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.
It was Christmas day a few days after and by new habit, you looked through the telescope in the bright winter morning. You didn't bother checking Levi's way, knowing that the sliding door made of glass by his balcony was closed with a note attached Stop peeping through that spyglass, you pervert. Somehow you can feel in your bones that this was going to be a good day to you.
You never knew how or why it came to adoration, it wasn't like you actually celebrated Christmas this happily before or celebrated it at all. Somehow it just came to you like a giant tooth that was dug up from the ground. Was it from the gifts? The Christmas spirit? You were walking towards the tea shop to celebrate, as if you weren't in the tea shop every day, when you realized. Seeing Levi with his arms crossed and bored expression, being threatened to be tickled so that he can smile for once on his own birthday, the 25th of December.
By the time you and Hange arrived, the tea shop was a mess. You absolutely loved it.
The sign by the door showed that the shop was closed but the door was unlocked, making Hange shove it open and immediately demanded for the birthday boy's presence. There were buntings all around, some were still hanging, some were already on the ground. The tables were still there but the chairs were somehow in a circle everywhere. There were a few confetti scattered around, definitely something that shouldn't have happen before the actual party started and was maybe the reason why Levi was too early for his party.
Levi was sitting on the front center of the room, still had his arms crossed with a party hat on his head. You knew most people who were there and those who were about to come, somehow surprised to see Levi amass a few more friends than you could imagine despite his sour attitude.
It wasn't your first time to attend a Christmas party but it was your first time for Levi's birthday. You understood that he wouldn't really like anything to do with people not being as miserable as he shows to be. But in one of your stares to thin air as people around you were making fools of themselves, you were certain you could see a smile fluttering on his lips once a while. The thing that annoys you, however, was the time he caught you staring and stopped his upward lip turns after.
By one in the afternoon, someone already had the bright idea to give out alcohol to the adults on empty stomachs. Hange, being the loving husband figure if your husband was an alien, gave you continuous shots of liquid courage which you kept passing on to someone else, letting that someone else get drunk in your stead. The last time you drank, you felt as old as your reborn prune grandparents, and that feeling isn't something you'd want to feel ever again.
By three, they had pulled people to dance with one another. A sea of black, blonde, and brunettes waved on the space. Clearly drunk, Mike, Nanaba, and Hange tried to pull Erwin to dance with Marie while Levi just stood guard during the situation. By five, people were sobering up, needing to spend Christmas nights with their families who lived within the small town.
A few days will pass after this event and it will be the New Year. Somehow you still can't believe it's going to be three years since you've first step foot in Aelindr. It wasn't supposed to be as long as you intended but it didn't seem like it had happened just a few days ago. And here you are, drinking a bit of wine that made you reminisce on your time in this town as if you'll be leaving tomorrow.
"Hey." you turned around to see Petra with a smile and sat beside you. A cup was also on her hands although it contained water, unlike your colored liquid. You returned her hey with a smile and continued drinking, "I have to ask you a favor."
You took your cup from your lips, "Yeah?"
Petra sighed, "I'll be leaving after the New Years."
Squad Levi, at least what they opt to call themselves for Levi, was leaving town to pursue their careers outside the town of Aelindr. And no one can blame them. Petra had devoted her life to Levi, as did the Eld, Gunther, and Oluo as they helped him around the shop. But this things are bound to happen when they listen to the beat of their own drums. They were still teenagers turning to young adults by the year after this, you keep forgetting about that. It was too early for them to settle down in a small town when they have dreams as big as an apple.
You gave your congratulations and wishes for safety and success, to be passed on to the rest of them. She accepted and offered to clink your plastic cup with hers. The rest of the squad was with Levi, probably explaining to him what Petra's explaining to you right now. It was probably just your mind being a bit fuzzy from the alcohol when you thought of Levi's frown a bit slightly lower than its usual size. You can't blame him, a lot of people would feel the same as he does. But it wasn't like they wouldn't be able to see each other after.
"I know Levi has problems interacting with people." Petra laid her cups on her lap, "But he needs someone to help him. I thought we'd be able to help him until... forever. I didn't think forever can take so much of my time and my father said I should pursue my own dreams."
She added, "I'm joining Eld and the others to outside town, we'll be very busy for a few days and we'll leave by the second of January. Is it alright if you help Levi?"
It was relatively easy for you to understand, but to execute would be a painted image hard to recreate. Asking you was probably the first step in their instruction and you couldn't object. Your apartment was close enough and finding someone to continue after you wouldn't be hard enough to do. All one had to do was be good in cleaning like Levi and dealing with Levi or being like in Levi in general. On second thought, it might be hard to find the one. Not even Gaston can pull off a Levi satisfying clean.
But your problems can be resolved for another time. Right now, you had a friend to help, "Sure, he should be fine with that."
"Any advice?" you asked which made Petra laugh.
For her it wasn't really hard to maintain what they ever had because she proved herself to him a long time ago. What did she even have to prove? And what were you to prove? Is there like a contest of whose best at cleaning at the fastest time to be Aelindr's next top cleaner? These questions just make you question your decisions more and more.
A hand lands on your shoulder that pulled you to a hug. Petra whispered with her face buried on your soft coat, "I'm sure you'll do great. Thank you."
"Good luck out there." you hugged her tight before pulling away, hands gripping her shoulders, "Take care of each other. Don't forget to eat your meals thrice a day."
Petra gives you another hug, like the sweet girl she is, and lets go after a solid 30 seconds after. She stood up, waving goodbye to you. You watched as she went out and met the others and didn't waste a second to start bantering with Oluo. You chuckle at the way they greet one another, like an old married couple just as everyone told them.
Other people were leaving as well, with most of them complaining about having to take ibuprofen before continuing home. You could also see Erwin for the first time with small tint of red on the cheeks, not because of the alcohol, but because of the woman he's been enamored with since the morning. Hange was already drunk walking to your apartment and you'd rather not tend to drunk Hange because it wasn't something you'd want to encounter.
Besides, you have to formally start your apprenticeship in Levi's tea shop and what's best but to do it on the (supposed) best day of his life.
You stood up and began to collect all the plastic cups on each table with a garbage bag before moving onto wiping the tables. Levi walked in, eyes widen a bit seeing you as if he saw a goose chasing a kid with a knife. He had an apron on and a white bandana was covering his head and mouth, holding a broom and a dustpan. You looked at him back and he just shook his head.
After you were finished with a table, you stood up and salute. You stated your name, "Reporting for duty."
"Get your ass out of here." he tried to shoo you with his broom and but you stood your ground.
"M' Not leaving." you went back with cleaning, "You'll be stuck with me for longer. Consider this a birthday gift."
He gave you his usual blank stares and went to your direction. With a tch, he gave your head soft pats before sweeping behind you. Thank you, it probably meant. So you uttered the same syllable before continuing to another table, letting yours mean you're welcome or somewhere along the lines.
Nothing might be telling you to stay but nothing's also telling you to go. Maybe you'll spend a lot longer in this place for a while.
☀
Just for clarification:
The tea shop Levi owns is just a shop that sells tea in china cups and where people drink. It's nothing grand in particular like tea houses in Asia or milk tea/boba shops or sells anything else other than tea. Where I'm from, we don't drink tea so I am not accustomed to tea houses or tea rooms so I went for generic and literal tea (also because I think this would be how Levi manages his tea shop).