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Despite the fact that he was gruff and didn't smile, Levi was prone to doing very kind things. But it didn't escape Mike's notice that he was concentrating his kindness on one person. He side eyed him as they rode home from a mission. Erwin gave him special permission to ride out of formation, next to the wagon where Hange sat with a rather minor injury.
“Keep your damn foot elevated,” he said.
“You're starting to sound like my damn mother,” she said.
“Tch, don't come crying to me when you can't do your damn field research anymore,” he said.
Mike raised an eyebrow. True, lots of people bickered with each other in the Survey Corps, but something about the way Levi bickered with Hange was funny. Mostly because Hange didn't bicker too often, she wasn't fond of wasting her energy like that. Nanaba came along side him.
“They're about the most interesting thing on the ride home, don't you think?” she said. He nodded. Perhaps this was an elaborate ruse made up by Erwin to entertain himself. Mike searched for Erwin. He didn't know if he was surprised to see him some distance behind them, close enough to hear them go back and forth. And now Mike was curious. Erwin was a man of few enjoyments. Mike hadn't seen him so engaged in observing human interaction since...well that was a memory he didn't want to bring up.
Nanaba giggled as Hange unsuccessfully attempted to punch Levi's arm.
“Man, they're like this now, I wonder what they'd be like if one of them was jealous,” Nanaba said.
“Hm...” Mike said. His eyes landed on Erwin and back to the two of them, Levi was glaring and staying out of the way of Hange's wild swats. Since Erwin was taking an interest in their interaction, Mike supposed it was worth making it interesting for him.
Mike wasn't exactly like Erwin, who played elaborate games of human chess. Sometimes the best plans to mess with people were simple. He and Nanaba headed for breakfast a few days after their failed mission. Hange was hopping down the hall trying to get to breakfast. Without explanation he left Nanaba's side and went to her. Hange blinked in surprise at how suddenly he appeared.
“Hey, Mike. Don't mind me. Just trying to get to food is all,” she said.
“Let me help you,” he said. He carefully scooped her up and carried her into the mess hall. Mike spotted Erwin and Levi sitting together. He noted Erwin's carefully hidden smirk that he knew no one else would see, but Levi's face was unreadable. The point was, in Mike's mind, that Levi did not take his eyes off of them. He set Hange down, elevated her foot and got on one knee and held her hand. She squinted her eyes and gave him a long, blank stare.
“What...what's going on?” she said.
“You're injured. Do you want anything?” he asked.
“Ah...” her cheeks turned a little red and she looked over her shoulder at Levi. He wasn't looking anymore. “Maybe...pancakes?”
“You've got it,” he said. When he returned, he found Nanaba sitting across the table from Hange. No matter, he could still do his worst. He have Hange pancakes, tea, milk, the works. Nanaba watched in awe. “Do you need help with anything else?” he asked and held her hand.
“N-no. I'm all right. Just talking to Nanaba, that's all,” she said.
“Okay, I'll be right here,” he said.
Breakfast was rather uneventful. But as soon as she was finished, he had her in his arms again.
“Mike, this is really unnecessary,” she said.
“Do you want to go to your office or your lab?” he asked.
“Oh, fine. Since you're going to do it, I need to go to my office,” she said. He nodded and carried her off. He cast a quick glance at Levi to see if he had a reaction. Nothing. Or so he thought. They'd barely gotten more than a few steps out of the mess hall before Levi seemed to materialize next to them.
“Oh hey, Levi,” she said.
“How's the foot, Shitty Glasses?” he asked.
“It's fine. Mike apparently wants to help me, I guess,” she said.
“What can I say? She's my precious, Zoë,” Mike said. He kissed her temple and she squeaked in surprise. Levi raised his eyebrow.
“Okay. As long as you're doing better,” he said and walked off. Mike snorted. No reaction. Hange on the other hand swatted his shoulder.
“What the hell was that?” she said.
“An experiment,” he said.
“I'm all for science, but I do not approve of this experiment at all! You're going to make...someone very jealous!” she said.
“Doesn't seem like it.”
“You're wrong, someone is very jealous. You should stop.”
Mike sighed. It didn't seem like this was going to go anywhere.
“All right, Hange,” he said. “I'll take you to your office still.”
She put her arms around his neck. “Thanks. It'll be much faster than walking there.”
Maybe his experiment didn't yield the results he wanted. But helping his friend out was worth it.
When he returned to his room late that evening, he found a knife stabbed through his pillow and a note in obsessively neat handwriting that said, “You're dead.” Mike had an idea of who did it. He crossed his arms and chuckled a bit.
“Well, someone beat me to it,” a voice behind him said. He turned to see Nanaba leaning on the door jamb.
“You have it out for me too?” he said.
“A little,” she said. That made him turn to her fully.
“What did I do?”
She let out a breath through her teeth. “I just...I guess I'm a little jealous of the attention you give Hange sometimes.”
He squinted and took her hand and guided her to the bed.
“Why would you be jealous?” he asked. She looked away.
“I don't know. No reason really,” she said.
“You know Hange and I are friends.”
“I know. I just can't see you carrying me around if I was injured.”
Her cheeks flushed a little and it dawned on him. The someone Hange warned him would be jealous wasn't Levi. In fact, there was a chance Hange had no idea that Levi liked her. He cupped Nanaba's cheek and kissed her forehead.
“It's getting late,” he said. “You should rest in your room.”
He carried her. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Mike laughed and Levi's expense, but he was the one who was oblivious. He got her to her room, put her on her bed and held her hand.
“Is there anything you need?” he asked.
“I bet you do this with all the girls,” she said.
“Well you saw me first hand.”
She ran her fingers along his collar. “Can I...can I touch your beard?”
He laughed. “Sure, go for it.”
She ran her fingers over his chin and over his mustache. He couldn't stop laughing, her touches were so gentle and tickled him a bit. That wasn't fair. He rubbed his chin against her neck, earning a squeal from her. She giggled and put her hands on either side of his face.
“Anything else you want?” he asked.
“I want you to hold me,” she said. He blinked a bit. That wasn't expected. But he couldn't say that he didn't want this. “Just...just for a little while.”
He lay on his side on the bed, she pressed her back against his stomach. She sighed and rested her head on his bicep as he put his arm around her waist.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“No need to thank me,” he said. “You'll spoon me next time.”
She laughed. “Of course.”
It wasn't very late when he left Nanaba's room. The a light was lit in his room. He certainly wasn't expecting a visitor. He supposed he had to face Levi eventually. When he opened his door, he was surprised to find Erwin there.
“Good evening,” Erwin said.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Mike said and crossed his arms. “Well, you have something to say, don't beat around the bush,” Mike said.
Erwin put his hands behind his back and walked toward the window. “You seem to notice something interesting going on in our ranks.”
“You mean between Levi and Hange?” Mike said.
“Yes. I'm interested to see what happens.”
“I'm not making Levi jealous again. That is suicide apparently.”
Erwin shook his head and snorted. “I don't mean make him jealous. Just observe and report.”
Mike could not believe what he was being asked to do.
“You mean spy on my best friend and the guy who likes her?” he said.
“I'm interested in seeing how Humanity's Strongest interacts with Humanity's Smartest,” he said.
Mike shrugged. “When you put it that way, I suppose it could be fun.”
In reality, it sounded like they were just going to be like gossiping girls. But what more could they look forward to? This form of amusement could end quickly if one of them died. They may as well enjoy it while it lasted.
Erwin started to leave. “It should be easy for you. You have Nanaba on your side as well, I see.”
Mike froze. “Erwin, you seriously need to get laid sometime.”
“So I've heard,” Erwin said as he left the room.
Mike sat down on his bed and sighed. Erwin was making him spy on the man who was probably going to kill him for flirting with “his” girl. At least he could look forward to Nanaba cuddles to get him through.