"Move in with me," he said softly, so softly that I thought for a moment that I'd misheard him. I thought that I might have imagined him saying it. Did he really... did he ask me to move in with him? This was Levi. Levi Ackerman. And he just asked me...

I had to imagine it. There was no way.

But with the way he was looking at me right now...

"What was that...?"

He suddenly flushed, dropping his hand away from my cheek and to his side as he averted his gaze. And suddenly the window across the room had his full attention as heat rushed to his face. "I didn't mean to say it like that," he said. "I'm sorry. I-"

"You want me to move in with you?"

Still refusing to meet my gaze, I was met for a moment with only silence. I was worried he might actually have said something different, that I really had misheard him. As the silence dragged on and on, I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth, taking it as bad news. Had I seriously just misinterpreted his words? Had I only imagined him asking me to move in with him because I've been meaning to ask these past few weeks if I could?

God, this was embarrassing. I began to draw away, only for him to take my hands into his own, holding them steady. "Yes," he said quietly. "Only if you're comfortable with it. You already have enough of your shit here anyway, and after this semester you'll be done with classes, right? Even if you aren't, I..."

He trailed off, clearly thinking he'd overstepped some kind of boundary. He searched my eyes, probably looking for any sign that I was uncomfortable, that I didn't want this. But now that I knew he did want me to move in with him... I smiled. I smiled warmly, nearly laughing at how confused he looked.

"Levi," I cut him off gently, sensing his growing unease. I shifted my hands in his, so our fingers were interlaced comfortably. "I'd like that."

"..."

In the silence, my smile grew. Something about it must have inspired him to speak, because he blinked and was pulled from his shocked reverie.

"Really?"

I nodded. "I would love to move in with you." His lips parted with more shock, and I giggled lightly. "What? Did you think I was going to say no?" To my surprise, he nodded. I lowered myself to plant the lightest of kisses to his lips, as though to seal my words in stone. "I love you. Why wouldn't I want to move in with you?"

"It's stupid."

"Nothing you say or feel is stupid, Levi," I assured him. "Not to me."

"I thought you'd say no because of how I am."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... how I am with the cleaning," he said in a huff, conveying clearly how little he really wanted to admit this. "I'm not exactly the best with... any of this. You know that. We've been together for years and I'm still fucking terrified I'm going to mess this up."

"Oh, Levi," I murmured, shaking my head and running an affectionate, gentle hand down his cheek. My hand then twisted, tucking under his chin to tilt it up to look right at me. "For one thing, I can certainly appreciate having a clean home... and I kinda already consider this home, anyway. I've known you since I was eleven, and have I ever criticized you for your cleaning habits?"

"No," he answered begrudgingly.

"And that's because I don't mind it. I'd rather be with a clean freak than a total slob. And for the record, I think you're doing just fine with this whole dating thing. If you weren't, I'd let you know. I like to think my communication is pretty good, don't you?"

"Better than mine," he mumbled.

"Hush," I said playfully. "You do realize that even if you don't say it in words, I can usually tell what you're feeling or figure out what you want? You communicate with more than your words, my love."

His eyes widened. Whether it was due to my words or the new name, I couldn't be sure. At least, not until he spoke again.

"What did you say? Could you call me that again?"

"Of course, my love," I said softly. "I'll say it however many times you want." My smile grew as his expression betrayed his embarrassment. "You're so cute. How many times have I said that I love you, and yet when I call you my love, it's too much for you? Have I really not called you that before? Seriously?"

"Shut up," he stammered. "You always... you call me baby and shit like that."

"I can stop, if you don't like it," I said.

"No," he immediately replied. "Just... you know what I mean!"

"Maybe you should say it anyway," I teased.

Despite my words I relented anyway and slid off his body to the bed. I got comfortable on my side facing him, and it seemed that he was working to slow his heartrate, to calm down after my relentless teasing and the fact that I'd somehow flustered him so badly.

Deciding that the poor man had been through enough, I cupped his cheek in my hand and gently guided him to face me. I pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, bid him a goodnight, reminded him that I love him, and then snuggled up against his side and closed my eyes.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he drew the blanket up further over us both, then planted a kiss to my hair. "I love you," he responded, "you shitty brat."

---

Only a short while after a rather awkward conversation with my soon-to-be landlord, we got into his car and started the drive to my family home to pick up Eren. On the ride, my mind was alight with all kinds of thoughts: anticipation for this meeting, worry that it might go wrong, and hope that it would all go right, and it would be perfect for Eren; ideas, specifically for how I might decorate my area of the apartment and make it our shared space; and song lyrics.

I'd convinced Levi to let me take care of the music for the drive over, and because he didn't want to be subject to my whining, he allowed me to, though he let me know in no uncertain terms that if I played annoying shit, it'd be going off. But for most of the ride I sang along happily to my music, none of which Levi was interested in, not in the slightest. And yet he never switched it off.

Of course, we did have a passing conversation or two during stretches of the ride when I stopped singing. Levi had assured me that the apartment would be our shared space. With Erwin due to move out within the next few months, it would soon be ours, and ours alone, and that thought alone made my heart flutter.

He then snarked that it wasn't like my shit wasn't all over the place already anyway, which made me laugh.

I was excited.

This was a new path to tread, and I was so excited to walk it alongside Levi. Moving in together was a big step and it was a very telling experience for all couples. For some couples, it revealed that they weren't quite so compatible as they once thought. Some people just could not live together.

I hoped it would all work out for us. Because if we couldn't live together... if it was perhaps more trouble than it was worth to learn to work together day in and day out...

No, but I had faith in us. I had faith in our relationship, in the love we shared. I already spent how much time with him, what was living together full-time?

I mean, back at the orphanage, we spent every waking moment that we could together and later, spent nights together too. And then, we hadn't had jobs, we weren't in separate classes, and really only left each other's side to use the bathroom or when we were really tired of each other, which wasn't often. Nowadays, we have classes and jobs and other responsibilities. We'd realistically be seeing each other less.

This would be easy, then.

Besides, Levi was very easy to read when you knew him as well as I did. If he had a problem with what I was doing, I'd know. And the same rang true for him, though I'd be more inclined to tell him if something was bothering me.

Always so selfless, that one.

As if knowing I was thinking about him as we cruised along a highway lined with snow now flecked brown with mud and dirt and covered in a nasty layer of salt and slush, he reached out for me. His hand came to rest atop my thigh, and I hid my smile from him by continuing to look out the window.

His hand remained a comforting weight against my thigh for the rest of the ride. And when we reached our exit and started to pull through familiar streets on the way to my house, I did what I could to steel my nerves. If I had one thing I wanted to do today, it was to make sure that everything went right for Eren.

That was all I cared about. I don't care what Zeke said, if it makes Eren upset, I'd tell him off myself. Zeke had told me so many times of the pressure put on him as a child by his father, of the awful treatment he got from both parents, of the fact that he'd been practically brainwashed to think a certain way. However, by the time he and Carla had Eren, Grisha was a changed man... so Eren told me. Because Eren so adored his father. I wasn't going to let anyone – especially this jackass – upset Eren, truth or not.

At the very least, I had the consolation that Levi was with me. As annoying as Levi found Eren, he still recognized that he was my younger brother in all ways except for blood, and to that end...

He would help protect my family. This I was sure of.

I could only hope that it all goes well.

---

It hadn't.

Today had been a disaster.

While it had remained calm and orderly and civil, what was discussed was not. And yet when I felt the conversation swaying one way or another towards things Eren probably didn't need to know about his father, and had started to intervene, Eren would cut me off and let Zeke talk.

And really, Eren's father Grisha did not sound like a good man, not in the slightest. While the love between Grisha and his first wife Dina was genuine, Grisha had seen a monumental amount of potential in Zeke and wanted to shape him to fit a certain mold. Zeke had been raised to be a prodigy but had been treated so poorly that I felt my heart breaking for the man, and at the boy who had had his childhood ripped away from him.

In the quiet, dimly lit corner of a small café, devoid of any other customers, Zeke had told his story. He explained why he ran away. He explained what was expected of him from a very young age and exactly why he couldn't do any of what his father wanted.

And the things his father did... they were sickening.

Zeke told us about the man who had rescued him, a kind, portly man who at first was little more than a stranger, then a friend, then his adoptive father. And then Zeke told us about how he'd then seen Grisha years later with a new family, looking happy and carefree.

While I knew that much, Eren had known none of it. Eren hung off Zeke's every word, his eyes wide and his heart assuredly hammering in his chest, threatening to burst from his ribs if only given the chance. And I could see his heart breaking, all his memories of his father being tainted by what Zeke was telling him.

How could his father, who had so loved Carla and Eren and then had so much love leftover to then take Mikasa in, care so little for his first late wife and firstborn son?

I could see the subtle shift in his eyes, see the hope that he'd had in finally meeting his half-brother slowly fading from them. But Eren didn't want to make him stop talking. He heard it all. And Zeke went on and on and on, each story he told worse than the last.

It was awful for me to sit there and hear such things about a man I'd never met from the voice of his son... his neglected, abused son, yes, but...

I could only imagine how awful it must have been for Eren to hear it.

By the end, when Zeke pulled Eren in for a hug, I realized just how poorly this had gone. I was hoping it'd be fun. I had talked with Zeke and even he wanted it to be a fun way to get to know each other, but this...

I barely registered it when Zeke thanked me for helping set this up, and that he hoped we could all get together again. He tried shaking Levi's hand who only glared at him until he backed off. Zeke left the café first. The three of us left minutes after, after many quiet moments spent slowly gathering our things.

When we stepped outside, I was first taken aback by how long we'd spent in there, and secondly by how stifling the air had been inside. The atmosphere of the café was nice enough but being in there and listening to no end of awful things about Grisha Yeager had made it incredibly suffocating.

Picking up on the fact that I wanted a moment alone with my baby brother, Levi offered to go warm up the car while Eren and I loitered just outside the café's doors. I thanked Levi and off he went.

"I'm sorry," were the first two words I could think to say, and the only two words I felt it appropriate to say.

"It's all true, isn't it?" Eren asked. "What he said about my father."

"There's no way for us to know for sure," I said, looking at him. Eren was looking out at the street, though his eyes were unfocused, his gaze not set on anything in particular, lost in his racing thoughts as he was.

"I could see it in his eyes," he said quietly. "He was telling the truth."

I figured if anyone would know, it would be Eren. They had the same eyes, after all... Eyes they surely inherited from their father.

"What he did to Zeke was awful," I said, "if you're sure he's being honest with you. But don't let it ruin what you remember of him. People grow. They change-"

"But he didn't!" Eren snapped, looking at me now with so much hurt in his eyes that it made my heart twinge a little. I wanted nothing more than to just hug him, to comfort him, but I couldn't do that. He never took well to coddling. He hated it. He was strong, very strong. Grossly independent. But to be honest... I didn't know how to help him.

"He left my mother," Eren continued. "Does that sound like something a great man would do? He left only hours before my mother died, and I don't know where he went. What was keeping him from just starting another family? What if I've got other half-siblings out there? How many more people did he hurt?!"

The air was chilled, the sky a murky gray with the impending snow. I crossed my arms over my chest to try to lock in whatever warmth I brought out with me as I tried to think of something, anything to say.

"All you can really do," I said softly, "is make sure you don't turn out like he did, and that you don't hurt people like he did. I didn't know the guy, but it seems like he really did love you, Eren. What he did to Zeke was terrible and I know it hurts, but..."

Eren glanced at me. I could see his eyes glistening with tears unshed. "But?"

"I don't know," I admitted quietly. "I just don't know. I'm sorry, Eren, I wish I knew how to make it better, but I just... I can't think of anything to say that would help you."

Despite everything, Eren smiled weakly. "Maybe that's what I need," he said. "Honesty. Zeke wasn't lying, but he... but he was wrong. My dad had changed. I know it. I think he did love Zeke, he just didn't know how, and he tried to start over and... I don't know. Maybe he didn't change."

Shaking my head fondly, I stepped closer and took him into my arms for a hug. "Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But I genuinely believe that he loved you and your mother and Mikasa, too. Some people are worse than others, but everyone deserves a second chance, right? You were his second chance."

He nodded against me. "Thanks for setting this up," he said. "It didn't really go as I expected, but..."

"You've got us now," I said gently. "I'm here for you. And I don't care what happens, I'll always have your back. I love you, ok?"

"Ok," he said with a laugh, a load of tension easing away from his shoulders. "Thanks. I love you too."

"Now come on," I said, pulling away from him. "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, so I'm sure those awful old movies are on TV right now. How about we go home and make fun of them?"

Eren nodded. "Only if you don't burn the cookies this year."

"That was like three years ago," I complained, fighting the urge to laugh. "You can't use that against me forever!"

"Two years, actually," Eren said.

"Oh, shut up," I said, watching as Levi finally came around the corner and pulled up to the curb. "Keep it up and we'll just leave you here."

"You wouldn't dare," he said, an easy smile on his face. "Mikasa would kill you."

"She'd probably agree with me," I argued playfully. "You're being a brat."

"I'll call your bluff. You wouldn't leave me here."

I glanced at the distance between us and the car. Noticing a snowdrift just on the other side of Eren, I decided to risk it. A giant smile erupted onto my face as I pushed him over into the snow. He fell with a surprised grunt and I made a break for the car.

"Have fun walking!"

"Hey, wait!"

The sound of his laughter was music to my ears.

And of course, we didn't dare actually leave him there, but Levi did yell at him to get out and brush the snow out of his car as soon as he realized he'd tracked some in.

The entire thing had been a disaster, but he was smiling again. That was something Zeke, and Grisha for that matter, could never take away. Not if I had something to say about it.

---

Once we got past our teenager years, Levi's relationship with my parents improved. At the start, it was difficult for my dad to accept the fact that I had such a close friendship with a guy. It didn't matter what guy, because in the eyes of a protective father, all boys were the same.

We weren't even dating then, and yet things had been a bit stilted. Mom had always been cordial with him, but Levi was just so new at the whole socialization thing that it was hard for him to have even a single conversation with her.

But over the years, and especially once we started dating, he would stop by to see me or for dinner or to pick me up for a date and gradually, conversations were had, relationships formed, and he was considered part of the family. Though still awkward, he warmed up around them, really only enough to be polite but progress was progress, and I was proud of him.

After arriving at my family home, I'd managed to convince Levi to stay for a bit. He'd only planned on dropping Eren off and having both of us go back to his place... or perhaps our place someday soon, but Eren reminded me of our plans to make fun of old holiday movies and I couldn't pass that up.

Upon hearing me ask him to stay for a while, mom had peeked her head out into the hallway where we were standing and with a smile too sly to be innocent, asked if he wanted any of the cookies she'd made. He couldn't exactly say no to her, and so he stayed.

Mikasa wasn't thrilled.

But eventually, the hour got late, and my parents went off to bed and though Mikasa and Eren stayed up in the living room to keep watching those old movies, and though he wanted to spend the night, he knew his parents and Erwin had plans for Christmas Eve tomorrow and so he needed to get home.

Like a good girlfriend I complained for a few minutes before he pried himself out of my grip and got off the couch leaving me cold and without someone to cuddle. But with a playful smile I followed him to the door, listing off a thousand different reasons as to why he couldn't... shouldn't leave. Only listening to humor me, he put his coat on, made sure he had his keys, then turned to face me.

His look was characteristically Levi, all aloof and uninterested but I could see the amusement hiding just behind his eyes, and the slight smirk that was threatening to curl his lip. "Do you have to go home?" I asked, linking my fingers behind my back as I sidled up to him.

"Yes."

"No, wait, you didn't understand my question. Do you absolutely have to go home?"

"Yes. I have plans in the morning."

"Right, but-"

"(Y/n)," he cut me off. "I'm not spending the night here."

"Aw," I pouted, "but why not?"

He glanced around me then, as though to make sure the coast was clear. Then he set his hands on my hips and pulled me in close. I set my hands against his chest, wondering just where he was going with this. "Because," he said quietly, "if I stay, I won't be able to keep my hands off of you. And you don't know how to keep quiet."

The sudden confidence in him was definitely unexpected... and incredibly attractive. I swallowed, his tease of what would have been to come if my parents' room wasn't only down the hall from where my bedroom here definitely getting the better of me. A million tiny butterflies fluttered around in my belly, and I wanted nothing more than to just take him upstairs, but I couldn't do that.

"Well," I murmured, "now I really want you to stay."

"I can't," he said, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "You know I'd rather be with you."

"Can't I spend the night with you?"

"If there weren't several of Erwin's cousins, aunts, and uncles spending the night in that house, I'd say yes."

I sighed. "I'll walk you out to your car."

I took his hand, leading him hurriedly to his car. What confused him more than my offer to walk him to his car with no coat and only fuzzy socks adorning my feet was when I went around the car and got right into the passenger seat. I remained knelt on the seat as Levi got in, looking at me confusedly.

A smirk that rivalled even his own curled on my lips as I took in his confused expression... and it only grew as he slowly pieced it together. "You can spare another few minutes, can't you?"

His eyes widened. "I... It's late," he protested weakly, but I watched smugly as one of his hands reached to pull the lever to lean his seat back.

"Just go a bit faster on the highway," I suggested, climbing atop him. "You don't get to tease me like that and get away with it."

I took his cheeks into my hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Only once our lips met did his fingers find purchase on the seat's lever and he began to ease back. With a rising fire in my belly I obediently followed, never allowing the kiss to break.

Some rogue part of my mind wondered if we should be doing this. Perhaps this was a bit risky. I mean, we were in his car now darkened-car, lit only by the faintest glow from the streetlight, crowded into his front seat, sharing a clumsy kiss.

But then again...

It was almost his birthday. He deserved to be spoiled, no?

I certainly thought so. And if he was already being so pliant, so obedient... who was I to stop now? He wanted this, and so did I. I got my confirmation when his hands found my waist, then my hips, my ass. I laughed a little into the kiss, knowing that my teasing and my bratty nature tonight was sure to get me in some trouble.

Not that I minded. The trouble was worth it, if I was in trouble with him.

Besides... I enjoyed his form of discipline.

---

"Ok, so, I've got some news for you," I said excitedly. I was lying on my stomach on my bed in my family home, on the phone with Megan. Here it was Christmas Eve, and though morning, I'm sure she had plans all day with her family, but when I'd texted her saying that I had something to tell her when she had the time, she'd called right away.

"Spill it," she said. "I finally managed to get away from my little cousins for a minute."

I smiled. All her cousins were far younger than her, save for one, and as such at family functions they were expected to watch over them. "Will they survive you stepping away for a minute?"

"Casey's with them," she said, and even without being there physically I knew that she had shrugged. "Besides, their parents should be watching them, not us."

"I'm sure you're not being paid for babysitting today," I said.

"Of course not," she huffed. "Because it's family. It's bullshit. I'm literally an adult, why do I have to watch them?!" A pause. "Sorry, nana. Yes, I'll watch my language. Love you."

I giggled. "Get chewed out by your nana, hm?"

"She's half deaf and yet can perfectly hear when I swear," she sighed. "Anyway, what's your news?"

"Well," I said, "it's kinda bittersweet, but Levi asked me to move in with him."

"And you said yes, right?! You wouldn't say no to that hunk of meat, would you? Tell me you wouldn't! Because I love you and all, but if I had the chance, like if he asked me, I would-"

"Meg," I said with a laugh, cutting her off. "I said yes, obviously. I'm moving in with him."

"Oh, thank god."

"Ouch."

"Oh, sorry! Not like that! I just mean it's about time you two do. Just watch, next week he'll propose to you."

"I don't know about that," I said. "But listen, since our lease is almost up anyway, I figure now would be as good a time as any to move."

"Right," she agreed. "Oh, you know what? I think Jerry said something about looking for a place to move."

"Ha, so you are together!"

"No, not yet," she sighed. "Not officially. He's still like, too bashful to admit that he does like me. But I can't make it any more obvious that I like him!"

"You've come a long way from denying that you're crazy about him," I said. "I knew the whole time. You two were the only two who didn't want to admit it."

"Like you and Levi were any better before you actually got together," she threw back.

"Touché."

"Oh, shit," she said. "Something just broke in the other room. I gotta go, but I'll text later, ok?"

"Ok," I replied. "Talk to you later!"

"Merry Christmas!"

I smiled. "Merry Christmas, Meg. Try not to get in trouble with your nana again."

"Shut up!"

---

When Christmas day came, it brought with it all the usual celebrations. It was mom's favorite holiday and as such she put out all the stops to make each Christmas more special than the last. So, adorned in my tackiest pajamas I joined my family that morning to exchange gifts and have huge breakfast with other family members popping in as they willed throughout the day.

They came over and we had an early holiday meal together. Drinks flowed as easily as the conversations did and in true family function fashion, I was asked about my job and my education and my love life.

It wasn't exactly private knowledge that I was in a relationship, especially with how long we'd been dating and how excited mom had been to share the news to all her aunts and uncles and her parents and her cousins and even her grandmother that I'd nabbed such a nice young man.

So I was asked about how our relationship was going and about how Levi was doing and when they should expect a ring to be on my finger.

I'd rolled my eyes at that overly nosy aunt as Eren pretended to throw up in response to the question. I'd answered in the way one would when you didn't know how to answer. "Oh, someday, maybe..."

It was only enough to shut her up, at least for now. I absolutely expected the question to be presented again at the very next instance I saw her.

After dessert was cleared away and family began to leave, I got ready to make the drive to Levi's house. I couldn't not see him on his birthday, of course, and his family had invited me to spend the evening with them to catch up.

As I wound my scarf around my neck and chatted with an uncle who was leaving at the same time, my mind was racing, still flustered by what that aunt had asked. I thought I'd put it aside but it seemed to be all that I could focus on. Of course... as embarrassing as the question was...

I couldn't exactly deny that I was anxious to know the answer myself.

I couldn't exactly deny that I hoped I would get the answer someday soon.