𝐕𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 | 𝖫𝖾𝗏𝗂 𝖠𝖼𝗄𝖾𝗋𝗆𝖺𝗇

E I G H T

"You're late," Levi growled, an icy glare forming as he saw her. He was angered by how she had informed him to not forget, when she had ended up being late to her own meeting.

Irene brushed him off, quickly stepping closer to him. His heart skyrocketed and he stiffened, eyes widening when she was only a foot away. She pushed her umbrella forward, allowing the rain to stop pouring on Levi.

He quickly composed himself, his stunned expression morphing into his stoic one. His heart still raced at the lack of distance between them, but he didn't have enough courage to tell her to back away.

"I'm sorry, Levi. I ran out of lavender and had to rush to get some," Irene apologized, guilt woven in her voice. "You should really carry an umbrella with you. You'll get sick, you know."

Levi let a 'tsk' escape. That being the only thing he could manage at the moment. His eyes traveled to her hand where she held a cup holder that had two paper coffee cups.

"Here," Irene spoke softly, making his attention go back to her, a bit embarrassed at how she noticed his gaze on the cups. She gave a kind, gentle smile as she used her hand holding the umbrella to grab a cup.

He quickly grabbed what protected them from the downpour, knowing she would drop everything and had wasted his time for nothing.  She muttered a small thank you and held out one of the cups. "The second day is always the worse."

He knew what she was talking about. It's why he frowned and narrowed his eyes. "And you decided to be late bringing—"

"It's Lavender tea," Irene interrupted, a hint of irritation towards his stubborn attitude woven in her voice. He spotted the glint of annoyance. "It'll really help. It also looks like you didn't sleep very well—your body looks stiff, too. Lavender tea helps with that."

Levi looked back down at the coffee cup. He scoffed, accepting it. He felt strange doing so. It wasn't the first time someone had done this; Hanji had done many times (without his consent). It just felt different accepting something like that from a complete stranger.

"You didn't poison it, did you?" Levi questioned, arching a brow. He took notice of the frustration that flashed her eyes for a mere moment. Her soft smile momentarily turned into a frown before it returned.

"You're really stubborn, Levi," she laughed gently, a playful smile replacing the soft one. "Just drink it—and if you feel even the tiniest bit alarmed about it, just toss it in the trash. It'll hurt my feelings, but..." Her voice trailed off and Levi scoffed, not pleased with how she called him stubborn. In fact, he actually felt a bit irked at the fact she had a playful, mocking smile on her face. It reminded him of the way Hanji smiled at him whenever she was teasing him.

With a roll of his eyes, he lifted the drink, wrinkling his nose as he smelt it. It didn't smell disgusting, but warm and strong. His reaction earned a stifled giggle come from Irene. It made his attention go to her, and a glare to form.

"You drink it," Levi ordered, taking her back as he shoved it to her, his short fuse getting the best of him. "You're acting as if you put something in there. So, drink it." His voice was grave and flat, revealing he wasn't messing around.

His demand made her frown and to press her lips together. Her expression grew blank and her hazel eyes grew sad, and it looked as if Levi had truly offended her.

Levi had offended her by something he didn't mean to come out as harsh. Yet, he didn't take back his words, he still kept his hard gaze and scowl.

"Okay," she muttered, her eyes falling to the cup. She took it from Levi, her cold fingertips brushing against his warmer hands. Her touch made Levi suppress a flinch from how ice-cold they were.

Irene lifted it up, her eyes on the ground as she avoided his gaze. Her lips touched the cup and Levi silently watched as she made an expression revealing it was too hot once she drank some.

"It takes like any other lavender tea," Irene said, her voice quiet and soft as if she were a child that had gotten scolded. Her eyes lingered on the cup for a few seconds before she handed him the other one.

Levi took it, only giving a click of his tongue as a response. He glanced at her, her eyes were on the cup, the offended and sad gaze still lingering.

He had never tried lavender tea, so he didn't know what to expect. Levi swallowed and took a sip from the tea. The warm drink made him feel much more relaxed immediately. It had a floral-y taste to it, and after a few seconds, a minty one and mildly sweet that was light. Overall, it tasted warm and refreshing for someone who'd been needing something to relax with.

"Is this all?" Levi asked, keeping his stoic expression and monotonous voice. Her eyes met his, which to him, was a decent sign considering that he never knew how to handle situations such as the one he was in. "You told me to come all the way out there just to bring tea?"

Irene only gave a small shrug, a gentle smile painting over her lingering sadness. "Yeah, I guess," she murmured, shifting her weight to her left leg. "I also want to apologize for not telling you that you might strain your muscles. This is to make up for it. I hope you can forgive me, Levi."

Her words took him back a bit. He was confused as to why she would apologize for something such as that—even giving him something to make up for it. Questions wandered aimlessly throughout his mind as he tried to figure her out. Even if it was a simple and obvious apology, he couldn't comprehend why she'd be the one apologizing if she's his boss.

Levi should have been the one to apologize for his remarks and offensive attitude and words. He never even did because he didn't regret any of it. Instead, she was the one apologizing something she didn't even need to do, because she had been the one to hire him and made her own rules. 

Levi gave his signature frown as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would I need to forgive you?" he questioned, "you're the one who hired me, you're my boss, and if you wanted me to unload and reload, then I needed to do that. So stop apologizing for something ridiculous."

Irene stared at him, her expression growing blank. Her eyes averted to the ground and she shrugged, turning around as she prepared to leave. "Yeah...I guess," she mumbled. Levi wished he was able to see her expression, because he had difficulty reading her emotions in her flat voice. "The address for the next photo shoot should be on the schedule. Keep the umbrella; I've got my van. See you."

With that, she walked away, holding her cup, and leaving an eerie, puzzling atmosphere that greatly perplexed Levi.

What in the world is with you? Levi mused, his eyes falling off her small figure and to his cup that had steam rising from the small hole.

As much as he tried to understand why she had acted that way, he couldn't. Not only because she didn't give him any emotions to read off of, but because he still had a headache.

His eyes averted to Irene, who was barely in his eyesight from how far she already was, but he still watched her. He watched as the rain poured on her and seemed to match her mood. His grip on the umbrella tightened, tempted to go and return it, but he didn't.

His lips parted, realization hitting him like a truck. She had made the tea.

He now understood why she'd been so offended and why her mood changed drastically. For that, he frowned and mentally cursed himself.