Morning readers!

Happy Sunday! May I just say that…it's hard to per say pick favorites, but last week yall really blew me away with your thoughts. It's times like this where I just wish I could information dump and lay it all out at once, but you know the drill haha – I'm still writing and need that time in my favor to make sure I never have to turn to sporadic, unpredictable updates.

Either way guys, as always I'm just so happy to be bringing you content that you can enjoy being invested in. It's been by FAR my biggest writing project, and its crazy to me that we really are in the final stages of the story – at least with what I'm writing on my end.

Thank you a million times over, and enjoy the read!

…

…

When they had finished loading up the cart with the various pieces Petra's father had completed, the trio had moved back into the kitchen, waiting for some time for Petra to finish getting ready.

Luckily, the waiting hadn't been so bad, all things considered, because Timmy and Petra's father had been so busy talking to each other about recent projects, where the furniture was going to be placed, how to best care for the wood over the years, that they hardly seemed to notice Levi's presence at all and paid him no mind.

When Petra walked out of the hallway, still putting in her earrings as she moved in a hurried fashion, her father looked up toward her and smiled, "See, now there's my baby girl. You've got your hair up, a dress, heels even – you look nice Baby, real nice."

As Petra gave a tired smile, her father took a closer look at her as she walked toward the table and clicked his tongue in sudden disapproval, "Granted, you're showing a little more skin at the top than I'd like, but hey, I suppose you're just trying to impress your Captain so-"

Petra's smile had fallen at once and she missed Levi's exasperated scoff completely. She all but crossed her arms as she glared at her father impatiently, "You know Dad, if you want to go in my closet and find me something that's more suited to your tastes, then be my guest. But I warn you that almost all of my clothes here are super small on me so this was the best I could do. Honestly if it's that distracting, then you boys will just have to keep your eyes to yourselves because it's too hot outside to wear a jacket."

"Well you know Pet, I think you look really nice. A true lady." Timmy stated with a light smile as they all began shuffling toward the door, and Petra gave a smile of her own and rolled her eyes, giving her friend a playful slap on the shoulder as they walked out.

"Timmy, you're just saying that because you have to. Remember, Dad already said that he likes you, so you don't have to keep sucking up to him like this. Now if you could only tell me your secret – I'm still trying to get access to that club myself."

Her father gave an amused chortle and ruffled the top of her head, to which Petra gave a slight gasp before swatting him away, already patting down her hair and staring at him narrowly, "Hey hey, you break it, you buy it! Took me fifteen minutes to do my hair so keep your paws off."

From beside her, there was a laugh from Timmy and he crossed his arms with a pleased sigh, "Man, this brings back memories, huh? It's been so long since we all went out like this – I'm curious as to what you're planning James. Are we going out to Sammy's place?"

"Oh Sammy's?" Petra chimed in, turning toward her father in obvious enthusiasm, "It's been ages since I've been there! They're still open? I kinda thought Sammy and his wife would have retired by now."

"Oh yeah, they retired some time ago now." Her father opened the front door and gave a smile, adjusting his previous statement with a sly grin, "Somewhat at least. Sam still likes to man the grill, and Lucy still waits tables every Thursday. Tabitha, their oldest, is the one who actually keeps the place running nowadays. You remember her right Baby, few years older than you? She's a good gal and does her parents proud. I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea, stopping in and saying hello. I'm sure they'd appreciate seeing you, Princess."

"Yeah, it'll be good to see them. Should be fun."

As the group continued conversing, Levi followed behind them in perfect silence, closing the front door behind him as he walked – still mentally debating with himself if he should say something or not regarding Petra's change of wardrobe.

She did look nice – elegant and refined – perfectly beautiful and serene. Her hair was pinned up, she was wearing a few pieces of simple jewelry that caught the light, a pair of heels that weren't as flashy as what she had worn to the Officer's Banquet, but still looked quite nice on her just the same. Her dress was one with a light floral pattern that went just below her knees, and there was an emerald green sort of sash that tied at the middle, to emphasize her thin waist.

She really did look good, there was no denying it.

The only problem was, Levi didn't want to compliment her and unintentionally reinforce everything her father had said to her earlier - that she was showing off her body to attract him (even though her outfit was doing that very thing) that she had to be put together in order to be 'presentable' to the public eye, where anything less than a dress and styled hair was apparently shameful, and that in her attempts to be strong and train her body, she had lost her femininity outright and was far more masculine than a girl ought to be.

Levi wasn't sure what the right approach was, because he did not share her father's values in the slightest, and so he merely remained silent in his prolonged mental debate. Petra looked nice, yes, but he had wanted her before too, while she looked so apparently 'unappealing' because to him, fuck, to many men, her strength was attractive. Her willpower was something that allured him, and the fire to her eyes and the smirk on her full lips was…

He found himself holding back a sigh. Maybe he really should say something because it was just a simple compliment – she wouldn't read into it that much, right? He himself was probably overthinking it so-

"Dad are you…are you serious?" came Petra's irritated voice the second they had walked out of the house, and Levi had blinked out of his thoughts, looking toward the sudden commotion and watching as Petra crossed her arms and gave her father yet another dirty look. "Getting dressed up is one thing, but now you're taking this a bit far. I'm not an invalid!"

Out front, her father had the cart prepared, as well as the horses – everyone's except Petra's – and she had read the writing on the wall well enough to know that she was expected to sit at the front of the cart.

"Well, you are in a dress Pet. It really wouldn't be proper for you to-"

"Oh shove it, Timmy. I can ride just fine because this dress is plenty long enough, you guys are being silly!" she hissed out bitterly, and her father gave a sigh.

"Baby, no one is looking down on you here."

"You're looking down on me!" she retorted hotly, and her father turned toward her irritably.

"Look, I don't see why you are being so difficult about this. Like Timmy said, you're in a dress. It's not practical for you to ride your horse right now, and we intentionally left space for you in the cart out of respect. How about instead of being so uptight about everything, you act a bit more like a lady, shut your mouth, and just get in?"

"There's an option, or, how about you stop assuming that I'm a thirteen-year-old girl and acknowledge the fact that I've grown up!"

Levi found himself giving a sigh, knowing that no good could come out of this argument because the tensions were high between all of them, at a boiling point no doubt, but over something like this – perhaps he should be the last one to stand in her way, but his gut told him that it just wasn't the time. He walked behind Petra and pulled on her shoulder lightly, his voice hushed as he addressed her specifically, "Petra, maybe you should do as he says this time around."

"See? Even Ackerman agrees with me on this one Baby. It's not proper."

When Petra turned toward him, her eyes were wide with betrayal and she gave an indignant shake of her head as she watched him in disbelief, "Captain, what? You're really taking his side on this? You of all people know that-"

Levi gave her a serious stare as he cut her off with a still hushed voice, "Petra, just because I can break a table in half with my fist doesn't mean I need to go around smashing every table I see. There's a time for these things and-"

"And so you're saying I should just act weak all the time because it's more fitting for someone like me? Captain, you-"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Petra. I'm saying you should look at the bigger picture and pick your battles more intentionally, nothing more. This is a time where you came home to make peace with your Dad, right?" Levi watched her with a miffed expression, his voice an irritated whisper as he leaned toward her all the more because he was trying to have a somewhat private conversation with her. He nodded toward her purposefully, "So make peace with him. Sit in the damn cart and make him happy. Fuck, if it makes you feel better then I'll even sit in there with you because it's just a matter of pride. Pull your punches for when you need to win. Frankly Petra, this isn't one of those times."

Petra watched Levi for a long moment, and she gave a single, forced nod.

"Fine, sir."

He knew that tone – it was the one she used when she disagreed with him, but would do as he said strictly out of respect for his authority. He bit back a low grumble, because that wasn't what he was going for, but Petra was already climbing up over the edge of the wagon and there was nothing he could do but turn back toward his horse and hope that the evening passed quickly.

Of course, it hadn't.

Far from it, in fact.

When they got to Timmy's house, Petra had moved to grab one of the stools that had been stacked up with the furniture, but her father had scolded her at once because moving the furniture was man's work, and she didn't want to mess up her hair after all, right?

Levi had felt his stomach clench in growing concern, because instead of Petra blowing up or giving a return argument, she merely gave a quiet, simple nod, and wordlessly moved back into the cart without fuss. For all his years as her Captain, it was…rare for Petra to get so upset that she just shut down completely like that, and considering they were out in public, right in front of her friend and her father, Levi knew full well that there wouldn't be a good opportunity to have a heart to heart with her and force her to rant or blow up or do something other than quietly simmer with anger.

It was a bad sign, beyond a bad sign, and Levi found himself stealing a number of glances toward her as her aura continued to darken with each passing moment. Her anger was palpable as they continued moving the furniture piece by piece as she sat there in quiet rage, but even still, Levi didn't know if there was anything he could do to help her. While he had said a few things that he wished he hadn't, now that the heat of the moment had passed, even still he knew it wasn't himself that Petra was mad at. No, it was clearly her father that had gotten her so wound up, but what was worse, if the man had noticed her irritation, it didn't bother him in the slightest. James had continued on with his night as though he were having a grand time, and the off setting hot and cold dynamic between them was making for a rather tense atmosphere.

It seemed Levi wasn't the only one who was put off by her bad mood, because Timmy had seen her crestfallen expression and after all the furniture had been moved and arranged into his house, the blonde had put his horse back and joined her in the wagon, giving her a small smile in attempts to brighten her mood.

"The more the merrier, right?"

Petra had said nothing, and they had taken off again; Levi on his horse, her father leading the way, and Petra and Timmy sharing the cart as they made their way into town. Levi tried to ignore it when Timmy gave a dramatic groan and threw an arm around her, pulling her against his side and rubbing her arm affectionately, "Don't worry about it, Pet. Let's just go out and have a nice dinner, okay? It's been such a long time; you should at least try to smile."

She didn't.

Dinner came and went, and Levi had to admit it had perhaps been one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his life. There had been little to no conversation, because it was clear Petra was still mentally fuming over the lineup of events that had marked her afternoon, and her father had merely laughed it off – speaking warmly with Timmy or the waitress, confirming that his baby girl was just in a bit of a mood after being told no. Levi had mentally grimaced as Petra merely pressed her lips together and continued eating in silence, because fuck, there was no damned way this was going to end well.

Sometime after they had all eaten, an older woman came to the table with a large and tired smile. She must have been either the old friend her father had been talking about, or someone else in the small town that knew them, because she had fussed repeatedly over seeing Petra, seeing Tim, seeing them all out and about like this and how it really was just like old times. Her father had laughed, saying that it was a rare treat, considering Petra was so bull headed and was still living her life in the military, regardless the fact that he thought she would have retired by now because surely her career wasn't all that promising.

Levi had known it was coming, but he still flinched just the same when he heard Petra take an offended gasp and slam her silverware down on the table in irritation. In the next moment, she had absolutely gone off in front of the entire restaurant – there was simply no other word for it.

She explained in a frazzled, furious rush of words, that she was on the top squad in the Scout Regiment, that she was handpicked and hand trained by her Captain, and that her numbers were within the top five percentile of the entire military as a whole, including the military police. She explained that she had a knack for data, and that her new found skill was already being looked into for further use because the other two factions were also interested in her skill, and that she was proud of her accomplishments and sick of him looking down on her, sick of him ridiculing her, sick of him treating her like she was just a little girl, and that she demanded an apology because she was a respected member of the military and had earned the right to his respect. By the end she was all but huffing and puffing, glaring across the table toward her father with a threatening stare that left little room to wonder about the seriousness of her words.

After her long, loud and passionate rant that had literally every patron in the restaurant staring at them in clear horror, her father nodded his head slowly, as though mentally replaying all her words in silent wonder, and after a moment or two of silent reflection, he looked up and watched her seriously.

"Baby, have you thought about becoming an accountant perhaps?"

At that, her father's outright dismissal of all she had said, Petra had laughed, literally laughed, and threw her hands up into the air in surrender as she backed away from the table with a sort of shove, "I'm done! Done. So done. You're impossible, Dad, and I'm ashamed of you."

She marched toward the door without so much as a second glance, and Levi, after throwing down a few bills that should have more than covered their table's meal, wasted no time in following after her, ensuring that on his way out, he gave her father a chilling glare because even if it didn't involve him, he couldn't help but feel anger on her behalf because it really did seem like her father went well out of his way to belittle her at every turn, and as her Captain…he had seen enough.

Levi watched as Petra marched past the restaurant and continued barreling right on down the street, still muttering grievances to herself as she stormed away; it seemed that in her enraged state, she wasn't aware that she had been followed out.

Petra hadn't gotten far of course, only a few hundred or so feet by the time that Levi had mounted his horse and made his way toward her. When he came up beside her, the petite ginger had paused in step, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance, and all at once the hardness of her expression seemed to soften under his knowing stare.

As Levi watched her pointedly, not in judgement or irritation after her little outburst, but rather what seemed like true understanding, her bottom lip quivered as her defenses seemed to unwittingly shatter from all around her. She gave a quiet huff and wiped her eyes with a quick swipe of her arm, hesitant to fall apart completely and still stubbornly holding onto whatever pride she had left.

Regardless the fact it was clear she had a million different things to say, Petra remained quiet just the same, and frustratingly so. Levi found that he wanted to know her thoughts, to hear her shout angry words or to do whatever she needed to to address it and move on, but some part of him knew he was being far too dismissive of her feelings, to an extent that it was almost insulting. It wasn't a simple matter that she just needed to 'work out' – the scars she bore were deep and would not be so easily addressed by a mere venting session alone.

To some extent, Levi perhaps understood her choice to be silent because really, what was there to say? She had chosen the military - a choice her father disagreed with completely - and to make matters more further complicated, Petra still sought after the man's approval at every turn, even though it was asking the impossible of him.

It was a path of guaranteed pain, frustration, and disappointment, and Levi suspected this was not Petra's first miserable walk home, where after fighting for weeks to get enough time off, she'd visit her father and be reminded all at once that her hometown was not a place where she would be understood or encouraged. In a small town of homely civilians, Petra would be on trial at every step, belittled at every turn, and people were all but waiting for her to crack and admit defeat because the military lifestyle was such a far cry from their small town values.

It sounded beyond exhausting, and as Petra gave another sniffle, once again wiping her eyes of unshed tears that were threatening to fall, Levi found himself giving a half smile, perplexed by her strength and her stubborn choice to walk so far off the beaten path. He leaned to one side and held his hand out toward her, motioning with a tilt of his head for her to join him.

A pained expression came to her face at the silent invitation, a certain level of apprehension presented in her posture that was no doubt a result of his previous chidings from the afternoon; a small pang of guilt tightening his stomach, because it seemed that once again he had responded poorly to her. Even still, Levi wasn't off put by her timidness and simply continued to watch her patiently, making a point of not goading her with irritated sighs or taunting words because he wasn't trying to force her – it was a sincere invitation, nothing more. She could walk, or she could ride. Hell, if she wanted to take his horse while he walked beside her step for step, or if she just wanted to ride off alone so she could have even that small freedom, that was fine. He wasn't sure what she wanted at a time like this, he just wanted her to know that he…

He was a friend, and he did not agree with her father, and above all, he had her back.

Slowly, Petra reached toward his hand, her fingertips barely brushing his palm as though still uncertain, and after a few moments, her fingers carefully began to curl around his hand more fully. When she caught his pleased sort of smile, Petra had put more strength into her grip and shifted her weight to put her foot into one of the stirrups, and Levi found a sort of relieved exhale leaving him.

He helped pull her up, shifting forward on the saddle as Petra worked to settle herself behind him, and she spent a moment or two fixing her dress beneath her legs and rear so the fabric wouldn't ride up along the way.

"I wanna go home, Captain." She whispered softly, and she almost mournfully wrapped her arms around his stomach and laid her head against his back in exhaustion, "Just take me home, okay?"

Levi had stolen a glance over his shoulder, but with how close Petra was pressed against him, he could only make out a few pieces of her amber hair, so her expression was lost on him. Had he seen it, the way her brows had once been knit with worry, but then seemed to loosen with a sudden acceptance; had he seen the way a single tear rolled down her face, not from pain, but rather from relief, despite the grimness of the situation, even still the Ackerman would have worn a smile for quite some time.

…

...

When they had gotten back to the house, her father had arrived not twenty minutes later, and the man was already shouting from the moment he entered into the house.

"Petra Marie Ral, how dare you embarrass me in front of everyone like that!"

Her father moved into the living room after furiously slamming the front door closed, and Petra crossed her arms as she retorted hotly, moving up to her feet and matching his sudden volume, "For one, you embarrassed me first, and for two, my last name is Ackerman now. If you're going to use my full name, the least you could do is get it right!"

Her father groaned, "Alright, don't even start with that. All I wanted to do was have a nice dinner out and-"

"And it would have been if you yourself hadn't been such a jerk! Do you have to go out, bad mouthing me to everyone you know? I'm not a screw up Dad, alright? I've got a good head on my shoulders and-"

Her father gave a bark of a laugh, "Right, so says the girl who got married to her own Commanding Officer, because that's a respectable thing to do. Give me a break, Petra! Instead of looking at your options or even trying to see what life might have in store for you, you clutched onto your precious Captain instead. You talk about bravery, discipline, but here's the facts: You're comfortable, Baby. You hide behind that man and expect him to fix all your problems, and so when life threw something unexpected your way where you might actually have to rely on your own strength for once, you buckled under pressure and took the easy way out. Right, congratulations 'Mrs. Ackerman'. I'm so proud."

Petra took a mortified breath, a hurt expression coming onto her face as she took a sharp inhale, "Dad. That is…that is not true. Levi is…Captain, he…" Again she took another breath and shook her head, and Petra stole a glance toward Levi, because some part of her was admittedly embarrassed that her Captain was hearing such words spoken about her, untrue or otherwise, and Levi merely watched her with a quirked eyebrow, as though silently presenting the question 'What now, Petra?'.

As if all the fire left her at once, Petra gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed her forehead wearily, "Dad, I just don't get it. You wanted me home, so here I am. Deny it all you want, but we both know you would have wanted to meet Levi, so here he is, on a silver platter."

There was a sigh from the Ackerman, "I'm not an offering, woman."

"Of course not Captain, you're far too short."

Levi gave a low sort of grumble and Petra took a breath, "Actually on that note Dad, I feel the need to remind you that Levi's your son in law, and you have been nothing but rude and dismissive of him when he's honestly a stand-up guy, and you know it because anyone less would have been run off by now. He's been here all week and you haven't really tried to talk to him, you only pick fights, and you've been so incredibly selfish and self-centered about this whole thing that I'm actually embarrassed for you. And as for everything you've said just now, you're wrong and that's all there is to it. I'm not settling, and I'm not running away or hiding behind Captain to be 'comfortable'. This Dad, this is anything but comfortable for me, bringing my Captain home when you're acting like this, but I'm here just the same because you matter to me! I know I hurt you, but you hurt me too, and I'm not acting out like you are. Why are you just trying to hold onto the anger and make this all draw out like this? Why can't you just accept me and Levi and move on?"

Her father shook his head, "You had a beautiful life here Princess, and you just walked away. I just want what's best for you, and if your mother were still here then she would say that-"

Petra gave a miserable groan and began pacing the room with short and agitated steps, "Dad, enough about mom already!"

Her father's expression grew more fierce and he pointed at her with a serious glower, "She was a wonderful woman Petra, and you'd do well to follow in her footsteps!"

"Follow in her footsteps, sure, not be her perfect damned-" her father's eyebrow rose, and Petra grimaced, "Uh, darned perfect replica, I mean."

"And there's that mouth again. A real lady wouldn't-"

"That's enough, Ral."

It was Levi that spoke, his voice lacking the volume of Petra and her father, yet reverberating with such seriousness and malice that the older man fell silent at once and watched him with obvious surprise. It had been almost a full week that the couple had been staying under his roof now, and while James found that he butted heads with the Captain multiple times a day, it was rare, if ever, that the younger male inserted himself in an argument between himself and his daughter. The fact that he was doing so now, for the first time since they had walked in the door, spoke volumes.

Levi shifted from where he was sitting on the couch and took a breath, "All due respect, but everything you're saying now has already been said, multiple times this week, so unless you have some new complaints, it may be time for you to count your losses and move on. If I recall, you are planning to start your trip in the morning so you can make your next scheduled product delivery, correct? Perhaps it would be a better use of your energy to prepare for that, instead of wasting everyone's limited time on such pointless conversation matter because it's getting needlessly repetitive."

When the man's green orbs narrowed all the more as he watched the Captain irritably, Levi crossed his arms and returned his glower with an equally displeased frown, "You'd do well to remember that even if Petra agreed with you on every front, she's still bound to the military for another three and a half years, so debating where she should or shouldn't be is a moot point because her contract stands just the same."

Her father pursed his lips, clearly displeased by Levi's dismissal of his frustrations and the man looked toward Petra, "See? Just like that, he comes in when the going gets rough and-"

"Because that's my fucking job." Levi cut him off and leaned to one side to grab the man's attention, because it seemed he was once again trying to harass his daughter as though he didn't even have the decency to respond to him directly, "Petra's my subordinate, and you're going to find that I intervene a lot on her behalf – not because she's weak, but simply because I care about her. For the record, I tend to take it personally when someone tries to fuck with one of the members of my squad, and that goes double for her now, seems as she's also my wife on top of it. To be frank Ral, I've had just about all I can stomach of your not so subtle disapproval, as well as the way you talk down to her at every presented opportunity. Learn to hold your tongue, or I will start intervening because I'm sick of your bullshit. She may be your daughter, but she's my subordinate, my wife, and my problem. She's no longer tied to your household – her being here at all was a mere courtesy, and you're taking her graciousness for granted."

Levi paused, some part of his mind saying that perhaps he was being unwise and he really should allow these matters to be sorted out between Petra and her father, and yet. He had been acting like the 'nice guy' and stubbornly, bitterly behaved like a disciplined, patient Captain that minded his manners and didn't raise to petty insults or baiting, all for Petra's sake, in hopes to help ease the turmoil in the Ral household, but such an approach…

Well, it hadn't done shit for him and he was tired of sitting passively in the background while his wife's emotions and accomplishments were being battered and abused.

Levi found he wasn't finished and his glare only intensified as he berated the older man, "Explain something to me Ral - for the past five years, I don't recall Petra saying even a single bad comment about you – not one. So how is it that after seeing the clear respect she has for you, it seems that respect is completely one sided, because I've been here for a week and I don't think you've said a single good thing about your daughter this whole time. Frankly, if you thought that poorly of her from the start, then one would think this is just another drop in the bucket and you'd be used to it by now. Your constant nitpicking and backhanded compliments are getting really, really fucking old."

Her father all but stammered, "I beg your pardon? You've got a lot of nerve to-"

"No. You've said quite enough for one night, don't you think? Good night, James." Levi bit out, a certain threat of warning underlying his tone, and he let out an irritable sigh because fuck, this day really just needed to come to an end.

The man's eyebrows rose for a moment, taken aback that the Captain apparently had the gall to order him around in his own home, but as he considered the alternative; angering the ill-tempered man, staying up until dawn fighting with Petra about what they had already been fighting about for years, he gave a long exhale and nodded in subdued defeat.

"Alright, fine Ackerman. I do have that trip to pack for in the morning, and I suppose there's not much left that needs to be said. I'll leave in the morning, but I'll be back pretty quickly once I make the delivery, so I better not come back to find that you over trained her while I was gone."

The man's attention shifted to Petra and he gave a tense sigh, "Night Baby. I'll see you in the morning."

"Right. Night, Dad."

The man left the room without further delay, and the moment his bedroom door opened and closed, Petra clenched her fists at her side and turned toward the kitchen with a snap. In a surge of thunder, she walked into the room, pausing and giving a huff, then walking back into the living room and doing the same thing in a sort of frazzled, unsatisfied pacing.

She did this a few more times without so much as looking at him or saying a single word, and Levi was almost too unnerved to speak, because he could feel her sheer displeasure in the air. At one point, she had grabbed a used coffee cup from off the counter, storming back into the kitchen and ranting that nothing got done around here unless she did it and that her father hadn't even thanked her for how well she was caring for the house. It was as she moved to the sink, furiously starting to scrub at the poor cup that Levi exhaled and quietly moved across the room, grabbing her arm with a sigh.

"Alright Petra. Let's go. Outside."

The ginger merely bristled and gave a shake of her head, "No, it's late and you should get to sleep. You'll be at the Garrison in the morning and-"

"Spar with me." Levi said simply, and instantly Petra paused in place at his words.

When he tugged at her arm again, Petra gave a small whisper, "Captain…I thought you said I wasn't ready to spar."

He sighed and nudged her for the third time, and Petra begrudgingly allowed herself to be pulled around to face him directly. Levi gave a small shake of his head, "You're not."

Petra gave a frustrated huff, trying to turn back to the cup so she could continue trying to squeeze it to death, and Levi's grip on her arm tightened as he held her gaze flatly, "Truth is it's a pretty stupid idea and I probably shouldn't let you, but I know you've had a shitty day, and you need to blow off some steam. I get that I was kind of an ass earlier so that didn't help, and I figured this is a way I can try to atone for that. I'm…well, I'm admittedly frustrated. I know you don't need me to tell you this, but this trip isn't exactly going well. Frankly, I'm starting to wonder why the hell you fight so hard to come back here like you do. Not trying to be an ass, but it doesn't seem like you've got much to come back to."

Petra gave a sigh and shook her head miserably, "I do though, Captain, truly – and it kills me that you can't see it because of how poorly my Dad is behaving. He's really smart, thoughtful, decisive – he's got a lot of good traits that I look up to it's just…I guess he and I have never learned how to fight without it turning into something like this. I'm trying to keep it together, because I know I need to do my part to fix it as I'm not blameless in this situation but…"

"You're overextending yourself." Levi finished for her, and Petra sighed, giving a defeated nod and staring into the floor in complete dejection. Levi sorted his thoughts and continued, "You are trying to train on your vacation, which is arbitrary in and of itself but I understand you have goals and I support that. None the less, the results aren't what you thought they would be and that's taking its toll on you. You are trying to make amends with your father, and even though he is behaving horribly toward you, you're still holding back your pride to meet him halfway, and that takes its toll on you. You feel guilt at my expense because of how your father treats me, even though his behavior is his problem alone, yet none the less, that's taking its toll on you as well." Levi almost shook his head at all his wife was attempting to shoulder on her own, and he nudged her again, "You need some fresh air, Petra, and maybe swinging your fists around will help you relax a little. Besides, if you're going to irritate your ankle by stomping around like this anyway, then you may as well own it and do something you actually enjoy doing in the process of hurting yourself. I mean, hell, we are on vacation, right? Maybe it's time you got to do something a little reckless. The Captain in me doesn't like it, but…as your husband, I say fuck it."

Levi took a breath and watched her for a response, finding that he wasn't sure if he was doing it right at all. He had no idea if she just wanted to be left alone, if she wanted to be mad at him personally, if she wanted to rant about all her father had said to her – so when her eyes lit up and she gave a shy nod of her head, a slight smile coming to her face as she watched him, Levi felt a surge of relief and merely pulled her toward the door without a moment's delay.

"Wait, shouldn't we change first?"

"Right, so you can get more of my clothes dirty? I'll pass."

…

End of Chapter

...

There we have it for this week's update. I'll keep it short this week and just wish yall a great, productive week! Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see yall at the next update!

~Mid