Whenever I talked to other wedded couples about their honeymoons and asked what they were like, I never quite believed them when they told me that they fell back in love with their partner. Not to say that they were not already in love with them, because that's why they got married in the first place. No, what they meant was that they fell in love with them in grand new ways, ways that perhaps they had not appreciated before.

I never really quite knew how to rationalize that in my brain - purely because I had no experienced it for myself - so I would just smile and nod and coo at how cute that was before asking something else.

There are some things that the human mind just has a hard time recognizing. It was just a simple fact of life, and it had everything to do with how simple everything was not. Something like this was a strange thing to think about, and it was certainly something as hard to fathom as the prospect of differentiating between two impossibly large numbers: one million and one billion, for example. They're just unfathomable to the human mind.

Of course, there was never truly a way to know an entire person. That's not to say that you don't know anyone, but you never quite ever get to know anyone quite as well as you know yourself, and some people don't learn who they are until late in their life. But still, falling in love with someone was all about learning who they are as a person, right?

Loving Levi, I learned all about who he was. What he liked, what he did not like, his most minute preferences for everything. I felt that I knew him more than most, and he would probably tell me that this was true with a certain level of playful chagrin.

But somewhere deep in my subconscious, I recognized this simple fact of life though I did not actively think of it... much like how you always know what your hand looks like, even if you don't always see it. All this to say, I knew that there would always be something new to learn. Something knew to discover. Something new to appreciate. And all about him.

The thought of experiencing it for myself never quite clicked in my brain until my own honeymoon, and I suddenly found that I agreed with everything those couples had told me. Did I already know and love Levi? Yes, of course. But seeing him like this... no work, no responsibilities, able for once in his life to truly relax... it was incredible.

We were able to, for once, just focus on each other. There was no work to unwind from, no work to prepare for. We didn't have to worry about what was happening so many miles away because for right now, it did not matter.

It was for this reason that we opted to leave for our honeymoon as soon as possible after our wedding. Some newlywed couples would wait a few days, even a few weeks to leave, perhaps for the optimal season of their destination or what have you, but not us. We planned it to run seamlessly right after our wedding, and I was so glad that we did.

Because somehow, in the most beautiful way... I fell in love with him more and more with each passing day.

I didn't know how it was possible, and yet I was so grateful for it.

---

Levi's POV:

I leaned back on my hands, straightening my legs out in front of me across the blanket.

We were on a picnic.

On a scenic cliff overlooking the ocean, we'd laid out a red-checkered blanket and prepared a basket of sandwiches and snacks and this cheap bottle of wine from the resort. A steady breeze rolled in with the waves and the sun dipped in and out from behind clouds that looked too damn fluffy and picturesque to seem real.

The rocky bluff was tucked away from the main resort which was far closer to the beach. It was a bit of a trek to get here, and I'd told the stubborn idiot several times that we could have had it elsewhere, but she wouldn't listen. Because of course she didn't.

She'd pushed me all the way up here, and now the chair was folded and away, out of sight and out of mind several feet behind us. For now, anyway.

I had to crane my neck to see her over my shoulder now, crouched down in the grass and picking flowers. She was doing a strange sort of waddle, crouched as she was, in the way she moved around to pick the flowers she deemed worthy for... whatever it was that she was doing.

Despite the waddle, she looked very pretty today.

Her hair was left down, but it seemed to be getting in the way with how she occasionally needed to use one hand to hold her hair back as the wind blew by. I don't think she was aware of the way she seemed to be plucked right out of a painting looking like that. In a pretty sundress, crouched in the grass and picking wildflowers, on a day too perfect to be happening.

She must have noticed that I was looking at her, because she looked up and she grinned at me, giving a little wave with one hand full of flowers.

Fuck, that smile.

Something in my expression had to have changed because she giggled. I was too far away from her to hear it but I knew that's what she was doing by her face alone. I turned away before I could embarrass myself further, though that incessant heat began creeping up my neck in the most infuriating way anyway.

She didn't take long after that to return to my side. (Y/n) settled on the blanket beside me, fixing the skirt of her dress about her before spreading out the array of flowers she'd gathered. I leaned over and picked one up. If I had to say what flower it was, I would have absolutely no idea because who the hell goes so far to learn the names of wildflowers, but it was at least pretty, with yellow petals and a thin green stem.

I cut the stem down to length and slid the flower behind her ear, making her smile in a cute, bashful way. "What'd you get these for?"

"I picked them to try to make something," she said. "I kinda always wanted to try it."

"Try what?"

"You'll see," she said, leaning forward over the flowers. She looked in that moment not like a young woman on a picnic, but rather like a focused scientist with her hunched posture and narrowed eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of a breakthrough, but the answer just kept evading her grasp time and time again, but now, finally, months of research and late nights and dead ends and starting over would be worth it because she'd-

"How the hell do you do this and make it look pretty," she suddenly said in an exasperated huff.

I bit back my chuckle and it took all my strength to do even that. Something about this grown ass woman - my wife - getting so damn upset over something so trivial as flowers not working with her was incredibly amusing. Still, it was my marital duty to help her, and so I leaned forward, looking down at what she was attempting to do. Only... I couldn't help her, because I had no idea what the hell she was trying to do.

"What are you doing?"

"Um," she said embarrassedly, and then, quietly: "I'm trying to make a flower crown."

"Why?"

"Because it's... pretty? I don't know. I forgot my book, so what else am I supposed to do?"

"How about talk with your husband?"

"Hm, no," she decided jokingly. "I'd say we could read your book together, but it's boring."

One of my eyebrows rose. "You suggested it."

She only shrugged, sending me a coy little smile. I shot her a look, one that she responded to with a much bigger smile, one that was sly and playful and pretty all wrapped up into one. "Let me see," I said, taking the two flowers she'd been trying to tie together from her hands.

"Ah," she teased, "your years as a boy scout will help us."

"I was never a boy scout," I said offhandedly, trying to focus on what my hands were doing. "I just know how to tie knots."

She leaned over, well into my personal space, but I found that I didn't mind. I had to tilt my head to see around hers, but I let her watch quietly. When at last I had them tied together, she gasped, and a stream of questions escaped her lips.

"Calm down," I said to her, interrupting the river of nonsensical questions flowing from her.

"How'd you do it?!"

"That'll be my secret for now," I said. She pouted. To placate her, I added, "I'll teach you later."

"Fine," she huffed once more, bringing the slightest of smiles to my face. This time, for the first time... I didn't try to hide it. I didn't shy away. I just let it be, and eventually her eyes found my own, then flickered down to my lips.

Her smile grew.

That alone made the effort worth it.

Well that and the fact that it put her in such a good, loving mood that only minutes later she was leaning against my side, her head against my shoulder and her hands around my forearm as I read aloud to her. 

And eventually... she fell asleep, probably because this book was so boring, and I'm sure she was drooling on my shoulder, but it was fine. I'd watch over her as she slept and when she wakes up, well... I'd tease her about it then.

---

Normal POV:

There was a gorgeous sea breeze flowing in through the open doors leading to the balcony and I stopped beside the door and looked out at the ocean. This high up in the resort, I couldn't see the sand from here, nor the beaches stretching along the coastline. I could only see the ocean going so far as my vision would allow me to before it met the sky.

It was sunset.

The setting sun painted the sky in a gorgeous kaleidoscope of orange and pink and blue and violet. Seabirds flew just above the water, their shrill caws and pretty songs reaching my ears. So too did the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore, a few voices coming from nearby balconies, and... music?

I stepped out onto the balcony. The smooth tile was cool under my bare feet as I approached the railing. I reached out with one hand, holding the cool metal before leaning against it, looking down. Now I could see the beaches lining the shore, the dunes casting long shadows behind them along with the people still down by the water.

I squinted a little, my brow furrowing as I tried finding the source of the music. Ah, there. There was a group of people sitting around a bonfire down there, and they'd brought a boombox out with them. The people looked young, which was why it was so surprising that they weren't playing modern tunes, but rather oldies. A themed sort of party, then?

The song playing was easily recognizable, and I knew it to be a sweet little love song. With a wistful sigh I set my forearms across the railing and watched as a few people made s'mores over the fire, others played cornhole or threw a frisbee, and others danced.

There was a young couple dancing together, actually, and I set my chin in my palm as I watched them with a smile. They must have been a new couple, or perhaps they weren't a couple at all. Maybe they were only so shy and clumsy as they danced because they liked each other but were too scared to admit it.

Each and every romance was distinct. No two love stories were the same. But it was interesting to know that so many stemmed from the same place: two young people too shy to admit what they felt, stumbling over themselves as they tried to find a way to say it without saying it.

How cute.

When a gentle hand landed against the small of my back as I stayed leant against the railing, I almost thought nothing of it, but then I realized that I hadn't led Levi out here on his chair. I turned my head to look at him, standing now at my side, one hand on my back and the other now holding the railing as he peered down to see what it was that I'd been looking at.

He'd walked out here on his own.

And that had my heart warming with so much pride that I could hardly stand it.

I had half a mind to tell him to be careful, but where was the point in that? He'd already walked out here. He'd been careful. So, I didn't say a word. I followed his gaze back down towards the beach, and when one of his eyebrows arched up, I had a feeling I knew what he was looking at.

"They're cute, aren't they?" I asked.

Levi only shook his head, adjusting his stance and stepping closer so now his arm could wind around my waist, pulling me in towards him. I didn't put up a fight or make a fuss, I only stood to match him and carefully, so carefully, leaned my weight against him as I knew he wanted.

As we watched, one of the young couple's friends shouted something to them and that had them both looking shyly away from one another. "Ooh," I said eagerly, "one of them must have said something embarrassing. Look, they're so cute!"

"That kid looks like he's about to shit himself," Levi said.

"Maybe he is," I said. "Some people have awful anxiety shits, you know."

"Anxiety... shits? What the hell are you on?" Despite the incredulous tone to his voice, there was a laugh threatening to break through and I turned to face him.

"Sometimes," I said so seriously that it was hard to believe I was talking about bowel movements, "when people get nervous, their body reacts by making them need to, you know."

"No," he replied, "I don't know. You're making this up."

"I am not," I said. "It's like, the butterflies in their belly just go too far down."

That got a chuckle out of him. "Yeah? And is that the scientific explanation for it?"

That made me laugh, and I shook my head incredulously. "No, I mean it. Meg gets them really bad."

He tried to glare at me, but his eyes betrayed his amusement. "We're on our honeymoon," he said, "and all you can think about is shit."

"That's not true," I protested. "I'm also thinking that they remind me of us when we were younger." He took another look at them, clearly not believing me. "I just mean how clumsy we were."

"How clumsy you were."

"I meant what I said," I pressed. "I just remember being so nervous because I didn't want to mess it up. And when I kinda figured out I wanted to be more than friends, I was just so afraid I was going to ruin everything."

"We're here now," he said. "That's what matters."

"You're just saying that to avoid saying you were nervous too," I teased.

He chose, wisely, not to respond. When he pushed away from the railing, the comforting warmth of his hand against my back being replaced by a cool chill as he stepped away, I looked over my shoulder to watch as he came to a stop in the center of the balcony.

He extended one hand towards me.

One of my eyebrows quirked up, the silent question in my eyes clear as day. When I locked eyes with him, I could see the answer in them, crystal clear. Something in my expression must have betrayed my confusion because he lifted his hand higher as though I hadn't been able to see it before.

"Dance with me," he requested quietly.

He was asking, and yet, I couldn't quite believe it was real. I looked past his hand and searched his eyes, his expression, his body language, for anything that said he didn't want to do this. But I could find nothing of the sort.

Far below this balcony on the beautiful sandy beach now bathed in the glow of a picturesque sunset, a different song began to play. The notes lifted upwards towards us on the wind, and I knew it to be the epitome of a cheesy love song. With the setting sun watching, could I have asked for a more perfect place to dance with him?

I couldn't. So I took his hand before he could change his mind.

As soon as I took his hand, he gently pulled me closer to him. I came to stand before him but a single breath away and took the initiative to link my fingers behind his neck. His hands found my waist and we worked into a slow, easy sway.

We hadn't been able to do this at our wedding. Standing for so long and just being so emotionally open and vulnerable in front of so many had exhausted him. We'd had a private dance after the ceremony of sorts, with a sweet love song playing of our choice while I stood leaning over his chair, hugging him close to me. It was awkward and it was a burden on my back, but it was ours, and so it was beautiful.

To have this opportunity now...

I did what I could to keep as little of my weight against him as possible. I didn't know how he was feeling; nothing in his face would ever reveal his pain if he felt any, nor would he dare say anything on the matter, so I was careful to press my body to his just so, in a way that wouldn't put too much extra strain on his injured leg.

My eyes didn't dare leave his. It was an intimate moment as it was, and there was something especially soft in his gaze, something that I didn't see often but goodness, something about the way he was looking at me right now made me feel like I was the only other person that mattered, the only other person around for miles.

God, he looked gorgeous in this light.

The sharp lines of his features were softened by the golden glow, and the contours of his face cast strange shadows across his skin. He was just so handsome; it was hard to believe that he was all mine.

All mine.

And with this song, in this environment... it was so cheesy, so damn cheesy, but I didn't care. We weren't even doing anything crazy, we were just swaying together on a balcony overlooking the ocean. But it wasn't about that. It was about the fact that he wanted to dance. He did. He was pushing himself, for me.

One hand of mine drifted down to his chest, and I glanced at my ring, shimmering in the golden light of the setting sun. "The Ackerman newlyweds," I said quietly, now winding my arms around his waist to hug him close. He adjusted his arms to wrap around my shoulders and one strong hand traced up and down the length of my back. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against his shoulder.

"How'd I get so lucky," I murmured, wondering if for how quiet it was if he'd be able to hear it.

But he had.

"Luck had nothing to do with it," he replied. A kiss was pressed to my temple, and I couldn't stop the smile from reaching my lips if I tried.

"You really are a sweetheart," I said. "When you want to be, anyway."

"Don't get used to it," he grumbled.

"As a married man," I mused, "you'd think you'd be a little less bashful by now."

"As a married woman," he shot back, "you'd think you'd stop flirting so damn much."

"That's hardly flirting," I said with a laugh. "But if telling the truth is all it takes to make you blush, then we've got a very fun life together ahead of us."

"Fun for you, or fun for me?"

"For us," I repeated. "Would it embarrass you if I told you that in this light, you look perfect?"

"You're not even looking at me."

"Oh," I said in a sing-song sort of way, "is that a hint? Would you like me to look at you?" Before he could answer, I lifted my head from his shoulder, shooting him a playful wink as soon as our eyes met. I made a show of looking around his face, pretending to inspect him closely. I brought one hand to his chin, tipping it this way and that for a closer look. I let my eyes trail across his strong jaw, gaze upon his skin so perfectly smooth to smooch, and his eyes... gorgeous. Just gorgeous. 

"Hm," I hummed thoughtfully before stating decidedly: "Yep, just as I suspected. You're the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"You can knock it off, now."

"There's no way you're single," I continued, not missing a beat. "I wonder who could have been lucky enough to catch your eye? And not to mention-"

"(Y/n)," he said, "stop with the flirting."

"I mean, have you seen yourself? I've never seen a man with eyes so pretty, it's like you can see the sky in them and-"

"(Y/n)," he said once more.

"Not just any sky," I prattled on. "Sometimes a stormy sky, sometimes a beautiful daytime sky, sometimes-"

"You're insufferable."

"And truth be told," I said, my voice low and soft and reverent and sincere, "I'm so happy that of anyone, you chose to love me. I'm so grateful that you came home to me. And nothing will ever change what I feel for you. And I hope that one day you'll see yourself as I do, because I mean it when I say you are still every bit as handsome as you were before you were deployed and I love you more with each passing day."

Something strange crossed his expression then, something surprised and even a bit hesitant. "Scars and all...?"

"Scars and all, my love," I repeated. In public, he still took to covering them; and since they were still recovering, he needed to, more often than not. But when we were home, or now, when we were completely alone... He let the cuts breathe. Such was the case now.

I set my hand against his cheek, tracing the pad of my thumb along the long scar running down his face. I pressed a kiss to his other cheek, letting my lips linger for a moment, as though to imprint upon his skin the truth of my words.

In trying to rest his forehead against mine, he bumped them together with a little too much force and I almost laughed aloud as his enthusiasm if not for the intimacy of the moment we were sharing. "I'm not good with words," he muttered. "You know that."

"I think you know three words that would do perfectly well in this situation," I said, closing my eyes and appreciating just holding him close.

He clicked his tongue irritably. "That's not enough," he said. He swallowed hard and I remained quiet, letting him gather the nerve to say what he wanted to. "Those words won't ever be enough to... to let you know how I feel."

"I know how you feel," I said. "But I feel it, in your actions. And I know that when you say I love you, there are a million other words you're trying to say."

"Fine, then," he said, clearing his throat. "I love you."

As it was, my words were true; those three words say more than a million could ever hope to articulate. Sometimes... less was more.

And if the rest of our honeymoon continued like this, well... I couldn't say that there was anything coming to mind that could top this, really. Dancing with him, sharing such an intimate moment in the beautiful fading light of the setting sun, with the sound of sappy love songs and the ocean to fill our ears...

Realistically, nothing in life was perfect. I knew that, logically. But I could also say with the utmost certainty that this was about as close to perfection as life could get. I'd be perfectly content to stay here forever, if only I could.

For now though, I would appreciate it while I could.

---

Months Later:

"Oh, no, no, no," I said, looking at the pictures Meg had texted me. One of her cousins had just had her baby, and Meg had contracted a serious illness, one of the worst kinds: baby fever. And I think she was trying to give it to me!

She and that cousin were close, and she'd been helping out the new parents a lot. And like, every ten minutes she sent me new pictures of this perfectly round, hilariously chubby little newborn named Lilah.

And... it was starting to work. Her baby fever was starting to rub off on me. Was that kind of thing contagious? I suppose it was, because I was starting to think she was adorable. Not that I thought all babies were ugly or that they weren't cute or anything like that, but holy shit I had never cooed so damn honestly at the sight of another person's baby and now...

I couldn't take looking at more pictures. My heart just couldn't handle it.

Shit, what was happening to me?!

Levi looked up from his spot on the other end of the couch. He was reading, and I'd been scrolling away on my phone and now... I was gushing over someone else's child. "Her eyes are so pretty," I said, my voice probably bordering on being absolutely hellish to listen to by now. "And her cheeks, oh my god, look at them!"

I slid over on the couch and showed him the pictures, scrolling through so he could see each of them. "That's a baby," he said.

"I know," I said. "Isn't she adorable? And her name is Lilah, isn't that a pretty name?"

He looked away from the pictures, clearly unenthused and uninterested in what was going on. I pouted, if only to try to guilt him into paying more attention to me.

It didn't work. I couldn't believe this man had the audacity-

"(Y/n)," Levi said, looking still at his book, "what are you thinking for dinner tonight?"

"I'm thinking I want to go meet this little pumpkin," I said.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Levi," I whined, flopping over into his lap on my side facing his stomach. I pouted up at him, not that he could see it through the book, so I reached up with one hand to hook a finger on the bottom and gently pull it to where he could see me. When we locked eyes... wait, we didn't, because he'd kept his eyes on the book even as I moved it.

Asshole.

I continued to look at him even as he read on and on, even having the balls to flip the page while still ignoring my gaze. "Do you think we could have my favorite?"

At that, he finally glanced down at me, looking to me like he was already tired of my shit. "Is that why you're pouting like that? You thought I'd say no to that?"

"No," I answered. "It's something else."

He sighed, finally closing his book with a snap and setting it on the arm of the chair. "What is it about, then?" I went to answer when one of his hands started to run through my hair and I reflexively closed my eyes, giving into the sensation. "Are your hormones making you emotional because of..."

"What? No!" But then my lips pursed, and my eyebrows furrowed. Was it almost that time? "What's the date today?"

Levi recited the date aloud to me. Nope. Definitely not that time yet.

"No," I said again, for sure this time.

"Is this about that kid?"

"The baby," I corrected. "... And maybe."

"Do you want to have children?"

My eyes opened slowly, and I let my gaze travel upward until I found his own. I nearly started when I saw that his eyes were already on me, searching for something unseen. I had a feeling we might've had this talk before, or at least something close to it, but it'd been mindless pillow talk then, little more than our tired ramblings as we laid in bed together, exhausted out of our minds, and dreaming about our futures together.

"I do," I answered honestly. To have a child with him... to have a beautiful little culmination of our love, a beautiful and healthy child that we could raise... a life we could mold with all the love in the world, as two parents present, something neither of us had gotten to have while growing up... We could raise the child to be better than we were. Better than our biological parents were.

Maybe our firstborn would have my eyes. Or maybe his, where I would be able to see the skies and the oceans and the stars all rolled into one, and be reminded of Levi whenever I looked at my baby...

Maybe our children would all take after him. Wouldn't that be something? A group of grumpy looking little cuties.

For a moment, I imagined what Levi would be like as a father. In many ways, I'm sure it was similar to how he was as a husband. Dedicated. Loving. Caring. Cherishing. Attentive.

In a word... perfect.

He would be a wonderful father.

And regarding how I might be as a mother, well, at this point in my life I had a stable job. A stable partner. We had a house. I was in a really good place in my life. So good of a place, in fact, that I felt able to provide for a child, care for a child, love a child...

"Levi," I said, cutting through the thick silence, "I think I want to have a baby with you."

"You... really?"

"Really," I said. "I... I would love it." I sat up then, not sure how to interpret this silence. It started to feel to me like reluctance, like he was trying to find a way to deny me, and so I started to backpedal even as my heart started to crack. "I mean, only if you want to. You are my family and I'd understand if you didn't want to have children with me, I mean in this economy there's so many risks-"

"Shh," he said, cutting me off. He took me into his arms swiftly and with a startled oof I fell against his chest with the force of it.

"Levi...?"

"I want to start a family with you."

note: yes, I know not everyone wants kids. HOWEVER (and I'm only adding this note because this was quite the decisive subject on the original version of the book and damn near every book I read that had pregnancy or the topic of kids in it) Levi is pretty damn close to being the babysitter of Eren and the others when they join his squad. it's no coincidence. and similarly, if you read the manga... you already know. so.

whatever your opinions on children, I find that Levi would probably very much enjoy the prospect of having children, either of his own, or adopted ones. so that's why it's in this book. it's not to enforce any ideas of a family on anyone, or that kids are necessary, they're just in this book based on the narrative I have created. I know lots of readers don't like pregnancies or kids being in books, but there's a method to all this, I promise.

ANYWAY, that's all for now~

thank you all so much for reading, and as always, I'll see you in the next chapter! love you all lots! <3