Hanji's POV
I sat in my office the next day going through papers. I hate this part. Stupid paper work. I want to be out on the field doing research. But no, I fell too far behind. I have to catch up. What if they ruin the experiments? What if- My thought was cut off when a knock sounded at my door.
"What?!" I snapped. To my surprise, Levi stuck his head in. "Levi?" He walked in cautiously.
"I need a favor." He said quietly. Something is going on...
"So do I." I stated, standing. This might be my way out of paperwork.
"What do you need?" I smiled at his eagerness.
"I need to get out of this paperwork. It needs to be done, but I don't want to do it. I want to be back in the field."
"Done." He said. What? Really? I tried not to let it show too much how happy I was.
"Alright. Then what do you need?" I rounded my desk and walked towards him.
"I need your help."
Later that day...
"I can't believe it!" I screeched. I walked through the jewelry store. "I can't believe you're going to propose!" I giggled again.
"No matter what, you can't tell her." Levi warned me for the hundredth time.
"I knooooow." I sighed. "You're really ruining the mood by scolding me, ya know." I bent to look at a display of rings.
"Whatever. Help me find a ring." He glanced around. He is so lost and helpless in a place like this. I straightened and turned towards him with my arms crossed.
"Say please." He stared at me for a few moments before mumbling.
"Please."
"Okay." I said cheerily. I smiled and bounded to the next display. "She's allergic to gold, so those are not an option."
"Wait, she's allergic to gold?"
"Yes, it's rare, but there are people who are allergic to gold. As I was saying, let's go with silver. It looks good on her." I skimmed the silver rings, but they were all too gaudy. Petra was a simple girl, and she liked simple things.
"What about this one?" I glanced at the one Levi was pointing at. It had a huge diamond sitting on top and had a bunch of smaller ones embedded in the band.
"No way." I said, shaking my head. "Too gaudy."
"This one?" This time he pointed to a ring practically made out of diamonds.
"Too flashy." I shook my head again. He sighed.
One Hour Later...
"This is hopeless!" I threw my hands in the air. Levi's hair was sticking in every direction from running his hands through it multiple times. Even the store clerk looked stressed. "I should have asked for more from you." I looked at him. He seemed lost in thought. "Earth to Levi."
"Hm? Oh. I have an idea." he grabbed me by my arm and drug me out of the store. We jumped in his car and drove off without another word.
"Care to enlighten me?" I spoke after a while.
"I remembered something." He stated.
"And that was?" I asked. He just turned into a driveway. Once the car was parked, he jumped out and rushed inside. I followed. "Hey! I'm still here. You gonna tell me what's going on? Why did we leave? We didn't pick out a ring." He just ignored me. "Wait, don't tell me you already have a ring."
"Stay here." Then he disappeared into another room. I looked around. I must have been in his living room. Nice furniture. I thought. Then he reappeared. "I found it." He held out a red felt ring box. I opened it. Inside was a silver band with a single, small, dark blue stone. "It's a sapphire."
"It's perfect." I whispered.
"It was my mother's." I looked at him. "And my grandmother's before her." He smiled proudly. I smiled back. It really was the perfect ring.