Petra and Oulo sat at the parlor's couch, watching the teenagers awkwardly standing around while chatting with each other.

"Tsk. It's so crowded here." The ashy-haired man pointed out, even though there were only a couple of them.

"They still need a week to finish the other place, you know." Petra reminded him.

"The kids are very lively, huh…"

"Well, you handpicked them, so you're taking responsibility if they get on your boss's nerves." She teased, sending him a small devilish smile. Her attention was quickly stolen by Mikasa, who just came up to them.

"I want to sign up too."

Petra raised herself from her half-sitting, half-lying position.

"Really?"

"Sorry, kid. All places are taken." Oulo pointed.

"Wait, no. She's family, come on." Petra sent him a scolding look. She turned her head back to the girl. "Are you sure about that? You didn't seem interested before."

"Some of them are my friends. I want to join."

"I'm sure we will find a place for one more attendant, right?" The ginger looked at her friend.

"Ugh, we need your parents' approval first." Oulo replied, scratching the back of his head.

Petra smiled at the sight of Levi, who came in as summoned by overhearing their conversation.

"I'll take care of that." He interrupted them. "By the looks of them, they could use some good examples on how to behave."

A small smile appeared on the girl's face.

He then moved back to the counter to lean on it and read the names of the participants. After a few "present!" and "here!" he stopped. A thick line appeared between his eyebrows.

"Eren Yeager." He said and looked up at the boy who replied. By the appearance, he didn't look similar to their fellow lawyer. The weird look he sent the teen didn't go unnoticed, but no one dared to address it. Levi finished checking the list and folded his arms.

"Listen, brats, I'm in charge, but you're going to listen to all of us . You listen, follow our rules and if you fuck up, you're done. I won't be teaching any uncooperative kids. It's a real workplace, so behave like human beings. This golden retriever man is your supervisor. Good luck, don't waste our time."

After a moment of uncertainty of the kids waiting to see if he said any more, , the teenagers followed Eld to Levi's office that was temporarily turned into a workspace to teach them.

The ginger got up and caught up to the man who was still standing at the counter.

"You're so mean to them, they are kids." She pointed out softly, sending him a smile.

"Maybe you're getting too accustomed to your special treatment." He said, bringing his free hand up to grab her face from the bottom in a way that let him squeeze her cheeks. Although his expression was cold, the gesture was affectionate.

Petra huffed and moved back, detangling herself with ease.

"No flirting at work, remember?" She reminded him.

"As you please."


"Levi. I need to tell you something, but you need to stay calm. "

He looked up at the woman who had just entered his living room. She looked at him concerned, but with an attentive expression.

His eyes widened and he stood up from the couch as if it burned him.

"Fuck, no, are you serious?"

Petra looked at him puzzled before she followed his train of thoughts.

"Oh my god, Levi, no. I'm not pregnant," she rolled her eyes and approached him as his posture relaxed. His eyebrows persist, frowned. "Listen… I need you to be mature about it."

"The fuck do you mean mature, I'm almost thirty."

"Yes, and you're still throwing fists at people instead of talking."

He wrinkled his nose in irritation. She had a point.

"So, what is it?"

Petra sighed and positioned herself between him and the front door to his apartment.

"There was… an accident." She said and averted her eyes for a second. "Mikasa got hurt, but she's fine. I took care of it."

"What the fuck is it this time?" He asked, tired.

"One of her… colleagues found the knife you left in the break room, you know, the swirling one. He tried to do a trick, and it fell out of his hand. It brushed her cheek before she caught it. Well, at least that's what they told me.

" You're shitting me." He said, looking at her in disbelief.

"No, unfortunately, I'm not."

When he moved abruptly, she stretched her arms to the sides, stopping him from passing her. It stopped him instantly, she knew well enough that he wouldn't use force on her.

"Which one was it? I told them to behave, what the fuck is this."

"First, calm down. Second, it's also irresponsible of you to leave knives all over the place, you know?"

"It's my parlor, Petra."

She met his cold blue stare and straightened her back. Levi did the same to keep the couple of centimeters between their heights.

"Sure. But now there are a couple of minors running around." She pointed out and took a deep breath."Now. Stay calm. It was the Yeager kid, apparently, they are-"

Her sentence was cut by as he moved suddenly and bypassed her to go straight to the stairs.

"Levi!" She called and groaned in frustration before rushing after him. When she exited the apartment, he was already downstairs.

She found him in the break room, horrified by the sight of how he held Eren down by the collar of his shirt. Mikasa and Armin were right beside them, almost ready to step in, but still too intimidated by the short man.

"Didn't I make myself clear? Do you even realize who you're dealing with?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to hurt her, I'd never do it on purpose!"

"Oh, you better fucking not."

"Please don't kick me out, I really want to learn from you!" The boy pleaded and Levi let go of him.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

"He's my friend and it was an accident," Mikasa spoke, bringing everyone's attention to herself.

"I wasn't asking you." Levi cut her off, without breaking eye contact with Eren.

Petra took a shallow breath and decided to intervene. She stood between Levi and Eren, and met the angry eyes of their boss.

"He apologized. I already talked with him, it won't happen again."

They looked each other in the eyes in silence before Levi opened his mouth.

"I'll take your word for it," he said, and turned his eyes back to the boy. "You can go back tomorrow, but please , at least prove you are good at something."

"Thank you! And again, I'm sorry!" Eren exclaimed while his eyes met Mikasa's. The expression of the girl was soft, it was clear she didn't mind. The bandage on her cheek was tiny.

Petra recognized the kind of look they exchanged and sighed at the thought of the consequences it could bring.

"Go home, it's time already." Levi said, folding his hands. He didn't have to tell them twice.

"See you tomorrow!" Petra added when they headed out of the room. She took a deep breath and met her boyfriend's eyes again. "You. You have some anger issues, my dear."

"I have an angry reaction to idiots."

"That's not the reason to assault a 16 year old, Levi."

"I wasn't about to fight him, come on."

"I certainly hope so." She replied and looked at the floor. "I'm going home. I'm done with work anyway."

Levi flinched at her reaction. He didn't really understand it but it looked like he had upset her.

"I'll come around in the evening."

Petra raised her eyes and nodded after a longer pause.


"Damn. This place looks better than any home I had lived in."

Looking around the soon-to-be opened parlor, Farlan stopped and faced his friend.

"The bar is low," Levi replied, playing with the keys hanging on his finger. He also had to admit to himself, although the place lacked the home-like atmosphere they kept in their original location, it had its own modern charm.

"You're mean." The blonde commented with a calm smile and turned his head. "I like the neons. The street vibe, huh."

"It's Nifa's work. I just told her about the idea. God knows what it would look like if I was about to pick the decor."

"Good point."

"Where's Isabel? I thought she would come with you."

"She's hanging out with her band. She found herself a girlfriend. It looks like I'm the only one left." He replied in a thoughtful tone.

"You never did relationships anyway."

"Yeah. Do you think you and Petra are meant to be?"

Levi frowned and turned to face him.

"What is this romantic bullshit?"

The other sighed before half turning to him as well.

"You seem serious about her, so I'm wondering. You didn't seem to be the one to settle either."

"I don't think about that stuff." He lied and put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "I'll just try not to fuck this up."

"Sure. Do your best then, you're lucky." Farlan said and stretched his arms.

Levi looked at him confused. He wasn't sure if he read too much between the lines, but it left him feeling uneasy.


His mother's voice was soothing. Although he rarely saw her and their calls were few and far between, he always took the time to lock himself away for a private conversation.

"She sounds like a great person. I'm glad you found someone who makes you feel good about yourself."

Levi bit his lip in a grimace. It was embarrassing to hear such words. This was exactly why he didn't share his feelings with people.

"Do you want to meet her?" He asked and tensed, not sure where that came from.

There was a longer moment of silence on the other side of the call.

"Of course. If you want me to, I'd love that."

A small smile appeared on his lips from hearing how the pitch of her voice raised from joy.

"Sure. That would be nice. We didn't see each other in a while anyway, right?"

"Yes. I missed you."

"Come alone, okay?"

"I don't know if that's an option…"

"I don't want Kenny's shitty ass close to Petra. She has to stay safe."

"He wouldn't do anything bad to your girlfriend, love."

"You'd be surprised."


"Glad to see you are actually using the keys to get in." Petra commented with a smirk on her face, watching Levi stripping from his outdoors clothes. He sent her a look before kneeling to undo his heavy boots.

The air in her small apartment smelled sweet. He followed her to the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs. The woman was occupied by preparing another portion of cupcakes, and he took a moment to just watch her before looking around.

Levi liked her place. Even though it was small and humbly decorated, it had everything that his own place lacked. As much as he looked forward to her moving in with him for good, he felt a bit of sorrow to imagine they would lose this.

It was much too early to think about that anyway. They came to an agreement that she will take her time and move only when she feels safe about it. It pained him, almost frustrated, the idea that she could be scared of living with him. She explained to him already that it isn't personal, but he still wished it could be easier to change.

He was pulled out of his mind when Petra came to sit on his lap.

"Ugh, you're covered with powder." He lamented, catching her wrists right away so she wouldn't place them on him. The woman chuckled, having no problem with the current situation.

"You seem troubled. Something's wrong with the new parlor?"

"No, it's fine. It's ready to bring the equipment and shit." He replied, moving her arms down.

"Then what is it?" She asked politely.

Levi's face turned into a grimace as he looked away to the side.

"You don't have to say, if-"

"This is lame, fuck. My mother will be in town and I want you to meet her." he said quickly and because of the silence that followed, looked back at her, praying that she wouldn't see the blush on his cheeks. This shit was far too personal for comfort.

The woman on his lap was too stunned to speak. He regretted his request right away, cringing at how he was the one to push forward in their relationship like he wasn't the one actually scared shitless about it.

"Give me a second." Petra asked, standing up and wiped her hands on her apron before rushing to the sink to wash them. When she came back, she sat on the other chair and put her elbows on the table. There was a confused frown on her face. Her eyes were focused on the table before she finally looked back at him. His expression didn't change much.

"I… I am a bit shocked, I thought you were an orphan too. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed stuff like this." she explained with the guilt painted all over her face.

Levi raised his eyebrows.

"Are you?"

"Sorry? Of course-"

"You said 'an orphan too'" he pointed out.

"Oh… well, yes. Sort of. My parents are dead, but my dad passed away only a couple of years ago."

The couple looked at each other in silence, wondering how they never spoke of their parents.

"I didn't know. Sorry." Levi said first, also putting his elbows on the table.

"Don't worry, I guess I never mentioned that." she assured him quickly.

"My mom is not dead, but they took me away from her when I was a kid. She wasn't able to afford to take care of me, and that's how I ended up with Farlan and Isabel at the orphanage. Then we ran away. Later, I found her when I was older. She's better now." he explained without much emotion in it. For him, those were just facts.

Petra was silent, but she reached her hand out to him, so she could play with his fingers.

"I'm glad to hear you are on good terms now." she finally spoke and looked him in the eyes. "I'd love to meet her."

"Cool."

She chucked and smiled happily before bringing his hand to her cheek.

"My mom, she died in a car crash when I was fifteen. My dad passed away a couple of years later from illness, when I was already legally able to take care of myself. Nifa helped me a lot so I managed."

Levi noted how her smile vanished during her explanation. He caressed her check with the back of his fingers, which made her look up at him. He wished he could have been there for her, but quickly realized how much of a mess he had been back then… It would have probably brought more problems than solutions. Petra left a kiss on his fingers and his eyes went wide.

"Petra, I didn't wash them, do you know how many germs you just let in your mouth?" he pointed out with irritation and stood up to head to the sink. She followed him with her eyes and a wide smile on her face.