A/N: I apologize for the late update. I actually spent a good portion of yesterday in the ER and have been in lots of pain all week. It's fine though. They finally figured out what the problem is and I'm on medications for it. Thankfully I didn't need surgery so it's all good. Well...not the pain, but it will hopefully be going away soon.

Chapter Summary: This time's a bit shorter, which is crazy because Hanji's around. At least she's not meddling. Yet.

Hanji didn't end up visiting the bar for another two weeks due to problems with her work. Levi wasn't there when she arrived, even though she had specifically made sure to come earlier in the evening, just to annoy him. Perhaps he simply hadn't arrived yet. Well, she was a patient individual and she could talk to Eren while she waited. That was, after all, her original purpose in coming.

"Welcome!" The voice was familiar, even if it had changed over the years, growing deeper with age. Hanji looked up to see Eren standing before her, a friendly smile on his face. It faded, however, as recognition settled in. "What can I..." He trailed off, unable to continue with his customary greeting. "Dr. Zoe?"

"Hello Eren," she replied, smiling.

He quickly glanced around, making sure that no one else could hear their conversation, even though they were the only two in the room—Erwin was in the back again. Still, he lowered his voice, trying to be as secretive as possible. "How did you know where to find me? Did Dad tell you?"

She couldn't exactly say that she hadn't come because of him, but it wasn't like he thought. She rushed to explain. "I'm a friend of Erwin's. He had told me that he'd hired a new bartender named Eren, but I didn't know it was you until I saw the painting you did for Levi when they came to visit me. You've gotten much better," she said sincerely.

The uncomfortable expression on Eren's face merely grew more pronounced and he found himself biting his hand again, as he usually did when he was stressed. He forced himself to stop. "Did you-? You haven't-" he paused and took a deep breath, "You didn't tell them, did you?"

It was rare to see the boy so uncertain. "I would never do that to you, Eren," Hanji assured.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"But I still think that you should at least tell Erwin," she said quickly. "What if something happened? He wouldn't be able to help."

Eren set his jaw stubbornly. "I can't do that."

"You can. I know you don't want to, but you can."

He shook his head.

"I told you to come later, Shitty Glasses," Levi said, entering the bar, a scowl on his face.

"Levi!" Hanji got up and rushed to hug her friend. She stopped, however, when she was only a step away, her arms still outstretched. "You don't have a knife, do you?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Yes, I carry big ass butcher knives around with me for the express purpose of murdering you."

Hanji pouted. "The problem with you is that it's impossible to tell when you're being sincere about stuff like that."

"What can I get for you?" Eren asked, directing the question at Hanji, trying to act normal. "I assume Levi wants black tea."

"Let Erwin get it. The crap you make isn't fit for human consumption."

"It's been getting better," Eren mumbled.

Hanji rolled her eyes. "He's always like this. Don't mind Levi."

"Oh, I don't," Eren replied with a grin. "Not anymore, anyway."

"You must spend a lot of time with him then, to know him so well already." Hanji said, a mischievous grin on her face.

Anyone who hadn't known Levi for a very long time wouldn't have noticed the slight tightening of his expression as irritation set in. Unfortunately, Hanji was one of those people. She smirked in his direction, clearly trying to stir up trouble.

"Um...no, not really," Eren quickly denied. Levi had, in fact, been there almost every day since they'd first met and for some reason he always ended up mocking Eren. He wasn't sure whether this was Levi's normal habit or if there was something about himself that simultaneously drew and, at the same time, offended the man. "Have you decided yet?"

Hanji wagged her finger, as if she were scolding him. "Don't think I didn't notice that change of subject, but I suppose I'll have to let you get away with it if I don't want Levi to silence me in some horrible way."

"You give me too much credit. I'm not that inventive. A nice slice across the throat will do."

"Surprise me, Eren. Make me something interesting."

Eren thought about it for a moment, then turned away, heading for the back counter to work on Hanji's drink. He returned a while later with Levi's tea (made by Erwin, who'd come over at some point to say hello to his friends) and a colorful concoction for Hanji. He often got vague requests such as hers now that the regular customers trusted him enough to create his own mixes, so it hadn't been too difficult to decide how much of various substances to mix together for her. Normally he didn't agree to such requests for people that he hadn't seen at the bar before, but Hanji was an exception since he had known her for many years. She paused in her conversation with Levi to take a sip and then proceeded to sing its praises, completely forgetting what she had been talking about before. With anyone else, this would had irritated Levi to no end, but he was used to it with her. It was because he knew her so well, however, that he noticed something was off in the way she interacted with Eren. The two had clearly met before, and actually seemed to know each other quite well, but there was more to it than that. It was as if she was waiting for something, studying Eren like one of her experiments, but just what she was looking for, he couldn't guess.

"Eren," Hanji said seriously, as she was getting ready to leave a couple hours later, "take care of yourself."

The boy smiled, but it wasn't nearly so bright as usual. "Sure. I will." He waved goodbye and then turned to serve another customer.

Hanji turned and just stared at Levi, who had stayed later than usual because it was the only way to get her to stop the embarrassing groveling and pleading for him to stay. Her voice was soft when she spoke again. "I'm sorry."

His frown grew more pronounced. "What the hell did you do?"

She shook her head, not answering, and smiled sadly. "That's the problem. I can't do anything."

It was strange of her to give so little explanation, Levi thought as he watched her leave the bar, energetically waving down a taxi. She was the type to fully describe the situation because she herself couldn't stand not knowing something. Whatever it was that was bothering her must be unexplainable. And it had to do something with Eren. Perhaps something to do with his past life? After all, that was the only connection they had with the boy, and whatever it was involved her. Or maybe it had to do with Eren's accident or perhaps his father. He wasn't sure why Hanji would have become close to the boy because of that, but it would explain them knowing each other. Hanji did work in a hospital lab now. If it was the same one Eren had gone to after the accident, or if it was where Grisha worked... Levi let his thoughts trail off, unable to solve the mystery. This sort of contemplation was more suited to Hanji or Erwin anyway.

"Hey, brat."

Eren looked up from his work. "Yeah?"

"See you tomorrow."

The boy didn't understand why Levi was bothering. He'd never given him anything resembling a greeting or goodbye before. Usually their conversations consisted mainly of insults. It only took him a moment, however, before a brilliant smile lit his face. Levi went upstairs that night with the image imprinted on his eyes.

Disclaimer: Most, if not all, of the characters, setting, and concepts included in this story belong to the creator(s) of the original work that this fanfic is based off of and not myself.