Protection [Daddy!Levi x Mommy!Reader]

Little Faith, watching her mother and brother at the quiet window side, wrapped a piece of her long, dark hair around her little finger. Occasionally, you and he would catch her staring and wave, earning a half hearted wave in reply. The chilly air seeped through the glass and cooled her skin. Her eyes glazed over the longer she watched. The sunlight streamed through illuminating her soft, pale face. Embedded in her left cheek, an ugly, purple bruise hid itself behind the curtain of her hair. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her free hand gripped the fabric of her pants. She dared not say what happened.

It would only worry them...

Sliding from her seat, she crept out of the room, out of anyone's sight. The door already cracked open, she slipped through and made her way down the grand foyer. Her thin, tiny shadow stretched along the brick wall, accompanying her on her journey.

Holding her wounded cheek, her mind wandered back to this morning. How did one small adventure outside the perimeters of Headquarters end so poorly? Her father often expressed his distaste of the Military Police. Now she understood. Her heart pounded her rib cage, almost bruising her chest. Should she say anything? The Military Police were so powerful, so revered. Would it cause a commotion?

Halted in front of the tall, wooden portal, she listened to the familiar voices: Commander Smith, Aunt Hanji and the Captain, her father. Probably discussing more strategies. It didn't matter; Just hearing her Daddy's voice was enough to comfort her. As she leaned against the door, she hugged her knees to her chest. With a few slow breaths, she rested her head and waited.

"I'm gonna tell him...," she told herself. "I'm gonna tell him...I'm gonna....." Before she finished her last thought, she drifted in and out of the realm of slumber.

Images surfaced to the front of her mind; she saw herself and her brother, breaking away from the walls of the fortress. In the rush of adventure, she broke away from him and explored the city. The buildings towered over her like trees, concealing her from the heat of the sun. She saw the soldier as he watched the stream of the fountain glisten in the light. She knew very well not to talk to strangers but....why? What made her break away from her senses? Maybe it was the shiny dagger on his belt... She never knew it'd turn out this way. Before she reacted, his fist was in the air, flying at her at the speed of light. The pain engulfed her face at a blinding speed. Her chest and throat tightened, and her eyes burned with tears. Every breath trembled. Her stomach churned. The faster her heart raced, the stronger the anxiety grew.

With a gasp, Faith jolted her head knocking it against the door. She cried out weakly and scrambled away as best as she could. To her despair, the door creaked open.

"Faith? Is that you?"

She froze then slowly turned; it was the man she came to see, the love of her life.

"D-daddy?" slowly rising from the cold floor, wringing her hands, she bowed her head.

"Tsk, you brat, what are you doing here?" Levi crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"U-umm," her hands slid up her arm as she held herself. Her dark hair fell in her face. "Is your meeting over?"

His face softened a little. Much like you, her mother, Faith always rubbed her self when nervous, disturbed or upset. He knelt down to her eye level.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" he asked, moving strands of hair from her eyes.

"Um-uhhh," she turned to leave. "N-no, it's okay. I can wait."

After glancing over his shoulder, gesturing to Erwin and Hanji, he followed her.

"Come here." With a light brush of her shoulder, he turned her around. "What's the matter?"

Already, some of the anxiety melted away at her father's touch. At once, she glued herself to his chest and rested her head against his shoulder. Levi felt no surprise at this, but something wasn't right.

"Baby, what's wrong?" his arms wrapped around her. "Why are you shaking?"

She latched herself onto him. "Daddy...." her voice quivered. "Daddy.....I'm scared."

Standing to his full height, he carried her down the hall, gently stroking her back. "Damn it, Faith, please tell me what's wrong," not often did one hear his voice strain with worry but anything concerning his children was a priority that could not be ignored.

"Daddy," she lifted her head back so she could see his sharp, light eyes. Though often striking fear into every person that looked into them, they were a sign of comfort and hope for her. Lowering her head again in shame, she pulled back her hair enough for him to see the ghastly bruise. "Someone hit me."

Ever so slightly, his breath hitched in his throat. He carefully examined her  cheek. Slowly, his brows furrowed, his lips tightened, and his eyes narrowed. The rage began to boil.

"Who did this to you?" his voice was quiet.

Her little fists clenched in his pristine shirt, wrinkling it ever so slightly. Tears rolled down her face. He tenderly cupped her face in his free hand.

"I don't know his name," she whispered, voice choked with sobs. "It was someone in the city, someone from the Military Police."

He sighed and shook his head. "You and Leon escaped AGAIN?"

She squeezed her eyes together. "Y-yes, we did. I'm so sorry, Daddy-"

He pressed her face into his shoulder again, holding her tightly. "Fucking hell, baby, I thought I told to be more careful about that!"

"I know, I know!" her cries became more desperate. "I-I-I'm so sorry-"

"No," he said, silencing her.

Great, she was in for it now. She knew she'd either get in trouble or you and Levi would worry so much, she'd be confined to her room for days. But, she felt his affectionate strokes down her hair and back.

"No, I'm sorry," he said in her ear. "I was upset. I'm not mad at you, okay?"

With a sigh of relief, she nodded and nuzzled her face into his neck. He continued his path down the long foyer. When she opened her eyes, she was taken aback when she found them outside.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Faith asked timidly.

"I want you to show me who hit you," he replied.

"Wh-what?!" she hid herself in his arms. "No! I don't want to see him again! I was so scared!"

"I know, baby girl, but you gotta learn to face what you're scared of," he sounded so monotone.

She pounded his back with her fists. "Daddy, please! Don't make me!"

"Tell me what he looked like."

"H-huh?"

"Tell me what he looked like," he ran his fingers tips through her scalp and down the long tresses.

Her nerves subsided. "Uhhh.....ummm....Tall and skinny.....Umm....small beard....blonde....U-uhhh....he was staring at a fountain, and he had a really shiny dagger."

"Hmm," he continued the rest of their journey in a ponderous silence.

As she waited, her heart pounded so fast, she was afraid a rib might break for sure. Every footstep just made her muscles tense more. She perceived the noises from the city; people chattering, horses whinnying, carts clicking on the brick pavement, animals howling and screeching. Slowly, Levi placed her on the ground behind a pillar and knelt before her. Nervously, she began wringing her hands again.

He pointed to the man in front of her. "Is that him? That guy in front of the fountain?"

At once, she cringed and looked away. Yes, it was the same. He was in the same spot, only visiting with a few people.

Levi gripped her shoulders. "Just watch Daddy, okay? Tell me what you learn from it."

Folding her hands under her chin, she nodded. With that, he calmly strolled up to the man and cleared his throat.

"Hey you," he said, folding his arms.

The Military police raised his eyebrow, staring down at the short man. "Yeah, whaddya want?" He glanced at his companions who both snickered.

"Hey, lookit the dwarf man."

"Ooo, a little fairy. I'm so scared."

He remained unmoved. "You didn't happen to see a little girl this morning maybe?"

He scoffed. "I don't know. I see kids running around here every day. What difference is it to me?"

"Did she have, oh I don't know, long, dark hair, light blue eyes. Did she happen to come up and talk to you?"

The man raised an eyebrow in thought. "Oh yeah! I kinda remember that. Yeah, I did. So, what's it to you, Scout?"

Reeling his leg back, Levi swept it across the ground, knocking the man to the ground. With the culprit's face now buried in the brick, the Captain initiated a series of sharp, aggressive kicks, all the while his expression remaining unchanged.

"Stop! Stop!!!"  he begged. "What the fuck is your problem, you bastard!"

Before Levi struck him once more, he glowered down at him. "If you so much as breathe on that little girl, I will reach down your throat and rip out every last of your insides and feed them to the Titans."

Faith watched, hands clamped over her mouth.

After kicking his head once more, the policeman staggered to his feet to his horrified companions.

"Who the hell are you?!" he demanded in terror.

The Lance Corporal raised an eyebrow. "I'm her father, you low life, scum sucking pig," he sauntered towards him with every intention of tearing him to shreds. In a fit of utter fear, the trio stumbled away, shrieking at the top of their lungs. He simply watched in satisfaction. After clearing his throat, and brushing himself off, he turned back to his stunned daughter, gathered her up in his arms and carried her straight home without another word.

Little Faith found herself in her chair again, in front of the same window, watching the same people, her mother and brother, simply sitting in the grass, talking together. She ruminated over her father's actions, his words. She almost couldn't believe it! Why had she not said anything? Most likely from shock, and as soon as they got home, he placed her down, kissed her forehead and disappeared into the bathroom, probably to bathe. She had to thank him.

You and Leon finally entered the sanctuary of your house.

"Ah, there you are, Faith!" you said, cheerfully. "Been in here all this time?"

"Ummm," she kicked her feet against the leg of the chair. "Yes."

"Where've you been?"

"Just," she smiled a little. "Spending time with Daddy."

Your smile broadened. "Well, I'll be starting dinner soon. Can you go get him for me?"

She nodded in reply. Once more, she got down from her seat and made her way to her parents' room. Slowly and carefully, she pushed open the bathroom door. Indeed, as she predicted, there he lay, head back, eyes closed, perfectly limp like a rag doll. With one more push, she slipped through. After quickly undressing herself, she tossed aside the clothes and apprehensively approached the tub. She reached in the water and splashed it to get his attention.

He snapped himself awake. "Who's there?"

"Um, Daddy?"

"Faith? What are you doing?" he sat himself up.

"Umm, is it," she twiddled her thumbs. "is it alright if I get in with you?"

He blinked for a second. "I don't know if that's a good-"

"Please, Daddy?" she raised those sparkling eyes of hers. "Please?"

Being Humanity's Strongest soldier, Levi possessed the strength of an entire army all on his own. He single handedly brought down more Titans than he could count. He terrified people with his mere presence and brought strong men to their knees with one stare. However, there was no amount of power he could possibly muster to say no to his little girl, peering up at him with that sweet little face.

With a sigh, he nodded. She sunk inside the warm water most eagerly. He took a clean rag and washed away the dirt and grime on her back, shoulders, neck and face. She smiled and leaned into his touch. Her eyes filled with nothing but love and admiration border lining worship. His heart ached upon seeing her bruise. She had been exposed to more of the bad things of this world. He hated it so much. Though he himself was used to the struggle, the darkness, the thought of sending one of his children, especially this delicate girl out here made him sick. How he wished this nightmare would end. Though she contained a great desire to become a cadet, to become strong like her parents, he hoped the war would end soon enough, so he could further hide her in his embrace.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said, voice light as a dove's.

"For what?" he began working out the dirt in her hair.

"I was angry because I didn't know why you were taking me to someone that scared me," she tilted her head down. "But, I realize you wanted to protect me, to show me you'll protect me always."

A quick breath of air escaped his nose.

"You looked so cool," she crawled into his lap, resting her chin on his abdomen.

"Nah, not really," he smoothed down her hair.

"Uh-huh! You did too! That bastard didn't know what hit him!"

He lightly batted the side of her head. "Watch your mouth, punk."

She only laughed in reply.

"I just wanted to show you that anyone who tries to hurt you will pay for it," his arms rested on either side of her and pulled her closer to his face.

She grinned, tiny tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes.

Returning with a smirk, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Because you're my girl, and you mean the world to me."

With a little giggle, she pressed her moist cheek into his chest. "I love you, Daddy."

Resting his head against hers, he tightened his embrace. No matter what the coming years would bring, he would protect her. Even on the heat of battle, he would shield her under his wings.

"I love you too, baby girl."