Chapter Text
If there was anything in the world he hated more than grocery shopping he wasn’t certain that he could fathom it. Between the tedium of picking his way between forgotten shopping carts, the rampant disregard for social etiquette concerning children, and the constant, nagging urge to punch every person with coupons in the face it was always guaranteed to be a hassle if not a chore.
Okay, so grocery shopping in the rain might have just topped that list. With the torrential Autumn downpour thundering against the hoods of cars around him he might have missed the sound of a boy’s yell were it not for the following body emerging from the shadow of the alley behind the gas station next door. What the hell? He frowned and slammed the door to his car shut, pushing his hair back from his face.
“Why don’t you just fucking stay down, Jaeger!?” A hit landed sharply to the boy’s face, sending him crashing into the dumpster.
“A-And give in to someone like you?” He spit blood, barely keeping himself standing as a second boy took the chance to punch him sharply in the solar plexus, sending the boy falling to his knees.
“Well then I guess we’ll just have to put you down like the dog you are.”
“Try this on for size,” A hard fist landed in the boy’s face, sending him staggering.
“Who the fu--” The boy watched as the second kid went down, green eyes wide behind his dripping bangs.
“Want more?” He asked, glinting grey eyes reeking of murderous intent as they settled on the third boy whose fingers were still curled tightly against the fabric of his prey’s shirt, “C’mon fucker I haven’t beat up teenage dickheads in a while.”
His fingers fell limp, all three of the gang in stunned silence, “Should I call the police or your parents?” He scowled, “I know your faces now, if I see you around here again you better hope my phone’s not in the car.”
“S-Sure whatever you say,” they scampered off and left the boy on the ground for him.
“God damn kid, you sure know how to get yourself in trouble,” the man murmured as he reached for him.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” the teen spat through bloodied lips, slapping his hand away. “I was fine, what the fuck are you doing? Following me or some shit?”
“I was at the grocery store, Jaeger, and saw you getting your ass beat. Let me take you home at least, it’s pouring,” he pushed his hair back from his face again with bloody knuckles.
“No, leave me alone,” he yelped when his savior grabbed him by the upper arm and jerked him to his feet.
“I don’t have time to deal with this shit, let’s go get out of the rain and I’ll call your damned parents,” he pulled him off.
“What the fuck is your problem?”
“You’re my problem now! What were you thinking going up against those three asshats at once, Jaeger? As your professor I--”
“You’re just a fucking teacher! Stay the fuck out of my life!” The boy named Jaeger jerked out of his grip, wet clothes slapping against his body.
“I’m not just a teacher,” he caught the front of his shirt angrily, more than well aware of their height difference. “I’m supposed to look after the well-being of all of my students, even if some of them are dumbasses who pick fights with rival football players! Now get in the damned car it’s fucking pouring,” he jerked the door to the SUV open.
Once Eren was securely inside his professor climbed in after him, sitting for a moment in the warmth of the cab, pushing his soaked hair back once more. He glanced over to see the boy fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, the same one he’d worn for two days now, “Don’t you do laundry?” He started the car and turned the heat on, seat warmers on high.
“So do I still call you Mister Levi now that we’ve been in a fight together?” Eren stared out the water stained window, liquid dripping down his cheeks.
“Kid when we’ve been in a fight together I’ll let you know,” he backed up, “You can call me Levi.”
“Informal,” he smirked in reply.
“Well we’re not in school, Eren, it’s fine. Where do you live?”
“Just drop me off downtown, okay?” Eren muttered.
“I’m not about to do that in this--” thunder burst above the car, shaking the glass in the windows. “Storm got it? In fact with this kind of flooding maybe it’s better you just dry off at my place I don’t live far from here. I’ll call your parents from there.”
He missed the way Eren’s eyes darkened in the sheer reflection of the car window, how his breathing hitched in his aching chest as his bottom lip trembled.
---
He could remember the first time he saw Eren in one of his classes. It had been January of that year, Chemistry I: the brown haired kid had stalked in late and thrown himself into a chair near the back of the classroom. Levi had noticed how he carried himself with slumped shoulders beneath his plaid shirt and too-loose jeans, eyes dark under his long hair.
He never seemed particularly stupid. Dense might have been a better term, or perhaps unwilling. He earned just below average grades on his exams, when he showed up for them, and answered questions if called on correctly. No, he was most certainly not stupid, but he did scamper away after class as soon as the bell rang, leaving Levi hanging on the edge of curiosity and concern.
It was March by the time Levi managed to tie him down, between sending his homework to ISS for him to work on and the beginning of spring break, nearly grabbing him by the collar to keep him from running straight into the hallway.
“What the hell do you want?” Those turquoise eyes had glinted malicious beneath his long hair. They were deep set with bruises, some fresh against his tanned skin, and Levi’s heart ached.
“I just wanted to see if you were okay? I noticed you haven’t been in class lately,” Levi twiddled with his pen as the boy considered this question, considered his options.
“Yeah, so? You think you get a fucking cookie?”
“Be careful, Jaeger, I have a short temper.”
“What do you think ISS is gonna do me any good? Do it then, send in the fucking referral,” Eren had flipped him off and walked out into the hallway.
What the hell is your story kid?
He hadn’t shown up to Chemistry again until the final exam, and even then he’d came out with a 79 that Levi graciously bumped to a B.
But it wasn’t the last time Levi saw Eren, no, the kid had shown up on the second day of school in his Chemistry II class. He’d had the gall to enroll in the second class after everything the last semester; after Levi had refused to send him straight to ISS?
Maybe there really is a chance. Levi had thought, pausing with his fingers on the whiteboard as Eren found his usual seat in the back of the class.
And now here he was.
“This is a nice house,” Eren said softly as he helped carry in the groceries. “You live here by yourself?”
“Stay right there,” Levi told him when he stepped under the awning behind the house. “I’m going to put some towels down,” he vanished in the back door to the kitchen.
“Sure…” Eren muttered, looking down at the groceries as his stomach rumbled. I could just run and take them. He licked his broken lips, glancing up when he heard the screen door open.
“C’mon,” there was a softness to his voice this time and Eren slunk into the house, careful to stand on the towels. “Follow the towels and take off your wet clothes, there’re dry ones in the bathroom. Shower, too.”
“Okay,” he nodded and handed off the groceries.
“Do you want dinner? Are you hungry?” Levi asked him, noticing the reluctant manner with which he released the bags, smiling when his head perked up.
“Uh… sure whatever,” Eren tried to seem nonchalant but Levi had a feeling his shower would be faster than it had been originally planned.
What do I do when he tries to call my parents? He’d had a lie planned, tell him that they were out of town, but coming back to the house was an unexpected turn of events. I guess I’ll just have to bluff my way out of here. He peeled off his clothes and left them in a heap, turning on the the shower and letting the hot water burn his skin. Hot water. When was the last time he’d had that? His pilot light had gone out months ago and he’d never managed to figure out how to turn it back on… or maybe he just didn’t care.
What does he want with me anyway? Eren had never had a professor be this way towards him; normal people would have called the police not punched out the bullies that had been bothering him. Bullies. Eren smirked, wincing at the fresh bruises on his face. They sure like to think they are. But they couldn’t make him run, there was no way in hell. He moaned aloud at the heat of the water, tilting his head back to let it rush over his scalp, blood mixing with the soap when he scrubbed himself down.
Clean and warm Eren brought the neatly folded clothes to his nose and smelled them thoughtfully. Smells nice. He stepped into the sweatpants, glad to see they fit him fairly well, before pulling on the t-shirt. It’s a little tight… He walked out of the bathroom, warm feet padding quietly on the wood floors, green eyes scanning the restored paneling on the storybook home. This is the kind of place people only dream about. In the living room he could see a comfortable-looking dark brown couch that he desperately wanted to curl up on, a plush window seat that looked out over the front gardens, a cream-colored rug beneath a driftwood coffee table… all of it painted a pretty picture.
“Hungry?” Eren heard Levi ask, turning sharply to see him standing at the stove in the kitchen, clean and dry. “While you’re eating I’ll patch you up, anything broken?”
“Why didn’t you call the cops?” Eren leaned against the island, picking at a chip in the marble top absently. “You could have had me arrested.”
“I’ve already called their coach and their superintendent while you were in the shower. They won’t be thinking they’re the big men on campus any more.”
“You could get arrested.”
“You think? Those boys wouldn’t dare speak a word of what happened, god damned cowards hitting a man when he’s down,” he cracked eggs into the skillet.
“Eggs? It’s 5:30,” Eren dragged his eyes away from his work at the chip and licked his chapped lips.
“Yeah? Who says you have to eat eggs in the morning?”
“Nobody, I guess.”
“Right, so I’ll cook eggs whenever I want, do you think you’ve got reception in this storm?” Levi slid the eggs out onto a plate, nearly hearing the sound of Eren’s stomach growling.
“Reception?”
“Yeah for your--” Levi hesitated. “Do you have a cell phone?”
“Uh… I-I left it at home.”
“Did you?” His eyes narrowed.
“The service ran out,” Eren finally replied, “I just forgot to tell my Dad.”
“Eren tell me something… does your father hit you?” Levi asked bluntly.
“He’s never around to,” the soft admittance nearly broke Levi’s heart.
“What about your mother?”
“Sh--” His voice broke against his shattered face, bloodied hands clapping against his eyes. Levi watched him break for a moment, letting his spatula clatter to the pan before he caught Eren’s elbow and guided him into his arms.
“It’s okay,” Levi let him wind his arms around his waist, shushing him against the damp strands of his hair. “It’s okay,” he rubbed circles against the firm lines of his back, trying to press the trembles out as Eren cried against his shoulder.
They stood that way for a long while, until the kettle he’d set up whistled for their attention and beyond, Eren barely wheezing out bits of his story… the important parts at least. About how scared he’d been that someone would find out. How he’d enrolled in Levi’s class again because all he’d wanted was for Levi to just ask him how he was doing again… how much he hurt.
Levi felt his stomach churn through the whole story, thumb against the nape of his neck and pressing gentle affections against his skin. It was all he could do to try and help him. What could he do or say? What hadn't already been said to this boy who had suffered silently for so long.
A boy who had desperately wanted someone to ask him again.
A boy who reached out to him in the only way he'd known how.
A boy who had realized that someone was finally showing that they cared about him and tried to respond.
He couldn't pull any words from his throat, all he could do was hold him closer and whisper reassurances against his borrowed t-shirt in his borrowed kitchen in his borrowed home. In the only safe place he had left.
Levi made a decision when he tucked Eren into his spare bed, stroking the dark strands of his hair back from his face gently, thumb brushing his brow. He knew he’d have report this, but he also knew the system would just fail him. Could I keep it a secret just for a while? He wondered. If he goes into the foster system he’s done for. Levi watched him sleep for a moment in the doorway, rubbing the edge of his jaw.
I guess I can let it sit for a while. He sat down at his computer, pulling up Google.
Karla Jaeger lost her battle with cancer on November 30th, 2012. She is survived by her husband Dr. Grisha Jaeger and their son Eren Jaeger. The viewing will be--
That was all he had to see to make his mind up.
He would wait. Just for a little while.