Eren lightly held his mother's hand, driving the Honda while she sat in the passenger's seat. "Mom," he murmured, "thank you for being understanding already."
Carla shook her head, "It's not understanding. It was just a matter of time, Eren. I knew, one day, you'd find each other."
Eren smiled softly, "I'm so lucky I did find him."
"You know," Carla said, "you used to talk about your past with me. Along with your dreams. What happened?"
"I found out I was in love with a much older man, and I was insecure about telling you," Eren answered, keeping his eyes on the road, "I was very worried, especially how you'd feel about me being gay."
"Love is love, Eren. It always will be, in either gender."
As Eren drove on, his mother thought back to when her son was little, one day of school particularly.
"Mommy!" Eren called, his eyes tearing, "school's the worst!"
"How so, Eren?" Carla asked, taking her five year-old's backpack.
"People keep saying I'm never getting married!" Eren's fists clenched, his knuckles starting to turn white. With a determined face, he yelled, "I will be! I'm marrying Rivaille!"
Carla rose an eyebrow, looking at the boy, "Who's Rivaille?"
"Levi! He's Humanity's Strongest Soldier! He's gotta be somewhere in the world! He killed all the titans!" Eren's hands moved to hold the shape of twin blades, taking a stance she'd never seen before.
After a moment, he relaxed, shutting his eyes. The green eyes slowly opened again, "He's alive, Mommy. He's somewhere, and he's alive. He's always in my dreams! Same with Mikasa and Armin!" Eren grinned triumphantly, showing off what he knew.
He frowned slightly, his face twisting with anger, "Can I punch them, Mommy? They don't know anything!"
Carla shook her head, but stared at her son, wide-eyed, "Eren…do you really have dreams like this?"
"Mom," Eren groaned, complaining, "they're not dreams. They're part of my old life!"
"Really," Carla sighed, "what is that school feeding you?"
Her mind then shot to Eren in middle school, waking up in the middle of the night screaming. She'd run to the boy's bedroom, worried over what happened. Eren would just shake his head, "It's nothing," he'd say, his eyes streaming tears, "it's nothing." The shaken boy would just stare out the window, into some distant beyond. Then, her mind flashed to when he was fifteen, just a few years ago. Eren had come home, satisfied with a drawing he'd made, and he held it up for his mother to see.
"It's…" she trailed off, "really good."
"The Recon Corps, Mom. That's the symbol of the arm and breast pocket of the jacket," Eren'd answered, the drawing showing an incomplete face, but a shorter man, wearing a billowing cape, which had the same wings on it as the jacket he was wearing. The man's twin swords were dripping with blood, steam filling the air behind him.
Eren put the drawing down, and she noticed him stare at the man longingly, "If only I got the face right," he'd murmured, "then he'd be perfect."
"Mom!" Eren called, Carla hearing the huskier voice compared to his high one when he was twelve, and his one gradually getting lower at fifteen.
"Yes, Eren?" She asked, as Eren was turned to her. The car was off, and she didn't know how long for, "Sorry, I was reminiscing."
Eren slightly smiled, hopping out of the car and opening the door for her, as boots clacked on the stairs near them, heading towards them.
Eren held a hand out for his mother, and she took it as she slid out of the seat and infront of her son. As he shut the door, Levi walked over.
"Oi, Jae-" Levi cut himself short, his eyes widening slightly, the normally bored expression was taken over by surprise. He slightly smiled, and with a bow, he said, "Hello, Mrs. Jaeger."
Eren chuckled, smiling at the bowed form of Levi, his eyes much softer than what his mother had ever seen.
"It's nice to finally meet the man who saw my baby when he was first born," she answered, slightly smiling, "hello, Rivaille."
Levi straightened, looking at Eren for a second, who was smirking as he had surprised the older man, "Would you both like to come inside?"
As Carla nodded, Eren looked back at his car, saying, "Go ahead of me! I need to grab my bag," he laughed sheepishly, forgetting it was in his back seat. Eren waved the two on, Levi leading Carla to the second floor, and to his apartment.
As they got inside, Carla noticed how clean the apartment was, and she slightly chuckled, thinking about how messy her son's room was as she took off her shoes, "Very different than what I would've pictured," she murmured, causing Levi to slightly smile as he pulled off his boots.
"Would you like some tea?" he asked, heading towards the living room, "and you can sit anywhere you'd like," he called in the kitchen.
"Please!" she called back, smiling as she sat on the couch, Eren barging in with his key. He stretched, taking off his shoes and placing the bag next to them, then bounded towards the kitchen, hugging Levi and nuzzling his head into the shorter man's neck, "I'm home."
"You're not getting a 'welcome home' from me, brat," Levi growled, slightly smirking.
"Ple~ase?" Eren asked, trying to be cute.
Levi shook his head, sighing, causing Eren to laugh as he went to go sit down with his mother.
Eren sprawled out on the couch, yawning as he rested his head on his mother's lap and Levi came over with tea. Levi hit Eren's legs and groaned, curling up as Levi sat down, rolling his eyes.
"So, what would you like to talk about, mom?" Eren asked, looking up at her as she pushed Eren's bangs out of his face.
"There's one thing I'd really like to know about," Carla said, looking at both of them, "I want to know about your past lives."
Eren froze slightly, looking over at Levi, who seemed to be studying Eren as well. Eren sat up, studying his mom and moving to sit on the coffee table-that is, until Levi kicked him and Eren grumbled, sitting on the floor.
"What about them, Mrs. Jaeger?" Levi asked, as Eren straightened his posture.
"Please, call me Carla, Rivaille," she said, smiling, "but, I'd like to know all about it. And, how you two remembered. Especially you, Rivaille, meeting my son shortly after he was just born."
"Then, please call me Levi," he answered, smiling as well-well, as best as he could manage without looking scary.
Eren scooted closer to Levi, putting a hand on the couch, as he breathed in and began, "Well, as history tells you, the Titans just showed up, out of nowhere. Then, the rest of the human race that remained built three walls to keep out the titans. I was located on the very edge of the first wall, Wall Maria. The town was called Shiganshina, and it was the first town attacked after the hundred years of peace with the titans."
Levi added on, "The titan who created a hole in the wall was called a Colossal Titan, and another titan, the Armored Titan, knocked down the main gate, making humanity fall back to wall Rose."
Eren gripped the couch tightly, his knuckles turning white and his teeth bared, "those damn traitors," he growled, entranced in his old memories, "as the Colossal Titan kicked the wall in, the debris flew into our house, Mom. You were in that world, too. Only, we adopted one of dad's patient's daughters, since her parents were murdered when she was younger. She was the last Asian, and that was why she was wanted. Her name was Mikasa. You told her to always look after me, to keep me alive," Eren paused, sucking in a breath, fighting the tears in his eyes, as Levi placed a hand over Eren's, "well, the debris landed on our house as the titans came in. Y-you were trapped under our fallen house, your legs broken. We tried to get you out, but you requested a Garrison soldier-Hannes-to take us away. Mom….a titan ate you."
Eren sniffled, leaning into Levi's side, and he took over once again, "We lost much of humanity that day, due to the ill preparedness of the king. And, as we were pushed back to Wall Rose, the over population caused the Survey Corps to go on a 'mission' to take back wall Maria. Many, many people died-"
"-including Armin's grandfather. Armin was my childhood friend, he had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was short," Eren sighed, "but food was rationed, and we refugees had to work on the fields, until I joined the military. You never wanted me to, since I always wanted to join the Survey Corps, but I did anyway. I wanted to slaughter every single titan out there. But, I made it, and I was number five in the graduating class, Mikasa the first. As we trainees were on the top of the wall, the Colossal Titan appeared once again. As we trainees fell, I was the first to act, and I ran for him. He vanished into thin air as I went for his nape, and he'd kicked in the wall once again. But, this time was different. You see, when I was about ten, Dad had injected me with something, and the key around my neck reminded me of how he had something to show me in the basement of our house. Well, as we set out to kill the invading titans while everyone evacuated, I was eaten, saving Armin's life. As I was in the titan's stomach, I had turned into something. I was a titan, fighting the others as my friends had to get supplies for the gear. As they retreated and got their supplies, I continued to attack titans, until I was ganged up on, causing my human, unconscious body to appear in the nape of the titan's neck. The military wanted to kill me, and Commander Pixis instead used me for a mission. As I transformed again, I attacked Mikasa, having no control of my titan form. As I gained control, thanks to Armin, I managed to plug up the hole. As I got out of the titan, barely conscious, and then…my wings arrived," Eren said dreamily, looking at the man beside him, smiling.
"The Survey Corps were away on a mission when they received word, and so they relied on Humanity's Hope to plug the hole. I managed to kill the titans heading for them, and Eren passed out. We brought him to court, and we chained him up-"
"-when I woke up, he and Commander Irvin were sitting outside my cell. Levi was the first one to show any interest in me, and the court trial that day decided my fate. Levi kicked me in the face, saying he'd train me like a dog, knocked out my tooth. He did it, I believe, for show, since they won me from the Military Police who wanted to dissect me," Eren shivered.
Levi looked down at him, "No, brat, you were just really annoying. Saying to bet everything on you, that really pissed me off."
Eren stuck out his tongue, continuing, "I was the first of the trainees to be accepted, and form there, I guess that's where it really started. I'd looked up to Levi my entire life, and now I was finally working with him, and my feelings started to slowly change. I made friends with him at first-at least, in my mind we were friends-and he wasn't afraid of me. He just threatened to kill me constantly. But, I knew I could trust Levi, and my feelings for him grew. We'd started always being together, and sure, he trained me like a dog, but I know that somewhere along the way I changed from 'brat' to 'Eren.' I was the one who had confessed to him, right near the castle's gardens, right outside Wall Rose. We inhabited an old castle, which we cleaned the first day," Eren glared at Levi, who put his left leg over his right, rolling his eyes, "and about twice every week. Well, to my feelings, he first brushed them off. He came down to my cell that night, and officially accepted them. At first, our relationship was kept secret, but the squad figured it out, and they cheered us on. The age gap was, well, the same as the one now, only I was fifteen and he was like thirty two. But, we had many supporters, especially Levi's best friend and the titan experimentalist, Hanji. As everyone found out, Mikasa was the one who seemed very annoyed with Levi, but she got over it and everyone accepted us. We promise to marry each other once every titan was gone…" Eren trailed off, looking down.
"But then," Levi sighed, "our last mission occurred. We were separated from the rest of the Corps, and Eren's body couldn't move anymore from using his titan powers, along with my gear being damaged and had failed. No gas was left, and I was on my last blades. More titans kept coming, and I had broken some bones, as had Eren, but his regenerated. We…we knew it was our end. We died together, eaten by a titan."
Carla just stared at the two of them; her face had fallen, "I'm so sorry you two went through that. Even in this world, I'm sure you'll face some hardships.
But, as I'm sure you know, I can't hold my son back from you, Levi-san. Fate gave you two a second chance and I won't get in the way of that. But, please…" she trailed off as her voice broke, "please don't take my son away yet. I know I'm selfish, but I'm not ready to let him go."
Eren's face fell, as did Levi's, but he covered it up with his usual mask. "Mom," Eren murmured, the two of them getting up and moving closer to her, Eren hugging her tightly, "I'll always be here. And I'll never let someone come between us. I may love him, but you're my mother." Eren let some tears fall, kissing his mother's cheek.
"I love you, Eren," she said, tears falling as she turned to look at Levi, "please take care of my son."
Levi nodded, his eyes showing sadness, worry, and concern, "Always. Carla, please, allow me to marry him when we're older."
The woman nodded covering her mouth to make sure she didn't sob, Levi moving to bow, with an actual tender "thank you."
She stood, first hugging the worried Eren, and then hugging Levi.
"He always wanted to marry you, you know," she whispered, "even when he was little." She sat down again, composing herself, "Now, Levi, will you please tell me how you knew my son, even as an infant?"
Levi nodded, Eren also looking at him with curiosity, and he quickly walked over to his bag, stuffing a piece of paper into his pocket, and then returned to sit on the floor next to his mother.
"Well, unlike Eren, I was born with all of our memories of our past lives. All I strove for was to find him, and I lost interest in anyone else. Sure, I made friends, but not very many. When I hit my seventeenth year, I was beginning to give up hope. But, one day in class, an image appeared in my mind. It was of a cute, little baby with tousled and very fine brunette hair, his eyes already changing to their green. Eren's voice echoed in my mind, as if he was saying 'I'm back!' to me. So, without thinking at all, I ran. I ran out of school and to the hospital, wanting to see him. I knew exactly where he was, as if the red string legend was true. I ran to the nursery, and at first I thought I got the wrong hospital, but then I saw him. He was crying, and he seemed to be reaching towards me, despite how his body shouldn't have been able to do that yet. But, the nurse asked me if I wanted to hold him, and I couldn't help myself," he looked down sheepishly, slightly blushing. Eren seized the moment, pulling out the old note, putting it in Levi's lap. Levi stared at it, his eyes widening.
"Eren wouldn't let it go when he was born. He would cry when it wasn't with him, as he would when he was a toddler. Eren seemed to forget as he grew, but you were right, his past did start showing up as his mind grew."
Eren stood, leaning against the older man, staring down at him and the note. Levi wrapped an arm around his waist, and fingered the old tear marks with his other hand, "Carla, thank you so much for keeping this. It means so much to me."
Carla smiled, standing, "It's getting late, I should probably head home for tonight. Thank you for letting me speak with you, Levi. She walked over to her son and messed with his hair, smiling sadly, "see you tomorrow, Eren." She kissed his cheek as the two of them got up and walked her out, and, as she pulled away, they turned to each other.
"Levi," Eren murmured, "thank you for finding me."
Levi shook his head, "you were the one who found me this time, as your teacher."
"Where you looking for me at all after you met me as a baby?"
Levi nodded, wrapping his arms around Eren, "always. You were all I thought about. As you grew, you'd show in my dreams."
"As would you," Eren murmured, leaning down and kissing Levi softly, but added feelings behind it.
Levi pulled away, grabbing Eren's hand and leading him into Levi's room, "I have something for you, Eren. It's very old, but it's very important. Hanji's descendants kept it, as well as our uniforms."
Levi let go of Eren's hand, fumbling around in his end table drawer, pulling out a black box, and then pulling out whatever was inside it. He walked back over to Eren, looking up at him and, as Eren leaned down, he head butted him.
"Ow!" Eren groaned, rubbing his head as Levi grabbed his other hand, slipping something on it. Eren looked down at his left hand, gasping as he noticed the silver band, which seemed very old.
Levi looked away from Eren hiding his blush, "and that's as romantic as I get." Eren smiled, turning red as he pulled Levi to him, kissing him passionately. "I love you, Levi."
"I love you, too, you brat," Levi said, trying to hide his face, since he was actually blushing. "You're mine, forever now, you go that?"
Eren nodded, grinning as he leaned in to kiss Levi once again, "I got it."
A/N: Hope you guys like it! Yes, i relayed their story to a very accepting Carla. ^^ I believe, being his mother, she should be accepting. Well, see you guys next chapter. Please review! ^^