The sun was almost rising when Petra took a peek at the clock. Oh, how dead will she be at work, she thought and sighed, entering the kitchen again.

"Should I make you a melissa this time?"

There was no answer which made her turn her head to notice he was sitting with his arms crossed and head slightly tilted down. His eyes were closed.

"...Levi?" She tried again and after a few seconds her eyebrows went up. So, he really could sleep on a chair. It was the last thing she would expect from someone so demanding of the highest standards.

It took her a moment to decide to wake him up. She started with placing a hand at his arm and opened her mouth to call him again, but he was already looking at her. His reaction time spooked her as much as the scary look of his tired eyes.

He relaxed momentarily seeing her face and closed them again.

"No, no, wake up. I'll take you to bed."

"Hm?" Was the only response she got, and she was pretty sure that he didn't get what she was saying anyway.

"Come on."

Petra moved closer to uncross his arms and helped him get up when he looked at her half-asleep again. Knowing how sleepless nights were frequent for him, she tried her best to be gentle while leading him in the right directions.

His leather jacket and shoes were already off, so at least dragging him to the bedroom was the only thing she had to do.

He laid down burying his face in her pillow and Petra was pretty sure that he fell back to sleep right away. Her mind was blurry from staying up so late, and for a moment, she was just standing there, listening to the birds chirping outside the window.

When she snapped out of it, she went around the bed and was about to lay down but stopped halfway. It was weird to sleep in the same bed just like that, or rather, without his full consent. She was glad she owned a double bed. After a moment of hesitation she laid herself at the very end of it. As much as she loved being close to him, the boundaries in her mind had a higher priority. Slowly drifting off, she reached out her hand on the mattress in his direction. It stopped when she fell asleep, never reaching its destination.


Levi woke up first.

Something was not right. The mattress was too soft, the smell of the sheets unfamiliar, and he definitely felt he was still in his yesterday's clothes.

He blinked twice before focusing his eyes on the Sleeping Beauty in front of him. For a moment, he was mesmerized by how peaceful she looked before he noticed she was drooling on the pillow. He smiled for a short moment before coming back to reality and sitting up.

It was time to go.


Petra woke up to her 8AM alarm.

She rolled over to the other side of the bed and reached her hand to stop it. It took her a moment to realize that the pillow was covered in Levi's lovely smell. She grumbled already knowing he wasn't there anymore and hugged it. This damn man was sneaking out from any chance to make a move. Such a badass and yet so timid.

It made her want him even more.

A message preview on her lock screen said:
"i'll take care of the coffee today."


A loud applause welcomed Eld when he entered the parlor in the evening.

"Ready for your last day of freedom?" asked Oluo only to get elbowed on his side by Petra.

"Tomorrow is the best day of his life, shut up!"

Eld laughed approaching them.

"So I guess Levi didn't make it?"

The ginger shook her head.

Two weeks passed since Levi went to the capital as a guest for another parlor. It was weird to the whole squad when there was no one to boss them around. They were just so used to it, the atmosphere was too sweet without him.

"But he is on the way. He wrote on the group chat that he will join us when he arrives, like in an hour." She added, sending him a smile.

"That's not so bad. It's early anyway, we can start here." the blonde suggested.


Levi was mortified when he finally came home just to see his squad drunk as hell, making a mess in his precious studio.

"Oi, idiots! Are you some teenage brats? The fuck are you still doing here?"

Everyone looked at him falling silent. Eld, who was the most sober from all, sent him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I said we should wait for you here, but things got a little out of hand." he explained helping Oluo get up from the floor.

Petra stormed out of the break room.

"Did I hear-" she went silent at the sight of Levi."You're back! Finally." she beamed happily and left the bottles with their drinks on the counter on her way to him. She was overjoyed to see him, and it was even better to see that the bruise on his cheekbone almost disappeared by now.

He was surprised when she hugged him in front of all of them.

Eld and Gunther exchanged glances agreeing on never letting him forget that they saw this face of his. It was just too funny to see their strict boss being absolutely melted by her. Drunk Oluo was calculating if he should be more jealous of his idol or the woman he's crushing on. It actually distracted him fully from what was happening.

"Okay, there…" Levi said awkwardly and patted her back with one hand since he held his laptop bag in the other. A chill went through his body when she subtly pecked on the skin of his neck while moving back.

"Go upstairs and prepare yourself for the best night, captain!" exclaimed Gunther raising the hand with his beer up.

"Yeah!" Petra encouraged him while he was still recovering from whatever the fuck was happening.

"Give me 10 minutes." He told them and fixed the bag on his arm before heading up. He stopped halfway on the stairs and looked at them.

"The parlor better be spotless when I come down." he declared in a threatening tone that made them salute, only half jokingly.


"No, no, it's ok, Eld, we should go!"

They were standing on the street in the city center. There were plenty of people enjoying the Friday night.

Petra tried to convince him that the strip club was not a bad idea, and it could be actually fun. She loved to hype those girls and the view was pretty too, so how could she not enjoy it?

"Uh...no, thanks, I really love Monika, I don't want to-"

"Come on, it has nothing to do with love or cheating." she cried and Levi took the responsibility to grab her arms and pull her away from the poor tall man in front of her.

"I think she has a problem controlling her alcohol consumption." he stated while the woman sent him a grumpy look.

They turned their heads hearing the sound of Oluo vomiting to the public trashcan. Gunther was there as an emotional support, patting him on the back, but also laughing his ass off.

"Looks like she's not the only one. What a duo." Eld sighed, but the smile didn't leave his face the whole night.

They hit the town right after Levi officially joined them and were already after a few drinks from their favorite bar. They've decided it was a good time to explore the city some more.

"Is there any place you actually want to go?" Levi asked him from above Petra's shoulder, as he was still holding her. She laid her weight on him while looking at the clear night sky with a peculiar curiosity painted on her face.

Eld raised his hand to the back of his head and took a moment to think.

"Not really. But we could grab some more beers and hang out by the river. It's not so cold."

"Just that?"

"Yes. Honestly, I just like spending time with all of you."

Levi grunted, averting his eyes.

"Jesus, you've always been so sentimental." he said making the other man smile even wider.

"I know, right? But it's actually nice. It lets me appreciate the present time, not only the past. You should try it."

"I don't know, seems a little wack."


"Ral! Come back here at once!"

"But I'm fine!"

"I'll get her!" Oluo volunteered before being stopped by Levi grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back.

"I swear, you brats."

Petra was sitting on some tube-construction that went above the river. It looked stable but was oval, so Levi was more than sure that she will eventually fall in this state.

Gunther and Eld were watching them amused from afar, still at the place that they had picked when they came here.

The night was unbelievably nice and warm for this season.

"Bozado stay on the shore, or you'll be fired." Levi threatened him and approached the construction to climb on it. He was drunk too but definitely not as much as them.

Petra looked at him curiously and propped herself to stand up. She was lucky that she didn't go too far because he managed to catch her hand when she slipped on the wet surface. She regained her balance.

"Don't panic!"

"'I'm not! I'm with you, nothing bad can happen." She said happily and with all her concentration focused on it, she approached him carefully.

"Do you even know how filthy the water in that river is? I'd rather die than jump in."

"That's why I didn't end up in it in the first place."

"You're insane."

They went down together. Levi dragged both her and Oluo back to the others.

"They are stupid, I can't deal with it." He announced which made Eld and Gunther laugh.

"It could be worse, they could decide to jump right into the water." Gunther pointed out.

"We would lose two artists at once then, what a shame."

"We will keep an eye on them, try to chill out a bit, boss." Eld suggested while putting his beer down on his side.

Levi breathed out and took one of the unopened bottles laying in front of them.

He left them, in need of some space, and stopped a bit further, so he could calm down in peace. He wasn't so stressed because of them, as it looked like, but rather from the things he had to take care of in the last weeks.

Deep in thought, he didn't know how much time have passed before he noticed Petra joining his side. They didn't let her get anything more to drink.

She was visibly lurking to catch his attention, so he faced her to meet her worried expression.

"Do you really think I'm stupid?" she asked anxiously.

He raised his free hand and put in on her head.

"Yes. Drunk Ral is pissing me off."

She looked sincerely sad and he huffed.

"No, I don't think you're stupid." He added. He couldn't express how concerned she made him. If he had to, he would jump to that nasty river without a second thought.

"I'm so happy to see you again." She said with a smile back on her face.

"Hmm? You missed me?" He asked sarcastically but of course, she responded with full honesty.

"Yeah."

He put his hand down and sighed.

"Excited for tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. I love wedding parties. And I swear to drink less. You have my full consent to stop me if I'll start overdoing it."

He looked at her with a defeated expression, then raised his hand, this time to grab her face from below and squeezed her cheeks. She could feel the coolness of the rings he was wearing.

"I don't understand how can you be so responsible and immature at the same time."

She furrowed her brows in response.

"I am because I know I'm with people I can trust." she mumbled, and he let go of her.


Night was still young for Levi when they decided it's time to go. They had to keep enough energy to survive the wedding. Gunther went home on foot while Eld and Oluo took a taxi as they lived in the same area.

Petra watched Levis back as he was looking for an Uber ride for himself. She took a deep breath and approached him when he put the phone down. She took his hand in hers.

"Can I stay the night at your place?" she asked looking him deeply in the eyes. She noticed a small change in his expression, but she couldn't quite place what emotion was that.

"You're always welcomed." he responded and intertwined their fingers.


There was a heavy tension in the air on their ride to the parlor. His hand was laying on her thigh while she was slowly caressing it with her fingers. A thought about how he wished she would wear a skirt instead of pants went through his mind.

Petra was excited, but the ride was making her a little sleepy. She wanted to just lay on his arm and drift away.

When they finally arrived to his apartment, she stretched and turned to him.

"I need a shower, this means you will have to lend me clothes again." she demanded, nothing like she would ask if she was completely sober.

"I'll bring you something." he responded, deeply relived that she was the one who suggested it, and he didn't have to try being subtle about it. He on the other hand felt fine with himself since he showered before they went out.

It took her some time but when she got out of the bathroom in his shirt, she found him waiting on the couch with his elbows on the backrest. His jacket was gone and the fitted shirt made a perfect display for his tattoo sleeves. He noticed she was back and suddenly, she lost all her courage. He was just too intimidating like that. Despite feeling like this, she couldn't take her eyes off him.

He stood up and approached her only to stop dreadfully close, not breaking the eye contact.

"You sure you're not still crazy drunk?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling good. I'm... I am very aware." she said and cursed herself for how awkward it sounded.

He didn't look like it bothered him in the slightest.

Petra let out a surprised squeak when she got picked up by her thighs and pinned to the wall. There was a little moment of anticipation between them before he came closer to catch her lips in his.

She tightened her legs around his hips and moaned softly when she felt his tongue slipping in to meet hers. Her hands moved up from his arms to embrace his neck with one of them and bury the other in his dark hair.

They separated when he moved back to carry her to his bedroom. Levi let out a heavy breath when she started leaving a set of hot kisses on his neck on their way. It was hard to focus on anything which made him stop for a second to steady her in his arms before finally getting to the bed.

She fell down, and Levi immediately fell in love with her red face and turned on expression. She was definitely the most beautiful person he has ever seen. Her legs brought him closer which made him get to her neck this time. Since his hands were finally free, he let them wander over her body. She felt fragile under his touch which made him think twice before making any moves. He heard her holding her breath when he traced her nipple with his thumb through the hem of the shirt. It almost made him shudder from the excitement, he adored her every reaction.

She broke his teasing session by pressing herself to his crotch. The sound that escaped from his mouth surprised both of them.

"Fuck, at least let me fetch condoms." he said in an aroused tone.

She giggled taking her legs and arms off him. He sighed and quickly raised himself to go out of the room. He stopped in his tracks trying to remember where he put them. It was some time since he actually needed them. The state that Petra was able to cause in him wasn't something easy to achieve. He made a mess going through the cabinet, but he didn't care at the moment.

When he finally made his way back with excitement he stopped abruptly under the door frame to lay against it a moment later and raise his hand to his forehead.

Levi laughed at himself bitterly.

The ginger woman was already sleeping sweetly, with her hand buried in the boxers he borrowed her.