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It had been a few months since Levi and Hange abandoned everything and settled in the forest. It wasn't ideal, to say the least, but they both managed. After a lot of hard work on Hange's end, they finally had a roof over their heads and didn't have to worry about the rain as much as they did in the beginning of their new life. The house only had one main room with a small kitchen, but it served them both well. They enjoyed living in their little house. Levi had recovered well, considering how weak he was months ago. He was finally able to help around the house and walk small distances, but he still couldn't do too much to help. He spent his time watering their plants and making food for the two, and even cleaning the house when he wasn't feeling too bad.
Hange had no problem with their friend's disabilities and helped him work around them. Levi, on the other hand, felt useless because of it. He used to be humanities strongest, but suddenly he was weak enough to need Hange to help him around. The same Hange Zoe that he used to forcefully bathe when they ignored their personal hygiene was now taking perfect care him. Hange did all of the tasks that Levi would have lots of trouble with, such as hunting for food and collecting firewood. Hell, they even cleaned up after themselves without needing him to remind them. It was all so bizarre to Levi, and he sometimes questioned if it was reality. And every time, they'd confirm that it was indeed real by doing something that only the real Hange would attempt to.
They were as curious as ever. Wherever they saw something interesting they would rant to Levi, who couldn't do anything but listen. And occasionally, they'd bring something along with them to display their findings. Hange would speak in that inquisitive and enthusiastic tone that was once only reserved for titan research. Levi would never admit it out loud, but he loved moments like this. It felt like nothing changed. It was like they were still in the survey corps, but before Eren and the rest of 104th joined.
Levi was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of hard rain hitting the roof of their newly built house. He remembered the first day it rained while they were here. Levi was still very injured then, and Hange had scrambled around to find a place to keep him dry. In the end, they wrapped the driest blanket they had on Levi and let him lay on their lap. Levi had to admit, it was comfortable even though Hange's clothes were soaking wet. He could feel them shiver from the cold, but they couldn't do anything to help them. So he stayed put and fell asleep right after feeling them tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear.
Hange slammed the door open, all dirty and wet from running home. Levi turned his head to them with their usual blank expression. They smiled at him, excited about something. Perhaps something they found on the river bank?
"Leviiii! Guess what," They ecstatically spoke and waited for an answer.
"You find titan shit or something?" He replied, trying to sound as bored as he possibly could.
"No, obviously not. Titans don't defecate and I've told you that before!" Hange answered, "And I know that you hate it when I bring stuff like that into the house." Levi nodded in agreement. It was nice to know that they were on the same page.
"Anyway, TAADAA!!" Hange revealed their finding with enthusiasm, "I got a big one!!" It was a really big red fish. Definitely not what Levi was expecting, but he understood the excitement.
"We're going to have a feast tonight!" They placed the fish on the newly built counter, still grinning from ear to ear. They began to prepare the fish to be cooked.
Hange had done a good job at building the kitchen. They made sure to build the make-shift stove out of a non-flammable resource and put it in a safe place so the house wouldn't burn down again. Funny, it was also raining when their house caught on fire a while ago. Except that time it was useful to them as it stopped their home from burning down completely.
Levi slowly stood up, not wanting to lose balance and fall. He stayed in the same place, still standing, until he felt as if he was ready to walk. He walked to Hange and held onto their arm for support before taking the knife from their hands.
"Light the stove," Levi ordered, "I'll get it ready."
"Are you sure, Levi?" Hange was about to reach for the knife again but Levi nodded and began to cut the scales off of the fish. He could tell that Hange was worried about him but ignored their feelings and continued to work as they knelt down to start the fire. Levi's hands shook because of how cold he felt, but he continued.
It took a long time, but he finally finished. Hange eagerly took the fish and cooked it over their indoor fire. It didn't take long for the delicious smell of the cooked fish to fill the cabin, and Hange had to stop themself from drooling. It smelled ten times better than any other fish that they had caught before. The aroma itself was almost enough to make Hange put out the fire early and eat it.
Somehow they forced themself to wait and it was fully cooked. Hange put out the fire and handed some of the fish to Levi. It did taste a lot better than any other lunch they'd in a while. He let the taste savor in his mouth for a few seconds before going in for another bite.
"Do you remember when we first met Levi?" Hange broke the silence with a smile. Levi did remember it clearly. He nodded.
"You walked up there and just said 'It's Levi.'" Hange laughed.
"What else was there to say," Levi deadpanned, "And you came up to me and yelled about how excited you were."
"So you do remember!"
"How could I forget the day I nearly lost my hearing?"
Hange laughed even louder, nearly dropping their plate. Levi didn't get what was funny enough for them to laugh that hard but sighed softly, in a way for them to not hear.
The topic of first meetings brought up the war into Levi's mind. He wondered how everything was there. Did they defeat Eren? Were they able to stop the rumbling? No matter how much he hoped to know, he knew that hoping isn't enough to get what he wanted. He would probably never know what really went down until Hange felt as if it was safe enough to leave. Although he doubted they would feel that way for a while. Since even after a year they were still reluctant to let Levi go to the riverbank.
It was weird how protective Hange had gotten of Levi over the past year. Sure, there was still a chance for people to find them, but it wasn't like Hange. A lot of things that they did now wasn't like how they were in the past. And it bothered Levi. Just a tiny bit. But he let it slide. It was also something he couldn't do anything about.
He could see the exhaustion in Hange's eyes and movement increasing by the minute. They poked around at the remains of the firewood with a stick, waiting for Levi to finish eating. He wiped his hands clean with a cloth and acted like he was getting up. Hange rushed to his side to help. Levi used it as an opportunity to pull them down, resting their head on his lap as thunder rumbled outside. Hange visibly got tense and tried to get up, but Levi held them down firmly. He resisted the urge to scoff. It turns out he was still strong enough to hold them down after all.
"What are you doing?" Hange protested, "I still have chores." Despite their own words, Hange let themselves relax in Levi's arms as he brushed a strand of hair away from their face. Their body was too tired to be controlled.
"That can wait," Levi replied, looking into Hange's tired eyes. Hange raised their own hand to caress Levi's scarred cheek, letting out a soft chuckle. Levi gave a small smile back.
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UNFINISHED :') SORRY
I"LL FINISH IT IN A FEW DAYS