Levi grumbled as he trudged through the muddy ground. The city had been wet and cold from the downpour these past few days so he was grateful that the sun finally showed up that morning... especially that morning. What he hated though was the muck that came after the rain. He looked down at his now muddy boots and started to think about what he could use to remove the dirt from the leather. Then his gaze shifted towards the bouquet he was grasping in his hand. He would entertain any random thoughts right now just to keep his mind off the grim nature of his visit. When he finally reached his destination, he spotted a tall blond man standing still and looking down in silence.

"How long have you been here?" Levi asked him as he placed the flowers in front of the headstone. He began re-arranging the other bouquets so that everything would not look like it was haphazardly thrown together.

"Long enough to catch you it seems." Erwin gave him a slight smile. "Mike and Nanaba dropped by awhile ago."

"How are they?" Levi asked while he pulled some weeds that strayed near the marker. As he was doing so, he spotted two small pots of cacti behind the headstone. They were his wife's favorite plants and were a constant gift from Moblit, her lab assistant for several years. Levi took them home every time he left one and now he had a collection of these ugly prickly things in his garden. He wondered who else had come here.

He had not seen their friends for a long time but they never failed to visit her on this specific occasion. He knew this based on the amount of flowers he finds by her headstone at the end of the day. Usually he would come at sunset when he was certain that nobody else would arrive. It's just that... he did not know how to manage his grief let alone deal with their own.

That year, he decided to face them for a change but the heavens wanted to mess with him by bringing a challenge in the form of Erwin Smith, his former boss at the precinct, long time friend, and rejected suitor of his wife. The rivalry between them had long been gone after he married her but their discomfort toward each other every time their paths crossed had persisted. Thankfully, their interactions were minimal nowadays because the blond man transferred to another city after being promoted to a higher position. Well, their encounters were minimal until today.

"They're doing great. Nanaba is four months pregnant with their second child. Mike looks less stressed. He seems happier now that he's doing work for a private detective agency. I miss catching up with those guys. So... where's the kid?"

Levi heard him say from behind him.

"Sick. Mikasa is looking after Eli."

"That's not good. I hope he gets better. How's your niece by the way? She's still with the Yeager boy, the younger one?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Levi hated both the Yeager brothers for their mere involvement with the women in his life. The older one, Zeke was a co-worker of his late wife and had no shame making romantic gestures on her even though she was already married. The younger one, Eren was Mikasa's childhood friend. The boy seemed okay until he discovered that the brat was two-timing her with another classmate. He saw him kissing a blond girl by accident when he went over to their university to investigate a recent murder there. He tried telling it to his niece but Mikasa would hear none of it.

Levi rose from his crouching position as soon as he was finished clearing out the weeds. He stood next to his former boss, side by side in awkward silence.

Erwin took out a cigarette pack from his coat's pocket and offered him a stick. He raised his hand to refuse it.

"Do you mind?" The blond man asked.

"Not at all. She hated smoking though."

"Right, it's probably one of the many reasons why she chose you over me even though we knew each other since college."

"And you came here just to remind me of that for the Nth time?" Levi took a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes, of course." Erwin puffed out a smoke. "And I miss her, too."

"I miss her everyday."

"It must have hurt a lot losing her on the same day as your wedding anniversary."

Levi did not respond. The coincidence was actually insignificant. It hurt a lot. period.

"Seriously, are you okay now?" Erwin turned to look at the shorter man. "Past conflicts aside, I am truly concerned for your well-being."

Levi shrugged his shoulders.

"I got the wedding invitation from Petra by the way. I'll take it as a sign that you have moved on. It's good. You can't grieve forever."

"How come you did not find yourself some one else, Erwin? A man of your stature and position could have easily gotten anyone."

"But there's no one else like her."

"True."

Erwin dropped the cigarette butt on the dirt and stepped on it to put out the remaining ember.

"I thought losing her to you is the most painful thing but it's not. The most painful thing is that... in her last moments, neither one of us was there with her."

Levi felt his chest tightening as he was reminded of that fateful night. They were supposed to go out for dinner for their fourth wedding anniversary but then he was summoned to investigate a high-profile murder. She told him over the phone that it was alright. She could extend work for a few more hours to do some experiments in the lab. That was their last conversation when she was still alive. It was Erwin who informed him about the freak accident in her workplace. Some equipment had overheated and caught fire. It spread out too fast and the black smoke from the chemicals was too thick that she wasn't able to escape.

"See you around."

Erwin patted him on the shoulder and left him on his own. He couldn't blame the man if he still held on to her memories. He loved her, too, probably loved her longer than he did.

Levi was relieved that he left though. He had been waiting for this moment to be alone with her. He would usually find her there waiting for him with a big cheerful smile as if she was never gone. But then she had stopped showing up after their last stroll, when he told her that he was ready to move on with someone else.

He stared at her headstone with a deep longing in his eyes. The name "Hange Zoe-Ackerman" was engraved on it along with the dates that summed up her life. Those dates did little justice to represent how much life she had and how much life she had given to everyone who loved her. Perhaps, he was just like Erwin. He had not fully moved on. No one did.

"Happy anniversary, Hange..." He whispered as a tear trickled down his cheek.