Hey Guys. Another Chapter for you. I told you this one would come soon. I keep my promises... most of the time. Anyways, enjoy some angsty Levi and a cute PUPPY! Don't forget to review! Happy Reading!
The Choice We Make
Chapter 9
Life for Levi and Eren after Kenny's surgery became a consistent routine. Kenny would visit occasionally with Nanaba or invite Eren and Levi over for lunch. He never went back to drinking, and Levi knew he had Nanaba to keep him in check.
When the couple weren't with Kenny, they were with their other friends and family. They made it a point to see Eren's parents at least once a month, even if it was a really long drive. Mikasa came over to their house plenty of times as well as Armin for game nights and sleepovers.
In reality, though, their life was pretty calm most days. They stayed home a lot, drawing and playing the piano, respectively. Eren sold a lot of his art, and Levi had completed his first ever music collection and had sent the sheets off to a publisher to see if they would publish it. They were still waiting on the publisher's response, but Levi had been told already that his chances were good.
Their marriage thus far had been exceptional. They bickered no more than they ever had, and spent more time wrapped in each other's arms than otherwise. Before they knew it, a year had passed. Holidays and birthdays already celebrated, and their one-year anniversary crept up on them. Eren didn't know what to get Levi for their anniversary. Levi was really hard to shop for. When he wanted something, he went and bought it. It was actually starting to irritate Eren. It was making events like birthdays and anniversaries incredibly difficult. And knowing Levi, he already had Eren's anniversary gift.
Not knowing what to get Levi, Eren finally resorted to what he always ended up doing. Levi left for the grocery store, and Eren took the opportunity to call Erwin. The blonde picked up the phone after only two rings. "Let me guess. You don't know what to get Levi for your anniversary next week."
"Who says I can't just call you because I want to?" Eren retorted.
"Because you never do. Don't worry, I've already been coming up with ideas." Erwin proceeded to list items, but Eren didn't think any of them were quite right. "Well, the things he loves the most are always the things you make. Why don't you do something like that? Maybe decorate a jar and fill it with date ideas on popsicle sticks? You could do three different kinds of date ideas. Under $5, under $100, and weekend getaway, or something like that. It's the gift that keeps on giving all year."
"Not a bad idea... I think I'll go with that. Thanks Erwin."
"Sure thing. Talk to you in December."
"Oh, Shut up. I'm not that hopeless for gift ideas."
"And yet, I hear from you at Christmas, Valentines, and now in May for your anniversary, without fail, every time. For being an artist, you aren't very creative when it comes to gift giving."
Eren rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. I get it. Thanks. Have a good day."
"You too. See you later."
They hung up and Eren ran down to the kitchen to see if he could find a jar. He already knew he would have to buy popsicle sticks, but a jar would just be one less thing to buy. His search, however, came up empty. So, Eren slipped on his shoes, grabbed his wallet, and went out to his car in the garage. Before he pulled out of the garage, he shot Levi a text saying he was going out for art supplies and would be back soon.
He returned after about an hour with skinny popsicle sticks, a jar, and a few other things he would need. Levi was already home and had finished putting the groceries away. Eren went to drop the supplies in his art corner in the office and go find Levi. He found his husband in their bedroom, folding laundry and watching Netflix. He had been into Criminal Minds lately.
Levi was turned away from the door, so Eren crept into the room as quietly as he could and wrapped his arms around Levi from behind. Levi jumped a little, but settled back into his husband's arms when he realized who it was. "Hey." Eren said.
"How was shopping for art supplies?" Levi replied.
"Oh, fine. Did you get everything on the shopping list?" Eren said after giving Levi a quick kiss on the cheek. He then picked up a t-shirt to fold.
"Almost. The avocados looked horrible, so I didn't get any. Sorry." Levi replied, going back to folding a pair of Eren's sweats.
"Oh well. We can just have our tacos without them. I'll help you finish laundry, then we can go make dinner."
"Sounds great."
...
Levi finished cleaning up from dinner and looked around him. Eren was nowhere to be seen, so Levi crept down the hallway to peek through the closed glass doors to the office. Eren was sat at his desk, bent over what looked to be some kind of art project. So, taking the opportunity, Levi stole back down the hallway and wandered downstairs to the game room, pulling his phone out as he went and dialing Erwin.
"Hey, Levi. What's up?"
"I have a favor to ask." Levi said as he turned on the tv and grabbed a controller for a random game system, not really caring which one he played, and only caring to have an excuse for being there in the first place.
"Okay, I might help you, depending on the favor." Erwin replied.
"I'm getting Eren something special for our anniversary, but I can't keep it here. Could you keep it at your place for, like, 2 days?" Levi plopped down into Farlan's bean bag to make himself comfortable to play whatever happened to be in the Xbox, which was the system he had randomly chosen.
There was a long pause on the other end. "That depends. What's the gift, and why can't you hide it there? And it better not be something extravagant, or Eren's going to feel dumb again. You said you'd tone down the gifts after he was so embarrassed at Christmas last year."
"It's not fancy or anything. Eren will love it."
"What is it?" Erwin asked.
"...a puppy." Levi said, already starting to regret his decision.
There was another long silence before Erwin burst out laughing. "Okay, that was funny, now what's the real gift."
Levi shook his head. "I was serious."
"You seriously are getting Eren a puppy? You hate animals. Why?" Erwin stopped laughing, now more curious than anything.
"Honestly, I'm trying to delay the inevitable. I need more time... I need to give Eren a distraction..."
"From what?" Erwin sounded confused.
"Eren keeps saying things like 'when we have kids' and 'our future kids'. You know I can't tell him no. I don't have it in me. I want to give him the world, and to him, kids would be the world. If he comes to me and says, in all seriousness, that he wants kids, I won't be able to say no. I'm hoping a puppy will keep him distracted for at least another year or two." Levi ranted, and Erwin just listened like the good friend he was.
"Do you want kids?" Erwin asked when Levi had stopped.
"I don't really know. That's why I want to stall him. I need to figure this out. I don't think he wants them right now, but who's to say he won't in six months. I'm just... I don't know, getting ahead of the game." Levi said. "Can you take the puppy for a couple of days or not?"
Erwin sighed. "I guess that's fine. Mike will like a puppy anyways. Do you want to talk more about this 'having kids' thing? I'm all ears."
Levi put the controller down and laid his head back on the love sac. "No, I'll figure it out. We should go get lunch one day, though. We haven't done that for a while."
"Sure." Levi and Erwin planned a time and place for the next day and hung up just as Eren poked his head in the room.
"Hey. Who was that?" He asked.
"Erwin. We are going to meet for lunch tomorrow, just the two of us." Levi said and picked up his controller to continue his game that he previously hadn't been paying attention to. Skyrim, apparently.
"Cool. Would you like something for dessert. I thought I'd make a cheesecake." And just like that, their evening continued as usual, even if Levi did have other things on his mind.
…
Levi rose early on the morning of their anniversary and quietly extracted himself from Eren's grip, making sure not to wake the younger male up. He wrote a quick note on a paper next to the bed, just in case Eren woke up, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and stole out of the room, all as quietly as possible.
Levi made the quick trip to Erwin and Mike's house to retrieve the little golden retriever he was giving to Eren as an anniversary gift. Erwin reluctantly handed the dog over, claiming that he and Mike had totally fallen in love with the little monster over the last two days.
On the way home, Levi had the dog sit on the passenger seat on a towel. The little thing made little noises, then would stare at Levi until the man would reach out and pet him on the head. Levi had to admit, the puppy was absolutely adorable, and incredibly soft to the touch. Unfortunately for Levi, he also knew that dogs smelled funny, and he would probably have to wash his hands after dealing with the puppy.
Levi pulled into the garage when he arrived home and exited the car, dog in hand. He cringed when the animal tried to lick his cheek while he carried it. Eren wasn't in the kitchen, so Levi assumed his husband was still asleep. So, Levi walked back upstairs and poked his head into the bedroom, where he saw an Eren sized lump under the sheets and tufts of brown hair sticking out from the top of them.
The dog squirmed in Levi's arms, so he walked all the way into the room and over to the bed. He debated how best to wake Eren up for a solid minute. He kind of wanted the dog to wake him up, but he also didn't want the filthy beast on their bed where they slept and made love. If he did that, he would have to change the sheets again, and he had just done that the day before.
The squirming thing made the choice for Levi in the end by yipping quite loudly, a few times, as he tried to wriggle out of Levi's arms. Eren stirred on the bed and poked his head out of the covers, only one eye partially open, but when he spotted the puppy, both eyes slowly opened all the way, until Levi thought they might pop out of his skull.
The next thing Levi knew, Eren had sat bolt upright in bed and was wildly looking between him and the puppy. Levi decided now would be a good time to officially deliver the surprise to his husband. "Happy Anniversary, Eren." Then he did the exact opposite thing he ever wanted to do and set the puppy right into Eren's lap on the bed.
Eren's face lit up brighter than Levi had maybe ever seen, and the dark-haired male decided that that look made the extra laundry well worth it. "OH MY GOSH!" Eren squealed, pulling the puppy close and nuzzling his nose into the fur on top of his head. "I can't believe you got me a puppy." Said puppy tilted his head up and licked Eren's chin, making the brunet grin and Levi grimace.
"Gross. Don't let that thing lick you. He was probably licking his balls earlier today." Levi shivered at the thought.
"Whatever, Levi. He's still so little, he doesn't even have balls. Even if he did, what's the difference? You kiss me after I've licked..."
"Okay, stop there. That's totally different. I know my junk is clean." After Eren had his chance to laugh at Levi, the raven continued, "He hasn't been fed yet today, so he's probably hungry. Training starts now, too. No dogs on the bed, starting right now."
Levi leaned over to scoop up the now hyper puppy who had kept himself busy by playfully nipping at Eren's fingers. Eren climbed out of bed and huffed. "Okay. I'll take him outside to go to the bathroom before he pees on the carpet. Should we train him to do his business in the far corner of the yard only?"
"If that's possible, it sounds fantastic. Now, Eren, he's your responsibility. I'm not going to pick up a single piece of dog shit. That's on you." Levi grumbled, looking down at the blonde puppy in his arms.
"I'm fine with that." Eren replied, pulling on a pair of jeans and some shoes before taking the dog from Levi and giving Levi a kiss. "Thank you, Levi. Happy Anniversary."
"You're lucky I love you. Now, you take that thing outside, and I'm going to go get the rest of his things from the car." Levi said, leading the way out of the room and downstairs.
"I hope you got him some toys to keep him busy, Levi. He can't spend all of his time in the kennel. He's a puppy. He needs to get his energy out somehow." Eren said, nuzzling the puppy again.
"Yes, I bought toys, and a big fluffy dog bed for the living room, and food, and even some treats and a brush. I'm not completely naïve to the ways of pets, you know."
Eren just laughed and split up with Levi, heading for the back yard while Levi went to the Garage. By the time Eren returned from the yard, Levi had already set up the kennel, and he was in the process of laying out a few toys for the dog by its bed in the corner of the living room.
Eren set the dog down on the bed and sat down next to his husband. "He needs a name. We can't call him 'puppy' forever."
"Any ideas?" Levi asked, glad that the dog had decided to lay down and be calm for a minute so that Levi could pet his soft fur.
Eren shook his head. "No idea. I've never named a dog before."
Levi hummed. "Well, we could ask our friends and family. Maybe someone has an idea?" Levi suggested as the dog lifted his head and looked at them curiously.
Eren immediately pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of the puppy before sending them to as many contacts as he could, including Jean and Kim, with the caption "Welcoming a new member to the Ackerman family! Anyone have a good name idea?"
Over the next few minutes his phone vibrated nearly constantly, filling up with emojis and name suggestions. There were some good ones, some funny ones, and some absolutely ridiculous ones, but a few stood out among them: Titan, Scout, and Hunter. Carla had suggested Hunter, because it was the English meaning of Jaeger, Jean had suggested Titan, because it sounded cool, and Armin had suggested Scout, because he said it just seemed like it fit.
Levi and Eren debated the three names for a few minutes before Erens suggested they try seeing if the dog would react to any of them. Levi rolled his eyes at the suggestion, but figured it was a valid option. Eren started by calling it Hunter, but he just ignored them. Then they tried Titan, and again, nothing. But when Eren said "Scout", the dog looked up at him and tilted his head to the side. Eren did it again, and the puppy got up to walk, unbalanced on the fluffy surface, over to lay his head on Eren's lap.
Eren laughed. "Aww, how cute!" Eren squealed. "I guess you're Scout now. Welcome to the family, Scout."
Levi rolled his eyes again, but smiled at how happy his husband was with the puppy he was now snuggling into his chest and nuzzling his fur. "Alright, Brat. He has a name, so we should feed him. He's probably hungry."
"Okay, but first, we need to take a family picture." Eren said. Levi tried to avoid it, but he eventually stood next to Eren, arm around his waist, and smiling lightly at the phone on the mantel piece, taking their "family portrait" as Eren called it.
Eren happily sent the photo to everyone they knew, including the name they chose. They received almost instant replies with all kinds of emojis and praise for the newest Ackerman.
Eren captured Levi in a passionate kiss as thanks for his gift, and the dog, still in Eren's arms, licked their chins to get in on the action, making Eren laugh into the kiss and break away from Levi to bury his face in soft puppy fur.
Their day was mostly spent playing with the dog until they had to get ready for their dinner reservation. Then they had to leave Scout in his kennel. It nearly broke Eren's heart to hear him whine.
When they returned from their dinner, they couldn't hear Scout and found that he was asleep in his kennel. It gave Eren the chance to remember that he also had a gift to give Levi. He left his husband for a short moment to retrieve it from the office, then returned with a jar in hand.
Levi took it from Eren and inspected it, then pulled his younger husband in for a kiss. "It' s perfect. I love it."
Eren just grinned down at his husband. "I figured we never know what to do on date nights, so this would give us ideas. There're also ideas for weekend getaways, and things we have to plan for. A lot of them are things we've never done before."
Just as they went in for another kiss, a shrill bark rang out through the main floor, announcing to them that Scout had woken up. Eren laughed and went to get his dog from the kennel while Levi looked at his gift with a smile. Levi might get Eren fancy things, but Eren's gifts always came from the heart, and it made them worth more than all the money in the world to Levi.
A lot of time after that day was spent training the puppy. He whined all night long for the first few days, until he realized that Eren and Levi would not get up and let him out at night. They would leave him in his kennel in the kitchen at night, then let him out to do his business in the morning, always taking him to the far corner of the yard. Once he came back in, they would feed him. Then the rest of the day was chasing him and keeping him from chewing on everything he saw, or peeing on the floor. If they got really sick of him, they stuck him in the kennel.
Levi was especially aggressive with the training. Before long, Scout was following commands like a pro. He could sit, stay, lay down, roll over, play dead, and even go to his bed or kennel when told to, and go to the correct one. He also quickly learned that he was not supposed to go to the bathroom anywhere in the yard except for the back corner. He was still very much a puppy, chewing on things that weren't his toys, and he had a few accidents in the house. But all in all, Levi and Eren were pleased with their dog.
Levi had hoped to hold Eren off on baby talk for a year or more with the dog, but after only six months, it started again. Eren was laying on the floor, playing tug of war with Scout and laughing at the gangly, adolescent dog trying and failing to pull a toy from his hands, until he rolled over, twisting the toy, and in turn, yanking it out of Eren's hand. Levi chuckled as Eren pouted.
"He's super smart." Eren said.
"Yeah."
"He'll be a good playmate for our kids one day."
Levi sucked in a breath and watched as Eren grabbed the toy to try again, oblivious to Levi's sudden discomfort. Levi swallowed hard and got up from the couch, stating quickly that he was going to start dinner, denying Eren's offer to help. But Eren got up to follow anyways. Scout followed closely behind, knowing he might just get a scrap or two of people food.
"I'm good, Eren. You can go back to playing with the dog." Levi said, pulling out some chicken to cut into chunks.
"But I can help." Eren said, reaching into the cabinet above the refrigerator for the rice cooker. They were going to have Sweet and Sour Chicken over rice.
Levi just sighed, not wanting to cause a fight. They worked in silence until the chicken was in the instant pot, and the rice had started. They had a half hour to wait before dinner, so they returned to the living room to watch an episode of a random tv show that Eren chose. He didn't plan on watching it anyways, more interested in a quickie from Levi before dinner.
Unfortunately for Eren, Levi was not in the mood, and no matter how Eren tried to coax him into something intimate, it didn't seem to work. Levi remained soft and if not physically distant, then mentally distant. Levi knew he was making Eren concerned with his lack of interest, but Eren's talk of kids tended to turn him off every time, and it was only getting worse. Every time Eren mentioned kids, Levi got scared, confused, and he worked himself up so much he started to pull away from Eren and even avoid him in the worst situations. That was the reason Levi had gotten the dog for him in the first place.
The timer for the rice went off, and Levi immediately extracted himself from Eren to go work on setting the table and dishing up their plates. Eren watched him from his place on the couch, watching Levi over the back with his chin in his hand, probably wondering what he had done wrong and why Levi had started to act so strangely.