Chapter Text
Two years, 3 months, and 12 days later, Levi was awakened in a manner that had long ago become familiar to him: tucked underneath Erwin, so closely that Erwin was practically lying on top of him, his arm and leg slung over Levi's back and thigh. It was like being in a warm, heavy cocoon, and Levi had been sleeping peacefully until he felt Erwin's lips tickling the back of his nape.
"Good morning." He murmured into Levi's ear when he stirred, kissing behind the lobe too, marking a trail along the side of his throat until he finally made a disgruntled sound at the attention. "It's your first day of culinary school."
Levi cracked an eye open and looked at the clock. Neither one of them had to be up for another hour, so what was Erwin playing at? "Yeah. And my jacket doesn't cover my neck, so quit that shit."
Against his skin, Levi felt Erwin smile.
"I won't leave any marks. Not there, anyway." He answered, moving his mouth to Levi's shoulder instead, sucking sharply as if to emphasize his point.
His lips made a slurping sound and Levi flinched backwards, cursing when he felt the unmistakable hard press of Erwin's cock against his backside. It didn't surprise him; this was what Erwin was playing at, he actually knew, he'd just been trying to decide if he was ready to wake up or not.
Today was his first day of culinary school as Erwin had said, something which he was both nervous and excited about. As a result of all the changes that had occurred in his life in the past two years - some positive and some negative - he finally felt secure enough to be able to go.
All his worries from before about it were solved for the most part, or at least, no longer at the forefront of his mind. He’d graduated business school around 10 months ago - finally - and although he’d hated nearly every minute of it, he was a little more forgiving of his time there when his degree easily got him a new job as a restaurant manager.
It wasn’t in the kitchen like he still wanted, but he’d never forgotten Erwin’s words from years back about how he could use business experience to open his own restaurant. Obviously, he couldn’t do that right now for a multitude of reasons, but it was a start, a strong step in that direction and certainly not a boring office job like Levi had always imagined he’d been destined for.
Also, it earned him a lot more money. So much money, in fact, that he no longer had to worry about paying his bills on time. It helped too that Kenny had found work, suspicious, vague, and shady work that Levi wasn’t going to ask about, but work nonetheless. It brought enough money in that Kenny could live in the house by himself, which was good, because Erwin had asked Levi to move in with him after he’d graduated.
That was before he’d had his new job, but Erwin didn’t care about splitting bills or rent or things like that. He was going to have to pay it all regardless, he reasoned to Levi, and he wanted Levi living with him. Levi wanted that too even though he basically already lived there anyway by that point, as the collection of things he kept at Erwin’s apartment had grown from just basic toiletries to half his wardrobe and a good portion of the contents of his room.
Most of the time he was only at his house when he needed to pick something up or when Erwin dropped him off there on his way to work because he had class, so it certainly didn’t take much coercing for Levi to accept Erwin’s offer.
Once he moved in, it was like they’d never lived apart, and Levi enjoyed the routine they settled into easily. When Levi didn’t work night shift he would cook, every single night he could, and Erwin never ever got tired of it. Levi fell asleep in his arms every night and woke up beside him every morning, and didn’t have to miss his warmth too much when one of them had to get up because he knew that without a doubt, he would be back there again in a matter of hours. They went to the gym together sometimes and even went out of town on a vacation once, and by the time Levi had been hired at his new restaurant a few months later, he knew without a doubt that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Erwin.
Levi would even fucking marry him if he asked, even though he’d never admit it outloud or bring the subject up because of Erwin’s past. He knew Erwin loved him at least because they’d exchanged that particular confession a long time ago, and he didn’t worry that Erwin would grow tired of them living together either. He just wasn’t sure that Erwin wanted to get married again considering he’d already been once before, but even though he tried to convince himself that it was a stupid, silly notion anyway and he should be content with what he already had, Levi couldn’t help but long for it, just a little.
Right now though, that wasn’t on the forefront of his mind; culinary school was. The money he earned from his new job had made that possible, or at least, had made it more feasible. Erwin encouraged him to go and said he would help with the rest of the financing if Levi needed it, and although Levi still had worries about his mother, he eventually decided that it was worth a shot to apply.
Naturally, though, he got in, and then he had a real decision to make.
Kuchel had only worsened over the past two years, of course, and these days she was completely unrecognizable from the person she had been before. On only rare occasions would she know Levi or Kenny, and she couldn't remember any details of her former life even though she was now living in her old home. Hange and Levi had decided to move her back there when she could no longer live at the independent facility, thinking that she might be more comfortable and less anxious somewhere more familiar. Hange was hired as her private nurse and took care of her every need there, along with Kenny and Levi when they were around too.
That didn’t stop her disease though, and although at first she had seemed a bit calmer and less depressed after moving back home, the worse her memory got the worse everything else became too. Now she was mistrustful of everyone and prone to hysterics on account of her constant confusion and the fact that even though she could not remember, she seemed to know that something was wrong with her and that it wasn’t normal for her to be like that.
It was sad, heartbreaking and painful to watch over the years, and even though Levi never got as upset as he had the first time, he didn’t think he would ever get used to his mother not recognizing him when he visited her. At least she had gotten to meet Erwin and been able to get to know him a little before she got too bad, something which according to Hange, never failed to cheer her up.
The thought of Levi with him and happy made her happy, they said, and even though it was fairly obvious when they visited together, it was obvious other times too. If Levi came alone she would always ask where Erwin was and bombard him with questions about him and what they were up to, and apparently, when she began muttering to herself in greater frequency Hange reported that they often overheard her talking about them.
That was the reason that finally helped push Levi into deciding it was alright for him to attend culinary school. He was worried that once he enrolled, with his new job and Erwin he would be too busy to see her that often. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know who he was, she was still his mother and he wasn’t going to stop visiting her. However, after thinking about it and about everything else that had happened in the past few years, he realized that his mother would want him to go.
She wanted him to be happy, he knew, and he never forgot how she’d thought she was a burden on him because he couldn’t ‘act his age.’ She would be excited that he was going to learn to be a real chef, and proud of him, and Erwin had told him as much so Levi knew that he would agree. Once he decided to officially enroll, his only remaining sadness about it was from the fact that his mother wouldn't be in her right mind to understand it.
There was nothing he could do about it though, so he tried to focus on how much he was looking forward to it. He would finally get to learn from professional chefs, to be taught advanced techniques that Kuchel hadn’t been able to pass down to him, and to work in a real kitchen - at least, while he was at school. At his job he would continue to deal with the business aspects of running a restaurant, and with both things happening, Levi actually felt fairly positive about his future for the first time in years.
It wasn't just in that aspect but in every other one too: professionally, personally, and, well, romantically too, as the fact that Erwin’s kiss still somehow managed to make his heart flutter. In turn that always never failed to make his cheeks redden, but he’d long ago lost any embarrassment that went with the reaction.
Instead, he always just felt love and affection and happiness - and trust, too - and that was why rather than keep his face away from Erwin as he might have done in the past, Levi finally decided to turn around after Erwin had started kissing him that morning, huffing with false irritation as he shifted his head until he was lying nearly nose to nose with him. He wound his arms around Erwin’s neck lazily and drew a leg over his hip while Erwin remained still and watched him, and then looked him in the eye and spoke.
“You have 45 minutes.” He pronounced, shortly before Erwin closed the distance between them by sliding an arm underneath Levi’s shoulders and tugging him forward.
Their lips met and Erwin kissed him sweetly, his mouth gliding over Levi’s in a continuous slow, warm press that made him practically melt into his embrace. Levi could feel him smiling, although it faded after a moment with focus once Levi arched to align himself with Erwin, winding his fingers into his hair, opening his mouth pliantly, and returning whatever Erwin gave him with his lips twofold.
It became more heated quickly after that, and it wasn’t long before Erwin was pushing Levi over onto his back, climbing on top of him and nudging a knee between his legs so he could settle between them. He pushed Levi’s arms over his head and mouthed at his neck, sucking at the crook of it and letting his teeth graze over the spot - only lightly, of course. Then, he was going further instead of kissing his lips again like Levi had expected, pushing the oversized sweater of his that Levi had worn to bed to mark a trail down his stomach.
There he did leave marks, tickling his belly button with his tongue just to make Levi squirm, and latching his mouth at the junction of one of Levi’s thighs so sharply that it made him gasp. He was breathing shallowly by then, watching Erwin’s slow, determined trail downward from underneath lidded lashes and wondering what he was planning. He’d thought they were going to get right to fucking given that they didn’t have that long, but Erwin seemed to have something else in mind, and Levi bit his lip, reaching for Erwin’s hair again with his fingers when he placed a teasing kiss over his cock, so featherlight that his lips were nothing more than a tickle and his breath a hot ghosting of air.
It made him squirm though, and strain his hips upward for more. “What are you doing down there?”
“Making sure you have a good morning.” Erwin murmured from between his legs, mouth pressing against one of his balls now. It was hard enough to make Levi gasp lightly, the sound turning into a low, lucid sounding moan when Erwin sucked. “And a good rest of the day.”
Before Levi could discern what he meant, Erwin was kissing and licking a stripe along his perineum before slipping his tongue in between Levi’s ass cheeks. Immediately, Levi raised it into the air, spreading his legs wider and sighing, almost in bliss, when he felt the wet press of Erwin’s tongue against his hole more eagerly. He closed his eyes and curled his toes while the tip of it traced around his rim, rubbing at Erwin’s scalp with his fingers until suddenly, the pleasurable feeling disappeared.
“Turn over.” Erwin said, having lifted his head up from between Levi’s thighs, pressing a brief kiss to one as their eyes met before Levi moved.
He shifted and rolled over as fast as he could, settling onto his stomach with his arms shoved underneath his pillow and his face pressed against it, knowing like this, Erwin would have easier access. Indeed he did, and once Levi was still again Erwin spread his cheeks, laving his tongue over his entrance and mouthing at it with his lips, able to do it much firmer and less teasingly now that Levi was lying on his front.
Even if he could get to him easier now, though, apparently Erwin was intent on making the most out of the time he had, because it seemed like an eternity before Levi felt the tip of his tongue breach him. He did everything but that in the minutes before, circling around his entrance, placing sucking kisses onto it and pushing against his hole just enough so that Levi could feel the pressure, just enough to make him think that he was going to slip it inside only for him to pull back at the last minute. It was slow and lazy, but enough to make Levi squirm and pant into the pillow, using his knees to try to push his ass back against Erwin's face eagerly for more.
It felt good; the pleasure tingled all over Levi's flushed skin, stemming from what Erwin was doing to his nerves down there, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
"Erwin!" Levi groaned when Erwin finally let himself taste him, his tongue finally pushing past the tight ring of muscle, but just barely. "Shit-"
His fingers had dug into the pillow he was hugging now as his entrance gave way for Erwin to flick his tongue inside him, pushing his ass into the air and leaving it there in the hopes that Erwin would keep going that like. He wanted to feel him deeper, his slick, wet tongue tickling his insides gently and lapping over his skin. Naturally, though, Erwin didn't, and to Levi's frustration, actually stopped completely.
"What time is it?" Erwin murmured, rubbing the scruff of his cheek against Levi's backside as he looked over his shoulder at him incredulously.
"What?" Levi said breathlessly, his mind struggling to catch up with why the fuck Erwin was asking this when his ass was in his face.
"How long do I have?" Erwin asked this time, nosing at Levi's crack and pushing his thigh up on the bed to spread him in preparation for more.
Levi blinked, and then tore his gaze away to look at the clock, realizing that Erwin was asking because, of course, they didn't have all morning.
"Twenty-five minutes." Levi gasped, the sound turning into a moan when Erwin dove right back in. "Ah!"
It was a sound of pleasure, because Erwin had lapped a long, hard stripe over his ass, but also concern, because was Erwin really going to take that entire time to finish him off? Levi thought he would die before then - already, his cock was aching - and how could Erwin stand it, for that matter? Actually, he wasn't surprised by now, because if it meant teasing Levi, he'd learned over the years, Erwin could ignore an aching cock, a jaw, or his fingers for far longer than Levi could.
It wasn't any different now, and Erwin worked his tongue into Levi slowly and precisely and with focus, as calmly as if he was drinking a cup of tea and as if Levi wasn't sweaty and writhing on the bed above him. That didn’t mean Erwin wasn’t enjoying it too, because if Levi allowed himself to pay attention to anything else other than how good everything felt, then he was pretty sure he could feel the bed shifting in a way that meant Erwin was grinding himself against the mattress.
He wished he could see, but he was also busy trying to do the same thing. It was hard when Erwin’s fingers dug into his hips with a bruising grip, and when he also wanted to shove his ass against Erwin’s face too. He was so worked up by the time that Erwin finally had his lips pressed to Levi’s entrance and could fuck him with his tongue, he was trembling all over with the need for release, panting wetly into his arms and the pillow and whining unabashedly. Each slip of Erwin’s mouth over his hole made him flinch with pleasure as his stomach was taut with it, so tight that he was sure if Erwin even touched his cock once he would come.
That thought made him look at the time, a loud, sob-like groan leaving his lips when he saw that there was still 9 minutes left before the alarm was going to go off.
“Erwin-” He whimpered anyway, a pleading note to his voice as he shifted as much as he could, his hips straining for more of Erwin’s mouth, for friction on his cock, for anything that might push him over the edge.
“How much time?” Erwin murmured against his ass, pulling away just long enough to speak before he pushed his tongue all the way inside and mouthed at him sloppily.
“Eight minutes.” Levi panted, twisting his head around to look at Erwin working behind him, immediately regretting it a second later because the sight of his flushed face between his legs was nearly just as arousing as everything else. “Erwin, please, you fuck-”
Levi knew that insults were likely to get him nowhere even if he was only teasing, but fortunately for him, Erwin had run out of time.
Pulling away, he flipped a pliant and loose Levi over onto his back, wiping his mouth off before burying his face into Levi’s neck. He grabbed both their cocks in one of his big hands before Levi could even get settled, the sudden, firm touch and warmth from Erwin’s length pressed against his making him cry out and arch.
Erwin kissed and nipped at his neck delicately and started moving like that, and once Levi joined his rhythm, his thighs trembling from the effort, it only took a few rolls of his hips for him to come. He moaned loudly and clutched at Erwin’s neck, shuddering through the intensity of it as all his muscles tightened pleasurably and then released. He spurted all over his chest and stomach and Erwin’s hand, the slickness making it easier for him to rub their cocks together. It was still a few more minutes before he caught up and finished too, groaning into the crook of Levi’s neck while he trembled beneath Erwin from the stimulation.
He’d wrapped his arms around Erwin by then and held him still while they both caught their breath, their sweaty foreheads pressed together as they gazed at each other in silence. Then Erwin rolled off him and kissed him on the cheek, murmuring that he loved him in a voice that had Levi grabbing him to press their lips together, despite where Erwin's face had just been moments ago.
“How much time is left?” Erwin asked when they pulled apart, a question that Levi rolled his eyes at before he glanced over to the clock.
Before he could answer that there was one minute left, however, the last few seconds ticked by and the alarm started going off. Erwin laughed while Levi reached over to stop it, returning to his arms for just a few more minutes before he would finally have to get up or risk being late.
“I just made it.” Erwin pronounced, apparently proud of himself for dragging out Levi’s torture until the very last minute.
“Yeah.” Levi muttered, scowling even as he rested his head in the crook of Erwin’s arm. “I don’t know what the fuck you were doing down there though.”
“Maybe I was just getting you warmed up for later.” Erwin responded, pressing a kiss into Levi’s hair. “After all, we should have plenty to celebrate.”
Levi raised an eyebrow at that, unsure of what else they would have to celebrate besides his first day at culinary school, and really, was that something they needed to make a big deal out of anyway? They’d celebrated when Levi had gotten accepted with a big dinner and wine, and then again when he'd made the decision to actually attend. Were they going to celebrate every time he got home from class, too?
Whatever, he thought though, deciding that if Erwin wanted to spend extra time in bed with him that night he wasn’t going to protest. These days they were both busier than they’d used to be, as Erwin had changed law firms in the past year too and ended up working more. With Levi in culinary school that was only going to get worse, and he was going to take advantage of whatever free time he had to spend with Erwin that he could.
With that thought in mind, Levi tugged him out of bed and into the shower so they could wash up together, letting Erwin shampoo his hair while he held onto him and soaped up his back. After they were done they both got dressed, with Erwin putting on his suit and tie for work, and Levi pulling out his brand new, never before worn chef’s jacket.
It was grey and had his name stitched onto it and everything, and although as far as he understood it, the instructors would all be wearing white ones, it was the first time he’d had one like this before. It fit perfectly and he had pants to match, and a brand new set of fancy knives that Erwin had given him as a gift a few weeks before to bring with him.
Erwin smiled while he did his tie and watched Levi putting it on, walking over to help him do up the last button at the top.
“You look like a real chef.” He said, tracing over the button with his thumb as Levi side-eyed himself in the mirror.
He had to admit, it didn’t look bad, and just wearing something like this filled him with a swell of excitement. He almost couldn’t believe he was actually going, he thought, swallowing, because a few years ago he would have never imagined that he’d ever get too, at least not this soon. He knew he wouldn’t be going without Erwin’s encouragement, however, and at the thought, he bit his lip and looked back over and up at him.
“Why don’t you look in the pocket, there?” Erwin asked before Levi could say anything, gesturing to one of the front pockets in his chef’s jacket.
Frowning in curiosity, Levi stuck his hand inside and immediately felt something, small, round, and metal. It was tiny and it had a hole in it, smooth and cool to the touch and almost...wait, it was almost like a-
Levi realized what it was as he was pulling it out to hold in the palm of his hand: a ring. It was shiny and white gold, a thin band that was small enough to fit around one of his fingers. It made his eyes widen and his heart nearly stop in his fucking chest, because was Erwin proposing? Is that what this was?
“Erwin-” He started, preparing himself to ask but unable to tear his eyes away from the ring until Erwin took his hand to interrupt him.
“Levi. I love you.” He answered, clearing his throat. His cheeks were pink, Levi saw when he looked up at him, and although he spoke quietly as if he was suddenly nervous, his eyes were bright. After pausing to make sure he had Levi’s attention, he tightened his grip on Levi’s fingers and knelt. “Will you be my husband? Will you marry me?”
For a moment, Levi was silent, unable to hear anything else but his pulse pounding in his ears except for Erwin’s words, echoing in his head. He repeated them to himself over and over again because he was almost convinced he hadn’t heard him right, and half expected Erwin to not be kneeling in front of him with the most earnest expression on his face Levi had ever seen when he blinked.
But Levi did, and Erwin still was, and he forced himself to nod because he was afraid that he couldn’t speak and he didn’t want Erwin to think he was refusing him. That was absolutely not the case, of course, because Levi had fantasized about this moment far more than he would ever admit to anyone, much less himself.
“Are you sure?” Erwin asked, smiling and taking the ring before sliding it on Levi’s finger even as he spoke. “Do you really want to be tied down to an old man like me?”
At that, Levi found his voice, because now Erwin was just being ridiculous. “Yes, you idiot. You’re the only one, Erwin. You’re-”
Stopping himself, Levi flushed, because warmth and happiness were building in his chest, so strongly that he didn’t trust himself to speak anymore. Instead, he halted his words, and a second later practically launched himself into Erwin’s lap. He fell down against him and straddled his bent knees, throwing his arms around him to kiss him as enthusiastically as he perhaps ever had. It took Erwin by surprise enough so that he nearly fell over backward, but caught himself with one hand while wrapping the other around Levi’s waist.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, just kissing and holding each other tightly, until Erwin pulled away with something that sounded like an overwhelmed, but happy and breathless laugh.
“Now look in my pocket.” He said, taking Levi’s hand and sliding it down his chest to the front pocket in his suit jacket.
Levi raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell else Erwin could surprise him with, but found another ring completely identical to Levi’s, except that it was big enough for one of Erwin’s fingers.
“I have one too. I thought it was only fair.” Erwin explained, holding up his hand for Levi to slip the ring on his finger too.
“Are you sure you want to be tied down to a shitty kid like me?” Levi mumbled as he put it on gladly, more teasing than anything at this point.
After all, if Erwin didn’t want to be with him, the last thing he would’ve done is proposed. Vaguely, Levi realized that this was what he’d meant earlier when he’d commented about celebrating, and felt his heart hammering in excitement. Just how long had Erwin been planning this?
“Of course.” Erwin assured him, sweeping Levi’s fringe away so he could kiss him softly. “A few years ago I thought I would never be happy again, you know. But you changed all that. Thank you.”
Erwin’s words made Levi flush hotly, his first instinct to call Erwin a ‘sappy bastard’ because of all the emotion he felt welling in his chest. But then he realized he felt much the same, as he had met Erwin at a time when he was alone and struggling with everything that was going on in his life. Now, though, that had all changed, and after swallowing thickly, Levi wound his fingers together with Erwin’s and pressed his face against his neck.
“Me too.” He mumbled, placing his free palm over Erwin’s cheek. Then, with thoughts of how this had all started racing through his mind, Levi could not help but say the one thing that would never fail to have a special meaning between them: “Me too, daddy.”
Erwin let out a loud peal of laughter at that, sliding backwards onto the floor with Levi in his arms. He was going to mess up his suit, Levi thought, but he was too busy nearly smiling himself at what he'd just said to chide him. The term had almost become like a joke to them at that point - although, of course, Levi still called Erwin that in the bedroom when he was in the mood for such things - because it would never not be amazing that he was in a loving relationship with a man whom he'd met on Craigslist.
A man who had changed his life completely, he thought happily, and who he was now going to marry.
Levi felt Erwin kiss the top of his head again a moment later, still smiling, and then they were standing up, Erwin planting his lips over Levi’s one more time before they left the room. It was time to go, and Erwin had planned on driving Levi to culinary school that day. While in the car, he couldn’t help but reflect on what had just happened, and although he was beyond elated, he only wished that he could share it with his mother.
At this point that was impossible though, so he would have to take comfort in the fact that he knew she would be happy if she was capable of understanding. Perhaps they could stop by that evening and tell her anyway, Levi thought, and he supposed Kenny too, and somewhere, somehow, it would all manage to make her glad in some way anyway.
"Erwin." Levi started, biting his lip and looking down at where Erwin held his hand in the car like he always did. "Do you think we could see my mom tonight?"
"Of course. Whatever you want." Erwin said, giving him a small smile when Levi glanced at him.
He looked away from the road long enough to kiss the ring on Levi's finger, and then back, and they were silent until Erwin dropped him off when they said their goodbyes and I love you’s. That night, Levi took the bus to his old house after school and Erwin met him there once he got off work, and Levi made them all a quick but delicious dinner in the kitchen.
Hange ate with Kuchel in the other room while Levi, Erwin, and Kenny ate at the table. Kenny reacted to the news with his own kind of special elation, because he and Erwin ended up getting along well after their initial meeting. In fact, Levi might even call them friends, and it was just something else Levi would always be confused about. He chalked it up to the fact that they both had a fondness for terrible, shitty jokes, or maybe Erwin just had some kind of magical power to charm everyone in his family that Levi didn’t understand.
“Great job, shrimp!” Kenny exclaimed once he saw the rings, a wide, terrifying grin on his face as he planted a beer in front of Levi in congratulations. “Have one on me.”
Then, he turned to Erwin, and clapped him on the back so hard that even Levi winced. “You’re gonna be an Ackerman now, bigshot. I’m pretty proud, I gotta say.”
Erwin just smiled while Levi rolled his eyes, because he was pretty sure Erwin wasn’t going to change his last name to Ackerman. Either way, he hadn’t even thought about that and didn’t really care about it right then, because honestly, his mind was on Kuchel. It was enough to distract him from dinner, causing him to just mindlessly pick around on his plate while Kenny and Erwin ate and bantered.
She had seemed restless when they’d gotten there - something that happened a lot in the evening, for whatever reason - and he hadn’t even been able to say hello. Hange had herded them into the kitchen so they wouldn’t make it worse, and as he understood it, they were doing their best to calm her down and put her in a good mood before Levi spoke with her. Dinner usually helped because it was a distraction, he knew, and sure enough, it wasn’t long after they’d told Kenny that Hange stuck their head around the corner and gestured for Levi to come with them.
Levi stood up at once and left his plate of food on the table, aware of Erwin’s eyes on him even as he continued to talk to Kenny. When he entered the living room, Kuchel had a tray that she was eating small bites from with Hange’s help, the remnants of a puzzle on another table nearby. She was in a recliner, and when Levi sat down in a chair beside her after Hange left to give them some privacy, she looked over at him a bit suspiciously.
It was always like that because she didn’t know him, and since he wasn’t there every day, every time he showed up it was like she was meeting a stranger for the first time.
“Hello.” She said though, speaking to him first before he could open his mouth. That was unusual, and Levi forced himself to smile. “Hange says I know you. And that you have good news.”
“Yeah.” Levi started, his mouth hanging open as he had to stop himself from calling Kuchel mom. He’d never gotten used to not, but doing so these days just upset her or made her more confused. “I came over because I wanted to tell you something. Me and Erwin are getting married.”
“Who is Erwin?”
“My boyfr-my fiancé .”
“Well, who are you?”
“I’m Levi.”
Levi spoke calmly during the exchange, trying to keep his expression soft and gentle even if on the inside, he felt numb with sadness. At this point he was so used to it that he barely noticed, though, and waited while his mother’s eyes unfocused when she heard his name. It always seemed to make her pause as if she knew it was something she should know, but in the end she just couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried. Sometimes it caused her to get upset and sometimes it didn’t, and as always, Levi braced himself just in case.
Luckily, however, this time her newfound decent mood was apparently going to hold.
“I like that name.” She said a moment later, and the corner of Levi’s mouth twitched up into a smile. “Weddings are nice. Are you going to invite my son?”
At that, it was Levi’s turn to pause, eyeing his mother who didn’t even know who she was talking to or what about, really. At least she remembered she had a son this time, he supposed, even if she didn’t realize her son’s name was Levi and that she was sitting right across from him.
"Yeah." He said eventually, because it was useless to try to explain. "Yeah, he'll be there."
Again, Kuchel’s eyes unfocused and she turned to look down at her lap, frowning as if she was chasing some forgotten memory. "I hope he's happy. I’m afraid I lost him. I-"
"He is happy.” Levi said immediately, interrupting Kuchel because this was something she had said before. On an impulse, he reached over to take her hand - the one that was resting on the edge of her recliner - and hoped she didn’t get upset or angry. She didn’t, thankfully, and although she didn’t look at him either, after a moment he felt her frail fingers tighten around his. “And you didn’t lose him. That’s impossible.”
Kuchel nodded her head but otherwise, didn’t respond, and after a moment Levi let go of her hand and slumped back into his chair. She had started picking at her blanket and mumbling, and he had a sense that whatever semblance of conversation they’d been having was now over. It was at that point that he saw Erwin, standing behind her at the entrance to the kitchen and just watching him, and Levi got up, walking over to embrace him when he saw that Kenny had left the room.
“What did she say?” Erwin asked softly, hugging him as the both of them eyed Hange when they passed to bring Kuchel a cup of tea.
“She said she hopes we invite her son to the wedding.” Levi mumbled, not surprised when Erwin smiled and chuckled a bit.
It was sad that she didn’t understand that her son was the one getting married, but it was also kind of amusing despite everything, because Levi was certainly planning on showing up to his own wedding, whenever that was going to be.
As it turned out, it took place just over a year later, in a small ceremony that included just immediate friends and family. They'd waited until Levi had graduated from culinary school to even start planning, but had been so impatient by that time that they didn't bother having a big celebration. Erwin had already done that once in his life and Levi didn't care - after everything and all those years, all he wanted was for Erwin to officially be his husband.
When it happened he felt elated, unable to stop himself from smiling when Erwin kissed him at the end of the ceremony. They interlocked hands and stayed that way during the entire reception, and afterward, Erwin drove Levi out to a small graveyard, just so that he could place a single flower from their wedding decorations over a recently carved gravestone that read ‘Kuchel Ackerman.’ He did it without shedding a single tear and with Erwin behind him, still in his tuxedo with his arms wrapped around Levi's waist for silent support
“She would be happy.” He said to him quiet after a moment, a statement to which Levi nodded.
He bit his lip and turned around, taking Erwin's hand in his - the ones with their new rings - and squeezed it. “I know. So would Marie.”
Erwin's smile in response to that was as grateful as it always was, relieved that Levi accepted that part of his past even after all these years. It was enough so that Levi nearly felt a twinge of sadness for him, because what kind of person wouldn't? However, he was too glad that day for anything to ruin it - even all of this. It was because he knew that even though he'd lost his mother he would always have Erwin, and that whatever the future would bring too he would never be alone. It was a comforting though, and so, after taking a deep breath and pausing for one last moment to silently say goodbye to his mother, he gripped Erwin's hand tightly and pulled him off, exiting the graveyard with him so that they could drive off to start their new lives together.