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Nifa was the first one who noticed it. Hange was working very hard this week and so after Moblit managed to persuade her into taking a day-off, the members of her squad decided to use that day to clean their lab. And while dusting Hange’s office, Nifa saw it: a neat stash of flowers, lying at her Squad Leader’s table. Nifa came closer to inspect it – the flowers were not arranged in a bouquet, but instead were laid out as though prepared for a herbarium.
“Guys!” Nifa called loudly.
A moment later, the other three members of Squad Hange entered her office.
“What happened?” Abel asked.
“Look!” Nifa pointed to the flowers. Moblit, Abel and Keiji simultaneously took a step forward, standing in front of Hange’s worktable. For a moment, they just confusedly stared at the flowers.
“It’s just flowers, Nifa,” Keiji said in a bored voice. “We’ve seen things on Squad Leader’s table that were far more bizarre than that.”
“You don’t understand!” Nifa protested. “Look, who was the last one to leave the lab tonight?”
“I did,” Abel said. “After Squad Leader and Moblit left, I was still finishing some of the paperwork.”
“And after that you left the paperwork on Hange’s table, right?”
“As I always do.” Abel replied, not understanding the point of Nifa’s questions.
“And have you noticed the flowers then?”
“Um, no?”
“See? Now you understand what that those flowers mean?” Nifa smiled triumphantly. All of her squad members collectively shook their heads. Nifa rolled her eyes at them and continued. “That means someone has left them for our Squad Leader! I think someone tries to woo her!”
“What?” Abel asked disbelievingly. “How did you reach that conclusion?”
“You would have reached it, too, if you weren’t so dumb,” Nifa said petulantly. “But fine, I’ll explain it to you. Everyone, save for Abel, left the lab earlier. The flowers weren’t at Squad Leader’s table then. Now, I doubt that it was Abel who left them there, because he isn’t that thoughtful,” Abel tried to protest, but Keiji elbowed him in the stomach, telling him to shut up. Giving Keiji a small thankful smile, Nifa continued. “So, if it wasn’t any of us, who could leave it there? Obviously, someone else, someone who knows our Squad Leader and what she likes, but who was too shy to give the present to her themselves. Someone who has a crush on her!”
“Well, it kinda makes sense,” even Abel couldn’t argue with Nifa’s logic, now that she explained her reasoning.
“That’s not simple flowers,” Moblit finally joined the conversation. He came closer to the table and tenderly touched the petals, inspecting them. “Squad Leader once gave me a book about beyond the wall flora. I saw those flowers there.”
“Yes,” Nifa said thoughtfully. “Now that you’ve mentioned it… I have never seen flowers like that before. Oh, someone has the biggest crush on our Squad Leader, that’s so cute!”
“And do you think it could be?” Keiji asked.
“Well, that’s easy,” Nifa smirked, looking at the clueless men around her. “It’s obviously Commander Erwin.”
Abel started to laugh obnoxiously. Nifa stared at him angrily.
“What’s so funny about it?” She asked. “They would make the most perfect couple. Just think about it! Our Squad Leader is so smart, and Commander is smart too! And, he’s incredibly handsome, just imagine how beautiful they would look together!”
“I agree with Abel,” Keiji said, earning himself a glare from Nifa. “I really doubt that Commander has the time to go behind the walls just so he could gather some flowers. Besides, there is nothing to support your theory, except the fact that they would look good together.”
“I’ve got other arguments! Remember Squad Leader’s birthday? When all of us gathered in a mass hall for celebration? Commander was there too and he danced with Hange three whole times!”
“That’s weak argument,” Keiji protested. “Squad Leader danced with everybody that evening. Even Abel got lucky!”
“Hey!” Abel shouted, offended. “But Keiji is right. Squad Leader even managed to dance with Captain Levi, so that doesn’t count.”
“Fine!” Nifa threw her hands in the air. “Then what theories do you have?”
“I’d say, it’s Squad Leader Mike,” Keiji said.
“Hm,” Nifa thought about it. “He does act somewhat affectionately towards our Squad Leader and they know each other for a long time. You may be right. Abel, what do you think?”
“Why do you think that it is someone from Survey Corps?” Abel replied. “It could be someone from other military branches. A Garrison soldier or a member of Military Police.”
“That’s a stupid assumption,” Nifa said. Abel wanted to protest, but she silenced him with a raise of her hand and continued. “But possible. Although, if it is truly someone from Military Police, then I hope Squad Leader would break their heart. I hate those guys.”
“Oi, Moblit, what do you think?” Abel asked.
“Yeah, you are Squad Leader’s right-hand man, after all,” Keiji said.
“And you spent a lot of time with her,” Nifa added. “You surely must know who has a crush on her.”
“Um,” Moblit scratched his neck, nervous of all the attention he suddenly got. “I actually think… that it could be Captain Levi.”
“What?” Nifa asked disbelievingly. “You think he likes our Squad Leader?”
Moblit tentatively nodded.
“Nah,” Nifa dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Have you seen him? He always looks so bored, I doubt he even has emotions.”
“Yeah,” Abel agreed. “It’s hard to picture him doing something so thoughtful. And, to our Squad Leader of all people! He’s so rude to her sometimes.”
“And they argue so often,” Keiji added.
Moblit wanted to explain that usually their Squad Leader and Captain Levi weren’t arguing, but bickering and that Captain was always looking out for Hange, especially during expeditions. But suddenly the door opened, revealing Hange. She claimed that she was already well-rested and so they should continue with their work immediately. The members of Hange Squad hurried out of their Leader’s office, momentarily forgetting about their dispute.
Soon, Hange’s Squad forgot about that accident altogether. However, a month later, when Hange and Moblit went to the capital to meet with the higher-ups, they saw it again. Another gift, laying on Hange’s table. This time, it was a bag of sweets. Keiji, who was the one that noticed them, carefully opened the bag and looked inside. Hange loved sweets and everyone in her squad knew about that. However, way too often she was so busy that she got no time to ride into the town and purchase them for herself. So, whenever someone from the squad was out of the barracks, visiting family or going on one of Hange’s errands, they always brought back some candies for their Squad Leader.
Keiji inspected the insides of the bag and it turned out that it was Hange’s favorite candies. Well, Nifa would surely love to hear about it, he thought and called out to her.
“Another one?” Nifa asked delightfully, when she saw the candies.
“Oh, candies?” Abel walked in and immediately tried to take one from the bag. Nifa slapped his hand.
“Those are for Squad Leader! Take your filthy hands away!”
“Ouch,” Abel tenderly caressed his hand. “So, I take it, Hange got another gift from her mysterious suitor?”
“It looks like it,” Keiji said. “Although, it still doesn’t give us a single clue as to who had left them there.”
“It could be Commander Erwin,” Nifa proposed with an almost dreamy smile on her face. “He probably got a message that Squad Leader is coming back and decided to surprise her.”
“Or it could be literally everyone else,” Abel argued. “Probably everyone in Survey Corps knows how much Squad Leader likes candies.”
“So the mystery remains,” Keiji mused. “And that means we should get to work.”
Nifa and Abel groaned, but dutifully followed Keiji out of Hange’s office.
The third gift was by far the most bizarre. It was a book, although it had no name. When Nifa, Moblit, Keiji and Abel opened it, it turned оut that the book contained a series of theories about the life of their country before the Walls were built.
"Well, Squad Leader would be beyond happy when she sees that," Abel pointed out. Others members of Squad Hange agreed - their Squad Leader probably dreamed about this book since she was a child.
"And it also gives us some new clues," Keiji added.
"Indeed," Nifa agreed. "I don't think you can buy this book in a simple bookstore. It must come from someone with good connections. So," Nifa smiled victoriously. "There is really no doubt that it is Commander Erwin who tries to court our Squad Leader."
"It is possible," Abel said, fixing the glasses on his face. "But this book also supports my theory - a member of Military Police could easily obtain such book."
"Please, stop this nonsense with Military Police," Nifa whined. "I feel sick just thinking about our Squad Leader with one of those assholes."
"Actually," Keiji said. "It doesn't even go against Moblit's theory. As we all know, Captain Levi used to live in the Underground and he was a criminal. If he wanted, he could get this book, too."
"If he wanted," Nifa emphasized the last word. "Which I doubt he did."
"Well, recently he started coming to our lab more frequently than usual," Moblit pointed out, trying to defend his theory.
"I swear, he comes here only to argue with our Squad Leader."
"Love comes out in different ways," Abel said arrogantly, trying to irritate Nifa.
Nifa opened her mouth for some retort, but Moblit quickly cut her off.
"This discussion is getting nowhere," he said. "It would serve us better if we will return to work."
"Well, at least you are right in that." Nifa told him and then walked out of Hange's office.
"Hey!" Keiji shouted after her. "Be nicer to Moblit!" He put his hand around Moblit's shoulders. "Don't listen to her, my friend, our little Nifa just hates to be wrong."
"Oh, come on!" Nifa whined loudly. The rest members of Hange's squad hurried into their Squad Leader's office to see what Nifa was so upset about. Walking closer to Hange's table, they saw a pair of gloves laying there.
"Just yesterday I started knitting a pair of mittens for Squad Leader," Nifa explained.
It was winter already and the weather was freezing cold. However, it didn't stop Hange from working outside, testing Titan's resilience to the change in temperature. Hange lost her previous gloves and Nifa shuddered every time she saw her Squad Leader's red and obviously freezing hands. She decided to knit her a pair of mittens, but it turned out she wasn't the only who was worried about the state of Hange's hands.
However, Nifa couldn't help but admit her defeat this time. She suddenly realized that Squad Leader wouldn't be comfortable working in mittens. The gloves, though, were made from leather and they were much more suitable for Hange.
"Well," Abel began. "What do you think about it?"
Nifa opened her mouth to answer him, but suddenly the door opened and Hange walked in.
"Oi," she said, noticing that all of her subordinates were standing around her table. "What's the commotion about? Do you have a secret meeting?" She asked, grinning at her squad.
All of them remained quiet, not knowing how to explain themselves. In the meantime, Hange walked to her table and saw the gloves.
"Oh," she exclaimed. She took them in her hands and inspected them closely. A second later, she tried them on. "Oh, they fit perfectly! And leather is so smooth, it feels like a second skin."
"Squad Leader?" Abel tentatively asked. "You don't look all that surprised to see them. Does that mean that you know who was leaving you all these gifts?"
"Well, of course, I do," Hange replied simply, still looking at her new gloves. She didn't notice how her squad stared disbelievingly at her.
"You do?" Nifa asked incredulously.
Hange finally raised her eyes to look at them. A grin appeared on her lips.
"Oh, I know that look," she said with satisfaction. "You are curious about that. And you've probably got some theories, right?"
All four of them nodded and Hange clasped her hands.
"Let's hear them out then!" Hange went to her table and sat down there. "Who wants to start?"
Nifa took a step forward.
"I think, it's from Commander Erwin," she said.
"Why, Nifa, I am very flattered," Hange giggled. "But that's not our handsome Commander."
"Then could it be Squad Leader Mike?" Keiji tried his luck.
"Now, that would be interesting, but still no. Abel, you are next."
"I don't think that it is someone from Survey Corps. Maybe, someone from Garrison or Military Police. Or even a civilian."
"Well, that's some thinking outside the box," Hange said approvingly.
"That means I'm right?"
"Nah," Hange waved her hand. "I would never accept the gift from one of MPs."
"I told you so," Nifa told Abel, smirking up at him.
"Well, Moblit?" Hange looked expectantly at him. "Don't you have some thoughts on that matter?"
"Well..." Moblit began awkwardly, but Nifa cut him off.
"His theory was the most outlandish," she said.
"I still want to hear it," Hange said, smiling at Moblit encouragingly.
"I think..." Moblit began again. There was a slight blush on his cheeks, and he was looking everywhere except his Squad Leader. "I think it was Captain Levi."
Hange's smile widened.
"I knew you were my right-hand man for a reason," she told him with pride in her voice.
"What?" Nifa, Abel and Keiji exclaimed at the same time. "It was really Captain Levi?"
"Well, sure," Hange replied. "Who else could it be?"
They continued to stare at Hange in shock.
"Now that had been fun," Hange said as she got up from her table and headed towards the door. She was still wearing her new gloves. "But there's still much to do!" She finished cheerfully, as her squad followed her out of the office.
In the evening, the members of Squad Hange gathered in the mass hall for a cup of tea. They just finished their work and now were desperately trying to warm themselves.
“So, it really was Captain Levi, huh?” Keiji mused. “Who could have thought?”
“Moblit did,” Nifa said a bit petulantly. “I’m sorry for how I have behaved, by the way.”
“That’s fine,” Moblit waved her off, taking a sip from his cup.
“That’s really not!” Nifa protested. “I was an asshole to you and I want to apologize. Oh, I know, I’ll knit a sweater to you!”
“That’s really unnecessary, but… thank you, Nifa.”
Moblit smiled at her and Nifa smiled back, a light blush forming on her cheeks.
“Hey, guys, look!” Abel pointed to the window.
It showed the courtyard. There they could see their Squad Leader. Soon she was joined by Captain Levi. Hange Squad stared with great interest, as Hange approached Captain. She showed him her new gloves, smiling from ear to ear. Captain looked at her with his usual disinterested expression. Then, Hange walked closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. Her squad members continued to observe this interaction, curious as to what would happen next. Surely, now Captain Levi will push their Squad Leader away, following it with some rude retort about her. However, they were quickly proved wrong, as Levi remained standing next to Hange, looking up at her. Hange leaned in and gave the man a quick kiss on the lips. Nifa, Keiji, Abel and Moblit stared in shock. They saw how their Squad Leader tried to draw back from Captain, but he chased her lips, taking her face in his hands and giving her a more passionate and deeper kiss.
“Guys, I think we should leave,” Moblit said, looking away from the shocking display. The rest of the squad nodded and they all got up to leave.
“So, it’s really Captain Levi, huh.” Nifa whispered as she again glanced at the happy couple.