Chapter Text
i)
Boiled potatoes were delicious with the right herbs, the right sauces and accompaniments, and at the right times, but when a person eats them twice a day for a week, they become somewhat lacking in every aspect. Sasha made this fact well known with a groan as she gently knocked her forehead against the stone wall, the scratched dish in her hands clanking against the metal sink with the motion. Even she was tired of boiled potatoes, despite being known for her fondness for them. She felt the dish be snatched out of her hands, and felt a familiar presence besides her.
“Moping won’t get us anywhere,” Connie grumbled, scrubbing the plate a little more vigorously than necessary, “There’s been shortages because of infertile soil from the titans. Not much we can do. Though it kinda sucks.”
“You mean really sucks,” Sasha corrected indignantly, picking up another dish and washing it with less fervor than her squadmate. “I’m hungry all the time, it’s hard to focus.”
“Make sure you don’t fuck up during training, or Captain Levi will be on your ass. That’s the last thing you want.”
“I’ll be on whose ass now, Springer?”
Connie and Sasha both yelped in unison, standing ramrod straight in an instant, a messy salute thrown towards the new entrance at the doorway to the kitchen, the dishes discarded and forgotten in the water behind them.
“Sir!”
“At ease, idiots, I just came to see how you were getting on with the cleaning.” Levi pushed himself off from where he was leaning on the doorframe and made his way over, observing the pile of cleaned dishes and the remaining few in the sink. He frowned, but made no comment, stepping back to let them continue. In the tense and slightly awkward silence, Connie and Sasha resumed their chore, uncertain of whether or not to ignore Levi’s sudden and persistent presence. After a few strained moments, Levi cleared his throat.
“Both of you, meet me here tomorrow at five in the morning. No need to gear up, but make sure you shower and put on clothes that don’t smell like shit. And don’t be late, or you’ll be lapping the base for the rest of the day. Understood?”
Sasha felt her heart sink, and saw Connie’s face fall. Regardless, they both offered another salute, and a dejected but steady, “Yes, Sir!”
-
“Why do you think he wants us down here?”
“Obviously it’s a punishment for talking instead of working yesterday. You know how the Captain is.”
“But he didn’t seem too mad! And our dishwashing was up to par, right? Otherwise he’d have chewed us out there and then!”
“Who cares,” Connie stifled a yawn and blinked away remnants of sleep from his eyes, “it’s too early for anything, punishment or not. I’m beat and the day hasn’t even started.”
The two soldiers fell silent as they neared the kitchen, and both unconsciously corrected their posture and straightened their clothing, apprehension rising in the air around them, buzzing with nerves. Was the Captain going to make them clean out the entire kitchen again? Or was he going to deny them breakfast? Sasha nearly whimpered at the possibility, but gulped down any anxiety before entering the kitchen.
Levi was already there, standing before the counter with a variety of burlap sacks. He had his back to them, his arm moving in a repeated motion as he scrubbed the wooden worktop. He didn’t look up as he said,
“You arrived with one minute to spare. Lucky, or you’d both be out in the rain by now.” Connie swallowed hard, and cast a worried glance to Sasha.
“Um, Captain, if I may,” she began hesitantly, “what did you call us down here for?” Silence blanketed the kitchen as Levi finished wiping the counter, discarding the cloth into a sudsy bucket, before turning to face them. His expression was neutral - or as neutral as it could be, considering his face was stuck in a permanent frown - as he took in his two subordinates standing anxiously in the doorway.
“When you complain loudly, expect people to hear,” Levi stated, making both soldiers tense up, but there was no bite to his tone. “You’re not satisfied with boiled potatoes, I gather, so I thought we could explore our other options.”
“Huh?” Sasha said dumbly, at the same time that Connie asked,
“Excuse me, Sir, but what does that mean, exactly?”
“It means we’re making breakfast. Now get over here. Sasha, fire up the stove with the timber in the storage closet. Connie, take the flowers out of that bag and start separating them from their leaves.”
Dumbfounded by the lack of bitter comments or insults, Sasha immediately began to move, unbolting the heavy door at the back of the kitchen and heading into the dark closet to collect kindling and logs, whilst Connie opened the sack closest to him and peered inside, being greeted with a pile of bright yellow flowers, freshly picked. He picked one up gently by the stem, turning it in his fingers and examining the rough texture of the leaves, noting the drops of morning dew still resting on the flowerhead.
“Marigold.” Levi supplied simply, and Connie glanced over his shoulder to where the Captain appeared to be slicing up potatoes. Great, so they hadn’t escaped potatoes. “Bring it over here and separate the flowers and the leaves from the stems. The stems can go in that empty box.” He gestured to said box on the floor by his feet, moving over slightly to make room for Connie on the counter next to him. Hesitant and a little suspicious, Connie did as he was instructed, beginning to strip the leaves from the marigold stems, making a haphazardly pile. Levi tutted. “Do it carefully.”
“Yes, sir!” Connie began to work more slowly, taking care as he peeled the flowers apart, still clueless as to why. He could hear Sasha setting up the stove, and the roar of flames coming to life, offering a warmth to the small kitchen.
Levi finished chopping a potato, moving on to peel the next.
“Don’t just stand there,” He shot a quick look to Sasha, who was standing stiffly by the now-crackling stove. “Get us some honey from the jars in that box,” he pointed to the corner of the kitchen, where a stack of crates lay against the wall, usually full of vegetables, “and bring some grains too, anything will work.”
A quiet peace settled across the room as the three worked on their independent tasks, the occasional spit of the flames and the shifting of wood in the heat piercing the calm, Levi’s knife smoothly slicing through potatoes, and then carrots, and then onions. The crisp sound of the leaves of marigold peeling away from the stem, the gentle smell of woodsmoke, and the shiver of grains being tipped into a pan. Connie found himself relaxing, his shoulders dropping, whilst Sasha began to hum to herself as she sorted through ingredients.
After some time, Levi set down his knife and stepped away, revealing a pile of uniformly cut vegetables on the counter, before donning a barely-stained apron from the hook on the door and setting an empty pot on the stove.
“Sasha, the honey.”
“Yes, Sir!” She moved to hand the jar over, but Levi held out a hand to stop her.
“You can do it.” He said, making room for her at the stove, and Sasha sidled up next to him, casting a few worrisome glances his way, before unscrewing the lid of the honey and tipping the jar upside down. Nothing happened, and she saw Levi huff a sigh. “No, idiot, it’s crystallised. Come on, you know about preserves. Didn’t you come from a hunting family?” Sasha nearly dropped the jar in surprise.
“You know about my family?” They stared at each other for a moment, before she hastily added a “sir” to her question.
“Of course I do.” Levi said it as if it was obvious, looking at her like she had just failed the most basic exercise in training.
“Um, excuse me for questioning you, Sir, but, why?” Sasha stumbled over her words, still holding the honey jar upside down.
“You’re a part of my squad. Wouldn’t it be more surprising if I didn’t know?” Levi raised a brow, casting an exhausted glance at the unmoving honey, before walking across the room to where a variety of kitchen utensils were kept in draws, rummaging around in search of something. Sasha sent a shocked, albeit touched, look towards Connie, who had stilled in his herbal preparation to listen in on Levi’s words. Levi sighed. “Can't find a spoon. I keep telling Hange and your squadmates to put things back in some form of order, but their heads are too full of shit to listen.”
“Oh, there’s one on the top shelf, let me-” Connie muttered, leaning up past Levi to grab a wooden spoon, before freezing as he realised the implications of his comment. He cast a fearful glance to Levi, who huffed out a breath, before taking the utensil from him.
“Thank you.”
Connie looked at Levi as if he’d died and come back to life before his eyes. He didn’t think he’d ever heard the Captain thank someone before, never mind one of his inferiors. His eyes were glued to Levi as he headed back to Sasha, ordering her to hold the jar still whilst he scooped golden crystals from the jar, dropping them into the pan. They hissed softly as they hit the heat, bringing forth an immediate sweet aroma.
“First, we heat up the honey until it goes back to being soft. Sasha, you keep a watch on this and add more as you think is needed. Connie, are the marigolds done? Good. Where are the grains?”
As Levi bustled about the kitchen, he talked quietly, narrating what he was doing. Taking the grains and tipping them into the heating honey, stirring them gently with the spoon, stoking the fire, taking out a new pot and pouring in a sparse amount of vegetable oil. Connie didn’t remember the last time he had seen someone use oil in a dish.
“Alright. The sun is starting to rise so we need to move our asses. Connie, this pot here is for pottage. I assume you’re at least aware of how it’s made?” With a nod from the younger soldier, Levi stepped back, “Good. Sasha, when the grains form a batter, you dip the marigold flowers into them to fry them. They need to be crispy, not burnt. Got that?” Sasha sent an affirming noise his way. “Good. I’m going to use the marigold leaves and some of the cold leftovers to make a salad. The rest of the idiots upstairs should wake up soon, so let’s get this done quickly.”
And so they cooked, forming a small system of helping each other out and working around one another, the atmosphere relaxing and cozy. Within fifteen minutes, Eren and Jean had appeared at the door, noses having led them to the source of the sweet smell of honey and simmering vegetables.
“Woah! This is way more than we usually get, what’s the occasion?” Eren exclaimed, hands bunched up in excitement as he began poking around the kitchen, with Jean peering over his shoulder in a similar fashion. Levi took the cloth from the bucket and squeezed it out, before flicking it threateningly at the two intruders.
“None of your business. Get out and clean the table.”
“Yessir!” Eren yelped, catching the cloth and scarpering after Jean. Sasha heard the two of them shoving each other as they pushed chairs around and cleaned in preparation for breakfast. More voices joined the bickering in the dining hall as Armin and Mikasa came downstairs, and soon enough the base was in full swing.
“That should do it.” Levi looked at the wooden bowl of salad before him, dotted with leftover marigold flowers and leaves, and long strips of carrot thinly sliced with the knife. “You can take those off the heat now, Sasha, they look done. Grab some bowls, let’s serve the pottage and salad first whilst the crispy marigolds cool.”
Obediently, Sasha and Connie plated up the food, calling through to their squadmates to settle down for breakfast. They were met with excited eyes and exhales of relief as they served something that wasn’t boiled potatoes, and the two basked in the praise as their friends thanked them with fervor. Jean and Eren spared no time, seeming to compete at who could shovel the food down their throats the fastest.
“This is actually good,” Jean mumbled around a mouthful of pottage, “I take back everything I’ve ever said about you two being stupid.”
“No, they’re still idiots,” Armin said matter-of-factly, though humour laced his tone as he drank the broth from his bowl.
“Idiots who can cook!” Eren added, grinning widely at Sasha and Connie.
“You guys…” Connie said, abashedly, rubbing the back of his neck. Sasha fiddled with her hands as she blushed lightly, taken aback by the praise enough that it distracted her from leaping for a plate of her own.
“Well, really, it was Captain Levi.” She said all of a sudden, silencing the hall and setting everyone’s eyes on the aforementioned Captain, who had just reappeared from the kitchen with a bowl of his own. He stared at his onlookers, before skulking to the back of the table and beginning his meal in silence. When no one resumed talking, he looked up with mild exasperation.
“Don’t just gawk, stupid brats, eat it before Sasha gets her grubby hands on it.” Sasha made an indignant noise, before snatching a bowl and beginning to stuff herself. Levi’s comment got some chuckles from the squad, and the easy atmosphere returned to the table.
“Seriously, thank you Captain,” Connie said, shooting a hesitant grin to Levi at the opposite end of the table, “this was a really good idea.”
“Mmph!” Sasha agreed, eyes sparkling at the flavourful food, seemingly rendered speechless as she spooned seconds into her bowl.
“Just eat it. God. I’m going to catch up on some paperwork. Finish your food and then clean up. I want this hall and the kitchen spotless by this afternoon. Got it?” Levi grumbled, standing up after drinking the remaining broth from his serving. A chorus of cheerful replies met his orders.
“Yessir!”