Levi had just about enough. With everything.

Leave it to Erwin to lock him away in Head Quarters, left to his own devices, all over a stupid illness.

Levi rolled over in the single cot for the fiftieth time that minute, sighing to himself. It was quiet and still in his assigned medical ward, warm and comfortable like usual. It was terrible.

Levi groaned loudly, turning onto his stomach shoving his head between two pillows to shut out the light. It wasn't that he was tired. He was just sick of being awake. He was sick of everything.

Simply, he was sick. Why the hell did he have to get sick?

Being no doubt the most hygienic person out of all the dirty humans in the mass of Survey Corps members - commanders, corporals, and cadets alike - Levi never let the thought cross his mind that he could even possibly be vulnerable to sickness. The filth in his room hadn't even a chance to settle before he eliminated it, let alone any kind of bacteria. Of course, when it came down to it Levi would swallow his dignity and get dirty. But being sick? It was hell.

The "virus" as Hanji soon dubbed it had began just a week prior, originating in a few of the younger cadets. Filthy brats, Levi thought in resentment, Probably licked the floor for all I know. It had spread two-and-tenfold, like a pandemic, and Levi hadn't been able to sleep at night: the sound of retching filled the hallways, and he stayed in the washroom, sleepless, all night.

Erwin claimed that was what made him sick in the first place. It had started taking a toll on him rapidly, and the blonde had picked up on it like he was some sort of hound. At first, he had hid it well, even from his own squad. Petra would sometimes give him that curious sidelong glance she gave him, but that was it. Besides for the occasional bout of nausea and blocked sinuses, it actually was not that terrible.

It got worse. A lot worse.

Levi had been leading a training session when he had been caught. He had been leading a group of the snot faced cadets in an evasive maneuvers course, trying not to let the obvious coarse undertone in his throat show as he shouted commands, plagued by a fever he claimed was only a migraine. Maybe it was the redness to his pale face, the sweat on his neck, the darker than usual darkness under his eyes, but Erwin had not even questioned what it was when Levi had reported back to him after the session.

"Levi, I'm ordering you to bed rest for the next ten days. Shed your gear and report to the medical floor immediately."

Levi hadn't protested at the time. According to Hanji, his fever was dangerously high, and he had rolled his eyes and mumbled something like "kiss my ass" before falling to his knees weakly and dropping to the grass, unconscious. He had made quite the scene, so she said.

And now, he was stuck in this small room for the next five days yet.

At another wave of sourness that swept through his insides, Levi kicked his sheets off, sitting up again, and fumbled for the bucket aside his cot. Don't. Vomit. He commanded his stomach. He hadn't eaten in a day, so it was not like anything would come up, but he had an irrational aversion to vomit itself. Levi closed his eyes, taking deep breaths until it passed.

It was safe to say he was in fact very sick. He felt like crap, and that was an understatement. He couldn't keep anything down besides water - warm water seemed better than cool water. The fever he was running hadn't quite broke, but was low grade and apparently not that dangerous, according to Hanji. The deranged four-eyes was acting as his personal nurse while the on-site doctor was "away" - complete fool to have left in the first place - and Levi didn't feel particularly safe under her care but appreciated the gesture.

Hanji was the only one allowed to see him, since she had already experienced the sickness and lived to tell, but when she came she only checked his temperature and ensured he was comfortable before leaving. The chances of spreading the illness was still high. Levi was technically on quarantine.

The first few days, besides for the feeling like crap, were glorious. It was quiet, and no one was around. He did not have to fake a smile at anyone - not like he usually did that anyway - he did not have to talk to anyone. Hell, he didn't even have to look at anyone!

The novelty wore off fast. Soon, he was bored out of his goddamned mind. Every book in the room - which was only three or four - he had flipped through ten times. He couldn't clean because he wasn't allowed to strain himself. Erwin had dropped off some paperwork via Hanji Delivery System, but he had gotten through that in a half-hour.

There was nothing left to do.

At the reminder of that fact, Levi kicked the back of his foot angrily onto his cot, trying to get the emotion out somehow. His nausea passed, and he turned and lay on his side gently. Who the hell did this to me? Some brat with no damn courtesy to wash their hands once a week. It was probably Hanji. Shitty glasses.

Levi reached to his left, stretching sore muscles, and let the fleshy part of his fist meet the wall in a few feeble thumps. He didn't have the strength to roll over, but letting his emotions fester was not an option; he took a deep breath in, and back out.

The fever he was running was making him a bit . . . off hormonally - according to Hanji, it was perfectly normal. Until his body got rid of the illness, the mood swings would come and go. Much to Levi's disgruntlement. She was right, though. One second he would feel perfectly fine with his current state. The next he would stand at his window and mentally plot the murder of the first cadet he saw wandering around the yards.

Sometimes Levi felt his eyes tear for no reason at all, and he'd let a few fall and then throw up, and then roll over, feeling fine again.

"It'll be like this for a while, but it'll pass quick." Hanji had told him, flipping through her pocket sized medical dictionary, "A high percentage of the ill had experienced heightened sensitivity and bouts of anger, sadness, etcetera. Oh, and you'll probably get some high testosterone levels here and there, that's normal."

"What?!"

"You know what testosterone is, right Captain? It's what makes your - "

"Yes. I know what it is." Levi had folded his arms, "I just . . . wasn't expecting you to say that."

"The best thing to do is to deal with any build up - "

"Build up?!"

"You know, an erection!"

"I knew what you meant, I just - "

Hanji opened her book to a page all about it, pointing to one of the illustrations, "All you have to do is - after proper lubrication, of course, - take your -"

"I know what to do! Will you shut up about it already?!"

Levi closed his eyes, trying not to think about the conversation, but it was too late.

"Shit," He mumbled, feeling the familiar warmth pool into his lower stomach and uncomfortably between his legs. He sat up again, placing the cloth aside his cot on the back of his neck to cool down.

None of Hanji's stupid theories had held true - for the first two days. Lately, and frequently, he had been getting the unexplainable waves of . . . want. For what, he didn't even really know.

Frankly, his own sexuality had been shoved to the back burner most of his life. His sexual backstory would be as thin as a pamphlet, He didn't think about it. He knew he would never settle down with anyone anyways - they were fighting a war, and he didn't have the time or means or desire. Well, desire in one sense of the word.

Yes, he was like any other normal human being with sex hormones and the natural urge to reproduce. What made him different was that he had never acted on his urges, not even when he was younger and much more prone to this type of thing than he was at his current age.

Levi had been experiencing bouts of burning lust he could barely control. They would come on frequently, strong, and sudden, and the sweat on his skin would grow worse and hot. It was like he was a teenager again. It was uncomfortable and irritating, like a cramp, aching to be released. The easiest thing to do would be to just get rid of the problem, but Levi was stubborn. He refused to touch himself. It was filthy and tedious and it made a mess. Besides, he wasn't even sure how people went about it. He didn't know what to think about. He instead would curl up on his cot, close his eyes and mentally shut down until the feeling passed.

It nearly drove him insane. Even stupid thoughts could trigger it. He was cooped up in this tiny room with nothing left to do, and all his brain could think of was getting off.

Levi was disgusted by himself.

The cool cloth did nothing to quell the warmth that was now spreading over his skin. He felt sweat bead on his forehead, and he collapsed boneless on his cot again. This is what happened - it only got worse the more he ignored it. This is why Hanji said to deal with it.

"What a damn lunatic." Levi said to himself, staring at the ceiling. He was flat on his back, waiting out the flush that had covered him. The sheets were soft, freshly cleaned, but it did not soothe him as it sometimes did. He tossed to the left, curling his knees close to his chest, eyelids dropping closed.

If he were lucky, he could try to rest a while . . .

A soft knocking was heard at the door.

Levi came out of half sleep and rolled over, wiping the stickiness of unconscious saliva from the corner of his lip. He strained to raise his heavy head, seeing the sun was just beginning to set; he had half-slept for only an hour or so. It felt like only a fragment of a second. He still felt tired.

When nothing else was heard at the door, Levi sighed in annoyance. He knew, since the person didn't barge in with no idea of decency, that it wasn't Hanji. That meant it must have been the only other person that was allowed to see him.

". . . Captain Levi sir? Are you awake?"

Eren Jäger's voice sounded only a little more than some sort of scared school kid from behind the door, and Levi rolled his eyes. What was he doing here - again?

Levi rolled over, dropping his head into his pillow as he called toward the door in a coarse voice. "Jäger. Go play with your friends."

"Section Leader Hanji sent me sir, with your medicine. She said to deliver it to you. Should I come in - ?"

"One minute."

Levi sat up and pushed himself to stand, taking slow steps until he reached the door handle. His legs felt unstable and weaker than usual. I'm like a toddler, he thought, seeing how his hand trembled as he turned the door knob. Pathetic.

Levi raised his brows at the sight behind the door.

Eren Jäger stood, clutching a silver spoon in one hand and a mysterious brown flask in the other. By the way he was dressed, it looked like he had been cleaning, a rag tied around his neck and his brunette hair a bit disheveled. The kid smiled at him, green eyes wide.

"Captain! You're looking better!"

"Tch. Don't lie to your superiors."

"S-sorry." Eren stuttered, "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

A nod followed, agreeing without admitting so. It was silent as he waited a moment, looking over Levi's shoulder curiously, and meeting his eyes again. His tone reflected his impatience.

"Can I come in?"

"Like I told you before, I'm still contagious." Levi said flatly, "You shouldn't come in."

"I've already caught it! I was one of the first ones, and Hanji tested me while monitoring my sickness and said that I'm neither contagious or vulnerable. She's been taking so many blood tests, but she's trying to develop a vaccine to use in illness prevention for next year, when the weather changes, because that's when she said the virus was - "

"Alright, alright, just come in." Levi pulled the door open a bit more to let Eren inside; he mostly did so to make the brat to shut up. His babbling was probably all a lie, but Levi didn't have the strength enough to ask.

Eren's reluctance was obvious, hands wrung around the other, eyes skittish, but he stepped inside and closed the door behind him as Levi stumbled to rest, back arched, on the edge of his cot again.

Stupid Hanji. Why didn't she just deliver the medicine herself? Why send Jäger, of all people?

Levi knew exactly why, though. Jäger was still under the scrutinizing eye of the officials in the inner walls, and hadn't been permitted to participate in training - or even with the regular activities of the new recruits - at all. Most of his days were spent with Hanji, running experiments and going with her to her investigations of those two stupid Titans she called her pets. Levi was surprised the kid hadn't gone stark raving mad from being around her all day; he felt sorry for him, a little.

That was why the other day, the first time the brat had knocked on his door, he had considered letting him in. For a minute. Then his brain decided that was the worst damn idea ever, and he had instead thrown a book at the door and cursed a phrase loudly, hearing footsteps run off.

That feeling of pity returned to him at that moment, for treating Eren like that. It wasn't the brats fault he was hormonal, or sick. The kid cared, a little too much at times, but he was a dedicated soldier trapped in this whole stupid Titan situation he still couldn't even explain. And he was probably just bored.

They were at least similar in that way.

The past two days, Eren had come to keep him company somehow, whether it be reading or talking or cleaning for him. Levi would not lie, listening to the kid tell him some boring story was certainly better than staring at the ceiling in silence for an entire afternoon. At least a little better.

But the kid being here, now, only made his . . . situation more uncomfortable. Levi sucked in air through his teeth, feeling another wave wash over him, hot and desperate. A soft throbbing was felt between his legs, a crude reminder. He hadn't been able to sleep it off this time, and it got worse at every beat of his crescendoing heart rate. Hanji would be furious at him.

All he had to do was take the meds, and the kid would leave. Simple.

Eren ensured to remove his dirty boots and rag-scarf and set them by the door, glancing back to see the Captain sitting on the edge of his cot, staring off into a wall. Hanji had ensured him the sickness would pass. Eren had already seen a few of his friends recover in no time. Levi must have been a bit more fragile.

The captain looked especially small when he was sick. Eren had never seen him that way, and it concerned him. He was thinner and paler, though the pink hue to his neck made it clear he was probably feverish.

Strolling over toward the cot slowly, Eren pulled up the chair beside the bed and scooted it closer.

Levi turned his head toward him, but didn't meet his eyes. His tone was still very soft and coarse, "Don't get too close."

"As long as you don't sneeze on me or anything I'm fine!" Eren said, in hopes to rouse a smile from the man.

Levi disagreed.

"No guarantee."

"This stuff works well for that." Eren held up the bottle of medicine, unscrewing the lid as he spoke, "It'll have you killing Titans again in no time."

"What the hell is it?"

Levi stared at the liquid the kid poured from the brown bottle onto a spoon. It came out slowly since it was thick and sticky, but it was smooth and it had a clearish-white hue; it looked a lot like -

God, Levi cut the thought off, cursing his damned libido. It's just medicine. Get a hold of yourself.

Eren continued to fill the spoon, oblivious to the man's predicament, "Hanji made it, out of some herbs and a mixture of other things. I had it, and at first it was gross but it's not too bad. She said its called "make Levi better" medicine."

Eren pointed the spoon in his direction, waiting for him to lean forward and take it. The thought of taking that liquid into his mouth, feeling it on his tongue, lit him on fire.

Levi's stomach turned, feeling nauseated from the heat that literally smothered him. The situation was probably the furthest thing from arousing, but at that moment it was the closest thing to it; he felt like he was going to explode. Levi stared out of the corner of his eyes, trying to force it all away, shoving his hands into his lap to try and cover any possible evidence of his problem.

"It smells alright to me." Eren encouraged him again, "Try it."

Why was the brat so stubborn?

"I'll pass. Go take it back and tell Hanji I had some." Levi started to pick himself back up and lie down again - partially to hide the increasing bulge between his loose sleep pants - but Eren made a sound of protest.

"Captain. I'm supposed to make sure you have at least a spoonful."

"I don't need any of Shitty-Glasses' healing potions."

"Have a small taste!" Eren extended the spoon out until the edges rested painfully close to Levi's lips.

The man reached up to gently push the spoon away, "I - "

Eren moved from his chair to the floor, kneeling in front of him. Their faces were inches apart, and Levi was forced to meet the bright green eyes before him. Eren's voice was soft, tone gentle and the words deliberate, "Please, Captain. You're sweating, you're probably running a high fever. This will help."

Levi thought his heart would burst from his chest. Was Eren doing this on purpose, or was he really that oblivious? He knew it was the latter. The kid was full of surprises, and the fact that he was partially unaware of personal boundaries and oblivious to the utter submission he was showing wasn't shocking. Again, it wasn't inherently arousing to the common eye, his hormones were functioning at a hypersensitive state.

All Levi wanted was to just feel someone touch his fevered body, to smell the scent of skin, to rest against someone. That was all he needed, and he could calm down. Eren's lips were literally a slight lean away from his own; if the kid didn't get away from him, right then, Levi knew he would do something he'd regret.

Eren lifted the spoon higher, still meeting his eyes with that headstrong look and drawn brow.

"Heichou," - the way he said his name made it worse - "please, just take it."

"E-Eren - "

Levi's eyes widened reflexively, holding his breath as the spoon entered his mouth, unannounced. The feeling of wanting to vomit and desperately needing to release the tension billowing fire in his belly came all at once. His body reacted by instinct, standing up on trembling legs and stumbling into the small washroom adjacent to the main ward of his room. Levi just barely managed to position himself before the white basin inside, spitting up what part of the medicine made it down his throat, retching as his empty stomach vomited again. His hands gripped the edges of the cool basin, taking short breaths, still filled with adrenaline.

Levi heard footsteps run after him and halt in the doorway, but he felt too weak to even turn his head. When the socked feet left and returned again, this time a cup of water was lowered into his eyesight. Levi took it wordlessly and began to rinse his mouth. Bile burned on his tongue, and the contents in the basin were a mixture of something awful. Filthy.

The brats voice filled his ears, on the brink of tears by the sounds of it. "I'm so sorry, Captain, I didn't think - "

"It's fine." Levi lied through his teeth, spitting in between words. His vision was dizzy, his stomach ached, he was burning hot and freezing cold - he was a mess.

"No it isn't! I shouldn't have forced it on you like that, you probably were feeling sick but didn't want to say. I'm sorry for being such a nuisance, I only wanted to help but I'm just making things worse - !"

Levi reached his hand over to the one dangling by Eren's thigh and placed it atop gently, wrapping his thin but strong fingers around the wrist.

That shut the kid up quickly.

There was a wash of release that came with the contact to his cool skin. Levi closed his eyes momentarily. Every muscle in his stomach grew rigid, and he curled forward in response; a short huff escaped his lips, unable to deny the sensation calmed down his overactive hormones, quelling them at bay for even just that moment, and it was a genuine relief.

Eren did not flinch at the touch of the man's burning palm, nor did he pull his hand away. "H-heichou?"

Levi looked up to him. Eren didn't look scared, or uncomfortable. There was a palpable anticipation hovering around them, trapped and suffocating in the tiny washroom, as they both waited for one another to move.

Alarm signals went off in Levi's head as the fuzziness of his previous emotions wore off. He released his grip on the boys hand, adjusting to sit in an exhausted crouch on the floor. He put his aching head in his hands, and managed in as loud of a voice that he could muster, "Get out."

"I'm sorry," Eren repeated, moving closer to try and help the man back to his feet and into bed again, "I promise I'll - "

"I said get the hell out, brat!"

And just like before, the footsteps told Levi the kid was gone.

Levi squeezed his eyelids until he saw flecks of light in the blackness. His heart still raced from the post-coital buzz that spiked through him. He felt the annoying, lingering and unavoidable shame sitting heavily like a weighted pack on his shoulders, and he cursed through his teeth openly.

Damn kid. Now I have to change these pants.