Chapter Fourteen: Trouble In Paradise
(Emi's POV)
"Is that what you call a push-up?" I scoffed, watching the cadets epically fail at the most basic task. "With the rate you all are going, you'll be titan food in a matter of seconds." I stated, scanning the cadets to see if they had any potential whatsoever. I stopped in front of one of the first years, His dark blue eyes looked up at me, as his muscular body made short work of the push ups I had required of them. My golden eyes studied the man before me, he was actually quite handsome. "Good job, seems like there's someone here in this pathetic group who can actually do a push up." I yelled as I smirked down at the man. "Name, Cadet?" I asked as he stopped doing push-ups. "My name is Kane, Lieutenant." I felt like Kane's deep blue eyes were inspecting every inch of my body.
"Kane, feel free to teach your fellow cadets how to properly do a push-up. Just watching you all disgusts me." Kane nodded as I turned and walked away, heading back to the front of the group. I had been a few weeks since Megami was born and I was finally getting back to my normal work schedule. Levi and I had hired a baby sitter during the day for Megami, so it was a lot easier for me to return to work when I did. I sighed deeply as I took a small sip of my water, keeping my eyes on Kane. His blue eyes met mine again as I rolled my eyes. Men like him pissed me off.
"You okay, Lieutenant?" The sound of my Captain Hime snapped me back into reality. She was a quite girl, With two long black pigtails, and black rimmed glasses. I sighed deeply and nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. The cadets are pretty shitty this year, huh?" I stated the obvious as Hime giggled. " I see some promise in some of them, Lieutenant." Hime explained as I rolled my eyes again and took a sip of my cold water. "You're too nice, Hime." I spoke softly as I looked back at the cadets. "Okay, go run three miles and back! NOW!" I screamed as the cadets nodded and groaned as they began to run. My eyes drifted to Kane, who was ahead of the rest of the group.
"So Lieutenant, how is Megami?" Hime questioned me as I smiled. "Megami is doing wonderful. She is such a quiet baby. She rarely fusses and she is normally asleep." I explained, a small chuckle escaped my lips. "Well, that is wonderful! How is Commander Levi doing?" She asked. I sighed deeply to myself as I thought about the changes in Levi over the last few weeks. "Don't get me wrong, he is an amazing father to Megami..." My voice trailed up as I looked up at the bright blue sky.
"Is everything okay between the two of you, Emi?"Hime asked, causing me to rub my temples. "Levi has been extremely busy the last few weeks with work...he's been kind of distant.." I admitted. It started with Levi coming home later from work. Also, he normally spent the first hour of his time at home telling me all about his day, and giving Megami and I attention. Recently though, he would come home and get straight in the shower or head straight to bed. Anytime I tried to touch Levi, hoping to get him in the mood he would tell me he was too tired, or wasn't interested.
"I'm sorry Lieutenant. Have you tried talking to him about it?" Hime questioned as I sighed and looked to see Kane, running back towards me. His bright blue eyes seemed to light up when he saw me. "Talking to my husband about anything when he is like this is almost impossible. I mean, my husband is Commander Levi after all..." I mumbled, the feeling of frustration coursing through my body as Hime stood up next to me.
"I would try talking to him. If anyone knows Commander Levi, it's you." Hime stated as I nodded. she was right, I just needed to talk to him. A few minutes after Kane arrived back to the starting line, the other cadets slowly appeared. Most of them were out of breath, barely able to stand. My golden eyes looked down at the stop watch. "Good job Kane, I'm impressed." I stated as I walked over to the group of out of breath cadets.
"That's it for today. I expect you all to be well rested for early morning training." I stated, turning my back towards them as they all began to leave. "Hey Lieutenant!" Kane's deep voice caused me to stop in my place. I turned to face him, his warm gaze meeting mine. "Yes, Cadet?" I asked. " I just wanted to see if you needed any help." He explained as I rolled my eyes. "Are you trying to kiss my ass, Cadet?" I scoffed. After a few moments a seductive smirk tugged at the corners of Kane's mouth.
"Would that be such a bad thing, Lieutenant Emi?" His voice sounding almost challenging. In an instant I knocked him off of his feet and straight onto his ass. His eyes widened as he looked up at me, my deep golden gaze almost intimidating. "I suggest you remember your place, Cadet." I stated harshly. "And it's Lieutenant Ackerman." I added as I turned and walked away, leaving Kane sitting on the ground as I headed to Levi's office.