The Wings of Love (Ereri/Riren boyxboy)

Part 30 ~ Heart, Cold Like Ice

~ The Hallway

Levi marched along the sunlit corridor with a smile on his face, looking out of the arched windows into the grounds beyond. They'd be going on another mission outside again in a few days, and he intended to spend most of that time with Eren. This brief respite he had might be the last he ever spent with Eren; nobody could anticipate what happened outside the walls. He could die at any moment, and so could Eren... his heart twisted as he imagined losing the brunette. Suddenly pattering footsteps approached him from behind and he turned. He was faced with a breathless and blushing Petra, who shyly looked at him from under her eyelashes.

"Hi!" she squeaked, a smile glowing on her delicate features.

"Hey."

Petra blinked at him as if expecting him to say something else. He didn't.

"Er...so, how are you?" she asked awkwardly, tired of waiting for another response.

"Good." Levi answered, his expression blank. Petra stared at him again. Silence enveloped them, and Petra coughed self-consciously.

"Do you want to go out with me...maybe...sometime?" She twisted her hands together uncertainly. Levi watched her indifferently and waited a few seconds before answering.

"Why?"

Petra's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Because we're basically together! You begged me to stay and kissed me, Levi!"

"No, but I need you..."

Petra cut Levi off with a squeak of happiness.

"I need you too Levi!"

"...I need you for the good of humanity, to protect Eren, our only hope...and I need you as a friend." He finished, looking at her with an almost expressionless face; only his eyes conveyed emotion. However, Petra couldn't decipher whatever lurked in the steely depths that she loved so much, and a fresh wave of pain engulfed her.

She stepped back as if Levi's words had physically pushed her away. Tears filled her eyes.

"You were playing me! For humanity." She said almost mockingly, but tears were already spilling over her flushed cheeks, washing her cynicism away with salt water.

"For humanity." Confirmed Levi, saluting perfectly with a cold look in his eyes, punching his right fist over his heart and slamming his left on his lower back with a satisfying slapping sound. His heart ached to do this to her but he had to...

Petra ran, her heart smashed against the tree that was Levi.

As she rounded the corner of the hallway and glanced back, she saw Levi's shoulders hunched in sadness.

He cares about me after all?