Chapter Text
“That's all. The rest of you are released. Dress your best, and entertain to get them to invest.” A loud sigh was emitted from the survey corps as their commander had released them for the rest of the day. The survey corps needed more funding for new equipment to execute their new strategies, and they weren’t exactly overflowing with cash at the moment. So Erwin decided to host a ball to raise funds for them.
“Heichou, did Erwin assign you an investor to ‘persuade’?” Hanji asked, a grin tugging on her lips at the idea of Levi dancing with a woman. She saw Levi glare at her before answering.
“Tch, What do you think?” She pouted, clearly disappointed that she wouldn’t be seeing Levi ballroom dancing tonight.
“Guess Erwin knew you wouldn’t exactly be the best person for that.” She laughed as his glare pierced through her.
“Shut up four-eyes. Go get dressed. If you’re leaving with me, you’re leaving on time.” She rolled her eyes as he walked into the room opposite hers, slamming the door unnecessarily hard.
Levi stood in the mirror, adjusting the damn bowtie that couldn’t seem to fit on straight. He disliked suits with a passion. They restricted his movement and didn’t let him do vigorous tasks (aka cleaning), but they always seemed to get dirty in the places you least expected them to. He sighed, finally straightening his bow and looked at the time. It was almost time to leave. He ran his fingers through his hair one last time before shutting the door behind him. He rapped on Hanji’s door sharply and waited.
“Levi is that you? Come in!”
He cringed at her excessively loud voice. “You know, inviting someone in before even knowing who it is isn’t exactly a smart idea, smartass.” The sarcasm was undeniable in his voice as he shut the door behind him. He turned around to face a half-dressed Hanji Zoe struggling to tie up the ends of a dress around her neck.
“Yeah, but I knew it was you. You’re the only person I know who raps on my door like they’re about to break it.” She snickered.
Levi sighed as he walked towards the struggling female and tugged on the two dress straps signalling for her to let go.
“Well the only reason I knock on your door so loud is because you’re always talking to yourself, and you’re literally half deaf to things you aren’t interested in.” He tied the two straps into a neat bow and sat down on her dressing chair. Hanji laughed as she figured Levi had a point. She turned around to look at him and gasped overexaggerated, clasping her hands together as her smile widened.
“Levi, this has got to be the first time I’ve seen you in a suit.”
“Same goes for you four-eyes. You’ve never worn anything remotely feminine since you joined the survey corps.” He paused, thinking. "Or since you were born as a matter of fact."
“I have!” She exclaimed, trying to recall a counterexample.
“Not.” He finished for her.
She sighed as she realised he was quite possibly right.
She huffed, turning away from the male. “Then appreciate this rare chance to see me in a dress.”
“I am.” Silence enveloped the room after that. Levi continued looking Hanji in the eye, never breaking eye contact. Her hair was still in a high ponytail, but the ends were slightly curled, bringing more attention to her face. Her glasses weren’t on, she was probably wearing contacts.She wore light makeup, so light you almost couldn’t tell it was there, but he could tell. She wasn’t that fair skinned. He knew how many hot afternoons they had spent together chasing titans, and sometimes even capturing them, which was significantly more difficult and a waste of his time. Her dress tied around her neck, leaving the majority of her back exposed. The rest of the dress flowed down around her legs. From his position, he could see the thigh garter strapped beneath the dress. She had at least three knives on each leg, varying in sharpness and size. He made a mental note of this. She shifted under his gaze and Levi snapped out of his trance.
“We should get going four-eyes.”
Hanji cringed at his nickname for her. “I’m not even wearing my glasses!” She watched him roll his eyes to the back of his head, and she bit the inside of his cheek. He wanted to make fun of her? Fine. Two could play at that game.
She bent down slightly to reach his height and whispered in his ear “Shorty."