A. Smut day

B. Living out a strictly platonic love

"Faster, brat. Faster.", Levi hissed as he blocked Mikasa's fist with his palm. "The enemy won't wait for you to land a hit."
The girl's eyes narrowed. "This was close, asshole!", she insisted and tried to pull her arm back, "So damn close!" Sweat ran down her forehead, she clenched her teeth. "Not close enough." was the answer she got and seconds later she found herself lying on the hard ground. She breathed heavily and when she opened her eyes, Levi looked down to her. He was slightly exhausted, she could see it. But the anger soared when she realised that she had lost again. "I almost got you, bastard.", Mikasa gasped as she tried to fill her lungs with air.

"You can do better, pup.", the Corporal said harshly and pulled her up to her feet only to start his attacks anew.

The candle burned low and Mikasa tried her best to keep her eyes opened. She felt how the sleep came over her for a very short time but the kick against her chair startled her in such a way that she almost cried out. "This is crap, Ackerman.", the man on the opposite of the desk said calmly. Levi threw the papers about tactical strategies in her direction and watched her with cold eyes. When he didn't say anything else, Mikasa took a deep breath and swallowed her anger down. She knew she should have asked Armin first to look over her work. But now there was no going back. She could live with his opinion, she did for years by now. "What exactly is bad about it, sir?" Levi leant back in his seat and fold his hands. "Everything." The woman clenched her fist. "Are you kidding me? The basis of this strategy is exactly what you've taught me." The man shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't change the fact that this is bullshit."
Mikasa looked like she would kill him any moment and Levi saw that she didn't understand. Again... He sighed. "Listen up, Ackerman. You won't be alone out there. You will have a team. Include it in your strategy properly or come back in a wooden box, Corporal." For a moment Mikasa looked at him in silence but then her tensed body relaxed. "I see."

Levi lit another candle and gave her new sheets of paper. "You can do this better. Now."

The woman nodded and started to write. "Yes, Squad Leader."

Cold drops of rain dripped down her cape when she stood in front of him this afternoon. Strands of dark hair fell out of her braid and her serious face showed scratches over scratches. Mikasa saluted.
Levi had waited all day for her to return from outside the walls and he felt as tensed as Mikasa before she had left his office to start her mission one week ago. But the man didn't show his feelings. "Report.", was everything he said.

Mikasa nodded and came closer to the desk Levi sat at. "The mission was successfully. We eliminated the target and got the needed information, sir." Levi was relieved about the outcome of the mission but the woman's face told him it didn't went as well as it sounded. For a moment they eyed each other silently. "How big is the loss?", the man asked then. He knew it hurt, but she still had to learn. Mikasa watched the ground. "We lost seven men. 15 are injured, four of them bad.", she reported in a thin voice, "You get the details by tomorrow."

Again there was silence and Mikasa didn't dare to look away from her feet. "Take a bath and get some sleep.", Levi sighed after some time but the woman didn't move. "I could have done better.", she whispered, "I can do this better."
The man looked down his papers. "That's true. You can do better, Ackerman."

She swallowed and since the conversation seemed to be finished, she saluted and went to the door. He was right, she knew it, but still it hurt. It hurt that he, who understood her the most, didn't cheer her up. It hurt that she was unworthy of his pity. And yet the people who died under her commando wouldn't be the last and this fact was even more terrible to bear. The woman swallowed, hard. She was already by the door, when she heard his voice. She was surprised, because he called her by her name. Mikasa...

She turned slowly. "Yes?"

"I'm proud of you, Squad Leader.", Levi said dryly without looking up from his papers. The last weak rays of the sun broke through the small window and illuminated the office in a warm orange light. Mikasa opened her mouth, trying to say something without really knowing what. It was strange to look at the man she would go and die for if it was necessary, well knowing he would do the same for her, and still there were not the right words to say, nothing that could express the gratefulness she felt in this very moment. And actually it had been always like this. When he pushed her to the ground, it was also his hand that reached out to help her getting up again. She never really appreciated it.
Only a few seconds had passed but the silence between them had suddenly became awkward for the first time in long years. Levi cleared his throat and lifted an eyebrow. "Well, did you decide to settle down in front of my desk, brat? Go and get yourself clean, you smell like shit."

Mikasa narrowed her eyes and before the door felt shut behind her, Levi could hear a hissed "Tch." that made him shook his head in slight amusement. Some things would never change.

For a few moments Mikasa remained in front of the door. A thin smile stole it's way into her face and a silent laugh escaped her mouth.

"Thank you, Commander."