Thank god we packed some overnight gear. The sun was starting to set.
I was drinking now warm water from my canteen. Levi, Isabelle, Farlan and I had gotten separated from the rest of the regiment when we got lost in a pine forest. Hey, don't judge; there were trees Everywhere. Our horses were with us, their reins tied to a low hanging branch. They were nibbling on clover as Isabelle rummaged through our supplies for food.
Levi was pitching up a tent. He had taken his jacket off and pushed his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. I watched the muscles in his back work as he hammered a stake into the ground. It was rather hot out now, and sweat made his shirt cling to his body. He even ditched the neckerchief and was using it as a towel to wipe perspiration from his forehead. I could sit there and watch him all day.
"Levi! Rukia! Why don't you go out and get firewood while you still have some daylight? We can light a small fire so you can see your way back if it gets dark!" Farlan said.
"You're capable of doing the same thing," Levi said while I asked, "why us?"
"Because you two are shorter, faster, more agile, and light on your feet. Besides that, you'll be an appetizer to those titans, if they see you. But I doubt it. Looking for you guys is like finding a needle in a haystack."
Levi and I rolled our eyes and counted to ten.
There are stereotypes that all short people are temperamental. Prove them wrong.
Reluctantly, we went off in search of firewood.
It was pitch black now. Very few light made it through the treetops.
"Ugh. I can't see anything." I said.
I was feeling my way around as if I were blind.
I trip over a fallen pine, and I stumble to regain my balance.
Levi gently grabs my arm. An unknown feeling reverberates through my arm, then my entire being. I didn't feel that way when Erwin held me, and Levi was just holding my arm.
"Let me be your eyes for now. Mine are more aquatinted with the dark."
He pulls me behind him, and I'm trying to watch my step, but I can't see the man in front of me, much less my feet.
I trip over another tree, and this time, I don't have both arms to break my fall. I go down, and I bring Levi with me. I squeal and he cussed. He lands on top of me, arms braced on either side of my head to break his fall. The tips of our noses were touching.
"Sorry, Levi," I whisper.
"Don't be." He presses his lips against mine.
Another felling I can't quite describe runs through my veins. He pulled us up into a sitting position. Then he ran his thumb along my bottom lip, coaxing them open. His tongue lazily rubbed against mine. My hands slide around his neck, and my fingers tangle themselves in his hair.
As if snapping out of a trance, he pulls away.
"Levi," I start to say.
"Oh, god, Rukia. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I quoted.
He stood up, and helped me to my feet.
************************************
" What took you so long?" Farlan asked when we got back.
I smelled the stew that Isabelle had warming over the fire. Yum.
He walked over to us, and before taking the firewood out of my arms, started picking something out of my hair.
Pine needles.
"Ah, " he said, grinning. He brushed more pine needles off if my cloak.
"She tripped," said Levi casually.
"Yeah, and you helped her down, too." Isabelle said, brushing off the other shoulder.
Levi blushed, scarlet creeping up his face. My face felt like it was on fire.
"C'mon, Farlan, it isn't like we did anything... Wait, how did you know?"
Farlan's eyes grew wide, and his mouth formed a little o of surprise. Isabelle looked like she was about to fall flat on her face.
"Oh. My. God. Ha! Ha,Ha,Ha!"
They doubled over, holding their midsections in painful laughter.
"You should have seen the looks on your faces! Priceless!"
"Ha, ha?" Levi and I joined in, our laughing awkward, then relieved.
"How did we know? You have pine needles and sap all over your clothes, her hair is messy, and she's smiling. I put two and two together." Isabelle said.
"It's okay, Levi. We won't tell anyone. It none of the other cadets' business, anyway." Farlan took the firewood. "Did ya go past first base?"
"Farlan!" Levi screeched, appalled.
"I haven't known her that long! And I really have pine needles all over my clothes?"
"Um, yeah," Isabelle said. " I said it plain as day." She goes over to the pot over the fire with a wooden bowl and ladles out some stew and hands me the bowl and a spoon.
"Shoot! Lamentable! Just Lamentable! With that, he heads over to the stream near our camp and tosses his shirt into the river after unbuttoning it. He grabs a bar of soap from his saddlebag and starts to scrub the cloth furiously. He dunks his shirt back into the water to rinse it out. Meanwhile, I'm drooling over his exposed muscles. Or was it the food? Either way, they were both delicious, and I told Isabelle that the stew was amazing.
Splash!
Levi dunked his head into the river to get the pine needles and sap out of his hair, and scrubbed his hair furiously with the soap, too.
I turned my attention back to my food. Levi was too much of a distraction.
Levi was walking back toward the fire. I watched as droplets of water slid down his chest and abs, then to the waistband of his uniform pants. My mouth went dry. To top it all off, he ran a hand through his hair, sending little fragrant droplets everywhere.
" When you finish eating, wash your bowl out and wash your skin and hair. The sap will only harden. And I seriously doubt that you want to disobey me." I got up and placed my bowl on the ground.
"Wanna bet?" I challenged jokingly, double wielding my 3DMG blades.
"Put those down before I do something we will both regret," Levi said, no humor in his voice.
He looked at me, then at the river.
"You wouldn't dare," I gasped.
Before I knew it, he had lifted me up and slung over his shoulders. My blades hit the ground. His arm constricted around my legs, and I started pounding his back with my fists.
"Put me down! Put me down! Levi, no!"
I landed in the water with a sploosh. The water was really cold. I surfaced, getting my wet hair out of my face, teeth chattering. I glared at him from the riverbank. My hand lashed out around his ankles, and I dragged him into the water. Then it was a full out war between us splashing at each other.
Isabelle and Farlan watched from dry land, laughing until they cried. I sent a jet of water their way. They immediately stopped laughing and removed their 3DMGs, boots, and uniform jackets, then ran for the water.