This was my rivetra secret santa gift for the lovely, wonderful and amazing qween-ceyrai on tumblr, i hope you all enjoy! :)
A/N: Petra is the Captain of the Scouting Legion, she joins the Legion just as Levi did in canon and he does as she did in canon. It's as if they changed positions in time although she's not as old as he supposedly is in canon. Also, he's still a thug/ex-thug in this story so that doesn't change.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan or any of its characters.
Training sessions in the Scouting Legion were quite a common ordeal, after all, the soldiers had to stay in form, and some hand in hand combat was never out of place: you never knew when you would need it. But this particular training session wasn't quite like the others. Usually every squad in the Legion would practice under the watch of their squad leaders, but this time every member of the Scouting Legion had been gathered for a joint training session. And not only that, but both the new Commander and Captain had made themselves present as they watched new and veteran soldiers fight against each other. What most of them didn't know though was the reason for that special occasion: Deciding the fate of a particular soldier.
"Could you please take care of him, Captain?" Erwin asked as he leaned closer to her.
"Sorry commander, but I'm not a babysitter. He'll be on my team if I think he deserves to be on it and so far… he doesn't qualify" she replied matter-of-factly.
"Doesn't qualify?" Erwin said as a smirk slipped on his face. "How does he not qualify? He's the best soldier we've ever had"
"Physically that may be true, but he doesn't do well with others and you know how dangerous it is to have a lone wolf in a small group"
"Petra, the reason why I'm not ordering you to take him, but I'm rather asking you is because I truly trust your judgment, but I can't agree with you on this. Just give the man a chance, now that I'm the commander I can't take care of him anymore and you're the next best thing I believe"
"So, I'm second best?" she asked and then scoffed. "You offend me, Erwin" She opened her mouth once again to reject his request, but the pleading look on his face took her aback making her say instead: "Okay, but if he even puts one of my subordinates in danger I'm kicking him out without a second chance"
"I don't expect any less" he said smiling proudly.
With everything settled, Levi moved in with the rest of his new team.
The Scouting Legion wasn't very big on money, but at least they could afford somewhat comfortable residences for some of the Squads. Of course, the Captain's Squad was the most benefited one in this arrangement.
"Welcome to the Special Operations Squad, Levi" the captain said.
"Sure" he replied looking away.
Noticing his disinterest, she walked closer to him and pulling his cravat she forced him to look her in the eyes. "Never. Ever. Look away when talking to a superior officer. Understood, soldier?"
For a moment he looked as if he would reply with a profanity, but instead he said: "Yes, sir" through clenched teeth.
"Good" she replied before letting go and ordering him to introduce himself to the rest of the squad.
Levi sat on the grass as he clutched his leg trying to stop the bleeding.
He had been especially unlucky that day considering how his 3D maneuver gear had given out just as he approached a titan. Mostly because he was moving as fast as possible, and when it came to him that meant way faster than any other. So without a doubt when he promptly fell from the sky and into the ruins of an old house he hurt himself pretty badly. Worst of all: his speed had been so high that even after he fell, he rolled down outside.
Examining the damage and the fact that he couldn't move his limb without screaming in agony, he figured he had broken it.
Thinking back on the position he was in, he realized that he couldn't see any of his comrades nearby, and that… he could hear and feel the vibrations of giant steps coming his way. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" he said under his breath. That was definitely his end. Not only was his 3DMG damaged and away from him, but also he couldn't run. He couldn't even stand up.
Suddenly he noticed a big shadow covering him and all his surrounding areas and taking into account that the steps had ceased, he turned. The titan must've been an eight meter one, or at least that was what he thought as he stared back at the beast standing in front of him, praying to gods that he had never even believed in for it not to hurt too much.
The second the titan's hand moved towards him, it was rapidly interrupted by a couple of blades cutting it as fast as humanly possible. Shortly after, another pair of blades wielded by none other than the Captain of the Scouting Legion cut through the titan's nape making the monster fall on its back right in front of a speechless Levi.
Even as his teammates ran to his aid and helped him towards the injured cart, he couldn't stop staring at her. And as the loss of blood and the pain caused him to lose consciousness, her image was the only thought in his mind.
When he woke up in a hospital's bed, he was terrified. Memories of his past invaded him with a tint of ferocity he wasn't quite ready to face. Knives and fights to stay alive were suddenly as fresh as if they were happening right then and with that adrenaline rush, he sat as fast as he could. Of course, that was a horribly bad idea: his leg started hurting again with a new found intensity and he couldn't even scream. He felt like passing out again.
"Now, don't be such a weakling, Levi" said a voice that he recognized much too well. Petra stood by his door, staring with an amused expression in her face. Or at least it seemed amused in his eyes. As she walked closer her small smile slipped away and her apparent worry made its way to her eyes. "How are you feeling?" she said taking a hold of his hand.
He didn't break her gaze as he squeezed hers tight, trying with all his might to suppress the sob that threatened to come out of his dry lips. Levi wasn't one to cry and he certainly wasn't going to change that, so he pressed his mouth into a thin line and when he felt like talking was an option once again, he replied: "I'm hanging in there… Thank you for saving me"
She shook her head in response and as her tiny smile made its second appearance onto her face, she said: "It's my job"
Once it was possible for him to move back in to the HQ, Levi did so without a single complain from his side. It wasn't that before he had been resistant of his orders, but he hadn't been particularly happy to follow them either. This time though it was totally different. It was almost as if he was happy to see his comrades again and this didn't go unnoticed by them.
Erd had been the one to cut off the hand of the titan that had almost killed him, but he was also one of the most experienced in the group (apart from the captain), so when he started making kissing noises around him and doing incredibly suggestive gestures with his hands, Levi was surprised to say the least.
He tried to leave the room, but he wasn't much familiarized with his clutches yet, so it obviously took him too long to move, and thus: it was too late to escape. The next thing he knew, Erd placed one arm over his head taking advantage of the height difference. "So, Gunther, did you know that as Levi here lost consciousness he kept repeating 'Petra, Petra, Petra' nonstop? It was pretty hilarious"
"Oh, really?" the alluded said.
"Yeah, it seems that someone has a bit of a crush on the captain"
Levi pushed his comrade away, tumbling slightly, but after all, successfully not falling and said: "Yeah, and that someone is going to cut off your head and feed it to the horses the second you get distracted"
"Auruo, did our incredibly short teammate just admit to be crushing on the Captain?" Erd asked as he turned towards his friend.
"It seems he just did" Auruo replied before walking closer to Levi. "Gotta get in line if you want some of that, newbie"
As if mirroring what he had experienced before, Levi pulled on Auruo's shirt and once he felt they were close enough to each other, he said: "I may be new here, but you know damn well that even with my leg broken I can fucking slice up your flesh like the useless piece of meat you are"
Before anyone could argue otherwise the air got incredibly tense and noticing their change in expression, Levi figured he picked the wrong moment to intimidate his reckless teammates. When he turned around, he was faced with a very angry Petra. She crossed her arms over her chest and mouthed (without emitting any sort of sound): "Levi. My office. Now" As he started making his way towards the place she ordered him to, she said: "Auruo, Erd, Gunther, you three clean the whole place from top to bottom. If I see a single speck of dust tomorrow, there will be no mercy"
After he managed to sit in the chair directly in front of hers, she started talking. "You know a superior officer/subordinate relationship is frowned upon, don't you?"
Her question took him completely by surprise as he stared back at her, mouth open, at a loss for words.
Realizing he was unable to reply, she continued: "I'm going to let you out with a warning on this one, but remember that fighting with your peers, for whatever reason it's unacceptable and I won't stand for it. Understood, soldier?"
"I… umm… ye-yeah" he said, still dumbfounded.
"Great. Now go and rest, starting tomorrow you will have to do your best to stay in form without compromising your leg too much"
"… Yes, sir"
After a particularly extenuating recovery of his injury and the rehabilitation that went after it was safe to walk once again, Levi found himself able to participate in all the regular training he had been missing out for months. He wasn't especially fond of the normal training, but rehab with the Squad Leader Hanji wasn't exactly pleasant and he was beyond glad that was over.
It also meant that he could see the captain regularly again. He tried not to dwell on that too much, though because he considered that even though he clearly had some sort of infatuation about her, it could've never been more than a crush. And even if it were, she had been very serious about not crossing the professional line between them, and she most likely wasn't even interested in him.
He felt that he still had much to learn when it came to fighting and living, before he could admit any sort of affection towards her. But the moment she had saved him wasn't treasured in his heart just because she did so, but because she did it as her job. She would've saved anyone else with any sort of hesitation, with the same tenacity as she had him. And that was why she was the captain, why she was in the Scouting Legion: because she truly wanted to fight for humanity, to be free and live outside the walls with everyone else. And even though a part of him still thought that it was a silly goal… that it was too much to hope for… He aspired for that too. He wanted to be like her, to protect people expecting nothing in return, to live free of hunger, poverty, fear of the titans. It was truly the closest definition of heaven he could think of, and even if the skeptic in himself wanted to do otherwise, he decided to commit to the cause.
With that thought in mind, he worked as hard as he could. He tried to be useful in battle. He even tried to work together with the rest of the Squad. But it wasn't until the 57th expedition that his efforts were completely rewarding.
They had lost Gunther, but his combined efforts with Erd and Auruo earned him the title of "humanity's strongest" as they together defeated the Female Titan. Though regardless of the fact that they had successfully prevented Annie Leonhardt's attempt at kidnapping Eren Jaeger, her capture hadn't been as successful. The moment they tried to pull the teenage girl's body out of the titan she engulfed herself in some sort of crystallized material, unbreakable no matter what they used, and making all their hard work feel meaningless.
In spite of that, he had earned his peers' respect, and more importantly: hers.
He noticed how she made time to be around him more, and even though he thought that he might've been imagining it, he decided to take a leap of faith and work his way around being alone with her as well. Before he knew it they were alone at the HQ's living room, both silent right after Eren had left for his room.
The rest of the Squad had decided to take a leave to recharge energies right after the expedition, to be with their families again and to grieve the loss of their friend. The next morning they would have a meeting with Erwin, but in the meantime they were together, nervous and mute.
"So… 'Humanity's Strongest', huh? That's a… It has a nice ring to it" she said trying to break the ice.
"Oh, umm… yes… it's… nice"
"Nice" she said smiling.
"Nice" he replied as he followed.
"Nice" As she repeated the word, her expression grew warmer, her tone softer, a smile making its way to her face.
For some reason he felt impelled to look away, so he looked at his intertwined fingers lying in his lap and whispered: "Nice"
Suddenly, he felt as the palm of her hand slowly caressed his cheek and he looked up. "Cap-" whatever he had wanted to say died on his mouth as she pressed her lips against his, finally breaking the space between them. The kiss didn't last longer than three seconds, but it was all it took for him to realize how much he actually wanted her.
So when she pulled away and said: "I'm sorry, that was stupid, I shouldn't… Forget that just happened, please?" he felt couldn't help but to mouth "no" and lean back against her, wrapping one arm around her and using the other to tangle his fingers in her hair. Feeling his intensity as he deepened the kiss and their tongues met, she made her way to sit on his lap as she took a hold of his hair herself.
When their breathings grew heavier, they broke apart in favor of air, and that's when it slipped. "I love you" he said out of nowhere.
She tensed up for a moment as she stared at him, but before he could take the words back, she replied: "I love you too" Her statement moved him more than he expected as he realized that he couldn't stop trailing kisses along her face, jaw line, neck, little ones on her nose, through her cheeks, her forehead and finally landing once again on her lips.
The upcoming meetings, the grieving, and the possibility of a trial for the commander would give them much more to worry later, but for the time being they were just Petra and Levi, no titles, no past, no future, just in that moment alone, that present. They would treasure those kisses forever, and they would look back on them when the titans were gone and their grandkids young and active, when they said their wedding bows, when the walls came down. But in that moment they were just two humans seeking warmth from the person they cherished the most, and even if they had to wait a long time before being that close to each other again, it was all worth it.