Isabel entered the parlor, greeting everyone loudly with a big smile on her face.
In the last weeks, she was a regular guest, not only to see her friend but also as a client; in fact, a special kind of client since all her tattoos were sponsored by Levi. Her collection grew pretty fast since she got her first one.
She fist-bumped Eld and Oluo on her way to Petra's workplace.
"Hi, hi! I want to talk to you. When you'll be free?" She asked and looked up and down at the man the ginger was tattooing.
"We just started, so probably in two hours. What is it?" Petra asked, taking her hands back from Zeke's chest and looked up at her.
"Private stuff," Isabel responded, taking the glasses off the stranger. She inspected them.
"Isa!"
"Weird. Very hipster. Are we still even using that word?" she thought out loud and gave them back to their owner. "Cool, but they make you look old."
Petra laughed awkwardly, turning her head to the blonde who seemed confused.
"Sorry, she's a bit…peculiar."
"It's fine. I think she might be right," Zeke responded, sending her a smile. "If it's something important, we can take a break."
"No worries, I will wait. We can talk later. You know where to find me," Isa interrupted and punched Petra's arm lightly with a smile. "Don't forget about me though, I'd chase you down," she laughed on her way to the stairs.
To her surprise, she didn't find her friend there.
Levi stood up from his spotless desk and made his way to the window to look down at the street. It was busy, even with the tragic weather that haunted them lately. He let himself yawn since he was alone in the office anyway. Unfortunately, sleeping with Petra didn't cure his insomnia. Even though she definitely helped him rest more.
Weeks might have passed, but the whole situation that put him in detention still lingered on his mind. He was, in fact, still ignoring it, but it didn't sit right with him to just forget about it. He considered the option to frame Dieter just for him to end up locked but for now, it was better to stay low. It was tempting, especially thanks to Farlan, who seemed to be absolutely washed out from the feeling of guilt.
A laugh at the parlor snapped him back to reality. He headed to the door, closing the laptop on his way.
Gunther and Oluo stopped their banter at his sight.
"If you're not working, don't fucking blabber behind my door," He told them and grimaced at the sight of their amused salutes.
He passed them and ran his fingers through his hair to get it out of his sight. It was getting long, and it was starting to piss him off.
"Oi, Petra, do you want-"
He stopped and blinked, not sure if he didn't start having some hallucinations from the lack of sleep.
The woman he addressed looked in his direction above her shoulder.
"Want what?" She asked curiously and raised her eyebrows at the sight of his cold look. It wasn't directed at her but her client.
"Oh! Hi Levi! I've been wondering when you will join us. Your girlfriend is very sweet, unlike you," Zeke greeted him with a genuine smile.
When Levi stepped in their direction, Petra could already tell from his moves how much he was tensed. If looks could kill, it would be one of those.
"What the fuck are you doing here, you shit?" he asked.
Zeke's expression seemed confused, but he was still smiling. He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.
"Getting tattooed."
"Get the fuck out of here before I throw you out myself."
"Levi!" Petra interrupted, putting her tattoo machine on the small table she had on her side.
He noticed how red her face got when she stood up.
"A word, please," she said nervously and grabbed his hand to pull him in the direction of his office.
Levi sent Zeke a despising look while they passed their co-workers who just hanged at the counter, watching the show.
Petra let go of his hand and closed the door behind them. She took a deep breath and faced him.
"What are you doing?"
"Putting trash where it is supposed to be."
"Care to elaborate?"
"This bitch is like a number one enemy of the Parlor."
"Enemy...?"
"Listen. Right when the business started booming, this shithead pooped out and decided that he wanted this place. He would use any of his ass-worthy tactics to make the landlord kick us out. I swear to god if Erwin wasn't there I'd cut-"
"Ok, ok, stop," she said seeing how fired up he started to get. She put her hands on his arms and clashed with his angry look. "Take a deep breath, you're not thinking straight. I respect that you're angry, but he's my client. He already paid, and he's really not problematic. I don't want the parlor to get a negative opinion online because the boss of said place abused the client. Okay?"
"He literally spammed our place with fake negative rates back then."
"You'll tell me everything later. I know, it sucks, but please let me do my job," she asked and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Even though his brows were as tensed as before, she could see how he, unwillingly, calmed down at her words.
"Isabel came to see you. She's upstairs, maybe you should go and chill with her a bit? I swear to be cautious if Zeke will try to do anything shady."
"Tsk. So, you're on first name terms now?"
"Levi, please. Let it go. I'll take you on a date after I'm done. How about that?"
He tried to resist the smile on her face, but it was inevitable.
"Whatever. Don't trust him, he's the most sneaky lawyer I've seen. He might try to get out information from you to use against me."
"Yes, definitely, he will be delighted to learn you love head scratches, like a puppy."
The frown on his face made her giggle.
"Ok. I'm going back to work," she said, amused and rushed to the door.
"Wait."
Petra stopped and looked back at him.
"Can you cover yourself?" he asked pointing at the boob window on her shirt.
"Sorry about that," She said, sitting down on her stool.
Zeke was sipping his cold tea. He looked unbothered and laughed.
"Don't worry, we're friends, I know how he is."
"I don't think he sees you as one…" she responded doubtfully, despite her best attempt to sound polite.
"Really?! I did everything to get him out in that trial. Gosh darn it." he said sadly, putting the cup away.
"You were involved in it?" she asked, surprised, and leaning towards him to not speak so loudly.
"Well, partially, but I give myself some credit."
"I see…"
Reaching for her tattoo machine, she realized how few details she really knew about the trial itself.
"Was it that hard? From what I know, it ended at the penalty."
"Exactly, thanks to me, his lawyer Yelena and Erwin."
"Erwin was there?"
Zeke looked at her, intrigued by her surprise. Petra gave him a gesture to lay back on the chair and continued her work.
"I see that you're not really up with the topic. Interesting."
"I just...didn't ask before. The fact that he's back is the most important to me," she said in a softer voice.
"Ay, ay, ay!" he hissed as she reached his sternum with the needle.
"I told you this place might hurt," she said, shaking her head.
After Zeke left their shop with far too many tattoo aftercare products, Petra joined Eld's side.
"You're still not finished? It's pretty late," she asked curiously and watched him standing up from the workplace he was preparing.
"I'm taking as many clients as possible. I get anxious when I think about the kid being born and stuff. Jesus, I need to save so much."
"Okay, okay, no need to get so stressed!" Petra interrupted seeing how fast he panicked. "There is still a lot of time, right?"
"Yeah, but we spent most of our savings on the wedding and the honeymoon. We both work but… Would that be enough for the kid to have everything they will need?"
"Take it easy. Maybe you can plan everything out? I'm sure it will be ok, and you know we will all help if you need that."
Eld sighed and put a hand to his forehead.
"Yeah, I know; but that would be embarrassing."
Petra punched his arm lightly.
"As if we'd let you refuse," she laughed, and he sent him a smile. "Don't overwork yourself. I will keep an eye on you."
After making sure that Eld understood she was not joking, she made her way upstairs.
Levi was playing some shooting game with Isabel on the PS5.
"Is the trash already out?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the TV.
"Yes. I mean...he's not that bad; actually kind of funny, I'd say."
The look he sent her couldn't be described as anything else than offended. The triumphal laughter of Isabel brought their attention to her. She turned her head to Levi.
"In your face, sucker!" Isa yelled and stood up to stretch out her arms, leaving the controller on the couch. Levi's expression didn't even change as he only grunted "huh," and looked back at Petra.
"He actually gave a lot of money to the shop. Do you think he tries to compensate for what he's done?"
"Fuck no. He tries to make you think he's a decent human being."
"You're the king of holding a grudge, you know?" Petra shook her head.
"Okay, Pet," Isa interrupted them." Do you have time to talk now?"
The ginger raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"I guess."
"Good, so let's get into it. Why didn't you sue Dieter yet?"
A silence filled the room as both were struck by her question. Petra looked down and Levi stood up the moment he noticed her uneasy expression.
"Isa, what the hell?" he asked, but there was nothing aggressive in his tone. He sounded more frustrated.
"What? He should be the defendant from the start, right?"
Petra sighed, making them look at her.
"Let's talk through this over tea, how about that?"
"Sure," Levi said with a grim look in his eyes and since no one moved yet, he decided to be the first one proceeding to the kitchen.
They sat on the stools at the kitchen counter in awkward silence. Petra knew they waited for her to be ready to talk.
"It's not really something I can explain easily," she started, picking the words she used carefully. "Honestly, I didn't even think of that."
Levi averted his gaze from her to the cup in his hand. He couldn't understand, but at the same time, he also didn't think of that. His first thought was to kill the man; that would be a pretty fucked up thing to do. Maybe he should reconsider going to therapy after all.
"Why?" Isabel asked, clearly bothered by the situation.
Petra bit her lips nervously and averted her eyes as well.
"When we were still together similar things happened. Never like that, fortunately. But since I…" she stopped for a moment and frowned. "Since I didn't want to lose him, I never reported it. I don't want to go through all this. Testifying, the trial, seeing him denying everything. It would suck...and I know it's bad, but I prefer to just hide."
Levi put his cup down, suddenly not in the mood for it at all.
"What proof do you even need in a situation like that?" Isa asked with a stern look of concentration on her face.
"I don't know. I prefer not to do that anyway," Petra replied in a low voice.
"I think you should at least consider it. He's clearly a creep. I don't know if Levi told you, but I kinda had to lure him out of the bar, and it was like, a million red flags from the start."
"He wasn't like that when we first got together, I wouldn't deal with someone like that," she quickly explained herself.
Levi looked up at her, trying his best not to let anger overflow him again.
"I agree with Isabel, you should reconsider it. I will ask my lawyer how it works."
"I... I will think about it; but not today," she added, and her face lightened up.
Isabel smiled and stood up to pat Petra's arm.
"Good. I gotta go, I have plans,"
"What plans?" Levi asked, alerted.
"With Notyo."
"Who?"
"Not your business, old man."
Petra laughed covering her mouth. It was hard to get used to how much Isabel could push him without pissing him off. It was a great phenomenon to her. He, on the other hand, didn't look amused at all.
Isabel went to put on her shoes and jacket before throwing another goodbye to them and running out.
"I can't get used to her energy," Petra said with a smile. "She kinda reminds me of Hange."
"Hange is a lost cause."
"Hange is a fantastic person. If I wasn't with you, I'd be jealous of Moblit," she said teasingly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Just that I didn't think you were into me really; for a long time. And then I thought you were just teasing me, so there was a time when I considered that option."
"Tsk." he let out but didn't really know how to comment on that. He sucked at flirting, that he was sure of. He noticed Petra move her eyes to him. Her smile was his favorite sight.
"You're the best thing that happened to me in years," she said outright, which made him even more speechless. She noticed his trouble and grabbed his hand. "Let's go on that date, shall we?"
"Fine."
Surprisingly, going out together wasn't something they did often. They had so much time for each other at the parlor, that usually, it was enough. Petra wandered with those thoughts in mind when he took her hand in his as they strolled down the street. Even though the rain stopped a long time ago, they could still feel it in the air. Some people turned their heads after them, since they were this funky, short couple.
Petra got closer and after a brief moment, she let go of his hand and embraced his arm. When he looked at her, he was greeted by her smile. He let out a breath. She was a lot to handle; in a good way. He just got used to her affection in private and now had to learn to deal with it in public - not like he cared what people thought of them. Actually, he was eager to throw hands if anyone tried to comment on anything they would do.
They decided to grab some tortillas on their way before Petra finally stopped them at the bus stop. Levi looked at it and sent her a questioning look.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To my favorite spot."
"Is it far?"
"Not really."
"We could've taken my car."
"I have beer cans in my backpack and I don't plan to drink them alone."
He sighed, moved to stand in front of her, and fastened the buttons of her beige coat. It didn't fit her street-wear clothes underneath at all. He couldn't care less, but the wind was what bothered him.
"It's getting colder with each day. Do you have a scarf or do I have to buy one for you?" he muttered under his breath.
Petra was relieved to see that the bus that arrived wasn't one of those old smelly ones. Levi would probably refuse to enter it if it were the case. Fortunately, they happened to get the latest one. He still wasn't pleased with that, but it wasn't the worst. They sat in the back of the vehicle.
They chatted a little, which in fact included mostly Petra talking and Levi giving her all of his attention. Eventually, she stopped and after a minute of looking at the sight through the window, she laid her head on his arm.
"Don't fall asleep. I don't know where we are supposed to get off."
He felt her arm moving when she giggled.
"I won't. I swear."
"Good," he added and after another few minutes, he laid the side of his head on her own.
"I'm starting to suspect you're about to murder me," he said while she led him down the old road. There was nothing around here, only fields with some shrubs and bushes scattered around. From the sight of a large, rusty bridge in front of them, he concluded they were heading to the river.
Petra looked at him above her shoulder and laughed.
"Like I would know how to," she pointed.
"Good to hear that's the only thing stopping you."
"Was that a joke?" she asked, amused and intertwined their fingers.
Levi grunted something in response, but she couldn't hear.
As they reached the bridge, a smell of surprisingly fresh air surrounded them. The fog and the gray sky reminded him of a lot of horror films he'd seen, but Petra seemed to be in a perfectly happy mood.
"Do you expect me to sit on the ground? Because that's not happening," he told her as she took the backpack off her arms.
"I knew you would say that." she said, opening it." That's why I took my hoodie. It will do as a blanket."
"You could've just told me we need a blanket."
"I didn't want to spoil anything!"
He sighed and moved closer to her to grab her face from underneath, squishing her cheeks.
"You're so childish sometimes."
"Ish that a prophlem?" she asked looking him in the eyes, voice distorted by the way he held her. He took his hand back.
"No. It's funny," he said with a straight face. "But stupid."
He lost his balance for a second when she hugged him happily. Maybe they didn't need sunshine after all. She was right there doing its job.
She felt his hands pulling her closer and took a chance to sneak her arms under his unzipped jacket to embrace him under it.
"Are you cold?" he asked right away, and she purred lazily in response.
"No, but I like to be close to you."
"You're weird."
"Am I?" she asked, burying her face in his neck. "Or are you just not used to being...um...very cared for?"
"What even is that sentence?"
"Never mind," she said and let go of him to reach for the backpack that fell from her hands before. She took the hoodie out of it and spread it on the metallic verge of the bridge.
"Are you planning to fall into the river?"
"Not really. Do you?"
"I'd rather sit on the dirty ground."
"You should consider stand-up comedy. You're on fire today."
"Mhm."
Levi took her backpack and sat first, just to make sure she'd join him safely, which she did, gladly accepting his help.
"It's so peaceful in here," she sighed while he took out the beers she got them.
"We're still near the city, right? I never rode through there."
"It's not a very popular place. I used to party here in my high school days, but somehow everyone forgot about it. At least I never saw anyone hanging out here after that."
"Were you coming back often?"
"Rarely. But it's a good place to calm down and just get your mind together about stuff - a good place to be alone, but not lonely."
They opened the cans at the same time and looked at the flowing river, taking a sip.
"Can I fuck up the mood?" he asked and turned his head to meet her worried expression. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Well, actually, I also wanted to ask you something."
"Okay," he answered and frowned. "Do you want to go first?"
"No, go on." she shook her head.
"Fine. I know it sucks talking about this," he started and looked away for a moment with a tense expression on his face. He tried his best to word it right, "Eld once said the key to a good relationship is talking through shit. Like, I wouldn't fucking know, but that sounds like something sensible."
"Yeah... I don't think we got that right so far," she admitted letting her arms fall down. "So? What is it?"
"What exactly happened that night? How did you bump into him?"
Petra closed her eyes for a moment and sighed quietly.
"If that's too much, you don't have to answer," he stated, looking back at the water beneath them.
"It's fine. But it's fucked up, and...you can say I learned my lesson."
He twitched at the word she used, but she didn't notice.
"I don't know how, but he found my phone number. He sent me a message saying how bad he felt with all of this, and… Of course, I ignored him, but he wrote that he would end his life if I didn't come back to him. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking because I went to see him without a single thought of getting back together, I just… Couldn't bear the thought of having his blood on my hands."
"Come on, it's like the classic beta-male play."
"Well, it's easy for you to say that," she pointed in a defensive reaction, and hearing this, Levi took the beer in his other hand to grab her left one.
"Sorry."
"Anyway... We met up in the city center because I didn't want him to know where I live. He pretended to be sad but the moment I told him that he should get help and that I'm not coming back, he got mad. He couldn't know, but I guess he figured out that we are together. He started yelling some stupid stuff and then slapped me. That's it."
She was surprised how indifferent she was able to talk about this now. After being sure this will be painful, it was weird to feel nothing.
"That's all?" he asked, feeling absolutely pathetic because of this. Dieter's words lingered in his mind like a mold he couldn't get rid of.
"I ran, and I think someone stopped him because I lost him two blocks away," she said, feeling lighter after sharing it. She caressed the side of his hand with her thumb.
"Okay. In conclusion, he is indeed a beta-male piece of shit."
"Yes. That sounds about right," she agreed and finally turned her head to him. "I wanted to ask you about the trial."
Levi looked up at her, his eyebrow going up.
"What about it?"
"You told me about how it all went, but not about what happened later. Why did they hold you in detention so long?"
"It was pre-trial detention. I had to wait."
"But that's usually up to...three days? Right?"
"I was already in their archives, from all the shit I did in the past. They looked for any excuse to keep me there. They can do that for as long as they find new stuff or something like that. That stuff is my lawyer's job, not mine."
"Zeke told me Erwin was there," she said openly and watched as his face darkened.
"Yes, and he was the one to call that piece of shit for help."
"Was he with you that day?"
"No, he... He just knows people. And it helps."
"That's new. I thought he was just a firefighter."
"He is. But he's also influential as fuck. Don't ask me how, I prefer not to know. I have a big-ass dept from all the shit he got me out of."
Petra hummed thoughtfully. This day was full of surprises.
"I wish I could get to know him better."
"Tsk."
She averted her eyes from the sight to look at her boyfriend. A little smile appeared on her face.
"Are you actually jealous?"
"No."
She put her can down and turned to put her hands on the sides of his face to turn him to her.
"You're silly to think I'd want anyone else," she told him, not bothered by his cold stare. All she could focus on was the beauty of the gray shade in his eyes.
Petra watched his wide back from her side of the bed. Technically, both sides belonged to her, since it was her bed, but not that night.
After their little trip, he agreed to come to her place. They made dinner together and talked until the clock reminded them they have work tomorrow by showing it's 1 AM already.
She was the one to insist that he should try to sleep even if he wasn't that tired, but now she ended up the one to not be able to close her eyes in peace. Her sight got used to the dark a long time ago and there wasn't anything more interesting to look at than the muscles on his back visible under his shirt.
After another few minutes, she moved closer, considering if touching him now would wake him up. With his sleeping habits, she would prefer to avoid that. Before she could make up her mind he turned to her, which made them end up face to face.
"I thought you were asleep," she whispered when she noticed he was looking at her from under his lowered eyelids.
"I wish," he responded voice low, but not as much as hers.
"Today was a ride, in terms of emotions," she pointed out.
"Something's bothering you?"
Petra closed her eyes when she felt his hand caressing her hair.
"No. I'm glad we talked."
"Me too," he muttered, moving his head closer.
A soft kiss on her lips made her open her eyes in surprise. He buried his fingers in the peachy strands of her hair when she kissed him back. It was slow, he would even call it lazy, but neither of them changed that.
That was until Petra moved up to the point where she ended up laying on his chest. The lust in her eyes made his body burn, but she stopped his hand when he wanted to touch her side.
"Let me please you first," she whispered to his lips and pulled on his lip piercing teasingly before moving down to his neck. He let out a deep sigh when she started to mark him with her teeth.
It was weird when she didn't want to be touched; he didn't know what to do with his hands. It started to feel awkward for him, but Petra distracted him when she slid her hands up his chest, making his shirt go up. He helped her take it off and sent her a warning glare when she slowly slid one hand down but stopped at the hem of his sweatpants. He didn't like to be teased, or so he thought until she sent him a smile. This woman definitely knew what she was doing. She lowered her head and started a trail of kisses down his tattooed chest.
He let it go, reached his hand to grab the other pillow, and put it on the one under his head. If she was so eager to show off, he could at least enjoy the view.
