My heart thudded erratically in my chest, my stomach a flutter of butterflies and my palms were almost sweating torrential rain as Hanji linked her arm throughout mine. It was time; my wedding to Levi that I had anxiously awaited for months. Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic but my nerves were almost like a boa constrictor squeezing the joy out of everything. I'd be fine once I was in there….
I inhaled a deep breath as Hanji pushed open the heavy oak doors that led to the chapel. The classic wedding march invaded my ears with it's sweet symphonies as the door creaked open. Brilliant light filled the room, illuminating the room in a multitude of colours and is infiltrated the room through technicolour stain glass windows. A long aisle stretched to the altar, a ruby red carpet stretching it's length. Displays of white roses adorned the edges of the aged pews that stood either side of the aisle. Dozens of candles were scattered throughout the chapel, there tiny, flickering amber light danced as it seduced the darkness with it's light.
My eyes wondered cautiously down the aisle to the alter as Hanji led me towards it. When my eyes finally focused on Levi it felt as if time stood still, my breath caught in the back of throat as crystal blue eyes caught my own. He looked perfect, almost inhumanely perfect… How did I manage to catch him? His jet-black hair, styled in its usual undercut, fell haphazardly around his face, delicately framing the sharp planes of his face. He was dresses in a plain black suit, which had been immaculately tailored to perfectly outline his slim, toned physique. The contrast of the black suite made his pale ivory skin appear even whiter, almost as if he were the undead. His rosy lips were stretched in a soft smile as he watched me approach him, the smile echoed in his deep blue eyes. He was almost like an angel; he was too perfect.
I came to a halt at the altar, glancing over at the crowd of friends and family gathered in the pews. I didn't realise that we knew that many people…
"You look stunning" Levi whispered, a goofy smile still plastered across his face. A small smile mirrored on my own face.
"You don't look so bad yourself" I responded with a smirk. The priest looked between us both before gesturing to the guests to be seated.
"Shall we begin?" The priest asked, waiting for no answer and jumping straight into the ceremony. "Dear friends and family, we are here to witness the union of Eren Yeager and Levi Ackerman. With love and commitment, they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife. But before I begin the ceremony…. Is there any reason why these two should not be wed" Silence echoed through the room, no one responding to his question.
"Excellent news, now lets begin. When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. Such is an impossibility, and even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is what many of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern, as they share their common journey. Now it is time for your vows. I understand you have prepared your own?" The priest spoke clearly, his voice ringing out throughout the silence in the chapel. His words cutting through everyone in truth, seriousness and clarity. We nodded in agreement at the man's question. "Levi, you are first then"
Worry flickered across his face momentarily as he gulped, this was the most emotional I had ever seen Levi and knowing this warmed my heart. Only I could make him feel this way….
"Eren, ever since you came in to my life like the whirlwind you are, my life has been changed for the better. With you I have become a more compassionate, understanding, more human man. You've thawed the ice cold walls I had built around myself and made me a better man than I thought I could ever be. I never thought I'd be able to love anyone as deeply as I do you and I can't wait to build a future with you, a family with you, a life with you. I can't believe I'm the one who gets to love and cherish you for the rest of our lives. I promise to love you until the day I die, you're my best friend. I love you" He finished, his beautiful blue eyes glossy from where he looked like he was on the brink of tears. Tears slipped down my own face as my heart swelled at his words. How did I deserve a man this wonderful.
"Eren?" the priest asked, pressing me to say my own vows. I forced down the lump that had formed in my throat and wiped away the tears that had fallen.
"Levi, I have no idea where to begin. Ever since I first laid eyes on you in the dark alleyway I knew you were special, knew you were different, only I was too young to understand why. Now I know. You're perfect, in more ways that I can even begin to say. Anyone else would have grown tired of my personality, of my flaws, of my attitudes. But not you. No, you stuck with me, through thick and thin and I can't even express how much that means to me or how grateful I am. I also can't believe I get to love and cherish you for the rest of my life. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. But I know one thing for sure…. Levi Ackerman, I'm hopelessly and irrevocalbly in love with you" I gushed, trying to express just how much I loved him. Tears were now freely flowing down my face, smudging Hanji's handy work but I didn't care. I was the happiest I had been in my entire life.
"Now Levi, repeat after me" The priest said blandly, and Levi nodded in acknowledgement, "I, Levi Ackerman take thee Eren Yeager"
"I, Levi Ackerman take thee Eren Yeager"
"To have and to hold"
"To have and to hold"
"For better or for worse"
"For better or for worse"
"for richer or for poorer"
"For richer or for poorer"
"In Sickness and in health,"
"In Sickness and in health,"
"to love and to cherish"
"to love and to cherish"
" from this day forward until death do us part."
" from this day forward until death do us part." Levi repeated effortlessly, completing his vows. He slid a simple gold ring down my ring finger as he finished his sentence, giving a blinding smile the entire time.
"Eren, repeat after me" I followed suite and completed my vows, in turn putting Levi's ring in it's rightful place on his finger. A smile on my own face as I did so.
"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may now kiss the bride" Levi calmly strode forward, placing his palms on my cheeks and planting a firm kiss on my lips. My arms wound around his waist and I let myself sink in the kiss. He tasted of home, of safety and strangely of strawberries. After years of feeling like the like a stray, not truly feeling like I belonged anywhere, I finally felt like this was where I was supposed to be. Like I belong. Our lips parted and he rested his forehead on mine, both breathless.
"Family and Friends I present to you for the first time Mr and Mrs Levi Ackerman!" A round of applause rang out through the chapel as we bathed in the happiness and joy of what could be. A loud clap sounded louder and sharper, almost sarcastically above the rest of them as a man strode nonchalantly down the aisle towards us. His face covered by a large cowboy hat, however a smirk, laced with malice, was visible from underneath the hat.
"How touching" The man drawled in a mocking tone, his voice deep and gravelly.
"How can we help you? This is a private event" Levi snapped, breaking away from me and stepping closer to the intruder.
"I'm very aware of that." He said sharply, removing the hat but making sure he kept his face covered. "And you know Eren… I'm quite offended you didn't invite me" the man growled, anger seeping into his words.
"Why would she invite you? Who are you?" Levi jabbed, his face set in a scowl. Who ever this man was, what gave him the right to spoil our special day? The hat fell to the floor. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. There was so much tension in the room, it was suffocating. My eyes widened as I took in the mans face. He had bright emerald green eyes and a mop of greasy brown hair paired with five o'clock shadow. A scar stretched diagonally across his left cheek. I knew these eyes. After all these eyes had stared back at me in the mirror for my entire life. Disbelief flooded my body making me feel sick to my stomach.
"Dad?" I gasped before my entire world went black. They say the devil comes to you when it's your moments on earth are running low….. what does that say about me?
THE END