Treasure Eyes

Chapter 16

The next two weeks on the Maria were interesting. Eren was pissed that he lost his free time, considering he didn't really have much of it in the first place. But Eren knew he had fucked up. You can't make a port unavailable to a ship and not get punished for it. To be honest, Eren was surprised Levi kept him on the ship. As a pirate ship, there can't be many legitimate docks that they can dock at without having to worry. But that wasn't why the two weeks were interesting.

Eren now not only brought Levi his meals and tea, but he made it. It's not that Levi ate something different different than everyone else, not exactly. His taste buds were more sensitive to spices, so when food, such as stew, was almost finished and just needed to be seasoned, Mike dished out Levi's portion and gave it to Eren to finish. Living with Levi for a week helped Eren out a lot in this aspect.

And Levi was happy about it. Since Eren was bringing him his meals now, Levi had no reason to leave his cabin, giving him more time to work. If he had thought of this sooner, he would've made it one of Eren's original duties. When he had brought this up to Erwin, the Quartermaster shook his head and gave a deep chuckle.

"I think you just like the fact that Eren's acting a little more like a housewife now." Erwin teased.

"Fuck off." Levi grumbled, taking a bit of his dinner. He would never admit it outloud, but knowing that Eren helped make the food warmed Levi up a little inside. He immediately tasted the difference once Eren started helping in the kitchens. His meals from Mike were still just a little over seasoned and hard to get down. Now, it was perfect, and Levi knew he had Eren to thank for that, not that he ever would. Meanwhile...

"So, how's it like being Captain's little housewife?" Hanji teased as Eren came into the sick bay to eat his dinner. Hanji and Isabel had just finished drawing up the blueprints for the message delivery system, and would begin installation as soon as the next day, but we're taking it easy since Eren was still also delivering messages around the ship in the meantime.

"I'm not his house wife!" Eren whined, a bright blush on his face. Eren didn't like being teased because of his crush on Levi. He understood that Hanji and Isabel didn't mean any harm, but after a while, it just became too much to bare.

"But you do everything a housewife does? You clean, you cook, you bring him tea." Isabel pointed out with a giggle. Eren just whined again, realizing how true it was.

"Come on guys, lay off." Armin said from where he was sitting at his desk, looking over the blueprints again. "He's already being punished, he doesn't need your teasing on top of it all."

"Thank you Armin!" Eren said happily. Armin turned to him with a soft smile.

"I remember being teased for the week long crush I had on Jean when I first met him. It's not fun." The blond pirate said. Eren scrunched up his nose a bit.

"You had a crush on that thing?" Eren asked. Armin rolled his eyes.

"Real mature, Eren." Was all Armin said. Eren laid off. Past was past, and Armin was with Marco now.

Once Eren was done eating, he brought their dishes to the kitchen to be washed, which was one of his jobs. After that, he went to finish his other duties, and then headed to bed. But Eren had troubles getting out of bed the next day. His muscles were sore, and he felt a little light headed. But Eren brushed these things off and went straight to his duties.

"Hey Eren, are you okay?" Mikasa asked as she walked past him as Eren was cleaning the deck.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mikasa. Just a little tired." He said with a smile, before looking to the sky. "Oh, the Captain probably needs a refill on his tea. See you in a few, Mikasa." And Eren went to put his supplies away before making Levi's tea and heading to Levi's cabin. Eren felt himself sway a little, but once again, pushed through it.

"Captain, I have your tea." Eren said as he knocked on the cabin door, not noticing he was leaning on it for support.

"Come in." Levi called. Eren came in, replacing Levi's empty pot with a fresh one. Eren turned to leave, but everything spun and he stopped, trying to rebalance himself. It didn't work, and he passed out.

Watching Eren drop to the floor was one of the scariest things Levi had ever seen in his entire life. Levi damn near launched himself over his desk to get next to Eren, checking the cabin boy over. He sighed in relief when he found that the broken shards of the teapot hadn't scratched Eren, but he couldn't damn well leave Eren on the floor surrounded by the shards. So Levi did the only thing he could think of. He picked Eren up and put the taller male on his bed. Levi took off Eren's boots and arranged him more comfortably, before opening his cabin door.

"Mikasa!" He called sharply, choosing the first person he saw. "Get Hanji immediately. It's Eren." At those words, the ship seemed to freeze. Mikasa was quick to get Hanji as Levi returned to his cabin. Erwin came in soon after, and Hanji soon after that.

"What's going on?" Erwin asked as Hani doze straight into checking Eren over.

"He just fucking collapsed." Levi said, voice shaking slightly.

"I need you two to step out for a minute." Hanji said firmly. As the Captain and Quartermaster waited outside the captain's cabin, the crew seemed to have forgotten how to work. Ten minutes later, Hanji opened the door, sighing softly.

"He's over exerted himself and has a fever. Once the fever's broken, he'll be fine." Hanji's eyes narrowed as she got in Levi's face. "You pushed him too far, Levi." She watched as Levi actually shrunk back a little and guilt swam in his eye. "I wouldn't move him, either. He needs his rest." Levi nodded. Then, Hanji smiled. "He's not contagious, so you can get back to work." Levi nodded before entering his room, Erwin following behind.

"This is going to hurt crew morale, you know." Erwin said. Levi nodded, grabbing his broom and cleaning up the broken teapot.

"I didn't think the kid would pass out." Levi said under his breath, but Erwin heard it anyways.

"Levi, he's cleaning the entire ship, bringing you tea every hour, delivering messages all over the ship, and doing everyone's laundry every day. All because you can do it, as well as run the ship, doesn't mean someone else can." Erwin reprimanded. Levi sighed as he through the mess away.

"You're right. I pushed Eren too hard." Levi admitted, heading over to the bed and rearranging everything so that Eren was under the blankets. "And until the shit's able to walk again, I'll take responsibility and care for him. Can you get me a basin of cold water?" Levi asked. Erwin nodded and did so, leaving Levi alone with Eren. Levi didn't know what to do until Erwin returned, so he sat at his desk, watching Eren sleep.

Levi felt awful. He should've known not to have had Eren working like he had for so long. All because the captain could run off two hours of sleep in his chair and work straight through meals, didn't mean everyone could. Not to mention Eren was seventeen. He may have been full of energy, but even he needed a break sometimes. Levi wished he would've thought this punishment through better. It wasn't like Eren was the first crew member to get them kicked from a port. Hell, Levi's the biggest offender. But Levi guessed he wasn't punishing Eren for the port, but for the feelings the younger instilled in the captain. Levi's never wanted to fucking CUDDLE with someone like he did with Eren. It freaked him out, in all honesty. But it was all too late now. What's done has been done, and Levi was hell bent on not living with regrets.

"Levi, where do you want the basin?" Erwin asked when he entered.

"My desk." Levi said, clearing it off and laying the maps to the side. Once the basin was down, Levi pulled off his cravat and soaked it in the water, before putting it on Eren's forehead. Erwin watched, slightly shocked. Levi was very particular about his cravats. Eren wasn't even allowed to wash them. And seeing that Levi was quick to use the garment in place of a cloth or handkerchief, really proved how strongly the captain felt about their newest member. It actually made Erwin smile softly, before slipping out of the cabin to leave Levi to his newest set of duties.

"Eren's going to be alright. Captain Levi is seeing that he gets better personally." Erwin announced once outside. The crew calmed significantly, and went back to work.