One time I watched Lucifer and was like “wow this is the kind of angsty shit that would rly fit Levi” and then I made a devil AU
Tears for the Devil
Rivetra. Devil AU.
Rivetra Week Day 4: Fantasy/Bruise
Words: 719
He’s seen the way people look at him. Lust in their eyes. Wrath. Greed. Fear. Hatred. Those last two especially. He hated it at first, but he grew accustomed to it. Now he doesn’t mind the heated glares, the mournful tears, or the lecherous gazes. But it’s been a while since anyone has ever looked at him in awe and wonder. He can feel her gaze on his back; he wishes he could turn back and see that look in her amber eyes, but he doesn’t want to turn back to find that he’s wrong. That her wide-eyed gaze is shock and horror that will quickly turn to disgust and revulsion. Somehow he can’t bear the thought of her running away from him.
He sits there instead, his back turned to her because he can’t bear to look at her face, and stares ahead at the blank wall. He concentrates instead on the spiraling smoke from the lit cigarette that sits burning between his fingers.
It’s as if a million years have passed when she finally speaks.
“Levi.” It’s only a whisper, but it’s enough for him to read the tone of her voice. Shock. Fear. Awe. “What happened?”
He could dance around the question, pretend he doesn’t know she’s asking about the scars on his back, but he’s never been good at conversation. Thinking up of clever words and ways to distract her, that’s too much work. So he says it outright even though he’s sure she won’t believe him.
“There’s a story from a long time ago. When a devil rises from hell, it’s after they fell from heaven,” he tells her. He raises the cigarette to his lips but doesn’t bother to take a drag. He just watches as the end of it burns and crumbles away, the ash spilling onto the bedroom floor. “You’d think hell is the worst part, but it’s not. It’s right before that. The fall. It’s when they rip out your wings and shove you out of paradise because of one thing – just one fucking thing, Petra – and they shut the doors on you.”
Ah. Temper, he thinks, as he looks down at the cigarette that he’s crumpled in his fist. There’s hardly a mark from where it had burned him, but he’s used to it. He’s untouchable, and it’s only now that he’s thinking how lonely it is to live in such a way for so long.
She’s quiet for so long that he would have though she left, but there are no footsteps and the door doesn’t make a sound. When her fingers trace the scars on his skin, it’s then that he knows that she’s there and there’s a brief feeling of relief that she hasn’t run away.
“Does that mean…?” Her voice quivers, but it’s not out of fear. It’s something else that he can’t quite put his finger on.
“I’m one of those devils,” he finishes for her. “Yes.”
“…you were an angel.” she says instead, surprising him. Her finger stops before she covers the scar with her hand as if to hide it away from the world, make it disappear. A moment later, he feels her resting her forehead right between the scars on his back.
“Are you scared of me?”
She doesn’t respond and instead asks a question of her own. “Hey, Levi,” she asks, her voice still trembling. She rubs the scar with a slow, gentle thumb. “Did it hurt?”
He almost scoffs at the question, something turned into one of those stupid pickup lines, but he remembers the wings being ripped from his back. No time to heal, and he was already locked out and dropped into the underworld. The searing pain sometimes comes back to him even though it’s been years and years. And her touch – cool, gentle, soothing, tender – is so different from it.
“Yes,” he hisses. Can a voice really shake so much in one word? Maybe he’s just imagining it in this dark, quiet room. “It hurt. Of course, it hurt. It hurt so much.”
Something drips onto his back – tears, he realizes – and they burn into his back, but it’s a different sort of sensation than the phantom pain he feels every night or so.
Ah, he could make a joke about this, these tears for the devil, if only he weren’t shedding some of his own.
(Sorry this is super short and lame, I’ve been ill all week and not able to join in but really wanted to contribute to Rivetra week because I love this ship)
Title: The Future That Never Was
Word Count: 306
It’s a simple scene really…
Petra sees herself, she’s slightly plumper than she is now, no longer having to train long hours has curved out her edges but she carries it well. On her hip is a small child, chubby fists grab and the strap of her apron and she stirs something in a pot. The child starts to fuss so she places a kiss on the soft fuzzy hair that covers its head. She murmurs that dinner is almost ready, that it won’t be long now. The child calms and rests it’s head against her shoulder. Petra hums quietly, the moment is peaceful.
The peace is disturbed by a toddler that comes crashing through the door squealing with delight. This child’s hair is dark, he calls her mama and chatters excitedly while he helps her lay the table.
And then he comes in, she’s not sure exactly when she first started imagining Levi as the husband and father figure in her fantasy but she’s long since stopped pretending that she doesn’t want it to be him. At least here, in her private thoughts, she is honest with herself.
He sits at the table, and listens to their sons babbling. He drinks his tea whilst she dishes the dinner. He takes the baby from her hip so that she can take five minuets to eat her dinner before it goes cold….
….and then Petra opens her eyes and the whole scene is gone, and she’s on her horse riding into battle, ready to face the titans like she has many times before, not knowing if this will be her last moments on earth. But she’s calm, her secret fantasy helps with that. No one knows about it, only her. Before every battle she takes a few moments to herself to imagine a future worth fighting for.
Casualties were piled up from the army trucks passing by the paved roads of each district. The sun has started to hide beneath the horizon. Along the cold breeze of the approaching night was the rising smoke of burning residences, screams and weeping of survivors whose minds were trapped in the horror of war, and busy soldiers attending to their duties.
Petra Ral was broken.
And watching the parade of trucks loaded with corpses of both soldiers and civilians broke her heart even more. She was all messed up – covered in bloodstains, dirt, scrapes and bruises from cruel, unexpected circumstances. During the war, all she could think about was to prolong the lives of both soldiers and civilians in the bloody ground. She chose to live the oath she swore as both a physician and a citizen of the country.
She remained standing alone on the side of the road as the last truck passed by. She was left there all by herself. Her fellows have gone to find their loved ones in the evacuation and rehabilitation camps set by the government. The thought of reality pressed her to a downward spiral of guilt, self-loathing and self-pity. She lost her family and her home; she wasn’t able to save her father from dying when he was shot at the back to protect her. And it seemed that no painkillers or any type of drugs could easily help her recover from the pain of yesterdays.
Her silent tears fell on the ground like raindrops from the dark sky. She was grieving for everything as if the tears welling up from her eyes was endless, not until a soldier offered her a white handkerchief. She looked up at him with agonizing eyes. It was the soldier from the ridge who saved her when an enemy troupe kidnapped her from the army station hospital, killing three of her fellows in the process. She took the white handkerchief he offered, not even bothering to think twice of staining it with tears and bloodstains on her face.
“War strikes both the guilty and innocent. It doesn’t care about who would suffer.” said the soldier impassively without looking at her. He remained standing beside her while staring at the dimming horizon ahead.
She started to sob again. “I lost my family.”
He removed his military vest and rested it on her shoulders to keep her warm from the approaching cold breeze of the night. She was surprised when she felt the warm fabric embraced her, prompting her to look at him.
“I lost everyone.” He said. His silver orbs were glinting with hints of regret from the things he had to sacrifice.
“I’m sorry.” whispered Petra and looked to where he was looking at – darkness swallowing the entire sky.
As they remained still for a moment, letting the comfortable silence embrace them, he seemed to be contemplating. Somehow she thought that he might be grieving more than her, that he must be dying inside. But unlike her, he wasn’t shedding a single tear. He was strong to endure every pain and agony.
She looked at him with gratefulness painted on her amber orbs. “I didn’t have the chance to thank you when we’re in the ridge.” she said, “Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s the decision I won’t regret, at least in this lifetime.” He replied, not even bothering to shoot her a brief glance.
She gave him a faint smile. They didn’t move a muscle as they remained standing side by side facing the horizon, until silence hovered over the surface of everything it touched.
On the first night of the aftermath of war, between the silence and the grieving hearts, she introduced herself to him. “By the way, I’m Petra Ral.”
He was prompted to look at her, quite amused when realization struck him unexpectedly, leaving him searching for words to say.
“What’s your name, Captain?” she asked after seeing the details in his military uniform.
The creases between his eyebrows ceased when he looked at her and replied, “Levi.”
The war has ended along with the winter season, and so was the beginning of spring and a new chapter of their lives.
I won’t apologize for my self-indulgent fluff. I just hope it’s good!
Petra Ral was perhaps the smartest girl in her class. The smartest girl because there was one other student that seemed to outrank her in every way possible. That one other Student was Levi Ackerman.
He always got top marks on tests, knew the answers to every question and, although she knew the answers too and would have been glad to offer them to the rest of the class, Levi was always faster. She thought she might resent him a little bit for it, and she thought that might be why she thought about him constantly. At least that's what she thought at first. She quickly discovered that the reason she always thought about him wasn't that she was jealous or bitter, but because she was actually quite attracted to him.
She wouldn't go as far as to say that she had any...sinful fantasies about him, the fantasies she had about him were sweet and soft and loving, but they were still fantasies all the same, and fantasies that she was sure would never come to fruition. In fact, she was pretty sure he didn't even have a clue who she was, or that she was alive and that she watched him so closely every day trying to figure out a way to speak to him. She was sure of that, that is, until one day she was watching him and he noticed.
He looked peeved, to say the least, that he had caught her staring at him. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to beat her to a pulp for having the audacity to look at him in that way, and she immediately averted her gaze as she realized that fact. She thought she could hear him sighing, even from across the room, a sure sign that he wanted nothing to do with her. Still, she couldn't let herself be disappointed about that fact. She knew that was how it would have to be. She knew that there was no way he would return any kind of affection for her. She was just some nerd in his class, some girl that was too ordinary and plain for him to even entertain the thought of speaking to. She knew all of this and yet, it hurt just the same to see that it was all true.
Once their class was over she headed toward the cafeteria. Maybe if she could just get something to eat it would make her feel better about the situation. It was only a crush, after all, and something she was sure she would be able to get over eventually. It wasn't like she'd ever actually talked to him, anyway. It wasn't like she'd expected anything more than this. She'd never even seen Levi take interest in any of the other girls in their class. She was sure he was just too focused on his studies, trying to get into a good university after their third year ended, but it still left an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach knowing that her suspicions about her interest in him had been true.
“Who would ever be interested in a girl as boring as me, anyway?” Petra asked herself under her breath as she walked, head down, through the halls trying to get to the cafeteria. Suddenly, she crashed into someone that sent her reeling back. She would have fallen if a strong hand hadn't reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.
“I-I'm so sorry, I should have been paying more attention to—” She stopped her sentence short when she saw exactly who she'd crashed into. Who was holding onto her arm to steady her as she collected herself.
“You should watch where you're going when you walk through the halls. You could have hurt yourself.” Levi's voice broke through the fog of her mind and brought her back to reality. He was touching her, standing close to her, speaking to her, and she couldn't think of a single word to say to him in return. “Where are you in such a hurry to get to, anyway?”
“Um, the...cafeteria,” She answered shakily, swallowing hard as she tried to overcome her embarrassment.
“I'll walk with you to make sure that you don't run into anyone else.”
“Oh, you don't have to, I'm sure you're busy and you probably have friends that you wanted to meet up with. I'll be fine, really, I'll pay attention to where I'm going.” Her words came out fast and before she could even really understand why she was saying them. Why was she turning him down? He'd just offered to walk with her to the cafeteria, the boy that she'd been obsessing over for more than half of the school year wanted to walk with her and she couldn't even control her anxiety enough to let him.
“No one is waiting for me. I'd just be eating alone anyway, so I might as well stick with you and make sure you don't hurt yourself.” He turned and started walking toward the cafeteria and Petra only took a moment to catch up to him and walk at his side.
She couldn't believe it! Just this morning she was convinced that Levi wanted nothing to do with her, that he was annoyed at the thought of her even looking at him, and now they were going to eat lunch together. She was sure that this was the first time that they'd even spoken to each other, and now she was about to eat lunch with him. She wondered briefly if she would be able to even keep up a conversation with him during their lunch break, but decided that she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Right now she was just happy to be in his company.
Her thoughts were buzzing until they sat down together and she realized that the only thing Levi had for his lunch was a thermos that seemed to be full of tea. She suddenly felt rude with the plate of food that she had sitting in front of her while all he had was a thermos full of tea. Could he not afford a proper lunch? Would she be rude for eating in front of him? Before she thought about it the words were spilling out of her mouth.
“Is that all you're going to have?” She asked, suddenly feeling like she was out of line when he looked up at her, a scowl on his face.
“I don't usually eat lunch. Tea is fine for me during the day. Who would want to eat the shit that they serve here anyway?” He replied and she suddenly felt wrong for even asking the question.
“Oh,” She replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she, herself, was eating the lunch that the school provided. It seemed that Levi realized what he'd implied and, with a roll of his eyes, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, why were you staring at me earlier?” He asked his expression devoid of any emotion that would let Petra know what he might be thinking.
“I...umm...I must have spaced out or something. I didn't realize where I was looking. I'm so sorry if I made you feel strange or anything like that.” Petra tried her best to rush through her explanation in a believable manner, but she had the feeling that Levi wasn't buying it.
“I don't think that's the reason,” He answered. Just as she'd thought, she wasn't the least bit convincing. Now she would have to tell him the real reason she'd been caught staring at him, and she wasn't sure that she was ready for the rejection that would follow.
“I...I don't know what you're talking about.” She looked away but she could feel his gaze on her, boring holes through her skull as he analyzed every little word she said.
“You seemed pretty aware that you were looking at me. You were smiling.”
“I was?” She asked and she felt the blush spread across her face as she realized that there was no easy way out of this. Had he asked her to have lunch with him just to torture her with some strange interrogation about why she was looking at him?
“Yeah, you were,” he said, sipping his tea. “So why were you staring at me and smiling?”
“I...” Petra paused. It seemed that she was stuck in this incredibly awkward situation. She thought for a moment that she might just run away and hide somewhere until lunch was over, but she knew that wouldn't solve any of the problems she was now faced with. Even if she did run away, she had nearly every class with Levi and would undoubtedly see him again before the end of the day.
“Go on...” He prompted, an annoyed expression on his face as he set his tea back down on the table.
“I...I just...” Petra stuttered but she was determined to get through this. It was her only option at this point. “I just think you're really cool and smart and...handsome...I can't help but glance every now and then because I've wanted to get to know you for a while now, but you just seem so...”
“Unapproachable? Angry? Rude?” Levi asked, but Petra didn't want to agree with any of those options, no matter how true they may be.
“Maybe unapproachable. At least a little bit.” She agreed, but she continued. “But not either of those other things. You just seem like someone that values your time. I didn't want to waste any of it with some silly pleasantries or a failed attempt at trying to be friends, that's all.”
“My time is valuable.” Levi looked away for a moment as if he was gathering his thoughts, pushing himself to say something that he'd kept hidden. “It isn't too valuable for you, though.”
“W-what?” Petra was so stunned that she dropped her fork and stared at him with wide eyes. What was he saying? Was he admitting that he wanted to spend time with her? This was too good to be true.
“I've noticed you too. In class, I mean. You seem intelligent and kind. I still don't know why a person like you would want to get to know a person like me better, but I wouldn't...hate that.”
“You wouldn't?”
“Of course not.” He snapped but dialed back his tone. “I'm just not used to people wanting to get to know me. Like I said, I tend to come off as rude to most people, so they don't really gravitate toward me.”
“Well, I'd be honored to be your friend, if that's what you want.” Petra smiled and Levi smiled back for only a moment.
“There's one other thing,” He said suddenly, toying with the thermos that he'd now closed again. “You said something earlier that I was surprised by.”
“What's that?” Petra was worried only for a moment, but she learned quickly that she should have stayed that way.
“You said you think I'm handsome, didn't you?”
“Oh...well, I...I did but...” She stumbled her way through her partial sentence before she was interrupted again.
“Because I think you're beautiful.”
“You...what?” She asked, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink as she struggled to continue to breathe. Out of all of the fantasies she'd had about him, this had never been one of them. Kissing, holding hands, just being together, sure. Those were all par for the course of a crush for her, but having him just come out and admit that he thought she was beautiful, that was something she had never even imagined, and so, she didn't have a prepared response for it.
“Sorry that was probably weird of me to say but...it's true,” He said, quickly standing and gathering his thermos. “Do you want to go outside with me for the rest of our lunch break? I don't like being indoors all day.”
“S-sure,” Petra stuttered. She hadn't finished her lunch but she was sure she wouldn't be able to now. Her stomach was too full of butterflies to eat anything else. She dumped her tray and followed him out of the cafeteria and out the doors of the school. No one else seemed to be outside, at least not on the side of the school where he'd taken her, which meant that they were completely alone. Together. Petra wasn't sure if she could continue to keep up a conversation after what he'd just said to her, but she learned quickly that she wouldn't have to.
Suddenly, Levi turned to face her, a certain look in his eyes that sent her heart racing. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, and truthfully she couldn't think clearly herself. She just stared back at him, breathing heavily as she bit her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit that she'd had for as long as she could remember, but apparently, Levi found that it made her more attractive than he'd originally mentioned because in the blink of an eye he'd dropped his thermos to the ground, moved forward, and pushed her up against the wall. This was part of a fantasy that she'd had before. She'd never imagined it going any further than heated kissing, but she wasn't sure how she would handle the real thing.
He was a little more rough with her than she'd imagined he would be, pushing her hard against the wall and pinning one of her hands beside her head with a crushing grip that she wouldn't have thought possible for him to have. She would probably have a bruise around her wrist, maybe even on her shoulder blades, but she didn't care. This was so deliciously sinful for her that she couldn't be bothered with concerns about the marks left behind. Without thinking, her free hand found his hair and wound itself into the strands, holding onto them tightly and earning a bit of a hiss from him in reply. She decided that meant that he enjoyed his affection a little rougher than most and held her grip firmly in place.
When he looked at her there was something in his eyes that she'd never experienced before. Lust? Want? She wasn't sure, but it was there and it was hungry and she was willing to feed it.
Their lips crashed together before she could think about what she was doing, and she briefly thought about what might happen if someone walked out of the school and found them, but she found it hard to care with Levi's hand on her hip, his lips crushed against hers, their bodies pressed together in the sweetest realization of a fantasy that Petra had ever experience.
Then, all too soon, they broke their heated kiss and stared at each other for far longer than Petra would have been comfortable with if she hadn't just been so close to him. In fact, they hadn't moved apart at all. Levi was still holding her, her hand was still wound tightly in his hair, their foreheads were pressed together and she could feel his quick breaths fanning out against her lips.
“You...kissed me,” She said dumbly and he chuckled a little in response as if he couldn't believe that was what she'd have to say after what they'd just done.
“Yeah,” He answered, closing his eyes for a moment, a small smile gracing his features and making her heart skip a beat. “I guess I did.”
“I liked it. Do it again,” She said, and that was all the prompting he needed to dive back in.
It was true, she would have bruises on her wrists, her shoulder blades, maybe even her neck if the attention Levi was giving it now didn't cease, but she didn't care about any of it because her fantasy didn't have to be a fantasy anymore. This wasn't what she imagined happening when she came to school today, but she found that she couldn't complain about it one bit.
Sound and Silence (winterrw2018 Day 1 Alternative: - Silence)
@rivetra-week
--
When Levi comes home it is to the welcoming sound of music playing, the familiar piece echoing among the living room from where Petra is blissfully drowning herself with her peaceful yet enchanting piano music. Her fingers pressing down on the keys with precise and graceful movements, as if she already knows where to press; bright and warm eyes closed and head slightly waving to the beat, letting herself get lost in the moment.
Levi does not walk away, nor does he move in place. He could not dare to bring himself to stir from the spell that she has cast on him. When Petra plays the piano, it is almost like she had bewitched him to not turn away, to always watch with dutiful eyes and always listen. Listen and let himself get woven into the world that Petra has magically and beautifully created in her pieces.
Which is the reason why Levi has been drawn to the woman form the start. It all started with music –with a story she likes to call it, A story that no matter what tune it sounds like or takes to be, it is more often than not a beckoning. An invitation of sorts, and it is what had led Levi to his now wonderfully loving wife.
When the last note hangs in the air – one that Petra always make sure that it sounds like that there'll be more that it is not exactly the end – Levi didn't notice that he had shut his eyes closed halfway through the spectacle, and opened them to find amber ones staring back at him.
"I'm home." He says in late greeting.
Petra beams at him and Levi closes the distance between them to give her a light peck on her forehead, returning the embrace when he feels slender arms wrap around his shoulders trying to pull him downwards to her.
"Welcome home." She greets back, and he could not agree more.
It is late when he arrives home, the early recesses of sunset bleeding on their curtains with red hues coloring the floor already darkening upon his entrance to his home.
He is tired. Exhaustively so.
Levi drops his things on the couch before heading towards the kitchen. He might be tired after a hard day's work worth of making sure that all the deliveries Erwin had scheduled were done and made, but he is not sleepy in the slightest.
Grabbing his favorite mug, a birthday gift from Petra on their first year of dating, he prepares himself a cup of coffee. Black and bitter enough to keep him awake for the next two hours or so. Levi has to resist the urge to spit back the liquid when he takes his first drink, forcing the coffee down his throat.
It tastes like shit.
He saunters his way to their living room and plops down on the couch, making sure that the coffee won't spill on the couch's sheets. It's hard to wash those stains away.
Letting himself get immersed in his drink, leaning his head back on the couch, Levi almost misses the glint reflecting from the golden lamp propped on an old but black and smooth surface, its black and white keys hidden beneath the white wool he had covered them from long ago.
He tries not to stare at the object much longer because he knows if he does, an image of a woman with the same golden hair sitting on a stool, happily playing the instrument she had so loved, would appear on the forefront of his mind. And he does not like remembering the bittersweet things.
Sighing, he stands up, leaves his half-empty mug on the sink to be washed later – he does not feel in the mood to clean – and goes to his, their, bedroom where he'd sleep. Alone and cold in the night.
He lies down on the left side of the bed, a habit of his since she would always take the right, and turns his head to the right, expecting to see and feel the warmth radiating from his usual bedmate but only gets disappointed to find none; his heart thundering painfully in his chest. Somehow, he feels like everything has gotten bigger and lonelier.
"I'm home." He whispers to the dark.
And he tries to ignore the haunting silence that comes afterwards.
A/N: Please excuse this mess of a fan-fiction. I hardly had enough time to do this, but I really wanted to contribute to Rivetra, even if it was this crappy.
This actually is not canon (if you haven’t guessed yet) but just a few of my many headcanons on how Rivetra met. Enjoy! <3</p>
@rivetra-week
Petra had always known the world was cruel. She came from a town where only those with money could live happily. And those left without fortune had nothing. As a girl, she wanted nothing more than to join the Military Police. She wanted her parents and herself to live in Wall Sina. Safe and luxurious, it had everything that she had dreamt of. She finally would not have to struggle for happiness. This goal was why she considered joining the trainees.
If Petra Ral had ever thought she had an idea of exactly how cruel the world was, she was wrong. The evidence was right in front of her eyes. As much as she wished she could just go back to the time when she thought that the biggest enemy Man had was other men, she could not. For now she knew what the actual danger was.
To give them efficient training, the Trainees were brought to a safe place outside the Walls. The location was protected and far away from the place titans usually emerged from.
No one had expected this to happen.
A group of titans had discreetly found way to where they were present. The heat of the moment forced not only the Garrisons but also the Trainees to engage. There were no Scouts since no one had expected such a huge amount of titans attacking them altogether. Therefore without the titan slaying experts, the soldiers were taking great damage.
The Garrisons fought valiantly, resulting in many fallen comrades. Petra who was right at the top her class had succeeded in killing a few titans, but it was not enough. Furthermore, the sight of crimson everywhere and smell of raw flesh had done much to distract Petra. She could not find the courage nor the strength to fight anymore of those beast. Just as Petra was about to surrender to the thought of laying down with her deceased comrades and awaiting death, she heard a deep voice bellow.
‘Devote your hearts!’
Suddenly the titan about to pounce upon her, lay dead and all she could see was a very fast paced silhouette. However, even at that speed, Petra could figure out who that was based on the short stature and the jet black hair. Humanity’s strongest- Levi Ackerman.
‘Get on your feet, brat. Soldiers haven’t got enough time to pick those up who can stand on their own.’
She did as instructed.
‘Fight if you can; a soldier’s duty is to his comrades too.’
For some reason, all the doubts that prevailed in Petra’s mind moments before Levi arrived had vanished. She took a look around. There were enough deaths already, and if she could do anything to keep that number from increasing, she would. And that included staying alive herself.
Petra was right. The world was cruel indeed, but acting ignorant would not make the any better. What would make it better though, would be to fight for it. And she would.
‘Yes Sir.’
The world might not be the only thing she was willing to protect.
