Levi sat motionless, his cold grey eyes lost in the floor. Hange and Erwin watched him from their chairs in the waiting room. He was pale, tired, and looked like he was on the verge of throwing up at any second. They had never seen him in such a state. Hange and Erwin exchanged glances, unsure of what to say, whether they should even say anything at all. Though Levi sat, leaning sideways, his hand resting against the side of his head, he was nowhere near relaxed. The circles under his eyes looked heavier than normal, swollen even. Though they all sat in tense silence, they all were wondering the same thing. How was Levi going to manage taking care of a baby all by himself? He's the captain of the Survey Corps and one of humanity's best shot at survival. It was almost impossible to take care of a child on his own without Ahna around any longer. Levi's chest surged with slight pain at the thought of Ahna. He couldn't stop his mind from remembering her throughout the pregnancy and even farther back in their relationship. She had been the only girl to really get him to act on his emotions, to want to change to be a better person. He could feel himself grow cold to the thought of opening up to anyone else. No one could make him feel the way he did with Ahna, he was sure of it.
"Mr. Rivaille…" The voice of the doctor sounded harsh against the tense silence that surrounded the three. Levi made no attempt to get up, only turning his head slightly to glance up at the doctor. "We've finished your daughter's check up. She's perfectly healthy and ready to go home." Levi swallowed hard, moving slowly to get to his feet. Hange and Erwin followed suit, though making no movement to follow him to the back where his child was kept. "Have you thought of a name for her birth certificate?" The question took Levi off guard. He had completely forgotten that he and Ahna never came up with any names together. His chest surged with the familiar pain the moment Ahna crossed his mind.
"We never thought of any names…." Levi's voice was rough, no emotion to be heard in it.
"Well, you should think now. You've got to call her something. I don't think 'Hey Kid' would make her too happy when she's older." The doctor tried making light of the situation, though Levi couldn't bring himself to even acknowledge the doctor's statement. His mind wandered back to him and Ahna a few months prior. She sat at his desk writing different names for either gender, occasionally scratching some out. He watched her from the bathroom door, leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest like normal. Her brows furrowed as she scratched out name after name, getting frustrated quickly. He couldn't help but smirk as she threw her long brown hair in a messy bun, getting it out of her face finally before crumpling another piece of paper and throwing it to the floor. He loved her like this…completely vulnerable not even caring to get out of her pajamas. She sighed loudly giving up finally, leaning back in the desk chair, her pregnant belly almost getting stuck under the desk as she sat back. She tilted her head to the side, her green eyes catching Levi watching her. No words were spoken by either of them as she smiled at him. He walked slowly over to her, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He leaned his head down kissing her neck lightly making her giggle. Ahna stood up, turning to face Levi planting a light kiss on his lips before taking his hand and backing up towards the bed. He couldn't stop the smirk from playing across his lips, glancing at the paper on the desk before being dragged to the bed. Lilith Rose Rivaille was the only female name to be circled on the paper with little hearts scribbled around it.
"Lilith." Levi finally spoke to the doctor, surprised he actually remembered that. "Lilith Rose Rivaille."
"What a beautiful name." The doctor nodded in approval, scribbling the name on the birth certificate.
"It was her idea." Levi mumbled, the doctor not even hearing him. They reached the room where Lilith was being kept. An older woman with salt and pepper like hair smiled up at the men as they entered. She rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, holding a bundled Lilith in her arms. Levi tensed as the woman stood up slowly, making her way toward him. He realized he didn't even hold Lilith when the doctor asked him in the delivery room. He had just stared stunned at the doctor not moving, his hand still clutching Ahna's. The woman stared expectantly at Levi, her smile not wavering. He slowly held his arms out as the woman placed the little sleeping Lilith in his arms. Levi's eyes widened as Lilith's brows furrowed as she yawned. His stomach twisted in nerves as Lilith's little right hand popped out of the blanket, grasping his shirt over and over as she started to wiggle around.
"It's okay," The older woman spoke softly, placing her palm on Lilith's head, rubbing lightly. "She's just getting used to you. She'll calm down soon." Levi nodded, thankful for this woman's presence right then. Slowly, Levi lifted his right hand, gently moving the little blanket off Lilith's face more, his fingers gently rubbing against her cheek. Again the little girl yawned, her exposed hand reaching out while and grabbing Levi's finger. It was right then his heart swelled. He couldn't stop the involuntary tears that formed in his eyes. He was in love within a matter of seconds. He mentally swore to himself that from this point forward, he would do whatever it takes to make this little girl happy, no matter the cost. Lilith finally stopped wiggling, laying comfortably in Levi's arms, her hand staying grasped around Levi's finger as he brought her into the waiting room. He hadn't realized how long he had been in the room, for as soon as he arrived, he noticed more than just Hange and Erwin standing staring at him. His entire squad stood waiting patiently, smiling at him. Everyone knew what happened with Ahna, even though everyone was extremely upset about that, no one could drop their smiles when Lilith came into view.
"Oh my god Levi…" Hange whispered staring down at the baby. "She's so little. What did you name her?"
"Lilith." Levi spoke quietly, his eyes focused on Lilith. Everyone quietly congratulated him as well as giving their condolences.
"Go home and rest Levi. We don't have anything going on for the next couple of days. Zoe and Mikasa both agreed to help you with Lilith so you can get some sleep and get your things in order." Erwin spoke quietly. Levi frowned at the thought, though he knew it had to be done.
The next few weeks were hell. Or at least Levi thought he was in hell. Every night Lilith cried and screamed, not letting him sleep a wink. He looked a little more disheveled than he would prefer, but at the rate he was going, he was going to collapse from complete exhaustion. He had no choice but still led his squad on missions, as well as plan ahead any strategies for them. He not only had missions, he was still working with Eren with his titan transformations and physically training him. All of this while having to take breaks during the day to check on Lilith and make sure Hange wasn't leaving the poor baby near any titans that she had captured. He made sure to be the one to feed Lilith whenever possible as well as change her, play with her and put her to bed. No matter what he did though, this little girl would not stay asleep through the night, waking up often just screaming for hours. He was at an utter loss at this point.
"Captain, are you okay?" Eren's voice rang out, breaking Levi from his thoughts. He had completely dozed off in the middle of training him. Levi blinked a few times, pushing himself off the tree he was leaning sideways against.
"I'm fine." Levi's voice was cold and short. He was much more of a hard ass lately since he'd been getting less and less sleep.
"Do you need help with Lilith? One of our new Survey Corps members might be able to help." Levi stared confused at Eren.
"Why would I let a cadet go near my kid when I don't even know them?"
"Well she's really nice. She's my age and she comes from a family with a lot of younger siblings that she had to take care of. I think it would be worth a shot." Eren looked sympathetically at Levi's tired state.
"Find her later and send her to my office. For now focus on your training." Levi mentally smacked himself awake, pushing himself harder in the training, doing everything he could to stay awake.
Mikasa took her shift with Lilith for the next few hours, giving Levi the chance to take a small power nap. He sat in his office, leaned back in his chair, his arms behind his head and feet propped on the desk. He was in a pretty deep sleep because he didn't notice the knocking on the door, nor the door coming open as someone entered making their way to the middle of the room.
"Um…Captain Levi?" Levi's brows furrowed, though he made no indication that he was awake. "Hello…Captain Levi?" Levi's eyes popped open, staring at the young girl in the middle of the room. She was definitely shorter than him, probably close to 5'0-5'1. She stared at him with somewhat fearful light brown eyes that sat shadowed by her dark brown hair that fell messily around her face, the rest of it pulled into a messy ponytail.
"What?" Levi's voice was cold and harsh as the girl fidgeted with her hands nervously.
"Um…Eren Jaeger sent me. He said you needed help with something?" This was the girl Eren spoke of. Levi sat forward, rubbing his face gently before staring at her again.
"Eren said you grew up with a lot of children around…are you good with infants?" She nodded letting her guard fall a little as she smiled happily.
"I am! I have 3 little sisters and 4 brothers!" She was a bit over excitable in Levi's eyes. Kind of like Ahna…Levi shook his head, getting the sad thoughts of Ahna out quickly.
"How old are you?" Levi stared surprised at the amount of siblings she had.
"I'm 17 sir." She again fidget nervously.
"If you're up for it, I'd like to ask for your help then." She stared surprised that her Captain was actually asking her for help. "My daughter won't let me sleep for the life of me. A few nights a week could you keep an eye on her so I can get some rest? In doing so, on the nights you watch her, I'll let you start your day a couple of hours later than everyone else." She stared wide eyed at Levi, almost unable to believe he was being this nice.
"Definitely! Of course, I'd love to!"
"Good, you start tonight." Levi stated. The girl clapped excitedly, her antics again reminding Levi of Ahna. "What's your name cadet?"
"Coralie Loukas, sir." She smiled saluting him.
"I'm putting a lot of faith in you Cadet Loukas. Don't screw this up or you will regret it." Fear struck the girls face, her smile fading quickly. "You're dismissed. After dinner, meet me back here, you will get my daughter Lilith then." The girl nodded quickly hurrying out of Levi's office. He sighed loudly, rubbing his throbbing temples. Images of Ahna being overly excited and random kept popping in his head. That girl reminded him of a young Ahna a lot. He smirked at when he and Ahna first really started hanging out. She was always so talkative, yelling at him for telling her to shut up all the time. The knot in his chest twisted as his mind wandered through thoughts of the past.
Levi barely touched anything at dinner time yet again, quickly forcing down the little that he could eat so he could switch with Hange. When he opened the door to his room he shook his head at the sight of Lilith giggling as Hange played peek-a-boo with her on his bed. Her laughter always made him feel 100 times better, even if he was on the brink of exhaustion. Hange gave Lilith a million kisses, making her giggle like crazy before standing up and leaving the room, patting Levi on the shoulder on her way out. Lilith immediately stopped giggle, her smile turning into a frown before she began whimpering. Hange kept Lilith highly entertained, and she always was on the verge of crying every time Hange left the room.
"What, do you not want me around anymore?" Levi joked. Lilith's eyes widened as he stepped into her sight. A big smile broke out on her face as she wiggled excitedly. "That's what I thought." He spoke calmly, sitting on the bed next to her, smiling down at her. She reached her little hands up grasping Levi's face as she giggled happily. Leaning down, he planted kisses on her cheeks the same way Hange had done, making Lilith scream with giggles. "Come on you, time to meet your new babysitter." Levi spoke after a while, lifting Lilith into his arms before grabbing everything she'd need for the night. He made his way to his office, cradling Lilith comfortably in his arms as he sat down all of her stuff on the desk. He had some time to spare before Cadet Loukas would show up. He laid Lilith's blanket on the floor, laying her on her back on the blanket before sitting with her between his legs. He grabbed one of her toys, wiggling it over her head, her arms reaching up attempting to grasp the toy. He smiled watching her as he gave her the toy. Immediately she began attempting to eat it. Thankfully it was a rather decent sized stuffed toy, so there was nothing she could choke on. Levi laughed as she had a minor outburst, screaming laughing as she grasped the toy tightly.
"She is so cute!" Cadet Loukas's voice rang out startling Levi, who glanced up at her with a complete expressionless face. She blushed nervously, having caught the Captain laughing and actually smiling for once.
"I packed a bag of all of her things she'll need when she's with you, it's on the desk." Levi stood up, bringing Lilith into his arms again.
"Thank you Captain. I'll take good care of her." She replied after grabbing the bag, walking over to Levi. He watched her for a moment, nervous to let his little girl go. He finally handed Lilith to Cadet Loukas, who held her the way an experienced mother would. Lilith, who doesn't normally like strangers, giggled happily looking up at Cadet Loukas who in return made funny faces at her.
"If anything happens to her, I will have no regrets killing you." Levi spoke softly after a few minutes of watching the girl make Lilith laugh.
"Yes sir…" She replied nervously, swallowing hard.
"Goodnight Cadet." Levi spoke, walking the two out of his office and shutting the door. He watched as the girl walked out of sight to her room with Lilith in her arms. He sighed loudly making his way to his room, plopping on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Thoughts of Ahna rushed through his head again. "I miss you." He whispered into the silence of his dark room. There was no response, though he didn't expect to get one. His right hand rested on his chest as he felt the stinging pain again as he thought of her. Before he knew it, he dozed off asleep getting lost in the dreams of his fiancée. A few hours went by before a quick breeze pushed through his window, knocking over the picture on his night stand. The sound startled Levi awake immediately. He sat up looking around his room, eventually finding the source of the noise. He rubbed his eyes before sitting the frame back upright on the night stand. Nerves filled his stomach realizing he let the Cadet babysit for the night. He figured he'd at least go check on them to make sure Lilith was okay. Slowly he made his way off the bed, realizing he fell asleep in his uniform, shaking his head tiredly. He made his way down the cadet hallways finally finding Cadet Loukas's room. He stood outside a moment, hearing no noise. Around this time Lilith would wake up and scream in her crib for hours and hours. Levi slowly opened the door, not bothering to knock. The sight in front of him nearly had him laughing. Cadet Loukas was curled up in what looked like the most uncomfortable ball ever with Lilith right in her arms. Lilith was sound asleep, holding the Cadet's face in her hands the way she held his face time and time again. Levi smiled, watching them a moment longer before leaving the room quietly and heading back to his own. Maybe Lilith needed the mother like touch once in a while. This time Levi lay in his bed in just his shorts, finally comfortable for the first time in many weeks. He finally was able to get the sleep he ever so desperately needed.
Thank you guys for being so supportive with this story, and I'm so sorry it has taken forever and a day for me to write again. Thank you for all the following and favorites, I love hearing how much you like the story so please keep commenting.
I have a favor to ask though, should I keep continuing with this story, not following the manga into a new-ish Levi story? Should I make it another love story for him? Or do you think I should end this one and start one that follows the manga/anime? Your advice and suggestions are very important to me so please let me know what you think! Message me soon thanks 3