AU: In which Petra is Levi's superior and I try to remember to keep a stick up Levi's butt anyway.

She is not at all what he expected from a superior officer. She had none of Erwin's heavy expectations or grand words. And she was short. Shorter than he was.

"I am so pleased to have you all here. You're all very promising," she said, beaming at her squad. "I'm lucky to have been entrusted with such a great team." She stood in front of them, hands behind her back.

"Excuse me, Captain," Erd said, voice steadier than it had been when they'd found out they were meeting the Petra Ral. "Why us?" She tilted her head to the side, looking thoughtful. Levi watched her through bored eyes, hiding the curiosity he felt. Erd was right. There was no clear reason as to why she would choose them. Levi and the other two recruits awaited Petra's answer to Erd's question.

"Well you all placed in the top ten, didn't you?" She said, as if it was a viable answer. Levi barely stopped himself from scoffing. Yes, they were high in recruitment, but they were so green it hurt to look at them. Levi himself placed first in their graduation class, Gunter was third, Erd was fourth, and Auruo rounded them out at ninth. In spite of their high standing, they'd all decided to join the Survey Corps and lo and behold, they were here. Petra laughed at their expressions, all of them looking either doubtful or scared shitless by the pressure.

"There's no way that's the reason you chose us," Levi said, finally finding his voice. His teeth ground together as his irritation mounted. "I don't know what sick game this is. Are we just going on a suicide mission or what?" She looked like a pushover, but he knew that she wasn't. She wouldn't have such a high kill count if she was.

"Hey, I'm just lucky enough to have my own squad," she said, shrugging as if shaking off his harsh words. "I picked you for reasons other than your standing, yes, but maybe that's not your business," she smiled disarmingly. "For now, we're just going to get situated. We're all on the fourth floor, so find your rooms and get settled. Starting tomorrow at sunrise, we're going to train. There will be coffee in the kitchen if you desire it before we start. Just be careful to get there before it's all gone," she winked. "Dismissed."

His room was disgusting. To anyone else it would look fine, if a little empty. The bed was made and the rest of the sparse furniture was bare. He walked over to his closet, throwing the doors open, several hangers holding up the same uniform he wore. He rolled his eyes as the wings of freedom fluttered. He strode in and grabbed the hangers, shaking them out before returning them to the rack. Sure enough, he spotted just the faintest amount of dust swirl in the air as he left to ask where the cleaning equipment was.

As Levi walked around the building looking for either his comrades or maybe a broom closet, he walked past an open door. He chanced a look before continuing his search for supplies. He paused as he took in the sight of his commander standing by her open window, the sunset casting shadows and red light throughout her room. Her shadow was long, creating a much more impressive figure than the one he now called Captain. She turned to look at him, obviously sensing his presence behind her. To an untrained eye she would just seem calm, but he noticed her hand casually on the knife strapped to her belt and the way her legs tensed.

"Is there something you need, Ackerman?" She asked, her fingers not leaving the her hip and her body still strung.

"Cleaning supplies," Levi grunted.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" she asked, her body relaxing. Levi almost slapped himself. Why would he ask his superior where to find cleaning supplies? She probably had plenty of other more important things to do. Who would have time to help some subordinate find a rag so he could alleviate his hate of dust? She looked at him curiously and he found himself unable to turn away from her friendly but intense gaze.

"Cleaning supplies," he repeated. Clearer this time. Despite the strange topic, Levi wasn't going to back down. I am Levi, he reassured himself. Levi Ackerman never backs down. She looked him over, his bored expression at odds with his rigid posture.

"Sure, follow me," she said, the picture of pleasant company without a hint of the reputation that preceded her. She walked out the door and down the hallway, gesturing toward him as she walked past. Against his will, he was overwhelmed with the smell of something sweet he was unfamiliar with. He didn't like it. Eventually they found themselves standing in front of a closet filled with the materials he needed. He began to collect rags and a broom, Petra watching him from the doorway. He was almost worried that she would shut the door and lock him in as a joke. His brow furrowed at the frivolous thought. That was ridiculous. She is Petra Ral, one of the most talented 3dmg users and titan killers in several generations. He chose to ignore the voice that reminded him of the comments he received while in training. He always seemed to remind people of his commanding officer.

"You're tiny, like Ral."

"Your talent is incredible, I haven't seen someone so naturally talented since Ral."

"Incredible, Levi. You remind me of Ral."

A bitter expression marred his face as he thought about the shadow this woman cast on him. He scanned the dark room, trying to find the last of the necessary supplies. His fist clenched as he looked up at the soap bottle one shelf too high for him to reach. He turned to look at her, she stiffened and blushed as her eyes darted up to meet his. Was she just checking out his ass?

"Captain, I cannot reach the soap," he admitted grudgingly as he watched her collect herself.

"Ackerman, I don't know if you noticed, but if you can't reach the soap then I definitely can't reach it either," she said, voice weaker than usual as the red spread further across her cheeks.

"Right," Levi sighed in resignation and embarrassment, looking around for a bucket. He didn't know what was going on with him. He was never so twitchy. He was stone. He was goddamn Levi Ackerman, leader in the underground, Erwin's personal recruit, and ruthless killer. Maybe it was the unexpected transfer. Maybe it was the fact that he still had no idea what he was doing here.

His eyes rested on the bucket he'd collected. He flipped it over and stood on it to reach the bottle he needed, stepping down with the soap in hand. Or maybe it was the fact that the person people were constantly comparing him to was a girl just about his age. A girl that was caught staring at his butt. He never imagined that the lauded woman would be like this. He was nothing like her.

It wasn't until the next day that he understood why everyone seemed so eager to compare them. She flew like a bird, the wires and blades just an extension of her tiny body as it soared through the air. She finished the course in a time he'd just barely broken during his qualifying exams and she hadn't even been trying. She stood in front of them, hair windswept and eyes bright.

"Alright, so let's get started. See if you can beat my time," she said, gesturing to the four towering over her. Auruo stepped up first, checking his gear before signalling that he was ready. Petra watched as Auruo swung through the trees nimbly, his expression focused as he came up to the clearing. Levi's eyes narrowed. Petra had made this look easy, killing the titan that appeared before her. There was something off about this. It wasn't the same course they'd completed to graduate. As Auruo moved into the open, his eyes darted around, looking for the titan effigy he was supposed to kill. He paused, the titan still not visible to him.

Levi watched as he realised that the titan model wasn't set to just this area of the course. Auruo was waiting at the edge of the forest looking outward as he scanned the clearing, rookie mistake. Suddenly the titan model charged out of the woods, startling Auruo and jerking the wires he had embedded in the trees. He wobbled in the air dangerously before he made a hissing sound and swung away. He whipped around, cutting the neck before moving on to finish the rest of the course. He landed, mouth bloody, having finished the course well beyond Petra's time. Petra smiled at him encouragingly, despite his obvious misstep.

"Titans won't always be where you expect them to be," she said gently. Handing him her handkerchief with a concerned expression. "What happened to your mouth?" she asked. He looked a little sheepish as he responded.

"I bit my tongue."

She nodded and smiled at him, motioning him toward the end of the line as he tended to his bite wound. Gunter moved forward, shaking out his limbs before arming himself with his blades. He signalled that he was ready and shot forward. Levi had never been terribly concerned with watching his fellow recruits, but to Levi it was obvious as to why Gunter had placed so highly. The boy cleared the distance to the clearing in half the time it had taken Auruo, his approach to 3dmg much more aggressive and less beautiful than the first boy's had been. While Auruo arced through the trees, Gunter's path was more or less straight, but he wasn't foolish with how he moved.

Suddenly he changed paths, taking the better route that some people wouldn't notice had more shade and more trees with which to protect themselves. His movements were direct, but they weren't predictable. He also didn't wait for the titan to find him. Moving through the course swiftly, he came upon the titan with ease and killed it before moving on. He finished the course, clocking in at the same time Petra had. She patted his arm, whispering encouragements and criticisms to him. He nodded seriously before making his way behind Auruo.

Erd was next. Without any preparation, he was ready and had taken off. The boy was smart, that was for sure. Learning from those preceding him, he moved carefully. He streaked through the course, mimicking Gunter as he took the best avenues to reach the titan he heard whirring in the trees. He quickly dispatched of the titan, and continued onward toward the clearing before swinging around and finishing the course. He clocked in a little slower than Gunter, his approach not quite the same bullet-like movement that Gunter employed. Levi watched as Petra spoke to Erd like she did Gunter, slapping his back as she laughed at something he muttered to her. Levi moved toward the starting line, readying himself. She turned to look at him.

He made eye contact with her, and then took off. His movement was like hers, while direct like Gunter, it didn't appear as straightforward. It was smooth, and had the finesse Gunter lacked. It was times like these that he really felt like the wings of freedom meant something. He hunted down his titan and made his way back before the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something else was in these woods. He streaked back toward the finish line.

"Capta-"

"There's something else out here. We need to find it and dispatch of it before it gets close to the base," she said, interrupting him as she pulled out her blades. They'd come out quite far to train. The course was set up in a small extension of forest about an hour's ride on horseback from the base, and they hadn't been riding casually.

"What about the others operating the machinery?" Gunter asked, his voice different from how Levi remembered it being. A little more uncertain.

"There aren't any people working the machinery. This is an area meant for high ranking squads only. This isn't like your training grounds. No one here is going to stop the simulation just because you weren't ready." Auruo flinched at her surprisingly hard words. "A maintenance team comes out here every once in a while to keep it all running up to par, but the course itself is automatic." She gestured to a remote attached to her belt. "It's not active unless someone with one of these is in the vicinity." Gunter nodded in understanding before equipping himself with the blades.

"Are we ready for this? I've never seen a titan before," Auruo asked, his swelling tongue impeding his speech.

"Don't worry, this area is to our advantage," Petra winked before taking off into the woods. "I'll take care of it but there might be more, survey the area and take out anything you find that shouldn't be here," she called as she sped away. The four looked at each other and nodded before they paired off and took off to the right and the left. Levi and Auruo scanned the woods, a sense of uncertainty looming over them.

Suddenly, they came upon their squad leader. She was whipping around the clearing, an exceptionally large titan having found its way to the bloodstains Auruo left behind. It took everything Levi had to keep his composure in the face of something he had only heard about. Auruo trembled beside him as the creature roared. They saw Gunter and Erd on the other side of the clearing, having finished canvassing their part of the woods. All four bearing witness to Petra Ral's twentieth solo encounter.

The titan was massive. All the things Levi heard could not have prepared him for this. Auruo looked like he was about to wet his pants any moment, Erd and Gunter didn't look too much better. His lip curled. It was disgusting. The behaviour, the fleshiness, the distinct lack of hygiene was everything Levi hated. His need to eradicate the creature smothered his fear of being eaten and he moved to help his captain. He readied his swords, but when she moved, he realised that she didn't want them to help.

She flew effortlessly, her small stature meant nothing as she toyed with the titan. She shot from one side of the clearing to the other, aware of her subordinates as she swung under the arm that lunged at her. Her movements weren't as subtle as they were when she was completing the course, they were dramatic. Watch me. She utilized the opportunity to put on a show, teasing the titan and displaying how to avoid getting caught.

The titan tried to grab a wire, but she swung out of the way, mere inches from the fat appendages desperately reaching for her. Realising this meal was difficult, it turned toward Levi and Auruo, the blood starting to leak from Auruo's injury. It lumbered toward them when Petra finally finished what she started. Twenty solo kills. The thought dried out Levi's mouth as the titan sank to the ground and began to disintegrate. He wasn't like her, but now he wanted to be.

I'm not sure if this is going to continue. I have other ideas for this universe and I never explained Petra's reasoning, so I might build on this and actually make it something more. For now, this is it.

Thanks for reading!