Chapter 2

No matter how humbling it was, that was the only bright spot in her quest of six months to get the truth. For the rest of the time, her poor little magazine still had to go back to fill the pages with racy fan-fictions and R18 Dojinshi strips.

Like now, to make the deadline, Tory had to go through thousands of fan fiction stories sent in by their readers in a couple of days. Ereri or Rivere. Eruri. A few were about the rarer pairings like JeanArmin or ErenArmin. Most were at least R18. Quite a few had big warnings like PWP or Pure Smut stamped right at the top. Anyway, lots of cum and fluff and other not as mentionable stuff.

The problem was that 99% of the stories were eerily similar to each other. Most of them would not matter if the main characters were replaced by any other pairing. Some were apparently stripped from classical works-hetero erotic romance stories-and just had the character names and body parts replaced. This made her job even tougher because she had to weed them out to avoid being sued. She started to regret brushing those hetero stories away for not worthy of reading back in high schoo.

A couple of the stories did stand out. Like the one about Levi, Mike, Erwin and Hange. It was a steaming piece of 4P. Even more racy than the gang-bang piece on Levi. It was only that it got Hange's gender wrong and had her down as a girl. The other problem is that Eren was only a voyeur. No wonder her boss shook his head and kept on saying no to the piece.

They had to send a feedback letter to the author and asked her to leave out Hange and swap Eren in so they can avoid a uproar from their readers. Make Hange the peeping Tom, and she can appear with a sketchbook or even a video camera in her hands. The readers will just love it.

By the end, Tory was so tired. Too tired to go back to her own little place, lonely, dark and cold on a long winter night. She felt so miserable that she almost regret turning down Commander Kirstein's offer-if she had not, the least she would have was roses waiting for her, at her home.

Frustrated, she took the long roundabout to Trost and visited her grandparents' house. The place was so much cozier. A nice warm fire burning on the hearth, and nice warm soup churning on the stove. A pair of grandma and grandpa with all the patience in the world and the most loving smile while she went on and on about her trouble at the publishing house.

'Aren't you working on finding out the truth stories about some very important people?' her grandpa asked, while trying to recall from their last chats.

'Yep. But all those people either are working for congress, the Hange-Rivaille Group,' Tory sighed, 'the two places in the whole world I just could not find a way to get in...'

'Hange and Rivaille?' her grandma's face went all brightened up, 'you want to see them? Why don't you just say so?'

'Hange and Rivaille!' her grandpa nodded, 'The Hange and Rivaille we know? Ever since Hange came to give us the news about your aunt Ilse, they drop by now and then, and often with gifts.'

'Just to make sure that everything is ok and see if there is anything we need from them. Remember the time your grandpa was in hospital to fix his prostate?' her grandma added.

'They came to visit at the hospital and made sure that I get the best care. After their visit, even the best doctors came by to ask about this and that.' said her grandpa.

'Oh, yes. Even the head surgeon stopped by and asked us 'to put in some good words with the big bosses' since there was an opening at the director's level,' her grandma commented, her wrinkled up face filled with pride.

'They also picked up the bill. You know how worried we were. Hospitals these days are so expensive. There was no way that we could afford the surgery without their help.' her grandpa nodded, 'Hange and Rivaille, that very nice couple!'

'Couple? Hange and Rivaille? You guys are wrong! How could they be a couple? Rivaille is in a secret relationship with Eren. He was an ex-lover of the his old Commander, Erwin Smith. There is no way he could fall in love with a woman! Unless, unless, the rumor is right and she is a transvestite. But then again, he should be in this relationship with his old assistant Moblit.'

Deeply shocked by her grandpa's bold claim, Tory had to stand the ground and make sure that her grandparents know the Truth. Hange and Rivaille? A couple? That was pure blasphemy and had to be corrected.

'They might be always by each other's side, but that is only because they are business partners for life.' Tory dutifully recited the Truth, Canon #7, that every fan of the Scout Legion knew by their heart.

'Oh my God!' her grandma's jaw dropped.

'Oh, man. Young people of these days. What do they think?' her grandpa shook his head, and started to pull out his pen and a piece of paper.

'You have got to go to see them. You have to. Please do go to see them-see for yourself! You will see how much they love each other and the way they hold each other's hand...' her grandma took her hands into her palms and almost begged her.

To her surprise, Tory did not need to wait for long to see Hange and Rivaille. A couple of days after her grandpa mailed his letter out. They got Hange's reply. In the letter, she wrote:

'It is always a pleasure to comply to a request from the parents of a fallen comrade. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to show our appreciation by being of any assistance to her family members. The spirit of inquisitiveness runs deep in the blood of your family. The Scout Legion will never forget how much we had benefited from it. Now it is our turn to oblige to the same nature in the beloved niece. With this letter, she can approach anyone from the Legion, now or past, and they will answer any question she wants to ask.

Yours sincerely,

Hange

In the name of the beloved blue and white wings'