Happy Sunday everyone!

Today is a special day! If I understand correctly, it's a certain someone's birthday today? *confettis rain down from top of screen* Happy Birthday to Lena, and yall be sure to send out good, happy birthday vibes as well! Hopefully this chapter is up to your (and everyone's) standards! Have the happiest, best of birthdays!

I wanted to note that I see a few comments here and there from the people who are on the more shy side, that follow week by week but may not frequently review, and I wanted to give a special shout out and say hello to my readers that, bless your heart, had some serious reading to do to catch up. Well done, and hopefully yall are also enjoying the story just as much. If you haven't seen along the way, Sundays are my weekly update, and I try to update around, eh…anywhere from 7-10 EST?

Same with last time, this entire section got beefed up a bit – but luckily this chapter is merely enhanced, versus last chapter that didn't exist at all. I'm glad yall liked the last one as well, it was a needed addition to be sure. That Levi is an enigma, so I enjoy it when I get to delve into his perspective.

Onto the chapter!

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...

Petra was sprawled out on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor with a rag in a circular motion and chuckling lightly at the conversation she was having with Eld, who was standing on top of a nearby counter so he would be tall enough to dust the edges of the ceiling.

"I'm pretty sure you're being over dramatic." She responded to her superior with a grin, sitting up slightly and rinsing the rag off in the bucket before returning back to the floor to continue mopping the large area with precision, taking care to ensure that all the scuffs and caked on dirt was removed from each individual tile.

"Pretty sure I'm not." Eld confirmed as he looked down at her with a cheeky smirk, "Admit it, Levi's been gone for a measly forty-eight hours and already you're all sighs and dramatic, longing glances out the window in hopes that your-" he paused for effect and gave a teasing, dramatic sigh as he batted his eyes longingly, "Dreamy man crush comes back home to you soon. Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow. Two ships in the night, will their paths yet cross again?"

Petra gave a roll of her eyes and laughed loudly at Eld's theatrics, "I have done no such thing, and I know that because the aforementioned 'dreamy man crush' - your words, not mine - left us with so much assigned cleaning in his absence that there's been no time to just sit at a window – rather pathetically I might add – and wait for him to get back. I'll admit I've been a little nervous and on edge, but that's not because he's gone, it's because I know what a big deal this meeting is and how much it means to him. And us. It's a big deal Eld, for real."

She paused for a moment and stole a glance up toward Eld, who was still watching her with a knowing smirk that silently communicated he didn't believe her in the slightest. She sat up slightly and pulled her hair up into a ponytail as she spoke with a disappointed frown, rather tired of her hair getting in her eyes each time she leaned back toward the floor. "Honestly if there's anything that's been getting to me, it's that I can't help but feel Erwin should have brought me with them. Most of the numbers they're presenting are my work, and I want to hear the outcome just as much as they do. Good or bad, at least they'll know in a few days, but me? I'll have to wait until they get back who knows when, and it's driving me crazy."

Eld wiped the damp cloth along the edge of the wall, clearing away the dust and grime as he spoke, "And that's assuming they tell you at all mind you. This meeting is for the head leadership of each faction and may very well end up being categorized as classified information. If that's the case, you'll just have to make peace with it, because they won't be able to tell you even if they wanted to. Hey, rinse this out for me?"

He tossed the dusty rag toward her and Petra rinsed it out absentmindedly, wringing out the extra water and tossing the rag back up to him so he could continue his task.

"Thanks. You think the meeting is going to go well?"

Petra shrugged at his question and leaned back across the expanse of the floor as she continued to scrub it clean methodically, "Who can say? I've been crunching the numbers behind the scenes and while the data seems obvious to me, I'm no Officer, and at the end of the day the decision falls to someone else who likely hasn't seen any real combat – let alone what combat looks like outside the walls when we face the Titans head on. All we can hope is that the data speaks for itself and they come to understand that lives will be lost – which at the very least represents a significant cost to the government. It's much more cost effective to keep an already trained soldier alive than it is to train a new one from the ground up, so if the loss of life isn't enough to scare them, then hopefully the money it will take to replace them, will be."

There was a slight pause as they both focused on their tasks, and after a moment Eld stepped down from the counter, moving across the room and standing up on the next high surface he could leverage so he could continue his task. He spoke louder so his voice reverberated off the walls, considering his back was turned to her, "Now what will you do when he gets back?"

"How do you mean?"

Eld gave a slight grunt as he stretched his arm out, barely able to reach into the corner from where he was presently stationed. Wiping the dust away with jerky, strained motions due to the distance, he finally gave an exhale and turned back over his shoulder to look at her.

"It's just that you really went out of your way to help them out; frankly that kind of work is above and beyond your job title and pay grade and they know that, so after a full week of spending every waking moment at Levi's beck and call and working with leadership to build a strong case for this super important meeting – I don't know, I think Captain owes you a date or something, don't you?"

Petra gaped at Eld's statement, finding that the conversation took a sharp turn that she hadn't expected, "A date?" she stammered in a sudden squeak of protest, "You're kidding, right? With Levi – our Captain? I, uh…"

Eld hopped off the counter and walked toward her, careful to avoid the wet sections of the floor so there wouldn't be footprints left behind that she would have to rewash. He rinsed the rag out and shrugged, "Yes, a date. With your husband. Oh come on, don't tell me you guys are still trying to walk that 'We're not a couple' line, right? I thought you guys worked it out or whatever – you've both been pretty inseparable these past few weeks so I thought you and him finally came to some sort of agreement."

Petra stared into the floor, finding that in her sudden nervousness she was scrubbing the floor with more force than necessary, "I'd prefer to think of it as the 'We're professionals who both have jobs to see to' line, and what's more, things have been going really well as of late and I don't want to mess that up by walking down that path again. We spend a lot of time together, and even though we've both acknowledged that maybe there's something there, things are nice as they are. We found a good rhythm and can spend time together without it getting weird. Why should I want to change that?"

Eld moved a few feet across the floor, joining her in scrubbing the floor so the task would be completed sooner. "Okay, sure, things are good now, but what about in another month? Two months? Or a year? You really mean to tell me that this cordial, polite sort of arms distance relationship will satisfy either of you for much longer?"

She paused from her scrubbing and looked up toward him with a conflicted expression, and Eld gave a shrug.

"Petra, I know you. I see how you watch him when he's not looking, and you've got it bad for him." He gave a chuckle at her mortified, humiliated expression and he nodded warmly, "It's okay to want…something more, you know? But he's not going to know what you want unless you tell him. You should think about bringing it up to him; you know, just ask him where things are going, tell him what you are wanting from the relationship, that sort of thing. It doesn't have to be complicated, just tell him what's on your mind. With how blunt he is, you'll probably get a direct, straight answer right then and there."

Petra gave a shake of her head, her words more slow as various thoughts came to mind. After a moment of silence where she tried to collect her thoughts, she eventually looked toward him with a heavy sigh, "I just…I don't know. It's hard to tell him what I want when I myself am not even sure. When I married the Captain, I truly believed that the romance section of my life would simply cease to exist, and sure, that hurt a bit, but I knew that going in so it was okay; I was prepared to be alone in that respect."

She sat up and rested back into her heels, pausing from her task of cleaning so she could explain her thoughts without distraction, "Well imagine my surprise when things started changing between us. Imagine going from a place where you never thought you'd be in a relationship, to suddenly toying with the idea of being involved with your Commanding Officer. Even now when I think about it, it makes me uncomfortable. Every bit of training I have in me is screaming that he's off limits because he's The Captain Levi."

She shook her head, her eyes narrowing in contemplation and focus, "But…if I somewhat conveniently forget that he's my Commanding Officer and think of him as just Levi…" Her voice trailed off into a sort of nostalgic haze, "I think about the conversations we've had, the memories we now share, how awkward he is, how everything sort of just happened on its own…and I realize that a part of me wants those things that I shouldn't want, the exact things that I was prepared to leave behind. All of the sudden I find that I want the firsts, I want the fights, I want the butterflies, and I want to be wanted."

Eld allowed the silence to draw out, and he also sat up from the floor, watching her pointedly for clarification, "Wanted - as in, by Levi specifically, or…?"

Petra gave an exhale and returned Eld's pensive stare with a nervous shrug, "At one time if you asked me that, asked what it might look like for me to get involved with someone, I might have said that it could have been anyone, because I didn't have any specific person in mind. It was always just a faceless someone that I'd meet at a café, perhaps someone I'd bump shoulders with in the military – just some nameless, formless Mr. Right."

Petra found herself fiddling with the wrinkles of her sleeves, hesitant to look at Eld while saying such personal things because her honesty made her feel suddenly exposed, "But now when I think about those things, even if I don't mean to, I inevitably see him – see Levi specifically - without fail. I think about what it might be like if we did this or that or-"

Eld smirked, "Oh my, this or that?"

Petra rolled her eyes and gave a light smile, "Yes, this or that, and get your mind out of the gutter because I wasn't meaning that. You're in a relationship so you know what I mean; it could be anything. Going shopping together, cooking a meal together, celebrating a birthday, staying out in the rain or watching a thunderstorm. I can't help but be curious - what would we talk about? Would we be in uniform or would we be in civilian clothes? Would we be happy, or just content to be there, or intentionally teasing and pushing each other's buttons?"

She moved toward the bucket, her actions slowed by thought as she rinsed the rag out again, "At one time, I would have never believed, nor wanted that person to be the Captain because I would have never willingly put myself in such a position, but now…I'm not sure I'll ever want it to be anyone else except him. And that…well, it scares me. Four months ago he was effectively just my boss, and now…"

Eld gave her a long, appraising sort of stare as she trailed off, "And now?"

"And now I don't know what he is, and that scares me too." She summarized with an almost sort of melancholy, "I don't know if I want to keep testing the boundaries with him or not because things are complicated enough, he's already done so much for me that I don't want to cause him any more trouble, I don't know what he wants from me, I don't know what I want from him, and what's more, the fact that it's all happened so fast, where so much has changed so quickly just…makes my head spin."

Eld gave a sort of groan and blinked as he watched her skeptically, "Fast? You think things have been moving fast? Let me just say, it's been a long four months for everyone Petra, and that includes the Captain. Pretty sure we all wish you would stop fighting the obvious and just accept the fact that you guys are an item."

He shook his head and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a sudden smirk across his face as he watched her mischievously, "You know Petra, this is nothing that a few candles and a bottle of wine can't fix. How about this - we'll set you up in his room when he gets back, rub some lemon zest on your neck, maybe undo the top few buttons of your shirt, put a drink in your hands, and just let nature run its course! That easy."

Petra's mouth fell open and she coughed loudly as though she had swallowed something the wrong way, "What the – No, there's so much wrong with that. For one, that's none of your business, for two that's none of your business and for three…what the hell is the lemon for?!"

Eld gave her a dumb look and scoffed, "Oh please, like he could possibly resist you when you smell like a walking bottle of lemon fresh window spray? Come on Petra, I figured that much would be obvious."

Petra moved back to the floor, grateful to have the distraction as she continued wiping down the tiled surface, "No, Eld. I just told you that things are moving too fast, and the last thing I want to do is pour gasoline on the fire and throw myself at him…again." She mumbled to herself almost bitterly in a sort of afterthought, "He has the self-control of a damned monk."

Eld grinned at her quiet admission, knowing full well what she was talking about but not letting on that he knew about it because it would only embarrass her all the more. He gave her a sympathetic smile as he watched her furiously scrub the floor, clearly uncomfortable and obviously set on avoiding his eye contact in attempts to sidestep the conversation as a whole.

He merely rinsed out his rag again, noting that they would have to change the water soon because it was morphing into a dingy, murky grey. He moved to a new section of tile and continued scrubbing the floor, looking toward her as he spoke.

"Okay, so if not now, then when? Never? You do realize that with the fact you married him, he's…pretty much your only option for that sort of thing, right? It will be a cold day in hell before he ever lets another man touch you, I can promise you that much, so you might as well start warming up to the idea because unless you plan on being celibate your entire life, it's going to have to happen eventually, with him; with 'The' Captain Levi – your words, not mine."

"Uugh, can you not say that out loud?" Petra groaned as she looked at him fiercely, her face glowing a bright red,
"It's weird! If you're that passionate about it, then maybe you should try your candles and wine trick and leave me out of this!"

Eld chuckled, "Hey now, there's no need to be shy about it."

From across the room, there was a new voice, "No need to be shy about what?"

Gunther walked into the room and Eld grinned at him, giving him a casual shrug, "Oh nothing. Petra's trying to seduce the Captain is all."

Hearing this, Gunther gave a grunt and exhaled as though actually relieved to hear it, "About damned time. You guys have been married for months now, right? I mean, whatever if you don't want to be close, but at least get your rocks off because now that you're married you really might as well. If you're looking for ideas to wear him down, you could always just prance around in that sports bra getup of yours; got a hell of a reaction out of him last time. Don't think it escaped my notice that ever since he blew up about it, you've been dressing a lot more conservative lately. I hate to be that guy, but if you want to entice him, you're going about it all the wrong way."

Gunther moved toward the table and took a seat, and Eld's eyes narrowed at Gunther's observation and he gave a nod as though the thought had never occurred to him, "Oh touché! What's that all about, Petra? You're always in full uniform these days, even after training lets out. Could it be you aren't comfortable with Levi being attracted to you?"

Petra stammered at the still increasingly personal conversation that was now publicly being held with not just one, but two of her squad mates. She sat up and put a hand on her hip in frustration, "Um, if you recall, he wasn't voicing his attraction, he was voicing that he thought I was an attention-seeking whore, which coincidentally, is not my idea of a compliment. Since then I've been a little more…intentional about what I wear around him. Granted the extra layers are annoying, but if it means he keeps his judgmental gaze to himself, then I can suffer through it."

Gunther rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Oh yeah, he stares at you like that because he's judging you, obviously. You show a little skin and the man loses it, because he's such a gentleman. Right, makes sense to me. What else could it possibly be?"

Though his statement was one of overwhelming sarcasm, Petra merely nodded in firm agreement, and Gunther raised a hand in defeat, being reminded of just how dense Petra could be, "…You're hopeless, Captain's in denial, and we're all fucked." Gunther rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, "I wish you guys would just sit down and figure it out already. This is grueling, and I'm not even trying to keep up with it."

Petra gave a groan and stood up, no longer embarrassed but now simply mad and feeling that her squad mates had pushed her well beyond what was fair, "Well then don't! I'm sorry that my situation has put all of you at odds, but…it's not that easy, and you know it! You both remember how uneasy you were about it when I told you we'd be getting married, so imagine how it must feel to be the person actually married to him!"

She looked at Eld sharply, then to Gunther, her voice raised as she stared them down simultaneously, "Stop making it seem like it's just some simple thing and that we are just too stubborn to 'make it work out'. Have you considered that, I don't know, what if I don't want to settle down into a committed relationship? That maybe Levi isn't looking for anything serious? Have you considered that talking to the man can be like talking to a rock? Have you considered that our situation is unprecedented and that there are real feelings, and real emotions involved that are not going to be resolved with a stupid fucking bottle of wine and sloppy sex? How dare you both try to minimize this and not even consider my feelings in the matter – shame on both of you!"

She slammed her rag onto the floor and stormed out of the room, "You know, if you're so damn set on living my life for me, then you can finish my cleaning assignments for today. I'm going to the Office to keep his paperwork in line. Both of you just…fucking leave me alone!"

As Petra stormed out, Eld gave a long sigh and Gunther gave an accepting, quiet groan as he moved toward the washcloth she had thrown to the ground, picking it up and scrubbing the section where she had left off in defeated resignation.

"Think we overdid it?" Gunther asked quietly as they both worked on the tiled floor, and Eld shrugged.

"You didn't. You just got here, but I may have pushed her a bit far on my end." Eld thought for a moment as he sat up, "I think it's just that she's a little sensitive to our prying because if we have questions, you can only imagine what's running through her head. Still though, even if it makes her mad, I can't help but push her to be proactive and figure out exactly what she wants from Levi because…you see it. There was a time not all that long ago where I wouldn't have ever believed it, but the longer I see her with him, it's time to face the facts: She's happier when she's with him."

Gunther gave a shallow nod, "They both are."

The two men fell silent, the conversation left at an unsatisfying and unresolved end.

...

...

Dear Dad,

I've been staring at this piece of paper for a long while, trying to figure out what to say. It's been over six months since I've last written, and it feels like a lifetime ago because so much has changed since then. By now I'm sure you've figured out that I am not coming home as you requested. I suppose I should have written sooner, but I really didn't know what to say and even now it's still hard to find the right words. When you sent those demands so long ago, back when my military term was up for renewal – even now I just can't believe that you would do such a thing. I know that you don't agree with my decision of being in the military, but to go so far as to force your will upon me and so coldly disregard my dreams for my life – I didn't think you would ever do something so hurtful and manipulative. Honestly Dad, why? I can't understand it even now. Why would you put me in such a place? Did you truly believe that you forcing me back would ever lead to my happiness? Words on this page could never express the sheer heartbreak, the betrayal, nor the anger that I've felt because of your complete selfishness and disregard for my wishes. You know how I feel about the military, and what's more, you know how I feel about living life as a civilian, yet even still you chose to do such a vile thing anyway.

I suppose that it only goes to show that I truly am a chip off the old block, because in your desperation to have your will respected in eliminating mine, you did something hasty; chose actions that will impact our relationship for the rest of our lives – and Father, I must confess that I truly am your daughter, because when push comes to shove, I did the exact same thing.

I am not sure if you were made aware or not, I know the Commander of the Scouts took care of what he needed to, but I don't know if he made a point to contact you or not – I think you should know that I got married. In order to get out of your authority, in order to make it so I could make my own choices for my life without your interference, there really was only one option you unintentionally left me with, and I took it gladly.

I really did get married, Dad – all to stay in the military because you seem to have forgotten that it means that much to me.

I didn't get to wear the dress, and didn't get to have my friends at my side. You who betrayed me, didn't get to walk me down the aisle to give me away. All the sacrifices I've had to make and prices that I have to pay because of your selfishness, has hurt me very deeply. While I don't regret my decision, you should know that it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life.

While the last few months have been hard and challenging, I suppose I should be grateful to you. Even though your decision was so hurtful and wrong and I will never agree with it for as long as I live, these past four months of marriage have taught me more about myself than I would have ever thought possible.

I have learned greater depths of my tenacity. I have learned to be more adaptive, and I have learned that sacrifice is all too often a necessary step to achieve a greater goal – but even if or when that greater goal is achieved, it does not numb the heartache of what was left behind, nor lessen its degree of significance by any margin. I have learned that things aren't always so easily labeled as black and white and that life is much more dynamic than I had ever thought it to be before. For example Father, I am angry at you, but you should know I miss you terribly. I am hurt deeply by your actions, and yet I still long for your approval none the less, knowing I will likely never attain it. I want to ignore you, want to intentionally make a point of being silent and distant, yet here I am writing this letter.

On that note, I can't help but notice that your own words have been relatively scarce as well. Have my actions hurt you, I wonder? I don't doubt it, and even though it wasn't my intention to purposefully return hurt for hurt, I am sorry to have made such a step in my life without your knowledge or involvement. I am sure that you have had your own degree of consequences to work through as you've realized that your plan didn't work out as you had originally intended, and if you weren't already aware of my marriage, at the receipt of this letter you certainly will be.

As irritated as I am even now, months later, and as much as I'd rather leave you in the dark or give you the cold shoulder, you are my Father and your relationship is very dear to me. Even if it's against my better judgement, I know you're curious as to who it is that I have come to marry, and I suppose you deserve to know at least that much. My husband is none other than Levi Ackerman, a name I'm sure you're familiar with because I know I've written about him from time to time in the past. If you recall, he's my Commanding Officer, and the man who hand selected me to join his squad specifically all those years back. I've been working under him as my boss for about five and a half years now if you can believe it, and I will admit, the adjustment from being just his subordinate, to suddenly his subordinate and now wife – wasn't exactly subtle nor an easy transition.

Our relationship isn't quite traditional, and as you can imagine we are both pretty busy considering we are both on active duty and have our roles and responsibilities that still come before anything else. Granted, I'm not sure if you and him will be crossing paths any time soon as Levi is a very busy man and I can't really see him stopping by the house just to introduce himself, but in the event that perhaps you do meet him someday – whatever feelings you may have toward him, be it from being my Captain, or for marrying me or whatever, please understand up front that he is very special and dear to me.

I want you to know that he has a gentle personality, though I don't think that's a word he would ever use to describe himself. He can admittedly be rather particular and more than a little stubborn about anything he has an opinion about, but he has a good heart. It's true that most of the Scout Regiment is somewhat afraid of him as he tends to be a little abrasive and certainly more reserved when working with those he's unfamiliar with, but once you get past that, you'd doubtlessly find he's a good man through and through – and I'm not just saying that to ease your mind either. He truly is a good man Father, and as odd as the situation was that lead us here, I hope you know that Levi is every bit the man you would have wanted to see in someone who married your daughter.

He's seen more than his fair share of suffering over the years, and it's resulted in him being down to earth, compassionate, and more than understanding of people's brokenness and heartache, regardless the fact that he's a complete prodigy in his own right. His strong devotion to his convictions have driven him to fight for Humanity in the all-consuming manner that he does, and even if I don't always agree with him or find his methods to be vexing or meticulous, he remains true to his heart and follows what he feels is best with an admirable discipline and intentionality.

It is undeniable to say that he has encouraged me, protected me, and has advised me and challenged me so much over the years. I don't think I'd ever be able to say it to him directly, but the more I think about it, I realize that I'm actually proud to be his wife, Dad. Truly. I wouldn't have ever thought it to be possible, but getting to stand by his side fills me with immense joy and a heightened sense of purpose. I want to support him in return, and encourage him, and devote myself to him in every way for as long as he will let me, simply because it makes me happy to do so. With any luck, perhaps my devotion might repay him for all that he has done for me. While this isn't the kind of thing I like to admit, you should know that he's stuck his neck out for me more than once on the battlefield, and I know full well that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive today. So if at least for that and nothing more, you should be grateful to him and treat him kindly.

Honestly Dad, if you give him the chance, I know you'll be impressed with him; he's rather remarkable and someone that I've admired for years. But still, if it's not possible, be it because you're bitter that he's my Captain, or husband, or that he's someone else who has chosen to walk the military life, you should know that I will not tolerate you disrespecting him in any way. He is important to me Dad, in the same manner that you are also important to me, so remember that come the time that you feel like you want to belittle him or intimidate him. Fair warning on that front however, Levi doesn't exactly intimidate easily, if at all in fact, so if anything you'll just wind up disappointed.

I know a letter is probably the worst way to talk about these sensitive matters because there's so much left to be said and so much I don't understand about it all, but I think this is better than nothing, because I don't know the next time I'll be able to take enough time off to visit you. Make no mistake Father, we will talk about this, all of it, and you will have to speak for your despicable actions and explain your abhorrent selfishness because I'm not happy about it and you're going to learn to respect my wishes one way or another.

Even still, I hope you remember that I love you more than anything, and even though I might very well take a few swings at you come the time that I actually get to visit, I hope you know that I miss you, still think the world of you, and look forward to spending time with you whenever that day finally comes.

All my love,

Petra Marie Ackerman

...

He had been waiting for this letter, for so long now.

The paper felt almost heavy in his hands, her written words somber and thought provoking. He had wondered for so long how she would respond to it all; what words she might recount or how she would explain herself if given the chance, and yet even still, he hadn't expected to read such a thing.

He knew it would happen eventually; he knew that sooner or later Petra would have to respond – but what she had said, the details she had chosen to focus on, the way she spoke of him and the things she relayed regarding why she was still in the military and not at home, left him at a loss.

With a deep sigh and an equally deep frown, Levi folded the letter and shook his head.

"This is her first letter she's written to him since the wedding; she must have written it after we left the base," Erwin's voice came from across the hotel room passively, and Levi looked up toward him as the blonde continued, "I knew she'd write him eventually, and I guess the time has finally come now that she's not being run ragged with reports and research. Perhaps she's bored?"

Erwin chuckled at his own musings as he watched Levi for a few moments, not missing the fact that the Captain had yet to say a single word. Erwin smiled at his clearly pensive subordinate, nodding toward him intentionally, "The messenger hawk delivered it to me just a few hours ago. As you're aware, I issued a standing order to our mail carriers some time ago that any mail to or from Petra was to be sent to me exclusively and as a high priority, so that nothing fell through the cracks. So far I haven't gotten anything from Petra, until just now it seems."

Levi nodded at the Commander's words, and eventually Erwin continued with a more serious expression, "It didn't escape my notice that she signed her full name. Does she always do that, or was she just making a point I wonder?"

Levi shook his head, looking back down into the cream color paper lined with Petra's delicate penmanship – a letter clearly intended for her father and not him - and he made a face of uncertainty, his mind still clouded with thoughts pertaining to all she had written, "I don't know. It's not like we've ever had to intercept her mail before, so your guess is as good as mine."

Another moment of silence filled the room and eventually Levi sat up in the chair and rubbed his forehead as though outright exhausted, "If I'm going with my gut on this, I'd also wager that she's intentionally making a point. If memory serves, she's not overly fond of her middle name, so for her to use it here at the end isn't mere coincidence. Besides, the whole point of the letter seems to be for the one singular task of addressing the marriage head on, so to do so would fit seamlessly with the overall spirit of the letter."

Levi looked across the room toward Erwin with a flat expression, "If she's going to start writing him like she used to before the wedding, it's going to become pretty obvious that something is up when he doesn't respond, or if his responses don't pertain to any of her previous writings."

The Commander gave an even nod, "Agreed, although one singular letter isn't cause for immediate alarm, so we'll cross that bridge if and when we need to. We'll keep at it on our end to make sure that there are no further surprises down the road; I don't want to be caught unprepared again because she was useful before and even losing her back then would have been an undeniable loss, but her skills have grown immensely since then and I don't want to lose her as an asset because she's worth the trouble if it means we keep her longer. In the meantime, hold on to her letter and we'll store it more securely once we get back to the base. Not that she searches through your things, but it would be a real pain if she found it by accident; I can't imagine that would be a pleasant conversation for you."

Levi relaxed into the back of the chair with a nod and waved the letter in his hand for slight emphasis, "Right. And how long do you plan on reviewing her mail like this? I understand why you're doing it, but good reason or not, Petra will be furious once she finds out. If you keep this from her too long, it won't be her father that she's throwing her fists at, and as a heads up, I taught her how to fight myself, so I wouldn't recommend getting her too riled up."

Erwin gave an amused, accepting sort of smile at the Captain's remark and he stood up from the wall in preparation to leave, "Hopefully not too long, just until the dust settles and the facts finally come out into light. I don't claim to have the best sense of intuition, but none the less, there's still something about it all that doesn't sit right with me, and until I'm more certain that we aren't walking blind and making unintentional mistakes, I want to tread a little more carefully when dealing with the Ral family."

Erwin took a single step toward the door and gave a look over his shoulder, "And Captain, bit of a side note, but are you going to be ready come tomorrow? The meeting from this afternoon was on the long and arduous side, but even with the fact these meetings aren't up to your speed, you were still notably disengaged. I don't know if it's a matter of being distracted or what's on your mind, but I expect you to be better prepared for tomorrow, if only to intimidate others with that quiet, ice cold glare of yours."

Levi exhaled at Erwin's light correction and gave a nod, "Right. Understood, Erwin."

"Good, thank you. I'm going to take my leave for the night, head back to my room and relax a little. Hanji said she wants to review some numbers with me so I suppose I shouldn't keep her waiting."

Levi watched him flatly, "More numbers, huh? Yeah, well you two have fun with that."

Erwin chuckled and left the room without an additional remark, and Levi exhaled, setting the letter down on the nightstand beside him and finding that even though it was still early in the day, he was more than ready to get some rest. It had been a long journey, a long meeting, and being so far from the military base in a very unfamiliar environment, Levi knew full well it was going to be an even longer night.

...

End of Chapter

...

What am I doing with this vat of cornstarch, you may ask? Well as you can clearly see, I'm using it to *quirks eyebrow* thicken the plot.

*pause for effect*

No? Well…I thought it was funny haha. I don't want to delve too much into the chapter today, but hopefully it's piqued your interest. Side note - I feel like by the end of this story, I'm going to have like twenty chapters titled some variation of Eld being right, because he's a mischievous guy to be sure, but he knows Petra well and he's got a decent handle on Levi too, so he tends to wedge himself in their business because it's just how he shows he cares.

Well, I think I'll wrap up my musings here for this week.

For those who are curious, I didn't start out talking about my beloved Chiefs because gameday was on Thursday, and while yes, we did win, it came at the cost of Mahome's knee (out for 3+ games) all for a dumb, stupid QB sneak where in the end we only got the field goal and lost the literal MVP of the NFL. So you know…that happened.

Ugh. The kingdom is in mourning.

~Midnight