11 - The Dumb Group Project, pt.2

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"Levi, just pull it out!"
"It's gonna hurt you!"
"I don't care, just do it...and quickly," she said, closing her eyes tightly shut, her heartbeat quickening.
"Alright, alright, calm down, four-eyes."

He glanced at the glass shard which was jammed into her palm - it wasn't a deep enough wound to cause too much blood loss, but he was also unsure of whether to seek medical advice. That would mean records had to be brought up, resulting in the orphanage possibly being called. Something they both knew they couldn't risk. With neither of them willing to gamble their freedom, Levi took Hange's palm in his, making sure he was wearing cleaning gloves before he did anything, and quickly removed the shard from her palm. She winced and even squealed at the sudden action.

Just as fast as he'd removed the glass, he pressed a clean cloth against her palm.
"You idiot! I left you for two seconds in the kitchen alone and you broke a whole fucking glass?!"
"Sorry...ah! You're hurting it."
"I have to put pressure otherwise you're gonna lose blood."
"Tsk."
"Stealing my line now, four-eyes?"
She rolled her eyes playfully, even though her hand right now was killing her.

"Hange, keep pressing down on it, I'm gonna go get the first aid kit."
"M'kay."
Hange sat on Levi's bed, as she watched him reach for the first aid kit on the top of the wardrobe. His shirt slightly lifted up, revealing part of his stomach, to which Hange averted her gaze towards her hand.

"I'm surprised you could reach up there, shorty."
"Tsk, fuck off, four-eyes." 

He removed the cloth, and noticed the blood had stopped. Taking a sterilised bandage out of the box, he tied the bandages around her hand, not too tight and definitely not too loose.
"There, if it starts bleeding again...then we'll have to take you to a hospital. Don't touch it, though and you'll be okay."
"Thanks, Levi."

The weekend had arrived and the pair of them had to go out to meet their group so they could work on their dumb group project. Both had arranged to meet their classmates in the local library, but they were delayed due to another one of Hange's shenanigans. It was her right hand that had been affected, meaning that it would now feel sore if she wrote.

Nonetheless, the pair of them walked to the library, Hange's injured hand stuffed into her coat pocket. She flinched, as she tried to rest it in there.
"Does it hurt?" Levi asked, taking her palm in his, handling it gently.
"A little bit."
"Here," he said, taking off his thick pair of woolly gloves and putting it on her hands instead.
"Your hands will get cold otherwise."
Hange blushed at the sudden gesture - not like they hadn't shared their belongings before, they always did. She convinced herself it was just the cold making her cheeks red.

When they arrived at the library, they were greeted with warmth and the strangely comforting scent of new and old books. Hange saw her group in the corner, sitting near the non-fiction books, while Levi's were situated in the far end of the library, towards the microfilm readers and historical records.
"I guess I'll see you in two hours?" Hange said, clearing her throat.
"Meet me here when you're done. Don't work your hand too much, either. I'll be pissed if I have to take you to the hospital," he instructed, hiding his concern for her behind his harsh demeanour.
"Alright, shorty."
"Tsk, see you later four-eyes." 

They parted ways, rendezvousing with their groups. About forty-five minutes in, Rico had to separate Kyo and Erwin from fighting - like Hange had, Erwin defended Jimin from Kyo's devilry. Instead of trying to separate the fight, Hange had to admit that she wanted to see Erwin kick Kyo's ass, but Rico reasoned with Erwin too soon.
"Let's just get this dumb project done and then we can go, goldie."
Hange's eyebrows crinkled at the nickname Rico had made for Erwin.
"Yeah, goldie, Hange teased, her chuckles stifled by trying to come across as serious.
Erwin playfully rolled his eyes at her. Rico struck a glare in Hange's direction, which she decided to ignore.

"Let's split the groups into teams and allocate roles," Jimin quietly suggested.
"I'm working with Hange and Jimin!" Erwin quickly shouted, before Rico had the chance.
"So, I guess that leaves Kyo and Rico," Hange said, her voice dripping with a smug tone.

In Levi's group, they had already begun working and were silently getting on with their tasks individually. Nanaba was copying something from a textbook, Petra was drawing up a diagram, Rin was sticking stuff down on the poster and Suga was...sleeping? On the desk.

Levi wasn't exactly focused - he was worried about Hange's hand. It troubled him that she most likely wasn't resting her hand as he had advised her. She always acted on impulse. It was one of her most loveable traits - both a strength and a weakness, since it resulted in her often acting without considering herself or the risks.

'Loveable?'

He shook the thought out of his head, as he continued writing.

-----

"I'm just gonna go look for a book in the Human Sciences section, I'll be right back," Hange informed Jimin, who nodded and flashed her a pleasant smile in response.
She disappeared amongst the shelves, running her fingers across the book spines. She extended her bandaged hand for the book, a familiar-looking hand also hesitantly reaching for the same book.

"Hey shorty."
"Hey four-eyes."

"Couldn't keep yourself away from me for even an hour~."
"Tsk, shut up four-eyes. You're annoying."
"Hmm, but you love me."
"Y-you fucking wish."
He'd hoped she hadn't heard the stammer in his voice - even he wasn't sure where that came from. But she did notice it and quite frankly...never once had he tripped over his words when talking to her.

"Is...something wrong, Levi?"
"No," he said, snatching the book out of her hands. She wore a mock-hurt display on her face, pouting her lips, furrowing her eyebrows.
Levi smirked and pompously raised an eyebrow, as he turned away on his heel.
On his way back to the table, he felt a strange tug on the strings of his heart at the cute expression she had made.

'Cute?'

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