Yours Truly, Levi

Humiliation

The next few days were spent working, with the promise of living like kings once there was enough food, fresh water, and comfortable shelter to sustain the crew.

Even though you immerse yourself in your chores- boiling water, cooling them in the ocean, running around, collecting empty canteens from the laboring men and replacing them with fresh, chilled ones- you can't stop thinking about the recent turn of events. Levi... Corporal Levi.

He is known for being cold, mean, and heartless towards others; he had proven that so far. But you've also caught a glimpse of the nicer person inside. He'd cared for you, knowing your secret all along, but never saying a thing. He had kept you warm at night when you had no blanket, he'd helped you with your chore. He'd called you smart for using the ocean to cool the steaming canteens, as well as cute for a girl that looks like a boy, and an idiot for- well, no reason. He managed to compliment you through insult, and vise versa. He'd also managed to take over your every thought. Damn. He's good.

As you scrub the pot for what feels like the five-hundredth time, you bite your lip in frustration. Damn him! He is doing this on purpose! He knows I'm a girl, and wants to mess with my head. Damn him! Damn him to Hell! Glancing down, you realize you've been scrubbing the with such intensity that your hands were bleeding. Shit.

Standing, you brush the sand from your outfit and make the trek to the shelter to find some first aid bandages. They're in a wooden box with the word "Emergency" carved on top.

"Oww..." you whimper as you attempt to open the box. "Ow... dammit." The lid is sealed tight. If you could only get it open without hurting your bloody raw knuckles-

Suddenly, you feel your body pushed against the table. The smell of pine trees and worn leather engulfs you. Someone's arms are wrapped around you, their body pushing against yours. The warm set of hands opens the box in front of you. Then he releases you.

You turn and find yourself face-to-face with Levi Ackerman. Again.

"That looks bad. Let me take care of it. You might just make it worse. You really hurt yourself, didn't you, idiot?"

You flush red and try to pull your hand away from his, but it hurts too much to pull, and he holds your fingers gently in his soft yet calloused hands. He slathers a cool salve on the raw skin, and despite yourself, you feel a sigh slip from your lips. "Ahh-" you bite your lip. "Th-thank you..." you say as he gently wraps the cloth around the wounds, then glances up at you.

He doesn't speak again, but you see a strange look in his eye. He just nods and secures the cloth, then turns to leave.

"Wait-" you say, unable to stop yourself. "Why are you helping me so much?"

He tsked again, and turned to face you. "I only wanted to avoid you making your hands bleed more. Nobody wants bloody drinking water, idiot."

"There's that... the warm blanket... and keeping my secret. Helping me with the water... complimenting me, but still insulting me. I don't understand you, Corporal Levi, but... I want to understand. I want..." you trail off, suddenly realizing what you want. Somewhere deep inside your gut, you want to get to know this strange man more, to understand him. But you don't say that. You dismiss the idea. "I want to know why."

He narrows his eyes at you, his mouth a thin line. A peculiar look- amusement? Maybe confusion?- crosses his face. "You think I do that because you're somehow special? Maybe I just know you're weaker than the rest of them, and I don't want you holding the crew down. Maybe I just don't want any unnecessarily deaths- yours by freezing to death, or others by drinking blood-tainted water. Don't put yourself on any pedestal, Bozu. Or whatever your real name is, idiot."

You feel your face flush with humiliation. He's right. In your own head, you've been making yourself feel special because he'd cared for you. But now you feel like a child, an idiot. The weak link. You're humiliated.

"Oh," you say, your heart sinking. "Right. Of course." How could I be so stupid? "Thank you, anyway, Corporal." You take a deep breath and walk past him, heading straight for the pot of what, by now, must be boiling water.