Broken Hearts, Severed Limbs (Levi x OC x Erwin)

|134| What's Fake, What's Real

"...she w- walk- walked into the for- r- est. She took the nar- narro- w path, that led to Gran- Granny's house,"

Levi chuckled as he pressed a kiss on Isabel's temple and ruffled her hair. "Now that's what I call a good job,"

He let down the fairytale book on the kitchen table. He was sitting on a chair with Isabel in his lap. He had an arm around her, making sure she wouldn't fall off. She was holding a stuffed doll in her arms. The one he had picked for her back in Marley. He could never forget how excited she was the first time he gave it to her. How she had jumped on her feet and rushed towards him and he had picked her up. It was the day he and Nathalie had returned from the attack on Liberio.

Now Isabel was in an orange little dress. Her black, clean silky hair reached her shoulders as she looked up in her mom with wondrous bright blue eyes. Nathalie let down a tray that she had just taken out of the oven. Furlan was sitting on Levi's other leg with his thumb stuffed in his mouth and a toy train in one hand. Levi was holding them both tight, keeping them safely from falling.

Isabel gasped. "Cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies!!" Her little arms stretched out for the burning hot metal tray, but Nathalie had made sure to leave it far enough so that she wouldn't be able to reach it.

"Oi! Issy, that thing's hot," Levi pushed her little hands down. "Tsk, you impatient brat. I'll fetch you one," He stretched his free hand out and he grabbed two cookies, handing one to her and one to Furlan.

"Thanks, daddy!" Isabel cried out as she took a bite and started munching.

"Mommy's the one who made those cookies, you know," Nathalie grinned. Isabel's preference for her dad was something that could be seen from miles away.

Levi arched an eyebrow and grinned in amusement. He leaned close and pretended to whisper in Isabel's ear. "Sounds like mommy's jealous,"

Isabel giggled mischievously and a large blush spread across Nathalie's face. "I'm not jealous! I just-"

Nathalie cut herself when she noticed Furlan about to drop the cookie that he had in his hand. She reacted fast. She rushed to his side and grabbed the cookie before it shattered on the floor and created a mess. She had spent too much time scrubbing that floor to Levi's liking, there was no way she was letting it drop and make a mess. Nathalie let out a sigh of relief and her shoulders instantly relaxed.

She laughed as she looked up only to see Furlan giving her a mischievous smile. Did he almost drop it on purpose? He was making her life difficult just like his dad, wasn't he? Nathalie picked him up in her arms and away from Levi's lap. She smashed the cookie in her hand into a few small pieces and she fed Furlan with them one by one.

"You brat almost made a mess of the floor," Nathalie giggled as she sat down on another chair and put another small cookie crumb between his lips. Furlan just smiled even more and she grinned. "You got any idea how much of a clean-freak your dad is?"

"Oi, I ain't the only clean-freak in here," Levi finally pulled his attention off of Isabel and he turned at his wife who was holding their little boy in her arms. And it was true. She was a clean-freak as well, there was no denying it. And probably their babies were going to turn out little clean-freaks too.

"What's a clean-freak?" Isabel asked curiously.

"It's someone who wants to have everything clean, spotless," Nathalie explained.

"Is that why the floor's so squeaky?" Isabel asked and Nathalie laughed. Levi just shook his head.

"As it should be," Levi grinned and Nathalie laughed just a little more as she fed Furlan the final crumb of the cookie.