THANK YOU

-Levi POV-

"Then Levi, why don't you try to call me mother?" Haruka's mother suddenly spoke.

"Uhuk!" Haruka coughed. He just took a sip of his drink, and then, out of nowhere, his mother said that.

"Ara (oh my), what's wrong, Haru-chan?" Haruka's mother asked. Seriously, she's just being ignorant right now.

"It's nothing." Haruka replied, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Sister Hanae, are you interested in having Levi become your son-in-law? Then, Hanabi and Levi would look lovely together." A woman spoke, and I guess he's Harry's mother.

"Aunty Karla, I already have my eyes on someone else." Hanabi said shyly.

"Oh my. That man must be very lucky to catch Charlotte's eyes. But Sis Hanae cannot have Levi as her son-in-law then." Harry's mother said.

"Ara. Why is that? We still have Haru-chan." Haruka's mother said bluntly.

"Mother, what are you saying? You keep talking nonsense." Haruka spoke, looking at his mother with glare.

"Hahaha. Joudan, joudan (I'm joking). Sorry Haru-chan." Haruka's mother spoke while grinning.

"Mattaku. You better not speak like that again, mother. You're too carefree. I wonder how our father could deal with you." Haruka said that with a sigh.

"Of course, because your father loves me very much." His mother said that playfully, making everyone laugh.

"Honestly, I've been thinking the same thing, Charles. Hahaha. That aside, Mr. Ackerman, are you seeing someone right now? If not, maybe you would like to consider getting to know my daughter." Another woman spoke, and I think she's the youngest among Haruka's aunties. 

"Mom, I'm still young, and I'm not interested in getting married yet." A girl with long, white hair spoke.

"You're already 25, and I even got married at the age of 23. Well, I'm not trying to control my child marriage, I'm just asking." She said that while looking at me. Sigh. Maybe I shouldn't come here tonight.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but actually I already have my eyes for someone too. Or maybe you could say that person already has my heart." I said confidently, and I can see Haruka's mother smiling at the other side.

"Oh my, that person must be very lucky. So, when are you going to get married?" This time Harry's mother asked. Why do I feel like this situation is kind of familiar when I had dinner with my family before?

"You guys keep asking Levi a lot of questions. He's our guest tonight, so don't bother him with too many questions. Let's just eat for now." Haruka's grandfather spoke, and that's totally a lifesaver. With that, everyone just keeps eating or talking with each other side by side. 

//SKIP//

We just finished eating, and now here I am in the garden. Looking around. There's a lot of flowers, but most of them are lilies.

"What are you doing here? Where's Haru-chan?" A voice spoke, and it was Haruka's mother.

"Madam Auclair. I'm just looking around the garden. Haruka's meeting his grandfather now." I replied.

"I told you to call me Aunty Hanae, mattaku." She said that with an annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry. I'll call you Aunty Hanae next time." I said that while laughing. A fake one, of course.

"Do you like it? The garden, I mean." She suddenly asked.

"I do. The lilies around here made it more beautiful. It's a perfect match with the mansion." I replied, and this time I'm telling the truth.

"Right? This was Haruka's idea, and his grandfather just followed what he said. When he said he liked lilies more, his grandfather asked the gardener to plant them around the mansion. He even gets the exemption for not being a doctor when every man with the last name Auclair should be a doctor. That kid always does what he wants." She said that with a bright smile.

"Then, his grandfather really loved him then." I replied.

"Right. It's not just his grandfather. Everyone loves him, including you." She looks at me with a sincere smile before taking a seat on the bench under the gazebo.

"You're right. "But I will ensure that I am the one who wins his heart, despite the fact that everyone will love him." I can just say something like this casually since his mother already knows how I felt about her son.

"Say, Levi. I'm not kidding when I said you should call me mother earlier." She said it out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry, but what do you really mean about that?" I asked her.

"Exactly what I meant. You can call your mother. You know, I didn't tell you this before. But, before your mother left, she told me something. She said if she's going to leave this world, she would love it if you called me mother. I wanted to take care of you. I wanted to shower you with motherly love, just like your mother hoped you would. But when I came to visit again, your grandfather told me that your father sent you to the US, and he couldn't do anything about it. When I heard that Haruka was going to work as your secretary, I couldn't wait to see you again, and thanks to Haru-chan, I can meet you again like this. Gomen ne (I'm sorry) Levi. Sorry for not looking out for you sooner." She said that with a smile but a regretful smile to be exact.

"It's alright. You don't have to apologise. After all, that's not your fault." I replied, looking away from her.

"I'm glad I got to see you again today. Well, what I'm trying to say is, if you want Levi, you can call me mother. And you can share anything you want if you would like to. I'm here to listen to you too." She said that with a smile. I'm speechless. No one has ever said something like this to me after my mother died. I don't know what to say, and I'm actually trying to hold back my tears. 

"What are you two talking about?" Haruka suddenly spoke from nowhere.

"Ah, Haru-chan. What did you talk about with your grandfather?" Haruka's mother asked, ignoring his question.

"It's nothing. I believe I asked you first, what are you guys talking about?" Haruka asked again.

"It's nothing too. Just advice from a mother." His mother said with a wink and then left.

"So, what did the two of you talk about?" This time, Haruka asked me.

"Just like your mother said. Advice from a mother to a child." I said that with a smile.

"Tch. Whatever then." He's pissed right now. Hahaha.

"Then, what about you? What did your grandfather tell you?" I asked him to keep the conversation going.

"He told me about it." Haruka replied.

"And may I ask what it is?" I asked him again.

"Ugh. He said you and Hana-chan prepared everything for today. Well, it's basically your idea, he said. He even told me how you begged him to cancel all the plans that he already made for my birthday. That explains why they didn't say anything then." Haruka explained what his grandfather had told him.

"Really? After I said to him not to tell you about it. Hahaha." I laughed, and he looked at me with a serious face.

"Why did you even bother to do that? You're not even my family, but why did you? Why did you do that?" He asked, eyes looking down at his own two feet.

"I told you many times already, right? Well, I don't mind telling you this hundreds, thousands, or even a million times, I guess. Because I love you. I just really love you, to the point where I'd be willing to do anything as long as you're happy. You mentioned it before. You wanted a normal birthday celebration with your family, right? I figured, maybe this would make you happy. So, just think of it as a birthday present from me." I said that with a smile. A sincere smile. Of course, to tell him how much I love him, but I don't think he gets it haha.

"Thank you. I've wanted to tell you this since earlier. Thank you for everything you've done today. This is the best present I've ever received. I really appreciate it." He said that to me with the brightest smile I've ever seen. He really is beautiful.

"Ahem. On second thought, I'm actually not really satisfied with this. Haruka, why don't you come to my house this weekend?" 

-Haruka POV-

"Ahem. On second thought, I'm actually not really satisfied with this. Haruka, why don't you come to my house this weekend?" He suddenly asked me, which surprised me.

"Huh? Your house? Why should I?" I asked, and I know I was stuttering a bit just now.

"Why? I'm going to give you your birthday present, of course." He said that to me, making me more confused.

"You said earlier that this celebration is your birthday present for me." I protested.

"Right. But it was me and Hanabi who prepared that for you, so that means it's from the both of us. I wanted to give you my own present. A beautiful present for a beautiful person like you. So, you better come to my home this weekend." He winked at me together with his smirk, making my blood rush to my cheek.

"Why should I visit your place? You can just..." 

"Ah, you guys are here. We decided to play a game together. Come, join us." Hanabi came out of nowhere, cutting my words. Why does everyone want to cut me off whenever I talk? Ugh.

"Hanabi, you know we have to work tomorrow, right?" I said that lazily. Not interested in playing along.

"It's still early, and it's been a long time since all of us got to play together like this. Plus, you can stay the night here. You too, Levi." Hanabi said that it made me speechless. He dragged me and Levi back to the house to play. Ah, I don't know anymore. I guess I just need to play along.

//SKIP//

As Levi told me, here I am. Levi Ackerman Residence. This is my second time here, and this time I felt a bit nervous. And now, here I am, standing in front of the door. Suddenly the door swung open, revealing the great Levi Ackerman.

"Haruka, you're here. Why don't you enter? I believe I told you the passcode and the card key, right? Well, that aside, of course you're not going to use that. Come in." He invited me in, and I just let myself in, of course.

"Would you like a drink? Hot chocolate?" He asked with a smile.

"No need. So, where is my birthday present then?" I blurted out. I mean, I didn't mean to say that out loud, actually.

"Always going to the point, aren't you? Well, nevermind. Follow me. I'll show you." He asked me to follow him, and I just followed him from behind, towards the lift. He hit the UG button. The underground level. After a moment, we arrived. This is my first time. My first time here. There's not a lot of doors on this level.

"Come in." He said, opening one of the doors, and I entered the room. There is a room full of art supplies, canvas, and paintings.

"It may not be a surprise anymore, but happy belated birthday, Haruka." He said that, revealing a painting at the centre of the room.

It was a painting of me. A picture of me at the beach the other day. The one that Levi took. It's beautiful. I was surprised, but what surprised me even more was the name at the bottom of the painting. L. Schatz.

"L. Schatz. Wait, don't tell me L. Schatz was the one who painted this." I asked with a surprise.

"Right. He is." Levi answered that calmly. How could he?

"Did you ask him to paint this for you? Did you meet him? Where is him?" I asked him so many questions at one time.

"Yes, I did. And he's right here." He said, pointing at himself.

"What do you mean by he's here?" I asked him, confused.

"Like I told you. He's right here. I am L. Schatz."

TO BE CONTINUED!!!