Chpt 1: The Maiden Soothes The Beast

"I don't care what happens to that dickhead. I want him out of my face and her to replace that dumb fuck ASAP."

"Levi, language. Please tell me you do not speak in this manner to your clients." Erwin rubs his temple, trying in vain to ward off the incoming headache caused by yesterday's eventful accident. Of all things for Dita to screw up on, it was the most important file that was to be presented to court that day which Levi worked his ass off for the past two weeks to complete, clocking just a little over 40 hours of sleep.

Erwin was on his way to Mike's office when he heard the oh-so-wonderful tirade Levi was launching off. Glancing through the glass walls while passing by, the first thing that caught his eyes was… his handsome reflection. Not bad, if I do say so myself. He then directed his focus to the only two occupants inside.

Levi looked like a bear; a midget bear, but a bear nonetheless. His tiny paw pointed towards a coffee drenched table with loads of documents on it. Dita, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to piss in his pants if he has not already done so. Oh boy, I hope Levi doesn't tear Dita apart limb by limb. It is always a chore to get rid of evidence.

Back to the present; Levi is giving all sorts of "legit reasons," he calls it. For one, Dita is a slow worker. Tell that snail to draft an agreement and you could probably go on a short holiday and come back and it is only half done. Two, although the dark blondie has people skills in which Levi severely lack, he is too terrified to speak properly to his superior. Miscommunication happens and things get screwed up on a regular basis. The third reason is the most important, Levi emphasised. That numbskull makes the worst coffee ever! Even Starbucks' coffee tastes better than that shit he makes.

"Alright, I get your point." Erwin raises his palm, motioning for Levi to take a break and let his tongue take a well-deserved rest. "But are you sure? Nile won't be happy about this, considering Petra has worked under him for quite a while now."

"Tell that old fuck to can it. I've seen the case stats and that old man has nothing to add to his resume in the past two years. Birds of the same feather should flock together. The two of them can go migrate to somewhere else and build a nest far away from me." Levi all but snarled.

"I will see what I can do. No promises though." Erwin took a sip of his now cold coffee and grimaced. "Petra is highly sought after by most of the attorneys in this company. I can only hope the next batch we are hiring will be half as efficient as her."

"Oh please. What has ever gotten in your way before? You even accepted that playboy's request of letting him choose his assistant. What can be worse than that? Every time I'm in the same room as him, I swear I could see hearts being transmitted to Hawkeye. I'm amazed she could tolerate his poor attempts at flirting with her." Levi said.

I didn't know you could identify flirting when you see it was on the tip of Erwin's tongue but deciding to spare himself the consequences, he just brushed off the comment with a wave of his slender fingers.

"As long as Roy does his job well, I don't really care. We're not in the military anyway. He can fraternise all he want and if Hawkeye doesn't give him the time of the day, who are we to care?" Erwin continued to sip his coffee.

Levi stared at him, seemingly unable to comprehend something. "I thought you hate to drink cold coffee more than anything else."

"Hanji made this."

Levi's eyes widened a tenth of an inch. "Are you sure you should be drinking that… whatever dubious liquid she concocted? I've tasted that woman's brew once and swore never to touch anything she made ever again."

Taking another sip, Erwin said, "She improved. Although I'm rather glad she decided to not make me her guinea pig anymore."

Make no mistakes, Erwin definitely loves his wife, but there is only so much he can take. From a lovely cup of hazelnut coffee to the unexpected rose syrup flavoured the next, his stomach can't take that much excitement. Erwin Smith is an intimidating man, with broad shoulders, tall build, and a stern face. But his stomach is the weaker than a new-born. Give the man a small plate of sweet chili and he will be replacing his usual seat with the toilet bowl.

"Good luck if another inspiration hits her like a truck. Don't bother inviting me to the party." Levi gave a back wave, turned to the door, planning on returning to his office and get some work done.

While strolling back to his office, Levi took the time to collect his thoughts. Am I that hard to work with? I'm pretty sure my expectations are not THAT high. What's so difficult about handing stuff up on time, one with no mistakes? What the fuck was the HR department thinking of when they were conducting the interviews? Are we that short on manpower? Are we that desperate until the HR deemed them passable?

Levi was so consumed by his thoughts, he didn't noticed the petite lady who was carrying a monstrous stack of files approaching and crashed into her.

"Watch where you are going! You f….." Levi trailed off after seeing Petra crouched down on the floor, trying to pick up the fallen files. Good thing my mouth halted in time. I'd rather get my tongue bitten than to get kicked in the balls again. A little shiver went down his spine at the memory.

"Sorry, Levi. I couldn't exactly see what was in front of me just now." Petra apologised.

Levi wordlessly offered to help her gather the files. "Why are you carrying so much stuff? Where are the all interns?"

"It's six in the evening, Levi, in case you hadn't noticed. All of them have already left." Petra tried to reach out to Levi's pile but he turned the other way and asked, "Where are you headed to?"

Petra gave a smile to his back, "The archive room. Nile tidied up his filing cabinets earlier on and decided these are no longer of any use to him." she supplied.

Levi gave a snort at that. "As if he has any new case coming in."

Petra giggled so cutely, Levi could feel a blush working its way up his neck. Good thing for collared shirts.

"Thanks for helping me back there. Really appreciate it." Petra gave a bright smile to Levi, which in turn made Levi smile just the tiniest bit when they reached their destination.

"You're welcome. Good luck filing. If you need any help, just call me. I will be in my office working as usual." Levi offered.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't dare ask a renowned attorney like you to help out with a measly task like this." Petra teased him.

"Tch. Here I am offering some kindness and you tease me for it."

"Please, it's not your first day knowing me. Of all things to get offended by, it's me teasing you? Oh how the great have fallen!" Petra exclaimed.

Levi may not be able to see her charming face, but he definitely knows she is trying to hold back laughter. That shaking frame and tone was a dead giveaway.

"Whatever. You know where I will be." Levi turned and walked back to his office, feeling the old sensation of love blooming once again in his being.

I guess I never did fall out of love after all.

—

A/N 1: This story actually was imagined with only Rivetra in mind. But I decided Royai would make a good fit in, albeit weird in the beginning while developing the new plot.

A/N 2: I know there is not much Royai in this chapter because I'm pretty much hooked onto Rivetra at the moment. It's taking over my life. But don't worry, there will be more Royai in the next chapter (more than this anyway). My feels for them are resurfacing.

A/N 3: I threw in some Eruhan because I can. I ship them pretty badly too, second to Rivetra in SnK.

A/N 4: Dita will always be a dickhead to me. Because if he and his smart-ass friend didn't go back to retrieve Ivan, Levi wouldn't had to order his men to dispose the corpses. I know this is relevant because in the manga, the bodies were not mentioned. BUT STILL! I CAN'T STAND HIM! Levi even parted with the badge (I do not know whose but I think it's Petra's because implied canon) to give that dickhead closure. Levi is definitely a man who has feelings but he doesn't express them explicitly.

A/N 5: Lastly, I don't drink coffee so I just thought of whatever I think would probably taste disgusting with the drink.