Immediately, the scout who had spilled beer all over her a few days prior caught sight of her, throwing a hand in the air excitedly.

"Hey, lady! I didn't know you were apart of our division!" they called out from where they were sitting.

"Erwin thought I needed a nurse," Levi announced, walking towards their table.

"Huh? You're a nurse?" they asked. "Is that why you were meeting with Levi the other day?"

"You don't smell like a nurse," a man sitting beside of them remarked, shoving a spoonful of broth into his mouth.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Hange. That's Mike, and this is Moblit. Usually only officers sit here, but since you're Levi's nurse, I'm sure it would be fine for you to join us."

She offered them a polite smile, then turned to Levi, who gave her a knowing look, before the two of them sat down at the table.

"I like your hair, by the way! It seems like it's thick. Is it thick? Can I touch it?"

"Hange," Levi warned.

"Thank you," she replied softly, "It is pretty thick, actually. It's a little bit hard to take care of. I like your hair too."

"Really? Levi always tells me it looks messy."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about. Messy hair can be stylish."

Levi didn't bother dignifying that with a response, instead deciding to stand up from the table to go fix himself a plate.

"Sorry, Captain," she chided, placing a hand on his shoulder to push him back down into his seat, "I can't let you do that."

"Excuse me?" he sputtered, startled, "And what the hell did I tell you about touching me?"

"My bad! I forgot. But really, you oughta stay here. Too much strain on your—," she began, only to realize she had no idea which part of Levi they were even pretending was injured, "Hip. Too much strain on your hip will reverse the healing process. Take it easy."

"You have a really great nurse, Levi," Hange remarked happily.

The captain himself was visibly fuming. From where she stood as she fixed him a plate, she could see that he kept clenching and unclenching his fists underneath the table, his shoulders tense.

She fixed him a cup of black tea and neatly arranged a few vegetables onto his dish, getting an idea when she caught sight of a basket of baked potatoes in the corner. Surveying the room, she made her way to a door that she assumed led to the kitchen, none of the people inside sparing her a second glance when she joined them.

"Do you have any seasoning?" she asked a man who was slicing onions in the corner.

"It isn't cheap. We never use it. Why do you need it?"

"Captain Levi," she tried, wondering if his reputation among his branch was as powerful as it was on the streets.

"Whatever. Check the bottom row of cabinets."

Pleased by the man's cooperation, she took a look into the cabinets, only spotting basil and a bottle of olive oil. Sighing, she took them anyway, seasoning Levi's baked potato to the best of her ability. Deciding it looked presentable enough, she walked back over to their table.

"Did you just go into the kitchen?" he asked her, seemingly annoyed.

"Got lost. Eat," she replied, placing his meal in front of him and sitting down.

"Yours looks better than mine," Hange pouted.

"Smells different. What'd you put on it?" the Mike fellow noted, gazing curiously at Levi's baked potato.

"The hell? Stop staring at my food," the captain scolded, slowly picking up his fork, "It looks like you pissed on it."

"Why would—? You know what, never mind. If you don't like it, I'll eat it," she mumbled, looking at her own plate.

Rolling his eyes, he carved a piece of the potato out with his fork, hesitantly sinking his teeth into it.

"It tastes the same, just less plain," he said with little interest, though he took another bite anyway.

"That's the point of seasoning," she scoffed, then remembered her promise to pretend to respect him, adding, "Captain."

"Olive oil and basil. Almost entirely flavorless, but not quite," Mike declared as he inhaled.

"Yep, that's all I had to work with."

"Do you cook?" Hange inquired, tilting their head slightly.

"My brother had an aptitude for it. He tried teaching me, but it was never really my thing. I only remember the simple stuff," she explained, "Like seasoning."

"Cooking sounds fun," they replied, "I want to try it."

"No," Levi snapped, cutting one of his vegetables into smaller pieces.

"What? Why not?"

"You don't need another opportunity to make a mess. The only reason you're allowed to have a spoon right now is because Moblit babysits you."

"Moblit doesn't babysit me! He's just a helpful guy—right, Moblit?"

Moblit said nothing, stuffing his face full of his own baked potato and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Hange paid no mind to this, continuing to carry the conversation with ease.

"You have no idea how— Oh, hey! Are you dining with us this afternoon?"

Turning to see whoever it was Hange had started talking to, she was surprised to find that Erwin was walking towards them.

"Only for a few minutes. I don't have much time to spare, I'm afraid," he answered, taking the seat next to Levi.

The captain only tensed slightly, though he did hunch over a bit more, attempting to shield his plate from the commander.

"Oh, that looks nice," Erwin hummed, looking at Levi's food anyway, "I wasn't aware we had any seasoning."

"Oh, that's because Levi's nurse had to specifically ask for it!" Hange intervened excitedly while Levi scowled.

"It's just basil," he mumbled, lazily stabbing the potato with his fork.

"And olive oil!"

"Hange."

"What? Hey, Levi's nurse, you should bring the seasoning over to the table next time! That way, we can all get the same special treatment—"

They were cut off by the captain standing abruptly, snatching his plate off of the wooden surface and marching over to the trash bin, dumping the remains inside.

"He's in a bad mood today," Moblit gossiped quietly, watching as Levi fixed himself another cup of tea.

"You know how he is," Erwin said simply, as if that explained anything. Everyone else nodded in apparent agreement.

"How is he?"

She hadn't really meant to say it, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her. Everyone was looking at her now, Hange's head cocked slightly to the side, Erwin offering her a small sliver of a smile.

"Independent," he replied, "I suspect he's not enjoying this 'special treatment,' as Hange so eloquently put it."

She sighed, massaging her temples as she watched the captain do his best to avoid the stream of other soldiers who were beginning to flood the room. She had tried to be indifferent towards him, as she was originally going to kill him, but he was making it increasingly difficult for her to remain impassive. Now, she was trying to remind herself of just how much her brother respected the other man, briefly wondering if she should watch him kill a titan to refrain from wanting to strangle him. His quirks were piling up, and her patience was wearing thin. Weaving his way through the crowd, his nose crinkled in apparent disgust that she could only assume was directed at the influx of bodies standing in his way. She watched him clutch his teacup close to his chest.

"Ah, Levi," Erwin greeted, "Don't bother sitting back down. All of you need to finish as quickly as possible. We need to discuss our upcoming expedition."

At once, all of the officers she had been sitting with took final bites of their food, standing and stacking their plates on a table in the corner of the room.

"Do I come with you?" she asked, staring up at the captain from where she was still seated.

"Not a damn chance we're letting you overhear a closed conference," he retorted.

"What do I do? Go back to the basement? Lock myself up?"

"Would it kill you not to say that shit while we're around so many people? I don't care what you do. Just stay out of trouble."

"But I don't know where anything is—"

"Then figure it out. I'm tired of talking to you."

With that, he turned, walking swiftly to catch up with the commander, leaving her all alone.