have you here...plus I won't be gone for long..." she took note of Levi's intense glare.

"I-I'm sure it's fine." she added, wondering what she can say to stop Levi from giving her his disapproving, intimidating eyes. "Do you want me to pick up some more of your cleaning supplies?"

His eyes opened a bit as he considered her words. "Yea, I guess that's fine," Levi grumbled. Hanji breathed out in relief, realizing that she was holding her breath. Levi took a brief moment to lay his eyes on Hanji's previously injured shoulder.

"Which brands do you like?" Hanji asked, bringing out her pad of paper. "I can write them down-"

"Don't bother," Levi said dismissively. He picked himself up from his chair to throw his trash away. "I'm going with you."

"Eh?"

He began to lead the way to the door, leaving a stunned Hanji. "Come on," he said impatiently.


Levi and Hanji both sat in the carriage facing each other as their driver had the horses make their way towards town. "I didn't know today was your day off too, Levi," Hanji said, breaking their silence.

"Obviously," Levi answered shortly, looking at her with his emotionless gaze. His legs and arms were crossed as usual. Hanji noted that was Levi's body language to show that he was a guarded person. Any other person found it very difficult to read Levi. Even Hanji still had trouble. However, she knew Levi often said or did one thing, but meant another. She silently wondered why Levi insisted on going with her. He wasn't one to volunteer to go supply shopping and only entered the city for work-related reasons.

"You didn't have to waste your day off coming with me, I could have just gotten your cleaning products myself." Hanji said, breaking the silence between them.

"You would've gotten the wrong brands," Levi answered, looking out the window of the carriage.

"Not if I wrote them down!" Hanji answered defensively. Before Levi could answer her back, Hanji made a noise of discomfort. She placed a tentative hand on her injured shoulder.

"Still bothering you?" Levi asked, his attention now on Hanji. He watched, waiting for her answer.

"Ah," Hanji answered, massaging around the area. "Not often, but maybe it's because I strained it this morning..." She took off her glasses and noticed that they were dirty. She clicked her tongue. "These were also clean this morning..."

Levi let out a sigh of irritation and motioned for her to give the glasses to him. He uncrossed his arms and legs as Hanji obliged. Levi began to wipe them down with a spare handkerchief he had.

As he was doing so, he looked up and his eyes locked on hers. He wondered how well she could see him from even this close of a distance without her glasses on. The light from the window was cast briefly out from behind the shadows of some trees and illuminated Hanji's eyes. He found himself momentarily lost in their alluring brown color and without realizing it, murmured, "I always forget...until these damn things are off again...That's one of my favorite things about you," he murmured softly, continuing to wipe off the lenses.

"Hmm?" Hanji asked. "What was that?"

Levi immediately realized what he said was aloud and stiffened his body in response. "I said...That's one of the favorite things to make fun of you!" Levi growled. "Shitty Glasses! Here!" He thrust the glasses back to her and turned to the side, flustered. He glanced back and noticed that Hanji was still holding her shoulder.

"Oh," Hanji said, smiling. "That's right! I wonder what you would call me if I didn't have to wear these things." She placed the glasses back on her nose, the light from the window flashing a glare on the lenses.

"I don't know," Levi mumbled. He noticed the carriage stopped. He stood up and made his way to the carriage door, turning to address Hanji, "Come on, we're here." He stepped down off the carriage and turned to take Hanji's hand to help her down the steps.
"Always such a gentleman," she teased taking his hand gratefully as he grimaced, making his signature "Tch" sound. "That's one of my favorite things about you," Hanji said.

Levi's shoulders jerked and he quickly turned to look back at Hanji. Luckily, he did so in time as Hanji's foot caught on the last step and she tumbled forward. Levi caught her, still recovering in shock from what Hanji just said.

"Oops! Sorry," Hanji apologized. "I must have lost some of my sense of balance trying to cradle my shoulder with my other hand."

Levi guided her down to the floor, relieved that she was unharmed. She began to walk to the town's main shopping district. "Hanji!" he called, recovering from his stunned stupor. "You heard what I said?"

"Of course I did," she replied, surprised Levi had to ask. He had caught up and was walking alongside her now. "I have bad eyesight, not hearing." She looked down at her short captain, who has looking at her once more with a solemn face. "You're funny when you try to deny your feelings."

"Tch." Levi replied. They continued to walk in silence when Hanji turned to Levi once more. "Do you really like my eyes?" Hanji asked curiously. "Or did you just say that to get my mind off..." she touched her shoulder and looked down sadly. Inside, she was smiling, trying to gauge his reaction. Hanji was a scientist at heart, and although Levi wasn't a willing test subject, she loved to try out different social experiments on him to see how he responded to scenarios she created.

Levi bristled. He continued to walk in silence next to her for a moment before finally gaining the courage to answer her. "They shine."

"Eh?" Hanji asked confused.

"Your eyes..." he continued. He looked down at the floor, not wanting to look at her while he spoke. "I like...how they shine when you talk." He gave a sideways glance to see Hanji smiling at him with amusement.

"Dammit! What the hell Four Eyes?!" he yelled at her.

"Was that so hard? Stating how you really feel?" Hanji asked.

"Did you just fake being sad so that I would do that?" Levi asked her angrily. She nodded and he cast his eyes to the ground, grumbling, "Yes. It actually was."

Levi stopped walking and Hanji paused, turning around to face him, curiously. They stood still for a moment. "What you said about me...being a gentleman" Levi asked hesitantly, his eyes still on the floor. "Did you mean it...about that being something you favored about me?"

"Every bit of it! I know Levi is a kind person, despite his way of trying to hide everything." Hanji exclaimed. Levi looked away shyly.

"So you can't show your feelings and you can't take a compliment!" Hanji added.

"Shut up," Levi growled and began walking again, prompting Hanji to walk forward. "Idiot."


They wandered into the nearest market area where Hanji immediately began picking out the local fruits and vegetables. Levi observed her while she made her little comments about the produce that she was picking, measuring and poking at her choices, indecisive on which ones to get. As Hanji talked to herself quietly, Levi continued to stare at her.

Damn cute, thought Levi. He took a moment to observe their surroundings. Although they weren't in uniform, he knew both he and Hanji were open targets. He didn't want to let their guard down for a moment.

"Neh, Levi," Hanji said.

Levi looked up at Hanji.

"If there is something on your mind, I want you to tell me." she said.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"I know you're not the best when it comes to expressing yourself with words…" Hanji admitted softly. "But I want you to know that with me, you should just tell me anyway."

Levi continued to stare at the woman who continues to blow his mind. He quickly recalled the memory of his first encounter with her. She had broken that guarded wall of his instantly and wasn't put off by his front at all. She actually wanted to be my friend, he thought. Hanji's words brought him back from his brief recollection.

"Even if it seems harsh, just tell me." she urged. "I'll do my best to understand, OK?"

"A-ah," Levi agreed quietly. He paused for a moment to watch Hanji walk ahead of him. As she began to wander deeper into the market, Levi jogged to catch up and follow close to her.

As he was looking around, observing their surroundings, he bumped into Hanji. She almost dropped some of her groceries but Levi helped her catch some of them.

"Sorry," he muttered, handing the items back to her.

"Levi," Hanji said softly. "I appreciate your accompanying me to the market, but you don't have to be right next to me the whole time. Why don't you go looking for those cleaning supplies you want?"

Levi scowled at her, feeling rejected. "Yeah, Ok." He turned around and walked in another direction. He turned his head to glance back at Hanji who flashed a smile at him. Levi looked away immediately and began stomping off towards the other direction once more.


Levi mostly just walked around, hands in his pockets, sulking at having been sent away by Hanji. He didn't want to leave her for too long in case she finished early and got lost looking for him. Plus, she always buys more than she can handle...Levi thought. I doubt she could carry much with her injury. He breathed out through his nose in annoyance.

"Fresh flowers! Would you like to have a sample?"

"Hm?" Levi said, looking up from the ground he was staring at. He turned and found an older woman at a flower cart. She had various fresh flowers on display and was handing out single flowers to passerbys.

"Would you like a flower, young man?" the woman asked, handing out one of the flowers in her hand.

"Tch, Why would I want a flower?" Levi asked, bored. He began to walk away but Hanji's smiling face came into view inside his mind. His lips twitched and he turned back around to approach the older woman."I'll take one after all," he said, extending an open hand impatiently. The woman smiled and gave him a freshly cut white carnation.

Levi walked back towards where he last saw Hanji. All the while, he kept the carnation on his hand, twirling it around his fingers and watching it with interest. He glanced up and saw Hanji, doing an awful job balancing some bags in her arms. Levi made his way towards her quickly. As I expected, he thought wryly, mixed in with a bit of affection.

"Oi Levi!" Hanji exclaimed when she saw him approaching. He ran to her and took the bags out of her hands. "I was wondering where you went. I didn't anticipate getting this many things!"

"You're the one who sent me away!" Levi retorted angrily. As he was grabbing hold of the bags, he noticed the flower was still in his hand. "Oi," he said, placing the bags down for a moment and handing the flower to her. "Some woman was handing out free flowers. I was just going to throw it away unless you want it."

She took it with surprise. "Oh," Hanji said softly. "Thank you! You didn't have to-"

"It's either you or the trash!" he replied, stooping down to grab the bags in his arms. "Like I said, some woman was just giving them away."

"No, I'll take it," she said quietly, giving Levi an appreciate smile and placing the flower's stem over her ear to hold it in place. "Thanks!"

Levi stared for a moment before turning his attention from her. "It's getting late. Let's go find us a ride back."

Hanji nodded and followed after Levi.

Once they found the carriage, Levi stood off to the side and used his hand again to assist Hanji up the steps. When she looked down at him and smiled knowingly, he just frowned and sighed loudly.

As Levi stepped inside, he sat across from her and began putting down the bags of groceries securely as the driver pulled the cart forward. They sat in silence for a moment and Levi took notice of Hanji's flower.

"You look like a shitty plant," he commented.

"But does it make me look like a pretty shitty plant?" Hanji asked playfully.

"Tch," was all Levi said and crossed his arms.

"I need to break you out of this emotional block you have," Hanji muttered.

"No need," Levi answered. "This is how I always am. I protect myself this way." He moved his eyes to look at her. "You should know this already since you know me so well."

"Not that well," Hanji denied. "I could just decipher what you mean, even when it comes out totally opposite." She started looking at the bags around her for a snack. "Oi Levi..." she said, taking note of all the contents in the bags.

Levi looked up at her in response.

"Didn't you buy those cleaning supplies that you wanted?" she asked, puzzled.

Levi stiffened, but continued to give her his poker face stare.

"That's why you came along in the first place, right?" Hanji asked, confused.

"Of course it is!" Levi spat. "You just distracted me with all your shopping that I forgot my things!"

"Did you want to go back?" she asked, eager to remedy the situation.

"No," he said quickly. "It's fine. We'll have someone get it another time."

Hanji smiled knowingly, but still wondered aloud so Levi could hear, "But I thought you went yourself because no one knows what brands you like..."

Levi eyes met Hanji's fiercely, his eyes unwavering. Damn woman's much more perceptive than I could have imagined, he thought. As he continued to stare her down, unsure of what to say, Hanji merely smiled sweetly and thanked him. Levi's eyes opened slightly in response.

"I know you didn't have to come, but because you wanted to help me and make sure I was safe," Hanji said, continuing to smile appreciatively at Levi. "You volunteered to go with me anyway."

Levi's face grew hot. "If that's what you want to believe, so be it." He turned his head to look out the carriage window, escaping their conversation.

Hanji dropped the subject to prevent further humiliation for Levi. Instead, she bent over to grab an apple from one of the bags. "Do you want something to eat for the road?" she asked, taking two apples out. Levi turned to look back at Hanji, giving her a slight nod. She indicated that she was going to toss it at him and Levi placed his hands up to catch. "We still have some time before we-" Her shoulder seared in pain briefly, jerking her aim at the last moment, causing Hanji's thrown apple to miss Levi's open hands and smack him on the cheek.

He caught it as it bounced off into his hands and turned to face her with a mildly irritated look.

"Ah, Sorry Levi!" she cried out. "I meant to throw it at you to catch but I missed!" She pointed at her shoulder. "I guess my injury really messes with my accuracy too."

"No, you were always like that," Levi muttered. He reached into his pocket to grab a small knife. "Injuring your arm didn't change that about you...you were always abnormal" He began to slice a piece off the apple. He put the piece in his mouth and looked up at Hanji who was smiling at him happily. Her smile caused his pulse to quicken and he found himself unexpectedly saying aloud "I'm glad that part of you hasn't changed."

Hanji smiled and asked, "Neh, Was that also one of your favorite things about me?"

Levi paused briefly, looking into her warm eyes. He considered Hanji's words from earlier, about wanting him to open up to her. "Ah," he finally said before slicing off another piece of his apple.

Hanji grinned and gave a small giggle, before looking out the carriage window next to her. The breeze caught her hair and allowed it to flow around her. Levi smiled slightly, knowing she wasn't looking at him. Damn cute, he thought as he felt a familiar warmth surge into his heart.

This Chapter is a bit slow-paced but I wanted to establish how I see their dynamic with each other. They're very comfortable around each other, whether in battle, or in this case: shopping. It's not too obvious that Levi or Hanji have any feelings from each other aside from their close friendship and comradery. However, I wanted to show that they do care for each other deeply. Sometimes, Hanji has to do a bit of digging to get Levi to admit it.