Sacrifice For You (Hange Zoe x Female Reader)

14: Cuffs

The saying 'ignorance is bliss' had always irked me, and I'd wondered how people could feel so content by not knowing the truth. Answers had been the only thing I'd wanted for so long. I'd craved them desperately, desiring nothing more than to get rid of the suffocating feeling that had chained itself to me with no key.

But maybe I was wrong. Maybe ignorance is the only way to survive in a world like this. Yet, I had been too stubborn; too headstrong to give in.

And now I had found the key. The consequences of losing those cuffs, those chains I believed to be so fucking dreadful and horrid, slammed into me the second I'd unlocked the restraints. All of the pining, wanting, and begging was fulfilled as the metal dropped to the ground.

The full impact didn't register at first. And it still didn't register when I felt two hands clamp down on my arms, shaking me gently. The strange relief I had anticipated, all of the scenarios I'd played out so meticulously in my head, and most of all, my readiness to face reality had completely dissipated.

Everything was a blur. I knew I was speaking, yet I couldn't hear the words I was saying. Empty sobs and a panicked tone infiltrated my ears, but I couldn't bring myself to care. My legs had started moving before I knew what I was doing, pushing my body forward. Finally, my mind halted for a moment.

They killed him. That was what they said.

Those lips. The ones I had often dreamt about late into the night, paired with the voice that I had admired so deeply for so long and wanted nothing more than to call mine. They had been the key all this time. They had known everything that I'd been searching for.

I turned, sudden recognition overcoming me. I was still standing on top of the wall, staring at the brunette in front of me. They were a few feet away with tears streaming down their face, looking back at me with an expression twisted with regret.

"Please, [Y/N], just let me explain further. I'm begging you," they sobbed. I felt wetness on my own face at the sight.

My mouth parted slightly, searching for something to say for a few moments. "Hange...," I whispered, my voice coming out hoarse. The initial shock was starting to wear off, and I could feel a range of other emotions building in my chest.

"You... you were about to die." They took a careful step forward. "I know it's not an excuse, but I couldn't lose you. I- I can't. I can't lose you, [Y/N]."

My skin ran cold, and I could do nothing but stare back at them in awe. The words I had wanted to hear for so long; the confession that I scolded myself for musing about like a lovesick teenager. Just the thought of it had made my heart skip a beat before. But now I couldn't process a thing. Not a single syllable.

All this time I'd been mulling over the details. I'd convinced myself that I had to be at fault for the death of my closest friend. The boy that I'd grown up next to. The one that had comforted me when I was sad, that had made me laugh no matter how dire the situation we were in was.

"You knew... you always knew," I whispered. They looked back at me in shock before stifling an ashamed nod. "I thought I killed him. I thought that I had messed up somehow- that I'd been responsible," I heard my voice crack.

My mind was spinning the fastest it ever had, and the pieces were coming back to me far too slowly. I stepped back quickly now, nearly stumbling over myself. "[Y/N]!" they called out, rushing after me as I pivoted and made my way to the nearest exit.

Why am I leaving? Why can't I turn and face them? I shouldn't care about the details. Or about how it happened. The important thing is that Will is dead. They killed him. They killed the sweet boy I adored so much.