Which is a strange name.. I understand the 'jelly' part because it was soft and squeezable, but it doesn't look like anything like a fish to me. For one thing, it has no gills, or fins.. then again, the starfish isn't a fish either, is it?
[Oops, getting distracted by the etymology here...]
Its poisoned noodles got me though, when I was wading through the water! [Hange has since learned all about the proper name for all the jellyfish parts, but poison noodles sounds cuter and so it sticks] Levi ended up carrying me to the hospital. Eren helped get us off the beach, too!
[ "Poisoned noodles" paints a vivid image. Besides, Reiner probably wouldn't recognize the proper names of jellyfish parts. He learned what he knows primarily through osmosis, not a dedicated study of the sea and its inhabitants.
Likewise, it's easy for Reiner to imagine what Eren 'helping' entailed. Reiner is a little surprised he missed Eren's transformation. It must've been after Reiner encountered Levi, spoke with Jean, and walked off to cool his head. ]
It wasn't too serious, was it?
[ A question asked as he goes to retrieve milk and creamer from the fridge. (He may enjoy coffee, but there's no need to drink it plain!) ]
No, it wasn't anything life threatening. The doctor gave me some medicinal tablets to swallow and a cream to put on my leg. It disappeared after a day or two!
[this is where someone would usually include a note about lessons being learned, but will Hange be more cautious next time? Probably not.]
By the way... do you have something sweet to add to the coffee...?
[It's so bitter otherwise! But if he doesn't, Hange will manage without. All in the name of diplomacy...]
[ Reiner nods, finding himself weirdly relieved it wasn't too serious. He doesn't examine that feeling too carefully, dismissing it as a mere practical concern. Hange is the Scout's Commander; it would be a pain in the ass to strike a pact with anyone else. What else could the source of that feeling be?
Reiner knows who he is right now. He's a Warrior, not a soldier. Therefore, it must be a practical concern, nothing more. ]
Yeah, we've got sugar. There's also this.
[ He taps the creamer as he sets it (and the milk) down on the table beside their mugs. Then he returns to the counter to fetch said sugar and spoons for stirring, continuing to speak as he does so. ]
It's something created for coffee. They call it "coffee creamer." It's very sweet. It comes in many flavors, but I haven't tried anything besides this "original" yet.
[ Items retrieved, he returns to his place at the table, taking a seat as he sets down the sugar and spoons. Judging by how he's arranged things, he's giving Hange first pick of what they'd like to add. ]
[ Levi will swear up and down that he doesn't bother with birthdays, or remembering them, because every day that you get to spend alive is already special or something. But, well. It is perhaps a little less bleary here than it was in their world, and perhaps he's had enough downtime to consider smaller things, and perhaps he's just too damn happy to have Hange back after accepting he was finally left alone in the world. ]
[ It's some ungodly early morning hour on September 5th when Levi lets himself into Hange's apartment and proceeds to deep clean the entire place top to bottom. He'll conveniently not wake Hange up if they're asleep, but if they're not, they might be asked to move their legs at some point as he's committing an attack on floor with some kind of an industrial vacuum that leaves the roomba in the dust. ]
[ Once the entire place is as spotless as it can be (and weird potion ingredients are tidily sorted into clean boxes), he retreats to the kitchen. He's made chocolate for Hange before, apparently, so he's going to do that again, except with some extra steps this time because again, he has the time and energy to spare (and maybe he wants to remind Hange of something that he doesn't want to actually say, like how he's grateful for them or how watching them be happy fills his heart with peace). ]
[ Soon enough, there's the sweet, rich smell of what has to be some version of chocolate brownies wafting across the apartment, and the kettle with tea water is whistling as it comes to a boil. ]
[Hange certainly wasn't expecting a delivery, even though it was their birthday, but once they open up the box a bright smile washes over their features. Reiner remembered! They had talked about the birthdays that evening he was drunk, but Hange wasn't expecting him to follow through with it.
What a nice suprise.
A short time later, Reiner will receive a message showing a photograph of the ice cream cake with a slice already taken from it, followed by a text:]
[Hange just so happened to be awake, fully engrossed in some nature documentary showing on the picture box. It may be the middle of the night, but it's not like it's the first time they've been up at odd hours together and it definitely won't be the last. Maybe he saw that Hange's lights were still on from the outside, or something.]
[When Levi states that he's here to clean up it isn't met with much resistance- Hange knows he has much higher standards when it comes to this type of thing and also they really don't want to have to do any cleaning chores at all, so it works out just fine. Levi cleans, and Hange stays right there relaxed on the sofa telling him all about the carnivorous plants on the picture box and how awesome they are, and how they should go to the garden shop and look for one in the morning.]
[After a while the show finishes and Hange unintentionally falls asleep, only waking up a little while later when the rich, sweet aroma begins to fill the room, leading them to the kitchen, and to Levi.]
Chocolate..? Are you cooking something?
[Have one sleepy Hange, stifling a yawn as they shuffle over to see what he's up to.]
[ He actually appears to be listening as they chatter away while he cleans, and at some point, that odd soft expression may appear on his face again, even though there's no mention of roombas anywhere. It's almost like he's just... happy to hear them talk about something they're passionate about. (But surely that can't be it, right?) ]
[ The sweets are almost ready by the time Hange shuffles into the kitchen, and he makes a slight shooing motion to keep them away from the oven for a couple more minutes. ]
[ He's not looking at them, lining up mugs for tea and pouring carefully measured leaves in, then taking the kettle off the fire to cool off a little. ]
[Since this is, as of now, one of those ovens with a little glass panel in the front, Hange crouches down in front of it so they can see whatever is baking inside.]
[ He gets not wanting to celebrate. He never really mentioned his own birthday -- it was always Hange or Erwin or Petra who would remember and whip the rest of their squad and/or friends into congratulating him. ]
[ But this is a day that he was never going to have again. And now he does. ]
[ He pulls the form out and rests it on the oventop to cool off. It looks nice; seems it was a success -- not all that different from what he'd made previously in the end. Still, he thinks "brownies" is a shitty name (literally), so he considers what would be a more fitting alternative -- ]
...Chocolate bread.
[ nailed it. ]
[ He turns to pick up the tea kettle and pour water into their mugs. ]
[Hange looms over it to take a good look- it certainly smells like chocolate! And it looks sort of like a bread, or a cake, so it probably tastes amazing.]
Thanks! You're the best! Don't worry, I'll share it with you.
[Aaaand the fingers come out, already trying to break a corner off the scalding hot mixture in order to sneak a taste.]
But it smells too delicious! I don't want to wait!
[Cutting it up will make it cool fa- oh, Levi is also having the same idea. Fantastic! Hange grabs a knife from him and begins to slice up the brownie into rows, and then into squares that are going to be easier to pick up and eat.]
[Though since it probably needs a minute or two until they can eat it...]
...Do you think it still counts? Having a birthday, I mean.
[Hange slides the coffee creamer closer, inspecting the label. It's the first time they've heard of it, but they don't drink coffee so that should come as no surprise]
If it's sweet, I'll give it a try!
[Sweet things make everything better. Hange opens it up and immediately begins to pour some into their mug, though it ends up being about twice as much as they should and the beverage looks to be one drop away from overflowing its container.]
Hah, whoops!
[Now they will have to lean over the mug and slurp some up before it can be picked up from the table...]
[ That is. So much coffee creamer. Reiner blinks, wondering if the beverage will possibly taste good like that. He doesn't add anywhere near that much creamer! Then again, coffee creamer is a new thing for Reiner, too. Maybe he's been adding too little?
But Hange seems to enjoy it. So Reiner smiles again, small but pleased. ]
Yeah, it makes a big difference. Sometimes, I want that bitterness to help kick me awake. [ Spoken like a true masochist. ] Other times, it's like adding honey to tea, you know?
[ He takes the coffee creamer and adds some to his drink—more than he usually would, though nowhere near as much as Hange. ]
[ He lets them steal the knife from him and do the slicing themself - after all, it's Hange's birthday and their cake. Chocolate bread. Whatever. ]
[ Instead he'll be clearing off the rest of the small kitchen table and setting the tea mugs on it, then taking a seat across from them with his. ]
...
[ The question is unexpected. Perhaps he's thinking it's more loaded than it actually is, but... sometimes Hange makes it easy to forget that they're not just having the time of their life and not thinking about the more painful parts of it. And then sometimes it rears its ugly head anyway, like that time he yelled at them outside of the hospital, or that time they got upset with him at the lake, or -- ]
Of course it does. [ He sounds certain. After all, otherwise it would be the same as implying that this place somehow doesn't count, doesn't matter, and it does. More than anything right now. ] Everything you experienced, everything you learned. It still counts, doesn't it?
Coffee existed in Marley, right? I still prefer tea, plus that is what Levi likes to make [And why make your own drinks when you can scrounge off somebody else?] but it sure would've been useful back when I had experiments to run! There truly weren't enough hours in the day!
[Hange takes another drink, confirming their opinion that yes, the coffee is so much better when it contains 50% sugar!]
[As Hange listens they work on cutting up the baked treat, retrieving two plates and filling both with a sizeable portion of the chocolate bread before bringing them over to the table and setting them down with a pair of forks.]
[Hange isn't sure what kind of answer they were really expecting anyway. It's not like Levi would ever tell them that it doesn't count, the fact that he came over to bake the chocolate bread is proof enough that he thinks it is as real as any other year. Perhaps it was just another case of Hange musing out loud once again.]
It does. You're right, of course. It just feels strange. Birthdays always felt more like saying "congratulations on surviving another year" but that doesn't count this time, does it.
[Birthdays are to celebrate being another year older after all... something that technically has not happened.]
[Determined not to ruin the good gesture though, Hange turns their attention to the tea and food waiting on the table. Picking up the fork and breaking off a corner, Hange takes a big old mouthful of the chocolate bread. It's hot... but it's good!]
Mmm! It's really good! Since I get to to eat this, I will happily accept that it counts as the real deal! You've convinced me~
[Letting out a short chuckle of amusement, they help themselves to another forkful of chocolate bread. It's just so warm, and sweet, it's amazing!]
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