Chapter Text
"We're almost there, munchkin" Eren murmured, bouncing Mia on his lap as his daughter fussed and moved around.
"Daddy, out" Mia whined, her face scrunching and her little fists grabbing hold of Eren's collar.
"I know, I know" Eren tried to soothe her but she wasn't calming down, her face scrunched up further and Eren sighed knowing she was on the edge of a tantrum. They'd been sitting in their carriage for close to seven hours now on their way into Maria and Mia wasn't having it anymore. She'd done well so far but the last half hour had made her antsy and Eren knew she was about to crack but with only an hour left before reaching the Palace he didn't know what to do.
He could keep going and let her cry, holding her and trying to calm her down and hope she settled. Eren cringed at that idea, she was almost two years old and yet in all that time he'd never been able to hear her cry for very long without running to her and picking her up. The only option was to stop the carriage and the rest of their party so Eren could get Mia out and let her walk around and play for half an hour.
Before Mia could let loose her screams Eren knocked loudly on the back wall where the driver could hear him. He immediately felt the carriage slowing down and not a moment too soon, Mia started to shake her little body convulsing and her meltdown on the way to epic.
As the carriage pulled to a stop Eren shifted Mia up as much as he could and cuddled her to his chest. He moved her so she was sitting on his hip, waited for everything to stop and then opened the door and stepped out into the sun. Just as he stepped out Mia started crying, her little high pitched voice echoing into the afternoon and drawing the attention of all the soldiers surrounding them.
"Shh, come on, honey" Eren murmured, bouncing her slightly. Her cries lessened slightly but her face had gotten all snotty and red, Eren would have smiled at the cuteness if she wasn't about to let loose another scream.
He could feel everyone stop around him, the soldiers pulling up their horses in order to figure out why one of the carriages had stopped. Eren was trying to concentrate entirely on Mia, however, and didn't notice the horse coming closer. He felt more than saw the soldier dismounting quickly and coming around but didn't realise who it was until there was a hand on his lower back and another wiping the tears from Mia's cheek.
"What happened? Is she OK?" Levi asked quickly, glancing from Mia to Eren, his face looking pinched and worried.
"Fine... she's fine. Just grumpy and over tired" Eren sighed, looking over at his husband and smiling reassuringly at him, "I know we don't have much left but can we stop for a bit? Both of us are getting a little crazy in there".
"Of course, we could have stopped earlier, you know?" Levi said but Eren just waved him off with his free hand.
"It's fine" Eren said before holding Mia out to Levi, "can you take her for a bit? I need to get some of her things and honestly I think she could use some time with you".
Levi just held out his arms and Eren passed their still crying daughter over, Levi cuddled her close and started walking with her, bouncing her slightly and hoping it would be enough. It seemed to work for a few minutes before she started sniffling and pouting, Eren turned and went back to the carriage before she could start up again. He still heard it though and knew Levi was as bad as he was when it came to listening to her cry, neither of them liked it and tended to do everything in their power to make her stop.
After gathering her bag and blanket Eren turned to see Levi talking to the other soldiers, obviously telling them they were stopping for awhile. He had to speak quite loudly over Mia's cries and Eren watched as the soldiers started wincing and giving Levi sympathetic looks. Eren just watched with a smile not quite believing they were actually going to do this all over again.
They had decided almost three months ago that after Mia turned two they were going to have another baby. Eren wanted another kid desperately and although Levi put up a pretty stoic facade, Eren knew he wanted another one as well. Mia was such a good little girl most of the time, she was always smiling or laughing and playing with anyone that approached her. She had never been shy, living on a military base having cured her of that, and she seemed happy playing with Eren and Levi and even content to be by herself. But both Eren and Levi had talked it over and decided that they wanted another kid, not just for themselves but so that Mia could have a sibling and someone her own age to play with- Mia being the only child on base at the moment.
So they'd arranged a surrogate from Eren's now busy agency and decided to go on one last trip to Maria. They'd wanted to celebrate Mia's 2nd birthday, their own 3rd anniversary as well as seeing Mikasa and Armin before returning to Trost and focusing on the pregnancy. It had been Levi's idea to head to Maria but Eren had agreed almost instantaneously, he hadn't seen Mikasa in almost six months what with her busy life as Queen and his own running the agency and caring for Mia. He wanted to see her and spend some time in Maria before not really being able to travel for the next year.
Mia was still crying rather loudly when Eren wandered back over, his arms laden with blankets and toys and a tired smile on his face. Levi finished up talking to the soldiers and turned to Eren with a sigh.
"We've got about an hour before we need to get going again... the sun's going to set soon and it'll be a good idea to be at the Palace before then" Levi said softly, shifting Mia again and speaking over the cries.
"That'll be enough" Eren said, "I've got a blanket and some of her toys, give me a sec and then we can put her down, hopefully feed her and she might settle".
"Here's hoping" Levi grunted and started pacing back and forth with her while Eren set up a little area.
They were getting a lot of attention by the time they finally managed to sit down and try and feed Mia, Levi was trying to settle her in his lap while Eren fed her but she wasn't making it easy. They were used to her and her little over tired temper tantrums by now but the soldiers weren't and they definitely weren't used to seeing their Captain trying to both soothe Mia and feed her while passive aggressively arguing with his husband over the best way to do it.
They watched in amazement as the two young men swapped spots, Levi passing Mia over to Eren and Levi taking the food for himself to try and feed her. Eyes went wide when Levi, their grumpy Captain who never smiled at anyone besides his husband and daughter, was all small smiles and soft words as he zoomed food forward into Mia's mouth. He occasionally got it on Eren's nose or cheeks to the giggles of the toddler and deep sighs from Eren but it was working, Mia was no longer crying and happily sitting in Eren's lap while Levi continued to feed her.
It was after that little floor show that all the soldiers started to believe their Captain had completely forgotten he was surrounded by his own soldiers because he started playing with Mia. Eren had put her on the ground and the little girl had started to walk around easily going back and forth from her fathers, they watched as she picked grass and flowers from just off the blanket and wandered back to Levi to give them to him. And when Levi smiled at her and kissed her cheek, making her giggle and run away, the soldiers stopped with open mouths to just stare.
The whole trip towards Maria had been relatively slow, with a child accompanying them and a royal one at that precautions had to be made to keep her safe. Mia had stayed in the carriage for most of the trip and the soldiers had seen very little of her, only seeing her accompanied by either Levi or Eren on their way in and out of their tent at the start and end of the day.
But now they were in Maria and so close to the Palace they must have thought it safe enough to bring her into the open either that or her fathers were so bored and Mia so grumpy that they had no other choice. But it was crazy to see Levi, who worked them into the ground on a daily basis, lunging forward to grab at his daughter while she squealed in delight and then threw her up in the air only to catch her seconds later, holding her tight and kissing her face.
"She's not going to go back into that carriage easily" Eren sighed, smiling softly as Levi continued to throw Mia around a bit hoping to exhaust her.
"No, she won't" Levi replied and then glanced at the horses, "um, we could..."
"Levi" Eren said steadily, "you know I don't want her on a horse yet, it's too dangerous".
"I know, I know" Levi breathed out but couldn't help himself from continuing, "but she'd love it plus it's only an hour or so up to the Palace and you can ride with us".
"Levi, no..." Eren said shaking his head but he didn't look as convinced as normal, the stress of the day getting to him.
"Eren, you know nothing bad will happen to her when she's with me" Levi said seriously, "she's as safe as she'd ever be with me just a couple of feet higher than usual".
Eren looked torn, he didn't want to get back in that carriage and he didn't want to try and get Mia back in there either. He needed to be out in the sun and stretch his legs, ride a horse next to his husband and not have to grit his teeth every time they went over a bumpy road. Eren could feel himself giving in purely out of selfish reasons and well, Levi made a good point. It was only an hour or so and Levi was the best rider he knew, she'd be more than safe.
"Fine, OK" Eren sighed and Levi smirked at him, "she's riding with you".
"Are you joining us?" Levi said lowly, that smirk still playing over his lips.
"Of course, if she gets to be out of that godforsaken carriage than so do I" Eren huffed but Levi only let out a small laugh and with Mia now wandering over to get more flower he leaned in and kissed Eren steadily. Eren melted at the feel of Levi's lips like he always did, it was familiar now in a way it wasn't three years ago but it still made his stomach flutter and his heart pound against his chest.
"Might want to stop kissing me" Eren breathed out with a smile while Levi looked confused, "we've had a bit of an audience for a while now".
Eren gestured to the soldiers close by who were trying a little too hard to look like they weren't staring but whose mouths were hanging open slightly while they glanced in their direction.
"Seriously? Can't I kiss you without people thinking it's strange? It's been three years for fucks sake" Levi grumbled making Eren laugh.
"Levi, the only people that ever see you like this are me and Mia, Hange and your squad see more but these guys? None of the newer recruits see anything but scary Captain Levi who makes them puke on a daily basis" Eren teased making Levi grumble.
"I don't understand why we couldn't have the usual soldiers with us" Levi muttered sounding annoyed, it had taken him a bit of time to get used to Eren's friends but after he had he didn't like travelling with anyone else. His own squad and Eren's friends were the most reliable and best soldiers on base and more than that they had a personal stake in Eren, Levi and Mia's safety which only made them better.
This time however not all of them had been able to come, it was an extended trip to Maria and the only people who hadn't been busy or were able to be spared for the trip were Petra, Jean and Marco. Petra had shrugged at them and told them that of course she was coming, she couldn't let the newbies have all the fun and Jean had jumped at the chance to go home and see his family and finally let them meet Marco.
It had been a long time coming and the two of them still hadn't gone beyond living together, being in the military and posted in Trost made it difficult to get home for social visits and they hadn't managed to get there together so Marco could meet Jean's family. But it was different now, Eren smirked knowingly every time he saw Jean, last month he'd walked in on him in an empty room preparing his proposal and hadn't been able to stop laughing. After he finally did though and Jean had stopped trying to hit him with a chair he'd given in and asked Eren for help and the two of them had spent the rest of the day perfecting Jean's speech and then practicing (Eren pretending to be Marco and annoying the shit out of Jean).
He still hadn't popped the question yet but Eren figured he was waiting until after Marco met his family, it was probably important that his family approved before he married him. Not that Jean would care either way- the guy was going to marry Marco whether his family approved or not.
"Hmm... what are they going to think when we have another little munchkin" Eren hummed and for a second a dreamy expression crossed Levi's face before he snorted and schooled his features back to cool and aloof.
"A lot, I'm sure, but it'll be none of their business either way" Levi said roughly and Eren leaned in quickly to catch another kiss.
"I can't wait to have a little mini version of you running around" Eren murmured while Levi snorted again.
They had talked it over a lot in the last year and had really wanted to adopt after Mia but with the success of Eren's Agency and the eyes of Maria and Trost still on them they couldn't really ignore the agency in case bad rumors spread. Eren had started to worry that if they didn't use it then bad press would be sent out about why, why Eren wouldn't use his own agency to have another kid when it was right there.
Plus Eren believed in his Agency and did actually want to use it himself and the idea of having a little baby boy or girl with Levi's personality and looks was a very addictive thought and really, Levi didn't mind either way. He was going to have a baby and having nine months to get ready was a good thing plus he had really loved watching Mia grow and being there for when she first kicked and the night she was born so he was getting excited to see it again.
"Come on... we'd best get back on the road" Levi said with a sigh and then turned to Mia who was happily holding a stilted conversation with a flower and gathered her up into his arms, "you going to come for a ride with Papa?"
She nodded excitedly and Eren had to laugh, he was pretty sure she didn't really understand what Levi had said but she was being held by him and he wasn't going back towards the carriage so in her eyes anything else was fine. Eren folded up the blanket quickly and stuffed it back in Mia's bag before running over to the carriage and dumping it inside, he was starting to get excited now, the idea of being on a horse and riding up to the Palace was making him grin.
He turned to see Levi barking out orders again and snickered, he somehow managed to look even scarier than usual even with Mia in his arms trying to put her fingers in his mouth. Eren ran over to them and planted a quick kiss on Levi's cheek.
"Someone's bringing your horse over" Levi said roughly.
"Excellent, you want me to hold her while you get up" Eren asked and Levi passed Mia over without pause. He was then swinging into his saddle quickly and turning to look at them, his face falling into a frown when he took them in. Eren looked down at Mia and saw how her face had started to crumble, she was watching Levi with watery eyes and Eren could feel that she was on the verge of a meltdown.
It only struck him then that she must be thinking Levi was leaving them and they were seeing him off, she was after all on the ground while her Papa was up on a horse.
"Pass her up quickly" Levi said but Eren hesitated, shifting Mia in his arms and smiling at her.
"Didn't Papa say you were riding with him?" Eren said softly and his voice calmed her a little, "you get to ride with your Papa all the way to the Palace and then we get to see your Auntie Mikasa".
He didn't know how much she understood but the tone in his voice was calming her down, her eyes still looked a little glassy but she was held captive by Eren's voice. When he heard someone approaching he turned to see his own horse being brought over and knew it was time to pass Mia up to Levi.
"Be careful" Eren ordered as Levi held onto a squirming Mia, she was gurgling and clapping her hands very obviously excited over being back in Levi's arms and up on a horse. He positioned her in his lap and held onto her tightly with one arm as he held the reigns with the other, Eren watched them carefully for a minute before going over to his own horse and swinging up quickly.
He rode back over to Levi and pulled up beside him looking them over to make sure his daughter was safe.
"She'll be fine" Levi said, Mia was jumping and squirming in her seat, her little body so excited she couldn't contain it.
"I know" Eren said and pulled in a deep breath.
"Come on, you idiot, we have to reach the Palace before dark" came a snarky voice from Eren's other side and he groaned. Jean and Marco were right there while Petra had ridden up beside Levi.
"Well, don't they look like the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Petra exclaimed, her voice soaked in amusement.
"Fuck off" Levi replied without thinking before looking down in horror. Mia, however, was completely occupied trying to reach their horse's mane and get her chubby fingers into it.
"Watch it, Levi, you really don't want her repeating that" Petra teased and Levi let go off the reigns to flip her off.
"Let's go" Jean complained from the other side and Eren huffed but nodded at Levi, giving him the OK to keep going. Levi pressed his heels into the horse's side and they were off. Eren watched them more than he watched the road for the first ten minutes, it took a branch almost taking him out to focus on guiding his horse rather than watching his daughter.
She was completely safe and loving it, Levi held her firmly and Eren knew he'd hurt himself before letting anything happen to Mia. So Eren tried to relax and enjoy his own ride, the wind running through his hair and the afternoon sunlight beating down on his face. Riding was infinitely better than sitting in a carriage.
The six of them were in the lead with the rest of their convoy following behind them and the carriage bringing up the rear, now that it had no occupants they could afford to ride much further in front of it and not let it slow them down. Eren heard Mia laughing every now and then making him smile wider and trust that this was an excellent idea.
They reached the Palace gates just as the sun was starting to drop below the horizon, the sky was painted in pinks and oranges and the breeze was still warm as it ruffled his hair. They heard the commotion as they arrived and knew that Mikasa had set the entire Palace on high alert for them, the gates were opened and Eren led the way inside with Levi and Mia close beside him and Jean, Marco and Petra just behind.
Eren looked around the courtyard before he dismounted. This was the place he'd grown up, the place his mother had lived and died and the place where he'd met Levi and yet it felt unfamiliar. Of course, everything looked the same but there was a lightness about it now, a lightness he remembered only from when he was very young. Trost was more his home than Maria had ever been but as he looked around he felt that maybe now Maria might finally be healing.
He dismounted quickly but not before he glanced a mane of long black hair and a slight figure, he braced himself for the attack just in time for the girl to almost knock him over.
"You're here" Mikasa exclaimed. Eren grinned, loving the sound of her voice and the familiar smell, and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Eren!" Another voice exclaimed and he looked up to see Armin about ready to pounce on them as well, he tried to brace himself but with Mikasa's added weight and the force of Armin jumping on them they had no chance. The three of them fell back to the ground in a pile of limbs and laughter as Armin tried to hug Eren as well.
A delighted squeal broke up their hug and the three of them looked up to see Levi holding Mia and staring down at them with a raised eyebrow. Mia was bouncing in his arms having recognised both Mikasa and Armin and struggling to get to them.
"Pass her over" Eren said with a grin and Levi just held her out for Eren to take down into his arms. Mikasa and Armin both converged on the little girl cooing and awwing over how big she had gotten and promising to visit more and see her. It died down after a few minutes and the three of them managed to get off the ground, Mia was being held carefully by Armin while Mikasa and Eren brushed their clothes down to get the dirt off and try to act a little more dignified.
"Is this how all royalty acts?" Levi asks, amusement clear in his voice.
"Only the good ones" Mikasa responded, she then stepped forward and wrapped Levi in a hug as well. It didn't last nearly as long as the one with her brother but it was no less warm and Levi even managed to return it almost naturally.
"I take it you're well?" Levi asked and Mikasa smiled warmly.
"Very well" she said happily and turned to share a conspiratorial look with Armin, "it looks like Armin and I have finished undoing all the mess Father created, Maria is almost back to normal now".
"That's amazing" Eren crowed and hugged Mikasa again quickly.
"It is, we thought it was going to take a lot longer" Armin pitched in with a grin, "but everything seems to be steady and everyone loves Mikasa as Queen".
"Of course they do" Eren agreed while Mikasa blushed.
"Alright, let's get everyone inside" Levi called out and turned to see their entire convoy staring at them. Petra, Jean and Marco were a mix of smiles and eye rolls at their display but everyone else seemed gobsmacked. For most of them it was their first trip to Maria, they'd only seen Mikasa in passing maybe once or twice on a visit to Trost and no one had seen any of them act like this.
"Unpack the horses, people, don't stand around all day" Levi snapped and they moved if only on impulse to his tone. Levi rolled his eyes and moved forward to take Mia out of Armin's arms, he had been watching and was pretty sure she was on the verge of a nap. As soon as she settled back in Levi's arms her head on his chest and her eyes started to flutter, her little hands clutching at his top.
"Someone's tired" Eren murmured right next to him.
"Best get her up to bed" Levi said quietly.
"You head up and I'll meet you there soon" Eren said softly, he kissed Levi's cheek and then headed back to his sister. Mikasa wrapped an arm around his waist and together they walked slowly towards the front steps.
"You OK being back here?" she asked softly and Eren nodded.
"It's different but not? It feels lighter being back here now" Eren said trying to explain, Mikasa just nodded and smile.
"I like having you back, it never feels quite right unless you're here" she said softly and Eren squeezed his arm a little tighter around her.
"You're doing a brilliant job" Eren said with an honest smile which she matched happily.
"Thank you" she whispered.
"So..." Eren said and Mikasa turned attentive eyes on him, "there's a reason Levi and I came to you this time... not just because of our anniversary or Mia's birthday. We, uh, we have some good news".
Mikasa didn't say anything but they had stopped walking and she was waiting for him to spill.
"Well, uh, Levi and I have decided to have another baby" Eren choked out, he didn't know why he felt so nervous telling her but in the split second after the words left his mouth his body was racked with anxiety.
It shouldn't have been an issue though because no sooner than Eren had closed his mouth, Mikasa was gaping and then grinning and then jumping on him in delight, knocking both of them back to the ground again.