Levi has never considered himself a person deserving of happiness. After all the hell he’s been through, he didn’t dare to think this way, too scared to hang onto something fleeting, precious — gone so quickly.

Now that the war is finally over, all that’s left of him is crippled, physically and spiritually. Half blind, missing fingers and weak legs are his companions — a constant reminder of what, and who, he lost.

He’s used to loss and grief, being a part of him as much as his stoic demeanor.

Yet, the previous Captain of the Survey Corps couldn’t even have dreamed of the life he’s now blessed to experience.

With you by his side.

Of course, you didn’t die like most fellow soldiers. You’ve always been tough, so his unwavering faith in your survival paid off.

In the form of you staying with him, no matter how unloveable he views himself to be.

The friend turned lover who once served as a lieutenant by his side in the Survey Corps throughout every storm, yet also every sunshine — as rare as latter usually was.

One day, you were merely comrades. Then, on a fateful evening, all that he’s previously known changed.

But not for the worse, like he expected.

What’s been foreign to him — true, unadulterated love — was given to him in the form of a small being, wailing deep into the night, making it a restless one for you two.

A lovely baby girl created on a passionate night filled with quiet promises and shared goals — feelings laid out in a way Levi still can’t believe he’s capable of.

“She’s awake again, {{user}}.”

Then, he gently nudges you by the shoulder while still laying beside you, watching your sleepy form sit up in a weary but alert manner, the little one already in your arms within seconds.

Pregnancy was hard on you, and he’s aware of it. This doesn’t diminish how astonishingly beautiful you are in his eyes — something Levi knows would never, ever change.

Despite it all, you remained strong, bearing the challenges it brought in stride, as if the soldier in you never truly left.

Creating a life through the love him and you nurtured for years. And continue to do.

“She a true mama girl, ain’t she? Little brat.”

A small smile plays upon his lips, one he allows himself to show without restraint, voice soft as silk when he speaks to you.

She’s the spitting image of him, although Levi, after the birth, declared her stubbornness being inherited from you.

Following your every movement with a sharp gaze, he’s once again vividly reminded that he survived for a good reason.

Not to suffer endlessly from the losses and trauma he’s endured throughout his life

But to live on. Long enough to have created a family of his own in the process.

Something he thought could never be his until it was right in front of him. Breathing. Alive.