Ackerman's Sister || Levi x Sister Reader x Erwin

Chapter 1 || Mother

You shifted, slowly blinking open your eyes before sitting up from your 'bed'. Truthfully, it was only a few blankets laid out on the floor which offered only about two centimeters of cushion against the cold wood below, but you were use to it, after all, when you live in the Underground, one has to be able to adapt to anything. 

Rubbing your eyes, you glanced over to your side, pleased to find your little brother still asleep, peacefully curled against you. His small body moved only ever so slightly with each breath he took, breaths that became visible in the air after parting from his lips.

Careful not to wake him, you raise yourself from the ground while providing him with your share of the blanket. Tiptoeing across the cracked wooden floorboards, you made your way into another room, one not much bigger than the closest-like one your brother and you shared. 

The door creaked when you pushed it open, presenting an almost pitch dark space. There was only a sliver of light available in which allowed your eyes to adjust just enough to see the outlines of the room's single bed and the figure sleeping in it. Nevertheless, you had been in the room enough times to memorize its layout even with your eyes closed," mama, it's morning. Time to wake up."

There was no answer from the woman. She laid motionlessly on her back with her face pointed towards the ceiling, eyes and cheeks hallow from hunger yet her face perfectly peaceful otherwise. It was a sharp contrast to the way it had been twisted in pain for the last month since she had fallen ill. As happy as you were to see her finally relaxed after so much suffering, she was too still for your liking.

"Mama?" You placed a hand to her cheek, hoping the action would stir her awake, however, deep down you knew even before you felt the coldness of her skin that such hope was useless. Slowly, you moved your hand to her mouth, hearing nor feeling no soft blow that would normally being rising up from her lungs. You let your hand fall back to your side,"...oh..."

You weren't quite sure how long you stood here, staring down at your mother softly as your mind swirled with thoughts. She had been sick for a little over a month. Even though she assured you it wasn't anything too serious, you smarter than that despite your young age. Given your living condition and her line of work, it was bound to happen one way or another. Perhaps that's why you couldn't force yourself to be surprised. Regardless...it hurt. It hurt more than your mind could even begin to comprehend in the moment.

"(Y/n)...?" That was enough to snap you out of your trace. Your head spun to look at the small child who stood in the doorway, his tiny fist rubbing the sleep away from his eyes," is mama feeling better today?"

You took long strives to him, making sure not to walk too quick to cause concern yet quickly enough to scoop him up in your arms and carry him away from a possibly traumatizing sight. Luckily for you, sleep still fogged his mind, the warmth of your body commanding him to rest his head against your shoulder which gave you the time needed to shut the door behind yourself, never to be opened by either of you again.

"A little bit, but she still needs her rest, so we have to make sure she gets it, okay?" You rubbed his back before setting him back on your shared pile of blankets," in the meantime, mama has a game for us."

"What kind?" He blinked his eyes a few times, finally waking up enough thanks to his childish curiosity. 

"She wants us to go on an adventure through town..." you thought for a moment before adding," and be like little soldiers."

While you began to gather the few belongings you owned, Levi frowned with narrowed eyes," why would mama want us to be like those bastards?" 

"Levi," you sent him a halfhearted glare, knowing deep down you couldn't be too mad. It wasn't his fault the two for you had been exposed to such fowl language. 

"B-But they're so mean, (Y/n)! They treat us like trash and we're not!"

"The Military Police's do, yeah, but not all soldiers are like that. They aren't supposed to anyways," you sighed, folding some clothes and setting them in the center of a laid out blanket before searching for something to eat," in fact, I heard some men at the market once talking about a group of soldiers called the Survey Corps."

"How could they be any different?"

"Well, they're more heroic than the MP's because I heard..." you kneeled next to him, looking around cautiously before whispering in his ear,"... they actually go outside the Walls and fight Titans."

Levi looked to you with wide eyes, his voice of whisper of disbelief," no way."

"Yes way," you chuckled, handing Levi a small piece of bread. Even though it was rather stale, he didn't think twice about stuffing it into his mouth after his stomach growled with hunger. 

"'at's just st'id," he commented while chewing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Levi."

He shallowed, going quiet for a moment before asking,"...so how's the game work?"

"Well, we're gonna pretend to be Survey Corps soldiers. Mama is our commander and has sent us on a mission outside the Walls which will be in town. All the grow ups will be titans, so we have to avoid them as much as possible, okay?" Levi hung onto your every word, nodding as he took another bite of bread," our goal is to find a new land completely safe from titans."

"When are we going?"

"Now, so let's hurry up and get ready. We still need to pack all of our supplies. Make sure to grab anything you want. We'll be outside the Walls for awhile."

"Okay!" He was quick to jump up, hurrying to help gather everything you two had which wasn't difficult considering neither of you owned much. You both only had a few pairs of clothes each which were passed down from your mother as well as a few blankets, a small supply of food, and a tiny stuffed animal you had found Levi two weeks ago when you had gone outside to get food when your mother was too sick to. Once everything was together, you tied the edges of the blanket together into a makeshift bag.

"I'm gonna go say 'goodbye' to mama real fast," while you worked, Levi went to run towards her bedroom door only for you to quickly snatch his wrists, pulling him back a bit too harshly which you regretted, although, you didn't have time to worry over it for too long.

"Levi, wait!" You frowned at the confused look he gave you," um...r-remember, mama needs to rest. She might not be able to go back to sleep if you wake her up."

"Oh...okay!" much to your relief, Levi didn't question you any further, instead smiling as he took your hand.

After a quick peak outside to ensure no one was around to give either of you trouble, you turned to Levi with the most convincing smile you could muster," are you ready, soldier?"

He nodded eagerly, gripping your hand a bit tighter as the two of you exited your old home for, unknowingly to Levi, the last time. You only looked back once, a part of you begging to run back just in case there was a small chance your mother would wake up to wonder where you two were...but you knew that was wishful thinking. She was gone and no amount of wishing would bring her back. What you needed to focus on instead was keeping your little brother safe. From that day on, he was the only family you had left. You'd be damned if you ever let anything happen to him.