{LEVIHAN} Always

Chapter 22: Precious Heart

Armin's POV

"L-Levi... what's going on?" Commander- no, just Hanji... she asked Levi as the toddler at her feet quickly ran to him. The chubby toddler waddled to his father, looking at everyone with fear in his eyes. Brown eyes... just like Hanji's... "I... I can explain..."

"How are you alive?" Jean asks, slowly reaching out to her. "You're... alive? But... you died... wait, how long have you been alive?!"

"A ghost comes back from the dead..." Pieck says with a smile as both Gabi and Falco stared.

Mikasa gave a soft smile, but I could see she was being hurt inside. If there was a chance to bring someone back from the dead... I'm sure I would know who she would bring back. I would've brought Hanji back as well... seeing how much she impacted me as much as Erwin did.

Onyankonpon simply smiled, as if he... Onyankonpon knew... he knew she was alive!

"As I said, I'll explain it. Someone help-."

Mikasa quickly takes the groceries from Hanji's hands and sets them in the kitchen. "Raven, go take your brother back to the bedroom and play with him," Levi says, kissing the girl's forehead.

"But... I wanna stay here."

"The adults have to talk," Levi says sternly, brushing some of the hair out of his daughter's face. "Just for now, okay? Play with your brother. I'll call you here when we're done talking."

Raven hung her head lowly, nodding her head. "Okay..." She turns to her brother, practically dragging him by the arms. "Come on, Zayne! Maybe we can play with the snakes!"

"Snake! Snake!" The boy shouts, chasing after his older sister to the other room.

Once the door shuts behind them, I let out my words without holding back. "Why didn't you tell me about Hanji, Levi?" Everyone stared at me in shock. "You know I was helping search for her! I tried to join a lot of the searches to find her... even if she was bones."

"I told you, Armin, to drop the searches. I didn't want you to keep doing that. If I had known that you kept doing that-."

"You what? Would've told me about Hanji being alive?"

"If we told you, Armin... I'm not going to be blunt about it," says Hanji, cradling her baby bump, "so, I'll say it straight up: you have trouble hiding secrets from everyone." She confesses, shaking her head. "If we had told you, in a week or so, everyone would've heard the news. I didn't want anyone else to know. I'll tell you why- because I was the only one who came back from the dead, and no one else did."

"How?"

"Someone saved me. They spent a long time creating a serum that'll heal people. He used the serum on me, and all of my wounds healed. He told me that the serum healed 3 years of my injuries, almost making me 3 years younger. It was the last one..."

Then, it hits me. The night when Levi first fell down the stairs to the basement, ranting about seeing Hanji in the basement. "You... you were in the basement... Levi wasn't hallucinating."

"Basement?" Jean pipes up with his eyes widening. "Right... but Mikasa and I checked the room three times. We didn't find her there."

Hanji gives an awkward laugh, almost like she was remembering old memories. "Oh... that's because I had hiding spots. Like secret rooms. Only I knew about them, and it worked. You guys didn't find me."

"But why hide?" Connie questions, shaking his head as well. "We thought Levi was going crazy... we thought he was grieving..."

"Because I couldn't bear the thought of explaining things to you. To everyone. I was dead to you, and I could rest in peace. I wanted to live alone... somewhere that's quiet... a place where no one wants to disturb me. Onyankonpon provided that to me."

"How did he know?" Reiner looks up to him. "Onyankonpon, you have a lot to explain."

Onyankonpon nodded his head, unable to hide the bright smile. He looks down at Hanji's baby bump, chuckling. "For one, I didn't know you two were lovers and wanted to have children. That was a shock to me as well. One of the mornings I came to Levi's room, I found Hanji in his room, alive and well. I wanted to tell everyone about it, but they wanted to be left alone. That's why only their doctor and I knew of their existence."

"Armin, can I talk to you alone?" Hanji asks, slowly walking outside. 

"Y-Yes."

I followed her outside, and we walked towards the woods. We were isolated and there was no way for other people to sneak up and listen to our conversation. She takes a deep breath, looking down at her feet.

"I know you hate me-."

"I wanted to help put you to rest... you were alive all of this time..."

"I didn't want to be commander anymore. I'm sorry to put that much of a burden on you. But I have to say this... Erwin would've been proud of you."

I shook my head, denying it. "I'm not that good at this job."

Hanji laughs softly, leaning against the tree nearby. "Onyankonpon has told a lot about you... and if I am honest, I'm proud of you. She beckons me closer, and I do so. She firmly places her hands on my shoulders, continuing to smile. "Even without me, you held your ground. Armin, I'm proud of you. I'm sorry for all of the pain I caused... if I had known you were still suffering, I would've shown myself to you. But of course, you had to keep it a secret."

"But everyone knows now..."

She nods her head. "But it's just you guys. Keep your lips sealed about me."

"Hanji, if you wouldn't mind, can I ask for your opinion on everything relating to being a commander? I know you're technically dead and retired..."

"I'll help in every way I can."

She's back... Hanji's back...