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I slowly attempt to sneak away from the couch without disturbing the movie. I still feel Eren's eyes on me after all this time. The tea will be helpful to aid in calming my nerves. I haven't had tea in quite a while. I remember when I would have tea every Wednesday. I enjoyed it.
It soon occurred to me that it was causing digestive problems, and tea day Wednesdays were put to a stop. I'm sure one cup won't hurt. I'm quite looking forward to it.
As I reach out for the tea, I feel a hand slap mine. I withdraw my hand, surprised.
"Tch, brat."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Tch, brat."
I watch as the short man snatched the tea angrily from the counter and turned to stare at me.
"Could I just have one tea bag-"
"Tch, brat."
"Okay, can you stop calling me that, it's quite rude-"
"Tch, brat."
"That's it, listen here asshole-"
"Woah woah woah."
I look back to notice Hange rushing towards the short man guarding the tea tin.
"Sorry about that y/n. Levi, I'm sure y/n could have one bag, right?"
"Tch, brat."
"I know how much you like your tea Levi, but if you could just spare a singular bag, I'll be sure to buy more for you tomorrow."
"..."
I watch the man reach into tin and carefully pick out a specific tea bag, as if they were all slightly different from each other. He cautiously placed it in Hange's hand and looked me dead in the eyes.
"Oh that? I apologize about him. He does that to everyone, even me. It's the only thing we've ever heard come out of his mouth. Unfortunately."
"Are you serious?"
The people here are weird. Like, really weird. It's making me a little creeped out. And if that weren't enough already, Eren hasn't taken his eyes off me since I woke up. Every move I make is being watched closely.
"Yea. We've tried to bribe him with stuff to get him to say anything different at all. Nothing has worked, as you can tell."
Hange hands me the tea bag carefully in front of Levi, to make sure he knows that it's being well taken care of.
"Well, uh, thank you Levi for the tea bag. It's uh, very generous of you, to do something like that."
"What do you say Levi? Say, your welcome!"
"Tch, brat."
"Ah, well I tried."
The man turns and slowly walks away, his eyes never leaving the tea bag in my hand until he finally reached the couch.
"It seems like he really doesn't want me to have this. If it's that big of a deal, I don't mind giving it back."
"I appreciate the concern, but once someone touches it, he won't take it back. He's very attached to his tea. It's rare to see him give away any, but now you are the proud owner of Jimothy!"
"Jimothy?"
"That's the name of the tea bag he gave you. He names them sometimes. Jimothy was his least favorite one. Sometimes I hear him yelling, 'tch, brat!' at it at 3am. Guess Jimothy caused some trouble for him."
"Oh."
I slide the tea bag carefully in my pants pocket.
"You aren't going to drink him- I mean it. You aren't going to drink it?"
"Uh, I'm not thirsty anymore."
"Oh, alright. I'm going to go sit back down then."
There's no way in God's green earth that I'm going to kill this man's tea bag friend and drink it right in front of him.
I'm utterly creeped out by the fact that it even has a name in the first place. What should I even do with this tea bag now? Make it a bed and let it live with me? Maybe I'll just throw it away or flush it down the toilet when nobody's looking. Goodbye Jimothy.
No, I can't do that.
"Hey. What's in your pocket. Give it. Now."
How perfect. Eren's here.
"Eren, it's just a tea bag-"
"Kay, so give me the teabag, go sit on the couch, and eat your food."
"Okay.. I'll go eat. Just don't take the teabag, it's a gift.
"Oh yea? A gift? From whom?"
"Levi gave it so me. Or more so Hange forced Levi to give it to me. You know this, you were watching. Why is this such a big deal to you?"
"...Fine. Keep the stupid teabag. Now go eat."
"Could you treat me like a normal being-"
"Did you hear what I said? Go fetch your food, and eat it like a good doggy, got it y/n? Maybe you'll get a treat if you behave."
"I don't want your shitty treats."
I turn to leave when my wrist is grabbed suddenly, and I'm yanked back.
He leans down slightly, whispering in my ear.
"Watch your tone, pet. Do it again and I'll throw you out in the streets."
I keep quiet and wait for my hand to be released, slightly biting my lip. His grip hurts.
"Good."
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