Hey there! (:
This is my first attempt at Rivetra, and it's fairly short at that D: Just a little drabble. Enjoy :D
Image: Not mine.
Life is short, he often tells himself, and he knows that he has to make the most of it while he can – because every single expedition beyond the walls is a time that he could be killed, that any of his soldiers can be brutally slaughtered. He knows of the risks – they all do – yet they continue flirting with death for the sake of restoring humanity, and he'd made up his mind long before now that he would dedicate his life for that reason.
He's surprised that he's lived this long with all the danger he's constantly putting himself through – his comrades become a bloody snack for the titans, yet he almost always escapes unscathed – but he won't complain. He wants to do as much damage as he possibly can before he dies, so he doesn't let the gore and tragedy around him affect him – at least, not until he meets Petra.
She's the soldier with a sassy attitude that can stand up to him despite how intimidating he can be; she's the only one that he'll comfort with a loving embrace at night after curfew. He's never shown emotion before – not like this – and it's a sweet release, making his heart twist and clench in a way that leaves a beautiful feeling in the pit of his stomach. The only thing he knows now is that he never wants her to leave him; he wants to be with her forever, but oh, he'll never tell her that unless she admits it first.
But he knows this next mission is dangerous, and he's given the girl and the other members of his squad orders that are dangerous – but there's no one else he'd trust with such a task. Protect Eren, he told her, and he left her to it.
And when he returns, he regrets it all. Her body is pressed against a tree, blood spattered over her face and spine clearly broken. It's sad, he thinks, that a beautiful girl almost ten years younger than he* has died in such a horrible way. And to think he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her…he sighs, blinking down at her body.
Life is short; he knows that. Petra's proven it.
But perhaps his life wasn't short enough.
*idek what their real ages are, but that's my headcanon, that he's in his early-mid thirties and she's in her early twenties. If there's an official age for them, PM me or leave it in a review pls :D
(:Mizune