A/N: Rivetra week day 4
Even though she slept the required hours —because resting is necesary for a Scouting Legion member, at least around four hours per day— she could feel the weight of exhaustion and burdens from the last weeks; in the moment she tried to close her eyes. It wasn't an easy life, it never has been, being a soldier is tough, and she was simply human, but there were moments in which the only thing she wanted to do was to stay in the little bed of her dorm for the rest of the day. Titans could wait.
The low sound of the teapot soothed her, the familiar sensation of tiredness coming all over her again and; in the moment she was holding the tray with cups of coffee on it, her vision went blurry, and in matter of seconds, she exclaimed in horror at the mess on the floor.
It angered even more the fact her comrades were waiting for her at the dining room, and she cursed in silence at her clumsiness, while cleaning the sticky liquid with a towel.
"Ral." A masculine voice came from the kitchen's door. With a steady way of walking, the firm sound of his boots clicking against the ground, the man came over her, looking in silence.
"I'm really sorry for my lack of attention, and all the chaos I've let. It won't happen again Captain." She didn't score as the best during her trainee years, but there was no deny that being handpicked by the well recognized Captain Levi wasn't something to take easily granted. To the contrary, it was such an honor, and even though she was the only female on the squad, she wanted to live on his expectations and to never fail him in any possible way.
But not like this.
Those were fleeting moments for being analyzed, but she could never forget the instance in which the captain focused in putting back on the tray the broken, no—ruined pieces of the cups with strange grace. Then, he came to his usual posture, not looking at her.
"Use the cups from the other stand. Take a look if they're clean and try to not get late."
He was a peculiar man, of short height —she was an inch smaller — with dark hair and bags under his eyes that reminded her of the lost lives of humanity and the human strength at the same time.
The blonde haired young woman tried not to look way too much, it was an impolite gesture and Captain Levi was her superior.
"Yes sir."
He took a glance at her with no special expression, and left the room.
That night, while wandering about the success, Petra understood the need to replace those cups, so she wrote to her father, asking him to send her the tea porcelain set that were given to her during a birthday years ago, still untouched. She also recalled the curious event and the particular kindness of Captain Levi, that even though his cleaning quirkiness and foul language, he had courtesy patterns as any other human.
Sometime later, she learned that black tea was his favorite drink, that he had a funny way of holding his cup and that he never came drunk after going out with Commander Erwin Smith and Hange Zoe during Saturdays. She also asked herself why she thought often of the deep blue orbs of his eyes before sleeping, or the reason of why she felt her cheeks redden with the simple fact of meeting him after each battle.
When Petra discovered the true reason, she covered her face on her hands, deeply embarrassed.
.
.
"Hey Connie! Look what I've found!" Sasha exclaimed brightly, holding a white box from the old wooden cupboard.
"What is it? Hey let me take a look!" The young man grabbed the box from her hands, sitting on a chair.
Both pair of eyes widened at the sight of the tea set, so delicate yet so fragile.
"How odd, I´ve never seen this type of teacups before."
"That's because it looks like high priced porcelain." Remarked Connie, his gaze remained at the details of the set. "I wonder..."
"Hey." Captain Levi appeared at the door, arms crossed with an inquired look. "Are your duties finished yet?"
The man's eyes suddenly fixed on the box, his eyebrows in deep confusion.
"Where did you get that from?"
"Eh, from the cupboard Sir." Replied Sasha in slight worry, as the raven haired man looked at the opened box.
And he remembered, way back when the tea set came from the delivery mail, the joyful look on her eyes —so dazzling and hopeful—and how she promised him to prepare some tea after the expedition. It wasn't much, and there was a fine line between comrades and romance, but he simply grew used to her, even if he didn't want it in the first place.
He even remembered her tiny frame, in her soldier uniform, as she put the box in a hidden corner of the kitchen, telling him in whispers, that he was the only one who only knew where the tea set was going to be kept.
Her, whom the candor of her blue eyes never dared to forget, even if seasons and weather changed.
"Go back to your chores and make sure to never touch this box again." His voice was grave, somehow calmer than usual, and after Connie and Sasha left seconds later, he took one last look before placing back the box to its original place.
It's the only thing that hasn't been broken, the only reminder left of her and what could've been, and the never tasted tea of a ruined promise.