Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this each chapter? *sigh* Shingeki no Kyojin is not my creation. I would kill to serialize an awesome manga series of that caliber.

So sorry for the late, almost one-month update.

Oh, and if you can, please read the Author's Note at the end of the chapter.

"Don't they look friendly?" The frown had not disappeared. The tone he was using in that statement implied anything other than 'friendly', clearly. Hanji shifted, uneasy with the new crowd, and also with him.

As stated before, she did not cooperate well with Levi. Her savior seemed to have made a secret decision to stay far away from her, as well. That was expected; her abilities, at best, were on the average line. Keith's detailed account of her results, given to her during the graduation - she flinched at the horrible reminder. The person coming in first at top ten was this frowning, short guy; one superior in both 3DMG-wielding prowess and his promptness in earning the appreciation of other scouts. Keith was the instructor who recommended Levi to the Scouting Legion. To Hanji's surprise, the guy had acquiesced to the veteran's idea.

Oh well, the Scouting Legion, on a positive note, had earned themselves a prodigy. The matter of Levi can hardly be overlooked.

Hanji chased these depressing thoughts away, and schooled her face into a friendly mask. There were more people to meet. Perhaps they were stronger than her. She had to be vigilant enough to get herself on their good sides. Rivalries between scouts were of the norm, but personally, Hanji preferred to keep a low profile.

Deep breaths. In. Out.

"Hey, it's not like you're being sentenced to the guillotine. Like I said, don't make that face. It'll scare people off." The prodigy said briskly.

"I'm not sociable, you know." Hanji gritted out through clenched jaws. "I'm not a people's person, unlike you." All traces of her gratitude for him evaporated.

"Me? I hate socializing. I don't rely on anyone else except myself."

To make friends, she chanted in her mind.

To make friends. For the sake of friends.

She smiled. The action taxed her face muscles incredibly. "My bad. I'm just feeling edgy today."

He stared, dumbfounded. "...That's okay." He turned away abruptly, facing towards them.

One more person fooled by her smile. A good sign. That meant she could be on amiable terms with her new comrades in no time.

Hesitantly, she swiveled on her heels.

There were two girls and three guys. All of whom were looking away from each other. Although the atmosphere was a bit tense, they seemed okay, on the exterior. Blondes and brunettes and redheads: a very harmonious mix in team eight. The tallest guy in the group was blonde, and when he met Hanji's glance, reached up a long arm in greeting. Tentatively, she waved back. It was the right thing to do.

"I'll give you a warning." Levi piped up again. He's certainly feeling talkative today, Hanji observed.

"Do not trust any of them."

Sadly, his warning was unnecessary. Hanji knew that already.

Trust was gained, not given on a foolish whim. You make guesses about your group's characters, stay by the sidelines and observe, and wait. A whole part about earning trust was the wait. The longer you waited, the more accurate your guesses would be. Pretty soon, you can start judging them based on their characteristics, and then comes the pivotal moment.

You have to rely on them, and see, if they were brave enough to save you. Plenty of cowards shun away from their duties, abandoning their teammates in a titan's grasp. That was the ultimate reason of having teammates, was it not? You save them, they return the favor. It was all about borrowing and returning.

Cooperation was compulsory. Hanji just wasn't sure if she could accept her new comrades.

"I see. Thanks." She replied courteously.

…

Fast forward to Mission Start

"So there's seven people in total. Tall Guy is Bart, Redhead Female is Olivia, and Redhead Male is Finch. Both of the redheads are twins. Blondie is Louise. Freckled Guy is Julius..." Hanji muttered to herself, counting on fingers just to be sure. She was a sucker at remembering names.

Not that it was a necessity. It would be quite awkward if you forgot.

"Hi Hanji! Whatcha doin'?" Blondie, or Louise, was energetic and extremely touchy feely. She wrapped her arms around Hanji's neck enthusiastically, her glom on the taller girl tight and much too secure to be wiggled out of.

"Remembering your names." Hanji answered truthfully. Was it her, or did it just get a little hard to breathe?

"Ah... you know me, don't you? In case you've forgotten, my name is Louise! I think surnames muddle you up more, so I'll keep that a secret for now." Louise nuzzled Hanji's hair affectionately. Hanji fought back the urge to shake the smaller girl off. Too close.

"Thank you." It seemed that nowadays, she's always saying 'thank you'.

"Ne, Hanji, can I trust you?" Louise's face took a serious turn. She released Hanji, placing her hands, instead, on the taller girl's shoulders. Hanji knew better than to shrug those small, dainty fingers off.

"In missions, when I'm knee-deep in trouble, can you turn around and help me?" Louise's eyes burned.

Hanji couldn't say no, at that time. Perhaps it was due to the seriousness of the situation, or the way Louise stared her down, as if the amber orbs were transmitting 'say yes, say yes, say yes' into her mind repeatedly. She didn't have the heart to refuse. But she didn't make any real promises, either. A shallow dip of her head was the reply.

"Great! I now entrust you with my life!" Louise's hug was too tight to be true.

She left Hanji to her musings, and skipped off to locate her horse.

Hanji shrugged, returning to tend to her own animal. She wondered what she'd gotten herself into, by answering to Louise's question. Was it a blessing, to have someone watch out for you, even though she was a stranger?

Or was it a bad omen, designated to tie you by the post, the noose too firm to be loosened? She might be putting herself in harm's way, and it was too late to undo things now. Team eight had a mission to attend to. It was the worst time to let doubts consume herself.

She wished that there was a titan here, so that she could shove her blades up its ass. That would be a good vent for her rundown emotions.

A shrill whistle pierced through the air, reminding the trainees of the time. Hanji hurriedly swung herself over her stallion.

…

The forest was teeming with healthy green leaves, birds, animals and insects. The mosquitoes were certainly having the time of their lives, hovering above the scouts' necks, feeding on them.

Hanji swatted one away, growing annoyed. First, there were the shrubs, hanging low from the tree branches. They slapped her face repeatedly as her horse galloped forwards. She knew there would be scars lining up her cheeks, nose and forehead, if she kept at this speed. Slowing down was not an option, however. The veterans had long left the trainees behind, taking their places behind the Commander's flashy white steed. Hanji was already twelve paces behind, and it won't do if she let curtains of scratchy leaves be a hindrance.

Hanji blamed this recurring incident on her height.

Girls were better off at five feet three or four. No more, no less. That was what Hanji thought.

At least somebody doesn't have to have a splitting headache and a cluster of wounds to deal with later.

Levi was riding diagonal from Hanji, at the right side. The stream of shrubbery barely brushed the top of his hair. His dull grey eyes stared dead ahead, ignoring everyone else. She noticed most of the trainees riding alongside him had put up a wide berth around the trainee, just to... avoid him?

Despite his cold and forbidding demeanor, she pitied him.

Prodigies were usually solitary individuals, then.

And... Was it her, or did the curtain of foliage just get denser?

With an audible grunt, Hanji urged her horse to the opposite direction, narrowly missing a protruding branch sweeping her way. A trainee cursed in Hanji's wake, who had nearly crashed into his horse. He boosted his speed, and on a stroke of mere convenience with a dash of malice, elbowed her sharply. Her horse jerked in surprise, inclining more to the right.

"What's your problem, bitch?!" He hollered, throwing her another disgusted look. Without further ado, the male had long stirred up a cloud of dust in his hasty escapade, blatantly disregarding Hanji's own colorful assortment of obscenities hurled after him.

Giving up, she muttered, "Dick." as a last resort.

A menacing, cold presence beside her made Hanji stop short.

Levi did not say anything, but she could feel the incinerating lasers of his eyes inspecting her. Figuring out why she made such a ruckus, perhaps.

Trying to shake off the sinking feeling she felt, Hanji let the second smile in one day - directed to Levi, that is - grace her face. In her mind, she was cringing from the tremendous effort.

How sore her face muscles felt. She couldn't possibly do this more than twice a day. She had never been a deceitful person, but her clumsily fabricated smile spelled nothing out aside from insincerity and pretence.

Silently, she was asking Levi something, through that fake smile.

Why the heck are you being so moody?

Honestly, his bad mood rubbed off on people like nobody's business. Compared to the mosquitoes that were sucking the blood out of her - also leeching away some of her willingness to smile, his hollow expression was a plague in its own class.

"That guy was getting on my nerves," She blurted out. The sudden impulse to explain her actions was baffling.

He snapped out of his intense staring at her, reverting his gaze to his reins. "Humph."

The awkwardness that followed after the 'humph' was felt by both teens, down to the marrow of their bones.

Hanji cleared her throat, preparing to say something that will never come.

Levi flicked his reins in three-second intervals, nudging his horse. The animal released a frustrated neigh.

"Oi Hanji!" A cheerful shout made said person jump. Hanji craned her neck to the back in reflex, peering through the leaves stuck on the lens of her spectacles.

It was Louise. Her flushed complexion was flooded with anticipation when their eyes met. Giving an almost childish, triumphant cry, her horse dutifully increased its speed. In the corner of Hanji's eye, Levi faced the front, his back ramrod straight. He hadn't reacted to the girl's call.

And Louise, possibly ever happiest being the middleman, stationed her horse smack in the middle. Between Hanji and Levi. The intangible, strained atmosphere harbored no effect on her.

"Hanji, you were galloping flat-out, I couldn't catch up with you! What happened to our pinky swear?" Louise pouted indignantly.

Technically, they didn't do a pinky swear. Even if the truth was plastered definite in her mind, Hanji wished very hard for a hole to open up and swallow herself up. Including her horse.

The middleman (girl) turned to Levi, her bottom lip thrust out imperiously. "Promises should be kept, right, Levi?"

The shorty leaned away from Louise, not making any move to disguise the movement. Louise's eyes bubbled with comical tears, threatening to overflow.

"He's mean to me, Hanji!" She wailed, pointing.

Levi uttered an inscrutable word, looking pissed, and threw the two girls over his shoulder. He caught up to the veterans, his hair still neat and orderly in place.

You deserved it.

A second after the thought crystallized in her mind, regret overrode her senses. This nice, albeit meddlesome young girl named Louise had been willing to extend the hand of friendship to her, and she was feeling sullen over this particular trait of hers? Hanji met Louise's pleading gaze guiltily, mustering her courage.

"Yes, he IS mean." Hanji agreed, nodding vigorously. The ends of her ponytail poked into the skin at the back of her neck. "You know him?"

Louise bit her lip. Her eyes zoned out then, and her horse harrumphed, shaking its mane and dislodging the reins in her hands. Hanji grabbed them in alarm, waving her free hand in Louise's vision.

"He…" The young trainee – Hanji recollected that the girl was somewhere along the lines of fifteen or sixteen – shook her head, as if dispelling a notion, took a deep breath, "Is a pervert."

…

Current timeline

At that moment, Hanji recalled Louise's promise. The accursed 'pinky swear'. Steeling her eyes to Levi, the corporal staring down at his swirly black coffee, she tapped the table's edge with her feet, knowing it'll get his attention and that he was greatly annoyed by that habit.

He glanced up, sure enough.

"Hey Levi, let's be buddies, and watch out for each other's backs, alright?"

"No." Deadpan and firm. Providing no opening to cut across his answer.

"Eh? Why not?"

"I'll trust you with my life only when hell freezes over..."

"And that's never going to happen, is it?" Hanji had knew him for nothing less than a decade, and she could already piece together the pattern of his thinking, the reason for his saying so. 'When hell freezes over' was the understatement of the century.

"..." He retrieved his teaspoon, spooning square cubes of sugar into the bitter liquid.

"Oh come on! I'm a pretty capable squad leader around here too! Who else are you going to trust? Auruo? Mike? Irvin?" Hanji watched the symmetrical motion of his spinning teaspoon sleepily.

Over the years, he'd developed a special system in brewing coffee for himself. The only person he'd ever taught, and thoroughly mastered the art, was his subordinate/secretary-of-some-sort, Petra Ral. Levi once complained that Hanji's coffee was 'dingy and bland'. Occasionally, Hanji would wonder why he'd even drink her coffee in the first place, when Petra was up and bustling around like a bored hen during the drowsy, foggy mornings.

His beck and call. If only her comrade wasn't so obtuse in matters like love and relationships, he would have taken note of Petra's overloading kindness and patience as a direct advance to earn his appreciation. Again, that was another understatement.

Petra loved him. Loves him, present tense.

And then there was the buzzing rumor flying around... what was it again?

"Oh, oh." Hanji's eyes widened, behind the rims of her specs. The realization dawned on her, however ludicrous and crazy it seemed, there was a remote possibility... Corporal Levi can't be... Humanity's strongest soldier... what...

Things were supposedly considered abnormal around the Scouting Legion. Anything can happen. Hanji had long embraced that fact, ever since her trainee days, but this?

"It can't be... Eren Jaeger?!" She covered her hands over her mouth, pupils dilated, a flush scaling across her face and neck. Boys' love! What a scandal!

Before she knew it, Levi had her pinned against the wall - quite a remarkable feat; Hanji was taller, and yet he had the upper hand - features scrunched up in that familiar scowl of his. The dining hall was emptied out already, and they were the lone people left behind, with Levi enjoying his temporary moment of peace, while Hanji was struggling to navigate her way through the mountain of paperwork, accumulated in her days of absence. More missions equals more paperwork and reports to be filed. She had to be thankful that Levi was willing to lend a hand; but things were... bleak, at the moment, and he might change his mind.

The reason she even made the effort to move her paperwork downstairs into this noisy crowd of a dining hall was Nanaba's undoing. He'd persuaded her to venture out of the lab, for once, and finish her work, flanked with people on her left and right, revelling in their drunken stupor. It was 'better than holing yourself up in this stinky lab, Squad Leader Hanji'.

The drunks were gone, unable to humor her with their filthy jokes. Hanji had never actually been an avid fan of jokes that involved the human anatomy. The trainees had clearly made a mistake in judgment.

She was bored.

Boredom sometimes made her mind tune out. The paperwork lay on the table, dangerously close to the flickering candle. The mission was a failure. Commander Irvin had his eye on the Military Police at present, and the report she'd submitted had earned her naught but a dismissive nod. Hanji bit back the questions resurfacing, ducking out of the Commander's office.

Ah, paperwork. They were the eye bags and cavernous yawns of the scouts' worries, coming in place just behind the fear of being eaten by titans.

Titans were not here, however. Right now, boredom was reaching its most crucial point, and when Hanji spotted a chance to tease her only victim - a lethal one, she should add - she seized it.

Though... the end results did not completely leave her unscathed.

"Say that again, Hanji," Her long-time friend growled threateningly, his knuckles aimed at her abdomen. Even though Levi was not violent, at least not to her, the promising threat garnered a few chilly shivers racing up her spine.

"Ah, Levi! We still have a lot of work to catch up on! Let's put this dispute aside, and continue on, shall we?" She said brightly, the shivers forming an oxymoron with her fearless, vindictive personality. "Anyway, I was just kidding." She added, for good measure.

"But the attraction between you and Jaeger is so hot and heavy, everybody still notices, you know~" As soon as Hanji was released, her wrist burning slightly and her undershirt feeling damp and constricted from the excess of perspiration, she couldn't help herself. A soft laugh bubbled in her throat, but she held that in. No telling what Levi would do. Humanity's strongest soldier, the corporal, only to be KO'ed by a silly, borne-out-of-fruitless-chatter rumor. If you added a drunk Auruo, a phenomenally talkative Mike and a titan-obsessed Hanji, this was the result. Levi and Eren. LeRen.

No, she had to laugh.

And laugh Hanji did.

This time, Levi let her laughter, and the implied meaning behind it, roll off his back. He took his seat on the rickety wooden bench, crossing his arms and legs, sighing in resignation. The candle wavered. The papers rustled, caused by an invisible wind.

Seemed to Hanji, he wanted to wait her snorts and giggles out. That made her laugh harder, and her arms went around her stomach. She found it hard to breathe.

Soon enough, her mirth died out. The silence of the dining hall swooped in right then, settling heavily amidst the polished table surfaces, on Hanji's conscience.

"Can you give me a decent explanation as to why you would let such a nonsensical notion enter your mind?"

Hanji was Hanji, after all, but Levi couldn't exactly bring himself to accept that rumor. Lots of rumors circulated around whenever he was mentioned; but the discussion surrounding his sexuality was crossing the line.

He sat, weary but alert. Untouched paperwork. Flickering candle. Dim room. Insipid silence. Tense soldier. His eyes gave way for tired slits.

"Hm... Maybe partly because you spend waaaaayyy too much time with our darling Scouting Legion mascot." Hanji licked her lips appreciatively, savoring those thoughts that were trailing down a twisted path.

"I don't do it because I want to," Levi's cup tinkered. He lifted it to his lips, sipping slowly.

"Yeah, but how do I put this...? The young one is having his eye on you." Hanji winked playfully.

He scoffed. "He's claimed. By Ackerman."

"Mikasa Ackerman? Oh, she's the beauty and Prodigy 2.0, isn't she? She's his foster sister, isn't she? Would that count as an indirect manifestation of incest? Hang on, do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

"Go to hell, Hanji." Pause. "If you're really that addicted with gossip and whatnot, you can go about spreading rumors about my asexuality. Anyway, don't bring in personal matters into this conversation. I hardly think Ackerman would like you talking about her 'incestuous'-" Levi winced, "-form of showing care for her brother."

Obediently, Hanji shut up.

The clock on the mantel ticked by, minutes dragging longer than intended. She gave a careless glance at the offensive instrument, having half a mind to tear it down. That clock often reminded her of due dates for reports, or the hours for spontaneous meetings. Not that she hated the work - it was part of her job - but the tick-tock routine irked her, for some reason.

The long and short needle were perfectly aligned on the Roman numeral, 'XII'. Hanji had better get down to business. Levi looked half-asleep. His promise - she wouldn't call that a commitment promise, since she was the one who forced him into working, at the first place - had better not be an empty one.

She stalked over to his side, and jammed her fingers, albeit gently, into his temples. The stiffening of his body was apparent, as she made circular motions on the sensitive spots. Hanji was no fool; she could tell he was unused to physical contact, except for the occasional handshake offered by Generalissimo Zacklay, or a pat on the shoulder by Commander Irvin.

However, she knew she was the single person he would ever allow the privilege of touching him. Perhaps others would wave this off as a nonchalant habit of favoritism among his closest comrades... But things were different for Levi. Physical contact that included any form of touching, like intimate touching, was forbidden. He could make the initial move of doing something stopping short of concern for his teammates, but he rarely let them do the same for him. He gave, and took nothing in return. There was a common misunderstanding that occurred all too many times: that was Levi, up until this day, retained the reputation of a grouch stripped of its compassion and humanity.

Ah, they were WRONG.

Noticing the stiff posture had not yet relaxed under her fingertips, Hanji attempted a joke.

"Levi, you have not been touched by a woman before?" She had intended her tone to be teasing and light. What came out of her voice box was a scratchy wisp, a poor excuse for her previous coherent speech. Strange. Was there phlegm in her throat?

"Hmph." Corporal Levi, on the other hand, was unruffled. "I don't think you actually qualify as a woman at all, Hanji."

"Oi!" Hanji smacked his head. "Then what are you? A senseless, cold-blooded killing machine without a cock?! Heck, I'd give a leg to not let my femininity get in the way of my missions! You're lucky you're a man, Levi." She inclined her head to the side, thinking. "Scratch that. You're lucky you're a boy. Boys move faster, and their tempers flare up easily. That's you to a 'T'." She laughed again. Her fingers, unheeded by their insult/undermining exchange, continued their ministrations. Hanji was great at multitasking.

Levi took longer than usual to answer. The skin she grazed seemed warmer. Hanji looked down, and saw that his neck was bathed in a pink flush. His ears were colored to the roots, too.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Did she say something wrong? Her friend had no cause to be embarrassed.

Lately, their statements were either insulting or rude, leaning more to Levi's favor; or ending on an unpleasant note. The reasons were hard for her to fathom. All she could come up with was the growing distance between them. Levi was an active squad leader, with first-rate missions quickly entrusted into his capable hands; while Hanji was the stereotypical closet-scientist type, making new discoveries in the subject of titan science, working miracles with them... and having humanity's hopes pined on her firmly.

But had she changed? Had Levi changed? Come to think of it, this was the only occasion where they'd been alone together, for some weeks now. They should make full use of this time and talk about their work, or the Scouting Legion, or about titans. Though, did Levi even feel like talking now? All these thoughts about consideration were abusing her brain cells; Hanji preferred a more straightforward approach in handling someone like Levi. Or, talking to him, in this instance.

She had assumed that they were so well acquainted to the point that no harmful statement can really tear apart their light-hearted relationship.

Then again, that was what Hanji assumed to be. Levi, her polar opposite, might see things in a different light.

"You know what..." He encircled her wrists, detaching her attentive fingers from his still-aching temples. His hands were cold. "I think I can stay awake throughout the whole night. Come on. Let's start with the tallest pile."

Hanji bit her lip. There, he was pushing her away. Keeping her at arm's length, refusing her massages. An inexplicable distance, rendered unshrinkable.

There was no logical explanation for this, not like revising complicated theories for the anatomy of a titan. This dug deeper in the heart. It can't be deciphered with the use of a science-oriented brain.

Hanji had no idea.

The ground suddenly trembled beneath her feet. A guttural, heart-wrenching roar fought its way up to through the soundproof walls. The pets of the Scouting Legion were occupied, and they didn't like it one bit.

Hanji jumped up, throwing a hasty 'I'll be back' to the dining hall, her boots thumping down the flight of stone-made stairs that led to the damp, stinky and claustrophobic dungeons. She made a mental note to think more into this matter later.

Levi pinched his nose, turning away from the doorway.

A/N: So I decided to include a small excerpt of the current timeline, since I want to provide insight in their relationship now. Please review, and tell me your opinion. Do you still want an excerpt like this, or do you want the whole story to just talk about their trainee lives? Which is better? I want to hear your ideas... You have no idea how inspiring they are.

One more thing, is my writing of any difference compared to the first chapter? I'm still pretty inexperienced in the field of writing, and taking someone's quote - I'm a greenhorn in writing. I know my writing style tends to deviate sometimes. Do you think it does, in this chapter?

Flamers got to be haters. None of that, please.