The following day brings multiple surprises at once. It starts first thing in the morning. Hanji waits at the front door of the Sparrow again, next to Evelyn's and Norman's son with the delivery for the day. This time Hanji is not only displaying her usual matutinal deprivation of caffeine, but also fidgets with such blatant exhilaration that she can't stand still.

"What an exciting day!" she booms instead of a hello, her arms high in the air, her eyes bright behind her thick glasses.

"Good morning to you too," Levi says flatly. "Bagel?" He flips the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open' and after taking over the baked goods from Frey, he goes into the staff department to fetch his apron and boil some water. Meanwhile Hanji flops down on one of the bar stools at the counter.

"Yes, and some cake, please," she calls. "Is there still chocolate left? I know you got one for yesterday. And talking about yesterday, what happened last night?"

"Nothing," Levi calls back.

"Hm. Because I already had a very interesting meeting this morning. Two, actually. I swear, this week is full of wonders, even beyond your wildest dreams."

Lifting an eyebrow over her known predilection for exaggeration, Levi fills a small sieve with tea, Gunpowder again, and waits for her to continue. Silence, he's learnt, is always the most effective answer to get people to talk. His tactic doesn't fail now.

"Do you remember when I said I had to recruit an Instructor for our first Trainee Corps that will begin in December? Well," she pauses theatrically, clearly enjoying herself. "I found one. Or rather, he came to me."

She beams.

Levi stares back.

"You really don't know?" she asks with a dumbfounded expression. "It's Eren!"

"Eren." Stomach lurching into freefall, Levi somehow manages to keep his voice flat and his expression right with it.

"Yes. Someone told him about the position. It wasn't you? Honestly, what happened here yesterday?" Hanji digs for information.

"Nothing," Levi answers, arranging the new cakes and savoury buns in the display before serving Hanji her cake. "We drank some tea, ate dinner, and then had a game of chess. He told me about the ocean. It sounded nice."

She accepts her plate and eagerly starts with the first part of her breakfast. Her way of eating isn't even nearly as appealing as Eren's. In her case, eating means stuffing everything into her mouth as quickly as she can and smearing chocolate icing all over her chin. Levi places a napkin in front of her. She wipes her face. "Nice, huh? Interesting. Well, whatever did not happen, he apparently decided to stay. At least for now."

The kettle whistles. Glad for something to distract himself with, Levi infuses her coffee as well as his tea before tending to Hanji's bagel. His heart has begun rioting in his chest over her words. He almost anticipates her confessing she's tricked him with some sort of sick joke for whatever reason.

When he faces her again, however, she's still observing him with an expression that is so obnoxiously happy on his behalf, that Levi knows he needs to redirect her attention fast.

"What's Mikasa saying to that?" he asks, fetching the cheese from the staff department. Katinka's goat curd truly is something, and Hanji loves it on her morning bagel.

Hanji rolls her eyes. "You don't fool me you know. Anyway. She doesn't know yet, I guess. At least she hasn't come to see me yet. Jean has, though, and told me when she stays he stays too. Not if. When."

Amused by this part of the news, Levi snorts. Jean has been in love with Mikasa since he first laid eyes on her, and regarding his looks, the affection has only enhanced over the years.

"Yeah, it didn't surprise me much either. That boy is smitten beyond hope." Hanji grins again. Sensing an attempt on her side to turn things back onto his own emotional state, Levi glares back.

"It's good to have them home, isn't it?" Hanji asserts, amused and completely unperturbed by Levi's efforts to intimidate. "There are things happening here again. No more boredom." She winks. "Yes, offense."

"Please save us all from that smug face and drown it in some coffee, will you?" he advises, putting the upper half of her bagel onto the spread part, and setting it before Hanji.

She tosses the whole mug of the scalding brew into her throat in one go, and holds it out again for Levi to refill. "Yeah, I'm happy too."

"Shut up," he grumbles, but the venom he wanted to put into it, fails him completely.

Complying, she begins to eat her bagel at a more regular pace than her cake, and Levi hides his smile behind his tea. It's good today. Uplifting.

More than three weeks. A whole year. At least!

Last night comes into his mind again. Now that he knows Eren is staying, he looks forward to tonight even more. Eren said he's brought him a stone. Levi wonders how it looks like. Perhaps he should make something more than bread and cheese in case Eren is willing to stay for dinner and another game of chess? Potatoes perhaps. Fried, they are Eren's favourite, although Levi has no bacon in his pantry these days. He'll add it to his next list for Svend or ask Arne for some cured boar belly. As for tonight, perhaps Levi could make the potatoes with some sage and garlic instead. It could be nice too.

Levi's period of grace doesn't last long. After their short lapse, Hanji begins to poke, disrupting his reverie. "Did you talk about other things too, yesterday?"

"None of your business." Levi sets his cup down harder than intended.

"That's a no. Isn't it?" He doesn't have to answer before Hanji nods. "Well, while you two had a lovely evening of neither talking nor doing anything, Armin told me Eren hasn't been doing well."

Worry clenches Levi's chest instantly. "How so," he asks, frowning. Armin can be a horrible telltale at times. But in this case, Levi is grateful. If something is wrong with Eren, Levi does want to know, and Armin probably is aware of that. As their Commander, Hanji needs to know too. In addition, Levi assumes Armin was the one who told Eren about the opening Instructor position this morning. Or even directly last night, as soon as Eren arrived back at HQ.

Holding a part of her bagel aloft, Hanji shrugs. "Restless, jumpy, foul mood. Remind you of someone?"

Pointedly ignoring the side blow, Levi recalls the last evening, and Eren's behaviour. He may have been restless and jumpy at times, but there was no trace of any foul mood. Was there?

"He's also been eating badly and I quote 'having unfamiliar levels of broody and secluded mood swings, even by his standards' according to Armin and Jean," Hanji continues.

So nothing much has changed after all, aside from possibly having hurt Eren worse than he first thought. Or so Levi concludes with a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Did anything happen on the road?" he asks. Emotional outbursts or anything similar would have been bad, but could at least give him some sort of clue of what to do to fix his previous mistake.

"Not that I know of," Hanji responds with a thoughtful look.

Levi nods.

"I'll have my eye on him," Hanji promises. "At least being back to training will do him good. He is a good soldier, but he isn't much for drawing maps in endless detail type work. Being responsible for a bunch of teenagers will give him a purpose again too, I expect."

Levi hums in approval with his tea cup in front of his mouth.

They get interrupted by a family of three that steps into the Sparrow with harmonious chattering and sleepy, yet relaxed weekend eyes. They're regulars, and the little girl beams up at Levi from behind the counter, showing her gap-toothed smile that's a bit wider than it was the last time she's been here.

"Levi, Levi!" she enthuses, while Hanji greets the three of them with her own grin. "I lost another tooth. Look!"

"Good for you," he answers.

Her smile widens even more. "Can I please draw something again today? I want to draw tooth rainbows."

Whatever that is.

"If you want." Levi produces a small stack of paper and coloured pencils he has in the staff department for exactly this situation and hands it over.

"Thank you," the mother says.

Levi replies with a nod. "What can I get for you today?"

"Tooth rainbows, huh?" Hanji asks, tending back to her coffee and cake. "They sound great."

"They are," the girl say with a sincere expression and Levi smiles. Her happy chatter doesn't solve his current worries, though it is enough to ease them for the time being. He takes their orders and busies himself with preparing everything to carry it to their table.

Back at the counter, Hanji is rising from her seat. Wrapped into her coat and scarf, she searches her pockets and places the money for her breakfast on the counter.

"Thank you," Levi says.

"Always, Levi."

They both know they're not talking about the money.

The rest of the day at the Sparrow is rather quiet. Quiet enough that it fails to push the ever-present buzzing of Eren out of Levi's mind.

Looking at the drawing on his counter, Levi ponders about everything he's heard. He wants to help, but has no clue how to proceed. Should Eren continue to visit, Levi can provide a decent dinner on those days. Knowing Mikasa, Levi guesses she'll have an eye on Eren as well, especially concerning the nutrition part. Levi can try to ease Eren's moods. He laughed yesterday and smiled freely too. He even appeared relatively relaxed and calm compared to before the expedition. At least he did as soon as they were alone and fell back into a familiar procedure. Was last evening an exception? A small glimpse of what once was, or could be again? Then again, Eren has never been able to fake emotions or downright lie. On the contrary, he's never seen much sense in deceit in the first place. He's too straightforward and blunt for any of it. Eren enjoyed yesterday. Levi is certain of it.

The seclusion habit is another thing. Admittedly, it worries Levi most. As long as he can remember, Eren has never liked being alone much. Yes, he comes on a bit too strong for most people, but despite his being more of an outsider, the friends he does have are loyal. He's never actively fled their presence for more than a couple of hours tops. Sure, there'd been lots of moments he needed time alone with his own thoughts for obvious reasons. Everyone had such moments. Apart from sibling spats or other minor disagreements, Eren always was with someone whenever Hanji didn't occupy his time with experiments and Titan studies. It was a given that one would find Eren with either Armin and Mikasa, or with Levi himself. That Eren kept cutting himself off from any company whatsoever during the past year is a very bad sign. The expedition should have done the opposite of turning Eren into a hermit.

A horde of young Trainees under his command, especially with someone demanding like Rita amongst them, could change that, up to a certain point, Levi muses. They will keep Eren busy, and training with them will give him the physical outlet he needs. Something that measuring landscapes with scrupulous accurateness certainly could not.

When the door opens around noon, Levi is still lost so deeply in his thoughts that it takes him a moment to fully realise that Jean steps inside alone.

He's got a cloth-wrapped bundle under his arm, and looks ponderous as he orders a "chocolate cake with leaf juice, no matter which, please."

He chooses one of the corduroy chairs and it doesn't take long before he produces a second bundle from the inside of his coat, beginning to draw.

Like this he finishes his tea, his cake, then another cup of tea. Standing up after half an hour or so, he gathers his things to leave.

"Thank you," he says as he pays. "It was good."

Levi nods and jerks his chin at the small frame standing on his counter. "Thank you for the drawing."

"Well…actually," rubbing his neck, Jean turns around, and Levi notices the bundle resting on the armchair Jean has vacated. "I brought you another one. I didn't want to bring it yesterday with everyone else around. Still, we all thought you should have it. We owe you a lot. We haven't forgotten that, Captain."

Not really sure how to answer, Levi frowns. "You all did well," he answers finally.

Jean's eyes soften at the words. He clears his throat. "Nice place by the way. I think, I shouldn't be surprised. Fits you."

The honest praise elicits Levi a small smile. "Thank you. Again."

Jean's gaze turns curious. "You already heard about Eren?"

"Yes," Levi replies. He's got the feeling that with them all being back at HQ the gossip mill is about to flare up like a stack of hay catching fire. Soldiers. Worse than fishwifes.

Jean grunts. "Wasn't made for the road, I guess. I have to admit maps are truly fucking boring, though. I don't get what Armin sees in doing all those measurements to make them."

Another small smile tugs on Levi's lips. "Heard you're staying too."

"Seems so." Jean averts his eyes to the sunlit street outside. After a moment he looks back at Levi. "Sometimes all we can do is wait."

Levi understands. He doesn't really know what Mikasa's intentions concerning Jean are, but he has a good feeling about them. "Maybe one day," he says.

Giving a short snort that's not completely dismissive, Jean smiles. "Yeah, same. For what it's worth, he's already looking better today. Less miserable at least."

Wondering what Jean means, Levi doesn't reply.

Jean jerks his head at the parcel on the armchair. "Open it alone."

"I will," Levi assures.

"See you soon, Captain."

Levi smiles at the lingering title and gives Jean a nod. "Yes."

After answering Levi's nod with a smile of his own, Jean puts his defensive scowl back onto his face, and leaves the Sparrow with his nose pushed into his scarf.

With him gone, Levi collects the empty dishes from the coffee table to wash. The rectangular package on the armchair he carefully picks up and brings behind the counter, letting his hand rest on it for a curious moment. There are no customers in the café. After everything is tidied up, and every tabletop wiped, Levi brews himself a celebratory cup of Earl Grey and then approaches the gift again.

The protecting cloth is strapped together by twine that easily opens up with a pull. As the image is revealed, Levi appreciates with an approving swoop of his stomach that Jean didn't bring it yesterday when Sasha and Connie would have wanted him to open it right away. He doesn't know what mix of emotions must be written across his face, but he does know it takes him far too long to recollect himself and put on his usual, impervious facade.

Jean's characteric, rough but powerful lines of coal show three soldiers: one with pitch black hair like Levi's own, before it started to turn grey. One with light hair as the sun, and the one in the middle with a ruffled mop of locks that blow wildly in the wind. They stand on the sand, Eren without boots, Armin pointing at something in the distance. Mikasa's scarf a dark ribbon fluttering in the wind. All three look at the horizon over an endless field of rippled water.

The image is already framed by solid dark wood. A securing glass shields its surface from harm while its back is strengthened as well. It's perfect. Levi knows exactly where it has to be hung. This picture is far too beautiful to be hidden upstairs where no one but him, and his one to two guests can see it.

Determined, he fetches a nail, a hammer, a pendulum, and a chair. He places a ragged cloth on its base, and lifting himself onto it with his slightly protesting foot, he begins with his work. Not five minutes later, Levi steps back to inspect the wall from a few meters afar. He smiles, knowing he made the right choice.

If this means he's being an old dimwit for giving it the place of honour behind the counter, so be it. Levi has never much cared about other people's opinions, and he won't start now.

He's still thinking this when, about half an hour later, Mikasa enters the café.

"I've been expecting you," he states, taking in her grim expression. "Coffee again?"

"Yes," she says. Frowns. "Please."

Bracing himself for a straining conversation, Levi pours her a cup and waits for her to begin talking. As always, she comes right to the point.

"Why didn't you ask him to stay when we left?" she demands sharply, her hands holding on tight to her coffee.

"He wanted to see the world," Levi answers calmly. "He needed space. I didn't want to confine him. I wouldn't."

Relaxing slightly on the bar stool, Mikasa nods. When she talks again, her voice is more temperate again, almost assuaged. "Could I have a piece of cake too, please? That apple pie was good yesterday."

Levi fetches her a piece.

"He wasn't happy," she says after her first bite. "It was like watching him die all over again."

It stings, probably just like she wanted it to. Levi takes a breath and makes himself a fresh cup of herbal infusion. "And what do you want me to do about that?" he asks forthrightly.

"I thought you'd want to fix that." Her words are harsh, her gaze, however is not. It's contemplative and worrying.

"Do you know how?" Levi asks mildly.

Mikasa frowns. "No."

Infusing his tea leaves with hot water, Levi remains silent.

"I thought you would," she adds. Her thumb is running over the cup in her hand, and by the way her mouth forms a thin line, Levi assumes Mikasa is trying very hard not to bite on her lip.

He gives her a brief, apologetic shake of the head. "No." Steam rises from the tea pot before him, already carrying the sweet, fragile flavour of roses, lavender, and chamomile.

"The ambush in the heavy fog that day…" Her nose nuzzles briefly into her scarf while her hands still for a moment. Levi swallows, already having a sense of what's coming. "He went to your rooms afterwards."

"Yes," he says.

They share a long look. Mikasa blushes, and nods.

Well, Levi thinks. At least there was no need to actually say it out loud. Not that he's ashamed for what they did. He doesn't quite know the right words to confess to have pinned one's brother into the mattress and fucked him until he screamed for more. Perhaps not with that amount of detail would be a start, Levi muses.

"After that," Mikasa continues quietly, "I couldn't talk to him like before. When I could again, it was too late. We already were on our way. And his mind was locked up."

"I see." Levi refills Mikasa's cup. He can picture her trying to approach Eren over the last couple of months, and Eren constantly fending her off with a scowl.

"I thought," she begins, drawing small patterns onto her plate with the fork. "Why?"

"I don't know," Levi admits. "He left without a word. I didn't want to push him."

"I'm not mad at you," she explains, frowning again. "I was at first. But I don't know what I'd have done in your place."

Levi smiles briefly. "Renovated?" he offers. "Stayed busy?"

"Probably." Mikasa smiles back and it is genuine.

"This café," she begins carefully, taking a glance at the dark wooden interior. "It looks like him."

Heat prickles on Levi's back. It feels wrong to expose his feelings like this, to her or to anyone, really. Levi guesses he owes her this much though. He nods. "It does."

"It's beautiful and warm." 'Just like he is,' her eyes add. 'You wanted him here with you.'

Holding her gaze, Levi swallows. "Yes."

"He doesn't know," she concludes.

Levi shakes his head and blinks. Speaking seems hard. "No."

"Should I tell him?" she offers.

He looks up from his hands, trying to convey what he can't put into words. "No," he says again.

She nods. "I won't."

"Thank you." Levi exhales heavier than normal.

After a quiet moment of pie, coffee, and tea, her hands clench around her cup. "How does it feel? Losing him like that."

"Do you really want to know, Mikasa?" Levi asks mildly.

Her nose pushes back into her scarf. "I guess not."

They drink. For once, the silence between them is nothing but friendly.

"Jean was already here," she says, looking up at the drawing behind the counter, and then at the second, smaller drawing. Her eyes soften. "From when is this?"

Levi looks at the drawing too and feels the last bit of tension abate. "The day you left."

"He really has a talent for drawing." She smiles quietly. "You already know we're staying."

Levi smiles back. "Yes. Your Commander told me."

Mikasa spears the last apple slice from her plate. "I've got the feeling Hanji had this planned. I smelled it right away when we came back. She started talking about it at dinner. You should have seen her. She looked like it was war again. Too damn happy."

Levi sighs. "She's nosy as fuck."

Mikasa's gaze is knowing and fond. "Armin too."

"We can be lucky they'll only have three weeks to scheme then. These two in one room is a dangerous combination."

Her smile widens, reaching all the way up to her eyes, and it's almost conspiratorial.

Somehow Levi knows with a strange feeling of warm gratitude, that for the first time in a very long while, he's got a family again. A real one.

"Tell me," he says, offering her a second piece of cake. "What will you do next?"

Dinner that night, once more, is accompanied by Eren.

Stepping into the café at half past six, he sits down on the same place as the day before. He once more orders whatever Levi recommends, and delights Levi with his presence in the Sparrow until closing time.

He doesn't leave when Levi locks the door, and Levi basks in the prospect of another evening with a shared cup of café closing tea. As long as Eren wants to stay, Levi will encourage him.

He tidies up, slips out of his apron to hang it onto its hook in the staff department, and supplies himself with another cup of Earl Grey before joining Eren at the table.

He already awaits him with a gorgeous smile. "Jean brought you our gift," he says, looking at the drawing.

"He did," Levi agrees.

"It looks good up there. Takes me back, actually." Mirth glitters in his eyes. "But don't tell Horseface that. He might take it as a praise."

Secretly delighted by Eren's ease and the fact that at least some things never seem to change, Levi smirks back. "I won't."

"Good." Eren grins.

"You have another drawing by him," he says after a while, sounding serious. His nod points at the small frame on the counter itself.

"Found it on my doorstep the day you left," Levi replies.

"I didn't know." Eren bites on his lip and frowns. "Why isn't it upstairs?"

"It felt better down here," Levi evades, definitely not thinking about the nights he's stared at it, as if looking at it long enough would bring it to life. "Does it bother you?"

"No." Eren shakes his head. "No."

They drink tea.

Their familiar silence settles around them once more, and Levi relaxes into it. The moon is bright that night, already hanging high in the sky. It's casting its light onto the street outside. People walk past the window. Eren eats his cake and groans softly. Levi is doomed.

"I brought you your stone," Eren says when he's finished and sets aside the fork.

"So many gifts in a day, huh? Almost feels like my old team missed getting bossed around out there," Levi replies, voice firm, face set. "Lucky me."

Chuckling, Eren reaches into his left chest pocket. He leans forward with a lingering smile, and places the rock onto the table with long, slender fingers.

Levi forces himself to wait until Eren has leaned back again, before he reaches out to inspect the stone from each side in the candlelight. It's a tiny stone, a bit bigger than a regular pebble, maybe as big as a chestnut. It is flat, and iron grey. The surface is completely smooth and almost warm to Levi's touch. Slightly off center, a small hole runs all the way through.

The wish that he could give something back is overpowering. At the moment, he has nothing though, so he only looks across the table as he closes his hand around his gift, and says: "Thank you, Eren."

"Mm. You're welcome," Eren says. And then, carefully, hesitantly almost, a foot nudges against Levi's.

Stomach lurching into freefall, Levi holds Eren's gaze. Holding his breath, he nudges back, and Eren's following smile is all that Levi sees.

Five gifts in one day, Levi thinks, drowning whatever wants to spill out of his mouth in his tea. It might not be exactly how things used to be, but Levi definitely seems to have his friend, of not his heart back. It's so much more than enough for now. The important thing is that they're both here, and Eren, though still keeping Levi out of some parts of his thoughts, is letting him in again.

When their tea is finished, and Eren still doesn't make any attempts to leave, Levi asks, "hungry for dinner?" and is rewarded with another one of these almost too bright smiles, forming around a warm "yes."

Eren immediately stands up and, leaving the money for his tea and cake on the counter next to the till, he stubbornly heads towards the staff department as if he had every right to be there.

Levi follows, deciding to give up on forbidding Eren to help, because it's clear Levi doesn't stand a chance in this particular case. When Eren wants to wash his own dishes, he will wash his own dishes.

"Pighead," Levi mumbles with a smile from deep within.

Eren laughs.

Back upstairs again, Levi once more prepares their dinner and tea. As he fetches the potatoes and produces a pan, Eren lights up so brightly, that Levi wonders how he doesn't explode.

"Fried potatoes!" he enthuses. "I can't tell you how much I missed those."

"No bacon today," Levi says with an excusing frown.

Eren snorts. "A fat lot I care. Everything is better than those fucking protein bars at this moment."

Levi smiles.

Once they sit down as his small kitchen table to eat, Eren bites into a piece of sage-flavoured potato with a happy sigh alongside a melting motion, swallows, and looks right into Levi's eyes. His jaw is set in a way that tells Levi he is about to make an announcement.

"I'll stay," Eren says. And after a brief pause he hastily adds: "I mean at HQ. I won't join the Exploration Team when they'll leave in three weeks."

"I know," Levi says, not able to hide his smile at Eren's stunned gape. "Hanji rushed over even before I opened to tell me," he explains.

"Oh, alright." Eren shifts his chair and when he looks up again his eyes are worried. "I um, I hope this is alright for you."

Levi swallows at Eren's concern. "You can do whatever you want to, Eren. I won't stand in your way if this if this is your honest choice."

"Yes, but…" Eren's eyes slide downwards as if they were fascinated by the scratches in the old table top, giving Levi a little push.

"You'll be a good Instructor," he says, meaning every word. He already can see it. Eren would be amazing, in whatever he set his mind to. Hard not to with his determination and his constant drive to make the best out of a situation. "They'll be lucky to have you."

"Good," Eren says as his body relaxes. "Good. Mikasa wants to stay too," he adds with a frown. "And apparently Jean will as well."

Levi wonders how much Eren knows. As opposed to Jean, Eren never has been much of an observing type when it came to certain things. Well, most human emotion specific things, really.

"Una will take care of cartography lessons, as far as I know," Eren continues. "She was planning to stay anyway for map copying. Can't say that I mind," he adds sheepishly.

Piercing a piece of potato, Levi shoots Eren a sympathetic smirk. "What does Armin say about you three staying here?"

Eren rakes a restless hand through his hair. "He understands. He even looked…relieved? I don't know. It was weird," he concludes.

Fighting the urge to reach out and mess Eren's hair up even more, Levi keeps his own hands busy with his cutlery. "Will you miss it?" he asks, the question slipping out before he knows if he should ask.

Eren shrugs and his shoulder sag slightly. His frown, however, is stubborn, and full with courage. "I don't know. It certainly will be odd to see Armin leave. We've never been apart for a long period of time."

Levi refills their tea.

"Is it hard?" Eren blurts out. "Teaching, I mean?"

"It depends," Levi says, biting back a smile. Though Eren has decided to stay, he apparently didn't give his decision to teach twelve-year-olds too much consideration. If at all. In that respect, Eren hasn't changed either. "With some people it's easy," he continues. "With some it's not. Some are naturals and don't need much guidance. Others bite their way through with willpower and determination. They all need different types of help, but you'll know when you're there."

Eren nods and casts a hopeful glance at Levi. "Will it be alright if I ask you things? You know, if I need help from time to time? Only at first," he adds hastily. "Until I get a hang of teaching that is."

"Of course," Levi says, holding Eren's gaze. "You can always come to me."

"Good." Nodding once more, Eren relaxes and sighs with relief. "Thank you."

"Any time," Levi promises and Eren smiles.

They continue eating. The sage to the fried potatoes was a good decision. It's fresh and soothing, and Eren makes little noises of comfort as he empties his plate.

Stars twinkle on the other side of the window. Calm, synchronising breaths fill the naturally stretching silence with a feeling of rightfulness and long-missed ease.

Eren is still smiling. Levi can feel it on his arms without even having to look. With Eren, Levi can sense it in the air, and hear it in Eren's unspoken thoughts. The tea warms Levi's hand. He's fed, and his heart is back. It's good. So very good, and for the first time in his entire life, Levi feels he's home.

Eventually, their eyes meet again, and Eren grins with a enticing twinkle in his eyes. "Can we have another game of chess?"

"Yes," Levi says, and stands to fetch the chessboard.