Okay, this chapter is light and fluffy, so I hope you enjoy it! In fact, the next few chapters will probably be pretty lighthearted, so happy reading! Don't forget to review! Loves ~HeartQueenVivaldi

The Choice We Make

Chapter 4

Christmas was only days away for Levi and Eren, and Eren was ashamed to think he hadn't gotten Levi anything. Well, he kind of had an excuse. He had been attacked by his roommate, then was distracted by finals, and he'd been so excited to be home with Levi for the break that it totally slipped his mind. That last one wasn't a very good excuse, but one couldn't really blame him. He had been through a lot over the last four months.

But now, instead of making excuses, Eren found himself rather guilty. Levi did nothing but spend and spend and spend on him, and Eren couldn't even remember to get one measly gift… well, he really had to get two, since Levi's birthday was also on Christmas.

Eren groaned as he scrolled through Amazon for ideas but was coming up with nothing at all. What do you get a person who buys himself everything he ever wants or needs? What do you buy someone with more money than they know what to do with? He was positive he would never be able to top his gift from last year, either. Levi looked through those photo albums almost every day.

But there wasn't time to hand make something at this point. Levi did love art. He could paint something for them to hang on the wall, but he needed a little more time for that, especially if he were to have it framed.

Eren let his phone fall next to his head and he spread his arms out to either side of him on the bed. He scowled at the ceiling. Why didn't he have any good ideas? Maybe he could just get Levi a gift card… He scoffed at his own idea and rolled over. That wasn't good enough for Levi. It never would be.

Eventually, becoming more and more frustrated as the minutes passed without ideas, Eren decided to get up, put shoes and a coat on, and go for a drive. Perhaps he would come up with something that way. He walked down the stairs and Levi looked up from the piano when Eren stepped down onto the bottom step.

Levi stopped playing and looked Eren up and down. He had on a coat and shoes, and the keys to the Jaguar in hand. "Where are you going?"

"For a drive. I'll be back." Eren said vaguely, because even he didn't know where he was going, really.

"Can I come with you?" Levi asked, standing up from the piano bench.

Eren laughed. "Now that would ruin the point of this trip, wouldn't it? No, you can't." Eren answered and approached Levi to give him a kiss.

Levi raised an eyebrow at him, "going to get me a gift? You don't need to get me anything. I'm just happy having you here. That's the perfect gift."

"Yet I'm sure you've gotten me something expensive and possibly shiny. No, I'm getting you a gift." Eren replied, hoping he was right about the shiny part. Shiny, round, and silver or gold. Maybe there would even be a diamond in it.

Levi rolled his eyes, but kissed Eren once more and sent him on his way with a pat on the bottom. "If you insist. Then you better get going, Brat."

"I'll be back soon. I promise." Eren said and went out to the garage. He climbed into his shiny, blue Jaguar that was Levi's anniversary gift to him and pulled out onto the road, already trying to come up with possibilities for gifts. His boyfriend really was impossible to shop for.

After driving around town for a half an hour and still having no idea what to get Levi, Eren decided to give Eric a call. Perhaps Levi's brother would have some insight. Eric picked up on the second ring. "Eren, what can I do ya for?"

Eren rolled his eyes. "I forgot to get Levi Christmas and Birthday presents, and I have no ideas. What should I get him?"

"Hmm. I honestly don't know. Cory and I didn't know what to get him either. I ended up just getting him a movie and an Amazon gift card so he can buy himself something. What ideas have you had?" Eric asked.

"I just told you I have none. I kyboshed a few things already. I thought about giving him a gift card, but it didn't seem right. He does so much for me, and I repay him with a gift card? No way. So, I thought, he likes art, so if I hadn't forgotten until now, I could have painted something and had it framed, but with Christmas only three days away, that's not really possible anymore." Eren stopped. He really didn't have any ideas beyond that.

"Well, you're artsy. Think of something that would be quick, easy, and means something to the both of you. Is there a picture of the two of you that you could make a frame for of some kind? Or he's been really liking decorating his house for the different holidays. You could make him a decoration. Whatever you do, I'll tell you this. He much prefers if you make something. He doesn't care how much you spend. He just cares that it came from you, because he loves you. That much is as obvious as it gets."

Eren sighed, "really?"

"Yes, really. Now, go get something simple and make it look good." Eric said.

Eren thanked him and they hung up. Eric had said he could frame a picture of them. That was something he could do easily. He could send in a picture from his phone and have it printed. He could pick it up within the hour. He also had some ideas for how to frame it that weren't your standard frame. He could work with that.

With his idea in mind, Eren scrolled through his phone and sent his favorite photo to the print shop. He then turned his car toward the local art store. He would need some supplies.

…

When Eren left, Levi decided it was as good an opportunity as he would get to set up what he wanted to. He went into the office to start wrapping gifts. He had a lot of them this year. There would be just as many people staying in his home this year as there was the year before, and he had bought something for each and every one of them, including the crazy Jaeger grandparents. He even bought a chew toy and a bag of treats for Bear the dog. He would never admit it, but he actually really liked the goldendoodle.

But of course, he had bought multiple things for Eren. He couldn't help it. Every time he saw something that he thought Eren might like, he bought it. In his opinion, Eren deserved to be spoiled more than anyone ever should.

When Levi got to the last gift that he had hidden in the office, he smiled a little as he opened the little box. Sitting inside was something that would soon change his life forever. Something he could never take back. Weirdly, he was okay with that. He welcomed this change. He knew Eren was waiting for this specific gift, and that gave Levi some peace of mind. It didn't change the fact that he was nervous though.

Shaking that off, Levi nearly grinned at the thought of Eren wearing this one. Without further contemplation, Levi pulled the ring out, hid it in his desk, and wrapped the empty box. All part of the plan, of course. It would be a morning to remember.

Levi finished just in time as he heard the door to the garage open, and Eren call out for Levi. The raven walked out to meet his boyfriend, who had a bag held behind his back. He kissed the brunet and asked, "so, what did you get?"

Eren scoffed. "As if I'm going to tell you."

Levi shrugged. "Fine. I wrapped gifts while you were gone. Help me carry them to the tree?" Levi asked, leading the way into the office.

"I'm a horrible person, you know." Eren said, following behind Levi.

"Why do you say that?" Levi asked.

"I forgot to get everyone a gift. You're the only person who is getting anything from me." Eren said with a pout.

"I know. That's why I put that everything here is from the both of us. Don't worry about it. I've got you covered."

Eren looked at Levi softly. "What would I do without you?"

"Be embarrassed that you didn't get anyone a gift for Christmas. It's alright. I don't mind sharing my gifts with you." Levi chuckled when Eren pulled a face, sticking his tongue out teasingly. "Careful, or I'll be tempted to bite that tongue."

Eren just laughed and stuffed his supplies into the bottom drawer of Levi's desk and told him not to peek. Then they got to work moving gifts from the office to the living room and laying them all out under the tree. Levi made sure he was the only one who saw the label on the little box and tucked it nicely into the tree where no one would see it until he pointed it out.

…

All guests arrived on Christmas eve, and they had a nice dinner. Everyone seemed to be getting used to each other by now, and even the Jaegers behaved themselves all evening. They sat around watching movies until late at night, then everyone dispersed to go to bed.

"This year is going much smoother, isn't it?" Erwin said as he walked down the hallway with an arm around Mike.

"I couldn't agree more, Erwin." Eric agreed from behind, giving Cory a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Well, no one will soon forget last year's events, that's for sure." Grandma Ella said from her place in the front of the group, already on her way up the stairs.

The group laughed at that but agreed. "I'm rather happy for the peace. I wouldn't trade it for anything." Levi said, more to Eren than anything, leading him into their bedroom and wishing everyone a good night.

…

Christmas morning was met with tired smiles and excitement all around. There was a very large stack of presents under and around the tree, and stockings lining the front of the fireplace, just like last year. Presents were opened in a not-so-orderly fashion, though, unlike last year. Everyone just kind of went for it.

Levi smiled when he opened his gift from Eren. A picture of the two of them smiling at the camera and in a unique frame. Eren had taken a thick piece of glass and painted the words "Enjoy the little things" onto the front. The photo was held to the back by a metal plate and magnets. It was a perfect thing to put on his desk in the office. He went to put it there immediately so that it wouldn't get ruined. He also needed to grab something from the drawer.

Eren received at least ten different things from Levi, of course. He got a few nice shirts that he could wear when they went out on dates, a pair of shoes, a gold watch, and some art supplies. He was only missing one thing to top it off. Levi finished cleaning up the wrapping paper and then said to Carla, who was standing close to the tree. "I think I see one more, Carla. On the tree, there in the back. It looks small."

Levi didn't bother sitting down. He stood so that Eren was between him and the tree and waited, watching what would happen and hoping it would go exactly as he wanted it to. Carla pulled the little box from its place on the tree and read the label. "It's for Eren. But it doesn't say who it's from."

Eren took the little box and shook it a little close to his ear and his face scrunched when he didn't hear anything. He peeled the wrapping paper off and looked at the plain, black box, turning it around in his hand. He looked at Levi and Levi just nodded toward the box. Eren smiled and opened it, only to find it empty.

When he turned back around, Levi was already on one knee, holding out the ring, still in his pajamas and sporting his bed head. The diamonds in the band stood out against the dark silver, almost black background of the band itself. His heart pounded in his chest, but he spoke as if he wasn't affected by it at all. "Eren Jaeger. I know I said I would do this earlier than now, but Christmas seemed like a good time to do it. I love you, and I want to keep you forever. So, will you marry me?"

A massive grin broke out on Eren's face and he fell to his knees in front of Levi, practically screaming "yes" over and over again. He crashed into Levi, wrapping his arms around Levi's neck and planting a kiss on Levi's mouth, then another on his cheek, then his brow, nose, and so on.

Levi just chuckled at Eren's antics and finally had to push him away to get him to stop. "Here, let's put this on before I drop it and we lose it or something stupid."

Eren nodded and half-laughed, half-sobbed as he held his left hand out and Levi placed the ring carefully on his ring finger. It fit perfectly. He didn't know how Levi knew his ring size, nor did he care much. He was just so happy to finally have a ring in the first place.

This time when Eren went for a kiss, it was passionate and full of emotion. Levi used his thumbs to wipe away Eren's tears when it was over. They were pulled out of their own little world by clapping and wolf-whistling coming from everyone else in the room. Levi looked around at the people he chose to have around him during this moment.

Erwin, Mike, and Hanji all stood close by. Hanji was the one wolf-whistling and cackling like an idiot, as per usual. Erwin and Mike stood slightly behind her, rolling their eyes, but clapping and smiling happily for the couple.

The Jaeger grandparents sat on the love-seat, not looking pleased, but at least they had enough sense to keep their thoughts to themselves for the moment. Levi was sure he would have killed one of them if they had ruined his moment.

Mikasa was standing close to Eric and Cory. Eric and Cory had this smug look on their faces and kept glancing at Mikasa, who was distinctly ignoring the both of them and keeping her eyes trained on the back of Eren's head. Levi had to wonder what was going on there.

Carla and Ella were both a mess, crying and wiping their faces with the sleeves of their pajamas. Levi was glad he could call them family.

Grisha had a grin on his face that told Levi he couldn't have asked for anything better on this Christmas morning, and Levi wouldn't have been able to agree with him more.

Levi finally felt as if he had a real family, and soon enough, many of these people would become his actual family. The thought had Levi hugging Eren even tighter to himself, unwilling to let go just yet.

…

Eren couldn't stop staring at his ring. He had hardly stopped looking at it since it was placed there three days ago, and likely wouldn't any time soon. It was beautiful. He never saw himself wearing a black ring, but now that it was there, he decided it was absolutely perfect.

Levi walked in the room at just that moment and chuckled. "I take it you like it."

Eren rolled over on the bed and looked longingly at Levi. "I couldn't ask for better. Honestly, though, it could be a lame candy ring and I would still love it, because it came from you, and it tells me we are getting married." Eren sighed and rolled back onto his back as Levi crawled over him. "I get to keep you, and that's pretty amazing."

Levi leaned down to give Eren a kiss and let himself be swept away in it. When they emerged nearly two hours later, they both needed a shower. Levi watched with interest as Eren's naked butt walked away from him and into the bathroom. It wasn't long before he followed.

Eren welcomed Levi into the warm spray and asked, "so, when's the wedding? Any preferences on time of year or anything?"

Levi shook his head. "I don't care about anything like that. As long as it ends with the both of us saying 'I do', I don't care what it looks like or when it is. I'll let you have free reign on this."

"Perfect, because I was thinking either a spring or a fall wedding. I was thinking if we did a late spring wedding, like late April, or May, we could have plum and green colors. But I also love the idea of yellow, orange, and red for a fall wedding. And I can totally see us in navy suits to match the fall colors. But I just don't know if I can wait that long. So light colored suits would look great with the spring colors. What do you think?" Eren quit rambling and looked down at Levi expectantly, with wide, hopeful eyes.

Levi shook his head a bit and stood on his toes a bit so he could pull Eren in for a sweet kiss. He pulled away and said, "well, I told you I don't really care about all of that as long as I get to marry you. But, if I had to choose, I would say a spring wedding, just so I don't have to wait too long to have you for real."

"Spring…" Eren said, contemplating, but not at all upset. "Let's do it! I'll start planning right away. We only have four months to have everything ready. I should really call my mom and we can all sit down and figure out a good date. Maybe May would be best after all. Then I'm not trying to fight finals and graduation."

"Let's do it." Levi confirmed, and they tossed ideas around at each other while they cleaned up. They went to call Carla as soon as they had some clothes on.

Carla answered the phone on the first ring. Eren relayed what they had already decided and after some scrolling through calendars and debating on likely weather conditions, they decided on two possible weekends in May, and once the new year was over, Carla and Eren would start looking into venues.

Carla, of course, offered to pay for the majority of the wedding, including the venue, flowers, their suits, and the cake. There would be few things that Levi and Eren themselves would have to pay for. Levi was grateful for that, though he made it clear that it wasn't necessary. He had enough money to pay for four large weddings, and still have enough left over for a honeymoon tour around the world. But Carla insisted, so Levi wasn't going to argue.

He, however, wasn't going to let anyone help pay for the honeymoon, which Eren still hadn't said anything about. Levi wasn't going to bring it up. If possible, he would make the trip a total surprise. He already had some locations in mind. He decided he would begin research the next morning. At least Eren would be at school a lot of the time for the next four months, so Levi would have plenty of time to look into things without Eren wondering what he was doing.