When The Snow Melts

Late Spring

"Levi stop-"

The silhouette of the carefree dork tripped over a loose cobblestone from the pavement and fell on the ground, scattering food contents all over the pavement like the nerd he is.

Hanji struggled to keep a straight face as she strolled over to pick up an energy bar from the floor and dangled it in front of his face.

"Watch where you're going next time, Shitty glasses."

Levi merely laughed sheepishly and rubbed his neck. Hanji noticed a small scratch on his glasses.

"Get up," Hanji extended a hand for Levi to take which he accepted gratefully.

"T-thanks, Hanji-san," Levi murmured and tried to stand by himself but collapsed once he added weight on his left foot.

"You can go off without me, Hanji-san. I'll catch up."

"You're a shithead if you think I'm just going to walk away," Hanji rolled her eyes and crouched down to help. She pulled him to his feet and glanced at his face. When he flashed her a small smile, her emotionless facade flickered. Or was it just his imagination?
He held out his palm and stared at where Hanji held onto it previously.

Someday. Someday. He's going to make the warm feeling of her hand on his longer.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hanji.

"Shitty glasses! Stop spacing out and help!"
Hanji beckoned for Levi to pick up the fallen groceries,"Just because you fell down doesn't mean I have to do everything!"

"You don't have to, I'm strong just like you,"Levi folded his arms and grinned.
Hanji placed a loose strand of fringe behind her ears as she stared at Levi.

And for Levi, it doesn't matter if it all started out being "shitty glasses" to her.

"Now we have to clean up this mess AND carry you home, by the looks of it." She nodded pointedly at Levi's rapidly swelling left ankle.

"I'm fine. I think I can stand up by myself," Levi insisted.

"Uh huh, says the boy who fell on his ass a few moments ago when he tried to walk by himself."

"Well..."

Hanji sighed and turned her back towards Levi. "Get on."

"P-piggyback ride?"Levi smiled at Hanji, his eyes widening innocently.
"More like a ride-for-shitheads-who-sprained-their-ankles-and-now-are-pathetic-little-shits." Hanji rolled her eyes.

"You won't let me fall, right?" His hand  was on her arm tightly, placing his trust in her for support.

"Maybe. You can never tell with antisocial people these days."

Hanji took Levi's hands and placed them around her neck from behind,"And by the way, I'm only doing this because I have to,"she added softly and firmly, "not because I want to or anything."

"Hanji...." Levi murmured, but his sentence was never completed.

"Hm?" When Hanji looked behind her at him, the boy was already sound asleep, with a smile etched across his face.

Levi was surprisingly lighter than Hanji had thought. for one, he was a boy, and second, he was a little muscular. Lean, perhaps.
She looked at the peaceful face of Levi resting on her shoulder, his arms hugging her neck loosely.
His legs dangled in the air from her arms. His face looked so...serene and innocent. Complete and blissfully ignorant of the sins in this cruel world.
There was a thin scratch line on the side of his right lense but apparently he didn't care much about it. His soft hair tickled Hanji's neck.

The two of them stayed this way, down the streets in the sleeping city, back into the house.
Hanji ignored Erwin's look of amusement and continued to give constant glances to Levi to make sure he was stable and wouldn't fall off.

"Tch, you little brat." She muttered as she opened the door of Levi's room.

Despite always handling most things roughly, no one would have expected to see her place Levi gently back to his bed.

And no one will never will. For the only one who ever saw this side of her was asleep.

No one else seemed to cross her mind that night as she tucked Levi in.
She rested her head by the side of his bed for a while
And by then, the ice pops had already melted.
-end of spring-
-
:)