[Edit] - Please enjoy this edited version.

"What do you plan to do after all of this?" Petra asks him one night, as she looks heavenwards to the moonlit sky.

It's at times like these when the moon and the stars shine at their brightest they both take the time to enjoy it while sitting on the balconies of the castle. Just like what they used to do, he thought, about the time before he was called "Humanity's Strongest".

Although he never really told his squad nor anybody else besides Erwin, Mike and Hanji (who were there that time anyways) about his past, it was undoubtedly happening again. Though this time, it feels different.

"Hmn..." he breathes, as he leans onto a pillar, looking at how her copper hair shines from the moonlight.

"What will you do, after all this? After the war and such?" she turns her head to look at him. His steel eyes are on her when she faced him, a thin line on his lips, but it wasn't the usual cold hard stare he gives to others instead it is a soft and gentle look that was plastered on his face.

Silence stood between them, as she awaits his answer but Petra continues when she realizes that nothing will come out, yet.

"I want to explore the new lands out there." She turns her head again to the sky, imagining all the possible discoveries they were to find. "I heard from Eren's friend that there are big pools of water called oceans and that there are lands made of ice! Can you believe that, Levi?!" she grins as she tells him this.

"I think you caught Hanji's enthusiasm." Levi blurts out, earning the girl before him a slight giggle, making him smirk at the action.

"Yeah but it doesn't happen a lot, besides I know you're leaning on a pillar just because it looks cool. Come sit beside me, there's space." She scoots to the side for him to sit.

She got him there, he thinks as he makes his way beside her, wiping it with a piece of cloth he keeps in case of dust and dirt. The copper haired girl rolls her eyes, knowing far too well her captain's needs of a clean environment.

"…"

"…"

"I want to own a tea shop." He finally answers, confident that it is definitely a good one. He can already imagine the scent of tea in the air and the utter state of cleanliness of the place, only to be interrupted by Petra who seems to be laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asks, a scowl on his face.

Didn't she ask him what he wants after all this? The scowl on his face grew deeper as she clutches her aching stomach from all the laughter. Looking at him in the face, she teases "What? You're gonna call it Humanitea?" as she continues on her teasing.

Levi knows that he had fully suppressed his emotions but he can't help but blush,from embarrassment. This is going too far, he finalizes as he tickles her at the sides, causing her to laugh even harder. After for a few minutes of tickling the life out of her, he stops.

"That's your punishment cadet. If you continue more of that, then there's more where it came from. Understood?"

"Yes Captain!" Petra halfheartedly replies, trying to calm down but couldn't help a few snickers. He can be so adorable sometimes.

It took a while for her to finally stop and calm down but Levi felt happy inside for causing her joy. It has been a while since he had done something like tickling but nevertheless it was fun. He couldn't believe it but yeah, it was fun.

"A tea shop?"

"A tea shop."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Seriously, a tea shop?"

"Isn't that what you want to know?" he snaps, tired from the repetitive questions.

Petra stays silent and he somehow regretted snapping at her, so he turns to look at her only to find her deep in thought. Thankfully, she didn't get intimidated when he does that which makes more different than others and makes her easier to manage, if you exclude the disobeying orders she thinks are not right.

A soft chuckle could be heard from the only female in the squad and he asks her why.

"I just didn't expect you to be the kind of person to settle down." She looks at him in the eyes and in that instant he can feel the sincerity she displayed in her voice and in her actions.

Though she's a soldier, she too is also a woman capable of gentleness and gracefulness. She may also be the only female in his squad but she doesn't fail to show her concern to all of them. Levi can also see that even if the woman tries to hide it, he can feel that the way she looks at him and the way she acts around him are so much different. The short Captain too can't deny the feelings he felt are also different around her.

He stays silent at the statement, unsure what to say to that but Petra cuts him off anyway.

"I always thought that you were always chasing after something. That there is something you can't reach even if you try so hard." Tears threatened to form and with that the dam burst, her head falling to her lap.

"Petra…" he reaches out his hand, softly wiping her tear streaked face with his thumb and lifting up her chin in the process.

She grabbed his hand in hers, and gave a small, soft smile. Something churned inside of him and he felt a surge of courage dwell in him. Taking both of her small hands in his calloused ones, he saw Petra, with tears still in her eyes, beam at him especially when he made a small upwards in his mouth.

"Stay with me." he proposes and pushes back her hair covering her face. Her eyes glimmer with tears and he can see hope in them as she gazes at him, and he continues.

"When the war and everything shitty is finally done -" She chuckles at his language. "- when all the titans are eradicated, let's roam the entire land and make that tea shop happen. We can make a new home in those places and live together."

"We can leave all this behind and make a family."

This left her breathless. She has never seen him like this, never had he expressed his feelings to anyone and it made her tear up from happiness. All this felt like a dream, a dream where nobody could wake her up from.

So with a breathy 'yes', she threw up her arms around him and embraced him, surprising her captain.

His eyes widen a fraction at the touch but paid no mind for he felt warmth consume him and a heavy feeling in his chest was released..

All of his life, Levi never really thought that such happiness could come from something or especially from someone and seeing Petra elated from his heartfelt confession brought him intense joy.

He thinks back into those times where he would secretly hide himself from the world and when he thought that all things good never stays. Deep inside he has always been a coward, always fragile and at the same time broken. He has experienced a lot that always break him into pieces.

So seeing the content smile on her face that brings his insides to melt, help him realize that now he has something to bring him back to pieces. Someone who can now help him mend, though not physically but emotionally.

Now, he has someone to love because if he's with her, then-

-everything's alright.