Mornining everyone and happy Sunday!
Can you believe it? Fifty chapters. Good lord it feels surreal. It's insane to me that I'd be that person writing something this long. Honest to the heavens, I never thought I'd be writing something like this, but as many of yall have said, this fandom deserved something a bit more developed and certainly a bit more happy than it's canon counterpart. So here I am, still writing and editing almost on the daily, because I will see it through to the end.
Yall who are coming with me week by week, silent or otherwise, are true heros and you inspire me frequently.
That being said, enjoy this chapter and I'll see you around next week!
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It had been yet another long day of bickering and mistrust and frustration, and in light of that, Levi hadn't exactly been in the greatest of moods as he thought over his troublesome, impossible squad that he was newly responsible for. He had been walking through campus to turn in his gear after receiving yet another scathing lecture from Erwin, because for an Elite Squad's numbers to be so…not elite; Erwin had given him quite a speech because teams were nothing more than a reflection of their direct leadership, and so if his squad was failing, it was because Levi himself was failing them as their direct Commanding Officer.
Erwin's main grievance was something that didn't come as a surprise to Levi, and he tried to not check out of the conversation as the Commander threw statistics and demeaning questions at him without end. Things like, 'How is it that you have the top Scouts in the entire regiment reporting to you – where individually their performances are all outstanding – and yet after five months of being on a team with you, it's a free for all where the concept of teamwork means absolutely nothing to any of them anymore?' and 'I understand you've told me about the Squad's problems, but you're a strong leader and an experienced tactician. In your Underground days you led countless groups of men much less reliable and much less capable than the men reporting to you now, so explain to me why you are struggling so much?'
When Erwin demanded to hear what actions he would be taking to amend the situation because now that they were five months in as a squad, it was high time they shape up and start acting like the Special Ops squad he had envisioned, Levi had explained his theory that with the fact the men were a bit more tenured, stubborn and set in their ways and likely having thought their promotion would involve them getting a team of their own instead of on a team commanded by himself, that as the squad was now, Levi wasn't sure he would ever be able to curb their performance regarding their teamwork and functionality.
Back in the day, if anyone had given him this sort of trouble before where they questioned his authority, would technically do the work but would do it their way, would refuse to follow his orders and intentionally not rely on himself or peers, Levi just didn't work with them, plain and simple. Experienced leader or not, the methods used in the Underground were a lot more cutthroat and as a result, Levi's ability to 'problem solve' a social dynamic or address trust issues…that was a bit beyond his scope of expertise.
Erwin had nodded in understanding after Levi's frustrated clarification, aware that the two situations weren't exactly a fair comparison, and had asked more calmly what he was thinking, because surely Levi didn't want to have such a squad that behaved so recklessly out on the battlefield – they'd all get killed.
After taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, not sure what Erwin would think of his idea, Levi had explained his theory that the squad needed one more member; someone younger, someone that didn't have any special feelings or predisposition toward working with someone like him. He explained that if he could just get the squad to unwind and relax to some extent, let their guard down and choose to willingly work together as a unit, then he could coach them exactly as they had planned and the Special Ops squad would be a success, he just needed a bit of a…relaunch.
Erwin had given him a long stare, confirmed that he didn't like the fact that Levi's solution was still dependent upon someone else coming in and fixing his problems, but perhaps he had a point, because Levi had never been traditional in any sense of the word, so perhaps it was for the best that they take a less than traditional approach when building his team. The Commander had filled out a few forms, approved his squad for one more member and nodded toward the door with a firm expression, 'Happy Hunting, Captain.'
Erwin had confirmed that he had two weeks to find this alleged fifth member, and though he hadn't said what would happen should he not find such a person, Levi was certain he didn't want to find out.
He had been walking down the path back toward the opposite end of campus, frustrated and debating how to even start such a search, when the familiar hum of the 3DM gear caught his attention and broke him out of his thoughts. Traditionally such a noise would have hardly registered in his mind – it was the Scout Regiment after all, where Squads trained day in and day out to keep their skills sharp – but what caught his attention was the fact that it was nearing sunset. No squads were training right now, everyone's gear should have been turned in and secured by this time of day – the only reason he still had his was because of the meeting with Erwin that had kept him relatively occupied.
Again that same sharp hum echoed from across the area, and Levi stopped in place, looking around to see if there was perhaps a squad doing some last-minute training for whatever reason, but it quickly became obvious that there was no one else around, and he felt a scowl come to his face, because he was not in the mood for this. Deciding to investigate the situation and preparing to reprimand whoever it was that was breaking the rules outright, Levi moved toward the sound, waiting impatiently for the Scout in question to land and already thinking of various things he could have them clean to teach them a thing or two about respecting the military's resources.
Eventually, after the continued sounds of wires clanging and trees moving, there was a girl that landed some fifty feet away from him. She was young, very young – he had to guess one of the newer cadets as she was only eighteen or nineteen, maybe twenty at best.
A mere child.
When she landed, completely unaware of his presence, Levi couldn't help but notice the outright irritation on her face, and she shook her head to herself, mumbling a bitter, "No, no that's still not right."
It was clear that she was adjusting herself to disappear back into the trees, and Levi called out to her irritably because he had no intention of shooting off his own wires to chase after her.
"Oi. Girl. Come here."
The girl's expression fell into sudden confusion and she jolted slightly from surprise at his callout. She leaned forward, squinting as she tried to see just who it was that was speaking to her, and after finally noticing him, she looked around dramatically and pointed to herself in confusion, "Uh…are you talking to…me?"
He clicked his tongue and scoffed as he crossed his arms balefully, "Do you see anyone else around here? Yes, I'm talking to you. Now move your ass."
Regardless the order he had given her, she seemed to debate with herself for some time if in fact she would walk over toward him or not, something that took him by surprise because most people would have been 'sir yes sir'ing him by now, but eventually she gave a slow, confused nod and walked toward him cautiously.
When she came near, blades still in hand, he gave her a long stare and nodded toward her curtly, "Your name, girl?"
At his demand, she eyed him all the more suspiciously, and he rolled his eyes. "It's just a name, sheesh. I'm not asking for much – are you always this suspicious and unpleasant when dealing with your superiors? Or are you legitimately this much of a bitch day in and day out?"
The girl gave a sudden laugh of sarcasm and shot him a baleful glower, "So says the man who's clearly on the rag. What, your girlfriend walk out on you for another woman or something?"
Levi's eyes widened at her extreme disrespect, and the girl gave a pointed exhale, "If you must know, my name is Petra. Now if you could just get to the point of whatever it is you're needing from me? In case you couldn't figure it out on your own, you're kind of interrupting something and I'm not in the mood."
"Good, because neither am I." he stated curtly, and he watched her with a raised brow, "Petra, then. Tell me what a Scout such as yourself is doing at this time of day, alone, with the 3DM gear in active use like this? You're not permitted to use your gear after your squad's training is completed, something that I'm sure you're well aware of."
The girl huffed and gave a defensive, irritated shrug, "Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know I had a rough go around on the last expedition." She gave an angered shake of her head, her expression suddenly pensive as she looked up toward the canopy, "I know I can do better, and so I've been staying late after training to try and improve on certain areas where my numbers aren't meeting goal. I won't get hurt. And I'm being careful. I just…have some areas I want to get better in. And until I do, then I'll just keep working hard on my own time."
Levi took a moment to consider her words, and he shook his head flatly because good intentions or not, there were rules for a reason and some foolhardy Scout in the forest, alone, was an outright liability. "Even still, you can't just be out here without supervision. It's not safe, no matter how careful you are. If you're trying to improve so you've got a better shot at living come the next Expedition then there are courses you can-"
The girl had dropped her blades to her sides and gave him an indignant look, "Better shot at-" she outright glared at him and sheathed her blades with a sudden snap, all so she could cross her arms to make a point of her apparent irritation with him, "You listen up. I'm not training like this to get a better shot at living, I'm training so I can get a better shot at taking out more of those people-eating monsters! I've got a damned score to settle and I won't rest until I've done my part! In case no one told you, we Scouts don't exactly have a long-life expectancy and I'm not stupid enough to think that I'm any different. Maria only knows what little time I've got left, and considering that, I want to keep focused so I can take out as many of those naked, disgusting fucks as I possibly can."
Levi blinked at her rather colorful statement, of course not offended so much as surprised to hear such a thing come from such a petite young girl that looked far too innocent to even know such a word existed. As if only now hearing herself, she blushed heavily at her statement and looked to the ground in sudden embarrassment, "I uh…sorry. That wasn't…uh." She gave a flustered sigh and looked back up at him, "You know, I'm really just trying to train a little, on my own time, and you're kind of distracting me. It's got nothing to do with you, a random, lurking stranger, so if you've got a problem with it then-"
Levi quirked an eyebrow, not sure if he was irritated, or simply amused by this shrimp of a girl who apparently had the gall to outright sass him like this, and she gave a scowl at his clearly not threatened smirk, "What's with that face? You know what? You can go to hell and just mind your own damn business! Coming here and acting like you're so cool, smirking at me like that when I'm just trying to improve my performance - this has nothing to do with you! Who do you even think you are?"
"Levi." He said flatly, "I'm a Commanding Officer, and as such, I'm ordering this little training session to come to an immediate end. You are the one breaking the rules, not me, so you'd better watch your mouth girl, because I told you I'm not in the mood and that attitude won't fly with me for a second. Get some dinner and get to bed; you'll report back to duty and train with your squad soon enough. No more of this, understood?"
At his simple, confident response spoken with clear authority, the girl's green eyes narrowed. She looked him over in obvious thought, as though trying to figure out where she had heard his name before, and Levi was waiting expectantly for the flash of realization that was sure to come, looking forward to watching the way her mouth would drop open and the apologies that would undoubtedly come spilling out of her mouth once she realized who she had been speaking so aggressively toward.
When her face morphed into a clear remembrance, she looked toward him directly and her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Wait. You're Levi? Humanity's Strongest I mean – are you seriously trying to tell me that's you?"
When he merely stared at her, she shook her head stubbornly and actually laughed, "No. No way. I mean, I believe that you're a higher rank than me because I know I've seen you walking around with the Commander here and there, but I thought Humanity's Strongest, you know, Levi or whatever – I could have sworn he was blonde. And tall. You know, has the shaggy hair and goatee combination? Always with Erwin and Section Leader Zoe? Is not a measly 5'2? That's Levi."
"No, you're thinking of Mike. He reports to Hanji. I am Levi, and for your information, I'm 5'3 - which is more than I can say about you, shrimp."
The girl rolled her eyes dramatically, and Levi continued in growing agitation, "I report to Erwin directly, and as such I'm telling you that you aren't permitted for unsupervised training. I'll treat this as just a warning this time around, but if I see you out here like this in the future then-"
As he spoke, the girl looked him up and down one more time as though still unconvinced, and she exhaled as she cut him off with a disbelieving shake of her head, "Not buying it. I'm sorry, I just…I highly doubt that Humanity's Strongest really has the time to spare for something like this. Isn't he busy, you know, sharpening his blades and eating Titan's for breakfast or whatever?"
Levi found himself a little tongue tied because, wow - was that really what the average Scout thought he did all day? – but before he could respond, the girl gave a sort of laugh, "Gotta say though, I've heard he's kind of a hardass. You've got that much right at least, considering you're going well out of your way to harass me like this and I'll have you know I don't appreciate it. Look, I get that whoever you are, you're an ill-tempered, rule-following killjoy, but will you just leave me alone already? I'm losing precious daylight! Just go away and find someone else to pester."
Levi found his irritation rising, but he couldn't deny that his interest was suddenly piqued by this spitfire of a Scout that would stop at nothing to get in an extra five minutes of training. He looked around for a moment of indecision, torn as to how he wanted to respond to the blatant disregard for his legitimate authority, and finally he sighed, mind made up.
"For your information girl, I am in fact Levi. Captain Levi, to be exact, and if you're so dead set on training like this then…you know what? Fine. I'll supervise you."
"Finally, I'm glad that you see things my wa –wait, what?"
He walked further into the forest and instead of stopping in front of her, he walked up to a nearby tree and he nodded seriously as he looked back toward her expectantly, "You said you wanted to get better, so you could kill more Titans, and it seems that nothing I say will stop you. So, what are you waiting for? Come on then, show me if you can run your body like you do your mouth."
She stood in place, dumbfounded, and some of her previous fire seemed to die from within her, "Wait…for real, are you really Captain Levi?"
At her question, he merely turned away from her and drew his blades, preparing his equipment with a tempered, focused exhale. After some adjustments, he looked over his shoulder irritably and took a breath of preparation, "Pick up the pace girl, or I'll show you just how much of a hardass I can be."
"Oh uh, yes – yes sir!"
That had been all it had taken, all he had needed to say for her to chase after him, and soon he was shadowing her in a surveying fashion as she moved through the forest canopy, weaving through the trees and going through an obstacle course of sorts. She carried herself well, actions sure and precise in the air, though it was obvious she was still a newer cadet because her actions lacked the tempered hesitation and restraint a more tenured Scout carried themselves with in the air. After a few minutes, he had taken over command and threw in a few orders of his own, seeing how well she could follow his lead and tried to gauge exactly where her skill level was. After a good twenty or thirty minutes up in the forest with the young girl, Levi turned toward her midair and nodded, "That's enough, it's getting way too dark for this. Get back to the forest floor."
Upon landing, he took a single breath to collect himself, and the girl landed beside him a few moments later, instantly bending in half in exhaustion and mumbling quietly to herself in obvious wonder, "Fast. So fast. How in the world is he so damn fast?"
Ignoring her musings and mulling the concept over in his head, he sheathed his blades and looked toward her flatly, "Yeah, I can see why you want to train so bad now. You're terrible."
She looked up from her bent over position and shot him a scathing, hateful glare. He was certain that if it weren't for the fact that after training with him she finally believed that he was indeed Erwin's right hand man, he was certain that she would have flipped him off then and there.
His words weren't wrong because her skill level truly was not even close to the level of himself or his men, and Levi knew that in the event he offered someone like her a job, it would take months of teeth grinding, mind numbing frustration to beat out their bad habits and force them to reshape their mind and body regarding their role in the Scouts, and potentially his squad specifically. He had been hoping for someone with a greater skill level but…
Even still, he had to admit…he liked the girl's attitude.
She was small and feisty, overconfident, clearly had something to prove, and wouldn't easily be pushed around – all good traits in her case, because his squad had absolutely no space for pushovers. And perhaps a blessing in disguise, but on a more personal note, she seemed to have no idea of who he was. While she had heard of 'Humanity's Strongest' it seemed to be nothing more than mere reputation. The mistrust that the average Scout held for him individually, traditionally those with more tenure, didn't seem to be present within her, and she had worked with him well enough once they had been up in the canopy. She had followed his orders blindly, without an ounce of pushback, and while her skills were underwhelmingly lacking and unpolished at best, he knew that with her personal drive to improve, the outright bloodlust she had for slaying Titans, all she needed was the proper coaching to make those skills more formidable.
And that, he was confident he could provide.
He allowed her a few moments to catch her breath – it seemed her stamina was lacking as well – and he crossed his arms seriously, "Tomorrow you are off duty, correct?"
She stood up more fully and nodded, "Uh, yeah. I mean, yes sir or…" she frowned at her fumbling response, and she shook her head as though forcibly moving on, "It's Saturday so-"
Levi cut her off as he began unstrapping his gear from around him, "I don't have time to waste so I'll make it short. I am looking to expand my team and you've got my attention. Tomorrow I want you to report to me, and we'll have you go through a full day of training with my squad to see how you do."
The girl shot him a blank stare, her voice higher from sheer surprise and alarm, "Wait, pardon me? Train with your squad…like…an audition?"
He merely shrugged, "If that's how you want to look at it, then sure. Now give me your gear. I'm headed to turn mine in, and I don't trust you to do the right thing and turn yours in as well, so this saves time for the both of us. You're welcome."
She grumbled but gave an obedient nod, removing the equipment from around her and handing him the components piece by piece. He grabbed each part from her, and gave her a serious nod when she had completed the task, "And I want to clarify. Regarding tomorrow? It's not a request. You made such a big deal about training after hours, to the extent that my night got interrupted, so you're going to work all day tomorrow with my squad to make it up to me. That should teach you a thing or two about insubordination and messing up my night with your selfish antics."
She gave a dramatic frown and waved an arm toward him, "But earlier you said you were just giving me a warning!"
His expression didn't change, although he couldn't deny the amusement that pulled at his lips. "I changed my mind."
The girl gaped at his words, and after a few moments of thought, eventually seemed to formulate a response, "The Special Ops Squad…that's Levi's squad. Your squad. Sorry it's just… I've only been graduated into the Scout Regiment for a little over a year now. Do you think that I'm actually…you know, ready for such a position?"
Levi all but snorted, "With that skill level? No. Fuck no. You're not even close."
Her face turned red at his all but laughing at her, because gods, this guy was a complete asshole, and she put her hands on her hips in embarrassed frustration, "Then why…?"
"That's what training is for, dumbass. I don't need someone with a high kill count or staggering numbers – what I need is potential. And at least that – well, you do have that much…if nothing else."
Again her eyes narrowed all the more, and Levi gave her a direct nod, "Seven a.m sharp, meet in uniform with your 3DM gear at the East side training grounds. Don't even think about pulling a no show, because if it comes down to it I'll drag you out of the women's barrack myself." He took a few steps and paused, looking over his shoulder as an additional thought came to him, and he couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips as he anticipated her response, "Oh, and I should give you the heads up. My squad should also be off duty tomorrow, so I'll be sure to let them know that the reason they get to work an extra day this week is because you decided to go rogue and get some last-minute training in outside of protocol. I'd recommend learning how to play nicely with the others come tomorrow, because I'd hazard a guess that they won't be too thrilled to meet you, and that snarky mouth of yours will only make them hate you all the more."
At the end of his explanation, she was gaping in pure horror, and her words came out in a stuttering response, "What, but wh- Did you ever maybe think that you didn't have to tell them that?"
As he was walking away, he found himself smirking all the more. Oh, he definitely did.
Because if she could even remotely keep up with his men, if she could handle their anger, their pettiness; if her amusing antics had somehow worn him down and made her sarcastic remarks strangely amusing rather than annoying, made it so he was willing to work with her and visa versa, then she may have been exactly the Scout he was looking for. There was a chance at least, that he had miraculously found his missing piece, in the most unlikely of ways, and he was looking forward to seeing how she would handle his squad in the morning.
He gave a wave over his shoulder, "Goodnight, Petra."
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...
"Oh gods. That's the potential fifth member?" Gunther spoke in sheer distaste, looking between the approaching ginger and his Captain with wide eyes, "Captain, you can't be serious!"
Levi crossed his arms and merely nodded toward her as the squad continued to watch her with narrowed, surveying glances, "I'm quite serious. And besides, it's one day of test runs. Nothing is set in stone, I haven't made any job offers, nor am I jumping to fill the position with just anyone, so you can all relax because I don't want to play babysitter any more than you guys do. Whether it's her or someone else, it needs to be the right person because none of you shits know how to get along and if something doesn't give soon, I'm going to fucking murder each and every one of you."
Eld huffed and looked over toward the irritated man with a side glance, "Sheesh Captain, it's not nearly as bad as you're pretending. Things are fine as they are."
Levi's voice was waspish and he looked back toward Eld in challenge, "Yeah? Tell that to the squads' numbers because they're not exactly 'fine'. Erwin's pissed as hell and I've got two weeks to fix it. If I don't, then you're all just as fucked as I am because any shit he gives me, I'll pass onto the lot of you in spades."
Eld continued with a grumble, "Well my numbers are fine – I mean, fine enough at least. I'd be better off if it weren't for the fact that Oluo can't even-"
"Oh sure, here you go again, blaming me for your incompetence. Just face it jackass – your skills are mediocre at best and that's why Captain's getting so much shit from the Commander. I'm only one man and I can't carry this whole team on my own so-"
"Right." Gunther spoke next with a snort, "Carrying this whole team – I'll believe that when I see it."
"Oi, fucking shove it and behave, all of you. I don't want you shits scaring the girl off with your constant bitching, so keep it to a dull roar or I'll make you work tomorrow as well. Absolutely no fist fights today, got it?"
There was a tense silence that fell across the men because they did not want to work straight through the weekend, and as they each watched the petite ginger approach them, Eld gave a hushed sigh, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't be overheard by her, "Alright Captain, theoretically of course….if we must get another member on the squad, I feel the need to point out that we just need someone who can play their part on the battlefield, nothing more."
Levi gave him a single side glance as they each watched the girl warily, and Eld continued in clear frustration, "Even still that…that girl – dammit Captain, you can't tell me that you expect me to stand side by side in arms with someone like that and come back alive! She looks to be eighty pounds at best! That's suicide!"
Oluo gave a snort at Eld's clear concerns, mumbling under his breath, "Honestly Captain, I think we'd all have better luck taking up arms next to a goldfish. She's just too young and dainty to pose a real threat out there. Give her a few years to grow up, then maybe, but right now she's just a baby." Oluo gave a sly smile and shrugged, "But I'll admit, she's a cute one, if nothing else. This might be fun."
There were a few chuckles from his subordinates, and the girl walked toward them, obviously uneasy and having no idea of the squad's previous discussion, "I uh, hello everyone and good morning. I guess introductions are in order? My name is Petra Ra-"
Gunther gave her a single look up and down, cutting her off with a frown as he crossed his arms, "Is it true that you seriously kept your gear and were flying around after hours, and now because of that, we're working all day as punishment? Thanks a lot. Apparently our time isn't as valuable as yours so it would seem."
The girl's mouth dropped open, and her gaze fell on the Captain directly as she responded in a stammer, "Levi! You…you did tell them!"
The shorter male frowned at her use of his first name, and Levi's eyes narrowed as he watched her in disapproval, "Captain."
The girl gave an intimidated, simple nod at his correction, and Levi exhaled, not intending to linger on the matter, "And I told you that I would be telling them. They deserve to know why they are working so hard on their day off, and since you are so gung-ho about it all, I thought this would be a more efficient avenue for your unwarranted, off the clock training."
Oluo groaned, "Wait wait, you seriously mean to tell me that we're not even getting paid for this?! What the fucking shit woman!"
"You are." Levi amended simply, then nodded toward the girl who was getting more and more uneasy by the second as the weight of the squad's dislike of her became more and more palpable, "But she's not. She is serving out her punishment for breaking the rules in the first place, and I'm afraid you are all along for the ride because we have a position to fill and she has potential. If anyone is to blame on that front, it's you shits for being impossible to manage."
Gunther gave a groan and rolled his eyes, "This is bullshit. I'll bet she won't even make it through our warmup."
From beside him, there was an embittered grumble from Eld who snorted in sudden agreement, "I'll bet she cries in the first hour."
Oluo looked toward his other teammates and shrugged, "I'd take you up on the bet, but I'm not stupid enough to gamble when the odds are this bad. Besides, we all know that she'll be begging for the Captain to ease up on her, so we'll just have to settle with our increased paychecks."
As the group shifted and began walking toward the training grounds with heavy steps, Eld looked at the girl with a shake of his head, then looked back toward Levi with a passing glance, "Gotta say Captain, I think you're losing your touch and the timeframe from Erwin's made you desperate. Let's just get this over with and hope for better luck with the next candidate."
The men began walking away, still grumbling and less than thrilled about the day's line up, and as they started to walk away without so much as letting her say her full name, the girl crossed her arms and looked at the squad's receding backs narrowly, sudden anger and embarrassment flowing through her at being so easily written off, right in front of her face no less.
"How much?"
At her words, there was a pause in step, because there was a sudden fierceness and ferocity to her tone that caught them by surprise.
"What?" Eld asked in confusion, fixing the girl with a curious stare as they slowly turned back toward her in question one by one. They had heard her of course, but admittedly her words had taken them by surprise because was she really…?
The ginger nodded confidently, "You said you bet that I can't get through your warmups, or that, what, I'll cry or something? And you, with the curly hair, you said that you also wanted to bet against me because I'd be reduced to begging?"
At her words, the Squad seemed to stare at her narrowly, as though to say 'So what?' and Petra crossed her arms indignantly, "You heard me. How much? I get that I'm not at your guys' skill levels and I won't try to pretend otherwise, but considering the one who knows my skill level invited me here, well, I feel the odds fall in my favor on this one. You all ready to put your money where your mouth is, or are you all just arrogant bullshiters?"
From behind them, Levi's eyes shone with a sudden trace of amusement, pleased that the girl's feistiness from the night previous hadn't been a fluke, but his team was so focused on the girl and her challenging words that they hardly even noticed.
"Wow boys, she's got a mouth on her. Just listen to this small fry!" Eld chuckled as he motioned toward her, and he took a step closer toward the girl, amused by the fire in her eyes and the outright defiance she watched them with.
"Don't call me that. It's Petra. Petra Ral."
"Alright, alright. Petra then. I'm Eld, that's Gunther, and the curly haired guy is Oluo. Seems you've already met the Captain. Thirty bucks sound fair? That's ten for each of us, and a pretty handsome payout for yourself in the event that you miraculously come out ahead. The wager is that you break down in the first hour, cry like a little bitch, and beg to go back to your normal squad. That sound about right? If you can last through warm up, no tears, no broken will to live or embarrassing outbursts where you need a break or are too tired to go on, then you'll have proven me wrong and we'll all pay up, no questions asked. Deal?"
The girl made a face and shook her head in confusion, "Sure but just so we're clear on the terms, I thought it was that I wouldn't make it through warm up, or that I'd cry in the first hour. Which is it?"
Gunther snorted sarcastically and he nudged Oluo with a laugh, "Uh right, and you really think it takes us less than an hour to warm up? Those conditions are synonymous, one in the same."
Once the girl's jaw fell slack at the clarification that their mere warm up would take over an hour, the blonde gave a laugh at her obvious horror and suddenly increasing self-doubt, "Oh, does that scare you girl? Well look alive Petra, you're playing in the big boy's sand box now and we don't do take backs here."
He turned over his shoulder, and he laughed warmly as they made their way toward the training grounds, "Gods, it's like taking candy from a baby."
"Should have bet more." Gunther whispered bitterly, "I'd like to go out for drinks tonight and ten bucks won't last long."
"Hey now, she's just a kid. I couldn't rob the girl blind; what kind of man would that make me?"
"A richer man." Oluo piped in, and from behind them, Petra gave a huff of an exhale as she marched behind them in silent outrage.
"Ooh, touché! Well, we'll see. The day is young and there's a lot of other things we can wager. Maybe once she fails, we can cut her some 'slack' and challenge her to a double or nothing. Twenty bucks should at least get a healthy buzz going for us, right? I know we just met her, but I'm pretty sure she'll actually pay up out of sheer pride and principle, even though it's not really all that fair of a wager. She doesn't strike me as being all that bright considering she thought training on her own was the best way improve. But as they say, guess there's one born every minute, right? I suppose we may as well benefit where we can. It'll be a good lesson for her."
Petra's eyes narrowed as she followed after them, "I can hear you."
"Like that makes a difference? Fuck you." Gunther spat back, and her eyes narrowed all the more, feeling indignant, insulted, and outright determined to prove them all wrong because just like their grouchy, ill-tempered Captain, this whole squad was comprised of outright assholes.
It was due to the fact that the Squad was following behind him that they each missed Levi's prominent, pleased smirk.
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End of Chapter
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Ahhhh, you know truth be told, I didn't actually think I'd write out the 'how they met' scene - however back in the day where I began writing out Levi's musings while they were at the medic ward, this little flashback came about on it's own and demanded to be written. What was more, I really felt that the story really needed a breather from the ever ongoing gas shortage arc. As the reader, it's bloody long enough, but as the writer where the material takes months of mental sorting out, then the writing, then the constant tweaking and editing - no joke I was probably in 'gas shortage' mode for...about six months? *slams head against the wall because Maria save the queen*
Hell of a time for me, and so getting to write something outside of meetings and numbers and data analysis (which may or may not be my real life job) felt very...refreshing for me back in the day. Either way, this section makes me laugh so much and I hope yall enjoyed it just as much.
As always, you guys are the best. I hope you have an awesome week, and I'll see you on the flippity flip.