Categories > Anime/Manga > Attack on Titan > Bittersweet Roses

Chapter 5

by Amaya-san 0 reviews

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Category: Attack on Titan - Rating: R - Genres: Drama,Romance - Warnings: [!] [V] - Published: 2018-09-02 - 1541 words - Complete

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Steam rolled out of the bathing area, overflowing from the curls that twisted up from the tub. Lia stepped out of the basin and began to rapidly dry herself down. The water she left behind was a dark, murky brown from the mud that had caked on her skin during the earlier training session.


She donned a long skirt and loose blouse before attempting to detangle and braid her long tresses. After a few attempts that resulted in winces, she gave up and let it hang below her waist. I look like a wet rat, she thought to herself as she pulled the plug on the side of the tub to drain the tainted contents.


She had been forced out of the mess hall and had once again ended up eating alone outside. Apparently, people did not want to consume sweaty soil with their dinner. It was not as though she'd had much of a choice; food was available at its designated time, and if someone missed it, they went hungry.


No time was wasted after her stomach was full; she was as eager to wash up as everyone else was to get away from the filth. She had retreated immediately to the baths. Now she felt worlds better, albeit drenched. Her hair had shared its wet contents with her blouse, which was now clinging to every nook and cranny of her chest and back.


Lia sighed, resenting having chosen white, and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. It was a hot and balmy night, and layers weren't exactly a friendly idea. Quickly, she began to shuffle her way to her possessions in the other room in order to pluck a black blouse from them and change.


On her way, she spotted a crescent moon in the sky. A silhouette was perched on the roof, gazing at the very same thing. She frowned in curiosity and finished the trip to the barracks. The blanket was discarded with much relief, and she changed into some more appropriate attire. Once finished, she headed for the kitchen on tiptoes. Everyone seemed to be asleep aside from the mystery sky-watcher and her.


Hastily boiling a bit of water, she made two cups of tea and started her way to the top. This seemed easier in her mind than it actually was to accomplish. How did they get up there? she puzzled, standing precariously on a windowsill. Licking her lips in concentration, she raised the teacups cautiously and set them on the roof. Then, she scooted a ways down on the ledge, grabbed the edge of the building, and hoisted.


With a small vocal squeak, she lost her grip and felt her hands slide. Her legs swung wildly on empty air, searching for a way to catch footing. She looked down and considered the drop – two stories. It was possible to land without breaking something, should she be unable to find her way back to the window.


Suddenly, a hand closed around her wrist and she was lifted upward. Her feet found a solid barrier, and she doubled over in relief, panting. Clumsiness should have kept her from attempting something stupid like climbing onto a roof, but she had wanted to be nice and surprise a teammate with tea; hopefully making a new friend in the process. Lia looked up to identify the roof shadow.


"Augh!" she groaned in disappointment. "If I would have known..."


"You make about as much noise as a herd of horses," Levi grumbled. "At least you made yourself useful." He plucked a teacup from where she left them before retreating to his spot.


"At least you made yourself useful," she mocked, chewing on her tongue. After the day's events, Lia had at last concluded what everyone else already knew: Levi Ackerman was a butthead. She swiped up her own cup of tea and grudgingly sat down beside him. It wasn't as though she looked forward to being an open target to criticism, but she had to be honest with herself that she wasn't getting down without help.


Crickets sang in the background as the pair sat quietly and gazed at the dark buildings beyond headquarters. Lia looked heavenward and lost her breath, frozen by the vast number of stars twinkling down at them. Without anything in her peripheral vision but more sky, she felt almost as though she could be swallowed by space. It looked to be within touching distance, and she nearly stretched out an arm in amazement.


"You got a reason for being awake and bothering me some more?" came a lazy bit of speech, snapping her from her thoughts. She blinked a few times, bringing herself back to the present.


"Well it took a while to remove all of the dirt left over from your... shall we say modest performance today?" she responded dryly. "Of course, I had to clean my uniform as well."


"Try not to fall down so much next time then," he threw back. Her jaw hung agape in revulsion.


"Do you ever have anything nice to say?" Lia watched his eyebrows rise as he considered this.


"What good would it do?" Slowly, he turned his head to appraise her reaction. Her fussing rather amused him, when it wasn't obnoxious. She'd never be able to tell, of course, with that lack of expression. "Your hair is down," he observed out loud.


Lia sputtered, unsure of how to respond to the quick shift of conversation. After a pregnant pause, she gave a toss of her head, throwing said mane to one side and out of her face. It was decided he wasn't about to get away with that one.


"Yes it is. Now what do you mean kindness doesn't do any good? Love moves the world," she finished dramatically, a light hue on her cheekbones. His eyes flicked across her face and he sighed, turning forward and away from her.


"Does it save lives to sugarcoat shit? Will you be more likely to survive if I tell you that you're cute when you blush, or when you're reading or drawing and your tongue pokes out? Are you going to change the world based on my observation that your hair shimmers like moonlight when it's not in that stupid braid?"


Lia's breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded in her chest. She felt certain it would break free, and that he could hear it. Heat rose rapidly up her face as she watched him, letting his words wash over her, all the while trying not to think of the goose pimples crawling across her skin. His blue optics shot back in her direction as he so faithfully was about to ruin the moment.


"None of it helps. You're going to live longer if I remind you that you're a clumsy nothing with two left feet who would have been better off as a house wife." Lia's eyes flashed and she stood up, face now red with fury. She threw the tea in his face and stomped to the other side of the roof, not thinking about the sleeping – or now awake – residents beneath. Levi sputtered and dried himself with a handkerchief.


At a distance, he could see her form pacing back and forth in agitation. Her arms waved wildly about, and he could faintly hear her voice, as though she were arguing with herself. Unable to comprehend why she didn't just go to bed, he started toward her before stopping and thinking better of it.


However, as a few onlookers began to file out of the cabin in search of what woke them, he felt further irritation that Lia was making such a scene. This seemed to occur to her, because she very reluctantly appeared next to him. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.


"Ernerhep," she mumbled quietly.


"What?" he asked a bit too aggressively. She sighed heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.


"I. Need. Help," she admitted begrudgingly. "I can't get down on my own." Levi stood and walked to the edge.


"Come on then." She obediently walked forward, steadying herself on the edge and reaching out for him blindly. Without a word, he pushed her shoulder lightly and watched her go over. She squealed and landed in a patch of bushes below.


"Not funny!" she yelled.


"I helped," he responded with a shrug, suppressing a smirk as Kikka, having witnessed two of these incidents, stared up at him in obvious horror. She moved forward and grabbed Lia's arm to help her out. When the shrubbery branches were pulled from her hair and she was upright, Lia furiously began to stomp away.


"I think you may be better off finding better company," Kikka confided quietly, following her. "I'm not sure it's healthy or safe to be spending much more time with that guy. Levi is pretty sketchy as it is, but you seem to keep getting hurt..."


Lia huffed and hastily removed a bug from her locks. As much as she would like to accept that advice, she was stuck with him for the time being. Her entire career with the military, and her life, depended entirely upon Levi's willingness to assist her. The thought made her stomach turn; but was it butterflies, or disgust?
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