*Jazz hands*
Guess who is doing their last-minute edits on Saturday night, and therefore has a bit more energy than the traditional Sunday morning version of Midnight? Heh-heh. She can be taught :)
As always guys, I've got to give big shout outs to my commenters and readers as a whole, because yall seriously bring me SO much encouragement. It has been a LONG few weeks on my end of the screen, and I love how many people have said that that this story has been a pick-me-up for them, how they look forward to Sundays, that Sundays are now their favorite day of the week – I love that I can be a part of that for you guys, and I mean that so sincerely. More than that, I love how blood thirsty yall were this week, screaming for vengeance after Petra's extremely rude guest. I love yall's feistiness, so keep it coming.
I could blather on for a while (yall KNOW I can haha) but I know that last week was a bit of a nail biter, so I'll tone it down and just say that yall are very, very appreciated and make my job as a writer, a lot of fun!
...
...
Levi had been watching Petra from the corner of his eye, mentally checking up on her every few minutes ever since they had walked away. It wasn't that he was afraid Petra couldn't take care of herself - he had seen her ferocity on the battlefield and knew full well she had every ability to handle whatever was thrown at her – no, he was more so afraid that she wouldn't take care of herself, and instead subjecting herself to be walked over in fear of causing any problems for him.
He had already witnessed that exact behavior with whatever group of women had come to brigade her with their nosy, unneeded questions. She should have told them all to mind their own damn business, but no, she had actually gone as far as to indulge them instead, preferring to appease them instead of making waves. She was too lax, too gentle to tell people off, and her inability to command a hard conversation invited trouble more often than not.
"I'm aware you have a business to run." Hanji's voice grabbed his attention back to the conversation at hand, "We all have numbers to crunch and deadlines to make; we just wanted to stop by and remind you of the importance of keeping true to your loyalties and not making any enemies as a result of hasty decisions."
The man in question, a merchant that controlled a fair share of the military's supply shipments, gave a nervous laugh, "Well of course! You know I value our relationship, but items are hard to come by this time of year – the shipments get harder and harder to make, taxes get raised, labor costs increase – but you should know I work hard to make sure that we charge a fair and honest rate to all the military factions no matter what. I for one am looking forward to those new trade routes in the Spring that we agreed upon last quarter. My team predicts that-"
Levi's eyes again pulled back to Petra as the man prattled on, thankful that her deep red dress tended to stand out in a sea of black suits. It looked as though someone was walking up to her, and while it could simply be a friend or maybe a previous training contact, he found he was ready to walk away if things took a turn for the worse.
"See now that's an interesting claim, considering our records show you are charging us a considerable percentage more than the MP's." Erwin stated next, and the man's face went white.
He laughed nervously in response, "Oh that? Well you know how it is Commander, they uh, well there's the distance to consider for the Scouts with you're being stationed in Wall Maria – also there's the rarity of goods produced. It's not such a simple matter when you factor-"
"Cut the shit." Hanji stated flatly, and Levi turned his head back to the conversation, giving a hard stare to the pathetic man who was practically sweating bullets now, already cracking under the pressure that was the Scout's dynamic leadership, "They cut you a deal and you favored this year's trade routes to them so they get the cream of the crop, and we get stuck with the bill."
The man shook his head with wide eyes, "No, it's not like that! I have people I report to; they monitor everything I do, it's not always my choice how-"
The man actually reached out and grabbed Petra's shoulder, and Levi pressed his lips together as he watched her step back in response, an obvious nervousness to her actions. Levi sighed in ever growing irritation, wondering what the hell was happening over there. It was hard to see who it was that had approached her – if he could just see his face, he would have a better indication of what was going on, after all it could have been a friend of hers, he supposed, but with the angle he was standing at he just couldn't get the right visual and…
Levi mentally cleared his mind and took a single step forward, annoyed that this conversation was still going on because he had better things to do than force people to reprioritize their dealings that had already been worked out months ago.
"Who?" Levi demanded flatly once the man continued blathering on about how he was being watched and how the matter was out of his hands, "Who are you so damn afraid of that you'd be willing to risk embittering your standing with the entire Scout Regiment, its allies, business partners – countless others who are invested in what we do."
Levi took another step forward, his dislike for the man increasing exponentially when he nervously gulped and flinched. Levi's voice was low, "But, I suppose if that's really how it is and there's nothing you can do, then perhaps we're wasting our time - unfortunate for you in that case - but because we're such good allies, I'll do you a favor and tell you to watch your back over these next few months because all the numbers will start to roll in eventually. You would do well to remember that we too have people we report to, invested parties who monitor our cause, and I hear it from a damn good source they don't exactly like it when we have to spread ourselves even thinner because of a single fucking element that's standing in our way and messing with our budget."
Levi looked toward Erwin, receiving a single imperceptible nod of encouragement; the man was very close to breaking now. Levi looked back and took a final step toward him, far closer than necessary as he looked up at him dangerously, "Do you know what happens to single elements that get in the way? If you do know, perhaps the best question you can ask yourself, as a well-informed businessman of course, is how you can get out of the way before someone else comes along and removes you as an obstacle after tragic, unforeseen events."
The man again flinched away from Levi, leaning back in a rather pathetic display and Erwin finally chuckled, "Oh come now Levi, there's no need to scare him like that. He's an ally after all, right?"
The man looked between the three of them, a glaring Humanity's Strongest that was inches away from his face, a girl who's glasses caught the light just right and made her appear certifiably insane, and then a tall, sadistically grinning Commander who was just waiting to hear the verdict, as though he had already known the outcome from the beginning.
He gave a nervous shake of his head, his voice cracking as he tried to respond, "Okay okay, look, I might be able to work around some numbers in your favor, just…just let's talk about this. There's no reason to report anything hasty or misleading - we can make sure your numbers look just as good this year as they did last year!"
Levi gave a sharp exhale and took a few steps back with a snort, turning over his shoulder and again taking the time to find Petra to see how things had developed, absolutely itching to walk away and finally ward off whoever it was that was making her so obviously uncomfortable. His eyes finally found her, and noted that whatever was happening over there, it was getting worse. Her arms were crossed, her head was pulled back defensively – he could see her lips move as she conversed with whoever it was that stood by her; he could only assume it was the same man from the look of things. Either he couldn't take a hint, or Petra wasn't coming off strongly enough to make him leave. Either option seemed equally as likely.
Hanji smiled warmly, "Oh is that so? Wonderful! We knew we could come straight to you about this issue because we know that you will only be offering us a fair, and honest rate – right? After all, nothing is set in stone and things can always change for the better." Her expression darkened considerably, and she gave a chilling smile, "Or worse."
"Right, of- of course!" the man squeaked, and Erwin leaned down toward Levi who had moved to stand beside him while Hanji confirmed that she would love to hear the details of their new rate and how they could prevent such 'misunderstandings' in the future. Erwin's voice was hushed, "Okay Levi, I get it; we've got it covered here so you're free to go."
Levi's voice was also a tense whisper, not wanting to distract the man while Hanji set the much needed groundwork that would help the budget actually balance in the months to come, "She's been belittled and laughed at all night – I hold you responsible for all of it."
Erwin sighed through pressed lips, a sort of irritation present in his tone, "Very well then. Do you want to stand here and argue with me about it, or do you want to go and take care of…" Erwin looked over his shoulder and frowned as he tried to sort out the identity of Petra's visitor, a note of sudden distaste in his voice as he spoke, "Is that Squad Leader Michael?"
Levi all but growled, "The MP?"
"Yep. That's what it looks like to me. Best get moving, Captain."
Levi swore under his breath and started walking across the room with a dark scowl, barely having even heard Erwin's dismissal because he was already on his way. Had he known that's who Petra had been dealing with, he would have left sooner – much sooner. Levi knew full well that not everyone in the Military Police was bad; there were exceptions to every rule after all, but Squad Leader Michael was not one of them. No, he was all but the fucking epitome of everything Levi hated about the Military Police, and then some.
Levi had consistently rubbed shoulders with the man for over a full decade, and certainly not by choice. Aside from the fact that they hadn't exactly shared what would be considered a 'healthy' relationship back in his Underground days since he was far from a 'law abiding' citizen, since coming to the Scout's, Levi had seen the man's still all-consuming hatred for him, and heard far too many stories about his persuasive nature, his frequent abuse of his authority, and more notably, his shady way of pursuing women.
Levi would have thought that anyone with half a fucking brain would have known better than to make a pass at Petra now that word had gotten around that she was his wife, but it seemed he had been very mistaken. No, if anything, it had only added to her allure; something Levi found to be annoyingly perplexing. People were apparently curious as to what made her so special that she had won Humanity's Strongest over, and after seeking her out, they collectively seemed to decide that they liked what they saw, very much. He had seen it in countless eyes when she walked from place to place – watched tensely as their gazes darkened with less than wholesome thoughts - he had heard it in the bar from more than one conversing Scout, and now he was actually seeing it in action.
Unfucking believable.
He felt anger begin to wash over him, certain now of the nature of Petra's visitor and the type of conversation she might be having in his absence. It explained her reactions so perfectly, her obvious discomfort, the way she stepped back from him – Levi felt a sort of rage run through him when he remembered that the man actually had the audacity to touch her, and his pace sped up all the more. As he neared them, he could just start to hear their conversation.
It was Petra's voice, and Levi watched her as she cautiously seemed to ask a question in response to whatever he had said before hand, "Um, Squad Leader…I'm sorry if I'm not following you properly so I'm just going to have to ask you flat out, are you trying to offer me a position in the Military Police?"
Levi's eyes narrowed. He was doing what now?
Levi watched in disgust as a sick smile spread across the man's face, "That depends. Do you want a position in the Military Police? I can respect a girl who knows what she wants and uses all her resources to get it. If you are set on advancing your career, and considering the way you're letting that man use you now, well. You really could do better than him, don't you think? Perhaps I'd be willing to make an opening for you on my squad – you could think of it as new management."
Levi watched as the man dared to look her up and down, and he set his jaw firmly – enraged on Petra's behalf that anyone was brazen enough to treat her so disrespectfully. As if he hadn't said enough - hadn't made his intentions clear enough, hadn't degraded her enough - he only continued speaking, watching her with an expectant sort of smile as if he had fucking rights to her or something.
"You'd like that right? Being under me, instead of Levi?"
Levi could feel his blood pounding in his veins at the Squad Leader's last comment, the statement well past a simple innuendo with its brazen claims, and it made him want to knock the man out, if only to get him to stop talking about his subordinate so disgustingly because Petra…fuck, how would she feel after hearing these sorts of comments?
She had asked him not to go, outright begged him even, because of this very fucking reason. Shit, he really should have put up more of a fight with Erwin, but it had seemed like such a simple request and he wanted to pick his battles wisely – especially concerning Petra.
Even still, hindsight was a bitch.
"You're a beautiful woman Petra, and luckily for you, you're not the only person that isn't afraid to bend the rules to get what they want. This can benefit the both of us, right? What do you say?"
Oh, there wouldn't be time for her to say anything, Levi decided in an instant. With Erwin giving him the green light, Levi was greatly anticipating putting the Squad Leader in his place. Not only would Levi enjoy letting some of his pent-up tension loose, it would send the clear message to everyone that whatever their feelings were toward his subordinate, if they belittled her, touched her, harmed her in any fucking way - they would have to answer to him personally. He was just a few feet away and-
"What do I say?" Petra stated, looking at the ground while she spoke. When she looked up, Levi momentarily stopped dead in his tracks, admittedly a little...intimidated by the murderous expression he saw across her face.
"I say fuck you!" she stated loudly, loud enough that it wasn't just Levi who could hear them anymore; multiple people turned in to see what was going on that had wagered such words to be said with such overt malice.
Petra was clearly furious, to such an extent that she didn't even notice the attention she was grabbing, taking a step forward and cracking her knuckles darkly as she continued speaking angrily, "I say, Squad Leader Michael, that you should be outright discharged for abusing your authority and undermining the success of others by offering them such disgusting deals like this in the first place! I say that you are obviously jealous of Captain Levi and want to try and one up him by, what, hitting on me as some weak attempt to settle whatever grudge you have with him in the first place? First off, I am not some fucking pawn, so let me address that here and now and make it resoundingly clear that Captain Levi, my husband mind you, is ten times the man you will ever be."
Oh shit, she actually went there?
Levi blinked at her words, his own mouth falling open as he tried to keep up with the venom her words carried, spite dripping from her every word as she berated him further. Levi had taken a breath in preparation to speak, but it was obvious that his subordinate was far from finished because she kept moving toward the Squad Leader just the same, a scowl darkening her features as she stormed toward him step by step.
Petra crossed her arms and stopped just in front of him as she leaned toward him threateningly – not so coincidentally, in a very similar manner that she had seen a certain Captain use throughout the years – and Levi found a smirk pulling at his lips as he recognized the maneuver as his own.
The notably intimidated man actually backed away from her, and Levi's smirk only widened as Petra simply followed him step for step as she spoke, "I say you are a pathetic, worthless coward - A spoiled brat that's never worked for a single thing in his entire goddamned life! So to answer your question, Squad Leader, the answer is no! Hard pass." She paused and gave a rather ugly sort of smile as she held her head up proudly, "I'd rather be eaten by a Titan than ever have to report under the likes of a pathetic loser like you that hides behind his title, hides behind the Walls, and hasn't accomplished anything in his life other than converting oxygen into carbon dioxide! But yeah, thanks anyway for your stupid offer or whatever, you fucking asshole. Go to hell."
Her voice was scathing and audibly dripping with hatred and sarcasm by the end, and Levi couldn't help it when a shocked, yet admittedly proud chuckle escaped his lips, the sound grabbing Petra's attention and only heightening his amusement all the more when her face fell into absolute horror and surprise. She looked around and realized what a scene she had made, only now noticing that multiple people watched her with wide eyes and gaping mouths.
Her face began glowing red as Levi walked the last few steps toward her, and she suddenly struggled to find her words in attempts to explain herself – a great contrast to the Petra who a mere moment ago had colorful words and brutal insults flying out of her mouth with terrifying precision, "L-Levi, you-"
"Fucking hell, woman," he stated in amusement, remembering how only moments ago he had been worried that she wouldn't have the guts to actually speak up for herself. He shook his head, finding he couldn't stop the sort of laugh that renewed itself the more he thought about it, "Here I thought I was going to have to beat the shit out of him, but that…that was something all on its own. You could have just told him no…"
Levi's smirk morphed into a small smile and he shook his head, feeling nothing but pride as he watched his perplexed subordinate. He exhaled lowly as he watched her with a quirked eyebrow, his voice quiet as he spoke to her in continued amazement, "There's no doubt you truly are my wife, if only on paper. Picking fights with higher ups in the Military Police – fuck, I can't take you anywhere, can I?"
As much as he wanted to watch Petra, to let her know that he greatly approved of her standing up for herself in the brazen manner she did, he knew that his business was not yet finished. Levi cleared his throat and sobered his expression, letting his gaze fall on the snubbed MP that watched the pair with a hateful snarl, his face red from embarrassment at being loudly called out, and subsequently rejected by the stunning Scout that had become (and would remain) the talk of the night.
Levi smirked and shook his head at the embarrassed glare the man shot him, as though he had just now realized that Levi had heard the entire conversation.
At this point violence wasn't necessary - Petra's words had already cut the man far deeper than Levi's fists would ever be able to reach - but even still, the Captain wasn't ready to let him off the hook completely, because he had a point to make yet. Levi placed his arm around Petra, hand snaking around the small of her back and coming to rest on her waist before pulling her close to his side, right up against him as he watched the MP intentionally, who's eyes narrowed at the display.
If it hadn't been for the fact that his attention had been on the Squad Leader, Levi would have marveled how Petra so easily came beside him, without need for warning, no sharp gasps or tenseness – if his attention hadn't been elsewhere, perhaps he would have noticed how he himself hadn't felt the slightest bit of tension either - how outright natural it had felt for her to be by his side.
Levi was focused however, on the angry MP that watched him with an ever-familiar snarl. Levi returned his gaze, his eyes challenging him further and his voice coated with a tangible smugness, "Squad Leader Michael, allow me to formally introduce my wife, Mrs. Petra Ackerman."
Though Levi was obviously trying to make a point, Petra couldn't help but look toward her Captain with wide eyes, feeling a sort of nervousness build in her stomach from her less than subtle introduction. His hand was warm on her side, she was now pulled so close to him that she could feel his body heat and what was more…
He had never actually said her name before, not her full name at least.
It was always just Petra.
She blushed at his words, mentally admitting that it sounded rather nice… at least, when Levi said it, anyway.
There was a slight stuttering that followed Levi's statement, and after a slight staring match, the MP gave a huff and walked away, muttering something incoherent as he disappeared into the crowd.
Levi shook his head, watching him walk away with contempt in his eyes before exhaling in finality and again looking toward Petra with a sense of pride. If what he had done earlier was 'cool', in her words at least, then he could only describe her actions as outright badass.
What was more, he couldn't help but mentally take note of the expression she still watched him with. It was a stark contrast, Levi realized as he looked into her vibrant green eyes, the way she looked at him, versus the way Petra had looked at her unwanted suitor a mere moment ago. There was a calm, a certain level of contentment and unabashed trust in her eyes; a restored wellness to her being that was only there because he himself was there beside her. He realized in a sort of awe that he was perhaps, the only man that would ever receive such a look from her, and a warmness came to his expression as he returned her trusting stare with a pleased 'Hmph.'
He wouldn't necessarily consider himself to be competitive, although something about the look in her eyes, the blush on her face as she watched him in obvious admiration - he couldn't deny the smirk that pulled at his lips and the pride that continued to flood his chest even now, even after Michael had walked away and let them be.
Levi moved his hand back from around her waist and onto the small of her back, pushing her gently with his hand to direct her away. He leaned closer toward her and spoke quietly, noting that there were still many eyes that were watching them in outright shock, "Don't know about you, but I've had all the 'fun' I can take. Let's go."
Petra gave a weak, flustered nod and allowed him to lead them toward the door, blushing all the more as she felt the weight of so many people's stares on her even now. She turned her head toward him, whispering nervously as they walked, "I can't believe you did that, like, in front of everyone - Power play much, Captain? They're all terrified of you now."
He also looked around the room, noting their haunted, lingering stares and shook his head, "If you recall, you're the one that made them all look in the first place, so technically it's not my fault they're staring." What was more, their collective stares weren't settled on him, but rather on the woman beside him, and he exhaled in continuation, "And for the record, right now, I'm not the one they're actually afraid of. They already know I'm not someone to fuck with, but thanks to your little episode back there, they're probably all shitting themselves because they had likely assumed opposites attract, ergo you must be kind and gentle and timid - everything I'm not - so they probably can't fathom the fact that you somehow have an even worse temper than I do."
She blinked at his statement, stammering as she looked at him with wide eyes and denying his claims outright, "I - I do not have a worse temper than you, I just..." as Levi watched her with a flat stare, Petra gave a sheepish exhale and shrugged self consciously, "I'm just...louder than you is all."
Levi nodded once, clearly not convinced because both of them knew her words were a lie, and Petra gave a smack of her lips as a sort of disbelieving laugh left her, "I'm… I'm just still in shock you said that though. Could you have made it any more clear that I'm married to you? Damn, Captain. Maybe if you stood up on a table and shouted? I don't think the people in the back heard you!"
"Shit, whatever it takes, right? I don't know why you're making such a fuss - these pompous assholes need to learn some fucking respect and treat my wife with a little more class."
They continued walking across the floor with ease, finding that a majority of the people were proactively moving out of their way, as it seemed no one wanted to be the next victim to be told off by the renowned Captain's ill-tempered wife. As they walked, Petra watched him with a haughty sort of grin, "Oh-ho, so you refer to me as your wife now? I thought that was just on paper, Captain. Could it be that I'm so charming that you've fallen for me? As much as I admire you as my Captain, I feel the need to remind you of our prior agreement and urge you not to get too attached to me." She paused and quirked an eyebrow in challenge, "If you can help it, that is."
He actually snorted at her words, "Alright, don't get cocky, you little shit. It is just on paper, but we don't want them to know that – that was the entire point of you being here at all tonight, remember? Fuck, two sips of liquor and you can't recall shit; you really are a lightweight."
As they walked out, bickering back and forth and teasing each other the whole way, Levi didn't move his hand from off her lower back, and Petra hadn't wanted him to.
…
...
It was as they walked out of the building, walking away from all the buzz and the noise of the party that Petra let out a loud sigh and stretched her limbs above her head, "Well, I'm glad that's over. All in all..." she turned her head to the side and stole a glance toward Levi, who quirked an eyebrow as he waited to hear her thoughts about the event, "I think you can hold off on the promotion for a few more years, Captain. It's still a little much for me."
He nodded, a sort of amusement evident in his expression, "Noted."
A silence fell over them and Petra looked up serenely, the sun dipping just below the trees and sending bright colors of oranges and reds across the sky, various clouds creating patches of deep purples and pale yellows in a vibrant display as the training grounds were silhouetted in a breathtaking manner.
"You know," Levi stated, suddenly rather serious as he also looked up toward the sky pensively, "I feel I should clarify something, just so there's no confusion later."
Hearing his shift in tone, Petra's brows pulled down and she looked at him in concern, wondering if she had done something wrong or what it was that the Captain felt he needed to suddenly clarify. She cleared her throat, "Oh. Well okay, uh, sure. What's up?"
He gave a slight nod and looked over toward her, his expression considerably serious as he watched her pointedly, "As we walk back, am I assuming correctly that we're going to be talking most of the time?"
"Uh, well…I mean, maybe?" Petra responded in confusion and Levi looked back toward the path ahead, taking a breath and shaking his head all the more as though she had just said something terrible. Petra could only watch him in concern as the troubled expression remained across his face and she pried further, "Is that a problem? I mean, if whatever conversation we're having is, I don't know, offensive or whatever, we can change the subject or…" she gave him a sort of blank stare, admittedly lost as she had no idea what he was so concerned about all of the sudden.
"It's just…it's sunset." As he said the last word, a tiny smirk pulled at his lips, unable to keep a straight face any longer and Petra instantly rolled her eyes, finally realizing the direction this conversation was going and irritated that she had fallen for his ruse in the first place.
Levi put his hands in his pockets and smirked fully as they continued walking down the path, "I just don't want you to think this is a date or anything, what with all this walking..." Petra glared at him with narrowed eyes as her face turned bright red, and Levi grinned in heightened amusement, enjoying her obvious embarrassment immensely. He looked down the path and continued, "Plus there's the sunset and conversation to consider. I know how this might look to you, but again I want to clarify that-"
"Oh for Maria's sake!" Petra gave a mortified cry as the Captain watched her smugly, still not ready to let it go so it seemed. She buried her head in her hands and groaned, certain now that he would never let her live it down, though was indeed laughing nonetheless from sheer embarrassment as well as the fact that she had walked right into it. Attempting to compose herself, Petra cleared her throat again and stood up straight, holding her head up at an angle and looking down at him as she spoke, "Alright, well message received, okay? Besides, you should be so lucky to take me on a date, Captain."
Though Petra had intended to turn the tables on him, Levi's smirk only grew more pronounced and he crossed his arms as he watched her smugly, "Well if I were going on a date with you, I probably would get lucky, cause just the one date is all it takes apparently."
Petra coughed a few times at his not so subtle statement, her jaw dropping from pure shock as she would have never thought that he would have so brazenly gone there without a second thought, just to tease her. He gave her a long reproving stare, though his stare was clearly more in amusement than actual judgement, and Petra exhaled in defeat as she shook her head, deciding that he had her beat this time around.
"Alright alright." She gave an exhale and looked up toward him with a smug expression of her own, "So tell me Captain, if you're going to so snidely tease me about it, then I believe you officially owe me an answer – what's your magic number?" her eyes narrowed critically as though trying to get a good read on him, and she even dared to take a guess, "Imma say you're a…third date, kinda guy?"
He nodded once or twice and held her stare for a long moment, the smirk still on his lips as he looked back at the path, originally intending to not answer her question at all, but finally chuckling as she watched him stubbornly, with an expectant, playful grin of her own as though prepared to wait the whole night if it came down to it.
"…Second." He finally stated, and Petra beamed triumphantly at the divulged information. Levi looked toward her flatly and continued, "But I don't exactly 'date' per say, so take that for whatever it's worth."
Petra exhaled and gave a weak shrug at his clarification, smiling sheepishly as she looked into the ground, "Well…me neither. I guess it's easy to talk big, but the truth is I've only actually had…one boyfriend. That was ages ago, before I was in the military even. Nothing too serious of course, lasted for a little over a year or so and then we split up and I was in the military that very summer. Either way, there you have it - my long laundry list of men: One."
Levi watched her as she spoke, mentally noting that her words made a lot more sense and fit his subordinate considerably better than the idea of a sappy mess that dated and slept with men without much apparent thought after mere 'sunsets and conversation'. Not that he would have thought any less of her if that had been true - with his past he certainly had no right to judge - but he had been fairly confident that she hadn't had any sort of relationships while on his squad, or even further back to when she had first joined the Scouts if the rumor mill had any bit of truth to it, so her previous claims had struck him as being… a little out of place, if not entirely unlikely.
Well, Levi noted internally, he certainly got more information than he had bargained for, and he couldn't help it when a part of him suddenly pondered why she hadn't pursued any sort of relationship in the past. By all definitions, she was extremely eligible, young, desirable even – all the men on his squad, himself included, had watched Petra's effect on others in the Scout Regiment year after year, and knew full well that her single status wasn't a result of lacking opportunities or a lack of interested prospects. While most of the time Petra didn't even notice the advances of a fellow Scout who was attempting to ask her on a date, the few times she did, she had laughed it off and commented something like, 'Well aren't you cute.'
Her unintentionally brutal way of rejecting men had admittedly been a source of great amusement for him and his squad over the years – Petra had no idea she was considered to be quite the heart-breaker within the Scout Regiment – but he supposed that in the moment he hadn't ever stopped to consider why she never sought any sort of companionship.
It was somewhat baffling to him, if he were being honest with himself.
Someone like him, a loner by nature – he thought it was rather fitting that he not pursue after relationships or anything else that would complicate his role in the war against the Titans, but someone like Petra – she thrived in the bonds she built with others and made friends so easily; it really was puzzling that she hadn't even tried to date anyone, even once, over the past five years.
Petra smiled at the Captain's suddenly contemplative expression and she gave a sort of hollow laugh, noting that the confused expression he wore didn't quite suit him. She gave a confident sort of half smile, "Hey now, what do I need a man for - I've got all of you, right?"
Levi watched her inquisitively, his brows pulled down in thought and obviously rather unsatisfied by her one line explanation. Petra sighed at this, giving him a shy smile as she looked at the path ahead and tried to explain herself further, "When I first came into the military I was…perhaps a little heartbroken still, and then by the time I was actually over it and ready to date again, I graduated into the Scout Regiment and all I wanted to do was focus on my studies and performance." Her smile brightened in memory and she nodded toward Levi for emphasis, "Then I got on your Squad, and that fueled me to train even harder. As the years went by, dating just…took a back seat by sheer proxy I guess. Besides, even in the event that I had been interested in trying to date someone, I'm pretty sure you would have all gone well out of your way to intimidate the poor guy and scare him off - and what, with a lineup including Humanity's Strongest, there's no way he would have stuck around."
Levi gave her a long sort of stare before giving a shrug, because as ridiculous as it was, she was probably right.
Petra laughed at his silent confirmation, pausing for a moment and smiling fondly all the more as she thought back over her time on the squad, "But, honestly even though the marriage caused a lot of fuss and drama and the guys still don't know what to make of it all… I think it's better like this. In some ways at least."
A sort of silence settled over the pair, and again Levi's gaze lingered heavily on his subordinate, questioning her last statement further. Even if he didn't actually say anything out loud, his unspoken 'why' hung in the air and Petra gave another exhale as his stare continued to weigh down on her.
For a moment, she considered her previous words in a contemplative silence, finding that even she herself wasn't completely sure what she meant. It was better, she concluded confidently, but it was hard to put her finger on exactly what made it such a favorable arrangement in comparison to the way things had been before the wedding. She would miss the chance of dating; she would miss the idea of finding the right person and falling in love with them, there were still many things that made her very sad when she thought about the implications of being married to Levi in such a manner, but…
She looked toward the Captain and shrugged, "Well for one, at the very least it makes things predictable and I know what to expect for the most part. It makes me more confident about my future and allows me to really focus because…it's sort of a one-way track now with considerably less forks in the road. And what's more, thanks to this arrangement, I get to hang around all you guys a little longer, which…coincidentally has its charms."
Levi looked toward her with a quirked eyebrow, and there was a sort of half smirk on his face that made her blush all the more, unable to keep his stare and instead looking down into the path as she fiddled with the fabric of her gloves. She mentally laughed at this, amusing herself as she realized just how easily the Captain got to her with seemingly no effort on his end at all; no, she doubted he even knew. They were walking close enough that she leaned to one side slightly and nudged him with her shoulder playfully, "You know as it turns out… you're not such terrible company, Captain."
...
End of Chapter
...
*dreamy exhale*
Okay. Yall.
You know what I'm going to say – so say it with me now – I love this chapter. The fangirl in me just reads this chapter over and is just…oh so happy. Then come next chapter and, gah. It's gonna be a long seven days yall, but we'll get there one step at a time.
As for what gets to me in this chapter – everyone is different, so different things may jump out at you, but the one that gets me smiling like an idiot when I read this, is that moment where Levi's watching Petra right after Michael buggers off, and he realizes quietly that her trust, her smile, the way she watches him – in that moment he figures out that it's unique to just him – and he just kinda smirks and goes 'Hmph.' in a sort of pleased, accepting nod because though he doesn't mentally linger on it too long, he finds he's...more than okay with that.
For me personally, it's those small, quiet moments make my writer's heart go pitter patter, and this chapter has…a good number of those! Gah, all the feels for me.
Alright, Midnight signing off. Probably going to read this chapter like twelve times, back to back. It truly is one of my actually favorites (and I've got about 45 written out now, soooo yeah, I'd say that's saying something! We're making good progress people!)
As always, see ya next Sunday. Yall have an awesome week!