The graduation night. The night when strong, young minds have to make the most important decision in their careers: choose the military branch they will enter. While many of the top 10 graduates are relieved to join the Military Police Brigade and live in the safety of the inner Walls, the majority doesn't have this privilege.

Members of the 104th Training Corps stood upright, lined up perfectly, waiting for the commander to take the floor.

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(Y/N)'s eyes snapped open as she jolted awake, looking around wildly as reality merged with the vague remnants of a bad memory. She woke up in a briefly furnished room that she didn't recognise at first. Her vision was blurry, heart hammering in her chest, threatening to jump out any minute. She hugged her legs tightly in a pathetic attempt to calm herself down. All of her senses gradually came back and with them also the dread and helplessness she felt before. At least the migraine seemed to leave for good.

"For fuck's sake, pull yourself together! You are not going to break down that easily are you? You still haven't seen a glimpse of this timeline and what it has to offer-" she wanted to continue, but the furious whispers were stuck. She was in serious need of a glass of water. About time to find out where this place has its water reserves.

Concentrating on mindful breathing, she sat there for a few more minutes. Then she slipped on her shoes and slowly got off the bed. The small room Hange showed her when they got back from Trost to the HQ was now 'hers'. Or that's how she understood it. After the Military Police asked Hange several questions they didn't speak much since. Both (Y/N) and Hange had a lot to think about. On top of that, thanks to the skip in time, (Y/N) haven't slept for two whole days, and it was starting to get the best of her. A mid-day nap was a necessity.

Not far away from the bed stood a chair with her black coat folded over and an antique-looking cabinet with delicate roses painted around the knobs. The cabinet itself was empty, but a checkered chess box rested on top of it. She ran her fingers across this beautifully polished piece of handwork, not a speck of dust in sight. Even tho beige paint was falling apart in some places, revealing the brick wall underneath, it was apparent someone was taking good care of this place and kept it exceptionally clean. Guess this is where I'll be staying for a while, better get used to it...

In her stable element again, she left the room and started browsing the empty castle corridors looking for the kitchen. Hange was nowhere to be found, so was everyone else. Although she was certain the whole SOS got back with them too. Walking cautiously along the silent halls that were getting darker and darker every minute, she didn't know what time it was. However, she obviously slept throughout the entire day.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" (Y/N) said, peaking into the mess hall. No response. She glared into the darkening room she already knew when she heard an audible bang, a muffled explosion. It was coming from the underground. On impulse, (Y/N) followed the sound. Her mind was not inclined to jump to conclusions but in this case, it immediately went to Hange.

Unsurprisingly, when (Y/N) entered the basement Hange stood in the corridor trying not to breathe in the chemical fumes they created. They waved a door back and forth speeding up the air circulation, ventilating the improvised laboratory that was now full of smoke.

"What happened?" (Y/N) asked, sounding genuinely troubled. Hange removed the hand covering their mouth.

"Nothing serious, I was just messing with the measurements." They are stating it like a usual thing and not at all a rare accident. An uncontrolled environment can't be the norm, can it? That would be so irresponsible... Hange's actions baffled her.

"Looks safe enough now"

"Safe enough?! Wait! What have you been working on?" (Y/N) stopped right when her feet came in contact with the doorsill. Tall display cabinets, full of flasks and glass jars of various shapes and sizes, filled the entirety of the left wall. The opposite side had one too many bookshelves with all sorts of books in various states of decomposition. And right in the middle of this smoking mess a working station. Basic chemistry glassware was everywhere, for (Y/N)'s standards, naturally, all outdated. Same with the other equipment. It reminded her of showpieces you could find in any museum of natural sciences, the old-fashioned metal microscope seemed the most advanced. 

A steam-punk alchemist lair. 

The only weirdly accurate description she could come up with. There wasn't any source of daylight. A kerosene lamp and a few candles had to be lit, which seemed not very safe for a laboratory operated by a crazy person.

Hange tapped the distillation apparatus "You see, I have a million ideas that I can't really execute, therefore, I am stuck with small-scale experimenting, when it to chemistry."

"This explosion wasn't a small-scale explosion," (Y/N) said while making her way closer to the solid-wood working station. She grabbed one of the jars and studied the label with nothing written on it. The chemical inside was white and powdery. Hundreds of mixtures and substances look the same.

"What is this?" Hange adjusted their glasses and took the jar from (Y/N). When the answer didn't come right away (Y/N) sighed. "I don't want to be rude, but this is a terrible mess. If we have to work together, it's going to change. It's not worth risking one of us blowing the other on accident." Oh, you hypocrite. Don't you recall what got you here? She shook off the creeping remorses and turned around getting hold of some test tubes and ink. "Everything is receiving a label. It's safer and efficient. To get the exact chemical formulas, let's start with elementary tests. Solubility, melting points, density... I can do them myself if you let me," she said while looking around for makeshift personal protective equipment, moving quite confidently like she knew this place already.

"Well, if we team up, we'll be done with this way sooner," Hange noted with a smile thinking that (Y/N) wasn't exaggerating when she said she 'basically grew up in a lab'. She was a natural. But this devotion didn't come out of nowhere. Fully focusing on something she found familiar was a true gift, a blessing for the restless mind. Hange treated this as an opportunity to start a conversation, get more information about (Y/N). Except she wasn't planning on cooperating. Why ruining this beautiful moment of bubbling liquids, mixing, relaxing glass clinking? With the added satisfaction of getting this anarchy of a laboratory in order.

(Y/N) swallowed thickly, remembering how parched her throat was and why she left the room in the first place. She was going to ruin this beautiful working pace. "Hey Hange, where can I find something to drink? I would have given anything for a glass-" they didn't let her finish.

"In the kitchen of course, right next to the mess hall. No worries, I'll get it for you. I need to stretch my legs." Y/N bearly registered that Hange was already on their way. "Don't set this place on fire while I am away!" they exclaimed with a laugh. (Y/N) wasn't the dangerous one here who needed to be watched over.

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Anyone passing by the kitchen would hear dishes clattering. And anyone who looked in would see the spectacled brunette kneeling in front of the pantry clearly looking for something. Portable lamp in one hand, digging around with the other.

"Here you are!" Closely to the light, they held the desired findings.

»»————-　　————-««

(Y/N) looked up from the microscope. Hange was offering her a tall elegant glass full of deep violet liquid. 

They surely knew I meant a glass of water. This will dehydrate me even more. But you know what... I won't say no to a nice red wine. Maybe I need it... to unwind just a little bit.

"Even tho we shouldn't eat or drink anything around these chemicals..." she took in the sweet smell, raised the glass in implied 'cheers' gesture and then emptied it in one go. "By the way, if this is an attempt to 'make me talk' it won't work. Alcohol paralyses me and makes me sleepy," she wasn't completely sure about this accusation. However, Hange's disagreeing stance signalled she hit the bull's eye. "I don't know if I can provide any more information. And me declaring that 'I am not a spy' means nothing. But trust me when I figure out how to get back to my year, I am leaving, right here and there. Until then I will do anything that needs to be done. I will be loyal. I owe you guys for not killing me straight away," (Y/N) smiled. "That would have been a completely different story"

Hange crossed their arms and leaned against the table "How are you planning to execute that?"

"Not sure yet. I have to figure it out, somehow. Otherwise, I won't be able to live with myself"

"What do you mean?" (Y/N) stopped fidgeting with the empty glass. For Hange to understand she firstly had to explain the basis of her work, the four dimensions and what she knew about time flow and structure. With the help of pen and paper, Hange could grasp the basic theory of relativity pretty quickly. "And the thing is, when I got transported, the time didn't stop. It's still passing even without me there. The LHC is still burning and overheating. That means everyone and everything in the proximity of an upcoming explosion is still in danger," she stopped her lecture, just the thought of killing someone was extremely unsettling. Hange watched (Y/N), while trying to contain inappropriate questions and sheer excitement over this new interesting concept.

After a short period of silence, (Y/N) opted to change the theme. "Speaking of which, where is everyone? It seems like we are the only ones here"

"That's because we are. The graduation is held tonight. Normally I would be there too, but I've got you to babysit." Hange teased and poured (Y/N) another glass.

"Graduation?"

"Cadets who successfully completed their training, enlist into the military branch of their preference. Hopefully, we'll have a bunch of new interesting and determined people roaming around the castle tomorrow," they checked a clock hidden in one of the cabinets "or more precisely, today"

"I can't imagine going through this myself, boot camps sound like hell..." (Y/N) noted more to herself than to anyone else.

"Memories from Training Corps are actually one of the best, most careless ones I have."

"Really?" (Y/N) was quite surprised because she always saw the military as an institution for brainwashing and creating boring, uniform human beings who are trained to obey and not think for themselves - which Hange definitely wasn't.

"Yes. Meeting people, learning to be humble, making friends for life. The three girls* I shared a room with were always so fun to be around. Although I don't think the instructors thought about us in the same way. For example one time when we were in the mess hall, minding our own business, one of the higher-ups called us to the snake pit-"

"A snake pit**?!"

Hange was amused by her reaction "Calm down! That's what we called the table where all the instructors ate. So anyway..."

»»————-　　————-««

A whole bottle later (Y/N)'s eyes watered, tears leaving glossy traces on her burning cheeks. Hange was an amazing storyteller. She hadn't laughed this hard in a very long time.

"....or when one of the gals, Angie, fell asleep during night/fire watch. The drill instructor-" Hange couldn't finish the sentence, they bursted out laughing instead. It made them laugh hysterically because they remembered the merriment of it so vividly. "The drill instructor ambushed her and told her that she was now dead because she fell asleep. So she had to go around pretending to be a spooky ghost. She was ordered to sneak around with a sheet over her head booing and shaking everyone's racks. It was hilarious!"

"Oh my.. I can't! You should write a book with stories from your training days." (Y/N) said and wiped off her tears.

"Never! There are way better things to do! Sitting all day writing is not for me."

When the laughs faded into the night and both scientists stayed there in the flickering candlelight, looking at each other smiling, (Y/N) decided it's time to go. The alcohol truly exhausted her. "Hey, I... I should probably get some rest. It's getting late"

"Sure, I've got some 'important' bureaucracy to go through," their answer was accompanied by a grotesquely annoyed face.

"Alright then, see you later"

"Good night, (Y/N)"

She wanted to add 'Thank you, I really needed this' but soon enough convinced herself not to say it.

Even if it had been freezing in the bedroom she wouldn't have noticed it. The wine and unexpected feeling like she was welcomed here were warming her from the inside out. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't completely lost after all.

»»————-　　————-««

author's note:

*this was a conscious decision, even tho fandom mostly agrees that Hange is non-binary, the military would definitely put them into a certain box and I chose the women's quarters because most of the time they present 'more feminine', especially in the anime, simple as that

**yep, that's real military jargon, and I found it amusing so I had to show it to you :)

Hello fellow humans,

I feel like I turned this into a piece of life thing lol (I know, this is the weakest one yet, but if it cheers up and helps at least one person to forget about this crazy place we live in for a few minutes, I did my job). Anyway, (Y/N) is now just vibing with Hange and I hope you all are vibing too. Sending love from Central Europe 🖤

TO BE CONTINUED