Zip Me
Petra hesitates outside of Levi’s door, her knuckles a thread’s space away from the wood. "Keep calm," she thinks as she counts her breaths to steady herself. "Today’s the day. You have to talk to him today. Stay calm. You can do this." She gives herself another three minutes to pep herself up before she finally knocks.
"Come in."
Petra confidently opens the door and walks in, even if her heart is beating a million miles a minute and she can feel her palms sweating. ”Corporal, I—”
"Petra." He turns towards her, without his jacket or harnesses on, and with his cravat hanging loosely around his neck. "I need a hand."
Whatever speech she’d had planned (the one she practiced in front of the mirror for literally hours) flies out the window. Instad, she wrings her hands nervously in front of her and suppresses her blush (and probably fails). ”S-sure. What do you need?”
"I need help tying my cravat. I can’t get it straight."
That’s an absolute lie. Levi can tie his cravat with his eyes closed — she’s seen him done it before. She’s not sure what he’s planning, but the way he’s standing (with one hand on his hip, like he’s waiting for her) tells her that she doesn’t have much of a choice. Swallowing thickly, she approaches him and, with shaking fingers, she works on tying the soft material.
She can tell that his eyes are following her every movement, from the way she holds her breath to the nervous fumbling of her fingers to the way she absolutely refuses to meet his eyes. His warm breath caresses the side of her face and she’s almost ninety percent positive that he moves closer to her but she just needs to focus focus focus because this cravat is not going to tie itself.
Petra steps away as soon as she’s done, unknowingly releasing a deep sigh. ”There it’s—” Before she can get too far away, Levi grasps both of her elbows, holding her in place. ”Corporal, what is it—?”
"Thank you," he murmurs. This time, she doesn’t miss the way his eyes linger on her lips. His touch, unlike the intensity of his gaze, doesn’t last long, however, and he releases her. "Was there something you needed?"
Petra bites down on her lower lip as she thinks about bringing it up, since now it’s just the two of them. But maybe it’s still too early — maybe something will happen on its own. She’s still young, after all, with so much time. ”No,” she answers, bearing a smile. ”I just thought I’d make sure you were alright. I’ll see you later.”
She turns and leaves, oblivious to the way he follows her with his eyes so intently, so wistfully, so hopefully. One day.