Author's Note: The next two pieces were written in the same future AU I made up and should be read together.
6.
She had come home that day madder than a bat out of hell, and Levi knew at once it would take at least a few days to calm down her fury. The front door slammed (Levi swore he heard glass shatter) and her advancing stomps toward the living room told him that he needed to get out of her spot now, or there would be literal hell to pay. Moving over to the chair by the window, he picked up one of his swords and began cleaning the metal, trying to look busy. This was going to be a long day.
Muttering to herself and cursing softly, his daughter entered the room, her eyes puffy and on fire and her hands clenched by her sides. Her face was streaked with tear tracks and her once pristine Trainees' Corps uniform was in tatters and stained with dirt. At thirteen, Amaya closely resembled her mother, save her eyes, which were darker and narrower, and her temper, which Mikasa cursed Levi for bestowing upon their only daughter.
Amaya entered and stood in the doorway for a few moments, her bottom lip quivering, and then she suddenly rushed toward her father. Levi scrambled to twist the blade out of the way, dropping it to the floor behind him and wondering what the hell happened today. His children never seemed to leave trouble's realms and it was all he could ask for to get a single day's rest without having a yelling competition or something ending up in a million pieces.
But looking at his daughter's face, he knew immediately that it wasn't her he should be worried about.
"I'm never going back there again Father! Never." She ground her teeth and buried her face into Levi's shirt. Before he could stop her, she yanked the cravat from his neck and rubbed her eyes, trying to dry them with the sleek fabric. "They said awful things about you and Mother. And how y-you're…murderers. And that you-you're nothing but a military dog and that you did something awful to Mother–"
"Ami." Levi said firmly. "Who are you talking about? You were supposed to be with the Springers today for training. Your mother and I are about to leave for an expedition–"
"But you should have heard them Father! They insulted you and said that you tarnished the Ackerman name and that I was the product of inbred, lying, cheating, thieving murderers and that we're scum–"
"Amaya!" Levi gripped his daughter's shoulders, staring darkly into her broken face. He wiped away a few tears with his thumb, and she pushed stray strands of black hair from her eyes. "Breathe. You need to tell me who."
Amaya whimpered, her chest heaving, and she clutched Levi's uniform jacket. "The older kids in my class," she sniffled and shook her head. "I tried to t-t-tell them what you and Mother told me but they w-wouldn't listen and p-p-pushed me into the mud. They hit me a few times after and said I deserved it," she hiccupped and shoved her face into Levi's chest again. His heart pounded with bitterness; it hurt him to see her cry.
"And where were you? You're supposed to be at Connie and Sasha's right now, and then to your Uncle's house. Eren is going to worry and I'm going to hear about it later." Levi muttered, but straightened and gently lifted his daughter, swinging her legs over his arms, and set her on the nearby couch. "Where are your brothers?"
She coughed and swallowed hard, taking a few moments to answer. "Sora's at Uncle Armin's doing his re-research," Amaya said, blinking her eyes and gazing at her hands. They were covered in small cuts. "And Rin was with Vivienne at the Scouting Legion Headquarters." She hiccupped again. "They left me at the Plaza this morning."
Levi narrowed his eyes. Vivienne. Vivienne Kirstein. He and Mikasa had had problems with that girl, and her father was doing his best to not help. He sighed. Something to discuss with his eldest later.
"Why do they hate us, Daddy? I'm just like them. I'm not any different." Amaya stared at her father, dark eyes glassy. "Right? I'm not different…I'm exactly like them…" she trailed off, and Levi was afraid the maelstrom would flood again.
He sighed and gathered her small frame to him, her head leaning on his chest. "You're not like those kids, Ami. You are different." Levi could feel the rage begin to boil inside his stomach and he wanted to wring the necks of those who would dare to hurt his daughter.
His daughter. His beautiful, tenacious, reckless pride and joy. Of all his children, Amaya was the one who took the most after him: shy, soft-spoken, and astoundingly brilliant, yet aggressive, headstrong, and foul-mouthed at times. Mikasa thought it was because of this that Ami shared a surprisingly close bond with him, closer than her two older brothers. In her eyes, Levi Ackerman, Captain of the Scouting Legion, Humanity's Strongest, her father, was the best man in the world, and no one could tell her any different. In return, Levi had sworn to inflict swift retribution and promised pain to any and all who threatened his little girl, something his wife had frowned at and scolded him for later, saying it was quite over-the-top and a little too intense.
For now though, Amaya needed him to be a father, and not some mad-eyed soldier yearning for bloodlust. "You're not at all like those…children, Ami. Your mother and I taught you better than that."
"But why do they hate us? I didn't do anything to them!" her small voice growled. Her nimble fingers picked at the strap across Levi's chest and she buckled and unbuckled it, playing with the tough leather.
"Because they don't understand the way you do. You know better from what we've told you. Does it matter what they think?"
Mikasa strained her ears from her place in the hallway and leaned against the wall. Peering around the corner, she saw the back of her husband's head above the couch, his hand gently stroking her daughter's disheveled hair. Mikasa smiled at the serene scene before her; Amaya always brought out the hidden tranquility within Levi, no matter how frustrated he was. She was his weakness and Mikasa teased him about it constantly.
The floor creaked below her boots and Levi's sharp ears picked up the offending sound. Swiveling his head to face her, he frowned and shook his head, warning her not to come closer.
Ah. So it had been that kind of day.
Mikasa nodded and kept her place in the doorway, not wanting to disturb the two. Due to multiple small missions between the Walls, Levi hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with Amaya lately, something she had complained about profusely for the past few days. Mikasa figured he could spare these few moments with her before they left for the Commander's next mission.
"You're better than that, Ami. That's something you already know. Your mother and I will deal with those bullies after we return in a few weeks, but you'll have to rely on your own strength while we're gone. What have I told you?" Levi eyed his wife from behind Amaya's head, and Mikasa could sense the suppressed fury residing in his face. The trip out to the Walls would not be a pleasant one.
"Not to fight back. Cause that's what they want," Amaya chanted, her father's words memorized.
"And did you?"
Silence.
"Is that why your uniform is ruined?"
Silence.
"I know it's hard Ami. But you need to learn to–"
"–pick my battles carefully. I know Daddy. I just didn't want to hear them say bad things about you and Mother anymore." Amaya took a deep breath and sat up. She handed the damp cravat back to her father. "Sorry," she murmured.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. I should have taken care of those little sh– "
"What your father means to say, is that we'll do everything we can to make this right again," Mikasa offered, knowing Levi was about to say something obscene. "You have nothing to be sorry about Ami," she repeated and walked around the couch to sit next to her daughter. "But we'll do our best to talk to those kids' parents," she glared at Levi over Amaya's head, "and have a little chat with Shadis-sensei. It's the same three kids, right? Parents are–"
"Military police." Amaya nodded, and leaned into her mother's side.
"There's nothing we can do about it now, Ami. But let's get you cleaned up and ready to go to Eren's. He's probably worried sick," Mikasa hugged her daughter, hoping Eren would be able to offer more help in her absence. "You're not hurt are you?"
"I think I got a little bruised," Amaya said, her voice a little stronger and her eyes dry. "But I think I hurt them more than they hurt me," she giggled, looking very pleased with herself. "That big guy in my class? I think I gave him a black eye with my elbow the way Daddy taught me. In both eyes!" she snickered.
Mikasa raised an eyebrow at Levi. It had been such a perfect moment.
"Ami, you know you can't go around doing that," she chastised, standing up and adjusting the straps on her hip. Mikasa sighed. She definitely took after her father.
"We'll deal with that later," Levi rushed out, grimacing, knowing Mikasa would berate him for it later. "We have to report in to Erwin in half an hour. Ami, clean yourself up and get ready for Eren's. Your brothers will meet you there." He stood up as well and leaned down to pick up the sword he had tossed away earlier.
"Okay, okay," Ami jumped off the couch and ran down the hall to her room, slamming the door. Levi flinched at the sound.
"Our daughter's getting into fights earlier than her brothers?" Mikasa turned to him, her face hard.
"She said they were saying nasty things about us. Can't really blame them since we did do a few unforgivable things in our younger years, but hey," he shrugged, "she needs to know how to defend herself. And I'll be a goddamned titan before I let some fucking third-rate bullies tell my daughter they know her parents better than herself." Levi buckled his gear on and sheathed the blade, walking around to the front door. "Besides, her pride wouldn't let her anyway."
Mikasa closed her eyes, silently admitting there was some truth to her husband's words. Levi had put it less eloquently, but it was true, Amaya and Sora and Rin would fight tooth and nail to defend their parents' honor, but someone was bound to fight back sooner or later. "We'll talk about it later Levi," she drew closer to him and leaned down to tighten the strap on his right thigh. "You always let this one get too loose."
Levi raised her, his rough hand on hers. "I need you to do some work around here Ackerman," he smirked, giving her a quick kiss on the back of her hand.
"Because you do any?" Mikasa cocked her head and leaned in, closing the small gap between their lips, and she basked in his warmth, the feeling never failing to send slight shivers down her neck and into her core. She wrapped a hand around the back of his head, running her fingers through the close-shaven hair there and playing with the longer strands falling around his crown. "Ackerman."
And Levi responded, his hands suddenly on her back and around her waist, holding her in a tight embrace, and his lips danced with hers, soft and tingling, while his teeth nipped at the corner of her mouth. "You always were a stubborn woman," he breathed, hissing into her ear, and Mikasa melted, his harsh voice causing her heart to moan with desire and long for night to fall.
"Ugh! Mother! Father!" Amaya screeched from the hallway, forcing Mikasa to break away from her husband, lamenting the fleeting passionate moment. "I don't want any more brothers, thank you very much."
"That's not for you to decide," Levi straightened his jacket and crossed his arms. Mikasa punched him in the shoulder.
"Whatever. Are we gonna go?" Amaya walked past her parents and out the door, looking nauseated.
"Ah, excuse me young lady. What is in your pocket?" Mikasa whipped around, noticing a strange bulge in her daughter's jacket as she scooted out the door. "Hand it over."
"But Daddy gave it to me! He said–"
"I don't care what your father said. Hand it over–"
Their voices were cut short as the door shut behind them and Levi was left alone, shaking his head. If he wasn't going to die from a titan, it would be from the constant bickering between his wife and daughter, and he figured between the two, the titan would be the more peaceful way to go. Following them out, he replaced his cravat and mounted his waiting horse, daughter and mother saddled and ready to go but still squabbling, and they set off, the sun just beginning its fall from the highest point in the sky.
His family wasn't perfect, but it was times like these when he thought it was. And he'd do everything to protect what little peace they had been granted.