It was ear-splitting.
And it was also hurting like hell.
Levi gripped the side of his temples and cringed at the overwhelming banging, throbbing incessantly as he inclined his upper body over the tidy, vanilla scented covers that wrapped him. He glanced around, being observant in his open-spaced, yet substantially clean chambers. The sun was peaking, ever so slightly, through the canopy of his transparent drapes. His recollection of the night before was vague, and the reasoning as to how his subdued body managed to make its' way to his room, intact was a mystery. Or maybe not.
Levi flinched to the throbbing pain emerging from the side of his head, quietly slithering out of his uncluttered sheets. He stretched his aching arms in the air, attentive to the fact that the collared shirt that he was wearing last night was missing. He stood there, bare-chested, exposing his toned abs, and visible veins protruding from the layering of his rough skin. He flickered his eyes to the corner of his room, noticing the neatly folded, ivory shirt that was lying by the expensive, porcelain tea set, displaying on the surface of his wooden shelf. He steadily waltz over to the shirt, leaning over by just a little, and taking a slight whiff of the aroma that arisen from the shirt. He suddenly staggered backwards, pinching the sides of his nose, at the vile stench that reached his nostrils.
"What the hell.." He muttered under his breath, gradually approaching the shirt again with caution. He lifted the clothing, opening the folds effortlessly, and noticing a huge stain that dotted the center of the shirt. It was his puke.
"Disgusting." He muttered in a rugged, hoarse voice. The events from the night before were as hazy as the erratic, quirky squad leader's vision without her glasses. Everything was muddled, not processing in the depths of his mind. Just what in the world happened to him.
A light knocking on the door caused him to whip his head around towards the door. He brushed the strands of his raven hair back with the strokes of his fingers. "Come in." He sighed drearily, not particularly enthused in having a visitor in his condition.
The door gradually opened, creaking in the process, as the neatly poised, golden-haired Commander placed his foot in the room. He took a brief moment to take a glimpse at the Corporal and arched his eyebrow. "Of all the years we've worked together side by side, I have never seen you do something so inadequate"
Levi grimaced, realizing his actions of last night had already reached Erwin's ears. "I have no excuses." He replied, giving him a hard stare, remaining in his impassive demeanor.
"You didn't let me finish," Erwin retorted, countering his annotation. "I have never seen you do something so inadequate and out of line that, it relieved me from my stress."
Levi glanced back at him with a questionable look. "What do you mean?"
A smirk spread across Erwin's face before he responded. "My duty as Commander is to ensure that all of my subordinates are at 110% when the time of combat is approaching. You should already know that one, tiny fault can cause a soldier to lose his life in the field." He pressed his thin lips together. "As Corporal, if something were to happen to you, then it's all over for the whole squad. Once the leader is gone-"
"Get to the point." Levi cut him off bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm saying that I've noticed you building up more stress then necessary in the last few months after the previous expedition." He paused briefly. "Levi, there's nothing wrong with letting loose every once in awhile, just don't make it into a bad habit. It's not healthy for a man at your age to be carrying so many burdens. Because one of these days, you'll break and next time it will be your life on the line."
Levi scratched the back of his head, a scowl surfacing on his face. "I didn't realize I was going to be lectured so early in the morning."
"It's already noon." Erwin replied, pointing at his watch.
Levi flinched, startled by the fact that he's been dormant for such a long period of time. Questions developed in his head, uncertainty prolonging in his thoughts, and one thing really stood out. Where the hell was his prized possession? His cravat was missing.
~Previous Night ~
"Bet?" Jean asked, feeling a tinge of heaviness on his upper eyelids. His face was completely flushed, showing evident signs that he was on the brink of passing out.
"You're making this into a challenge?" Eren questioned the Corporal, placing down his cup on the tabletop.
Levi intertwined his fingers together, resting his elbows on the surface of the table, a dark, shrewd smirk manifesting on his crimson face. "But of course." He replied, sipping his liquor steadily.
"Sounds fun! I wanna join too!" Connie pounced down from the table, directing his blurry attention to the captain.
"You can't take part Springer."
"But why?" He pouted, pouring himself more of the remaining alcohol within the glass bottle.
"Because you don't hold any feelings for Ackerman." He stated bluntly, rubbing his fingers against his temples. It was beginning to pound continuously, while his stomach was stirring vigorously, from the effects of the strong liquor.
"I don't hold those types of feelings for Mikasa either." Eren replied back to his remark.
Levi just narrowed his eyes icily at the dense boy sitting across from him. "You're not convincing Jaeger. If you didn't, you wouldn't be gawking your eyes at my every movement."
Eren sat there in silence.
"Didn't think I noticed?" Levi let out a faint chuckle. "It's pretty obvious that you're starting to become infatuated with your own step sister. Your spiteful atmosphere says it all."
Eren glanced down, absorbing the words that left his mouth. It wasn't true, was it? If not, why couldn't he disagree with his basis? He just sat there silently, trying to envision Mikasa as something more than just family. To his marvel, he could feel his cheeks become warm at the thought of kissing her and doing pleasing things to her. Though, he would never admit it.
"I've noticed it from the beginning. At first it was just him being envious of her but, every time she began to open up to other people, his eyes would burn with hate." Jean narrowed his eyes at Eren, hiccupping in the process. He lifted his cup, pouring it downwards into his mouth, setting it back down before slamming his unconscious head on to the table.
"Shit. Will he be alright?" Connie asked, though he was making futile attempts to hold back his enraging laugh attack.
"Yeah. His thick ego took most of the damage than his head did." Eren scoffed, laying his head down on top of the cool table. The two younger subordinates yawned, closing their eyes shut and dropping their cups to the ground. Leaving their evidence of drowning into their sorrows.
Levi exhaled tediously, slightly losing his interest, though still very intoxicated from the alcohol flowing in his body. He stood up, stumbling a few times before opening the door, that let out to the outside, beyond the mess hall. He breathed slowly, letting the crisp, cold air hit against his flushed face. He let the door close behind him, leaving the drunk trio, slowly making his way towards the doors that led to the main building. Though, to his marvel, he was more drunk than he anticipated. His vision was bleary and his movements were impaired. He was still surprised that his conscience was still intact. Or so it seemed. Did it even matter? As long as he wasn't worrying about fruitless thoughts, he didn't give a damn.
He continued to wobble towards the doors, falling a few times on the concrete, before realizing he was going in the opposite direction. He grunted in frustration at his futile attempts to make it to his bed chamber. This was humiliating for someone with a high status to be struggling with. If anyone were to see him..
"What are you doing on the floor, sir?"
Levi hissed, recognizing that reserved voice anywhere. Of course, it had to be the last person on Earth that he wanted to see. The odds were definitely not in his favor.
"What are you doing out? It's past your curfew Ackerman." He cleared his voice, trying to keep his icy façade from being overwhelmed by the effects of the alcohol.
"I heard something outside so I came to check it out... but all I see is an overgrown man, rolling around on the ground." Mikasa scoffed, keeping her demeanor composed.
Levi clenched his jaws tightly. Even under the factor of the alcohol, she still managed to get under his skin effortlessly. This ivory skinned, oriental girl was the root of all his bothersome stress. However, it wasn't really clear whether he loathed her witty attitude or was intrigued by it.
"Opposing the system as usual." He paused, attempting to stand back up. "Little brats should be in bed at this hour." He smirked, a slight of teasing in his tone.
"I beg to differ. Men your age should be in bed at this hour." She replied in a flat tone, making her way towards the mess hall.
Levi quickly grasped her shoulder, pulling her body back towards him. The surface of his chest was lightly pressed against her back, his face just inches away from the nape of her neck. He was surprisingly calm despite the vicinity of the their bodies touching. "Since you have time to take nature walks at this hour, might as well help me to my room." He breathed against the back of her earlobe.
Mikasa flinched, a vile scent reaching up to the depths of her nostrils. "You've been drinking?"
He let out a dark chuckle, leaning in closer to the side of her porcelain face. "You tell me."
She sighed heavily. "Ask someone else to do it."
Levi gripped her shoulders, forcing her body to rotate until she was standing face to face with him. His eyes gleaming with detest. "Need I remind you that I sustained a injury not too long ago because of your lack of abilities to listen to orders." He growled, recalling how troublesome it was to have to stay behind during important missions.
She furrowed her brows, the guilt remaining in her conscience. She wanted nothing more than to unsheathe her blades and shove them into his bare back but she did owe him, regardless of her animosity towards him. "Fine. But no more favors afterwards."
Levi's lips perked up into a grin, blue eyes slanted, his crimson face radiating under the moon. "Naturally." He replied, maintaining his composure.
Mikasa heaved his muscled arm around her shoulders hastily, causing Levi to let out a grunt in pain, from the quickness of her movement. He narrowed his eyes at her, as he leaned heavily on to her. She rolled her eyes, hating herself for leaving the barracks, causing her to be in this situation. After the whole incident in the morning and the video that displayed her half-witted behavior from Hanji's experiment, she wanted nothing to do with this man.
Her attempts to carry Levi through the main building was nothing but hard labor for her. They collided against several doors, rammed into concrete walls, and she had dropped the inebriated Corporal a few times before even making it passed his office. His room was just a few meters away though, the distance seemed as if it continued on forever.
"Struggling?" Levi let out a dark chortle, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
Mikasa bared her teeth, a glint of feral reflecting off. "Don't underestimate me."
After much extended time, she managed to drag the drunk man to the front of the room, slightly pausing at the door before tossing his arm off of her. "Go in." She ushered, annoyed of being an escort for him.
Levi leaned against the cool surface of the wall and glanced back up at her with dull eyes. "I'm drunk off my mind Ackerman. The chances of me opening this door and pulling myself on to my bed is zero."
Mikasa clenched her fist, gritting her teeth together tightly. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Not quite." He quietly breathed, feeling his face steaming against the wall.
Mikasa grunted in frustration, "The key?" She opened her palm upwards, gesturing the drunk Corporal to hand over the key to his chambers.
He smirked in response, fumbling through his pockets a few times before dropping the key into the palm of her hands. "If you may." He nodded his head towards the door.
She rolled her eyes, inserting the key into the tiny crack of the doorknob, rotating it until she heard a small click before opening the door to his room. She took a glimpse of the wide spaced area, not surprised that he kept it tidy and exceptionally clean. Afterall, he was an absurd clean freak and disinfected even the most frivolous things.
She began to drag the Corporal inside, the door silently closing behind them, as she tossed his body into the bed with her remaining strength. "There. I'm leaving." She uttered in a flat tone, striding towards the doorway. She heard him fidgeting in the background, making shuffling noises, though she didn't bother to glance back. As far as returning favors, she had completed it and had no reason to stay.
She reached the doorknob, opening it midway before having it slammed back shut again. The darkness in the room made it hard to depict anything, though she felt heat emitting against her. The only light that reflected inside the room, came from the transparent window where the moon was illuminating brightly. She could distinguish Levi's hand just above her head, tightly pressed against the compact door. His face was adjacent to her cheek, his chest tightly pressed against her back. She could hear him breathing heavily on the surface of her neck, reaching just slightly to her earlobe, causing her to shudder in response. The proximity of their bodies was making the atmosphere vehement.
"Rule number one," Levi exhaled, trailing his lips towards her tender earlobe. "Never put your guard down when you're around a man," He lightly brushed away her onyx hair to the side of her shoulder, using his free hand to lightly trace his fingertips against her ivory skin. "Especially when he's intoxicated."
Mikasa's vision was blinded by the darkness but she was very certain at this moment, that the man behind her was smirking, gleaming profoundly with dark intentions. And from what she could make out, he was leaning against her with his bare chest exposed.
(To Be Continued...)
KYAA! Levi is just too much for me xD haha. The flashback is longer than what I had antiscipated but that just makes it more worthwhile. The next chapter will be the continuation of the flashback! I hope this was a good read for you guys! As always my lovely supporters, leave a review on your thoughts and why YOU LOVE RIVAMIKA :)