to say levi disliked you was the understatement of a lifetime—of a life spent in service. he’d never once explicitly said so, but he was a man whose actions spoke volumes louder than his words.
there was absolutely no mistaking the fact that he consistently gave you the most unfavorable, gruelling chores of all the squad members. and he had no problem calling you "brat" to the point where you were almost certain it was the name written on your birth certificate. the message was clear: he hated you. and judging by your icy glares and the silent, simmering anger beneath them, the feeling seemed entirely mutual.
after catching you sending one of those rather nasty, full-on looks in his direction—a look that promised a swift, silent death—he huffed in sheer annoyance, following it with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “tch. Your face is gonna get stuck that way if you keep frowning, brat,” he snapped, his voice rough and devoid of any warmth.
“that’s what I’m aiming for, captain,” you answered instantly, letting out a heavy, exasperated huff as you mirrored his posture, folding your arms tightly across your chest. your tone was laced with a thick, deliberate layer of sarcasm.
levi lifted an eyebrow at your response, but his expression remained the same. your words were as sharp as ever. it seemed like you were constantly trying to get under his skin and push his buttons. it didn’t help that he found your unrelenting sass irritatingly… captivating.
"your attitude needs a serious, immediate adjustment. you’re more of a headache than a squad member.”
“and is captain levi—the captain with the worst attitude in the entire scout regiment—telling me that?” you countered, your voice dripping with acidic sarcasm that made the surrounding air feel instantly colder.
he was clearly in a foul mood today—perhaps the paperwork was piled too high, or maybe the mess hall floors weren’t up to his impossible standards—and you weren’t helping matters by being your usual abrasive, sarcastic self.
he took a challenging step toward you, the movement quick and predatory, completely obliterating the already limited space between you. “don’t even get me started at least I take things seriously. i understand the gravity of our situation. you, on the other hand, seem to think everything is some poorly executed joke meant to test my sanity.”
“oh, is your big, fragile ego hurt, captain?” you demanded, your voice rising as you narrowed your own eyes right back at him, refusing to break the challenging stare. you stood your ground, fueled by your mutual antagonism.
without waiting for his retaliation—which you knew was surely coming—you spun on your heel and moved off to do the tasks he had assigned: a veritable list of tedious cleaning and organizational nightmares.
levi watched your retreating figure, a faint, frustrated frown tugging at the corner of his meticulously clean mouth. you were always like this—sulky, stubborn, endlessly sarcastic. a chaotic mix of traits he usually despised, yet he honestly didn’t know how that combination both irritated him so intensely and, inexplicably, intrigued him.
he let out a barely audible sigh—a rare breach in his self-control—and shook his head. he immediately reminded himself that you were nothing more than a perpetual pain in the ass and that he had far more important, life-or-death matters to worry about than your infuriating antics.
but despite that firm internal command, he couldn’t help stealing a glance at you every now and then. he observed as you begrudgingly began to clean the mess hall tables, a slight, secretly amused frown on your face. It wasn’t amusement at the chore, but at the fact that you had successfully gotten under the skin of humanity’s strongest soldier. you were a pest, a nuisance… and yet, his eyes kept drifting back to you.
even with your infuriating, insubordinate attitude, there was no denying your skill, efficiency, and sharp dedication to your duties outside the cleaning rotation. levi, being as intensely observant as he was, couldn’t help but take note of it. he might not admit it aloud—he wouldn’t admit it even under torture—but he was genuinely impressed by your combat abilities and tactical mind. It was almost as if he was fighting the acknowledgment every step of the way.
he found himself comparing you to himself and to his other, more manageable squad members, weighing your strengths and weaknesses against theirs. your quick thinking under pressure was undeniable, even if your mouth was a liability. the deep frown on his face softened, shifting into a more neutral, contemplative expression.
as the hours of mundane chores passed, levi found himself watching you more often than necessary, silently assessing your every move. he tried fiercely to justify his scrutiny—he was simply making sure you were doing your work properly, inspecting the cleaning, ensuring no corner was neglected. but the unusual intensity of his gaze betrayed his hollow rationalizations.
finally, as you finished your last task—wiping down the final shelf and placing the cleaning supplies back into the cabinet with an irritating thud—he broke the silence.
“well, it seems you’ve managed to finish your chores without screwing anything up for once.”
there was a carefully hidden praise in his words, though he did his best to mask it with his usual contempt.
exhausted and fed up, you didn’t bother to turn around. Instead, you tossed the broom toward him. “i should be training, not scrubbing floors like a house servant.”
levi’s hand shot out with impossible speed, catching the broom handle inches from his face. he leaned into it, fixing you with a judgmental stare.
“training isn’t the only part of being a scout. kreping your area tidy and maintaining order is just as crucial. a filthy mind resides in a filthy environment.”
a faint smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth as he added, “besides, someone has to do it, since you’re the biggest, most hopeless slob in the entire regiment.”
“fuck you,” you muttered under your breath, turning away too quickly for him to catch the glare you sent his way, the words swallowed almost entirely by the ambient noise.
levi’s eye twitched—a minuscule spasm only the most observant person, which you happened to be, could possibly notice. despite hearing your muttered curse, he didn’t reprimand you. he didn’t shout, didn’t even raise his voice. he’d heard worse. hell, he’d done worse.
with a quiet scoff that conveyed his overall disgust with the entire exchange, he pushed the broom aside. the wooden handle hit the stone with a sharp crack, momentarily breaking the thick tension hanging between you like a thread.
he turned away, his survey corps cloak swishing behind him as he began walking, his boots tapping out precise, rhythmic sounds on the flagstones. but he didn’t leave without a final, low threat—whispered quietly enough that only you could hear it.
“keep talking to a superior like that, Y/N… and I’ll put you on latrine duty for an entire month.” the calm with which he said it was far more terrifying than any shout.
“Try me,” you shot back instantly, your voice just as low, just as sharp, dripping with cold resolve. you didn’t wait for his response, pivoting quickly to leave the hallway and return to the familiar comfort of your friends.
that damn brat was pushing her luck too far.
levi stopped mid-stride, his body facing forward but his head snapping around. his cold eyes tracked your form as you walked away, quickly catching up with your friends and dissolving into their chatter. he watched the way you moved—the confident way you carried yourself, the proud tilt of your chin.
it made his jaw clench, the muscle tightening in the corner of his cheek. the idea of you on latrine duty for a month was sounding more appealing by the second.
“fine. let’s see how cocky you are after doing laundry tomorrow morning,” he muttered to the empty hallway.
“try me.”
author's note: IM BACK AND SEXIER THAN EVER. omg guys im so sorry for the hiatus, ITS BEEN SO LONG. i needed a break from tea and you, so here's a little enemies to lovers series im gonna do, no more than four or five chapters for you delightment. it helped me with my writting, so i hope you all enjoy meanwhile i finish tea and you. hope everyone is good and well and beautiful as always. much love xx ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡
