Rating change starting this chapter

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Lazily floating on a giant inflatable tube in the pool on a beautiful hot day was the best thing Levi had done in a long time and it felt incredible. There was only the faintest of breeze; the trees surrounding the pool filled the air with gentle rustling and singing cicadas. He had the pool all to himself and it was peaceful.

Levi was splayed out, feet and hands dipped into the pool. His head lolled back, wearing big flashy blue sunglasses Eren wanted him to wear, to match his own green ones. All he was missing was a mojito with a tiny umbrella.

"Levi!"

His eyebrow twitched.

There goes the peace, he thought as he recognized that voice which could only belong to a certain glasses-wearing nerd. He saw her running towards the pool, feet hitting the patio rather hard. As she approached the edge, she knelt and leapt towards the pool, knees pressed against her chest. She landed right beside Levi, the force great enough to flip him off his comfortable tube.

Underwater, Levi swam towards the side of the pool she jumped off from, emerging like an L'Oreal hair commercial. His glasses floated a way off and he saw the blurred shape of Hanji's body swim towards him before she emerged beside him, pushing back her hair from her eyes.

"Ah, a nice dip to wake sure feels nice."

"And how were you sleepy?"

Hanji grinned and dived back underwater. With a sigh, Levi started to waddle back to his tube. He wasn't done with being a lazy-ass just yet. The day was still young.

"Levi!"

He paused at the familiar voice, turning back to see Eren ran towards him. He looked ridiculous in the hot pink swim trunks he wore. When the hell did Petra sneak that abomination into the pile of clothes he bought? He'd definitely remember if he bought something so attention-grabbing.

"Levi, you promised you would teach me how to swim!"

"I did?" Levi replied, slowly swimming away from the ledge.

"Yes, last night!" He puffed out his cheeks, lower lip jutting out to a very pronounce pout. Levi was tempted to keep waiting but Eren looked close to crying, his eyes already tearing up.

"Let's get started." He said, swimming towards Eren. Eren perked up instantly. He sat down on the ledge, dipping his feet into the cool water. Levi carried him into the pool, Eren shivering from the cold. He clung to Levi, splashing at the water like a curious cat.

Levi stayed in the shallow part of the pool with Eren. He started with teaching Eren to float, occasionally reassuring the small boy whenever he panicked. Levi made sure to keep his hands on Eren's back, instructing him and eventually moving on to the doggy paddle once Eren got the hang of floating. Hanji stopped from her laps around the pool from time to time, mostly to watch and coo at a very domesticated Levi.

By noon, Eren could swim more confidently on his own. The smell of cooked hamburgers wafting from the open kitchen window made the pair stop. Eren stepped out first, Levi right behind him.

Petra was setting a plate of cheeseburger and fries at the table. Eren made a beeline for the table without any disregard of his still wet trunks. Luckily the chairs were made of metal. Levi grabbed one of the spare towels hanging over the chair and draped it over Eren.

"Where the hell are your manners?" He said, rubbing the towel over his hair. "What do you say?"

"Thank you, Petra!" He held still as Levi dried his towel then dug in immediately when Levi finished. He walked over to the kitchen island, sitting on a bar stool. Petra set up another plate in from of him.

"When are Mike and Nanaba coming over?" He asked, grabbing the bottle of ketchup near him. He thanked her as she started on Molbit and Hanji's plates.

"Tomorrow," She said. "I got a call from Nanaba and she said they'd be here by noon."

"What about Eld and Gunther?"

"They're only coming for the weekend."

"So I'm going to be surrounded by you annoying lot."

"You know you don't mean that." Petra smiled at him. Levi heard a high pitched yelp from outside. He watched from the windows as he saw Hanji and Molbit fall into the pool. There was no doubt that Hanji was the culprit of the two of them falling. He looked away, to Eren, and to the horrible mess all over his mouth. How could he even manage that mess in just a few minutes?

"They don't have to know that." Levi said as he walked over to Eren with a damp cloth Petra had knowingly handed to him. Levi knew his friends didn't take to heart every insult he hurled at them from time to time. Most of the time, he didn't even mean them.

Eren tilted his head up as Levi approached him, shutting his eyes tight as Levi wiped his mouth and entire face.

Are you chewing or vacuuming your food?" Levi asked, looking down.

Eren blinked and very loudly mimicked the sounds of a vacuum. Eren was definitely becoming more of a smartass, Levi thought as he lightly smacked the 7-year old forehead. Levi sat back at the counter, resuming his lunch.

Hanji and Molbit came inside both dripping wet and, at least one of them, incredibly proud of a large hickey on Molbit's neck. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened out by the pool when Hanji sauntered inside with a rather large grin.

"Molbit, did a mosquito eat you?" Eren asked, pointing at the hickey. The grown man groaned, hiding his face in his hands as he sulked towards the kitchen. Hanji laughed loudly, patting Molbit's shoulder.

Lunch was spent in that comfortable atmosphere of light bantering, a little bit of meaningless bickering, and general pleasantness. At one point, Levi stepped away from the counter, planting himself on the lounge chair Eren was sitting on. Eren moved, letting Levi rest on his back before he sat back down, comfortably leaning against him. He was focused on the movie playing on the large flat screen TV that was mounted on the wall in front of him.

At some point, between listening to their conversation and watching the movie, Levi drifted in and out of a light nap. Eren, between Levi's moments of varying states of consciousness, slipped himself underneath Levi's arm, back to Levi's chest, as he draped it over his body. Levi didn't know when but Hanji's loud voice finally woke him up from his light nap.

"Levi, we're heading into town now."

"I'm not." He replied, absentmindedly playing with Eren's mess of a hair.

Hanji scoffed. "Of course you're not. By we, I mean everyone but you and Erwin." At her implication, Levi propped himself up, keeping Eren on his lap. There was that cocky grin he had heard in her voice.

"What the hell are you scheming."

"Nothing at all." She fixed her glasses. "You just need some more time to relax." She paused, stepping away from the counter and towards the staircase. Levi glowered at her, hands gripping a cushion near him.

"With Erwin." She took another large step, keeping eye contact with Levi. That shit-eating grin was still plastered on her face.

"Alone."

Hanji dodged the cushion Levi had thrown towards her, bounding up the stairs as she laughed madly. From the kitchen, he heard Petra giggle and Molbit looked like he wanted to hide underneath a large rock as he followed Hanji.

"What does Jee mean?" Eren asked, facing Levi.

"It means you should probably get dressed." Levi said. He patted Eren's head, hoping none of Hanji's strangeness rubbed off Eren. He ran off and Levi reclined on the chair, idly watching the movie.

Molbit, Hanji, and Eren came back down minutes later. Eren ran ahead, a bright smile on his tan face. "Hanji said she's gonna get me a toy!"

"Get the biggest, flashiest toy you can find." He said, adjusting Eren's tank top. Eren nodded. "And make sure you follow her and Petra's direction."

"I will." He said. He ran back to Hanji, excitedly talking to her. Once Petra came down, changed into a pale yellow summer dress, they headed out. Levi listened to the group get into Hanji's jeep, Eren's loud chatter now muffled. The jeep started, pulled out the driveway, and then all he heard were the occasional cries of seagulls and the distant crash of the waves breaking over the bank. Without the constant chatter of Eren or Hanji, the house was eerily quiet.

There was only one problem with Hanji's plan.

He didn't know where the fuck Erwin was.

He looked through the windows until he spotted a large body dive into the pool. Standing up, he headed out to the patio and sat on the edge of the pool, dipping his legs into the water. He watched Erwin emerge at the other end of the pool, sunlight glistening off the drops of water that clung to his body. Erwin noticed him and waved, diving back underwater towards Levi's side.

"Where the hell have you been?" Levi asked as soon as Erwin emerged again.

"The same place you left me. In bed."

Levi hummed at that, watching as Erwin parted his legs, settling himself between them. His large hands grasped his knees, slowly sliding towards his thighs. Levi shuddered then arched an eyebrow as he looked at the blond.

"You're just going to jump right into it?"

"Unless you want some foreplay?" Erwin replied. Levi frowned. While he did want to rile up the thick-eyebrow blond, it's been months since he had time to completely unwind with Erwin. He'd been too preoccupied with Eren and the settlements from the life insurance and all that legal jazz from the fire that he hadn't paid any attention to his own needs. Levi didn't want to wait any longer.

Sensing his answer, Erwin pulled Levi closer, the shorter man wrapping his legs around Erwin's waist as the blond carried him out the pool and into the house. He felt Erwin's strength in his arms, easily holding Levi's weight. Moments like these were times Levi didn't begrudge Erwin's ridiculous height.

"Shitty glasses worries to much about me." Levi leaned inwards, arms wrapping themselves around Erwin's shoulder. He couldn't help but be acutely aware of the gentle friction between their naked (and Erwin's still wet) chests.

"Can you blame her, all things considering?" Erwin asked, heading towards the stairs.

Levi's brow furrowed together, the slightest of pouts on his lips. He rested his head on Erwin's shoulder, lips lightly pressed against the crook of the blond's neck. "Everything is fine now. It's settling down and I'm doing everything I can for Eren."

"What about yourself?" Erwin opened the door to their bedroom. While still holding Levi; this bastard. Levi pressed himself closer, firmly pressing his lips to Erwin's neck. He could feel Erwin's throat twitch and the grip he had around Levi's thigh tightened. The curtains were drawn, casting the entire room in a warm orange as the sunlight passed through them. "Hanji and the rest know you'll do a great job raising Eren." Erwin sat down on the bed. "What we worry about is you taking care of yourself."

"I've been doing just fine for years now." Levi replied. He felt Erwin trail his hands along his neck, fingers carefully threading through his hair. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, letting Erwin's fingers massage his scalp. He finally lifted his head and looked at Erwin.

"Now are we going to continue this therapy session or are you gonna fuck me?"

"We can continue later." Erwin said as he pushed aside Levi on to the bed. Erwin moved himself on to the bed and knelt in front of Levi. He grabbed Levi's knees and spread them apart, settling himself between Levi's legs. He ran his hands down Levi's thighs, fingers pulling at the waist band of his swim trunks.

"Wait." Levi planted his feet on Erwin's thighs and pushed himself away. He turned over to his stomach, reaching for the top drawer of the bedside table. He pulled out the tube of jelly he found their last night; no doubt thanks to Hanji's meddling. Still… he made a note to thank her later with only half a sarcastic tone. Levi kneeled on the bed and shimmied out of his trunks. Once gone, he felt Erwin pull him back to his chest, large hands running over his chest. Erwin grasped Levi's nipples, rubbing them until he felt them hardened beneath his fingertips.

"You need to open me up." Levi felt his body get flush, watching Erwin roll the hardened nubs between his fingers. He made a grab for the lube, popping open the cap. Erwin pressed a kiss along Levi's shoulder, hands now running down to Levi's half erect cock.

"Haven't been doing it yourself." The blond quietly said.

"As if I have time." Levi's breath hitched as he was slowly jerked. Erwin's other hand glided over his chest. He gripped Levi's chin, lightly pressing two fingers to Levi's lip.

"Suck." Erwin commanded, his deep voice sending shivers up Levi's spine. He couldn't deny Erwin when he sounded completely authoritative. He rutted back against Erwin's crotch, the growing bulge rubbing against the cleft of his ass, as he opened his mouth. Erwin slipped in his fingers, pressing down on Levi's tongue. He ran his tongue over them, feeling Erwin hold his hips still. Levi shuddered, gripping Erwin's forearm.

"Hurry the hell up." Levi said, pulling Erwin's thoroughly wet fingers away from his mouth. He could feel the shape of Erwin's smirk against his neck as he dropped his hand to his crotch. While keeping Levi's hips still, Erwin dragged his hand over Levi's balls and pressed a finger into his entrance. Levi shuddered, pressing down against Erwin's hand.

Erwin made a noncommittal hum as he added another finger, feeling Levi tense around his fingers. Levi let out a breathy moan; his neglected erection stood straight, pre- cum slowly dripping from the tip. Erwin thrust his fingers in, slowly pulling them out before quickly shoving them back in.

It was slow, and teasingly frustrating but, god, did it feel good to him. Erwin kept the pace slow but he allowed Levi to rut against his hand, delving those thick fingers deeper in. He rolled his head back to Erwin's shoulder, grinding against Erwin's hand. Erwin kissed Levi's exposed neck, keep the pace slow. Levi turned his head to the side, glaring at the blond, ready to let an insult fly when Erwin thrust his fingers deeper.

Levi moaned loudly, body writhing against Erwin's. Levi fought against his hold, doing his damn best to grind back against Erwin's hand. Now that they were finally getting into the heat of things, Levi realized just how desperately he needed Erwin inside him. And Erwin's fingers weren't enough to urge the coiling heat inside him.

"Take your damn shorts off." Levi reached behind him, tugging at the waistband of Erwin's trunks.

Instead, Erwin grabbed Levi's neck and pushed his head down to the mattress, leaving his ass high in the air. The grip Erwin had on the back of his neck was firm and reassuring. He breathed hard, feeling Erwin pulling out his fingers. Erwin gave his neck a reassuring squeeze before his glided his hand over Levi's back. Hands gripped his hips and suddenly he felt Erwin's face pressed against his ass, tongue probing inside him.

"Ah…! Erwin….!" Levi fisted the bed sheets, legs quivering. He moaned into the bed, pushing back, greedily wanting more.

"I think you're ready now." Erwin said, pulling away. Levi whined at the loss of his tongue, letting himself drop to his side. Everything felt warm and pleasant and he was more than ready to take Erwin's cock in him.

"I could've told that." Levi said, glaring at the man in front of him. Erwin only smiled as he pulled off his swim trunks. Levi focused on Erwin as he watched the older man slick his erect cock with the lube. Not one to being passive, Levi reached for a pillow, lifting his hips to slide it underneath him. He spread his legs apart, exposing all, reached down and spread himself open.

"Anytime… you're ready." Levi said through labored breath, staring right at Erwin.

The sight of a flushed Levi, parts of his hair sticking to his forehead, spreading himself open, vulnerable but completely trusting in him, was enough for Erwin to hurry up.

Erwin grasped Levi's hips, pushing the tip of his cock into Levi and kept going until he was all the way in. The younger man sighed as he was completely penetrated. He'd forgotten exactly how big Erwin was, especially when he was hard. Erwin grasped Levi's legs, pulling him closer but not quite thrusting into him. Levi gazed at Erwin and nodded, throwing his head back as Erwin began to roughly thrust into him.

No matter how many times they'd have sex, the size of Erwin's monster cock always takes him by surprise. It fills him completely, pushing into him, messing him up. And Erwin knew exactly how to drive Levi towards the edge.

"…Erwin." He moaned, moving against Erwin's thrusts. He could feel Erwin's large hands leave his hips, sliding up his sides and along his arms. Erwin held Levi's hand, feeling Levi thread his fingers through his own. He thrust into the younger man much harder, holding him down by his hands.

Erwin leaned over him, kissing him. Levi moaned into his kiss, the heat coiling in him rapidly. With his hands pinned down by Erwin, all he could do was take it and it felt incredibly right and good. Levi's nails dug into Erwin's hand, body shivering as he felt Erwin bring him close to that marvelous peak.

"Fuck!" Levi arched his back as he came, tightly holding Erwin's hands, and a guttural moan leaving his lips. Erwin kissed him deeply as he kept thrusting into his shivering body, until he came to his own orgasm. The two stayed together, breathing heavily as their bodies began to cool down.

"You're heavy," were the first words out of Levi's mouth. Erwin chuckled, kissing him again before pulling out of Levi. Levi winced, suppressing a shudder as he stretched out his body. Erwin handed Levi a cloth and the younger man wiped the semen off his chest.

"Good to know you still whisper sweet nothings afterwards." Erwin said. Levi glared at the blond, setting the cloth aside.

"And I've told you your monster cock needs to go on a diet."

"I don't think that's possible."

Levi rolled his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. He felt the bed shift and his body move as Erwin pulled him against his chest, arms settling around his waist. Levi stared down at Erwin's clasped hands. He could feel Erwin gently kiss his back, no doubt tracing the tattoo wings on his back with his lips. He looked over at his right arm, at the half sleeve floral tattoo around his bicep. It stopped at just his elbow, the flowers either colored in violet, red, and pink.

"Are you going to get that finished?" Erwin asked, noticing Levi's stillness.

"I don't know."He replied.

Levi had started the tattoo when he was nineteen, a year before the fire. He wasn't an entirely sentimental person, not with the environment he was raised in, but knowing Carla had impacted a part of his life, for the good. The floral designs were of impatiens, the same as the potted plant she gave him when they first met. It was going to be a full sleeve but with her death, Levi didn't want to finish it.

"Levi?"

"Eren's going to grow up well."

"Of course he will." Erwin replied.

"…I miss Carla." Levi said. At that, Erwin remained quiet. He instead pressed a kiss to the back of Levi's neck. He felt Levi shudder, his shoulder shaking. He stayed that way for several minutes, the occasional drop of tear falling on top of Erwin's hand. As much as Levi held himself as strong and indestructible, Erwin was reminded that Levi was only 20 years old. Still so young and still grieving the loss of a woman he'd considered to be a mother to him.

Eventually Levi calmed down and pushed away from Erwin, standing up.

"I need a shower." He said, touching his ass. "I feel gross."

"Right." Erwin said, leaning back on the bed. When Levi didn't hear him move, he turned around. He grabbed Erwin's hand, pulling him off the bed.

"You too."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

In the morning, Levi woke up to an incredibly sore body and a giant teddy bear on his bed. He sleepily blinked at the bear which was staring him right in the face. Levi groaned and turned over, this time coming face to face with Eren's drooling face. He very quickly figured out who the bear belonged to.

Eren's hair was completely tousled, more so than usual. And the fine, steady dribble of drool was forming a rather impressive stain on the bed. It was peacefully quiet, the room lit by a warm orange from the morning sun shining through the curtain.

He slowly steadied himself, trying to make sure he didn't shake the bed too much. It came to be a useless effort as Eren slowly began to wake up.

"'Goo' morning, Levi." Eren mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"Is that your bear there?" Levi asked, pointing to the object in question. Eren nodded, crawling over to grab the Eren-sized stuffed animal.

"Hanji bought it for me yesterday."

"Did you thank her?" He asked. Eren grabbed the bear's head, making it nod. Eren scooted closer to Levi, teal eyes watching him like a hawk. His brows scrunched together before a concerned expression fell on his face.

"Did you let the bugs get to you too?" He asked. Confused, Levi looked down at his bare chest. Hickeys. Remnants of last night 'relaxation' were still very much visible on his chest and no doubt his neck. Eren moved around on the bed, small hands patting his back. "You even go them on your back! Are you okay?"

Before Levi could answer back with a lie, the door opened and Erwin stepped in. As soon as he opened his mouth, a pillow smacking him right in the face. Levi gathered Eren into his arms.

"Blame Eyebrows for my bug bites. He forgot to get the bug repellent." He said, angrily walking past the man. Erwin caught the slight red flush at the back of Levi's neck. "Now, let's get breakfast Eren."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

That weekend, with nearly all their friends gathered together, Hanji held a barbeque on Saturday. Molbit and Petra helped with the cooking, switching turns to give the other a rest. Mike and Erwin went to town to buy the missing ingredient; cases of beer and wines. Levi, along with Eren, spent most of the morning on the beach in a rather heated sand building contest with Eld and Gunther. At some point, Erwin dropped by with food, a mutual agreement between Levi [after a consult with Eren] and Eld to pause the contest in favor of food.

After that, the others dropped by and the contest became a full blown war. Eld, Gunther, and Molbit were on one team and Mike, Hanji, and Petra on the other team. Levi and Eren had long since stepped out, especially when Eren moved on to finding sand crabs. Levi watched his idiot friends build ridiculous castles and Eren named and housed his sand crab in different buckets.

Erwin sat beside him on the other beach chair, reading and answering all of Eren's questions about his sand crab family and the bug bites on Levi's body. Nanaba sat besides Eren, joining him in his sand crab home building and chiming in to shit talk about Erwin with Levi.

When the sun started to set and the moon lit the beach, Hanji brought out the fireworks. With Molbit's help, Hanji set off all the aerial repeaters then they moved the hell away from them. They sparked and popped, colors bouncing around on the ground as they started to shoot up to the sky. Eren stared in amazement, pointing and waving his own sparkler at the sky.

He turned back towards Levi, making sure Levi was watching the same spectacle. Eren dropped the sparkler now that it was done, and rushed over to Levi, flinging himself onto Levi's lap.

"Tonight's really fun." Eren said, reaching for Levi's unlit sparkler. Levi handed the stick to him, grabbing a lighter. He lit it and they watched as it sparked to life, Eren held it out in front of him, resting against Levi's chest as they watched white sparks fizzle away. With its last spark, the raining drops of light ended and Eren dropped the stick beside him. "Can we do this again before we have to go home?"

A particularly large rocket launched into the sky, a bright red spark expanding and raining down into nothing. Hanji hollered, very dangerously chasing Molbit with a few sparklers. The others were setting off the remainder of the repeaters, dashing away once they were lit, grinning and enjoying themselves. Levi looked down at Eren, his cheeks flushed from the energy around him.

"If these idiots don't burn away all the fireworks."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The rest of their vacation sailed by with naps in the morning, the occasional night swim in the pool, general laziness the likes they've never experienced before. But it sadly had to end and Levi once again found himself in Erwin's car heading back home, with one extra passenger in the backseat; the giant Eren-sized teddy bear.

Riding back to Trost seemed much faster. Erwin drove the first three hours. When they stopped at a rest stop for a break, Levi took over the driving for the remainder of the trip. Eren made the trip a lot more interesting, climbing over the space between the driver and passenger seat and sat himself on Erwin's lap while Levi drove, playing with the radio and singing off-key to all the songs he knew.

When Levi finally parked the car in front of their apartment in the afternoon, Levi could sing the entire soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. A fact that amused Erwin and absolutely overjoyed Eren.

"Why did you even have the soundtracks for Disney movies in your car?" Levi asked, grabbing one of the bags from the trunk. Eren waited by the front door of the shop, holding his teddy bear's hand. Levi walked over to him while Erwin pulled out the other bag.

"I thought it would keep Eren entertained since we headed out in the morning." He replied. Levi looked back, glaring at the smug face. He pulled out the keys to the apartment and turned towards Eren.

"Go open the door for us."

Eren nodded and grabbed the keys, hauling the bear with him. Levi went back towards the car, grabbing the last two bags on the ground. "Either way, you're an ass." Erwin chuckled, leading the way down the lane beside the shop to the door leading upstairs to the apartment. Once he stepped foot inside, Levi dropped his bags beside the door, making a beeline to the couch and promptly fell down on it.

Erwin closed the door behind him, gathering the bags and went to Levi's bedroom to leave them on his bed. He stepped back out, Levi still on the couch; probably close to taking a nap. Eren was setting the bear on Levi's recliner chair, taking out his blocks and building what appeared to be a city.

"Do you want take out?" Erwin asked, walking over to the living room.

Levi bolted upright, peering at Erwin from the sofa. "I want the pizza with the feta cheese, sliced tomato, garlic, and spinach. With bacon."

"So the usual." Erwin said, pulling out his cell phone. "Eren, do you want the same or a cheese slice?"

Eren looked up from his city of blocks. "Is the other pizza the one with the white cheese?" Erwin nodded. "I want that one." And he went back to his city. He grabbed the bear, carefully stepping through the blocky city. With the bear's stubby arms secured by his hands, Eren began to make the bear rampage through the city.

Levi watched him for a moment, kind of amazed. They'd just spent roughly six hours in the car and Eren still had energy to play around. Meanwhile, Levi wanted nothing more than to settle down on his bed and let Erwin watch over Eren while he rested. Kids had scary stamina, he thought as Levi hopped over the couch, making his way to the kitchen while Erwin placed the order.

"Once I get Eren enrolled for the 1st grade, I'm going to open the shop." Levi said.

"Do you have everything set up?" He asked.

Levi nodded his head. "I just need to clean the shop. And start contacting the local gardens to begin a new shipment." Levi rummaged around the kitchen, weaving around Erwin's massive body in his not-quite-small kitchen, looking through drawers until he found the thick floral notebook he was looking for.

It had all the numbers for local gardens that sold their flowers, as well everything from advice on calling an order, to flower care and managing the business. It was Carla's cheat notebook, as she had called it then. There was a lot to do but Levi was more than confident he could manage the store again.

Even if Carla was no longer around.

He began to flip through the book, grabbing the pen Erwin handed him as he began to make notes on what to do first.

"Levi!"

Startled from his thoughts, Levi looked to see Eren sitting opposite him, hands firmly planted on the counter. "Can Armin come over today?"

"It's kinda late, Eren."

"But I already called Armin and his grandpa said it was okay. I even called Mikasa's mama and she said it was okay for her to sleep over too." He exclaimed, to the point of near shouting. Levi raised an eyebrow, leaning on the counter.

"And when did you call them?"

"When you were looking through mama's book."

Levi eyes widened a fraction. He didn't expect to hear Eren so casually bring up his mother. Levi knew Eren still was still troubled with her death, had the occasional night terrors of that fiery night. But kids were strong, they adapt quickly to situations. Levi just hadn't expected Eren to bounce back to his feet in only four months.

"Can you wait for the pizza?" Levi asked, turning back towards Erwin. The blond nodded and Eren raced over to the door, bouncing on his heels as he waited for Levi.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The rest of their summer days lazily passed with not much change. For the remainder of June, Levi and Eren spent most of their week cleaning the shop downstairs, checking the inventory of ribbons, wrappings, pots, cardettes and cards, containers and soil; everything that needed to be stocked. Hanji and Petra stopped by often, either helping with the cleaning or, in Hanji's case, to tease Levi while she helped out.

On the weekends, they either slept in and watched Disney movies or they'd go out to Levi's favorite bar with Erwin and his other friends; the roster always rotated. Other weekends, Mikasa and Armin slept over. Regardless of what they were doing or not doing, his apartment always had people coming in and out and it was lively.

By mid-July, the shop was all cleaned and dusted, the coolers functional and ready, the front store swept and the back room stocked with everything but the flowers themselves. Levi was ready to start the shop up again. But there was still plenty of time to lazy around for the summer. And so he did.

There were exceptionally more lazy days, where Levi slept while Erwin watch Eren and his friends. Sometimes Petra came over with Gunther and they'll take Eren with them to the mall or park, to give Levi and Erwin more alone time. Which Levi always responded with a bitter glare but grateful for their help none the less. Maybe less so with Hanji as she always had the habit of grinning like a lecherous old man as she'd take Eren with her.

The days were fun and peaceful and sometimes even incredibly lazy and filled with Disney songs. Before Levi had time to blink, it was already mid august and he was making sure Eren had everything ready for his first year in elementary school.

And Levi was finally ready to open Carla's flower shop again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

And now the parts I've been super excited to write about is on its way~