I felt like writing another chapter on this story so...I did.

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Petra woke up the next morning and got moving immediately, she jumped in the shower, brushed her teeth and hair, applied her makeup and then returned to her bedroom to think about her outfit for the day.

It was Wednesday, the day of the barbeque at Hanji and Moblit's house and Reiner would be here before too long to pick her up. A good outfit that was practical enough for an indoor/outdoor event was important and she wanted to look as put together as she did at work so no one would think she was a scrub muffin in her free time.

She finally settled on a mid thigh length skirt with just the right amount of flare without being too loose in case the wind picked up, she slipped on black leggings to cut the chill of the fast approaching autumn temperatures. She put on a simple white tank top and layered it up with a form fitting teal jacket and then looked in the mirror, smiling at her reflection. Yes...this definitely looked good, and it would look even better with her knee high, black leather boots with just enough heel to be sexy yet practical.

There was a knock on her door and Petra grabbed said boots and trotted happily to the front door, opening it and smiling brightly at Reiner.

"Hey, Petra! Wow, you look really hot!" he greeted without missing a beat, his signature smile spreading over his handsome face, golden eyes sparkling.

Petra giggled and took a moment to take in her date's appearance. He wore dark, relaxed fit jeans and a forest green, tight fitting t-shirt with a black blazer jacket, and brown dress boots...she thought he looked pretty hot himself but she wouldn't dare say such a thing out loud. She needed to remember not to encourage him too much.

"Thank you, Reiner," she replied, "You look very well put together as well."

"I have been told God put me together well," he informed her with a wink, "You ready to go?"

"Yes! I'm so excited for this!" Petra said, grabbing her purse off the catch-all desk and closing the door behind her and locking it before falling into a relaxed walk beside Reiner as they headed down the hallway to the stairs that led to the building's lobby.

"This is a real nice apartment building," Reiner commented, looking up at the chandelier that hung over the lobby, "Like really, really nice. You rich or something?"

"My family is very well off," Petra offered, not in the mood to discuss her father's business or her family affairs, "Where do you live, Reiner?"

"Aw, just in a regular old house outside of the city," he responded with no shame, "I commute to work."

Petra nodded and she smiled when he held the door open for her and they stepped outside. Reiner led her down the steps and around the corner to where he'd parked at the parking meters on the street and Petra had to hold back a laugh when she saw what he was driving...because she was amazed a large man like him could even fit in it! It was a very small, a mini Cooper, Petra believed and he looked like a giant next to it!

Watching Reiner get in was almost like watching a contortionist...but Petra knew that, as funny as he must look getting in and out of it, no one could ever say something negative to such an intimidating and good looking man. It was sort of unfair in a hilarious way.

They drove along, talking easily and singing along terribly together to random music that came on the radio, Reiner played drums on the steering wheel and bounced his left leg to the beat.

"Do you play any other kind of music on the drums besides Jazz at the club?" Petra asked as she watched his thumbs and leg keep perfect rhythm to the rock song that was playing currently.

"Yeah, I play anything and everything," he informed her, "I mean except for that rap shit. There's no challenge in that, it's very repetitive and there's no room for any fun tricks."

Petra nodded in agreement, she liked all kinds of music but she wasn't overly fond of most rap either. And she despised modern "R & B" because, in her opinion, it was no such thing.

"You seem like a hard rock fan to me," Petra offered, wondering if she was correct.

"I actually like country from a listening standpoint, but rock is the most fun to play," he said as the song finished, "Good guess though."

They chatted like this for the length of the drive and Petra realized they were headed out of town. Eventually they came to a ranch-style house on the outskirts of the city and Petra saw that the backyard was already full of party-goers. She felt a jolt of excitement and eagerly left the car as soon as Reiner parked it at the curb.

"I was gonna open your door for you," he commented almost sadly and Petra blushed.

"Oh, sorry! I always tend to rush ahead and ruin any chance men have at chivalry," she admitted lamely.

Reiner laughed and they headed for the side gate to the yard, Hanji spotted them coming and she waved enthusiastically from her spot by the grill where she was flipping burgers.

"Hey, look everyone, Reiner and Petra are here!" she announced loudly and several people turned to greet them.

"Petra, Reiner, join us over here!" Ymir called loudly from a picnic table by the fence and they made their way to her, saying hello to people as they went. They took their seats across from Ymir, Krista and Sasha; next to Connie.

"How's the date going?" Ymir asked Petra as soon as she took her seat, her dark eyes alight with mischief as she gave Krista's arm a squeeze.

"So far so good," Petra responded honestly, "So far he's been a perfect gentleman."

Reiner's chest puffed out and he gave Ymir a smug look.

"See what you're missing, ladies?" he asked.

"No thanks," Ymir rolled her eyes and Krista giggled as she was pulled closer to her girlfriend's side, "I'll keep what I've got, thanks."

"Who said you have to choose between the two?" Sasha asked and Petra looked at her in surprise, but no one else seemed at all shocked. "I mean, you always have the option of a threeway."

"SASHA!" Connie buried his face in his arms on the picnic table and looked completely embarressed, "You need to learn to filter some stuff."

"I'm just saying..."

"I'm down if you two are," Reiner laughed, but then he glanced over at Petra and his laughter was cut short, "Uh, I mean, no way you guys, that's totally wrong...I'd never do anything like that!"

Petra shook her head and giggled slightly at Reiner's sudden change in countenance and she looked down at her phone to avoid having to comment. Her screen announced that she had a new message and she smiled widely, already knowing who it was from.

12:40 PM: Hey, dewdrop, will you go on a date with me?

Petra shook her head with a smile and she typed a reply quickly.

12:42 PM: I'm already on a date.

She knew this was probably not the nicest thing to do but she tapped Reiner on the shoulder and leaned back towards him, holding her phone out to snap a picture of them together. Reiner grinned and leaned in close, a wide smile spread over his face. She took the picture and then sent it to Auruo.

12:45 PM: Wish you were here though!

12:46 PM: *sigh* Me too...I should be there next to you, not that blond gorilla.

Petra covered her mouth to avoid laughing out loud. Come to think of it, Reiner's exceptionally large shoulders did give him a gorilla-like shape.

12:47 PM: Maybe you should take a day off now and then.

12:48 PM: You know I can't do that. But, damn, Hanji's barbeque ribs would be worth losing a day's wages over, for sure.

12:50 PM: You working construction today?

12:52 PM: *groan* Yeeeessss :( Laying concrete today for the foundation of a new apartment building downtown. Hot, dirty work...

Petra vaguely thought she shouldn't say what she was tying out...but she didn't listen to herself and hit send.

12:54 PM: Hot and dirty work sounds like work you'd be good at ;)

12:56 PM: O.o Shit...

12:56 PM: You really think so?

12:56 PM: I'd be glad to demonstrate my skills ;)

12:56 PM: Sorry. I'm just kidding.

"Hey, you guys," Moblit approached their picnic table with a plate full of various meats, "We got hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs and steak so take your pick!"

"Hamburger for me please," Krista stated and Moblit handed her a patty with a pair of tongs.

"Steak, medium rare if you got one," Reiner spoke up and Moblit nodded before digging a thick steak out from the bottom of the pile.

"Steak for me too, rare!" Sasha held out her plate and began to drool when the steak was placed on it.

"Ribs for me," Connie said happily.

"Me too," Ymir agreed.

"Make that three of us," Petra said, "I have heard amazing things about these ribs."

Moblit gave Petra a wide smile.

"Because of mine and Hanji's secret barbeque sauce recipe," he informed her, "Auruo Bossard has a foodgasm every time he eats these."

Petra could definitely see why that would be true as she bit into her first bite of the ribs...holy shit, these were DELICIOUS! Definitely foodgasm inducing.

Moblit moved on to give other people their food and the picnic table fell silent except for Sasha's obnoxiously loud, open-mouthed chewing as she practically inhaled her steak. The yard was filled with upbeat reggae music and the sounds of people having spirited conversation and Petra felt like this was a goodbye to summer sort of party and it was being milked for all its worth. Mike, Hanji, Levi and Erwin stood off by the grills, deeply in conversation about something that seemed semi important, but Hanji was laughing and Levi was scowling at her slightly. Hitch and Marlow sat at the roots of a tree and were making goo goo eyes at eachother as they chewed their food. Berthold and Annie were holding hands as they listened to Jean telling some sort of bragging story, Annie rolled her eyes occasionally. Eren, Mikasa, Marco and Armin were at the end of the yard playing catch with a frisbee. Eld and Gunther were in charge of drinks and were going around with a cooler filled with soda cans offering them to guests.

"Hey, Petra, how are you today?" Petra winced slightly at Gunther's voice in her ear, his tone was full of teasing and she knew she was in for a prodding later on.

"I'm just fine, thanks," she said curtly, giving him a look of warning, "I came here with Reiner."

"I know, I saw you come in together," Gunther informed her, "Drinks, everyone?"

They all dug through the cooler and took their assorted drinks. Eld and Gunther moved on to the next group of guests but Petra didn't miss the knowing looks they exchanged with eachother right before they glanced over their shoulders at her. Great...now both of them were in on it?

The afternoon wore on and Petra was immersed in the fun of the party easily. They played yard games like bocci and lawn darts (which Petra swore were illegal...), they ate more food than was probably healthy and the dessert spread was incredible. Petra ate two slices of pie and a brownie and she felt the sugar rush hit her just as the music changed to popular dance music and she jumped into the "Cotton Eye Joe" line dance with nearly drunken enthusiasm.

They danced for a long time, The Cupid Shuffle, The Macarena, the Tootsie Roll, it was like a throwback to the 1990s and Petra loved every second of it! She was enjoying herself so much that she didn't even realize how late it was getting until Reiner pulled her out of the Electric Slide and told her he had to take her home in time to get ready for work.

Oh, right...they had to work tonight! She noticed that several people had already left and she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I need to get home and get ready too," she said, feeling a bit sad to leave the party.

They made their way towards the gate they'd entered earlier and then Petra was struck with an idea and she told Reiner to wait a moment for her then she went back to where Moblit was covering plates of leftovers with plastic wrap.

"Hey, Moblit, if you have any ribs left over, may I have some?" she asked, "I'd like to give them to Auruo on my way home."

Moblit grinned and nodded, handing her a plate heaped full of ribs.

"Here, take all of them," he told her, laughing lightly, "Auruo could eat a horse after work. I saw him inhale an entire large pizza once...it was terrifying and impressive at the same time."

Petra imagined it had been more unsettling than either of those things.

"Thanks, Moblit," she said happily as she accepted the plate, "And thank you for having me to the party. It was really a great time."

"Any time, Petra," Moblit said with a smile, "See at work tonight!"

Petra waved at everyone as she trotted back towards Reiner and followed him to his car by the curb.

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"Reiner, can we stop by the construction site on 49th on our way back?"

"Sure, babe, but why?" Reiner agreed without even hesitating.

"I want to give this plate of ribs to Auruo," she informed him, "Moblit said he loves these and I figured he'd like to have them for dinner before work."

Reiner gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes but he nodded and changed course to head for 49th Street, which wasn't too far away, luckily. Petra picked up her phone and realized with a jolt that she had completely forgotten to respond to any messages all day...there were several from Auruo.

1:00 PM: Did I take that joke too far?

1:10 PM: Petra?

1:15 PM: Shit...are you mad at me?

2:00 PM: You can slap me tonight at work if that will make you feel better...

It was now around four in the evening. Whoops.

When they arrived at the construction site, Petra saw several workers leaving and she hoped they hadn't missed him and he was already gone, but then she saw him standing with a group of men by the cement truck off to the side of the site. Petra waited for him to look over and then she waved at him, he hesitated a moment and then said goodbye to his coworkers before making his way around the large base of the construction area to where she and Reiner stood waiting.

Petra was not mentally prepared for the sight that was Auruo in his construction worker persona. He walked towards them with a wide lope type of walk, and Petra's tummy flipped as he got closer and she could see him better. He wore fairly tight fitting, faded blue jeans and a very tight white shirt...both were covered in flecks of grey that she knew was cement and his shirt was sticking tight to him with sweat. He removed the bright yellow safety helmet which made his hair stick out crazily and he kicked aside a piece of metal in his way with his thick soled work boots.

"Hey, you guys," he greeted them both a little stiffly as he picked a bit of dried cement off his bare forearm, his eyes were not very friendly when they flicked over to Reiner, "How was the party?"

"It was great! Lots of fun, too bad you couldn't come," Reiner replied and Petra knew he was trying to make a point...oh no...

"Some of us have responsibilities other than beating around on drums and being playboys," Auruo replied without any hesitation.

"I'm not a playboy!" Reiner looked genuinely insulted and he glanced over at Petra to judge her response, "And at least I don't have a giant stick up my ass."

"Your ass is too tight to even get a stick in there!"

As much as Petra thought this argument could be extremely entertaining, she stepped between them and held up the paper plate full of ribs and shoved them at Auruo who looked shocked and fumbled with them a bit as he took the offered plate.

"Here, I brought these for you," Petra said, bumping Reiner with her hip in a signal to break up the cock fight and get back a bit, "Moblit said you love them. Apparently they're foodgasm inducing."

Auruo eyed her with an odd expression for a moment before he smiled widely and blushed.

"Aw, geez, Petra, thanks a lot!" he said with genuine enthusiasm, and he took on a mischievous expression, "You must have been thinking about me, huh?"

Reiner let out a light growl and Auruo's lips curled slightly in a small snarl for a moment before he smiled at Petra again.

"Ugh, come on, Reiner, let's go, I just wanted to give him those," Petra rolled her eyes and turned around, pretending to ignore Auruo until Reiner nodded and turned to head back to his car, then she turned back around for a moment and whispered, "I might have thought of you once or twice."

She winked and then turned to catch up with Reiner, leaving Auruo holding his plate of ribs and looking quite taken aback, a smile slowly forming on his face as he watched them pull away and drive off.

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It was an uneventful night at the club and Petra found herself sitting at home after work full of energy and with nothing to do. Auruo had refused her offer to drive her home and, after a text to see if she was home safe, he'd told her was exhausted and was now asleep. It was close to 3 AM and no one else was awake to talk to either...so she was sitting on her couch with her laptop, Marty curled up next to her.

She was checking her FaceSpace when the idea came to her...did Auruo have a page on here?

She typed his name in the search bar and, sure enough, his was the only name of the sort that showed up on the dropdown list and it said they had mutual friends so she knew it was him. She hesitated her mouse over his name for a slight moment, knowing she could very well be opening a can of worms she could regret, and then clicked.

The first thing she noticed, of course, was his page picture: Eld, Gunther and him were all leaning towards the camera with matching grins, pointing at a tiny fish on the end of Eld's fishing line. Petra giggled at it and then scanned down the list of posts on the page.

"Another day another dollar" he'd said as his status that afternoon.

"Hey, man, when are we going to go camping again?" from Eren.

A picture he posted of Idjit with her leash wrapped around her legs that had the caption "She is so dumb"

Became friends with April Fischer on September 5th.

Ugh...April from the diner. Obviously he didn't update very often because that was nearly two weeks ago. Petra scanned through a few more posts and then moved on to the good part...pictures.

One album was entirely pictures of Idjit in various states of clumsy cuteness and she realized that as much as he talked down about the little Pekingese mutt his pictures told a different story.

Another album was labeled "Before and After" and she clicked on it...and her eyes nearly popped out of her skull at the images that flooded her eyesight. Auruo, shirtless, flexing various body parts at the camera. The before pics showed him as slight and skinny with very little muscle definition; the after pics...were the opposite, his arms thick and defined, his back muscles obvious and sculpted, his abdomen rippling. Apparently after his mess up in college he must have devoted a lot of time to working out and putting his energy into it to let off steam.

Damn. Oh, damn! Petra quickly clicked out of the album and started to scroll down all the pictures other people had tagged him in...and she immediately regretted it. Not too far down was a picture of Auruo and a girl, a girl she recognized. April Fischer.

It was an innocent enough photo...on his part. However, she was pressed very close to his chest and she seemed to have pressed her lips to his cheek at the last moment of the picture. Petra growled at the picture and then read the comments beneath it and growled even louder.

"Had a wonderful time with you, baby!"- April Fischer

"Damn, Auruo, she's prettier than you made her out to be!" - Eren Jaeger

"Isn't that April from the diner?" -Gunther Schultz

"April, what the hell? That guy looks like 50!" -Amy King

Petra didn't know who Amy King was but she assumed she was blind because Auruo did NOT look that old! Ok, Petra had to admit, he looked older than she assumed he was but he did NOT look anywhere near 50!

She clicked out of that particular picture and went on down to see what else she could find. There were a few pictures of him on stage at the club, some random shots with Auruo simply in the back ground and tagged, several pictures of him with Gunther and their dogs out on a walk, some pictures of Auruo cracking stupid grins and making faces and...oh, gracious, a picture of him with his entire family!

He stood next to his mother and father who were both seated on a bench and they were surrounded by boys, six all together. Auruo was definitely the eldest and Petra immediately thought that they were one of the best looking families she'd ever seen, all of them so happy and genuine, she could tell just from looking at them that this was a family full of love and tight bonds.

Petra smiled gently at the picture and, somehow, this was all she needed to see...his college days full of mistakes, women of his past, stupid things he may have said or done that was caught on camera...none of that mattered now that she was looking at that family photo, because THAT was the real Auruo Bossard.

She clicked out of the page and closed her laptop for the night. She leaned down and gave Marty a kiss between the ears, causing the cat to begin purring loudly, and then she stood and made her way to her bedroom.

Maybe she would stalk his page more tomorrow, but bed was calling and she had had a long and busy day. Marty joined her on the bed, curling up on the empty pillow next her and Petra fell asleep easily to the sound of purring.

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Tada! Whipping out chapters like a boss!