Chapter Text
By the Decree of His Royal Majesty, the King,
to restore the balance of lives lost in relation to lives given,
by expanding the human population within the Walls,
all unmarried individuals over the age of eighteen
are to be wed within the next month to their partner of choice.
If they fail to find a suitable partner, such a partner will be assigned to them by the government.
Those who have not yet reached the age of eighteen may marry voluntarily
or expect to be married by the end of the first month after they reach maturity.
Divorce is henceforth outlawed and punishable by death.
A week had passed since the fateful Royal Decree had been delivered to every soldier in the Corps who was of age, and ever since that day, things had not been going well. Hanji had been hysterical the entire time, more concerned for Levi's well-being than her impending fate of being married to some Garrison Corps idiot. Jaeger had just walked around looking miserably relieved that he still had some time before he would have to drag either Ackerman or Arlert to the altar. Kirschtein had spent three days punching walls and grunting at people; and overall, the entire castle had been a mess. Levi himself had isolated the thought of the Decree in the darkest recesses of his mind and tried to return to normal life. However, when summons had arrived from Erwin to see him at the headquarters, he had felt a short burst of elation at the idea of getting away from the chaos that was now Squad Levi.
He was now questioning his sanity, having thought that summons from Erwin meant something good. Levi stared at his Commander, his mouth half-open in a gape, as his mind tried to process what the man had just said.
“You want me to do what?”
“Marry me,” Erwin said, looking unruffled by the tone of disbelief and slight disgust in Levi’s voice. “You know this is the best way out, we both know it.
“The fuck it is!”
"You can't marry a girl, you're a bearer; which means they will give you to some Military Police captain, or worse yet, some royal cousin, and you would never see the light of day again," Erwin said grimly, and Levi shuddered inwardly. His so-called biological capabilities had been a secret since day one to everyone but a few select people in the know. The fact that now the Royal Family was sticking its noses in all of their records was troublesome. If they found out, Levi would either be sent off to a breeding house or forced to marry some vile official – and considering the fact that the Survey Corps had been gaining popularity among the people, those close to the government in Sina ached to get their hands on either of the two of them.
“So, you’re saying this is for my own good?”
“Exactly. Mine, too, really. I don’t fancy myself being married off someone who… who has no idea what it is like,” Erwin finished lamely. Levi understood, though – there was no way Erwin would be able to share his experience in the Survey Corps with some ignorant little girl from Wall Sina. Erwin was a very vocal person, he tended to over-share, and therefore he needed someone who would get what he was talking about.
Levi shook his head.
"This is absolutely insane. The King will never sanction our marriage. He is not a total idiot. He knows we don't like him. And he doesn't like us either."
"That would be an understatement. At this point, I believe the entire Survey Corps is ready to take a blade to the whole Royal family. And, probably, vice-versa. Alas, there is nothing we can do, until we gain sufficient power, our hands are tied." Erwin sighed, leaning forward onto the tabletop. "Look, if the idea is so repulsive to you, then forget about it. For some reason, I thought that you would agree to this. I was clearly wrong. You are dismissed, Corporal."
Levi did not move.
“You really want this.”
“This is the best option we have.”
“We would be forced to live together.”
“We have done it before. We have gone on missions together, camped out in tents, lived under the same roof in the castle, why should this be any different?”
“Because we’d be married.”
"Not in the way that matters," Erwin said lightly, though his facial expression changed to something unreadable. He looked down at his desk, eyeing the letter. He had read it so many times that the scroll had been completely smoothened out. "We're not in love with each other, Levi."
“Clearly.”
“Neither of us believe in love.”
Keep telling yourself that, asshole.
“Exactly.”
"So why not? It wouldn't interfere with our professional relationship. The Decree does not prohibit it. As long as we do it before the King realizes the loophole he so conveniently provided us with."
“What about children?”
“What about them?” Erwin looked at Levi sharply. “I was under the impression that you hated children.”
“As you have astutely said before, I am a bearer. Which means that the King would expect me to give you an heir. Especially since both you and I are so… high-profile now," Levi said with disgust in his voice. He detested his newly-found fame and sought to avoid public mention in any way possible. "I don't want to have a kid."
“Neither do I want to bring a child into this world. But if it comes down to it, Levi, would you rather have a child with me, or be forced into it by someone you barely know, someone you may even hate?” Erwin asked quietly, watching out for Levi’s reaction. He knew he had to tread very lightly in this regard. He remembered the state he’d first found Levi in. Beaten to a pulp, naked in a Sina alleyway; he’d been dragged up from the underground by his owner and given to some Wall priest as entertainment at a private party. After he'd done his so-called job, Levi had been thrown out together with the dinner leftovers and made to rot in a narrow alley in one of the peripheral districts of the Inner Wall. As he had been returning from official business in the capital, Erwin had been the one who had come across his shivering form, huddled in the corner, practically delirious with pain and hypothermia. So he'd taken him in, smuggled him into his quarters and nursed him back to health. He'd had Hanji come in and look at him, and she had been the one to discover the nature of Levi's anatomy – as well as the miscarriage he'd suffered because of the cold. The young man had said nothing to the news, only nodding at them both and curling up in bed. A week later, he'd run away from Erwin, leaving behind nothing save for a quick note of thanks written in sloppy, clearly infrequently used handwriting.
Three years later, Erwin had heard of a new menace in the underground, this group of three amazingly-skilled young people who had apparently wreaked havoc on the criminal world with their mastery of the Maneuvering Gear. When he had gone down to investigate, he had been gobsmacked to see Levi, the same broken, battered boy he’d encountered before, soaring through the air like a bird. It had been his mission ever since to have Levi join the Corps. And with the right amount of threatening and blackmail, he’d managed just that.
Their relationship had grown into a strange bond founded on mutual respect for each other’s talent and, at the same time, each other’s privacy. They’d never talked about Levi’s bearing abilities. Until now.
“I don’t want a kid. But I guess if I have one with you, at least I will know what to expect,” Levi said with venom. “A frustrating, emotionally constipated, constantly prying brat.”
Erwin smiled.
“I knew you would see things my way.”
In a few days' time, Erwin and Levi stood at full attention in front of the King himself. After they'd hurriedly sent out the wedding invitations (because, apparently, everything had to be a ceremony), they'd anticipated some sort of reaction from the palace. However, when Erwin and his Corporal had been pulled out of their carriage as they headed towards the civil registry to document their nuptials, Levi had been unable to suppress a feeling of dread that drenched him like a bucketful of freezing water. The feeling was now worse, as he stood facing the most disgusting man he'd ever laid eyes on, clad in his pristine parade uniform, feeling like a circus animal.
“You two are aware of the fact that this is unacceptable,” the King growled at the two of them. Levi fought the urge to roll his eyes – as he did not want to lose them yet. Instead, he allowed Erwin to do the talking. This was expected of him, as the lower-in-rank, smaller man. He hated the rules.
“The Decree does not prohibit it,” Erwin said lightly, although he’d positioned himself in a way that slightly shielded Levi from the King’s view. Damn it. I can take care of myself, you idiot.
“The Decree serves multiple purposes, the proliferation of the human race being only one of them. Both of us are aware of this, Commander Smith.” The King turned to look at Levi. “I do not want two of the most popular military officers forming such a union. People might get ideas.”
“Yes, Sina forbid that ever happens,” Levi muttered under his breath. Erwin shot him a look, but it was too late, when the who Military Police guards grabbed him by the arms, one of them landed a well-aimed blow to his shin, and he ended up kneeling on the marble floor of the palace, hissing with pain and unable to retaliate.
“Watch your mouth, boy,” the King said lazily. “You need to have better control over your fiancé, Commander.”
“I assure you, Levi did not mean it.”
“Perhaps, though, he did. Then I suppose I should have him executed for his audacity and disrespect for the Crown.”
"That would not be the wisest order you have ever given, Your Majesty," Erwin muttered, as he eyed Levi's heaving form.
“And why is that?”
“You see, my intended is… He is a bearer.”
Erwin could feel the burning hatred in Levi's gaze. They had agreed they would keep this bit of information a secret for as long as possible, and there he was, babbling it out to the King like it was yesterday's news. The King leaned forward in his seat, eyeing the dark-haired man on the floor with much more interest now. Bearers were rare individuals and were coveted by the Royal Palace for their ability to produce strong, intelligent offspring. Levi considered that particular trope bullshit, as he'd seen bearer children, and they had seemed to be nothing special. Culturally, however, it made no difference, and men and women alike fell over themselves to get their hands on a bearer – so much that Levi had ended up enslaved to a pimp in the underground, earning him quite a hefty sum of money just for the fact that he was allegedly able to give birth to children.
“A bearer, you say? Why, that changes things quite a bit.” The King gestured for the Military Police to let go of Levi. With a sound of disgust, Levi stood, brushing himself off. He kept his mouth shut, though, as he returned to his place next to Erwin, refusing to stand in his shadow. “I will allow this marriage, then. Under the condition that the two of you publicize it as much as possible. I want to see the two of you at every Royal reception, every parade, every gathering of the people. I want to see your portraits painted together and hear songs about your undying love for each other, is that clear?”
"If I may ask, what is it that changed your mind, Your Majesty?" Erwin asked, putting a comforting hand on Levi's waist – at least, that was the show they were putting on for those present. Levi went rigid upon his touch but then forced himself to relax with difficulty, knowing that this moment was make-or-break. He was aware that the King called their bluff, but the rest of the officers standing in the throne room seemed to have bought their story. After all, it wouldn't be strange for the two of them to tie the knot – it was widely-known that Commander Smith and Corporal Levi shared an unusually close bond, that Smith had mentored Levi since the beginning of his service, that they often went on missions together and spent time playing chess in Commander Smith's personal office.
“Why, Corporal Levi will hardly be able to stage a coup when he is with child,” the King said merrily, a satisfied smirk plastered over his seemingly ageless face. Levi suppressed the urge to groan. Fuck you, Erwin. “And he will be with child within a year’s time, won’t he, Commander Erwin?”
Levi was as tightly-coiled as a metal spring underneath his fingers when Erwin replied.
“He certainly will be.”