She woke up that morning to the sound of someone unlocking the door to her cell.

"Good morning, handsome," she called out, not bothering to roll over in her bed.

"Oh?"

Her eyes widened at that, and she turned to see none other than Erwin holding a ring of keys, a small grin forming on his lips.

"Sorry, Commander. I thought you were someone else," she said sweetly, standing up and stretching her arms over her head.

"Apologies if I disappointed you, Miss Varga."

"Oh, I'm not at all disappointed. I was just expecting—well, I'm sure you can figure it out."

"I see. I didn't ask Levi why he hadn't been down to retrieve you yet, but I have my suspicions now."

"Your suspicions are probably right," she replied smugly, "Don't get me wrong, Commander, I have no problem flirting with you before breakfast, it's just that Levi doesn't flirt back. It makes for a refreshing start to my day."

"Oh, I'm well aware," he mused, chuckling quietly.

"You are?" she asked with a raised brow, "Say, are you two—"

"Ah, I'm afraid that's not what I was getting at," he breathed out, though his eyes shined mischievously, "But that's an interesting speculation—one that I wouldn't share with Levi, if I were you."

"I don't have a death wish, Commander," she snorted, "He nearly broke my ribs when I accused him of being a kiss-ass."

"You said that to him?"

"You don't seem so amused anymore."

"I'm just surprised, I suppose. Well, then that's probably why he didn't want to come down here himself. Thank you for clarifying."

"Damn, is he really that touchy?"

"Not usually—or I don't think so, at least. That's a conclusion you can come to on your own. Though, I am confident in saying that if you don't shower, he'll probably continue to avoid you for the rest of the day."

"If someone could show me to one, I'd love to do just that."

"Ah, I forgot that the cell you're in is without one. Well, I'd be happy to escort you to the female barracks. If you'd just follow me," he offered, holding the door open for her.

"You're much more chivalrous than your captain, Erwin Smith."

"I apologize if he's a bit defensive. He's been put under a lot of pressure lately."

"By you?"

"In a way, yes, but I'm afraid I can't do anything else, given the circumstances. We're in a precarious position, as I've said, and I'm sure you've heard the rumors about Levi."

"Mainly from my brother. He's always raving about how great he is. When I told him about the hit that was placed on Levi, he—"

"You told him that?" Erwin asked, freezing on the staircase.

"I tell Lewis everything. Is that—is that bad, Commander?"

"No, I've just been wondering who left that anonymous tip. Do you think your brother could have?"

"There's no way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I told him that I wasn't going to take the job, and he knows I'd never lie to him. Besides," she continued, "Even if he didn't believe me, he wouldn't have been able to tell anyone. He can't really move, Commander. He's missing two limbs."

"I see," he replied, sounding somewhat apologetic, "Well, I would say we can rule him out then."

"Does it really matter who left the tip? I mean, I'm not going to kill Levi now, you know."

"But someone else overheard your conversation. It's possible they know the identity of the person who propositioned you. We need all of the information we can get."

"Okay, yeah," she agreed, sighing, "I might recognize his voice if I hear it."

"Be actively listening, then," he told her.

"I'm looking for a scout, right?" she decided to ask.

He hesitated, and then replied, "Yes, I'm afraid that's our culprit's most probable occupation. It's unfortunate."

The two of them walked in silence after that, Erwin showing her where the closest female cabin was and then informing her of when Levi usually came in for breakfast. She was a bit nervous when she walked in, as she was afraid she would stand out, but also because she had never showered anywhere other than her own private bathroom.

"Blake!" someone called out as soon as she entered the room.

She followed the voice to find Petra standing amongst a few other women, all of them nude in at least some aspect, and she felt her own cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

"I don't know how you can be so cheerful after that ten mile run I saw you guys doing," a girl beside of her said before turning to look at Blake, eyebrow quirked in curiosity, "And you are?"

"Blake Varga," she replied slowly, feeling a bit defensive by the look the other woman was giving her, "Is there a problem?"

"No, there's no problem," she said with a light chuckle, "I can just tell that you're not used to showering or changing around other people. Are you a new recruit?"

"Not exactly. I'm taking care of Levi while he's injured. I'm supposed to make sure he doesn't overexert himself."

"Oh, so that's why Petra is so excited to see you."

"Dola!" the girl in question shrieked, tugging at her friend's arm in frustration, "That's not true!"

Before she even had to ask for an explanation, the supposed Dola went on to say, "Petra has an obsession with Captain Levi. What was it you said, Petra? You want to devote your life to him?"

"No, no! It's not like that at all!"

"She's too scared to make a move on him, though. I keep telling her: Petra, our life expectancy isn't that promising, so you should just ask him if he's interested in a relationship, and—"

"That's so gross, Dola, I would never ask him something like that. Even if he was interested, I could never—he's my squad leader!"

Without thinking, Blake offered, "Do you want me to ask him? Just for shits and giggles?"

Petra's frantic denial and Dola's teasing laughter ceased immediately, the two of them looking at her with eyes similar in size to Levi's tea saucer. Realizing her mistake, she pursed her lips together, mentally smacking herself on the wrist.

"He'll kill you," Petra asserted seriously.

"He can't. Erwin wouldn't let him."

"Do it," Dola demanded, as if she expected Blake to back down, "And I want to see it happen."

"Dola!"

"Done," she agreed, "Give me a few minutes to shower, and then walk with me to get breakfast."

"This is a terrible idea," Petra protested, giving her a pleading look, "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"I promise I won't. What's he gonna do to me, anyway? Threaten to put strain on his hip?"

Dola cackled.

༻✦༺

"This is bad."

"It's fine, Petra."

"What if he gets angry?"

"He won't," Blake interjected, walking in front of them, "He doesn't get angry about things like that. Worst case scenario, he'll just walk away."

"How do you know?"

"I've flirted with him before. He really won't be pissed, and if he is, he can't make me run ten miles for it. Now, act natural."

Before they could pose inquiries about what she had meant when she said she'd flirted with Captain Levi, of all people, she jogged ahead to the door of the cafeteria.

She felt an absurd spell of excitement bewitch her, as she couldn't remember the last time she had interacted with anyone like this. She had revealed to Levi the other night that she'd never had many friends—her family's affairs didn't allow that—and she couldn't help but feel a sweet hint of joy at the prospect of that sort of companionship. Even if she was meeting them in unideal circumstances, she liked the amity. Knowing that Lewis would be happy for her for talking to people and making friends helped keep her from falling into a spiral of guilt and self-pity. When they saw each other again, she was sure that he would be elated to discover that she hadn't wallowed in sorrow the entire time she was searching for him, but instead tried to do what he would do: make the best of a bad situation.

When they saw each other again, she was sure that he would be proud of her.

With this in mind, she slipped through the door, the other two girls following closely behind her, and spotted Levi sitting across from Hange. Surprisingly, his small division of the table was empty.

"You!" Hange hollered excitedly, motioning for her, "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Hange," she replied politely, standing behind Levi. She nearly put a hand on his shoulder because of how natural it felt, but quickly remembered how negatively he had reacted when she'd touched him before. Even though she wasn't making physical contact with him, he still tensed up.

Thankfully, it was just Hange and Levi so far, so the humiliation she was about to put him through wouldn't be viewed by anyone other than them—and Petra and Dola, of course.

"No tea this morning?" she asked, and he craned his neck to look at her.

"I thought you'd want to do it," he explained quietly, "Since you keep scolding me for standing up."

"How well behaved you are, Levi," she praised teasingly as his eyes narrowed at her. He seemed to be suspicious of her already. "Of course I'll get your tea for you."

"Thanks," he mumbled after she returned with his cup, taking it from her hands, "Shit, hot."

"That's why you should grab it by the handle," she said with a roll of her eyes, sitting down in the seat next to him, "Instead of by the top or the sides. Y'know, like a normal person."

He huffed and gave her a look of frustration before casting his eyes back down to the table, seemingly prepared to tune out whatever Hange was going to ramble on about.

"Hange," she said quietly, doing her best not to sound mischievous, "I've been hearing rumors about you."

"Really? Like what?" they asked excitedly, leaning forward.

"Elbows off the table," Levi snapped.

"About you and Moblit, actually," she explained.

"People always say that!"

"You don't even know what the rumor is."

"It's that I'm holding something over his head, right? That he's only assisting me because I've blackmailed him? I swear, I haven't. I'm just a lot of fun to be around. Moblit likes that."

"Mm, might've been me who spread those rumors about you blackmailing him, then. Sorry," Levi murmured, still not looking at either of them.

"Aw, was that a joke, Levi? You're so adorable when you have a sense of humor," Hange cooed.

A sound resembling a growl left the captain's lips, Hange startled by it enough to scoot back in their seat a little. Satisfied with that reaction, Levi continued drinking his tea.

"No, not that you're forcing him to help you out," Blake said, now a bit frustrated, "I just keep hearing that you're, y'know, together."

"Huh?" Levi sputtered, looking to Hange for confirmation, "Together?"

"Eh? Why do you sound so disgusted, Levi? Are you jealous that people think I could possibly be in a relationship?"

Slightly surprised by how unbothered the squad leader was by the lie she'd just made up, she watched in awe as the two of them fell into a match of bickering.

"Yeah," was his simple reply, "You always smell like shit. Don't know how anyone could—"

"So, is it true?" she interrupted, Levi's eyes glazed over in irritation at being cut off.

"Hah, no," Hange breathed out, a light chuckle tumbling from their lips, "Moblit is just a good guy, that's all. Though, he is handsome. I'm flattered, really."

"I'm sure you are," he snorted, rolling his eyes.

She glanced over at Petra and Dola, who were pretending to be preoccupied by their breakfast, and the three of them shared a devious look.

"What about you, Levi?" she asked, propping her chin up on her hand.

"No, I'm not dating Moblit."

"Okay, smart ass, you know that's not what I meant. Are you seeing anyone?"

He gave her a sharp glare, his eyes icy and narrow, before grabbing his teacup in a manner far too gentle for his current disposition.

"I thought we were done with this," he said lowly as he leaned closer to her, as if intending for Hange not to hear.

"What?"

"This," he explained with an erratic hand gesture, his voice increasing in volume.

Not quite sure what had gone wrong, she struggled to regain control over the situation, stuttering out a panicked, "Hey, Levi—"

"Stop trying to manipulate me!"

Equally as startled by his outburst, the few other people in the room looked on with widening eyes, Petra's expression one of downright terror. Levi seemed surprised too, because he swallowed hard, his grip on his teacup tightening. Without another word, he stood, walking briskly out of the building.

"What the hell was that?" she whispered to herself.

"I don't know," Hange said, seemingly intrigued, "He doesn't usually do that."

She slowly got up, making her journey outside with hesitant steps. Petra looked at her nervously, and she could only shrug, because, really, she had no idea what had just occurred. She found him sitting behind the building, his back pressed against the side of it, causing him to hunch over slightly. His cup was on the ground, its contents having spilled out into the grass.

"Hey," she greeted him softly, "Can I sit?"

He didn't say anything, refusing to look at her when she joined him on the ground.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't," he mumbled, sighing, "You just—I'm having a hard time understanding. Not just you, but everything, and my head hurts, shit, I feel like someone is kicking me in the face."

"Did you hit it on something?"

"No, Varga, I didn't hit my head on something. You can lay off of the nurse shit when it's just us, you know," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Okay," she replied, crossing her arms, "Well, are you stressed out?"

He gave her an incredulous look, and she quickly tried to remedy her error, murmuring a, "Sorry, sorry. I keep forgetting who you are. Humanity's Strongest, of course you're probably stressed out. That was a stupid question. Sorry."

"Yeah, it was stupid," he agreed, tilting his head back and watching a bird soar overhead, "Why are you still trying to get under my skin?"

"Huh?"

"Inside," he continued, "Asking me that stuff. Why?"

"That's not—Levi, I only did that to tease someone else. It was a joke, I swear. I really wasn't trying to make you angry."

He shifted slightly, looking at her with curiosity, "A joke?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "No ill will intended."

"Oh," he murmured, and she could have sworn she noticed a light pink dusting his cheeks, "I thought you were just being a dick."

She chuckled quietly at that, the sound of it causing Levi to look up at her.

"No more manipulation, right? We're on the same side now. We don't need to be playing mind games with each other."

He nodded, sighing.

"Neither of us wants to be in this position," she continued, "But we are. I'm trying to make the best of it. You should, too."

"Then leave me alone."

"While you're stressed? That'd make me a bad friend. What's on your mind?"

"We aren't friends," he clarified, "And I'm not talking about shit like that with you."

"Okay, well, is there anyone you would talk to about it?" she tried.

"No."

"Erwin? Hange? Mike?"

"I said no. They have enough to worry about. I'm sure we're all stressed. It's fine."

"Then just tell me. I don't have any military concerns, and I'm a great listener."

"I'm starting to understand why you said you didn't have many friends growing up," he snapped, "And you have your own problems too. I shouldn't have lashed out at you, but that doesn't mean you can pester me into telling you what I'm thinking. Just drop it."

"You're infuriating," she groaned, "But I respect your privacy, I guess. Still, I don't want to have to trail behind you while you're in a shitty mood. Can I do anything to make you less intolerable?"

He said nothing, but his eyes traveled to the spilled tea. Sighing, she reached for the cup, brushing some grass off of the side.

"What a pain you are, Captain," she teased, "I'll wash this for you, okay?"

He only huffed, but she didn't miss the quiet thanks that floated into the air behind her as she walked back inside.