Achoo!

When it came to cleaning the former headquarters of the Scouting Legion, somehow, Eren couldn't help but think it to be an endless task. What had it been? Three days now? And each of those said days were respectively spent sweeping, dusting, and mopping, all under the watchful eye of Corporal Levi himself. Eren was starting to question what he would rather prefer: this, which, although it didn't seem like it, was a lot of hard work, or the strenuous workout regimens he had been put through in his training days.

"You missed a spot, Eren," the Corporal said, giving no indication as to where he was referring to.

"Huh? Where?" Eren asked. Honestly, he couldn't see even a single speck of dirt or grime on the freshly polished floors.

"Beneath your left boot," Corporal Levi responded. "The floor is filthy there."

Looking down, Eren lifted his foot to take a peek. The Corporal had been right; it was pretty gross, but how was this whole "cleaning the floor" thing even going to even work, then? Because of his boots, no matter where Eren stepped, the floor was just going to get dirty again.

Before Eren could relay his thought process, Corporal Levi had set his mop aside and began walking towards the young soldier. The next thing Eren knew, his boots had been ripped from his feet and the Corporal was calling out for Petra, who, in turn, was busy cleaning the next room over. "Bring a bucket of water with you!" he added firmly.

Hardly even a minute later, Petra had come rushing into the room, a bucket in hand and a face mask around her neck. "Here you are, sir," she said, offering the bucket to Corporal Levi. "Did something happen?"

The Corporal took the bucket from Petra and placed it down next to where he had thrown Eren's boots. "Eren's boots are disgusting, that's what happened," he grumbled.

At first, Petra was a bit stunned by the Corporal's response, but after a few moments, she began to giggle softly. "I can see how that's rather bothersome. Especially when your task is cleaning the floo-ack-choo!"

Both Corporal Levi and Eren's heads had shot up at the sound of Petra's freakishly cute sneeze, but Eren had been the only one to address it. "Are you okay? Did you get too much dust in your nose?"

Rubbing said nose, Petra nodded and replied, "Probably. I've been dusting and sweeping all morni-ack-choo!"

Now, it was the Corporal's turn to speak. "Eren," he said with authority, "go help Petra finish the dusting. You and your dirty boots are of no more use to me here."

"If that's the case, can I take my boots with me, sir?" Eren wondered.

"No."

Eren, bootless and feeling a bit naked because of it, joined Petra in the other room. He could tell that she was grateful for his help, so he didn't mind it all that much. After all, working on something like cleaning was a lot more comfortable with someone who wasn't Corporal Levi. In fact, he and Petra had had a bit of fun.

"Eren!" Petra giggled. "You're not supposed to put books over there!"

"Why not?" Eren asked. "Books are meant to go on bookshelves, right?"

"Those aren't bookshelves!" Petra exclaimed, still laughing. "Those are retired weaponry shelves!"

Now that Petra had said it, Eren could distinctly see the small hooks, jutting out of the wood, that were meant for keeping things like belts, gas tanks, and cutter blades all in one place. He had felt so silly for making such a ridiculous mistake that he had begun to laugh, too.

It was in the midst of their laughter that they had heard it.

It was loud, there was no doubt about that. Its pitch? It had been very high. What was it? Did something break? Was someone screaming? Just as Eren and Petra had looked at one another to exchange expressions of confusion, they had heard it again.

"Achoo!"

It hadn't been Petra who had sneezed, Eren knew that. He was looking straight at the girl, after all. And besides that, Petra's sneezes sounded sweet and angel-like. This sneeze hadn't been. If anything, it sounded like an over-sized rodent that was giving birth to a hand grenade.

"...Should we?" Petra inquired. She needn't say any more than that. Eren knew exactly what she was about to suggest.

Curious as kittens, Eren and Petra peeked their heads into the room where Corporal Levi was busy scrubbing at the heel of Eren's left boot. Their cover had been blown quickly enough, when the Corporal looked up from his handiwork and spotted them at the doorway. "Can I help you two?" he questioned irritably.

Sputtering, Eren waved his hands in front of his face as if to dismiss the Corporal's question. "N-no! We're f-fine! We just heard this really loud noise from the other room and figured we'd check to see if you were-"

"You mean my sneeze?" Eren hadn't expected for Corporal Levi to outright come and say it, but yeah, that was exactly what he had meant.

Not wanting to hurt the Corporal's feelings, Eren rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "Oh, was that what that was? I thought maybe you had stubbed your toe, or something." How Eren had thought this was going make the situation feel more light-hearted, Petra most certainly did not know, so she opted to stay quiet.

The young soldier could feel small beads of sweat as they began to form underneath his hairline. The look that Corporal Levi was giving him, it wasn't the least bit pleasant. And that's when he had said it.

"Eren, you're forbidden from sneezing ever again."

Dumbfounded, Eren's mouth instantly dropped open. "B-but, Corporal-"

"No buts, Yeager." Eren stiffened at the usage of his surname. "Petra. See to it that Eren no longer has the privilege of sneezing on headquarter grounds."

Petra nodded and pounded her fist to her chest in salute. "Yes, sir. I will see to it, sir."

The noise of desperation that had been emitted from Eren's lips caused the female soldier to glance at him apologetically. He could see her mouth just barely form the words, "I'm so sorry."

Completely changing the subject, Corporal Levi slapped Eren's boots onto the ground and commanded of him, "Come over here and get your boots, Eren."

With his head hung low, Eren did as he was told and solemnly walked across the room to retrieve his boots. They were now so clean that he could practically see his reflection on the front of them.

"What do you say to me, Eren?" the Corporal questioned, demanding an immediate answer as he rose into a stand.

"Thank you, Corporal, sir," Eren responded, trying his best to sound believably grateful. However, it was a bit hard to be grateful, or even sound like it, when your nose was already starting to itch.

Hello there! Chappy here! :D

Coming to you ( again ) with another fluffy drabble for Shingeki no Kyojin. (:

One of these days, I'm going to have to unleash my inner-angst monger on this fandom...but for now, I'll let it rest. I'm not ready to do that yet. orz

Thank you for reading, and I hope you've all enjoyed! (:

- Chappy