Hello, Stranger (Hange Zoë x f!reader)

Part eight

Minutes had turned to hours. You had sorted, tidied, sat, shuffled, and still, nothing. Neither hide nor hair of Hange. They had to be back soon. It’d be dark. They wouldn’t be able to see as well in the dark. Had they gotten hurt? The idea sat uneasily on your shoulders, whispering uncertainties into your ears. No. If the experiment had failed, there would have had to be some indication. A smoke signal, like the one you had seen them use in the forest, a messenger, noise, anything. They were fine. You sighed. They had to be. They were just late. Then again, they wouldn’t be expecting anyone. You slouched further on your chair. You were half tempted to nosey through one of the hundreds of tomes lining the walls,, but ultimately thought better of the idea. For all you knew, they could be personal. You couldn’t possibly delve further than you already had. You would just have to sit and twiddle your thumbs for a bit longer.

You groaned. Something now was poking you. At the back of your head, something chided you to respond, but yet again, you didn’t. You were comfy.

“Sorry kid, I need my desk. I need to write this up while it’s still fresh, so you’re gonna need to find somewhere else to slack off from Levi’s cleaning duties.”

The surface you had rested of your head on shuddered. You groaned.

“Come on sleepy, up you get.”

You squinted as you were hauled up by the collar. Just as the room came into focus, you realised who it was had taken you by the scruff like a kitten. Your eyes widened.

“Hang-“

You cursed as your head dropped back suddenly onto the desk.

“Ah, ow. Nice to see you too,” you chuckled through your teeth, cradling your head in your hands. 

“Y/N...” Hange trailed off, as if unable to believe it was you they had just allowed to face plant.

You stood up, brushing off your dishevelled uniform in an attempt to look somewhat more presentable. The throbbing in your forehead was unimportant now. They looked exactly as you remembered, goggles perched on their forehead, and their hair styled in that distinctly Hange style. Only now, you were only slightly shorter than them, and whiskerless.

“Decided to take you up on that offer, it started to get boring without you. Titans aren’t good for holding conversations.”

Heat burned in your cheeks as they studied you silently. Were they angry you had come? You searched their face. They didn’t look angry, yet you couldn’t quite place what emotion was twisting their features like that.

You flinched as they took another step closer, and after another half second of studying, Hange wrapped you in a hug. You froze as their warmth enveloped your senses. They had held you as a cat, yes, but not like this. It felt innately personal, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like it. Gingerly, you lifted your arms, and held Hange in turn. You began to relax into it, allowing yourself to bury your nose in their jacket and breathe in their scent. It was as if the tension dropped from your shoulders as you held them close. Hange still had said nothing, yet, they weren’t pushing you away. You had to take that as a positive, at least.

“I, I honestly didn’t know if I’d see you again. I thought you’d be stuck there. You didn’t even have a horse.” Their voice was quiet, subdued, for once.

“You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easy, did you?” Your heart continued to thrum as you spoke. They had missed you. Selfishly, you were glad.

They moved you back, holding your shoulders still. A soft smile pulled up the corners of their lips.

“Look at you, here, now. I didn’t recognise you in the uniform. I didn’t know who it was, but not, I didn’t expect you.”

“Sorry, I just, I didn’t want anyone to think I wasn’t meant to be here. Everyone has swords. I can give it back, here,” you trailed off as you began to fiddle with the buckle on your chest. Bad idea. Don’t be a thief Y/N.

“No, no, keep it. It fits. We’ve got plenty.” They shooed your hands away. They smiled softly. “Honestly, it suits you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” you mirrored their smile. “Sorry for falling asleep on your desk, I thought you’d be here sooner.”

This time, they laughed. “I should have but, you should have seen it.” Their eyes glazed over in wonder, their cheeks flushed. “Eren’s titan, it’s beautiful. Gorgeous. He’s huge, nowhere was big as the colossal, but, huge, and, intelligent. He could communicate, not with words but still. Compactly muscular...” They began rifling through their papers now, and pulled out a sketch of something that looked just human and titan enough to be wholly unnerving. Its features were angular, lipless, with a rather pointed chin. You’d never seen anything like it.

“Look at him, isn’t he magnificent?” Their voice was higher pitched now, and they were visibly excited. They loved this. “Buuuut, then short stack started getting pissy, said we had to get back before dark.” Hange sighed. Obviously, they’d wanted to do more. “Just not enough hours in the day. I’d wanted to test his rates of regeneration. But, anyway, are you planning to stay, or is this a drop in thing?”

“Oh, well,” you scratched the back of your neck, “that depends on whether you want me here.” It was true. You wanted to see them, but, you wouldn’t be so selfish as to stay if they didn’t want you here. You had survived on your own before, and you could do it again. Even if they only wanted ‘fluffy’, not you, you could deal with it.

“Of course I want you here.” Hange blinked at you incredulously, as if you’d struck them across the face, “Why do you think I asked you to come? You actually took an interest in my research, you’ve lived outside the walls even after the fall. I find that fascjnating.”

You shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never been around people much. I just wanted to make sure. What if you changed your mind when you got home, or they don’t allow outsiders here? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

Hange shook their head. “Well, that’s stupid. You’ve lived among titans in the forest, you’re bound to know things we can use, and don’t underestimate me. I can wear Erwin down to the point he agrees, believe me.”

Somehow, you could see that.

“You’re going to be staying with me then. Unless you want to stay in the barracks –“

“No, no,” you shook off the thought. “I’d, I’d like to stay here with you.”

Hange nodded, seemingly pleased with your answer. “I might need bunk beds. Do we have bunk beds? You ever slept in a bunk bed? Probably not, but they’re fun. Moblit’ll know if we have any. And blankets, extra blankets. Pillows. Pyjamas? Pyjamas.”

They were planning to go get it now, you realised, and before they could move, you grabbed their hand.

“Don’t bother him now, I’m sure he’s tired. I can sleep on the floor, I don’t mind.”

“No guest of mine is sleeping on the floor.”

They trailed off, tapping their foot as they thought.

“Then you can share my bed.”

You blinked. How were they so nonchalant about that?

“No, no –“

Hange obviously found your embarrassment amusing.

“Don’t get so uptight now, Y/N, we practically shared a bed before. It’ll be fine. You don’t snore. Much.”

Snoring wasn’t what you were worried about.

“My bathroom’s back there, I can go wash up in the other bathroom down the hall, you’ve got five minutes!”

Hange had thrown you a large shirt before they’d slipped out the door. It smelt like them. You were going to wear this? Only this? Heat climbed up the back of your neck at the mere thought. Were they going to wear just that? You suppressed the image that popped into your head and shook yourself. Get ready, you reminded yourself. You panic later.

You splashed your face with cold water. Did you smell ok? You hoped the smell of the soap would cling to your skin. You didn’t want to smell like an animal. You could hear the door open. They were back. You hurried into your pyjamas.

“Hurry it up Y/N, I’m going to bed, and I will hog the duvet!”

It had begun to dawn on you that your fondness for Hange was more than just a friend. Granted, you’d had very few friends, but the way your gut twisted when they smiled, you knew there was something else, even if you weren’t entirely sure what it was . You cared what they thought of you, and to be brutally honest, it terrified you. You cast one final glance at yourself in the mirror, attempting to smooth your hair. You’d be fine, you half pleaded with yourself.

Hange’s hair was splayed in the pillow, as they lay looking at you expectantly. You froze.

“Come on then, it’s cold.”

You stepped closer. They didn’t seemed worried in the slightest, instead seemingly increasingly drowsy. Hange watched as you slipped into the bed alongside them, eyes half lidded, shuffling to make room for you. Their warmth had seeped onto your half. They smelt fresh, almost floral, on the pillow opposite. Your heart thrummed. How were you meant to sleep like this?

“Nighty night then, sleep well!”

The final candle was blown out, and the two of us were plunged into darkness. Before long, their breathing had settled into a soft monotony, trusting you completely. It would be a long night.