Morning everyone!

This week I've really tried to focus on writing out new material because I don't want to get to a place where I ever 'catch up' and therefore am rushed, or have to swap back to every other week updates, things like that. I can't say I am hitting writers block, because amazingly enough, that hasn't been a problem for this story (praise the walls!), but UGH there is so much to write out still and it can get a bit uh, overwhelming haha. Even though I know the plot from start to finish, getting it all out on paper is a daunting task – not to mention that I continuously tweak it along the way to make sure that the material is good and there's not a lot of incongruencies that will sour your reading experience. Like these past few weeks, some of this chapter's material is brand new, some not – but more than that, I think I've written another few chapters throughout these past few weeks so that's awesome.

Yall pray for my sanity.

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...

"Alright, now Petra," Eld called out loudly, a serious expression across his face as they moved through the trees in a coordinated fashion and neared a large Titan cutout, "Swing around to the left and scout ahead. Oluo, go for the feet and follow behind Petra as her backup. This is a sweeping formation, so don't lose your momentum and keep moving forward until I say otherwise."

Petra and Oluo gave a nod, moving as instructed and jetting ahead through the trees, Petra choosing a path that would have kept her unscathed and in the Titan's relative blind spot, Oluo starting from the left and sweeping to the right as his blades cut through the pads that represented the Titan's achilleas tendon, ensuring that he moved far enough that should an actual Titan fall to the ground, he wouldn't be crushed in the aftermath.

Watching as his teammates moved ahead without delay, Oluo gave a nod and looked to his left where Gunther was moving alongside him, "Gunther, I'll dip down and go for the nape; you watch my back."

Eld continued commanding the team, adjusting the formation as Levi had instructed, focusing on areas mainly relating to initiative and spontaneity. Apparently, it seemed that Petra's data was showing a rising trend in that Squad Levi wasn't as efficient at following immediate, unexpected orders as they had been in the past; their reaction times somewhat dulled and stagnant after months of running the same exact formation that now felt more of a routine than an actual battle technique, and Levi had confirmed that he wanted the behavior addressed and corrected in full by the time he got back, because gods help them all if it wasn't.

Levi had left behind a sort of laundry list that would challenge the team's ability to seamlessly follow orders and respond to the unexpected; intentionally keeping them on their toes and forcing them in a position where they had to listen to Eld's commands and respond on the fly because, not so coincidentally, Levi had left an equally long list of punishments for those who couldn't surpass his prerecorded metrics that would confirm the squad's adjusted behavior. Thus far no one on the team had met the Captain's steep expectations, and as a result, training was grueling and miserable because once their actual training for the day was completed, there was an additional hour or two of miserable tasks comprised of conditioning or cleaning that served as 'incentive' to curve their behavior, and quickly.

Levi had made it clear that he wasn't certain how long he would be gone, anywhere from two days to two weeks, so he had left a large stack of chores and drills in his wake, a mix of footwork, speed cadences; practically an all-out variety show of material so it seemed. There were exercises on horseback, tasks to complete while running, high volumes of conditioning, even an exercise that required Eld to wake them up for an impromptu training session at three a.m – something he was not looking forward to facilitating considering the team was comprised of notably grouchy risers that would be less than pleasant after being torn out of bed for unexpected, fast paced training.

It wasn't much later that their training with the 3DM gear had come to a close, and Eld had corralled them to the supply station so they could return their unneeded gas tanks and equipment, and while they were there, pick up weighted sand bags that they would haul on a long and exhaustive walk per the Captain's decree.

While no one was overly thrilled with the idea of balancing large grain bags of sand over their shoulders in the blistering summer heat, they knew their exercises were finally coming to a close, and rather than complain, the squad merely accepted their fate and started grabbing the large burlap sacks – tossing one over each shoulder- as they prepared to walk the required laps as directed, quite eager to bring the exercise to an end.

It was as they were preparing for the walk and Eld was signing off on the equipment, writing down the times and how much gas was used in the squad's training for the day, that his eyes fell on Petra – who was also now carrying two weighted bags, and he exhaled, already exhausted from the battle he was hoping not to have had, "Um Petra, no. I'm sorry but that's too heavy for you. Put one down because each bag is fifty pounds and just the one is more than enough for you. Just because you can balance two on your shoulders doesn't mean it's safe. Two miles in and you'll be right on track to seriously hurt yourself."

The group paused at Eld's callout, both Oluo and Gunther giving Petra a curious look but inwardly relieved that Eld had made the mention because they had all been thinking the same thing, and Petra groaned at the unwanted callout. She turned to give Eld a dirty look, because she was still mad at him for his stunt just the other day of giving his unsolicited, unwanted opinion about her relationship with Levi, and she didn't need his damned two cents about this either, "Whatever you guys are carrying, I should be too. We're on the same squad and held to the same standards. I don't need you babying me Eld; it's fine so just lay off." She turned back toward the path and gave a huff as she took a few more steps toward her teammates as though to demonstrate that she was just fine.

Eld rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and moved toward her with an irritated glare, "Really Petra? We're seriously going to play the, you're not my real Captain, game? I don't care if Levi's not here, I'm telling you that you're carrying too much weight and you need to respect that because I'm not allowing any injuries on my watch while the Captain is away."

Regardless Eld's orders, Petra merely stalled in place and adjusted the weight over her shoulders with a sort of groan, her glare only intensifying at Eld's refusal to just drop the matter and let her do as she pleased. She clicked her tongue and turned toward him with a challenging expression, "Eld, what's so wrong with wanting to challenge myself and grow stronger? It's just one single exercise and if I get sore or tense, that's my fault. Besides, I'm sure Captain would be fine with it."

Eld gave her an unimpressed stare and grabbed a piece of paper out of his pocket, reading from it with a tone of exasperation, "You think so, huh? Tell me what you make of this then – 'Eld, complete the day's training with an endurance walk while carrying sandbags – hundred pounds for the men, fifty for Petra, same as usual. She may end up giving you grief and try to convince you to let her pack on more weight, however with her frame, anything more than fifty pounds will stress her body too much and is not to be permitted under any circumstances. In the event that she complains about it, finish your exercises and assign her ten laps for insubordination and disrespecting the chain of command. If she persistently troubles you, see that I'm made aware upon my return, and I'll ensure that proper punishment is doled out to her at that time.'"

There was a haughty grumble from Oluo, "Oh-ho punishment, huh? Is that what they're calling it then?" and Gunther snorted in amusement as they waited for the scuffle to settle.

Opening her mouth in offense to Oluo's unneeded stupid comment, Petra was prepared to turn around and confront him, but Eld cleared his throat sternly, "The extra weight, Petra? Put it down." As Petra's heated glare fell right back onto him, his expression softened and there was a sudden shadow of a smirk on his lips as he folded the paper back into his pocket, "Come on Petra, don't make me tattle on you."

Petra clicked her tongue at Eld's 'request' that was indeed a gently worded command, admittedly embarrassed by being called out by both him and in some ways, the Captain himself, considering his stupid little love note to Eld. She wasn't sure if she was more impressed, or just flat out irritated that Levi had thought down to such minute details, to the extent that he was apparently expecting her to cause trouble for Eld while he was away.

The blonde sighed lightly, "Look, if you drop it now, I'll cut you a break and not rat you out to the Captain, but only with the understanding that you drop the bad attitude and realize that no one here thinks you're weak just because we're hauling more sand around than you. Frankly, we're just built differently, Petra. Don't forget that you're faster and can do maneuvers the rest of us can only dream of due to your size and flexibility, and that's just all part of the game. So we can lift more than you, big deal. Stop sulking because no one is the best at everything so-"

Again Oluo snorted, and he spoke up over Eld's present explanation, "Well, that's only partially true. I mean, Captain – Captain is best at everything. It's been proven even. Have you seen his numbers, Petra? And shit, he's just as short as you, but faster, and even stronger than we are so-"

Eld sent a warning glare over his shoulder, "Hey. Not helping, jackass."

"Oh. Right. I'm just saying is all…"

Trying to ignore Oluo's again unneeded commentary, Petra took a breath and finally nodded toward the ground, walking back to the supply station and putting the additional weight down with a humbled tilt of her head, "Alright, fine. There, I put it back. You happy?"

"I am, thank you." Eld didn't press the matter further and looked back to his remaining comrades as he shifted his own weighty bags across his shoulders with a grunt, "Damn, I hate these stupid things. Let's all get this over with. What's more, and I hate to tell you guys this, but surprise surprise, we didn't meet Levi's demands today either, so we've got more work after this as well."

There were some unimpressed groans and Eld gave a miserable nod, "Silver lining though, it's not the worst – seems Levi is aware that today's training was hard enough without the extra work, either that or he was expecting us to fail. Damage today is running three and a half miles, then a series of admittedly rather brutal lunges, but that's actually it."

"That's it, he says, like it's so damn easy." Oluo retorted with a sigh, a bite of sarcasm in his voice, "Yeah, after walking around the entire campus carrying a hundred pounds, well, only fifty for Petra-" Oluo amended, and Petra rolled her eyes irritably, "We have to run a considerable distance with damn jelly legs, and then do a regimen of squats to follow? Fuck this shit, silver lining my ass."

Petra pressed her lips together and sighed, "Oluo, stop bitching about it; you're not helping in the least. Besides, it's not that bad."

"Yeah? Easy for you to say," he scoffed under his breath as they continued moving down the dirt path step by miserable step, "You're only carrying half of what the rest of us are."

Petra's head snapped toward Oluo waspishly, and she gave him a murderous glare, "Fucking say it again! Say that I'm not working as hard as the rest of you, one more time. See what fucking happens."

There was a chuckle from Eld, who watched the bickering pair in a sort of devilish amusement and nodded as though outright antagonizing the pair, "Oh, by all means Oluo, keep at it. Gunther and I have a long outstanding bet in need of settling, and I've got twenty down on Petra saying that she could kick your ass."

Petra turned toward the blonde and glared, "Is that so? Well keep that up and we'll just see who's ass I end up kicking. It's your fault that I have to hear it from Oluo at all; had you just shut your damn mouth I'd be carrying the same weight and he wouldn't be giving me shit right now, so you'll have to settle your stupid bet with Gunther later."

She looked toward Gunther and frowned darkly, "And for real Gunther? You really think Oluo would come out on top, with how damn slow he is? Please. If you wanted to line Eld's pocket that badly, you could have saved me the trouble and just given him the money directly, without your stupid wager."

Oluo grinned, "Oh? You say you can beat me? The one with the highest solo kill record on the team? And remind me again, Petra, yours is the lowest, right? Not surprising, I mean, you are only holding just the fifty pounds after all."

"That is fucking it!" Petra shouted, though there was a sharp, 'Enough!' from Eld that caused her to not outright throttle her smirking teammate who was clearly goading her on purpose.

Eld's previous light expression fell, "Gods, you are all such a pain in the ass today. Would it really be too much trouble to ask you all to behave, like you would if Captain were actually here? I get he's not, but still. Look guys, I'm not trying to play this card or rub it in, but if you would all try to remember that I am a higher rank so-"

At the same time, the rest of the Squad groaned and looked at Eld crossly, Oluo rolling his eyes dramatically as he spoke, "Oh gods, don't start with that again." he groaned dramatically, and Gunther nodded in clear agreement.

"You're a higher rank on paper, but in practice you still act like a child; always goading people and pulling pranks on everyone - when are you going to grow up? Not that I'd want the extra responsibility mind you, but why Levi chose you as his right-hand man is absurd."

Eld's eyes narrowed as he looked at his frustrated, angry peers and bitterly looked at the path ahead, "Well aren't you guys just the friendliest lot out there. Thanks for the encouragement, assholes. You know, if Captain heard you talking like this, he'd beat the shit out of you."

"And you." Petra stated simply with a sudden smirk of her own, "He'd correct us to be sure, but frankly, he'd say that most of it was your fault for not issuing enough 'pain' or whatever to make us fall in line."

There was a chuckle from Oluo at Petra's correction, and he found himself correcting her even further, "Well he'd start there, give us all a good beating in the name of 'discipline', and then we'd no doubt have to scrub the floors with a damn toothbrush again or something."

"Yeah, and if it's anything like last time, it will probably be our own toothbrush." Gunther added in with an amused shake of his head.

At Gunther's sort of confession, Petra made a face and looked at the men in silent horror, "Woah woah wait…am I missing something here? Captain never actually made you do that, right?"

When there was a long silence and an eventual, hesitant shrug that came from Oluo, Petra snorted dramatically at the silent confirmation, "For real? That's disgusting! The hell did you guys do to piss him off so bad? I wasn't a part of this apparently – I have no idea what you're talking about!"

A few glances were exchanged, and Eld shook his head with an amused chuckle, "Long time ago Petra. Levi had just selected us to start off his new squad; he hadn't officially had a team before then so it was new to everybody. Naturally, we really didn't know him any more than by sheer reputation. One day after training, it had been raining pretty bad so we were muddy and drenched and so when it came time to go back to the Compound-"

"No." Petra stated with wide eyes, fearing where the story was going, and Eld could only laugh because if only they had known then what they knew now.

"Yep. We walked right inside, muddy boots and dripping water – tracked mud and grime down the halls, into the bathroom, whole nine yards. Truth be told, I don't think it was actual anger we saw that night, I think it was more of a well disguised panic attack. Needless to say, he made quite an impression on us all after that, and we learned that Levi is a…pretty touchy guy. Really quirky."

Petra was laughing heartily at the story, and a sort of sigh was heard from Gunther as their atmosphere shifted from previous anger to a sudden wistfulness.

A long silence fell across the walking team, and eventually Oluo looked toward his teammates with a light, almost sad smile, "Honestly, it's been kinda weird without him around."

"Yeah," Gunther agreed with an amused nod, "Kinda boring. Either of you know when he's getting back, Eld? Petra?"

For a moment, nothing more could be heard other than their collective footsteps down the dirt path. Eld looked back toward his peers and rolled his shoulders underneath the weight, "While I doubt he'll be gone this long, he gave me a full two weeks of material, so for all I know, he could be getting back today, or another full week. He wasn't to specific with me, said that the government is the one calling the shots so they'll be at their mercy for the time being. You have any better ideas, Petra?"

She made a face and merely shook her head, truly having no better insight as to when leadership would be getting back, but like the rest of her team, or perhaps even more than her fellow squadmates, she was undoubtedly feeling the void that his presence had left behind.

She found herself looking down the path – the path that was used to get to and from the Scout's base – where Levi would eventually be returning, and she gave a half-hearted, disappointed smile as she noted that the path was completely empty. She hadn't actually thought Levi would be there, after all what were the chances of that actually happening, and yet even still, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach from the undeniable disappointment because apparently, some part of her had legitimately been hoping.

From beside her, there was an almost inaudible sort of chuckle from Eld, and Petra realized in sudden embarrassment that her wistful glance had been noticed, and at first she had intended to give him a dirty glare. She wanted to tell him off or wordlessly communicate that she was done with his stupid games, and yet as her mind kept replaying all the differences the past few days had brought; the unsorted training, the unchecked squabbles, the lack of his sudden appearances that all but came out of no where considering he was so quiet, the lack of life in his office - the sheer lack of Levi himself…

Petra's gaze dropped to the ground instead, and she sighed.

Pathetic or not, she couldn't deny the churning in her stomach and the sudden slowness to her steps that had little to do with the weight across her shoulders. She thought about yet another lonely night in his empty, quiet office as she diligently kept his paperwork in line and she gave a long sigh because there was simply no point in denying it anymore - she missed him.

...

...

There was a knock on the office door, and Petra gave a slight twitch of her head, barely looking up from the desk as she spoke, "Come in."

The door lightly creaked open and Eld leaned in through the open crack before stepping inside fully, closing the door behind himself as he spoke, "Well well, you've certainly made yourself at home here; you're even sitting in the Captain's chair. Not gunning for his job, are you?"

Petra looked up from her paperwork, if only to acknowledge that she had heard him, before returning back to the document in front of her and responding with a quipped tone, "Captain hasn't been around to keep his paperwork in order and it so happens that I don't mind the work. It gives me something to do and this way, Levi won't be swamped when he gets back."

Eld said nothing to this and Petra pressed her lips together, not trying to be overly conversational or cordial with him; preferring that he get to the point so she could get back to work without distraction. "What do you need Eld? Considering you're a higher rank than me and can submit your own requests, I'd have to assume this is a personal visit, and frankly-" she looked up at him squarely, "I'm not in the mood."

Eld gave a simple shrug, crossing his arms as he walked further into the room, "You're still mad? Petra, this isn't like you. It's been five days since our conversation and even when you were mad at Levi you didn't treat him this coldly."

Petra set her pen down silently and watched him flatly with a quirked eyebrow in a manner that reminded him very much of the aforementioned Captain. Eld bit back a grin as he watched her - they really had been spending a lot of time together, and it showed. Her attitude was darker, her patience thinner, and the trademark scowl across her face was an uncanny replica.

"Levi is unpleasant unintentionally, you are not." She stated simply, "You know how you come across, you know how to be respectful and not cross lines, and-"

"Stop. You were mad at first because I pushed your buttons, so your anger then was fair – but now you're only mad at me because you don't like the fact that I got your brain spinning, and you're just being childish and taking it out on me." He watched as her scowl only darkened and he withheld a smirk, "You didn't want to think about it because you liked the comfortable place you found yourself in."

Petra pushed herself back into the chair, crossing her arms as she slouched in a sort of pout while watching him testingly, "And? What's so wrong with that?"

Eld gave an innocent shrug and watched her with a muted hint of smugness as he sat down in a chair, daring to lean back into the chair and prop his feet up on the edge of the Captain's desk as he responded casually, "Oh, there's nothing wrong with that. After all, if you're as satisfied as you claim to be, then all the extra thought and brooding isn't something to be afraid of. The only time it would become an issue is if after thought, you came to realize that you weren't as content as you previously thought?"

Petra gaped and made a face of irritation, though Eld couldn't be sure if it was because of what he had said, or if it was because his feet were resting up on the desk so brazenly. She swatted at his shoes with her hand as she sat up straighter, "Get your feet off the desk you neanderthal, Captain would kill you if he saw you doing that!"

She came around the desk hurriedly and Eld rolled his eyes as he set his feet back on the floor. Petra looked at the surface of the desk critically, rubbing the spot where his boots had been resting in hopes that he didn't leave any incriminating smudges, "If you scuff it up he's going to think it was me! Can you show a little more respect, sheesh! And to your point, yes – you made me think, and I'm angry because-"

"Because now you have to do something about it." Eld finished for her, and Petra gave a long, low sigh as she slowly stood up and turned so she was looking at him directly. As she merely stared at him in an irritated sort of dissatisfaction, Eld held his hands up in defeat as the silence elongated, "Okay, okay. I get you're upset, but this doesn't have to be the end of the world. So you know that you want things to keep moving forward, right? Not a big deal."

Petra said nothing to this, though she didn't have to. Eld gave her a nod of confirmation in attempts to set her mind at ease, "So you set the pace. You find what you're comfortable with and talk with him when you're ready. I know you were more comfortable before, but it's not like you to play it safe. And now that you know, you can be a little more intentional and maybe…" Eld gave her a coy smile and shrugged, "Maybe he'll take you by surprise."

Petra tried to give him a narrowed stare, but her expression softened at his words as he continued to watch her warmly. He gave a chuckle at how hard she was fighting the urge to smile, and he gave her a side hug in attempts to finally break her, "Look. I only meddle because I care, okay?"

She gave a groan of defeat and begrudgingly returned his embrace, and Eld cleared his throat as he stood up fully, "What's more, I actually have a present for you, to make it up to you."

"Don't be silly Eld, you didn't have to get me anything."

Regardless her words, Eld didn't miss when her eyes lit up and she began to look him over with a sort of excitement, a slight confusion coming to her face when he didn't reach into his jacket or pocket to produce any sort of trinket for her.

He gave a laugh at her obvious enthusiasm, "Alright alright, it's not in here. Come on."

He walked toward the door and Petra followed after him with a spring in her step, seeming to forget about her anger when promised a surprise or gift. Childish or not, it wasn't often that she was gifted with things and she was admittedly excited. She knew it wouldn't be anything of actual value as there was no way Eld had the time to go into town to buy her anything – she was thinking perhaps stored chocolate, or maybe flowers he had picked from outside, or some other small something he had picked out with her in mind.

Petra moved toward the door and grabbed the handle, looking over her shoulder as she spoke, "What is it? Is it in your room or the Common-"

Her words came to a sudden and abrupt halt as she took a few steps out into the hall and collided into –

"L-Levi?" she stammered in alarm as she looked up toward…yes, it was Levi. When…when had they gotten back? She looked up into the Captain's also considerably wide and equally surprised eyes and felt a heat rise to her face due to their sudden and unexpected proximity. Due to the way she had blindly walked forward and somewhat tripped at the sudden obstacle he was, she was pressed up against his chest; his hands wrapped around her forearms securely as a result. Whether it was to stop her from falling further or to merely hold her against him, she couldn't be sure, but there was an amused exhale that sounded like the beginnings of a laugh that left his lungs as they both recovered from their initial surprise of literally running into each other.

"Hello, Petra." he said simply in a whisper, admittedly flabbergasted as he certainly hadn't been expecting her to come flying out of his office and ram right into him, though he supposed he wasn't necessarily complaining. Eld had told him to come to his office after he put his things away because apparently he had a document that he needed him to fill out as soon as possible, and while he had been hoping to run into Petra before he had to resume his duties as Captain, he supposed that he could always find her afterward. After all, what was another few hours when he had been gone for over a week?

Even still…he should have known she would have been in his office. Where else would she be?

Eld made his way out of the room next and gave a nod toward the Captain, having already known that Leadership had returned not so long ago. It was as Petra looked between the two men for a moment, admittedly baffled, that she slowly looked back toward Eld, giving a suspicious, questioning point of her fingers, "Wait…Levi?"

That was her surprise?

Well, she had to admit, she was surprised, and pleasantly so.

At her silent question, Eld looked back toward Levi and gave a dramatic frown as he looked the Captain up and down in sudden alarm and irritation, "Dammit all, he looked so different in the catalog. I'm sorry Petra; duped again by those greedy corporate bastards. I really thought he'd be taller!"

Levi blinked in confusion, having no idea what Eld was talking about, but before he could get out a single word to ask what the hell he was going on about, Petra was laughing hysterically, actually holding her stomach she was laughing so hard.

Levi frowned suspiciously at their apparent inside joke, "Am I missing something, Eld?"

There was no response to his question, unless Eld's own raucous laughter counted as a response, and Levi crossed his arms with a scowl, "Well while you dumbasses laugh it up, I'm going in my office." As he walked past the laughing pair and made his way into the room, he called out over his shoulder, "Oi, Petra. What paperwork needs to be finished?"

There was a response from her, though it was difficult to make out between her giggles, "Just the…just the one on the…pfft, on the desk!"

She kept laughing all the more, and Levi rolled his eyes, still having no idea what the hell was so damn funny, but not wanting to pick a fight considering he had just gotten back a mere ten minutes ago. He called out over the laughter, "Just this one?"

"Yeah!"

The two kept snickering and from outside his office, Petra had somewhat leaned onto Eld in attempts to keep herself upright, wiping a tear out of her eye before finally finding her footing and standing up properly. She cleared her throat and gave a joyful exhale, attempting to sober her expression even though she knew full well there was still a dumb grin across her face.

Eld mussed her hair with a final laugh, "There we go, that's the Petra I know and love; laughter is the best medicine after all. Still though, it figures all it would take is the Captain coming back for you to be all smiles like this."

From inside the office, Levi gave a hint of a smile at Eld's comment, though remained silent and allowed their conversation to continue semi-privately.

Petra batted Eld's hand away with a cheeky grin, fixing her hair and motioning toward the office with a tilt of her head, "You knew he was coming?"

Eld shrugged with a knowing expression and crossed his arms, "I may have sent him this way, though I didn't think you'd run the poor man over. You really should watch where you're going next time."

A firm 'Agreed.' came from within the confines of the Captain's office, and Petra gave a small laugh in response.

Eld grinned all the more and gave her a nudge as he watched her smugly, "So, did you enjoy your surprise?"

Petra looked into the office and stole a peek toward the Captain, who merely looked at her suspiciously as though to ask what the hell they were talking about. She gave a silent laugh and shook her head, speaking to Eld even though her gaze remained elsewhere, a sort of warmness to her tone as she watched her Captain fondly, "…I didn't know they would be getting back today. It's been so weird with him being gone."

Eld nodded, then gave a suddenly pensive look as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, leaning down toward Petra as he gave a dark smirk, "Don't think I should send him back? Try to get a refund or something?"

Petra gave a hearty chuckle and shook her head as she returned Eld's gaze. Her voice was quiet, quiet enough that she knew Levi wouldn't be able to overhear her hushed secrets. She bit her inner lip in attempts to keep her smile at bay, knowing she was grinning like an idiot, but even still the bright smile refused to leave her face. "Nah, no need. I'm already pretty attached to that one."

Eld's voice was also more quiet and he leaned down as he placed both hands over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "Oh, is that so? Then go get him, or maybe I will try my wine trick."

He gave her an actual shove into the open doorway and Petra gave a sort of surprised squeak as she stumbled forward. Eld walked away casually without another word, as though he hadn't just set them up with the intention of leaving them to their own devices, barely able to hold back his laughter as he silently retreated down the hall and admittedly, feeling rather proud of himself.

...

End of Chapter

...

Tell me, am I the only person who reads this and sort of just sighs in relief, because sure we wonder what's going to happen next but…sorta it's all good now, because Levi is back? Where I ended up having to write so much new material is that I never really filled the time while Levi was away – never painted the picture of the staleness, the lack of drive, and the strange level of passion that is brought by Levi alone.

In my original docs, it was pretty much built up that he'll be gone, it's a big deal, but apparently not really because he's already back so moving on. After rereading this arc, I reworked it in its entirety because I really wanted to slow it down and paint the picture that as quiet as he is, as much as he struggles to build bridges with people, Levi has a definite place on the squad, and things really are better in every way when he's around. His absence was noticed, his presence was missed, and sure his squad can still kick butt and take names without him breathing down their necks, but they function better together and legitimately want him around.

Those are my thoughts for this week. I'll keep grinding out new idea and quality content for you guys, so keep commenting, keep challenging me with your views and thoughts, and we'll plow down this story one section at a time. Thanks for everything yall, and see you next Sunday!

~Midnight