Author's note: Thought that was over, didn't you? Of course not! Enjoy!

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"What—"

"'Anji!" Hanji stared at the wobbling figure making its way towards her, hunched and carrying the scent of intoxication. Under the waning light hanging on the washed-out wall behind her and the candles inside the kitchen, the figure's face bathed in an orange glow: unkempt blond hair, red eyes, a slurring mouth and flushed cheeks. Hanji took a step back to evade his attempt of wrapping an arm around her shoulder as an invitation, "'Anji, 'anji, 'anji it' r'ymes wi' Kanji!" He then threw his head back with a roar of broken laughter before leaning against the wooden railing beside him.

"Mike? What on earth are you doing out here?" She asked, reaching for his arm to steady him. God knows what would happen if he ends up falling on his head, and she wouldn't take any chances of being responsible for his irresponsible behavior.

"Oh nothin'," he drawled, "just—drunk-in'."

"That's not a word."

"Of course I' is!" He argued, "It's drinkin' w'en you're drunk, Hanji. 'ow dum' of you no' to kno'." He rolled his eyes at her, muttering something about her being the smartest when she doesn't even know the word.

She was about to argue with him about the rules of grammar when another figure (unlike Mike when she saw him earlier) standing tall and walking straight, approached her. She released Mike from her grip and squinted her eyes, trying to make out who the person is.

"Nanaba."

"Hanji." Was his surprised reply, "Er—hi, fancy seeing you here?" he offered, a nervous smile on his face.

"You're drinking?"

"Drunk-ing!"

The two of them ignored Mike's outburst, "No, Mike is. I'm just there to stand by and watch out for him."

"But why outside? Couldn't you just drink inside? It's freezing out here or are you doing—"

"No." Nanaba stressed, eyes narrowed at her. "We aren't doing anything, it's just that this drunkard right here," he motioned to Mike, who was now wrapped around him and sniffing his neck without abandon, cringing in annoyance, "preferred to drink outside and well, I really can't take the massive amount of paperwork Irvin dropped on my—"

"Tha' goddamn'd stuck up blond gi'. Ever since Levi came 'ere 'e just rubbed off on 'im. N'ver seen Irvin so ramrod straight like a fuckin' stick is shove' up in 'is ass. Know w'y we're drinkin' 'ere, Hanji? It's becaus that gi' removed all my rights visitin' town durin' Friday, so I can' drink any'ore, can I? Can' see them ladies no mo'. There, I said it, what you gon' do about it, huh?" He ended his speech by burrowing his head on Nanaba's shoulder.

"So he's that drunk."

"Yeah," He answered, "am celebratin' ma lost freedom. Join us, c'mon, c'mon." he snatched her arm but failed miserably, "we got ale an' gin an' sake an'—"

"Actually, Hanji. If you don't want to—" Nanaba began.

"No," she waved off, "It's okay, actually. It's just what I need tonight."

The whooping cheer of Mike rang into the night as he pushed himself off his partner, walking back to where they were before Hanji came, "Damn that guy's going to get us all killed. Shut it, Mike! Keep it down!" at Mike's shout of 'alright' the two of them knew that it was a lost cause. "Bad night?" Nanaba asked, turning to her.

"Bad day." She corrected, "Levi was angry at scouts being incompetent earlier, I'm angry because some of the new ones are beyond stupid. And of course there's Moblit. It's just too much. Heck, I might throw myself down the wall one of these days."

"Ah, and what would we do if we lose you? No more early morning ruckus about titans for breakfast."

"I only did that once," She frowned, "and that's because there were no pots available in my lab that day. It's not like you ate real titan parts."

"But it was a sight that I'll never forget. I can still remember Levi's face when he saw all the vomit on the floor and the wasted food, and the scouts holding their stomachs, it was just precious."

Hanji smiled, remembering the day clearly. "He locked himself up in the hall that day, right? I actually told him that that was my Christmas gift for him."

Nanaba laughed, "Still one of the best things here." The two of them reached the secluded spot behind one of the stables, a small fire in the middle of a crate of milk, a small haystack and a legion's cloak (presumably Mike's). Near the fire are two bottles of ale, three bottles of gin, one half empty, and several broken bottles of sake, fresh from the stock in the cellar, she supposed.

"You just robbed the Legion of its monthly stock of spirits, Mike. What would Irvin say?"

"Bah!" Mike waved his hand off, taking the gin and guzzling an amount that made him hiss and cry out, "wha' wou'd he say?" Mike snorted, "tha' guy just drinks an' drinks tea, like 'e's some kinda lady. 'Ardly think 'e'll miss these."

Hanji bit her lip, "If only Irvin could hear you know."

"Take a seat, Hanji." Nanaba motioned to the milk crate. She noticed that Nanaba sat on the haystack, as if reading her thoughts Nanaba shrugged at her, "Mike's bound to pass out in a little while, I hardly think he'll consider where he'll be sitting later. Sake—oh, no we don't have any, gin?"

At Hanji's nod, Nanaba snatched the bottle from Mike's hands and handed it to her. She looked at the mouth of the bottle skeptically before inhaling, it burned. She took a gulp of it and roared at the burn her throat felt.

Nanaba took it from her and swigged some for himself, wincing at the burn.

"Hardly freezing now, is it, Hanji?" He joked.

"Yeah," she said. "It's warm." She wrapped her arms around her knees as she stared at the flickering flames, taking turns drinking from the same bottle the two of them have shared before her entrance. She talked about trivial things, answered Nanaba's questions shortly and ignored Mike's attempts of sniffing her to find out if she smells any different if she's drinking. She watched the stars blink, the clouds drift, covering them momentarily as the wind blows above them. They talked, laughed, gossiped, and watched Mike roll on the ground, declaring he's a dog of the military until Levi came to the conversation.

She half-listened to the short jokes, Mike's drunk imitation of Levi, and his rants about Levi being so stuck up, opting to block him off her head. Earlier, after staying on top of the wall, she walked back to her lab and drowned herself in work, telling Moblit to stay out of her lab and keep all the other idiots away from her. She honestly didn't care if he's not in love with Petra Ral, she just hated herself for feeling this way towards him when it never should have happened in the first place. Levi was a comrade, and like he said earlier, having such feelings for someone is foolish.

Then what a fool she must be. But then how could she not? He gets her and still accepts her for who she is. Never mind his wariness when he deals with her every day. Still, acceptance was a something Hanji searched for in people.

"Speaking of, where is he anyways? Shouldn't we keep an eye on Levi? He might see us here and—"

"Take' care of," Mike answered dutifully. "Erd an' Auruo did somethin' tha' made Levi so mad he's been wi' 'em since dinner time. If they get outta there alive, guess it'll be after midnight o' so." He threw the now empty bottle in his hand and reached for a new one before passing it to Nanaba.

"Did you hear about the rumors, anyways? About Levi giving her extra lessons? I wonder what they might be. Is he training her to be another Levi of the Legion? Or is Levi, you know… infatuated with her or something?"

Mike snorted and said wryly, "'ell, with a girl like 'er? I'd give 'er more than extra lessons." Mike whistled, earning dirty looks from Hanji and Nanaba.

"You'd better watch out, Mike. Levi has special feelings for his subordinates. He'd rather not hear what you just said or I guarantee you, he'll be out for your blood"

"Yea'. 'Eard from Auruo tha' there's this one kid from the other squad, moonin' over 'er and Levi gave 'im hell, there and then. Everyone's suddenly no' in'erses'ed in 'er anymore. Bu' na me."

"He said that he doesn't." Hanji supplied.

"Doesn't what?"

"Give extra lessons?"

"Love her," she snapped, "or feel anything for her or whatever else."

"Yeah, tell that to me when he didn't scoop her out of a flock of titans outside last excursion."

Hanji looked at Nanaba in surprise. "He did?"

"Oh, yeah, you weren't there. But yeah, it happened. I guess that's what fueled the rumors. I mean, if Levi's here to fight for us, he's here to die for her." Nanaba drunk from the bottle and grinned.

"Some fuckin' fairytale. 'Nigh' saves the damsel in distress." Mike shook his head, "Wha' fools."

"Yes," Hanji agreed, "what fools indeed." She snatched the bottle from Nanaba's hand and emptied it. "Why would you even die for someone? That's fucking stupid."

"But it is romantic." Nanaba argued. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not romantic."

"Knowing you, Hanji. Your definition of romantic is having someone deliver you a bouquet of titan heads as a gift."

"Ha, ha. That is not romantic at all and I'm not into romanticism anyways. Are you really my friends? If those girls are out there waiting for a knight in shining armor to sweep them off their feet under the moonlight I'm different—"

"Of course."

"—I don't want a knight, I don't want someone protecting me. I don't want him to come save me like I'm some kind of powerless woman that I'm not. I want to fight with him, I'm not going to be there saying 'Oooh, what big muscles you have and what long sword you carry, my lord', and I'm certainly not like a fucking princess, okay? I'm Hanji. I can fight for myself and I'm not going to wait around for a guy to come. I'm going to search for him, if there ever is someone out there."

"Well, that's surprising." Nanaba said, "Hanji Zoe talking about fairytales and love and destiny—"

"Funny, that's the second time I heard that today."

"So, you found him already?"

"What?"

"Your man, that guy, whatever."

"Oh, him." Hanji looked down, remembering the faint scratches Maria and shrugged. "I have."

"Oh-ho!" Mike howled, eyes wide, "You did? 'anji Zoe? Found a guy she likes? Le's wai' fo' the twist in thi' story. Tha' guy's gotta be a titan."

"It's not. But there are titans involved in the story. Now, you must vow to me that this would remain a secret until you die. You are not to tell anyone about this—" Nanaba held his hand up.

"Hanji, don't worry, and this is going to be good if we're sworn to secrecy. Sure, Mike won't remember this tomorrow and you have my word, Hanji. Now, I wonder who could it be? Must be Moblit—"

"Far worse," Hanji interjected. "It's Levi."

It took several moments for Mike and Nanaba to speak or even react at what she just disclosed. She watched them from the blurred image the bottom of the bottle, waiting, waiting. It wasn't love at first sight, Mike knew how much fascinated Hanji was with Levi but it never went to liking him. She was so amazed to find a kid, a kid inside the Legion's headquarters. Everything went downhill from then. Levi hated her, often opting to get the hell away from her the moment he hears her voice. It didn't stop Hanji though, she annoyed him, bombarded him with questions about the Underground and his personal life. Levi cursed her, she didn't mind.

Soon they became friends—in Hanji's book—Levi still denied it, until that fateful day.

The fifth excursion she participated in the moment she entered the legion. It was early in the morning, on top of Wall Maria as they surveyed the plains outside the wall. Irvin permitted her to have a specimen from the titans awaiting them outside and that was enough for her to dive headfirst into the battlefield. She gets the titan, they collect information about the outside. She didn't care, so long as she gets a pet for herself she let the others be.

But then she failed. First, it was due to her incompetent Garrison members (Hell, they weren't into fighting). Next was because of Moblit pulling her out of titans' way every now and then ("HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET ONE IF YOU ALWAYS PULL ME AWAY, YOU IDIOT?") and the third and final straw was getting injured. She remembered getting thrown against the wall, crushing her bones in her right arm and dislocating her shoulder when one titan, in excitement, she supposed, charged against her.

The next thing she remembered was being pulled up, screaming and crying about not being able to get at least one she could play with as some scout who knows about first aid tended to her. She sat there on the edge of the wall, bloody and covered with dirt, tears and snot, as she wailed about her unfulfilled dreams.

There was sound of something falling down nearby, a cloud of dust reaching them, covering everything in sight. She recalled the sharp cry of the 3-D Maneuver Gear scraping against the wall filling her ears as she sat by the edge of the wall, growing louder at every second. Finally, as the dust cleared, Levi stood at the edge of the wall.

"We're bringing it in using the gate, we don't have enough reinforcements to keep a look out at the other titans that might come in. we need a few more people," he reported to Irvin, uncaring about the blood stained uniform, and the broken blade in his hand. He turned to her, head cocked to the side and eyes narrowed. "This enough to shut you up?"

She remembered wailing out and thanking him like he was an angel sent by the heavens. And she knew then that she fell for him.

"WHAT?"

Nanaba dropped the bottle of gin

"Yep," Mike said to himself. "I need to drink more an' I'd rathe' no' remember thi' t'morrow. Hanji in love wi' Levi!" He reached for the unopened bottle of ale and promptly guzzled out the contents. "The world's about to end!" Hanji was really fascinated that it was the first sentence of the night he managed to say clearly

"I'm not in love. I'm attracted to him, I mean, I was, not a big deal." Hanji argued. "And it's not like I'm going to marry him and have babies with him—"

"BABIES!" Mike took another swig. On the other hand, Nanaba was also muttering the same word noiselessly.

"And he doesn't like me. He likes no one, or that's what he said earlier, but I don't fucking believe it—"

Mike set the bottle down, "LEVI!"

"Yes, Levi. Okay, now just stop—" She threw her hands up, "I suddenly regret telling the two of you about this!"

"LEVI!" The two said simultaneously.

"OKAY! Just shut up—shut up! It's not a fucking big deal, Mike! And you saying his name might bring him here, you buffoon!"

"Tha's eve' worse than titans… Levi." He muttered again, "I mea', Levi." He shook his head and groaned, "I'll jus' drop dead an' forget about all thi' shit right now."

"Funny, that's what he said to me too earlier this morning. He compared me with titans, what a match made in heaven." Hanji said bitterly.

"Levi…" Nanaba muttered to himself over and over again like a mantra, eyes wide in confusion and surprise, "I never thought of it, at all. I mean, Irvin yes, but Levi? Levi? Honestly, Levi? I'll just take another drink—"

Hanji rolled her eyes at Nanaba, taking a swig at the bottle Mike held in his hands.

"Levi."

"Okay, you're just being weird right now. Can you stop saying his name like it's a prayer?" Hanji snapped, poking the now unconscious Mike on the ground, mouth hanging open, Levi's name still on his lips.

"LEVI!"

Hanji rolled her eyes at Nanaba's childish expression, taking another gulp from the remaining liquor in front of her, "Come on, no need to shout it like it's some kind of a dirty little secret or as something that would lead us to an apocalypse. I hardly like him now, because he's being Levi and it happened way before so stop your—"

"No," Nanaba swallowed, raising his hand to point at something behind her, "I meant that."

Hanji placed the bottle down on the ground and turned to where he was pointing. In the shadows, barely illuminated by the fire and the remaining stars up in the heaven, stood the Captain, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at the sight before him. If he heard everything about what she just disclosed to the guys with her (one dumbfounded and one sprawled on the ground after her confession) he didn't let on.

She was half glad she put the bottle down before she turned because at this point, all she wanted to do was chuck something at him before fleeing the scene.

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"No, stay here. You clean up." She said to Nanaba, making her way towards Mike who was slumped on the ground, unconscious. Heart pounding hard against her ribcage, sweat rolling down her back as her mind's gears went to work, she hauled Mike up from the ground, his arms slipping from her sweaty hands thus falling down with a loud crack that she prayed would not turn to be a concussion in the morning before trying again, reaching for the other arm.

Mike was already draped across her shoulders when she felt him: Levi, the warmth of a person that just came from a bath and the scent of soap, the one he buys in the nearby town because Military provisions smelled like candle wax, reached her nose. She felt Mike's weight on her shoulders decrease as Levi, on Mike's left side, held onto Mike's arm. "It would be faster—"

She threw Mike's arm away from her body and took a step back. "What is wrong with you?" He snarled.

Yes, that was the right question to ask her in such a situation. Honestly, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting flushed when it's just Levi, short, ill-tempered, grouchy, clean-freak, humanity's strongest soldier, helping her? It didn't matter before and—and, it was not like their faces were inches apart. They've had their moments like that before and it never bothered—why were all they flashing in her mind's eye right now? What was wrong with her?

"I'm never going to drink again." She grumbled clutching her head. It made her talk, act and think in ways she never expected and it was wrong, that was what's wrong.

"Damn right you aren't." was his flat-out reply, "Oi, Nanaba, if you're done clearing that out help me with this oak. I can't carry him back to his room alone."

"Dam' right tha's true, sho'ty." Mike slurred, "wonde' w'y everyone's so into a small fry like you—even 'An—"

"No, no!" Hanji piped up all of a sudden, already under Mike's right arm again. "I can do it, Levi. You go help Nanaba clean up!" She pried Mike's arm off Levi's shoulders and waved him off. "We made a lot of mess, and seeing that I'm taller than you I can take Mike to his room faster—" It didn't make sense because Levi can lift something twice as heavy as he is but she still went for it, and she didn't miss the look of anger on his face, "and you like cleaning up mess, right? So there, go, shoo. I'll handle this."

"Why don't I just—" Nanaba offered.

"No." She protested, "I'll do it by myself even if it takes me all morning to do so!"

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Author's note: Two chapters down, last one to go. Hope you enjoyed! Thoughts?