Author's Note

Hello, hello. Just a warning of that there will be minor spoilers from S4P1 of the anime from this chapter onward. Nothing super big that will completely ruin your experience but hey, you never know.

The hall was empty. Not a soul to be seen or heard except his, and he wasn't sure that he had one anymore.

The incoming moonlight from the windows shyly illuminated his way as he walked towards the end of the corridor. His footsteps were slow and soft to avoid spilling the liquid from the teacups in each hand. Everyone had already gone to sleep, but he knew there was at least another person in the building who was still awake.

He arrived at the end of the area. Instead of knocking on the door, he used his shoulder to push it open. They were past formalities between them.

Inside the office, Hange sat at their desk, filled with messy stacks of papers. A single lamp, powered by the iridescent ore from the Reiss Cavern, brightened the workspace as they flipped through different documents, carefully reading them before signing them. The air was stuffy, implying that no one had opened the window in days.

It took Hange a few minutes before they acknowledged his presence.

"Oh, Levi," they greeted, briefly lifting their gaze from the table.

"Hey," he said, approaching them. "I brought you some tea."

"Ugh, thanks."

Hange moved some of the papers to make space for the cup. In the meantime, Levi briefly inspected the room. There were boxes all over the floor, half-opened and with their content scattered around them. The books from the shelves were all pilled up rather than carefully organized in rows like Erwin used to keep them. He wanted to scold them for the mess, but he figured they had enough on their plate.

Once the workspace was cleared but not cleaned, Levi left the cups on the board and sat on one of the guest chairs. He scanned the entirety of their face, from the disarranged hair to the chapped lips. Thanks to the light from the lamp, he was able to distinguish Hange's tired eye. The ore's gleam tainted their skin, and yet their paleness was still noticeable. He felt like asking them when they had last taken a bath, but he figured it would be better not to know.

He was looking at the definition of exhaustion.

"You should get some sleep, you looked like shit this morning," he mocked to mask his concern.

"I could say the same thing about you."

Hange leaned back and stretched their neck, staring at the ceiling for a moment. Instead of disturbing their peace, Levi grabbed his teacup and took a sip as a distraction to continue staring at the Commander. It seemed like they were about to close their eyes and finally fall asleep, but briefly after, they swayed their head and incorporated themselves.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"No, all this stuff is super confidential," they sighed. "We all know what happened the last time I thought I was talking to a friend."

Before Levi could reply, a knock resonated in the area. He stared at Hange, confused. No one in the HQ should've been awake at that time, and even less banging on the Commander's door.

"Come in!" said Hange.

A young man with glasses tottered into the room with a heavy breathing, holding a folder in his hand.

"Commander Zoe, sorry for breaking in like this," gasped the newcomer.

"Easy, boy. Take a breath," instructed Levi.

The man cleared his throat. "I brought this from Stohess. Civil said it was urgent."

He handed the folder to Hange, who grabbed the documents before prompting him to leave. As they flipped through the pages, they shook their head and muttered to themselves. Levi remained observant, trying to decipher the content of the papers based on Hange's expression. The only thing he could figure out was that they wouldn't be having a peaceful night's sleep anytime soon.

Hange dropped the file on the table with such force that some of the tea spilled over the desk.

"This has to be a joke," they grunted. "I thought things would be easier once we eliminated all the Titans outside the Walls, but they somehow keep getting worse."

"I take it that those nerds aren't doing a good job with the railway system."

"That's one way to put it." Hange rubbed their forehead as they continued, "Can't say it's all their fault, though."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he said. "They are probably exhausted from all the operations to rebuild Wall Maria."

Hange tsked, staring at the file.

"Whatever, I just hate to agree with that jerk," they sighed. "We wouldn't have gotten anywhere without his inhuman methods. Things were much faster before."

"That's not true," he argued. "You should expect some delays. After all, Engineering had to reorganize the entire production line in a matter of months."

"Plus the Board."

"Plus the Board," he repeated.

Hange crossed their arms and scoffed.

"Seriously, I thought she was smart. Why would she pick such useless people to be part of her Board? We could've used the air inside their heads to fill every gas cylinder in the Corps."

Levi looked at the teacup, observing his coarse reflection on the liquid. He couldn't help but remember the way she had served the tea at Ehrmich. Her delicate set of cutlery wasn't at that manor anymore, but rather in his apartment in Trost, waiting. He caressed the back of his hand, recalling the warm feeling of her touch when she had stopped him from moving the bishop during their chess game. That same piece had led him to his victory.

"Pawns."

"Sorry, what?"

"Pawns," he said. "She surrounded herself with pawns. She filled the Board with average engineers, so she stood out from them. No one would dare to replace her, and she would keep her control over the operations."

Rather than interested in his explanation, Hange seemed irritated.

"Has she always been like that?"

He frowned, "Like what?"

"Calculating."

Levi swayed his head. From the nights at the basement to the nights at her manors, he still couldn't believe that she had become a scheming woman. And yet, she had proven to be one.

"Not really. She was just stubborn." He frowned, wondering about Hange's vision on her. "How was she as a Chief?"

"Very stubborn," they said. "But she was willing to listen to my projects, even when she knew the answer would be no." Hange paused, adjusting their glasses before muttering, "It almost feels like I met two different people."

"I could say the same about you," he noted. Before Hange could retort, he continued, "You weren't always this grumpy, annoying mess. When we first met, you were all happy-flower and lively. You had so much energy it almost made me sick."

Hange chuckled as they brought the teacup to their lips. Levi was proud to see that, despite all the piles of work and resentment in that office, his visit had helped them relax, at least for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. Circumstances change, and so do we," they sighed. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Have you always been a distant, clean-freak weirdo?"

He scoffed, "You tell me."

"Well, you were never the life of the party around here, but I've noticed…"

Hange didn't finish the sentence. Instead, they placed the teacup back on the desk, avoiding to look at Levi.

"What?" he insisted.

"Even though there are no more Titans to kill, you don't seem happy."

"Why would I? Shitty beardo is still out there, and the entire world has their guns pointing at this island."

"Right."

Hange obliviously stared at their beverage. Despite the silence, Levi knew that there was something else they wanted to say. He waited for them to speak up, but as they didn't, he frowned and took matters into his own hands.

"What's that crazy head of yours thinking?"

"Nothing," they answered, shaking their head.

Levi remained observant. From Hange's avoidance to the bluntness of their voice, he could feel that something was off. However, given their tired state, he decided to let the Commander rest.

"Tch, go get some sleep. I will ask Zachary if he can up my permissions. You really need some help with those papers."

Once he concluded the sentence, he grabbed the cup and finished the rest of the tea in a few gulps.

"What do you think she is doing right now?" asked Hange, still looking away.

Levi slowly placed the container back on the table, unsure about why the conversation had bounced back to her.

"What do you mean?"

Hange grunted, "I bet she is baking the worst apple pie ever while she was some hot farmer waiting in her bed."

He could feel the provocation in their words, but he wasn't going to give into it.

"Well, it's late, so she is probably sleeping," he said, in an attempt to calm them down.

After a brief pause, Hange finally lifted their chin. "It's not fair, you know? She doesn't deserve it."

Levi crossed his arms and frowned, evaluating Hange's expression. Their face seemed faint, but the tensed-up fist on the table made him realize that they were ready to put up a fight if necessary.

"I thought you had forgiven her," he recalled with a soft voice.

"I felt sorry for her. It's different," they answered with bitterness. "But not anymore. I mean, look at this." They grabbed the folder from the table and wavered it in the air before letting it fall without care. Some of the papers escaped the file and glided until they landed on the floor.

"Hange…" he tried to scold them for the mess, but they continued.

"Half of the Government doesn't trust the other half because of her. She hid crucial information that would've saved hundreds of lives. She fucked up our entire system so bad that even after two years, we still have to deal with the consequences." Their tone was furious enough to make Levi stretch his back in defense. Hange paused, only to cross their arms and hiss, "Meanwhile, she is out there without taking any responsibility for it."

"She wasn't the only one behind it, and you know it." No matter how he tried to talk some sense into them, Hange remained stuck in their anger.

"Exactly, and he is working day and night covered in coal because of it. But what about her, huh?"

Levi stood up. He realized that arguing with a sleep-deprived Hange would lead nowhere. Instead, he placed his hands on the board, leaning forward before concluding the discussion.

"You don't know whether she is crying in a corner or baking pies. You made a choice that day, and that was to let her go. Don't regret it now."

Hange stretched their neck and whispered, "I told you, I never did it for her."

Bitterness fueled both Hange's eye and voice. Levi grunted and moved away from the board, grabbing his cup in the process. He figured that the wisest thing would be to let them drown in their resentment until they got tired of such a petty act.

"Sleep well, Hange," he said, heading for the door. "We'll talk when you stop whining."

Before grabbing the handle, he observed the cheap teacup in his hand. Despite knowing that Hange wasn't thinking their words through, he couldn't deny that there was some truth to them.

"I know where she is."

Levi turned around to face them, letting a small breath escape his lips. Hange observed him with their arms crossed, waiting for his reaction.

"What?"

"In fact, all the Commanders know," they explained in all seriousness. "If I wanted to, I could grab her by the hair and drag her all the way to Stohess, so she fixes this mess."

"Zachary wouldn't let you," he argued.

"Zachary may be a vengeful man, but he won't mind turning a blind eye if bringing her back means fewer problems for us."

"Then why exile her, huh? Why not just trap her in a cell, like he wanted to?" As he finished the sentence, he realized why: because they had never done it for her. He approached Hange and whispered, "You tricked her."

"She was never free to go. We agreed to...reserve her," they said. "If we forced her to keep working for us, we couldn't trust that she would be loyal. You've already seen what she can do when her interests aren't satisfied."

"It's Sophie we are talking about, Hange." For the first time in that conversation, one of them had dared to say her name. Every sound from it seemed to rumble through the room, or at least inside Levi's head. "She is not like Asbel."

"You weren't at his questioning."

"You can't trust a word from that jerk."

"I can't trust anyone's word at this point," they fumed, not in a hurtful way, but in a desperate one. "And all thanks to her."

"Not even mine? Not even Erwin's?"

"Erwin is dead, and you ignored her for a decade," they argued. Levi pushed himself back in response. Before he could counter, Hange whispered, "No offense, but do you really know her? Because I was with her all those years, and apparently, I didn't."

"I do, and that doesn't mean I forgive her," he replied in a heartbeat. "But forcing her to start a new life and then take it away from her at your will…" Despite his confident tone, he paused, remembering Hange's words before his last night with her. If you don't do this for your sake, do it for mine. "That's why you let me go see her. You needed a reason for her to come back. Something that would make her loyal."

Hange stared at Levi, unbothered. Despite their lack of hesitation at his words, he could sense their remorse in the silence of the room. Levi waited until Hange decided to gather enough dignity to give him an explanation.

"Sorry." Slowly, they let themselves see through that wall of resentment. "It was just so...convenient."

Levi scoffed and crossed his arms. He couldn't believe that despite Hange's complaints about not being able to trust anyone, they had taken advantage of one of the last people close to them.

"If this is your sad, cheap attempt to be like Erwin, let me tell you something: he would've never used his friends like this."

"You think so? Didn't he trick you and your colleagues? Didn't he trick Nile to ensure the success of the coup?" They adjusted their glasses and whispered, "You idealize him too much."

"Stop trying to be like him," he argued, indifferent to their slander.

"Well, everyone expects me to be like him, so what am I supposed to do?" they growled, increasing their tone with every word.

"I don't know!"

The loudness of his voice forced Hange to pull back and look away. Levi stared at the floor, taking in everything they had said. His first instinct was to apologize for his insubordination, but Hange did it first.

"Look, I'm sorry," Hange admitted. Their sincere regret allowed Levi to get a glimpse of his friend, trapped behind the title of Commander. "But you said it yourself: there are millions of guns ready to fire at Paradis, and we are nowhere near their level. If I have to choose between her and this island, you know what my answer would be. And you should consider yours too."

"We have Eren," he replied.

"That hormonal teen who won't talk to us? Yeah, good luck with that."

Levi took a step forward and grunted. He wasn't going to give up.

"Even if you bring her back, even if you tell her that I will be there for her, she won't cooperate." He remembered her secret, how she had claimed that being away from all that blueprint madness would make her happy. Despite his attempt to convince her otherwise, her words had been far too honest. "She hates all that Engineering stuff."

Hange chuckled in response, ridiculing his words.

"Oh yeah, because I love being a Commander, right? And you loved being the only one able to kill those Titans at the expense of our comrades." They swayed their arms as they chanted, "We are all living the dream here!"

Levi retorted, "That's exactly why I don't want to drag more people into this hell."

"She has always been part of this hell, Levi."

"Then if you cared the least about her, you would leave her alone," he said, trying to appeal to their empathy. "You dislike her for being manipulative, but look at you now."

Hange closed their eye for a moment. Staring at them, Levi hoped that his words reignited the friendly, vivid Hange instead of the burned-out Commander. Despite their resentment against Sophie, he felt sorry for them, seeing the weight of duty crumbling over their shoulders.

They took a deep breath before answering, "It's for the sake of the people inside the Walls."

"Yeah, that's always a good excuse," he scoffed. Levi walked back to the door and grabbed the handle without a doubt. Before he could exit the room, Hange's chair screeched against the floor. Levi turned around, only to find them standing behind their desk with their hands on the table.

"Shouldn't you be happy?" they asked. "She is your friend, right? Don't you want her here? With you?"

"Yes," he replied, rubbing the teacup with his thumb. "But not like this."

Levi observed the clear sky through the open window. The gentle, warm breeze swayed the curtains at each side of the frame before brushing his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself bathe in the sunlight and reminiscing the conversation with Hange the previous night.

After they had eliminated all the Titans, he had a surprising amount of free time. His days consisted of training the recruits, helping Hange as far as his permissions allowed him to, and doing minor chores around the Military. Once there were no more rooms to clean or blades to sharpen, he simply waited for the next day to come. It was a boring, safe routine to avoid facing the desperation and mourning that haunted him. Two years had passed, and yet Paradis wasn't free, nor had he fulfilled his promise. With every step he took each day, he dragged the chains of his duty with him.

"Your turn," said Pixis.

Levi turned his head to the chessboard in front of him. He adjusted his posture on the chair as he observed the state of the game. He was glad that Pixis was always willing to help him killing time, even if that meant getting humiliated by his continuous wins.

Despite staring at the pieces, his head kept circling back to Sophie's game at Mitras, with Hange's voice over the imagery. Calculating. A fitting word for someone that had managed to cause so much trouble so long after her exile. He wondered whether she had done it on purpose, an ace up her sleeve to come back, just like the one Hange had revealed the previous night.

You ignored her for a decade. Do you really know her?

He sighed and frowned, focusing on his play rather than the thoughts coming and going through his mind. Levi placed his hand over one of the pieces and moved it. Pixis hummed in response, stroking his mustache.

"Ouch, that's a nasty pin, Captain," he noted. "I'm impressed."

Levi didn't reply. Pixis wasn't the only one in that room facing a nasty pin. He should be happy that Hange was considering bringing her back, and yet he wasn't. The resentment and bitterness they had shown that night proved that it wasn't an act of mercy, only a retribution. Indeed, they had never done it for her.

Hange had given up on their empathy and passion for the sake of protecting the island's future. He had gone down that path as well, and he knew where it led. But they were right: their lives were at stake, and if they were considering joining forces with that psycho monkey, perhaps Sophie was no different. However, unlike that beardo, Sophie had already done her duty to the island. First as an engineer, and then as Erwin's pawn.

He had chosen to trust in her word that being away would make her happy, but perhaps she wasn't. Nevertheless, he wouldn't know the truth until he saw her, and Levi wasn't sure whether he wanted to know. The benefit of the doubt seemed safer than the possibility of her being miserable.

The door opened without a warning or a knock. Both Pixis and Levi turned their heads towards it, only to find Hange standing at the entrance of the tiny room where Levi and Pixis hid to play their games.

"Hey," they greeted. "Pixis, you are requested downstairs."

"Sure thing," he answered, standing up. He leaned towards the table and observed the pieces, frowning. Levi waited for his next move, but instead, Pixis lifted his chin and smirked, "I will think about this play."

Once Pixis left the room, Hange took his place. Levi kept his eyes fixed on the board, but he could sense that they weren't keen on playing.

After a moment of silence, they whispered, "Levi."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry about last night. I was tired, and I said a bunch of bitter nonsense."

Levi didn't look at them. Instead, he turned the board around to evaluate how he would respond to his own trap.

"I know, don't worry," he said. "It's been a couple of rough months."

"Yeah," they sighed. "Look, I do care about Sophie. I was just angry, looking for someone to blame for all this stuff."

Levi finally lifted his head to observe the Commander. Their face seemed slightly healthier, and that was something he was relieved to see, but despite their remorse, he couldn't ignore what had happened.

"But you meant it, right? Your words might've been a bit rough, but your message was pretty clear."

Hange opened their mouth at his taunt. Levi crossed his arms, waiting for their response.

"It's just…things worked when she was here, right?" she said, looking away. "She might be a pain in the ass, but she is also the best one out there." Levi took a deep breath, gently swaying his head. Hange concluded, "Just like you."

"And you think things will work out again if she is back?"

Hange paused, adjusting their glasses. "I don't know, but I'm running out of options. Back at the deliberation, we all agreed that she knew too much, both to keep her here or to let her go," they explained. "We had to compromise somehow, but I never thought we would need her again."

"You could've just asked her. Even if you don't care about Sophie, she does care about you."

Levi wasn't angry at them, only disappointed. He understood why they needed her, but not why they had played around with her, using him as a lure.

Hange shook their head, "We couldn't trust her, Levi."

"Well, you should've," he sighed. "It would've saved you from all this puppet show."

"Maybe, but the things Asbel said about her..." Levi scoffed at that jerk's name, but Hange continued, "He might be the biggest prick I've ever met, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Sophie being that kind of woman."

Levi grunted, "Whatever."

He looked at the board again to conceal the awkward silence between them. He was close to seeing a way to get out of that nasty pin when Hange interrupted his train of thought.

"Why did you leave her?"

"Hm?"

"You never, ever talked about her. But she did mention you, from time to time," With a whisper, they added, "Especially when there was a drink involved." Levi instinctively frowned at Hange's reference, but he remained silent until they asked, "So why did you leave her?"

"Because of the same reason why I don't want her to come back," answered Levi, lifting his chin. "I don't want to drag her into this mess. Even if she is not happy wherever she is, I bet that it can't be any worse than this."

Hange clicked their tongue, "That's funny."

"Why?"

"Money, power, intelligence… She had everything she could ever wish for, except you." They paused to observe Levi, "I know it was awful of me to use you, but you were the only thing she would've needed to come back."

Levi incorporated himself on the seat and moved one of the pieces on the board.

"Two years ago? Perhaps. But as you said, she probably has some hot farmer in her bed right now. I don't think that your shitty trick would work now."

"Are you mad at me for it?"

Levi took a deep breath. Hange was right, and even Erwin had used the people close to him as part of a scheme. Levi never knew what would come out of his plans or who would be involved. And yet, he had always trusted him, perhaps even idealizing him. Hange also deserved that kind of trust.

Levi stared at them before replying, "No. But you really need to go on a date instead of playing with your friend's feelings."

"Yeah, you are right," they smirked. "Look, I had to think fast before Zachary laid his dirty hands on her. But still, I'm sorry."

Levi turned the board around once more and moved the next piece. Hange observed him without interfering with his solo game.

"It's okay. I trust that you did what you had to do." With a smile, Hange stood up. Levi briefly stared at them as they headed towards the door. "So, what now?" he said, interrupting their walk.

"I don't know," they answered before turning around. "I do think that if Sophie were to be loyal, she could really help us out. And that she doesn't deserve to run away while we clean up after her." Levi lowered his head, acknowledging their words. "But I do care about her, and you are right that we shouldn't bring more people into this awful mess." Hange took a deep breath before concluding, "So yeah, I don't know."

Levi felt relieved hearing their last sentences, but even if Hange was acting all nice and empathic at that moment, he couldn't forget the urgency of the situation. The Military had been losing sleep because of her, and Paradis was a sitting duck against the rest of the world. Even if the most sensible thing would be to let her go, he had already done that once, and it hadn't turned out well for either of them. Despite trying to separate himself from his duty, just as Sophie had told him to, the responsibility of the lives of Paradis was too much to ignore for the sake of one woman, whose present was just as uncertain as the island's future.

He exchanged two pieces on the board and sighed. That was the only way to escape that nasty pin: by sacrificing the queen. He grabbed the figure and rubbed the crown with his thumb.

"Let's compromise," he said, clenching his fist around the piece. "Do you truly believe that Sophie can help Paradis?"

Hange approached him before answering, "Yes, I believe so."

"Then I trust your judgment." He looked at them decisively and added, "If that's what you think is good for our people, I will go get her."

"Levi…"

"However," he interrupted. "I won't drag her by the hair or pull any dirty tricks. I will explain the situation to her, plain and clear. But ultimately, the choice will be hers."

Hange nodded. "That's fair. But the fact that you, out of everyone else, goes there, is already setting her up, don't you think?" Levi didn't reply, so Hange continued, "Are you okay with that?"

Levi left the queen back on the board. Observing the setup, he realized he had escaped that trap, but that didn't mean that he would win the game.

"Circumstances change, and so do we," he muttered. "If this is what the island needs, then I have no other choice."

Levi stood up and turned to Hange. The Commander nodded slightly in response to his words. It was easy for him to separate his duty from his emotions, but for the first time, he could feel them blending with one another. He wanted to see her, even if he didn't know what her life was like, whether she was happy or not. But most of all, Paradis needed her.

"Very well," said Hange. "She lives west of Wall Rose, in a town named Yormgen."

Author's Note

I really enjoyed writing the last AN and breaking down the chapter a little bit, so I kinda wanted to do the same for this one since it's a bit of a turning point.

So, in the last AN I posed that hypothetical question as an appetizer before this chapter. So far, Levi and Hange have been all nice and great. However, Sophie has been a very bad girl, and even if her plan with Erwin worked out in the end and Asbel is out of the picture, great damage has been done to the island's establishment. Now that Paradis is in a critical situation, it's even more evident.

The circumstances have changed, and as Asbel said, no one can achieve greatness by playing fair. Erwin knew this, Sophie knew this, and Hange is in that process too. The "I didn't do this for you" was basically them saying: this is not a favour, this a safety measure for the sake of Paradis. In the end, Sophie was too much of a key figure of the Military to let her go completely, but Hange thought that they wouldn't need her anymore. Oopsie.

Levi doesn't agree with how things had been handled, but also because of his...connection with Sophie, which makes him kind of biased. But now, his duty and emotions collapse. Poor guy is going through a hard time, just waiting around to kill the monke and hoping that Paradis doesn't get blown up in the meantime. He has nothing else, but he has a chance to get her back. However, at what cost? Is it worth it to break into whatever life she has built, only to force her to work in something she claims she doesn't like AGAIN? At least they would be together, right? But also, Sophie knows how things need to get done around there, and she kept a bunch of secrets so no one would replace her. Hange believes that was just another scheme of hers, which makes them think that Asbel was right about her being some manipulative, selfish woman—perspective is quite important here—so Hange is ready to take action against her.

In any case, Paradis could definitely use her talent so they don't get wiped out. It's a tricky situation for Levi. He does have a personal bond with her, so he knows that only he can convince her of coming back to basically be a slave to the Military...again, regardless of whether she is happy or not. So where does he draw the line between what he wants and what needs to be done? What is the true force driving his actions? Or perhaps she has her own life now and his words aren't going to change things like at their reunion.

Basically, he needs to find a compromise between duty and emotion. Let's see how he manages that LOL.

And of course, we are missing Sophie here. She might be all sad and miserable, writing letters she can't send while listening to the AoT equivalent of Somebody Else by The 1975, or she could be all settled down again. After all, farmers do get all the ladies inside the Walls.

Heh. Place your bets, I guess.