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Teacups, Levi thought? Check .
Spoons? Check .
Sugar and milk? Double check .
The entire roll of paper towels that was absolutely, completely necessary in case of spills? Yes. He had it. He had everything they needed for a tea party except for the actual tea, in fact, including tiny finger sandwiches for food, but their drinks just required one more minute and then everything would be set. While waiting on it, he arranged all of the items he’d grabbed neatly on a tray, humming to himself while he did so until the pot on his stove started whistling. When that happened, he grabbed it and set it in the center of everything and then carefully began to make his way out of the kitchen, walking down the hall, up the stairs, and around the corner, where the sound of girlish, high-pitched chattering mixed with that of Erwin’s deep voice gradually grew louder.
It drew him in, and as he reached the doorway to Erwin’s old-office-turned-playroom he spotted what he’d already known to be causing all of the noise: Adie, Levi’s daughter — no, he thought, his and Erwin’s daughter, their child, their little girl — and Erwin, his husband, seated around a kiddie-sized pink, plastic table near the center of the room. Predictably enough, Erwin looked comical behind it due to his size, especially because he had two small, red, and glittering bows stuck in his blonde hair. They were small, and obviously, Levi knew, Adie had ‘dressed’ him like that while he’d been downstairs getting everything ready, making sure that he looked nice, probably, because...well, because they were supposed to be having a formal tea party, after all.
“Daddy!” Adie exclaimed when Levi walked in, practically leaping to her feet while Erwin smiled up at him — his expression bemused and warm and happy, Levi thought, which made him have to bite a smile of his own back.
“C’mere, munchkin.” He told Adie instead, even as she rounded the table as fast as her four year old legs could take her.
Stopping at his side while he set the tray down, she watched everything he did with rapt attention and wide eyes that were bright with interest, an obvious glimmer of excitement visible behind them too that Levi was not surprised about at all in the least. No, he thought, she’d been looking forward to this all week, ever since she’d begged them to have a tea party before they’d even had a chance to say yes — not that they would have said no — after she’d seen it in some kiddie movie involving princesses that she’d watched with Erwin. Once they’d agreed she’d practically jumped up and down in happiness, but because she attended pre-school and they both worked during the week, they’d had to wait until the weekend to have it.
Thankfully, though, Adie was a sweet little girl and managed to be patient, sort of, although it probably helped that Levi spent time with her each night ‘planning’ it to somewhat mitigate her enthusiasm. They’d decided on a guest list — both her daddies as well as her favorite doll and a stuffed rabbit were invited, she’d pronounced — and even made little ‘invitations’ out of construction paper and crayon. She’d scrawled names down with Levis assistance, of course, along with the time, and he hadn’t been able to hide his smile when she’d proudly presented Erwin with his once they were done.
Naturally, Erwin had acted the part of a flattered, excited guest well, pulling Adie into his lap and showering her with kisses, continuing to play along and indulge her, too, by asking her all kinds of questions about what the party would be like. That led to Levi realizing they hadn’t picked out any refreshments besides the tea — which was inexcusable when they were trying to make everything perfect for her — and predictably enough, after he gave Adie her options, he ended up spending that morning preparing cookies and tiny, corner-cut peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sweet, kid friendly things that were not necessarily healthy, but that neither Levi nor Erwin had half a mind to ever deny her.
How could they, he thought, when she was still so adorable and so innocent, still young enough and without any real troubles, blessedly, so that the simplest of things like that was all it took to make her happy? He didn’t know, and...well, he’d just have to make sure that there was plenty of fruit to go with her usual Saturday breakfast of french toast and milk. Naturally, he did just that, and because her excitement had started to overwhelm her by then, Erwin helped Levi get her dressed and then took her to the park for some distraction and exercise while he cleaned up the kitchen, taking the time, too, to prepare everything for the tea party without her trying to climb up his legs or jumping up and down in excitement behind him.
When they’d gotten back, Levi knew, Erwin had taken her straight upstairs to the playroom to keep her busy while he finished things up, which had, of course, led to where he was now: watching Adie practically trip over herself to reach him so that she could stare with impossibly wide eyes at the tray he’d put down.
“Adie, do you want to help me set the table?” Levi asked her then, keeping her obvious fascination and excitement in mind while he ruffled her hair and sank down onto his knees. Gently guiding her closer, he kissed her cheek while she nodded enthusiastically, right before he took one of the tiny, child-sized teacups they’d gotten so that he could place it into her outstretched palms. “Take this cup. Be careful. Give it your daddy over there, please.”
Again, Adie beamed, but this time she managed to trot around the table rather than run haphazardly, cradling the cup like it was something precious so that she could hand it off to Erwin.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Erwin told her once he received it, giving her a soft smile and speaking in the same kind, quiet, and gentle voice that he had always reserved only for her.
It made Levi’s heart warm to hear it, he thought, perhaps because it was almost exactly like the one Erwin used with him, except for the fact that it was more soothing since...well, since he was talking to a baby, but perhaps it was also because it was almost always accompanied by a shining expression of happiness and pride, one that Levi could see glistening behind Erwin’s bright blue eyes even now. He was feeling cheerful, Levi suspected, because of how much he loved her, because he was a good father — something that had just made Levi fall in love with Erwin even more, despite the fact that he hadn’t actually thought such a thing to be possible — and because he knew just like Levi did how lucky they were to have adopted such a perfect little girl like their Adie.
Unable to hold back his tiny, pleased smile any longer, Levi shared a few warm glances with Erwin while he finished helping Adie with the table setting, putting the teapot in the middle of it himself before he finally slid the tray over so that he could shift and sit closer to Erwin. When he did so, he felt Erwin place an arm around his waist immediately before he leaned over to kiss his cheek, lingering for a moment to almost nuzzle him, too, while Adie skipped over to grab her doll from a pile of toys across the room, talking — or shouting, really — to herself about tea and crumpets and whatever she had heard on the princess movie that had inspired all of this.
“Thank you for getting this together.” Erwin murmured into Levi’s ear over her voice, reaching down to take Levi’s hand in his free one so that he could next bring his fingers up to his lips too. “I know you’ve been busy at work, and—
“I didn’t mind.” Levi scoffed, shaking his head before he turned it so that he could give Erwin a real kiss, quickly. He shook his hand out of Erwin’s grip and used it to pull him down so that he could do so, leaning over, too, in an effort to rest himself up against his chest while still keeping an eye on Adie. “How was the park?”
Humming thoughtfully, Erwin rubbed at Levi’s back and turned his gaze on her too before answering. “Good. She played on the slide, and I pushed her on the swings. She was very careful and didn’t fall into the mud this time.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. She didn’t even go into the sandbox.”
“Good.” Levi mumbled under his breath, making sure that she couldn’t hear him before he spoke next. “Those things are fucking filthy.”
“I know. But I think she didn’t want to get dirt on her dress. This one is her favorite now, apparently.”
“Oh? So she’s moved passed the yellow one, then?”
“Yes. She told me this morning after her bath.”
Chuckling, Erwin shifted so that he could press another kiss to the top of Levi’s head, an affectionate smile on his face, surely, that was because of Adie’s particular fondness for dresses. She loved frilly ones, Levi thought, and all things pink and pretty and in general more feminine — not because they had ever pushed her towards that, but because she had just gravitated to it on her own by herself — and had a new favorite thing to wear almost every week. This time, apparently, it was a lightweight, eggshell blue dress that Levi could easily imagine her pouting for when Erwin tried to insist on pants for the park, probably because she had the idea in mind that she needed to look fancy for the tea party. As he’d thought earlier, that would explain the little bows that she had stuck in Erwin’s hair as well, likely having done so after they’d gotten back and they’d been waiting for Levi to join them with the tray.
“Really, though.” Erwin continued, while Levi mused about their daughter’s penchant for playing dress up. “Thank you. You’ve obviously made her very happy. You’re good at that, it seems. I would know.”
Feeling his cheeks warm at Erwin’s words — even after almost a decade together, Erwin still managed to somehow have that effect on him — Levi scoffed again too, even as he twisted so that he could press another kiss to Erwin’s inviting mouth. This time, he parted his lips and slid an arm around his neck and it lasted a bit longer, although he still kept one eye open, literally, so that he could make sure Adie wasn’t getting into something she shouldn’t be. She wasn’t, thankfully, and she wasn’t paying much attention to them either, which was good, because Levi was enjoying the uninterrupted attention from Erwin and how nice it was to be held in his embrace.
His touch felt as good as it always did, Levi thought, and he savored it, having learned by then that it was important to do so with moments like these as much as he could — the reason for which made itself known eventually, after Levi had pulled away and rubbed at Erwin’s chest in reassurance.
“I’m pretty sure you made her happy too.” He said, just in case Erwin even dared to think otherwise. Biting his lip, he reached up, brushing aside some of his hair before he adjusted one of the bows while Erwin smiled once more and even let out a laugh. “Looks like she had a good time fixing your hair.”
As if on cue, Adie — who had returned with her doll, aptly called Dolly, after she’d spent time playing with it before seating it into one of the other small chairs — apparently decided to tune back into their conversation, interrupting them by heading back around the table so that she could point at Levi’s hair with a dramatic frown.
“Daddy, you’re not ready!” She proclaimed, oblivious, of course, to everything that they’d been doing while Erwin chuckled knowingly beside him.
Barely restraining a smile at that, Levi shifted so that he could face her better while Erwin gave his shoulder a warm, gentle squeeze — as if in response to his reassurance, because their stolen moment was now over and he had missed his chance to say anything — right before his hand slipped down his back to casually hold onto his waist again.
“I’m not?” Levi asked Adie while Erwin did so, knowing, naturally, where this was going before she had even managed to tell him.
“ No! I have to fix your hair!” She said sure enough, padding over to another play table near the doorway.
This one, Levi knew, was supposed to be a vanity, one with a small fake mirror and a tiny stool where she sometimes pretended to ‘get dressed.’ There were bows scattered about on top of it along with a child-sized brush and some plastic jewelry, and Levi watched as she grabbed some of the hair accessories and returned to him with a determined look on her face.
“My hair?” Levi asked her, aiming to tease even as he opened his arms so that she could climb into his lap. Taking the opportunity to hug her close, too, he ducked his head down, hoping that it would help her easily reach the top of it with her tiny fingers and toddler sized arms. “What’s wrong with my hair?”
“It has to look pretty for the party.”
“What about Dolly?”
“I already fixed her hair!” Adie huffed because clearly Levi should have known that already — something that was true, he supposed, because he’d noticed her brushing the doll’s hair while he and Erwin had been talking — her round face now pinched in concentration while she worked to pin a bow on top of his head.
Beside him, he could practically feel Erwin’s warm smile even if he couldn’t see it because Adie was in the way, and it was the thought of that, perhaps, which kept him from wincing when she tugged too hard on his hair before finally letting go. Once she did, though, Erwin snorted — probably at what she’d done to him — and reached out to brush a strand of Adie’s own brown locks away from her face, careful not to disturb the small, white flower that must have been tucked behind her ear that morning.
“I like your flower.” He murmured, having notice it earlier, of course, and assumed that Erwin had given it to her while they’d been at the park. “Did daddy pick that for you?”
“Yes...” Adie answered, pausing for a moment, Levi saw, as if to think.
Her eyes unfocused a bit and it was clear that she was recalling the memory, one which caused her to glance over at Erwin a second later as if she was seeking some kind of confirmation. Naturally, Erwin just nodded and smiled widely at her, leaning over next so that he could plant a volley of tickling kisses on her face, all of which served to make her giggle and squirm in Levi’s lap while he snorted in amusement too. His chest swelled with fondness, and he smiled a bit until Erwin stopped and she calmed down and he had to fix the flower in her hair, teasingly clicking his tongue at Erwin while he did so and while he also straightened Adie’s dress.
“Are you ready for tea?” He said, feeling a little surprised, actually, that she hadn’t asked for that already. “It’s going to get cold soon if we don’t start.”
Nodding eagerly at the question — now that Levi’s hair was pretty enough, he supposed, in her opinion — she stepped out of his arms and began to head back around the table to her seat, stopping before she could get there, though, and drawing her thin brows down in concern. She looked perturbed, Levi thought, or confused, like something was wrong but she couldn’t figure out what, but thankfully, even without her having to say anything, Erwin had figured it out within a second of her pausing.
“Where’s Mr. Rabbit?” He asked, obviously referring to Adie’s stuffed rabbit, of course, the one who she’d ‘invited’ along with Erwin and Levi and her favorite doll.
It was missing, Levi saw, and upon hearing Erwin’s question she finally realized it too, widening her eyes right before she looked around the room hurriedly with a frown.
“Umm…” She murmured, appearing to be deep in thought about where the rabbit actually was herself — right before she suddenly planted her hands on her hips dramatically and turned to face Levi and Erwin with a very stern, very disapproving expression. “He’s late!”
“Oh no.” Erwin replied, while Levi clicked his tongue again in displeasure beside him, admittedly struggling to play along, though, because the way Adie was pursing her lips as hard as she could was making her cheeks puff out so cutely that it nearly made his heart ache. “Why is he late?”
“He got lost.”
“He got lost? Does he need help finding his way?”
Moving her head up and down in a nod in a very exaggerated manner, Adie confirmed that Mr. Rabbit did need assistance — all of which Levi suspected was code for she had misplaced the stuffed animal and wanted one of them to help her look for it. Because Erwin had been the one talking to her, he shifted to do just that before Levi even could, telling her ‘okay,’ and leaning over to give Levi a quick kiss as he got up to go assist her. Smiling, he scooped Adie up into his arms with ease and began to carry her off to her actual bedroom, taking her there, Levi thought, because that was likely where the rabbit had been left the last time she’d had it.
Sometimes she slept with it and he suspected that it had ended up under her toddler bed, or somewhere in the closet because she often played in there by herself in the mornings when she woke up before they did. If not, he thought...well, then hopefully she wouldn’t get upset or anything like that, because they still hadn’t technically started the tea party and the pot really was going to go cold. With that in mind, Levi decided that it might be best to get the refreshments actually ready and dispensed, mostly so that when she came back — either with Mr. Rabbit, he thought, or with the replacement doll or toy that he trusted Erwin to provide should they not be able to locate it — they could get started and keep Adie in a good mood.
Humming to himself again, Levi rose up onto his knees and began to pour the tea into each of the little cups, including those of Dolly and where their other lost guest was supposed to sit. In Adie’s he added lots of sugar and milk — she had a strong sweet tooth, like Erwin — and then divided up the peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches among all of their plates. At that point, after setting out napkins, too, he unfortunately realized that he’d forgotten the cookies downstairs in the kitchen, biting his lip and looking towards the doorway where Erwin and Adie had disappeared a few moments ago.
“Erwin!” He called out, standing up off the floor and walking into the hallway. “I forgot something downstairs. I’m going to get it.”
“Alright.” Erwin responded, after he’d poked his head around Adie’s doorframe with a smile. “We found the rabbit. She’s ‘brushing’ his ears.”
Snorting at that image, Levi nodded and then turned to make his way back to the kitchen, wondering how he could have forgotten the cookies after he’d gone through his mental checklist several times over in his head. Had he just skipped past that item? He wasn’t sure, but oh well. It actually didn’t matter, not at all, because he was able to grab the jar of them off the counter and head back upstairs within a few minutes. Now, he thought, the tea party really would be ready, but as he again reached the playroom, he heard Adie giggling again and soon saw that she and Erwin had apparently gotten started without him.
Not that that mattered either, of course, but they must have come back in right after he’d left and seen the tea in their cups, because they were both holding them out and preparing to take a sip. Amusingly enough, too, they had their pinkies outstretched — it looked like Erwin had done so first playfully, and she’d followed to mimic him — and...well, the sight made him feel so warm and happy all of a sudden that he found himself stopping in place just to watch. Again, while standing there, he mused about how lucky he was, truly, that this was his life, that he had a loving husband and a daughter, a family , things that he wouldn’t have thought he’d ever end up with when he’d been younger.
Knowing that he wouldn’t change any of it for the world, Levi couldn’t help but smile to himself in that moment, just a little, taking a few more seconds to savor the perfect snapshot he was viewing before Erwin noticed he had returned — and before Adie noticed the cookies — and set down his cup to wave him over.
“Daddy’s back!” He told Adie, while also giving him a soft, knowing smile, one that Levi knew was because he’d seen the expression of his face and had probably figured out what he was thinking.
Ages ago, he might have gotten embarrassed. Now, though, he was past that, too happy and secure and content to fucking care, and instead of hiding it he just smiled back at Erwin and walked over to again take a seat next to him.
“I love you, Levi.” Erwin murmured to him while he got situated and gave Adie her cookies, successfully managing to distract her for a moment so that he could lean into Erwin and curl up against him as best as he could, turning his head up, too, for a warm kiss that came after Erwin had pressed his face into his hair again and sighed seemingly in bliss.
Together, like that, they sat around the table and played with their daughter, finishing up the tea party without another hitch or even with any spills.