Levi

When Petra saw him, her expression was priceless.

It was a mix of "oh my god, what the hell," and "holy shit, what even. I gotta blast".

He wanted to smile at how ridiculous this situation was; but he remained unfazed. With every step he took towards her, her expression only hardened even further.

It was his luck that he would run into her on top of the bridge, away from everyone else; Levi was glad he slowed down to a stop here.

"Petra," his lips parted. She flinched, but still stared deeply into his eyes--she wasn't a hard one to read; she was always very expressive with her emotions, especially on her face.

He found it still beautiful--although it was a stupid, reckless high school fling, he couldn't help but to admit that he absolutely adored her, from her looks to her personality. Levi swallowed nervously, stopping right in front of her. It was still dark out, but her face shone brightly as always.

"Levi," she spoke, her voice slightly hoarse. "How'd you find me?"

"This--this kid," he mumbled, before shaking his head. "It's a long story. You wouldn't want to hear it."

"No, I do," Petra smiled lightly, her fingers grazing past his own; he flinched at the sudden contact of skin--not that he minded. He was actually grateful, really--grateful that she didn't hate him.

Yet.

"This kid, uh, the bald one," Levi stammered, tapping the tips of his fingers on top of the motorcycle handles.

"What?" Petra frowned. "You have to be more specific, Levi. What kid? What bald kid?"

"Oh, we got ambushed by this group, and we took one of them in as hostage; he wasn't an adult, and he didn't open fire, so...we decided to let him live. The funny thing is, he mentioned you to--" Levi paused for a second, pursing his lips. "--to my friend. She was, uh, really nice to him, I guess, and your name slipped. And he also said that you talk about me a lot."

Levi ended his explanation with a smirk, crossing his arms. Petra bit her lower lip and looked down, clearly flustered.

"N-Not a lot," Petra smiled weakly. "I just mentioned you a couple of times because he asked about my past a lot."

"I see," Levi nodded absent-mindedly. "Well, uh...here I am."

"To do what?" Petra giggled lightly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm staying, y'know. Well, I'm not going to stay here for long."

Levi's heart dropped. "What?"

"I--I have some things to take care of," Petra sucked in a deep breath, refusing to look him in the eyes. He felt a little...betrayed. He felt anger. He felt...guilty.

"What are the 'some things'?" Levi frowned. "Petra? Are you hiding something from me?"

"No," Petra answered immediately. Levi frowned in suspicion.

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because, my privacy is to be respected," Petra shook her head, taking a step back from Levi.

"But--but we're--"

"Exes," Petra cut him off. "We're nothing more than mere exes. We had a high school fling, it broke apart, the end. My father didn't like you all that much anyway, despite the nearly arranged marriage."

"It broke apart because of you," Levi retaliated, roughly grabbing her shoulder. "You cheated on me. With Oluo Bozado, of all people! Why? Was I not good enough?"

"Levi," Petra spoke calmly, "I thought we said we weren't going to talk about this. It was dumb, anyway. It was a stupid high school fling."

"Stupid. You think it's stupid."

"I guess," Petra shrugged. "High school relationships are meaningless, you know. Unless you're high school sweethearts, which...we're not. Stop hanging onto the past, Levi."

"I didn't come here for you," he lied, pursing his lips. "Well, okay, maybe I did, but definitely not to get back together with you. I mean, I was just worried, because--because--because I knew you before, um, all of this happened. And I was just wondering if you were doing alright. I was--I was just curious about your welfare. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Okay, I'm sorry," Petra sighed. "It's just--it's just that I don't want to get too attached to you again; people come and go, y'know, and if I grow attached to you again, then..."

Petra's shoulders fell, before deeply exhaling. Levi nodded slowly; he understood. It was reasonable.

"I won't leave you," Levi said, taking Petra's hand. Her hand twitched at the unexpected contact--after spending year after year with her, he had grown more accustomed to the idea of skin-on-skin contact. He didn't really like the whole concept of hugging, hand-holding, or even kissing--probably because he wasn't all too familiar with the broad topic. But Petra seemed to open up a special place in his heart--it sounded really cheesy, but it was true; he couldn't put it in any other words.

"Thanks, but..." Petra trailed off, letting go of Levi's hand. "I'm not happy."

"What do you mean?" Levi frowned; that was such an irrelevant reply to what he just said, and she knew that it wasn't easy for him to say things like this--it was so cheesy that it sparked goosebumps all over his arms. Was that not enough?

"I'm not happy with this place, Levi," Petra shook her head, speaking solemnly. "I want to go somewhere else, where--where the consequences of the Purge has had a smaller impact than this dump. I've been wanting to go away for a while, now--it's not because of you, Levi. I just want to pursue my own happiness, and not become a hindrance for you anymore."

"You weren't ever a hindrance," Levi sighed, averting his gaze down to his shoes.

"I would be, sometime, somehow, somewhere," she sighed, rubbing her arm. "And I'll probably be a bother--you have your own little, um, clan of people, don't you?"

"They won't mind," Levi insisted. "They're all good people too--Petra, just please--it makes me feel uneasy, knowing that you'll be out here, alone, in the middle of something so...dangerous."

"I can take care of myself," she muttered; she wasn't mad, or didn't sound like it, at least. "We're not fifteen anymore. We're not sixteen. We're not seventeen. We're not eighteen. We're nineteen, Levi. It's time to take some of that responsibility as an adult."

"Nineteen is barely an adult," Levi insisted, "we're still kids at heart. Age is just a number."

"Levi," Petra laid a hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing him. "I'm glad that you came here for me--I really am. I still don't really understand how, but I really, really, really do appreciate it. I admire that, actually. But...I don't like becoming a burden. You know I hate that. So...if you really want to be with me, come find me, okay?"

Levi clicked his tongue, a little annoyed--but his confusion overrode his anger; with a deadpanned stare, he tapped his foot out of impatience.

"But how the hell am I supposed to find you if I have no idea where the fuck you are?"

"You'll find me somewhere," Petra smiled widely. "Well...we'll meet again, coincidentally or not. I'm certain of that."

Petra then hugged him, a little less tight than he would've liked. He then sighed in disappointment; even though they weren't romantically involved anymore, it still kind of pained him to see her like this, and the fact that he couldn't protect her from the cruelty of this world only made it worse. He hesitated before wrapping his arms loosely around her, exhaling the breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"I've been wanting to leave for a while anyway," Petra said, pulling away from Levi. "I don't think this is the place for me--so many people are rude, racist, and...just violent. Not just in this specific camp, everywhere here in general. It's kind of upsetting, knowing what we've come down to."

"Oh," Levi muttered. It was the only thing he could say--his mind was completely blank. He didn't know what to do--comfort her? Tell her it's okay? Tell her that he'll support her decision?

"Yeah," Petra smiled again, running her finger through her short, soft, ginger hair. "I'll definitely see you soon, Levi. Count on it."

"Okay," Levi replied, absent-mindedly. Watching her leave was like creating a void in his heart.

"I'm going to go now," Petra smiled, peering back over the bridge. "I just need to get my stuff, and I'll be well on my way."

"Wait, do you know where you're leaving to?"

"Las Vegas," she replied. Levi just gaped at her stupidity.

"Las Vegas? Like, in California?"

"No, that's in Nevada, dummy," Petra laughed a little. "I know it'll take, like, months from Dallas, but...I'll be there at some point?"

"Why so far?" Levi frowned, an empty sigh leaving his lips.

"The conditions are a lot better there, surprisingly. I thought it would be worse, because, y'know, it's full of gamblers, casinos, and whatnot--but I got in contact with a...friend of mine. She offered me a place to stay, and--we've been really close. I know I can trust her--I can trust her with my life."

"And you don't trust me?" Levi frowned, crossing his arms. "Petra, we've known each other for a long time."

"Four years," Petra shrugged.

"Four years is a long time," Levi protested. "I'm just a little worried about you, okay?"

"I know, but you don't have to be," Petra smiled yet again; it wasn't a smile full of glee and happiness, but rather one out of pity. Levi pressed his lips tight, but did not press on further.

"Okay," he finally muttered. "I'll just come with you."

"To Las Vegas?" Petra's eyes lit up.

"No, below the bridge. I thought it would be nice, to, uh, escort you down there and wish you farewell," he sighed, rolling his eyes--he wasn't particularly annoyed with her behavior, he was just annoyed with his; Petra looked slightly disappointed, but did not argue with him. Instead, she gave him a half-smile and started walking down the slope of the bridge, Levi following suit quickly thereafter.

As they neared the end, they quieted their footsteps to where it was hardly audible--Petra ran on light feet, grabbing her dirtied, olive-green messenger bag and hanging it over her shoulder. It was conveniently located by the column that held the bridge; he was glad that he caught her just in time to sort out things.

Petra gasped lightly for air, slowing down her quickened breaths as she stopped in front of Levi, right under the bridge, where water laid a couple feet away. Petra smiled, tugging on Levi's shirt collar and gently placing her lips on his.

He was quite shocked.

He, of course, missed the feel of her lips on his--soft and plump; not to mention that she smelled nice, despite the given situation.

"What was that for?" he asked immediately after; of course, the kiss was very brief, possibly two seconds or so--but it left him very confused. She just told him that she didn't love him like she used to, but now she's the one kissing him--he had never been more blank nor speechless in his entire life.

"Sorry," Petra quickly apologized, a palm covering her lips. She looked away, obviously a little flustered. "I--I wasn't thinking. It was--it was really selfish of me; I'm sorry, Levi. Um, I really am."

"N-No, don't be sorry," Levi frowned, eyes darting around his surroundings. "I'm just--why'd you do that?"

"I--I don't know!"

"What?"

"I just--I thought that if I conveyed to you that I didn't love you anymore, then maybe it wouldn't affect you as much, but--I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself, I--"

"You were really bad at doing that, then," Levi muttered, smiling a bit to himself. He had to restrain himself from continuing the kiss--he took a deep breath in, and out.

"Levi, you have to go," Petra urged, gently pushing on his chest. "There's probably someone keeping watch--if they wake up, or if they see you--"

"Hey!"

A voice echoed from the backside, and Levi whipped around to see who it was; it was a burly man, probably around his mid-twenties or his early thirties, with tattos laced on his arms and his neck, all topped with a muscle tee that looked black under the dark sky. Levi backed up, turning to his side to check on Petra--but she was long gone.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Shit.

-

[a/n]: don't hate me omg!!1!11!! i don't even ship rivetra what is my life. i mean, it's a 'x reader' after all so don't mind the plot !! and what even is this chapter it was so short kms;; but i thought it would be best to portray levi's pov at the moment rather than a chapter after so ye :') sorry for inactivity omg. school is stressing me out even though it's like the last week but i hAD SIX PROJECTS all on the same week like um excuse me??? so i got about 1 hour - 2 hours of sleep every night omg. cries 5ever

+ sorry i threw so much shit at y'all in the last chapter ;-; i was throwing out some ideas to see if they were feasible in the future haha :') but i'm thinking about either keeping it in reader or OC, so ye:) and in the future, there may be a mystery/thriller/action fic where i'll only use the canon characters;)

[ word count: 2306 ]

》 published may 27, 2016