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Levi woke up bright and early at five o'clock, the same way he'd been doing for the last seven years. He yawned quietly and turned to the side, pressing a tired kiss to his husband's sleep ruffled blonde hair and dragged himself from the warm confines of the bed, dutifully ignoring Erwin's sleepy 'come back.' He pulled himself across the room to the ensuite and flicked the bathroom's light on, squinting against the flood of white meeting his eyes. Levi sighed as he brushed his teeth and flicked the light off again when he was done. Content with his cleanliness, he went over to the drawers and pulled out his jogging clothes.
Levi always took an hour in the mornings to go out for some fresh air and much needed exercise, he used to be joined by Erwin but he had since switched to working out at evening, citing the fat that he needed more sleep in order to deal with a classroom of rowdy kids. Back then, though, they used to go out a more reasonable time but also back then, they only had Mikasa and one child required a lot less work to get to school in the morning than three. Even though the adoption of the twins had forced Levi and Erwin's respective schedules to change, he wouldn't change them for the world. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that was.
This morning, two hours after getting up and one shower later, it was starting to fall into that one percent. Armin was apparently taking too long to comb his hair and Mikasa was banging on the bathroom door, yelling about her own need to use it.
"Armin! If you don't get out of there, I swear to God!" Levi could just tell from one look at her that she was just about nearing her breaking point and might just kick the door down if Armin didn't get out soon.
"Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over the side of the comb in my hair." and for some reason, Armin was in one of his pot stirring moods where he felt the need to aggravate anyone and everyone he came across.
"Armin!" Mikasa yelled, followed by a string of curses under her breath.
All the while, Historia was sat at the breakfast bar, calmly finishing her breakfast and swinging her legs back and forth and watched as Levi fried eggs on the stove.
"Papa, tell Armin to hurry up, please!" Levi sighed when Mikasa inevitably came running to him in the kitchen.
"Armin, don't hog the bathroom, let Mikasa use it too!" Levi called over his should. Why was Erwin never downstairs when this happened? Levi was sure Armin was mumbling and grumbling to himself before he opened the bathroom door and Mikasa clipped the back of his head as she brushed past him to get inside and ignored Armin's quiet 'ow.'
"Papa, will you do a braid in my hair today? I wanna see if Ymir notices," Historia spoke up, giving Levi what had been donned 'the Princess smile.'
"Of course, I will," Levi smiled, thanking everything above that at least one member of his family wasn't a raving lunatic at seven in the morning.
"Morning, everyone," Erwin's voice came from the foot of the stairs as he made his way into the kitchen and moved to ruffle Armin's hair before his hand was promptly smacked away by the aforementioned boy, "What was that for?" Erwin chuckled slightly as he withdrew his hand and looked down at the boy.
"He spent ages combing it," Historia answered for Armin as she hopped off her stool and carried her now empty bowl and spoon to the sink, "He wants Jean to notice," she grinned.
"You want a braid for Ymir to notice!" Armin retorted, pointing at his twin accusingly.
"But I didn't smack our father for it," she shook her head, causing Armin to scowl and mutter that 'it wasn't a smack.'
Levi smiled fondly as he slipped the eggs onto a plate and pulled toast from the toaster to place neatly next to the eggs, his smile widening imperceptibly when he felt Erwin's arm around his waist and his husband's lips pressed to the top of his head, "Did you make anything for me?" he whispered teasingly into Levi's ear.
"Dumbass, this is for you," Levi rolled his eyes as he placed the plate on the counter and Erwin moved to the drawer and grabbed a knife and fork, the pair ignoring the twins' bickering in the background, "Are you going to be spending a late night at the school tonight?" he sighed as he placed the pan in the sink and turned the tap on, not putting the plug in until he was satisfied the water was warm enough.
"Well, there's a meeting about the arrangements for the senior class and the leaving dates but, granted there's not an uproar for change, I should be back at a reasonable time," Erwin shrugged as he leant against the counter, taking an occasional bite of egg, "What about you then?"
"I'm not sure yet," Levi shook his head as he moved the dirty dishes left by Armin and Mikasa into the sink too, "Furlan said he'd take the closing shift but I want to check on some admin stuff so I might be a bit late." he tried not to frown at the prospect of yet another night where he and Erwin spent the majority of their days apart and only saw each other at dinner before they dragged themselves to bed with little to no conversation exchanged.
"Hm, okay. If I get back first, I'll get started on dinner," Erwin smiled.
"Please don't. I'm this close to banning you from the kitchen," Levi shook his head, cringing at the memory of the last time Erwin had cooked for the family. The thought had been there but it was poorly translated into burnt edges and an undercooked centre that made everyone disguise their disgust until Erwin himself had grimaced and proposed pizza.
"Try to wrap up at the café quickly then," Erwin's smirk was infuriating as he ducked to press a kiss to Levi's lips.
"Gross!" Mikasa scoffed as soon as she exited the bathroom to see the pair kissing in the kitchen.
Levi knew the chaotic start to his day was a bad omen.
It was only midday and he already wanted to crawl into a pit and hide away until the day ended. Isabel had called in sick so instead of doing admin like he had planned, Levi was forced to be front of house and serve customers. Usually, that wouldn't have been a problem but, apparently, today everyone had taken a leaf from Armin's book this morning and decided to be snippy at everyone in sight. Within the hour, Levi had received multiple complaints, whether it was about the quality of their drink or the fact that an employee had been rude (which was impossible considering Petra had been nothing but nice that morning).
"Levi, I'm gonna take my lunch now, if that's okay," Petra smiled politely and Levi nodded his assent, wiping his hands against the front of his apron to prepare for the next customer.
He had served two more people when the chime above the door rang again and Levi's day got marginally better when Hange was the one who entered the café, Levi would never admit it but Hange was one of his favourite people. "Levi, Levi, Levi!" they all but squealed as they practically skipped over to the counter
"Yes, Hange?" Levi rolled his eyes lightheartedly.
"I have just thought of the best idea for you and Erwin's anniversary!" Hange grinned, preparing to enter full rant mode but their epiphany was cut off by the sound of Levi's phone ringing from its place in his pocket. He frowned as he retrieved the device and the frown deepened when he saw the name of Mikasa's school flash across the screen.
"Damn it, I have to take this," Levi sighed as he looked around before remembering that the only other employee present was taking her lunch break.
"I'll hold down the fort, don't you worry, Captain," Hange grinned and for once Levi didn't argue with them and just smiled appreciatively before he rushed to the office and answered the phone.
"Hi! Is this Mikasa Ackerman's guardian?" the chipper voice of the school receptionist rang out, tinny and unbearably loud against Levi's ear.
"Yes, this is he." Levi nodded, despite the fact the receptionist couldn't see him.
"Ah, well, we're just calling to ask if you 're able to collect Mikasa. She appears to be ill and she threw up in her previous class." the receptionist said politely, the sound of typing audible in the background while Levi processed the information that Mikasa, who had seemed fine this morning though maybe she did look a bit paler and she did look a bit sweaty but- no, now wasn't the time to make excuses for his own ignorance.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Levi said firmly and hung up, running a hand through his hair. What was he gonna do? Petra couldn't ne front of house alone all day and Furlan wouldn't be clocking in until later and Hange would have to get back to their own job soon and he obviously wasn't about to make Isabel turn up to cough and sneeze around people's drinks. "Fuck fuck fuck," he chanted the quiet mantra before he lifted his phone again and dialled Furlan's number.
"Hey, man, what's up?" Furlan asked from the other end of the phone.
"Can you come in early?" Levi asked his best friend and co-owner desperately.
"What? Uh, yeah, of course I can." Furlan acquiesced almost immediately, "What's going on?" Levi could clearly hear the sound of Furlan's footsteps over the line as the man was most likely walking to put his shoes on.
"I have to pick Mikasa up, and there's no one else here, I can't expect Petra to work alone all day," Levi sighed the explanation.
"Okay, I'll be there, leave now, I'll be there," the other man reassured, knowing that Levi was probably switching between two minds about what to do every millisecond, "Bye<" he said before the line was cut.
Levi nodded to himself as he tucked his phone back into his pocket and quickly untied his apron, hanging it up on the hook in the office, before he rushed out, explained the situation to Hange and speed walked to his car outside.
Levi made it to school in record time, the usual twenty minute trip being halved thanks to the little traffic and Levi pushing the limits of traffic laws. On the trip home, he frowned as Mikasa sat in the backseat, curled up with a sick bowl from the school clutched in her hands.
Once they were actually home, Levi made sure to get her into bed and told her to change into her pyjamas while he made her some soup and got out some medicine. The rest of the day was spent doting on his little girl and assuring her this was fine every time she tried to apologise for disrupting Levi's day. When Mikasa inevitably succumbed to her fatigue, Levi sat in the chair he had dragged to her bedside and made sure to periodically change the wet cloth on Mikasa's forehead and between those intervals, he read through the book he had on his nightstand that he hadn't gotten to read at all in the past few weeks.
At three o'clock, Armin and Historia got home, the sound of Furlan's voice following them as he got them to go to the living room and watch TV. "How's the patient?" Furlan asked, smiling as he poked his head into the room.
"She's okay. I think," Levi sighed, "Thanks for picking them up, but why aren't you at the café?" he frowned the moment the thought occurred to him.
"I called Oluo and made him come in and before you complain, you and I both know about his pathetic crush on Petra so this a gentle nudge in the right direction," Furlan shrugged, anticipating the rebuttal that Levi would make.
"Fine, you should go back now though."
"You don't want me here? I'm hurt. Truly," Furlan chuckled and waved his hand, "Okay, I'm going, at least one of the owners should be there I guess."
Once Furlan was gone, it didn't take long for the twins to poke their heads into the room and Levi smiled as he waved them over.
"Is Mikasa going to be okay?" Historia whispered, not wanting to wake up the older girl.
"She's going to be just fine. Just a stomach bug, I'd bet," Levi smiled and brushed Historia's hair back from her forehead calmly.
Over the next few minutes, the twins reluctantly went back to the living room and Levi eventually followed, going into the kitchen to make them a snack, which was devoured within what felt like seconds. And before Levi knew it, Erwin was getting home, his eyes widening at the fact that Levi was home before him.
"Did the school not call you too?" Levi frowned at his husband's shocked expression.
"No, they didn't. What happened? Is everyone okay?" Erwin's panic was palpable as he haphazardly hung his coat by the door.
"Mikasa's sick, the school called me to pick her up," Levi crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ah, I see, shall I order burgers then?" Erwin smiled and retrieved his phone, certain that Mikasa was too busy on the sick child front to cook dinner and, besides, somewhere down the line, burgers had become a go to when someone in the family was sick and most of the time it was because Levi was busy taking care of the sick person.
Levi nodded and hurried back to Mikasa's room when he heard the sound of her groaning.
The rest of the night was uneventful and Levi spent the time holed up with a sleeping Mikasa in her room. It was only in the early hours of the morning that she woke up again and Levi heard her mumble, "Thank you." He smiled slightly as he moved the covers to be tucked securely under her chin.
It took five days for Mikasa to properly recover and, by the end of it, Levi had acquired fresh eye bags that made him look somewhat like a raccoon. Which had, incidentally, become Erwin's new pet name for him, making light of the sleepless nights Levi spent looking after the last trace of his biological family.
After two more days, life was back to full normality and Levi was making dinner while Armin did his homework at the breakfast bar and Mikasa was helping him where she could.
"Papa, when did you and dad get married?" Armin looked up, asking the one thing Mikasa hadn't been able to help him with.
"Well, it's ten years this year and we got married on the fifteenth of May," Levi nodded to himself before he paused.
Levi thought that he had a good memory, but when Armin had asked when that question, he realised something horrifying. Surely, that couldn't be right, Erwin would've said something, right?
Then again, Erwin's been busier and busier at the school and Levi hasn't had it exactly easy, getting the café up and running off the ground. Levi went over his mental calendar and, sure enough, wedged between the early mornings and late nights and time spent pouring over bank statements and Mikasa's stomach bug, there it was. Their anniversary.
Fuck.
Luckily, Levi was able to rein his expression under control before his realisation was noticeable. Unbeknownst to him, a particularly observant fourteen year old had already noticed the crack in his armour, accustomed to the man's mannerisms after being raised by him and now Mikasa knew how she could make up to Levi everything he had done for her over the years.
After dinner, Mikasa dragged Armin and Historia into her room. "Dads forgot their anniversary," she said bluntly as soon as Historia closed the door behind herself.
"What!?" Historia restrained herself to a whisper yell, distraught at the thought that the most amazing dads she knew missed the opportunity to celebrate something she knew mattered so much, if the way adults acted on TV was anything to go by.
"It does make sense, they've both been stressed," Armin mused, his expression only slightly more pulled together than Historia's.
"I think we should organise a surprise celebration for them, if we ask then we can probably get ourselves into a sleepover or we can stay at Uncle Furlan's," Mikasa planned, moving to sit on the edge of her bed and was promptly joined by Armin and Historia on either side of her.
"Furlan's would be better, that way they won't stress about us being at someone else's house," Armin chimed in, his eleven year old brain hyperactive with ways they could get out of the house and make themselves scarce for their dads.
After twenty minutes, the trio had a plan. On Friday, they'd stay over at Furlan's (with his permission of course) and they'd make sure that they ordered food from the restaurant where that Levi had once mentioned that he and Erwin had had their first date, then they'd also ensure that they left their gifts for the pair on the counter in clear sight.
The next day, Mikasa called Furlan and briefed him on the plan, the man only chuckled in response and offered to have Hange order the food, since they were the most likely to know what the two men actually liked to eat (which was probably because in the early days Hange third wheeled them a lot or so they'd been told). That was two of three parts of the plan complete and there were two days left to complete the last part. That was achievable.
Friday came slowly. At least it felt slow to Levi. The café was gaining popularity, which was good for business but not for Levi's mental health. So Levi was excited to get home and finally have the weekend off. That was when he saw the note on the fridge, We're at Uncle Furlan's, enjoy your night! XOXO
So, the kids were at Furlan's? Weird but not unbelievable. Weirder yet was the containers on the counter, steam rising from them and another note, this one in Furlan's handwriting, Enjoy your anniversary, ya filthy animals ;)
Levi didn't have long to ponder the messages before he heard the front door open and close and the familiar presence of Erwin's form behind him, "Ah, I knew we forgot something," he muttered, tucking his face against the side of Levi's neck and wrapping his arms around Levi's waist. Levi hummed and looked up, now spotting that the dining table was set for two with candle in the middle.
"They didn't have to do this," Levi smiled despite himself and moved to open one of the containers, jaw dropping when he recognised the dish he'd eaten on his and Erwin's first date, "Oh, Erwin, look at the food."
Erwin reluctantly lifted his head and looked at the food in Levi's hands, a chuckle pulling itself from his mouth, "They're good, they're real good," he smiled and kissed Levi's cheek.
The two efficiently went about setting out the food on proper plates and made their way to eat at the table. For the first time in weeks, the pair were able to actually hold a conversation over dinner and had the opportunity to laugh like they had on their first date all those years ago. Erwin updated Levi on all the staff room shenanigans despite the fact he himself found the gossip pointless, he did however enjoy Levi's blunt and dry commentary on the situations that never failed to pull a smile onto Erwin's lips. And Levi spoke about all the annoying customers at the café, taking the chance to just vent his frustrations to his beloved husband.
After they'd finished eating and were cleaning up, Erwin noticed the three boxes left wrapped on the counter. "Anniversary Santa has visited, I believe," he called to Levi, who was drying his hands on a tea towel.
"Huh?" Levi's brows furrowed as he looked at the gifts before he glanced back to Erwin, as they both came to the silent conclusion to open them.
They started on the right and opened it to see a picture frame he recognised as one Armin had made a while ago but it was now filled by the picture of Erwin and Levi on their wedding day instead of the family picture that was usually inside. The gift was accompanied by a card that simply read, Dear Dads, enjoy you anniversary! Remember it next year please so I can get you a better gift! Lots of love - Armin
The next gift was a pair of matching pendants and when Levi opened his one he was greeted by a tiny version of their first family photo together, when Historia and Armin were just four and Mikasa was seven and all of them wore matching grins for the camera. The card for this one read, Dear Papa and Dad, I hope you like this! I didn't know what to get you guys and Aunt Isabel really helped me out on this one, she told me not to tell you but it's true! Please remember next year! Love you both LOTS - Historia :)
Which meant the last gift was from Mikasa. When they opened the box, the first thing they noticed was the tiny wooden piece that they'd sent out with their wedding invitations that read 'Save The Date! 15th of May for Erwin and Levi's wedding!' The next thing in the box was the photo from their wedding reception where Levi was dancing with a four year old flower girl Mikasa on his feet with a big smile on both of their faces, after that there was the photo of Mikasa and Erwin that Levi had taken when they had taken Mikasa to the zoo before they were even married yet. "Oh my God," Levi mumbled, feeling tears spring to his eyes as he looked through the box finding more and more photos and little trinkets. If he wasn't going to cry at that then the card was his final straw, Dear Papa and Dad, enjoy your anniversary. I think now's probably a good time to thank both of you. Over the years both of you have been amazing, whether that was before you were married or not. You're both amazing as individual dads, trust me I know. I'm so glad you both got married, you're the best versions of yourselves together. But, also, I want to thank you, Levi, you took me in so long ago that sometimes I forget you're a cousin rather than my actual dad but as far as it matters you are my dad, thank you for everything. Love you guys - Mikasa
"We got lucky with that one," Erwin said softly as he read the card over Levi's shoulder.
"You could say that again," Levi smiled, wiping a tear from his eye after he placed the card down and then turned around to face Erwin again. Levi could count himself lucky in so many ways. He was lucky that he had the opportunity to adopt and raise the amazing kid that was Mikasa. He was lucky he met and married Erwin, the perfect man for him who understood him in a way that few people did. He was lucky he had Armin, despite the fact he could be snippy and sarcastic, Armin was an amazing kid who blew so many out of the water when it came to intelligence and empathy alike. He was lucky he had Historia, who never failed to be an angel on the days when that energy was definitely needed. He was lucky he had Furlan, who willingly took those three for a night and had stuck by Levi's side since they were kids. He was lucky to have Hange, someone who was admittedly eccentric, but had been with Levi and Erwin since before their love story even started.
They stayed silent for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and Levi revelled in the fact that he could practically read Erwin's thoughts just by looking in his eyes, the eyes that betrayed emotion so easily for a select amount of people, and Levi was one of them. After a while, Erwin broke that silence, "However, I would like to propose my own anniversary gift," Erwin said lowly, ducking to nip at Levi's lower lip.
"See that's why Furlan called us filthy animals," Levi chuckled, looping his arms over Erwin's shoulders, he could Erwin's smile when a placed a soft and slow kiss to his lips and Levi still felt his smile when Erwin's kisses moved down his jaw to his neck, "Eager, much." Levi teased.
"Well, is is our ten year anniversary," Erwin's voice rumbled, lifting Levi into his arms and taking the opportunity to just breathe in the moment, it'd been so long since they'd even had proper quality time together. They had really hit the jackpot when it came to the people in their life.
In the early hours of the morning, Levi took the opportunity to breathe deeply while Erwin shifted to the side.
"Good anniversary?" Erwin whispered, tucking a hair back from Levi's face.
"Damn right," Levi snorted as he shifted to face Erwin fully, "Amazing anniversary."