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Chapter Text

Armin Arlett did not remember what his mother or father looked like. They had disappeared before he was old enough to form lasting memories and the Arletts were too poor to afford a portraitist. His grandfather, whom Armin took after rather strongly, was his father's father. Did he inherit anything noticeable from his mother? When he was younger, he had asked Grandpa Arlett, but the old man blinded by grief and sentiment only teared up and vaguely claimed how "he looked just like them." Disappointed, Armin didn't ask about his parents after that.

After he befriended Eren Yeager, he met Mrs. Carla. She was nice, always inviting him to stay for dinner and sending him home with a plate for his grandfather. Armin wondered if his mother would be like that if she were here. A pang of jealousy shot through his soul every time he excused himself to return home because even though his grandpa tried, Arlett residence felt more like a house than a home.

The little boy felt regret for the first time when Mikasa was taken in by the Yeagers. Armin had thought how he wished that he could have gained a new mother and father when his were stripped away from him too. That night, the eight-and-a-half-year-old ran to his grandfather and sobbed for hours. Grandpa Arlett didn't say anything but rocked his grandson until the sobs subsided and the poor child had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. Armin, who would never remember his parents, must appear so lucky in Mikasa's eyes. While she had cherished memories of her parents, she would never be able to expunge the memory of their deaths from her soul.

Shiganshina fell in the transition of spring to summer. The warm rains had ceased, and the sun shone brightly to welcome one beautiful day after another, but so many were not there to see it, including Eren's mother, Carla. Even worse, Eren's father was missing. Now parentless, Eren clung tightly to Mikasa. Again, Armin was an outsider because he still had his grandfather who had miraculously managed to evacuate.

A year later, Armin joined the orphaned duo when the "expedition" to retake the Wall failed and Grandpa Arlett did not return. For the first time in many years, Armin cried for the family he never appreciated enough. Eren and Mikasa held him through it. The next morning, Armin wiped away the tear stains from his face and vowed to never look back. All they had to do was survive a year more before they could join the military.

Now he was sixteen years old, standing in the ocean, enjoying the strange feeling of the sand slipping from under his feet. He wondered what his parents would think of their son going beyond the walls and seeing the ocean, something they died for according to Grandpa Arlett. He had told Armin what he knew when they were refugees inside Wall Rose and Armin had wondered aloud if it was better he knew nothing of his parents unlike Eren and Mikasa who had loved and lost theirs. Grandpa Arlett had asked if he wanted to know. Of course, Armin's curiosity was not sated until he heard the whole story. His parents had planned to flee beyond the walls, intending to take Armin with them when the time was right. However, when their plan was discovered, they attempted a hasty escape and left Armin behind. They were unsuccessful in their endeavor.

Lost in his own thoughts, Armin didn't notice the other scouts had gone up and over the hill to set up their tents. He cursed under his breath and scrambled up the beach to join them. A pair of grey eyes watched the blond intently for nothing slips past a father when his instincts scream that one of his brats isn't alright.

~~~~~~~

After constructing a makeshift camp and having dinner, the scouts set up a bonfire on the beach. The atmosphere was joyous at first as the remaining members of the Corps watched the sun set over the watery horizon completely enraptured. Eventually, the ghosts of those they had lost dragged each scout to their tent to hold them down in morose reminiscence. Eren, who had been distant and resigned since they first set foot on the sands, was the first to leave. He was followed quickly by Jean who doubtlessly felt the heavy weight of Marco's death on his shoulders. Armin continued to stare into the darkening sky until he heard a buzzing in his ear and a warmth on his shoulder. Turning, he noticed Mikasa was speaking to him.

"Armin. Are you okay out here on your own?" He glanced around and noticed they were the last two on the beach. The fire had died down to embers. Had he been so absorbed that he hadn't noticed? He looked at Mikasa and nodded reassuringly.

"I'll be alright. It's hard to believe it's real and not a drawing in a book," he mused. Mikasa gave him a small smile and with a final pat on his shoulder, she stood and made her way up and over the hill to her tent. Armin was finally left alone with his thoughts, and in his solitude, words poured freely from his lips.

"I'm here, Grandpa. I know you probably never wanted this for me. After all, the outside world is the reason you were stripped of your son far too early. I'm sorry you couldn't stop them. I'm sorry you had to raise me and watch me inadvertently develop the same curiosity for the outside world they did. I'm sorry we caused you so much pain. I'm sorry you died on that stupid culling of refugees. You deserved so much better. If only I could write to you to describe what I can see, even though it's indescribable. If you could be here, I think you would find the ocean beautiful too." Armin trailed off, watching the waves crash on the shore. The ocean was more than beautiful. It was breathtaking and to think of the other natural phenomenon in his book were real and out there, Armin understood why his parents wanted to go beyond the walls. Seeing the wonderment in his friends' faces made the sight of the vast skyline and endless ocean finally feel real and he would cherish that spectacle forever.

Anger bubbled to the surface, and Armin saw red. Why did his parents try to escape? Did the vistas of the world outweigh the sight of their son's smile or the sound of his innocent and unburdened laugh? What despicable people would risk their lives against Titans and the wrath of the King to see a body of water over watching their own son grow up? Why didn't they just surrender? They would have been jailed, but maybe they would have lived to explain their reasons to him. Instead, they were gone due to a selfish choice, and their son was left behind with no closure. Armin buried his head in his hands.

"Mom.... Dad... Why did you leave me?" Armin let out a strangled cry.

"Armin?" A voice called to him softly. He looked up and saw Commander Hange approaching him slowly. He did not see anyone else but noticed a short man headed back to the tents, Captain Levi. He wiped his face, not noticing that he had been crying.

"May I sit with you, or would you rather be alone?" Hange asked cautiously. He nodded once, and Hange took a seat beside him on the sand. For a moment, the two sat in silence.

"Commander, I apologize, I -" Hange lifted her hand to silence him. He obeyed and waited for her to say something. She let her hand fall and traced patterns in the sand.

"My parents and I don't talk. We haven't since I joined the military. I hated them for trying to keep the world from me. They weren't always like that, mind. In fact, they loved my thirst for knowledge and penchant for learning. When I was a young child, they often encouraged me to go outdoors and learn about the world around me through experience.

"However, about fourteen years ago, shortly after I turned fifteen, they heard a story of two people from an outer district who had attempted to flee beyond the wall and were executed. They got scared and attempted to stifle my curiosity. At the time, I was in pursuit of a scholarship for collegiate studies and was enrolled in a three-year preparatory program. I didn't want to waste the opportunity to learn more, but I was already planning my escape.

"So, I bottled up my anger for the next three years and studied everything I could get my hands on. Botany, medicine, animal husbandry, mechanics and engineering, astronomy... You name it, I studied it. I kept my head down and contended with my parents, once enthusiastic academics, now transformed into cowards afraid that curiosity would kill their own daughter. I finished my program just a few months before my eighteenth birthday. I got accepted into a prestigious university in Wall Rose. My parents were ecstatic to think of my nose buried deep in books for the foreseeable future deep within the interior. On the eve of my eighteenth birthday, I told my parents I hated them. That living inside the Walls was suffocating and I would join the Survey Corps to find out for myself what lie beyond the walls. I ran away and enlisted the next day. My parents are still alive, but they might as well be dead to me." Hange tapered off.

Armin was stunned. He didn't know the news of his parents failed escape and subsequent death was such a widespread tale. To think that Hange had heard of it. He was ashamed and felt his cheeks burn hot, fists clenched around sand. The small granules bit into his palms. Hange sighed and laid back, staring at the night sky, she continued.

"All that is to say, Armin, everyone has complex feelings about their parents whether they are alive or not, estranged or not. We can never wholly understand the motives behind the actions or inactions of our parents. We must live by the choices we make within the framework constructed from the choices our parents made. Do you understand?" She turned her head to look at him. Armin nodded slowly, still processing it all. The only sound was the waves as the two sat on the sand in heavy silence.

"Commander. I think I hate my parents too... I hate them for leaving. I hate that I don't know the color of their eyes or the sound of their laughter. I hate they never got to see the ocean like I did. I hate that I have never really got to have a mom or dad. I hate that all they left me with was their dream to see the outside world. I hate that I can't tell them that I hate them! I hate that I can't tell them that despite it all, they gave birth to me, and I am so grateful for this life! I hate that I can't tell them that I love them!" Armin's voice rose and cracked when he let out a keening wail.

In a heartbeat, Hange sat up and pulled Armin to her. He clung to her cloak and sobbed. She stroked his hair and rubbed his back soothingly repeating the sympathetic mantra "I know. I'm sorry." Hange breathed steadily in the hope that he would eventually match her. Levi was right. She would have to thank him for sending her down to the beach. Armin had been holding this in for a long time. Perhaps his whole life. He needed to let it all out and Hange would hold him until he didn't need her anymore.

"You're alright. You, Eren, and Mikasa are family. Tighter than many families by blood. You kids of the 104th are family. They way you trust each other so implicitly rivals even the most synergetic twins. Levi and I are your family too. Who do you think noticed you were feeling overwhelmed and sent me down here?" Armin sniffed and mumbled what Hange understood as "Captain Levi" into her shoulder.

"That's right, my dear. So clever even when you are a teary-eyed, snotty-nosed brat." Armin choked out a small laugh at the strange term of endearment and burrowed further into Hange. She took the opportunity to shift so his legs draped over her lap and Armin wrapped his arms around her neck instinctively. In that moment, Hange was reminded of how fragile humans still were at sixteen. They really were just children who had already suffered so much. A fierce protectiveness swept through Hange, and she pulled Armin tighter into her embrace. She felt him breathe a soft "thank you" into her neck and fall silent.

They sat like that until Armin's sobs turned to hiccups and soft snuffles. She used her cloak to help him blow his nose and her sleeve to wipe away his tears. The teen had spent all his remaining energy crying. She pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Tomorrow, you will be a soldier. A brilliant soldier and integral part of the scouts. Not because you are the Colossal Titan, but because you are you, Armin. As for tonight, just let yourself rest. Be safe in the knowledge that even when you feel alone you are surrounded by your family. Lean on us in battle, in times of sorrow, and even in these ephemeral moments of peace and happiness just as we lean on you." She felt Armin's steady breathing against her chest, but she couldn't be sure if he was awake.

"For what it's worth, I am proud of you, Armin. My remarkably intelligent and sweet boy. Any mother would be..." A sleepy Armin curled further in Hange, sinking into the warmth of a mother's embrace.

~~~~~~~~~

Bonus:

When Armin blinked his eyes open, he was lying in his tent. A slight rustling caught his attention, and he watched Captain Levi exit the tent. The brightness of the moon illuminated his silhouette against the thin fabric of the tent. A second silhouette stepped into view; Levi was talking to someone. Armin only caught a bit of their conversation in his half-asleep state.

"-manity's strongest, indeed."

"ould've slept on the beach, otherwise."

"Night, Levi." There was a pause and the heads of the two silhouettes met accompanied by the sounds of lips meeting and soft exhales.

"-ight, Shitty Glasses." oh. Oh. Armin blushed and turned over in his cot. Walls, do all kids feel this embarrassment when their parents kiss?

Chapter Text

Suffice to say, Levi was not pleased with his new Special Operations Squad's cleaning abilities. He had sent them ahead with Yeager to clean the shitty-ass cabin that would be their temporary base of operations. Knowing that the brat learned by cleaning the castle with his old squad how it should be properly done, it shouldn't have been a difficult assignment. The first swipe under the table left him utterly dissatisfied. However, the thick ear he was going to give those brats would have to wait.

Hange and some of her squad arrived shortly after he did. With excitement brimming in her eyes, their two squads spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon working on hardening experiments with Eren's titan. Frustratingly, the experiments yielded naught. The day felt even more punishing to the young squad who spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning the entirety of the cabin and surrounding premises again under Levi's exacting instructions and derisive criticism. Hange wrote up the experiment's report while the brats worked.

Shortly before dinner, Levi left on horseback to report the results of the experiments to Erwin accompanied by a few members of Hange's squad who were sent back to retrieve some research notes from her lab. Hange stayed to supervise the young squad making dinner and strategize with Eren regarding subsequent hardening experiments. She did more of the latter than the former, and Connie ended up burning dinner much to Sasha's dismay. After an exhausting day, no one complained when Hange sent them all to bed, especially Eren who barely made it through dinner. The house was dark and quiet when Levi returned, finding only Hange sitting by the front door looking over her notes with a rifle resting idly on the back of her chair.

"What did Erwin have to say?" Hange asked looking up from her report. Levi gestured for the two of them to step out. Hange grabbed the weapon and followed Levi to the guard post outside. After relieving two of Hange’s squad who were on watch, the two veterans sat side by side and debriefed the rest of their respective evenings. Hange nodded in agreement with Levi's assessment regarding their lack of information on hardening. Apparently, being a titan-shifter did not equate to suddenly inheriting knowledge of all titan abilities as yielded from her follow-up conversation with Eren.

"What are you thinking about, Short Stack?" Hange asked after a beat of silence. Levi stared pensively into the night sky.

"Nothing, Four Eyes" Levi replied quietly. Hange smiled and thought how silly it was that Levi would try to hide anything from her, so she pushed a little more.

"You're worried about Eren and Historia," Hange stated plainly. Levi shot her a sideways glance but sighed wearily and ran a hand through his hair.

"No shit. Yeager's a brat. Such a fucking hassle." He was deflecting Hange thought, but if there was anything she knew from her years at Levi's side, he would just need a bit more time.

"I don't disagree," Hange concurred with a slight laugh. Levi groaned and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"You said the damn brats burnt dinner? Did they even eat? For fucks sake, those brats are going to fucking die if they collapse from not eating shit." Hange chuckled and nodded. Levi raked his hands through his hair tiredly.

"Aww, you care about them so much!" Hange proclaimed loudly enough for Levi to slap his hand over her mouth. Levi's eyes narrowed at her wide, mirthful ones.

"Shut up, Shitty Glasses," he snarled and released his hold over her lips which instantly broke into a smile.

"Okay... Dad." He promptly smacked her upside the head.

Hange left the next morning, but her words from the night before echoed in Levi's mind. Why would she give him such a parental moniker? All he had said was the truth. If you did not take care of yourself, how do you expect to survive? As captain of their squad, it was his responsibility to see that the brats had their best chance of survival. After everything they had been through, it was the least he could do for them, but it didn't mean that he was their surrogate father!

~~~

Frankly, Levi gave absolutely zero fucks for his sperm donor. His mother had never told him the identity of his sire. Given her profession, she either didn't know or didn't want to remember. His mother succumbed to illness before he was old enough for the two of them to have a proper conversation about it. His only clue for years was Kenny.

The time he spent with the man and being called Kenny the Ripper's bastard, shaped Levi's definition of what a father was, and it didn't amount to much. Kenny treated the care and keeping of Levi as secondary to teaching him how to fight. They would spar for hours without rest or sustenance. Even when Levi learned how to best anyone Kenny sent his way, the man wouldn't do even so much as grunt in satisfaction. If anything, Kenny egged Levi on to push him beyond his limits. To Levi, Kenny's version of a father described summarily was physical strength and the cunning to use it which Levi had in spades.

~~~

"Pick up the pace, Arlett! Strategy doesn't mean shit if you can't keep the fuck up!" Levi shouted at Armin as he landed on a trunk adjacent to him. He decided to put his squad through ODM training the morning Hange left to visually assess their strengths and weaknesses. If they were going to be hiding for a while, Levi would use that time to work his new squad up to be worthy of the designation of Squad Levi. He knew that Armin was the least physically capable of the group, but if Erwin has brains and brawn then so can this bowl-cut blondie.

The Arlett brat had paused on a branch to catch his breath. Pieces of his blond hair stuck his forehead and his face was flushed. Clearly, he was approaching his limit. Levi exhaled slowly before speaking.

"You know, the long-distance enemy scouting formation we use was Erwin's idea," Levi started slowly. Armin looked up at him confusedly, but Levi continued.

"However, Erwin actually presented his idea when Shadis was still Commander, and he was rejected. It wasn't until my first expedition years later that Shadis decided to jam his pride up his ass and use the fucking idea. What do you think Erwin did in the time between?" He watched the boy think carefully before the blond responded confidently.

"He honed his skills and bettered himself." Levi nodded. Armin understood what Levi was getting at because he smiled shyly.

"Thank you, Captain," and off he went to catch up with his squadmates. The corner of Levi's lip lifted into the ghost of a smirk at the brat's determination and took off behind him.

~~~

Over the course of the week, Hange's squad traveled between the cabin and Erwin to relay reports and orders which allowed Levi to focus on the brats. Sasha was a sharpshooter with both bows and guns. Jean had a good head for leadership but was supported by Armin's soft-spoken strategy and Mikasa's quiet strength. Connie was a bit of wildcard but made a strong trio with Sasha and Jean. He didn't have much to say regarding Historia as she was forced into the cabin most of the time for her own protection. Overall, he was pleased with the potential in his squad and the synergy they had already formed from their time in the Training Corps.

However, there were times of domesticity around the cabin, and innocence and naivety began to peak through cracks in the carefully crafted soldiers of his young squad. It was subtle, but there was a shift in the squad's dynamic. With every correction to their cleaning methods, advice on how to cook a proper meal, or a barking order to "get their sorry asses to bed" the brats began to perceive Levi as something other than the sardonic and strident man known as Humanity's Strongest.

The next time Hange and Levi were on watch together; Hange noted the change in the brats' disposition toward him. She pointed out that Eren would always glance at him whenever he was cleaning, seeking affirmation and Levi's approval.

"He's just fucking scared of me. As he should be," Levi countered.

"Ah! You taught Sasha how to correctly peel potatoes after she cut her hand. Then she asked you to taste the potato gratin she made the other night. Clearly, she wanted to show you how much she learned!"

"If she had bled all over dinner, I would’ve had her run laps like Shadis did." Hange groaned but refused to relent.

"Connie and Jean asked you to show them how to throw knives, and you were so patient! You didn't even shout at them like you normally do!"

"What like I'd give away our position to the MPs for being unable to control my voice unlike you, Four Eyes? Besides, what's the point of teaching them if not to do it properly."

"I know whoever taught you wouldn't have taught them like you did." That gave Levi pause. It surprised him that Hange would remember the sparse details he had shared with her about his life in the Underground. He huffed exasperatedly. Unable to look her in the eyes, he rubbed the back of his neck and stared out into the distance. He had worked hard to be different from Kenny. Whatever Kenny was to him; he wanted nothing to do with it. He had sworn he would be better.

~~~

Being a byproduct bastard of a pleasure house wasn't an uncommon origin in the Underground. Over time and entirely inadvertently, Levi came to be surrounded by a flock of abandoned children, mostly boys. Girls almost always shared their mother's fate. There were exceptions, he did eventually take in Isabel after all. Levi marshaled the orphans into a fearsome gang who stole from the rich above-ground frequenters of pleasure houses. For all they knew, the gang was stealing from their very sires. Though, it seemed only fair that those who sought sick, twisted pleasure in defiling these women be liberated of their ability to do so, their wealth, by the same bastards they carelessly sired.

Though it took years to amass supplies, ODM gear, weapons, and securing territory and compound fitted with deadly efficient security, in time, Levi's reputation earned him and his gang a notoriety that rivaled Kenny the Ripper. However, unlike Kenny, Levi held the care and keeping of his gang as the highest of his priorities, always ensured that his men were paid, monthly rent met, and food restocked. The remainder of the spoils, such as medicine, were donated to pleasure houses and orphanages along with clean blankets, towels, and soap bought with any extra money. Levi never made the deliveries himself, choosing to send different gang members each month.

One day, Yan, a member of his gang, returned from his delivery run, limping worse than before.

"Levi, why do you never make delivery runs yourself? I know you run the most difficult heists, but it’s clearly important to you. Why not go just once?" Yan asked innocently.

Levi scowled and grunted, "And risk being seen or ambushed by a rival gang, MPs, or those lecherous fuckers in the establishments? Do you want us to be fucking arrested and leave you fuckers dead or destitute? Do you want to sentence those women and children to even shittier treatment? Use your fucking head, Yan." Yan lowered his head and twisted his hands together muttering an apology. Furlan shot Levi a look and handed Yan his pay which Levi noticed was a bit more than the usual amount for a donation run.

~~~

Finally, Levi spoke, but his voice sounded raw.

"Yeah, I'm not like that bastard, but I'm not their father either. I don't even know what a father is..." Hange's eyes softened and she reached for his other hand which rested at his side. He startled a bit at the contact, but it got him to look at her. She smiled softly as if she knew something he didn't.

"To me, a father is someone who gives his all to keep his family safe. You moved your whole squad out here to protect Eren and Historia. A father is perceptive and aware when his kids need something, whether encouragement or telling off. Armin told me what you said to him during training in the woods. A father worries about the health and happiness of his children. Remember you worried they didn’t eat that first night. Whether you realize it or not, Levi, you are a good father to them in your own gruff and unrefined way. You're a good man."

~~

Quite frankly, Levi despised men for much of his early life. Lechery was an indiscriminate and virulent plague on society. This perception of the world through shit-stained glasses cemented its place in Levi's mind when those merchant pigs attempted to sell his mother's tea set and him as well. It was then, young Levi understood it wasn't just women who were subjected to the same atrocities as his mother. Deep roots of distrust only worsened after Kenny abandoned him, leaving him with a knife and the skills to fight, steal, and cheat. Only the faint and evanescent whispers of his mother's memory saved him from sinking into the smog of despair enshrouding the Underground.

It wasn't until Levi made it above-ground that he met a man as good as Furlan or a woman as capable of fighting as Isabel. The scouts were so different from the enervated waifs of the pleasure houses or the young men of his gang who continued to struggle in the decrepit bowels of the Underground. He was secretly awed by the strength and the talents of his new peers.

However, losing Furlan and Isabel tore a hole in his heart. Everyone who he ever considered family abandoned him whether by choice or by death. Levi felt the walls around his heart grow taller and taller. What was the point of caring about people when all they ever did was leave? Despair and regret crept in from the periphery, darkening his vision until all he could see was blood. He should have protected them. It was all his fucking fault. They had looked up to him and he led them to their death.

"Come with us, Levi," Erwin's unspoken ultimatum resounded in Levi's ears and resonated in his soul. It was like when Kenny snatched him from the squalid pleasure house room where death had permeated every grain of wood and stitch of cotton. However, back then Levi had followed blindly. Despite not knowing what the right choice was, the only choice was to follow the man who could see something Levi could not, and Levi would walk Erwin’s path with his eyes open.

The next day, Hange approached Levi and asked him to escort her to a tavern in town.

"Get the fuck away from me, Shitty Four Eyes," Levi harshly brushed her off and attempted to shove past her. Using her long legs to her advantage, she stepped in front of him reaching out with her hand to stop him. He narrowly avoided running into her hand. Curse that woman for being taller than him!

"Hear me out, Levi! Remember, I told the three of you I would take you out to dinner if you returned alive! I'm keeping my promise. I won't bother you again afterwards, I swear!" Hange blurted out quickly. Levi rolled his eyes and smacked her outstretched hand.

"No promise to keep. They're dead." Again, he attempted to bypass the titan enthusiast. She did not stop him this time but instead called after him.

"But you're not! And I'm glad you're not!" That stopped him in his tracks. He made an abrupt about-face, stormed up to her, and grabbed her by her gear's chest strap.

"Fuck, like I don't know that?! What are you playing at? I don't need your stupid fucking dinner, and I certainly don't need your goddamn sympathy!" He snarled menacingly. Hange, the strange person that she was, only laughed. Levi stared at her dumbfounded.

"You're not the only one who has lost people on expeditions before, Levi. We all handle loss differently, but isolation is never the answer," Hange stated sincerely.

"Everyone avoids me anyway, remember. I'm just a shitty criminal from the Underground. My reputation contends that of Kenny the Ripper, ever heard of him? I'm a bad man, and you should stay the fuck away if you know what's good for you," Levi pushed Hange away from him and set a brisk pace down the hall.

"You're a good man, Levi!" Hange called after him. He didn't bother to turn around again. She was wrong. A good man wouldn't have made the choices he made.

Hange was persistent, and eventually she took him out to dinner after whittling down his resolve by whetting his curiosity with the promise of tea which she found out was his exclusive beverage of choice in her pursuit of the dinner date. They toasted their teacups to Isabel and Furlan. It was more of a burial than they got anyway. Slowly, but surely, Levi's distrust and self-imposed solitude began to crack and fall away.

~~~

The unforeseen reappearance of Kenny had dredged up memories that Levi would have rather laid to rest. Going above-ground and joining the scouts was rebirth for Levi. He would not allow his prior guardian to topple the new life he had worked so hard to build. Nevertheless, the Scouts defeated Reiss's titan, and Levi found Kenny in his final moments. In true Kenny fashion, being as dramatic as the dual guns he wielded, the revelations that followed Levi's interrogation shook his foundation to the core.

"What, exactly, were you to my mother?"

"Heh... you idiot, just her brother."

Relief at not being Kenny the Ripper's bastard, but rather his nephew, washed over him like the sparse, but highly coveted hot water in the barrack's communal bath. Additionally, being an Ackerman elucidated his innumerable and previously inexplicable feats such as how quickly his ankle recovered or the inhuman like strength he possessed. However, there was one part of his past that Levi couldn't quite digest. He would indulge himself in one more moment of selfishness.

"That day... why did you leave me?"

"Ahh, because... I'm not meant to be... someone's father."

The answer settled heavily in Levi's gut like the weight of the serum in his hands. It was true that Levi never saw himself as a parent either, but if being a parent at the core meant taking responsibility for rearing a child, he didn't find that all that different in principle to being a leader of a squad. You made sure those in your care were fed, well-rested, and appropriately trained. You fixed the mistakes they made, usually after a good harangue. If you were unfortunate enough to lose them, you grieved them. Perhaps he was missing something, but Kenny passed before Levi could ask anything else.

~~~

"So, you're an Ackerman, eh?" Hange mused as the two veterans sat side by side in the quiet of the night on the barrack's roof. Levi only hummed in response.

"I guess that means that you and Mikasa might actually be related in some distant way," Hange pondered aloud. He had not thought too much about it, and even without the vague familial connection to Mikasa, the two were often described similarly: brooding and silent, raven-haired and grey-eyed soldiers stronger than any other. The Girl Worth a Hundred Soldiers and Humanity's Strongest.

Despite his dismissal of any clout names carried, the Military Police and the affluent of the interior who knew Kenny and had previously thought of Levi as nothing more than the Scout's leashed guard dog now cowered before Levi Ackerman. The additional appellation hardly bothered Levi. He never defined himself by names before, and he certainly wouldn't now. However, if it helped ease Mikasa's distrust of him, he would willingly call her family.

"Never put much stock in familial relations...but it's nice to finally know her last name… Kuchel Ackerman," Levi whispered into the night sky and he smiled at how beautiful it sounded. Even if he personally did not care much about knowing his last name, Levi would be forever indebted to Kenny for giving him his mother's last name.

Hange stared at Levi for a moment before she understood what he meant. She smiled and leaned her head on Levi’s. It surprised her, but not more than Levi himself as he began to recall aloud things about his mother. Her elegant posture, the ornate tea set, her long, soft raven-hair, the warmth of her smile… The two sat on the roof until dawn.

~~

When Historia opened the orphanage for children in the Underground, Levi donated a large initial sum and reserved a percentage of his monthly salary for the upkeep of the orphanage. He also visited when time permitted. Despite his expressionless face and cold demeanor, the kids at the orphanage called him Papa Levi. The nickname irked him and his chest tightened when he heard their young voices; Kenny's words echoing in his mind.

Hange laughed the first time she heard it when she had accompanied Levi on one of his visits. The nickname became one of her favorites, calling him Papa Levi whenever he particularly fretted over his squad which was apparently very often in Hange's view. It tickled her that someone besides herself saw Levi for the paternal figure he was. The man cringed every time she would call him by the familial nickname, and to show his displeasure, would grab her by the hair and flick her forehead. After about the fifth time she called him by that name, he asked her if she was a masochist.

"You must like getting hit, Shitty Glasses. You keep calling me that shitty nickname."

"It's just because you are such a good father, Levi. You just don't see it."

"What the fuck? I barely see these kids once a month. I may not know what a father should be, but I know it's not an absentee."

"You're doing the best you can with your circumstances! Besides, you spend the rest of your time with your squad, and I know you love them like they’re your children."

"Who the fuck says I love those shitty brats?" Levi looked at her disbelievingly. Hange chuckled before elaborating.

"You don't say it with words. You say it in your actions. You love them." Hange smiled, and Levi looked away.

"Whatever you say, Four Eyes," he muttered quietly and began walking to the laundry to check on the brats and their assigned chores. Hange followed along leisurely beside him as he stalked down the hallway moodily.

"What I say is the truth. You are a good Papa." She poked his shoulder, and he swatted at her in return.

"Delusional as ever, Four Eyes."

The two veterans stepped out the back of the barracks to see poorly hung sheets and unfolded clean clothes piled in a basket. Levi cast about for the brat he had assigned to this job and only barely caught a glimpse of shaggy brown hair disappearing around the corner. Levi raised his voice to be sure he was heard.

"What the fuck is this shit? You fucking know better! Yeager, get your ass back here and do this properly before I hang you by your damn toes with these clothespins!"

"Right away, Captain!" Yeager yelped and raced back toward the laundry but refusing to meet his superior's eye. Levi watched as Eren folded each piece of laundry like Levi had taught him and pinned the sheets properly so they wouldn't fly away in the breeze. Once completed, Eren walked over to the two veterans like a dog with its tail between its legs. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Care to tell me why you didn't do it right the first time?" Levi questioned, keeping his tone neutral. Eren looked down at his feet and scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I was the last one to finish my chore and everyone wanted to go into town for dinner. I didn't want to hold everyone up." At least the brat was honest. Levi sighed.

"Eren, look at me. Doing it right the first time, no matter how long it takes, is better than having to waste the time to redo it. Understand? Now go, don't keep them waiting any longer. Sasha will eat you alive." Levi softly dismissed his subordinate with a pat Eren’s shoulder. The brat looked up, smiled wide, and took off without a second glance.

"I will! Thanks, Dad!" The boy shouted goodbye.

"See?!" Hange exclaimed, gesturing with her hands as if to emphasize her point.

"Shut up."