Chapter Text
Hange’s Skype goes off as she’s getting ready for her morning shift, Erwin’s icon popping up as she buttons her shirt, leaving her scrambling across the bedroom in a tangle of clothes in order to answer in time.
She slams a finger on her mouse, practically screaming Erwin’s name as his blurry face appears on the screen, coming into focus as she perches her glasses on her nose. She flashes a smile at the monitor as she stumbles into her desk chair.
"Hey Hange," Erwin laughs, voice sounding through the speaker. His hair is cropped short, pushed back and gelled on his head, sweat beading on his forehead. "It’s good to see you’re doing okay."
"I should be saying that to you!" Hange says. "How have you been?"
"Same old," Erwin answers. "It’s hot as hell here, though. Where’s Levi?"
"He had to go to work early," Hange says, a hint of disappointment in her tone. "He has a meeting halfway across the city."
"I’m hoping him and Nile are behaving well?"
"Don’t even mention Nile," Hange groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. Erwin’s laugh booms from her monitor, his image freezing on the screen. "If I have to hear Levi complain about him or his damn goatee again I’m going to smash something. Damn asshole just can’t accept his beard is against the fucking uniform standards."
"Let the poor guy grow his poor excuse for a beard - no, Mike, I’m not talking about you -" His image starts to move again, movements choppy and broken as he pushes someone offscreen. "He’s a higher rank than both of you."
"I didn’t know that meant he can break uniform standards." Hange mutters.
"Doesn’t mean you should be rude to him, either."
"Listen Erwin," Hange says, straightening in her seat. "As much as I love to trash talk Nile with you, I need to leave soon. I know Levi should be here when I tell you this. But I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to tell you-"
"Don’t say that," Erwin interrupts.
“When I’ll get another chance to tell you this,” Hange corrects herself. She shuffles around on her desk, pulling a pink stick from the mess of papers scattered across their room. She holds it up to the camera, pink plus sign large and distorted in the small window at the bottom of her screen.
"Levi and I may have had too much fun without you here."
Erwin holds a hand over his mouth, pixellated tears welling in the corners of his eyes. “You’re…”
"Yeah," Hange says, her own tears threatening to spill from her cheeks. She lets out a pained sound from her throat, a laugh almost bordering on a sob. "You better come back home to us in one piece."
"I can’t promise that."
"But you’ll try," Hange says, wiping her eyes. She forces a smile on her face, Erwin mirroring her.
"I love you. All three of you. "
"I love you, too. Levi says the same."
Erwin raises his eyebrows, his puzzled face freezing again. “Did he really?”
"Well, he said that he’ll kill you if you don’t get your ass home and help us with the new brat," Hange says, "but you know what he means."
"I need to go, Erwin," she sighs. "Please stay safe."
"I’ll try my best," he murmurs, flashing her a comforting smile before his face disappears from the screen.