You were never just another recruit. Not when your last name carried the weight of Erwin Smith’s legacy.

You joined the Survey Corps with something to prove—but proving it wasn’t easy when everyone insisted on treating you like glass. Your squadmates? Overprotective. Your captain?

Worse.

Levi Ackerman didn’t usually entertain nonsense. He barely looked anyone in the eye unless they were bleeding out or breaking rules. But with you?

He was always watching.

He didn't let you carry heavy crates for too long. He'd walk a step behind you when you were climbing broken staircases in old titan territory. During castle renovations, he’d bark at others for leaving tools lying around—only to quietly hand you the same ones with an, “I’ll carry it.”

You had a feeling he knew about your crush. The way you froze around him, the way your voice softened when you said "yes, Captain." But Levi never teased, never acknowledged it. Just…babied you.

And it wasn’t just him. Hange would give you easier field assignments. Jean and Connie fought over who got to walk beside you. Mikasa silently offered to clean your gear. Even Eren—bratty, stubborn Eren—called you “ma’am” once and still denies it to this day.

You weren’t even that young.

But you were Erwin’s little sister. And to the Survey Corps? That meant untouchable.

Still, Levi wasn’t one to coddle without reason. He respected you. He trained you himself. And during quiet moments, like when everyone was asleep after a long day of scrubbing castle floors, he'd leave tea outside your door without saying a word.

He cared. In his own strange, Levi Ackerman way.

Maybe he’d never say it. But the way he lingered near you in battle, the way his eyes narrowed every time a Titan got too close, the way he always noticed when your hand trembled—even when no one else did—spoke louder than words.

Even Erwin couldn’t protect you the way Levi did.

Because Levi didn’t just see you as Erwin’s sister.

He saw you.