So I literally sat at my computer with the next chapter read to go and I just wasn't satisfied. I felt like something was missing. That's how "Chapter 8 1/2" happened. It's fairly short but it makes the transition in the next chapter a whole lot smoother. I meant to upload this yesterday but after time got away from me. Hope y'all enjoy this.
It's very easy for everyone to pick up a routine as the days start turning into weeks. Everyone on base has grown very accustomed to seeing a little girl running around base with one or all of the former members of the 104th class. She's adopted them as her family. Ina never imagined she'd have so many brothers and sisters. All so fun and kind and very protective. She doesn't recall ever having felt this…. Happy before. She never felt like she belonged anywhere until she ended up here completely by chance.
It's a nice feeling.
"Why aren't you at dinner, hot shot?" Hange finds levi in the infirmary.
"Why aren't you?" Levi retorts, his eyes not leaving what he's reading.
"Getting an ice pack for the cupcake." Hange reaches into the cooler for just that.
The set of papers fall from Levi's hands. "What happened?!"
Hange can't remember the last time she heard him so alarmed.
"Answer me, Glasses what the fuck did those brats do?!"
"Easy there, Levi." Her eyebrows crease, giving her a more serious look than usual.
"What is with you and easy? Just tell me is she alright?"
Hange's face breaks into a smug smile. Levi wants to smack her right about now.
"You never answered my question, Levi. What are you doing in the infirmary? And why do you have Ina's charts?" She's still smiling as though she knows something he doesn't. She probably does. Levi can be clueless when he wants to be. Hange doesn't know how he manages to do it, but Levi glares even harder at her.
"I was just checking on her progress. I- why are you looking at me like that?"
Hange just stifles a laugh. "You're adorable, Levi. Have I ever told you that?"
His irritation is only growing. Adorable? He wonders how adorable she'd think he was if he put his foot in her ass.
"And I was just getting an ice pack for Ina because she tripped and fell today. She's fine, Levi. It's just a rolled ankle. I checked her out myself, no broken bones."
"Why weren't those goddamn brats watching her. She's one kid, it can't be that hard." Levi rolls his eyes at their sheer incompetence. He really should just keep Ina with him on training days. No way would he be stupid enough to put her in harm's way.
"Actually, Connie broke her fall. It was pretty spectacular maneuvering on his part I have to say." Hange recalls. "Your little girl is mighty clumsy."
Levi shrugs. "Yeah, she's attracted to the damn ground- wait- what the fuck did you just say?"
Hange barks with laughter.
"What the hell is so funny? And what does that even mean 'my little girl'?" Holy shit talking to this woman is exhausting.
"Levi, you prepare all of her meals, make her tea every day, you've practically been doing her physical therapy on your own, you're so overprotective no one can even think about her without first asking you if it's okay. You check her charts at least three times a week and I know you're the one that's been leaving that random -not so random- cash to buy her new clothes every time we send a scout into town. Levi, this girl is the only person in the entire universe that makes you smile."
"What the hell is your point? So I look after her and I'm thorough. There's nothing wrong with that."
Hange gasps with a realization and tries to cover her face with the ice pack. She can't help but smile. This is just precious.
"I swear if you don't stop fucking laughing I'll break your goddamn jaw." Levi promises.
"I'm sorry, it's just. Levi," her smile is strange. Like she's looking at a picture that makes her the happy kind of sad. Or maybe the sad kind of happy. Levi can't tell but he doesn't care.
"You love her."
"Don't be ridiculous." Levi scoffs.
"I'm serious as a Titan attack! I think Humanity's strongest has fallen in love."
"How fucking dare you, you piece of shit. Don't you ever imply that-" Hange cuts him off. "Oh relax I didn't mean it like that Captain obvious."
Now it's her turn to roll her eyes. Is Levi really this dense? Sweet molasses.
Levi is about to continue yelling at her when Hange starts to speak again.
"What I meant," she holds her hand up to silence him, "is that you the way you treat Ina is pretty damn close to how a father treats his daughter."
"I- what?" Did he hear her right? Father? Daughter? "What?"
"My my, humanity's strongest is definitely not humanity's smartest." Hange jests.
"Fuck you." All he can do is spout profanities at this point as Hange continues.
"I don't know what you're so upset about. You're not doing anything wrong. So you love her. Where's the downside to that? We all do. Only with you, it's different."
"How so?" Levi crosses his arms. Why is he even entertaining this psycho?
"What the difference is, dear friend, is that she loves you right back. Because despite how much time she spends with me or the 104th or anyone on base, it's peanuts to just how incredibly happy she is around you."
"You're talking out of your ass now." Levi picks up the chart that he had forgotten about and puts it back in its place. "I don't treat her any different-"
"Stop. Just... stop right there." She sets the ice pack down and closes the distance between them. "Levi, what are you so afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything." He retorts, putting up more walls by the second. Hange steps even closer, coming right to the edge of his bubble of personal space.
"Levi Ackerman. Have you ever been able to lie to me?"
"Fuck off, Glasses." He tries to end the conversation but she grabs his shoulders and holds on for dear life.
"Remember that night on the roof? After Isabel and Farlan were killed?"
"How the hell is that relevant?" Levi doesn't like to think about that night. Not counting when he had the panic attack a few weeks back, that was the most vulnerable he had ever felt. His entire world had been destroyed. His family wasn't just killed, they were torn to shreds, and he was powerless to help them.
"Levi, you know I wouldn't bring something like that up just to hurt you. You know that." The fun and games have all but evaporated from her honey brown eyes. She's being serious and Levi knows this. He knows Hange wouldn't try to trigger him on purpose.
"I remember that night." He mumbles.
Once Hange is sure that he won't run off on her, she releases his shoulders. They sit on one of the vacant infirmary beds side by side.
"Isabel and Farlan were your family, Levi. They meant the world to you. You fell apart after losing them. Are you… Levi are you worried that acknowledging your feelings about Ina will somehow make things too real? That something will happen to her?" She takes his hand, and makes no comment on how much it's shaking.
"I… I don't want…" Levi takes a deep breath and keeps his head down. "Everyone I've ever gotten close to has either left, gotten hurt, or killed."
His mother, Kenny, Isabel, Farlan.
"Well I'm still here, and I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon." She reassures him by gently squeezing his hand.
"Levi, I can't promise that nothing will ever happen. That's shitty, I know. But I do know that whether or not you admit it outloud or even to yourself, you love that little girl."
"No." He turns his head so she can't see his face. "No, I don't."
"Levi-"
"You don't understand. I- I've never cared about anyone this much. I've never wanted to protect anyone more. I've never- never- wanted to make someone happy before. I… shit, I think I would do anything for her. That's what I meant, Glasses. I don't just love her, I fucking cherish that girl. I… goddammit, I adore her. I shouldn't. I have no reason to get so fucking attached, but I am." His confession leaves his heart pounding so hard that Hange can feel it pulsing through his hand.
"You know," she wipes away a stray tear, "you can be straight up poetic when you want to be."
"Shut up." He's still trying to calm down his erratic heartbeat.
"If that's how you feel, Levi, what's the problem? Why not just tell her just that?"
Levi scoffs. "What good would that do? She's better off without being burdened with something like that."
"Levi, nothing is going to happen to Ina."
"You don't know that!" He explodes. "What if I go away or get killed and she's left alone? I could never do that to her."
"You idiot." She lightly shoves him. "You really don't have a clue."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Levi glares at her.
"Remember when you had that… whatever that was called, and you were off base for like a week or something?"
"What about it?"
"She cried for an entire day when she realized you were gone. Did I not tell you this?"
"Must have slipped your greasy ass mind." Levi chides.
"Yeah, it must have. Okay, but you have to remember how she glued herself to you as soon as you got back?"
Levi tries to recall. The trip itself was pretty forgettable, and he hates when he has to make those official military visits. Such a waste of his time.
"Oh…" He remembers. "Oh..."
"Yeah. She jumped right into your arms and stayed there for like 3 hours. I can't believe you forgot about that."
"Well… Actually, no I couldn't forget that if I tried." He had no problem staying with her. Was content simply because she was with him. They didn't even talk much when he got back. She just wanted to stay in his arms and Levi was perfectly alright pulling up a chair and sitting with her until she fell asleep.
Hange catches him grinning before he fixes his face into another frown. She doesn't understand his dilemma. What is he so worried about?
"Well then how could you think-"
"I've already established that I'd die for this girl. What more do you want?"
"What are you so worried about, Levi?"
"I'm not!"
"Goddammit, you stubborn ass, tell the truth!" Hange shoves him harder, her expression tense. Levi has to admit that even he doesn't like to cross Hange when she becomes angry. Her temper is a special kind of frightening.
"People around me get hurt. If… If I keep my distance, she'll be safe. If anything were to happen to her I don't even know what I'd do. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"Levi," Hange puts her arm around his shoulders. "That still doesn't mean that you and Ina can't both be happy. Don't you get it? She knows you'll keep her safe. She trusts you unconditionally. But she also loves you. Levi, you've become her world. Imagine how devastated she would be if you took yourself out of the equation. It would crush her. Hate to break it to you, hotshot, but you became her father the moment you pulled her from that rubble."
"I…. I'm a father?"
"Welcome to parenthood, Captain Obvious."
Thank you again for reading. I'm going to go ahead and post the next chapter since this one was so short.
To reply to my reviewer: Again, something I never even thought about until you brought it up. Yeah I guess the irony here is that no matter how smooth Erwin thinks he is, he can't get though to this kid. She comes around eventually. I don't expressly mention it in the story but come on, it's not hard for everyone to get attached that little munchkin.
