1: Not Another Tea Time Story


"What is love, anyway?" The brunette teen mutters absently, his vibrant emerald eyes fixating on the spectacle unfolding below his seat on the ledge of the third-story window of the dingy castle. An elusive flash of raven hair appears to be dominating her opponents with the utmost ease and precision. The sound of his nearby captain shelving books fills the air.

"Eren?" A female voice breathes softly, coming up beside him and following his eyes to the sparring training below. They look eager yet unrefined; new recruits.

Eren jumps slightly, evidently startled by the short female's presence, a flash of honey-blonde hair temporarily filling his vision.

"Shit, did I say that out loud?" He grumbles, gritting his teeth and looking down in an attempt to conceal his embarrassment. The ragged bumps on the edge of the window suddenly seem highly interesting. "Sorry, Petra, don't mind me…" he mutters, trying to blink away the heat he feels rising to his cheeks.

Petra only smiles, her eyes still following the fierce raven-haired girl, but her thoughts entirely elsewhere. Watching the girl fight with such tact and ruthless accuracy reminds her of someone else who she has witnessed countless times as a raven-haired flash of unrelenting speed.

"It's okay, Eren," she says almost wistfully through her smile. Her expression morphs into a more pensive look as she leans against the side of the window ledge opposite to the scrawny teen. Amber eyes settle upon the broom clutched in her hands, as if it were a symbolic artifact of sorts.

"Love is…" she pauses, picking her words with care. "Hmm... when you love someone, you get a sensation deep in your chest that rises, swirls and flourishes... like, that moment when the milk billows up and changes the color of your tea. It's… quite amazing, really…" she trails off.

When Eren looks up at the short, deadly soldier, he thinks he can see a faint trace of color on her cheeks. Her expression seems uncharacteristically bashful, and her eyes appear to be scrutinizing the grains of wood in her boom. The words struck a chord with him that he is not sure how to acknowledge; he doesn't dare look back down below.

Then, in unison, they both seem to notice the silence hanging in the air; there is a distinct lack of background noise from the nearby shelf.

The next thing Eren feels is a fierce yank on his collar, bringing him to his feet before a short yet largely intimidating man, whose steely glare pierces through him.

"Oi, brat! Did I order you to slack off?" He sneers. Abruptly, the honey-haired soldier behind him begins sweeping intently, as if she had been pursuing the task diligently the entire time.

"N-no Captain Levi, sir!" Eren responds, battling the urge to recoil from the frightening look on the Lance Corporal's face.

"I didn't think so," the dark-haired captain scoffs, letting go of Eren's collar as if he were dropping something filthy. "Get to work, you worthless kid," he growls while rudely shoving a duster into the teenager's hands.

As he turns to resume organizing the bookshelf, his vision falls for a fleeting moment upon the other slacker; the strawberry-blonde sweeping under the window ledge with an apparent sense of urgency. She, at least, has the grace to work off her mistakes. It's an admirable quality in her that, to Levi, seems to make her more bearable than most other shitty people. Among other things...

The Corporal blinks, tearing his eyes away from his subordinate and tugging his cloth bandana back over his nose.


Levi stares sullenly at the freshly-served tea before him, noticing with new eyes the swirl of light and dark circling within the liquid. The milk seeps and grows with each passing second, consuming the darkness like wildfire, billowing from the depths of the plain teacup. The light converts all it touches, transforming the drink completely in but a few seconds.

"Hey captain, what are you thinking about?" Petra's smooth voice inquires softly from her spot seated at his right. It's rather late into the night and they are alone in the dimly-lit dining hall. The look on the man's face seems as if he is lost in thought, and she couldn't help herself. His mouth presses into a line; he can feel her eyes on him.

"My tea. It's changing colors," he says simply.

"Oh," she breathes back.

"You were right," Levi mutters softly, his brows lowering a bit as he continues to brood over the cup of tea. The darkness never stood a chance, he thinks. Not against the urgent vitality of the light.

"U-um, right about what, sir?" The silky voice rings out.

"That's exactly how it feels," the stoic Lance Corporal says plainly, becoming increasingly aware of the peculiar feeling festering deep within him. Years ago, the sensation would have been entirely foreign, but these days he is no stranger to the persistent feeling.

"C-captain…?" Petra stammers, wondering if she is hearing him right.

Levi lifts his colorless eyes to meet her vibrant ones, and in an instant he feels entirely overwhelmed by what he sees, his entire being consumed by an irresistible drop of light. His lips part to inadvertently let free the quietest of sighs, his sunken eyes sagging tiredly beneath a brow creased ever so slightly.

He wonders if she understands, and tries to fight the nagging feeling that she does.

The raven-haired man blinks, with a steady hand sliding his tea over to his subordinate, the steam still permeating the air above the cup.

"Goodnight, Petra," he says gently as he stands up, absentmindedly straightening his cravat. He turns his back and walks towards the open door out. As he is about to step into the hallway he hesitates, throwing a final look over his shoulder at the honey-blonde girl. She is blushing furiously now, her mouth slightly agape as she stares baffled at the tea her captain had slid over to her.

For once, Petra Ral is speechless.

Levi thinks he has never seen something quite so fucking adorable.


Hi all! *waves* Thanks for reading~

This is going to be a compilation of some random SNK one-shots/drabbles that I happen to write. These will focus mainly on Levi/Petra (Rivetra ftw), with possible mentions of other pairings, and maybe some with no pairings at all :)

If you're a Rivetra fan feel free to check out my other SNK fic, Stitch it Together, a multi-chapter, ongoing Levi/Petra story! (Cause, ya know, they're perfect for each other)

Anyways about this piece: needed to do an OBLIGATORY tea story with these two, so yeah. It's actually my first time writing seriously in present tense. This was actually inspired by a reddit comment about how love feels (like milk billowing up in tea).

Let me know what you think everyone, please leave a fave/follow/review if you enjoyed my writing, thanks a bunch! :D