Thanks for reading this story, and for coming back to it if you've been waiting for this chapter. Too much was going on in real life, but when I found some time, I was still avoiding my CM story... I really should work on it. Anyway, I hope you like this new chapter and Sasha's appearance in it.

An Understanding Chapter 7

Erwin found Levi standing outside Hanji's workshop with his jacket slung over one shoulder. Levi looked back and they looked at each other for a moment.

What is that look? Levi's eyes seemed more open than usual, almost surprised or afraid, but his posture was typical and he held Erwin's gaze, so he must not be too bothered by anything. Then the look was gone, before he could finish interpreting it.

"Do you want to get your things now?" Levi asked.

"Yes," Erwin answered. "Will you meet me at the shop?"

"I'll come with you. It won't take long, right? And I can carry something for you if you like."

"All right. No, it shouldn't take long."

At the boarding house, Erwin paid a week's rent ahead and then led Levi to his quarters. There, Levi stood in the doorway while Erwin packed the items from his list.

"Oh yes," Erwin said, remembering Levi's cloak. He retrieved it and handed it to the captain. "Thank you for loaning me this."

"No trouble."

"You can carry my jacket and cloak for me, if you would."

"Certainly."

"Shall I bring my manuscript?" Erwin asked while Levi was wrapping the outer garments into a bundle. "You could read it if you like."

"Maybe," Levi said after a moment. He didn't sound all that enthusiastic. "Might as well bring it. You might get the urge to work on it."

Erwin grasped his bundle of papers and began working them into a leather bag. Come on, get in there, he thought with minor irritation. He didn't want Levi to feel compelled to help him. Finally, the papers slid inside. He pulled the leather bag's strap over his head with satisfaction and shouldered his satchel. "Ready."

When they left, Erwin took the lead again. The town was full of life now, but Levi was quiet, trudging along behind him as if they were marching out on assignment.

When Levi let Erwin into the tea shop, he said, "You can put your things in the room upstairs, first one on the left," he said.

"Thank you."

"Boots."

"Right." Erwin removed his boots before going further.

He went upstairs and found his way to the first room on the left. At first, he thought he must not have understood Levi's instructions. This room had a stout, fine-looking bed in it, along with a nightstand, lantern, pitcher and basin. True, it was sparse, but well prepared for a guest. Levi had said only last night that he might store surplus inventory upstairs; it seemed unlikely that he kept a guest room.

Erwin dropped his bags on the bed and stepped out into the hall. This is definitely the first door on the left… There was a doorway at the end of the hall, but that room was empty besides a few boxes. There was a door diagonally across the hall, on the left when one faced away from the stairs; perhaps that was what Levi had meant. He unlatched the door and pushed it ajar, only to be met with more confusion. All that was in this room were a bureau and bookcase. What on earth…?

He went downstairs and found Levi turning over the sign on the door to let the townsfolk know that his shop was open.

"Levi?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure that you meant the first door on the left?"

"Yes."

"Am I putting you out of your room?"

"No. I moved the bed in there for you."

"Oh… are you planning not to sleep while I'm here?" Erwin asked facetiously.

"I ordered a cot. It will be here this afternoon."

"That's… I still feel like I'm putting you out. I can sleep on the cot."

"You're not my housemate yet; that makes you my guest. I won't hear of your taking the cot, so don't try." Levi went to his sales counter and opened a ledger, clearly done discussing the matter.

"I guess I'll go unpack, then. Thank you."

Levi didn't answer.

As he went upstairs, Erwin suddenly wondered when Levi had moved the bed to the spare room. Did he do that last night? He must have been up late… and then out early to order the cot. He probably didn't sleep well. Perhaps he should have given Levi more time to prepare. He hadn't expected him to go to so much trouble.

He managed to fit most of his clothing into the two small drawers of the nightstand, leaving his stockings and underwear in his satchel beside it. The lantern and wash basin on top of the nightstand didn't leave much room for anything else, so Erwin sat back on the bed to look at his manuscript. If he did move in, his writing desk would be a welcome addition.

He leafed through the manuscript until he found the notes which he had made on Historia. He would need to visit the queen before he fleshed out his material on her; it wouldn't do to publish anything that she would rather keep secret. So far, she had been the most candid monarch anyone had ever heard of, but this was one case in which it was far safer to get permission than forgiveness.

The only figure in his history with less documentation than the queen's was Levi. It wasn't that Erwin knew little about his captain—on the contrary, he could have written an entire book about "humanity's strongest." However, knowing how little Levi cared for notoriety, Erwin thought it best to ask him how much of his life could be made public without testing their friendship.

Knowing that he wasn't likely to make much progress until they had a serious conversation about it, Erwin set his manuscript down and tapped the edges to gather it into as neat a pile as he could manage with one hand. Then, he headed out of the room.

He heard voices when he reached the top of the stairs. Levi had a customer. He descended quietly, not wanting to interrupt the transaction.

The customer seemed to be a fussy old lady, and Erwin would not have been at all surprised to hear Levi tell her something like "Your real problem stems from self-absorption, and no amount of tea will cure that." But no such comment reached his ears.

"And he wails half the night away," the woman was saying. "I'm glad to have my grandchildren under one roof with me, don't mistake me, but mercy! I haven't slept a wink in ages!"

Erwin could tell from Levi's expression that he found the woman's garrulous nature to be extremely tedious, but it didn't come through in his voice.

"Interrupted sleep sometimes feels worse than no sleep at all," Levi said, taking a tin off a shelf. He walked to another shelf while the woman went on.

"You couldn't be more right about that, captain! And, oh! the headaches! I've had such headaches…"

Levi took down another tin and carried the two to his counter where he opened them both. "For extreme insomnia, I recommend a blend of chamomile and lavender," he said, scooping some of the dried ingredients from each tin into a small pouch.

"And that will cure it?" the woman asked anxiously.

Levi stared at her for a moment, and Erwin held his breath for the sarcastic remark which he was sure would come imminently. But all Levi said was, "It will help." He looked a bit wistful.

"I'll try anything at this point," the woman said.

"The chamomile will help your headaches too, but if you want something more effective than that, I would try peppermint and willow bark."

"Willow bark?" the woman wrinkled her nose.

"It's the peppermint you'll taste," Levi assured her. "The willow will stave off the pain."

"Well, like I said, I'll try anything. Let me have some of both."

Levi measured up another little pouch of tea for her.

"How much do I owe you?"

Levi gave her the amount and she passed him a few coins as another customer entered the shop.

"You have enough for about five cups in each of those," Levi told his first customer. "If you like them, I can give you a larger amount at a lower rate next time."

"All right. I'll put them to the test." The woman glanced toward the stairs. "Oh—Commander Smith, is that you?"

Erwin smiled. "In the flesh, madam."

"Well, it is an honor and a pleasure." She gave a little curtsey. "You're looking well."

"Thank you. I couldn't help but overhear—I hope your headaches don't trouble you much longer."

"That's kind of you. Very kind." she gathered her tea pouches. "I'll be off now. It was good to see you both." She nodded to them, and to the new customer on her way out.

Levi approached the newcomer, an elderly gentleman. "Good morning, sir. May I help you find something?"

"Oh, I don't know… I think I'll just browse awhile, if it's all the same to you," the other said. "It's been years since I've had tea—couldn't afford it, you know. But I heard that your rates were very reasonable, and I thought… why not?"

Levi actually smiled at the man, a rare sight indeed. "No one should go years without tea. Feel free to smell the different varieties, and when you find one you like, I'll make certain that you can afford a sample."

"Oh, that's a fine thing, captain. You know, I heard that you were a sourpuss, but all I see is a heart of gold."

Erwin had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when Levi's mouth fell open. He just knew that the latter was fighting the "tch" that wanted to explode from his teeth.

"Uh… th…" Levi cleared his throat. "Let me know if you need any assistance." He retreated to his counter.

Erwin strode over to lean on the counter across from his somewhat flustered friend. "A sourpuss, eh?" he said, smirking.

"Tch."

"Now, that is the kind of thing I expected you to give that busybody of a woman who was in here before… you must really love your work."

Levi looked up at him, frowning. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"No. I mean, to get you to be so polite and attentive to other people's concerns, you must really love it. I knew you liked tea—I think of you every time I drink it—but seeing you passing it on to others… it's a new side of you."

"Surely my manners weren't so deplorable in the past that this is a stark contrast."

"I'm not saying that either. Of course, I know that you can be polite. But here, you mean it. What you have is almost a bedside manner."

Levi shrugged and took up a pen to make a note in his ledger. "I know what the tea does for me. That's what I try to pass on. Don't start spreading it around that I'm some kind of self-taught doctor or some shit. I don't want the liability of dissatisfied patrons calling themselves my patients."

"Well… you could always use more patience." Erwin raised one eyebrow.

Levi's grey eyes flicked up to meet Erwin's. "Sir… with all due respect, how would you like this pen in your eye?"

"Case in point," Erwin chuckled. "There's the Levi I know."

At lunchtime, Levi closed the shop and invited Erwin to go to a nearby diner with him. The commander accepted the invitation and they set out in silence.

Erwin noted that although Levi was technically his host, and should therefore be leading the way, he again fell back on the right as he had the day before. Looking back, it seemed that Levi had assumed this position often when they walked together… had he never stopped since retiring, or had he taken it up again recently? Erwin couldn't recall. Perhaps it was of little consequence, but it did unsettle him slightly.

When they reached the eatery, Levi suddenly appeared in front of him to push the door open, back in the role of host. Erwin smiled in thanks, though he felt more perplexed than ever.

A moment after they sat down, a chestnut-haired young woman came to their table. "Captain Levi, Commander Erwin," she said, saluting with a pencil in her fist over her heart and a small notebook in her hand behind her back.

Erwin good-naturedly returned her salute. "Hello, Braus."

Levi was much less enthusiastic. "For god's sake, Sasha, how many times do I have to tell you to stop being so damn formal? We're retired, we're in a diner and it's lunchtime."

"Sorry, sir. Old habits."

"Pity you weren't so by-the-book when we were actually on duty."

Sasha's face colored. "My apologies, sir."

"Perhaps we should order," Erwin intervened.

"Yes, of course." Sasha readied her notebook. "Commander, what will you have?"

"Whatever your special of the day is. Meat and potatoes?"

"Yes, sir. We have a fine roast today, and potatoes any way you care to have them."

"Surprise me. I trust your judgment."

Sasha enthusiastically scribbled something down before turning to Levi. "And you, captain?"

"The same. Do you have tea in?"

"Yes, but… well, it came from your shop," Sasha said with an awkward laugh.

"That's all right. I'll take Earl Grey."

"Yes, sir." She made another note before putting her pencil behind her ear. "Two specials and a pot of Earl Grey coming right up."

Once she stepped away, Erwin said, "I'm glad that Sasha has found work that she enjoys."

"She enjoys being near the food, anyway," Levi replied.

"You know she doesn't normally wait tables—she took our order because she knows us."

Levi looked around at the other servers in the room. "That doesn't seem like the best use of her time… anyone can take an order. She ought to stay in the kitchen to see that the other cooks don't ruin shit while she's gone."

Erwin shook his head. "The point is, she sees us as friends. She's fond of us."

"Fond?" Levi looked utterly confused.

"I know it's difficult to fathom why, but yes."

"Hm."

A change of subject seemed in order. "By the way… speaking of military habits, do you plan to flank me whenever we go out for the rest of our lives?"

Awkward cliff-hanger. ^^ Thanks again for reading this far. I'd like to hear back from you.