Chapter 38: Star Athlete Ties the Knot!
Eren

The shift of the bed rouses me slightly from my sleep. I crack open an eye and watch Levi stand and stretch. A glance at the clock on the nightstand reveals that it's just past seven in the morning. I groan at the time and bury my face in the pillows.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Levi murmurs. He leans over and presses a kiss to my forehead, his hand stroking softly at my hair. "I have practice today. I'll be back at four. Then we can go out to dinner tonight, our last as unmarried men, hm?"

Oh shit that's right, the wedding is tomorrow. I hum my agreement into the pillow and Levi chuckles, leaving to get ready for practice. I really should get up too. Everything is already prepared for tomorrow, but there are some last minute things that I should take care of. I need to call Isabel to confirm that everything is ready to go, I should meet with my parents- maybe take them out to lunch- to make sure they know the plan for tomorrow, and pick up mine and Levi's tuxes from the tailor.

But I'm just so tired. I can't muster the energy to even think about getting out of bed. Another hour or two of sleep shouldn't hurt though, right? The things I have to do today aren't that time consuming. I should be able to get it all done in a few hours. With that decision made, I relax back into the sheets and I don't even think Levi has finished getting dressed yet before I'm asleep again.

I wake what feels like only a couple of hours later feeling completely groggy and not entirely in control of my own limbs. It's a monumental effort to shake the sleep from my head and pry an eye open to peer at the clock. 3:08PM greets my hazy gaze and I nearly bolt out of bed. How the hell did I sleep in until three in the afternoon!?

The second I'm sitting upright, my head spins, my vision blurring for a moment. I sit still as I wait for the vertigo to fade. It does, but not entirely. When I stand my limbs all still feel pretty heavy and my head is a little fuzzy. I feel light headed and really... weak. This has happened before, and it occurs about as often as my headaches, a little less often actually. Fatigue and lethargy are both symptoms, and they seem to feed off of each other. I almost never have one without the other.

I slowly stand from the bed and stretch, heading to the dresser to pull on a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. Hanji had scheduled me for an extra appointment two days ago, hoping that I would then be able to make it through my honeymoon in Europe before needing my next checkup. She had told me that my tests were a little poor, but had dismissed it as a side effect of the stress of preparing to get married. She had told me I should be fine through the wedding and honeymoon, but that she'd find me a specialist in the host city just in case I needed assistance.

But as I pull on my clothes I decide that I need to go back. I want Hanji to check me over again and do whatever she can so that I'll be ready for tomorrow. I pull out my phone as I make my way to the front room of Levi's apartment. I see that I have a couple missed calls from my mom, Mikasa, and Isabel, but I ignore them for now. I call my dad and put the phone to my ear as I lean my elbows against the kitchen bar.

"Dr. Jaeger," he answers.

"Hey dad. Are you busy right now?" I ask him.

"No," he answers. "I'm with your mother and Isabel right now. They're supervising the set up of the location. But I don't think they need me here. What's up?"

"Would you mind picking me up from Levi's apartment and taking me to go see Hanji?" Before he can start to question what's wrong, or if I'm bleeding, I quickly elaborate. "I'm feeling really light headed and lethargic. I just want to go see her."

"That's a good idea," he says. "She'll be able to give you an extra injection, as well as a transfusion if she deems it necessary. Have you taken your meds yet today?"

"I'm doing it now," I tell him as I reach into the cupboard for a glass of water. I pop the top from my pill bottle. "I just woke up."

"That bad, huh? I'll be there in ten minutes. What was the address again?"

I read it off to him quickly. "Thanks dad. Oh, and don't tell mom. You know that she'll just freak out and make a big deal out of nothing."

I hear him chuckle. "Don't worry, I will deceive your mother for you."

"Thanks. See you soon."

I hang up and pull a notepad and pen from a drawer on the bar. Rather than leaving a text for Levi, I write him a note and leave it on the bar. He's still at practice, and if sees a message from me saying that I went to the hospital, he's going to freak out and leave early. It's not that big of a deal. So using as non-emergency-ish vocabulary as I can, I tell him that I went to go see Hanji. I be sure to add in plenty of 'don't worry's and 'I'm okay's. I even put a smiley face at the bottom.

I send Hanji a text to tell her I'm on my way, and she replies almost immediately with an affirmation and a promise that she'll rearrange her schedule. I'm heading into the elevator when another thought pops into my mind. With a frustrated sigh I pull out my phone and send Levi a text asking if he could pick up the tuxes on his way home from practice. I hate to do that to him, considering he has been working his ass off at practice all day and I spent it sleeping, but by the time I finish with Hanji, the tailors will be closed.

I reach the ground floor and wait in the small lobby of the building near the doors, watching for my dad's car. When I see him pull up to the front, I drag my feet out of the building and into the passenger's seat.

"Other than the fatigue are you feeling okay?" he asks me as he pulls away from the curb. "Any unusual bruising or swelling? Joint pain? Headaches?"

"No and no, no, and no. I'm just so fucking tired," I reply, leaning my head back against the headrest and closing my eyes.

"Language," he says without any actual seriousness. "But that's good. It's probably just poor circulation. Nothing that an increase in your meds won't fix. I might ask Hanji to administer a transfusion though, just in case."

I nod, but don't open my eyes.

"Did you call Levi?"

"No. I left him a note at the apartment though. He's like mom, he likes to freak out. I didn't want him leaving practice early and pissing off his coach."

"He's a good man," my dad comments.

"Mm," I hum in agreement.

We're silent the rest of the ride and I'm almost asleep again when my dad pulls up to the hospital and shakes my arm to rouse me. I pry my eyes open and leave the car, following my dad into the hospital lobby where Hanji is waiting for us.

"So where are you bleeding and how badly, honey bunches?" she chirps.

"Not bleeding today," I reassure her with a grin.

"He's experiencing rather severe fatigue and lethargy," my dad offers. "I think all he needs is an additional dose of his medication."

"Of course," Hanji says with a smile. "I'll also put in an order for a transfusion. Our emergency room has been crazy this afternoon though so it could be a while before it gets approved."

"That's okay, as long as I'm out of here by nine tomorrow morning. I'll get married in a hospital gown if I have to, I just need to get married tomorrow."

Hanji chuckles as she leads us down the hall towards the elevator. "Don't worry, hun, we'll have you out of here tonight. You'll be able to get married to the short-stack in your pretty little tux."

Upstairs, she leads me to the very familiar corner of the hospital and a very familiar room. Hanji has me change into a gown and I crawl up onto the bed. When Hanji leaves to go get the injection, I lean my head back against the uncomfortable pillow and close my eyes.

"Oh no you don't," Hanji says, shaking my shoulder. "You need to stay awake hun, you've slept long enough."

I groan, but try to keep my eyes open anyway. Hanji gives me the injection, then instructs my dad to keep me awake while she attends to other patients and waits for my transfusion order to come in. My dad pulls a chair up to the side of the bed and immediately dives into wedding talk. He tells me how the set up is going and how nice everything looks. But he also asks enough questions to keep me talking and involved in the conversation so I don't fall asleep. And when he tells me to try and convince Levi to let him pay for at least half of the wedding, I just laugh. We've had this conversation before. My dad has had this conversation with Levi before. That's when he discovered just how stubborn Levi can be.

We're in the room for about an hour, talking about literally everything from the wedding to the trial to school and to my budding art career. It's then that my phone starts to ring on the table with my clothes, and my dad stands to grab it for me.

"It's your better half," he smirks, handing me the phone.

"Uh oh," I sing, taking the phone. I quickly think of what to say to show him I'm okay before answering. "Good afternoon, my love. How was practice?"

"Are you okay?" he immediately asks, ignoring my question.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" I reply lightly. "Some of my symptoms were acting up so my dad brought me to Hanji to get it under control. I'm okay, and I'll be ready to marry you tomorrow morning."

I hear his sigh on the other end. At least he believes me when I say that I am okay. Sometimes he doesn't. "I'll be there in a few okay?"

"Okay, you can relieve my dad from keep-Eren-awake duty," I snicker.

We hang up, and Levi arrives not fifteen minutes later. Hanji still hasn't come back with my transfusion yet, but I'm not expecting it any time soon. There's been days where I had waited over six hours for a transfusion. If my situation is not an emergency, then I end up at the bottom of the waiting list, continuously getting bumped down when emergencies pop up.

When Levi arrives, my dad excuses himself to go down to the cafeteria and get food for the three of us. Levi takes the seat my dad had previously been occupying and takes my hand.

"How do you feel?" he asks.

"Excited to get married to you tomorrow," I answer.

He rolls his eyes. "Not what I was looking for but acceptable."

"I'm okay. I woke up at three and I was just so tired," I whine. "And I felt really weak. They're both symptoms, so I figured I should get it under control before the wedding."

"We're going to be gone for six weeks in Europe," Levi says, a hint of worry coloring his voice. "Will you be okay to be gone for that long? I don't want anything to go wrong five thousand miles from home."

"Not to worry, short-stack!" Hanji assures him as she enters the room carrying a bag of thick crimson. She moves over to my IV stand and starts hooking up the bag. "I'm giving Eren an increased dose of his medication to last him the time he's gone, and I googled the city the World Cup is being held in and found a hematologist in a nearby hospital. I've sent him a referral and he agreed to take you on if you need any help while you're there. I'll give both of you his number. His English is passable, but his assistant is fluent and she assured me she'd assist if necessary. Don't worry, short-stack, I got you guys covered."

Levi nods and looks relieved. He squeezes my hand and I offer him a smile. Hanji finishes hooking up the bag to my arm and then checks my vitals.

"How are you feeling now, kid? Better? More awake?" she asks me.

"Yeah I am actually. I'm still a little tired but I don't feel like I'm about to fall asleep," I tell her.

"Good!" she smiles. "Once the transfusion finishes, I'll hold you for another hour, then you'll be free to leave and get ready to get married."

"Perfect," I reply with a smile of my own.

…

My heart is racing as I walk down the aisle, my arm tightly looped with Levi's. The smile on my face is almost painful, but I can't make it go away. This is the happiest day of my life after all. My eyes scan the crowds, and I'm easily able to pick out all my friends. Everyone was able to make it, and each one are in varying stages of happiness, with Armin, Krista, Bert, and Sasha in tears. My parents are in the front row, and my mom is also crying. I smile at her and she sniffles into a handkerchief, but smiles back.

At the altar, Levi releases my arm and we turn to face each other. An excited giggle threatens to bubble out of me, but I manage to force it down as I stare into the beautiful blue eyes of the love of my life. In a few short minutes he'll be my husband, and we'll be tied to one another for the rest of our lives.

All of the guests take their seats as the officiant begins the ceremony. I'm too excited, my ears ringing a little too loud, to really hear what the man is saying. I know that he's speaking but the words don't really register in my ears. The soft look in Levi's eyes though, the smile that pulls at his lips, and the way he holds my hands gently but securely in his… it keeps me grounded and focused on what's happening around us right now. It would be so easy otherwise for me to completely forget where we are and what we're doing, to get lost in the moment.

I don't know how Levi can appear so calm when I'm standing here about to leap out of my shoes. My hands are shaking, but his feel so steady. Is he as nervous and excited as I am, but just better at hiding it? He has had many years under the celebrity spotlight to learn how to control his nerves, but this isn't exactly another match. As I stare into his eyes as we read our vows though, I know that he's nervous too. Or maybe just excited. I can see the passion burning in the depth of his gaze. Maybe this is the happiest day of his life too.

When the officiant announces us married, all our friends and family cheer, and Levi leans in to press a kiss to my lips. Well I did it! I survived my wedding, and now I'm the luckiest husband to ever exist in the history of husbands. When Levi breaks off the kiss, that excited giggle decides it's no longer going to be contained. Levi responds with an endearing smile, and takes my hand as he leads me away from the altar.

The reception is a loud and joyous affair, and I easily allow myself to get swept up in it. My mother pulls me into a teary dance and tells me how happy and proud she is of me. She says that she couldn't have hoped for me to find a better man than Levi, and the sentiment almost puts me in tears. After our dance, Mikasa steps in.

"Mom is already a crying mess, you better not cry too," I tell her with a teasing smirk.

"I'm not about to cry!" she retorts, punching me in the arm. "I am happy for you Eren. I know how much the shorty means to you."

I let the insult slide, knowing it to be a teasing joke. I can hear the affection in her voice and know that she means what she says. I never imagined, when I first realized that I was attracted to men, that I'd ever get such overwhelming approval and support from my family. I always had faith in Mikasa's support, considering how close we were as children. I'm pretty sure that if I told her I was attracted to purple aliens with five legs and one eye, she would've supported me. Well maybe that's a little too much of an exaggeration, but still. Either way, it had always been my parents I worried about, mainly my father. But as I look over Mikasa's shoulder to see my dad talking with Levi, a smile on his face, I'm nearly overwhelmed.

I dance next with Sasha, then with Hanji. Hanji appears to be as excited as I am, only Hanji can't seem to contain it as I can. She's talking a mile a minute, and her dancing is probably two whole beats faster than the tempo of the song. But I laugh with her as she whips me around the dance floor. Armin eventually- after two songs- works up the courage to cut in on Hanji, and after I've danced with every single one of my friends, and even some of Levi's team members, Levi finally finally steps in.

"Mind if I have this dance," he asks of Farlan as the song comes to an end.

"I don't know," Farlan says, his voice holding a teasing tone. "This is quite a cutie I found here. I'm not sure I can let him go."

Levi shoots him a look and I laugh as Farlan steps back, his hands raised in surrender. There's a smile on his face though as Levi takes my hand, his other snaking around my waist. He pulls me in close and my heart leaps in my chest. I vaguely wonder if I will ever stop having this kind of reaction every time Levi touches me, but hope that I don't.

"I was wondering when you'd come back," I say as he leads me into a slow dance.

"I wasn't far," he assures me. "And I was enjoying watching you dance with your friends."

"I was kind of hoping you'd step in on Hanji," I tell him with a chuckle. "But Armin had to be the brave soldier and do it."

He laughs as he spins me around the dance floor. "Are you having fun?" he suddenly asks me, and I pull away from him just enough to look him in the eye.

"What kind of dumb question is that?" I reply. "Of course I'm having fun. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my entire life."

A relieved and affectionate smile pulls at his lips and he murmurs, "I'm glad," before leaning in to press his lips to mine.

It takes an absolutely tremendous effort to pull away from those lips. But the damage is already done and I lean in to whisper in Levi's ear. "How much longer do you think we have to hang around here before we can sneak away?"

Levi must be feeling the same heat I am because the seductive smirk he shoots me should be illegal. "I think we've stuck around long enough."

We quickly make our rounds, thanking everyone for coming. It takes much longer than I had hoped it would, especially with my mother, who pulls me into a hug and refuses to let go for a solid two minutes. But eventually we manage to leave the building and make our way towards Levi's car. We almost don't make it into the bedroom of Levi's loft, our hands and mouths greedy and impatient. We start shedding our tuxes just out of the elevator, and leave a trail leading all the way to the bed.

My back hits the bed and Levi is quick to follow me onto it, his lips connecting back with mine. His tongue traces my lower lip and I let him in. I can feel his hands firm along my sides and arms and I shiver at his touch. I lift my own my hands to run them down his abs, across his stomach and to his hard cock. His hand wraps around mine, pulling it away from his erection.

"Slow down," he breathes against my lips. "We have all the time in the world."

My breath hitches and a shiver runs down my spine. The weight of that sentence plays heavily on my heart. It's true. I mean… it's been true for months. Really, ever since Levi proposed, I knew he'd be here with me forever. But now, it's true. There was always the possibility that he would change his mind and back out. Now he can't. Now we're married. So Levi is right. We have the rest of our lives to be together.

The impatient, greedy heat turns into slow, passionate love. Levi's hands are soft and gentle as he caresses every inch of my body. His lips follow his fingers as he worships my skin. He takes extra care over the permanent bruises and scars marring the creases of my elbows from countless transfusions and injections. He presses soft kisses to each bruise, even adding some more across my collarbones and neck. When he finally turns his attention to the heat between my legs, he doesn't pick up the pace. He takes a torturous amount of time teasing my cock and easing me open. Every movement of his hands, his fingers, his lips, and his cock as he slides into me, is so full of love and passion.

As Levi makes love to me, I can't help but think about how much our relationship has changed since it began. Our relationship started as sex, nothing more, nothing less. And the sex was nothing like it is now. It was rough and mechanical and kinky- not that Levi isn't still incredibly kinky sometimes- but there had been no feeling, no emotion behind it. It was solely for the purpose of getting laid. But now, there's so much else there that I can't even begin to describe it all. It's like I've released Levi from the mask he had forced himself to hide behind, one that after so long had just become who he was. He is still the same man that I idolized, had a fortunate encounter with, and fell in love with. Only now, Levi is able to return all of my feelings and then some. And the sex is even better than it ever had been because of it.

Levi and I make love to each other for hours, very thoroughly enjoying our first night as a married couple. Our flight to Europe tomorrow isn't until the early afternoon, so we have plenty of time to sleep in and pack before we leave. When the both of us have finally had our fill, we simply lay in each others' arms. Neither of us says a word, but we don't have to. It's all already been said. Levi's fingers play with the two bands on my left ring finger, spinning them around and tracing over the gems of my engagement ring. I'm almost asleep, having been lulled by the steady beat of Levi's heart beneath my ear, when Levi breaks the silence.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he breathes, his voice barely audible despite the dead silence of the early morning hours.

"I should be asking you that," I murmur in response.

I can feel him smile into my hair as his arms shift to hold me tightly against him. In the warmth of his embrace, and to the steady rhythm of his breaths, I finally fall asleep.

…

The next day is a flurry of activity and excitement. Isabel is coming to the World Cup with us, having managed to convince her agency that her most important client needed her to accompany him. She stops by the flat an hour before we need to leave, with Mike in tow. We all eat lunch together as Isabel and I exchange excited conversation. Levi and I finish packing our bags, and we hit the road.

The flight is long and boring, but when we land in Amsterdam, it's go go go again. Isabel takes us to our hotel to check in, and Levi tells me that I can stay in the room if I'd like while he and Mike go to meet the team, but I decide that I'd much rather go with them. Meeting the team seems pretty exciting, and I'm too giddy to just sit around in the room for an hour or however long it takes.

Our rooms- with the exception of Isabel's- were reserved for us by Team USA. Isabel explains that the whole team is being hosted here, and that any team meetings that aren't going to be held at the field will be held here in the hotel conference room, including this meet-up. Our flight was the last one of the teams' to get in, so the meet-up had been scheduled for right after our arrival. I'm a little nervous when I follow Levi, Mike, and Isabel into the conference room, but it fades when I see I'm not the only non team member present. I see a couple of wives, even a handful of children, and one player has a younger man with him that looks exactly like him. A brother maybe? It seems that Levi and I weren't the only ones that decided to make a family vacation out of this event.

As the four of us join the others and take our seats, an older man stands. He must be the coach. "I want to thank all of you for accepting our invitation and joining Team USA this year. Every single one of you showed incredible talent and skill during your MLS season this year, and we are honored to have you here to play for your country."

I zone out as the coach continues his speech, introducing himself and his staff, then launching into practice and match schedules and such. Instead I glance around the room at the rest of the team. I recognize a lot of the players from their MLS teams, and it suddenly hits me how exciting it is to be sitting in a room with America's best soccer players. Forget that I'm married to one of them, this is really fucking exciting. And, over the next few weeks, I'll be able to watch every single one of their practices and matches. This is probably the best honeymoon a soccer fan could ever have wished for, and I'm here with my once idol and now husband, Levi Ackerman.

I know the wedding was probably disappointing to all of you that were really excited for it, but the simple fact is that apparently I can't write weddings. The rest of the chapter was finished a long time ago, I just couldn't figure out how to write the wedding XP

So I hate to say it, but there's only going to be one more chapter. There MIGHT be two, but expect the next one to be the last one :(