September 8, 2025

Levi sat there, twirling a piece of grass between his fingers. He didn’t know what to say. He never really knew what to say when it came down to it. When he was confronted with reality. He just couldn’t handle all that: the consequences of the situation. So he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to remember what he was here for. Who he was here for.

“Erwin,” he started, though he was still very unconfident and unsure of himself. “Erwin, I… I want to catch you up on how things have been since I saw you last.”

Erwin didn’t say anything, as if waiting for Levi to speak. Levi sighed. Typical. Erwin had been very quiet these days. He didn’t have much to say, and Levi didn’t blame him. After what had happened between them, it seemed normal for Erwin not to say much to Levi.

They used to talk for hours on end; Erwin never knew when to shut up. But now, things were different. And Erwin had become very quiet. Levi didn’t mind though; he’d be the voice for both of them when he had to be. So he continued.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “I’ve been doing better. My therapist says I’m starting to move on, which I think is a good thing. But I’m always thinking about you… about us, of course. It’s hard not to. I…”

Levi sucked in a deep breath, unable to look at him, “I miss you.”

It felt embarrassing to admit. It’d been so long, and here Levi was still missing Erwin. Erwin had told him probably a million times to move on. But Levi couldn’t just do that. Their relationship had meant everything to him.

“I’m sorry,” Levi immediately backtracked. “I won’t be a burden this time. I know you want me to live for myself, not for you. But it’s hard sometimes.”

Erwin kept quiet, and Levi was worried for a moment he was pissing him off. He whimpered, leaning to rest his forehead in his hand as tears filled his eyes, “Don’t be disappointed in me… or upset. I’m doing my best, okay? I’m trying to live up to your expectations.”

“Dada!” He heard behind him, and he turned to see the three year old toddling towards him. “Dada! I wanna go home!”

Levi smiled softly at her, holding open his arms as she rushed into them. He stroked her blonde hair, kissing her cheek, “We can go, baby. Just give Dada a second, okay? I’m just saying goodbye, okay?”

The three-year-old impatiently tugged on Levi’s shirt, stomping her little feet, “Dada! Go now!”

Levi ran his fingers across her soft pale skin, “Evelyn Louise Ackerman-Smith. You know we don’t stomp our feet at Dada, right?”

Evelyn whimpered, her lip poking out in a pout, “Dada… wanna go home!”

He took both her hands into his own, looking into her soft blue eyes to try and get his point across, “I know you wanna go home, Lynnie…. but Dada’s not done yet, so you gotta be patient. You can do that, can’t you? Be a patient girl for Dada? Here… why don’t you go pick some flowers for Papa while we finish talking?”

Evelyn let out a huff before she walked off and started curling her fists around some wildflowers, tugging them from their homes in the ground. Levi thought perhaps he shouldn’t have suggested the child destroy nature, but at least it was for a good reason: to give to her Papa. 

Levi turned back around, sighing a little, “Sorry about that. She gets very impatient now-a-days - always wanting to do something. Anyways, I should probably go. It’s been nice talking to you, Erwin.”

Levi got off the ground, leaving Erwin there. The man had not a word to speak to him, but Levi was still trying to get used to Erwin’s stubborn silence. Evelyn collected more flowers before she rushed over to Erwin and set the flowers in front of him. Levi smiled at her, proud that she knew what to do.

Levi held out his hand to her, and the two walked away from the headstone that read:

Beloved Husband and Father:

Erwin J. Smith

October 14, 1985 - February 19, 2022

“Live with No Regrets”

April 21, 2017

Levi tossed his head back and giggled happily as Erwin pushed him on the swing. It was late; the sun was going down, but the two had gone on a walk from the dorms to the nearby park on their first date. They were in their senior year of undergrad, a couple of weeks from graduation, and Erwin had been pursuing Levi for a couple of months now. Levi didn’t mind - the two had something in common: they were both older undergrad students (Levi was 29 and Erwin was 32). The two had spent plenty of time in the library studying together, flirting with the idea of going out with one another. But both of them had been far too nervous to actually follow through with anything, until this night, when Erwin had asked Levi if he wanted to walk to the park.

Levi would definitely consider this a first date. Erwin had held his hand the whole way there, and now he was pushing Levi on the swing, touching his waist each time he pushed him forwards. Levi felt like a teenager again, giddy and in love. In the months he’d spent getting to know Erwin, whom he’d met in his required history course, he’d really fallen for the man. He was smart, charismatic, thoughtful - everything Levi hoped for in a man.

“I dare you to jump off the swing,” Erwin murmured in Levi’s ear on his swing backwards before pushing him again.

Levi grinned and laughed at Erwin’s suggestion, shimmying forwards a little on the swing and letting Erwin push him once, twice more before he went flying off the swing into the air. He landed perfectly on both feet, not even stumbling, and turned to Erwin, hands up in the air in triumph.

“Well that was impressive,” Erwin chuckled, a smile on his face as well as he began to walk over to join Levi.

Levi was surprised when Erwin enveloped him in a tight hug, spinning him in a circle. He could feel himself blushing and laughing nervously, smiling up at Erwin when the man set him back on the ground. Levi suddenly realized how close Erwin’s face was to his own, and he could feel that blush settle in even more. It all felt so natural, to be with Erwin like this; so hopelessly in love with one another. He leaned up to close the gap between them, eyes fluttering closed as he felt Erwin’s lips on his own.

The two held onto one another, kissing sweetly in the glow of the sunset on the soft spring day. When they finally pulled away from each other, they were smiling at one another, laughing happily.

“I really like you,” Erwin whispered against Levi’s lips, looking almost drunk with the feeling of affection he had for the shorter man. “Levi. You’re so beautiful.”

Levi had his arms wrapped around Erwin’s neck, tugging him closer and staring down at Erwin’s plump lips as he replied, “I like you too, Ervy. And you’re one to talk.”

Erwin chuckled as the two sealed their lips together again, kissing deeper now. Erwin was practically lifting Levi off the ground, holding him around his waist. Levi wasn’t sure things could get anymore perfect than they were in this moment.

May 20, 2018

But nothing could stay perfect forever.

Levi and Erwin became boyfriends shortly after this first date, and graduated a couple of weeks later - Erwin with a law degree and Levi with a degree in social work. Levi didn’t notice anything was wrong for the next few months. He had his suspicions that something was off with Erwin, but he ignored them in favor of that beautiful honeymoon phase they were going through.   He’d noticed Erwin’s red eyes, his anxious tics, how easily his moods would change when confronted with stressful situations. But it took an entire year for Levi to fully come to terms with what was going on, to be fully confronted by it.

It all happened one evening when he had decided to surprise Erwin by showing up to his apartment with flowers and a movie they could watch. He was let into the apartment building by a man who was coming out to have a smoke, and he walked up the steps to the second floor before heading down the hall and knocking on Erwin’s door. He heard a loud, surprised gasp on the other end, followed by sounds of scrambling.

He’d visited Erwin’s before, but usually they went to Levi’s, so perhaps Erwin was just surprised that someone was at his door in general. But Levi could sense something was wrong. His boyfriend hadn’t really texted him much that day, and Levi had just assumed he was busy. But soon, the door opened, and Levi was greeted with a very different version of his boyfriend than he was used to.

Erwin’s hair was messy, in his forehead and not slicked back like usual, his eyes and cheeks red as though he’d been crying, his breath stinking of alcohol. He looked completely disheveled, not even standing up straight as he leaned in the doorway a little. He was clearly drunk.

“Oh fuck,” he muttered upon realizing who it was, his eyes widening. “L-Levi.”

“Baby?” Levi frowned, looking up at Erwin with concern. “I… I came to surprise you, but… is everything okay?”

Erwin stared down at Levi with wide, anxious eyes, shivering slightly - that was one of his anxiety tics - and glancing around haphazardly to avoid Levi’s gaze, “I… I’m fine. I’m fine, I just… I wasn’t expecting you.”

He laughed nervously, trying to lighten the mood, as if Levi hadn’t just found him in such a state. Levi wouldn’t take ‘I’m fine’ as an answer - he clearly wasn’t fine. Levi carefully reached a hand up to touch Erwin’s cheek, caressing gently to try and soothe him. His fingers ran over the stubble on Erwin’s skin; it didn’t seem like he’d been taking care of himself at all today. He smelled as though he hadn’t showered, and he clearly hadn’t shaved or done his hair.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Levi asked. “Here, let me in and we can talk about it.”

Erwin physically relaxed at Levi’s touch, eyes still darting around nervously. He whimpered, “I… I… okay, fine. But… I didn’t clean today so… so it’s messy. I’m sorry. I know you hate mess.”

Levi didn’t really care about the mess right now; he cared more about Erwin’s well-being than anything, and Erwin didn’t seem to be faring well at the moment. Levi nodded, continuing to stroke Erwin’s cheek, “It’s okay, honey. Let’s go sit on the couch and we can talk.”

Erwin sniffed and moved aside to let Levi in. Levi walked in and handed the flowers to Erwin, who thanked him quietly before setting them on the kitchen counter. Levi followed him, eyeing the room with some shock. There were empty beers and liquor bottles in paper recycling bags stacked next to the garbage - it had been a couple of weeks since Levi had last been to Erwin’s apartment, but still, the amount of empty alcohol containers was a little concerning. Levi swallowed thickly, following Erwin into the living room and sitting at the couch. He placed the movies he’d brought with him on the coffee table, and his eyes widened upon seeing a line of a white substance with a credit card next to where he’d set the DVDs. Is that cocaine? Levi wondered with shock. He didn’t even know Erwin drank excessively, let alone did drugs.

Erwin didn’t bother covering up the drugs. He probably figured Levi had already seen it by this point. He sat down next to Levi on the couch, clasping his hands together and staring at the floor determinedly, as if not wanting to face whatever the hell was going on with him. Levi was growing increasingly concerned. Erwin was usually so well put-together. What was wrong?

“Can you talk to me, Ervy?” Levi asked cautiously, reaching up to tuck a piece of Erwin’s bangs behind his ear so he could better see Erwin’s face. “Tell me what’s wrong, baby. We can fix it together.”

Erwin sucked in a shaky breath, briefly smiling when Levi touched his hair before going back to a stressed frown as he explained quietly, “I… I’m just… I’m sad.”

It had taken a lot for him to say just that, Levi could tell. His whole body was vibrating with nerves, and Levi could’ve easily guessed that Erwin was sad. But why? Why was Erwin so sad that he’d drank so much and done cocaine? Was this a normal occurrence for him?

“What are you sad about?” Levi asked.

He wasn’t really good with these types of things - emotions - but he was going to try his best to get through to Erwin. He cared about his boyfriend too much to just abandon him in his time of need.

Erwin was still staring at the same spot on the floor with great determination, but Levi could see that slight quiver in his lower lip, his eyes filling with tears that he was trying to swallow back and keep at bay. Levi felt incredibly worried. Had something terrible happened?

“I… I…” Erwin sniffled, a tear breaking forward and rolling down his cheek that he quickly wiped away. “I fucking hate it here. I don’t want to keep doing this.”

Levi scooted a little closer, wrapping an arm around Erwin’s shoulders and rubbing his arm, “What do you mean ‘here’? What happened, Ervy?”

“N-Nothing happened,” Erwin tried to explain. “I… I just get like this sometimes.”

He let out a deep, shaky sigh before continuing, “I got diagnosed with manic depression when I was 22, and I don’t take meds for it because they make me sick. So sometimes I just… really don’t want to be here.”

Here. Levi repeated in his mind. Here probably meant… in existence. Erwin didn’t want to exist. He was suicidal. Levi could feel his chest constricting painfully, his heart pounding a little faster. His boyfriend was always the one to comfort Levi when he was down, not the other way around. Erwin was always so cheerful - Levi hadn’t seen this coming.

“I… I drink and do cocaine to help,” Erwin breathed, pressing two fingers to his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut in stress. “It… It helps sometimes. But I know it’s not good for me. I… I just can’t stop myself.”

Levi held him a little tighter, opening his mouth to speak before Erwin apologized tearfully, “I’m sorry, Levi. I’m so sorry - you probably think I’m a fucking loser now. God, I ruin everything. I can never just shut up-”

“Erwin,” Levi interrupted him quickly, wanting to reassure him. “I don’t think you’re a loser, and you didn’t ruin anything. I’m… I’m here for you, okay? I won’t leave you just because you have problems - we all do. And I’ll do anything to help you through this, okay? I just want you to be honest with me…”

Levi watched Erwin’s lower lip turn from quivering to wobbling before a sob escaped from deep in his chest. He buried his face in his hands, body racking with sobs. Levi scooted as close as he could, wrapping both arms around his boyfriend and hugging him close.

“Shh,” he cooed in Erwin’s ear, rubbing his back soothingly. “Erwin, it’ll be okay. We love each other, right? That means I won’t abandon you, no matter what. I’m gonna help you through this, baby. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

Erwin leaned into Levi’s hold, shoulders moving up and down as he wept, “Th-Thank you…”

“Don’t thank me,” Levi whispered, pressing gentle kisses to the side of his head. “You would do the same for me. I know you would.”

Erwin cried for a good five minutes before he finally pulled himself together again. He sat back up and wiped his eyes, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. He was still shaken up, Levi could tell, but he seemed a little more reassured now that Levi would help him through his episodes of depression.

“I’m sorry,” Erwin sniffled, grabbing a tissue from the end table and blowing his nose. “I’ll be more honest with you from now on. I just didn’t want you to leave.”

Levi ran his fingertips up and down Erwin’s bicep, smiling sadly, “I won’t, Ervy. And you really don’t have to apologize. I just want us to be open with each other.”

Erwin nodded in understanding, getting another tissue to wipe his eyes again before he let out a long, quaky breath. He stared at the floor once again, and Levi could tell something else was on his mind that he wanted to share. Levi stayed silent, waiting calmly for Erwin to open up to him. He knew it would be difficult for him to just be open right away, so he would be patient with him.

“I did something bad,” Erwin whispered, barely audible enough for Levi to hear. “And I want to show you, but… I’m scared.”

Levi frowned. What had Erwin done that was so awful? Levi wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he had just told Erwin to be open and honest with him, and he wouldn’t back down from that so quickly.

“What is it, baby?” Levi asked, rubbing Erwin’s back gently. “You can show me. Don’t be scared.”

Erwin sucked in a deep breath, shutting his eyes as he did so. When he opened them again, he moved his hand to the bottom of his cotton shorts, pulling up the left leg sleeve to reveal his naked thigh. Levi watched with some shock as Erwin revealed two long, straight cuts on his thigh - they looked like they’d been done with a razor or a box cutter, and were certainly not clean, as dried blood was caked to the wounds. They looked pretty fresh, and Levi wondered how recently Erwin had done this. It must’ve been his first time cutting… Levi had never noticed any scars when they were having sex, and he didn’t see any other than those two fresh ones now.

“Oh, baby…” Levi breathed, trying to keep calm as he stared at the wounds. “Do they hurt? Are… Are you okay?”

Erwin sniffled and shook his head, but Levi wasn’t sure which question he was answering. He could hear Erwin breathing heavily next to him, as if he was getting increasingly anxious at having revealed something like this to his boyfriend. Levi wanted to prevent him from having a panic attack, and didn’t want him to feel bad for what he’d done. His brain was working quickly to try and come up with what he should do to help.

“Here,” Levi reached across the coffee table to grab a half-empty bottle of vodka. “Hand me a tissue. We should… just let me clean them, okay? We don’t want you to get an infection.”

Erwin looked a little surprised that Levi would do something like that for him. He didn’t even question it or protest, just handed Levi a couple of tissues silently. Levi willed his hands to stop from shaking - he didn’t want Erwin to know he too was anxious from seeing something so horrible - and poured some vodka onto the tissues.

He glanced up at Erwin briefly before looking back to the two cuts, “This is going to sting, baby. Hold onto me.”

Erwin gripped Levi’s shoulder gently, squeezing it and hissing when Levi pressed the alcoholic tissues to the wounds. Levi cleaned away the dried blood carefully and quickly, not wanting to prolong Erwin’s pain.

“There,” Levi pulled away, a sad smile on his face. “All clean. Do you have bandaids?”

Erwin nodded, “In… In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.”

Levi got up, tossing the tissues into the garbage and going into the bathroom to grab the bandages. He came back and bandages up Erwin’s thigh, using extra care and caution to make sure Erwin was as comfortable as possible.

“Thank you,” Erwin murmured quietly once Levi was done. “Thank you, Levi.”

Levi leaned up to share a kiss with his boyfriend, “Of course, baby. What can I do to make you feel better? Should we watch some movies together and cuddle?”

Erwin wiped the last of the tears from his eyes, “Y-Yeah. That sounds nice.”

Levi showed Erwin the movies he’d brought with him, letting him choose what they would watch. He got up and put the DVD into Erwin’s old DVD player, sitting down next to him again on the couch and holding his arms out. Usually, Erwin would be the one to hold Levi, but Levi knew that Erwin needed the holding today. Erwin rested his head on Levi’s chest and snuggled up to him as the movie started, some leftover sniffles still racking his body. Levi ran his fingers soothingly through Erwin’s hair. He didn’t care if Erwin had depression, if he was addicted to drugs and alcohol. He would help him through it; do everything he could to be there for him whenever he needed. Because he loved Erwin with his whole heart, and nothing could stop that.

July 29, 2019

Erwin’s new job only added to his stress and depressive moods. He’d obtained a job at a law firm representing clients with his law degree. Levi and Erwin didn’t technically live together, but they might as well have been. They visited each other almost every day, spending nights at one another’s places.

Levi had a day job as a social worker at a non-profit organization, and he didn’t mind it so much. It was a lot of talking to people and filling out paperwork. Erwin, on the other hand, seemed endlessly stressed out by his job. He would get very emotionally involved in his clients’ cases, and when he lost a case, he would blame himself.

Today was a particularly bad one. Levi had been hearing about this case for months now: the man on trial was a young father, near Erwin’s age, who had been falsely accused of the murder of his cousin. None of the physical or circumstantial evidence added up, and both Levi and Erwin believed the man was completely innocent. But apparently, the jury didn’t agree. They found him guilty and charged him to life in prison.

“He has two little girls,” Erwin spoke angrily through tears as he explained the outcome of the case when he got to Levi’s apartment after the trial. “And now they’re going to grow up without a father. He’s never going to see his kids grow up - their school projects, their graduations… fuck. It’s all my fucking fault.”

Levi always responded with something along the lines of: “Erwin, you can’t blame yourself for what happened. You did your best. It’s not your fault what the jury decides.”

But Erwin wasn’t having it this time. He usually just nodded and continued to be moody for the rest of the night, having a couple of drinks and passing out in Levi’s bed. Tonight was different.

“But my job is to get the jury to find him innocent!” Erwin exploded, getting up and going over to Levi’s bar cart - a cart with wheels that Levi kept all his booze on. Erwin grabbed a bottle of whiskey and popped the cap off before taking a long swig of it.

“Erwin,” Levi sighed. “Don’t drink tonight, honey. You really shouldn’t blame yourself. This job will kill you if you keep thinking that way.”

“I ruined someone’s life, Levi,” Erwin insisted, pouring himself a glass of far too much whiskey before taking another long swig. “I ruined multiple lives! His wife… his kids… the rest of his family and friends. They’re all going to lose him because I failed. And… And he’s going to suffer in jail when he didn’t even do anything!”

Levi frowned as he watched Erwin set the whiskey bottle down on the cart and return to the couch with a huff. He didn’t mind Erwin’s mood swings, though he wasn’t a fan when Erwin got frustrated like this. He never got violent or shouted at Levi, even when he was drunk or high out of his mind, but he would sometimes go on these rants where he would beat himself up over every little thing he thought he did wrong.

Erwin took a long drink of the whiskey in his glass, blinking back the tears from how strong it was before he set it down on the coffee table. Levi didn’t know what to do. He needed to distract Erwin from drinking himself into a stupor, and soon. He climbed into Erwin’s lap, straddling him and taking his face into his hands. He knew he couldn’t seduce Erwin in this state - it wasn’t his plan to anyway. Erwin couldn’t always get it up these days because of the stress he was under.

“Erwin Jonathan Smith,” he murmured, looking into Erwin’s eyes. “You cannot keep blaming yourself. You’re only getting hurt because of it.”

“I fucking deserve it,” Erwin grumbled. “In comparison to what the family will have to go through… I deserve to feel this way.”

“What can I say that will convince you that it’s not your fault?” Levi asked firmly, thumbs running along Erwin’s cheekbones.

Erwin sighed and looked away from Levi, “You can’t say anything. I’m already convinced that it is my fault.”

Levi leaned down and kissed Erwin’s forehead, “How about we go to bed early tonight? We can cuddle and listen that one ASMRtist you like so much.”

Erwin shook his head stubbornly, “You can go to bed if you want, but I… I’m gonna stay up a little while.”

Levi frowned, taking Erwin’s head into his hands and bringing it to his chest. He held onto Erwin tightly, kissing the top of his head. Erwin gave in, hugging Levi back and sighing against his chest. Levi just wanted Erwin to be okay.

November 2, 2020

Levi whined sleepily as he heard his phone buzz, turning over and grabbing it from the nightstand. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep - Erwin hadn’t been answering his texts for the last couple of hours, and nobody seemed to know where he was. Hange didn’t know, and not even his closest friend, Mike, could give Levi the answers he was looking for. Levi was trying to stay positive - his boyfriend had probably just fallen asleep earlier than usual.

He saw a phone call coming in from and unknown number, and frowned at his screen. Who the hell was calling him at 2am from a random number? But Levi decided he should pick it up despite not wanting to - it could be Erwin calling from someone else’s phone.

“Levi?” He heard as soon as he picked up.

He’d been right. It was Erwin, and he sounded anxious and upset. Levi sat up quickly, “Erwin? Baby, what’s wrong? You haven’t answered your texts. Where are you?”

“I… I’m at the mental hospital,” Erwin revealed with a sniffle.

What?! Levi thought in some surprise. What was Erwin doing at the mental hospital? Had he harmed himself again? Or worse… had he attempted to end his life? A thousand thoughts were running through Levi’s mind, and he was terrified as he gripped the phone tighter in his hand.

“What happened, honey?” Levi asked, trying to remain calm. “Tell me what’s going on.”

He heard Erwin weeping quietly into the phone as he shakily replied, “I… I had a bad night. I… I was drinking and I was really depressed so I… I got out on the balcony…”

Levi couldn’t breathe as Erwin explained to him that he’d stood out on the balcony crying before he’d climbed up onto the ledge. His neighbor had come out of the next door balcony to see him, and coaxed him off the ledge before calling 911 to come get him. That’s how he’d ended up in the mental hospital.

“Baby,” Levi whimpered. “God, I’m so glad you’re okay. Do you need anything? How long do you have to stay there for?”

“I… I can check myself out when I want to,” Erwin sobbed. “I need you to come get me. I don’t like it here. I don’t know anybody and I want to go home. To… To your apartment.”

Levi flung the sheets off the bed and got up quickly, struggling to get a pair of pants and a shirt on over his sleep outfit, which was usually just a pair of boxer briefs. He held the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he replied, “I’ll be right there, honey. Don’t worry, I’ll come get you as soon as I can. What hospital is it?”

Erwin gave him the hospital name and vague directions on how to get there - Levi knew the general area of where it was, so he would be able to figure it out. He tugged on his shoes, staying on the phone with Erwin as he grabbed his wallet and keys and left the apartment to get into his car.

“Don’t cry, sweetie,” Levi tried to reassure him. “I’m in the car now, okay? I’m gonna come get you.”

“Ok-kay,” Erwin sniffled. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that, Levi. I’m really, really sorry.”

Levi didn’t understand why Erwin was apologizing to him. He didn’t think he needed an apology. He tried again, “Erwin, please don’t apologize. I know you didn’t mean to, honey. I’ll be there in 30 minutes, okay? Take some deep breaths for me and I’ll be there before you know it.”

Erwin let out a shaky sigh, “Okay… Okay. Someone else is trying to use the phone. You promise you’re coming?”

“Of course I promise,” Levi replied as he peeled out of the apartment parking garage and headed towards the hospital. “I’ll be there to get you very soon, baby. Why don’t you go find something to do while you wait? Do they have anything to do there?”

Erwin whimpered, “They… They have a TV, and some coloring books and puzzles.”

“Go watch TV, baby,” Levi advised. “Go watch TV and the time will pass quickly, okay?”

“Okay,” Erwin agreed with another quiet sob. “Levi?”

“Yes?”

“I love you,” Erwin managed between tears. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby,” Levi breathed, trying to hold back tears himself. “I’m on my way.”

“Thank you, Levi. I’ll see you soon,” Erwin replied tearfully before hanging up the phone.

Levi drove quickly, keeping an eye out for cops as he stepped on the gas a little harder than necessary. His boyfriend was a social person - he was usually good with people, but sometimes his depression and anxiety could turn him into a whole other person, and Levi knew he didn’t like to feel alone when he was in those depressive states. It scared him, so Levi could only imagine how scared Erwin was right now being in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces.

Levi parked his car on the street in front of the hospital and got out, heading into the mental health ward and talking with the nurses about getting Erwin out. After about ten minutes of back and forth, signing some paperwork, etc., Erwin came walking out of the locked door that led to the back of the hospital, wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt he must’ve been wearing when they brought him in.

Erwin instantly hugged onto Levi, who held him tightly and whispered in his ear, “It’s okay, baby. I’m here now. I’m here. Let’s go home, okay?”

Erwin nodded, unable to help the sobs that were leaving his body. He looked like a frightened little boy, and Levi had never seen him like that before. Erwin signed some paperwork and the two were released to go on their way. They got into Levi’s car, and Levi started to drive back to his place, knowing that Erwin likely didn’t want to go back to his own apartment - not in the state he was in.

Erwin was hiccuping and crying the whole way, and Levi held his hand tightly, just letting him cry. They got to the apartment and Levi tucked Erwin into his bed, climbing in next to him and snuggling up to him. Their arms and legs were tangled together, breath intermingling. This seemed to finally calm Erwin down, and soon he was falling asleep in Levi’s arms. But Levi couldn’t sleep. He was worried about Erwin. How close had Erwin been to jumping off the ledge? What if he’d actually done it? Levi shook that thought from his head and hugged Erwin’s body closer, listening to his heartbeat. He didn’t want to dwell on the idea of Erwin not being with him anymore. Levi eventually fell asleep to the sound of Erwin’s heart, thinking how lucky he was that Erwin was still here lying next to him.

October 14, 2021

He’d never felt this nervous in his whole life. Levi had the ring in his pocket, and he had asked Erwin to meet him for a special birthday dinner out on the beach. He’d been planning this for months now. He’d been with Erwin for more than four years at this point, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. Though Erwin was usually the one to plan the romantic things in their relationship, Levi decided that this time it was going to be him. He was going to propose to Erwin, not the other way around. Plus, it was Erwin’s birthday, and Levi wanted to make it an incredibly special memory for the both of them.

Levi saw Erwin’s clunky old car pulled into the parking lot at the beach, and watched his boyfriend get out of the car in a nice button up and black slacks. He looked so handsome, and Levi could feel himself wanting to cry at the emotions he felt - he just loved Erwin so much, and he didn’t know how to express it except through his tears. But he held back; he couldn’t let Erwin onto his plan to propose.

Things had been better between them over the last year. Erwin had quit his job as a lawyer and gotten a human resources job instead at the business across the street from Levi’s non-profit organization. Erwin had been holding back on the drinking and drugs - occasionally he would get depressed and fall back into it, but it was happening more and more infrequently as time went on. Levi was starting to feel like perhaps Erwin was starting to get better.

“Ervy,” Levi smiled, holding out his hand to him. “Happy birthday, dear.”

Erwin took Levi’s hand and kissed the back of his palm, “Thank you, darling. I appreciate you setting all this up. It seems so fancy.”

Levi smiled and leaned up on his tiptoes to share a kiss with Erwin before leading him across the beach by his hand towards the table set up for them with fancy seafood dinners. He knew how much Erwin liked mussels and lobster, so he’d especially arranged for the expensive meals, working overtime to pay for it just so Erwin could have the perfect birthday. Levi pulled out Erwin’s chair, allowing him to sit down before he sat across from him.

Levi began to pour Erwin and himself some wine, and Erwin was smiling at him dreamily. Levi could feel that blush creeping up on him, and he tried to remain calm under Erwin’s gaze. He didn’t want Erwin to catch onto what he was going to do, and he knew if he started acting nervous that Erwin would start to figure him out.’

“This is so romantic of you, Levi,” Erwin commented, taking a sip of wine before the two of them began to eat. “I never thought you were the romantic type, to be honest.”

Levi didn’t blame him for saying so. Usually, Erwin was the one who did all the romance in their relationship, so it really was strange for Levi to take on that role. The only reason Erwin didn’t seem to suspect anything out of the ordinary was because it was his birthday.

“Can you believe this is the fourth birthday of mine we’re celebrating together?” Erwin asked, giving Levi a charming smile that had him blushing even more furiously.

“Yeah…” Levi responded quietly. “I… I hope you’re enjoying this birthday just as much as the others we’ve spent together.”

Erwin nodded, taking another sip of the wine as he eyed Levi with a soft glance, “Of course I am. I’d enjoy anything you put together, darling, just because you put the thought and love into it.”

Levi could feel himself melting at Erwin’s words, a goofy smile on his face. The two continued to eat, clearing their plates in between chatting about all the messages Erwin had received for his birthday - cards from his aunts and uncles, Facebook posts from old high school friends, text messages from those he was close with.

When their plates were clear, Levi knew he had to make his move. He was sweating, and hoped it wasn’t visible. Erwin was still chatting away, not even noticing that Levi was about to piss himself with how nervous he was.

“B-Baby,” Levi interrupted, needing to get it off his chest. “I… I don’t mean to interrupt. I… I have something to say.”

Erwin looked a little taken aback. Levi never had anything to say, or at least nothing worth interrupting Erwin over. But he nodded, a smile on his face as he encouraged Levi to go ahead with whatever he needed to say.

Levi sucked in a deep breath, taking Erwin’s hand into his own, “Erm… E-Erwin. You… You make me really happy.”

“You make me really happy too, honey,” Erwin chuckled, squeezing Levi’s hand gently.

“And…” Levi continued, palm sweating as it clung to Erwin’s. “And I want… I want us to be together forever, so I…”

Levi used his free hand to fumble around in his jacket pocket. Erwin was looking a little confused now, not catching on yet. Levi scrambled to get down on one knee, still holding Erwin’s hand in one of his own as he took the ring box from his pocket and popped it open. Inside was an engagement ring with blue sapphires and diamonds around the band. Erwin’s eyes instantly widened as he stared down at the ring before looking back into Levi’s eyes in shock.

“I want to marry you, Erwin,” Levi whispered, barely able to hold himself together anymore as tears began to fill his eyes, his nerves getting the better of him. “Will… Will you marry me?”

Erwin was still staring, and Levi was briefly worried he might get rejected, until Erwin fell onto the ground from his seat and wrapped his arms around Levi, hugging him close and murmuring in his ear, “Oh god… yes, Levi. Yes, I’ll marry you. Oh my god.”

Erwin pulled away, the two kneeling in front of one another as Levi took Erwin’s hand and put the ring on. He’d bought it because the blue of the sapphires had reminded him of Erwin’s deep blue eyes.

It took Levi a moment to realize that Erwin too was crying, and he threw his arms around his boyfriend… fiancé, hugging him close and laughing happily into Erwin’s shoulder. Erwin hugged back, cheerful laughter escaping his mouth as well. I want us to be together forever, his own words echoed back to him as he held onto Erwin. Now they could.

December 3, 2021

Levi gasped and laughed as Erwin pushed him backwards onto the mattress, spreading his legs open and giving him a suggestive look. Erwin grinned and climbed onto the bed, crowding him and resting their foreheads against one another. Levi smiled back and held Erwin’s face in his hands, the two merely holding a loving look between them before they started to share kiss after kiss - each one growing more heated with the passing moments.

Erwin’s hot breath painted Levi’s skin in between kisses, his hands gripping Levi’s hips and tugging them up against his own as he ground his erection against Levi’s. Levi whimpered into the kisses, sighing at the feeling as he ground back, feeling himself growing wet between his legs the more they humped one another.

“Take off your pants, baby,” Erwin growled low in Levi’s ear, sending shivers up Levi’s spine.

Levi let go of Erwin’s face in a scramble to get his pants off, much to Erwin’s amusement. It wasn’t as though Erwin was making fun of him - he seemed simply happy that Levi was just as eager as he was to get on with things.

Once his pants were off, Erwin moved back off him, kneeling between Levi’s legs and gripping the elastic hem of Levi’s boxer briefs with his teeth. Levi let out a short huff of surprise as he watched Erwin seductively tug down his briefs, eventually grabbing them with his hand and tugging them off his ankles. He spread his legs a little more, and Erwin hooked Levi’s knees over his shoulders. Levi could barely prepare himself before Erwin’s lips were attached to his cock, swirling his tongue around it and sucking on the nub lightly. Levi gasped and tossed his head back as his sensitive cock was licked and sucked, pleasure rolling through his body and causing his legs to quake around Erwin’s head.

“You like getting eating out, don’t you, baby?” Erwin teased, breath tickling his delicate cock. Levi nodded and moaned as Erwin went back to it, suckling his cock once more before moving his lips downwards and tonguing at his entrance.

“Such a sensitive boy,” Erwin chuckled. “And so wet for me already.”

Levi whined, thighs squeezing Erwin’s head lightly as Levi tried to control himself in all the pleasure he was feeling, “E-Erwin… I want you so bad.”

“Mmm,” Erwin hummed, dipping his tongue back in between Levi’s legs before he pushed it into his hole and took it out again. “I dunno if I should give it to you.”

“God dammit,” Levi swore, hips bucking against Erwin’s face. “Just… Just gimme it!”

Erwin smirked a little before pinning Levi’s hips to the bed and burrowing his face between Levi’s legs again, filthy slurping noises filling the air as he messily ate Levi out before returning to suckling on Levi’s cock. Levi groaned, legs quivering as one hand gripped Erwin’s hair, the other in the sheets desperately grasping for something, anything to help him hold on while Erwin pleasured him.

“Oh god…” Levi moaned. “Oh god, Ervy! Please!”

“That’s a good boy,” Erwin pulled away after a moment, taking some deep breaths to calm himself. “Begging me like that.”

He sat up on his knees in between Levi’s legs, undoing his belt buckle and tugging his pants and boxers down to his thighs. Levi licked his lips as he stared at the heavy cock hanging between Erwin’s legs, head already red and shiny with precum. Levi instantly felt his mouth watering at the sight before he turned himself around, kneeling down between Erwin’s legs and opening his mouth wide. Erwin looked a little surprised, but held his cock in his hand out to Levi in offering. Levi enveloped the whole head in his mouth, suckling on it for a moment before he went deeper and started bobbing his head.

Erwin groaned, thick fingers running through Levi’s hair and tugging lightly, “God, Levi. That mouth… fuck.”

Levi’s moans vibrated around Erwin’s cock, and he flashed a lustful look up at Erwin through his eyelashes before he pulled away to swirl his tongue around the tip. He flicked his tongue out again to lick at the precum there before taking the whole thing into his mouth again.

Erwin sighed heavily, rocking his hips slowly into Levi’s mouth, “Good boy. Do you want me to fuck you now?”

Levi nodded around Erwin’s cock before taking it out of his mouth. He lay back on the bed with his legs splayed out, asking Erwin innocently, “Do you want me on my back or on all fours?”

Erwin chuckled, grasping Levi by the ankle and helping him turn over onto all fours, “All fours, baby. I wanna start this way.”

Levi spread his thighs apart and looked in between them at Erwin’s thick, hairy thighs, his cock in his hand as he readied to put it inside Levi. Erwin rubbed the head against Levi’s entrance, pushing in slowly. Levi gasped and moaned, wriggling his hips back against Erwin’s cock as he continued until he bottomed out.

“You feel fucking amazing,” Erwin breathed, sounding almost as delirious as Levi was feeling from the pleasure.

“Oh god, Erwin…” Levi panted, canting his hips backward desperately. “Fuck me.”

Erwin gripped Levi’s hips in his hands and started with a rocking motion at first, just so Levi could get used to it, before he really started giving it to him. He snapped his hips into Levi’s ass again and again, the clapping sound echoing throughout the apartment bedroom.

“Yes!” Levi cried as Erwin fucked into his sweet spot. “Oh yes! Ervy!”

“Shh,” Erwin cooed, sounding equally as out of breath despite his calm demeanor. “Oh Levi… fuck, baby.”

“Erwin!” Levi tossed his head back as Erwin continued to fuck him at a rough pace, feeling Erwin’s hand in his hair running the pads of his fingers against Levi’s scalp before gripping harshly at it and tugging.

“Oh!” Levi gasped, feeling Erwin’s cock rub him just right with each thrust. “Oh! Ah!”

“God,” Erwin pulled out, jerking at his cock a couple of times. “Turn on your back, baby. I wanna see your face when you cum.”

Levi whimpered at the loss, collapsing on quivering legs before he turned over onto his back and hooked his legs over Erwin’s shoulders. Erwin pushed back in, gripping Levi’s legs in his strong hands and fucking him unrelentingly. He pressed a kiss to Levi’s calf. Levi could feel his orgasm tugging at his stomach, and threw his head back against the pillows, covering his mouth to muffle a loud shriek - the neighbors didn’t need to know what they were up to.

“I’m cumming!” Levi whined. “Oh god, I’m cumming!”

Erwin groaned, pumping in and out faster and faster, “M-Me too… fuck!”

Levi felt his orgasm hit him hard, wracking his entire body as Erwin filled him up from the inside. They didn’t do it without condoms super often, but Levi figured he was covered. He didn’t get his periods anymore because of his testosterone shots, so he knew he couldn’t get pregnant. The two sat there, breathing heavily. After a few moments of catching their breath, Erwin pulled out, leaning down to share a sweet kiss with Levi.

“Good?” He whispered against Levi’s lips.

Levi smiled lovingly up at him, nodding a little, “Good.”

January 4, 2022

Levi had never felt as much happiness in his life as he did when they started moving into their new house together. They’d signed the deed to the property about a month after Levi had proposed to Erwin - their dream house: a white picket fence, a big back yard for their future kids to run in, a red oak door with brown trim. It was perfect.

Levi and Erwin spent all of December moving in box after box, pieces of furniture, appliances, etc. With their joint income, they could afford so much more, and Levi was excited to finally be able to live like an adult: with a washer and dryer of his own - no more sharing with an entire floor or an entire apartment building. Erwin had been most excited about getting to have his own study. He was making one of the smaller bedrooms of the three-bedroom house into his office, where he could put all his history books and do some of his work. Levi, on the other hand, was allowed to have as much kitchen and cleaning supplies as he wanted. Erwin had even gifted him a Roomba for his birthday a week ago, which he was more than excited about.

“Look at you, baby,” Erwin sighed, leaning a hand on the desk in his study as Levi carried in two heavy boxes stacked on top of one another. “You’re just determined to carry the heaviest things you can, aren’t you?”

Levi rolled his eyes and set down the boxes, “I am. And what about it?”

Erwin chuckled, “I dunno. You’re just cute, that’s all.”

Levi blushed and shook his head, grumbling, “Am not.”

Erwin took a second to walk over to Levi, taking his face in both hands and kissing him sweetly, “Are so. Anyway, where do you think I should put my bookshelves?”

Levi pouted at Erwin’s words before he tugged his face away and looked around the room, “Hmm… I’d put your desk facing the window and your bookcases on the opposite walls.”

Erwin glanced around, as if picturing what Levi was saying, and nodded, “I like that idea. Thanks, baby.”

“No problem,” Levi shrugged. “We still gotta figure out what to do with that other open bedroom.”

Erwin’s eyes lit up, and Levi immediately became worried. He knew what Erwin was going to suggest, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“We could-”

“Erwin, we agreed we’d wait until we’re married to have kids,” Levi reminded him in a scolding tone.

“I know, I know,” Erwin sighed with a sad smile. “But we could still set it up as a nursery for whenever that eventually happens…”

Levi sighed and tried to hide his smile. He had to admit, having kids with Erwin sounded too good to be true. But now they had this house, and they were one step closer to that dream of getting married and having kids, raising a family together.

“Fine,” Levi grumbled, though he wasn’t really angry - he was just stubborn. “We’ll turn it into a nursery.”

Erwin grinned, wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist. He lifted and spun him around, and Levi gasped and held tightly to Erwin around his shoulders, unable to help the giggles that left him. Erwin hoisted him up, arms under Levi’s ass as Levi sat perched in his arms against Erwin’s chest, looking down at him expectantly.

“I can’t wait to have babies with you,” Erwin sighed. “I don’t care how we have them, I just want to be a father with you.”

Levi could feel that blush creeping up on him again, on his ears and his cheeks as he smiled back down at Erwin, “I… I want the same thing, Ervy. I want to raise kids with you in this house. I’m so excited to see what our future holds.”

“Whatever it is,” Erwin swayed them back and forth a bit, Levi grasping Erwin’s cheeks in his hands. “I don’t care what my future holds… as long as I’m with you.”

Levi leaned down to share a kiss with his fiancé, sighing contently. Nothing could be more beautiful than this moment they were sharing. They were engaged, had moved into their dream house, and now they were going to set up a nursery for their first child. It all seemed to good to be true.

February 19, 2022

Levi had been at Hange’s, throwing up all morning, when Hange finally asked the terrifying question:

“Do you think you could be pregnant?” They asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

There was a drop in Levi’s stomach from the question. Could I be pregnant? He wondered with some fear. He looked at Hange with widened eyes, shaking his head, “That… That can’t be possible, I’m… I’m on testosterone.”

Hange frowned, “That’s not a form of birth control, Levi. It might stop your periods but that doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant.”

Levi could feel the panic in his chest. He sucked in some deep breaths, leaning over the toilet to retch some more. He coughed a few times, taking the tissue Hange was holding out to him to clean up his mouth.

“Can… Can you take me to the doctor?” Levi asked weakly, feeling a little dizzy now from throwing up so much.

He was, admittedly, terrified. What if he was pregnant? What the hell was he going to do? He was scared. He and Erwin had only ever discussed having children once, and though Erwin was enthusiastic about the idea, they’d both decided they’d wait until they were married to start looking into adoption or surrogacy. Levi had never wanted to be the one to carry their child, and Erwin knew that, and respected that.

Hange nodded, wrapping an arm around Levi’s shoulders to help steady him as the two began to walk out of the apartment and to the elevator. They took their time to get down to the first floor and out to the parking garage. Levi felt incredibly ill, but he was thankful for Hange. He knew he could always count on them to help; they were a good friend.

Levi climbed into the passenger seat while Hange got into the driver’s side, starting up the car and peeling out of the parking garage as the two of them headed to the urgent care. Levi was feeling all sorts of things: mostly anxiety and fear. He didn’t know what to do if he was pregnant. Would he get an abortion? How far along was he, anyways? Would he even be able to get an abortion at this point? Levi stared down at his stomach, holding it gently in his hands. Was there a fetus growing in there?

Levi whimpered quietly, tears flowing to his eyes. Hange sensed his worry, and reached over to take Levi’s hand, squeezing it in comfort and shooting him a small smile, “It’s all going to be okay, Levi. Even if you are pregnant, you know Erwin and I will be there to help you along, right? Whether you decide to keep it or not.”

Levi nodded, squeezing Hange’s hand back and shooting them a small smile, “Thank you.”

Levi let go of Hange’s hand in favor of holding his stomach, and stared out the window at the trees as they drove along to the urgent care. It wasn’t too far from Hange’s apartment, thank goodness, because as soon as they got into the building, Levi was already running into the bathroom to throw up. Once he was done, he came back out to check in at the front desk, and they prioritized him above several other patients due to the possibility of a pregnancy.

Levi was sent into the bathroom again, where they gave him a cup to pee into so they could test it. He did so and turned the cup in, being taken to the doctor’s office where they checked his vitals just in case. Hange was with him every step of the way, holding his hand and rubbing his arm soothingly.

“So Mr. Ackerman,” the doctor checked her chart as she entered the room, shooting him a small smile in greeting before she sat down and looked him in the eyes. “We’ve run your urine through the usual tests: you’re about ten weeks pregnant. Your vitals seem to indicate that everything is normal, you’re just experiencing some morning sickness. But I’d schedule a formal doctor’s appointment as soon as you can so they can start getting you on the right prenatals if you intend to keep it. If not, our clinic also performs abortions. I can get you information on whichever, or both, if you haven’t decided yet.”

“Erm… b-both please,” Hange answered for him, as Levi was in too much shock to even process what the doctor was asking from him.

So he was pregnant. He put a hand to his stomach, feeling anxiety building there. He… He had something… growing inside of him. Not just something, a fetus. A fetus that would eventually grow into a baby. Erwin’s baby. Levi couldn’t breathe.

His phone began to buzz, and he looked at it instantly. Speak of the devil. It was Erwin, but he was the last person Levi wanted to talk to right now. Levi pressed the message button for ‘Can I call you later?’ before turning his phone on silent and stuffing it into his pocket.

“Just make sure you drink plenty of fluids and set up that appointment when you’ve made your decision, Mr. Ackerman,” the doctor advised with a smile after handing Hange a few brochures. “You take care now, okay?”

Levi nodded, forcing himself to smile back at her. After she left the office, he and Hange began to head out of the clinic, Levi still resting a hand on his stomach in shock. This was never something he’d wanted; never something he’d envisioned would happen to him. How was he going to grow an entire child in his belly? How would he be able to give birth to such a thing when it came time to? He was almost repulsed by the idea.

Hange stayed silent, as if sensing that Levi wasn’t really in the mood to talk. They got into the car and started driving, Hange asking, “Do you want me to take you back home?”

Levi nodded quietly, thinking that was probably for the best. The only person who could help him through this now was his partner, the person who had impregnated him: Erwin. He wondered how Erwin would react to finding out Levi was pregnant with their baby. Would he be thrilled? Or would he be mortified?

Levi figured it would more likely be the first option. Erwin was great with kids; he loved them. He always caused the little ones to giggle and laugh when he was around them; he made them happy. Levi knew Erwin would want him to make his own decision; to choose without letting Erwin’s happiness sway him. But in all honesty, Levi knew he couldn’t tear this opportunity away from Erwin. Erwin had been talking about having kids with Levi for the longest time, and even if this wasn’t the way they’d planned to do it, Levi knew Erwin would be absolutely beyond himself with excitement at the thought of Levi carrying their child.

It was making Levi feel a little more cheerful about the situation, imagining how happy Erwin might be. He was suddenly picturing how the pregnancy might go if he kept it: how Erwin might spoil him, kiss him and rub his belly, get excited at every little kick and movement of the baby. Erwin would probably come with him to all his appointments, put the black and white pictures of the growing fetus on the fridge and tell everyone who passed by: “Look! This is our baby!”

Levi was becoming giddy with the thought of having Erwin’s baby. He smiled down at his stomach, rubbing it gently. That was Erwin and his baby in there. It belonged to both of them; a little bundle of both of their DNA intermingled; a symbol of their love. And Levi knew in that moment that he wanted to keep it, despite his anxieties about giving birth or being pregnant in general. He knew Erwin would help him through all of it.

Hange pulled up to the house, parking in the driveway and smiling sadly at Levi, “You gonna be okay?”

Levi nodded a little, “I… I think I’ll be fine, Hange. I’m gonna talk to Erwin, and we’ll figure it out together.”

Hange smiled before hugging Levi gently, “Okay, hun. Good luck. You call me if you need anything, yeah?”

Levi pulled away, “Of course.”

He got out of the car, shutting the door and waving at Hange. He watched them wave back and peel out of the driveway, driving back down the road towards their apartment. Levi took out his keys and walked to the side door, unlocking it and going into the house. He was feeling incredibly excited all of a sudden, ready to tell Erwin the good news.

But as soon as he closed the door, he knew something was off. The house was eerily quiet, and Levi knew Erwin was home. His car was parked out in front of house; there was no way Erwin wasn’t here.

Levi frowned, calling out, “Ervy! Ervy, I’m back from Hange’s!”

No answer.

Levi made his way to the stairs, wondering if Erwin was perhaps napping. That would be unusual for him, but Levi couldn’t think of what else he’d be doing where he’d ignore Levi’s calls. Levi glanced down at his phone to check the time, and was shocked to see he’d missed several calls from Erwin while he was in the urgent care clinic, and several texts as well. He didn’t even have to read them to know that something was wrong, but he opened them anyways:

Levi walked a little more hurriedly up the stairs and down the hall, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. Was Erwin okay? What had he meant in those texts? I can’t keep doing this - It hurts. What did that mean? Levi knew deep down in his gut what it meant, but he didn’t allow himself to think such a thing. Erwin was fine; he was probably just having another episode… right?

But Levi’s legs were starting to feel like lead the closer he got to the bedroom door. He pushed open the door, repeating, “Ervy? Baby, I’m home from Han-”

All the breath left Levi’s lungs, unable to finish his sentence.

He came face to face with something his brain didn’t even know how to process at first. Erwin was in front of him, face completely purple, lips blue and eyes closed. Levi stared for what felt like an eternity before he came to his senses. A scream must’ve torn from his throat; he couldn’t hear it over the blood pumping in his ears, but he felt the pain in his throat from how loud and shrill it had been. He leapt into action, grabbing the chair that had fallen near Erwin’s body and climbing on top of it before whipping out his pocket knife and working quickly at severing the rope that tied his fiancé to the ceiling fan.

Erwin’s body fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Levi jumped down from the chair, tossing the knife aside and turning Erwin onto his back. He didn’t know when he’d started crying, but tears were blinding him, blurring his vision as he pulled the offensive noose from around Erwin’s neck and threw it as far across the room as he could. Levi placed a palm on Erwin’s chest and laced his fingers together, beginning to give him CPR.

“Erwin!” He shouted, slamming his fist down on Erwin’s chest to try and restart his heart. “ERWIN!”

He was hiccuping and sobbing, tears and snot all over his face, and he took a second to wipe it onto his sleeve simply so he could see and breathe better. He scrambled to pull his phone from his pocket, hands shaking violently as he dialed 911.

“Hello, you’ve reached emergency dispatch. How can I assist you today?” The woman on the other end greeted him.

“Help,” Levi gasped out frantically, putting the phone on speaker as he went back to desperately trying to revive Erwin through CPR, “Help me! My… My fiancé- he hung himself! Oh god… oh god he’s not breathing!”

“Sir, sir,” the dispatcher tried. “You need to calm down. You said your fiancé hung himself? What address are you at?”

Levi sobbed, taking a deep breath and pressing his lips to Erwin’s while pinching his nose to pump air into his lungs before going back to giving him chest compressions. He managed to get out, “On Wilhelm Avenue- it’s… it’s 215 Wilhelm Avenue. Please hurry! Fuck… Erwin. Wake up! Wake up dammit!”

“215 Wilhelm Avenue?” The dispatcher repeated.

“Yes!” Levi yelled, his tears starting to stain Erwin’s plaid shirt as he continued his chest compressions. “Send help right away - please! He’s not breathing - he’s not fucking breathing!”

“Alright, sir. The ambulance is on its way. They’re not far from you. Are you giving him CPR?” The dispatcher asked, somehow able to remain calm through this entire ordeal. It almost made Levi angry. How could anybody be this calm when his fiancé was purple in the face and not breathing?!

“Yes,” Levi sobbed, leaning down to give Erwin another breath before going back to the chest compressions. “It’s not working! Erwin… Erwin please! Oh god… please!”

“Is anybody else with you?”

“N-No- no,” Levi choked out in between violent sobs.

“Can you leave your fiancé for a moment to let the EMTs in? They’re approaching your house now,” the dispatcher explained firmly. “You need to let them into the house, sir.”

Levi’s whole world was reeling, the room spinning as he grabbed the phone and hurried down the stairs, seeing the ambulance whip into his driveway, the EMTs rushing out of the vehicle and approaching the front door. Levi ushered them in, his whole body shaking as he desperately tried to explain where Erwin was, what state he’d found him in. The EMTs ran up the stairs, Levi quickly following them. As much as he didn’t want to go back into the bedroom and see his fiancé in such an awful state, he also didn’t like leaving Erwin’s side, and he wanted to be there for him while the EMTs worked on him. He didn’t want Erwin to be all alone with strangers. I want to be there when he wakes up, Levi thought deliriously.

He stood clear of the EMTs as they picked up where Levi left off, administering CPR before using a defibrillator to try and restart his heart. Levi didn’t know what to do with himself. He couldn’t just stand there and watch. He immediately looked down at his phone, seeing a text from Hange:

Levi’s hands were still quivering horribly, but he managed to dial Hange, putting the phone to his ear and listening to it ring twice before Hange picked up with their usual cheerful, “Hey! What’s up?”

“Hange… you gotta come back,” Levi sobbed. “Erwin, he’s… he hung himself- the EMTs… they’re working on him now but I…I…”

It was finally dawning on Levi as the EMTs continued their work that Erwin wasn’t fairing any better - that he wasn’t recovering. Levi could barely breathe as he stared down at Erwin’s discolored face, the realization passing over him at the same time as the EMTs stepped back from Erwin’s body.

One of them spoke, checking his watch, “We have to call it. Time of death… 4:32PM.”

The phone slipped from Levi’s hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud, an involuntary shriek of pure agony leaving his mouth as he dropped to his knees. He clutched at his chest, tears streaming down his face as threw back his head and wailed. Nobody could help him now. Nothing anybody said or did could take away this pain.

Erwin was gone.

August 8, 2022

Evelyn’s birth was much easier than Levi had thought it would be. His water had broken at about 1am on that warm August night, and he called up Hange as soon as he started contractions. Hange hurriedly drove him to the hospital, thankful that it was late so they could cautiously speed through red lights since practically nobody was on the roads.

Levi was crying the whole way to the hospital, panicking horribly as the pain only grew. He just kept thinking how much he wished Erwin was there; how much he wanted to hold his hand and hear his comforting words. Hange was there for him instead, and he very much appreciated their help, but he still wished it was Erwin with him. He couldn’t help it.

“It’ll be okay, Levi,” Hange reassured him. “I’ve got your pregnancy kit in the back seat - we’re gonna make it through this!”

They drifted into the parking lot and pulled up to the emergency entrance, parking and hopping out of the car. They grabbed the pregnancy bag from the back seat and helped Levi out of the car. A couple of nurses were already rushing out the doors with a wheelchair for him as Hange explained the urgency of the situation.

“I gotta go park the car,” Hange explained, squeezing Levi’s hand. “I’ll be right back - don’t have that baby without me!”

With that, they rushed back into the car and drove away to go park it. Now Levi really felt alone, tears streaming down his face as the nurses rushed him back to the delivery rooms. They were being so sweet to him, asking him questions that were both medical and just general questions that would help take his mind off things, like did he have a nursery back home for the baby, or what were some names he’d picked out. He gave short answers, not really in the mood to be talking much as his contractions were only getting worse by the second.

They helped him out of his clothes and into a gown, and by the time Hange came back, he was laying on the bed, feet in the stirrups, groaning in pain. Hange set down two gift bags by the bed, grinning at him stupidly. Of course they’d gotten him… or maybe the baby… gifts. Well, he wasn’t about to open them right now with his legs open and his reproductive organs all out on display for the whole hospital staff to see.

“Okay Mr. Ackerman,” the doctor came in, snapping latex gloves on his hands and adjusting his mask. “We’re going to have you start pushing soon. Let us know if you want an epidural.”

Levi was particularly scared of an epidural, having heard of people who’d gotten messed up from them. He wasn’t scared of the needles - he’d been giving himself testosterone shots for years after all.

They hooked up his IV and some other needles to his arm, and Levi could feel his vision going in and out from the pain of the contractions. He wanted this damn baby out… now. He groaned in pain and Hange took his hand, squeezing it gently.

“Just squeeze my hand, Levi,” Hange instructed. “As hard as you need to. I’m here for you.”

Levi nodded, squeezing hard when the doctor told him to start pushing. He pushed with all his might, letting out a wail at the pain. Everything was incredibly uncomfortable - his lower back was aching with cramps, his stomach, his uterus - it all fucking hurt. In his moments of extreme pain, he was thankful Erwin was already dead, because if he was alive he would’ve killed him for what his semen was now putting him through.

“Fuck!” He cursed, the doctors and nurses encouraging him to push through the pain. He was sure he’d probably shit himself at this point, but he didn’t care. He could feel the head breaching, and he shrieked in agony, holding onto Hange’s hand so tightly that it was turning white.

“Come on, Levi,” Hange encouraged. “You can do it! Push!”

Levi was holding Hange’s hand in one of his, a nurse’s hand in the other, screaming from the pain as the baby’s head breached his entrance. He had never been in this much pain in his life, and he was almost delirious with it as he yelled, “Get the damn thing out of me!”

“Another big push,” the doctor instructed. “Come on, Mr. Ackerman. You can do it.”

Levi threw his head back and sobbed as he pushed as hard as he could, feeling something slip from his body. He heard a baby’s cries, and watched the doctor pull a baby from between his legs, holding them up and asking for the clamps and scissors to cut the umbilical cord.

“Ooh, ooh!” Hange was vibrating with excitement per usual. “Can I cut it? Levi, Levi! Can I cut the umbilical cord?”

Levi didn’t give a fuck who did what at this point. He just wanted to sleep, feeling exhausted. He nodded briefly at Hange’s question, and the doctor clamped the umbilical cord with two clamps before helping Hange cut it. Levi was just about to be thankful for everything being over with, when the doctor started to tell him that he had yet to deliver the placenta.

Levi knew he would have to do this, but it had escaped his mind in the moments of pain. He sobbed and shook his head, “I don’t wanna. I’m tired.”

“Come on, Levi,” Hange patted his shoulder lightly and took his hand again. “One big push - just one more, come on.”

It actually took two big pushes for the placenta to come out, but Levi wouldn’t fault Hange for that, too tired to bother. The nurses placed the baby on Levi’s chest, opening his gown a little so the two could have skin to skin contact, which was important for the baby to bond to the parent. Levi sobbed again, holding the baby to his body as the nurses scrambled around him cleaning things up and getting things ready for the baby when Levi would inevitably have to give them back for the nurses to clean and dress.

He looked down at the tiny little thing in his arms, and let out a sigh of relief that it was all over with. Hange leaned over him, smiling down at the baby, “Aww Levi… it’s a baby girl! She’s so beautiful…”

Levi couldn’t help but smile, sniffling and letting out another choked sob as he held his baby girl to his chest. He’d already picked names before coming to the hospital: if it was a boy, it would be Edwin John, as Levi thought that was close enough to Erwin’s name, and Erwin’s father’s name had been John. But if it was a girl, he was going to name her Evelyn Louise - Evelyn because it was close to Erwin, and Louise because that had been his mother’s middle name. The baby was crying, her little fists clawing at Levi’s skin and her eyes barely open as she looked around as best she could - poor little thing couldn’t even move her head around.

“What are you going to name her?” The nurse asked. “We’ll need the name and spelling for the birth certificate.”

Levi sniffed and placed his finger into the baby’s fist, delighting in how she curled her little fingers around his so tightly as he answered the nurse: “Evelyn Louise Ackerman-Smith.”

He spelled it out for the nurse, and the nurse hurried off to fill out the necessary paperwork. Levi kissed the baby’s little fist, staring down at her affectionately, “Hi Evelyn… it’s me, I’m your Dada… I love you, Lynnie. My sweet little Lynnie.”

The baby was calming down, cooing and making gurgling noises up at him. He looked over to Hange, who was a complete mess of tears. Levi rolled his eyes a little at them before looking back down at Evelyn. The nurses soon came to take her to clean her up and dress her, and Levi was suddenly understanding the feeling of being a parent. As soon as she was taken from him, he wanted to hold her again. He could almost cry with how much he instantly missed her. But Hange distracted him, holding up the gift bags once he was cleaned up and changed into a clean gown.

“You didn’t have to get anything, you know that, right?” Levi asked with an annoyed huff.

“I know!” Hange insisted. “But I want you to have these - seriously. Pieck found them online and… well I just had to get them. Open them up!”

Pieck was Hange’s new girlfriend of a few months now, and Levi could just tell that Pieck was perfect for Hange. The two were inseparable for the most part, just like he and Erwin had been.

Levi eyed Hange suspiciously before taking the tissue paper out of the bag and pulling out a soft, plush object from inside. At the same time, Hange pulled the same thing from the second bag, explaining: “One’s for you and one’s for Evie. I’ll open Evie’s for her since she can’t.”

Levi came face to face with two bears that were mostly identical. They were patchwork bears, different square pieces of cloth making up their bodies. Levi was going to ask why the hell Hange had gotten him a matching bear with his daughter, thinking it was strange for him to be getting a bear too, until he recognized one of the patches on the bear he was holding. It was a plaid piece of fabric, and Levi couldn’t help but audibly gasped when he realized what it was from. He looked up at Hange to confirm, and they nodded, tears in their eyes.

Levi began to look more closely at the bear, turning it in his hands and examining each piece of fabric just to confirm. His lower lip began to wobble, grief filling his chest as he let out a sob. Each square of fabric on this bear was a different shirt of Erwin’s. He’d wondered in his going through of Erwin’s things where some of his shirts had disappeared to. Now he knew.

“Hange, you…” he choked out. “You didn’t.”

“I did,” Hange smiled sadly, tears rolling down their cheeks. “I thought this way you two could cuddle with him when you miss him.”

Levi let out a quiet sob, examining the different fabrics. There was Erwin’s work shirt, his favorite sweater to wear in the winter, the button-up he’d worn when Levi had proposed to him on his birthday… they were all there, all wrapped up in this cute little bear - these two cute little bears, one for him and one for his daughter to have when they were missing Erwin a little too much.

Levi smiled through the tears, “Thank you. Thank you, Hange.”

Hange smiled back, laughing through their own tears and giving Levi a hug and a kiss to his forehead, “You’re so welcome, Levi. You know how much I wish he was here to share this moment with you. I’m honored to be somewhat of a replacement for him.”

Levi sniffled and wiped at the tears as Hange pulled away, “I wish he were here too. But I’m glad you’re here. You’re a good friend, Hange.”

Hange nodded, wiping away at their own tears, “Of course, Levi.”

The nurses brought little Evelyn back to Levi, all swaddled up in a blanket with a pink hat on her tiny head to keep her warm. Levi held her in one arm and one of the bears in his free hand, smiling down at her sweetly.

“You see the bear, Lynnie?” Levi asked softly, watching his daughter staring up at him sleepily. He held up the bear so she could see it and explained, “This is your Papa bear. Your Papa… he can’t be here, but you’ll always have this bear to remember him, okay?”

Evelyn didn’t look like she understood what he was saying, but Levi didn’t mind. He continued, “And I promise I won’t let a day go by without you knowing how much your Papa would’ve loved you. I promise.”

Evelyn’s little eyes closed, her breathing soft against Levi’s skin. He kissed her forehead, rocking her in his arm and humming a song to her. He was in love all over again; he and Erwin had made the most beautiful baby, and Levi would always see a glimpse of Erwin in Evelyn.

September 8, 2025

Levi could see little Evelyn kicking her little boots in the air from her carseat, giggling happily. She always did like car rides. Levi smiled softly at her through the rear view mirror before his eyes went back to the road.

“Dada?” He heard her pipe up after a moment of silence.

“Yes, baby?” Levi replied, turning onto the main road towards their apartment.

“Why I can’t see Papa?” She asked curiously. “Why is Papa a big stone?”

Levi gripped the wheel a little tighter, his shoulders tensing up. He’d tried to explain this to her before, but death was a hard concept for a toddler to grasp. Evelyn was a smart kid, but she didn’t always understand what had happened to her Papa - and she was unfortunately very curious about it, always asking Levi all types of questions.

But Levi tried to stay calm, not wanting Evelyn to think these questions were wrong or unnatural. He wanted to encourage an open conversation around Erwin’s death, and didn’t want Evelyn to shy away from talking to him about it.

“Well,” Levi explained cautiously. “Papa died, sweetheart. And when you die, you’re gone forever. When we’re alive, we can’t see dead people.”

“Oh,” Evelyn replied slowly, like she was taking in every word Levi said. “… then why is Papa a big stone if he’s dead?”

Levi smiled sadly, “Papa’s not a big stone, sweetie. He’s under the stone. He’s buried in the dirt.”

There was a sharp, surprised gasp from the back seat.

“But he can’t bweathe under dere!” Evelyn exclaimed in worry, sounding like she might momentarily burst into tears. “Dada - what if he can’t bweathe in da dirt?”

Levi quickly tried to rectify the situation, hushing her, “Shh, baby. It’s okay, Papa doesn’t need to breathe because he isn’t alive, okay? So he’s safe in the dirt. He’s safe there because… well, now we know where he is! So we can visit him any time we want.”

He watched her through the rear view mirror, and she physically relaxed, “Oh! Otay.”

Levi sighed in some relief, thankful she understood. He didn’t always know how to best handle her questions; he tried his best to answer them truthfully but in a way that wouldn’t upset her. He didn’t want to shield her from knowing the truth, but he also wanted to protect her from the harsh reality of it all. It was a difficult line to walk.

He pulled into the parking garage of the apartment complex, parking the car and getting out. Levi started to take Evelyn out of her car seat and set her on the ground. She immediately began to run away from the car, and Levi had to rush after her to take her hand, reminding her not to run in the parking garage because of the cars.

“Otay Dada!” She exclaimed cheerfully, holding his hand tightly as they walked up the stairs into the apartment complex.

Soon after Erwin had died, Levi had to sell the house. He couldn’t afford the mortgage without the double income, especially with a baby on the way. It was a painful thing to do - to sell his and Erwin’s dream house with the white picket fence and the big backyard for their future kids to run in. But it was just another part of the grieving process; letting go of the house they’d barely had a chance to make memories in. Although, part of Levi had been happy to sell it; he could barely walk into the bedroom without having flashbacks to finding Erwin there.

The two of them got into the elevator on the first floor and took it to the twelfth floor, walking down to the one bedroom apartment the two of them shared. Levi was sad he couldn’t afford to give Evelyn her own room, but she seemed to want to stay with Levi in his bed anyway. When he’d tried to sleep on the couch to get her used to sleeping on her own, he’d woken up to her loud wails, and hadn’t tried to sleep separate from her since. He didn’t mind sharing his bed with the toddler; she was generally a heavy sleeper and didn’t hog the covers or snore like Erwin had. Levi smiled softly at the memory of Erwin’s loud snoring as he unlocked the front door to their apartment, letting go of Evelyn’s hand. The two walked into the foyer and Levi closed the door behind them. Evelyn sat down and pulled her shoes off, putting them haphazardly by the door before she ran into the living room where her toys were.

Luckily for Evelyn, Levi had Hange, and Erwin had plenty of friends who would make up for Erwin’s absence by spoiling his little girl in the aftermath of his death. Erwin’s old friend, Mike, would visit every month or so with some new toy for her (she was constantly asking Levi: “When Unky Mike visit?” - just waiting for a new toy from him). Hange visited at least once a week, taking Evelyn on all types of fun adventures. The best adventure so far had been her trip to the Disney store where Hange promised to buy Evelyn one thing, but ended up buying her five different things in the end because they couldn’t resist Evelyn’s cute little pout.

Levi hung his keys on the hook by the door and locked the door behind him. He walked into the living room, smiling fondly at his daughter as she began pulling out some of the toys she wanted to play with. She was particularly fond of her Moana doll these days (she always pronounced her name “Mo-Anna”), and any dinosaur toy she could get her hands on. Hange had promised her that on their next visit, they would take Evelyn to the history museum to see the dinosaurs. Evelyn was so excited.

“Dada!” Evelyn held up her Moana doll. “Mo-anna missed us!”

Levi smiled and leaned down, kissing the doll on the top of its head before cooing, “Aww, it’s okay Moana. We’re home now!”

Evelyn giggled and hugged her doll before looking up at Levi expectantly, tapping a finger on the top of her head, “My turn!”

Levi chuckled and leaned over again, kissing Evelyn on the top of her head. She squealed excitedly and puckered her lips, holding her arms out to Levi, “You turn Dada! You turn!”

Levi picked her up and tilted his head down so she could reach. He had to hold her Moana doll as she let go, holding Levi’s face in both of her little hands before pressing a kiss to the top of Levi’s head with an excited giggle.

Levi was so thankful he had such a sweetheart for a daughter. She was the perfect mix of himself and Erwin: she could be so stubborn and moody sometimes, but she was adventurous and kind-hearted with big dreams and a big heart. Every day she did little things that reminded him of Erwin; that warmed his heart.

Levi tilted his head back and hugged Evelyn close, sighing contently, “I love you, Lynnie.”

Evelyn squirmed a little in his arms before getting comfortable and hugging back, “Lub you Dada!”

Levi smiled against her blonde hair, pressing another kiss there before he set her back on her feet, and she rushed off to play. Levi watched her for a moment before he headed to the kitchen to start prepping for dinner. Evelyn was a good little eater; she wasn’t very picky like most toddlers, which Levi was thankful for. Tonight he had plans to make one of her favorites: spaghetti with meatballs and a side salad with plenty of tomatoes (both of them were fiends for tomatoes).

He put the water on the stove to boil for the noodles and took out some frozen meatballs to put in the oven. Levi made the meatballs from scratch in bulk and froze the extras to make it easier to make spaghetti, just needing to pop them in the oven for twenty minutes and add them to the sauce and noodles. He got out a sheet pan and sprayed it before lining up several meatballs on it and turning the oven on.

While waiting for the oven to preheat, he started chopping up some veggies for the salad. That’s when Evelyn appeared in the archway, jumping up and down excitedly when she saw what Levi was making.

“S’getti! S’getti!” She squealed, rushing over to the counter where Levi was cutting vegetables and hugging onto his legs.

He smiled down at her, “You want to help, Lynnie?”

One of the things Mike had gotten for her was a countertop stool. He’d noticed how much she wanted to help Levi cook, but she couldn’t reach the counter very well to do so, so on his next visit he brought her a stool that she could climb up into and easily be at the countertop level. It had a back on it so that once she was in, she couldn’t fall out.

Evelyn nodded eagerly and began to climb into the countertop stool next to Levi, standing next to him on the stool and immediately reaching for the knife. Levi held it away from her, “Ah ah ah. We have to be careful with the knives, remember? Dada will cut the vegetables and you can toss the salad.”

Levi sometimes let her use the knife with his guidance. He wanted her to learn to be careful, and he’d seen videos on social media of parents letting their kids have more free-reign with cooking, so he figured as long as he emphasized the safety of the situation, he could trust her… for the most part. Obviously, he wasn’t about to just hand over a big knife to a toddler and leave her to it. But there were things she could still help with.

Evelyn pouted and crossed her arms, looking irritated that Levi wouldn’t let her use the knife. She lifted her foot to stomp it, before seemingly remembering what Levi had said earlier about ‘not stomping her feet at Dada’, and setting her foot back down carefully. Levi tried not to laugh at how cute it was, not wanting to encourage bad behavior.

“Now what do we do before we cook together?” Levi asked, trying to distract her from being upset about not using the knife.

Evelyn’s face changed to one of thought, tapping her chin before smiling up at Levi, “We wash our hands!”

“Good girl, Lynnie!” Levi praised, sliding the stool down a couple of feet so that she was in front of the sink.

She reached over and pumped some soap onto her hands before turning on the sink and washing her hands. Levi watched her out of the corner of his eye as he finished chopping the lettuce. He helped move her back next to him once she dried her hands on the towel by the sink.

He put the chopped-up lettuce into the bowl and handed it to Evelyn, who dug her clean hands into the lettuce and started to stir it around, throwing some pieces upwards to really get the effect of ‘tossing’ the salad. Levi chopped up some carrots and tomatoes, adding them to the bowl and watching Evelyn mix it in with the lettuce.

“You’re doing such a good job,” Levi complimented her in a cheerful tone. “Do you think it’s done yet?”

Evelyn bit her lip in concentration - just like Erwin used to, Levi thought to himself briefly - before she tossed the salad a bit more, removing her hands from the bowl and smiling up at Levi, “It’s done, Dada! We did it!”

“Yay!” Levi cheered, holding up his hand. “High-five! We did it, baby!”

She giggled and slapped his hand with her own, ducking her head under the bar and climbing off the stool. With that, she was gone, running back to her toys in the other room. As a toddler, she had a very short attention span, but Levi didn’t mind. He was always ready for her next adventure, whatever it may be.

Levi finished up dinner and put Evelyn’s plate on her high chair. He heard her squealing and giggling in the living room, and frowned for a moment. It sounded as though someone was making her laugh, not like she was just having fun on her own. Levi’s heart dropped - was someone in the apartment? He’d definitely locked the door, right? Levi flew into a bit of a panic, abandoning the plates in the kitchen to rush back into the living room.

Evelyn was sitting there staring at the wall from across the room, pointing and giggling at nothing. Levi was a bit relieved to find her alone there, but what an earth was she laughing so hard at?

“Baby…” Levi chuckled, amused by her antics. “What are you laughing at?”

Evelyn looked up at Levi for a moment before turning back to the wall and pointing again, “The funny man is making silly faces at me!”

Levi felt his blood run cold. What the hell? He thought to himself. What was Evelyn seeing that he wasn’t? He stared at the wall for a moment before turning back to Evelyn. He initially thought she was just joking with him, but she was really laughing at something.

“What… What funny man?” Levi asked cautiously, not wanting to scare her by making her think something was wrong. He was a little worried, but he was mostly curious - what was his daughter seeing?

“He’s right there!” Evelyn exclaimed as she continued to point at the wall. “He’s makin’ lots of funny faces, Dada! It’s makin’ me laugh!”

She giggled hysterically, holding her stomach with both hands. Levi held his breath, a thought passing through his mind that he couldn’t help but pursue. He closed his eyes as he breathed out, opening them again and asking slowly, “What… What does the funny man look like, honey?”

He was silently praying to himself that she wasn’t seeing some weird demon, or some sort of creepy ghost that was haunting their apartment. He wasn’t sure how much he believed in ghosts - since Erwin died he’d grown to believe in them more simply because he wanted to have the hope that Erwin could see and hear him.

“Well…” Evelyn scrunched up her face in concentration as she stared intently at the wall. “He so tall… um… hair like mine! And big blue eyes!”

A realization passed over Levi, and he couldn’t help but let out a small gasp, “E… Erwin?”

Evelyn tilted her head in confusion at Levi, not knowing him as anything other than ‘Papa’, “Huh?”

“Baby,” Levi tried to stay calm, but he could feel the excitement and fear coursing through him as he continued to question her. “Do you remember the pictures of Papa? Is… Is the funny man Papa?”

He pointed at the photos of Erwin and Levi a little higher on the wall to remind her of what he looked like, and Evelyn followed his finger to look up at the photos before her eyes widened a little. She nodded, very nonchalant about the whole thing, “Yeah. The funny man’s Papa! But… hey! You said we can’t see Papa because he’s not live!”

Levi put a shaky hand over his mouth, his lower lip starting to wobble. He didn’t want to alarm his daughter by bursting into tears, but he could barely handle what she’d just told him. She wouldn’t joke about something that serious; and she was a toddler - she couldn’t come up with something so complicated to trick Levi with. Maybe she was imagining things, but Levi was choosing to think that she really was seeing her Papa. It touched his heart; that Erwin might be visiting her from beyond the grave, meeting his daughter after all this time.

“Dada!” Evelyn exclaimed, trying to get his attention. She turned back to the wall and smiled up at something before looking back at Levi, “Papa blowed you kisses!”

Levi let out a choked sob, tears rolling down his face. He wiped them away quickly, his chest constricting painfully. Evelyn frowned up at him, looking worried, “Dada? Why you crying?”

Levi forced a small smile, sniffling, “Don’t worry. They’re… They’re happy tears, baby. Dada’s just… really happy you got to see Papa.”

Evelyn whimpered and pushed herself up to her feet, rushing to Levi’s side and hugging his legs, “No cry, Dada! No cry!”

Levi reached down to pick her up, hugging her close to him as she tucked her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him. She patted his back to try and comfort him, slapping his back just a little too hard. He sniffled and tearfully kissed the top of her head, “Thank you, baby. Don’t worry, Dada’s okay.”

“Dada…” Evelyn clung to him before sitting up in his arms and turning to look back at the wall with a frown. “Oh… Papa’s gone. I wonder where he went!”

She squirmed back out of his hold and to the ground, cupping her hands around mouth and calling out, “Papa? Papa, where you go?”

Levi couldn’t handle this. He was shaking violently, tears rolling down his face as he tried to hold back his sobs. He took his phone from his pocket, sending a quick text to Hange:

It wasn’t Evelyn’s fault that Levi was feeling this way. She didn’t know any better. Levi just needed to be alone for a little while, and Evelyn would be so excited to have another adventure with Hange that she likely wouldn’t notice that Levi was trying to push her off onto them for the night. Hange quickly texted back:

Levi sighed in some relief, watching Evelyn for a moment more as she searched the living room for her Papa. He sucked in a deep breath and wiped his eyes, putting on a smile as he kneeled down with his arms out to her.

“Come on, baby,” he cooed. “Let’s go eat dinner, okay? The spaghetti’s gonna get cold.”

“S’getti!” Evelyn immediately forgot what she was doing and rushed into Levi’s arms, bouncing cheerfully in his hold as he picked her up. “S’getti! S’getti!”

Levi chuckled and started carrying her into the kitchen, putting her in her high chair and locking the mechanism into place so she wouldn’t fall out. She picked up her baby fork and stabbed one of the meatballs, taking a huge bite and starting to chew. Toddlers were not very elegant when they ate, and Levi hated the mess, but he knew Evelyn was trying her best. She didn’t like mess either - whenever she was done eating, face and hands covered in whatever was for dinner that night, she would instantly cry out: “Cwean me! Cwean me, Dada! Pwease!” - she was much like Levi in that regard, though she certainly could make a mess just like Erwin used to.

“I have a surprise, baby,” Levi smiled, starting to swirl some noodles onto his fork and putting them in his mouth.

Evelyn was busy eating a tomato, and she knew not to speak while chewing, so she hurriedly chewed and swallowed the tomato before her eyes lit up, “What is it, Dada? What’s the s‘prise?”

Levi continued to eat, moving between the salad and the pasta, “If you’re a good girl and eat your spaghetti, Dada will tell you.”

Evelyn kept eating, not speaking much as she was trying to finish her meal so that Levi would tell her about the surprise. Levi smiled fondly at her as he finished up his own plate. She looked down at the spaghetti and her lower lip began to wobble, Levi’s eyes widening slightly.

“What is it, baby?” He asked cautiously, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t eat no more!” She whimpered, looking down at her not-so-empty plate, “My tummy’s all full!”

Levi stroked her hair gently, “Oh baby, that’s okay. Dada will still tell you about the surprise, okay? You don’t have to eat anymore.”

Evelyn sniffed and looked over to him with wide, tear-filled eyes, “Weally?”

He nodded, “Really.”

Levi grabbed a wet wipe from the baby wipes he kept on the kitchen counter and started cleaning her face and hands before he took her plate away and emptied it in the trash, placing both their plates in the sink for him to wash later.

Just as he was about to tell her the surprise, letting her out of her high chair and setting her on the floor, the door bell for their apartment buzzed. Levi smiled and walked over to the intercom, pressing the button to let Hange in.

“I think your surprise is coming upstairs right now, Lynnie!” Levi sing-songed cheerfully, and Evelyn giggled excitedly and ran over to wait in front of the door.

There was a knock, and Levi unlocked the door, letting Evelyn reach both her little hands up and struggle to open the door. When she finally pulled it open and saw Hange there, she shrieked with excitement and ran into their arms, emitting shrill giggles as she cried out: “HANGE!”

Hange cackled and spun Evelyn around, “EVIE! Oooh you’re getting so big!”

Hange stopped spinning and bounced the excited toddler in their arms. Evelyn was giggling uncontrollably, hugging tight to Hange, “Hange you the s’prise!”

“I am?!” Hange gasped dramatically, grinning down at her. “Well, I’m honored, Evie! Are you ready to have a sleepover at Hange’s?!”

Evelyn laughed happily and clapped her hands, “Yay! Sweepover! Sweepover!”

Levi smiled at them, leaning against the wall as he watched the two interact. He was so glad that Evelyn had Hange - he was glad that he had Hange. After Erwin’s death, Hange had never stopped being there for him however he needed them to be, and he appreciated that more than anything.

“You gotta pack your bag!” Hange set her down. “Go get the toys you wanna bring and put ‘em in your backpack, okay?”

Evelyn nodded and rushed into the living room to pack her backpack. Levi wasn’t worried about packing her pajamas or a change of clothes - Hange saw Evelyn so often that they had their own sets of clothes for Evelyn just in case she needed them. Hange was, in fact, over-prepared to have Evelyn at their apartment: they had baby-proofed everything, had Evelyn’s favorite bubble bath and shampoo, and even bought a toddler potty when they found out Evelyn was potty-training a few months ago. It certainly made Levi feel better about Evelyn going over to Hange’s, knowing that she was so welcome and safe there.

“So what happened?” Hange asked knowingly. “She bein’ difficult or…?”

“No,” Levi sighed, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not her fault… she said she saw her Papa.”

Hange raised an eyebrow, “What? What do you mean?”

Levi began to briefly explain what had happened, trying to be quick about it in case Evelyn came back with her toys. By the end of the story, Hange was giving Levi that sad look of pity they always gave him when something about Erwin came up.

“I’m so sorry, Lee,” Hange sighed. “So you just need some time alone?”

“Yeah,” Levi nodded. “I’ll be fine, I’m just… I don’t know, I need a glass of wine and a good cry probably.”

Hange nodded solemnly, reaching out and placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder, “Okay, Lee. You text me if you need anything else. I’ll take good care of Evelyn, don’t you worry.”

Levi smiled sadly, “I know you will. Thanks, Hange.”

Evelyn came rushing back into the foyer, holding up her open backpack to Hange, “Can you zip it?”

She had too many toys in the backpack and it wouldn’t zip. Hange chuckled and kneeled down in front of her, “I think you got too many toys in there, kiddo. But that’s okay, how about you carry Moana and then maybe it’ll close?”

Hange took the Moana doll out and handed it to Evelyn, zipping up the backpack and helping her put it on her back, “There you go!”

Evelyn giggled and jumped up and down, rushing over to where her shoes were by the front door and sitting down. She didn’t know how to put them on, but she certainly was trying. She put the first shoe on the wrong foot before Levi laughed under his breath and kneeled down to help her.

He put her shoes on and pulled the velcro shut, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “Dada will see you tomorrow, okay? You have fun with Hange, and be a good girl, yeah?”

Evelyn nodded and got to her feet, picking up her Moana doll and reaching out her free arm to Levi, “Hugs!”

Levi picked her up, hugging her close and stroking her beautiful blonde hair, “I love you, baby.”

“Lub you, Dada!” Evelyn replied, hugging him back for a second before squirming out of his arms and rushing to Hange’s side. Hange held out their hand, and Evelyn took it.

“Bye bye!” Evelyn turned to wave at Levi as they exited the apartment.

Hange smiled, “Bye Lee!”

“See you two!” Levi waved back before closing the door and locking it. He sighed, finally alone now. He turned around and headed to the kitchen, wiping down the countertops and stove and doing the few dishes in the sink. Once he was done with that, he went into the living room and straightened up some of Evelyn’s toys. She kept things pretty organized, and knew she wasn’t allowed out of the house until she’d cleaned up her toys, so she’d clearly tried to clean up as best she could in the small amount of time Hange had given her to gather some toys in her backpack.

Levi poured himself a glass of wine and went to sit out on the balcony, sitting in the lawn chair he had out there and sipping his wine as the sun went down. He was thinking about Erwin; the many nights they’d spent watching the sun go down and drinking wine together.

He stared out at the hues of purple and blue and yellow spanning across the sky, twirling the wine in the glass before taking a sip. He could feel it; that cry he needed so desperately to let out. It was threatening to spill over. He lay his face in his palm, a sob breaking through as tears began to spill down his face. Levi’s chest constricted as another sob racked through his body, tears only coming faster now.

“Uhh,” he heard from behind him. “You okay?”

Levi whipped around with something like horror to realize his next door neighbor was also on his own balcony, admiring the sunset just like Levi had been. Levi was thoroughly embarrassed - he thought he’d been alone. He quickly wiped the tears away and tried to hold back, another sob escaping before he forced himself to stop crying.

“I’m fine,” Levi sniffled, barely looking at the stranger. “Sorry. I thought I was alone.”

“It’s alright,” the man reassured him. “You sure you okay? I know I don’t know you, but… if you need someone to talk to, I can try my best.”

Levi immediately shook his head and laughed nervously, finally turning to his neighbor once he’d wiped all his tears away, “I’m fine, really. Thank you.”

The blonde leaned on the balcony railing, an unlit cigarette balanced between his lips, “Well, maybe I can cheer you up. You want a cig?”

Levi scrunched up his nose in disgust, “Erm… no thank you.”

The man chuckled at the face he’d made, “Not a fan? I won’t smoke then.” He took the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear, smiling at Levi, “There. Better?”

Levi nodded a little, forcing a small smile. He was a little uncomfortable, but it was nice that the stranger was making an effort to cheer him up. And he was pretty handsome, which was a plus. Levi couldn’t help but think that. He hadn’t pursued anyone since Erwin’s death, though, and he wasn’t about to break his vow to celibacy just for a handsome stranger.

“I’m Zeke,” the stranger introduced. “What’s your name?”

“Levi,” he replied.

“So Levi,” Zeke leaned against the railing with a smirk. “You single?”

Levi could feel himself blushing, but before he could even open his mouth to answer, a little boy came running out onto the balcony shrieking, “BIG BWOTHER! BIG BWOTHER!”

He couldn’t have been more than four years old - he only looked a little bigger than Evelyn. A little girl around the same age followed closely behind him, arms crossed and looking annoyed. Levi instantly recognized her - that was his baby cousin, Mikasa. Mikasa’s parents lived in the same town, but they were distant relatives, so Levi didn’t know them super well. They likely had no idea that they’d sent their daughter over to play next door to her cousin Levi.

“What did I say about running on the balcony?” Zeke asked firmly, and the boy stopped in his tracks, slowing down as he walked over to his big brother.

“What is it, Eren?” Zeke sighed as he kneeled in front of the boy. “Are you and Mikasa playing nice?”

“She told me I had to kiss her!” Eren pouted angrily before pointing at Mikasa. “Tell her that’s gross!”

Levi couldn’t help but giggle in amusement at the two; Mikasa sticking her tongue out at Eren, who looked disgusted at the prospect of kissing someone. Zeke hid his grin skillfully before he turned to Mikasa, “Mimi, let’s not make Eren kiss anybody, okay? Remember what Mama Carla said about how we shouldn’t force others to do things they’re not comfortable with?”

Mikasa’s eyes widened a little as she struggled for a moment to remember, before she nodded, “Oh yeah… sorry Eren…”

Zeke smiled and patted the top of her head gently, “Good job, Mimi.”

Eren stuck his tongue out at her, and Zeke scolded, “Eren, that’s not nice. Be good to Mikasa, okay?”

Eren grumbled in annoyance before sighing, “Fine. Let’s go play house, but this time, don’t tell me to kiss you!”

Mikasa nodded again, and let Eren drag her back into the apartment. Zeke chuckled at the two before he turned back to Levi, “Sorry about that. Kids, you know? They’re a handful. That’s my baby brother Eren and his friend Mikasa.”

“They seem so sweet,” Levi commented with a teasing smirk. “Mikasa’s my distant cousin, actually. She’s a good kid.”

Zeke raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Small world. What about you? You have a younger sibling?”

“No,” Levi replied, “Only child. But I do have a kid of my own.”

Zeke leaned on the railing, looking a little disappointed, “So you’re married or something?”

Levi shook his head, finding Zeke’s disappointment a little amusing. He could tell the man was smitten, and it’d been a long time since he’d caught someone’s interest like this. He couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

“Oh,” Zeke perked up instantly, grinning a bit, “So you’re single?”

Levi nodded slowly, “Yes… it’s just me and Evelyn.”

Zeke was looking more and more excited by the second, and Levi assumed he must be a few years younger just by the amount of energy he had compared to Levi, who was 36 but felt ancient. Levi had to admit, he was even more attracted to the idea of a younger man, but he refrained from allowing himself to take that thought any further. He was still dedicated to Erwin, whether the man was alive or dead.

“How old is Evelyn?” Zeke asked curiously. “Maybe we could arrange a play date. Eren and Mikasa would love to have a new friend, I’m sure.”

“She just turned three,” Levi explained. “But she’s smart for her age. A good kid, too. She’s a little shy, but she’s social once she gets to know people.”

“Sounds like a real good kid to me,” Zeke nodded in agreement. “She in bed?”

“No,” Levi replied. “She’s at my friend Hange’s. I just… erm… needed some time alone tonight.”

“Gotcha,” Zeke stood back up. “Well, I’ll come out for a smoke later then. Give you your privacy.”

“It’s fine,” Levi insisted. “Honestly, it’s probably better that I’m talking to you rather than wallowing in my grief.”

The two sat there in some silence for a moment, and Levi didn’t know what else to say, until Zeke piped up, “So… how’d they die? Your… partner… I’m assuming that’s what happened?”

Levi stared at him in some surprise before Zeke cleared his throat and shook his head, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry. You just look like you need to talk to someone… but if you don’t, that’s fine too. I can change the subject.”

“It’s fine,” Levi repeated. “Really, it’s okay. He… He committed suicide…”

Zeke’s eyes widened slightly before returning to normal, “I'm so sorry. That’s terrible.”

Levi was glad that Zeke wasn’t looking at him with that pity in his eyes that most people gave him when he told them about his deceased fiancé. He was sure Zeke was sincere with his apology, but at least he wasn’t overdoing it like most did. It always made Levi incredibly uncomfortable to hear people overcompensate when he explained that Erwin had died by suicide. It was like people just didn’t know what to say.

“That’s… That’s how my mother died,” Zeke admitted quietly, avoiding Levi’s eyes. “She went through severe postpartum depression. Ended her life when I was almost a year old.”

At least we have something in common, Levi thought miserably, not happy to hear that this was something he and Zeke shared - losing someone they loved to suicide. He couldn’t imagine what Zeke must’ve felt over his mother, but he decided he wasn’t going to give Zeke that pity look that he himself hated so much.

“I’m sorry,” Levi replied. “That’s horrible. I… I went through some of that after Evelyn was born. It felt awful… I can’t imagine what your mother must’ve gone through.”

Zeke’s face lightened for some reason, softer than before. He smiled a little, “Thanks, Levi. It honestly means a lot to meet someone who went through something similar as her, even if it’s sad. Thank you for being real with me.”

Levi nodded, “Of course.”

“Well,” Zeke cleared his throat, standing up straight. “I suppose I should go check on Eren and Mikasa. But it was nice talking to you. Feel free to knock on my door if you want to arrange that playdate with the kids.”

Levi gave Zeke a small wave, “Okay. Nice talking to you too. I’ll let you know about that playdate.”

Zeke shot Levi a wink before he went inside, and Levi could feel his heart fluttering in his chest. He hadn’t felt this way since he’d been with Erwin. Levi tried to shake the feeling from his shoulders as he took a long sip of wine, trying to remind himself what he’d wanted to be alone for in the first place.

But he didn’t cry for Erwin anymore that night. In fact, he had gone to bed feeling a little better about the situation, reminiscing about the nice chat he’d had with the stranger from the next door balcony.

January 14, 2026

Levi was busy doing crafts with Evelyn at the kitchen counter - they were making snowflakes to put up in the windows, when he heard the knock on the door. At first, he thought maybe it was his neighbor, Zeke, coming to visit - because who else could’ve gotten into the apartment building other than someone that already lived there? Levi left Evelyn for the moment, silently hoping she wouldn’t find a way to hurt herself with the kid scissors she had. He walked to the door and unlocked it before opening it, being greeted by the wide grin of his uncle. Levi immediately went to slam the door in his face, but the old man stuck his boot in the door and pried it open with his hand, laughing at Levi’s clear irritation with him.

“That’s no way to greet your old uncle, is it?” Kenny chuckled. “Now where’s the runt?”

Levi’s uncle was involved in gang activity, so Levi had kept away from him, especially since Evelyn’s birth, not wanting his daughter to be exposed to that type of lifestyle. But here his uncle was; he’d found out where Levi lived, and now he was here to see Levi’s kid, to annoy the fuck out of Levi, or both.

“You get the hell out,” Levi growled. “You’re not seeing her.”

As if on queue, Evelyn came around the corner, asking loudly, “Who at the door, Dada?”

Kenny pushed the door all the way open and walked in, kneeling in front of Evelyn with a smile, “Hey kid. I’m your Uncle Kenny. Nice to meet ya.”

He held out his hand, and Evelyn simply stared up at him with wide eyes. She looked up at Levi with worry, as if she didn’t know whether she could trust him or not. Levi sighed and crossed his arms, nodding a little at her to let her know it was okay. As much as he didn’t like this situation, he supposed his uncle at least deserved to meet the little girl.

“Hi,” Evelyn spoke slowly and shyly, wrapping her little hand around Kenny’s index finger and shaking it politely. “M Evelyn.”

“Well hey there, Evelyn,” Kenny pulled his hand away to ruffle her hair, earning a giggle from the girl. “Your daddy’s been hiding you from me. That wasn’t very nice, was it?”

Evelyn frowned up at Levi, “Why come, Dada?”

Levi huffed in annoyance, not really sure how to answer that question. He didn’t want to scare Evelyn by telling her that Kenny was a bad man, but he didn’t particularly want her to like his uncle either.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Levi apologized, much to his own irritation. “Dada didn’t mean to.”

Kenny chuckled at the interaction, placing his hands on Evelyn’s waist and lifting her into his arms as he stood back up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, taking a liking to him for some reason. Maybe it was just the family resemblance, though Levi didn’t think he and Kenny looked similar at all.

“Wow, you’re a big girl, aren’t you?” Kenny teased, and Evelyn giggled and nodded, reaching up to touch the brim of Kenny’s hat. Kenny took it off and placed it on her head, and she squealed excitedly as she pushed it back a bit so she could still see. It was big on her, and Levi couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“I such a big girl!” Evelyn agreed. “I show you my toys now?”

Kenny nodded, setting her down and taking his hat back, “You know, Uncle Kenny brought you a toy too.”

Evelyn’s eyes grew wide as saucers, “Weally?!”

He nodded, motioning to the door, “It’s in the hallway.”

Levi didn’t trust his uncle one bit, so he opened the door and peeked into the hallway first to check it out. He was surprised to find that Kenny was telling the truth, and was even more shocked at what he’d gotten her. A pink tricycle with a big pink bow on it. Evelyn was going to lose her shit.

“Oh boy, Lynnie,” Levi spoke softly. “You gotta come see what your uncle got you.”

Evelyn rushed past Levi and into the hallway, shrieking excitedly when she saw the tricycle. She was jumping up and down, yelling ‘Bike! Bike!’ at the top of her lungs and running over to it. Kenny was watching her fondly. He’d never gifted Levi anything like this; he must’ve come into some money recently.

She climbed onto it, wrapping her hands around the handles and smiling happily up at the two of them before realizing she had no idea how to even ride the tricycle. Levi watched Kenny walk over and kneel next to her, helping her put her feet on the pedals and teaching her how to ride it. Soon enough, she was cycling down the hallway all by herself, Kenny following her to make sure she didn’t crash or get hurt. Levi had never seen his uncle so affectionate before, but he supposed Evelyn just had that affect on people.

“What do we say to Uncle Kenny?” Levi asked Evelyn once she’d ridden back towards their apartment.

“Tank you Unky Kenny!” Evelyn giggled, climbing off the bike to hug onto Kenny’s legs. “I lub my bike!”

He’d clearly won her over by this point. And she’d won him over too. Kenny ruffled her hair and chuckled, “You got it, kiddo. Alright, Uncle Kenny’s got to head out. Got business to attend to.”

Evelyn frowned, pulling away from him and staring up at him with big, sad eyes and a wobbly lower lip, “But… But Unky Kenny… wanna show you my toys…”

Kenny looked a little panicked that she was about to cry, and quickly tried to resolve the situation, “Okay, okay. I’ll come in and look at your toys, kid. No need to cry. Damn, you got me goin soft.”

Levi wanted to laugh at his uncle, but he refrained, leaning against the hallway wall, “You and Kenny go look at your toys, baby. Dada’s gonna put your bike in the front closet, okay?”

“I do it!” Evelyn insisted, placing her hands on the handles and starting to wheel it into the apartment. She struggled to get the closet door open and pushed the bike inside, closing the door haphazardly. Kenny and Levi stood in the doorway watching her, Kenny looking incredibly amused by the toddler.

“So determined,” Kenny commented. “Just like you were at that age.”

“I was determined to kick your ass,” Levi grumbled. “Not much has changed, honestly.”

Kenny rolled his eyes, and Evelyn rushed over to him, grabbing his hand and starting to drag him into the living room. Levi closed the apartment door and locked it, following them and sitting on the couch. He scrolled through his Twitter feed while listening to Evelyn explain all her toys to Kenny, who listened patiently, much to Levi’s surprise. He was being a very good uncle to her, much better than he had ever been to Levi. Levi was honestly a little jealous.

“Dis is my Papa bear!” He heard Evelyn explain as she held up a bear made of Erwin’s clothes. “It smells just like my Papa! Dada says… Dada says dis is all Papa’s clothes. I cuddle with it when I get sad bout missin’ Papa…”

Levi looked up, and Kenny was frowning, carding a hand through her hair gently, “I’m sorry about your Papa, Lyn. I really am.”

When Erwin had died, Kenny had tried to reconcile with Levi over their rocky relationship, but Levi had had none of it. He was too fragile to try and let his uncle into his life again. But he knew Kenny felt bad about Erwin’s death - had sent him his condolences, sent flowers to Erwin’s funeral. He’d never met Erwin, but he knew how much Levi had loved him, and he must’ve felt bad.

“Dada says,” Evelyn continued, not really phased by Kenny’s words. “That Papa was real handsome… and super nice… and funny too!”

Levi could feel the tears building in his throat, and he swallowed them back. Evelyn would talk about Erwin sometimes, repeating things that Levi had told her about him. And it was very emotional for him to hear her say those things. She always sounded so proud to have Erwin as her Papa.

“Wow,” Kenny smiled sadly. “He sounds like quite the guy.”

“Yeah,” Evelyn agreed with a smile, hugging tightly to the bear as she sighed. “…I wish I could see my Papa…”

Levi had to leave the room. He couldn’t handle it. The tears were breaking forwards now, rolling down his cheeks. He let Kenny look after Evelyn for a little bit while he tried to calm down. He didn’t need Evelyn to see him like this; or Kenny for that matter. He cleaned up his tearful face and returned to the living room about fifteen minutes later, smiling when he saw that Evelyn was curled up in Kenny’s arms fast asleep holding her Papa bear. He had been reading a book to her when she’d fallen asleep. Levi bent down and took the sleeping girl from Kenny’s arms, holding her close. She stirred a little, clinging to Levi and falling back asleep on his shoulder, her Papa bear’s arm in her fist.

“Thanks for the bike,” Levi cleared his throat awkwardly now that he and Kenny had to talk one-on-one. “I could tell she really likes it.”

“Course,” Kenny shoved his hands in his pockets, equally as uncomfortable. “Least I could do.”

The two were silent for a moment before Kenny coughed into his fist and looked away from Levi, continuing, “I get why you don’t want me around. I promise I won’t corrupt the damn kid; I’ll stay away for the most part. But I wanna give her gifts and visit at least once a year - I didn’t have the means to spoil you when you were little, I wanna at least spoil my grand niece a little before I die, ya know?”

Levi nodded appreciatively, “I think that’s a good deal. Just… give me a heads up next time you come around, okay? And don’t spoil her too much - I don’t want her to be a brat.”

Kenny chuckled, “Agreed. See you around, runt.”

Levi rolled his eyes a little, his uncle affectionately ruffling his hair before heading out of the apartment. Levi and Evelyn would never see him again from that point forward - Levi had heard his uncle was on the run from the law - but once a year, Levi would get an anonymous package in the mail for Evelyn. They were almost always huge boxes with some ridiculously expensive toy she didn’t need, but the looks on Evelyn’s face were priceless every time, and Levi couldn’t take that away from her.

October 23, 2026

Evelyn sat patiently in front of the mirror, swinging her legs back and forth as Pieck stood behind her and did her hair. Levi was standing across the room against the wall, in his tuxedo, watching her with both pride and amusement. She had been trying her best to keep still, as still as a four-year-old could be, unable to help but squirm a little in her chair. Pieck was being so sweet to her, asking her how she wanted her hair to look, telling her how pretty she was in her cute little flower girl dress.

When Hange and Pieck had asked Levi if Evelyn could be the flower girl at their wedding, he’d been unable to refuse. The thought of little Evelyn in a poofy little flower girl dress was too cute to be true. When the three of them had sat Evelyn down and told her she was going to be a flower girl, she had been so excited. She barely even knew what a flower girl was, but when they told her she’d get to wear a fancy dress and throw flower petals, she was more than thrilled.

“Wow, Evie,” Pieck smiled kindly, twisting her hair in her fingers and putting it up into two little blonde buns on either side of her head. “Look at you, baby! So pretty!”

Evelyn giggled, a shy blush appearing on her face. Pieck already had her wedding dress on, and Evelyn had been incredibly timid upon seeing Pieck looking so beautiful - she’d stared with wide eyes and hid behind Levi’s legs. It took a lot to coax her into the chair and let Pieck do her hair.

“Okay,” Pieck finished pinning her hair up and picked up some blush. “You get to have a little makeup too. I think your Dada will be okay with that given the special occasion?”

Pieck glanced over at Levi with a raise of her eyebrow, and Evelyn quickly turned around in her seat to see what Levi would say, eyes wide with excitement and lip pouting out in a begging manner. Levi just couldn’t resist.

“Of course,” Levi agreed. “She can have some makeup.”

Evelyn gasped happily and turned back around to look in the mirror as Pieck took her brush and dabbed it into the powder, putting a little rosy blush on Evelyn’s cheeks. She was smiling at herself in the mirror, and Levi could feel his heart swelling with pride at how happy she looked. She wasn’t entirely a girly girl - she liked to be a rough and tumble kid from time to time, but she was clearly excited to explore this feminine side. As a child, Levi had never had any interest in the feminine; he’d known he was trans from a very young age.

Pieck put some light colored eyeshadow on her eyes, instructing her to close them so she could apply it to her lids. Once she was done, she took out a lip gloss from her makeup bag and applied that to Evelyn’s lips. Levi watched his daughter transform from a timid little thing to a confidant, thrilled flower girl.

“I so pwetty!” She exclaimed, examining her face and hair in the mirror.

“Yes you are,” Pieck murmured cheerfully. “Now we’re all ready for the wedding!”

“Yay!” Evelyn cheered, hopping up from the chair and rushing over to Levi. She clung to his pants’ leg, looking up at him with a bright smile. “Dada, look! Look at! Auntie Pieck did my hair and makeup!”

“Wow, baby!” Levi smiled down at her, patting her head carefully so as not to mess up her hair. “You look so pretty! Are you ready to be the flower girl?”

“Yeah!” Evelyn nodded, and Pieck handed her the basket with the flower petals in it. She had practiced at the rehearsal the night prior, and was getting really good at scattering the petals just right. She was trying to be such the perfectionist, just like Levi.

“Auntie Pieck?” Evelyn took the basket carefully, looking away from Pieck with a shy blush.

“Yes, Evie?” Pieck tucked a stray piece of hair behind Evelyn’s ear.

“Are… Are you a pwincess?” Evelyn asked, smiling up at her hopefully.

Levi could feel his heart melting, and Pieck looked equally as touched, “Aww, baby! Yes, today we’re both princesses.”

Evelyn’s mouth dropped open a little in shock before she broke out in a wide grin, looking up at Levi, “Dada! I’m a pwincess!”

Levi smiled down at her and picked her up cautiously so as not to tip over her basket of petals. She clung to his tux jacket with her free hand, giggling happily. Pieck smiled at the two of them, taking out her phone from her purse.

“I need to take some pictures of you two,” Pieck insisted. “I know there’s a photographer here, but this is too cute of a moment not to capture it.”

Levi chuckled, positioning Evelyn in his arms and turning to face Pieck, “Smile Lynnie!”

Evelyn put on her best smile, giggling happily as she wrapped one arm around Levi’s back. Levi smiled into the phone as Pieck took a few pictures of them, feeling Evelyn’s little hands turn his head towards hers after the first couple.

She smiled up at him sweetly, “Are you a pwince, Dada?”

Levi couldn’t help but grin at her question, nuzzling their noses together as Pieck took picture after picture of them, “Yes I am. And I get to escort the prettiest princess to the wedding - you!”

Evelyn squealed and covered her face with her hands, whining, “Dat tickles, Dada!”

Levi sighed happily, hugging her close. He appreciated this small moments with his daughter. Even though he and Evelyn didn’t always get along, his daughter was a good girl, and he loved her so much.

“Okay, the ceremony’s starting soon!” Pieck announced cheerfully. “Are you ready to be the flower girl, Evie?”

Levi set Evelyn down and she nodded eagerly, holding her basket tightly in her fist and looking determined to do a good job. Levi was proud of her for not being scared or anxious - that must’ve been the Erwin in her. Levi leaned down to place a hand on Evelyn’s back, wishing Pieck good luck and leading Evelyn to the door and out into the hallway. Levi watched the organist start the music, seeing Hange standing at the end of the aisle with their groomsmen at their side - Erwin and Hange’s friend, Mike, Hange’s close friend, Moblit, and Pieck’s close friend, Porco. Pieck had Mike’s wife, Nanaba, her sister, Lena, and another friend from their college days, Ana, as her bridesmaids.

Levi waited for their queue before gently nudging Evelyn to let her know she could walk. She smiled sweetly, even with all the people turning around to look at her entering, ‘aww’ing at how cute and pretty she looked. Levi walked next to her, and they made their way down the aisle, Evelyn tossing flower petals onto the ground as she went. She was the perfect little flower girl - very theatrical and dramatic with her petal-throwing. It was enough to make some people giggle at her - attention which she ate up.

As soon as they were at the end of the aisle and her basket was empty, Levi held out his hand for her to take, and the two of them went to stand behind where Hange was, next to the groomsmen. After the two of them was the ring bearer, who was Pieck’s little nephew, Josef, with his mother - he was only three.

Nanaba came down the aisle first, looking so beautiful that Mike was close to tears. She joined Mike at the end of the aisle, the two standing together with their arms interlocked. Lena, Pieck’s sister, was next, meeting Porco at the end of the aisle. Ana was last, meeting Moblit and locking arms with him as well. Evelyn was already getting antsy, handing Levi her basket and looking around in awe at all the flowers and sparkly lights. Levi held tightly to the little girl’s hand, but she began to tug at it impatiently, clearly wanting to do something else as she was sick of standing there.

Levi leaned down next to her to whisper, “Baby, we gotta stay still, remember? Look, Auntie Pieck’s about to come down the aisle.”

He pointed to Pieck, who was just entering through two glass doors in her poofy white dress. She looked, admittedly, beautiful, and Levi could already tell that Hange was about to be a damn mess. They had tears rolling down their face, lower lip wobbling.

“Dada,” Evelyn asked quite loudly. “Why Hange cwyin?”

There were a few chuckles from the audience, and if Hange hadn’t been so preoccupied with Pieck walking down the aisle, Levi was sure Hange would be laughing too. Levi shushed her quickly, picking her up onto his hip and whispering, “Shh, baby, shh. Hange’s just happy, that’s all. We gotta be quiet, okay?”

Evelyn pouted, hugging onto Levi and sighing in annoyance. Levi couldn’t blame her for being bored - she was a four-year-old with a lot of energy, and it was tough to stay still and wait. Pieck joined Hange at the end of the aisle, the two standing in front of each other and joining hands as the officiant began his spiel.

“Dada,” Evelyn whined, trying to be quieter but still unnecessarily loud since she couldn’t entirely control her volume at her age. “Wanna go!”

Levi bounced her gently, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “Shh, baby. It’ll be done soon. You wanted to see Hange and Auntie Pieck kiss, didn’t you? It’s gonna happen soon, I promise. Just wait a little longer.”

Evelyn turned in Levi’s arms to watch for the kiss, which Levi knew wasn’t going to happen for a little while. But he hoped it would be enough to keep her occupied for the moment. He didn’t want to ruin the wedding by having an impatient toddler on his hands.

Hange and Pieck looked so in love with one another, it almost pained Levi to see it. He never got this moment for himself with Erwin. They’d never made it to their wedding day. After they’d gotten engaged, they’d barely gotten time to plan before Erwin ended his life.

Evelyn squirmed in his arms and whimpered, whispering loudly, “Dada. I don’t wanna wait!”

Levi frowned, rubbing her back gently, “I know, honey. If you’re a good girl and stay quiet, Dada will let you have all the cake you can eat at the reception, okay?”

But the bribe wasn’t working, and Levi could sense a toddler tantrum coming on as Evelyn’s lip jutted out and began to wobble. He could feel a sense of panic come over him. Would he have to run out of the wedding to keep his child from disrupting everything? Or would he simply stand there and try desperately to calm her down while the wedding went on around them?

Levi watched Evelyn tip her head back and begin to cry, a loud wail escaping her. It was loud enough that Pieck and Hange snapped out of their loving gaze to turn and look at them, and Levi gave the two an apologetic look as he bounced Evelyn and tried to get her to calm down, shushing her with desperation to his voice.

But Hange immediately seemed to know what to do. They left Pieck’s side momentarily to come towards Levi, taking Evelyn from his arms and hugging her, “Aww, little Evie. What’s wrong?”

Evelyn sniffed and rubbed her eyes, sobbing, “Wanna go, Hange! It’s too long!”

Pieck soon joined Hange, taking Evelyn’s little face into her hands and kissing her forehead, “Oh, sweetie, it’s okay. You wanna help us get married, baby? Here, you can stand with Hange and me, okay?”

Evelyn’s sobs were soon reduced to sniffles as she nodded to Pieck’s words, and Levi felt an incredible sense of guilt in his stomach for Evelyn’s interruption of the wedding, trying to correct the situation, “Hange, I’m sorry. I’ll take her into the hall or something, I’m so sorry.”

“Nonsense!” Hange replied, smiling sweetly at Evelyn as Pieck wiped the little girl’s tears. “Evelyn’s a big girl, right? She can help us get married - right Evie?”

Evelyn giggled, tears still running down her cheeks, and nodded a little, “Yeah! I wanna help!”

Hange kissed her cheek and the two returned to stand in front of the officiant, this time with Evelyn on Hange’s hip, looking excited to be included. Levi stood there feeling a little awkward, but now that the situation was resolved, he tried to feel better about it. Hange always seemed to know what to do, and though Levi felt bad that Evelyn had interrupted the ceremony, Hange and Pieck didn’t seem bothered in the least.

“Do you, Hange Kenzie Zoe, take Pieck to be your lawfully wedded partner?” The officiant asked.

Hange exchanged a loving glance with Pieck before nodding, “I do.”

“And do you, Pieck Aya Finger, take Hange to be your lawfully wedded partner?”

“I do,” Pieck smiled back at Hange, and the two soon exchanged rings, though Hange had a difficult time balancing Evelyn and putting the ring on Pieck at the same time - they managed in the end.

“You may now kiss your partner,” the officiant ended, and Evelyn clapped her hands excitedly as Pieck and Hange shared a sweet kiss, nothing too raunchy for the four-year-old in Hange’s arms. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Hange and Pieck kiss, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but every time they did kiss, Evelyn always thought it was so exciting.

Levi watched as Hange set Evelyn down, taking one of her hands while Pieck took the other, and the three made their way back up the aisle as the organist played them out. Levi sighed in some relief - at least things had smoothed themselves out, but he was feeling some embarrassment still from his daughter’s outburst during the wedding.

The reception was in the basement of the building they’d gotten married in, and the decorations were absolutely beautiful. Levi walked down to the reception area after the wedding in search for his daughter, who was still with Hange at the front of the room, giggling and playing hide and seek with Levi’s newly-married friend.

Levi walked over as Hange jumped out from their hiding spot and scared Evelyn, who squealed and laughed hysterically. Levi approached them, and as soon as Evelyn noticed him, she cried out, “Dada!” and held her arms out to him. He sighed and picked her up, not exactly pleased with her behavior but knowing that she was a kid and couldn’t exactly help her mood swings.

“I’m so sorry, Hange,” Levi apologized. “She didn’t get her nap today. I should’ve taken her out of the room or something. I should’ve-”

“Levi, Levi,” Hange laughed at the fuss he was making. “It’s fine. Really, it was nice to have Evie be a part of our vows. It made it more memorable, more special. Pieck and I love her very much, you know we could never be upset at something like that.”

Levi couldn’t help but smile at that, breathing a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I… I hope we didn’t ruin anything.”

“No, you didn’t,” Hange insisted. “Really, Levi. Don’t worry about it. Evie’s our favorite little girl, we love her. She didn’t ruin a thing.”

Evelyn wasn’t even paying attention to their conversation, playing with Levi’s hair with immense concentration. But Levi was feeling a lot better about everything now, sighing again to let the tension out of his shoulders. He’d been really worried about how Evelyn had behaved during the ceremony, and he was glad Hange and Pieck weren’t concerned about it.

“I gotta go change into my reception outfit,” Hange smiled, “See you two around.”

As soon as Hange had walked away, Levi turned to his daughter, scolding her lightly, “Lynnie. You remember what Dada said about needing to be on your best behavior during the ceremony, right? How come you started crying, baby?”

Evelyn immediately pouted upon being confronted, and crossed her arms across her chest as she grumbled, “Was takin’ too damn long.”

Levi could see himself in his daughter in this moment, and refrained from rolling his eyes at her attitude - he knew he could be that way too. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about her swearing. She’d picked that up from him too, when he’d been on the phone with Hange and accidentally said ‘damn’ during the conversation. Thank god it was ‘damn’ and not ‘fuck’.

“Baby,” Levi sighed, taking one of her little hands into his own and squeezing it gently to keep her attention. “What are we supposed to do when we’re upset? We’re supposed to use our words, remember? Not cry or throw a fit.”

“But I did used my words!” Evelyn argued. “I told you! I told you it was too long!”

She wasn’t wrong. She had told him that, but she still shouldn’t have thrown that small tantrum of tears during the middle of the wedding. Levi supposed he couldn’t fault her 100 percent. She was little, and she hadn’t had her nap that day because of how busy they’d been. She was probably tired and grumpy.

“Don’t yell at Dada,” Levi spoke calmly. “I know you told me, baby. You’re right, I’m glad you used your words. But you know it was not nice to cry in the middle of Hange and Auntie Pieck’s wedding, right?”

Evelyn whimpered, lower lip jutting out as she grunted, “… yeah… I sorry…”

“It’s okay, baby,” Levi rubbed her back gently. “It’s okay to have emotions, you know? We just have to remember to not interrupt when important things are going on. Like a wedding ceremony.”

Evelyn nodded, sniffling quietly as fat tears began to build in the corners of her eyes, “You mad at me?”

“No, baby,” Levi breathed, pressing sweet kisses to her cheeks before hugging her close. “I could never be mad at you. I love you very much, honey. I’m not mad, I just wanted to talk to you about it.”

Evelyn sniffed and nodded, burying her face into Levi’s shoulder and clinging to his tux jacket with her little fists. Levi stroked her back gently, comforting her as she tried to calm back down. She must’ve really been tired - she didn’t cry super often, even though she was a moody toddler.

“Levi!” He heard from behind him, and he turned around to find who was calling to him.

He was surprised to see his neighbor, Zeke, with Eren and Mikasa at his feet. The two five year olds were playfully running around Zeke’s legs, giggling excitedly. Levi and Zeke had arranged that play date for the three kids - they’d gotten along well, even though Evelyn was a year younger than the other two. Levi and Zeke were friends, though Zeke often flirted with Levi, and Levi had been unable to help but flirt back a little. He’d tried to make it clear that he wasn’t looking for a relationship, and Zeke respected that, but the two played their little game of flirtation anyways - it was just words, and they hadn’t acted on anything, so Levi didn’t see anything wrong with that.

“Zeke,” Levi smiled, walking over with Evelyn. “Look Lynnie. Look who’s here!”

Evelyn lifted her head from Levi’s shoulder, wiping her eyes on her sleeves before looking over at Zeke and the kids, “Mr. Jaeger! Ewen! Mimi!”

Levi chuckled and set her on the ground so she and the other kids could go off and play, which they immediately did. Levi straightened his suit coat - Evelyn had ruffled it a little when she’d cried in his shoulder.

“So what are you doing here?” Levi asked curiously.

“I’m an old friend of Pieck’s,” Zeke replied, a small smile on his face as he watched the kids run off and play. “You?”

“Hange’s my best friend,” Levi explained. “That’s why we were involved in the ceremony.”

“Yeah, I saw,” Zeke couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Honestly, you three did a good job of corralling the little girl when she started getting upset - I could barely get Mimi and Eren to sit still in the pews - couldn’t imagine having them at the front of the room where everyone could see.”

Levi shrugged, “Thanks. She’s just sleepy - didn’t get a nap today. But she was very excited to be the flower girl.”

“Well she did an amazing job,” Zeke complimented, a smirk appearing on his lips. “And she had such a handsome man to escort her down the aisle.”

Levi could feel himself blushing as he crossed his arms and shook his head stubbornly, “Cut that out. Flirting with me at home is one thing - flirting at a wedding is a whole other ball game.”

Zeke snorted, taking a step closer to Levi, “Your red face tells me you liked it anyway.”

Levi was sure he was only blushing worse now, and he opened his mouth to speak when the soft music stopped, a voice coming over the microphone. It was Hange, who had changed into a more comfortable suit to dance and party in.

“Alright everyone!” Hange announced. “The bride will be entering any minute now for our first dance as a married couple!”

There were loud cheers and clapping from everyone in the room, and Levi and Zeke joined in with the applause. Hange had a drink in hand already, and Levi knew they were about to get wasted.

“Oh,” Hange grinned as the front door to the reception hall opened. “Here she comes! Everyone, my gorgeous wife, Pieck!”

Pieck entered the reception hall, dressed in a shorter white strapless dress and flats, likely so she could also be more comfortable while dancing. She looked beautiful, and she walked through the parting crowd towards Hange, who awaited her on the dance floor.

Hange handed the microphone back to the DJ, and soon the music started to play again, Hange and Pieck taking to the dance floor and slow dancing together. Levi watched the two with a smile on his face: they were so clearly in love with one another. It hurt a little to watch, if he was honest with himself. This could’ve been him and Erwin. They’d been so close to sharing this type of moment together.

“Hey,” Zeke placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts.

Levi turned to look at Zeke, who had a sad smile on his face. He could likely sense what Levi was thinking about, and wanted to distract him, which Levi appreciated more than anything. Other couples were beginning to take to the dance floor now, joining the married couple.

Zeke held out his hand, “Wanna dance?”

Levi could feel his heart beating in his chest. What did dancing with Zeke mean? He supposed it was only a dance - dancing with Zeke didn’t mean they were dating or something. But part of him was a little panicked about going back into this world - the romantic world. He hadn’t been romantic with anyone since Erwin, and he was admittedly nervous about letting Zeke into his life in that way.

He took Zeke’s hand gently, feeling a little hesitant about all this. But he let Zeke guide him onto the dance floor, wrapping one arm around Levi’s waist and holding his hand in the other as they began to sway to the music. Levi could feel his ears and cheeks turning red - he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so dumb and giddy over something as simple as being asked to dance.

The two moved back and forth to the music, sharing a sweet smile between them. Zeke had been so kind to him over the time they’d known one another. He never pressed Levi too far, even with all his flirting. He always knew when to stop, when to take a step back. Clearly, Zeke really cared about Levi, and Levi cared about him too, he just… couldn’t move into a relationship so quickly, especially with a young daughter that he didn’t want to confuse by bringing a man into their home to sleep with.

“Levi, I…” Zeke whispered, moving his face a little closer to close the gap between them. His lips ghosted over Levi’s, and Levi allowed it, wanting to feel Zeke’s breath on his face, Zeke’s lips on his own.

“You what?” Levi breathed, eyes darting down to Zeke’s lips before he glanced back up into Zeke’s eyes, which were half-lidded as he focused in on Levi.

“I really… really like you, Levi,” Zeke murmured, a nervous tone to his voice.

Levi knew that Zeke liked him, but he didn’t know how to respond now that he was confronted with it. He blinked his eyelashes a few times, swallowing thickly and unable to hide his shy smile.

“Zeke…” Levi responded quietly. “I… I…”

He was interrupted by Mikasa running through the midst of tables and calling for Zeke: “Mr. Jaeger! Mr. Jaeger!”

“What is it, Mimi?” Zeke asked, immediately pulling away from Levi to pay attention to the little girl.

“Mr. Jaeger!” Mikasa whimpered, rushing into Zeke’s arms. “Eren’s hurt! He fell down!”

Zeke’s eyes instantly widened before he put a serious expression on his face, “Where is he? Show me, Mimi.”

Levi frowned. Evelyn was with Eren and Mikasa, and suddenly Levi was incredibly worried that perhaps Evelyn was hurt too. He followed Mikasa and Zeke out of the reception hall to a separate room that the children had been playing in, where Eren was sitting cradling his arm in his other hand, head back as he wailed and sobbed in pain. Evelyn was at his side, rubbing his back soothingly and whispering calming things to him. Levi sighed in relief - Evelyn appeared to be fine, and even more, he was feeling a little proud of her for comforting Eren in such a scary situation.

“Eren,” Zeke rushed to his little brother, sounding panicked. “What happened? Is your arm okay?”

Eren shook his head, crying loudly as tears and snot rolled down his face, “I fell’d on my arm big bwother! I fell’d and I hurted my arm!”

Zeke frowned, running his fingers through Eren’s hair to calm him down, “Shh, baby. Let me see, let me see your arm.”

Eren sniffled and let go of his arm, and Zeke took Eren’s little arm into his hands gently, feeling along the lower half and listening to Eren scream and wail when Zeke found the part that was painful, sobbing out: “That hurts!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Zeke apologized, sighing a little and turning to Levi. “I think he fractured it. I’m sorry, Levi. I gotta take him to the emergency room.”

Levi nodded, and Evelyn rushed to hug onto Levi’s legs. He picked her up and held her on his hip, “That’s okay, Zeke. I’ll let Pieck and Hange know why you dipped out early. You take care of your little brother.”

Zeke picked up Eren carefully, holding his free hand out to Mikasa, “Let’s go, Mimi.”

She took his hand, and Zeke smiled nervously at Levi, “I’ll… I’ll see you, Levi. I enjoyed our dance.”

“I did too,” Levi instantly responded with a shy smile. “See you, Zeke.”

With that, Zeke took the kids back into the reception hall and towards the stairs so they could go upstairs and exit the building. Levi bounced Evelyn a couple of times, “Good job, baby. I’m proud of you for comforting Eren when he was hurt. How did it happen?”

Evelyn played with some of the fabric of her frilly dress, frowning as she stared down at it, “He was runnin’ too fast. Mimi and I told ‘im it was too fast, but he didn’t listen! And then he fell’d down and hurted himself!”

Levi rubbed her back soothingly, as she sounded a little distraught from seeing Eren injure himself, “Aww, I’m sorry you had to deal with that, sweetheart. But you and Mimi did the right thing: you stayed with Eren and comforted him while Mimi ran for help. You did a very good job.”

Evelyn smiled timidly, giggling a little before she hugged onto Levi, “Tank you, Dada. Um… Dada?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Where’s Unky Mike and Auntie Nana?” Evelyn asked. “I saw dem before… where are dey now?”

Levi smiled softly and kissed the top of her head between the two blonde buns Pieck had put in her hair, “Let’s go look for them, baby. I think I saw them dancing.”

Evelyn nodded eagerly, clinging to Levi as he carried her through the crowd and back towards the dance floor he’d just come from. The new song that was playing was still pretty slow, and he could see Nana and Mike slow dancing together at the other end of the floor.

He chuckled and put Evelyn down, whispering in her ear, “You go tug on Uncle Mike’s leg and ask him to dance, baby.”

Evelyn giggled at the idea and nodded, rushing across the dance floor as Levi watched, following a little behind her so they could stay close. Evelyn approached Mike and tugged on his tux pants. Mike looked down, grinning when he saw Evelyn and exclaiming, “Evie!”

Evelyn squealed excitedly, “Unky Mike! I wanna dance wit you!”

Nanaba smiled and pulled away from Mike, motioning for Evelyn to take her place. Mike picked her up and placed her on his hip, wrapping one arm around her and taking her little hand into his free one as he began to swing her around the dance floor. She was laughing and squealing happily, looking like she was having the time of her life. Levi watched on fondly, going to stand next to Nanaba, who was clapping cheerfully for Evelyn and Mike.

“She looks so precious,” Nana commented. “I can’t wait for Mike and I to have some kids… we’re planning to adopt in the next year or two.”

Levi nodded with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Mike spin Evelyn round and round, singing the song that was playing very loud and off-key, which only had Evelyn laughing more as she clung to him.

“I’m glad,” Levi replied. “You two will be great with kids.”

Nanaba sighed happily, “Thanks, Levi. That means a lot, coming from you. You know, Evelyn’s such a sweet little girl. We can only hope that we’ll be as amazing of parents as you are with her.”

Levi could feel himself turning red from the compliment. He didn’t think he was really that great of a dad. He only tried his best, and he didn’t think his best was anything all that special. He just wanted Evelyn to live a happy life, to develop a relationship with her where they could trust and love one another no matter what. He’d had such a traumatizing childhood that he’d decided to never let Evelyn live a life like he had.

“Thank you,” Levi muttered. “That’s really nice of you.”

The song drew to a close, and Mike and Evelyn walked back over to Nana and Levi, Evelyn still on Mike’s hip. Evelyn was clapping her hands, cheering excitedly, “We did it, Dada! We danced!”

“Good job, Lynnie!” Levi cheered, holding his arms out for her. Mike handed her over, and Evelyn clung to Levi around the neck, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. She was clearly getting tired, even if she was in an excited mood from seeing her Uncle Mike.

“I got a present for you, Evie,” Mike teased, reaching out his hands and tickling Evelyn’s sides.

Evelyn squealed and squirmed in Levi’s arms, protesting, “Stop dat! Stop it!”

Mike laughed a little and pulled his hands away, “You wanna see your present, Evie?”

Evelyn nodded, smiling shyly at Mike and Nana as she leaned her head on Levi’s shoulder, “Yeah!”

Mike smiled at Levi, explaining, “Come on, let’s head to the parking lot. Evie’s gift is in the back of our car.”

Levi carried Evelyn to the parking lot, following Nana and Mike. He wondered what they’d gotten for his daughter this time. He hoped it wasn’t anything too crazy, and by crazy he meant expensive. He always felt bad when Mike got his daughter such nice gifts, even though Mike insisted Levi didn’t have to pay him back.

Levi set the little girl down when they got to Mike’s truck, and he opened the trunk to reveal a wrapped box with a big bow on it. The box wasn’t huge, but it was sizable. He took it out of the trunk and set it on the ground in front of Evelyn.

“Now be gentle, Evie,” Mike instructed. “It’s fragile, okay?”

Levi was wondering what kind of person would get a four-year-old a fragile gift, but Evelyn was busy tearing the paper, an excited grin on her face. Levi looked on, gasping when she pulled back the paper to reveal a brand new iPad. Levi’s mouth dropped open, shooting a glare at Mike instantly. Mike just laughed at Levi’s expression, shrugging a bit.

“It’s a iPad!” Evelyn squealed with excitement. “Dada, look! I can watch Mo-anna on my iPad now!”

Levi wasn’t mad about the iPad itself - he just couldn’t believe Mike had spent that kind of money on her. And Mike knew that, but he didn’t seem to care so much. He was laughing and smiling at Evelyn’s reaction, looking particularly pleased with himself.

“Wow, baby!” Levi forced a smile, deciding he should just let it go at this point. What was he gonna do? Take the iPad away from her? He knew there was no chance of that, not now after she’d already become acquainted with the damn thing.

In some ways, he was glad Mike had gotten her this gift. He knew he could never afford such a thing, and Evelyn had met some kids at daycare who had their own iPads, which made Levi feel a little bad.

“Dada!” Evelyn giggled happily, trying to open the box. “Hep me!”

Levi kneeled down next to her and rubbed her back lightly, “Maybe we should wait until we get home to set up the iPad, baby.”

“No!” Evelyn immediately objected, still trying to get the box open. “Now!”

Mike laughed and kneeled next to her, “I’ll help her set it up. I know how to put the Parental Controls on and stuff.”

Levi frowned and sighed, “Fine. That’s fine. I’m going to see if Hange or Pieck need anything. Lynnie? What do we say to Uncle Mike and Auntie Nana?”

Evelyn carefully set down the box on the ground, holding her arms out to her uncle, “Tank you, tank you Unky Mike! Tanks Auntie Nana!”

Mike picked her up and hugged her, “You’re welcome, Evie.”

“Of course, Evie,” Nanaba smiled, rubbing Evelyn’s back and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Evelyn clapped her hands excitedly, “Hep me with the iPad, Unky Mike!”

Levi smiled as the two of them started to open the box and take out the iPad. He took Nana’s arm, lacing his through hers, “You wanna go grab a drink, Nan?”

Nanaba nodded, “Sure.”

December 25, 2026

Levi yawned, turning over to see that Evelyn wasn’t in bed. He frowned, feeling a little bit of a momentary panic before he saw his daughter’s blonde head of hair peek into the bedroom. He watched his daughter circle the bed, and saw that she was carrying something behind her back. He chuckled softly, turning to face her.

“Mornin’ Dada!” Evelyn smiled. “Happy birthday!”

“Thank you, baby,” Levi smiled back. “Good morning. It’s Christmas, honey. Are you excited to open gifts?”

“Yeah!” Evelyn giggled. “But I got you somethin!”

“Oh really?” Levi leaned on his elbow, motioning for Evelyn to come closer. “Come here, baby. Let me see what it is.”

Evelyn pulled a poorly wrapped present from behind her back, holding it out to him. It was wrapped in some newspaper. Levi helped Evelyn onto the bed and began to open her gift, seeing his daughter bouncing in some excitement on the mattress.

Levi unwrapped it, grinning as he revealed a mug with a mess of paint all around it. They must’ve used a special acrylic paint for ceramics, as the paint looked pretty good. He chuckled softly, seeing “Dada” written in big letters and a drawing of what appeared to be the two of them holding hands. What really got him was that he and Evelyn were the same height in the drawing - he knew he was short but damn even his four-year-old daughter thought so?

She giggled happily, “You like it, Dada? I painted it at daycare!”

“I love it baby!” Levi smiled, hugging her close. “You painted it so beautifully! And you know how much I love tea, so I always need a good mug. Thank you, Lynnie!”

Evelyn squealed with excitement, pulling away and hopping off the bed, “Otay, my turn to open presents now!”

She ran out of the bedroom towards the living room, and Levi couldn’t help but laugh at her eagerness. He didn’t mind though, he’d never really been one to want big birthday plans, so he didn’t mind sharing his birthday with a major holiday. His uncle would’ve been disappointed in him for not celebrating Hanukkah, but he wasn’t really much into religion anyway, and Evelyn was far too excited about Santa and Christmas gifts that he couldn’t just take that away from her, so they celebrated with gifts and a Christmas tree, but no religious elements.

Levi got up and set the mug on his bedside table before tossing the newspaper wrapping away and heading to the living room. Evelyn was already pulling the biggest present from under the tree, grinning at Levi when he walked in.

“Is dis from you, Dada?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Levi smiled. “The big one is always from me, remember?”

He liked to get her ‘regular’ gifts from Santa: a doll, cars, dinosaurs, etc. because he didn’t want her showing up to school bragging about expensive gifts Santa had gotten her when other kids might be less fortunate. So he left the big gifts to be from him, even though they were technically all from him.

“What is it?” Evelyn asked, already starting to tear at the paper.

Levi sat down on the couch and smiled, “I dunno, baby. You’ll have to find out!”

Evelyn peeled the paper back and gasped loudly, “DINOSAUR!”

Levi watched his daughter affectionately as she ripped the rest of the paper off. He’d gotten her the biggest dinosaur toy he could find at Target, and Evelyn was staring at it wide-eyed once she finished unwrapping it.

“Open it, Dada!” She begged. “Open it!”

He grabbed the scissors from the junk drawer and began to cut open the box to free the dinosaur from its packaging. Evelyn was very easy to amuse, and this is how Christmas normally went for them. Evelyn would open a present, play with the toy inside for a while, and then open up another maybe an hour later. They spent all day opening gifts, but Levi didn’t really mind all that much. He thought it was cute how much his daughter appreciated every toy she got.

As soon as he got it out of the box, Evelyn took the dinosaur from him, running around the room with it and shouting, “RAWR” at the top of her lungs. Levi smiled as he watched her; she was entirely too precious.

“I’m gonna make us some pancakes, okay baby?” Levi asked as he got up from the couch.

Evelyn was barely paying attention to him, but nodded anyways, still running around the living room and making her dinosaur attack some of her other toys. Levi headed into the kitchen and started making the batter for pancakes. He heard a knock on the door, and went to answer it, wondering who on earth would be visiting him on Christmas Day. He’d never gotten visitors on Christmas before - Hange and Pieck would usually come over the day after and give Evelyn and him gifts, and Mike and Nana would send gifts through the mail since they lived further away.

Levi opened the door, greeted by a bouquet of red poinsettias. He instantly blushed when he realized Zeke was the one holding them out to him, looking equally as nervous and embarrassed.

Levi smiled sheepishly, “Erm… hi Zeke. Are these for me?”

Zeke nodded, “Yeah… happy birthday, Levi.”

Levi took the poinsettias and examined them, taking in their pleasant scent, “Oh… thank you so much. These are really beautiful… what are you doing home?”

Last Christmas, the Jaegers had all spent it at Zeke’s parents’ house, so Levi was surprised he was at his apartment today.

“Mom and Dad are on a vacation this year,” Zeke explained. “So Eren and I are celebrating Christmas together at my place.”

Levi looked down, seeing little Eren clinging to Zeke’s leg, whom he hadn’t even noticed at first.

“Oh, hi Eren!” Levi greeted cheerfully. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas…” Eren whispered shyly, hiding behind Zeke a little bit. “And happy birthday, Mr. Ackerman.”

“Thank you,” Levi smiled, kneeling down to Eren’s height. “I have a gift for you, Eren. Do you two have time to come in?”

Eren’s eyes widened in excitement, and he tugged on Zeke’s leg, “Can we? Can we?”

Zeke smiled down at his little brother and ruffled his hair, “Sure thing. We have gifts for you and Evie too. Well… your gift was the poinsettias but I have a gift for Evelyn as well.”

Levi moved aside to let the two of them in, noticing that Zeke was carrying a gift bag, which was likely Evelyn’s present. Evelyn, who’d probably heard the knock at the door, rushed into the room to see who was there.

“EWEN!” She cried out in excitement before practically tackling the poor boy with a hug. “Come look at my dinosaur!”

She pulled away and took his hand, dragging him into the other room. Zeke and Levi smiled after the two, and Zeke handed Evelyn’s gift over to Levi. Levi placed the poinsettias and the gift on the kitchen counter.

“I was about to make pancakes,” Levi explained. “Do you and Eren want some?”

Zeke nodded, going to wash his hands at the kitchen sink as he insisted, “I’ll help.”

Levi could feel his heart racing. Zeke knew how to cook too? A man after his own heart. He was making Levi’s birthday all the better just by bringing him flowers, and now he was going to help him cook too? Levi could’ve kissed him.

Zeke started making up the batter, and Levi cut up some blueberries for the pancakes - blueberry pancakes were Evelyn’s favorite, and Zeke said he and Eren didn’t mind blueberries either. As Levi turned around to wipe his hands of the juice from the blueberries, he ran directly into Zeke, who was about to start pouring the batter into the hot pan. The two blushed as they stared at one another, Levi’s heart just about beating out of his chest.

“O-Oh… sorry,” Levi muttered, smiling nervously.

“It’s okay,” Zeke reassured him.

The two of them were standing so close to one another, and neither of them had moved since they’d run into each other. Levi could feel his face getting redder as he leaned up towards Zeke’s face, gravity practically forcing their faces closer together - or at least, Levi was going to blame gravity.

“DADA!” Levi heard behind him, and he quickly pulled away from Zeke, blushing furiously as he turned around to see Evelyn holding up Eren’s wrapped present from Levi and her. “Can Ewen open his pwesent now?”

Levi sucked in a deep breath and tried to pretend like nothing had just been happening between him and Zeke, “Sure, baby. Let me know if you need help.”

Evelyn nodded and rushed back out of the room, not suspecting a thing. Levi breathed out, silently cursing that they’d been interrupted. That’s when he felt Zeke’s hot breath on his ear, and heard him whisper, “Now, where were we?”

Levi felt his stomach drop with both lust and excitement. Zeke wrapped an arm around Levi’s waist, and Levi turned around, eyes fluttering to half-lidded as their lips met. Levi still had blueberry juice on his fingers, but he didn’t care. He gripped Zeke’s bearded face in his hands and drew him closer, sighing into their kiss. He’d been waiting too long for this - over a year at this point. Since they’d first met, Levi had been smitten, but he hadn’t really known what to do about it. Part of him felt like he was betraying Erwin and Evelyn both by pursuing another man. But the other part of him knew that he deserved to be happy and that he really truly cared for Zeke.

But Levi had to pull away after a moment, the two of them catching their breath. He felt a little regretful - had they really just done that? Levi just kept thinking about how difficult it would be to explain to Evelyn that he was seeing another man who wasn’t her Papa. And what if he and Zeke didn’t work out? Levi didn’t want to keep bringing men into the house and confusing Evelyn like that.

“Z… Zeke,” Levi murmured against Zeke’s lips. “We can’t do this.”

Zeke frowned, caressing Levi’s cheek gently, “What do you mean, Levi?”

“I… I don’t want Evelyn to be confused or… or upset with me,” Levi replied, looking up at Zeke with regretful eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m just not ready for a relationship right now.”

Zeke looked disappointed to say the least, but he nodded in understanding, pulling away from Levi fully and going back to cooking, “I understand. Don’t worry about it, Levi.”

But Levi could tell Zeke was upset. He hadn’t meant to make the man upset with him, though he supposed he couldn’t really help it, could he? Perhaps he shouldn’t have given in to that kiss, but Zeke had been so close, and his words had sent a shiver up Levi’s spine. Levi hadn’t been attracted to someone like this since Erwin, and it was odd to be feeling all those feelings again.

“Zeke, I… I really am sorry,” Levi tried again.

“Levi, it’s fine,” Zeke laughed softly, trying to reassure him with a small smile.

But Levi could see the pain of rejection behind Zeke’s smile, and he felt bad. He wished more than anything that he could take it back, grab Zeke and pull him in for another long and sweet kiss. But he couldn’t.

Eren and Evelyn ran into the kitchen, Eren holding the gift that Levi had bought for him. Evelyn had helped pick it out: it was a toy construction truck, as Levi had heard from Zeke that Eren was big into construction toys now-a-days. He knew the names of all of them, even the complicated ones Levi had never even heard of.

“Thank you, Mr. Ackerman!” Eren smiled up at him.

“Of course, Eren,” Levi smiled, trying not to let on that he and Eren’s big brother had just kissed. “Merry Christmas.”

Evelyn frowned up at Zeke, “Mr. Jaeger. You have purple stuffs on your face.”

“And you have it on your hands, Mr. Ackerman,” Eren pointed out.

The two adults stopped in their tracks, and Zeke rushed to the sink to try and wipe away the blueberry mess from Levi’s hands as they’d kissed. Levi wiped his hands on the kitchen towel he had on the counter.

“O-Oh, thank you,” Levi struggled to explain. “The blueberry cutting got a little messy.”

Luckily, the kids were too little to suspect anything had gone on, and they both went back into the living room to play. That was close, Levi thought to himself. He couldn’t believe that they’d almost gotten caught.

He turned around, and Zeke was silently making pancakes, flipping the one he had in the pan. He looked upset still, but as if he was trying to hold his feelings back. Levi felt awful, but he had good reason to reject Zeke. He just wasn’t ready, and he couldn’t put Evelyn through something as confusing as her father being in a new relationship.

February 4, 2027

Levi smiled as he watched Evelyn and Eren playing together in Zeke’s living room. The two were playing with some of Eren’s trucks, and Zeke was walking into the room with cups of tea for the two adults.

Levi took it gratefully from Zeke’s hands, muttering, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Zeke replied, an awkward smile on his face.

The two of them hadn’t spoken about their Christmas kiss in the past two months. Levi didn’t know what to say, and it appeared that Zeke didn’t know either. So the two had continued to hang out, despite the slightly awkward atmosphere.

Zeke sat next to him on the couch, sighing a little as he set his tea on the coffee table. He clasped his hands together and sat forward, elbows on his thighs as he watched the two kids playing together.

“They play so nicely,” Zeke commented.

Levi nodded in agreement, “Yeah. They’re really cute. I’m glad Evelyn has a friend.”

Zeke cleared his throat, speaking in a quieter voice so the kids wouldn’t hear, though they weren’t really paying attention anyway, “Levi, I… we need to talk about what happened between us.”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly, “O-Oh… do we?”

Zeke nodded, “Yes, we do. Look, I… I understand you don’t want to confuse Evelyn, but… but I think she’s a smart kid and… and she and Eren get along so well anyways… well, I guess since it’s been a couple of months I was hoping you might give us another chance?”

Levi was blushing. Us… he thought to himself. He didn’t really know there was an ‘us’, but he liked the sound of it. He wanted there to be an ‘us’ with him and Zeke, but he was still in the same headspace he’d been a few months ago.

“Zeke,” Levi sighed. “I… I really like you. I do. I’m just… I’m wary about it, you know? Evelyn lost her Papa before she was even born, and I’ve been filling her mind with memories of him since she could walk and talk… I don’t want to confuse her now by bringing another man into the picture.”

“I… I understand,” Zeke sighed. “But… But she likes me, doesn’t she? Maybe… Maybe it would be easier for her knowing that it’s me and not some random other dude, you know? Maybe she’d be less confused if it’s me.”

Levi didn’t disagree. Evelyn seemed to like Zeke very much. She was no longer so shy around him like when they’d first met, and she certainly enjoyed playing with Eren and seeing Zeke. But Levi wasn’t so sure that she’d be able to accept a relationship between himself and Zeke. He’d never brought another man around her that he was infatuated with or dating.

“Plus,” Zeke continued. “Are you planning on being single forever? I mean, even when Evelyn’s a little older, do you plan on bringing strangers around? Or are you going to stay away from dating for the rest of your life?”

Levi frowned. He didn’t know the answer to any of these questions. Of course he’d thought about it. But he’d never come to a conclusion as to what he wanted. In an ideal world, he would just date Zeke and tell Evelyn to get over it, not give a care for her confusion. But he loved his daughter so much, and he didn’t want her to feel upset or confused over him dating a new man.

“I don’t know,” Levi answered truthfully. “I really don’t know, Zeke. I just know that… for right now, it’s not what’s best for me and Evelyn. I hope you can understand that.”

“I understand,” Zeke sighed. “I just wish it didn’t have to be like this. It’s going to be hard to get over you, Levi. You’re quite the catch.”

Levi blushed, a shy smile appearing on his face, “O-Oh… thanks.”

Zeke smiled back, “It’s true. No need to thank me.”

Levi was going to answer, when he saw Eren and Evelyn out of the corner of his eye. Eren put two hands on Evelyn’s chest and shoved her, hard, onto the ground. She fell back with an oof and landed on her ass, gasping in shock.

Levi immediately felt a fury in his veins, and he shouted, “Don’t push her!”

Eren jumped from the sound of Levi yelling, and Evelyn looked equally as terrified at the sound of her dad scolding Eren like that. She burst into tears, pushing herself up off the ground and running towards Levi, who had already gotten up to go comfort his daughter. He lifted her up and held her tight, rubbing her back and shushing her.

“Are you okay, baby?” Levi asked, watching Eren burst into tears next and run to Zeke, clearly shaken up from Levi shouting at him. Evelyn nodded, still tearful and crying. She didn’t seem to have any bruises or bumps though, and Levi breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn’t meant to scare the little boy; he was simply reacting to Eren pushing his daughter, and he hadn’t meant to yell. He was feeling a little bad about it now that the moment had passed and Eren seemed so terrified. He’d have to apologize when things calmed down a little.

“Shh,” Zeke cooed as he lifted Eren into his arms. “Oh Eren, why did you push Evelyn? You know we don’t push people, right?”

Eren sobbed and clung to his older brother, rubbing at his tearful eyes, “She took away my truck!”

Levi sighed, “Lynnie, is that true? Did you take Eren’s truck from him?”

Evelyn nodded into his shoulder, sniffling and hiccuping, “But he pushed me!”

Zeke rubbed Eren’s back, “Eren, just because she took your truck doesn’t mean you can push her. That’s not nice. You ask her for it back, and if she doesn’t give it back, you come talk to me or Mr. Ackerman about it.”

“And we don’t snatch toys, Lynnie,” Levi added. “You can ask for the truck and play with it when Eren’s done with it. But Mr. Jaeger is right, we don’t push.”

Eren sobbed and burrowed his face into Zeke’s neck, mumbling something against Zeke’s skin that neither of them could hear. Zeke frowned, “What was that, Eren?”

Eren moved his face away from Zeke’s neck to wail, “Mr. Ackerman yelled at me!”

Levi frowned. Evelyn was calming down now, and he shifted her to his one leg while holding his arm out for Eren. Zeke handed the boy over, and Levi hugged him in his other arm, “I’m so sorry for yelling, Eren. That was wrong. I shouldn’t have yelled, I just got scared that Evelyn was hurt from you pushing her. But I shouldn’t have screamed at you, and I’m really sorry.”

Eren rubbed his eyes and clung to Levi’s shirt, sniffling and sitting up to look at Evelyn, “I’m sorry I pushed you…”

Evelyn removed her face from Levi’s shoulder to look at Eren, sticking her tongue out at him. Levi sighed; he knew his daughter could be a little stubborn when it came to apologies, and she clearly felt like she’d been wronged in this situation. She wasn’t entirely off base, but Levi still knew she should apologize for taking Eren’s toy from him.

“Lynnie,” Levi said sternly. “That’s not very nice. What do we say when someone apologizes to us?”

Evelyn whimpered quietly, “Um… thank you, Eren.”

“And what should you say since you took Eren’s toy from him?” Levi asked, and he felt Zeke scoot a little closer, wiping the tears from Eren’s face. Levi almost couldn’t breathe with Zeke this close to him. They felt like a little family, and the thought made Levi want to smile.

“I sorry, Ewen…” Evelyn murmured sheepishly. “I won’t snatch toys, I pwomise.”

Eren nodded a little and rubbed his eyes, looking up at Levi, “Thank you, Mr. Ackerman, for ‘pologizin’.”

Zeke and Levi were teaching the kids to say ‘thank you’ for an apology rather than ‘it’s okay’ because well… it’s not always okay. Levi smiled down at Eren affectionately, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“Okay, you two run off and play now,” Levi shooed them off his lap. “And play nice, okay? No snatching and no pushing.”

The two children nodded at him and rushed off to play again. Zeke placed a gentle hand on Levi’s back, before remembering the conversation they’d just had, and patting Levi’s back awkwardly before pulling his hand away.

“Good job,” Zeke muttered. “You’re really good with them.”

“Thanks,” Levi replied, avoiding Zeke’s gaze.

He didn’t know how the two of them would be able to avoid some sort of relationship. But Levi was determined to stay single. For his daughter’s sake.

July 22, 2027

Levi gasped as Zeke pressed him against the door, the two kissing hungrily. Levi’s fingers were grasping desperately at Zeke’s shirt, trying to remove the offensive clothing from his body. He jumped up when Zeke reached down to grasp his thighs, and soon he was in Zeke’s arms, being kissed passionately against the inside of the door to Levi’s apartment. It was no use. Levi couldn’t resist Zeke’s charm. He’d tried and tried to avoid this, but every time they spent time together, Levi couldn’t help but feel the attraction and affection in the air between them. And now it was all coming to a head.

“B-Bed,” Levi managed to get out between heated kisses. “Now.”

Zeke hoisted him up a little to get a better grip on his thighs before he started carrying them down the hall to the bedroom, groaning when Levi attached his lips to Zeke’s neck. He kicked the bedroom door open.

“When… When does Evelyn come home?” Zeke asked as they entered the bedroom, clearly concerned about the poor kid coming home to find her father in the sheets with their neighbor.

“She’s staying the night at Hange’s,” Levi explained, letting out a huff as Zeke tossed him onto the sheets.

He giggled as Zeke climbed on top of him, the two going back to their lustful kissing. Zeke straddled Levi, grinding his growing erection against him. Levi groaned and tossed his head back, feeling Zeke kiss down his neck to his collarbone.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this,” Zeke whispered against Levi’s skin.

“M… Me too,” Levi replied, smiling softly up at Zeke as the two exchanged an affectionate glance.

“Where are your condoms?” Zeke asked, and Levi pointed to the bottom drawer of the nightstand.

Zeke quickly retrieved a condom from the nightstand and held it in his mouth as he removed his shirt, tossing it onto the floor. Levi couldn’t help but stare in awe at his muscular figure, hairy chest. He was incredibly handsome, and Levi could feel himself getting wetter by the second. He stared for a moment longer before he took off his own shirt, feeling a little self-conscious about his top surgery scars. But Zeke didn’t look bothered. In fact, he was looking down at Levi with hungry eyes, running a finger along Levi’s bunny trail and stopping at the hem of his pants. Levi couldn’t help but wriggle in some frustration, just wanting Zeke to touch him.

Zeke undid Levi’s pants and tore them down along with his boxers before taking the condom out of his mouth and tossing it onto the sheets for the moment. He pulled Levi’s pants and boxers around his ankles and threw them onto the floor, helping him out of his socks next. Zeke held his leg up, pressing gentle kisses to Levi’s ankle, then his knee, working his way up slowly. Levi bit his lip to suppress a moan - Zeke was just so attractive, and the fact that he was between Levi’s legs now was incredibly hot.

He had to look away as Zeke kissed his thigh, as it was all just too much. A quiet groan escaped his mouth, face dusted red as Zeke pressed a wet kiss directly to his cock. He felt Zeke tongue at it for a moment, causing Levi to jerk and moan, before he moved downwards and licked at his entrance.

“You’re so wet for me,” Zeke murmured hotly. “Fuck, that’s hot.”

“Zeke,” Levi whined as Zeke attached his lips back to Levi’s cock and sucked on it.

If he knew anything, he certainly knew how to eat someone out. Levi was squirming and whimpering, wetness pooling on the sheets below him from how turned on he was getting. He wondered just how hard Zeke was, and glanced down to see the tent forming in Zeke’s pants. It looked almost painful, how hard he must’ve been.

“Oh god,” Levi moaned as his legs shook around Zeke’s head, incredibly sensitive as Zeke alternated between licking, nibbling, and sucking. “P-Please… I need you.”

Zeke pulled away reluctantly - Levi could tell he was enjoying pleasuring him a bit too much - and got up on his knees, starting to tug his own pants and boxers off. As soon as they were both completely nude, Levi retrieved the discarded condom from the sheets and sat up. He spat in his hand and wrapped it around Zeke’s painfully hard erection. Zeke groaned as Levi pumped it a couple of times before tearing the condom wrapper open with his teeth and rolling it on. Levi wasn’t about to risk getting pregnant again - he didn’t want to give Evelyn a sibling, as he was perfectly content with one kid.

Zeke positioned himself between Levi’s legs and rubbed himself against Levi’s entrance before pushing in, one hand on his dick and the other leaning on the sheets next to Levi’s head. Levi gasped and moaned, reaching up to lace his fingers around the back of Zeke’s neck as he continued to push in. This would be the first time he was having sex since Erwin, but he pushed that thought far out of his mind, not wanting to think about Erwin at a time like this.

“Fuck,” Zeke swore as he bottomed out, both hands resting on either side of Levi’s head now as he stared down at him with a lustful look, breathing heavily. “You good?”

Levi nodded, wrapping his legs around Zeke’s waist and sighing contently when Zeke began to thrust. Zeke’s hands quickly found their way beneath Levi, gripping at his shoulder blades and hugging their bodies together. Levi clung to Zeke, their chests rubbing against one another as Zeke gave Levi stroke after stroke.

“Mmm,” Levi hummed appreciatively, bucking his hips up to meet Zeke’s thrusting. “Feels so good, Zeke.”

Zeke was panting, face buried in the crook of Levi’s neck as he continued to move up into Levi repeatedly. Levi ran his fingers through Zeke’s hair, tugging at it and moaning loudly into Zeke’s ear, which only encouraged him to continue at a faster, deeper pace that had Levi crying out.

“God,” Zeke groaned. “Feels amazing, sweetheart. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

Levi whimpered from the praise. He wanted to tell Zeke he was handsome; ridiculously handsome, but he didn’t know how to form the words. He opened his mouth to say something, letting out a high-pitched whine instead as Zeke ground into his sweet spot.

“R-Right there!” He cried out. “Right there, Zeke!”

Zeke continued thrusting into that spot that had Levi seeing stars. He moaned, squirming under Zeke’s movements as he felt himself drawing closer and closer to the edge. Zeke must’ve been close too, if his rough breathing or stuttered thrusts were any indication.

“Shit,” Zeke gasped. “Oh fuck, baby.”

He burrowed in as deep as he could before cumming inside the condom, and Levi felt his legs shaking around Zeke as he reached down to rub at his cock. Soon enough, Levi too orgasmed around Zeke’s cock, spasming and shivering as he came down from it.

Zeke pulled out slowly, resting their foreheads against one another. He was smiling, eyes closed as he tried to calm his breathing. Levi took his face into both of his hands and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“I… I care for you… so much, Levi,” Zeke confessed, sounding anxious as he slowly opened his eyes and pulled their faces away from one another so he could look Levi in the eyes. “You know that, don’t you?”

Levi could feel himself blushing, but he nodded in response, “Yes… I know, Zeke.”

“Do you… Do you feel the same?” Zeke asked curiously, searching Levi’s eyes for the answer.

Levi stroked Zeke’s face gently with his thumbs, staring up into those grayish blue eyes and sighing contently as he responded, “Yes. I do. I… I care about you too. A lot.”

Zeke smiled, a genuine smile, and nuzzled their noses together before kissing Levi again. He pulled away, laying down next to Levi and wrapping his arm around him to tug him close, Levi’s back to Zeke’s chest.

“We should… We should get our underwear on, at least,” Levi suggested, retrieving his boxer briefs from the floor and struggling to get back into them. “I don’t know when Hange’s bringing Lynnie back tomorrow, but you should probably head out early just to be safe, okay? I don’t need her catching the two of us in bed like this…”

Zeke nodded into Levi’s shoulder, getting up and discarding the condom. He then pulled his boxers on before climbing back into bed and snuggling up to Levi again. Levi sighed happily. It’d been so long since he’d been held like this, and he was glad to be in Zeke’s arms. Levi pushed back against Zeke’s body, taking Zeke’s hand into his own and pressing a kiss to the back of it. The two of them soon fell asleep like that, in one another’s arms.

“Dada!” Levi heard a loud yell from the foyer the next morning, and he groaned sleepily before his eyes snapped open, realizing Hange and Evelyn were back. Fuck, he thought, sitting up quickly and turning to start to shake Zeke awake. He checked the clock: it was 8am. Why did his daughter have to be such an early riser?!

“Dada! Dada!” Evelyn came rushing round the corner into the bedroom, jumping up onto the bed and crawling towards Levi. Zeke rubbed his eyes and turned over, and Evelyn stopped in her tracks, staring at Zeke with wide eyes.

“Mr. Jaeger?” She questioned with a tilt of her head. “What are you doin’ in our bed?”

Zeke stared back at her with just as surprised of an expression as she had, “Uh… uh… Levi?”

Levi shot him a small glare. He didn’t know what to tell her either. Hange appeared in the bedroom doorway, their eyes also widening upon seeing Zeke and Levi in bed together. They grinned knowingly, and Levi shot them a look that read ‘don’t say anything’.

“Mr. Jaeger came to keep Dada company,” Levi quickly tried to explain.

“Oh,” Evelyn replied, looking between the two of them. “Why are you in your undies?”

Hange was trying hard not to laugh at the two of them, cheeks puffed with the laughter they were holding back. Zeke looked mortified, as if he had no idea what to say to Levi’s daughter. Levi didn’t blame him; he didn’t know either.

“Because… Because it was really hot,” Zeke tried, and Levi nodded.

“Yeah,” Levi agreed. “It was real hot, so we had to take off our clothes.”

Evelyn looked a little skeptical, or as skeptical as a five-year-old could, but she quickly got over it. She crawled into Levi’s lap and clung to him. She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered loudly in Levi’s ear, “Did you and Mr. Jaeger kiss?”

Levi and Zeke immediately went red in the face at the accusation. Well, they’d done much more than kissing, but the innocent mind of his little girl wouldn’t have guessed that. Levi and Zeke exchanged a look before glancing to Hange for help, but Hange simply shrugged and chuckled softly at the young girl’s question.

“No, baby,” Levi lied. He didn’t want her to be confused. This was probably already super confusing for her - seeing the neighbor and her father in bed together, not wearing much of anything. He didn’t want to add to that.

“Oh,” Evelyn spoke with some surprise, as if she’d expected Levi to say yes. “Good, kissing’s icky.”

Levi laughed a little, “Oh really?”

She nodded determinedly, and Levi began to give her kisses all over her face, tickling her as he did so, “Even my kisses?”

Evelyn squealed and giggled, her little hands pushing away from Levi as he held her tight, “No! Stop it, stop it! No more kisses, Dada!”

Levi chuckled and kissed the top of her head once more before letting her go. She sucked in some deep breaths to calm down before pointing accusatorially at Levi, “That’s not nice!”

Levi smiled and let her go, “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll play nice.”

Evelyn scrambled down from the bed and ran back to Hange, hugging onto their legs, “I love you, Hange! Are you going now?”

Hange nodded, lifting Evelyn onto their hip and hugging her, “Yep, I love you too, kiddo! I gotta go to work. But I’ll come visit again soon.”

“Okay!” Evelyn beamed, hugging back. “Bye bye!”

Hange put her down and waved at Zeke and Levi with a knowing smirk, “Bye you two. You know, you should really try turning the air conditioning on next time you get… too hot.”

The two men turned completely red, and Hange cackled before leaving the room. Evelyn waved down the hall before turning to Zeke and Levi, swaying back and forth on her toes. She smiled at them, “Are you sure you don’t kiss Mr. Jaeger?”

Evelyn clearly knew more than she was letting on, and Levi didn’t know what to say. Zeke chuckled nervously, “We don’t kiss, Evie. Don’t worry.”

“Is Mr. Jaeger your Prince Charming?” Evelyn asked next, and Levi got up, having had enough of her questions.

“That’s too many questions, Lynnie,” he joked with her. “How about we let Mr. Jaeger go back to his apartment, hmm?”

Evelyn pouted, “Fineee.”

Zeke got up and started getting his clothes on hurriedly, clearly feeling incredibly awkward about this whole situation. Once he was dressed, he walked over to Levi, leaning over to share a kiss with him before remembering Evelyn was standing there watching them. She eyed them curiously, and Zeke cleared his throat, pulling away from Levi and holding out his hand. Levi stared at his hand in disbelief before placing his hand in Zeke’s, and the two shook hands. Levi had never said goodbye to someone he’d slept with through a handshake.

“Bye Levi,” Zeke smiled sweetly at him before turning to Evelyn and kneeling to her height. “I’ll see you around, Evie! Eren will be visiting in a couple of days, I think, so you two can play soon!”

Evelyn quickly forgot about what she’d almost seen happen, jumping up and down, “Yay! I’m so ‘cited!”

Levi chuckled at the exchange, watching Zeke pat Evelyn on the head affectionately before he got up and walked past her down the hall to leave. Once the front door closed, Levi breathed a sigh of relief. He realized he would have to have some sort of conversation with Evelyn about it, so that she wouldn’t be confused.

“Lynnie,” Levi sat on the ground in front of her, taking her little hands into his. “Let’s talk about what you just saw.”

Evelyn stared at him with widened eyes, “Am I in trouble?”

Levi shook his head, “No. Dada just doesn’t want you to be confused… I… I want to be honest with you, baby.”

“So you do kiss Mr. Jaeger?” Evelyn asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Um… well…” Levi sighed. “Yes, but sometimes that’s just what adults do with one another.”

Evelyn frowned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “So… Mr. Jaeger’s not your Prince Charming?”

Levi wanted to laugh. Not because Zeke wasn’t his Prince Charming - in fact, he liked Zeke quite a lot. It was just such a cute, innocent question. But he knew what she meant - were he and Zeke together? And Levi knew that even though he and Zeke liked each other, he didn’t think they could be together, at least not right now. He didn’t want to put Evelyn in a situation where her dad was running around with the neighbor man. He wanted her to be certain of who her Papa was.

“No, baby,” Levi tried to explain. “You see, Mr. Jaeger and Dada just kissed a couple of times. But that doesn’t mean that Mr. Jaeger is Dada’s Prince Charming. Okay? We’re just friends, that’s all.”

“But… friends don’t kiss,” Evelyn pointed out.

She wasn’t wrong. But Levi didn’t really know what to say to that. He opened and closed his mouth before settling on, “Well, it was just an accident, baby. Mr. Jaeger and I aren’t going to kiss anymore.”

And as much as Levi didn’t like what he’d just told her, he meant it. He couldn’t sleep with Zeke again; he didn’t want to put Evelyn through such a confusing thing, or give her any emotional turmoil because of his personal relationships. It would be a big change if he started dating Zeke, and he just couldn’t put her through something like that. Zeke couldn’t be Levi’s Prince Charming, as much as Levi wanted him to be.

August 19, 2027

Levi jolted awake as the camper came to a halt, yawning and unbuckling his seatbelt as Zeke parked the large vehicle on the camp grounds. They were near a lake, the two of them deciding they should take the kids on a glamping vacation. Zeke had borrowed his parents’ camper and they’d put together their money to rent out a space at a nice campground a few hours from the city.

Eren and Evelyn were both in their car seats completely passed out, and Levi hadn’t been able to stay awake long either. He felt a little bad - he’d told Zeke they could take turns driving, but Zeke seemingly decided not to wake him up.

“Well, here we are,” Zeke sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Eren was the first to stir, rubbing his eyes sleepily and looking around. Shortly, he realized they had arrived, and his excitement started to get the better of him. He started bouncing in his seat, leaning over and starting to shake Evelyn awake.

“Evie!” Eren exclaimed. “We’re here! We’re here!”

Evelyn whimpered and started to wake up, looking like she might cry at being woken up so abruptly. Levi turned around in his seat and reached out, taking her little hand into his own and stroking it soothingly to keep her calm.

“We here?” Evelyn whispered, looking out the windows with wide eyes before a grin came across her face. “Dada, we here!”

“Yeah, baby!” Levi exclaimed excitedly. “You ready to get your swimsuit on? We can go to the lake and play on the beach!”

Evelyn sucked in a deep, excited breath, nodding eagerly. Zeke got out of the camper and helped Eren and Evelyn out of their car seats, and Levi got out as the two little ones started running around in front of the camper eagerly.

“Come here, baby,” Levi opened the side door that led into the camper. “I’ll help you get your swimsuit on.”

Evelyn squealed and rushed to Levi’s side, holding her arms out to him and jumping up and down. Levi picked her up and carried her inside, setting her down once they were up the stairs and in the camper. Evelyn started running up and down the hall of the camper, from the bunk beds in the back to the queen bed in the front. Levi searched their shared suitcase for her swimsuit. He already had his on, but they’d been running late, and he hadn’t had time to put Evelyn’s swimsuit on under her clothes.

“Lynnie,” Levi called, and Evelyn came over to him.

He helped her get undressed, and she stepped into her swimsuit before he pulled it up over her shoulders. It was a purple one piece with a frilly tu-tu skirt attached at the middle, and had pictures of Disney princesses on the chest and stomach. Levi had let Evelyn pick it out, and she’d picked well. Soon enough, Zeke and Eren were entering the camper as well to get Eren into his swim trunks. Levi sat on the couch and tried to keep Evelyn occupied while Zeke helped Eren get dressed.

“I can do it myself!” Eren insisted as he pulled his swim trunks on.

“Alright, alright,” Zeke gave in with a chuckle. “You’re a big boy. I get it.”

“Yeah,” Eren agreed, smiling when he’d gotten the swim trunks on all the way. “I did it!”

“Good job,” Zeke praised, ruffling Eren’s hair. “You ready to go, Evie?”

Evelyn nodded, running from Levi to Zeke and clinging to one of his legs, “I ready, Mr. Jaeger!”

Zeke smiled and lifted her onto his hip, and Levi noticed that Eren instantly looked incredibly jealous. He stopped everything, staring up at Zeke with a pouty face and starting to whine and jump up and down.

“Carry me!” He begged, and Zeke sighed as he lifted Eren onto his opposite hip. Levi wanted to laugh, but he held back, merely smiling at the three of them.

“Dada, you coming?” Evelyn asked as Zeke started to walk them down the steps and out the side door.

“Yeah, baby. I’m right behind you,” Levi reassured her, following them out of the camper once he’d retrieved his beach bag. It had towels, sunscreen, blow-up water wings, etc. for when they got to the beach. He was always prepared.

He watched on fondly as Evelyn lay her head on Zeke’s shoulder, clinging to him around the neck. She was becoming more and more comfortable with Zeke the more time they spent with the Jaegers, and Levi couldn’t help but think what a good father figure he would be for his daughter. But he quickly shook that thought from his head. He couldn’t think like that.

Evelyn started sticking her fingers all over Zeke’s face, putting them in his beard and giggling, “You so hairy, Mr. Jaeger.”

“Don’t mess up his hair!” Eren argued from Zeke’s other hip, trying to fix what Evelyn had messed up.

“It’s okay, Eren,” Zeke tried to smooth things over. “Evelyn can play with my beard if she wants to.”

Evelyn smiled timidly and went back to feeling Zeke’s beard, “My Papa isn’t hairy like that. And Dada isn’t hairy neither!”

Zeke chuckled, “Do you like my beard, Evie?”

Evelyn nodded shyly and giggled, “Yeah. It’s all itchy scratchy.”

Zeke smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she squealed and buried her face into Zeke’s shoulder in embarrassment. Levi smiled at them, and the four of them approached the beach. Eren hopped down from Zeke’s arms and started running to the water, splashing in the waves at the shore.

Evelyn looked at the massive lake with wide eyes, clinging to Zeke and whimpering. Levi knew she was fairly afraid of the water. She had only swam a couple times before, and never in a big lake like this.

“Let’s get your water wings on, baby,” Levi reassured her. “Dada will go in the water with you and keep you safe, okay?”

“I want Mr. Jaeger to come with me!” She insisted, much to both of their surprise.

She was really taking a liking to Zeke, and Levi was glad for that. He blew up her water wings and helped her get them on her arms, putting sunscreen on her. Zeke had somehow corralled Eren and gotten sunscreen and water wings on him too - Levi had brought an extra pair for Eren. When he was done, Eren ran back into the water, splashing and laughing happily. Evelyn was a little more timid. Once she was ready to go, she walked over to Zeke and took his hand, and Levi watched them with giddiness in his chest as Zeke led her to the water and stood in the shoreline. Evelyn looked skeptical, putting a foot in the water before stepping her other foot in.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Zeke was cooing at her sweetly. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

Levi settled on a towel in the sand, watching as Evelyn took small steps further into the water, still clinging to Zeke’s hand tightly. He was being very patient with her, allowing her to take her time as she got used to being in the water.

Finally, she was in to her waist, and she giggled, letting go of Zeke’s hand to splash about in the water. He smiled down at her and splashed a little water on her stomach, to which she squealed and covered her belly with her hands.

Eren was busy causing chaos per usual. He was swimming with some of the other kids on the beach, the kids splashing each other and playing games. Evelyn was too little for that kind of aggressive play, and she seemed perfectly content swimming with Zeke, who’d managed to get her in to her chest now.

Eren came running from the water, ever the rambunctious little boy. He jumped in the sand, kneeling next to where Levi was laying on the towel sunbathing. Levi peered at the boy over his sunglasses, waiting for what he was going to say.

“Will you help me make a sandcastle, Mr. Ackerman?” Eren asked. “Pretty please?!”

Levi couldn’t turn the boy down, he was just too cute. Levi nodded and sat up, starting to help Eren shape the sand around them. Levi had some little pails and shovels in his beach bag, and he took them out, handing them to Eren, who looked very excited to use them.

The little boy instantly ran to the water and started filling the pail, bringing it back and dumping it on some of the sand to make it easier to shape. He was grinning, looking so excited and focused as he molded the sand into various lumpy shapes to make a castle. Levi went on Eren’s instruction, letting the little boy tell him what he wanted his castle to look like and trying his best to fulfill that image.

Levi glanced over to check on Evelyn and Zeke. Evelyn was now on Zeke’s shoulders, giggling and cheering him on as they went deeper into the water. She looked like she was having such a fun time, and Levi was so happy that she was warming up to Zeke. Perhaps things could work between the two of them. They could be a little family, the four of them. Maybe they could even move in together, if things went well. Levi found himself blushing at the thought, and his attention was quickly brought back to Eren, who was telling Levi he needed to make a moat around the castle.

“Dada!” Evelyn came running up to them about ten minutes later, Zeke trailing behind her. His handsome, hairy chest was glistening with water droplets in the sunlight, and Levi swallowed thickly before looking away, trying not to get turned on by how hot Zeke looked like that.

“Hi baby!” Levi greeted his daughter.

“Mr. Jaeger took me in the water!” She exclaimed. “It was so fun! We went so deep and he put me on his shoulders!”

“Wow,” Levi feigned surprise, as if he hadn’t seen all of it happening from the beach. “That sounds so fun, Lynnie!”

Evelyn walked over to the castle and examined it for a moment before Eren stood in her way, putting his arms out, “Don’t touch it! You’ll ruin it!”

Evelyn crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him, and Zeke kneeled in between the two of them, ruffling Eren’s hair, “Don’t be mean, Eren. Evelyn can help you with your sandcastle.”

“But it’s mine and Mr. Ackerman’s sandcastle!” Eren protested with a whine.

“But you have to share, Eren,” Zeke reminded him, running his hand through Eren’s semi-wet locks before standing back up. “Be nice to Evie.”

Eren pouted, sighing dramatically, “Fine!”

He moved out of the way, and Evelyn giggled happily, pointing at the little water stream around the castle, “Dat a moat?”

Eren nodded, pointing to one of the towers, “This is where the king lives. Up in the big tower.”

“Where does the pwincess live?” Evelyn asked.

Eren shrugged, “I guess the princess is in this part,” pointing to the main part of the sandcastle.

“Is she pretty?” Evelyn asked innocently, and Zeke and Levi were just watching the two interact fondly.

Eren blushed a little, kicking some sand, “I guess so.”

Suddenly, Eren perked up, looking up at Zeke with a grin, “Can we bury you in the sand, big brother?”

Zeke looked back down at Eren, hands on his hips. He clearly did not want to be buried in the sand, but he was having a hard time saying no to Eren’s cute pouty lip as he gave Zeke a pleading look.

“Okay, fine,” Zeke sighed, laying down in the sand.

Levi couldn’t help but giggle, starting to take pictures of the kids as they began to bury Zeke in the sand - everything but his head. Evelyn and Eren were a fit of laughter as they continued to push sand up over Zeke’s body, and Zeke just laid back and let it happen, knowing there was no way out now.

“You look funny, Mr. Jaeger!” Evelyn squealed, pointing at Zeke and holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

Zeke chuckled softly, looking over at Levi and exchanging a grin with him. He scrunched up his face, muttering, “I have an itch on my nose.”

Levi started giggling, crawling over to Zeke’s head and reaching his finger out to scratch Zeke’s nose. Zeke sighed in some relief, thanking Levi, who was absolutely smitten in this moment. Zeke was just so good with the kids. He was so fun, but stern when he needed to be. Levi sat next to him, exchanging affectionate looks and starting to play with Zeke’s curly locks fondly as the kids finished burying him.

August 19, 2027 (continued)

“What is dat?” Evelyn asked as she pointed to Eren’s private parts.

Levi and Zeke had decided the two were little enough that it would be okay to shower the kids together in the small camper shower, but apparently, Evelyn was incredibly curious about the fact that Eren had a penis. Since Levi was trans, she’d never seen one before, and was very confused and in awe.

“Those are Eren’s privates, Lynnie,” Levi explained, knowing he shouldn’t feel awkward but feeling awkward anyways. “He has a penis. And you have a vagina, remember?”

Levi was busy washing the kids while Zeke was out trying to start the fire. It was starting to get dark, and Levi knew the kids would end up smelling from the smoke, but right now they both smelled of sweat and lake water, and he couldn’t live with that. He’d shower them a second time in the morning if he had to.

He lathered up the shampoo in Eren’s hair as the boy held the shampoo bottle for him, behaving rather patiently despite usually being so rambunctious. Evelyn still looked thoroughly confused, reaching out to touch Eren’s privates.

Levi quickly but carefully took her wrist into his hand to stop her, “No no, Lynnie. We don’t touch each other’s privates. The only people who should see or touch your privates are the person who you trust most, like me or Hange, and the doctor, okay? So we don’t touch Eren’s privates, got it?”

Evelyn frowned and pouted a little, but nodded in understanding. She could tell when her dad was being serious and no-nonsense about something. Eren wasn’t paying her much mind. He was looking at the cartoon characters on the children’s shampoo bottle, tracing their pictures with his little index finger. Levi began to wash the shampoo out of his hair, wanting to get them out of the shower so that Evelyn couldn’t ask anymore questions.

“Does Mr. Jaeger has a penis?” Evelyn asked, and Levi could feel himself getting embarrassed because he definitely could confirm the answer to that question.

“Yes, Lynnie,” Levi replied, taking the shampoo bottle from Eren and pouring some into his own hands before handing the bottle back to the boy. He suspected Eren wasn’t as curious about Evelyn’s parts likely because he and Mikasa were so close since childbirth.

He began to wash Evelyn’s hair, his daughter looking up at him with big, curious eyes, “If you’re a boy too, how come you have a bagina?”

“Because some boys can have vaginas,” Levi explained carefully, washing the shampoo from her blonde hair. “And some girls can have penises. Private parts don’t make a person a boy or a girl.”

He half-expected Evelyn to question him more, to be confused, but his daughter simply nodded in understanding, “Ohhh. Otay.”

Levi was proud of her for being so smart - she probably got that from Erwin (though she probably got her insatiable curiosity from him as well, the bastard). Eren set down the shampoo bottle and picked up the body wash to hand to Levi, which he thought was incredibly sweet and thoughtful of the boy. Even though he could be a handful, Eren was a pretty good kid overall.

“Thank you,” Levi smiled, pouring some onto his hands and getting ready to wash Eren.

“I can do it!” Eren insisted, holding out his hands. “My mama taught me how!”

Levi nodded and poured some body wash into the boy’s open hands, watching him out of the corner of his eye while he scrubbed down Evelyn, wanting to make sure Eren did a good job of it. The boy was pretty thorough in his cleaning, which Levi was surprised at. His mother must’ve taught him well, and he appreciated a mother who knew how to teach her son to keep himself clean. That must be why Zeke was so cleanly as well.

“Dada,” Evelyn wondered as he rinsed the two of them off. “Did Papa have a penis?”

“Yes, baby,” Levi nodded, turning off the shower water and wrapping Eren in a towel before wrapping Evelyn in one two.

Eren seemed to know how to dry himself, but Levi had to help Evelyn a little. Evelyn seemed satisfied with the answers to her penis questions, as she hadn’t asked another one after that.

Levi helped get the children into their pajamas and ready to sit out in front of the fire. Zeke entered the camper, exchanging a smile with Levi at the children who no longer smelled of sweat and lake water.

Zeke opened his mouth to speak, when Evelyn exclaimed at the top of her lungs, “Mr. Jaeger! You has a penis just like my Papa!”

Levi wanted to smack himself in the face, though the confused look on Zeke’s face was funny enough that Levi had to hold back a laugh. He lifted up Evelyn and put her on his hip. She hadn’t been wrong in what she’d said, Levi just wished she hadn’t said it at all.

“Uh… um…” Zeke stuttered, staring at Levi with wide eyes.

“It’s fine,” Levi chuckled, trying to calm his nerves. “Lynnie’s just learned about penises, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Zeke laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as though he’d never had to deal with such a thing before. “No worries.”

Eren ran to Zeke, hugging onto his legs and grinning up at him, “Is the fire ready?! Can we make s’mores?!”

Zeke leaned down and picked up his little brother, “Yep, the fire’s all ready for you! We can make hot dogs and s’mores now!”

Eren cheered happily and bounced in Zeke’s arms, and Zeke and Levi brought the kids outside. Levi set Evelyn down in her kid-sized foldable chair, and Eren was soon put in the one next to hers. Zeke and Levi sat in the chairs across from them, and Levi could feel himself blushing when Zeke’s hand brushed against his own on accident as they both reached for the bag of marshmallows.

“You first,” Zeke insisted.

Levi took the marshmallows and started to make a s’more for Evelyn, the two children watching the fire as it crackled and danced about. They both seemed pretty tired after a long day in the sun, and weren’t running around like usual.

Zeke started making the hot dogs, offering the first to Eren and the second to Evelyn. The children ate hungrily, and Levi was surprised when Zeke handed him a hot dog too. He thought it was sweet, and decided to make a s’more for Zeke in return. But the first ones would go to the kids, of course, as they likely couldn’t wait to have the sweet treat for dessert.

After feeding the children the hot dogs and s’mores, Levi assembled a s’more for Zeke and handed it to him, Zeke shooting him a charming smile and a grateful ‘thank you’. Levi could feel his cheeks lighting up, and he smiled back with a ‘no problem’.

Levi couldn’t hold back a giggle when Zeke took a bite and the graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow ended up all in his beard. He grabbed a napkin and wet it with saliva, starting to wipe away the remnants of food. Levi could see the redness on Zeke’s face as he did so, and if the kids weren’t there, Levi likely would’ve kissed him.

He couldn’t help himself. The more he spent time with Zeke, the more he was falling for him. No matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to stay away. Zeke was smiling back at him, giving him a sheepish ‘thanks’ this time.

“Mr. Ackerman?” He heard Eren pipe up. “Do you know any scary stories?”

Levi pulled away from Zeke and hoped the children hadn’t noticed how tenderly he and Zeke had been looking at one another. He tried to think of a scary story that wouldn’t be too scary for the little ones, as Evelyn already looked frightened just at the mention of scary stories.

“Hmm,” Levi tapped his chin in thought. “Have you heard about the scary bear in the forest?”

Eren’s eyes widened, “Nah uh.”

“Well,” Levi started, fabricating the story as he went. “When I came here years ago, I stayed in a tent. And I woke up in the middle of the night to hear the sound of sniffing near the door of my tent.”

He imitated the sniffing sounds of a bear before continuing, “And suddenly, the door tore open, and the bear was right there! I took up my lantern and I hit him over the head with it, and it scared him off!”

“Whoa!” Eren gasped in awe. “That’s badass, Mr. Ackerman!”

“Hey,” Zeke scolded lightly. “No swearing, Eren.”

Levi chuckled and sat back, suddenly noticing that Evelyn was curled up in her chair with her knees to her chest, eyes wide with fear. He hadn’t really thought about how the story might affect her, and he was feeling a little bad now.

“I have another story,” Zeke offered, apparently noticing Evelyn as well. “This one’s about a princess who saved the world.”

Evelyn’s face instantly brightened, and she started to smile a little, looking interested in the story. Levi could feel his heart beating in his chest. God, Zeke had just been so sweet to his daughter all day. He was being so attentive to her needs and caring for her as if she was his own, and that really touched Levi.

He listened as Zeke told a short story about a princess who defeated a bad guy and saved the world, and watched as Evelyn’s eyes became heavy, her little head bobbing up and down as she fought to stay awake. Eren was already passed out in his chair by the end of the story, and Evelyn was very close to it.

Levi went to get up, but Zeke placed a hand on top of his, “I got this. Be right back.”

Levi watched as Zeke scooped up both children in each arm and carried them inside the camper to put them to bed. Evelyn, barely awake, waved at her father and buried her face into Zeke’s shoulder, and Levi waved back, his heart thumping happily in his chest.

It didn’t take long for Zeke to put the children to bed in their separate bunks, and Levi waited patiently for the man to come back out. He soon returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses, and Levi began to wonder if he’d planned this for when they were alone.

“Thank you,” Levi smiled as he took the glass from Zeke after the man had poured some in each one.

“Of course,” Zeke replied, taking his seat next to Levi and taking a sip of the wine. “I wanted to say… I really appreciate the way you treat my little brother. I can tell he really likes you and… it just makes me happy to see you two get along so well.”

Zeke had taken the words right from his mouth, as he’d wanted to say the same thing about Zeke but with Evelyn. He didn’t know what to say in return. He put the wine glass on the ground, overwhelmed with this eerily familiar emotion in his chest as he climbed into Zeke’s lap and kissed him deeply.

Zeke gasped in some surprise, subtly setting his own wine glass on the ground before gripping Levi’s hips and dragging him closer, the two of them kissing hungrily. Levi sighed into the kiss, taking Zeke’s hands and moving them down to his ass.

“Levi,” Zeke whispered against his lips. “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

“Yes,” Levi nodded, nipping at Zeke’s lips and grinding down against the growing bulge in Zeke’s pants. “I’m sure.”

“Fuck,” Zeke breathed, shoving his hand down the front of Levi’s pants and into his boxers, gently rubbing between his legs. “Wet already? Damn… you really do want this.”

Levi went to give some sort of snarky reply before he gasped at the feeling of one of Zeke’s fingers pushing inside of him. He groaned and buried his head in Zeke’s shoulder, pushing back gently. He was getting wetter by the second, and Zeke shortly pushed in another finger, curling them to try and reach his sweet spot.

“Levi,” Zeke sighed. “You’re so warm inside…”

Levi whimpered and pushed forwards into Zeke’s hand, trying not to be too loud as Zeke fingered him. He couldn’t help the sharp gasp that left him when Zeke did find his sweet spot, moaning into Zeke’s shoulder. He didn’t want to be too loud, as he was sure there were other camp spots nearby that couldn’t see, but could hear them if they were loud enough.

“Shit,” Levi gasped out, his fists clinging to Zeke’s shirt. “I want you.”

“Let’s get these off,” Zeke pulled his hand out and started to tug off Levi’s pants, and Levi shifted off Zeke’s lap to take them down along with his briefs. He climbed back on once the clothes were discarded, eagerly tearing open Zeke’s pants with a whimper.

“Wait,” Zeke paused when Levi tried to line himself up. “We don’t have condoms.”

“Fuck it,” Levi grunted. “I’ll get a morning-after pill.”

Zeke nodded and held onto Levi’s hips as Levi began to sink down on him, both of them groaning at the feeling. Zeke was sighing as Levi’s warmth enveloped him, and Levi tossed his head back at the fullness in his stomach.

“Oh Zeke,” Levi moaned, starting to bounce in his lap up and down on his cock. “Fuck.”

“Feels so good,” Zeke panted, fucking up to meet Levi on each stroke.

Levi leaned down and captured Zeke’s lips in a deep kiss, riding him a little faster now as he was more used to the feeling. Zeke groaned and held his hips tightly in his hands, their foreheads resting against one another as they stared half-lidded into one another’s eyes.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Zeke whispered, kissing Levi again. “God, I’m so lucky.”

Levi felt his heart swell at that. He was a sucker for praise and sweet words, so Zeke’s whisperings turned him on all the more. He groaned and kept bouncing with a fervor, reaching down to touch himself as he felt his orgasm closing in.

“You… You…” Levi tried, not good with words like Zeke could be. “You’re fuckin’… hot. Oh my god, Zeke. You’re so fuckin’ sexy.”

Zeke sighed and took off his glasses, tossing them aside, as they had been getting foggy from their activities. Levi whined as he felt his orgasm tear through him, shaking and clenching around Zeke’s cock.

“Shit,” Zeke cursed, still fucking up into Levi to chase his own orgasm. “Do you want me to pull out?”

“N-No,” Levi shook his head. This was as close as he’d get to admitting he liked the feeling of someone finishing inside of him. “Just… Just do it.”

Zeke moaned and gave him a few more strokes before cumming inside of him, the feeling causing both of them to sigh deeply, trying to catch their breath now. Levi lay his head on Zeke’s shoulder, absentmindedly playing with Zeke’s curly locks with Zeke still inside of him, the two of them just trying to calm down.

Zeke just held onto Levi, rubbing his back and kissing the side of his head, “Do you want to go to bed, baby?”

Levi could feel himself blushing at the nickname, but he nodded a little, climbing off Zeke and starting to get his briefs on. He decided he didn’t need to put his pants back on. He usually slept only in his briefs anyways. Zeke got dressed, picked up his glasses from the floor, and dusted them off, starting to clear away the food and drinks as Levi went into the camper to use the bathroom and clean himself up.

Soon, Zeke came into the camper and got into the master bed. Originally, they’d decided that Eren and Zeke would share the master bed while Levi and Evelyn slept on the bunk beds. But plans had changed, and Zeke must’ve forgotten about it, since he put both the kids in the bunk beds instead. But Levi would let it slide. He didn’t mind sleeping in a bed with Zeke. It made him feel comfortable, to have someone’s arms around him, cuddling him and holding him throughout the night.

Levi changed into a t-shirt and got into bed with Zeke, the two smiling shyly at each other as Zeke turned off the light and set his glasses on the nightstand. Levi snuggled up to him, laying on his chest and feeling one of Zeke’s muscular arms draw him close. Maybe this can all work out, Levi thought to himself as he drifted to sleep. Maybe I can be with Zeke.

August 20, 2027

Levi and Zeke got up before the kids the next morning, which was good, because Levi wasn’t sure he wanted another ‘is Zeke your Prince Charming’ incident with Evelyn. The two began to make breakfast for the kids, planning on getting them up when it was done. The children must’ve been quite tired after yesterday, as usually both of them would’ve been up by now.

Zeke and Levi had been incredibly flirtatious with one another all morning. They spent at least twenty minutes in bed just kissing and holding onto each other. Then, when they’d finally gotten up, there was some flirty swaying of the hips on Levi’s part, and some sexy teasing from Zeke as well.

Levi watched Zeke at the little stovetop in the camper, making scrambled eggs. He’d just turned off the burner when Levi came up behind him and hugged him around the back, burying his face into Zeke’s shoulder blades.

“You’re gonna have to let go if you want scrambled eggs,” Zeke joked, chuckling softly at Levi’s antics.

Levi smiled and breathed in Zeke’s scent. He smelled pleasant in the morning - though he was a little smoky from last night’s fire. It had been a long time since Levi felt this comfortable, and this smitten, over somebody, and he was happy that Zeke returned his feelings.

“Sorry,” Levi teased. “The toll for scrambled eggs is one kiss.”

Zeke turned around and took Levi’s face into his hands, beaming down at him sweetly, “Oh really now? What if I don’t pay the toll?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to punish you,” Levi wriggled his eyebrows sensually.

Zeke laughed before tilting Levi’s chin up, whispering against his lips, “You’re lucky I’m a law-abiding citizen then.”

Zeke kissed Levi tenderly, both of their eyes fluttering shut as they exchanged smooch after smooch, the sounds of their kissing filling the air. Levi was feeling himself falling further and further for Zeke, and he could feel the love and care that Zeke radiated for him as well.

That’s when he heard a loud, “No!” And the pitter patter of little feet running down the hallway, before two little hands were trying to pry them apart. Levi pulled away and looked down in surprise as his daughter put two hands on Zeke’s legs and tried to push him away from Levi.

“Evelyn!” Levi exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing?!”

Evelyn pulled back from Zeke and pointed a finger up at him angrily, shouting, “You stay away from my Dada!”

Levi was shocked, and Zeke seemed equally so. The little girl had been so warm to Zeke yesterday, so what had changed? Perhaps she’d been so shocked by seeing her father kissing another man that it had set her off. This was exactly what Levi had been so worried about.

“Lynnie,” Levi scolded as he squatted down in front of her. “Don’t yell at Mr. Jaeger like that.”

Evelyn stuck her tongue out at Zeke before turning to her father and bursting into tears, throwing herself dramatically into his arms. Levi was surprised by her behavior, and he hugged her close, lifting her into his arms as he stood up.

“Lynnie,” Levi tried again. “Don’t be mean to Mr. Jaeger. You need to apologize.”

“No!” She shouted through her sobs, shaking her head and clinging to him. “Mr. Jaeger kissed you!”

Zeke was standing there awkwardly, both the adults wondering what the hell was going on with the little girl. She knew that they’d kissed before, why was it such a big problem now? Levi gave Zeke an apologetic look, rubbing his daughter’s back and bouncing her in his arms to try and calm her down.

Eren emerged from the top bunk and down the hall, rubbing his tired eyes and looking at the commotion with confusion. Zeke quickly picked him up, clearly wanting to get him out of there, “Come on, Eren. Let’s go clean up the chairs and stuff while Mr. Ackerman calms down Evie.”

Eren and Zeke left the camper, and Levi kissed the top of Evelyn’s head, listening to her practically wailing. She was throwing quite the temper tantrum, squirming in Levi’s arms and crying and yelling incoherent things.

“Lynnie,” Levi set her on the edge of the bed and held her hands, kneeling to her height. “Come on, baby. Take some deep breaths. We gotta calm down, okay? Follow Dada… in… and out. In… and out.”

He demonstrated deep breathing to his daughter as she cried and cried, taking in shaky breaths and trying to copy him. He’d never seen her so upset before. She must’ve really not wanted him to be with Zeke.

Once she’d calmed down enough, tears still rolling down her face, Levi finally asked her, “Why are you so upset, baby? Why don’t you want me kissing Mr. Jaeger?”

“Mr. Jaeger is not my Papa!” Evelyn proclaimed, crossing her arms and hiccuping as she continued to cry softly.

Levi felt his heart sink into his stomach. So she really didn’t want him to move on from her Papa? That’s what all this was about? Levi could’ve guessed it, but he was still shocked to hear those words come out of her mouth.

It hurt him, to hear that. It brought tears to his own eyes. He suddenly was starting to feel guilty. He’d been putting his own wants and needs in front of Evelyn’s, and in front of what Erwin might’ve wanted for him. He couldn’t be with Zeke, even if that’s what he really wanted. Levi knew he couldn’t upset his daughter like this again, and he couldn’t handle upsetting Erwin either.

August 20, 2027 (continued)

The drive home was pretty silent. Levi and Zeke barely spoke, and Evelyn and Eren were sleeping in the back. They’d gone home pretty much right after Evelyn’s tantrum. They’d been planning on going home a little later that day, but decided to cut the trip short. Levi had said to Zeke: “I think she’s just homesick,” though that wasn’t really the truth, and Zeke likely knew that too.

“Levi,” Zeke finally piped up. “Is… Is Evelyn okay?”

Levi sucked in a deep breath, not really sure how to answer that question. He looked out the window, murmuring, “Yeah… I think she’ll be fine. She just… She doesn’t want me to move on from her Papa. I think she really misses him and… and seeing us kiss really hurt her.”

“Oh…” Zeke responded quietly. “I… I’m sorry, Levi. I didn’t realize she’d get so upset.”

“Me neither,” Levi frowned. “It’s not your fault, Zeke. I… I shouldn’t have been so selfish.”

Levi saw Zeke raise an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye, “Selfish? How?”

Levi shrugged a little, “I… I shouldn’t have put my wants before her needs. She needs me to be there for her. And I was just parading around doing whatever I wanted without thinking about how it would affect her.”

Zeke sighed heavily at that, “Levi, I don’t think you’re selfish for wanting to pursue something that will make you happy. You were cautious about Evelyn finding out the whole time, so you were thinking about her. I think… after all you’ve been through, it’s okay to indulge a little bit in things you want for yourself.”

Zeke wasn’t wrong, but Levi still felt guilty. He hadn’t meant for his daughter to find out this way, and now that she’d reacted so negatively, he didn’t know how he would pursue a relationship with Zeke. He couldn’t do it if Evelyn was going to be so broken-hearted about it all.

“Zeke,” Levi stared down at his lap. “I really like you… e-even more than like. I care a lot about you. But… you know how much I love Evelyn. And I can’t see her so upset over us being together. So I… I think we should vow to just be friends from now on. Okay? No more… No more sleeping together, no more kissing… just friends.”

Levi hated to say it. It pained him to do this. But he knew that he couldn’t put Evelyn through something so traumatic as him being with Zeke if it was going to be so hard for her to cope with.

It was silent for a while after that, and Levi was worried that Zeke was upset or angry with him. But Zeke finally let out a long sigh, gripping the wheel a little tighter as he agreed, “Okay, Levi. We can just be friends. I… I just want you to know that… that I’ll always care about you, and I’ll always be there for you if you need someone. Please never forget that.”

Levi nodded, and felt Zeke reach out his hand to touch Levi’s, taking Levi’s hand into his own and squeezing it gently. Levi squeezed back before letting go, knowing that letting go of Zeke’s hand meant letting go of their relationship for good.

October 3, 2027

“No!” There was a shrill scream from behind him. “Papa!”

Levi’s eyes snapped opened, jolted awake from his sleep. He whipped around, immediately recognizing Evelyn’s voice when he heard it. His daughter was still asleep, tossing and turning, her closed eyes scrunched up in pain.

“No!” She screamed.

Levi grasped her shoulders and gently started shaking her awake, and Evelyn’s eyes opened wide with terror, looking around her in confusion as though she didn’t know where she was. She must’ve had a horrible nightmare.

“Shh,” Levi whispered, hugging her to his chest. “Shh baby… are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?”

Evelyn nodded against his skin, immediately bursting into tears and clinging to him. He cupped her head gently and kissed the top of it, cooing sweet things to her to try and get her to calm down.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Levi murmured. “Dada’s here. I won’t let anything hurt you, okay? I promise.”

Evelyn sniffled and hiccuped, still incredibly upset. Levi knew this probably wasn’t a regular dream - he’d never seen her so upset over her usual nightmares. He wondered what she’d dreamt about.

“What happened, honey?” Levi asked, pulling away to wipe the tears from her eyes. “What was the nightmare about?”

“P-Papa,” she sobbed. “Papa was… was on the ceiling! He c-couldn’t b-breathe!”

Levi’s eyes widened at his daughter’s confession. Had Evelyn dreamed of Erwin’s death? She was probably too little to fully understand what she was seeing, but the fact that his daughter had had some sort of vision of Erwin’s death was gut-wrenching to him. She should never have to know about anything like that, let alone see it in a dream.

“Oh sweetie,” Levi hugged her close again. “Shh, it’s okay. Papa’s okay… remember what I told you about Papa? He’s happy in a place that’s perfect for dead people. He’s safe where he is.”

There was no way for Levi to guarantee these words were true, but he needed to say something that would comfort Evelyn. His daughter continued to cry into his chest, nodding at his words and wetting his t-shirt with her tears. Levi didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t afford to get her therapy for the traumatic event of her father’s death. Even though she hadn’t personally witnessed it (although given this dream, who knows?), she was clearly still affected by it.

“But… But I want Papa to be live!” Evelyn cried, rubbing her eyes. “I miss my Papa!”

Levi swallowed thickly, whispering, “I miss him too, baby. I would do anything to bring him back, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

Evelyn simply buried her face in Levi’s shirt and wailed, and Levi held her while she cried, tears running down his own face. His daughter had never even met Erwin, yet she was this upset over him. And Levi couldn’t blame her.

November 8, 2027

Evelyn squealed and ran around the living room excitedly as she came in from Levi picking her up from school. She’d kicked her shoes off at the door and hung up her coat on the low hook Levi had hung specifically for her.

“Are you hungry, baby?” Levi asked as he sat down on the couch to put something on the TV.

“Yeah!” Evelyn nodded, pulling out some toys to play with. “I want s’ghetti!”

Levi wasn’t shocked. He chuckled and turned on some kids show for Evelyn, “Okay, honey. I’ll make us some spaghetti. Can I have a hug first? I really missed you today!”

It was true. Levi usually missed his daughter a lot while he was at work, but today had been particularly rough for some reason. He’d just really needed her, and was happy to pick her up from school and see her face again.

“Yes!” Evelyn decided, dropping her toys and rushing into Levi’s arms. “I missed you too Dada!”

She was such a sweetheart. Levi hugged her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and whispering, “I love you, baby.”

“I’m not a baby!” Evelyn argued with a giggle before pausing and pressing her ear against his stomach. “But Dada… there’s one in your tummy!”

Levi laughed a little at her words before realizing she was being serious. Why had she said that? He supposed she was probably just being silly - there was no way she would know that information. Besides, Levi had taken a morning after pill when he and Zeke had had sex, so there was no way he could be pregnant anyways.

“You’re so silly, Lynnie!” Levi tickled her stomach and elicited giggles from her. “So funny!”

She hugged onto Levi and squealed happily, “No I’m not! I’m not silly, Dada!”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Levi kissed the top of her head. “Dada can be silly too.”

Evelyn smiled up at him, “You make me s’ghetti now?”

Levi smiled back, “Okay, honey.”

November 28, 2027

Levi groaned in pain. What the hell was going on? He was having severe period cramps, though because of his testosterone, he hadn’t had cramps in a very long time. He’d been so sick this morning that he’d sent Evelyn to Hange’s for the day, just so he could take some time to rest. He was laying in bed with a hot water bottle on his stomach, wondering why he was feeling so awful.

He didn’t think he was pregnant. When he’d become pregnant with Evelyn, he’d been nauseous and vomiting, not cramping and feeling weak like he was now. Perhaps he’d just eaten something bad that didn’t agree with his stomach. Maybe he was constipated. He wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it was becoming more and more unbearable as the day went on.

He got up to go to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, groaning in pain as his stomach contracted with a severe cramp. He held onto the wall on either side of him and whimpered, peeing first before hearing a loud plop and looking down to see with horror that he was heavily bleeding. In fact, his underwear had blood in it too. He’d just thought it was discharge, since he hadn’t had his period in so long because of his testosterone shots.

Levi watched as blood clots poured out of him, and he was hit with the sudden realization of what was happening to him. He reached and grabbed his phone from the counter and googled ‘miscarriage symptoms’, reading: “…you might have cramping, heavier bleeding than normal, pain in the tummy, pelvis or back, and feel weak.”

Levi stared at the screen for what felt like ages. Was he really having a miscarriage? It seemed like the only logical explanation for what was happening to him, but he couldn’t believe it. He felt sick to his stomach. So he’d been pregnant… with Zeke’s child, and… and now… he was losing that child? Tears welled up in Levi’s eyes, an agonizing feeling overtaking him.

His hands were shaking as more pain flowed through him and blood and tissue continued to leak from between his legs and into the toilet. It hurt. And not just physically, but emotionally too. He felt like he’d done something wrong. Like this was his fault somehow.

Levi dialed up the one person who could help him in a situation like this. Usually, his go-to would’ve been Hange, but they were clearly busy taking care of his daughter at the moment, so he dialed up Zeke.

“Hello?” Zeke answered.

“Zeke,” Levi whispered weakly, feeling sick to his stomach. “Can… Can you come over? I’m so fucking sick… I feel awful.”

Levi could hear Zeke jumping off the couch, rushing to get his keys, “Sure thing. I’ll be there in a second.”

“Spare key’s in the potted plant next to the door,” Levi instructed. “I’m… I’m in the bathroom when you get here.”

“Okay,” Zeke replied before hanging up the phone.

He soon heard the front door being unlocked, the sound of footsteps, and the bathroom door squeaking open slightly. Zeke kept his face out of view, not wanting to walk in on Levi if he didn’t want that.

“Can I come in?” Zeke asked.

“Yeah,” Levi whimpered, more blood flowing from him.

Levi felt a little embarrassed to be showing this vulnerable side to Zeke, but he supposed Zeke was the one who had put the baby in him in the first place, so he should have to deal with the consequences just like Levi was.

“What’s going on?” Zeke wondered as he walked into the bathroom, seeing Levi on the toilet and crying. “Are you alright?”

“N-No,” Levi sniffled, feeling even worse now that Zeke was here. He’d probably be so disappointed to find out that Levi was having a miscarriage of their child. Levi was feeling incredibly guilty.

Zeke closed the bathroom door and sat in front of Levi, taking his face into his hands and wiping his tears away, “Levi… you can tell me. What’s going on?”

“I… I’m having a m-miscarriage,” Levi sobbed quietly, grasping Zeke by the shirt and tugging him forwards so that he could bury his face into Zeke’s shoulder and cry.

Zeke tensed up at the confession before melting into Levi’s arms, hugging him close and sighing, “Oh god, Levi… I’m so sorry. Is it… I mean was it… mine?”

Levi nodded into Zeke’s shoulder and continued to cry, deep, heavy sobs that racked his whole body. He was so worried Zeke would be upset with him for losing their baby. But Zeke only held him tighter, pressing kisses to the side of his head.

“Oh Levi,” Zeke breathed. “God, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, I… I should’ve pulled out or brought condoms or something. I’m so sorry, Levi.”

Levi was a little shocked that Zeke was the one apologizing. It felt like it was his fault, not Zeke’s. He was speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say. He didn’t think it was Zeke’s fault in the slightest.

“It’s not your f-fault,” Levi choked out. “It’s me… It’s my stupid body, I… I fucked it up. The one biological thing my body can do and I fucked it all up.”

The flood of tears came forwards after that, and Levi was sobbing harder now, grasping at Zeke’s shirt and feeling him rub his back soothingly. It was true. He felt like the one thing his body could do for him, give him children, had failed, and he felt like it was all his fault.

“Levi,” Zeke nuzzled his cheek before kissing it. “Levi, that’s not true. This has nothing to do with what you did or didn’t do right or wrong. It just happens to people. It doesn’t mean your body is fucked up… or that you did something to make it this way.”

“But…” Levi sniffled. “But I ruined it. It… It was your baby, and I r-ruined it.”

Zeke sighed, “Levi, you didn’t ruin anything. I’m not upset with you over this. How could I be? Yes, having a baby with you… I would’ve been shocked, but… I would’ve been glad to father your child. But don’t think for a second that you ruined anything, or that I’m mad. I could never be… not at you… and especially not for this.”

Levi whimpered and squeezed Zeke as more pain overtook his abdomen, blood dripping out of him consistently now. Zeke squeezed back and massaged his lower back where he was also having cramps; the feeling of his warm hands on the painful muscles felt so nice.

“What can I do to help?” Zeke asked. “I just want to help, Levi.”

Levi sniffled and nodded into his shoulder, “Can… Can you just get me a pad? They’re in the bottom drawer under the bathroom sink. I don’t know if I’m done bleeding but… it’s certainly slowing down.”

Zeke nodded, pulling away from Levi, “Where’s your underwear drawer? Do you need new ones?”

Levi wiped his eyes, “Erm. It’s the top drawer of the dresser. There’s some women’s panties in there that I use in case of my period. It makes it easier to stick the pad on.”

Zeke nodded again, leaving the bathroom and coming back with a pair of black panties before he grabbed a pad from under the sink and started unwrapping it. Levi was a little surprised Zeke knew what he was doing, but he appreciated that Zeke was putting the pad together for him. It was one less thing Levi had to worry about.

He lifted his legs and Zeke helped him into the panties. Levi gripped Zeke’s forearms and stood on shaky legs, letting Zeke pull the panties up for him. Zeke picked up the bloody briefs to discard of them into the hamper in the bathroom, and Levi was almost mortified that he would do that, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

Zeke led him back into the bedroom, where they got him into some pajama shorts in case he bled through the panties, and Zeke changed the bloody sheets for Levi while he went and made himself another hot water bottle. He didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky in finding someone like Zeke to take care of him like this. It was incredibly sweet, but it made his heart ache. He wanted Zeke to take care of him every day, and he wanted to take care of Zeke in return. But he knew they couldn’t be together.

Levi came back into the bedroom and climbed under the covers, and Zeke fluffed his pillows for him before he leaned back into them. Levi watched Zeke stand there awkwardly, as though he didn’t know whether to leave or stay.

“You… You can stay,” Levi murmured, scooting over. “Evelyn won’t be home until tomorrow so… you can stay here for now.”

Zeke smiled sadly and climbed into the bed, wrapping his arm around Levi and allowing Levi to settle in on his chest. Levi had missed being with Zeke like this. Over the past couple of months, they’d kept to their promise, and hadn’t been intimate with one another.

“Levi,” Zeke piped up, running his fingers up and down Levi’s spine. “I… I’ve missed you… so much.”

Levi didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to encourage Zeke, but he also wanted Zeke to know that he’d been feeling the same way. He snuggled closer and whispered, “Me too, Zeke… but… but we can’t. You know that we can’t.”

“I know,” Zeke replied solemnly, sounding regretful. “I know… I just… I needed you to know.”

Levi was already emotionally fragile from what he was going through with the miscarriage, and now he was just feeling even worse knowing that he and Zeke wanted to be together so badly but couldn’t. Zeke probably hadn’t intended to make him feel worse, and Levi didn’t blame him for it.

Levi just held onto Zeke as tight as he could, knowing that Zeke would have to leave eventually, and that they wouldn’t be able to have another moment like this together.

January 13, 2028

“I don’t know, Hange,” Levi sighed. “I really don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Hange shrugged, taking a sip of wine. “Why can’t you just date him? Sure, Evie might be upset… but she’d just need time to get used to it all.”

Levi sighed and sat back on the couch. Evelyn was having a sleepover with Eren at Zeke’s apartment, so Levi had invited Hange over, trying to distance himself a little from Zeke since he was trying not to throw himself at Zeke whenever possible.

“But she was so upset, Hange,” Levi frowned. “You didn’t see her. She said ‘Mr. Jaeger is not my papa’. What am I supposed to do about that? I can’t just be like ‘fuck your feelings little girl’. I care about what she thinks, and I don’t wanna traumatize her.”

Hange snorted a little, “Little girl? She’s hardly that these days. She’s getting so big.”

“I know,” Levi said with a sigh, swirling the wine around in his glass. “But I still don’t think she’s old enough to understand something like this. She’s a smart kid, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think emotionally she can handle it yet.”

Levi heard a knock on the door, and set his wine glass down, walking to the door and unlocking it before he came face to face with just who they’d be talking about: Zeke. He was holding Evelyn’s hand, Eren standing behind him. They were all in their pajamas. Levi was at first worried something was wrong, seeing his daughter’s red tearful eyes.

“Zeke,” Levi breathed, unable to help but smile a little at the sight of his face. “Is something wrong?”

“Evelyn forgot her Papa bear,” Zeke confessed, the little girl whimpering and rubbing her tired eyes. “We came so she could get it.”

Levi moved aside as Evelyn let go of Zeke’s hand and rushed past and down the hall to the bedroom so that she could retrieve her bear. Eren wasn’t paying much attention to them, leaning against Zeke’s legs sleepily. Levi and Zeke were left mostly alone in that way, staring at one another as though they didn’t know what to do.

“Uh…” Zeke smiled nervously. “How’s it going? Hange’s over, right?”

“Hi Zeke!” Hange called from the living room at the mention of their name.

“Hi Hange!” Zeke greeted, and Levi heard Hange coming up behind him now.

Levi could feel himself blushing as Hange put an arm around his shoulders and beamed at Zeke, “We were just talking about you!”

Oh god, Levi thought. What are they planning?

“O-Oh?” Zeke laughed awkwardly, raising an eyebrow. “What about me?”

“Levi just can’t stop talking about you,” Hange shrugged with an air of innocence. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Must be smitten or something.”

Levi elbowed Hange hard, hearing an oof escape their mouth. Zeke was turning red, a sheepish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Oh… really?”

Levi opened his mouth to respond when Evelyn came running back into the foyer with her Papa bear in tow, going to stand at Zeke’s side again and reaching up for his hand. Zeke took her hand and squeezed it gently. Both of the little ones looked exhausted, as it was around their bedtime.

“Well,” Zeke cleared his throat. “I’m gonna get these two to bed then. You both have a good night.”

“Good ni-ight,” Hange singsonged.

“Good night,” Levi waved a little at the kids before giving Zeke an apologetic smile for the awkward encounter. Zeke smiled back sweetly before ushering the kids back down the hall to his own apartment.

Levi shut the door and locked it, turning to Hange, “What the hell was that?!”

“I’m just trying to help!” Hange argued with a knowing grin.

“You’re not helping by confusing him!” Levi huffed, crossing his arms. “Now he’s gonna think I want to be with him again!”

“But you do!” Hange insisted before pausing. “… Don’t you?”

Levi frowned, “I… I don’t know… I mean, in an ideal world… yes, I want to be with him. But it’s just… it’s not meant to be.”

Hange looked incredibly disappointed in his answer, and Levi could feel himself getting upset now, tears coming to his eyes. Hange could probably sense this, and put an arm around Levi again, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

“Come on,” they sighed. “Let’s get you some more wine.”

March 30, 2028

Happy birthday dear Eren,

Happy birthday to you!

The children and adults cheered as Eren blew out his candles. Evelyn stood at Eren’s side, jumping up and down excitedly and clapping her hands. Eren was her best friend - even if they didn’t always get along, he was the one she spent the most time with out of anyone she knew her age, and they were close.

“Eren! What did you wish for?!” Evelyn asked with a smile, clinging to Eren’s arm.

“I can’t tell you,” Eren pulled his arm away from her and gave her a pouty lip. “Otherwise it won’t come true!”

Evelyn wasn’t phased by Eren’s attitude towards her - she was used to it by now. She giggled and pulled up a chair next to him, climbing into the chair and waiting for Eren’s dad, Grisha, to cut the cake. They were at the Jaegers’ house for the birthday party, and this was Levi’s first time really meeting Zeke and Eren’s parents.

Grisha gave Eren the first piece and the second to Evelyn, then the third to Mikasa, who was sitting on Eren’s other side. She was a pretty quiet kid, but Levi could tell how jealous she was of the relationship Eren and Evelyn had. So far, it hadn’t created any problems, but Levi wasn’t sure how long that would last.

“I can’t believe my baby is seven years old!” Levi heard over his shoulder, and turned to see Carla, Eren’s mother, snapping pictures of her son as he tried to give his best smile for her.

Zeke was standing on the other side of the room watching the commotion, and he caught Levi’s eye for a moment before they both looked away in embarrassment. Since the miscarriage, Zeke had been coming to check on him, but they’d still kept their relationship at a friendship level. They hadn’t spoken about the awkward encounter that Hange had brewed up, and Levi was okay with that for now.

“Dada!” Evelyn called out to him, and he turned to see her face already covered in frosting.

“What is it, baby?” Levi asked, walking to her side and grabbing a napkin to wipe her face.

“I want Eren to open my present!” Evelyn exclaimed, and Eren’s eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of a gift.

He’d already opened a couple, but not Evelyn’s yet. Levi had taken Evelyn to the toy shop and let her pick out whatever she wanted (under a specific price, of course) for Eren for his birthday.

“Sure, baby,” Levi wiped her mouth. “As soon as you’re done with the cake, Eren can open his gift from you.”

“Yay!” Evelyn cheered, scooping another mouthful of cake and trying to be a little more careful about getting it everywhere this time.

Once the two were done with their cake, they rushed into the living room, and Levi followed, wanting to see Eren open his gift from Evelyn. He took out his phone to take pictures of them, prepared for it to be a cute moment between the two friends.

Eren took the box from the pile of gifts he had, recognizing the ‘From: Evelyn and Mr. Ackerman’ on the tag. He started ripping it open, and Evelyn clapped her hands excitedly as he unwrapped it.

The little boy gasped when he saw the Nintendo Switch game he’d been saving up for lately: Mario Kart 8. He looked shocked that Evelyn would get him something he actually wanted, and Levi himself had been surprised his daughter had remembered that Eren wanted this particular game so badly. Even he hadn’t remembered in the moment.

“Evie…” Eren breathed, staring at the game. “You got me Mario Kart?”

“You said you wanted it…” his daughter spoke sheepishly, looking worried he didn’t like it.

He set down the gift and threw his arms around her, spinning her in a circle and planting a big smooch on her cheek as he cheered, “I love it! Thank you so much!”

Eren had been mostly indifferent to Evelyn until now - he’d always just tolerated her, but now, he was truly showing he did care about Evelyn. Levi snapped pictures of them, frowning a little at the kiss. He resisted telling the little boy to keep his lips to himself. Evelyn was giggling excitedly and blushing from the kiss when Eren set her down.

She looked up at him with admiration, “I ‘membered you liked it…”

Eren smiled down at her, “Thank you, Evie. Let’s go get Zeke, he can set it up for us!”

He took her hand and began to drag her back to the other room, and Levi could feel himself getting conflicted. He wanted his daughter to be happy, but something about that kiss bothered him. He shook it off. They were seven and five and a half. There was no reason to be so angsty over this.

June 21, 2028

Levi watched Evelyn and her new friend from school, Jean, running around the living room of the beach house. It was Hange and Pieck’s beach house (Pieck’s family was a little more well off than Levi realized), and the two had invited Levi and Evelyn to come and stay for a weekend. Evelyn was allowed to bring one friend, and Levi had been surprised when she’d chosen Jean over Eren. But Jean was a new friend of hers, so perhaps she was just excited to take him along with her.

Jean was a quiet but kind boy - definitely less rambunctious than Eren and a little more shy. But he and Evelyn played well together, and Levi liked the kid so far. Right now, he and Evelyn were playing a game of tag, while Hange, Pieck, and Levi sipped on mimosas and made breakfast for the kids.

“Mr. Ackerman,” He felt Jean tug on his pants leg, and looked down at the boy.

“Yes?”

“Can I have blueberries in my pancakes too?” Jean asked, seeing that Levi had gotten out some blueberries to put in some of the pancakes for Evelyn.

“Of course,” Levi smiled down at him before ruffling his hair.

“Can I help?” Evelyn rushed up behind Jean and gave her father pleading eyes. “I wanna put the blueberries in!”

Levi couldn’t resist that cute pout, and he nodded, lifting her onto one hip and holding out the pint of blueberries for her to sprinkle them into the pancake batter. Jean was still clinging to Levi’s pant leg, appearing a little shy now that Evelyn wasn’t next to him to shield him from the other adults in the room.

Hange noticed the boy hiding behind Levi’s legs and knelt down next to him, “Do you and Evie want fancy mimosas too?”

Levi knew that Hange wouldn’t give the kids alcohol of course, and they were likely planning a mock version of a mimosa for the two little ones. Jean’s eyes widened and he buried his face into Levi’s leg, whimpering quietly.

Levi set Evelyn back down and knelt down between the two children, rubbing Jean’s back comfortingly, “Do you want Hange to make you mimosas?”

“‘Mosas! ‘Mosas!” Evelyn cheered and clapped her hands, a clear and enthusiastic yes.

“Mama says…” Jean whispered from behind Levi sheepishly. “Mama says I can’t have adult drinks.”

Levi held back a laugh, exchanging a knowing smile with Hange before turning back to Jean, “It’s okay, Jean. We won’t put any adult drinks in it. It’ll be a kids’ version!”

Jean’s face lit up with some excitement, and he nodded in agreement, “Oh! Okay…”

Hange stood up and poured some orange juice and Sprite into two kid cups for the little ones while Levi continued to make pancakes. Pieck helped the kids into the chairs at the kitchen counter, plating some eggs and bacon for the two while they waited on the pancakes.

Hange slid the mock mimosas towards the kids, and Evelyn was eager to try it, taking the sippy cup and taking a couple gulps. Jean tried his too with a little less excitement, probably still skeptical. But the two were soon happily sipping their kid mimosas and eating their breakfast without missing a beat. Levi gave them pancakes next, watching the kids eat hungrily as though they hadn’t eaten in days. Evelyn was a fiend for blueberry pancakes, and it appeared this was one area Jean matched her energy in.

Hange and Pieck were giggling and whispering in each other’s ears like young lovers, and Levi envied them for a moment before going to sit with the kids. He knew he had the opportunity of a relationship waiting at home next door for him, but he also knew that it was something he couldn’t have.

“Mr. Ackerman,” Jean piped up in a quiet voice, tugging on Levi’s sleeve.

Levi had been busy staring at Hange and Pieck as they snuck kisses between bites of pancakes, acting as though they’d been married just yesterday. Jean must’ve noticed his jealousy, because what he said next surprised Levi.

“Yes, Jean?” Levi tore his gaze away from the lovers to focus on the little boy with blueberry around his lips.

Levi couldn’t stand mess, so he instantly grabbed a wet wipe from the pack on the counter and gently took the boy’s face into his hands, wiping at the blueberry and maple syrup on his little face.

“Eren said…” Jean tried to stay still for Levi as he helped clean his face. “Eren said that his big brother loves you.”

Levi stopped in his tracks, practically frozen by the words. Eren had said that Zeke was in love with him…? Levi swallowed thickly before continuing to wipe the last of the sticky residue from Jean’s face, noting that Evelyn was too busy eating her pancakes to notice their conversation, Hange and Pieck too enamored with one another to be paying attention.

He chuckled softly, not wanting to pry too much but also unable to help being curious, “Oh did he now? Why did he say that?”

“Because…” Jean explained. “Because I said that Eren’s big brother should find a princess to marry, and Eren said that his big brother doesn’t want a princess because he loves you ‘stead.”

Levi could feel the heat rising on his cheeks, wondering if Eren had simply been guessing at Zeke’s feelings for him, or if he’d overheard something that made this information truthful. He decided to let it go for the moment. This was coming from a seven-year-old, and though Levi knew that there was likely some sort of credibility to it (it had to have come from somewhere), he wasn’t going to worry himself sick over something that might not be true.

June 22, 2028

Jean was such a good little friend for Evelyn. Though Levi liked Eren, Jean was so much easier to take care of, and he and Evelyn didn’t argue as much as Eren and Evelyn did. The two were playing mermaids right now, much to Jean’s chagrin. The little boy hadn’t really wanted to, but he’d agreed because Evelyn had pouted and threatened to cry when he’d initially rejected her offer.

Levi watched the two practicing their mermaid swimming. They weren’t wearing water wings this time, but Levi had made them promise not to go above their stomachs in the water, and he was watching them carefully to ensure neither went below the surface or struggled to swim.

Hange and Pieck were holding hands and walking down the beach together while Levi sun-tanned. The two were inseparable, and seeing them like this was just making him feel more and more desire to be with Zeke, while at the same time feeling grief over what could have been with Erwin.

“Mr. Ackerman!” Jean came running up the beach, Evelyn trailing behind him. “Mr. Ackerman, we saw a fish!”

“Wow,” Levi feigned shock.

“It was so little!” Evelyn giggled as she sat down on the sand next to her father. “It was only this big!”

She measured about two inches between her hands, and Levi rubbed her side gently, “Wow, Evie. That is little!”

“Is it time for sandwiches now?” Evelyn asked, her eyes wide with hope.

“Sure, honey,” Levi smiled as he turned to take the sandwiches out of the picnic basket they’d brought.

“Hey,” he heard a gruff voice from behind and turned to see a rather portly man glaring down at him. “What the hell d’you think you’re doing here?”

Levi swallowed thickly, moving to stand in front of the kids as he asked, “Excuse me?”

Levi wasn’t wearing a shirt, so his top surgery scars were showing, an indication that he was different from the other men on the beach. He heard his daughter whimper from the tone of the man’s voice, and his protective instincts were coming out.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the man glared. “And with children? Disgusting.”

Levi saw Hange and Pieck approaching out of the corner of his eye, and quickly turned to give Hange a ‘help me’ look. Hange immediately picked up their pace, going to stand next to Levi and crossing their arms over their chest.

“Can I help you, asshole?” Hange asked angrily.

“Back off, missy,” the man rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Levi held a hand over Hange’s chest, knowing they’d beat the shit out of this man if given the chance to. The man must’ve just wanted to make them uncomfortable and on edge, because after he’d said his piece, he started walking back down the beach.

“I’ll beat the ever-living shit out of him,” Hange growled under their breath. “Levi, let me do it.”

“No,” Levi snapped back. “Don’t cause a scene. It’ll just make things worse. Especially with the kids here.”

Evelyn was clinging to Levi’s leg, tears in her eyes as she asked, “Why was that man so mean, Dada?”

Levi bent down in front of the kids, noticing that Jean looked pretty shaken up too, “You see these?”

He pointed at the scars on his chest, and the children nodded as he continued, “Some people don’t like my scars. It makes them angry, and that’s not very nice of them.”

Evelyn whimpered, “But… But why come?”

Levi frowned, “Well, baby… it’s because some people think that men should only have a penis. But Dada doesn’t have one, so…”

“Mr. Ackerman,” Jean gasped, unable to help himself. “You don’t have a penis?”

Levi chuckled softly, “No. I have a vagina, but I’m a man. And some people think that’s wrong.”

“That’s not nice!” Evelyn immediately pouted, crossing her arms over her chest like Hange. “You’re my Dada! And… And you’re a man!”

Levi smiled at his daughter, kissing the top of her head, “That’s right, baby. Just because someone has a vagina doesn’t mean that they’re a woman, right?”

Evelyn nodded quickly, and Jean looked a little confused, the poor boy, but he nodded in agreement with Evelyn, “Yeah. That man was a big meanie!”

Evelyn reached out her arms and hugged Levi tight, “Are you okay, Dada?”

Levi hugged her back, and soon felt Jean trying to join in. He made room for both the kids and hugged them, “I’m okay, kids. I’m just glad you’re both okay too. I was worried he was going to hurt us.”

“He was scary,” Jean admitted. “But you were brave, Mr. Ackerman!”

“Yeah!” Evelyn agreed. “My Dada is so brave!”

Levi let the kids go, “Thank you, both of you. Now let’s eat those sandwiches and forget about that man, okay?”

August 1, 2028

Levi was out at the grocery store buying things for Evelyn’s birthday party the upcoming weekend. He’d taken the afternoon off to do so, and besides which, Mike was in town, and he and Nana were taking Evelyn to Chuck E. Cheese after school.

Evelyn was turning six, and Levi almost couldn’t believe it. She was becoming such a big girl. Thank god she seemed to have gotten Levi’s height and not Erwin’s in the melding of their DNA - he wouldn’t be able to handle a giant of a child, let alone carry her whenever she wanted. And how do you explain to a six-year-old that they’re too big to carry?

He was examining the cakes when he got a call from Zeke. He picked up probably a little faster than he should have. He was still very fond of the man, despite the fact that it’d been almost a full year since they’d last slept together. Levi had since brushed off the love comments that Jean had shared with him from Eren, as he hadn’t heard anything since that would make him suspect Eren’s words were the truth.

“Hello?” Levi answered.

“Hey, Levi,” Zeke murmured, sounding like he was a little stressed. “Are you busy?”

Levi wasn’t sure when he’d gotten to know Zeke so well, but he could sense the man’s stress within a second of talking to him. He supposed that time just did that with all friends… or, whatever he and Zeke were.

“Well,” Levi looked around at the different cakes, checking the prices and trying to figure out which would be best for his daughter. Evelyn had an obsession with purple, and there was a purple and blue cake that she might like. “I’m just at the store right now. Why, what’s up?”

“Uh,” Zeke mumbled sheepishly. “Well, um… it’s kind of my birthday today… and I was wondering if… if you want to come over?”

Levi stopped in his tracks, feeling the guilt wash over him. How could he have forgotten Zeke’s birthday was right before his daughter’s? It was on the first of the month - the easiest thing to remember! He felt awful for forgetting, and once he set the purple cake in the cart, he quickly apologized.

“Oh my god,” Levi sighed in annoyance at his own stupidity. “I’m so sorry, Zeke. I’ve just been super busy preparing for Evelyn’s party this weekend, it completely slipped my mind.”

“No no,” Zeke laughed awkwardly. “It’s not a big deal, Levi. I know kids’ birthdays come first. It’s just… my friends kind of bailed on our plans last minute… there was an emergency and they can’t come out anymore. So I thought maybe… if you’re not busy… we could watch a movie or something?”

Levi leaned against the cart and frowned, “Your family isn’t doing anything for your birthday?”

Zeke chuckled again, “Uh… well, no. Eren gets parties cause he’s a kid, but… I’m thirty-six now so… we don’t really celebrate other than maybe going out for a meal. But they’re busy this week so… we might go next week.”

36? Levi thought, suddenly remembering that he had a four-year age gap with the younger man. He was about to turn 40 this December, and was not particularly looking forward to it.

But Levi was feeling pretty awful now. Poor Zeke. Nobody was going to spend his birthday with him? Levi decided then and there that he was going to give Zeke a good birthday whether the man had asked him to or not. Levi began searching for a smaller cake that he could bring for the two of them to share.

“I’ll finish up grocery shopping and then I’ll come over, okay?” Levi explained. “Lynnie’s with her Uncle Mike and Auntie Nana for the evening so… I’m free tonight.”

“Oh,” Zeke replied, sounding pleasantly surprised. “That’d be great. I look forward to it. Thanks, Levi.”

“Of course, Zeke,” Levi said, placing a small vanilla cake with strawberries on it in the cart. “I’ll talk to you later.”

The two hung up, and Levi was on a mission now. He tried to recall from the conversations he’d had with Zeke over the time he’d known him, picking out his favorite snacks and even grabbing a bottle of wine that he thought Zeke might like.

He checked out the items at the self-checkout and headed home, hiding Evelyn’s birthday decorations in the front closet and putting her cake in the freezer where she wouldn’t be able to see or reach it.

Levi rushed into the bathroom and checked himself out in the mirror, running a comb through his hair and adjusting his clothes. He realized he was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, and quickly decided that wasn’t appropriate attire for a birthday. He went into the bedroom that he and Lynnie practically shared (though it was becoming more and more hers the older she got), searching the closet for some slacks and a nice button up. He settled on a pair of black chinos and a yellow floral button-up, going back and forth in his head about whether he was dressing up too much or not.

After finally figuring out his look, he spritzed on some cologne and assembled Zeke’s bottle of wine and the snacks into a gift bag with tissue paper, wanting it to be special. Levi knew what it was like to have your birthday forgotten - his was on Christmas, so his birthday had long been overshadowed by the holiday, though he didn’t really mind all that much. He supposed he was used to it by now.

Levi slid on his shoes and checked his hair one more time in the front foyer mirror before grabbing the cake and the gift bag and heading out the door to his neighbor’s. He knocked on the door with his foot, as his hands were preoccupied with holding the birthday items.

There was some light commotion inside the apartment before the door opened, and Zeke stood there, looking a little surprised at Levi at his door, all dressed up with a birthday cake and a gift. Levi was a little surprised too, if he was honest. Zeke was wearing light denim jeans with a partially-unbuttoned purple button-up. And he smelled amazing. Looks like they’d both gotten dressed up in preparation of seeing one another. Levi could feel his cheeks heating up at the thought.

“Levi,” Zeke breathed his name like it was a breath of fresh air. “You… You didn’t have to get me all that. How sweet of you.”

Levi smiled goofily, cursing himself internally for probably looking so stupid, “Oh… y-you’re welcome. Here.”

He held out the gift to Zeke, who took it with a smile and ushered Levi inside. As soon as the door closed, Levi couldn’t help but picture over a year ago when they’d first slept together - Zeke pressing him up against the door to Levi’s apartment and kissing him eagerly.

Levi shook the thought from his mind, thankful for once that he didn’t have a penis so that his excitement wasn’t so obvious. Levi followed Zeke into the living room and put the cake on the coffee table while Zeke sat on the couch and began to unwrap his gift.

He pulled out the snacks first, chuckling a little, “You remembered I like Taki’s? And dill pickle chips… my favorites!”

Levi smiled sheepishly, feeling just like his daughter had when she’d gifted Eren Mario Kart 8 back at his birthday party. Zeke pulled out more tissue paper before unearthing the bottle of wine, taking it out of the now-empty bag and examining it.

“Is… Is it a good one?” Levi asked insecurely. He didn’t know too much about wines - just that Zeke liked merlot and shiraz. He’d picked out a shiraz this time, one that was slightly more expensive than he’d usually pay for wine.

“Yeah,” Zeke grinned, reading the label. “This is a really good wine, Levi. Thank you so much. You know I love shiraz.”

Levi nodded, tucking his hair behind his ear nervously as he went to sit next to Zeke on the couch, trying to maintain a good distance between them. He feared if he even brushed up against Zeke, he might leap on him like a cat to its prey.

Zeke gave Levi a tender glance, his hand reaching to take Levi’s before it stopped and retreated, much to Levi’s own dismay. Zeke was holding back too, and there was this awkward yet sexual tension in the air between them.

“Well,” Zeke sighed, setting the wine on the table. “What should we do? I could pop on a movie, or we could sit out on the balcony and drink wine… eat some cake…”

“Let’s sit out on the balcony,” Levi suggested. “It’s a nice night out.”

Zeke nodded in agreement, “You take the cake and the wine out there, I’ll go grab some plates and glasses.”

Levi watched Zeke go off into the kitchen and stared after him, mesmerized for a second and remembering how good Zeke looked naked before snapping out of it and grabbing the cake in one hand and the wine bottle in the other. He walked out onto the balcony, the warm summer air wafting through his bangs as he took a seat at the table Zeke had out there.

Zeke came out balancing two plates, two wine glasses, a wine bottle opener, and a knife to cut the cake with. Levi took the knife from him before he hurt himself and opened up the cake box, starting to cut them each a slice.

Zeke opened the wine and poured them each a glass, taking a seat across from Levi as they wordlessly started eating the cake and sipping on the wine. Levi was pleasantly surprised. It was a good wine. He was proud of himself considering he’d had no clue what he was doing.

The two sat like that for a few minutes: just eating in silence, exchanging soft glances every once in a while. Levi knew they didn’t always need to talk to enjoy one another’s company. In fact, he was a little shocked when Zeke decided to start up a conversation with him.

“Levi…” Zeke murmured, and the tone of his voice frightened Levi a little. He knew that tone, and what was coming after it. They were about to have a serious talk, Levi could just tell from how he’d said his name.

“Yes?” Levi asked innocently, as though he had no idea what was coming.

“Levi, I…” Zeke sighed, taking a long sip of wine before setting the glass down on the table. “I seriously miss you.”

Levi opened his mouth to answer, to reject him swiftly and put an end to the conversation, but Zeke stopped him from doing so, continuing, “I know… I know I shouldn’t. But I can’t help it, and… and I know we swore we’d just be friends, but I… I can’t stop thinking about you. And… And every time I think I’ve gotten over you, you just drag me right back in.”

Levi could feel his cheeks heating up, and not from the wine. He swallowed thickly before whispering, “Zeke… please don’t do this. You know I can’t…”

“I know,” Zeke breathed heavily, sounding frustrated. “I know, Levi. I’m sorry, it’s just… I don’t think you understand. I… I think…”

Zeke cleared his throat and looked away from Levi before muttering something incoherent. Levi strained his ears to hear him, but didn’t quite catch what it was. Zeke glanced nervously at Levi to gauge his reaction, and that made Levi even more anxious as he tried to figure out what the man had said.

“Zeke,” Levi frowned. “What was that?”

“I said I think I’m in love with you,” Zeke repeated, clearer this time.

In fact, it was clear as a bell now, and Levi could feel the shock radiating through his body at this confession. He should’ve expected it, especially given what Jean had told him. But he really hadn’t thought the child knew what he was talking about (He guessed that was his own fault for choosing not to believe an innocent child who had nothing to hide).

“Zeke,” Levi shook his head slowly, setting down his wine glass as well as he tried to process what Zeke was telling him. “Zeke, you… you know I can’t. Please… Please don’t-”

“But Levi,” Zeke interrupted, a pleading look on his face. “Levi… you feel the same, don’t you? I… I can see it in your eyes when you look at me… and… and you showed up here tonight with all this… all dressed up just for my birthday… you know how much that means to me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Levi had probably overdone it a little with the birthday stuff and dressing so nicely. And he had done it with the intention of impressing Zeke, but also because he cared for the man and wanted to show that. But did he feel the same as Zeke? Levi wasn’t sure. He’d been avoiding processing those emotions for months now - a year at this point - and the more time he spent with Zeke the worse it got.

“Zeke…” Levi whimpered, tears coming to his eyes as he repeated. “Please don’t do this to me… you know I can’t do this.”

Zeke’s face fell, clearly disappointed but trying to hide it. He swallowed back some tears as well, and Levi brushed away the tears that had started to cloud his own vision. He took another long sip of wine as they sat their in silence, wallowing in the feelings they couldn’t discuss any further than they already had. Levi wouldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t put himself in that vulnerable position right now.

November 18, 2028

Three months. Levi hadn’t talked to Zeke in over three months. Well, aside from exchanging small talk whenever Eren and Evelyn wanted to go over to each other’s places, Zeke and Levi didn’t speak much past that. Since Zeke’s confession, Levi had been very depressed because, when he finally allowed himself to think on his feelings for Zeke, he came to the conclusion that he did feel the same way.

He spent a lot of time curled up on the couch or in bed, depending whether his daughter was home or not. He would curl up with a blanket on the couch and watch her while she was there, but when she was gone somewhere, he’d lay in bed and have a cry about what couldn’t be.

Levi had never experienced this type of emotion before, this longing. Sure, he’d longed for Erwin after his passing, but that was a different form of grief entirely. This was a longing that was within his reach, and he just couldn’t grab ahold of it.

They’d been ordering a lot more takeout, as Levi just couldn’t bring himself to cook as much as he had been before. He knew what this was - it was heartbreak. But he would endure any type of pain just to keep his daughter happy.

He was laying on the couch watching a children’s program with Evelyn while she played with some of her Legos. It was quiet apart from the sound of the TV and the drip of the faucet in the kitchen.

He just felt so empty inside. He knew he didn’t need a relationship to fulfill his life - it was just that Zeke meant a lot to Levi, and the fact that he hadn’t been spending that much time with the man was physically paining him.

If Evelyn had noticed the change in him, she hadn’t said anything. He was good at hiding things like this from her, and she was too little to know anyways. But his daughter would once again prove him wrong in his assumptions.

She stopped playing, looking up at her father and frowning. Evelyn got up off the floor and walked over to him, and he forced a smile, running his hand over her cheek affectionately. She smiled back, climbing onto the couch and cuddling up next to him. He scooted over to give her some room.

Levi wrapped an arm around her as she stared up at him with big puppy dog eyes. She was entirely too precious, and he felt his heart swell with love for her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“What is it, baby?” Levi asked, running his fingers through her long blonde hair.

“Dada…” Evelyn frowned up at him. “Why are you sad?”

Levi was a little surprised at her words, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of an excuse, “I… I’m not, baby.”

“Dada,” Evelyn scolded lightly. “It’s not nice to lie.”

She was right. Levi sighed a little. He just couldn’t hide things from his daughter - she always seemed to figure him out somehow. He hugged her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and felt her little hands rubbing his back in comfort.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Levi apologized. “Dada’s just… having a hard time right now. But everything’s going to be okay, yeah? I won’t be sad forever…”

Evelyn was still looking up at him with wide curious eyes, reaching up to hold his face in her hands as she asked, “Do you miss Mr. Jaeger?”

Levi instantly felt tears coming to the back of his throat as he swallowed them down. He didn’t know what to tell her. Yes, he did miss Zeke. But he didn’t want to upset Evelyn by admitting to that.

“I…” Levi muttered, knowing he couldn’t lie. “I do, but… but it’s okay, baby. I’ll get over it.”

Evelyn’s little fingers were haphazardly wiping away at the tears that were forming and threatening to spill down his cheeks, and he closed his eyes to revel in the feeling of being comforted like this by his daughter. It was incredibly sweet of her. She was only six, but she had such a big heart and so much love for him.

“Dada, it’ll be okay,” Evelyn murmured. “Don’t cry, Dada. I love you…”

Levi squeezed his eyes further shut in pain for a moment before he let out a shaky sigh and opened them again, giving her a sad smile, “I love you too, baby. You’re my favorite person in the whole world. Did you know that?”

Evelyn smiled up at him and hugged him tighter, “You’re my favorite person, Dada. In the whole wide world!”

Levi chuckled at that and kissed the top of her head, “I’m so glad, sweetheart. Do you want to help Dada make something for dinner? We could have Dino nuggets!”

She squealed in excitement and nodded, “Yeah!”

Levi smiled and sat up, bringing his daughter up with him. She settled in his lap, not letting go of him. Levi didn’t know what he’d done to deserve such a wonderful kid, but he was incredibly thankful for her, especially in moments like this.

October 23, 2029

Evelyn was arguing with Eren again. The seven-year-old girl was a little bossy sometimes, but Eren could be pretty bossy too. Jean and Mikasa merely waited the fight out, and Levi sighed as he got up and went to break it up.

“What are you two on about now?” Levi asked, kneeling down in front of the kids.

“I’m older!” Eren pouted. “So Evelyn should have to listen to me!”

Evelyn shot him a glare, “Nah uh! This is my house! So you have to listen to me!”

Levi sighed, used to these types of arguments by now, “Evelyn, Eren, that’s not necessarily true. What is it you two are disagreeing on?”

“He wants to play house,” Evelyn pointed at the boy, then to herself. “But I wanna be a princess!”

“I don’t wanna be a princess!” Eren argued. “And neither does Jean!”

Levi frowned, “Why don’t you two be knights or princes then?”

Eren stared at Levi for a moment, the idea clicking in his brain, “Oh… I guess that’s okay. Jean, we’ll be knights! Mikasa and Evie can be the princesses!”

“Good,” Levi got up. “You can play princesses and knights, and then when you’re done playing that, Lynnie, let Eren have a turn and you play house. Sound good?”

Evelyn jutted her lip out stubbornly, but nodded a little, “Okay…”

Levi went back to sit on the couch and watch the kids play in between episodes of The Office. Mikasa and Evelyn pretended to be princesses, dressing up in some princess outfits that Evelyn had in her toy chest.

The two boys pretended they were rescuing them from a tall tower, and soon another argument was brewing. Levi was getting irritated, but he tried to hide it. These kids were always fighting about one thing or another.

“I wanna save Evie!” Eren declared, but Jean had a problem with that as soon as it left his mouth.

“No,” Jean frowned. “You always get to save Evie when we play princesses and knights! I wanna do it this time!”

Evelyn sighed in annoyance, “But someone’s gotta save Mimi too!”

Eren walked over to Evelyn and lifted her into his arms, “I’m saving Evelyn.”

Jean glared at Eren, “She’s my best friend, Eren!”

Levi was preparing to intervene again when Mikasa whimpered, “What about me?”

The three kids turned to Mikasa to see her in tears at being forgotten, and Evelyn immediately hopped down from Eren’s arms and rushed to Mikasa, hugging her tight, “I’ll save you, Mimi. Those boys are too stupid to make up their minds anyway.”

Levi held back a laugh, sitting back on the couch and hiding his smile behind his hand. Mikasa quickly got over her tears and hugged Evelyn back, and Evelyn stuck her tongue out at the boys for making Mikasa cry.

“Sorry Mimi,” Eren mumbled sheepishly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Jean chimed in.

The kids continued to play knights and princesses, and got bored of the activity after a good twenty minutes, moving on to play house. Eren insisted that he be the dad and Evelyn the mom, and Levi was sensing a pattern. He could tell the little boy had a big crush on his daughter, or maybe even a crush that he hadn’t recognized himself yet. Even though they argued sometimes, Eren clearly liked the girl. He was always hugging her or holding her hand, sometimes playing with her blonde hair with a light blush on his face.

“No no,” Evelyn shook her head. “A family has two daddies. You and Jean can be the daddies, and Mimi and I are the kids.”

Eren’s face soured at the thought of being a dad with Jean, “No - I know your family has two daddies, but mine has a mommy and a daddy. And I want you to be the mommy, and I’ll be the daddy.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, remembering how she’d gotten her way with the princesses thing and huffing, “Fine. I’ll be the mommy.”

Eren looked quite pleased with himself, though Jean was glaring at Eren, and Mikasa didn’t look too thrilled either. He took Evelyn’s hand in his, “Well… mommies and daddies have to kiss to make babies. So if we want Jean and Mikasa to be our kids, we have to kiss.”

Evelyn stared at him for a long moment before ripping her hand away, “Nah uh! Daaaad!”

Levi looked up from his phone, as if he hadn’t been listening to the entire conversation, “Yes, baby?”

“How do mommies and daddies make a baby?” She asked.

Levi hadn’t been prepared for that question, and he stuttered, “U-Uh… well, baby… um…”

“They kiss right?!” Eren asked. “They kiss to make a baby!”

The kid wasn’t technically wrong - it usually started with kissing. But he wasn’t sure how to tell the children where babies came from, especially since he wasn’t sure what their parents wanted them to know. For Evelyn, he’d always managed to avoid that question, but now he was being faced with it.

“Uh… well yeah…” Levi tried, rendered almost speechless.

“I told you!” Eren exclaimed. “So we have to kiss, Evie.”

Evelyn frowned, crossing her arms, “Fine. One kiss.”

Eren looked far too giddy, and Levi was getting ready to stop them, thinking it was likely going to be a kiss on the cheek but realizing too late that Eren had other plans. He planted a smooch directly on Evelyn’s lips, and Evelyn turned a violent shade of red, apparently not thinking he meant a kiss on the lips either.

“Eren!” Levi scolded.

Eren looked over at Levi with some fear, and Evelyn was still reeling from the kiss, staring at Eren with wide eyes. Jean and Mikasa looked equally horrified, and soon Evelyn was running to Levi’s side, tears running down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to be pregnant!” She sobbed, and Levi was realizing now that his misinformation was just getting him into more and more trouble. “I don’t want to have a baby!”

Eren was still looking a little surprised at himself and scared by what he’d done, worried that Levi was going to yell at him. He ran and hid behind Jean and Mikasa, and the kids were all staring at Evelyn with concern and fear.

“Oh honey,” Levi lifted her onto his knee, trying to wipe her tears. “You won’t have a baby. You’re too little, sweetheart. That’s only for adults.”

Evelyn hiccuped, rubbing her eyes, “O-Oh… you p-promise? I don’t want a b-baby.”

Levi smiled and kissed her cheek, “I promise, honey. You’re not gonna have a baby. But Eren, please don’t kiss Evelyn. I don’t think she knew what you were going to do. You scared her.”

“I… I didn’t mean to…” Eren whimpered sheepishly. “I’m real sorry, Mr. Ackerman.”

“You should apologize to Evie,” Levi sighed, taking the seven-year-old off his lap and ushering her towards Eren, who was coming out of his hiding place behind his friends.

“I’m real sorry, Evie,” Eren frowned, walking over to Evelyn and taking one of her hands carefully. “I shouldn’t of kissed you…”

“It’s okay,” Evelyn sniffled, wiping her eyes. “Thank you for apologizing… just… just don’t kiss me again!”

Her expression turned to a glare once she’d calmed down enough, and Eren looked intimidated, “I… I won’t! I promise I won’t!”

Levi wasn’t sure he believed that. If Evelyn’s attitude towards Eren changed, perhaps the two would kiss again one day. But for now, he was glad that the kids were little, and that they were too young to want to start doing any of… that stuff. He was not looking forward to their teenage years, that was for sure.

February 19, 2030

Levi held Evelyn’s hand as they made their way through the cemetery. It was once again time for them to visit Erwin. They tried to at least twice a year - on Erwin’s birthday and then again on the anniversary of his death.

Eight years. It had been eight whole years since the worst day of Levi’s life. Evelyn was starting to understand more and more as she got older what it meant that her Papa was dead. She always had a multitude of questions for Levi, especially on the days they went to the cemetery.

She knew at seven that her Papa wasn’t coming back, but she didn’t really feel much of anything for him. It was sad to her, sure. But she didn’t feel the same gut-wrenching pain that Levi felt. She hadn’t known her Papa like Levi had - she’d never even met him, but she knew it was her Papa and that she should be sad.

“Dad?” Evelyn asked. She’d stopped calling him ‘Dada’ since she’d started first grade. It was embarrassing, she’d said, and though Levi was a little hurt that his daughter was once again growing up, he’d accepted it.

“Yes, baby?” Levi led her over to her father’s gravestone, bringing a bouquet of flowers with them.

“How did Papa die?” She asked.

She’d asked this before, and Levi always told her the same thing. He repeated it now, “He was real sick, baby. It was a sickness in his brain that took over, and he died from that.”

It wasn’t entirely false, but Evelyn must’ve known something was off about his response, because she wouldn’t stop asking the same question again and again. And he was going to keep answering the same way over and over, at least until she was a little older.

“Oh,” Evelyn frowned, standing in front of Erwin’s grave and looking down at it. She waved shyly, “Hi Papa…”

“Hi Erwin,” Levi greeted, setting the flowers in front of his grave.

“Can he really hear us, Dad?” Evelyn wondered.

“Yes,” Levi replied, though he wasn’t sure. He liked to think Erwin could hear them. But he obviously couldn’t be sure of that. He hoped it would reassure his daughter that Erwin was safe, wherever he was.

“Papa,” Evelyn rocked back and forth on her toes. “I’m getting real good grades in school. And I’m making lots of friends!”

Levi kissed the top of her head, “I’ll let you talk to your Papa for a bit, okay baby?”

Since Evelyn was getting older, Levi liked giving Evelyn some time alone at the headstone, wanting her to feel like she had her own personal connection with Erwin that wasn’t being interfered with by Levi. She nodded, plopping down in the grass in front of Erwin’s stone as Levi went off to walk around the cemetery.

He could hear her babbling on to her Papa, though he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He gave her a good ten minutes, until she’d run out of things to tell her father, and he walked back to the gravestone.

“Your turn!” She beamed up at him. “I told Papa all about my friends and what we’re learning at school!”

“That’s great, baby,” Levi smiled back at her. “Go wait in the car, sweetheart. I’ll be right there.”

Evelyn skipped off to the car, and Levi watched her until she was climbing into her carseat in the back of the car. He tore his gaze away to sit in front of Erwin’s grave, feeling those emotions of grief coming back to him.

“I’ve missed you,” Levi started. “You know that. I always miss you. Evelyn’s getting so big, isn’t she? She’s doing so well in school… I’m so proud of her, and I know you would be too… she really… I know she didn’t know you, but… I can tell she misses you. She gets nightmares sometimes about you… and I hear her playing with her toys and pretending you’re there with her. It… It breaks my heart, Erwin.”

Levi glanced over to the car to check that Evelyn was still there. She was. He turned back to the headstone and sniffled, “Erwin… I never thought I’d get this far without you here. I… I feel you with me everyday. And… And I know you’d want me to be happy. But… it’s hard sometimes. Evelyn really keeps me going. And knowing you’re with me… that helps a lot too.”

For the most part, he’d gotten through these visits without having a full meltdown. Sometimes he would cry, but he’d pull himself together before he got back in the car. His daughter was often able to tell when he’d been crying, but she never bothered him about it when she knew it was about her Papa. She was smart like that.

“I ask myself everyday what I could’ve done differently to ensure you’d still be here,” Levi murmured. “But I… I know it’s not my fault. I did what I could, and you wouldn’t want me to blame myself. Or… that’s what Hange tells me.”

Levi continued updating Erwin on several things: Evelyn’s kiss with Eren (which he told Erwin about begrudgingly), Evelyn dressing up as a superhero for Halloween, how his birthday and Christmas had gone, etc. He told Erwin his plans for the new year - how he was starting a new job soon, one that would hopefully pay him a little bit more.

“And Zeke,” Levi paused upon mentioning the man’s name. He’d been honest with Erwin about their relationship - he didn’t see a reason to lie or try to keep it from him. “We… We’re still just friends. Sure, sometimes I miss the relationship we had, but… but then again, I think it’s for the best that we’re just friends. And it’s what’s best for the kids too.”

Levi swallowed thickly. He wasn’t sure he meant all that. But it was true. He and Zeke hadn’t discussed anything about their feelings in a long, long time. Sometimes, he really did miss the relationship he’d been developing with Zeke prior to agreeing to just be friends. But he still spent some nights on the couch crying over the man while Evelyn slept in the bedroom by herself, unaware her father was so distraught over what could’ve been.

“But anyways,” Levi smiled sadly. “You know that nobody will ever compare to you, Erwin. You were my first true love, and you’ll always be in my heart. I’ll come visit in a few months, okay? I love you.”

Levi ran his fingers along Erwin’s name on the headstone. It was growing grimy and moss-covered, so Levi decided that next time he came he would bring cleaning supplies to make Erwin’s stone shiny and new again.

He got up slowly and headed back to the car, helping strap Evelyn into her carseat before getting in on the driver’s side and starting to drive away. He could see Erwin’s headstone disappearing from view in the mirror, and sighed heavily as they made their way out of the cemetery. His heart was aching. Even after eight years, it still felt like Erwin had died just yesterday.

August 8, 2030

Evelyn gasped, an excited smile coming to her face when she came out of her bedroom that morning to see her birthday presents sitting out on the table. She was turning eight, and Levi was both excited but sad to see her growing up. She was really starting to grow into herself - her personality becoming more bold and her ideas about the world more pronounced.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart!” Levi cheered, placing a plate of blueberry pancakes with a candle in the middle on the coffee table.

Evelyn giggled happily and sat on the couch next to Levi, “Thank you, Dad. Can I blow out the candle?”

“Yes, baby,” Levi smiled. “But make a wish first!”

She picked up the plate, closing her eyes before blowing out the candle. She opened her eyes and took the candle out, and Levi took it from her before handing her the fork. He wondered what her wish was. Maybe it was something deep, or perhaps something simple like wanting a new bike or something.

“Do you want to open your gifts now or do you want to eat first?” Levi asked, rubbing her back gently.

“Open gifts!” She decided.

Levi took the plate from her and set it aside. They could always reheat it in the microwave. Evelyn had always been excited to open gifts, so he wasn’t really surprised by her answer. She went to open the first gift when there was a loud knock on the door.

Levi frowned and got up to answer it. He wasn’t expecting anybody. He walked to the door and opened it, seeing Eren and Zeke standing there. It had just been Zeke’s birthday on the first, and Pieck’s on the fifth, so they’d had a joint birthday party on the third where they’d invited Levi and other friends to an arcade bar.

Eren was holding a gift, staring at his shoes and completely red in the face. Levi looked down at him before exchanging a glance with Zeke, who was grinning like an idiot. Levi didn’t understand at first what was going on.

Evelyn appeared in the doorway next to Levi, smiling, “Eren! It’s my birthday today!”

“I know,” the nine-year-old mumbled, holding out the gift to her. “Here.”

Zeke chuckled and put his hands on Eren’s shoulders, “Eren saved up his allowance money to get you a gift, Evie.”

Eren blushed even worse, glaring up at Zeke and grumbling, “Zeke- that’s embarrassing!”

Levi couldn’t help but chuckle as well, finding the entire situation a little cute. Eren was clearly smitten, and though Levi wasn’t really thrilled it was with his daughter, he did think it was sweet that Eren had saved up his money to buy Evelyn a gift.

Evelyn grinned, “Can I open it?”

“Yeah…” Eren nodded sheepishly, rubbing his arm with his opposite hand.

Evelyn unwrapped the gift, which was a small box, and opened the box to reveal a cute bracelet with various animal charms on it. Evelyn loved animals, and she was starting to get into makeup and jewelry too at this age, so she was very excited about the bracelet.

“It’s so pretty!” She gasped, looking up at Levi. “Look Dad! It’s a charm bracelet!”

“Wow, baby,” Levi faked a smile. “It’s beautiful.”

Part of him was very overprotective of his little girl, but the other part of him knew that he shouldn’t be an overbearing dad - that his daughter could make her own decisions. He’d raised her to know how to protect herself and make her own choices, and he wouldn’t go back on that now. Plus, as annoying as Eren could be, he was a pretty good kid for the most part, and Levi had no real reason to dislike him.

“I… I thought it’d be pretty on you,” Eren practically whispered, staring down at the floor.

“I love it!” Evelyn took it out of the box. “Can you put it on for me?”

Eren was only getting redder by the second, but he nodded and took it out of the box, putting it on Evelyn’s wrist carefully and closing the clasp. She giggled happily and threw her arms around Eren, hugging him tight.

“Thank you, Eren!” She said, not catching on to how nervous the poor boy was.

“O-Oh,” Eren stuttered. “Uhhh… you’re welcome.”

Evelyn pulled away, kissing his cheek swiftly. Levi watched the little boy light up bright red, if he wasn’t red enough already, and he stared at her with wide eyes, stuttering, “O-Oh… um… we gotta go now. Have a good birthday!”

Eren grabbed Zeke’s hand and started dragging him back to the apartment, and Zeke laughed, calling back down the hall, “Happy birthday, Evie!”

“Thank you!” Evelyn replied cheerfully, waving at them before heading back into the apartment.

Levi was frowning as he closed and locked the door. The kids were starting to grow up, and Eren and Evelyn were starting to develop feelings for each other, even this young. He hadn’t thought things would happen this quickly, but he did suppose his little girl was eight now. She was growing up so fast.

December 3, 2030

Evelyn walked in from school with tears running down her face, and Levi was immediately in a panic. What had happened? Did she get into trouble? Did she get hurt? Did someone hurt her?

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Levi asked, holding out his arms. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Evelyn set down her backpack and ran into Levi’s arms, sniffling and rubbing her eyes, “These girls on the bus were really mean to me.”

Levi hugged her close, “Oh no. What did they say?”

Evelyn rubbed her nose with her fist, sniffing, “They… They made fun of me cause… cause…”

She looked down at her lap, appearing a little embarrassed. Levi frowned, “What is it, baby? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Evelyn nodded a little, sucking in a deep breath, “They made fun of me cause I… I don’t wear bras yet.”

Levi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Bras? He thought. Isn’t she a little too young for all that?! Levi hadn’t expected them to talk about bras until she was at least ten, not eight! But he knew he had to be prepared for anything as a parent, and maybe eight was an appropriate age to start talking about all this. After all, she was growing up, and some girls matured earlier than others.

“Honey,” Levi sighed. “You don’t need bras yet… you’re not… erm… growing there yet. Some girls do earlier than others, so that’s why those girls might be wearing them already. You’re still growing, and you’ll need them too one day, but not yet, okay?”

He was trying desperately to remember what his childhood had been like, but he’d known from a very young age he was a boy, so he didn’t remember much about when he’d gotten his first bra, when he’d started wearing makeup, etc. He didn’t really do a lot of those things.

“But…” Evelyn whimpered. “Can’t we just… Can’t we just get some so they won’t make fun of me anymore?”

Levi wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to give in to the bullies by giving Evelyn the thing they were making fun of her for being without. But he wanted to give his daughter what she wanted, and he also didn’t want her to get bullied anymore.

“How about this?” Levi decided. “The next time we go to the store we can look, okay? But for now, you just keep your chin up and ignore those girls, okay? Some people can be cruel, but we don’t want to give them our time of day, yeah?”

Evelyn nodded sadly, clinging to Levi, “I just feel like… like I’m not gonna ever grow. I’m so little, and everyone is taller than me. A lot of the girls are starting to wear bras and make-up, and I’m too little…”

Levi frowned. He knew from talking to Mikasa’s mom on the phone that Mikasa was already wearing bras (he’d specifically asked her for recommendations because he figured he’d need to know in the near future). It didn’t help that a lot of Evelyn’s friends were one year older than her, so they were starting to mature faster than she was. Levi was also cursing his genes, as he remembered also being small for his age, and getting made fun of for it.

“Well,” Levi comforted her by rubbing her back soothingly. “Some people take a little longer to grow, and that’s okay. You might just be a late bloomer, baby. You’re not even eight and a half yet, so give it some time.”

“Okay,” Evelyn let out a frustrated sigh, looking disappointed. Levi hugged her close and kissed the top of her head.

April 17, 2031

Levi was busy typing away an email on his computer, working from home, when he got a call. He recognized the number as Evelyn’s school, and immediately picked up, worried that something might’ve happened to his daughter.

“Hello?” Levi greeted.

“Is this Mr. Ackerman-Smith - Evelyn’s father?” The voice on the other end asked.

“Yes,” Levi answered quickly, eager to know what was going on. “Is something wrong?"

“Your daughter is fine,” the voice reassured him. “This is Principal Stewarts. I’m calling because I have your daughter sitting here in the office. She’s in a bit of trouble.”

Levi’s heart sunk into his stomach, “What?! What happened?”

“Well,” the principal explained. “She was out on the playground with her friends, and punched a young boy in the stomach. We’d like you to come down to the school and pick her up if you can. She’s been suspended for the day.”

Levi frowned, getting up and grabbing his keys off the hook. This didn’t sound like something Evelyn would do unless she had good reason. He knew his daughter, and she wasn’t the violent type. In fact, he’d specifically taught her how to punch somebody, but only if she was in danger.

“Why did she punch him?” Levi asked.

“She said he tried to kiss her,” the principal continued. “But we don’t feel that’s an acceptable reason to carry out violence. She should’ve come to find a teacher.”

Levi immediately found himself in disagreement, but he refrained from arguing over the phone with the woman, instead saying, “We’ll speak when I get there. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

He hung up the phone and drove to the school, phoning his manager to say he’d be off for the afternoon. He was lucky to have a job where he could do something like that, but he supposed it was also because he had sick time saved up.

Levi pulled into the school visitor’s parking lot and went to check in at the front desk, being ushered into the principal’s office where his daughter sat, eyes red as though she’d been crying since she’d gotten in trouble.

Levi immediately went to her side, kneeling in front of her and holding her by her upper arms, “I’m here, honey. Tell me exactly what happened.”

He was ignoring the principal for the moment, believing she was the cause for his daughter’s distressed state. He cared more about his daughter’s well-being than making nice with the principal.

“Well I… I was playing with Mimi…” Evelyn explained. “And an older boy came up and tried to make me kiss him! He… He grabbed my arm when I said no so I… I punched him real good in the stomach. Just like you taught me.”

Levi smiled and ruffled her hair, “Atta girl. I’m proud of you, baby. You’re not in trouble with me, don’t worry. Are you hurt?”

Evelyn turned over her left arm to reveal finger-sized bruises where the boy had grabbed her, and he must’ve grabbed her hard. Levi immediately felt angry, not caring that the other boy was probably only nine or ten, and wanting to curse the kid out for grabbing his daughter that way.

“It’s okay,” Levi examined the bruise. “It’ll be okay, baby. I’m going to take you home and we’ll put some ice on it, yeah?”

Evelyn nodded, and the principal cleared her throat, “Um… sir? Please… take a seat.”

Levi took a seat next to his daughter, holding her hand to show her he was still on her side even if he was talking to the principal. He gave the principal a cold stare, waiting for her to speak.

“We’re trying to decide how to best proceed with the situation. Your daughter could have up to a week’s suspension for carrying out violence against another student,” she explained, and Levi could feel his blood boiling.

“He carried out violence against her first!” Levi exclaimed, holding up Evelyn’s arm with the bruise marks. “She’s got bruises! No wonder she punched the kid! She was defending herself!”

“We don’t condone any violence,” the principal sighed. “We’ll consider bringing discipline against the boy as well given the bruises.”

Levi growled, “You mean you’re not disciplining him already?!”

“No, sir,” the principal frowned. “We didn’t realize your daughter was bruised.”

“This is ridiculous,” Levi stood up, picking up Evelyn and holding her on his hip (though she was starting to get far too big for him to do that now-a-days). “Evelyn will be taking a week off school. She’ll be back next week, and if I ever find out someone laid hands on her and nothing was done to the culprit, I will come down here and yell at the damn kid myself.”

With that, Levi left the office and then the building, starting his way down the path to the car. Evelyn was clinging to him, sniffling and mostly staying quiet. He was hoping he hadn’t scared her by getting angry. He’d just been so furious that the school somehow deemed it appropriate to punish his daughter for merely defending herself.

He strapped her into her carseat and got into the driver’s seat, pulling out of the parking lot. Evelyn whimpered, “Am I really in trouble, Dad?”

“No, baby,” Levi looked at her through the rear view mirror. “Not with me. Even if the school considers that a suspension, it’s not going to be on your records. Don’t worry about it, honey. They’re in the wrong here, not you.”

Evelyn nodded solemnly, “I… I didn’t mean to punch him…”

“Baby,” Levi stopped at the stop sign and turned around to look at her. “Look at me, honey. You did nothing wrong. You did exactly what I taught you to, and I’m very proud of you. I don’t want you to feel bad about it, okay?”

Evelyn sniffled and nodded again, “Okay. Thanks Dad.”

Levi turned back around and started driving again, and the car ride was fairly silent, until Levi approached the McDonald’s near their apartment. He knew Evelyn loved chicken nuggets, and though he wasn’t the biggest McDonald’s fan, he could appreciate their fries at least. He pulled into the drive thru, looking at Evelyn through the rear view mirror.

“What do you want, baby?” Levi asked. “A happy meal with chicken nuggets and chocolate milk?”

Evelyn had been staring at her lap, but she looked up when she heard Levi’s question, realizing where they were and starting to cheer up a bit, “Oh… yes please!”

Levi ordered her happy meal and got himself fries and a double cheeseburger, paying for the food and retrieving it at the window. He handed Evelyn her food and watched her kick her legs happily as she began to eat, a smile now on her face.

Levi started driving to the apartment, grabbing a few fries and nibbling on them. He was still pissed off by how the school had handled that whole situation, but he was glad to at least see a smile on his daughter’s face now.

September 12, 2031

Levi didn’t like this one bit. He, Pieck, and Evelyn were at the nearest mall picking out bras. Despite being nine, Evelyn was… maturing faster than he had at that age. Probably something to do with Erwin’s side of the family. He knew he certainly hadn’t needed bras this early.

He felt completely out of place in the pre-teen section, and Evelyn looked equally as uncomfortable. But Pieck was thriving in this environment - she and Hange were in the works of adopting a little girl who was about four, and Pieck was already so excited to be a mom that as soon as she’d heard from Hange about Evelyn needing to go bra-shopping, she’d asked if Levi wanted someone who knew more about it to come with. After all, Hange was nonbinary, and Levi was trans, so there was a lot of discomfort around this subject for them both.

“What color do you want, sweetie?” Pieck asked, starting to look at the different training bras they had. “We can start with color and then we’ll pick out a bunch of different sizes and try them on.”

Nine-year-old Evelyn looked entirely too nervous to be making decisions, but she sheepishly croaked out, “I… I like purple… or maybe blue?”

“Okay, baby,” Pieck smiled, on a mission to make this day great for Evelyn, even though it was very awkward for the little girl.

Levi supposed that was probably his fault. Though he’d fostered an open communication between the two of them, he was still a little strange when it came to girl things, probably because he’d grown up rejecting girl things his entire childhood.

“We’ll get you a white, black, and nude colored set,” Pieck decided. “And then you can pick a set that has different colors. Ooh, I think I see a purple one!”

Levi stuck his hands in his pockets, and Evelyn stayed by his side, looking embarrassed. Levi didn’t want her to feel that way. As uncomfortable as the situation might’ve been, he knew this wasn’t something she should feel ashamed over, and he needed to confirm that she knew that too.

He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands into his own, “Lynnie. You don’t have to be embarrassed, baby. I know it’s all… very new and scary to grow up, but Auntie Pieck knows what she’s doing, and she’s going to help you through this part of getting older, okay? I may not always know what I’m doing, but I’ll be here to support you no matter what.”

Evelyn smiled a little and nodded, squeezing her father’s hands, “Okay Dad…”

“You’d better go with her so you can try stuff on,” Levi kissed the backs of her hands sweetly. “You pick out whatever you want, honey.”

Levi didn’t really have the money for her to pick out whatever she wanted, but he had saved aside some money for her to get some new clothes, so he’d just have to budget this in. He wanted her to have the best. He knew the girls had gym class and changed in a locker room together, Evelyn had told him that, so he knew that she had some anxiety around the other girls seeing her without a bra. He hoped this would help.

“Levi, you wait out here,” Pieck instructed, holding about a dozen training bras and ushering Evelyn towards a changing room. “We’ll be right back.”

Levi nodded, watching them go off to the changing room. He realized it might look odd for him to stand in the pre-teen girls section by himself, so he wandered off towards the men’s section, figuring Pieck would text him when they were done.

He immediately heard a familiar voice whine, “This is embarrassing! I don’t need new underwear!”

“Look,” a deeper voice said. “Mom asked me to take you boy’s shopping, and that means new underwear.”

Levi turned towards the boy’s section across the way and saw Zeke and Eren, the ten-year-old boy being forced to pick out some new underwear and undershirts by his older brother. Levi immediately went to hide - he figured Eren would be even more embarrassed if he saw someone he knew, but he and Zeke made eye contact almost immediately.

“Levi!” Zeke smiled, and Levi smiled awkwardly before making his way over towards the two to say hi.

Eren looked incredibly embarrassed to be caught buying underwear, and Levi was planning to not reveal what Evelyn was here for either - he knew she would kill him if he told Zeke and Eren that she was bra shopping. Plus, it probably wasn’t appropriate for them to know anyways.

“What are you doing here?” Zeke grinned, greeting Levi with a hug.

“Oh, Evelyn and Pieck are clothes-shopping,” Levi explained as he pulled away. “They’re in the fitting room.”

“Evelyn’s here?” Eren perked up at that, still partially-hiding behind his brother.

Levi refrained from rolling his eyes as he nodded. Zeke chuckled, “We’re just picking up some stuff for Eren. Don’t tell Evie we’re in the underwear section, I think Eren would die from embarrassment.”

“Zeke!” Eren whined in protest, and Levi had to hold back a smirk. It was a little comical to see the boy so embarrassed over buying something as normal as underwear, though to a ten-year-old boy with a crush, Levi supposed it was probably very humiliating, just like it would be if the Jaeger brothers found out what Evelyn was really here for.

“I won’t tell, don’t worry,” Levi teased, and Eren visibly relaxed at that.

“Dad!” He heard Evelyn calling him, and soon the nine-year-old rushed up behind him. “Can we get these ones?”

She was holding a set of three training bras in one hand, and as soon as she saw Eren her eyes widened and she hid them behind her back. They’d definitely seen, but Zeke pretended like he hadn’t noticed.

He cleared his throat, “Hi Evie! How are you?”

“I’m good, Mr. Jaeger,” Evelyn smiled nervously, rocking back and forth on her toes. “How are you?”

Eren was beat red all over again, practically hiding behind Zeke. The whole situation was quite funny in retrospect, but in the moment Levi knew both the kids were probably very embarrassed, and that just made the situation incredibly awkward for the adults to navigate.

“Good!” Zeke replied. “We’ll let you get back to your shopping, okay?”

Evelyn nodded, but before they could walk away, Eren piped up, “E-Evie!”

She turned to look at him, “Yeah?”

Eren was looking everywhere but Evelyn’s face, “U-Um… are… are you still coming over to play video games on Wednesday after school?”

Evelyn nodded, a smile appearing on her face, “Yeah! I’ll be there! We can take the bus together!”

Eren grinned stupidly, “O-Oh… okay cool. See you then.”

Levi and Zeke exchanged a knowing look before they said their goodbyes, and Levi ushered his daughter back over to Pieck in the bra section. Evelyn seemed particularly unfazed given the fact that Zeke and Eren had just discovered them bra shopping, but Levi assumed she hadn’t really caught on to the fact that Eren had a crush on her yet. And it sure would be interesting when she finally figured that out.

January 30, 2032

Evelyn came back from school that day all red in the face and anxious. At first, Levi worried that someone had harassed her again like that boy had last school year. Evelyn immediately set down her backpack and raced back to the bedroom they used to share - that had now basically become Evelyn’s room. Levi mostly slept on the couch. They’d gotten a new one with a pull-out bed, but sometimes Levi was too tired to even pull all that out, and he’d just sleep on the couch.

Levi frowned and got up to follow Evelyn back to her room, seeing her shut the door. He wasn’t one to pry. He let her have her privacy when she needed it, but he was curious as to why she looked so embarrassed. He wanted to make sure she was alright.

“Lynnie?” Levi knocked on the door. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s… It’s fine, Dad!” Evelyn whimpered. “I’m fine!”

Levi wasn’t buying that. He knocked again, “Can I come in?”

There was a loud sigh from the other side of the door before his daughter opened it, “What is it?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Levi insisted. “You seem upset.”

Evelyn huffed, “I’m fine, Dad…”

He could sense the teenage attitude starting to form even at nine.

“Did somebody hurt you?” Levi asked with concern. “You know you can tell me anything, Lynnie.”

He wasn’t sure when they’d started keeping secrets from one another, though Levi supposed that was all part of getting older. She would probably have her secrets, just like he had his, and that was just how things would be.

Evelyn went over to her bed and sat down on the edge, crossing her arms, “It’s just… I guess Eren has a crush on me…”

Ah, so she had finally discovered Eren’s crush. Levi wondered what it was that had notified her of such a thing. He was about to open his mouth when Evelyn continued, “And so does Jean…”

Now that he didn’t really know. Sure, Jean and Eren had fought over Evelyn a couple of times, but Levi had just thought that it was on friendly terms rather than romantic ones. His eyes widened slightly, and all that could come out of his mouth was a surprised: “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Evelyn whimpered, drawing her knees up to her chest.

“Well, what happened, baby?” Levi asked as he walked into the room. He went to sit next to her on her bed, wrapping an arm around her in comfort.

“Eren asked me to be his girlfriend at lunch today,” Evelyn explained. “And Jean got really upset. He started telling Eren that we were too young to be boyfriend and girlfriend, Eren accused him of liking me too and being jealous… so they started fighting… the teachers had to break it up and send them to the principal’s office.”

Levi was even more shocked by that. The boys had fought over his daughter? Evelyn was clearly upset by this. Her two best friends confessing their feelings and then having a fight over her was probably hard for her to deal with. She was nine going on ten, she wasn’t supposed to be dealing with drama like this. But having older friends, and ones that liked her in that way meant that she had to abandon a little bit of her childhood, which Levi didn’t like. She should be playing video games or watching Disney movies, not dealing with boy trouble.

“Well, baby,” Levi rubbed her back soothingly. “I’m really sorry that happened today. That sounds really upsetting. Are you okay?”

Evelyn sniffled and shook her head, leaning it against Levi’s shoulder and letting him comfort her, “No. I feel bad. I didn’t really say anything to stop them…”

Levi shook his head, “That’s not your responsibility, baby. It’s not your job to stop them.”

Evelyn nodded, clinging to Levi’s arm like she used to when she was a toddler. It made Levi’s heart swell, and he held her closer, kissing the top of her head. She rubbed her eyes, sighing in frustration.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Do I… Do I have to date Eren?” She asked quietly. “Do I have to be his girlfriend?”

Levi frowned, “No honey. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. And you’re still little, sweetheart. You don’t need to be thinking about boyfriends right now, especially if that’s not something you want.”

“Okay,” Evelyn smiled sadly, looking up at Levi. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Levi smiled back.

May 2, 2032

“So I… I have to use which button to look around?” Levi asked in confusion, holding the PS5 controller.

Mike and Nanaba had gotten Evelyn a PS5 this past Christmas. Levi had been secretly furious that they would spend that money, of course, but his daughter played a lot of Minecraft and Roblox with her friends (previously on Eren’s Nintendo Switch), and Levi wouldn’t have been able to afford it himself anyways.

She was teaching him how to play Minecraft now, and Levi had never felt so old and confused in his life. Sure, he was only 43, but when he was growing up in the 90s there was nothing like this. It seemed like a pretty simple game, but Levi hadn’t actually sat down and played it until now, and he was admittedly a little lost.

“This one,” Evelyn pointed to the left control stick. “And the right one is for walking. I’ll teach you running when you figure that out.”

Levi rolled his eyes at the subtle jab, “Listen, I’m trying my best.”

Evelyn giggled, and Levi watched her character on the screen going around to cut down trees and collect wood. He didn’t really understand the purpose of this game, but he was going to learn how to play it for the sake of his daughter.

“See this?” Evelyn showed him a cube house made of wood. “I made this - it’s my house!”

“Wow,” Levi didn’t even have to feign surprise, he genuinely didn’t know how she’d made that. He was still figuring out how to use the controller, let alone cut down wood and build a whole house.

Evelyn smiled, “Follow me, Dad. I wanna show you the pandas. They’re on the other side of the island.”

Levi watched her character walk off on her screen, and started to following something moving on his, assuming it was her. He was looking mostly at the ground, trying to watch his step, and he continued on for five minutes, until his daughter’s character looked around and he was nowhere to be seen.

“Dad, where are you?” Evelyn asked. “I thought you were following me.”

“I am!” Levi insisted.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and took the controller from him, making the character look up, “Dad, you’ve been following a sheep.”

“Oh,” Levi frowned as he took back the controller.

His daughter erupted into a fit of giggles, and he couldn’t help but join in with the laughter. He’d been following a sheep for a good five minutes - that was pretty funny. Evelyn seemed to find it hilarious, and he was sure this was one her friends were going to hear about.

“You’re funny, Dad,” Evelyn said as she finally calmed down, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Levi chuckled and kissed the top of her head, “I’m glad my struggling amuses you.”

Evelyn laughed again, going back to find his character in the game so she could lead him to wherever these damn pandas were. Eventually he started getting the hang of it, but he really struggled in the beginning. He discovered he was a farming boy - once he understood the controls all he wanted to do was corral animals and plant crops. Evelyn found this very amusing, as she was off mining and fighting spiders and creepers.

Levi got nervous every time she encountered an enemy, worried she would die. He knew it was only a game, but he still didn’t like the thought of her dying, real or not. She was pretty good at the game though, and they were playing on easy mode, so she’d come across an enemy and easily defeat it. Overall, he was just happy to spend time with his daughter.

July 15, 2032

Levi gasped and moaned, clinging to the edge of the kitchen countertop as he was plowed from behind. He’d met a stranger at the bar that night, and Evelyn was sleeping over with Eren, Jean, and Mikasa at the Jaegers, so he’d decided to let the man come home with him.

“You feel so good,” the man, Onyankopon, murmured as he continued fucking him. “Does it feel good?”

“Yeah,” Levi huffed, pushing back against him. “Oh fuck… yeah it does.”

Sure, he’d sworn off sex and relationships since Zeke, but he had to indulge in his needs every once in a while. And Onyankopon seemed like a very nice guy, someone he wasn’t interested in romantically but was definitely attracted to. With Zeke there had been feelings involved, and this was different. This was just fooling around, and he figured he could do that as long as his daughter didn’t see.

“God, Levi,” Onyankopon sighed, clinging to Levi’s hips and bringing him back onto his cock. “You’re so gorgeous. Look at you.”

Levi moaned, tossing his head back and mewling at the praise, “Fuck… Oh fuck!”

“Are you cumming?” He asked, reaching around to stroke at Levi’s cock.

“Y-Yes,” Levi whimpered, the pleasure building in his stomach as he felt those deft fingers rubbing at him.

“Shit…” Onyankopon groaned, spilling into the condom as Levi cried out and came against his fingers. “Fuck…”

Onyankopon pulled out slowly, patting Levi appreciatively on the ass, “That was… damn.”

Levi sighed contently and straightened up, turning to give the man a grateful kiss to the cheek. He’d really needed that. Onyankopon seemed like an incredibly sweet guy. He’d asked Levi the whole way home if he was sure this was what he wanted, if he was sober, etc. Levi had only had one drink, and he was very sure of what he wanted.

Levi started to clean himself up with some tissues and pull his clothes back on, Onyankopon doing the same. He discarded the condom in the trash, and Levi made a mental note to take that trash out before Evelyn got home. He didn’t want her to accidentally see something she didn’t need to at her age.

There was a knock on the apartment door, and Levi frowned, muttering, “I’ll be right back.”

He could only think of one person who would bother him this late at night: Zeke. And he was right. He opened the door to see Zeke standing there, a small smile on his face. Levi hoped there wasn’t any evidence of what he’d been up to. He ran a hand through his hair to fix it, adjusting his shirt.

“Hey Levi,” Zeke greeted. “Sorry to bother you. I’m making a late night treat. Do you have any eggs? I’m out and I need two. I’ll bring you back some cookies when I’m done making them.”

Levi nodded a little, “Uh… sure. Hold on.”

He walked into the kitchen where Onyankopon was getting his pants on, grabbing two eggs and walking back to the door. He handed them over to Zeke, seeing his eyes widen slightly at something over his shoulder.

Levi turned to see Onyankopon shirtless behind him, asking politely, “Erm… Levi? I’m sorry, can I use your shower?”

Levi blushed horribly at the implication of Zeke seeing Onyankopon shirtless in his foyer, asking to use his shower. Levi swallowed thickly, nodding, “Y-Yeah. Go ahead. Towels are in the hall closet.”

Onyankopon thanked him and walked off, and Levi turned back to Zeke, whose mouth was hanging open a little. Levi cleared his throat, “U-Uh… sorry, Zeke… I-”

“It’s fine,” Zeke interrupted, laughing nervously. “It’s fine, Levi. No problem. I… I’ll see you later, alright? I’ll bring you some cookies tomorrow or something.”

He didn’t even wait for Levi to respond. He simply walked back down the hall and went into his apartment. Levi slowly closed the door, feeling a little guilty. He locked the door and went back to the couch, starting to get the pull-out bed ready for them. He stayed out of the bedroom for the most part - it was pretty much Evelyn’s now.

Onyankopon came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, dressed in boxers and ready to climb into bed. Levi let the man snuggle up to him, hugging onto the arm that wrapped around his waist.

“You okay?” He asked. “You seem upset.”

“I’m fine,” Levi lied, feeling sick to his stomach.

He knew Zeke was probably upset, and he wanted to go after him and comfort him immediately, tell him he was sorry and that he hadn’t meant for Zeke to see that. He knew he shouldn’t feel bad. He was an adult, and he hadn’t promised Zeke he wouldn’t sleep with someone else. But he knew that if he were in Zeke’s position, he’d feel awful.

But Onyankopon wasn’t close with him like that, so he didn’t push any further. He fell asleep far before Levi, who was up tossing and turning as he thought about how Zeke was probably feeling about what he’d seen.

September 14, 2032

Zeke refused to speak to Levi for a while after that, and Levi continued to sleep with strangers, Onyankopon included. Onyankopon had become a friends-with-benefits sort of person who didn’t have any emotional attachments to Levi. Levi always made sure these men came over when Evelyn wasn’t home, so she didn’t have to see any of that or wonder about her father’s love life.

Levi tried to pretend like it didn’t bother him that Zeke was pointedly avoiding him. But it did. He spent many nights on the couch wondering if he should go knock on Zeke’s door directly—try to speak to him. He wasn’t sure that would go over well, though. He figured it was better to just let Zeke be angry at him, wait until he calmed down before having a conversation with him.

Evelyn had sensed something was off between Zeke and her father, but she didn’t say anything. She continued to hang out with Eren, and Levi and Zeke didn’t cause any problems despite their clear avoidance of one another.

But it couldn’t be avoided forever.

It had been so long since Levi had been to any type of adult drinking party. He didn’t know how to act… how to dress… ultimately, he was a nervous wreck. Hange and Pieck were throwing somewhat of a ‘rager’ at their place, and Levi was spending the night there so he could get as fucked up as he wanted. Evelyn was at the Jaeger’s house with Eren and Mikasa.

What he didn’t expect when he walked into the party, though, was to immediately run into Zeke. He knew Zeke and Pieck were friends, but he thought Hange might have the foresight to warn him that his neighbor and former lover might be at this gathering.

Zeke was leaning against the wall, sipping a beer while being chatted up by a man Levi didn’t recognize. He didn’t look particularly interested in whatever the guy was saying, anyway. The two made awkward eye contact before they both looked away.

“Levi!” Hange cheered, throwing an arm around his shoulder. They were already tipsy—Levi could tell from the alcohol on their breath.

“Hey,” Levi huffed. “Where’s the booze?”

He sorely needed a drink.

Hange laughed before dragging him to the kitchen where Pieck was busy refilling one of the drink pitchers at the counter. He watched Hange walk up behind her and wrap their arms around her from behind, delivering a kiss her to her cheek. Pieck lit up with a light blush before giggling and turning to make out with Hange.

Levi rolled his eyes, unsurprised that the two lovebirds were so enamored with one another that they’d forgotten about him. He poured himself a brandy and started sipping on it, wandering the halls of the party to see if he could find Hange’s black cat, Pickles.

Though they didn’t have pets, he liked cats—usually more than people. He found Pickles sitting on the couch amongst the chaos, and sat down next to her to give the sweet girl some attention.

As Levi sat there and occupied the cat, his thoughts turned to Zeke again. He went between petting the cat, getting another drink, and thinking of how he might have to talk to Zeke tonight.

After a while, he stood up, the world spinning around him. How many brandies had he drank at this point? He’d stopped counting. Levi was thinking about one person and one person only: Zeke. He was hoping that perhaps Zeke was still at the party and… and maybe he could get the man alone to talk to.

Levi stumbled through the sea of people, scanning the crowd until he saw a familiar blonde mop of hair in distance. He could feel the smile tugging on his face as he approached, until he was stopped in his tracks as he finally processed what he was seeing.

Zeke had his hands tangled in some other man’s hair, attached at the lips as they kissed each other hungrily. Levi just stared, trying to figure out what to do. He was trapped, the walls closing in on him as he felt the pressure and anxiety build in his chest. Zeke was… he was making out with someone else…

Levi knew that Zeke had every right to do this, especially given the fact that Levi had been sleeping around. But he hadn’t thought of how it might feel for him to see Zeke with other people.

He swallowed thickly, trying to keep his cool as he walked back down the hall to find Hange, tears in his eyes. He wiped away at them quickly, feeling stupid for crying. He didn’t expect this to affect him so much.

Levi found Hange leading a very tipsy Pieck to their bedroom to put her to bed. He stood in the doorway, watching Hange kiss their wife on the forehead and tuck her in. Pieck was already knocked out within seconds of hitting the pillow.

Levi sniffled, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. Hange turned off their bedroom light and headed out the door, nearly bumping into Levi before noticing him standing there looking lost and upset.

Hange shut the door gently and grinned at Levi, not immediately catching on that he was sad, “Levi! Are you ready to go to bed too? The guest room is—”

“Hange,” Levi interrupted. “Hange I… I just saw Zeke making out with someone.”

Hange’s eyes widened slightly, and Levi could feel all those irrational fears and thoughts crescendoing, the tears breaking through and causing him to let out a quiet sob. He didn’t remember much after that. The next thing he knew was he was sitting in the guest room, crying his eyes out into Hange’s arms.

Hange just held him and rubbed his back as he hiccuped and cried like a little child. He was so drunk and so, so very miserable over what he’d seen. The night was flashing across his vision like an old projector screen. The next thing he knew, Hange was passed out in the guest bed, and Levi was up again, stumbling down the hall through the dissipating crowd.

He saw Zeke by the front door, saying his goodbyes and exchanging numbers with the man he’d been kissing. Levi felt an ugly jealousy growing in his chest as he walked over (or, more stumbled over) to Zeke after his date left.

Zeke’s eyes widened as Levi practically fell into his arms, “L-Levi…? Are you alright?”

“M fine,” Levi regained his balance, still swaying as he stood in front of Zeke. “You… You… Fuck you!”

Zeke stared at him for a moment before he wrapped an arm around him, “Come on, Levi. Let’s get you to bed.”

“No!” Levi pushed him away rather harshly. “Stay away from me!”

Eyes were starting to turn their way, and Zeke quickly dragged Levi to the nearest empty bedroom - the second guest room. As soon as they were alone, Levi grasped Zeke around the neck and brought him down for a heated kiss. His emotions were fluctuating rapidly from the alcohol, but Zeke didn’t allow the kiss for long.

He pulled away, keeping Levi at bay with his hands, “Levi, stop. You’re way too drunk.”

Levi sniffled and clung to Zeke’s button-up, looking up at him with tearful eyes. He could barely comprehend what was going on, let alone figure out why Zeke didn’t want to kiss him. All that was running through his mind was that he was horny, sad, and missing Zeke dearly.

“Levi,” Zeke sighed. “Come on, don’t cry. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Stay,” Levi whimpered, wrapping his arms around Zeke and burrowing his face into his chest. “Stay with me. I don’t want you to leave.”

Zeke let out a frustrated sigh, “…I should really get an Uber.”

“Please,” Levi begged, pulling away only to look up at him with tears streaming down his face.

Zeke stared down at him for a moment, looking upset and conflicted as he huffed, “Fine.”

Levi could feel a smile tugging at his lips as he leaned his cheek against Zeke’s chest, clinging to him. The next thing Levi knew, Zeke’s arms were around him, fingers running through his black hair as he tried to comfort Levi’s crying.

Levi opened his eyes the next morning to find himself alone. He groaned, his head pounding as he groped the sheets for his cell phone. When he picked it up, he had a text from Zeke. Levi wiped the sleep from his eyes and unlocked the screen, seeing the text was a long one. Oh no, he thought. What did I do last night?

Levi felt his heart drop into his stomach. His throat was dry, and not just from being dehydrated. He put his hand to his forehead, immediately going to try and call Zeke so he could apologize for whatever he might’ve said or done before remembering that Zeke wanted space.

“Fuck,” Levi whimpered, running his fingers through his hair in stress.

He felt guilty, even if he didn’t know what he’d done. Whatever it was must’ve made Zeke upset, and Levi felt awful. He shouldn’t have gotten so drunk… shit, he thought. He had no idea what to do now. He supposed he’d just have to wait for Zeke to come to him, however long that might take, and however much it pained him to do so.

January 8, 2033

Levi knew this day would come. He knew that Evelyn couldn’t stay in the dark forever about her father’s death. But he hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

It happened on a Saturday morning.

Levi woke up at 10am, confused as to why his daughter hadn’t woken him up to watch cartoons yet. Usually, she was up by 8 or 9, but this morning, she hadn’t climbed on top of him to wake him.

Levi immediately felt concern and terror building in his chest, throwing the cover off and getting off the couch. He headed down the hall towards Evelyn’s room, worried that maybe something had happened to her during the night. He felt the immediate need to confirm she was safe and healthy.

Her bedroom door was cracked open, and Levi knocked before peeking his head in to check on her. He saw Evelyn curled up in her bed, looking through a book that he immediately recognized. It was the scrapbook Hange had given him years ago with pictures of himself and Erwin throughout.

Levi swallowed thickly, and Evelyn didn’t even look up at first, paging through the book carefully and examining the pictures. Levi wondered how she’d found it—he’d kept it hidden away in a box in the front closet.

Evelyn peered over her shoulder to see her father, and Levi could see how red her eyes were from crying. He felt his heart sink into his stomach. The poor thing. He opened the door all the way and walked over.

“Oh baby,” Levi sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Evelyn sniffled, running her fingers over a photo of Erwin beaming at the camera with a coffee in hand. Levi remembered that day. They went to a coffee shop for the anniversary of their first date.

“Dad…” Evelyn whispered. “How did he die?”

Levi stared at his daughter for a long time, neither of them daring to utter a word. He was scared. Even though he’d had a decade to prepare for this moment, he still didn’t know what to say or how to tell her.

“He… He was sick, baby,” Levi tried. “He was really sick.”

“Sick with what?” Evelyn asked, turning the page to see her fathers wearing their graduation regalia, holding their diplomas. Levi could see the freckles across Erwin’s nose—the same ones that adorned his daughter’s face. He frowned. There was no way he could lie to her now. He had to tell the truth. It was time.

“Come here, honey,” Levi murmured, holding out his arm.

Evelyn hesitantly abandoned the book to crawl over to her dad, snuggling up to his side just like she used to as a toddler. Levi smiled sadly, rubbing her arm comfortingly. He didn’t know exactly how to best explain it, but he knew Evelyn was smart. She would understand, wouldn’t she?

“Well,” Levi started. “Do you know what depression is?”

Evelyn’s eyebrows knitted together, as if she was pondering the question. She was only ten—Levi didn’t expect her to understand anything about mental illness.

“Um…” Evelyn murmured. “Doesn’t that mean… when you’re sad…?”

“Sort of,” Levi explained, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. “Depression can mean sadness, but… it’s also a mental disease. And it can be really bad for some people…”

“Is… Is that what Papa had?” Evelyn wondered. “He had depression?”

Levi nodded, images of Erwin’s dead body swinging from the ceiling fan flashing through his mind. He held back tears as he replied, “Yeah, honey. Papa had depression. And he had a pretty bad case of it.”

Evelyn frowned, rubbing the tears out of her eyes, “So… So he died from depression?”

“He…” Levi sucked in a deep breath. “He killed himself, baby. He was really in a lot of pain… so he took his own life.”

He watched Evelyn’s eyes widen at the harsh statement. Levi wasn’t sure if telling a ten year old that her father had committed suicide was a good idea, but he had a policy of honesty with his daughter, and he wasn’t about to break that.

“W… What?” Evelyn whimpered. “But… But why would he do that? Didn’t he…”

Evelyn started sniffling again, tears building in her eyes, “…Didn’t he love us?”

Levi pulled her into his lap to he could hug her closer, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head as she started to cry. He felt like he was reliving the moment he’d found Erwin all over again. His heart was pounding in his chest, tears coming to his own eyes. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He needed to be there for his daughter.

“Of course he did, sweetheart,” Levi sighed. “He… He didn’t even know I was pregnant with you. But I know wherever he is… he loves you very much. And I know he loved me too. He just—he was in a lot of pain, baby.”

Evelyn cried harder at that, clinging to Levi’s shirt. Levi just held her and rocked her gently, “Shh… it’s okay, honey. It’s okay. I’m so sorry, baby.”

She sobbed and pulled away from him to wipe her tears on her sleeves, face all red and blotchy from her crying.

“Dad…” she hiccuped. “Can… Can we look at… at the pictures…?”

Levi smiled sadly and nodded, reaching back to grab the photo book and place it in between them. As his daughter calmed down, he started paging through the photos, seeing a selfie of the two of them at the park.

“This was… This was our first date,” Levi remembered fondly. “He pushed me on the swings and then we kissed for the first time.”

Evelyn sniffed and smiled a little at the photo, “Papa was so handsome.”

“He was, baby,” Levi agreed, turning the page and chuckling at the photo that greeted him. It was a photo of Erwin hanging birthday decorations, his arms stretched out as he struggled to reach despite his height.

“This was when he and Hange threw me a surprise party for my birthday. Mike and Nana were there too,” Levi described. “And they got me trick candles so I couldn’t blow them out. Your Papa laughed so hard over that.”

Evelyn giggled, watching as Levi turned the page over. Levi sighed heavily—their engagement photos. Levi remembered how happy they’d both been. He could see it in their eyes in the pictures.

“These are our engagement photos,” Levi smiled. “Do you recognize the shirt he's wearing?”

Evelyn examined the photo for a moment before beaming, “That's the shirt on my Papa bear!”

“Yeah, sweetie,” Levi replied, turning the page again.

They looked through the photos together, and Evelyn patiently listened to each story Levi would tell about the pictures. By the end, Evelyn seemed to be doing better—or at least, she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Do you feel better, honey?” Levi asked carefully, not wanting to upset her all over again.

Evelyn stared down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers as she hesitated to answer. Levi frowned, rubbing her back gently and encouraging, “You can talk to me, Lynnie. You know I’m here for you.”

“…Dad,” Evelyn murmured. “I get really sad sometimes… and sometimes for no reason at all. Do… Do I have depression too?”

Levi frowned at that. He didn’t realize his daughter had been feeling depressed, and he felt a bit hopeless in how to respond to her question. Depression was hereditary, so he supposed it would only make sense if Evelyn had inherited it. But he didn’t want to jump to conclusions so quickly.

“I don’t know,” Levi admitted. “What sort of things do you think about when you get sad?”

Evelyn sucked in a deep breath, still staring down at her lap, “Sometimes… Sometimes I don’t like being here… it makes me sad.”

Levi’s heart nearly stopped at that. Evelyn was feeling some of the same depressive and suicidal thoughts her father had. He was scolding himself internally. How hadn’t he noticed? And with all the trauma of losing her father… why hadn’t he asked her about this sooner? He felt like a complete failure of a parent.

Levi hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head, “It’ll be okay, baby. I’m so… so glad you told me, yeah? Because now I can help. We’ll find you a therapist and go to the doctor to see if you have depression.”

“What… What’s a therapist?” Evelyn wondered, clinging to her father.

“It’s someone who’s trained to talk to people with mental illnesses, like depression,” Levi explained. “Even if you don’t have depression, you can still talk to the therapist about anything you want to. If you feel like… like you can’t tell me something, you can tell the therapist, okay?”

Evelyn nodded into his chest, “Okay…”

“Evelyn,” Levi started. He needed to tell her the things he didn’t get to say to Erwin. He needed her to know. It was like a desperation was clawing out of him that he didn’t know what to do with. He was overwhelmed with the gravity of this situation.

“Evelyn, I love you,” Levi whispered against the top of her head. “You… You’re everything to me. You’re all I have. I will do anything… anything to help you. You know that, don’t you, baby?”

Evelyn finally looked up into his eyes, tearful all over again, “I… I know, Dad. I love you too.”

Levi’s eyes filled with tears, and he bit his lip to hold them back, hugging her close and rocking them back and forth on the edge of the bed. He was so scared of losing his daughter. He couldn’t handle it. He needed Evelyn, more than he needed air or water.

“Don’t cry,” Evelyn sniffled, reaching up to wipe his eyes just like she used to when she was a little smaller. “I love you, Dad.”

Levi closed his eyes and let her comfort him, even though he felt like things should be the other way around. What did I do to deserve her? Levi wondered, opening his eyes to smile sadly at his beautiful daughter; his last piece of Erwin.

February 23, 2033

Evelyn was swinging her legs back and forth as they waited in the clinic for the therapist to come retrieve them. Levi was holding her hand. He could tell she was nervous from the way her eyes were darting around the office.

Soon enough, a young woman came out of the back and called out, “Evelyn?”

Evelyn looked up to Levi with some anxiety written behind her eyes. Levi smiled and rubbed her back, “Go ahead, honey. They're going to bring you back first and then I’ll join in twenty minutes, okay? You can trust her, yeah?”

She nodded, hopping out of the chair and walking over to the therapist, whose name was Dr. Perez. The two of them disappeared into the back rooms, and Levi waited an agonizing twenty minutes for them to come back. He was worried that Evelyn would be scared all alone back there without him.

But soon enough, the therapist emerged to lead him back to where Evelyn was. As they walked down the hall, she turned to Levi with a smile, “Your daughter is very smart, Mr. Ackerman. And very kind.”

Levi felt the pride swell up in his chest from hearing that. Of course he knew these things about Evelyn, but he liked it when others confirmed those things about his daughter. She was an angel (for the most part), and Levi was so proud to be her dad.

“Thank you,” Levi replied, pausing outside of the door. “Is… Is she okay?”

“Don't worry, we’ll get to all that,” Dr. Perez insisted, letting him into her office.

Evelyn was sitting on the couch, and she waved shyly upon seeing her dad. He smiled at her, walking over and sitting beside her on the sofa. Dr. Perez sat across from them in her chair, taking up a clipboard that had plenty of notes on it.

“Now,” Dr. Perez started. “Evelyn has given me permission to share her answers with you, Mr. Ackerman. So we’ll discuss her depression test first.”

Evelyn was wringing her hands nervously in her lap, and Levi reached out to take one of her hands into his own, squeezing it to reassure her it was okay. She offered him a timid smile, squeezing back.

“So I think Evelyn has depression—a mild case for now, but just because it isn’t severe doesn’t mean we won’t treat it seriously,” the therapist explained. “She admitted to feeling lonely and sad for long periods of time… trouble sleeping, social withdrawal, impaired concentration—these are all symptoms of clinical depression.”

Levi nodded, swallowing thickly, “So what’s the plan to treat her then? Evelyn and I have talked about this before and… she knows how concerned I am for her. I don’t care what has to be done, I’ll do anything to help her.”

Dr. Perez smiled, “I can tell you’re a very loving father, Mr. Ackerman. Your daughter is very comfortable talking to you about things for the most part. Evelyn, would you like to tell your father what you told me before? About why you didn’t tell him right away?”

Evelyn’s face grew a little red at being called on to speak. She was a sociable kid, but she could be shy in these kinds of situations with adults. She whispered, “Um. Well… Dad, I didn’t want to tell you because… I know you do a lot already. I didn’t want to make you sad.”

Levi frowned, holding her hand between his two and running his thumb over her skin soothingly, “Baby… it might make me sad, but that’s okay. It makes me happier to know you trust me enough to talk to me about stuff like that, you know? I’d rather know than not know.”

Evelyn nodded silently, not sure how to respond.

Dr. Perez facilitated the conversation between them, “It seems like your Dad is just worried about you, Evelyn. He really cares about you and just wants to help, okay? So he’s a good person to reach out to when you really need somebody. Who else can you talk to?”

Evelyn thought for a moment before answering quietly, “Um… Hange or my Auntie Pieck… those are my dad’s friends.”

“Good,” Dr. Perez made notes of their names before continuing. “Do you have anybody your age you can talk to?”

Evelyn nodded, glancing over to Levi nervously before replying, “Um… yeah. I have Jean. He always listens to me.”

Levi smiled, thankful that she was opening up. And he felt happy to know that Jean was a good friend to her in that way—that she had someone her age to talk to about these things. He was surprised she didn’t confide in Eren in the same way. Maybe Eren wasn’t the type to talk about emotions—and honestly, that checked out in Levi’s mind.

“That’s great, Evelyn,” Dr. Perez cheered. “I’m glad to hear that.”

The rest of the session continued on as normal. The therapist recommended a couple of psychiatrists for Evelyn to see so she could get on medications, and they set up some regular appointments. They left the clinic and got some lunch together afterwards, and Evelyn appeared to be feeling a little better after seeing the therapist.

In all honesty, Levi could barely afford these things for Evelyn. His job just didn’t pay enough. But he didn’t mind cutting back on some of his own costs to pay for this for her. She was his everything, and he would do anything to make her feel better.

May 14, 2032

Levi was home alone one night while Evelyn slept over at Hange and Pieck’s for a ‘girls night’ (even though Hange wasn’t a girl). He heard a light knock on the door and went to answer it, wondering again who would be bothering him at this hour. It was obvious that it would be Zeke, but Levi almost couldn’t believe that the man was standing in front of him when he opened the door. He looked as though he hadn’t been sleeping very well, eyes red with bags under them.

“Hey,” Zeke muttered. “Can we talk?”

Levi swallowed thickly, nodding silently as he moved aside to let Zeke in. He followed Zeke into the living room and sat as far away from him on the couch as possible. He didn’t know how to handle this situation, but he was willing to talk it through.

“Levi,” Zeke began. “I have to tell you something very serious.”

Levi frowned, his hands in his lap as he nodded for Zeke to continue. What came out of Zeke's mouth next was not what he expected at all.

“I love you,” Zeke whispered.

Levi heard it perfectly clearly, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “W-What?”

“I said I love you,” Zeke said, more sure of himself now. He looked up from his lap before reaching across the space between them and taking Levi’s hand. “I’ve loved you since… since I saw you making that sandcastle with Eren at the lake. I’ve loved you since you kissed me with blueberries all over your fingers. Levi—”

There were tears in both of their eyes now, and the anxiety in Levi’s stomach built with each word spilling from Zeke’s eager mouth. It was like he couldn’t stop himself. Levi wished he would.

“—I’ve loved you for so long,” he continued, holding Levi’s hand in his two as delicately as if it were a flower.

“Zeke,” Levi started. “You know I can’t—”

“Just tell me,” Zeke begged, pleaded with him. Levi could see it in his eyes. The man was desperate, clinging to Levi’s hand as if letting go meant losing Levi forever.

“Tell me you feel the same,” Zeke asked of him. “And… And if you don’t then… I’ll leave you be. I won’t bother you again.”

The tears in their eyes were threatening to spill over. In fact, Levi could see the wetness break through Zeke’s water line and begin to trickle down his cheeks. He didn’t know how to feel or what to say. He’d been avoiding this question. Did he love Zeke? Yes, he thought. Of course he did. How could he not? Zeke had been there for him in some of his darkest moments. He’d been someone that Levi could lean on, and Levi appreciated that more than anything. He didn’t know if he would be the same person without Zeke in his life.

But… But how different would things be if he admitted his love for Zeke? Everything would change if he allowed Zeke back into his life. He started to sniffle, his fingers twitching as he tried his best to hold back the tears that were beginning to blind his vision.

He could see the pictures of Erwin on the wall behind Zeke, and his thoughts were turning to Evelyn. It would be so confusing for her to have a new father at this point in her life. And he couldn’t relive what had happened in the camper when Evelyn had seen them kiss. Though she didn’t appear to remember that now, he was still worried she might have the same reaction, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt his daughter.

Levi took a deep breath, avoiding Zeke’s awaiting eyes as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Zeke.”

There was a brief pause of silence.

“I don’t love you.”

September 3, 2033

“Kids!” Levi called from the kitchen. “Lasagna’s ready!”

No answer. Levi sighed and took off his oven mats, “Evelyn! Jean!”

Still nothing. Levi frowned and walked down the hall to Evelyn’s bedroom. He was immediately concerned the two were doing something they shouldn’t be: like kissing or holding hands. He paused outside the door, hearing the sound of his daughter crying.

His immediate thought was to break the damn door down and berate Jean for making his daughter cry. But then, he realized he was jumping to conclusions. Levi felt guilt in his stomach as he leaned his ear against the door. He shouldn’t listen in to a private moment like this, but he was concerned about Evelyn.

“It’s okay, Lynnie,” Jean murmured, and Levi could see through the open crack in the door that he was hugging her. “It’s okay. I… I’m here, okay? I’m here…”

“But he’s gonna h-hate m-m-me,” Lynnie sobbed tearfully. “He’s gonna be s-so m-mad.”

He? Who’s she talking about? Levi wondered, thinking he should probably pull back and walk away, but unable to help his curiosity. Perhaps she was talking about someone at school, maybe even Eren.

“Listen,” Jean pulled away, wiping her tears away gently. “Your dad would never hate you, Lynnie. Yeah, he might be mad but… but he would never hate you. I know he wouldn’t. You just gotta tell him, okay?”

What? Levi thought. What did she do? He was worried now. He stepped away from the door, walking back down the hall to the kitchen. Levi knew he shouldn’t listen anymore. Whatever it was, Evelyn would tell him in time. But that didn't mean he wasn’t going to be incredibly concerned about it.

Later that night after Jean left and Evelyn had gone to bed, Levi was sitting in the living room having anxiety over whatever it was Evelyn had done that she was so upset over. It couldn’t be something like a bad grade… she knew that Levi didn’t care that much about those sorts of things. He’d never put pressure on her before to fulfill any expectations, so he didn’t know what she could have possibly done.

Levi was about to lie down to sleep when he heard, “Dad?”

He turned to look over his shoulder. Evelyn was standing there in her pajamas, freshly showered hair hanging down to her shoulders. She looked afraid. Levi just wanted to pick her up and hug her tight, tell her that whatever was bothering her… he would never hate her. But he didn’t want to let on that he’d listened in. He didn’t want to betray her trust like that.

“Yeah, baby?” Levi smiled softly at her, trying to be as calm and welcoming as possible even though he was an internal mess. “What’s up?”

Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears as she stayed where she was, fists clenched at her sides as the tears began to spill down her cheeks. Levi frowned, holding his arms out to her, “Come here, sweetheart. Why are you crying?”

Evelyn shook her head, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed, “You’re g-gonna be s-so m-mad.”

“Honey,” Levi tried again, getting up from the couch but keeping his distance. He didn’t want to invade her space if she didn’t want him in it. “I won’t get mad. I just want you to tell me what’s wrong. I’m worried about you…”

Evelyn sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she hiccuped and tried to calm down, “Well… today at school, A-Ashley and I got into a big argument…”

Ashley, Levi scowled. That was the same little girl who used to tease Evelyn about not wearing bras yet. She and her friends always poked fun at Evelyn, and this wouldn’t be the first time Evelyn had cried over something they’d done.

“What happened?” Levi asked, still confused as to why she would think Levi would get mad at her for getting in a fight with Ashley.

“I… I brought my Papa bear to school,” Evelyn whimpered. “And she tried to take it from me and… and it ripped.”

Evelyn burst into tears all over again, “I’m r-really s-sorry…”

Levi felt his heart sink to his stomach. Her Papa bear ripped? Erwin’s clothes… Levi let out a deep sigh, feeling awful that Evelyn would think he’d be mad over this. Sure, it was a little upsetting to hear, but he would never get angry with her about it.

“Oh sweetie,” Levi held out his arms to invite her in for a hug. “It’s okay, baby. Come here.”

Evelyn rushed into his arms, tearful and upset. Levi comforted her, whispering soothing things in her ear. She eventually calmed down, though sniffles and hiccups could still be heard as she pulled away.

“Where is it, baby?” Levi wondered. “Your Papa bear.”

“In my backpack,” Evelyn sniffed.

“Lemme see,” Levi insisted. “I’m sure we can fix him.”

Evelyn walked over to her backpack hanging by the front door and unzipped it, taking out the bear. It was already pretty worn down from years of cuddling, but now, one of the arms was ripped almost off, and Levi knew how upsetting that must be to Evelyn, who loved her Papa bear more than anything she owned.

Levi took the bear from her and examined the rip. It was right along a seam, meaning it would be easy to fix. He smiled softly, “This isn’t bad, honey. I can ask Eren’s mom to fix it. I know she does some sewing, so I’m sure she wouldn't mind.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah, Lynnie,” Levi wiped some leftover tears from her eyes. “He’s going to be alright.”

September 12, 2033

The next week, Levi went to visit the Jaegers with Evelyn’s Papa bear after agreeing with Carla that she would mend the bear. He went one morning while Lynnie was at school, having the day off from work.

Levi followed Carla through their nice two-story house, trying not to be envious of how nice and clean everything was. Either the Jaegers were very cleanly, or they had an excellent maid who cleaned up after them.

Carla took the bear from him and sat at her sewing table, pulling out some supplies. He stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say. Carla Jaeger was a very nice lady, but something about her intimidated Levi, and she was being particularly standoffish today for some reason or another.

“You know, Levi,” Carla smiled sweetly at him before turning to mend the bear, taking up her sewing needle and thread. “I’ve always thought you were such a sweet man. So good to my sons, and such a good father too.”

Levi was about to thank her for her kind words when she continued, “But I know when one of my boys is upset.”

Levi felt his heart sink into his stomach. Oh no, he thought, eyes widening as she fixed up the bear while murmuring, “Even though Zeke isn’t my biological son, I know a broken heart when I see one.”

Levi swallowed thickly, unsure of how to respond. He knew exactly where she was going, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled to be alone with her in this big house right now.

“Zeke cares for you very much, Levi,” Carla sighed. “And I don’t want to see him get hurt. Do you understand me?”

Levi stared at her for a while, watching her pull the thread through the last stitch before tying it off and snipping it off with her teeth. She looked up at him, holding the bear out to him as she repeated, “Do you understand me?”

Levi nodded quickly, taking the bear, “Yes ma’am. I understand.”

“I hope Evie is happy with my work,” Carla beamed, as though nothing had occurred between them in the last few moments. “It’s a strong stitch, so it’ll take a lot to rip it again.”

Levi nodded again, “Thank you, Carla. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

With that, Levi was ushered out of the Jaeger household. He felt super uncomfortable with how that whole thing had gone, and he was wondering now what Zeke had told Carla about him to make her so upset.

December 31, 2033-January 1, 2034

Levi cheered as the clock turned to midnight, marking the end of 2033. He could see Pieck and Hange, Mike and Nana, and other couples, kissing around him at the party. Evelyn and her friends were having a sleepover at Jean’s house for the New Year’s, and Levi had decided to host a little party of his own at his apartment.

Of course, he’d invited Zeke, but the man hadn’t bothered to show. Levi felt awful about lying to him. He did love Zeke, but he was afraid what telling him that would mean for their relationship.

Levi ushered the guests out of his apartment and closed the door, starting to clean up the mess they’d made—all the snacks and booze bottles lying around. It wasn’t long at all before he heard a knock on the front door.

At first, he thought perhaps it was one of his friends forgetting something, but when he opened the door, Zeke was standing there, swaying back and forth in his spot and clearly drunk. Levi was pretty drunk too, to be fair. He stared at Zeke, noticing the determined look on his face and his tinted cheeks from the alcohol.

“Ze—”

Zeke grasped his shirt and drew him close, their lips brushing against one another. He whispered, “Levi… I want you.”

Levi could feel how red his face was turning as he took in Zeke’s scent: he smelled of cigarettes and whiskey. This is a bad idea… he thought to himself. But those worries didn't last long. He gripped Zeke by the back of the head and dragged him down for a heated kiss.

“I want you too,” he murmured between hurried nips and hungry grasps of each other’s clothing.

Levi leapt into Zeke’s arms as he walked in and shut the door behind him, starting to carry Levi to the couch. He was holding Levi by his ass, and set him down haphazardly before climbing on top of him and kissing him roughly.

Levi moaned wantonly when Zeke stuck his hand into Levi’s pants and began rubbing at his cock. Their desperation was clear as they groped and rubbed against one another with quick and needy hands.

“Take your fucking cock out already,” Levi growled, his pants and boxers already off somewhere in their rapid embrace.

Zeke groaned and shimmied out of his pants and boxers, about to sit back on the couch when Levi gasped, “Wait!”

Zeke paused, “What?”

“Let me put a towel down before we make a mess,” Levi insisted, rushing down to the hall closet to get a towel.

When he came back, Zeke was chuckling, a grin on his face. Levi frowned, placing the towel down, “What?”

“You’re so funny,” Zeke laughed. “I love you, Levi.”

“I…” Levi blushed.

What should he say? Should he be honest with himself and with Zeke? Levi barely gave it any thought before it spilled from his mouth:

“I love you too, Zeke,” he murmured as he climbed into Zeke’s lap, rubbing against his cock and drawing him in for a sensual kiss.

Zeke groaned and lined himself up. Levi was already so wet in such a short amount of time, and Zeke slid inside with ease. From there it was nothing but a fast, urgent fuck. As though they needed one another to survive.

Levi tossed his head back with a loud moan as he bounced in Zeke’s lap, “Zeke! Oh my god…”

“Oh Levi,” Zeke groaned, gripping Levi’s hips tightly. “Oh fuck…”

Levi hadn’t wanted anyone this badly since Erwin. He loved Zeke, and it felt so good to finally admit it. He let his emotions out through the way he was furiously riding Zeke for dear life. Hopefully Zeke could tell how into this Levi was.

“I’m gonna cum,” Zeke panted, thrusting upwards to meet him halfway.

“Don’t pull out,” Levi whimpered, leaning down to kiss Zeke as he continued to ride.

Zeke groaned at that and finished inside of him, and Levi didn’t need much longer before he took was orgasming, squeezing around Zeke’s cock and keening loudly. The two of them sat there for a moment in their post-orgasmic haze, breathing heavily and just clinging to one another.

Zeke slipped out and brought Levi down to lay on the couch with him. Levi giggled, hugging onto Zeke and snuggling up to him. They were both still a little drunk, but Levi was happy.

“I love you,” Levi whispered against his chest.

“I love you too,” Zeke replied, kissing the top of Levi’s head.

March 23, 2034

Levi smiled sweetly at his boyfriend as they stood in the kitchen making dinner together. Evelyn was doing her homework at the counter, glaring at them every once in a while. Levi knew she wasn’t exactly happy with their relationship, but it’d been a good few weeks now that he and Zeke had been together, and he hoped she’d get used to it.

“How do you want your eggs, baby?” Zeke asked.

“How do you want your eggs, baby?” Evelyn mimicked in an irritated tone, and the two of them looked over at her in some embarrassment.

“Do your homework, Evie,” Zeke teased, trying to rectify the situation.

Evelyn was gripping her pencil hard, and Levi couldn’t even stop her before she snapped back, “Fuck you!”

Everything stopped. Levi had never heard his daughter swear, let alone swear at another person. Zeke looked shocked, and Levi was equally surprised until he got his bearings on the situation.

“Evelyn Louise—”

“I don’t want him here!” Evelyn shouted, getting up from the counter and glaring at Zeke. “He’s not my fucking papa! And he’ll never replace him! So… So fuck him!”

Levi watched his daughter storm down the hallway and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Levi was flabbergasted, and Zeke stared down the hall after her with concern written all over his face.

“Z-Zeke…” Levi managed. “I’m so sorry, I… I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“It’s okay, Levi—”

“No,” Levi interrupted. “It’s not.”

He headed down the hall towards Evelyn’s room, knocking on the door a couple of times before cracking it open.

“Evelyn,” Levi started, seeing his daughter sitting on her bed and typing furiously on her phone. “Evelyn, we need to talk. That was not okay.”

“Go away,” Evelyn muttered, turning away from him.

“Evelyn,” Levi insisted, trying to remain calm as he pushed the door open all the way. “What is the matter with you? You can’t just say that to Mr. Jaeger!”

“Whatever,” Evelyn grumbled.

Levi was becoming more and more frustrated by the second. What the hell was Evelyn thinking?! He was going to put his foot down. She couldn’t talk to him or Zeke that way, no matter how she was feeling.

“Give me your phone,” Levi ordered. “And your Switch. Now.”

Evelyn glanced up from her phone, looking a little surprised before she turned off her screen and sighed dramatically, “Fine. But taking my phone isn’t going to change how I feel.”

Levi walked over and took her phone, grabbing her Switch from near her TV, “I know you’re upset, but that’s no way to speak to Mr. Jaeger. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, “He’s dating you. That’s wrong.”

“It’s not,” Levi replied, pointing down the hall. “Now go apologize.”

Evelyn immediately glared at him, “No.”

God, why does she have to have my stubborn personality? Levi wondered with irritation, putting his hands on his hips, “Evelyn. If you ever want your stuff back, you’d better go apologize to Mr. Jaeger.”

Evelyn huffed in annoyance, swinging her legs off her bed and storming past Levi and down the hall. Levi quickly followed her, worried about what she might say to Zeke. She stopped in the kitchen, fists at her sides.

“I’m sorry,” she grunted. “But you better watch it.”

Zeke stared at her, “Excuse me?”

“If you think you’re going to just come in here and replace my papa, you’re wrong!” Evelyn yelled, waving her arms.

Zeke just looked at her, mouth agape, before glancing over at Levi for help. Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Evelyn was already on the move again. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and growled, “I’m going to Hange’s for the night.”

“You’re 11,” Levi tried. “You can’t just come and go as you ple—”

“I’m going to Hange’s!” She shouted, walking out the door and slamming it behind her.

Silence entered as soon as she’d left. Levi stood there, feeling lost and helpless. He started sniffling, anger and confusion pouring into his chest. How could she behave like that?! She’d never ever been a bad kid before, not like this.

“Do you want to go after her?” Zeke asked.

Levi shook his head and went to the window, seeing Evelyn sitting outside on the stoop. He decided he’d watch her to make sure she got picked up, and texted Hange to ensure that Evelyn didn’t sit out there all night:

Zeke came to stand with Levi, rubbing his back soothingly, “She’ll come around. I’m sure she will. She just needs some time.”

Levi nodded, hearing his phone ping and looking down to see a reply from Hange:

Levi watched out the window until Hange pulled up about ten minutes later, and Evelyn got in their car. She glanced back up at the apartment window and exchanged an angry look with her father before slamming the door shut.

“I was worried this would happen,” Levi sighed.

Zeke’s hand froze on his back before retreating, and Levi turned to see a frown on his face, “Oh… should I… sh-should we… take a break?”

“What?” Levi asked in surprise, his heart sinking. “You… You want to take a break?”

“N-No!” Zeke backtracked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I thought you might… you might want to cuz… cuz we’re making her upset.”

Levi frowned. He’d clearly made Zeke think that he wanted to break up. That was the last thing on Levi’s mind.

“No no,” Levi tried to fix the situation. “I… I don’t want to take a break I just… I think she just needs some time to get used to all this. It hasn’t been that long, and she seems to think I’m trying to replace Erwin.”

Zeke sighed, “Yeah I can tell. I’ve never heard her misbehave that way before.”

“Well,” Levi frowned. “She is approaching teenage hood. She’s going to get much worse before she gets better, unfortunately.”

“Eren’s the same way,” Zeke agreed. “He’s starting to get really angsty and moody.”

Zeke looked a little worried still, and Levi felt the need to reassure him, “It’ll be okay. She knows you, Zeke. She’ll warm up to you. I promise.”

And boy, did Levi hope he could keep that promise. It was all up to Evelyn at this point.