Peanut Butter Cups - Levi - Day Two
The next morning, Levi woke earlier than usual, hungrier than usual. He got ready quickly and made his way to the mess hall. Very few cadets were there that long before they had to be. Lazy butts. Kaia wasn’t there yet, she was a lazy butt, sleeping in as long as he would let her. Levi looked at breakfast and found he didn’t want any. He still wanted something, but none of this crap. It was strange though, the Lance Corporal rarely ate breakfast.
Erwin joined him soon thereafter. He sat down looking odd, his eyes were wide and his movements were stiff and controlled. He let out a hoarse whisper as he sat, “She knows.”
“Who knows what? What the Hell are you on about now?”
“The peanut butter cups. Collista, she knows. Kaia probably knows as well.”
“The-? Oh. You mean the-”
“Yes! The peanut butter cups. I want more of them, but I can’t just go ask for them. She’d never let me forget it.”
“But how can we get some?”
“You think you’re the only one who-” Levi stopped as Collista walked in, heading for her seat next to Erwin.
“Morning Eyebrows, Shorty.”
“Morning.” They sat in silence a moment as she dished herself breakfast, “What no comeback?”
“Uh, what?” Erwin looked at her. She squinted in return, “Are you sure that’s not just stache-less Mike up there?”
“I need to go get Kaia’s lazy butt out of bed,” Levi muttered, excusing himself.
The squad leader’s room was pitch black when Levi went in. She shifted in her blankets when he opened the door, hugging a pillow. How could anyone sleep with so many pillows? There were at least four under and around her head. He shook his head, but smiled softly, it was kind of cute, hair all wonky like some sleeping beauty story. He crossed to the room and threw open the blinds and the window in turn. She groaned behind him, “Shut the window, it’s too dang cold.” She mumbled some other things into a pillow. But Levi was merciless.
“If you don’t get up now you’ll never get up,” he pulled he blanket off her, revealing long shorts and a wide strapped tank top. Finally she sat up, hair sticking out at various angles. She rubbed her eyes, “I hate you.”
She only smiled. He grabbed one hand and pulled her up onto her feet, he pushed her lightly toward the adjoining bathroom. “Go get ready, you stink.”
“Thanks a lot.” She called, closing the door behind her.
Levi waited for Kaia while she got ready. While he waited he made her bed, arranged her books, fixed her squeaky chair, and was trying to decide which stuffed bear she would miss the least when she reemerged from the bathroom, showered and dressed. She saw him near her bears, “What are you doing?”
They headed back to breakfast together. Most of the cadets were there by then, the mess hall buzzed with voices.
They met Collista on her way out the door, “Mornin’ lazy butt.”
“Hi to you too. Aren’t you going to come eat breakfast?”
“I already ate, Erwin’s acting weird,” she leaned in so Levi didn’t hear, “He accused Levi of leaving a wrapper on the floor.”
“Does he have a death wish?”
“I think Hanji had something to do with it. I’m going to talk to her now. Keep an eye on him for me, yeah?”
Levi pulled Kaia over to the table as Collista left. They headed towards their usual seats, Erwin was there already. Kaia went to sit down but before she could, an arm crossed in front of her. Slender fingers picked up a wrapper that had been left on the table. The hand withdrew, albeit slowly as if showing her. “Tch,” Levi examined the offending object, “Some idiot left their chocolate wrapper out.”
“How do you know it was a chocolate wrapper?” Kaia looked at him.
Levi hesitated, “It looks like the ones you had yesterday.”
“That was wax paper, anyone could’ve used it since then.”
Silence from the Captain, “Well, then, you better make more to make sure it wasn’t that. I need to go throw this away, excuse me.”
“Levi there’s-” but he was gone, “-a trashcan right there.”
What was his deal today? Kaia shrugged and sat down by Erwin, “Morning, Commander.”
He looked at her eyes wide. “Are you alright?” Kaia asked.
“Yes! Why wouldn’t I be alright? What did Collista tell you? NeverMindINeedToGoDoSuperiorCommanderThings.GooddayKaia.” Erwin hurried out of the mess hall, leaving her alone at the table. Did Hanji drug everybody? Honestly, at this point she wouldn’t be surprised.
—–TIME SKIP BY BY BLEACH, LEVI’S BEST FRIEND BEFORE YOU CAME ALONG—–
“Dismissed!” The cadets saluted Kaia and went off to do whatever kind of weird things cadets did. Truth or dare and such foolishness Kaia may or may not participate in every once in awhile. She returned to her room and changed out of her uniform into a T-shirt and pants. She sat at her desk but thought she heard something outside her door. It sounded like someone was out there. “Hello?” She moved to the door, distinct footsteps began running away from the door. Kaia went to open it, but stopped when she remember the last prank a cadet had played on her. She was going through the window this time.
Kaia pulled herself up through the window above hers, it was an empty room, the window unlocked from the last time she had used it. She slipped through the door and ran back up to her room. There was no evidence of anything rigged, but there was a long trail of crumpled pieces of wax paper. Suspicious, she began following the trail,but soon turned back and began them up as she went. It was going to bug her too much. I’ve been spending too much time with Levi.
The trail went around several hallways before Kaia saw Collista at the end. She approached, picking up the last of the pieces as she heard her fellow Squad Leader, “Shouldn’t this be for Kaia then?”
Collista turned, a neatly folded paper in her hand, “Shorty had a message for you.”
Kaia accepted the piece of paper, she recognized the writing immediately, DISAPPOINTING ISN’T IT.
What the heck Levi. “Do you know what this means?”
“No idea, he’s your boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t make me an expert.”
“Well you should be by now.”
Kaia narrowed her eyes, “Whatever. Something’s going on.”
“And peanut butter cups are definitely involved.”
“Thank you, Squad Leader Obvious.”
“You’re welcome Commander Sarcastic.”
After finding wrappers stalking their every move with none-too-inconspicuous shadows every time they turned around or looked up at the tree or in the entrance to the tunnels the men didn’t know they knew about , Kaia and Collista finally met where they knew their proud manly men wouldn’t follow them, the ladies’ room.
After double and triple checking they weren’t being listened in on, resulting in the punishment of a certain cadet and the plugging of a peephole, they finally were able to discuss the odd events.
“Okay, here’s what I think we should do,” Kaia pulled herself up to sit on the counter as she spoke, “so it all started when we gave them peanut butter cups, I think it’s pretty safe to conclude they only want more.“
Collista scoffed, “That much is obvious, and explains a lot of the weird crap they’ve been pulling. Because they aren’t the type to admit when they want things.”
“Definitely not. But it would’ve taken a lot of self control on Levi’s part to leave the trash trail, I say we wait and do nothing. I’d like to see how far they’re willing to go.”
Collista grinned, “I like it, so don’t mention anything?”
“Not until they stop being proud, stubborn idiots.”
