Oh god I almost put the wrong chapter up. I really am tweaking. Well, here ya go. Reply to my guest reviewer part 1: I'm starting to love our conversations. I don't like to think of it as Ina rejecting Armin, but I explained in an earlier chapter that even though Ina trusts them both, she feels safer when with Levi. I'm glad you liked Dok lol, I knew that he was out of character but I thought, meh whatever. Sorry, the way this story goes as of now I don't have any other kids for Ina to play with. But it's a possibility for the unwritten future. Part 2 of my response at the end!

I forgot to mention that the song in the previous chapter is not mine. It's called Baby Mine and it's the lullaby from Dumbo. If you haven't at least watched that scene with Dumbo and his mother don't even talk to me. It's just so heartbreaking and beautiful and it fit my story perfectly. So yeah, the song belongs to Disney, not to me. That is all. Enjoy!


"She's not feeling well this morning." Levi says to Krista and Armin after they knock on his door. Neither he nor Ina have been seen much in the past couple days. Hange said Ina had a fever, but when they pressed for more she didn't have much to say. Today Krista decided it was time to find out for themselves how Ina was doing.

"Is there anything we can do to help her, sir?" Krista can't hide the worried expression on her face.

"Bring her something to eat and plenty to drink."

"Sir!" Krista runs off. Armin stays behind.

"Miss something, Arlert?"

"Um, can I see her?" His voice is quiet.

"She's asleep right now." Levi crosses his arms. "She had very little rest last night. What's the matter with you?" He notices Arlert's eyes getting glassy.

"Nothing, sir." Armin turns and walks away. "I'm going to help Krista." Levi can hear the sadness in Armin's voice, but doesn't stop the blond teen as he walks away.


"What's wrong, Armin?" Mikasa notices him wiping away tears

"I'm worried about her!" Armin cries. Mikasa hugs him close to comfort him. "He wouldn't let me see her, I just wanted to see her." He sobs.

Mikasa just rubs small circles on his back.

"We're all worried, Armin. I'm sure she's alright."

"I just wanted to see her."

"Hey, it's okay. Ina is going to be fine. We'll see her when she's stronger. You wouldn't want to watch her in pain anyways." Eren places his hand on Armin's shoulder.

"Armin, her food is ready, come with me to bring it to her." Krista is holding the tray of food. "Grab the tea."

Armin separates from Mikasa and takes a deep breath before wiping his face.

"Let's go."

The two walk in silence until they reach Levi's quarters. The captain opens the door before either of them can knock. He must really not want Ina's sleep disturbed.

"Arlert." Levi nods at the boy who is clearly trying to hide the fact that he's been crying.

"Yes, sir?" Armin barely looks up.

"Bring that inside." He gestures to the cup of tea.

"Yes, sir." Armin follows Levi into the room.

"You've got five minutes." Levi sets the tray on a bedside table before leaving and closing the door behind him.

After setting the warm mug down, Armin sits on the edge of the bed and takes Ina's hand. She stirs but remains asleep. He just sits in silence with her, holding her hand until Levi returns.

"Thank you, sir." Armin salutes.


"My tummy hurts." Ina mumbles.

"You haven't eaten anything in a while." Levi runs a calming hand through her hair. She seems to like that.

"I'm not hungry."

"It's why your stomach hurts."

"I can't… I don't want to… I don't want to throw up anymore." She can't go through that again. It leaves her drained and exhausted. Not to mention how embarrassing it is.

"Ina," Levi understands, but she can't just not eat. "I know how you feel, but I still want you to try to eat, even if it's just a little. Let's start by sitting up." He helps Ina to sit up and puts a pillow behind her to lean on.

"They made you some soup. You don't have to finish this, but I want you to try it."

Levi sets up a tray in her lap with a steaming bowl of vegetable soup and a few slices of bread. Ina doesn't want to disappoint Papa, and a small part of her is a little hungry.

"Just don't rush. Eat what you can."

Ina nods as she rips a piece of bread in half and dips it in her soup. The food tastes delicious. It's warm and savory and amazing. The more she eats, the better she feels. She gets through about half before downing a glass of water and calling it quits.

"How are you feeling now?"

"It went bye bye." Ina has her head down and her hands on her previously achy tummy.

"Good." Levi can't help but grin slightly at the child's adorable remark.

"Get some rest now, Ina."

"Papa?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you… For taking care of me. You shouldn't have had to. I'm sorry." Her bottom lip pokes out and her cheeks puff in a little pout. Even when she's upset she's so fucking cute.

"You don't have to thank me, Ina. I didn't do anything I didn't want to do. And I'll always want to take care of you."

Ina looks uncomfortable, but also like she has more to say.

"What's on your mind?" Levi leans forward slightly and takes her hand.

"I… I thought that I would be punished. I knew… d-deep down that Papa wouldn't hurt-hurt me in the bad way… Like the- the monsters. But… I still thought…"

"You thought I'd be angry with you." He understands what she means with perfect clarity, but can't help the feeling of stones in his chest. This hurts. For the life of him Levi can't understand why.

"I was scared." Ina whimpers. "But… I knew I didn't… I shouldn't have been. I'm sorry, Papa."

He gently shushes and comforts her. "Ina, you've come so far since you first arrived here. Nobody expects you to just let go of your past like that. You're still used to being punished for everything you did. If I were to be upset about that, it'd be unfair to you. Healing takes time, as much time as you need."

Ina just makes a small noise as an affirmative response.

"Just answer me one question, Ina. Are you afraid of me?" He remembers the last time he asked her this. How she looked away, afraid to tell him what she really thought. Afraid that if he didn't like the answer she'd pay for it.

"No." Ina answers without hesitation. Without a doubt in her mind. "No, I'm not scared of Papa. You… Papa makes me happy. You keep me safe."

Levi feels a weight lifted off his chest when he hears her answer. He would have accepted a no from her if that's how she felt, but it worn have torn him up inside to do so.

"I wasn't scared of you… I just… I-"

Levi shushes her as he notices Ina become even more flustered and uncomfortable.

"You don't owe me an explanation." He says quietly. "It's okay." He brings a gentle hand up to run through her brown hair.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Ina."

"I'm sorry I made a mess. I've never… That's never happened before. I didn't want to bother you like that." Ina goes on. "I should have gone with big brother like you told me too. I'm sorry, Papa."

"It was an accident. You weren't bothering me." He wasn't bothered by her distress, rather he was worried. Worried and straight up terrified in a way that he'd never been in his life.

"I promised I'd be good." She mumbles.

"Ina, you had a nightmare. Those things can't be helped. It's not your fault." Levi tries to calm her down. "It's happened to all of us."

"What do you mean?"

Levi sighs. If there were ever a good time for this story, it'd be now, and it'd be just for Ina.

"When I was little, just a bit older than you, I ran out of food and money, and I was really hungry. You know the kind of hunger I'm talking about. The kind that hurts every time you breathe, so you're always thinking about it."

Ina nods. Oh yes, she knows.

"A stranger offered to cook for me and to buy me new winter clothes. I was starving, and my clothes were old and torn, so I accepted. The stranger fed me until I had my fill…He offered me warm clothes and..." Levi stops and looks away for a moment.

Let's see if these clothes fit. It's okay, just change right here.

"Papa?" Ina sounds worried. "What happened, Papa?"

"Something…. Really bad happened to me in that stranger's house, Ina." Levi admits. "You know how… How some of the- those monsters used to hurt you?" Levi doesn't feel the need to specify. "Well… The same- same thing happened to me. Someone hurt me in… In a really terrible way." He wishes he could stop fucking stuttering, but he already feels like he can't breathe. This is the best Levi can do.

"Papa?" Her eyes fill with tears as she watches his face go even more pale than normal.

"For a long time after it happened, I would have nightmares. Sometimes they'd make me sick, sometimes I'd have accidents. I used to blame myself for this, but I learned much later in my life that none of it was my fault. I was ten and I had no control over anything back then. Don't cry."

He wipes her tears with his thumb.

"Ina, don't take responsibility for what someone else did to you. Don't make yourself feel bad because of something beyond your control. We can't control our nightmares and we can't always control what happens to our bodies during that time. All we have to decide is how to make ourselves feel better after we are awake. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Papa." Ina's voice is quiet. She reaches out to rest a tiny hand on his cheek and looks into his cloudy grey eyes. She says nothing, but somehow Levi can still hear her loud and clear.

I'm sorry for what happened to you, Papa.

"It's okay." Levi holds her hand in his. "We're both okay now, right?"

Ina nods. "Because now we have each other."

He feels happiness bloom in his chest despite the emotional torrent in his mind. How he loves this little girl.


Part 2 of my response: As for Eren's titan, again I'm sorry. But I'm still kinda new to writing and I had no idea how to incorporate The titan into the story. That's just lack of skill and creativity on my part honestly. Maybe once you make an account you can help me write a one-shot about it or something. I've already decided that she's not the kinda kid that would be afraid of a titan. She's more like Hange in the sense that she'd be utterly fascinated! It's exciting hehe.