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There was nothing that Levi would not do for you. He would move heaven and earth, move mountains, go through hell and back to make sure that you kept that smile on your face. Sure, sometimes he could be a hard ass, but it was because he knew he needed him to be one. Who else was going to make sure that you were eating and drinking enough? How else could he be confident that you were actually taking care of yourself and not just laying on your bed in a depressed heap of blankets and pillows?
Knowing how easy it was for your emotions to work against you, he was actually kind of glad the both of you were cooped up together during the lockdown. Otherwise he would just have to watch you slowly fall apart over facetime and that was guaranteeing you actually picked up when he called.
Not that constantly being together was a perfect experience, but you two made do, even if you were silently arguing from separate sides of your apartment.
Tonight was special though, and Levi wanted to make sure that you knew he knew that. With the lack of cleanliness and safety in sit down restaurants, he knew your anniversary was going to have to be more of a homely one. At least here he could here he could control the sanitation and the amount of stupidity that walked through the door. Here you didn’t need to wear masks or worry about each surface you touched.
But honestly even if there wasn’t a pandemic happening, Levi would still be scrubbing the floors and dusting each surface like his life and you life depended on it.
“We don’t have to do anything special.” You had said to him, “What are we going to do?” You sighed mournfully, “Watch Frozen II again and eat store bought popcorn?” It wasn’t that you hated the idea of celebrating your anniversary. You loved Levi more than anything...but with the state of the world it was kind of hard to be anything more than pessimistic about everything. Part of you wished that you both could go out and do everything you wanted. Go watch movies in the theatre, go to some fancy overpriced restaurant with absurdly small portion sizes, and drink until your head was fuzzy and your body felt lighter than air.
Levi huffed as he washed the dishes from breakfast, “Doesn’t have to be big to be special.” He turned off the water and looked at you, his grey eyes soft, “The world is full of idiots. I won’t let them ruin everything.” He held your hands, callused fingers rubbing indiscernible patterns onto your palms, “This night will be ours, no matter where we celebrate.”
You felt his lips press against yours, firm and reassuring as his arm wrapped against your waist. There were many ways Levi showed his affection for you, some gentler than others. In his defense, something you needed a metaphorical kick in the ass, a quick yank out of a bed, a harsh call out on your toxic behavior. This had to be one of your favorites though.
This made you relax into his hold, sigh into his mouth, quieting down all the pesky voices that critiqued everything you did. He didn’t admit easily, but secretly he lived for the way you soften in his arms. There was little to nothing that softened his heart than seeing you smile and relax. You hadn’t been doing much of that since all of this had started and he killed him to know that he couldn’t do anything about it.
You hummed as you leaned in to him. Levi had been your one tether to humanity. He kept you grounded and sane. Though sometimes you felt guilty for how much you put him through, he should constantly have to put you back together. He-
Thump
“Hey!” You gasped, rubbing your forehead, “What was that for?”
Levi took a step back and crossed his arm, his gaze hard on you as he spoke, “You looked like you were thinking something stupid.”
“So you thumped me?” You pointed out.
He shrugged, “Kissing you wasn’t helping, so I did the next best thing I could think of.”
“And that was thumping me?” You repeated.
The dark haired man smirked as he leaned in, the scent of tea still on his breath, “Don’t act like you hate it now, honey.”
--
Levi didn’t tell you what he had planned for today, just to stay the fuck out oif kitchen and to not to worry about it. He had stayed in there for hours, the scent of food drifting through the apartment as you tried desperately to figure out what your husband was doing. He had made dinner before, being himself he despised being lackluster at anything. But he didn’t make anything extravagant, just recipes you both had occasionally picked off the internet.
“What are you doing?” You had yelled from the bedroom, rewatching a show as you waited for Levi to allow you out of your prison.
“Be patient ,” he ordered, the sound sizzling followed.
You weren’t sure how much time passed when he called you out of the bedroom. His voice sounded tired. He looked equally exhausted, slaving over the stove for god knows how long, but satisfied as he walked over the dining table and pulled out a chair for you to sit in. “It isn’t fine dining,” he muttered as he took his own seat, “but we’re better than fast food.”
The meal before was a level of culinary mastery you had never expected from Levi. It had all of your favorite meals, side dishes, sauces, and from the look of the kitchen you had barely been allowed to see there was probably some dessert in the fridge or freezer.
“Levi…” you gasped, “you shouldn’t have.”
He looked up from his plate, eyes playful, “Couldn’t just let us sit around, watch Frozen II and eat popcorn for our anniversary, could I?” You felt your face burn at him using your own words against you. What were you expecting though? Levi wasn’t a man who ever let someone’s expectation get in the way of anything. He always liked proving people wrong, even if sometimes it was unintentional.
“Thanks,” you said eventually, after getting a little more than halfway through the meal, “for everything.” There was so much you couldn’t say, so much he had done for you in the past and in the present that you didn’t quite know how to thank him for. He was a godsend, an angel from the heavens that managed to fall in love with you.
He hummed as he sipped his drink, “You’re welcome.” As he put the cup down he looked at you, stormy eyes indecipherable, “Thanks...you too.”
“For what?” You wondered.
Levi looked conflicted as he thought about his next choice of words. He was nothing if not guarded. You could remember when you first met him, the impenetrable fortress that he had built around himself was a daunting task to break through. At first you had thought he would push you away...which he did...several times, but eventually you wore him down. It took months, but you did it.
One of the few activities you had actually been consistent with to be successful in - breaking Levi Ackerman’s wall against the outside world. But you never thought he would actually thank you for it.
Once again he shrunk back, like you hadn’t been married for several years already.
“You…” he started, “you’ve helped me more than you know.” It was difficult to say. The wound wasn’t fresh, but still stung every time he had to think about it. Levi had lost a lot of people in his life, most of them you hadn’t ever had the pleasure of meeting, so you didn’t know what you had done to help fill the void they left. “I love you.”
You smiled as you reached for his hand, “I love you too, Levi.”
He blushed, “Don’t let it get to your head, brat.”
A chuckle left your lips as you leaned forward, “Don’t act like you like you hate it now, honey. ”