The Elite: Wings of Freedom (Levi x OC)

Chapter 18: "Bonding"

Flashback - Elena

I sat cross legged on the chair that was positioned opposite of Captain Levi's desk, watching him do paperwork. I just made him tea, and he was pleasantly surprised about how well I had made it. A small smile rested on my lips as I took a sip from my cup and examined his concentrated face. His flawless features seemed to be extenuated in the flickering light of the lanterns, making them all the more enticing. The Commander had told us to 'bond', since for the first few weeks of me being in the scouts, we had clashed a lot. While watching him do paperwork wasn't the most fun thing I could be doing right now, I'm glad that he released us from kitchen duty, which had been our punishment for fighting so often.

Lost in thought, I didn't even realize that Captain Levi had looked up at me until he spoke.

"What are you staring at?" his look of concentration shifted into a look of annoyance.

I blinked, realizing that I had, in fact, been staring at him. I thought for a moment, should I own up to it? Should I try to compliment him and see how he reacts? Poke fun at him? "I wasn't staring, I was watching," I started slowly, still not sure what to do.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well..." I bit the inside of my cheek, all of a sudden getting nervous.

"Come on brat, spit it out," he pushed, becoming irritated.

Knocking on his door drew his attention from me, and he let out a frustrated breath. "Name and business," he called, keeping his voice level.

"Clara, I need to speak with you about something," a high-pitched voice responded from the other side.

Captain Levi rolled his eyes, "Enter."

Right as the door was opening, I decided to answer his question, so that he wouldn't be able to respond right away. "I was just studying your face," I said quickly, and quietly enough that only he heard me.

His head snapped towards me; I had obviously caught him off guard. A slight blush formed on his cheeks as he processed what I said. "W-what?" he stuttered, blushing harder as I gave him a small smile.

I turned my head to look at the girl who had just entered. She had been a part of the group that joined right before mine, but was still a cadet, and was also under Captain Levi's command. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she closed the door behind her.

Captain Levi followed my gaze, and I watched as he tried to compose himself and cleared his throat. I chuckled lightly and made eye contact with him, taking a sip of my tea.

"What do you want, cadet?" he turned back to the girl, irritation filling his voice.

I turned my head back to her and realized that she was sizing me up. I raised an eyebrow at her and glanced at Captain Levi to see if he noticed the look she was giving me.

"Actually, what perfect timing. This is something I wanted to talk to you about," she crossed her arms at her chest and glared at me.

"Oh?" I mused, pushing down a smile and keeping my face neutral.

She rolled her eyes at me and turned to the Captain. "Why is she here?"

I raised my eyebrows slightly, watching Captain Levi as his eyes flickered to mine for a second before narrowing at her. "That's none of your business cadet. You said you had to talk to me about something, so hurry up and speak before I get even more sick of your face," I heard the clear annoyance in his voice, but she seemed oblivious to it.