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"And don't stay up too late talking—you want to be well-rested for our birthday hike tomorrow, don't you?" With a bright smile and a playful twinkle in her eyes, Hange's mother closed the door behind her, and the bedroom fell silent.
Levi held his breath, eyes wide open as he stared up at the ceiling, his fingers clutching the edge of the blanket Mrs Zoë had just tucked him in with. Everything around him felt foreign—the mattress was softer than his own, the bedding smelled differently too, and the darkness around him was so black it seemed to press in around him. It was the first time he was sleeping over at someone else's house, and even though his own home lay in the same street and his mother had promised to pick him up at any time if he needed to, it was as if he was miles and miles away from his own safe bed. Not even the teddy bear he was clutching tightly in his arm could take away the sense of unease churning in the pit of his stomach.
A rustling cut through the silence, drawing Levi away from his own thoughts. He turned his head towards where he knew Hange must be lying in her own bed, and moments later, her nightstand lamp came on.
"Gosh, it feels amazing to be seven," she said, picking up her glasses and sliding them on. Pushing back the blanket, she crawled to the foot of her bed to be closer to where he lay in the guest bed. He didn't dare to move just yet—what if Hange's mother decided to return again right now?
"Why didn't you tell me it was that good! You've been seven for more than half a year!" Hange babbled on, flopping onto her stomach and swaying her legs in the air. "Six still feels so childish, like we've just barely gotten out of kindergarten. But seven is much more mature—and one more year, and we'll finally be able to do the higher courses at the climbing park!"
"Aren't you afraid of the height?" Levi said, keeping his tone low but finally daring to sit up as well, his gaze constantly drifting towards the door. "I'm not sure I could take it. I'd rather keep doing the lower ones for a while longer."
"I do get scared of heights sometimes, but it's the good kind of scared, you know? The kind that makes your stomach all tingly and your heart beat very fast. It's almost too much, but then you push yourself, and suddenly that fear turns into the best feeling ever!"
"You're crazy." Levi shook his head, turning so he could fix his eyes on the lamp. "I don't want to feel any kind of fear."
"Speaking of which," Hange said, jumping up from her bed and crossing her room on bare feet. Levi grimaced when she searched for something in her drawers, the plastic bag sounding far too loud when they were supposed to be asleep. "Wanna find out which flavour of these Warheads makes us cry?"
"We've already brushed our teeth," Levi remarked, arching a sceptical eyebrow at her when she grabbed her own blanket and plopped down on his bed, handing him the bag of candy. "I don't think we should."
"But it's still my birthday—can't we make an exception for once?" Hange pouted, batting her eyelashes at him.
"Fine, but just for a bit," Levi finally replied, hissing at her to be quiet and putting a finger to his lips when she let out a little squeak of joy. At least that way they'd leave the light on for a little while longer.
They talked about the upciming trip into the forest the following morning as they scooted close together, heads bowed and voices hushed. Levi was in charge of pulling out the small packaged candies from their bigger bag, hidden underneath the blanket to muffle the noise. Despite having suggested the little game, Hange's tolerance for sour foods was pretty low, and her eyes were the first to water as she chewed and swallowed, rejecting Levi's offer to use a tissue to spit it out. When his eyes teared up as well not long after, she was satisfied and grabbed the two glasses from her desk, and they chased away the sour taste with water until their tongues had recovered.
"Alright, now I'm happy," Hange said, turning onto her back and stretching her arms over her head. "Is it midnight already? I don't want to waste any minute of my birthday by sleeping too early."
Levi nodded. "Ten minutes after. Though we still wasted time by eating candy, don't you think?"
"Candy is never a waste of time," Hange said, a slightly offended tone to her voice. Then, she stifled a yawn behind her hand, and moments later, Levi felt one of his own come up, bringing tears to his eyes.
"Though maybe we should go to sleep now. I don't want to miss any of the fun tomorrow just because I'm tired." She jumped up from the bed and waved her hands. "Lie down, I'll tuck you in."
Levi did as she said and crawled under the blanket, his skin tingling pleasantly when Hange pulled the covers up to his chin, making sure no cold air could get underneath. She always made him feel safe.
"But who's going to tuck you in?" he asked, guilt nagging at him when he watched her climb into her bed all alone.
"It's fine. You're our guest tonight, which makes you the privileged one."
Levi wasn't sure whether he knew exactly what she meant by that. But his train of thought was interrupted by her hand moving towards the bedside lamp, and the earlier anxiety started to churn in his stomach. The darkness was about to return.
"You okay?" Hange, attentive as always, must've noticed the shift in his expression. Levi tensed; she was going to find out just how much of a scaredy-cat he was.
"Yeah, all good," he quickly lied, hiding half of his face behind the blanket.
Hange narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, her piercing gaze penetrating his skull and going straight to his brain. He slid even deeper under the covers.
Her eyes fell on her still outstretched hand, shifting back and forth between his face and the lamp. Then, her face lit up. "Oh, do you want me to leave a light on? Do you like sleeping with a nightlight?"
The way she phrased it, as if it was a mere preference and not linked to any kind of fear of his, surprised him, and he slowly emerged from underneath the blanket again. "You… don't think it's silly?"
"Not at all." Hange shook her head, her fringe flopping up and down with the movement. "I don't use one anymore, but I do think it makes the room look very cosy."
Levi immediately felt better, and, spurred on by how unfazed she seemed, he said, "I don't like the darkness too much. Especially when… when it feels different than the darkness I'm used to at home."
"Oh, I get it. Not being able to see what's around you can be scary," Hange immediately agreed. "My cousins once locked me in their uncle's office—they have a big, old house, you know? And we always like to play hide and seek there; it's a lot of fun. Anyway, the office was in the basement, so there was no tiny bit of light anywhere, and it was a big, big room with all kinds of shelves and tables. If I found the door, they'd give me an entire bar of chocolate all for myself. That was the bet. I bumped into quite a few things and knocked over an entire pile of books so badly my glasses flew off. It took me quite some time, but in the end, I found the door."
She leaned forward, as if she was about to share a secret only he was meant to hear. "But I have to admit, I was a tiny bit scared. That's why I really appreciate you staying over, even if you knew you might not like it here at night."
Levi remained silent, still trying to process the flood of words he'd just been doused with, and Hange chuckled. Then, her eyes lit up, as always when an idea struck her.
She jumped up from her bed, moving over to her desk where her birthday presents lay. Levi's own gift—a nature exploration kit—was among them. He still hadn't quite recovered from his own embarrassment when she had unpacked it earlier that day, beaming with joy and promising to take it with her on their trip to the forest the following day. His mother had helped him pick it out, but he had been the one to find the set on the shelves in the toy store, making him feel even more vulnerable.
Hange opened one of the boxes, pulling out a little cube that had all kinds of shapes on its outside. She placed it in the corner of the room, then told Levi to get out of bed and help her move the guest bed closer to her own. With surprisingly little noise, they pushed the bed frame across the room, until its edge was tight against Hange's. She tucked him in again, as careful as before, then circled their beds so she was standing next to her beside table.
"I'll turn off the light, okay?" When Levi nodded, she flicked the switch. Everything around them was instantly plunged into darkness, and he felt the earlier unease return, pressing down on him.
Hange was moving again, her bare feet scuffing softly on the wooden floor once she had stepped off the carpet. She bumped against something and cursed under her breath, then everything went quiet. A soft click sounded, and suddenly, the darkness was gone.
Instead, the ceiling was covered almost entirely in yellow stars, their gentle light illuminating the room just enough to make any strange shadows disappear without being bright enough to disturb.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Hange said, climbing back into bed and pulling off her glasses. "I didn't even think of using it to fall asleep—but I might from now on. I love dreaming of the sky and the moon, you know? Maybe this might help me to do so."
Of course he knew; she'd told him often enough. He knew how much she loved the sky, how the kind of bugs that grossed him out seemed to fascinate her, how much she liked to dive in the lake, trying to spot any kind of fish and catching frogs with her bare hands. She loved to talk about the things she loved, and he loved to listen to her talk about them. He'd always been a kid with few things that truly made him feel excited, and the fact that he got to share in her own joy made him very, very happy. Even if he didn't share her interests.
"Thank you," Levi mumbled, fully aware that she was doing this only for him. That she wanted him to feel safe.
"Of course," Hange said, the words muffled by the full-mouthed yawn she wasn't able to stifle. She scooted closer until she was lying at the very edge of the mattress, and Levi did the same, smiling to himself when she pulled her turtle plushie from underneath her pillow and hugged it tightly to her chest.
Her hand appeared from underneath her blanket, palm turned upwards, fingers curling in before uncurling again. It was an invitation that was more than tempting, and yet he hesitated for a few moments. What if she was going to make fun of him?
No. Hange wasn't like that. She hadn't laughed at him up until now, and even though she loved teasing him, she would never mock him. They were friends; best friends. She understood him like no one else.
Slowly, he pushed his hand from under the covers and placed it in hers, his skin a little cold. Her fingers immediately curled around his, giving his hand a little comforting squeeze, and his stomach tingled, the anxiety replaced by something much more pleasant.
"Night, Levi," Hange mumbled, her face half-hidden inside her pillow. "I'm very glad we're best friends."
Levi was pretty sure she didn't hear his mumbled, "Good night," anymore—she had fallen asleep within seconds, her soft breathing filling the quiet of the night. His eyes rested on her relaxed features, then shifted to the ceiling, where the crescent moon and the stars were watching over them.
He felt at ease now, and his body relaxed into the mattress, the foreign smell of the bedding not so troubling anymore. Hange's hand was warm against his own, and he clasped it tightly as he closed his eyes, his body succumbing after a long day.
He was at his best friend's house, and he felt happy. He was going to have to tell his mother about all the fun he'd had, and she was going to smile at him and tell him how glad she was he had enjoyed himself. Maybe he could ask whether Hange could stay over at his place as well; they had a spare bed, where Kenny always slept when he was visiting.
It's great to have a best friend, were Levi's last thoughts, and he peeled his eyes open one more time to glance at the brown head of hair by his side, the blanket slowly moving up and down in sync with her breathing.
Then, his eyes fell shut, and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
