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visionofhope04 · 5 months

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Here for the angst of neglected batsis, imagine or hc them of moving out if the house when they are 18 and let's say they meet some spirit and they have their memory wiped and transfer to the marvel universe to restart their life and more happy, then the dc/marvel merge together because of a big threat and batfam sees batsis is heavily pregnant and married to our favorite deadpool charater Colossus?

How would they reached if batsis just can't remember them and keeps on telling them they have the wrong person?

I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK. Guess who's back!! Sorry it took me so long to get this out, I haven't had the motivation to write until recently. Also OOC warning bc I don't really know him well besides the Deadpool movies. I almost freaked out bc I haven't used the tumblr website in so long and it got updated so I thought I lost all my drafts. So glad they're still here, whew. Not beta read so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes!

---

It's been a year since moving into your apartment and you couldn't be happier. College was going well and you were taking classes you enjoyed. However, you haven't made any friends yet which led you to spend your free time reading or surfing the web. Jason didn't come by much due to having his own life and vigilante things, which you understood. It didn't mean you couldn't be a little bit sad about it though.

Even though you were enjoying your life, you still felt as if there was something missing. You'd been trying to figure out why you had felt this way but nothing came to mind. Any time you tried to brush off the feeling, it came back stronger. You did your best to ignore it and continue on with life, but it was always there, nagging you.

It had been a long day. College was so stressful. Your professors kept hurling projects at you that had deadlines that were practically impossible to meet. You just wanted it to end already and be on summer break. Then, you’d be able to sleep how long you wanted to without the fear of being late for class or forgetting to complete an assignment.

You sat down at your desk and pulled out your laptop, preparing to continue an essay that was due in three days. Suddenly, you began to feel nauseous. Confused, you attempted to ignore the feeling in favor of completing the essay. A few seconds after trying to focus on your laptop screen, you saw a bright light.

"My child, you will be saved from this life." A strangely comforting voice said.

Then everything faded to black.

---

"Hello?!"

A voice. A voice? But you live alone and no one has the spare key to your apartment. You slowly opened your eyes, groaning and quickly shutting them again once a bright light blinded you.

"Oh you're alive, thank God. Can you speak?" Whoever this was seemed to have been panicking before, slightly less though now that you had indicated you were alive. You groan as you push yourself up off of what seems to be concrete. Concrete? You're definitely not in your apartment. You crack your eyes open again, this time with less difficulty, and come face to face with white lenses of a mask. Blinking again, you register that the lenses are attached to a red material with black lines.

"Ah!"

"AH!" The figure yells and jumps back, startled by your sudden surprise.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" You asked, tilting your head slightly to the side.

"What do you mean? I'm Spiderman." His voice was a bit high pitched, he sounded like a teen at most.

"Spiderman? You've got to be joking. There is no Spiderman. Go home kid, crime fighting isn't a game." Sure, you may be a hypocrite, seeing as you are an ex-assassin who began learning how to kill at around 5, but at least you had training. What did this Spiderman have? From how startled he was, you assumed he had barely been trained, if at all.

“What? I'm literally Spiderman! I'm Queens' hero!"

"Queens, New York?" You thought you'd still be in New Jersey at least.

"Uh yeah. I don't think there are any other places called Queens that have a Spiderman."

"Again, Spiderman? Seriously? You couldn't think of a better name at least?"

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with Spiderman!"

"Sure kid, keep telling yourself that."

He was about to protest when suddenly, someone else dropped into the alley.

"Hey Spidey, who's this lovely lady?" A person in an all red with black suit with two swords on his back and guns strapped to his waist called out. The person seemed to be a male, around 30 years old.

"This 'lovely lady' is very confused. Who are you?" They keep multiplying, and you'd never seen this person either.

"Did you hit your head or something? You've never heard of or seen Deadpool? The most handsomest, most awesomest, funniest, killer crime fighter?"

"Uh nope. Also, I'm from Jersey, how did I end up here?"

"Good question. What's your name?"

"Oh, it's-" You stopped in confusion. "I actually don't remember. It was just at the tip of my tongue but I don't remember."

"Oh great! Amnesia! Just what we need. I'll let you handle her Spidey and I'll go stop some bad guys, 'kay?"

"What! No, don't leave me here!" Deadpool was already sprinting away.

"Let's get you to the base. Colossus and the others will know what to do."

---

They did not, in fact, know what to do. Colossus sent Negasonic and Yukio to contact Professor X, while Spiderman went to contact Tony Stark (I'm still emotionally scarred from Endgame so no, he won't be dead, this is my fanfic and I can keep him alive if I want to) and Deadpool went back out to patrol. You were left alone with Colossus.

Uncomfortable silence sat between you. Just as you were beginning to get antsy, Colossus broke it first.

"Do you remember anything at all?"

"I'm... a college student. I live alone in an apartment in New Jersey, I think. I used to fight crime until... I don't know, it's fuzzy. I'm an ex-assassin who has been training since I was 5. That's all I remember."

"You can remember that but not your name?"

"Look, I don't know okay? I don't know what's happening or why I can't remember anything else. I want to remember who I am, but I can't. And it's so... so frustrating! Your suspicion is understandable, but it is not helping."

"I apologize. This is a stressful situation for you. I will be more considerate."

"Thank you."

---

They could not figure out what happened to you or why you suddenly appeared in Queens one day. Your memory remained fuzzy, so you were stuck. As time passed, you and Colossus grew closer. You became so close that he told you his real name, you became a couple, and you got married. Seven years passed, you were 25 and you'd been trying for a baby. You both felt the time was right and that you'd be able to handle parenting.

Colossus came home from work one day, spent and tired. There you were, waiting for him at the door as usual.

"Hi my love, long day?" You fiddled with the positive pregnancy test behind your back.

"Yes darling, when is it not?"

"Well, we're going to have to figure something out, because there's no way I'll wake up every night to take care of our baby."

He looked confused, then realization hit. "You're..?" He looked so happy and hopeful, you couldn't contain your happiness. A huge smile lit up your face.

"Yes, we're finally going to be parents!" You pulled out the pregnancy test and held it up to him.

He laughed a joyful laugh, tears began to fall from the corners of his eyes as he embraced you. It must've been infectious because you began to tear up too. You remained in each other's embrace for a while, just existing in the moment. Time felt irrelevant as you basked in your shared delight.

---

8 months later, your belly had swollen and grown. Everyone was happy for the both of you. You and Colossus were both eager for your little one to arrive. You'd both decided to wait for birth to find out the gender. It didn't matter to you whether it was a boy or girl, just that they were healthy (gender's a construct anyway). The pregnancy had been going great so far, but this time of easy-going was about to get ruined by your husband's job.

---

Your world had merged with another because of some cosmic threat. Great! Your husband would be preoccupied trying to fix the situation, which meant that you'd be alone. Selfishly, you wished that they could let your husband stay with you so close to your due date, but you knew he had a role to play in saving two worlds.

Seeing your loneliness, Colossus decided to bring you with him to the Avengers' base. He hoped you'd be able to befriend some of the people there. You entered the compound and your eyes were drawn to some men standing beside a set of double doors. They all had suits on, black hair (one guy had two white streaks in his hair) and most had blue eyes, except for one man who had green eyes. He was also noticeably the darkest of the group. They felt familiar to you, especially the man with green eyes. Have you met them before? Who were they?

As your husband was discussing some details about the meeting, you couldn't help but watch the group of men. Not knowing why you thought you knew them annoyed you. As if they could feel your eyes on them (they could), they turned around in sync and locked eyes with you.

Their eyes widened and they all exclaimed your name in various degrees of disbelief. They rushed over to you and your husband protectively stepped in front of you

"How do you know my wife?"

"Wife?!" Some of them shouted. They were beginning to cause a scene.

"You're pregnant." The one with green eyes observed. He seemed to be having some sort of crisis.

All their eyes darted to your belly, making you uncomfortable. You placed your hand over your stomach and attempted to discretely hide behind your husband. This did not go unnoticed by them.

"You don't remember us?" The shortest of them questioned.

"No, I've never met you guys." You were very confused.

The man who appeared to be the oldest said your name. You stared at him as he studied your eyes, presumably to see if you were lying. It made you feel vulnerable and unsettled, couldn't they leave you alone?

"We're your family."

The guy with the white streaks in his hair scoffed. "You didn't treat her like she was family. I was the only one who cared for her when she was younger while you all ignored her and let her suffer. I'm glad she doesn't remember what you all did to her. She's clearly living a much better life without you lot in it."

This was getting more confusing by the second, although you felt there was truth to his words. Did you forget these people? They seemed very convincing if they were lying.

"I'm sorry but I really don't remember you guys. Maybe you have the wrong person?"

"No we don't! You disappeared one day and now that we've finally found you, you're saying you forgot everything!"

"That is enough. Please leave my wife alone, she does not know you, and she does not need the unnecessary stress of trying to remember people she's never met. Do not approach her anymore." Colossus guided you away from the men, who stared longingly at you. The heartbroken expressions they had after your husband's speech would follow you often. Were you sure you'd never met them before?

---

Words: 1,847

#batfamily #batfam #batfam x reader #dick grayson #bruce wayne #jason todd #avengers x platonic reader #colossus #colossus x reader #tim drake #damian wayne #batfam x neglected!batsis!reader

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ackerfics · 3 years

Text

the parent trap — levi ackerman (vi)

— levi ackerman x female reader (modern au | the parent trap au)

— warnings: angst (if you can count this as one skksk), sexual assault, mentions of excessive use of alcohol, also a character that i want to smack to the ends of the earth :)))

— summary: it's the most-awaited day of the meet-up, with levi thinking that meeting you will be just like what he imagined. when desperate times call for desperate measures, the two sides meet (minus you and hange) and added new agendas for the plan, and altair took it upon himself to save the day with another genius plot of his. here we go again.

— word count: 10.8k (i'm sorry, this is the first piece i wrote after a writing slump :((()

— author’s notes: hiii !! i'm back from a fucking drought. we were swamped with projects in our uni and i had no time to write something. i'm so sorry for the people who requested :(( i'm trying so hard to write but i couldn't do it mainly because i'm so tired mentally and physically. for the requests, please wait patiently because i'll be finishing it a few days from now !! AND THANK YOU FOR 200 ILY <333 without further ado, here's part 6 of the parent trap au !!

btw, here is the reference for the dress the reader is wearing ;))

my masterlist

“Okay, I take back what I said, I can’t do this.”

Two days flew by in the Ackerman household and it was finally the day of the un-switch, as Altair cheekily put it during their last call. Levi was convinced that there was something the older twin was plotting, based on his too-bright smile that was too good to be true on the former’s phone screen. Actually, it wasn’t plotting again — Levi concluded that Altair was hiding something that might affect how great things are going and Caelum knows about it because of their little gestures. Right when the two boys thought their dad wouldn’t notice, Levi always kept a close eye on the two of them while on a video call. It was a good thing his boys weren’t paying attention to him, continuing their charades of ‘please stay quiet’ and ‘shut it’, because every scrunch of their faces amused him. He couldn’t prevent a little snort coming out of his mouth in an attempt for a laugh so the silent yet intense interaction between Altair and Caelum stopped when they heard it.

Those were still good times, even though they only happened the day prior.

Today, however, Levi was told that you were on your way to San Francisco, alongside your little family and a supposedly tagging-along friend. While you’re probably decked with clothes worthy of your status, Levi was in a slump on one of his armchairs, glare fixated on the opened closet. This was reminiscent of the time of your first date with him — sitting in front of his closet with an array of clothes surrounding him while having an internal meltdown, cursing himself for his non-existent sense of style because he needed one to impress you for the second time. He ran his hand through his mussed hair, already feeling tired just thinking about the upcoming events of the day.

He’s going to finally meet you after eleven years.

Will you still recognize him? To be honest, Levi also noticed that he hadn’t changed a single thing in his physical appearance but he always fought that he grew about a few inches than his years in college. This was the only change — he grew taller, for him, that is. (Petra would say that he needed some sleep because the lack of it along with stress is starting to show. He wordlessly told her he’d fire her with a stare so the housekeeper could only shrug and leave her friend slash employer be.) Will you still look at him the same you always do when you were together? Oh, how he wanted to see the same smile that managed to shake his world. He dreamed of seeing it again every night to the point of neglecting sleep because it has been plaguing his head too often while Altair grew up. All of Levi’s excuses of blaming it on his insomnia was partially true but the more obvious reason for his late-night trips to the kitchen, munching on that Oreo and peanut butter combination, was because of you.

Just like those sleepless nights, there are so many thoughts running in his mind at the moment and all of them came to a stop when the image of you flashed in his mind. Now, he wasn’t thinking about your reaction while seeing him. He wanted to make this work, for his sons to have a complete family, and for him, because he missed you so much. Levi shifted in the armchair as he wondered if you changed over the years, whether by your physical appearance or even just a small shift in your personality. But Levi always knew you will still carry that air of heavenly elegance you always had in college and that made him smile for a second, his eyes taking on the rose-colored glasses you blessed him.

Until some whispers by the opened door of his room shook him out of his reverie.

“Is Dad alright? He really looks out of it.”

“That’s his overthinking face, Cae. It’s best to stay here by the door because there is a chance that he will lash out at any time now.”

“… What do you do if he stays like this?”

“Nothing. This is the first time it came to that.” Petra gestured at the glaring Levi peeking over the back of the armchair. The redhead chose to ignore the knives thrown at her by Levi’s glower and faced the curious onyx-haired boy beside her. “Usually, he notices that he’s doing it before losing himself like right now. Damn, your mom’s something else if Levi gets like this. I like her — your mom. She’s cool.” She sighed with a smile. “I’m excited for the day, Cae, because I’ll be needing a bag of popcorn. You know, with the upcoming scenario of Levi meeting your mom after eleven years.”

“Mum is definitely something else.” Levi can hear the pride in his son’s voice, making him turn his head a little to stare at the duo still conversing by his door. “I’m also excited for the meet-up and for the un-switch to happen. I miss Mum just as much as Al misses Dad right now. I can tell it would all end perfectly.” The grin on Caelum’s face didn’t sit right with Levi, the latter narrowing his eyes at the mirthful half-smile pulling on his son’s lips. What are his two brats planning?

“Before we celebrate what will happen in the future, why don’t we take a look around and point out what you can see, Cae.”

The onyx-haired boy followed Petra’s instructions, the redhead smugly presented the room filled with clothes thrown over the bed and spilling over the closet. The boy blankly stared at the mess before directing his stare at his dad, who went back to brooding in his little world on the armchair.

Caelum narrowed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and, “Okay, this is enough!” Levi jumped at the shout and perked up when he saw Caelum making his way to where the armchair was. The silver-eyed boy stood in front of Levi, the two of them beholding matching unamused expressions that looked so similar to each other (Petra laughed at the sight before going downstairs to give the father and son some privacy). Levi was assessing his son while Caelum wanted to get his dad out of the gutter. The latter schooled his features in a sad smile. “Dad, pull yourself together.”

Levi never eased his furrowed eyebrows. “How? I have never seen a glimpse of [Name] [Last Name] in over eleven years and suddenly she’s flying here all the way from London to …” He trailed off. What was he supposed to say? That you’re flying here across an ocean just to see him? What about switching the twins back? Instead, Levi scoffed, running his hand again through his hair. “To be honest, I thought I can handle this but, Cae,” he looked up at his son, “I’m not ready to meet her again. I don’t know how to face your mother because if I’d chased after her back then, we would still be married right now.”

Caelum didn’t hide how the remark affected him. He pursed his lips as he took in the state of his dad. Levi had bags under his eyes that were too prominent that Caelum assumed the man didn’t sleep well last night. The boy understood that his dad would feel this way but he had to ‘hype him up’, as Altair put it. “Dad, seeing Mum is inevitable eventually. You two would have to meet each other someday after separating, and I know that moment is now. You can’t change the past, Dad, but you can fix it by doing this one small thing — by being brave enough to face Mum without having the urge to run away.” He shrugged lightheartedly. “We never know, Mum will fall in love with you all over again with just one look at you.”

At every word, Levi found Caelum’s words soothing him. He opened his arms a little and smirked, “Come here, brat.” Welcoming Caelum in his arms, the two of them sat side by side in the armchair, which luckily held the two of them without the other falling out. Levi kissed the crown of his son’s head. “It’s not that I’m scared of seeing her again but I have a feeling it’s because of me that she left. There’s something in my mind telling me that I could be right.”

The little boy shifted his gaze on any part of Levi’s room. One night while Caelum heard you crying, he went to your room to sleep beside you just like the other times when you both felt alone. He stopped on the other side of your room with his hand hovering over the doorknob when he heard you talking over the phone. Caelum heard you mention his grandmother, your voice pleading to the older woman on the other end about something that he never understood then. They were all cryptic pieces that were scattered in your rambles. But now, it all tied together because, after that call, you were sobbing along the lines of regretting your choices of not being selfish for once. Caelum chose not to enter your room that night. That happened one week before you sent him off to summer camp.

The onyx-haired boy deduced that Levi was the reason why you left, not because you fell out of love or you hated him, but because you did it for the best of Levi.

“You might be right, Dad,” Caelum felt Levi slightly stiffen beside him so he took his father’s larger hands and wrapped his own around them, “but there’s more to one side of the story.” He smiled as he looked up at Levi. “I think it’s your choice if you want to believe what you think is the truth, Dad, but I’m telling you that Mum never left you because she hated you — actually, it’s the opposite. She felt too much of it that she made a decision she believed was right for your sake.”

Silence enveloped the room as Levi openly stared at Caelum, who was cursing in his mind that maybe he spoke too much. Since there wasn’t anything he could reply to his son’s advice, the silver-eyed man blankly stated, “You know, for a kid your age, you speak your mind so well.” Truth be told, he was beginning to feel scared that Caelum can read his mind too well. It was the same with Altair, though the older twin used the joking route to alleviate the atmosphere. But with Caelum, the younger twin’s words can make Levi reflect on so many things in his life.

Caelum grimaced, scratching his undercut. “Sometimes, I tend to stray off-course while comforting someone. I always do this with Mum whenever she…” He trailed off because he didn’t want to explicitly tell Levi that you’re crying almost every night. “Whenever Mum feels like she needed someone to listen to her.”

Levi cleared his throat, his cheeks becoming warm. “Uhm, d-do you think your mom will be happy when she sees me?”

The gray-eyed boy adoringly looked up at his father, admiring the shade of rouge coloring the man’s cheeks. Caelum was starting to think that Levi appeared adorable while pretending that asking about you didn’t affect him. If only Caelum could preserve this sight, he would show it to you once the plan works out. The onyx-haired boy bit his lip to prevent a huge grin because once Levi notices his knowing smile, he would drop the subject immediately. “Dad, Mum will be ecstatic.” A white lie never hurt anyone, right? “In fact, I just got off the phone with her and she told me she’s anxious about meeting you.”

“Anxious? Like she’s nervous to see me and thinking this isn’t worth her time coming here in California? Or anxious excited, like she’s looking forward to meeting me. Because I know I’m a combination of the two, minus the ‘not worth my time’ because your mom owns every single part of me including all the time I dedicate in the world.” Levi stopped, his cheeks reddening even more, with his sigh coming right after. “Please don’t tell her I said that. That sounds embarrassing. Ugh, I just said something awkward in front of my son.” Then, the ramble started. “Just thinking about your mom always turns me in a mess. Did you know that when she first smiled at me genuinely, she was instantly my captor? One smile was all it took for me to fall in love with her.” Levi buried his hand through his hair. “How much more that I never saw her for eleven years. I will be on my knees in front of her.”

Caelum leaned his head on Levi’s arm. He was having too much fun in taking in Levi’s flustered state. His grin was becoming too hard to control. “It looks good on you, Dad.”

Levi blinked and stared down at his son in confusion. “What?”

“Being in love.”

Levi could only gape at his youngest son.

“Oh, and by the way, she’s anxious excited to meet you. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“… Do I look like an idiot while talking about your mother? It’s just a thought I have since college because Hange and Erwin always told me I look funny. Eyebrows still tells me that to be fucking honest.”

Caelum laughed, shaking his head. “Not at all. I’d say it’s endearing rather than idiotic. As I said, it looks good on you, Dad.”

A chuckle came out of Levi, his hand ruffling his son’s hair until it became a mess. He stood up and stretched his arms in the air, placing his hands on his hips afterward. Talking to Caelum lifted some of the weight on his shoulder. His entire chest became lighter and he felt invigorated so he turned to his empty bag sitting on the bed. They were planning on staying in that hotel for two days and nights as a sort of vacation and a getaway from the plantation. “Hey, brat, let me just pack for a second and clean this room.” He didn’t see Caelum nod so he continued with a determined visage. “And can you tell Petra to prepare some whiskey for me? Just tell her to put it in my flask. Thank you.” Then, Levi started to succumb to his element — tidying things up.

At the mention of the alcoholic drink, Caelum winced but he will still follow his father’s request nonetheless. “Alright, Dad,” his voice came out tentative as he exited Levi’s room. He only hoped that the situation with Altair was faring better than his. He suddenly stopped in front of the opened doorway, his smile cheeky while he casually stated, “Just to let you know, Dad, the name of Mum’s bridal shop are your initials. Think of that as a reminder. Plus, you’re winning her back, right? Just be charming like how you charmed Cindy the publicist.”

The sound of Levi taking a sharp breath was enough to make Caelum laugh. Yeah, this trap that Altair planned out with his elaborate mind and the trap that Caelum is trying so hard for it to be a success will work.

You didn’t expect that stepping on California again could make you this sentimental. The drive to the hotel from the airport was filled with Lucas talking about nonsensical things, as Hange said, but that didn’t deter you from wistfully staring at the place where your ex-husband made his business known. You mindlessly caressed your ring finger and your touch faltered when you realized you wore the engagement ring Lucas gave you. Before boarding your flight, he pulled you to the side and shoved the piece of jewelry he seemed to have forgotten in your hand, murmuring along the lines of ‘letting people know you’re his’. At the sight of the plain gold band, you suddenly missed the vine-like design of intricate diamonds on another ring that should’ve been on your finger instead of resting idly in the middle of your collarbones. Lucas stared at your necklace in disdain, seeing as you have no signs of leaving the remembrance behind in London.

Your little group consisted of the entire family, including Oluo. As for your home, Mike was asked to keep an eye on it for the meantime, permitting him to stay in your house while you four were away for this so-called vacation. The blonde man reassured you to your house’s gate that the house is in good hands so you have no choice but to thank him profusely as well.

The hotel Oluo picked out was bedecked with an aesthetic that came out of a fairy tale. You looked up at the chandelier hung on the ceiling, its crystals reflecting the high Californian Sun. While you were admiring the hotel’s architecture, a wedding dress already in your mind, a small hand clung onto yours and you turned to your son, who was smiling widely at you. You returned his smile with your own and followed Hange and Oluo to the front desk.

“Miss [Name], let us take care of the check-ins,” Oluo told you, a kind smile pulling on his lips. Hange also rose a thumbs-up before returning to their conversation with the front desk, their grin making you smile again. “The armchairs over there are perfect for you and Caelum to rest after the trip.”

You slightly lowered your head in gratitude. “Thank you, Oluo.”

Once settled on one of the beige chairs near the floor-to-ceiling windows, you let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of the plush cushions encasing your tired body. You roamed your eyes on the table, taking in the beautiful flower arrangement and a filled tissue holder. You brightened, taking out a pen from your handbag before taking a piece of tissue in the middle of the table. Altair tilted his head curiously, following your every movement as you started to draw the wedding dress you have in mind. You started scribbling materials on the tissue along with the outline of the dress. You tried matching the wedding dress to the casual one you’re wearing at the moment — one with a lace-up corset bodice and a tiered skirt. You were so engrossed in adding details to the dress that you didn’t feel your son sitting on the armchair beside yours, a small smile lighting up his face as the dress came to life with your sketching. Raising your head, you were at a loss for words because Levi was suddenly beside you, however, when you blinked, a little version of him looked at you with adoration.

A little version of him.

You froze at your assumption. Maybe this was why he hugged you tightly when he came home, or why he cried on your shoulder like he couldn’t believe you’re in front of him. You knew your Caelum’s eyes, how they looked like yours despite having the same color as your ex-husband. Not to mention the little things he forgot that should’ve been imprinted in Caelum’s actions. The little boy sitting beside you, though, was a carbon copy of Levi Ackerman. The resemblance was so uncanny that you couldn’t look away, slightly gaping for a minute until Altair tilted his head in concern. What was he doing here with you? Did Levi know about this? You looked back and roamed your eyes over the hotel’s main receiving hall. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, except for Lucas introducing himself to a brown-haired woman that appeared younger than you. There was no Levi in sight.

Slightly shaking your head before turning back to your son, you tilted your head and caressed his hair. You would have to keep this secret to yourself, then. Who knows what Hange might’ve reacted if you told them about this theory of yours? “What do you think, starlight?” Oh, how you wanted to say that since he reached out to you when they were born. You looked at your eldest son with so much care and love, controlling yourself from hugging him in the middle of the hotel. “Is the dress beautiful?”

Altair never once looked away from you. “Yeah. You’d look great in it.”

You blinked at the remark, cheeks becoming warm at the thought. “Oh, no, this is a potential dress to be added in the new line Armin suggested. He suggested making dressed that seem to be out of a fairy tale so I got inspiration from this hotel.” You looked away to glance at the piece of tissue paper. “Besides, I won’t have any reason to wear any wedding dresses anymore. This upcoming wedding with Lucas doesn’t feel right to wear a dress this ethereal.”

The onyx-haired boy hummed, his wide eyes becoming half-lidded as he coldly stared at something behind you. “Yeah, because that fucking idiot is flirting with a woman old enough to be my sister over there.”

You followed Altair’s gaze and rolled your eyes as the young woman became charmed with Lucas. “I’m thinking they look good together. He should marry her instead of me, that way this circus will stop.” Then, you realized how easily the curse came out of your son’s mouth so you bit your lip to hide your smile. He sounded like Levi.

“Hey, you two, our rooms are available now,” Hange called, wrapping their arms around your shoulders before kissing your cheek. You lovingly pressed your cheek against theirs while they continued, “Let’s settle in first, and then, how about some exploring, sweet pea?” They directed the question at Altair, who nodded enthusiastically. Hange cheered, “How wonderful! [Name], let’s go.” They pulled you up from your seat, looping your arms together. “I’m rooming with you and sweet pea, by the way. Oluo was busy complaining how he’s rooming with the arsehole.”

“That sounds lovely, Hange, but poor Oluo, though.”

A cough rang from behind you three that prompted you all to turn around. Lucas was clearing his throat to catch your attention, his expression of annoyance lifting into faux cheer when your eyes landed on him. “Darling! Hange, Your Highness,” he each acknowledged the people surrounding you, “would you mind if I borrow my fiancé for a moment? This lovely weather should be perfect for a stroll around the hotel. I wouldn’t want to put this to waste.”

Hange blankly returned the stare. “I’d mind.”

“Me, too,” Altair grumbled.

“Thank you for understanding, Hange!” Lucas pulled you out Hange’s hold, the latter gasping because of the abrupt movement. He pulled you close to him with an arm wrapped around your waist, his thumb casually rubbing over your hip. He leaned down to place a kiss on your lips but you tilted your head so that his lips brushed your cheek instead. Lucas swallowed his disapproval with a bright smile that seemed to pull his lips to his ear. Altair found it scary. “Goodbye, you lot, we’ll be seeing you in lunch!” Lucas turned around and walked away, with you trying to put some distance between you two, leaving behind Hange and Altair.

“That bloody wanker!”

“Fucking son of a bitch.”

The two people left behind said at the same time, their heads slowly turning to meet the other’s eyes.

“I see Levi has been teaching you some of his vocabularies.”

“What’s a wanker?”

As Lucas led you away from your family, you looked up at him in confusion. “Where are you taking me?”

Lucas met your gaze and rubbed your hip with his thumb. “A good person told me earlier that the honeymoon suite proved to be one of the best rooms in this hotel. It might cost a lot but I hear it brings people in the mood. If you know what I mean.” He didn’t notice how you recoiled in disgust, thankful that Oluo already booked the rooms beforehand. You swore you heard your trusted butler and Hange planning on never putting you in the same room with Lucas. “Did I mention that you look stunning in this dress of yours?” Lucas roamed his eyes over your exposed collarbones and shoulder, with you regretting never taking out your jacket from your luggage. He lifted his hand from your waist and fiddled with the tie-straps over your right shoulder. “It’s more accessible.”

You looked at him like the idiot he was and walked ahead of him.

“Hey, darling, slow down!”

When the two of you rounded a corner, an entourage of three entered the hotel with a golden retriever barking in glee and catching the attention of some of the hotel’s patrons.

To say Levi was disoriented would be the understatement of the century. He was downing and refilling his flask of whiskey to the point where Petra offered to drive his car for the rest of the trip to the hotel. In all her years of working under his kindness, Petra never once saw Levi drunk. She exchanged a wary glance with Caelum, who was eyeing Levi carefully. The onyx-haired man never swayed on his feet nor slurred his words, instead, he appeared calm. Too calm for a meet-up with you. He was a rational man, he never relied on alcohol to erase the stress piling up on his shoulders. But this day called to his impulsive instincts, letting his gut dictate him to let loose so that he wouldn’t remember what he’ll say to you.

With a deep breath and half-lidded eyes, Levi walked in front of Petra and Caelum and looked around the busy receiving hall. He was on the lookout for the most beautiful woman he knew in his life.

“Are we going to be alright?” Caelum asked no one, never looking away from his father.

“I don’t even know, kiddo,” Petra whispered. “Can you hold Captain for a minute? I need to get our room keys from the front desk because I doubt Levi would do that if he’s this wasted.” They continued staring at the man in question, who looked like he was planning on murdering somebody based on his glare. People winced every time Levi stared too hard at them but the latter was only just looking for you. Petra sighed, already used to people shrinking away from Levi.

Caelum swiveled his head to Petra, who was handing him the leash. He cautiously stared at the dog and back to Petra. “But Captain hates me!”

Petra flashed a reassuring smile before patting the boy on the head. “This will be another great bonding experience for you two then!” Then she was off to check in at the front desk.

“B-But—” Caelum couldn’t finish his sentence, his voice trailing off while his eyes widely met Captain’s eager ones. Even though he spent the entire day yesterday playing with the dog and trying to get the pet to know him, he was still afraid that the large canine would bite his hand off. He didn’t remember his first pet that well but there was a faint image of a black Persian cat with gray eyes in the back of his mind. He was sure that cat was dead by now, seeing as he also remembered crying over a box when he was three years old. With a tentative hand, Caelum placed it on Captain’s head. The dog seemed to like it and nuzzled even more into Caelum’s hold. “Okay, Captain, please behave for me. I don’t have the strength to pull you if you run.”

The dog stayed still, panting as Caelum continued ruffling his ears. The boy perked up a little when Levi finally returned to him, only for his smile to evaporate because Levi looked annoyed.

“She’s not here yet,” Levi stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “I need another refill. There’s a bar here, right?”

“No!” Caelum exclaimed.

“What?” Levi stared at his son incredulously. “What kind of hotel doesn’t have a bar?”

The gray-eyed boy pursed his lips, straining since Captain brightened at the sight of his owner. “Uhm, what I meant to say was,” he took a deep breath, “Dad, stop drinking.” Caelum took Levi’s hand and prepared the weapon Hange told him never to use — he stared at Levi with wide eyes and a little pout. For a kid his age, the sight of him begging could melt any person’s heart — Levi wasn’t an exception. “Please, Dad, I know you’ll regret this later on so please don’t drink anymore.”

Levi’s tried to escape the effect of his son’s eyes. Caelum reminded him of you when you wanted to try something new that Levi deemed questionable. He groaned, scratching his undercut. If his son told him to stop relying on alcohol to solve his problem, he would follow it. It’s his son after all. “Alright, how about we follow Petra to our rooms.”

Seeing Caelum nod in relief, Levi smiled a little while slinging their duffel bag over his shoulder, tightening his grip on his son’s hand. They went to Petra, who was waiting for them with her bag. Everything seemed to hurt Levi’s head, his mind contemplating visiting the bar like he intended to. He badly needed something for this headache of his. He was starting to regret drinking that much whiskey so he weighed the pros and cons of visiting the bar. The pros being alleviating this headache; however, the cons involved his son. But God damn it, his head felt like a pickaxe was pounding on it. With a sigh, he let go of Caelum’s hand right when his son, Petra, and Captain entered the elevator.

“Wha—Levi!” Petra shouted to the retreating man.

“Keep an eye on Caelum for me,” Levi replied over his shoulder, passing by another trio of individuals making their way to the elevator.

The redhead huffed under her breath. “I swear to God, that man.”

Suddenly, Captain started barking, his leash pulling Caelum towards the doors of the elevator. “Captain?”

“Captain!”

Both Caelum and Petra looked up at the familiar voice, their gasps ringing in the elevator. As the doors were starting to close in, Caelum’s slackened hold over the leash gave Captain the chance to run to the onyx-haired boy in a long-sleeved button-up tucked in a pair of knee-length shorts. The boy grimaced for shouting in the hotel since his voice was the reason why Captain tackled him to the floor. The brown-haired person failed to catch the boy, their brown eyes curiously following where the dog came from, with their smile brightening at the sight of the younger twin in the elevators. Without any care for the other patrons mingling in the hotel lobby, they raised their hand in an exaggerated wave. The man beside them also stared at the commotion, stupefied that his young master was being slobbered by a canine. The butler was fussing over the boy’s clothes while the brown-haired person continued waving in delight.

“Little bean!”

The elevator doors closed on a stunned Caelum weakly waving his hand, his jaw dropped, and a wide-eyed Petra by his side.

“That’s Caelum right now! Oh, my God!” Hange screamed, not paying attention that Altair was being licked countless times by a dog.

Oluo slowly turned his head to a grinning Hange. He narrowed his eyes before planting his scrutinizing gaze on the boy who was now standing up, the young master’s hands patting his shorts free of invisible dust. “But, Hange, Caelum is right over here.” The butler pointed at Altair, the boy now ruffling Captain’s ears. He blinked when Hange laughed loudly that it caught the attention of a familiar onyx-haired man circling the hotel lobby. Oluo noticed the man earlier since he looked like he was lost but the butler paid no heed to him. Instead of observing the man, Oluo stared at his friend in concern. “Hange, are you alright? Do you need a breather from the small tour of the ground floor?”

“Silly Oluo.” Oluo bristled at the adjective. “That was Caelum.” Hange pointed to the elevators, then, pointing to Altair, who was preventing his laugh to join Hange’s. “This right here is Altair. I thought you knew?”

“What—?”

“Caelum?”

Altair turned around while Hange jumped at the voice, pulling Oluo to face the display of flowers near them.

“What are you doing? What exactly are we looking at, Hange?!”

“Shh, can you be quiet for once?! Just go with the flow or else I’m going to tell [Name] you’re canoodling with a random woman after checking in.”

“Excuse me?! I’m not like that Luke person!”

“Yeah, I get it, Mr. Holier-than-Thou. Now, shut up and take a look at these flowers! They’re lovely, aren’t they?”

“They appear plastic, Hange.”

“Dad!” Altair perked up at his father.

However, the man’s attention wasn’t on him, it was on the duo behind him casually facing the flower arrangement like it was the most expensive artwork on the planet. Levi’s eyes were dangerously narrowed as if it hurt him to remember where and when he heard those voices. The louder voice made his headache worse, a familiar feeling that he didn’t experience for how many years and one that instantly increased his annoyance levels. The other voice was right at the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint where he heard it. While Levi was trying to recall the familiar people, Altair pulled on his sleeve, making him look down at his grinning son.

Altair had to do something to distract Levi but the smell of whiskey distracted the boy instead. “W-What are you doing here?” He subtly waved his hand over his nose.

It didn’t even register that the boy in front of him wasn’t speaking in a British accent so Levi replied without any skepticism, “I was about to look for the bar but I couldn’t find where it is. Do you have any idea, brat?”

It was a good thing that his group explored the ground floor for a couple of minutes so Altair responded with a smile, “It’s just right around the corner, right there, where the bellboy carrying a vase came from.”

Levi breezily smiled and there Altair winced in realization. The man ruffled his son’s hair affectionately, walking to where he was directed at. “I’m going to meet you upstairs in our room, okay? I’ll just get something to help with his headache and let’s go find your mother — the love of my life.” He didn’t see the bellboy coming his way with a huge vase of carnations when he turned back to his son to add, “I like that outfit, by the way, makes you look like a prince. How did you change outfits so fast?”

“Dad, watch out!” Altair closed his eyes tightly before opening one eye to the sight of the bellboy swerving to avoid hitting Levi, his father walking towards the bar without a care for the world. So, this is what his father always felt when he does something without thinking about it first. Altair could only exhale a breath of relief when Levi didn’t discover Hange and Oluo and for escaping that near-embarrassing experience of colliding with the bellboy. With a hand on his chest, he sighed, “This isn’t what I meant when I say I want Dad to drink his heart out. That nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Was Levi … drunk?” Hange asked once they reached Altair’s side again.

“Apparently.”

“Levi?” Oluo voiced out. “As in Levi Ackerman?”

“Yes, Oluo,” Hange answered for Altair.

“As in Miss [Name]’s bridal shop, L.A, Levi Ackerman?”

“Yes.”

“The one who nearly decked me when I went out the bathroom with only a robe on in our flat because he thought I was another man of Miss [Name]?” Oluo shuddered. “That still gave me nightmares.”

Hange faced Oluo with an unamused face. “How many yeses do you need, Oluo?”

“Enough to understand what the bloody hell is going on, Hange.” Oluo matched Hange’s blank face.

Altair turned to regard both people. “Okay, allow me to explain from the top for the sake of our dear Oluo here.” Oluo nodded with crossed arms. The onyx-haired boy sighed, trying to summarize everything that happened. “I’m Altair Ackerman and I met Caelum while at camp a few days ago. We discovered we’re twins because who wouldn’t? It’s that obvious.” He threw his hand in the air and blew a raspberry. “Then, I proposed this plan to bring our parents back together again, thus, this switch thing that happened. We thought we were slick with this but Hange discovered my identity while Caelum got caught by Dad and Petra, my nanny.” Then, he clapped his hands with a bright smile. “So, any questions from the class?”

Oluo raised a hand.

Altair pointed at him. “Yes, Oluo!”

“What do you mean to bring back your parents together?” He noticed Hange opening their mouth to answer him so he continued, “I’m asking Altair right now.” The butler rose an eyebrow, prompting the boy to answer his question.

“It’s exactly what it means, Oluo.” Altair looked down with a slight frown, his happy demeanor vanishing. Captain whimpered when he sensed that Altair started to be gloomy so the boy ran his hand through the dog’s fur. “Dad is always missing Mom when he thought no one was paying attention to his pining. As much as I admit that showing what I feel sometimes makes me constipated, seeing my dad looking like he wanted to cross the oceans for Mom urged me to make this plan because it’s hurting me, too.” He clenched his fists, not noticing how Hange elbowed Oluo for asking a sensitive question. “Caelum didn’t want to do it but once he realized that Mom felt the same way for Dad all these years, we just winged it.” Altair raised his head to stare at the two with a pleading expression.

“I’m sure you two saw how she cried to the moon every night, how she always touched the ring on her necklace, or how she always stared with that faraway look on her face.

“So please, help us bring them back together.”

Oluo was silent for a few moments. Being your butler ever since he was a child, the happiest he has seen you were during your times in university. Your zenith can only be witnessed when Levi was around. Of course, he saw how you carried yourself with the elegance that you’re born with but there were times that Oluo wished he could wipe that melancholic air surrounding you while taking a break from work. He was a witness to you being pressured by your parents at such a young age, forcing you to take hobbies you didn’t even like. Being a childhood friend of yours and your family’s hired butler at the same time, it’s Oluo’s responsibility to make you feel comfortable, both as his superior and as your friend. But Altair’s words made him realize that he has failed you years before you separated with Levi, always watching on the sidelines as you got disciplined by your mother because you defied your parents too many times to count.

So, with a kind smile, Oluo placed a firm hand on Altair’s shoulder. “Count me in, little star.”

Altair beamed and it made Oluo’s chest clench with warmth. It’s just like being an audience to Caelum’s soft smiles. He decided — he will do anything for the boy standing in front of him, very much like how he pledged his loyalty to you and Caelum.

Hange whooped at the side, wrapping their arm around Oluo’s shoulder. “Finally! I was starting to think you’ll uphold your title as the official spoilsport of the family. I see you have some thrill in your blood, Oluo!”

Oluo laughed lowly, giving Hange a side-glance. “All for the happiness of Miss [Name] and the twins.”

“What about Levi?”

“Care to remind you he’s on the verge of slaughtering me for being your flatmate while staying in America.”

“Oh, come on! That was hilarious!”

Altair snickered at the imagery, letting himself have this small moment of peace because things would go two ways later — an infernal disaster or a victorious celebration.

You were becoming weary the more time you spent roaming the hotel grounds with Lucas. You passed by so many sights and all he could talk about was setting up the wedding in this grandeur location. All because it would look good in the pictures. This was probably the first time you agreed to his opinions. There was a huge butterfly garden that made you feel like floating, several of the iridescent-winged insects perching on your shoulder and finger. If only you could create your tiny world inside the garden and never come out, you would’ve done it if not for Lucas waving his hands to keep the butterflies away. Next, there was a massive outdoor pool, with the man threatening to throw you in the pool if you keep scowling. With that, you continued walking ahead of him until you two reached the elevators by the bar.

When the doors open, you went inside without waiting for Lucas. A few moments after, the brown-haired man entered the elevator with a fake smile. You returned in and waited for the doors to close. While staring forward, you gasped as Lucas pulled you against his chest, your hands pushing on his chest to give you two some distance. You incredulously stared up at him, your annoyance with him bubbling even more and was now obvious on your face.

“You know, we never have a moment alone together, darling,” Lucas whispered in your ear with a grin. “Why don’t we start our honeymoon early?”

You leaned back, your heart pounding because he was being too close. “I’m not in the mood, Lucas, please stop it.” Still, he continued the leaning in and it felt like a tennis match between the two of you. However, he was too strong for you, successfully pulling you in and was preparing to kiss you on the lips. “Lucas! Stop this instant!”

This doesn’t feel right at all.

The only man who can make you swoon with his advances was nowhere to be found. He was somewhere in California living out the best in his life. His life without you in it, the mere thought of that was making you tear up. You were trying to get away from Lucas and your mind was a mess of thoughts that screamed for Levi. The cosmos might be on your side and at the same time laughing at your misery because the exact moment you turned your head to the opened doors of the elevator, he was there. You faltered and the next thing you knew, everything he made you feel through the years came rushing back — every memory playing like a highlight reel inside your head. The person you’re wishing for every night was right here, in this hotel, a few feet away from you. Tears started streaming down your face, your heart so loud, and your chest filling with butterflies that it made everything hazy except for the sight of the love of your life. You started to wonder when you got out of Lucas’s grip because you wanted to shout his name out loud but before you could do so, the elevator doors closed.

A sharp intake of breath expressed your frustration, your fingers already pushing on the ground floor button again when you felt the elevator move up a floor. Any person can call you desperate from the repetitive action but how could you stop when Levi looked at you like you broke his heart for the second time?

You stopped pushing the button and let the elevator take you to your rooms’ floor. You silently pressed your forehead on the doors, the image of his face becoming expressionless after being shocked burned your mind. It made you feel suffocated. He shouldn’t be looking like that. You were imagining all the faces he could make when you meet again but what you witnessed wasn’t a part of your anticipated reactions. You felt Lucas reach out for you but you only curled on the other side of the elevator, fingers clasping on the ring in your necklace as if it could wield Levi by your side. You just wanted Levi to hold you close to his heart again. Lucas started approaching you again and you couldn’t help it, you screamed.

“Don’t touch me!”

The elevator dinged, signaling you two that you reached your floor.

“Darling.”

“Don’t call me that,” you snapped with your head down. “It’s best if you leave me alone for a moment.”

“Let me make you feel better, [Name].”

You lifted your head and glared at Lucas. It made him take a step back. “You will never make me feel better, Lucas. Just get away from me. Please.”

Lucas blankly roamed his eyes over your figure — shaking like a newborn deer. Only because you saw your ex. Pathetic, his mind told him. A smirk pulled on his lips as he got out of the elevator, his stare leveled with yours. “Your parents will not be happy about this, princess.”

A sad smile was all you gave him. “When did they ever feel genuine happiness for their only daughter?” The doors close, separating you from your proclaimed fiancé. You glanced down at the ring on your finger while the elevator brought you down a floor. You took off the ring and placed it inside your handbag, forgotten as the man you left moments before. The engagement is as good as the rotting corpses in the Underworld and you hoped your parents approve of breaking it off. You only need something sinister from Lucas’s side and your parents would cut it off. If only you can have evidence of his cheating ways.

But first, you have to find your ex-husband and tell him you still love him all these years, hoping that Fate and Time were in your favor.

“Caelum [Last Name]!”

Levi didn’t know what to feel from what he saw a few minutes prior. The moment the elevator doors closed; he abruptly made his way to the other elevator stationed near the front desk. His hair was a mess from all the ruffling he did. At first, he felt everything disappear when he locked his eyes on your figure but it quickly died down to confusion when he saw a man pull you in. Confusion turned into a bubbling misery until he felt anger as he stomped to their floor. He was angry at the man wrapping his arms around you when you clearly pushed him away too many times. He was angry at himself for thinking that he still had that special place in your heart and that it would continue to be that way even after you broke up. Levi was angry at so many things but he will never feel anger for you or the twins, even though your and Levi’s children convinced him to get back with you.

“Where is he?” Levi grumbled; his blazer thrown over his arm. Suffocated at the image of you in another man’s arms, he took it off, which left him in a long-sleeved shirt.

Suddenly, a door opened and out came two copies of the boy he’s been calling for.

Levi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Oh, great, I’m seeing double now. Guess that shitty shake the bartender gave me never worked.” He inhaled sharply. “God, I need a drink.”

The boy on the left leaned forward with an amused small smile. “It’s me, Dad — Altair.”

The man looked up and gaped at the two boys who wore opposing expressions, one was trying hard not to grin while the other looked at him in concern — his boys. Without a second thought, Levi rushed forward and pulled Altair and Caelum in an embrace that he was convinced belonged in a dream. The delightful laughs from his sons twinkled the empty hallway, encasing them in their little universe. Levi sighed in contentment, never planning on letting his boys go. He wanted to keep hugging them for eternity and when he felt arms hugging him back, he couldn’t help but let out a small sob that he could experience one of his wishes to the stars. The twins are finally together in his arms, something that he only envisioned in his dreams, waiting for them to come true if he continued straining his mind for that image. Levi pulled away for a moment and placed a firm kiss on each of the boys’ heads, with Altair scrunching his nose and Caelum chuckling at his brother’s reaction.

Three pairs of silver eyes gazed at each other, igniting the birth of a new constellation. Finding out that it was Caelum who came home to him from the summer camp was just the start because seeing both of his sons together made him reach the zenith. He cupped the side of Caelum’s face while rubbing the undercut of Altair.

He wanted to hug them again.

With a soft smile that reached his eyes, Levi uttered, “I can’t believe you’re finally together in front of me. Eleven years is a long time to see you two like this.” Then, he remembered seeing you, making his eyebrows furrow. “But how could you leave out that detail?”

“What do you mean, Dad?” Altair asked.

Caelum glanced at his brother before looking at the decorations in the hallway as if they were the most interesting things he saw.

The onyx-haired man turned to his eldest son. “What do I mean? I mean not telling me that your mom has,” he trailed off, looking away from Altair’s wide eyes, “has someone else.”

“Dad,” Caelum called out absentmindedly.

Altair was about to answer when the door to the room they came out of revealed Oluo, who was definitely not listening on the other side of the walls. He smiled and regarded Levi with a slight bow. “I’m sorry to interrupt this reunion but might I suggest we continue this heartfelt moment inside this room?” Oluo then peeked out of the doorway before nodding his head to the inside of the room. “I know this isn’t our floor but I can’t help but be wary.” The boys followed his suggestion, with Oluo patting each of them on the head. He met the inquisitive gaze of the shorter gray-eyed man and instantly gulped. “Hello, you probably don’t remember me.”

Levi hummed. “So that’s why you look familiar. You’re the guy in that robe, right? When we’re college seniors? What was your name again?” He snapped his fingers, placing his hand on Oluo’s shoulder (the butler became rigid at the contact). “Oluo. Her butler and childhood friend.” Levi nodded. “Nice to see you again. This might be years late but I’m sorry for nearly punching you in the face.” He then entered the suite with his hands in his pockets.

Oluo was speechless, staring at the back of Levi’s head. The butler nodded in approval. “I knew he was alright.”

Once inside the room, Levi started pacing in front of Altair and Caelum. The older twin was biting his bottom lip in fear that Levi would start another one of his hour-long sermons while the younger of the two patiently waited for the man’s words to acknowledge their presence. The two boys let their father regain his composure. Sure, his stress might have stemmed from the fact that you have a good-for-nothing fiancé and Levi’s trying to win you back but the twins had the perfect reason to keep that fact away from him. They just didn’t want their dad to back away from their enacted plan just because a tool managed to slither their way in. As Caelum told Altair, the only solution was to get rid of that person but it looked like the older twin couldn’t do it without his brother and father’s help. Now that this problem became worse, the sermon has yet to begin. Altair was still anticipating the rant, jumping when Caelum offered to give him a biscuit from the tray on the coffee table.

“Okay.” Levi breathed deeply as he flickered his gaze between his sons. “One of you told me that your mother knows I’m arriving today. I’m pretty sure it’s Caelum but who knows.” The said twin stopped chewing on a biscuit. “My point is, your mother didn’t look like she knows I’ll be here.”

Altair swallowed down the biscuit with a cup of tea Oluo placed inconspicuously on the table. “You saw Mom already?”

Levi took one of the cups of tea on the low table and sipped on it aggressively, sitting on the long couch that was facing the récaimer the twins were sitting on. His tight expression relaxed for a second. “That hits the spot,” he murmured before shaking his head to narrow his eyes at the twins. The children sighed in disappointment when they saw the peaceful look on their dad was short-lived. “Yes, I did. She was…” Levi paused to wistfully stare at the arrangement of pink and red carnations, with a dash of orchids, placed on the low table. He sighed dejectedly, which made Caelum push the plate of biscuits in his direction. Levi took one and nibbled on it before speaking, “She was still so beautiful. But this is not the reunion I was expecting to have after our divorce. She cried — I have never seen that expression in a very long time and it hurts since seeing me was what caused it.”

“Mum cried?” Caelum parroted and Oluo even stopped talking to his phone, the person on the other side of the call squawking for his attention. Caelum didn’t notice that he tightened his grip on the teacup until Altair loosened his hands with worried eyes. “Thank you,” he murmured to his twin. The younger boy’s thoughts revolved around you again, wondering why you cried when you should’ve been happy. Was the plan not worth it after all?

“Maybe Mom was crying because of happiness,” Altair stated with lifted shoulders.

Levi met his son’s stare with tired eyes. “I don’t think looking like I broke her heart amounts to being happy, Al.”

The door to the suite opened and everybody turned their heads to whoever entered. Petra stopped in her tracks when she saw how four pairs of eyes landed on her like she disturbed something phenomenal. She sheepishly smiled, raising the bag of lunch she brought for the entire group. “I’m sorry for disturbing but Hange — a wonderful person that they are —"

“I doubt that,” Oluo muttered, looking at anywhere but the woman.

“— bought lunch for everyone. They made me bring this here because they need to find someone and that their lunch in the hotel restaurant got canceled. I’m assuming it was because of that call they had that made them ballistic, in a good sense, on the ground floor. So,” the redhead prolonged the word, once again lifting the bags of take-outs on her hands, “who wants some pasta? Because there is a lot of it.”

The butler came forward, still not meeting Petra’s eyes. “Let me help you with that.”

“Oh, thank you!” Petra exclaimed, looking up to meet Oluo’s eyes, with the man freezing once they had eye contact. “I knew I could rely on you, Oluo.”

Oluo stammered, followed by three amused snorts behind them. The butler turned his head slightly to glare at the three black-haired people inside the room. When his eyes found Caelum’s, the boy continued snickering while sipping on his tea in that posture you taught him. He dejectedly accepted that his pure young master who was raised by the kindest person on the planet was turning into a little devil. He rolled his eyes and turned around to place the food on the plates provided by the suite, choosing to ignore Petra’s offer for help yet letting her do her part of the job.

“So would someone care to explain to me why I just saw your mom with another man in the elevator?”

Altair stopped stuffing his face with the biscuits, gulping at the question. Caelum chose this moment to avoid his father so he stood up, patted his lap free from crumbs, and made his way to Oluo and Petra to help them prepare lunch. The two adults asked him to place the pitcher of juice and the glasses on a tray. Upon seeing that his younger twin left him, Altair gasped, “Cae, don’t leave me!” Caelum only waved a hand in good luck.

“Al,” came Levi’s voice.

The said boy has no choice but to drop the news. “Dad, Mommy’s getting married.”

The words sucked every ounce of hope from Levi’s body. He slumped on the couch with a blank face, letting himself fall backward. The ceiling appeared to be beautiful for Levi at the moment. He never took his eyes off of it as he tried to comprehend what his son said. Even the sound of cutlery from somewhere in the suite halted to carefully anticipate his reaction. He could only run his hand over his face in exasperation. The look he saw on you while being hugged by that man didn’t have any semblance of affection or care. It reminded him of the times when somebody would come too close for comfort at you, with you clinging or calling out to Levi every time it happened. Once again, the anger started bubbling in his stomach for only gawking at you when he could’ve barreled to the elevators to get you away from that man’s presence. Maybe he should rethink his decision of getting back together with you.

“The universe seems to hate me.”

“No, Dad. I think you’re just unlucky.”

“Al!” Caelum shouted.

Levi sighed. “That’s basically the same thing.”

Altair shook his head. “But really, Dad, Luke is a terrible person. He doesn’t care about Mom. Other than that, he’s lacking basic human decency and always says insensitive things. Nonsense if Hange puts it. I’m worried for Mom if this marriage gets through. We have to stop this, Dad.”

“I’m not in the mood of murdering someone in broad daylight, Al.”

“I mean, that could work.”

“No, it will not,” Caelum stated, a glass of apple juice in his hand and a plate of carbonara on the other. He placed the food and drink in front of Altair before crossing his arms over his chest. “Murdering people will never be a part of our plan. It’s most likely that this whole engagement happened because of Mum’s parents. I heard something a week before the summer camp. Mum was talking about not giving me up on the phone. I thought it was because the idea of the summer camp was Grandmother’s idea but it was a completely different thing.” He glanced at Altair and Levi with pensive eyes. “I deduced that if Mum doesn’t go through this marriage, I’ll be put in adoption.”

There was a gasp coming from the table on the balcony.

“What?!” Levi lost his cool while Altair paled even more.

Caelum ignored the outburst and fixed his unreadable stare on Oluo. “Am I right, Oluo?”

The butler sighed. Months of keeping it a secret will eventually be put to waste if the child in their household was perceptive enough to figure it out. He placed the remaining plate of pasta on the table as he nodded. “It’s true. Miss [Name] proposed so many solutions to the Madam but they’re all rejected. They deemed her as a horrible mother for the little prince since she was always away for a business trip overseas. Hange is also a scientist so being home is out of the question, with them being a university professor. The last straw for the Madam was when Miss [Name] pulled out Caelum from primary school to be homeschooled instead. They didn’t like that, especially for the heir of the family name. The Madam wanted Caelum to be exposed more and not sheltered because it was essential for a member of a conglomerate. Then came Lucas. [Name] always rejected it but then they threatened to shut down every establishment under her name so she had no choice.”

The younger twin’s eyes widened, heart pounding. “What about the bridal shop?”

“That’s the second thing they’ll take away after you, little prince.”

Your bridal shop was your pride and the only thing making you love working. Caelum gritted his teeth, anger, and disgust for his grandparents swirling inside his ribs but blaming himself overpowered every emotion. He was so angry at himself for putting all of these on your shoulders, angry for being this sensitive child, and for not doing enough to make you feel like the best mother when in fact, you are more than that. He wanted to scream and run away. He didn’t register that he was crying until he felt someone anchoring him to the ground, the smell of tea encasing him in a comforting blanket. At the contact of the solid yet warm body hugging him, Caelum sobbed, letting everything out like he didn’t cry for years.

Levi pressed his lips on his son’s head as he let the boy cry in his arms. He was slack-jawed when he heard that Caelum was used in this ploy of your parents for you to stay in line. God, Caelum was a child, an eleven-year-old. He was supposed to feel like a carefree boy but all this pressure on him for being born in an important family was preventing him from doing so. He was so young for him to blame himself. Levi knew you had good intentions for homeschooling Caelum. He knew that everything you did was for the best of others.

“So what are we going to do?” Altair asked, reaching out to hold his brother’s slack hand.

“If a person did something questionable that would tarnish the [Last Name] name, the madam and master of the household will cut them off without hesitation.”

Levi furrowed his eyebrows at the statement. He felt Caelum breathing heavily from crying too hard so he rubbed his back in rhythmic circles, his son’s breathing evening out. When the boy pulled away from him, Levi proceeded to wipe away the tears around his eyes with the softest touch he ever gave a person. “Are you feeling alright now, Cae?”

Caelum nodded, forcing himself to smile.

“That’s it!” Altair stood up from his seat, a grin lighting up his face.

“What’s it?” Caelum asked his twin.

“He’s cheating on Mom.”

Levi felt himself go tense. “What?” This was the second time of the day that he ever lost his cool to anger. The person hugging you in the elevator was cheating on you? Now Levi wanted to beat someone up.

“Yeah, I think Oluo has an idea about this.”

Oluo perked up in realization. “I think you might be onto something, little star.”

“We just have to get solid evidence that Luke is cheating on Mom and show it to her parents. That way, the engagement will never happen!” Altair’s smile grew at every word, his silver eyes finding their identical pair. The older twin felt warmth spreading through his chest as Caelum let out an impressed laugh, the latter’s smile was genuine and pretty. “With him out of the way, our main plan will still be in play! Dad will talk to Mom rationally.” He turned to Levi, who was watching his son in amusement. “You, Mr. Ackerman, will tell her all the things you couldn’t say. Tell her how much you miss her and that you still love her after all these years. Don’t worry about her answer because we all know Mom still loves you too.” Altair rubbed his palms together. “Now, time to plan this mini side-quest we have.”

Caelum endearingly rolled his eyes with a lighthearted smile. “Great, here we go again.”

Levi chuckled. “Tell us what you have in mind, brat.”

“Don’t forget us!” Petra chirped. “We want to help, too!”

Oluo looked at her in confusion. “We are?” When every person in the room turned to him, he quickly smiled. “Yeah, I mean, we are! So go on, little star, tell us what you have in mind.”

Altair’s smirk made everyone regret their decision on going on board with the plan. The little boy could go through so many lengths, this switch thing is proof of why Levi always made sure to tell him never to be impulsive and reckless again. This 'getting rid of Luke' plan was only a side-quest, to begin with so what could possibly go wrong this time?

taglist:

@loveprisms @halparkebitch @omlbarnes @a--nonymousse @nunufx @misslovingpearl @megumiisee @whalerus @sakuxxi @littleagxs @izzy-rose010 @dora-the-grownup @dren-whalen @tsunderehokage

just give me an ask if you want to be added to the taglist !! + if your username is in italics, i couldn't tag you :((

#levi ackerman #levi x you #levi x reader #levi attack on titan #attack on titan x reader #attack on titan imagines #attack on titan #aot #snk #shingeki no kyoujin levi #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #the parent trap au #modern au #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman x you #ex to lovers #dad!levi

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