‘✉’ for an unsent letter from my character to yours.
Found in Petra's desk when her room was being cleared out after her death:
My timing might be far from ideal, but this has been lingering on my mind for a bit too long now, and I'm afraid if I don't tell you somehow, I'll blurt it out in some stupid way and probably embarrass myself. So while I know you won't want to read a long, stupid letter like this one just after coming back from outside the walls, I hope you'll indulge a silly girl who's in way over her head.
You're my superior, I understand that, so the rest of this will probably seem pretty forward and very out of line. (I'm sorry for that too.) Each day that I put my life on the line, I think back to the days when I was a girl. We haven't talked much about my life before joining the Scouting Legion, though I hope that can change. When I was young, all I ever dreamed about was growing up, helping my parents around the farm, falling in love with the man of my dreams, starting a family, growing old and dying happy. I got older, though, and duty called louder than my girlish whims and selfish desires, so I enlisted. I knew when I was joining, I was throwing away my chances at a simple life like that one -- I would either spend my able years fighting for humanity's sake or I would die early trying to do so.
One part of my dream came true though, if nothing else. Somewhere along the lines, I fell in love. He wasn't the Prince Charming I'd dream about as a child, all dashing smiles and chivalry and kind words; the man who would serenade me to win my heart and court me before asking for my hand. I realize now that isn't the kind of love I want in a world like this, and the man I fell for isn't the kind to strive for a traditional romance. He can be a bit moody, but his heart shines through in ways most people can't see. Somehow, that endears him to me even further, the fact that, like me, he has acknowledged the fact that living in a fantasy world won't do anyone any good. He has changed me from the inside in so many ways, helping to mold me into the kind of person who can stand tall for something that will help others live comfortable lives. After all, that's why I enlisted in the first place.
You aren't a fairytale prince, Levi, but you're the man I ended falling for, and I can't bring myself to deny or regret it.
If you've read this far in, I first need to thank you for bearing with me. I know you have other, more important things to attend to than a letter such as this one. Eren, paperwork, meetings about how the expedition went. But I needed to get it off my chest, and one way or another, I need a response from you. If my feelings aren't returned, don't worry. I'll be okay, I'll continue to serve in your squad, the way I treat you won't change. But if by some cosmic stroke of luck, you've grown to care for me the same way I care for you... Well, I don't know how things would work out between us with all that's going on -- but I'd like to find out, if you'll help me along the way.
