ミ★ 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘪 𝘈𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 ★彡

Homemade Tea - Request

 Your family ran a tea shop in Trost. The day it was destroyed, you thought all hope for your family's business was, too, but you were hard workers. Even for something as delicate and seemingly purposeless as tea, your family worked to recreate every recipe down to the last measurement.

When you graduated from the Training Corps, your parents surprised you with several bags of your own tea so you could "take a little bit of home" with you. Little did you know, you needed home more than anything.

You woke up with a sigh, climbing out of bed treacherously. Your thighs ached and your arms were strained—putting a shirt on had never been a difficult task, but the Scouts seem to have the ability to make everything difficult. You hissed in pain as you pulled the rest of your clothes on, walking down to the mess hall. It was still a bit dark out, so you decided to take some tea with you. At least Connie and Sasha and Jean wouldn't beg you for a taste.

A kettle was already over the fire and Captain Levi sat at a table by himself, glaring at you when you appeared.

"Why are you up so early, cadet?" He questioned. He wasn't even in uniform yet—God. It wasn't anything magnificent; at least, it usually wouldn't be. But somehow, the captain could wear a sweater and read a book and you were head over heels. Your stomach twisted as you took another step towards the kettle.

You stood up a little straighter upon seeing him. "I was just going to make some tea."

His brows tented. "You're not using mine. Erwin paid for that."

"I have my own."

Levi's brow rose and he placed a black, leather bookmark in his book. "How do you have your own?" His tired eyes stared at you, then at the bag you showed him,

"It's my family's."

Levi stood as the kettle whistled softly and took it off of the fire. He opened a cabinet and took a cup out, then searched for something else. He sighed in defeat, looking back at you. "What kind of tea is that?"

"It's my family's recipe; it's original."

He frowned and his brows rose in disappointment. "Does it have a name?"

You thought for a moment, a smile tugging at your lips."Home."

He sighed and found an infuser, then handed it to you. "Put some in."

You tilted your head. "Did you run out of tea?" You grinned sleepily as your brow rose smugly.

"Just do it, brat."

The sun shone through the trees softly, providing a golden glow to the mess hall. You placed the infuser in the kettle, then turned to Levi. The sun made his baggy, silver eyes shine a little brighter. As you admired his eyes, he found himself trying not to look at you. It was rare for a cadet to get up this early, but that wasn't what made him antsy. No—what made him question your presence was your tranquility.

Normally, when the cadets came down to the mess hall for breakfast, he'd sigh and go back to his room because of their ruckus. But you looked at him with matching tired eyes and a bag of herbs for your tea in your hands.

Unusual, he thought, but once he smelled the tea, his heart melted a bit. The cinnamon made his mouth water and the lavender added to the comfortable silence you shared.

He cleared his throat. "It smells good. You called it home, right?"

"Yes, but it doesn't really have a name."

"Does it smell like home right now?"

Your entire demeanor softened. "A little."

His eyes flickered at you before he stared out the window. You took the kettle off of the fire as he placed two cups out in front of you. You poured an even amount in both before placing the kettle on the counter.

Levi delicately lifted his cup by the rims with his slender fingers, bringing it to his lips. You picked up your cup, too, and drank from it, relishing the taste of your family's tea. It was warm and it felt like pure comfort and joy seeped into your tastebuds and warmed your body. When you placed your cup down, you noticed the captain staring at you, as if he was studying you.

He looked away and cleared his throat. "The tea—it's good."

You nodded. "Thank you; my family—"

"Can you make more for me tomorrow?"

You tilted your head as a soft smile tugged at your lips. "You like it that much?"

He struggled to maintain eye contact as he nodded. "I like it," he replied stiffly. "It tastes good. It tastes like," he paused, his brows tented as he searched for a word he couldn't place. "It tastes like home."

You nodded. "Good. That's what it is to me."

Levi sat at his table, sliding his book out of the way as he stared at you expectantly. "Sit," he mumbled, not as an order, but as an invitation.

You sat across from him, your thighs hurting as you lowered yourself onto a chair. "What are we doing for training today?"

His brows furrowed. "Are you sore from training yesterday? All we did was ODM training."

You sighed. "Yeah. Connie and Jean sort of tempted me into racing them through the forest."

He nodded and his brows rose. "So that's where you went after training." He wanted to speak to you but couldn't find you anywhere in the barracks. When he noticed that Connie and Jean were gone, too, he knew you were probably fine. "Hange was worried about you."

You mean you were worried about me? You thought to yourself. Hange was experimenting on their titans all night.

"Oh, really?" You responded. "Huh. I wonder why." You stood, wincing in pain. "I guess I should go check in with them..."

He grabbed your hand quickly. "No!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. He blinked and his face softened again. "No. I meant to say that I was." He paused, staring up at you. "I was worried about you."

You smirked. "Why?"

"Don't worry about that right now. It's too early for any of that," he mumbled softly. "Just drink your tea."

You two continued to drink tea until the rest of the scouts filled up the mess hall. Every day after that, though, you filled up his teacup with your family's tea.