Levi/Hanji AU/future fic. Prompt from a friend on tumblr!
Please look at the notes at the bottom!
Enjoy!
Hanji Zoë closed her eyes as she bounced her newborn baby. "Arella," Hanji yawned, "please go to sleep for mommy."
The infant did not listen. For two hours, now, the little girl cried into the night. She cried after being fed, she wailed after being changed. Bouncing the baby did little to reduce the noise and the tears coming from the two week old.
Hanji opened her eyes, smiling down at the baby. Even though she hadn't gotten any sleep in the past weeks, every time she held her baby, joy filled her. The small child was pale, with her father's dark hair and eyes. She was the most beautiful baby Hanji had ever seen; with chubby cheeks and a fair complexion, Hanji felt her daughter beat out all the other babies in the world. Then again, that was what most mothers believed.
"Shhh," she patted Arella's back, trying to quell the shrieks. "Arella, mama is tired. Will you let her sleep? She can't go to bed until you're asleep."
Arella's cries only grew louder.
Levi leaned against the doorframe, watching his wife rock their daughter. He felt bad for Hanji; she'd been so exaughsted all the time recently, even with all of his help. A newborn had been hectic for him; a clean house was the top of his priorities, and babies made lots of messes—something he found out rather quickly.
Stepping into the room, Levi laid a hand on Hanji's shoulder. "Go to sleep, Hanji. I'll put her to bed."
Hanji held her baby closer. "No, you have work tomorrow. I'll do it."
Levi shook his head. "Please go to sleep. You haven't slept in days," he said, reaching his arms out. "I'm her father, I can take care of her, too."
Hanji nodded; sleep was too tempting. "All right," she muttered, kissing Arella's forehead. Moving Arella had caused the baby to calm, instantly curling into her father's arms. The wailing lowered in volume as Arella nestled to her father.
Hanji looked down at the floor. "I must be an awful mother if I can't calm her like that," she whispered, mostly to herself. She quickly left the room, scurrying away, and Levi's heart dropped as he saw her swipe at her eyes as she turned down the hallway.
He stared down at the child. "Stop making Shitty Glasses cry. Be nice to your mother. She is tired." He reprehended the baby. Arella yawned, hiccupping and beginning to cry again. Levi bounced her for a while until the cries died down once more. For a while, Arella stared at him, dark eyes wide as she made eye contact with her father. Levi gave a small smile. "You are beautiful like your mama," he told her.
He had expected Arella to fall asleep as soon as he lay her in the crib. However, as she did nothing but keep looking at him, he couldn't find himself to leave the room—when he tried, she would start crying again.
"Oi, you are a Daddy's girl." Levi pointed out as he pulled the rocking chair kept in the baby's room closer to the crib. He sat, resting his elbows on his knees, watching the child through the bars of the crib. "Why can't you be good for your mother, too? She is only trying to help you grow, little one. Shitty Glasses is good with that. She used to work with Titans. Some listened to her. I wish you would do the same."
Arella began taking deeper breaths and letting out small noises. Levi frowned, knowing she was start a fit again. He reached his index finger through two bars in the crib, nestling them in his daughter's small hand. The baby instinctively wrapped her tiny finger's around Levi's larger one, and squeezed them with all her little might.
Levi grinned at his baby once more. "Will you sleep if I sing to you, little one?"
She blinked at him, head turned on her side as to keep looking at him. He took it for a yes.
" Au clair de la lune,
Mon ami, Pierrot,
Prte-moi ta plume
Pour crire un mot.
Ma chandelle est morte,
Je n'ai plus de feu;
Ouvre-moi ta porte,
Je suis trs peureux."
Au clair de la lune,
Pierrot rpondit:
Je n'ai pas de plume,
Je suis dans mon lit;
Va chez la voisine,
Je crois qu'elle y est;
Car dans la cuisine,
On bat le briquet."
Arella yawned, finally closing her eyes. Her hand released the grip on her father's fingers as she fell asleep.
"I thought that would work," Levi hummed, standing. "My mother would sing that to me every night." He paused at the doorway, turning back. "She would be glad that she has a granddaughter. I wish you could have met her." He told his baby.
As he left the baby's room and went down the hall, sniffling filled the air. Hanji lay on their bed, holding a pillow close to her body. She cried almost silently, and if it weren't for the occasional sniff coming from her nose, Levi would have assumed she was asleep. He made his way to the bed, sitting on the edge, placing his hand on his wife's ankle. "She is asleep now," he told her. "You should be, too."
Hanji sat up, moving over to her husband. She pressed her body to his, holding him close. Levi smoothed her hair down, letting her cry into his shirt. "I'm a horrible mother," she said between sobs, "I can't do anything right! I can't put her to sleep, I can't calm her down, I can't hold her without making her cry—!"
Levi moved back from her, pulling a tissue out of his pocket and wiping her cheeks. "You are a fine mother, Hanji. You're just tired. When you get sleep, you'll be less on edge and so will she." He told her, kissing her forehead. "Breathe,"
He moved back on the bed, pulling her with him. He settled her on his chest, holding her tightly in his arms, rubbing circles on her back. Within minutes, she was calm. "I wish I could be level headed like you," she muttered, sighing.
Levi grinned. "You wouldn't be my wife if you were anywhere near sane," he told her.
Hanji grunted. "You are mean," she complained, though a hint of humor etched itself in her voice.
Levi shrugged. "You knew that when you agreed to marry me."
Silence settled between the two. Just when Hanji thought he had fallen asleep, Levi spoke. "Hey, Four Eyes?" He said, jostling her a little.
"What?" She asked, half asleep.
"Promise me you'll shower tomorrow. You smell." He said, but he only pulled her closer.
"I wouldn't be your wife if I showered every day, now would I, Levi?"
Okay! Hope you liked it. Here's the notes. Please read them!
Notes: "Au Clair de la Lune" and Shingeki no Kyojin are not my property.
Also, Levi's heritage is being made up here. I know his name is not "Rivaille", but I like the idea of him having French roots. Please don't comment on his name! The correct form of it is Rivai, which is Hebrew. It's speculated that Levi is of Jewish heritage, especially from the Israelite tribe of Levi. However, since this is fanfiction and no concrete evidence has been able to support which nationality the characters are, I, personally, believe Levi is of Jewish heritage, but could also imagine him having French blood in him. Again, I know there's no evidence to his being French, for his name is not Rivaille, but, again, you can write what you want in fanfiction. (Welp, there's debate on how Rivaille is pronounced. You can spell it however you want! Just saying, for the sake of the prompt I've gotten, I've decided to give Levi some French roots. That is all.)Alongside Levi's speculated Hebrew heritage, I've given his daughter the Hebrew name of "Arella", meaning "messenger of God" in Hebrew, or "Angel" in Hebrew.