AN: TRIGGER WARNINGS PEOPLE. Of course I'm going about this in my usual write it without writing it, but still, trigger warnings. I think I got them all, I apologize ahead of time if I missed something.

Also, welcome to the point Reader officially shifts in opinion of Levi.

And sorry if things get a bit sketchy, I felt a little out of it by the end so I may have missed things. I don't think I did, but I'm apologizing just in case I did accidentally skimp over something or rushed through anything.

Warnings: Language, Violence, Injury, Blood, Death, Angst, Mentions of Assault, Mentions of Non-Con, Alluded Non-Con, Alluded Assault, Aftermath of Assault, Aftermath of Violence (Specific Mentioned or Alluded Sexual Things: Threesome, Voyeurism, Necrophilia, Gun Play, Knife Play, Whipping/Flogging, Consent Turned Non-Con). But also a bit of fluff and more Dad!Levi.

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(Two Months Later)

*Reader's POV*

Just when you thought you might be growing comfortable around Levi, he gave you more reasons to wonder about him. Well, at least where the twins were involved you were assured, but Levi himself, you were still making up your mind about him. Despite all the softer gestures he made, he kept doing things that would...remind you of the bad, maybe even further enforce it a bit.

Like taking on the puppy without breathing a word of it to you. He even admitted himself that he'd thought he should bring it up to you but decided against it anyway. At least he hadn't given you the cliché bullshit excuse of wanting it to be a surprise. When there were two babies in the same house younger than a year old, adding a puppy into the mix wasn't something to be a surprise, it should be a discussion.

Of course, he was taking care of it, like he said he would. Taking care of its needs, training it, exercise, cleaning up after it, he was taking care of all of it. And he waited a few days, cycling through some of the twins things like clothes that hadn't been washed yet or toys they hadn't bothered with in a little while to get the puppy used to their scent, before he eventually introduced the puppy to the twins. And that had been an absolutely adorable scene.

Considering both were still young, Levi had kept a hold of Captain while the twins were propped up in their crescent pillows on the floor. He'd held the puppy just out of arm's reach so they could both see each other and Captain could sniff them, but Captain wouldn't be able to jump all over and accidentally hurt the twins, and the twins wouldn't be able to accidentally grab a fistful of puppy and pull. The twins had been relatively overjoyed, vibrating with excitement with fists waving in the air and wide smiles, peals of laughter filling the air. The puppy had just been curious, trying to sniff what he could and wiggle out of Levi's grasp to get a closer look, but Levi had held firm. He'd told you himself he wanted to wait until they were closer to a year old before he let them romp around together–or at least until Captain was raised well enough if Levi said no, drop it, or let go, he would.

As much as you might be softening to the cute puppy that got to roam the halls when the twins weren't on the floor, it still should have been something he asked you about, first.

Then of course there was your newfound knowledge of what Levi was doing up in the library. You didn't know why he was doing it, just that he was, and every time he was up there, it called your imagination to start fabricating scenes of what specifically he might be doing. Which in turn reminded you how he had hardly touched you since he'd tried to get you pregnant, hadn't made any attempt to do so and had indeed shied away from you ever since. It even brought to mind some of the things he'd said in the past, and the further feeling that you were almost no more than a nanny in his mind, or an inconvenience he had to find a way to deal with for the sake of the twins.

It was a strange thing to feel offended that he didn't want to touch you. That there had never been a spark there, no desire towards you that he had any wish to fulfill. You'd been a means to an end to him, a tool to get the twins, and that was all you'd ever be.

The reminder was painful, and tended to push you back towards the state you two had been in at the hospital and shortly afterwards. Not completely, but for a little while, you would stew in your darker thoughts, well aware how poisonous they were but unable to avoid them or how painfully true they seemed to be.

And yet, he still seemed...kind towards you at times. Or at least caring. Even when he pushed you, it was always on the basis of your health, or what he believed might be best for you, and he rarely, if ever, pushed back on what you wanted to do, unless he felt it somehow clashed with something he already had underway.

He was still an enigma. A gentler enigma, who didn't seem malicious anymore...but still a mystery all the same.

And tonight was one of the many mysterious Saturdays. You didn't know what he did on these nights, only that even after he came home, he might disappear or be missing for several hours even after he got home, sometimes, but for the most part, he became especially clingy with the twins. Today, his attention shifted from Captain to the twins, handling them more than you throughout the entire day whether it was feeding, burping, playing, or even simply holding them while they slept. He was always around them, and any barely there smile he gave them was a little strained or sad around the edges. Still, the twins were happy to be there, making little squeals of laughter, kicking their legs and waving their arms around, the widest grins on their faces. Levi even spent some of his time seeing if he could get at least one of them to crawl. While they could both assume the position, they weren't quite ready to crawl yet, and at best could only excitedly wiggle on their hands and knees. Still, he seemed content to watch them try and encourage them in his own, Levi like way, encouraging them in little ways to try and get them to crawl even a bit.

They would get there eventually, but not tonight.

At the moment, a gloom was hanging around Levi, but he was still playing with the twins as exuberantly as ever, giving them brief kisses on the cheeks, tickling their tummies, letting them crawl all over him as if it was completely normal. It felt like he'd been there for hours, but he clung them to as if it had been minutes before the clock struck a certain hour and seemed to wake him from some kind of trance, and he reluctantly pulled himself back from the twins, looking up at you with the sleeping puppy in your arms on the couch just by where he and the twins were.

"I have to get going. Can you...?"

"I've got them, don't worry. I know how to keep the house from burning down when you're gone by now."

Levi snorted, but carefully got to his feet. "Comforting," he murmured, giving the twins one last look before he left the room, likely to go upstairs and get changed.

With Levi out of the room, you got down on the floor with the twins, careful not to wake up Captain so the puppy didn't crawl all over the twins who seemed put out that their father had left them for the time being after spending the whole day with him. At least they were happy to see mother and the puppy, cooing and watching you happily as you attempted to also show off the sleeping puppy in your arms.

Not too much longer and you heard the door open and close, without being able to glimpse Levi as he left–you just knew he had.

Hopefully tonight he wouldn't be gone long–sometimes he was gone for long hours, and those were usually the times you wouldn't see him for a while afterwards. You'd started to find yourself hoping he wouldn't be gone long because it meant he wasn't going to show up...like he had that first night.

Here was hoping...though you didn't feel too optimistic, after the way he'd felt tonight.

*******************************

He came back hours later, long after the twins fell asleep. You were only awake because you couldn't sleep with this pit in your stomach, this feeling that something was wrong. Isabel had been here since he left, she'd apparently been outside waiting for him to officially leave before she stepped in to play housekeeper and make sure everyone was safe while he was away. Ever since he'd mentioned he got Captain to make the puppy a guard dog, you'd been painfully aware of the fact that Levi was always careful to keep someone supernatural on the property, someone capable of taking care of you and the twins in a dangerous situation. Perhaps specifically someone capable of guarding you and the house.

It gave you a sense of danger you hadn't realized was there, and the first thought that Levi was truly protecting you and the twins from something, though you didn't know what. In the past, there had been his claims that he was keeping you ignorant to protect you, or his mentions of how he'd tried to do what he thought was best for everyone–protecting everyone, in a way. But never had this sense of him protecting you felt so strong before.

The front door opened slowly, a soft groan of the door opening causing you to be aware that he'd returned. Quietly but quickly, trying not to disturb the twins but trying to get to the door in time you wouldn't miss anything. Carefully, you opened the door a crack, trying to make sure it wouldn't be noticed that it was open but you would still allow sounds, specifically voices, to waft up towards you.

Isabel's voice came first, and immediately, you could tell that whatever had happened, it was bad.

"Levi-bro...oh my God, what–"

"You can go now, Isabel, I'm here," Levi said, but his voice was cracked, hoarse.

"Levi, I don't know what deal you struck–"

"Leave it alone, Isabel."

"Levi, you can't keep doing this."

"I'm serious, Isabel."

"I know whatever you're doing, you're trying to protect the twins and Y/N, but–"

"Isabel!"

There was a long, long silence, but Isabel seemed determined to make one last point.

"Is what they're making you do really a price you can afford to pay? How long, Levi?"

"...go home, Isabel."

You heard a noise of pained frustration from Isabel, before there was the sound of sharp footsteps, the open and close of the door, and a sudden pressing silence. Your gaze was now riveted to the top of the double staircase Levi had to climb in order to get to his bedroom, waiting to see whatever state he was in that had made Isabel go off on him like that, even briefly. You held your breath, staring intently as you waited...waited...

You hadn't even heard footsteps before you saw the top of his head appear within your line of sight, and you quickly found out why. He was moving slowly, as if every step caused him immense pain, grasping tightly to the railing, head bowed low. You thought he might be shaking from the effort, or maybe that was just you, trying so hard to stand still you were vibrating with nerves, trying not to make a sound and tip him off that he had an audience, lest he disappear and hide a bit more of the truth from you.

Slowly, Levi came into view, and your sharp eyes tried to take in everything that you could through the crack in the door.

His clothes looked like they had been something that struck a nice balance between subtle and flashy–flashy under the right circumstances in a physical appeal sense. However, now it looked like they were ruined by either really dark mud or black paint that still looked wet. His hair was disheveled, like he'd stuck his head in a dryer and hadn't bothered to fix it. His pant legs were sticking to the inside of his legs and had dark black streaks staining the light blue jeans, further solidifying your theory he'd run into a mud or paint mess by the fact that it pooled around the ass and fell in streaks from there, like he'd sat in some. It didn't explain his heavy limp, how he walked as if every step was causing him pain. When he came far enough up the stairs you could see his face, he was bruised, one of the marks appearing in the shape of an open hand, like someone and smacked him extremely hard, considering the size and color of the bruise. His lips looked swollen, not in a good way, either, and there was a cut going through his eyebrow down towards his temple. The most striking thing, though, was the smatter of crimson drops that seemed to speckle his face and neck, mostly dried in place, some looking fresh.

He crested the top of the stairs and turned towards his half of the hall, pausing and leaning heavily on the railing with a low groan of pain before he started limping forward again. As he turned and started going down the hall, passing his room and heading towards the bathroom, it seemed, you caught sight of his other temple and your eyes widened. There was some kind of red mark with dried spattering of black around it, matting his hair and making it stick, the shape circular in the middle of the spatter and looking discolored on his temple. If you hadn't known better, you would have said it looked like a bullet hole, the result of a gunshot, from what little you knew about things from fiction media and crime shows on TV.

But that couldn't be what it was...right?

Levi's bathroom was out of view of the crack in your doorway, but you felt like you needed more to understand what you were seeing and make sense of that conversation downstairs in the foyer. So, you waited a few moments after Levi left your narrowed field of vision and slowly, quietly opened the door a little wider, peeking your head out as much as you dared, still trying to escape notice as you stared in the direction of Levi's personal bathroom.

Thankfully, he didn't bother to shut the door, apparently thinking that you were asleep due to the silence in the house and the fact that you didn't come downstairs with the twins to welcome him back like you normally did as a way to give him a bit of solace and peace at the end of what seemed to be rough nights. Inside the bathroom, he was leaning heavily against the sink's counter, head bowed and hands gripping so tightly to the counter's edge that his arms seemed to be shaking. After a few moments to himself spent taking heavy breaths and trying to regain composure, his hands reached back and, weaving in place, he pulled the shirt off with effort.

This was worse. There were...there were marks on his back, and they looked like...well, again, you weren't an expert on these things, your experience was limited to what you'd seen on TV or imagined in your head reading books, but it looked like lashes, like some kind of sexual fetish gone wrong, the skin sliced open and trying to heal. There were more bruises this time, a few cuts that could have come from a small blade, and that black substance that seemed to be staining his clothes was smeared all over his chest, mixed in with a crimson that seemed like quite a lot and solely on his front, mixed in with the black. Except, the black...the black seemed to be coming from him. In fact, as you stared, you realized that the lashes on his back weren't bleeding crimson like a normal person would, they were bleeding that black substance that seemed to stain so much of his clothes.

Which meant all that black wasn't paint, it was...

Oh, God...

Oh, God where it was–

And if he bled black, then whose was...

Levi leaned heavily on the bathroom sink again, starting the water running as he hunched over, splashing water on his face with pink and grey droplets falling back into the sink. He scrubbed slowly at first, then more vigorously, so hard and with water so hot that his skin started to turn pink and you could see him flinching from the force of his hands running over those bruised and swollen spots, but he kept going. The spatter around what you'd thought looked like a bullet hole washed away, but the circular mark and discoloration remained, making that sick, uneasy feeling in your gut strengthen.

Part way through his scrubbing, something in Levi seemed to crack for reasons you couldn't understand without being him or being able to see what was going on in his head, and he clutched tightly to the sink counter like a dying man, doubled over, body twisting like he was in pain, biting down so hard on his lower lip with eyes squeezed shut you saw some of that black blood dribble past his teeth, though you doubt it hurt as much as some of the wounds he appeared to be sporting. It was like he was trying with everything he had to hold something back, to keep from making a sound, but in vain. While he held in the sounds for an admirably long time, you were able to see the glisten of tears on his cheeks from here when they were a little over halfway down his cheeks and started to fall, illuminated by the light of the bathroom. A few moments after the tears escaped, you heard one sob, two, saw him start to crumple, and unable to be a bystander anymore but also not fully thinking through what you were doing, you opened the door and started to step through to approach him.

You hardly made it past your door when his barely open eyes seemed to catch the movement out of his peripherals, and he suddenly went rigid, twisting around with wide eyes to see you standing in the doorway, both of you locking eyes for a few tense heartbeats before he suddenly grasped the edge of the bathroom door and quickly shut it, cutting off your view of the collateral of whatever the hell happened tonight.

That was one hell of a way to say he didn't want your help with this. Or rather, he didn't want you seeing this. You suddenly felt like an intruder, viewing something private you should not have stumbled across. But at the same time, it felt oddly important that you had seen it, more in the manner like you'd stumbled across something horrible happening behind closed doors that would have continued uninterrupted if you hadn't seen it, and now you could do something.

Because just maybe, this was exactly what that was.

You stayed standing in the doorway to your bedroom, well aware that Levi's action meant you were not welcome to come over there and check on him, no matter how badly you wanted to, but you still wanted to do something. You couldn't just ignore this, go back to sleep and pretend you'd never seen it.

This was what had been happening every Saturday? Maybe not to this degree, no, but clearly he was going through it, going through things you didn't even want to imagine, weekly. And Isabel said it was because of some deal he'd made to protect the twins and you? You were actually included in that?

You were reeling at how stark in contrast that was to your previous perception of him, and the sudden realization of what had been going on right across the hall for months without you fully realizing it, how much this man seemed to be suffering in silence, without any hint of what was wrong besides disappearing every now and then, and the way he clung to the twins before and after he came back, desperately, like a lifeline, now that you were able to look back with a bit more perspective.

The twins...

You stepped back into your room, looking at the two babies that were sound asleep in their cradles, completely oblivious to what massive thing was happening in the house right now between their parents, the information that you were reeling from and what that meant between you and Levi if you could fully grasp what forbidden thing you'd managed to see and hear. They were what Levi clung to before and after these nights, his source of light, the reason why he endured whatever it was that he experienced these nights. These were the nights he needed them the most. They shouldn't be kept in here where he couldn't go out of respect for your private, personal space.

Carefully, so you wouldn't wake them, you picked up the twins one at a time, carrying them quietly across the hall and into Levi's room. You had to step around Captain, who was anxiously jumping around your feet, able to feel that something was wrong but unsure what exactly that was. You put them each in one of the cribs, making sure you transferred their blankies and stuffed animals into the cribs as well so everything was there with them. Captain sniffed excitedly at the cribs, unable to reach high enough to disturb the sleeping twins, thankfully. Once the twins were settled, you checked around the room for any of Captain's messes and cleaned them up, also making sure he was fed and watered so Levi wouldn't have to worry about that, either. Once you were certain you'd successfully moved everything over into the bedroom and that everything was set up, you retreated back into your room, shutting the door quietly and collapsing onto the bed in a sudden emotional exhaustion, curling up into a fetal position and trying to figure out how to process this sudden very revealing information you had not been expecting tonight.

*************************************

*Levi's POV*

Levi still felt cold after he shut the door and cut off Y/N's view of him in the bathroom, still shaking and reeling from what felt like emotional whiplash.

He hadn't wanted her to see this. Fuck, he couldn't handle thinking about the fallout from this, the questions she was going to ask. Not right now. There was too much–too many other things he had on his mind right now. To many violent images that wouldn't stop burning right through to the forefront of his mind because of how damn fresh they were.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and not just in the past few months where he had to be making these damn deals. Having to live off years stolen from others, preying on the people he did in an attempt to spare the innocent, sometimes he stumbled across the truly heinous and twisted predators in the world. Considering he still needed those years from them to live, and he knew it meant less years they would be able to spend terrorizing other people, he usually shut down and took it, taking the years anyway.

Tonight had, unfortunately, been one of those nights. He had underestimated how sick in the head this one was, and he'd paid for it. Of course, it wasn't like he had much of a choice but to go through with it so he could strike his deal for the week, though this one he made sure it was especially harsh and binding, which involved quite a bit of his influential abilities. And this one he killed afterwards.

He did that occasionally if they were especially horrid. And this one he couldn't stomach prowling out there in a world his children were eventually going to be a part of, as much as he didn't want to think of that right now. He wished he could say it had been long and drawn out, but at the end of it all, he'd just wanted it all to be over. A bullet to the head like he'd thought he'd done to Levi was enough.

Fucking voyeristic, necrophiliac, psychotic bastard...

He'd known something was off and this was going to be a dangerous one as soon as he was told to perform for the gang lord, but he'd done it anyway because he didn't want to make a mistake that got the others killed, and he didn't have time to back out and try to find someone else on the fly that was less dangerous. So he'd swallowed his standards for the night and tried to just get through it–tried to get the girl he'd been with through it as well, even with the man's forceful 'encouragements'. Once the gun came out and the one they were putting a show on for, Levi's target, had joined in, she'd been scared, and he'd tried to keep her calm, tried to keep her focused on him instead without breaking the illusion of the show they were putting on...but it hadn't worked. She'd been too scared.

That image, the sounds, were going to be burned into his mind forever, her tear filled eyes, her whimper for her father that had cut Levi to his core before the gun went off and blood spattered across his face and neck, sending Levi into shock while his target continued as if nothing had changed. Levi shut down, stopped being responsive, simply rode it out for a few minutes before his senses returned to him and he finished striking his deal.

Since he'd officially been witness to not only a murder, but also the man's sick tastes, he'd put a bullet in Levi to silence him so no one knew the man's sick secret. He didn't know what happened after he was shot in the head, and he didn't want to know. But he hadn't stayed dead like anyone else would have. He wasn't human, and no human, nor human means, could kill him. As evil as that sick bastard had been, he hadn't been demonic, so Levi came back, he woke up. And the first thing he did after waking up an hour or so later in a shallow grave that was apparently the body dumpsite for this sick prick, was relocate the bastard and put a bullet between his eyes to make sure no one else ever went through something like that.

The wounds were still there, though, as well as the phantom pain of what had been done to him, sensations that were going to take a while to shake off. It usually did, when something like this happened. It wasn't the first time, and considering he had to keep this deal going until the twins were old enough to take care of themselves, it was going to keep happening for some time.

That was what made him break in the bathroom. The thought of having to continue going through this, the weight of what he'd already experienced and the thought of more being dropped on his shoulders, trying to carry it in silence, had crushed him in those few moments before he'd realized Y/N had seen him and he quickly tried to hide the evidence.

These weren't things she needed exposed to. He didn't want her thinking this was the future her children had laid in front of them. He'd die before he let something like that happen, and he was going to do whatever it took to keep them from having a future like this.

Of course, right now, he couldn't handle that as well. Right now he was still being crushed under the fresh weight of his experience, feeling the pressure so intensely he found it difficult to breathe as he showered to try and clean off all the blood, his, hers, and his target's, any lingering dirt, wishing the hot water could sponge some of the filth below the surface he thought he felt clinging to him.

How many more years could he endure this before he really cracked under the pressure? Would there come a point he couldn't take it anymore and he gave in and started binding innocent people to Hell? Could he live with himself if that ended up being what he did for his sanity's sake and his children's future? Surely this was what the Infernal Council had intended for this deal to do to him. To wear him down little by little over the years until he compromised every moral he had in the name of protecting his children, until he was doing exactly as they'd hoped he would, played right into their hands and became just another instrument for Hell.

He couldn't...He had to, but he didn't know if he could, after tonight. How many more nights like this did he have in him?

These dark thoughts poisoned his thoughts and seemed to slowly crush his thoughts as he cleaned up, wrapped a towel around himself, and left the bathroom to go the last few steps over to his bedroom, expecting relative silence besides a happy puppy that would have left a mess he had to clean up on the floor and would need taken care of before he could try–most likely unsuccessfully–to sleep.

He did in fact enter the room to be greeted by Captain, who whined upon sensing his master's distress, jumping up on Levi's bare leg and trying to get his attention as Levi started to shuffle over to the dresser, Captain doing nervous scuttles around Levi's feet as he slowly walked around the room, trying to ignore the shooting pain and not step on the tiny puppy in the darkness. The towel was thrown into his dirty clothes basket in the corner, and he had his underwear on and a pair of sleep pants in hand before he realized...he hadn't smelled or discovered any dog shit or piss...in fact the room had the scent of the cleaner he used for those exact messes in it. A quick glance towards the food bowl for Captain in his little corner of the room by his bed revealed that the bowls were full, too, when he was certain he would have to fill them before going to sleep.

And a few moments into this reflection, he heard a sleepy coo from one of the unused cribs across from his bed that simultaneously melted and stopped his heart.

Leaving the sleep pants momentarily discarded and forgotten on the bed, Levi went over to the cribs, holding his breath as the sight of both twins in the cribs, complete with all their nightly necessities, filled his gaze. One hand covered his mouth while the other braced against a crib to support him, trying to muffle any sound that came out so he wouldn't accidentally wake them.

There they were. The reasons he'd agreed to suffer, sleeping for the first time in the cribs in his room, fast asleep and oblivious–no, innocent of the pains of this world. The ones Levi was trying to shield, to protect, the reason he took the risk of this horrid thing happening to him weekly.

The last thing he'd expected to find tonight were his children asleep in the cribs he'd started to accept would never be used. Seeing them in here was...there wasn't a description for it. Not right now. He just knew he was biting back a sudden swell of emotion that wanted to burst through at the sight. Still, he clamped down on it even though he was alone because he didn't want to wake them.

Running a hand through his hair, Levi looked up and gazed in the direction of Y/N's room, even though doors were shut and he couldn't really see her. It was rather obvious how and why they were in his room for the first time tonight...and he was grateful for the concern and gesture.

"Thank you," he murmured softly, even though she wasn't going to hear him.

He stayed there with the twins a while longer, simply watching them while they slept in their cribs, letting the scene bring a little peace of mind. Eventually, though, he couldn't ignore Captain straining for attention down below anymore, and he headed over to the bed to pull on his sleep pants and pull the little puppy up onto the bed so he could try and offer the comfort he was clearly begging to give his distressed owner, saying 'up' as he brought the puppy up so Captain could learn to associate the word with the action. Captain waddled around on the mattress trying to get his footing while Levi rearranged the blankets and pillows so they were at the foot of the bed. Once everything was arranged, he laid down on his stomach so that he was facing the twins–also because his chest and stomach was the least injured and it was the most comfortable position for him right now. He turned his head to the side as well so that the healing gunshot wound was facing upwards instead of pressed into the pillow.

Once Levi was settled, Captain squirmed his way up to Levi's head, giving his cheek little licks and nuzzling up close to him, his tail thumping lightly against Levi's chest. Levi's hand raised to gently stroke along the little puppy's back as he gazed at the twins, and while he didn't fall asleep, he was at least able to settle into something close to a calmer rest for the night, giving himself the time he needed to recover even if he wasn't sleeping.

*************************************

The next morning he skipped his morning exercise routine so he could rest since he was still feeling some of the injuries. Captain crawled all over Levi during the night, sleeping on his back, his legs, at his sides, anywhere and everywhere his little legs could carry him. Still, when the twins woke up and started squirming around, Levi nudged Captain aside and got up to take care of the now-awake twins, making sure they were changed and dressed. It took him a few minutes to adjust the wrap comfortably around himself so he wasn't hurting any of his still-recovering injuries, but he still managed to get it arranged and get the twins in the wrap. Once the twins were secured, he scooped up Captain in his hands and headed downstairs to let the puppy out, which the little guy no doubt needed after a whole night in. After the quick trip outside, he let Captain back in with free range to roam downstairs–Levi was just going to have to keep his ears open and listen for any mischief the puppy might get into–and then headed to the kitchen to get the twins in their high chairs and get started on breakfast for the morning.

He might have had a rough night–and he was well-aware that was an understatement–but he still was in charge of breakfast, and he was still going to get it done. Even if it was simpler than he usually made, so he could get started feeding the twins.

Ida and Asa finished a small jar of baby food each and some milk before the breakfast he was cooking was finished. Y/N hadn't shown up yet–honestly, she might have been sleeping in, since she didn't have to get up to take care of the twins for once. He wouldn't complain–he just hoped she woke up before the food got cold. He'd try to keep it warm in the meantime.

The twins got a little restless after they finished eating, mainly because Levi had to dart away when he heard something in the living room tear and he had to grab Captain before he could tear down the curtains he currently had a tight hold in his mouth. He brought Captain back into the kitchen with him, partially so he could keep a close eye on Captain while he cleaned up the twins and decided what he was going to do with them next. He still didn't feel comfortable letting them play on the floor the same time as Captain, but maybe that was something they could try today. They were almost crawling around, and as long as he was supervising, it should be okay...

Captain continued to bound around Levi's feet as he brought the twins into the living room, stretching out the play mat and momentarily distracting Captain by throwing a chew toy so he had enough time to get the twins situated on the map before Captain came over with his boundless energy to check them out.

Asa was just getting situated and started to reach for one of the toys on the mat when Captain returned, dropping the chew toy and coming over with tail wagging in overtime to sniff at the twins lying on the mat. Ida rolled over as Captain approached, watching with wide eyes as Captain came close and sniffed her face, snorting softly at something he smelled and making Ida giggle. Asa abandoned what he was trying to play with and instead reached out to feel Captain, which Levi intervened for since he didn't want the twins accidentally hurting Captain or vice versa. He took Asa's little wrist in his hand and kept his thumb in the boy's palm to keep him from grabbing on, then carefully guided him through how he was supposed to pet Captain, quietly murmuring, gentle with the puppy.

While the twins were enamored by Captain any time the puppy came closer, Captain quickly lost interest and roamed away to go check out the rest of the room. Levi had to split his attention after that, keeping one eye on the puppy to make sure he didn't destroy anything while also making sure the twins were playing safely as they rolled around, latched onto different toys, and even interacted with each other, playing with each other's hands and trying to climb on top of each other even though neither of them could crawl yet.

Occasionally, he would leave the room for five seconds just to make sure the breakfast in the other room wasn't burning but was also staying warm, checking the time and deciding that after so long he was going to go upstairs and wake Y/N if she didn't get up on her own. Thankfully, he didn't have to go wake her up, as eventually, he heard a door upstairs open, and she made her appearance, shuffling sleepily down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ida and Asa were babbling nonsense, so he wasn't worried about her not knowing where they were after she had her food.

Levi was intervening as Ida smacked her little palm against Asa's face repeatedly when Y/N reappeared, a plate of food in hand as she settled on the couch, Captain following after her and sniffing at the air eagerly in the hopes she might share some of her food. Levi could feel her eyes on him, studying, probing, as she took her seat, but at the moment he was trying to keep Ida from beating up her brother, which involved a lot of pulling her hands away from her brother and trying to get her to put her hands on toys instead.

"Did you get much sleep last night?" Y/N asked casually.

"No."

"Oh...did the twins keep you up?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep," Levi said briskly.

She hummed in response to that, deciding not to comment further at least on that line of conversation. They were quiet for a few minutes, both of them focused on their own things. Levi was content to just supervise the children and keep an eye on Captain, and Y/N was still eating. After a comfortable silence, she spoke up again, which Levi could have predicted with the persistent feeling of her eyes on him.

"If it's alright with you," she said softly, "I think it would be good if there was at least one day of the week that the twins slept in your room, so I can get some good, solid sleep at least once a week. And I was thinking Saturday nights are a good night for that. I'll just put them to bed in your room instead of mine?"

That was not subtle at all. Clearly she was handing the children over to him on Saturdays as a way to have a bit of comfort after he came home from, in her eyes, whatever he went out doing. He didn't know how much she knew about the situation, how much she'd seen or heard, but apparently it was enough that she was trying to give him charge of the twins that night. A bit of comfort, a bit of peace. It was obvious why she was doing it, but that didn't mean he wasn't grateful she was making the gesture.

He'd get the twins in his room weekly, at the times he wanted to be around them the most, and she was giving him that opportunity freely. And she got to have a day off every week where she would be able to sleep in and rest.

But this was also a notable milestone, in more ways than one. She was giving him even more access to the twins, turning over even more of their care to him. Plus...she was doing it as a gesture of compassion, sympathy, kindness, towards him, of all people. Of her own free will. Because she wanted to.

Levi looked up at her, studying her rather open expression. She was studying him in turn, both of you trying to get a good feel for the thoughts and emotions of the other.

"I'd like that," Levi agreed, before she got the sense he didn't want that, even though he desperately did. It might have taken nine months, but she was letting him fully be a father, it felt like, with this one gesture. Because now, now he was getting the privilege of being in charge of their care overnight as well, of getting them ready for the day, making sure they were comfortable the whole night through, occasionally putting them to bed when he got back in time to do that–he was officially in charge of all aspects of their care, as much as she was. They were actually on equal footing when it came to the twins.

"I won't ask what happened last night or if you're alright, because I know you're not going to tell me," she said in an even quieter voice, and Levi turned his gaze away to look at the twins as she continued to speak. "But...if you ever need...a hand, just knock."

Levi didn't say anything. He probably wasn't going to be going to her for help, anyway–she didn't need to be seeing that, especially if it would just lead to more questions. But he still appreciated the offer.

"I think Captain's looking for a place to pee."

"Shit–"

Levi got to his feet, scooping up the puppy that was in fact sniffing and making telling circles along the rug and making a rush–as much as he was capable of in his current condition–for the back door before Captain peed on his hands...again.