Work Text:
The house had never been so clean. Not since the day they had moved in.
Every surface was immaculate. Every single thing back in its rightful place. The entire house perfectly neat and organised, just how Levi liked. He hated it.
It had been eighteen days since Hange had left for her trip. Eighteen days, not that he was counting.
This was the longest they'd been apart since they began dating. Sure he'd lose Hange for days on end when she would lock herself away in her study/lab but that was different. They were still in the same house, only a door apart. This time Hange was on another continent. Eighteen days ago Levi had waved her off at the airport. Hange was set to be in the Arctic for a month minimum. Field work she had been working towards for the past three years. Her team had finally been given the grants for the expedition and of course Levi fully supported her. He did. He just wished he could support her in this country, not in the fucking Arctic.
With a heavy sigh Levi went back to polishing the silver. The simple fact was he missed her. He missed her mess, her disorganisation, her inability to shut the hell up. The house seemed cold and empty without her. The cleaning had began on the eighth day. Levi had wanted to do it from the third. It had started off just casual, he took each room in turn and cleaned them thoroughly. Not a spec of dust missed. Levi had worked his way through the whole house excluding Hange's study of course. They had came to an agreement early on, after Levi had thrown out some 'specimens' or as he preferred to call them 'mouldy food' by accident, that the study was out of bounds. Levi placed the spoon he'd been polishing back in its place, his eyes flicking up to the study door. A crude nameplate set onto the wood 'Dr Four Eyes - Hazardous Material. Keep Out' it was wonky, Hange had made sure to nail it onto the wood like that just to piss him off. That's the thanks he gets for having the sign made for her, Levi huffs out a small laugh. He still remembers the look on her face when she'd opened the packaging. He remembers her raucous laughter as she'd flung her arms around his neck pulling him into a hug. A pang of loneliness rips through him. Levi picks up another spoon.
He was almost done with the silver wear when the quiet was disrupted by the shrill ring of the doorbell, almost immediately followed by a loud knocking on the door.
Who the hell was banging on his door on a Sunday afternoon? Levi got up with a grunt, dropping the rag he'd been using onto the table. Another ring of the doorbell rang out as Levi made his way to the front door.
'I'm coming for fucks sake.' He muttered. Pulling the door open he was faced by a large tree.
'What the... '
'Move out the way then.' Came a muffled voice from behind the branches. Levi automatically stepped to the side allowing the tree and its now visible owner to move forward into the house. Standing almost as tall as the tree was one Mike Zakarius, he grinned down at Levi.
'Afternoon Levi!'
'What the hell Mike?'
'Well we knew you wouldn't bother on you own so we thought we would lend a hand.' Came another voice from the doorway. Levi turned to glare at Erwin, his former college roommate and current boss just smiled warmly at him. Erwin was holding a large cardboard box in his arms, Levi could see a piece of tinsel poking out of a hole in the top.
'No.' Levi told them.
'Oh come on, don't be a grinch Levi.' Erwin replied striding past him into the sitting room. Levi scowled after him.
'Suck it up Shorty, you know what he's like when he gets an idea in his head.' Mike told him with a smirk, he picked the tree back up from where he'd rested it against the wall and followed Erwin leaving Levi alone. Levi let out a resigned huff, closed the front door and went to join them. He knew they were just trying to help. Hange had always been the one with holiday spirit, insisting on decorating the house with gaudy christmas novelties. Without her Levi hadn't bothered with it, what was the point when she wasn't here? Levis stomach turned at the thought, Hange wasn't going to be here for Christmas. This was going to be their first Christmas apart. Even before they'd began dating they'd spent the holidays together as friends. And now he was going to be alone. Levi took a deep breath, he wouldn't let this get to him. He promised Hange when she left that he'd be okay, and he will. It's just a day like any other. He'll be fine.
Levi made tea while Erwin and Mike set up the tree and began decorating. He denied any attempts they made to get him to help, instead Levi remained sat in his favourite armchair drinking his tea and glaring at them occasionally.
A couple of hours later they were done and even Levi had to admit it looked good. Mike sprawled himself onto the couch taking up more room than should be humanly possible as Erwin took the other armchair. The three of them sat in companionable silence, watching the twinkling fairy lights flicker amongst the tree branches. Levi set his empty tea cup down.
'Thank you. Although I still think it was a waste of time.' He told them
'You're welcome and it wasn't a waste of time.' Replied Erwin.
'You know it is. I don't care about all this shit. That's Hange's thing and she's not going to be back til January.'
'Yeah but you're gonna be Skyping her though. Think of how happy that nerd will be when she sees the tree behind you.' Mike said. Levi glanced over at him. Mike had a point, it would make Hange happy to see the tree. He wasn't even sure if they'd be celebrating Christmas on the expedition.
'Fine.' He muttered, admitting defeat. Mike grinned at him.
The fell back into silence. Levi forgot how easy it was to be around the two blonds. Neither forcing Levi into unwanted conversation, just happy to be in each others company. He guessed that's why they had remained friends all this time. Mike yawned as he shuffled about, making himself comfortable and Levi caught sight of Erwin's soft smile as he too watched Mike's movement. Levi knew that look, he'd made himself. The look of pure adoration. Levis throat suddenly felt tight, it felt like his heart was trapped in there as his mind drifted towards Hange.
Erwin cleared his throat,
'Well we should get going.' He said pulling himself up. Levi and Mike followed suit, trailing behind Erwin as he headed out. They said their goodbyes on the porch, but just as Erwin was turning to leave he stopped.
'You know you're more than welcome to spend Christmas with us.' He said softly.
'I'm okay.' Levi told him.
'I know, but that doesn't mean you have to be on your own.'
Levi felt a sudden rush of warmth and gratitude for his friend.
'Thank you, but we have a Skype date arrange and well... I don't want to miss it. We don’t get to talk all that often.’ Levi explained.
'Fair enough. But if you change your mind just give us a call.' Erwin said and with an affection squeeze of Levi's shoulder he turned to go. Levi waved them off before shutting himself back into the house. Upon returning to the sitting room he saw two small parcels nearly wrapped in gold and red paper sat under the tree. One of them must've slipped them under there when Levi wasn't looking. He rolled his eyes and let a small smile creep onto his lips.
---
'It's so fucking cold you have no idea!' Hange complained.
'You're in the Arctic, what the fuck did you expect? Palm trees?' Levi said with a roll of his eyes. Hange grinned at him.
Levi was sat at the desk in the corner of the sitting room, the screen of their PC full of Hange's face. Her hair was wild and unkempt, and Levi had the feeling without him their to nag at her she probably hasn't washed it in a while. He grimaced at the thought. This was the only thing Levi really looked forward to of late, their Skype dates. Hange would tell him about the research she'd been doing. He'd update her on the happenings of home. Of course it made everything all the more worse when they had to say goodbye. But Levi put that out of his mind and focussed in on whatever Hange was rambling on about now.
'So Moblit fell through some ice yesterday, poor kid was soaked.' She was saying.
'I would imagine so.'
'He had to walk back to came like that as well! Lucky he didn't get hypothermia!'
'Aren't the suits you wear supposed to prevent that?'
'Well yeah. But still Levi!' Hange sighed as though he was ruining the story by pointing this out.
Levi rolled his eyes and shifted in his seat. That's when she noticed.
'Levi! Move!'
'What?' Levi asked bewildered.
'Move out the way!' She said motioning him to one side. He did as she asked and her face lit up.
'You got a tree! Oh Levi I didn't think you would but you did! You aren't a big old Scrooge after all!' She cried.
'Um yeah, thought I might as well.'
Levi turned to look at the tree, a little part of him felt guilty, after all it had been Erwin and Mike who got the tree, but he wasn't going to tell Hange that. He was sure they wouldn't be mad at him taking the credit.
'It looks lovely,' Hange gushed. 'We have a small artificial one in the kitchen area. It's not quite the same but it's all we could really bring along really.'
'I'm sure it's fine. At least it'd be less hassle, none of those damn needles to clear up every day.'
'Aw shush! You love it.'
Levi had turned back to face her. He really did owe Erwin and Mike, Hange looked so happy to see the tree. Her eyes sparkling, pleased to see that Levi was still partaking in Christmas even when she wasn't there.
'Oh, I have to go. It's Petra's turn on the laptop.' Hange said her face suddenly falling. Levi hated this part. He hated saying goodbye again.
'Right, so um when can you next..?' He asked. They couldn't do this everyday after all.
'Christmas Eve.' Hange told him. She didn't sound as enthusiastic as before. He knew it was hard for her to say goodbye as well.
'Okay. 7pm my time as usual?'
'Yeah, so I guess...'
'We'll talk then. Don't get yourself eaten by a polar bear or anything.' Levi said. A small smile appeared on Hange's lips.
'I'll try my best. But you do remember how huggable they look.' She replied, a wicked glint in her eyes.
'Please do not attempt to hug a polar bear Four Eyes.'
Hange grinned at him and with a wave she disconnected. They never actually said the words. They never did. It was easier just to end it like that.
Levi got up stretching, his back popping, they really needed a more comfortable desk chair. He looked over to where the tree sat twinkling in the corner, there were a few more gifts under it now and Levi would add to that tomorrow. He needed to get Erwin and Mike something extra special since they'd been right about the tree.
Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve would be the next time he spoke to Hange, that was in six days time. He could make it that long. He was a goddamn grown man. He could make it six days without speaking to his partner.
---
Those six days went by in a haze of cleaning, shopping, cooking and snow. The snow began to fall on the 22nd. He'd been on his way home from work when it had started, crisp white flakes swirling through the air onto his hunched shoulders as he walked the narrow streets. Hands buried deep in his pockets Levi let out a huff of annoyance, his breath misting before him. He hated the snow. It was cold and wet, two of his least favourite things to be.
By the next morning there were a good couple of inches covering his once immaculate garden. The street was quilted in a soft glow of white, it seemed to mute the world outside. Levi grumbled. He hated the snow.
By Christmas Eve the snow was ankle deep. Levi's boots crunched through the fresh layer as he made his way up his porch steps. He'd decided to call into Erwin and Mike's that morning to deliver their gifts. Really he just needed to give himself something to do or else he'd spend the whole day counting down the minutes until 7 o'clock and his Skype date with Hange.
Levi made himself dinner. Cleaned up after he was done. Opened the last door on the homemade advent calendar Hange had gave him before she left. Inside was a mint humbug. Levi smiled remembering the jibes aimed at him being a Scrooge.
It was a quarter to seven when Levi sank down into the uncomfortable desk chair. A freshly made cup of tea in hand. He waited.
And he waited some more.
7 o'clock came and went without an appearance from Hange.
It wasn't a big deal, she probably just got held up with work. What with the lack of time zone/sunlight she probably hadn't even noticed. Levi made himself a fresh cup of tea, it wouldn't be the first time Hange Zoe had ever been late. It probably wouldn't be the last.
7.30 came and went.
7.45...
8 o'clock...
Levi checked the internet connection.
8.15...
Levi made more tea.
8.30...
8.45...
9 o'clock... the tea sat cold. Levi was starting to worry. Hange had never missed a Skype date before. Was there something wrong?
9.15...
Had she simply forgotten?
When the old clock on the mantelpiece struck 10 Levi's heart sank. Hange had never missed a Skype call before. There had to be something wrong, and yet he knew of there was something Moblit at least would have contacted him. No, she had simply forgot. Most likely too engrossed in her work. That was Hange all over. Fully engrossed in whatever damn experiment she'd been doing. Levi had been forgotten.
Hurt and anger swelled up inside him. Levi knew Hange was a bit of a flake at times, he'll he knew she missed appointments and meetings all the time. But never with him...
It wasn't a big deal. Levi knew how important her work was to Hange. She'd always been like that, it had been one of the things he liked about her. And this was all she'd ever worked for, it was fine. Her work was the priority right now, that was something he'd just have to accept.
Levi pushed the chair back and stood, possibly a bit more abruptly than he meant. Grabbing the cup of cold tea he went to the kitchen. Methodically he emptied and cleaned the cup. Just as he was reaching to put it back in the cupboard Levi heard a scuffle and a thud from the porch. He slammed the cupboard door shut. If that was those damn kids from up the street thrusting snowballs again he was going to kill them. He really wasn't in the mood for their bullshit right now. He marched through the hall and wrenched the front door open.
He was all ready to give hell to the kids but Levi's words were lost before he began. He stood frozen, mouth gaping.
Standing before him, bundled up in layers of scarves and jackets stood Hange. She stopped rummaging through the satchel at her hip and looked up at Levi. Her face splitting into the widest grin.
'Hey!' She breathed. There she was, nose red from the cold, messy hair dusted with snow and Levi was pretty sure she had a fingerprint across the left lens of her glasses. Levi couldn't quite believe it.
'I couldn't find my key!' She said with a chuckle. Reaching up to adjust her glasses she frowned at him, as though she'd only just realised he hadn't said a word. 'Levi?'
'You missed our Skype date.' He stated.
'Flight was delayed.' Hange explained.
'Or you're just shitty at time keeping.'
'Or that,' she said with a grin.
Levi couldn't believe she was here. He watched as she bent to pick up her bags.
'Could you grab that duffle?' Hange asked straightening up. Levi didn't answer, instead he stepped forward, grabbing her scarf and pulling her down into a kiss. She dropped the bags she had picked up. Hange's lips were chapped and dry, but they'd never felt so good against his. Hange stumbled slightly as Levi pulled her in, grabbing his hips to steady herself. Hange sighed against Levi's lips, and Levi took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Keeping one hand wrapped in the scarf Levi pulled Hange closer until they were pressed together. Hange wrapped her arms around Levi's waist as he tangled his fingers into her hair.
Levi kissed Hange like he's been starved.
When they broke apart, panting slightly, Hange gently rested their foreheads together.
'Levi,' she breathed softly.
'Shut the fuck up Four Eyes.' Levi mumbled. Hange let out a breathy laugh.
'Such a charmer.'
'Why... How are you even here?' He asked.
'After we last spoke I couldn't stop thinking about how we weren't gonna spend Christmas together, and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stay there. It's only for a few days and I need to go back, but I just couldn't miss Christmas with you.' She told him.
Levi stepped back, out of their embrace. He looked up at her and smiled. He swiftly picked up her luggage and dropped it into the hallway, then taking her hand Levi lead Hange inside closing the front door behind him. Levi said nothing as he lead her upstairs to their bedroom, said nothing as he slowly removed every layer of clothing. He said nothing as he placed gentle kisses on every inch of skin revealed, as Hange's whispered his name. His hands moved lightly over soft warm skin, taking in every inch of her. His mouth found hers again pulling her back into a kiss, this time hot and heavy as tongues brushed together and teeth nipped at lips. As they fell into bed Hange let out a load moan tangling her fingers into Levi's hair as he worked over her body taking her apart slowly. Hange arched her back, pushing into Levi as she cried his name, begging for release with laboured breath.
As they collapsed together a tangle of sweaty limbs and rose blush skin. Levi pressed his face into Hange’s hair, letting his fingers lightly trace her collarbone.
'I love you.' He whispered into her temple. Hange twisted so they were face to face, her glasses must have come off at some point because Levi was faced with her bright eyes without obstruction. The tiny flecks of green in the rich brown just visible in the dim light coming in from the streetlamp outside.
'I love you too,' she said with a warm smile.
Levi leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly to hers. He reached over pulling their blanket over them and pulled Hange close. They snuggled in together under the warm blanket. It was quiet and still but not like when Hange hadn't been there. No, this was the good quiet, the content and comfortable quiet that Levi craved. As they lay together in the silence they heard the clock downstairs chime midnight.
'Merry Christmas Levi.' Hange whispered.
'Merry Christmas Four Eyes.'