Notes:

*slowly walking to the podium* So... Um, sorry for the delay, things happened :'D But even so, I couldn't thank you guys enough for the continuous support for this story.

ILYSM

Happy reading!

DISCLAIMER:
Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama

CHAPTER 9: BREAKFAST

She opened her eyes.

She opened her eyes and stared at the dark ceiling, blinking a few times to remove the fogginess from her brain. She immediately caught the sound of gentle rain and thunder coming from outside. Her head moved toward her bedside table, and with her hand she took hold of the small clock. She brought the clock right in front of her face, trying to figure out the time.

6.35—

In the morning?

Hopefully.

She didn't need to draw the curtains to find out that it was dark outside.

Hange sat up and stretched, letting out a content yell coming out from her mouth. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She felt like she had a really long sleep.

It was probably caused by the fatigue that she earned from her little adventure in the rain just yesterday.

The hot bath and the hot meals that she got didn't help it either. Not to mention that she and Mikasa didn't have any schedule for the evening because the latter was feeling a little under the weather after her nap So, Hange didn't do anything much other than reading books in the library for the rest of the evening.

By 8 p.m., her eyes were barely open, and by 9 p.m., she was already asleep.

She even contemplated on continuing her sleep because it's Saturday and it's currently raining.

But, Hange chose not to. She grabbed her glasses that were placed on the bedside table and wore it, making the whole room finally come into focus.

She went off her bed and lit her candlestick, letting the room be filled with flickering orange glow. Hange took the light as she walked toward a door near the cupboard that led toward her private bathroom. A luxury she had never experienced before and something that she was very grateful to. She went inside to do her usual morning fresh up.

After that, she left her bathroom to go to her bed again where she put her dress lying by the footboard. With ease, she quickly put on the corset and many layers of fabric onto her.

She walked toward the standing mirror and took out her over-the-night braids and without ever bothering to brush the curly lock, she started to put parts of her hair to her back using hairpins. She only pinned the upper part of her hair, letting the end hang on the back.

Hange looked at her reflection, smiling at her orange dress that was lined with dark brown lace.

Time to start the day.

She took a quick gulp of water and blew her chamberstick off before going out of her room, walking through the dimly lit hallway before finally arriving at the grand staircase.

As she took steps downward, she heard a voice calling her.

"Miss Hange!"

Hange halted right at the area that connected the two branching stairs. She looked up toward the left wing and saw Moblit standing near the railings.

She wanted to reply, but her attention immediately went toward the figure that stood next to Moblit. The figure was shorter than Moblit and probably shorter than her too, his hair was thin and white. The figure also noticed her.

Moblit and the figure approached her.

"Miss Zoe, this is Dr. Chastain." Moblit said in which the figure immediately gave his hand to her way.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Zoe." Dr. Chastain greeted with a deep voice colored with a mild French accent.

Hange smiled as she shook his hand, "Pleasure to meet you too, Dr Chastain. I'm Miss Ackerman's governess."

Dr. Chastain's smile was almost hidden by his thick white beard, "Oh! You are the new governess!"

"Yes, I started to work around four months ago." Hange answered, but she immediately paused as she heard something click in her mind, "Wait… you are a doctor, right? Did something happen?"

"Dr. Chastain just finished on checking Miss Mikasa." Moblit explained.

Hange freezed, her eyes stared widely at him.

As if noticing her uneasiness, Dr. Chastain immediately said, "Don't worry, Miss Zoe. It's only a cold, I assure you she will get better in a few days. It's common for children her age to get sick during this kind of weather."

Hange sighed in relief, nodding and thanking him. With the temperature being all over the place, someone is bound to get sick at some point.

"Just make sure she got enough rest," The doctor said before bidding his goodbye to her. Hange watched as he and Moblit went toward the entrance door.

Hange decided to visit Mikasa, but before she could take another step toward the left wing, she saw another figure emerging from the top of the stairs.

"Nifa?" Hange called, in which the said figure replied with a gasp.

"Miss Hange!" Nifa ran down the stairs toward her.

"I heard Mikasa got sick."

Nifa nodded, "She's currently resting in her room with Mr. Levi watching her."

"I see— and where are you going?"

"To the kitchen, preparing Miss Mikasa's breakfast. The doctor gave some notes to be given to Mrs— "

"Did you sleep last night?" Hange abruptly cut her as she noticed her tired gaze and the dark bags under Nifa's eyes. She also looked paler than usual.

Nifa blinked as narrowed her eyes at Hange, "Huh?"

Hange gave her a weak smile before dragging Nifa's hand to the direction of the servants' quarter.

"M— Miss Hange," Nifa said in between the panting, "Wait, wait!"

She felt Nifa's hand becoming heavier, she glanced behind and saw Nifa was trying to stop her by planting her legs to the floor, forcing Hange to follow suit.

"What are you doing, Miss Hange?"

"Dragging you to take a rest."

"Huh?"

"How long did you sleep Nifa?"

Nifa sighed and counted it on her head, "I didn't sleep at all."

"See, you clearly need to sleep." Hange said as she started to walk again, but this time, she was immediately stopped by Nifa.

"I can't!" Nifa exclaimed.

Hange stared at her weirdly, "Why not?"

"I have to work."

"I can help with that,"

Nifa gasped, "No! You can't do that Miss Hange! I'm grateful for your offer but I'm okay."

Hange knew that she was lying, but no matter how many times she tried to persuade Nifa, she still won't change her mind.

It almost drives her crazy.

She started to wonder whether this was something Moblit had to experience every time he told her to rest?

She started to feel bad for Moblit.

"Nifa, you can't do your best if you aren't in your peak condition." Hange tried to reason with her, "Besides, I don't think Mikasa or Mr. Ackerman would mind if you take a rest. I'm sure they would encourage it, even."

From the weak gaze of Nifa, Hange knew that Nifa really wanted to close her eyes.

"Did you forget that your sister's wedding is next week Nifa? You have to keep your body in good condition for the day, right?"

Nifa clicked her tongue at her remark.

"Say, if something happens, I will make sure that you will be the first one to know." Hange continued, giving Nifa a warm smile.

Nifa closed her eyes before nodding, "Alright, I will take a half an hour quick nap."

Hange beamed and nodded before continuing on their journey to the servants' quarter. This time, Nifa chose to walk on her own. But, before that, they stopped by the kitchen. Nifa asked Mrs. Koch to prepare a bowl of warm chicken soup and a cup of pepper tea for Mikasa.

After that, Hange ushered Nifa to her room in the servants' quarter. Her room was clean and almost empty because she clearly didn't spend a lot of time there.

Hange had to force Nifa to lay down and after a slight argument, Nifa finally relented and slept. Hange gave Nifa a quick rub on the hair before quietly leaving her room. She made sure to tell the servants to not wake Nifa up as she walked toward the kitchen.

Hange ignored the piercing glance of Mrs. Koch as she asked about breakfast. Mrs. Koch told her that the soup is currently being made. Hange cautiously asked whether she could help with making the tea. Mrs. Koch gave her another sharp look before letting her with a little threat hanging by the end.

Minutes later, both the soup and the tea was ready to be brought to Mikasa. Hange received the tray from Lily, one of the kitchen maids. Hange excused herself before leaving the kitchen.

Hange took steady and careful steps toward the room in the left wing and at the same time, she tried to calm her heart from thumping so much.

She won't appear in the morning, right?

Hange glanced at the long hallway. At the end of the hallway, she could see a double tall mahogany door. She didn't know what's behind those doors because she wasn't allowed to go in there.

It would be lying if she wasn't curious, but…

Hange nearly felt a chill on her body, so she half-sprinting toward the smaller mahogany door on the side of the hallway. She knocked on the door with her elbow and waited.

The door opened not long after that and Hange was met with a pair of grey eyes.

"Good morning, sir." Hange slightly bowed her head and smiled, "I hope you don't mind that I cover for Nifa, she's currently resting right now."

"Oh. Yeah, thank you for doing that." He said as he let her into the room.

It's rare for Hange to visit Mikasa's room, this was probably her third visit, but she still remembered it. The big room was only filled with a big bed, a grand wardrobe, a rug, two bedsides tables, and a chair. The room was painted in the color of light blue and gold. It was a beautiful room but it felt so empty for her taste.

And now, seeing a small girl tucked under the big blanket of the bed, the room feels even larger.

The girl smiled at Hange, waving her weak hand to her. Hange approach her and put the tray on the bedside table, she wanted to sit on a chair that was placed near the bed, but she figured it wasn't for her. So, Hange sat at the edge of the bed near Mikasa.

"Hey, how are you?"

Up close, Hange could see how pale Mikasa was. Her nose and eyes were red, and there was darkness forming under her eyes. Hange also noticed the pile of clean handkerchiefs on the other side of her bed and another pile of used ones were put on a woven basket near the bedside table.

". . . been be'er" She answered in a hoarse and nasally voice.

"Do you think you could lean back on the headboard?"

"Don't want—" coughed , "to eat."

"You have to eat. Didn't you hear what the doctor said?" Come another voice. Hange looked at her back to the source of the voice and saw Mr. Ackerman leaning on one of the bed's pillars. His hands folded as he gave Mikasa a piercing glare.

"Shu' up,'' She replied before erupting to a fit of coughs. Her coughs were loud and sounded so painful. Mikasa sat up, trying to stop her cough. Hange rubbed Mikasa's back and whispered soothing words to her.

Mikasa made a vomit sound at the end of the cough, her eyes watered like she was on the verge of crying.

"Here, drink this."

Hange glanced at her side and saw that he was standing next to them, he handed Mikasa the cup from the tray.

Mikasa took it and slowly sipped the warm tea down her throat. She paused to let out a cough before continuing to drink the tea. She finished half of the cup before giving it back to her cousin.

"Mikasa," Hange softly called her, "To get better, you have to eat. Remember what I told you about food being the source of energy for your body? Your body also needs energy for healing themselves."

Hange looked at the teary eyes of Mikasa as she nodded at her request. Mikasa leaned back on the headboard, still letting out some cough.

"Do you want me to help you eat?" Hange asked as she grabbed the bowl and the spoon.

Mikasa nodded.

Hange carefully stirred the liquid in the bowl before spooning the soup and twirling it a little. After making sure that it wasn't that hot, she gave it to Mikasa.

"Are you no' sick, Miss Hange?" Mikasa paused to cough, "Didn't you ge' rained on yes'eday."

"Ah me?" Hange chuckled, "It took more than a rain for me to get sick."

"Not fair."

"Well, children are more susceptible to sickness than adults, Mikasa."

Mikasa slightly pouted, "I hate bein' a child."

Hange raised her eyebrows and laughed, "You won't think of that when you finally reach my age. Stay a child while you still can, you won't experience it twice."

Mikasa gave a weak smile, "I s'pose so."

"Don't talk about adulting when you're still being a brat," Said a deep baritone voice followed by the sound of a chair being moved.

Mikasa weakly rolled her eyes to the figure that sat on the chair, "You're no—" cough " —invi'ed to this conve'sa'ion."

"I'm joining this conversation whether you like it or not."

Hange smiled when she saw Mikasa giving her cousin the deadliest gaze she could make while the man itself look unbothered by it.

"How was the soup, Mikasa?" Hange asked, trying to change the topic.

"Good," Mikasa's frown changed into a weak smile.

"Nothing beat warm soup while you're sick, right?"

"Not really, ev'ry time I got sick, mom would a'ways made me a bowl of porr'dge.."

"Is that so? You must like it so very much." Hange said with a smile.

Mikasa coughed before answering, "Yes. Mom said it's a family recipe. I couldn' find somethin' that was similar to mom's one." Mikasa paused to yawn, "Unless I go to Hiz'ru."

"Hiz'ru?"

"Hizuru," Mr. Ackerman explained, "It's a city in Japan."

"Oh!" Hange looked at Mikasa as she stopped scooping the soup.

"It's mom's birthplace."

For what she knows, the country was under strict isolation policy for almost two hundred years, they had only opened their border to the world eighteen years ago. But even now, it was still hard for people to visit or leave the country.

"I see," Hange beamed at her, "I'm sure you will be able to visit it one day."

Mikasa nodded, she tried to answer but as her eyelids began to droop, so did her consciousness.

"Okay, time to sleep." His cousin interjected.

Hange peeked at the bowl, there was still a quarter of soup left. Although, judging by her condition, it's good that she still wanted to eat most of it.

"Do you want to finish the rest of it?" Hange questioned Mikasa, in which she replied with a shake of her head.

"Alright," Hange put the bowl aside while Mikasa finished the rest of the tea that was handed to her by her cousin. After that, Hange helped to tuck her into her blanket. Meanwhile, Mr. Ackerman put all of the eating utensils onto the tray and picked it up.

"I'm going to put this away," He threw a sharp gaze to Mikasa, "You better be sleeping when I come back later."

The only reply he got from her was a grunt and a cough, but he turned a deaf ear. Instead, he directed his eyes to Hange, "I'm leaving her in your care."

Hange smiled and nodded, "Sure."

After exchanging a loving farewell with Mikasa, he left the room.

"Fin'aly." Mikasa murmured as she spewed deep animosity toward the door.

Hange smirked as she pretended to not hear Mikasa, "Do you need anything, Mikasa?"

"No." She quickly answered before biting her tongue and peeked at her hesitantly, "Uhm… Nifa always pats my hand as I fall asleep… would you mind?"

Hange giggled, "Of course I wouldn't mind." She said as she scooted closer to her and began tapping her hand.

"Thank you, Hange."

The room fell into comfortable silence and without her even knowing it, Hange let out a soft melodic lullaby to Mikasa.

"I like the melody," Mikasa whispered with her eyes closed.

Hange smiled, "Thank you, I will tell my mom that you said that."

It didn't take Mikasa long to fall into a deep slumber, but Hange kept doing that for the next few minutes.

Watching Mikasa's tense face melting into a comfortable one made Hange lose all of her worries.

"Is she finally asleep?"

Hange almost had a heart attack when she heard his voice. She noticed that he was standing near the bed.

How long has he been standing there?

"Yes. I think she will not be awake until later in the day."

He hummed and paused before continuing, "Thank you for helping us."

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could be some kind of help for Mikasa."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's thankful for you too. She prefers you more than me, anyway."

"That's not true." Hange snickered.

He scoffed, both of his hands tucked in his pocket, "Thank you for the words, but moving on, you haven't had your breakfast right?"

Hange wanted to reply but she was cut by a knock on the door, in which Mr. Ackerman immediately opened to reveal a maid with auburn hair that Hange recognized as Susan.

"I just need you to watch over her for the next 20 minutes, after that, you may return to your station." He said to her as they walked toward Hange.

"Understood, sir." Susan replied, bowing slightly toward him. She smiled at Hange when she noticed her.

"Alright, thank you, Susan." He moved his attention from Susan to Hange, "Come on." He said as he walked toward the door.

"Come on. . .? Where to?" She asked, not moving from her sitting position on the bed.

"To the war," He said in which Hange couldn't tell if he's jesting or not due to his blank expression.

When he noticed that Hange still remained unmoved, he let out an audible sigh, "To the dining room, four eyes."

Wait.

It took her a long time to realize what he meant, and by the time she got it, he was already gone from the room.

"It's okay, Miss Hange. I have eaten my breakfast," Susan told her, in which Hange could only reply with a smile and thank you. She took one last look at Mikasa before she left the room.

She was expecting him to leave her.

However, that was not the case.

There he was, leaning by the railing of the left wing, his usual scowl not leaving his face. Nevertheless, even with that scowl, he still makes the effort to walk by her side as they walk toward the dining room. Hange could see two sets of plates being placed across each other.

When she was still a child, Hange used to believe in six impossible things before breakfast, and that is: There's a potion that can make you shrink, and a cake that can make you grow. Animals can talk. Cats can disappear. There is a place called Wonderland. I can slay the Jabberwocky.

But now, she wasn't sure if there were only six.

"Mikasa told me about wanting to go to Shiganshina."

Levi watched as she stopped her hand from tearing her bread. She stared at him with her wide set of warm chestnut eyes, "Really? What did you say to her, sir?"

"You seemed to understand this more quickly than I thought you would."

"Ah…" She chuckled, "She had told me about that."

"I figured," Levi smirked as he took a sip from his cup, "I said that I can make time for it."

In mere seconds, her face immediately lightened up with happiness. "Oh My God? Are you serious, sir?"

"Do you think I'm lying?"

"No, of course not." She said with a laugh, "When, sir?"

"Monday, two weeks from now."

"I see."

She was grinning from ear to ear after hearing his news, and she didn't even try to hide her excitement. She threw an elated glance at him.

"This might sound odd, but, I just want to tell you that I'm very grateful that you agreed on her request."

All he could see was those bright chocolate eyes and that wide smile of her.

"Sure." Levi nonchalantly answered, averting his gaze to his soup. He did not quite understand why she reacted this way.

"It's just— as her governess, I think it's very good that she is finally able to play with kids her age. It would definitely improve her study and her mind."

"Yes, I know that."

When he didn't receive any response, he tried to peer through his bangs. Right at that moment, he caught her giving a soft smile at him, "You are very kind, sir."

He immediately raised his head and stared at her with wide eyes.

What?

Him?

Kind?

She really has shitty eyes, isn't she?

Levi tried to open his mouth but he couldn't think of any comeback for her.

"I confess, I used to dislike you, but the more I learn about everyone here, the more I learn that you are actually very kind-hearted. You may look unapproachable and cold, but I'm sure that deep down you are more than that. You actually care, sir." She continued, a smile still hanging on her face.

Levi couldn't feel anything working on his brain.

"You created this aura of you being scary, tense, cold, and mean. When in fact, you are one of the most patient people I've ever met."

Levi wasn't sure on what he should respond to all of that.

"I mean, even if your servants fear you, they never mock or hate you. They always respected you as their employer. Even the people that live in your land thought the same thing. Except from saying that you are scary, I couldn't think of any negative remarks coming from them."

By the way she stared at him, he almost thought that she was reading her mind.

He sneered at her, "That was a really thoughtful compliment that came from a person who called me out on the first day we met."

She closed her eyes with her palm, "Oh, that was embarrassing. I'm very sorry for that, sir. That was inconsiderate of me."

"No need, your words did give me something to think of."

"Oh, you give me too much credit," She marveled, "However, it wasn't because of me, it never was. You are just that good, I think you just didn't know how to properly express it. I mean, you could become too stiff at a time because you tend to be extremely occupied with order and professionality. Which could be a good thing, because you know that these people look up to you, so you want to make sure that everyone was taken care of. Although, unfortunately it leads you to forget the most basic thing, and that is everyone's well being."

Levi wanted to check on his brain, to make sure that it was still there and not being stolen by her.

"You know, it was actually very obvious from the start, sir. You are the person who took Mikasa and who hired me, two people who you never knew or even heard of before. That's why I'm very grateful for what you've done for us, Mr. Ackerman." She said before cracking a giggle, "And I suppose I also owe you an apology for hating you at first."

Levi didn't budge from his position, he probably stared at her like a stupid statue.

She let out inaudible gasp, "I— Uhm, that's all, sir. I'm sorry if it's bothering you, but I really need to get it off my chest." She ended it with an awkward smile before she looked away from him to focus on her almost forgotten meal.

Come one Levi, say something.

Say something!

"Thank you."

You stupid fuck, just a 'thank you'?

Look at her, she is probably disappointed in you.

"I'm not saying this to return your favor, but— I thought I should thank you for your work. I already told you that you are smart yesterday, but you are clearly more than that. You did an amazing job at teaching Mikasa. She's a difficult child and she would often irritate her previous governess, but, with you, she's the happiest she's ever been since I took her. I could see that she learned a lot from you, more than I could ever think of. She's lucky to have you as her teacher."

That was probably the longest thing he ever said this far.

She looked at him with that soft gaze of her.

If she kept doing that, he could really die from that gaze.

Then, he caught a tear that almost fell from her right eye.

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot to hear such words."

Levi only stared at her as she chortled and returned to her meal.

"Can I say that this is probably one of the best breakfast I ever had?"

As soon as he heard her, he let the corners of his mouth turn up.

Same.

- Chapter 9 End -

Replies:

cherrylate: THANK YOU FOR ENJOYING CHP 8! I'm so glad you liked it :D

Notes:

HUZZAH! It's been 84 years.

I just love Levihan being supportive with each others HAHA!
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I love writing it!

Thank you so much for waiting, I'm sorry this took so long
Do tell me what you thought about this chapter :D

A lil' life update:
I was sick for the past two weeks and I swear it had nothing to do with the theme of this chapter XD this was such an odd coincidence (I was not as sick as Mikasa though). Besides that, my uni's assignment was also starting to eat me alive :')
But, on the brighter side, I got my vaccine (BUT, it gave me pregnant-like symptoms such as: nausea, dizziness, and lack of energy). Which was a bother but it's normal, it was just my body creating those sweet antibodies.

Luckily, I'm better now, that's why I was able to finish the chapter :D