Chapter Text
"Levi." Petra poked her head through his office doorway, her ginger hair falling around her shoulders in a frazzled manner. The lunch rush had just conceded, and they were all relieved to have a bit of a breather for a little while.
Levi tore his pale gaze from the paperwork that stretched across the majority of his desk reluctantly. "Hm?" He hummed for her to continue, slightly annoyed that he had been interrupted.
She smiled sheepishly, stepping further into the small office space. "A little birdie told me that you were planning on hiring another employee soon."
Levi knew that the 'little birdie' the woman was referring to was Oluo. He was the only one he had told that information too not even an hour before. "Yes?" He stared at her, waiting for her response.
"Well, I actually have someone in mi -" She started off but was interrupted as Eren practically burst into the room with an exterior radiating determination. Levi felt an oncoming headache forming in his temples before the boy even spoke.
"You should hire Armin!" He stated loudly, slamming his palms on Levi's desk.
Levi glared at him from where he sat on his office chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mikasa stepping into the small room, as well. "Get out, Jeager." He sighed out.
"Come on, Boss, you gotta admit that Armin would be a perfect fit! He's already here the entire day, he's smart, he's friendly, people will love him!" He listed off his reasons one by one in a loud tone that made Levi want to reach out and clamp his hand over his mouth.
"Why are all three of you in here? Shouldn't you be working right now?" Levi questioned dryly, his expression blank as he waited to hear their explanation.
"No one's here at the moment, and Oluo is working the register just in case." Petra smiled albeit sheepishly.
"You should interview Armin." Mikasa stepped in front of him. "He's the only person that will do the job right."
"There's thousands of people living in this city, Mikasa." Levi reminded her flatly, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Have any of you asked him if he even wants to work here?"
"Not exactly." Eren looked towards the left, avoiding his boss' judgemental gaze. "But, he's been saying how he needs to start looking for a job, and since he's here all the time anyway, it'd just be common sense to hire him, right?"
"This is ridiculous. I'm going to be setting up interviews with potential new employees, and whoever I find to be the most suitable will get the damn job." He leaned forward and directed his attention towards the paperwork that sat on his desk once again. "Now get out of my office before I kick your asses." He added as an afterthought.
"Uh, yes sir." Eren cleared his throat before moving out of the room quickly. Mikasa lingered behind as Petra huffed and followed in tow.
"Hire him." She demanded steadily from where she stood.
"I'm trying to work. I don't have time for this." He glanced up disinterestedly.
"Please, he needs the job. His grandfather's health is getting worst, and he's stressed out from lack of income. He's worried that their funds will eventually run out and they'll be forced out into the streets." She stated blankly, dropping her arms limply to her sides.
"I'll talk about this with him later." He resigned after a few seconds. "Can you get out now?"
She nodded her head once, satisfied. "Thank you." And with that, she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Thankful for the blissful silence, he distractedly went back to reading the paper he held in his loose grasp.
Armin Arlert was a boy who often came up in his employee's conversations. He was best friend's with Mikasa and Eren, and apparently, had been since childhood. He was quiet from what Levi had seen but also highly intelligent and kind towards others. One of the prime examples of his kindness being his friendship with Jean.
Eren and Jean both got on each other's nerves quite often. They didn't hate one another from what Levi could tell, but they didn't exactly like each other either. Despite that, Armin had approached Jean while he was in one of his more somber moods and they had stricken up a quick liking towards one another, much to Eren's dismay. They hung out quite frequently, and Jean seemed like he was healing steadily due to the boy's presence in his life.
Arlert was a good kid. However, Levi didn't want to jump the gun and immediately hire him without interviewing a few others beforehand. Mikasa's underlying threats be damned, he felt like in doing so he had the shop's best intentions at hand.
He didn't know how much time had passed since he had cooped himself up in his office. A few hours at most, hopefully. He leaned back in his chair, his limbs feeling tight and uncomfortable after having sat so long in the same crouched over position.
He still had one stack of papers to go through, and he would be finished for the entire day. Of course, there were still things to be done regardless, such as cleaning behind the counter, or perhaps he would take over the register for a bit for the hell of it, despite his awkwardness when it came to taking down orders. He disliked being nonproductive at the shop, so he did as many things as he could, even with as many employees as he had.
With a light sigh, he resumed his work with a bit more difficulty than he was used too.
~
Hange fidgeted in her seat as she waited for the test results of her recent experiments to be released, feeling uncomfortable and warmer than usual. Her throat itched irritably each time she swallowed, and her nose was slightly stuffed up but not to the point of having to breathe through her mouth. She was well aware that these were all very clear signs pointing towards the fact that she was in the beginning stages of a cold, yet she plainly ignored them. It may have been reckless on her part, but she couldn't imagine having to call in sick come tomorrow morning.
"Hange, are you alright?" A concerned voice sounded from above her shoulder.
She glanced behind her, not surprised to see Moblit hovering over like a mother hen would her chicks. It was almost as if Moblit had a sixth sense when it came to her not feeling well. "I'm fine, just a bit under the weather." She admitted nonchalantly.
"Are you warm?" He inquired after a moment of inspection, hesitantly raising a hand to press against her forehead.
She didn't pull away from him, letting him do as he pleased. "Honestly, Moblit, it's nothing serious." She tried to offhandedly brush away his concerns.
"You have a fever." He said as soon as she finished her sentence. "You need to go home and rest."
"No need for that, I feel fine." She instantly countered, hoping to soothe his worries.
"Hange -"
"I'm perfectly okay." She reinstated firmly. Moblit opened his mouth to protest before nodding in defeat, but Hange noted the way his shoulders barely slouched forward.
An hour passed by, and she deemed that she was definitely not okay.
Her fever seemed to have worsened considerably, to the point of her sweating in her lab coat, yet she was remarkably chilled despite that. Her throat had tightened and grew scratchy, and her nose had begun to leak as well. Even so, she still grew sad as the work day was coming to an end; only ten more minutes and she would be forced home by Moblit.
"Are you any feeling better?" A voice sounded yet again. Hange didn't have to turn around to know it was Moblit.
"Yes." Came her immediate answer.
"Really?" Moblit voiced in a skeptical tone.
"No." She confessed with a huff of breath, hunching over her desk. "I feel even worse than I did before."
"Do you need me to drive you back to your apartment?" He offered, his expression clearly showcasing his worry.
She shook her head adamantly. "No, I'll be fine taking the bus." She politely declined. "Besides, it's way out of the way from where you live, right?" She tilted her head as she waited for his response.
"That doesn't matter." He instantly reassured her. "Are you sure you're okay with taking the bus?"
"Yeah, I'll be okay." She felt like this was the hundredth time that she had said those words to her co-worker. She appreciated his concern, of course, but she was more than capable of taking care of herself (most of the time, anyway).
She slipped out of the building easily, shielded by three different types of layers on her body; a thin t-shirt beneath a thick sweater, and a heavy coat on top of that. She was also given a gray knitted hat by Nifa, and a pair of leather gloves given to her by Keiji. The bus stop was thankfully only a block away from her workplace, so it didn't take her awhile before she was sat comfortably in the warm transportation.
It was only fifteen or so minutes before she was let off of the bus and placed a few blocks from Levi's coffee shop. She dug her hands into her pockets, debating on stopping and making a quick visit there. She knew that she needed a bit of time to sit down before the entirety of her energy ran low and she was forced to lay on the streets unable to move.
Once the cafe came into view she let out an immediate sigh of relief, hurrying her pace as she neared it. The last time she was here, she was anxious and excited for the possibility of a new apartment. This time, she was hiding her misery as her temperature skyrocketed upwards and her throat was swollen to the point of it being difficult to swallow.
As soon as she entered the thankfully warm space, her gaze was caught by Mikasa. "Hello!" She waved, trying to seem enthusiastic as she moved towards the counter. It apparently fell flat as Mikasa's dark eyes observed her carefully.
"Hello, what can I get you today?" She asked in a polite tone, one that seemed forced on her. Hange let a small warm smile grace her lips as she hummed out in thought.
"Got anything that'll help with a sore throat?" She inquired with a head tilt.
"How about a glass of warm tea with honey?" Mikasa suggested in thought after a few moments, her eyes darting back to meet the brunette.
"Sounds great, thank you." Hange agreed with a slow nod, paying her the amount due before she traversed towards a small table that was shielded away from most prying eyes. She didn't dare shed any of the layers clothing that was clad on her, knowing she would result to shivering violently if she did.
She sniffled pathetically as her thoughts drifted. She rarely ever got sick. The last time she recalled coming down with a cold had been almost three years ago, and even then it had only lasted a day or two before it was completely gone. She hoped this time would be similar.
"Here you go, Ma'am." An older woman with light ginger hair smiled warmly down at her, freckles dotting her face in a cute manner. The color of her eyes resembling the honey that was mixed in the very drink placed in front of her.
"Thank you." She expressed her gratefulness in a nasal tone. "Hopefully this will help a bit before I go out and bare the cold again."
"It will." Petra nodded in a confident manner. "Are you sick?"
"Yeah, it suddenly sprung onto me while I was at work. I didn't even see it coming. My apartment is a few blocks down from here, so it's not too far of a walk, thankfully." Hange sighed out, feeling the tea's hot steam graze against her cold cheeks.
"Do you need anything else, Ma'am? Do you need me to turn up the heater a bit?" Petra asked, concern lacing her tone.
"No, no, I'm fine. Hey, I have a question and I'm sorry if I'm being too intrusive, you can blame it on the fact that I feel like my head is going to explode. But, do you enjoy working here?" Hange couldn't help but voice her curiosity. She wondered how Levi treated his employees, and if they were happy working here. The place seemed orderly and clean, two employees sitting behind the counter taking and making orders, one serving and who knows how many in the backroom. She noted, however, that the shorter man was nowhere in sight.
Petra drew her eyebrows together at the odd question but answered after a brief pause. "I do enjoy working here." She smiled. "My friend, Levi, is the owner, and I was amongst the first hired to work here. It's nice to watch the place grow."
Hange nodded along understandingly. "How long have you worked here, if I may ask?"
"Almost five years now." Petra looked reminiscent as she spoke.
"Wow, you've known Levi for a long time then, huh?" Hange acknowledged with a hint of surprise, taking a sip of her tea.
Petra nodding, her features showcasing slight bafflement. "Do you know Levi, by any chance?"
Hange snorted in amusement, nodding her head a few times. "He's my roommate." She revealed to the redhead who's mouth had formed an 'O' shape as realization dawned on her.
"You're his roommate?" She echoed, before sliding out a chair and sitting in front of the brunette.
"Yep."
"I'm Petra, nice to meet you." She smiled brightly at the woman across from her before her smile faded and she lightly rolled her eyes. "Levi didn't tell us your name, but he talks about you sometimes."
"I'm Hange." She introduced herself to the ginger cheerfully, despite her sickness. "I'm guessing the things he says aren't always good?" She smirked a bit.
Petra looked sheepish for a moment. "He'll just complain about something you did while we're talking once in a while."
"Ah, I assumed so." Hange let her gaze linger on the liquid in the mug. "Where is he now?" She asked, not hiding her curiosity.
Petra glanced towards a wooden door at the other end of the shop. "He's been in his office the entire day doing paperwork. I can go and tell him you're here if you want?" She offered
"That'd be great. Thank you." She grinned widely at the red-headed woman in front of her, watching as she stood up and made her way towards Levi's office. She checked the time on her phone and was surprised to see it was almost eight at night.
She realized then that she was one of the only people left in the coffee shop other than the actual remaining employees. Mikasa was wiping down the counters, and the boy with ash-blond hair beside her seemed to be busy emptying the espresso machine. It was close to closing time, she realized sheepishly.
"Oi, what are you doing here?" Levi's voice snapped her out of her wandering thoughts.
"Is it a crime to visit my roommate's cafe?" Hange inquired with a quirked brow. A small smile pulled at her lips as he slipped in a chair across from her.
He eyed her a for a moment too long, a frown tugging at his mouth. "You're pale as hell." He noted blankly, folding his arms on the table.
Her smile fell, replacing it was a slight grimace. "That noticeable, huh?"
He nodded his head once, yes. "Are you sick?"
"I guess so. I didn't notice anything wrong with me this morning, or maybe I was just too preoccupied with other things to even notice. Regardless, though, I'm sick, yeah." She sniffled to emphasize her words, bring her mug to her mouth once again.
Levi remained silent for a minute or two. "I need to close up this place, can you sit your ass down for twenty minutes?" His stoic tone was hard to decipher.
Hange nodded her head slowly, agreeing. "Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to be anyways. But, what am I waiting for, exactly?" She had a feeling she knew, but she wanted to hear him say it out loud for the hell of it.
He scoffed as he made a move to stand up. "I'm going to drive us home, are you stupid?"
Hange grinned deviously in response, feeling happy despite her quickly deteriorating health. "Quite the contrary, Roomie."
"I'm leaving now, but I wanted to say it was nice to meet you, and I'm happy I finally got to know your name." Petra smiled as she re-dressed herself in a heavy coat and scarf. "Hope you feel better soon."
"Thanks, it was great meeting you as well." Hange waved as she walked out of the front door and into the frigid weather of early January, following after her was Mikasa and the other teenager.
She turned her gaze to Levi who was putting away the desserts from the display cabinet, a concentrated look on his face. He disappeared into the back room for a moment before returning with his hands filled with two black heavy trash bags.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Hange questioned, disliking sitting still and watching him work.
Levi glanced around before his gaze settled back on her. "You can put the chairs up on the tables."
Hange nodded swiftly, as he walked out of the door and towards the right of the shop. She fought against the fatigue clouding her movements, pushing away the deterioration she felt as she forced herself to her feet, intent on doing the task given to her.
She brought the cup she had been drinking out of over to the counter and slowly began to place the chairs on the tables just as Levi had told her. The man still hadn't returned from throwing out the trash, which left her with just her thoughts to keep her busy.
Levi was slowly opening up more and more as time went on, she discovered. Two weeks ago, he had barely offered her a sentence longer than five words at a time, and now here he was offering to carpool with her back to their apartment because she wasn't feeling well. It was a gradual process, which made her situation difficult considering she was the very definition of inpatient at times. However, this gave her hope that he was bound to come around eventually.
"Where'd you put the cup you were drinking out of?" Levi's voice startled her, having not noticed him returning.
She gestured with her head towards the counter space. "Over there, why?"
"I'm going to soak it in bleach overnight. Don't want your deadly disease to infect other customers." He explained flatly, grabbing it and moving towards the back room once more.
"Ah, I didn't realize that a common cold was considered a deadly disease nowadays." She told him a playful tone.
"It might as well be when it's coming from you." Levi droned out dryly upon returning. He reached for his car keys beneath the counter top and made his way to stand beside her. "Let's go, Four Eyes." He motioned for her to exit first as he twisted the lock on the door.
~
After returning home, Hange had passed out immediately upon her head hitting her pillowcase.
She opened her eyes blearily, her head throbbing and her nose stuffed to the point of being unable to breathe through it. She let out an audible groan, swallowing hard as her throat itched and swelled even further than she remembered it being before she fell asleep. She really didn't want to have to call in sick tomorrow, but it seemed she would have no choice if her condition remained the same.
She lifted herself from her bed, reaching for her glasses and slipping them up her nose before she traversed towards the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled insistently, begging for food as she had forgotten to feed herself both breakfast and lunch.
She opened the refrigerator door, peering down into the shelves before her brown eyes halted on a large container filled with a liquid substance that she knew hadn't been there this morning. It seemed to be noodle soup, she realized upon further inspection.
She smiled wide as she reached for it, making a mental note to thank her grumpy roommate later on.
He really was something else.