Levi was in an exceedingly foul mood. They'd been riding for hours, yet he hadn't said a single word the entire time. She was learning to recognize the way his shoulders indicated how stressed he was feeling, however, and he was certainly tense at the moment. Still, she couldn't comfort him; she was sure he'd lose it on her if she dared to question his stability in front of his squad. Somewhere behind her, she could hear Oluo lecturing Eren on a series of nonsensical things, Petra expressing her distaste through irritated mumbling. Eren, for his part, was eerily respectful. It made her curious.

"Say, Eren," she began, looking at the boy over her shoulder, "What did you intend to do before this?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sheepish.

"Like, did you wanna open a restaurant? Be a doctor? Bartend?"

"Oh. Um, I'm actually a cadet."

"Not anymore," Levi muttered, these being the first words he'd spoken from his saddle.

"Did you want to join this regiment?" she pressed.

"Always. It's an honor to be working alongside Squad Levi. I hope I'm of some use."

Turning this information over in her head, she caught Levi's stare. What are you thinking? he seemed to ask, eyebrow quirked ever so slightly. She struggled to direct her horse to fall right beside of the captain, the rest of the group out of earshot.

"I don't think our mystery man is a Scout. Surely we would've found him by now, right?" she suggested.

"That all depends on your competence."

"No, but think about it, Levi. We thought it could be someone in the Survey Corps because they'd understand the threat you pose better than anyone else, right? Look at that kid though, babe, tell me he isn't staring at you like you're God's gift to mankind."

"I noticed that. It's weird as shit. You think it's him?"

"Not at all, but if it isn't a Scout, who else could it be? What's the only other branch of the military that would gossip about the exploits of Captain Levi enough to clue someone in?"

"Cadets," he replied, his grip tightening on the reigns, "You think more than one kid is capable of plotting something like this?"

"It's not Eren. He's too short, too timid, too weak. He doesn't fit the description at all. Just because he's some sort of mutant doesn't mean he's got the ability to orchestrate something so nasty."

"I find it hard to believe that a child would've kidnapped your brother."

"You don't know my brother," she snapped. "He's good-natured, gentle; he also can't get around on his own. It wouldn't take much to kidnap him."

"Enterprising," was Levi's quiet reply.

"What?"

"You said he's enterprising. You think a kid could outsmart him?"

She considered that, clicking her tongue. Lewis was smart, that's for sure, but how far could intelligence get you when you'd been rendered immobile by the horrors beyond the walls?

"Not without some help," she decided, the realization unsettling. "Do you think there could be more than one culprit?"

"It's possible. I think Erwin's already considered that."

"What?"

"Your cadet theory."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Anyone who isn't Erwin, Mike, or Hange can't know. Do you understand?"

"Why is it a secret? More importantly, why am I in on it?"

"You know there's a spy. Your involvement is completely centered around that possibility. If the pool of suspects keeps growing, isn't it better to at least narrow down the number of people who know what's going on?"

"I guess," she agreed, frowning. "It seems like a recipe for chaos."

"I trust Erwin," was all he said, and that was the end of it.

She fell back to ride beside of Petra. She knew the conversation wouldn't progress beyond that.

༻✦༺

They'd been cleaning for hours. Once they arrived at their new base, Levi's eyes had narrowed, glaring at the building as if it had personally slighted him. He deemed it filthy almost immediately, ordering his squad to thoroughly scrub each floor.

She'd mainly just been floating behind him. Her strategy was to clean in a way that would piss him off, inspiring him to let out a little huff and shove her aside, taking over the area she was supposed to be caring for. Still, she was growing restless, tired of the scent of bleach and soap.

"You're shit at everything," he grumbled, tugging at the cloth tied around his face.

"You're adorable when you clean," was her reply. If she could irritate him enough, then maybe he'd give up on trying to make her work altogether.

"Stop," he hissed, attempting to whack her foot with the mop. She sidestepped this easily.

"Sorry," she said, leaning over his shoulder and tugging on his earlobe as she whispered, "Would you prefer to be called handsome? Hot? Sexy?"

"None of the above," he murmured while, surprisingly, leaning into her touch, his back pressing against her chest.

Shocked, yet intrigued, she ran her index finger across his collarbone, thumb pressing into the side of his neck. He dropped the mop.

"Pretty?" she tried, lips dangerously close to his ear.

His eyes fluttered shut, dark lashes resting against pale skin. He sighed, tilting his head back a little farther, exposing his neck to her fully.

"Varga," he said quietly, his previously occupied hand wrapping around her thigh.

She swallowed hard, stunned by his sudden change in character, and briefly asked herself how far she was willing to let her stunt play out. His lips were parted, his breathing soft, and she was confused.

"Varga," he said again, grip tightening around her, "You're the biggest dumbass I've ever met."

A reply hadn't even formed on her tongue before he sharply turned to the side, simultaneously using his hold on her leg to tug her feet out from underneath her. The wet floor only made his attack that much easier. She landed, hard, and winced as her back collided with the wooden planks below.

"You—"

He stood above her, the mop back in his hand. He seemed amused, she noted, though his expression hardly showed it. The only indication was the slight glint in his eyes, much softer than anything she'd seen in them before.

"Do you think I'm stupid? You were trying to piss me off so I'd order you to go somewhere else. I know you'd never actually do any work without me getting on your ass about it," he snarled.

"No, no—I get it, be mad that I tried to annoy you into letting me leave," she said, grinning up at him, "That's completely understandable, but I cannot believe that your retaliating tactic was to seduce me."

Flabbergasted, his jaw dropped a little.

"I was just acting how you've been acting. I wasn't trying to—" he started, but cut himself off when her laughter flooded the room.

"I've been flirting with you since we first met, Levi. Surely you're smart enough to pick up on that."

"I know that," he snapped defensively, and he almost looked like he was pouting, "But 'seduce' makes it sound like I actually want to...do stuff with you—which I don't. I was just playing your game."

"You poor thing," she replied with a sigh, pushing herself from the floor. Much to his dismay, she grabbed his forearm, counting on his strength to keep him from toppling over. He didn't disappoint, and she used his stubborn stature to pull herself up.

Defeated, she returned to the bucket and sponge she was supposed to be responsible for. As she cleaned, Levi seemed somewhat surprised, shooting her distrustful glances every few minutes. While his antics were humorous, she knew that expressing as much would only serve to reignite their bickering.

The room they were in didn't possess much furniture. A desk occupied the center, a grand window behind it, allowing the sun to illuminate all of the dust collecting on the old files. A bookshelf stood nearby, though its contents were few. Most of the books that were once there had probably been reclaimed or thrown out when the headquarters was abandoned. On the opposite side of the room was a full-sized bed, a basket of untouched bedding resting beneath the frame. She felt Levi's stare on her as she unfolded them.

"Is this gonna be your room?" she asked, not bothering to look at him.

"Yes. It's closest to the basement entrance."

She nodded, picking up the basket and walking over to the window. The trees outside were swaying gently. Satisfied, she grabbed a bucket of water that they'd yet to utilize. Levi's cleaning supplies consisted of many items, including several containers of soap. She poured some into the bucket, grabbed the sheets, and dunked them in the water. Only now did she bother to spare the captain a glance.

He looked troubled.

"Something wrong?" she asked, using her knuckles to scrub the fabric. "I'm putting them back in the basket once I'm done. I'll take them outside after that. I promise it won't be messy."

"It's fine," he said quietly, eyes still fixed on her hands as she worked, "You just—never mind."

She rolled her eyes, continuing her washing. When she finished, she wandered outside to hang the bedding over a peeling fence, as she doubted there were any clothespins in the previously abandoned headquarters. When she returned to the bedroom, Levi was scrubbing at a spot on the leg of the desk. She crouched to look at him, but he wasn't paying a bit of attention to her. His knuckles were turning white with the grip he had on the sponge.

"Hey," she mumbled in an attempt to get his attention. When he didn't respond, she spoke a little louder.

"Levi."

He turned to her now, his brows furrowed and a frown plastered across his face.

"It won't come off," he told her frustratedly.

"No," she replied, taking the sponge from his hand, "It won't."

"I want it to come off."

"It's on the leg. You won't even be able to see it while you're sitting here."

"But I know it's there."

Sighing, she looked over at the man's belongings. They were in a small leather bag, which he'd neatly placed in the corner of the room.

"Do you have toothpaste?" she asked.

"What?"

"Y'know, the stuff you can buy at the market. Local merchants usually make and sell it. I know this one guy, Dennis Draper—he owns a little store with his wife. Anyway, he puts mint in the paste he makes. Can you believe that? It's incredible. Hey, he sells really nice tea leaves too. Maybe we could—"

"I know what toothpaste is, Varga."

"Right, well, do you have any?"

"Obviously."

"Give it to me, then."

"Absolutely not. You probably dip your entire brush into the jar."

"You don't?"

"Yeah, but it's my toothpaste. If your brush touches it, then—"

"Holy shit, Levi, I don't want to use your toothpaste like that. If I'd known it was such a sensitive topic for you, I would've clarified sooner: it removes wood stains."

"Bullshit."

"Nah. Give me some."

He contemplated it for a moment, answering, "My hands aren't clean. I don't wanna touch it with dirty hands."

"Then wash them," she groaned, growing irritated.

He complied, disappearing from the room and returning a few minutes later. His knuckles were red, she noted, much like what she'd seen during their first interactions. She'd assumed he'd been getting into fights back then, but now it seemed that the cause behind his crimson skin was simply how rough he was when he washed his hands. Again, she sighed, but decided against bringing it up.

Eyeing her with suspicion, he dipped two fingers into his little jar of toothpaste, scooping out an amount he'd deemed satisfactory. He then wiped it onto her fingers, still skeptical.

"Okay, watch," she told him, rubbing the toothpaste into the stain.

Taking a cloth out of his pocket (which he responded to with a glare), she rubbed the paste into the table leg. She then wet the cloth, wiped off the toothpaste, and handed it back to him.

"See?" she cheered, as the stain had significantly faded after her efforts.

She turned to face Levi, expecting him to be annoyed by her gloating; instead, his eyes were wide, lips parted in awe. He pushed his thumb into the wood, as if to check whether or not this was all some elaborate illusion, and then looked at the finger like it wasn't even attached to his own body.

"Where—" he started, voice breaking on the word, "Where'd you learn that?"

"When I got in trouble as a kid, my parents would make me do the cleaning instead of—never mind. Anyway, one of...well, someone took pity on me, and taught me that," she stuttered out, praying that the captain was too amazed by the cleaning trick to pay any mind to her stumbling.

He was now giving her the same stare he'd cast upon the removed stain seconds ago, his head cocked a little as he looked at her.

"Thank you," he said, and it was so soft and genuine that it hardly sounded like his voice at all.

"It's not a big deal. I just didn't want to put up with you being a bitch over not being able to get a stain out."

"Yeah," he replied, strangely agreeable. "I'm gonna go see how the brat is doing."

With that, he stood, making his exit. She watched him leave, hands on her hips as he practically sprinted out of the room.

How odd.

HEYY! sorry for not updating in forever, but here U go!! levi is a little SHIT. they'll stop fighting soon i promise. as u can see, he's a little awestruck by blake's cleaning hacks. poor guy is about to be down so bad 4 her.
i headcanon that he feels validated when ppl actually put effort into cleaning, because y'know everyone always makes him out to be a bitch for being obsessive about it. ANYWAY poor blake doesn't realize that levi doesn't sleep in a bed and she just went and washed all of his bedding hahaha.

if u enjoyed, feel free to vote or comment. thank u!