Ordinary Hero (Attack on Titan // LeviHan)

Chapter One

When I woke up that morning, I had presumed that my day would go just as any other day would. It started out just like every day did, too. I got out of bed and prepared myself for the coming day, repeating my morning schedule like I always did. I woke up around nine, staying under the covers for a little while until I gathered the motivation to get out of bed. I took too long in the shower, making absolute sure that I washed off all of the grime from the previous day. After I had gotten myself dressed, I moved on to make myself some breakfast. I stared out the window at the bustling streets below me as I made myself a glass of hot tea. Once I had eaten my meal that consisted of leftover sausages and some toast, I sat down on the couch to relax a bit.

I kept my head turned over my shoulder, gazing down at the busy streets below my home. It was late January and winter’s cold was slowly starting to wear off, but it still hadn’t completely warmed up yet. Many people rushed by, all of them dressed in several layers of warm clothes. Occasionally, I’d find a person below me and keep my eyes on them, watching them walk along until they were out of my eyesight. I took a few slow drinks of my tea, making sure to down every drop. I stood back up from the couch and stretched, returning to the kitchen and placing my glass in the sink.

My eyes wandered up to the clock, checking the current time. It was nearing eleven in the morning, which didn’t really surprise me. I knew that I took forever with my mornings, but it hadn’t ever phased me before. I just went at me own pace, and that was completely fine by me. Even still, I wouldn’t have to go downstairs for another few hours. I considered going back into bed and catching a bit more rest, since it was Saturday night, one of my busiest business nights. In the end, I decided against it. I’d survived plenty of days on even less sleep, and I managed to get by just fine. Well, not completely fine, I might have accidentally fallen asleep on my shift, leaving my employees to carry me back upstairs and put me to bed. That only happened once, however.

Although there was plenty of time until we opened, I went on ahead and went downstairs. The entire place was empty, and it was just me inside, but I knew that in just a matter of hours, this place would be full people, laughing and drinking and just having a great time. Like always, I’d be behind the bar, preparing drinks and tending to the immediate crowd. Petra and Oluo would be running around, helping pass around the drinks. Oluo was fairly efficient on his own, so Petra would often join me behind the bar during happy hour. Eld would be behind the cash register for the majority of the evening, and Gunther would be back in the kitchen. Occasionally, if necessary, Gunther would come out of the kitchen to throw out an overly-intoxicated drunkard. I could imagine it all, just by standing in the room. It was going to be yet another busy night at our neighborhood bar.

I walked around the bar, adjusting things every-so-often. Picking up fallen chairs and tables, sweeping up broken glass from dropped drinks, and other things of that nature. I did all of my day-to-day preparation tasks with a scowl on my face, and I constantly found myself complaining to myself about something. I knew that I was in for some major clean-up duty when I decided to start my own bar, but I hadn’t suspected as much as I was currently dealing with. After I had finished rearranging things to my liking, I moved on to cleaning the room. I returned back to the room with a mop and many other cleaning supplies in hand. I scurried around, cleaning anything and everything in sight until the whole place seemed to shimmer with cleanliness. I stood back and rested my back against one of the tables, admiring my handiwork. Sadly, I knew that it would be back in the condition I found it in this morning within just a few hours of opening.

I heard the small jingle of a bell, a melodic noise that I had become extremely accustomed to – and slightly annoyed by – ever since I had installed it above the main door. I looked up to find Petra walking in through the doorway, putting her copy of the bar’s key back into the little purse she carried with her. She twisted her head around until she found me, her pale face lighting up with a big smile. “Good morning, Levi!” she greeted happily as she walked further into the room. She looked around the room, her amber eyes observing everything. “I see you’re already hard at work, do you need any help?” she questioned as she walked past me, patting me on the back.