Those few simple words chilled Eren right down to the bone, and a million horrible thoughts filled his head so fast that it made adrenaline flood his body. He froze in place, hardly daring to move. His father knew, didn't he? He knew about him and Levi and he was going to report them. They would be tossed in jail and their reputations would be ruined. He would never get his art out there and Levi would never get his book published. Then they would end up like poor Thomas, dead and forsaken on the side of the road. He debated on what he should do: leave, and head back to his room where he would lock the door so he wouldn't have to face this conversation? Or stay and face the music?

Quickly, he decided that it would look more suspicious if he left. Besides, there was always that small hope that his father didn't know and that he was going to talk about something completely different, like the fact that he still didn't have his lift together. Yes, perhaps this was just another lecture. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he did as he was asked, sitting down at the table. He decided at that moment though that if his father had indeed found out, it didn't matter. He would threaten him into silence, do whatever it took to keep himself and Levi safe. Squaring his shoulders, he looked his father in the eye, his own flaming defiantly.

Grisha wisely sat a couple chairs away from him, knowing how his son could get when he heard news that he didn't like. He had a tendency to lash out at whatever made him angry, and quite often that person was him. Folding his hands on the table, he said to Eren, "I know you haven't been looking for a girl to be your wife, though I've asked and asked you to. I've never seen you come here with any girls, none of my friends have seen you with any girls either. Even when I gave you a deadline, you made no efforts. Despite every threat I've implemented, you haven't changed."

Every single word just made Eren angrier and angrier. His hand on the table tightened into a fist, knuckles pushing against his skin. He was about to argue with him, to say that he didn't care about his threats, that he didn't have any control over him anymore. He was on the verge of making his own way in the world by following his passion, and he didn't need his father telling him how she should and shouldn't be living his life. But before he could say any of that, Grisha kept right on talking.

"However, no matter what you may think, and I know you're too young to realize this now, but your reputation is everything. An unmarried man without children won't be seen as trustworthy or have as good a character as a married man with children. A married man will have more job opportunities and will be able to climb higher in his company. I'm just looking out for your future. And since you seem bent on destroying your opportunities and your future, I'm making one last effort to save it, one last effort to make sure that you become a respectable citizen and not a hysterical madman like Carla. I know it's not December yet, but I've gone ahead and found a girl from a good family for you. You will meet her, court her, and then marry her, and this time it's not a suggestion; it's a command."

Eren bared his teeth in a snarl. He knew he should feel relieved that it appeared that his father hadn't figured out about his relationship between him and Levi, but he just couldn't, he was so blinded by his sudden rage. He growled, "Yes, you've told me hundreds of times why I need to get married, and hundreds of times I've told you that I won't. How many times do I need to say it before you get it through your thick skull? I'm twenty-one years old, not two. I'm old enough to know what I want in life, and those plans don't, nor will they ever include marriage. If I succeed or fail, that has nothing to do with you or your reputation. Now for the last time, drop it. If I ever hear you mention this again, I'll knock your teeth so far down your throat you'll be shitting them for months."

They stared each other down like a couple of angry alley cats, waiting for the other to look away first. However, they were two stubborn halves of the same whole, so they held each other's gaze for several seconds. Finally, Grisha broke the standoff, saying, "I tried to do this the easy way, but I don't know why I even bothered. We always have to do things the hard way with you, don't we?"

Eren scoffed. There was literally nothing his father could threaten him with, and he dared him with a smirk to take his best shot. However, he should have known better than to underestimate Grisha Jaeger.

"Your friend, Levi…" he began. "You two have become pretty close in the last year. I'd dare even say you're as close to him as you are Mikasa, aren't you?"

That was putting it mildly, Eren thought sarcastically, but he did not like where this was going, not at all. His heart thudded hard in his chest, trying to lodge itself in his throat, and before his father could say another word, he growled, "You leave him out of this. He has nothing to do with the conflict between you and me. He pays his rent here and behaves himself, as well as helps out here when he can. You have nothing on him that you can threaten him with anyway."

Grisha ignored him, knowing it was a desperate, scared attempt to keep him from speaking anymore. Besides, he absolutely had something he could threaten him with. "You're right. But I'm still within my right to kick him out of my home if I see fit. And from the way I see it, he's been a bad influence on you this whole time. He hasn't encouraged you to get a stable job or get married either. If he were any sort of friend, he would agree with me and tell you that you need to go back to school."

Eren shook his head, growing colder and colder with horror. Still, he bristled with defensive fury, almost shouting, "He's my friend because he encourages me to do the things I love. That's what friends do. You would know that if you had any. All you have are colleagues who stroke your ego and tell you it's not your fault that I act the way I do, that you're the perfect parent and I'm the problem."

"You're not helping your case any, Eren."

"I don't care! I'm sick of people seeing you as so fucking perfect while I'm this wild animal that's ruining your reputation. Why don't you tell them the truth? Tell them that you took my mother away from me and then took yourself away by burying yourself in your work so I've had to go looking for affection in other places, affection that you should be providing for me? That the thought of losing any more people that I care about scares me so bad that I can't function? All Mikasa and I have had for the past ten years. We've raised each other. Then my friends at the pub raised me, and now Levi is helping to shape me into the adult that I want to become. That was all your job, father. Don't go blaming me for your mistakes, not again."

Grisha shook his head at him, not acknowledging a thing he said. "You're responsible for your own reputation, Eren. You can't go blaming your parents for all of your problems. Now I'll say it again. You will meet with this girl, court her, and marry her. You do not have a choice. You will do this or I will throw Levi out of our home, and I will make sure that you never see him again. Do you understand? And don't go saying that I'm taking away someone else you care about again. You brought this on yourself. Those are your options, Eren. Take them or leave them."

He was serious about this. Eren ground his teeth, trying to cover up how frightened he was. This couldn't be happening. Okay, he didn't know about his and Levi's secret, but he knew his father absolutely had the power to make it so that he would never see his lover again. His father had a high standing in the community with connections everywhere. He could spread any number of rumors that he wanted and ruin Levi's life in any number of ways. He could make it so that Levi was fired from his job, banned from stores, and run out of town. People would believe anything his father said because he was a "nice guy" and no one would believe Levi because he was just a nobody, someone without family or many friends to fight for his honor.

The frustration burned in Eren's gut, welling up until it made tears sting his eyes. It just wasn't fair. He and Levi hadn't done anything to anyone. So why did they have to be punished like this? All he wanted to do his own thing, and he could see his dad's point of view, but this was getting out of hand. As much as Eren had always tried to run away from his father, and as much as he thought he was finally getting away from him, it turned out that he was no closer to being his own person than he was before he met Levi. Grisha still had complete control over him, and the realization of this fact made him feel sick.

"Well?" his father said expectantly. "You only have a minute to decide. You said you're an adult and you want to pick your own path? Here's your chance."

Eren made a strangled sound in his throat, fighting back tears, his throat burning. He could barely stand it. He looked from Grisha's shoes to the cinnamon bun that he had planned to bring for Levi. His innocent, lovely Doll. He couldn't imagine him surviving one day on the streets. His father was right; he was an adult now, which meant that he couldn't afford to be selfish. He had to think of others, and most importantly, he had to protect the person he loved the most.

And when he really thought about it, when he looked inside himself, he discovered that if it meant Levi could be kept safe, he would throw away his own wants and dreams in a heartbeat.

Eren swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look his father in the eye as he ground out in a defeated voice, "Fine. I'll do it. I'll marry this girl and go back to school. You won, Grisha. I hope you're happy."

And with that, he stood up from the chair, pushing it aside so that it made a loud screech against the floor, and he stomping rapidly away from the table, just in time for his tears to finally fall.

From the kitchen, he made his way towards Mikasa's room, knowing that he couldn't be by himself right now, and he couldn't bear to tell Levi what was going on just yet. If the other man started crying because of what he said, he wouldn't be able to take it. So, at the moment, Mikasa was the best option. He burst into her room, uncaring whether or not she was awake. Thankfully at this point, she was, and dressed. She looked very surprised to see him, regarding him with wide eyes at the sound of her door creaking open and then Eren barreling in. She was even more shocked when he practically ran in and threw himself on her bed, dissolving into tears the second the door was shut and his face was buried in her blankets.

When his back started heaving on sobs, that was when her surprise changed to concern, and within moments she was racing over to the bed and sitting down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder, asking, "Eren? What's the matter?"

But Eren didn't answer her for several minutes, unable to stop crying long enough to get any words out. He just kept crying and crying, seemingly incapable of pulling himself together. It frightened Mikasa greatly, since, although Eren wasn't afraid to show his emotions and cried quite often when he was upset, it was never usually for this long or this hard. What could have happened to upset him so much?

After a few minutes of petting his hair and back and letting him know that she was there to talk when he was ready, he finally seemed to regain his senses a bit to explain to her what happened, telling her everything their father said word for word.

"He's a monster," he finished with, still scrubbing at his red eyes. "He wants to mold me into someone like into someone like him so that I don't become someone like mom. And he's using Levi as leverage because he knows he can't use you anymore now that you're with Benjamin and you'll have a stable future ahead of you. I didn't offer Levi to stay here just for Grisha to turn around and do this to him. He's done nothing wrong."

Mikasa hummed in agreement, and then added nonchalantly, "No, you offered Levi to stay here because you love him and didn't want to see him homeless on the streets or in a poorhouse."

Eren nearly leapt off the bed, a combination of icy, sickening shock and an incredible, unholy amount of terror coursing through him. He sat up abruptly, his expression morphing from shock into a glare, and he defending, "I'm not"-

"Eren, don't bother," she cut him off, not unkindly. "You're not exactly very good at hiding it. I'm actually surprised our father hasn't found out, though I think he suspects something. But I and even some of the staff know or suspect it. You two are always together, always close. I've seen you hold hands under the table, and I've seen you two leave the barn more than once wearing each other's ties. I've even heard you leave his room early in the morning sometimes. Trust me, you're not fooling anyone. Thankfully most of the staff is loyal to you because you've been so kind to them. But their loyalty will only stretch so far unfortunately because you're not the one writing their paychecks."

The boy had absolutely no idea how to react to that. This was it, he figured. All of his reckless activity and carelessness was finally coming back to bite him. She was right and he couldn't deny it. All he could do was bow his head and wait for her to say, "I think we need to get the police involved," and he could fight it all he wanted, but some of the other staff knew too and they'd be able to back her up. God, this day just kept getting worse and worse, didn't it? His world was crashing down around him. Tears sprung up in his eyes anew, and it was all he could do not to faint.

Instead, to his utter astonishment, she placed a hand on top of his head and ruffled his hair, just like she would do sometimes when they were little kids and he had done something she found cute. His eyes widened, even as tears continued to flow down his cheeks. He was just so completely shocked that he couldn't move, couldn't react. What was she doing?

"It's okay," she reassured him. "I've known for a while now. If I were going to tell anyone, I would have done it by now. I mean, I don't understand it and I think it's queer beyond imagination, but you're my brother and I don't want to see you in jail."

He sighed heavily, shaking his head, wiping at his eyes but leaning into her hand. "Mikasa you…" He couldn't articulate what he was feeling, not at all. So he settled on, "Thank you."

She patted his head and put her hand back down by her side, unsure of what to say next. So Eren decided to ask, "So, the reason you find it queer is because I'm in love with another man?"

"Well, is that not queer?"

"I suppose it is if you're not used to it. Levi thought so at first too."

"Wait…you didn't coerce him into this did you?"

Eren gave her an astonished look. "No! Of course not, you know me better than that! He's always known he fancied lads rather than women, just like I have. It's…I don't know how to explain it. You know how women know they want to marry a man? That just know from a young age that they find men desirable? I felt the same way. And so did Levi. And now we love each other as much as any husband and wife might. Two men are just as capable of loving each other deeply as a man and a woman."

She sighed, shaking her head, the confusion on her face showing him that she clearly didn't get it. But still, she said, "I still don't understand it, and I think it's unnatural, but because I love you and want you to be happy, I'll support you. And like I said before, I won't say anything to anyone."

Well, he figured that was about as good as he was going to get, and to be honest, it was far better of a result than he could have hoped for. Though he didn't appreciate some of her comments about his and Levi's love being unnatural, as they didn't see it that way, he knew he should just be thankful that she wasn't going to report him and leave it at that. So, he pulled her into a hug, and was grateful that she hugged him back.

"I appreciate it," he told her sincerely, "more than you know. You're a good sister, Mikasa. Better than many blood related sisters are to their brothers."

She didn't say anything in response to that, just continuing to hold him for a minute in silence, before she eventually said, "You need to be more careful though. At least, in the time you have left before you get married. I guess…enjoy the time you have left with Levi until then."

Oh heavens, Eren hadn't even considered that. His heart stuttered to a stop in his chest, and suddenly he couldn't breathe. He just hoped Mikasa didn't notice the change in his posture or demeanor; he didn't want to give anything away. She couldn't know just how terribly devoted he was to his boy, though he had a feeling she already suspected.

God, how was he going to explain this to Levi?

000

Later that morning, Eren's father told him that they were going to meet his bride to be that afternoon where they were going to talk a bit and get to know each other. It made Eren cringe inside to hear it, and even more so when he agreed to do so without a fight.

And he still hadn't told Levi what was going on.

That breakfast was certainly an awkward one, and he absolutely hated the fact that he didn't allow himself to sit next to his lover when he eventually came down to eat, yawning and bedhead out of control. He was so cute that Eren could barely take it, and all he wanted to do was ruffle it up more. But of course he held himself back, keeping his gaze straight ahead and hardly acknowledging Levi's presence in the room at all. He had to convince his father fully that he was going to do as he said so as not to jeopardize Levi's living situation in any way. Out of the corner of his eye though, he swore he could see the other man's smile drop just a bit when he didn't receive his usual hello from his boy when he sat down at the table, and it absolutely killed Eren to see it.

This was going to be so much harder than he thought.

It wasn't until after they left the table, Eren waiting several minutes after Levi got up and left to leave himself, that he caught up to him and swiftly pulled him into his room, shutting the door behind them. He even locked it for good measure. Upon seeing this, Levi smirked a bit, misinterpreting what was going on.

"You're certainly getting bold, Aurora," he said as Eren walked quickly over towards him. "It's the middle of the day, you know. Anyone could hear us in"-

He didn't get to finish his sentence though, as he was cut off abruptly by his boy pulling him into a hard embrace, practically making his spine crack. The air was pushed out of Levi's lungs with an "oof," and he froze up, wondering what was going on. The embrace was so desperate, frighteningly so, and if that wasn't worrisome enough, then the harsh, shaking breaths next to his ear definitely were.

He blinked in surprise over his shoulder, hands hovering over his back for a moment before he hugged him back, wondering what on Earth was going on. "Eren? What's wrong?"

At his innocent question, Eren just squeezed him tighter, cupping the back of his head. He found himself bursting into tears all over again; what was wrong with him today? He couldn't remember crying this much in a long time. He found himself babbling, "It's bad Levi. Everything is so bad. It's all…I'm sorry."

Levi felt ice forming in his veins, making all of his limbs feel cold and numb. He wriggled in his hold and pushed away from him. "Eren," he asked seriously, reaching up and cupping his face in his hands, "Eren does…does someone know? Did someone find out about us?"

The boy sniffed, taking hold of both of his hands with his own, rubbing his knuckles. "Well, yes and no. Here let's- let's sit on the bed. I'll tell you what's going on."

Stunned, Levi let himself be led over to the bed where they sat down on the edge. Eren kept holding onto his hands, stroking his knuckles, but he couldn't meet his eyes. He looked so ashamed, but of what? What could he have done since this morning that warranted such shame and sadness? He tried to dip his head so that he could look him in the eye, but Eren wouldn't lift his head in response. It was so disheartening to see.

Eventually, the boy explained what his father wanted him to do in a low, distant voice, as if he wasn't fully present. The more he kept talking though, the more Levi found himself dying inside, feeling sicker and sicker with every word he said.

"So it looks like he doesn't know for sure, but Mikasa does," Eren finished. When Levi's eyes widened, he assured him, "It's alright…though she doesn't understand our relationship, she supports us and she said she won't tell anyone, and I believe her. I've never known her to lie about anything serious like that."

For several beats, Levi didn't say anything. It was a lot to take in after all. There was sweat prickling uncomfortably on his back and he still felt like he was going to throw up. When he could finally form thoughts again, his first words were, "I'm sorry that you're being put through this, Eren. It's all my fault, and if you want, I could move out. I'm sure if I wasn't here, your father wouldn't be"-

"Now stop right there," Eren told him firmly. "This is absolutely not your fault. My father has been looking for a way to blackmail me into doing what he wants for years. If he hadn't used you, he would have used Mikasa, or someone else close to me. He knows I care about other people more than I care about myself."

Levi sighed, stopping himself from saying anything else. He didn't want to argue with him, and he supposed what he was saying was true. Grisha was just that kind of person. Instead, he asked in a small voice, "So he's taking you to meet this girl this afternoon. Has he at least told you anything about her?"

Eren shrugged. "Just that her name is Emma Hayes and she belongs to a family well-bred northerners that have lived here ever since the colonial days. Their family is made up old money and they're very respectable, though I guess her father is a colleague of my father's in the next town over, the one Erwin and Armin are moving to. Other than that, well, I guess I'm going to find out more today."

He wilted further in front of Levi's eyes, bowing until his head was almost in his lap. The older man placed a hand on his head, working tangles out of his long hair, and the gentle touch just undid Eren further. He found himself saying with despair, "I just don't know what I'm going to do. I know I have to do this, but I- I'm betraying you while I do it. And Mikasa brought up that we won't be able to be together anymore once I'm married and- God Levi, I just can't."

He choked up, the rest of his words dying in his throat. Levi felt more of his warm tears dripping onto his lap, and his own eyes stung. This just wasn't fair, and he knew he could think that as much as he wanted but it wasn't going to help anything.

This was reality for people like them. They had known this from the very beginning. After all, most of the people at the pub were married. To think they could escape such a fate was naïve, and truthfully they should could themselves lucky that they had been able to get away with their relationship this long. But all good things had to come to an end, didn't they? Everyone had to wake up from their dreams eventually, and then at some point those dreams would fade away. He stroked Eren's hair, a sorrowful but accepting smile on his face.

"It'll be okay," he murmured. "You know as well as I do that in order for you stay safe and for people not to get suspicious, it's better if you get married. No matter what, you know I'll always love you, even if I have to do so from a distance. You'll always be my Aurora, and even if- even if you're sharing your bed with someone else and telling someone else that you love them, that'll never change, and it'll never change how I feel about you."

Far from comforting him, his words made the boy sob harder, his shoulders heaving. He pushed his head against Levi's chest, and without hesitation, the older man held it there, shushing and murmuring in his ear, "Shh, it's alright. We'll get through this. No matter what, I'll always be by your side, supporting you."

"Levi," Eren cried, "I…I'm not strong enough…"

"What?" he asked, wanting to know what he meant by that.

The boy straightened up, looking Levi directly in the eye. God, his face was full of so much pain that it tore the older man's heart to shreds. His cheeks were streaked with tears and his nose was running. His eyes were bloodshot as well, and Levi couldn't take it anymore. He reached up and wiped away at his tears with his sleeve. Eren shivered, and said, "I'm not strong enough to stay away from you. Not even at the prospect of being married to someone else. I refuse to wake up from this fairytale we've been living, alright? We'll just have to change how the story goes a bit, but I'm not going to give up. You're my precious prince, and no one else will be able to replace you."

Levi could barely believe what he was hearing. So Eren would be willing to be unfaithful to his future wife so that he could still be with him? That was so vile, so morally wrong, so low and wrong to someone who had done nothing wrong.

And yet Levi couldn't bring himself to tell him so, because it was everything he wanted to hear. When he looked deep inside, he found that he too was pitifully weak, too weak to stay away from Eren either. His boy was the most important thing in his life, and if he was forced to give him up, he was sure he would go right back to what he was before he met him; an anxious, lonely mess who retreated to his room and never came out because the darkness underneath his blankets was preferable to the real world. The very thought horrified him, and it just made him hold onto Eren tighter.

"I can't stay away from you either," he found himself admitting. "I-I'm sorry. I know I should say differently, but I'm too weak. I need you, Eren. You're everything to me."

For some reason, Eren felt a somewhat hysterical bubble of laughter well up in his chest and release itself. It was congested and sounded awful, but it was still laughter. And through it, he kissed Levi briefly, and told him, "We're both horrible. The lowest of the low."

Levi nodded in agreement, and found himself laughing as well.

Suddenly, Eren got an idea. "Wait…before I get married to this girl, maybe you and I should get married."

Levi looked taken aback, his eyes round and huge. "W-What?"

Excited now, Eren sniffed and wiped at his nose, continuing, "Yeah. Yeah, you and I should get married. At the pub, in front of our friends. They could get things set up for us. I could get some rings made…that way when I got married to Emma, it would be nulled because I would already be married. And then someday, when I'm making lots of money from my art, after I get that beach house I promise you made, you and I can run away from here. We can run away somewhere where no one can find us, somewhere we can be together. There's still hope for us, Levi. We can do this."

The older man couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded too good to be true, far too good. But then again, pretty much everything Eren told him always seemed too good to be true, and then he made it happen. So maybe, as fantastic as this sounded, he could make this happen as well? In the wake of their lives crumbling down around them, he had to cling to any shred of hope that was thrown his way. And if Eren said he could make it work, he would believe him.

"Yes," Levi found himself agreeing, growing more and more eager the more he thought about it. Excitedly, he nodded, taking Eren's face in his hands and kissing him, "Yes, yes. Of course I'll marry you. And I'll hold you to that. You're right Eren. Our fairytale isn't over yet."