Levi kept close to Eren as they walked over to their see their neighbors, knocking at the door.
Petra opened the door for them and grinned widely. "Lucie! Come in, both of you." She said happily to them, hugging her friend gently before standing aside to let them in and be a good hostess. "Oh, this is my husband Arulo," she said, remembering to introduce the new couple to him.
"How do you do?" Eren asked politely, shaking the other man's hand.
"Very well, thank you. And yourself?" The taller man replied.
"I'm doing rather well, too. We're just about settled in here." Eren replied with a smile. "Oh, may I introduce my wife, Lucie." He said, resting a hand on Levi's back.
Levi smiled pleasantly at Arulo as he took his hand and politely kissed it.
"The pleasure is all mine, Madame." The man said to him politely before Petra took his other hand and whisked him away to the kitchen to chat and finish everything.
Eren smiled and laughed a bit as they both went off to the kitchen, leaving him alone with Arulo. "I hope you don't mind, Lucie seemed rather intent on teaching us all a card game her parents taught her."
"No, that's completely fine, don't worry." Arulo replied with a shake of his head and a smile to Eren. "So, you two are all settled in, then?"
"We just got finished settling, yes." Eren replied with a nod.
"Any plans to have children as of yet?"
Eren blinked at that one and thought quickly. "Oh, um, Lucie's sterile. She won't be getting pregnant any time soon."
"Oh. Well, there's always adoption." Arulo said, a bit awkwardly with a small shrug.
"I'll have to talk to her about it." Eren said with a nod, smiling softly at the thought of coming home to see Levi cradling a small baby in his arms and be able to boast about his perfect 'wife' and their lovely child.
Levi helped Petra out in the kitchen with the steak and potatoes they'd be having. He listened easily as the other talked to him about nearly everything under the sun as they cooked together, serving the food when they'd finished with everything. If there had been one thing he'd learned about Petra, it was that she absolutely loved to gossip to anyone who would listen.
They carried the food out together, and then seated themselves at the table with the other two.
"There you are. Have fun in there?" Eren asked Levi as the other sat down next to him, straightening his skirt a bit.
"As much fun as anyone can have in a kitchen." Levi replied to him easily with a shrug.
Eren nodded and smiled a bit, kissing the other's temple softly before they all folded their hands and silently said grace together. He then moved to start helping himself to the food.
"So, Lucie, you're from France, right?" Arulo asked curiously, looking over at the woman across the table.
"Yes, I am. I lived in Paris when he came to power." Levi replied to him, not wanting to say the dictator's name at the table, as he couldn't help but equate the man with pure evil.
"I hope this is all over soon.," Petra piped up, looking over at Levi. "I can't imagine what you had to go through over there with Hitler and the camps and –-"
"Don't talk about that. I don't want to remember that place or those damned soldiers." Levi said to her rather harshly.
Petra was taken aback by the sudden harshness in the other's voice. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't really think before I spoke."
Levi nodded and looked down at his food. "My apologies, I don't think I'll be able to eat tonight." He said softly to the couple.
Eren looked over at Levi and sighed a bit, suddenly remembering that there was more to the other than just their past lives in the Survey Corps. They'd both had separate, totally different lives that time around. He didn't like to think about what would have happened to his corporal had he never found the other. He was so used to seeing him confident and strong. Now, though, when they talked about the Nazis and the concentration camps, the other looked genuinely terrified. Eren realized then that he'd totally forgotten the other man was simply human.
Petra looked at her and said nothing, nodding. "It's understandable, Lucie." She replied softly.
The room remained quiet and rather awkward for the rest of the meal, no one saying anything and trying to think of something to say to end the awkward silence.
"Um, Lucie, Arulo was saying how we could probably adopt a baby. If you want to, I mean." Eren said awkwardly, taking hold of Levi's hand gently.
Levi looked over at Eren, nodding. "Petra was saying that, as well. I guess it's a valid idea. I feel like I'd make a shitty mother, though."
Eren gave Levi's hand a gentle squeeze and kissed the other's cheek. "You would not. You're better than you give yourself credit for." He replied stubbornly.
Levi fought the urge to give Eren a shove and call him a little shit, just looking over at the other. "I suppose we could look into it. We'd have to get a ton of stuff, though."
Eren nodded and smiled. He couldn't help but imagine life with Levi and a baby of their own. They'd be able to cuddle and pamper the little thing, showering it with love at all times. They'd take the little one to the park and he'd take pictures of Levi and their kid and brag about his perfect little family to all the nurses and doctors at the hospital who would listen. Everything would be absolutely perfect.
Soon enough, they finished eating and Petra cleared away all the plates while Levi went to get out the decks of cards, handing one to each person playing and keeping one for himself. He then sat down and explained the rules of the game to them all, teaching them how it was practically solitaire but far more competitive and intense.
Soon enough, they began to play, the room filling with laughs, cusses, and smiles. Petra looked over at Lucie at one point and couldn't help but do a double take. She looked at the other woman and couldn't help but swear she'd seen her as a man with the same dark hair that had been cut short in an undercut. She knew for sure that she'd seen those hooded, narrow eyes and thin eyebrows before. It felt as if it had been many, many years, but she'd definitely seen her friends face before on a man's body. She'd never really taken the time to analyze the other woman's body, though when she finally did, she found that she was very small, the heels adding a couple inches. Lucie was thin and didn't exactly have much of a woman's form besides the small breasts that showed she was female. Her hips weren't wide and her waist wasn't really any smaller than her hips. If it hadn't been for the breasts, Petra would have sworn that Lucie was a man in a wig and dress and makeup.
She turned back to the game, trying to forget the images of her friend that came to mind. She couldn't help but picture her as a man in a grey button down shirt, a cravat around his neck, and a scowl on his face.
Eren smiled a bit, bidding Arulo and Petra a good night when it came time to go back to their home. Levi smiled softly to them to be friendly, keeping close as Eren wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked back to their home.
"So, adoption. Are we going to look into it, Corporal?" Eren asked softly as they walked together easily.
"I don't see why not. We're going to be here for a while, so it might be nice to have a kid." Levi replied with a shrug as they walked back to the house. Once the door was closed, the smaller male took off the heels, then the wig on his head, shaking out his short hair.
"Hey, so the job is paying super well. I think I'm going to get us an automobile tomorrow after work. A nice red one, how does that sound?" Eren asked curiously, wrapping his arms around Levi's waist.
Levi nodded and smiled a bit to Eren. "I can start planning the nursery, then, while you're gone."
"So we're going to adopt a baby?" Eren asked with a small, hopeful smile to the other man.
"Yeah, we'll get the little shit." Levi replied, looking over at the other man as he leaned back against him easily.
Eren smiled to the shorter male and moved to kiss his lips lovingly and deeply, holding him close to himself tightly. "I love you, Corporal."
"I guess I love you, too, Eren."