𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

LXVI - A Weeping Clouds Purpose

I hate you, but in the best possible way.

***

The next morning, the rain was on and off. The cobble streets and stone buildings all glistened with the clouds tears, the sun coming and going every hour or so before it was covered once again.

I spent the morning sitting in bed, a pillow propped up behind me, my blankets pulled over my lap and a book held in hand, listening to the rain outside with the window to the room shifted open ever so slightly. An overcoming peace flooded within me, no one disturbing the moment as my eyes flicked from one word to the next. At some point, I did hear Hange or Eren dragging their feet down the hallway, groaning and muttering something under their breath about a headache that pounded in their skull.

I had showered after dawn, delighting in the bathrooms being all to myself before other girls in the building decided it were their time to cleanse themselves of whatever grime they had collected on their skin.

Zion and Reece both tormented me as I entered the library the night prior, nagging at me about the happenings of what had happened on the roof with Levi. I wave them off, overwhelmed by the sudden interrogation without being able to even smell the air tainted by books, both old and new. We sat and talked for most of the night, about nothing in particular. Just like the good old times, though we were missing one person.

My dinner with Levi was tonight, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. But was there a reason for me to be so nervous over something as innocent as a late birthday dinner? I lean back with a sigh, the book resting on my lap as I stare across the room in wonder. Is this dinner really just a dinner? I brush the thought off, finally bringing myself to get out of bed and fix myself a cup of tea in the mess hall.

The air had a nip to it, so I drag a blanket off the bed with me and securely wrap it around my figure before bounding out of the room and into the corridors.

Headquarters was quiet. So quiet that I was sure that any sound I made was going to ricochet off the hallway walls, even my own heartbeat. The trip to the mess hall was uninterrupted, the kitchen just as empty as the hallways of the building. Of course, the kettle was already sitting on some hot embers; a sign of Levi's presence, or, at least it was most likely him.

I absentmindedly fixed myself up a cup of tea and seat myself at the table that sat in the centre of the hall, bringing the blankets further over my shoulders, slowly shrinking into the warmth. I hum quietly, listening to the rain outside as I look out the window. I felt at peace. Normal.

"Morning L/N." A voice greets making me jump a little. I turn to meet Erwin's gaze, his figure standing at the doorway as he sent a small smile. I nod in acknowledgment, watching as he lumbered across the hall towards the kitchen. Averting my gaze, I stare at the hot brown liquid in my cup, the deeper it goes the more dark it gets. And for some reason, like a lot of things lately, that reminded me of the raven haired captain. He had secrets, and a lot of them at that. And who knows how dark each of them are?

"Get any sleep?" The commander asked. I looked up at him as he proceeded to take a seat across from me, a cup of what smelt like coffee in his hand. I shrug, reminded of the near sleepless night I had the night before.

"What I could." I reply honestly. I hear him sigh a little in response.

"You need to sleep, Y/N." He deadpans. "I can't have one of my best soldiers sleep deprived for the next mission."