CHAPTER 13

I was paired up with Eld for hand to hand combat training, though why we still practicing fighting humans when we had already chosen to battle titans, I didn't know.

I pulled my brown hair up into a ponytail with a hair tie, and tried to mentally prepare myself for this. I had fought people bigger than Eld, though he was admittedly much taller than me. The demons inside my stomach were battling away, making it obvious that it was a bad choice to have only eaten a fraction of my breakfast.

Earlier this morning, we had all gathered in the near empty mess hall to have yet another squad meal.

Levi sat at the head of the table, swirling his mug of coffee around, his hand cupped over the mouth, holding it in the distinct way that only he held it in.

The rest of us picked at the bowl of grits set in front of each of us, and took timid sips of the coffee. I spooned my grits up, and managed to stomach a couple bites, feeling way to nervous and excited to eat anything.

Auruo ate a large spoonful of grits, smiling with a certain satisfaction after he swallowed it. "Mm. This is good Petra. Are you already practicing for when you become my wife?"

I closed my eyes, trying to hold my tongue and regain my patience. I set my mug of coffee back down onto the table, and smiled at him. "Thanks Auruo, but I didn't make the grits. I made the coffee."

"I made them." Gunther added, smiling at Auruo. "And I don't think I'll be able to take your marriage proposal Auruo, sorry."

Auruo, who was slightly shocked a second ago, recomposed his face to a blasé expression.

"Whatever." he muttered under his breath. "I don't like coffee that much anyways."

"Since when?" Eld asked, scraping the last bit of grits off of his bowl. "When we first got back from our expedition you were chugging down every last sip."

"Hey, what are you trying to get at?"

I sipped at my coffee in silence after having picked at my grits. I was never a morning person, and was never a big fan of breakfast, even when I was younger. Usually I'd sleep in, then grab something quick to eat that would sustain me until lunch. But since joining the squad, it seemed like I'd have to cut that bad habit.

I noticed that mostly everyone had drunk their mugs of coffee—most likely grateful for the buzz of caffeine—save the Captain. Though the coffee stained the sides of his mug from his having played with it, the drink itself was completely untouched, and the steam had long since faded, verifying that there was no chance he was going to drink it now. I gazed curiously at it. I had made the coffee earlier this morning, and though most would've been fine with a typical Survey Corps cup of black coffee, I decided it would've been better to add something in to change the usually bitter drink. After much searching, I was able to find things to add, such as vanilla extract and cinnamon. It was the first time I'd ever tried something putting else in my coffee, but I found myself enjoying it. It was definitely a nice change to the sharp drink I'd been choking down.

Captain Levi stared around the room in a bored manner, completely oblivious to the Eld and Auruo's petty argument. His eyes glazed around, finally meeting mine. He gave me a questioning look, wondering why I was staring at him and his coffee. After a moment's hesitation, I finally spoke up.

"You haven't touched your coffee, sir, is there a reason for that?" I inquired.

Levi closed his eyes briefly, as if he were letting out a nonexistent sigh. "I only drink this shitty coffee when I'm feeling equally as shitty. I drink black tea. Does that answer satisfy you, Ral?"

Though slightly taken aback by Captain Levi's amount of swearing, I decided to keep that piece of information in the back of my mind. I guess it was good that he wasn't feeling that shitty this morning.

"Yes, thank you Heichou." I replied, giving a slight bow of my head as I spoke. When I looked back up, I noticed him regarding me with a look of amusement. After a moment, he took a swig of the coffee, swallowing down a large gulp. Why would he drink it...

"Petra, are you ready?" Eld asked, snapping me out of my trance.

"Y-yes." I stammered, trying to wake myself back up.

My mind had slipped...again. It seemed to be happening pretty often actually, which was an awful thing considering that I should be more alert, being on the squad and whatnot.

I positioned my arms in front of me, balling my hands into fists. My thumbs hidden behind my knuckles, I told myself to relax my arms. I widened my stance, looking up only to find Eld coming at me.

I took a deep breath, assessing the situation as my friend had once told me. My right knee raised to my chest, and as Eld pulled back his arm, ready to punch, I shot my leg out, hitting him straight in the chest. I heard the air leaving him, and he propelled backwards, hitting the ground with a grunt.

It wasn't until after I delivered the blow that I realized I had closed my eyes. When I opened them back up, Eld was on the ground, lying on his back.

"Eld, are you okay?" I exclaimed, rushing over to him. I waved away the cloud of dust that had been stirred up when he fell, and tried to see if anything was wrong to him. But to my surprise, he brushed my help aside, and his stunned expression turned to smile. I helped hoist him back up, still slightly worried that he might have been hurt, when he gave me a pat on my shoulder.

"You are the real deal Petra Ral." he said.

Unsure of what to say, I gave a weak smile in response. I laced my fingers together, then looked up to see how the others were doing. But everyone else had ceased their activities. Auruo and Gunther were watching us from afar, and Levi leaned against a tree, observing us all.

"It...was nothing." I finally murmured under my breath, trying to dismiss what happened. My thumbs began to twiddle on their own, something they did when I wasn't sure what to do next.

"Oi Petra, fight me next! Gunther is weak!" Auruo shouted from afar, shortly followed by a cry of pain.

"You're lucky this happened, otherwise I would've kicked your ass to the ground!" Gunther exclaimed.

Auruo held his tongue out in front of his mouth, trying to assess the damage he had once again inflicted on himself, blood leaking from the wound.

I let out a small laugh, then turned back towards Eld, who seemed to have recovered quickly. His face was set in a fierce look of determination, and he smiled at me once more.

"You may have been able to beat me Petra, but we were just getting warmed up. I won't lose so easily again."

"I don't plan on it either."

A couple of hours later, we were back at our headquarters in Trost. It was only around noon, and though many people were off at meetings or working and having lunch on their own, the mess hall had considerably more people than it did this morning. Since Gunther and I were on breakfast duty earlier that morning, Auruo and Eld had to help out in the kitchen with several others, giving us a bit of free time.

Gunther and I sat alone at the table, while waiting for lunch to come. Levi had told us that he had to go see Commander Erwin briefly, but he'd be back in time to eat with us. So for the moment being, it was just the two of us. It was quite obvious that preparations would take at least an hour or so, and though the mess hall was occupied, many people were talking with each other over some coffee that must have grabbed beforehand, or had brought work to distract themselves during the wait. Gunther and I had nothing but each others company.

We talked about mundane things, and he was actually pretty funny, making jokes and laughing often. He reminded me of my family back home, and it was nice to have someone comforting around when our work required us to be in such a violent and stressful environment. But ten minutes later, after we had paused our conversation, I glanced back at Gunther only to see him passed out on the table, snoring. I decided against waking him up, and stood up from the table, ready to get some fresh air.

I slipped my jacket back on, and left the busy building for the crowded streets of Trost.

It was nice seeing people in things other than military uniforms for once, and I blended in with the flow of people, making my way towards the marketplace.

I gazed at the many stalls of food, thinking about the hunger eating away at my stomach. I could have always just grabbed something from the kitchen, as since the fall of Wall Maria, there began to have food shortages. Things like fruit became more expensive, and everyone had to cut back. A lot of times, the stalls would nearly be empty because the crops were ruined.

This time, though, there was an abundance of fruit, and I couldn't help but by a few oranges for the whole squad. I'd always loved eating oranges since I was younger, and it just so happened that they carried the same name as my favorite color. But a while back, my appetite had faded, and so did my liking of the color orange. Still, it would be nice to relive an old memory. I tried to ignore the amount of money I spent on them, and how it probably could've gone towards better things.

I had already been out for a bit of time, and even though there was no rush, it'd probably be better just to get back to the building. But since the marketplace looped around, I could still browse while I walked back.

It wasn't until I saw the other stalls hidden by the people that I realized it'd still be a while before I'd get back.

I laced through the people, and was able to find things that I hadn't eaten in a while. I was tempted to buy everything, but even while I was looking through those items, my mind was preoccupied with some other purchases I should make...

And there I was, shopping for coffee beans and black tea. A large tin of premium coffee beans, already roasted. The smell was by far better than the one we drank earlier this morning, and given the circumstances...it wouldn't hurt to buy some.

And the black tea was a necessity. Plus, Captain's answer kept nagging me. Levi honestly looked so bored and disappointed all the time, it wouldn't hurt to make him happy.

The next morning, I got up a bit earlier than usual—which really just meant that Gunther didn't have to pull me out of bed—and grabbed my bag of purchases.

The halls of the headquarters were almost completely empty given how early it was, and even now, I still questioned why I agreed to be on breakfast duty. It was too late to renege on it though.

I began to run across the hardwood floor, my sound of my footsteps increasing as I approached the kitchen, hugging my cotton bag tightly. It wasn't until someone's door opened that my whole morning felt like it fell apart.

I slammed into Levi, who had stepped out of his bedroom, knocking both of us to the ground. The cloth bag slipped from my arms, and for a few seconds, the only sound was the sound of metal hitting each other.

I took a deep breath, recollecting myself. Breathing always helps clear your thoughts. Except for now.

"Oi Petra, why the hell were you running this early in the morning?"

Almost reluctantly, I met the Captain's face, noticing his tired expression. His undercut was mussed up—presumably from sleeping—and he was wearing a loose fitting shirt and pants. But he somehow managed to make everything look good in the most natural way. The expression morning face definitely didn't apply to Levi.

Why was I getting so distracted?

"No reason, sir. I was just going to make breakfast." I replied, feeling flustered. Why was I feeling flustered?

"I see."

Pause.

"Well, seeing that I still have to go prepare everything, I better get going." I said brightly.

I started to get up, only to realize that I'd been lying on top of him this entire time...

My cheeks flushed, and I averted my gaze quickly, trying to locate my bag of items. Pushing myself off of the ground, I stood up, looking around for the tea and coffee.

Why hadn't Corporal said anything about that? Why didn't Levi tell me to get off?!

I reached down and grabbed the can of coffee beans and the bag, but was still unable to determine the location of the tin of tea leaves. Where were they?

By now, Levi had gotten up off of the ground, and though it was still early and the best thing would be to just get back to sleep, he still stood in his doorway.

I knelt on the floor, trying to get a better view of where it could've gone, stealing quick furtive glances at Levi behind me, when I noticed the distinct glint of metal in his hands. I rose, and snatched back the tea box from him.

"Corporal," I snapped, stuffing the tin back into my bag.

"Black tea." he mused looking back at me. "When did you buy that?"

"Yesterday. Because Corporal mentioned he preferred it over coffee." I replied, saluting him.

Without another word, he took the bag from my hands, and started walking off.

What...?

I rushed over to his side, catching up quickly. "Captain Levi, please give me back my things I need them to make breakfast."

He stuck his hand into my bag, and took out the box of coffee beans, handing them back to me. "You're much better at making coffee than me, but this morning I think I'll prepare black tea for everyone. Go back to sleep."

I stopped in my steps, staring at him while he continued to make his way towards the kitchen. Hugging the metal container to my chest, I ran back over to his side, stopping in front of him to keep Levi from moving forward.

"I insist Corporal, I'll take care of everything. I'll brew your pot of tea and coffee for the others. I bought newly roasted beans yesterday, and I'd love to share them. Please go back to bed." the words spilled out from my mouth before I could realize half the things I was saying.

Levi gazed at me with a hard stare for a minute, making me doubt what I had said. In response, he handed me back my bag. Still standing there, I waited until he turned around, when he tugged slightly on my hair, leaving without another word.

Confused and slightly disoriented by the entire run-in, I paused where I was until Squad Leader had reentered his room. Only then was I able to regain my bearings, and continue on my way to the kitchen.

"Your face is red." Gunther commented.

I looked up from my boiling pots of water, and stuck my tongue out at him. "Shut up Gunther."

When I had arrived in the kitchen, Gunther was already there, cooking his grits. It was odd, because he had to walk down the same hall as me to get to the kitchen, but I hadn't seen him at first. Did he go around the long way?

I wiped a piece of hair from my face, then filled the tea pot with the boiled water, a steady stream flowing through the strainer piled with tea leaves.

Steam rose, and I inhaled the fragrant smell, only to be alarmed when Gunther rested his chin on my shoulder. I jumped, spilling water across my wrist, the water scalding my skin. I winced in pain.

"Tea? Why're you making that?" he asked.

Pushing him away from me, I set the kettle down, and walked over to the sink, twisting the tap open. The cold water splashed past my burn, giving immediate relief.

"No reason. I just bought some leaves." I said, turning back towards him.

"For no apparent reason." Gunther added, turning off the stove.

"Yes."

Not saying anything else, he took the second kettle of water, and poured the water into the filter filled with the ground coffee beans, letting the liquid drip.

"You know...this is kind of weird. Yesterday Corporal said that he liked black tea, and this morning you're making some. This morning you ran into Corporal, and now your face is red."

Ignoring his comments, I dried off my hand, then went to go attend to my drinks.

"Shut up Gunther. I didn't just buy leaves yesterday. I also bought better coffee beans for everyone, and I bet you'd like some."

"You bought us coffee?"

"Be grateful."

Gunther wrapped me into a hug, lifting me off of the ground. "I'm sorry, please forgive my impertinence Ms. Ral." he said in a mocking tone.

Struggling, I fought back his bear hug, finding it difficult to breath. "I will...when you let me go."

"Deal."

Finally back on the ground, I pulled the filter out of the mouth of the pot, and prepared the rest of the coffee, adding vanilla and cinnamon to every mug.

A bit later, I left the kitchen with the tray of coffee mugs and a cup of tea for Levi. When I arrived in the empty mess hall, I noticed Captain Levi already sitting at the head of the table. He had cleaned himself up so that he was wearing his uniform and his cravat, looking bored as usual. Trying to act unaware of his presence, I started setting the table, placing a mug of coffee in front of each of the empty seats, saving Corporal for last. When I reached him, I set down the cup of tea, hoping he'd be pleased, then retreated to my spot at the side of the table.

I laced my fingers through the handle of the mug, and watched Levi from afar. He observed the tea cup, but made no move to drink it. The tea was already starting to lose its warmth, the steam become more and more wispy. He took the long awaited sip, then set it back on its saucer. It evoked no comment from him, and instead, he stood up, walking over to me.

I focused hard on the dark drink inside of my cup, trying to distract myself, when his hands settled themselves on the table on either side of me. As he bent over me, I finally forced myself to turn around.

"Is something wrong, Captain Levi?"

He frowned in what could be called an almost mocking way, then grabbed one of my hands, making it grow weak.

"Yes." he lifted my mug of coffee from my hands, then took a sip. "I didn't get Petra's famous coffee this morning."

My hand twitched slightly as he walked back, realizing that he had taken my coffee. Resisting the urge to do something crazy, I turned back so I was facing forward, and bowed my head down.

"Corporal is so mean."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I wanted to point out something in the story. So Petra talks about how she used to like eating oranges a lot and how it used to be her favorite color when she was a bit younger. I wanted to make it clear that initially, Petra's hair was dyed brown because she was uncomfortable about it (my headcanon that I kind of regret adding) so that's the reason why she seemed so nostalgic about oranges and such.

This chapter was a little hard for me to write actually, and I've really just been thinking about how to piece it together for a while. Even now I'm still not completely sure about this chapter.

Sorry for not updating for a bit, haha. I have been preparing to go back to school, and I just wanted to give a heads up that there's a strong chance that I will be updating less often in the following months because of school. I will try to write as much as possible, but I just wanted to let you all know.

I hope that you're enjoying reading this, and again, thanks for all the support!