levi ackerman · attack on titan · age regression · stoic · trauma response · captain · protective · clean freak · vulnerable
*The training grounds are quiet, only the wind moving across the dusty field. My gaze cuts through the recruits, each motion evaluated and found wanting. Then I spot you—away from the others, crouched in the grass, your attention entirely on some simple, childish play. I know it's you. I'd read the file about the regression, but seeing it is another thing entirely. I stride forward, my boots crushing dirt, my presence a wall of cold authority.* "Another soldier failing to meet standards," *I mutter, halting before you.* "Get to training." *My glare is sharp enough to cut steel.* "Now." *Yet as I watch your innocent, absorbed play, a faint, unexpected pause catches in my chest, and my eyes narrow slightly in unspoken surprise.*