Author's Note: Scenes in this chapter were suggested by roymustangstesticles on Tumblr and an anon who went by Izzy A here.
"There isn't anything you can suggest?"
Eren and Levi sat in an examination room with one of the midwives, a plump, elderly woman with a kind face and a gentle demeanor. "I'm sorry, it's just, this is the first time anyone with biologically male anatomy has even been impregnated, so nobody is quite sure of how it happened in the first place. Therefore, I don't know how to make it happen a second time." She looked at the two men with sympathy, genuinely upset that she could not help them.
Levi sighed heavily and tilted his head down. He had been afraid of that response. "Well, thank you for your time."
"Mr. Jaeger, I really want to help you-"
"I know, and thank you for that."
Eren cleared his throat and said, "Um, if there was a person with female anatomy having a hard time getting pregnant, what would you suggest doing?"
The midwife shifted her gaze towards him. "Fertility is not a constant, uniform thing. It shifts during the monthly cycle, and some months are better than others. It's a tricky thing, something that needs to be timed just right."
"Oh," Eren replied, sounding somewhat defeated, "so I guess that's what makes it a miracle, huh"
The woman nodded, her smile returning. "Exactly."
Levi sighed again. "Well, thank you for your time."
"Again, I'm so sorry," the midwife said sincerely as she stood and headed towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to visit a patient."
Eren and Levi stood as well and joined her at the door. "Thank you again," the younger said.
The midwife's smile widened. "Good luck." She opened the door, and the trio was about to leave when another woman, this one much younger, appeared.
"Excuse me," she said timidly, "may I have a word with the Jaegers?"
Levi shrugged. "We have time. How is…?"
"Oh, your son is still sitting in the waiting room," she said. "He was getting a little bored, so we gave him some paper and a pen so he could draw. I hope that's okay."
"Yeah, that's fine, he likes to draw."
The young woman smiled as if she had just been praised and entered the room with the couple. The old woman waved to them and closed the door.
"I'm so sorry to bother you with my silly ramblings," the young woman said as she twiddled her fingers. "It's just, I had an idea. I'm not sure if this will help you at all, but…um, Mr. Eren Jaeger, when you transform into a Titan, you need to inflict self-harm with a set goal in mind, right?"
Both Eren's and Levi's eyes widened at her question. "How do you know that?" the younger asked back.
"Oh! Um, my father was a member of the Survey Corps. Was…um, he died during an expedition."
The couple's faces immediately fell. "Oh," Eren whispered, "we're so sorry."
"Oh no, it's fine," the woman replied, though her face was obviously sad. "He was one of the soldiers who helped clean up after the Battle for Trost, and he even survived the battle with the Female Titan! He died on another expedition, but he was alive for many of the studies concerning you. He was so enthusiastic, and he would sometimes tell me about you, so that's how I know. I don't want to come off as a creepy stalker or anything!"
"Hn, who doesn't know something about this brat these days?" Levi snorted, smirking lightly.
The woman shyly smiled back. "Um, yes, so…I just thought that maybe what you have to do to transform may have something to do with when you had your first child? After all, since you need a goal in mind to transform, maybe you need a goal in mind while…doing…" She blushed bright red and pressed her palms against her cheeks. "Sorry…"
Eren almost laughed at her timid nature. "No, that's a good idea. We'll try that."
The woman's face brightened. "I'm so glad I can help! Um, my name is Zita. If you need anything, let me know. Erm, if you want, I can give you a list of herbs that help increase fertility in women. I don't know if they'll do anything for you, Mr. Jaeger, but they can't hurt. You can pick them up at the market now that spring is here."
"Oh, thank you," Levi replied, face softening into gratitude, "you're so helpful."
Zita's shy smile returned. "That's my job. After my father died, I was depressed for a long time, and I didn't know what to do with myself. But then I realized that the world was still going on without my father, so I decided to become a midwife's apprentice. I wanted to help bring new lives into the world…Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for talking so much! And I'm sorry for keeping you! Please, I'm sure your son is bored and wants to go home!"
Levi gripped his son's little hand as they walked through the marketplace. While the visit to the midwives' office a few days prior hadn't been especially fruitful, he was thankful for Zita's time and advice. She seemed as though she really wanted to help him and Eren, but her story left a bad taste in his mouth. He suddenly felt horribly selfish for asking someone who had lost a loved one to the Survey Corps for help. He was yet another man Levi had been unable to save, and here was his daughter helping Levi have a baby.
What a messed up world they lived in.
"Papa?"
Levi looked down at the little boy's concerned face and put on a small, fake smile. "I'm fine, I've just been thinking a lot lately."
"Hmm, about your doctor's appointment?"
"Sort of, it's a long story. What do you want for dinner tonight?"
The boy looked down at the light bag of herbs in his free hand and shrugged. "I don't know, something that tastes good with these?"
"Well, let's take a look at what's for sale today," Levi said as they stopped at a stand.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jaeger!" the stand owner, a cheery, middle aged woman greeted.
"Hello," Levi replied, gently squeezing his son's hand. "Say hello, baby."
The boy was hesitant for a moment and backed up slightly so he was standing close to his papa's leg, almost behind it. "…Hello," he said quietly, shyly looking up at the woman and managing a small smile.
"Oh, aren't you just the cutest little thing!" the woman nearly squealed, her cheeks lighting up pink as a giddy smile stretched across her face. "Are you Papa's little helper today?"
The boy nodded. "I'm carrying the herbs for dinner."
"What a big help that is!"
Levi's smile widened slightly. "Yes, he's a very good helper. So what's fresh today?"
"Ah, just got these beans," the woman explained, pointing towards a large basket filled to the brim with the product. "Actually, we got two different kinds, black and white. They go well together."
Levi took a few of the beans in his hand and nodded as he set them back in the pile. "Alright, I'll take a mixed bag of black and white beans. We'll make bean salad and steamed potatoes for dinner. How does that sound, baby?"
His son looked up at him curiously. "Bean salad?"
Levi nodded. "It's good, and if you don't like it, you can have an extra potato."
"Okay!"
The shopkeeper immediately went to work, scooping the beans into a medium-sized bag. Levi stood very still, keeping his eyes on the produce in front of him. His son kept holding his hand, looking around aimlessly until he spotted something, or rather someone.
"Papa," he whispered, clutching Levi's hand and moving as close to him as possible, "there's a man behind us."
Levi nodded. "I know, baby."
The man was not alone though. One by one, other strange men gathered around. The shopkeeper looked up and dropped the nearly full bag back into the display bag, gasping. She started to tremble, and she took a few steps back, motioning for the little boy to join her behind the stand.
"Eh, Levi, been a while," the first man said, hands in his pockets and leisurely strolling up behind the short man. "How ya been? Havin' a nice life above ground?"
Levi remained silent.
"Aw, he thinks he's too good for us," one of the other men said mockingly.
"C'mon, Levi, you ain't happy to see your old friends?" the first man continued. "What do you say? Wanna go flying through the town? Wanna beat the crap outta some soldiers? Hell, we could just steal all the produce here and eat like the king. Wouldn't that be fun? You could even bring the little brat along, start raisin' him right, ya know?"
Levi tensed and squeezed his son's hand. "Baby, go stand behind the counter with the nice woman."
"Oh, come on," the man continued, leaning over until his lips were dangerously close to Levi's ear, "you're no fun anymore, Levi. Where's Humanity's Strongest, hmm? I was hoping I'd get to see you in action." The volume of the man's voice then dropped, and he continued, "Humanity's Strongest has gone soft? Is he even Humanity's Strongest anymore? Are you just Humanity's Housewife now? Sittin' at home with that freak, cookin' its meals…does it only eat humans? Spreadin' your legs for it, havin' its stupid brat? Hmm? You Humanity's Whore now?"
The little boy caught in the middle of all this started to back away towards the stand. His voice trembled when he spoke. "I don't like him, Papa…"
"What's the matter, little guy? Don't you wanna play with me and my friends?" He reached out to take the child's hand.
And Levi turned and punched him straight in the face. A few of the man's teeth went flying.
Levi didn't stop there. He grabbed the man by his shirt collar and punched him again, multiple times. He then hooked his arms around the man's chest and slammed him backwards into the hard stone street, his head making a disgusting squelching noise on impact. Without missing a beat, Levi jumped onto the man's chest and casually stood there, all 65 kilograms of him. The man cried out as Levi stepped forward until one of his feet was pressing against his neck. The man choked just enough that he couldn't speak but not enough that he lost consciousness. His arms were attempting to reach up and grab at Levi's legs, but the raven's attack on him had left his movements sloppy and frantic.
With his usual uninterested face and bored voice, Levi sighed and said, "Let me tell you something. You can mock me all you want. You can say anything you want about me. Honestly, I don't care. You can even mock Eren if you want. If you're stupid enough to start a fight with us, fine. We're both grown-ass adults, so we can handle it. But…" He pressed harder against the man's neck, his eyes darkened, and his voice became terrifyingly threatening. "if you EVER mock our son, if you EVER even so much as THINK about laying even one of your filthy fingers on him, WE WON'T HESITATE TO KILL YOU ON THE SPOT. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
The man beneath him let out a strangled cry before falling quiet.
Levi looked up at the rest of the men who looked like they were about to wet their pants and repeated in his normal voice, "Do I make myself clear?"
The men all nodded simultaneously, and one of them shouted, "Crystal!"
"Good," Levi replied, stepping off the man like he was walking down a set of stairs, only to turn around and give him one last swift kick to the ribs. He then turned back to the shopkeeper, picked up the spilled bag, refilled it with beans, set some money on the counter, and said, "Sorry for the trouble. Thank you for the beans." When he turned to leave, he saw the thugs dragging their fallen leader through the busy streets. Shrugging, he took his son's hand and said, "Let's go home and make some bean salad."
Eren stared at his husband, eyes wide and mouth agape as he listened to Levi's story. "What the hell…?" he gasped. "Are you serious? They attacked you in broad daylight?"
"They didn't attack," Levi replied as he rinsed the rehydrated beans. "They were talking crap about us, which I didn't mind because they were only showing me what idiots they were. If there are going to be morons in this world, we might as well know who they are. But then one tried to touch our son's hand, so I punched his teeth out, choked him, and broke his ribs. Can you get the olive oil down from that shelf?"
"B-But, Levi!"
"The olive oil."
Eren suddenly stopped and his voice became quiet. "You knew them, didn't you?"
Levi visibly flinched and narrowed his eyes. After a short pause, he sighed heavily and said, "Yes, they were part of a gang I knew when I lived in the underground. They thought we were rivals. I thought they weren't worth my time, and they still aren't." He glanced upwards and sighed again. "Eren, don't give me that look."
"I can't help it!" the younger whimpered.
"Eren—"
"I'm sorry, I hate knowing that you once lived there. I hate knowing that you weren't always taken care of!"
Levi knew how much his husband hated hearing about his past. Truth be told, Levi hated talking about it. He wasn't exactly ashamed of the person he had been, mostly because he had had no choice, but he preferred to think about his present self. He didn't like his present self any more than his past self, but at least his present self tried to do good. At least his present self had a sense of real happiness.
And he found Eren's statement touching. With an understanding sigh, he leaned up and gently pulled Eren down by his shirt collar for a kiss. It was sweet and lasted for a few long seconds, and, when Levi pulled away, he gave his husband a tiny smile. "Thank you."
"Levi…"
"Now get me the damn olive oil."
Eren laughed and the mood immediately lightened. He did as Levi instructed and then leaned back against the counter, watching his husband work. It was incredible to him how those same hands that killed Titans and beat up thugs could lovingly hold their son and make a delicious, nourishing dinner. Every time Eren thought about it, he fell in love all over again.
Levi's hushed voice snapped him out of his daydreams. "I think the religious conservatives hired them to attack us."
Eren's eyes widened. "What?"
"Why else would they be above ground? The religious conservatives probably promised them a better life if they confronted us, thinking I wouldn't be able to take them all on during the day. They obviously don't know me that well."
"Lev-!"
"Shh!" Levi pressed a finger to his lips as he heard little footsteps come down the stairs. Their son soon appeared in this kitchen, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Hi, Daddy. Hi, Papa."
"Hi, baby," Eren replied, smiling gently, "did you have a nice nap?"
The boy nodded, walked to Levi, and wrapped his arms around one of the man's legs. "Papa, those guys at the market scared me. Why did they say those mean things to us?"
"There are mean people in the world, sadly. But you don't need to worry about them. They won't bother us again."
"Really?"
"Really. Now come help me make bean salad."
That night, when Levi snuggled into bed next to his husband, he felt lips on the back of his neck. He squirmed slightly and leaned back into the touch. "Mmm, you're making a habit of this."
"Can't help it," Eren replied, "not when you're so incredibly amazing."
Levi rolled his eyes and turned over so he could face the brunet, an amused smile on his face. "You sap."
"I'm your sap." Eren smiled wide and wrapped his arms around his husband, who welcomed the touch. After the incident in the market, Levi was actually feeling somewhat cuddly. Feeling the comfort of Eren's warm skin and strong muscles made him feel safe and relaxed. No, no idiotic thugs could tear them apart or take their son away. And Levi decided in that moment that the associates within the Military Police couldn't even so much as make a dent in them either.
After all, nothing could stop the combination of strength and hope.
"You eat some of those herbs Zita told us about?" Eren murmured, pressing his lips against Levi's forehead.
"Yeah," the shorter replied, "sprinkled some on my potatoes at dinner."
Eren grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?" He moved down to kiss at Levi's collarbone, making the raven groan softly. Eren's fingers gently travelled upwards over his chest and shoulders, and Levi began to pant quietly. Eren's grin widened at the sound, and he continued, "I love you. I love you so much." He then paused and said, "Ich liebe dich, mein Liebling."
Levi gasped loudly. "Wha…What?"
"Hmm? Was, mein Engel?"
"Eren, what…?"
"Or maybe you'd like it better if I spoke like this, balım? Seni seviyorum, bi tanem."
"Oh mon dieu…"
"Papa, Daddy, I heard weird noises coming from your room last night."
Eren spat his tea right across the breakfast table the next morning. Levi's face mirrored the one he wore during Eren's spoon incident.
The two of them stared at their son for several (very long) seconds, their brains having come to a screeching halt at his innocent words. The boy just stared back at them, patiently waiting for an explanation.
Finally, Levi sighed and stood. "Well, knew this day was coming. Go get the picture book, Eren, I'll go get a cucumber."
"WHAT!"
"Cucumber? What were you guys making?"
Your sibling.
"I thought we agreed, not until he's a teenager!"
"Wait, what?"
"Oh, then I'll have Zita come over and explain it. She did say she'd help us out with anything."
"THAT WASN'T WHAT I MEANT."
"You guys sound like you were playing a really weird game…"
Eren laughed nervously. "Ha ha! Yeah! A weird game! That's it!"
The boy eyed his daddy skeptically. "Then…what about the cucumber?"
Eren paled.
Levi coughed awkwardly and speed walked into the kitchen. "Okay, time to get started on cleaning up."
"GET BACK HERE."
Forget underground thugs, religious conservatives, or Titans, this was Eren's and Levi's toughest and scariest battle yet.
END
Zita (Greek origin): "hope"
Ich liebe dich, mein Liebling. (German)I love you, my darling.
Was, mein Engel? (German)= What, my angel?
balım (Turkish)= my honey
Seni seviyorum, bi tanem. (Turkish) = I love you, my only one.
Oh mon dieu… (French) = Oh my god…
