Neko Again

It had been a month since the 'Neko Heichou' incident, as the Survey Corps collectively decided to call it. In the time since, any mention of the fiasco and you could be sure Levi would give you punishment training. More than one person had been on the receiving end of the Captain's boot. Trainees and officers alike grew wary, careful of what they said.

All except for Eren. He had been unusually quiet, constantly watching Levi. He didn't want to forget how Levi had looked with cat ears. No, he wanted to see more of it. It had taken barely any persuasion to convince Hani to give him the liquid mixture. She, too, wanted to see 'Neko Heichou' again. But she cautioned the teen. Having tasted it once, Levi would surely be able to tell if the mixture was in his drink. Unless the taste was disguised in some way. Eren thanked her, telling her he would give it some thought.

Levi wearily dressed in his night clothes. He was tired, more so than usual. Titan sightings inside the Wall had kept them all busy, with little to no sleep. The dark marks under Levi's eyes had grown darker, deeper, and he fervently hoped he'd be able to sleep tonight.

A knock on his bedroom door made him groan. He forced a disinterested look on his face. "Enter."

Eren poked his head inside, looking at Levi. "Heichou?"

"What do you want, Yeager?" Despite trying, he couldn't keep the tiredness out of his voice.

The teen stepped into the room, holding out a tray with two cups on it. "I thought… some tea might help you sleep.

Levi eyed the cups. "It's that obvious, how tired I really am? I thought I was hiding it better."

"You are, Sir. I just know what to look for." He set the tray on Levi's bedside table, handing him one of the cups.

"I suppose I should thank you." Levi sat on the edge of the bed, sipping the tea. He coughed at the unexpected taste. "What-?"

The boy actually colored. "I'm sorry, Heichou. I was making the tea next to the pepper grinder, and some got into the cups. I gave you the better tasting one."

Did that mean Eren had sipped from this cup? Levi looked at it again, shrugging when he decided he was too tired to care. The peppery taste wasn't bad, just unusual.

The two sipped their tea in silence, Levi almost smiling at Eren's grimace. Obviously the teen didn't like the addition of pepper.

His tea was almost gone when he realized he was suddenly quite drowsy, much more than he had been, more than just the tea itself would make him. He'd only felt this sleepy this quickly once before. "Damn b… brat. Y… you didn't." He yawned thickly.

"Sorry, Heichou. You need the sleep, and I want to see you with cat ears again."

"S… shit. I'm… you're… going to…"

Eren caught the male as he fell over, setting both tea cups on the tray. He gently placed his Captain under the blankets on the bed, a smile on his face as he brushed Levi's bangs off his forehead. Making for the bedroom door and closing it behind him, he headed for his own room, deep in the basement.

Eren awoke early the next morning, a giant grin on his face. He dressed quickly, and ran a hand through his hair so it didn't look quite so messy. He had planned this carefully, so there weren't any expeditions or experiments scheduled for today. Which meant Levi would be free, and Eren had every intention of monopolizing the Captain's time. Levi shouldn't mind it too much, honestly, since he obviously would not want others to see him with cat ears again. With these thoughts in mind, Eren left his room, walking quickly up the long staircase toward the mess hall and the higher up's living quarters.

Levi didn't need to look at a mirror when he awoke to know he had cat ears. He could feel them atop his head. He grumbled, frowning when it came out high pitched. Opening gray eyes, his first thought was wondering how the bed had gotten so big. He tried to move to the edge of the bed to stand, falling back immediately in confusion. Looking down at himself, he didn't want to believe what he was seeing. No! No, no, no, no, no! Eren, I'm going to murder you! Tearing himself free of the now oversized bedclothes, he tumbled off the bed and looked at himself in the floor length mirror.

Tiny fuzzy black body. Stunted legs and short tail. Whiskers. Gray eyes filled with panic. The kitten sat back, letting out a hysterical and plaintive cry.

I've got to find Hanji. Levi finally decided, waddling awkwardly on four paws. And after I'm back to normal, Eren is going to pay for this! He was relieved to notice his bedroom door was cracked open. Someone must have been looking for him. Tottering into the hall, he headed in the direction of Hanji's lab… er, office.

He ran across Erwin first, happy to see the male. The trek to Hanji's was much farther on these stubby legs. Sitting down in Erwin's path, he voiced a loud mew. This sucks.

Erwin looked down at the diminutive kitten, a look of extreme loathing on his face. "Hell borne scum." He swung his leg back, adding power to an already powerful kick.

Levi's eyes widened, but there was no way he could get out of the way in time. He braced his tiny body for impact.

There was a blur and suddenly Eren was crouched over the defenseless kitten, taking the kick not meant for him. Ribs shattered, and he hit the ground several feet away, body devoid of breath. Blinded by the sheer pain, he still tried to look at Erwin. "D… don't kick…" He wheezed, not able to get enough breath for the whole sentence.

"Keep that vile filthy creature away from me." Erwin's tone was scathing as he walked away. "Cats." He muttered to himself. "Evil creatures. Must talk to the King about eradicating them."

Levi's tiny mouth was open in horrified shock. That kick would have easily killed a cat. And Erwin hadn't seemed to care, or either hadn't noticed, that he had kicked Eren. Eren, who still wasn't moving from where he had landed. Eren… He raced over to the prone teen, wanting to scream his name, but unable to. Yet he couldn't prevent the terrified mews that poured from his mouth.

Eren's body spasmed and he coughed, blood spilling from his lips to pool on the floor. Some of the blood coated Levi's fur, but he could care less right now. Eren's eyes opened slightly, and he looked happy to see the kitten in one piece. "S… sorry…" He wheezed, reaching out a hand, as if to try and wipe away the blood. But the hand fell, its task incomplete.

Levi's ears caught the rattling sounding Eren's chest. Even without medical knowledge, he knew what it meant. Could the shifter heal in time? Levi didn't wait to find out. Running as fast as his tiny kitten body could, he headed straight for Hanji's office, hoping she was there.

Eren was confused when he opened his eyes. Why was he in the infirmary? He made to sit up, falling back with a cry of pain.

"You are lucky to be alive. Even healed as you now are, I wouldn't be surprised if you are in pain for several more hours."

He looked at Hanji, not understanding. "What do you mean, 'lucky to be alive?'"

"Your broken ribs punctured your lungs. We had to do emergency surgery on you, although the stitches have already been removed, since you are now healed. Still, if Levi hadn't gotten me to you when he did, you would have drowned in your own blood before your healing powers could kick in. You owe him your life."

"Hei… Heichou… saved me?"

"Mm. I've never seen him so frantic. It makes me wonder if… ow! Well, it's true, Levi. You don't have to claw me for stating the obvious."

Eren sat up, slower this time, still wincing. Only now did he notice the small black kitten sitting on Hanji's shoulder. A kitten that had just dug its claws into her skin. A kitten that launched itself onto Eren's bed, worried gray eyes looking him over. "This… is Heichou?!"

"Yup. Dunno why he turned complete cat this time. Isn't he just so cute?"

Levi gave her a withering look.

"Could… could it have been the pepper?" Eren continued to stare at the kitten.

"Possibly. So… want to have some fun with him?"

"Huh?"

Levi narrowed his eyes as he watched Hanji rummage through her pocket. The woman was scary sometimes. Most of the time, actually. Well, there was no way he was going to take part in her… Pink Thing!

Eren laughed as the sooty kitten darted after the pink ribbon Hanji had unearthed. Claws scrabbled and the little tail flicked madly. When she handed the ribbon to Eren, Levi actually climbed into the teen's lap to bat at it.

Laughing hurt, but Eren honestly did feel lucky to be alive. To know he had been that close to dying… again…

"Ooooh, I can't wait to see how he responds to this!" She held up a bag full of some herb.

"What is it?"

"Catnip."

Levi's eyes dilated as he caught a whiff of the catnip. His human mind was completely taken over by feline instincts. He rolled on the bag, bit it, clawed and stomped on it, drooled on it, and finally fell asleep on it.

Hanji let Eren leave the infirmary after checking him over again. He carried the sleeping kitten down to the basement with him, wanting Levi's company even if he wasn't currently human. He lay on his bed with the cat curled next to him and closed his eyes.

He awoke suddenly some time later to find his bed cramped. Opening his eyes, he saw Levi next to him, one hand loosely curved under his chin. It was such an adorable sight that he smiled. Until he realized that Levi wasn't wearing anything. Then his face turned red and he hastily began trying to scoot out of the bed.

Levi yawned and shifted, opening glazed gray eyes. Only when those eyes were open did Eren notice the line of red crossing Levi's face. "Heichou… are you drunk?" Must not look down, must not look down…

"Drunk?" The Captain repeated. "No. High? Maybe. That catnip was gooooood." He rolled on top of Eren, smiling down at him. "Eren. My Eren." His lips flattened against Eren's in a sloppy kiss. "Turn me into a cat again and you die. Okay?" Yawning again, he tucked his head against the teen's chest and went back to sleep.

The teen, meanwhile, was stiff as a board and cherry red. He didn't dare move, not with Levi so comfortable where he was. But he didn't think he'd ever be able to look at his Captain the same way again, especially not when he could feel every contour of the other male's body resting against his. It made him aware of feelings he had, feelings he hadn't even known existed. He continued to ponder those feelings while the other male slept on, blissfully unaware of Eren's turmoil.

Seriously had so much fun writing this. There is a third part in my head, but I don't know when I'll get around to writing it. Cheers!