...Caring 2.0...
The Levi Squad met up with the rest of the Scouts soon after.
Erwin neared the wagon on his white horse and asked if anyone was hurt. Only Hange raised her hand. "Doesn't look like anything too serious. Excellent work, all of you. Now, anything on that titan?" he asked, pointing to the ginormous blob of burning flesh in the background.
"That's Rod Reiss," said Levi. Erwin's thick eyebrows jumped up. His Scouts nervously shared looks. "Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, Commander."
Erwin glanced at Historia, Eren, then you. His gaze lowered to your connected hands with Eren. You immediately shrank back your hand and hid it under your thigh. You forced a grin on your face. "What's up, Erwin? How you doing? You look better than ever, sir."
His lips slightly twitched upwards, amused. "Everything seems to look fine for the moment. But we can't afford to stand here and chat. We're heading back to the wall."
"You're letting that thing drag its fat ass all the way to Sina?" asked Levi.
"I'm letting it continue towards Orvud District for now."
Rod the Fat Titan was not only a fat ass but a slow ass too. Which meant you all would be able to reach Orvud before he did. On the wagon, you, Eren, and Historia filled Hange in with everything that happened and learned.
"Okay, let me get this straight," started Hange. "So, Rod was after the Founding Titan's power currently residing in Eren. But the Founding Titan can only be used at full potential by someone of royal blood. But when a royal obtains the Founding Titan's power, they are trapped by the First King's ideology and refuse to do anything about the titans. And Y/n L/n is now upgraded to Y/n Fritz-Ackerman, congrats, but someone who cannot wield the Founding Titan's power by herself but can control whoever does." She let out a frustrated sigh. "What the hell, guys?"
"It's a lot, I know," muttered Historia.
"This is seriously some MP shit. I don't even know if we Scouts are qualified enough to deal with this. So now, not only do we have to deal with titans, but we're also dealing with family affairs?"
"Hange, I would've gladly traded places with you and took that hit for you in battle while you got to hear all that bullshit from Rod himself," you said.
"Aw, Y/n, I appreciate it."
"You know, we could still go back," said Eren, a bit hesitant. "We...we just need that titan to eat me, then Rod will become a human again, and we could still have a true Founding Titanâow!" He rubbed the part on his chest that you had just punched.
"We just got out of that situation! Now you want to think about sacrificing yourself again?" You scoffed. "Blaming yourself is never enough for you, is it?"
"But it could be better for all of us! It could be the best choice we have."
"Who said it could? We're doing fine with youâwe don't need another brainwashed royal with a peace complexity."
"What if we do? What if by never tapping into the full power of the Founder, I burden the rest of humanity?"
Your eyebrows could reach the sky. "Why don't you start by worrying about your goddamn self before you start worrying about anything else."
Then, he had the audacity to roll his eyes. "I'm just trying to look out for everyone! Don't you know how to do that?!"
Mikasa threw a quick, sharp glance at Armin, who terrifyingly peeked over his shoulder. Everyone else was too stunned to even think of interfering.
Your jaw dangled open. "And I'm trying to look out for you! And you're yelling at me because I care for you?!"
"And I care about more significant things than myself! Can you?!"
You let out a laugh. "Alright, then, I see how it isâ"
"Hey, hey, guys," said Hange, cautiously holding up her hands. "Listen, I didn't mean to start your first quarrel. That's on me. Sorry. Now, can we please calm down?"
The both of you crossed your arms and turned your heads away from each other.
"Could be worth considering," said Levi. You glanced up at him, surprised, but he didn't look back. "Once Reiss turns back into a human, we could capture him and undo the First King's brainwashing. It may open a path to save humanity. Eren, if that turns out to be our best bet, are you really willing to do it?"
Eren knew that for the better of humanity, he was willing to do whatever it took. As each second went by, you were wishing more and more he'd say no. Please say no. Please say no. Please sayâ"Yes, I am."
You scoffed. "Unbelievable." You got up and waved Sasha over.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting away from you."
"What? No!"
You hopped out before he could reach you and sat behind Sasha. He swallowed down his words and slumped in his seat.
Mikasa shut her eyes, seriously contemplating why she ever tried helping his cause in the first place. Armin just felt embarrassed for him. It was the fact that it took the entire Elite Squad to get the both of you together, and he still managed to screw up.
Levi just shook his head, utterly disappointed. I told this stupid brat not to screw it up with her. It hasn't even been an hour yet.
But Historia finally pulled through, pointing out the flaws in that bet. That Dr. Jaeger must've stolen it for a reason and he must've known there was another way to save humanity. In short, everyone ended up convincing Eren that he was their best shot at staying the Founding Titan.
They even got him to try to control the Fat Titan, throwing punches into the air and accidentally calling him a tiny old man. Which made him freeze up because Levi was right behind him.
You didn't include yourself once in that conversation. Because if he had only just heard you out, truly listened to you, he would've realized your point was identical to theirs. In fact, you were nearly always the first to make a point that at first, he'd reject, but when the rest of them came around to it, he would ultimately believe it.
Then, it finally clicked to you. Eren did not fully trust you. He may trust you to save his ass every time, but he never trusted you enough to believe in what you had to say. That role was yours, but he always lent it to somebody else.
But still, you reasoned with yourself. He believed in what I said that day when he almost gave up, and that's why he didn't, right? But maybe he believed it only in that moment. Because if he actually kept it to heart, then would any of this right now have happened?
What was even the point of "sorting this out?" Can't he see that I care about him more than anyone else here? More than anyone else in the world?
Eren's eyes were on the back of your head. Does she really not care about saving humanity, saving us all? Can she really not care about anything other than just herself and us?
And in the same moment, both minds intertwined to one parallel conclusion: Maybe we're not as alike as we've always thought we were.
* . * .
In the Regiment Branch of Orvud District, you all were cleaning up and getting ready to join the Scouts' meeting in the hall. Then Levi gathered you all over to speak privately, just with his squad.
"Y/n and Historia. Erwin has given an order involving the two of you," he said. "Once we finish off this titan, one of you will need to become Queen."
Everyone gasped. Your hands flew to your mouth. "You're shitting me right now. I thought we were joking. Now we're actually being serious?"
"The coup d'état was successful, but the people won't follow military rule forever. We need to give them a heartwarming story where the rightful heirs retake their crowns from the pretenders."
"But you said only one of us?" asked Historia. "Commander Erwin didn't specify who?"
He nodded. "He said both of you are suitable candidates. So, it's up to the two of you to decide who's getting the crown."
You and Historia pointed at each other at the same time. "Historia should be Queen!" "Y/n should be Queen!"
"Me?!" You exclaimed. "Have you seen me? I am not fit for a goddamn crown!"
"But you're the most powerful soldier, only second to Captain Levi! And you're way smarter than me!"
"But I'm the Fritz-Ackerman! I ruin peace in the walls or whateverâno one would want a Queen like that!"
"The Reisses probably just painted you like that because your powers are different! It's not as if you can rain fire from the sky!"
"But you're compassionate! You're kind, you're generous, and you care for everyone! I only care about a few people, and the majority of them are standing in this room right now! I can't afford to care for all of humanity, but you can! You fit all the criteria to be Queen!"
"So do you! You're a natural-born leader! The people would never follow some frail girl like meâthey'd follow a royal warrior like you!"
"Historia, I have been building up my criminal record since I was five! What kind of Queen does that shit besides the evil stepmothers in fairy tales?!"
"I don't knowâthe Commander can probably erase your records for you!"
"Hey, hey." Levi held up his hands, separating the two of you without touching either of you. "Yelling's not going to get us anywhere. I know it's not the easiest decision, but we've got to make it quick. It's not that difficult either, choosing to live behind a palace eating cake every day or whatever the hell the privileged does in their free time."
Connie hesitantly raised his hand. "I...I don't want to interfere, but isn't this a bit, I don't know, forceful?"
"Speak up, Connie."
"I mean, it sounded back there like when Historia sided against her dad, she was finally breaking off from that part of her life. I'm not saying that Y/n should be left to become Queen, but shouldn't Historia be allowed to finally choose her own path?"
He's sort of right. Historia had more involvement in this, almost forced into doing something someone else wanted for her. And now, it was the same.
"I disagree," spoke up Jean. "I'm not saying that she shouldn't be allowed to pick her own path, but I don't think it's fair for Y/n either. Factually, she's had it worseâlet's all be honest here. Her dad tried to kill her, her uncle killed her mother, and the MPs under Reiss's orders wanted her dead. Isn't becoming Queen only going to increase the bounty on her head? Aren't we literally giving them more of a reason to blindly hate her?"
You sent him a small smile and he nodded.
"I don't think Y/n should be Queen either," said Eren. "I'm sure she'd make a great one, but she wouldn't want it. She belongs on the battlefield with the rest of us. That's where her heart's truly at. That's what's important to her."
A grin almost uncontrollably slid onto your face but you dragged it back down. Fuck you, Eren, for making me mad at you. Now I can't even show how happy I am.
"Historia, you have this unbeatable kindness in you," you told her. "You could do a lot of great things for the walls that the old King Fritz never did. Me? I'm just a soldier. And a killer, let's not forget that. I probably have a way more distorted view of the world than you, and I don't think it's changing anytime soon. But I think you'll be able to imagine the world as a better place. That's why you should be Queen. Not me."
"Are you sure about this?" she asked anxiously. "Maybe you don't have the right ideas, but you're still a leader. You could lead the walls to a victorious future."
"I would rather dethrone Levi as Captain than dethrone a King." You glanced at him. "No offense."
"Tch."
She let out a slow and shaky breath. And she nodded. "Okay. Then I'll become Queen," she said, a newfound determination lighting up in her eyes. "I'll live up to your faith in me, Y/n. I won't let our people down."
You smiled. Finally, finally, finally! "I would gladly give up any chance at having a royal status anytime for you-"
"Not so fast," said Levi. He pointed a finger at you. "You're becoming Princess."
"WHAT?!" you screamed in his face, and he took a step back. "I thought I got out of this! All they need is a Queen, right? What do they need a goddamn Princess for?!"
"If you two hadn't started yelling your heads off, then I would've finished giving you Erwin's orders. The people need a ruler, yes, but they also need to believe that they have a future. An heir to the throne, a Crown Princess. Until there's another heir coming."
"Nooo," you whined, pressing your palms into your eyes. "Whyyy..."
"Wait, but Y/n's older," said Historia. "How will this work?"
"Erwin told me two cases. One, if Y/n becomes Queen, Historia as the Princess, then the story would be about a soldier-turned-Queen and her subordinate as her heir. Two, if Historia becomes Queen, then the story goes that Y/n passed down her crown to her younger cousin, a more kind and compassionate fit, to continue serving the people by fighting on the battlefield. In addition to both cases, Erwin will erase all your criminal records under the name Y/n L/n. You would officially become Y/n Fritz-Ackerman, since apparently that's your true name."
But I liked L/n. "So, he's already got everything sorted out. We didn't even have much of a choice to begin with."
"He did. Now, all we've got to do is break the news to him."
You and Historia followed Levi into the packed meeting room. "Has the decision been made?" asked Erwin.
Levi nodded to Historia. "This one's the Queen." Then he nodded to you. "This one's the Princess."
In an instant, every Scout in the room saluted. "Queen Historia! Princess Y/n!" they all greeted.
You gasped in horror. "What? Already?" What dumbfounded you even more was that Erwin was also saluting. Levi turned around and saluted as well. So did the rest of your friends.
This is so wrong, you thought, as two Scouts prepared chairs for you and Historia. God, this is so wrong! your mind yelled at you as you reluctantly took a seat. What did my life turn into?
The plan was for the people of Orvud to have an evacuation drill to gather them to the edge near Wall Sina, where Rod's titan was heading. There, they would see for themselves as Historia slays the nape of Rod's titan that Eren's titan would blow up.
It was her request to prove herself to the people since she was less of a soldier than you. All you had to do this time was stand off to the sidlines.
. * . *
The next morning, on the walls, everyone was setting the barrels up on the wall.
Eren was watching you again. Like he always did. You were carrying two barrels on both shoulders with your crazy Ackerman strength. He wondered if you'd never noticed him staring or if you just pretended you didn't.
"How do you manage to piss her off right after making her your girlfriend?" asked Mikasa. To say she was disappointed would be an understatement. She knew Eren needed a little help, but she didn't know that he was completely directionless.
"Seriously, at this rate, she might just break up with you faster than how long you two were officially together," said Armin. "Which was not a lot of time, by the way."
Eren watched as you helped out the Scouts with their barrels, cracking jokes with them. Then you went over to give Historia a pep talk, hyping her up for her big show. That was you, the Y/n he always knew. Didn't care much about the world but embraced the people that mattered to her with her entire heart.
Then the realization hit him. And he couldn't believeâhow a stupid boy like him had been taking someone as amazing as you for granted all this damn time. So what if she doesn't care about the rest of the world? Do I really need her to? Hell no! What the hell am I doing?
So he threw a punch to his own face. Then another one.
"Hey, stop!" Mikasa held his arms back. "Calm down, she hasn't broken up with you yet."
"Eren, I don't know what's gotten into your head this time, but don't let her see this," said Armin. "She may be angry at you, but she'll get even angrier if she sees what you're doing."
"Just needed a wake-up call and beat the shit out of a useless idiot. A stupid fool who couldn't appreciate Y/n to her fullest. But I'll make it right with her, once and for all. And once I do, this'll be the last damn time I piss her off by being pathetic."
You waited at the edge as the plan was carried out. Rod's titan hovered over the wall. Eren threw the barrels into his mouth, exploding his body into a hundred pieces. Historia cut apart his nape and landed down with the people. She introduced herself to them, stated that she was the rightful Queen, and that her cousin Y/n, Humanity's Second Strongest after Captain Levi, would be their Princess.
They cheered jubilantly as if being convinced was ever that easy. Your eyes flickered to Eren. Wish it were actually that easy.
Levi found you right after. "I'm going back to find Kenny to make sure he's dead," he said. "You want to come with?"
You glanced back at your friends. They were all celebrating, congratulating Historia. Everything was good for the moment. You nodded. "Yeah. I'll come with."
* . * .
Kenny was slumped up against a tree. Alive, but in horrible shape. Parts of his face burnt, patches of hair ripped off. A huge gash on the side of his stomach.
He peeked through his heavy eyelids. "Ah, shit. Not you two agai-" he hacked out some blood.
"Found what's left of your squad," said Levi. "Looks like they were crushed in the cave. You're the only survivor?"
"Seems so." His voice was thin. Surprising enough that he was even still alive. And a damn pitiful sight.
"So, this is it for you, huh?" you asked.
"You think so?" He slipped out a box with the titan syringe. You and Levi raised your rifles. "Swiped this sucker out of Rod's bag back in the cave. If I inject myself, I'll turn into a big, strong titan. A dumb one. But for a while, it'll keep me...alive."
Then he started spouting all this stuff about his life lessons. How everyone was a slave to something. When he spoke about being a slave to love, he was looking at you.
You propped up your rifle. "I'm no slave."
He snorted. "That's basically what I told your mother once. Now look at me."
Levi kneeled down in front of him. "Turned out you were my uncle all this time. Now answer me. Why did you leave me that day?"
Kenny hacked out more blood. His vision was beginning to blur. "I was never suited to be a father. Taught you enough things to survive. That's all."
"Hey, I got a question too," you said, stepping forward. "What was my mother like?"
"You're not far off from her. I'll tell you that."
"In what way?"
"What do you want me to say, lil' brat? It's been fuckin' sixteen years since the last time I've seen her. Alive."
You clicked your tongue. "They said Freya loved you. Was that true?"
He chuckled. "Beats me. That woman loved everything she set her greedy claws on."
"Did you love her?"
"Nah...I never loved a single thing in my life. Not my sister, not her brat, not Freya...and not you. Sorry if you wanted to hear somethin' different."
"I didn't. Never expected anything from you anyway."
"Good." He managed a smile. "Because, above all, I am damn proud of the woman you became without me."
Your insides twisted hearing those words. He shoved the box into Levi's grasp. And the light left his eyes.
Levi was already on his feet, but you were still staring at Kenny's corpse. The man who was your father but never raised you. The man who was ordered to kill you but never did. The man who claimed he didn't love you but was still proud of you. Was that how a father worked, or was he just Kenny?
"You coming or what?"
"I'm just...imagining what life would've been like if he had kept me. And kept you. If we would've grown up together in the Underground just as he said." You turned to him. "What do you think it would've been like?"
Levi felt a sudden surge of nostalgia as he recalled his past. "I would've introduced you to the friends I had. They would've liked you. Very much. We would've been bandits, then caught by Erwin and forced into the Survey Corps. Nothing that special, really."
"Sounds pretty special to you," you said, catching up to him.
"It was."
"That's nice." You walked side by side. "But then I wouldn't have met Eren, Mikasa, or Armin. So I guess everything has a reason to have happened."
"Guess so," he said. "I don't know if it's my place to say this or if it's the right time... But as much as Kenny was a strong soldier, he had shit morals and an even shittier personality. And you don't take after him one bit. Be glad." He patted you on the back. "You would've made a good Queen. Don't doubt yourself."
Your eyes were wide in amazement, and your jaw could reach the grass. "Levi..." You jumped at him with open arms, but he dodged out of the way. You face-planted into the grass.
"Too soon," he said, heading to the horses.
You dashed after him. "I'll get you one day!"
*
writing y/n and levi's dynamic has become my new fav thing
how yall feelin ab yall's dad lore?
"i kno that u got daddy issues"
speakin of him, next chap's yall's parents lore