#ackermans

Kuchel & Levi Ackerman

The fever made Kuchel's eyes shine. She wanted water, her throat a honed knife. She cupped Levi's cheek in her burning palm.

"Out there, water falls from the sky." Levi listened carefully. Always careful, her boy. "All you could want, fresh and clean. It's sweet." She laughed, cracked lips curved. "You can just open your mouth and catch it."

Her gaze slid away and Levi ducked to follow, trying to keep her. "I'll get it for you Mama." He covered her trembling hand with his little one.

But when he finally found the rain, all he could taste was salt.

The ackermans running a little hot body temperature wise due to their titan DNA. Shifters naturally dont mind it that much since they themselves.

Mikasa:

Mikasa has always been a cuddle bug dont let her demeanor tell you otherwise.

Armin, pre colossal, would very happily sleep between Eren and Mikasa during the winter, tangled in their limbs being their personal body pillow. During the summer however, he would not be caught anywhere dead near those two. Eren would never admit he loved cuddling with his childhood best friends but would get pissy about Armin moving his sleeping bag away the second it started getting hot out. Mikasa called him a baby but secretly shared the sentiment. When Armin became a shifter the cuddle puddle was back on and near constant.

Pre titan Eren was very similar to Armin but Mikasa had major separation anxiety as kids and he would eventually give in and let her climb in bed with him when she looked sad. Mikasa was very aware of the power her big sad dark eyes had and would exploit it for cuddles.

During bootcamp, Sasha also noticed Mikasa always being warm and toasty, so she would use her own big sad brown eyes and lots and lots of pleading to get winter cuddles from her. Mikasa thought this was her karma and took it like a soldier and totally didnt secretly like it.

A random one but during winters, if she noticed someone looking too cold she would quietly sit near them no explanation to help them warm up.

Levi:

Levi does not cuddle. He just doesnt. It’s weird and uncomfortable and he doesnt like to be held it makes him feel awkward and vulnerable.

That being said he does like sleeping close to people (what little sleep he actually gets) and has a hard time falling asleep alone.

Humanity’s soldier is also the veteran’s personal heater and the poor man gets manhandled during the winter.

Erwin attempts to be discreet. He will pretend he is only grabbing Levi’s shoulders to emphasize the importance of whatever he’s saying but he isn’t slick and Levi isnt stupid. These two arent usually sleeping near each other during missions, but when they are and it’s cold, Erwin will wait until he thinks Levi is asleep to snuggle closer to him (Levi isn’t asleep, he only tolerates it because its Erwin and he isnt being overly touchy about it). During the summer it’s a completely different story. Erwin is stupid sensitive to temperature so he will not be caught sitting anywhere close to Levi when it’s hot out, much less laying anywhere close to him. The man has straight up told him it’s too hot to have him in his office some days so the thought of Levi sleeping anywhere close to him when it’s hot is laughable to both of them. One time during a summer mission, Levi simply went to ask Erwin something and happened to be holding his sleeping bag and Erwin didn’t even let him open his mouth before going “oh hell no”. Levi thinks he is very dramatic.

All the prudence Erwin has, Hange lacks. Shame? She doesnt know what that is. During the winter, she will walk up to him and stick her hands down his coat regardless of what Levi is doing. Levi isn’t a touchy person but Hange doesn’t care, personal space isnt even a concept she believes in. At first, Levi would fight back and Hange had the audacity to be offended about it but eventually, he just resigned himself to it though it’s still startling. Hange’s limbs are always fucking freezing and she loves tormenting Levi with them. She cant really sneak up on him because of his Ackerman reflexes, but she will purposely lull him into a sense of security before randomly sticking her cold ass hands down his shirt, she likes the way he jumps one time he even squeaked. Hange got a black eye that day, it was worth it. It isn’t just hands though, during missions if they sleep near each other she will unashamedly stick her freezing fucking feet up his shirt. For two people who don’t have siblings, they have infinite sibling energy.

Mike and Nanaba are not saints either, Levi’s pockets are real estate during the winter months though Nanaba is polite enough to ask. Mike has great dane who doesn’t care he isn’t lapdog sized energy with Levi when it’s cold. Not only that, but he will hold his hands over Levi like he’s standing over a fireplace. Mike isn’t as heat sensitive as Erwin but he doesnt like sparring with Levi during the summer, particularly grappling.

The soldiers are too afraid of him to be this bold but they do tend to encroach into his personal space when it’s cold out and discreetly avoid standing too close in the summer. During Petra’s first mission with Levi Squad, she got woken up by Levi shaking her and telling her she was “too close”, she was utterly mortified that in her sleep she had found herself inching closer and closer to her new captain who she totally didn’t have a crush on.

Bonus not a cuddle thing but if any soldier suffers from hypothermia, theyre getting placed next to Levi. He’s on med bay duty during cold expeditions and all he does is sit with hypothermic soldiers. Considering mortality rate from hypothermia went down since his enlisting, maybe Erwin isn’t so dramatic about Levi’s body heat after all.

Bonus part 2: I lied he did cuddle but the only ones he ever fully cuddled were Isabel and Furlan. They were the original benefactors of Levi’s freaky body heat. Isabel would still wanna cuddle even when she was sweating her ass off during the summer, Furlan wouldn’t but he would still sleep with some body part of his touching Levi.

Kenny:

Kenny doesn’t just run hot, he is also heat sensitive, so he would bitch to Uri about *Uri* being too hot but you bet his ass was still offended when Uri apologized and offered to sleep elsewhere. Kenny grumbled and stayed up all night being unable to sleep but he refused to let go of Uri’s waist even for a second.

Not only was Uri a shifter but he was also basically god, he didn’t really get cold and ran pretty hot. That didn’t stop Kenny from telling him they should “sleep close together to stay warm” on a particularly cold night when they had recently met. Kenny kept over emphasizing how it was strictly a strategic choice almost as if to convince himself more than Uri. Uri laughed and Kenny had to cover his face with his hat to hide the redness on his cheeks “fine, catch your death” he mumbled. Kenny got laid that night and soon after found out that small little preacher man was a damn industrial furnace.

Towards the end of Attack on Titan Season 4, the long-awaited ships, AruAni, EreMika, and LeviHan—each faced a similar emotional crossroads, though at different points in the story. These moments revolved around a single question: would they finally confront and acknowledge the feelings they had kept buried for so long? Each pair had previously deflected their emotions for different reasons.

1. AruAni - Annie was crystallized and unreachable for much of the series,

2. EreMika - Eren was consumed by his drive to kill all the titans and later for the search of freedom.

3. LeviHan - Both Levi and Hange consistently chose duty over personal connection, prioritizing the sacrifices of their comrades above all else.

This narrative parallel added emotional depth to the finale, highlighting the human cost of war, duty, and unspoken truths.

If these characters were able to deflect their feelings for the past 3 seasons, then what changed? It’s simple, in Season 4 the stakes were higher and survival is not definite more than ever. (Even compared during the titans were their only enemies). Heck, even Levi was nerfed so no one’s safe during S04.

Hence the characters’ vulnerabilties were shown.

So back to the confrontations of feelings.

Let’s start with EreMika.

When Eren asked Mikasa "What am I to you? Mikasa hesitated, then she went on to say "You are family." in a sense it was true, but it was not her only truth, Eren was more than a family, additionally, that's not the answer that would make Eren stay, but of course Mikasa was not aware on the extent of Eren’s future plans.

As for Levi, when he was asked by Hange "Shall we live here, just the two of us?" Levi chose to answered with "If we keep running and hiding...what will that get us?" and when he saw the carriage Hange was fixing, continued with, "I know you...you're not able to stay out of action."

He did not reject her proposal but he reminded her who she really is, and he supports her decision and she does not need to explain herself to him. Together, they chose to keep fighting rather than run. It was a clear, rational choice, but it wasn’t Levi’s only truth.

The Ackerman parallels.

Mikasa and Levi who both hesitated to tell the truth when they were confronted by it.

Because of that, Eren and Hange's decision were shaped by the answers they received from Mikasa and Levi. Those questions were crucial in Eren and Hange’s next decisions (spoiler alert, they both sadly died)

But when Armin was faced with the same situation, He chose to say his truth.

When he was confronted by it, he didn’t hesitate to tell Annie the truth. Shy, yes—but not hesitant. He didn’t think of their fallen comrades. He didn’t stop to wonder if it was selfish to speak of feelings, even as the world was being destroyed by The Rumbling. He didn’t believe that him and Annie coming to terms with how they felt would hinder their mission.

He continued to fight even if Annie chose to stay behind. Armin chose to say his truth because he does not want to have any regrets. No matter what happens with the battle with Eren, at least he was able to tell his truth. And it was worth it, because of Annie’s reaction to his confession, he got his answer. Annie did reciprocate his feelings.

Annie's next decision, even is not solely based on Armin's answer, but it was influenced by it. Annie’s decision to stay behind was now final and she has no doubts about it now. She does not want to fight anymore and she doesn't want to see any of the alliance get hurt, specially Armin so it finalized her decision not to fight anymore. (Yes she decided to fight again, but that was because the discovered Falco's ability to fly and Armin was taken.)

Imagine what would happen if Armin deflected the question or he had other thoughts than just saying his truth.

For Armin, choosing the truth is not selfish, even if Annie said that it does not feel right to talk about their feelings while The Rumbling was happening but it did not stop him.

For Levi and Mikasa, they both missed the chance. And those missed chances will then lead to them loosing the people they deeply care about.