The two were shocked still in the woods, hands to their foreheads. They locked eyes.
"Did you..."
"Yeah."
Images flashed through (Y/N)'s brain.
Her parents in Ragako village.
Joining the Training Corps and working under Commander Shadis.
Joining the Survey Corps and meeting Levi for the first time...
~
It was a cool November night when (Y/N) arrived at the headquarters. It had been two years since Wall Maria was taken by the titans, and she was ready to join the cause and fight back. (Y/N) had been blessed with physical strength, and when she considered joining the military, she was met with nothing but support from the whole town.
Now that she had completed the training and joined the Scouts, her mission could finally begin.
She would kill as many titans as her body allows. She had worked tirelessly for the chance to bring them down.
Her determination had garnered some attention from the higher-ups- Erwin Smith was impressed with not only her skill, but also her resolve. Hange's heart was taken with (Y/N) after day one, since she actually had the patience to listen to the madwoman's rants about titans. And Captain Levi had even taken a liking to her.
When they met for the first time, Levi had found her cleaning the girl's barracks. Most of the other cadets left the room in shambles, but (Y/N) felt the need to take it upon herself to tidy up. Levi had actually arrived there to do just that, but when he found that she had already done the deed, he was quite pleasantly surprised. He didn't shy away from inspecting her work, though, scrutinizing each detail as he saw fit.
They ran into each other a few times in that context before Levi invited her to have tea with him. That sparked a beautiful friendship- one that on the outside seemed completely platonic. Neither participant acknowledged the growing romantic feelings for the other. It would remain a secret for a while.
After a year of diligent work as a run-of-the-mill soldier, (Y/N) was promoted to Levi squad, at the request of the captain himself. She was thrilled to work alongside her friends and comrades, and grew even closer to the captain that she so admired.
It was on an expedition shortly after she joined his squad that they finally had to come to terms with their feelings for each other.
Levi landed on a rooftop of an abandoned village, one that had been ransacked by titans years ago. "Where is (Y/N)?" He questioned his squad.
Oluo was breathing heavily, having just landed as well. "She was... in the forest... right behind us. There was a 15-meter, and she yelled at us to move forward..."
"I'm going back for her." Levi announced.
"Captain!" Petra placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned away. "Think! She's probably already gone..." She whimpered as tears pricked her eyes.
"I know (Y/N). She'd better be alive. That idiot refuses to die. I'm going."
And before anyone else could argue with him, he was off.
The captain swung through the trees at unparalleled speed, eyes scanning the forest floor and the tree limbs for any sign of his squad member.
"Eat it, titan scum!" Cried a voice to his right. His eyes immediately snapped towards the noise, and he changed his trajectory.
"Take my arm! Take my leg! I'm not losing to you!" She yelled furiously, slashing titan's napes. The sight of her made something snap inside Levi. It was like he could only see red at the scene unfolding before him. He felt a deep instinct inside of him screaming at him to protect (Y/N) at any cost. He sped towards her with everything he had.
She was dangerously close to the mouth of one of them. It opened its jaw from behind her, quickly closing in on its target, but then-
She was swept off her feet, two strong arms around her waist. He brought her to a high tree limb, and she fell down onto her knees right away.
"You damn hero! Why didn't you just get away from them!?" Levi scolded the woman, stepping closer to her.
She laughed nervously. "I'm running on fumes! I figured the best I could do was take as many of them out as I could in close-range."
"You can't act so recklessly. You should have come in with the rest of the squad instead of staying behind, you idiot!" He yelled.
She looked up at him, her tone shifting to a serious one. "The 15-meter was an abnormal. One of us needed to take care of it, or no one would have made it out. I won't apologize for my actions, Captain. I know I did the right thing."
"Tch."
"What, are you disagreeing with me?" She stood up. (Y/N) has always been a respectful subordinate, but in private situations like these, Levi is nothing more than her friend. She's not afraid to voice her opinions to him.
"No, (Y/N), I-"
"Then what is it?" She interrupted him.
"I don't want you to put yourself in needless danger for the sake of others. Your life... it's important." He mumbled.
"It's my life, Levi, I can do whatever I want."
"You're clueless, (Y/N). Your life is important... to me."
She took a step back. His tone had shifted from his commanding one to a soft one, and his eyes were downcast. It was like he was embarrassed.
He took a deep breath. "You... mean more to me than the others. That's why I... I can't just let you throw away your life."
She moved closer to him, bringing her finger to lift his chin up to face her. "Levi..."
He lifted his hand to move hers out of the way, but his grip on her lingered. "I care about you, (Y/N). More than I thought I did." He couldn't believe himself. All the words just came tumbling out of his mouth, and his brain hardly had time to process it.
But it seemed (Y/N) got the message, because she offered him a soft smile. "A bit stiff for a confession, Levi, but I'd expect nothing less from you."
She pressed her lips to his cheek, causing the man's face to turn red. She laughed. "I like you too."
He stared wide-eyed at her, searching her expression. He bit his lip in anticipation, as if asking her to go farther with him.
Before he had time to doubt himself and worry about the squad that was surely awaiting his return, her lips were on his.
Despite the rumors around Scout headquarters, Levi had never had a relationship with anyone like this before. He had no idea how romance or courtship worked. He didn't know the ins and outs of initiation or heartfelt gestures.
He was relieved to find that (Y/N) knew exactly what she was doing.
She kissed him gently, aware of his inexperience with these things. Of course, the uncomfortable topic had come up between the two of them over tea. So she was slow with him, wanting him to feel at ease with what was happening.
He seemed to be enjoying himself, completely forgetting about the situation they were in. He was so comfortable he almost lost his balance- (Y/N) wrapped her arms around his waist and held him.
She pulled away, offering him a wide smile. And to her surprise, he smiled back at her.
After more than a year of friendship, she had never seen so much as an upturned lip from him- but now, he was donning this beautiful, pure smile.
~
It was the same smile that was plastered onto his face now. Wasting no time, he grabbed her face and pulled their lips together.
"I can't believe it..." He said between desperate kisses. "I remember everything, (Y/N)."
Tears started to stream down her face. "So do I."
The two hugged each other tightly. "Everything we lost... it's all back." He stammered. Three years of lost memories were now restored.
She chuckled. "Who knew an engagement ring would be the kicker, eh?"
He buried his face into the crook of her neck. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know, and I don't care." She held him close to her. "All that matters is we remember now."
After what felt like forever, they finally pulled away from each other.
"Those brats are probably wondering where we are. Let's just say I gave them extra time to clean." Levi said, grasping (Y/N)'s newly-bejeweled hand as they walked.
"We should tell Hange about all of this." (Y/N) said.
"Naturally."
"And everyone else. I can't wait to break the news that you're my fiancé..."
"Ah, don't make me sound soft. I have a reputation to keep up, you know." He scoffed.
She nudged him with her elbow. "Right, I'm the only one who can know that you're soft. And adorable."
"Mmhm." He mumbled.
After (Y/N) and Levi had returned to the squad and he had deemed their cleaning job insufficient, the ever-observant Sasha noticed the new piece of ware adorning (Y/N)'s left ring finger. Levi made sure to escape the scene before the hugs passed on to him.
They were to be married. Nothing would keep him from seeing that day.
~
Levi stood in front of the man who raised him. His head was filled with emotions- anger, hate, gratefulness, even, but he'd never admit that.
He stared down at the sad sack. "With those burns and that blood loss... there's no helping you now."
Kenny cracked a bit of a smirk. "Yeah? I wonder..." His left hand started to move. Levi's eyes darted to the scene- a small box containing a syringe. "I swiped this little one right outta Rod's bag. Seems if I inject this, I'll turn into a big, strong titan."
Levi's breath hitched. There's no doubt he could stop him before he managed to do any of that, but still. The possibility was there.
"One of the dumb ones, unfortunately." Kenny sighed. "But it oughta keep me alive, for a while."
Levi held his composure. "You had the time and strength to inject yourself before I got here. Why didn't you?"
Kenny let his hand rest. "If I don't do it just right, I might end up all messed up, like he was."
Levi glared at him. "I know you aren't just sitting here waiting to bleed to death. Don't you have a better excuse than that?"
Kenny let out a long sigh. "Well, runt, the thing is, I don't feel like dyin'. Not without my dream coming true. But... I see now. After all this time, I think I understand why he did it."
"Huh?"
"Everyone's the same... every last one of us." Kenny laughed. "Alcohol, sex, religion, family, the King, dreams, children, power... everyone's gotta be drunk on something to keep them moving on. Everyone... was a slave to somethin'. Even him..." He caughed up blood. "And what about you? Some hero?" He looked up at Levi.
Levi leaned down and pushed Kenny back up against the tree by his shoulders. "Kenny! Tell me everything you know about the first king! Why didn't he want humanity to survive?" He yelled.
"Beats me..." He breathed out. "That said, I know that's part of the reason we Ackermans decided to turn coat." He struggled with the last words, coughing up blood onto Levi's face. At any other time he would have promptly wiped the filth off, but this was too important.
"So apparently, that's my name as well." Levi said. "Tell me. Who are you?" He seethed. "What were you to my mom?"
Kenny smiled a wide, toothy grin, leaning his head up and letting out a light chuckle. "Heh... you dumbass. I'm just... her brother."
Suddenly everything clicked. He stared at the coughing man wide-eyed. Images from his childhood flashed before him.
"That day... why? Why did you leave me?"
He let the silence between them linger for a bit.
"Because..." Kenny grumbled. "I just wasn't cut out... to be somebody's dad."
Pang!
Levi felt a jolt in his chest- Kenny had just pressed the box towards him, before falling back against the tree. He looked up at the man who had raised him.
He was gone.
"Kenny..."
~