Chapter 17: Jealousy

Your POV:

I slowly open my eyes to feel the warm gentle light of the early morning sun. I stretch a little bit, but not too much so as to not disturb the wounds on my back. As I stretch I don't realize at first there are 2 arms wrapped around me, and a body pressed up against my back.

I can feel my face go red as I realize Erwin is spooning me. Must have happened at some point during the night; I know we didn't fall asleep in this position. I could feel him breathe against my neck and it made me shiver a little bit. His warmth felt so good, I didn't want to get up.

I turn myself around gently, as to not wake him up, and brush some of his blonde hair out of his face. I smile at his sleeping face, so peaceful. My movement caused him to stir a little in his sleep and he pulls me closer.

I enjoy the embrace until I feel something large brush against my thigh. Uh oh, I have lived around enough men to know what happens to them in the morning. It doesn't really bother me much, I get it, but I don't want him to feel awkward when he wakes up. So I slowly unwrap myself from his embrace and go to grab my uniform and shower supplies from the corner of the room.

Thankfully he remains asleep and I slowly make my way out of the bedroom and office. As I'm walking down the hallway, I see Levi again. Does he wait for me or something?

"Morning, Brat," He greets me, "To the hospital wing, let's make it quick." I roll my eyes at him, even though secretly I do appreciate his concern.

"Yes Mom," I sigh and follow him.

We walked in silence, it wasn't an uncomfortable one though. I was always comfortable just sitting or walking with Levi in silence. Neither of us is particularly chatty, so it's kind of nice not to feel obligated to start a conversation.

We get to the hospital wing and I hurriedly take my shirt off, "Make it quick," I remind him as I assume the position, "But please, be gentle with me, Captain." I turn and wink at him and bite my lower lip. I let out a laugh as he narrows his eyes at me. The men here are so easy to work up, it's pretty entertaining.

"You're strange." He mutters at me as he starts pulling off my bandages.

"... A strange person just called me strange," I say in the same tone he muttered. I can feel his eyes burning holes through my skull.

"You shouldn't joke like that you know," Levi sighed, "Someone is going to take it the wrong way."

"I use humor to mask my pain, Levi," I wave off his warning, "Plus, I can handle myself, thanks."

We stood in silence as he finishes examining my back. The familiar shudders I feel run up my spine are back, as Levi gently brushed against my back with his fingers.

I try to keep myself still and hope he can't hear my quickening heartbeat. I freeze when he suddenly starts running his fingers through my hair and grabs it in his fist. He grabs the hair tie I have on my wrist and he pulls my hair up into a ponytail.

"It was getting in the way," Levi mumbles as he continued. "Sure sure," I reply, smirking slightly.

He yanked on my ponytail so I was facing him, "It was." He insists, eyes narrowing at me again.

"Oh course it was, Levi. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you have a thing for hair-pulling. But it's nothing to be ashamed of." I smile at the malicious look he gives me.

He gives me a curt 'tch' and continues to examine my back.

There was silence again for a while before Levi broke it, "Oluo didn't bother you yesterday, did he?" Levi asked me quietly. I could hear the anger in his voice, why is he so angry? Shouldn't I be the only one angry about the situation?"

"No," I reassure him, "He didn't bother me, I promise. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just making sure you're okay, brat." He mumbles in response.

"I haven't forgiven him, but I don't have the energy or time to waste on hating him," I continue, "I'm not mad, Levi. So why are you? I don't need you to be angry for me." I think that came out a little more defensive than I intended for it to be. But he shouldn't hold anything against Oluo, I was supposed to be the one that had a problem with him, not Levi.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, seemingly out of nowhere. "I don't know, you're the one looking at my wounds, you tell me." I knew what he meant, but it was too fun and easy to tease him.

He rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated groan, "Alright, you're done." He says, signaling for me to put my shirt back on. I shrug my shirt back on and then turn to face him, "So, I'm good to train today, right?" I ask him hopefully.

He looks at me and considers my question, "Fine, but don't go too crazy." He sighs, relenting to the puppy dog eyes I give him.

"Yes!" I kiss my palm and lightly slap his forehead with it, "What the hell was that?" Levi blushed a little, touching his forehead where I palmed him.

"I didn't think you would want me to actually kiss you, so I transferred it to you via my hand instead. You're welcome!" I explain as I turn and walk briskly out of the hospital wing, leaving Levi to give me a confused look as I walk away.

I made my way to the showers, happy now that I know I can at least be somewhat useful today. Eating breakfast in the Mess Hall is going to be weird though. People are going to stare and ask questions.

Eren's POV:

I make my way into the Mess Hall for breakfast, hoping to see (y/n) there. I even left my room earlier than I usually do, I don't want to miss her.

When I get there I'm disappointed when I don't see her anywhere. I see Oluo sitting with Petra, Eld, and Gunter. I heard he was with her yesterday. Jealousy flared up in me when I heard that. Wasn't he the one who caused all the problems in the first place? Why was he the one who got to spend time with her?

I make my way over to the table with my squad, hoping to see if any of them had heard anything from (y/n) or the captain.

"Good morning, Eren," Petra greeted me sweetly as usual. "Morning," I mutter before I direct my attention to Oluo, "Where is (y/n)?" I ask him with a glare.

"Don't give me that look, Brat," He retorts, "How should I know where she is?"

"You were with her all day yesterday. What happened?" I demand, feeling myself getting more frustrated.

"That's none of your business. Ask (y/n) if you're curious, I don't have to explain anything to you." Oluo is getting more annoyed too, not appreciating me interrogating him.

"I would, but I don't know where she is."

"Well neither do I, so why don't you go look for her instead of bothering me about her?" He complained to me as he continues eating breakfast and doing his best to ignore my glare.

"No need, I'm right here." I hear a familiar voice say from behind me. I jolt around in my seat to see a freshly showered (y/n) behind me.

I leap out of my seat and pull her into a tight hug. "Ah!" She hisses in pain. I let go of her immediately and try to see if I can see any injuries peeking through her uniform.

"They're on my back." She smiles gently at me, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Sorry," I say to her, feeling bad that I just leaped on her without considering that she is probably still in pain from whatever she went through.

"You didn't know, it's okay." (Y/n) reassures me. I notice her look around nervously, I can understand why, everyone was staring at her.

"So, are you coming to train today?" I ask her, trying to keep her mind off the stares. "Yes," she smiles at me again, "I will be there to kick all your asses again." She laughed as she sits down next to me.

I notice some bruising around her neck and a dark purple one further down. Was she strangled?

"Great! How about my first challenge today then?" I hear Oluo say as he looks over at (y/n).

"You're on, pick your poison, what's it going to be? And don't say a dick measuring contest, because I will win that too." (Y/n) smirks at him and takes a sip of her tea. "ODM challenge. We'll set up a bunch of dummy titans, whoever downs the most in 10 minutes, is the winner." Oluo suggests to (y/n).

"Oluo," (y/n) tsks at him, "You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

"Save it. I'm more than confident in my ODM skills, I have this." He smirks back at her.

"We'll soon see, won't we?" She laughs and starts to participate in idle chit chat with our other squad members.

No one is asking her about that night, that's probably how she wants it though. I'm dying to ask her some questions of my own, but I don't feel it's my place to bring it up.

Myself and most of my friends demanded answers from Sasha, but she wouldn't give much away. All she said was a man attacked (y/n) and broke their window.

But I feel it's safe to assume the person who attacked her is a person she was trying to hide from. That must have been scary for her, but now she is here acting like nothing is wrong.

I know she's a strong girl, but how much can a person take? I hope she really is okay, I'll keep a close eye on her though.

Erwin's POV:

It was a really nice day out, so I decided to open the windows to my office while I do more paperwork. I slept in a little bit this morning, so now I'm a little bit behind.

I hear a knock on my door and I invite whoever it is in. "Hello, Erwin!" Hange greets me excitedly. Where does she get her energy from? "I just wanted to let you know the window has been replaced in (y/n)'s room." She says as she sits down across from me, awaiting my reaction.

I stop writing and look up at her. I knew (y/n) wouldn't be here for much longer, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she would be leaving.

"Erwin, she's not leaving the base," Hange seems to notice my inner turmoil, "She's only going back to her own room." She lets out a little laugh as I shoot her a glare.

This is for the best anyway. I can't keep her here, she's already enough of a distraction... Even more so now.

... Why is that my reasoning? She has to go back to her own room because it is her room, end of discussion.

"Maybe you should just talk to her." Hange comments. She gets up and walks behind me to my window, enjoying the light breeze coming through.

"About her window being replaced? Of course, I will tell her." I knew what she was really trying to say, but I hoped she would take the hint and not bring it up anymore.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She replied smugly.

Damnit.

"I know what you mean, but you have the wrong idea." I try to say it as nonchalantly as I can.

"Speak of the devil," Hange smiles as she looks out the window.

I don't have to look out the window to recognize that voice that is in my mind constantly.

"Too bad, Oluo," I hear (y/n) laugh outside, "Maybe when you're a big boy you can challenge me again."

"Cutting down one big dummy Titan and that dummy Titan knocks down smaller dummy Titans, doesn't count as 5 points, it's still only 1!" Said the unmistakable annoyed voice of Oluo yelling at (y/n).

I decided to step away from my desk to watch the exchange. All of squad Levi was standing outside watching (y/n) and Oluo argue.

"Captain Levi?" (y/n) shifted her gaze from Oluo to Levi, who seems pretty annoyed by the argument.

"Did an action, whether direct or indirect, caused by (y/n) result in the collapse of the other smaller dummy titans?" Levi asked Oluo in a frustrated voice.

"... Yes, but-"

"5 points to (y/n)." Levi interrupted Oluo before he could continue.

"Ha!" (Y/n) laughs at Oluo triumphantly.

"I don't know why the number mattered to you, Oluo," Petra said to him, "Even if it only counted for 1 point she still would have beaten you."

"It's easier to say she beat me by 2 points than by 4 points," Oluo muttered to Petra. "You were able to keep up with her though," Petra smiles at him, in an effort to cheer him up, "It's hard to keep up with a monkey bird-like (y/n)."

"A what?" (Y/n) laughed.

"A monkey bird," Petra giggled, "You fly with ODM gear like she was born with wings and you can jump from obstacle to obstacle like a monkey. Monkey bird."

"What does that make me then?" Oluo asks Petra. "A sloth." (Y/n) answered instead, causing Oluo to glare at her again.

"Well Captain Levi is better than all of us, what would he be?" Eren asked (y/n).

"A honey badger." (Y/n) answered simply, smiling at the scowl Levi gives her.

"A what?" Levi retorted, giving her a menacing look.

"Never heard of them? I read about them from a book in the capital," (y/n) started to explain excitedly, "They are the most badass little creatures ever! They scare off animals many times their own size. All animals fear the honey badger, they are very aggressive little creatures, and they avoid human contact as best they can. Also, they are so cute!"

(Y/n) walks closer to Levi and starts pinching his cheeks.

When she let go, Levi lifts (y/n) up with ease and carries her on his shoulder, "Stables. Clean. Now."

(Y/n) just keeps giggling at how Levi reacted, the rest of Levi's squad following after them.

I didn't even realize that my hands were clenched into fists until I realize how sore they felt. "Jealous?" Hange giggles when she saw the annoyed look on my face.

Yes, I was. I didn't expect to ever have these types of feelings for anyone. Maybe I should distance myself from her... I find myself getting jealous of anyone who gets too close to her. That's not the type of emotion I should be feeling right now. I don't have the time or energy to deal with this.

Hange decides it's probably for the best to not tease me anymore. "Erwin, you know your position doesn't stop you from pursuing something with (y/n). So what is stopping you?" She asked me, sitting back down on the chair on the other side of my desk.

What's stopping me? I don't have a good answer for that. I can think of 100 reasons why I shouldn't pursue (y/n). But I can always think of at least 1 reason why I should. It keeps me at this stalemate, where I refuse to actively pursue her, but I also refuse to give up the idea entirely.

"If you're going to make a move, you should do it sooner rather than later. I've noticed Levi seems to have an interest in her as well." Hange states.

I already knew that, it's pretty obvious in his case. He avoids spending time with most people unless he has to, but I've seen him go out of his way to be around her. I'll have to keep an eye on him.

"Your silence speaks volumes you know?" Hange says as she raises an eyebrow at me. "Close the door on your way out," I smirk at her.

She lets out a dramatic sigh, "Fine, but just so you know you better hope she isn't into girls too... Or you will be in trouble." She winks at me as she leaves my office.

Your POV:

It was exhausting cleaning the stables, definitely, a decent punishment I suppose. But I called him a honey badger because I meant it as a compliment.

Oh well, I guess. As I make my way toward the Mess Hall, I see Sasha running down the hall toward me. As she approaches me, she wraps me into a tight hug, "(y/n)! How have you been?! I haven't really had a chance to talk to you!" She cried happily when she sees that I'm okay.

"I'm fine, Sasha, how are you?" I laugh but wince a little bit when her hands graze over a few of my stitches, but I hug her back. "I'm not the one who got attacked, I'm fine (y/n)." She said, letting go of me, "Are you heading to the Mess Hall? Come on, let's go together." I smile and nod at her as she links her arm through mine.

"Our window has been replaced, and the broken glass is gone so we can go back tonight," Sasha tells me happily. "Oh, that's great!" I say, trying to match her enthusiasm. But to be honest, I felt a little sad I wouldn't be in Erwin's room anymore. I had only been there a couple of nights, but I felt so comfortable around him.

"How was sleeping with Mikasa?" I ask, trying to take my mind off of Erwin. Sasha shivers, "I honestly didn't think my snoring was going to be that big of an issue, but Mikasa is a light sleeper. At least Krista didn't complain though." I laughed, picturing an angry Mikasa standing over a sleeping Sasha, pillow in hand ready to suffocate her.

We reach the Mess Hall and I decide to sit with Sasha today. Despite complaining about her sometimes, I did actually miss her a little.

There were a couple of empty spots next to Reiner and Armin, so we decided to sit there. "(Y/n)!" Reiner greeted me as I sit down next to him, "Hey," I smile at him nervously. The rest of the people around the table greeted me with smiles too.

It was sweet that they genuinely seemed happy to see me. They could probably tell I was nervous, so they didn't ask me any questions about the night I was attacked. I was thankful for that. It was nice to just kind of relax and talk about random things.

After I finish my dinner, I made my way to Erwin's office to grab my stuff and thank him for letting me stay there.

I knock on his door and wait for his permission to enter. When I hear his voice invite me in, I open the door and greet him with a smile.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know my window has been replaced, so you don't have to babysit me anymore."

Erwin doesn't even look up from his desk when he says, "I'm aware." I paused at his curt response, is he okay?

"Thank you for letting me stay here, I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry if I ever inconvenienced you."

He didn't answer this time, just continued with his paperwork. I expect him to say something, but I got nothing from him. So I decide to leave him alone and just go grab my things.

After I grab my stuff, I made my way to the door leading out of his office. "Good night, sir," I say to him, but he still remains silent.

I sigh and walk out the door, closing it gently behind me. That was weird... What is his issue? Did I do something wrong? It made my chest tighten a bit when I think about getting the cold shoulder from Erwin. He's not the type of person to keep silent if someone is bothering him... So what is it then?