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It was a lovely Saturday and Eren wanted nothing more to do than spend it with his boyfriend Levi.
Reuniting in their new lives when Eren was at the tender age of 10, the pair had honestly gone through a lot even in this new, peaceful world. With a 10 year difference between them, their reunion occurred at the corner of Freuger Street while Eren was out accompanying his mom on buying groceries and Levi was returning from a part time job at a renowned law firm.
Tears welling up his bright green eyes, Eren had flung himself onto Levi and drenched his finely ironed shirt with his waterfall of emotions. Though he would have usually blown up from such filthiness (I guarantee that if it had been Hanji, there would be blood shed), Levi was also so overwhelmed with his emotions from meeting that precious boy again that he ignored the sticky feeling on his shirt and embraced Eren into his arms.
It was almost like a scene from a picture book. A reunion between two old lovers. And it was made conveniently more conventionally attractive to the eye by Eren being the shorter of the two at the time as fitting for his age. But, reality is reality and that means it’s cruel.
“POLICE!! A PERVERT IS TOUCHING MY SON!!!” Karla shrieked out and all eyes on the busy intersection turned to the embracing pair and Levi got a good taste of the power of society that day.
A couple hours later after some convincing done on Eren’s part and some interrogation done by the police, Levi was free to go with his record intact but pride not.
Karla and Levi introduced themselves to each other and Eren told her that Levi was the “Corporal” that he had always talked about since he was young. Karla looked unconvinced at first, but gradually started accepting the 20 year old man. She could see how overjoyed Eren was to be by Levi’s side again and after observing the kind glow in Levi’s eyes when he looks at Eren, she was convinced that they were in a sense soul mates and she couldn’t possibly pull them apart.
But, rules of society do still exist and she forbid them from actually taking their relationship from a sort of friends (Eren furiously shook his head at this. Friends? With Corporal Levi!? NO! He’s not fitting to be called Levi’s friend, oh Sina forbid!) to lovers. Eren went bright red at even the thought and Levi understood that Eren wasn’t the age to be making big decisions at that and resolved to have a platonic relationship with Eren till he did reach of age.
Afterwards, Levi often visited the Jaeger household. Despite his busy schedule, what with work and school and all, Levi always made time to purely spend time with Eren. It was a lovely sight to see the two out on the porch together eating Karla’s homemade cookies and talking about their daily lives, the people around them, and dreams for the future.
When Grisha first found out about Eren’s future husband, he had started to protest, but was soon knocked over to the side of the road by Karla before even a syllable of it reached the pair’s ears. Grisha’s journals later report that something has awakened in Karla and mentions of “Papa has been replaced ;_;” could be seen often.
Life was going smoothly.
Eren was now 15, the peak years of teenage-dom, and he was starting to realize his bubbly feelings for the older male. It was a mix of butterflies in his stomach with societal expectations to ice cream soda to awkwardness. It was no longer a rare sight for Eren to furiously blush from Levi’s offhanded remarks (that really just sound like a husband bragging about his darling wife) and run away in embarrassment, leaving Levi standing there wondering what he did to upset him. Karla could be seen grinning from ear to ear whenever Levi went to her for advice on how to handle Eren’s puberty phase and other such matters. She gave the same advice every time though: just let things go as they’re going to go, you’ll be fine.
Grisha’s journals later report that Karla has an external hard drive labelled “Riren” and was reprimanded for even touching it. “Papa is lonely.;_; Maybe I’ll go on a journey. Then everyone will realize how much I’m needed!” It was also later reported 3 months after this entry that no one has made contact yet with him. “Maybe I’m just too good at disappearing. As expected of me...Amazing, Dr. Jaeger...”
18.
Finally, things were coming to an end, or rather the beginning for Levi. It marked the end of Levi’s internal battle between his common sense and desire.
He was starting to ask for advice from Karla a lot more often and though it was mortifying telling the mom of the object of his affections that he was having a hard time not tapping that, he did feel oddly refreshed after telling someone else about it. He could never tell anyone at work or any of his friends. Hanji and Erwin, who he reunited with 2 years ago, would just laugh and tell him that it’s still a crime and they don’t want to bail him out of jail.
Grisha was surprisingly helpful in calming the storm within Levi.
He had given the man a present on the Christmas of last year. With a grave expression, Levi had prepared himself for the worst.
Could it be, I order you to break up with Eren?
Never go near my family again?
I won’t accept you as my son-in-law till you get two gold medals and climb Mount Everest!?
Levi was sure he could take anything he threw at him, but this preparation was for naught as Grisha simply gave him a wrapped package. Opening it up, Levi felt a wave flush his heart and he could only look at Grisha. They nodded to each other and went their separate ways back to where Karla and Eren were preparing dinner in the kitchen. Inside the package was a journal. Grisha’s diaries later report that this was the first time that he felt like he truly connected with Levi.
Yes, finally the two had gone from sort-of-friends to lovers. It was easy for everyone around them to accept as it was common knowledge that from the moment they met, they were simply meant to be. Even those without their memories of their past life like Krista and Ymir commented that the two just fit together. They knew each other’s quirks, weaknesses, and ways of life.
Happiness---that’s really what they felt. Quite a difference from the despair and cruelty of their past lives.
But, as usual, reality was cruel and it pierced Levi’s heart every time he looked at Eren.
There was a certain concern that Levi has had ever since Eren turned 15. He was hoping that things would be different this time around, but alas, it truly is fate it seems. He started biting his nails when Eren reached 16 and now it was almost hopeless at the age of 18.
In his past life, he had attributed his short stature to the lack of nutrition in his childhood and stress he put his body through when he trained under Kenny. So when he himself turned 5 in this new life, he swore that he would grow at least 180 cm, 10 cm higher than Eren was in their past life.
He ate well, slept well, and exercised well, but his vertical stature would just not seem to budge from the height he was last life.
Yes...Levi, at the age of 28, well past his growing years, was a mere 165 cm. Eren had caught up to him at age 13 and now Eren was 175 cm. The 10 cm difference did not change.
Oh how he despaired. In his past life, he was frigging Humanity’s Strongest! Anyone who talked shit, would eat shit. But modern day society had standards on what constituted attractive and despite the fineness of his facial structures and piercing gray eyes, he was essentially the same height as the average girl. He had to deal with clients at the law firm looking at him like he was incompetent, with random jackasses calling him lady, with muggers underestimating him on the streets. Unfortunately since beating up people was against the law, his middle finger got quite the work out.
Eren tried reasoning with him, telling him that he loves Levi no matter how tall he is. But this was a matter of a man’s pride on the line.
When he was 25 was when he seriously started working out. His body was definitely not as toned as it was in their past life due to higher amounts of calories consumed daily and obviously the lack of rigor in exercising in the gym compared to 3D maneuver gear. However, Levi was damn determined that if he didn’t have the height, he at least had everything else. He had to be a fitting husband for Eren or else he wouldn’t be able to look Karla and Grisha straight in the eye.
Everyday, run 4 miles in the morning. Hop by the gym for 15 reps with 160 lb in 10 minutes. Pull ups for 15 reps. Endurance reps.
No eating past 8 pm. Not too much sugars or carbs. Consume at least 2 liters of water per day.
Be styling at the law firm, making a good 200k salary with additional income from various investments.
Dress sharply with brand name suits, tailored fit.
And of course, Levi’s pride and joy. A beautiful Aston Martin DB9 Volante. It boasted 510 horsepower and the ability to go from 0 mph to 60 in just 5 seconds. It cost a year’s salary, but Levi had to say it was all worth it.
Levi goes up to Eren now after revving into his high school’s field with his baby, ignoring the angry shouts from teachers. Stepping out with his suit finely ironed as usual, Levi smirks and grabs Eren’s chin.
“Hey babe, let’s go for a spin in this.” He internally cringes at the ‘babe’ calling, but he can stand it if he thinks about how it’s all for Eren. He unfortunately fails to realize that Eren is more freaked out than moved.
“...Uh...okay...” Eren didn’t seem to be that happy.
“What? Do you not like it?” His eyes showed his hurt and that hit Eren’s heart more than the car. He was, after all, madly in love.
“Of course not! I love you!!” Eren squealed and wrapped his arms around Levi’s head, hurting his pride a bit. They say love is blind and it seems to be true as Levi didn’t realize that Eren said nothing about loving the car.
They both got in and soon the car was off, leaving a trail of dust and raging teachers.
Connie walked up to a student with a particularly long face and asked, “So who was that?”
“That?” Jean looked as if he was pondering over the meaning of life. “That...was Eren’s sugar daddy.”
“Oh...Sweet, think I can ask Eren to get me new headphones?”
“Dude, you are so compensating.”
“What?”
“I said, you’re compensating!” Hanji repeated herself.
“For what?”
“What else but your height? You’re still as vertically challenged as ever.”
“You’re lucky I had a date with Eren yesterday so I’m in a good mood or else you’d be ordering a new pair of glasses right about now.” Levi glared at her while setting down his tea.
“See! You say you don’t care now that you’re ~all that~, but you totally do! That’s why you got that new car!”
Levi looked offended. He named that car after his favorite horse in his past life; that was how precious it was to him now. “Do not talk about Gloria like that.”
“Oh my god, you named it...” This was more serious than she originally thought.
“What’s so wrong about taking care of my body and getting a new car?”
“It’s not bad per say...but the only reason you care is because you’re worried about your height, right?”
“...No...” He avoided her stare.
“Yeah, sure.” Hanji rolled her eyes. “Losing confidence or something? Think Eren’s gonna choose some other guy off the street because you’re shorter than him? You were shorter than him last life too, what’s the problem now?”
Levi folded his hands in front of him and stared at the steam coming from the tea. “You don’t understand, Hanji...”
This caught her attention. Could it be possible that maybe there was a deeper meaning underneath all these actions?
“...Can you imagine how I felt when we went shopping together and Eren was called the husband...? Me? The wife? Now that’s fine really. But, damn it, I’m the husband!!”
Nope, it was something stupid after all.
Bing.
“Ah, a text from Eren.” Within a couple seconds, Levi had already shot off his reply. Are you a teenage girl?
For the next couple minutes, it was a back and forth between Eren and Levi. Hanji eventually couldn’t stand not knowing what they were talking about and stole the phone from his hands.
Eren: (○^∇^)_旦~~ ???
Levi: (〃∇〃)
Levi: (ﾟ▽ﾟ)(｡_｡)(ﾟ▽ﾟ)(｡_｡)
Eren: ヾ(＠＾▽＾＠)ﾉ
Levi: ♪～～(／≧∇)／＼(∇≦＼)～～♪
Eren: !∑('O'(ｰ^*)chu♪
Levi: ＤＥＥＰ (*￣(^ *) ＫＩＳＳ！
Eren: (／ω＼)
Levi: (●´ω｀●)
“...............”
“What?”
“I don’t get life.”
Levi soon excused himself to go pick up Eren from the grocery store. He left a 20 dollar bill on the table and as he left he could hear Hanji scream “how the hell did you get that from that conversation!?”
Lady luck was smiling upon Levi when he found a parking spot right in front of the grocery store Eren usually frequents. Pedestrians on the street all pointed and whispered in hushed voices making Levi feel a bit smug.
However, the sight in front of the store that greeted him plunged his mood to an all-time low.
A burly, older man was holding onto Eren’s arm and was latching his filthy hand around Eren’s waist with his other arm. Levi could feel anger boiling within him and he stomped over there to kick that guy’s ass.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Eren looked immensely relieved. “Levi!”
“What, shortie? Mind your own damn business.” The laugh took one look and snorted, not letting go of Eren’s arm.
“Levi is not a shortie!” Eren was the one who got mad before Levi did. He quickly spun, breaking the grip the guy had on him and took his arm while spinning, twisting the wrist into a painful position.
“Okay, okay! Let go, let go!” The guy scrunched his face with pain.
“Not until you apologize for calling Levi a shortie! He might be short, but he’s a better man than you’ll ever be!”
“Please, look at him. I think shortie is justifiable. And he’s compensating so much. Just take a look at his car.” Eren froze up. Levi looked horrified that Eren wasn’t responding to that accusation.
“..................” A heavy atmosphere filled the shopping area. Levi looked to the guy and the guy looked back. Eren still wasn’t speaking. Mothers were whispering in the background. Some kid was complaining that apple flavor tastes like crap.
“Levi is......Levi is...Levi might be compensating for some areas, but you don’t need to worry about that because......because...”
“Because?” Levi and the guy asked at the same time.
“BECAUSE HE SATISFIES ME BETTER THAN YOU EVER COULD! LET’S GO, LEVI!”
Eren grabbed Levi’s hand and stomped off leaving a whole crowd of shoppers dumbfounded. The guy muttered that he was too old for this shit while looking at his nether regions. Mothers were gossiping into their phones furiously. Some college girls were squealing while patting themselves on the back for recording the whole thing.
After a couple blocks, Eren suddenly stopped and turned to Levi. “We forgot about your car!”
Seeing Eren panic and thinking about the situation from moments before, Levi could only laugh. He really did love his brat and his wife really loved him.
“Nah, it’s okay. I was thinking about replacing it with something else anyway.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh, then maybe you can trade with dad or something? Mom’s been saying he’s been sad with his hybrid recently. Something about needing more in his life? Status symbol and all that?”
“Tell him that I’ve been there and it’s not worth it.”
“So...you stopped compensating?”
“Yeah. Sorry to worry you guys. I’m still going to keep up my healthy lifestyle, but I’ve stopped being so uptight about it. Eren seems happier that way anyway.” Levi smiles to himself.
“All well that ends well, I guess?” Hanji mused.
“What about your car though? Wasn’t that your whole year’s salary?” Erwin raised his thick eyebrows.
“It’s fine. I’ve learnt my lesson anyway.”
“To not compensate?”
“No.” Levi leaned back into the chair. “Love isn’t about how tall you are or what society dictates as the ‘perfect couple’.”
“Levi...” Hanji and Erwin looked moved.
“Love is more...more...You guys know what I’m trying to say, right?”
“Yes. Yes, we do, Levi.” They wiped tears from their eyes. It was like seeing a son truly grow up. Who knew that the Levi from back then could make such a kind expression now?
“Erwin.” Levi looked to him. “Hanji.” Then to her.
“Levi.” The three looked at each other.
Ahh, friendship.
Levi softly smiled...
...Then spread his legs.
“Because who needs height when you got these guns?”
“Call the cops, Hanji.”