Lost

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: Levi attempts to woo Petra and nothing goes according to plan.

Levi locked his bedroom door, shut the curtains, and even checked under the bed and the closet.

He was alone. Good.

Opening up a private tab, his fingers hovered over the keyboard for a brief moment. He took a breath and punched the keys in rapid succession, messing up and retyping the question: how to woo a woman.

He spent the next hour reading various articles from teen magazines to studies performed by reputed sources providing the best methods to a successful courtship. Jotting down five of the ways he liked best ranging from simple and sweet to deep and caring, Levi stood, feeling confident about meeting Petra later that evening to hang out and watch a movie.

1. Flowers

"It's open!"

A bouquet of roses in hand, he entered her apartment, lured to the kitchen by an exotic aroma. Petra was cooking instead of getting take out. Levi was thrilled. He loved her cooking. The evening was going to be better than he'd hoped. "I have a gift."

"Gift?" Petra turned, smiling. "Flowers?" She raised an eyebrow. "Someone got you flowers?"

"What? No."

"You're not planning on giving them to a girl, are you?"

"Maybe." He shrugged, trying to be cool. "Why? Does it make you jealous?" Levi teased.

"Hardly," she snorted. "Flowers are so frivolous."

"You...don't like flowers?" Levi fought to keep the disappointment off his face.

"All they do is sit there and wilt away. I really hope no guy gets me flowers just because I'm a girl and apparently I love all things pretty." She rolled her eyes. "And roses." Petra eyed the bouquet with disdain. "I mean really, could you be more cliche?"

"Flowers smell nice," Levi protested weakly.

"Yeah, some do. But roses?" She wrinkled her cute little nose,. "They nauseate me." Slipping on some oven mitts, she pulled out a tray. "If you wanna get me a gift, get me something practical and of actual use. You know, like an army knife phone case. That'd be cool!"

"You wouldn't ever want your boyfriend to get you flowers?" He wanted to know now, salvage something from this, for future reference.

"Not when I'm upset I don't. Flowers don't fix jack. In fact, they create more things for me to do like find a vase and change the water and what not. Like I don't have enough on my plate already with classes, my job, and social life." Petra waved a gloved hand over the cooling tray. "But I wouldn't mind it if the guy say, made an origami flower bouquet—and it wouldn't even matter if it was sorry looking. It shows effort, has a larger life span, and doesn't require me to take care of it."

Levi made a mental note to look up videos on making origami flower bouquets. If that didn't pan out, he could always just buy one and make it look a little messy and claim it as his own creation. "It's probably cheaper, too."

"It's not that I don't ever want real ones," she said. "It would be such a sweet gesture if my boyfriend got me a bouquet on a random day for no reason. That would be really nice. Long as it's not roses." Petra reached into the drawer and pulled out some plates. "Now, why don't you go put the movie on and I'll get our food."

Levi nodded.

"And put the bouquet in a corner somewhere, I don't want the smell stinking up the rest of my apartment."

2. Chocolate

It smelled heavenly.

Levi was sure he could not go wrong. Unlike last time, he knew for a fact that Petra had a sweet tooth. The thick, multi-layered rectangular dessert was a popular one at the local bakery, a place his ginger-haired friend frequented.

"Wow." Petra stared with stars in her eyes.

A smug smile made its way over Levi's face. He handed her a fork. "I wanted to get you something as a thank you for coming over the other day and helping me study for my test. Let's dig in."

He waited for her to take the first bite, watching with relish as a blissful look crossed her face. Levi took a spoonful and swallowed happily. There was something about the taste that raised red flags. He was too absorbed in her pleased smile to notice. Until the smile fell and her eyes bulged. Wha—?

The fork fell with a clang and Petra gasped. Her breathing hitched and she grabbed her throat. It took Levi's brain a second to register the taste in his mouth and make the connection to the woman gasping like a fish out of water next to him.

Peanut butter.

Levi dove for her purse, searching frantically for the white cylindrical object. He emptied the purse out on the countertop, exhaling in relief when he saw the epinephrine pen. He quickly thrust it in Petra's thigh.

Spying the dessert through the window, he'd immediately gone in and made the purchase, forgetting, in his haste, to make sure it was free of peanuts, something Petra was deathly allergic to.

3. Catch Her When She Falls

Levi triple checked the food to make sure there weren't any peanuts in it—or nuts of any kind for that matter. He wasn't taking any chances this time. The incident from the previous week was still horrifyingly fresh in his mind. His stupidity could have killed her.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the park and met Petra near the fountain. No matter that she'd forgiven him for his mistake the first time he said sorry, he'd apologized numerously anyways and still felt like saying it just once more, the feeling of guilt persisting.

"My friends said they'll meet us at the picnic area," Petra explained. "They ended up coming here early, overestimating the traffic."

Levi didn't care. He was happy he could walk the trail with Petra alone, enjoying the peace and the scenery and the earthy scent of nature. They were climbing up a steep hill with a curving narrow path, surrounded by thick foliage, when Levi asked, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Of course, this is a shortcut."

Levi stopped, looking around. "I'm pretty sure we should have reached the picnic area by now."

"I know where I'm going, Levi."

"I'm not so sure." He unlocked his phone.

"There'll be a funny v-shaped tree up ahead." She started toward him. "It's right after a thick patch of raspberries and—" Her foot slipped and she pitched forward, crying out.

Opening his arms, Levi attempted to catch her. He couldn't miss, she was right in front of him, and would land in his waiting arms. It was an easy catch. Before he had a chance to celebrate, her head collided with his. "Um, Petra?"

Her head was hanging back, eyes closed, body limp.

At first he thought she was acting. Then he realized she was truly unconscious. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me." He shook her. "Hey, wake up."

Nope, she was out cold.

He'd always been told he was very hard-headed. Levi never knew just how much, though. Wait a minute, this isn't so bad. Surely when Petra woke up, she would be impressed he had carried her all the way to her friends.

Too bad he didn't consider how a smirking man carrying an unconscious woman through a quiet trail would be perceived.

"I'm telling you, you made a mistake!" Levi said heatedly, sitting in the head ranger's office.

"Really?" The elderly ranger stared down at him, leaning back on his desk, arms crossed. "Cuz I've got some folks who'd say otherwise."

"I'm not some pervert!"

"Uh-huh, that's what they all say."

"I'm not!" Levi yelled, red-faced. "I was carrying her because she fainted. What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?"

The door opened and a woman escorted Petra in. "She's awake," the younger ranger said. "And she collaborated his story."

"See?" Levi shot up from the chair. "I told you. I was just being a good friend." He stared expectantly.

Instead of an apology, the old man sniffed, "Well next time, try not to be such a creeper about it."

Petra peeked at him though the corner of her eyes as they walked, but he pretended not to notice. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. All because I slipped!" She'd already texted her friends and made an excuse explaining their absence. She watched Levi carefully, clearly embarrassed herself and embarrassed for him. They were almost at the parking lot.

"It's fine." He kept his gaze straight. "I have something to take care of," he blurted and sped up.

"Wait—"

"I'll see you later."

"Levi!"

He pretended not to hear and practically raced to his car. He just wanted to go home, get mad drunk, and erase the memory from his mind.

Levi was halfway home when he realized he was Petra's ride back.

"Fuck!"

4. Introduce Her to the People Close to You

It took a week for the awkwardness to smooth out and for them to fall back into their old routine.

Despite his bruised pride and lingering embarrassment, Levi decided to give it one more shot. Three failed attempts yet his heart still ached for her. He was reminded of that every time she looked at him, making him long to hold her and kiss her and just touch her. For a man who disliked physical contact, the yearning to show his affection for her was too much. Which led to the current situation he found himself. He was finally going to introduce her to his friends.

The past few months were good and he'd kept her to himself, unwilling to share. But if he wanted a shot at a relationship with Petra, he was going to have to let her in.

Hence the meet at the nice little bar his friends always visited every other weekend, constantly trying to drag him with them and receiving rejection almost every time. Tonight they would finally learn who'd been claiming him for the last few months.

Levi had made it clear—to Hange especially—that Petra was just a friend. He didn't need them making jokes about the duo's non-existent love life, making her think he'd given them the wrong idea and scaring her off.

After the initial introductions were made, Hange began, "So Petra, tell me, how does a sweet, fun girl like you befriend a grouch like Levi?"

The aforementioned grouch kept his mouth shut, unwilling to antagonize the crazy woman lest she say something she shouldn't. Eventually, he loosened up. It was going well, his friends liked her and she seemed to like them, too. "Next round's on me," he said, celebrating a successful move finally.

Really, he should have known better than to think it would last.

Hange was crazy and talkative when sober. Her tongue loosened considerably when intoxicated.

"Hey," she said loudly, "you wanna see a picture of Levi dressed up like a hot dog?!" Levi nearly choked on his drink. "Check it out." She shoved her phone under Petra's nose before he could react. The redhead burst into laughter at the most sour-faced hot dog in the world.

"There's a video too," Nanaba added.

"No!" Levi attempted to snatch the phone. Too slow. "You said you deleted it!" He yelled at them, outraged and embarrassed.

Erwin threw an arm around his shoulders and held him in place. "Oh, relax, she'll think it's hilarious."

Petra swiped the phone and played it eagerly. On the screen, Levi obviously had no idea he was being surveilled. Hange's muffled snickers were heard as Levi did a goofy little dance to attract customers. "Oh my god," she giggled, hands pressed to her mouth.

Levi could feel his chances with her dwindling. "My part is coming up," Mike said gleefully.

In the video, Mike snuck up next to Levi, wrapped an arm around him, and took a selfie. Petra laughed so hard she felt her eyes wet with tears as Hot Dog Levi chased Mike up and down the street, screaming profanities. Part of his plan worked out. His friends and crush were having the time of their lives...at his expense, telling embarrassing secrets about him.

"There's was also this one time he got so drunk he pissed himself!"

Levi just wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

5. Prove That You Care About the People Important to Her

The phone buzzed once more.

He ignored it like he had for the past three days.

It rang this time.

Ignored still.

Moping in bed for another hour, Levi finally dragged himself to the bathroom. His phone buzzed again when he was eating. It was Petra again. Maybe it's something important. Reluctantly, he picked up the device and opened the messages. There were several texts asking if he was free and wanted to hang out and when no reply came, she asked about his health. He was finally forced to reply when it seemed she got the idea he was in bad shape and was worrying sick about him. Levi agreed to meet her at a cafe.

"Are you okay?" Petra grabbed his hands, eyeing him up and down.

"Food poisoning," he lied. "I'm better now." While Levi was convinced his chances of getting with Petra were next to none, he still missed her dearly as a friend. Food poisoning was the lie he was going with to excuse his sorry behavior over the past few days.

"What? You shouldn't eat out then." She led him out. "I don't want you getting sick again. Did you bring your car?"

"No, I walked. Wanted to get some fresh air."

Petra nodded. "We'll take my car, then." She took him back to her apartment and cooked for him. An hour later, Levi was feeling a lot better than he had in days. Petra had insisted she would bring him homemade dinner every night and he only resisted half-heartedly. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and eating.

I missed this so much. Levi smiled softly, watching Petra tell a funny story, unable to stop giggling and finish telling him what happened.

As promised, she did come over every night following that day, and every night they'd eat together and fall asleep on the sofa while talking and watching TV.

Levi was starting to get hopeful once more. He'd just finished purchasing a movie they planned to watch when Petra called. Levi sighed, he should have known it wouldn't last. "Hello? Levi? Are you still there?"

"Yeah," he replied sulkily.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh..."

"Thought so, I asked if you wanted to come over instead."

"Sure," he answered immediately. Without a second thought, he grabbed his keys and drove to her apartment.

"Sorry again," Petra said, letting him in. "Mr. and Mrs. Yeager had an emergency and asked me to watch Eren for the night."

"It's fine," Levi said. As long as Eren minded his business and kept his eyes glued to the TV, he didn't really care.

"I've got dinner, why don't you go hang out with him?"

Levi wanted to protest. He was a twenty-two year old man and Eren was a ten-year old brat. Then the last piece of advice from the list he made came back to him. Things were going well for them, it was a good sign. Her only family, her father, didn't live close and her friends weren't here. He might as well try to get along with the kid. Petra adored little Yeager and talked about him constantly. She probably finds men who're good with kids attractive.

"So, kid—Eren," he amended quickly, "what're you doing?"

"Playing a video game, duh."

Levi resisted the urge to snap back. "Is it, uh, fun?" Well, of course it was, he cursed himself, why would he be playing it if it wasn't? "I mean—"

"Are you Petra's boyfriend?" Eren's eyes were still glued to the TV.

"Boyfriend? No," Levi replied casually, trying not to sound too gleeful. He was a grown man, not a sixteen-year old high school girl who got all giggly because some kid assumed he was dating his crush.

Eren paused the game and held up another remote control. "You wanna play?"

"Yeah." He sat on the sofa and Eren started a new game. Levi planned to hold back, he didn't want to upset the kid by beating him too bad, but that turned out to be unnecessary.

"I win!" Eren cheered, grinning widely.

Petra poked her head in the living room. "Sounds like you two are having fun."

"Uh-huh," Eren said, nodding enthusiastically.

Levi didn't feel too bad about the defeat. Petra was obviously pleased they were getting along and that was worth the embarrassment of losing to a kid.

"Dinner will be ready soon," she told them.

"Let's go again!"

"Alright, this time I'm not holding back," Levi said.

Ten minutes later, Petra called them to the dinning room. "Are you having fun, Eren?"

"Yeah! Your friend really sucks!"

"You're just too good for him." She patted his head. "Levi, can you help me get the food? Thanks for letting him win, he gets moody when he doesn't," Petra said when they were out of earshot.

Levi only nodded, unable to correct her. He'd rather she not know he got thrashed by a ten-year-old.

After dinner, with many compliments to the embarrassed chef, Eren was sent to finish his homework and Levi helped clean the dishes. "You got something in your hair," he said, drying his hands and putting the towel back.

"I do?"

"I'll get it." He reached up just as her hand shot up. Her hand...it's so warm and soft. She bit her lip and retracted her arm, too shy to meet his gaze. It was happening. There was an intangible pull. And Levi leaned his head in just as she tilted her head to meet his lips halfway.

"Petra."

They quickly moved apart. She cleared her throat. "Yes, Eren?"

"Can you help me with my math homework?" Eren asked, holding his notebook and pencil.

"Of course," she said, looking relieved he hadn't seen anything and followed him.

I was so close. Levi gripped his hair and groaned. Another second and their lips would have connected. I can't give up now! He'd been so close to victory he could almost taste it. Joining the two in the living room, Levi pulled out his phone to pass time. Only when Petra got up to use the bathroom did Eren finally speak to him.

"You said you weren't her boyfriend!" The boy said accusingly.

"What?" Levi frowned. "I'm not."

"Then why were you standing so close to her and touching her hair?"

"It's none of your business, brat."

"Listen up you constipated, half-bald broomstick! Petra is mine! You stay away from her!" Eren demanded.

There was something he didn't see coming. "Don't tell me you have some silly, little kid crush on her," Levi snorted. "You've got no chance."

"Maybe," he said smugly, "but she won't be your girlfriend, too."

"Either," Levi corrected. "And what're you going to do? Cry about it?"

"Yup, I'll tell Petra you hit me."

"She won't believe you," he said, scowling. What a nasty brat.

"She thinks I like you. So you better leave now or I'll say you're being mean because I interrupted you when you said you were trying to get off with her in the kitchen." Eren crossed his arms, smirking.

Levi's mouth fell open. "Why you little—"

Petra emerged from the bathroom. "Did you get it, Eren?"

"Yeah, I took care of that problem." He stared innocently at her. "Your friend said he has to go." He shrugged. "Too bad, because I wanted to play more videos games with him and beat him."

"Well, I'm sure he's got something important to take care of. Maybe he can come over again when you're here, right Levi?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, fighting the urge to glare at the evil shit grinning triumphantly behind Petra.

Petra walked him to the door. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I did," Levi said. Up until five minutes ago. Petra was saying something but he was too distracted by the sight of his new ten-year-old nemesis sticking his tongue out at him. Fuck this! He grabbed Petra by the waist, effectively cutting her off, and planted a kiss on her lips. She immediately blushed and stared at his chest. He shot a crestfallen Eren a smug look and opened the door. "See you later, Petra."

Levi was feeling quite accomplished when he got home. He never thought his first kiss with Petra would be to make a ten-year-old jealous. Her lips were very soft and he planned on kissing them again very soon. His phone buzzed.

And his new found confidence shattered with a single text: Did you kiss me because you knew Eren had a crush on me? He's crying.

I'm pathetic. Sitting at home on a Friday evening with nothing to do while his friends were out celebrating life. Petra was probably out, too, meeting a decent guy who wasn't a screw-up and would kiss her because of love or just for the sake of kissing her instead of getting get petty revenge on a kid.

I've lost and fate has won. He had accepted defeat. They were not meant to be, it seemed. Otherwise, every time he tried to impress her his attempts wouldn't have ended in complete failure. I should've accepted it after my last failure. At least then they could have stayed friends. He scoffed at that naive thought. And watched her become someone else's? Impossible.

Levi was broken out of his thoughts when someone stood next to the sofa, blocking the light. "Brooding, are we?"

"Petra?" He sat up, heart racing. "How did you get in?"

"Your door was open, you should be more careful." She put her purse down and sat with him. "You weren't returning my texts or calls."

Levi's shoulders slumped. "So you came here to yell at me in person."

"Why would you think that?"

"Your text last night, about me kissing you to make Eren cry," he cringed as he said it.

"So you haven't even checked any messages I sent you?"

"Why would that matter?"

Petra sighed. "Oh, Levi..."

He swallowed. Does she have any idea what she does to me when she says that? Much to his surprise, she smiled.

"Eren is rude to all of my male friends when he first meets them. He gets over it quickly, though. Mostly they tease him, you took it a little further. But I wish that wasn't the reason you'd kissed me."

"I know, I'm sorry, I—wait, what did you say?" He had to have misheard her. He had to. Levi had wised up after all the failed attempts to woo her. He wasn't going to take any chances of confessing to her now and end up looking like a fool because he'd misinterpreted her words. "You're going to have to clarify."

Petra gave him a look that said it all. "I wish you'd kiss me for a reason other than to rub it in some kid's face."

"What other reason are we talking here?" Levi asked suspiciously. "I want to make sure—mmh." He froze at the sudden feel of her lips against his. Eagerly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Kissing her was like what he'd always imagined. She was soft and warm and smelled so good and clean and he could stay like that forever. If his body didn't need oxygen, that is. "Wow," he said dazedly when they finally pulled apart.

"Yeah, wow." Petra's smile lit her entire face. "I've been waiting for you to do that for a long time, but a girl can only wait for so long."

"I've wanted to do that for a long time, too, I've been trying." Levi stoked her lips. "Gods, I've been trying for weeks."

"I know." She settled in his lap, giggling.

"You know?"

"Yes, the bouquet of roses, I saw the card and it had my name on it."

"Why didn't you say anything?" If she'd reciprocated his feelings from the beginning, it would have saved him a lot of time and humiliation.

"I didn't realize they were for me until I was already complaining about how cliche they were! And I wasn't totally sure it was meant to be a romantic gesture," she said.

He gave her an are you serious? look. What else could a bouquet of red roses from a guy mean?

"It's why I went out of my way to explain where I stand when it comes to receiving flowers. And why I told you so much about that bakery so you'd, you know, know for sure I liked their desserts."

"Until you started asphyxiating," he grumbled.

"Relax." Petra squeezed his shoulder. "It was a mistake we both made. You forgot to ask the baker and I forgot to ask you. It's more on me, I'm the one who's allergic. I should have made sure."

"I'm pretty sure you don't know about attempt number three, and then I ended up accused of being a pervert. I was supposed to catch you when you fell," he told her.

"You did. And in the process you knocked me out cold." She chuckled. He looked away, unwilling to let her see him blush. Petra kissed his temple, scratching his undercut lightly, making him shiver in delight. "We weren't lost, you know, I was purposefully taking us through that trail, because..." She blushed and diverted her eyes shyly.

"You wanted to take advantage of me?" Levi supplied with a smirk. "Because you should have just asked."

"No." She slapped his chest playfully. "I wanted to be alone with you."

"You got your wish now. We're alone, what do you want to do?" He pulled her close, kissing her neck softly.

"About number four was..."

Levi jerked his head back.

"I thought you'd be happy."

"Why?" His tone conveyed incredulousness. "That was humiliating! They told you all my embarrassing secrets and you laughed," he said accusingly.

"I laughed because it was funny! And knowing that I know your most embarrassing secrets should make you relieved because I still want to be with you," Petra wisely pointed out.

Huh. Never thought of it that way. Now he wouldn't have to worry about his friends holding that over his head, making fun of him and threatening to tell his girlfriend and embarrass him. "You're right, I'm glad you know now. So, are you going to share any of your secrets with me?" Levi asked, grinning.

Petra looked ready to argue. Then she smiled cutely. "Yes." She leaned in so close her breath tickled his ear. "I'll share some secrets with you tonight. All night long."

Levi could feel his blood flowing all in one direction. He pulled her in for a kiss, hands groping her curves, making her moan excitedly in his mouth. Her own small hands were under his shirt, feeling up his abs. She grinned, looking very turned, and grinded her hips against his. He groaned, sneaking his hand up her shirt and under her bra.

The heated, heavy make-out session was going well and she nimbly unbuttoned his jeans, stroking his erection through his boxers. He froze. "Wait."

Petra pulled back, biting her lip. "Do you want to stop?"

"No—I—it's, I didn't think you'd—I didn't buy condoms." Levi was almost ready to cry and Petra laughed.

"That's it?"

"How're we supposed to do it without protection?"

She grinned flirtatiously and kissed his jaw. "There are other things we can try that don't require us to use a condom." She whispered suggestions in his ears of the things they could do and he felt his erection pulse in reaction.

I never thought she'd be so kinky. Levi was even more aroused now.

"What do you say?" Petra giggled at his wide-eyed, dazed expression and pulled him toward his bedroom. "Let's go experiment..."

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