Mirage

A/N: Eighteen chapters because I turned eighteen today (May 16); but believe me it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's a good sign for me to still continue this story. Anyway, thank you guys for the continued support though, I really appreciate the reviews, the favorites and the follows; they motivated me so much.

Summary: Humanity's strongest soldier had secrets of his own. So when the woman he loved died, he turns on another for pure companionship and comfort. But a night of mistake has its consequences. Levihan.

Warning: So much words that'll give you the feels. Initially planned this to be very short! And this is really shitty.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: ULTIMATUM

The atmosphere was still with deafening silence, heated tension emanated from all directions as the chilly wind blew around them. Darkness started to claim the skies, the now ebony clouds blocking all traces of sunlight.

Their gazes lingered on each other, dejected hazel brown narrowing towards a blunt smoky grey. They stood frozen on their ground like their feet were pinned into that exact stationary position, neither of them hinting and initiating any form of movement.

Hange should've been prepared, but hearing those words come out of his mouth seemed to crack the armor she built to defend herself from having a broken heart. Thousand needles pricked her body but the intense pain from her insides seemed to completely fade as numbness slowly crept out in her system. She felt nothing; her severed heart that took forever to heal now merely stomped upon and crashed against the ground.

Thunder roared from the heaven. And another. Droplets of rain started pouring.

A perfect way to hide the tears that she had been holding back from falling.

Like the flash of the lightning, Levi moved so fast she barely registered him tugging her wrist, his grip tight and most likely bruising against her skin. The lawn that they walked in seemed like a wide field that took forever for the two of them to cross, but they managed to reach the small house Levi insisted he secretly built for them. Hange's eyeglasses started getting cloudy but she saw the man open the door. He flung her body inside, the movement so brash it almost made her off-balanced.

Levi immediately shut the door behind him. Grabbing her wrist once more, he pounded Hange against the door, her back hitting the hard wood. She felt so frail and fragile the action caused her body to slide against the door, and her ass landed on the ground with a soft thud.

Again, numbness dominated her body. Hange lowered her gaze. The dark-haired man suddenly knelt before her, leaned forward and pressed both his palms against the door, locking his body with hers and giving her no way out. "Hange, look at me," he muttered, his face a mask of uncertainness. Tilting the woman's chin, Levi saw the brown eyes he admired so much looking so affronted.

A sudden pang shot into his heart.

It was true. Before heading into this house that took two months for him to secretly build, he'd gone to Stohess District to face Darius Zackley himself. The stoic and greedy man had declared that the higher-ups had put so much thought into their dilemma and now came up with a conclusion. They granted him the divorce he and Erwin worked on for months, but with all the things that happened in his time with the wife he wanted to set free, Levi wasn't sure if he still wanted to push through it.

His face displayed the emotion he had locked away for a long time. "How long have you known about my plan?"

She blinked before answering, still trying to find her voice that has also been washed away as her world crumbled beneath her. A lump formed in her throat, her nails digging into the ground as she continued to make her eyes look defiant but it was evident that she was miserably failing. "The day before we got married, I overheard you and Erwin talking about it."

He crossed his forehead. That was the same day he told Erwin about his plan after contemplating it the night before. He had decided not to tell Hange about it until he succeeds in having their marriage be dissolved, and he'll admit it was hard on his part to keep this from her but he figured that if he told her sooner, she would've pried away from him instantly. It was like telling her that he didn't want everything to work out between them and had he really told her about it, then maybe things right now will be different.

At least for the time being as he awaited for the court to grant him the divorce he wants, then he and Hange could live a normal life as husband and wife. It may have turned out a little differently as he had unexpectedly fallen inlove with her but Levi has no regrets.

His eyes softened as they bore into hers, seeking her soul. Instinctively, he removed the clouded glasses from her face and stared deep into those hazel irises. "Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

A flash of hesitation crossed her features. Apparently, Hange thought she really had no reason why she decided to not to tell him. Maybe it was because she thought if she ever told him, they'd grow apart, knowing that all the moments they have shared will soon be forgotten once they went separate ways.

And she thought that with what little time she has from the probability of their marriage being dissolved, she vowed to at least attempt to instill enough care in Levi for the life growing inside her so that even when they separated, he would still want to be a part of their child's life. Hange had no delusion of a happy family but if Levi could at least show that he cared for his child, and still maintain a strictly civil relationship with its mother, it would be enough for her.

Somehow, she had succeeded at that because Levi seemed to be very concerned about their children's welfare. But the thing she feared the most had come.

Hange ignored the pain, attempting at a rather composed conversation with her soon-to-be ex-husband. She couldn't let him see through her, especially not now when she was at her weakest. A sigh escaped her lips. "I didn't tell you because I thought you'd think that I'd get in the way of your plans and I didn't want you to have the false impression that I… That I want to end our marriage, too."

His expression changed. "But do you?" Levi gritted his teeth and waited for his wife's response which took a really long while. Her eyes displayed something more than sadness, but he couldn't fathom it. The woman may be an open book to him, but it was like reading a complicated story that is so hard to grasp.

"I don't know," Hange, upon noticing the way his eyes pierced him, tried to avoid his gaze, which was becoming really uncomfortable now, and looked over his shoulder instead. "I don't know anymore."

Levi bit his lower lip, now growing a little impatient with the way things are moving. "Why?" he pressed, wanting to know the truth, attempting to crack the barrier that she is forming between them.

She closed her eyes for a brief passing moment before turning to look at him again, making sure her eyes still had the same fire and defiance she frantically wanted to convey.

This was what she hated about Levi the most. Once he started with the questions, there's no stopping him. He's like the male version of herself, curiosity always drives him to the point that he's willing to use force just to know the truth. Hange sighed. "You desperately wanted our marriage to end, and who am I to stop you from giving you the freedom you have craved all your life? Isn't that what most people do when they love someone, let them go no matter how much it hurts?"

Silence. The air around them shifted as contemplations began to form in Levi's mind, gathering coherent thoughts even though all rational arguments seemed to fall back and crumble. Her very words were the only thing echoing in his ear.

'Isn't that what most people do when they love someone, let them go no matter how much it hurts?'

It was the exact same thing on his mind, but he chose not to reply.

Hange continued. "You don't love me, Levi, but I do love you. You're the last person I thought I'd marry but here we are, expecting children in a few months. I didn't think I'd fall in love with you, but when I did, I fell really hard, and I don't even know how to stop, I don't ever want to stop."

Levi's eyes widened. He had no idea how to deal with honest emotions as his cold façade didn't equip him to have these feelings slip, but he swore at that exact moment, his heart stopped beating.

"But there's nothing I can do. Just give me the damn divorce papers and I'll sign them, if that's what you really want." Hange pushed his chest a little, feeling the hot skin against her palms. "And please let me go, I need to dry myself and change my clothes or else I'll get sick." She saw the reluctance in his face but the man pulled back and let her stand.

Hange looked around the interior of the house, trailing her eyes into the little surprise that Levi had prepared, which turned out to be the one final trigger to fire her emotions out through one raging bullet that she hoped shot straight into his cold heart.

He had been sitting there for almost an hour, not minding the fact that he hadn't changed the pants that had been drenched in the rain. It was dry now, anyway. Levi sighed, placing his elbows above the dining table he made from scraps of wood, and interlaced his fingers together.

'You don't love me, Levi, but I do love you.'

Hange loves him. She had admitted it herself, the words came tumbling out of her lips.

He wasn't sure what it was or how it was even possible, but he felt something strange in his heart, like it was getting hammered or something but instead of pain, all he felt creeping in was a sensation he hadn't known about until now. Levi gritted his teeth and grabbed the pot, poured some tea into his teacup, then held it the way he was accustomed to.

It angered him how he just chose to let the woman go instead of wrapping his arms around her body and tell her he loves her too. What is there to fear about anymore, now that he knew their feelings for each other are very much mutual?

Levi took a glance at the door of the room they'll share once they moved in. Hange went inside and hadn't gone out until now. It was quiet. He knocked earlier but she didn't respond. He just kind of hoped the woman had washed herself and changed her clothes, as he didn't want her to get sick. He had snuck in a few of her clothes so it wouldn't be a problem.

The problem would be how he would confront her.

Putting the teacup back down on the table, he got up without thinking, the courage now flaming in his heart admirable for someone who is accustomed to being cold and stoic. He moved towards the door and knocked.

No answer.

Without any more hesitation, he turned the knob and pushed, creating a small creak. The light coming from the lamp illuminated the stale darkness the room was in, and Levi saw Hange lying flat on their mattress, her face hidden behind the white covers. Her eyeglasses were neatly placed above the bedside table and a little glow caught his eye.

Sitting beside her eyeglasses was her wedding ring.

He walked his way to their bed, his feet feeling so heavy but his footsteps remained like a cat's, feathery and silent. Levi pulled the chair he stationed in one corner and sat beside his wife.

Hange's entire face was covered under the blanket, but one of her hands was stuck out and laid against the sheets. If it wasn't his eyes deceiving him, he could clearly see that her breathing seemed laboured as her figure moved up and down beneath the blanket. Slowly, he reached his hand out, placed it above her exposed one, and then squeezed it.

No response.

"Hange…." He muttered under his breath, her name rolling from his lips brought him a sense of relief.

A moment passed and he felt Hange's hand squeezing his own.

Levi bit his lip before deciding to gently flip the blanket off and reveal the face of the woman. He was greeted with the heated brown gaze that only she could muster, and he could feel them creating a path straight to his system. "Shitty Glasses. My Shitty Wife, please hear what I have to say."

Her eyes still displayed the same emotion they had earlier, fierce, defiant and something more. "No, Levi, I've had enough."

He sensed the bitterness in her words and he felt sorry for the pain he might have inflicted on her, he really was. "Hange, you have to hear me out. I'll go on whether you want it or not." Levi breathed hard before starting, pouring all his might into the words he's about to say. "You are loud and filthy and weird, what with all your Titan obsession and the eccentricities you have. But I want you to know that you're the only one who can make me smile when you do something crazy like when you're being hysterical you scare people off. Your sense of humour is pretty shitty, just like you and your glasses but I don't mind, I won't ever mind because in that way I could call you the name I'd like. I know I'm an asshole, I've said things to you that I know I shouldn't have but you welcomed those brash statements and returned them with the same whimsical wit that no one could ever counter. You're the only person who can understand what I have to say.

"But above all that, just like what you've said earlier, you're the last person I thought I'd marry and have brats with. But it happened. The way things started was a mistake, but as days passed by, when I see you smile, whenever I just place my hand above your belly and feel our kids moving, I just… I just couldn't help but be happy with how things ended up between us."

Levi sighed before leaning forward and pressing a kiss into her mouth, which she surprisingly accepted. She tasted so sweet, but there was a certain tang in her lips. He pulled back and saw that Hange's cheeks were wet with her tears. "Let me touch you, Hange. Because I've been dying to touch you eversince that night we shared."

Hange immediately sat up, anchored her arm around his nape and pulled him to her. "Please do. Make love to me, Levi."

And he did.

A/N: You've been warned. This chapter is so full of shit. Ick! But thanks for reading though. This was really short because I've been so drained about these two's feelings for each other I just had to make them blurt it out because it's been killing me. I SHIP THESE TWO SO HARD, YOU SEE. I'm done crying puddles over them! Ugh.