Tis Bubbles!
Did you guys have a happy new year? Fireworks in Sydney was good (But the amount of pollution it blasts into the sky is killing me T^T)
Thank you so much to my two reviewers, Ravenfeather613 and Sakura245! I feel so lucky to have you guys! Ravenfeather, you still need to teach me how you write so much, and Sakura, lucky that you only recently got into SNK as you don't need to wait long for the next season!
Hmmm… I won't say much this time (in a rush to get this to you), so get ready your headband, fake moustaches (real ones if you have them) and enjoy this little chap~
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~X~
Eren untied his white apron and hung it on a hook before returning to his original position of observing his first pot of soup he's made whilst in the Special Operation Squad. Usually, no one dared to let him cook. There was a too big of a possibility that he might cut himself, performing the self-injury needed to shift into his titan form, which was not something anyone wanted including Eren. But despite the risk, he still insisted that he should cook.
Oruo, the tongue biter was the only one who was against the idea of him taking kitchen duty that day. Levi's judgement remained neutral, as he wasn't going to waste his breath and time to argue on either sides. He did get the mission to suppress Eren if he ever goes berserk, and he'll be ready to scoop him out of the titan no matter where or when, even if he was cooking. But then again, he never even knew the argument came to being.
After a full-blown, ear-ringing argument, mostly from Oruo's side, it was finally decided that Eren was going to cook.
Oruo was menacingly glaring at Petra, sending saliva everywhere with each word he seethed. "You're letting that brat cook because you don't want to!" He spat in pique. He jabbed his finger towards Eren who was nervously fidgeting in his seat to clearly show the 'brat' he was referring to.
Eren began retaliating but was soon cut off, "O-Oi I'm not a br-"
Petra gritted her teeth and busted a comment right back. "So it has come down to this huh? You are now changing the subject of the discussion because you know you are losing! Are you trying to make it seem as if it is my fault?" She jabbed her index finger angrily onto his chest. "Nice try! You know what? Eren!"
"H-hai!" He responded, saluting as well as a reflex due to how overwhelming her voice sounded.
Petra turned and looked at Eren with a seemingly eerie smile. "Go cook for us Jeager." She chimed nicely, but to Eren it sounded more like a do-or-die demand. "And don't worry about this bastard over here." She jabbed her finger against his chest again.
"O-o-o-okay…"
"You should get going, or we'll all have nothing to eat." She turned her attention back towards Oruo whose face just went a tint paler. "While you do that…I'm going to deal with this scamp." The last few words came out as a low and dangerous hiss.
Oruo glared at Eren."BRAT! Stay right where you ar- NGGFFFFFFFF!"
Before Eren could get dragged back into the argument, he dashed off towards the kitchen and carried out Petra's order in silence.
"Women sure can get scary when they're ticked off…" A shiver travelled down his spine when he thought of what Mikasa could do…
Eren sighed tiresomely at even the thought of what happened. He took out six bowls and started filling each of them with equal amounts soup which he improvised with a few potatoes, carrots, possibly cabbage and a few other ingredients he found loitering around. He wasn't exactly if it tasted ok, but from the average, soupy look it seemed edible enough to serve.
Just as he finished scooping, Oruo walked with uneven steps into the kitchen. Even over the smell of the soup, Eren could faintly detect the pang of horse manure and a bunch of cleaning products. He snickered to himself at the possible punishments Oruo could have received for being indecently vulgar towards Petra in their earlier argument.
"You done?" Oruo asked with an annoyed tone.
Eren turned around and nodded, three bowls carefully clamped between his grasp. It was obvious that someone ordered him down here to help him, possibly Petra.
Oruo grabbed the remaining bowls and looked down at them, making a disapproving 'tch' when he saw the soup's bland appearance. He was definitely going to give Eren an earful of how bad he's done and why he shouldn't cook when they sit down.
Eren finally sat down in his spot after retrieving a basket of bread from the food storages and a jug of water from the kitchen. He waited nervously for people to make a move on his soup, which went pretty well on his first try. Despite looking ok, he didn't particularly know if it tasted ok.
"Well, let's eat." Petra announced. Her previous spine-chilling anger seemed to have decimated and the smile she shot at Eren wasn't as scary.
Everyone simultaneously dipped their spoon in the soup and tasted it. Eld and Gunther shoved it in their mouth completely oblivious to the fact that Eren was the one who made and continued their meal with little change. To them, it tasted quite unflavoured and watery, but didn't bother to mention it.
Levi narrowed his eyes at the spoonful of broth and cautiously placed it into his mouth. His eyes widen just a fraction in surprise, which quickly returned to normal before anyone noticed the change. The soup was definitely odd… This taste…
Oruo simply placed down his spoon with no major reaction, as he already knew that some inexperienced brat like Eren would make this low level soup. "The taste is too mediocre. You must've just tossed the stuff in without carefully considering how to bring out their full taste. Only an amateur brat would do this." He pronounced, advertising the bad points.
Petra tightened her grip on the spoon and shot death glares and eye-daggers at him in disbelief. Has he not learnt his lesson? That bastard picking on Eren because he's a sore loser… The soup indeed wasn't top notch but considering that they signed up to kill titans and not to live behind wall Sina in luxury, he shouldn't be complaining.
"This isn't the training ground you used to be in Eren." He pressed on. Eren's name was said with an accusing tone, as if he still thought he was cooking for fun back with the other brats. "When you use the proper techniques, it is very possible to create delicious meals whilst economical at the same time." Oruo was basking himself in his self-created glory.
Petra was going to snap any moment…If he's not going to stop bragging, I'm going to walk right over and-
Eren, who decided to munch on bread, felt intense anger starting to boil again, and he was also sure that Oruo hasn't noticed the sudden change. A trickle of perspiration rolled down his cheek wondering if something interesting will happen soon if Oruo keeps on going.
"Listen, delectable meals are-"
All right! That's it I'm going to- Before Petra could make a bloody scene, Levi cut in.
"Shut up and eat or die of hunger. You get what you get." The captain deadpanned with little patience. That tongue-biting idiot just hasn't been through worse shit… He picked up his tea and took a casual sip.
Oruo turned around at the sound of Captain drinking tea, thinking that he gave up trying to eat such frugal soup…but instead he turned around to find that his bowl was already empty.
Eld and Gunther seemed to catch on halfway and turned too.
"Eh?!"
Gunther dropped his spoon and stared unbelievingly at Captain's bowl. So fast! Though he was taking in the soup since the first spoon, Captain seemed to somehow beat him.
"T-…that's captain for you!" Oruo started. "Even his table manners and speed cannot be emulated-MMFF!" Because of the sudden disappearance of reasons to lecture Eren about how bad his soup is, Oruo lost his calm composure and his tongue-biting habit returned.
When Eren noticed why everyone's attention was drawn to Captain's bowl, he was dumbfounded. "….. Uh…um… would you like another bowl?"
And then all of a sudden attention changed from the bowl to him, all of them were completely flabbergasted at how casual it came out.
Petra inhaled sharply. "Huh? Wait what?! W-w-what did you just-…"
Eren turned slightly towards her confusingly. "Eh? Can't I ask…?"
Petra gave a wonky smile. "N-no…It's just that…that was really bold of you to do so-" Her sentence was impeded by the even more surprising reply from Captain.
He raised his bowl, implying that he accepted the offer.
"(O.O)!"
Oruo nudged Eren in a rush, snapping him out of a daze. "Hurry!" He whispered.
"O-oh! A-ah…" Eren clumsily pushed himself up and quickly grabbed the bowl. "I'll bring you another serving right now!" without further hesitation, he darted away to the kitchen.
The rest of the squad gazed with shocked expressions at the leaving figure.
Petra slid slightly down her seat, relieved that nothing bad happened. "…Captain, today's soup…was made by Eren." She advised gently. She was satisfied that Oruo just got beaten at his own argument unknowingly but Captain.
Levi averted his gaze and spoke from his cup which was hovering just in front of his lips. "I know."
Petra was taken slightly aback at how sure he sounded. It was almost as if he was there when Eren made the soup. But she knew that wasn't possible, as he was all the way on the level above in his study. Sometimes she could see Captain reminiscing about something, and he always wore a gentle, almost melancholic expression. Even now, Petra could see it forming on his face.
~X~
The man woke up with a start and almost toppled out of his seat. He was trying to finish off his journal, but probably fell asleep at how late he had stayed up to do so. The last time he checked the clock it was four thirteen in the morning, and now it was somewhere around twelve noon.
He immediately bolted up from his chair at the realisation of how late it was, but banged his knees in the progress. A blanket fluttered down from his back onto the ground when he sat back down again, groaning with pain. After the pain subsided, he picked the blanket up and smiled. Must've been him~
He then saw a note placed onto of his open journal, which had ugly, scratchy, disorientated letters on it. Usual people would've passed it as some marks left by an animal, but with trained eyes, he could tell that it was from the boy.
"Bread ran out, out to by bread
Be back buy 12:30
Get mor rest!
ps I didn't look in jernal!"
The man chuckled at the boy's message and mistakes. He really liked how thoughtful the boy was to include that he should get some more sleep in his hours. He also came to notice that his journal was indeed in the sight of the boy, and the pages were clearly open, adding to the level of allurement towards the boy's strong curiosity. He really did hope that the boy didn't peek! Before he could worry himself any longer, he closed the journal and slid it back inside his drawer.
The man had not felt the best in the past few days; always fatigued – probably because of dreams he's been getting, found it hard to eat his usual amount and sometimes his vision would blur. He's also been having this really bad, uneasy feeling too. He's hoping that it wouldn't be a premonition to a bad predicament.
"Ergh! Stop being an idiot!" He yelled to himself, pinching his face to wake himself up. He's got brunch to make and eat, and he's got an urge to finish his journal too whilst teaching the boy the difference between 'by' and 'buy' whilst also keeping up with all the other things he's gotta do with him.
There was just one thing the man didn't really take into his thoughts seriously.
His gut feelings were often correct.
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And the last two sentences of this chapter… For you to ponder! ;DDDDD
Pls give this story (for me as well) a greatly needed uplifting review! F&F if you can ;)
Listening to the cicadas, Bubblepop ;3
P.s. Excuse any grammar, wording mistakes!
~UPDATE/EDIT~
Ravenfeather613 has pieced together a drabble based on the scene where Levi accepts Eren's offer for a second bowl of soup!
From here on out, it is all belongs to Ravenfeather613! I really recommend that you guys read it; it is a lot more descriptive than mine~
Thanks to the diligent Ravenfeather613 for creating this!
~X~
Disclaimer: Please note that the following is purely a nonprofit fan-based work. The Original Doujinshi, "1 Hundred" belongs to Doro Coppelia. The fan fiction based off of that Doujinshi belongs to the fabulous writer, Bubblepop32. The manga and anime Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama. Lastly, Parks and Recreation belong to Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. Please support the official release.
He raised his bowl, implying that he accepted the offer.
The casual (and somewhat annoying) chatter around the table immediately came to an abrupt halt. Wide-eyed, everyone turned to Levi; who was still holding up his bowl with a raised eyebrow, patiently waiting for a refill.
Oluo's jaw dropped open, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. Levi was secretly afraid they would slip out of his sockets if the man expanded them any further. Gunther, with his astonished eyes still trained on Levi, calmly reached across the table with a hand and lifted Oluo's chin up, closing his jaw. Only for it drop back open. Eld and Petra looked at each other from across the table, then back at their Captain, then back at each other. Both tongue-tied. Eren just stayed seated, too gob-smacked to react properly, or even at all.
Levi's bored eyes darted to and fro from one squad member to another. A silent request for the answer to a nonexistent question. When one wasn't given, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Are we out of stew, or…?"
His voice seemed to splinter through an invisible spell which seemed to be cast upon his comrades because all of their eyes widened even more (If that was even physically possible. It turns out it was). Immediately, their eyes darted over to Eren who was still silently petrified in his seat.
Oluo finally closed his mouth, only to open it, then close it, then open again it in an attempt to say something to the youngster, and then to finally close it…again. He might as well be a fish on dry land. He eventually sharply nudged Eren in the ribs, successfully snapping the teen out of his daze.
Eren winced at the sudden contact and snapped his head over at Oluo shooting him a somewhat dazed look. "Huh?"
Oluo tilted his head twice at the head of the table, his face littered with urgency.
Eren got the message and looked across the table in the direction the man was gesturing. Levi was still holding up his bowl, requesting a refill. A request that should have been fulfilled five minutes ago.
Oluo nudged Eren in the ribs yet again. "Hurry!" he whispered to the teen. Even quieter he added, "Don't keep the old man waiting."
Clumsily, Eren pushed himself up from his seat, darted around the table, snatched Levi's bowl and made a beeline for the closed door behind Levi. Looking over his shoulder Eren added, "I-I'll bring you another serving right away, si-". His sentence was abruptly cut off by him slamming full force into the door. The rest of the squad, with the exception of Levi, visibly winced at the sound and sight of it. Oluo commented something along the lines of, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out.", which earned him a glare from Petra.
Levi didn't need to turn around to know that the boy had slammed into the door behind him. Nor did he need to turn around to see Eren straining to pull open a door that was meant to be pushed.
Eventually, Eren successfully managed to exit the room and all that could be heard was the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall. Levi serenely sipped on his tea, while the rest of the squad still stared in shock at the closed door.
Oluo was the first to snap out of his daze and scoffed at the recent event that took place. "Wow, I bet all of the branches must have fallen off his family tree when he was born.'' he joked.
He was meant with silence.
"Looks like someone's Birth Certificate was an apology from the condom factory..." Petra retorted with a bitter glare in his direction.
Oluo blinked, his mouth agape in shock. Two could play at that game.
"Okay. Okay. You know what? Fine, here you go. You might want to borrow this." he reached into a pocket on the interior of his uniform jacket and pulled out a white piece of cloth and proceeded to hand it to Petra.
Petra's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she took the cloth in her hand anyway. "Nobody wants your dirty underwear, Oluo." She made a move to hand it back to him, but he cut her off.
"It's not dirty underwear, Petra." Oluo bit out. "It's a white flag and you may as well start waving it right now because-"
"The ONLY thing I will be waving is your decapitated head in front of your weeping mother!" Petra screeched at him.
The sound of the door opening fell on deaf ears.
Levi choked on his tea. Gunther shifted his chair to the right in an attempt to gain some distance between himself and livid red-head. Eld buried his face in the crook of his elbow in a coughing fit. Oluo leaned back in his chair, overwhelmed at the sudden intensity of her attitude.
Unbeknownst to them, Eren had been standing in the same room with a bowl of soup in his hand, perplexed after having witnessed the entire ordeal.
"Good lord..." he murmured.
