Storm
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Storm: "Think of it this way, if the plane goes down, you won't feel anything when we die," she pointed out cheerfully.
"Sorry!" The little boy said.
"Eren, watch where you're going!" His mother scolded. "I'm so sorry."
Petra reached down and picked up her book. "It's alright." She watched the kid run to the massive windows with a somewhat clear outline of a massive white and blue plane outside.
"Is that our plane, mom?"
"No, honey..."
Petra turned back to her book, losing herself in the story while she waited. She ended up finishing before it was time and looked around, trying to find something to occupy her mind. She had already explored the airport many times before. Neither was she in the mood to do the words puzzles she'd brought.
A couple of seats down to the right, Eren was passed out while his mom stroked his hair. Petra smiled and observed the few people in the sitting area. She wasn't surprised, it was nearly midnight. Red-eye flights were for last minuters or those who wanted to avoid too many people.
Amber eyes landed on a dark-haired man typing furiously on his laptop, one brow slightly furrowed. He's cute. She wondered if he was single. With my luck, probably not. Fortunately for her, it wasn't long before boarding began.
He smells so good. Petra stood in line behind the man. He's probably a total pervert. Or a serial cheater. She could not, for the life of her, figure out why or how she managed to always end up dating asshats. It didn't stop her from trying though.
Petra hummed softly to herself, earphones plugged in, fingers clicking away on the keyboard. She was supposed to be sleeping but there was no chance of that happening. Another small shockwave rocked the plane. She pulled the earphones out and amber eyes followed the flight attendant to the front of the plane. As expected, an announcement came soon after. From the pilot.
"Hello folks, this is your captain speaking. We're experiencing some turbulence due to a sudden storm. We're set to arrive to our destination slightly behind schedule. Please buckle yourselves in and hold on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. Just close your eyes and pretend it's a roller coaster."
"Yeah!" Eren yelled, making Petra and a few others chuckle.
She figured if the pilot, and a little kid, could joke around, it wasn't too bad or at least she had experience flying through ugly weather. Around her, sounds of clicking and worried murmurs picked up.
Petra smiled as the plane shook again. She rolled her eyes, hearing some screams. Then again, most of them were scared and she was one of the few odd ones that was actually enjoying herself. She looked to her left to see out the window. But she was seated in the middle and had four people blocking her view.
When she looked to her right, she was surprised to see the guy she had secretly spied—observed—earlier at the airport, he looked very pale. He doesn't look too good. His face was tight, body tensed, knuckles gripping the armrest so tight they were turning white.
It's a bad idea, Ral. Don't do it. She tried to talk herself out of it yet somehow ended up talking herself into it. The couple next to her had their eyes wired shut and the aisle was clear. Carefully, she put her laptop away and curled her fingers around the seatbelt. With what she thought was ninja like stealth, she unbuckled the seatbelt and darted to the empty seat next to him.
He was so wound up he didn't even notice her until she clicked herself in and poked him in the shoulder, definitely noticing the firmness of his muscles, "Hey." He stared at her, startled.
"How—what?"
"What's your name?"
He was still confused. "Levi—" Just then the plane shook and thunder rumbled outside the window.
"Wow!" She patted his hand. "Breathe, Levi!" He closed his eyes and released a shaky breath. Petra smiled encouragingly as he stopped squeezing the life out of the armrest. Instead he was gripping her hand now. "Are you scared of storms?"
"I'm not a fan," he choked out. "But it's the flying, I hate heights."
Petra laughed, "I'm sorry, that sucks for you."
"This is right out of a nightmare."
"Think of it this way, if the plane goes down, you won't feel anything when we die," she pointed out cheerfully.
Levi shot her a dirty look. "Not. Helping."
"Okay, if we crash on an unknown island and we're deserted and running out of food, and if you'd been injured in the crash, I promise not to let them put you on the dinner menu."
"Thanks," he deadpanned. More turbulence.
"It's alright," she leaned in, gripping his entire arm.
"How're you not terrified?" He asked her incredulously. She even seemed to be having fun.
Petra shrugged, "I love storms, and roller coasters."
"Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"I've tried to live my life to the fullest so I wouldn't have any regrets in situations exactly like this. I think I'm a pretty decent human being, so if heaven or hell do exist, I should be fine. If not, well, I'm too dead to care. So what's there to be afraid of?" She looked thoughtful. "If I had kids, then I'd be scared shitless of what might happen to them. Luckily I'm very single and an orphan."
"There's nothing you regret?"
"Well, there is one regret. Something I haven't done because..."
"Because why?"
"I haven't met the right guy yet."
Is she a virgin? Levi couldn't figure out how someone that looked like her and had her confidence hadn't had sex. Maybe it's matter of principle.
"I'd really like to try out all the positions in the Kama Sutra."
Levi's eyes widened comically.
"Unfortunately, all the relationships I've ever had were short-lived. It's like my body secretes a hormone that attracts the weird ones." Petra's eyes lit up. "Hey, it's calm now."
Levi lifted the panel and looked out the window. It was clearer. And they hadn't experienced any turbulence recently. It was confirmed by the pilot and people cheered. Petra rolled her eyes. She had enjoyed it and was reluctant to release Levi's arm, no longer needing her to keep him from a panic attack.
"Thanks," Levi said, one hand twitching, eyes making contact for a second before flitting away.
"No problem." She knew he was embarrassed and decided to spare him. He'd suffered enough for one night. "Do you live there?"
It took him a second to realize she was referring to their destination. "No."
She nodded. "I'm flying last minute because of an emergency meeting, at least the company's paying for it."
"The least they could do if they're making you take a red-eye without planning."
"I'm staying at the Silver Rose for a week," her eyes lit up, "four-star, all expenses paid. Totally worth it! What about you? Visiting family? On vacation?"
"No," he hesitated before answering. "I'm...doing something so that when I'm old and with one foot in the grave I won't regret not taking action."
"What?" Petra asked curiously.
"Well...there's this girl..."
God-fucking-dammit! I'm cursed! She bemoaned her bad luck. Underneath the theatrical annoyance, her heart sank. Ugh, I've only known him for ten minutes! Still, she felt despondent. "What happened?"
"I didn't stop her when she left, my friends all convinced me it wasn't too late and bought this plane ticket."
"You must really love her to get on a plane to go to her."
"Yeah..."
"Well," Petra undid the seatbelt, "I have a meeting at 9 am sharp and now that the plane's not in danger of dropping out of the sky," he winced, "I'm gonna grab some shut-eye. So," she smiled brightly, ignoring the heaviness in her chest, "good luck getting your girl."
She was sure the flash of disappointment in his eyes was her imagination. "Thanks," he said softly.
Petra took a sip of her coffee with one hand and thumbed through her email with the other. Mentally she went through her checklist: wallet, phone, flash drive, and hotel key. The company car was waiting outside to take her so she didn't have to worry about being lost and late.
"Hey."
Petra halted mid-step when she felt a hand lightly touching her arm. Her eyes widened. "Levi? What?"
"Sorry, you never gave me your name," he quickly retracted his hand, not wanting to weird her out. Though she might just be after he explained why he was there.
"It's Petra, sorry, I guess it slipped my mind," she shook her head and smiled. "What're you doing here?" She eyed him with a gentle look. "Did everything work out with the girl?"
"Yeah, about her." Levi scratched his undercut before dropping his hand. "I didn't see her."
"What happened?"
"I went to her place and then I stood in front of her door."
"Was she not home?"
"She was, but when I got there, I realized my heart just wasn't into it," he shrugged. "I...it takes some time for me to really connect with people and make friends. I liked her and my friends got it into their heads I was in love and should be happy. I guess I let them talk me into believing them. It's stupid I know," Levi began quickly and defensively, "but I'm not very good with picking up on emotional stuff and—"
"It's okay," Petra smiled. "They know you and care about you, they only wanted to help."
"Yeah," he nodded. "They think I'm completely emotionally handicapped so they decided to step in for my own good. But..."
"But?"
Here it goes. Levi finally looked directly into Petra's eyes. If he was wrong—which wouldn't surprise him much considering his utter lack of social skills—about having misinterpreted her on the plane, he was about to humiliate himself and make her incredibly uncomfortable.
He took a breath. "All the crap my friends are always sprouting, I was standing at her door and I realized I didn't feel that about her."
"No?" Petra's heart pounded at his intense stare.
"Dorky as it sounds, I closed my eyes and pretended I was on a plane about to go down and immediately my biggest regret wasn't not going after her but...you." When Petra didn't reply, Levi began to fidget, face heating up. "If I got it wrong don't feel you have to spare my feeling or whatever." He knew he was now blushing in embarrassment and felt immense disappointment. "I can leave and—"
"Stay," Petra said.
"Really?" He asked disbelievingly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she beamed, "I'm sure." Before the conversation could go further, her phone buzzed. "Crap! I have to go or I'll be late!"
"Go then, I'll get a room and tell the reception desk to notify you when you ask." He didn't want to waste her time exchanging phone numbers.
Petra thought about it quickly and fished out her keycard and held it up for him. "Take it," she insisted. "I'm here for work for three days but it's paid for the week." Before he could accept or reject, she shoved it into his hands and back away. "I really gotta go. I'll see you in a few hours!"
"Okay, but just so you know," Levi said quickly, "you'll have to go on at least three dates with me before I help you with that regret."
Petra laughed as she turned back, still walking, "Dinner tonight?"
Levi smiled, heart skipping in excitement. "It's a date."
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