Rewards
By Holly-Batali
Author's Note: Just a cute lil V-Day fic for you all! I wrote this for the Rivetra Swap on Tumblr (I forgot to write it, really, and so I just panicked and slapped this down in like five minutes, but feel free to pretend I actually plotted it out very carefully XD)
What's this? Holly wrote an in-canon fic?! Que suprise!
I'll be posting the VERY LAST chapter of Enchanting tonight, so here's a little something to tide you over!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Like, seriously, I'm eating microwave mac n' cheese, people.
Levi shrugged off his pack, letting it drop to the wooden floor with a 'thump'. He grumbled to himself as he stripped off his boots and hung up his thick fur-lined coat on the scratched wooden peg next to the door. He sighed as he made his way back through the safe house to the kitchen, where he could make out the faint sounds of a spoon on a pot at the soft humming of the room's occupant. As he approached the doorway, the voice stopped humming and called out to him.
"Welcome back! I have coffee ready in here if you want some."
"Do you really have to ask?" Levi grumbled, dropping into one of the sturdy wooden chairs at the table, the legs skidding back an inch or two on the floor with his weight.
Petra laughed and grabbed a plain white ceramic mug from the cupboard and filled it up with coffee. Levi watched the steam lazily curl from the mug, fading into nothing as Petra brought the mug over and set it on the table. He grunted in thanks and picked it up, bringing it to his mouth and tiredly downing most of the contents in one go.
"How was the assignment?" Petra asked, her ginger blonde hair swaying as she turned on her heel to go back over to the coffee pot, bringing the whole thing over and refilling Levi's mug. She set it down on a wooden trivet on the table and sat in the chair across from Levi, pushing her hair behind her ears before lacing her fingers in front of her face, elbows propped up on the table.
"Ridiculous," Levi grouched, taking another drink and trying not to sigh in appreciation; Petra's coffee was always the best, and she always made the pot to his liking rather than leaving it to him to make adjustments. "Mike and I were stuck guarding the damn caravan all the way to Trost; if it was so important that they needed to be protected, they should have hired some damn bodyguards, or better yet the Stationary Guard or the MP. It sure as hell wasn't worth the Corp's time, much less worth bothering the best of us." He scoffed and took another gulp.
"A waste of my damn time. They think I don't have better shit to do?"
"Well, we haven't had much success lately," Petra reasoned. "People are starting to get a little upset with us. Well, more so than usual," she amended at Levi's snort. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "If nothing else, this will show the people that we're doing our best by them. The caravan had important supplies for the winter, and without those there would be a lot of people freezing and starving in Trost. This will keep them pacified a little longer."
Levi could see her point, even if he didn't care to. Mike had said as much (in fewer words, of course), but the shorter man had been in too foul a mood to really care why he was out in the freezing rain, just that he was.
Petra laughed and Levi's eyes snapped from his mug to her face. "What's so funny?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"It's nothing," Petra snickered, waving a hand in front of her face. "You just looked so put out that someone was trampling your righteous vendetta."
Levi raised an eyebrow. "My righteous vendetta, huh?" he parroted. "Well, if the shoe fits." This just made Petra laugh harder, and Levi hid his small smirk behind his mug.
"I suppose your revenge will have to wait," she teased. "Because dinner is almost done and the boys will be back soon, so go wash up." She laughed and stood. Levi grumbled into his coffee. Erd , Gunter, and Auruo had been sent to go and collect supplies from the nearby town and were due back just after nightfall.
Levi smirked mischievously. "There's still a few minutes before they get here," he remarked.
"Oh?" Petra asked as if to say 'what of it?'
"So if I can't have my revenge," Levi continued, standing up and setting his mug down on the table. "I should at least get a consolation prize."
Petra smirked. "Oh, a 'consolation prize'?" She leaned back against the counter and folded her arms in front of her, eyebrows raised in challenge. "And what might that be?"
Levi pounced, grabbing his girlfriend around the waist and pulling her closer. "I'll show you," he said, leaning in—
SLAM. "We're back!" Levi growled. Of all the shitty timing!
Petra slipped from his grasp and danced away, laughing over her shoulder. "Sorry," she apologized sweetly. "But that's first prize. Consolation prize will have to be a home-cooked meal~" she sang, walking down the hallway to help the boys with their loads.
Levi blinked, his face slack. What the HELL.
Gunter and Auruo volunteered to wash the dishes after dinner and Erd went out to check the horses. Levi cleaned up the table and then went back to his room to fill out the report for his assignment, still grumbling. We escorted the assholes, dropped them off, I went back to the safe house, and my girlfriend got way too much enjoyment out of torturing me, he mentally composed. The f***ing end.
He closed his door behind him and began the long arduous process of pulling off all of his belts and harnesses for his gear, storing it in his desk drawer before sitting down on the edge of the bed and stretching his stiff arms. There was a knock on the bedroom door. "It's open," he called grouchily. What now.
Petra came in, holding up Levi's pack that he'd dropped by the door. "Figured you'd want this," she said and came in to set it in the corner of the room.
Yeah, Levi thought sarcastically. Of all the things I want right now, my pack is waaay up there on the list. "Thanks," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair tiredly; it had been a long day. He closed his eyes and sighed, dreading writing his report. I'll just leave it until tomorrow.
Petra gently grabbed his hand and kissed him lightly; Levi's eyes opened in surprise. Petra winked. "I think you did well enough today that you deserve first prize."
Levi blinked and then chuckled. "You would," he muttered, pulling her down into his lap and making her yelp in surprise. "In that case," he told her, winding his arms around her warm waist. "It would be rude not to accept my prize."
Maybe, Levi mused as he threaded a hand through Petra's hair, this assignment hadn't been a total loss. Just maybe.