Levi tapped his phone's screen, swiping left, right, down, up, then up again. The bright candy pieces on the screen moved with his motion, crushing with one another with over-the-top glitter and firework animations, and those colorful glimmers were the only source of light inside his janitor office. But the tempting sweets displayed weren't as sugary as the eighties ballad reverberating over the walls.
He closed the app and stared at the lock screen's clock.
23:04
Levi left the phone on the desk in front and reclined on his seat with a sigh. The party would go on until midnight at most, and then he would finally get to clean all the sticky soda and juice splattered over the sport's hall. What a way to spend his Friday night. First playing some dumb, free game on his phone, and then cleaning up those brats' mess.
But it was their graduation. If anything, those kids had deserved an eve without him grunting at loud music on the halls or greasy food on the tables.
He grabbed the phone again to set up an alarm at midnight. Laying back, he closed his eyes, focusing on the music to avoid falling asleep. But suddenly, a creak from the door invited a single ray of light into the darkness of his office, partially blocked by a familiar silhouette.
Hange.
"Waddup, shorty," they said, leaning against the doorframe. Levi sat up with a grunt, rubbing his eyes until he got used to the bright, white light from the hallway, contouring their figure.
Hange leaned against the door with a white plastic cup in their hands. They wore their standard maroon jumpsuit, but this time with a black bowtie around their neck. And on top, their lab coat, still with the same stains he had noticed a month before. But despite not having bothered to wash that damn coat for the party, they had let their hair down for once. Maybe even combed it.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled, quickly looking at his phone.
23:06
"I didn't see you at the hall." Hange scanned the room, adjusting their glasses. "It's so dark in here… I'm surprised you aren't upside-down, perched to the ceiling like a bat."
"Maybe I was looking for some quietness."
"That's also something a bat would say."
"What the—?" began Levi, only to shrug it off. Hange's mind simply didn't make any sense. "Shouldn't you be taking care of the students?"
"Hm? Party's over. They all left already." To Hange's answer, Levi checked the phone again: not midnight yet. "Anyway, Erwin and Mike were going out to a bar. We can join them together if you want."
"I have to clean up."
"Oh, come on! Don't be such a bore." Hange tapped their fingernails on the doorframe as they hummed. "You know what, I'll help you out. That will contain your little clean-freak crisis so we can meet the others for actual fun."
"Stop calling me clean-freak," said Levi, rolling his eyes. "It's just my job."
"That's also what I tell you when you complain about my shitty, mad scientist's experiments exploding all over the lab ."
"Whatever." He moved away from the desk, adjusting his denim janitor suit and placing his phone inside one of the pockets. Holding a bucket filled with mops, brushes, and cleaning products, he joined Hange in the hallway. "Let's get this over with."
It took him a moment to get used to the blazing, rectangular lights of the hallway's ceiling. The mold-green walls were taped with all sorts of posters, from summer job ads to school events, including the purple-neon banner announcing the graduation party.
Class of 2012. Sports Hall. 8pm-11pm.
As they approached the sports hall's entrance, Levi noticed that the music became louder, and the lyrics clearer: something about ruling the world and walls tumbling down. Another retro song, but more upbeat than the previous one.
"Why is the music still playing if everyone's gone?" he asked, the sticks from the mops and brooms gently hitting his elbow with every step he took.
Hange shrugged, "It's a nice song."
"It's also very old."
"But not as old as you," they said, turning to him with a smirk. "Hmm…You know, if you think about it, music is like natural selection. The only songs that last are the good ones."
Levi scoffed, "Not everything is about science."
"I know." Hange leaned their hip against the metal door leading to the hall, tossing their plastic cup in a nearby trash can. "But it can explain almost everything."
Hange used their elbow to push the handle, releasing the lock and holding the door open for Levi.
Even though the dim, blue glow from spotlights reflecting on the disco ball wasn't enough illumination to judge, the hall didn't seem to be in such a horrendous state. However, he could still smell the drinks and fried onions on the floor, and he already knew that the confetti and glitter scattered all over it would take days to vacuum, and even more days to get it all out of his shoes and jumpsuit.
Pastel-colored balloons and garlands decorated the walls. The speakers surrounding the stage were still standing, and the DJ platform, with the music system still on, luckily hadn't been covered in juice or even more glitter. Getting all the equipment back to the basement seemed like something the techies of the school could easily take care of. His job for the night was next to the door, at the long, rectangular table set at its side. Snacks, cups, plastic forks, spilled drinks, and half-eaten muffins were all over the board, but Levi could swear that there was more food on the floor than on actual paper platters.
He placed the bucket on the floor and put on his yellow cleaning gloves. Suddenly, he noticed a stream of crumbs falling right by his side. Levi tilted his head, and his lips fell ajar when he saw Hange munching on a piece of bread, swaying their head at the music.
"What the hell are you doing?" he seethed.
"Mmm, Jean's mom makes killer omelette sandwiches," they said with their mouth full. Hange took another bite and offered the rest to Levi. He declined with a grunt.
"Stop gobbling and help me out if you want to make it to that bar."
"Alright, alright."
Hange finished the sandwich, all while Levi took out all the cleaning products from the bucket.
He looked around the hall again, frowning as he wondered how to attack all the filth, and how Hange could help without making it even worse. Taking advantage of their height seemed like a good start. "Can you take out all that stuff from the walls?"
Hange nodded, and Levi approached the table, tossing the dirty paper plates in a trashcan. Despite the music resounding over the hall, he could still hear Hange humming to the melody.
He was so absorbed in cleaning the leftover food that the loud stomp by his side was enough to startle him. He turned around with a gasp; Hange stood next to a large container filled with the decorations. In their hand, a string tied all the balloons together, still full of air.
"I left them like this in case you want to stab them in your free time," they said with a smile.
"Thanks," murmured Levi with disdain.
Hange leaned against the wall, crossing their arms. "Is it bad that I don't want them to leave?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, kneeling to wipe away some blot on the floor.
"I've known these kids since they were your height. And now they go to… pursue their future. Follow their dreams. You know, become adults."
"This happens every year." He stood up and folded the cleaning cloth. "I guess a scientist like you would call it the circle of life."
"Oh, ha, ha." Hange rolled their eyes. "Come on, even you must miss them a bit."
"I'm not going to miss Connie running in the hallway or Sasha's breadcrumbs, that's for sure." To his answer, Hange scoffed. Levi threw out some half-eaten omelette sandwich that still looked way too appetizing. "But they are good kids, yeah."
"What was your dream when you graduated?"
Levi turned to Hange, lifting an eyebrow. They stared at him decisively, awaiting his response as another song began to play.
"I don't think I had one. I liked cleaning, so I did that." Without giving further thought to their question, he removed the last plastic cups from the table.
"Okay, then what about before? Like, when you were a kid, didn't you want to be a rocket scientist? Or tiger vet?"
Levi rolled his eyes. "I think that's you."
"Yeah, I wanted to be a tiger vet and do something dangerous for a good cause," they said, throwing their head back and grinning. "But what about you?"
Levi breathed out, bending over to grab a cleaning spray. It had been quite a while since he had revisited his childhood, and even longer since he had revisited his desires.
"I don't know." To his instinctive reply, he added with a murmur, "Being...sort of a superhero and saving people, I guess."
"Oh, I can totally see you flying around, hitting the bad guys with mops and bleach." Hange moved away from the wall, articulating with their arms. "Pew! Pew! Captain Levi, The Super Man!"
"You have too much imagination for a scientist," he growled, kneeling to spray some cleaning formula over the floor.
Hange bent towards him. "If you are looking for the broom, I think it's stuck up your ass." Levi pointed the spray at them, and Hange quickly jumped two steps back. "Wow, wow! What happened to saving people?"
"Gotta get rid of the filthy villain first."
Hange adjusted their glasses with a scoff, and Levi continued to wipe away crumbs and slicks.
But it wasn't enough to clear his curiosity. "If you wanted to be a tiger vet, why did you stay here instead of going to Madagascar or something?"
"Why are you here cleaning Hot Cheetos off the floor instead of saving the world?" Hange began to spin around, swaying with the music. "Life happens. Shit happens. Not all our dreams are meant to come true."
"And that doesn't bother you?"
"Hmm." Hange paused their tiny dance, frowning as they mulled over his question. "I think the worst isn't not seeing your dreams come true. I think it's seeing them come true, and them not being what you expected." With a sigh, they extended their arms and danced around, even though the song playing wasn't a happy one. "Maybe being a tiger vet wouldn't have been as exciting as I had dreamt of when I was a kid. Now that would've shattered me. And…teaching kids isn't as adrenaline-inducing as tigers. Well, depends on the kids, I guess. But it's still fun, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh yeah, cleaning the showers after practice feels just as good as saving the world."
"Come on, even I don't think that being a superhero must be fun all the time."
"I guess I'll never know," he sighed.
"Not until you try it," they chuckled.
Levi grabbed the broom and dustpan from the bucket and began cleaning the crumbs on the floor.
"But it's true, what you said," he murmured, Hange still dancing around. "Dedicating your heart to something that isn't what you thought it would be sounds worse than giving it up."
"Some would say that's the definition of being brave. Making risky choices and accepting whatever their outcome is."
"That's something I can get behind."
"Yeah, you never stroke me as someone who would live stuck in the past. Otherwise, you would appreciate how good this song is."
Hange moved towards the middle of the hall, just as the next song began to play, its synth melody reverberating on the hall. He had heard it in one of those cheesy, old movies about people following their dreams of becoming dancers.
"You know, it's more fun when there isn't just one person on the dancefloor," Hange said, making a sign with their hand, inviting Levi to join them. "Come on, don't make me look like a lunatic."
"You're already one," he whispered, mostly to himself, but his voice became louder. "No one's watching anyway."
"You are," they said, resuming their dance.
Levi grunted and continued to clean the floor. But he caught himself moving his feet to the beat of the music, murmuring the chorus even though he didn't know the lyrics.
He turned around and removed his gloves, observing Hange carefreely dancing and singing under the disco ball. He looked around; indeed, there wasn't anyone else.
"Who the hell chose old songs for a party full of teenagers?" he growled, leaning the broom against the wall before joining Hange on the dancefloor.
"Oh, look! It's The Super Man!" they greeted him with mock, turning around. Before he could retort, Hange grabbed his forearms, swaying them with the music. Levi was too stunned to complain, but he hoped that his expression showcased enough disgust.
The music stopped, and Levi almost used it as an excuse to move away from Hange and get back to cleaning. But then a slower, more tender song began to play.
"Aw, I love this one!" Hange softened their grip on Levi's arms but continued to gently move them back and forth. They closed their eyes, rocking their head to the beat.
Levi observed their immersion, the cyan, fractured light from the disco ball above shining on their face, reflecting on their glasses. And almost without thinking about it, he also grabbed Hange's arms. With that gesture, they opened their eyes and smiled.
Levi gulped, "You said science can explain everything."
" Almost everything."
"This doesn't feel new," he breathed out. "Us, like this. Talking about dreams and choices."
"Like a déja vu ?"
"Something like that."
Hange stared at the ceiling with furrowed brows for a moment, just as the song's chorus began to resonate between them. "Maybe we have been like this before, and we just don't know it."
"That doesn't sound very rational."
"Says the janitor that wanted to fly around saving the world, to the scientist that would've risked their life to pet a tiger," they smiled.
Hange took a step closer, sliding their hands until they rested over Levi's shoulders. His confidence froze just as his fingers remained gently wrapped around their arms.
"I think I would've made a very bad superhero," Levi instinctively said, a shiver traveling down his spine. "Maybe I'm better off as a janitor."
"True, I have yet to meet a superhero that can't reach the top shelf at the supermarket," they scoffed. "But…"
"But?"
Hange's eyes intersected with Levi's, the gleam from the light above shining on their pupils.
"You care about people. That's what all heroes are about, right?" Hange grinned, and Levi let out a snort, quickly looking away. Wrinkling their eyes, they asked, "Do you think I would've made a good tiger vet?"
"Anything mildly deranged suits you."
Hange let out a loud laugh, resting their head over Levi's shoulder, the sound of their giggles overtaking the music for a moment.
Maybe it didn't make sense to think about other choices, another life. Maybe they were supposed to be right there, at that time, and not saving the world and risking their lives for something greater than themselves.
Suddenly, Levi's chest began to buzz. Hange quickly moved away with a gasp, and Levi looked down. His phone's display shone over the jumpsuit's fabric.
Shit.
"Oh, is that your superhero signal?" they said.
"Just a dumb work alarm," he mumbled, clumsily taking out his phone and shutting that damn sound off.
"Ah, well. When duty calls…" they shrugged and took out their phone, flooding their face with blue light as they unlocked it. "Oh, oh. I told Erwin we would be there by midnight."
Levi stared at the clock on the display.
00:00
"Hey, let's join the others. I can help you clean up the rest tomorrow," said Hange, adjusting their lab coat.
"No, no," mumbled Levi. "You go. I'll take care of this."
"You sure? The brooms are still going to be here in the morning."
"It's fine. I can't stand Mike when he's drunk anyway."
Hange sighed, "Alright."
They walked together back to the entrance. The glitter and confetti were still all over the floor, the music still echoing over the walls.
Levi grabbed the broom, and Hange opened the door. The bright, hallway lights invaded the soft, purple atmosphere of the hall.
"So…same time next year?" said Hange.
Levi snorted, "Sure."
"Looking forward to it," they smiled, and just as they were about to cross the doorframe, they turned to Levi again. "Oh, and by the way."
"Hm?"
The lyrics from the music became louder than his thoughts, even though he wasn't paying attention to either.
"There are no tigers in Madagascar."
Author's Note
Might do a Part 2 if my brain goes brr again