Hello readers!

I'm sorry about being a day late! Yesterday was so hectic and it literally didn't even cross my mind until I was already in bed. Needless to say, I did not get out of bed just to post. Hopefully these twenty-four hours weren't too traumatic for yall.

Now, let me just say, yall are so very lucky that this update did NOT fall on April 1st – I really, seriously wanted to troll everyone and write up a short few thousand words that continued the story in a seemingly natural direction, but then have it all go up in flames until it was an all-out (obvious) mess of fourth wall breaks, titan shenanigans, and anything goes sort of crack that would have had you all cracking up, while silently cursing me for pulling a fast one on you. Rest assured, this chapter is a legitimate chapter and is not in any way shape or form an April fools' prank. Scouts Honor.

On a separate note, THANK YOU for all your responses last chapter! I do want to clarify one thing for those who may have been concerned by my poll - rest assured that I'm not tugging at strings because I don't have a plot and I'm making it up as I go based off the responses – the plot is WELL ironed out from start to finish! But your feedback helps me tighten up bolts here and there along the way. Please, please don't worry about any loss of direction; I'm rather confident that the content I'll create for you guys will not disappoint :)

...

...

It didn't take too long to reach the nearby town at the pace they were traveling at. While it wasn't a breakneck sort of speed, it wasn't exactly a gentle stroll either. They traveled in silence and upon arriving in the town soon after, they found a local stable service to hold their horses while they shopped.

They walked into the town purposefully and Petra looked around the various store fronts, realizing suddenly with wide eyes that she had absolutely no cash on her.

She clamped her eyes shut and frowned, "Uh Captain…" she began, her stomach twisting in dread. He had made a point to stress that they were in a hurry, but the thought hadn't even crossed her mind to go back to her room and grab funds at the time.

He was going to kill her.

"What is it?"

"I uh…well," she sighed, mentally preparing for the worst, "It's just that I left all my money back at the Compound. I don't know if we have the time to turn around or…"

Levi shook his head as he continued walking down the path, not caring in the least about her realization that she was broke, "Oh that? I'll be buying them. I actually intended to from the start, so don't look so traumatized."

"You are buying them Captain?"

"That's what I just said. Is that a problem?"

"Well, it's just…this is all happening a bit fast."

"That is the point."

He caught her glare, though continued undaunted, looking for the specific store that he was certain would have a decent selection of fine jewelry, "Listen. Being the one who approves your paychecks each period, I happen to know what you make, and know full well that it's significantly less than what I make as an Officer. I'm in a little better position to afford sudden expenses like this. Even if you had brought money along, you're too poor to spend it on something like this."

Petra looked at him squarely, eyes narrowed at his statement, "If that's how you feel then you should give me a raise."

"I will when you earn it, you shitty little peasant. Until then, I'm the only one here with the means to pay for it, and again, you're out of options." He smirked at her unamused expression and lack of an actual response, then nodded, "It's right up here looks like. If anyone carries a wide selection of jewelry, it'll be this place. Come on, let's get this over with and get back to the Compound. I don't want Erwin bitching at me because we're late."

Petra observed her Captain for a long moment, still attempting to find a smart remark or something to negate him and reiterate that she would at least pay him back or something, but coming up painfully short when faced with the reality that was her limited finances. She exhaled in defeat as he opened the door for her, staring expectantly at her until she moved forward begrudgingly into the store, "Fine, Captain."

They walked into the building, a metallic bell hitting the door with a loud ping as Levi shut the door behind them.

Petra's eyes went wide as she noted the kind of store they were in; it was the type where as a kid her dad would make her tuck her hands deeply into her pockets and stand against a wall in fear of her accidentally breaking something. Everything was insanely nice, and no doubt as equally expensive.

There was no way she could afford anything from a store like this.

There were fancy tapestries, home adornments, intricate furniture pieces – Petra looked around the store with a gaping mouth, then turned her attention to Levi, almost wondering if he had gone into the wrong store by mistake.

Did he really intend on getting their rings from a place like this? Petra knew full well that even with all her money she wouldn't be able to afford it - what she wanted to know was how Levi could!

Damn it all, she needed a raise!

"Welcome, welcome!" a musical voice greeted them, and a beautiful woman in an elegant dress moved towards them, smiling brightly as she walked out from behind the counter, her dress swaying lightly against the floor as she walked.

"Well there's something - it's two of our Scouts, and not just any Scouts either. If I'm not mistaken, you sir are Humanity's Strongest, Captain Levi, correct? It's quite an honor!" the woman stated politely, a warmness in her expression as she continued toward them, stopping at a comfortable distance in front of them.

She gave a respectful nod and she gestured toward the various wares housed inside the store, "My husband is privileged enough to sell and disperse products from all three districts. We carry a variety of items as you can see – from dresses to fine China, he contracts artisans to create custom one of a kind furniture accents - we try our best to provide our community with luxuries and trinkets they couldn't normally get through traditional means. Is there something specific that brings you here? I do hope you can find it, but if not we have a number of contacts that I can connect you with should the need arise."

Petra observed the woman for a moment, noting her curled and precisely pinned hair, the serene way she stood, as well as the intentional and articulate way she spoke – suggesting she was just as educated as she was beautiful. Petra was admittedly starting to feel a bit under dressed and embarrassingly plain when standing a mere foot away from the mature beauty, and she pulled at the edges of her white sleeves nervously, looking to Levi to take charge of the conversation.

He gave a single nod, looking around the store and furrowing his eyebrows as he observed the various displayed goods, "Jewelry actually. She and I are getting married and are needing wedding bands."

Hearing these words, the woman practically beamed, clapping her hands together in front of her face and smiling ear to ear, "Oh a wedding? You and this stunning lady, I'm just tickled pink for the both of you – congratulations!"

Petra had been staring at the floor previously, wishing she could just somehow blend into the wall, but after hearing the woman's assessment of her, her head snapped up, suspicious of foul play. Stunning? That was a word for it alright. Her hair was still unbrushed from this morning, her eyes had dark bags from the anxiety of the night previous, and she was certainly not wearing a beautiful floor length dress, rather an extremely unflattering and basic military uniform that was wrinkled and untidy from their hurried ride here. As she stood right now, there was not a stunning hair on her body.

Petra exchanged glances with the store's hostess, expecting to see a snide spark of sarcasm in the woman's eyes, subtly chiding her for her less than put together appearance, however she saw nothing but sincere excitement. Petra gave a silent exhale at the genuine charisma and charm the woman displayed, knowing her nerves were getting the best of her. She gave a sheepish nod toward the woman, fidgeting and smoothing out a wrinkle over her stomach.

"Thank you…" Petra whispered, having to clear her throat first to get any strength into her voice at all.

The woman folded her hands and rested them over her lap gracefully, a pleased smile falling across her pink and sheen lips, "We actually do have a collection of rings," she began as she turned back toward the counter and walked back across the room, "Though I must disclose that our supply is on the rather scarce side right now. Wedding season won't be starting back up for another few months or so, so I'm afraid that what we have now is what's left over from last season."

The woman bent below the counter and grabbed out two medium rectangular cases, setting them across the wooden surface of the counter before unlocking them each and turning them outward so they could be viewed.

She lifted the lid to display the rings, "But again, if you can't find what you're looking for here, we can always reach out to our contacts and see what they have. It's an odd season for merchants mind you, what with the winter months and all, but for people as important as yourselves, I don't doubt that we can find a number of vendors who will bend over backwards to make your dream wedding come true."

Petra was too busy looking at the rings to get caught up on the woman's notion of their 'dream' wedding, shocked to say the least.

If this was what she considered a scarce collection, Petra didn't want to see what the full collection traditionally entailed. The two cases held about twenty different rings each, separated for each gender, and then organized further by row for the different metals or precious stones used in the ring.

There was a pause as the woman allowed them a moment to view her wares, "What are your initial thoughts? Is there any chance that your perfect wedding rings are here, or do I have some letters to write?"

Levi had leaned down slightly, observing the men's rings passively before standing up fully, "I'm not picky. Just about anything will do, nothing clunky that will get in the way."

The woman gave a fake offended huff, laughing amicably before moving her attention solely toward Petra, "Come now, you're making my job far too easy! How about we focus on the lady's ring first then? What is your name sweetheart?"

Petra looked up from the rings, the entire circumstance successfully bringing every ounce of awkwardness in her body to the surface.

"Oh, um, it's Petra." She responded with a surprising amount of difficulty, a blush rising to her face as she could feel the attention of both Levi and the woman fall squarely onto her.

The hostess nodded as a bright smile warmed her expression, "It's a pleasure Ms. Petra." She motioned toward the case, leaning down as she inspected the intricate rings carefully, "The way I see it my dear, if we find you the right ring, we can then select a matching one for your fiancé right? Perhaps there's one here that catches your eye?"

Petra pressed her lips together nervously and looked back at the rings again, noting the beautifully twisted metals, the shine of the gems – rings with diamonds mostly – and the overall beauty of the presented wedding rings. Never in her life did she think she'd be wearing a ring like this, and this sort of 'just pick one' mentality was extremely overwhelming for her. How much did something like this cost anyway? Even the most simple of rings would be far, far out of her budget, and knowing that Levi would somehow be the one footing the bill left her hesitant to say the least. What if she picked the most expensive one by mistake? She couldn't do that to him…but at the same time, she didn't want to insult him by purposely picking the cheapest one.

Where were the prices anyway? She had been too distracted by the rings to notice at first, but there didn't seem to be prices on any of them! How in the world was she supposed to know which one to select? Petra scanned the rings for a few minutes as the silence began to thicken, and then shook her head as she stood up fully.

The hostess watched her hopefully, "Well Petra, what do you think?"

Petra gave a half cough, half nervous sort of laugh, "All of the rings are just…stunning. You have, uh, nice rings here."

The woman beamed again, "Oh I'm so glad you approve! Is there any you want to try on perhaps? I can grab the price list for you, I really should have asked what your budget was, I'm terribly sorry."

Petra shook her head again, knowing that it really didn't matter what the prices looked like, they would all be mind bogglingly expensive. Perhaps it was better simply not knowing. She continued to scan the rings, thinking out loud as all the rings just seemed to stare back at her, "No, thank you, I just… There is no way I can choose…"

They were beautiful, truly, but it was all too surreal. It was just too much.

For a few more moments Petra tried to focus and select one that stood out to her. Like Levi, she didn't want something that would get in the way of her training, so the large rings were definitely out – but which one would she choose then? Petra found the longer she looked, the more frustrated she became. The rings all started to look the same and it was impossible to tell one apart from the other. With a long sigh, she gave up and looked toward Levi, who was watching her casually.

She frowned, "Cap- uh, Levi." she corrected herself, deciding it was a good time to ditch his title, "I can't. You choose, just…anything. I promise I won't complain."

Levi's eyes widened at her request, and from the counter the woman practically swooned, clearly a sucker for all things romantic, "Oh that's so sweet Petra – I'll bet he has impeccable taste! And trust me, coming from a married woman, this will mean so much more to you, knowing that he picked out your ring himself."

The hostess turned her attention toward Levi, "And here we go then, I'll just slide this your way." she swapped the two cases so that the women's case was in front of him and Levi watched Petra for an extended moment as he continued to observe her in concern. He tried not to sigh in irritation.

Put simply, the girl looked like shit.

Petra was clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation, which was understandable considering it was bordering uncomfortable for himself as well, but her palpable nervousness set him on edge and made it that much worse. She was constantly fidgeting, couldn't say three words without stuttering, and seemed to wither if anyone so much as looked at her.

Levi pursed his lips and looked down into the ring box, annoyed.

He had been trying to be as considerate as he could be; he thought it would be best to give Petra as much control over the choices she did have regarding their shotgun wedding, but of course she had to make this difficult, becoming worthlessly indecisive at the worst possible moment.

He would never have dreamed that he would be the one picking her ring – had he known that this would be the turnout, he would have gone by himself and spared everyone the irritation of dealing with an annoyingly timid Petra. What was more than that, even though she said she would be happy with 'anything', he felt the overwhelming need to pick the right one.

He observed the collection in a focused manner, attempting to select a ring that would suit her and finally be done with it.

He looked over the rings, weighing his options and debating what kind of ring a girl like Petra would actually want to wear. She had said all of them were beautiful right? He could pick any one of them if that were true, but there was the matter of sizing to consider. They didn't have time to wait on the resizing for a ring that didn't fit, so grabbing one that was already the correct size was critical.

In terms of the way it looked, what would she want? Diamonds? Girls loved diamonds right, that was still a thing? They certainly were the most common for wedding rings, so that seemed like a safe option. However, he wasn't sure if a traditional diamond ring would actually suit her, for Petra was anything but common, and their marriage was far from traditional. If anything, he felt that her ring should reflect the embodiment of who she was – beautiful, but not flashy – subtle and unique. Dainty, yet not fragile.

He frowned, feeling that perhaps he was just over thinking things.

He scanned the rows again, looking at the various metals, the various shades of golds and silvers, the intricate metal work that made some more ornate and flashy - versus others that were more traditional; uncomplicated and humble, its beauty found in its simplicity.

He gave a long sigh and focused on one ring in particular that sat on the edge of the third row.

He pointed after a moment of contemplation, "This one."

He looked up as the hostess scanned the rows to find the one he was pointing out. Her eyes went wide, "This one here? Well I must say I'm surprised. That's no diamond ring obviously, but that has secretly been one of my favorites for a long time now. We've actually had it in stock for a while but no one has been able to appreciate it's beauty, well, until now it seems. Let me just grab it out here and, ah, here you are sir. Why don't you take a closer look."

Giving a nod and holding the small ring in his fingers, Levi took a moment to view it up close, now even more certain that it was as close to perfect as he could ever hope to find. It was a darker gold, like a bronze or rose gold sort of shade, and held a single, shining emerald at its center. While the gemstone was beautiful, more impressive than that was the metal work that adorned it to retain its simplistic design, yet in a way that was still unique and eye catching. There were metal ivy vines that curled around the band every which way and two intricate metal leaves sat on each side of the gemstone, giving the illusion that the ring was more of a blooming flower than an actual wedding ring; the feature that had caught his attention originally.

The deep green and ivy feel of the ring seemed very fitting for a member of the Scout Regiment, something Petra took extreme pride in, and more than that, the crystal-clear gemstone would match her bright viridian eyes perfectly.

"It's a beautiful choice to be sure, perhaps, would you care to try it on my dear?"

From beside him, Petra gave a subtle nod and the hostess looked back at Levi, giving him a small wink, "Wonderful. I'll let you do the honors, Captain."

He looked toward Petra, motioning toward her hand silently as he held the ring between his thumb and index finger.

He watched as she took a deep breath and presented her left hand upward, avoiding making eye contact with him as an embarrassed hue of red began to stain her cheeks.

He smirked at this, always finding it amusing how easily she became flustered or embarrassed, and moved to slip the ring on her finger until it sat proudly on her hand snugly, as though it had been made specifically with her in mind. The fit was perfect.

"What do you think?" he asked quietly, monitoring Petra's expression to try to get a good read on her thoughts.

She looked down at her hand, moving it closer to her face and flexing her fingers outward to better observe it.

Her lips parted slightly, and then she pressed them together again and sighed.

"It's…it's lovely, but…"

He frowned hearing the 'but', certain that he must have chosen wrong after all. So much for 'anything will do'.

Petra traced the ring with her fingers nervously, looking back at Levi uncertainly, "This place, this ring, it's all really nice and I do love it, but there's no way I'd ever be able to afford, I mean, it is beautiful and stunning and just…Wow. But-"

Ah.

It wasn't the ring itself; it was the money she was concerned with. Typical.

"Petra we've already talked about this." He cut her off, knowing she'd babble on and on if he'd let her, and they had a schedule to keep to. He crossed his arms and watched her with a pointed expression, "Tell me this: do you like it?"

She looked up at him squarely, at a loss for words, then gave a shy nod as she looked down at her hand again, the smallest of smiles twisting the edges of her lips upward, "…It's beautiful Levi."

Hearing this, he released a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding onto and nodded.

That was all he needed to know.

Watching this interaction, grinning at the silent understanding that Petra's ring had successfully been chosen, the hostess gave a giggle, "Oh wonderful! That ring is truly one of a kind, and the fact it naturally fits you without even having to be resized, it's simply meant to be. Congratulations Petra, you will be the very picture of a beautiful bride on your wedding day! I have no doubt that ring will see you both through a lifetime of happiness!"

Petra was too busy admiring the ring to respond, and the hostess gave another laugh. It was obvious the gentleman knew his bride well; she couldn't take her eyes off it.

Allowing the girl to fully enjoy her moment, the hostess redirected her attention, "And that just leaves you, Captain."

She grabbed the opposite box and turned it back toward herself, scanning the rows and speaking out loud, "Based off her ring, I'd recommend…well this one will match beautifully of course, oh this one might look nice as well – here's one that's a bit on the thin side if you like a more subtle approach – and let's grab one more for diversity sake, um…. ah, here we go. Tell me what you think of these?"

It wasn't much later that Levi was handing the kind hostess a large sum of money, Petra was gaping with wide eyes, and Levi was torn between rolling his eyes and smirking again at Petra's animated reaction. She would continuously look back at her hand, then the total cost displayed, then back to her hand, visibly trying to debate how such a small thing could possibly cost so much.

While amusing, perhaps her reaction was in fact justified, considering the total cost was more than half of her annual salary.

Levi wasn't one to brag as it had been the reality for him since he had learned to use a knife back in the Underground, but he supposed when it came down to it, he was somewhat wealthy. Being in the Scouts where all his meals were provided along with the uniforms and all necessary materials for the job, there wasn't much he needed to afford. Being a high-ranking officer meant his paychecks were considerable, but with nothing to buy, most of it went straight into savings.

Even with the steep price tag of the well-crafted jewelry, the reality was that this purchase hardly put a dent in his finances. If anything, it was nice to finally have something to spend it on, and furthermore getting to watch Petra's reaction was amusing in its own right.

"Well then you two take care. Do be sure to stop in from time to time, newlyweds are among some of my favorite customers!" the hostess concluded as she handed the receipt to Levi with one last large, beautiful smile, "And again, congratulations to you both. You are such a lovely couple."

"Thank you." Levi stated simply, turning back toward the door and walking back into the street, a very shocked Petra following behind him.

"You can close your mouth now." He stated as they moved down the path, and he heard Petra scoff, and mutter a few broken syllables before giving up and falling silent again. It seemed she was still at a loss for words.

He cleared his throat, mind moving toward the next set of tasks that needed to be addressed, "Now when we get back, like Erwin said the squad is going to be gathered out in the lobby. This is so one, they can be brought up to speed on everything, but more than that, they can officially witness the ceremony – something else Erwin is really big on right now."

Petra exhaled and finally seemed to have found her voice, some of her nerves dying away now that a more serious conversation was at hand, "Well if anything he's thorough. And I have to agree, it's best we err on the side of caution here. Having witnesses is a wise idea, even if it is just the squad."

Levi nodded, "I was thinking it would be best if you told them about it all while I wasn't in the room, make it a bit less formal and-"

"Wait, what?" Petra stopped in her tracks, watching him squarely, "Why me? You know they won't take it well and you don't even want to be in the room?"

Levi turned around toward her and crossed his arms, "Don't get me wrong, I can be there – I can lead the entire fucking conversation if that's what you want, but if they hear it from me they'll never believe that you actually chose it. They would all suspect that I had, I don't know, somehow put you up to it or backed you into a corner to make you stay."

Petra frowned at his explanation and Levi continued, "Honestly I don't care who tells them, nor does it matter what they think about it, but I had assumed that you would want the opportunity to explain it to them without my rank and regulation getting involved. If I'm there, they'll just nod and smile because they have to but will later come and pester you with their real questions as soon as I'm gone. You telling them from the start just saves time."

Petra adjusted the ring on her hand, spinning it every which way and admiring its shine when it caught the light just right before looking at the various stores and shaking her head as the silence extended, "No, no you're right. I just…" she groaned and made a face of distaste, "Eld's going to have a cow, and gods help me, you know Oluo will have something inappropriate to say. They never listen to me about these kinds of things. I may have to throw a few punches just to get them to take me seriously..."

"Permission granted," Levi stated and resumed walking, "Just no broken bones."

Petra smiled at his response as she started after him, but quickly grew concerned after noticing that there was not a hint of amusement in his expression - suggesting that his response was not an attempt at humor, rather legitimate permission to resort to violence if she felt it would actually play in her favor.

She fell silent again, somewhat mortified at how easily she had been given the green light to assault her teammates. Granted, that was Levi's go to method of getting their attention as she had witnessed her squad mates take quite an assortment of abuse over the years, from kicks to punches to head-butts – the worst she had ever received was a firm slap to the back of the head after some of her more stupid decisions – but her teammates hadn't faired nearly as well.

Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that…

But she would keep it in mind.

She caught up to him, once again catching herself fiddling with the ring on her hand and deciding to put her hands in her pockets for the time being, as she was starting to feel silly. "So, we ride back to camp, I tell the guys, and then…?"

Levi looked straight ahead, "Then we get married."

The weight of his words needed a moment to settle, for both of them so it seemed. Petra suddenly found herself staring into the ground for a moment as her stomach twisted in tight knots, and Levi made a strange sort of face and shook his head at the sheer absurdity of the entire situation.

After a slightly uncomfortable pause, Levi forcibly cleared his throat and continued, "Erwin said to meet up at One if possible, but we will end up being late if the guys give you too much trouble. Either way, I'll pull the plug myself before it comes to that. You can say your peace, answer their questions or whatever, but if they still have more to say about it they can take it up with me personally."

Petra quirked an eyebrow, a slight grin on her face, "No broken bones?"

Levi's expression darkened, "…We'll see."

...

End Of Chapter

…

*plops down onto couch*

If you are reading this, it means I survived my first ever half marathon! Would you believe it, Midnight is a mom by day, writer by night, and a runner I guess…by the afternoon? Either way, I did it! I'm a nice and eh, plump size (gotta outlast my enemies!) so running 13.1 miles was a real challenge but I killed it! Two hours and twenty eight minutes! Not bad at all :D

More random Midnight facts, FYI this is probably my personal favorite section of all that I've written so far to date for this series. (I'll have to ask the husband what his is, as I'm not actually sure!) I am seriously obsessed with the shop keeper! She reminds me of that perfect character you can't hate because they really are just THAT perfect…but some part of you does hate them anyway and you don't know why, so you in turn hate yourself because only a terrible person would hate such a perfect person? (Tell me it's not just me.) So just all the interactions of such a wonderful, soulful human being are like heaps of coal on sweet Petra's head and it is such a fun foil for our unwitting couple – a perfect stranger who has no idea the terrible situation that both of them have kinda fallen into, so when they're like a wedding, she's all, Weddings? Oh I love weddings! Drinks all around!

…And neither really have the heart to correct her because at least someone is happy about it. Those type of interactions, ones laced with irony that play in the readers favor, that's my cup of tea and I got more than my fair share of amusement both writing and reading it.

Wheelllp - Till next time,

Midnight signing off! See you in a few Mondays :)