Ch. 7 A Bath :3
It takes Levi two hours to make it back to HQ, on the far outskirts of Trost district. The crowded city gives way to forest as he circles around the long way. The scouts use this forest as a training area. Civilians are not allowed, so Levi is able to keep out of sight. His whole body is slicked with sweat. His muscles are sore, and his bruised ribs are aching. The only thing that isn't hurting, by some miracle, is his head.
Levi's skin is crawling from the sweat and thin layer of dust sticking to his skin. He needs to bathe before anything else. As he breaks from the trees, Levi scans his surroundings. The training yard is empty. Everyone is probably just finishing breakfast. As he approaches the rear entrance from the training grounds, someone exits, and Levi stops. He smirks slightly when he recognizes the strawberry blonde hair and admonishing tone of Petra as she scolds Olou for something. She turns and freezes in the doorway, honey eyes wide, and unshed tears gathering at the corners. Olou's voice floats from behind her.
"Oi, Petra. Why the hell are you blocking the door?"
Petra raises a hand to cover her mouth, afraid to speak and shatter the illusion. Levi raises a brow, staring at her coolly.
"Aren't you a little late? Our squad starts training at 8 o'clock sharp."
Petra laughs as she collapses to her knees, tears streaming down her face. The rest of the squad comes tumbling out of the door to see the commotion. Levi can't help but feel a little warmed by the shock and relief in their expressions, though he doesn't show it. Petra is the first to come to her senses, and the first to notice the figure on his back.
"Captain Levi, who is that?"
The others focus in on Rhea after hearing Petra's question, and their faces shift from relief to confusion.
"I'll explain later. Right now, I need one of you to go inform Commander Erwin that I'm back and need him to meet me in my office in 30 minutes, alone. The rest of you, go to training as normal, and don't say anything about this."
The squad stands stunned for several moments, but the stillness is broken as Petra nods her head, salutes proudly, and makes her way back inside to follow his orders. The rest follow suit, heading off to the training field with firm salutes and bright smiles. Levi quickly follows Petra inside. She makes a right toward the mess hall, and he takes the left, making quick work of the stairs leading to the officer's quarters. He meets no one else as he comes to his door, which is, thankfully, unlocked. Levi vaguely wonders if they had already held his "funeral", as he slips into his office, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He opens a door to the left that leads into his bedroom. The bedding has been stripped, and his few belongings lay in a pile at the foot of the bed, waiting to be disposed of. Levi fights the cold feeling spreading in his chest. He was gone four days. Space is extremely limited at scout headquarters. They can't afford to be sentimental about a dead man's belongings.
Levi enters his attached bathroom and is pleased to find it hasn't been touched yet. He shifts Rhea off his back and lays her down on a bench, next to a large clawfoot tub. He turns the hot water on and leaves it running, waiting for the for the furnace in the basement to heat the water. Levi leaves the bathroom for a moment to make sure the bedroom door is locked. When he returns, he strides over to a dark wood cabinet and retrieves two white towels, and two bath sponges, and carries them over to the bench.
Here, he hesitates. Erwin will be here shortly. There isn't time to clean up individually. It wasn't strange in the underground for men and women to bathe together. Clean water was scarce, and hot water was an even rarer commodity. He, Furlan, and Isabel had washed together all the time. But Levi knows it is considered unusual, even perverse here, for an unmarried man and woman to bathe together. He kneels at the bench and shakes Rhea's shoulder lightly. She wakes up immediately and looks up at him questioningly.
"I'm running a bath. Commander Erwin will be here soon. We both desperately need a bath before he gets here. It will be faster if we bathe together. Do you have a problem with that?"
Rhea sits up slowly on the bench, shrugging his cloak off and revealing her naked body underneath.
"Don't see why not. Not like I have my modesty to preserve. You've seen me naked several times already."
Levi nods his head, stands, and begins to hastily remove his gear, setting it aside for now. He can take care of it later. He removes his harness just a quickly as he had put it on, wincing slightly as the leather peels away from the bare flesh of his torso. His belt, boots and trousers come of next, and he adds them to the pile. As Levi's thumb hooks around the waistband of his undergarments he pauses, glancing back at Rhea, who is watching him lazily. Noticing his hesitation, she grins wolfishly at him.
"What? You get to see me naked, but I don't get to look? Are you trying to preserve your modesty? Or are you just embarrassed about the size?"
Levi turns his head away to hide the faintest tinge in his cheeks. Where the hell, did she learn to be so vulgar? What had happened to her in the 9 years after his last dream of her? Recovering, he scoffs and ignores the jibe.
"Tch. There's a shower over there. Go rinse off before you get in the tub."
Rhea snickers at him, then rises from the bench and saunters over to the shower, flipping on the water and closing the curtain, but not before he glimpses her pert nipples harden as the cold water hits them. She must have caught him looking, because he can hear her bell like peals of laughter through the curtain. Levi leans over, gripping the edge of the tub and takes a few steadying breaths. Well shit. This was a stupid idea. This is nothing like bathing with Furlan and Isabel. Farlan was a guy, and Isabel was so young it was like bathing with his baby sister. Rhea is definitely not his baby sister. It had been easy to ignore her nakedness when their lives were in danger. But now that they are safe behind the walls, Levi can't help but notice.
He may be a cold bastard, but he is still a man. And he'd be a damn liar if he said Rhea wasn't the most beautiful woman, he had ever laid eyes on. In fact, everything about her seems like it was made just for him. Those wild auburn curls make her standout; and though they spill beautifully over her shoulders and down her back, they do nothing to hide her large, perky breasts and perfectly shaped, pale pink nipples. Her well-toned waist is thin, and it gives way to wide hips, which supports a round, perfectly tight ass that Levi is sure he could bounce a damn coin off. Many of the female scouts are quite beautiful, but the constant training and fighting burns off all the fat that builds the curves Levi is fond of. It also happens to be one of the major reasons for the extremely low pregnancy rate, compared to other branches. Every inch of Rhea's body is built with lithe muscle, but she hasn't lost the curves. Levi muses that living in her wolf form, she probably ate mostly meat, which is high in protein and fat and would have supported her lifestyle.
The shower curtain opens, water still running, and Levi keeps his gaze firmly on Rhea's face as she glides forward, moaning in pleasure as she sinks into the hot bath water. Her grin is wolfish again as she tilts her head at him.
"Are you coming Levi? I thought the point was to save time."
"Tch. Shut up and clean yourself brat. I'll just shower for now."
Levi snatches one of the towels, the sponge, and a bar of soap, and storms over to the shower, pulling the curtain shut and removing his undergarments. He hangs up the towel, steps under the spray, and begins to scrub himself furiously. The freezing water does nothing to ease his aching ribs, back, and shoulders. It does however, help ease the quickly growing throbbing elsewhere. Levi grits his teeth when he hears Rhea snickering from the tub. Walls, he wants to go out there and shut her up.
"Goodness Levi, I didn't peg you for the blushing virgin type at all. Where did all that cool confidence go? Hahaha."
Oh, that's it. He is not going to let this cheeky brat mock him in his own fucking bathroom. Levi wrenches the tap down, shutting off the shower, and throws the curtain open, stalking over to the tub and climbing into the hot water. He doesn't miss the way Rhea's eyes flicker momentarily to his exposed waist, or the deep blush on her cheeks. He doesn't bother holding back a predatory grin as he leans over her, careful not to actually touch her body, and reaches with painstaking slowness, for the shampoo bottle behind Rhea's head. He hovers over her for a moment, enjoying how she turns her head away in embarrassment, exposing her pale slender neck in an enticing display of vulnerability. He leans closer, lips just ghosting over the shell of her ear, and he taunts her in a sultry whisper.
"What's wrong, Rhea? You were so confident a moment ago. Now who's the blushing virgin?"
Rhea snaps her head back to lock eyes with him, blue irises flecked with gold, full lips set in a small coy smile, and lifts her hand from the water, placing it against his chest, and allowing her sharp nails to graze the skin lightly. Levi clenches his jaw to prevent a pleasured hiss from escaping, surprised by her boldness.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Three rapid knocks at the bedroom door breaks their trance, as Erwin's commanding voice cuts through the air.
"Levi, are you done? This isn't the time to indulge in your cleaning habits. You were reported missing in action four days ago, and now you show up with a strange woman in your arms. Finish your business quickly and make your report."
Levi is out of the tub and drying off before Erwin can finish speaking. He wraps the towel around his waist and opens the door to his bedroom.
"Give me 5 damn minutes to get dressed, Erwin"
Levi looks back to Rhea. She has sunk herself almost below the water. Only the top of her head is visible, and there is a wild fear in her now completely gold eyes.
"Don't be afraid, brat. I've taken responsibility for you. No one in the scouts will hurt you. Now get out and get dressed. You can borrow some of my clothes."
Rhea hesitates only a moment before joining him in the bedroom. He tosses her a shirt and trousers and they dress quickly and silently. Levi watches Rhea's movements discreetly. He can tell by the almost imperceptible quake in her arms and legs that she is still nervous but is choosing to trust him. This thought causes a painful twinge in his chest, reminded of the last people who trusted him. Levi buries the feeling. Now is not the time. Once dressed, Levi unlocks the door and steps confidently into his office. Erwin has taken up the chair behind his desk, so Levi takes a seat on the comfortable, two seated couch on the opposite side, and Rhea follows suit. She sits as close as she can without touching him, and Levi can feel the warmth radiating from her body. So, she was warm all the time then. Erwin leans over the desk, hands clasped together under his chin, and ocean blue eyes full of intensity. He makes a sweeping gesture at Levi and Rhea as his deep baritone voice commands.
"It's good to see you alive and well Levi. Now, if you would please. Explain."