Chapter Text
Mikasa and Farlan’s wedding was a splendid event, one which brought a bright smile to the faces of all the guests who attended. Eren was especially overcome with joy to see his sister so happy. The joy was tinged with a bittersweet feeling, as Eren wished their mother could be with them, but knew she would have been exceedingly proud. Mikasa was absolutely radiant in a gown that lightly and effortlessly trailed across the church aisle behind her. The dress was simple, yet elegant, with puffed sleeves and satin trim. The snow-white fabric complimented her hair, artfully woven at the crown of her head, bespeckled with pearls and white flowers that bloomed like stars in the night sky. Farlan was dressed in a satin vest and powder blue jacket, his windswept hair for once tamed (with help from Mikasa as she fussed over her husband-to-be before the ceremony). Mr. Jaeger walked Mikasa down the aisle, more than pleased to escort his daughter to such a wealthy fiance. During the ceremony, Eren noted how Mikasa’s eyes shone with love and adoration whenever Farlan glanced her way. Eren would then glance at his own lover, who sat nearby in the pews, and the two gentlemen would share a knowing look. Then Eren’s cheeks would flush, and he would return his attention to the vows taking place, which were expressed with full feeling and sincerity on both parts. After the wedding, Mikasa and Farlan rode off in a horse-drawn carriage, and Mikasa, whose bell-like laughter rang sweetly, threw the bouquet of flowers behind her into the crowd watching them go. It was a joyous day in the lives of the Jaeger family.
During the months that followed, as Mikasa settled into her new life at Netherfield, Eren and Levi’s relationship steadily intensified as they grew nearly inseparable. It seemed that all the time they had spent apart from one another had made them acquire an insatiable desire to be near each other as much as possible. Eren wished never to be parted from Levi again, as their pride and prejudice had left a chasm between them that caused more pain than he could bear. Eren felt closer to Levi than ever before; with each passing day he fell deeper in love, which he could hardly believe possible, yet, he somehow knew it was, and that he would never stop falling. Oftentimes, he was startled by how fiercely he loved Levi. He loved Levi’s stern brow, his night-black hair and starlit eyes, his sharp, yet delicate features and intimidating countenance, behind which there was vulnerability and a caring nature that he now openly shared with Eren. Levi laid his heart bare to Eren; every day he offered it again and again, and each time Eren would accept it fully.
Levi had grown cordial, more gentlemanly, more open with his kindness towards others; Eren had changed him. However, Levi still held his ground when he needed to, and now and then the crease would return to his brow. Whenever he laid eyes on Eren, though - the beautiful, strong-willed, carefree, passionate Eren - the stern expression would instantly melt away into adoration. This was something Eren had become familiar with and quite addicted to. Eren didn’t mind Levi’s stern expressions - he had grown fond of them, as he had grown fond of everything about him. He saw the kindness and warmth behind those eyes, though not everyone could, and that Levi expressed himself with actions rather than words. Eren couldn’t help but feel thrilled that Levi trusted him with such carefully guarded vulnerability. Levi had learned to be cordial and warm with others; he had come to behave in a more gentlemanly-like manner. With Eren, however, he showed a side unknown to most, kept locked away in a hidden chest that only Eren had the key to.
While Eren loved fiercely, Levi loved steadfastly. Eren’s love was a flower that burst into bloom at the arrival of spring; Levi’s was strong, certain, and unmoving as a mountain. Their love for each other was equal in purity and intensity, although they took different forms, and therefore revealed themselves differently.
Eren grew curious as to how Levi fell in love with him; one day, as they walked side by side through a sunlit meadow, he asked Levi, in a playful manner, how he had come to fall in love with him.
“I cannot fix upon the hour, or the place, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun,” Levi had answered, an ever-so-slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“My handsomeness you had early withstood,” teased Eren, “and as for my manners - my behavior to you was at least always bordering on the uncivil, and I never spoke to you without wishing to give you pain. Now be sincere, did you admire me for my impertinence?”
“For the liveliness of your mind, I did,” Levi confessed. He stopped to pull Eren in for a kiss, which Eren happily obliged.
Eren and Levi had many of those sunny days, as well as chilled days, and days that were somewhere in between; no matter what the weather, they would enjoy each other’s company. They would go on frequent outings together, as Levi knew how fond Eren was of walking, in the peaceful countryside shielded from public view. There were days where Eren joined Levi in horseback riding, and days when Levi coached Eren in fencing, although those lessons often ended earlier than planned with hasty kisses and unbuttoned collars.
Some days were bright, warm, and lazy, spent basking in the sun-kissed grass with Eren lying on top of Levi, his chin in his hand as he watched him sleep. Eren would gaze in wonder at Levi’s dark lashes against his alabaster cheeks, which were lent a warm glow. The tree leaves would rustle in the passing breeze, and the birds would sing, which nearly lulled Eren to sleep as well. Eren’s soft breaths against Levi’s cheek would cause his lashes to flutter as he opened his eyes to gaze at his beloved, his lips spreading into an infectious, rarely seen smile. Although, this smile was not so rare to the man it was meant for.
Some days, when it was raining, and perhaps even storming, Levi and Eren were content to simply sit together by the hearth in the parlour at Pemberley. They would read as it rained outside, with Levi letting his arm fall off the armrest for Eren to tentatively lower his hand and brush against his fingertips with his own. The rain would patter against the window, through which could be viewed the far-off rolling hills. Levi and Eren would be alone, with only Isabel and the servants in the house, and occasionally Farlan and Mikasa, who would visit. Isabel was well aware of the nature of Levi and Eren’s relationship, and kept their secret with great care; she wanted nothing but happiness for her dear brother and his love.
It was in this way that Eren and Levi enjoyed each other’s company; so much so that Levi decided to appoint Eren as his protégé to train him in fencing and horseback riding. In addition, Eren would play piano for him, sometimes with Isabel, who encouraged him to keep practicing. Levi never tired of Eren’s singing as it ran out clearly and sweetly into the halls of Pemberley. And so, Eren spent most of his days at Pemberley with Levi, even being granted his own spare room, although he did not spend much time in it. At times, the servants could swear they saw Eren creep silently across the hall into Levi’s bedchamber. There were rumors amongst the servants, although they would never tell, that more often than not, Eren would spend the night in Levi’s room. During the day, Levi and Eren would sometimes disappear into different rooms of the house; some days it was the billiard room, from which Levi would emerge with a skewed collar not quite high enough to hide what may have been love marks. Levi’s hair would be tousled, as would Eren’s, and his cravat would be undone. Sometimes, Eren and Levi would whisper sweet nothings by the window in the hall. It was those moments, when Eren sat with one leg propped up on the windowsill, the light leaving a golden kiss upon his cheek, and his emerald eyes filled with laughter, that Levi perhaps found him the most breathtaking.
Some nights, Levi and Eren would journey out, although no one knew where. They would traverse the town in long, sweeping coats that grazed the cobbled stone streets; both men donned top hats, clutching riding crops in their gloved hands as they strolled through the mist towards a tavern they knew to be a molly-house. There Levi and Eren would freely show affection to one another, as other couples drank and conversed amongst each other; the high spirits of the men allowed a joyous and infectious energy to fill the room. Eren could usually be found seated on Levi’s lap, his arm draped around his lover’s shoulders as he observed the surrounding scene with a lopsided smile, his cheeks flushed, and Levi, who was just as transfixed with Eren as when he first met him, could not look away. Levi admired Eren’s ever so slightly disheveled hair, bright eyes, and bubbling laughter. Oftentimes, Levi could be seen resting his hand on Eren’s thigh as he hid his face in the crook of his neck.
Sometimes Levi and Eren would return to Pemberley from their travels at night, with their arms wrapped about each other in the dark, intoxicated by the moonlight.
It was nights like these, and the sunny and chilly days Eren and Levi shared, wherever they found themselves, that Eren and Levi fell ever more deeply, and helplessly, in love.
Eren had found true happiness - a happiness he hadn’t thought possible.
And so had Levi.
Winter and spring had never been so intertwined.