Morning everyone!

It's a lazy Sunday over here, and not so coincidentally, it also happens to be Father's Day! As always, I know todays like this can be touchy and carry some mixed emotions, but none the less its good to be thankful for those in your life who did invest and make the difference, be it a father figure or teacher, etc.

I'mma get some coffee, try to wake up, and let yall do your thing! Enjoy the chapter!

…

…

It was late in the night, hours after he had returned from the Outpost and settled into bed, that Levi awoke to a startling, blood curdling scream.

He was sitting up in an instant; body tensed and coiled from the sheer force of habit because this was far from the first time he had been awoken in the night by a scream like that. Of course, that had been years ago in the Underground, so it didn't make sense as to why he was hearing such a thing now.

His mind wasn't as sharp as his body so it seemed, because even though it had only taken him a split second to respond and jolt into alertness, he didn't immediately realize that the scream had in fact been a familiar one.

It was Petra, he realized in sudden alarm, and another cry tore into the night air.

Levi had never heard her scream like that – ever. Not when she broke her ankle, not when they had set her bones, and Levi's blue eyes were scanning her body frantically for the cause because for Petra to scream like that...

It was as he looked her over, looking for blood or swelling or something, that he realized hollowly that Petra was sleeping, and Levi frowned outright as sudden understanding came over him. The pain that she was experiencing was still very real, and just as devastating, only it was mental and emotional in nature. In some ways, Levi actually preferred physical pain because at least that sort healed. Mental pain, ghosts from the past and shadows of regret – that was a pain that didn't go away; wounds that didn't heal with the passing of time.

Before Levi could so much as reach out to her, having been awake for no less than five seconds, the bedroom door had flung open and her father barreled into the room with wide eyes. Levi had been expecting an angry, suspicious glare from the man – as though expecting that he had been the one to cause her to scream like that – but much to Levi's surprise, the man merely glanced at him in obvious concern, his expression almost softening as their eyes met, and her father quickly crouched down toward the bed and gave Petra a firm shake.

"Baby, baby girl wake up! It's Dad, come on and snap out of it!" When her father grabbed her arm, Petra had tensed fiercely and violently thrashed in her stubborn sleep as she gave another startled cry, and in her jerky and unpredictable movements, her knee jetted firmly into Levi's stomach. He gave a pained groan as a hollow sourness filled his gut, and he adjusted himself to be more upright so he wouldn't be subject to getting kicked again by mistake.

"Petra! Wake up!" her father repeated more loudly with a commanding voice, and Petra finally jolted awake, instantly sitting upright with a sharp and alarmed gasp. Her eyes were wide and panicked as she frantically scanned the area in obvious unawareness and confusion, as though not sure if she was awake, or if she was still dreaming. After realizing where she was, that whatever had been plaguing her was only a dream, Petra gave a thick and shaky exhale, bringing a trembling hand to her sweating face and pushing her hair back with gasping breaths.

"Dad? Oh no. S-sorry. I just…so sorry."

She refused to look at either of them.

Her father gave a defeated sigh and he sat down on the floor with a sort of plop, giving a tired sigh as he placed a hand over her back as she leaned forward and placed her head in her hands. For a long moment, no words were exchanged as Petra fought to catch her breath, seemingly to be only vaguely aware of either men's presence in the room.

Eventually, her father looked toward her with a soft expression, "It was Camille again, wasn't it?"

When Petra merely nodded into her hands, Levi felt a frown come to his face, certain that perhaps his asking earlier about the circumstances that led to her joining the military really hadn't been the best idea. Petra had once told him that she didn't like to talk about it; hell, even back then she had barely been able to whisper into the night air that she struggled with the memories, and he had told her that she didn't have to talk about it because it was okay for her to have her secrets.

He should have known better than to pry it out of her.

Her father adjusted his position on the floor and looked toward the Captain with a pained smile, "It's always been like this, ever since her friend Camille was found, beaten up and mangled like that. Petra started getting night terrors – bad ones – and unfortunately, this house seems to be a consistent trigger for them, even years later. It's like this every time she comes home and even if some part of me expects it, even still it scares me half to death to hear her scream like that."

Levi could only give a nod of agreement, because even now with Petra awake and not as fitful, his heart was still pounding fiercely in his chest. Her father continued and rubbed Petra's back warmly, "I've offered to move you know; build a new house and all so she can be a bit more comfortable when she comes home, but she refuses because this is also the house that her mama loved so much. Petra doesn't have many memories of her – my wife died of pneumonia when Petra was only five – and so because of that she's always been really protective of this place."

Levi wasn't sure how to respond to all that her father was telling him - information that he undeniably appreciated - but admittedly, he was amazed that her father was even telling him in the first place, because it was obvious there was mutual dislike between them. Levi remained quiet, looking toward Petra in concern and hoping that he might be able to catch her eye; give her a silent glance and wordlessly ask her what he needed to do, but Petra was still buried into her hands, and her long hair was creating a very effective veil between them.

Her father cleared his throat and looked over toward him seriously, "Traditionally in the past, I'd end up sleeping right here on the floor with her. She does better with people I think, and while it doesn't always mean her night terrors don't come back, it's easier to soothe her if I'm already here." Her father gave a sudden chuckle at Levi's increasingly wary expression, "I'm aware however, that neither of you would be keen about turning this into a sleepover."

The man watched Levi for a long moment and stood up from the ground, "I'm not looking to pick a fight with you lad, at least not right now when we're all so tired like this. I know we don't see eye to eye, but even still, if there's one thing I can't fault you on, it's that you're extremely protective of my daughter, same as me. Gotta say, the look across your face when I first came in here…there's no mistaking that you genuinely care about her well being."

Levi looked up toward her father, returning his stare flatly, and her father gave a single, tense nod, "I think this is something I can trust…her Captain to handle."

Her father leaned down over Petra and kissed the back of her head, "I hate to see you suffer like this Baby. Try to get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning."

Her father left the room then, and as the footsteps of her father could be heard as he lightly moved down the hall toward his room, a long silence fell over the pair.

Levi looked toward Petra and took a breath, almost reaching a hand out toward her but giving a sigh at the last moment and shifting across the bed lightly. "You want to talk about it?" he asked softly, and Petra gave a shake of her head.

It took her a few more deep breaths, but she slowly looked up from her hands and again pushed the hair out of her face in clear exhaustion and embarrassment, "No. I…I'm sorry, to have startled you Captain."

"No, it's fine. Tell me Petra, is this common? I don't remember ever hearing you like that in the night, and I don't recall the guys ever saying anything about it either."

Petra shifted underneath her blankets and stole a single, nervous glance toward him, "No. I mean a bad dream here or there is perhaps expected after being in the Scouts for so long; I think once Eld came in my room and stayed with me – obviously nothing happened in that respect - but things like this…no; Dad is right. It's just being at home like this that triggers it and there's not a lot to do but grin and bear it."

Petra pulled at a lock of her hair and gave a nervous bite of her lip, stealing one single glance toward him before speaking in a mere whisper, "I'm sorry to be selfish Captain, but is it okay if maybe I sleep a little closer toward you? It's uh, just for tonight I swear. And it's totally okay if you need your space; I'll be alright of course but I just thought, well, it's just nice to have someone there and…."

Levi couldn't deny his surprise at her simple request, and he exhaled lightly and lowered himself out onto the bed with an accepting, cautious nod. Petra hesitantly inched herself closer toward his side, still trying to be courteous of his space and stopping just shy of an arm's length away from him as though too afraid to come any closer. Levi rolled his eyes and held his blanket upward, motioning with his head that she could come all the way because really, she might as well.

Petra merely looked at him with large, hesitant green eyes because they had shared a bed now for a number of nights, but they had always gone to bed on separate sides, always. When she woke up each morning, Levi was already gone because he naturally woke up earlier than she did. She wanted to be respectful of his boundaries as it seemed that Levi had been making a point of sleeping as far away from her as possible ever since they had started their trip, and nightmare or not, she didn't want to push him.

"Uh Captain, are you sure? This alone is-"

Levi grumbled and was already pulling an arm around her irritably, "Hurry up, you're letting all the warm out."

Petra found herself intentionally pressed against Levi's bare chest in the next moment, and as she felt Levi roll his shoulders and try to adjust his position now that she were so close to him, she chewed her bottom lip and allowed her hands to rest over his arms, carefully aligning her body against his in return and hoping she wasn't troubling him too much.

Levi hissed as her fingertips grazed against his skin, and he began rubbing her arm quickly, as though trying to build friction underneath his palm, and he groaned irritably as her touch caused goosebumps to rise over his skin, "Damn, you're fucking freezing – it's like holding an ice cube. The hell are you this cold for? It's summer."

Petra gave an apologetic chuckle, "Sorry, I'm always cold. I uh-"

"I've noticed." Levi cut her off with a knowing huff, and he sighed again in acceptance, reaching to his side for the blanket he had pushed off himself earlier, and spread it around them purposefully in the next moment. As a silence fell between them and Petra's body seemed to slowly uncoil bit by bit, he gave her a light nudge, "Hey…you okay, Petra?"

"…Yeah."

"For whatever its worth, I'm sorry about your friend. Sounds like she deserved better."

"Yeah. She really did."

Another silence.

"Hey Captain…"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for this. I don't know if I should be saying this or not, but your skin is crazy warm. I mean, I'm not really that surprised, but even still…this feels nice."

Petra shifted against him then, pressing her face up against the warm skin of his chest and giving a slight sigh as her body took comfort in his presence. Levi almost smiled, allowing his thumb to draw circles in her night shirt and he spoke lightly, "Well don't get used to it. This is a onetime thing."

Petra had nodded, a smile pulling at her lips from his defensive remark, "It's more than enough, Levi. I'll take whatever I can get."

Regardless Petra's acceptance and regardless Levi's claims, this night was merely the first of many that followed. From that point on, the Captain and his young wife had slept side by side without reason, and without care.

…

…

Regardless what had seemed to be a good moment between Levi and Petra's father, the following morning their bickering had picked right back up. Things had started out just fine, but once Levi stated that he planned on getting back from the Outpost mid-afternoon instead of the evening so he could start up Petra's training, that had been enough to ignite those sparks of agitation between the two men and that had been that.

They argued back and forth for some time about the wisdom of such a decision, if it really was wise to train her while she was still healing, if she would actually be getting to enjoy her vacation or not – to the opposite end, where Levi accused her father of wanting his daughter to be fragile and weak against the Titans, where she'd be easy pickings because hard work just wasn't 'possible' for someone like her.

Again, Petra found herself intervening, naturally taking her Captain's side because vacation or not, she was still a soldier and she needed to get trained back up to her prior skill as soon as possible, so if it was okay for Levi to train each day, then why wasn't it okay for her? They had all continued arguing back and forth for some time, until eventually Levi had stiffly confirmed that he couldn't afford to just sit around and argue because he was already taking a half day as it was, and her father grumbled that it was for the best, because his deadline for the table was fast approaching so he couldn't put off productivity for trivial matters like this. As the two men had each made their way toward the door, Petra bitterly made up some excuse as to why she also had important tasks of her own to see to, even though they all knew that her schedule was as open as it could be.

Levi had left without eating breakfast, her father had finished his cup of coffee in a single go, and Petra had stormed back into her room in a show of equal irritation and had made a point of slamming her door. Admittedly feeling a little silly and a little useless just sitting idly in her room in a completely empty house, Petra had decided to make the most of her down time and set to work on their accumulated dirty laundry, gathering up their used clothes from the days previous and taking it out through the back door so she could wash the clothes and set them out on the line to dry.

As she had gathered their dirty clothes and moved into the closet so she could find a new outfit from the clothes she had left behind from her premilitary days…the process of finding something to wear had actually brought a rather interesting factoid to light.

She had grown; or perhaps more accurately stated, she had filled out.

While she supposed it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to her considering how young she had been once she had left for the military, Petra had been admittedly grateful that her Captain hadn't been around while she tried to find a new outfit to wear from the clothes she had left behind, because the first few attempts had been a little on the scandalous side.

She realized quickly that hardly any of her bottoms would fit, and the first few dresses she had grabbed had virtually no room in the bust, and so her chest had been awkwardly spilling out from every possible direction of the garment. She had laughed at the ridiculous image, having to awkwardly pull the dress back off her inch by inch because it was simply too tight to fit well, and she tried again with something else.

Petra eventually settled for a sundress that had once been more on the loose side back when she left, and while it was admittedly a little on the tight side and pressed her chest up in a way that was somewhat revealing – she figured it wasn't anything that Levi hadn't seen before, so she would just have to make due until the rest of her clothes dried.

After the laundry had been properly washed and hung up, she had begun cleaning the house next, knowing that its present state wasn't exactly up to Levi's standards. He hadn't said anything about it, and it certainly wasn't filthy by any means, but even still, she knew it put him on edge and the house certainly could use a good deep clean.

She had set to work on the common areas first, the bathroom, the living room, and then the kitchen. After a few hours had passed by, her father had come back in the house for lunch, and he looked around the newly cleaned area in clear astonishment, thanking her outright because the house had long been overdue for a deep clean but he had just been so busy with all the orders flooding in.

Petra smiled at her father's gratitude, casually waving it off like it was no big deal (even though it had taken literal hours of work, and there was still more to be done because regardless her father's claim of merely being in a 'busy season' – there were literal years of grime and buildup in some places) and her father gave her a small smile. Seemingly pleased that she wouldn't be calling him out for his obvious white lie, her father thought for a moment and confirmed that as a way to make it up to her, he'd head into town after he was done working and he'd grab some ingredients for an extra special dinner.

They shared lunch together, and though the tensions were high because there was still a sea of unspoken questions and frustrations that were bubbling just underneath the surface between them, Petra could tell that her father was trying extra hard to not pick a fight with her, and somehow, they had miraculously enjoyed a meal together – argument free.

Once her father left the house, confirming that he'd finish up his work and then head into town, Petra had returned back to her cleaning with renewed purpose, setting to work on the cupboards and reorganizing them one by one, washing the dust from the corners, wiping down all the surfaces, double checking that all the put away dishes were actually clean, then putting the cupboard back together and starting on the next one.

At this pace, with all the projects she was finding that needed to be done and with the obvious neglect her father had for the details, it was clear that getting the house up to par and properly cleaned was no small task. It would likely take her a number of days to get the house up to Levi's standards, although…at the very least it gave her something of value to do, and she supposed that was the point.

…

...

When Levi walked in the front door some few hours later in the midday, he pulled off his boots and walked into the main room. He was taken by surprise at once, because he certainly had not been expecting to see Petra, on her hands and knees as she scrubbed the kitchen floor, ass up in the air and in a dress that was only two inches shy of showing off whatever panties she had decided to wear that day.

He found himself wordlessly staring down at her for a long moment, and as though sensing his presence, Petra sat up onto her heels and looked toward him over her shoulder with a tired smile, "Captain, you're back!"

As she looked at him, she made a surprised expression and almost cocked her head, "Wait, are those flowers? Levi…did you…are those for me?" It seemed so very unlike him, and yet there was no denying that he was in fact carrying a stunning bouquet, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. She stood up from the damp floor and wiped her hands on her dress with clear enthusiasm, and once she turned around to face him, Levi's eyes darted across the exposed tops of her breasts that peaked out from the simple cotton bodice, more than a little surprised by her choice of clothing, because fuck…that was something worth coming back to.

She took a few steps toward him and continued looking at the bouquet in his hand, missing his agape expression as she gave a slight laugh, "Wow, these are really pretty. Uh, what's the occasion?"

He could very well ask her the same thing, but Petra continued and nodded toward him with a cheeky smile, "I mean, you did bring those flowers for me, right? I'd hate to assume. I mean, I suppose you could be trying to butter up my father or something."

He forced himself to clear his throat, and he gave a single nod as he gave the modest floral arrangement a gentle shake for emphasis, "Yeah, I mean, technically I did bring them for you, but I feel I should clarify that these aren't from me." He saw Petra's suddenly crestfallen look and he shook his head in correction, "That's not to say that I wouldn't ever bring you flowers, if that's something you'd like I mean, but for the record-" he nodded toward the bouquet and almost smirked, "Pixis says hi, and he hopes your vacation finds you relaxed and well rested."

Petra paused in place, completely surprised by Levi's clarification and she chewed her lower lip in question, "Pixis? He's here? What's he even doing at a random Outpost like this? Shouldn't he be running things, you know, back at Headquarters?" She gave a knowing sigh and looked toward Levi flatly, "Let me guess, he stopped in to personally greet Humanity's Strongest, am I right?"

Levi gave a pensive shake of his head, shrugging casually as he spoke, "Nah, not me. He and I have rubbed shoulders so many times over the years that it's not that big of a deal anymore. Apparently some number-crunching nerd made some serious changes to their gas utilization a bit back, and he was hoping to meet them face to face." Petra's eyes had widened at his statement, and Levi gave her a smirk, "Bummer, because I was there all morning and they never even bothered to show up."

Petra grabbed the flowers out of his hand with a playful swipe, "Well, maybe their Captain wouldn't let them."

Levi shrugged at her snarky retort and gave her a challenging grin in return, "Sounds like a reasonable man. Maybe they should listen to him a little more."

She pretended to not hear him and merely gave the bouquet a light sniff instead, admittedly enjoying the simple and sweet fragrance that was well balanced and harmonic. As she surveyed the arrangement, a small white square caught her attention, and Petra pulled out the included card, looking it over for a moment and frowning in sudden confusion, "Levi, I'm curious. You said these were for me, right?"

"Yeah, I mean…that's what Pixis said anyway. He hand delivered them to me personally, so I figure that's as good a sign as any."

"Well the card is addressed to 'Angel'." She flipped the card toward him so he could see the handwritten name across the paper, and Petra shook her head in distaste, "If he wanted to impress me, the least he could do is get my name right."

Levi snorted at the man's mistake, "Probably bought those for his wife or whatever, but then forgot to take out the card when he regifted it to you instead."

Petra gave an exhale, supposing it didn't matter one way or another because it really was a nice gesture, and she moved back into the kitchen with an accepting sigh, "Well whatever. They're definitely mine now; may as well put them in some water."

As Petra moved down toward the floor so she could pull out a vase from one of the lower cabinets, Levi's eyes sparked with sudden interest as she leaned out across the floor, watching as her dress hiked upward again and revealed the backs of her smooth and pale legs as she searched the cabinet purposefully. He swallowed thickly as she leaned forward and her dress raised even higher, and Levi gave a slight shake of his head as he looked intentionally toward the opposite end of the room, "Not really. He had been hoping that you would be making an appearance at least once during these next two weeks because he's got a proposition that he'd like to run by you, but when I confirmed that Erwin would have my head on a platter long before that ever happened, he laughed it off and sent me back with those instead."

Petra laughed as she pulled a vase out and filled it with water, moving toward the kitchen table and setting the flowers in the middle for display. She ran her fingers up a single flower stem with a pleased smile, leaning over slightly so she could smell the flowers one more time, and Levi tried not to stare at the long line of cleavage she had presented to him as a result. He mentally frowned, deciding instead to just speak his thoughts out loud here and now because he couldn't perpetually turn a blind eye to her for their entire vacation – he'd go absolutely insane. He looked back at Petra more directly, nodding down toward her very on display chest with an appraising stare, "That looks good, really good."

She smiled as she looked at the flowers and gave a contented sigh, missing his pointed look completely, "You think so? I'm glad. Flower arranging isn't exactly a skill of mine, so I'm glad someone else did the work for me here. Looks like a lot of wildflowers; I'm seeing some daisy and honeysuckle, a few I'm not really familiar with; but they put it together nicely. Really brightens the place up, doesn't it?"

Levi mentally noted that she had missed his meaning completely, and he shook his head, "No, it's not that. I meant-"

"Oh right," Petra gave a small laugh and turned back toward the kitchen and crossed her arms with a critical scan of her eyes, "Yeah, I've been cleaning up in here for a while now; in some of the other rooms too. I know it's not quite up to your standards just yet Captain, but I figured it's a start and every bit helps. Give me a few more days, and you'll be able to eat off the floor it'll be so clean."

Levi looked around the room, only now realizing that Petra certainly had done a lot of work during the time he had been gone, and he nodded as he walked further into the room, taking off his cape and draping it onto the back of a nearby chair with a casual exhale, "Yeah, it's looking a lot better in here and I appreciate it of course, but truth be told…I wasn't talking about the kitchen either."

Petra turned toward him with a curious expression, and Levi nodded toward her flatly, "That dress, do you always wear dresses when you're at home? I ask because the closet is full of them. I didn't take you to be so effeminate. Not that there's anything wrong with that; I'm just surprised. This is, what, the second time I've seen you in a dress in almost six years? It's very different."

Petra looked down at herself and gave a slow shrug, "I don't mind dresses or anything; I can't say I'm partial to dressing any particular way though. Usually I'm only home for a few days so I just pack a spare outfit or two and wear that while I'm here. For this trip though, I didn't want to pack two weeks' worth of clothes when I knew I had so much here at the house already but…well, to be frank it seems that a lot of them just don't fit me the way they used to. I was pretty young when I left for the military, so I really should have known better, but none the less here I am. I'm just about out of the clothes I brought back, so I washed all our laundry earlier – I hope you don't mind – but the downside is that now I'm stuck wearing whatever fits me well enough until my clothes dry out. Sorry if this is a bit much; I'm not trying to be flashy or anything, but I'm afraid this is one of the few things that even remotely fits me so I'm trying to make it work. Most of my dresses are a little uh, tight at the top and things like my old pants and shirts are way too tight now."

Levi smirked at her explanation and the way she had subtly crossed her arms over her chest after seeing how his stare lingered, "I see. And so for training this afternoon, you're planning on wearing that? I suppose I can't really tell you what to wear now that you're off duty but…" his eyes trailed down her chest for a second time and his smirk grew all the more pronounced, "I'd be curious to see how that dress preforms under pressure. I think we'll start with handstands, followed by jumping jacks."

Petra rolled her eyes, blushing at Levi's obviously teasing words and suggestive stare, and she bit her lip nervously, "Ha ha, Captain. If it comes down to it, I can just work out in wet clothes."

He watched her in obvious disbelief, "Can you?"

"Well, sure." She crossed her arms and watched him narrowly, "It's a nice day outside, so they'd dry out pretty quickly. I know that this dress isn't exactly workout friendly, so I can improvise."

He chuckled at her increasingly determined expression and gave a simple shake of his head, "No, all jokes aside that won't be necessary. You want to try wearing my clothes maybe? Unlike you, I did pack enough clothes for the full trip, and I've got a few undershirts that should fit you well enough – certainly a little big on you if memory serves - but that's probably better than falling out of your top or being forced to work out in wet clothes. I'm sure they'd dry eventually, but not before rubbing your skin raw. If you can get away with wearing my clothes, then there's just no need for it."

He took a closer look at her frame, his stare more serious now that the discussion of her training was involved, and he shook his head in thought, "Granted, I'm pretty sure your hips are wider than mine, and frankly you've got a curvy ass too. My pants probably won't fit you, but I've got some night shorts that are a little more on the loose side that should fit your curves a bit better. You could try those if you wanted."

Petra found a smile growing on her lips, and she gave a hesitant nod, "Really, Captain?"

He shrugged and loosened the cravat from around his neck, "It's not a big deal. I told you I'd start training you up, and I don't want you getting distracted by what you are or aren't wearing. You want to participate in the next expedition, right? If so, that means we've both got our work cut out for us and your clothes should be the least of your worries. Go ahead and get changed. I'll be out here whenever you're ready, and then we'll get started."

Petra gave a large grin, all but jumping with sudden excitement from the prospect that her long awaited rehab would finally begin, "Yes, yes of course Captain! Thank you so much - gods, you're just the best; I could kiss you right now!"

Levi had grinned at her words, almost waiting for her to march around the table and press her lips against his as she expressed her joy and excitement, but much to his admitted disappointment, it seemed Petra had merely been speaking figuratively, because she merely gave a wave and bounced out of the kitchen without another word.

Levi had silently frowned, moving into the kitchen and grabbing himself a cup of water while he waited bitterly for her to return.

Well.

So much for that.

...

End of Chapter

...

Ahhh, poor, poor Levi. No one can say he's not trying – but some part of me just chuckles because true to Levi's nature and life as a whole, yeah, this poor man just can't catch a break.

In other news I have a slight confession. I probably took a month off of writing new material for this piece – not intentionally, but a day turned into a week and so on and so forth, but I'm pleased to say that I was able to sit down and finally start back up in the writing process and yall, I'm truly very excited.

I'm just about to start the final arc for this piece, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to start wrapping up all the loose ends because what will I do after this piece is over? But – that's still a good number of months away. So until then, thanks for everything and I'll see you at the next update!

~Mid