Chapter 9: Celebration

Hanji's POV

For breakfast, Levi prepared a pancake and made use of my frozen chocolate syrup. Yup. Frozen cause I stocked it in my fridge for like months already. I am not entirely sure what kind of magic this chibi used to make it decent again cause trust me, I was about to dispose that. Levi really have a talent in turning something crappy to good, and my house is an example of that.

By the way, it has already been 3 weeks since Levi and I started sharing this apartment. And for that whole time we were together, I was gifted with a clean and pleasant apartment, warm and freshly cooked meals, and ironed clothes. Aside from that, I finally made a progress with the job that Erwin gave me, all thanks to my cold but gay roommate. I didn't know that Levi has a good eyes in objects and that he really knows a lot about interior designing. If he never told me that he was a former language professor, I would think of him otherwise.

As I took a bite off my pancake, my phone rang at my side. I looked at the caller's ID. It was Nanaba.

"What now?" I muttered while rolling my eyes. I am actually close to developing a trauma whenever I saw that it is Nanaba who is calling. Cause there is only 2 reasons why she do that; one, Mike and him got into a fight and she is seeking for me to kick his husband's ass, or two, she found another guy to pair up with me. And to my horror, it is most frequently the latter.

"Hanji!" I felt the excitement in Nanaba's voice as she said my name. Oh God. I have a bad feeling about this

"Yo! Good morning!" I greeted her before I took amother bite off my food. "Why did you call so early in the morning?"

"Well.. Mike and I have good news" she answered.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" I asked. Nanaba didn't answer but I can hear her and Mike talking on the other line. "Uh? Hello?"

She laughed before she answered again. "Sorry Hanji. I got excited for a few moments"

"Just tell her already" I heard Mike say in the background.

"I am going to so please just shut up in there!" yelled Nanaba to her husband. She coughed after before conversing with me again. "So, as I said earlier, Mike and I have good news"

"And?"

"We'll finally have a little one in this house!" she said with excitement. My eyes widened as a smile started creeping in my face.

"Oh damn really?!" I yelled which made Levi, who is eating in front of me, frown. I mouthed him 'sorry'

"Yes! That is why we are planning to celebrate this evening! Just some dinner and beer for our closest friends"

Beer made my eyes sparkle. Finally I could have a taste of that bitter, yeasty drink again. "I'll be there! Save a number of bottle for me alright?" I told Nanaba. She giggled before saying good bye and ending the call. I can't really imagine how much Nanaba's life and personality changed after she met Mike. I mean, she never made any girly sounds when we were back in High school. She was even more masculine than most of the boys. But eversince the two of them became together, Nanaba became more like a normal woman. And now that they will finally have a child, I bet that she'll undergo another transition.

"Who was that?" Levi asked, taking his and mine's empty plate.

"A close friend of mine. She and her husband will finally have a baby!" I answered with excitement. The news about the baby really made my mood rocket to good one.

"Hm?" Levi hummed. I frowned at his reaction. Seriously? How dull is this person?

"Anyway, don't prepare a dinner for me. I will go to my their house after work" I said, standing up the kitchen stool to grab my bag. I'll be going to work after all.

"Sure" Levi replied with still that lame and boring voice.

~*~

7 pm.

I got out of my building as soon as my shift ended, then I immediately called for a cab to drive me to Nanaba's. From our company building, it is approximately 20 minutes drive to their house. So I need to endure this 20 horrifying minutes of my stomach grumbling from hunger and my throat thirsting for a refreshing drink.

That aside tho, I can really feel Nanaba's and Mike's excitement. It is their first baby after all and I bet that they have been trying to have one ever since they got married. Nanaba actually have a bit of complications with herself making it difficult for her to bear a child so this is really a miracle.

I looked at the cab's window and stared at the blooming flowers. Come to think of it, I met Levi a week after spring started. Looks like this season is really a time for new beginnings, seeing how many changes happened with mine, and Nanaba's life. I just hope that summer will be warm for all of us, especially that chibi who is as cold as the winter of 1936.

The cab halted when we reached my destination. I fetched a couple of money for the driver before I got out of the car to join my friend's celebration. I stepped in front of the door and before I even got hold of the knob, the door opened revealing a short orange haired girl. Her eyes widened seeing me but she immediately gave enough space for me to enter the house.

"I'm sorry" She said.

"No its fine" I answered smiling. I entered the house and what welcomed me is a cheerful and celebratory atmosphere. Nanaba is at the dining room, talking with some of her female workmates while Mike is at the living room, drinking canned beers with a few guys. As stealthy as possible, I went towards the kitchen to grab myself a dinner. My only purpose in here is Nanaba's roasted chicken and the beer.

I tiptoed my way towards the kitchen until a shiver ran through my spine as I heard her voice. "HANJI!" Nanaba embraced me so hard that I swear all the air in my lungs escaped.

"Let go of me Nanaba! I still want to live for the chicken" I joked. She laughed as she let go of me.

"I am so happy you came. Thank you so much" She smiled warmly at me. "Come. I bet you are already starving" Nanaba led me towards the kitchen. She prepared a plate of food for me which I decided to eat in the kitchen counter instead. I want to eat my dinner somewhere peaceful after all. It has been long since I had Nanaba's best dish.

I was in the middle of my meal when I saw the same orange haired girl at the door earlier, enter the kitchen. She went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water which she immediately gulped. Looking at her from this distance, you can't really doubt that she is pretty. Her bobbed hair matched the shape of her face and its color gave off a warm yet strong image. This girl is also short, even shorter than Levi I guess.

Speaking of that chibi, did he already have dinner? I can't call him to check cause he broke his phone a few weeks ago, which is quite stupid of him by the way. He is looking for a job yet he lost his contact.

"Excuse me?" I was broken out of my thoughts when she said that. I can't believe that I even stopped my chewing eversince I started thinking about this woman in front of me. Well, she is pretty after all. Any person, may it be a guy or a girl, will be mesmerized when they see her.

I swallowed my food. "I am so sorry" I laughed. "It must have been rude of me to stare. You just kinda remind me of someone"

Well, she did made me remember of Levi due to the height.

"Oh, its fine" She laughed a little, sitting at the kitchen stool beside me. "I am Petra Ral by the way. A colleague of Mike"

I smiled at her. "The name's Hanji Zoe. I am a close friend of Nanaba"

"It is very lucky of them to have a baby right?" Petra said, looking at the celebrating couple. "I just wish that me and him made it this far"

For a moment, I saw Petra's eyes become filled with a lot of sadness. It has a trace of envy as she looked at the laughing Nanaba whose hand is currently above her stomach, and longing as Mike wrapped his arms around his wife.

It became a bit awkward as I felt Petra's sudden shift in mood so I immediately opened a topic. "By the way Petra" she looked at me, her eyes going back to its original friendly appearance. "You said that you are a colleague of Mike. So you mean to say that you are also a professor?"

Petra smiled. "Yeah. I am in the arts department"

Arts department?

"Mind if I ask a bit? About art, that is?"

"Yeah, sure" She turned her body, so she is facing me.

"Do you know a thing about interior designing and stuffs? I mean like an exhibition for an event kind of designs?" I cringe at my words. I can't even relay my own thoughts. I don't know a thing about this stuffs after all.

"Interior? I am sorry Hanji but I don't actually excel in that" She laughed "I teach visual arts but my focal areas are sculptures, paintings and sketches"

"Is that so?" I asked, a bit sad. She nodded.

"Yeah. But my ex boyfriend is really good at that" Petra laughed "If you met him, I swear that you'll be shocked at how unbelievably organized he is"

Oh if it is about organization, no one can beat Levi so I am sorey for your ex boyfriend Petra.

"So you had a lover before?"

Petra smiled, her eyes becoming clouded with sadness again.

"Yeah. He is also a professor. I am actually a really lucky woman, thinking that I became under his care but I threw it all away. Just because I was scared for myself" I felt Petra's loneliness so I decided to comfort her. But before my hands even reach her, she stood up from the stool and gave me a smile. "I really want to talk to you more but I have to go. Thank you for sharing your time with me Hanji" Petra said, hugging me for a second before she went out of the kitchen. As soon as she left, Nanaba entered.

"Oh. So you met Petra" Nanaba said. I hummed as I ate my remaining food.

"She.. Is a really.. Great girl" I said in the middle of my chew. "I actually want to be close to her"

"Yep. Petra is really cool" Nanaba laughed. I agreed on her by nodding my head a few times. "By the way, Mike is asking you if you want to join them. They are about to hit some vodka"

My eyes sparkled. "Don't you dare leave me out of it" I said as I put my plate in the sink to follow Nanaba who is about to go to the living room.

AN: OMG. THE PART 2 OF THE THIRD SEASON WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY! I HAVE BEEN HEARING SOME SASAGEYO SINCE I WATCHED IT LMAO.