It had been about two months since Eren started at his new school and as he thought – it was hard work. But he enjoyed doing it; he originally got interested in law due to his mother's death but he always felt like he had a knack for it and now he could test all of his knowledge. Still, in his free time, he would go over to Levi's workplace and help out with menial paperwork as much as he could.

The couple had gotten very comfortable with each other these past couple months as well. It was kind of hard to hide the fact that they were together around the office since Eren wasn't really one to keep it a secret. Whenever he came into the office, he'd greet Levi with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. At first Levi violently protested but after Hanji witnessed their little display of affection there really was no reason to hide it any longer.

"I hope you waited until Eren was a legal adult before you started this type of relationship," Erwin commented when he found out.

"Of course. I wouldn't lay my hands on a minor," Levi said bitterly – not because his sense of legality was questioned, but the fact that Levi barely managed to make this a true statement.

"As long as you aren't breaking any laws I'm happy for the both of you, I suppose. Although, I would've never pinned you as one to be robbing the cradle like this," Erwin wore a sly grin.

"Can it, Erwin," Levi said with a scowl.

Of course, Hanji always had something smarmy to say. She often claimed that she knew Levi had a thing for Eren all along which would earn her a glare from Levi in response.

So things were going good for them although they rarely got alone time with each other. Eren even spent many nights falling asleep in his own bedroom because of the late nights where he had to work on assignments. Whenever they did get time together, their conversations were cut short and they rarely found the opportunity to have sex. Not only was Eren busy with school but there had been a surge of cases for Levi's law firm. They were still a relatively new couple so it was kind of disheartening to not be able to just take a day and be grossly sweet together in bed until afternoon.

But Eren was finally getting a couple of days off for a fall break and he decided that school was going to be erased from his concerns and he and Levi were going to do nothing but spend those days together – even if he had to force Levi to stay home from work.

Levi, being pretty much his own boss, could get those days off easily and the office had started to quiet down, so such tactics weren't necessary. He didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty excited to finally get some time off to spend with Eren. It really felt nice to be in love and be loved back; it felt nice for both parties to have the same feelings for each other. This was the feeling he felt that he didn't deserve and robbed himself of having for so many years. If it wasn't for Eren, he very well may have spent the rest of his life not being about to feel like this. Every day when he woke up, he silently thanked Eren for being there, lying beside him (on the days he wasn't up all night studying in his room, of course).

Eren was spending his last day at school befor the short break while Levi decided to work from home that day since going into the office wasn't necessary. He heard a slight rattle at the door but chose to ignore it thinking it was just Eren coming home early. After a few moments had past and Levi noticed the lack of familiar footsteps, he got up from his desk to see what may have been the source of the noise.

Like he thought, Eren was not home yet so Levi walked over to the front door to see if maybe it was someone else who had knocked. He opened the door and didn't see anyone standing outside but noticed some papers that seemed to be wedged between the crack of the door had fallen to the ground. Levi bent over to pick them up and saw that they were two unmarked envelopes, one seeming to have something besides a letter in it. Levi became cautious of what could possibly be in these letters – he did run a law firm, after all, it wasn't too crazy to assume he had rubbed someone the wrong way.

Levi looked over the envelopes and saw his name on one and Eren's on the other. Levi furrowed his brow hoping that if it was someone he was involved with due to his job, they hadn't had it out for Eren too. But something seemed familiar about the handwriting. Thinking it safe to at least open the envelope with his name on it, Levi walked back into the house, sitting down in the living room.

"I sure have been getting interesting mail lately…" he mumbled to himself as he opened the envelope.

As soon as he unfolded the letter his eyes widened a bit. It was all hand-written and after reading the first few sentences, Levi was shocked when he realized who the letter was from.

Dear Levi,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. It may come as a shock to you that I have sent this after all that has happened, but I would like you to please read what I have to say. I hope with this letter you will better understand the situation I have found myself in and why I was forced to put you and Eren through it as well.

As you may know, Carla was feeling very unwell the couple weeks before her murder. She seemed to have made a full recovery and went back to her job once she was feeling better. What you and Eren did not know was that I had actually given her an experimental drug that my company had worked on for years. This drug was being developed to cure many illnesses that previously had no cure to speak of. Carla's sickness was near fatal, I panicked and gave her the drug while she was sleeping one night via injection and to my relief she had gotten better within a matter of days.

I feel that although I did this to prolong her life, my actions may have gotten Carla killed despite that. The criminal organization that was responsible for her death is actually linked to a much larger, dangerous, underground group called Eotena . They have a bizarre goal of ruling the world, and holding a cure-all drug in their hands would give them much power. They have been after this cure for some time and have been monitoring the movements of the scientists and doctors working on it. I always feared for my family's lives so I often stayed at my workplace instead of coming home. If I could work on this miracle cure faster and get it out before this group got their hands on it, then I could have been free from worry. But my desperation to cure Carla ended up backfiring and I have concluded that somehow they must have found out that she had taken this drug.

I am not entirely sure why they decided to take her life, but I can only assume that she absolutely refused to cooperate with them. When I found out my wife died and who had killed her, I panicked and never returned home. I did not want them finding me as they must have known by now where I lived. But most of all, I did not want my son, Eren, to get involved. Fearing that they would trace his whereabouts from me, I left him without a word. I felt that if I told him or made any kind of contact with him it would jeopardize both of our lives.

My only hope was that someone would take Eren in and I was confident that you, Levi, would at least make sure he'd go to a good home. I cannot apologize enough for laying this burden on you, but I feel that this was the best way for me to handle the situation and ensure Eren's safety. I may not have been a good husband or father but I love my family very much.

There are no words to express how grateful I am that you have taken such good care of my son since then. I have heard that he has graduated from high school and is now attending the same law school you graduated from. I felt so much regret that I could not attend Eren's graduation, but knowing that you undoubtedly went helped me cope with it. There could not be a better person for Eren to look up to, and I thank you. In my mind, I always knew Eren would want to follow in your footsteps instead of mine – and I am grateful for that, because I know this way he will be happier.

Even now I am wary of sending this letter, but I felt I could not keep you waiting for a man who was never going to return to come back. Eotena seemed to have been quiet the last few months and I'm hoping with the many middle-men this letter was sent through it will not pose any threat. In fact, it would probably put me at ease if Eren went as far as changing his last name to break the last thing connecting us. But I digress.

I have purposely left these letters unmarked, so I ask of you to not attempt to contact me or send a reply letter. I am not sure if I will ever be able to see my son again and I live in constant regret that my actions may have led to Carla's death. But I hope that maybe some time in the future I can be free of this worry and be able to see Eren's face once more. I live for the day to see my son smiling again.

Please give the second envelope to Eren. I have written a letter to him as well and included some things I thought he might want. You may let him read this letter so he knows the reasons I never returned.

Once again, thank you for everything you have done for my family. It must've been a miracle and blessing to have had you move in that day as our neighbor.

Sincerely, Grisha Yeager

Levi read over the letter twice just to make sure he fathomed everything that was written down. He was still in shock that he had actually heard from Eren's father who had been missing this whole time. Levi had always felt a bit of bitterness towards Mr. Yeager for leaving his son and the responsibility of taking care of his wife's death, but with this everything made sense.

He really never found himself becoming too angry, though, because it meant that he and Eren could live together. Levi felt slightly guilty that he had now taken Eren in as more than just a friendly neighbor… But he was happier than he had been in a long time and it was all because of Eren.

Levi looked over the envelope addressed to Eren without opening it. He thought it would be best for Eren to read it when he got home, although he was curious about what else was inside.

As opportunity would have it, Eren returned home as Levi decided to give his letter a third look over. He heard Eren announce that he was home and taking off his shoes.

"I'm in here," Levi called out from the couch and heard footsteps approaching.

"Hey, Levi," Eren said with a sigh but a cheery tone nonetheless.

Levi glanced over, "Come and sit," he folded the letter and set it beside him.

Eren obeyed and settled close to Levi, leaning over to give him a simple kiss on the lips. Eren straightened up and ran a hand through Levi's hair who avoided his eyes. Eren made a concerned face.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Levi paused for a moment, "I got a letter today, so did you," he said quietly.

Eren could feel himself getting worried by Levi's behavior. "Is it… bad?"

"No, but it's very important for you to read them," Levi grabbed the letter that he had set beside him. "Here, you should read mine first."

The worried expression didn't leave Eren's face as he grabbed for the letter and slowly unfolded it. Levi watched Eren and saw his face turn into shock after a few seconds had passed.

"Dad…" he said under his breath and looked up at Levi.

"Keep reading," Levi encouraged and Eren's eyes went back to the letter.

Eren read on and his brow began to furrow and remained on his face the entire time. His expression was difficult to judge as to how he was feeling, so Levi waited for Eren to finish and see his reaction.

When he finished, Eren looked up from the letter, still wearing the same expression.

"There's a letter for me?" He asked quietly.

Levi nodded and grabbed the letter from off the coffee table and handed it over to Eren who proceeded to open up the envelope without a word. The letter was a lot shorter but Eren's face visibly softened while he read it.

Dear Eren,

I assume you have read the letter I wrote to Levi so I won't bother re-stating everything in this letter. Instead, I'd like to tell you that I love you more than I love myself, so I hope that you can forgive me for abandoning you at your most vulnerable time in life. There is nothing I can do to make it up to you, but I hope that this small gift can make even a fraction of it more bearable. I know your mother would've liked you to have our wedding bands so I've included both of them with this letter. I hope that one day you can make someone as happy as your mother made me.

I miss you more than I can stand, but I am infinitely grateful that Levi has taken care of you in our absence. I hope you can be happy despite the tragedies that have come upon your life. But remember that I will always be thinking of you.

Love, Dad

A single tear ran down Eren's face and Levi reached out to rub his hand against Eren's face. Eren leaned slightly into his hand and reached into the envelope to pull something out. It was a small, simple, draw-string bag. Levi watched as Eren removed the contents onto the palm of his hand and a smile spread across his face despite the tears that rolled down from his eyes.

"It's their wedding bands…" Eren's voice crack and looked up Levi. He clenched his hand and brought it to his chest. "I miss them so much…" Eren set his head against Levi's chest and quietly sobbed. Levi rubbed his hand against Eren's back and kissed the top of his head.

"I know," Levi said in a comforting voice.

He let Eren cry as his mix of emotions poured out. Eren was happy, upset, and overwhelmed at the same time. Suddenly hearing from his father after all this time was shocking, and he couldn't even begin to figure out how his father had gotten ahold of his mother's wedding band.

It was also a shock to hear that this criminal organization was larger than what was on the surface. But Eren was only fueled further to stop them. Not only his mother but now his father was in danger – even he was in danger.

Levi had heard of the group Eotena during his legal career, but they were such a massive group with immensely strong influences it was difficult to do anything about them. It was actually quite dangerous to involve them in any sort of legal action and they were stronger than any other yakuza group as it had ties outside the country. Upon learning that the smaller group was connected to such a terrifying organization, Levi wondered if it was okay to allow Eren to fulfill his goal. But right now he didn't want to worry about that – he wanted to concentrate on Eren who just received all of this shocking news.

After a few minutes, Eren had wiped the tears from his face and straightened himself up. He looked down and turned the wedding bands in his hand over with a slight clinking sound.

"Are you alright now?" Levi asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah," Eren answered, still looking at the rings. "I'm glad I heard from dad, I feel a lot better now." He paused for a moment. "He said that he hoped I made someone as happy as my mother made him," he looked up at Levi. "That's why he gave me these wedding bands," he gave a nervous laugh.

"Hmm…" Levi hummed and gave them a look.

"Too bad I can't get married…" Eren slipped both rings onto his ring finger. "Maybe I'll just put them on my necklace."

"You can't get married?" Levi asked.

Eren looked up at Levi, "Yeah, I'm spending the rest of my life with you so it's not like I'm going to get married. Unless one of us turns into a girl one day… Two guys can't get married in Japan…" Eren looked slightly disappointed.

"You aren't going to keep your promise then?" Levi asked. Eren gave him a confused look. "You know, that you're going to marry me?"

Eren's face flushed, "Well, that was just a joke… I was a kid," he couldn't believe Levi brought that up once again.

"So you don't want to get married anymore?" Levi pressed.

"W-Well, I would like to but…" Eren fidgeted, "Would you really want to do something like that?"

Levi leaned in a bit and grabbed his letter, "Well, your father did say he wished you would change your last name… And you've definitely made me happy."

Eren's mouth dropped, "… Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Eren's wide eyes beamed in Levi's direction.

Levi gave a small smile and looked up at Eren, "We could always go the adoption route, unless you'd rather go out of the country and get a legal marriage."

Eren's face broke into a smile and wrapped his arms around Levi, "Could we really get married?" He said in a gasping but happy voice.

Levi returned the embrace and hugged Eren tight, "I think we should take it slow and possibly do it after you graduate, but being married to you doesn't sound so bad." He smirked against the side of Eren's face.

Eren brought his lips against Levi's into a slow kiss, "I love you," he said with a smile, looking into Levi's eyes.

Levi leaned in for another kiss, "I love you too."

"So, are you my fiancé now?" Eren asked with a grin.

"Guess I am, so where's my proposal ring?" Levi lifted a corner of his mouth.

"Ah… I guess I should get one…" Eren mumbled under his breath.

"Don't be stupid, I don't need one. I was just teasing you," Levi huffed and ruffled Eren's hair. "Besides, it was mostly me doing the proposing."

"No way, I proposed first when I was a kid," Eren said.

"You've kept me waiting a long time for a ring then," Levi teased and placed another kiss on Eren's lips. "I just need you so it doesn't really matter."

Eren gave a warm smile and wrapped his arms around Levi's waist as their kissing continued. Both of their bodies started growing warmer and hands started moving across backs and chests. Eren sighed with a small nip at the base of his neck.

"Okay, we're moving this to the bedroom," Levi groaned, sitting up and lifting Eren up off the couch with him.

"Woah-" it was still pretty impressive that Levi could lift up Eren who was taller than him, but he thought it was kind of hot to be carried off into his lover's bedroom and know exactly what for.

Eren wrapped his arms around Levi's neck as he was whisked away into the room they would probably be spending a majority of their small vacation in.

End of Chapter.

*Wipes sweat from brow* I can't believe how long this story has come a-and now it's the 9th chapter! Whenever I see people saying they enjoy my story it makes me really happy. :3 Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the last. :'( But since I left out the naughty stuff in this chapter I will make sure that the next one will more than make up for it - because you all like that stuff, right?

Oh yeah, and I'm pretty some of you may know this but just in case: in Japan, same sex couples often do adoption as an alternative to getting married in an attempt to get around the law. Gosh, how did Eren and all his foreign named friends get into Japan in the first place? Haha... (That's what I get for setting this in Japan, pfft)

Anyways! Thank you so much for sticking with this story this whole time as this was my first SNK fic~ See you next time!