The Royal Decree (Erwin x Levi)

Chapter 18

A:n You guys are amazing and I love you and here is a new chapter for all of you to enjoy!

"Kara Smith, you settle down right now," Levi demanded, his voice trembling with frustration as he attempted to put the child to sleep yet again for the seventh time in three hours. This is impossible, he thought, as the kid proceeded to scream her lungs out at him. It seemed that she had inherited Levi's explosive nature, and was taking full advantage of the fact that she was an infant to grate on everyone's nerves. The soldiers were becoming increasingly more sleep deprived, and Erwin had even been forced to relocate some of them to new barracks – those who were sensitive sleepers were unable to get even a wink in with the newborn girl's screaming. Every night, Levi would go through the same ritual: hear a scream, get up, rock baby, demand that baby shuts up, rock baby more, replace seemingly sleeping baby in the crib and go back to bed, only to be up half an hour later and do the same.

"She won't sleep if you keep tossing her around like a salad."

Levi turned to look at his husband, unimpressed. "You're a lot of help."

Erwin slowly got himself out of bed and padded towards him, his eyes still narrowed from the sleep that had been interrupted. As he approached Levi, the latter fought an instinct to step back: a strive for self-preservation that told him to take cover as the elephant in the room made its appearance. It had been three weeks since Kara's birth, and over a month since they had talked in the hospital wing over Eren's maternal throes. The silence between them hung like an ax, and Levi was beginning to suspect that it would not take long for it to come down, chopping their necks and offering their heads up for judgment to the rest of humanity. Everyone in the Survey Corps knew what was going on: Hanji kept whispering little pieces of useless advice into Levi's ear as he fed his daughter, Mike merely sniffed at the air knowingly whenever the Smith family made an appearance. The rest, including the recruits, were simply hesitant whenever they mentioned the Commander to him and vice-versa. Overall, it was awkward as hell. More so, considering that Levi was still technically on maternity leave and forced to stay in their quarters most of the time, with only the little monster for company, and that Erwin made it a point to establish "the familiar connection that they lacked" to show to the baby that she had a whole family. The whole point was ridiculous, from this point of view, Levi had stated numerous times, because at this stage, Kara Smith could not distinguish love from her own shit.

But love was a big theme for Erwin now, Levi considered, taking into account that Kara's very name, carefully chosen and offered up for him to approve, meant 'loved one' in an obscure language from a book Hanji had almost finished deciphering. Initially, the former Corporal had protested: what if the translation had been inaccurate? He's be stuck with a child name Little Sack of Feces for the rest of his life. But Erwin had given him a look, and he conceded without much of a fight. Why would he care what this little monster would be called?

Oh, but he did care. He certainly cared whenever Hanji praised how adorable and curious his daughter was. He certainly cared whenever Kara directed her large blue eyes to look at his face. And he certainly cared when Erwin tried to take her from him with his one arm.

"What are you doing?" He asked sharply. The Commander gave him a confused look in the semi-darkness.

"I was going to try doing it. Maybe she'll listen to me."

"Why would she listen to you?" Levi said as he rocked the wailing child slower, hoping that she would cooperate finally. No such luck. He groaned inwardly as the screams intensified. "I think she has colics; you can't help here. It's the bloody food, or whatever the fuck that stuff that Hanji came up with, it's doing this to her."