What Could Have Been (HangexFemReader)

Chapter 9: Coercion

(Y/N) woke up early the next morning to make breakfast. Normally, she wouldn't wake up this early just to eat, but today she had to make food for another person. Hange was probably starving and (Y/N) wasn't a monster. Of course, she would feed Hange and make sure that they're alive and well...as long as they complied to what she told them to do. In no way did (Y/N) want to torture them. She was a tough person, but she wasn't a murderer—at least not of innocent people.

"What are you doing so early?" Levi raised an eyebrow from where he sat at the dining table (which was a pre-using coffee table scrouged from the dump).

"I thought I'd try a good cop-bad cop routine with Hange," (Y/N) reached for the loaf of bread, slicing off a sizable chunk. "I'll be the good cop, you be the bad cop. Maybe they won't hate me if I bring them food..."

"I think they'll hate you regardless."

"Oh, jee, thanks for the confidence," (Y/N) shot Levi a look.

"What if this doesn't work? What if Hange refuses to speak consistently? What are we going to do, (Y/N), have you thought that far ahead?"

(Y/N) stayed silent as she poured a glass of water. She hadn't thought that far ahead. Honestly, she had been hoping that Hange would have been more willing to help. Was the topic of humans suffering not enough? Perhaps the topsiders had demonized the undercity so much, that they didn't even seem human anymore.

"I'll figure something out, Levi," (Y/N) promised. "I'll get to the bottom of this. Just trust me."

Levi nodded and resumed drinking his tea. (Y/N) left the kitchen with a chunk of bread, an apple, and a glass of water. It wasn't a lot, and it certainly wasn't the nutritious breakfast that Hange might have been used to, but it was all (Y/N) had to give.

--

"Rise and shine," (Y/N) sang as she opened the door to where Hange was staying. They were awake, their eyes shooting daggers in her direction. She walked over to where they were bound, placing the tray of food in their lap. "Ready to talk?"

"What is this?" Hange frowned down at the food.

"Breakfast, of course. I assume you're hungry? It's been a couple of hours since we've taken you from your lab," (Y/N) glanced at the old clock on the wall. Six hours to be exact. Would the guards be looking for Hange yet? Hopefully, not. Perhaps they'd think that Hange was sleeping or...on a secret rendezvous. She needed at least 24 hours without the guards infiltrating the undercity—it wouldn't take long for them to figure out that this was all connected to citizens of the underground.

"Breakfast?"

"Yes, breakfast," (Y/N) said, exasperated. Why was Hange so surprised, had they never eaten an apple before? "I know it's not all fancy shmancy like the meals that you have on the topside, but it's all that we have. Suck it up, cupcake."

Hange's brows shot so far up, they disappeared under their messy locks of brown hair. "For a kidnapper, you're quite sassy. Are you always like this, or is the attitude just for your victims?"

(Y/N) huffed. "You paint me in such a negative light. You're not my victim if you cooperate with me. What will you have to lose if you just tell me the information that you have?"

"It's not about what I will lose, it's about what you will gain. What will you do with the information, hmm? This entire feat seems like a desperate grab at money and power. I will not be held responsible for that," Hange declared, glancing down at the food in their lap. "And could you possibly untie my hands? I kind of need them if I want to eat."

(Y/N) snorted, eyeing Hange's body. They were lean, but she was sure that they were strong. Due to Hange's arms being tied behind them, their muscles strained underneath their shirt. Yep, definitely strong.