The bell chimed into the muted hairdresser after Hanji had rambled in. "Hanji? You're early, today? It's lunch break, you know." Rico responded to the chime. The platinum blonde had worn a sleeved and burnt orange turtleneck top with a caramel pinafore and apricot tights, her slivery eyes hugged Hanji with friendship. "I know... Moblit had work so I thought I'd come by and work a few extra hours..." Hanji's coffee coloured hair cascaded down her back as she put her dun jacket up on the hanger stand. Her pearl earrings matched her milk lace sailor shirt, her coca coloured locks complimented her copper belt and dun trousers. Her transparent glasses hid her hazel eyes like some secret. "Flegel, is here, today." Rico twirled her customer's hair into the curlers and sighed. "He asked for the jelly roll." Rico almost groaned. Hanji decided to take a seat at the shell-pink reception desk. "I'm still in love with you" by T-bone began to play on the radio. Flegel began to go on about his father's company, "The Reeves Company," and its success as to catch Hanji's attention. Rico exhaled, "She's married to the editor, Roy's son, Moblit, of the Stohess Berg's Newspaper. Give it up, won't you..." Rico played him down and Flegel glowered. "She has a child on the way... she's going to call him, Hamza." Hanji found a mint coloured envelope with her name in writing on its back amongst the many envelopes on her desk. "Who's this from, do you know Rico?" She debriefed Rico whilst she set gel into Flegel's curls. "A tiny man with the scariest face came in, yesterday." Rico described. "Scary..?" Hanji was confused. "He had a walking stick... and one eye... he was searching for you, left me with that envelope. I forgot to give it to you." Brenzka accidentally had pulled at Flegel's hair and caused one yelp from him. Hanji inspected the writing on the envelope. The bell chimed, "Your customer, Hans." Rico snipped at the hair at the back of Flegel's head. Hanji peered up from her envelope. "How may I-" Hanji began her query but failed to finish it. "Help... you?" Her tone became haggard. Rico listened enough to take notice of the pause between the expected customer and Zöe.
There stood, that mysterious man from yesterday. His jet black hair was an undercut which had been brushed down, he wore a checkered suit and a cap, his stygian walking stick was in his hand, the handle had an emerald compass imbedded into it. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye and his left eye was ocean azure. "Hanji Zöe? Is she here?" Levi almost demanded when he faced Rico. Rico gulped and pointed at Hanji but had not noticed her friend's disturbance. Hanji had risen from her chair and clutched her hands into fists at her sides as she shook. "My love," Berner had promenaded in between the two people and into the shop. He held a bouquet of iris flowers in his one hand. "I thought I'd surprise you on my way here with these. I know you wanted irises in the garden, I've done good, haven't I?" Moblit beamed at the woman who gazed at the man behind her husband with distress. "...Ah? Hanji?" Levi delivered a ghostly surprise. Moblit pivoted towards the short man. "It's been a while." Levi's eyes seethed with unavowed emotions. "Levi..." Hanji tried not to exhort. "My old classmate." Levi lied. Moblit regarded both of them, "We were childhood friends, Hanji and I, ain't that right, Hanji?" Levi observed her reaction, "Right! Right... Levi, right? How have you been?" Hanji crumpled up the envelope on the desk into her pocket with a fabricated grin. "Ah, you know, after the war, I decided to get married... I have two boys, now... I see... you have one on the way, boy or girl?" Levi was nerved. "Boy." Hanji challenged him with the flame in her eyes. The tense silence was picked up on by the watchful Rico. "Pleased to meet you, sir, I'm her husband, Moblit Berner." Moblit held out his hand. Levi avoided it, "I've got to go, Hanji. My wife, Petra, would be concerned along with my boys, Henley and Ronin." Moblit watched the mysterious man make his way out of the shop back onto the street. "Hanji, I didn't know you had childhood friends, nearby? Levi seems to be a moral man, what was his family name, do you remember?" Moblit was interested but Hanji was not. "No, Moblit, I don't remember." Hanji grabbed her jacket and bag off the hooks. "Rico!" Hanji called her out, "Yes?" Rico responded, "I'll be back at 2." Hanji pulled Moblit and trudged out into the streets. They entered one illustrious restaurant, 'Da Maria', both had seafood dishes made by the famous chef, Niccolo and they were served by his well-known wife, Sasha Braus. "I need to go, Hanji." Moblit confessed during their meal. "Where to?" Hanji wondered and questioned. "I promised Ian that I help him and Mike with the editing, tonight." Moblit explained and got up to his feet. "I understand, I'll wake home, then." Hanji said and watched her husband leave. She burped and sighed. Someone took her husband's chair, it was Levi, Hanji was speechless. "I thought your wife was home alone?" Hanji doubted, "She is... but so will you be." Levi assayed her reaction with his cold sky eyes. "Levi... I have a family-" Hanji was interrupted by him, "So do I." Levi related but Hanji did not believe the man that sat across her. "You wouldn't-" Hanji became withdrawn, Levi placed a photograph of his wife and him with their two boys on a farm out on the table. Hanji became downhearted at the sight. Levi took it away and placed it back into his coat pocket. "Shitty glasses." Levi spoke. Hanji had rose up from her seat to walk off but Levi grasped her wrist. "Let go, Levi." Hanji viewed the people that surrounded them but her focus was on Levi after he tugged on her arm. "That child is mine and you know it." Levi held back the thunder in his tone. Hanji tried to pluck her wrist out of his firm grip on her. "No..." she whispered in distress and shut her eyes. "No..." she repeated with shame, "Yes!-" Levi barked. "No!" Her hand met his cheek and she took her a few steps back before making her way out of the curious crowd in the restaurant. She clasped her mouth as she shed tears whilst she walked the dark streets home. She felt discomfort in her abdomen that throbbed throughout her body. "Agrh!" Hanji kneeled onto the ground and Levi stepped out of the restaurant only to see the woman he loved out on the ground in pain. "Oi!" He hastened over to her and helped drive her to the nearest hospital. Hanji had wrenched at Levi's hair whilst in her hospital bed and in her way to labour. "Agrh! Damn it all-! Levi! You are what caused this!" Hanji hollered and spun in the sheets. Levi grabbed her mouth and she clamped down her teeth into his hand. "You shitty woman!" Levi cursed and the doctors sent worried looks at one another and them. "Would you like your husband to stay with you or would you like him to leave, Hanji?" Dr Smith asked Hanji. Hanji didn't answer but sent helpless glances at Levi. "I'll stay." Levi grabbed her hand and the deliverance of the child had begun, Hanji's screams haunted the halls of the hospital outside the room and Levi cried as he held his forehead against hers. The baby was born with verdant blue eyes, "What will you call him?" Dr Smith held the baby up in his arms and carried him over to his parents. Hanji embraced her child in her arms and Levi bewildered by his son and his mother had cried a single tear from his left eye. "Hamza." Hanji smiled. "Hamza?" Levi disliked the name. "No," he stopped the nurse before she wrote the name down. "I want to call him, Eren." Levi decided but Hanji fought to change it. "That's a stupid name!" She was angered. "Eren, is a good name." Levi assured. Moblit scurried into the hospital room, "My son-!" He embraced the child in her arms with tears. "I should leave..." Levi murmured whilst he made his way out but the child began to cry out. "Levi! Do something!" Hanji's cry was sudden. Moblit was baffled after Levi took Eren into his arms and began to soothe him almost instantly. "So ist es immer, unser Licht ist nur das
Trinken und singen wir, begrüßen morgen
So ist es immer, unterm riesigen Himmel
Leben wir zusammen, die Nacht ist lang." Levi sung and Eren drifted into a nap. Hanji fell asleep from exhaustion, Moblit stared at Levi and realised, he looked over at Hanji. "Take care of her, she's been through more then you know..." Levi instructed Moblit and reluctantly left after he gazed at Hanji and Eren. "No- you can't just-!" Moblit darted towards Levi and grabbed him by the collar, "Is that child yours? Tell me?!" Moblit interrogated Levi and Levi nodded. Moblit couldn't believe it, "What happened... we need to pretend-" Levi led him but Moblit wouldn't have it. "You bastard-! She's my wife-!" Moblit scrunched up his collar. Hanji's heartbeat had slowed and began to decrease. "Call the doctor!" Moblit yelled at the nurse. Levi grabbed her hand and leaned closer to her, "Oi, shitty glasses." Levi was alarmed. "Levi... this is it..." Hanji spoke sleepily. She held Eren in her arms. "Eren..." Hanji sighed, "Hold on." Levi grasped at her arms as she started to lose her consciousness. "Levi..." her sight began to blur. "Devote your heart." A voice from a past life echoed in her mind. Levi hunched over and tapped her chest with a fist with grief. "I love you..." He cried and the nurses could not help anymore because Hanji had already passed away. "You have your son left to take care of, it is what his mother would want, her son to be taken care of." The doctor advised Levi with a hand on his shoulder. Moblit bleated on the ground of the hospital and Levi took his son and exited the hospital.