chamomile valley // snk levi

thirty one.

CHAPTER XXXI. Savina Juniper 

year 2020.

The sight of you coming home to the apartment without a single stain or hurt made Hange breathe out enough air to blow away the clouds and thunderstorms from the sky by next year. You were safe, that's what matters; hopefully, your affiliation with Hange and the others wouldn't become the reason you were not.

But when you arrived, the first things out your lips were, "I need every file about the victims of the murderer, starting from the botanist on scene."

"What?" Hange gasped in a fake tone of hurt, "No honey, I'm home or dearest, oh, how I missed you so. We already examined that months ago if you haven't recalled and nothing but a bunch of numbers and letters came of it."

"It can't be based on coincidence always." you paced around, "The assigned botanist is nowhere to be found, the cult coming here, the date cover up—too much variables with no exact equation."

Hange stopped you effectively by holding you on the shoulders and staring at you in the eyes, "This is getting out of hand. You haven't been yourself in a while, you're even starting to sound like me."

"Why don't we take a small break? We can have and relax, you know, I bet you just missed having tea in Levi's is all."

Your eyes widen in distress as Hange guides you to sit, "I can't have tea, I just had coffee. Too much caffeine in a bizarre state can kill me any moment, I can literally die. But if the killer finds me and I die with or without them stabbing me, they would just say caffeine. There's no time for rest and recreation, we have a killer on the loose."

By no, it was safe to assume that panicking now is the better option instead of panicking during the similar meltdown by Doctor Jaeger a while ago. And with Hange's hand on your shoulder, both of yours gripping tight on the bag of files you haven't let go once even as your knuckles whiten.

"Oi, what happened?"

If your eyes can't get any bigger, you could've sworn it had fallen from its sockets as seconds begin to pass the day as if they were participating in a racing competition. For the second time this week, your eyes meet stone cold grey without any hint of warmth or death within.

Hange slapped you at the back and said your name with much enthusiasm, "Just the regular midlife meltdown in the middle of a murder mystery."

The same grey orbs blinked once before turning his back on you two, letting Hange drag you to a table as Levi fixed you both a drink. You could faintly hear the bickering of the two as you soak up the place.

"You have been waiting to use those words for a long time?"

"This is a wage of war towards the outwit-er, it must be done."

It hadn't changed much since the last time you walked inside the walls of the tea shop. Although it has been a while, you still remember it in the back of your hand; each detail and speck of dust that was the hardest to get rid of, the slowly descend in the numbers of teacup handles in their supposed teacup. It was as if it was still the way you left it... the way you left.

Another thing to notice was Eren and Mikasa's surprising presence just because as per Eren,"School is cancelled for today and Mister Levi is alone here since you've been busy but my brother said I can stay as long as we wait for him to pick us up later before night."

Eren was a sweet young boy, you can sense it by his unmasked caring and naivety that pierced your heart as if a poisoned arrow doubled the pain when it went straight through you. Since you've been busy? What a load of horse crap (that you deserve). You definitely didn't tell anyone about why you haven't come back whilst Levi can assume just as much.