She knocks the door to his room. Everyone else should be asleep now, so they will not see them.
"Come in, Petra" Levi says from inside.
Of course he knows it's her. Who else would come to his chambers at this hour?
It's impossible for her to see her own eyes, but she knows for sure that they are shining when they meet him inside. He gets up from his chair, walks towards her and places a quick kiss on her cheek. "Goddess" he whispers in delight.
She beams at him, while her small, delicate hands land on his torso. "Levi?"
"Hm?"
"I… I still have my… my snickerdoodles" she lowers her head and blushes. "I'm so sorry! It was supposed to have ended by now. I don't know why—"
"Petra" he stops her firmly. "Are you apologizing for having your period?"
"I know you've been waiting a lot. So have I".
"I'm a 33-year-old virgin and you think I mind waiting a few days?"
"I know I'm growing impatient. And I imagine—I mean, I hope that you are desperate too".
"Of course I want you like hell, brat. Just the sound of you knocking on my door makes me horny as fuck".
"Oh, Levi!" she rests her forehead against his. "I only have to listen to your voice to get wet right away. I mean… Now I'm already wet down there because of all of this blood. But even if I wasn't, I would still be! You know, I mean… Besides the period—Sorry, I meant the 'snickerdoodles'! I… Oh, God! I'm so stupid!" she pulls away from him and sighs. "I suck at this a lot, right?"
"I think I'm going to enjoy seeing you suck" he smirks.
That's it. Petra can't keep her hands off of him. She pulls his face forcefully into hers, taking him by surprise. Their kiss is intense. She trails her fingers along his undercut, as her pulse flatters. He moans inside her mouth and pulls her closer. She can feel his excitement growing underneath his pants. This is so good. So freaking good.
"Enough for today" Levi nips at her lower lip and gently pushes her away. "To be continued".
Darn her stupid snickerdoodles!
"I should warn you about a few things first" Petra says in a low voice. "I… I don't have very big boobs".
"Really? And here I thought you were at least double D" he maintains his usual stoic expression.
Petra can't help but chuckle and elbow him slightly. "I just want to make sure you won't be disappointed. Not only by my breast. Generally. I… Um… I may not be good at it".
Levi huffs. "Not like I have a comparison standard".
"Yeah…" she lowers her head.
It's true. She must be better than nothing, right? She has no experience. She will not be perfect. She will not meet his expectations. She won't fulfill his erotic fantasies. It may be super awkward at first. Painful even. But it should get better in time. Maybe there will be a day when Levi will like having sex with her.
"Shit. I phrased it wrong" Levi's thumb lifts her chin up and makes her look directly at him. "What I meant to say is that… it will be you. Even if I had slept with one hundred women, you'd still be incomparable".
"Levi…" she sheds a happy tear. His words give her enough encouragement to propose what has been in her mind for a while: "I was thinking… Tonight we can't go all the way, but… but maybe I could please you, if you'd like".
"Please me?"
"If you want. I'll try my best" she tries to sound confident.
He ruffles her hair. "It's not fair. You don't have to do all the work".
"You can do things too. If you want! I mean… I can take my shirt off and… and—"
"No".
"B-but… But you said you wanted me".
"This is big, okay?" he grabs her by the shoulders. "It's going to be our first. I want it to be complete. Don't want anything to hold us back".
"So… it's all or nothing?" she gives him a sheepish smile.
"All or nothing. I want to give you everything".
Petra hugs him tightly. He's everything she ever wanted.
"Shit. The hell, Petra? Are you crying?" he scoffs at her.
"Never mind me! I'm just super happy" she soon sobs uncontrollably. Levi rolls his eyes and sighs. But he lets her cry on his chest.
"Erwin was right" he exhales.
Petra looks up in confusion. "What?"
"He said you were going to be the death of me. He was right. As always".
"When did he say that? Does he know about—"
"No. Of course not. It was on the previous expedition".
"We weren't together then" Petra's fingers play with his cravat.
"Yes, but…" he sighs deeply. "He noticed some things. And he's got an excellent intuition for everything. That man's a genius".
"What did he tell you?"
The Survey Corps. The 'crazy bunch' of the military. Always ridiculed when they return inside the walls. Always fewer soldiers coming back in than those who went out. They're riding their horses and march through the town, accepting humbly the crowd's curses, with their heads lowered. They'd never understand.
That is the case again today.
Erwin is at the front, ready to take every insult first. If only he had the strength to defend his soldiers. To shout to the world that their sacrifices were not for nothing. They were not a waste of their taxes. They were heroes.
Levi, always on his side, meets his skeptical gaze. That strange little man. A grumpy dwarf and at the same time 'Humanity's Strongest'. Many believe he has no weaknesses. He's only a killing machine. But Erwin knows better.
"You know…" he slightly turns to talk at him, while they were riding their horses side by side. "You have to believe that she's strong enough to protect herself".
Levi narrows his grey eyes. "The hell you are talking about?"
"The one who's distracting you on the battlefield. You know who".
"Cut the crap, Erwin. If you want to say something, say it to my face".
Stubborn as the first time he met him, back in the underground. Fine. If he wants him to be explicit, he will be.
"You can't always tell her to attend to the injured. You can't always send her to warn other flanks about titan encounters to drive her away from danger. She's a skilled soldier. That's why you picked her for your squad, right? We should use her talent, not keep her hidden".
"You want to take over my squad?" Levi holds the reins tighter. "Train them in my place? If you don't fucking trust me, then why did you even give me a squad of my own in the first place?"
"I'm not saying you're not a good captain. But you are also human. We all are. We all have… weaknesses".
"She's not— Tch. It's not what you think. Petra just… She reminds me of someone I used to care about" Levi admits in a low voice.
The face of a ginger girl dragged from the underground along with Levi comes to Erwin's mind. "Petra's not ending up the same way" he reassures him.
"Yeah? How do you know?"
"You'll have to believe in her".
"I believed in Isabela. I believed in Furlan. When they told me they'd be alright, I believed them. And look where that got them. I'm not letting Petra face the same fate".
"That's not your decision to take, Levi. She devoted herself to the Survey Corps. She made that choice. Knowing full well the risks. You can't keep her back. She doesn't need special treatment. You know that, right? She's an excellent soldier".
"You said it yourself, we're only human. Not always perfect. It could take just one moment of bad luck and then everything—"
"We don't know what will happen. No one's future is guaranteed. But I know that Petra will fight. You must let her".
"Erwin—"
"I swear, this girl is going to be the death of you, if you keep focusing on her instead of yourself" Erwin exhales. "She has devoted herself to the cause. Let her offer everything. I expect everyone of you to offer everything".
Erwin slightly kicks his horse and moves farther ahead, leaving Levi alone to think.
Petra is sitting on Levi's lap and gives him a quick kiss on the forehead when he ends his narration. "The Commander is good at noticing details".
"Mm. We'd better be extra careful around him, Petra".
"What happens if he finds out?"
"You either stay on the Elite Squad and we break up, or you get transferred to a different squad with Erwin's approval. Or we can simply give a middle finger to everyone, quit the military, open a teashop and have a bunch of shitty brats of our own".
Petra giggles. His humor will never be boring. Because… it's a joke, right? He only said that to make her laugh.
"Look, if you wish to continue to be in the Elite Squad, I won't stop you" Levi says. "We can pretend nothing between us ever happened. It may be awkward at first, but—"
"Levi, what the hell?" Petra gets up from his lap and casts him an angry expression. "We just got together and you're already—Ah! Gosh! You think my position in the army is more important than you?"
"I just want to give complete freedom over your choice. I can't pressure you".
"Well, I'm not giving you any freedom. I don't allow you to break up with me, okay? I don't care if you feel pressured. You'll have to accept it. You are mine forever and I'm not giving you an option to walk out of this relationship, because it's the best damn thing that's ever happened in my life! Understand that?"
Levi stares at her, speechless. The twist in his upper lip suggests that he likes 'dominating Petra'. She will keep that in mind.
Levi gestures for her to come and sit in his lap again. She obeys and he pecks a quick kiss to her forehead. "Got it, brat".