The Royal Decree (Erwin x Levi)

Chapter 11

A:n Oh guys, thank you for the influx of comments! I do realize that my recent chapters have shown Levi and Erwin to be slightly OOC, and I'm not making excuses, but my premise is: a) pressure b) pregnancy hormones and c) suppressed feelings. Anyway, here is the next chapter as always. Love! 

Things didn't get much better since the ball. Levi and Erwin had spent the entire night posing as the happy couple, with Erwin's arms wrapped tightly around Levi's middle and Levi's entire form encased in Erwin's seemingly oversized jacket. They had smiled and responded to the most impertinent questions, all the while aware of the King's watchful eye. The man had not gotten up from his throne, positioned strategically at the highest point inside the hall, and the whole time he had been following Erwin and Levi's moves like a hawk. They could not afford to slip up and to destroy the illusion they had created upon the man's orders, and so both Misters Smith had been on their best behavior.

After the nightmare was over, they had gone home in total silence, pressed up against opposite sides of the carriage.

Levi had taken to going for long walks around the castle grounds and sometimes even outside them. He had been firm enough with Erwin to make the older man rethink his prohibitive policies concerning the bearer of his future child, and he gave Levi his freedom to roam, within reason. Soon, Levi had been joined by Eren, another lonely, bored soul, and the two of them would traverse the small field outside of the castle walls together in companionable silence. Eren was already bigger than Levi, even though his term was shorter, and he had a hard time keeping balance on his swollen feet without the former Corporal's support. Levi himself was having difficulties with balance: it seemed like his body was not accustomed to such rapid and strange changes. His bladder kept sending him alarmed signals, and the joints of his hips complained about the excessive pressure he had never been subjected to before.

"So, does Hanji know when you're due?" Eren asked him during one such walk, as their feet hit the grass-covered ground softly. Levi sighed in response, shrugging his shoulders. The military uniform was now a distant dream to both of them, and instead, the soldiers of the Survey Corps had chipped in and paid for plain cotton shirts and pants for the both of them. Levi had dropped off his no-longer fitting uniform at Erwin's quarters, earning himself a wounded look from the older man.

"She supposes it'll be another five months or something. It's all estimates. It looks like you'll deliver earlier, at the rate you're going," Levi replied, pointing towards Eren's stomach. The young man smiled in response, his hands slipping to the swell like it was the most natural thing in the world. He rubbed his stomach gently, tenderly as if there was no barrier of skin between him and Jean's spawn already. Levi watched the wordless display with envy. He could only wish he were this comfortable with his kid. Every time he attempted to be gentle, to mimic the mothers he'd seen before, he just ended up feeling foolish. It wasn't like the child could hear him, or understand him. And it wasn't like he cared, anyway.

"I guess. I have to say, I'm excited for this," Eren told him honestly. Levi rolled his eyes.

"You were always the crazy one."

"Whatever you say, Humanity's Strongest," the young man teased. Levi's back stiffened. "Sorry. It's not getting any easier, is it?"

"No," Levi said shortly. "I lost it all."

"No, you didn't. Did the King explicitly tell you that you'll never fight again?"

"He didn't. But he didn't have to. I will be stuck babysitting the brat and feeding it and–,"

"You make it sound like a chore."

"It is."

"Not to me."