Hey everyone! Happy Sunday!
Today begins the mark of the playoffs for football, for those keeping track. Hopefully the Chiefs pull off another Superbowl win, we shall see :)
Either way, here's the next chapter! Hope yall have an awesome week.
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They had left the Walls a few hours ago, the Expedition officially underway.
The pounding of the horse's hooves on the ground, the shouts of orders from various Officers, flares going off as the brigade moved through Titan territory as safely and as swiftly as possible – Petra's heart was racing in her veins in the best of ways, though instead of letting the energy derail her, she kept her focus ahead, watching for any Titans or listening for any orders from the Captain as they charged ahead in a surveying formation.
The mission briefing had been simple – the goal was to get to a relatively safe point they had been able to make use of in the past, where they could stop and regroup, water their horses and refill on their gas tanks for the rest of the Expedition. When the Regiment was prepared and ready to go, they would move westward toward the uncharted territory in attempts to understand the layout of the land, any resources like hunting grounds or mining crops, take note of the vegetation and then return back to their safe point, regroup again, and finally return toward the Walls and send their findings to the Royal Government.
The area they often used as a safe zone was a relatively hilly region with flowing water, wide open spaces, and more importantly, a vast vantage point where it was almost impossible for a Titan to approach them without them being more than prepared to handle it with ease. As always, the Commander had ordered that when they arrived at the designated location, they would take a head count, and then Squad Levi's team would secure the border, making one large lap around the various hillsides to ensure that no Titans were already in the territory and if so, to dispose of them quickly so no lives were lost while they were reorganizing.
For the most part, it had actually been a fairly quiet expedition – all things considered. They hadn't run into even a single Titan for the first hour or so, and while Petra knew there had been a few casualties based off the flares she had seen, for the most part this had been a considerably great start to the day.
It had taken a bit, but they had arrived at the safe zone and began unpacking. Squads who had used gas were working on getting refills, others were corralling their horses towards the water, different groups were tasked with setting up medical supplies and addressing any previous injuries – there was a positive sort of vibe in the air, because it was clear that they were off to a solid start and that alone seemed to raise morale throughout the ranks.
After arrival, Petra had gotten off her horse, watching as Levi moved further in the formation to speak with Erwin, and to her left, a familiar voice grabbed her attention.
"Hey Petra, how you feeling?" Eld had also dismounted, taking the few steps toward her and ruffling her hair as he spoke with a laugh, "Got your hair short and back to business, that focused, real 'bad bitch' look on your face – I get the feeling some Titans are going to die today."
He all but sang the last sentence and Petra rolled her eyes, attempting to not let her focus slip into some variant of sheer giddiness, and she moved to one side, trying to give Eld a perturbed look of annoyance, but when he merely gave her a knowing smirk, she groaned and allowed herself the smallest smile as she nodded in smug agreement, "…Hell yeah, they are."
Gunther moved beside them, still holding onto the reigns as he nodded, "That's what I like to hear. It's been good to have you back these last few weeks, Petra. It's been a few months coming, but things are finally back to normal and we're gonna kick some ass today. Think you're going to hit a new personal best? You've been working hard to get here so I get it if you're trying to set some new records. Try to leave a few for the rest of us, okay Angel?"
Petra groaned and found herself peering to one side, still watching the Captain from a distance as he nodded toward Erwin and turned back around, "No new records, not this time anyway. Commander and Captain were sort of on the fence about letting me come at all today. I don't think it's a secret and I don't mind you guys knowing, but I'm supposed to take things a bit on the easier side and not do anything overly risky. Probably assists if anything at all, but that just depends." She made a face and looked back at her squad in a pout, "And you guys need to stop calling me that already!"
Eld chuckled and jabbed her in the side, "Oh is Humanity's Angel getting embarrassed or something by her cutesy little nickname? Well it just goes to show you how little they know about you. Humanity's Angel my ass – out on the battlefield, you're more like an angel of death, if not an outright spawn of hell."
There were a few chuckles and Petra opened her mouth, but lost the opportunity to respond as Levi returned on his horse in the next moment, "Alright listen up. You all know the drill; water your horses and after that, Erwin's ordered us to secure the perimeter while everyone is setting up camp here. Be quick about it – no Titans are to pass through this hillside, is that understood?"
They gave a salute, "Yes, sir."
"Good." Levi nodded and gave his team a surveying, lingering stare, "Ten minutes I want you all assembled back here and ready to work, so wipe the damn smirks off your faces because the lot of you can satisfy your bloodlust soon enough, creepy shits. We'll travel in our usual hunting formation – if any Titans are located, we'll deal with them then and there as a unit."
At the charge of their Captain, the group gave a salute, giving an acknowledging 'Sir' in response, any previous hint of teasing or light heartedness instantly replaced with a tempered, trained discipline of a well-prepared squad. Few words were exchanged, a certain seriousness in the air as the group checked over their materials, ensured their horses were properly rested, and in due time lined back up in front of their waiting Captain.
He surveyed them seriously, "You all ready?"
"Yes, sir." They gave a salute and he nodded in satisfaction.
"Very well. We'll take off and survey the perimeter, going counterclockwise until we end up back at the start. Any Titans within our line of vision, we'll take them out at once. Let's head out then."
Levi kicked his legs inward, his horse responding in kind and racing away – each of the squad members following after him and taking their respective places in the formation.
As they rode across the various hillsides, it turned out it was a quiet day indeed, and Petra almost felt guilty because even though she knew it was a good thing, some part of her was almost…disappointed with their good fortune. Selfish or otherwise, she had worked hard to get here, worked even harder all summer to organize the data needed so the Scouts could preform well during the gas shortage, but what the hell did it even matter if they didn't run into any Titan's today?
She knew the main goal was to survey the land, but even still, she would be interested to see their numbers regarding how they preformed in terms of gas reservation, if their data reflected higher survival rates or not – but if they didn't actually run into any Titan's in the first place, the data was fundamentally useless.
"Captain!" Eld's voice brought her out of her mental stupor and Petra looked to the side where Eld had grabbed out his flare gun and habitually fired off a flare, "Target sighted, off to the left about two klicks away from our position."
From in front of them, Levi nodded and spoke over his shoulder, "Yeah, and it looks like there are two more trailing behind it as well. Alright, everyone get your blades ready; we'll approach them head on and divide up! I'll take the one in the front, Eld take the back one solo, then Gunther and Oluo, the last one is yours. Petra, if anyone needs backup, you're on standby so don't get separated from the fray."
"Yes, sir!"
They had continued running the perimeter, thus far having run into five Titans in total. As promised, Petra had stuck to the rear, acting as a diversion for two of the kills, and the other three playing more of the role as an observer, making sure nothing unexpected happened, corralling the horses while her team handled the Titan in the air – it wasn't exactly glorious, but even still she was happy to support her team in the small ways she could.
As they approached the last leg of their loop, they had spotted one lone Titan – the last one that was in the established perimeter. The angle was different, though not entirely worrisome, as the Titan ran toward the camp and Levi's squad adjusted their angle to meet the Titan halfway.
As they approached the target and waited to see what formation would be most advantageous - it was always a bit of a waiting game to see how the Titan would respond - the Titan finally seemed to notice them, and Levi nodded to himself when it became apparent that his team was the Titans new target; which was good, because Erwin would have bitched at him endlessly if the Titan had managed to get much closer to their base camp.
As Levi redirected his team, it became obvious that Levi specifically was the Titan's preferred target. He flicked his reigns and sped ahead of the formation, knowing his team would understand that they would need to handle matters on their own, while the Titan was distracted like this.
As he rode forward and tried to get both himself and the Titan in an advantageous spot for his team, from behind him, he could hear Eld speak up, "Alright, while Captain has the Titan distracted – Petra, you've got a damn good angle right now; should be a nice and easy sweep from behind and not too taxing. You feel good, or should we realign our formation and let someone else take point? Be decisive; they never keep interest in the same person for long and we don't want to hang Captain out to dry."
Levi was already turning over his shoulder, about to command that she was to be kept in a surveying position, as a resource meant for backup alone, but his eyes widened when he saw Petra was already crouching her feet on the saddle, a fierce expression on her face as she stared at the target with focus, "No need, sir. This position is perfect and we're not getting a better angle than this. I can handle this one just fine."
Eld gave a nod, "All yours then."
Petra was already firing off her 3DM gear, hoisting herself into the air and swinging upward, starting from the bottom right, up around the Titan's back, and far up into the air where she intended on coming down at an angle and severing the nape.
Her form was perfect.
Her position was perfect.
The Titan's attention was still solely focused on just him, where it hadn't paid even a moment's notice to the team of rider's that were quickly closing the distance between them.
This was the ideal situation, but…
"Petra, no!"
The words ripped out of his throat in a demanding shout, and Levi found himself leaping off his horse, projecting himself directly toward the Titan because watching Petra prepare to engage in combat like this, fuck, he couldn't think straight – he just knew that he couldn't let anything happen to her. He couldn't let the Titan grab her. Couldn't let her fall. Couldn't let her get hurt. He already had to watch her body plummet to the ground once before, and he had been unable to help her, but this time would be different because he'd fucking make sure of it himself.
No; this time would not be like the last.
The Titan was reaching for him, a dangerous sort of dance when he was already midair, but with a few pulls he shot his wires onto the shoulder, using the Titan's outstretched arm as a bridge to lead him to the nape. The Titan responded with wide eyes as Levi ran up the expanse of their arm, giving a loud roar and turning to one side with a sudden jolt of movement meant to knock him off to the ground, while reaching their other arm across the front of their body in attempts to grab the still-running and agile Captain.
The sudden and violent twisting had been unexpected, the Captain's sudden direct attack was even more unexpected, and from the Titan's back, where Petra was still anchored as she flew around to one side in attempts to position herself for the nape, the tumultuous and unexpected thrashing caused her wires to loosen and instead, sent her flying off to one side, away from the Titan and off toward the ground without warning.
While the fall wasn't the same as it was last time, it was still a good number of feet up in the air, and there were a few gasps as Petra was launched off the Titan completely, the ginger already adjusting her position in midair in attempts to prepare herself for another harsh landing.
"Shit, Petra!" Oluo called out, flicking his reins and moving to line himself in the trajectory of her sudden path; the entire squad watching in complete confusion as Levi continued his one-man battle with the Titan, completely alone.
"What the hell is he doing?" Gunther yelled out toward Eld, half in a mix of sheer frustration after watching Petra get launched off the Titan, and the other half in complete confusion because this was beyond reckless – the Captain was the Titan's intended target and so was at the greatest risk of all of them. This was the exact situation they were trained to avoid, and yet Levi had turned around and engaged in a one on one battle just the same, when the battle from the start had been completely unnecessary considering Petra was more than in position to take care of it on her own.
Gunther looked back toward Levi, one hand over his blades as he continued, "Should we…back him up or something?"
Eld looked to the side, giving a sigh of relief when Oluo caught Petra, the force of her fall being so great that it knocked him off his horse and they both rolled across the ground for a few feet, then back toward the Captain with a surveying, frustrated shake of his head. For the most part they'd be perfectly fine, maybe a few bruises, but still…
Levi swung his blades to cut off the Titan's opposite hand that was reaching for him, then with a single leap, the Captain swung around toward the nape and finished the Titan off in the next moment, a clean zip of his blades cutting into the Titan's flesh with a large hiss of steam and smoke.
The battle was over.
Eld rubbed his forehead and looked back toward Petra and Oluo, both of them already standing off the ground and dusting themselves off with spooked, shaken expressions, then looking back toward Levi in complete exasperation because he knew full well the storm that was brewing.
With a sigh, Eld looked toward Gunther and gave a single nod, "Our objective is complete," he stated in an overly calm voice, "The perimeter is secure, so now we wait for orders."
Gunther sighed, his eyebrows furrowed together in obvious unease, "Eld…what's with the Captain? What even was that?"
"Stupid." Eld responded flatly, "The word you're looking for, is stupid."
It took a moment for Oluo to catch his breath, the entire squad a little shaken up and seemingly unsure of what to do, because it was obvious that Levi had chosen to go rogue, chosen to steal the kill so that Petra wasn't engaged in battle, and none of them knew how to respond to it.
"Petra, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She responded with a sort of snap, but it was obvious her attention was elsewhere because there was a dark frown over her face toward the direction of the smoke, her anger clearly directed not at Oluo, but rather a certain Captain that had stolen her kill. Without another word, she marched toward the smoke plume with a fire in her steps, and Levi was already walking out, an equally deep and dark frown on his face as he matched Petra step for step.
"The hell was that!" Petra shouted, actually shouted at him, and the three men of the squad each fell into a stunned silence as they watched the clear argument begin to unfold.
"Me, doing my fucking job!" Levi spat back, his volume not as boisterous as Petra's but considerably raised when compared to how he normally spoke, "Did you fucking forget that you were to be kept in the rear? What the hell were you thinking, going in for a solo kill in your condition?"
"My condition?" Petra retorted in a hiss, and she crossed her arms furiously, "I am not in any 'condition' Captain – I'm back, reporting for full duty, and that involves training, and the Expeditions, and everything that comes with it. You yourself approved that, and so did the Commander!"
Levi's expression darkened, "If you recall, the Commander also said that you in particular need to be kept out of any overly dangerous situations, where you were to be kept on the sidelines so that you don't have any harm come to you while the factions are still discussing your future role."
"What part of that situation was overly dangerous?" the ginger practically screeched at him, and Levi pressed his lips together in obvious anger as Petra continued her tirade, "That was the ideal situation Captain, and you went ballistic and put your life, and mine, in unnecessary danger! The Titan was completely distracted, I was in position, but then you fucking lost your damned mind, turned around and engaged in direct combat for who knows what fucking reason. You know how dangerous that is, you would berate anyone of us who ever tried something like that, and your stupid actions launched me some twenty feet where Oluo had to catch me and it knocked both of us to the ground!"
Petra took a breath and pointed a finger at him, "And worst still, you think you're in the right even now!"
"I did what I had to do, Petra!" Levi responded hotly, "I have been instructed to keep you safe, and that's what I fucking did. You were instructed to take it easy, an order which you clearly disregarded because you always seem to think that the rules don't fucking apply to you anytime you don't like them! If you want to bitch at me till kingdom come then be my fucking guest, but I did my job in spite of you. For the remaining Titan encounters, your orders are to sit your ass back down, and let the squad handle it!"
Petra gasped, her mouth coming closed with a snap, and she eventually swallowed, her voice audibly dripping with malice, "The Squad? The hell does that mean? Iam a part of this squad – the 'squad' was handling it just fine but then-"
"Petra! I have given you my orders – what part about sit your ass down and don't interfere don't you fucking understand?"
"But Captain I don't…you're not…you're not being fair." Her voice became drastically quieter as she struggled with the sheer hypocrisy of Levi's order, and she shook her head in dejection, "I was just…I was doing my job. You know that when Erwin said that, he didn't mean that I couldn't-" she took a breath and looked up toward him despairingly, "You don't even see how reckless you were being just now, do you? I was fine! It wasn't overly dangerous or complicated but you just…" she sighed and watched him fearfully, "Levi is this because of…is this because you – because of how things are between us? Captain, you can't let that be a factor in-"
"What's going on here? Your orders were to secure the perimeter and return to camp. The Titan is dead and you're all just standing around."
The team jolted at once, Erwin's voice sounding across the open field and the team gave a salute.
Erwin hadn't been too far off from the surveying unit, somewhat able to see them in the distance as they continued lining the perimeter, and when it was clear that something was amiss considering they had stopped moving and there was no formation left to speak of – he had come to investigate. Seeing the way the team was standing now, two of them on horses, three of them still standing on the ground and all of them staring at the Captain and Petra – Erwin's eyes narrowed at the telling glassy sheen in Petra's eyes, and the hard set, furious expression across the Ackerman's face because, while physically unharmed, it was clear that something indeed had gone wrong.
He moved toward them, flicking the reins and directing his horse to come beside the pair, "Captain, what happened? Is the perimeter secure?"
"Yes, it is."
"Very good. This Titan here - did Petra make the kill?"
"No sir, I did."
A pause.
"Was she assisting you?"
"No."
Another silence fell between them, a notable tenseness in the air that made Erwin's patience grow thin. Between Petra's obvious unease and Levi's one word answers, it was clear there was more to the story, to the extent that the entire squad had gone infuriatingly quiet.
He clicked his tongue and motioned toward Petra with a serious tilt of his head, "Well then why are her blades drawn? Her uniform is filthy, and it's clear you two are in the middle of some disagreement. Either your argument is about to take a violent turn for the worse, or I'm missing some of the facts."
When Levi merely returned his stare with a stubborn frown, Erwin held back a sigh and looked toward Petra directly, "Mrs. Ackerman, perhaps you can shed some light on the situation. You are to tell me what just transpired here, from the time I gave the order, up until now."
Petra nodded, sheathing her blades and taking a calming breath, "Yes, sir. As you ordered, we scouted the perimeter, and the only Titan in the direct vicinity was here. When it became apparent that the Titan's initial target was Captain Levi, the four of us pulled to the rear to initiate an attack from behind. Due to my advantageous position, Eld asked if I felt comfortable engaging the Titan and I agreed. I went in for a standard sweep from behind, but Captain turned around, engaged the Titan directly from the front and handled the Titan on his own. Due to the direct attack, I was launched off the Titan while Captain handled the rest. Oluo caught me, so I'm fine and there's no harm done on that front."
Petra tried to keep the emotion out of her voice, and she took a calming breath, "After that, I went up to Captain to ask what he was doing, and it seems that he and I are interpreting your order a little differently. I know that it is important, for the relations of the Scouts, that I make it back in one piece. I respect that and agreed to be more reserved while out on the field, but I didn't think that meant that I could only sit on my horse and watch everyone else. When you told me I could participate in the Expedition, that's what I took it as: that I could participate. I get that certain situations will be best handled by my team as a whole but this…Commander, this was textbook. If I can't do something even this simple, I question why I was even allowed to join in at all. I came out here to fight and aid my team, and now I'm being corrected for simply pulling my weight."
Erwin's gaze shifted to Levi, and he clicked his tongue, "Is that true Levi? Petra engaged safely in combat, and instead of allowing her to do the very thing you have been training her to do for six years, you broke a solid formation in attempts to handle the situation on your own?"
Levi almost rolled his eyes, "Sure. Yeah, word it like that or whatever. You can glare at me all you want Erwin, but you told me to keep her safe, to keep her out of danger, and to make sure she gets back to the year-end reviews unscathed and so all I did was-"
"Levi, you put me in more danger!" Petra interjected hotly, turning towards the Ackerman directly and scowling, "I was launched out of the damned sky because of you! Dammit, you're not thinking clearly and-"
"Don't speak out of turn, Petra. I'm your Captain, and what's more, the Commander was speaking to me directly. I let your backtalk slide before, but now you've crossed the line. You know better."
The ginger fell silent at the obvious fury in Levi's voice, and she nodded softly, "Right. I'm…sorry, Captain. And Commander. It won't happen again."
Erwin couldn't help the long exhale that left him as he watched the bickering pair, and he looked over his shoulder toward the blonde, waving him over with a nod of his head, "Eld. A word."
Eld rode over, a grim expression on his face and Erwin gave a long sigh, "I need an outside perspective and you're second in command of this unit. What happened here? Was Levi within bounds to act on Petra's behalf, where there was notable danger on the field?"
Eld gave a nervous chuckle, "Well Commander, I mean it is wild Titan territory out here. Even the most cut and dry situations can change in an instant so-"
"Eld." Erwin cut him off seriously, giving him an unpleased stare, and Eld gave a low sigh and nodded his head.
"Petra was handling herself perfectly, Commander. She was in prime position, but Levi couldn't handle the fact that it was Petra and he engaged himself in battle instead. His actions made it so he had to dodge the Titan at numerous points, the formation was completely derailed, and Petra wasn't wrong in that Levi's actions are the direct cause for why she was thrown off her anchor point. At the end of the day, everyone is fine and the Titan has been dealt with but…frankly Commander, Petra has every right to be upset. Captain put her, and the entire squad at risk."
Eld trailed off and Erwin nodded, "Thank you, Eld."
The Commander looked toward Petra, "Alright Mrs. Ackerman, it seems an immediate change is required. I had communicated that my desire was for you to remain safe as you participated, but apparently that's not possible to such an end that my intervention is immediately required. Your new orders are to round up your horse, where you will flank me for the remainder of the Expedition. Your task will be to strictly survey and remain on a standby basis, except in the event that the formation is broken, in which case you are welcome and expected to defend yourself. Unless specified otherwise, you are not to leave my side."
Petra's mouth fell open in outrage and she looked at her squad, then the Commander with a gaping mouth, "I uh – Commander please understand I'm not trying to challenge your authority and I will do as you say but…Eld just said that I wasn't-"
The Commander's expression morphed into something more gentle and he nodded toward her seriously, "Petra, allow me to clarify something. I'm not pulling you out of your squad because you're in trouble or anything of the sort. The reason I'm pulling you out of your squad is because it appears as though you no longer have a Commanding Officer that can make concise, proper judgement calls on your behalf."
At his words, Levi's eyes widened and he looked up toward the blonde with a furious, threatening stare, "Erwin, I-"
Erwin's expression instantly fell into something cold and weighty as he looked back toward Levi with a snap, "You will finish this expedition as a four-man squad, and when we get back from the Expedition, we all have the predetermined roles we need to play as we make preparations to return back to headquarters. Considering we are actively on an Expedition, we don't have the time to deal with this properly, and so I'm making the best call I can for everyone involved – yourself, and Petra, and your squad."
Erwin looked back toward Petra and continued, "Once the Expedition is over, plan to partner yourself with Hanji because the data will be piling in by the minute and she can put your skills to proper use until this is sorted out more fully. As for you Captain, rest assured that Petra will be in my care for the time being and when we return back to headquarters, you and I are having a very long discussion about this. You put your life in danger, as well as the lives of all of your subordinates, because your biases for Petra have overwhelmingly clouded your judgement; something I have explicitly warned you of in the past. It seems my warning fell on deaf ears, because if you are allowing your emotions to impede your role as her Captain, now of all times, then you are not fit to be her Captain any longer. As of this moment, Petra Ackerman will be under my Command because you are hereby relieved of your duties as her Commanding Officer."
Petra had gasped outright, her eyes darting across to her teammates as they each regarded the Commander with equally agape, horrified expressions.
"Wait, you're taking Petra off the squad? Why?" Oluo asked in alarm, and Eld looked back toward Petra with wide eyes.
"Commander, you can't be serious! Is this permanent? Sure Captain messed up but it was just a mistake and no one even got hurt!"
"Commander, Petra busted her ass to be here for this and for her to not even get a say when she didn't even do anything wrong is just-"
There was a sigh from Levi, his voice low as he looked into the ground, because all three of his men had spoken up in direct opposition to Erwin, Petra had spoken up against Erwin only a moment before that, and it was time he rallied his team – it was time he behaved like the Captain he was. His voice was firm as he forced himself to speak past his churning stomach and pounding heart, "The Commander of the Scout Regiment has given you all an order, or did you not hear that?"
Levi looked up toward the men of his squad, and he cleared his throat forcefully as he sheathed his blades with a click, "Our orders are to return back to camp where we will refill our supplies and begin surveying the land. Petra has been instructed to align herself under the Commander's authority, so she has her own orders to carry out that no longer involve this squad, nor your damned two cents. Any further comments or complaints will be seen as direct insubordination and a challenge to both his authority and mine. You're in the military; shit happens all the time and it doesn't matter if you like it or not. What the hell is with all this backtalk anyway? We're all elites, are we not? Let's start fucking acting like it – move back to camp and get ready for the rest of the mission, I don't want to hear a word of it."
"Yes, Captain."
The reply had come swiftly from all three men, but lacking true gusto – though perhaps that was to be expected, because not even Levi himself felt entirely onboard with Erwin's sudden and drastic intervention. The Commander gave a nod of approval toward Levi, and the Captain slowly looked toward Petra next, his expression tightening for a small moment as he noticed the torn, hurt expression across her face. He thought back over the formation, thought about her position and how he had known from the start that he wasn't needed it was just…
With a weighty sigh, he found himself looking toward the ground in a building sense of shame, because he knew at once that Petra and Erwin and everyone else… were right.
Gods, he felt so stupid.
He pressed his lips together, forcing the words out of his mouth as he looked to one side, unable to hold Petra's gaze as his stomach churned with anger, embarrassment, frustration and sheer desperation, "Oi, what's with that face? Get it together, soldier. We're on an Expedition, so this isn't the time for you to worry about something like this. Suck it up, get on your horse, and do as the Commander says. And that…" he swallowed again and shot her a weak smirk, "Well, I guess that's my last order to you, so after nearly six years, the least you could do is try to follow it."
Petra watched Levi, his words causing a single tear to roll down her face as she nodded heartily, seeing his broken expression and the weak smile across his face as he struggled to return her gaze. She had never seen such a soft, remorseful look in his eye and it was clear he was speaking the words simply because he needed to. He was trying to be brave, trying to be her Captain – trying to balance his role when his heart was getting in the way, and he was grasping at straws because he had no experience in the matter and he was being publicly exploited because of it.
"Yes, sir!" Petra responded quickly, giving a tearful salute to the man that had been her Captain for so long – to the man that would always be her Captain in her heart.
Levi gave a half smile at the image, at her salute, her expression, her dirty uniform and her newly cropped hair – because while some part of him knew, and had known for some time, that Petra being on his squad wouldn't last forever, he would have never imagined that she would ever find herself leaving like this. He nodded and crossed his arms, "Thank you, Petra. Dismissed."
He walked away without a moment of delay, his heart sinking in his chest as he heard his wife give another tearful, broken sniffle.
"We need to be quick, Petra," Erwin's voice could be heard again, and the man continued firmly, "I'm not trying to be insensitive, but I didn't plan on making this little excursion out here and I'm needed with the rest of our forces. Shake it off and let's be on our way."
"Yes sir." The distinct tones of Petra's whistle could be heard from behind him, followed by the sound of her horse running toward her, and as Levi continued walking away, he wasn't sure if it was relief, or exasperation he felt as he heard Eld following behind him on his horse.
"I fucked up again, didn't I?" Levi mumbled softly, and there was a sigh from behind him.
"That you did, sir." There was a pause, and Eld continued with a half-smile, "For whatever it's worth, I don't think anyone's mad at you though; if anything, it just proves you're human. Sometimes, that's a breath of fresh air, coming from someone like you. You can be pretty heartless, more often than not."
Hearing Eld's assessment, Levi frowned and corrected his words, "Erwin is furious."
"I suppose there's no denying that. He has an entire military division to run, and all due respect, but you know full well how reckless your actions were. You're strong enough to protect yourself, I don't think anyone was afraid for your life or Petra's, but even still. Unpracticed, unapproved formations lead to problems and yours was as dangerous as they come."
A pause fell over the pair as Levi mounted his horse, and Eld looked over his shoulder as he watched Petra ride away with Erwin.
"You worried for her?"
Levi was also watching her leave, and he shook his head, "No. In the middle of the formation she'll be well protected – probably bored out of her mind – and what's more, I'm aware she can handle herself. It's just in the heat of the moment…"
"You made a bad call." Eld finished for him simply, and Levi conceded with a grim nod.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"For real though Levi, as a friend - you gonna be alright?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Eld. As it stands now, Erwin's already gonna chew my ass out big time, and I don't need you babying me on top of it. What's done is done."
"Captain, I just…look, I don't know what to say at a time like this but to be frank, I can tell this is really fucking you up because you're at odds with yourself. You want the relationship, but not at the cost of your better senses and now you're wondering just how far gone you really are when…you never even predicted you would struggle like this, right?"
Levi said nothing to this, his expression cold and guarded, and Eld offered the older male a small nod, "For the record…I don't know any man that could watch their wife come head to head with a Titan, and not feel the urge to intervene like you did. I'm not trying to patronize you or tell you that it's not a big deal or anything, because you really were quite reckless, but even still…I'd say you should be gracious to yourself, and Erwin, and even Petra. There's a reason they don't allow relationships like this between squad mates, and Erwin knows that to some extent…well, this was inevitable."
At Eld's words, Levi looked toward him critically and the blonde only sighed, looking back toward the still retreating Commander as he continued perceptively, "Asking you to not care or worry about your wife in a setting like this isn't exactly practical, and he knows that. Yes, what he's doing is clearly an act of discipline, but you can't tell me that you didn't see this coming. You're a great Captain but…it's been time for a while, you know? Back when she broke her ankle, you completely lost it and probably would have beaten Oluo within an inch of his life had I let you. Frankly, you were struggling with your judgement around her even back then, and in some ways it's just been borrowed time ever since. Besides, Petra needs to be on a new team; one that can better cater to her skills, and you need subordinates that don't cloud your judgement. To be blunt, I feel very strongly that Erwin made the exact call he needed to but…"
The blonde sighed at the conflicted expression on his Captain's face and he frowned, the pair continuing to watch Petra's small figure disappear all the more until almost fading from sight completely.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." Eld gave a long sigh and looked back toward Levi with a knowing frown, "I'll miss her too, Captain. We all will."
"Yeah."
...
End of Chapter
…
So that will do for this week – what are yall's thoughts? I know yall roll with the punches and have seen some lower lows, but this is one that does hurt my heart a little because while as the writer I need to put that character development to use (and just like how when Petra developed her skillset, new skills mean new strengths, but new weaknesses and Levi is not immune to that) it still just boggles my mind to read this chapter and knowing that it goes the way it did.
Either way, thanks so much for your support!
~Mid