Chapter Three
Night Practice

Petra was called to Lord Smith's study, for what she had no idea, but she was not nervous. Lord Smith, in her few dealings with him in person, had a commanding presence but was overall very amiable. She knocked when she arrived, her boots leaving little dents in the plush carpet at this end of the house. It was much colder over here than where she usually stayed. She wished she had grabbed her wrap.

When she was called to enter, she strode into the room with her chin up. That is, until she saw that the Lord of the house was not alone. Leaning into the arm of a chair with his arms crossed and his posture hunched was Levi, his expression unreadable in her flustered state.

"Miss Ral, thank you for seeing me." Lord Smith gestured to the chair with his good arm, the left had been removed up to the shoulder. Reasons unknown, though Petra knew it was something to do with the service. She took in the casual air that Levi had taken in the Lord's office. It was unnerving having him there. He made her pulse race unnecessarily.

"Of course, my lord." She began a bit shaky, but found her voice quickly. Timidity would not do.

Lord Smith leaned back in his chair, an odd thread of amusement mixed with his concern. Petra had no idea what to think. "I called you in here about Eren."

She nodded. "I see, is he doing all right at school? We do miss him around, when he is gone." She said, thinking of Mikasa.

Lord Smith smiled, wanly, "Then I guess his coming home early isn't entirely bad news."

Petra's mouth fell, but she snapped it shut quickly. Her thoughts raced, but she focused on keeping her words proper. "Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's fine." Lord Smith waved away her concern, but she was not satisfied. "He's being expelled."

Petra inhaled sharply.

"I am having him brought straight to me when he arrives home. I was informed that there was a fight involved, but I know Eren and I want to get the details straight from him. I don't see this as in his character, to start that kind of trouble purely for the sake of it. I would hear his reasons before I decide what to do."

"That's very fair of you, my lord." Petra felt her heart ease. She had come to a similar conclusion, but it was not her place to say as much.

Lord Smith sighed then, and tapped the fingers of his right hand on his desk. "I never even wanted children." He smiled. "That was all my wife's doing. Now I can't imagine that my life would be better without them."

To the side, Levi scoffed. He drew their attention, but made no move to apologize. Lord Smith laughed. "My friend doesn't think much of my life."

Petra lowered her head demurely. "It would not entirely be his place to make a judgment, your lordship."

Levi's eyes focused on her quickly, though she ignored him with purpose.

Lord Smith laughed again, "That would be the expected response. I, however, like to consider all ways of thinking when I can. I value the perspective, even if it makes him seem disagreeable and rather spinsterly."

"Spinsterly?" Levi said, now rounding on his employer.

Petra giggled into her hand.

Lord Smith continued before Levi could retort, once again addressing the matter that he had called for Petra in the first place. "I wanted to inform you of Eren's arrival so that you can work him into your lessons again. I know it's sooner than expected, but until I get to the bottom of this and get him registered at another school, he'll be here. And I'll not have him idle."

"It is no trouble, your lordship." Petra said with a bow of her head.

"Good, thank you. I hated to inconvenience you."

"Not at all. My employment requires that I instruct both children of this house, when they are at home. I am merely doing my job." Petra said, with a sudden flash of her eyes at Levi, she added, "I would be happy to take on Mr. Ackerman as a student, if you wished. Under my watch he would be perfect for the Sina season that approaches. He'd be the perfect lady when I finished."

Lord Smith snickered and watched Levi, whose focus was solely for Petra.

"And I'm the one lacking manners." Levi murmured, clearly miffed.

Lord Smith looked between them for a minute before clearing this throat and dismissing Petra. Petra could feel Levi's eyes on her as she left and she spared him no attention until she was out of that room. It would not do to have Lord Smith interpret the way she looked at him.

-00-

Petra slipped into the drawing room. It was late, much too late for her to be out of bed, and she used her candle to light the sconces in the room. Only a few, enough to see, but not so much it would be an effort to put them all out again. She crossed the room, still in her day clothes, though her hair had been released from its appropriate bun. She set her candle on the piano.

There was never time for her to practice. Now that Eren was to return home she would be even busier between the two of them. He was scheduled back tomorrow and Petra wanted to get as much practice in as she could before sleep became more important to her.

It was not that she was particularly interested in the pianoforte. It was more of a drive to learn. Petra enjoyed learning, it was what made her transition into governess bearable. How often would she be able to learn from a proper instructor for free? And if she was incredibly lucky, she would learn that song he had played before this whole thing inevitably ended.

Petra ran through her scales, the harder ones still tripping up her fingers. She began to hum as she played, trying to recreate that song in her mind, but she was just as skilled with singing as she was with pianos.

"That's horribly off-key."

She didn't jump, the voice that broke her concentration was too familiar by now. It did send a shudder down her spine, however. The darkness of the room and the late hour, his presence in the room with her felt very clandestine.

"I never claimed to be a singer." She said brightly, turning over her shoulder to see him.

"You're tone deaf. You know that?"

Petra shook her head. "Please stop flattering me, it's going to confuse my delicate feminine sensibilities."

Levi snorted. "You're hardly delicate."

Now Petra turned, her legs swinging over the bench so that she straddled it. And she didn't care. And that was the best part.

"You are bordering on insulting me, Levi." She snapped, though her eyes were still dancing. There were so many heavy shadows cast about the room and he wore them well.

He laughed dryly. "How spinsterly of me."

Petra hid her smile behind her hand. "You're not still cross about that?"

"I don't give a shit either way." He said, taking her off her guard. He used the word so casually, and yet she had never heard him use it before. If she had any insight to these things, she would say it was a word he was comfortable with and used often, though probably not at decent hours or in decent company.

He walked into the room and stood over her so she had to crane her neck to see him from the bench. Her skirts were everywhere, splayed around her legs as she sat most unladylike. Her cheeks began to warm, but he was regarding her with something more like impatience.

"Are you going to let me sit or should I just sit on the skirt?" He asked and Petra shuffled her skirt out of his way. He sat down, this time so that their shoulders brushed. Her breath left her.

"Do you always practice in the middle of the night?" He said, running his fingers over the keys in a quick warm-up.

"I could ask you the same thing." She said.

He shrugged. "I don't always sleep well. As I said, I like playing."

"I'm sorry." He said quickly, still playing with both hands and otherwise ignoring her. Petra had no idea what he was apologizing for, specifically, since there were so many of his actions that warranted it.

"What are you sorry for, if I may ask?" She craned her head, her hair falling over her shoulder.

"For swearing. I don't normally apologize for it, but it seemed to shock you so I'm sorry." He drifted into that slow melody she remembered him playing so long ago. Her skin tingled at the memory, anticipation thrilling her. She did not speak again, hoping that the change in key and tempo would happen again, the one that made her heart fly. She closed her eyes.

He stopped playing suddenly and Petra opened her eyes to find his hands fallen into his lap and his eyes on her. She felt silly, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling shyly. She was flushed and her heart was scattered.

"Why did you stop? That's the song I wanted you to teach me." She said. "You never did tell me what it was called."

"It doesn't have a name." He said, still watching her.

"Oh? Do you know the composer then?" She bit her lip and began to play with her fingers in her lap, wishing she had the comfort of her gloves.

"I'd say so." He said, lifting a single finger to rest on a note. It peeled for a long time as it slowly quieted. "I wrote it."

"You?" Petra blinked, thoughts tumbling again. She always thought too fast and never fast enough. "You wrote that beautiful song?"

"You're shocked." He said, the faintest smile growing.

"No, no, just…well yes a bit shocked. I never supposed you were a composer." She said.

"It comes with the talent." He said, without a hint of pride. Strange that he was so arrogant and yet he seemed to think less of himself than everyone else. Certainly, then she ever could. In what little she had learned, she knew that there was so much there to know if one bothered to look.

He was looking away from her now. She always felt so much freer around him. That lack of social grace that had so infuriated her when they first met had become her favorite quality of his company. She wasn't reserved around him, she didn't hold back. She didn't have to censor her words. Even now, when her words seemed so inappropriate she didn't feel socially responsible for holding them back, only, just personally afraid.

Without a word he took her hand in his and it wasn't hesitant or gentle like it had been, but there was still reservation. He set her fingers over the keys and rested his hand over hers. He pressed down so that her finger hit a note and then he played another and another. Until a very slow version of the song he had played started. He used his other hand to play on its own, but he was still guiding Petra, if her clumsy fingers missed the note he quickly corrected. The pressure was so light on her hand and she was in awe when she found her muscles learning. He needed to guide her less and less, though she still did not know which notes came next, she had begun to learn how to move her hand to play them. She let him run through until the faster part started and then she could no longer keep up. He moved her hand so that their arms ended up locked together at the elbow and kept playing on his own.

Petra swayed, lingering whenever her shoulder came to rest on his, and let her eyes drift closed. She wasn't aware that she had stopped and had come to fully rest her head on him. The song carried on and she used her free hand to clasp where their arms were still hooked together, her fingers beginning to play over the fabric of his jacket.

It seemed a long time before it stopped. Once again he moved his hands to his lap and said nothing, just staring down at the keys. Petra shifted so she was no longer resting on him, but still close enough to see through the strands of his hair that fell over his eyes with his head bowed forward.

"That really is a lovely song." She said quietly, not sure what she was whispering except that without the music the silence felt greater.

He said nothing, but made two fists against the top of his thighs, and Petra leaned back fully to give him space.

"I'm sorry." She said, because it felt like it was necessary. "Thank you for playing for me. It's very late, I should be getting to bed." She stood, the magic of the moment suddenly leaving her and she felt wanting for it to return. He stood up with her, which was a polite habit that she didn't think he possessed, and when she went to leave he stopped her with a light touch to her arm that he quickly withdrew.

Petra smiled, giving him her warmest goodnight since he looked positively wrecked. She had no idea what could be the cause, but that it was very possible he didn't want to share. She wouldn't press him for an answer. She could be patient if he was ever going to confide in her at all.

He moved with her to the door, then seemed to realize she did not need an escort back to her room, this was not some Sina back alley. She stood on the outside of the doorway and him just on the inside still, not yet having stepped out of it to join her.

"I hope that you might trust me enough to tell me what is bothering you, but for now, Good night." She didn't move. Her feet wouldn't move.

When her moment to slip away passed he reached out and took her hand, pulling her back into the room and shutting the door. The suddenness of it made Petra's breath catch and she found herself backed against the closed door with him too close to be decent.

"You realize that your position here completely hinges on how you are perceived." He said, bringing her up short as that was not what she had expected to hear.

"I…yes, I understand my position perfectly." She finished stronger, not taking to his implication that she would be unaware of something so important.

"You realize that just being in here, with me, at this hour, is enough to get you fired?" He looked at her with a fierceness that told her this was not some sort of joke. He was being completely serious.

She wanted to laugh. "Of course I understand that. I take responsibility for all my actions and I never do so without knowledge of their consequences."

He stood back, letting her breath a bit. "And you obviously don't care."

"I do care. I care very much about my position here. It's work that I need to live." She took a steadying breath as she processed what she was hearing.

"But do you understand who you are risking it for?" His jaw locked and his eyes were hollow when they met hers.

She took a step forward, so that she was invading his space and set both her hands on the lapels of his jacket, lightly taking them in her hands. "I take full responsibility for all my actions, Levi. I do not need someone else to worry over them for me."

Her breath was coming hard in time with her heart and she felt a rush in the moment, like something real was taking place and she needed to seize it or lose it forever. She was searching for her next words, something to say that would convince him that she knew exactly what she wanted. She knew exactly what she wanted.

Petra lifted her head to meet his, lips falling flush with his mouth in a rush. And the action stalled her because she had never truly kissed anyone before and to feel it now, when she had often wished to share such an experience with him, it was soothed her frantic thoughts. Petra allowed her lips to pull back so she could run her tongue lightly over them and then kiss him again properly. This time with a gentle pressure and her heat tilted for a better angle. This time with her heart on her sleeves.

For the longest time he seemed immovable. When his head finally turned his hand moved to rest at the base of her neck, strands of hair sifting against his fingers. And he leaned in to her and breathed her in and Petra felt her body melt with the simmering intensity of it. They had no recollection of how long that kiss lasted. Maybe hours. But soon her body was overwhelmed and she had to pull apart to collect herself. Her fingers shook and tingled in all the best ways. She felt unsteady on her feet and let him support her while she caught her breath.

"That was very inappropriate of me." She said, smiling. "And I would like to do that again."

His eyes were wider than she had ever seen them and it roused a bout of laughter from her. It was too precious. She cuddled herself closer, enjoying the feel of him even through their clothes. It didn't feel indecent, it felt comfortable. Safe. Right.

He swallowed and let his cheek fall against her hair, using her for support, it seemed, as much as she used him.

"Would you?" She ventured, rubbing her head along his cheek and staring into the crook of his neck while her finger drew patterns on his shirt. It was so easy to slip into this physical intimacy, like she had been seeking out his touch for the whole of her life.

"I should say no." He said, a hint of strain in his voice.

Petra grinned. "But you won't."

"You don't make it easy."

She sighed and lightly pressed on his chest so that he leaned back and she could see his face. "I don't intend to ever make things easy for you." Her words were received just as he used his fingers to pull her chin into another kiss. This time a short, heated exchange. And it was all the convincing she needed.

A/N: For right now this is all I have, but after RW is finished-since I still have a lot of work left to do-I might continue this.