Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: Rivetra Week 2018 Day 1 Prompt

Petra's eyes opened and she yawned sleepily, snuggling under the blanket. She heard a bark and seconds later, the dog was nuzzling his face into hers. She smiled lazily and said, "Hey there."

Bear licked her face, making her giggle.

"Good, you're awake. I was just about to wake you." Levi was carrying a bowl full of several fruits cut into bite-size pieces and a fork. He leaned down and kissed her. "How was your nap?"

"It was nice." Petra stretched and accepted the bowl.

Levi sat on the couch and pulled the blanket down, kissing her swollen belly. "And how was your nap?"

Petra chuckled when Bear joined her husband, resting his chin on her stomach. She felt the baby move and laughed when both dog and human looked up with almost identical expressions of excitement on their faces. Bear's tail was waving madly and he barked.

"She moved! Petra, she just moved!"

"I know, honey. I felt it."

He rubbed her stomach, still awed. Their daughter had started kicking a week ago and every time Levi felt it, his whole face would light up in amazement. The awed and affectionate way he was staring at her made her eyes fill with tears.

"What's wrong?" Levi asked, frowning lightly. "Is the baby kicking too hard?" He rubbed her belly soothingly. "Does it hurt?"

"No. It's just hormones."

Levi nodded.

Bear was begging for attention so she tickled him under his chin. Petra noticed Levi's unfocused gaze. "What are you thinking about, Levi?"

"Just remembering when we first met. I know it was a difficult day for you," he said hesitantly.

"It was. But," she said, smiling warmly, "I'm glad for it now. It led us to cross paths."

Levi put his hands together, blowing to keep them warm.

Above him, the sky was dark and the wind blew slightly. His Bohemian shepherd ran around just ahead of him, sniffing and exploring the park. The wide paths were empty, the benches soaked from an earlier rain shower. Suddenly, Bear started moving off the cobblestone path.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Levi asked. The leash slipped from his hand as the dog shot off into the trees. "Bear!" Levi yelled and ran after his dog.

The ground was muddy and covered in dried leaves, some of them sticking to the soles of his shoes. Without the light from the lampposts, visibility was poor.

Through some thick trees, moving deeper into the big park, he found himself in a small clearing with a pond. Yellow-white light came from two lampposts around the water and a third one near the bench.

Bear was sniffing the hand of a woman sitting on the bench. She must have been there for a while. The rumpled, dirty wedding dress was sticking to her.

The redhead looked up at him, makeup ruined and hair a mess. Her eyes were also puffy but the small smile on her face appeared genuine. "Your dog?"

"Yeah."

"He's nice." She patted the dog's head, stroking his ear. "You're such a cutie. What's his name?"

"Bear."

"Bear?"

"That was his name when I adopted him." Levi approached her slowly and asked, "Are you okay?"

The woman stared down at her dress and her lips quivered.

"How long have you been here?" Levi asked. It had rained two hours ago. She had to have been sitting there for at least that long.

"It's been a few hours, I think."

Levi didn't like the pallor of her skin. Frowning slightly, he unzipped his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Her amber eyes widened at the gesture. "You must be freezing."

"Honestly, I don't really feel much right."

"What's your name?"

"Petra."

"I'm Levi." He crouched by his dog, petting him. Bear was loving the attention. "Your dress is ruined," he said to Petra.

She laughed bitterly. "It doesn't matter. I'm not getting married."

"What happened?" Levi spoke gently but without thinking. Normally, he wasn't one to strike up conversations with co-workers he saw at the store much less random strangers in the deserted park. But she seemed so vulnerable and sad that he felt an unexplainable urge to comfort her for whatever reason. And he was terrible at comforting people so he truly didn't know what compelled him.

"He left me. At the altar. And ran off with another woman."

"That's just shitty," Levi said in what he hoped was a kind voice. With her wearing his jacket, he was starting to feel cold and he was also kind of hungry. But he couldn't leave her by herself either. Especially in her state. "What a bastard."

Petra flinched. "I guess I just wasn't good enough," she said miserably.

"Hey, don't blame yourself for his asinine behavior."

"I don't understand," Petra said, voice breaking in grief. An expression of agony twisted her face, still pretty despite the ruined makeup.

Ditched at the altar on her wedding day. Levi felt really bad for her. "It must have been awful," he said. The utterly shattered look on her face spoke volumes.

"I made sacrifice after sacrifice for him. I turned down a great opportunity for my career and moved away from my family and he—" A tremor ran through her.

Levi kept silent, letting her rant.

"He told me he didn't love me but he cared for me and he, and he, and that he couldn't do this to us." Petra sobbed, unable to say another word.

It's probably for the best that they didn't get married. Still, Levi could only imagine what she must have felt when he left her in front of their friends and family. Heartbroken, betrayed, humiliated. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he said. "There's really no other words but that it just fucking sucks."

Petra took deep breaths, trying to regain some control. "Apparently," she said, "he's been in love with a mutual friend of ours. Everyone keeps telling me better now than after we were married or had kids."

"Doesn't stop you from feeling like your heart's been ripped in half, though, does it?"

"I overheard some people when I snuck away—I couldn't handle staying there, I felt suffocated and I needed to be alone, to be outside—and they were saying nasty things about me and blaming me. They said I must have done something. That I was a bitch and not all innocent like I acted. They know me. How could they say that?" Petra's voice wavered, focusing her pleading eyes on him. "Why did they say that?"

"People are assholes. Don't pay them any mind—I'd drop that hot pile of garbage if I were you. Trust me, I've met two-faced fucks like that before and they can only hide their rotten selves for so long before their true natures are revealed. They must've felt extra ugly around you because you're so good and beautiful. So they felt the need to drag you down to their level in order to feel better about their shitty selves. But that's no reflection on you."

Petra gave him a watery smile. "You don't even know me."

"I'm a good judge of character. And Bear here is even better. He's met a lot of bad people."

Petra stroked an ugly scar on his dog's neck. "Poor baby," she cooed softly.

Levi remembered how nervous Bear used to be when he first adopted the scarred pup. It brought a small smile to his face, seeing how far the dog had come, lapping up the love Petra gave him instead of flinching in fear.

"Maybe," she said quietly, "given some time I'll be glad for how things turned out today. But not right now. It's too fresh right now."

"Don't go thinking he did the right thing, by the way. He didn't," Levi insisted. "He's a pathetic little asshat who pulled an immature stunt. He should have grown a pair and told you how he really felt before the situation went this far."

"Maybe he didn't realize until it was too late." Petra didn't seem to believe her own words. And admitted as much. "No...he knew... It's why looked so guilty even though he said he was doing the right thing."

"Even if he only just then realized he was making a mistake and it would ruin both your lives and your potential children's lives in the end, he could have easily pulled you aside and had a private conversation, explaining everything instead of leaving you alone after making a spectacle. If I really believed leaving my fiancée for another woman on our wedding day was truly the best decision for everyone, I would have at least apologized to all the guests and taken responsibility. But he left you to handle the aftermath."

Petra's shoulders slumped.

Crap, Levi thought. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad, like she wasn't worth the effort. Marriage was just a big deal to him and Levi knew he'd never propose to a woman unless he was absolutely sure it was the right decision. He'd only meant to state his opinion, not make her feel unworthy. "I'm sure that idiot was only being cowardly and stupid," he said quickly. "And it wasn't his intention to cause you more pain but he was too much of a chicken-shit to do it right."

Petra didn't reply, too lost in her own torment, absent-mindedly petting Bear, who sniffed her hands.

Levi understood. The situation she experienced and the emotions it caused wasn't something a pep talk from a stranger could help her get over. It'd take time. Levi stood, offering her a hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here. It'll be night soon. I'm freezing and you definitely need to warm up."

She stared at his hand hesitantly.

"You don't have to go anywhere with me, obviously. Let's just get out of the park. Do you have any money?"

"No. I walked here. I didn't bring my phone or wallet or anything."

"I'll hail you a cab. It's okay," he said when she appeared ready to protest. "This'll be my act of kindness to get some good karma. My cousin's always telling me how I should be nicer when I bitch about having bad luck." He walked with her in silence until they neared the main road and he hailed her a taxi.

Petra started to remove his jacket when a yellow cab pulled up.

"Keep it," Levi said, stopping her. "You need it more than I do."

"Are you sure?"

"No worries. I live really close."

Petra lowered to Bear's level, smiling at the dog, scratching him. "You're such a good boy," she said and gave him a big kiss. "Thank you for making me feel better."

Bear licked her face and Levi saw her momentarily forget her situation again and smile affectionately. He helped her up, figuring the dress was even heavier when wet. Levi opened the door for her, helping put her dress inside the cab.

"Thank you, Levi," she said before pulling the door shut.

Levi knocked on the passenger side window of the cab and it rolled down. "How much will it be to take her home?" The cabbie estimated the price and Levi handed him a few bills. "You can keep the change."

The taxi pulled away, getting on the road.

Levi waved when Petra looked back, Bear barking beside him. He reached down to his dog, petting him. "C'mon, boy, let's go home. Bet you're hungry, too."

Bear whined.

"Yeah, she seemed nice. Who knows? Maybe we'll see her again."

In case you're wondering, she found his business card in his jacket and befriended him on social media. That's how they met again.

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