Hey guys!

Happy Sunday and thanks for all your thoughts last week regarding both the chapter and my own mental thoughts toward writing out Levi through all the in's and out's.

I don't have too much to say here, because I'm in a bit of a time crunch for game day. Wish us luck guys!

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As predicted, when Petra had awoken from her nap, the day's testing resumed without further delay and both Hanji and Petra had continued pursuing after further data until they eventually pushed Levi to his limits. It was late into the day, just cresting sunset, when Levi returned to the forest floor after another lap completed and confirmed flat out that he was done whether they had their data or not, because it was getting hard to see in the dense forest and what was more, he was ready to collapse – a fact that Petra couldn't deny because he was panting heavily, his limbs were shaking, he could barely keep himself standing upright – she had never seen him so exhausted from training, and while she knew that making a big deal or fussing over him would only irritate him, Petra couldn't deny her sudden feelings of immense concern.

She kept quiet as he stoically made his way to the table they were sitting at, clearly putting on a brave face as he walked calmly toward them, and Petra barely restrained the urge to reach toward him as he sat down, noticing that his legs wobbled traitorously beneath him, to the extent that he almost faltered as he lowered himself to sit down because he trulywas that spent.

Petra felt a sort of guilt well up in her stomach as she watched him, uncertain if it was pride she felt as she observed him, or if it was sheer worry because after all they had put him through, the outright hours of repetitive laps and intense focus on his part, he could hardly remain conscious and upright. At the very least, it was a testament to his incredible discipline and drive – the fact that he knew his limits that well that he could train so hard, train to the exact extent of his capabilities, without actually overstepping those limits and inviting injury or further damage.

He really was Humanity's Strongest, and Petra found herself blushing slightly, in pure awe of the Captain and being reminded full well that he truly was in a league all his own.

As the Captain took a moment to catch his breath, Hanji looked over some of their various pages and nodded her head in a pleased manner, knowing they were in fact off to a solid start because they had such a strong foundation of numbers to work with, "Alright Levi, now that the base data is out of the way, I think it's time we get you caught up on what we are looking at and what's got Erwin so excited. Petra's theory, if I do say so myself, is very promising, and tomorrow the real work begins. To speak frankly, if you thought today was hard, tomorrow is going to be even harder – at least to some degree anyway - so make sure you rest tonight, stretch out or do whatever it is you need to do to be ready, because we put all the numbers to the test and that means you're going to be run ragged I'm afraid."

Levi looked up from the table and gave a half sort of nod, still catching his breath as Hanji continued, "As a side note, I know that Petra needs to rest as well, so she and I will get these numbers prepared as quickly as possible, and with any luck, no one will have to be up late tonight. If we're diligent, I imagine we'll finish, maybe right around curfew, if that's alright with you Levi?"

He gave a single nod, and as Hanji continued speaking, Petra handed Levi a water bottle, allowing her hand to rest on his forearm until he looked up at her curiously. 'You okay?' she mouthed silently in concern, and he waved his hand casually, mouthing a quiet, 'I'm fine.' in return, opening the water bottle and drinking it in its entirety in a single go. He took another deep breath and motioned toward the now empty bottle with a nod of his head. 'Thanks' he mouthed in continued silence, and Petra gave him a warm smile, saying nothing further but grabbing his hand with a reassuring squeeze.

Not seeing this interaction due to her continued focus on the papers, Hanji nodded her head in a sort of affirmation and handed the folder to Petra for safe keeping, "As for what to expect for tomorrow Levi, Petra and I will spend most of the night creating averages. The average amount of gas you used during each lap, the time each lap took when averaged out – once that's done, we'll take a look at the outliers, which is honestly what we're most interested in. We'll specifically focus on the laps that were the quickest, the slowest, the times you were notably conservative with gas, and the times you used your reserves more freely. Tomorrow is where we will be seeing why those outliers ended in the way that they did. We will see what actions you are taking specifically, using the same numbers you yourself have achieved today, to coach you to better perform and achieve more consistently in a manner that will, theoretically at least, beat all your averages from today."

Hearing Hanji's explanation and somewhat understanding what they were saying, Levi made a contemplative expression and looked toward Petra for further clarification. He knew the idea was possible – and like Hanji had pointed out it would almost run him into the ground if they intended to coach him to be better than he was today in using his own numbers against him to curve performance – but he wasn't quite seeing the correlation as to how this would address the gas shortage specifically.

Frankly, he didn't see how this exercise related to the gas shortage at all.

Seeing his pointed and skeptical stare, Petra took a deep breath and tried to sort out her thoughts, "When you were carrying me back from the medical ward, you said something to the effect that I should have thought about using my reserves of gas more freely, and at the time, I was already thinking about how skilled you were, and granted, it took me a little bit to make the mental connection, but a part of me realized – in regards towards the gas shortage specifically – that how much gas a person uses…really it's all just a matter of personal, individual skill."

Levi nodded in agreement, and Petra continued, "This entire time, we've been looking at how much gas we as a regiment use and just accepting those baseline numbers as gospel; responding to the shortage by way of how usage can be cut because obviously each soldier uses however much they need to in order to achieve the task at hand and that's not going to change, and that – that is where we went wrong. Instead of focusing on what areas we could cut in order to conserve gas – a response that takes away resources and endangers our men - the theory that I'm trying to test out is the idea that if we focused intentionally on the individual, focus our resources on teaching everyone how to be more efficient with gas – we can meet the government's demands that way. Instead of losing our resources, we actually conserve them, and no one will have to go without."

Levi blinked, because he understood where she was coming from and her idea sounded great as an abstract sort of 'in a perfect world' dream, but it just didn't seem possible in a tangible, real world sense, as everyone had their own methods and individual strengths that wouldn't just be changed overnight. What was more, how did one even go about teaching efficiency and conservation? While they had required classes that trainees went through during basic training, for the most part the unspoken rule was to use your gas however you saw fit, and if you used to much and got eaten by a Titan or fell flat out of the sky, it was your own damn fault for not paying attention and using too much.

Petra smiled at his still unconvinced expression, "Just hear me out Captain, because if Erwin agreed to test it out in a time like this and give you unlimited stores when we're running bare bones as it is, then you know I'm onto something. Imagine if we amped up the military's efficiency as a whole - we could very well achieve those same demands of thirteen percent each month, but not because we have removed Scouts from using their resources, but simply because we have trained our Scouts individually to use those resources more effectively than ever before." She grinned and nodded toward him proudly, "And that's where you come in, Captain. You are Humanity's Strongest after all, so it would make sense that you're our best bet for a model soldier – someone who is fast and strong, and not flippantly burning through their gas tanks from lack of experience or skill. None the less, even you Captain, have ways to improve, so tomorrow we put your own numbers against you to drive you toward those outliers and try to get you to use as little gas as possible while still retaining your speed and other performance markers."

Hanji grinned as she watched Levi intentionally, observing as his expression changed and he finally began to understand where this was going, starting to see the outright genius that was Petra's theory, "If you haven't figured it out from there Levi," Hanji confirmed simply, "We will start to see further trends through you specifically, come tomorrow. For example, we'll likely see how to ascend or descend at the right point to lessen overall gas usage, when to coast, when to propel yourself forward, or when to use the 3DM cables to achieve further momentum instead of gas. Once we can see those consistent trends and understand exactly how to be more efficient, more than ever before, then we start training the other Scouts, using you as a teacher and mentor, and using Petra's data and keen eye for tactics and how to go about turning those numbers into tangible results."

Levi took in the explanation, finding himself at a loss for words before looking toward Petra with a shocked, pensive expression because it was a lot to process but…it could actually work. Her eyes locked onto his, her green orbs wide and questioning, and as she looked at him fearfully, a blush staining her cheeks as she waited for his response, he realized that she was looking for his approval, and desperately.

"So uh…what do you think?"

He gave a huff of amusement and shrugged, "When Erwin told me that you were the Scout's supposed 'only hope', I told him to go fuck himself because he was off his rocker. You weren't ready for this Petra, and you were a walking shitshow for over a month because you were way over your head, just like I fucking said you would be. But honestly, here we are now, with the numbers and an actual plan that can get real results because it's something that's never been done before and…" he shook his head, "I really shouldn't be surprised in the least."

Hanji grinned at Levi's statement and stood up from the table in preparation to leave, a mirthful smile across her lips as she watched the exhausted Captain, "Oh? Because she's just that smart and intuitive, I suppose?"

Levi outright snorted at her words and rolled his eyes darkly, "Fuck no. Because she's a damn brat that always gets her way in the end, every goddamned time!"

Petra groaned and allowed her head to fall toward the table, shaking her head because while she wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say, she supposed she should have known Levi would merely tease her about it in the end.

Hanji grinned at his words and Petra's dramatic reaction, seeming to sense that it was somewhat of an inside joke between the pair and she gave a slight bow, "Is that so? Well, let's hope that luck of hers holds out, because we need it. I'm going to head in for the night. I'll be in my office whenever you're ready Petra. Go ahead and bring the numbers from today and we'll get it calculated and organized so we can get right to it come the morning." She looked toward the Captain specifically, "And as always Levi, you never cease to amaze. Thank you for your hard work; I know it wasn't easy but I truly believe we're onto something here so you're efforts weren't in vain. Try to give it your all again tomorrow and let's hope for the best."

As Hanji gave a wave and walked off, Petra looked up from the table and slowly stood up cautiously, looking down toward Levi and giving him a tired smile, "How are you feeling Captain? Do you want to rest more? I'm sorry, I thought about just having Hanji carry me back but I didn't want to make you feel weak or incompetent or anything so I wasn't sure if I should ask her or not. I know you're tired so if you want to get Oluo or Eld or someone, I don't want you to have to worry about carrying me around."

Levi chuckled at her nervousness and shook his head, also standing up from the table and walking toward her with a smirk, "Oh and wouldn't Oluo just love that. I'm tired Petra, but not that tired." He walked toward her and as if to prove his words, picked her up with ease and chuckled at the surprised sort of squeak that followed, "Now, let's get you back to the Compound. I'll take you to Four-Eyes' Office and I can come get you when you're done."

Petra chewed the inside of her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, closer than what was required as she drew small circles around his shoulder with her hand, smiling when Levi looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow, "How's your head?" he asked with obvious suspicion, and Petra gave a soft laugh.

"Crystal clear, Captain. I'm just happy is all." She rested her head against his chest and smiled contentedly as she looked up toward him, "I'm happy that things are going smoothly, I'm happy that you finally got to hear the why's behind everything, I'm happy that Erwin is taking this seriously, and I'm happy that…I got to see you like this today. I don't know the last time I got to watch you train to your maximum like this, or if I've ever seen you train to such an extent before, just you by yourself. You make me really proud to be your subordinate Levi; you're just incredible. I've always thought that."

She gave a laugh and her smile brightened all the more, "It's just been a really good day. I needed it."

Levi shook his head at her words, admittedly touched by her adoration and sincerity, and as he held her against him, he found his own thumb drawing light, caressing circles over the expanse of her arms and hips lightly, "I wasn't looking for your praise, but regardless I'm glad that I can be someone you feel that you can look up to. I'd be a terrible Captain otherwise, right?"

He paused and dipped his head lower toward her, almost brushing her nose with his own as he spoke, "And for the record Petra, you are an incredible Scout. You, your dedication, your stubbornness and your refusal to accept the status quo," he gave her a direct, serious nod, "You make me a very proud Captain. Well done, Mrs. Ackerman."

Petra blushed at his words, giving a quiet, almost shy thanks at his admission, and as she watched him quietly, a comfortable silence falling between them as Levi took her back to the Compound, Petra knew full well that Levi would never understand just how much his words had truly meant to her that night.

...

...

Levi eyed her, once again, in clear, obvious suspicion, wordlessly stating that he was certain that her question was not a real question, rather a direct result of her medicated state, and Petra rolled her eyes, finding she was getting rather tired of him assuming that every little thing that she did needed to be scrutinized and was not to be taken seriously unless she could somehow 'prove' herself to him. Even still, even with how annoying his constant suspicion was, Petra could still quite easily tell when her medicine was wearing off, as the overwhelming pain would start to return like clockwork, and as much as she wanted to go without the medicine, she knew she would need at least one more day of taking each dose faithfully in order to get by.

Even still, it didn't make working with the Captain any easier.

"Look." She stated flatly as she tried to watch him seriously, her seriousness only being marred by the intense blush across her face – something that made the Captain's suspicion grow all the more – and Petra took a sobering breath and tried again, "Stop – stop being so assumptive, okay? I'm only blushing because you're looking at me like…I don't know, like I've lost my mind or something."

Petra looked up at him from where she was seated on the edge of her bed nervously – her number crunching with Hanji officially completed – and Levi merely crossed his arms as he continued watching her undaunted, "Well that's because I'm pretty sure that you have lost your mind. It's going on a few hours since you've taken your last dose of medicine and because of that fact alone, frankly Petra, I don't trust you for shit right now."

She groaned and held up a hand in irritation, "Alright. So just explain to me Captain, why you're not staying in yourown room tonight?"

He nodded seriously and all but snorted at the absurdity of her question, staring at her in sudden challenge because even if she didn't like it, he was going to be there with her just the same, regardless her feelings on the matter. "Well, the same reason as last night, which will be the same reason come tomorrow night, and the night after that; maybe even longer depending. You can't get around or do much of anything until you heal up a bit more and your crutches come in. As you are now, you can't get water, you can't wrap your chest, hell, you can't so much as take a piss without someone taking you down the hall first, and frankly, I'd rather not have you hollering down the hall at three am just because you need to pee."

Petra nodded in emphatic agreement, "Alright, see? That's logical." At her words, Petra paused and her expression sobered, watching him in sudden accusation, "What's not logical is you working as hard as you did today, knowing that tomorrow you're going to work even harder, and yet despite the obvious fact that you need a proper night of rest because I fucking saw how exhausted you are and you can't fool me because you're damn legs were shaking from exhaustion to where I thought you were going to collapse on the damned ground-"

She took a very much needed breath and glared at him balefully, "You seriously mean to tell me that you plan on trying to sleep in that stupid, fucking chair instead of resting properly and preparing for tomorrow, when there's enough room on this bed for the both of us, and for what, because you don't want to give me the wrong impression or something? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Levi blinked at her tirade, admittedly surprised that she had been intentionally working the conversation back around to, again, try to convince him to sleep on her bed, lying right beside her no less. His mouth was hanging open for a moment as he tried to find a proper response, and seeing his dumb founded expression, Petra groaned, shaking her head in a remorseful, guilty manner because she supposed his hesitance was more than warranted, "Alright, fine. Captain, I know that I've been a bit of a handful ever since the accident, and I'm sorry. It's not like I'm trying to be difficult, or weird, or say things that make you uncomfortable. It just…happens."

Levi exhaled through his nose, not having intended Petra to feel that she was a nuisance or an inconvenience to him – if anything he had actually enjoyed being around her and witnessing some of her rather amusing lapse in manners – and he shook his head to correct her, "No Petra, I don't-"

She continued with a shake of her head and outright cut him off, "No, really. When I got hurt, you were the one right beside me, and even though you were worried and out of sorts, you still focused on me the whole time. Since then it hasn't gotten any easier on you, either. When you're not carrying me around, you're checking on the guys, dealing with Hanji, having to watch over me to make sure I'm not acting too insane – and if that's not enough, now I'm controlling your training schedule and all but running you into the ground. Say what you will Captain, but thanks to your being sick earlier, I happen to know what you look like a mere five seconds before passing out, and today, you were there."

Unable to deny her claims because, like Petra had said, she had seen him before and knew him well, Levi remained silent. Taking his silent acceptance as a good sign, Petra looked up at him and spoke with conviction, "Levi, of all people, you have to rest. For real rest. If I'm being completely honest, I'd rather you just sleep in your own room because you'd be most comfortable there, but I know you're stubborn and I'm wasting my breath because you wouldn't consider it for even a moment – so let's make this simple and find a way to compromise: I want you to sleep in the bed, you don't want to because it's confusing and weird between us, especially as of late, so how about I sleep in the chair, and you take the bed. Will that work perhaps?"

At her offered compromise, Levi found himself both defensive and irritated at once. "Absolutely not. You're injured. You won't heal properly if you don't rest."

"And you won't preform properly if you don't rest." Petra retorted simply, and for a long moment, the two stared at each other, because as much as Levi wanted to deny her words, to put on some sort of brave front or pretend that he would be fine, the truth was blatantly obvious. He was exhausted.

Eventually, Levi sighed, looking at her bed, then back at her in unresolved question, "Petra, I don't know…"

"What's there to know?" she countered simply, "You'll be on my bed, and I'll sleep on the chair."

"No, not that. I said no, and I meant no. You're sleeping on the bed Petra – I meant that I don't...it's just that I wasn't trying to…"

Realizing what he was thinking about, what he was attempting to verbalize, Petra found herself blushing again.

If Levi was accepting the fact that he needed a proper night's rest, on a proper bed – but also equally as adamant that she herself sleep on the bed, she realized now why he was suddenly fumbling with his words, and she found herself looking into the ground nervously.

"Oh. Well, that's certainly an option too, if you're okay with it. I just…I got the feeling that you weren't comfortable with it, and I figured I've done enough to make you uncomfortable on that front and want to be flexible and respectful of your boundaries because I know that I've really muddied the waters lately. I promise Captain, this isn't a result of my medicine, I just…you worked so hard today and I really want you to-"

He sighed and cut her off, "I know. Don't worry about it Petra. It's…it's fine. Just for tonight." He nodded toward her as he moved to the door of her room, "I'm going to go brush my teeth and get changed out of uniform. You'll be alright on your own for a bit, getting dressed for bed and everything? Your chest still good? I mean, it looks good so-"

Levi watched as Petra's expression slowly changed, her eyes going wide at his words, and Levi groaned, "Sorry, I didn't mean your chest like your chest chest-" he paused and cleared his throat, "I meant your bindings, if they were still tight or – but that's not to say that your chest doesn't look good, because of course they always look good, great even so I-"

At the Captain's attempt to correct his words, and subsequently only making it worse - Petra's mouth was hanging open all the more from the Captain's unexpected and suddenly rather personal stuttering, and when Levi seemed to give up, merely staring at her in silent horror at his apparent sort of word vomit, Petra gave an empty smile as she stared into the ground in defeat, a silence blanketing the room, "The idea of sleeping next to me really makes you nervous, doesn't it Levi? It's okay, you know, if you're not ready. You don't have to force yourself into any situation with me just to make me happy, because causing you trouble or forcing you to be someone you're not is the last thing I'd ever want from you. Please Captain, for real, just let me sleep in the chair tonight. One night won't kill me, and unlike you, I'll just be sitting at a picnic table all day so it's fine."

Hearing her request, Levi took a collecting breath, smirking at her words that highlighted her sheer innocence and walking back toward her, kneeling on the ground near her bed in attempts to catch her eye. She looked at him in obvious remorse and guilt, clearly believing that the source of his agitation was a result of her recent behavior, and he spoke carefully, "Tell me Petra, my sleeping next to you tonight, what about it do you think makes me nervous, exactly?"

She gave a sigh at his question and shook her head as she searched her mind and tried to articulate her thoughts, "Honestly, I think you're afraid that I'll try something on you; that I'll push myself onto you and put you in a bad position or something."

Levi smirked at her words, "I suppose I am worried about that to some extent Petra, but I'm afraid that you misunderstand completely." He pushed himself off from the floor just slightly, allowing himself to move closer toward her as he aligned his mouth near the shell of her ear, hearing Petra take a surprised gasp from his sudden closeness as his hot breath ghosted across her skin in a phantom caress, "Because it's not you that I'm worried about. It's me."

He allowed time for his words to sink in, knowing that as naive as she was, there would be no misunderstanding that, and as the silence drew out, as though she didn't know what to say, he found himself wishing that he knew what Petra was thinking – curious what thoughts were running through her head after hearing such a thing from him.

The idea of being with her, intentionally staying with her, laying beside her and not just in a chair a few feet away as he watched over her throughout the night – fuck, he found he wanted it a little too much, and he was somewhat hesitant to accept her offer so easily because he was certain that it meant more to him than she knew.

It made it too easy, made her too accessible, made it too convenient for his hand to accidentally slip, to crest just a little too high, perhaps a little too low, made it so easy for him to pull her flush against him and tease and toy with her until her mind was all but a puddle and her defenses were down. Their relationship had been a sea of greys, and it would be far too easy to take advantage of the situation; whisper the right words, bait her with sugary tones and use her heart against her because he knew her feelings were true, and because of that, he doubted she would find it in herself to push him away, even if she herself wasn't fully committed to the idea.

"Levi, I trust you." Was all she whispered, and Levi found his stomach ached with a mix of lust, anxiousness, fear, and uncertainty because if Petra trusted him…

Well, wasn't that just fucking swell, because that officially made one of them.

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End of Chapter

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Sorry guys, no time to chat :)

I'm hosting a super bowl party and there's a lot of prep to get done. Hearts and all that, you guys are the best!

~Mid