Work Text:
Where in the world was Levi?
Erwin was crossing the yard in long, swift strides, deep in thought and on his way to the stables. Light raindrops were falling from the sky, forming dark patches on his uniform. He wasn't watching where he was going, his legs moving on its own, overlooking a puddle and stepping right into it. He groaned in frustration as some of the murky water splashed onto his trousers.
"Why did you have to choose this rain-soaked day to disappear?" he grumbled, shaking out his leg to get rid of the water. But he soon decided it was pointless and continued on his way.
He needed to discuss something with Levi and had therefore set off to look for him in his quarters. When he hadn't found him there, he had checked both the dining hall and the training square. He'd then searched the kitchen, the armoury, and the supply room. Yet Levi wasn't anywhere to be found.
Which left pretty much only one last option: the stables. It didn't really make sense, though, if Erwin thought about it. What would Levi be doing there on a rainy day like this?
He pushed the thought aside. If he wanted to talk to Levi, he was going to have to consider every option. When he reached the complex, he opened the wooden gate and stepped inside. Except for the horses curiously glancing at him, everything was quiet, and the same scene presented itself at the second and third complexes.
"Can you tell me where Levi is?" Erwin mumbled, gently petting the black mare that belonged to his missing friend. The horse blinked its eyes, happily accepting the caresses and turning its head to give him better access behind its ears. But unfortunately, it didn't reply.
When faint thunder rolled in the distance, a restlessness rippled through the horses, and Erwin gave Levi's mare one last pat before heading back to the main building as quickly as possible.
To his relief, he spotted Petra and Eld in the hallway as soon as he closed the door behind him, and hurried after them. "Do you know where your squad leader is?" he inquired, a little out of breath.
The two soldiers exchanged a brief glance before Petra finally spoke up. "I'm not sure, Commander. We had been looking for him earlier when he didn't show up for dinner, but we couldn't find him anywhere."
That was strange. Levi never disappeared just like that. "When you see him the next time, would you please let him know I need to speak to him?" The two soldiers nodded, and Erwin moved on, continuing his search.
After half an hour of searching every corner of the building without any result, he gave up and withdrew to his personal quarters. It was already late—definitely too late for a meeting—and he hoped Levi's squad members would pass on the message. Still, it was very unlike him to be gone for such a long time, and Erwin made a mental note to ask him about it the next time he saw him.
The following day, Levi showed up in his office first thing in the morning. His expression was as neutral as always, and when Erwin asked him what he'd been up to the evening before, he simply replied, "I was in the town centre."
"In the town centre?" Erwin repeated incredulously, eyeing the other man with a raised eyebrow. "What were you doing there?"
"Why, is there a new rule that forbids us to go out?" Levi remarked, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a way that showed he wasn't in the mood to justify himself.
"No, of course not," Erwin replied quickly, lifting his hand in a soothing gesture. "It's pure, genuine curiosity between friends. You're entirely free to spend your time off however you like."
Levi nodded, and after a pause, finally answered Erwin's earlier question. "I was… taking a walk," he said slowly, trying to make it sound as natural as possible. But the way he avoided Erwin's gaze, combined with the fact that Levi would never just go out like that, into the city teeming with too many people, and on a rainy day besides, told Erwin it was either a complete lie or a half-truth.
But he knew he was already testing Levi's patience, so he held back his curiosity and simply hummed in understanding. "Ah, of course. A walk through the city can help clear your mind."
"Yeah," the other replied slowly, once again avoiding the Commander's eyes. With that, the topic seemed settled in his mind. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Their discussion was wrapped up fairly quickly, and soon they had finished the new training plan they'd been working on, after they had identified several weaknesses in their soldiers' formations during the last expedition. Now, they had listed the key issues, designed exercises to target those areas, and finalised a revised training schedule to begin the following week.
Levi would pass on the information to Mike's squad as soon as they returned from their own training session in a few days, which meant Erwin would be the one to inform Hange about the new plan.
After finishing some paperwork Erwin had been putting off for several weeks, he made his way to Hange's office, which was the place where she usually could be found when the squads weren't training. He knocked once, then again, and when he still didn't receive an answer, he carefully opened the door, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Hange, are you there?" he called into the room, glancing around briefly before stepping inside—and finding it empty. Her papers on the desk looked untouched, and everything was neatly tidied up… and maybe even a little too organised. This was odd.
She usually spent most of her time in this room, working on projects she believed would advance the Scout Regiment. Erwin had faith in her skills, even if his first reaction was often a sceptical one. But he knew her heart was in it, which was why he gave her free rein—as long as she didn't neglect her responsibilities as squad leader.
Finding her office empty, on a day with no appointments and the entire schedule free, was very, very unusual. And since when did the she keep a bouquet of wildflowers on her desk?
Erwin stepped closer, running a finger over the table's surface and finding it surprisingly clean. No dust had touched the wood in at least a day, maybe even longer. The red and blue flowers looked fresh, as if someone had handpicked them that very morning. Next to the vase lay a single book, and upon closer inspection, he realised it was…
"A romance novel?" he exclaimed, picking it up and flipping through its pages. The title sounded familiar—not that he had read it himself, of course, but he was aware of the books currently being sold.
How strange. He'd known Hange for years, but she'd never said a word about liking love stories. Yet the proof that, for some reason, she had decided to pick one up was currently in his hands.
A theory began to form in his mind—maybe she was seeing someone, which would explain not only the book but also the flowers, which might've been a gift from the secret lover. But then he quickly shook his head, the idea suddenly seeming too far-fetched. This likely had something to do with one of her projects, and not matters of the heart. He was getting ahead of himself.
When he reached the hallway, he ran into Hange's assistant, who was carrying several boxes, and hope stirred in him. "Moblit, have you seen Hange this morning yet?"
"I saw her during breakfast, but I haven't seen her since," Moblit replied. His grip on the boxes wavered, and he lifted one knee to brace them from underneath for extra support.
"I see," Erwin replied with a sigh. Why was everyone he wanted to talk to suddenly impossible to find? "Do you know where I might be able to find her?"
The young man raised his eyebrows, then blinked nervously. "Um… I'm not sure. She… she's been disappearing a lot lately, so I can't really say."
Interesting. Well, this only reinforced Erwin's theory that she was currently working on some project that required her to be constantly out and about. And since Moblit was clearly struggling under the weight of the boxes, Erwin thanked him for the information and let him go.
He only hoped this wasn't going to turn into a habit.
────・✦・────
During the following week, everything returned back to normal.
Hange was indeed analysing several venomous plants she hoped might be useful in developing a serum against the Titans, and she was back at her desk day and night. Levi organised an in-depth cleaning session of the entire facility, and he and his squad were busy scrubbing every room, hallway, and corner of the building. Amidst the renewed order, Erwin had almost forgotten about the strange incidents that had caught his attention.
But soon enough, the order was disrupted once again.
On Friday, after training, when he called all the squad leaders together for a meeting, Mike was the only one who showed up. "Where are Levi and Hange?" Erwin asked, once fifteen minutes had passed and neither of them had appeared.
"I haven't seen either of them since practice ended," Mike replied, fingers tapping against the surface of the table.
"Not again," Erwin sighed, rubbing his brow. This was the second time the absence of those two was delaying things, and he sincerely hoped it was nothing more than another unfortunate coincidence.
"Again?" Mike echoed, his curiosity now piqued. "You mean this has happened before?"
Erwin nodded, telling the other about the odd things he had noticed in Hange's room, and Levi's unusual lateness and forgetfulness.
"Maybe they're just spending some time together?" Mike suggested, now clearly interested in the topic, his heavy eyes focused and hanging on Erwin's words.
"Levi and Hange?" Erwin asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "That's an interesting thought—I hadn't considered that." He paused for a moment, then added, "They're friendly, of course. But I didn't realise they were that close."
"Oh, they've really grown on each other over the past months," Mike replied, pleased to finally have some information to contribute. "In their own way, of course. Their bickering has reached a new stage. Levi lets Hange grab his arm, I saw her make tea for him once, and he even ate something she had touched before. They've become good friends."
Erwin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. That was new to him. In that moment, he realised just how much he'd been missing out lately. Ever since he became Commander, his life had been turned upside down, keeping him busy from morning until evening and away from his closest friends. This was truly the first time in a while that he'd gotten a moment to breathe. But it also made him painfully aware of how much he had to sacrifice to do his job.
"And who knows, maybe there's something more going on," Mike added with a grin. Erwin almost choked on the sip of water he'd just taken.
"What?" he burst out, eyes widening. "Our Hange and… our Levi?" He shook his head, struggling to believe what Mike had just suggested. "I highly doubt there's anything going on between those two. They seem so… incompatible."
"The ways of the heart are a mystery," Mike said dramatically, clearly amused by his friend's reaction. "You said it yourself—Hange's room was clean. Her desk is never clean."
"But with Levi?" Erwin had his doubts, and he found it hard to imagine those two as a couple. And yet… it would be nice to see them both happy. Together. Hange had been smitten with Levi from the start—only out of scientific curiosity, or so he had assumed. But who knew? It might have grown into something more than just friendship. And just because Levi seemed a bit cold and less talkative didn't mean he couldn't develop feelings for someone, too. He felt much more than he let on.
"It's just a theory, though—don't get ahead of yourself," Mike chuckled, pulling Erwin out of his daydream. "But we might, you know, keep an eye on them from now on. Out of… amicable welfare."
As if sensing she was the current topic of the conversation, the door suddenly flew open and Hange, panting and red-faced, burst into the room. "So sorry, I completely forgot we were supposed to meet after training," she exclaimed, inhaling deeply several times, looking like she had just run for her life.
"It's alright," Erwin replied calmly, filling a glass of water and pushing it toward her. "You're here now—that's what matters." He paused briefly, then asked as neutrally as he could, "Do you happen to know where Levi is?"
Hange choked on her water, which quickly turned into a mix of coughing and gasping. Mike reached over to pat her back in support. "Levi? As in Levi Ackerman?" she asked, her voice unusually high-pitched. "He's not here?"
"I don't see him anywhere," Erwin replied, casting an exaggerated glance at each of the empty chairs. "So… you don't know where he is?"
"No, not really," she replied evasively, brushing nonexistent dust from her black jacket. Erwin noticed that the sleeves were completely soaked. "He was at the training session, wasn't he?" she added, blinking innocently.
Mike slightly lifted his head, sniffed loudly, then grinned, his eyebrows rising in quiet delight. "He was. Then he disappeared—just like you. He hasn't been with you, has he?"
"No, why would he?" Hange's gaze shifted between Erwin and Mike, who only shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back in his chair, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles.
For the second time that day, the door to the room was yanked open without warning. Three heads turned sharply as Levi quickly entered the room.
"Levi, we've already been waiting for you!" Hange exclaimed, bracing her hands on her hips as if she hadn't just walked in a few minutes before. "Where have you been?"
The glare Levi gave her could only be described as deadly, and the scowl on his lips deepened even more when he sat down at the table. "I was cleaning. There was a lot to do, and then I—"
"—forgot we were meeting after training?" Erwin finished for him when he trailed off, narrowing his eyes as he noticed the dampness around the other man's sleeves, in a suspiciously similar state to Hange's when she had arrived. Levi nodded silently, muttering an apology while awkwardly rubbing at the uncomfortably wet fabric.
"It's alright. We're all here now, aren't we?" he said, quietly storing the observation away for later as he pulled out the notes he'd made earlier and opened the meeting. Thankfully, it proceeded without further interruptions, and half an hour later, they had gone over all the points that needed to be addressed and were finished.
Erwin observed the two as carefully as he could, hoping to catch any stolen glances or signs of a secret relationship between them. Even though he'd been surprised when Mike first suggested the idea, now he found himself genuinely curious and almost a little hopeful that his friend might be right. Unfortunately, Levi and Hange neither exchanged a word nor glanced at each other, and behaved as if the other wasn't even there, directing their words solely towards Erwin or Mike.
Still, Erwin couldn't help but notice that Hange was in an unusually good mood—her feet were swinging contentedly beneath the table, a constant smile playing on her lips. Levi, too, seemed more at ease than usual; the frown that typically creased his brow was notably softer.
When they reached the door, Levi stepped ahead to open it, and Hange offered him a small smile as she passed through. If the lighting hadn't been so dim, Erwin could've sworn there was a light flush on her cheeks. But he couldn't be sure, the moment slipped by too fast for him to be certain.
"I'd say there's something in the air," Mike whispered with a smirk, wrinkling his nose as the two men fell a few steps behind. "Might be worth a bit of friendly investigation."
Erwin nodded, a quiet excitement stirring in him as he mentally retraced past moments, searching for any sign that there might be more between them than friendship. If there was something between Levi and Hange, he definitely wanted to be the first to know.
The following weeks were going to be very interesting indeed.
────・✦・────
The next time Hange was nowhere to be found, Erwin set out not to look for her, but for Levi. He checked all the spots Levi was likely to be on a Sunday afternoon and found them all empty. He asked around amongst the Scouts if anyone had seen him and learned from several sources that Levi hadn't shown up for lunch. Moblit told him that Hange had been out since early morning, which only reinforced Erwin's suspicions.
In the evening, Erwin found both of them in the dining hall, sitting side by side in between several of their squad members. He decided to join them, something he hadn't had the chance to do in quite some time. Hange was talking animatedly to Levi, which wasn't unusual—she was always the one carrying the conversation, no matter the company. Yet the way Levi's eyes remained fixed on her, despite his best efforts to keep a straight face, gave him away.
When she accidentally brushed his shoulder while snatching something from his plate, he flinched and instinctively pulled back, not even bothering to scold her for stealing his food, as if this was a common occurrence. But after a moment, he leaned forward again, deliberately returning to the exact spot where her shoulder might brush against his once more when she reached for something.
Erwin couldn't believe his eyes, and if it hadn't been for Mike giving him a kick to the shin, he might've kept staring at them, mouth agape.
This had to mean something, and he wasn't going to stop digging until he found out what that something was.
The game of hide and seek continued throughout the following month. Whenever Levi was gone, neither Erwin nor Mike could find Hange, either. And whenever they asked their two friends what they'd been up to all day, they were met with the same half-hearted excuses why Levi had to head into the city (despite usually hating it and rarely setting foot there), or why the plants Hange was collecting could only be found beyond the grounds and had to be gathered after dinner, in the dark.
When Erwin wanted to poke the bear a little further by asking each of them if they had seen the other, he was usually met with a dismissive shrug, an evasive glance, and vague, noncommittal words.
One lucky evening—just as he was heading to his quarters and about to turn the corner—Erwin caught the voices of both Hange and Levi. Their rooms were on the same corridor, not far from each other, so he pressed his back against the wall, hoping to catch snippets of their conversation.
They seemed to be standing between their rooms, Hange speaking softly about how much she had enjoyed the day, with Levi's quiet hums in response. "I never really took the time to actually enjoy a boat ride before, but this was very nice! You enjoyed it too, didn't you, Levi?"
"Mhm, yeah," was his sparse reply, though Erwin noticed how unusually gentle his voice sounded. Still, he shook his head at his friend's inability to say anything that sounded at least a little more animated. Hange didn't seem to mind, though, laughing happily before continuing to talk about how much she enjoyed his company.
If it hadn't been for the faint sound of approaching footsteps, Erwin wouldn't have moved an inch. But he had a reputation to uphold—he was the Commander, after all, and couldn't risk being caught eavesdropping on other people's conversations. So he stepped away from the wall and retreated a few metres, then began walking again with swift, purposeful steps.
When he turned the corner, he was met with two surprised faces, looking as if they'd just been caught doing something they shouldn't. They stood right in front of Hange's bedroom, her back against the door and Levi facing her, his body angled towards hers. His hands had been casually shoved into his pockets, but the moment he saw Erwin, he stepped back right way.
"Good evening," Erwin greeted them with a smile. "What are you two up to?"
"Erwin, hi!" Hange greeted him, while Levi gave a silent nod, taking yet another small step back. "We were just… talking, you know? Ran into each other in the hallway. Accidentally." With every passing second, her cheeks turned a little pinker, and she began fiddling with the hem of her jacket.
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Erwin exclaimed, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Levi gave him a strange look, and Hange frowned, nodding slowly as if she wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Two soldiers, likely the ones Erwin had heard just moments ago, appeared and squeezed past them, which Levi took as his cue to end the conversation.
"I should get going," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Goodnight, Erwin. Hange." The latter looked very disappointed, her lip curling into a small pout, and Erwin felt a little bad for having interrupted their moment. But what was done was done, so he quickly said his goodbyes, walking to the end of the corridor in long strides before disappearing into his own room, hoping the two would continue their conversation.
He couldn't tell if they did, and wasn't about to push his luck by peeking outside the door to find out. But if he wasn't mistaken—and he had been paying close attention to the sounds outside his room—he heard first one door, then another, close with a soft click about half an hour later.
────・✦・────
Erwin had started jotting down anything that caught his eye into a small notebook he now carried with him everywhere. When Mike found out about it, he laughed and called Erwin's enthusiasm verging on obsessive. Yet he was the one who informed Erwin about Hange's new shampoo—which not only smelled nice, but also happened to contain one of Levi's favourite scents: lavender.
Mike had also spotted Levi and Hange leaving after training, walking close together with their heads bent toward each other. And whenever he saw them in the dining hall, they were sitting side by side. Erwin grinned at each clue joining the others on the page, a mix of excitement and genuine happiness rising inside him.
When Erwin stopped by Levi's room for a signature a few weeks later, he found the other in the middle of having a cup of tea. To his surprise, a smal glass jar filled with a thick and golden liquid, looking suspiciously like honey, stood next to the white teapot, catching his attention. This was odd; he knew that Levi never drank his tea sweet. He always took it black and plain.
"Didn't know you sweetened your tea," Erwin remarked, grabbing the jar and opening it to sniff. Definitely sweet—and definitely honey. "Looks like good quality. Not something cheap."
"It wasn't that expensive," Levi replied hesitantly, looking up from the papers."I don't use it much. It's mostly for… visitors. Who complain about how bitter my tea tastes."
"Oh, visitors?" Erwin pressed, and Levi kept flipping through the documents, scanning for the places that needed his signature, trying to look busy.
"Yeah, people. Two legs, two arms. I'm sure you've seen them around."
"Mhm," Erwin hummed, putting down the honey. "Hange does like it sweet, doesn't she?"
"Yeah," Levi mumbled absentmindedly, gathering the papers. Then, realising the slip of his tongue, his eyes widened. "Oluo drinks it sweet too," he added quickly, handing the documents back to Erwin with a little too much force.
"Ah, of course," Erwin said, fighting back the smile that was pulling at his lips. "Well, it's good to know you're in charge of sweetening… tea, now."
Levi's expression hovered somewhere between confusion and mild annoyance, and Erwin made a swift exit before he could give himself away. He had barely turned the corner into the hallway when he pulled out his notebook and used the wall for support, eagerly jotting down the latest piece of evidence.
Erwin felt particularly excited when he noticed how Levi's usual civilian attire was joined by a black jacket. It wouldn't have been extraordinary if he hadn't seen Hange wear the exact same jacket several times in the past already.
Did this mean they were already at the sharing clothes stage?
He tried asking Hange about it on their way to the stables, noticing she wore only her yellow shirt and was shivering slightly.
"I think I must've misplaced it somewhere," she mumbled evasively, waving a hand. "But it's fine. It was time for a new one anyway."
All these clues found their way into Erwin's notebook, and whenever he reread them, he became more convinced they were too many to be mere coincidence. There had to be something going on, he was sure of it.
A casual questioning of their squad members revealed to him that he wasn't the only one who had noticed their squad leaders' unusual behaviour.
He had, of course, already spoken with Moblit the first time he noticed Hange's absence. But now he learned from him that Hange had been taking baths unusually often, something Moblit shared with a particularly happy expression. Keiji mentioned that she had started humming whenever she cleaned her gear, and Abel admitted he'd borrowed one of Hange's romance books.
"She told me she's reading them purely from a scientific point of view, to get a better grasp of what love is," he explained, conspiratorially holding out the book to Erwin. "I have to admit, I have no idea what she's up to—maybe she wants to woo the Titans?" he joked, and Erwin gave him a half-hearted nod. It was definitely not the Titans she was trying to woo.
Oluo had noticed that the Captain looked less tired than usual, the dark circles under his eyes not as prominent, and that he seemed quite pleased with the recent addition of the tea sweetener Erwin had already spotted on his last visit.
Petra was convinced Levi was secretly very happy about something. "He's less snappy than usual, and I've even heard him huff—not in anger or annoyance, though. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was chuckling. I think he was secretly smiling on the inside. His eyes definitely held a certain shine."
"I think we can say with almost a hundred percent certainty that love is in the air," Mike remarked after Erwin had shared all the latest insights with him. The two were walking through the town, a place where they could talk in peace without fear of being overheard.
"Levi and Hange. Together," Erwin muttered, letting the thought fully sink in. "Not a couple I'd have ever expected to happen, if you'd told me that before our... investigations. But I'm happy for them. They deserve it. I'm sure they're having a wonderful time together."
"Oh, they definitely are," Mike said, nudging Erwin closer to the wall's shadows with his elbow. "Look!"
With his chin, Mike motioned towards one of the small shops on the street. Levi and Hange were just coming out, her hand looped through his arm as they squeezed through the crowd. She was clearly happy about something, her smile visible even from where they stood. Levi, once again wearing Hange's jacket, wasn't smiling, but he looked very content, his eyes following her every movement as she talked animatedly, pointing at the jacket draped over her arm.
They walked down the street, soon about to disappear from the sight of the two hidden observers. Erwin didn't know what exactly had come over him, but his curiosity won out, and he simply couldn't resist. "I think I'll follow them."
"If you don't mind, I'd rather head back," Mike said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not that much of a freak. I had my fun, and what we just saw is proof enough for me."
"I'll stop after that," Erwin assured him, glancing back over his shoulder where he could still spot the couple weaving through the crowd. "Just one last…"
"…mission?" Mike suggested mockingly, raising an eyebrow. Erwin only shrugged in agreement, a small, guilty smile tugging at his lips. "You're going to report back to me, though, aren't you?" Mike added with a grin.
"Of course," Erwin said, tapping his temple in farewell before making his way through the crowd. Levi and Hange already had quite a lead, and he had to hurry to avoid losing them from view.
As soon as the main road branched off into several smaller ones, he let himself fall back again to avoid being spotted by the couple, especially now, with fewer people around. Hange's hand was still looped around Levi's arm, and they walked at a leisurely pace, as if they didn't truly have a destination..
They paused in front of a small booth that sold tea cakes, and while they were waiting for their food, Erwin had to duck into a nearby shop to stay out of sight—only to realise, far too late, that it sold nothing but women's clothing. "I'm looking for a gift for my wife," he explained with a toothy grin when after a while, the shop assistant began eyeing him warily. He idly sifted through the clothes on the rack, his eyes drifting toward the shop window every few seconds.
To his great relief, Levi had just paid for their sweet treat, and the two were setting off again, giving Erwin the chance to dart out of the shop. "If Mike had seen this, he'd never let me forget it," he mumbled, continuing his pursuit.
Soon, the couple reached the edge of town, where detached houses were surrounded by green pastures and lush trees. Not far away stood an empty bench, and Hange grabbed Levi's hand, pulling him toward it. Erwin stayed close to the town's edge, stepping over a ditch filled with rainwater, and hiding behind a large tree trunk—far enough to stay hidden, but close enough to see what was happening.
When a gust of wind blew up, Hange rubbed her hands together. Levi reached for the jacket still hanging over her arm and held it out to help her put it on. He said something that made her laugh, the sound carrying all the way to Erwin's hiding spot.
The couple sat down with their backs to Erwin, and no more sounds reached him. He places his hands against the tree's bark for support, narrowing his eyes so as not to miss any of their movements. They sat close together, shoulders touching, heads close as they talked in low voices. Even a complete stranger would have noticed how comfortable they were with each other, and he quietly celebrated the almost solid proof right before his eyes.
Hange squeaked when Levi dug his finger into her side, probably in response to some teasing remark she'd just made. She jerked back, slapping his hand away, then slid closer again, her hand coming to rest on Levi's chin, as if forcing him to look at her. Erwin's mouth fell open, and he leaned forward, resisting the urge to blink in order to catch every second of what was happening right before his eyes.
He saw Hange's lips move, followed by a small shake of Levi's head. And then it happened—she moved forward slowly, gently pulling him into a kiss.
The euphoria Erwin felt in that moment was almost indescribable. "So they are dating," he mumbled to himself, a wide grin spreading across his lips as he realised his suspicions had been fully confirmed. There was no denying what was happening right before his eyes. Levi and Hange—the two people he'd least expected to fall in love—were still kissing, Levi's hand wrapping around Hange's waist, pulling her closer. They looked very, very happy indeed.
Erwin let his gaze sweep over the couple one last time before deciding he'd snooped enough, not wanting to invade their privacy any further. He turned to discreetly leave his hiding spot, and would have succeeded if the smugness growing inside him hadn't made him careless. He overlooked the ditch he'd crossed earlier, and suddenly his foot found no ground beneath it. He stumbled forward and fell right into the muddy rainwater, the splash ringing loudly through the quiet.
"Damn it," he hissed, trying to stand up. But his boot was sunk deep in the mud and stuck, no matter how hard he pulled. To make matters worse, a man with a dog had appeared out of nowhere, and the brown animal approached him swiftly, wagging its tail and barking loudly.
The dog's owner immediately helped him out of the ditch and offered a handkerchief to clean Erwin's soiled boots when he realised who he was talking to. But Erwin quickly declined, deeply embarrassed. They had already made too much noise, and the chances that Levi and Hange hadn't noticed everything were very slim. He didn't want to make more of a mess than he already had.
When he looked over his shoulder, his fear was confirmed. He was met by two very surprised-looking faces that had unmistakably recognised him. Hange's mouth was hanging open, while Levi looked rather cross—though Erwin wasn't sure if it was because he'd just discovered them, or because he'd interrupted them in the middle of… their thing. He lifted a hand in an awkward wave before turning around and disappearing as quickly as possible.
As he walked back to the Scouts' building, he realised he was somehow going to have to come up with an explanation for why he'd just happened to be in the exact same place, at the exact same time they were on a date, or whatever they had been doing, inside a ditch, without sounding like a complete creep. Great.
He probably deserved it, for sticking his nose into things that didn't concern him. He was definitely going to leave out the ending when he told Mike everything he had seen.
But he didn't regret it. Despite his mud-covered, squeaky boots and the uncomfortable dampness around his knees and arms, Erwin had soon forgotten all about it. He felt genuinely happy for his friends, who, in return, seemed very happy together. And he sincerely hoped they would stay that way for a long, long time.