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Just another day in the Scouts, or so you thought.
When Messes are created, you try your best to clean them before your Captain sees and loses his shit. Again.
Little did you know, a broken plate in the mess hall would bring you and Levi closer together.
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SFW, fluff, xReader
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Great, something else to piss him off further.
Despite the soft glow of midday sunlight filtering in through the windows of HQ , lighting up the halls with soothing golden light, and the clear blue skies outside base that promised yet another warm, relaxing beautiful summer day for those in the Survey Corps to enjoy, Y/N was worried.
Everyone had woken up that morning to an average day in the Corps. Everything was as it had always been, and always should be.
Early morning training, a quick breakfast, running errands for the higher ups, sparring practice before lunch time rolled around....Everything was peaceful since no expeditions outside the walls had been planned anytime soon, and everyone adorned a smile on their face and let lose a laugh or two.
But only when he wasn't around.
And that's what had gotten Y/N into this current situation.
She stood before a mess on the dining hall's floor. Plates, bowls, and a couple mugs had been hazardously tossed off a table after lunch and onto the stone floor below, shattering them and scattering food everywhere. She sighed, then nealt down to begin clearing the shattered ceramics before wiping and mopping away the food stains.
Please don't come in here....Please don't come in here....
Ever since their early morning training, everyone had taken note of Captain Levi's foul mood. It seems he had woken up on the wrong side of his bed and was taking it out on the world. Curses would fly, extra work loads would be handed out as punishments for those who had slacked off to enjoy the weather or joke with their peers, and many scoffs and defeated sighs were heard leaving his mouth as he took over the sparring courses for the day.
Everyone knew on days like this, it was best to just do as he said quickly and without question or complaint, less you risk making the situation worse.
Y/N wondered what it was this time, that had gotten him so worked up. The last she'd seen of him was at the beginning of lunch in the dinning hall. Instead of taking a seat and eating a meal with his co-captains, he stomped into the kitchen, grabbed a fresh mug of tea, and stomped back out. Most likely, she assumed, to return to his office.
Perhaps I should go check on him? Is that appropriate of a cadet?
Y/N had cleared the ceramic shards and placed them in a small bin she retrieved from the kitchens, and set to work on the leftover scraps that now littered the table's bench and the floor below.
Just then, the large wooden doors leading into the dining hall opened, and she stiffened. The footsteps at the door paused for a second, then a tired sigh echoed the otherwise empty room from the person who entered. Immediately, Y/N was on her feet and spun to face them, trying her best to hide the disaster behind her.
Captain Levi stood at the door, one hand on the brass handle he still held while the other came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. His sharp eyes snapped up to her face and narrowed. Y/N was quick to salute and greet him.
"Captain! Can I help you?"
He took a moment to answer, his eyes wandering over the mess she was so poorly hiding with her body.
"Was this you?"
Y/N winced and turned her eyes back to the food on the floor.
"No, sir. But I'm taking care of it as quickly and efficiently as I can, sir."
Levi pondered a moment before signing once more. He rolled up his sleeves as he made his way over to her, eyes trained on the mess.
"Go fetch some gloves from the storage room. You'll either cut yourself on those shards, or dirty your hands in that shit." he said absentmindedly.
Now that he was closer to her, she could clearly make out the dark circles forming under his eyes, and red veins webbing across the sclera of his eyes. His hair wasn't neatly combed as it always seemed to be, and his clothes were slightly wrinkled.
He didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed; he never went to bed...
"Yes, sir," Y/N saluted and hurried out of the room. Once she returned as quickly as she could, Levi was already near the table with another scrap bucket and white cloths covering his head to protect his hair, and over the lower section of his face to shield his nose and mouth. Shaking her head at the undeniably adorable sight, Y/N briskly walked over to him and handed him his gloves.
"Thanks, L/N," he mumbled as he slipped them on.
"Of course, Captain," she nodded.
Suddenly, he sighed deeply once more.
"Captain this, Captain that. It's all I've heard for three straight days. Just Levi, please," he groaned.
Y/N paused as she reached for some bread crusts to throw into the bin. She was at a loss for words and just stared blankly at him.
"Don't make me repeat myself brat, I hate repeating myself."
"Uh, yes sir! Levi, sir." Y/N stuttered.
"Now, let's get this shit cleaned up before another bastard decides to come in here and trip over this or make it worse." Levi grumbled as he tossed scraps into the scrap bin.
Y/N hummed in agreement, too lost in her own thoughts to respond.
He seems a bit more approachable right now...Perhaps now would be a good time to offer him some help?
"Cap- Levi, sir?" she began.
"What." He barely spared her his attention, but she could see he was listening.
"Well...I wondered if you were alright?"
His eyes snapped up to hers in an instant, a slight indent in his brow.
"What do you mean, L/N?"
"I just mean that, you seem on edge today? And I wondered if there was something wrong." Y/N rephrased herself quickly, fearing his reaction.
Levi thought for a moment, studying her face intently. "I'm fine, Y/N. Get back to cleaning."
Just as Levi's hand reached for a half eaten bagel on the floor, Y/N blurted out; "You haven't slept for awhile, have you?"
The look on his face made her immediate regret her boldness.
But instead of saying anything, he just sighed and turned his gaze away.
"Can't seem to. Too much work, too many troubling thoughts."
He went to lower his facial cloth, but forgot his gloved hand had recently been picking through discarded food scraps on the floor. A dark stain was left on his cheek from where the glove had made contact with his face.
"Son of a bitch!" he ripped the cloth off his face and the glove off his hand as he let curses fly. It seems he had finally reached his limits, and his frustrations were now being taken out verbally to the food on the floor, as if it was the cause of all his pains and misfortunes. If he wasn't so down, and she didn't care for him so much, Y/N might have laughed. But instead, she thought of something else.
Impulsively, Y/N took her own gloves off and grabbed a handkerchief from her uniform coat pocket and reached out to wipe the stain away.
When her hand came into contact with his face, Levi flinched, and then stiffened. His mouth hung half open in surprise and his eyes widened almost comically. Taking this opportunity of silence from him, Y/N gently wiped away the gunk before discarding the handkerchief into the scrap bin.
For a moment though, she let her now bare hand trail across his cheek and was amused to see the rising color in his face.
"Levi?" she asked.
"Uh-I...What?" Levi stammered, trying to compose himself.
"Let me help, okay? You're not completely alone here in HQ." Y/N smiled bashfully.
Levi was silent a moment longer, then nodded with yet another tired sigh.
"I....I'd like that, Y/N. Thank you."
And for the first time, Y/N saw Levi crack a small, brief smile of gratitude.
Perhaps she'd get to see his smiles more often now that he was allowing himself to warm up to his cadet a little more.
pls i write this all at 1am cause ✨anxiety✨
it's a little rough around the edges, but one-shot no.1 is complete!
lemme know what you think, and if you wanna request hit up the request page!
~Lynn