"Winning Shot"

‼️WARNINGS‼️

•Season 2 & 3 Spoilers

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(Requested by: @-D_ACKERMAN )

Third Person POV

"I'm gonna miss basketball season." Ymir yawns, laying down in her sleeping bag. "Me too. I hope next season is good!" Sasha smiles, chewing on a candy. "You're not gonna be able to sleep if you keep eating sugar." Historia sighs, chuckling afterwards. Sasha shrugs, rolling onto her back. "I'm tired, guys." (F/n) lets out a yawn as she adjusts in her sleeping bag. "Yeah, we better go to sleep before Mikasa's mom yells at us." Sasha laughs, finishing her snack. "Good idea." Ymir agrees, stretching out her arms. "Goodnight guys." Historia smiles, glancing over at Mikasa. "Oh, she's already out. Anyway, goodnight!" She smiles before laying down as well. "Night!" The rest of them reply, going to sleep.

~~

The next morning, (f/n) runs home to grab her duffle bag to take to the game. Mikasa's mom was nice enough to lend everyone a ride since the girls all spent the night. Luckily, she only lived next door to (f/n). "Hey, dad!" (F/n) shouts as she runs up the stairs to her bedroom to swap out bags. Her dad only caught of glimpse of his daughter speeding through the house when she ran inside, simply waving. "Yeah, I'm leaving as soon my daughter does. I'll be on the road in about twenty minutes. All right, I'll see you then." Levi hangs up the phone after, grabbing the last few things he needs before leaving.

By this time, (f/n) slides back down the stairs, duffle bag in tow. "You're gonna meet us at school, right?" She asks as soon as she hits the bottom. "Well, honey, you see..." He starts to say, but his daughter cuts him off. "Are you taking me instead? Okay! I'll be outside!" She gets up and heads for the door. "No, (f/n), listen." He stops her, coming over to talk. "What's up?" She asks, dropping her bag. "Some things turned up at work... and well, I have to go out of town this weekend for a meeting. Don't worry though, Kenny is going to pick you up after the game." He explains to her. "Oh..." (F/n) slowly nods. "I'm sorry, (nickname). I wish I could come." The father sighs. "No, it's okay." The girl shakes her head, showing off a wide smile. "Are you sure?" He notices the fake smile. "Yeah! Positive." She nods again, picking up her bag. "See 'ya!" She waves, running back out the door. Levi stands there and lets out another sigh, collecting his things.

"Ready to go?" Mikasa's mother asks everyone as they pile into her car. "Yep!" All the girls reply, sitting in a seat. Once buckled, they leave the house and head to the school for the last game of the season. Historia and Ymir chat the entire ride while Sasha and Mikasa talk about the upcoming game. (F/n) sits in the very back, keeping to herself as she thinks about the game and how her dad is missing it again. He's only seen two games out of the whole season and both times, he got phone calls from work.

"Okay, girls, you ready to get out there?" Their team's coach smiles down at the sixth graders. "Yeah!" They all cheer, hungry for the competition. "Looks like you're competing against the Sina Scorpions." Hange looks over at the other team, their colors green and white. "Well, the Maria Manatees are cooler!" Sasha remarks, making Historia giggle. "All right, get warmed-up before we start then!" Hange gives them a thumbs up.

While warming-up, the girls notice their parents and family filing into the gym, getting a seat on the bleachers. (F/n) doesn't bother looking, already knowing that her dad wasn't going to show up. The other girls noticed this and decided not to say anything about it. (F/n) looked upset enough by it, they didn't want to make her feel worse. "Hey, is that the other team?" Historia asks, pointing over to the other side of the gym. Five girls come in, each of them familiar to the team. They've played before in elementary school. Annie, Hitch, Nanaba, Rico, and Petra. They start their own warm-up, eyeing the team. "Sheesh, they look meaner than last year." Sasha comments, feeling a bit intimidated by them. "Don't worry about them, they won't see what's coming." Ymir smirks.

Once everyone is warmed-up and gets their game strategy, they head out to the court, slapping hands with each player as a greeting. Hange sits on the bench, watching each team circle around the center of the court. The referee comes out to the center, holding the ball. After a few seconds, he blows the whistle as he throws the ball into the air. Mikasa and Nanaba's hands shoot up, ready to grab the ball to have possession. Nanaba is the first to touch the ball, immediately passing it back to Rico. The short platinum blonde dribbles then passes it over to Hitch, somehow landing a basket in the blink of an eye. "How-" Ymir's eyes are wide at their swiftness. "Look's like we're going to have to go harder." Mikasa mumbles to herself.

~~

Driving in silence, Levi taps the leather wheel of his Jeep, glancing between mirrors every few seconds. He didn't like how this morning had went. Even though (f/n) said it was fine he wasn't able to make it, he knew her better than that. It hurt him to see her so hurt by the fact. If he could get out of this meeting he would for her sake. On all days, they chose to have a meeting this weekend. He never liked his boss, Mr. Smith. This wasn't the first time he pulled a stunt like this, costing him time with his daughter.

The guilt builds stronger with each passing mile, eating him up. Breaking out of his spaced-out state on the expressway, the people-pleasing side of him comes out and he makes a spontaneous decision to signal off at the next exit. "What the hell am I doing?" Levi sighs, getting off the expressway and stopping at the red intersection. Holding his foot on the brake, he glances down at his cellphone on the center console, screen shining in the sun's reflection. Grabbing it, he punches in his boss's number, acting before his mind could wrap around his actions. As soon as he answers, Levi speaks up. "Mr. Smith, I'm going to have to excuse myself from tomorrow morning's meeting." He explains, turning around once the light turns green. "How come? We need you there, remember? We have a very important pitch coming up!" The man on the other end is surprised and already frustrated. "I'm unable to make it, sir. I'm going to spend time with my daughter today. I've missed enough of her games for you, I've had enough of it." He feels the anger rise from all those times he's missed out on (f/n)'s life and accomplishments. "Levi, I don't appreciate this attitude coming from you. You know you're supposed to give this company your all! If you're not coming, then considered yourself fired." Mr. Smith snaps. Levi takes a breath before responding. "Okay. I'll collect my things on Monday. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Smith." He hangs up the phone before his boss can get another word out. "I really messed up just now, huh?" He sighs to himself.

~~

The teams had gone into the final half of the game, tired from how hard they've been working to score higher. The Maria Manatees were catching up to the Sina Scorpions and they weren't ready to throw in the towel. They were going to push through until the end and win for their school. On the other side of the gym, a man comes running in, checking to see how much time was left of the game. About ten minutes. Looking down at his hands, he held a white and royal blue jersey that he had gotten in support of (f/n) and her team. Putting it on over his dress shirt, he walks towards the bleachers and finds himself a place to sit, spotting his little girl on the court. Cheering her on with the rest of the crowd, he realizes he made the best decision when she makes the winning shot at the last few seconds of the game. The girls all cheer and shout, group hugging when they realize they had won the game, all kinds of emotions going through her heads. Their coach, Hange, screams with a large smile, jumping up and down in place. "Those are my girls!" They feel a few tears leave their eyes in pure joy.

After the game, they slap hands with the opponents one last time for the good game, then head to the bench to get some water, and talk about the victory lunch they're about to have. (F/n) is grinning and talking to Sasha when Historia interrupts. "Hey, (f/n), look!" The blonde points towards the bleachers, shaking the (hair color) girl's shoulder. (F/n) looks over at Historia then towards the bleachers, spotting her father running towards her. "Dad...?" She whispers with widening eyes, not expecting him to be here. "(Nickname)!" He shouts, scooping her up and over his shoulder. The girl gasps, laughing and hanging onto him. "What are you doing here?!" She giggles, being spun in a circle. "You did so good out there, kid!" He sets her down, holding her shoulders. "You saw me?" She looks into his eyes, still in disbelief. "I saw that winning shot, kiddo. I'm so proud of you." He smiles at her. (F/n) glances at his lips and feels her own smile form. It had been so long since she last saw him smile, considering he was always working, and stressed. "T-Thanks, dad." She whispers back, tears brimming her eyes. "Are you coming to lunch with us, Mr. Ackerman?" Sasha asks, standing nearby. Levi looks down at his daughter then back at her friend, nodding. "I'll be there."

Walking back out to the car, Levi carries (f/n) on his back while she talks all about the game since he missed the first half. "Wait, how come you aren't out of town?" The young girl asks when they make it to his car. "I didn't wanna miss your game, (nickname). You're more important than a little meeting." Levi answers as she hops off his back. "Really?" She holds onto her duffle bag, fidgeting with the strap. "Really." He nods, pulling out the keys to unlock and open her door. "And I'll be spending some more time with you now." He adds as she climbs into her seat. "Really?!" She asks again with a big smile. He nods with a small smile of his own, happy to see his daughter excited. "Let's go get some ice cream after lunch. Just you and me." He tells her once in the car. "Can we eat it at the park and play our own game of basketball after?" She smiles brightly, looking over at him. "Sure. Whatever you want, kid." He nods.

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I know nothing about basketball so I hope you were able to bear with me LMFAO I spent at least thirty minutes watching a series of YT videos learning about the rules and whatnot and then a virtual game 💀

Anyway, hope y'all are having a lovely June so far!

~AlpineBreadStick