Chapter 1: Mistake

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: A one-night stand leads to unexpected consequences.

Because of how awful the original version was (spelling/grammar errors, butchered characters, directionless plot, filler chapters) I decided to rewrite the entire thing. Going through each chapter and fixing everything just wasn't cutting it. Too much bad writing.

Men and women dressed in their best outfits pranced around him like peacocks, flutes of champagne in hand. Levi sighed. He downed the wine—he normally preferred tea but wanted to know what fancy wine tasted like and in his honest opinion, there really wasn't much of a difference between the regular and the expensive stuff—and placed the glass on the floor. Hiding out in the dark corner did the trick. No one noticed him. Unfortunately, there was nothing remotely interesting about the party and he was getting bored observing the other guests flouncing around gushing about each other's clothes and trading irrelevant stories and gossip.

The party was hosted by a young nobleman who just became the head of his family and received a promotion in the Military Police. It was held at his mansion to let all three branches of the military integrate and some other crap he hadn't bothered to listen to. Based on the young man's shameless flirting with every attractive woman he laid his eyes on, Levi had a feeling their host was just looking for an excuse to party and meet with women from other branches that he otherwise would not have the chance to meet.

Growing tired of his game of chameleon, Levi glanced around, trying to find someone whom he could kill time with, at least for a few minutes. He had been forced to come along because the higher-ranking members were to attend to set a good example and show everyone they got along. The people he had come with were easy to spot.

All the military personnel was dressed in the longer version of their tan jackets. As it was a formal occasion they were to wear the dressier olive coat and dress pants. The other Scouts were either mingling with large groups or too drunk for him to deal with. Then his eyes landed on his female subordinate.

He moved quickly, pretending not to hear the nerve-grating voices of the other guests calling after him when they saw him walking by. With her hair, she was easier to find than the other members of his squad, who were lost in the sea of faces. "Petra," Levi said, coming up behind her.

"Captain," she greeted easily, not appearing at all surprised by his sudden appearance. Unlike her companions, a mix of civilians and soldiers, who gazed at him with wide eyes before whispering among each other.

He glanced between her and the gushing women behind her. "I need to talk to you."

"Yes, of course." She excused herself from the women. Levi turned his back to them and rolled his eyes at their disappointed pouts. No doubt they wanted her to introduce them to Humanity Strongest Soldier.

He led her away to a semi-secluded spot. "Where's the rest of the squad?"

"I think they had their fill of the party and left. Oluo was too drunk so they took him with them."

Levi wished he could have left with them. "This is such a waste of time," he complained.

"It's not so bad. They have good food and wine." Petra went to the buffet table, helping herself. "I've been eating a little bit of every dish so I can try everything. And I've had some delicious tea, too, which I'm sure you would appreciate. Would you like some?" She held up the plate for him with some sort of meat dish.

Levi had no idea what it was but it tasted good. "It's about the only reason why this party isn't completely intolerable."

"I thought the commander would have wanted you to talk to the guests."

"I fulfilled my minimal quota," Levi answered in boredom. "It's a party. They want to have fun and talk about meaningless shit. No one wants to talk about the monsters outside their doors—or not unless they were literally on their doorstep." Just saying the word "Titan" seemed to annoy some of the guests and he had learned it was better not to say it. "That'll ruin the mood and the festive atmosphere."

Petra nodded. "I guess at some point it's better to just go along so they like you, instead of making your pitch and annoying them. We don't want to look like pests."

"Speaking of pests." Levi spotted a familiar face moving their way. "Hange, where have you been?" Hange looked around covertly and he was immediately more alert and interested.

"Hey," Hange said, eyes shining brightly. The wide grin on her face promised trouble before she even opened her mouth. She shoved her face too close and he moved his head back when she whispered, "You'll never believe what I found!" She checked for any eavesdroppers again. "It's booze!"

"I can tell. You're drunk, aren't you?"

"No! I'm mean, yes. I mean, I'm a little tipsy. But what I meant was I found their wine cellar and..." She smiled mischievously. "I opened a bottle and may have liberated another."

"You what?" Levi said sharply.

"I was bored and I went exploring the rest of the mansion."

"You didn't!" Petra gasped. "What if someone caught you?"

"She's right, Four-Eyes. We're not exactly loved by these snobs and your stupid actions could have had serious consequences," Levi berated. He could only imagine what the scandal of Survey Corps' highest ranking members sneaking around a nobleman's home, stealing his things, would do to their already less than stellar reputation.

Hange waved off their concerns. "It's fine. Don't blow it out of proportion. And I was careful!"

"Where's the bottle?" Petra eyed her up and down.

"I had Moblit sneak it out for me and Nifa helped. I wasn't going to bring it in here."

"Hange, that's stealing," Petra spoke in a hushed voice.

Hange rolled her eyes. "Oh, live a little! I doubt the owners know will even notice it's missing. Their stash is huge."

"And what if they do?" Levi asked.

"We'll be long gone by then. And there are hundreds of people here. They won't know it was us."

"Alright, then, I'm in."

"Really?" Petra turned to him. "That quickly?"

"The deed's already done," he pointed out. Might as well enjoy the reward. And as far as he was concerned, expensive liquor stolen from fat, greedy little nobles was the perfect compensation for an evening ruined. Not to mention, as Hange had pointed out, they'd be long gone before anyone discovered the theft and by then, it'd be too late to try and find the thief.

"True," she said. "Okay, so, when should we open it?"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Now you're suddenly on board, too?"

Petra shrugged and smiled at him. "You two made some good points."

"We'll open it tonight," Hange said immediately. "Levi and I have to stay for a while. We'll be able to enjoy the bottle nice and proper when we don't have to worry about not getting too drunk to petition for the Corps. We'll meet in Levi's room in two hours."

"Why my room?" Levi started to complain but Hange had already wandered off.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Petra giggled, walking through the inn the Scouts were staying at for the duration of their trip. Nervous excitement bubbled in her chest and fought the urge to laugh.

"I'm a little nervous, to be honest," Moblit admitted. "We're still on active duty."

"I'm sure Squad Leader Hange and Captain Levi will get into more trouble if we're caught. We'll say we were just being good little soldiers and following orders," Nifa said jokingly.

"No one had better throw up," Levi declared, opening the door.

"Is it just us?" Petra asked, glancing around the room.

Hange nodded in confirmation. "Mike had a headache from all the perfume at the party and Nanaba said no. Everyone else was too drunk or tried and wanted to go to sleep."

"Probably for the best. If there were too many people we'd each get less." Levi opened the bottle. And without preamble, he poured everyone a glass.

"Hey, how come I don't get as much?" Hange pouted at her glass, which easily held about a third less than everyone else.

"Because you already had some earlier from the other bottle you stole."

"Wow." Moblit stared at his glass after taking a sip.

Petra nodded as she took another sip, her cheeks warming as the bitter liquid burned down her throat.

Hange took a huge gulp. "Now this is the good stuff!"

"Yeah," Nifa said, "much better than what I usually drink."

Having a low alcohol tolerance, Petra guessed the amount it would take for her to get drunk without getting completely wasted. They had to ride back to HQ in the morning and she did not want to get on a horse while sporting a nasty hangover. She had good self-control when it came to drinking and knew when to stop depending on how drunk she wanted to be.

Which was why, twenty minutes later, she was surprised to find herself laughing and full of warmth and happiness.

"Guys," she said loudly, "I'm that short girl who can't hold her liquor and gets all stupidly happy and giggly when I'm drunk."

"Yes, we can tell," Levi said, looking the most relaxed she had ever seen him.

"You should smile more." She pinched his cheeks and stretched them out. His face was very close to hers. She bit her lip, heartbeat picking up when his eyes fell to her lips, staring, before meeting her eyes again.

"Uh, I think that's enough," Nifa said nervously.

Petra jerked back, embarrassed. Then she looked over to Nifa and realized the woman had been referring to Hange, who was babbling nonsense too fast for them to understand.

"I think we better take her back to her room," Moblit said, looking and sounding surprisingly sober. He placed one of Hange's arms over his shoulder while Nifa supported her other side.

"Goodnight." Petra closed the door after them. She was suddenly very conscious of the fact it was just her and her captain all alone in the room now. "I should probably go, too."

"Stay. For a little while." Levi held up the bottle. "Let's finish this."

Levi woke with a pounding headache. Soft, warm flesh was pressed against his skin and knew. He just knew. Still he desperately hoped he was dreaming. Levi's heart took off, very aware of his lack of clothes under the blanket. Taking several deep breaths, he opened his eyes.

And his stomach dropped. Petra lay asleep, hugging his side. This can't be fucking real. It just couldn't.

Yet there she was.

He'd slept with his subordinate. Levi attempted to calm himself. You have got to be shitting me. Three women. He had gotten drunk with three women yet ended up sleeping with the one who was the most off-limits to him.

Carefully, Levi extracted himself from her. He froze when she made a sound, shifting, finding a comfortable spot. He grabbed some clothes and entered the bathroom. His reflection showed a pale, horrified face. The smell of sex was all over him and he quickly jumped in the shower, eager to wash it all away.

Levi felt the scratches on his back from when Petra had dug her nail into his skin, her legs wrapped around his waist, face twisted into an expression of pleasure as he continued to pound furiously into her. The memories were incredibly arousing and he felt the heat pooling down into one area. Groaning, he reduced the hot water and increased the cold. After thoroughly scrubbing his body as if it would wash away what he'd done, Levi stepped out, dripping wet.

He was not ready to face her yet. Discomfort, shame, and nervousness began to surge just at the thought of waking her and talking about what took place the previous night. What the hell were you thinking? And with Petra of all women. His shoulders drooped. How could he violate possibility the purest woman he'd ever known? With a long sigh, he rubbed his face. No point dragging it out any longer than necessary. Better to get it over with.

Levi braced himself and opened the door.

The bed was empty.

Where did she go? He went to the door, hand on the doorknob, and hesitated. Should he go to her room? Again he was assaulted with the images of the two of them getting hot and heavy. Maybe she needed space. He could barely stand the thought of confronting her himself, too pissed at himself. Levi sat down on the bed. Then he quickly sprang up, remembering what they did on it last night.

His head still pulsed. How could you be such an idiot? It was a mistake. His fault. No matter how badly he wanted to blame Hange he knew it was on him. He was Petra's captain. He should have known better. Even if she had made a move on him he should have rejected her. But no, instead he was the one who had kissed her first. Levi groaned out loud at that image.

He could only imagine what the rest of his squad would think. They're going to lose all respect for me. Not that he would blame them. He would, too, if he were in their shoes. His thoughts went to Petra, worrying for her. Levi didn't like thinking what she must think of him now.

Petra wanted to throw up.

She gagged over the toilet bowl, but nothing came out. She groaned, pushing off and leaving the bathroom. Sitting on her bed, she went over what had happened, feeling like shit both physically and mentally. I had sex with Captain Levi. She buried her face in her hands, feeling so humiliated. Like some stupid girl, I screwed my superior. She knew she should have left when the others did. It had been a bad idea, staying while under the influence alone with her captain, who was also drunk. It had disaster written all over it!

The urge to puke hit again. This time she knew it had nothing to do with the hangover. What would happen now? Petra wanted to cry. Had she just tanked her military career? Once the commander found out he'd have her transferred. She couldn't very well stay in Squad Levi when Levi was the leader. Would they suspend her? Her once spotless record would now be marred by this one mistake.

What does Captain Levi think? When she had woken up in his bed, remembering having sex with him not once but multiple times, she had felt so mortified she couldn't bring herself to stay and face him. Her face burned, recalling her bold, sensual words and going down on him. What he must think of me! How was she to look him in the eyes now?

I should have stopped him. When his lips had brushed against hers—soft and clumsy and almost shy—she had wanted it so badly and stopped thinking and threw caution to the wind. She could have stopped him, but she hadn't wanted to. Her deep admiration for him, the alcohol, breaking the rules together, being alone in his room at an inn, not having been laid in a while, they were not a good combination. Petra's mind continued to run through the memories over and over, making her head pound harder.

A knock came from the door and the split second before Erd's voice came and she thought it was Levi, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. "Petra, we're leaving in twenty minutes."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll meet you guys out there soon."

Petra showered quickly before she nervously went to meet the rest of the squad.

"Where's Captain Levi?" Her voice was calm and steady. Just saying his name made her insides feel hot out of embarrassment. It had been a while since she'd last been with a man and her body kept reacting strongly to every memory of his touch.

"Something came up and he and the other squad leaders won't be returning until evening," Gunther told her.

Petra felt immensely relieved she wouldn't have to deal with it until later. She was going to need all that time to compose herself.

"You're hungover, too?" Oluo asked, looking terrible.

Thankfully the medicine she'd taken had finally kicked in, relieving her of the worst of the pain. She still felt like crap, though. "I kept having...interrupted sleep," Petra said with a straight face.

The entire ride back she tried to sort out her thoughts and feelings while pushing back the memories. There was a reason why fraternizing within squads or between people of different ranks was not allowed. How is it going to affect our team dynamic? Even if they managed to work things out, she knew things weren't going to be the same again.

Levi was eager to return and talk to Petra. It was what he had been itching to do all day. But as soon as the HQ came into view, his anxiety began to build up. What if he messed up and said the wrong thing? He had no idea what she was thinking or feeling. Did she blame him? Did she think he took advantage? They were both intoxicated but he was still a ranking officer. He was in deeper shit than her.

Those thoughts increased his desire to clear the air quickly. Petra was so kind and good and loyal. Levi did not want to leave her to think it had just been meaningless sex to him. It certainly hadn't been romantic but he'd never intended to sleep with her in the first place.

Instead of bringing it straight to Erwin, he'd let Petra decide first what she wanted to do.

"That stuff was good even if I woke up with a killer hangover," Hange said once it was just the two of them alone in the stables. "It was stronger than I was expecting."

"That makes two of us," Levi muttered.

"I had Moblit analyze the other bottle. Normally," Hange explained, "that stuff's eighty proof, that means forty percent is alcohol, but the bottle we opened had one-hundred and forty proof. It was seventy percent alcohol. Nearly double the regular amount."

Levi froze. No wonder we got so drunk. It made more sense now. He knew he hadn't gone over his limit. It made him feel better about the situation. Only slightly.

"If it was higher than one-hundred and sixty proof it would have been closer to moonshine, pure alcohol..." Hange continued on but he ignored her.

I should've made her put the bottle back. Then he never would have been in the mess in the first place. Or refused to join her. Normally he would have but just once he had decided to give in to an impulse. And look what happened.

He may not care what people thought of him but he did care that they respected him. He had earned it. For years he had dedicated himself to the Corps, trying to crawl out of the shadow of his criminal past, and serve humanity. And now, after one stupid decision, all the progress he felt he had made would go out the window. During the ride back, he continued to beat himself up over every decision he had made, wondering how making a different choice would have impacted the end result.

When Levi reached his office, he didn't have to call for Petra. She was already there waiting for him.

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