Author's note: This is the last chapter, hope you enjoy.


Chapter 12: Her Soldier

She felt like she might throw up and her hands started shaking. Why would the school send a notification so long after she dropped out? She knew it was probably standard procedure but the timing couldn't have been worse.

Especially considering it was Levi's big day.

If only he had received the letter tomorrow.

She reached for her cell phone and called Levi, unsure of what else she could do.

"Hello?" His voice was cool and calmed her slightly.

"Levi." She couldn't hide the panic in her voice.

"Petra?" There was a dash of concern. "What's wrong?"

"My dad, he knows." She spoke quickly. "The college sent him a letter and he knows."

"Calm down." He said harshly enough that she was able to center her thoughts. "Tell me what happened exactly."

"I missed his call because I was getting ready. He left a voicemail telling me that he's coming up here."

"When I'll skip graduation and come over—"

"Levi, no!" She exclaimed. "You can't miss graduation when you worked so hard for it. Just let me handle it."

"You don't have to do this alone Petra, I know how afraid you are." He sounded angry but she knew he was just trying to get through to her. "Besides, I'm part of the reason the lie went on for so long."

She knew that if he was there he would take the fall for it just like he did with his friends before. She couldn't let him do that, not when this was entirely her fault.

"Let's be realistic here, I probably wouldn't have told him before now anyway. I'm too much of a coward." She sighed. "You are not skipping graduation."

"And you aren't doing this alone. You were there for me and I am going to be there for you, we don't abandon each other." He said firmly.

"Look at me, I'm making a mess of your day" She frowned. "Levi, I'm sorry. Today is supposed to be happy and here I am raining on it with this mess."

"Don't apologize. This should have been handled a long time ago." He sounded gentler now. "Once you explain everything to your father you will be able to breath easier."

"I guess so." She said passively, still feeling bad for weighing down the happiness of the day. "But I still don't want you to miss graduation."

"The end result will be the same whether I am there or not." He said in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Wait! My father just called thirty minutes ago, it will take him hours to get here. We should be able to make it through your gradation before he arrives. Even if he makes it to the apartment before we do he'll have no idea where I am."

"Fine, are you on your way over then?" He asked

"I'll be heading out in a few minutes." She bent down and finished slipping on her shoes.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

The entire walk to the base she worked hard to calm her nerves. Right now she was here for Levi and her father would be dealt with eventually. There was nothing she could do to fix it right now. She focused all her thoughts on Levi as she walked through the gates.

"Petra!" Hearing her name startled her and she looked around.

She spotted Levi's parents standing uncomfortably a few feet away from her.

"Oh, hello." She said with a polite smile, she had forgotten her promise to sit with them.

"Do you know where we're supposed to go and sit?" Luckily Levi had already shown her the way to the auditorium where they held ceremonies. She nodded and led the way to the building, trying her hardest not to panic.

"So, how long have you and Levi been seeing each other?" His father asked once they were sitting down close to the front of the room.

"Almost three months now." She said, still wearing her polite smile.

"He seems to really like you." His mother smiled but Petra could tell how uncertain she felt about the statement. "Does he treat you well?"

The question really threw Petra. It surprised her that his mother would ask something so straightforward. Though she guessed she only wanted to know what kind of man her son had become because all she knew was what he had accomplished.

"Yes, he's very sweet." His mother looked surprised by her answer.

"He's always been so closed off emotionally." She replied with a frown. "Even now he stills seems so cold."

"He isn't very showy with his emotions. You have to know what you're looking for, but I feel like I can read him pretty well now." Petra said proudly.

"You made the effort to read him." His mother looked down at the hands she had clasped tightly in her lap.

"He intrigued me from the moment I first saw him." She said with a half shrug. "He was so quiet and didn't invite conversation but he carried this proud air that I couldn't look away from."

"His pride got him in trouble." His father remarked. "It made him defiant."

"He made his mistakes, I know." Petra said gently. "But he has his priorities and his pride straight now. He works really hard for Commander Erwin, he's respectful and dedicated. He doesn't pick fights with other soldiers and lets their rude comments roll away. I know I didn't know him back then but from the stories I've heard he's a much better person."

"I am glad to hear that he seems a lot less angry now but I was hoping he had changed enough that he would have been more willing to forgive our transgressions." His mother said sadly.

"Give him time. It's a big step that he's agreeing to take your letters, he's bitter and he has been letting that bitterness fester while letting other things go. Now I think he is more focused on letting his bad blood with you both go." Petra said honestly.

"I hope so, because I really want to know the man he has become first hand." His father said. "Hearing about it and witnessing it firsthand are two different things."

"She's right dear; we just have to give him time."

Not long after that the graduation ceremony began. Petra smiled the second his group entered the room in their gold and blue formal uniforms. His height made him stand out and his proud stance only made him more handsome in Petra's eyes.

By the end of the ceremony Levi had collected ten awards for outstanding performance in a number of categories and Petra thought her cheeks were going to go numb from smiling so hard. His parents were also pleased and clapped enthusiastically every time his name was called. She even heard his mother lean over to tell his father that she was glad Commander Smith wasn't lying about his performance.

They announced at the end of the ceremony that Levi was going on to be a part of an elite legion of soldiers and didn't disclose witch segment. Petra wondered if she was even supposed to know herself but the thought didn't stop her cheerful clapping.

Lastly they thanked all the newly certified soldiers for their time and wished them well in their careers before formally dismissing them. Levi walked over to them immediately, which surprised her. She had never seen him look around to spot them.

"Let's go." Levi said, taking Petra's arm.

"Where are you going?" His mother asked quickly.

"There's something we need to take care of." He replied briskly, never even looking in his parent's direction.

"Isn't there supposed to be a party thrown by your superior officers?" His father asked "Are you not going?"

"There is something more important that I need to take care of." He said firmly. "You two can still attend the celebration or go home."

"Levi." Petra pulled on her arm gently to stop him.

"Petra." He sighed shortly in frustration. "Something came up this morning and I made a promise to be there. It's more important to me than a party full of people who would be wishing I wasn't there anyway."

"We'll try and get back in time for the party depending on how things go." Petra said gently. "But we really do need to go, I'm sorry."

His parents finally nodded but Petra knew they were still confused. This was something they really didn't need to know, not yet. She couldn't very well tell Levi's parents what was going on in her life before she told her own father.

On the walk over to her apartment Petra was thankful she accepted Levi's offer to be there for moral support because his hand was the only thing keeping her tethered to sanity. She had no idea what she was going to say but there was no time to write or rehearse a script.

When they reached her apartment her father was impatiently standing at the door with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Petra." His eyes narrowed slightly and he sounded annoyed to an extent that made Petra more uncomfortable. "I've been calling you for hours."

"Oh, I was at Levi's graduation ceremony. My phone was on silent." She hadn't even thought to check it.

"We need to talk."

"We do, I got your first voicemail earlier." She unlocked the door and soon they were all seated in the living room. It surprised her that her father didn't even attempt to excuse Levi.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked sternly.

"I couldn't take it." She said quietly. It was simple but honest. "It was overwhelming and I thought I was going to lose my mind. Then one day I thought 'if only I could quit' and eventually I realized I could. It was like I was free again."

"Petra you should have talked to me." His voice was both gentle and scolding. "I just want to understand."

"I know how happy you were that I was going off to college. You've always worked hard to make sure that I had the opportunities that you never did and I didn't want to disappoint you. I still don't want to disappoint you." Her eyes had welled up dangerously. "All I wanted to do was make you happy but I've let you down."

"Petra, you dropping out of college doesn't disappoint me. Your happiness is what is most important. What disappoints me is that you hid it from me and lied to me for so long." He frowned and Petra had to look away from him.

"You always told me you wanted me to be happy and successful." Petra's voice had grown strained under the weight in her throat.

"That's exactly right. College doesn't guarantee success. I never went to college and look at me. I had to work harder when I was younger but in the end I was able to retire early. Didn't I ever tell you that your mother dropped out of school?"

"She did?" Tears had started escaping her eyes and she felt Levi's hand come to rest gently on her forearm.

"Yes, because a teacher told her that with her technique she would never be taken seriously as a chef." He was smiling slightly at the memory.

"But mom worked at a four star restaurant." She finally turned her gaze back to her father while wiping tears away with the back of her hand.

"Exactly, she started out at that place as a waitress and worked her way up. She didn't need the credentials once she showed her true talent." He sighed. "I just wish you had talked to me, Petra. There was no reason to hide this from me for so long."

"I just never wanted to disappoint you, ever. I thought you were going to be so angry with me." She tried to hold back her tears. "Levi tried to convince me that you wouldn't be disappointed and that I should just talk to you but I was so scared."

"Did he, now?" His father smiled at Levi, acknowledging him for the first time. "You're my little girl Petra; there isn't much you can do that I won't forgive."

She wondered if now was the time for her to bring up the military to her father, the last bomb she needed to drop.

"Then let me tell you what I've decided to do." She straightened her posture and looked her father straight in the eyes. "I've decided to join the military."

"What?" He looked a little surprised, but his reaction was nothing like Petra had imagined it would be.

"I know I probably should have talked to you about it first, but I've already enlisted for basic training. I felt like I would be able to tell you what I had done if I had a plan for my future in place to ease the disappointment." Petra tried to steel her nerves but the longer her father stayed quiet the more nervous she became.

"That's a big commitment. Did you think it through?" He asked evenly.

"For a long time." She said. "I think it would be a good fit for me. There are so many opportunities and I'll be helping people."

"Okay then." he said while wearing a small smile on his lips.

"Really?" She blinked a few times.

"It's your life, I want you to live it in whatever way you want as long as you are happy and fulfilled." He said. "Sure, I'll be worried about you but that's my job."

"Thanks dad." She said lamely, her brain was still processing how well this was going.

"It's a little funny though." Her dad chuckled and Petra threw him a confused look. "You were afraid to tell me about school because you knew it was an opportunity I never had yet here you are enlisted in the military, which was another opportunity I wanted but could never take."

"I thought about that to, a little. I hoped it might help with the anger and disappointment." Petra said honestly.

"I'm not upset with you, Petra. I'm just glad you told me what was going on." He looked over at Levi. "Congratulations on graduating today."

"Thank you, sir." Levi said formally. Petra could sense the tension coming from Levi. She wondered if he was afraid of what else her father might say to him.

"Two soldiers in the family, wait until I tell your uncle." Her father grinned and Petra felt her face heat up.

"Dad!"

"I'm just predicting the future Petra, don't mind me." He teased and it put Petra at ease.

Once everything was settled they invited her father to attend the party. To their surprise Levi's parents were there waiting and Petra's dad excused them so he could 'mingle with the in-laws.'

"There's the commander over there." Levi said, leading Petra to him. "We were supposed to meet with him after the ceremony."

"We?" She was confused as he pulled her along. "Why didn't you tell me that? Isn't he going to be mad we didn't show up?"

"Yes, both of us. I don't know what he wanted but dealing with your father was more important. The commander probably thinks we went to make out somewhere."

"That's even worse." She whined, her face turning pink.

"Ah, Levi. I was wondering where you had gotten off to. Good evening Miss Ral." He nodded.

"Hello Commander." Petra said with a smile.

"There's someone I would like for you to meet, Petra." Commander Smith said. "Just one moment."

He came back and the person he brought with him immediately shook Petra's hand with enough force that her teeth clacked together.

"I'm Hanji Zoe, I served with Commander Smith and he told me about you." Hanji's enthusiasm easily brought a smile to Petra's face. "I'm going to be head over your basic training squad; I'm looking forward to working with you."

"It's nice to meet you." Petra said and Hanji gave her a satisfied nod before clasping Levi on the shoulder.

"Nice job up there today, you took home more than half of the awards." Hanji grinned.

"Hmm." Was all he said and Petra could sense his annoyance. It seemed to Petra that his annoyance only made Hanji's smile brighter.

"Well, I'll let you two love birds get back to mingling. See you in a few months Petra!" and Hanji let them go.

The rest of the party went by quietly, with Petra leaving with her father and Levi saying an awkward goodbye to his parents.

For the first night in a long time Petra was able to sleep soundly, the stress was gone and only slight sadness remained.

It wouldn't be long before Levi was gone.

Petra's father left the next morning and she spent the rest of the time she could with Levi but finally the morning came to say goodbye.

"I really wish you wouldn't cry." Levi said with furrowed brows, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She buried her face in his neck.

"I can't help it." Her voice was muffled in his collar. "You're leaving.

"I'll call you when I get there and we'll figure out video chatting." He said, rubbing circles gently against her back.

"You know." She laughed a little. "I used to call you my soldier back when I didn't know your name. That feels like centuries ago now."

"Well," He drew Petra away gently. "Looks like you get to be my soldier to."

As she leaned up to kiss him, she smiled through her tears. She knew she was strong enough to make this work. Sure, they would be apart for a while—longer than they'd been together. But she knew that time was only time, it was certainly an inconvenience but that's all it was.

It wouldn't change anything.

In the end she would have her soldier and nothing would stand in her way.

-END-


Notes: I don't have enough words to express how thankful I am for all the reviews and favorites I have gotten on this story. You are all phenomenal! Thank you so much.