Modern

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: Rivetra Week 2015 Day 6 Prompt

Just a Modern AU

Eren Yeager sat nervously with his girlfriend's cousin staring intently from the couch across from him. Mikasa didn't have any other family so she was close to Levi, her cousin, who was like an older brother to her. Eren had met the older man a few times and he still felt uncomfortable being alone with him.

Before the awkward silence could choke him, he opened his mouth to excuse himself by offering to help Mikasa with dinner. But Levi spoke before he could. "Join me on the patio." He left, not giving Eren a chance to reply or checked to see if he followed.

Eren glanced helplessly at the wall separating him from the kitchen and slowly went after him. Levi was leaning back against the black railing around the rectangular patio deck, arms crossed, looking off to the side. "Close the door."

No problem, Eren thought. The neighbors were home. He could see the lights were on even if the blinds were closed. They would hear him screaming bloody murder if Levi tried to kill him. Eren could never shake the feeling Levi wanted to kick his ass.

"Are you scared of me?"

"Yes."

"Good." Levi sounded amused. He was silent after that.

Why did we have to come out here for this? They could have continued the awkward silence in the living room. At least it was warm inside. The evening wasn't freezing, but he wouldn't have minded a jacket for the slight wind.

"Mikasa told me what happened. Last week."

Eren wracked his brain. "Uh, what happened last week?"

Levi glanced at him. "You gave up a great offer. It was the job of your dreams, wasn't it?"

"Not really. It would have forced me to leave Mikasa. Not worth it."

"That easy, huh?"

"Well, yeah. I like my current job. Besides, there'll probably be more opportunities later. But there won't ever be another Mikasa." Eren smiled widely.

"I never liked you."

His smile fell. Not exactly words one wanted to hear from their partner's only family.

"I always thought you loved your freedom too much."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't sure how committed you were to her. You're active and like to go out and do things. You're annoyingly passionate about many things she's not. If presented with the chance to make your dreams come true, I thought you'd be tempted and might abandon her," Levi admitted.

"I'd never abandon her," Eren told him heatedly.

"I know." Levi then said after a pause, "I was in love once. Mikasa ever tell you?"

"No. What happened?" Eren asked curiously.

"Same thing that happened with you and Mikasa. Except I chose the job over her. Now I've got everything, big house, fancy car, brand name clothes. But it cost me her."

"Wasn't worth it in the end." All the wealth in the world was meaningless without someone you loved to enjoy it with you.

"No. It wasn't." Levi sighed deeply and Eren had a feeling he had done that a lot in regret and unhappiness over his decision. "I would have had lesser success but I would have had Petra. And we would have been so happy."

"Where is she now? Maybe you can find her and—"

"It's too late now."

"Why? Is she dead?" If she wasn't, maybe there was still a chance.

"No. Married."

"Oh."

Levi leveled him with an intense look. "Don't make the same mistake as me. Keep treasuring Mikasa like you do. Trust me, you'll be happier for it in the end."

"What exactly happened? Between you and Petra." Eren really wanted to know.

"I had to move halfway across the world for the new job. She couldn't leave. Different time zones and we both would be buried under work. We knew it'd never work in the end. How can you have a relationship when you never even have time for yourself much less your partner?"

"She didn't ask you to stay?"

"I think she felt it would have been too selfish, getting in the way of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe she was worried I'd resent her if she asked. I don't know. Neither of us wanted to fight and we just split up and went our separate ways."

"It's not entirely your fault, then. You both made the choice."

Levi grunted noncommittally. "I'm glad you didn't make the same mistake I did."

"Eren, can you please get me a glass of water, please?"

No reply.

Mikasa glanced up from her laptop. "Are you checking out Petra's profile again?" He grunted from across the dining table, eyes glued to his laptop screen. "I'm not sure how I feel about you stalking my cousin's ex-girlfriend."

"I'm stalking her husband at the moment, actually," Eren corrected without looking up. "And I think I just hit the jackpot." He grinned widely. "Check it out," he said and twisted the silver laptop for her to see. "These are photos from his company retreat." He had two open side-by-side. "Notice anything different?"

"They're different pictures," Mikasa said uncertainly. In one, the group was sitting together in a circle on the floor. In the second, they were standing outdoors, arms across each other's shoulders.

"Looks closer."

She sighed. "Eren—"

"Fine, look at their faces," he pointed the two out.

Brow slightly furrowed, she compared their faces and immediately saw what he was hinting at. "His lips have a pink stain." It was the exact shade of pink as the lipstick the woman next to him was wearing. Hers was smudged and uneven. Mikasa's eyes narrowed at his hand on the woman's waist, instead of putting it around the shoulders like everyone was doing.

"He's totally banging this chick."

Certainly it was suspicious. But it didn't automatically equal infidelity. "You don't know that."

"I've been following them for weeks—"

"Stalking, you mean?"

"And there are little clues everywhere. You know Petra's been going through chemo?"

"She has cancer?" Mikasa shook her head. "That's terrible. I always liked her. She was always so smart and charming and good to everyone."

"The chemo took care of it though and she's recovering well now."

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah. But wanna know the weird thing? She kept a sort of journal about her treatments because her friends and family wanted to know what was going on and show their support, and lots of other people commented really nice things, too. Except for her husband. He's pretty active on social media, but there's almost nothing from him. No support or encouragement or anything. I think he maybe he made one or two comments about it when she first started, but that's it."

"That is strange," she admitted. "If he was a private person and not active online I'd understand, but..."

"I think they're separated. Look at this." He waved her over.

Mikasa found herself sucked into her fiancé's little investigation and sat beside him, going through all the evidence he had gathered. "I think you might actually be right," she said when he was done.

"This is the perfect opportunity. She's vulnerable. Now's the perfect time for Levi to strike—"

Mikasa's jaw dropped and she smacked his arm. "Eren!"

"What?"

"Don't be so insensitive! She's going through a hard time and you—"

"I know. I didn't mean it in a bad way or anything."

"It's just awful." Mikasa wanted to punch Petra's dickish husband. What kind of a lowlife cheated on their partner who had cancer and was having such a hard time?

"Yeah, she's going through a rough patch and instead of being there for her, her piece of shit husband decided to leave her to handle it herself—and I'd never do that to you," Eren interrupted himself, speaking fiercely.

Mikasa couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest, smiling lovingly at him.

"Levi would have never abandoned her had it had been him."

"No, he wouldn't have," Mikasa agreed, nodding.

Levi stepped into the cafe and scanned the crowd. And he froze. The short woman in line with ginger hair had immediately grabbed his attention. His heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be. She glanced to the side as she waited. Petra.

Suddenly, she turned back and nearly looked away before jerking to a stop. Surprise covered her face. "Hey..."

"Hey."

"Wow, wasn't expecting to see you."

"Yeah."

"What are the chances, right?"

"Yeah."

"How are you?" Petra asked conversely.

"Good." Damn, couldn't he give more than one-word replies? "How are you? How's your dad? Did you adopt a dog? You've always wanted one. Are you still working at Pixis's firm?" And now he was talking too much.

Mercifully, the barista called Petra to place her order and she did so quickly and waited for him. Levi couldn't help but notice her thin hair, she'd lost weight, too, and there was a tiredness to her that made him want to pull her into his arms so she could rest comfortably. "I was sick," she answered, noticing his blatant staring. "But I'm better now."

"What?" Worry seeped into his voice. "What happened?" Maybe a better response would have been something along the lines of That's good or Glad you're feeling better or even an understanding nod. The way things had ended between them—well, not terribly, but it hadn't been amicable either. Years had passed since they split ways. Neither had kept in touch.

"I had cancer."

Levi felt momentarily overcome with dread and sadness before her words fully registered. "Had? So it's gone now?"

"Chemo. I'm in recovery."

"But the cancer's gone," he said, almost more to himself. "That's good. I'm glad."

The barista called out their orders.

Levi could see the outline of a book in her bag and figured there was a good chance she was planning on staying and reading. "Hey, if you wanna talk, maybe catch up..." The words were out of his mouth before he thought too much and chickened out. Hearing her voice and seeing her made his heart yearn for more. Her presence still carried a sense of comfort that had always seemed to melt his worries away and let him unwind.

Petra hesitated before answering with a smile. "Sure."

They talked for a while, about how their families were doing, talking about work, and even movies and the economy before they inadvertently landed on that subject. But he had not been expecting the words that came out of her mouth.

"Actually, I got divorced last month."

Levi felt like an idiot, only now noticing the lack of a ring on her left ring finger. Worse still, he had no idea how to react. "I'm sorry?" Fell inelegantly out of his mouth. Mentally, he kicked himself.

"It's okay. It was for the better." Her voice wavered.

"I'm sorry," the words came out softer. This time it was genuine. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't. It's not your fault." She took a deep breath, trying obviously not to cry in front of him.

They were sitting in a corner, mostly hidden from the baristas, and the place was fairly empty. "Hey, it's okay. You can cry if you want. I won't judge. Divorce is hard and takes a serious emotional toll. If you're hurting, you're allowed to cry."

A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she gave him that was oh so painfully familiar look. The one that said she was in pain and she wanted him to hold her. Hesitantly, he reached out, taking one of her hands into his because he wasn't sure if he should hug her.

"I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard." Petra was still wiping tears from her eyes as they left the theater.

"Yeah, it was a pretty great movie. Good choice."

"Thanks for inviting me."

It was late evening when they stepped out of the mall. Wind ruffled her hair gently and he had to resist the urge to tuck the loose strands behind her ear. But that was something a boyfriend would do and he kept his hands to himself. "You've been putting on weight. That's good."

"I've been pigging out," Petra said happily. "I still try and eat healthily but, still."

"There's this amazing Thai restaurant near Mikasa's apartment. You'd love it. We should go sometime."

"Sounds good. How is your cousin?"

"Between work and wedding stuff, she's up to her eyeballs. But she's excited."

There was a reminiscent look in her eyes tinged with heartache. "She must be so happy."

Levi had just wanted to distract her and spoke without thinking. "You can come as my plus one."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I mean," he fumbled to explain, "Mikasa would love to have you but the seating and everything's already set and I don't have a plus one yet, so you can come with me. If you want."

A genuine smile pulled at her lips. "I'd love to."

Levi couldn't hold back the large smile on his face and the happiness blooming in his chest.

"And I'd love to try that restaurant, too," she said almost shyly.

Levi practically skipped the walk to his car. Mikasa and Eren seemed to be waiting for him when he returned. "Hey, did I forget we had dinner plans?"

"No." Mikasa smiled expectantly, sitting beside her fiancé on the couch. "We wanted to know in person how it went."

Levi dropped into the recliner. "Know how what went?"

"How your date went," Eren clarified eagerly.

"What date?"

"Your date with Petra."

"It wasn't a date. What gave you that idea?"

"But," Mikasa began, puzzled, "didn't you two go to the movies?"

"So?" Levi questioned and they both looked disappointed. "I invited her to the wedding. As my plus one," he said cautiously. They perked up again, ready to speak but he added quickly. "As a friend. Please don't start with her about this at the wedding."

"It's been nearly fourth months since her divorce and you still haven't pursued her yet?" Mikasa asked.

"It's only been four months. And I can't decide for her when she's ready," he said defensively. "The divorce was hard on her."

"Yeah, cause the bastard was a lying cheater," Eren said.

"I didn't know. Not for sure. She's hinted at it but never really talks about it."

"Yeah, well," Mikasa said, frowning, "while she was struggling with cancer treatment, he was a screwing some co-worker of his."

"How do you know all this?"

"Eren told me. He stalked Petra online for weeks."

"You what?"

"Mikasa!"

"And that's not even the worst of it. Apparently he excused his behavior saying how hard it was on him and how he wanted kids but she couldn't have any cause the chemo made her infertile and his mistress got knocked up." Mikasa shook her head, disgusted.

Eren turned to her, eyebrows raised. "How do you know that?"

"I was reading some posts from friends of Petra's who bitched the asshole and his skank out after they tried acting all cute about being expecting parents and what loving people they were. They had to delete all their social media accounts because of all the hate they got," she said smugly.

"Please don't mention any of this to Petra," Levi pleaded. "It'll be hard for her to move on if everyone keeps bringing it up."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Eren agreed immediately.

"We won't," Mikasa promised. "But seriously, it's unlikely to happen but you should probably consider dropping some hints you're interested in case some other guy comes along. Just to let her know you're available so she can make a move when she's ready."

"You did that on purpose," Levi accused, dancing with the new Mrs. Yeager. "You were aiming for Petra when you threw the bouquet."

"I don't know what you're talking about," her cousin replied not so innocently.

"Really? Then why did it fly so weirdly to the side where we standing."

"Fate?" Mikasa shrugged. "But did you see how red Ymir turned when she caught it instead?" She laughed. "She's been denying it all evening, saying it was just reflexes and she only caught it cause she thought it might hit Historia."

"Well, you've got terrible aim, cousin."

"You're just pouting because Petra didn't catch it," Mikasa said, teasing.

Eren walked up to them. "Mind if I cut in?"

Levi stepped back and rolled his eyes as they referred to each other as "Wife" and "Husband" instead of using their names. How disgustingly cute. He found Petra at the edge of the dance floor.

"They look good together."

"Yeah. You wanna dance?" Levi asked and she accepted. She smells good. He held her close, enjoying her warmth, and they began to sway to the soft music.

"This is nice." She smiled blissfully. "I can do this forever."

Taking a deep breath, he decide to heed Mikasa's words and took the plunge. "You can if you want."

Petra blinked, looking unsure and hopeful. "What do you mean?"

"If you want, when you're ready, maybe we can pick up where we left off. Or we can start over again. Whatever you want. But I'm willing to wait. So." Levi took a deep breath. "Should I wait for you?"

"No."

His heart fell.

"You don't have to wait. I'm ready now."

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