Something Buried Deep Inside, Part 1
A/N: Just a cute little idea that came to my mind... I wondered what could happen when you pair up Levi with a little girl :3 I hope you like it!
Chapter 1: Guardian
Levi's mood had just dropped onto a dangerously low level. "A recovery mission?" His sharp, intimidating grey eyes stared daggers at the person in front of him.
"Yes," Erwin replied flatly.
Levi's gaze narrowed at his superior. "What for?"
"You heard me, Levi."
"What for? Trost is almost completely destroyed and the Titans left..." Levi began, but he was interrupted by Erwin.
"Which gives us the possibility to look for survivors since Trost is only half destroyed – maybe there are still people out there, waiting for someone to come to their aid."
"Tch..." Levi snorted dismissively. "And since when are you so compassionate?"
Erwin did not reply to that. "Move out. Now!" he ordered while walking away.
"Tch..." He turned toward his squad. "We're moving out!"
"Captain Levi, sir!"
Levi turned around to face the person running toward him.
It was Eren. He came closer and gave him a salute. "I'm ready, sir!" he shouted.
"Ready for what?"
"For the mission, sir!"
Levi's eyes lit up. Eren truly had spirit. He was always eager and ready to fight – but this mission was too dangerous to have him or the other brats with him. "Not today."
He watched Eren's face fall. "What?"
"You heard me. Not today. Go get some rest. This mission is too dangerous," Levi replied flatly, mounting his horse. "Besides, we won't get to kill any Titans, anyway – this is a recovery mission."
"But..."
"Tch, no 'buts'. Dismissed, Jaeger." Levi rode off without any further explanation, leaving a bewildered boy standing alone in the dust caused by the horses thundering hooves.
He almost felt bad for the boy, but Erwin's orders had been clear – and Levi cared for his soldiers. For all of them. For this mission a rather big squad was needed, but having too many people on this mission would minimize the chance of bringing everyone back home and increase the number of possible victims – so he would leave the brats at home. It was better that way.
Trost was, like expected, a giant mess. Half of the district was completely destroyed, collapsed buildings as far as the eye could see and a few dead bodies – bodies of people who had been crushed under the weight of their houses' collapsing rooftops or the Titans' massive feet. Levi knelt down beside the body of a young man clutching to a piece of cloth he recognized as a cape of the Survey Corps. He gently wiped over the man's face to close his fearfully widened eyes before he spread the cape over his body in order to cover it.
"You may rest in peace now. It's over," Levi mumbled, shortly closing his eyes in a silent prayer. He stood up. "Alright. Let's get this over with quickly before the Titans show up again. We split up."
"Yes, sir!"
Levi watched as his unit spread out, some were flinging themselves onto the rooftops to maneuver more quickly, others stayed on the ground like himself. He prepared to look through the houses in the street to his right.
"You're going by yourself, Levi?" Hanji asked almost worriedly.
Levi nodded. "I'll be fine. But stay close to me, just in case."
"Got it," Hanji replied.
He walked through the row of houses; some were collapsed, some on the brink of it, so it was too dangerous to go inside on his own. He looked inside every building that seemed half-way safe – but all he found were a few dead bodies and large trails of blood.
Tch, I knew this would be no good, Levi cursed in his thoughts.
However, his head snapped up when he suddenly heard something. He halted in his movements and listened. It was quiet at first, but then he heard the strange sound again. He waited a while until he heard it once more – it came from one of the houses to his left. He slowly and carefully walked into the direction of the sound and heard it again, this time louder. It took him a while to realize that these sounds were sobs.
He was near the source of the sound. Carefully, he stepped inside the half-collapsed house on his left.
"Be careful, Levi," Hanji called from the roof of the house across from him.
Right on cue, he heard the ceiling groan above his head. He immediately jumped aside, pressing himself against the wall – just in time. With a loud crack, the rooftop came crashing down, burying one half of the former dining room under it.
"LEVI!" Hanji screamed. "Are you okay?!"
"Captain Levi, sir!"
He coughed a few times to get the dust out of his lungs. "I'm okay!" he called back. Shit... That was close... He hoped that whoever had been crying was okay. His question seemed answered when he heard the soft sobbing once again. "Hello? Anyone there?" he called, but the sound suddenly stopped. "It's okay. You can come out."
He was greeted with silence.
Levi knew that the person would be extremely frightened, so he had to be patient, careful and gentle. "You can come out. It's okay now – you're safe."
He carefully made his way through the destroyed house, carefully checking every room that was safe enough to enter until he reached a small hallway. He discovered a half-opened door and two doors left and right from it – but a toppled roof beam was in his way. Shit, this won't be easy... The whole house could collapse any minute.
"Hello?" he called again, but he received no answer. He would have to climb underneath the beam. "Tch, typical..." he cursed, slowly, very slowly, taking one careful step after another, hoping that the roof wouldn't come down – and it didn't. Breathing out a relieved sigh, he looked around.
There it was again, the soft sobbing sound. It was indeed coming from the half opened door in front of him. He opened it and carefully slipped through. The room behind it was almost completely collapsed, wooden planks were hanging from the ceiling. He blinked a few times. Toys were scattered on the floor and a whole bunch of stuffed animals was lying on the bed standing in the far left corner. Please, no..., he begged internally. This was a child's room.
Levi listened, but he was greeted with silence. He guided his eyes across the room again, coming to a sudden stop when he noticed something move behind the bed. He waited until he saw it again. A pair of wide, dark brown eyes was staring at him from behind the bed. As far as he could tell they belonged to a little girl who carefully peeked out from her cover.
A little brat... This is just great, he cursed. He didn't like children too much, but there was no way he would leave that girl behind. However, he knew it would be difficult to convince the frightened girl to trust him. He slowly moved around the room to get a better look on her.
She was at the age of maybe five, with long dark brown hair, big, dark eyes and pale brown skin. She was wearing a pale, plain golden-yellowish dress, reaching down to her calves; its hems and neckline were colored in a darker shade and she was wearing simple black pumps. She was staring back at him with frightened, yet strangely empty eyes. Levi noticed she had something in her arms. He froze.
She was clutching to a severed arm.
Levi understood. Poor little thing, he thought, giving her a quite compassionate look. It was a miracle that she had survived seemingly without a single scratch. He clenched his fist. Adults maybe were able to handle the sight of someone getting eaten before their very eyes – after some time... But a child would be traumatized for the rest of its life. One look at Eren Jaeger who had watched his mother getting eaten proved this theory.
Levi finally snapped out of his thoughts and took a step forward, careful not to scare the girl. "You can come out. I'm here to help you." He watched as the girl shuffled away from him and ducked her head, trying to make herself as small as possible. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently.
"Captain Levi!" a member of his unit called from outside.
"What?" he called back.
"Titans, sir! On our six! Approaching fast!"
"Shit..." he cursed under his breath. He slowly walked toward the girl, squatting down beside her and watching as she backed away against the wall behind her. "You have to trust me now. I will get you out of here." He carefully reached out for her, but she flinched, causing him to withdraw his hand. He was getting impatient. "Listen, I'm only trying to help you."
The girl suddenly jumped up and quickly climbed over the bed. She was fast. Levi didn't even have time to grab her by her dress.
"HEY! Come back here!" he yelled angrily. "Tch... That brat..." He watched as the girl quickly ran out of the room. It wasn't easy for him to catch up with that fast little being and the roof beams were hindering him. His eyes widened in horror as he heard the loud thuds caused by the approaching Titans – they were already here.
He saw the girl running through a backdoor – it was leading outside, toward the Titans. "No, wait! DON'T GO OUTSIDE!" For the first time in his life, he experienced the true feeling of horror. He had already failed to save some of his soldiers in the past – this time, he would not let that happen. He quickly ran after the girl – just in time.
She had tripped and was now sitting in front of a 10-meter-class Titan. Levi wasn't sure whether it was an Aberrant or not, but nonetheless, he would have to act swiftly – another Titan was closing in.
He readied his blades and swung himself toward the first Titan at incredibly fast speed, twirling his body around and slicing the Titan's neck in one quick, fluent movement. He was ready to swing himself toward the other one when he saw it leaping forward. Swiftly, he fired the grappling hooks at the building on his side to evade the Titan which had just landed, barely missing him. It was now crouching on all fours.
It's an Aberrant... Shit!, he cursed in his thoughts, guiding his eyes around to watch his comrades killing the approaching Titans to keep them away from him and the girl.
He paused when he noticed that the crouching Titan was staring at something. His eyes widened as it lept forward and grabbed the girl, bringing her close to its face. It opened its mouth, ready to devour her. Levi growled angrily, firing a hook at the Titan, but said being quickly turned around and grabbed the line, firmly holding him in place. His eyes widened even more as he realized the situation he was in. He couldn't pull the hook in anymore and the Titan would surely crush him if he didn't think of anything.
He was cut off his thoughts when he caught the look in the little girl's eyes. She was still trapped in the Titan's hand, but she had managed to get her arms free. She was staring at him with fearful eyes, yet a spark of determination was lighting up in them. He saw her pull something out... and drive it into the Titan's eye with all of her strength. The eye. The only spot where the Titans could feel pain.
The Titan howled and immediately let go of Levi's grappling line. Levi took advantage of the moment and fired his second hook at the building directly behind the Titan, using a strong burst of gas to shoot past it, slicing its neck. It fell down with a loud thud, causing the ground to shake. He sighed in relief when he saw the girl trying to free herself of the dead Titan's hand. He landed on the ground softly and ran toward her. He wrapped his strong arm around her, gently scooping her up before he got to higher ground again.
The young girl suddenly started whimpering and forcefully tried to squirm herself out of Levi's grip.
"Oi, easy, you brat. I just saved you," he griped, tightening his grip only for her to squirm even more. He paused when he noticed the girl's eyes were squeezed shut and she was shaking her head vigorously. His eyes widened in realization: She thought she was still in the Titan's grasp. "No, no, no, it's okay! Calm down, it's me! Shhh, calm down," Levi muttered softly. "Shhh... I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay. You're safe. You're safe now. It's over."
The girl stopped squirming, but she still refused to open her eyes.
"Look at me." Levi gently cupped her small face one of his hands, forcing her to finally open her beautiful brown eyes to look at him. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
The girl started weeping, tears welling up in her eyes. Levi wrapped his arms around her small body and gently pulled her closer to him. He felt her nestling closer to him, burying her face in his chest. He didn't like children too much – but the sight of a crying little girl was too much to bear even for his harsh, yet still incredibly gentle heart.
After a while she became quiet. He looked down at her figure. She had fallen asleep. Of course. Too much exhaustion for a little girl. He watched his unit gather beneath him and quickly scooped up the girl, careful to not wake her up before he met up with his comrades and a rather shocked Hanji.
"Captain Levi, sir!"
"Are you okay, Levi?" Hanji asked worriedly.
Levi put his free hand on the brunette's shoulder to give it a comforting squeeze. He turned to face the other soldiers. "How many soldiers did we loose?" he asked.
"None, sir," the man in charge replied with a faint smile, causing Levi to nod in approval, sighing in relief. "It seems our distraction worked pretty well."
"Good. Any survivors?"
"No, sir. We couldn't find anyone."
Levi glanced down at the diminutive girl now sleeping soundly in his arms – who had actually saved his life minutes ago. She had her arms wrapped around his neck. "Looks like we just came back for this little brat then," he said bluntly.
Hanji quickly took a step forward, her eyes glistening with excitement. "A little survivor? She must have seen everything then! Let me know when she wakes up, I need to know ev–" She was cut off by Levi angrily grabbing the collar of her shirt.
"Oi, shit-glasses. This little girl went through enough and you will not pump her for any details. You will leave her alone, understood?" he growled.
Hanji gave him a disappointed look and mumbled something under her breath, but he let go of her anyway.
"Let's return to Kanares. We're moving out!" he shouted.
Once the reached the base's stables, he climbed his horse, careful to not drop the little girl – she was still sleeping. It wasn't as simple as he had only one free hand. He placed her in front of him in the saddle, between his arms so that they supported her and he had his hands free to hold the reins. He pressed her closer to him so she wouldn't fall off or slip through under his arms during the ride. He took one last glance at her sleeping figure before he spurred his horse.
Back in Kanares, he already found Eren waiting. Said boy quickly saluted his superior. "Welcome back, Captain Levi!" he shouted.
"Tch, such a noisy brat," he mumbled, but it wasn't quiet enough.
Eren made a sad face and shot him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, sir..."
Levi's gaze softened. "You don't have to always get so formal when I'm near. It's annoying. That's all." He watched the brunet's face brighten up again. "Eren. Come closer."
The smile in Eren's face quickly disappeared and his eyes widened in shock. "Did I do something wrong, sir?" he asked worriedly.
"No. Just come closer. I need your help with something," Levi answered bluntly.
Eren gave him a puzzled look, but he obeyed. Levi carefully lifted the girl who was still sleeping soundly off the horse and held her out to Eren. The latter cast him another puzzled look.
"Take her, so I can get off the horse. But be careful – don't wake her up," Levi ordered.
"Yes... Is she the only survivor?" The expression on Eren's face suddenly looked so sad – he understood what the girl had gone through.
Levi nodded. He watched as Eren carefully scooped the girl up – as if he had done something like that before. It almost looked adorable. A small smile tugged at Levi's lips, but it was gone before Eren could see it. He finally climbed off the horse.
"What will happen to her now?" Eren asked.
"She will stay with us for a while until we found a foster family for her. It's the only thing we can do," Levi replied, taking the girl out of Eren's arms.
"WHAT?!" was the only thing Levi managed to say.
"You heard me, Levi," Erwin answered bluntly.
"Does this mean I have to take care of that little brat?!" Now he was actually pissed.
It had been a few hours since the recovery mission had been completed – and ever since then the girl had stuck with him. Everywhere he went she would follow him, even though she hid every time he noticed her, as if she was scared – but nonetheless, she followed him. Probably because he was the only one she knew.
Erwin didn't answer, but Hanji did – much to his annoyance. "Now, now, shorty, be nice," she spoke, causing Levi to shoot her a death glare.
"Who are you calling 'shorty', shit-glasses?!" he growled. Normally, he was a calm person; he rarely got angry – but now he was fuming and he knew Hanji was enjoying mocking him.
Hanji ignored him, but rather kept on talking. "It looks like you became some sort of an attachment figure for this little girl – what's her name again?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Levi snapped.
Hanji threw her head back and draped her arm over his eyes in an overly dramatic movement. "You have an admirer and you don't even know her name? What a shame!"
Levi clenched his fist. "I'm not interested in that little brat. I'm a soldier, not a babysitter. Does this mean I have to stay with this little brat all the time instead of fighting for humanity?"
"Of course not," Erwin responded.
Hanji gave Levi a serious expression. "Levi," she began, "this girl needs someone to take care of her. She mustn't be alone. It'll be only until we find a family for her. She can or rather has to stay with someone else so that we can go on our missions – if we have any, that is. But while we're here she needs to stay with you."
Levi didn't answer. On the one hand, he was glad to still be able to go on missions – but on the other hand, he was more than pissed with the fact that he had to play babysitter for that little brat.
"Mister doesn't have to stay with me..."
Everyone's head jerked around at the sound of the new and squeaky voice. The little girl was standing in the office's doorway. Levi raised his eyebrows. Mister? He closely examined her from head to toe and immediately felt his heart clench. Her face looked almost emotionless, the look in her eyes seemed so empty and she looked even more tired than before. She staggered a bit; her weak, thin body was obviously barely able to keep her standing.
"What was that now, dearie?" Hanji asked in her sweetest voice, smiling softly at the girl.
"Mister doesn't have to stay with me..." she repeated. "I can stay alone."
Levi couldn't help but looking at her. Even he had to admit it; she looked adorable.
"But, why, dearie, you'll surely feel alone when he's not with you, won't you?" Hanji smirked at Levi which did not impress the latter in the least.
"He doesn't want to stay with me. He shouldn't have to." The girl shortly glanced at Levi, but quickly looked down nervously when she noticed him watching her.
That sad look in her eyes made Levi's heart clench once again.
"But, dearie, listen..."
"If Mister doesn't want to stay with me he shouldn't have to," the girl repeated. This time, her voice sounded oddly defiant. "Mister hates me..." she said, causing Levi to feel rather sad.
She thinks I... hate her? He gave her an almost sad look. "It's alright."
Hanji's and Erwin's heads jerked around to stare at Levi wide-eyed and with their jaws dropped.
Levi watched the girl with gentle eyes. "It's okay, kid. It's okay." This was the first time he didn't call her a brat – she didn't need to hear any demeaning names right now. He turned toward the door. "Let's go," he said, walking back to his office with the girl following him.
He didn't like this at all, but he knew Hanji was right; this girl needed someone to look after her. At least she was pretty quiet at the moment. Maybe the time with her wouldn't be as annoying as he expected it to be.
"Come in," Levi said when they arrived at his office door, stepping aside to let her in and closing the door behind her. "You can sit on the chair in front of my desk."
She obeyed – or at least tried to; the chair was slightly high for her. He sighed noisily and was about to help her, but she managed to climb it and finally made herself comfortable. She pulled her knees to her chest and made herself as small as possible, trying to avoid his gaze.
"By the way," he began, sitting down on his office chair, "what's your name?"
She still avoided looking him in the eyes and mumbled something.
Levi leaned forward. "What was that?"
"Leviana," she said a bit louder.
His eyes lit up. Sounds like my name...
"My mommy always called me 'Levy'... and my daddy called me 'Angel'... I don't know why..." she replied in a monotone voice. She still seemed tired and apathetic, but she shifted as she noticed him watching her.
(*Note: pronounce Levy like "lee-vee", not entirely sure how I should picture it)
Levi's gaze softened when he sensed her uneasiness. He just noticed that her nickname was even more similar to his name. "Well, that name is not too bad," he said bluntly, watching the girl look up at him. "What should I call you then?"
"Whatever you like, Mister," she said quietly. She looked down again, avoiding his gaze once more. "I don't like any of them..." she added, whispering, but it was not quiet enough.
Levi suddenly felt insulted and the urge to cheer the girl up at the same time. "Your name is good the way it is," he snapped, causing the girl to flinch. "You're insulting my name as well," he added, this time calm again.
She gave him a short, puzzled and startled glance. "I don't know your name, Mister..."
Levi rolled his eyes in irritation. "My name is Levi. You shouldn't complain." A satisfied sigh escaped his lips when he saw her face brighten up, even though it was only a bit.
"You have my name," she said, seemingly happy to have a namesake.
"No, you have my name," he said in an almost teasing tone. "Your name is the female version of mine. Well, 'Levy' just seems fine with me."
"Yes, Mister Levi," she said.
Levi cocked his eyebrows at her, but he didn't complain. "We have to make some things clear. This is my office and here my word is the rule. You'll do exactly as I say. Don't even think about disturbing me when I'm busy. Understood, brat?" He sounded more harsh than he had intended.
Levy looked down and nodded. "Yes, Mister Levi."
Levi looked at her for a while. She's pretty mature... She seems to exactly understand the situation she's in, but she copes with it pretty well, he realized. She was apathetic, but she also seemed pretty calm about everything.
It was silent for a while until Levy dared to break the silence for a short moment. "Where can I sleep, Mister?"
Levi looked up. Yeah, I forgot... "I have some paperwork to do. You can sleep here in my office for tonight."
She nodded and he breathed out a relieved sigh before he finally turned to his paperwork. All the while, she was patiently sitting on her chair, not making any noises, not saying anything. She rather stared at his papers, obviously careful to not disturb him or doing anything to irritate him.
Levi became suspicious. She was too quiet for a little girl, even for a traumatized one – something was wrong. Children her age normally asked many questions.
She shortly looked up, only to quickly look down again.
He sighed. "You don't have to be so quiet. You can talk to me if you want to."
"But Mister said I shouldn't disturb him when he's busy..." she mumbled, giving him a puzzled look, but immediately looking down once again when she noticed him watching her.
Another strange thing. She was so obedient and all this time, she had been avoiding his gaze, talking to him in a formal way, even speaking of him in third person. It was almost as though she was afraid of something.
This irritated him somehow. "Tch, whatever," he finally said. "Trust me, you'll know when I feel disturbed by something."
Levi had the feeling that he shouldn't watch her – he knew she would get intimidated, so he tried to concentrate on his paperworks. However, the sound of her stomach growling quietly made him look up again. Of course. Judging by the look of her thin figure, she surely hadn't eaten for a while. How could he have forgotten that?
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
The little girl looked at him and right on cue, her stomach started growling again, causing her to look down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Mister Levi..."
"What for?" He raised his eyebrows in question. Apologizing for being hungry? Something's wrong... What happened to you?, he wondered. "I'll get you something to eat. Wait here." He left the room when he suddenly noticed her following him. "What are you doing? I said wait here."
She flinched, giving him a frightened look and jumped behind the door.
He understood. She's afraid of me... But why? Am I really that scary? He was used to the fact that people got intimidated by his demeanor and appearance – but the fact that this little girl was actually afraid of him hurt him more than anything else. He didn't even really understand why. It was true; he didn't like children – but that didn't mean he wanted them to be afraid of him.
He turned to leave as he felt something gripping onto the back of his shirt. He tilted his head to see Levy standing behind him, looking at him with a frightened look in eyes. He understood; she didn't want to be alone.
"I'm not leaving," he spoke, his tone oddly gentle this time. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute." He bit his lip. He felt awkward talking to her like that; that just wasn't him. What am I actually doing here?, he wondered.
She slowly released her grip on him and let him go. He quickly went to the mess hall's kitchen to make her a small sandwich; she shouldn't eat too much at once – otherwise she would throw up. He returned and placed the plate in front of her before he walked into his office kitchen to make her some tea. He finally returned to his chair, noticing that she hadn't touched the sandwich yet.
"Eat," he said plainly.
Hesitantly, she reached out for the plate and grabbed the sandwich, taking a huge bite. She quickly started gobbling down her food, taking the next bite before she swallowed the first one.
Levi, in fact, became worried. He stopped her. "Oi, easy, kid. Eat slowly. You're going to throw up if you keep it up at this rate."
She obeyed and ate more slowly, carefully chewing and swallowing before she took the next bite.
"That's better. Here, drink something – but slowly." He pushed the cup toward her.
She carefully grabbed it and slowly drank her tea. After she had finished she was sitting quietly on her chair again and Levi felt the urge to say something once more. "I said you shouldn't disturb me, that's true – but I didn't mean for you to not move and sit here all the time. Go ahead and take a look around."
After some hesitation, she finally climbed off her chair and slowly walked around the office, closely looking at everything she could find. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as he watched her walk past him to examine the office kitchen before he finally started to do his paperwork.
Two hours later it was already getting dark. Levy surely was tired. Levi got up and stretched himself when he suddenly froze. He couldn't see her anywhere. He was about to get angry when he saw her lying on the floor beside the chair she had sat on, curled up into a ball. He sighed in relief, squatting down beside her sleeping figure.
"So you already fell asleep, you little brat, eh? Tch..." He scooped her up and gently placed her on the couch standing against the wall across from his desk, covering her with a warm blanket, before he returned to his chair to continue his work.
A gentle knock at his office door pulled him out of his thoughts. It was Hanji. "Levi, I've been thinking..."
"Oh, really?" Levi deadpanned.
Hanji ignored him. "I think I'll go to the market and buy her some clothes. She will need them."
Levi thought for a moment, but then nodded. Hanji was right. "Do just that."
"Ah, by the way – where is she?" she suddenly shouted. "She should go to sleep now."
Levi shot her a warning glare. "Oi, you're waking her up, shit-glasses." He pointed toward the sleeping girl.
Hanji covered her mouth. "Sorry," she whispered, leaving the office and closing the door behind her quietly.
Levi only shook his head before he turned his attention to his paperwork again. He took one last glance at Levy. Maybe it wasn't that bad having her here. He really didn't like children – but she seemed to be a good company. He would need his time to accept her, though... but he would do his best to give Levy a chance. She didn't deserve to be rejected. She was lonely, sad and traumatized, even though she didn't really show it.
He could no longer suppress his urge to smile. Why did she remind him so much of Eren? Maybe because she was a fighter – he had witnessed this when she had, in fact, saved his life. And the fact that she had survived a living hell was already more than enough proof for that.
His smile never left his face when he finally managed to concentrate on his work. He sighed. This stuff would surely take him a week or so.