Chapter Twenty-Two: Home Sweet Home Part 3
It was when they'd retired to the living room, after Claire's desperate begging to watch a movie she'd wanted to see ever since it hit theaters, that Caroline decided to bring up the question that rested on her parent's mind. Leanne was preparing coffee for the adults and juice for Claire while Levi settled down comfortably next to Eren and Claire on one of the sofas.
"So, Eren," the addressed turned from her brief exchange with Claire over the movie she'd wanted to watch and insisted that 'Miss Eren and Uncle Levi stay to watch it' to look up to Caroline.
"Hmm?"
"Are you and my brother dating?"
Eren stared wide-eyed at Caroline, momentarily caught off-guard by the abrupt and straightforward question before clearing her throat and answering, "Y-yes, yes we are." Anticipating Caroline's next question before it could pass her lips, Eren continued, "We've been together for a little over four months now." She felt her cheeks heating up as she turned to Levi with a pleading look.
"Hmm, I thought so." Caroline then turned her attention to her younger brother with an annoyed look on her face, "And you," she pointed accusingly to Levi, "when were you going to mention that you were in a relationship? And with a younger woman no less."
Levi rolled his eyes and glanced off to the side, avoiding his sister's heated glare, "Surprise. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Eren; she's a 3rd year student at Rose University. Psychology major, 20 years old, lives alone." He glanced quickly over to Eren before directing his gaze back to Caroline before asking, "Anymore questions." Though it was said with the finality of a statement.
"Just one," she smirked at the annoyed twitch in Levi's eye, "for Eren," she turned, the look of mirth she'd held when addressing Levi had all but faded as she asked, "How do you feel about my brother?"
Before responding, Eren stared at her for a moment, allowing her mind to formulate a coherent string of words from the stream of thoughts rushing through her head, "Good. No, I mean, I like him, he's very kind to me, blunt, but kind…he…he's a very good man."
"Hmm." Caroline hummed, watching the faint coloring on her face fade. "Then let me rephrase that…do you love him?"
That question came as less of shock, but it still managed to throw her thoughts into a jumble, "L-love?" she paused, focusing on the repetitive pattern of the plush rug beneath her feet, the greys, teals, and whites alternating to produce a wave-like affect, much like the modern interpretation of the sea as a rug, "If I were to say that I loved him right now, it would not be entirely true. I…" she paused gathering her thoughts in her head before organizing them in a process that would make her literary professor proud, "I care for him, very much, much more than I ever thought possible. He's incredibly important to me, but love…for me it's different. I love my friends, I loved my mother…, but for Levi it's, different. I-I'm sorry I don't know what I'm saying I just-"
"Eren, it's okay. You've said more than enough," he placed his hand atop hers firmly, reassuring her that she wasn't alone and though his sister had unnecessarily put her on the spot, that he wasn't going anywhere.
"As for you, I expect that you'll apologize for making her uncomfortable, regardless of our relationship, Eren is first and foremost a guest, and should be treated with much more respect and kindness than she's been shown so far." He glanced over his shoulder to see his parents idling in the doorway, his father's expression unreadable, while his mother's looked something akin to flustered. "That goes for you two as well; ignoring her won't make her disappear," at this, Levi stood from the sofa, ushering Claire off of his lap and pulled Eren up to stand next to him, their hands still tightly intertwined, "I'm interested in this young woman and whether or not you accept that is your own prerogative; she's very important to me and I will not sit idly by and allow any further disrespect towards her. Understood?" Though he was talking to everyone in the room, he ended his speech by resting his gaze on his mother.
After several moments of silent, Dr. Ackerman nodded and took his seat in a cream colored chair while his wife simply huffed and followed him into the room with a tray of coffee cups filled with the hot steaming liquid and a glass of apple juice for Claire. Caroline settled in next to Levi on the circular sofa while Claire curled up to Eren's side for the duration of the movie. Once it had ended, the couple bid their farewells and goodnights before leaving Levi's childhood home and making their way back to the hotel.
Once they'd settled back inside the hotel, Levi showered first while Eren shared a much too brief call with Armin and Mikasa over their alternative spring break destination and purpose – they'd been assigned to accompany a few children from an impoverished part of town, no more than an hour away from the university, in hopes that they would get to know them and set up a possible tutoring schedule to help increase the likelihood of the children getting into college one day. Eren ended up on the balcony overlooking the dark, moonlit waters while she finished off her conversation and shared with her friends the madness she'd experienced thus far. By the time the trio finished their updates, Levi was set and ready for bed, while Eren had just started preparing.
Very few words were exchanged between the end of her call and the moment she slipped under the covers next to Levi. They whispered their 'Goodnights' and each drifted off into a fitful sleep, one's thoughts consumed with desire and duty, while the other was consumed with thoughts of feelings and trying to understand the many different emotions and forms that one simple, yet convoluted word could take on: love.
"Eren, you know you don't have to do this, I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into it," Levi spoke with a firm, yet gentle tone, "I'm sure my parents will be able to talk to us and survive with a nine year old around, they've done it before," he paused while he finished tying his shoes, his parents had requested to have lunch with him and Caroline, unspokingly excluding Eren and Claire from this mid-afternoon family gathering, Eren gladly took the hint and offered to watch over Claire, happy to avoid any further run-ins with Levi's mother and strangely enough, his older sister as well, she seemed as though she meant well, but Caroline's method of showing it…was less like a gentle nudge and more like a hurried shove towards a wall while Leanne's approach was more like a sack of bricks to the face.
"It's fine, Claire and I get along great, besides, it's not my business to intrude on family matters anyway. I'm sure without me there you'll actually be able to talk to your family." She hadn't meant for it to sound as bad as it did coming out, but there was no way to salvage the message nor take it back, it was how she felt and truly, she was sure Levi felt the same way, no matter how eloquently he tried to run around it.
"Alright then," he sighed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand while Eren finished tidying up the few stray garments she'd been too tired to care about the night before, "Caroline is on her way to pick me up, I'm leaving you the car so if you need to do anything feel free to use it, also, Claire is a little temperamental around the ocean, a classmate of hers drowned several years ago and it's not something she likes to bring up, though ironically she loves the beach, just make sure you watch her carefully okay?"
"Yes sir, anything else?" Eren asked, making her way over to Levi before leaning down to his level and placing a playful kiss to his lips. Her teasing gestures did not go unnoticed and Levi practically pulled her into his lap before she could escape with the innocent teasing.
"Yes," he whispered, lips grazing the shell of her ear as her continued, "don't get too exhausted before I get back." He punctuated his words with a slow kiss that had her practically melting into his arms, but before things could get too steamy, his phone started ringing, the caller id for 'Caroline' bouncing along the screen signaling the end of their play before it had even begun.
Several hours and one acute sunburn later, Eren and Claire lay sprawled out on the hotel bed, lightly snoozing the remainder of the evening away having spent the better part of the afternoon digging for shells and trying to avoid the critters that inhabited them.
By the time Caroline and Levi arrived to the Italian restaurant their parents had chosen for their lunch, Dr. and Mrs. Ackerman were already settled and ready to order. They sat in a cozy corner booth, mostly for the comfortably cushioned seats, but also for the decent amount of privacy the corner offered.
Just outside the doors of the restaurant the siblings exchanged a few words, preparing themselves for what was likely to be an intervention, or at least an attempt at one, regarding Levi's apparent choice in partner. Levi sighed, and Caroline gave him a knowing look before they walked in, were greeted, and all too quickly seated with their parents.
Leanne was the first to speak, "Levi darling, where is Eren? Is she not feeling well?"
Levi had to keep himself from rolling his eyes, choosing instead to focus on what he wanted to order so they could get their food, eat, and be done that much faster, "She's just fine mother. Claire wanted to go to the beach, so Eren offered to watch her while we enjoy our family lunch."
"Oh, well you two seem so serious I just assumed she'd be joining us anyway." She shot back in a haughty tone.
"I'm sure she would have just loved to be here. It's thrilling. Really." His eye twitched before spotting a waiter in his peripheral, he quickly waved him over, "Ah, yes, I'd like the Frutti di Mare, with some extra lemon slices on the side. And if you could, a slice of your mousse cake, and tiramisu to go." The waiter quickly jotted down Levi's order then turned to the others, diligently taking theirs before retreating back to the kitchen.
Levi returned his gaze to his mother, "Now where were we?"
Though the lunch was delicious and satisfying, the pleasant feeling of a stomach filled with good food did nothing to aid the conversation, which had become little more than a sequence recurring spats between Levi and his mother, with Caroline entering into the mix on occasion and little to no input from their father, who sat stoically observing the failed attempt at bearable family get-together.
"I don't know why you're in such a rush son. We hardly ever get to see you and when we do you're ready to leave before you've even settled."
"I can't imagine why that is." He replied, annoyance and sarcasm openly dripping from his words.
"Levi you had better-" before Leanne could snap back at him, Dr. Ackerman cut in, "That's enough. From both of you. We are here to have a civil, familial chat over lunch, not to listen to you two bicker over nothing." He turned to his wife, "Leanne, we all understand that you don't like Eren, and quite frankly, I don't think any of us give a damn, and even if we did, it's not our place to judge or decide for Levi. It's his choice, accept it and move on." He then looked to his son, "Do you care for the girl?"
"Yes."
"Then that's that, end of discussion."
Once they'd finally said their goodbyes to their parents, Caroline and Levi decided to do some much needed catching up, the girls weren't expecting them to be back until after dinner time and neither of them could stand being around their mother any longer. She'd made it obvious that there would be no peaceful end, she refused to accept Eren as a 'suitable' partner for her son, but at the very least, she had agreed to stop trying to set Levi up with what she pictured as his 'ideal' type…rather, her preferred type.
The siblings exchanged work horror and humor stories, updates on interests and possible gift ideas –specifically for Claire- and arranged times for future visits so they would be more frequent and less unexpected. Caroline even managed to squeeze a few details of how Eren and Levi's relationship came to be from Levi, but soon realized if she wanted anything substantial, she'd have to ask Eren herself.
As the sun began to set and dinner time passed, the siblings made their way back to Levi's hotel. Caroline parked in temporary space outside the valet range and took a quick breath before turning to her younger brother. She stopped him before he left the car, grabbing his arm gently, "Levi…I'm still not comfortable with how young she is…she just seems too immature," at his growing glare she added, "I'm only saying this because I don't want you to get hurt, but, if you really are interested in her, if you think that you can love her, and that she can love you, then I'll support you both."
Levi stared at his older sister then let a short sigh escape before a small smile surfaced. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I am a grown man. I've long since learned my limits." He started to open the door then paused, looking Caroline square in the eyes, "I don't think I can love her, I know I can, and I know I do. That's all there is to it. If she falls in love with me too…then we can decide where to go from there…if not...then we simply say our goodbyes and move on with our lives."
He exited the car and started towards the hotel while Caroline removed the key and followed after him, "And if she doesn't? Will you be okay with that?"
Levi fished out his phone and searched through the contacts, "I'll let you know when I do."
She sighed accepting that to be the end of the conversation and followed Levi up to his hotel room while he hit the call button and brought the device to his ear.
When Eren didn't answer her phone, Levi assumed she was still out on the beach with Claire, but seeing as the daylight had long since faded, he decided to check the room before attempting to navigate the beach and its dark waters just yet. He was glad he did, because the sight both he and Caroline found was too precious for words, Claire lay comfortably snoozing beside Eren, who held her in a protective hold, after snapping a few pictures for herself, Caroline allowed Levi to rouse Eren from her nap to retrieve Claire as gently as possible before carrying her down the stairs back to her car, Levi and Eren waved them off and wished them a safe trip back before returning to their room. Eren crawled back onto the bed almost immediately while Levi made a beeline for the shower.
The final days of spring break were upon them signaling the passing of another hurdle, and the quick approach of Eren's birthday. He'd already made some skeletal arrangement for it, but he wanted to have everything finalized before the next weekend rolled around. It was a shame the day fell midweek, but he was certain she'd enjoy the plans he had in store for them.