Morning everyone.

So this is a HUGE day. Today the Chiefs officially join the play offs and we have homefield advantage, at Arrowhead, with sharp looking yellow endzones, and we play against the Texans. From their, the winners of THIS game will play against the Titans (not the man eating ones, haha) for the AFC division spot for the superbowl. My heart can't take this guys. I'm wearing all red, doing all my gameday vibes – this is a HUGE deal guys and I've got a good feeling about it. Even still, any good vibes you can send for my Chiefs will be sooo appreciated.

Without further ado, here's this weeks chapter. I'm glad yall found last chapter to be just as thrilling as I did, because oh yes, we love a sassy medicated Petra who's not afraid to give Levi the ol' one two.

…

…

It was as they were walking back down the path that Petra sighed, resting her head in the crook of his neck and looking up at him with an unsatisfied sort of frown, "Okay Captain, I've got to know – what would you have done differently in my position? I'm guessing you would have walked out without a scratch, right?"

His eyebrows rose for a small moment and he thought over her question. She was looking for honest feedback, and while it was a valid question, the fact she just assumed he could have fared much better, let alone walking out without a scratch, spoke volumes about what she thought of his skill level, that and his apparent, sheer luck.

He snorted, "You really think I'm tough shit don't you?" he gave a laugh when she actually nodded into his skin, still clearly being impacted by the strong medication and he shook his head in amusement, "You did everything you could have Petra – the doctor was right, most people would have died. You thought on your feet and made decisive calls that saved your life. Had it been me…" he trailed off in thought, "Well…I think you had the right idea in using the one wire you had. Maybe I would have tried to use it to wrap around a branch and sort of hang there? Depends on the layout of the forest and how lucky the falling position is on that one though. I might have fucking emptied my gas tanks in attempts to cut some of the speed even further, though I guess with the gas shortage in full swing, I can understand why using your supplies more efficiently was the first thought that came to your mind, considering it was you of all people. I don't know, personally I think it just goes to show you that the formation itself was utter shit so-"

As Levi explained his thoughts to her, Petra blinked slowly, her mouth falling open as her eyebrows knit together across her forehead. She lifted her head off him, mystified by his words that sparked something within her.

"Captain, say that again." she whispered tensely, her voice having a sort of distance to it as thoughts began to churn slowly in her head, puzzle pieces reluctantly clicking into place one by one as she tried to force her mind to rethink her prior approach.

"…The formation is shit. Don't tell me you're trying to defend it; it was obviously a bust so-"

She shook her head slowly, deep in thought as she tried to force her mind to focus, "No, no what you said before that. Something about efficiency or whatnot?"

Levi stayed silent for a moment, but hesitantly repeated himself in question, wondering just what it was that Petra was up to with her sudden shift in demeanor, "I said that I can understand why you using your supplies more efficiently was the first thing that came to mind? Instead of just…you know, emptying the gas tank? Look I didn't mean anything by that, every one has a different level of individual skill and talent so don't take it as gospel. It was just an idea I had on the fly so-"

Petra shook her head and blinked, her voice gaining in volume as though she had just had some grand epiphany of sorts, "Oh my god. Levi. We've been looking at it the wrong way this whole time. All of us…"

He cocked his head to the side, trying to make eye contact with her and eyes going wide at the strange expression on her face, "Looking at what the wrong-"

"Take me back to the office." She stated firmly as she cut him off, and Levi looked back to the path in front of him and shook his head sternly.

"Yeah, fuck no. Request denied. You just broke your ankle, broke a rib, got a shit ton of stitches, you have a damned concussion – the only reason you are even able to function right now is because of all the pain medicine the doctors have you jacked up on, and what's more, I'm not sure if 'functioning' is the proper word for it either, because it's pretty clear that you're fucking high right now because of it. No idea what the hell you are talking about, but I am taking you to your room. I'll have Four Eyes come and help get you showered and dressed properly, and then after that, you are getting some rest."

Petra slapped a hand across his chest sharply to grab his attention and cut him off in a frustrated growl, slapping him hard enough that there was a resulting ache that made his skin both itch and sting, "Levi, if you don't take me yourself, I swear to you that I will drag my body across the ground the whole way if I have to, but I am getting into that office. If I have to claw my way through the damn door, hell, even if you lock the door, I'll dismantle the handle piece by piece! I will not rest until I-"

He groaned in irritation and turned his head over his shoulder to give her a warning glance of sorts, certain that once again, it was her medicine speaking and he had had more than enough trouble from her over dramatic, evil alter ego, "Petra, fucking no. Whatever document you want to fill out can wait. Youare resting, and that's final."

"Document? What are you-" her voice trailed off as though she had no idea what he was talking about, then groaned, "No, no this is something else. Look, it's not the paperwork okay? I swear. Just take me back to your office and leave me there for a bit. Let's be practical, it's not exactly like I'd be able to go anywhere or do anything strenuous. I just…have a few things I want to check is all."

He shook his head, "Petra…"

She cut him off, hope still tangible in her voice as she spoke, "Hey, hey you still have to tell Erwin and get an incident report filled out, right? While you're doing that, I've got some numbers to crunch, so please? They are important numbers, Levi."

Levi gave a long exhale and looked back to the path again, irritated that Petra was so stubborn and even at a time like this, she preferred to work instead of taking even a moment to herself and relaxing like she needed to.

He groaned, "What numbers, Petra?"

To his knowledge there was nothing so urgent that needed to be seen to then and there, so why she was being so insistent and stubborn – it had to be the pain medicine talking, he was sure of it, there was no other explanation for it.

There was a long moment of silence, and Petra eventually sighed and brushed her thumbs against his collarbones nervously, placing her head back onto his shoulder in a sort of agitated admission, "Look, I don't want to say because it's all just a theory in my head, which is still fuzzy and weird and I don't want to get my hopes up because honestly… I may be wrong."

Levi almost paused in step as realization finally came over him, but seemed to catch himself and kept moving down the path. His voice was quiet, tense. "…This is about the gas shortage, isn't it?"

When Petra didn't immediately respond, he glared back toward her narrowly, "Petra you swore to me you were done with this. I ordered you to be done with this, less than three days ago. You promised me."

"Yeah but Levi-"

"Goddammit all Petra, you can't win them all! I fucking thought we were done with this!" he responded tersely, and he felt her stiffen against him as she inhaled sharply, likely cut to some extent by his obvious anger. He allowed himself a moment to calm down because he knew his response when she was less than herself, wasn't fair, and he exhaled, "I'm not trying to be a dick, but I don't want to have to walk in on you in a mess of papers and have to pick you up off the floor again. I need you at your best and I can't have you cracking under the pressure that Erwin's trying to put on you again. More than that…." He sighed, finding there was a certain degree of curiosity that was eating him alive, because – and perhaps it was just the medicine, but even still - Petra seemed so…adamant.

He shook his head and whispered, "What are the chances?"

"Huh?"

"What are the chances that you've got it figured out? Are you bullshitting me again, or do you actually have a lead? Be honest with me Petra."

She considered his question, and nodded a few times, her voice quiet but firm with conviction, "Levi, I've got a lead. For real. I know I'm not all there and my head is just a blurry mess but…I just…damn it, that's why I have to get to your office because I don't know just yet! I know I'm onto something, but I don't know and I've got to look at a few papers to make sure that it's tangible. It's just…it's something."

"Well if it's just something," he responded firmly, "Then it can wait until you've rested properly because it doesn't sound like much to me."

Petra groaned and somewhat bounced on his back defiantly, much like a toddler stomping their feet after not getting their way. "Captiiin!" she whined his title out and he made a face, hating when she whined like that; always with a nasally tone that caused his head to ache. She gave a loud exhale and then sighed, putting her head back down onto his shoulder in a subdued fashion, "This is the best lead I've gotten, and Erwin said that if we get something figured out in the next few weeks that it would still be enough time to put it into the training material for all teams! Just a bit of time is all I ask. How about a compromise? You take me to your office, then go talk to Erwin. When you get back, I won't fight you; I'll get cleaned up and we can go back to my room and I won't give you any trouble after that."

There was a long-suffering sigh that followed her passionate explanation, and Levi shook his head in frustration, finding it unbelievable that against all odds, they really were having this conversation again. He gave a deep sigh, "You swear?"

"Scout's Honor."

Levi gave a terse groan and glared at the path ahead, "Stop fucking saying that like it's a thing."

"Well it should be a thing!" Petra defended with wide eyes, "It's a play on words!"

"It's fucking stupid." He replied firmly; eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Yet you're smiling?" she responded, more of a question than a statement, considering she couldn't actually see his expression at the moment.

"I'm not smiling."

"Really? Not even a small smile? But it's so clever! Don't you have any sense of humor at all? Well maybe if I explained it to you, you see when I say that Sco-"

Levi pressed his lips together and shook his head, "Oh hell no. I don't need your damned explanation, I get it; it's just that bad. If I take you to my office, will you promise to stop using that stupid phrase around me? It's fucking annoying."

She merely nodded and a coy smile came to her lips. "…Scout's Honor, Captain."

"Gods, why the hell did I marry you." He mumbled to himself, and Petra giggled but negated to respond further, knowing that her battle had been won. Deny it all he wanted, but Petra knew doubtlessly that the Captain was indeed, smiling.

...

...

As agreed, he had taken Petra to his office, and after a long day of being in the medical ward with her, he had taken a shower, washed the blood off, and dressed himself in a fresh and unstained, clean uniform. After that, he had gone to Erwin's office to document the accident - as well as report scathingly that he could wholeheartedly deem the new formation as 'unsafe' for the systematic use within the Scout Regiment, considering the obvious success it had been for his squad.

Though Erwin had expressed his sincere condolences in having any part in Petra's poor fortune, considering he did not want a repeat of their previous confrontation and subsequently earn yet another swing from the Captain - Levi had made a point of being intentionally curt, sarcastic, and as generally unpleasant as possible because part of him did hold the man responsible after having assigned them such a bust of a formation in the first place.

They had dutifully filled out the various forms, discussed potential avenues for her upcoming rehabilitation, her immediate recovery instructions, how long the doctor had put her on leave, as well as other updates regarding his subordinate that Levi needed to be aware of in regards towards her situation.

Once his business with Erwin was concluded, he had located Hanji and confirmed that he needed her help in getting Petra properly cleaned up, because while her wounds were properly dressed and cleaned, Petra herself was still a bloody, dirty, matted-hair mess - and considering how self-conscious she had been previously, he knew full well that it would be best handled by someone other than him.

In the process of walking back to his office with her, he had begrudgingly admitted that Petra was…currently running the numbers again on Erwin's behalf, and that she had even seemed optimistic about it. Hanji had watched him curiously through this divulged information, eyes wide and shocked into silence as it wasn't like Levi to talk about his squad with the likes of her. Eventually, he had asked through a sort of embarrassed mumble, if she would help Petra, in whatever way she could think of, because – in his words – Petra wanted to succeed so desperately, and he was running out of ideas. She didn't need muscle or someone to crack from sheer intimidation. No, his skills were…admittedly useless to her, and he didn't know who else to turn to.

It had certainly bit at his pride to have to go to someone else to oversee and assist his subordinate, but of all people, he knew Hanji was someone he could trust. What was more, perhaps a softer approach would do her well, finding yet another reason that somewhat disqualified him.

When they had gotten to his office, Petra was leaning over his desk with a serious expression, and he spoke lightly as to not outright break her focus, tapping on the doorframe hesitantly, "Hey Petra, Hanji's here. She's going to help get you cleaned up; are you ready to-"

"Hanji?" Petra asked suddenly, blinking as though that were the only word she had even heard him say. She looked up hopefully and when her eyes seemed to land on the Scientist, her expression turned somewhat pensive, "Can you…come look at this? It's just a theory…but…"

A look was exchanged between the two women and Hanji gave a short nod, moving up toward her and standing over her shoulder as she joined his subordinate behind his desk. She looked over the paper and after a few moments, her eyes narrowed as she surveyed whatever Petra had been working on.

There was a strange expression that came across Hanji's face, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she shook her head. "Interesting…" she whispered quietly, so quietly that had the room not already been dead silent, her soft sort of mumble wouldn't have even been heard.

Petra found she was repeating herself as a sort of nervousness overcame her, uncertain if she was onto something, or if it was just a mess of numbers that were created from her lapse of focus and heavily medicated state, "I know it's a bit messy and…I don't know if it makes much sense…it's just…my theory."

Hanji stood up fully and gave Petra a smile, before her attention fell onto Levi and her smile only grew all the more as she stared at the waiting Captain with a sort of excited smirk, "Well now, do you know how we come to prove theories like this, Petra?"

Levi's expression grew uneasy under the weight of Hanji's increasingly direct stare, and the Scientist chuckled in anticipation, "Gotta admit, I've always wanted to experiment on you Levi."

He frowned outright at her words, making a defensive face and about to tell Hanji to not step within ten feet of him, but before he had a chance, Petra spoke up in confusion, "The Captain?" she asked Hanji, and then a sort of epiphany came to her face and she also stared at him with a wide eyed face of apparent revelation, "Oh my god, the Captain! Hanji, Hanji that's it!"

Levi groaned, glaring defensively in dread as both women watched him with strange, unnerving and excited expressions. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he was already regretting having ever told Hanji to help her because whatever Petra was going on about, suddenly involved him as some sort of…test subject.

He pressed his lips together and crossed his arms. Had it not been for the fact that his subordinate was greatly injured, he would have walked out then and there without a word, potentially even requested time off. Instead, he gave a long-suffering sigh, "Petra. Care to explain your apparent 'theory' to me?" he turned his gaze to Hanji and glared, "And no experiments, Four-Eyes, not one."

Hanji gave a musical laugh and responded with a gleeful shake of her head, "Oh not to worry Levi, these experiments will be right up your alley. No blood draws, no poking or prodding – Scout's Honor!" at her use of the irritatingly familiar phrase, his eyes narrowed and he glared at Petra suspiciously, though Hanji continued, "No offense Petra, but you look terrible. How about we all three discuss this while we're getting you cleaned up?"

Petra looked up toward her in concern, a blush coming to her face, "Wait, while we're getting me cleaned up, as in, all of us? I uh, I assumed Levi wasn't coming to that - wasn't that the entire point of bringing you here in the first place?"

There was a long sort of pause at Petra's question, and after a moment, Hanji looked toward Levi in question, "Oh? No? You guys haven't-"

Hanji trailed off then, although regardless, her question was rather obvious, and the response she got in return – a mortified blush from Petra and a scathing, murderous glare from Levi – was equally as obvious. She blinked in surprise at the questions this raised in her mind, "Oh. Well, wow. You guys are so close now, I really could have sworn that-"

Hanji shook her head in quiet marvel and turned her attention back to Levi, a blank sort of innocent expression across her face as she struggled to accept this new information, "You've been married for what, five months now, and still no? Well, I can certainly see why you're so frustrated Levi; perhaps if you talked to a therapist or-" she sighed and made a thoughtful expression, "Then again, I suppose those sorts of problems can happen to anyone, even Humanity's Strongest. You really should have just said something Levi, there's a lot of different things you can take that should help with holding an-"

"Hanji!" Petra suddenly shrieked, "Can we please not do this right now?!"

Hanji blinked in surprise as though not understanding her alarm in the slightest, and merely shrugged as she turned back toward the injured Scout indifferently, "Sure, just add yet another thing to the list of 'Things Petra doesn't Do.' And in the meantime - Levi, you think about what I said. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Levi's eyes were also wide, as though he had no idea what to say to Hanji's sudden insinuation, though she merely continued with a sigh, not sensing Petra's obvious shock and Levi's increasingly dark aura because fuck she irritated the fucking shit out of him, and eventually stood up fully with a nod, "Well then, no Levi for the time being. We'll just keep chatting about this while we get you cleaned up, sound good?"

Hanji had assisted Petra in standing up from the floor, and though Levi had made a dramatic point of not wanting to get anywhere near Hanji with all her talk of experiments, not to mention her unwarranted talk about …other issues, it seemed his worry for Petra won out in the end because he charged across the floor with the intensity of a storm as he watched the Scientist pull her up in a haphazard manner, "Hanji, what are you – she broke her ankle you idiot; try to show a little bit more caution, yes?"

He picked Petra back up with a warning glare, not giving her the option as to how she preferred to be carried and moved down the hall in irritation.

…

…

Petra was relaxed across her bed, having very recently returned from her excursion with Hanji. Due to the fact the stitches couldn't be soaked in water, they had resorted to a bucket of water that they used to painstakingly wash one area at a time, starting from her hair and working their way down until she was completely clean and free from all dirt and blood. Needless to say it had taken over an hour, but at the very least, it had given them time to more fully discuss her theory, and they debated back and forth the best methods to test it out.

When she had gotten back to her room, Levi was already waiting for her, just shy of pacing because it was obvious he was unnerved by how long it had taken them. He had helped her settle into bed, and once she was properly situated, he gave her a suspicious stare.

"You going to tell me what you and Four Eyes are plotting?"

"I will," Petra agreed with a tired smile, shifting across her bed as she tried to get comfortable, "But not tonight. I will let you know that I'm cancelling the squad's training tomorrow, because we'll need you as our test subject as a basis to run the next line of tests, and that might take some time. I suppose Eld could run drills on his own if you wanted, but, not that you're looking for advice mind you, but I might recommend you give the guys the day off tomorrow. I can't imagine they're firing on all cylinders right now. A day off might be for the best."

Levi quirked an eyebrow, "Oh? And you just expect that I'll do all of that, cancel my material for tomorrow, intentionally setting myself up to be poked and prodded by that psychopath, just because you asked? Yeah, hell no. Just who gives you the right to control my schedule?"

Petra gave a light shrug, "Well at the moment no one, but fair warning, Hanji's clearing it with Erwin right now so take that for whatever its worth."

Levi stiffened as his expression soured, and Petra gave an exhausted, light smile, "Don't worry too much, you know I wouldn't do anything to actually harm you or make you uncomfortable. I just don't want you to overthink it, which is exactly what would happen if I told you the details right now. Just trust me, okay?"

Levi seemed to consider her words for a long moment, and eventually sighed as he nodded toward her thoughtfully, "How's your head?"

Petra frowned and shifted across her bed, "Well, I can tell that the pain medicine is wearing off. It's tolerable right now, but the pain is coming back bit by bit so I'm not looking forward to that. Plus side however is that my thoughts are finally a bit more clear and I can focus properly for once, which is a nice change of pace. Which…brings to mind uh…this afternoon." Petra frowned and looked up toward her ceiling in frustration, almost mumbling in a sort of shame, "I don't think that I should take any more of the pain medicine."

Though he had an idea of where she was going with this, he watched her flatly, "Oh?"

Petra bit her inner lip and shrugged, "Earlier today, I behaved so terribly Captain. What I said to the medical staff about you, how stubborn I was…" she groaned and brought her hands over her face, "It's a little fuzzy, but if I'm remembering correctly I was talking about you in some uh…less than appropriate ways, right? Something about your chest or whatever?"

Levi snorted at her hazy summary that had more than glossed over what had actually happened in the medical ward, and he crossed his arms tersely, "Well you started there, then worked your way down until you had commented on everything from my 'inky black hair' to my ass. If I recall correctly, apparently my ass is your personal favorite because," he paused and made air quotes with his fingers as he watched her evenly, "In your words – 'Damn'."

"Oh gods." She groaned loudly, her face suddenly glowing red as he watched her directly. She brought her hands to her face and sighed, "I was hoping that was all just a horrible sort of dream from all the medicine. If that's true then…" her eyes went wide and she looked up from her hands in obvious question and sheer dread, "Captain…I'm pretty sure I attempted to molest you."

He shrugged at her words, responding wordlessly that her statement was more or less an accurate one, and again she gave another horrified groan, causing Levi to chuckle at her dramatic wailing. Petra looked toward him remorsefully and shook her head, "I'm so sorry Levi, honest. I am not trying to make excuses, but everything was just so unclear and my head was so out of sorts and-" she shook her head and sighed, "I feel terrible, and I can't imagine intentionally taking the medicine when I know it makes me so not myself. I don't want to look like a fool, and I don't want to make you look like one either. It'll be uncomfortable perhaps but, I'll manage somehow. There's no way I can take the medicine again, not after that."

Levi crossed his arms and exhaled, "Let's not get too hasty, Petra. Your next dose is less than an hour away, and considering you'll be staying in your room and sleeping, I see no reason for you to skip out. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're taking it."

At his words, Petra sat up from her bed slightly, "But Captain!"

He held up a hand to silence her, and he continued factually, "Now as for tomorrow, you said that I'll be with you to some extent, right? I'll admit you weren't exactly yourself earlier today, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Besides, if tomorrow is as big of a day as you say it is, keep in mind that you won't get anything accomplished if you're under immense pain, so it can't be helped – you'll need the medicine just to get by. I can give Hanji the heads up that the medicine does tend to mess with your head to a notable extent, and if you get too out of sorts, I'll be there to keep you in check myself."

Petra gave an uneasy shake of her head, "But, Levi, I just…"

He watched her seriously, "Petra, I'll take care of you, okay? Now it's your turn to trust me."

At his simple statement, she watched him for a long moment before finally giving a sigh. She looked back toward him and gave him a shy smile, "Okay, but…before the medicine completely wears off and I'm too shy to speak candidly like this again, let me just say that…you really look good, Levi. And I mean, really good. And…and don't tease me, because I'm trying to give you a sincere compliment and that's hard to do when you just want to turn it around and make me uncomfortable. I do find you attractive, very much so, but I just…I don't know. I want to be careful. And smart. And if things maybe ever do change between us where maybe you…I mean, maybe we would…" she gave a sort of smile, as though lost in thought and all but smiling warmly at the mere idea of them being together more intimately. Her smile brightened as she looked at him directly, "I'd want it to mean something, you know? Something more than just…you having a nice body."

Levi sighed as she watched him, nodding simply because her words had somehow made the conversation regarding their unspoken physical relationship that was more often then not merely comprised of them dipping their toes in the water as though to test the temperature – somehow more intimate, more treasured and more special, simply because she wanted those very things from him. He found that her words calmed his mind considerably because at the very least, it was clear he wasn't the only one thinking about what the future might hold in store for them.

He gave a small grin, shifting on his chair as he leaned closer to her gently so he could respond, "I understand. And if it makes you feel better, I was only teasing you before because it's just so fucking rare that you ever get so out of sorts around me. I didn't catch on at first that your medicine was taking a toll on you, and so some of the blame for what happened earlier today falls on my shoulders. While I could go without your public shaming, I suppose to some extent I'm flattered, because you also look-" he paused and with a long exhale, shook his head as he looked over her with a sort of smirk, "Really fucking good, Petra. I hope you know that you're not the only one that gets distracted, because..."

Again he sighed as he struggled to find the right words, eventually giving a slight groan of defeat, "Fuck, you're just so damn gorgeous and a part of me can't even believe it. Even still, I don't want to push you or to ever make you feel that-"

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Levi groaned – because of course someone would come knocking now of all times. Now. When they were finally having that conversation – the conversation that they had been dancing around for months on end – now someone had come knocking on her door.

Levi turned over his shoulder, looking toward the door with an irritated scowl, "Who the fuck is it?"

….

End Of Chapter

…

So that will do for this week's update. Hope this week found yall in good health and that yall are starting the year off strong. It's crazy to me how fast time is flying. We're already close to the middle of January and if I'm being real with yall, I haven't even taken down our Christmas tree yet. It's always hard for me to do, it's one of my favorite things to look at, so tearing it down always makes me so very sad :(

Hope yall enjoyed the chapter and…yeah, gas shortage – that's already rearing its ugly head again. And just when it seemed to be over. *sigh* Poor Levi. I'm sure the words 'gas shortage' are all but a trigger for him at this point. You know he probably hears about it at every meeting with Erwin, heard Petra talking about it nonstop not so long ago – poor fella would get it from every angle to be sure and I'd wager a hefty price that he's sick of it.

(Also that very last conversation between Levi and Petra, gah, be still my heart. So needed.)

Bleh. But those are just my musings. Yall have an awesome week and I'll see you next Sunday!

~Midnight