Sacrifice For You (Hange Zoe x Female Reader)

6: A Dire Situation

The golden, unforgivingly warm glow of the sun invaded my senses. I breathed in deeply, cracking open my eyes toward the light just a bit. They were stiff and aching as I rubbed the back of my hands against them, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight as a breeze crossed my skin.

"Are you alright?" Jean spoke, his face etched in a worried expression. Before answering, I looked around briefly. Eren was tucked in bed with Mikasa sitting on a stool next to him, and I had been posed lazily in a black leather chair behind them. Jean was staring at me from his spot leaning on the wall, and Armin was looking back at me from beside Mikasa.

"What's going on?" I asked softly, looking back at him. The last thing I remembered was sitting on the floor and watching Hange and the Commander leave down the hall. That look on their face...

"I found you asleep on the floor in the cell area when I was bringing you dinner- I had come to check on you after seeing Captain Levi drag you off," Armin chimed in sheepishly, his face etched in a similar expression to Jeans, "Mikasa helped me carry you here."

"Thank you both," I sighed and placed my feet on the ground, slouching over as I ran a hand through my hair with a small yawn, "how's Eren doing?" I attempted to change the subject, not wanting to dive into the events of last night.

"He's fine. He's going to be fine," Mikasa suddenly spoke with a definitive tone, like she had seen a fruitful future for him in her mind already. She sounded exhausted but I nodded, and Jean's footsteps made their way toward me. He crouched down, looking at me with circles under his eyes. He hadn't taken the bait.

"What happened, [Y/N]?" He questioned, clearing his throat, "we all thought that Captain Levi was going to have us by the neck when he found you here, but he never came. Why is that?" his eyes searched my own, and I answered him at first with a small shrug. It took me a second to mull it over in my mind, feeling the tiredness fade from my body as the memories flooded back in.

"I guess he just gave up on me," I laughed blankly, my shoulders sagging, "I mean, it's probably about time, right? Then again, I thought he'd give up on you first." The joke didn't produce the reaction I wanted, and instead Jean looked away while Armin frowned toward me. I swallowed nervously, and a small rustling sound filled the air. Eren sat up slowly, and I saw Mikasa's hand shoot out toward him hurriedly. This caused Jean and Armin to turn their attention away from me. Thank the Walls, I thought.

The four of them began discussing everything that had happened in the past 24 hours, but I tuned out, curling up in the chair and staring at the sunlight that flooded in from the window and onto the wooden flooring. I could hear Jean complaining about how the mission was a waste, yet his usual pessimism faded into white noise as I leaned back into my own mind.

I've been in this slump for far too long... It may have been only a few days, but in a world like this? I folded my arms across my stomach, I don't have time to ponder on unanswered questions, no matter how much I want to. A gnawing feeling spread throughout my limbs, and I shut my eyes briefly. My throat felt like it was about to close in on itself, and Hange's face before they walked out of the door was intruding on my thoughts.

"Hey," Jean waved his hand in front of my face suddenly, standing in front of me once again and causing me to jump just a bit, "you know I'm not buying any of this nonsense, right? What the hell happened?"

I sighed and glanced briefly at Mikasa, Eren, and Armin- who were enthralled in their own conversation, one that was probably much more important than what was going on with me. Reluctantly, I cleared my throat to speak, "Captain Levi was just pissed that I broke off from my group- that's all." Jean tilted his head in confusion.