Overprotective: AOT/KNB Crossover [Reader x Eren]

Chapter 28: Thanksgiving Special

~side story from the main plot, which has been paused in honor of Turkey Day~

~from (y/n)'s POV~
You stared at Levi blankly. "Thanks-what?"
"Thanksgiving, brat," he snapped, glaring at you. "Don't tell me you've never heard of it before."
You shrugged, trying to smile, but your eyes were worried. "Dad wasn't usually home for holidays, so we didn't celebrate stuff like Thanksgiving together."
His frowned softened before he looked even angrier. "That bastard." You didn't say anything - couldn't say anything. Then Levi said, "All right, brat. We're doing Thanksgiving this year, got it?"
"Eeeh?"

~time skip to 2 hours later~

You could only gape at the scene before you. Levi had tied a - holy crap - handkerchief over his hair and was wearing an apron as he checked a knob on the stove and opened the oven, peering inside.
"Another few minutes should do it," he commented to himself, shutting the oven and hurrying over to the counter space, grinding something while you just stared.
"Wow, Levi. I didn't know that you could...uh..."
"Cook?" he asked, not even sparing you a glance as he mixed a bowl of something with a spoon. "I wouldn't have to if you hadn't nearly burned down the apartment."

~flashback~
"And...um...Levi? What should I do with the turkey?" you asked. Levi had left you alone for a few minutes while he grabbed something from the other room - not his wisest decision, not by far.
"Put it in the oven, brat," he yelled from a room over. "And make sure it's the proper temperature."
"Umm..." You sighed, peering at the small light-up controls above the oven. 350. What does that mean? Is that good?
You accidentally flicked one of the knobs, and suddenly, the 350 changed into a 375. Oops! But hey - if he oven is hotter, he turkey won't have to cook for as long, right? With hesitant fingers, you kept turning the knob - 400, 425, 450, 475, 500.
500 was the max, it seemed...
You waited for the beep to go off, and just as you were about to put the turkey in, Levi walked in.
"WHAT. THE. HELL. ARE. YOU. DOING?!" he yelled, practically lunging for the oven temperature knobs and fixing it, slamming the oven closed before you could ruin the turkey. "350. I SET IT TO 350! WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT?!"
"EEEEEK! I'M SORRY!" you yelled, stumbling a step back.
"Fool," he snapped. That was when he decided to monopolize the preparations.
~end flashback~

"I'm not mad, you know," he said while he mixed, and your head snapped up.
"Oh. Okay." You couldn't help but be wary though...although it was your fault that Thanksgiving was nearly ruined.
"Really," he said, mixing more quickly as though to emphasize his point despite the fact that his back was to you. "I'm not angry at you."
"Okay."
He sighed through his teeth and set the bowl down, turning to you with his hands on his hips. "I'm...I'm..." he stuttered slightly, and then he glared at you, baring his teeth. "I'm sorry for what I said, brat."
"Eeeeeeeeeeeh?" Was that an apology? From Levi?
"Close your damn mouth," he snapped, turning back around and stirring something else as he tried to hide the slight flush in his cheeks.

~time skip to dinner~

Levi finished setting the last bowl down, and silence descended upon the table as you both took your seats. Even as you each started scooping food onto your plates - food that smelled veryyy delicious, courtesy of Levi Ackerman - neither of you spoke.
Finally, "Say what you're thankful for."
"Huh?" you asked, looking up as though you were surprised that you still existed, at least to his eyes.
He glared at you while adding a spoonful of mashed potatoes to his plates. "It's tradition to say what you're thankful for on Thanksgiving. So say it."
"Umm..." You looked down at your plate, your hands clutched in your lap, and you felt your face heat up slightly. "I'm thankful that I have a place to stay and that I have a family to celebrate today with." You didn't want to look up and see Levi's eyes because you knew that he'd either be looking at you with scorn or pity, but had you looked up, you might have seen the ill-veiled concern that his eyes held, the feelings that he couldn't express well.
"I'm just happy the house didn't burn down," he muttered, and you laughed softly, looking up, and he sort of smiled at you (and by that, I mean that he wasn't outright scowling). He looked away. "(Y/n), I just wanted to say that I'm thankful for being able to spend today with y-"
"Hey, (y/n)," Himuro said, approaching the table with a wink towards his half-sister and a hidden scowl towards Levi.
"What the hell are you doing here, scum?" Levi asked, practically growling at Himuro.
"I just thought that (y/n) might like to spend Thanksgiving with her family, the one that's been looking after her-"
"I do look after her, you bastard-"
Your two brothers cut off as you laughed softly. "I'm just really thankfully to be able to spend the day together with both of you."
Himuro looked away, blushing and trying to hide it by putting a hand over his mouth, and Levi scowled, looking in the other direction.
"Same," Levi muttered before casting a glare at the newcomer. "Although I could do without this freak."
Himuro smiled coolly at him. "Vice versa."
They argued the rest of dinner, but to you, the sound was far sweeter to your ears than the silence you'd grown accustomed to.