Morning; 7:12 A.M – (Y/n).

Early summer. Ackerman household.

On this oh so glorious morning, my children were awake far earlier than I was. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Falco was up far earlier than the rest of the family. And the cute little thing did try to be quiet, but it was hard when you were as young and as excitable as he was, and to ask so much of him before breakfast was just a disaster waiting to happen, so I really wasn't sure what I expected.

On weekends, and on weekdays during the summer, Falco and Colt knew not to disturb me from my sleep. Levi knew too, though usually the only way he could disturb me from my sleep was to get out of bed which would be fine if he was going to make me breakfast in bed, but otherwise I'd drag him back into bed with me until I was ready to start the day.

That's how I thought this morning would go; I'd wake up because of Levi moving, I'd ask where he was going and if the answer was anything other than the bathroom or to make me breakfast in bed, I'd pull him back into bed and we'd cuddle until our stomachs would start to growl.

Unfortunately, that's not how the morning went.

The reason that I woke up wasn't due to the movement of Levi, not even for him shifting slightly on the mattress. Actually, the door creaked open, and that was the first sound that registered in my brain. Hearing it, and recognizing it, I lifted my heavy head, doing what I could to open my unwilling eyes. My eyelids were heavy with sleep, my senses groggy with that usual morning disorientation.

But I knew immediately who it was that was peeking in through the doorway.

"Falco," I called gently. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing," he answered, sounding bewildered as to why I would ask such a silly question in the first place.

"Then why are you in here?"

That was Levi's voice, low and rough and scratchy and attractive in a way that should have been illegal.

"I had a question!"

"Go ahead," I prompted, rubbing the heel of my hand against my eye to remove the sleep from it when it became clear that he was waiting for us to acknowledge that he had a question.

"Can we have pancakes for breakfast?"

Levi and I answered at the same time, interestingly enough.

"Of course, darling."

"Get out."

Because we spoke at the same time, Falco missed what both of us said. "Papa will make you pancakes in a bit," I assured Falco, setting a hand on Levi's chest when it rose with a sharp intake of breath, likely meant only to protest. The words died in his throat when he saw the stern look, I was sending his way and his jaw closed with an audible snap.

I looked back at Falco who watched the interaction with a cute, confused tilt to his head. "We just want a few more minutes in bed, and then we'll be right down, ok?"

"Ok," he chimed in response, smiling widely at me. "Should I wake Colt up?"

"No," I said. "Let him sleep."

"But he promised me that we'd play a game together today."

"What game?"

"I don't know," he replied quietly, so quietly that if I wasn't listening carefully for his voice, I'd have missed it. "He just said that we'd play together."

"And you will," I said, recognizing the way that an older kid might just promise to do something in order to shut their younger sibling up. "And I'll play too. How does that sound?"

That had the boy grinning. "Do you mean it?"

"Of course," I assured him. "Now go play quietly for a few more minutes, ok? We'll start on breakfast soon."

"Ok!"

And then he left, minding his manners and closing the door behind him. Now that we were alone in our room once more, I let myself flop back down onto my back and let the low groan that I'd been holding in while he was here come out.

"Nice going," Levi grumbled.

"Hush," I said, rolling over and into his waiting arms. I curled up against him and he let out a slow breath through his nose. "Would you have preferred if I said no to him, and leave him a whiny brat all day?"

"I'd have preferred if you didn't volunteer me to do it. The biggest brat here is still you."

"The boys like your pancakes better," I argued. "You know that."

"That doesn't mean I want to do it."

"Mm-hm," I hummed. It wasn't worth the breath it took to argue, because I already knew that he would do it. He was just giving me a hard time because he could. What a pain in the ass. But I loved him all the same.

I smiled a little as I pressed closer against him. "Don't fall back asleep," Levi told me. "I'll kick your ass if you do."

I only hummed once more, throwing a lazy leg over his to keep him bracketed in place. "You know," I said, "I love mornings like this."

"Ones when we get woken up by a little shithead?"

"No," I said, laughing a little. "Just... with us, like this. It's quiet and calm and I don't know, I just love getting to hold you like this and not do a damn thing."

"Mm."

My smile grew. The only reason he hummed in response and nothing more was because he agreed, he just didn't want to admit it. "Life is hectic," I added. "Having time to just appreciate having you here..." I adjusted slightly, getting more comfortable against him before continuing. "When you were away, I realized I took a lot for granted. As soon as I figured it out, I vowed never to let myself do it again. And since then... I don't know, I find that I like moments like these a lot more than I did when I was younger."

He seemed to think about that for a moment, before saying, "Me too."

And then, in a far more affectionate display than what I would usually expect from him for this ungodly hour of the morning, he pressed a tender kiss to my forehead, and I nearly melted on the spot. Such an openly loving act from him... while he did it if private far more often now than he used to, I could remember such times when he would be so scared to act first, for his mind could never truly allow him to trust that someone could love him so much, that someone would want to show him such love...

He was just incredible. There were no two ways about it.

Despite how early it was, these were still my favorite kinds of mornings.

We had nowhere to go today, nowhere to be. The weather for now was cool but it was certainly shaping up to be another gloriously warm summer day, one that was hot under the sun but cool under the shade and with a steady breeze rolling through. But for now I was content to lay in bed with my husband, the man who I so cherished.

This might have been one of my favorite mornings yet, actually, with the way that Levi was no pressing one lazy kiss after another to my temple, my cheeks, my jaw. There were no ulterior motives here, just a man sleepily worshipping his wife. As he should.

Besides, I'd make it up to him later. His sweetness didn't go unnoticed, and I would make sure he knew that.

---

Morning; 7:45 A.M – (Y/n).

Same day. Same place.

Since Levi had already agreed – or at least been voluntold by me – to make the pancakes, I rolled out of bed first after several more minutes shared in bed so that he could at least have some tea while he worked. I was just pouring the tea into two mugs when I heard the quiet padding of footsteps on the tiled kitchen floor behind me.

I knew it could only be Levi; Falco was awful at sneaking, even for how much he tried, and Colt just never bothered to be quiet. He was a tall kid, there was no hiding how heavy his footfalls were. But Levi, well he was just naturally quiet. It was as though he was built for stealth.

Hm. I suppose that made sense, considering his upbringing as a thug. The thought still made me laugh sometimes; my husband had been a thug. A street rat.

...not that it was inherently funny that he'd been those things, and I knew damn well that he hadn't had a choice in the matter, but it was because of what I knew him to be: so quietly loving, hardworking, dedicated, and so much more, that it was weird to think of him as anything other than that, even though I knew it to be true.

Levi came up behind me and wound his arms around my waist. His fingers linked across my stomach, and he pulled me to lean back against his chest, which I did without complaint. Each and every day, he got a little stronger, a little more confident in his standing and walking, returning to how he once was.

It was a lot of work, and yet it was so incredibly worth it, if only to see the confidence being relit in his eyes. His courageous fire was returning and just knowing that was enough to motivate both of us, especially with results like these.

"Just in time," I said quietly to him as soon as I finished pouring tea into his usual cup. "Here you are, love." He maneuvered now to stand by my side, keeping one hand on my waist as he took his cup and lifted it to his lips. A satisfied sort of sigh passed through his lips when he lowered the cup. "How is it?"

"Good," he told me. "Like always."

"Good," I repeated, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. The pale light of early morning bathed his face beautifully, sending sharp shadows across his features and softening his eyes, still so sleepy and tired. He was really very pretty in this light, but then I hummed a little in faux contemplation. "Only good, after all this time? You'd think I'd be better at it by now."

"I'd have expected you to find a way to fuck up tea by now," he said.

"Oh, ha, ha," I drawled. "Very funny."

"I'm only teasing," he assured me uselessly; of course I already knew that. "I wouldn't drink it if it was shit."

"You mean you wouldn't just humor your wife and pretend that it's good?"

"Have I ever spared your feelings about this kind of thing before?"

"No," I responded with a laugh. I didn't even need to think about it long, I knew the answer as well as I knew the back of my own hand. "Still, say I try a new recipe and it turns out to be awful. You'd tell me that outright?"

"There you go with the conditional lying again," he said. There was so much mischief in his eyes that it was hard not to just give in and laugh, but I was going to keep this up for as long as possible. Just as a pout as fake as plastic reached my lips, two new sets of feet padded into the kitchen.

"When's breakfast? Falco said we're having pancakes."

"Soon," I said, wiping the pout from my face and turning to face the boys. Levi sighed and pushed away from me and the counter and made his way to the pantry to start gathering ingredients. I finally poured myself a cup of tea, taking a sip. My eyes closed somewhat instinctively, and now I knew that Levi had undermined how good my tea was, because this was incredible! Not that there were a lot of ways to fuck tea up, as he said, but still!

"How'd you boys sleep?" I asked when I lowered the cup and opened my eyes. What followed was a rather normal Sunday morning breakfast with my family. We talked about the normal, mundane things that weren't too interesting or were groundbreaking in any way, but for this family, they were monumental, for each moment we had together to bond, to grow closer, was a blessing.

This morning, the most interesting thing that had been said had to be what Falco had brought up. "I know what I want for my birthday!"

That had Levi and I both slowing in our movements; Levi, who stopped lifting his teacup towards his lips, and myself, who paused in reaching for the syrup. We'd been all gathered at the table, pancakes piled on a central serving plate and with the boys each having their own heaping, hefty pile on their own plates. I'd only just grabbed my own, and had been about to pour syrup over them, if not for that comment.

"What?"

"I saw a commercial for this scooter the other day," he explained excitedly. "It had a motor and everything!"

I shared a look with Levi. When he met my eyes, I knew that we were on the same page, that page detailing that we both knew that he'd forget about this by the time his birthday came around – which was in February, by the way. It was early summer; it'd only been a few months!

"We'll see," I had said to him. "It might be too snowy for you to ride it on your birthday."

"That's ok," he said nonchalantly. "I'll just wait for spring to ride it!"

I shared another look with Levi. Once more, we were on the same page: there was a fat chance of him being willing to wait, should he even remember about the damn scooter when his birthday got closer. We'd keep the idea in our back pocket, of course, but whether or not it would happen... we'd wait until his birthday got a little closer before deciding.

Not long after that, we all finished our food and the boys cleared the table, cleaned the dishes, dried them, and put them away. And then they were off, being left to their own devices for now, leaving Levi and me at the table. We still had our tea, and we sat quietly for a few minutes more.

Strange, really. When I was younger, I never thought I would appreciate moments like these. I used to think that there was no real point in just... sharing the silence with somebody. How could one hope to ever understand another without speaking, without actively trying to understand the other? But loving Levi had taught me that you could actually learn quite a lot about someone by just existing near them, by being quiet and enjoying the silence together.

I knew that this kind of quiet was his favorite kind. The comforting sound of birdsong came in through the windows, which I'd opened to let a breeze in. We could hear Falco playing in his room and Colt setting up to play a video game in the living room.

We both knew that it wouldn't be long before Falco got bored and would seek his brother out, and for Colt to give Falco a controller that wasn't even connected to the console and see how long it would take for him to figure it out. We knew that when he realized it, there'd be an argument.

But for now... this was a wonderful sort of quiet, the quiet that came with having a family. Never was a house truly silent, and yet it was comforting to know that they were there, that they were safe. That we were all safe.

"Levi," I said after several minutes of just enjoying the quiet. "What are your dreams?"

"What a stupid question," he muttered.

"No, not those," I replied, shaking my head. "I don't mean at night. I know how it is for you." It remained unspoken; he either had nightmares or saw nothing at all. There was no in-between. But what he saw had night wasn't what I was talking about. "I mean for life."

"We've had this talk before."

"I know," I said, "but it's been a while, and someone can always change their mind. I just want to know."

He thought it over for a moment, those sleepy feline eyes searching my own. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I have all I could want."

"That's sweet," I cooed lightly, "but I think I can make our lives together even better."

One of his eyebrows arched upwards, the silent question in his eyes clear as day. I only winked cheekily at him, and he narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing me. But that was fine. He'd figure it out soon enough.

---

Morning; 9:43 A.M – Levi.

Same day. Same place.

Falco was definitely a mama's boy. That was obvious to anyone with eyes.

Unfortunately, I had all five senses, and not only did I have to see it, I had to hear it, and sometimes feel it if I was with (Y/n) and the brat dragged her away from me. And he had her wrapped around his finger, because she would always give into what he wanted.

Such was the case right now.

We'd finally decided to move from the kitchen to the living room. By then, Colt and Falco had gotten over their argument and the two were off doing their own things in their own rooms. (Y/n) cuddled up to my side as soon as we sat on the couch, leaning her weight against me, and throwing her legs over my lap.

We hadn't even been in there together for five minutes before we got interrupted. Falco came running in, smiling widely. Ignoring me completely, he reached for her hand, tugging on it incessantly. "Falco," she said through a laugh. "What's going on?"

"Could you teach me how to dance?"

"Where's this coming from?"

Of course, she asked that, but had already nonverbally agreed, because she stood and allowed him to pull her into the center of the room. "In my show, two people danced! And I thought it looked cool!"

"Hm, are you sure," she mused playfully, taking his hands into her own. "Is it because it looks cool, or is it because you want to dance with Miss Gabi Braun?"

"N-No," Falco tried to stammer out. But it was too late; the kid was blushing from head to toe, and he seemed about ready to pass out.

"Stop teasing him about his crush," I called, setting my elbow on the couch and propping my chin in my hand. My words had the desired effect; (Y/n) laughed and Falco was even more embarrassed.

"I don't have a crush!"

"On who, Gabi?" That was Colt's voice, and I let my eyes glance over to see him in the entryway to the room, his arms crossed and a shit-eating smirk on his face. "Is that why you always talk about her?"

"I do not!"

By now, (Y/n) had picked Falco in a loose frame and really all they were doing was sidestepping. With how flustered the boy was, I doubted he could focus on doing anything more extensive than that. "Colt," (Y/n) said, calling his attention to her, "you should learn to dance, too. You'll need to know for your prom!"

Colt rolled his eyes then crossed the space to drop down onto the couch. He gave (Y/n) and Falco a wide berth and took the TV remote in hand. Leaning around them to see the screen, he turned it on and flipped through the channels in search of anything more interesting than watching his little brother dance – or attempt to, anyway – with their adopted mother.

I took another sip of my tea, catching (Y/n)'s eyes over the rip of the cup. Her smile grew and it looked like she was trying to suppress a grin or a laugh or maybe a cheeky comment. I rolled my eyes and looked away, redirecting my attention towards the TV. When I felt enough time had passed, I looked back at her. She was already back engrossed in dancing with Falco, holding him in a loose frame and quietly telling him the steps. He was looking at his feet, but when he looked up with this wide smile, she responded in kind.

I'd be lying if I said that look didn't send those fucking butterflies flying in my stomach. And then she met my eyes again, and I looked away before she could tease me with nothing more than the look in her eyes. How the hell could she still make me feel this way? Something about her still made me feel like we were younger, like we were still teenagers just figuring it out.

I was getting too old to feel this way, and I wasn't even thirty yet.

This woman would be the death of me.

---

Afternoon; 1:34 P.M – Levi.

Same day. Local ice cream stand.

"Mama," Falco had said not even thirty minutes earlier, "can we go for ice cream?"

Of course she'd given in. I wasn't stupid, I know the boy had her wrapped around his finger. At least she was aware of it. When we'd been getting ready, she'd told me as such, and stated quite plainly that "he was just the cutest little boy I've ever seen, and as my youngest, he's my baby!"

Right. Harmless. It was harmless, but it was also a pain in the ass.

"What's the problem with indulging in something like this?"

That was what she'd asked.

Whatever. It was only ice cream, and it was only a very warm summer day. So, where was the harm? She didn't see any, and so I decided to not make a fuss and allowed her to drag us all here for ice cream. And here meaning an ice cream stand that, years ago, we'd frequent quite regularly. It was where Eren had picked up his first summer job, and she made it a point to go once a week to see him at least.

I'm not sure why she chose to bring us here. It wasn't the closest; there was a chain ice cream place far closer to where we lived. Was it only because there was a park here? The ice cream stand was situated close to the entrance of a park, and on a summer day like this, it was packed. The line was long, but the boys and (Y/n) seemed to be in high spirits as she helped them decide what they wanted.

I didn't truly believe that she was in high spirits, not with the faraway look in her eyes I could see whenever she gazed towards the stand, as though one of these times, Eren would still be there in that obnoxiously bright pink shirt and doing what he could to charm bigger tips out of customers.

If she noticed the way I was looking at her, she didn't say so.

But when we got our ice cream and laid out a blanket to sit on to enjoy it while overlooking a duckpond lined with weeping willows and centered with a large fountain, I could see the haunted look in her eyes that only seemed to darken the longer we sat out there.

She didn't even finish her ice cream. When the boys were done, Colt collected all the trash to throw away and then both went to find a spot to play catch. They'd brought their gloves and a baseball, and soon they found a sunny spot several meters away to play.

I glanced sidelong at her, seeing that she still looked incredibly sad. What I couldn't understand was why today of all days she decided to come here. This must have been the first time since...

I reached out and took her hand. As though that was all she needed, she sighed and allowed herself to slump over to rest her cheek on my shoulder. "Why here?" My words were quiet; if she didn't want to talk about it here, we didn't have to.

"I don't know," she replied. She wound her free arm around mine, as though to keep me here.

"You miss him."

"Of course."

I looked down at her. At this angle, it was hard to tell for certain, but it looked like tears were brimming in her eyes, but she was fighting to keep them from flowing. I knew she didn't want to cry in public, and she was doing her hardest not to, but just being here again was hard for her.

Sometimes, she would come to get ice cream close to the end of Eren's shifts and the two of them would walk around the park and catch up, and sometimes he'd sneak out some extra treats for her. The two were close, they were siblings. I didn't realize his death was still hitting her so hard.

"God," she muttered, ducking her head towards my shoulder. "I miss him so much."

"I know," I said, because what else could I say? Matters like this weren't easy for me. They were like minefields; some words worked, some did not. Some people preferred the pretty, flowery words that they were better off where they were now, that they were in a better place. Some people wanted the hard truth, that they were gone and there was no bringing them back.

But (Y/n)...

"Levi," she said, "do you think I'll see him again one day?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I don't know what happens after death. No one does."

"Why'd he have to... Why'd he..."

She couldn't even finish the question. But it didn't matter, because I knew what she was going to say, but I didn't know what I was to say. I did know why he had to die. It was dangerous, what he did. Being in the military right now was a risk, and he knew that. So did Mikasa. So did all their friends. And yet they went, and this was the consequence, one of many.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to him," she said quietly.

"Sometimes that's how it goes."

"Who else am I going to lose?"

"What do you mean?"

"I almost lost you," she explained. "We lost Erwin and Mike. We almost lost Amaya, too. I almost lost my dad. Now I've lost Eren. How many more people are we going to lose?"

This time, I remained quiet until I thought of something to say. "That's just how life is," I said, squeezing her hand. "But I'm here for you, you know that. Even if I don't always know what to say."

"You always make me feel better anyway," she said. "I don't expect you to have all the answers." She tilted her head back then, gazing up at me with eyes so glassy that I wondered if she could even see me clearly. "But I'm here for you too, you know that."

"I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon," I said to her. "I'm not going down without a fight."

"A fucking explosion couldn't kill you," she said, "so I don't doubt that." She let go of my arm and gently wiped her tears away. "For the record, I don't plan on leaving you, either. I don't ever want to be without you."

"You won't be," I assured her. "Whatever happens, I'll never leave you."

She'd asked me before how long I thought forever lasted. Forever might end when I die, or when she does. Forever might last for all eternity, or for however long it took for the Earth to die. All I knew was that if I could in any way ensure that our forever lasted as long as it could, I would do just that. There was nothing more important than that.

This woman had decided to love me. Or maybe it wasn't a decision at first, just something her heart chose for itself, but at the very least, she decided to continue loving me, despite how hard it was, and how hard I made it. If I could give her the world... I would. But what could act as a substitute for that? What could ever be enough? What would ever make me deserve her?

For a while, we just sat there on that blanket laid across the grass. A short jog away were our two boys, still playing catch and talking as brothers do. The clouds rolled by lazily, and the ducks in the pond were swimming back and forth, waiting for anyone to approach the bank with anything that might pass as food.

I wasn't sure how much time passed. I didn't care to know.

We could've been sitting there for all of five minutes, or perhaps we sat there for all of eternity, but it didn't matter. Just being here with her like this... there was a time when I didn't think it would be possible. Laying in the mud as I bled out, I thought I was going to die, and all I could think about in that moment was all that I hadn't done, all that I hadn't gotten to say to her.

I let go of her hand. I wound my arms around her and pulled her against me, closer than before. She adjusted to get comfortable, setting her arms around me to return the embrace. If this was surprising, she didn't say so. If I seemed unsure in my movements and body language, she didn't say so. All she did was hold me as though I was the only thing that mattered right now, as though she came to the same conclusion that I did.

Human life is fickle. One never knows how much time is left for them. To that end... I wasn't going to shy away anymore.

She deserved the world, and that was what I was going to provide for her.

For now, I could start with this, an embrace that felt like it lasted forever, whatever our forever meant.