Author's Note: Hello~ all of you lovely people! So, just a little warning please forgive me for any and all atrocities this little bit of writing has to offer since this is my first story! Um, yeah, that's about it. Please review as I need all the constructive criticism I can get ( please note I said Constructive Criticism, not a rant on how terrible I am at writing, because, no offense, if you do that I will just laugh at the fact that it appears you have nothing better to do with your life.) Yes I have written a 'character gets sick' cliche story, I just love this idea so, so much, sorry it isn't very original.
Disclaimer: I find it odd that I really have to do this, but, I do not own Attack on Titan, if I did, no one would know about it because it would be nowhere near as epic as the wonderful-ness it is now.
Please note: this story does contain spoilers, though if you haven't at least watched the anime I have no idea why you would be reading fan fiction, but, oh well. This story also contains yaoi pairings, so if you don't like, don't read, not my problem if you have a problem, so...yeah. Un-beta'd
Locks of molten cocoa clashed against dancing blades of green, fingers cloaked in golden skin threaded through the silk strands, palm facing upwards as if to grasp the blazing star above. A set of eyes stared upwards, the emotion driven multicolored irises having decided upon a gleaming turquoise due to the contentment of simply lying in the sun. The young male let out a soft sigh at the gentle breeze that swept over his bare torso.
He had been astounded, to say the least, when Petra had brought him out of his nightmare infested slumber that morning. He had just fallen into a somewhat peaceful state when the girl had unlocked his cell door to rouse him from bed, only to warn him that the Corporal had called for a day of rest, and if he wanted to relax and not be experimented on, it was best to not go to breakfast, and avoid Hanji at all costs. Needless to say, Eren was extremely grateful.
The brunette giggled slightly to himself when he recalled Petra's expression as he fell to his knees and continuously bowed to her, as though worshipping a goddess.
"EREN!" Apparently, the kind woman's warning did not do much. How Hanji had found him deep in the forest in only a half hour's time, he will never know.
Groaning in a cross between annoyance and fatigue, the teen hauled himself up into a seating position just as the Squad Leader burst through various forms of vegetation. He noted offhandedly that he should trim that before the Corporal has a fit.
"Yes, sir." He stood and saluted the over excited scientist charging forward before skidding to stop inches away from the Shifter.
"I've been looking everywhere for you! I needed you to help me with Levi, but then I remembered that you seem to be able to hear anything and yet you didn't hear me call for you, and so I was wondering if maybe you have heightened senses, and if maybe that was linked to your shifting abilities, and if maybe other titans have them to and that's why they can find humans so easily and-"
"Hanji-san!" Eren cut off the researcher's ramblings, trying to get back to the first topic that had been breached, all the while sitting dumbfounded at the amount of words said in one breath.
"Huh?" The superior stopped and blinked wide eyes at the teen for a few moments, as though it could not be understood that Eren had just stopped what could be very important theory development.
"You mentioned something about the Corporal?" The boy had to restrain himself from growling. He had one day to relax, after having almost been sent to his death several times within the past week, yet the semi-psychotic scientist interrupted his peace, and couldn't even focus on the reason why.
"Oh, right! You're father was a doctor, correct? Well, Levi is sick, probably from training out in the rain for hours on end, and he needs someone to help take care of him, but we don't have doctor with us, and he won't let me anywhere near him to diagnose him properly so, could you help? I figure you may know a few things, hmm?" At this point the Squad Leader has leaned in much too close for Eren's liking and would say damn near anything to get out of the situation.
"U-uh, yeah, s-sure."
"Great! Come with me!" With that the teen was dragged off towards the castle where the Levi Squad currently resided, all the while having a mental breakdown after realizing what he had just agreed to.
To say the Corporal was sick was a severe understatement, well, at least to anyone who actually knew the stoic man. His usual moonlight soaked skin was slightly flushed, as though someone had lightly dusted the pale cheeks with ground up rose petals. Eyes that were lit with a cold fire, unrecognizable to most, were now hollow and glazed. The absence of the cravat was unnerving, though less so than the rumpled and sweat soaked state of the once clean and crisp dress shirt.
Yeah, he was sick, there was not a single doubt in Eren's mind once he took in his superior's appearance.
"Levi seems to have a fever, a cough, as well as sinus troubles, but I can't say for certain since he won't let me anywhere near him to check properly, and no one else has medical background sufficient enough for me to diagnose him based on their observations." Hanji's ramblings brought the teen out of his stupor, a blush decorating his features when he realized he'd been caught staring.
"You're damn right I won't, Shitty-Glasses. You'd just experiment on me." The raven's voice was rougher than normal, setting off warning bells in the teen's mind.
"That's why I brought Eren! His father was a doctor so I figured he'd be able to help! So what do you say, my Little Titan?" Hanji whirled to face said Shifter, who had already gone into his doctor mindset, courtesy of the many lessons from his father.
"Hold on, just because the kid's old man was a doctor, what makes you think that little shit can do anything?" The skepticism was understandable, but Eren, or rather his temper, was not keen on his Heichou's tone.
"You have the flu." The response was swift, coated with irritation and was most definitely a death sentence had it been any other day.
"How do you know?" Hanji looked excited, even more so than usual.
"Heichou's face is flushed, his voice is hoarse, which indicates both a sore throat and coughing, and you can hear the congestion when he speaks. He is lying in bed and has hardly moved so I assume it's due to body aches, and you are shivering." The teen could also hear that his heartbeat was faster than normal and his scent was off, but he really did not want to give Hanji any reason to do more experiments regarding his heightened senses.
Both officers stared at him for few moments in silence, and he sincerely hoped the reason was that they were stunned.
"Hn, not bad brat." Levi hummed slightly, staring at the boy until he began to fidget under his scrutiny.
"Well, Father had some rather stubborn patients so he had to learn how to read their symptoms, without them saying anything." That was the wrong thing to say. The glare he was given could have killed him then and there if it weren't for the misty clouds coating the pupils.
"You really want to die, don't you brat?"
"No, sir!" The brunette straightened immediately, " I apologize for overstepping my bounds."
A small chuckle brought his attention back to the other occupant of the room, who was staring at the exchange in amusement.
"Well, that settles that! Eren, you will be taking care of Levi for the time being, and Levi, you will stop being stubborn and let Eren help or else I will send Erwin down here, and he will send you to see a doctor." With that parting comment, the eccentric pivoted and bounced out of the room, leaving the two to a tense and awkward silence.
"Get out."
"Huh?" The boy cocked his head to the side, not fully understanding the statement.
"Are you deaf, brat? I said to get the hell out of here. I don't need some little piece of shit taking care of me like I'm a child." Silver iced over until literal shivers ran down the younger's spine, however, Eren was never one to stand down.
"Gomen, Heichou, but you're really sick and if you don't take care of it now, it will only get worse. Besides, Hanji-san said to take care of you, and I am not going to disobey the one who is responsible for dissecting me every other day." The very thought of what the scientist could, and would, do was enough to have the strongest of men heading for the hills.
"Apparently you want to be punished for disobeying orders."
"You are hardly in any condition to be giving orders, sir, much less getting out of bed to kick my ass." The older male seemed to want nothing more than to beat the boy to a bloody pulp for his snarky comment, however in the mind of the stubborn adolescent, that could wait until his Corporal was well. "Heichou, please allow me to take care of you today, so you can get better, then I will accept any punishment you see fit."
It was unknown how the gleaming verdant eyes could go from fiery and passionate to gentle and pleading within and instant, but no matter the reason, Levi still seemed unable to resist.
"Fine, but if you fuck up, you will regret it. You better not do anything stupid, Jaeger." Said Shifter lit up at the reluctant acceptance of his help.
"No worries, Corporal! I've taken care of people before! I'm going to go get a few things, I'll be right back, and please, stay in bed." With that, the brunette whirled and disappeared out of the room.
"Tch, fucking kid is going to be the death of me."
When it came to the Survey Corps, specifically the Special Operations Squad, most eventually learn to simply look the other way when something odd occurs. Despite this lesson, many soldiers simply froze for a few moments when their eyes caught sight of the rough and overly-energetic Eren Jaeger gently cradling various plants on the outskirts of the forest, humming softly to himself and lost within his own world.
Once he filled his small basket with the herbs he had been fortunate enough to find, the teen steadily made his way to the castle kitchens, where he proceeded to crush, mince, and boil the small bits of ginger he collected, along with the licorice root he managed to grab from Sasha's food stash. After he gathered the remaining chunks of herbs, the soldier added small droplets of honey-also stolen from Sasha- to the liquid.
"Hello Eren, what are you making?" The male turned to face the same woman who had woken him that morning.
"Oh, hey, Petra-san, I was making an herbal tea for the Corporal."
"Oooh, it smells really good, but, why are you making tea for Levi-Heichou? He doesn't trust anyone with his tea." If Eren didn't know any better, he would think the young female was disappointed and the slightest bit jealous.
"Eh, well, he doesn't really have the strength to say otherwise so..." At the confused and worried look he was given, the Shifter hurried to explain, "No, it's just, Heichou is a bit sick and he won't let Hanji-san near him." Again he was given a confused look.
"Then why are you looking after him?" Petra had an edge to her voice that ensured danger if Eren didn't elaborate quickly.
"Er, my Father was a doctor and he taught me a few things when I was young, so I know a little bit on how to take care of the sick." His voice wavered under the sharp gaze the female had taken on. It was no secret that the members of the Levi Squad were very protective of one another, especially their Corporal, however, Eren couldn't help the quick jolt of pain within his chest at the suspicion. He had hoped he had proven himself by now, what with him trusting them to take down the Female Titan without him transforming. Apparently he was wrong.
"Alright then, let me know if you need anything. I'll stop by to check on Levi-Heichou later!" She was so excited, Eren found it difficult to deny young girl, but he had no choice.
"Eh, that might not be such a good idea, Petra-san. Heichou is contagious right now and it would be really bad if you or anyone else got sick." He prayed she would understand his reasoning.
"I suppose you're right, but won't you get sick if you take care of him all day?"
"I doubt it. I've always had a strong immune system, that's why I was allowed to learn how to help others, because most couldn't. Besides, I've been around a lot of people with the flu, so I built up a little tolerance towards it, er, well the bacteria anyway, since the flu isn't exactly the same each time."
"Alright, I guess that makes sense, but are you sure you don't need help with anything?" Petra had the same expression as a puppy that was just scolded, and Eren found himself melting at the sight. He glanced around to find something to cheer her up, and smiled when his gaze landed on the various bowls he needed to take all the way to the Corporal's bedroom.
Levi was not happy. Well, he never was really, but he was more annoyed than usual. Everything was as it should have been until he woke up that morning to the sound of that stupid scientist pounding on his door, rambling on about some new experiment he couldn't care less about. Not that the particular scenario wasn't normal, no it was the pulsating just behind his eyes and the painful itch deep within his throat that pissed him off. Then the damn titan crazed soldier ran off only to drag that damn brat into his nice, clean room. Kid was filthy, had flower petals in his hair, and his clothes were tousled.
Although, the kid looked less ugly with the pink petals settled upon his chocolate locks, his fiery eyes wide with worry, the light from the window making them shine a shade of green so expressive and beautiful... damn it.
There he went again, those moronic thoughts making themselves known. Levi blamed the fever, that may or may not exist considering his pride was involved.
Speaking of the shithead, a timid knock came at the door, followed by Eren softly pushing the door open. He took a quick look inside to see if the man had obeyed his instructions, and was surprised to see him sitting right where the brunette left him.
What the hell, he looks like a fucking puppy, and for what, because I did what he said? Well, if he gets so damn excited over me listening, maybe I should do it more often. He does have some interesting thoughts and that look is sort of cute...DAMN IT!
Levi once more blamed the fever that possibly existed.
Eren smiled when he saw the Corporal had done as he asked. He had tried to accomplish all that he wished as quickly as possible to ensure the hard headed man wouldn't attempt to get out of bed and worsen his condition.
"Levi-Heichou, how are you feeling?" Petra questioned, as she hovered just outside the bedroom. Eren had asked her to follow him with the rest of the supplies, as he could not carry everything on his own, and he wanted to return to the raven as soon as possible, however he made it clear she should not enter the room, and would only pass the boy the tray she carried.
Levi glowered at the girl, who merely smiled gently at him in response. He then took notice of the various trays the boy had set upon the small desk in the corner of the room.
"What the fuck is that?"
"Supplies that will help," At the rare glimpse of confusion the boy continued, pointing to the bowls and containers, "Herbal tea, garlic broth-don't look at me like that, it tastes good- chilled rags, among other things."
Levi hummed in acknowledgement, eyeing the teacup and pot. The brunette gave a small chuckle at the look and poured his superior a cup of the herbal mixture.
"Alright, I'm going to take my leave now, if you don't mind. If either of you need anything, just let me know. I hope you feel better, sir." Petra gave a quick salute before making her way down the hall and out of sight.
"Here, Heichou, please take a sip then lie down." Eren handed the man the small porcelain cup before placing a bowl and rag on the bedside table.
"Hn," Levi allowed himself a taste of the liquid, "Not bad, brat. What is this anyway?"
"It's a tea blend that my mother used to make for my fathers' patients." He smiled softly to himself at the memory of his family.
"I thought your Father was the doctor?" It was odd for the Corporal to be so curious, but Eren indulged him nonetheless.
"He was, but my mother was something of a doctor in her own right. She would assist my father as he needed, comforted patients, and helped to brew teas and medicines. She knew quite a bit about plants and their uses, and consulted father on what would be best for certain remedies. She even made some mixtures that combined various flowers for her own patients to help them relax."
"She had her own patients?"
"Sorta, she was more of a midwife. She took care of pregnant women, helped them through birth, and would help with their children afterwards so the women could rest a bit." Having finished his tea, Levi hummed once more while setting his cup down, seemingly content now that his curiosity was sated.
Eren reached out with the cooled cloth he had sitting in the bowl and gently dabbed the raven's forehead as he laid back down, before resting it upon the man's brow.
"This will help to cool your fever and will need to be changed once it gets to room temperature. Normally a chilled bath would be better but seeing as you are in a bit of pain the cold water won't provide much help for the sore muscles, and moving., moving isn't such a great idea either."
"You are very perceptive." The man's voice held a slight undertone of suspicion, as though Eren had been hiding something very important.
"Not really, only when it comes to helping the people I care about," The boy froze for a few moments as if he had just realized the implications of what he had said, " Eh, no, w-what I m-mean, well, uh, I-I meant to say, uh...I'm just making it worse aren't I?"
Levi snickered inwardly at the rising blush on the boy's cheeks as he hung his head in defeat. His brat really was amusing, wait his brat, where did that come from? Since when was that stupid kid his?
Eren, completely oblivious to his superior's inner turmoil, continued to will away the heat in his face before his ears started to steam. The last thing anyone needed was for the Corporal to become tense because he couldn't trust the boy to keep his cool and, you know, not shift into a fifteen meter carnivor.
The brunette cleared his throat softly to break the tension, which drew the man's attention to the boy's movements. Steel eyes followed the Shifter's hands as he placed a multitude of herbs in a bowl of steaming water, which he placed on the bedside table.
"Now what are you doing?" Despite the fierce tone, Eren sensed the genuine curiosity within the man's question.
"The steam helps to clear the nasal pathways and the thyme," He gestured toward the long green stems and small white flowers, "Helps to do so as well, basically combining two remedies in one."
Levi nodded in understanding.
"Well, I think that's it for now, you should get some rest, Corporal. It's the fastest way to get better. I'll be back to check on you later, as well as bring you some more tea. For now, I would appreciate it if you would try to eat a bit of the broth before you rest, it would do wonders for you to have something in your stomach." The younger soldier brought over the bowl of steaming yellow liquid. Had Levi been his normal self he would have made some vulgar remark in regards to the coloring, however something made him reconsider after taking one look at that damn puppy face Jaeger was sporting.
"Fine."
He grabbed the bowl and sat up to stare down into the broth, the scent, surprisingly enough considering that morning he couldn't smell a damn thing, was terrible. The raven's nose scrunched and brow pinched as the sharp stench penetrated his nostrils. He was not looking forward to the taste, but with the smile Eren shot him before he practically bounced out of the room, Levi found himself tipping the rim to meet his lips.