The Perfect Fit--A Levi Ackerman x Reader Series

Chapter 1

Levi Ackerman x female reader

Warnings: cussing

You grunted, lifting the last box into the cart and feeling relief that your sore arms could take a break for the short ride over to the Scout Regiment. You slipped your foot into the saddle of the horse, brought your other leg up and over, and started on your journey. You wanted to enjoy the feeling of wind in your hair and sunshine on your face this fine summer day, but frankly, you were too exhausted to give a damn. Your fingers were numb, your wrists cramped, your eyes dry. You were up all night mending the Survey Corps uniforms. As the resident seamstress, tailor, and only person skilled enough at embroidery, you were always busy, but no time were you more overwhelmed with work than after the group comes back from an expedition. Most, if not all, soldiers' uniforms had holes of every size that needed to be patched. Pants, jackets, capes—each had to be in working order and acceptable in appearance as fast as possible. There was never enough money allotted to the Scouts to buy new uniforms as often as they should and sometimes you were even left working with clothes of the deceased to clean and repurpose for their living comrades. The whole situation was messed up, sure, but with severe lack of resources, especially with Titans taking up the valuable real estate needed to cultivate more, you understood that you had to make do. And so, you did. Just because something is a necessity doesn't make it any easier to work with, though. You took to your face a handkerchief to dab away the accumulated sweat as your horse neighed and the cart slowly came to a halt in front of barracks. You were afraid that when you dismounted, your legs would give out in exhaustion, but you mentally slapped yourself. There was no way you would show an ounce of weakness in front of the people who give their lives just to keep you safe. Before you could give it any more thought, a voice called out to you.

"Y/n! Welcome! I trust everything is here?"

Commander Erwin walked toward you, halting his conversation with a shorter man who looked displeased at the interruption, but nevertheless made his way to you as well.

"Hello, Commander. Yes, all of the Scouts' uniforms are in here, mended and ready to wear." You slid off your horse and thankfully didn't fall over. "Where should I unload the boxes?"

"Captain Levi will show you where they go. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to."

Your eyes went wide when you realized who the man in front of you was.

"Captain Levi," you said, a smile gracing your face, "it's an honor to finally meet you, sir. I rarely receive your articles of clothing to fix. You must truly be as good as they say if you can avoid snagging your cape in the tree branches."

Levi had an unreadable look on his face as he let out a "tch." You were about to say something else when Hange came running over.

"Y/n!" They screamed in excitement, dragging out the last syllable of your name. You were greeted with a big hug from your friend and you felt the tiredness slip away from your body for a brief moment.

"Hange! I haven't see you in forever! I made sure to stitch up your shirt extra well and took great care to make sure it was straight as can be."

"Aww, I am your favorite-"

"Isn't that your job?" Levi interjected, looking annoyed as ever.

You were confused by what he meant. "I'm sorry?"

"Your job. Isn't it your job to make sure the stitches are straight? Why are you bragging about doing your job the way it's supposed to be done?"

You felt your face warm in embarrassment. You weren't expecting to make a fool out of yourself, especially in front of someone as important as the captain, yet here you were. You should've heeded everyone's advice to avoid talking to him or near him at all costs. Hange punched him in the arm, presumably for being so rude around their friend, but you answered him before a fight ensued.

"I don't have a sewing machine," you muttered.

Levi raised his hand to his ear, signaling you to speak up. You took a deep breath, frustrated at his attitude.

"I said, I don't have a sewing machine. I mend everybody's clothes by hand, by myself, with a turn around time of basically nothing." You felt yourself getting heated and you knew it was because you were tired, but you kept going. "I fix undergarments, shirts, pants, jackets, and capes for 150 people at a time. I scrub blood from the dead's clothes until my own fingers bleed because we don't have enough material for me not to. I'm sorry my standards aren't high enough for you, Captain, but sometimes I can only work extra hard on one person's uniform. If I took the time to be that precise with everyone's, your cadets would be fighting the titans just as naked as they are." You felt your eyes start to water but you were determined to keep your cool. "Now, please show me where these boxes go. I have lots of work that needs to be done."

No more words were exchanged as you, Levi, and Hange moved the boxes to an empty room inside barracks. When the work was done and Hange bid you farewell, it was just you and the moody captain alone again. Your horse could sense the tension between you two, stamping the ground in light distress, and you both reached out to soothe the animal. Well, him being an animal lover makes you like him the tiniest bit more. Alas, you knew you had to make verbal amends or else you'd risk getting reprimanded by whatever higher ups caught wind of the situation that you weren't giving 110% on your work (that inevitably gets ruined the next time the cadets get too rough during training, but you digress).

"Look, Captain, I sincerely apologize for my behavior. I know I technically don't work under you but you're still an officer and deserve respect. Just know that I am trying my best to work under these rough conditions, as are you and your team. I hope I didn't offend you or undermine the importance of your team's uniforms." You lowered your head in a slight bow to show your remorse.

"Raise your head, dumbass. It's fine," he said, monotone as usual, and he walked away. When he was out of earshot, you groaned. You were lucky that you and Erwin were close or else you figured you'd be fired immediately for your lack of tact toward a superior. Mounting your horse once more, you rode back to your workshop for some much needed rest. With your horse squared away in its stable, you locked your front door behind you and took off your shoes, feeling your pain creep up. You went upstairs to your living area and sleep overtook you as soon as your head hit your pillow.

The next morning, you awoke to a soft knock at your door. It was much too early for any tailoring appointments you had, so after you yawned, you called out, "just a minute!" to let the person know you were on the way. However, when you opened the door, you weren't greeted with a human, but a sewing machine! You stood in shock for a few moments before sweeping it into your arms, cradling it like a baby. As much as you never wanted to let go of the machine, you put it on your work table to read the note that was attached.

"ALL my soldiers deserve to be fitted with the best uniforms from the best seamstress. Also, go to the damn medic. Your fingers are fucking disgusting."

If it weren't for the note, you would've thought Hange got you the gift, but no—it must have been Levi! You couldn't help but giggle at what he wrote as you looked down at your hands. He was right, of course. Your fingers had blisters all over them from sewing too much. He must've noticed them when you were moving boxes, or maybe when you touched your horse? Either way, he has a hell of an eye for detail because you were never all that close to him yesterday. Rereading the note, you felt your heart skip a beat. He definitely cared deeply about people, much more than he let on, which was apparent in the way he sourced a literal sewing machine for you in under 24 hours, a feat that few could pull off in these times. But he was just being a concerned captain, that's all. There was nothing more to his actions, no hidden feelings or anything cheesy like that.

Right?