Peace.
He is entirely unaccustomed to it, and yet, here it is. A day of silence, a moment of calm where there is nary a titan in sight for miles. Rivialle and his team sit upon the wall, looking out to the space in front of them for any potential threats.
That is, everyone but Petra.
Her head is tilted back, and her smile is warmer than the sun's rays upon her face. She opens her eyes, the lashes seeming to glitter in the beams of light.
"Today is glorious." She says, faint blush of happiness visible on her face.
Next to her, Erd snorts. "Yeah, you say that now. And then a titan comes."
She scowls and goes to give him a stern look, but he's already smiling apologetically with his hands up, affection and amusement apparent.
"You're mean, Erd!" she exclaims, but she's fighting a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.
"Yeah, yeah." He says, reaching out and ruffling her hair as if she's his little sister. Rivialle looks about the group and has to say that she pretty much is.
A little sister, really. Everyone's.
Except his. She huffs faintly next to him and yawns sleepily. The sun is starting to set, making the entire world reflect on golden orange, lighting Petra in the most flattering of ways, and she gently sags against his shoulder tiredly, leaning her cheek against the highest point. Absentmindedly, he reaches his hand down and sets it atop hers in a comforting gesture, to assure her that it is okay, and when the time comes to leave, she will not be left behind. Next to Auruo, Hanji and Gunter lay napping in a heap of messy limbs, uncaring of danger at any corner. It was a day uneventful, full of half alert soldiers and a moment of rare peace, where the people could relax for but a single moment.
Petra gently loops an arm around him, snuggling into his warmth and Auruo snickers, drawing hearts in the air and making kissy faces with Erd. Rivialle glares at them, but dares not move for the sake of Petra being roused and potentially being unhappy.
He didn't like to see her unhappy.
Gently, he turns his head to look at her and sees the comfortable slack to the muscles of her face. Her eyes are closed, but not creasing or crumpling, and her entire visage is smooth and unperturbed. In a rare moment of affection, he stabilizes his weight so as not to rouse her and moves his free arm to loop a lock of her hair out of her closed eyes, tucking it behind her ear and letting his thumb gently rub against the apex of her cheekbone. She lets out a small sigh of comfort as she turns in to snuggle to him deeper and he finds himself narrowing his eyes in amusement.
The instant he looked back at Erd and Auruo, the both of which were making cute "aww" faces as if they were watching a film he scowled, and all the warmth he had from Petra's face ebbed away into slight irritation.
But this was his family. He lived with them, slept with them, ate with them and, as he stroked his thumb against her cheek again, loved them, to a certain extent. He looked out to the horizon as the sun remained as but a sliver and motioned for the two to wake Hanji and Gunter. They had their day of peace, of comfort, of warmth, and then, tomorrow, it would be time to go back to being soldiers, cold, and hardened.
Hanji grumbled and rubbed her back as she woke, almost smacking Erd across the face until she realized it was him and stood to go to her cot. Gunter sprang to his feet in an instant, ever ready for combat or flight. Everyone turned their eyes to Petra, expecting him to wake her. Rivaille simply raised a sleek brow and stood with her in his arms in a fluid, easy motion. She let out a slight groan as she squirmed for a moment, maneuvering her body to fit in his arms easier. He readjusted his grip to be slip-proof as soon as she settled. Hanji grumbled more, asking why Erd simply couldn't carry her like Rivaille was and he shrugged, making her sleepily irritated, and she easily made distance between the group so as to go to her bed.
No one else said anything as they all made the trek back to their sleeping areas. Hanji usually shared a room with Petra but she practically ran to the space, locking the door behind her. Rivaille held off a sigh as he realized that he would need to let Petra use Irvin's bunk in their shared room, as the man was out. Erd, Auruo and Gunter bid him goodnight as they retired to their own space, listening to the faint footsteps of the petite man and skillful opening and closing of his door with Petra in his arms.
As Rivaille gently sets her upon the cot, he takes note of everything about her. The slight puff and pout of her lips, the length of her lashes, the smoothness of her skin, the tiny nose she possesses and the rosy cheeks. The curve of her body, her lean arms, and slender legs. The brightness of her hair and eyes, so much the color of the sunlight she so loved. Again, he brushes the hair out of her face, and then, sets the blanket atop her to retire to his own bed.
Tomorrow, there would be no peace, no naps, no sleep, and no comfort. It would be cold, hard, rough, and rather dirty, which was never favorable.
And yet, as always, she will attempt to cheer them.
Even if it isn't peace, it's Petra, and he could live with either without complaint. He slowly removes any gear he has on and lays upon the bed, looking out the tiny window they were provided to glance at the darkened sky.
Petra adored the sun, for its visibility, warmth, vitality, and the shine it gave her but Rivaille loved the night. It was one of the few times he could live without constantly being on his toes. And yet, that image of her, with her face upturned to the heavens will forever be imbedded in his mind, the light bright on her skin, making her glow ethereal.
As he slowly goes into his slumber, he is ignorant of the fact that when he last sees her, it will also be with her face upturned to the sun: blood against her forehead, and tears against her cheeks, and he will remember her like that forever.
Dreaming of going to the sky like the angel she very well may be.
Why do I always hurt myself with these fics. T-T What a tragic ship. In any case, far more light hearted than my last one! I may be doing an AU next. So Rivetra fans~ Be on the lookout if you like my writing style!