My Regret

Chapter 33

Going back to your home country, it's a nostalgic feeling, isn't it?

Eren felt this way immediately when they got on the taxi, having landed in Germany, and to see everything again after so many years, it was amazing.

The boys were seated on their mother's lap, listening to the brunet as he pointed out all the buildings he was still familiar with.

And Eren being Eren, knew that there would be a fun festival going on soon. So, he made a mental note to take the boys and Levi there.

Levi smiled, quietly laughing to himself seeing the childish glint in the brunet's eyes. He knew it was a good idea to bring his lover back to visit his home country.

Now, to get his plan underway completely.

Eren's cousin, IIse, had offered to look after the boys after they arrived at her home. Since the brunet had family there, they saw no reason to look for a hotel.

She had sent off the two lover's to take a walk through the forest that wasn't too far away from the house. It was a place Eren was very familiar with.

With the two now gone, IIse could help out Levi with the help of the boys.

The freckled girl smiled down at the twins, "Alright, boys, now, your daddy needs help with something."

Sebastian and Yami shared a look before looking at their aunt, "What does daddy need help with?"

"You know that he's doing something very special for your mother, right?"

The two boys nodded. Their father had talked to them about something he wanted to do for their mother. He said that mommy would be very happy if it was done right.

"Well, your daddy asked me to do something to help out too."

Sebastian tugged on her shirt, "Like what?"

IIse smiled, "You two are going to help me make a cake for mommy. Then, we're going to go pick out mommy's favorite flowers."

"Then what?"

"Well, let's take a look at the list…"

"Its been so long since I've been here. It feels like nothing's changed within that time."

The two males were walking through the woods, following the pavement, holding hands, and Levi mainly listening to his younger partner go on about what changed and what didn't appearance wise.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I feel like I'm a kid again." Eren smiled at the raven.

Levi leaned down and pressed a kiss to the brunet's forehead, "Anything for you, love. I love seeing you smile."

The young man blushed, then smiled as he spotted something familiar up ahead, "Look."

Seeing the sight before him was spectacular. It was a small waterfall, rocks surrounding the area, and the tree giving off a pleasant rustling.

"It's beautiful."

Eren had a fond smile on his face, "Mikasa, IIse and I found this when we were kids. We often came here when he all wanted to relax."

Of course, the real reason why they came here was because his cousin noticed how sad he and his sister were whenever their mother and father fought. This was often where they found themselves when the fights got too bad for them to listen to.

This was also the place where Eren came a lot through his teen years. With his father absent, and his mother, sister and himself working a lot, he came here when the stress began getting to him.

"I really missed coming here. It still has the same calming effect that it did back then."

The two males sat down on a rock, well away from the water.

"You remind me of a little kid."

Eren turned to his partner, an eyebrow raised, "Why do you say that?"

Levi chuckled softly, "Because everything here fascinates you. You look really excited to see a tree still in the same place, a new flower garden somewhere, the same store, park, and this place, you look like you're a little kid again."

"W-Well, you know me Levi, I get excited over the littlest things."

"It's cute."

"You damn tease."

After arriving back at his cousin's house, Eren was taken to some local café with IIse, while Levi went inside to look after the twins.

Apparently Levi's logic was that he needed to spend some time with his cousin, while he'd gladly look over the boys.

How can Eren say no to spend some time with his cousin?

"Tell me, Eren, how have you been over the last few years?" The female had a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.

"Well, IIse," Just where should the brunet begin with the rollercoaster that has been his life over the last few years.

"How about you start with that handsome devil that is your children's daddy and your lover?" She grinned at the flustered look on the younger's face.

"Levi, huh? Well, I met that handsome bastard a few years back. He had barely moved to America when I met him. And yes, not proud of it, but he and I met at a club, spent one night together, realized we both wanted more, and we started seeing each other after that."

"Oh really? I would have thought Mikasa or your mother set you up with him."

The brunet laughed softly, "Yeah, most do think that. No one would have thought we met through a club. People tend to think we met on some dating site or a blind date."

IIse nodded, "I can see that. Levi strikes me as the type that wouldn't go to clubs unless he was pestered for hours."

"Oddly enough, yes. Levi's friends did pester him for hours until he did go."

"Wow. Hey, at least they can say that they took some part in you two meeting each other."

"I suppose."

The red head took a sip of her coffee, "So, how's life now with two kids?"

"Uh, definitely more busy."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Well, I have to wake up every day at seven in the morning, get the boys up, set out their clothes, go and make breakfast, make their lunches for day care, take them to day care, clean when I get back, begin my tutoring sessions with college students, call Levi to make sure he eats his lunch and doesn't work through the hour again, make my own lunch, finish my tutoring lesson for the day, go get the boys, run errands with them, because they like getting candy from places and being anywhere with me, go home, help the boys with any homework from daycare, play with them outside for a while, get dinner started, greet Levi when he gets home, plate our dinner, wash up and put any left overs away with Levi's help, give the boys a bath, put them to bed, watch some television with Levi for a while, and then we go to bed."

While that may seem like a lot to someone who doesn't have children, Eren was quite used to it at this point. It was his everyday routine and for something to be out of place, it certainly did feel odd.

IIse stared at her cousin, "I could honestly never do that much in a day." Hell, an accomplishment for her was simply getting out of bed and working from home.

"Well, I am not going to lie, it was a lot to do in the beginning. I had mom and Mikasa help me out a lot, but then I realized, if I set things up in a certain way, maybe it wouldn't be so hard. So, I planned out my entire schedule, and eventually, this became my everyday routine."

Eren was still envious that Levi could make his busy set up look like nothing. Literally, the man could get almost all of it done before the kids got home.

"That lover of yours looks like he's a doting daddy. That true?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He takes all the pictures. For some reason, he's really good at it. Not a single one has come out blurry at all."

The red head chuckled softly, "How many rolls of film has he gone through?"

Eren stopped to think for a moment, "About a good three or four by now. He told me he wanted to stop by the stores and pick up some more."

IIse smiled, "You landed a keeper there, Eren."

"Yeah. I sure did."

When Levi and the boys had gathered everything they would need for tonight, and for that day, they found themselves back in IIse's house.

Apparently the red head decided it would be good to take Eren back into town and explore together for a while.

Obviously, Levi had no problems with that. Eren would spend time with his cousin, and he could finish getting the supplies on his list in no rush.

The raven was laying comfortably on the couch in the living room, the twins upstairs taking their afternoon naps.

Gently stroking the fluffy black cat on his chest, Levi nearly drifted off to sleep himself.

However, the click of a camera broke him out of his sleepy haze.

Tilting his head back, he saw Eren and IIse both grinning. Those shits.

"You damn brats. And here I was thinking of taking a nap with your cat on my chest." Said cat simply snuggled further into his warm chest.

The red head came over and gently stroked the cat, "You know, she doesn't normally allow people to touch her, let alone snuggle with her. Was she good for the twins?"

Levi nodded, still fighting back some sleep, "Yeah. The cat was busy playing with the twins while I got some laundry done. Thanks for letting me use your washer and dryer by the way."

"Course." IIse went into the kitchen to put some groceries she bought away.

Eren sat down on the couch in front of the raven, seeing him lightly falling asleep, "The twins taking their nap?"

Levi simply nodded, almost all the way asleep.

The brunet chuckled softly, "Take a nap, Lee. I'll wake you up later."

It didn't surprise him when the raven fell asleep when he said he could.

"Wow, mommy this is so cool!"

The twins were in complete awe when their mother and aunt IIse took them to a carnival.

Everything there looked so familiar yet so foreign to them.

The different language the people spoke, the way they dressed, treats that were out on display, and the rides that were out seemed to be new to them.

"Mommy, can we go on that ride first?" Sebastian pointed to the old looking merry go round.

Eren stared at the ride for a moment, then smiled, "Of course." He and Levi got in line while his cousin stayed on camera duty. No doubt wanting Levi to get in some fun while she took care of handling his camera.

After numerous rides, the adults decided to take the boys to get some traditional German lunch.

While the twins had been digging into their lunch, the adults were full from sampling so many different foods, courtesy of IIse.

Eren and IIse were drinking some German beer, while Levi opted for water.

"You sure you don't want me to order you a stein, Levi?" The red head took a drink from her beer.

"No thank you. I'm not one for alcohol. I'm fine with water, thank you." He was however eating some cookies they had bought earlier.

"Alright, suit yourself. You're missing out."

When the twins had finally gotten in their fill with the treats and festival, they were taken home.

IIse and Eren both wanted to head back to the small waterfall the two lovers had been to earlier.

The raven opted to stay with the twins, having made himself some tea, the cat curled up to his side when they left him.

"How are you enjoying being back home?" The red head sat on the grass next to her younger cousin, the two staring at the waterfall.

"Everything is so nice here. It feels like a lot changed but somehow stayed the same."

IIse stayed quiet for a moment, debating on whether or not she should share the news with her cousin.

"Something on your mind there?" Eren had seen the conflicted look on her face.

The female sighed, "Yeah. But I'm not sure whether to tell you or not."

"What's it about?"

"Your father."

Eren completely froze. He hadn't heard anything concerning his father since the day he and his mother divorced and left them.

"I recently heard some news about him. I don't know if you care of not to hear it. It's your choice completely. I'll respect whatever you choose."

Should he bother to listen? The man did after all treat his mother, sister and his own son like dirt. His father was an absent figure in his life after he left, never having heard anything anymore after he abandoned them.

Eren could be the same angry boy he was back then when his father left.

Or he could be the bigger person and wonder what happened to the man. For a good majority of his life, he did wonder what happened to his father.

This was his golden opportunity to find out. Why not take the chance?

"Alright. I want to know what happened with my father." Thank goodness he mentally prepared himself.

IIse sighed before starting, "When your father left, he left Germany completely. I heard he went to Spain. Since your father was already a good doctor, it didn't take long for him to find a job."

That really wasn't all surprising to hear. His father always did take his medical career rather seriously.

"He was known as one of the best doctors Spain had. Grisha soon met his assistant, Hitch. I heard that she had a face that pretty much screamed that she wanted a better life, so when she met your father, it pretty much all clicked to her. She and your father began a relationship not too long after that."

Eren slowly nodded, "Was he happy?" He couldn't find it in himself to vocally call the man his father.

"Yes, he was apparently. So happy, that a year later they got married."

So, in that year while Grisha was happy, his abandoned family was struggling.

"They had a son two years later. He's a blonde by the name of Flagon. He's your half-brother, Eren."

How ironic. Not too long ago Levi had figured out that he too had a half-brother, and now the brunet was in his same position.

But looking at Levi and Rivaille, one wouldn't think they hadn't known about each other up until their adult life. You look at them and suggest they've been close since childhood.

Would he be the same with his half-brother? What was he even like?

"What kind of person is Flagon?" Please be someone he can grow to like.

"I actually met him, so I can tell you what I think completely."

That surprised the brunet, "Oh yeah? What is he like?"

"He's surprisingly nice. Flagon has this look like he would be a complete douchebag, but he's a really nice guy. Eren, he barely had his parents in his life. Grisha was always putting work before his family, and Hitch cared more about making money and getting things she wanted. I thought he would be a spoiled rich kid, but he actually appreciates everything that he has. Eren, I told him about you and Mikasa."

"Y-Yeah? What did he say?"

"He wants to meet you. Flagon thinks that you two can be really close siblings. He said it might take time for him to get to know Mikasa, and be friends with her, but he knows for sure that he would be close with you. He said that if you ever wanted to meet up, to let me know. I can easily contact him and try to make a date for you two to properly meet."

Now Eren could completely relate to his lover. Levi had a tough time deciding to connect with his brother, so is this what he went through?

"I'll think about it." He'll talk with Levi about the situation. His lover should be able to help him immensely.

"Alright. You gonna tell Mikasa and your mother?"

The brunet sighed, "I don't know."

His mother went through so much sadness when his father left. She had to provide for them by herself for so many years before her children could even work. That man brought her nothing but sadness. Was it really worth mentioning what happened to him?

Oh god, then Mikasa. She absolutely hated Grisha after he left them. She scowled at the sound of his name. The raven made sure that there was nothing from him in her room or her life in general after that. She made sure the man was completely dead to her.

Eren inwardly grimaced. Rivaille better have a really good method to calm down Mikasa.

He really needs to talk to Levi.

"Turns out you have a half-brother, huh?"

Eren arrived home and sat with Levi in the lounge. The two had been talking about the brunet's half-brother IIse mentioned earlier.

"Yeah. Grisha got married not too long after he and my mom divorced."

"So he's about what, two or three years younger than you are?"

"Something like that."

Levi picked up his tea, "You have any thoughts about the matter?"

"Well, I was shocked at first. I didn't know what happened to Grisha after he and my mother divorced. So, to hear from my cousin what happened, and how he got married again just kinda, shocked me."

"It would for anyone."

Eren thought this situation was completely ironic. The raven also dealt with learning his father remarried and had a son.

"How did you deal with it?"

The raven set down his cup, sighing, "Well, I too was shocked. I never thought that my father would have married someone else. But you also have to remember that they are their own person after they leave unfortunately. They can easily choose what to do after that."

"But don't they think about their family?"

Levi nodded, "My father said he thought about mother and I all the time. As you remember me telling you, I did tell him to leave me and mother alone when I was growing up. He said it hurt when I told him that. I don't know whether or not your father thought about you as often, given how he treated your family."

"It all matters based on what they did before they left, huh?"

"Oh certainly. Eren, our situations were completely different, yet they were similar in some manner."

"How?"

"Well, both of our fathers left. My father left because he and my mother didn't love each other anymore, and I was left with my mother and raised by her. I was angry because my father promised to love my mother her entire life. So obviously I was bitter because he broke his promise to his only son at the time."

"And mine?"

"Your mother and father divorced because your father treated you all like dirt and didn't seem to be guilty about his actions from what you've told me. You were angry at your father, but you were also raised by your mother alone, and you came out great as a person and didn't let that bitterness get the better of you."

Eren thought about it for a moment. Levi was right. They were the same because their father's left and they were raised by their mother's.

But they also had a sibling that wished to connect with them.

"I think I'm gonna talk to him." He'd give his younger brother that much.

"You want me to be there?" Levi took hold of his lover's hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"No. I should be fine. I'll tell IIse to tell Flagon if we can talk here."

"Alright. I'll stay in the backyard with the kids and IIse if you need me."

"Okay."

Getting in contact with Flagon was actually quite simple. IIse contacted him the moment Eren said he would talk to him.

No doubt she didn't want the brunet to chicken out at the last minute.

Eren sat in the lounge waiting for his cousin to come back with his half-brother from the airport.

Levi was outside with the twins playing together. The raven said if anything happened to holler out his name.

IIse gladly would let his lover use her combat knives she kept in her house if anything did happen.

"Eren."

The brunet was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his cousin suddenly speak.

"This is Flagon." She gestured to the blonde standing next to her.

He most certainly wasn't what Eren was expecting. His golden blonde hair, brown eyes, pale skin, and the facial features were nowhere near even somewhat similar to him.

He stood up and offered the male a small smile, "Flagon, nice to meet you."

The blonde gave him a small smile back, "Yeah. Nice to meet you too, Eren."

"Well, I'll be outside with Levi and the kiddos. If you need anything, let me know." The red head then excused herself.

Both males sat down, an awkward silence between them.

"You know, Eren."

The brunet turned to the other, "Hmm?"

"Growing up, I did hear about you, Mikasa and Carla. It was no secret that father abandoned a family to be with me and my mother."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Dad made you out to be some really angry kid, who didn't have a filter on his mouth and was really disrespectful."

"I was only like that because of how he treated my mom and sister."

"I thought so. I didn't believe him one bit. I felt like you were a better person than what he made you out to be."

"What'd he say about Mikasa and my mom?"

The blonde sighed, "He said Mikasa was a really weird kid. He said he regretted taking her in. Had she not come into the picture, his first marriage might have made it."

That bastard. To blame Mikasa for all his own faults. Tch, no wonder Eren still resented him.

"And he said Carla should have tried harder. But you know what I think, Eren?"

"What?"

"That our father is a bastard who can't own up. He didn't care about you, me, Mikasa, mom, and your mom. He only cares about his job and the money he makes. Eren, I don't know if IIse told you this, but my mom didn't care for me much either. I was raised by the butlers and maids at the house. They're the only family I've ever known. But I want it to be different this time around. If you'll have me, I'd like to one day be able to call you my big brother. And maybe for you to call me your younger brother."

Those butlers and maids most certainly raised Flagon right.

Even though he received so many lies based on Eren and his family, he decided to wait and see for himself what they were like.

Flagon is someone whom Eren will more than gladly call family.

"Growing up in a rich family isn't as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. The higher class think the more you have, the happier you are. That's not true at all. I think it's better to grow up in a middle class family. You seem to be closer that way."

Flagon smiled, "Dad didn't have much pictures of you, Mikasa and Carla around. But when he and mom left for trips, I'd always sneak into his room and look at the very few he had."

The blonde fondly recalled on those memories. He often wondered what it would be like to grow up with that grinning brunet brother, strong, yet gentle looking raven haired sister, and that loving brunet mother.

"I never heard anything about Grisha when I was younger. But you know what, I wish I had."

The blonde raised a brow, "Huh? Why? I thought you hated him."

"I do. But I also would have gotten to meet you a lot sooner."

Even though they'd only just met not too long ago, Eren felt like he had known Flagon a life time. Was it always like this when meeting a new sibling?

The brunet now completely understood why Levi was so close with his brother.

They seem to understand you better on some sort of level. It almost felt like you'd always been together.

"You know, Flagon, growing up without a dad was tough on my mom. She always had to work a lot of hours just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Mikasa and I tried to help out any way we could. But mom always told us our schooling was more important and that we should focus on that. But you know, I wouldn't have changed the way I was raised at all."

"Why? I would have thought you'd want a dad in your life."

Eren chuckled softly, "I thought that too at first. But then I realized a mother can easily take on both parental roles. My mom was loving and a provider for our small family. She did the best she could on her own, and I will always be grateful to her. She could have given up at any time, but she believed that she could do it, so she did. And, I can never find a way to repay her back for all she's done."

The blonde placed a hand on the brunet's shoulder, "I know how you can."

"How?"

"Continue being this amazing person is how."

The brunet smiled, "Thanks…little brother."

"Anytime, big brother."

It seemed like Eren and Flagon meeting was the best thing for the both of them.

The blonde told Eren their father wasn't worth him being angry. Their father wasn't worth anything really. He simply told Eren to cherish those who care about him and those whom he cares about.

What really caught the brunet and his cousin off guard was how well Levi and his younger brother bonded. Perhaps they had some things in common because the raven left his brother grinning, and them sharing a side hug before the blonde went to the guest room that night.

The brunet was told to wait in their own guest room by Levi, and then come downstairs in thirty minutes. He said he had something special planned for them.

So when the time passed, which felt like an eternity for the young man, he slowly made his way down the stairs.

Several candles were lit, forming a path leading outside to the porch.

Eren gasped softly at the surprise his partner set up for him.

Lanterns were hung from the roof edge, the black rope connecting and curling around several tree branches, illuminating the small table in the middle of the yard, where a vase sat in the middle with his favorite white roses.

"Like it?"

The brunet saw the raven was seated on the swing that hung from the tree.

"I love it."

Levi smiled, getting up and walking over the young man, bringing him into a hug, "Happy anniversary."

Eren's eyes widened, "Y-You remembered?" And here he was desperate trying to find something to plan for them.

"Of course I remembered. This day is important to me. It's the day where I met the love of my life. How can I ever forget this?"

Literally best lover ever.

"Come on, love. I made some of your favorites." He gestured to the table.

IIse must have helped him out. These were some of his favorite dishes from when he was growing up here in Germany.

"Thank you, I love you." Eren kissed the raven's nose.

"Love you too." Levi led them over to the table, pulling out a chair for the younger male.

The two conversed over their meal, many of the comments, sappy not lewd, left Eren blushing at how romantic Levi was.

"Thank you for doing all this. I really love it."

Levi chuckled softly, "Well, I can't take all the credit. IIse helped me with the recipes, Flagon recommended the lanterns, and the boys took part in this as well."

"Oh?"

Levi carefully took out two cards from the box next to the table. He handed them to Eren.

The brunet opened the cards and smiled fondly.

Sebastian had drawn them gazing at the stars, and Yami had them holding hands on the beach. Both read 'Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy!'

"The boys wanted to let mommy and daddy know they were happy for us, and they were glad we were so happy together."

Sebastian and Yami had told him they were very content knowing their parents were happy together, both on and off the vacation. The boys wanted their parents to be together forever.

"They also picked out the roses for you tonight."

"Aww, my boys are so sweet."

"That's not all."

Levi went into the house quickly. He came out carefully carrying a cake. "I made this with the boys earlier today."

Eren smiled, "I have such amazing three boys."

The raven chuckled softly, "Well, us boys are lucky to have someone amazing like you in our lives, love."

Both males dug into the cake, drinking some wine, and enjoying each other's company.

When they were done, the two went to lie in the hammock that was hanging on the tree.

The brunet had his head on Levi's chest, listening to his heart beat, the crickets making noise in the background.

"Levi."

"Hm?"

"I love you so much. Thank you for doing this."

Levi glanced down at the young man, "Of course, love. You know I would do anything for you. I love knowing that you are happy with me."

Eren smiled, kissing the raven softly.

Finally, he can set the last plan into motion.

Oh boy, Eren. You better prepare yourself.

End of chapter 33.

I am so happy that I was able to get this chapter out in time for Eren's birthday. Literally spent all day working on this chapter, and well, I guess this is my gift to that precious cinnamon roll. Now, I shall go and cry internally because this story is over in 2-3 chapters.