𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬 & 𝐂𝐨. [HangexFemReader]

Chapter 3: First Days at Paradis

There were many things that could go wrong on her first day. (Y/N) could have woken up late and arrived at her shift halfway through the day, she could have knocked over the piles of books littered around the office, she could have accidentally broken one of Hange's computers...but never in a million years had she anticipated that her clothes would rip ten minutes before her shift.

"Oh, no," she mumbled, tugging at the seams of her white button-down shirt. The sleeve had detached from the body of the garment and was exposing the skin of her shoulder. All she had done was stretch her arm and the cheap fabric had ripped. This was her only pair of professional clothes.

Currently, (Y/N) was hiding in one of the bathrooms in Paradis & Co., frantically trying to come up with an idea. She couldn't exactly waltz into Hange's office and go about her first-day tour looking like a mess. But she couldn't be late either. The predicament she was in was eating at her. Should she sacrifice her self-dignity? Or her punctuality?

With a sigh, (Y/N) pushed open the stall door, walking glumly towards the bathroom's exit. In the end, she had decided to sacrifice her self-dignity. Being late was worse than arriving in ripped clothing. It may have been mortifying, but that was the way her miserable life went. Everyone claimed that money didn't buy happiness, that it could never bring true joy to one's heart. But (Y/N) begged to differ. Money could pay her bills. Money could prevent her from being humiliated because of her dingy wardrobe. Money would solve all of her problems.

"(Y/N)!"

(Y/N) froze, mere feet away from the elevators. She was planning on going up to the fifth floor to meet Hange and get the instructions for her day, but it seemed as if they had other plans. The heels of their boots clicked against the shiny floors as they waved widely. She could feel the beginnings of a headache and hoped that they wouldn't talk too much. Their voice was quite annoying.

"Hello!" They greeted cheerfully, reaching forward to press the up button on the elevator. "Happy first day!"

"Hello, Lead Engineer Hange! And thank you," she responded, smiling politely. If she angled her shoulder away from them, maybe they wouldn't notice the gaping hole.

"Are you excited?" Hange asked. "Or nervous? Or maybe you just want to get over with the day and go home and watch Netflix. Any of the answers are fine, this is not a quiz!"

"I'm excited to work with you today!" (Y/N) forced a smile. Please just leave me alone, she begged internally.

"Great! But today we won't be doing any work," Hange hummed. "Usually, the interns of other department heads go through an orientation lead by an employee. But my interns get a personalized tour and orientation led by me! There is a lot of information to go over, and I'm not a fan of other people doing my responsibilities."

"That's very kind of you, Lead Engineer Hange!"

Great, I have to be stuck with you for even longer? That was what (Y/N) had thought instead. She would have preferred anyone, literally anyone else to give her the tour. She wondered if it was rude to ask Hange if Levi could give her a tour instead. She heard about his cold demeanor many times...maybe he would just be quiet and let her do her thing the entire time.

The ding of the elevator signified the arrival of the carriage and Hange ushered her in first. They pressed the button of the fifth floor before turning to look at her.

"Lesson number one," they began solemnly. "Just call me Hange. Hans is fine too. If you can think up of another nickname, that works too! The only thing that's off-limits is four eyes—only Levi calls me that!"

"Huh?" (Y/N) blinked.

Hange grinned. "Lead Engineer Hange is a mouthful and my mouth got tired saying it just once. I can only imagine what yours will go through if you repeat it all the time! We're busy people, dear, we don't have time for long titles!"