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Chapter 8- Promoted/Sickness of the heart

I began to avoid Levi more and more. He would not stop bugging me ever since Peter and John's confession. The two graduates were now doing their separate conditioning and continued to visit me over the hot summer days. I thought I had set them straight but they were not giving up just yet. Their infamous rivalry continued and would intensify when Levi was around. Levi would never let me out of his sight since the fiasco. This other side of Levi, the possessive one, was starting to get annoying. At first I thought it was cute, but it got out of hand too often when a single man besides Keith would come within a foot of me. He stayed by my side from the moment I stepped outside of my house and glared at every man glancing my way. I knew my heart belonged to Levi but he was starting to piss me off. I am a capable, strong, and independent woman. Levi will have to realize sooner or later that I can take of myself and that Peter's kiss only caught me by surprise. I was too entranced by the smell of food to think anymore. Not too far away was a nice tea shop. I was craving tea, cookies, and peace but mostly the cookies. The sound of the dirt crunching under my feet told Levi that I wanted something and fast. He quickly turned his heel and followed after me but not before protecting me from wandering eyes. It has been a month since the fiasco but Levi will continue to not let up. Keith was the only person that trusted me because after all, he is the one that taught me how to fight. I sighed as I seated myself into a comfy wooden chair. The waitress asked for my order just as Levi sat himself down. I felt like trying the Lady Grey tea. Levi requested an Earl Grey tea and scooted his chair further in. He set his elbows on the table and held his chin up with his knuckles. He stared at me intensely as I continued tell the waitress of my long list of cravings for cookies and pastries. After she was done scribbling my order, she hurried to the kitchen to ready our beverages. Levi was still creepily staring at me. My head turned towards him but my eyes refused to look into his. I flicked his forehead and told him to sit up straight. The waitress came and set our tea down as he was about to retort but I beat him to a conversation.

"Levi, why are becoming my guardian? I do not need a babysitter and I certainly do not need help with men. I have dated a few in my past and I can tell which ones were bad. I have a new squad to attend to in a week and some will be boys. Some may find me attractive," Levi scoffed at this as if it were a joke, he thought your words were an understatement to your vast beauty, but to you it seemed that your looks were nothing to be appreciated of. I continued as if his little sound did not affect me at all but on the inside I was brutally strangling his neck, "In any case, you have no need or duty to aid me in handling men." As I finished my sentence, the waitress came back to our table with a lot plates being carefully balanced on her arms. She gently set each down and I quickly thanked her as she refilled our tea-pot with more hot water.

She left quickly and Levi proceeded to open his mouth to reply. I shoved a cookie down his throat and smiled happily but my eyes were saying: DO NOT DEFY ME. Levi coughed while he cursed the two brave brats. They were able to confess their undying love to me but he could barely get a word into this conversation. I enjoyed the rest of my sweets before leaving a nice tip. Levi sat up and reluctantly followed after me once more. I was smiling as I continued my stride to the training fields of the military. Levi sighed loudly behind me but managed to stop death-glaring men. The big, metal, but mostly wooden doors to the main buildings opened, as I walked up to them. The sunlight flashed through the crack of wood and into my eyes. I squinted my eyes slightly but they slowly adjusted. I turned myself to face the general direction of my office. Levi said he had something to do but I was actually thankful for being alone for once. It did not last long though, as I turned the knob to open the door to my office, I was greeted with the exact opposite of peace and quiet. John and Peter had beat me to my office. They looked as if they had been in here all day, cleaning, organizing, and redecorating. My office never did stay clean so I thanked them for their hard work. Peter stepped up first but John was the first to speak as always.

"Captain Shadis, ma'am. We apologize for our actions for that time and we have wished for your forgiveness." John was always so polite towards intimidating superiors but mostly to you. I smiled affectionately and waited for Peter to say something.

"What he said." Peter had too much pride to say he apologizes again for stealing your precious innocence. I laugh lightly and tilt your head at them. My shoulders relax and I take a deep breath.

"Well you have had my forgiveness," John immediately beamed but Peter knew there was a catch. "I also recall having already punished you, Peter, but this is more to gain back my trust. I simply ask of you to help me with some house chores." I did not feel like cooking that night and laundry also had to be done so I wanted to take advantage of them, if only for a day. Peter smirked as if he already knew cooking and laundry would be on the chore list. John gave me a cheesy smile and saluted me, he elbowed Peter to follow his example. Peter simply shrugged and saluted. I sent them on their way and told them to come back in an hour or two. As soon as they left, I closed the door and walked toward my desk. I sat in my plush chair and settled in. I saw my desk all shiny and sparkly. I glanced around the room and saw how nice of a job they did. I then proceeded to get started on my paperwork. I pulled open a drawer on my right side and pulled out a few files. I was called in today because the higher-ups have assigned me a new squad to train in a week and wanted me to look into their backgrounds. (These are non-important characters so time skip~)

An Hour later-

My head was on my desk, my mind was dead. I were sleeping carelessly and drooling all over the new recruits' background profiles. Reading was so boring so I could only hope no one of higher command would see me slacking off on my boring-ass paperwork. Peter opened the door, not caring to knock and John was slowly walking behind him, hoping the captain wouldn't be mad for intruding on her work. Peter stopped and that made John bump into him. Peter shoved John in front of him and hushed him. John came upon the sight of their captain fast asleep. His heart melted at the sight of her peaceful face and the sound of her soft snoring. The bliss did not last though since Peter was still in the blasted room.

"Damn, she's even hotter asleep." He whispered but John definitely heard correct. He punched Peter's arm before demanding him to help him carry her to her home. Peter thought about carrying bridal style or just throwing her over his broad, strong shoulder. John had a more practical way of carrying her, he slowly put her left arm over his shoulders while Peter did the same on her other side. Over the years, John had grown in height while Peter had grown in strength. They balanced her as they carefully led her limp body toward the door. It was the middle of the afternoon so the hallway felt quite hot. Peter closed the door and helped John carry their captain to the front gate. As they went out into the training fields, they spotted Levi. The duo weren't really ecstatic to see him again, especially with the situation like this, but they could only hope he would cooperate in taking the tired woman home. Levi's whole body tensed up as he saw the rivals of his destined lover, holding said person in their arms. He marched angrily over to them but saw John wince as Peter stood up taller to the short man.

"We would appreciate it, Corporal Levi, if you could help us return, Captain Shadis, to her respective home." Peter spoke as if it were an order. Sure he may be bigger and stronger but he still lacked power in military status. Levi did his infamous "tch" and led them to my home.

Once home, Peter set me onto my bed as John started getting dinner ready. Peter resumed his responsibility as well, starting on my laundry. Levi settled himself into a chair in the living room as the kitchen was filled with the smell of turkey. Residing in one of the inner walls had its advantages, such as better food. Peter was almost done with the laundry but soon came across something very peculiar. He called John to come outside and help him. John rolled his eyes and turned off the stove as soon as the timer went off. He told Levi to set the table as he headed outside.

John was still wearing a simple apron and was standing behind Peter. Peter snickered as he held up a piece of cloth. John quickly covered his eyes as his cheeks heated up. Peter continued to laugh as he began to twirl the white undergarments around.

John POV

"Clean those quickly and put them back!" My face was flushed with embarrassment. I cannot believe I had just been pranked into seeing a woman's undergarments. Peter is going to be in much more trouble now. Peter only chuckled and nodded. He ruffled my brown hair and put the cloth back. Peter picked up the basket and headed to her room where she was still enjoying her nap. I quickly readjusted my hair and then went back to the kitchen as if nothing happened. When I returned, Levi, Peter, Captain Shadis, and my captain were already seated. Captain was seated on one side with Levi on her left, Peter was across the table with an empty seat to his right, and the male Captain Shadis sat at one end of the rectangular table. She still had a very cute, sleepy look in her eyes. You hoped the food you had prepared would satisfy her as a meal. I went to the kitchen to retrieve the plates of food, I could only hope she would like it. I gently put the main dish of roasted turkey in the middle while I set the sides on the edges of the table. I retreated to my seat as everyone dug into the food. It was an early dinner, so I hoped there were still ingredients in the fridge to make a delectable dessert. I took the sides that were passed to me and took my portion. As I reached for the turkey and the carving knife, she stopped me with her angelic voice.

"This is really good, cadet, thank you for cooking for us." She kept refilling her plate with turkey and potatoes. I couldn't help but blush at her compliment. I tried to reply with something humble but Peter broke the silence.

"Hey Captain! Guess what?" Peter leaned over the table to get his face closer to hers but Levi intercepted with a fork scraping his Adam's apple. I couldn't help but snicker as I took a sip of water from my glass. Peter completely ignored the obvious threat and continued his chattery to the only female in the room. "Me and mister 'smarty-pants' here were promoted soon after our graduation! We get to train our own set of troops, too! I think I'll do it the hardcore way like you did and make them strong."

READER POV

John retorted that remark with his own sly smirk. "Only brains will win this battle with the titans, I will train them to be smart and cunning. I would lose fewer people that way, too, if this were a real mission. You may be stronger but how long do muscles last when you mostly depend on strategically assessed battle plans, 3-D maneuver gear, and traps that will do us more good than pummeling the enemy. I hope to team up with Hanji Zoe and help her in her research with titans and aid her in capturing more of them." Peter kind of tuned out half way through the first sentence and was more interested in food. You, however, were listening intently as if he just invented ice cream out of thin air. Levi was kind of listening but tried to concentrate more on chewing. Dinner soon ended, Peter and John continued to bicker about which side will win the titan battles: brains or brawns. I kicked them out of the living room and told them to wash everything in the kitchen. My head was starting to hurt with all of these annoying males surrounding me with the constant disputing. I noticed Keith was not looking too well either. I followed him to his room and knocked on his door.

"Keith, may I come in?" I was starting to concern yourself, he hasn't gone with me and Levi out to eat in a while, always coming up with simple excuses of a bad tummy-ache or old-people syndromes. I was beginning to think that this may be a serious sickness. He has been like this for weeks, constantly coughing, claiming to have cramps, and a serious loss of appetite. He barely touched any of the food from earlier and did not even stay long for dessert.

No answer came from the thin door. I turned the knob and quietly entered. Keith quickly turned around as he noticed me entering into his room. His hand was covered in blood as was his mouth. He tried to put on a smile and claim nothing was wrong but promptly fainted before he could move his jaw. Freaking out, I quickly went to his side and lifted his head. I yelled out the door for Levi and Peter to get a nearby doctor. They swiftly headed out the door in hopes of returning soon with a doctor in time to help your dear brother. I saw John poke his head through the door and I ordered him to go into bathroom and grab some inflammatory pills and a glass of water. He soon returned with both of these items and helped me clean up Keith. I tilted my brother's head back as you forced him to take the pills. I slowly poured the water down his throat and could only hope he would be okay.