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"Dada, look!"
Levi looked up from the papers on his desk and down at Eren, who was situated on a blanket on the floor with his toys. Right now, he was pointing excitedly to his soft blocks that he had stacked on top of each other to make a building. Levi smiled at the boy and turned his chair to face Eren.
"That is a very cool tower, Eren! You did such a good job!" Levi noticed the way Eren beamed at the praise. He also noticed how he stuck his fingers in his mouth and started sucking on them. As soon as he saw that, he pried Eren's fingers out of his mouth and replaced them with one of his pacifiers. Eren went back to playing with his toys.
Levi looked back at his paperwork and sighed quietly. He had absolutely no motivation to finish them, especially not when his adorable baby was sat on the floor. Levi stood up from his desk and plopped down next to Eren, who smiled wide behind his paci. It seems that he had also decided that simply being next to his daddy was not good enough, and climbed into his lap. Levi chuckled and cooed at the boy.
"So what are you doing now, little one?" Levi asked with a curious tone.
Instead of getting a verbal response, Eren just giggled and pointed to his stuffed animals, taking his pacifier out of his mouth in favor of chewing on one of his teething rings.
"Oh? You're cuddling your stuffies, huh? They're very soft, Eren." He picked up one of Eren's stuffed animals and gently touched the boy's face with it. The boy responded with giggles and babbling, reaching out for his toy with grabby hands. Levi handed him the stuffed animal and couldn't contain a smile when his little guy shoved his face into the soft fur.
'He is such a cutie.' Levi thought to himself.
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The two played on the blanket for about an hour before Eren started squirming around, a tell-tale sign that it was time for a diaper change. He laid Eren on top of the blanket and pulled the diaper bag over to him, quickly but carefully cleaning and changing him. Eren just looked up at the ceiling, still chewing on his teething toy.
When Levi looked up at the clock, he noticed that it was around noon, and called Erwin into his office. Erwin walked in and glanced down at Eren, smiling and waving at the boy.
"Hey, could you watch Eren while I go get a bottle and some food for him?" Erwin looked back up at Levi and nodded happily.
"Of course, Levi. You don't even have to ask; I'm always up for watching the little guy." They turned their gazes back to Eren, who was laying on the mat and holding up one of his toys, babbling excitedly to himself.
Levi leaned down and pet Eren's hair to get his attention. Once the small boy faced Levi, he squealed quietly.
"Dada..!" He reached out for Levi, who picked him up and rested him on his hip.
"Hi, my tiny boy! Eren, Dada has to go get your food and make you a bottle, okay? So you're gonna get to hang out with Uncle Erwin for a bit, yeah?" Eren looked up at the bushy-browed man and nodded contently.
Once Levi gave Eren a kiss on the forehead, he transferred him into Erwin's arms and walked out of the room to make his baby some lunch. He passed by a few of the cadets on the way to the kitchen, but didn't bother to stop and talk to them. He had more important, pressing things on his mind.
Once he got to the kitchen, he quickly made Eren a bottle of warm milk in the hopes of making him tired enough to take a nap. He then warmed up two hot dogs and cut them up into small pieces so it would be easier for Eren to eat. On his way out of the kitchen, he was stopped by Marco. Levi looked at him stoically, but Marco smiled and met his eyes. He glanced down at the bottle in Levi's hand and his smile grew wider.
"Is that for Eren?" Marco asked quietly. Levi narrowed his eyes slightly and frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well," Marco began, "I know about how he regresses. Remember that time after we found the woman trapped under a building like Eren's mom? Well, he got little after seeing that. I kinda helped him out as much as I could, and tried to make sure no one else found out. I assume you're taking on that 'caretaker' role now, huh?" Levi stared at the young cadet for a long moment before nodding in affirmation.
"Well don't worry, I won't tell anyone about him or you. Just to let you know, I think it is kinda sweet, and it definitely makes sense that he regresses. The point is, though, that I don't judge you guys and that your secret is safe with me. Now, you might want to head back before the food gets too cold." With that, Marco continued on and Levi started walking back to his office.
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When he got there, Eren was curled up on Erwin's lap, giggling quietly as Erwin made up a story to entertain him. Levi walked over and took a seat on the floor next to them. When Eren saw Levi, he clapped enthusiastically and made grabby hands towards him. Both Erwin and Levi chuckled, and Erwin let go of Eren, watching as he crawled over to his daddy and sat in his lap.
"Dada.. eat?" Levi nodded and held up a piece of hot dog on a fork for Eren to eat, which he happily accepted. He kept feeding him until all of the hot dog pieces were gone, then laid him down across his lap sideways, positioning Eren's head so that it was resting on his shoulder. Levi brought the bottle of still-warm milk to the boy's mouth, and started to feed him the bottle, petting Eren's hair with his free hand.
From his spot next to the two, Erwin smiled and looked at Levi's expression. All he could see in his eyes were adoration, peace, and love. He knew that Levi was "whipped", and that he would do anything to protect the boy in his lap. Erwin thought to himself about just how good this actually is for the both of them, how sweet Eren was like this, and how happy Levi was from being able to take care of the boy. He couldn't fight off the grin that plastered itself onto his face.
"Oi, what's got you so happy?" Levi raised a brow at Erwin, who just shrugged in response.
"This is just really good for you, that's all."
And it really was. With all of the crazy stuff going on in their lives, this was the one thing that made it okay again.