Yours Truly, Levi

Tree Climbing

"Well, well, well."

Startled, you feel yourself slip from the tree. "Ahh!" Clinging tight to the branch, you fight to keep aloft.

The voice below turns to a chuckle, and you feel suddenly angry. "Shut up! You scared me!" Uh oh. Too girly! "I mean... uh..." you hastily change your tone to a lower, falsely masculine pitch you'd perfected over the last few weeks. "I didn't see you there."

"Clearly. Otherwise you wouldn't have almost fallen out of the tree. Idiot." The last part he mutters snidely, and you grimace as you affix your position on the branch and glance down. Your heart leaps as you realize who it is that you'd just talked back to.

"Commander Levi! I'm- uh- I didn't see who-" you stumble through an apology, hoping to heaven he isn't mad.

"Relax, kid. I don't mind a little sass, as long as you remember who's boss around here."

You breathe a sigh of relief. Levi might've been kind of a jerk, but at least you weren't going to be punished.

"Anyway, what are you doing up there?" he asked, the curiosity peeking over his permanently bored expression. "The shelter's done now. You don't have to hide."

"I'm not hiding," you say crossly. "I'm enjoying the view."

He is silent for a moment, then asks, "Is it pretty?"

You nod and beckon him up. "Come see!"

He looks at you like you just suggested he get drunk and dance the tango naked with Ham, the chubby old man of the group. "I'm not into climbing."

You find yourself gazing at his chiseled abs through his Scout Regiment uniform, wondering how such a small, thin man has such a nice chest. "Oh," you say absently.

"Just get to the shelter soon," he says, turning back to walk away. "We're roll calling in ten."

As he walks towards the shelter, you cannot help but notice that he's kinder now than what you'd seen before. The few interactions you'd had with him, you'd seen he was heartless and cold, with no tolerance for weakness or disobedience. But... he had just, left you be. It was very out of character, you notice.

What other surprises would the day bring?