Author's Note: I did some revisions on my grammars. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any canonical references on its manga and anime.

Prologue

Captain Levi Ackerman and the Special Operations Squad were ordered by Commander Erwin Smith to prepare the Survey Corps Headquarters in three days for the whole troop. Upon arrival, the captain asked each of his elite member to do specific tasks. In a balmy midnight, he took a rest on top of the castle while reminiscing the past expeditions and his damned thug life.

A Thug Life of Loving You

It was one of those shitty operations he wasn't supposed to lead. But Hanji Zoe and her squad, like a bunch of curious people they always were, explored the mountains near Wall Rose and hasn't come back yet.

Being a captain of the Special Operations wasn't as easy as blinking, especially when it was their second operation as a team of five. He learned a glimpse of his subordinates' wits during trainings, but it wasn't enough to suffice their dynamics.

The night was going deeper and Levi Ackerman was awake – he always was; and so he heard footsteps from the doorway of the rooftop approaching him. He shifted his eyes from the darkness of the horizon that could be seen above the castle to the one who stood behind him.

"Captain Levi."

"What do you need, Petra?" he asked as he turned to see the only female in his squad. His scowling expression was consistently dark, but he tried his best to simply rearrange his features into a less scowling face.

"I came here to report."

He looked at her, expecting, as he remained sitting on the edge of the rooftop.

Petra took all day to finish the task she was entrusted, and he was a bit impressed that she still managed to look proper.

"I finished cleaning the rooms on the upper left wing and the last room on the right." She said.

Impressive, he wanted to say, but he brushed it and asked, "How about the others?"

"Resting, probably. I'm the last one to finish." And she pulled something from her pocket. "I found something, and I think you should check this out."

Levi briefly glanced on the small, thick notebook Petra pulled from her pocket. She handed it to him, and he arched an eyebrow upon seeing it. Despite the dimness of the surrounding with only torches lighting the place, she still managed to notice the way his facial expression changed, but she kept silent.

"Where did you get this?" asked Levi as he scanned the old cover of a notebook.

"It slipped from the mattress." Replied Petra as honest as she could.

Levi flipped the first page and saw a name that made him frown.

"Captain?"

She was curious. Right at the moment, she was dying to know the answers to the thousand questions that's been boggling her mind. After reading the messy handwriting on the notebook, she realised that it's a personal journal of a female soldier. The owner talked about her trainings and daily tasks with her squad.

"This notebook was Isabel's." he answered as he closed the cover. "She was stupid."

Petra got surprised but remained silent. Unexpectedly, Levi continued to tell more about the notebook.

"It was our first expedition in the Survey Corps back then."

He flipped the pages and played with it, "That expedition doesn't go well as planned. Heavy rain unexpectedly poured out like hell on our first test run of the scouting formation. And we're like insects struggling in the open. Tch. That shitty day."

Petra simply gasped some air before expressing her opinion. "It looks like your first expedition is beyond terrible."

He looked up again on the starry sky, "Do you know what a fucking disaster is?"

Petra stared at him, uncomprehending.

"It's when you're the only fucking survivor." He said, trying to hide the agony in his voice.

She fell silent knowing that he didn't need any advice; he just wanted someone to listen to him. She's been waiting for this moment for a long time. She dreamt of it long ago when the time would come that Levi Ackerman would tell his past, even just a bit. For years, she has been wishing it to every shooting star she's seen in the night sky, and it came true along with the meteors showering the planet.

"The first test of the formation wasn't only beyond terrible, it's beyond disaster. Its failure caused more than the usual number of casualties. I even lost them during the attack."

"Them?" she asked to clarify who he was pertaining to.

"Isabel and Farlan." He confirmed.

"I swear it's not the captain's nature to tell a joke. No. Not even this time." she commented. She just couldn't believe that Levi couldn't able to save his two comrades from titans.

"Do I look joking on you, Petra?" he asked as he looked at her, his eyes were talking but she couldn't comprehend his meaningful gaze.

She shook her head to disagree. "I just couldn't believe that you lost two comrades from a titan."

Titans… Levi mentally corrected her. I lost them from titans. But he just snorted slightly and said, "It's time to sleep." He shifted the topic, not wanting to talk more about his fallen friends.

She didn't move a muscle. She wanted to hear more.

He stood and tapped her head briefly. "You should take a rest. We still have tons of shits to do tomorrow."

"Y-Yes, Captain." She saluted. But before she could turn to leave, she faced him with a smile. "Good night."

When she turned her back and started to pace towards the doorway, Levi looked at her and whispered, "Good night, Petra."

He gazed upon the notebook and started reading the entries when he went back to his office. He never knew that Isabel kept a personal journal with her.

Early in the morning, Levi walked on the corridors of the barracks. Instead of pouring cold water on his subordinates' faces to wake them up, he just created exaggerated noises. He heard Auruo's groan and shifting of position until a loud snore followed. He almost rolled his eyes until he caught sight of Petra's room; the door was left open. He simply peeped in to check her but she wasn't there. It's only the fourth in the morning, he thought. Their reveille was scheduled an hour after their rising time but the three were still curled under their blankets.

He sighed and thought about working on their squad's dynamics, noting to himself about the policies he has to impose during labors in the barracks.

There on the corner of the bed was Petra's backpack with all her belongings. Beside it was her jacket and a small dark green notebook. His curiosity rose to its maximum. After three fateful seconds, he entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed. Thinking if it's worth the risk, he finally decided to pick the tempting notebook. He thought it's like that of Ilse Langnar's so it's really interesting to read.

Upon flipping the first page, Petra entered the room hymning while drying her ginger colored hair with a towel. She was looking downward as the towel almost covered her face. But she stopped when she sensed someone and saw Levi sitting on her bed which almost made her jumped off the floor.

"Captain?"

Surprised was drawn all over her face. The towel on her head fell above her shoulders. She was wearing a white button-down, her military pants and boots fitting the curves of her body. She just finished taking a bath but decided to leave her top uniform so she went back to her room to fix her straps.

Levi quickly threw the notebook on the bed and stood up.

"You got up early."

"Yeah. And I also brewed some tea." She said awkwardly.

"Good." He said and left the room.

Petra rushed to her bed nervously and picked the notebook. It's her personal journal where she's been keeping all her narratives about her expeditions. She sighed and realized what she looked like. Not that it mattered, but she wasn't expecting him to stop by. While putting her straps on, Levi went back to her room without even knocking which made her heart thump wildly. He pretended not to see anything and got the broomstick that he just left a while ago. He then walked out apathetically and closed the door.

He's acting strange. She breathed.

They took breakfast on the dining hall as Petra prepared the tea that she made earlier. Everybody was silent and dead air was hovering on the ceiling and on the walls of the entire hall. Levi took a sip on his tea cup while his subordinates were just looking on their cups placed on the table.

After the eerie silence, the captain finally spoke.

"I reckon that the three of you didn't comply to our schedule this morning."

The three men looked at each other until Erdo took the responsibility of apologizing for the squad.

"We're asking for apology, Captain. We admit our negligence." He said to lessen the tension.

"I consider giving you a simple compensation for your actions. I always think that discipline is still the best tool. Sounds good?" said Levi and shot them a sharp glare.

Gunther, Auruo and Erdo gulped as their sweats dropped down their cheeks.

"Yes, Captain!" they answered in unison.

They knew that simple wasn't the standard of simplicity in the Survey Corps. It was the standard of an Ackerman.

A Thug Life of Loving You 1 | To be continued