Levi x Reader Oneshots

Underneath the Mistletoe (Birthday Levi x Reader)

Author's Note: Happy Birthday to our dearest and most beloved Corporal of the Survey Corps, Levi Ackerman! May you experience endless happiness and receive copious amounts of love! <33

Every year, around the same exact time, Levi would dread this day, like a scab on his knee that lasted for weeks, occasionally bleeding through the skin to repeat the process of healing all over again. But why? Why would one resent such a day? Well, because it was a reminder to the Corporal that his birth had been a complete and utter mistake.

His mother had never meant to have him. Working as a prostitute to make ends meet in a place like the Undergrounds meant kids were never on her mind, but he was fortunate that his mother never resented him for her troubles.

He loved her dearly, wishing to protect her from men who'd often come by and make her come out of their small bedroom sad and miserable. But when she was gone, dead on that bed they once laughed and shared smiles on, all hope had left with her.

That was until a man named Kenny had arrived, raising Levi as his own until he left too, leaving the young boy a complete orphan. But also as a boy who lost everything, and a boy who believed he wasn't good enough for the world that everything had to leave him the moment he was happy.

These thoughts always arrived like clockwork the morning of his birthday, like a parasite that never dies, or some kind of illness that never went away. It caused him to stir restlessly in his bed, accumulate sweat around his temple and collarbone, and make him unable to sleep. It wasn't like he could anyway, but the fact of the matter was that it troubled him deeply.

But for the first time in all his years, he tried to reach out, seeking comfort in the touch of another, the warmth of another, and the presence of another that could anchor his being. But he was startled to feel cold sheets between his scarred fingers and a chilly breeze instead.

Opening his eyes, Levi gasped under his breath and rose quickly from his bed. Trembled hands ran through his disheveled hair. Raven strands fell back in a messy display of his emotions.

What happened? He thought, brushing the cold sheets. Where have you gone? Did you leave him? But why? What had he done to make you want to leave? Was he not good enough? Was he-

Levi shook his head, trying to rid these destructive thoughts.

By the window, he could see the first snowfall of the year, layering the world in a coating of white. It was quite humorous, for he knew blood would taint the world again had they willed it.

He rose from the bed, swung his legs to the side and got ready for the morning. After checking that everything was neat and orderly, he closed the door, craving some tea. As he walked down the hallways, he took in the walls, the windows, and the doors that housed the lives of many cadets he had once trained before, and was currently training.

Memories flooded and flowed in him through these hallways, and what fond memories they were- of when times were better, of times when he was once happy, if only just slightly.

It was empty when he arrived in the mess hall, which was more than reasonable as it was around five in the morning. It was also a good thing, a pleasant thing as Levi was not fond of socializing.

His boots were the only sound in the air, flowing through the room when it stopped. There before him, in the kitchen, with sunlight gathering across gentle skin was you. Your sleeves were rolled up to your elbows and an apron hugged your body.

In an instant, Levi's body moved on its own and you were startled to feel strong, familiar arms wrapped around your waist, and a weight fall on your right shoulder.