“As if I’d ever want to dance at one of these shitty balls,” Levi sniffs, but his eyes still follow Petra wistfully across the room as she takes yet another dance with Auruo.

Had it been a few years ago this statement would be true, but his mind has changed about military balls and dancing after seeing Petra gliding across the dance floor into the arms of other men. He doesn’t even want to claim her for the entire night; he would be content in just having even a single dance with her, but he’s never danced before and is too cowardly to try. He realizes it’s ridiculous to shy away from dancing when he goes out on expeditions to slay Titans that are fifteen-feet tall, but there’s a reason. At least if he dies in battle, he would be a hero. If he were to trip over his feet on the dancefloor, he would just be a laughingstock. No, he’d rather just sit in his seat and grumble all night instead of making a fool of himself in front of everybody.

Eld simply shrugs, used to the Captain acting like an unhappy child whenever they attend one of these events. As the next piece begins to wind down, he waves over Petra who is slowly making her way over there with Auruo.

“Let me have the next dance, Pet,” he tells her with a grin, already standing up from his seat and holding out a hand for her while Auruo slips between them and takes up the empty chair.

“Ah, be careful. She’s going to beg you to keep dancing with her until you dance your feet off,” Auruo says, loosening his bowtie and slouching in his chair. Although the dances had been at a moderate tempo, there are a few beads of perspiration at the top of Auruo brow and he dabs them away with the handkerchief that he fishes from the pocket of his blazer.

“Don’t make things up! You were the one who was begging me to keep dancing,” Petra says, but she doesn’t scowl at him like she usually does when they bicker. She’s still grinning, and it makes Levi wonder if her cheeks hurt from smiling so much tonight. “I’m pretty sure I might get blisters after tonight,” she adds, but she still accepts Eld’s arm when he offers it to her.

Eld tilts his head as he listens to the music start up again. It’s faster this time, more upbeat, and he smiles over at Petra, pulling her back on to the dancefloor. “Are you ready for a foxtrot, Ral?”

“Oh, I could out-dance you any day, Ginn!” she laughs, but she doesn’t come with him right away. She slips away from him for just a second, hanging back to return to the table and ask Levi, “Will I have a dance with you later, Captain?”

He was sure he would be able to give her a firm “no,” but he finds himself struggling to find that simple word as she looks at him with her flushed cheeks and her inviting smile. He thinks maybe if he dances with her, it won’t be so bad. It won’t be impossible if he just copies what everybody else is doing, right?

A “yes” is on the tip of his tongue, but he makes the mistake of glancing at the couples behind her in the ballroom as they gallop across the room, moving together so perfectly and without mistake that Levi remembers why he has never stepped foot on the dancefloor.

“No,” Levi finally says, clearing his throat. “I’m tired enough as it is. I’d probably be a shitty dance partner in the state I’m in. Go dance with Ginn.”

For the first time that night, Petra frowns. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but she’s promptly whisked away by Eld, who insists that they’ll miss most of the dance if she keeps standing around like that. Levi can only watch as she disappears into the crowd of overdressed nobles and military figures, enjoying herself without him, and spends the rest of the night regretting his decision.

He had planned on going straight to sleep that night, but the images of couples twirling around on the dance floor keep him awake and Levi finds himself fumbling for the light in his room. He stumbles to the center of his room, frowning and feeling more and more foolish with every passing second because he’s thinking about practicing the same waltz he had seen the men and women dance to that evening. Still, it’s not as if anyone can see him, and he ends up shuffling across the floor awkwardly, his arms outstretched as he dances with his invisible partner.

It should be easy, he thinks. All he has to do is move in the same way that all those other people did – a step here, a step there, a twirl, a step back – but it proves to be far harder than he could have ever imagined. Although he wouldn’t consider himself a graceful man, he’s not the type to bump into things and yet Levi finds himself repeatedly bumping into his desk and shelves as he tries to navigate himself around the room.

It must be the room, he’s sure, that is preventing him from dancing properly. It’s not a small room, but it’s not spacious either. It had always been enough for him until tonight. Now, the room seems too cramped and crowded with his few possessions, leaving him hardly any floor space to glide across the room. Instead, he must be content with mimicking the waltz with horribly constricted and stiff movements.

Even though he isn’t practicing for all that long, he becomes more frustrated with every flubbed step he takes. He’s red-faced and muttering curses under his breath after a few minutes of practice. Really, he’d prefer fighting a hundred of those shitty Titans to dancing any day.

Thinking that perhaps music will help him to dance better, he foolishly begins humming under his breath, but it doesn’t change anything at all. If anything, it’s as if he’s become worse and he bumps into everything twice as much, even colliding with the wall at one point because he’s having too much difficulty focusing on so many things at once. When Levi bumps into the sharp corner of his desk, he lets out a loud curse only to regret it immediately afterward when he hears his door crack open and a familiar voice ask, “Captain?”

Petra stands there at his door, a sleepy but confused expression on her face as she wonders what on earth her captain is doing at this time of night. She tilts her head at him and brushes a lock of her hair behind her ear, her brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

He could probably lie and say that he’s cleaning, but even he knows that it’s ridiculous to be cleaning at this hour. He could make up some other nonsensical lie. It doesn’t matter how silly it is. Somehow, nothing can be more humiliating than telling her about his midnight dance practice, but he can’t bring himself to lie to her either.

“I’m…dancing,” he finally tells her, looking down at her feet because he can’t bear to see the expression on her face. He’s sure that she’ll laugh at him for being so strange, but not even one giggle comes from her.

“Oh? I thought you didn’t like dancing, Captain,” Petra says. She lingers at the door for just a second more before slipping inside after she sees that the captain hasn’t chased her away yet. She smiles at him kindly and asks, “Are you just shy about dancing in public?”

“No,” he scoffs, but his cheeks flush and he folds his arms defensively across his chest. Turning away from her, he faces the wall, his gaze fixated on the shadow of her because it’s easier than looking at her directly. “I just…never learned how to dance.”

“Oh…!” the solider says, finally understanding. She steps towards him with the same warm and inviting smile she had when she had asked him for a dance earlier that evening. “Would you like me to teach you?”

He should say no. After all, he’s already practiced on his own and confirmed how poor of a dancer he is. He’s sure that having a partner won’t change any of that. He’ll probably just step on her toes the entire time and embarrass himself further. It would just be best if he told her to forget about it and leave him alone.

Still, he hesitates when he sees her expression and instead tells her, “I’m a shit dancer…gavotte, foxtrot, waltz…it doesn’t matter. I’m shit at all of them.”

“That’s alright,” Petra assures him. She reaches out a hand to him, inviting him to take it, and says, “We’ll start with an easy one – it’s one my dad taught me when I was a child.”

He’s sure that she says this to make him feel better, but the thought of having to begin at the level of a child makes him frown. Still, he takes her hand and allows her to guide him.

Petra pulls her towards him, guiding his hands around her waist while she rests her hands gently on his shoulders. They stand much closer than the other couples did at the ball tonight, Levi notices, but he doesn’t object. With Petra so close to him, he can count the light freckles across her cheeks and even count all her long lashes. He’s so distracted by her that he’s hardly listening to her as she instructs him on how to move. Luckily, the dance is as simple as she says, and he doesn’t struggle at all as they move slowly across the floor together.

It’s not dancing like he had seen before. It’s more like holding each other and rocking side to side, he thinks, but it’s still pleasant in a way. He likes the steady rhythm at which they move together and the little song she hums as they sway. He had been stiff and unsure in his movements before, but he’s become more relaxed after having Petra gently encourage him and offer him little bits of advice.

“I’m sorry you have to have such a shitty partner for your last dance,” Levi tells her. Although he hadn’t trod on her toes and she’s kept that pleasant smile on her face the entire time, he can’t help but feel that this dance is nowhere near as fantastical as the dances she had during the ball.

“What do you mean? You’re the perfect dance partner,” Petra says, looking up in surprise, “and this is the perfect dance to end the night.”

He’s so surprised that he doesn’t respond, but she must not need a response because she simply smiles at him again and continues dancing with him, closer this time so that she can rest her head on his shoulder.