It wasn't easy for Levi to love.

Having lived in the Underground all his life, stealing and fighting to survive, he was used to people hating him. Those who didn't hate him still feared him all the same. He was used to it, though – not even Kenny had shown any signs of love, so why should people that were not related to him?

Farlan and Isabel had changed that, back there in the Underground. Levi found the filthy, emaciated little girl starving in the sewers when he was a teenager and, feeling sorry for her, took her under his wing and tried to make her life a little better. After that she stuck with him, always following him around and calling him her big brother, and in time he grew to think of her as a sister. Several years later he rescued Farlan from being killed by a gang, and while he was wary of the boy at first, at Isabel's insistence Levi let him stay as well.

Levi taught the two everything he knew, including the use of the 3DMG, and, while he would have never admitted it, he felt like they were his family, and he vowed to protect them at all costs.

Then that blasted mission ruined everything.

As he rode away from the carnage on that dreadful day, his clothes dripping blood and anger burning through his heart, he swore he would never let himself get so close to anyone again. It hurt too much.

It was after that that Levi trained himself to be an emotionless killing machine, with no objective other than destroying the monsters that ruined his life. He kept himself distanced from everyone, determined not to get close to anyone ever again.

Several years later, that changed again. Levi advanced rapidly through the Survey Corps ranks, and soon selected four of the best soldiers to be his personal squad. Among them was a young cadet named Petra Ral. Unlike most soldiers in the Survey Corps, she was skilled at killing Titans and ruthless on the battlefield, but her spirit was still as pure and innocent as it was the day she started military training. Levi secretly admired this in her, but of course would never admit it, and as always kept his distance from his new squad.

But as much as he tried, he found himself getting more and more drawn to Petra, and even more so when he realized she liked him too. Levi tried to shrug it off, to tell himself that love was stupid and he didn't need it right now, but it didn't work. The old feeling of protectiveness he'd felt what seemed like forever ago slowly began surfacing again, and he began going out of his way to keep her safe.

One evening Petra finally mustered up the courage to tell Levi what she thought of him, and he admitted he had thought the same thing about her. They ended up talking for hours, and that night, for just one night, undying passion flowed between the two of them, uniting them as one. They agreed the next morning to never mention it again, but Levi would never forget what had transpired between them.

Nearly two years passed since that day, and for a time Levi tried desperately to squelch the feelings he had for Petra, and eventually he succeeded. But he continued to protect her and keep her out of harm's way when he could. They still talked sometimes, and it was only her who could make him smile, even just a little.

Levi wove his way noiselessly through the trees, hoping the Female Titan hadn't done too much damage, daring to hope that Eren was alright, that his squad was still alive…

The sight that greeted his eyes was one he'd seen many times, but this time it was different. It wasn't just regular soldiers that had been brutally murdered – it was his squad.

"Ral!" he called out, dropping down to the ground and searching anxiously for his missing comrade. He approached the corpses of Eld, Gunther and Oluo and checked them for any signs of life, but found none. "Ral!" Levi called again, growing more desperate. He walked around one of the huge trees in the clearing and stopped in horror.

Petra was lying slumped against the bloodstained tree, her body broken against it by the Female Titan. Levi pulled her into his arms and searched for a pulse. "Ral…Petra," he murmured, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "Don't give up on me now…we still need you."

"…levi…" The captain started at the weak gasp. "Petra, can you hear me?" he said, tilting her head higher to make her breathing easier, although he knew it wouldn't work. She was dying. "You're going to be fine, Petra…we'll return to the walls and get you to the infirmary and everything will be back to the way it used to be, I swear…"

"…captain…" Petra whispered faintly, struggling to breathe. "…take…care…"

"I'll take care of you, Petra, I promise!" Levi yelled, hugging her closer. "Just hang on!"

"…baby…" She clasped his hand weakly, an echo of her gentle smile on her face. Levi tried to smile as he squeezed her hand, and he gently wiped the blood off her cheek. He tensed up as he felt her grip loosen, a final breath escaping her lips. "Petra!" He quickly checked for a heartbeat; there was none. "Petra! PETRA!"

"Captain Levi?"

Levi was jolted out of his reverie as an elderly man approached him from the crowd. Hanji and Erwin were a short distance away arguing with several members of the Military Corps, and the remainder of the Scouting Legion was slowly making its way through the street towards their base. Levi ran his hand through his hair wearily, trying to forget what had happened earlier that day. The throbbing of his broken ankle was nothing compared to the memories.

"I'm Petra's father," the man introduced himself. "I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. She's written me many times, telling me about her work under your command and how you count on her skill. She said she wants to devote herself to you completely or something like that, but she doesn't understand how that worries me!" He burst into a hearty laugh. "I mean, as her father, I think it's too early to get her married off. She's still young, after all, and who knows what's going to happen in the days ahead…"

The captain sighed as he wondered what to do. As much as possible he tried to avoid this kind of situation and leave it to Erwin to handle, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Well, I'd best be going off to find her." The man looked around as the soldiers passed by the two. "She's probably at the back of…"

"Mr. Ral," Levi interrupted, trying to keep his voice steady, "Your daughter's not here."

Petra's father paused for a moment, pain flashing across his face. "I see…" he muttered faintly, tears filling his eyes.

"She died bravely, defending humanity's final hope. Your daughter will always be remembered by us." Levi knew nothing he said could ease her father's grief, but he felt he had to say something.

The man nodded and turned to leave. "Captain, I know you're a busy man, but would you come to see me tomorrow? It's important."

Levi was slightly puzzled by his request, but nodded. "Of course," he replied as he climbed back on his horse and rode off to the base.

The next afternoon Levi set off to the area of town where Mr. Ral lived, trying not to think about the piles of paperwork he'd left on his desk in his office. Hopefully this wouldn't take long. He dismounted and tied his horse to a nearby tree, then went up to the door and knocked.

The door opened and Mr. Ral invited Levi inside with a kind smile. Levi followed the man into a sitting room and looked around somewhat nervously. As he sat down, he suddenly spotted a toddler peeking curiously at him from behind a door. She had light brown hair the same shade as Petra's and large, inquisitive grey-blue eyes. For a moment he vaguely wondered if she was the man's granddaughter, but quickly dismissed that idea, as Petra was his only child and she hadn't been married.

"First of all, Captain," Mr. Ral began as he sat down as well, "I believe I've showed you this?" He unfolded a letter, covered on one side neatly with Petra's flowing script.

"You mentioned something about a letter yesterday, but no, I haven't seen it."

"Well, there was a lot more to it than I mentioned in the street. Being what the Survey Corps is and all, she had certain preparations made should anything happen to her. Now that…she's gone, it will all go into action, since all the legal matters are taken care of." The old man put down the letter and stretched a hand out to the toddler in the doorway. "Kaylee, come here to Grandpa."

The child released her hold on the doorpost and dropped to her hands and knees, crawling over to the man. Her tiny hands gripped his pant leg as she pulled herself up again and laughed.

Levi looked on, confused. "I thought you had only a daughter," he commented, keeping his appearance neutral.

"I do." Mr. Ral lifted the toddler onto his lap. " She was 1 three months ago. Kaylee is Petra's daughter. And yours, as well."

The room spun around Levi as he gripped the arms of the chair, suddenly realizing what had happened. That night in the office…oh no, no, that wasn't supposed to happen… "Mr. Ral, I…"

"It's alright. My daughter told me about it in her last letter, and I know you meant her no harm, and if I may be so bold, I'm sure you cared about her as much as I do. That's why I will follow her last wishes, even though I will miss my little granddaughter."

"What do you mean?"

"Petra's last wish was that you would care for Kaylee if anything happened to her. She arranged everything legally, so if you want, you could even take her home today. But…" Ral hesitated. "You're already loaded with work and the like, so if you can't do it, I will continue to…"

"No," Levi said firmly, taking a deep breath. "I'll do it. It's the least I can do."

"Are you sure?"

The captain nodded. "Today, if that's alright. I'll send a soldier down for her things." He gazed at the toddler innocently playing with the folds of her blue dress, and slowly reached out to touch her head. Her grandfather smiled and placed Kaylee on Levi's lap, and the toddler giggled as she reached up and yanked at the captain's cravat. Levi got up, awkwardly balancing the baby in his arms.

Shifting her weight to his left arm, he deftly mounted his horse and looked down at her grandfather. "I'll do my best," he said simply. "Thank you." He gripped the reins tightly as he rode back to base.

Since he wouldn't be able to rub down his horse and carry Kaylee at the same time, he left it in the stables and instructed one of the cadets to take care of it and afterwards go to Ral's house for Kaylee's belongings. Levi then headed to his office, shooting glares at any unfortunate cadet who stared at him. Arriving at his office (which also served as his personal quarters as he did everything there), he locked the door behind him and sighed. What am I supposed to tell Erwin?

"Alright," he said, placing Kaylee down on a chair and sitting opposite her. "This will be your home, so get used to it. I'm your father, and I'll expect you to behave and do as you're told. Also, don't you dare embarrass me in front of Erwin or I will…" His voice trailed off and he ran his hands through his hair. "Who am I kidding?" he groaned. This was no way to talk to a one-year-old. I can't do this. "Just…be a good girl, alright?"

"Yes!" the toddler piped up cheerfully. Levi stared at her in surprise; he hadn't known she could talk.

"That's right…Kaylee," he replied. He couldn't bring himself to call her brat like he did with the cadets. The captain slipped down from his chair and squatted in front of her, gazing into her eyes. They were the same color as his own. Levi still couldn't believe he had a daughter – and she was an Ackerman, no less. He could see Petra mirrored back at him, but it was something about a person's eyes that told him of their heritage. That was how he had known Mikasa was an Ackerman. And that same blood was running strong in his daughter.

For a moment he reached out and gently stroked her cheek, then he cleared his throat and stood up. "Your things should be here soon. I'm guessing you have clothes, toys, and all the basics already. Do you need anything else?" Kaylee shook her head. "Good. Now stay put; I have work to do."

With that he settled at his desk and began working his way through the piles of paperwork. An hour later Kaylee's belongings arrived and Levi unpacked everything and put them away neatly, but left out the few toys in the pack to keep her occupied. While she played contentedly, (and Levi made a mental note to buy some more toys next time he was in town) he finished the Expedition report and scanned the pile of pages, satisfied. He'd give this to Erwin the next morning at the meeting. Feeling a small tug at his pant leg, he noticed Kaylee looking up at him.

"Pway?" she asked, holding up one of her toys. Levi hesitated, but after a few moments sat down next to her on the floor, unsure what to do. Kaylee settled down in his lap and picked up another of the toys, chattering away in her baby talk. Levi quickly stole a glance at the clock on his desk and, to his relief, it was dinner time.

"Are you hungry, Kaylee?" Levi asked her as he got up. The toddler nodded eagerly, and he headed to the door to leave. "Now stay here," he instructed, then locked the door again as he left.

Arriving at the mess hall, he soon spotted Hanji expounding on her Titan theories to Eren who was sitting nearby with Armin and Mikasa. She beckoned him to join them, but he ignored her as he filled his tray with the usual fare, remembering at the last minute to add a cup of milk and an extra roll.

"Hey, Levi!" Hanji called again. "Think you can do my reports along with yours? I've got some more research to do!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Do it yourself, Four-Eyes," he snorted, and began heading back out. "Tell those brats not to disturb me; I'm still working on the files."

"Heicho! Connie said you have a baby, is that true?"

Levi spun around and glared at Eren. "Connie's an idiot, and what I do is none of your business, brat." Without waiting for a reply, he slammed the door behind him and walked back to his office, making a mental note to demerit Connie the next day. Connie was not only an idiot, he also liked stalking around and getting juicy bits of information about the higher ranked soldiers. Levi went faster as he heard the sound of crying from his office. Oh, perfect. Hoping Erwin or Mike weren't in earshot, he unlocked the door and barged in.

He frowned disapprovingly as he surveyed the situation. "Tch. You don't have to cry just because I left for a few minutes, Kaylee," he scolded as he set the food on his desk. Levi lifted the toddler in his arms and bounced her a bit, trying to calm her down. "I know, this will take some getting used to, for both of us. But it's not that bad, see? Now sit down and eat." He placed her on a chair and pushed it to the table while he set milk and bread in front of her. Taking his own meal, he sat down on another chair as Kaylee began eating ravenously.

While she ate Levi grabbed another pile of paperwork off his desk and continued working on it, paying no more attention to her. He stopped momentarily to help her off the chair 10 minutes later, then continued working as she played on the floor. An hour passed, and Kaylee began looking more and more fretful, until she crawled over to the door and started crying.

Feeling somewhat guilty that he hadn't spent more time with her getting used to her new surroundings, Levi walked over to her and stroked her hair. "You miss your grandfather, right?" he asked quietly. "We'll visit him sometime, don't worry." He picked her up off the floor as she continued to sob into his shirt, and he hugged her awkwardly. The toddler leaned into his embrace with a faint sigh and closed her eyes. Levi rocked her gently as her breathing grew softer and she slowly fell asleep, a hint of a smile gracing her delicate features. Trying not to wake her, the captain placed her on the one bed in the room and tucked the blankets around her, making sure she was warm before returning to his desk.

This is the last thing I can do for you, Petra.

I don't know if I can do this, but I'll try to be the father Kaylee needs. Levi sighed and shook his head. No. I won't try. I will do it. This I swear, Petra, on my very life, I'll care for our daughter the way you would have.