Chapter Text
"This is our new co-worker, Petra Ral. She'll be working with Auruo Bossard in the documentations department." Erd announced.
"I look forward to work with all of you." Petra bowed and her voice only shook a little. It was her first proper job and all she could think about was making sure she did everything perfectly. She was so excited and her entire body hummed with nervous energy.
There came a chorus of 'nice to meet you' and Petra bowed her head again. She darted her eyes around to look for the cute man who had hired her. His name was Levi Rivaille and she had instantly developed a crush on him.
Petra had been disappointed when she learned that Mr. Rivaille spent most of the day in his office. However, Erd had been nice and the others didn't seem so bad, so she figured that, as long as she could catch a glimpse of him everyday, she would be satisfied...mostly.
Petra made her way over to her desk. It was joined together with another one. The one in front of her's had a man sitting at it. His hair was messy mop of light brown hair. He had a light blue shirt with a brown tie. For some reason the colors clashed horribly and it made Petra feel at ease. I suppose that's Auruo Bossard. Time to make a good impression!
Walking up to him, she straightened up her back and tried to give her best bow. "It's a pleasure to met you. My name's Petra Ral. I look forward to working with you."
The face turned to her direction. He had a few lines on his face and there was a small frown. "Nice to meet you too." Mr. Bossard gave her a small nod. "If you mess anything up, it's on your head."
The smile dropped from Petra's face and her eyes shadowed over. What the hell is his problem?
Her desk was empty other than a few stock pens, pencils and there was already a pile of paperwork greeting her. Figuring this would be the case, she had brought all of her supplies from home. She had always loved stationary supplies and Petra forgot about her rude colleague as she took out her multi-color pens and the assortment of other cute things she had thought to bring.
Petra hummed happily to herself until she felt eyes on her. She lifted her gaze to see Mr. Bossard giving her a look that could freeze hell over. Clamping her mouth shut, Petra went back to what she was doing with a slight frown. What the hell is his problem?
A few hours later, Petra stretched her arms and legs. Her back had gotten stiff and her stomach grumbled. Still doing her paperwork, Petra rooted through a drawer with one hand and took out a pack of crackers. She munched along happily until she felt that same glaring pair of eyes on her again.
She looked up to see Mr. Bossard staring at her with narrowed eyes. "You sound like a chipmunk."
Petra blushed and wiped at her mouth. "I was hungry."
"Then could you chew quieter? I can't even hear myself think."
Petra's blush deepened and she fidgeted in her seat. At first, she wanted to die of embarrassment and it was only her first day. Then she wanted to slap the smug look of disapproval off of his face. This wasn't how I saw this going at all. Why did I have to get this jerk as the guy I work closest with.
"Sorry." Petra bowed her head. It killed her to do it. She wanted to stomp and call him an 'asshole'. But she figured it wouldn't be good to alienate anyone on her first day. Although, at the rate he was going, Petra won't be able to hold in her temper much longer. It wasn't even her temper! The guy just deserved a good smack.
"Give her a break, would you?" Gunther called from his desk.
That was when Petra noticed that everyone in the office was looking at them. Petra frowned. "Sorry."
"Don't mind Auruo. He's a complete idiot." Gunther said reassuringly. "You're not the one that needs to apologize."
Mr. Bossard just let out an angry grunt and went back to his paperwork. Petra flashed Gunther a grateful smile before going back to her own work. At least I'm not the only one who thinks he's being unreasonable.
A while later, Mr. Rivaille came out his office and Petra had to try her hardest not to whip her head up to look at him. Don't look. Don't look. Every fiber of her body beat with the energy of knowing that he was right there.
"Ms. Ral, I need to speak with you." Mr. Rivaille stated before turning back into his office.
"Yes, sir." Petra squeaked. She shot out of her chair to follow after him.
He asked if she had any questions and how it was going. Petra knew her face had a wide smile plastered over on it. Underneath it, she was shaking like a leaf. She wanted to tell Mr. Rivaille what an asshole Mr. Bossard was but she really didn't want to cause any trouble.
Petra's heart continued to thump harder. Sometimes her nerves got the better of her and after everything that had already happened, she was excited to talk to Mr. Rivaille...it was like a gentle breeze after dealing with a heat wave. I wish he was across from my desk instead.
After telling her that there would be a Welcome Party on Friday for her, she was dismissed. Instead of going back to her desk, Petra bypassed it to go to the vending machines down the hall. Her throat was tight and her legs felt like jelly as she made her way out to the small break room.
Being away from the cramped office space was the best way for her to clear her mind. At least that was what Petra had been hoping until she saw Mr. Bossard sitting at one on the small tables. At that exact moment, she also remembered that she didn't have her purse with her. Petra bit back a frustrated sigh as she turned around to head back to the office.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Bossard asked. He had his head propped up on one hand and there was an odd expression on his face.
"I forgot my purse." Petra's tone sounded totally defeated. She was right at the cusp of crying. Her throat scratched and she hated how weak it sounded. Urg, this is not how my day was suppose to go. Not in the least. Petra was never one for self-pity but at that moment she felt pretty damn low.
"Come on, I'll buy you something. What you want?" The only reason Petra didn't turn and leave him there was because Mr. Bossard's tone was oddly soft sounding. There wasn't a hint of spite under his words and it was completely unlike what he had sounded like earlier in the office.
"Thanks." Petra made her way over to him. "Just 150 yen is enough. I'll pay you back when we get back to the office."
Mr. Bossard waved a dismissive hand. He reached into his pocket and handed her the money. "Don't worry about it."
She put the coins in and pushed the button for some tea. Petra really wanted coffee but the last thing she needed was that much caffeine. The bottle dropped down and she bent down to pick it up...except it was stuck. She pulled at the flap and tried to wiggle it out. Still, it stayed firmly stuck between the flap and the back of the shoot.
It was enough to make her finally crack. "Shit!" Petra cried and stomped her foot. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the vending machine completely done with everything.
"Hey, you all right?" Came a tentative voice behind her. It took a moment for Petra to even recognize the caring voice as Mr. Bossard's. Petra didn't turn around and instead let out a long sigh.
"The bottle is stuck." It sounded so pathetic coming out of her mouth. Urg, why did it have to be him of all people? I wish it had been Mr. Rivialle...on second thought I don't want him to see me like this.
Petra didn't move a muscle as Mr. Bossard bent down and fiddled with the vending machine until he pulled the bottle of tea out. He stood back up but made no move to hand her the bottle. "Are you sure you're all right?"
A hand landed on her shoulder. It was warm and comforting. There was a faint smell of cinnamon and Petra felt the need to lean into the smell. She closed her eyes and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Maybe he isn't so bad after all...
Petra turned around to thank him and let Auruo know just how much she was appreciating him being sweet...until Erd and Gunther showed up in the break room and destroyed any connection they might have been making.
There was a cat call from Erd. And then Gunther added, "Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt."
Petra's back went ridge and Auruo pulled his hand away like he had been burned. For some reason, the way he took his hand away made something hurt in Petra's chest.
"What? We weren't doing anything." Mr. Bossand kicked at the ground and looked down. He also managed to take a wide step away from Petra like she had a contagious disease.
"That's not what it looked like to us." Erd smiled. His tone was teasing- unfortunately, he had no idea how much damage it was doing.
"No!" Mr. Bossard practically sputtered. Then the mask that had dropped was put back in place and the cocky expression that had first greeted Petra was fixed over the momentary kind expression that had broken through. "She was just getting all emotional because it's her time of the month. I was just trying to calm her down before she collapsed into a ball of tears."
Petra went from embarrassed to horrified. Period?! Emotional?! Petra was seized with a sudden urge to punch the pompous ass right in his gut. Instead, she steeled her face and turned to Mr. Bossard with murder in her eyes. "Oh, is that what you were doing? You fucking prick."
Petra was only slightly horrified with the words spilling from her mouth. But that was exactly what she had wanted to call him the first time he had opened his rude mouth to her. He had almost redeemed himself but Mr. Bossard had just declared war and Petra was never one to back down.
Mr. Bossard's eyes had gotten wide at the words that had just crossed her once 'lady like' mouth. He obviously hadn't planned for Petra to fight back. Just you wait. You've dug your own grave you bastard!
"Ohhhhh!" Gunther laughed.
Erd had a somewhat horrified look on his face like he realized what an incredibly bad thing they had just done. Before Erd could say anything to diffuse the situation, Petra stomped out of the room.
No one called after her and Petra never looked back. She sat down and realized that she had forgotten her bottle of tea with Mr. Bossard. Her throat grew tight again and she rubbed at her eyes hard. That asshole isn't worth a single tear.
The rest of the day was mostly spent in awkward silence. She only talked when she had to to Mr. Bossard and when she did it was clipped and short. Every general question she had, she stood up and talked to either Gunther or Erd instead. Petra knew it couldn't continue that way forever, but she was going to do everything she could to avoid the man.
Petra made it a point to smile widely when anyone else in the office talked to her. This seemed to piss off Mr. Bossard more than anything else, so Petra acted more bubbly every time Erd or Gunther asked her something.
By the end of the day, Petra couldn't get out of the office fast enough. She finished the last of her work and nearly threw up her hands in celebration. Sorting everything out on her desk as best she could in ten seconds, Petra grabbed her purse and threw on her jacket.
"Excuse me. I'll be heading home first." Petra offered a small bow and made the point to have her back turned to Mr. Bossard when she said her parting words for the day. The others sang back a chorus of good-byes. If she didn't hear Mr. Bossard's voice she didn't care. As soon as Petra walked into the hallway her shoulders shrugged. That was more draining than I could have ever imagined.
Remembering that she was still incredibly thirsty, Petra made her way back to the break room. She bought the coffee she had been to nervous to get earlier. Not wanting to see anyone after she had already said good-bye, Petra carried the unopened can with her outside. She never looked down to see the still full bottle of tea in the garbage.
Petra tried not to dread going to work the next day. It proved impossible not to, from the moment she hit the snooze button, up to the point that she was walking into the office, there were gray clouds trailing after her. She reached her desk to see a can of her favorite coffee waiting for her on her desk. Did I leave that there yesterday?
Except the can was still cold and there no way she wouldn't have drank it yesterday. Other than her, the office was empty. She swept her gaze around and when she still discovered no one else, Petra shrugged her shoulders. Who am I to say no to a free can of coffee? Possession was 9/10th of the law and it was on her desk after all.
She popped it open and even though she had already had her cup of morning coffee, an extra can didn't go unappreciated. She licked her lips and let out a giggle when she saw the lipstick stain she had left on the lip of the can. I can do this.
Mr. Bossard only made a few slid remarks throughout the day and Petra made sure to reply with her own snippy ones. After Mr. Rivialle had came out of his office and complained about the ruckus they were making, all Mr. Bossard and Petra did was lower the volume of their voices.
The end of the day came much faster than Petra had been expecting. Then again, the nervousness of her first day had been replaced with thinking about her ever deepening crush on her boss and what biting comeback she could use next to set Mr. Boassard down another peg.
She waved good-bye for the second day and there was a happy spring to her step. Maybe this job will work out after all. I just have to keep that bastard in line...and I need to figure out a way to make Levi notice me. There has to be something I can do...but what?
Then the clouds broke. The vision came and Petra knew her opportunity would come in the form of her Welcome Party. It would be perfect. It was one of the few special times that they could all let loose, drink and generally act any way they wanted with no negative repercussions at work the next day.
The rest of the week flew by in a flash. The only odd thing had happened was that every day there had been a can of her favorite coffee on her desk every morning. She liked to believe that it was Levi, although she really knew better.
"What time do you think you'll be there?" Erd asked as he picked up the last of the paperwork for that Friday.
"Seven, of course." The party started at seven. Why won't she be there at seven? She wrinkled her eyebrows together. "Why are you even asking?"
"The last chick we hired wasn't there until eight. Erd, just figured you would need to put on more make-up than her so...you should be there around, what? Nine? Ten?" Mr. Bossard drawled. He had his chin resting on his hands with a smirk. "It's okay, honey. I still think your doable."
Petra wanted to punch that smirk off of his face. The insults had also morphed into the occasional creepy sexual comment. Did he think girls actually liked that sort of thing? You asked for it. "Then we should be expecting you...say, midnight? It's going to take a lot of work to make that ugly mug presentable. Wouldn't want to scare the waitresses off, would you?"
Mr. Bossard's eyes narrowed and his smirk soured. Petra's expression turned smug. All Erd could do was shake his head in exasperation. He and the rest of the department secretly hoped that they would either have a fist fight or make out that night at the party. Because Petra and Auruo needed to do one or the other before they were locked in a closet and forced to work out their problems.
"What's this I hear? More arguing?" Like always, Hanji seemed to pop up out of no where. Her eyes were wide and she stared from Mr. Bossard to Petra. "Don't forget to brush up on your singing! It's not a proper Welcoming Party unless we're all embarrassed and trashed by the ending!" Hanji's smile was wide and she seemed oblivious to the tension in the room.
Petra's smiled wide in forced sweetness back at the hyper secretary. "I've been practicing all week!"
"You're going to need to practice more than that..." Mr. Bossard whispered under his breath. Petra kicked his shin under the table. Petra was rewarded with Mr. Bossard's hand slipping and he bit his tongue.
After that, Petra's smile was real. Mr. Bossard cursed and reached for the box of tissues on his desk.
Twenty outfits later, Petra was finally on the way to the izakaya that they would eat and drink at before going to the karaoke box. Petra smoothed her skirt again and fought the urge to check her hair in her compact.
She had one braid on the right side of her orange tinted hair and she had put on just a hint of eyeshadow and lipstick. Her skirt was a dark blue and her tights a charcoal gray. Petra had almost wore heels but decided on ballet flats in the end...she did plan on getting fairly drunk and she could barely walk in heels when she was sober.
To top it off, her blouse was a soft yellow and she wore her star pendent necklace. Her dark green jacket hung folded over her arm. All in all, Petra was pleased with her outfit. It didn't look like she was trying too hard...even though she was.
The train ride took forever and she tried to calm her nerves by staring out at the buildings as they rushed by. Everything went by in a blur of color and it helped her to not think. She had been so busy spacing out to the passing scenery she almost missed her stop. Thankfully, the spring air was still cool enough that she didn't break out into a sweat as she walked at a brisk pace to the izakaya.
She was there exactly at seven. When she caught sight of Mr. Bossard she stuck her tongue out at him for just a split second. And that's all the attention he deserves. With that, Petra used all of her energy to search for Levi. He was already sitting between Hanji and Mr. Erwin Smith, the section chief.
Petra scanned the large table and the only empty seat was next to Mr. Bossard. Oh! Come on! I sit across from him all week and now I have to sit NEXT to him?! I swear to god, I need a stiff drink.
Petra sat down and instantly ordered a beer. She pointy refused to even look in Mr. Bossard's direction. She also moved a little closer to Mr. Ness after her elbow accidentally knocked Mr. Bossard. Petra gulped down the first beer and ordered her second before most of her co-workers had even finished half of their first ones.
"You might want to slow down. No one's going to find you attractive with jaundice." Mr. Bossard said. Petra's shoulders stiffed, it was the first words Mr. Bossard had spoken to her all night.
"This coming from the old drunk?" Petra had no claim to her words. In fact, Mr. Bossard's beer was only a quarter empty. Maybe he's right...Except the words had to come from him and that automatically made them something to be challenged. If she admitted he was right and caved in then it would look she was giving in to him. Petra knew she was being stubborn but she didn't care.
He only snorted and went back to his conversation with Gunther. Petra was so concerned with own thoughts that she missed the momentary flash of concern over Mr. Bossard's face. It had softened his eyes and his face had been transformed into one of indulgent exasperation and slight worry.
When her second beer came she took a huge gulp and almost sputtered on the foam. By then the food had arrived and Petra ate her fill of edamame and chicken kebobs. The salty food tasted fantastic with the beer and she fought with Gunther for the last chicken skin kebob.
As the night went on, Petra slowly moved away from Mr. Ness without being aware of it. Her leg bumped onto Mr. Bossard's and it took her a few seconds to actually move it. The touch had been like a electric shock and she had been too stunned to move it. I must be trashed if I'm feeling like this. Petra released a long sigh over the top of her beer mug. I wish it was Levi...
She put down her fourth mug of beer and that was when the liquor finally really hit her. Gunther said something and it made her giggle like a moron. Petra let out a small snort, which only made her giggle harder.
"I think you've had enough." Mr. Bossard pulled the mostly empty mug of beer out of her reach.
"Yes, mom." Her head rolled and she reached for another french fry. She barely avoided getting ketchup all over her blouse.
"Why don't we head to the karaoke bar?" Levi's voice sounded far away. Petra shook her head trying to clear the fog. A glass of water had magically appeared before her and she gulped it down.
Petra stood up and stumped against the table. Mr. Bossard's hand shot out and steadied her. His hand was clamped around her forearm- it was much bigger than she would have imagined. It was strong and steady. Like before, it made Petra's skin tingle until she pulled her arm away.
"Thanks." She muttered. After using the table to steady herself, she followed after the others. Thankfully, the karaoke box was only a block away. After a few unsteady steps out of the izakaya, she reached out for Erd and had him help her walk. Her eyes stayed locked on Levi and she let out a deep sigh. He walks so gracefully...ummmm, he's so hot.
Her head lolled to the side again and a faint voice said in the back of her head that her neck was going to hurt like hell the next day. At least the water had helped clear her up some so she didn't trip over her own feet.
The karaoke box was huge with a small stage at the front. Couches lined the wall and there were two small tables with chairs around them. They ordered drinks and Petra got her first fruity drink of the night. She wanted to get the stale taste of beer out of her mouth. Erd and Mr. Erwin reached for the karaoke controllers and started scrolling through the thousands of song selections.
This made Petra remember that she still had to sing in front of all her coworkers. What if Levi thinks my singing is terrible? What was I thinking? This is such a bad idea. These thoughts were swirling around her head when her drink arrived. Without a second thought, she chugged it down.
Petra could feel the alcohol coursing in her veins and it warmed her stomach. The room's temperature rose and she took off the jacket she had put on when they had walked outside. There was a glean of sweat on the back of her neck and she wiped her clammy palms on her skirt.
You can do this! You love singing...I'm just not very good at it. Erd went first. His song had been popular when she had been in high school. They all enthusiastically sang along. This helped loosen Petra up some. Mr. Erwin's song was more melancholy and serious. They all slow clapped to it and Petra felt her muscles relax even more.
Hanji was next. She pounced all over the stage and unsurprisingly knew the dance to her song. It would figure that Hanji would dedicate herself, down to every fiber of her being, to a karaoke song- it was just her personality. Petra clapped along happily with everyone else and sang the chorus.
Finally, she heard the song she had picked start. A microphone was shoved at her and Gunther dragged her up to the stage. Whatever amount of relaxation she had been feeling was zapped out of her. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. With one huge gulp of air she raised the microphone to her lips.
By the time the first chorus hit, the song had already wrapped around Petra and she was shaking her hips happily to the music. Her nervousness dissolved and she bounced around to the song's upbeat rhythm. She wanted to catch Levi's eye but knew better than to look at him. Instead, she focused on a point far away. The box was dark enough and the spot light bright enough that she could forgot about everyone else.
When the song ended she blinked- almost waking up from a trance. Everyone was clapping and brush blossomed over her cheeks. Petra gave a small bow before handing the mike off. She licked her lips and clamped her hands tight, trying to control her breathing.
The last sober part of her brain tried to tell her that she couldn't handle anymore drinks. Instead of listening to it, she licked her lips and thought only of how desperately good another drink would taste. Her inhibitions about telling Levi about her crush on him were almost silent. She got Erd to order her another fruity cocktail and tried to talk to Hanji over the pounding music.
The drink came and like the many countless other ones before it, Petra drank it down so fast she almost didn't know what flavor it was before it was already gone.
Mr. Bossard stood up to sing his song at almost the exact moment that Levi got up to use the bathroom. It was like the fates had aligned and Petra knew it was the perfect chance to talk to Levi without having to worry about Mr. Bossard butting in.
Petra stood up as best she could and without a word, followed after Levi. She swayed for only a second in the hallway. She groped at the wall and blinked- trying to get her vision to focus. Once she had stood up, it was like all the alcohol had gone straight to her legs. Still, she managed not trip and waited for Levi to come out of the bathroom.
Petra's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was trying to jump out of her chest. Her hands clenched and her mouth grew dry. What do I say to him? That I have a crush on him? That I want to date him? What was I thinking? Fuck! I have to get away!
Before Petra could stumble away, Levi stepped out of the restroom. He cocked one eyebrow up and stared at her unsmiling. "Ms. Ral, what are you doing?"
Petra opened her mouth but all that came out was a small croaking sound. What have I gotten myself into?!