Chapter 16:
"ISABEEEEELL!" Hange's voice rang through the corridors as she skipped, trying to find her favorite child.
"Auntie Hange!" Isabel exclaimed, pulling away from the game she was playing with Eren and Mikasa in order to hug her. Hange had noticed that she seemed a little bit taller now that she got a good look at her.
"I had a really great idea, and I think you're gonna like it." Hange proclaimed, scooping Isabel up into her arms and spinning around.
"What?" Isabel asked, her eyes brightening with excitement.
"What if we built...A FORT!" Hange suggested, grinning wildly. "I can help you build the most structurally sound fort in all of the walls! Won't that be fun?"
"Yeah!" Isabel cheered, excited to do something with her "aunt". Both she and Levi were rather busy lately, and as much as Isabel loved the cadets, she loved those two the most. The mere thought of playing with Aunt Hange warmed Isabel to her core.
"Alright. I need you to get as many building materials as possible. Books, pillows, blankets, whatever you can find. We are going to create the ultimate fort!"
Isabel eagerly ran off, first going to her room to get as much as she could carry. She tore the pillow and blankets off of her bed and carried them to Hange, displaying them proudly.
"Good job!" Hange chuckled, taking the items from her. "Let's start setting it up in my office."
Isabel followed Hange through the hallways. She thought of more things that could help. Those stools and chairs in the kitchen could come in handy. Maybe some of the cadets could lend her their blankets as well. The one thing she knew for sure: do not, under any circumstances, take anything from Levi's room or office. He would have a fit, and Isabel didn't want to see his wrath taken out on Hange (which would usually consist of a long lecture about the importance of cleanliness).
They burst into Hange's messy office. "Alright, Isabel. I need you to find even more stuff. Anything you think that would help." Hange said, and Isabel quickly set out to find the best fort-worthy things. She stole pillows from the couch in the common area. She dragged out the chairs and stools from the kitchen. Sasha and Connie even gave up their blankets for her to use. The fort would definitely be amazing with all of this stuff. She was sure of it.
Once they had gotten quite a lot of things, Isabel and Hange got to work, draping blankets over any surface and holding it down with the tons of books Hange possessed. Hange had been generous enough to even use her own Scouting Regiment Cape, which would make quite the entrance to their fort. However, they weren't done yet. This was supposed to be an ultimate fort. They couldn't simply leave it in one room. They needed to expand.
Isabel placed the stools and chairs around the hallway, and Hange draped blankets and pillows over them, creating new passageways. Isabel beamed with excitement, admiring the work that they had done.
"Section Commander, I have that file you...what is going on here?" The nice man that always followed Auntie Hange around appeared in front of their fort. His name was Moblit, and Isabel thought he was nice. He wasn't nearly as silly as Auntie Hange, but he played with her when he had the chance.
"What does it look like, Moblit? We're obviously building a fort." Hange rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"Section Commander...how are people supposed to get through the hallway?" Moblit asked, eyeing the fort.
"By crawling through," Hange replied, looking at him as if he had just grown a second head. Isabel thought the answer was simple herself, but she guessed not everyone could be as smart as she and Auntie Hange.
"It certainly is a wonderful fort. And it does seem like it's big enough for an adult to crawl through. However, I'm worried about the reaction from a certain...captain." Moblit shuddered.
"Oh, Shorty can suck it up and deal with it. Isabel and I are having fun, so there's no harm. Everything will be fine Moblit. Now...will you be our first testing subject?" Hange guided him to the opening.
"Um...are you sure this is a good idea, Section Commander?" Moblit asked. "What if I accidentally knock it down?"
"Oh please! Hange Zoe helped build this fort with the masterful genius Isabel. There's no way it would fall down after the work we put in. Just look at all of the stuff we have to keep it up!" Hange proclaimed, gesturing to the mountains of books that held the blankets in place.
"Okay…" Moblit said, getting on his hands and knees and crawling through the entrance. Isabel and Hange heard shuffling inside, and from time to time, they saw him bump the blankets with his back. Finally, he emerged at the other end, where Isabel was waiting.
"Yay Moblit!" Isabel cheered, and Hange applauded her right-hand man. Moblit gave a slight bow and smirked.
"I'll give you the file later. It seems you're far too occupied at the moment." Moblit said, giving a quick wink.
"Thanks, Moblit," Hange replied, and Moblit set out on his way.
The next order of business was to personalize the inside of the fort. Isabel made a little bed for her stuffed animals, and Hange created little spots where you could poke your head out. This also created the perfect spot for reading (if Isabel was able to read, of course). Hange thought if she curled up enough, she could spend hours sitting and doing work in her little makeshift room.
"Do you like it, Isabel?" Hange asked.
Isabel popped her head through one of the openings and nodded vigorously. This was the most fun she had experienced in a long time.
"I'm glad." Hange laughed.
"Papa like it?" Isabel asked.
"I'm sure he will. Who wouldn't love this amazing fort?"
…
Levi was exhausted from work today. Erwin had assigned him to train some cadets, and as much as he loved putting people in their place, he longed for a challenge. The hot summer air didn't help either, and all he wanted to do was sit down with a cold cup of water and relax.
Sadly, something stopped him from his peace.
"Dear Rose above." He breathed, looking at the mound of blankets before him. Who...who in their right mind would make such a mess in the middle of the hallway? Especially so close to his own office and barracks? Someone must have a death wish.
"Levi! You're back! How was training? Did you kick everyone's butts?" Hange's head poked out of the mound. He should have expected this. Only Hange Zoe would be crazy enough to do something like this.
"Hange, what in the walls is this?" Levi gestured to the barricade blocking his path.
"It's a fort, obviously." Hange rolled her eyes at the raven-haired man.
"But why?" Levi asked.
"Why not?"
"Papa!" A yell emitted from the blankets, and out popped Isabel. She hugged Levi tightly, and it took Levi a moment to recover from his shock.
"Hi, sweetheart." He said.
"Auntie Hange and me made this. You like it?" Isabel said, pointing to the fort.
"You...made this?" Levi's eyes went wide. His little girl was responsible for this mess? He felt a shiver down his spine.
"Yep!" She beamed.
"It's...very big." Levi managed, trying to keep himself from saying anything to offend the girl.
Isabel crawled back inside, and Levi glared at Hange. "It takes up the entire hallway! I've told you about this Hange. Don't teach her to make messes." He hissed.
"I'm teaching her to be creative." Hange shrugged.
"You need to clean this up," Levi stated.
"And dash the hopes and dreams of your little girl? Do you really want to do that, Levi?" Hange snickered.
Levi scowled. He knew that Four-Eyes won, but he would never admit it. "Only for a couple of hours. Then this needs to get taken down."
"Thank you kindly, Captain." Hange smiled, diving down into the fort.
"Papa! Come play!" Isabel implored, popping her head out of the fort once more. Levi couldn't say no to those big blue eyes.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming." He said, getting on his hands and knees and crawling into the fort.
AN: First of all, a shout out to my big sister, Ami K, for giving me this idea. We definitely built a lot of forts when we were little. This chapter brought back so much nostalgia, I absolutely loved writing it.
Second, I just have to say right now...YOU ALL ARE SO SWEET! You have no idea how much your comments and support mean to me. This is my first big story, and it is so wonderful to see that people actually enjoy it. Thank you for your support! Love you all!