HUMANITY'S STRONGEST?
Chapter 36: The Pest
"AUNTIE ZOE!" a dozen voices cried in unison as the children who belonged to those voices rushed to the door to greet their favorite visitor.
This crazy dame's been making a real pest of herself lately! How the fuck did she find out where I live? Too bad the kids like so much . . . otherwise I could throw her out on her ass! Levi's face showed nothing of what he was thinking, but he was certain he felt a headache coming on. "Guess you'd better come in," he told the woman flatly. "Don't want to disappoint the children."
Zoe practically bounced into the house. "Oh c'mon! I know you're happy to see me too!"
Levi shuddered inwardly. "Don't kid yourself, Four Eyes."
"See? You even have a pet name for me!" she giggled. Her infectious laugh made all the children giggle with her.
Pet name?! What is wrong with this dame? Can't she recognize an insult when she hears it?! And how the fuck can one person have such an irritating overstock of obnoxious, perky personality? The man only growled softly in response, however. It was a reflexive reaction, but the result was extremely annoying as Zoe squealed with glee.
"Such a cute little growl!" she exclaimed. All of the children were now making little imitative growls of their own and laughing uproariously. Thanks to Zoe, they all now thought he had a "cute little growl" when he got irritated.
Ugh! It like this woman exists solely to torment me! Levi managed to refrain from another growl of annoyance. "What do you want?"
"I thought I'd show the kids how to make my family's famous ginger cookies!"
"Cookies!" came the answering chorus of voices.
"Great! You've come to make a huge mess of my kitchen!"
"Don't worry! I'll clean up afterwards!" Zoe assured him.
"Yeah, like you did last time," Levi responded dryly. "There was flour under the counter, grease all over the sink, bits of broken bowl in the corner, a pile of dust under the rug and nothing was put back in the correct place!"
Zoe just giggled. "You're such a clean freak! Okay, no sweeping everything under the rug, no flour on the floor, remove all grease from the sink and I won't break any bowls!"
"And put everything back exactly where you find it!"
Zoe straightened up into a salute. "Yes, Sir!"
The children promptly imitated her. Ugh! This woman's a horrible influence on the kids! Levi pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, groaning as he followed the procession into the kitchen to make sure the mess didn't get too big. He didn't want to be up all night cleaning like last time.
Levi's obsession with cleanliness had gotten stronger over the years. Partially due to the vile gore of slain titans that inevitably got all over a person when killing them; partially due to the constant filth he had to go through when hunting bounties in the Underground; and partially because he just found it relaxing – a form of stress relief. He liked his home environment to be clean at the very least, since the rest of his life was surrounded in filth.
He sat at the large table in the kitchen, watching Zoe show a dozen fascinated children how to make her 'famous' ginger cookies. He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, sipping a cup of hot tea. His hard, emotionless expression softened ever so slightly as he watched his children's smiles and listened to their laughter. She is awfully good with children. They really do love her and are always so happy when she's around. I'm surprised the woman doesn't have a family of her own. She's be a wonderful mother, and she is very pretty . . . Well, shit! You know you're sexually frustrated when a four eyed lunatic like Zoe Hange starts looking like an attractive prospect! What in the hell is wrong with you, Levi?! You aren't allowed to feel, remember? Tch! Dipshit!
Zoe had noticed his deepening scowl. "I wonder what your father is thinking over there?" she asked the children.
"Oh, he always looks grumpy when he's happy!" Isabel explained.
"Yeah, the grumpier he looks, the happier he is!" Claymore agreed.
"Tch!"
For the next three months, Zoe Hange became an unwanted fixture in Levi's life. She had a knack for tracking him down no matter where he went. In spite of his best efforts to the contrary, Levi found himself looking forward to her visits as much as the children did. She made a point of 'running into' him at the market, or riding alongside him on missions. He began to enjoy her company and her infectious curiosity. Her desire to learn everything she could was as irrepressible as his own – that much they had in common. A hatred for titans was another thing they shared in common.
In the nights outside the walls, Zoe always laid down right next to Levi, following him if he got up and moved. More than once, Levi had fallen asleep alone only to find her laying practically on top of him the next morning. One of her teammates looked at the morning scene of Levi wrapped up in Zoe's arms, her head on his chest and asked, "Geez, Hange. You could sleep with any guy you wanted! Why do always sleep with him?"
"Because he's comfortable," she replied sleepily.
Levi's grey eyes popped wide open in surprise. Comfortable?! How the hell am I supposed to take that? I'm not even sure that's a compliment! He did nothing to extricate himself from the warmth of her embrace, however. He wouldn't admit it even to himself, but she was very comfortable too.
He was finally beginning to get comfortable enough around her to actually open up a little to her. The would spend long hours at the table in his kitchen talking over a cup of tea or coffee. She was actually very pleasant to converse with, as long as he was careful not to touch upon certain subjects, such as titans or anything to do with science. She would go off on a lengthy rant about theories, experiments and studies. At first this habit was annoying, but lately he just found it amusing to watch her expressions as she ranted.
She asked him about each and every one of his scars. She already knew where the one on his right shoulder had come from. He'd explained the burn on his back and how Firestorm had saved him from a fire when he was very young. There were others from flying debris and some from a run it with a plant that caused a violent skin reaction. There were multiple burn marks on his forearms from the accidents with his experiments with creating the incendiary arrowheads (She really wanted to hear about those experiments!). Some, however, he refused to explain; the one through his left shoulder and the one on his throat for example. He was relieved that she was willing to let it go.
One evening, in the middle of autumn, they stayed up very late in his kitchen, talking over coffee and biscuits as they watched the leaves falling from the trees in the light of the full moon. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and she had spent the night before. The children were always ecstatic when they saw her at breakfast the next morning. This night was no different. Zoe settled in to bed by Levi's side (he had found out long ago that trying to push her out was pointless; the woman was relentless). She began idly stroking his chest with her fingers as they continued talking.
He sighed with contentment as he wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. She drove him absolutely nuts, but for some reason he couldn't understand, he enjoyed every moment of it. After their first meeting, where she invaded his bath in what he thought was a secluded little canyon waterfall and pool, he had tried to avoid her, but she was very persistent. No matter what he said to her, she would keep coming back. He couldn't figure out what warped side of his personality was getting so much enjoyment out of their odd relationship, but he was glad of her persistence.
He affectionately kissed her on the top of her head. Zoe looked up at him with a smile, then pressed her lips to his. He surprised himself by kissing back without hesitation. Her soft lips felt wonderful against his and her velvety tongue still tasted of coffee and sugar. When they finally separated, she laid down beside him, holding his hand. The laid side by side for a few moments in silence before Zoe spoke again. "I know how I came across to you that night in the canyon, but in all honesty, I'll never do anything to you without your permission."
Levi contemplated that statement for several moments. Is that all she's waiting for; my permission? Damn! Isn't it supposed to be the guy asking for the woman's permission? I suppose it does go both ways – that's why it's called 'mutual consent'. But . . . am I ready for this kind of relationship again? Dipshit! You're a still a normal, healthy, young adult male! Of course I'm ready!
He glanced over at the woman laying beside him. "You have my permission," he said quietly.
Zoe's face lit up. "Really?! You mean it?!" She looked ready to boil over with excitement.
Oh crap! What have I done?! I'm not ready for this!
The woman gave out her all too familiar squeal of delight. "This is going to be so much fun!"
Oh shit!
She was instantly on top of him and kissing with extreme passion. It felt wonderful, but Levi was still scared of what the woman had planned. He knew how she loved to experiment.
He forgot his concern quickly, though and found himself lost in the ecstasy of what she was doing to him. She was right, it was fun! She definitely the dominant type, but he didn't mind; it was nice to be made love to. For her part, Zoe was thrilled by the fact that her chosen lover took equal delight in making her feel intense pleasure and ecstasy. He really is perfect!
to be continued…