All Levi could do was grumble to himself as he walked down the hallways of Trost Academy after school. He simply couldn't believe that Erwin was forcing him to do his science assignment after school. He had better shit to do.

Although, he knew that it was partially his fault. When he heard that his biology class was dissecting frogs yesterday, Levi simply couldn't stand the thought of having to touch a pus filled corpse. He already tolerated enough things at that school anyways, and he was not about to tolerate one more disgusting thing. And so, he skipped class.

It was certainly a bad idea and quite uncharacteristic for the usual rule follower that he was. Perhaps his old thuggish instincts were coming back to him, especially since he had met up with his old friends Furlan and Isabel in the alley behind the school while he skipped 1st period. And yet, Erwin had caught him in the act and assigned him to do the frog dissection the next day after school.

So there he was, hauling his bag in one hand and pushing into the biology classroom. The scent of swamp water immediately filled his nostrils and he had to fight the urge to empty out his entire can of Febreeze in the room. He didn't have time to, however, as he heard some commotion in the back closet. He wasn't alone.

Levi had a good guess of who else was in the biology classroom at that time of day, and his guess was obviously correct when he opened the closet door to see Hange rummaging around through it. Her glasses were on her forehead, giving him a clear view of her surprised expression when she saw him.

However, that quickly went away and she went back to her usual cheerful self. "Ah, Levi! Funny seeing you here." Levi just grunted in response. He had to figure out how to do that dissection instead of chatting with Hange. And yet, she continued talking, "Erwin did warn me that I shouldn't be using the classroom today because someone was coming to complete an overdue assignment, but I hadn't expected to see you of all people, Levi!"

Levi rolled his eyes and grumbled, "It wasn't even overdue it was just...ugh. The hell are you even doing here if Eyebrows told you to scram?"

"Scientific curiosity is never bound by rules," she stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, I wasn't planning on staying very long. Just needed to find a few research papers. I swear I left them here..." Her eyes averted back to all the clutter in the closet as she continued searching.

Levi on the other hand was simply worried about how the hell he was even supposed to do this frog dissection. First of all, where was all the equipment? The frog? And second, what was he supposed to do during the dissection? Any papers to fill out? Maybe he should've just stayed in class yesterday. It would've been easier than this.

Hange sighed and shook her head. "Well, I think I'll be off now, Levi. You can do your...whatever you're doing." She pulled her glasses back over her face and swerved past him out of the closet.

"Oi, Hange," Levi followed her out of the closet, his voice the usual stern tone. She turned around to look at him with a questioning stare. "How do you dissect a frog?"

She was a bit taken a back by his rather blunt question. Levi rarely ever asked for help with things, but just this once he thought he could ask for this from Hange. He wanted to get this over with, so who cared?

"Is...that your assignment?" Hange tilted her head slightly. He nodded and a smile immediately plastered across her face. He knew that expression. That was the look she had when she was getting a bit too excited about something scientific related. "A frog dissection! Gosh, I haven't done one of those in forever." She remarked as she grabbed her white lap coat that was draped over one of the classroom chairs. "You know, since my class did that a while back."

"I don't care about your goddamn advanced sciences four-eyes," Levi rolled his eyes as he watched her fluff her jacket when she put it on. "Just...come on you owe me one after I gave you my lunch last week."

"Oh, have no fear my angst-filled friend, I'll help you," she grinned as she walked over to the cabinet and began taking out materials. Levi took note of all that she got: a platter, scalpel, two pairs of scissors, paper towels, pins, and yet, no frog. He stayed silent about it though and waited for her to finish setting up the dissection.

"And the frog?" he finally asked once it seemed everything was set. Hange looked at him expectantly and then did a double take.

"Where's the frog?" she glanced around as if it would just appear out of nowhere.

"I'm asking you that."

"What, you didn't bring one?"

Levi simply stared at her in disbelief for a few moments. "Was I fucking supposed to?"

"Do you not pay attention at all in Biology?" Hange snickered. Levi glared at her and she lightly sighed. "From what I remember, on the field trip that the biology classes take to Shiganshina, each student fishes out their own frog from the river. And you're supposed to use the frog you fish out for your dissection."

That sounded utterly stupid, but Levi did remember that trip. They had gone to Shiganshina last week, and no, he hadn't attended because of an injury he acquired in which he was forced to stay home. God, he was really missing out on everything, wasn't he?

"Aren't there any spare frogs or something?" Levi groaned.

"Trust me, I've been in the supply closet of times to know," Hange shook her head. At this point, Levi was ready to strangle somebody, namely Erwin since he was to some extent the main source of his problems.

Hange must've recognized that frustrated look, and she quickly began to reassure him, mostly for her own safety. "But, hey, it's fine if you didn't get one. We can always get one right now."

"What're you going to drive us to Shiganshina, Ms. Frizzle?" Levi retorted. "That's in a whole other province."

Hange sighed, "I know that. But we can always find a nearby pond or stream that has frogs for us to catch." How wonderful. He was now going fishing with Hange.

"Is this really necessary?" Levi asked as he gingerly stepped around the bushes and trees. He was deep in the forest outside of Trost with Hange, much to his dismay. He liked simple and sterile environments, not the dirty, bacteria infested woods.

"I already told you, the best place to find frogs is at an undisturbed pond," Hange explained. "I hope you're not scared. Like a little damsel in distress." She giggled.

"I will not hesitate to put my fingers on your shitty glasses lenses," Levi snapped, although he grabbed onto her shoulder for support when he stumbled slightly on a tree branch. He cursed under his breath and she just laughed some more.

Soon enough, they made it to the fairly sized pond Hange had indicated. The bank was a bit steep so Levi stopped at the top of it and looked at Hange expectantly.

"Well, go ahead," she gestured towards the pond. "Catch a frog."

"With what?"

"Your hands, what else?"

"Are you kidding me four-eyes?!" Levi glared at her. "Do you seriously expect me to put my hands in there? The water's green!"

Hange chuckled, "A little clean freak as always, eh? I'll get the frogs then." With that, she took off her lab coat, handing it to him.

"You're going in there?" Levi stared at her with disgust as she also took off her glasses. "I'm never coming within five feet of you again."

He held her lab coat for her, staring down at the fabric that was practically yellow. God, she hadn't washed it in forever, had she? He would keep a mental note of throwing her entire wardrobe in a washing machine later. Her glasses weren't as dirty; she actually kept them clean so she could see clearly through them.

Levi looked back up at Hange and then noticed with surprise that she was also taking off her gym clothes. That red hoodie and sweatpants that she always wore under her lab coat. She was prying them off hastily, leaving her in only a white t-shirt and underwear. All Levi could do was just stand there in mild surprise.

It wasn't as if he had never seen a girl in underwear, but this was Hange. He didn't even think he had ever seen her bare legs since she was always wearing such baggy clothing. She almost looked like a boy besides her long messy ponytail and obvious feminine facial features.

"Uhm, Hange..." he muttered, a bit too quietly for her to hear.

"Mind if I snag a second frog to take samples from?" she asked as she passed him her gym clothes.

Levi quickly snapped out of the weird trance he had been in, and returned to his usual sassy self. "Be my guest."

She nodded and simply dived into the water. He sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. So, here Levi was in the forest, with a half naked girl who was now getting soaking wet. Lord, he just hoped she was wearing a bra because that t-shirt was bound to be seen through after being drenched. He most certainly didn't want to see anything. Or did he? No, no. That would be absurd.

Levi seriously doubted that Hange could actually catch a frog if she just waded into the water. What did she expect, that it would just jump into her hands? But to his surprise, she actually did catch one.

"I got one!!" she screamed as she splashed in the water, trying to get a hold of the slipper creature. Levi snorted as he watched her struggle. Hange was being her usual chaotic self, but seeing her without a lot of clothing somehow...changed his perception of her. A little bit.

She squealed with joy as she finally had the frog in her grasp and she stood up in the pond, the water at her waist. She slowly began to step out of the pond, and...goddamn... Droplets of water were pouring down her body, dripping from her hair. Like he had guessed, her white shirt had become see through, and Levi could see her bare stomach and gray bra. Her skin glistened in the sunlight, slick with the pond water. He had to admit, she had a nice figure. She was hot.

Wait, what? No, seriously, what? Levi wanted to slap himself. Was he actually thinking of her as attractive? Even worse, was he sexualizing one of his best friends? He quickly shook away all of his thoughts. No, Hange was just another nasty person that he merely tolerated. She wasn't...no, she wasn't anything else.

Hange finally emerged completely from the water and rushed past Levi.

"What- where are you going?!" he turned on his heels and followed after her.

"We have to kill the frog!" she called back. "Quickly!!" Levi groaned and ran after her, still carrying all her clothing.

Levi watched Hange pin the now dead frog's limbs onto the small platter a few feet away from him. He leaned back in the chair he was in and couldn't help but sigh. His mind had been on what had happened back in the woods this whole time.

Not necessarily what he had seen, but what he had thought. What he had felt. They were strange feelings that he didn't recognize. But, oh, who was he kidding? His stupid teenage hormones were probably acting up. Damn puberty.

"Alright, great!" Hange out both her hands on her hips as she admired her handiwork of setting up the dissection. Lucky for Levi, she was now fully dressed, dirty lab coat in all its glory. "Now all you have to do is proceed with the dissection, fill out the worksheet, and maybe take a few notes just in case."

Levi mentally shook his head to gather his thoughts. He had to focus on the dissection. Just focus. Breathe in, breathe out. Simple as that.

"So how do you cut the thing open...?" Levi inquired hesitantly. He didn't want to seem completely hopeless, although when it came to this, he was.

Hange didn't seem to mind his ignorance though. "You can use those scissors and cut a line straight down the middle of the torso. And then make two horizontal lines at the bottom of those. Like you're drawing the letter 'I', but with cuts."

Levi shrugged and did as she said. He grasped the scissors in his hand and began to make a cut down the middle. As soon as the blade penetrated the skin, a clear liquid started oozing out.

He immediately retracted his hand. "The fuck is that?"

"Chill, it won't hurt you," Hange put her hand on his to make him continue cutting through. Levi cursed in his mind as he felt his cheeks heat up from the touch.

Levi continued with the dissection and Hange guided him through it. They cut through the frog's skin, muscles, sternum, and finally reached all of its organs.

"Alright, see, there are its livers," Hange pointed with the scalpel. "And the lungs, heart, stomach. These yellow things are fat." To Levi, it all simply looked like a green and gray mess. All the organs looked the same. And felt the same.

"Can you tell if it's male or female?" she asked. Levi thought for a moment. He recalled that they had gone over the difference between the gender of the frog in class, but he honestly couldn't think straight with Hange so close to him.

During this whole dissection, she had been so gentle. She wasn't being her usual crazy self like he expected. She didn't bombard him with frog facts or try to take over the dissection for her own research. She softly guided him through the steps of how to do it. Perhaps she was just worn out after a long day at school? Or had she noticed his change of behavior as well?

When Levi didn't say or do anything for a while, she spoke up again. "The reproductive organs would be located under all these other organs down here." Again, her voice had a soft edge to it.

"Right..." he mumbled and used the scissors to push away the other organs carefully to take a look at what was underneath. "It's female," he said once he noticed the eggs. "A young one at that."

Hange's eyes lit up. "You're right! This one's eggs aren't fertilized and it's relatively small, so it must be a juvenile." She chuckled. "You know, you could make a good assistant in the lab once Moblit graduates.."

Levi scoffed, though it held some amusement. "In your dreams, shitty glasses."

Once they were done with the dissection, they threw the frog in the trash, much to Levi's relief. He took it upon himself to wash off all of the reusable materials, while Hange packed her things to leave. Man, they had spent forever on this one assignment, it was almost five o'clock. Once he was also packed up and ready to head out, Levi paused for a moment.

"Hey, Hange?" his voice was rather soft. She looked up at him from where she was zipping up her bag.

"Yeah?"

"You said something about your research papers a while back."

"Oh, yeah, I was looking for them in the closet. What about them?"

Levi lightly sighed and thought hard. Should he really ask this and put them in this situation? Ah, to hell with it.

"Do you wanna go search for them one last time in the closet?"

Hange smiled. "Aw, you'd help me shorty?"

"Shut it, four-eyes. I'm only helping you because I know you can't see for shit with those glasses." Levi gestured for her to follow him into the closet.

Hange leaned against the doorway to the small room and watched as he lightly kicked some of the clutter in it. "You call that searching?" Levi simply rolled his eyes. "In all honesty, I seriously doubt that my research papers are here. I looked for them for nearly all of study hall."

"With those eyes?" he raised an eyebrow and she took a few steps into the room, her hands stuffed in her coat pockets.

"Don't go hating on us blind people so much," she chuckled.

"I'm not. Just hating on you."

"Touché."

There was a pause before Levi spoke again. "So, your research papers are seriously gone?" Hange nodded. "Well, that's what happens when you're a disorganized loser."

Another laugh came from her, and he could've sworn he saw her take a cautious step forward. A question. "Sassy as ever I see."

He also took a step closer. The answer. And he didn't say anything more to her remark. Because both of them were now acknowledging the tension that had built throughout the course of the day. All the flirty teasing, the intrigued glances, the moments of privacy in which it was clear they were acting different. Their friendship was getting dangerously close to the line between friends and something more.

And perhaps they should see how close they could get.

It all happened so fast. They both stepped closer; Levi pushed her glasses up to get easy access to her face. And so he could stare into those light brown eyes. Her hands found his waist and locked with each other behind him, trapping him in an embrace. Likewise, his own arms trailed up her sides and around her neck; one of them hanging loosely off her shoulder while the other moved to cup her face.

And soon their eyes fluttered shut and their lips met. It wasn't passionate or intense like they had thought, given all of the tension that they knew had blossomed between them. It was light. Soft. Neither of them tried to get access inside the other's mouth. They both simply cherished the bittersweet wholesomeness of it all.

And as quickly as it happened, it ended.

They both quickly pulled away from each other completely. Levi could still feel the touch of Hange's lips lingering on his. She pulled her glasses back down and cleared her throat.

"So...maybe we should just..." she began.

"Yeah..." Levi quickly responded. He understood it, he felt the same way, but he couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that was making his chest feel tight.

Then to his surprise, Hange's mouth twitched into a smirk. Though, he really shouldn't be surprised anymore. "You know, if I knew that having you accompany me on science adventures would be so interesting, and end like this, I'd invite you more often."

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes, pushing past her back into the classroom. "Yeah. You and your stupid science shit."

His tone held amusement as he grabbed his bag. And this time to Hange's surprise, she could make out the slightest hint of an upturned angle on his lips.