Yay, on time today.
Other than that, today sucks. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Comments will make today HELLS better.
Mwa.

Cold evening air laden with the scent on wet earth washes over my face, fingers and any other exposed section of skin. I startle awake to the sound of the glass door sliding shut. I roll off the couch as quietly as possible and crouch on all fours.

I can hear another person in the room, so I stay low and stick to the shadows. There is a paper weight on the coffee table which I pick up and curl my fist around it. In the back of my mind I can hear my high school physics teacher droll on about force equalling mass time's acceleration and that the force of my punch would be greater due to the added weight.

I creep along the couch until I can see the other person, an angel. I get ready to lunge when the angel flips the light switch and the room is illuminated in a low glow.

I relax when I realise that it's just Levi, back from his mission. I quickly put the paper weight down. "Levi, you're back,"

His head snaps up, his eyes land on me but they are unfocused. His cheeks are flushed red; I might have brushed it off as the cold weather he had been flying in if it weren't for the hazy look in his eyes. Something is definitely wrong here.

"Are you oka-"

"I told you not to wait up,"

"I didn't. You woke me when you came in-"

"Well go back to sleep,"

He shivers, his feathers sticking together and large water puddles forming at his feet. He sways slightly, struggling to keep up right. I move over to help him, but he glares at me. He teeters dangerously again and stumbles into the table. He doesn't even cuss, merely resting his hands on the table to support himself.

"Levi, something is wrong. Please let me help,"

I move forward again, this time he doesn't even try to fight me. I guide him to the bathroom and have him sit on the toilet lid. I hurry out of the bathroom, go to his cupboard and fetch underwear and a shirt. I hurry back to find him slumped against the tiled wall. I start up the shower, making the water lukewarm before turning back to him.

I strip him of his coat and shirt, spotting quite a few bruises. I crouch in front of him and zip down his knee high boots, why the fuck do they look so good on him? I carefully remove them and put them aside. I set to work on removing his socks, which were strangely dry compared to the rest of him. I reach forward and unclasp his belt buckle when he comes out of his daze long enough to slap my hands away. Then he slumps forward slightly, his eyes roll back a moment before he closes them again. I strip off his pants, hesitating for only a moment before removing his underwear.

I don't even bother looking at him: I struggle to lift him and guide him into the shower, where he stands beneath the warm water and shudders. When I think he has thawed out enough, I turn up the temperature of the water. That seems to wake him up long enough to kick me out of the bathroom.

I wait outside the door, knocking every now and then just to be sure that he didn't pass out in the shower, but when he comes out dressed, he looks pissed. I don't bother apologising, I mean; I was doing the right thing. It's not like I can leave him passed out in the shower or anything. And he was actually sick.

"What's the fucking matter with you, brat? Can't a guy shower in peace?"

"Not if said guy was to pass out in the shower and drown," I growl back.

"You wanna fucking go?"

Levi swings at me, misses by a mile and sways dangerously.

"You can beat the shit out of me later, right now, just let me help you get to your bed so you can rest,"

"I would rather fuck the shit out of you later," he grumbles.

I must have misheard that. I really, really must have misheard that.

I help him to his bed, where for the first time since I've slept here, he actually climbs between the sheets. Before he can pull up the covers though, I stop him so that I can lather cream on his blossoming bruises. I then pull the covers up and check his temperature. Not too high, good.

I turn to move away when I feel a hand on my wrist and a sense of De ja vu that leaves me breathless.

"Don't go, I- I'm cold,"

Great, I went from sort-of-friend to space heater in the span of twelve hours. I totally deserve a Noddy badge for that, I can't believe I'm berating myself in my mind and I give myself a mental slap through the face.

I crawl into bed next to him and hug him to my chest. He nuzzles there and presses against me, as if trying to get as much of his skin against mine to increase his own temperature. I sigh.

Sleep evades me for the rest of the night, and come dawn, there is a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," I say softly.

The door opens and Hanji glides into the room.

"Eld told me the captain didn't look to hot on his way back last night, so I just wanted to come check,"

I nod and beckon her closer.

He is still fast asleep and pressed against me, but she manages all her checks without much hassle.

"He is running a low fever, nothing too dangerous. We will just have to watch it for the next few hours and see how it goes from there. I will have someone bring up some turnip soup for him; you just try to keep him hydrated, alright?"

"Turnip soup? Don't you mean chicken soup?"

"No, turnip soup. Levi doesn't like chicken soup anymore, not after the sleeping broth incident. Besides, isn't that sort of cannibalism?"

I gape at her in shock until I notice her small grin and I feel myself chuckling along. Something about her statement nags for my attention and then everything clicks into place. I nod in understanding.

"You're good for him, you know?"

"Huh?"

Hanji scratches her head, looking away and blushing slightly.

"It's just that, with you around, he- well, he smiles a little more than he used to. And he obviously cares about you, because he waited for you to wake up for three days before I physically had to remove him from your side so that he could rest, and even then he came back three hours later. What I'm trying to say, kid, is that you are good for him. And just so you know, if you do anything to hurt my short-stack, I will turn you inside out and boil you alive. You feel me?"

I watch in horror as she saunters out of the room. I have never felt so confused before in my life. What exactly is she implying?