Childhood Friends (Attack on Titan// Levi Ackerman Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty Five// Epilogue

He always knew it'd end up like this.

He knew he'd always be looking down these steps, not up. The steps to the Underground were covered in layers of dirt and graffiti. With a "tch" he turned on his heel, the gear swinging on his hips with every step. He wanted to leave those memories behind him, permanently.

His footsteps were echoed by his maneuver gear. Erwin had allowed him to rejoin the Survey Corps once again, reinstating him as Captain. He never left the Walls for expeditions anymore, rather took part in Survey Corps specific training and other things like that to help future soldiers.

He didn't work as much anymore. He was getting far too old for this.

He never expected to come home to the smell of freshly cooked dinner or warmed apples covered in cinnamon. He never expected someone clad in a dress to welcome him home at the front entry with a kiss and a shimmering smile. He knew he'd never have that, or that he'd ever want that.

What he never knew he'd actually have one day, however, was a smile on his usually emotionless face as he approached the front door to an average sized house in Sina. He never thought he deserved such kind treatment. He only went to the house in Rose on long breaks, when he was able to relax properly. But as he stepped onto the porch of the house conveniently located close to the Survey Corps Headquarters, a not-so rare, blush filled smile reached his face, and as he turned the door knob, the smile grew even wider.

He didn't say a word as he opened the door. He unbuckled and unhooked his gear, hanging it on the hooks near the front door. Another set of gear filled with nicks and dents and with straps much shorter than his own was already hanging there. The owner of that gear didn't use it very often. That person was still a soldier, of course. They'd never quit. Not after all they went through to become a soldier. Nowadays, they spent most of their time in the Underground, helping the unfortunate people down there by protecting them from any injustice from other guards or thugs with only malicious intents.

He untied his cravat, hanging it on a hook, followed by his uniform jacket adorned with the Wings of Freedom. He pulled his sweat ridden shirt over his head, walking into the laundry room and leaving the shirt there.

He smelled it when he walked in, but as he got closer to the kitchen it was all the more obvious. The cinnamon sugar smell that most people dreamed of coming home to was not what he found. As he got closer to the kitchen, he smelled burning something- the charred smell was so strong he couldn't even tell what it was at this point. There was a haze over the kitchen, light gray smoke slowly emptying out of the open windows. He sighs, leaning in the doorway.

"Oi," he snaps, arms crossed over his chest. She peeks over her shoulder, short curls bouncing at even the smallest movement. He narrows his eyes at her, her face reddening. Levi was close to laughing at how her she was covered in flour, some even finding its way to her cheeks.

"Could- Could you go away for a little bit?" she asks, trying to wipe some of the flour from her face. All she does is spread more over her inflamed cheeks.

"This is why you're not supposed to cook anything.""I wasn't cooking!" she defends, pulling up the collar of the black sweater that was much too large for her small body. "I was baking," she mumbles, stepping aside to show him the multiple pans of charred and black cakes. "You said no presents so... I made you something instead."

"Those look..." he pauses, trying to find something that wouldn't offend her. Sighing, he shakes his head. "Those all look like shit, to be honest."

"Those were my first tries! Here's the real one!" she grabs a cake from the counter that's only slightly burned and covered in melted chocolate. "Happy Birthday, Levi," she mumbles, holding out the dilapidated cake to him.

He sighs, dipping a finger in the melted chocolate and swiping it across her cheek. "Fucking brat. You really shouldn't bake. Look at the mess you made."

"I know, I'm sorry... I'll clean it later..." she looked to the ground, biting on her lower lip. She wiped the chocolate off with her forefinger, holding up the half melted chocolate eye level and sighing. She licks it off, glancing at the mess of pans, flour, and chocolate, before putting the cake back down on the counter.

"You clean horribly anyways. I'll handle it." He kisses her cheek as a hello, offering her an amused grin. "Thank you."

Her hazel eyes lit up. The short girl pulls him into a hug, her cheek resting against his chest. As she pulls away, she runs her fingers along his hips and ribs, feeling the slightly bumpy scar tissue under her fingers. "Your gear cuts into you too much. Get it adjusted." She traces one of the bigger scars from his 3DM straps, frowning. "These look painful."

He sighs. "I've been a soldier a majority of my life. Years of training does this to you," he pauses, ruffling her curls. "Are they that unsightly?"

"Nah," she mumbles, nuzzling into his hand. "I just can't help but feel sad at the thought of how much these must've hurt."

"These scars," he starts, grabbing her hand and moving it so her fingers brushed from his wrist to his hand and then to his fingertips. Small, uneven scars covered his skin. Some were from cuts, others from burns. "These are from when you got swallowed by that Titan. I didn't notice until much later, but I had grabbed my swords by the blades to help push it into the Titan's stomach. After cutting into it, it released a lot of steam, too."

"I'm sorry."

"I'd do it again and again just to save you, you dummy," he sighs, a slight grin on his lips. "I didn't show you these to make you guilty. I just wanted to prove to you that you mean a lot to me." She remains silent, squeezing him even tighter. "I see you're still wearing that old sweater of mine."

"It's cozy."

Levi never expected himself to be eating a homemade, slightly burned cake on his birthday with someone he loved so much. He never expected that same someone to be laying with him on the couch, with her head on his chest as she was on the brink of sleeping, mumbling to him how she hopes he had the best birthday ever.

"You were busy all day, baking cakes for me, weren't you?" he asks, gently stroking her hair. "You usually don't fall asleep this early in the day, brat."

"Yeah. Baking cakes is a lot harder than I expected. I burned more cakes than you think."

"Well, it only took an hour to clean, so you're lucky," he says, smiling slightly at the recent memory. After cleaning the kitchen, which involved her mixing too much soap with the water and causing too many bubbles, which then led to a small bubble fight, the two of them showered and found themselves lying on the couch, sharing things about their days.

He never expected his childhood friend to mean this much to him at the end of the day. When he first met that dainty rich girl all those years ago, he never would have imagined that that she'd end up like this— a soldier who loved him more than anything else.

Levi always pictured himself being alone. From the moment he was abandoned as a child, he always thought that he'd die alone. But something changed as he took the drowsy girl in his arms, carrying her to their shared bedroom. As the two of laid down, his arms wrapped around her small body, he came to the realization that he wouldn't be alone anymore.

Abandoning her to join the Survey Corps was the hardest decision he ever made. When she left him to help the unfortunate people in the Underground, he felt himself shatter on the inside. But despite all that, they still found each other in the end. Of course, she wasn't perfect. She was clumsy and naive, too optimistic for her own good, and barely tall enough to call herself an adult.

But she was exactly what he needed. She was the smile that he always needed. After seeing so much death and so much destruction in his life, he needed someone uplifting. That klutzy childhood friend of his was exactly what he needed.

He never expected any of this to happen, but he knew now that he was extremely happy that it did.

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Read on for last author's note and afterword :)