"Heichou," he hears softly. "Levi-Heichou," she says with a little more confidence.
"What." He states, taking his feet off of his desk.
"You were dozing off. I can finish the paperwork if you want to go re-"
"No. I'm fine." He picks up the cup of coffee by the top and takes a sip. It has only a hint of cream and sugar. Only Petra knows how to make coffee to his liking. While putting the cup down his hand knocks over his inkwell.
"Damn it," He murmurs under his breath. He quickly takes a rag near him and polishes the ink away, leaving the desk cleaner than it was before. He goes to pick up the jar of ink from the floor. While bending over, all of his muscles tense while a rapid pain shoots through his body. He is still sore from last night's expedition and freezes in his position.
"If that little brat had just been able to do his job…" he thought to himself.
"Heichou!" Petra cries out after noticing Levi's body tensing. She helps Levi onto the sofa.
"Rest Heichou, please. You did not last night either. It is still a few hours till daybreak, you can go sleep." Petra says.
"Tch. I am fine Petra." He glances down at his shirt and notices all the splashes of ink at the hem and scowls.
Filthy, he murmurs under his breath. Petra reads his lips.
"Let me." Petra wets a rag in the sink and dabs at the stains. They fade but do not come out.
"You are not going to get it out like that" Levi yanks off his jacket and unbuttons his shirt. He slowly walks over to the sink and starts scrubbing out the stains. Petra trails behind him hesitantly and lightly traces the scars on his back. They are lines from the 3D Maneuver Gear dug deep into his skin. Levi's entire body tenses and he grips the sink's edge harshly.
"I am sorry Heichou I did not mean to…" Her voice trails off and her cheeks grow dark red as she bows. He turns around to face her and takes both her hands in his as she slowly raises her head. A few moments pass by where Levi intensely continues to look into her eyes, as if he is trying to assess her. Petra is able to maintain his stare and looks into the slightly widened storm grey eyes wondering and a little terrified at what lies beneath them.
"LEVIII-HECHIOU" they hear as Hanji comes smashing through the door.
"Ohh…did I interrupt something" Hanji says playfully. Levi drops her hands and turns to face Hanji, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. Petra, embarrassed and blushing, turns away.
"Don't you knock? What do you want, idiot," Levi states
"Well I was just here to inform you on the great advancements I have made with the Titan Subjects."
"I'll take my leave Heichou" Petra says as she walks out toward the doorframe.
"No, Stay." Levi glares at Hanji and says through his teeth "I will meet with you later with Erwin"
"Okayyyy. I don't mind staying though…I want to hang with my friends-"
"Shut up."
"okay okay no need to be so hostile" Hanji skips out the door giggling.
"Petra, close the door…I don't want her back in here" Levi says as he puts his shirt back on as it has dried. He sits back on the sofa, his whole body has relaxed. His constant frown slowly turns into a slight smile. Petra had never seen this side of him before, at ease and somewhat happy.
"What are you smiling about?" Petra asked.
"I have embarrassed you, haven't I" Levi says
"N-n-no Heichou- I ju-I-I thought….I embarrassed you" Petra stammers nervously.
"You can never embarrass me. Hanji already does that" Levi says dropping his smile. Petra relaxes and lets out a laugh. She hesitates for a moment before sitting on the couch beside him.
"We should get back to work…" Petra says. Levi simply nods and brings a stack of paperwork towards the coffee table and sofa.
"Heichou?"
"My desk chair isn't very comfortable. Is this okay?" Petra simply nods and continues on with their work. After working in silence for another hour, Levi feels Petra start to lean against his shoulder.
"Pet-" He turns around only to realize she has dozed off. He feels something stir inside him, something that hasn't in a while. He hesitates but kisses her on the forehead. He takes her warm hand in his cold one and continues to fill out the paperwork.
Fuck. You are in love with her. What happens if you cannot protect her? What happens if you fail? You've already lost everything you love before. Do you want to lose even more? Levi's thoughts bounce across his brain.
After finishing all of the paperwork, they both still have an hour before they need to report to the mess hall. Petra starts to stir. Part of being a soldier is that peaceful sleep rarely comes. She starts to murmur words in her sleep but nothing Levi can make out. Eventually she is awakened to realize she is squeezing Levi's hand and crying in her sleep. Levi does not notice she is awake yet…he seems to be in a faraway land himself.
What am I doing? Petra thought to herself. He is my commanding officer…i can't...he can never know...but he does look handsome when he is occupied with his own thoughts.
"Morning" Levi says as he feels Petra release her grasp.
"Oh Heichou! I-I-I"
"You were having a nightmare. Are you okay now?" he asks without looking at her.
"Yes… I am fine…" She says as she wipes away her tears with her sleeve.
"Good." He says moving his gaze towards her eyes.
This time when they look at each other there is no fear or judgement. Only love. He moves in closer without dropping her gaze and rests his hand on her thigh. He freezes with their noses barely touching, and stared deep into her eyes. Petra glances down at his hand and entwines hers with his. Then, like a flash of lightning, his mouth was on hers. She brings her hands up to his chest and snakes them around his neck. He pulls her closer by the hips. His hands run all over her body- just as agile as he is on the battlefield. Petra has slight shivers running up and down her body, an after effect of wherever Levi touches. Levi's cold hands are warmed up by Petra's body. Petra has to push back for air but Levi continues to work his mouth up and down her neck. A slight moan escapes Petra's mouth and Levi lightly bites her lower lip while kissing her to silence it. He takes her in his lap and Petra giggles at the fact she was sitting in her Heichou's lap.
"Levi-Heichou," She whispers in a breathy voice, "I think we need to leave"
"Shh," He quiets her by putting his finger on her lips and kisses her neck once more.
Petra slowly moves off to the side of the couch and Levi rests his head in her lap. She giggles and plays with his hair while he looks into her eyes.
"We are going to get late" She laughs.
"I can talk to Erwin. We are very close you know" He says as he kisses her hand.
"Oh really- I didn't notice" They both get up and get ready for the day. Petra kisses his cheek once more before heading out the door.
"What will we tell the others?" She asks suddenly concerned when they are outside Hanji's office.
"Whatever we want." He leans in for a kiss and Petra blushes and turns away. Despite his soldier-like reflexes, Levi seemed unaware that Hanji was standing right beside them.
"Oi Levi, now I see why you wanted me to leave so quickly." Hanji teases.
"Hanji-san we would really appreciate if we could keep this fairly secret…" Petra says timidly, "I really don't want anyone to make any assumptions or quick judgments or-"
"OII LOOK AT HEICHOU HE IS NOT FROWNING" Jean says.
"Petra- what have you done for-err-to Heichou?" Eren teases.
"Shut up you little brats" Levi says while shooting them a hostile look.
"So much for secrecy, ay Petra?" Hanji asks playfully.
Mikasa hits both Jean and Eren over the head. "I apologize on their behalf- We are really happy for the both of you" She glances over at the couple and back at Eren a little jealously.
"OI, Let's leave these two alone now...get back to…business" Hanji says as she escorts them all to the Mess Hall and throws a cheesy wink toward Levi and Petra.
Levi's frown finds his face again and his hair hangs to cover his eyes. Petra nervously laughs at what has just happened.
"I love you Levi. I have and will always" Petra says as she takes his hands and leads them to her waist.
Levi softly kisses her temple and whispers something in her ear that makes her turn bright red. They both leave for the Mess Hall. Erwin doesn't chastise them for being late. He just looks at Levi and gives a knowing smile.
Expedition after expedition, nightmare after nightmare, both are always there for each other- on and off the battlefeild. Until one expedition where he was separate from his squad. He comes back to find Petra dead, thrown against a tree, face first. Levi didn't see the dirt and blood coated soldier when he picked up her body. He saw his beautiful bride, a mother to be, his last love abandoned by him.
I could have saved her. I could have been there. I should have been there. I am all alone again.
To this day, if they are in the forest, he can hear the screams of his beloved Petra. And he often think of joining her just to hear her beautiful voice instead.