#humanitea

Levi had not brought it back up after their talk that morning; it was something she was thankful for, not only for her embarrassment, but to spare herself of the awkward realization she had asked him to share a bed with her. There was no denying the fact she felt something for him, and while her request for him to stay had no venereal backing to it (quite the opposite, in fact,) it still was a thought that made her cheeks feel warm with embarrassment, for herself and for the position she had put her captain in.

But…it was comforting…

She had always felt safe with her captain, but she had never felt safer than she did in his hold; a feeling and thought that caused those butterflies that danced the night she kissed him to flutter in her stomach once again.

And while Levi seemed to keep his focus on what waited for them the next day, he too was quietly thankful the subject did not resurface.

—————

“Alright, so let’s go over this once again…” Petra started, causing the man across from her to look up from his meal. His expression, seemingly masked, was a mix of amusement, disbelief, and if Petra was paying any sort of attention, she might have caught a slight roll of his eyes.

“Again…”

“Yes, again; we can never be too prepared,” she popped a chopped piece of carrot into her mouth, making sure to finish chewing and swallowing before speaking again.

“Now…wake up at 5am, get dressed, eat, and be downstairs no later than 6am…you’ll make sure everything is clean and in order and…’reclean as necessary,’” she mimicked his earlier words, and this time she caught him rolling his eyes.

“I’ll get started on the first couple of batches of tea biscuits and keep enough dough on standby in case we need to make more later in the day. 7am, we’ll make sure the stove is lit and the kettles filled and ready for heating, and by 8am we should be ready to open the doors…does that sound right to you?”

His gaze bore into her over the teacup he held before his face, gently blowing into the liquid to cool it down.

“…well?”

He took a sip, swallowed, and kept his cup suspended as he spoke.

“…you forgot to add in time for us to go over this plan again in the morning.”

Petra’s shoulders slumped, a long, exasperated sigh escaping her as she leaned back into her chair. She set her fork down on the edge of her plate in favor of picking up a cloth napkin.

“Look, I’m just nervous, okay? This is your shop, and I don’t want to let you down,” she said, wringing the napkin in her hands, gazing beyond him and into their kitchen.

“Petra…”

Her eyes glanced to meet his which were staring right into her. His cup had been set down on the table, no longer obscuring his face, though his features revealed nothing but his typical, stoic expression.

“In all of the time we’ve worked together, you’ve never let me down once.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but before any sort of noise could pass between her lips, Levi stood from his seat and carried his empty dinner dish to the sink.

“Including the 57th.”

Her lips pressed into a fine line, watching as he began cleaning his dishes. He knew her well, though he knew all his soldiers well. Perhaps that too was what made him so admirable to them as their captain…

——————

“Petra-“

Her eyes twitched, rolling over in the bed and mumbling out, “Just five more minutes, please-“

“…it’s 5:45…”

Her eyes flew open, an expression of panic plastered on her face, similar to what Levi would see when she would often show late to their early morning trainings. He had always found it to be amusing, though never could admit or express such in a superior position.

Quickly, she rolled out of bed, not bothering to straighten her appearance before the man as she began to make the bed.

“I can’t believe I woke up late!!” she exclaimed, smoothing out the blanket on top of the bed.

“I just knew this was going to happen,”

“Petra-”

“-and now I won’t be able to take a shower-“

“Petra-”

“-and I was hoping I could at least make you breakfast before we-“

“Petra!”

She glanced up to him, oblivious to the fact that he must have crossed the room towards her bedroom door while in her panic induced tirade. His face betrayed no emotion, no hint of annoyance or disappointment, though she thought she may have spotted a bit of weariness from lack of sleep.

Petra looked to him expectantly when he did not continue to speak, her brows raising in hopes to prompt him so that she may continue to do all she needed to in less than 15 minutes.

“I’ve got breakfast handled…,” he spoke his eyes casually looking from her to the clock on the dresser, “and it’s only 10 after.”

She was quick, though not as quick as him. Before she knew it, he was gone, the pillow from her bed landing on the floor where he once stood with a thud as she vowed to get him back at some point.

——————-

Despite Petra’s ‘late start,’ she and Levi had managed to start their preparations for the shop as planned. Levi took to making sure everything more or less gleamed while the shop filled with the warm scent of baking biscuits.

Time seemed to pass quickly, and with each passing second, that bubbling feeling of nervousness came over Petra once again. In just a few moments, they would open thee shop doors to the public for the first time.

“Are you ready?” Levi asked, standing a few feet beside Petra as he wiped his freshly washed hands on a towel.

“I- well…I’ve no choice but to be.”

Levi hummed in acknowledgement, folding the towel over a hanging bar and walking towards the shop’s front door. He placed a hand on Petra’s shoulder as he passed behind her, giving it a gentle squeeze. He understood. But he also knew what she was capable of. After all, a few old biddies coming in for morning tea was nothing compared to the war she had lived through. The war which she saw to the end and survived.

He tuned the lock on the front door, propping it open with a door stopper and set out a wooden sign Petra had decorated a few days before, indicating that HumaniTea was open for business.

No sooner had Levi turned his back and made his way to the counter again, it seemed that those biddies he thought of just moments before had trickled in, eager to put their long noses into the shop for something to gossip about later.

“My, it smells heavenly in here,” one of the older women spoke.

“Clean as well; certainly more of a refreshing look compared to the ale house here before,” another commented.

Petra looked to Levi, who stood beside her with his arms folded, leaning against the back work countertop. She gave him a quick, half smile, drinking up enough confidence just by looking at him before turning towards the women and smiling wider.

“Welcome to HumaniTea.”

Her voice was warm and melodious, able to melt any frozen heart that had the fortune of witnessing such a tune.

“Tell me about this shop, young lady,” one of the group of four spoke, standing closest to the counter while the others continued to hobble their way in.

“Well, it’s a tea shop,” she started, a slight and subtle clearing of Levi’s throat he was somewhat amused by her obvious response. Of course, she had no intentions of being rude to their first potential customers, and with a genuine smile she continued.

“There are plenty of different varieties to choose from, many imported from outside the walls.”

A hum of interest sounded from one of the women, two others listening as they squinted their weathered eyes to read the selections, while the fourth kept her focus on Levi.

“You can either sit in the shop while we brew tea for you to drink here, or you can buy leaves to take home.”

Another hum, and this time a different woman spoke, “Do you own this shop, dear? It seems like quite a feat for such a young woman.”

Scratching her cheek, Petra turned her gaze from the women to Levi, “Actually, it’s-“

“Co-owner; we manage the shop together,” Levi cut in, “would you like to order some tea?”

Nosy women were some of his least favorite people to deal with. Nosy women were all he ever dealt with at the height of his military career. They were unavoidable, that much he knew; and he’d have been a moron to think this business would not attract such women these. So for the sake of the business, he’d muster just enough politeness rather than telling them in his crude fashion just where they could stick their long beaks.

“What would you recommend?”

“Well,” this time Petra cut in, “my personal favorite is black tea. And we have plenty of different blends of that, though the last week or so I’ve been drinking a cup of green tea in the mornings. It’s refreshing, energizing, and a good way to start the day, I think.”

The four women began to lightly chatter amongst each other, and within a few moments, one of them spoke again.

“Very well; we’ll each have that then.”

Petra beamed, excited for their first sale.

“We’ll get started on that then. Pick a table and we’ll have it brought out to you,” she said, before turning towards Levi to speak, brows raising in surprise as she hadn’t even noticed the couple that had come in, now discussing their orders with him.

--------------

The day had kept them busy, a handful of townsfolk passing through just for a look, while majority of their visitors came for both a look and a taste of what HumaniTea had to offer. It was nice, Petra had thought, to see so many different faces, and yet she realized just how exhausting meeting so many new people could be. Exhausting, but exciting to see just how well their first day had gone, and how many people left satisfied and eager to return another day.

It was nearly 3pm, closing time for their shop, their last customer, another older woman, paying for the tea and biscuits she had just finished.

“You look quite familiar, young man, have we met before?” she asked Levi, handing over a few bills and coins.

“No, don’t think so,” he responded, placing her payment inside the till.

The woman looked him over a few long moments, sure she had met or even seen him previously, though could not place her finger on where. Her eyes glanced from him, to Petra, and with a smile, she spoke again.

“Your wife is lovely, and has excellent taste with her tea recommendations.”

“Ah-ha, I-oh no, ma’am, I’m not his wife,” she managed to quickly say, her cheeks hot and heart thumping in her chest. Dumbfounded at the woman’s words, she was unsure whether to be flattered by her compliments or embarrassed by her assumptions.

“Oh, what a shame. You’d make for such a lovely couple. Perhaps there’s hope for the future,” the woman said with curl of the corner of her lips and a hint of amusement in her eyes as she left the shop.

 After what seemed like an eternity (granted, the woman did walk with a cane and very slow at that,) a cough sounded from the raven haired former captain, snapping Petra out of her mortified trance.

She turned to him, face still flushed and unsure of what to say.

“I-“

“Let’s start cleaning up,” Levi said, walking towards the entrance to bring in their sign and lock the door.

Petra sighed, picking up a cleaning cloth for the tables to start working, too preoccupied with her own embarrassment to consider that perhaps he was just as equally.

Silently they worked, washing and wiping and prepping for the next day. It had taken them another hour and a half, but once again, the shop was in the same pristine shape it had been the moment they opened the doors that morning. Petra’s embarrassment was long gone, instead now replaced by the joy and sense of accomplishment that came from a successful first day.

“We did it,” she spoke, looking out the shop’s window as Levi counted out the money in the till.

“We did.”

“Everyone seemed to really like the shop as well.”

“They did.”

Silence fell over them once again, Petra watching fondly as a young boy walked past the shop, hands clutching the side of his mother’s skirt.

“I know this was only the first day but…I’m really glad I came with you,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips.

He did not respond, continuing to count out the day’s earnings. Petra remained at the window, watching, a few minutes passing before finally turning away, stepping back in slight surprise to see he had finished counting and had started to approach her.

“Do you…” he started, taking pause in his words for a moment and tucking a leather pouch in his hands under his arm.

“I know we had already planned for dinner tonight but if you wanted, we could go somewhere…nicer than the pub…”

Petra bit her bottom lip before curling it into a grin.

“Captain…are you asking me out on a date?”

“Call it whatever you want, just give me a damn answer.”

She chuckled. Clearly he had used up all of his patience for the day.

But it was not just the attention of Levi and Petra that the shop seemed to grab, as each day that brought the opening of the shop closer, more and more townsfolk and merchants began to stop by, peeking into the windows, and talking amongst each other about it. Even a trip to the market was not had without hearing some sort of buzz about 'HumaniTea,' the first shop of its kind to appear in Trost. Surely, there were other tea shops, a handful to be found in different parts of the district; but they were simply merchants, sellers of the leaves, not preparers. Should one desire a cup of tea, the only place that would serve it was the pub, and even then the quality of their black tea was quite lacking (in Levi's opinion.)

 "Captain, all the ceramics have been washed and stacked away," Petra spoke, stepping through the doorway that connected the shop's kitchen to the back of the counter.

 Levi spared a side glance to her, silent as he finished writing in a leather bound notebook.

 "Good," he said after a moment, making a quick notation before continuing, "and the silverware?"

 "Spick and span."

 "Serving trays?"

 "You can see them shining a mile away!"

 "And the Ass For?"

 "The- hmm?" the young woman blinked, caught off guard by his questioning. Her brows furrowed in confusion, Petra scratching her neck, eyes searching the storefront as though it would help her recall him mentioning it before.

 "Er...what's an ‘Ass For’?"

 Levi set down the pencil, closing the book before turning to her. His face was stoic, as usual, lips pressed together in a fine line as though all interest in the conversation had been lost. He kept his gaze locked with hers, and after a few, painfully long moments, his lips parted.

 "For taking a shit, of course."

 Her eyes widened slightly, his response taking just as long to process in her mind as it did for him to say it. 

 And suddenly, it clicked.

 A chortle erupted from her, perhaps less so due to the joke itself and more so from the deadpan expression on his face upon delivery, a staple in the man's sense of dry humor.

She could not fight the urge to smile, and as she finally settled from her giggles, he had turned away to take care of something else, as though the exchange had never happened.

"I think we're just about ready to get this shit show on the road," he said, reaching out to a tea canister in one of the cubbies, giving it a slight turn so that its label was in line with the others. 

 Petra nodded, though remained silent as she watched him, his hand resting on his chin as his gaze flickered over the other canisters.  

 "We'll take the day tomorrow to rest, and open the following day," he deemed the other tea canisters in good order, turning to Petra again and continuing, "besides, a storm's supposed to pass through. I can't imagine anyone would want to go out in that shit."

 The two retired to their flat above the shop for the rest of the evening. Despite the lengthening days as warmer weather approached, the sky grew dark as grey clouds covered the sun.

They kept supper simple, lightly conversing over their meal though unbothered by the bouts of silence that seemed to fall over them. It was not that they had nothing to talk about, but rather the weariness of a tiring day of work hanging over them. Sleep was something Petra looked forward to, and though he did not get much of it, something Levi would welcome kindly.

 It was not long after supper, clean up, and a bit of reading did Petra bid her captain a good night, careful to close any windows that were open to prevent rain from coming in once the storm started. 

 She stifled a yawn as she changed into her night clothes, gazing out to the dimly lit streets as the oil lamps flickered in the wind. She could only hope it would not rain all of tomorrow, eager to have one more afternoon on the town before opening up shop. Petra yawned again, crawling into bed and falling fast asleep.

 Lightning flashed, and with it came an ear piercing scream. 

Levi jolted from the chair he slept in, eyes wide and alert now as he quickly followed the 'no's' and pleading coming from the main bedroom.

 "Petra-" he called out to the young woman as he entered, gaze landing on the sight of her standing in the corner, grasping what looked to be a broom handle, holding it to defend herself.

 "Captain-We-we're under attack!" she said, her voice shaky, on edge, as though terrified for her very life.

 Levi took a step forward, the young woman gripping the handle of the broom tighter.

 "Petra- it's a storm-"

 Another bolt of lightning burst across the sky, a loud roll of thunder sounding, their flat seeming as though it was shaking from the reverberation. 

 Fear completely overcame her features, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried, and failed, to back even further into the corner to brace herself for the oncoming 'attack.'

 "Captain- what are your orders?!"

 "Petra-" he said to her again, crossing the room towards her, her voice sounding again in panic before he could continue to speak.

"Captain, your orders?!"

"Petra, you’re safe; there’s no danger."

"Captain, please- they're coming- they-"

Both hands clamped down onto her shoulders, Levi forcing her to look away from the stormy window and at him.

"Petra Ral- stand down!"

 Her eyes were confused, pleading, glossy as tears continued to fill them.

"C-captain-" her voice was breaking, the young woman continuously trying to look past him to the outside world. But he kept her still, his voice firm as he spoke to her.

"I need you to calm down. And stop looking out the damn window. 

He kept his eyes focused on hers, to give her some reality to grasp onto and come to surface from this fit she was drowning in.

Her breath was shaky, heart erratic, eyes closing shut tightly as another flash of lightning brightened the room. 

“Petra…” he spoke again, the commanding tone now replaced with one more gentler, one only reserved for the woman before him. “The threat of titans is gone…you were with me when Erwin declared our freedom, when the last of them were taken down…”

She took in a long, deep breath, holding it a moment before exhaling. Slowly she nodded her head, trying to pull herself together.

Levi loosened his grip of her shoulders in favor of bringing a hand to her back, leading her towards the bed. He sat her down before moving towards the window to pull it shut and draw the curtains, his best attempt at shutting out the storm outside.

“Stay…”

A brow quirking, he turned towards her, Petra now in thee bed, clutching one of the pillows to her chest, “…please, don’t leave.”

He looked her over, expression hard to read though mostly shadowed by the darkness of the room. He stood there a few moments, the floor creaking when he finally moved. Without a word, he sat on the bed, back against the headboard.

“Try to get some sleep…I promise I won’t leave…”

Petra nodded, returning the pillow behind her. Shifting on the bed and without any thought, she grabbed onto him, burying her face into his side to shut the rest of the world out.

A sigh escaped his nose, attempting to relax though unable to shake thee feeling her felt in the pit of his gut. He scratched the back of his neck, glancing down to the woman before putting his arm around her.

Petra's eyes peeled open in the early hours of the morning, heavy with fatigue, a dull ache in her head making itself known. She blinked her eyes a few times with the hope of shaking off her grogginess, as well as to help her eyes adjust to the darkness as dawn had yet to break. But it was a glance to the side that seemed to aid the most in her effort to wake. 

 Her breath hitched at the sight of the man beside her, and it was then she had realized the weight of his hand resting atop her.

She didn't say anything, she didn't move him, she didn't bother trying to wake him up; after all, why would she? 

The memories of the night before, though clouded, began to become visible through the shroud of her dissociation. She could not help the embarrassment that started to well in her chest, the ridiculousness of her actions, screams, beliefs that in their free world, in the world they fought so hard to have, that their enemy had returned. 

 "How do you feel?"

Petra gasped, eyes darting to Levi who stared right back at her as though he had not been asleep just moments ago.

She swallowed, averting her gaze to the blanket on the bed, covering her but tucked underneath him.

"I-...I'm so ashamed from how I behaved, and to make you have stayed in here-"

"You didn't make me do anything, Petra."

He shifted on the bed, sitting up and bringing his legs over the edge, his back facing her.

Petra opened her mouth to speak again, but he continued before she could say anything, on purpose she might have thought if he had been facing her…or perhaps he just knew her well enough.

"And there's no reason to feel ashamed, we all have our shitty demons."

He stood, drawing the window’s curtain aside, the beginning glow of dawn entering the room.

“Thank you…” she whispered, tears stinging the corners of her eyes, though she did not allow them to fall.

Standing there silently, he looked out the window, as though contemplating her gratitude. Levi turned from the window, making his way towards the door.

“Get dressed; the bakery will be opening soon.”

She hummed in response, pulling the covers off to get ready for the day. In all honesty, she had no desire to even get out of the bed, still drained from the night before. But despite it being their day off before the opening of the shop, there were a handful of household errands needed to be done, and she knew he had no plans of leaving her by herself.