Her Lady Love [FemHangeZoexFemReader]

Chapter 22: Returning

The expedition had started off well, with no titan encounters for the first hour. Captain Levi's squad followed Commander Erwin's orders, spread out and looking out for titans.

"I'm not quite sure what the goal for today is," (Y/N) mumbled.

"I think it's just gauging a sense of how the new formation works and setting up a new base that we can use as a checkpoint for future expeditions," Petra responded.

"Oh."

The horses came to a stop near a series of dilapidated houses. Captain Levi paused and took survey of the land before hopping off of his horse. Miche followed him and sniffed the air. When they were both satisfied, they motioned for the rest of the soldiers to tie up their horses.

(Y/N) hopped off her horse and followed Petra, ready to receive orders. But Captain Levi was busy giving the other members of his squad tasks to do, so (Y/N) stood awkwardly to the side. Her mind drifted off to Hange again, remembering her enticing brown eyes and funny expressions. She could feel the traces of Hange's fingertips on her skin, could still remember the way her skillful hands massaged out all of the tension in her back.

"Oi, don't just stand there and daydream, tie up all the horses," Levi ordered.

(Y/N) nodded and went around, making sure the horses were secured. She continued to stand near the horses, feeling a heaviness in her chest. Had she done the right thing by running away? What if Hange was upset with her? And Moblit...Moblit would be worried. Regret was spreading throughout (Y/N)'s body and she mentally kicked herself for running. She should have stayed.

"We should be leaving soon, don't worry," Petra whispered. "Today was just a small one-day expedition."

(Y/N) smiled. "Does my face make it obvious?"

"A little," Petra teased.

Minutes passed by and (Y/N) stood there, unsure of how to assist since she hadn't gone over the plan with the rest of the members of the squad. After two hours, Captain Levi signaled that it was time to retreat, that their future checkpoint had been prepared. (Y/N) climbed atop her horse and was just righting her balance when loud thuds distracted her. Two titans were approaching in the distance, running at full speed.

Two scouts on Levi's squad flew off without a word, determined to slay the titans. But the sudden thuds of the giants had scared (Y/N)'s horse who let out a loud neigh and bucked back, causing (Y/N) to yelp and fall off the horse.

She landed on her arm with a sickening crack. (Y/N) whimpered as she felt an explosion of white-hot pain go down her arm. She struggled to sit, unable to use her right arm at all.

"(Y/N)!" Petra cried, kneeling down to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"N-no, I think I broke my arm," (Y/N) said through gritted teeth, holding back the tears that sprung to her eyes.

"You have a cut on your face too," Petra said worriedly. "Did you hit your head?"

"No, it's just my arm. Let's just go, I'll get it checked out at the medic."

Petra nodded, concerned, and held the reins of (Y/N)'s horse as she hopped on again. (Y/N) gripped onto her horse with her left arm, wincing through the pain. It hurt like hell. (Y/N) wasn't sure she had experienced a pain like that before. She took in a shuddering breath and hoped that the ride back home would fly by.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They reached the scout's base well into the night. A full moon hung in the sky, millions of stars sparkling around them. (Y/N) looked up, pain momentarily gone as she basked in the beauty of the sky. She wished Hange would be there with her. She imagined the two of them lying together in a field of flowers, looking for constellations. She would fall asleep in Hange's arms, completely at peace. Hange...(Y/N) almost groaned when she realized she had to talk to Hange in the morning.

"Let's get you to the medic, okay?" Petra helped (Y/N) off the horse and they walked to the medic.

"I hope I don't run into anyone," (Y/N) muttered.

"I'm sure everyone is asleep by now. We'll sneak in," Petra reassured her.

(Y/N) walked with Petra to the infirmary, painfully aware of everything in the hallways. She was sure if she saw anyone resembling Hange, she would make a break for it. It had been almost ten hours since she had accidentally spilled her feelings to Hange. She hoped that Hange would have forgotten about them...if that was even possible. She couldn't deal with confrontation at the moment.

The medic came over as soon as he saw (Y/N) and Petra. "What happened?"

"I broke my arm," (Y/N) winced.

The medic led her to an empty bed and pulled the curtains around them. He gently grabbed her arm and inspected it and (Y/N) grimaced at the pain.

"It's definitely broken, that's for sure," the medic confirmed, "I'll put it in a sling for you."

"Thanks," (Y/N) turned to Petra. "I'm good now, you can leave."

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you if you're in pain."

"It's fine, really! I think I'm just going to get a cast and stay here for the night."

"Ok...I'll come to check on you in the morning," Petra lightly hugged (Y/N) before leaving.

(Y/N) sighed and leaned against the pillow on her bed. She closed her eyes, weariness and pain washing over her. The medic came over and cleaned her arm, coaxing it into a cast. (Y/N) was sure the medic was trying to be as gentle as possible, but it still hurt a lot. She slightly wished that someone was with her. Hange might have held her and tell her a funny story to distract her from the pain.

"Thanks," (Y/N) grunted.

"You're welcome. You can stay here for the night, so I can observe you in case you have any hidden injuries. Let me know if you experience any more pain."

(Y/N) nodded and rested her head against the pillow, yanking the blanket over herself with her free hand. She sighed, tired, and closed her eyes. She wished for sleep to overcome her, to consume her with darkness and take away her pain. Minutes passed and she turned onto her left side, cautious of her broken arm.

She heard rustling and the door opening, she assumed it was the medic walking around. The rustling of papers, footsteps, and hushed whispers were actually soothing, eventually lulling (Y/N) to sleep.

(Y/N) woke up a few hours later. She yawned and rubbed her eye with her left hand. It was still dark out so (Y/N) assumed it was dawn. She rolled out the knots in her neck and turned to look for the medic when she noticed someone sitting in a chair next to her. (Y/N) squinted to see the figure clearly in the dark.

"H-hange?" She stuttered when she recognized who it was.

A/N: Since I felt bad about the cliffhanger from last time, I decided to post two chapters today! Enjoy :)