GUYS.

It is exactly 5.23 my time – January 19th – meaning that the Chiefs JUST won the game and we will officially be going to Superbowl 54. According to my quick little google search, we haven't gone to the Superbowl since 1969, so that's fifty years yall. I am beyond, beyond, beyond excited. So for all those who wished us luck, bless you. It's crazy that at the start of this season, yall got to sit by and tolerate my football excitement, and who could have predicted way back then that this year would be the literal year? (Especially with the Mahomes injury!)

I'll wrap it up on this end, because I've got a pretty long author's note at the end. Thought I'd give you the heads up, but fear not, no drama or bad news that you need to worry about. Just more of my mental musings that I wanted to share for those who enjoy the food for thought. Thanks guys!

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"Wow." Petra looked at the page in front of her, before looking back up into the forest canopy as a sort of blur – Levi – passed through the trees from far above her, completing yet another lap around the circuit they had created in attempts to test out her latest theory, this lap's time somehow even faster than the previous.

While the day was going smoothly enough and Levi was actually being (surprisingly) helpful in getting their required data, admittedly it had taken some time to get there. While Petra had slept through the night without issue, a sort of repetitive, low whimper had caused her to stir that following morning, and it was only upon waking that she realized the noise was actually coming from herself directly. Unfortunately, her sudden waking was soon the least of her worries as her consciousness brought an instant awareness of the sharp, ever present pain that she had apparently felt even within the deep confines of her dreamless sleep. She had bitten back a cry and dug her head further into her pillow, as her sleep fogged mind was far from prepared to gracefully handle such an onslaught of pain, though at her conscious response to the pain, there was a hand on her shoulder that had caused her to jolt and open her eyes in question.

Of course it had only been Levi – she had almost forgotten that he had technically stayed the night in her room with her. She assumed he had just slept in the chair he had been stationed at earlier, however she couldn't be too sure because she hadn't remembered him ever coming back to her room; after Oluo had left she must have fallen asleep almost immediately as she didn't even remember the Captain's return.

Levi watched her seriously, already holding a cup of water and her pain medicine. She had turned her head away at first, confirming again that she didn't want to trouble him, that she didn't want to say or do anything that would embarrass her and she'd rather just tough it out, but before she could even finish her explanation, Levi had grabbed her jaw tightly, confirming with an irritated scowl that it was too fucking early for her to bitch about anything, and if she didn't take the medicine willingly, he'd shove it down her throat then and there and if she choked to death then it was her own damn fault.

Levi had always been rather grouchy in the mornings, and Petra gave a mournful sigh as the pressure on her jaw wasn't letting up in the slightest. She begrudgingly allowed him to help her sit up slightly so she could take the medicine, and as she swallowed down the water, Levi watched her seriously and reminded her that he would be there to keep her in check, so there was nothing to worry about.

Getting dressed had been rather interesting. She had managed to undress and get a fresh pair of bottoms and loose pants on from the privacy of her closet, however from under the confines of her night shirt, her bindings had moved in the night and she knew she'd need to properly rewrap it to keep her rib set in its proper place.

She had managed to unwind it properly, but with her stitches and her subsequently rather stiff body, she couldn't properly twist to one side or move her arms properly to rewrap the bandages alone. She had tried twisting her arms every which way, but to no avail.

She eventually sighed in defeat.

"Hey uh, Levi uh…" she trailed off, finding she wasn't sure what she even wanted. Did she want him to help her? Did she want him to fetch someone else perhaps? Hanji was technically an option, but Petra didn't want to make her injuries Hanji's unofficial, redundant problem. A favor was one thing, but to expect or demand round the clock attention was unfair because Hanji had her own work to see to that didn't involve getting her dressed and undressed each day. What was more, she really didn't want to just stand around half naked for who knows how long while the Captain went to find her because she had already exposed herself to Hanji more than she would have preferred.

She supposed she could have Eld come in – she trusted Eld and knew he wouldn't make it weird for her because all she really needed was just someone to stand behind her and wind the fabric back around for her to grab – but if she was going to have someone from the squad help her, Levi was right there and…

And yet simply because it was Levi, Petra found herself hesitating.

Levi….she already trusted him with so much; her life, her future, the secrets of her past, her fears and her failures – and she found that this, her body, her physical weakness and vulnerability – was an area she wanted to keep for herself, something that was still completely hers and untouched by the Captain's influence in her life.

Between someone else, like Eld, the task would in fact be simple – meaningless and perfectly black and white – sure he would tease her a little but they'd move on and it would be forgotten about easily…but between her and Levi, where the sparks had been flying so adamantly, where the lines were so blurred and so uncertain, such a task was just….

Well, just so…intimate and exposing. She would be asking him to do what she couldn't do for herself, completely vulnerable and at his mercy while his hands would ghost over her skin and sides, playing his role in wrapping her bindings even though something so much deeper would be at play; something they would both be well aware of. She would be so defenseless, so completely in his hands and unable to do the simplest of things for herself, dependent on him yet again because this wasn't the first time she had been forced to turn to him at such an occasion. Could she relinquish even that last bit of control? The one sacred thing that was hers and hers alone…

Petra gave a long sigh, trying to bolster her courage and ignore the nervous churning in her stomach because the answer was painfully obvious. Of course she did. Even if she didn't want to, she still did, because he was Levi and she supposed to some extent, she simply couldn't help it. Even still, it didn't help the anxiety building in her throat, or her heart pounding wildly within her chest as she forced herself to call out to him.

"Levi, I uh, I need…your help." She allowed the truth of the words to settle fully in her mind, and she continued, "The bindings for my ribs and chest, I need to rewrap them but considering I can't really twist my torso, I can't get the fabric around my back and what's more, I can't get the pressure right so...Would you maybe, you know…come in here for a second? If that's okay with you, I mean. If not then I can uh, well maybe…"

There was a long silence that blanketed the area, though after a moment there was a shifting and creaking of the chair in her room, "Alright." The sound of footsteps could be heard, and his voice was now at the edge of her closet doorway, "Is it okay if I come in?"

She had her back toward the closet entrance, and she gave a nod that he wouldn't see, "Yeah, that's fine."

She turned over her shoulder just slightly, keeping her chest forward and out of sight, just able to meet his gaze as he joined her in the small space. She watched as his eyes trailed over her back, his gaze seeming to linger on her side where she had received a majority of her stitches, and she shifted uncomfortably as a silence fell between them at the weight of his stare, "Uh, I probably look terrible huh?" she found she was already crossing her arms over her chest, a result of how uncomfortable she was under his direct stare while she was in such a compromised state, "But I uh, I'll heal up and maybe with any luck I won't-"

Levi was still looking over her injuries, his eyes tracing over the swollen, purple bruises that marred her back, the heavy deep scratches that looked jagged and painful across her entire body, not to mention the vast amount of stitches that decorated her side, but as he heard her words, almost absentmindedly his eyes narrowed, "Wha – Petra, the hell are you saying? Even with all this you're still fucking beautiful."

Petra blinked, because…it was rare that Levi said such things to her. If it weren't for his kiss, the way he pulled her so wantonly against him, the way his breathing fell out of sync when he touched her, she would have never known he found her attractive at all. To date, this was only the third, maybe forth time she had ever heard him say such things, and it was due to this rarity that like before, his words pulled the breath from her lungs in sheer surprise and she found she didn't know what to say.

As if only now realizing what he had said in his focused stupor, Levi cleared his throat, nodding toward her back intentionally in attempts to change the conversation because perhaps he had said a little too much, "Let's get you wrapped up. I don't want that rib to shift out of place, and trust me when I say that you don't either. I may or may not have had a similar injury in the past, and let me just say that having to get a rib put back in place after it's popped out is pretty fucking intense."

Petra nodded, placing one end of the fabric at her side, right over her ribs and nearing the edge of her bustline. She took a deep breath, "Alright Captain, if you will-" she motioned with her head and tried to fight the blush that was warming her face, "Put one hand here, and hold the fabric in place so I can get it started? I'll wrap it around my front, and hand it back to you if that works for you. I'll let you know if it's too tight and all; I just can't twist or get the right angle so-"

As she spoke, she felt Levi take a step closer toward her, standing just behind her as his palm came to rest lightly, yet somehow confidently, over her side. Though his fingers were wrapped so lightly around her ribs, mere centimeters away from the planes of her very bare breasts – a fact she knew he was well aware of – he was diligent and remained focused as she wound the fabric around her front, handing the bandage to him again and repeating the process as she worked with him to wrap her chest as the nurse had shown her before. It had taken a few minutes, and as they worked, hardly a word was exchanged between them more than a simple, 'Not too tight?' or 'No, that's fine, Captain.'

Eventually, the opposite tail end of the fabric was handed back to her, and Petra gave a quiet 'Thanks' and tied the end purposefully so that it would not unravel later. From behind her, Levi spoke softly, "There. Will that work for you? I trust you can take care of the rest."

She gave a simple nod, and there was a light exhale from behind her.

"Okay. I'm going to go and talk to the guys for a bit; remind them that I'll be with you and Four Eyes all day. I'll be back in a few minutes."

When he walked away, his hand ghosted down the bare skin of her side – the side that was not bruised and patched together with stitches – his touch light and gentle, the pad of his thumb drawing light circles down her skin as he traced down her side and lightly caressed the edges of her stomach and hips.

The simple action caused goosebumps to crest over her skin, and before she even knew what she was doing, Petra found she was turning around, mindlessly twisting to watch him leave – curious as to what his expression was and questioning if the electric spark that his featherlight caress caused was unique to just her or not – however her body retaliated her attempts quickly and she paused midmotion, gasping in pain as her skin stretched and burned at once.

From somewhere behind her, she heard a distinctly amused, 'Hmph' from Levi, and a moment later, the sound of the door closing behind him could be heard.

Petra had wasted no time in selecting an additional, compression style shirt, wanting to keep her bindings and stitches in place as best possible, fearing that loose fitting clothes would have an easier time getting caught or snagged on something and wanting to avoid her stitches being pulled or subsequently ripped if at all possible.

When Levi had returned, he had taken her to the bathroom so she could brush her teeth, comb out her hair and at least pretend that she had a semblance of some independence. Luckily the bathroom was also small enough that she could grab onto the counters or sink to help her move across the area, and she felt lucky in that there was at least one more room in the compound she didn't need too much assistance with.

Once she felt properly prepared for the day, they had gone to find Hanji, who confirmed that Erwin was more than on board with Petra's most recent theory, and even went as far as to have some Scouts set an appropriate testing arena for the Captain earlier that same day. By the time they had gotten out to the area and it was time for Levi to be brought up to speed on what Petra had come up with, something he was rather looking forward to considering both Hanji and Erwin already knew so he was subsequently the last to know, Hanji was stubbornly insistent that he be kept in the dark, because she didn't want him knowing and inadvertently adjust his performance to either prove or disprove Petra's hypothesis by mistake.

While Petra had promised him that she would come clean about her theory to Levi, she knew at once that Hanji was right. His knowledge of what was being tested could very likely skew the results, and they didn't have the time to find a new, fitting test subject that could get them such clear results so quickly.

Instead of telling him the theory, Hanji confirmed that for their experiment, all he needed to do was complete a lap around the arena in whatever way that looked like to him. They would track his time, and then after a completed lap, he would need to return to the forest floor and get a fresh tank of gas before returning back and doing it all over again. While he was doing that, they would keep track of 'trends' (whatever that meant) as well as weigh out the remaining gas in the canisters after each lap was completed, to see how much gas had been utilized during the exercise.

While Levi was irritated that he still had no idea what was going on, he supposed he couldn't complain too much after finding out that the task at hand was merely a sort of obstacle course that weaved through a large section of the training grounds and not blood draws and uncomfortable tests. The instructions were admittedly vague, but he knew full well that was the point. Whatever variable they were searching for, they were clearly leaving it up to some variance of his personal interpretation. There were markers that helped him know where to go, times to dip down to the forest floor, times to jet up toward the canopy, times where the markings were so far ahead he could try a number of ways to get there successfully, times to kill a Titan, and finally, the finish line.

He had gone through the arena the first few times cautiously, learning the course and getting a feel for the bends and changes of direction, and once he was comfortable that there really wasn't anything else planned – he could never be too certain with Four Eyes – he had fully focused on the task and really gave it his complete effort. The change in his numbers and performance had certainly not been subtle, either. While his numbers before had looked great and Petra wouldn't have even known he was holding back, she outright gaped at the resulting ties when he finished the next lap because the contrast was so sharp.

Even still, as amazed as she was, Petra was careful to keep her reactions to herself by the time that Levi came back down to the forest floor, because like Hanji had pointed out, they couldn't risk his knowledge of whether he was preforming 'well' or not to impact his numbers, and subsequently, their results. When he returned to the forest floor near them, Petra would give a vague nod, thank him politely, and remind him to switch out gas tanks so they could prepare for the next lap. Of course, when he was up in the air, far out of earshot and too focused to watch her, she felt more free to speak her mind.

Petra watched him fly through the arena and recorded the numbers dutifully as Levi passed the ending checkpoint, marveling again at the numbers in stupefied amazement. She knew he was exhausted; she knew full well that had it been her, she would have bottomed out hours ago, yet even still, he was still preforming just as strongly, even though they had been at it for hours now, having Levi repeat the same sequence endlessly to have a much-needed baseline of data to start with.

Petra continued writing the resulting numbers across the page, shaking her head and speaking her thoughts out loud, "He's amazing. His speed, his stamina - it doesn't matter how many times he's done it now, he always leaves me…speechless."

From beside her, Hanji looked toward her with a suspicious, almost concerned frown, "Well that's good to hear I guess, but…I thought you guys hadn't-"

Petra returned her questioning stare, looking up from her papers towards the Scientist in confusion.

What was Hanji talking about? They hadn't what?

Petra replayed her own words in her head, because she was obviously talking about Levi's incredible numbers, so Hanji's question was-

Realizing all too late what she had said, and more importantly how Hanji had taken her words, Petra's mouth fell open, "Oh gods Hanji, no! I wasn't…I wasn't meaning that, I was-" she put her head in her hands and groaned, looking back up toward the now wide eyed scientist with horrified irritation, "And even if we had in the past, what makes you think I'd tell those details to you?"

Hanji blinked and shrugged, "Oh, that? Well I didn't think you ever would talk to me about those things, but Levi gave me the heads up that your medicine makes you a little distracted, especially in regards towards him. He made it a point to tell me that I shouldn't hold it against you or make you feel uncomfortable because it wasn't your fault."

The ginger's eyes narrowed, because the Captain's oh so 'helpful' tipping her off had only made it worse in the end. "Well it's too late for that; I'm already uncomfortable! I'll have you know that I was talking about the Captain's performance."

Hanji quirked an eyebrow and nodded shallowly, still taking her words to have a more suggestive undertone, and Petra's eyes narrowed in further embarrassment and outrage, "With the 3DM gear!"

At her 'clarification', Hanji made a face and blinked in outright surprise, mumbling as a blush rose to her face, "Wow uh, Petra I don't mean to say what you guys can and can't do, but the 3DM gear is military property and it really shouldn't be-"

Petra gaped, all but wailing at the insinuation, "No! What the…how would we even – Look, just get…get your mind out of the gutter, will you? I am not talking about that! Yes, I'm sure that he's fantastic, and I'll bet he knows what he's doing and that it would be amazing and mind-blowing but for the last time Hanji, Levi and I have not-"

She gave an exhale as Hanji watched her in wonder – obviously unconvinced and still visibly blushing - and Petra rubbed her suddenly throbbing temples, wishing to put the unwanted subject behind her because now was not the time, "Look, if it gets you off my back, then fine. Yes, he's distracting to me, and sure, perhaps watching him does make me wonder, and even if I have thought about what it might be like if we were to mess around a little here and there, that's honestly-"

From behind her, a low voice could be heard, "Ah fuck, sounds like the medicine is taking its toll already – that was sooner than I had anticipated."

Hearing Levi's voice from behind her, Petra's voice cracked midsentence as she felt blood start to rush to her face all the more. What the – when had he gotten there?! Before she could even attempt to respond or even turn around, Hanji spoke up and shrugged, watching as Levi took a collecting breath and sheathed his blades, "Yeah. I know you warned me, but I guess I wasn't expecting this. One second she was writing down the numbers, and the next – well I mean, you heard her. Certainly surprised me; it's just so unlike her. You really weren't kidding!"

Petra turned around toward Levi in a snap, wanting to clarify and defend herself because Hanji had misread everything- but missing her chance as Levi sighed passively, continuing to speak about her as though she weren't even present, "I see. Well thanks for keeping an eye on her. I'm sure it wasn't easy, but I appreciate it." He looked back toward Petra next and shook his head reprovingly, "Petra. I get that the medicine hits you hard, but you've got to be more disciplined. At least try to keep focused; I'm not doing all of this for shits and giggles, so you need to take this seriously."

Petra gaped and attempted to find her words at his correction, "Captain, I'm trying but-" she pressed her lips together, looking between Levi and Hanji in exasperation because she wasn't being listened to and they had the completely wrong idea, "Seriously, I think you're both misunderstanding what you heard. When I was talking earlier, it wasn't…it was all just an honest compliment! What's with all the suspicion and assumptions? Honestly Captain, one would think you'd be happy that I have such overwhelming praise for what you can do with your body!"

Petra again heard herself all too late, finding that perhaps the medicine was getting to her, because she wasn't as proficient in speaking her mind as she would have liked, and she defensively held up a hand once Levi's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Uh, wait, that came out wrong. In that context it…Well I uh, that is to say…fuck."

Levi merely looked past her again and gave a curt nod toward Hanji, "Oi Four Eyes, let's take a break. I promised Petra that I'd keep her in line once she got like this, so let's give her some time to come down a little, before she starts outright groping me again. What's more, I myself could use the break. I'm fucking exhausted and if you two sadists plan to keep this up, I'm going to need some time to recover because at this point I'm running on empty."

Hanji gave a nod, "That may not be such a bad idea. Want to give it until after lunch and we'll rendezvous?"

Levi nodded simply as Hanji began gathering the various folders and papers they had been utilizing, "That's fine." He turned his attention back toward where Petra was seated and crossed his arms, "Alright listen up, we're going back to the compound. I can carry you, but keep your wandering hands to themselves."

Petra groaned and rolled her eyes bitterly, knowing that she would never successfully convince him that Hanji really had gotten the wrong idea from the start. She looked up toward him and held up her hands in surrender, "Oh don't worry Captain, that won't be a problem."

He nodded simply and picked her up, choosing to carry her bridal style as that seemed to be his preferred method of transporting her. Admittedly feeling self-conscious, as she could only imagine what thoughts were running through his head after hearing her previous words, Petra sighed, "How soon until those crutches come in? All do respect Captain, but being carried around like this is demeaning."

"Three days." He responded simply, "Usually they have some on hand, but you're such a damned small fry that they had to special order a set to accommodate your scrawny ass."

Regardless his obvious smug teasing, Petra gave him an equally smug stare in return and watched him with a smirk, "Is that so? Well look on the bright side Captain, if you ever get hurt then you can just use mine; no backorder needed! How fortunate that you and I are almost the same height – so strange for a male your age though, I'm short for even a girl!"

His eyes narrowed and he rolled his eyes, though said nothing and kept moving toward the Compound with a sullen expression. When the conversation didn't pick up further, Petra allowed the silence to continue and she tried to think of what the next few days would bring in attempts to keep her mental schedule somewhat organized. She didn't have any follow up doctor appointments for the rest of the week, and while she knew full well that she would still be needing the pain medicine for the time being (as much as she detested it) with any luck she would be able to wean herself off from it in just a few more days' time and make due with more basic anti-inflammatories.

In terms of Levi's assistance with the numbers, they already had an impressive amount of data collected. They would likely have Levi run the arena for another hour or so, assuming he could manage it, and then she and Hanji would likely spend the night digging through the numbers to create some variance of averages – see what his times were most consistently, how much gas he traditionally used for each lap, and then track the outliers before planning up a more tailored plan for tomorrow – where they would finally put the data to the test and actually begin the process of testing her theory out.

Admittedly, she was a little nervous because now that both Erwin and Hanji were involved – and to some extent Levi as well – she felt an even greater need to succeed than ever before. She would feel so terrible if after all this time, after all her efforts, after promising Levi that she was indeed done with it, breaking her promise and diving right back into it, she prayed that something came from it all in the end. She didn't want to waste their time, didn't want to embarrass Levi with her repetitive failures, and above all, wanted so desperately to give her fellow Scouts actual hope for the missions ahead.

Taking her back from her thoughts, Levi opened the door to her room and set her down on the ground as he turned back to shut the door behind him. Petra gave a yawn as she stood on her one good leg cautiously, carefully pulling her arms above her head and stretching slightly, or at least as much as she could stretch until her skin began to itch and burn from all around her. As she looked toward Levi, about to ask him if he planned on grabbing lunch or heading to his office or what she should expect, he suddenly turned toward her with a very determined, serious expression.

Before Petra could even get out a single word, Levi had taken an intentional step toward her with a sudden bout of intensity, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her up into the air in a smooth motion. Her hands were instantly on his shoulders in a knee jerk reaction to being lifted off the ground, and Levi pushed her back into the wall and leaned into her as he suddenly pressed his lips against hers fiercely; the angle he was holding her at being so far off the ground that she could only wrap her legs around his hips in attempts to anchor herself, eyes wide at the sudden change of pace between them and the rather intimate position she found herself in. It was confounding because just a moment ago they had been giving her grief about being unfocused, and now ten seconds later Levi was kissing her so fiercely that it was actually intimidating.

Though his hands remained on her hips to ensure that she didn't fall or hurt herself, he angled his head up purposefully, nipping at her jaw line until she gasped and lengthened her neck for him, dropping her head back against the wall from sheer surprise as Levi began kissing her neck, sucking on her skin and making her mind blank because it was so sudden and what was more, she had no idea what was going on.

It was when he bit down on her skin, the action admittedly pleasurable but still so unexpected and intense, that Petra tried to look at him with questioning eyes, breathing heavily from a mix of alarm and question because in all their time together, he had never taken this sort of approach and it left her a little more than confused. "Levi – Levi what are you, what are you doing?" she brought a hand between them and pushed out on his chest to put a little distance between them, giving him a questioning stare because while she wasn't saying that there always needed to be a reason or 'moment', or that he shouldn't be able to kiss her if that was what he wanted, she felt there had to be some middle ground because this was entirely overwhelming.

The way Levi watched her as she lightly pushed him away was one of all out irritation, and he grabbed her wrist and pushed her arm against the backwall with a scowl, "Helping you." he seethed lowly, again kissing her with all the more passion as he stole the breath out of her lungs with his demanding presence and confidence.

Petra wasn't sure what he had meant, and as Levi continued to kiss her so commandingly, his lips precise and warm over her skin, that some part of her mind wanted to give up asking at all, because who cares why if it meant he kept kissing her like that, and yet some relatively sane part of her was even more confused and still at a loss regarding what the hell he was up to. She turned her head to one side, an action which caused Levi to give a low growl at her stubborn persistence, and Petra watched him in concern, "Helping me how?"

Levi ran the tip of his nose down her cheek, settling near her ear and earning a gasp from her as he lightly, teasingly, ran his lips and tongue over the shell of her ear, speaking as he did so, "This. I need you at your best Petra; we all do. I know how much figuring out the shortage means to you, and I can't have you getting…distracted."

At his words, he bit down on her earlobe before sucking on the skin ever so gently, and Petra exhaled as her eyes fluttered shut and a sort of quiet whimper left her lips, "So if this sort of attention from me helps you get it out of your system," he nipped at her skin again, smirking as he felt some of the tension leave her body in a breathless sigh, "Then it is what it is, and we may as well have some fun with it."

Though her mind had been previously clouded from the amazing way his lips felt against her skin, the way his chest was so securely pressing her back into the wall, Petra felt her blood suddenly run cold at his words and she opened her eyes fully, attempting to use the arm that Levi still had trapped against the wall, though after a few solid tugs where Levi's smirk merely widened and he held her wrist with all the more force, Petra rolled her eyes and used her other free hand to push him back.

She watched him narrowly, a suspicious sort of embarrassment churning in her stomach because with what he had just said…did he still think that... "Wait wait, so you mean to tell me that all of this is because of me? You really think that…"

Not sure if she felt more embarrassed, or angry, or if it was the funniest thing in the world that Levi's solution to the problem was to press her against the wall and make out with her until she 'got it out of her system' – she held her free hand against his chest, somewhat locking her wrist to keep him at a more safe distance as she looked at him in sudden outrage, "Levi, this isn't helping!"

At her words and obvious irritation, Levi found his own irritation beginning to rise, but more than that, he was admittedly a bit confused as to what she wanted, because he was trying damnit, but he wasn't quite sure how to go about satisfying a heavily medicated, easily distracted Petra that seemed to have a rather one track mind when it came to him, to such an extent that Petra had begun saying fucking who knows what to Hanji. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be bad if it made even Hanji blush like that.

Even still, medicated or not, frustrated or not, there was a lot riding on the success of her predictions, and he figured that if he attempted to placate her, kiss her until she was breathless and satisfy that sort of desperation so there would be one less thing on her mind to distract her from the task at hand, it would make it better for everyone in the long run – but with the way she was watching him now, it was obvious he was missing the mark.

He exhaled in aggravation, knowing that if he had to get creative or do whatever was necessary, he couldn't back down until Petra was at least somewhat properly functioning again. He looked toward her pointedly, "Fuck, okay, so what do you…Oh, right."

Realizing now where he had gone wrong, Levi released Petra's arm to which she gave a relieved 'Thank you.' and he gave a nod of understanding, pleased to hear her encouragement and with a restored sense of confidence, began to unbutton his shirt intentionally.

As Petra watched this, watched him start to undress right in front of her, it was painfully clear to her that he still wasn't getting it, and Petra's mouth dropped open and she all but shrieked as a mortified blush came to her face, "Levi, no! What, how the hell – like that's going to help anything?!"

Levi's mouth dropped open for a moment and he looked at her like she was insane, because was she being serious? She was fucking impossible! His shirt was hanging open loosely on his chest, which had seemed to do the trick yesterday, and he looked down at himself, then up at her belligerently because she couldn't possibly mean - he gave a huff of an exhale, frustrated all the more by her sharp demands, "Look woman, what the fuck do you want from me? I can't take my pants off with your legs wrapped around me like this and what's more, I'm standing up and holding you in the air so you're just going to-"

Petra outright deadpanned at his words, both of them giving a simultaneous groan at the other's clear frustration, Levi believing Petra to be angry at his rejection, and Petra livid because, the moron that he was, Levi still wasn't getting it, and now his pants were apparently subject to being removed next? And on her account, apparently?

Petra felt a vein pop in her forehead from sheer embarrassment, because with how he was speaking, it was clear that he was still under the impression that she was obviously just so desperate for him, and apparently had such little class that she was demanding he strip down as some way to appease her wandering mind.

Petra exhaled stiffly and grabbed both sides of his face with her hands, outright glaring at him as he watched her in barely restrained exasperation, "Levi. Fucking. Listen. To. Me." She hissed lowly, and Levi gave a tense exhale, but finally stopped attempting to undress himself and returned her stare irritably as she continued, "Petra Ral, Petra Ackerman, Petra whoever the fuck you want to address me as, is the one speaking right now. Not high as a kite Petra, but just me, your subordinate and the one who is ready to outright kick your ass because you're being gross and infuriating. Now as attractive as you are, please put your fucking clothes back on because you've gone from super alarming, to super hot, to super creepy, to now just super pathetic."

Hearing her words, Levi's eyebrows drew together in confusion, but slowly, his expression morphed into a sort of alarm, as if only now realizing that maybe he had gotten the wrong idea, and Petra rolled her eyes bitterly at his stupefied, silent horror, "Believe it or not, but when Hanji and I were talking earlier, I was not talking about sex, or you, or thinking about you in some kinky, perverted way. Sorry to burst your bubble Captain, but I am not so desperate that I need you to, what, come slam me into a wall to just barely get me through the day because I just want you oh so bad?" She actually found herself chuckling at the idea, and Levi's expression morphed again into a frown, realizing that yes indeed, Petra was, of course, laughing at him.

He watched her suspiciously, as though almost afraid to ask because if what she was saying was true, he was being a total, complete asshole, "So…you mean you aren't-"

"Horny?" Petra spat out venomously, and Levi blinked at her rather direct response as Petra shook her head scathingly – somewhat suspicious that maybe she wasn't as put together as she seemed to think, but kept his suspicion to himself because this wasn't the time to debate with her just how sane she was or wasn't. She looked as though she were ready to outright castrate him, and if she wasn't angry enough, she was certainly embarrassed enough, and he didn't want to push her any further to find out just how accurate his assumption was.

Petra took a collecting breath and shook her head, "Like I tried to tell you from the start, you've got it all wrong. What you overheard was in direct response to Hanji's incorrect assumptions and the whole thing got blown out of proportion because you both assumed that I was a lost cause." Petra held her head up indignantly and cleared her throat, "Now, considering that you've degraded me quite enough for one day, I'd appreciate it if you could put me down and button up because medicine or not, you walking around with your shirt hanging open like that would cause anyone to raise their eyebrows."

At her reproving speech, Levi gave a single nod and set her down without further argument. Seeing the red hue that colored the base of his neck and shoulders, Petra realized that she had embarrassed him in return, and she exhaled and brought a hand to her face as she watched him button his shirt back up in a flustered, embarrassed manner.

She pressed the hair out of her face and looked at him directly as he worked his fingers around to button his collar. She balanced on her foot and slowly leaned toward him, feeling him stiffen in response as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

She gave a sigh, "Look Captain, I don't want to dwell on it. Just forget about it, okay? And honestly, if I'm being completely straightforward, I think the medicine is starting to take it's toll, if it hasn't been already, because my head's all floaty again. If it's all the same with you, I think I'd prefer to sleep it off. For one, it's hard to cross any lines while I'm sleeping, and what's more, I'm pretty sure it helps me sleep like a rock and I kind of need it. As much as I'd like to pretend I'm fine, I'm really stiff, my leg is killing me, my side is burning and I'm completely exhausted. Is there even enough time? I don't want to put anyone behind or anything, I can put my responsibilities first."

Levi allowed himself to relax as well, more than happy to put their previous misunderstanding behind them, because looking back, he felt like an absolute dick. His arms wrapped around her, coming to settle over her hips as he spoke lightly, "This is your theory, neither Erwin or Four Eyes plan to take it from you, and they understand that you will be out of sorts for a while. The fact you are doing this at all in your condition speaks volumes, so if you need to take an extra hour or so to rest up, then they can wait."

He paused for a moment and spoke, "And if you're still on the fence, I really wasn't kidding that I myself need the downtime as well. If you guys want me to be able to keep doing laps, then I need to eat and take some time to recoup or I'm going to bottom out and you can kiss getting any further data goodbye. I'll go ahead and grab lunch for the both of us so you can stay here and rest. I assume you'll be asleep by the time I get back, so whenever you wake up, make sure to eat and we'll pick up from there."

Petra agreed with a single nod into his shoulder, and without feeling the need to give her any warning, Levi picked her up simply and carried her over toward her bed, setting her down and assisting her as she attempted to get comfortable across the surface of her bed. She gave him a gentle smile as he set her blankets out around her, "You know Captain, I was thinking…you're actually kinda cute when you blush like that. It makes you look maybe…perhaps a little gorgeous."

He gave her a long, appraising stare, "Yeah, I gotta agree, I think your medicine is starting to kick in for real this time."

Petra gave an innocent shrug, "Maybe. Or maybe I just like watching you blush. Afterall, it's usually me in the hotspot and it's nice to see that I can actually take you by surprise from time to time. You're kinda a difficult guy to read, Levi."

He gave an unconvinced nod and stood up in preparation to leave, "Perhaps that's true, but we both know that you normally don't have the balls to say things like this out loud."

Petra gave a shrug again, and Levi didn't miss it when her eyes trailed down his body before she gave a coy smile, "Oh, don't have the balls, do I? Well…I guess that makes one of us then, right Captain?"

Levi chuckled at her words and pointed glance, now absolutely certain that his Petra was officially gone, and the more crass, shameless Petra was here to stay. He brushed her bangs to one side of her face and nodded simply, "Yeah, yeah. Get some rest Petra. I'll be back later."

With that, he walked out and closed the door behind himself, finding that there was an amused grin still across his face. While he knew that Petra would in fact fall asleep without issue, he couldn't help but feel a small sort of hope that maybe she would still be awake when he returned, just so he could be there to catch more glimpses of her true thoughts towards him without her normal filter holding her back.

As shocking as her alternative personality seemed to be, at the absolute least, he couldn't deny that her words were endlessly entertaining because even Petra, even innocent and perfect Petra – well, it seemed she wasn't as innocent as she pretended to be.

…

End of Chapter

…

Hey so I wanted to make a note here, as I like to do sometimes, regarding my inspiration for a certain beloved Captain. Both this chapter and the last chapter really highlights some of those…not so great Levi qualities and I wanted to give a head nod and not per say defend Levi's character, but perhaps explain my interpretation of him and point to certain behaviors that are my personal guideposts of writing his character – you know, illuminate those darker traits that make us go…hey that's not right. Bad form, Levi! You're jealous and possessive and being a complete jerkwad, assuming Petra's intentions and, ugh! Just chill out because you aren't acting fair or in a 'wholesome' way like a NICE guy should!

Guys, it's intentional – and I can't even say they are flaws that I plan on 'fixing' within him either. Fair warning, they'll keep coming too. Be angry at his character flaws that cause pain and damage others, because yes, yes, yes. You should be! Keep being angry, and keep noticing when his behaviors aren't lining up…but just heads up on that front, don't think that I can rightly 'heal' him of those traits, because many of these things are set in traits that define him, and Petra's 'love' wouldn't change that. It pains me to say that, but real talk, it just wouldn't.

Here are things that stand out to me in the cannon universe, and again act as guideposts for how I characterize him here (among other things of course):

Levi is a vindictive, poor sport. He really is. Think about his very introduction – walking up to two Titans and even though they are mindless drones who pose him VERY LITTLE threat considering his skill level and the advantageous surroundings of anchor points and city buildings - there is literally NO benefit to his trash talking, but even still he can't help but give his stupid little two cents and insult these Titans for being 'ugly'. Ugly? Like…a five-year-old insult? Really Levi? Petty much? Not enough self-control to just do your job and keep your sarcastic comments to yourself? Okay bro. That's pathetic, but fine.

Now, think about his taunting Annie. When it looks like they have her pinned and the mission is a success, all in a day's work, Levi takes it upon himself to hop up on her head and give her some chilling threats at a moment where it seems she has no escape route. Why? Was the victory alone just not enough for him where he had to completely terrorize her like that? In some ways, it was his blood thirsty threats that caused her to go into a panic like she did, right? Yall following where this is going?

Levi's lack of self-control, in my mind of course, is partly to blame for Squad Levi ending the way they did. And no. I'm not bitter. Not at all. Yes, Annie pulled the trigger, but Levi's the one who riled her up in the first place because he couldn't shut his stupid mouth and just buck up and get it done.

Guys, I love Levi's character – but this is a blood thirsty man who is vengeful, and sadistically enjoys crushing his adversaries in both a physical and psychological manner, in a way that truly makes me uncomfortable to watch/read about at times. This is a repetitive trait, in fact, the most repetitive trait we see of him throughout the entire storyline. Spoiler here (sorry) but think about the more recent manga with Zeke in the cart. You ever think as to why Levi cut him up, inch by inch, instead of just severing off his legs and arms in one go? It would have saved time, less energy on his part, certainly more humane, and not to mention the mess of blood which Levi has been shown many times to be irritated by…

Yall. Levi wanted to cause him pain simply because the opportunity presented itself. An eye for an eye for turning his entire squad into Titans I'd wager. Just getting the job done wasn't enough for him there either. I'd debate that it's never been enough for Levi. He is vengeful and desperate for some payback, grasping at every little insult, every ounce of blood and pain he can grab hold of, because at the end of the day – success alone is NOT enough for him when it comes to someone who's crossed him. It's personal, it's always been personal, and Levi commits to causing his enemies every bit of pain and suffering in whatever way he can cause it, to such an extent that it's caused him and other's legitimate trouble. He is disciplined to be sure, but here in this area, he notably lacks self-control and doesn't frequently have the willpower, nor the desire to even change it.

For sake of time, let me wrap it up because this chapter is plenty long as it is. I just wanted to point some of these things out to remind that Levi has some serious rough edges – I mean, really rough – so it's only right that he will also have some ugly moments here, where his lack of self-control comes out to the forefront and he does things that rightfully make us cringe. I have to yall. He wouldn't be Levi without that uncomfortable spark of something, where you respect him but there's still just that looming shadow to his character that reminds you that he's…he's lived some life.

It's strange. I love seeing yall call him out for his crap, and keep doing it because I love an audience that isn't fooled by the voice of narration, nor fooled into thinking Levi's perfect just because he's a main character here – but at the same time, keep in mind that a lot of Levi's character flaws…they're here to stay. I get he's our main character in a romance flic, but to make him perfect or make him respond to things in the 'right' and 'noble' way…that's not Levi.

But fear not yall. As you already know, he has his…redeemable traits, that even him out to be sure. To only focus on his flaws would be as equally unfair, and I did swear to try to write him as accurately as possible – the good, the bad, and everything in between :)

Thus concludes my speech. See yall next week!