Mirage

A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, I'm back and as I promised, I'm now planning to make this one a multi-chapter fic and will follow a certain plot. P.S. I also felt bad for Hange in the first chapter and I'm afraid this might go on for the entirety of this story. (Hint: Unrequited love plus something to complicate things even further).

Summary: Humanity's strongest soldier had secrets of his own. So when the woman he loved died, he turns on another for pure companionship and comfort. But a night of mistake has its consequences. Levihan.

CHAPTER TWO: SECRETS

And as always, she just let it slide as a memory – kept in her most intimate secrets, forever unheard of.

Silence echoed along the hallways of the Survey Corps Headquarters as Hange Zoe, in all her intimidating glory washed off from her current state of disillusion, treaded her way to her room. Her steps seemed like a cat's, all too discreet and subtle so as not to bother anyone who might still be in deep slumber.

Chills ran down her spine as a gentle breeze seemed to blow her way, and she crossed her arms as if to shield herself from the unwanted touch of coolness. With her thin yellow blouse as her only upper clothing, she found it nearly impossible to dodge the cold feeling.

Hange breathed deeply, sucking in the air and holding it in for as long as she could, letting it out a minute or two later with her eyes closed and her forehead crossed. She was so reluctant to admit to herself that her entire body screamed of nothing but pain at the moment, her muscles hurt like hell everytime she flexes them. It was almost ironic. For a soldier who ventures into the unknown outside world to fight those enormous creatures and who always end up sustaining injuries from her endeavours, this muscle pain should have been nothing. But it was the exact opposite.

She felt bare, naked. Almost as if she was stripped off nothing and she was just treading on thin ice, her skin just enduring the shudders that the wind brought. She was merely a thin frame whose head was hovering in the clouds, her thoughts still blurred and undefined. Ironic again; her body felt cold but her insides felt all warm. Burning, even.

Hot. Fire.

She could still feel him. She could still feel his flaming touch on her skin, the tight grasp of his hands on her hair, on her waist and on her thighs… The way his lips moved in sync with hers as his tongue sought for control and dominance. The feeling of him moving inside her as if there's no more tomorrow….

Hange cringed at her thoughts, biting her lip in the process. Memories from the previous night flooded her mind and she tried to keep the thoughts at bay, but as Levi's sweating face taunted her she knew her efforts are futile. The infuriating man's flushed face resurfaced her mind – she heard his groans of pleasure as he sheathed himself deep inside her over and over again.

But the night they shared between the sheets, no matter how wonderful it was, what they did was a mistake.

She knew it, and she'll bet that he knew it was wrong, too. Fraternizing with comrades is the most intimate way that members of the Survey Corps are allowed to indulge in, but engaging in a romantic relationship was just beyond the border. Though it wasn't exactly stated in the set of rules that the Commander gave, the soldiers knew their limits. And besides, with all their lives being at risk in every expedition beyond the walls, it's really hard to even surrender themselves to love, let alone getting married and having a family. Complete devotion to give glory to humanity is a credo that is engraved in the souls of all the members of the Survey Corps.

A romantic relationship was strictly forbidden, but sex? Hange knew that it's terribly way beyond the line, and what she and Levi did may even get their asses in trouble, had anyone known.

She wasn't even sure how it happened. One moment she was just scribbling every thought that popped in her already clouded mind, and the next she was already staring into Levi's cold eyes, which, to his credit, seemed to bore a hole through her being. She'd always been fascinated about his eyes, which always gives him a sinister look.

But the moment his lips touched hers, her entire mind clouded and her composure swirled. She hesitated at first, her conscience screamed at her. She fought him and tried to push him away by yanking at his shirt but the way his lips moved upon hers like he was a wild animal devouring a prey made the woman that she is give in to desire and temptation.

The man had been insatiable. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just pure lust, but no matter what it was that drove him in the first place, Hange concluded that Levi knew how to work it out and his moves compensated for his short height.

Hange opened the door to her room and shut it with a soft thud. Papers and books were scattered on the floor and she ignored it, walking to her drawers. She grabbed some clean clothes, took off her dirty ones, and headed to the bathroom.

Hoping to clear her mind and body off any signs of exhaustion, she took a shower and let the cold water flow to her body. Her eyes followed the trail of the drop of water that ran down her fair skin and she found that even a cold shower could not make her forget about her own mumblings. It even got worse.

The cafeteria was buzzing with all the noise coming from the new members of the Scouting Legion. Everyone had their own little chitchats as they ate breakfast. Well, with the exception of the 104th soldiers, of course. There seemed to be a small commotion going on in the table.

"Hey Sasha, give my bread back now!" Connie Springer yelled at his comrade, Sasha Blause, who tried to be oblivious at the former's predicament.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Connie, I didn't steal your bread! Jean did!" the girl pointed in the direction of Jean Kirschtein, who didn't have any idea of what's happening at the moment. The boy was staring at Mikasa Ackerman, watching her as she ate and had occasional talk with Eren Jaeger and Armin Arlert.

"Like I'm gonna believe you didn't," Connie sighed in defeat. "Tch. Nevermind." He started eating again, but the way he held the spoon on his right hand was a clear evident that he was, indeed, pissed off.

The group ate in casual silence after the commotion that Connie and Sasha started had died down. Minutes later, Krista Lenz, a petite blonde girl, stood up with a piece of bread on her hands. She gave it to Connie. "Uhmm… Connie, I'm not that hungry. You can have this if you want." With a sweet smile on her face, Krista handed the bread to Connie, who accepted it with delight. In another table, Ymir grinned.

Levi Ackerman entered the cafeteria with that permanent scowl plastered on his face. His eyes scanned the area, and he found Mike and Erwin seated on a table far away from the rest of the Corps. He walked silently, sending death glares to whomever crossed his path. Not a noise in the entire cafeteria was heard as Levi trailed his way towards Erwin and Mike's table.

Once he was seated, the cafeteria buzzed again. Mike, who had stopped from eating, looked up. "Hey, Levi, have you seen Hange?"

Levi flinched at the name, but tried to go unnoticed. He shrugged. "Why, can't that nose of yours tell where that Shitty Glasses is?" He picked up the teacup in a manner that he was accustomed to, and gulped. "How the hell would I even know where she is, that woman is like a sly fox. But who knows she's probably in her lab rotting in her books, as usual."

Erwin gave out a chuckle, and then sipped in his own tea. "I'm going to discuss something with her so if you see Hange anywhere, please tell her that I need her to see me in my office as soon as possible."

"Good morning, Squad Leader!"

Just as Levi was about to respond to Erwin's plea, he heard Moblit Berner's distant voice which was tainted with the same enthusiasm that he has everyday. Levi turned his head and saw Hange Zoe walking towards their table.

Their eyes connected. Coal black meeting heated hazel.

Her eyes expressed something different but before he could even read and decipher them, Hange turned her gaze towards Erwin and Mike, who both nodded as she greeted them. "Erwin, Mike, good morning!" She said with that ever cheery voice that she has. She took a seat next to Mike, beaming as she did. "I couldn't see the Captain, is he here yet?" Hange then turned to look at him. "Oh there you are! Good morning, Levi! I didn't notice you because you're such a short-ass." She mocked with a sheepish grin on her face.

Levi snorted. "S-shut up, Four Eyes." He uttered his usual mantra, ignoring the tension that seemed to creep in his chest. He felt the air shift around them, but he knew that only he, and perhaps Hange, noticed the sudden change.

"So….." she turned to Erwin, who was done with his tea and was now sorting through some paperwork. "What's the agenda for today, Commander?"

"I've got something to discuss with you, Hange. In my office, if you please." Erwin calmly muttered.

Hange bit her lip. "Uhmm… What about?"

"It's about the tactics I devised on the other day, for our next expedition. I need your opinions." The Commander stood up from his chair and gathered his things, preparing to leave. "Besides, you're the next Commander, and you have a say in all the plans that we are conducting." With that, Erwin turned his back and left.

"I'm heading off, too. I need to train the new recruits. See you later, Hange, Levi." Mike stood up with his plate on his hands, and took off.

Silence engulfed them. With the Commander and Mike now gone, there's no way things could still go on like nothing ever happened between them last night. No more pretentions, Hange thought, but it's going to be hard to try to be casual and formal around him now, especially when there's nothing she could hide from him anymore. She felt bare as Levi stared at her with that ever cold eyes of his, piercing her on her seat. Not wanting to look frail and weak, Hange returned his glare with heated eyes.

"Hange," he uttered under his breath with the same animosity that he had last night.

She flinched at the mention of her name on his lips. "I'm here. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Levi let out a humorless chuckle. "With all the things that happened to us last night, this is all you could give me. Pretentions, like I didn't see you naked and mewling last night." He took a sip of his tea.

Hange clenched her fists. "What, you want us to talk about it? You were the one who said it was just sex. And nothing more. Couldn't one tumble in the sheets enough to satisfy our needs? We're both human. It was just as you deemed it, sex." Her forehead crossed at her own words. She didn't know his reason of bringing up the topic in the first place. She was trying her best not to let it slip, just go on as they used to be. What does he want?

"I just thought…" he hesitated for a moment, but spoke. "That maybe you'd want a formal talk about it. Just like you said, it was sex and nothing more. But I couldn't just let that slip. Something happened." His voice softened.

"Yes, something happened. But it's over now, so let's just forget about it." Hange breathed deeply. "Look, Levi, I have no idea where you're getting at. But with all due respect, you were the one who came at me."

"I don't really know how you look at me, Shitty Glasses." He sighed. "But I'm a man with a sense of responsibility. And I want to say sorry for what I did. I didn't know if it was the alcohol in my system, lust, or just pure needs, but believe me, it wasn't my intention. That's what I meant by formal talk. Me saying sorry for what I did. Something like a closure."

Hange was taken aback, and for the first time, despite the cold tone, she felt the sincerity in his words. She knew she was being harsh by taking action to herself, but as a woman, she had to retain some dignity. And as far as she could remember, the moment they both woke up, he had admitted that it meant nothing. Why is she complicating things even further? "I'm sorry too, you know." She smiled, wanting to already dismiss the thought. "So… could we just get this over with and just forget about last night? Let's go back to being comrades with the usual banter and the like. I'm not used to us being melancholic and shit," Hange extended her hand, which Levi just stared at for seconds, and just completely ignored. She pulled her hand back and laughed. "That's more like the Levi I know!"

Levi snorted. "Hah. Shitty Glasses," he muttered under his breath, and made sure Hange was not looking when he smiled a little. "If you'll excuse me, I have some brats to train. Don't forget to meet Erwin, by the way." He rose and proceeded to walk. Passing by the empty chairs and tables, it's only now that he noticed that they were completely alone in the cafeteria, everybody must've left while they were busy easing the tension between them.

Hange smiled to herself as soon as she saw the door close behind the short man. Yes, things about that night must've gone smooth, and she knew Levi was a man of his word. The night they shared will just be a memory kept in their most intimate secrets, but she wasn't that foolish. Even if they seem to have sorted it out, things are now different. There will always be a rift between them. They could never go back to just being comrades, but they are two people with secrets locked up in a box.

It had been three weeks since. Days passed as swiftly as the wind did.

Despite the intense heat of the sun, the 104th recruits are on the training grounds testing their endurance abilities, with Captain Levi and Squad Leader Hange as the mandators. They gave commands and orders, preparing the soldiers for yet another expedition beyond the walls next week. They tried to comprehend everything there is to learn about being a member of the Survey Corps, with Hange simultaneously experimenting on Eren's Titan-shifting abilities, of course.

Everything went along fine, except for one.

Hange Zoe seemed to be a little… off. She suddenly feels dizzy at certain times, and headaches taunt her almost everyday. Her appetite seemed to have been affected, too. Her aversion to the food she usually ate had been puzzling her for a while now. Even if she's fully rested and hadn't done a thing the entire afternoon, she felt physically tired. With her current condition just like this, she wasn't sure if the Commander would even allow her to join the expedition next week.

"Maybe it's just something I ate the other day… No big deal. Stop fussing, Moblit." She mentioned one day when she'd had enough of Moblit going around and fretting at everything she did.

"Squad Leader, you're being too reckless. It's probably best for you to go to a doctor." Moblit muttered under his breath after she had advised Hange to rest, as she felt dizzy all of a sudden.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine…" she just rolled her eyes.

With Moblit's constant pushing, Hange finally agreed to visit the doctor at Trost District. The Doctor asked about how she felt the last days, and then ran some tests on her. She shouldn't be surprised. After all, she knew this could probably happen, but when Dr. Thompson gave her the news, she was still taken aback. She ran out of words to say, her throat felt dry. An incredulous, disbelieving expression settled on her face as coldness seemed to creep inside her.

Night had already fallen by the time she got back to the Headquarters, everyone had somehow retreated to their own rooms to rest. Hange's first instinct was to go to her room and sleep on it but her second told her another. She's telling Levi. Of all the people who should know this, he should be the first.

With discreet yet uncertain steps, Hange inched her way to Levi's room. She clenched her fist in an attempt to knock, hesitated, but knocked anyway. She heard a shift inside the room and waited. Just as she was about to knock again, the knob turned as Levi opened the door.

"Shitty Glasses," he said, almost whispered.

"Levi, I need to talk to you." She said with a defiant composure.

"Couldn't it wait until tomorrow? I'm about to rest." He snorted as he stepped inside to let the woman in. Levi crossed his arms before his chest and leaned his back against the wall, his expression blunt and neutral. He looked uninterested.

"I know we promised each other not to talk about what happened to us that night," Hange inhaled sharply. "But Levi, you told me you are a man with a sense of responsibility."

"I remember telling you that, but I still don't know where you're getting at."

Hange summed up all the courage she could, and braced herself. It's all coming down to this. "Levi Ackerman... I'm… I'm pregnant," she sighed. "Please say something."

A/N: And yup, to complicate things even further, here comes the Levihan baby/babies. Haha. Hope you liked it!