He thought it strange she had one day, completely out of the blue, picked up knitting. While he was never one to question Petra's personal hobbies, he still found it the slightest bit odd that someone such as her, who would rather train outside until the sun had set for the day than sit cooped up indoors, would choose to pick up something so …dull. Of course, it goes without saying his young wife's new hobby of knitting had no parallels or comparisons with his knack for mending and sewing clothes; one was out of necessity, the other leisure.
But her new hobby posed no threat to him, Levi dismissing any questions as to why she had chosen to start into the recesses of his mind. He noted how easily frustrated it made her at first, hearing her mumble at the piece she had been practicing on, pulling apart the yarn to start the row over. It was admirable, he thought, after two weeks had passed and she was still putting in all the effort she could spare into her knitting. While what few things she had already made weren't the best handiwork he had ever seen, it was further than most others would ever drive themselves. Though in all honesty, he couldn't truly be too surprised, certainly not with a woman who entertained the military and trained as hard as she did to better herself against the enemy.
"What are you making?" He had asked her one evening in their room, his curiosity getting the best of him. Her tongue was sticking between her lips in concentration as she carefully finished the last loop of the row. Showing him her progress, her lips curved into a smile.
"Nothing really, I guess it'll be a scarf. I'm mostly just practicing." Her foot tapped against the basket next to the chair she had been sitting in, filled with searches of patterns and balls of yarn.
He hummed in response, glancing over the basket and it's contents, before moving to his desk to finish some work and leave her to her own.
The weather growing colder was indicative of the Holidays fast approaching. Each day that passed, he watched as she dedicated more and more time to this hobby, if he could even call it that anymore. Petra hadn't been feeling to well that week, a virus passing through their headquarters with the young woman finding herself to be one of the lucky recipients. She had insisted she was fine at first, but finally caved to a few days rest under Levi's hard stare. But even in bed, she had busied herself with knitting; the needles only leaving her hands when she took a break or when Levi wanted her attention.
Her work with her hobby continued, her light curses with each mistake growing more in decibel and frustration with each day closer to Christmas. It honestly puzzled him, this behavior his wife had taken on, her dedication to her knitting almost as strong as her dedication to the military. She had spent most of Christmas Eve in their room, sitting in her wooden chair and working. She had refused to let him see any of her work, dismissing and poking at him with her knitting needles each time he passed and tried to take a look inside her basket, now covered with a sheet.
"Are you finished yet?" Levi asked her, sitting on the edge of their bed as he waited for her. Petra's nose was wrinkled, lower lip tucked between her teeth in concentration as she worked on casting off the piece in hand. A few minutes passed, Levi pinching the bridge of his nose and debating on whether or not it was a good idea to pull rank on her to get her to come to bed before finally hearing her sigh contently.
"I'm all finished." She announced, tucking what looked like a scarf into her basket. She stood, stretching her achy limbs, and coming over to bed. She kissed him goodnight, and without anything else said, she went to sleep.
As Levi woke on Christmas morning, he wasn't too surprised Petra wasn't at his side. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced to her 'knitting chair,' noting the folded sheet and empty basket. He pushed himself from bed, dressing for the day before making his descent to the lower level of their headquarters.
He tried his best to avoid everyone he could, each person wishing him not only a Merry Christmas, but a Happy Birthday as well. He wasn't able to avoid Hanji, of course, who had sought him out within minutes of him leaving his room.
"Look what Petra gave me for Christmas." Hanji showed him a knitted scarf, currently wrapped around her neck. He had noticed many of his comrades donning similar scarves or hats, all the handiwork of his young wife. Each piece certainly looked nice, the hard work of her continuous effort shining through.
When he arrived in the common room, he had finally found the young woman, a smile on her face as she stood next to the decorated pine tree inside the room.
"Well, I've been waiting for you; I didn't think you would ever come down." She spoke, holding two boxes in her hands, one larger than the other. Petra stepped closer to him, giving him a peck on the cheek before handing him the boxes.
"These are for you, from me…but I want you to open the smaller one first."
With a quirked brow, he nodded, taking both boxes and setting the larger one on a nearby table. He looked over the wrapped gift, noting the small 'Happy Birthday' written in her hand-writing on the top, before pulling the paper off and opening the box. His brows furrowed a tad bit more than the expression daily plastered onto his face as he studied the contents of the box. Levi picked up the two, small knitted pieces to investigate them with a bewildered shine in his eyes. It was a pair of what looked like socks, and while he was small in size compared to the average man, there was certainly no way he could even pull them over his toes let alone his whole foot.
"These are baby socks." He spoke, turning them in his hand before picking up a matching hat within the box to go with them.
"Well…I've been told that a mother has to at least know how to make clothes for her baby." She rocked on her heels as she spoke. It wasn't until realization dawned on him that Levi finally locked his gaze onto the smiling woman before him.
"You're…?"
She nodded. "Yes, I am."
It suddenly all made sense to him now.
"I didn't want to say anything at first because…there's always a chance of miscarrying this early but the infirmary doctor said the risk has decreased now that I'm further along." Petra stepped closer to him, taking one of the socks into her hand.
"I hope you're not mad that I didn't tell you right away?" It certainly wasn't something she would have wanted to keep from him, but there was no use in getting both their hopes up should something happen.
Levi sighed through his nose, taking the sock gently from her grasp and setting it in the box. Placing it on the table beside him, he pulled Petra into his arms, holding her tight as a silence fell over them.
"Of course not." He whispered to her, his lips brushing against her cheek before pulling back to look at her. The smallest smile curved his lips, his expression softened. He wasn't sure what to say to her, he wasn't sure exactly how to feel. He was worried for sure, but with worry came happiness; happy for her by his side, happy for their future together, happy to finally have a family to call his own.
He kissed her, a slow, chaste meeting of their lips, though lingered once they had parted, their foreheads touching.
"Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Levi." Petra whispered to him, her arms around his waist. She nuzzled her face into his neck, feeling his grip on her tighten once again.
"Thank you, Petra." He spoke. His words were few, but within them, they held more than just a simple response; the embodiment of his love for her.