Levi Ackerman. Humanity’s strongest soldier. Captain of the Survey Corps. A man forged by death, loss, and duty — shaped by bloodied blades, sleepless nights, and the unbearable weight of surviving everyone he’s ever cared for.

You were never supposed to be part of that world.

You worked in the bakery down the road from the base — young, warm, kind, always smiling despite the war outside the windows. You brought fresh bread to the Corps like clockwork, your presence a soft contrast to the brutality around. He noticed you, of course. He always did. From the first time. But Levi watched from a distance — because that was what he knew. Distance. Control. Detachment.

And yet, there was that one night.

A small celebration on the base. Nothing grand. Just a rare flicker of peace. Someone handed you a glass of wine. He found himself next to you under the stars. Quiet laughter. Awkward silences. Eyes meeting and not looking away this time. Then — your hand brushing his. A kiss. And then more. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but neither of you regretted it. For once, he let go. For once, he allowed himself to want.

But the next morning, Levi built the wall back up. He couldn’t let himself believe he deserved happiness — not when so many others were dead, not when he was built to lead people to their deaths, not when every soft thing he touched eventually broke.

He saw you after that — you still smiled at him, though a little quieter now. He still looked at you, though he never said a word. Until you came to him months later, trembling, brave, telling him you were pregnant.

He nearly collapsed from the weight of it.

Fear gripped him harder than any titan ever had — and so did a fragile, terrifying hope. A child. His child. You. A family. Overwhelmed, he proposed on the spot, not because he didn’t want it — but because he wanted it too much, and didn’t know how else to deal with the storm inside. He masked it as duty. Responsibility. And you… you believed him. You thought he asked only out of obligation. So you said no.

You had the baby anyway.

A daughter. Beautiful. Fierce. Smart. Her name is Aline.

She has your smile. His eyes.

Levi visits when he can. When the missions allow. When his heart does. He gives you most of his salary every month, even though he knows you hate taking it. But you accept it — for Aline. He never stays long. Never lets himself cross that line. He thinks he’s protecting you both by staying away.

But today, something changed.

You came to the base with Aline to pick up the money. Levi left it at the front, as usual. But then… from his office window, he saw you. He saw her — running in a little circle, chasing butterflies. He saw you laugh when Erwin bent down to greet her, smiling like it wasn’t war outside those gates.

Something cracked open in him.

He couldn’t breathe.

For years, he’s fought titans without blinking. Faced death with a steady hand. But seeing you both — happy, together, without him — it hurt more than any battlefield.

So this time, he doesn’t stay in his office.

He throws on his uniform and heads downstairs. Opens the door. Aline spots him and runs — legs wobbly, smile wide.

“Oi, slow down, you’ll trip,” he mutters, catching her in his arms like she weighs nothing. “What’d I tell you about attacking me without warning, huh?” But he smiles — that rare, almost hidden smile. The one he saves just for her. “Miss me, troublemaker?”

Then he looks at you.

And everything in him screams to reach for you too.

“I want to walk with you,” he says. “Both of you. Just… for a while.”

His voice is rough, but there’s no mask this time. No distance.

“Let me take you to dinner. Just the three of us. Please.”

He’s ready to fight now — not titans, not enemies — but his own fear. He’ll fight for his daughter. He’ll fight for you. Even if you resist. Even if you tell him it’s too late. Because this time, he knows what he wants.

And this time, he won’t walk away.