Disclaimer: I own nothing
Levi was excited.
It was never a word to describe him, everybody knew it, but he was actually, genuinely excited. For the first time in ages, he felt something that was not sadness, or anger, or frustration.
But excitement.
He could hear them all, from Hanji, to Mike Zacharias, running off to tell their tales, that for the first time, Levi Ackerman was actually excited for something (excited!).
It was somewhat exhilarating, it made his head spin.
He would finally be able to see his bride.
She was bound to be beautiful, he thought surely, adjusting his tie in the mirror. Amber locks threaded with tiny flowers, topped with a simple white veil of some sort. He was slightly frustrated he could not see her in her dress sooner.
When he left home, decorated and embellished, twisting hands together, he spotted something.
On the desk was her veil. Shaking his head in amusement, he took the thing in his arms. Forgetful one, she always was. Forgetting something like that on her wedding day.
When he took it, his hands shook.
His heartbeat was wild and erratic when he slammed the door shut. He frowned at the sky and had an urge to pummel something deeply like an angry child. The gods ruined it, surely, for he would have never dreamed that his wedding would take place under the clouds. Surely they knew it was his wedding day.
For today, Levi would walk out of the abbey a different man than yesterday.
He would be a husband. And one day he would be a father.
A father! The thought made him faint with adrenaline.
He had snagged with him a bottle of wine and two glasses, reserved specifically for him and his new wife.
Today, they would dine like kings.
Levi smoothed down his hair, took a haggard breath, and opened the gates.
The wind was cold when it sliced through his nostrils.
It wasn't beautiful, but to his eyes, it was perfect.
The place was empty, yet full of people at the same time. Each stared and looked as he walked down the aisle. Some craned their necks, and he suddenly felt his collar become a lot tighter.
Petra stood at the end, a bundle of smiles and bubbly caramel eyes. She was beautiful, and he smiled and placed the veil upon her locks. She was forever forgetful, but of course, he thought smugly, she would never forget her wedding day. When she giggled, he allowed himself a small smile.
So un-Levi like was he on this day.
When their vows were exchanged, and he slipped the ring on her finger, he could vaguely hear the priest as he dipped down.
For the first time in a long time, he felt tears sting his eyes and cling onto his lashes.
She tossed the bouquet to the crowd. And a lone hand raised and caught it. Both smiled and he leaned down again.
The wedding reception was quite grand, but the cake was not, a small white thing, and despite this, he thought it was the most regal wedding he would have ever witnessed. When he held his hand above hers on the knife and sliced down, he felt an ironic and odd sense of happiness from something so small.
Weddings made him quite giddy, he decided.
When the crowd, still unusually quiet, decided to settle down, he had asked her for a dance, and she had happily agreed, eyes shining and brimming with tears. Levi brushed them away with a gloved thumb, and she laughed and sobbed at the same time, and she shook with suppressed emotion, and he hugged her.
She spun away to dance with her father, a quite cheerful man, and he gave her a grin (a grin! Much less to him!) before settling down.
She sidled next to him after a while, and he finally took out the wine he had been wanting to open since the moment he left the house, and he poured two glasses full of the deep crimson fluid. They clinked the glasses together before taking a draught of it.
The cake was sweet and the wine bitter, and he felt like he had died and reached heaven. His mind was swirling with emotions, and before long his own eyes had filled with crystal tears yet again. He wanted to slap himself for it, but he was too drunk on his own happiness to do so.
Night had fallen and stars sprinkled the sky and he stood up, still clutching the hand of his bride. He was now fully armed with gifts from a reluctant Auruo, a giggly Eld, and an exceptionally drunk Gunter. Hanji and Erwin were far too busy, he thought. Erwin, never in the mood to do anything, and Hanji far too dangerous.
And hell, when would he invite Jaeger and his buddies?
Before long, his head started to burn and his eyes started to water and he crumpled at the feet of Petra. He smiled, and raised a hand, and she laughed, saying that he was too drunk and they should get home. He closed his eyes and a ran a hand through her hair, feeling they would stay for the whole night.
"I wonder where Levi went," Hanji frowned and squinted in the darkness, adjusting her glasses. Her lantern was unusually dim, and the night was unusually dark. "Whoops, sorry, Erwin, I think that was your foot I stepped on there…"
"Oh my lord." His blue eyes widened and his thick eyebrows rose straight to the point of disappearing into his hair.
"What? You found him?" Hanji scrambled around and skidded to a halt. "Oh my."
Levi lay on the ground, shivering in the chilly night air, obviously asleep. Around him were cascaded a wilting bouquet and a shimmering veil, along with two glasses of wine, one empty, and one full. The bottle lay cracked at his feet. A small yet lavishly decorated cake was half-eaten on a white china plate.
"Why is he wearing that?" Hanji exclaimed, waving her hands around frantically. "What the hell, I never knew he had anything of that sort!"
"Do not speak of this tomorrow."
"But-" Hanji protested.
"You will not speak of this," Erwin repeated. "Only the gods know what would happen if he knew if we saw him like this."
Hanji sighed and ran a hand through her brown hair tiredly. "I know, but really, falling asleep in a graveyard…"
Erwin's jaw tightened. "He loves her too much for his own good. This wedding was his biggest dream. He was waiting for this his whole life. He finally wanted to be happy."
Hanji nodded, face taut and grim. "He really loves her, huh."
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