For the One I Love || Hanji x Female Reader

Chapter Four: Of Invitations

"Now then, will you tell me how you got this wound?" Hanji asked in a clipped tone, while proceeding to disinfect the offending area, which really stung, to be honest.

A while back, Hanji almost literally dragged me to one of the rooms inside the headquarters where the medical supplies were kept. I felt guilty for not telling them - which, again, was stupid of me, but I didn't want to add to the stress everyone felt due to the recent expedition. It wasn't a major injury after all, which is why I actually forgot about it, and only remembered when Hanji called me out. Apparently, the blood had faintly stained my uniform, much to my annoyance.

"I scraped it when I hit the tower a while ago," I explained in a low tone as I looked down on my fingers, feeling as though I were a child who needs to be punished.

"It doesn't look like a scrape, [Y/N]. It looks like someone slashed you with a blade," Hanji slightly raised their voice as they continued, seemingly suspicious of my answer.

"But I'm not lyi-ouch!" I yelped as they put more disinfectant on the wound.

"That's what you get for not being careful," Hanji told me in a stern voice, but strangely, they seemed to be avoiding my glances.

"I'm sorry, Hanji. I really am," I muttered as I peered at them, wanting to study the current look on their face.

Their hair covered their eyes, effectively masking whatever they were attempting to hide. Hanji's voice may have been stern and commanding, but their hands said otherwise. Hanji's touch was almost feather-like, as though they were holding a fragile porcelain doll.

"It's my fault. I'm sorry [Y/N], I failed to protect you," Hanji said with a sigh, finally making eye contact with me for the first time since we arrived at the headquarters.

Protect me?

I noticed Hanji's eyes widen a fraction before they looked downward, but it didn't hide the hint of redness that crept up their face.

"It might be bold of me to ask this but what did you mean by-"

Before I was able to ask, Captain Levi suddenly stormed inside the room and said, "So this is where you two have been."

He then proceeded to give us a pointed look, apparently asking for an explanation.

"[Y/N] got injured and decided against informing us, so I'm taking matters into my own hands," Hanji answered as they tightened the bandage they wrapped around my arm, finishing up.

"As expected," Captain Levi said lowly before continuing, "Erwin probably has another crazy idea. Head to the main room quickly. As for you brat, you're not permitted to slack off even if you're injured."

_

"...In light of the recent events, the King has invited the Survey Corps to partake in his gathering tomorrow night," Commander Erwin said with a tone of finality after the analysis and discussion of the most recent expedition.

"Then...that would mean that we're invited to a royal party?" Sasha and Connie both blurted out in unison, and everyone could see that they were the most excited of the bunch.

"That's already questionable in itself. We still do not know who's after Eren," Captain Levi intervened, with the cadets looking divided: some nodded in understanding, while the others looked dejected.

"This may be our chance, though," Armin said and looked expectantly at Commander Erwin. Mikasa and Eren seemed to agree with his suggestion.

"That's right, Armin. We can use this gathering to our advantage. We may be able to get some information or at least have an idea on what's really happening behind the scenes," Hanji's eyes almost literally sparkled at the thought of gaining new information.

I can't blame them, though. It's not an easy feeling - being always kept in the dark. Especially now that recent events are more confusing than ever. On the upside, it's also refreshing to finally be able to attend a party after all the training and life-threatening events.

"What kind of dress will you be wearing?" Sasha suddenly whispered in my ear, making me jump a little in surprise.

"I don't know, Sasha. I don't even own a dress," I told her with a small smile.

"You do have one dress! I saw you twirling last time when you wore it inside our dorms!"

I blushed deeply. I hadn't thought that anyone saw me trying it on.

"It was my mother's wedding dress. The only dress we had back home," I explained to Sasha, who only beamed at me more when she answered, "And now it's yours, [Y/N]. Believe me, it suits you perfectly. I bet even Squad Leader Hanji won't be able to take their eyes off of you."

"Sasha!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, earning the looks of almost everyone in the room.

"Glad to see you're looking forward to this as well, [Y/N]," Hanji told me with a genuine smile.

That smile is going to be the death of me.

_

It was chaotic in the dining area once the discussion was through. Why, one might ask? Because it was filled with cadets who were absolutely excited to go to a royal party. I'm one of those cadets, of course. Sasha and Connie were probably the ones with the highest amount of energy, though.

Suddenly, everyone hushed one another upon seeing Jean walking towards Mikasa, probably to ask if she can go with him tomorrow night.

"...Mikasa, if it's alright with you, I'd like to ask you if you want to go with me-"

Unfortunately, before he was able to finish his question, Eren suddenly stood up and said (more like announced), "Mikasa! Come with me to the party!"

This, once again, resulted to the aforementioned horseface to storm over to where Eren was and grab him by the collar.

"I wasn't even done asking yet!" Jean literally yelled at Eren's face, while the rest of us could only observe.

"I didn't know that you were also gonna ask her! Not my fault that you're too slow!" Eren retorted, grabbing Jean by his collar as well.

In the middle of their argument, everyone (except for Jean and Eren) saw Mikasa candidly smile and say, "Of course I'd go with you, Eren."

_

Hanji saw the young cadets chatting noisily inside the dining area, which brought a smile to their face. It was nice to see them have fun once in a while, since most of the time they had to risk their lives. They almost felt guilty; they felt as though recruiting them as cadets robbed them of their chances to lead normal lives.

Hanji happened to glance at [Y/N], who was busy talking to Ymir and Christa, and saw that her face practically lit up with every word she said.

"Squad leader Hanji?" a voice called out to them that effectively broke their train of thought. Hanji froze and quickly stepped away from the door to the dining area, blushing a little due to the embarrassment of being caught in the act.

"What are you doing here, Moblit? I was just checking in on the cadets to see how they're doing!" Hanji explained in succession, while Moblit just stared in confusion, and then realization.

"Checking in on them, huh? But Squad Leader, as surprising as it might be, only one of the new cadets were injured a while ago. Maybe you're purposefully 'checking in' on just [Y/N]?" Moblit said in a teasing manner, enjoying the lovely shade of red that Hanji was sporting.

Naturally, Moblit wasn't going to waste this chance to tease his superior.

Moblit knew though, that his elder sibling figure has somehow become attached to [Y/N], all the more with Commander Erwin's buddy system. He couldn't blame them though, even he understands why someone like [Y/N] could get Hanji's attention. Hell, [Y/N] was even able to capture Captain Levi's attention, even though he was trying to skillfully hide it.

"That's not it! You're completely mistaken!" Hanji was obviously flinging nonsensical words at him to hide something that he already knew.

"Then, Squad Leader, if I'm not mistaken, you're also excited to go to the royal gathering, right?"

"Don't be silly! Of course, I am."

[Revised - 04/09/2021]