Chapter 9: A Show of Gratitude

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~(Y/N)~

I had woken up on my stomach feeling sore from training and previous night's events of getting whipped in the back. Slowly pushing myself up from the bed I then heard the door open.

Turning I find Levi entering my room. "Good, you're awake," he says.

"You're not going to make me train today are you?" I ask. I sat up keeping my back straight and shoulders back, it relieved some of my pain. Levi walked up alongside the bed until he was standing right in front of me.

"No, I wanted to make sure you knew that I'll be absent for a few days... and I can't take you with," he says.

Shrugging my shoulders slightly I turn seeming unfazed. "Oh okay," I say.

He let out a seemingly hurt scuff, turning I watched as he placed both hands on his hips. "I expect you to behave brat, you'll be watched by Hanji... I'll be back in three days," he says in a low tone.

"Yeah okay," I say. Slowly getting up I held the post to the bed. Suddenly I felt a hand at my side. Turning my head I find Levi helping me up.

"I leave in a few minutes, I can walk with you down to Hanji," he says.

Shaking my head I pry his hands off of me. "No thanks, I got it," I say as I slowly shuffle my way to the door.

As I came to the door Levi quickly opened it for me. "I wasn't asking cadet," he says.

"And I said no thank you," I say as I step out of the room. Walking in front of him I made my way down to Hanji's office quickly. As I walk down the crowded halls I turn my head slightly finding the short stubborn man following me.

~Levi~

This brat is so stubborn. I kept following her to make sure she wouldn't fall and hurt herself. Truly if I had a say in the matter I would have stayed behind to keep an eye on this clumsy little shit but Erwin needed me.

I followed her up to Hanji's door before I stopped in front of her. "I didn't need you to follow me," she says as she crosses her arms.

"You are under my supervision, it's my job to follow you," I say.

Turning slightly she flashed me a grin. "You weren't doing a very good job last night," she says. Rolling my eyes I then grabbed her shoulder and gently pushed her up against the wall.

"Cut the crap cadet, you, and I both know I can't have eyes on you 24/7. It's not my fault your stupid ass decided to sneak out." I growl. She was beginning to get on my nerves.

"Well, you should have listened to me then, with me gone your job is much easier," she says. I flashed her an annoyed glare before I drew closer.

"How about this, I'll start being nice if you stop being so stubborn-

"No." she interrupts. Pushing her harder I disregarded her injuries. She hissed loudly before flashing me a glare.

"Then, what? What will it take for you to stop being an ass?" I ask.

Grunting she began to push me back although I was much stronger than her. "First, you can start by getting the fuck off me." she groans. Letting up I stand up straight allowing her to stand up straight.

"Levi!" I hear a familiar voice call. Turning my head I find Erwin making his way down the hall until he stood next to me. He greeted (Y/N) before turning to me.

"It's time to go," he says.

Keeping a deadly glare on (Y/N) I let out a sigh. "Tch, I know," I growl. With that, I turned and followed Erwin down the hall. That girl is going to be cleaning this place by herself when I get back.

~(Y/N)~

I watched as the short angry man left with Erwin. Finally, some freedom. I stood there in front of the door still waiting for Hanji to open up. Looking down the hall where Levi had once been walking down I started to rethink my actions. Maybe I was a little too rude, I mean he did save me... twice. Letting out a sigh I suddenly jolt to the door opening.

"Good morning!" Hanji greets.

Giving her a shy smile I walk in. "Morning," I say.

"Go sit I'll change your bandages," she says.

Doing as told I go and sit on her medical bed and lift up the back of my shirt revealing the bandaged up area. Maybe I'll do some cleaning. I shivered a little at the touch of Hanji's somewhat cold hands began peeling the bandages off. "So (Y/N), tell me about yourself," she says.

Letting out a slight sigh I turn my head slightly. "What do you wanna know?" I ask.

"Well, where are you from?" she asks.

Turning forward I place my head in my hands. "Didn't Erwin give you anything that has all that info?" I ask.

"Oh, you're right... then tell me something I don't know." she chuckles softly.

Well, I'm from a different time with no clue on how I got here. "Well... I had a cat." I say.

"Oh!? Cute, what was its name?" she asks.

"Duchess," I answer.

She let out a confused hum. "That's a strange name," she says.

Chuckling softly I smirk to myself. "Is it?" I ask.

"A little bit, yeah," she says.

She then slapped both hands on my back signaling she had finished bandaging my back. Letting out a slight hiss she then took her hands off. "Oops sorry," she says.

Pulling my shirt down I hop off the bed. "I'm going to go clean for a bit," I say.

"Don't work yourself too hard," she says.

With that, I left her office and went searching for a cleaning supply closet. Pulling a broom and mop out, I begin cleaning the halls as the other cadets went to training or the mess hall allowing the halls to be empty.

~Time Skip~

The sun was beginning to set as I had finished cleaning the stables. Bending over I place both hands on my back as I let out a tired sigh. There now Captain crabby pants will be happy I did something nice.

As tired as I was I still kept moving. I made my way back inside and placed the items back in the closet. Cadets started heading off into their rooms. I hadn't eaten since breakfast but didn't feel all that hungry.

Slowly I head off to my room for the night. Collapsing on my bed I laid on my stomach and let out a long sigh as I slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

~Three Days Later~

~Levi~

Coming back from the little expedition felt relieving. As I placed my horse in its stall I had noticed the buckets were cleaned and the hay had been replaced. hurt yourself Hanji get the remaining cadets to clean?

As I walked out of the stalls I noticed the windows had been washed as well. Walking up to the front doors I entered and found the halls spotless, it had been dusted and mopped rather thoroughly. It's like I've died and gone to heaven.

Walking into the mess hall I was greeted by a happy Hanji. "Levi! You won't believe what (Y/N) did," she says.

Looking down at her a little concerned I cross my arms. "What did she do?" I ask.

"She cleaned this place spotless!" she says.

Shocked I looked down at her. "Why would you let her?!" I snap.

Hanji's smile vanished. "She wouldn't listen when we told her to take it easy-

"Never mind that, where is she?" I ask.

Hanji turned to the door I had just come from. "She should be in her room, she's probably still sleeping-

With that, I took my leave and headed straight for her room. Marching through the halls I passed by cadets who greeted me. By the time I reached the other side of the headquarters I had come up with what I was going to tell her, I would scold her for being stupid and try to slip a thank you unnoticed.

Pounding on her door I prepared myself. I waited for a moment before the door opened. Looking down at her I found she was in a tank top and shorts looking up at me tiredly. I was lost for words at this point. "Uhh," I say.

"What?" she asks in a tired tone.

"I... Uh... Are you stupid?" I finally ask.

Stepping into her room I shut the door behind me. "Excuse me?" she asks.

"Why would you clean this whole place and by yourself?" I ask.

Pinching the bridge of her nose before letting out a sigh. "I was being nice you damn prick, besides I'm fine." she groans.

"You could have ripped open your stitches!" I scold.

"But they didn't! God, I try and do something nice," she says, her voice getting softer at the end. Crossing my arms I stood there watching as she turned away.

"Next, time let someone help, I appreciate what you did but you could have hurt yourself again." I quickly say.

Turning to me she kept her glare on me. "Why do you care?" she then asks.

Clearing my throat I then fix my cravat. "You're my responsibility idiot, I can't have you running around bleeding out that only complicate things more, you, and I both know we don't need any more complications," I answer.

Rolling her eyes she returned to her bed and sat there. "At least be grateful someone cleaned up... I didn't miss anything did I?" she then asks.

I slight smirk tugged at my lips as I let out a soft huff. "No... you did well," I mutter. With that, I left her room after bidding her farewell. Hopefully, after this, her and I will start being able to get along.

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