Chapter 6:

It'd been five days since Levi untied Andrews from the tree, and he hadn't run into her since. He wasn't sure if he was trying to avoid her or maybe she was trying to avoid him. It was hard for him to comprehend what had happened that night. All they did was talk, but he felt so comfortable with her; at peace almost. In more ways than one it scared him because he was a Captain in the Survey Corps, and he didn't want to have those kinds of feelings for anyone. Not to say that henhad feeling for Ivy. They just met two weeks ago, but she made him feel something. The type of feelings he worked so hard to never feel again were starting to bubble up in his soul. It was like she reached inside and poured her bubble concoction right into his very being, all that emotional shit was popping inside of him, and he didn't like it.

He had to be careful around her. Out of all the years he had been in the Survey Corps he'd never once been involved with anyone romantically, or physically. Not to say he didn't get his release from time to time in the towns they stopped in over the years, there were always women who would throw themselves at him for the night. Work was different, he never wanted to cross that boundary with his comrades because it could leave him distracted; distractions get people killed. Nothing had happened between Andrews and himself, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Levi was on his way to a meeting, the mission that was in the works would be commencing in about a week's time. He needed to go over the trip's travel formations with Hange one more time. They talked it over and seemed like they had everything planned out. The whole mission depended on when they got their next shipment of equipment and rations, but other than waiting for that they would be ready to go as soon as it came.

"Alright Hange I'll talk to Eren, make sure he's alright being at the front of that formation." Levi skidded his chair back getting ready to stand up.

"Levi I forgot to mention but something was brought to my attention today." Hange declared, a seriousness clouded her usually goofy demeanor. "Someone overheard Kurt Kelner saying some very concerning derogatory threats about a female recruit."

"Who?" spat Levi.

"Maybe you remember for some reason unbeknownst to me you slammed his head into a table last week."

"Oh that fuck head…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Wait, you said he made derogatory threats, what do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean." Hange's face went very serious.

"Wow." huffed Levi. He really thought the broken nose was enough to straighten that brat out, and how many people did this guy get into it with.

"Slip knocked on my door last night to tell me her room and the shop was completely destroyed, and they left her a pretty nasty note." Hange finished, and noticed the rage that was clearly pulsing through Levi's veins.

"What did the note say Hange."

"Levi… I don't think you-"

"What did it say?" Interrupts Levi, his deadly eyes piercing into hers.

"It said: Next time your room won't be the only thing that's fucked." She continued hesitantly.

Levi took a deep breath.

"I'll handle it Hange." He spoke calmly, but that calmness didn't fool Hange for a second. Levi was alway too calm before a kill.

He started to walk out the door only to turn back to say "You may want to get a head start on a medical leave report for Kelner."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Sighed Hange. She was going to tell Levi that Kurt was going to be discharged from the Survey Corps as of today, but she figured Levi would still want to give him the goodbye he deserved.

Levi did give Kelner one hell of a goodbye. It was kinda like the time he beat the shit out of Eren, but this guy's teeth weren't going to grow back. Actually, Levi wouldn't be surprised if this guy never had full use of his arms, and legs after what he'd done with him.

Hange forced Levi to go to the medical office to get his shoulder stitched up. Kelner, after knowing that he was going to get a beating of a lifetime, pulled a knife on the captain. He got one slash in before Levi had taken the knife away. It took everything in Levi not to slit the bastard's throat and be done with him, but he figured crippling him was a nastier punishment than death.

Levi was sitting on the edge of the bed while a medic finished stitching up his shoulder. He heard the main door of the medical office open. At first he couldn't make out the words or see the person who came in but soon enough she was in the sheet cubicle next to him talking to a medic.

"How's the wound been feeling, any swelling, or discharge?" The medic asked the patient.

"It's still a little bit sore, but nothing unusual." The voice of the patient belonged to Ivy Andrews.

"You need to be more careful, we have you in here almost twice a week it seems." chided the Medic. "Wait here and I'll grab you some ointment to help with the healing"

"I know. I know, but you have to admit you'd miss seeing my face around here." laughed Ivy.

Levi couldn't help that his lips turned up at the sides after hearing his favourite noise: Ivy's laugh. She was really doing a number on him. His stitches were done, and he just needed to put his shirt back on before he could leave. Before he had a chance to think, he'd already instinctively pulled the curtain open that blocked him from seeing Ivy, not even bothering to button up his shirt.

"Fancy seeing you here." He smirked looking at Andrews with her shirt up exposing a pretty nasty puncture wound through her lower left abdomen. He was trying to avoid her, but that didn't last for long, he was too curious. Levi knew he would sleep less than he already did if he didn't find out how she got hurt.

"Captain, what are you doing here?"

"Got stabbed. You?"

"Impaled"

"By who?" Levi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Myself." Ivy embarrassed, put her face in her hands in playful shame.

"You're kidding." He looked at her face, and she gave him some form of puppy dog eyes, and a pouty lip. "You fucking idiot, How'd you manage that?"

"Well my workshop was ransacked and there was a lot of broken stuff. In a matter of no time I fell onto a sharp piece of wood and well this" she gestured at her wound.

"Who stabbed you sir?"

He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her. If he wanted to keep his distance from her maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell her about the incident. He didn't want her thinking she owed him one or anything like that. That being said, he figured she'd find out sooner or later, and it was better to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"Kurt Kelner"

"Oh." She was looking at his hands and the obvious bruises, and scrapes on his knuckles from fighting. "So you already knew about my workshop."

"Hange mentioned that she had a reason to believe he was responsible." Levi watched as he saw her entire body begin to relax. She didn't need to know that he knew about the note, and she didn't need to know that he pulverized Kelner because of said note.

"I'm surprised he even managed to get a stab in." teased Ivy.

"It was less of a stab, and more of a slash." He joked. "I think he knew his knife was his only chance, and it did catch me off guard."

"Here's the ointment I was talking about." The medic cut in, handed the medicine over to Andrews, and walked away.

"I guess I should get back to work." stated Levi looking down at his pocket watch, and noticed his dress shirt was still open and needed to be buttoned up. He was about to start doing it up when Ivy's two small hands started doing it for him. He hated that it crossed his mind, but he wished that her hands were undoing his buttons instead.

He shook his head at the thought, what the hell was happening to him.

He pushed her hands away more aggressively than he planned to, finishing the last button himself, and moved quickly to the door to get out of there. Ivy was left standing there alone, and he couldn't bring himself to look back at her probably confused eyes.

Levi knew he needed to get out of there, it was the first time he ever felt an urge like that about someone in the corps. Of course, over the years there'd been attractive women who were a part of the Survey Corps, but Ivy was different. The best way to describe it was like a magnet, and it wasn't just that he wanted her; he was drawn to her. She was this clumsy little thing that needed to be protected because she sure as hell wasn't going to protect herself. Normally this would bother him to no end because he hated when people were weak. She might be weak in physical strength, but there was still an inner strength inside of her and Levi recognized that. It was getting dangerous for him, he could feel the cold facade, the mask that he wore every day was starting to slip off. It wasn't right for him to show a gentler side of himself, and he needed to rein in those emotions even if it was only her that was able to witness it.

It was better this way. Levi needed to get himself under control because there was a mission in a few days, and he didn't need thoughts of some girl plaguing him.