A/N: My first Levitra, sorry if it sounds off ;-;!
He marched along the tombstones of fallen soldiers, clenching his fists. His head hung low, his hair covering his usually expressionless face. He wore his uniform, along with his cape that bears the emblem of the Wings of Freedom, and his handkerchief. The wind blew against him, more vicious as time ticked by. He fought through the current, reaching a tombstone near a tree whose leaves are beginning to fall, as autumn comes nearer.
He inched closer, carefully observing it. He swooped his hair away to get a clearer look and sighed. He knelt down right in front of the stone, closing his eyes. His right hand formed a fist, which he knocked the ground below, frustrated. He looked at the sky, shutting his eyes closed as tears started to pour down from them. He gritted his teeth, trying best not ever showing that he was crying.
He stood up, trying to cover his face with his hands; but to no avail. The tears were never ending, droplet by droplet falling out. He kicked the ground, yelling in frustration.
"Dammit!" he screamed, causing birds nearby to leave in a gust. He rapidly wiped his tears away, regaining his cool. He tidied himself, fixed his uniform and hair. He then knelt back down in front of the grave - the grave that was marked with the name of Petra Ral.
"Oi." he greeted, as of usual. He leaned in closer, whispering "It's me, so say something." he leaned back, not expecting a single sound out of it. He sighed. Why is he even doing this - he's Levi. Levi does not have time to grief over a lost, he has to move on as quickly as he could. Let the past be the past. Let it all go.
But this was different, he was different. This didn't feel like any other time at all, this time he was even angrier. He wasn't there to do anything. He had failed and caused the lives of his once most trusted group. He was at fault.
"I'm sorry." he looked downwards, noticing a bouquet of flowers that he'd left the last time he visited. They still looked fresh, though the lack of needed supplies have triggered their slow death. Levi gritted his teeth, looking back at the markings of the grave. "I'm so, so sorry." he said, a burning feeling inside of him. A feeling he want gone.
That feeling would have easily gone away by now. Something was missing, the cure for it was missing. Levi's right palm curled up into a fist, and he puts it to where his heart lies. He closed his eyes, recalling the past that he have had with his old squad; with the girl whose grave's he's knelling down before.
The expedition has just been done. The number of deaths - countless. Even with the new strategy, preventing any deaths were of no progress. In the hearts of some, if not all, the members of the Survey Corps held guilt - why hadn't they stopped the titans? Were they selfish for letting their comrade die instead of themselves?
In the head quarters of the Survey Corps, the members of the Special Operation Squad were busy cleaning the place up. The light was quite dim, and it was quite chilly, even for the inside. One shorter soldier wore a boring look on his face, presumably the unit's leader, sat down on one chair next to a dining table.
A girl with auburn hair, who appears to be shorter than him, walks up to him holding a cup filled with liquid. She left the cup on the table next to the man, tossing in a smile. He glanced at her with an indifferent expression before reaching out for the cup. He took a sip of the steaming hot drink from the cup - coffee.
"I thought you'd like some coffee after… after today." she said, dropping the smile. Her eyes showed her sincerity, he could tell. He nods, putting the cup down back on the table.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, turning to leave. Miraculously, he heard it. He stood up, grabbing her soldier in a split second. She gasped, obviously surprised by his sudden actions. She turned to look at him, being greeted by nothing but a frown.
"Don't be." he mumbled, letting her go. He looked away, and started to walk to the other direction. He stopped midway, while the girl was still just standing there. "Don't add so much sugar to the coffee next time, Petra." he adds, before continuing.
She stood there, dazed. He then disappeared from sight, leaving her all alone. The other members have left earlier, so she had to be the one who cleans up the afterwords. But she couldn't move from her place, she just froze there.
He called her. He called her by her first name.
That's a first - Lance Corporal does not call just about anybody by their first names. You'd be lucky if he doesn't call you a brat and address you by your surname. But he had called her by her first name. The first time ever since she joined the Special Operations Squad.
Inside, she was delighted, without knowing the real reason. She wanted to scream with joy right about then, she wanted to shout out loud. She felt as if she was at the top of the world just then.
"He called me… Petra." she chattered to herself. She sighs, looking around for any sign of human activity - nobody. She placed her hand against her chest, feeling her own heartbeat as she jumped and squealed at the fact that he had called her by her name.
And what she didn't know was that he had been right there watching from afar all this while.
"That was years ago." he finally said, snapping out of his thoughts. Tears started streaming down his face again. He didn't care. Who cares if someone sees him crying? "Y-your s-mile…" he stuttered, controlling his voice. He gives a faint smile, trying to calm. "I-I w-wish I c-could see it a-again." he sniffed, knowing that if he continues this, his uniform will be with dirt.
"I'll… I'll never forget." he whispered to the stone, standing up to leave. "Thank you. Thank you for everything." he turned to leave, walking away with as a gentle breeze blows at the opposite direction. He tucked his hands into his pockets, heading towards the site of the headquarters.
"And after all this while, the coffee's still too sweet." he laughed quietly, contently continuing his journey home.