DAILY MEMES. hz

[xxi] DATE.

     after that suspenseful and nerve-wracking encounter with connie, you went back to the spacious lab and waited for hange there as they ordered you to. they had told you to wait for them in the lab while they finish some of their work in their office.

     you sighed and sat down on an empty chair in the far corner, placing the printed memes on your lap hidden by a folder. the lab was currently empty and dark, with the lights turned off and the apparatuses used a while ago placed back neatly in their respective shelves. the other scientists were probably out, as it was lunch break and they probably went to the cafeteria or some other place to eat. the others who weren't eating was somewhere in the break room, maybe, talking to one another or doing god knows what.

     the glass door of the lab slid open and a brown-haired scientist entered, a grin plastered on their face as their eyes landed on you. "y/n! there you are!" they skipped towards you, their hair fixed in a loose ponytail, bounced with their actions.

     "hi boss." you greeted with a small and professional smile, still perplexed at how unusually cheerful they were every single day.

     they looked around with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, making sure no one was looking in or listening before leaning close to you with a knowing smirk. "do you have it?" they questioned with a wink.

     you scoffed at their antics before sliding the folder on the table towards them. they caught it with ease and opened the folder, nodding as they flipped through the memes with a passive look. though, you swore you could see them keeping in a few chuckles.

     "thanks y/n, you served your job." hange smiled sweetly and ruffled your hair, which you groaned at, before tucking the folder under their arm, "i'll take it from here."

     you nodded after fixing your hair, smiling, putting your hands inside your pocket. "right, now i believe you owe me a lunch, boss."

     they chuckled and shook their head, "i believe i do." they linked her arms with you and pulled you along, leaving the lab in less than a second and the building with the folder still in their arms.

     hange lead you two to a small diner, a place where they guaranteed to have the best meals no matter what time it was. it was a few minutes walk from your office building so hange took it as a chance to get to know each other better where they'd ask questions and you two would answer to see if you both have something in common.

     "favorite movie genre?" hange asked after a round of formal questions.

     you brought your hand up to cover your face from the blinding sunlight while thinking of your answer, looking around for any shade to cover yourself in.

     counting down to three, you both answered at the same time with a stupid grin etched across your faces. "sci-fi!"

     another round of laughter could be heard from the two of you as you both had another same answer for the umpteenth time. hange adjusted their glasses and swept their bangs to the side before explaining, "i like sci-fi because i always laugh at all of the mistakes they made."

     you giggled before explaining your side, the brown-haired scientist inclining their head to look at you with a soft smile. "i only watch it because i feel smart... but now i feel dumb if most of the sci-fi films i've watched are wrong."

     hange was about to tell something when the diner came into view, shining almost, under the burning rays of the sun. hange grabbed a hold of your wrist and jogged towards the small building, with you clumsily following after.

     they pushed the glass doors open and stepped inside the quiet diner, greeting a staff stationed behind the cashier area. hange lead you to an empty booth after greeting the other staffs they passed by with a hug or a bright smile, sitting across you as they placed the folder on top of the table.

     after placing your order in to a redheaded server, hange turned to face you with a blank look and pursed lips, their glasses glinting like those men from animes.

     "did someone see you printing these?" they questioned lowly, gesturing to the covered memes across them. you raised a brow, quite taken a back with the seriousness radiating off them, before shrugging due to your confusion.

     "why the sudden--"

     "i asked you a question." the scientist hummed, leaning forward with their fingers clasped together. you were about to answer something with sarcasm or another question but you couldn't risk angering your boss, after all.

     their seriousness was a rare sight yet scary (and hot, but of course you wouldn't admit that).

     "i-i mean not really but connie almost caught me..." you squeaked out, suddenly nervous being seated in front of the woman.

     "what do you mean by 'almost'?" hange persisted, an eyebrow raised as they waited for you to explain further on.

     you gulped and continued, "he saw me by the printer but he really didn't ask about it... his concern was about something completely different so i-it's okay!"

     hange nodded slowly, taking into consideration your explanation. "like what?"

     "uh..." you smiled awkwardly, "it's nothing! it's just connie being connie!"

     they didn't seem convince as they narrowed their eyes and crossed their arms, the plain white button-up that they wore crinkling as she moved. "spill it." hange grumbled, voice low and stern.

     now you were just curious as to why the scientist was so poker-faced about it when the papers you were just printing was a bunch of funny memes, completely harmless. unless they were messing with you?

     "i-it's just a misunderstanding!" you stuttered out in a haste, "he knew we were going out for lunch and made a big issue out of it... he thought that we were going on a date." you explained quietly, fiddling with your fingers due to unexplained embarrassment.

     hange was quiet for a few seconds, brown brows meeting together in slight confusion. they leaned away from the table and ran a hand through their hair, adverting their eyes away from you shamefully.

     with the quietest voice, they opened their mouth to speak.

     "i thought i made it clear that this is a date..."