Rivetra love(Guest): You'll find out :)


iv. yep, definitely broken


Stop looking at me like that, he wanted to snap violently at the bespectacled brunette currently sniggering at him from across the corridor. Great. Just great.

The hospital was relatively idle for a Friday night. Normally more people would be shuffling stretchers down hallways or slamming down handsets on phone bodies from the multiple calls they would be receiving. On rare occasions, you could hear someone wailing from a distant room or in the chapel, but after some complaints the hospital had decided to invest in a sound-proof area to keep things in order.

Levi turned his neck stiffly to look at Erwin, who had fallen asleep with his arms crossed and head bent low on the seat next to him. That left only Shitty Glasses for company, since the three strange men crowding around the person who had started this entire crisis paid no attention to the raven-haired boy clutching a bloodied tissue to his face. No matter how much he intensified his glare at their backs, they remained unabashedly unharmed.

Levi winced as he removed the tissue from under his nose. The thin white material had been stained with blotches of varying shades of red, though they had already started to lessen in size and frequency. He stared at it with contempt before reaching for another towel from the box the nurse had given him when they both arrived, one looking positively disgruntled and the other completely passed out in her friend's arms at 1 AM in the morning.

It was Erwin who had insisted upon taking him to A&E even though he tried to tell him that it was fine. He was fucking fine. He had had broken noses in the past. It was fine. But no. Erwin had grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him out into the cold February air while the three strange men he had all met before shoved the small ginger-haired girl into a taxi and drove off.

Fuck, he grimaced when his fingers brushed against the skin near his nose. The nurse had told them to sit in the waiting area and a doctor will be available to check on them soon but it had been an hour and literally no-one was around and his nose was fucking painful as hell.

Then, as if the day could not get any worse than it already was, Hange had come scurrying in, a delirious grin plastered on her face. Erwin had called her, despite Levi crossly telling him that having Hange nearby right now would only make him die faster. But as soon as the blond stood from his seat to wave her over to them, Levi realised then that his thick blond eyebrows must be a representation of his head. Especially when Hange started spouting out reindeer jokes when she saw the state he was in.

And he still fucking fell asleep,he thought angrily.

He shut his eyes in frustration. The red-hot pain heightened somewhat, but anything was better than looking at Hange's stupid face. It felt like his nose had turned into a swollen anchor, and his thin eyebrows creased in discomfort.

All because he wanted to repay a favour.

When he tried to cast his memory back to what had transpired a few hours before arriving at the hospital, a headache started to come on, prolonging his torment. Most of it was a blur: Erwin's underhanded bribery, the walk to the overpopulated bar nearby, and…

He sucked in a breath.

Even in the darkness of his closed eyes, he could still see them— as clear as the first time someone showed him a picture of the sun. Except there were two, and they had this perilous sheen to them the closer he looked.

And then she…

Instinctively, he licked his lips. A faint trace of ale had remained. It had nauseated him at first, at least for that lightning second when she had grabbed his collar and pulled him down towards her and...

He shuddered.

"Mr. Ackerman?" called an unfamiliar voice, protruding into his thoughts. Levi cracked one eye open in response. A young, white clad man stood in front of him carrying a clipboard. "I'm Moblit, and if you'll come this way, I'll get you checked right away," the doctor said with a smile.

Levi got up, withdrawing his hand from his face to dispose of the used tissue. It had more or less stopped bleeding so strongly. He followed the doctor into a curtained room, looking behind him once to see Hange scooting over to the sleeping Erwin and snatching his phone to snap some candid pictures. He allowed himself to smirk at that.

"Please sit down," Moblit motioned to the teal-green bed on the right of the computer. He passed him some antibacterial gel, which Levi wordlessly took. "From what I can see, you may have a broken nose."

No shit, Levi wanted to growl. I waited one whole hour for you to tell me that, thanks.

Moblit dragged his chair closer. "So, Mr. Ackerman, can you tell me what happened?" He readied a black ballpoint over the clipboard, anticipating the shorter male's recount.

"Is this really necessary?" Levi asked in monotone.

Moblit wearily shifted in his seat. "Well…yes," he nodded, brown eyebrows raised. Seemed he didn't want to give him the long answer.

Levi sighed. "A girl happened," he deadpanned. It was true, though. He couldn't really add any more detail apart from the fact that said girl somehow possessed superhuman strength to have inflicted him with a nasal fracture just by a collision with her own nose.

Moblit gave him a small smile, as if he understood. No you don't, dipshit. "I see," he continued to inquire with that patronising tone. "Would this girl be Miss Petra Ral?"

Levi nodded, pursing his lips.

"Is she your—"

"No," Levi all but growled, clenching his jaw.

Moblit blinked. "O…kay." He set aside the clipboard, having written nothing on it after all those meaningless questions. "I'm going to check your nose now. The bruising around it should heal in a week, just use an icepack."

Levi flinched as soon as Moblit's dirty fingers made contact with his skin, letting out an involuntary hiss when they probed around the painfully sore area.

"Yep," Moblit winced in his stead as he pulled away, giving the glaring boy a sympathetic stare. "Definitely broken. I don't think you need to get X-Ray'ed because it still looks straight. I suggest just resting for a couple of days, avoiding any kind of strenuous activity," he cleared his throat. Levi glowered at his bold insinuation. "You must call emergency if you start displaying any of these symptoms."

"I can navigate pretty well through WebMD by myself," Levi said gruffly. He rose from his seat. "If you'll excuse me."

He brusquely pushed the curtains aside and stalked towards where Hange and Erwin were still sat, both already lightly snoring. Before he could snap at them to wake up, one of the blonds, likely Erd, approached his side.

"I'm—"

"It's fine," Levi replied before Erd could finish his apology. He looked behind where he had come from and jerked his head towards Petra's still-unconscious form sandwiched between Gunther and Bossard. "Is she okay?"

Erd nodded slowly, passing a hand through his face, hazel eyes exhausted. "I don't think she'll be able to remember anything, though. It was only to—" he stopped himself suddenly. Levi narrowed his eyes. "Never mind," he laughed, wavering.

"That's fine," Levi waved it off. Better that way. Something in his coat pocket started to vibrate. "Excuse me," he said before raising the phone to his ear. Erd backed away afterwards, raising a hand to take his leave.

"Did you get my texts?"

Mikasa. Levi scowled. "Yes, I did. Why are you awake?"

"Because I knew you would be."

"Go back to sleep."

"Fine. But remember March 13 and bring—"

"No," Levi told her and then hung up abruptly. He turned his attention to the two sleeping idiots below him. "Get up. I have Saturday lectures."

Erwin waved a hand of dismissal, earning a hard kick to the shin, shocking him back to consciousness. He gave Levi a drowsy, albeit icy stare. "That was unnecessary."

"So were the last three fucking hours of my life, no thanks to you. Let's go. Leave Shitty Glasses behind."


I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad. I got sunshine in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is—

Petra bolted awake, letting out a croaky yelp when she was suddenly bombarded with a throbbing headache. She raised a hand to her forehead, cringing as she felt the pulses beneath her fingertips quicken. She licked her lips, tasting something faintly metallic.

Squinting, she inspected her surroundings, noting the familiar world map poster plastered next to the mirror. How did I get here? she wondered, yawning whilst running a hand through her tangled strawberry blond locks. The last thing I remember was— She froze, blood turning cold.

Her heart raced as the memories from last night flooded into her head like a thundering waterfall. Old Hannes had been there, and she had already become tipsy after the third pint, and then…

Petra blanched. She had kissed him. "I kissed him," she thought aloud, as if it would sound any more incredulous to her when she spoke. "I kissed Levi." Her shoulders slumped as she stared, dumbfounded, at the wall in front of her. "I kissed him."

The exact details were still a blur to her. She racked her head for anything that had happened afterwards. How did he react? Her muscles were aching. Had he pushed her away? She wouldn't be surprised. Did he freak out and move to another country?

Petra thrashed around in frustration, making a complete mess of the sheets. She had been so stupid. How could she have done such a thing? He hadn't even introduced himself properly. As far as she knew, they were still strangers to each other.

She flinched. Something had echoed in the back of her mind. He had said her name when he came over, she remembered. He said 'Petra'. That was her name, right? "How does he know?" she whispered to herself. Maybe Erd had told him. Or Gunther. If Auruo was the one… Her expression darkened.

Knock, knock. Her attention whipped to the door. "Who is it?" she called after clearing her throat once. Her voice was still hoarse nonetheless.

"There's lunch on the table," came the muffled reply. It sounded like Gunther.

"I'll be right there," Petra sighed, taking a dejected glance at the clock above her desk. 12:52. She was already a quarter way through her weekend.

Reluctantly crawling out of bed, she grabbed a pair of winter socks from a drawer and put them on. The flat, and the floor especially, always felt like it turned into an ice castle overnight. Gunther refused to turn on central heating past 6 in the evening and no-one had dared complain about it because technically, the entire place was his. His grandfather had endowed him with his inheritance money before passing away a few years ago. They had all agreed in their final year of high school to share accommodation for the start of term at Trost, so Gunther took it upon himself to look for a place to stay in advance.

And with the house came house rules. Some were established democratically, such as taking turns to cook the food or do the groceries for the week depending on their individual schedules. Some were unanimous, like never letting Auruo touch the stove or the microwave, or never bringing a significant other over unless they were planning to keep things PG-13.

But most of the rules were strictly set by Gunther himself. No hosting parties, no using coconut-based products, always leave shoes by the front door… More often than not, Auruo would be the one punished for disobeying Gunther's law, even if Erd and Petra had had a hand in the mischief.

As Petra shuffled towards the kitchen, Erd waved a lazy arm to congratulate her on waking up. She rolled her eyes, sliding into a chair once she had picked up a plate and cutlery from one of the kitchen drawers. From her peripheral vision, she saw Auruo waggling his eyebrows, a wily smirk spreading across his face.

Petra sent him a pointed glare. "What? Shouldn't you be in a lecture right now?"

"Oh, you don't remember?" the sandy-haired male snickered. Erd made a motion to throw the TV remote at him, causing Auruo to spasm in his seat. "I was kissing—I mean kidding." His laugh was filled with self-satisfaction. He shut up immediately, however, once he noticed Petra aiming her fork at him. "Come on, Pet—" she raised her eyebrows threateningly, "—ra. Petra," he stammered in a finish. "Yes, I should be but I decided to pass it due to my concern for your well-being."

Gunther entered the room then, pausing to acknowledge Petra's silently seething form on the kitchen table. His eyes darted to where Auruo was muttering angrily to himself across from Erd in the sitting room. "Why is it that you never learn, Auruo?" he reprimanded, shaking his head patronisingly. "She could rip your throat out in a heartbeat."

"That's true," Petra nodded, still munching on her food.

Auruo scrunched his nose. "Then why am I still alive?"

"Only 'cause 'annoying twat' isn't in her list of appetising food," Erd jested.

"Very funny," Auruo sneered, rolling his eyes and shifting his back away from Petra in defeat.

Petra smirked. It was always fun teasing the maknae of the group. She had lost count of how many times Auruo had naively fallen for their pranks or walked straight into being roasted on sight. "Is your ego still okay, there?" she cooed.

"Alright, stop it you kids," Gunther cut in, giving Petra a stern stare. "You have some business to attend to."

Petra quirked an eyebrow. "Me? I don't have any Saturday lectures scheduled for this term."

"He's not talking about that," Erd chimed in. "It's about that boy you assaulted last night."

Petra squirmed in her seat. "Levi?" At least saying his name was easier now. "All I did was kiss him." She paled at her admission, dropping her fork in a clattering daze. "I kissed him." And they had seen her. Oh, God. She couldn't even deny it in front of them anymore.

"Not only that," Erd continued. "You also broke his nose."

Auruo spontaneously burst into hysterics. "Seriously?" he managed to sputter after a few breaths. "Way to go, Pet."

But she was gone to them, frozen stiff upon hearing Erd's revelation. He couldn't be serious. She had only pulled him towards her by his shirt. And even if it was rougher than intended, she couldn't have broken his nose.

No wonder she had tasted something tangy on her lips when she woke up. His nose was bleeding

"She doesn't know her own strength," Gunther stated evenly, arms crossed over his chest.

"It was to both their benefit though," Erd defended. "Making prolonged skin contact with him got rid of the burning trees and the wet dogs."

"A handshake would've done the job," said Gunther. "Now it would be even more awkward to try and match-make them."

Erd chuckled at that. "Trust me; she got them through a milestone by doing what she did."

"I should apologize," a weak voice murmured from the kitchen. They turned their heads to look at her. She had her forehead resting on the table, amber eyes hollow.

"You don't have to do it right now," Erd attempted to offer some consolation.

"Or you could just ask him on a date," Auruo sarcastically muttered, sipping on a can of cola.

Silence stormed the room at his statement.

He sat up, eyes darting from person to person. "What? What did I do wrong now?"

Slowly, a calculating grin spread on both their faces, excluding Petra, who hadn't heard the exchange.

Auruo's hazel eyes widened drastically. "You can't be taking me seriously now, are you?" he spluttered. "Petra will kill me."

"It's a win-win situation, then," Erd joked, winking.

Gunther laughed heartily, encouraging Auruo to do the same, albeit nervously. They all put a finger to their lips, swearing their conversation to secrecy.

Petra remained motionless on the kitchen table, unaware of the conspiracy that had started to unfold just seven metres away from her.


"For someone who gets PTSD every time someone fractionally brushes their skin against yours, even for a split-second…you seem to be relatively chill about all this," Hange smiled as she nodded her head approvingly. "Well done, Mr. Ackerman. You may actually have a chance of surviving and reproducing."

Levi shot her a menacing glare as the bell signalling the end of the lecture echoed throughout the hall. Apart from the professor giving him questioning looks when he had walked in at the beginning, no-one had paid any attention to the bruises lining his eyes and nose. They probably thought it was typical since he hadn't bothered concealing them from their view.

Hange grinned, tossing his daggers aside. "So what are you going to do now? This is a serious matter that cannot be taken light-heartedly."

"You seem to be doing a good job doing exactly the opposite," Levi replied, quickly rising from his seat. "Move over. I'm leaving."

Hange also stood up, intending to block his path. Levi pursed his lips. "I'm not joking around, Shitty Glasses."

"I know," she said haughtily. "That would be the day when giant cannibalistic humanoids start to ravage the world."

"Hange," he snarled.

"You should ask her out," Hange clapped her hands in satisfaction. "This is your big chance! Finally, your first kiss! That is, if you don't count—"

"Shut up," Levi forcefully nudged past her, sending her staggering to regain balance. "Don't ever mention that fucking mutt in front of my face again."

"I'm serious!" Hange exclaimed after him. "Don't pass up this golden opportunity!"

Before she could ramble on about her bullshit 'wanting only the best for his happiness' speech, Levi turned the corner and walked hastily down the steps of the building. Having only collected four hours of sleep since the incident, the garish streaks of dull purple had only enhanced the intimidation in his eyes. As he strolled down the hallway towards the building exit, his fellow students scampered immediately to the side, clearing his path.

Mulling over Hange's words only made him grumpier.

Yes, of course there was no way he would be indifferent to the situation. First, she had invaded his personal space. Then, she had smashed her face against his. No explanation given, just blacking out instantaneously afterwards.

Her being his first whatever was of no concern to him, at least, as far as he led himself to believe. He just wanted answers. Why had she been avoiding him? Why did she… a small tremor tingled up his spine…kiss him?

Directly confronting her was not the issue. He could theoretically march up to her door demanding a hearing. Theoretically. It wasn't an appealing idea.

He frowned. Yes, he could admit that a part of him—though confined to the deepest and darkest of crags lining his heart—actually wanted to see her again, against all his previous vocalisations on the matter.

He just felt it. Something sinister was cooking up in the clouds. And it involved that girl.

Fuck it, he sighed, resolving the situation. He just had to make sure Hange never hears a word about what he was going to do. That woman had spies everywhere, feeding her all the information she needed to fuel her in her quest to ruin his life, no matter how genial her intentions were.

Besides, there was no rule stating that it had to be a date—that was only a figment of Hange's delusion. A civil meeting at Braus' would suffice.

How bad could it be?


A/N: Again, thank you for reviewing the last chapter! Seiba Artoria and , here it is and I hope you enjoyed reading :D