A Bundle of Joy - Levi x Reader

When you called him into the living room, Levi had no idea just what he was in for. Maybe if he did he would’ve been more prepared for what you would say to him, not that he’d ever find out now.

You sat on the couch, your hands in your lap as you twiddled your thumbs and nervously shifted in your spot. Levi simply waited for you to finally work up the backbone to say whatever it was you were about to say. If he were being completely honest, though, your silence was bugging the ever-living shit out of him.

“Umm… So, Levi…” you mumbled, not even looking him in the face. “Uh, so… there’s something that you should probably know.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured. What is it,” he more so demanded than asked.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes tight. “I’m pregnant!” you blurted out.

His face was void from any expression, save his slightly-widened eyes, as he tried to comprehend those two words. You… pregnant? It didn’t make any sense – well, actually, it did. A lot. But even still, the Captain never expected to be a father, especially not in these troubling times. It was a bizarre concept to even wrap his head around.

“You sure it’s mine?” His words had unintentionally slipped from his mouth; despite the fact he damn well knew you’d never prance around with another man just the idea of him being a father was downright alien to him.

You looked hurt at his statement but nonetheless answered, “Yes, Levi, it’s definitely yours.”

“Fuck.”

He couldn’t deny, the idea of a little bundle of joy to light up the otherwise dark times in his life did make him feel uncharacteristically happy. Maybe, with a little getting used to, things wouldn’t turn out so bad.

The months during your pregnancy, though, were absolute hell.

You’d constantly be either hungry or in pain, some days you were bedridden and couldn’t force yourself to move no matter how hard you tried. You also used your pregnancy to get out of doing chores around the house.

“Oh I’m sorry, is developing your little love goblin in my womb not enough work?!” you would say. “Work? Work?! I made a spinal cord today, what did you do?!”

Your mood swings were frequent and often left you crying while hoarding a plate of food to yourself. Despite how phenomenally annoying you were being he couldn’t blame you. He’d been obsessed with researching pregnancy and childbirth and by god; you deserved all the smothering in the world for going through what you are.  He saw diagrams of just how much the baby in your stomach would be crushing your organs and a few illustrations on the process of labour.

It was mentally scarring.

It was even worse for him when he’d be stuck either on expeditions or planning expeditions and leaving you to deal with your pregnancy alone in that empty house of yours. During the trips outside the Walls he’d constantly be fretting over your health and well-being. It made him all the more motivated to get through his missions alive.

Of course, there were some good moments between you – moments he wouldn’t want to trade for anything. Sometimes when he wasn’t required to work and you hadn’t been crying an ocean, you’d both just relax together. He’d rest his head on your stomach, pressing his ear and listening intently to the sound of his child that was nearing its birth.

It had been little over nine months later, and you were due for your child any day now. Unfortunately for the Captain, it had been yet another gruelling day of work. He tried to put off venturing on expeditions as much as he could, but Commander Erwin was having none of it. So, much to his demise, he went with the Scout Regiment while keeping you on his mind.

The sun was setting and the day was ending as the Regiment headed back toward Wall Maria, after yet another failed mission. Truly, it was just routine by this point.

The images of dead soldiers staining his mind had blocked out all thoughts of you, which displeased him. There was just too much death that day for him to think of anything but the events that had taken place just hours before.

Once they had made it back to the Walls; it also came as no surprise to him that the crowd gathered there did little to nothing other than spouting rude comments about the Regiment. What he would give just to see those fuckers take the Scouts’ place. That’d wipe the smug attitude from them right quick.

“Captain Levi!” came the unidentifiable feminine voice. An elderly woman emerged from the crowd and followed him as he rode on horseback. “Captain Levi, it’s [First], she’s at the hospital.”

He snapped out of the negative thoughts infiltrating his mind and looked down at the midwife. “Did she…?”

“Yes, she told me to get you to go there as soon as she returned.”

His throat went dry as his knuckles went white from how tight his grip on the horse’s rein was. Giving a nod of thanks to the midwife, he quickly rode towards the direction of the hospital.

His mind swirled with all the scenes playing out in his head. He half-thought that maybe the birth hadn’t gone smoothly, maybe something bad had happened to you, but that idea was shrugged off as he figured you must’ve been well enough to send that woman after him.

He dismounted his horse and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His words were rushed as he asked the receptionist what room you were in, and after hearing the answer he wasted no time in listening to whatever else she had to say and simply went to your location.

Stopping outside your door, he paused just before it and stared blankly at the wooden planks. Levi knew that whatever was waiting for him behind that door would change his life forever. If he were being honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely sure if he would be strong enough to face it. Did he really want to raise a child in such a scarred world, where he could die at any given moment? You were a Scout too, would he be able to handle seeing you in the battlefield, knowing the both of you had children waiting at home?
He didn’t know, and for once he threw caution to the wind and simply decided that whatever was to come, he would handle it.

Pushing open the door, his steel grey eyes met with you lying in bed, cradling your bundled child in your arms. You looked over to him and gave him a tired smile, “You took your time getting here.”

Levi said nothing as he walked to your side, his eyes never leaving the infant you held so gently. You held the baby up to him and waited for him to take his child. “It’s a boy, by the way. He looks like you.”

He held his son in his arms, not even making a sound as he stared down at the deep [E/C] eyes gaping back at him. They were the same colour as yours. He brushed a finger against his cheek, resulting in a small giggle as the baby gripped onto it, wrapping his small delicate fingers around that single digit.

“Levi? Are you… crying?”

Levi looked back at you as he suddenly felt the wetness on his face. He had been so wrapped up in the sheer amount of joy he was feeling that he hadn’t even noticed the tears that escaped his eyes. “I… sorry,” he murmured.

Still embracing his boy, he slipped into the bed with you and wrapped one of his arms around your shoulders. You leaned your head against him and snaked your arm around his lower back, using your other to hold your son.

“What are we gonna name him?” asked Levi, staring absentmindedly at his baby, noting at the features that they both shared.

“Hmm… I was thinking about Damien. What do you think?”

“Damien…” he repeated, letting the syllables roll off his tongue. “I like that.”

You snuggled further into him and let your eyes drift shut. Levi didn’t blame you for wanting to sleep; after all, you’d just forced a child out of your body. It was no wonder that you were tired after that. But as he gazed down at you and the son you had given him, he couldn’t hold back the way his happiness tugged at the corners of his lips.

Whatever was to come after this, he would face it with no fear. He would do whatever was needed to protect you and your child. He would be strong enough to protect you. And for the first time in his life, Levi truly, whole-heartedly smiled.