Summary: Seeing her crumpled body against the tree and watching her body being tossed like a rag, Levi thinks that this is officially the shittiest thing he has participated in. So he decides to change things with his own hands. (Not really an AU, I guess, so characters are a bit OOC.)
A/N: I heard this week is a Rivetra Week, so I read lots of stories and doujins out there. And I got this idea in my head 'why don't I contribute something for our favourite OTP too?' When I think about it, Rivetra is such a painful ship, especially after Petra's death, you know? So I decided to change a bit of the scene.
Disclaimer: Shingeki no Kyojin doesn't belong to me. The story and characters belong to Isayama Hajime-sensei. If they were mine, Rivetra would be the top OTP and lots of characters wouldn't have died.
Levi continues to fly amongst the huge trees, hoping to catch up to his squad as well as Eren, and the Female Titan.
Please let them be safe, he silently prays, though he doesn't believe in the existence of God.
Suddenly he notices a body dangling on his left side, his eyes take a glace on it and he sees Gunter's dead body. His neck sliced and lots of blood coming out from the wound.
Impossible.
He keeps on moving and one by one, he sees the body of Erd, whose body is split in half, presumably after being bitten,
No.
Next, he makes out Auruo's crushed body lying on the ground,
Please, not her, too.
Finally, he finds her leaning against the trunk of a tree, dead. Her eyes blank from any sense of life, her body empty from energy, instead stained with dark red liquid. Blood.
He doesn't want to believe his eyes. He wants to yell at them to knock it off, that this is just some kind of prank that they usually do. Or is it himself that he wants to wake up, hoping this is just one of his nightmares. Even if this is real, he wants to land down there, and hold her body and cry. But he is the corporal, Humanity's Strongest. He cannot stop here and mourn over his teammates. Sacrifice is needed, as he is often told.
But at least spare her from this cruel fate, he feels.
He turns to the horizon and realizes it's almost sunset. Then he crouches next to the four wrapped bodies, and unveiled one of them, revealing an arm of Petra. Very cautiously and slowly, he rips her badge from her sleeve.
At least there's a part of her will always be with me, he thinks, and puts away the badge into his jacket pocket.
A soldier named Dieter, still can't accept the fact that he cannot bring his friend, Ivan's body back. Knowing that he might do something reckless, Levi moves towards the mourning soldier and hands him Petra's badge.
"This is a proof that they were alive," his ice-cold voice says to motivate Dieter.
That's what his mind tells him to do, but his heart aches. He wants to take back his words and grab the badge from him, to keep it to himself forever. However, his pride and position will never allow him to do that. He shouldn't show any favouritism. He shouldn't display weakness. He must hold the image of the cold, heartless corporal.
"Throw the bodies away! They don't mean anything!" He commands, eyes still facing forward. "They're not special! Just throw them away!"
One by one, bodies are thrown overboard, and to be trampled by the chasing Titans. The wagon is much lighter now, and the horses are able to run faster, putting more distance between them.
"It's working! This is the last one!" A man cries, and Levi turns around to see another body being tossed away.
And then his eyes widen when the white clothe opens a bit, showing a glimpse of her golden hair, fair skin and bloodied face.
You fucking bastards! Why did you dispose her!? He almost spewed the words. He has to hold on to the rope tightly to the point his hands shake. A few seconds later, he can no longer hold it in, he almost turns around when the director shouts,
"Cut!"
And that's when everyone busies themselves exclaiming how relieved they are to finish that difficult scene, some takes the horses away to feed them and give them water, some compliments each other for their hard work, some move to help the tossed 'bodies', but no one gives a hand to Petra yet. Right when the director stops the filming, Levi hops off his horse and heads to the girl he cares the most. On the vast, open field, she is seen struggling to sit up right. It must be difficult since her whole body is wrapped with a white clothe and rope.
"Umm, can somebody help me?" She pleads, smiling to herself for looking silly.
Why did she insist to act as the body, and not the stunt double? He angrily asks himself and approaches her in a quick pace.
"Are you feeling alright, Petra?" He inquires, crouching next to her.
"Oh, Levi-san," she says and then blushes lightly. "I'm okay, but it still kind of hurts despite wearing some safety vests."
He unwraps the rope's knots while scolding her, "It's your own fault for volunteering to do the job. What would you do if you hurt yourself from the impact?"
Petra finds it weird that Levi seems to be concerned for her. They're just working together. There is no possible way that he finds her more than as a colleague, she assumes.
Well, he does look cute when worried, she amuses herself and nervously laughs. "It's my final scene, so I don't want my spotlight to be taken away. Besides, I don't want to cause anymore injuries to my stunt double."
By the time he continues, he has finished unwrapping her. "It's their job. They should do it."
"But then why did you cut the badge from my sleeve? That's not a part of the script, right?" She questions, pointing at her sleeve.
Levi tries to hide it. "What are you talking about? You obviously didn't revise the script correctly then."
"No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't there," she insists.
He still attempts to deny it, but then the director comes behind him.
"Well done, everyone. This episode is a success thanks to all your hardwork. Especially you, Levi. I never thought of that idea you came up so suddenly during filming. That part when you ripped of Petra's badge will definitely rise up our ratings thanks to the support of your fans. What do they call themselves again? 'Rivetra shippers'?"
Petra's blush reddens and blurts out, "Director! I thought I asked you not to mention that. Other than that, I don't think that's the only reason for our rising fame. Besides, this is the end of my appearance in the show."
She then stands up and jogs towards her fellow 'dead' comrades, who are washing the blood off their faces. The four of them hook their arms to each other's elbows and call to everyone on the set.
"Everyone, thank you for having us and taking care of us for during our appearances. We hope you'll hang in there and do a better job in the future!"
Before they bowed, Auruo, Gunter, Erd and Petra do their proper salute, which causes the whole filming crew to clap their hands and start cheering. Tears start to form in their eyes and some go to them to embrace the actors for their excellent job as well as a farewell sign.
"Tonight we're going to celebrate the success of our twenty-second as well as a farewell party for Erd, Gunter, Auruo and Petra!" The director declares, leading to a merrier cheering.
Levi, however, still holds his gaze on Petra who tries her best to not spill too much tears by laughing with her friends and crew. He ignores all the praises on him and pats of congratulation, and moves amongst crowd to reach her side. He successfully pulls her out and leads them father from other people's sight.
"What is it, Levi-san?"
He doesn't answer her, but instead puts a hand on her cheek to softly brush off the red makeup on her face.
Why did you have to die? He knows it was just an act, but he can't stand with the idea of Petra getting hurt, and worse, she can no longer act with him, which means less time together with her.
"L-Levi-san!" She panics and her face now is as red as tomato.
"What?" He asks, amused by her reaction.
"Y-your hand... it will be dirtied..."
His amusement increases and he keeps on stroking her face despite completely cleaned her face. "Petra, I wouldn't mind to dirty my hands as long as I could touch your beautiful face."
His comment makes her feel extremely hot that she thinks that she'll combust in fire soon. She stays quiet and enjoys the feel of his hard, calloused hand against her skin, and looks down to her boots. After a while, he removes his hand, much to her disappointment.
"I'll see you at the party tonight," he whispers dangerously close to her ears.
"O-okay," she stutters. And he walks back to the group who are still oblivious of their brief disappearance, leaving her in a more confused state.
That night, the director hosts huge, informal party in his mansion, and everyone is present, including Levi which surprises everyone. He still wears his trademark uniform, a black suit, white shirt and a cravat. His eyes roam around to look for Petra.
All of a sudden, a hand reaches his shoulder from the back. "Hey, Levi! Our man! Care to drink with us, Heichou?" Erd calls him in a drunken state.
"No thanks, Erd. Go and drink with your fiancée or your friends," he says, shrugging his hand off.
"Don't be like that, it's our last drink... oh-"
Gunter, appears to be equally drunk, puts his arm around Erd's neck and pulls him back. "Give him a break, Erd. He's just looking for our Petra. Don't you, Heichou?"
"Gah! I'm so jealous!" Auruo confesses, pouring a whole glass of wine into his mouth. "I'm as awesome as our Heichou, but why can't she see me?"
"And you should calm down, Auruo. You can find another girl," Gunter tries to cheer him up.
"But there are no other women like our Petra!"
As his colleagues keep on talking nonsense, Levi rolls his eyes in annoyance, but he does appreciate and care for them. He then takes this time to escape from them. Walking around the room full of people, he notices Eren hanging out with his friends, Mikasa and Armin, at the same time discussing about their next scenes. Eren obviously doesn't notice that Mikasa has her eyes on, which causes Levi to shake his head. Jean and Marco are quite near to them, talking about how much Marco has missed since his last appearance. Hanji is with Erwin and Moblit, expressing how excited she is to have more appearances in the future, while Erwin dreads for the worst since he's going to lose an arm soon. He keeps on moving and spots Annie, Reiner and Berthold.
"For the last time, Berthold, you should make the first move if you want to ask her out," Annie says, crossing her arms.
"But what if she rejects me? I don't think I'll be able to handle that," Berthold mumbles, fidgeting like a child although his height says the opposite way.
Reiner pats his friend's back as an encouragement. "You'll never know until you try it," he persuades.
Annie scoffs with a cool face, "You're one to talk, Reiner. You don't even have the guts to confess to Krista."
Feeling challenged, he replies, "Yeah? Well watch me."
He proceeds to approach the petite, blonde girl who talks with the tall dark-haired girl, Ymir. "Hey, Krista," he greets.
"Oh, hi Reiner. How are you?" Krista greets him with a smile which makes her look like a goddess along with her long, shiny golden hair.
"I'm doing great. So listen, I was wondering, if you would like to... to..." the big man starts to stammer nervously.
"What is it?" She asks.
"Uh... to, to..."
To support him as well as to help her thickheaded friend, Ymir whispers at him, "C'mon, buddy. You better say the words, or else you'll miss your chance. Well, Krista. I gotta go to grab more drinks."
With that, Reiner is left alone with Krista. And Annie sees this opportunity for Berthold so she shoves the man to Ymir's side.
"Go and get them, boys," she silently cheers for them, and forms a small smile.
She's too focused eyeing on her happy friends that she doesn't notice Armin who stands behind her, blushing hard and looking as nervous as her friends just a few seconds ago.
Levi frowns, feeling a bit envious that most of his colleagues are already with the ones that they are interested in, so he keeps his pace, still looking for Petra, Where the hell is she?
In an instance, for some reason, he turns to an open balcony on his right side. He doesn't know why, but his legs draw him to the starry night. And then there she is, wearing a plain orange leather shirt and a brown skirt. Her hair flows along the soft breeze. For most people, she may look like an ordinary girl. But for him, she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, especially when she looks more feminine than usual.
"Petra."
She turns around and smiles at him nervously and tucks a strand of hair behind her hair. "Hi, Levi-san."
"I've been looking for you. What are you doing out here?"
She clarifies, "It's quite stuffy in there, so I'm looking for some fresh air."
He feels like he's interrupting her time, but he can't bring himself to leave so he asks for her permission, "Do you mind if I join you? You look like you need a bit of company or would you prefer to have a drink."
Petra doesn't believe her ears. Did the rude Levi Ackerman just asked to let him accompany her? She can't hold her happiness and immediately allows him. "It's okay. I'm not thirsty. I don't think you'll be able to get near to the refreshments since Sasha is there, gobbling all the food even though Connie tries to stop her for a while. And, of course I don't mind."
Then, he moves to stand next to her, with a very small distance between their bodies. "It is surprisingly starry tonight," he comments.
"You're right. I wish every night is like this: accompanied by beautiful starts and you-" she quickly corrects herself, "I mean, someone to talk to."
But he clearly heard it and gazes at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Eh?"
"No need to pretend, Petra. I heard you loud and clear, so there's no point to hide it from me."
In her defense, she answers his question with her own shaky query, "Well, I want to know why you added the extra part in the script first."
So that's how she wants to play it. Then so be it. He approaches her closer and tilts her chin so their eyes meet.
"Do you really want to know the reason?" He asks with a serious tone, eyes stern as usual.
She wishes to gaze somewhere else, but his grey eyes are just so captivating that she can't look elsewhere. "Y-yes..."
Without any warning, he wraps his arms around her, surprising her even more than before. "It's because of you, Petra," he begins. "I hate that you have to die in the show. You deserve more appearances than that. I despise that they had to throw your body to be trampled by Titans."
"Calm down, Levi-san. It was all just an act," she tries to soothe him by rubbing his back.
"But what I cannot stand the most is the idea of not being able to see you, talk to you or just spend some time with you almost everyday on set anymore. That's why I tore the badge from you. I did it due to my selfishness. I wanted to at least have something belonged to you so that I can feel your presence when you're not with me."
She feels as if she's in a dream. Is this really the Levi that she knows? The Levi that she falls in love with? If it is really him, then this is a new side of him that she just discovered. "But why, Levi-san?"
He inhales and pulls back before saying the words he wanted to say for a long time. "It's because I like you, Petra. I always wanted to say it to you, but I'm just a coward. However, after seeing your death scene today, I can no longer ignore my feelings anymore. And I don't think the badge will be enough if I had it with me right now."
Petra can't utter any word and her eyes start to tear up, due to how happy she feels right now. Levi continues to surprise her, when he put his hand into his jacket and pulls out a small black box which has a pair of silver rings in it. She gasps and instantly covers her mouth to hold her squeal.
"Petra, let's go out together. I know it's not as romantic as most movies are. And I cannot afford a wedding ring, yet. So will you be mine until the day you and I get married so we can continue our lives together after that?"
She can't hold it in anymore. Before she answers him, she leaps into his arms and hugs him tightly. "Yes, Levi-san. I will go out with you!"
"Thank you, Petra." He returns her embrace and presses his head against her hair that smells like caramel.
They pull back so that they can put the rings to each other's fingers. She eyes the ring that has Levi's name on it, before bursting into tears and Levi puts his hands against her cheeks to wipe the tears away.
"I love you, Petra." He confesses.
And she replies with the brightest smile he has ever seen, "I love you, Levi-san."
With that, the two press their lips together, Levi's hands still on her face and Petra's palms on his chest. After a moment, he tilts his head to the side to kiss her deeper, and she happily responds to it. He pulls her body flush against his by moving his hands from her cheeks to her waist. Then they pull apart due to lack of air so they put their foreheads against each other and stare into each other's eyes. Amber meets grey. They have smiles on their faces, and Petra hopes that she will see more of Levi's rare smile as of tonight.
"Finally, it has happened, huh?" A voice comes from the inside, and they realize that everyone is witnessing them, clapping, which is why they feel extremely embarrassed. Petra covers her face with her hands to hide her red face while Levi glares at them, eyes shooting daggers.
"Have you not fucking heard the term 'privacy' before?" He yells at them.
"Took you long enough, Levi," Erwin comments with a smirk.
"Congratulations, Petra-san, Levi-Heichou," Eren cheers along with his friends who are as happy as he is.
"I am so gonna post all these pictures into the internet!" Hanji admits loudly, snapping a lot of photos of the two with her phone.
Moblit stands behind her anxiously. "Hanji- Taichou, if you do that, you'll be-"
That set Levi into his killer mode and starts to chase Hanji with a scary aura. "SHITTY GLASSES! GIVE ME THAT DAMN PHONE!"
She makes a face at him playfully as she's being chased. "No way! Fans will be extremely happy with this news!"
While everyone is amused by the ruckus made by the two, Petra still stands at the balcony alone, staring at the shining silver band around her finger. She kisses it and feels beyond happy, that she and Levi are together now, and after that, for a long time.
A/N: Geez, I almost squealed most of the time while writing this. Happy Rivetra ending is just awesome and blissful. Happy Rivetra Week, shippers! Reviews make me smile.