— — — —
@Katsuki Bakugou on Quotev
— — — — — —
TO LIVE, TO FIGHT
[Levi Ackerman x Reader]
— —

It'd been a long day in the barracks.

The sun was at its midpoint in the orange-ing sky, only a few clouds drifting by. Heaving a breath, you wiped some sweat off your forehead as a wooden broom was gipped tightly in the palm of your hand. It was always a ton of work for you once the Scouts returned from any of their missions from outside the walls; you weren't complaining, though tending to the horses when all they wanted to do was rest was a bit of a challenge.

Hands writhing from being coiled around the broom handle for so long, you couldn't help but painfully stretch your fingers. Taking the white-clothed gloves off of your hands, you pulled the matching facial covering down onto your collarbone.

When you were a little kid, you always thought of what it would be like as a part of the military. Of course that was a long time ago... Staring down at your half-missing leg, and the wood peg replacing it, you almost grimaced.

You'd been through the training, joined the Garrison regiment, and participated in the military's work. However, just over three years ago, your role in protecting humanity was severed. Torn straight from your hands, taking a piece of your dignity with it... it still haunted you.

A few months ago, the city of Shiganshina was overrun by the Titans when there had been a breach in the wall by a Colossal Titan, followed by an interior breach from one of the deranged creatures that wore some type of armor. When the walls fell, and everyone evacuated behind the second wall, Rose, everything had gone into a downward spiral of panic. Unfortunately, while fending off the Titans that threatened humanity, one managed to get its teeth just under your knee, and of course drag it down to Hell. You fended for yourself, making it back on time to be assisted into wall Rose, but you had been stripped of your rank, along with your pride.

However, you served humanity well, putting your skill to use and knowledge to fight the Titans. Your sacrifice had not been in vain, as more lives were saved due to your courageousness.

Commander Erwin had told you that.

It'd been so long since you dreamed of joining the military, it seemed like a million years ago. Now you were in your late twenties, with nothing moving you forward other than to assist the Scouts as best you could. After the incident, you'd put your cleaning skills to use and offered to help freshen up the barracks whenever it was needed, which lead to a thorough instruction from one of the Scouts' Captains, Levi Ackerman. A clean-freak, or borderline germaphobe, with one of the highest ranks in the military you'd ever seen. Watching him train cadets slice Titan dummy napes was like watching a cake being sliced without being able to see the knife.

Before you began your position in the barracks, you'd gotten the rundown from the Captain himself, teaching you were everything went and how to do it. Honestly, it had been a lot, so extensive notes were a bit of a necessity in order to retain all of the information. Of course you had it memorized by now, but if you're being completely truthful, Levi was major-league intimidating when you first met him. As of now, you knew him well, and for about two years, so the two kind of contradicted themselves out of existence. Thus creating your friendship, as you would have called it. Hange too, as she often picked on you for assisting with her Titan research, but you didn't mind that too much.

Nevertheless, you had finished your run-through of the stables, all the horses had been fed, cleaned, and the hay bail situations were all done and dealt with. Putting up your broom, you did one last take on the stables standings, agreed with yourself that it was all well and organized, before shutting the door and locking them up. You were given a key from the Captain of the Garrisson regiment, so you could get in or out whenever you pleased.

Wandering down a small patch of cobblestone, you could see the amount of light outside slowly diminish, the sun now replaced with a bright white moon. The breeze felt nice, but three years ago, even now, it still didn't feel quite the same. You'd been from Karanes District, within wall Rose, so you weren't effected too harshly, but watching all the chaos go down, it was brutal. War times seemed like a part of life, at this point... and you couldn't tell if that was sick, or just the reality of your caged world.

Trying not too think too lowly, you shook your thoughts away and stepped up to your home's porch, unlocked the door and went inside. Tonight there was a meeting between the Scouts, and Levi had asked if you would accompany him, to take notes and handle any documents that were displayed. You didn't necessarily have a reason to tell him no, and plan-wise you were empty handed, so not like it would have been out of the way for you.

Once you breathed in the fresh air of your own homestead, you quickly went over and took a shower. You smelled like horses, for better or for worse. With that all said and done, you put on your most formal-looking outfit and gathered a satchel filled with all the belongings you figured you'd need during the meeting. This included a notepad, pencil, a bottle of ink and some filing folders. You'd never attended a meeting such as this one before, so being as prepared you could be was ideal for making a good impression.

Levi had seen your note-taking from when you helped Hange, and signed you up for a free trial at earning a better job. In a sense, you were a bit of an overachiever, which lead to both positive and negative side effects... but most of the time, like this, it got you to where you needed to be. However, even thinking about messing up in front of Levi terrified you, let alone Commander Erwin.

With a newfound sparkle in your eye, you grabbed your handy dandy clipboard, your house keys, and walked out the front door. With your small bag hanging down your hip, you locked the door and turned around, only to be face-to-face with the man you weren't expecting to see until a bit later that evening.

Captain Levi stood at the end of your patio, still placid-looking as ever. Though he wasn't in his usual uniform, which you couldn't understand why not, the meeting was in an hour. Stepping down and meeting him in the middle, you greeted him with a small smile and a bob of your head.

"Captain. Is something wrong?" You asked, mentally praying that it was nothing. You honesty needed this job.

Levi finally spoke, his arms crossed over his chest. "The meeting has been postponed until further notice." He explained, a heavy drop on your heart. "Commander Erwin has too much paperwork to fill out, and Hange is extremely busy with the captured Titan experiments. I came by to tell you, so you wouldn't waste you time walking up to headquarters."

There it was, the news you were hoping to avoid.

Heaving a sigh and squinting through a smile, your shoulders dropped as you gestured kindly to him. "Oh, well... thank you, then. I appreciate it."

"Right." Was all he seemed to respond with.

You felt partially responsible for him walking all the way out here, so you perked up with a new idea. "Oh, wait, hey! Why don't you come inside? I could put on a kettle, you know... since you came all the way out here. Why not make the trip worth it?" You slightly chuckled at the end.

Hoping it didn't seem like you were trying to earn favoritism points with him, and that it was a complete act of generosity, you gave your best smile. Looking at him, he seemed to be weighing his options, and eventually spoke up.

"Alright. I'll take you up on that."
— —

Heat filling the house, Levi was sitting at your table when the intense ringing of the kettle filled your ears. Getting up and pouring two cups, you got your tea press and brought them over. Pouring the water in along with your favorite blend of leaves, you waited a moment before it was ready. Serving it out, you took a sip.

"Sorry if it doesn't taste extremely well. I just got a new press, so I'm still getting used to it." You admitted, rather embarrassed by the fact you'd forgotten this when you invited him inside.

"It's alright, it tastes well enough." He admitted, after his own test. "What blend is this?"

Just glad he was engaged in some sort of conversation with you, registering the fact he asked you a question took a moment. "Ah, um... it's a berry blend of sorts. I make it myself, so it doesn't exactly have a name." You gave a stifled laugh. "Would you like a bag? I have plenty of it."

You could see a cracked smile on his face, though barely noticeable, which you took as he was enjoying himself. It was a relief, as you never had seen him smile before; it didn't last very long, but it was nice.

"If you wouldn't mind. I could take some back with me."

It was obvious he wasn't used to this sort of thing. He was a man of few words, when he wasn't bad-mouthing his subordinates. You could tell he cared, since he wouldn't be so hard on them if he didn't want them to survive out there. In its own way, it was hard to watch, but there was hidden reason there, you could tell.

"Of course! I don't mind at all." Getting up and searching your cabinet, you found an unopened bag filled with the mix of tea, and brought it over to the table. Setting it down, you slid it over to him happily. "Here, it hasn't been used yet, so its a full bag." You explained.

He paused for a moment, then took the bag and inspected it. For a brief second, you could see a look of validity through his eyes. "Appreciated." Was all he said, taking another sip from his cup. As you sat down, he avoided eye contact, as if looking for a topic of conversation. "Say... What is this?" He held up a small clipboard with yellowed sheets of paper falling from it.

Hitching a breath, you did your best to not reach over the table right then and there to snatch it from him. You wavered a smile, and let out a small, nervous laugh while grasping for it. "Oh, uh... nothing, nothing. Just some notes I took for Commander Erwin over the past few years. Apologies, I'll get that out of your way." You didn't take it from him, just calmly held your hand out, as if he'd actually give it to you. How did he even get that? You could have sworn you'd put it inside your bag.

Without even looking at you or acknowledging your offer, he began looking through it, reading the rather calligraphic writing atop the page. "These are very detailed... Erwin was right on the fact you've got good notes. I'll give him that."

The fact he pointed anything out at all honestly surprised you. Like a heave of pressure was just hurled onto your chest. Nothing embarrassing was in there, but there were pages specifically dedicated to pleasing the different higher-ups within the military. Such as Erwin, Hange, Kitz, Pixis, Rico and Nile... all of them... even Captain Levi himself. You sighed, and sat back down with your arms crossed, a ticking in your hand as you impatiently waited for him to put the clipboard down.

He seemed almost surprised, however, as he remained staring at one page in particular. You guessed between either the page about him, or the ideas page for the board meeting. The unknowing eating at your throat, you were about to ask, before he just ripped out a page neatly and began folding it.

"Ah, h-hey! That—" Before you could get a full sentence in, Levi looked up upon setting the board down.

"I read a few of the topics you'd thought of for the meeting." He took one final sip from his cup before standing from his seat. "I'll take these up with the Commander tomorrow morning when I can."

Reeling back, you tried to comprehend what was happening. "Oh, well um... Alright. Thank you, Captain."

"I'm not your Captain, you don't have to call me that." He insisted, without another word. "I appreciate the tea, have a nice evening." He stated, before swiftly leaving the comfort of your home.

It was strange, how he didn't even give you a second glance before leaving. Though he must have found something important for him to just leave unexpectedly like that. You sighed, hanging your head, as if you'd just ran a 12 mile marathon. Though you couldn't quite place it, you held a small smile across your face.

"Always something new with him, I suppose."