Summary: Levi is forced into joining the Survey Corps in order to keep Isabel and Farlan safe from the plotting Commander Erwin. He must come up with a plan to rescue his two friends before it's too late, but he'll need help to do it. The setting is one year after the events of the A Choice With No Regrets OVA.
It had been one year since Levi set foot on the surface. One year since his first expedition with Erwin Smith, the bastard Commander of the Survey Corps. He had brought Isabel and Farlan with him and their mission had been simple. Kill the Commander and be granted permission to live their lives on the surface. However, that plan was foiled when Erwin figured everything out. Levi was able to save his friends from the titan threat, and they all survived the expedition, but the price they had to pay for trying to take out the Commander was steep. Now, the Commander had Isabel and Farlan locked up somewhere that Levi couldn't reach them. They were hostages for Erwin's cause, and Levi was the one person that could save them. All he had to do was be the Commander's puppet and do whatever he was asked. It was easy in theory, but in reality, it was something else entirely.
The truth of the matter was that Levi and his friends weren't any more free above the ground than they were under it. Isabel and Farlan were probably in chains somewhere, and Levi was confined to the small, dormitory style apartment in the barracks with the rest of the soldiers in the Corps. Anyone else probably would have been happy to have been given such a high rank in the Corps, a roof over their head, and their own squad to command, but Levi was just anyone. The only reason he'd agreed to all this was to keep his friends safe, and now he wasn't even sure where they were. He hadn't been afforded the luxury of contact with them for the whole year after the expedition. It was probably Erwin's way of keeping him under his thumb, but his patience for that was running thin.
Still, although he wasn't happy, he found himself somewhat proud of what he'd accomplished in the time he'd been on the surface. His squad was full of good people that Erwin had at least let him hand pick. Petra, Oluo, and Eld were strong soldiers, and people that Levi was proud to know, but he couldn't say that he considered any of them friends. They had a trust bond, sure, it was important for any squad to have that if they didn't want to die a horrible death in the field, but other than that Levi still considered them only comrades. Only people that were there to make sure he didn't die, and he would do the same for them. Unnecessary death was something that Levi couldn't tolerate, and these people making the choice to serve a cause that he was forced into didn't mean that they deserved to die.
All these thoughts and more were something that constantly plagued Levi, now that he was alone more often than not. Most days he just sat in his stupid apartment drinking the mediocre tea that Erwin had given him out of the ugly looking standard issue mugs that the military had at their disposal. His life had boiled down to this. How in the world did he find himself in a situation this absurd? He sighed as he sat the mug down on his table and let his head rest in his hands.
“Dying on that expedition would have been better than this.” He muttered to himself as he stared at the table. He found himself thinking that he almost would have been happier if they'd just stayed underground when he heard a knock on the door, but he didn't rise to open it. He didn't even say a word. He knew it wouldn't matter anyway. They would just barge in, it didn't matter if he wanted them to or not. That's how it had always been.
I won’t apologize for my self-indulgent fluff. I just hope it’s good!
Petra Ral was perhaps the smartest girl in her class. The smartest girl because there was one other student that seemed to outrank her in every way possible. That one other Student was Levi Ackerman.
He always got top marks on tests, knew the answers to every question and, although she knew the answers too and would have been glad to offer them to the rest of the class, Levi was always faster. She thought she might resent him a little bit for it, and she thought that might be why she thought about him constantly. At least that's what she thought at first. She quickly discovered that the reason she always thought about him wasn't that she was jealous or bitter, but because she was actually quite attracted to him.
She wouldn't go as far as to say that she had any...sinful fantasies about him, the fantasies she had about him were sweet and soft and loving, but they were still fantasies all the same, and fantasies that she was sure would never come to fruition. In fact, she was pretty sure he didn't even have a clue who she was, or that she was alive and that she watched him so closely every day trying to figure out a way to speak to him. She was sure of that, that is, until one day she was watching him and he noticed.
He looked peeved, to say the least, that he had caught her staring at him. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to beat her to a pulp for having the audacity to look at him in that way, and she immediately averted her gaze as she realized that fact. She thought she could hear him sighing, even from across the room, a sure sign that he wanted nothing to do with her. Still, she couldn't let herself be disappointed about that fact. She knew that was how it would have to be. She knew that there was no way he would return any kind of affection for her. She was just some nerd in his class, some girl that was too ordinary and plain for him to even entertain the thought of speaking to. She knew all of this and yet, it hurt just the same to see that it was all true.
Once their class was over she headed toward the cafeteria. Maybe if she could just get something to eat it would make her feel better about the situation. It was only a crush, after all, and something she was sure she would be able to get over eventually. It wasn't like she'd ever actually talked to him, anyway. It wasn't like she'd expected anything more than this. She'd never even seen Levi take interest in any of the other girls in their class. She was sure he was just too focused on his studies, trying to get into a good university after their third year ended, but it still left an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach knowing that her suspicions about her interest in him had been true.
“Who would ever be interested in a girl as boring as me, anyway?” Petra asked herself under her breath as she walked, head down, through the halls trying to get to the cafeteria. Suddenly, she crashed into someone that sent her reeling back. She would have fallen if a strong hand hadn't reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.
“I-I'm so sorry, I should have been paying more attention to—” She stopped her sentence short when she saw exactly who she'd crashed into. Who was holding onto her arm to steady her as she collected herself.
“You should watch where you're going when you walk through the halls. You could have hurt yourself.” Levi's voice broke through the fog of her mind and brought her back to reality. He was touching her, standing close to her, speaking to her, and she couldn't think of a single word to say to him in return. “Where are you in such a hurry to get to, anyway?”
“Um, the...cafeteria,” She answered shakily, swallowing hard as she tried to overcome her embarrassment.
“I'll walk with you to make sure that you don't run into anyone else.”
“Oh, you don't have to, I'm sure you're busy and you probably have friends that you wanted to meet up with. I'll be fine, really, I'll pay attention to where I'm going.” Her words came out fast and before she could even really understand why she was saying them. Why was she turning him down? He'd just offered to walk with her to the cafeteria, the boy that she'd been obsessing over for more than half of the school year wanted to walk with her and she couldn't even control her anxiety enough to let him.
“No one is waiting for me. I'd just be eating alone anyway, so I might as well stick with you and make sure you don't hurt yourself.” He turned and started walking toward the cafeteria and Petra only took a moment to catch up to him and walk at his side.
She couldn't believe it! Just this morning she was convinced that Levi wanted nothing to do with her, that he was annoyed at the thought of her even looking at him, and now they were going to eat lunch together. She was sure that this was the first time that they'd even spoken to each other, and now she was about to eat lunch with him. She wondered briefly if she would be able to even keep up a conversation with him during their lunch break, but decided that she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Right now she was just happy to be in his company.
Her thoughts were buzzing until they sat down together and she realized that the only thing Levi had for his lunch was a thermos that seemed to be full of tea. She suddenly felt rude with the plate of food that she had sitting in front of her while all he had was a thermos full of tea. Could he not afford a proper lunch? Would she be rude for eating in front of him? Before she thought about it the words were spilling out of her mouth.
“Is that all you're going to have?” She asked, suddenly feeling like she was out of line when he looked up at her, a scowl on his face.
“I don't usually eat lunch. Tea is fine for me during the day. Who would want to eat the shit that they serve here anyway?” He replied and she suddenly felt wrong for even asking the question.
“Oh,” She replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she, herself, was eating the lunch that the school provided. It seemed that Levi realized what he'd implied and, with a roll of his eyes, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, why were you staring at me earlier?” He asked his expression devoid of any emotion that would let Petra know what he might be thinking.
“I...umm...I must have spaced out or something. I didn't realize where I was looking. I'm so sorry if I made you feel strange or anything like that.” Petra tried her best to rush through her explanation in a believable manner, but she had the feeling that Levi wasn't buying it.
“I don't think that's the reason,” He answered. Just as she'd thought, she wasn't the least bit convincing. Now she would have to tell him the real reason she'd been caught staring at him, and she wasn't sure that she was ready for the rejection that would follow.
“I...I don't know what you're talking about.” She looked away but she could feel his gaze on her, boring holes through her skull as he analyzed every little word she said.
“You seemed pretty aware that you were looking at me. You were smiling.”
“I was?” She asked and she felt the blush spread across her face as she realized that there was no easy way out of this. Had he asked her to have lunch with him just to torture her with some strange interrogation about why she was looking at him?
“Yeah, you were,” he said, sipping his tea. “So why were you staring at me and smiling?”
“I...” Petra paused. It seemed that she was stuck in this incredibly awkward situation. She thought for a moment that she might just run away and hide somewhere until lunch was over, but she knew that wouldn't solve any of the problems she was now faced with. Even if she did run away, she had nearly every class with Levi and would undoubtedly see him again before the end of the day.
“Go on...” He prompted, an annoyed expression on his face as he set his tea back down on the table.
“I...I just...” Petra stuttered but she was determined to get through this. It was her only option at this point. “I just think you're really cool and smart and...handsome...I can't help but glance every now and then because I've wanted to get to know you for a while now, but you just seem so...”
“Unapproachable? Angry? Rude?” Levi asked, but Petra didn't want to agree with any of those options, no matter how true they may be.
“Maybe unapproachable. At least a little bit.” She agreed, but she continued. “But not either of those other things. You just seem like someone that values your time. I didn't want to waste any of it with some silly pleasantries or a failed attempt at trying to be friends, that's all.”
“My time is valuable.” Levi looked away for a moment as if he was gathering his thoughts, pushing himself to say something that he'd kept hidden. “It isn't too valuable for you, though.”
“W-what?” Petra was so stunned that she dropped her fork and stared at him with wide eyes. What was he saying? Was he admitting that he wanted to spend time with her? This was too good to be true.
“I've noticed you too. In class, I mean. You seem intelligent and kind. I still don't know why a person like you would want to get to know a person like me better, but I wouldn't...hate that.”
“You wouldn't?”
“Of course not.” He snapped but dialed back his tone. “I'm just not used to people wanting to get to know me. Like I said, I tend to come off as rude to most people, so they don't really gravitate toward me.”
“Well, I'd be honored to be your friend, if that's what you want.” Petra smiled and Levi smiled back for only a moment.
“There's one other thing,” He said suddenly, toying with the thermos that he'd now closed again. “You said something earlier that I was surprised by.”
“What's that?” Petra was worried only for a moment, but she learned quickly that she should have stayed that way.
“You said you think I'm handsome, didn't you?”
“Oh...well, I...I did but...” She stumbled her way through her partial sentence before she was interrupted again.
“Because I think you're beautiful.”
“You...what?” She asked, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink as she struggled to continue to breathe. Out of all of the fantasies she'd had about him, this had never been one of them. Kissing, holding hands, just being together, sure. Those were all par for the course of a crush for her, but having him just come out and admit that he thought she was beautiful, that was something she had never even imagined, and so, she didn't have a prepared response for it.
“Sorry that was probably weird of me to say but...it's true,” He said, quickly standing and gathering his thermos. “Do you want to go outside with me for the rest of our lunch break? I don't like being indoors all day.”
“S-sure,” Petra stuttered. She hadn't finished her lunch but she was sure she wouldn't be able to now. Her stomach was too full of butterflies to eat anything else. She dumped her tray and followed him out of the cafeteria and out the doors of the school. No one else seemed to be outside, at least not on the side of the school where he'd taken her, which meant that they were completely alone. Together. Petra wasn't sure if she could continue to keep up a conversation after what he'd just said to her, but she learned quickly that she wouldn't have to.
Suddenly, Levi turned to face her, a certain look in his eyes that sent her heart racing. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, and truthfully she couldn't think clearly herself. She just stared back at him, breathing heavily as she bit her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit that she'd had for as long as she could remember, but apparently, Levi found that it made her more attractive than he'd originally mentioned because in the blink of an eye he'd dropped his thermos to the ground, moved forward, and pushed her up against the wall. This was part of a fantasy that she'd had before. She'd never imagined it going any further than heated kissing, but she wasn't sure how she would handle the real thing.
He was a little more rough with her than she'd imagined he would be, pushing her hard against the wall and pinning one of her hands beside her head with a crushing grip that she wouldn't have thought possible for him to have. She would probably have a bruise around her wrist, maybe even on her shoulder blades, but she didn't care. This was so deliciously sinful for her that she couldn't be bothered with concerns about the marks left behind. Without thinking, her free hand found his hair and wound itself into the strands, holding onto them tightly and earning a bit of a hiss from him in reply. She decided that meant that he enjoyed his affection a little rougher than most and held her grip firmly in place.
When he looked at her there was something in his eyes that she'd never experienced before. Lust? Want? She wasn't sure, but it was there and it was hungry and she was willing to feed it.
Their lips crashed together before she could think about what she was doing, and she briefly thought about what might happen if someone walked out of the school and found them, but she found it hard to care with Levi's hand on her hip, his lips crushed against hers, their bodies pressed together in the sweetest realization of a fantasy that Petra had ever experience.
Then, all too soon, they broke their heated kiss and stared at each other for far longer than Petra would have been comfortable with if she hadn't just been so close to him. In fact, they hadn't moved apart at all. Levi was still holding her, her hand was still wound tightly in his hair, their foreheads were pressed together and she could feel his quick breaths fanning out against her lips.
“You...kissed me,” She said dumbly and he chuckled a little in response as if he couldn't believe that was what she'd have to say after what they'd just done.
“Yeah,” He answered, closing his eyes for a moment, a small smile gracing his features and making her heart skip a beat. “I guess I did.”
“I liked it. Do it again,” She said, and that was all the prompting he needed to dive back in.
It was true, she would have bruises on her wrists, her shoulder blades, maybe even her neck if the attention Levi was giving it now didn't cease, but she didn't care about any of it because her fantasy didn't have to be a fantasy anymore. This wasn't what she imagined happening when she came to school today, but she found that she couldn't complain about it one bit.
This is a story that I started on AO3 a few months ago now, but I wanted to post the summary here to shamelessly self-promote a little. I have lots of writing on AO3, but this is my longest rivamika fic, and I’m so proud of what I’ve done with it.
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Levi/Mikasa
Characters: Levi Ackerman, Mikasa Ackerman, Erwin Smith, Hanji Zoe, Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Blouse, Original Characters
Tags: Angst, Mature Themes, Drug Use, Alcohol Use, Rape, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Suicide, Post-War, Sex Slavery, Psychological Torture, Physical Abuse, honestly the list goes on, this is a dark story
Summary: Levi is sent back to the underground city that he came from to try and stop a prostitution and drug smuggling ring. Getting to the bottom of it won't be easy, but it suddenly becomes more complicated still when he discovers that Mikasa has been there since the war ended. Now he's tasked with saving a broken girl from sex slavery, all while collapsing a trafficking ring.
Prompt: “His ego is so visible; I can almost watch it grow.”
Words: 591
Rating: Everyone
I really hope you like this! This prompt took me a bit of time to think about (so sorry for the late post, work is a bitch, ya know?)
Levi’s squad had gathered in the training area to practice drills that morning, and by noon everyone was exhausted enough to drop. The Captain wasn’t so cruel as to not allow them a five-minute break, but he didn’t indulge in one himself, zipping off to the training course to complete another round on his own. Perhaps to show them all how it was done, at least that was what everyone seemed to be thinking. Just as Levi landed on the other side of the course and looked back at his squad smugly, Oluo spoke up.
“His ego is so visible; I can almost watch it grow,” He said, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing out an annoyed sigh.
“You’d have an ego too if you were Humanity’s Strongest.” Eld chimed in, quirking an eyebrow upward as he looked toward Oluo.
“Just because he’s good at killing those monsters outside the walls, doesn’t mean he gets to walk around here like he’s some kind of king or something. I mean, look at the way he parades himself around here, acting like he’s all that. It’s really kind of sad if you think about it.”
“The only sad thing around here,” Petra chimed in, her hands on her hips as she readied herself to scold her squadmate. “Is how ridiculous you sound when you try to make the Captain seem so egotistical. And he doesn’t parade himself around anywhere. Since when did you think that Heichou likes anyone’s attention. That’s the last thing on his mind.”
“Well, he’s not quite as bad as Oluo said,” Gunther stepped in, looking toward the course that Levi had already started to run through again. “But you can’t deny that he does have a little bit of an ego. I mean, he kind of throws his weight around a little, you know? You’ve seen the way he treats some of the cadets, and what he did to that poor Jaeger kid at his tribunal was a little much, don’t you think?”
“You know that he did that for a reason!” Petra said quickly, defending her captain at all costs. “And he deserves to feel proud of what he’s accomplished! Heichou has done amazing things on the battlefield! Things that you definitely couldn’t do, Oluo.”
“Why are you attacking me again? Gunther is the one that said all that shit!” Oluo complained, a shocked look on his face.
“Because you’re the one that started this ridiculous conversation! No one would have said anything if you hadn’t opened your mouth! Maybe next time you should bite your tongue!” Petra all but shouted. Perhaps she’d raised her voice a little too loud, but she needed to make sure that the squad understood their Captain the way she did. She wanted to make sure that they all knew that he was doing these things for a reason.
“Hey, what the hell are you all doing? I said five minutes.” Levi’s voice rang out behind the group and they all stiffened and turned toward the sound.
“S-sorry, Heichou! We’re ready to go again!” Petra answered quickly, taking a few steps forward to stand in front of her Captain. “Right everyone?”
The looks on their faces told her that they could have used a bit more time, but they all nodded in agreement anyway. Truth be told, their Captain did have an ego, and one that he had earned the hard way, but as much as they all complained they knew that they wouldn’t have him any other way.
Are you still doing the writing prompt thing, only realised now I could send something to suggest. If it isn't too much of a bother, are you able to find time to write either 59 or 91 I can't decide so I guess it's your pick. Love your works by the way! Best writer I've ever come across!
Nonnie! thank you so much for this ask! I have to apologize for taking so long to produce something for it, though! I got a bit caught up playing Final Fantasy XV and working (and one of those was much more enjoyable than the other) but I’ve finally gotten your finished product! I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of combining both of your prompts so it turned out a bit long, but I hope that this is worth the wait! So, I won’t keep you waiting any longer! Happy reading!
Pairing: Rivetra
Rating: General
Setting: Modern AU (I guess you could also call it a coffee shop AU?)
Prompt: “Can I hold your hand?” and “I’m yours”
It hadn’t been something he’d really planned on doing when he went to his favorite cafe that morning, but somehow Levi had found himself standing awkwardly in front of the copper-haired barista with only one question in mind.
“Can I take you out sometime?” The words rushed out of his mouth before he had the chance to stop himself, but she was smiling behind the counter as she handed him his usual cup of oolong tea. “I would ask to take you out for coffee but seeing as you work here that might not be so appealing to you.”
“You’re asking me on a date?” She asked, an amused smile on her face.
“You could call it that, I suppose,” Levi answered feeling a bit ridiculous for even asking in the first place. He was about to start retracting his question when Petra spoke up again.
“Sure, I’ll go out with you, on one condition.”
“And that is?”
“I get asked on dates by men that come in here all the time, and I always tell them, no, but you seem different. You don’t seem like the kind of man that would take me on some meaningless date to try and impress me. You don’t really seem like the kind of man that would try to impress me at all. So, my one condition is that the date is just something that we would both enjoy. Nothing flashy, nothing too cliché, just something fun. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve got it under control,” He answered, trying not to let the smile that he felt coming on crack through his cool facade. He didn’t want her to think he was too excited that she’d said yes, even if his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.
“Good, I get off work today around four. If you’d like you can meet me here around then.”
Levi looked at his watch and realized that he still had about six hours to plan the perfect date before Petra got off work for the day. That should be plenty of time.
“Sure, I’ll see you then,” He said and, with a nod of his head and a smile from Petra, he walked away from the counter and out the door. It would be hard to focus on anything work related for the rest of the day, that much was clear to him, because all he could think about was the impending date that he had tonight with the girl that he’d been getting to know for the past week over tea orders.
He didn’t know much about her aside from her name and where she worked, despite the fact that he talked to her, at least a little, every morning when he went to get tea.
In truth, he’d only switched to that cafe because Petra was the barista there in the mornings. It matched up with his shift perfectly, and there was always just enough time before work for him to go in, order a cup of their, frankly, mediocre tea, and head to work just that much happier for having interacted with her. Still, it had taken him this long to ask her on a date, but he was glad he’d gone through with it.
So, that day at his boring office job in his boring cubicle with his ridiculous co-workers poking in to say good morning, he was just a little happier. It seemed that everyone in the office knew something about him was different, they just couldn’t put their fingers on it. On a normal day, Levi was a grump, there was no better way to put it. His good mood from his visits to Petra in the mornings usually wore off on the walk from the cafe to his office building, and from then on he was just downright rude to everyone. Today, though, his good mood overlapped with his work day and, while he wasn’t exactly pleasant to converse with even despite his brightened mood, people still noticed. Damn it, why did they have to notice?
“Say, Levi,” One of his particularly nosie co-workers, Hanji, poked her head over the wall of his cubicle and looked down at him with a smile. “Is there any particular reason why you might be in a better mood this morning than other times you come to work?”
“Mind your business, four-eyes,” Levi said in an annoyed tone as he tried to draft an email to send to the higher-ups. Tried being the operative word, because Hanji just would not let it go.
“Well, I would, but I’m afraid you might be sick or something. You’re never this…this…”
“What?” He looked up at her, his brow creased with frustration as she slid just the tiniest bit down on the divider, making only her eyes visible.
“Well, you seem…happier this morning. I mean, what happened, do you have a hot date tonight or something? People don’t just go from sour-puss to…mildly tolerable in the blink of an eye.”
“Mildly tolerable. You’re one to talk.” Levi rolled his eyes as he completely gave up his draft and turned his full attention to the brunette that was still taking up his valuable time.
“But something did happen, right?” Hanji steered the conversation back on track despite Levi’s best efforts to derail it.
“Like I said, mind your business,” Levi replied, but he could still tell that she was wearing a knowing smile, even despite the barrier between them.
Hanji didn’t pester him about his plans for the rest of the day, but somehow he thought she might know exactly what was going on. She had a way of doing that.
The workday went by excruciatingly slowly, and by the time three o'clock rolled around Levi was practically ready to bolt out the door and make his way home to change before he had to meet Petra. He remained composed, though, despite the screaming desire inside him for time to move faster. He walked to his apartment, changed into something comfortable, yet presentable, and started to make his way toward the cafe again.
This was the time he’d been waiting for all day, but somehow he was still really nervous about the whole thing. He couldn’t recall ever being this nervous about anything, but if he allowed himself to think about it for just a moment, he realized there was nothing to worry about. This was Petra, after all. He may not know much about her, but just from his encounters with her at the cafe, he knew that she was kind, and sweet, and could be fierce if the need arose. He shouldn’t be worried as long as he doesn’t upset her idea of the date that they were about to have, and he knew that she wouldn’t be upset with what he had planned.
When he arrived outside the small cafe, Petra was sitting in the sun at one of the small tables outside. She reminded him a little of a cat, basking in the sunlight, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a little sigh before she saw him. She smiled and got to her feet as he walked over.
“Sorry, am I late?” He asked, watching as she gathered the few things she had with her.
“Oh, no, I just got done a little early and decided to sit out here to wait. If you don’t mind, could we stop by my apartment on the way to…whatever we’re going to do? I just want to change into something else.” She asked, slinging a bag over her shoulder and stepping up to the curb where Levi was standing.
“Sure, lead the way,” He answered, and then they were walking down the street together. It was kind of surreal, seeing her outside of work. She was still wearing the uniform that he normally saw her in, and he wondered only for a moment what kind of fashion sense she had outside of her job. If he was honest, he didn’t really care what kind of clothes she wore, as long as she was still the sweet girl that he’d met at the cafe.
“I guess our date has officially started then?” Petra asked as she glanced over at him.
“If you want,” Levi answered. Petra smiled, even despite his answer, and walked a little closer to him than before.
“So, what made you start coming into the cafe, then? I don’t remember seeing you there before about a week ago.”
“The other cafe I went to was too far away from work to go there every morning, this one is much closer, easier to get to.” Plus you work there, so it was honestly just a given that I would switch.
“Hm, well that’s already a better answer than I’ve gotten in the past.” Petra giggled.
“I thought you said you always tell men that ask you on dates that you’re not interested.” Levi turned his head to look at her, confused by what she was saying.
“Well, I had to learn why I should always say no, didn’t I? Trust me, I made a few mistakes before I learned my lesson.”
“And what do all the others say?”
“They say things like ‘I saw you through the window and just had to come in’ or 'you’re the only reason I come to this cafe, the coffee isn’t even good’.”
“I see why you asked specifically for a date that isn’t cliché, then.” Levi shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked and he thought about how happy he was that he hadn’t added that last thought to his sentence when she’d asked.
“Well, some cliché things are good. That’s why they’re cliché. People like them, and keep going back to those same things because they make them feel good. I’m just tired of men trying to pick me up at work.”
“But I’m different somehow?”
“I think so,” Petra said, her smile making another appearance on her face as they turned the corner. “My apartment is this building here, would you like to come in while I get ready? It won’t take me long, but I don’t want you just loitering on the street.”
“Moving a bit fast, don’t you think?” Levi teased. “Usually I don’t get invited to a date’s apartment until after the actual date.”
“Don’t get any ideas. You might be attractive, but I’m not giving it up just yet.” She rolled her eyes as she teased him, unlocking the street level door so that they could both walk in. She didn’t wait for his answer, and he didn’t give one, but they both knew that he was going to end up following her up to her apartment.
The building wasn’t that bad, a bit too unclean for Levi’s liking, but he could get past dirty hallways as long as Petra wasn’t a slob. He was pleasantly surprised when she opened the door to her apartment and it was impeccably clean.
“You can have a seat on the couch or whatever, it’ll only take me a minute,” Petra said as she threw her things down on the counter in the kitchen and made her way to her bedroom. Levi couldn’t help his curiosity as she swung the door open, peeking inside to make sure that the room was just as clean as the rest of the apartment. He couldn’t tell much just from the brief second that the door was open, but it seemed like her cleanliness extended throughout her whole living space. That was a relief. If there was going to be another date after this, and he hoped already that there would be, they would have to be compatible this way or it wouldn’t work out too well.
He took a seat on the couch after that, as he was instructed, and was surprised when a little orange cat crawled out from under the couch and started rubbing against his legs. Levi looked over at the bedroom door to see that it wasn’t quite closed all the way and decided that speaking through the door while Petra changed might not be too strange.
“You didn’t tell me you had pets,” Levi said, his voice raised just slightly, as he stroked the cat’s head.
“Are you allergic to cats?” Petra’s voice called back, seemingly unfazed by his continuation of conversation while she was, presumably, half-clothed behind the door.
“No, I actually kind of like them. I’ve never had a pet, myself.” His voice was softer now as he scratched the little cat behind his ears, and he seemed to love the attention. “What’s his name?”
“Pumpkin,” She replied, and the cat’s ears perked up at the mention of his name. “I’ve had him ever since he was about two weeks old. I think his mother abandoned him in the alley behind this building, and I couldn’t just let the poor thing starve, so here we are.”
Levi turned his attention back to the cat, who had now warmed up to him so much that he was sitting in his lap, and stroked the orange tabby’s fur as he waited for Petra to emerge from her bedroom once more. By the time she actually did come back out, Pumpkin had fallen asleep in Levi’s lap and he wasn’t sure he had the heart to move the little creature. Petra looked on the scene with a slightly surprised expression on her face as she walked over.
“Wow, you’re a miracle worker. He never warms up to people this fast,” She said, an amused smile on her face as she sat down on the couch beside Levi, perhaps a little closer than he would have expected. “I don’t suppose you’re prepared to move him so that we can go?”
“If you want to leave, we can leave,” Levi answered, although his answer was the slightest bit untruthful. He really wouldn’t mind staying here for as long as Pumpkin wanted to nap on his lap, but he thought that might be a bit of a disappointing date for Petra.
“Don’t you know that the first rule of cat ownership is never to move them when they’ve chosen to sleep on you?” Petra giggled and stroked the cat’s head as he lay there. “Do you want a drink or something? I don’t mind hanging out here until he decides he’s had enough of a nap.”
“And you’re completely fine with this? It doesn’t ruin the date?” Levi asked, watching Petra closely as she answered.
“Please, I said I wanted a date that both of us would enjoy, remember? Nothing special, just two people getting to know each other. This seems like a perfect way to get to know you better.” She pushed herself off of the couch and made her way toward the kitchen. “Plus, if Pumpkin likes you, you can’t be a bad person. I think he has some kind of weird superpower for picking out douche bags.”
“Glad I don’t fall into that category.”
“We’ve still got the rest of the night to be sure.” Petra rummaged around in the cabinets while she spoke, taking out two wine glasses and setting them on the counter. “Do you have a preference on what kind of drinks we have? I don’t really know if you like wine, but I have this Cabernet that I was waiting to open for a special occasion.”
“This is a special occasion?” Levi asked, quirking an eyebrow as he spoke.
“Well,” Petra stammered a bit, blushing as she averted her eyes to the counter where the bottle she’d mention before was sitting. “I don’t have company very often, and I don’t accept dates from strangers at work very often either, so you could say this is somewhat of a special occasion in my book.”
“As long as you don’t see it as a waste. I wouldn’t want you to open your special wine for some normal, not special occasion.”
“Are you just making fun of me now? Because I can still kick you out of here, you know.” Petra’s voice was somewhat serious, but the look on her face told Levi that she was joking. He was glad for that because he really was enjoying his time spent with her, despite the fact that all they’d really done is bond over their apparent love for cats.
Petra opened the wine effortlessly and poured some into each of the glasses she’d set out before carrying them over to the couch, handing Levi his glass before she sat down next to him again. He found it odd, how comfortable this felt. He didn’t think for a moment that it was an awkward situation, although he thought it probably should feel that way. With Petra, everything felt natural, and he liked it.
“So, this is a good way to get to know each other, I guess. Umm,” Petra paused for a moment, swirling her wine in her glass before taking a sip. “What do you like to do for fun?”
“Fun?” He asked as if the concept was foreign to him.
“Yes, fun, you know, things that you enjoy.”
“I like stargazing and drawing,” He answered, although perhaps not in as much detail as Petra would have liked because another question flew from her mouth.
“What do you like to draw?”
“Anything, really, but people are my favorite subjects.”
“Oh, is this the part where I say 'draw me like one of your French girls’ and you whisk me off to some secret studio for an intimate night of sketches?” Petra teased and Levi snorted at the thought of it.
“If that’s something you’re interested in, although I did remember you saying that we shouldn’t do anything cliché for our first date.”
“That is true, that would be the ultimate in cliché, wouldn’t it?” Petra took another sip of her wine as she looked away for a moment as if she were contemplating her next question. “You said you like to stargaze. Have you ever tried drawing the night sky?”
“Once, but it didn’t turn out that well. It’s hard to capture the vastness of something like that. It’s too deep to put into one painting, too expansive.” Levi answered the way he would have answered anyone, but somehow he felt more embarrassed about that answer than he would have with anyone else. Although, he did suppose that the point of all these questions was to get to the root of his personality, and that had struck a chord.
“I’m sure you could do it,” Petra answered, but she apparently didn’t have anything else to say on the subject.
“What about you? What do you do for fun?” Levi asked, trying to fill the empty void that was the lull in their conversation.
“Oh, I’m boring, you wouldn’t think that my hobbies are that interesting,” Petra answered with a laugh, but Levi knew she was wrong about that. Everything about this woman was interesting to him, and he wanted to know it all.
“Try me,” He said, and the look on her face was one of shock before she went on with her answer.
“Well, it’s just a hobby, and I’m not very good, but I like to write poetry. Sometimes it’s good for me to get my feelings out on paper, that way they don’t bother me as much. I let them get to me a little too much sometimes, you know?” She giggled but there wasn’t really any humor in it. In fact, it kind of seemed like she wasn’t even in the moment anymore. Like she was thinking of some far off memory.
“Can I read some of it?” Levi asked, and that brought Petra back to the present.
“You wouldn’t want to read any of my poetry. It’s nothing special,” She answered quickly, her expression animated and nervous. Levi took a sip of his wine, contemplating whether he should push this subject further, and decided against it. After all, he planned on having many more dates with this fascinating woman. He would have plenty of time to break through her shell and convince her to let him read her poetry. And if she never did let him, that would be fine too. Just knowing that she wrote it added another layer to her already fascinating personality.
Once they finished their wine, Pumpkin decided that it was finally time for his nap to be over and stretched before hopping off of Levi’s lap and making his way toward his food bowl. Petra filled it quickly and then they headed out of the apartment.
“Okay, what do you have planned for me tonight, Levi?” Petra asked, smiling up at him as their feet hit the sidewalk outside of the building.
“It’s kind of a surprise,” He answered. He might not like surprises himself, but somehow he thought that Petra might enjoy them.
“I don’t usually make a habit of letting strange men surprise me, but I suppose I can make an exception for you.”
“You did already let me into your apartment. If I had any kind of malicious intent, it would be too late.” Levi wondered for a minute if his dry sense of humor was lost on her, but she smiled and rolled her eyes as they walked.
“Um, Levi, I hope this isn’t weird but…can I hold your hand?” Petra asked suddenly, a drastic change in subject matter from what they were just talking about.
“Seems kind of cliché…” He answered with a grin, but she just elbowed him and grabbed his hand anyway.
“This is still supposed to be a date, you know!” She answered, lacing her fingers through his. For a moment, time seemed to slow down. When he felt her fingers intertwining with his he felt like something must be going right on this ridiculous outing.
“And, hopefully, one you’re enjoying.”
“I’ll wait a bit longer to decide on that, thank you,” She said, but her smile told him that she really was having a good time. “It’ll be dark soon. Where are you going to take me?”
“It’s just a little further,” Levi answered, sweeping his thumb over hers gently. A small gesture, but one that Petra seemed to understand the meaning of.
They walked for a few more moments before they reached the entrance to a nearby park. It wasn’t anything special, just a small open area, away from the city lights, where people could relax on benches, but it seemed like as good a place as any for what Levi had in mind. There was a vendor near the entrance selling slushies, and Petra seemed interested enough in them for the two to stop and buy themselves one. Levi offered to pay, but Petra refused, citing that the thought of him paying for her was too cliché for her liking and that she could take care of herself, thank you very much. He didn’t argue, but he did chuckle a little as she handed over her money and ordered a red slushy. He ordered the same and soon they were on their way again, although not joined at the hand anymore.
At this point, the darkness of the night had taken over the small park, with only a few streetlights still lending their light to the entrance, and Levi and Petra had taken seats on the ground in a small clearing. Usually, this spot would be filled with people playing some kind of sport, playing with their dogs, but tonight it was empty, save for Levi and Petra, and that was exactly what he’d wanted.
“So, you brought me here to sit in the dark and have slushies with you? I guess that’s original enough,” Petra said, sipping the remainder of her thawing beverage.
“The slushies were a bonus, I brought you here so we could see the stars. It’s the only place in the city where you can really see them. The lights are too bright everywhere else,” Levi set his slushy off to the side and laid back in the grass, a move that would normally make him cringe a bit, but being with Petra made it at least a little better. He could deal with his soiled clothes when he got back home later.
“The stars?” Petra asked, turning her gaze upward and gasping a bit at the beauty of the cosmos that she seemingly had never noticed before. “That’s…”
“Not nearly as original as you were hoping?” Levi asked, sliding his gaze toward the dumbfounded woman sitting beside him.
“Something that I never even thought about. It’s beautiful,” She answered, and put her cup down in the grass before laying down beside him and taking his hand once again.
“Well, I thought that someone like you deserved to do something meaningful on a first date. I wanted to show you just how amazing I truly think you are, Petra. There’s nothing else I can compare you to besides the beauty of the stars, and even that doesn’t fit well enough.”
“Okay, okay,” Petra laughed, but she squeezed his hand a bit harder as she spoke. “I get it, don’t get too cheesy on me.”
“Guess that was a bit too textbook of a thing to say for a first date. I don’t really do this often.”
“It was sweet.” Petra’s voice was quieter now, but there was still a warmth to it that Levi couldn’t mistake for anything else. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s been really nice to have an enjoyable date, for a change.”
“Better than any of the other dates you’ve gone on with customers from the cafe?” Levi asked, turning his head to look over at her, to his surprise, she was already looking back at him.
“Much better. I think most of the guys that come into the cafe looking to take me out are on some kind of weird mission. Pick up the sweet little barista and take her on some extravagant date because that has to be impressive for someone like her. Of course, there were no shortage of…unwanted advances. No shortage of asking me to come back to their homes with them after the date. I never went with any of them, they didn’t seem like people I would enjoy the company of after the date, and somehow I always ended up being the bad guy for refusing their offers.”
“Yeah, well, those guys are assholes. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Levi noticed that his voice was a bit quieter now, although the thought of the other men that had taken Petra on dates treating her like garbage lit a fire of rage deep in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t quite understand.
“Thanks,” Petra answered, her eyes drifting from his own to his lips, it was subtle, but it was enough for him to catch.
“What do you want to do right now?” He asked, feeling a bit bolder at the thought of her answer.
“I kind of want to kiss you,” She answered, inching just a bit closer to him as she spoke.
“I kind of want to kiss you, too,” He said, propping himself up on one elbow, hovering over her as she lay partly beneath him in the grass. The free hand that wasn’t holding onto hers for dear life found her face, gently cupping her cheek as he leaned just a bit further down. They watched each other for what felt like an eternity, lying there in the middle of the field, staring into each other’s eyes like it was the only thing in the world that mattered, and just before Levi lost his nerve, he closed the distance between them and their lips met in a sweet, soft kiss. He could still taste the remnants of the red slushy on her lips and tasted it more fully on her tongue only a moment later. It seemed the both of them decided to break the kiss before they were called out in public and pulled away just enough to rest their foreheads against each other.
Petra took a deep breath and smiled before she broke out into a fit of laughter. Levi wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing, but he couldn’t help but smile a little in return. Every little part of this woman and her personality was absolutely beautiful and, even if he was about to be rejected and never speak to her again, he couldn’t help but enjoy the sound of her laugh.
“I have to say, none of the other guys that proposition me at the cafe have even gotten this far. You’re a real charmer, Levi,” She said, giggles still bubbling up between her words. She kissed him gently once more before she pulled away further. “It’s getting a little cold, do you wanna head back to my place? I’m sure Pumpkin is missing you.”
“Hm, an invitation back to your apartment after the first date? Does that mean this wasn’t a major disappointment?” Levi asked jovially as they stood and brushed off their clothes.
“Not a major one, no,” Petra said with a wry smile. “Are you coming with me or what?”
Levi stood watching Petra for a moment, wondering how in the world this ridiculous excuse for a date had impressed her this much and decided then and there that it didn’t matter. He was just happy that she’d had a good time, and no matter what the remainder of the night held for the two of them, he knew they would both enjoy it just as much as they had sipping their slushies in the park under the light of the stars. Petra held out her hand to him, and he took it without a second thought.
“Sure,” He answered, lacing their fingers together and walking out of the park beside her. “So does this mean you’d be up for a second date?”
“A second, a third, a fourth, pretty much as many as you want. I’m yours, Levi, I’m hoping you’re willing to be mine as well.”
“Absolutely,” Levi answered, leaning over to kiss Petra on the forehead before they continued their walk back to her apartment. Levi wasn’t exactly sure how he’d managed any of this, but he wasn’t about to question it now.
