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twas friday, and to say hanji was excited was an understatement. they hadn't seen you in weeks- work and other plans had always gotten in the way.
it was honestly strange.
the two of you lived in the same apartment complex, next door in fact. so how the hell hadn't you seen each other yet??
quite frankly, it sucked. but in exactly 15 minutes, their study hall period would be released, and they'd be able to run out and hug you for the first time in forever.
currently they were sitting at their desk, twirling a pencil between their fingers. it had been a while since they were so excited to get out of school they were counting down the seconds until the minute passed by.
13 minutes. just 13 more minutes, and they'd be able to see you again.
"hey, dr. zoë?"
they glanced at the kid talking to them- oh, it was the weird one! well. more normal than... other kids in their classes. eren. eren yeager. too many weird kids, just call him by his name at this point.
"whats up?"
"are you in love with someone?"
they slowly turned their head towards the kid, attention now fully on him. why the hell was he asking this?
"actually, i've been wondering that too." the blonde bowlcut from 3rd period. "everyday for the past three weeks you've been staring at the clock sorrowfully like a kicked puppy."
they sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose, thinking about what they should say. how were these kids with sloppy grades so smart?
"and why should i even say? thats like... secret, ya know?"
wow. how smooth and suave of them. perfect execution- not suspicious at all.
a quick glance at the clock- 10 more minutes. just 10 more minutes until they'd be able to wrap their arms around you and-
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH. i think my laptop broke again."
way to break the awkward silence, jean.
"armin, please assist mr. kirstein with his computer."
hanji exchanged a nod with the boy, relieved that the topic of you had passed. not that they'd pass up the opportunity to talk about you- they loved it! it was just really awkward talking about you as though you were theirs when the two of you were... friends. just extremely close friends, of course!
they glanced at the tests they were supposed to be grading, their gaze falling over the last few papers. just these papers, 9 more minutes, and they'd be able to sneak a little kiss on your cheek.
hanji laid their head down onto their desk, right beside the paper. they absentmindedly swiped their pen over said paper, marking it the best they could without spilling ink all over the place.
as they finally set it aside, they sighed. blinking heavily, hanji went to stare out the window, their eyes following the birds as they-
BRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG
oh! fucking finally!
hanji stretched, their limbs popping as they breathed in a deep breath of relief. time to nonchalantly sprint out of the room and into the parking lot to see you.
the afternoon sun was hot, beating down on them intensely. their eyes darted around the area, searching every space for you and your car.
they startled as their surprisingly short coworker- levi ackermann- slapped them on the back. as hanji regained their senses, levi smirked. kind of a smirk? more of a smug frown, if that makes sense.
"watch where you're going, four eyes. we can't afford for you to get run over again."
hanji cackled at the wee man, rustling his hair to watch him get annoyed.
"i'll be okay, half-pint! go run to your big ol' blond and leave me alone for the weekend."
levi grumbled and turned away, beginning to speed walk towards a red honda prius, said hot blond waiting inside it. hanji continued looking for your car, scanning each and every row until they finally saw yours- a baby blue subaru forester.
excitedly, they resumed their sprinting, the gravel beneath them crunching satisfyingly as they got closer to your car.
and you were right there next to it, looking off at the community garden next to the school with a dazed look in your eyes and a brush of blush on your cheeks. they put a hand on your shoulder enthusiastically, making you turn and beam at the sight of them.
“it’s good to finally see you, hans!! now, let’s get out of here before miche tries to make you join him for bowling.”
the car ride was close to incredibly awkward, but for several reasons.
one of those reasons was surprisingly not Hange’s hand in your thigh. that was a normal thing- a normal, friendly thing that was done between you and them.
one of those reasons was actually that hange wasn’t even driving while putting their hand on your thigh, but that was pretty much it besides them staring at you the entire time with no explanation.
it was also the undeniably clear tension.
the two of you had been dancing around each other for MONTHS on end, just teetering on the edge of confessing all the while. the truth is, neither of you were level headed enough to really recognize that the other had a crush.
however, tonight would be the night that would change.
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as soon as you parked the car and unlocked the doors, hange practically flew out of their side, snatching their things and sort of aggressively opening your door for you. very polite.
they were thinking about doing the same when the two of you reached your apartment, but they’d forgotten you were actually responsible and locked your apartment after leaving it, so another chance to be suave was knocked out of their hands.
once the two of you got inside, they plopped their bag by your door and bounded forward, scooping you up into their arms and sighing gleefully.
some sort of squeaking noise came out of your mouth as hange squeezed you, cooing about how much they missed you.
little did you know, this was the first step of their evil plan... to date you. such an evil objective, really.
when hange finally let you go, they gave you a little smooch on the cheek, patting your shoulder and flopping down onto your couch.
"so, what're we doin' tonight cutie?"
they followed your figure with their eyes as you moved toward your kitchen, making a small effort to support their head so they could keep looking at you.
"i dunno what we're doing, but i'm going to cook some fried rice and watch something on tv. i'll cook two servings, if you're staying."
they didn't respond- too busy looking at you. hange was examining the way you looked in the lighting of your apartment.
"hans?"
"can you c'mere real quick, pretty?"
you shrugged and went to sit next to them on the couch- this was just hange being their abnormal self again.
as soon as you sat down, they tugged you towards them, settling into a cuddling position. subtly, hange buried their face in your neck, sighing contentedly at the scent of your perfume.
after a while, it was clear they weren’t going to let go, shifting their body so it was as close as possible to yours. you combed your hands through their hair, pleasantly surprised at the lack of oil their hair contained.
“had a meeting today… annoying ass school board made up of old men…"
they muttered into the crook of your neck, fingers gently tracing the sides of your torso as you felt through their hair.
just… just normal best friend activities, really!
“hey, hange?”
“mmm’yeah?” they tilted their head back to look at you, blinking sleepily.
“I have… a bit of a weird request.”
they were much more awake now, staring into your eyes as you tried to avoid eye contact with them. you were blushing, they noticed.
“could you kiss me?”
hange didn’t bother to ask any questions- they just wanted to give you a big smooch right then and there.
they took your cheeks into their hands, and smushed their lips into yours.
as the very friendly platonic kiss went on, their nose bumped into yours, making them pull away for a minute to laugh.
when hange got their breath back and looked up at you, they swore they could feel the heat radiating off your face.
“wow, that was…” they murmured, looking into your eyes with the look of someone drunk on love.
“that was..? that was what?? hange, you can’t just leave me hangin’ like that!” you squeaked, sitting up and pulling them along with you.
“sorry, sorry!” hange laughed again, securing their arms around your waist once more. “you’re just so cute it’s distracting me!”
finally, they rendered you speechless, reveling in their victory as you put your face into your hands.
hange gently took one of the hands you’d hidden your face into and kissed it all over, making you put your other hand to the side and focus your attention on them.
“since when did you become so charming, hans?” you quirked up an eyebrow at them as they held your hand, tracing lines on your palm.
they looked at the floor, debating whether they’d respond or not.
“…Levi lent me one of his romance novels.”
“yeah, that makes more sense.”
the brunette looked back up at you, pulling out their puppy eyes and waiting for you to... well, i don't really know what their waiting for at all to be honest.
"why are you looking at me like that?"
"i'm waiting for you to ask the thing."
they continued to stare at you intently, eyes sparkling like brown jaspers. wait- were they expecting you to ask them if they wamted to start dating? even though they brought it up??
"hange zoë," you spoke softly, drawing their attention from your hand. "would you be the sweetest chem teacher ever and go out with me?"
as your words slowly registered in their mind, hange's smile grew progressively wider and their cheeks pinker. with blush.
once more they grabbed you by your cheeks and lowered their lips onto yours.
this time it was less rushed- more loving. they gently cradled your face, giving you several kisses with a smile the entire time.
"how can you manage being the most enchanting person in the history of the world?" they murmured as they pressed another love-filled kiss to your lips.
"i could ask you the same thing, silly." you giggled at their antics, leaning backwards so you could gaze at their face.
the moment was so tender it felt like you were two teenagers who'd never been more in love- it felt like you were two cats snuggling up together under the warmth of the hot sun.
it was perfect.
well, until their stomach rumbled so loudly it sounded like an 18-wheeler stuck in the mud.
"you know, i was just about to say you look good enough to eat!"
they looked you up and down and licked their lips, grinning like they'd won the lottery- or maybe like a cat had approached them on the street.
"nice try, but we're cooking the fried rice."
hange frowned comically and sighed like a victorian staged actor, then leaned forward to rest their head on your chest.
"so be it then. let us cook the rice."
god, they were a weirdo.
a very cute, charming, respectful weirdo who you'd now get to kiss, though! nothing better than that.