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Levi was not getting sick.
He did not fall ill. Hadn't in years. He didn't have the time, energy, or patience for a head cold right now, not with his brats relying on him. Therefore, he decided he was not sick. It did not matter that he'd been caught in the rain yesterday, thoroughly drenched by the time he had returned from town where he had been purchasing supplies for their two-week training course in the foothills outside of Trost. It didn't matter that the man he had been purchasing supplies from had seemed suspiciously pale and wheezy.
His body traitorously disagreed. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at his drawn features, flushed cheeks, and weepy eyes. His hands were shaking and every muscle strained to hold him up under his own weight.
He scowled, picking up his canteen and chugging down some water to soothe the burning dryness in his throat. It helped for a moment, but passed. He cleared his nose on a handkerchief, then squared his shoulders and began struggling into his uniform.
Levi was not getting sick. He didn't get sick.
On an unrelated note, he figured he could let the brats off light today. Maybe he didn't need to run drills this morning. His new squad had been working hard to polish their skills since coming to the remote training grounds - they were desperate to impress him. They had, he supposed, earned a break.
He slipped out of his quarters and made his way to the kitchen. All of the kids seated there looked at him with wide eyes. A glance at the clock revealed that it was nearly nine AM, a solid three hours later than he usually got up. He generally handled making breakfast for them all, since he let them sleep until seven.
"Uh, good morning Captain," said Jean, looking at him with a worried expression. "We made breakfast."
Levi felt his head begin to throb, and he did his best not to sway on his feet. He opted to sit down heavily in a chair at the head of the table. "Good," he murmured.
Jean looked at the other scouts. Armin shrugged. "Are you… alright?" Armin asked. "When you didn't come downstairs, I came to check on you. You were sound asleep, so I decided not to wake you, sir."
Walls, had he really been so dead to the world that he'd not noticed Armin peek through the door? It was fine though. He was just a little more tired than normal, because Levi was not getting sick.
"I'm fine, brat. It's your lucky day. No drills this morning. Get your regular chores done, though. No slacking off today," he said to the room. Where he had expected excitement or relief, the kids just seemed more stressed than they had before, glancing warily at each other.
His voice was hoarse. He must be dehydrated. "Is there tea?" Levi asked Armin. He was the only one who could make a decent pot.
"Yes sir. Want a cup?"
He nodded.
"You all know your assignments. Get going before I change my mind," he snapped. The group looked askance at him, but generally got moving. Rough voice or not, they knew his tone and opted not to fight him on it.
The room emptied. He could hear Armin still moving around in the kitchen.
He sneezed.
Armin set the tea in front of him. "Can I be honest for a moment sir?" he said. Damn kid had been spending too much time with Erwin; he had the same look on his face that the commander got when he was about to say something Levi didn't want to hear.
"Go ahead," Levi sighed.
"You look like death warmed over. Are you sick?"
"No. I don't get sick. I don't have the fucking time for that." As if on cue, he sneezed again, this time sending him into a coughing fit. Armin's eyebrows raised themselves to his hairline.
"I just need some tea and I'll be fine," Levi croaked.
"Respectfully, sir? I call bullshit," Armin replied. He crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed.
"Erwin is rubbing off on you, you're getting bold," the captain grumbled.
Armin sighed.
"I'll be in my office if anyone dies," Levi said, standing. He ignored the shiver that worked its way down his spine. "Get the stove going in here. It's damn cold."
The boy knit his eyebrows in consternation. Levi ignored him and left the room.
"It's warmer today than it's been in weeks," the boy mumbled. Levi pretended not to hear as he climbed the stairs to his office on shaking legs.
He hadn't been doing paperwork for very long. It shouldn't have exhausted him like this by any means. It was maybe noon, yet every bone in his body felt heavy as though he had run a marathon.
It must have been dusty in spite of his efforts, too, because Levi kept sneezing and coughing, and his throat hurt more than ever.
Maybe if I just rest for a minute, I'll feel more awake, he thought to himself. He was having trouble thinking. His mind felt heavy and slow.
He sat on the couch in his office instead, laying down across it. He wished it were warmer in the room. It didn't really matter, though, because he would be back to work in a few minutes anyway, and once he finished his paperwork, he would… go check on the squad…
He wasn't aware he'd fallen asleep until Armin and Sasha entered the study. He jolted at the sound of them entering, sitting upright, making his head throb painfully. He coughed violently.
"Who's dying?" he snapped. The pair glanced at each other.
"I think you are, sir," said Sasha honestly. She stepped all the way into the room, carrying a tray laden with a steaming mug and a covered bowl.
"I'm fine. I don't get-" as the words left his mouth, Levi sneezed so hard he almost fell backwards.
"Sick?" Armin finished.
"Yeah," he said defiantly.
"Well, that's too bad. The peppermint tea I made for your sore throat and Sasha's home-recipe chicken soup will be utterly wasted on you, and I won't even bother giving you the medicine Hange sent with us," Armin replied archly, "because you're not sick. Sir."
"You're a brat."
Armin shook his head. Sasha put the tray down on the low table in front of him. Levi tried to ignore the shivers in his body and the exhaustion that still clung to him.
The cadets left him in peace after that. Contrary to Armin's words, there was a small cup with two large pills inside it. His heart warmed a little at the sight. He washed them down with the tea - perfectly brewed - and ate the soup, which was warm and delicious. For as rambunctious and ridiculous as the girl could be, Sasha really knew how to cook.
It was unnecessary, though, because he wasn't getting sick.
He fell asleep sometime shortly after that and awoke an indeterminate amount of time later. The sun was just beginning to dip beneath the horizon. Damnit, had he really slept through the day?
He felt groggy and disoriented. The walls were shifting. His face felt hot, but his body was wracked with shivers. Levi decided he needed some fresh air, so he left his room, ignoring how he wobbled, and carefully descended the stairs.
He made it to the bottom and was met with a sight that under any other circumstance might have pissed him off.
Sasha, Armin, Eren, Jean, Mikasa, Historia and Connie all stood in a line at the base of the steps, arms crossed or fists planted on hips like a chastising parent.
"Captain, we have decided to mutiny," Eren said.
"What…?" Levi demanded, weakly.
"Admit that you're sick, or I'm sending for Hange to come make you get better," Armin snapped out. Where had that brat gotten the balls?
"Erwin…" He grumbled. The boy had to have learned it from him.
Sasha's brows knit together. "Him too. I'm sure he'd side with us," she added.
At that moment, his muscles couldn't take the strain of standing upright anymore. He started to fall forward, dizzy. Jean reached out, catching him as he went limp. Armin rushed forward, suddenly losing his bravado and looking afraid. The boy laid a hand on his brow, concerned.
"He's burning up. Jean, help me get him to the couch," he ordered.
The boys heaved his heavy body all the way into the living room and laid him on the large sofa across from the fireplace.
"We're going to need Hange anyway. Mikasa, you're the fastest rider. Go get help. Eren, light a fire in the hearth," Jean said. Levi was distantly impressed. The boy was really stepping up. A few more years and he'd make a fine squad leader. He was proud.
"Good, Jean. Wish you'd do that more in the field," Levi mumbled.
"What?" Jean looked concerned. Levi heard the door slam shut. Was that why the walls were moving?
"Don' slam the damn doors, you're making the walls move," he muttered.
"He's not making any sense. Armin, get cold water and a washcloth. We have to get his temperature down."
Levi closed his eyes. His kids were independent, that was for sure.
His kids…
He smiled at the thought, then let sleep slip over him.
Armin entered the room, water and washcloth in hand. Jean pulled up a stool and sat himself next to the ailing captain. He wordlessly passed the bowl and cloth over, letting the other boy wet the cloth and press it to the man's burning forehead.
Levi was restless under his touch. Anxiety bubbled in Armin's gut, and a glance across the room told him that Connie, Sasha and Historia weren't in much better shape. It wasn't an overly long ride to HQ, though, and Armin took some relief in that fact. Mikasa would reach the castle by the time the sun had set completely, and she and Hange would likely return before too long. It would be perhaps three hours before help arrived.
Eren was busily lighting the fire. Historia retrieved a knitted blanket and tucked it over the sick captain. Connie paced.
"Furlan?" Levi mumbled. "Thought you were dead…"
"Sorry, Captain. It's just me," Jean answered. He peeled the cloth off Levi's forehead and soaked it in the cold water again, replacing it on his forehead.
He repeated this process over a few times. Armin cut in with a bottle of pills Hange had sent along in the first aid kit. It was a new concoction, meant to help break fevers.
"Here, let me," Armin said softly. Jean got up from the stool and let the other boy take his place. "Lift him up so I can give him these," he said.
Jean complied, pushing the captain upright with one hand on his shoulder and another cradling his head. Armin placed the pills in his mouth and helped the semi-conscious captain sip at the water in the flask. He swallowed them.
"Has he eaten anything today?" Historia asked.
"He skipped breakfast, but he did have some of Sasha's soup earlier," Armin answered.
"He needs something in his system to help him fight this off," she replied. "Once he's a little more awake, we should get him to eat more."
Armin nodded in agreement. Jean laid Levi back down on the couch.
The four kids kept an uneasy vigil over the restless man. Levi mumbled in his sleep, mostly incoherently. He half-woke with glassy eyes an hour or so later, staring at Jean with a soft smile on his face.
"You're so big," he mumbled. "Not fair you're all tall and I'm stuck short."
Armin had to snicker a little at that.
"My kids are growin' up. Big brats. M' proud. Kenny… Kenny never tol' me that. I don' wanna be like Kenny," Levi said, looking wistful.
"Do you have any idea what he means?" Armin whispered to Jean, who shook his head.
"Am I like Kenny?" Levi asked, looking worried all of a sudden. It was as foreign an expression as the smile had been earlier.
"Nope. You're nothing like Kenny," Armin assured him. Levi relaxed.
"Good. He was a rat bastard."
Levi didn't appear to think highly of pretty much anyone, at least not on the surface, so it didn't surprise Armin much that the captain wasn't fond of him.
"Did Levi say he's… proud of us?" Connie asked from across the room.
"I dunno, could just be the fever talking. Although," Jean smiled, "it does make for great blackmail material once he's over this."
"He said 'my kids', too. Soft old man," Armin said quietly.
"M' not old! Erwin. Erwin's old, damned fossil," the captain objected.
All four teens laughed at that.
Hange and Mikasa arrived a few hours later. The stars were out and shining in the October sky, and a stiff breeze blew in as the pair came inside.
Hange wasted no time with greetings, rushing over to Levi's side and placing a hand on his forehead.
"I'm glad you sent for me," she said, reaching into her bag and withdrawing a thermometer. She stuck it in Levi's mouth and looked at Armin and Jean. "Has he had any meds?"
"Two of the decongestants in the early afternoon, and I gave him two for fever a few hours ago," the blond boy replied.
Hange checked the thermometer and clicked her tongue. "His fever is lower than I expected. I'm glad the medicine worked. Any idea how he got sick?"
"He went into town yesterday for supplies. It was pouring rain when he got back, and he made a comment about one of the vendor's being sick and 'disgusting'. Though that part is pretty much standard for the captain," Jean answered.
She hummed a little. "I think he'll be alright. I expect his fever will break in a few more hours. This stubborn bastard has been through worse. You kids did good."
Hange sent them off to bed, promising to wake Eren for the first watch in four hours. Levi was stable, but Hange wanted him monitored regardless.
The night passed uneventfully, with Eren swapping out with Connie after his watch. Connie switched around six AM with Historia and went to bed himself. Around eight, the rest of the cadets were up and about, going through their daily tasks without prompting. It was to this scene that Armin came downstairs and began preparing a simple breakfast of oatmeal and toast, with Captain Levi's favourite green tea on the side.
It was a subdued group that met in the kitchen. Breakfast passed quietly.
"How was he last night?" Armin asked Hange.
"His fever broke around one. He's just sleeping now," she replied.
"He was talking weird through the fever," Jean added. "Said that he didn't want to be like Kenny. Called us his kids and shit. It was… weird."
"That happens sometimes," Hange answered. She sighed a little. "People get disoriented and say stuff that doesn't make sense. That said, I do know Kenny was part of Captain Levi's life many years ago. And he'd never admit it," she said mischievously, "but he does care about you lot, probably more than he should."
"Lies. You're a pack of brats, that's all," came a voice from the doorway.
"Captain!" several voices chorused. Levi was leaning against the doorframe, looking at them through tired but un-fevered eyes, face not quite scowling.
"Armin," he said over the din, "I think I'm sick."
The teen laughed. "You think?" he said amusedly. "Too late. We mutinied. Hange and Commander Erwin backed us."
"So I see," he replied, sitting in his customary seat. His voice was still rough, and he coughed a little as he sat down, but his overall health and mood seemed greatly improved to Armin's eyes.
"And it's going to stay that way until you're better. You're officially on bed rest until I say otherwise, on the Commander's orders," Hange said, grinning.
Levi sighed. "Fine. Shitty little turncoats, all of you."
He allowed Armin and Hange to usher him upstairs into his quarters, settling in bed after he had finished his breakfast.
"Armin. As punishment for your mutiny, you're hereby sentenced to helping me finish my paperwork," Levi ordered."There's a stack in my office. And Hange, get the brats to run their drills. They had their day off yesterday. Back to work today."
"Sure, Captain. I'll put them through their paces for you," Hange said, leaving the room to gather the cadets.
Armin couldn't quite smother his smile; the captain was significantly less imposing when in bed, bundled in blankets up to his chest. He complied anyway, crossing the hallway into the office and locating the stack with ease. When he returned, he pulled a stool from the corner and sat himself next to Levi's bed.
The two worked well into the early afternoon. Armin noticed Levi blinking heavily and set the wad of mostly-complete work aside.
"You should get some rest, sir," Armin said.
"All right, fine," the captain acquiesced.
Armin's surprise must have shown on his face.
"What? I already admitted it. I'm sick. I may as well get better so I can get back to kicking your asses," he defended.
Armin smiled. Levi dismissed him, yawning and trying not to cough. The teen left the room, shutting the door behind him gently. Nothing could keep Levi down for long, not where his squad was concerned. He found himself comforted by that thought.