• Levi's mother died during pregnancy because she has a weak body, which also resulted to Levi being a weak baby.
• When Levi was born, he wasn't crying and his breathing was weak. The doctors thought that he was going to die, but then they put him in an incubator (?) together with a ginger baby.
• Then a miracle happened. The ginger baby, Petra, wrapped her tiny fingers in Levi's hands and he started crying and having more life in his system.
• The nurses gushes over the two infant, and they joked about how the two were soulmates.
• Sadly, Petra also lost her mother two days after her birth.
• When Levi's father heard about the 'miracle', he expressed his gratitude for Mr. Ral by offering to pay for all their hospital expenses. Both men are having a hard time coping to their new lives, with the lost of their wives and the arrival of a new baby.
• Petra as a baby is energetic and playful. She's very curious and talkative even if she's only speaking gibberish. She likes to discover new things and she always climb from places to places.
• Levi, on the other hand, is quiet and low-key. His cries were more of a sob rather than the usual loud cries of the babies.
• Baby Levi is also good at hiding pain. One time, he was sick. But he never cried and showed no sign that he has a fever. It was only when Papa Ackerman felt how hot his skin was that they discovered he has a high fever.
• Petra loves smashed carrots and potatoes. She's the sweetest baby to be around and her laughter is just...THE. BEST. THING. EVER.
• But seriously, she's a happy baby. And she always makes a mark to anyone she meets.
• People always comment about her big doe eyes. Her name was 'doll' because with her big eyes and porcelain skin, she looks like one.
• Levi is pretty flexible. He likes to do somersaults and often bends and crawls and just stretch his fatty baby limbs.
• Which was also the reason why Papa Ackerman enrolled him in a gymnast class when he turned 4.
• Baby Levi and baby Petra first met in kindergarten. They were five then. And they were seatmates.
• For Valentines that year, they were assigned to give letter for the people they loved the most. Petra made one for her father and Levi made one for his father.
• Oh! Petra made one for Levi too because, according to her, they were best friends.
• "We're seatmates. Not best friends," Levi pouts, but still accepts the card. "And I don't even know your name."
"I'm Petra," she said. "P-E-T-R-A. Petra."
"I know, carrot girl. I'm a big boy. I know how to spell words."
"So, now you know my name. I'm your best friend now." Petra smiles at him. And little Levi thinks that he has a fever because he feels hot.
"Okay. Best friends."
• They were inseparable when in school. And one time during recess, Petra suddenly kissed Levi's cheeks explaining that she heard from the TV last night that you should kiss the people that you like.
• Levi thinks that he should stop hanging out with Petra because every time she does something, he feels that he's going to have a fever.
And that's it! You can send me headcanon ideas if you want but it may take a long time to answer them huhu. Thank you 💘
Request: Playdate with Historia's family and the ackermans.
Last night's skit was pretty heavy (It's been a long time since I had to add such a big TW to a piece) so let's do something silly!
inspired by this
I actually already had a model of Historia's daughter that I made so I just tweaked the hair and eyes to match the anime. So meet little princess Ymir! (also yes, I did slip a Jojo reference in there)
I wish I could make a Farmer-kun model to have some dad conversations with Levi but there was never a face reveal.
It occured to me that We've all seen how Levi reacted to the death of his squad, but I've never really done Petra's reaction. I can't promise to completely redo the skits but I really want to do them well. My intention is to tell a story that people like instead of cringe at. So please let me know what you all think or if you have any suggestions.
My first proper contribution to the Rivetra fandom, a fic that ended up being much MUCH longer than I planned for it to be.
Also a little present for lance-corporalackerman and mikimagic, my two tumblr senpais who are somehow able to put up with me. Happy Valentines Day you two :-) have some Rivetra babies.
When Petra announced that she was pregnant, the firstthought that came to mind for Levi was; Oh fuck. It had taken all of his courage and more to ask Petra to marry him, and now they were expecting a child this soon? ‘Well, considering you can never keep your hands off me, Levi…’ had been Petra’s response to his panicked reply. She had a point, Levi decided, remembering how he goes to sleep every night with her in his arms tucked under his chin, and sometimes his face buried in her shoulder.
Their daughter, Isabel, was born in early summer. He didn’t know why he chose that name. Maybe it had been that sudden pang of sentimentality he felt when he looked down at her face for the first time. It didn’t make sense; she looked nothing like the rose haired, pig-tailed girl he grew up with on the street and always insisted on calling him “big brother”. This girl had light ginger hair and blue grey eyes (Petra had informed him that all babies were born with blue eyes, but Levi could tell their daughter’s eyes were going to stay that colour), and her skin was as pale as his. Isabel had been energetic, spunky, and full of life. A life that had been cut short a long time ago by . . .
No. He couldn’t think like that. Not now when he was only just starting a family of his own.
“Isabel . . .” The name just slipped out, and he wished he could take it back.
Petra liked the name, saying it was perfect for their child. She, of course, was unaware of the full story of his past. He had told her bits and pieces (That he had spent most of his early years an orphan on the street, running with gangs mainly for safety and a roof over his head, until Erwin Smith one day showed up and forced him out of that life), but even though he loved her with all his heart and soul, there were aspects he was determined to keep from her. At the very least for the time being, and for her own personal safety. But Petra was a patient woman, something Levi always admired about her. At times, he wondered just why she even liked him in the first place.
And with that, their new-born daughter was officially named Isabel Heidi Kuchel Ackerman, her middle names take from both Levi and Petra’s deceased mothers. Levi couldn’t name the feeling that came to him when he gazed down into those two large blue-grey pools, but it welled up in his belly, tugging at the corners of his mouth, and filling his eyes with tears he hadn’t cried in what seemed like decades. In all truth, it frightened him. So he was quick to pass the mewling new-born to his tired wife.
It was a month after Isabel’s birth when Petra received a call from the office. Levi had the week off from work at the police department (courtesy of his boss Erwin Smith who agreed that Levi should have some time off with his new born child), so they had planned to spend the day together as a family. When Petra hung up the phone, she glanced over at Levi guiltily who gave her a tender look of discontent.
The woman sighed. “Levi, they need me.” She dropped her phone into her bag and began gathering her things. “According to Rico, the school office is in disarray. They need me to help sort files.”
Levi whined and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Petra . . .” He started pressing light kisses on the back of her neck, slowly moving towards her collarbone. He smirked when it elicited a gasp and made her drop her bag; Levi knew she was particularly sensitive there.
“Levi . . .” Petra turned in his arms and wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders. “It’s only for a couple of hours. Three or four at the most. It’s still morning, so I’ll be back in time to spend the afternoon with you and Isabel.” She leans forward and kisses Levi gently on his lips.
Levi pulls her closer, deepening her kiss. His hand wandered to the back of her skirt, fiddling with the zip.
Petra swatted his hand away and gently pushed herself off him. “Levi, you’re going to make me late,” she said with mock exasperation.
He just grunted and pulled her back in to kiss her.
Petra giggled against his lips and pushed him gently away again. “Levi, I’m serious. I have to go.”
He pouts at her, still holding onto her narrow waist. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”
“Look after Isabel, of course,” Petra suggested as she pulled her coat on.
A look of dread flittered over his face and he glances in the direction of the nursery with a visible gulp.
Petra notices this. She steps back over to him and caresses his cheek. “She’s just a baby, Levi. Nothing to worry about,” she tried to reassure him. “It’s not like she’s lead out of her cot and bite your head off.”
He was still troubled. “I’m not afraid of her, Petra. I’m afraid . . . that I’ll hurt her. I never knew my father, and I barely knew my mother. You know that,” he explained carefully.
She studied him carefully for a few moments, and then kissed his gently again. “You’re a great husband, Levi. And I know you’ll make a terrific husband,” she replied adamantly. “You just need to give yourself a chance.”
Levi knew she was right. He was just not sure he could trust himself around his daughter yet. Despite his reservations about the whole thing, he slowly nodded his head.
His honey haired wife smiled brightly again with relief. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.” With one last kiss on his cheek, she left their apartment for work.
He stared at the door for a few moments, disappointed at the fact that their planned day together had been cut short so abruptly. Fucking Rico. They all knew Petra was on maternity leave, so why did they have to call her in? And of all days, why did it have to be today? He’d gone to all the trouble of making lunch for them and everything.
He made his way to the nursery where Isabel was sleeping. Petra had been the one who decorated the room, even before Isabel was born. She knew she was having a girl; I feel it. It’s hard to explain, but I just know, she had insisted while choosing the pale yellow cot decorated with intricate floral designs and carved vines creeping up the legs. Reaching the edge of the cot, he peered down at the month-old new-born. She stirred, opened her eyes, and her lips broke out into a wide smile.
A small smile tugged at Levi’s lips. “Isabel.” He reached into the cot and brushed her cheek. Her skin was so smooth and soft, he could scarcely believe that she was of his own flesh and blood. Her hair was growing quickly and taking the same honey shade as her mothers, and her eyes, as Levi had predicted, were remaining the same shade and blue grey she had been born with. “I’m your papa . . . that means you’re an Ackerman.”
Isabel made a sound that resembled a mewl and a laugh. She gripped her feet and rocked back and forth, all the while staring up at him with her large blue-grey eyes. They were as large as her Mother’s, Levi realised.
Her actions tugged even more at his lips when she started sucking her toes. “Heh, that’s actually pretty cute,” he mused. Without thinking twice, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture.
It was the first time Isabel had had her photo taken. Not even Petra, with all her love of social networking, had taken a photograph of Isabel even though all their friends were dying to see her. They had just been too busy taking care of the baby to even think about snapping pictures, and Petra was not willing to “over-expose” her baby daughter on social media. Besides, they had seen enough of her at the baby shower. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not. Contemplating for a moment, Levi shares the photo in the group chat with everyone, and then picks up Isabel and takes her into the living room to watch television with him.
Ten minutes later, in the middle of some cheesy anime show, his phone buzzes. He is bombarded by several messages from his friends.
Zoë Hange: Eeeeeeee she’s so cuuuuute! I just wanna eat her all up! X-D
Levi: Don’t you fucking dare, Shitty Glasses.
Zoë Hange: Just a figure of speech, Shorty ;-) But seriously, she’s such a cutey! I love my little niece!
Levi: You and Petra aren’t even related. And I sure as hell know you and I are not family.
Zoë Hange: Sweet Pea and I are soul sisters. Deal with it :-p
Erwin Smith: I saw the picture. Isabel is looking lovely. She’s very cute, Levi. Good work.
Zoë Hange: Not nearly as cute as our Henry, Chief Inspector Eyebrows! >(
Erwin smith: Of course not, Zoë.
Zoë Hange: ^_^ That’s better, handsome.
Levi: Gross.
Oluo Bossard: Your little brat is looking good, Inspector.
Levi: Thank you, Oluo. And I told you, out of work, it’s just Levi.
Oluo Bossard: Of course! Sorry, Inspec – I mean, Levi.
Mike, Nanaba, and even Niles responded, complementing on how cute the picture was. Levi had to admit, his cameraman skills were not too shabby. He looked down at Isabel, who was tucked into arm and nestled happily against his chest, sound asleep. Smiling down at her, he takes out his phone again and snaps another picture. He doesn’t think twice about uploading it into the group chat.
As expected, he was bombarded again by responses praising her for her cuteness, Hange being the most vocal of them all. Levi grimaced when she suggested Isabel and Henry get together at some point for a “play date”. No way in hell was he going to let the spawn of Shitty Glasses and Abnormal Eyebrows anywhere near his baby girl! An hour later, Hange demanded another one. So to stop her before the expected begging even started, Levi snapped a picture of Isabel in the middle of eating her lunch. Or rather, in the middle of smearing the smushed up concoction of fruit and rice all over her face. Unsurprisingly, the response was the same, Hange drowning out the lot of them.
Petra ended up returning home later than she promised, far too late to go ahead with their plans. Levi assured her that it was fine, much to Petra’s relief. To show her that he was not angry, he cooked dinner for the two of them while Petra happily chatted away about her day. Apparently, she had had to help break up a fight between two year eleven students, Eren Jaegar and Jean Kirschstein.
“Punk ass brats,” Levi snorted. He was well aware of Jean Kirschtein. The Trost kid had only had his licence for a few months now, and he was close to losing it due to the amount of speeding tickets he had accumulated. As for Eren Jaegar, Levi only knew him through his cousin, Mikasa. While she said they were only friends, Levi was more than certain she had a crush on him.
After dinner, Petra insisted that she be the one to wash up. A part of Levi wanted to protest, since he had always been particular about hygiene, he decided against it when Petra gave him her signature smiling look. “Have a fun day?” she asked as she wiped the plates.
“Mmhm,” Levi replied, glancing at his now silent phone.
“Good to hear. Told you it wouldn’t be all that bad.”
He nodded, but was quick to catch her grin. Did she know about the pictures? Levi was willing to bet she didn’t, since she had been busy at the school all day. I she did know, wouldn’t she be mad about overexposing Isabel? He brushed those thoughts aside when he watched Petra dance around the living room with Isabel in her arms to a slow song on the radio. However, they were entirely forgotten that night when she rewarded him quite generously in bed.
The next morning, they were both awoken by Petra’s phone going off. She was being called in again today, much to Levi’s chagrin. It then took a cup of his favourite tea to prevent him from committing homicide on her bosses when Petra informed him that she would have to go in tomorrow, and maybe even the next day in addition.
He grumbled unhappily when Petra kissed him on the cheek just before leaving, but that didn’t stop him from pulling her back and kissing her on the lips in his usual rough, yet loving way. “Kick those brats for me,” he told her, his face expressionless, but his eyes looking at her with tenderness.
Petra chuckled, knowing he was referring to Eren Jaegar and Jean Kirschtein. “Only if they deserve it, love,” she replied.
“You know they do.”
She laughed again as she slipped her coat on and grabbed her bag. “See you later, Levi.” And with that, she left for work.
With nothing else to do, Levi picked Isabel out of her cot and sat in front of the television again. With his baby daughter nestled in his left arm against his heart, he flipped through the channels, grimacing when he realised every channel was playing either kid’s stuff or reruns of badly acted soap operas. There were always the sports channels, but Levi hated them. With a sigh, he switched off the television, placing the remote on the coffee table in front of him.
He gazed up at the ceiling for a few moments, before slowly training it down to Isabel. A ghost of a smile crosses over his lips. “Shall we go for a walk?”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was a perfect day for a walk, Levi realised when he arrived at the park not too far from the apartment he shared with Petra – and now Isabel. Because it was a school day, the park was almost empty, which Levi was glad for. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with other people and their shit, and them cooing over his little princess.
He then remembered Hange’s reaction when he told her that Petra was pregnant. ‘I feel sorry for the kid already if it’s a girl! She’d never get a date with you as her overly protective dad!’ At the time, Levi had scoffed at her, not even bothering with a retort he found it so ridiculous. But now, he realised there was be some truth to it. Shit, guess I owe Shitty Glasses a drink next time we’re out.
Levi plopped himself down under a tree and placed Isabel on the grass. She immediately began pawing at the grass in front of her curiously. He smirked at her. “Having fun, brat?” he asked, his tone lighter than usual.
At the sound of his voice, the baby looked up at him, wide-eyed for a moment, before breaking out into a wide smile and letting out incoherent mewls and noises at him. Baby talk, Petra had called it.
The short man ruffled her ginger hair gently. “That’s what I hoped,” he replied, leaning down to kiss her on the head.
At that moment, his phone pinged. Muttering darkly at his time with Isabel being interrupted, he pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked the device. It was from Hange.
He clicked his tongue in irritation. “Figures it’s be Shi-” He interrupted himself when he remembered he was with his baby daughter. He had promised Petra he would control his language around her. “Hange,” Levi quickly corrected himself.
Zoë Hange: Picture of Izzie, please! For science, of course ;-)
Levi: Are you plotting something, Shitty Glasses?
Zoë Hange: Of course not! But, picture please?
Levi sighed to himself and looked down at Isabel. Knowing Hange, she would whine and bug him until he complied. He snapped a new picture of Isabel and uploaded it. He had to admit, it was a peculiar feeling he felt, seeing the picture of his baby daughter and how his friends reacted to it. She was cute, embodying everything about Petra that he loved – from her sunny smile, ginger hair that turned molten gold in the sun, and those large eyes that gazed up at him with adoration. Without even being prompted, he snapped another picture and uploaded it.
An hour and a half went by, and Levi realised that he had taken almost two hundred pictures of Isabel, and uploaded every last one of them. Most of them were of her pawing at the grass, gazing curiously at the small daisies and buttercups she ripped from the ground. He gulped nervously when he scrolled past a picture that looked as though she was giving the finger to the camera. Levi was quick to assure his friends that that was not intentional, and please don’t tell Petra because she would most likely kill him. They all unanimously agreed to keep quiet about it, because she more than likely would kill him.
Feeling a little embarrassed about his behaviour, Levi stowed his phone away, gathered an energetic Isabel in his arms, and made his way back to the apartment. Once again, he plopped himself down onto the couch and switched the television on. There was still nothing worth watching on, but with Isabel sound asleep in his arms, he figured moving in his current position was a felony. Instead, he leaned back on the couch and allowed himself to put up with the inane drama of a rerun of Days of Our Lives.
That night, he snapped two more photographs of Isabel just before he went to bed. Isabel was even more adorable sleeping, he figured. His friends would most likely appreciate it.
The next day, Petra left for work, bidding both Levi and Isabel a kiss goodbye. In contrast to yesterday, Levi was less grumpy about being left to take care of their baby, something which Petra immediately picked up on. However, she was in a hurry to get to work on time, so she didn’t bring it up with him.
When Levi was sure she was gone, he picked up his phone to check for any replies. Scrolling through the chat, he saw that the last reply had been a long of photos of Isabel uploaded by him, and nothing from his friends. Which was odd, since they had been rather consistent in replying.
A cold realisation gripped him when he realised that he may have gone a bit overboard with the baby pictures, and his friends had probably grown tired of them. It made sense, he realised, and it was quite out of character for him to behave that way. He just hoped they were not too angry or frustrated with him over it.
Putting his phone back into his pocket, he sat down in front of the television again. This time, instead of flipping through the channels, he put Frozen on instead. No more sitting through a badly acted soap opera for him, or suffering through an absurd sports match. He sure as hell was not going to force his daughter to suffer through the annoyingly loud and mental kid’s shows they televised these days, either. That being said, he was willing to sit through a Disney movie with her.
It was around midday, right at the moment Elsa broke out of her prison that Levi heard his phone ping. He ignored it, but then another ping sounded. And then another, and another, and another. Sighing in frustration, Levi paused the movie and, careful not to wake up Isabel, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Immediately, he was bombarded by replies from his friends all at once.
Zoë Hange: LEEEEEEVIIIII! WHERE’S MY DAILY PICS OF IZZIE?!?!?! :’(
Erwin Smith: Indeed. Are you alright, Levi? You’ve been oddly quiet.
Mike Zacharius: You didn’t leave her under that tree yesterday, did you?!
Olou Bossard: Is little sausage brat ok, Inspector Levi?!
Nanaba: Hope everything’s ok with you, Levi. Haven’t heard from you all morning.
A small smile tugged at Levi’s lips. He snapped a picture of Isabel sleeping in his arm and uploaded it along with a quick IM;
Levi: Everything’s fine. Isabel was just sleeping.
For the rest of the day, he would occasionally snap a picture of Isabel and upload it. He didn’t know why his friends were happy to put up with it, but he was glad for it. Maybe he wouldn’t turn out to be that bad of a father after all?
By the time Petra returned home from work, he had nearly completely filled his phone memory with the pictures, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to delete even one. He decided he would take care of it later and greeted his wife home instead.
“Hope you had a fun last couple of days,” Petra said as she hung up her coat, placed her bag on the bench and took Isabel into her arms.
Levi raised and lowered his shoulders. “It wasn’t boring, at least,” he replied, looking away in an attempt to hide the faintest shade of pink powering his pale cheeks.
The ginger haired woman chuckled. “Oh, I best it wasn’t.” She sent him a knowing smile.
His lips automatically pulled themselves into a faint smile . . . before a look of horror replaced it when his mind immediately put two and two together. “W-wait . . . you know . . .?” he choked out.
“About the pictures? Of course I do, Levi.” With her free hand, she pulled her phone out of her bag. “I’m a member of that group chat too.” So saying, she showed him the group chat and scrolled through the myriad of Isabel pictures and IM replies. “Or did you forget you added me a long time ago?”
Despite her playful tone, Levi couldn’t help but feel ashamed that he had forgotten something so obvious. Of course she had seen the pictures. How could he have forgotten that they had been best friends long before they started dating, and eventually decided to get married? Of course, he had harboured feelings for her since the beginning of their knowing each other, but that was beside the point.
He looked away, the pink on his cheeks becoming more apparent. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
Still holding her phone, she gently hugged him with the arm that wasn’t propping Isabel up against her. “No need to apologise, love. I’m just glad you found a way to bond with her. You’re not that bad a photographer too, might I add.”
Levi hugged her back, burying his face against her hair. “Thanks,” he said softly.
She pulled back and pressed her forehead against his, looking straight into his blue-grey eyes. “You’re going to be a great father, Levi,” she assured him. “You may not believe it yourself, but I do. You love Isabel, correct?”
Levi nodded. Of course he did, what kind of question was that?
She carried on. “And you’ll do anything to protect her?”
Again, he nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
“And you’ll happily share in taking care of and raising her?”
That was a given. No way was he going to let their child be raised by anyone else other than the two of them. He nodded.
Petra smiled again, turning to gaze at Isabel before returning it to him. “There you go then, you will be a terrific father. So stop doubting yourself,” she said, giving him the gentlest of shoves against his chest.
Levi chuckled and brushed his hand over hers. She was right. She always was.
“Although . . . I do have one little question . . .”
Her smile vanished and she scrolled through her phone again. Levi’s good mood suddenly evaporated when a thought came to mind that sent him into a small panic. The thought was proven accurate when she tapped on a photo in the group chat, blowing it up so it fit the screen. It was a photo Levi had taken of Isabel in the park, the one where she was giving the camera the finger.
Petra’s face was a blank frown. “Mind explaining this?”
When Humanity’s Strongest is presented a flower crown by his daughter, naturally he would do what any father would; wear it.
His expression bore his usual, stoic demeanor. He could certainly feel the eyes of his passing subordinates staring, most with strained expressions as though trying take a shit as they did their best not to laugh in fear of what Humanity’s Strongest might do to them.
It didn’t bother him, however, paying no mind to the buffoons who had apparently never seen a man donning a flower crown on his head. Of course, in their defense, it certainly was a strange sight to see the Captain make his way down the hall as though wearing the crown was as natural as Hanji wearing glasses.
His daughter’s hand held a strong grip around two of his fingers as they walked down the hall of their headquarters. A smaller crown of similar flowers sat pretty atop her own titian hair. She had insisted that she walk herself, Levi usually opting to carry her though giving in to her protests.
“Mama helped me wif dem, Papa! I picked so many pweety fo’wers!” She exclaimed, rather proud of herself that both she and her father were wearing the fruits of her flower picking efforts.
“Do you fink Unca’ Ermin will want one?”
He sighed through his nose, having since given up on correcting his daughter that ‘Ermin’s’ name was actually ‘Erwin.’ Though admittedly, it was amusing when someone else slipped up and called him by the former accidentally (Petra mostly, Hanji and Mike purposely, Levi occasionally.)
“Don’t know. You’ll have to ask him when he’s done with his hour long dump.”
The toddler giggled. “Ew! Dat’s gross, Papa!” At least someone laughed at his jokes.
Approaching the front doors of their headquarters, Levi pushed it open, ushering the little girl outside before pulling it closed behind him. Walking the perimeter of the castle towards the training grounds, he could see most of his squad in the distance, waiting for the arrival of their captain to begin their second training routine of the afternoon. Stopping about 20 feet before them, he set down a large blanket he had been carrying in his free hand. As if a well-known routine, the young girl stepped out of her shoes and onto the blanket, before sitting down and being handed a doll.
“Stay here and be good, Allegra. I promise I won’t be long.” He gave her a soft pat on her head, careful not to break the crown that adored her curly, titian locks.
Levi approached the others, who had broken from their huddle to salute their captain in greeting. He gave them a nod, the shorter man standing with his arms crossed in front of the four male members of his squad. A silence fell over them, each of their eyes flickering to the man’s raven locks before trying their best not to stare.
“Captain you- you’ve got some flowers in your hair.” Eren pointed out the obvious.
“It’s a flower crown, Eren, can’t you tell?” Gunther corrected him, though the poor cadet was having trouble putting two and two together as to the reason for their intimidating captain to be wearing anything of the sort.
Levi’s half lidded eyes looked past his squad, towards the distant outline of the walls, his expression the same stoic one as always.
“But why-“
“Allegra made it for me.” His tone was flat, uninterested, and certainly nothing out of the ordinary, though internally he couldn’t help but wish Petra hadn’t been training the new recruits that day; she usually made dealing with Jaeger’s naivety a bit easier.
“Huh…”
“Wait- Y-you said your daughter made that crown?” The attention turned from Eren to the wavy haired, ‘sort-of if you squint really hard but not really’ Levi double. Actual Levi gave him a single nod.
“And you wore it?”
“Tch-why wouldn’t I?” He spoke to Auruo, who, like Eren, was currently struggling to understand why exactly Captain Levi was wearing the floral headpiece. Auruo’s cool composure began to crumble under Levi’s stare.
“It’s- it’s- but you-“ He hadn’t even a chance to finish his words before biting onto his tongue, his hands flying up to his mouth.
A chuckle sounded from Erd, the tall blonde shaking his head. “I think it looks rather dashing on you, Captain. The orange poppies really bring out your eye color.” He spoke, a few, mostly silent chuckles came from Gunther as well.
“Enough. Cut the crap and get to training. I want to see at least two of you pinned to the ground within the next five minutes.” He spoke, watching them spring into action for hand to hand combat.
An hour of their training had passed before a break was finally warranted, the men drinking enough water to make up for at least a quarter of the sweat that dripped from their faces.
“Good work.” Their captain commended them, each giving him a salute before going back to letting their heart rates slow down before moving on to the next exercise.
The sound of footsteps approaching caused Levi to glance back, spotting Petra and catching her smile as she approached them, still in her blouse and red skirt from her training with the new recruits. As with the fashion of the military, she stopped before Levi, boots clapping together as she brought her fist to her chest. “Captain Levi, sir.” She spoke in a steady voice, before letting her arm fall. “Sorry I’m late; one of the recruits had collapsed after training. I saw them to the infirmary to make sure they would be alright.” Her caring nature had always extended beyond that of anyone else, whether it be for one of her squad mates or someone who was a complete stranger to her.
“Sounds like you overworked them.” Erd spoke, Petra turning her head to look at him. “Hardly! Certainly nothing compared to the training we go through.” She retorted with an amused grin.
“Mama!” The sound of small feet running through the grass hit the ears of the soldiers, each turning their attention to the mini version of the titian haired woman. Levi gave a look at his young daughter, a brow quirking as he spoke. “I thought I told you not to leave that blanket.”
“But it’s important, Papa.” She protested, clinging to Petra and waving a small hand for her to come closer. Ducking down, she let Allegra whisper into her ear, giving a nod as she took the crown of flowers currently clutched in her tiny fingers.
“Now go sit back on your blanket before you make Papa upset. I’ll be over in a few minutes to take you back for your nap.” She gave her a kiss on the cheek before standing back up. The young girl nodded, giving her father a quick and cute apology before running back towards the blanket.
Levi looked curiously to Petra as part of his mind wondered what exactly was so important, the other part thinking about the grass stains he would have to scrub out of his daughter’s white socks.
“Well, Allegra wanted me to give one of you lucky boys this flower crown.” Petra spoke, an amused expression her face as she presented it to them. “She wanted me to pick but felt bad she wasn’t done making the others…I’m sure one of you would lo-“
“I’ll take it.” Auruo stepped up, snatching it out of Petra’s hands before she even had a chance to finish what she was saying, eliciting a few chuckles from Erd and Gunther while Eren watched silently.
“After all, it would be rude not to wear something a child offered. And I’m sure she originally meant it for me.” Auruo spoke as he placed messily tied crown onto the top of his head, before settling his hands on his hips and standing proudly.
“Wow, what a change of heart. I never thought Auruo would ever wear one from what he said earl-“
“Shut it, brat, I only said what I said to make you look like less of a fool.”
“Enough.” Silence fell over them as their captain spoke. “Use that energy to run ten laps around the training grounds.” He ordered them. “And if any one of those petals fall, you’re on toilet duty for a month, Auruo.”
“Y-yes sir!” The man swallowed, before carefully following his comrades, hands shielding the crown from any possible damage.
Petra began to chuckle as she stepped closer to Levi. “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” She spoke, taking his hand into hers.
“Not at all.” He grunted, focused on the distant figures of his squad running.
Petra hummed, head turned to face him as she studied his own royal floral arrangement. She brushed a few strands of his hair behind his ear. “I think you look quite handsome with it on, you know. Maybe you should wear it more often.”.
“Maybe…but I wouldn’t want to be the start of some shitty trend.”
Petra chuckled, giving him a kiss on the cheek, reluctantly pulling away from him. “Sounds like you need a nap time too, Captain Grumpy. Maybe you should end training early and come back with us.”
Levi rolled his eyes, internally sighing at the ‘unwarranted’ treatment he was receiving. Petra smiled at his silence, taking a step backwards towards their daughter. “Well that’s fine then, though I was going to draw a bath after I put Allegra down for her nap…I’ll just catch up with you when you’re finished.” She took another step back before turning. A second hadn’t even passed before she heard the sound of grass flattening underneath his boots from his approach.
“Let’s go.” He spoke in her ear as he passed, picking up his daughter, her shoes and the blanket in one swift motion, an amused Petra quickening her pace to follow after them.
"For the last time, you're not fat. You're pregnant."
She couldn’t help the tears welling in her eyes as she stared at herself in the mirror. She had been trying to button her favorite pair of pants, though the small bump that had formed over the past five months had made it next to impossible.
"No- I’m fat and I’m only going to get fatter and fatter and I won’t even look like me anymore!" Somewhere deep inside she knew she sounded silly, but her emotions and hormones were so overwhelming and convincing that she couldn’t help but believe.
Since they're rivetra babies, I think I'm going to make the meanings behind their names derivatives of Petra's and Levi's. (E.g. "jewel" or "strong" for "stone", "bird" or "flight" for "wing/feather", "love" or "friend" for "attached")
I'm thinking three kids total; for the younger ones, one will have chestnut hair and one will have that Asian kind of auburn hair. They have hazel eyes too, maybe interesting kinds of hazel eyes. Lots of people actually have such interesting eyes, with rings or gradations or flecks of color. I won't point it out in fics, but they'll be part of character bios. I'm still thinking of their personalities so genders and relative ages will come later. Just in parenting terms and making the family dynamics and writing easier for me, the second child will probably come a little after, two years younger, and the last will come sooner after, youngest by a year.
Back to the first girl, she'll be very smart and active as a young child. Not the adorable little girl to coo and fuss over, but one who has lots of fun with her mother and pulls her dad into playing all sorts of things with her. I think I'll make her a fall child. She'll be very no-nonsense when she's older. I don't think she'd have problems feeling good enough with how her parents raised her and her personality, at the very least not until she's older and with a lot of development for why.
In a modern AU, Petra's going to do a lot of things I hope to be able to do with any children I might ever have. She'll try to organize projects with her children: art, stories, plays, science experiments, all kinds of things. She's going to be the best at talking with and encouraging her children. Levi is honestly going to suck at communication and hugs. (He holds and rests a hand on them a lot when they're babies though! And he tries to hold hands more than older people are comfortable with. (Levi, you idiotic dork.)) He tries though to be a good father. He cares and thinks it's important and that he can help shape his children's lives for the better, and he does have the time and energy. More parenting stuff needs to be worked out.
As for discipline, how Levi is really needs to depend more on how much his life sucked. I think he'd respond by and my fics would be better if he purposefully tried to be gentler and less physical with his kids. He'd believe in his life values very strongly, but probably be questioning when it comes to parenting. I think Petra would know how to take charge, be strict and demand discipline. If the kids ever acted up enough, she'd even spank them. I don't know how opinions are on that, but if children act up enough, yeah I think spanking is valid for teaching. And Petra's not going to beat them.
I'm not sure of any problems the first girl's going to have (I think she'll be pretty ok and that her parents will do a good job with her), but conflicts have to arise with more children (let's just say I know what having siblings is like), so I'll definitely be developing stuff at least for one younger sibling and their relations with their siblings and parents.
I thinks that's enough for now and to let me do more Rivetra Family Friday writing. (I'm still working on names for Petra's parents and Rivetra babies; don't rush me, I suck at names and can't get what I want. My never-to-exist children are doomed. And honestly, real parents go about naming differently than authors do and I should stick to that.)
