The day seemed perfect for Isabel. She woke up early, and to her own surprise, not tired. The weather was sunny, but the snow didn't melt, so she went for a run.

When she came back to the flat she shared with Farlan, she was met with the unusual sight of Levi sitting at the table, face down, with his forehead placed on it. He was still in his outdoor clothes.

She approached him without greeting and leaned down, looking for a chance to see his face.

"How did you get in?"

"Farlan let me in."

"Farlan's not home. He's on a date. Week-long date. Did you break in?"

The only reply she got from him was a tired grunt. Isabel sighed and patted his head.

"Do you want to go out and grab some coffee?"

"Should I break up with Petra?"

"WHAT?!" the girl screamed, utterly shocked by his words. "What do you mean? Are you crazy?"

Levi finally raised up his head, but instead of looking at her, his eyes wandered to the distance.

"You look pale, are you ok?"

"I don't know." he replied, but from the tone of his voice, she wasn't sure which question he was answering.

She took off her beanie and jacket to join him at the table. As much as she was messing with him at the start, now she was seriously worried.

"What happened?"

Levi ran fingers through his hair before finally looking at her.

"What if being with me puts her in danger? She's been through a lot of shit already. I don't want to add to that. And if something happens to her because of me? I'd fucking die."

"Levi, you'd never hurt her." Isabel responded right away.

"I'm not worried about that."

The silence that followed set a mutual understanding between them. Isa leaned back on her chair, looking at him in worry.

"Well… I can't tell you what you should do. But I think that you, leaving her, would actually hurt her a lot."

His eyes set on the girl. Her words felt like knives stabbing his heart at once.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I know. I'm not guilt-tripping you. But I… I think it's a good thing to learn from your past. Keep in mind that a lot of people already know you care about her, so… I'm not sure if breaking up would change much." She finished her sentence slowly, getting quieter.

Levi tightened his fists that laid on the table. He felt sick, tired and fed up. Also, painfully in love, but that only made things worse.

"Do you know who's after you?"

The man laughed bitterly, grabbing the bridge of his nose.

"No. But I'll find out."

"You can try talking with money."

"That's the plan. But if it's Underground, they will want me back."

"Levi, it's been years…"

"Once you join, you don't leave." he quoted, looking blindly at the table. "Not without a cost."


"You know I wouldn't kill anyone, right?"

Petra gaped at her man for a couple of seconds before replying. Suddenly his weird behavior during the last couple of weeks started making more sense, but not in a way that she would like it to be. He seemed overprotective and insisted on being her ride whenever she went out to see her friends. She knew something was off, but it was too vague to pinpoint the issue.

"That's an odd thing to ask in the break room." she pointed out, astounded by his words. Levi glanced over his shoulder and kicked the door with the back of his boot, closing them. Petra couldn't tell if he was casual or serious, although she was sure he was not joking.

"I mean… I don't think so. Right?" she asked back. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her worried face.

"Yes. I wouldn't. Maybe in self-defense if I didn't have a choice, but that's theoretical."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Levi frowned before approaching her. To his relief, she didn't move back. Maybe he was too nervous about this. He stopped at her side.

"There is a possibility someone is trying to frame me." he said in a lower voice, reaching for the tea container.

"What?" The woman turned to face him, mortified with what he just told her. "Levi, what are you talking about?"

He let out a deep breath through his nose, with his eyes focused on the teapot he just took from the cupboard.

"I didn't plan on having this conversation right now." he said before meeting her frustrated expression.

"You can't just drop bombs like this and go with your day."

"I have work," he replied calmly. "Also, the brats are coming to get pierced. It's a reward for the progress they've made. See? I'm becoming a good-ass man."

They stared at each other for a longer moment, fighting silently. Petra took a shaky breath.

"Levi, I'm not joking. Please, I need to know what is happening."

He noticed the tremble in her voice and his expression softened. He took her hand and she followed him to his office. He closed the door and leaned his butt on the desk while looking away, thinking of how to even start.

"I have 30 minutes, then I'm doing around a 3 hour session. Should I reschedule?" she asked, worrying if she will be able to handle it.

He met her eyes and instantly regretted even starting this topic. Honesty didn't really mean making things better.

"I won't be going into details right now. The point is that I have the reasons to think someone is trying to frame my ass into murder. Or maybe not, maybe that information suppose to just fuck with my brain, then it worked just like they wanted."

"Who are they ?" Petra asked, taking a couple of steps to be closer, while crossing her arms.

Levi frowned deeply before meeting her eyes again.

"There is an organization in the capital. They're colloquially called Underground and I used to… participate in it. It was more like a side job for me."

Petra looked pale, but she didn't interrupt him so he continued speaking.

"You probably noticed I kinda… get carried away when I get into a fight. There is this… drive in me that I can't explain. Now I just get rid of it at the gym but back then I seeked adrenaline, I liked the risk. I was a stupid kid and I didn't care what will happen to me." he explained and looked at her again.

"I get it. A little bit. I was stupid as a teenager too. Did some things I regret. Maybe not as hardcore, though." she said hesitantly, but it still surprised him. It wasn't the reaction he was preparing himself for.

"I'll gladly hear more about this later." he replied, intrigued.

The ginger sent him a small smile, but he was able to see the concern behind it.

"I was doing dirty work for them, got too much information and eventually dropped it, because Farlan and Isa wanted to join and it was stressing the shit out of me. They were supposed to focus on their education, for fucks sake."

"It's okay, no need to fire yourself up now, it's in the past." she said, approaching him and putting hands on his shoulders to massage them lightly. He looked her in the eyes.

"I thought they forgot about me by now. I should have fucking change my name."

"But why would they frame you for something like this? If they really killed someone, wouldn't it make more sense for that person to be you?" she asked, feeling dizzy from the sole thought of that.

"They don't want me dead. They want to show me they can make me go back when they need me. Probably."

"Shit." Petra let out and sighed, putting her forehead on his shoulder.

"Sorry. I thought it's all over. I understand if you want to back out of it."

"Of what?"

There was a long pause before he replied.

"The relationship."

The words he said made him feel numb, almost dissociating before she brought him back by hugging his chest tightly.

"Don't say things like that. Please." she asked so quietly, he could only understand her because of the proximity between her mouth and his ear. He felt her tears on his neck when she hid her face in it. The feeling of something heavy set on his heart.

"Okay. I won't." he whispered, embracing her waist. "Don't cry, you will scare your client with your red eyes."

He felt her muffled, nervous laugh through the tears before she raised her head again.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

The man sighed, he couldn't comprehend the logic of his partner.

"Just stay safe. Don't do anything that can put you in danger. Don't talk to strangers. I love you and if there is anything I can't afford is getting you hurt."

Petra looked at him with a mesmerized stare. She was confusing him again and he prepared himself for the reminder on how he shouldn't be so controlling.

"You love me?"

Levi raised his eyebrows, losing the ability to speak for a moment. He didn't give it much thought and it just slipped from his mouth so casually. Shit, he got it bad for her.

"I guess I do."

The smile that lightened her face was worth saying it out loud.

"I love you too." she replied softly.


Despite the unpleasant news Levi shared with his lover, the rest of the day passed in a rather light atmosphere. Anytime their eyes locked in the parlor she sent him the brightest of smiles. As much as it was embarrassing, those smiles were contagious and he couldn't help but smirk back.

He spent some time with the interns as they grew on him since some of them already quit because of the amount of work and practice he required them to do. He didn't care since the internships were free so they either met his standards or get out. That's what he told them. Oulo and Eld spent most of the time with them at the new parlor, so he only came by from time to time to check how they were doing.

Petra's mind was torn apart between the peak of happiness from feeling truly loved and the lingering worry of the danger that could come and destroy all of that life they started to build together.

She and Gunther stayed after their work to clean the parlor. They put on some music, which made the atmosphere quite pleasant. She was dusting the counter in front of the entrance when she heard the main doors open. She put down the disposable mask she wore and turned.

The moment she set eyes on a man in front of her she felt all of the muscles in her body tense. For a moment, her mind went blank. She moved back instantly and stepped behind the counter instead.

"Hi." Dieter said first.

"Hi." she replied in a dry voice.

Petra's hands formed into fists as she tried to hold herself together. He didn't look angry nor acted rude but she would be the last person on earth to trust those big soft eyes.

"How can I help?" she asked in a very matter-of-fact tone.

The man sighed and put his hands on the desk between them.

"I didn't come here for any of that tattoo stuff. I wanted to see you."

"I'm not an artwork display, thank you very much."

"I've got the notice from the court, you know. I thought it was from that…street rat, but they say you are trying to sue me. What's that about?"

Petra kept eye contact, not wanting to let him sense her fear in the slightest.

"I'm not trying to sue you. I did sue you, idiot."

A grimace showed on the blonde's face.

"Did he make you do this? Come on. You know you can't lie in court. Is it really worth it?"

Petra gritted her teeth but composed herself.

"I'm doing what I want. And I'm not a liar."

Dieter must have noticed her defensive posture, as he leaned more in her direction. The sole sight of his face made her sick.

"Go away." she ordered, scowling at him.

"We don't have to fight. Especially not with all this circus. Come on, it's us. We can figure it out like normal people. We know each other. I know deep down you miss me."

She looked at him in disbelief, not sure if she wanted to scream, cry or punch him right in that stupid face of his.

Before she decided, Gunther got out of the break room.

"I finished polishing the floors." he announced before noticing the stranger. He joined Petra's side, looking at him in confusion. "We don't do walk-ins."

"I'm here just to talk." Dieter replied, meeting his eyes only for a moment before directing his sight back at Petra who crossed her arms.

"The talk is over."

Just when she replied, Gunther realized why the face of the man in front of them seemed familiar. He might have been put together now but the fading memory of the man they took away from that parking lot during Levi's birthday finally came to his mind. His expression darkened and he straightened his back, glancing down at him.

"Give us 10 more minutes alone."

"Dude. Can't you hear what she said? Get out."

"Come on! It's just talking."

"Do you need me to help you?"

Petra looked up, surprised by how intimidating the voice of her coworker sounded like. He was always a serious man, but she never saw him like this. It made her feel safer. She faced Dieter again and gestured to the exit with her chin.

The blonde looked irritated. He looked with indulgence at Gunther and then at her.

"You know how to find me when you'll be done with that show off." he only said and turned around to disappear from their sight behind the doors.

Petra let off a breath she was holding. She noticed her body was shaking only when she felt Gunther's hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok? What did he want from you?"

"It's nothing." she replied right away. Her past was too delicate of a topic to share it so freely. "I know him. He's just a dick."

"Mhm."

"By the way, I can take care of myself."

"If you say so."