Work Text:
Furlan knew Levi for a very long time. He knew him almost his whole life. Levi was like a brother to him, and they’ve been through so much together – Furlan saw Levi angry, his fists trembling with barely conceived rage and hatred; he saw Levi hungry, weak and desperate, looking like a stray rat with greasy hair, torn clothes and dirty face; he saw Levi’s relaxed and peaceful expression, a ghost of a smile, dancing on his lips as they sat side by side, enjoying the rare blissful moments.
But in all those years, Farlan had never seen Levi acting like this.
Whenever he was near that woman, that Hange Zoe, something changed in Levi. Maybe the change wasn’t obvious for others, but Furlan had known Levi his whole life, and he noticed every little change in his friend. Furlan had known Levi, but if he hadn’t, he’d say that his friend was smitten with the weird bespectacled soldier.
Their relationship was weird, and hard as he tried, Furlan couldn’t even come close to understanding it. But still, he knew there was something between them.
Furlan tried to ask Levi directly about this, but whenever Furlan began talking about Hange Zoe, his friend would always make a face of disgust and start complaining about her. According to Levi, he was disgusted by Hange’s state of uncleanliness, he was annoyed by her blatant disrespect for people’s personal space, and he was weirded out by her extreme friendliness towards every person she came across.
And as Furlan listened to him, going on and on and on about Hange’s flaws and shortcomings, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that Levi’s complaining sounded a lot like gushing.
Furlan couldn’t decide how he personally felt about Hange Zoe. The woman was obviously a strange one. Her constant smile and boisterous laugh made him often wonder – was she just pretending or was she really always so positive and upbeat? And if the latter was the truth, if she really enjoyed her life inside the walls, surrounded by death and misery, then she was obviously a lunatic.
However the more Furlan watched her, the more he noticed some other things about Hange. He noticed how sometimes, when she was deep in thought or while she was listening to the commander’s plans, her gaze seemed to lose all of its mischief and amusement, as her eyes became focused, cold and calculating. When Hange became like this, Furlan always felt the need to suppress a shiver that wanted to run down his spine. Looking like that, Hange reminded him too much of Erwin Smith, the man that tricked them into joining the Survey Corps.
Not to say that Furlan despised him for that. Maybe, Erwin tried to use them in some scheme of his, but Furlan couldn’t say that he hated his life as a soldier. Sure, serving in Survey Corps, they were always in mortal danger, as every new expedition threatened them with death in the mouth of a Titan, but it was much better than living in the Underground. After all, it was much better to die by the hands of a Titan, fighting for some phantom future of humanity and surrounded by clear blue sky and fresh air, than wither away in damp and gloomy Underground.
Besides, Furlan’s friends seemed to like their new life. Isabel loved the sun, dancing on her skin, and she enjoyed their trainings, even if she still felt hostile about other soldiers. And as for Levi, it looked like he had finally found his purpose. Furlan was glad to see his friend’s talents were finally being used for something rather than stealing. However, just as their little Isabel, Levi didn’t seem to enjoy the company of other Scouts, as the only person he sometimes talked to was Erwin Smith.
And Hange Zoe, of course.
Hange Zoe, who bothered Levi almost non-stop, asking him a thousand questions and telling him a million of stupid jokes.
And Levi… Levi tolerated it.
Of course, he acted annoyed, but Furlan knew Levi. He knew that if Levi found someone to be annoying, then he made it crystal clear to them; and if they did not understand his words, then he used his excellent fighting skills to get his point across.
But Hange Zoe seemed to be an exception to this rule. Sure, Levi threw some insults her way every now and then, but he never even tried to push her away.
Even more so, when Hange was hanging out with her other friends, or when she was in middle of a training with her squad, Levi always watched her with a wistful, almost longing look in his eyes.
And Furlan… Furlan could not understand it.
He asked Isabel about this, surely she had noticed the same, but she just looked at Furlan like he was crazy, and then burst out laughing.
“Our big bro Levi and that four-eyed weirdo?” she managed to say in between her giggles. “Furlan, that’s the most absurd thing I have ever heard! I mean look at her!” Isabel pointed at Hange, who was passing them by, deep in her conversation with Erwin’s right-hand man, Mike. Thankfully, she didn’t even seem to notice Furlan and Isabel, or hear how Isabel was loudly discussing her.
“She is always dirty, her clothes reek and her stupid glasses are always muddy! And she talks too loudly and smiles too often. Besides,” Isabel regarded Hange for a moment, cocking her head to the side. “Besides, she is taller than Levi and isn’t pretty at all. No, even if Levi would ever fall in love, it wouldn’t be with a girl like her.”
Furlan didn’t say anything, thinking over Isabel’s words. She was right, of course, Hange seemed to be Levi’s complete opposite, their personalities and appearance clashed together wildly. But… But the facts remained. Whether Furlan understood it or not, Levi felt something towards that weird woman. Maybe, it wasn’t attraction, maybe it wasn’t affection, surely it couldn’t be love, but still there was something.
And one day, Furlan finally got his chance to find out the nature of relationship between his friend and Hange Zoe.
It was late evening, and Furlan and Levi was already preparing to go to bed, when they heard a knock on the door of their barrack.
Furlan rose up to answer the door, but Levi beat him to it, reaching the door in a few short strides.
“It’s four-eyes.” He told Farlan.
Furlan widened his eyes. Levi didn’t even open the door, but he already knew that it was Hange? Just by the sound of her knocking?
In the next moment, he opened the door, revealing the smiling Hange behind it.
“Hi!” she exclaimed, loud and cheerful as always. She poked her head inside and waved at Furlan, smiling widely.
“It’s almost midnight, four-eyes,” Levi crossed his hands on his chest, scowling at her.
“Yeah, I know,” Hange sheepishly scratched her head. “I just couldn’t sleep. Decided to come and ask, if you’re up to a night training. Are you?”
“You’re insane,” Levi breathed out. And without missing a beat, he added. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
“Yay!” Hange gave him another wide smile. “I’ll be waiting then. Goodnight, Furlan!” she said before exiting their room.
“Go to sleep,” Levi told him, as he began to put back his ODM gear. “I’ll try not to wake you up on my return.”
“Are you going out for a long time?” Furlan asked incredulously.
“Who knows?” Levi shrugged. “Four-eyes can be quite unpredictable.”
And Furlan just nodded, not knowing what to say. Levi’s relationship with Hange didn’t stop surprising him.
Furlan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. It was almost four in the morning, but Levi still didn’t return to their room. And so Furlan, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until Levi comes back, decided to go and look for him.
Putting on his jacket, Furlan exited the room and headed to the training grounds, hoping that Levi and Hange were still there.
And they were.
However, instead of training, they sat at the branch of the many trees that were there. Their backs were back to him, but Furlan could see that they were pressed close to each other, their shoulders touching. And when Farlan came a little closer, he was shocked to hear Levi’s quiet voice.
He couldn’t make out what exactly he was saying, but the actual fact that Levi, rude and cold Levi, Levi, who always tried to avoid people and who had only two friends, was talking to someone, was opening up to someone, in the middle of the night at an empty training grounds, was more than enough to shook Furlan to his core.
He kept looking at the strange pair for a while, and suddenly he saw how Hange moved slightly, laying her head on Levi’s shoulder. And Levi didn’t push her away, instead he tentatively and awkwardly put his hands around her, pressing her even closer to him.
And, seeing this, Furlan decided that he should leave those two alone.
He walked back to his room with a small smile on his lips.
Maybe he didn’t understand Levi and Hange’s relationship, maybe he would never understand it, no matter how much or for how long he knew Levi. Maybe he didn’t need to understand it, because even though Levi was his closest and dearest friend, his brother, there were some things about him that he would never get to know.
Those things that Hange Zoe would get to learn and explore and treasure. Because even if Furlan didn’t like her that much, even if he couldn’t understand her at all, he was sure that Levi was a very dear person to her heart.
And maybe, just maybe Hange Zoe was the person Levi always needed, always looked for. Maybe their hearts were connected and they were always destined to find each other.
Furlan looked up at the sky, admiring the greenish blue on the horizon as the stars still shined brightly, even as the sun was slowly starting to rise.
He breathed in deeply, savoring the fresh air that he couldn’t seem to get enough ever since he left the Underground.
Furlan chuckled quietly, his thoughts returning to the scene he saw at the training grounds.
“Maybe.” He whispered, feeling incredibly light and happy.