Blue and White - Levi Fanfiction

Ch. 65 - Baby Steps, Towards Peace

Weeks Later:

I unlocked the front door with a yawn, stepping inside the house and hanging the keys where I always did right beside the door. I unlaced and pulled my boots off, happy to be done with my work for the day - well, work at work, that is. There was still plenty to be done at home, and my work never truly was done, but for now, I was content to be home and away from the pressures of being a soldier, the duties of being a captain.

As it was, today I'd taken over the gear training this afternoon for Levi, overseeing the brats as they ran drills and went through their daily routines. It'd been a hot one today, but I worked hard right alongside them. Despite my barked orders, my diligence in correcting their forms, and my intense desire to spar, it was harder on me than it was on them. Though I was hard on them, my body was being hard on me.

Levi, on the other hand, had been inside our office there at the base doing paperwork, and had finished early, so he'd consequently come home with Emiko. At this point in the afternoon, well, it'd be about time for her nap, anyway - or at least one of the many she took daily.

Of course, I didn't mind, not really. I didn't leave long after they did, and the work was good for me. I needed to get back in good form, after all.

Now home, I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the rack just beside the door. With one hand undoing the top few buttons of my uniform, I walked into the kitchen on near-silent feet and checked the cupboards for what I could make a meal out of today with my free hand. Downstairs in our icebox I knew there was still some fresh game, but that would take a lot of work to prepare and I was still quite heated from working in the sun, so maybe I could just settle for making a salad today, because I really did not feel like working with more heat today.

Well, I could discuss it with Levi once it got closer to dinnertime. I'm sure he wouldn't have a preference either way, not on a day like this. With another yawn, one I tried to stifle, I headed towards our bedroom. Odds were Levi would be napping with our daughter, if he'd gotten her to get down for a nap at all. I opened the door quietly but didn't even need to step into the room to know they weren't in there.

The bed was empty, the sheets still neatly made from this morning, and I pursed my lips. Hm. I closed the door again, making the short walk across the hall to the nursery. I opened that door too, expecting to see Levi in the rocking chair by the crib, Emi with him. They weren't here, either. But a few of her toys were a mess on the floor, so I stepped in to take care of them.

I walked back through the kitchen, stopping by the window over the sink to peek outside. Sometimes, on nice days, Levi would nap outside in the fresh air. Not today, apparently. I couldn't say I blamed him; it was far too hot out for that.

I walked towards the other side of the house, where we'd set up one of the extra rooms as a home office. There wasn't much in there, honestly, just a large desk covered in our paperwork and documents, two desk chairs, and bookshelves not quite yet filled with books set against one wall.

The door was open just a crack, and I pushed it open only enough to peek inside. I smiled at the sight, because sure enough, Levi was fast asleep in his desk chair, one leg crossed over the other, Emi resting in his lap. Levi had one elbow on the chair's armrest, that hand holding up his head while our daughter snoozed peacefully against him. I spent a quiet moment just ingraining this image into my mind, for what a sweet moment it was, then decided I should probably get a head start on the chores.

I did the washing, setting the clothes on the line outside in our garden to dry. I tended to our plants, taking care of the weeds I saw, and let the horses out to graze. My horse, always full of energy, trotted out happily, Levi's dark horse stepping in a little slower. She'd always been a little lazy - the opposite of her rider.