Silver Lining | ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴄᴋᴇʀᴍᴀɴɴ

Chapter 11

There is no way I could have concentrated on training any longer, and Levi knows that, which is why he lets me go to take a shower. I almost run upstairs and burst into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind myself. I'm breathing so hard not from running but from his words against my ear.

He's teasing me, toying with me, playing a dangerous game, because I want to play it, too. He has no idea what he's doing to me. He has no idea that given the chance, I would do whatever he asks of me.

I almost stay in the bathtub until the water is cold. I almost don't go down to dinner. I don't think I can face Levi now, not as long as I can still feel him against me. I can't see him, or I might do something he won't approve of. 

But Jean is in charge of dinner today, and I volunteered for cleanup because I think a little cleaning will clean my mind also. So I get out of the tub and go downstairs. It feels good to have dinner with everyone again, even though we're all exhausted and tired. Jean's food is amazing, though, and almost manages to take my mind off of the man sitting at the other end of the table. The food almost makes me not realize that the captain is looking at me. Almost.

"That was some intense training you had earlier," Connie says, trying so hard not to laugh.

I fling a piece of bread at him. "Oh, shut up!" But I'm hiding a grin myself.

"What? I'm just saying he looked like he got you in a real tough position," Connie continues, feigning innocence.

Sasha snorts a laugh, and I glare at her. Jean looks back and forth between me and Connie, his face a mask of confusion. "What's going on?" he asks. "What happened?"

My face goes red when Connie, Sasha, and Eren look at me. The three of them were in the one team that was close enough to me and Levi to have noticed us. Jean was so busy trying to fight off Historia and Mikasa that he didn't even have the mind to think of where I was. To my luck.

"Nothing, nothing," Connie says with a laugh. "She only lost, that's all."

Jean nods, but his brow is still furrowed. He doesn't believe him, but he doesn't ask either. I don't know why I don't want Jean to know. It's not as if  he and I were ever going to start anything, and he's definitely not going to be jealous. It's just embarrassing, is what it is - me being pressed to the ground by a man. And not just any man; our captain of all people. But, well, we also didn't really do anything else to be embarrassed about.

But the subject is dropped immediately, and we turn to a lighter conversation. We sit and make jokes for quite a while even when we're all done eating. Sasha goes to bed first, closely followed by Historia. Connie goes next because he feels like he might pass out at the table. Jean and I sit opposite of Eren and Mikasa, and we're the last ones there apart from the elders. After a while, Hange, Petra, and Eld go to bed as well. It's only us, Levi, Gunther, and Oruo now.

When I remember that I'm supposed to do the dishes today, I groan and roll my head back. I rest it on Jean's shoulder, and he laughs. "Come on, you love doing that."

"I know I do, but not when I'm this tired," I groan.

He grins at me, then turns to the other two. "Come on, let's leave her to it so she can get some rest, too."

I grip his arm. "Nooo, don't go," I whine. "My pillow!"

Jean slips his arm out of my grasp and laughs. "Up, up, or you're going to fall asleep here."

He pulls me to my feet. Mikasa and Eren watch us with amused smiles. Jean gives me a supportive clap on the shoulder, and I slap his chest. "Traitor," I joke. He waves goodnight and vanishes out the door. Mikasa says goodnight as well because she'll probably be asleep by the time I get to our room.