Hello and good greetings to one and all!

I have decided that next week, the update will take place not on Sunday, but rather on Saturday – the 13th

But Midnight, I can hear my loyal readers chant, why a day early pray tell; what has caused this phenomenon, when your Sunday updates have been going so well?

I'm so glad you asked! I will be posting a day early next week because it just so happens that the 13th *drumroll please* is MY BIRTHDAY! Yes, confetti canons and drinks all around! And if I do say so myself, next chapter (the one as teased below) is a doozy so it will be the perfect way for me to kick off my birthday :)

But let's not get too ahead of myself, there's still this chapter to get through. So yall enjoy, and see you at the end! (And apologies in advance for a long author's note!)

...

...

"Alright everyone, that's all for today. Dismissed." Levi stated with a nod, addressing his squad while sheathing his blades back into the metal canister; their work for the day finally completed.

The squad gave a nod and saluted before walking in a more relaxed manner off the training grounds. As they moved, talking lightly amongst themselves and making cracks about who performed the best, Levi called out, "Oi, Petra."

She turned over her shoulder, looking back toward Levi who merely motioned for her with a curl of his fingers. She nodded and began jogging back toward him, her breathing only slightly raised from their previous training session. She looked at him questioningly, "Hey, what's up?"

He paused for a slight moment and observed her, allowing her a moment to catch her breath then crossed his arms passively, "This Friday night, do you have any plans?"

Petra thought for a moment, then looked at him with a slight grin, "Well you're the Captain, you tell me."

He rolled his eyes, "Hilarious Petra. I'm being serious, do you already have the evening free or are you scheduled for kitchen duty or something else that I need to get you out of?"

She considered his question more seriously, not sure what was so important that made it so he was willing to pull rank just to clear her schedule for the evening. Well, he certainly had her attention. "No, I was on rotation last week so to my knowledge my schedule's pretty flexible. Why? What do you need?"

Levi nodded once toward the path that led out of the training grounds and began walking, hands moving down toward the gas canisters strapped around him and he carefully unbuckled the harness straps from off around it. Petra followed after him and did the same, more than happy to rid herself of the heavy equipment. Levi held one of the canisters freely in his arm and set to work on the second one, speaking as he worked to undo the belt that held it strapped securely in place, "It's the annual Officer's Banquet."

Petra nodded in recollection, holding her own gas canisters in her arms as she walked beside him on the dirt path, "Oh right right, I guess it is that time of year again isn't it?" She adjusted the weight of the metal in her arms and gave a small laugh, "Well if that's all it is, no stress! I'll let Eld know and he can take care of drills for the day; after all you have to get pretty dressed up for that right? I'm sure Eld will understand that you need some extra time to get ready. Just leave it to me!"

Levi nodded, "Well sure but-"

They reached the equipment hall, a small building stationed out beside the training grounds, and began to put their equipment away so the gas could be refilled, and their dull blades sharpened and returned to them by the following morning. There were a few Scouts that were also putting their canisters and blades away, so their conversation was temporarily silenced until they had both sorted their gear and began walking back toward the Compound.

Levi picked up where he left off once they were a few feet away from all the noise, "Petra, I was actually-"

"Oh right! Me! Sorry, I really should have guessed." She stated quickly after noting how the Captain was watching her with an expectant sort of stare. She hadn't intended to make him outright say it, but in her defense, he had to know how impossible it was to get a good read on him. She tried to appear casual and not make a big deal out of it, as she wasn't trying to hurt his pride. She gave a simple shrug, "Of course I can help out with your paperwork Levi, just tell me what you need and consider it done."

The Captain sighed.

Though he had well gotten over his illness and since returned to active duty numerous weeks ago, Petra had picked up a not so temporary habit of joining him in his office and helping him with whatever forms or documentation that came his way. At first he had resisted her help stubbornly, certain that it was just her attempts to prove her worth to him, but she insisted that she wanted to learn for her sake, not his. Try as he may, he could only withstand her constant nagging for so long before he finally gave in.

At first he had just monologued what he was doing and why, and when he finally felt comfortable enough to allow Petra to fill things out on her own again with only minimal supervision on his end, it was obvious she had indeed been taught by Hanji, as she had picked up a lot of Hanji's notably bad habits. For as long as Levi had worked with the Scientist, he had known her to be terribly disorganized, frequently used wrong numbers as a result, and would get so caught up in various numerical outliers that she ended up tripling her work with nothing to show for it but wasted paper and a string of illogical data with no resolution.

Levi intentionally and meticulously retaught Petra how to fill out each form to his liking - what data he was tracking, how he came to those numbers, things he recorded differently than Hanji did, and better methods of keeping the papers organized for future use. In the event that she actually decided to consistently be thumbing through his paperwork, they needed to be using the same system or it would just become a chaotic mess that neither could make sense of.

While he didn't quite like the idea of his subordinate doing his work, he figured that more than anything Petra was just curious and would get bored after a few days and eventually go back to whatever it was she had done with her time previously. Much to his surprise, instead of her popping in less and less as the days went by, he found that the more he taught her, it only resulted in her being even more diligent; hungry to learn new things and find new data to track. At this point it was very rare that their evenings were not spent side by side, huddled behind his desk and silently working on his paperwork as it came in – an admittedly nice change of pace from being constantly behind.

To her credit, she truly did seem to be absorbed in the data for her own interests, rather than simply wanting to help out as some sort of favor to him. She often explained while they worked that there was benefit to knowing the ins and outs of everything they had been tracking, as there were so many ways that the data could be applied. Why, it could be used for training, tracking the effectiveness of new formations, how well suited a Scout was for such and such position - Considering the numbers behind it all really weren't an interest of his, Levi would nod along and try to mentally drown her out as she went on and on about how such and such number had changed, why that may be, how it compared the last's weeks data – fuck, she was almost as bad as Hanji when it came to this sort of thing.

Even still…

"That's not what I'm talking about." Levi corrected, intentionally stopping in the middle of the path so he could get her attention long enough to say what he needed without her making even further assumptions. Petra noticed his sudden pause and also stopped walking, looking at him in question. He exhaled, "You're coming too, to the banquet I mean."

Her face showed signs of surprise, then a suspicious sort of expression slowly spanned across her face. Her voice was guarded, and she watched him seriously – a bad sign. "Wait. The entire squad is coming, or I am coming?"

Levi tried not to sigh, having hoped it wouldn't turn into this sort of conversation. He watched her pointedly, "Just you."

She clicked her tongue as a way of response and Levi all but groaned, knowing Petra, and knowing at once that this was not a good reaction regardless her calm demeanor. "I see. And why, might I ask? I'm not an Officer so unless there's an upcoming promotion you haven't told me about, not likely, by all accounts I shouldn't even be invited."

He watched her with an irritated expression, still hoping that he could somehow diffuse her impending and festering anger before shit hit the fan. His voice was more quiet and he took a step toward her, "Look, you know why. You're my wife now, legally at least, and spouses are invited by default."

Petra crossed her arms, taking a step back away from him and glaring tersely, no longer disguising her clear disapproval as her face wrinkled in anger, "Invited sure, but not required! Levi, people still watch me with this knowing stare, Eld's been telling me constantly that people are still hounding them with questions about it-"

"Eld has a big mouth-"

"And." Petra continued sharply, glaring in a manner that suggested she was not finished, "All due respect, but didn't we talk about this? You told me that it would all just be a stupid piece of paper that wouldn't impact the squad or how things worked, that this sort of thing-" she motioned between them with a point of her finger, "Would not be happening!"

Levi gave a low exhale and Petra crossed her arms stubbornly, "I do not want to go to a big gathering of higher-ups and be paraded around like a spectacle for people to make wild assumptions about for three hours straight where I have no avenue of escape. Thanks for the invite or whatever, but I'm not going. 'Spouses are invited so you're attending by default' yeah, to hell with that - This is not the time to wave that stupid marriage license in my face, Levi."

"Right." He stated simply as he stared at her with his own growing sense of aggravation, "Like you haven't been going around and using our arrangement to your advantage when it plays in your favor?" He was instantly regretting his words the second they came out of his mouth, but it was all too late. He watched her face glow red, whether from anger or pure embarrassment of being called out, he wasn't sure, but he braced himself all the same for what he knew was going to come.

She didn't disappoint.

Her voice was raised well beyond what was necessary for such a conversation, to such an extent that a few fellow Scouts stopped walking along the path, looking at them with wide eyes before realizing just who it was that was making such a commotion before scurrying away as though they hadn't noticed in the slightest. While Petra was the one that grabbed their attention, it was Humanity's Strongest that they feared, and whatever was going on between the Scout's salacious new couple, they did not want to be caught in the crossfire if it meant getting on the Captain's bad side.

"How dare you even imply such a thing!" Petra protested loudly, and Levi grimaced at her volume, "How can you even say that, you jackass! Where's the gratitude?! You were being sick and unreasonable; it's your fault I had to resort to that. For four days I slaved over you and now you have the audacity to – The least you could do is at least try and-"

"I know. I know." He stated quickly, his voice even more quiet in attempts to try to calm her down. He looked over his shoulder at the various Scouts walking past them with wide eyes, somewhat regretting his decision to have this conversation with her out in the open like this. He should have known she wouldn't take it well, and Petra had a long-standing history of loudly questioning what she didn't agree with. To her credit however, she did fall silent under his gaze after he cut her off, watching him with a suspicious glare and waiting for him to explain himself.

He took the opportunity to sort through his thoughts and pick his words carefully in hopes to not set her off again as the stares they were receiving weren't necessary, "If it makes you feel better, I agree with you. I find these events to be boring and insufferable and like you said there's really no reason for you to be there. The only problem is that spouses do traditionally attend, so you can bet Erwin went out of his way to ensure that you'd be coming along. He literally tracked me down and everything."

Petra's mouth fell open and she groaned, "Erwin again?" The fire seemed to leave her at this revelation, and she gave a sad sigh as she watched her Captain skeptically, "Levi… they're going to hate me. Can't you just tell the Commander that I'm not comfortable going? Would it help if I talked to him perhaps? I mean no offense Captain, but I have no intention of going out on a date with you – that, and being ridiculed and judged all Friday night sounds…less than ideal. Besides, I don't even have a dress!"

Levi mentally reviewed all of her excuses and reasons why she couldn't attend, inwardly noting with indignance that he had not once said it was a date, then frowned at her last point, "Now that is a problem, I didn't even think of that. Look - I hear you, okay?"

Petra gave a relieved exhale and halfway smiled triumphantly, thinking that Levi was finally seeing reason and a sense of validation came over her, "Well then, there you go. I don't have a dress, so I can't go. Give my regards to Erwin."

Levi rolled his eyes, again starting to walk down the dirt path, "Wha – no, not that, you know full well that I can't go around Erwin so you're coming like it or not."

Petra frowned as she chased after him, "But I thought…"

"Petra it's a dress, not fucking Atlantis. I think we can find you something in the next few days." He smirked at her dramatic reaction, her face already starting to turn red again, "Now I may have to have your schedule rearranged, but hey, I'm sure your Captain won't mind."

Petra merely glared at his tongue and cheek response, finding she didn't know what to say because the matter was so clearly out of her hands.

They reached the compound and Levi nodded, "Either way, I'll get it taken care of and let you know. Good work today, take the night off."

He moved down into the hallway, and Petra's eyes narrowed all the more as he walked away from her. She crossed her arms and popped out a hip, "I'll go, but I'm still coming to your office, Captain!"

"If you can get in." he corrected as he continued moving across the room, "I had a lock installed."

"Wha – since when?" she called out, her voice echoing across the large space of the common room.

Levi paused at the end of the room and looked toward her, a challenging sort of smirk across his face, "Since a pesky fucking brat kept coming in and messing with my shit. Take the night off."

With that, he continued down into the hall in silence.

…

...

It was a few hours later that Petra was pecking at her dinner, poking at the noodles halfheartedly with her fork and occasionally attempting to eat a mouthful before letting out a silent exhale, mentally brooding over the upcoming event that she was apparently required to attend.

Commander had supposedly gone out of his way to make sure that Levi was taking her with him, and what was worse, Levi had no intention of even trying to fight back. Did her opinion not even matter? The whole thing was just so stupid to her; why was it so important that she attend anyway? What could anyone hope to prove in the event that she didn't go to the event – as if that would make their marriage any less valid? She knew that Erwin wanted them to keep up appearances as best possible, so she could understand where he was coming from, but he wasn't taking into account that the gossip wheel was finally starting to slow down. She was certain that their making an appearance would only cause new sparks to fly all over again.

She bit the inside of her lip pensively, shaking her head at the quiet conflict raging in her mind.

"Petra, you've hardly touched your dinner – is everything okay?" Gunther asked as he watched her in concern, "I know it's bad, but you've really gotta eat something or you'll pass out come tomorrow."

She blinked, attempting to pull her mind out of its current fog and focus on her team.

They had gathered to eat dinner, as they did almost every night, and as the conversations came up about this or that, she found she didn't have much to say. Levi was nowhere to be seen – not uncommon as he only joined them for dinner maybe half of the time at best – and his absence left her rather pensive, able to think things over without his influence on the matter.

She set her fork down and sighed as she gave apologetic glances to her worried squad mates, "Sorry, I guess I'm not very hungry. Want me to grab your plates and run them back to the mess hall? I'm finished."

There were glances exchanged and Eld leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, "Alright Petra, what's up? Something on your mind?"

Petra felt apprehensive as she didn't know what she wanted to say, or maybe what she should say. It wasn't that she wanted to keep secrets from her team, but they had already suspected her of so much that it made her a little hesitant to share things that revolved around herself and the Captain. Even still, this seemed innocent enough considering Erwin was the one behind it all, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to about the various things filling her mind as of late. Strained as all their relationships had been as of late, they were still family to her, and she trusted each of them implicitly regardless the tension that had been between them.

She shrugged, "Well you could say that, but I don't want you guys freaking out about it because it's what Erwin wants so…there's nothing I can do."

"So, something with you and the Captain then?" Oluo filled in, and Petra only nodded in confirmation.

Gunther turned toward her in his chair, giving a 'so what' sort of look, "…And?"

Petra almost smiled, not sure if there could have been a better response given.

Things certainly weren't perfect, but her squad had been trying to be more accepting and open – actively working to not jump so quickly to conclusions. They had come to accept that they weren't having a secret affair, and while it was obvious to the males in her squad that things were different between the Captain and their lone female teammate, they had started to turn a blind eye. It made things a little easier, especially at times like this.

"Well, the Officer's banquet is on Friday and because Levi and I are legally…married," she all but whispered the word as though it were forbidden to say out loud, "Erwin says I have to go because spouse's get an automatic invite. I get that it's not a huge deal and I'm only making it worse by stewing on it like this but…"

She took a deep breath as she tried to find the right words, sighing all the more, "It's just got me thinking is all, about everything that's been happening since the wedding. Even you guys, my own team, have treated me differently since, and that was what, over two months ago now? I thought people would have gotten used to it by now, but I still get the dirty looks and whispers, people still talk about me like I'm the Scout's resident homewrecker, and going to an event where its exclusively Officers that have no doubt heard about how 'Humanity's Strongest' messed up and had to marry his own subordinate – and, oh look she's right there, do you see a baby bump yet? Should we try to talk to her? Is that really how she got on his squad then, or do you think they hooked up after?"

She buried her head in her hands and groaned in frustration, "That's all I've been hearing as of late, and I'll be stuck there for hours with him and will just have to take it; all their assumptions, all their snickering and hushed conversations – forget the fact that none of them know the real story. I just really, really don't want to go!"

The silence extended and she dropped her hands in her lap, pushing stray hair out of her face, "When the Captain came and talked to me that night, he was so confident that things wouldn't be different - and in his defense, some days really aren't. Some days feel completely normal and I actually can forget about the ring on my hand and the fact that my last name is magically the same as his now. But other days, it is different. Very different. Sometimes when I'm alone with Levi, I actually feel guilty and have to wonder if people are going to accuse me of, what, trying to seduce him or something? Other days, you guys will come in to his office while we're talking and quickly excuse yourselves because it may be a 'private' conversation – and worse still – sometimes they are private conversations that I don't want shared – conversations that I've never had to have with Levi before and it's just all gotten so…"

"Out of hand?" Oluo offered, and Petra nodded glumly.

A silence fell across the room as the squad listened to Petra vent about her frustrations resulting from the strange marriage between herself and the Captain. Only when he was completely certain that she had said her peace, Eld cleared his throat and turned toward her in his chair, "Petra, I'm not trying to be a jerk and say 'I told you so' for the fun of it, but I did try to tell you back then that it wouldn't be as black and white as you seemed to think. If you guys don't want to have a traditional married relationship that's perfectly fine, but to be frank, it's impossible, not to mention unfair for you to expect other people to treat you like you aren't married because…Well, you are. You are in fact married to Levi Ackerman. That's a fact Petra, and one that you need to make peace with."

Petra looked up at him slowly and he returned her gaze intentionally, "Sorry to state the obvious, but I think you could stand to be reminded of a few things here. People don't know the circumstances behind it all, they just know the one simple truth that you got married. Based off that one fact alone, they are going to assume you are a couple – a normal couple. They are going to assume you are sleeping together. They are going to assume that you love each other; that there's passion and a spark between you. They are going to assume all those things that you yourself would after hearing that someone got married. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be frustrated, but it would do you good to remember that you're setting yourself up for a world of hurt if you're just waiting for people to see the light and treat you like you're just same old Petra Ral and that nothing has changed."

Her eyes widened at his statement and Eld paused, his voice gentle, "Petra, the reality is you signed that privilege away when you changed your last name. What was normal, how people used to see you, is a thing of the past and it's time you accepted that. Now, that's not to say that there can't become a new normal and a new sense of adapted identity - but forget the details and the whys, look at the single truth that you married our Captain. That absolutely changes things, for everyone, but especially you and Levi."

Petra took in his words slowly, knowing that all he said rang painfully true. Eld was exactly correct, and hearing his words now, she actually felt dumb for not realizing it before. How had either of them actually believed it would be a simple matter and that no one would actually care? It seemed so certain at the time, Levi himself had been so sure, she had been so distracted with all the changes and to do's, and now….

What had she been thinking?

Air seemed to leave her lungs as she replayed his words in her mind. Eld had worded it so well - It wasn't that there couldn't be a new normal, but what was once their team's version of normal, was now and forever behind them. There would always be hiccups that resulted from their complicated marriage, and try as she may to deny it, things just weren't so black and white between her and the Captain anymore and they never would be again.

Ever.

"I think…" she began in a whisper, "I just need to be by myself for a little while…" She began to stand up from her chair, preparing to leave the room so she could sort through her thoughts because it really seemed so obvious, and yet it changed everything in her mind.

Gunther cleared his throat firmly and pointed at her chair darkly, "Um, no. What you need is to sit your crazy ass back down and finish your dinner. You're too damn scrawny as it is and Captain's going to be upset if you're too shaky to get through training tomorrow because you skipped out on a meal. He's been protective as fuck over you ever since the whole sick thing, and I sure as hell am not running any extra laps tomorrow because you wanted to go cry in your room after figuring out what was obvious to anyone with half a brain. You can cry here in between bites of pasta for all I care, so sit your scrawny ass down or I'll tie you to the chair and force feed you."

Eld and Oluo nodded in immediate agreement, smirking at Gunther's serious expression, and Petra gave another long sigh, not even attempting to deny his claims, knowing that again, they were right.

"…Fine."

"Atta'girl." Oluo smiled as he watched her adjust back into her seat forlornly. He tried to cheer her up and gave her a wide smile, "Besides, what's the worst the can happen? You gotta think positive here; it's only for a few hours, and what's more, it's open bar right? If you play your cards right and drink enough, you won't even remember going at all. See? That's a win win."

She snorted, laughing at the idea sarcastically and rolling her eyes in a playful manner, "Oh sure thing Oluo, and I'll bet Levi would just love taking care of a drunken me all night long."

Oluo's expression somewhat fell into a look that read, 'Oh I'll bet he would.' And Eld cleared his throat before anyone said what they were all undoubtedly thinking, "Hey, Oluo's right. Don't stress about it, try to have a good time, and it'll be over before you know it. Maybe it won't be as bad as you're thinking – with so many people attending, perhaps they won't even notice you're there."

Petra nodded slowly, grabbing her fork and taking a bite of her food. She chewed quietly and swallowed, then sighed, "Alright fine, I'll try to…keep a good attitude I guess, but….I just have one question."

"What?" Gunther asked, and Petra shook her head in dismay, setting her fork down and frowning.

"Why is our food so terrible? How can you guys even eat this? They under cooked the pasta again and it hurts my teeth to crack into it! This is worse than usual, and that's saying something."

"Eat it, or the Captain will have our heads tomorrow."

"…Fine."

...

End of Chapter

...

And that's it for this week's update!

This chapter doesn't have a lot of 'action' in it per say, but man is it important and one that couldn't be skipped out on in terms of individual (and combined) character growth for Petra, as well as her squad. I'm sure yall can tell, but I really have a soft spot for Squad Levi – every single member (Except Eren. Refer to prior rants) I love Eld's humanity , Gunther's straight shooting, always down to business and tell you how it is gruffness, and Oluo who is…*internal screaming* difficult to write here in this story, because I wish I could highlight his strengths because I love Oluo, but…considering that his actions are narrated through Petra, who finds him annoying and doesn't recognize the value he adds to the team, well, my work has been cut out for me in terms of giving Oluo the proper attention he so deserves.

Perhaps it's the fangirl in me, but I love how Levi put his team together – certainly not by accident and not without painstaking consideration, because they each compliment each other so well. (Levi is a BRILLIANT tactician.) You have Oluo who can keep things light hearted but takes pride in his personal accomplishments (which drives rivalry and competition with the others to provoke better performance as a result), Gunther who makes sure they see to business and puts orders before all else, Eld who watches over the team in a balanced and emotional sense that Levi doesn't quite have the emotional intelligence to see to – and Petra, who when the squad butts heads or testosterone gets a little too high, her natural kindness and ability to work with anyone seams them all together and makes it so they can get through anything, even if they are at their wits end in exhaustion or rivalry.

I know this story is a romance between Petra and Levi, but I would be remiss if I didn't include these squad moments where it's effectively like the family, sitting around and chatting about the new boyfriend the second after he drops her off after a date. (Was that just my family? I'm not actually sure, but in my house we had MANY of those conversations!) It's the soul searching questions of, have you thought of this, do you like this, are you both being wise with your decisions – and Petra just kind of blinking because, no, she was so focused on her one singular goal that she didn't even stop to consider the OBVIOUS.

*clears throat* Sorry, getting a little carried away here, but man oh man am I passionate about this team :)

And again, apologies for such a long note today, but something I did want to clarify in terms of some of the reviews I have seen, let me just lay it all out there for yall so there are no surprises later. When I say be patient in terms of this story…in general…*breath of preparation*

Let me explain.

As for what I already have written up and divided into chapters currently, I've got just over THIRTY chapters. And I'm thinking I'm just over halfway done, give or take in terms of what's written vs what needs to be written still out. At the end of the day, I'm guessing this story will be between sixty and seventy chapters? When yall have commented that you like slow burns, I can only laugh and say I'm glad to hear it, because man on man did you find one. This story is not going to be rushed, it is not going to have the 'and they were suddenly caught in a rain storm so they had to pitch a tent and huddle together for warmth (survival only) and one thing led to another and whoopie, she's pregnant but its fine because they're in love, and tomorrow, in the THIRD day of their relationship, they will face...'

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Yall talking to a married woman who knows FULL well that love is ever changing, and developing, and HARD. Relationships are HARD yall. More than anything, I suppose I wanted to write something that attributes the messy, chaotic, mistake ridden mystery that is making a relationship work because there's no magic that makes two people's lives just come together and work itself out effortlessly. It's not about the sparks and the tingly feelings, it's about hard work and these sixty to seventyish chapters are going to put that on full display, if I have anything to say about it.

For those who weren't aware that this story was going to get that long and aren't interested in following something that takes that long to resolve, it may be a good time to bow out, seriously. It's the end of a good arc, our couple is in a good place, and it gives you that closure of a good read. But for those who are looking for something a little more drawn out, realistic and thought provoking, truly, patience is gonna have to play a key factor in that because at once chapter a week (assuming I don't have to go to every other week, but I have no shame in doing so if I have problems getting proper material out!) that puts us still doing this story, till what, spring of next year? Yikes!

Just… you know, be aware of what you're in for here. I'd like to think it's going to be a ride worth taking, and I like yall so much so there's always that, but of course you decide what you want to follow. There's many great reads on this site to be sure :)

*gets off soap box*

Anyhow, thank you guys so much for everything and sorry about this book of an Author's note. Felt it was important to put those cards on the table so no one is surprised! I will see you on SATURDAY with the birthday hats and all. Have an awesome week!