Civilian-Petra AU Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Ems-g: Levi visits Petra every time he has a day off and the people around him wonder where he disappears to.

Levi walked through town, dressed in his civilian clothes consisting of black trousers, a white shirt, and a black jacket along with an ascot. The anonymity the clothes provided him was a blessing. Outside his uniform, he wasn't the famous Corporal Levi, Humanity's Strongest Soldier. He could be Levi, just another man on the street. Albeit a shockingly short one.

After their business with the merchants in Karanes had wrapped up nicely, Levi had managed, for once, to talk Erwin into letting him wander around town, free to do as he pleased, instead of having a tedious meal with the merchants.

Nothing was jumping out at him. But he was content to simply drift along with the crowd, enjoying the moment of relaxation.

And so he came to find himself standing before a decent-sized brown building. The sign stated: Tea Garden. Through two large windows, he was able to look in. The patrons were sitting sipping from delicate little teacups with a blue and gold pattern. Toward the right end of the building, a man stepped out and Levi caught a waft of the delicious scents. His attention was fully captured.

The bronze bell jingled when he entered. The sun shone brightly through the large windows, lighting up the place sufficiently. Russet-colored, square-shaped tables, some with two chairs and some with four chairs, were placed around the room. To the left end was a countertop, behind it were shelves covered with glass jars full of dried tea leaves. A young woman was scooping them into a brown paper bag for a couple.

The atmosphere was quiet and soothing, the soft voices of the patrons keeping the tea shop from uncomfortable silence.

Levi wondered how he had never heard of the place before. He sniffed the air subtly. Surely the fact that it was full meant the quality of the tea matched its environment's high standards. I'll decide that for myself. It would be a huge disappointment if the tea itself fell short despite the wonderful atmosphere and scent.

Unfortunately, there weren't any empty tables. It seemed he had come at their busiest time. Levi wandered near a wall, looking around. He spotted a woman sitting by herself, completely absorbed in the book before her, jotting something down. He looked around again. Most of the tables had three patrons. And the two-chair tables were occupied by couples.

Hers was the only one with three spots open. He debated the possible reward outweighing his distaste for social interaction, especially with a stranger.

In the end, he was forced to make his decision immediately when the woman looked up. "Hello," she greeted. She seemed to grasp the situation quickly. "No other empty tables?" She did a perfunctory glance around the shop.

"If you don't mind," he said, almost reluctantly.

"Please, sit," she said, gesturing to the chair across from her.

"Thanks."

"Is it your first time here?" She watched him observe his surroundings with a curious gaze.

"Yeah."

"Well, I should warn you, there's a huge selection. First-timers sometimes have a hard time making a selection. Do you have any preferences?"

"I like all tea," Levi said. "Long as the quality is good." Black was his favorite but he was willing to try others.

"You've come to the right place, then." She waved her hand to grab the attention of a waitress. "I'm Petra," she said.

"Levi."

"Well, Levi, I recommend the peppermint tea."

The waitress came over and presented him with a menu. His eyes widened at the list. It was broken into five categories: fruit, flowers, herbal, classics, and a category for rare teas, and each category listed at least a dozen options. He was eager to try all but, as Petra had predicted, he was having a difficult time making up his mind. Every option looked tempting. "I'll take a cup of peppermint," he finally said.

The waitress offered snacks but he declined. Much to his surprise and relief, Petra's attention was back to her work. He was glad he wouldn't be forced to make small talk. If it weren't for her eye-catching hair and the fact she was sitting right in front of him, he could have forgotten she was even there.

Levi stared into space, lost inside his own head as he waited. "Here you are, sir." The waitress placed the steaming cup in front of him.

It smelled amazing. Just because it smells good doesn't mean it'll taste good too. His eyes lit up when he took a sip.

"Good?" Petra asked.

He hummed in confirmation. With a bright smile, she returned to her task. Levi ended up getting two refills. At the other tea places he frequented, he only had to pay for one cup and one refill was free. They charge per cup here. The price was also slightly more expensive than he usually paid but he rationalized the tea, the setting, and the service more than made up for it.

Enjoying the calm, Levi's thoughts turned to his squad. The brats better not have knocked the castle to the ground. It was the first time he had left Jean in charge. The two times before he was away on business, he'd left them under another squad leader's care. But never Hange. He was wary she would use them as experiment subjects. Or worse, somehow brainwash them into becoming Titan-maniacs like her.

"Are you okay?" Petra asked.

Levi hadn't realized he'd been making a face. "I'm fine."

"You looked like you were thinking of something unpleasant."

"Worse than unpleasant," he muttered. He blinked curiously when the waitress came over and placed a cup of tea before the redhead. The tower bell rang, signaling the time, the sound echoing throughout the town. I've been here for over an hour and a half now. Levi pulled out his wallet and stuck the cash between the checkbook before handing it to the waitress.

"Hope to you see you again, Levi."

Her words confused him and he offered a wordless nod and took his leave.

Levi was relieved.

The castle was still standing when they returned.

Erwin noticed the slight drooping of the short man's shoulders and smiled in amusement. "Were you actually legitimately worried they would raze HQ to the ground?"

"Well, let's see, one brat can turn into a 15-meter behemoth and gets into fights with another equally snot-nosed brat. One's an idiot, another one's too obsessed with food, and one's judgment is impaired with it comes to the first brat." Levi paused in his complaining. "Arlert's smart but he's too weak-willed to keep his stupid teammates out of trouble."

"I think it's more fitting to say the others are more thick-headed and reckless than he is sensible."

"True."

"How was your trip around town? You were gone longer than you said you would be. Where did you go? What were you doing?"

"What are you, my wife? It's nothing to do with the military so it's not important." Strangely, it had only taken one time for the tea shop to become someplace meaningful to him. A private place only for him to know, where he could be no one and relax and enjoy high-quality tea. Levi wanted to keep Tea Garden to himself. And there was a good chance Hange would hear about it and insist they all visit it at some point. He found that most displeasing, feeling oddly possessive of the place.

Erwin wasn't bothered by his words, having known him for as long as he had. "Very well. Enjoy dinner."

Levi followed a different path to the barracks specially for the Special Ops Squad. He threw open the door and walked into the kitchen. "Brats," he said as a greeting. They scrambled to get out of their seats and saluted him. Levi raised an eyebrow at the sight of his squad around the table, playing a card game. "Huh."

Armin tilted his head. "Captain?"

"You're all being...civil."

"Don't be too impressed," Connie said. "Jean and Eren got into a fight earlier. They were convinced the other one was cheating and—"

"Shut up!" The two teen boys yelled immediately.

Levi regarded them suspiciously before checking the area. "Well, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable damage. Continue."

Two weeks had passed since his visit to Tea Garden. Levi figured visiting the tea shop every other weekend was the most he could manage without it being too expensive for him. Although he longed to visit once every day. He loved imagining stepping into the sweetly scented shop, the stress melting away, enjoying the peace as he sipped a cup of delicious tea.

His beautiful fantasy was usually shattered by Eren and Jean bitching at each other, Connie and Sasha's loud obnoxious laughs at some dumb joke only they thought was funny, Armin's curiosity-fueled never-ending questions, Hange's squeals, and too many other annoying things to mention.

Levi was eager to leave when the weekend finally arrived. The squad was gathered at the stables to see him off. Usually Jean and Sasha were the only ones to leave, the rest of them being orphans like him. Occasionally some of them would join one of the two.

It had taken them by surprise to see him readying his horse. "Are you going somewhere, Captain?" Sasha asked.

"Obviously." Levi had already been stopped and harassed by Hange and Erwin about his destination and had barely shaken them off.

"Will you be gone the whole weekend?" Eren asked.

"No, I'll be back later today. So don't think you can run around like you own the place." Levi mounted his horse quickly and pulled the reins. "Don't break anything."

"Why do you think he left?" Connie watched him race off.

Mikasa shrugged. "Maybe he's bored." He had been in the Survey Corps for over half a decade and had likely gotten tired of staying back every weekend. It was a little depressing.

"Yeah," Jean agreed. "He probably wants a change in scenery."

"You guys definitely aren't going home?" Armin changed the topic.

"Nah, my mom's got the flu," Jean said. "It's going around town and she insisted I stay here so I didn't get sick, too."

"I was going to, but I don't really feel like it," Sasha responded lazily.

"I wonder where Captain Levi's off to," Eren said.

"Well," Armin said, crossing his arms, "let's look at what he likes to do for fun."

"Cleaning." Five voices answered simultaneously.

Connie snickered, "He probably found an old, abandoned house to fix-up."

"Probably," Jean snorted.

Petra was sitting in the same spot with the same ledger in front of her. There were plenty of free tables to pick from this time but he was tempted to sit in the same spot. One table was near a group of high-pitched giggling girls he wanted to avoid sitting close to. One table's view was poor. And the other one was a two-seater near the wall between two overly affectionate couples.

Levi contemplated if he wanted to sit with Petra again. He had found her presence tolerable and at least she was pleasant to look at since he was stuck unable to ignore her. He wasn't sure what kind of a message it might send her if he chose to join her when there was plenty of room.

Once again, the choice was out of his hands when a group of people came in and occupied the two kind-of annoying options, leaving him only with his least favorite option. Now it was either that or Petra. In the end, he found himself standing at the redhead's table again. Her knowledge of teas adding a pro in sitting with her.

Levi cleared his throat. "The only other option sucks," he said bluntly.

She raised an eyebrow. "So you want to sit with me because there is no other choice?"

"Yes." The honest answer was out of his mouth before he could consider she might take offense and tell him to fuck off.

"Fine with me," she replied cheerfully.

"Thanks." He took a seat and waved a waiter over. He watched her ignore him in favor of her ledger.

"Try the apple tea," Petra recommended without looking up.

"Why?" He was about to clarify why he should listen to her when she spoke up.

"Because of the weather. Compare that with your prickly personality, you'd love apple tea today."

"The weather?" He didn't deny the prickly personality part.

Petra finally looked up. "If you don't like it, I'll pay for it myself. Course if you don't like it, I'll drink it myself so it won't go to waste. I like apple tea."

Levi glanced at the waiter standing patiently. "I'll have a cup of apple tea."

"And a plate of cucumber sandwiches and a refill of camomile tea for me," Petra added.

Levi studied her curiously. She had to be wealthy to be able to afford coming there every day. Or maybe she came every two weeks like him. He figured her budget had to be bigger than his to afford snacks, too.

"You should try some, they're really good with tea." She nudged the plate toward him.

"They're yours."

"Get one for him, Erd," she said to the waiter.

"Yes, Ms. Petra."

He knows her. Then the corporal's eyes fell to the ledger. "Are you by any chance the owner?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

That explained a lot. "Won't you lose money?" Selfless actions, he had learned, often came with an ulterior motive.

"Think of it as an investment." Petra rested her face in the palm of her hand, elbow on the table, smiling. "When people try a free sample, they're more inclined to start ordering that item whenever they visit."

"I see." Levi watched the young man place a plate full of small, delicious-looking sandwiches before him. "You're bribing me."

"In a way." She glanced around. "Plus it feels almost posh, sitting enjoying a quiet conversation, sipping tea, eating cute little snacks. It's relaxing, but it also has a charm attached to it that people simply adore. I don't just sell tea, you see, I also sell the experience. That's what makes this place so successful."

Levi could understand. Nobles and wealthy folks lived like that everyday and people wanted a little taste of that for themselves. It was nice to forget about life for a little while, take a break, and have something good to eat, letting the stress fade. He always came in feeling run down and left feeling recharged.

Petra's voice had a soothing manner to it and she was a great conversationalist. More than that, she seemed to sense when he wanted peace and kept quiet. That made her company not just tolerable but almost enjoyable.

As time passed and he continued to come to her place, he almost grew to look forward to talking to her. He had felt disappointed the one time she hadn't been there because of a family emergency.

The people around him began to wonder where he would vanish every other Saturday of the month, but he kept his lips sealed.

Tea Garden had become his place of refuge and he loathed to think about anyone finding out and spoiling it for him.

Levi mounted his horse and glanced once at the barracks where his team was lounging around doing whatever nonsense teenagers did in their free time. Feeling anticipation building, he pulled the reins and his horse took off.

He wondered what tea Petra would recommend today.

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