Work Text:
Erurihan Week:
Sharing
Hange burst into Erwin's office. She had her goggles on, her eyes wide, her hands shaking. He was terrified. What had she seen? What had she done? What had she discovered?
“Have you seen my...It's a scrap of fabric, it's really soft and...” she said.
“A handkerchief?” Erwin said, his eyes narrowing as she came over to his desk and stared opening and closing drawers.
“Y-yeah. I mean no. No. Not a handkerchief,” she said. She started reaching into Erwin's pockets and he grabbed her wrists. She met eyes with him briefly before she turned away just as suddenly as she invaded his space and floated off in a daze. Erwin tried to regain his composure in the minutes after her intrusion. Moblit charged in a huff.
“Have you seen—”
“She just left,” Erwin said. Moblit nodded and ran off. Erwin rubbed his temples. Hange was going to be the death of him.
Hange threw open Levi's door. He was sweeping out his room, the dust that had collected in his absence was overpowering. But Hange trailing her grimy footprints all over the floor was even more so.
“What do you want?” Levi asked. She started moving books, opening drawers.
“I just wanted to see...a scrap of fabric. It's really soft, kind of shiny. Very important,” she said.
“A handkerchief?” Levi asked.
“Not a handkerchief!” she shouted.
Levi was taken aback by her outburst. Hange could be pressed to emotional outbursts, but never quite as unprovoked as this one. She looked at him and lowered her head.
“Sorry, Levi. You don't deserve that. I...I'll see myself out,” she said. Levi just stared after her before shrugging and returning to his work. But he was unsettled. He didn't like being yelled at for one thing, but it was deeper than that. Hange wasn't herself. She was antsy with no purpose and this had a definite edge to it. She was angry.
“Not angry...” he said softly.
Hurt. She was hurt for some reason. If anyone could help him figure it out it was Erwin.
Together, they took tea. Levi stirred his for at least ten minutes before noticing it was getting cold and Erwin absently dumped in so much sugar, he had to pour his cup out.
“Hange is acting different,” Levi said.
“She's acting like she did before she had her Titan research,” Erwin said.
“The question is: why?”
They were both quiet. The steam from their tea curled through the air.
“She was looking for a piece of fabric,” Levi said.
“Not a handkerchief, though,” Erwin said.
“Soft, a little ragged and...” Levi trailed off. He'd seen it. She was up early (for once) and he'd seen her sitting on the edge of the bed with a ragged piece of cloth and rubbing it on her face. He was half awake himself, watching her was almost dreamlike. The grey light caught her just right, and the way she rubbed her face was more out of comfort than for cleanliness. It was special, it meant something. But more importantly he now knew where it was.
“We're searching your room,” Levi said. “I know what it is.”
Erwin frowned. “Why would it be in my...oh...did she leave it on one of those nights?”
“Possibly. She didn't find it in my room,” Levi said.
They went together to Erwin's room, silently side by side.
“What do you think it is?” Erwin asked.
Levi thought of his collection of wings of freedom in his drawer in his office. He sighed deeply.
“It means something to her. It belonged to someone,” he said.
“Ah. A lover perhaps?” Erwin said.
Levi thought this over. Unlikely, but not out of the question.
“I'll have to see it up close myself,” he said. Levi tried to remember all the events the last time they were there. Well, all the events that involved their clothes being on. First by the door, they all took of their boots and harnesses. Nothing. Hange threw herself on the bed and talked about all her Titan findings.
“Have you changed these sheets since we were last here?” Levi asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Erwin said. Levi shook his head.
“I'm glad you're clean,” he said. He looked under the bed and in the drawers. Nothing. Erwin sat on his bed and shook his head.
“I don't know where else it would be. I'm not even sure why she—” he paused. “I know what she did with it.”
Levi turned to him with interest. “Oh?”
“Yes. She was sitting on the edge of the bed,” he said. He took Levi's arm and guided him to where Hange sat. “You were between us and I was watching her over your shoulder.”
“Get on with it,” Levi said. Erwin shook his head.
“Bear with me. She was rubbing her face, I couldn't see with what, and I sat up to say good morning,” he said. “She jumped and shoved something under the mattress.”
Levi got on his knees and lifted up the mattress. Sure enough, a well worn piece of silk cloth was underneath, shredded, but well loved. He held it up.
“This is it,” Levi said. “Let's find her.”
They walked through the halls of the barracks together.
“What do you think it is?” Erwin asked. Levi shrugged. “It feels like part of an old silk pillowcas.”
Levi frowned. Yes. It did. But that did not explain Hange's preoccupation with it.
Finally, they found her, her office was torn apart. She hadn't changed her clothes in a few days. Levi felt his heart break. She hadn't eaten, she hadn't bathed. All Levi did was hold out the cloth. She squealed and grabbed it. She flopped ungracefully on the ground and rubbed it against her cheek before she stopped. Her face reddened and she shoved it in her pocket.
“Thank you," she said. "Ah...I'm sorry...I'll just...”
She was flustered. Something neither of them had ever seen before. She frowned and got up to leave. Levi grabbed her arm.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It's just an old pillowcase. It was...my sister's,” she said. He released her and she ran off.
“Take a bath!” Levi called after her. She didn't respond. Erwin looked to him. Levi only gave him a brief glance before he began to pick up a few things.
“I'll clean up her office,” he said.
“I'll get her something to eat,” Erwin said. Wordlessly they knew that Hange needed comfort. More than ever. But first, she needed her space. As much as they wanted her to let her guard down, while she was feeling raw and sensitive was not the best time to help her. Not in this case.
They waited for her in her room. They knew she'd want a few hours alone, so there was plenty of time to get her an elaborate meal. She entered the room in just her robe and raised her eyebrows.
“Well I'm glad you brought food, but why are you two here?” she asked.
“We've been concerned about you,” Erwin said.
“Why?”
“You've been acting really odd these past few days and—”
“It's nothing. I was just stressed.”
“Well, to make sure you're all right, we're having a sleepover,” Levi said.
She went over to her closet. “Is this a sleepover where we're actually going to sleep, or is this a sleepover where we...'sleep?'”
“We're actually resting,” Erwin said.
“In that case,” she slid her robe off her shoulders and changed into her pajamas. She jumped on her bed.
“Well, come on, guys! You came all the way here in your uniforms, you may as well drop the official business act and get comfortable.”
They did change. Hange smiled at them mischievously as she watched them remove their clothes.
“Such a shame. Not having fun tonight,” she said. Before she could say any other smart remarks, Levi put an old, green blanket around her shoulders.
“The blanket Farlan, Isabel and I used to share,” he said. She was silent as her thin fingers spread over the wool blanket. Erwin spread a multicolored knit blanket over her legs.
“My mother made this for my father for their first wedding anniversary. She gave it to me when he died.”
She didn't say anything. Instead she lay back on her bed. They each settled on either side of her, Erwin toward the wall, Levi on the edge. They took turns kissing her, her cheeks, her temples, her hair, her neck. Their hands innocently wandered, mostly brushing away tears, Erwin was so bold as to let her use his sleeve to wipe her nose (much to Levi's disgust).
Sharing the full stories behind these items would be too much at the moment. But sharing mementos and knowing that no explanation was needed was enough.