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The harsh winter cold seeped through the cracks of the old fortress. Cadets were scurrying up and down the halls, hugging themselves and doing a terrible job of keeping themselves warm. At least that's what Levi thought. He was in his office sitting on his chair, listening to the patterns of growing and fading footsteps outside his door. Admittedly, it was very chilly inside - cold enough to force the short man to suffocate in layers upon layers of sweaters and pants. Truth be told he looked like a grumpy gorilla that didn't get his share of bananas. He wondered how Katrina, Humanity's Daredevil, kept herself from shivering with only a layer of clothes (if he didn't include the two pieces of clothing underneath).

A familiar knocking pattern resonated through the grand wooden doors. Speaking of the daredevil..., he thought, secretly congratulating himself on the pun and asking the same phrase he asked for so long, "Name and business." He already knew who it was before the reply.

"Katrina Hart, sir.” The door opened, revealing the 18 year old soldier holding a tray with a meal and a shiny object on in, which he instinctively knew was the needle.

Oh, that cursed needle.

Surprisingly, he loathed it more than the ramblings of Hange’s experiments and fascinations of titans - and he had known Hange much longer than the needle. He was introduced to it only a few months ago when he broke a few ribs and injured his abdominal muscles in an expedition. As soon as he got back, he was under the care of Katrina, who was also on the medical team and the best doctor within the Survey Corps - probably even the best around.

Katrina held the needle, which had weird blue liquid in it, and coaxed him to relax. She told him what she was going to do, how it would feel like, and preferable methods of diverting the pain. She always did that with every patient. Not even a few seconds after relaxing, the needle pierced his skin and she injected the serum into his abdomen. He felt like someone was stabbing his guts over and over again. It seemed to take an eternity before she took the needle out. Even afterwards, the pain was still there and he couldn’t sleep for the whole night, no matter how much effort Katrina put to make him fall asleep. The next time he saw it, he refused and she had to chase him around the HQ before injecting him with the serum again.

Katrina walked forward with the tray and set it down on his desk, careful not to spill anything on his pending paperwork - which was only composed of a folder and a few sheets lying on top of it. “Sir-”

“Levi. We’re alone.”

“Oh, sorry about that, Levi! I keep on forgetting!” she smiled sheepishly. No matter how many times she has said his name, it still sounded heavenly every time it rolled off of her tongue.

“Tch.”

“Eat the food and tell me when you’re ready for the serum,” she instructed kindly, sitting down on one of the chairs facing his desk and crossing her legs on it, “I brought you scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon as well as Earl Gray tea. You’re favorite.”

“I already know, brat,” he replied monotonously, “You have no right to order me around.”

“But I’m looking over you until you get better, Levi,” she said, her smile turning into a small devilish smirk. It felt so familiar and relieving to see her trademark smirk - the “Daredevil’s Smirk”, it was called. It disappeared, of course, after Oliver’s death. “So I can order you around as long as it has anything to do with your health.” A glare was sent her way. “Remember, Corporal?”

“Since when did you get so cocky, Doctor?” he shot back.

“Since a few minutes ago,” Katrina giggled, her normal smile resurfacing. “You’ll see why later. Right now you need to eat. The eggs and tea are getting cold.”

His gaze shifted to the dark liquid and grabbed the cup by the rim, taking a sip. As expected, it was perfectly done. Not too sweet, not too watery, and just the right temperature . He put down the teacup and picked up the spoon. The eggs looked very delicious, and its scent definitely confirmed his thoughts. Instinctively, his stomach grumbled as soon as his spoon touched the plate of eggs. Katrina, who was watching her short superior the whole time, giggled at his reaction, resulting in another glare sent her way. But she still giggled anyway.

He scooped a spoonful of the eggs and cheese, and held it up to inspected. Katrina stared at him with amusement, smiling knowingly. Levi always inspected cooking that he knew was made by those who weren’t the cooks in the kitchen. It just so happened yesterday that he only realized after he had started eating that Katrina (and a couple of other cadets, along with the cooks) created the special dinner.

Levi sniffed it slightly and touched it, after inspecting it from various other angles. Deciding that it was okay, he hesitantly took a bite and couldn’t help but widen his eyes by a fraction, which didn’t go unnoticed by Katrina. It tasted so good. The cheese was just enough to have it melt with the eggs in his mouth and not have the eggs taste too “cheesy” in his mouth. He could also taste some other ingredients and spices that blended so well together, making his mouth water. Trying not to look so impressed, he chewed and swallowed it normally. “So,” Katrina teased a bit, “Did it pass the test?”

All she received was a small “hmph”, which meant that he was okay with it (in this case, he loved it - even though he’d hate to admit that), and making her eyes shine with excitement. “Nice! Well, enjoy your meal.” The remainder of her time was spent by glancing at Levi once in a while to check up on him and staring outside the window, which was behind him.

The scenery outside was serene and beautiful. Light snowflakes were falling outside, and the leafless trees looked like the ones in some of the many books she had read about haunted houses and fairy tales. There were untouched hills of snow that looked like a rolled out smooth carpet, and it looked very soft and inviting to the eye. The sky was a sunless grey-ish blue mixed with some dispersed clouds, which became a typical sight for the past few weeks.

“Hart?”

She snapped back to reality and shifted her gaze towards Levi. “Yes?”

“What made you refuse the offer?”

“What offer?”

“Don't play dumb with me,” he growled, “You know what I'm talking about.” The topic never ceased to wipe the smile off of her face.

“I already told you my answer long ago. Now finish your meal.”

“Cadet-”

“You will call me Doctor.”

“-you will answer me this instant. It's an order.”

“As a doctor during this time, I can and I will disregard that order,” she answered coldly. “Finish your meal.”

His eyes widened by a fraction at the harshness of her tone, but returned back to normal in a second. “Sorry,” Katrina muttered, “It’s your day, after all. I shouldn’t have...you know…Is there anything I can do for you?”

“You can tell me why you refused,” he immediately replied. “Now. The New Year’s ball is coming up again, and the only way you can go is to become a damn Squad Leader. Hell, you can even be an Officer, or a Corporal like me! For Sina’s sake, accept the offer!”

“I can’t and I won’t!” she exclaimed desperately, “You know that! I may be an exceptional soldier outside the walls and exhibit great leadership, like the report has stated countless of times, but I’m not ready mentally! I’m not like you, Levi. I would rather die than lead others to their deaths."

“That’s part of the job, brat,” Levi spat, his voice escalating dramatically, “Like how dying is part of a Scout’s job, goddamn it!”

“Like I said, I’d rather die. I’m not the kind of person that can get over someone’s death easily, especially if I caused it! Please understand!”

“You idiot, just accept the damn-” A loud knock interrupted Levi, causing him to hiss, “What?”

The door open, revealing the commander in sweat pants, a pair of fuzzy slippers, a coat with a sweater under it and he was carrying a cup of coffee. His usually kempt blonde hair was messy and he looked relaxed. “I apologize for interrupting you both,” he started. “Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to you, Levi.”

“And why are you here?” Levi gritted through his teeth. “Can’t you see that we’re in the middle of something?”

“I can see that, but Hange has been bugging me all morning – ever since I woke up, in fact. She needs to borrow Katrina from you and I’m taking you out to town. Apparently, we don’t spend as much ‘bro time’ together, as she puts it,” he sighed. The superiors had different ways of addressing Katrina. Some, like Hange, would always call her by her first name while others used her last name in front of others and her first name in private or in front of other superiors (excluding higher ups, unless they say so). Of course, there are some exceptions. “Oh, and finish up your breakfast,” Erwin added, “It will get cold.”

“Please eat,” Katrina pleaded, “You need a stomach full of food before the injection.”

Reluctantly (and growling), he sat back down and dug into his food. As he was chewing, she turned back to Erwin and mouthed a “thank you” to him. “No problem” was mouthed back with a small wink and Erwin closed the door softly. A light blush coated her cheeks and she failed to bite back a smile. Unbeknownst to her, Levi was watching the whole time. How the hell does Eyebrows get her to blush so easily!? he thought. He was jealous – he always had been jealous. Ever since she saved him from his potential death. She had become a real beauty and the attention she received from guys and girls alike skyrocketed – not like she wasn’t popular before that. Katrina received so many more compliments and attempted flirting as well. And this didn’t exclude the superiors. Even Erwin.

Erwin was the one who made her blush the most and showered her with compliments. It killed Levi to see her smile at Erwin instead of himself. The jealousy built up over the years, and it became difficult to contain it as well as his deep want and adoration for Katrina. He had to get him out of the way. But for now, he’ll let them go.

For now.