seven.

                                    

                                          
CHAPTER VII. Mint
year 2019.
The 25th of December was something you adored in Aelindr.
Days ago, you were interrupted by Hange when a coat was thrown to you. You have given the coat Levi lent you since, washed and cleaned before he'd chew you up and spit you out. You looked at your roommate who was wrapping a scarf and taking an umbrella by the door. 
Apparently you were going to visit Hange's old house to grab something and it wasn't far from where you are now. It should've been just a few minutes but knowing the two of you together, you would want to go down the trip to memory lane of the Zoe household. You came home with nothing but a telescope which wasn't even the thing Hange was looking for.
Hange was looking for a gift and ended up leeching on the gift you're going to give Levi. The 25th was Levi's birthday, despite him saying he didn't have or want or need a birthday. A simple china teacup with blue and white all over. 
You reckon he would have anything and decide what goes to waste or recyclable's. You weren't probably the first person to give him a teacup, probably yours is the teacup he'll be using for the 343rd day of the year. Come to think of it, it would've been better if you didn't give him a gift because he didn't want one. But you're going to give him a gift because he doesn't want one.
If you're going to give him a gift, you'd at least give him something he'd use—hence the tea cup. The telescope Hange owned was supposed to be the gift thought he'd appreciate but you can't waste it on someone like Levi. Not that Levi was not worthy, you just empathized with the telescope to not serve its purpose. 
It was still in its box, untouched, and has garnered dust across time, definitely not used by Hange or anyone else. It was already a stupid decision who was more interested in what lies beneath the surface to find answers beyond the stars. Nevertheless, you couldn't keep it unused so you decided to clean it.
You had to wait until night before you could use the telescope but you set it by the small balcony beforehand. It was pretty exhilarating at first until you peeked through the small hole. Turns out it was nothing special despite what you thought at first. The stars looked dead despite its constant shine against the darkened, foggy sky. Oh look, a meteor just slipped past you.
You looked at Hange, "I don't think we'd be able to see much of the stars in this winter weather."
"Try harder." your roommate shouted with a full mouth, munching on Mike's pastry and mapping out other possible locations of dinosaur bones.
Hange never stopped with the tooth, never. That mad scientist loved that tooth too much to let it go but sometimes, you have no choice to let go of the things you love and find something else in the meantime. Your only concern is with the tooth and if you were able to obtain another, where it be staying where Erwin or anyone of them wouldn't know of it? You can't just miraculously trip on bones again and let Hange experiment it.
You continued to look through the telescope, seeing the city lights were more alive than stars up in the sky. A few more and you noticed a familiar bowl of raven hair, or what resembled to be a bowl upside down. If you didn't know better, Levi was just the neighbors' kid who'd do anything to piss you off, and you bet that's what he was also thinking of with your newly equipped telescope. He had his on-brand poker face with a teacup on a hand and his middle finger raised to you with his other. 
Levi stays on the floor above his tea shop you've come to learn just recently. You took your eyes away and covered your mouth before a laugh can wriggly its way out of it. Hange noticed this and walked to your direction, seeing Levi in the same posture since minutes ago. By now, a suppressed laugh managed to squeeze its way out of you, with Hange and Levi having a flip off. It was when Hange began shouting profanities outside your window you declared a draw between them two, hoping your neighbors wouldn't notice the small war that had just occurred.