Amelia ☾ [L. Ackerman X OC]

Sixty Six

Amelia walked along the creaking corridor, softly knocking on the door before her. Her knuckles tapped three times, the sound echoing through the small, empty space.

"Come in!" Their voice cheerfully chimed, granting permission.

She obeyed, quietly stepping into their office.

"What can I do for you?"

"Commander." She formally saluted, Hange waving a casual arm in the air, "no need for that, Captain."

She timidly nodded, "I- I wanted to come and thank you."

"Thank me?" Hange blinked in surprise, their deep brown irises wide behind their glasses, which were perfectly perched along the brim of their slender nose.

"Yes," Amelia confirmed, respectfully standing tall, fingers interwoven against her back, "for everything you've done for me."

Hange scanned her with an intense suspicion, not quite fathoming why she'd acted in such a peculiar manner. Noting no physical difference in her demeanor, they directly asked, "is there a reason for this?"

"Not particularly, I merely concluded that you deserved to be made aware."

"Well then," Hange broadly grinned, "I appreciate it! That's really nice of you to say! I'm really grateful for you too, Amelia! Nobody has ever listened to my experiments like you have."

"I'm delighted that I could do that for you." Amelia returned the kind sentiment, "please, excuse me."

"Of course." Hange beamed, flashing her an encouraging thumbs up and a wink, "keep up the exceptional work!"

Amelia hummed in response while she exited the room, Hange skeptically narrowing her gaze once her tiny frame was out of sight.

Something was definitely deviating about the interaction, and Hange hadn't enjoyed the stirring in their stomach. Not one bit.

I'll have to talk to Levi later; that wasn't normal behavior. They astutely placed their chin in their palm, elbow on the desk before them. Their brows furrowed and forehead creased, stray framing pieces of chestnut lightly brushing their cheeks as they focused on the individual ridges of the paneling on the surface they perched on.