Long Time, No See - Levi x Reader (Modern!AU)

64 - Red Swan Pt 1: Embrace Me For Eternity

Morning; 7:12 A.M – (Y/n).

Early summer. Ackerman household.

On this oh so glorious morning, my children were awake far earlier than I was. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Falco was up far earlier than the rest of the family. And the cute little thing did try to be quiet, but it was hard when you were as young and as excitable as he was, and to ask so much of him before breakfast was just a disaster waiting to happen, so I really wasn't sure what I expected.

On weekends, and on weekdays during the summer, Falco and Colt knew not to disturb me from my sleep. Levi knew too, though usually the only way he could disturb me from my sleep was to get out of bed which would be fine if he was going to make me breakfast in bed, but otherwise I'd drag him back into bed with me until I was ready to start the day.

That's how I thought this morning would go; I'd wake up because of Levi moving, I'd ask where he was going and if the answer was anything other than the bathroom or to make me breakfast in bed, I'd pull him back into bed and we'd cuddle until our stomachs would start to growl.

Unfortunately, that's not how the morning went.

The reason that I woke up wasn't due to the movement of Levi, not even for him shifting slightly on the mattress. Actually, the door creaked open, and that was the first sound that registered in my brain. Hearing it, and recognizing it, I lifted my heavy head, doing what I could to open my unwilling eyes. My eyelids were heavy with sleep, my senses groggy with that usual morning disorientation.

But I knew immediately who it was that was peeking in through the doorway.

"Falco," I called gently. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing," he answered, sounding bewildered as to why I would ask such a silly question in the first place.

"Then why are you in here?"

That was Levi's voice, low and rough and scratchy and attractive in a way that should have been illegal.

"I had a question!"

"Go ahead," I prompted, rubbing the heel of my hand against my eye to remove the sleep from it when it became clear that he was waiting for us to acknowledge that he had a question.

"Can we have pancakes for breakfast?"

Levi and I answered at the same time, interestingly enough.

"Of course, darling."

"Get out."

Because we spoke at the same time, Falco missed what both of us said. "Papa will make you pancakes in a bit," I assured Falco, setting a hand on Levi's chest when it rose with a sharp intake of breath, likely meant only to protest. The words died in his throat when he saw the stern look, I was sending his way and his jaw closed with an audible snap.

I looked back at Falco who watched the interaction with a cute, confused tilt to his head. "We just want a few more minutes in bed, and then we'll be right down, ok?"

"Ok," he chimed in response, smiling widely at me. "Should I wake Colt up?"

"No," I said. "Let him sleep."

"But he promised me that we'd play a game together today."

"What game?"

"I don't know," he replied quietly, so quietly that if I wasn't listening carefully for his voice, I'd have missed it. "He just said that we'd play together."

"And you will," I said, recognizing the way that an older kid might just promise to do something in order to shut their younger sibling up. "And I'll play too. How does that sound?"