Marley. 853. Levi sat by himself at a table inside their hotel's lounge while the others are minding their own business. He held up his teacup to his lips with a stern expression on his face, watching the environment around him. He then noticed Mikasa approaching him, raising an eyebrow.
"What do you want?" His voice was cold as ever, as he sits his teacup down.
"I'm here to give you a report, Captain," Mikasa says in an equally cold tone. "During today's mission, I witnessed our two soldiers disregard orders from our Commander."
She takes a step towards the Captain's table. "I was instructed by Hange to inform you of their misconduct."
"Is that so?" He asked with an even tone, raising an eyebrow. "You're absolutely sure of this?" Levi looked up at Mikasa with eyes full of ice as they locked onto hers, waiting for her response.
"Yes." Mikasa answers back confidently. "I have no reason to lie about this, Captain." Mikasa says, looking directly into Levi's cold gaze.
"I see," He replied, keeping her in his gaze for a moment longer than he probably needed to before leaning back slightly in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. He said nothing for a moment, before turning his head to look around the room to see the rest of the group not noticing them.
At length, he seemed to reach a conclusion that he was satisfied with before speaking once more. It was still very much cold and emotionless, but there was a new layer to it, like the voice of someone who was genuinely impressed. "You've done well."
"Thank you." Mikasa says with a slight smile, feeling proud of herself for sticking to her mission at hand.
Levi lets silence take over the room again. Mikasa tries to fill the void with a quick question. "How many other soldiers have been reported for misconduct during our stay here, Captain?" She asks.
"Three in total at the moment," He said in between sips from his tea cup. "One was a report by me after I caught them slacking off while trying to clean a window they had been assigned."
"Two more were for reports made by other soldiers, one for trying to sneak away from their mission and another for fighting among a Marleyan." He thought for a moment before continuing. "You made the fourth report today."
"I do my part." Mikasa says, keeping her expression firm, "Has the other cadet already been disciplined?" She asks, tilting her head ever so slightly as if trying to get a read on the Captain. "The one who fought a Marleyan."
"Discipline? For fighting..." He seemed to think for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. "It's not exactly a big enough offence to get you in trouble for, but I still wanted to make a point out of it." A small smile danced across his lips for just a moment at this. "I had him clean a window here while hanging upside down for a bit. I think it drove the message across quite well and he made absolutely no noise throughout the whole punishment which was rather... commendable, I'll admit."
Mikasa couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the thought of that soldier hanging upside down while cleaning a window.
"If you don't mind me asking," She says, tilting her head and speaking with her usual reserved tone, "Do you often hand out punishments like that? To make a point? Even if we're not in the island?" The question is clearly intended to understand more about the Captain's reasoning.
"I do it when it's appropriate," He replied after a moment of thought. "If they do something that makes me think that them being punished or disciplined alone is not enough to have them understand their mistake, then... I try to be creative, yes. The point is not to punish, but to help them learn. Sometimes punishing is not the answer, so you must always try to be as creative as you can when it comes to teaching them life lessons."
Mikasa's expression remained unemotional as she listened to Levi's response. She takes a step closer to him, as if trying to get a read on the man's thought process. "I see." She then says. "I'm sure you've had a long-standing career in the Survey Corps, Captain. You must have had to do this sort of creative discipline often. How often does it succeed in getting a point across to a soldier?"
"Not all the time," He replied in a tone that was blunt and straightforward. "Some people are just more stubborn than others." He picked up his tea cup again, taking a sip before he continued. "At the end of the day, the goal is to make sure they are prepared for what they will be up against outside the walls. We all know the reality of our world and they have to be prepared. They have to realize that what we brought them for is not some abstract idea to be theorized about or to be studied. They must see it and understand it themselves."
Mikasa nods to Levi's response, taking a minute to let it sink in. "I assume that's why you are so strict with us at times." She says, leaning slightly closer to him once again. "To make sure that we are as prepared as possible for the harsh realities that await us out here." She then takes another step towards Levi's table, now only a few feet from his seat.
"Are you proud of us, Captain?" She asks. "The soldiers that you watched grow?"
He leaned back in his seat as she took a seat across his table, eventually leaning forward to look at him as he took another sip from his tea, thinking about her question.
"Pride is a dangerous thing," Levi replied after a moment of silence in between sips. "Being proud of someone is like handing them a grenade and pulling its pin."
He set his tea cup down once more. "But..." He hesitated for a moment, as if debating something in his head. "I am proud of you."
Mikasa was taken aback by the Captain's answer, not expecting him to admit to feeling proud. She lets out a small breath, now fully leaning in towards him and only a few inches away from him.
Her voice is still as quiet and reserved as before, though there is a hint of surprise in her tone. "Thank you, Captain." She says. "I will keep up my best efforts... to find Eren too."
"And if I mess up..." She adds after seconds of pause, still leaning in towards the Captain. "...feel free to get creative about my discipline."
Levi stared at her for a moment, an eyebrow raised. He seemed surprised by her response before his surprised expression turned into one of amusement.
"Creative, huh... " He chuckled again, clearly not being able to hold back his laughter as he watched Mikasa lean in so close to him. He looked up at her with genuine amusement in his eyes before he spoke again. "Alright, Mikasa. You can step back now." With a slight frown on his face, he motioned for her to step out of his personal space.
Mikasa immediately leaned away as soon as he asks, but looks at him with a playful look on her face. "Sorry," She says in an amused tone, crossing her arms. "Sometimes I get a little carried away."
He looked up at her for a moment, that look of amusement still on his face, before he looked across the table at her, an idea clearly forming in his mind. "Is that so?" He said the words with a bit of a smirk on his face. He glanced around the room to see that no one was really paying attention to the two of them at the moment.
Mikasa had never seen the Captain like this. Usually reserved and stern, he now had a playful smirk on his face that caught her by surprise. Curious, her expression went from amused to slightly apprehensive.
"What did you have in mind?" She asks after a moment of silence. While the rest of the cadets were occupied with their own businesses, Levi's attention was focused solely on Mikasa right now.
Perhaps he found her attitude entertaining and was simply having some fun... or maybe he was about to give her a harsh, creative punishment.
He leaned forward in his seat, his expression and tone of voice were cold and straight forward, the only thing suggesting that he wasn't being as serious as he normally would be was the slight, amused grin on his face. "You said you sometimes get a little carried away."
He seemed to be waiting for an explanation. Maybe he was trying to bait Mikasa into stepping close to him again. Or maybe it was something else entirely... there was no way to tell.
Mikasa notices the look on his face and her expression turns from slight apprehension to one of slight amusement. Something was definitely up. Whether he actually just wanted an explanation or if he was baiting her for some creative punishment, her curiosity had been piqued.
"I was referring to how close I got to you when I was asking a question," She explains. "I hope you didn't mind?" She leans in a bit again, her expression now one of slight interest to find out what Levi had in store for her.
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly at that revelation, his expression turning from amused to confused for a split moment. He took a moment to think this over. "I would certainly hope you didn't try to do that to get a punishment..." He shook his head, seemingly deciding that it was a one-time thing. Though, now that he thought about it, she had gotten close to him in a similar fashion multiple times throughout the day... was she really just trying to get disciplined by him?
"Would it really be that bad to be disciplined by you?" Mikasa asks slyly, still leaning in towards him. "You must certainly be strict, but I'm sure you're also fair. I've never had any problems following orders from you, right?" She adds.
Her question and explanation for her actions were both honest, though there was a hint of mischief in her voice. Could the real reason she keeps being so close to him be that she wants to be punished in a creative way?
Levi's expression only grew more amused as Mikasa's words sank in. He let out a small chuckle, still smiling as he leaned back in his seat and raised an eyebrow. At this point, he was almost certain that she was up to something and he couldn't really stop himself from smiling in amusement.
"You seem to be fishing for something," He said, his tone of voice as cold and blunt as ever as he raised his tea cup to his lips. "What exactly are you looking for, Mikasa?"
"Am I really that obvious?" Mikasa asks with a small grin, also leaning back in her seat now to watch him closely.
Although her actions throughout the day weren't purely for that reason, she had definitely been slightly curious about what the Captain might punish her with. In a room full of her other friends having their own talks, Mikasa and Levi were playing a small game in which she tried to get creative punishment from one of the most straightforward people she knew.
"I just wanted to test your creativity." She admits.
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Mikasa as she admitted her reasons for her actions. He seemed slightly surprised by it, but he was also rather impressed. She seemed to be an extremely curious person and that made him slightly curious about her. He had a few ideas swimming around in his head now.
"Testing my creativity..." His gaze turned to one of thought for a moment as he let her question hang in the air for a moment of silence. Then, he spoke again. "You want me to try to creatively discipline you?"
"I do." Mikasa replies without looking away from him. "You mentioned that creative discipline often makes your trainees understand the things they're doing wrong better. I'm curious."
"You've always been straightforward and stern with me, so I want to see what kind of punishment you would give for a situation like this." She adds. "I know I'm not supposed to be acting like this right now, but I'm willing to accept the punishment."
Levi thought for a moment as her words sunk in. She wanted him to try and creatively punish her... to see how he would go about doing it. At the same time, it seemed like she had already realized that she had made a mistake by acting like this in front of him, even if she was willing to accept the punishment.
"You know you are risking yourself by acting like this, Mikasa." He stated, not wanting to leave that fact unsaid, even if it was obviously something she knew very well considering who she was speaking to.
"Yeah." She answers, still not looking away from him. "But... the desire to get reprimanded creatively by you right now is stronger than my fear of what you might do."
Levi had already been trying to get a read on Mikasa's actions throughout the day. Did he think she was a curious person? Or did he think she was simply trying to get him to pay her some attention? Either way, she was definitely determined to see what he would do to her for acting like this.
"He raised an eyebrow at the revelation, seemingly surprised to hear her admit as much. "So... The desire to be reprimanded creatively by me is stronger than your fear of me?" He couldn't help but have a small smirk form on his face. This sounded a bit too much like she was chasing him rather than the punishment.
"Are you looking for a certain punishment in particular, Mikasa?" He looked across the table in her direction, an amused half-grin still on his face.
Mikasa's cheeks turn slightly red at his question, not expecting him to see right through her reason for acting like this. "Um... I don't know about a certain punishment..." She says carefully. "I've just always felt like you can be unpredictable, Captain. I guess I want to see how you would approach a situation like this."
Levi's question seemed to imply that she wants him to be punishing her for a different reason, making her think carefully about what she will say next.
He smiled slightly again at her answer, her reaction to his question being entertaining to him, especially since he felt like he had gotten a bit of a read on the situation. "So, you just want to see how my creative methods of discipline work for you?" Levi's tone of voice was cold and blunt once more, as if trying to hide the amusement that he felt.
Mikasa nods slowly. "Yes. The thought of being on the receiving end of your discipline has intrigued me for a while now. You might say that I'm curious about what you would do if you had to punish me."
Mikasa's tone of voice is just as blunt and straightforward as Levi's. She's not exactly trying to be sneaky here. At this point, her mission was pretty much to just let the captain do whatever he wanted in order to punish her for getting too close to him.
Levi let out a long breath, seemingly pondering this information. The thought of punishing Mikasa was certainly there... the idea of doing so was quite tempting now that he had heard this, but... it would be unprofessional, especially considering that she was his soldier.
On top of that, the idea that Mikasa was actually curious about what creative form of punishment he would have come up with was somewhat intriguing to him. Was she really that interested in him or was she just playing around?
"Is that so."
Levi thought for a moment. He could probably figure out something if he really wanted to, but he was struggling to fully take this seriously. He almost felt like he would be betraying himself to go through with it. He looked back across the table, his eyes landing back on Mikasa. What the hell was she trying to do anyway?
Mikasa looks back at him, her expression now calm and her arms crossed in front of her once more. She wasn't worried about what he would do to her in a creative way. She had a lot of respect for the Captain, but she knew for certain that he would never hurt her too bad.
Levi's expression made it clear that he was taking the situation seriously. Mikasa seemed to be looking at him with genuine curiosity. She was curious to see what he would choose to do with the opportunity he had for a creative punishment.
"Then... how about this?" He said, as his eyes turned towards her. "Come up with the punishment for yourself." He said suddenly, looking at her again as he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
Mikasa's eyes widened as Levi speaks, not expecting him to suddenly give her the choice of what she wanted. "I get to choose my own punishment?" She asks, tilting her head to the side slightly.
She stays silent for a moment, thinking carefully about what she would choose. His words implied to her that he couldn't think of anything creative to punish her with.
Levi nodded in response to her question. He was certain she would get stuck and have to tell him to just think of a punishment himself, but he thought it would be fun to give her a chance to make the choice herself. He was definitely curious to see what she might come up with and he couldn't help but wonder if she would let him get the better of her or if she would find some way to turn the tables on him instead.
Mikasa's expression turns to one of determination as she thinks about what she could choose. She wanted to prove him wrong about not having any ideas. "Alright," She says, still tilting her head to the side a bit. "So... I get to come up with my own punishment... But... you still need to approve it, right? You wouldn't just let me choose whatever I wanted, right?" She adds jokingly. The thought of being allowed the freedom to choose whatever punishment she wanted seemed a bit too good to be true.
Levi couldn't help but chuckle at her joking manner of asking the question, "Correct. I have to approve of it." He said in a blunt, straight forward tone, a small smirk on his face, seemingly amused by this whole interaction. "I can't just let you get away with whatever crazy punishment you might think of. It won't be too crazy. It's just something that will make you learn a lesson."
"I understand." Mikasa says with a stern voice.
She thinks for a few moments as she studies his tone of voice and look on his face. With Levi giving her permission to choose her own punishment as long as he approved, Mikasa's thoughts of what she could possibly choose turned to one of amusement. She was confident she could find a way to turn this situation in her favor. She looked around, noticing that their friends are leaving to go somewhere.
"Alright, I've thought of something." She adds finally, giving Levi a small smile.
His look goes back to one of slight amusement and curiosity as he watches Mikasa's face.
"Oh? Do tell."
He seems intrigued, having no clue what she might be thinking. In all honesty, he half expected her to tell him that she couldn't think of anything at all and they would have to end up doing some type of physical punishment after all. Though, whatever she came up with now would certainly make the whole situation much more interesting.
Mikasa stands properly once more and brings her hands together in front her, looking back up at the Captain with a slight nod. "For my own punishment..." She pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath as she thinks about what she's about to ask him, although she quickly makes up her mind as her expression turns slightly red.
"Would you mind if..."
"I..."
"...Kissed you?" Mikasa asks, looking down at her hands.