Dangerous Territory

Atonement

The rain was a chaotic drum beating the rooftops of Metz. Red banners donning the swastika sank heavily with wetness, and Nazi flags dripped like blood running down toward the streets. Overhead, thunder rolled like an early echo to the battle that would soon engulf this city, only to suddenly crack and rip through the gray skies like the blast of a howitzer.

In a hotel room in this doomed city, argent sunlight filtered through wet streaks on the windowpanes and lit two naked men cuddled together on a bed. In that room, all was warm, the tiniest sliver of peace in this city preparing to be the frontline of a world war.

Eren's fingers combed through Levi's hair as he gazed over to the windows. Time was ticking. Yom Kippur was approaching. He wished he could shout "Sun, stand still" like Joshua did in the Bible, so it would give them a few more hours. There would be no such miracle this time

Levi knew he needed to hydrate before sundown. "Can you boil some water?"

Eren rose up. "Huh? Do you want tea?"

"As much as I can drink. The thirst is what really gets me."

"Sorry. I should have had you eating and drinking this whole time."

"Don't be sorry. Cleanliness is also important on Yom Kippur." He smirked and admitted, "It's not like I hated it."

Eren grinned in relief. They both separated and gathered their clothes, pulling them back on. Levi got one last clandestine glance at Eren's muscular back before he pulled his shirt on.

Eren got the kettle back on his tiny Esbit stove. However, he brought a serving tray with the teapot and tea tin over to Levi and set it on the nightstand with a sad smile.

"I want to drink your tea. You make the best tea in all of France."

Levi silently began to set things up, scooping out some tea leaves and putting them into the pot's infuser. Eren watched Levi preparing the tea with a mix of fascination and sadness. Their last time drinking tea together! He fetched the kettle as soon as it was hot, but Levi said:

"I want you to pour the water."

Eren was surprised, but he smiled. This now felt like a sacred ceremony between the two of them, and Levi wanted Eren to be a part of that experience.

He poured the hot water over the tea leaves, returned the kettle while Levi capped the teapot, and then they sat together on the bed, waiting for the tea to brew.

"Five minutes," Eren whispered, gazing down at the pot and the steam drifting out from the spout.

Levi nodded. "Five minutes. It can feel like such a long wait when you really want a cup of tea, and it can go by so fast when you want the moment to stay forever." Levi reached forward and took hold of his hand. "I remember the day we met. The artillery had stopped, we heard German voices, and I was struggling to keep everyone quiet. I heard footsteps, and you called in. I only knew that a Nazi was coming, and the last time I got that close to a Nazi, I lost someone very close to me. So I was prepared to kill you before you could kill us. I stopped when I saw you weren't alone. What's his name? The tall one."

"Jean," Eren whispered. "He was covering my flank that day."

"I knew that if I stabbed you, he would shoot me, and then the whole group would definitely die. If he hadn't been there..." He squeezed Eren's hand. "I'm not sure if we could have escaped, but I would have stabbed you, done my best to get them out of that village on my own, and never even bothered to give you a second thought. After all, you were just another Nazi swine."

Eren smiled at how fate turned out. "Do you want to know the only reason I didn't shoot you that day? I was prepared to. I would have tried to save the others, since they were civilians, but I came very close to pulling the trigger on you." He chuckled softly and confessed. "As soon as I opened that door and saw you hunched there, clutching a book to your chest, I thought you were a child."