15 Minutes
"What if I told you that the world was gonna end, And you had fifteen minutes to spend with me or your friends?"
Levi was falling, to his death, he realized. The fall wouldn't be what killed him, not that it would help any. His death would be from the titan that had grabbed him in place of Eren Jaeger. The brat was always too reckless. The shitty brat had rushed into battle, like always, and was going to be snatched by a titan. Levi was too far away to kill it, but not too far to shove the idiotic brat out of the way. And that was how he had ended up in his current situation. He was strangely calm, though a little upset that he'd be dying in a dirty uniform stained with his own blood. And as he fell, he thought back to his friends. Shitty Glasses would probably cry; not now on the battlefield but later, when everything was over. When the walls were down. Shitty Eyebrows was already gone and if there was an other-side, he'd probably be there waiting. But given their histories, they'd probably rot in hell together. Furlan and Isabel would have gone the other way but would want to be there, too, with Furlan smiling quietly while Isabel would probably be bawling her eyes out like the kid she was. His squad were the next most likely candidates, jostling each other to greet him properly. Oluo would still be trying to imitate him, Gunther would scold everyone for not using their manners, Eld would be asking about his fiancée, and Petra would just stand there with a warms smile…Petra…
"Would you take the first bus over to my house or would you take the last plane over the West Coast?"
It always came back to Petra, no matter how hard he tried. She had always been a part of his day; waking up early and brewing coffee; he never admitted it before, but hers was always the best. When he was doing the squad's paper work, she'd stop by occasionally. She'd just sit there next to him, in silence, helping to finish the various reports; occasionally handing him a form that needed his signature or getting up temporarily to make them both tea. They one time she did strike a conversation was after a particularly deadly battle.
"Captain..."she'd started, going through her chosen share slower than usual.
"What?" Was all he'd said in return. He hadn't bothered looking up from his current form, yet another "I'm sorry for your loss…"
"Do you really think the walls will ever come down?" He'd finally stopped to look over at her, see the distant look in her eyes. Smile no longer attached to her face. She was the most optimistic of the squad and his skill with emotions was…poor…at best.
"Either we'll take down the shitty walls ourselves or one day the titans will." It wasn't exactly reassuring but it was honest; he wasn't going to spin bullshit for her.
"Do you think this is what our ancestors imagined for us?" He had no fucking clue. Those sadistic assholes had set up their society where fat pigs ruled while the people starved. As if they gave half a shit about their descendants.
"Maybe." He wasn't going to spin bullshit but he knew enough to not drag her mood even lower.
"I used to imagine myself flying over the walls, seeing the outside. That's why I loved the 3D maneuver gear so much…Anyway, I'm sorry for talking so much. I'll grab you some tea." And then she quickly left, after a quick wipe of her eye, darting out the door. On his own, he went over there encounter, unable to shake his guilt at not doing a better job of conversing. No one ever taught him what he was supposed to fucking say. When she'd returned he'd already gone back to his papers, her words replaying in his head. She set the tea cup down in front of him then resumed her share as well.
"I used to dream of flying away, too…" It had caught Petra off guard; he heard her quick intake of breath. But then they both just let the conversation die again, never to be addressed again.
"See at times like these with a change of heart, It was over and done before we had a start."
It had taken him a long time to admit his feelings for her. She was already gone by the time he admitted to himself that he'd fallen in love with her. But even if she were here, alive and well, they still wouldn't have been together. He'd resolved never to have a wife and children; there was no use bringing anyone else into this shitty world. And why subject a woman to the constant danger that his life was in? It was easier to be alone. Even if she'd broken his resolve, he was too old for her. She was at least fifteen years younger than him. She deserved someone her own age. Someone who shined as bright as she did and wasn't tainted by years of crime and death.
But sometimes, while left alone with only his thoughts and no way to make them reality, he'd let himself, for just a moment, imagine. Imagine a life where they weren't doomed before they began. A life without the walls, without those shitty titans, without the constant pain and poverty that lingered in their society. Where she was still okay and shining like the sun; his sun. Where he could give her the happiness and children she deserved. And then he'd open his eyes and she'd still be dead and the world would still be made of shit.
"It goes on in my head and I'll wind up dead singing sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la"
Thoughts of her continued to swirl around his mind as he finally hit the ground and what little life he had left began to escape. He could hear the rest of the brats yelling for him, but couldn't care less. His time was up and there was no serum around this time for a miracle save. And so the memories of Petra and her light danced around his head, ushering him into what would come next. Shitty Brows and his friends came up, again, too. A constant reminder of all that may be waiting for him. And thus, Humanity's Strongest Soldier exhaled his last breath as his new Special Operations Squad crowded around him. As they looked at him, they saw something they never thought they'd see, a true smile on his face.
A/N: I obviously don't own the song "15 Minutes" that honor belongs to Mike Krol, here's the full citation: Krol, Mike. "15 Minutes". By Mike Krol. I Hate Jazz. Counter Counter Culture, 2011. LP Hopefully, this means I won't have any copyright violations. Anyway, I only used the first half of the song. This story was inspired by the line "It was over and done before we had a start" because I imagine that if Levi and Petra did have feelings for each other, neither would act on them. Hope you enjoyed the story. Also, does anyone know why SNK has two pages on here? One goes by Attack on Titan and the other by Shingeki No Kyojin. It just seems smarter to consolidate them, ya know?