〖Confinement | SNK Oneshot Collection〗

〖Recognition | Levi x Reader〗

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𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬 | 𝐒𝐡𝐞/𝐇𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 | 𝟏          

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 | 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞
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Being the assistant of the rather extreme section commander Hanji Zoe could be described as taxing or perhaps irritating. To you, an exceptionally patient and obedient soldier, working under such an intense superior leader was rather thrilling. You never really liked the thought of experimenting on living things, but regarding the grotesque human gobbling giants, that opinion quickly changed when stationed with commander Zoe. Still,  you lacked the complete and enthralling sentiment that your squad leader held for titans. But that didn't stop you both from connecting. The two of you worked alongside Moblit Berner, another assistant to Hanji. He had the worst of it before you were assigned to their squad, being the only one bearing the tribulations of the great titan experimenter. Now though, Hanji used you as a living journal. This was something you were used to, but you rather enjoyed their passionate ways, even though they often came off as too intense for most.

 Today of all days was the only one you had off from working with the crazed scientist. Fresh recruits were arriving at the base, creating a rather busy atmosphere. It was exciting, it had been a while since a batch of recruits had joined the survey corps. Having a day of peace sounded lovely, but the temptation to interact with new people suppressed that desire. Seeing the young and hopeful faces of recruits would often fill you with more promise for the future. Although this also came with the fear of losing them just as soon as they joined. But you didn't want to worry about that, especially with how much progress humanity has been making these past few weeks. With so many tests on the titan-boy Eren Jaeger, humanity seemed to have a boost in morale. And with the experiments that you witnessed, life within the scout regiment became all the more compelling. 

Still, even on your day off, you wanted to go out of your way to greet the recruits and see how many new scouts you could work alongside within this new era of hope. Before you could get very far though, down the hall came someone ripping through the narrow path, hollering out to you. Ducking out of the way, they miss you by mere inches. Halting their hurried steps, the panting figure turns toward you. Hands on their knees, passionately heaving out excited giggles, stood Hanji, your squad leader. 

  "Good afternoon Commander, are you alright?" You asked, laying a hand gently on their shoulder. 
    The fanatical look in their brown eyes dug itself deep inside you, leaving an unsettling feeling. You flinch as they return the gesture by plopping their hands onto your shoulders and gripping tightly. 
   "I'm fantastic!" Hanji spoke, seemingly frothing at the mouth.
    Staring at them, you assume they were in another one of those moods where they seem completely unhinged, you bear the pain of their fingers digging into your muscles through your blouse.  
     
They continue to go on multiple tangents, darting from one idea to another. You stand and listen, just like every time this happened. From the right, a small figure strolls into your peripherals. 

  "Do you ever know when to stop?" interjected a cool voice. 
  Hanji snapped their head in the direction of the voice, revealing that person to be Captain Levi. You feel your heart begin to race. 
  "Levi- You won't believe what I just thought of! So many new things to try on Eren, oh how fun this will be..." Hanji starts, but as Levi removes you from their strong grasp, the sentence falters.
  "Cool it four-eyes. Sorry to interrupt your little moment, but I need to borrow your babysitter. Is that fine?" The starkness in his voice sent multiple waves of chills throughout your body.
   Hanji blinks and it seems as if their rampage has momentarily ended. They agree, expressing utter skepticism in his intentions. 

You, on the other hand, were utterly concerned for what he wanted with you. The Captain Levi needed to borrow you? As disconcerting as it was, denying the pleasure of being around him wasn't something you were going to do. He motioned for you to follow him and you did as such.

In one way, following humanity's strongest soldier past your only protection (Hanji) struck an inner fear within that would be similar to that of an insignificant rat in an alley with a stray cat. Although small and doubtlessly cleaner than the rest, this cat intimidated all. And in this case, you felt like the rat. 

Traversing the halls silently with Levi soon proved to be far more unnerving than any speech Hanji has ever given you. Having never really interacted with Levi, you deemed yourself rather ill-equipped to converse with him. You've only ever heard of his cold attitude and harsh criticism, but never really witnessed it outside of expressing his distaste with Hanji's ravenous hunger for advancements in titan research. And thinking of this had triggered some memories. Admiring the captain from afar was always something you found yourself doing, alongside always taking the time to spot him within the formation before an expedition. Ah, why were you thinking about this now?

The lump in your throat didn't seem to want to go down anytime soon, leaving your forehead with a light layer of sweat. How strange this was. Experimenting on deadly titans didn't seem to make you this nervous, how was a single person having such an impression on the mind? Before you could attempt to answer your questions, Levi stopped in front of an office. 

   "Come in," He guided, opening the door. 
Stepping inside stiffly, you take in your surroundings. It was a generic-looking office, not unlike any of the others within the base. But there were a few nuances that led you to believe that this was Levi's quarters. 

He pulled out a seat at a small table and stared at you. Quickly realizing what he meant, you sat down, embarrassed. The table was simple, but the tea set that lay atop it was quite the opposite. Ornate designs covered the teacups and the saucers. They looked expensive. 

   "Do you like tea?" Levi asked. 
Taking a second to process that he was speaking again, You nod and say: "Oh- Yes I do, I like tea."
After mentally pulling your hair and shouting curses at yourself, Levi began to pour tea into each cup. 
   "It may seem abrupt bringing you in here, especially on a transition day, but it's for an important reason." He sat down, one arm leaning on the back of the chair while the other lifted the cup to his mouth. 
   "Oh? What reason sir?" You asked, taking in the rich smell of the tea.
Levi set his cup down back onto the saucer quietly. His gaze remained unperturbed as he stared right at you.
   "It's come to my attention that you spend a lot of time babysitting Hanji, always saving their ass when they do something stupid. Which is quite often," He lightly tapped his fingers on the table. "It's nothing exceptional, but granted that nobody can control, let alone withstand them- I find myself needing your help with something similar." 
Gulping, you listened intently. What could Levi be planning that required getting an insignificant assistant to help?
   "What could that be sir?" Your fingers trace the saucer holding your teacup. Feeling the heat from the tea you have neglected made the tension worse in your jaw.
   "You trust Hanji. That's a very difficult task considering how they go about things,"
 Images of your squad leader flashed in your head, from them trying to bag titan steam, to taking giant clippings of titan's nails. A slight smile formed at the thought.
   "Trust is what we need during our next expedition. I also need a good babysitter, one who knows their way around titans- and who isn't a complete nut. You're my best option." He finished. 

You were floored. For a moment, you couldn't register what he had said after thinking about Hanji being ridiculous. The smile quickly turned into an expression of disbelief. Did he just say that? 

   "What? I'm the best option?" You questioned yourself thinly. 
   "Is there something wrong with that, (F/N)?" Levi's tone was the same, but the words had a different effect. 
"I- No n-not that all! I'm sorry, I'm just surprised." Him saying your name had caught you completely off-guard. The last thing you wanted was to look like a bumbling idiot in front of Levi.
That was also something that caught you off guard,  why was his opinion so important to you?
   "Well then, take this as a formal invitation to join the special operations squad." He said. 
With no time to consider it, you accepted immediately. With so much pent up confusion and excitement, it was hard not to smile like an idiot now. "But sir, if I may..." You hold onto the teacup tightly. "Wouldn't that make the squad too big? I thought your squad already had enough members in it." 
   "I figured you'd ask that," He sipped his tea silently. "This next expedition is to be rather unpredictable. With Jaeger now on our side and all, we can't afford to fuck this up. We need as many good soldiers out on the field with us protecting titan-boy." For once his gaze darted away for a short moment before landing back onto you. Did he just refer to you as a good soldier?

Humming in acknowledgment, you finally take a sip of your tea to hide your embarrassment. Realizing how delicious it was, you take another sip. It had been a while since you treated yourself to anything. Not that you had much time to enjoy the subtle things in life. Now though, it was silent in the captain's quarters, a comfortable silence that eased your nerves. That peaceful day off that you yearned for found itself into your cup of tea, sitting across humanity's strongest soldier.

After finishing the tea Levi had perfectly brewed, you both bid your farewells. He had explained that if you had any further questions, you could consult with the other members of the squad. Although it was evening now, and the base was quiet. Leaving Levi to rest in his quarters, you found yourself almost skipping back to the barracks, a permanent smile woven into your features. A giddiness you haven't felt in a very long time was embedded in your mind, and this distracted you from seeing the short red-headed woman turning the corner. The impact wasn't bad, both of you were still on your feet and now staring at each other, befuddled. After snapping back into your senses, you apologize profusely and heat up, a sheepish grin grew on your face.  Petra Rall, a talented soldier hand-picked by Levi to join his special squad. She had an understanding smile and always looked confident despite squad member Orou pestering her every move.

   "It's okay (F/N)! Was the meeting with the captain fun?" Petra asked, hands resting on her hips cheerfully. 
   "Oh- You know about that?" You ask confused.
She chuckled, "Levi told us ahead of time." Her eyes landed on your fidgety hands. "Hey, you seem a bit out of it, are you alright?" Her tone was casual, but the question couldn't have been more embarrassing. Even so, Petra's presence was comforting, and that put you at ease for the moment.
The thoughts that were stirring around in your mind were something you were unacquainted with. It was the first time that you felt something more than just admiration for a superior. "I'm fine! Great- actually. I had tea with the captain and I accepted his invitation- to join the special operations squad, of course." Returning the smile felt easier now.
Petra's expression softened, she held out her hand to you and said, "Welcome to the squad, (F/N)."
   "It's an honor, truly." Shaking hands with your comrades, not something you did often, even so, the accomplished feeling was a welcomed one. 
   "Also- you had tea with him? Alone?" Her right brow shot up. 
You were a little confused as to why she'd ask such a thing but gave in to her curiosity, figuring it wouldn't hurt for her to know. 
   "Yes, it was just us two. Why? is that bad?" Gulping, your hands find themselves nervously pressing into each other again. 
   Petra chuckled, "No not at all! We consider it the highest honor when it comes to Levi. I'm surprised he treated you to tea so early. We got the cleaning treatment..." Her smile was laced with a certain misery. 

The highest honor? 'Babysitter' (F/N) (L/N) was allowed to spend time with Captain Levi on an inquisition? Oh, how special you felt in that moment of awareness. After parting ways with Petra, the barracks were the only place you wanted to be. After finding your room and locking the door, you collapsed onto your bed. Wiggling under the blankets, you faced the wall and closed your eyes. For a few minutes, thoughts passed through in bunches of humiliating scenarios and affectionate impulses toward your new squad leader. Feeling the heat around your ears, you question whether if this was just embarrassment or something more. 

With loud rattling of your doorknob and rather obnoxious banging, you are scared out of the bed. Stumbling over to the door, you unlocked it and released the beast of a commander into your room. Hanji staggered in onto you, leaving Moblit in the doorway calling out for them to calm down. 
    "You're in Levi's squad now?!" They asked dramatically. The power in their voice made your bones stiff. You were surprised at how fast the news traveled. 
    "I thought you would have known already. Did he not ask you?" You ask, hoping not to get involved in any quarrels between the two. 
    "He said he would borrow you! I didn't think he meant it like this- oh who will help me now?" Their head drops in despair, and you watch as Moblit sighs, holding an arm full of what only could be 'important documents' on their latest experiments. 
    "I'm sure you both will be fine without me, besides like you said, he's borrowing me. I'll be back with you guys after this next expedition." The reassuring smile on your face seemed to make Hanji a little less tense. While Moblit still looked as distressed as ever could be. 

One part of you though, far in the back of your mind, had hoped that maybe Levi wasn't just borrowing you for a few weeks. But how silly of you to think those things, you were meant to be working under Hanji, even if you have shown promise in other places.

Soon after discussing more titan business with your ex-squad leader, they both left you to be alone once again. Settling down at your desk, you stare out the window at the setting sun.

Captain Levi, the man you'll address as your squad leader. Not knowing quite how to feel about the entire ordeal, you lay your head down in your arms and watched the sun as it made its slow departure down into the mountains. 

You didn't know what this new feeling was but still, you were grateful for being acknowledged. And at this moment, no matter how much time you were to be working under him, devoting yourself to Levi was what you wanted to do. And you will work as hard as you can to be recognized by him again.