Levi woke up early the next day and tried to cheer up Hange. He wasn't the best at these things - she was usually the one cheering him up, though he would rarely show it.

He whipped up three souffle pancakes, swirly thick cream and chopped some strawberries to go on the side.

'Maybe...she'll like it?'

Hange, in Levi's bedroom, rubbed her eyes and clambered into the bathroom. She looked at her face in the mirror...she didn't feel or look good at all.

She sighed, locking the bathroom door.
Splashing some cold water on her face usually helped calm her down, so she did this.
However, she felt an intense sadness inside her remain, plaguing her stomach with a fuzzy knot.

Hange did not understand the pounding blood in her ears, or the way her hands shook. Her vision began to disfigure - soon, she became light-headed and felt a tingling, bitter bile rise up to her throat. Hastily, she flung open the lid of the toilet seat, grabbed the sides and vomitted into the bowl. Sweat trickled down her face, which caused her red-brown locks to stick to her face. She tightened her grip on the sides of the bowl, as the pulse in her ears loudened. As the last trickle of bile landed in the bowl, she moved herself away from the toilet and leant against the tiled wall. She found herself panting, clenching her fists beside her so tightly that her nails dug into her dry palms.

Her stomach churned and her chest tightened. Her thoughts clouded, until all she could hear was the overpowering thudding of her heartbeat in her ears. She wanted to scream, but she bit back her urge through gritted teeth and pounded her clenched fists on the floor while looking up to the ceiling. The light felt so much brighter than usual and caused a dizziness to whirl around her.

She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath in - she stayed in this position for a little over a minute, to compose herself. When her eyelids fluttered open, she'd found the strength to stand up and her body rose, though she still felt an immense weight pushing her down. In her heart, she fought a sense of betrayal and stood straight, using the wall as support. She brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth from the utterly disgusting taste of puke, then put on a neutral expression, just so Levi wouldn't worry about her - he had a habit of that.

"Morning, Hange. Are you...okay?"
"I'm feeling a lot better. What's for break- WOAH! You...went all out! They look awesome!"

She picked her fork up and bit into the pancake, dipping it into the dollop of cream and popping a strawberry into her mouth, too - her hands were shaking and she flinched every time she took a bite.

"Hange...you're shaking."
"I-I'm not..."
"Stop fucking lying to me," he said, pounding his fist against the table.
"W-what?"
"Hange I've known you for so long. You think you can lie to me? Smiling and forcefully eating the food I've given you isn't fooling me. So can you please just tell me the truth and stop hiding everything from me, because you're not alone just because your shitty mum gave you up. I've been there for you and I'm still here. So...tell me," his voice softened, as he reached for her shaking hand and took it in his. 

"What's wrong?"

She gulped and squeezed his hand, struggling to get her words out.

"It was all...a lie...My life was built on a lie. I...really believed that my parents loved me and that it wasn't their fault they were dead...Then I find out my mum is still alive... and that I just wasn't worth holding on to," her tears fell steadily, like crystals glinting in the sunlight that refracted from the window. She buried her fingers in her hair, unable to really speak.

And then felt his arms around her. His warmth.

"Take it from me...you are worth holding on to. You've always been the strongest person I know, so don't let this upset you. Even if your parents gave you up...there are other people that would never let you go..." he spoke clearly, his deep voice soothing her nerves and helping her regain a calmness.

"At the very least, I won't," he mumbled, his words barely audible.

Her breath hitched.

'Did I imagine that last part?'

She brushed the thought off and looked up at him, sniffling.

"Don't we have school today?"

"We're not gonna go school today. We're staying home."
"But-
"Just listen to me, idiot four-eyes."
She smiled, closing her eyes and looking down at her fingers...which were laced with Levi's. It felt so natural that she didn't even notice.

"Hey, shorty?"
"What?"
"Are you gonna eat those pancakes?"
He rolled his eyes and whacked the back of her ponytail.
"Fine...you eat them then. I'm not making any more food today so you'd better savour it."
"Can we order from out?" she asked excitedly, almost like a puppy.
"I...guess so," he said, sighing in defeat. She squealed with excitement and squeezed her arms around Levi, who blushed with an angry look on his face.

"Ugh...you're such an idiot four-eyes."

-----
When the week had finished and Hange felt more comfortable with going back to school, they had been asked to present their dumb group projects.
Hange quickly dashed to the library, remembering she had left one of their report sheets in the books.
"I'll be five minutes, I'll just run."
"Okay Hange, but just hurry because we're on after Nanaba's group," Rico said while sitting on Erwin's desk.

Hange dashed to the library in town, sneaking past the receptionist.

'Ah, memories.'

Without uttering a word to the librarian, she ran to the shelves and ran her hands across the book spines. Taking a book from the shelf, she flicked to the correct page, and thankfully, her report was in there. She sighed in relief and was about to turn on her heel back, when she stopped in her tracks.

"Hange-san."

'There's only one person who calls me that.'

"What do you want, Kyo?" she said, ignoring his presence, her attention focussed on the report in her hands.
She heard his footsteps getting closer, until he stopped barely two inches behind her.

"You and I should take this opportunity to reinstate our friendship," he huskily whispered into her ear.
"Hah, I'm surprised you know such big words," she mocked, although his tone was alarmingly sensual, making her uncomfortable.
"Oh, I know big words, alright. But when I'm through with you, will you remember them?" he said, sneaking his hand around her waist and up her shirt. She gasped, yanking his hand away.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, you asshole?!"

"Relax, sweetheart. There's no need to play hard to get anymore, your little boyfriend isn't around. It's just me and you," he said, lightly pinning her against the shelves, far too close for comfort.
Her eyes widened, as she displayed a darkened expression on her face.
She kicked him off her, making him fall backwards onto the other shelves, which toppled over.
"I'd apologise for your family jewels, except I don't really fucking care, asshole."

She ran out of the aisle at the speed of light, picking up her report which had fallen to the ground.

"What's all the racket?" the old librarian asked, clasping her hands to her hips.
"Excuse me, ma'am, some idiot's picked a fight in non-fiction." 

The librarian squinted, furiously walking over to where Hange left Kyo.

'That bastard...'

*****
A/N: Special shout-out to @ilytendouUwU and everyone else who has supported, voted and added this story to their reading lists. Tysm, I really appreciate it!

See you guys in the next chapter :)