invidia 『Hange Zoë』

8: "i just wanted to give you something"

You get back to HQ way past dinnertime, but Moblit ate with his friends and you had some food at the pub you waited in, so neither of you are hungry, just tired from the journey. You say your goodbyes before departing to your room, wanting nothing more than to flop onto your bed face first and fall asleep.

Seems you aren't that lucky though.

"(Y/N)!" An excited voice calls out to you from down the hallway, a messy mop of dark brown hair and a pair of glasses greeting your eyes as you look to find the source of the voice. "Come here a sec." Hange beckons you towards their own office before heading off in that direction without waiting for you to follow.

Lamenting your frustration verbally as you mutter an intelligent string of curse words under your breath, you quickly drop your jacket, harness and a couple of other things you'd had with you in your room before you rush after Hange, finding them hopping from one foot to the other as they wait for you by their door.

"What is it you want? I'm exhausted, Hange," you whine quietly, looking up at them from where you currently stand as they continue to hop about, full of energy you wish you had. "I just want the day to be over."

"I know, it won't take long," they pat your head the same way Moblit had earlier before slipping energetically into the office and gesturing for you to follow behind. "I just wanted to give you something."

Confused, you tilt your head in question as the door shuts behind you, the soft click of the latch pulling closed registering in your ears. "Why?"

They seem to lose some of their energy, turning almost... Shy? Hange wrings their hands together awkwardly as they head to their desk, looking for something, hands hovering over the drawers before pulling one open and taking something out. "Well, you've had a difficult day, and I... Wasn't very nice to you earlier so I went out and found something that might make today a little nicer!"

They turn around, something in their hands behind their back, a sheepish smile on their face. So this is an apology. "You didn't have to do anything, Hange, you were probably just tired too earlier and-"

"No don't make excuses for me, it's not fair on you," Hange stops you talking, and the interruption kind of annoys you more but you're too tired to say anything about that. "Besides, I wanted to do something nice for my friend."

Your heart sinks at their use of the word 'friend', and you really try not to let it show on your face. They could've at least said best friend, maybe. Or something more... Though that's not worth thinking about when you're so exhausted.

Your eyes scan the way they stand, still with their hands behind their back; they're in their casual clothes, a dark cardigan over a plain navy blue shirt and comfy looking slacks (even slippers, how cute). Their hair is down, and messy, like they've been lying down, glasses on askew, placed on their face in a rush. Did they fall asleep waiting for you to return?

"(Y/N)?" Hange asks, sounding a little self-conscious, and you realise you were staring for a few minutes, snapping out of your observation. Your face flushes warm, but it feels nice to feel embarrassed again, something you're more used to than what you've been feeling since Emmeline died. "Sorry, I know I don't really look presentable-"

"Shush, I'm just tired. I zoned out," you reassure them, finding it odd that they'd worry about how they look when they usually just don't care. "Sorry, you can continue."

"Right. Well, I had a small amount of money left this month from my salary and I remember there being a cute little bakery in the northern part of the city-" Hange starts explaining excitedly, one of their hands being freed to wave around as they talk, and you immediately know which bakery they mean.