Clean
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Blackrider: Levi helps Petra to become neat and meticulous.
"What's wrong, Levi?" Erd asked curiously.
"Nothing's wrong."
"Then why are you so jittery?"
"I'm not," he replied stiffly.
Erd rolled his eyes. "You've been staring at the same page for the last fifteen minutes."
A second of hesitation and Levi shut the economy textbook. It was a hard enough subject to understand with a clear mind. A quick glance confirmed everyone else in the library was absorbed in their own work to eavesdrop. "It's Petra," he told him reluctantly.
"Lover's quarrel?"
"No, it's... The other week, she asked why we don't hang out in her apartment."
Erd didn't understand what the problem was. "So?"
"So? Have you seen her place? It's a pigsty!"
"Levi, you're clean-freak. You have to understand—"
"I'm not exaggerating! Even by your standards, she's a mess."
"I'm sure it's not that bad."
"I knew it! You're only saying that because you've never seen it, have you?"
"I haven't," Erd admitted.
"Exactly." Satisfied he'd gotten him to admit defeat, Levi went back to sulking. "Petra asked me to come over and I can't back out last minute after telling her I'm free."
"Look, she's an understanding person and I'm sure if you sit her down and calmly explain what the problem is, you guys can figure this out."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I love that movie." Petra snuggled closer to Levi, watching the credits roll on the screen while the creepy music played in the background.
"Yeah, sure," he replied distractedly.
"It's one of my favorites. I knew you'd like it. What was your favorite part?"
"The, uh, end? Yeah, it was," he said and nodded, pretending to be more confident even though he had no real grasp of the plot. He blamed the chaos around him. His focus had been pulled in multiple directions, making it difficult for him to pay attention to the TV. Now's a good time to bring it up. She was in a good mood.
Before he could speak, her lips were on his. It was more than a little distracting. Until he felt it.
"What's wrong?" Petra leaned back, settling in his lap.
Levi reached under him and pulled out a triangular bottle of blue nail polish. How long has that been there?
"Hey, I've been looking for that." Tossing it aside, she began where they left off. Usually he was very much into it and wanted to pull her as close as possible. Now his attention seemed elsewhere. "What's wrong?" She leaned back, slightly worried as she took in his very un-dazed expression. Never before had she any problems getting him all worked up.
Levi gently extracted her limbs from his body and moved her next to him, holding her hands, looking serious. "Petra, I need to be honest with you."
That doesn't sound good. She bit her lip. Was he jus not in the mood? What could it be? Her heart fell. He wasn't dumping her, was he?"
"And I hope you'll understand that..."
Petra leaned forward pensively. "What?"
"It's not me, it's you."
"I"m sorry?"
"I mean look at this place. It's a disaster! When was the last time you vacuumed? Please tell me you least—"
"Excuse me?" Eyes narrowed, she snatched her hands back.
Being the very opposite of subtle, he then blurted, "I just can't find you attractive when you live...like this."
Her jaw unhinged. "What—this—you—it's not even that bad!"
"Not that bad?" Levi parroted incredulously. "What are you on some next level of denial? Look at this place. It looks like a tornado came through here!" He gestured to the chaotic apartment.
"I know it's a little disorganized, but you're blowing it way out of proportion." She stood, arms folded, looking very offended.
"I know I can be very neurotic when it comes to cleanliness and order, but you have to admit, this is awful even by lesser standards. You know I'm neurotic about cleanliness and this makes me feel..." His hands twitched as he tried to find the right word for how annoyed and anxious his environment made him. "Edgy."
"How you feel? What about how I feel? Telling me my home is dirty and then—"
"It's not dirty per se. It's messy. There's a difference." He had meant to sound reassuring. She gaped at him. "You've got papers scattered on every surface, your couch is acting as a second closet with all the clothes all over it, there are candy wrappers on the—"
"It's only one wrapper ripped in two!" Petra said defensively. "And it fell off by accident!"
"Alright, that's fine. There's still a massive pile of dishes—"
"I had to cover extra shifts for sick co-workers while keeping up with classes, I think I can be forgiven for not doing the stupid dishes!"
"That's understandable," Levi agreed, nodding. "I just don't want you to accidentally grow penicillin in your sink."
"I cannot believe you, Levi! You're such an ass!" She stomped toward her bedroom with Levi on her heels, only to have the door slammed shut in his face.
"Petra."
"Go away, you jerk, I don't want to talk to you!"
"But—"
"No!"
"If you don't clean up, your home will get infested and I know you hate cockroaches and it'll be so expensive to call an exterminator."
No reply.
Knowing her, he figured she was probably listening to loud music matching her mood.
Levi turned around and cringed at the horrific sight that was his girlfriend's apartment. She was always so conscious about his quirks and tried to compromise. He, too, tried to do the same for her, but anything regarding his obsession with a clean environment was out of his hands.
Levi sighed. He felt bad for ambushing her like that. Doing housework after a long day of classes and work was tiring, but surely taking ten, maybe fifteen minutes to tighten up one's home up to normal standards wasn't that hard. If she could do just that much then he—
His breath hitched, eyes falling to the floor and nose wrinkling as he slowly lifted his foot. Eww! What the fuck?! A feeling of sheer disgust rolled throughout his body at the stickiness. He hobbled on one leg to the bathroom, using wet toilet paper to wipe off the gross substance. Levi groaned. Now half of a single foot was wet. He hated that feeling.
Tearing off a paper towel in the kitchen, Levi halted. Dammit! He mentally cursed, agitated at the terrible sight in the sink. That did it. Rolling up his sleeves, he poured soap on a wet sponge and attacked the dirty dishes, scrubbing them with a fervor. Finally, after they were all conquered, he moved onto the sticky spot on the floor. The floor was covered with hair and dusty on the edges as well.
Most of the dust in a house is dead skin. He shuddered and grabbed a broom. Levi paused, dust was also collecting on the TV as well as some other surfaces. But there were papers, clothes, and many random things strewn everywhere. He'd have to get those first.
And just like that, one thing led to another until he collapsed on the couch, tired from having cleaned Petra's entire apartment sans the bedroom. He wasn't brave—or dumb—enough to enter the lair of the beast without permission, especially when she was steaming from the ears.
Levi glanced over his shoulder at the closed door. If she was asleep, he didn't want to risk waking her. And if she was awake, he knew the best thing to do was to give her some space. He quickly sent her a text, apologizing and promising to make it up to her. A yawn escaped him and he shut his eyes, resting them for a bit before he had to drive home.
A good night's rest had done wonders for Petra's mood. She was never one to hold onto negative feelings for too long anyway. It was too much effort. And it's so hard not to forgive him when he's so adorable asleep. Petra glanced around her apartment. It looked so much better. She really preferred it this way, but exhaustion and, most often than not, laziness got in the way.
Glancing between her phone with his last message and her boyfriend's relaxed face, she kissed his slightly parted lips that were just begging for it. I guess I can put a little more effort into this one thing. It wasn't something he could help, she knew.
However, the tactless way he had approached the situation had displeased her greatly.
She smiled at his peaceful face and reached for the black marker sitting innocuously on the table.
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