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Having a child was definitely not something Levi had ever considered doing. Firstly, his job was full-time and it was dangerous. It wouldn't be fair to the child in question if he was rarely there. Second, Levi had just never been a family guy. Which wasn't entirely his fault; his family wasn't exactly loving.
So when a child no older than 9 appeared on his doorstep, with a note in hand explaining that she was his cousin and the only family either had left, Levi didn't know what to do. Obviously, he let the girl inside. He may not understand children, but he wasn't stupid. And so, his life became even more of a mess than it was before.
Despite his best efforts, Levi wasn't entirely sure that this new girl, who he found out was named Mikasa after a lot of attempts at having a conversation, liked him. Mikasa was quiet, shy and often just followed Levi around wherever he went. Levi just didn't know what to do to form a bond with this girl. He'd never done this before and he had nobody to go to for parental help. After all, his parents were dead and Hange was more of a child than any actual child so Levi doubted she would be of any help.
Until one day, Mikasa came running through the front door and ran straight into the bathroom, immediately locking the door. A mix of confusion and worry settled in Levi's stomach. What had happened? Once he was outside the bathroom door, the sniffles coming from inside became obvious. Knocking lightly, Levi asked, in the most gentle voice he could manage, "Hey, kid? What's wrong?"
The sniffling stopped almost immediately. Now panic settled in. He knocked again, but there was no answer. Sighing, Levi sat down with his back against the door. "You know you can talk to me, alright?" He finally spoke after a few agonisingly quiet moments. "I won't force you to tell me, but I'm here if you need me." Levi had absolutely no idea if he was saying the right thing. How was he supposed to know what to do when a child is crying?
After a while, the door was unlocked and a startled Levi nearly fell backwards. He glanced up at Mikasa's face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there were obvious tear streaks lining her cheeks. Levi's heart clenched at the sight. Wordlessly, Mikasa wrapped her small arms around Levi's shoulders and buried her face into his neck. Levi froze. He had never been willingly hugged like this and he was not expecting a 9 year old to do so. Despite his hesitance, Levi delicately wrapped his arms around her body to try to comfort her in a way she needed. When she hugged back a little tighter, Levi smiled slightly.
Ever since that day, Mikasa had been more open with Levi about her emotions and they started to develop an understanding. Levi knew he could never replace her parents, but that didn't stop him from caring for her. Mikasa understood that Levi was trying his best and she was grateful for his willingness to accept her.
Sweat dripped off of Levi's brow as he kicked the punchbag again. He'd been at this for an hour now and he wasn't willing to give it up. It was only until he heard a small voice call his name from the doorway that he stopped fighting. Turning around, he saw Mikasa wearing some leggings and a big t-shirt, that she most likely stole from Levi's wardrobe. "What's up, kid?" Levi asked, taking a sip of water from his bottle.
"Could you teach me how to fight?" Mikasa asked timidly, as if she was frightened that Levi would reject the idea.
Levi wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea to teach a young child how to fight but then again, he'd learnt at a younger age than her. Shrugging, Levi replied, "I don't see why not."
The next hour was spent teaching Mikasa the basics of self defence. Levi taught her how to punch and kick safely (and effectively to cause the most damage), how to get out of someone's tight hold, how to knock someone off their feet and how to flip someone bigger than you over your shoulder. Mikasa was a fast learner and surprisingly strong for her age, but Levi supposed that he shouldn't be too astounded; she was his cousin after all.
But the most rewarding part of that hour was watching Mikasa's face break into the biggest grin whenever she achieved something Levi had taught. With a start, Levi realised that he was proud of her. He did that. He taught Mikasa, a child, something that would no doubt help her in the future. Not only that, but he'd managed to make her smile. 'Maybe I'm getting the hang of this,' Levi thought to himself, a proud smile on his face as he watched Mikasa kick the punching bag with enough force to make it move.
The wind whipped at Levi's face as he sat in the garden, drinking a cup of tea and reading a book. Mikasa was inside doing some homework and Levi finally had some time to rewind and take a moment, which he gratefully accepted. But that was short-lived as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Glancing over the top of his book, he saw Mikasa holding her book. He raised his eyebrows questioningly before Mikasa began to speak, "can I sit out here with you? The house is too quiet."
Levi nodded and returned his focus to his book. They continued on in a comfortable silence: Levi reading and Mikasa doing her homework. It wasn't until Levi heard a small groan of annoyance that he looked at Mikasa, who was tucking her hair behind her ear looking frustrated. Levi pondered over what she was annoyed about. He knew she was intelligent; she hadn't asked for help with any of her homework once and she was easily one of the smartest in her class. So what was she stressed over? And then suddenly, it clicked. The wind. It was blowing her hair in her face.
Placing his book down, Levi sat behind Mikasa and gently pulled her hair backwards. "Um, what are you doing?" Mikasa asked, confused.
"Getting your hair out of your face so you can concentrate," Levi replied bluntly.
Inwardly thanking his past self for having to constantly redo Isabel's hair, Levi began to braid Mikasa's long hair. It wasn't the most beautiful hairstyle, but it would suffice. And to Mikasa, it meant everything. She hadn't asked him to help her, and yet here Levi was, braiding her hair because he noticed it was bothering her. When Levi had finished, Mikasa whispered a quiet, "thank you," before continuing on with her work. A soft smile rose on Levi's face before he replied in an equally quiet tone, "no problem, kid."
Walking through the park, Levi allowed Mikasa to run ahead and jump in the piles of freshly fallen autumn leaves. Watching her look so happy brought a pure smile to Levi's face. Over the course of the past few months of looking after Mikasa, Levi had grown more accustomed to her. He had begun to consider her as his actual child, not just as a child he was in charge of looking after.
A small scream shook Levi from his thoughts. Levi's eyes immediately sought out Mikasa's small body hunched on the floor, tears streaming down her face. Panic overtook Levi as he rushed over to her side. Kneeling down beside her, he saw the blood on her knees. "Hey kid, it's alright. It's just a little bit of blood," Levi tried to reassure her, if only to reassure himself that this was a minor injury and no way near life threatening. The tears still streamed down her face, however and Levi's panic reached new heights. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't stop her from crying and the more she cried, the more he panicked.
In desperation, Levi called Hange.
"Levi! I was just about to come over to your house-" Hange's cheery voice spoke from over the phone before she was interrupted by Levi.
"Hange! Get over to the park near my house and bring a first aid kit. Now," Levi demanded pleadingly.
Whilst he waited for Hange to arrive, Levi did his best to comfort Mikasa. He attempted to dry the blood with his handkerchief and he wiped the tears from her eyes. He spoke reassuring phrases like 'you can do this,' and 'I'm here with you,'.
After what felt like an eternity, Hange arrived with a first aid kit in tow. Levi sighed in relief before waving her over. Hange's eyes wandered over the scene before her: a young girl crying with a bloody knee and Levi kneeling next to her with a panicked expression. With her eyes twinkling, Hange knelt down in front of the young girl and introduced herself.
As Hange began to clean Mikasa's scraped knee, Levi's hand grasped firmly onto Mikasa's. Levi wasn't sure why he was so worried. It was just a scraped knee. Mikasa would recover. But something about seeing her bleeding and crying awakened some kind of parental instinct inside of Levi that he wasn't even aware was there. There was no doubt now that Levi cared for her.
A few weeks later, Levi and Mikasa were in the kitchen attempting to bake gingerbread men. Levi remembered Hange showing him how to bake it a few years back and he wanted to teach Mikasa something easy to bake.
After a few fistfuls of flour were thrown at each other resulting in the kitchen being the messiest it had ever been and Levi having to deal with Mikasa constantly babbling on about when the cookies would be done, the gingerbread men were finally ready to be iced.
Levi gave Mikasa full creative control over the decorating so he could clean the kitchen up. In reality, he just wanted to see her smile again. Once he had finished, he glanced at her artistic creations. He noticed a little one with long hair smiling lopsidedly standing next to a slightly bigger one with short hair and a frown. Raising his brow at her antics, Levi asked her who they were supposed to be. "It's us!" Mikasa exclaimed excitedly, smiling up at Levi's touched expression.
Seeing Mikasa look so proud of her creation and seeing the kind action she had done, Levi couldn't refrain from smiling the softest smile he could ever muster. His heart melted as he ruffled her hair.
It may have taken him a few months, but Levi finally felt a sense of accomplishment. Having a child was never something Levi had ever considered, but he wouldn't have his life go any other way. For he had grown to care for this girl as if she was his own. And looking at the gingerbread version of himself and Mikasa, Levi finally knew that she had accepted him too.