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Chapter Text

The level of noise his children could make never ceased to amaze Levi. Like a tiny pair of elephants they stomped up and down the hall just outside his open office door. Eren's unmistakable angry yells were accompanied with Mikasa's quieter pleading whines following close behind. With a small sigh of resignation Levi dared look at the clock. It was only 15 minutes into their hour of quiet time-- their codename for nap time, as both of his children were averse to anything nap related.

"I'm counting to three!" he called out in warning.

Apparently his voice wasn't threatening enough or couldn't be heard. The ruckus continued.

"One."

"Two."

Still, the little stinks didn't stop. From his desk, Levi could hear Eren screaming at Mikasa to leave him alone and Mikasa quietly crying that Eren wasn't being fair. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, knowing that if he said 'three' he'd have to follow through and get up from his desk. As writing time was rare for the father of two 4 year olds, any time away from his desk meant more time spent awake at night. But, as Levi wasn't currently going to get anything done with his children acting like animals, he stood.

"Three."

The moment he stepped out of his office and into the hallway, Eren was hobbling around the corner, Mikasa close behind. As soon as he saw Levi with the disappointed look on his face, Eren screeched to a halt and ducked his head. Mikasa, Eren's old red baby blanket tightly her in arms, ran right up and clinger to Levi's legs. She pressed her face into his pants, rubbing her tears into his knees. Levi tried not to think about the snot getting on his trousers.

"Eren, Mikasa," Levi said firmly. "Do you know what you're supposed to be doing right now?"

"Having quiet time," Eren answered quietly. He looked up with pleading and bright teal eyes. "I'm sorry Papa. But 'kasa kept sitting close to me and wouldn't leave me alone."

"I don't want to be alone. I want to be with Eren," Mikasa mumbled, still crying quietly.

With a sigh, Levi crouched down to look at his children on eye level. He reached out an arm and pulled Mikasa to his side and took one of Eren's hands with his remaining free one. With a trained kind yet firm expression, Levi looked both of his children in the eye.

"Eren, remember when we talked about asking people nicely to stop doing something we don't like?" he asked.

The scruffy brown hair on Eren's head bounced as he nodded vigorously.

"And did you ask Mikasa nicely to stop before you started running away and yelling?" Levi further questioned.

More hesitatingly this time, Eren shook his head no. Disgraced tears started spilling down his cheeks. Eren hated to disappoint. Levi didn't know whether that reflected poorly on his parenting or if it was just a part of Eren's personality. After two years of having custody of Eren and only one of Mikasa, Levi still felt new and unsure about his paternal capabilities.

"Come here," Levi instructed, pulling Eren closer and giving him a one armed hug, similar to Mikasa. "It's okay," he said firmly. "I'm not angry with you. I only wish that you would follow the rules."

Eren's wet face rubbed a nod into his Papa's shoulder and Levi tried not to focus on the wetness on his sleeve.

"Good. Now Eren, can you apologize to Mikasa for not asking nicely?" Levi asked. "Mikasa, can you apologize for chasing after Eren when he didn't want to play with you?"

The rowdy little boy immediately offered a muffled apology. Mikasa however, clung tighter to Levi. Carefully he repeated the instruction.

Mikasa forcefully shook her head.

"But I want to play with Eren. I don't want to be alone," she cried, distressed.

Levi pulled his arm away from Eren to fully embrace her. Something deeper was troubling her beyond this particular quiet time. He had a fairly good idea what it was. Over the year Levi had cared for her, he'd learned Mikasa hadn't come from a loving home and frequently experienced separation anxiety.

"You're not alone Mikasa," Levi assured her.

Eren immediately piped up, "Yeah!"

For being so young, Eren had always been very compliant whenever Levi explained that he needed to be extra nice to Mikasa. He'd once declared he would help Mikasa with the scary feelings.

"Your brother and I will always be here," Levi continued. "But sometimes it's important to have alone time. It doesn't mean we don't love you. We're still there."

Mikasa nodded slowly in understanding, but didn't say anything. It was normal, as she was generally a quiet child. But Levi wanted to be sure she was alright; damn if he'd screw up his kids more than they already were.

"So, we're going to continue quiet time," Levi stated slowly.

Mikasa visibly tensed in his arms. Levi sighed, knowing she was still anxious. Sending her back to quiet time would be distressing.

"Mikasa, do you…" Levi trailed off, taking an extra moment to consider if he really wanted his writing time to be further interrupted. No, he didn't, but his daughter's mental health was more important. "Do you want to sit with me for the rest of quiet time?"

The little girl nodded her head eagerly with a small smile.

Immediately, Eren began to pout.

"That's not fair! I want to sit with Papa too!" he whined, gripping Papa's sleeve. His whines are cut short by a sharp look.

Levi stood up, holding Mikasa on his left hip. Before returning to his room, Eren pouted longingly at his Papa, who shooed the little boy away. Dejectedly, Eren toddled away and shut the door to his shared bedroom with Mikasa. With a sigh, Levi returned to his desk and settled Mikasa on his lap. It was difficult to type with a small child on his leg, leaning against his chest and entwining her small fingers in his shirt. He was forced to reach around her to awkwardly. Gratefully, Mikasa was quiet and understood that she shouldn't interrupt her Papa's work. As Levi expected, Mikasa dozed off towards the end of the hour and Levi gave himself a break to hold his little girl and rest his eyes.

Exactly at the moment quiet time ended, Eren was in Papa Levi's office, climbing onto his lap. Being Eren, he did none of this quietly, but instead moved like a baby dinosaur making noise and ungracefully forcing himself onto his Papa's lap. Levi groaned as Mikasa woke with a disorienting start and made a small whine. She was always the most grumpy after waking up from naps.

"Eren- Ow!" Levi tried to speak, but was cut short by his own cry of pain as his son's little knee jabbed into his thigh. He grunted and arranged him more comfortably on his lap. "Eren stop wiggling!" he commanded, to which Eren only marginally obeyed.

"Papa, quiet time's over! So I can sit with you right?"

Levi didn't have time to respond before Mikasa chimed in with a complaining, "But Eren, I'm sitting with Papa!"

It was quickly settled when Papa announced that he needed to make dinner so neither could sit with him. Instead, Eren and Mikasa decided they would help him make dinner. Like most children, they were more of a hindrance than a help and Levi tried not to cringe every time they ruined the perfect order of his kitchen. In the end, Eren sat on the floor with a dirty wooden spoon and a face red with frustration while Mikasa stood beside her Papa with one messy hand hanging on to his trousers.

Levi, the slightly neurotic father of two troubled children, sighed and looked on his family. They were special and broken, but perhaps their brokenness fit together in a way that made them whole somehow. It wasn't an easy task, being a single parent, but they would make it work.

Chapter Text

In the Smith household, there was an unspoken routine that was closely followed.

It started at 6:15 am when Armin crawled into his Daddy's bed for some morning snuggles. Quietly he padded across the hall from his room to the open door. Daddy's door was always left open a crack as an invitation for Armin to come in whenever he needed to. His little hands gripped the sheets of the bed as he pulled himself up and carefully crawled over to his Daddy's sleeping form. Erwin always slept on his back and Armin liked to curl up on his chest in the morning. After several moments, Erwin sighed and wrapped a warm arm around his son's tiny form.

"Good morning, Daddy," Armin murmured.

In return came a low grunt that rumbled in Erwin's chest and a hand running through Armin's soft hair. Erwin was never quite able to form a more coherent response after just waking, but Armin didn't mind and curled closer to his father's touch and kissed his scraggly chin.

Armin seemed to intuitively know that his Daddy generally needed more prompting to get up and going than most people. Snuggles in bed were a pleasant method to start the day off. After a sufficient amount of cuddles and kisses, Erwin carried Armin to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Cereal or waffles?" Erwin asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Waffles please," Armin answered as he climbed onto his designated chair and settled on the table with a little cup of milk. The waffles were frozen of course; Erwin didn't have the time or desire to make anything in the morning. "Can I have them with jam and sugar, please?"

"Of course Armin," Erwin replied and prepared the freshly toasted waffles with strawberry jam and a dusting of powder sugar, the way his son liked them best.

"Thank you Daddy," Armin said when the plate was placed before him.

Erwin smiled and kissed the top of his head. He wasn't sure how his boy had turned out so sweet and well behaved, but he suspected it was inherited from Armin's mother. His looks were all his father's, but Erwin could only see his late wife in his sweet and gentle nature. His ability to always get what he wanted came from his father though.

"Go get dressed and brush your teeth," Erwin instructed as Armin finished eating.

Obediently, Armin nodded, slipped off the chair, and padded off to his room. It didn't take long for the boy to join Erwin in the bathroom that they shared, having traded his blue flannel pajamas for tan shorts and a teal polo. Armin had a great fondness for blues and purples. They stood on each side on the sink, Armin on a step stool, brushing their teeth. Little blue eyes watched Erwin's movements and Armin carefully mimicked them. Next, Armin brushed his hair with delicate movements while Erwin shaved and styled his own.

"Daddy, help please," Armin whined softly with the brush tangled in a particularly large knot.

His hair was fine, silky, and unfortunately prone to disastrous bed head. With a smirk, Erwin took the brush from the smaller hands and gently pulled the bristles through the knotted mess. Thanks to Hanji, Erwin knew how to start from bottom of the tangle and work his way up to ease the pain and reduce the amount of hair pulling. Without their help, Erwin wouldn't know how to deal with Armin's long locks.

"There, all done," Erwin stated with another kiss, before Armin hopped off the stool and started preparing himself for Hanji's arrival.

By the time 7:15 rolled around, when Hanji arrived, Armin was settled in the living room. His favorite doll sat in his lap as he brushed her hair. Her name was Tricia and she wanted to be a scientist, but was still in school at the moment. A stack of books sat near Armin, waiting to be read with Hanji. The day's theme being marine biology. Then came a goodbye kiss from Dad, this time on the forehead and against Armin's pale bangs.

"Be good for Hanji," Erwin instructed, even though he knew it was unnecessary. The two rarely had problems while he was away.

"I will Daddy! Love you," Armin waved farewell, before being distracted by Hanji who was asking how Tricia was doing.

The two didn't see each other again until Erwin came back from work, right on time for dinner. Erwin had grown accustomed to being greeted at the door by Armin, who immediately began talking about everything he'd done that day.

"And then Hanji read that book about different sharks," Armin explained, following his Daddy from the front door, past Hanji preparing dinner in the kitchen, and into Daddy's room. "Did you know, there's a shark, I think it's called the ma-mak- mako shark, that can jump up to 24 feet in the air!"

"That's very interesting Armin," Erwin replied sincerely. He always tried to show interest in what Armin had to tell him. His boy had a curious mind and Erwin wanted to encourage that as much as possible. "Do you know where those kind of sharks live?" he asked as he shucked off his dress shoes and removed his tie.

The little blond head nodded quickly. "Yes! Hanji says they live in warm water. Like the gulf of Mexico," he answered with a little bob of his head.

Like a little chatty shadow, Armin followed his Daddy back into the kitchen where Hanji was pulling frozen lasagna out of the oven. Hanji never stayed for dinner, but always helped make it. They understood that dinner time was special for the father and son duo.

"Thank you Hanji, as always," Erwin thanked them as they prepared to leave.

Hanji waved a hand. "It's no problem. As always, Armin was a little angel."

Beside Erwin, Armin gripped his slacks and was beaming with pleasure.

"Thank you Hanji!" Armin parroted to them, waving goodbye. He giggled loudly when Hanji tickled his tummy in farewell.

Then with a kiss on Erwin's cheek goodbye, Hanji was gone and the boys sat down for their dinner. Dinner time was special for Armin. It was when he animatedly explained everything that he'd done throughout the day. It was the only time he had his father's complete and undivided attention. Whether it was telling Erwin about the books Hanji read to him or the problems Tricia was having with her friends, Erwin would listen with rapt attention.

"I think I like orcas better than dolphins," Armin explained. "They can eat sharks!"

"Really?"

"Yes. And they live in cold water," Armin continued. "Orcas also have pretty patterns on them, in black and white. That's why I like them best" Armin thoughtfully scooped a piece of lasagna and brought it to his mouth before he continued. "Then Hanji wanted to go to the park, but I said no."

This perked Erwin's interest. He'd learned very quickly that Armin wouldn't outright discuss his problems or insecurities. Perhaps Armin didn't know how to properly communicate them, but it was a concern of Erwin's. To combat this, he learned how to pick up on the small bits Armin would drop in the midst of all the information shared.

"Why didn't you want to go to the park?" Erwin asked casually.

"Because it was sunny out today," Armin answered, the reasoning behind his thinking being clear to him. He didn't look up from his dinner plate, a sign he didn't want to talk more on the subject.

"Why is sunny bad?" Erwin prodded, knowing that he'd struck something important.

With a little sigh, Armin answered. "Because when it's sunny those older boys are there," he explained, sounding a little exasperated. "And they say that girly things are dumb, which isn't true. Hanji and Daddy say so. And girly things are nicer anyway," he concluded with his face screwed up in a little frustrated frown. "But they don't listen to me."

When he finished Erwin nodded in understanding. "They aren't very nice, are they?"

"No, they aren't," Armin confirmed.

"That's too bad," Erwin said. "It's okay if you don't want to go to park, but let Hanji know when someone else isn't being nice to you, alright?"

Solemnly Armin nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

Quickly, Erwin redirected the conversation. "So, what did Tricia do today?"

After dinner and clean up, bedtime came quickly. Before bed, Armin would always change into is pajamas and then read a story with his Daddy before bed. He rested in his father's lap, leaning against the arm wrapped around him. The rumbling feeling from being against Daddy's chest was soothing to Armin and helped him relax for bedtime.

"Goodnight Armin," Erwin said as he tucked his little boy into bed. He ran his fingers through his hair and kissed his little nose. "Sleep tight."

As he pulled away, Armin's hand gripped his sleeve, holding him in place. This was a break in the routine. Patiently, Erwin looked at his son, saw the questioning look on his face, and waited for him to speak.

"Daddy," Armin began softly, "I know my Mommy's gone, but will I ever get a new one?"

Surprised by the question, Erwin pulled back a little, sitting up straight at the edge of Armin's bed. "Do you want a new Mommy?" he asked quietly.

"I think so," Armin said. "Hanji is almost like a Mommy. But they only stay during the day."

Erwin simply hummed in response. This was the touchy subject they never spoke of often. Of course, Armin understood that his mother had passed away when he was a baby and he'd never seemed to be very upset by that. But it brought the core reason for the father and son's routine into focus.

With the strict keeping of routine, Erwin and Armin had something that kept them together. Despite how much Erwin loved his sweet little Armin, there was something missing. Even though it had been three years since Maria's passing, Erwin strongly felt her absence. Fortunately, Armin was too young to remember her and didn't grieve. For now, Hanji was doing a fine job caring for Armin. But Hanji didn't fill the gaping hole left in Erwin's chest after Maria's passing.

Erwin would always be grateful for their help in looking after Armin. The arrangement had started as a temporary one, when Erwin was so low in grief that he could barely look after himself let alone a 6 month old child. Before things had completely fallen apart, Hanji, one of Erwin's dear friends from university, stepped in and offered help. Things had certainly gotten better since then, but it didn't change the fact Erwin missed her. A slow aching feeling crept up his chest.

"Well, honey," Erwin began, holding the grief back in his voice. "We'll just have to do our best without a Mommy. Is that okay?"

Armin nodded sleepily. "Yah, it's okay Daddy."

"Then goodnight," Erwin said, giving Armin's hand a comforting pat.

"Night Daddy," Armin said as Erwin got up and turned off the lights.

From the doorway, Erwin watched Armin curl up on his side and drift to sleep. To any outside observer, their family and its routine was nearly perfect. But Erwin knew that despite how much he tried, things weren't quite working. There was something that needed to change and Erwin wasn't sure what needed to happen.

He and Armin could figure it out, though.

Chapter Text

Mornings at Levi's house generally went one of two ways: poorly or very poorly. This morning in particular wasn't off to a stellar start, which only meant the worst.

Levi heard the ruckus coming from his children's room before the crying started. With a resigned sigh, he opened his eyes and listened carefully, hoping that Eren would calm back down into a restful sleep. It was a vain hope. Moments later the crying started, coming from both Eren and then Mikasa. A glance at the clock informed Levi that it was indeed before the crack of dawn, but still late enough to be considered morning. Ish.

"Papa!" Mikasa cried in panic as Levi rolled himself out of bed.

Despite the distress in her voice, Levi calmly made his way across the hallway. He knew from experience that if he appeared frantic, it would only agitate Mikasa further. Upon entering the children's room, Levi found a familiar scene.

Mikasa sat in a tight ball in the corner of the bed, leaning against the wall and away from Eren, with whom she shared the bed. Said bedmate was twisted and tangled in the sheets, making distressed cries and shouts while swinging his limbs wildly.

Just as Levi had anticipated.

Eren was having another night terror.

The frustrating thing about night terrors was that Levi couldn't do anything to help. It wasn't like a nightmare that Levi could soothe with a gentle shake awake followed by the security of his embrace. The only thing that could be done was to wait it out and make sure Eren didn't kick himself off the bed. He wouldn't even remember having the terror the next morning.

It was Mikasa and Levi who would have trouble falling asleep and wake up with the memories of Eren's panic.

Quietly, Levi approached the bed and sat on the edge. Eren's thrashing continued without change, but Mikasa crawled over to her father immediately. Without needing invitation she pulled herself onto his lap and clung to the front of his pajamas. With a sniffle, she curled into his body, seeking comfort. Automatically, Levi's hand went to her hair until she calmed down.

"Mikasa, Eren is fine. He's going to be fine," Levi whispered hoarsely, his throat still groggy from sleep. "Now, I need you to go to the kitchen, get yourself a glass of water, and wait for me to finish taking care of him. Can you do that for me?" he instructed softly. He knew it was best to remove her from the frightening situation as quickly as possible

Obediently, Mikasa nodded her head and grudgingly complied with Levi's request. Her small figure trembled as she waddled out of the room, without her red security blanket. Tiredly, Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished he could be more comforting and able to accommodate his children's emotional needs. As a single parent he could only look after one of his children at a time. Currently, Eren was the priority.

The night terrors had started shortly after Mikasa joined their awkward family. They were frustrating as well as elusive. Some months Eren went weeks without any. Other weeks were like this one and they struck almost nightly. The pediatrician had said that Eren's terrors were likely caused by stress, but Levi wasn't certain what he could do to help, other than carefully regulating the sleep schedule. Asking Eren about what was causing him distress was about as helpful as Levi talking to the houseplants.

Levi's hands carded through Eren's messy hair as he watched him through the panic. The gesture was more for his own comfort rather than Eren's. It gave him something to do as he watched Eren's face scrunched up in fear. His messy eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes clenched shut. The pallor of his skin was pale with fright, rather than the rich olive tone Levi adored. His mouth opened and closed with strangled cries.

All Levi could do was wait and not wake Eren up. After several minutes, he began to calm down. The terror faded and he fell back into a peaceful sleep. Levi gently rearranged Eren's limbs and recovered him with the blanket that had been thrown off before leaving a small kiss on his forehead.

Next, he had another child to calm down.

Mikasa was sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table with a cup of water in front of her. Levi forced himself to ignore that she wasn't using a coaster. The only light came from the kitchen, filling the room with harsh shadows. On the floor she looked small and fragile, but Levi knew she had incredible resilience. Her hands gripped the plastic cup tightly and her face was calm, with dried streaks of tears.

To Levi, Mikasa was still a puzzle. For the most part, she stayed calm and reserved, until the dam of her emotions broke and she became distressed and needy. Unfortunately, this occurred with increasing frequency in the recent weeks. It was all concerning to Levi, who knew all of this wasn't healthy behavior.

Wearily, Levi sat down beside his little girl. Subtly, she leaned towards him and he obligingly put an arm around her to hold her close.

"Is Eren okay?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Eren is fine," he assured her, unable to hide the tiredness from his voice.

After a moment, Mikasa looked up to her Papa and asked, "When are the scary sleeps going to stop?"

"I don't know," Levi answered honestly. "But the scary sleeps don't hurt Eren. He's fine."

Slowly Mikasa nodded. Levi knew she had trouble believing him.

The terrors were most disturbing for Mikasa. It affected Levi as well, but he was an adult and could handle it. To Mikasa, the terrors didn't make sense and were frightening. The fact that they weren't harmful was difficult for her mind to grasp.

Levi waited until Mikasa's breathing slowed and her body leaned heavily against his to take her back to her room. Carefully, he slipped an arm under her and stood up. He hadn't quite mastered the art of putting a sleeping child to bed and Mikasa was jostled awake when he tucked her in. Luckily she blearily closed her eyes and rolled over, slipping back into sleep.

As silently as possible, Levi crept back out of the room and wearily fell back into bed. Glancing at the clock, Levi hoped the kids would sleep in.

They didn't.

The morning went bad to worse.

"Eren, I am not making anything else! You will eat your eggs or go hungry!" Levi stated firmly, his voice rising. He stood at the sink with an apron over his pajamas because he hadn't had the chance to get ready and was scrubbing at the scorched eggs on the bottom of a pan.

"No! Eggs are icky!" Eren cried angrily from his seat at the table.

"I like eggs," Mikasa offered quietly, sitting across the table. She was ignored.

With suds up to his elbows, Levi turned around. "Eat your eggs!" he ordered, giving Eren a reprimanding look.

That did nothing to calm Eren down.

"That's not fair!" he wailed. Being swept up in his tantrum, Eren picked up the plate of eggs and dumped them on the floor.

Yoke splattered everywhere.

All at once the whole apartment seemed to freeze.

"Eren, no," Mikasa whispered, a little too late.

The tantrum Eren was throwing dissipated as he instantly regretted his decision. All eyes were on Papa Levi, who stood in the middle of the kitchen with eyes tightly shut and soapy hands grasping the counter for support. Tears welled in Eren's eyes, knowing he's pushed Papa to his limits.

Eren knwe that messes made Papa very upset. He'd seen Papa scrubbing at a clean room for hours, until his knuckles were bleeding. Papa tried to explain to Eren that it was something he almost couldn't control. That messes made Papa scared and cleaning helped him calm down. Together, Eren and Papa Levi had made a deal: Eren would practice not getting angry and Papa would practice not being scared of messes.

"I'm sorry Papa," Eren whispered quietly when Levi hadn't moved for several moments.

Internally, Levi was trying to beat down the panic that was rising quickly up his throat. He wouldn't lose his temper at his kids. It wasn't their fault. It was just a little spill. No need to panic. There was no reasoning away the anxiety though. The lack of sleep and ordeal from the night before left him feeling vulnerable and frayed at the edges. Counting in his head, Levi took a deep breath in (…4, 5, 6, 7) and out (…7, 8, 9, 10).

When his heart and slowed down enough, Levi confronted the mess. The first thing he saw however were his sweet little ones, watching him with concern. Eren was nearly in tears. Guilt washed over him in waves.

"I'm not angry, Eren," Levi said carefully. "But it's not acceptable to throw your food if you don't like it. You'll help me clean it up." His voice was stern, perhaps more than it needed to be.

Eren nodded meekly in response.

And that was when the doorbell rang.

Still flustered, Levi hurried to the door grumbling at who could be bothering them this early in the morning. What he found on the other side was a familiar tall, handsome, impeccably dressed man carrying a similarly well groomed child. They were the neighbors .

"Hello, I'm Erwin Smith and I live just across the hall. I'm sorry to disturb you so early but I noticed you have children and had a favor to-" the man began before stopping short when he took in the scene before him.

From the doorway, he could see straight past the small living room area and into the kitchen, where the two upset children sat in front of the eggy mess. His eyes moved back to the sudsy, short, irritated Levi before him.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Have I come at a bad time?"

Chapter Text

When Erwin got up that morning he hadn't expected he'd be pawning off his child to a near stranger. But Hanji had cancelled because of a family emergency and Erwin had spent 20 desperate minutes trying to find someone to take care of Armin.

Lo and behold, he was at his neighbor's door, simply because Erwin remembered there were children living there.

"Yes, it's a bad time," his neighbor answered shortly. "I think that's a little obvious," The neighbor continued, with a gesture vaguely behind himself, towards his children in the kitchen.

Erwin didn't know the man and was surprised by his bluntness; he wasn't even trying to be polite.

"I apologize, but it's rather urgent. My usual nanny has cancelled last minute and I need someone to look after my son," he lightly bounced the child in his arm for indication. "I normally wouldn't ask this, but I don't have many options. Armin's very well behaved and-"

"Fine," his neighbor cut him off.

Erwin blinked with surprise. "Pardon?" he asked politely.

The shorter man sighed and opened his door wider to allow Erwin and Armin to enter. "I said he can stay," he repeated, a little annoyed.

Gratitude and relief washed through Erwin simultaneously. At least now Armin had a place to stay while he was at work, a place that had other children. Erwin wasn't very familiar with this neighbor, but the situation was dire. Granted, he'd just had a terrible first impression, but Erwin didn't have time to get to know him better.

Erwin stepped through the doorway into the neighbor's apartment. Its layout was the same as his own, simply reversed. Aside from the egg mess in the kitchen the house was clean and nearly spotless. That, at least, was comforting.

"Come here Mikasa, Eren," the neighbor instructed, motioning for his children. "Don't be rude and come meet…"

"Armin," Erwin supplied.

Quickly, Eren strode forward, full of eagerness. Quietly the girl followed behind, clutching a red blanket in her hand. She appeared less certain with the situation and immediately went to stand beside her father. Erwin couldn't help but notice that neither child looked particularly like their dad and they certainly didn't look related to each other either. Erwin didn't let himself jump to conclusions, as his family wasn't particularly normal either.

"Hi!" Eren waved enthusiastically, "My name is Eren."

Still sitting on Erwin's hip, Armin offered a weak little wave. From the way Armin had his hand wrapped in his Daddy's shirt and held on to Tricia, it was clear he didn't want to be left here. Armin struggled to get along with other children his age. Erwin tried not to be concerned by it, as Armin had a timid personality and was naturally more mature than other kids. But it would be good for him to have some social interaction beyond the two grownups he saw every day.

"It'll be okay," Erwin quietly encouraged as he set Armin down.

"Armin, this is Mikasa and Eren," the short neighbor introduced. Erwin noted that his tone was more patient toward his son, which was a good sign.

Armin mumbled a hello, before the boy eager took his hand to show him his room. The girl followed behind without any encouragement from her father.

"Looks like they'll get along," Erwin noted optimistically.

The neighbor simply hummed in response, neither agreeing or disagreeing. His eyes had followed the children down the hall and he appeared distracted.

"Again, I apologize for the sudden intrusion," Erwin continued, taking it as his cue to leave. "Thank you so much for this, Mr…"

"Just Levi is fine," he answered, looking back to Erwin. "And it's no big deal. What's one more child? He can't possibly be as rowdy as the ones I have already," Levi stated dryly.

Erwin doubted that Armin would do well with 'rowdy' but it'd have to do, for today.

Clearing his throat, Erwin offered a weak smile. "Well, then I'll be back to pick Armin up around 6:30. Here's my number if you have any questions." Erwin rattled off, handing Levi a post-it from his pocket with his information on it.

"Do you want my number?" Levi offered, taking the post-it.

"Yes, thank you," Erwin replied, feeling more at ease leaving Armin. He quickly typed the number in his phone. "Again, thank you so much for doing this."

Levi shrugged and held the door open as Erwin left.

As he commuted to his job, Erwin hoped that Armin would get along well with the other kids. If not, it wouldn't be a big deal, since they hardly saw their neighbors in the first place. But Erwin didn't want his baby to be lonely. Armin could use some new friends and perhaps Erwin could use one as well.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" Eren asked with genuine curiosity.

Eren stood in the middle of the room and observed Armin hanging by the doorway with Mikasa standing beside him. Being in a strange house suddenly with people he'd never met, made Armin feel uneasy. In his arms he held Tricia tightly, ready to run back to the entryway. But Eren kept looking at Armin expectantly and waited for his answer.

"What?" Armin asked hesitantly, having not quite understood Eren the first time.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" Eren repeated, sounding exasperated. It was a simple question really.

Armin swallowed uncomfortably. Not many other kids liked him and Armin didn't think these ones would either. Especially if they found out Armin was a boy who liked girly things. This was, however, the first time anyone had directly asked him if he was a girl or a boy. Maybe he would answer like Hanji and say neither… would that be a lie?

Oblivious to Armin's internal struggle, Eren continued and offered an explanation for his question, "Your name is weird and your hair is long and you have a doll, but you dress like a boy. So I can't tell- ow!"

Mikasa had elbowed Eren and given him a stern look. Rubbing his side, Eren turned to his sister with a little scowl.

"What was that for 'kasa?" he demanded, sounding a little hurt.

With a pointed look in Armin's direction, she muttered, "You're being mean."

"I'm not!" Eren said defensively, turning to Armin to back him up. But he stopped when he saw the way Armin had hid his face in the head of his doll.

Concerned, he stepped forward. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," Eren said quietly. "I just wanted to know. If… if you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

Armin looked up and saw the genuine concern in the boy's face. "It- it's okay," he replied hesitantly, lowering the doll from his face. "And… and I'm a boy."

Instantly, Eren broke out into a smile. "Cool, that's just like me!" Immediately he pointed to the doll and asked, "Why do you have a doll?"

Before Armin could answer though, Eren's intimidating father stepped into the doorway. Subconsciously, Armin shrank away from his presence.

"Eren," he said firmly. "You still need to clean up your mess from breakfast."

At the sound of his Papa's voice, Eren winced and his shoulders hunched in shame. Sheepishly he looked at the ground and trudged with his father out of the room, leaving Armin and Mikasa standing silently across from each other. Armin stared at the ground, trying to collect himself. He really wished that Daddy hadn't left him here. A small cough from Mikasa redirected his attention, however.

"What's her name," Mikasa asked softly, pointing to the doll.

"Oh," Armin breathed in surprise. "Her name is Tricia." He held her up to show.

Mikasa lifted a hand away from the red blanket and offered a little wave to her.

"Do… do you want to hold her," Armin asked hesitantly, holding Tricia out in offering.

"Okay."

By the time Eren came running back into the room, Armin and Mikasa were sitting together. Mikasa held her own doll she didn't use often and they talked politely to each other. Armin was relaxed and had a small smile on his face, but jumped with surprise when Eren burst in. Eren's wide green eyes observed the situation and Armin prepared himself for the teasing.

But to his surprise, Eren bounded forward to kneel beside them.

"Hey, I want to play with Armin too!" he complained. He turned his pleading eyes towards Armin. "Can I play with you and your doll?"

With a small blush and stutter Armin agreed. Perhaps these new people were not so bad.

At exactly 6:30, there was a knock at the door, just as Levi was putting the last dish on the table for dinner.

"Eren, Mikasa, Armin," he called on his way to answer it, "Go wash up for dinner."

Levi had figured since it would already dinner time when Erwin would be coming to pick up, Levi might as well invite the family to stay. So, while he prepared the meal in blissful quiet and isolation, he simply doubled the recipe.

"Thank you so much," Erwin started as soon as the door opened. "Did everything go alright? We'll be out of your hair as quickly as possible."

"It's fine," Levi stated, brushing it off and waving Erwin into the house. He noted how tired Erwin looked and felt glad he thought of having him over for dinner. "Armin was great."

As Levi had anticipated, the quiet little boy hadn't caused any trouble. His only concern was that Eren's forceful personality would be too much for him. To Levi's surprise, having Armin over had actually made it easier to take care of his own kids. The whole day went smoothly. Eren seemed calmer and for the first day in about a week, didn't have another tantrum. Levi was able to work on his writing for longer than the designating quiet time and the house stayed orderly. Even Mikasa was more lively and talkative.

Levi didn't know how Armin, the well-mannered and polite little thing that he was, managed to do all that. But he was certain that he wouldn't mind Armin coming over again. Seeing Erwin's handsome face around wouldn't be too bad either.

The children, finished with their hand washing, that left the front of Eren's shirt wet, but hands free of grime, tumbled out of the hall. Armin, already smiling and giggling at Eren's silly antics, smiled even wider when he caught sight of Erwin.

"Daddy!" he cried happily, running over to him. Erwin picked him up and accepted a kiss on the cheek. "Are you done with work already?"

"Yes, already," Erwin answered with a smile. To his surprise, Armin looked slightly disappointed at this.

"Papa, you said Armin could stay for dinner right?" Eren asked, popping up.

In response, Levi nodded, looking to Erwin. He felt a small bit of pride at Erwin's surprised look. To ensure that Erwin couldn't back out, Levi shooed his children to the table, who were quickly followed by Armin, pulling away from his father's grip to join along.

"Oh no, we've already intruded long enough. We couldn't possibly stay-" Erwin fussed.

"Listen, it's no problem," Levi snapped impatiently. Honestly, how difficult was it going to be for him to do something nice for his neighbor? He gestured towards the table, where Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were already seated. "I've already made the food. You might as well eat it."

Reluctantly, Erwin agreed. He shook off his suit coat and toed off his shoes before following him to the table. There were two places left, one at each end. Erwin smiled gratefully and took a seat kitty corner to Armin as Levi took the seat at the other side. Eren and Mikasa had to squish together and Levi had pulled out the chair from his office, but it was still comfortable

"I have to admit, Armin and I haven't had a home cooked meal in a while," Erwin said as they began to eat.

Levi raised an eyebrow. He himself was skilled enough in the kitchen and health conscious enough to cook every meal himself. His children wouldn't eat any of that frozen or premade crap. However he understood that it would be difficult for a single father who worked away from home to cook.

"Well then, you better enjoy this," Levi replied wryly, before his attention being pulled away to Mikasa who needed her meat cut.

Erwin turned his attention to his son and asked, "Did you have a good day Armin?"

To his surprise, Armin nodded enthusiastically. "I had a lot of fun with Eren and Mikasa. They're really nice!" he gushed. "Tricia had fun too!" Shyly, Armin glanced in the direction of Levi, who still intimidated him, before turning back to his Daddy. "Do you think I could come again?"

Levi watched with interest as Erwin's smile grew more genuine and he looked towards him. Honestly, Levi was glad that Armin had enjoyed himself. It had been difficult for him to tell, as Armin seemed to be afraid of him. That didn't surprise Levi, most people were intimidated by him.

"Maybe we can set up a playdate soon," Erwin suggested and Levi nodded in agreement.

Dinner ended smoothly and eventually, Levi was showing the Smith family out the door. Below his line of sight the little ones were having a spirited conversation of their own.

"Come and play again Armin!" Eren said, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Okay!" Armin agreed eagerly. He waved goodbye to both of them. "Bye Mikasa, bye Eren!"

"Bye," Mikasa replied softly.

"Really, I can't thank you enough for today," Erwin repeated again. Levi didn't know how many times he had to repeat himself, but it was really no problem. "How much should I pay you for looking after Armin?"

Immediately, Levi shook his head. The thought repulsed him. Levi knew he wasn't the friendliest guy, but couldn't he do something nice for someone without getting the third degree? Honestly, Erwin was getting a little obnoxious.

"Don't pay me. I told you, it's fine."

Naturally, Erwin persisted. "Please, I insist."

Levi scowled with annoyance. "No, it's not necessary," he stated firmly. He held up a hand before Erwin could insist further. "No, listen," he said again, voice softer, "I know how hard it is to be a single parent. Sometimes you need some extra help, so let me do this for you. We single dads need to look out for each other. "

Erwin didn't have a response to that, but nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright," he finally conceded. "Then I hope you return the favor sometime. Will we see you around?"

With a nod Levi replied, "Yes."

Chapter Text

Once, after a terrible experience in which Papa had to leave Eren and Mikasa at a daycare for a few hours, Eren had decided he didn't like making new friends. When he had expressed this to his Papa, he'd only smiled sadly and patted his head and said, "me too". If Papa was the same, then not wanting to make friends couldn't be that bad. Because Papa was the closest thing Eren knew to perfection, he was pretty sure. And Eren had Mikasa, so did he need more friends than that?

However the morning after Armin came over, Eren wanted nothing more than to play with him again.

"Papa do you think Armin will come over again today?" he asked at breakfast.

Papa turned around from the sink, because Papa never had anything for breakfast, except a cup of tea and the suds from cleaning dishes. Though Papa repeatedly told Eren that he didn't actually eat the soap when he washed the dishes in the morning, even if it was during breakfast. He gave Eren an amused look.

"Did you have fun with him yesterday?" Papa Levi asked.

Eagerly, Eren nodded. "Yah. It was fun," he explained. He took another bite of his Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate chip pancake. They were the only kind of pancakes Eren would eat. He wasn't fond of anything that was too 'bready'. With mouth full, he continued, "Armin was kinda weird. But I liked him."

Immediately, Eren was lightly scolded for talking with his mouth full and calling someone weird. With a little blush of shame, Eren ducked his head and apologized. Papa turned back to the sink and continued cleaning.

"Armin's dad and I did talk about a playdate," Papa Levi stated, "but I don't know if he'll be able to play today."

But Eren was nothing if not determined.

"Can't we just walk over and ask?" Eren persisted. He stood up in his chair, having completely abandoned his breakfast, to plead more properly. If he was taller, than Papa would listen to him better, or so he supposed. "Please? Please?"

"Eren don't beg," Papa responded immediately. "Armin's dad said he normally has a babysitter to watch him during the day. Today's probably not a good day Eren. You'll just have to wait until I can talk with Erwin again."

Of course Eren wasn't deterred. Instead, he engaged his next strategy, which employed Mikasa. Papa couldn't say no to Mikasa. He turned to look at his sister, who was quietly eating her own Mickey Mouse pancakes and making much less of a mess of herself. She'd been quietly observing the conversation, silently hoping that Eren would get his way.

"'kasa you want to play with Armin too, right?" Eren asked, almost unnecessarily. He knew Mikasa well enough to know she liked playing with Armin too. He also knew she liked to go along with whatever he wanted.

Mikasa nodded. "Yes. Armin is nice," she stated.

At this, Papa turned around again. He looked at Mikasa with a soft expression and sighed.

"We'll see," he conceded.

Eren smiled brightly with victory.

Of course, he didn't know that Levi was just as eager to have his children play with Armin as they were. However he couldn't just send his children across the hall. From what he gathered from first impressions, Erwin did things very proper and in order, just as Levi liked things to be done. The best course of action would be to wait for a proper invitation or arrangement to be made.

Levi was still surprised, but grateful Eren had enjoyed Armin's company. In fact, Eren hadn't had a night terror the previous night, which Levi couldn't completely attribute to making a new friend, but it certainly had been a positive influence. But most importantly, Mikasa was interested in being around someone other than himself and Eren.

Levi knew that playing with other children their age would do wonders for them emotionally. Previously, he'd always berated himself for not giving his children more opportunities to socialize. It was difficult enough trying to run the household without throwing in the sort of activities required for kids to socialize. Levi also had fears that any attempts at socialization would be horrible failures and make everything worse.

This, of course, stemmed from Levi's own troubles getting along with the general populace.

God, he hoped his isolated personality didn't rub off on his kids.

It turned out that Levi didn't have to worry about setting up a playdate at all. At exactly 10:00 there was an erratic knock at the door, which Eren ran to answer, despite being told on multiple occasions to let Papa answer the door. Two figures waited on the other side of the door: Armin standing shyly behind the legs of his babysitter.

"Armin!" Eren cried excitedly and turned behind him to call, "Papa! It's Armin!"

In response, Armin only waved nervously. Eren cocked his head to the side, confused at his new friend's behavior. He was acting all funny, like he was when he first came over the day before. Eren didn't understand why. They'd already played before, so there was no reason for Armin to be shy all over again.

Eren didn't have long to reflect on this, before Armin's tall and even weirder babysitter crouched down and held out a hand.

"Hello! You must be Eren," the babysitter greeted cheerfully.

Carefully, Eren eyed the hand offered before him. For once, Eren actually considered his Papa's warnings about talking to strangers. This new person was odd, he decided. He couldn't tell if Armin's babysitter was a girl or a boy- it was even harder to tell than it was with Armin. The person wore glasses and had long, messy hair that even Eren could tell would not meet his Papa's cleanliness approval.

"You're dirty," Eren stated bluntly. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

At that same moment, it seemed that Papa Levi had finally made it to the door, with Mikasa following behind as well.

"Eren! Don't be rude," he reprimanded. Honestly, his kids could be such brats. He watched with satisfaction when Eren cringed and glanced up at him with an apologetic look.

Luckily, the stranger seemed to find this hilarious and laughed. They stood up and waved a dismissive hand."Oh don't worry about it. I'm Hanji, Armin's babysitter. And I'm not a boy or a girl," they introduced, with a little smile towards Eren.

Eren's little brow scrunched together in confusion. How was it possible to be neither a girl or a boy. First, he looked to Armin, but he seemed completely unbothered by it. In fact, Armin was smiling at his odd babysitter. Next, Eren glanced up to Papa, for some sort of confirmation of the impossibility of being a not boy not girl. But Papa didn't look confused at all. Then Eren turned to Mikasa, who looked as impassive and quiet as ever.

With no one bothered, Eren simply shrugged his shoulders. It obviously wasn't a problem. He figured it was just one of those things he wouldn't understand. There were lots of things like that.

"Levi," Papa offered in introduction. He gestured to the little girl standing beside him, "and this is Mikasa."

"Yes, Erwin mentioned you," Hanji said in acknowledgement.

This made Papa quirk an eyebrow, but he made no comment.

"Armin and Erwin told me about the new friends they made yesterday," Hanji continued, "and Armin wanted to know if Eren and Mikasa would like to join us on our trip to the park."

Immediately, Eren perked up at this. He reached out a hand and tugged at his Papa's pant leg. With his most fervent expression, Eren looked up to Papa. Levi rolled his eyes at his son's eagerness.

"Yes, I think my little guys are dying to play," Levi answered over Eren's yelp of excitement.

The guests were invited into the apartment while they prepared to leave. As before most outings in the household, Eren couldn't find his shoes. He held one lone tennis shoe in his hand while yelling at Papa that the other was lost. The scramble to find the other shoe ended when Mikasa found it under their bed, which of course made Levi scold Eren for. Levi also insisted they bring jackets, as the pleasant spring weather could easily turn chilly.

When they finally set off, Eren was anxious and antsy, two things he never particularly handled well. He trotted along, being carefully restrained by his Papa's hand encased tightly over his own. On Papa's other side was Mikasa, whose hand didn't really need to be held to keep her from running off. But she preferred it that way, finding it comfortable. Armin stood on Eren's other side and held Hanji's hand.

"I'm so excited to play with you!" Eren told him with a bright smile.

"Me too," Armin returned shyly. His face blushed a little and he looked away.

With a little frown of confusion, Eren continued to attempt conversation. "Where's your doll?" he asked, noticing the absence of the toy in Armin's arms.

"I don't like to take Tricia to the park," Armin answered. His blue eyes widened a little with surprise; he hadn't thought Eren would take such notice of him.

"Why not?" Eren asked.

Once again, Armin turned his face away. "Because I don't," he answered vaguely.

This answer didn't satisfy Eren at all. "Why?" he asked again.

"Because I just don't," Armin repeated, sounding more distressed.

In a moment of rare social aptitude, Eren dropped the subject, sensing Armin's distress.

The park was only a few blocks from the two families' apartment building. It was small, with a sandbox, a swing set, two slides, and a set of monkey bars. Despite its simplicity, the park was well kept and relatively clean-- no public area where children played was every truly clean, which was something Levi still struggled with from time to time. There were already a few other children playing and a pair of caretakers observing from a park bench.

Before letting his little monsters loose on the world, Levi crouched down to give them instruction.

"Be nice and play well with the other kids," he stated firmly. He looked directly into Eren's face for the next part. "No yelling or being rough with the others. Do you understand?"

Eren nodded his head eagerly, "Yes Papa!" He was always willing to please.

Next, Levi looked his daughter in the eye. "You need to share Eren. No hissing at anyone who gets too close to him. Okay?"

Obediently, Mikasa nodded as well, holding the red baby blanket close. Levi wished she wouldn't bring it with her outdoors, it only meant he was going to have to wash it later. But there was no persuading her otherwise.

"Alright, go be free," Levi said, releasing the little hands from his hold.

Beside them, Hanji was finishing placing a floppy sun hat on Armin's head. They patted him affectionately before sending him off as well. Immediately, Eren grabbed Armin's hand and excitedly made a run to the playground, Mikasa following behind with pleas for Eren to slow down.

"Let's climb on the monkey bars!" Eren suggested breathlessly.

Instantly, Mikasa protested, "Eren you can't do them by yourself!"

"Yes I can 'kasa!" Eren retorted defensively. He turned to Armin for back up. "Armin you want to go on the monkey bars right?"

Armin ducked his head. "Um, I'm afraid of heights," he muttered quietly.

"What?" Eren asked loudly. He leaned closer to Armin's face. "I didn't hear you."

Shrinking back, Armin repeated himself, speaking even quieter. Luckily, Mikasa pushed Eren back before he could get even closer to Armin. She, unlike her brother, was better at reading social cues and could sense how uncomfortable Eren was making Armin.

"He said he's afraid of heights," she stated for him.

"Ooooh," Eren drawled with understanding. Then he shrugged his shoulders and gestured behind him. "Want to play in the sandbox instead?"

Armin visibly relaxed and nodded.

The three settled in the sand, digging with their hands and making crude piles of dirt as they had no shovels or buckets to use. This didn't deter them though. Eren was particularly excited to play in the dirt, which wasn't something he was often allowed to do.

"What's that for?" Eren asked, pointing to the floppy hat on Armin's head.

Armin's hand automatically went to touch the brim as he answered. "It's a sun hat. So I don't get sun burned," Armin explained.

"It's pretty," Mikasa complimented, pointing specifically to purple ribbon adorning brim.

The pale cheeks on Armin's face pinked slightly with pleasure. "Thank you. Purple's my favorite color," he explained.

"I don't need a hat," Eren cut in. "I don't get sunburned. Right, Mikasa?"

"Yeah," she affirmed.

The three continued their work in silence after that.

Eren couldn't help but notice the way that Armin sat closer to Mikasa and seemed more comfortable around his sister rather than him. It wasn't that Eren was a jealous child by nature, but he was definitely possessive. He'd thought that after the previous day, he and Armin were friends too. But Armin didn't seem comfortable around him. That was particularly upsetting for Eren, who already struggled enough getting along with people who weren't Mikasa.

He watched Mikasa and Armin working together, making an impressive pile of sand, before sitting back on his heels and pouting.

"Armin, do you not like me?" he asked softly.

The pale head turned around quickly. Armin looked a little embarrassed and a little sorry. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short with a look of fear at something behind Eren. Curiously, Eren looked and saw two older boys standing behind him. They were looking right at Armin with gleeful expressions.

"What do you want?" Eren said in an unfriendly tone, feeling the possessiveness inside him flare.

Much to Eren's consternation, the boys ignored him. With a snicker, they pointed at Armin.

"Hey girlie boy," one of them taunted.

"Where's your dollie girlie boy?" the other said.

At the words, Armin flinched. Armin didn't make any attempt to respond to them and looked away. His shoulders hunched and body curled into itself, making him look as small as possible. In concern, Mikasa scooted closer and put a hand on his shoulder. Instantly, Eren understood what was going on and stood up to face the boys making fun of Armin. The boys stood a few inches taller than Eren and definitely looked older.

Did that make a difference at all? Of course not. Not in Eren's mind.

"Hey, be nice!" he stated firmly.

They ignored him.

"Nice hat," the first one said. "Makes you look more like a stupid little girl!"

As his anger levels rose, Eren's little hands clenched tightly into fists. "Stop it! Leave him alone!" he cried. He took a step forward and finally caught their attention.

"You're just a little kid. What are you going to do about it?" the second one taunted.

Eren's face scrunched up in frustration. What could he do? Papa Levi said he couldn't fight, but these kids weren't being nice to Armin. Hot tears were starting to fall down hischeeks and Eren moved to wipe them away in shame. Then inspiration struck.

"PAPA!" Eren screamed loudly.

The pair of boys jumped in shock. Almost immediately, Eren saw his Papa hurrying over with a stern expression on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked fiercely, seeing Armin curled up tightly and Eren in angry tears. His sharp eyes glared at the older boys. "What did you do to them?"

"They were saying mean things to Armin and Eren," Mikasa spoke up. Her voice was calm, but she glared daggers at the interlopers. Eren nodded furiously in agreement.

"I see," Levi acknowledged. His voice was cold, so cold that it frightened Eren. He knew Papa's voice only sounded like that when he was really angry. "You will apologize to my son and his friend and then you will leave them alone," he ordered the older boys. "Is that understood?"

The boys shook with intimidation, Levi almost felt bad for scaring some little kids so bad, but he wasn't going to let some brats pick on his little ones. They nodded quickly, mumbled some quick apologies and scurried away.

With the bullies gone, Levi crouched down, careful to not get any sand on himself, to the children's level. He could see that Eren was going to be fine and he was already wiping away the tears from his face. However, Levi was concerned about Armin, who was still huddled into himself.

"You going to be okay?" he asked softly, putting a hand on Armin's little shoulder.

Under Levi's hand, Armin tensed before slowly relaxing. Mikasa rubbed his back soothingly and muttered something about liking him the way he was. With his eyes wide with concern, Eren scooted closer to Armin.

"Do you want me to get Hanji?" Levi asked.

At this, Armin turned his head to look at the group of people surrounding him, watching him with concerned expressions. They all wanted him to be okay. They weren't going to leave because of what those boys had said. In fact, they had defended him. He rubbed his hand over his face with a sniffle.

"I'm okay," he said softly. "Thank you Mr. Levi."

The corner of Levi's mouth turned up in a little grin. "You're welcome, Armin."

Slowly, the three children began to get back to their sand building and Levi left them. Eren still felt unsure being close to Armin; he didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He hung back a little and watched Mikasa working closely with Armin.

"Eren," Armin said softly when he noticed him sitting several inches away. "Thank you for helping me."

With little shrug, Eren smiled and moved a little closer. "Does that mean I can play with you?"

Immediately, Armin nodded. "Come play with me," he requested. After a moment of hesitation he said, "I like you Eren. I… I want us to be friends. I was just scared."

Eren's head cocked to the side in confusion. "Why were you scared? We played yesterday. You weren't scared after that," he stated.

The blond head bobbed. "Yes. But I thought… I didn't think you'd like me still. Those boys… they think I'm weird."

Furiously, Eren shook his head. "No! I said I wanted to play with you again yesterday and I meant it. Of course I still like you today!" he explained adamantly. "I want us to be friends!"

At this, Armin smiled. "Okay."

"Good," Eren smiled in return.

When they walked back to the apartment building, Armin and Eren held each other's hands tightly.

Chapter Text

Making polite conversation was never something Levi was particularly good at. Luckily, it was completely unnecessary in Hanji's company. Levi didn't think he would enjoy the endless chatter and enthusiasm that they exuded, but it wasn't a bother. Perhaps parenthood was helping Levi mellow out. Or maybe it was the subject of Hanji's chatter that interested him, the Smith family. Levi didn't have to do much talking, which was probably a good thing. Not many people found his particular brand of brutal honesty to be appealing. Though Levi was beginning to wonder if it would matter at all to Hanji.

"Thanks for taking care of that," they said once Levi returned back to their park bench.

Before sitting back down Levi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the surface, just as he'd done the first time. He sat up straight on the bench, keeping his back from touching. Parks were filthy places.

He kept his gaze on the children this time, to make sure there were no more incidents. "Kids are little snots," he stated dryly.

That apparently, was hilarious to Hanji.

"Really though," they said with breaths shaky from laughter. They took a deep breath and with a more serious tone, continued. "Thanks. Armin hasn't wanted to come to the park in ages. I was really surprised when he suggested we go today. He's a sweet kid, but he doesn't get along well with others his age."

With a small nod, Levi made a grunt in agreement. It sounded similar to his own kids. Well, his kids enjoyed going to the park and their personalities were vastly different from Armin's. But they also struggled getting along with others their age. It was frustrating, because Levi knew they were good kids, but unfortunately the politics of child society weren't always as welcoming as Levi assumed. Children were supposed to be accepting and play with anyone, or so he'd been told. But sometimes, children could be just as brutal as adults.

"People who can't accept people who are different are cruddy people who don't deserve the time of day," Levi stated as eloquently as he could. He watched as the three little ones moved from the sandbox to the swings. The sight of all the sand clinging to their clothing made him cringe.

Hanji nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "That's exactly right. I always try to instill that in Armin. He gets teased a lot for being too feminine. I want to be sure he understands that there's absolutely nothing wrong with him," they explained. "But I worry that without anyone his age accepting him for who he is, he's going to think that anyway. My point is: I'm really glad he's made friends with Eren and Mikasa."

Again, Levi nodded in agreement. Armin was just as beneficial to his children as they were to him. Together, they could support each other despite their shortcomings. Levi supposed it was similar to how his own misfit family functioned.

"Armin told me all about Eren and Mikasa," Hanji continued. "From what he's said, you have sweet children, Levi."

Levi glanced in their direction and saw the sincere expression on their face. With a small smile to himself, he looked back to the playground. Eren and Armin were sitting on the swings, with Mikasa behind them giving them both pushes.

"I had nothing to do with that," Levi assured them. "They just came that way."

Hanji made a small noise of amusement. "From what Erwin said, I highly doubt that," they contradicted.

Levi turned his whole head towards them in surprise, eyebrow arched in question. That was a very intriguing discovery, as Levi had only spent about an hour in Erwin's presence. Surely, he couldn't have that much to say about him, after so little time.

"Papa, Eren is going to jump off the swing!" Mikasa's worried tone interrupted Levi's thoughts.

"What?" He asked sharply, turning back to the children.

Mikasa stood in front of him and was pointing to the swing set where Eren was pumping his little legs as hard as he could. The swing was arcing up higher than safe for a 4 year old. He watched as Eren adjusted his grip on the chains and Levi instantly understood what he was trying to do. The last several times they'd visited the park, Eren had seen some older kids jumping from the swings, getting tremendous air. Then he wanted to do it too.

The child was determined to get himself killed, Levi concluded as he cupped his hands around his mouth to yell at him. "Eren Jaeger Ackerman! Don't you dare!" Levi hollered.

On the swing next to him, Armin was watching with awe and horror while Mikasa made small worried noises. But Eren ignored all of them and leaped from the swing at the peak of its curve. His body soared ungracefully through the air in a long arc. He landed with such force on the dirt that he was immediately knocked onto his hands and knees. He didn't get up.

Immediately, Levi was on his feet.

"Eren!" he called as he took a few worried steps.

He was stopped short by Eren's enthusiastic cry of success. Clumsily, he rolled over and sat up, his fists pumping in the air with triumph. When he caught sight of his Papa, he cried out excitedly to him.

"Papa! Did you see that?" His breath was short and pupils dilated with adrenaline. "I did it!"

Now seeing that his son was unharmed, Levi allowed himself to be upset. Eren was so lost in his own small feat of strength he was completely unfazed by his father's stern look. He wasn't even bothered by the abrasions on his hands and knees that Levi discovered upon closer inspection.

"Eren, you will not do that again. Do you understand?" Levi scolded.

All he received in response was a bright, toothy smile.

It was quickly decided that they had all spent enough time at the park.

"Let me see your hands," Levi commanded.

Three sets of clumsy, chubby hands were held out towards him for inspection. After a good dusting off outside and removing their dirty shoes and socks, the children were almost clean enough to resume playing in the Levi apartment. Before that though, Levi needed to be sure their hands were thoroughly clean.

"Very good," Levi commended after checking the palms, knuckles, and fingernails. "You can go play."

"Finally!" Eren said in exasperation. He already had to sit through his Papa disinfecting the owies on his hands and knees. They didn't hurt very much, but the medicine Papa used to clean them stung. Now he was ready to continue playing with Armin.

Levi rolled his eyes and left the bathroom to join Hanji on the couch in the living room. Kids were little snots indeed.

"You really didn't have to let us stay," Hanji said, repeating themselves for the third time.

"I said, it's fine," Levi stated impatiently. Honestly, couldn't people understand that he didn't do anything he didn't want to? "The kids want to keep playing anyway. And dinner isn't any trouble either. Armin needs the chance to eat more home cooked meals anyway."

Again, Hanji laughed. They seemed to think Levi was quite funny, which was rare. Perhaps, like Levi, they were simply starved for adult company. Levi suspected though that nothing particularly fazed Hanji.

"My boys do have a distinct lack of home cooked meals in their lives," Hanji agreed. They pulled out their phone. "I'll just let Erwin know. I'm sure he'll be happy."

Levi nodded distractedly, having pulled out his laptop to get some writing done. He figured that of all people, Hanji wouldn't find it rude. Company or no, he needed to get some work done in the afternoon to keep up with his schedule.

"You know, Erwin isn't very good at making new friends either," Hanji stated.

Without looking away from the screen, Levi made a small grunt of acknowledgement. His fingers did halt their typing and he listened with interest and what Hanji had to say next.

"He's such a private person. Mike and I-- our mutual friend from university-- worry that Erwin's too closed off. I don't think he's met new people outside of work in years," they continued.

To his surprise, Levi found himself smiling oddly to himself. Now that sounded like familiar behavior to him. It seemed that in many ways, Erwin and he were similar. Levi hadn't quite decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Having a social life as a single parent is impossible," Levi countered. Didn't he know that well? "Regardless of how sunny your personality is."

"Yes, that's true," Hanji agreed. "Which is why I think it's great that he's become acquainted with you. I was surprised this morning when he told me about what happened yesterday. I think you'd be good for him."

"Whatever you say," Levi said noncommittally. He couldn't deny though, that the prospect of becoming better acquainted with Erwin was very appealing.

"And from what I've learned of you," Hanji continued, "I think he'd be good for you too."

That made Levi snort with amusement.

"And tell me, why does Erwin keep you around?" he retorted playfully. Well, it was actually rather rude, but that was playful for Levi.

"Oh, he doesn't have a choice," they answered easily.

When Erwin stopped by after work, Hanji took their leave. Despite protests from both men, they stood firm in their decision.

"I've been hanging around this little guy all day," they insisted. "You guys can have fun on your own." Then they were gone with a farewell to Armin.

Erwin and Levi stood in silence in the entryway.

"Well they certainly know how to make themselves feel at home," Levi muttered.

That made Erwin laugh. "I hope Hanji wasn't too much of an annoyance. They certainly have a… bold personality," Erwin said half with amusement.

"They're not so bad," Levi admitted.

"Hanji does seem to have that effect on people," Erwin smiled. "They're a good friend. "

"Mhmm," Levi hummed.

And that conversation topic was exhausted.

"Thanks again for having us over," Erwin said, "You're very kind."

Levi turned towards the kitchen and shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Your kid helps keep my little guys entertained."

In the kitchen, Levi began to pull out dishes to set the table. Erwin watched, feeling a little awkward. He offered to help with dinner, but Levi assured him there was nothing else to be done but wait for the casserole to finish cooking.

"It's easier to cook for two adults and three children, than just one adult and two children," Levi explained. "So I really wouldn't mind having you guys over more often. If you ever need someone to watch Armin, he's welcome to come over here."

There, Levi had made an effort to make a friend. He'd made a clear invitation. It was surprising how nervous it made him. He didn't realize he'd be worrying about rejection. It was ridiculous and silly and so unlike Levi. Besides, Hanji had said that Erwin clearly had some interest in getting to know him better.

"I think Armin and I would both like that," Erwin answered sincerely. "Honestly, it's nice to have someone to talk to outside of work that isn't 4 years old."

Levi smiled at that.

"Could you corral the kids?" he requested, to which Erwin nodded and went in search of the rascals.

Once everyone was settled at the table, with clean hands--Levi didn't personally inspect them, but Erwin's judgment would be adequate for one night-- the conversation was dominated by the children. Despite Erwin being a large, serious, intimidating man, Eren felt perfectly comfortable chatting with Erwin. Levi was positive that Armin was still frightened of him. Together, Armin and Eren told Erwin about their day. Levi didn't realize his child could be so talkative.

It was apparent that Erwin was adept at handling children. At first glance he appeared to be a serious business man, however Erwin listened patiently to everything Armin, Eren, and even Mikasa had to say. Then he even responded with genuine interest and follow up. Erwin seemed to know exactly how to interact with children in a way that didn't seem like he was talking down to them.

"Papa, can Armin stay longer?" Eren asked as the meal was wrapping up.

Levi glanced towards Erwin. He certainly wouldn't mind having a chance to talk more with him.

"If it's alright with Armin's dad," he replied as he stood up to take dishes to the sink.

Three little heads swiveled in Erwin's direction with pleading gazes.

"I don't see why not," Erwin answered.

Immediately the children hopped off their chairs and scurried to play. The kitchen was quiet except for the clinking sound of the dishes as Levi cleared the table. Erwin moved to help without being asked. Internally Levi was wracking his brain, trying to think of something to say. This was his moment. Time to say something and bond. His body went into autopilot and Levi started the process of washing the dishes.

God, he was so bad at this.

Luckily Erwin knew how to make small talk and broke the silence.

"Let me help you wash those," Erwin said, trying to shoulder his way to the spot in front of the sink.

Instantly, Levi pushed him back. "No, it's fine," Levi said firmly. "And I'm not just saying that because you're my guest. You won't clean them right. It'll be faster if I do it myself."

As soon as he said it, Levi felt ridiculous. That was a good way to make friends. His words would either be taken as incredibly rude or neurotic.

Surprisingly, Erwin took it in stride. "Alright. Can I put them away?"

"That's fine," Levi nodded, feeling relieved.

Once again, they were in silence. It didn't take long for Levi to wash the dishes. He was efficient at what he did. Having to point out cupboards to Erwin did slow him down, but it wasn't unpleasant to have help.

"If I may ask," Erwin began, once Levi was drying his hands with a clean hand towel, "What do you do? In terms of employment."

"I'm a novelist," Levi answered as he moved back into the living room to sit more comfortably.

"Really?" Erwin said with interest, taking a seat beside him. "Have you written anything I've heard of?"

Levi shrugged, "Maybe. I mostly write historical crime novels. Nothing particularly revolutionary. It's just an interest of mine that grew into a career. With two kids, it's usually a good 'work from home' sort of job."

"Usually?"

"The kids don't always find my writing time to be as sacred as I do," Levi answered easily.

Erwin laughed. "That's very interesting. I'd like to read your work sometime."

With a small hum, Levi looked away. He usually didn't know the people who read his books, besides his editor. He didn't have friends or family to share his writing with. The thought of Erwin reading his books was daunting while also flattering.

"What do you do?" Levi asked.

"Oh, boring office job with the government," Erwin responded tiredly. He didn't say anything more and Levi didn't inquire further.

They sat in a few minutes of silence before Erwin checked his watch and announced it was probably time for him and Armin to get home. Levi nodded. His own children needed to have baths after a day in the park.

"Before I go," Erwin began, while standing at the door. He was holding a sleepy looking Armin in his arms while Eren and Mikasa were pouting tiredly by Levi's side. "In case you lost my number from the other day," he said, handing him a business card. "For arranging play dates."

Levi took it and nodded. "I'll text you," he said. Then added, "If that's alright."

Erwin smiled. "That's perfect. Goodnight."

"See you soon," Levi said in farewell as he bent over a picked up a crying Eren.

He closed the door as soon as the Smith family disappeared behind their own across the hall. Then Levi allowed himself to smile, in despite his two children crying exhausted tears.

He'd been successful in strengthening an acquaintance that day.

Chapter Text

Since he was a child, Erwin had always been adept at dealing with people. He was so good, most didn't realize how willingly they were being manipulated, insulted, or pushed out of the way. Erwin would consider himself a bad person, he was simply charming and good at persuasion. From his mother he learned the importance of propriety and he quickly learned how far civility would go in getting what he wanted from others.

However, now Erwin was facing someone he didn't know how to deal with. In fact, he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from him at all.

Levi was very intriguing to Erwin. He seemed the kind of person who wasn't fond of people, yet it was clear that despite being rough around the edges, Levi was a caring person. Regardless of seeming the sort of person who loathed children, he looked after two of his own. He'd been so kind as to invite Erwin and Armin over for dinner twice in a row, while hardly knowing them.

Erwin felt oddly distant yet intimately connected with this person he only knew by face until a few days ago.

Of course, Erwin wished to return the gesture, but he was unsure of how. Their previous interactions had revolved around the children. Not that it was a problem, in fact Erwin was very grateful that Armin had made friends, but he felt it limited his ability to get to know Levi as he would another adult.

Luckily, Levi seemed to want similar things and made the first move. Only a few minutes after Erwin and Armin had left their apartment for the second night in a row, Erwin received a text that read 'Kids already asking when they can play with Armin next' followed by another: 'This is Levi, by the way.'

That was Thursday night. Texting was something Erwin rarely did; he preferred calls for the most part and didn't have many correspondents to text. He didn't respond and didn't expect more. The next morning however, his phone pinged with a new message from Levi that read, 'Morning.' With this new text, Erwin grew excited and knew this was exactly the opportunity he wanted to have a chance to get to know Levi better. Unfortunately, he wasn't certain how he should respond. Several minutes were spent in contemplation, before Armin required his attention. In the rush of the morning routine, Erwin didn't get the chance to make a reply.

Soon, Erwin was at work and lost in the paperwork and bureaucracy that came with a desk job in the Department of Homeland Security. Many would find the work unbearably dull, but Erwin was the sort of person who excelled at filing and dealing with stubborn, stupid people and thus was able to milk his own satisfaction out of it. Years earlier, he'd had a much more dangerous role in the department, one he couldn't speak of, even now. That changed when he was widowed and suddenly, Erwin was Armin's only parent. He couldn't continue in a job that put him in too much risk, not if he was all Armin had to rely on. If anything happened to him…

It wasn't until lunchtime that Erwin was again reminded of Levi's texts. His phone pinged in his pocket several times and it took quite a few seconds for him to realize that it was his phone going off. There were three messages, all from Levi. As he read them in succession, Erwin grinned in amusement.

'Are you receiving my texts?'

'Is this even the right number?'

and finally

'If this isn't Erwin…'

It seemed he wasn't the only one who wasn't completely comfortable texting.

As amusing at Levi's uncertainty was, Erwin quickly typed out a reply. Well, as quickly as he could manage. He was ill practiced and his fingers were too large for the small keyboard, not to mention the frustrations with auto correct. Eventually, he was satisfied with his response which read, 'Thank you for promptly contacting me, Levi. This is the correct number, I'm simply a terrible texter. Happy Friday.'

The rest of the day passed with no more texts from Levi, which was fine with Erwin as his thoughts had turned to his son by the time he clocked out. On Friday nights, Erwin made an effort to do something special with Armin. Whether it was going out to dinner or watching a movie together, it didn't matter as long as it was a break from the routine of the rest of the week. When Maria was still alive, Friday nights were strictly reserved for dates. Now, Erwin simply carried on the ritual with Armin instead.

From the call he'd received earlier from Hanji, Erwin knew that Armin was waiting for him at home. They didn't go to the Ackerman's, as Hanji thought it was important to give the family a break. Already, Armin had voiced his desire to go to Taco Bell.

As Erwin walked through his front door, he was greeted by Armin who reached up with his little arms to be picked up. Generally, Armin was a pretty affectionate child, but Erwin found he was being more so than usual. Short, chubby arms snaked around his neck and Erwin received a wet kiss on his cheek, before Armin's blond head nuzzled into his neck.

"Hello to you too," Erwin greeted warmly, giving Armin a gentle pat on the back. Armin made a warm humming noise in response. The father wasn't sure if Armin was acting so snuggly because he was feeling tired or if he was in need of extra comfort that day.

Hanji appeared at the entryway then and they smiled softly when they caught sight of the embrace between father and son.

"How did everything go today?" Erwin asked with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Everything went smoothly as usual," they answered. "Armin was really cheerful today."

This was accompanied with a nod from Armin, who pulled away from his Daddy to speak for himself. Erwin observed that his eyes were bright and his smile was soft and warm.

"Today was great!" Armin gushed. "I'm really happy, even if Hanji said we couldn't go play with Mikasa and Eren today."

With a smile of his own, Erwin responded, "I'm very glad."

Armin resumed his snuggling and Erwin looked questioningly to Hanji, wondering what had put his son in such a good mood. Hanji, who was busy putting on their shoes, shrugged. They stood up straight when they finished and ruffled Armin's hair and gave Erwin a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

"See you on Monday, boys," they said in farewell.

"Bye Hanji!" Armin called with a little wave and Erwin simply raised a hand in goodbye.

As soon as the door shut, Armin pulled back a little, looked up into his Daddy's face and asked, "Can we go to Taco Bell?"

The two of them were dressed far too nicely for a place like Taco Bell, but it was a part of the customs of the father and son's Friday night outing. Erwin was still in his work clothes, minus the tie and suit coat, and Armin was wearing his favorite lavender polo under a little cream colored cardigan. Armin preferred to dress nicer than most children his age, so this was a common enough occurrence. Erwin tried to ignore how sticky the table felt and enjoy his burrito supreme. Looking charming and adorable, Armin sat across from him, ignoring his taco in favor of the cinnamon twists. They were the sole reason Armin loved Taco Bell so much.

"And then Hanji and I played with Tricia," Armin was explaining. "She's doing really well, 'specially after meeting Mikasa and Eren. She likes them a lot."

Erwin nodded with interest, "That's good to hear."

"Daddy, do you think I can play with them soon?" Armin asked. "They're nice. And their dad makes really good snacks."

"Yes," Erwin said after a moment of thought. In his mind, he was already calculating when would be an appropriate time to see the family. "I think we can play with them again soon."

The little boy brightened. "Can they come over to our house?" he asked immediately. "I want to show them my books."

"That's a great idea Armin," Erwin answered sincerely. "What if we invited them to dinner tomorrow? How does that sound?"

To Erwin's surprise, Armin's face scrunched up in disagreement. "But Daddy, what would we feed them?" he asked seriously, "Mikasa's daddy can cook really good."

Trying not to feel offended, Erwin smiled good naturedly. "I can cook Armin. We'll make them something nice. Maybe one of Mommy's old recipes."

Fears assuaged, Armin nodded and continued to eat his cinnamon twists, eating each one carefully as if to savor them. In the meantime, Erwin was already drafting the text he would send to Levi in his head. Normally this would be the sort of thing Erwin would rather call about, but for some reason he felt a little anxious about inviting Levi's family over. It was odd, because Erwin hadn't felt nervous about this sort of thing since the first time he asked his late wife on a date.

Later that evening, Erwin sent a text instead.

"Eren, if you don't brush your teeth this minute I will come and do it for you!" Levi threatened.

"No! I can do it myself!" Eren cried back.

Immediately, Eren, clad in one of Levi's t-shirts as a makeshift nightgown, turned around and ran to the bathroom. Levi listened for the telltale sign of the water running in the sink before turning his attentions to Mikasa, who was clinging to his side tiredly.

"Mikasa, it's time for bed, you need to let go," he instructed wearily.

Instead of obeying, Mikasa nuzzled her face into Levi's pants. "I'm sleepy," she mumbled.

Levi had long since learned how to understand mumbled and muffled talking and sighed. "That's why you need to get to bed."

The little hands extracted themselves from his legs, but then lifted in the air in the universal sign of 'pick me up'.

"Carry me?" Mikasa asked softly.

With a self-depreciating smile, Levi leaned down and pulled his little girl up into his arms so she rested on his hip. He knew how easily he bent to Mikasa's will, yet he still couldn't deny her. Especially when rested her head on his shoulder like she did right then.

"Come on, let's check on your brother," he announced, moving to the bathroom.

All things considering, the damage could've been much worse Levi reminded himself at the sight of Eren's face covered in toothpaste. He'd been caught in the process of trying to scrub it all off, which was only succeeding in getting the front of him wet. With one arm still carrying Mikasa, Levi reached for the washcloth and roughly wiped Eren's face clean, despite his protesting.

"Off to bed now," Levi instructed, giving Eren a little push in the right direction. But he dug his heels into the floor and turned around insistently.

"Wait, carry me too!" Eren whined, holding his arms up.

With a little difficulty, Levi leaned over and picked Eren up as well, resting him on the opposite hip. Immediately, Eren nuzzled his wet face into Levi's chest and Levi resisted a grimace. He didn't want to ruin one of their rare moments of physical affection. Slowly, he carried them across the hall and into their bedroom. Mikasa slid off him and onto the bed without instruction, but Eren needed more prodding.

"Go to sleep," Levi said softly, pulling their blanket up around the two of them.

He was in the process of tucking them in, when his pocket buzzed. Immediately, the kids, who had looked sleepy and ready to go to bed, started at the sound. Levi slumped in defeat, his easy bedtime ruined.

"What was that?" Eren asked anxiously.

"It's just my phone," Levi answered, pulling said object out to check it.

There was a message from Erwin. Oddly, Levi's chest fluttered with excitement. He quickly shook his head as if to shake away the feeling and read the text.

'Armin and I would like to invite you and the children over to dinner tomorrow at 6. How does that sound?'

"What is it?" Mikasa asked curiously.

"It's Armin's papa," Levi answered. "They invited us over to dinner tomorrow."

Instantly, Eren sat up with excitement. "Really! Can we go Papa? Can we go?" He begged, emphasized with little bounces that shook the bed.

"Don't beg," Levi corrected automatically, pushing Eren back down gently. "Of course we can go."

Mikasa smiled and pulled the blanket up to her face with delight. Always more demonstrative, Eren rolled back and forth to show his excitement. With a huff, Levi wrestled Eren back into place and ran his fingers through the messy hair to help calm the kid.

"I'm so excited!" Eren whispered, understanding that his Papa wanted him to quiet down.

Levi nodded with understand and re-tucked his boy back in. "We can talk about it more tomorrow, okay?"

Both kids nodded.

"Good," Levi said. Then, hesitantly, he leaned down and gave them each a kiss on the forehead.

"Night Papa," Eren murmured with a big grin. Mikasa was too sleepy to respond, but looked contented.

Levi quietly got up from the edge of their bed and stood at the doorway. "Goodnight, you little stinkers," he said affectionately and switched off the light.

After shutting their door, Levi pulled out his phone again. Earlier in the day, he'd felt a little silly as he attempted to text Erwin. But, he had told himself he would make an effort to be sociable, and it seemed to have paid off. Or he had his children to thank, he considered. Regardless, he quickly typed out a message in return.

'We'll bring dessert.'

Chapter Text

Weekends weren't really weekends for Levi. They were the same as any other day of the week as far as his family was concerned. He still wrote on the weekends, he still chased after his children on the weekends, and the only difference was the programming on tv and the fact that nearly every other adult had a break from the busyness of the week. Not Levi.

To make up for this, Levi left his favorite chores of the week-- grocery shopping and laundry-- for Saturday and Sunday. The sorting and repetitive motions involved with laundry and folding were mind numbing and soothing for him, more so than any other cleaning. Grocery shopping was the one time out of the week Levi was guaranteed out of the house, even if he had to drag along his children. Though they generally were excited by trips to the store, because Levi wasn't above bribing his children with candy in exchange for good behavior.

Having plans to visit the Smith's apartment for dinner was a pleasant deviation from the norm.

Levi was still going to get his shopping done. Now he just also intended to buy ingredients for the best damn dessert he knew he could make: his grandmother's lemon meringue pie. Oh yes, for this particular dinner, he was pulling out all the stops. Levi was embarrassed to admit it, but he was eager to impress a certain Mr. Smith.

Oh god, he felt so ridiculous.

As he was finishing tying Mikasa's shoe, he had the urge to text Erwin.

'Going to the grocery store. Need anything?'

The response was almost immediate.

'Armin and I were just about to go ourselves. Shall we go together?'

Even better, a chance to be around Erwin before this evening. Levi smiled to himself before letting Erwin know he and his gaggle of children would be waiting outside in the hall.

It surprised Levi how quickly he was getting to know Erwin, or rather, how quickly he felt comfortable enough around someone new. Levi wasn't the kind of person who grew fond of people quickly. Erwin seemed to be an exception to a lot of Levi's social customs. It was frightening, yet exciting all at once.

At the prospect of going grocery shopping with Armin, Mikasa and Eren were even more eager to get out the door. Eren was hardly able to hold still while Levi tied his shoes. When they finally got out the door, Erwin and Armin were waiting for them, both smiling pleasantly.

"Good morning!" Eren cried excitedly as he ran forward to envelop Armin in a tight hug. With a little laugh, Armin returned it. More quietly, Mikasa approached Armin as well and petted his hair gently in her own sweet greeting.

It took a lot of self-control for Levi to restrain himself to a small grin, rather than burst into an embarrassing 'awww'. Looking away from his stupidly cute kids, Levi saw Erwin watching them with an equally adoring expression.

"Well hello to you too," Erwin greeted fondly, glancing up to Levi, smile still on his face.

Feeling strangely embarrassed, Levi coughed. He hoped it would hide his awkwardness. Mentally, he shook himself of those ridiculous fluttering feelings. All they were doing was going to the grocery store and they were only doing that for the opportunity to get to know each other better. All of them, children included, not just him and Erwin.

"Alright munchkins, let's get going," Levi prodded, breaking up the impromptu cuddle fest.

Immediately, Eren scurried, dragging Armin and Mikasa with him, towards the elevators and down to the parking lot. Behind them, the fathers followed behind, making small pleasantries. Normally such small talk irritated Levi, but he found himself genuinely interested in hearing how Erwin had been since they last spoken and wanting to say how he'd been in return. At the parking lot, it was decided that they should each take their separate cars, as moving car seats was more of a hassle than it was worth.

"Eren, remember that if you're good I'll buy you a treat after we're finished shopping," Levi reminded as he was buckling the pouting child into his seat.

Almost instantly, Eren's frown disappeared as he schooled himself into a determined expression of good behavior. With a chuckle, Levi ruffled the boy's already messy hair as he pulled himself away and closed the car door. After going over to the other side of the car, securing Mikasa into her seat, and giving her a little kiss on the forehead, they were ready to go.

The drive over to the local grocery store was quick. In the backseat, the kids hummed and attempted to sing along to the cd of children's music Levi always kept playing whenever he drove anywhere with them. The father had a moment of contemplation when he realized what a domestic sap he'd become, almost singing along to 'Old Macdonald' too.

The two families parked their cars close together, Levi having followed Erwin most of the way to the store. As Erwin only had one obedient boy to wrestle out of the car, the two of them stood waiting while Levi first released Mikasa from her car seat, followed by Eren. Knowing Eren's behavior well, Levi scooped the boy from the car and didn't let him down, holding him to his hip while holding Mikasa's hand with his free one. After an incident that included some dashing away, near misses from strangers cars, and one very livid Papa, Eren was no longer allowed to walk across the street or in parking lots. His Papa carried him instead.

"All ready?" Erwin questioned politely.

With a nod in response, the families entered the store.

Immediately, Levi went to grab one of the carts with a fake plastic car in the front for his kids to sit in. Usually, this was enough to distract them while Levi shopped. Erwin watched as Levi pulled out a small pack of disinfectant wipes and efficiently scrubbed any surfaces of the carts that would be touched by them. After the quick cleaning and settling Eren and Mikasa in the fake car, Levi pulled out a list from his pocket.

"Ready. Do you have a list?" he asked, glancing over to Erwin.

Erwin himself had grabbed a regular cart and lifted Armin into the little basket seat at the handle. He blinked for a moment, slightly confused by the question. He never made up a list of what he intended to buy.

A little impatiently, Levi responded before Erwin could say anything. "It's fine. You can just follow me. Or whatever," he stated, before quickly pushing the cart towards the first aisle.

Amused, Erwin followed behind, marveling at how quickly Levi moved. He watched as Levi, list in hand, strode up the aisle only to stop to place the items he needed into the cart. Then, he was off again, competently weaving through the store with the expertise of someone who had unlocked the secrets of grocery shopping. Erwin felt as though he was awkwardly fumbling behind, having no list and no clue. Whenever he shopped, he often ended up circling the store three times with a vague idea of what he wanted. It wasn't a very practical means of shopping and Erwin felt a little self-conscious, especially when comparing the contents of the two family's carts. Levi's cart had only fresh food and ingredients to use when cooking from scratch. Erwin's was full of ready made meals.

"You're very proficient," Erwin said, when he caught up with Levi in the produce section.

Busy weighing a bag of lemons, Levi didn't look up when he replied. "I've learned to be quick, before the little monsters get bored."

Of course, children seemed to have a sense for when it was the best time to cause trouble. Eren, seemingly tired of pretending to drive the cart around, rolled out of his seat and onto the floor. He popped up before his Papa could notice him on the unclean surface. He maneuvered over to where his Papa was picking out fruits and tugged on his pants.

Surprised, Levi looked down. "Everything okay Eren?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Eren answered. He cocked his head to the side, "Can I help you shop?"

Erwin smiled down at Eren's eagerness to help, but to his surprise, Levi didn't seem as amused. With a low sigh, Levi looked back down to his son.

"Sure," he answered, not at all convincing, but Eren didn't notice his Papa's reluctance. "Here," he instructed, handing the bag of lemons, "put these in the cart."

The little hands gripped the bag carefully and Eren slowly walked back to the cart, stretching his short body up as far as he could reach before gently lowering the bag. In the time it took Eren to accomplish this task, Levi had already picked out the other items of produce needed. Erwin quickly understood why Levi hadn't wanted his child's help. It slowed down the entire shopping process and Eren wandered slowly beside the cart, needing constant supervision. Eren also wanted to buy anything and everything. Erwin observed as Levi patiently refused him each time. Unfortunately, Eren slowly became more and more pouty with each refusal.

"No fruit snacks Eren," Levi said sharply, for the third time.

Sad green eyes looked up from the behind the brightly colored box. Both parent and child were clearly reaching their limit. Eren's lip wobbled under his Papa's hard stare.

"Put it back," Levi commanded.

Then the tears began to flow. Eren shook his head wildly. "No! Please Papa!" he cried.

This caught the attention of Armin and Mikasa, who were content to sit in their respective carts. It also caused a few heads of other shoppers to turn towards them.

"Eren," Levi said evenly, trying to defuse the situation. "If you continue to disobey, you won't get your treat."

That was the exact wrong thing to say.

"Nooo!" he screeched, throwing the box on the ground. "That's not fair!"

Erwin was impressed with the volume such a little body could produce. Other shoppers however, were not so amused. It was very clear to Erwin which shoppers were parents with their sympathetic glances and those who didn't fully understand with their annoyed or frustrated expressions. Erwin couldn't help but smile with amusement. He understood that no matter how good a parent you were, there wasn't much you could do to control your children when they started acting out in public.

In response to Eren's screaming, Levi's stern expression didn't change. Without saying a word he leaned over and picked the wailing child up. After shifting Eren so he was held by one arm at Levi's side, the father continued with his shopping, ignoring the kicking and wailing. Undeterred by his situation, Eren continued crying with abandon, despite the fact his Papa was ignoring him. Levi acted completely unaffected. Erwin was impressed that he was able to keep his cool during an embarrassing situation.

Eventually, Eren must have realized he was getting nowhere with his crying and stopped. At last, Levi looked down at him.

"Are you done?" he asked unsympathetically.

Scrubbing at his eyes with his fist, Eren responded with a pitiful 'yes'. Levi let him down and crouched so he was eye to eye with his boy, keeping one hand on his little shoulders. Feeling embarrassed and distressed, Eren refused to meet his Papa's gaze. It was amazing how Eren could go from a little body of rage to a sad, sniveling mess.

"Eren, do you understand why you aren't getting your treat?" Levi asked calmly. He put a finger under Eren's chin and gently lifted his face up.

With a sniffle, Eren nodded his head. "I got angry. And I didn't do what you said."

Levi nodded. "That's right. It's okay to get angry about things, Eren. However it's not okay to disobey me and it's not okay to throw a fit like that," he explained in a firm voice. "Does that make sense?"

As he spoke, Levi looked Eren in the eyes, voice even and stern but calm. Eren shuffled his feet as he nodded.

"I'm sorry," Eren muttered. "I got too angry."

Levi's lips pursed. "We're still working on how you react when you get angry. You made a mistake. I'm not upset. I want you to understand that what you did wasn't okay," he stated. "Just try not to do it again."

With another nod, Eren closed his eyes tightly and leaned into his Papa's shoulder. Immediately, Levi put his arms around him in an embrace.

Erwin was really impressed. Personally, he'd never had to deal with a situation like that. Armin was too quiet to cause a scene, even if he was upset. Erwin had seen other parents react to similar situations however and Levi's response had surpassed them. By not getting angry and validating Eren's feelings, Levi had handled the whole debacle in a way that probably had the best effect on the child's behavior.

There had been no reason for Erwin to worry when he left Armin with Levi for the first time-- was it only a few days ago? He had, inadvertently, picked the perfect stranger for the job. Despite a coarse exterior, Levi was caring. The more Erwin came to know Levi, the more he wanted to know about him, the more he came to trust him. Erwin would gladly trust his son to Levi any day.

While Erwin was lost in his thoughts, Levi had stood up with Eren clinging to the front of his shirt and once again resumed shopping,still quick and efficient, even with only one arm free.

"You coming Erwin?" Levi's voice broke through his musings. He was standing at the end of the aisle watching his neighbor expectantly with his dark eyes half lidded in boredom beneath the silky fringe of his hair.

And suddenly, Erwin recognized the fluttering feeling in his stomach and cursed himself.

With a small smile, Erwin replied, "Of course."

He was attracted to Levi.

Cooking with your kids was supposed to be a good, family bonding activity. It was certainly something Mikasa and Eren always wanted to do as soon as Levi stepped into the kitchen. Unfortunately, two four year olds are about as helpful with cooking as a punch to the face. Needless to say, Levi wanted to bake his pie by himself to ensure it was the best possible. So he resorted to a tactic he only used in the direst of circumstances: he placed the kids in front of the TV with a stack of dvds.

It was a very effective strategy.

In a few hours, the kids were antsy and restless from hours of movie watching and the lemon meringue pie sat in the fridge cooling, looking absolutely perfect. It was some of Levi's best work.

At exactly 5:57 pm, Levi, with his pie in hand and flanked by his children, stood on the opposite side of the hall and knocked. It was the first time any of them would see the Smith apartment and Levi was surprised to find that he was just as excited as his kids.

The door opened to reveal Erwin with a radiant smile and Levi tried not to choke on his breath.

"Eren, Mikasa!" Armin greeted cheerily from behind his Daddy's leg. "Come see my room!"

Immediately, the two went to follow, running past Erwin who chuckled at their excitement. Levi, though he thought their enthusiasm was cute, was still slightly embarrassed by their lack of decorum.

"What did you forget?" he called to them.

Halfway down the hall, Mikasa stopped and turned around in question. Eren was too far lost in the excitement of finally seeing Armin's house, even if it was exactly the same in terms of layout, to hear his Papa. As a hint, Levi lifted his foot and wiggled it. With a nod, Mikasa hurried back to the door and politely took off her shoes.

"Get Eren for me," Levi instructed as Mikasa went back down the hall.

"You forgot to take off your shoes, Eren!" Mikasa cried as she went.

"You don't need to worry about it," Erwin said dismissively. "A little dirt is fine."

But Levi shook his head. "No, they know I've told them to take off their shoes when they go into someone's house."

Though thinking about it now, it seemed a little silly to go to all the effort to put shoes on his children to walk across the hall. However, Levi was not about to let his children step in the filth of the building's hallways without shoes on their feet.

Erwin shrugged indifferently. "Alright," he said and then as an afterthought waved his guest in.

Realizing he was still standing awkwardly in the hallway, Levi stepped past Erwin's admittedly much larger body and into the homey apartment. As he toed off his shoes, Eren came hustling over and fumbled with his shoes awkwardly before running back to Armin's room. Once again, Erwin chuckled at the rambunctiousness of the child as Levi pushed the three pairs of shoes into a neat line with his toe.

"I, uh, brought pie," Levi stated, holding out the dessert in his hand.

"Ah, thank you," Erwin said sincerely, taking it. "I'll just take this to the kitchen, then."

Wordlessly, Levi followed him while eying the apartment critically. It felt surprisingly different, for having the same layout. The Smith's furnishings didn't have the same clean line, sleek aesthetic that Levi's did. It felt warm and cozy, if a little more cluttered. Levi could tell Erwin had made an effort to clean the place well and he tried not to be bothered by the stain on the carpet in the corner of the living area or the fine layer of dust on the bookshelf. The kitchen at least, had the sort of cleanliness that was the result of not being used often.

"Just make yourself comfortable," Erwin said. "Dinner is almost ready."

"Can I help?" Levi offered, but Erwin waved him off.

Instead he took a careful seat on the sofa and further inspected his surroundings. The bookshelf was crammed with books, completely unorganized and haphazardly stacked. The shelves that weren't already full held numerous framed pictures. Most of them were pictures of Armin, in various situations at various ages. Levi recognized Hanji in several of them as well. He supposed that being a nanny made them a pretty integral part of the family. There was one family portrait that particularly caught Levi's eye, as it was the only one that Erwin was included. In it, Erwin stood behind a beautiful woman who held a little pink and blonde bundle in her arms. Levi assumed the baby was Armin and the woman his mother.

What had happened to her? he wondered.

From the kitchen Levi could hear quite a racket. For a moment he was concerned about what Erwin was planning on serving for dinner, considering how he'd admitted a few days ago that he never cooked. Regardless of the meal, Levi would try to be polite about it. It could be hard, as his face tended to naturally express his displeasure. Usually, Levi didn't care if he came off as rude. It was just in his nature. But for some stupid reason, Levi didn't want to hurt Erwin's feelings.

"Dinner's ready," Erwin announced.

After Levi wrangled the children, who were excitedly exploring every inch of Armin's room and reveling in all the exciting new toys, they all gathered around the Smith's kitchen table. There weren't enough chairs, so Armin had to sit on a stool on a corner next to his father. Resting in the middle of the table was a crock-pot filled with roast beef and carrots accompanied with a bowl of mashed potatoes. Levi raised his brow appreciatively; it was an impressive meal, though it looked like a lot more than the five of them would be able to eat.

"It wasn't very difficult to prepare," Erwin stated, having read Levi's thoughts. He continued as he prepared Armin's plate, "It's a simple recipe from my mother. Unfortunately all her recipes make enough to feed an army."

At this, Levi hummed in amusement as he spooned food onto Mikasa's plate first, then Eren's. As expected, Eren made a small hissing noise as Levi placed a good portion of carrots on his plate. With a small flick on his ear from his Papa, he grudgingly quieted. But he continued to eye the vegetables evilly. Mikasa, being quieter in complaints, pushed the pieces of beef on her plate to the very edge and promptly ignored them. That is, until Levi looked pointedly at them and she grudgingly tried a piece.

"This is good," Levi stated, not just for politeness sake. He actually enjoyed the meal.

With a smile, Erwin graciously accepted the praise.

As he ate, Levi couldn't help but observe how well-mannered Armin was. Whenever he needed more juice, he asked his Daddy politely. As he ate, he daintily wiped his mouth with a napkin and kept his mess to a minimum. Glancing back to his children, Levi observed that Eren was eating with as much gusto as always, which led to a messy face, hands, and table setting, while Mikasa was picking at her food and poking Levi whenever she wanted more of something.

It was wrong to compare his children's' behavior to someone else's, Levi knew. But Armin was so well behaved and adjusted. Part of it had to do with the children's inherent personalities, but part of it was a result of how they were raised. What on earth did Erwin do to get such a perfect little boy? Levi wondered. He was actually a little jealous.

Immediately he reprimanded himself. He loved his kids; he wouldn't trade them for the world, really. But sometimes… it was just hard.

That was when Levi noticed he was doing a terrible job of being sociable and was letting his children do all that talking. Not that Erwin seemed to mind. He seemed to think Eren and Mikasa were the most charming pair in the world.

Admittedly, they could be pretty damn cute when they weren't busy destroying the carefully constructed sanity in Levi's life. Even then, they were still undeniably adorable. Or maybe Levi was simply biased.

"Armin where's your Mommy?" Eren asked suddenly. "I've never seen her."

Alright, Levi took it back. His children could be gut wrenchingly embarrassing at times.

"Eren," he reprimanded quietly, feeling horrified. He glanced up at Erwin in apology. It was true that Levi didn't know the situation with Armin's mother, but he could guess it was a touchy subject. Mothers weren't exactly a happy topic at their house either.

To Levi's relief, Erwin smiled reassuringly.

"It's fine," he assured Levi. He looked at Eren and calmly answered, "Armin's mother died when he was just a little baby."

Eren's eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry Armin," he said quietly. Then he continued, more upbeat. "It's okay though, because my mommy died when I was little too. And Mikasa doesn't have a mommy either. We don't need our mommies because we have Papa!"

In a moment of affection, Levi reached out and ruffled Eren's hair. Eren could be such a sweetheart without even realizing it. Levi glanced up to see Erwin watching him curiously and looked away quickly.

Shortly after, the children excused themselves from the table to keep playing and left the adults to sit by themselves in comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry about that. Eren can be unintentionally rude," Levi stated, knowing that Erwin would understand what he meant.

Erwin shook his head. "It's fine, really. I don't mind talking about it." His voice was calm and even while he spoke.

"What was she like?" Levi asked, surprising himself. But he was curious and wanted to know more about Erwin and why he seemed to be so calm about something so tragic.

"She was very sweet, like Armin," Erwin answered, completely unbothered by the question. "Her name was Maria. We met at university. She was brilliant and we started dating then." As he spoke, Erwin had a glazed over look in his eye and didn't meet Levi's gaze. His tone wasn't overly fond, but serene. "We'd been married 5 years when we decided to have a baby. There were complications, we had troubles getting pregnant."

Levi shifted uncomfortably. This information was so personal and Erwin was sharing it so easily, looking completely unfazed.

"Eventually, Armin was conceived, but the pregnancy was difficult. We both knew there was a high probability that Maria would be in poor health after the birth," Erwin continued. "She lasted about 6 months after Armin was born."

"I'm very sorry," Levi said sincerely.

Finally, Erwin looked at him. "Don't be," he said with a soft smile. "It happened a long time ago."

In response, Levi hummed noncommittally. He had a feeling that despite having been told a very intimate story, that Erwin had still held something back. Levi guessed that Erwin, behind that calm façade, was guarding his true feelings about the story from him.

For some reason, Levi was bothered by that.

Levi insisted on helping with dishes, however Erwin had a stronger will than he did and in the end the dishes sat in the sink waiting to be cleaned at a later time. The children were still playing in Armin's room, happily if the noise they were making could be used as a judge. The two fathers ended up sitting next to each other on the couch, much as they had previously. Levi sat on the edge of his seat, still feeling a little awkward about their earlier conversation.

"May I ask you a potentially awkward and personal question?" Erwin asked, breaking the silence.

With a sideways glance, Levi thought it over before deciding his curiosity outweighed his concern.

"Shoot."

"Eren and Mikasa aren't biologically yours, are they?"

That was all? Levi shook his head. "No, they're not. In fact, we aren't related at all. They're adopted"

Erwin nodded thoughtfully. "May I ask how they came into your care?"

"It's an interesting story, actually," Levi answered. "Considering everything."

Having children had never even been a consideration for Levi. His own parents had been terrible and he'd decided as a teenager he'd never inflict his own wretched personality on any innocent child. Besides the fact he was almost certainly gay and not exactly rolling in boyfriends.

His youth and been rough. Not the worst- but it certainly could've been better. Luckily, when Levi was finally able to move out on his own he ended up being neighbors with an eccentric young couple, the Jaegers, that graciously took him under their wing. Or rather, Carla had taken him under her wing, as her husband, Grisha, was always busy with medical school.

It was Carla who saved him from what probably would have led to a life of crime. Levi knew he was close to it when he moved into the dumpy apartment complex. Most of the occupants being poor college students or of the criminal sort. But Carla had introduced herself, bringing a plate of goodies with her and when she had learned Levi didn't know how to function in the kitchen, she invited him over for dinner every night. She'd been the one that taught Levi how to cook. As Grisha was almost never at home for dinner, Levi and Carla had gotten to know each other very well. She had been able to work past Levi's prickly personality and they became friends.

It was Carla who had helped Levi find a stable job to support himself and it was Carla who had discovered Levi's talent in writing. Again, it was Carla who had encouraged him to go to the publishing house where Levi currently held a contract.

A few years passed and the Jaegers had a baby boy, Eren, Levi's Eren. For two years, Carla insisted that Levi was to be Eren's guardian in case the worst happened to her and Grisha. Of course, Levi stubbornly insisted that he was in no way fit to take care of a child, even if he was fond of Eren.

But then the worst had happened in a car accident.

Suddenly, Levi was thrust into a wild debate with social services over the care Eren. He was a single man in his mid-twenties of a questionably stable mental state. Luckily, the worker over Eren's case, Petra Ral, was understanding and kind. It had helped that Levi's income was stable and generous, he could work from home, and he and Eren were already familiar with each other.

Levi had been surprised how quickly he came to truly love Eren after officially adopting him. Even if they weren't related by blood, Levi had finally understood that unconditional bond between a parent and child that couldn't be properly described. Immediately, Levi and Eren had moved into a nicer apartment complex and began adjusting to their new lives.

Almost exactly a year later, Levi had been contacted by Petra Ral once more. A certain three year old girl by the name of Mikasa Ackerman was in an emergency situation and needed a place to stay temporarily for her own protection. The little girl, already having been orphaned for two years, needed to get away from the abusive relatives currently taking care of her. Levi readily agreed and Mikasa came to stay. However, Levi didn't expect how quickly Mikasa managed to win both him and Eren over. What started out as a temporary stay, quickly turned to a permanent adoption.

Levi wasn't even surprised at how much of a sap he had become.

"And now it's almost been a year since Mikasa's been with us," Levi trailed off.

As Levi had carefully explained their story, Erwin had listened with rapt attention. He had a thoughtful and serious expression and didn't interrupt while Levi spoke.

"Thank you telling me this," Erwin said sincerely. "It was very personal and it means a lot to me that you felt comfortable enough to share."

Levi shrugged, trying to ignore the swelling in his chest at Erwin's words. "It's nothing really."

Erwin looked like he wanted to argue, but Levi suddenly sat up, effectively cutting him off.

"It's late, I should get the kids back," he stated.

It was a process tearing the kids sleepy away from the toys, getting their shoes on and shooing them out the door. All the while, Erwin stood by and thanked them for coming with that charming smile of his.

"We should make this a regular thing," Erwin suggested as Levi picked Mikasa up before she fell asleep in the entryway.

Levi staggered slightly as he straightened up.

"Okay," he replied.

Then, as quickly as he could, he dragged Eren by the hand back across the hall.

It wasn't until Levi had them both in bed that he allowed himself to contemplate what had just happened. With his face buried in his hands, he wondered what had possessed him to tell Erwin everything. And then agreeing to make family get-togethers a common occurrence. He wasn't upset that he agreed to it, in fact he was almost giddy at the prospect. But Levi was concerned for the reasons why he felt so comfortable with all this. He could barely admit it to himself, but he was very much attracted to the man. Erwin was just too charming for Levi.

Then Levi realized in his haze of fluttering feelings, he'd completely forgotten about the pie that remained uneaten at Erwin's apartment.

He was so screwed.

Chapter Text

The pie remained forgotten until the next morning. It was discovered by Erwin when he reached into the fridge to get milk for breakfast.

The sight of it reminded Erwin of how quickly Levi had left the night before, abandoning the pie. It had concerned Erwin a little. Levi had just shared some deeply personal information, before looking uncomfortable and fleeing with his children. It wasn't Erwin’s intention to make him feel uncomfortable and hoped he hadn’t felt pressured into sharing.

Though Erwin may have told him about his late wife, he’d certainly kept a certain level of feeling out of his story. It was a trick he’d learned long ago in dealing with difficult emotions. Erwin had difficulties sharing his feelings with others and though he was fond of Levi, there wasn’t a strong enough sense of trust between them for Erwin to feel comfortable completely opening up.

However, Levi had seemingly lowered the gates and freely shared, holding nothing back. For that, Erwin was grateful and surprised. He hadn’t expected that from Levi. It was clear that Levi hadn’t expected that from himself either when he finished the tale and promptly fled. Once coming to his senses, he’d looked embarrassed and hesitated meeting Erwin’s gaze.

Now there was a pristine looking pie in Erwin’s fridge. He couldn’t just leave it for himself and Armin. But, he wasn’t sure Levi would want to come over again to share it.

“What’s that Daddy?” Armin asked, breaking Erwin from his thoughts. The child had hopped off his chair while Erwin stood in his stupor in front of the open fridge.

“That’s a pie,” Erwin explained. “Mikasa’s dad made it for us to eat yesterday, but we forgot about it.”

Armin’s eyes brightened. “Can they come over again so we can eat it together?”

With a slight frown of hesitation, Erwin replied, “We’ll see.”

“Please?” Armin pleaded, looking at his daddy with his big blue eyes and eyebrows knitted together. Erwin tried not to be too proud of his son’s manipulative abilities.

“I’ll talk to their dad,” Erwin promised, patting Armin’s hair. Joyfully, Armin let out a little yip and snuggled into his daddy’s legs.

“We had so much fun last night!” Armin gushed. “I showed them my books and Eren really liked them! He- he said that I’m really smart. And Mikasa played with Tricia and me! She’s so nice.”

“That’s wonderful Armin,” Erwin replied, gently guiding Armin back to his seat at the table with his hand. With the attentions back on breakfast, Erwin poured the two of them a bowl of cereal and listened to Armin’s ramblings.

In the middle of the Armin’s talking, Erwin started formulating a plan for the best way to invite Levi back over again. Then he considered that maybe he didn’t need to much other than make the offer and let Levi’s children do the convincing. It wasn’t as nearly a big deal as Erwin was making it out to be.

Again, he was struck with the realization that he was probably far too interested in Levi than he should be. No, not just probably, he most definitely was. Levi was his neighbor, someone who had watched his child when he needed it, and the father of his son’s friends. He couldn’t become anything more than a friend to Erwin.

In the years Erwin had adjusted back into being single, he hadn’t given much thought into dating. He supposed because he was both uninterested and really didn’t have the time. It wasn’t that the idea of being attracted to a man was new and frightening for Erwin, as he’d always considered himself bisexual. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel conflicted about loving someone after his late wife. He just didn’t feel it was something he wanted.

But Levi…

No. Nope. As Erwin had already decided, Levi couldn’t become anything more than a friend. He didn’t even know if Levi was interested in other men.

So. That was that.

“Daddy, are you listening?” Armin asked with a great pout.

Shaken from his thoughts, Erwin looked at his son who’d paused in the middle of his breakfast and was watching him intently.

“I’m sorry, what?” Erwin said, feeling embarrassed that he’d be so lost in his own thoughts that he’d forgotten he was supposed to be listening. He felt a little guilty, because he never wanted Armin to feel like he didn’t care.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Armin said softly. His little thick brows scrunched together sadly as he looked down at his bowl. “You weren’t listening.”

Ah yes. Guilt.

“I’m sorry Armin, I didn’t mean to. I was thinking about how to invite Mikasa and Eren over for dessert,” Erwin answered, partially honest but completely sincere. He never wanted to hurt Armin’s fragile self-esteem.

Armin looked up with his blue eyes calculating. “Can’t you just say ‘Please come over and eat pie’?”

With a thoughtful nod, Erwin responded, “Yes, I suppose.”

“So… say that,” Armin stated.

The obvious simplicity that Armin saw in the situation made Erwin smile.

“Alright.”

By the time mid-afternoon came-- that was the time Erwin and Levi had decided to have their treat, as a sweet snack time-- Erwin was far more anxious than he should have been, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Erwin didn’t get nervous about things very often, as he had better control over himself and the situation.

Levi’s knock at the door was sharp and quick, accompanied by a more erratic thumping that Erwin suspected came from one of the kids. This time, Erwin let Armin answer the door, surprised that he’d feel comfortable enough doing so. Erwin put on his best welcoming smile as the door swung open.

It revealed Levi who looked positively put out. Levi’s natural expression, as far as Erwin could tell, was somewhere between annoyed and disinterested. Today he looked more severe than normal. There was a crease between his delicate brows and the grip he had on both his children seemed tighter than usual. Eren looked impatient and wild whereas Mikasa clung tightly to her father and avoided eye contact.

“Come in,” Erwin welcomed, trying not to be too affected by the apparent lack of enthusiasm.

This time when the trio came in, Eren haphazardly shucked off his shoes and grabbed Armin by the hand to tug him along.

“C’mon lets go play!”

Armin hesitated. “What about Mikasa?” he asked tentatively, looking at the girl in question, who showed no signs of joining in.

“She’s being weird today,” Eren answered quietly, so his father wouldn’t reprimand him. Then he continued to pull Armin away.

Levi was busy setting Mikasa down and coaxing her shoes off of her. Stubbornly, she kept a hand on her father’s pant leg and wouldn’t let go. Muttering something under his breath, Levi removed his own shoes and quickly arranged the others into a neat order. When he straightened up again, Mikasa held up her arms to be picked up once more. With a little sigh, Levi lifted her back up.

With a little smile at how adorable Mikasa was, leaning her head against Levi’s shoulder, Erwin led them to the couch to sit down for a bit. As he sat, Levi visibly relaxed, the tension melting from his shoulders, and he gaze the girl in his arm a little squeeze.

“Everything okay?” Erwin asked.

“It’s just been one of those days,” Levi explained with a wave of his hand. His voice was quiet and tired. “Someone had a difficult night.”

“I’m sorry,” Erwin said genuinely, nodding in understanding. Kids sometimes had the delightful tendency to stay up half the night for some reason or another and be grouchy all the next day.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi said, closing his eyes for a moment. “It happens.”

Politely, Erwin let his guests sit quietly for several minutes. The father and daughter both rested their eyes, Levi subtly leaning his head against Mikasa’s on his shoulder. After the several minutes passed, Erwin realized both of their breathing had evened out into a light sleep. Erwin watched them pleasantly, until he realized the action could be considered creepy. Quietly he pulled out his phone to have something to look at while still giving lingering side glances towards the pair. They were cute.

Exactly 26 minutes later, Levi blinked awake and realized that he’d fallen asleep on his neighbors couch when they were supposed to be eating pie--his very delicious lemon meringue pie, to be exact. Quickly, he glanced around to find Erwin scrolling through his phone with a pleasant smile on his face.

“You let me fall asleep,” Levi stated with an accusing undertone.

“You needed it,” Erwin replied with a smirk.

In return Levi frown but didn’t say anything. Erwin wondered if he shouldn’t have let him sleep, if maybe he’d been a little awkward. Immediately, he steered the conversation in another direction.

“Shall we eat now?” Erwin asked.

Levi hummed in agreement.

With a smile Erwin stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare. After a moment to right himself, Levi stood up and went to help, Mikasa still in his arms. Erwin waved him off, saying he could cut the pie himself, so Levi called for the kids.

“Come on Mikasa,” Levi said irritably, trying to put her down in her own chair. “You need to sit in your own seat.”

The little girl tiredly held on tighter to her Papa. “Please,” she whined quietly.

Grumbling, Levi gave in and let Mikasa sit on his lap. “Eren, if you want some pie, you need to get your butt out here!”

Immediately, Eren and Armin came and sat down at the table. Impatiently, Eren bounced up and down in his chair. When the plate of pie was placed in front of him, he immediately started attacking it with fervor.

“Eren,” Levi scolded, “You’re making a mess.”

But Eren ignored him.

“It’s alright,” Erwin said as he gave a piece to Armin and sat one in front of Levi as well.

It took a deep inhale and a bite of pie for Levi to relax. His pie was delicious and smooth and fluffy, even a day later.

Erwin let out a noise of approval. “This is very good,” he complimented. He meant it; Levi was a fantastic cook.

“Thank you Eren’s dad,” Armin piped up. “It’s really good.”

In response, Levi hummed and brought the bite up to Mikasa’s lips. Obediently she leaned forward and cleaned the fork. When she rested back against Levi’s chest, he patted her head comfortingly. Then his attention was brought back to Eren, who was laughing.

The little boy had forgone his fork altogether and decided to lick at his plate. He and Armin giggled together at his silliness. But Levi stiffened visibly. He grimaced at the fluff sticking around Eren’s mouth, running down his chin and even to the collar of his shirt.

“Eren, don’t play with your food,” Levi commanded.

“No!” Eren cried, feeling both rebellious and pleased with himself.

Erwin watched the exchange between the two with curiosity, noticing the obvious distress in Levi’s face. His eyelid twitched noticeably and he breathed sharply through his nose. Previously, Levi had shown a great interest in cleanliness, but clearly that went deeper than Erwin realized.

“Eren,” he hissed. “Stop, now.”

Eren acted as if he didn’t hear him.

Sensing the mood, Armin had stopped giggling along and focused on his own pie. Levi moved to stand up himself, with Mikasa whining in his lap.

“Here, I’ll clean him up,” Erwin said, beating Levi. He leaned over and picked the petulant child up directly. Immediately, he wondered if he shouldn’t just pick up another person’s child and wash them down. But he’d already started, so forged ahead.

The action didn’t seem to bother Eren at all, who continued to laugh along as Erwin leaned him over the sink and wiped the mess from his face. The result was Eren becoming quite wet down his front, but that didn’t bother him at all. Erwin hoped the wetness wouldn’t be too much of a bother for Levi.

When Erwin returned Eren back to his seat, he looked to Levi whose eyes were widened in surprise.

“You didn’t seem to like the mess and you had your hands full with Mikasa,” Erwin offered, trying to explain.

Levi glanced away and grunted in appreciation. “Thanks,” he muttered. After a moment, he looked up. “If… if you ever need someone to watch Armin, or if Hanji needs a break, you can bring him over.”

This time, Erwin blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected that.

“I will, thank you,” Erwin answered graciously.

It seemed, despite the awkwardness of today, Erwin had managed to do something right.

Chapter Text

Over the next several weeks, something strange happened. The careful schedule that Armin had followed for as long as he could remember changed. It happened slowly, without Armin even realizing it until in the space of three weeks everything was different.

The next day, a Monday, found Armin being dropped across the hall just as breakfast was being cleaned up. While the grownups exchanged a few pleasantries, Armin was greeted enthusiastically by Eren and warmly by Mikasa.

“Will you play with me today?” she asked Armin softly.

“Yes!” he answered with a vigorous nod. He was happy to see that Mikasa was not acting ‘weird’ as Eren had put it yesterday. Secretly, Armin had worried that she hadn’t wanted to play with him. He was glad that wasn’t the case, at least today.

“Armin, I want you to play with me!” Eren whined, grabbing his arm and tugging it impatiently.

With a blink of surprise, Armin looked between the two siblings. This was a first for him, having never been fought over before. Before Armin could reply that he wanted to play with them both, Levi interfered.

“Eren, let go before you hurt him,” he instructed, sounding more exasperated than concerned.

Instantly, Eren released his hold on Armin and patted it gently in concern. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Armin shook his head, to show he was fine. With Mikasa’s intimidating father standing over them watching, the words he wanted to say were caught in his throat.

“Don’t fight over Armin,” Levi said with a small smirk. “You can both play with him.”

Then Eren and Mikasa were taking him by the hand and racing off into their room to play with Levi calling behind them to not make a mess.

“What does your dad do all day?” Armin asked two days later.

Eren looked up from the spot on the floor where he sprawled. “What do you mean?”

“My daddy goes to work during the day, but your dad doesn’t. What does he do instead?” Armin clarified. He was genuinely curious about how another family functioned so differently from his, even if they were in similar mommy-less circumstances.

“Oh,” Eren scrunched up his face and then shrugged.

“He writes books,” Mikasa answered helpfully. She was sitting on the bed, brushing the hair of a doll with careful precision.

“Really?” Armin asked with awe. He loved books and he’d been in the presence of somebody who wrote them on multiple occasions without even knowing it! Their dad didn’t seem like a person who wrote books, but Armin hadn’t met any people who did before, so maybe he wasn’t a good judge. “That’s so cool!”

“I guess,” Eren shrugged, clearly not understanding the amazingness that he was exposed too constantly. “He mostly just cleans though.”

It was true that their house was always very clean. More clean than Armin’s house and he thought their house was pretty clean. Armin figured that their dad must be cleaning right now, despite the place looking clean when he arrived.

“Even if it’s already clean,” Mikasa muttered. Her thin brows furrowed subtly as she spoke. “Sometimes twice. Sometimes he can’t stop.”

Suddenly both Eren and Mikasa looked a little… sad? Armin wasn’t sure and was confused. A thick silence fell over the room and Eren picked at the carpet with that scowl of his. It seemed that Armin had accidentally stumbled onto a subject that he wouldn’t be able to understand and they didn’t want to talk about.

“Let’s make something with blocks,” he said, redirecting the mood into something more cheerful.

Immediately, Eren hopped up with the brightest smile on his face.

Armin liked it when he smiled at him like that.

“I’m telling you,” Levi said impatiently as Erwin stepped through the doorway on a Friday night. “Having Armin over makes it easier on me.”

“I have a hard time believing that adding an extra kid to the mix makes a parent’s job easier,” Eriwn countered as he took his shoes off, already knowing that Levi would insist that he stay for dinner as he had the two other times that week.

With a cocked brow and a smirk, Levi gestured in the direction of the couch. Sitting there were three little figures, huddled around a book. Levi’s children listened with rapt attention as Armin spoke, rambling about what Hanji had read to him the day before. They hadn’t even noticed that Erwin was back from work; they were so invested in their little world.

“My kids are never that quiet,” Levi stated. “Ever. I had so much time to write. Armin’s like an angel. I don’t know what he does, but my two don’t get into nearly as much trouble when he’s around.”

Erwin turned away from the scene with a proud smile on his face to make a remark to Levi but he promptly forgot it. The shorter man was watching him carefully, standing closer than Erwin had expected. For a few moments, they held their gaze, until Levi blushed and looked away with a grunt.

“You raised him well,” he murmured.

That Sunday found the two families at the park. The children were climbing all over the jungle gym, with Eren egging Armin on and Mikasa giving warnings. Erwin hadn’t seen Armin so adventurous, well, ever. It was nice to see him looking confident and enjoying himself.

Levi and Erwin sat together on a park bench monitoring from a distance, but for the most part the monitoring was unnecessary. If Eren was preparing to do something particularly dangerous, Mikasa interfered and stopped him. Or if Eren was getting in the way of other kids or unintentionally pushing younger ones around, Armin spoke up.

It was one of the most relaxing trips to the park that Levi had ever experienced.

For the most part, the parents sat in silence. They only spoke if they had something to say and the air between them was comfortable and friendly.

“There was a park like this near where I grew up,” Erwin remarked casually.

Levi sent him a curious glance.

“I didn’t play at it often though,” he continued. “The other kids who played there didn’t like me. I think they were afraid of me.”

That made Levi snort with amusement.

After a moment, Levi offered, “I wasn’t allowed to play at the park near my house. Too dangerous.”

Exactly two days later, a loud crash and the sound of crying broke Levi away from his writing. Muttering small curses to himself he saved his work and hurried to the kids’ bedroom. Sitting on the floor surrounded by a pile of wooden blocks was a sobbing Eren who clutched onto Armin. A stream of cries and apologies poured from him. Armin himself held a hand to his forehead and had misty eyes.

“What happened?” Levi asked calmly, turning to Mikasa who hovered over the scene with concern.

“We were building a wall with the blocks and then Eren said he was a giant and knocked them over, but he pushed Armin and Armin hit his head and he’s bleeding,” Mikasa explained quickly with a whine in her voice.

Oh fantastic. Erwin’s kid had been hurt by his own little brat and on Levi’s watch. It was one thing to have your own child get hurt while you were responsible for them, but it was completely different when it was someone else’s.

Acting quickly, Levi cleared a space in the blocks for himself to kneel down and inspect the damage. It took a little force for Levi to get Eren to loosen his grip on Armin, but he let go and buried his head in his hands

“I’m so sorry Armin!” Eren sobbed.

“It’s okay,” Armin sniffled in response as Levi leaned in to check his forehead. He was feeling more concerned about Eren’s crying than his own injury.

It appeared to Levi that Armin had simply caught the corner of a block with his face. The cut on his forehead was small, but the area around it was already swelling and would probably bruise. Nothing too serious at least.

“Eren you need to calm down,” Levi instructed firmly. “Armin only has a little owie. You just need to be more careful next time.”

With a watery sniffle, Eren nodded. It was hard for Levi not to laugh at how ridiculous, yet adorable and caring he was acting.

Levi picked Armin up and took him to the bathroom to take care of the cut properly and left Mikasa to console Eren. As he set the child on the counter-- Levi knew it was clean, so he wasn’t concerned-- Armin looked away bashfully. With a snort of amusement, Levi crouched down to fetch the first aid kit from under the sink. He wasn’t surprised that Armin was still afraid of him. Though perhaps he could try being more gentle around him.

“Look at me,” Levi instructed softly, with a disinfectant ready. Toys were filthy. Despite Levi’s best efforts, children were pros at creating and sharing germs.

Obediently, Armin looked up and watched as Levi leaned into him and cleaned his cut. His fingers were rough and calloused, but his touches were light. It surprised Armin. Levi worked quickly and only spoke to ask Armin if he wanted a Mickey or Minnie Mouse Band-Aid. Armin requested Minnie.

“There, you’re all fixed up,” Levi said giving Armin’s head a gentle pat.

“Um,” Armin began shyly. “My Daddy and Hanji always kiss my booboos better.”

Levi blinked at him. “Do you want me to kiss it better?” he asked, honestly taken back.

“Yes please,” Armin replied.

“Okay then,” Levi said with a shrug. Then he leaned forward and pressed a small kiss over the band aid. He reminded himself that he just put it on, so it was clean. “Better?”

The little boy nodded and let Levi pick him up off the counter.

The rest of the day the kids were subdued and clingy. Levi wasn’t sure how, but he ended up on the couch with all three huddled around him and on him. Mikasa was leaning against his right, Eren on his left, and Armin sitting on his lap.

When Erwin stopped by after he finished work, he was pleasantly surprised to see Armin letting Levi hold him.

“I’m sorry my kid broke your kid,” Levi offered in greeting.

Erwin laughed.

“I don’t like bread!” Eren protested at lunchtime the next Thursday.

“Well you can’t just eat peanut butter and jelly by itself,” Levi countered as he placed the triangularly cut sandwich in front of him.

Next to him, Armin and Mikasa were already quietly eating their lunches. Armin had requested the crusts be cut off and Mikasa preferred her sandwiches cut into rectangles.

“Bread is gross!” Eren continued protesting, pushing the plate away. But Levi ignored him and set about making a sandwich for himself to eat. “I’m not going to eat it!”

“I’m not making you anything else,” Levi replied coolly, back still to the little boy.

With the greatest pouting face that he could pull off, Eren picked up a triangle with the intent to smash in his hand and maybe spread it all over the table. That would get his Papa’s attention. But before he could do so, Armin tapped his arm.

“The sandwich isn’t gross,” he said quietly. “Maybe you should try it without the crust.” He offered up one of his triangles for Eren to taste.

Shockingly, Eren at it and Eren liked it and Eren requested that his triangles be crust-less. Never had Levi seen someone manage to diffuse Eren like that. He’d fully expected a full thrown fit that would probably involve a mess of some kind.

Armin was all kinds of brilliant for his children.

The next Monday was a long day for Erwin, such were the nature of Mondays. By the time he made it back to the apartment complex, he was grateful he’d decided to take Armin over to Levi’s. It meant he would get to spend a nice evening chatting with his neighbor and getting a home cooked dinner. He wondered, for a moment, if he was sending Armin over too often. Then he realized that Levi was the kind of person who would tell him if it was getting too much.

When Erwin knocked at the door, he was surprised when it was Mikasa who answered. Her face was concerned as she opened the door wide for Erwin to enter.

“Papa needs help,” was all she said in explanation and pointed in the direction of the hallway.

A little concerned, Erwin followed Mikasa to where her father was crouched in the hallway, scrubbing at the floor. There was a discoloring in the carpet that took all of Levi’s attention; he took no notice to the kids who stood away off watching with confusion or to Erwin as he approached. Levi’s grip on the rag was tight enough to turn his knuckles white and his face scrunched into a hard scowl.

“Levi,” Erwin said cautiously, approaching slowly. He didn’t quite understand what was going on. Perhaps Levi’s obsession with cleanliness went further than Erwin had thought. Either way, he didn’t want to make the situation worse. “Levi,” he repeated louder.

He crouched directly in front of the small man and Levi still didn’t look up. Making a quick decision, Erwin reached out with both hands and placed them over Levi’s, stopping him. Levi jerked with surprise and swore, not looking up.

“It won’t come out,” Levi hissed with frustration. “I can’t get it clean!”

“It’s okay,” Erwin offered soothingly. “Levi, it’s alright.”

Carefully he pried Levi’s fingers free of the rag and Levi finally looked at him. Confusion, surprise, and understanding flashed through Levi’s face in succession.

“God dammit,” he muttered, looking embarrassed and ashamed. “I’m sorry, I got caught up in cleaning and I forgot about dinner. The kids-” He looked around frantically before his eyes settled on them. “Jesus, Erwin I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Erwin shrugged. “It’s alright. I don’t mind,” he answered honestly. I’m just worried about you, he added to himself. “Don’t worry about dinner. We can get takeout.”

With that Levi nodded and hurried to brush off the incident.

Later, after dinner was finished, Erwin asked gently if Levi would like to talk about it.

“No,” Levi replied with a sigh. “Not tonight. But maybe… another time.”

“You almost don’t need me anymore!” Hanji joked on a rare afternoon when Armin wasn’t across the hall. They sat with him on the floor, watching with a fond smile.

Immediately, Armin paused in his playing. “What?” he asked, not understanding.

“With your new friends, you almost don’t need me to watch you anymore,” they repeated with a halfhearted smile on their face.

“Are you going to stop coming?” The little eyebrows on Armin’s face scrunched up in distress.

Every other day, Armin was dropped off at Mikasa and Eren’s to play with Hanji watching him on the days he didn’t. Even on the days with Hanji watching him, Armin spent his time playing with his new friends. It was as if they had always been friends and had always spent every moment together. Armin almost couldn’t remember what it was like not having such good friends. But it had only been a few weeks since he’d known them.

“No, not anytime soon!” Hanji replied quickly, putting an arm around the boy. “I’m just happy that you’ve made such good friends. Though I do miss getting to spend all day everyday with you.”

Armin snuggled close. “I miss it too,” he answered honestly. “But I also like playing with Mikasa and Eren.”

“That’s okay,” Hanji assured him. “That’s okay.”

A Friday, three weeks after the Sunday Pie, Erwin and Levi found themselves talking for so long after dinner that they lost track of time.

“They’re all asleep,” Erwin said, returning back from checking on the kids. “It looks like they dropped where they were playing.”

Levi smiled. “Silly kiddos.”

“I should probably take my son home and stop being a bad parent,” Erwin joked.

“Oh please,” Levi snorted. “You’re not a bad parent. If anywhere here is, it’s me.”

Then suddenly, the playful air became serious. Erwin sat himself down beside Levi, their legs brushing together, and looked at him carefully. Levi was doing an oh so thorough job of avoiding his gaze.

“What makes you think you’re a bad parent?” Erwin asked.

Immediately, Levi turned to face him. “Look at me Erwin. I’m practically a recluse. My parents were almost never there, so I don’t know what parenting should be like. Not to mention the shit load of issues I’ve got,” he spat. Once the dam was open, Levi didn’t stop his self-depreciating tirade. “I love my kids, I do. They’ve already been hurt and screwed up and I don’t want to make it worse. Eren, he has night terrors, but acts like everything’s fine in the day. It’s gotten better since Armin, but I don’t know what causes them. And Mikasa, she’s clingy and emotionally distant. I’m not prepared, I don’t know how to help them. I’m not affectionate-“

By then, Erwin had heard enough and placed a hand on Levi’s knee to stop the tirade. The smaller man’s eyes widen in surprise and he snapped his mouth shut.

“Nobody knows how to be a parent,” Erwin stated. “And even couples who’ve planned and prepared don’t actually know what they’re doing.”

Levi looked away again, a blush on his face.

“And I think, that of anyone, you can understand what your children are feeling. Your problems, your ‘shit load of issues’ make you empathetic to whatever Eren and Mikasa are going through,” Erwin explained. “I think you’re doing the best you can do. You’re trying so hard and that’s more than other parents do.

Slowly, Levi placed his own hand over Erwin’s, keeping his head turned away as he blinked away the moisture in his eyes.

They stayed like that for a long time.

Chapter Text

Things were getting a little ridiculous, or so Levi felt. Usually he was so forward and blunt with his feelings, mostly because he didn’t know how to behave otherwise. This awkward dance he was doing in regards to his affections for Erwin was unlike him. He liked his neighbor; there was no doubt about that. Levi was also suspected that Erwin liked him too. Yet, so far, neither of them had done anything about it.

Really, it was silly.

Levi knew he should gather up his courage, stop acting like a child, and ask Erwin on a date. A proper one, without the kids around.

But he was scared.

He wasn’t exactly scared of rejection. Levi was sure that Erwin would want to go on a date as badly as he and if not, he would be very gentle and polite about the whole thing. It was the actual date that was more intimidating for Levi. The transition from friends-but-maybe-more to actually-maybe-more didn’t always go smoothly. Being a single parent hadn't given him many opportunities for dating.

And what if things went horribly?

Levi didn’t want to ruin the good relationship between his family and the Smiths. His children were doing really well with constant interaction with another child their age. The exposure to other adults who cared about them, Erwin and Hanji, was beneficial too. But if somehow things turned sour because Levi put his romantic life first, how would that affect his kids?

This wouldn’t just be about him.

What would the kids think of their Papa becoming involved with their best friend’s Dad? Not that they could completely understand something like romantic love at their age. Not that Levi was in love or anything-- not yet anyway.

Then again, what about Levi’s own happiness? It didn’t overshadow the happiness of his children, but, perhaps if he was happier, he could be a better parent. His chest felt warm with the memories of Erwin comforting him, supporting him, and reassuring him. It made Levi feel hopeful. Hopeful that he wouldn’t be a failure of a parent, that he could overcome his own problems in order to help his kids with their own. Hopeful that Erwin felt the same way about Levi as he felt about him.

But what if Erwin was simply very nice? What if he just pitied his broken family? Levi didn’t even know if Erwin was interested in men.

See? Levi was being absolutely ridiculous. He’d never been so stupidly uncertain in his life. Well, except for that one time he suddenly became a parent, but that was a perfectly reasonable reaction.

With a sigh, Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to focus on the task before him. He was supposed to be making dinner, but the debate wouldn’t stop bouncing around his head. It probably didn’t help that Levi would be seeing Erwin that evening, as Armin was over today.

The prospect of sitting down to dinner with his neighbor, then chatting for a few hours like they had the past weeks, made Levi flush with anticipation. What would they discuss today? Their friendly visiting had slowly become more and more personal. Sometimes the topics breached were things Levi wouldn’t normally feel comfortable discussing. But, he had come to trust Erwin. More than anyone else he knew at the moment at least.

Again, Levi’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an angry shout. Levi was so attuned to his little gaggle that he could recognize the various noises of discontent they made, even among the cries of others their age. It was one of those odd parent powers that one acquired with whiney brats.

“Mikasa, that’s not fair!” Eren cried.

Reluctantly, Levi left his dinner preparations to investigate the complaints. In the kids’ room Mikasa and Armin were sitting quietly on the bed while Eren sulked in the corner. Mikasa was kneeling behind Armin and braiding his hair with slow and exact movements. In turn, Armin was fixing a bow to their hair of his doll. Levi wasn’t quite sure what the problem was; maybe Eren was just having a difficult day.

“Why are you pouting, Eren?” Levi asked with a sigh.

Without turning around from his crouched position in the corner he answered with a moody, “Mikasa and Armin aren’t playing with me!”

Before Levi could inquire further, Mikasa piped up.

“He doesn’t want to play hair with us,” she answered, stubbornly focusing on tying the end of the braid with a ponytail holder. She was very dexterous for her age, much more so than Eren. Levi was both surprised and proud of her assertiveness. She was usually so compliant with Eren.

“I wanted to put pretties in his hair,” Armin added, sounding a little disappointed. Shyly, he kept his eyes averted, as Levi knew he didn’t like confrontation.

“You guys never play what I want to play! Playing hair is dumb!” Eren retaliated, looking over his shoulder to spout the complaint. Armin visibly flinched at the words and Levi moved to intercede.

Before he could, Mikasa finally looked up from her work. “Don’t make fun of Armin!” she shouted back, upset.

“Both of you, stop shouting,” Levi commanded firmly. The children all looked away, both upset and ashamed. “Eren, did you try suggesting playing something else before getting upset? Did you try doing hair to see if you like it? Mikasa, you need to take turns playing what each other wants,” Levi fired off quickly, having neither the time to sort out their little dispute or the energy. “You need to get along or Armin will be playing with me while you guys have quiet time. Understand? Good, I need to finish dinner.”

All the little heads nodded slowly and Levi exited the room to return to the kitchen. The ordeal took longer than he would’ve liked, but anything involving kids usually took longer than it should. To add to his already frayed nerves, there was the sound of a knock at the door and the scrap of the key in the lock. That would be Erwin, already over after work. The previous week, the neighbors had exchanged spare keys, both in case of emergencies and for the sake of convenience. Erwin was over so often and usually arrived in the middle of dinner prep that it was just easier for Levi if he let himself in.

“Hello,” Erwin called out as he entered the apartment and removed his shoes.

“Welcome home,” Levi replied automatically, only catching his mistake after the words were out of his mouth. This was not their home. Erwin did not live here. Levi’s face was red with embarrassment but he quickly busied himself with dinner.

Erwin simply laughed with amusement. “Honey, I’m home!” he teased as he crossed the living room area into the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi grumbled, trying not to sound pleased at Erwin’s playfulness. “Could you check on the kids? They were arguing about something.”

“Sure. I need my hello kiss from Armin anyway,” Erwin replied.

Oh god they were so domestic it was painful.

This playing house, acting as one big odd family, didn’t necessarily mean anything. Or so Levi tried to remind himself. Erwin wasn’t necessarily flirting with him. Or maybe he was. But for god’s sake, Levi needed to say something soon. If anything, just to end this ridiculous dance, so he could relax about the whole thing.

“Rough day?” Erwin asked when the two were settling down on the couch as per their routine. The table was cleared and the dishes were washed and put away. The brats, still with young stubborn tension between them, were playing quarrelsomely.

With a sigh, Levi leaned back into the couch. “How could you tell?” he asked sarcastically.

“You seem tense,” Erwin answered seriously, ignoring Levi’s sarcasm. “Everything alright?”

“The little snots were just being extra difficult today,” Levi replied. Which was partially true. There were plenty of other things that could have made the day rough, without Levi’s silly feelings. Eren had had a terror the night before, the first in almost two weeks. Levi had been spoiled with their good behavior around Armin, the extra sleep, and the getting along.

“Anything Armin-“ Erwin began but Levi stopped him with a look.

“Of course Armin didn’t do anything,” Levi replied. “It’s just my kids being their usual selves is all.” Well, Eren being his usual self. Mikasa was acting surprisingly independent, which Levi was proud of, even if it meant more fighting.

Suddenly, Levi felt a hand on the back of neck and he started from the contact. It was just Erwin, rubbing soothing circles with his strong hand, looking calm and nonchalant as ever, as if what he was doing was normal between neighbors, like there was that level of trust between the two of them.

Which there was.

Levi leaned into the touch.

“I have a feeling that’s not the only thing on your mind today,” Erwin stated.

Damn that manipulative bastard.

“Oh really?” Levi replied coolly and avoided looking in Erwin’s direction. He was trying not to notice how close they were sitting next to each other, nearly thigh to thigh. Their kids were just in the next room for goodness sake. Levi hardly felt comfortable getting too touchy feely with possible witnesses.

“Mmhmm,” Erwin hummed in return. “To be honest, I’ve had something on my mind today as well. Something I wanted to ask you.”

And, oh god, his voice was low and practically whispering in Levi’s ear. His heart pounding, Levi came to the very solid conclusion that yes, Erwin liked him in that way too. With that mental hurdle out of the way and the others promptly shoved aside, Levi turned his face towards Erwin’s, only inches away.

Yes, yes. This was what he wanted. To get his feelings out, to-

“Erwin, I,” Levi began, but he was already leaning up, closer to Erwin’s face, their lips brushing and-

“What are you doing Papa?”

Levi was out of his seat and holding a sleepy looking Mikasa in an instant.

“Armin’s dad and I were just talking,” Levi answered, not trusting himself to look back at the man sitting on his sofa. He quickly redirected his child’s attention, “Are you tired? It’s close to bedtime.”

“I don’t want to go to bed,” she protested, but rested her head against her Papa’s chest. “Eren was just being mean again.”

Levi was surprised she wasn’t in tears about it. His girl was getting stronger and he was so proud. A month or so ago, he would be dealing with crying fits and apologies and reassurances.

“Well, it looks like it’s time for Armin and I to go,” Erwin stated, suddenly standing beside Levi. “It’s getting late and the kids are getting grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy!” Mikasa whined

After many protests and a little bit of tired tears, Levi was standing in the entryway a kid in each arm, showing the Smith’s out. He felt oddly detached from the situation, like he hadn’t just almost kissed Erwin on the couch in a moment of violent flirting.

“Say goodbye to Armin,” Levi instructed.

“No!” Eren protested. “I don’t want him to go!”

“Bye Armin,” Mikasa said sadly.

With his head on his dad’s shoulder, Armin tiredly lifted a hand in goodbye.

“See you Armin,” Levi offered. With an awkward grunt, he added, “Thanks Erwin… for tonight.”

The smile Erwin gave him in return was so brilliant, Levi almost slammed the door in his face. Unfortunately, both of his arms were occupied so he had to endure the embarrassing look Erwin was giving him.

“I’ll see you soon, Levi,” Erwin said in farewell.

Then, they were gone.

“Bedtime for grumpy bugs,” Levi instructed, despite the protests from said grumpy bugs.

The efforts of wrestling two four year olds into pajamas, into the bathroom for teeth brushing, and into bed was a perfect distraction for Levi. Until his phone buzzed with the arrival of a text.

'What I wanted to ask this evening was if you’d like to go out to dinner with me. Without the children. Friday night?'

For the nth time that night, Levi’s heart fluttered. This was happening. Was Levi ready for it? Was it a good idea? He wasn’t completely sure. Did he want it? Oh sweet Lord, yes. Yes he did. After taking a moment to collect himself, he wrote out his response.

'It’s a date.'

Chapter Text

For the first time in several weeks, Levi’s writing time was interrupted by screaming- and not the happy kind. At some point, he knew this would happen. The honeymoon of new friendship would be over; his children would have spent a little too much time around Armin and need a little space before they could all get along again. Levi wished it wasn’t happening now of all times, on the day he was supposed to go on his date with Erwin.

Hanji had been recruited to watch the kids while he and Erwin went out. Levi was really looking forward to having time with him that didn’t revolve around the kids. All he needed was for the kids get along.

Surprisingly, the past few days had been rough ones. There was a tension between Eren and Mikasa, ever since the hair incident. Eren was used to getting what he wanted from Mikasa and didn’t appreciate it when she didn’t go along. It was a rude awakening, but Levi figured it would be good for both of them. He didn’t do much to interfere, only to stop crying fits and remind his snots that they needed to share Armin--the source of most of the conflict.

While he was proud of her, Levi was concerned that Mikasa’s new independence was going to lead to further problems. She still seemed just as attached to her Papa. He should have been paying closer attention to when exactly this new behavior started. Unfortunately, he’d been more caught up in his own feelings about Erwin and noticing Eren’s improving behavior. Quiet Mikasa slipped under the radar, like she had many times in the past.

Upon reaching the children’s room Levi found Eren crying, Mikasa looking the other way coolly, and Armin looking distressed to be caught in the middle. The crying stopped as soon as Levi entered the room.

“What’s the problem?” he asked wearily.

“’kasa is being mean again!” Eren sniffled. He moved forward to clutch at his Papa’s leg.

“Is she being mean or are you not getting your way?” Levi asked, resting a hand on top of his head.

The question threw Eren off, but his scowl returned with his protest, “I want to play with Armin!”

“Well I’m playing with Armin,” Mikasa huffed quietly.

Armin made a small noise of distress.

“I’ve told you guys before, if you can’t both get along with Armin, then he’s going to play with me,” Levi stated, folding his arms. This brought protests from both of his children, which he cut off with a raised hand. “You two will have quiet time. If you can get along after that, you can keep playing with Armin.”

That should give the kids enough time to cool down and get along properly, Levi supposed. Mikasa looked ready to burst into tears and Levi was almost ready to give in. Luckily, Levi knew he could never back down from delivering consequences and punishments. Though he admitted to himself that maybe he said ‘yes’ to Mikasa a little too often.

Regardless, he offered a hand to Armin and gently ushered him away from the silently pouting siblings.

“Would you like to read in my office while I work?” Levi offered, knowing that Armin enjoyed books.

Demurely, Armin nodded. With some directions from Levi, he picked out a few picture books from the shelves in the office. For a writer, Levi didn’t have a grand selection to choose from. He probably should read with his children more often, he noted offhandedly.

After pulling up a spare chair for Armin to sit at his desk, Levi awkwardly resumed writing, hoping that Armin wouldn’t expect more from him. Though the angelic child wasn’t afraid of him, the two didn’t have many chances to interact. Both still felt unsure around each other. Quietly, Armin flipped through his selection of books, occasionally mumbling quietly to himself. Levi suspected that he wasn’t aware of the habit.

Cute.

Easily, Levi was able to lose himself in his writing. The deadline for the first draft of his current piece was coming up in a few months. While normally he had no problems meeting deadlines, he’d found himself distracted recently. Yes, god damn, Erwin was messing with his writing. Creative blocks were normal for most authors, so Levi didn’t expect to have too much more trouble.

A small cough distracted him however. Levi looked over to see Armin watching him sheepishly, hands resting over the pile of books.

“Do you need something else to read?” Levi hazarded a guess.

In response Armin looked down and blushed. “Um, no,” he answered politely, with a sideways glimpse at the computer.

“Do you,” Levi began. “Do you want to watch me work?”

A shy nod.

“Okay,” Levi retained a sigh. It was cute and flattering, but distracting. He gestured to his lap. “Hop up, then.”

Armin complied immediately. He settled down with his back straight and hands laced together on his lap. Writing with Armin was no different than having his children on his lap, though he wiggled less than Eren. But Levi supposed that many kids were less wiggly than Eren.

A solid 20 minutes passed peacefully. Levi was ready to call quiet time over and get ready for his date. That was when the shouting started again. It was louder than usual and not in a good way. Quickly, Levi extricated the small body from his lap and rushed across the hall. As he opened the door, there was a loud tearing sound, which was how Levi found the ripped red blanket between his two hysterical brats.

“What is going on?” he demanded, raising his voice.

But Eren and Mikasa were too devastated to form comprehensible sentences. Not that it mattered, he could guess what'd happened. The two approached Levi, guilty faced, crying, and complaining unintelligibly. Levi could make out Eren apologizing, saying something about Mikasa being mean and she saying the same of him. Blubbering, Mikasa held up the red blanket, the one item that she treasured above all others. A three inch rip ran down the middle. The well loved blanket had finally given out.

“Papa,” she lamented. “Can you fix it?” Her voice was desperate.

With a sigh, Levi took the blanket to inspect it closer. He was quite handy with a needle and patched up plenty of things before. Never a tear that big though. He'd give it his best effort, but he doubted the blanket would ever look the same.

“Probably,” he answered honestly. “But why were you two fighting over it in the first place?”

Neither of his children answered, both looking away with tears running down their cheeks. Seeing their distress, Levi felt his annoyance soften and he opened his arms. Mikasa immediately wrapped herself around his leg. He patted her head comfortingly while he gestured for Eren to join them. Eren hesitated, but cautiously attached himself to Levi’s other side. With an arm around both of them, Levi let them cry for a moment.

“I’m sorry Papa,” Eren mumbled into him. “I got angry again.” Mikasa joined him in nodded her head.

“It’s alright,” Levi said softly. “Just apologize to each other, okay? Hanji is going to be here soon. Remember how we talked about them babysitting? I need to get ready to go now, okay?”

Holding the baby blanket carefully, Levi removed himself from his children and went to his room to change. Mikasa trailed behind him, gripping his pant leg. Figuring she was young, Levi let her sit on his bed while he prepared. She sat quietly and watched as he put on his nice gray shirt and purple tie. Looking at himself in the mirror, he debated whether or not he should style his back into something more formal looking and then decided against it.

It was just a small dinner date after all.

“Do I look nice?” Levi asked indulgently to his girl perched on his bed. He was pleased to see Mikasa smile shyly a moment before nodding. Quickly after however, the somber expression returned to her face.

Levi wished there was something more he could do about it.

Armin looked relieved when Hanji and Erwin finally arrived at the apartment.

“Hey there pumpkin!” Hanji greeted cheerfully, pulling Armin into their arms.

“I missed you,” he whispered into their neck.

With a tender smile, Hanji ran their fingers through Armin’s hair and gave him a quick kiss. After a moment, Armin pulled back and reached out to his Daddy, standing next to Hanji. Getting the message, they passed the boy over. Armin clung tightly to his Daddy’s neck, feeling relieved he was there after an awkward day.

“Well hello there. Everything alright?” Erwin asked, surprised by Armin’s greeting.

Slowly, Armin nodded against him. “I just missed you,” he mumbled.

Erwin suspected that wasn’t all, but didn’t say anything. He set his child down when he began to wiggle in his grip and watched as Armin moved to be next to Eren, who appeared in the entryway looking somber. Erwin was then quickly distracted by the appearance of Levi, dressed and ready for their date.

“You look nice,” he offered in greeting. He was pleased when Levi grunted thanks in embarrassment. “Ready to go?”

“Obviously,” Levi answered. He turned his attention to Hanji to say, “The kids have had trouble getting along today. Are you sure you’ll be fine with them?”

Ah, Erwin realized, that must be what Armin was bothered by.

“We’ll be fine, right?” they answered, patting Eren on the head. Eren didn’t look too thrilled at the situation.

“Alright,” Levi replied, still sounding uncertain. He kneeled down and took a hand of Eren and Mikasa. “I’m going out now. I’ll just be gone a few hours and Hanji will take good care of you. I should be home to tuck you in bed. Be good.”

Dutifully, Eren nodded. Mikasa however made a small whining sound and shook her head.

“Mikasa, we talked about this. I’ll be back soon,” Levi reassured her. But she was having none of it.

She gripped her father’s arm with both hands and begged, “Please don’t go.”

Erwin had worried something like this would happen. He'd gathered that Levi didn’t often leave his children with a babysitter. With Armin there, he'd hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

“Mikasa, you’ll be okay,” Levi tried again, but she burst into quiet sobs.

Levi glanced back and up and Erwin, looking conflicted. If this were any other child, Erwin would suggest just leaving and let the child cry; they would probably be fine in five minutes, once they found something to distract themselves with. But he understood from what Levi had told him that Mikasa was a special case. He really wanted to have this date, just him and Levi, but the children were more important than that.

“Erwin, would it be okay if Mikasa came with us?” Levi asked tentatively.

“Of course,” he answered, schooling himself to look as unbothered as possible.

That seemed to solve the problem with Mikasa who quickly calmed down, while keeping a hand on her Papa. Unfortunately, both Eren and Armin began to complain.

“’Kasa gets to go! That’s not fair!”

“I want to come too!”

“Eren, you’ll have more fun here with Hanji and Armin,” Levi insisted.

“No, I want to come with Papa!”

“You don’t want to stay with me? I’m hurt!” Hanji said playfully.

Once again, Levi turned to Erwin looking completely defeated. It looked like their date night was going to be a family outing instead.

And then Erwin had an idea.

“Why don’t we all go to McDonald’s and then bring the kid’s back for bedtime,” he suggested. “Then we can go to a late dinner, just the two of us.”

The children were thrilled with the new plan, happy to have some time with their parents and getting McDonald’s. Levi rarely, if ever, took his kids to the place. It was too dirty.

“Thank you,” Levi murmured to Erwin as he stood up.

“No problem,” he answered back.

With Hanji, the ratio of adults to children was 1:1, which is the best scenario when dealing with children in public. It gave Erwin and Levi a chance to talk to each other without having to keep close tabs on the children. After all, this was still their date, even if all the kidlets were accompanying for the first portion of it. The group strategically sat themselves in a corner both, sitting Mikasa, Levi, Eren, Erwin, Armin, Hanji. They kept the kids apart to avoid any more fighting. It was clear they just needed some extra attention.

It took a lot of effort for Levi to make himself be okay with his children eating Happy Meals, sitting in a booth that was nowhere near his standards of cleanliness. Heaven help him if they wanted to play in the Play Place. It might give him a heart attack.

Sensing his distress, Erwin leaned over and placed a comforting hand over Levi’s own clenched ones on his lap.

“Relax,” he murmured. “We’ll only be here for a little bit.”

Levi nodded and closed his eyes a moment before being distracted by Eren struggling with a ketchup packet.

“Thanks Papa!” Eren thanked as Levi carefully squeezed ketchup into a little pile for his fries. He broke out into a bright smile as he began to stuff the salty potato bits into his mouth. “Mmmmm! Papa we should come here more often!”

The idea of coming here again under normal circumstances was downright ridiculous to Levi and he simply snorted in amusement. “Whatever you say, kid.”

Levi was grateful at least, that Eren had bounced back from the gloomy afternoon- at least outwardly. He ate with childish gusto, gasped in amazement at the silly toy that came with his meal, and tried to talk around Erwin to Armin.

“Look at what this can do, Armin!” Eren cried excitedly, sending the rolling toy over to Armin’s side of the table.

“That’s cool, Eren,” Armin replied, not quite as enthusiastically. Levi was amused that he seemed to be humoring his son like he often did.

Very quickly, Eren lost interest in his meal and went to play on the play place. It took coaxing from both Erwin and Hanji for Levi to finally give in.

“Whatever, I can give him a thorough bath when we get home,” he relented. The crap he put up with for the happiness of his children.

Both Armin and Eren scurried off to the play area, dragging Hanji along to supervise them, leaving just Mikasa, Levi, and Erwin. Unfortunately, Mikasa’s mood hadn’t improved as quickly as Eren’s. She ate quietly, taking her time and eating methodically. At least that way she avoided making as big a mess as her brother, Levi acknowledged.

“Mikasa, do you want to go play too?” Levi asked, hoping she would give him time to talk to Erwin alone. He still didn’t feel comfortable being observed with Erwin in any sort of romantic situation. With Eren no longer between them, Erwin had scooted closer so their thighs were touching.

Not meeting his gaze, Mikasa shook her head.

“Are you sure?” Erwin intervened. “I bet Armin is missing you right now.”

This piqued the little girl’s interest. She looked up at Erwin with hopeful eyes. “Really?” she asked, almost not believing him.

Erwin nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! Armin always tells me how much he likes to play with you and how nice you are.”

Her cheeks reddened and she nodded. “Okay,” she said softly and slipped away to join the others.

As soon as Mikasa was out of earshot, Levi turned to Erwin sharply.

“How are you so freaking perfect?” he demanded.

“What do you mean?” Erwin asked, blinking with surprise.

“That, that thing you just did,” Levi replied, gesturing his hand towards the empty seat beside him. “And this idea to have a two part date. I was practically melting down over this and you stroll in all cool and smooth and damn perfect!”

After a beat, Erwin responded, “Is that a problem?”

Levi sighed and shook his head. “I guess not. I mean, that is what I like about you,” he answered. To cover up his admittance of affection, he quickly added, “I mean, you could show more vulnerability now and then.”

That made Erwin laugh. He threw back his head, shoulders shaking, the tension leaking out of him. Suddenly, the awkwardness of the situation was gone and they could get on with enjoying each other’s presence.

“Well, I know how important the kids are to you and I figured that starting a date with them here would make things go smoother,” he explained.

“Are you saying that you’re using the kids as date training wheels?” Levi asked incredulously.

With a shrug of the shoulders, Erwin replied, “I guess so. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t dated in a while and could use them.”

Then, oh so smoothly, he slipped his arm over Levi’s shoulders and pulled the smaller man into him. To both their surprise, Levi allowed it. He even leaned into his companion a little. For several minutes, they sat like that. Levi let himself relax as he observed Hanji chasing around their gaggle of children.

“I haven’t either,” he admitted. “Dated in a while, that is.”

“Then this is good for both of us,” Erwin replied warmly.

“Children complicate everything,” Levi observed dryly after a moment.

Erwin hummed in agreement. “They do, don’t they?”

“In a good way, I suppose. I can’t imagine my life without my little monkeys,” Levi admitted. “I’m sorry, we’re on a date and so far it’s been all about the kids.”

With a laugh and a shrug Erwin replied, “It’s fine. Our lives completely revolved around them, don’t they?” Levi nodded in agreement. “But you know, it was the way I saw you parenting that initially attracted me to you.”

Levi pulled away a little to look Erwin in the face and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Really?” he asked with interest.

“Yes. I guess that goes to show how old I’m getting,” Erwin answered earnestly. His voice lowered and he leaned in closer to continue, “Though that’s not the only thing I find attractive about you.”

A shiver ran down Levi’s spine. God, Erwin was good.

“How much longer do we need to stay here before we can take the brats back home?” Levi asked quickly.

Erwin smirked. “I think we’ve been here long enough, don’t you?”

Chapter Text

Dragging Eren away from the Play Place at McDonald’s proved to be difficult. Naturally, he never wanted to leave. To avoid his Papa, Erwin, and Hanji, he scrambled to the topmost part of the structure, where it was difficult for full grown persons to get to, and thus he avoided capture.

“Levi, you’re small. You could go up there and get him,” Hanji observed after several minutes of all three adults yelling up to the boy, trying to coax, coerce, and threaten him down. Armin and Mikasa were already obediently down, shoes back on and ready to go.

“Absolutely not!” Levi refused firmly. He folded his arms tightly to try and hide how much the thought made him tremble.

“But Erwin is too big to get up there! I mean, maybe I could fit but you-“ Hanji argued.

“I will not crawl into that germ breeding ground!” Levi retorted, managing to keep the desperate edge from his voice.

“Hanji, I think it’s clear he isn’t willing,” Erwin interjected, placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “We’ll just need someone else to go up and get him.”

The frown on Hanji’s face made it clear they didn’t enjoy being ganged up on, knowing that of the three of them, they were the most likely to be sent up into the Play Place. It would be so much easier if Levi-- nearly child sized himself!-- got over his dirt issue to fetch his own kid. But Erwin was siding with him, of course.

“Um, I can try,” a small voice interrupted them.

The three adults looked down to see Armin looking back up with expectant eyes. He’d already removed his shoes again and wore a determined expression. The adults shared a glance and a shrug before Armin was sent up. From the outside, they watched as he carefully made his way up to the top where Eren waited, pouting.

“Eren, please come down,” Armin requested softly once he reached him.

The little boy sat crouched stubbornly, with his arms wrapped around his knees. He didn’t look Armin’s way as he shook his head. Armin crawled forward and took a seat beside him and waited.

“I don’t want to go,” Eren said quietly. “I want to keep playing with you and ‘kasa.”

“We can keep playing at your house. And Daddy said we were having a sleepover, so we can play all night,” Armin replied, leaning his head to rest on Eren’s shoulder. “But if you don’t come down, you’ll get in trouble.”

“I always get in trouble,” Eren pouted in response.

But Armin persisted. He took hold of Eren’s hand and gently pulled him towards the exit. Reluctantly, Eren let himself be led back down. Their fingers stayed intertwined the whole way, Armin being sure not to let go for a moment. Together they made their way slowly, Armin making small assurances that Eren wouldn’t be in that much trouble.

At the bottom, Levi looked more relieved than angry and impatiently told Eren to get his shoes back on, which he did promptly. Armin gave him and encouraging smile, followed by an expression that could easily be read as ‘I told you so’.

Bath time was immediately instated as soon as they returned home. Levi would never let the kids go to bed after playing in the germ infestation that was the children’s Play Place without clean up first. The bottom of their feet had turned black and sticky! Getting ready for bed had never gone quicker at the Levi household. Even with an extra kid thrown into the mix, things went swiftly. Once again, the extra adult became handy, allowing for a man to man coverage, rather than a zone defense.*

The kids were rushed and put to bed a bit earlier than normal, but they didn't notice. Of the three of them, only Armin had started to grasp the concepts of time and he was too tired to realize. It had been an emotionally trying day for everyone and all three were excited by the prospect of a sleepover.

Hanji left Levi and Erwin to do the tucking in and goodnight kisses. They understood that this was the first sleepover for the parents as well, which could be just as emotionally draining. Levi tucked his kidlets into bed first, observing the normal rituals of checking for bedbugs, brushing the hair away from their faces, and giving a quick kiss on the forehead. The Smiths observed quietly a few feet away from the bed, before it was their turn. Then Erwin preformed their nightly ritual, adjusted for the occasion without the bedtime stor, and tucked Armin in between his friends and gave him a kiss goodnight.

“Sleep well,” Erwin said to all of them, hovering behind Levi at the doorway.

“Goodnight,” Levi said, turning off the light. An echo of goodnights replied and he slowly moved to shut the door. As a sudden thought, he added, “And be good for Hanji and go right to sleep!” The last part may or may not have been directed at his son.

The two parents stood staring at the closed door for a few moments after closing it, waiting for something. Neither was exactly sure, maybe for protests or cries or maybe for one of them to change their mind about the whole thing. But there was only silence from beyond the door.

“Shall we go?” Erwin asked with a whisper and a gentle touch to the small of Levi’s back.

Distantly, Levi nodded and the two retreated to where Hanji waited for them on the couch.

“All settled then?” they asked brightly. “I’ll take care of things here, don’t worry. You two have fun. But not too much fun.”

Levi snorted with amusement. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“We’ll do our best, Hanji,” Erwin replied.

And then the date officially started.

Levi could probably count on one hand the amount of times he’d been to a fancy restaurant. Which was not very many times. He looked so out of place compared to Erwin. There was confidence in Erwin's posture and manner he spoke to the wait staff. In comparison, Levi felt like a shaking mess. His heart was pounding in his chest. There was a lump in his throat and his mouth felt dry. Any moment he was sure he'd mess up and Erwin would change his mind about dating him.

And when Levi stopped thinking about himself, he started worrying about his kids.

Yes, his kids that he’d just tucked in, who were left in the care of Hanji, a responsible caregiver.

But it was the first time he wasn’t there while they were sleeping and that worried him. What if Eren had a night terror? Or what if Mikasa started crying for him again, only to find he'd abandoned her?

“Thinking about Mikasa and Eren?” Erwin asked.

Levi wasn’t even surprised he'd been able to guess.

“Am I that obvious?” he sighed jokingly. “Even when I’m not with them, they sure take up the center of my attention."

Erwin smiled and chuckled in agreement, “It’s perfectly understandable to be concerned about them. It’s their first sleepover after all."

“Thanks for that, Mr. Psychoanalysis,” Levi smirked. He looked away to say more seriously, “Today was hard for them, is all.”

In reply, Erwin hummed. He leaned over, with his elbows on the table, unconsciously trying to get closer to Levi.

“I’m worried that Eren will have a terror,” he continued. “He has them after days like this, I think. And I won’t be there to help calm Mikasa back down. Not to mention Armin. Oh god.” He scrubbed his hands over his face.

“If you’re concerned, we can go back,” Erwin offered.

“No,” Levi said firmly, placing his hands back on the table. “I’m just fretting like a god damn mother hen.”

“A very cute mother hen,” Erwin remarked with a smirk.

Levi shot him a vaguely amused look, ready to snark right back. That was when the waiter decided to take their orders though. Not being familiar with the menu, Levi simply ordered the same thing Erwin did, down to the glass of wine. He didn't often drink, but today he could use one to loosen up. Before he and Erwin could strike up a proper conversation, the waiter was back with a bottle and two glasses.

“And now I might be able to relax,” Levi sighed as he took a sip. “Things have been too stressful. I want this-- need this evening off.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Erwin agreed, taking a sip of his own drink.

“What, you’ve been stressed too?” Levi asked incredulously. With a confused look, Erwin nodded. “Well you could certainly show it more. You seem so collected all the time. Maybe I could give brilliant advice to you.”

Erwin shrugged and laughed awkwardly. He didn’t particularly want to discuss this. After all, he knew he always seemed calm. He worked very hard to appear so. He didn’t mean to act this way around Levi, but it was habit (and maybe he did want leave Levi with a perfect impression).

“So, how has work been,” Levi asked, wanting to shift the focus of discussion away from himself. It could be hard, when talking with Erwin, to get the topic away from him or the kids. “You don’t talk about it often. So spill.”

Immediately, Levi could see Erwin shift uncomfortably. So he wasn’t an impregnable fortress of coolness.

This was another topic Erwin wasn’t particularly fond of. There wasn’t much he was at liberty to speak about. Maybe, in the future, when they were more intimate Erwin could tell Levi more about his job. If they were ever that close, he reminded his imagination not get too carried away. This was only their first date.

“I don’t talk about it because, frankly, I find it boring,” Erwin answered, which was partially true. “There’s not much to say. Things are going fine. The office is running as usual.”

Levi nodded, showing his interest. He was slightly disappointed that Erwin didn’t elaborate, but he didn’t push it.

“But tell me how your work is going. What are you writing currently?” Erwin asked.

And the spotlight was back on Levi.

Luckily, Levi secretly enjoyed talking about his writing, since he had no one else to discuss it with outside of his publishers. His children certainly didn’t understand or care and it was too personal a topic for him to discuss with casual acquaintances. Unfortunately, most of the people he interacted with fell into those two categories. But with a little coaxing from Erwin he was describing how his most recent work was going and elaborating on the process of publishing.

“The first draft is always the hardest, for me at least,” Levi explained, happy to have a completely enraptured audience. “I’m about two-thirds of the way done with my current project’s first draft. I’m expecting a call from my editor soon about the exact deadline, but it’s not for a few months. After that it’s more or less an argument back and forth between me and the publishers and a bunch of rewriting until the book is finished.”

He finished with a long sip of his drink.

“That’s fascinating,” Erwin noted sincerely. “I love seeing you so animated about something.”

Levi blushed and grunted in response and was saved by the arrival of the food.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. Levi hadn’t been sure if he’d be able to talk for so long with Erwin. There had been no need to worry though. They talked like they did when they were at Levi’s apartment, minus the interruptions from little kiddies. The spoke easily in between eating, with stretches of silence that were comfortable. Levi even managed to get a hearty laugh from his date and mocked him for his wild gesticulating when he was telling a story.

Eventually, they realized how long they’d been gone and decided it was time to relieve Hanji. Of course, Erwin insisted on paying the bill, which Levi allowed because there was no use in arguing with him. The drive back home was comfortable, until Levi started thinking about what was going to happen next.

“Looks like you boys had a nice time,” Hanji noted slyly when the two walked into the apartment.

“Anything happen while we were gone?” Levi asked, ignoring their slyness. A quick scan of the room found no children out of bed, which he figured was a good sign.

“Haven’t heard a peep,” they answered.

“Thank you for helping us out today, Hanji,” Erwin thanked them as they began putting on their shoes.

“Anytime! If you ever need me again, let me know,” Hanji answered. Then they left.

With Hanji gone, Erwin and Levi were left standing a little awkwardly in the entryway, neither completely sure how to proceed. Was this the end of their date? Or would there be more…?

It had been a long time since Levi had been on a date and he couldn’t remember what to do next. Then again, he wasn’t sure if conventional dating guidelines applied in their situation. Despite his nervousness and odd giddy excitement, Levi decided to throw convention out the window and just do what he wanted. And what he wanted to spend more time with Erwin.

“Would you like to come in and stay?” Levi asked, hiding his nervousness well.

“Yes, thank you,” Erwin replied immediately. From his reaction, Levi was pleased that he appeared just as eager as he.

“Just make yourself comfortable,” Levi gestured to the couch. He moved towards the kitchen to get himself a drink, to calm his nerves. “Would you like anything?” he asked Erwin.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Erwin answered as he took a seat, right arm resting over the top of the couch.

Levi returned with two glasses of water anyway, just in case, and took his place next to Erwin. He sat close, thighs touching and feeling bold. With Erwin’s arm up and out of the way, Levi took it as an invitation to lean into him. Erwin’s arm came down around him and Levi let himself be held.

This was the moment. This was the moment that had the potential to change their relationship completely. Did Levi want to continue to pursue this sort of relationship with Erwin? Based on how light and warm he’d felt all evening, Levi guessed that yes, he wanted this very much. So there was no need for him to feel shy, Levi reminded himself.

And he was ready to be blunt and do what he wanted, like anything else in his life.

“I enjoyed tonight,” Erwin murmured close to Levi’s ear, in a way that made him shiver.

“Me too,” Levi answered a little breathless. “But who says we’re done?”

Then in a moment of boldness, Levi shifted in his place, facing Erwin. Their faces were inches apart, breathing the same air and normally this proximity would bother Levi but with Erwin--

And then he closed the gap between them and they were kissing.

Chapter Text

It didn’t come as a surprise when Levi roused to the sound of crying. There was a moment of confusion when he woke up, until he remembered what had happened the night before. Then he felt all fuzzy inside and his chest fluttered. He was half sprawled on the couch, with his head resting on Erwin’s hip, who was curled up and resting against the arm. They had fallen asleep like this, only a few hours previously after sharing kisses and deciding to keep their relationship from the kids.

Now, still hours away from when any normal person would get up, the kids were crying. Levi sat up immediately, guessing that Eren was having his predicted terror. Beside him, Erwin began to stir at the sound.

“Wha?” he mumbled sleepily.

“I’ve got it. Go back to sleep,” Levi instructed, giving Erwin a little placating pat.

The situation felt so domestic, like a couple taking nightly shifts dealing with their children. Levi shook himself of such thoughts quickly when the intensity of the crying increased. Upon entering the room he found Armin and Mikasa sitting over a fussing Eren, both distressed. They looked to him with teary eyes when he approached, Armin looking particularly desperate.

“Eren started crying and moving in his sleep,” he explained frantically. “What’s happening?”

“It’s alright,” Levi replied calmly, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. Mikasa moved to cry against his arm and he realized he was still dressed in his date clothes. “Eren is fine. I’ll explain in a moment.”

Following Mikasa’s example, Armin clung to Levi as well. His nice shirt was now covered in tears and snot and he’d have to-- he forced himself to stop that line of thinking. First Armin and Mikasa needed to be removed from the situation to calm down. Eren’s night terrors where traumatizing to witness for children who didn’t understand what was going on.

Normally, Levi would send them out to the living room, but he didn’t want to have to explain why Erwin was there, sleeping on the couch. Instead, he picked up a child in each arm and went directly across the hall into his own bedroom.

“Stay right here while I take care of Eren,” he instructed firmly as he set them down the on bed-- which ruined the perfect order of his bed sheets. “I’ll be right back.”

Then he hurried back across the hall to the kids room in time to keep Eren from falling off the bed.

“Even sleeping you’re such a handful,” Levi muttered.

Gently, he pushed the flailing child back to the middle of the bed. The movement didn’t wake him and Levi didn’t expect it to. This terror was over fairly quickly and nothing outside of the usual routine happened. Patiently he wanted until Eren settled back down and tiredly ran his fingers through his messy hair.

With a yawn, Levi returned back to his room to placate the other kidlets. He was surprised to see Mikasa comforting a trembling Armin. Her hands were patting his head while she whispered phrases that Levi was pretty sure she picked up from him. Both children turned to him when he entered and Mikasa let herself be upset again. Sighing, Levi sat on the bed and motioned for them to come to him. The both settled on his lap and held onto him tightly.

“Shhh,” he hushed them, trying to be calming. “Eren is perfectly fine.”

“Why was he crying?” Armin asked. “He wouldn’t wake up.”

“Sometimes…” Levi began, trying to find the right words to describe what a night terror was to a four year old. “Sometimes Eren has really bad dreams.”

“Like a nightmare?” Armin asked.

“Not a nightmare,” Mikasa answered quietly, before Levi could. “A scary sleep.”

The little boy’s face scrunched up in confusion as he tried to understand.

“We call them scary sleeps. It’s when Eren has a nightmare he can’t wake up from,” Levi clarified. “The scary sleeps don’t hurt him. He won’t even remember that it happened. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

Hesitantly, Armin nodded in understanding before leaning against Levi’s chest. Levi didn’t say anymore and wondered if he’d been any good in calming them down. There wasn’t anything else he could think of to say. So, he let the two little ones hold onto him until their breathing evened out and their bodies relaxed against him.

With as much grace as he could manage with a child in each arm, Levi stood up and took them back into the children’s bed. Inevitably, they jostled awake, but quickly they both curled around Eren and settled back down. Levi tucked the blankets around them and gave all three kids a pat on the head before going back to Erwin.

Levi sat back down on the couch tiredly, not sure if he was going to be able to fall asleep again.

“Everything alright?” Erwin murmured.

With a blink of surprise, Levi looked to see Erwin watching him sleepily with one eye open. When Levi didn’t answer right away he sat up and gave him a moment to collect his thoughts.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” Levi said finally.

“I didn’t go back to sleep,” Erwin corrected smoothly.

“You didn’t have to stay up. I told you I’d take care of it,” Levi admonished. He pulled his legs up and under him and turned his body to face Erwin fully.

“What if I wanted to make sure everything was okay?” Erwin countered. Slowly, he reached a hand and placed it over Levi’s. “You seem a little… frazzled.”

After a deep breath, Levi answered, “Eren had another terror. It’s his first one in a few weeks. But today was stressful and I’m almost certain his terrors are caused by stress.”

Erwin hummed sympathetically and his hand moved to rub comforting circles up Levi’s arm. The smaller man closed his eyes and let himself be soothed by the motion.

“Eren didn’t seem very distressed at bedtime,” Erwin commented.

“He never acts stressed. Eren’s always the quickest to get over things and I can’t get him to talk about his feelings-- he’s four,” Levi could feel the beginnings of a rant coming. He opened his eyes again and focused on the hands in his lap. “He doesn’t even know he has night terrors. But the pediatrician says it’s normal and usually the result of poor sleeping habits or emotional distress. And I know it’s not the sleep, because I always make sure the kids get to bed at the same time every day. I just can’t figure out what’s bothering him. And the terrors only started around the time Mikasa joined us. And I just don’t know what to do.”

He finished feeling out of breath and frustrated. A quick glance up and he saw Erwin’s sympathetic expression. Levi looked away quickly, not wanting him to see the emotion on his face. It was stupid, considering everything, but he hated feeling vulnerable. Next thing he knew, the couch shifted beneath him and he was pulled into Erwin’s embrace.

“You’re doing all that you can,” Erwin murmured. “And that’s enough.”

It was alright for him to be vulnerable around Erwin, Levi reminded himself. He could start to trust him with his feelings and insecurities.

Levi swallowed the lump in his throat and relaxed into the hug.

“I’m sorry that Armin had to experience that,” Levi said, pulling back to look up Erwin. “He looked pretty distressed by it.”

“I’ll talk with him about it tomorrow,” Erwin reassured him and ran his fingers through his hair. “For now, we should get back to sleep.”

“Alright,” Levi agreed and let Erwin hold him as they both drifted off again.

Long and full nights of deep sleep were something Levi had never properly experienced. So it wasn’t a surprise to him at all when naturally woke up at 6:30. That was the time he got up every day, as his kids were up and going soon after. It didn’t matter how late they went to bed, they were always up at the same time. Levi allowed himself a moment to bask in the warmth and comfort of Erwin’s hold on him before he forced himself to get up. Mikasa and Eren would be up soon and he didn’t want to deal with questions about why Erwin and he we sleeping on the couch.

“Erwin,” Levi said softly as he slipped out of his arms. “Erwin, get up.”

But Erwin, apparently, wasn’t a morning person. He stirred slightly and sighed, but didn’t make any move to actually get up.

“Wake up,” Levi instructed more firmly, shaking his shoulder. “Erwin get up you lazy oaf!”

Another harsh shove and the man was blinking and rubbing his eyes blearily.

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” he mumbled. “You don’t wake me up as nicely as Armin,” he complained.

“God Erwin,” Levi admonished. “Your little boy has to wake you up in the morning?” He rolled his eyes.

“Someone is not a morning person,” Erwin noted with a smile as he sat up.

“Shut up. I’m not an anytime person,” Levi corrected him as he stood up and began straightening up the living room.

“You were much nicer last night,” Erwin said with a playful pout.

Levi turned back to him with an amused look. “I’ll make it up to you later. Right now I need you to get out before the kids get up.” He shooed him towards the door.

Slowly, far too slowly for Levi, Erwin stood up and stretched. He made a big show of it, purposely taking his time shuffling to the door. That is, until Levi came behind him and pushed him the rest of the way there. Erwin chuckled and slipped his shoes on, checking his pockets for his keys.

“Alright, alright, I’m leaving,” he said with a smile.

Levi pulled him down by the collar for a quick kiss. “Your breath smells. Go clean up and you can come over for breakfast,” he instructed.

“Yes sir,” Erwin teased and he was promptly shoved out of the apartment.

In the little private time he had, Levi hurried to take a shower and get ready himself. Once the kids were up, he would hardly have a moment to himself. Any privacy and courtesy was gone when it came to children, particularly his who had no sense of shame. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d been walked in on while in the bathroom or changing. The easy solution would be to lock the door, but that wouldn’t stop Eren from incessantly knocking. Besides, it was generally a bad idea to have a locked door between him and in the kids, in case there was a problem.

Inevitably, just as Levi had started to shower he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and little feet pattering in.

“Papa, Me and Armin and Mikasa are hungry,” Eren chirped. Two other pairs of feet shuffled by the doorway.

“Eren what have I said about knocking?” Levi replied wearily, poking his head through the shower curtain.

“Oh, right,” Eren remembered. He turned around and knocked on the door and turned back to his Papa beaming.

“Can we have breakfast now?” Mikasa asked with a big yawn. Armin blinked sleepily beside her.

“After I finish getting ready,” Levi instructed. “Go wait for me in the living room, okay?”

Two little heads nodded compliantly and two little bodies shuffled out of the bathroom. Only Eren was left, standing with one hand in his hair and the other gripping the bottom of his shirt. He stared at his Papa, waiting.

“Do you need something else?” Levi asked impatiently.

“Can I have a shower with Papa?” Eren replied with a question of his own.

“Eren, no,” Levi protested, but Eren was already clumsily pulling his shirt over his head and throwing his jammie pants in a messy pile on the floor. Levi sighed with resignation and pulled the shower curtain open a bit in invitation. “You’re getting to old for this, Eren.”

That didn’t seem to bother Eren at all. To him, showers were special and grown up and he wanted every part of it. He hobbled over into the shower and jumped up and down with excitement.

“I get to shower with Papa,” he sang.

Levi allowed himself to smile at the cute behavior and figured that Eren still needed a little extra love from the events of the previous day. They all were feeling a little worn out and fragile this morning, so Levi let himself be a little less strict. Just for today.

“Hey, hold still! Let me wash your hair,” Levi instructed. Hey, if his kid was already there, he was going to clean him. Even if there had been baths the night before. Somewhere in the back of his head was the reminder that washing too often dried a person out, but Levi had already started and couldn’t stop.

Dutifully, Eren let his Papa scrub his hair and closed his eyes tight to avoid getting suds in them. Then he rinsed off with a bright smile.

“All clean!” he declared. “Now it’s Papa’s turn! Sit down so I can reach!”

“No Eren, I’ll do it my-“

“Sit down!” he ordered more forcefully, pointing to the ground.

Rolling his eyes, Levi lowered himself to the hard shower floor, being was acutely aware that it hadn’t been cleaned since bath time the night before, and tilted his head so Eren could reach him. A large amount of shampoo was poured on his head and Eren’s little fingers began working through his hair.

“I like your hair, Papa,” Eren remarked as he scrubbed at his undercut. He giggled. “It feels funny.”

“Well I think you’re funny,” Levi replied playfully and Eren giggled again.

“All done!” Eren declared.

To ensure that his hair really was clean, Levi scrubbed it quickly before rinsing himself off. Getting Eren out of the shower and into a clean towel was another feat entirely. First he pouted when the water was turned off and then he squirmed out of Levi’s reach and only allowed himself to be dried off because Papa dried off too.

“Hold still you little monkey,” Levi told him, rubbing his head.

“Stop,” Eren whined. “Let me do it!”

Of course, Eren didn’t want to wait around to dry off completely and get dressed and ran off to Mikasa and Armin. He had no shame, running naked with the towel draped over his shoulders, still dripping wet.

“Eren!” Levi called after him, trying to dress in a hurry.

But Eren laughed and scurried away faster, finding the situation a fun game. A few minutes later found Eren curled up on the couch with a sleepy looking Armin and Mikasa. Levi cringed at the wet spots, picked up a laughing Eren, and manhandled him into clean clothes.

“Now what do you want for breakfast?” he asked the three kids when they’d returned back to the living room.

“Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes!” Eren answered immediately. Mikasa nodded in agreement.

“Does Armin like those?” Levi asked, looking towards him. But Armin was blinking sleepily into space.

“Everyone loves Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes!” Eren answered obviously, when Armin made no sound to answer for himself.

That was good enough for Levi. In a few minutes, he had the kids sitting at the table with the first round of pancakes ready. That’s when Erwin arrived. There was a quick knock at the door and then he let himself in.

“Smells good in here!” he greeted.

Levi forced himself to focus on the pancakes and gave Erwin a welcoming grunt. Again, he was struck with a feeling of them acting like a little family. When had Erwin felt welcome enough to let himself in? When had Levi become okay with that? Because he was. And when Levi found himself thinking about plans for the day, Erwin and Armin were present without extra thought. When had this become normal?

Levi really needed to stop getting ahead of himself.

“Hello Eren, Mikasa,” Erwin said, patting them on the head.

“Papa made pancakes!” Eren said excitedly.

“Wow, they look good,” Erwin indulged him.

“Daddy,” Armin whined quietly, holding his arms up. Erwin picked him up, held him close and kissed his cheek. “I’m tired. I missed you,” Armin murmured.

“I missed you too, baby,” he replied sincerely. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

From his position by the stove, Levi watched fondly as Erwin held his son and rubbed comforting circles on his back.

The disgustingly sweet train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

“Erwin, look after the pancakes,” Levi said, gesturing to the griddle and handing over the spatula.

Erwin took over without comment as Levi checked the caller ID. It was his editor, Gunther. What could he possibly need at this time on a Saturday? A myriad of possibilities, none of them good news, flashed through his mind. He quickly moved to his office to take the call.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hey Levi, sorry to call so early. We need to talk about your first draft,” the voice at the other end replied, sounding hesitant.

“What about it?” Levi asked, eyebrows knitting together in concern.

“We’re going to need it done by next month.”

Chapter Text

Normally, Levi was capable of handling enormous amounts of stress. He wouldn’t have been able to survive as a parent otherwise. However, being told that he only has three weeks to finish something he thought he had a few months to complete, thrown on top of his children’s recently increased distress and his budding relationship with Erwin was too much. He wasn’t even apologetic the unique stream of curses he released at Gunther, who assured him that he’d tried his best but the department head was being unreasonable.

If he was a childless man, he would simply hunker down and write nonstop until he was done. It would take a few sleepless nights and Levi had a tendency to forget to take care of himself when he became so absorbed in his writing. But he'd be able to get it done. Unfortunately, he wasn’t living alone and had to take care of his own person as well as two other little persons-- having others to look after meant by default that he also had to look after himself.

He couldn’t just take a three week vacation from all responsibility other than writing.

There were a few minutes of Levi running his hands through his hair and pinching the bridge of his nose, before he pulled himself together and returned to the kitchen. The last batch of pancakes was on the griddle, which Erwin was handling with ease, even with a clinging Armin on his hip. Levi wordlessly took over for him and carefully stacked the last pancakes on the pancake plate.

“Everything alright?” Erwin asked casually as he returned to the table.

“Yeah,” Levi answered a bit distractedly, his mind currently racing to rearrange the day’s schedule. “It was just my editor.”

From the expression on Erwin’s face, Levi guessed he wasn’t satisfied with that answer. However Levi was saved from any further explanation, thanks to his children.

“More!” Eren demanded brightly.

“Ask nicely,” Levi corrected, moving to set the plate on the table.

“More pancakes please!” Eren parroted, just a cheery as before.

Levi placed another cake on his plate, quickly cut it up into pieces, and poured a small amount of syrup on top. There was no way Levi would trust Eren with the syrup. He became enough of a sticky mess as it was. With one child satisfied, Levi checked on Mikasa. She rested with her head on the table and slowly brought pieces of pancake to her mouth. Poor girl was sleepy.

A quick glance at Erwin confirmed that he was taking care of himself and Armin. Armin sat in his lap and leaned back against his chest while being fed pieces one at a time.

“Drink your milk,” Levi instructed, before busying himself with the dishes.

As always, Levi threw himself into the task. He scrubbed vigorously, being quick and efficient. It was both a means to relieve the new stress and his way of removing things that could possibly distract him from writing later on. Perhaps he was washing with more aggression than usual, but he was more flustered than usual.

Any previous plans to spend time with Erwin were quickly thrown out of Levi’s mind. He couldn’t afford the distraction, as much as he wanted it. Especially after the lovely night they’d had. Levi wouldn’t mind getting to sit in Erwin’s lap all morning and exchange lazy kisses-

Nope. Too distracting.

So Erwin was out.

It being Saturday meant that Levi had to run to the grocery store. Luckily, if he didn’t let the kids out of the cart he could be in and out in 35 minutes tops. The list was already prepared, so no more thought needed to be spent on that.

There was also Eren’s baby blanket that needed to be mended. It would need to be dealt with soon before any more damage could be done. Levi could probably get it sewn together in just a few minutes, but he would have to check to see if he had the proper color thread.

A quick apartment clean up would also be a good idea. Levi always wrote better in a clean house and cleaning would help his nerves. Writing while too anxious never turned out well.

The real issue was how Levi was going to keep his kids distracted for hours so he could have a chance to focus. If Mikasa and Eren would get along, there wouldn’t be a problem. However with how the last few days had turned out, Levi wasn’t sure if that was a possibility. He really didn’t have time to deal with meltdowns today, he really didn’t.

“Are you sure everything’s alright?”

The sudden sound of Erwin by his side made Levi jump. He blinked with surprise and realized he’d been scrubbing the griddle so hard his knuckles were white. For a moment Levi considered lying and saying everything was fine, he was simply distracted. But that would be pushing Erwin away. Though Levi didn’t want him to be a diversion, he also wanted to maintain this fresh new relationship-- if it could be called that.

“My deadline is a lot sooner than I expected,” Levi answered, cutting right to the chase.

Before Erwin could respond, he was interrupted with a clattering sound from behind.

“Papa! Eren is making a mess!” Mikasa cried desperately.

“No I’m not!” Eren cried back, defiantly.

With a depreciating sigh, Levi turned around. Eren had, in fact, made a mess. Whether by accident or design, his sticky plate had flipped over, spilling syrup that had ended up all over the boy’s hands and face in addition to the table.

“Eren,” Levi reprimanded. He could feel himself beginning to panic. “You just had a shower! And now you’re a mess- No don’t move around! You’ll make it worse.”

A gentle hand landed on Levi’s tense shoulder.

“Let me take care of that,” Erwin offered calmly. “You can go back to dishes.”

The panic rising in his chest didn’t go away, but it was assuaged by the gentle feeling. The feeling that Levi felt the evening before, tender and sweet. It was similar to the way he felt in the quiet moments with his children. With a deep breath, Levi relented. He turned back to the sink and refocused his energies there.

“Okay Eren, let’s get you cleaned up,” Erwin said as he reached for a wet rag, being sure to brush against Levi’s hand in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

His attentions turned back to the table and the messy little boy. The others, Mikasa and Armin, had apparently finished their breakfasts and returned back to the couch, where Armin was dozing against the arm. Mikasa sat beside him, hand gripping the hem of his pajamas while also keeping a careful eye on Eren at the table.

“Am I in trouble?” Eren asked in a quiet voice. He stood on his chair and was watching his Papa at the sink.

“Let’s just try not to make any more messes alright?” Erwin answered diplomatically as he approached.

Eren held still and allowed himself to be cleaned up. “But Papa doesn’t like messes,” he said quietly, his little voice laced with concern. “He says they scare him.”

Erwin halted a moment. “Maybe you can help me clean up then, to show your Papa that you’re sorry,” he suggested.

Eren nodded and reached forward to wrap his little arms around Erwin’s neck. Feeling a little overcome with how sweet this trouble making kid could be, Erwin patted him on the back in return. How could Levi even doubt he was doing a good job raising him?

Together, they cleaned up Eren’s spot at the table, which was quite sticky. Well, mostly it was Erwin doing the cleaning, but Eren was very eager to try, even if he only spread the mess around with the rag. Carefully, Eren carried his plate over the sink, stretching up as high as he could reach to drop it in.

“Thank you, Eren,” Levi told him softly, wiping a hand dry to pat his messy head. In return Eren smiled brightly and pressed his face into Levi’s leg in a hug.

With the rest of the dishes in hand, Erwin approached the sink to offer his help. As usual, Levi politely declined. Erwin wished Levi would let him do more to help, particularly at a moment like this when he was clearly stressed. But Erwin wasn’t certain what he could do about easing the strain of an early deadline.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” Levi replied stiffly, not looking up to him. He was almost finished cleaning dishes anyway. But they both knew Erwin wasn’t just talking about the washing. “You should get Armin back home. He’s tired.”

“If you’re sure,” Erwin finally relented, after trying to stare the shorter man down. “Let me know if you need anything, alright?”

Levi’s customary grunt was all he received in return.

After a quick glance around and the reassurance that the children weren’t nearby, Erwin leaned down and kissed his cheek. With a blink of surprise, Levi turned and leaned in for a proper kiss goodbye. He trusted that Erwin wouldn’t do something like this in sight of the kids after their discussion and he allowed himself to enjoy the moment.

It was his last bit of distraction.

For now.

By noon, Levi had cleaned the house top to bottom. Most of it was already fairly clean from his usual weekly routine, but he touched everything up anyway. The red baby blanket had also been mended and returned to Mikasa, who held it reverently in her arms. Lastly, his usual trip the store had been made.

Despite being little snots that were usually incredibly self absorbed-- not that Levi blamed them, they were only four-- Mikasa and Eren sensed that something was different. At the grocery store when Eren asked if he could help, he was denied and was sullen for the rest of the trip, which was also quicker than usual. Then after a quick lunch, where Papa didn’t eat very much, he instructed them to go play while he wrote.

And it wasn’t even quiet time.

Mikasa, though she was small, was probably more observant than adults gave her credit for. Something was wrong with Papa. Maybe Papa was still upset about the mess at breakfast. Or maybe Armin’s dad and him weren’t getting along. Whatever the reason, Mikasa wasn’t happy with the situation.

So she did the one thing she always did when something needed to be fixed, solved, or righted. She ignored Eren’s invitations to play dinosaurs and went to her Papa. Of course, Papa was a part of the problem, but that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that Mikasa couldn’t put the problem into words. Often she wasn’t able to explain what was bothering her when she was upset. Her voice disappeared and she wanted to be held by her Papa and never let go.

However, on this occasion when Mikasa went to her Papa, he didn’t notice when she stepped into his ‘working room’. He was staring at his computer screen and moving his hands very quickly on the keyboard. So Mikasa stood and waited for him to notice her. The freshly mended blanket was clenched in her fists and held close to her face.

In a few minutes Papa still hadn’t noticed her.

She moved closer, walking around his desk to stand beside his chair.

Nothing.

This only made Mikasa feel more discouraged and like she wanted to curl into herself and lay on the floor.

As a last measure for attention, she reached a hand out and patted Papa’s leg. That did the trick. Papa startled and jerked in his seat. He looked down to Mikasa and sighed.

“What do you need Mikasa?” he asked with thinly veiled patience. “I really need to work right now.”

Mikasa nodded in understanding, but didn’t say anything. She held her arms out and could feel herself begin to cry. With a much softer sigh, Papa picked her up and held her against his chest. His hand patted her back and ran his fingers through her hair.

“What’s wrong, Mikasa?” he asked. “Is Eren not playing with you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to play with Eren,” she mumbled defiantly.

“You usually want to play with Eren,” Papa countered. “Recently you haven’t been getting along. Is everything okay?”

But Mikasa didn’t have the words to say how she felt. There was just that dark, scary feeling that made her hide her face in Papa’s shirt. She could feel the steady beating of his heart and it was comforting.

“Mikasa I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Papa said, sounding a little desperate.

“I want to sit with you,” Mikasa mumbled after several moments of silence.

“I need to work right now,” Papa countered. “I can’t hold you.”

But Mikasa was stubborn and gripped the collar of Papa’s shirt insistently. She could feel the sigh he made.

“You can sit next to me, on the stool,” Papa compromised.

That was satisfactory enough for Mikasa. She allowed herself to be pulled from the warm lap she found comfort in and placed on the stood next to Papa’s chair. She leaned forward and rested her head on her arms on the desk, with the red blanket as a cushion. Papa went back to his work, quickly being absorbed as he was before. Mikasa watched, feeling less upset, but still not quite happy. The unsettled feeling remained.

Eventually, Eren found them, complaining that he was bored and had no one to play with and that it was unfair Mikasa was playing with Papa. Papa said he could stay as long as he was quiet, which was really hard for Eren. He ended up sitting at Papa’s feet, under the desk and playing with his toes.

They stayed like that for a long time.

Chapter Text

The next morning Levi was woken up by kids climbing into his bed. They startled him awake and jostled the laptop from his lap, where it had rested when he’d fallen asleep. Hastily, he grabbed it before it was knocked by little limbs and checked his word document, to ensure he hadn’t lost any work. His back was sore from the awkward sitting position he’d slept in, but he was prevented from stretching out by the little bodies climbing over him. Mikasa pulled herself onto his lap and Eren was tugging on his arm.

“Papa wasn’t awake!” Eren declared, the volume of his voice too loud for Levi who was still feeling dazed from his sudden awakening. He stood up and grabbed Levi’s shoulder. “Time to wake up! Time to wake up, Papa!”

“I’m awake, Eren!” Levi snapped, failing to hide the annoyance from his voice.

The clock read 7:30, much later than he usually slept. Late enough that his kids had to wake him.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, his voice sounding croaky.

Mikasa didn’t speak, but rested against her father’s chest.

“A while. We waited for you forever!” Eren groaned exaggeratedly. “Mikasa started to worry.”

Levi glanced down at the girl snuggled against him. She wasn’t saying anything for herself, which generally was a bad sign.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Levi murmured, surprising himself with his own use of the term of endearment. Mikasa simply pressed the blanket to her face and leaned harder against his chest. “Are you guys hungry?”

Eren was quick to reply that yes, they were very hungry.

Having no energy or, quite frankly, desire to make breakfast, Levi resorted to his secret stash of instant oatmeal packets used for such occasions as this. The kids loved them, as they were more sugary than most of the things Levi usually let them eat. Levi made himself two cups of coffee instead his usual one.

He didn’t remember what time he went to sleep. The only thing he could recall from the night before was moving to his bed and changing into pajamas. He intended to get a few more pages in before bed, but apparently he’d fallen asleep somewhere in the process.

After cleaning up breakfast, Levi needed to shower, wishing he could have gotten it in before his little ones were up. With strict instructions to not make any messes, Levi left the kids alone on the couch so he could take a shower. Even if he was going to be busy cramming for the next few weeks, he couldn’t take a break on his cleanliness. Laundry needed to get done at some point during the day. Then there was trying to keep the kids entertained; he couldn’t just keep brushing them off like he had the day before.

When he finished showering and was getting dressed, he heard sounds coming from the living room, like people talking. He hurried and finished up, being wary of leaving his children unsupervised for too long.

“Eren, Mikasa, you know you aren’t allowed to turn on the tv without-” Levi began as he left the bathroom. But he stopped short when he saw Erwin sitting in his living room.

“Good morning Levi,” he greeted warmly from where he sat on the couch between the kids.

Quickly, Levi shook himself of the fluttering feeling his stomach was making. Today was another day of no distractions, no matter how handsome and sweet they were. He needed to get Erwin out of there before he got himself into trouble.

“Did the kids let you in?” Levi asked, concerned that they had broken the ‘no-answering-the-door’ rule.

“No! I promise,” Eren declared proudly.

“I let myself in, if that’s alright,” Erwin confirmed.

Levi nodded. “That’s fine.” He suddenly noticed the absence of a little blonde boy. “Where’s Armin?”

“Armin’s with Hanji at home,” Erwin explained.

Levi raised a brow. “But it’s Sunday. Aren’t you going to be home?”

Erwin nodded. “Yes, but I’ve asked a favor of them. They’re going to help me watch Eren and Mikasa today.”

This news surprised Levi and it took several moments for him to process the information. Eren however, beat him to it.

“Really? Does this mean I get to play with Armin?” Eren asked excitedly. He grabbed onto Erwin excitedly.

Erwin smiled. “Sure does. But you need to get your shoes on like a good boy.”

“I’m a good boy!” Eren declared and hopped down from the couch and hurried to his little shoe cubby by the door. Mikasa followed after, but looked to her Papa for approval first.

Like an idiot, Levi was just standing there, too surprised to properly react. Finally he noticed that his children were dressed. Erwin must have done that. Clearly he'd let Eren choose what he wore his brightly colored dinosaur shirt and clashing pair of plaid shorts.

“Why are you doing this?” Levi asked, not understanding and being too awkward to receive the favor with grace. He wasn’t used to people doing this kind of thing for him; not without expecting something in return.

“I want to help,” Erwin answered. He stood up and strode towards Levi, who might have really appreciated the attractive way in which Erwin took charge. “I can tell how stressed you are. Let me take some of it off your hands.”

He was standing right in front of Levi now. As Levi looked up into his face, he had to resist the urge to reach out and touch him.

“Okay,” Levi said, letting out a shaky breath.

“Armin’s Papa! I’m ready!” Eren declared, breaking Levi’s stare. Mikasa stood behind her brother and was holding her blanket to herself tightly.

“Are you going to be okay, Mikasa?” Levi asked. After a moment, she nodded.

Then Erwin took his kids and left, leaving Levi the house to himself in total silence.

As soon as Eren made it across the hall-- a journey that took far too long in his opinion-- he was greeted by the sight of Armin. Well, and Hanji but Eren didn’t care as much about seeming them. He was barely able to remember to take off his shoes before barreling into Armin and giving him a hug.

“Hi Eren,” Armin greeted him shyly as Eren squeezed him tight.

“We get to play all day!” Eren said excitedly.

Armin nodded. “I know. We also did the day before yesterday.” But Eren ignored the comment in favor of grabbing Armin’s hand and dragging him to his bedroom.

“Hey, don’t forget about me and Mikasa!” Hanji called, teasing. But it seemed that Eren was prepared to leave them behind for the sake of playing with Armin as quickly as possible.

“Thanks for helping again, Hanji,” Erwin thanked as he helped Mikasa take off her shoes. It had only been a day since he’d needed their help to watch the kids for his date with Levi. Had it really been that recent? “I know these guys are having a rough time and I don’t think I would know how to handle them myself.”

“It’s no problem,” Hanji replied. “I am kinda a genius with kids.” They knelt down to Mikasa’s level, who was worrying the red blanket between her hands. “Hey Mikasa! Why don’t we go play with the boys?”

With Mikasa’s quiet agreement, they went to where Armin’s room where the boys had retreated. The two of them found Eren and Armin debating on whether or not to play house. Eren was insisting he would only play if he could be the pet dog while Armin was hoping they could both be the parents.

“But I don’t want there to be two parents,” Eren argued. “One parent is just fine.”

Looking a little embarrassed, Armin replied. “I know. But then we would be married and nap in the same bed.”

Eren paused and considered Armin’s proposition; he wouldn’t mind that, he supposed.

“Hey guys, can Mikasa and I join?” Hanji asked, finally having a moment to interject into their very important discussion.

Immediately Armin agreed and said hello to Mikasa, whom he didn’t have a chance to greet earlier.

“Do you want to be the daughter?” he offered. “Hanji you can be the baby.”

“Mikasa won’t play with me,” Eren interrupted, before Hanji could voice their enthusiasm for being assigned their favorite role. Eren looked away dejectedly. “She only wants to play with Armin and Papa.”

Hanji looked Mikasa in the eye. “Is this true?” they asked.

After a moment of tense thought, Mikasa answered. “I’ll play. I want to play with Armin.” She felt a little uncertain, but she was willing to try.

So they began playing after a happy cheer from Eren. Obediently, Mikasa sat down and let her pretend parents take care of her. She ate the food Armin Daddy made and laid down when it was time for naps. Hanji played along too, but was a very difficult baby. They cried and fussed a lot, but Eren Papa seemed to enjoy it. Everything was great until it was bedtime and Eren and Armin ‘slept’ on the floor next to each other.

Something inside Mikasa burned suddenly. She felt hurt. Eren was hogging Armin. She wanted to play with him, but Eren was leaving her to play with Armin and Armin was too busy with Eren. The dark, scary feeling that came over her yesterday was back again. The feeling made her want to push away and find her Papa. Because she was alone.

It was Hanji who finally sensed her distress, as she clutched her blanket tightly to herself and tried to deal with these feelings she didn’t understand and that overwhelmed her.

“Are you alright Mikasa?” they asked gently.

“I want to go home,” Mikasa mumbled, tears gathering in her eyes. “I don’t want to play with Eren. I want my Papa.”

Now the attention of Eren and Armin had been captured and they looked on concerned.

“Mikasa,” Eren mumbled sadly. He was disappointed she no longer wished to play with him. He didn’t understand. What had he done wrong? Mikasa always wanted to play with him and he always was supposed to protect her from the bad feelings.

“Well sweetie, I think it’s too early for you to go back home. Your Papa is really busy and we want to do something nice to help him,” Hanji explained. But Mikasa still looked distressed. They sighed. “Would you like to talk to Armin’s Daddy?” they offered.

Wearily, Mikasa nodded at that and stood up. Hanji led her back out to the living room where Erwin was reading on the couch. He looked up as the two of them stepped in.

“Everything alright?” he asked politely.

“Mikasa’s upset and wants to go home. Will you talk to her?” Hanji explained. “You need to help with the babysitting too,” they added under their breath.

Erwin’s eyebrow’s furrowed in concern. He had been worried that something like this would happen. However, he wasn’t sure how to best deal with Mikasa and it had only been about an hour since Levi had been left alone. Mikasa always seemed so shy and reserved about him, how was he going to comfort her?

“What’s the matter, dear?” Erwin asked finally, putting aside his book and ignoring Hanji’s snark. He beckoned the little girl forward with his hand.

Slowly, Mikasa came forward to the other end of the couch and delicately seated herself. Seeing that Erwin had things under control, Hanji returned to the boys who also needed a little attention and comfort.

Trying to ease the literal and metaphorical distance between them, Erwin leaned towards Mikasa, in a manner he hoped wasn’t intimidating, and spoke softly. “Did something happen? Were the boys mean to you?”

But all Mikasa would say in response was, “I don’t want to play with Eren” and “I want Papa.”

Erwin tried several different variations of the question only to hear similar responses. Or no response at all. It puzzled him; he could deal well with Eren, but he couldn’t with her. So he changed tactics.

“What do you like to do with your Papa?” he asked.

“I like… I like it when Papa holds me and reads,” Mikasa answered.

Aha! Bingo.

“Armin has a lot of books,” Erwin mentioned, trying to sound casual, then realizing he probably didn’t need to use that much effort to manipulate a 4 year old. “Would you like it if I read to you?”

After a moment’s contemplation, Mikasa nodded.

“What would you like to read?” Erwin asked.

It was a vain question, as Mikasa simply shrugged. Erwin ended up just picking a book her knew Armin liked, a collection of Fairy Tales. Silently, Mikasa scooted closer to where Erwin sat and leaned her head against his arm. As he read, he could feel her little body slowly relax against him. Eventually, Erwin let himself get lost in his words until Hanji informed him that they boys were hungry.

“Are you feeling better?” Armin asked when she took a place at the table. “Eren said you get scared of the lonely sometimes."

Mikasa nodded. “I’m okay.”

Eren coughed in a very unsubtle manner and drew his sister’s attention. “After lunch, do you want to play hair?” he asked shyly, for perhaps the first time in his life.

“Okay,” Mikasa replied.

Then Erwin knew Mikasa would probably be okay.

Having complete and total silence, added with the blessing of not having to worry constantly about what his kids were up to, was a good change of pace for Levi. It certainly helped his focus on the writing. However, it didn’t increase his speed. At least not in the way he wanted. The writing was going good, but too slow. If he wanted to make his deadline, and he always made his deadline, he would need to write faster.

It was easy for Levi to get absorbed in his writing, especially when under pressure. Time was unimportant and passed inconsequentially. He failed to notice the time unless something pulled him from his stream of thought. Usually, this was his bladder.

The sudden appearance of Erwin at around dinner time, however, definitely surprised him. Levi’s whole body stiffened at the sight of something big in his peripheral vision and it startled him out of his writing.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Erwin’s voice soothed him gently. In his hand he carried a paper plate with a chicken quesadilla and some apple slices on top. “I brought you something to eat and thought you could probably use a little break.”

Part of Levi was very flattered and very excited to see Erwin there. This part was ready to wholeheartedly stop his writing and take a nice long break with Erwin and his lovely face. The other, more stressed part of Levi just wanted this distraction to leave so he could get back to writing before his children returned home.

“I’m fine,” he replied, forcing himself to look back to his laptop and resume typing.

It seemed Erwin was not satisfied by this answer. He moved around Levi’s desk and behind his chair, setting the plate next to his elbow. Then, his large, strong hands settled themselves on Levi’s shoulders. The action stopped Levi’s movements immediately and caused a shiver down his back. Levi really appreciated Erwin’s commanding presence in that moment, but he didn’t have time for it.

“When was the last time you ate?” Erwin asked, voice low but demanding. “The last time you took a break?”

“I’m fine,” Levi repeated stubbornly. In truth, he hadn’t eaten all day, but that wasn’t something he worried about.

The hands on his shoulders began to rub and knead the tense muscle and Levi couldn’t resist relaxing into the touch.

“Just like I suspected,” Erwin murmured, “You haven’t been taking care of yourself.”

Levi had no defense for himself and his willpower was very willingly beginning to crumble. He only hummed as he felt the tension being rubbed from his shoulders; tension he’d hardly noticed before.

“You’re going to take that break now,” Erwin finished.

“Fine,” Levi relented, spinning the chair around quickly so he could face Erwin. “But I’m not eating in here. Food stays in the kitchen.”

Then he threw all caution to the wind and pulled Erwin down by the collar into a firm kiss.

“How are the kids?” Levi asked when the two eventually made it to the kitchen to eat. “Is Mikasa doing alright?”

“There were a few hiccups this morning but everything sorted itself out,” Erwin answered smoothly. He decided not to worry Levi with the details and kept his explanation simple. “Hanji knows how to juggle them all in a way that Mikasa feels comfortable.”

Levi nodded, “Good. I was worried about her.” He paused to finish off an apple slice, before continuing. “Thank you for today. It was very helpful. It’ll be good to have one day uninterrupted.”

Erwin suddenly smiled. “Who said it was only for today?” he asked wryly. Levi simply blinked at him, feeling a bit puzzled. “I intend on having the kids over all week. Hanji’s already over to watch Armin and they’re perfectly capable of looking after two more.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Levi breathed, still surprised by the offer.

“I want to,” Erwin answered. “It’s not any extra work for me and as long as the kids keep getting along, it’s not much extra for Hanji either.”

Suddenly, Levi had to look away from the kind face in front of him. It was all a bit overwhelming. It was almost too much, that Erwin cared enough to do so much for him. The feeling was a little frightening. But a hand came to rest over his own and Levi turned to look at Erwin’s gentle expression.

“Let me do this for you,” Erwin implored softly.

Levi swallowed the thick feeling in his throat.

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

Erwin knew that a week of babysitting Levi’s kids was going to be difficult, not just for Hanji but for the children as well. Somehow, Armin was coming between Eren and Mikasa. If Erwin understood the two kids better, if he could help them work out their confused feelings then maybe things would go better. Unfortunately, he didn’t. Still, he suspected both Levi and his children would have a much easier time if Levi was given some space to get his writing done.

However Erwin understood his own son enough to be concerned. Armin was delicate- he’d always been susceptible to illness and tired quickly. Not that he was weak Armin could be very strong in his own way; the way he strove to be himself and enjoy the things he enjoyed and had a sense of what he wanted and the way he cared for others. It always amazed Erwin. But Armin also needed to have time to himself and didn’t do well with conflict.

From the last few days, Erwin could tell that Armin would do well having a break from Eren and Mikasa. Erwin hoped that even with having Levi’s kids over, Armin would be alright.

Bright and early Monday morning, before he went to work, Erwin went across the hall to fetch Eren and Mikasa. Levi looked tired and hadn’t gotten ready for the day, but he smiled when he saw Erwin.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked with a nervous smile. “It’s a handful, I know.”

Erwin smiled back reassuringly. “I’m sure Hanji will be fine. It’ll be worth it to help you out.” He watched the way Levi blushed and grumbled his thanks.

Eren was excited to see Erwin as well. Immediately, he ran forward to greet him after coming out of his room dressed in clean clothes. “Armin’s Papa!” he cheered, hopping around at Erwin’s legs.

“Eren, hello,” Erwin smiled down at him. “How are you?”

“I want to play with Armin!” he gushed, then he paused in his excitement and frowned. “Mikasa doesn’t want to. She wants to stay with Papa.”

“Hmm, maybe we’ll help her change her mind?” Erwin proposed. Eren nodded vigorously and grabbed his large hand to lead him to the room. Levi stepped out of the way with a warm smile and trailed behind them as well.

“I’m sorry Mikasa is being difficult,” Levi muttered.

“It’s no problem,” Erwin assured. “I understand. That’s how kids are sometimes.”

“Mikasa is being weird,” Eren injected into the conversation.

“Eren,” Levi warned. “That’s not how we talk about others.” Eren looked down bashfully, but muttered something under his breath that sounded an awfully like, ‘But she is.’

In the kids’ bedroom, Mikasa was sitting on the floor, clutching her blanket to herself. She tensed when the trio entered the room. Levi approached slowly and sat by her side.

“I want to stay with Papa,” she murmured.

“I know Mikasa,” Levi replied quietly. “But I’m going to be working all day. You’ll have more fun with Eren at Armin’s house.”

Mikasa frowned and pressed her face to the blanket. Erwin felt for her, he did. But he also knew it would be best for them if she came over. Slowly, he came forward and crouched in front of her.

“I know it’s a little scary,” Erwin offered gently. “But it would really help you Papa is you came over to play with Armin and Hanji.”

Those words seemed to do the trick and caught Mikasa’s attention. Her face lifted up to look at Erwin. She blinked a few times and then nodded. “Okay,” she relented.

Erwin breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was willing to come over. It was better than taking her by force. With that settled, he gathered Eren and Mikasa, bid farewell to Levi, and returned to his apartment across the hall. Hanji and Armin were already waiting for them, Hanji looking as enthusiastic as Eren, while Armin looked more reserved.

“Do you think you can handle this?” Erwin asked them, watching as Armin and Mikasa lingered reluctantly in the entryway, while Eren tried to engage them.

“We should be fine! I’ll call you if I have any problems,” Hanji assured him.

At work, Erwin spent the majority of his time thinking about Levi and how he was doing, or on the kids at his home. He called at lunch time to see how Hanji was holding up and was a little concerned to hear Eren’s yelling in the background. Hanji assured him that things were fine and Eren was simply being enthusiastic. And that Eren also wanted to say hi.

Erwin himself had some things with work he needed to be concerned about. The department was short on staff, particularly field agents. The higher ups wanted to take Erwin off desk work and analysis and back into the field. Despite Erwin’s protests that he was better suited to desk work, his administrator was putting a lot of pressure on him, reminding him of how well he did years previously.

Occasionally, Erwin did miss his fieldwork. The rush, the quick decision making, the feeling that his actions had clear and immediate positive effects on the world. But he also knew how dangerous it was. In the earlier days, he hadn’t had any major incidents and it wasn’t as if he was reckless. However, now he had Armin to look after. He was all Armin had. Erwin needed to be there for him and couldn’t take the risk with a child depending completely on him.

The pressure and stresses of work were starting to weigh on him a little and they had been for a few weeks. Erwin never let it show at home of course. He needed to be calm and strong for Armin and even Levi now. He couldn’t have a crisis while Levi was so stressed. It wasn’t hard for Erwin to keep up a façade that came off as if everything was fine. He didn’t like to be that way around Levi; he knew he should be completely honest with him, in whatever their relationship was. At the same time, he didn’t want to be an extra burden for Levi.

Fortunately, trying to help Levi and taking the kids off his hands was a welcome distraction for Erwin. It gave him something other than himself to dwell on. So Erwin let himself spend the day partially focused on his work and partially strategizing of the best ways to look after both Levi and his little kids. And of course how to keep Hanji sane and happy. Not that Erwin expected them to quit over one crazy week, but Hanji was his friend and he didn’t want to take advantage of them.

By the time Erwin came home, he could tell Hanji was looking more tired than they usually did after babysitting.

“How did things go?” Erwin asked as Armin came up to him and help out his little arms. Erwin lifted him up. “How are you doing Armin?”

The only answer he got from Armin was his tight grip around his neck and a nuzzle into his shoulder. That, generally speaking, was not a good sign. Erwin gave his son a gentle nudge and looked to Hanji.

“I think we’re all a little worn out today,” Hanji replied in explanation.

Armin nodded against him. “Tired,” he replied.

Erwin looked to the rest of the apartment to see Mikasa lying on the floor, clutching the red blanket tightly to herself. She lazily watched Eren as he sat across the room, building a tower of blocks and knocking it over.

“How’d they do?” Erwin asked Hanji, nodding his head towards Levi’s kids.

Hanji pursed their lips before answering. “It went… they did alright,” they said hesitantly. “There’s something going on between Eren and Mikasa. I don’t understand it. But I think it’s putting a strain on Armin. There was a little disagreement on what they would do today.”

Erwin nodded. “Do you think they’ll be alright to come again tomorrow?” He asked.

“I think so. Of course a break would be good,” Hanji admitted. “I think all this time together is making the kiddies a little cranky. But I don’t know if having Eren and Mikasa stuck with Levi would be much better.”

Erwin nodded again. That was along the lines of what he had been thinking.

Finally, the siblings noticed that Erwin was home. Mikasa perked up and pulled herself into a sitting position before calling out Eren’s name. Eren’s head turned sharply towards her and then he saw Erwin and pouted.

“Is it time to go?” he asked, with a whine in his voice.

“We’ll make some dinner for your Papa and then we’ll take it over to him. Does that sound alright?” Erwin suggested, trying to prevent any fits.

Eagerly, Eren nodded at the idea. “Can we make mac and cheese? Papa never lets us have mac and cheese.”

Erwin smiled. “Why don’t we say goodbye to Hanji, then we can make some mac and cheese.” He was certain that there was a box or two in his pantry. It was one of the staples of his kitchen. Hopefully, Levi wouldn’t be too bothered by it.

“Bye Hanji!” Eren chirped immediately, popping up from his spot. Mikasa and Armin offered their own quieter farewells.

“See you later guys!” Hanji said with a bright smile.

“Thanks again,” Erwin said as he opened the door for them with his free hand and saw them out. Before he even turned around, Eren was wiggling around by his feet.

“Can I help you make dinner?” Eren asked. “I wanna help!” Mikasa stayed back at her place on the floor and watched with attention. Armin nodded as well in Erwin’s arm, expressing his own interest.

“Sure you can help,” Erwin agreed readily. Though, he wasn’t sure how much the three of them could help, making such a simple dish.

In the end, the three little ones gathered around the stove, standing on chairs. They took turns pouring dry noodles and packets of cheese powder into the pot and stirring the spoon. There were some spills and it took much longer to make than a usual pot of mac and cheese. But they were successful eventually.

Once they were done, Erwin had the kids get on their shoes as he grabbed some utensils and dinnerware before corralling them across the hall. Erwin let himself into their apartment and Mikasa and Eren squeezed passed him and went right for their Papa’s office.

“Papa! We made mac and cheese!” Eren called out as soon as he toddled in.

Armin trailed behind Erwin as he moved to the kitchen with his load and began setting the table for five. In just a few moments, Eren’s excited voice and Levi’s lower tones came from down the hall.

“What’s all this?” Levi asked flatly, gesturing to the table.

“I told you! We made dinner!” Eren repeated exasperatedly. Mikasa nodded in agreement.

“Yes, but why?” Levi asked again, not looking to Eren, but Erwin.

Erwin stared at him a moment before answering. He observed the pale and frazzled look on Levi’s face. It was clear that he wasn’t happy to be interrupted, but was also looking resigned. “We wanted to help you out, so you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Erwin answered finally.

Levi’s face softened, before a small look of disgust wrinkled his nose. “Mac and cheese though?”

“Mac and cheese is yummy!” Eren protested and Erwin nodded in agreement, trying to look as serious as possible.

Levi rolled his eyes and snorted. “At least tell me you washed your hands before making it.” Erwin assured him they’d all cleaned up thoroughly.

“Are we going to eat?” Armin asked, sitting impatiently at the table. Erwin smiled and gestured for the others to sit down.

Though the day had some bumps, Erwin was feeling more confident with his plan to look after Levi’s kids for the week. As they were all seated around the table, eating cheesy pasta, things looked like they were going to be fine. Erwin was hopeful the rest of the week would go as well as that day did.

Unfortunately, they didn’t.

Chapter Text

As soon as Erwin saw the name on the caller ID, he knew to expect bad news. It was 3 on a Tuesday afternoon and the second day in the experiment to see if all three kids and Hanji could get along with each other all day every day. Erwin knew there was a strong possibility that the answer was no- that for the sake of the kids and Hanji’s sanity, Levi would have to try and do his crunch time writing with his children at home.

“Everything alright?” Erwin asked as soon as he answered.

In the background he could hear enough crying to guess that no, everything was not alright.

There was a deep sigh on the other end before Hanji answered, “Well, not exactly.”

“What’s the situation?” Erwin asked, his expectations lowering as he heard muffled shouting in the background.

“I don’t quite understand what’s going on,” Hanji answered. “But Mikasa and Eren have been fighting over Armin all day. I can’t find anything to distract them or get them to-- Wait Eren stop! We don’t throw things!”

The clanking sound of the phone being put down and Hanji’s firm words came through the speakers. Patiently, Erwin waited for Hanji to get back on the line, already forming a list of ideas in his head. This was a less than ideal situation, but now he was worried for the children’s emotional health.

“Sorry,” Hanji said, signaling they were back. “That’s what I’ve been trying to deal with all day.” From their tone, Erwin could tell they were running out of patience. “I think I need to call Levi. It’s getting out of hand.”

Erwin sighed. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. “Before we do that, do you think it would help if I came home?”

“Will you get in trouble for that?” Hanji asked. “Because if you could do that, it might be a help. I’m sure Armin would appreciate it.”

“Yes, I can get off now without too many problems,” Erwin replied. He wasn’t actually sure if that was true, but whatever was going on at home was far more important.

“Thanks, I think everyone could use a big hug from you,” Hanji replied, already sounding relieved.

When Erwin came home, he was swarmed by tearful faces. The first thing caught his attention was that even Hanji was looking ready to cry. Instantly, Erwin felt guilty; perhaps it was too much for him to ask of them, to watch all the kids at once.

“Daddy,” Armin whimpered, tugging at his pant legs. He was crying the way he did when he was most upset, not with any wails, but quiet sniffles and whimpers. Whenever Armin was distressed, he became quiet and wanted simple comfort.

Feeling guilty for Armin being so upset, Erwin leaned down and picked him up.

“Hey Minnie,” Erwin said, holding Armin close. The little one rested his head against his Daddy’s shoulder, leaving spots of wet. Erwin patted his hair and made shushing noises.

“I’m so glad you’re back, Erwin,” Hanji said, approaching him with Mikasa crying silently in their arms. Eren was wailing, trailing behind them and waving his arms.

“Can we go back to Papa now?” Mikasa asked, wiping her eyes and sounding hopeful.

“No one will play with me!” Eren was crying, along with an incomprehensible string of complaints that sounded similar.

“How long have they been like this?” Erwin asked Hanji, while putting his free hand placating on Eren’s head.

“About an hour and a half now,” Hanji replied. “But it’s only been really bad for the past 30 minutes or so.”

While they spoke, Eren paused his complaints only to continue them louder when he realized that nobody was talking to or listening to him. Erwin crouched down to Eren’s level and pulled him to his other shoulder, the one not occupied by Armin. Through his shoulder did muffle Eren’s cries, Eren didn’t want to be soothed this way. He pushed and squirmed against Erwin.

“Eren, calm down,” Erwin instructed firmly. “I can’t talk to you when you’re throwing a fit.”

With big, gasping breaths Eren calmed himself down, only tears and snot running down his face. With a little fist, he smeared the liquid around on his face angrily. Erwin was sure if Levi saw that, he’d be grossed by the movement-- he was a little grossed out himself, but he could ignore it.

“Alright, good boy,” Erwin encouraged, giving Eren a pat on the head. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”

“I want to play,” Eren hiccupped. “But nobody will play with me! And Mikasa is being mean to me. And. And I don’t wanna be in trouble.” He rambled on, growing louder as he spoke. Then more quietly he added, “Please don’t tell Papa I’ve been bad.” He teared up a little.

“We’ll see,” Erwin replied. “It depends on how you’ve behaved.” He looked to Hanji.

Their lips pressed in a line. “Well Eren was throwing things and being rough earlier,” Hanji answered.

Eren’s face crumpled at the words and he immediately started crying again and making apologies. Erwin pulled him close again, to comfort him. There wasn’t much he could do to make him feel better now. Instead he turned to Mikasa, who was in Hanji’s arms still.

“Why are you upset Mikasa?” he asked calmly.

“I want Papa,” she replied. “I want my Papa.”

“Well, we still have a few hours until you can go back home,” Erwin replied with a steady voice.

With a quiet nod, Mikasa continued to cry into Hanji’s arm. Well, that didn’t help her situation either. Erwin wasn’t succeeding in being very helpful. To be fair, he wasn’t really sure there was much he could do other than sending Levi’s kids back home.

“Here, let’s get away from the door,” Erwin suggested, standing up. It was uncomfortable for him to be crouched and crowded in the entryway.

Once settled on the couch, Erwin had a child in his lap and one on each side, all sniffling and in tears. With only so many hands, he could only do so much to comfort. Hanji suggested some distraction might get the crying to stop. So they tried reading books, but Eren was protesting too loudly that reading was boring, which only made Armin shrink back into his father’s side more. Then Erwin and Hanji attempted to cheer the three up with kisses from soft and lovable animals, but that only distracted them for a few minutes.

They were effectively out of options.

“Do you think it’s time we called Levi over?” Hanji asked tiredly.

Erwin really didn’t want to intrude on Levi’s precious writing time, but he also had to think about what was best for the kids. This much distress wasn’t good. If he knew how to resolve all the underlying issues it would be no problem and Erwin might actually be useful. But there were layers of feelings and conflict going on between Eren and Mikasa that even their Papa didn’t understand. For Armin, he knew that he was feeling overwhelmed. He didn’t do well with conflict and the solution was for his friends to go home so he could have some quality time to himself and his Daddy.

The best solution was clear.

“I think we better,” Erwin replied finally.

Erwin was the one to make the call, while Hanji pacified the kids with promises that Papa Levi was coming over. As he dialed the number on his phone, Erwin could hear the anticipatory whines and cries of both Eren and Mikasa. Yes, this was definitely the right decision, even if Erwin didn’t like it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t always manipulate the situation in everyone’s favor, even if he wanted to.

It only took a few rings for Levi to answer.

“Is everything alright? Are the kids okay?” Levi asked immediately, skipping the greeting. The weariness and concern was plain in his voice and Erwin felt a twinge of guilt and sympathy.

“The kids are fine. Well, they aren’t physically hurt,” Erwin responded.

“They’re having a hard time,” Levi supplied, correctly assuming the reason for Erwin’s call. There was no doubt that he could hear the whimpering in the background of the call.

“Hanji and I think it would be best if you came over and calmed them down,” Erwin confirmed. “I’m sorry to interrupt your writing time like this.”

“No it’s okay,” Levi replied, cutting him off. “Wait, are you home from work?” he asked with realization. The lack of a response was enough of an answer for him. “Damn Erwin. You should’ve called me first. My work is flexible.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Erwin replied. “Just come over, we can discuss more once you’ve calmed the kids down.”

It took less than a minute for Levi to get across the hall and knock on the door. Mikasa and Eren, both a teary mess, crowded at the entryway as Erwin tried to let him in. As soon as their Papa’s face was in sight, the two little ones cried loud, knowing now their complaints would be heard by their Papa. Immediately, Levi crouched down and pulled the two teary kids to his shoulders.

“What’d wrong sweetheart, buddy?” he asked, using their special nicknames.

The two children blubbered out their replies, talking over each other and being generally incoherent.

But Levi nodded and tsked, trying his best to understand anyway. He squeezed them reassuringly and let them get tears and snot on the front of his shirt. The urge to lean away and scrub himself off was strong-- stronger than usual with the extra stress of the last few days. But he stayed crouched down until it became too uncomfortable.

“Alright, let me stand up,” Levi said, unlatching the fingers hanging onto him. Mikasa started making distressed whines and clung tighter. “Calm down, I’ll keep holding you. Just let me get to the couch. I need to talk with Armin’s Papa.”

Levi ended up picking Mikasa up and carrying her to the couch, while Eren held tight to the leg of his pants. Sitting down with a heavy sigh, he was suddenly overcome with feelings of exhaustion. He was tired, stressed, and he didn’t know what to do about his children. Why did everything seem to happen at once?

Once settled on the couch, Mikasa resumed clinging to him tightly, hiding her face in his chest. She still made small complaining noises, just to let her Papa know how upset she had been. In response, Levi petted her hair and ran his fingers through it in a soothing manner. Her hair felt a little oily and the kids probably needed a bath. But Levi still ran his fingers through the messy strands.

Next, Eren climbed on the couch and held onto his other arm, repeating that he was both sorry and had been a good boy, not really caring that the two phrases contradicted each other slightly. Levi felt overwhelmed and guilty for not being there for his kids when they needed him.

“How long have they been like this?” he asked, looking to Hanji who was handing over an unhappy looking Armin to Erwin.

“A while,” they replied. Levi couldn’t help but notice that they were looking worse for the wear as well.

Damn. Levi had really hoped that this would’ve worked, that Hanji could just look after his kids for a week without any problems. The hope had been a vain one. There was no way this could work now, not with the emotional state of his kids. He’d been a bad parent to ship off his children with someone else when he knew they were especially vulnerable. Though, at the same time, he wasn’t sure that keeping Eren and Mikasa at home while he wrote frantically was a better solution either. What could he possibly do?

Just as his thoughts were reaching levels close to panicking, the couch dipped as Erwin settled beside him. His big, solid presence beside him was enough to help Levi calm down a little. The situation was still less than ideal, but at least someone as put together as Erwin was on his side, was trying to help him. Besides, he was hardly good to his kids if he lost himself in a spiral of stress and worry.

“I’m sorry Levi,” Erwin said softly, petting his own child’s head.

“You need to stop apologizing, because it’s not your fault,” Levi replied sharply.

“You were going out of your way to help me and it didn’t work out. I should be apologizing to you for all the trouble my kids have caused.”

In response, Erwin smiled wearily and sighed.

“Actually, I should really be thanking Hanji,” Levi added. Hanji smirked, but didn’t argue as they’d had a bit of a rough day. “From looks of it, you’ve done nothing compared to them.”

With a small huff of mock offense, Erwin looked away from Levi and down to Armin’s blond head. After a moment he asked, “What will you do with the kids tomorrow?”

“Well it’s clear they need a break from Armin,” Levi answered. “I guess they’ll get to watch a lot more TV then they’re used to this week.”

At those words, both of his kids perked up with interest. “TV?”

Erwin nodded thoughtfully. “Well if you need anything, let me know.”

“You’ve already done plenty. Don’t worry about it,” Levi replied dismissively.

In preparation for the long day ahead of the three of them, Levi readied several different activities Wednesday morning. It was uncertain whether or not his children would be amiable after a night of rest, so Levi prepared things that Eren and Mikasa could do separately. He set out a few of their favorite movies, some coloring books and markers for Mikasa, some play dough for Eren (even if and Levi wasn’t fond of it because it was messy and left an odd residue on everything) and dug out some clothes from his closet to act as dress-ups.

Unfortunately, as was made clear during breakfast, Mikasa and Eren hadn’t slept off all the grumpiness. Eren was impatient and demanding while Mikasa remained quiet, with a sad pout on her face. It was going to be a long day for all of them.

“Listen kiddos, I have something important to tell you,” Levi said as they ate in quiet disharmony. “Can you listen carefully to Papa?”

Both looked eagerly to him with dutiful faces. “I can do it Papa!” Eren replied, while Mikasa simply nodded.

“Now, I have a lot of important work to do today, so I won’t be able to play with you guys as much,” Levi explained. “I need you both to be good kids for Papa today. Can you try and do that?”

“Yes! I’m a good boy!” Eren cried immediately. Again, Mikasa nodded vigorously in response as well.

“Good. So try not to fight, okay?” Levi continued. “If you’re good, there are some special things you can do. Like playing with play dough and watching movies. Does that sound fun?” With these special activities announced, both children gasped with excitement. Eren was now practically buzzing in his seat. “Thanks for being big helpers for Papa sweetheart, buddy.”

After a little direction and showing them where things were, Levi settled in his office to get some writing done. As good as having a few days to himself had been for his writing, Levi still wasn’t sure he was making the progress he needed. The ending he was writing towards was still uncertain, being elusive to him at the moment.

Reaching the deadline was of the upmost importance to him. Realistically, Levi knew that novelists missed these sorts of deadlines all the time. Schedules were flexible and vague when it came to writing novels. But Levi had a tendency to obsessively stick to deadlines and schedules. Besides which, he was still new and fresh in the industry. He didn’t feel his career was secure as an author yet and didn’t want to mess things up over a deadline.

For several hours, until about lunchtime, Levi wrote steadily. The house remained quiet and free of distressing noises, allowing him to get absorbed in his work until Eren came and sat by his legs and complained that he was hungry. Upon leaving his office, Levi found the house was a bit of a disaster, having given the kids almost free reign over it. As the kids ate, Levi tried to tidy up as best he could. Play dough had gotten everywhere, just as he knew it would and colorful papers and markers were scattered across the floor. He forced himself to ignore the rest until later. It left him feeling a little anxious and unsettled, but the mess could last until after dinner, when he’d take a break to put the kids in bed.

After lunch, things didn’t go as smoothly as they had that morning. It seemed Levi hadn’t provided enough activities to keep his kidlets satisfied and entertained for the entire day. First, Eren started yelling at Mikasa to play with him. Levi waited, hoping they would sort things out themselves. Then Eren began chasing Mikasa around the house, still shouting, until she ran to Levi’s office in tears.

“Settle down,” Levi instructed, spinning his chair to face the two little ones. They both stood at his knees, one child on either side. “What’s wrong?” he asked once they both stopped talking.

“Mikasa’s being mean!” Eren cried, pointing a finger accusingly at his sister.

“What’s Mikasa doing?” Levi asked calmly.

“She’s not playing with me!”

“I don’t wanna play with Eren,” Mikasa replied quietly, turning her head away and refusing to look in Eren’s direction.

“See!”

“Eren, it’s okay if Mikasa doesn’t want to play with you. Sometimes people like to have time by themselves,” Levi tried to explain.

This answer didn’t satisfy Eren. “It’s not fair!” he wailed.

“Go away,” Mikasa said quietly, making a pouting face. “You’re too loud.”

“No! No! No! No!” Eren cried in succession, stepping forward and giving Mikasa a shove.

Immediately, Levi sprang forward and pulled Eren away. But Mikasa had fallen over and started crying loudly, sounding hurt and offended.

“Eren, that is not acceptable behavior!” he scolded, trying to keep his voice down. “We don’t push others when we’re upset.” With that, Eren’s face crumpled and he wailed anew.

It took several minutes to calm down both crying children. It took several more to get Eren to say he was sorry for pushing and for Mikasa to reply that she accepted his apology. In an attempt to distract them, Levi turned on a movie. That didn’t do much good either. Soon, both of them were crying and upset and bored and keeping Levi from doing anything productive.

In the end, the only way they would sit and be calm, was if Papa sat between them. Just sitting there made Levi tense, itching to do something. Whether it was write or cleaning up, anything would do. There was too much to do, too much pressure to just sit and watch mind numbing children’s movies. But Levi had to keep the panic at bay.

Dinner was a quiet affair, followed by bath time. Perhaps the soothing effects of warm water and bubbles would be enough to calm Eren and Mikasa down. They both laughed when Papa made Eren’s hair stick up funny, or when Papa sputtered from getting splashed and wet.

“Papa, come in too!” Eren cried excitedly.

“Papa doesn’t have time to get in the bath with you tonight,” he explained, feeling sorry at the crestfallen looks on Eren and Mikasa’s faces. “Maybe next time.”

“Okay,” they both sighed in return.

Like all children, they didn’t want to leave the tub once they were in. Not even when the water started to get lukewarm and the bubbles disappeared. Levi had to forcibly pull Eren out of the tub, making a wet mess of the bathroom floor. Mikasa followed obediently after thankfully.

“Let’s get you all dried up,” Levi said, wrapping them both in cute little child sized towels with hoods and animal ears. “To the bedroom.”

At his direction, both ran on their dripping chubby legs, towels flying behind them and revealing their little child butts. Levi smiled at how cute they were and followed them to their room, where he rubbed them dry and wrestled them into pajamas. Their teeth had been brushed earlier and all that was left was to tuck them into bed.

“Was I a good boy today?” Eren asked when Papa gave him his goodnight kiss.

“Well,” Levi started, but saw the excited look on his face and couldn’t help but cushion the truth. “You did pretty good today, but you did fight with Mikasa a lot.” Eren’s little face scrunched up with gloom and Levi hurried to remedy it.

“Maybe tomorrow you can try and be even better for Papa.”

“Okay,” Eren responded quietly, still looking unhappy with himself.

Levi leaned down and left another kiss on his forehead and bid him goodnight.

Once the kids were settled in bed, Levi couldn’t immediately get back to his writing. First, there was the house to deal with. He cleaned everything up and scrubbed everything down until the compelling itch was satisfied. With the house in order, there was one less worry weighing on his mind. Though there was still the question of what he was going to do with his kids the next day and all the writing time he needed to make up from that afternoon.

He wrote for a few hours in his office, until he no longer felt comfortable in his chair. Then Levi simply moved to his bed and decided to continue writing until his thoughts weren’t coherent anymore. It was going quite well, until he heard sounds coming from the children’s room.

With a disappointed sigh, Levi saved his document and got out of bed. As each moment passed, the noise got louder-- sounds that Levi recognized as Eren’s night terrors. They’d been doing so good recently, Eren hadn’t had a terror in a few weeks. Before that they seemed to be occurring less frequently. Was the stress that Levi was under affecting the kids? They could probably pick up on the increased worry in their Papa’s behavior.

Whatever the reasons, Levi knew this was the last thing they needed. Upon reaching the room, Mikasa was in tears and Eren thrashed about unconsciously. It was a familiar scene. Levi sat heavily upon their bed, overcome with fatigue and worry and frustration. He let Mikasa sit in his lap as they waited for the terror to pass. It only took a few minutes and Levi felt too exhausted to move Mikasa to another room. She wouldn’t stop clinging to him anyway.

As soon as Eren’s movements and cries died down, Levi rearranged him back onto his side of the bed and wiped the tears from his face with the cuff of his shirt. The movements didn’t wake Eren at all. Mikasa was much harder to settle back down, as she was pretty shaken up.

“It’s alright sweetheart,” Levi repeated over and over, caressing her face and brushing the hair away from her face. It was the third time in the last two days that he’d used her special nickname. That wasn’t a particularly good sign.

Levi sat with Mikasa until she drifted back to sleep. It was late; Levi didn’t need to check the time to know it. The next day would no doubt be more difficult than today, with the added distress that came after a terror. Not to mention Levi couldn’t think of any other ways to keep the kids entertained, not when they were having a hard time getting along.

There was still another two and a half weeks until Levi’s deadline and already he was at his wits end.

Chapter Text

Levi was discovering he was using all sorts of last resorts he rarely needed resorting to. But by Thursday morning he determined that the only way for everyone to survive till the end of the week was to take Eren and Mikasa to the daycare. He hoped with all the distraction and excitement that came along with a new place filled with new toys and new people that his kids would be okay and maybe have some emotional respite. Having the kids out of the house would give Levi just what he needed to ease his stress.

On only one other occasion Levi had left his kids at a daycare. He’d had a publicity event he needed to attend and felt that it would be best not to drag along his gaggle of mismatching children. After the fact, Levi had learned that the daycare alternative was much worse and more germ ridden.

Since then, Levi hadn’t considered daycare as an option. But sometimes, desperate times called for desperate measures.

To ensure that things went as smoothly as possible, Levi decided to just try half a day, to start. If things went well, then maybe daycare would be a good option for the rest of the last minute crunch time.

At breakfast- a simple one of bananas and peanut butter toast, which Eren would only eat thanks to Armin’s convincing him that bread was not, in fact, icky- Levi made the announcement. Mikasa had scooted her chair as close as she could to his and leaned against her Papa. Eren scowled at his plate and ate roughly, being grumpy from the previous night terror and not even knowing why. It had been a rough night for everyone, meaning theyvcould use some cheering up. Levi hoped daycare might suffice.

“Eren, Mikasa,” Levi began, setting down his cup of coffee. He'd been sustaining himself on caffeine for the last several days. “Would you like to do something special today?” he asked.

Two years of parenting had taught him how to make anything sound more exciting than it was, just by how he phrased it. He was mainly concerned about how Mikasa would fair with all the new people. On any other trip to the daycare, she’d be fine as long as Eren was there. With how they were struggling to get along, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Instantly, Eren perked up from his breakfast. “What are we going to do today?” he asked excitedly, standing up in his chair.

“Sit on your pockets,” Levi reminded him wearily. He waited until Eren sat himself back down before continuing. “Thank you. Now, if you both are really good today, we’re going to the daycare after lunch.”

Beside him, Mikasa perked up and looked at him as Eren stood back up in his seat and jumped up and down excitedly.

“Eren, sit down!” Levi reprimanded sharply. But the boy was too excited to listen and needed to be told two more times before he complied.

“Can we really go? Can we go?” Eren asked repeatedly, not giving Levi a change to speak between his chants.

A small tug at his sleeve drew Levi’s attention to Mikasa sitting beside him. “Are we really going to go to the daycare?” she asked quietly.

“Does that sound okay to you?” Levi asked. “There will be lots of new things to play with and do.”

She looked down at the table and leaned against her father again. Then she nodded.

“You’ll do okay with the new people?” Levi asked, then felt that he shouldn’t have mentioned it. He just wanted to be sure she was okay with it, but instead he might have been planting the worry in her head. If Eren was there, he would help Mikasa feel grounded. “I think you’ll have fun,” Levi continued. “And it’ll be a big help for Papa.”

When Mikasa nodded again, Levi wrapped an arm around, as a way of thanks.

“What about Armin?” she asked.

“Armin?” Levi repeated.

“Is Armin coming too?” Eren boomed at the mention. He was standing on his seat once again. “I miss Armin. Can he come too?”

“Now hold on,” Levi said firmly. “Armin isn’t coming too. He’s staying at his house. He needs some alone time.”

Both of his kids deflated at that.

“But there will be plenty of others to play with at the daycare,” Levi added. “So will you be good until lunch time?”

“I can do it Papa!” Eren replied, dropping down to his seat again. “See! I’m being good.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Levi said with some relief.

All there was to do was to wait until lunch time and hope things went well from there.

At lunch time the anticipation was palpable. By telling them ahead of time, Levi had hoped to bribe the kids into being good. It backfired a little in that Eren was constantly asking if he was being good enough to go to the daycare. The constant pestering wasn’t very conducive to Levi’s writing, but at least there was no fighting between Mikasa and Eren. After eating, Eren bounced around his Papa’s legs while all three of them put on their socks and shoes.

“Eren, hold still!” Levi said impatiently.

Beside them, Mikasa was slowly and quietly tying her own shoes. She’d been able to put on her shoes by herself for a few months. Eren was still too impatient and fumbling with his finger to tie his laces. It was just faster for Levi to do it himself. When it came time for Eren to learn, Levi would just have to plan more time to get out the door. But for now, Levi could make things faster by tying the shoes and helping them both into jackets.

The daycare that Levi had used before was only 15 minutes away. The building looked the same, cheerful and bright. Kind looking adults with aprons, name tags, and big smiles greeted them as Levi signed his kids in and paid. The fee for dropping them off for a few hours was more than Levi expected. It was against his frugal nature to pay so much for something he should just do himself.

But again, the occasion was special and the circumstances particular. So Levi reminded himself that he had money now and could afford to do this. Thing weren’t the same as when he was younger.

More self-assurance was needed when Levi and the kids were let into the play room. It was filled with other children and toys. All Levi could see was all the germs and grime that accumulated from so many children on a regular basis. Realistically, Levi knew the room and the toys were cleaned and disinfected daily. He’d done extensive research before choosing to leave his children here. But still, there was that feeling that settled in his stomach.

Beside him, Eren was practically vibrating with excitement. He glanced up to his Papa, with an expectant and questioning look. Levi nodded and Eren was racing to look at all the toys, hardly sparing a look to the young worker who was trying to introduce himself. The new world was too much for Eren to handle; he made two quick laps around room, hardly even looking at anything. He was so overwhelmed and excited.

Well at least Levi knew he’d be okay.

On his other side, Mikasa also looked overwhelmed, but the sort of overwhelmed that left her staring blankly at everything. Even the friendly worker- Levi didn’t catch his name, nor did he even care really- frowned at Mikasa’s lack of reaction.

“Is she shy?” he asked with a knowing tone.

Levi nodded, before dropping down to a crouch. “Do you think you can do this?” he asked her.

Her gaze moved to him and he could see the uncertainty in her gaze. Then she quickly glanced to Eren, as he picked toys up only to drop them when another caught his eye instead.

“Eren,” Levi called, understanding what was unsaid by his little girl.

Even if Levi didn’t say his name very loud, Eren instantly perked up at hearing it and rushed over to his Papa when he gestured with a hand.

“Papa! Do you see all the toys?” he said excitedly. “Aren’t you supposed to go now?”

“I’m leaving now,” Levi replied with a hint of amusement in his tone. “But Mikasa is feeling a little nervous. Do you think you could help her?”

Eren’s little bushy brows knitted together in concern. He regarded his sister wearily. It occurred to Levi that Eren might be feeling uncertain about being kind to Mikasa, with how they’d had a hard time getting along in the last week. Luckily, it seemed Eren wasn’t going to hold that against her and held out his hand for her to take. Again, Levi was surprised by Mikasa’s willingness to take the hand offered to her. But Levi suspected that for her, it was more extenuating circumstances than not holding grudges.

With some coaxing from Eren and the daycare worker, Mikasa was willing to leave Levi’s side. While Eren was showing her the cool giant blocks that they should build a tower with, Levi slipped out and went back to the check in.

“If there’s a problem, call me,” Levi instructed.

The woman at the front desk could sense his reluctance to leave his kids and smiled kindly. “We will, but I’m sure they’ll do just fine.”

Levi turned and rolled his eyes and avoided saying something about how they didn’t know the trouble those two could get in like he could. In terms of sociability he was improving.

Maybe spending time with Erwin had made part of the ever tactful man rub off on him. Ah, but now wasn’t the time to think of Erwin and how the two of them hadn’t spoken since Tuesday. Nope, not the time to be regretting the lack of romance going on between them. It was there, obviously, but the last few days had left them busy and stressed and in no way in the state to be romantic. The last time they’d really seen each other was Sunday, which hadn’t been that long ago and had been quite pleasant.

But regardless, that all didn’t matter for the moment. The most important thing was getting his draft done. Which he could do in the quiet of his office.

Eren couldn’t decide what he was going to play with first. There were so many different things to do. It didn’t matter that he had several of these toys to play with at home- the ones at the daycare were cooler and more fun. Just by principle. The daycare also had more than toys. There was a sandbox and a slide and even a house that was perfectly child sized with a kitchen and all sorts of plastic and wooden foods to play with.

There were several other kids playing in the daycare too. But Eren didn’t really want to play with them. They probably wouldn’t be like Armin. That was okay though, because Mikasa was wanting to play with him today. Why, Eren didn’t know. But he didn’t particularly care, as long as it meant he had someone to play with him.

“What do you want to do first?” he asked her, once he’d taken her around the room and pointed excited at all the things.

Beside him, Mikasa gripped her red blanket tight and pressed it over her mouth. She looked around the room and her eyes settled on the table with coloring books and crayons and markers. Eren, being impatient and not nearly as good as reading her eyes as Papa, sighed and pulled her towards the big bricks he’d pointed out first.

“Okay, let’s start with this,” he decided. But his sister didn’t seem as intent on building a huge tower- taller than Papa!- as he did. So he grumbled with frustration when the bricks kept falling over. That is, until he found building up the blocks to knock them down was even more fun.

“Look at this ‘Kasa!” he declared before pushing over the small pile he’d made.

He was just in the process of doing it again, because clearly Mikasa didn’t fully appreciate how awesome knocking the tower over was. Someone ran past, bumped his growing masterpiece and toppled it over. Naturally, Eren was crushed. It was his tower to create and destroy. No one else’s.

“Hey!” Eren yelled, rounding on the culprit. “You knocked over my tower!”

The child, a tall older boy with messy brown hair looked around, not even having noticed anything happened.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“We can help you build it again,” another boy with blond hair said. Eren hadn’t noticed him standing next to the other.

Eren frowned and looked between the two of them. “Really?” he asked suspiciously.

“Yah. We can definitely make it taller than someone short like you,” the blond answered.

Eren bristled at the words and opened his mouth to fight back, but then the boy was laughing and patting his head.

“Come on, let’s do it!”

“Okay,” and Eren obediently began helping. Though he wasn’t as helpful as he could be. The two older boys didn’t seem to mind though.

Eren didn’t help the older kids with the tower for very long; they didn’t do things the way he wanted to. Also, he was terrible at following their instructions. Quickly, he was distracted by a group of children playing with a ball, which looked way more interesting. Instantly, he barreled through the room to join in, grabbing and chasing the ball and wrestling it away from others. He quite enjoyed it, but the daycare workers made him stop.

“You need to be gentle,” the worker chided, squatting down to speak to him eye to eye.

With a disappointed huff, he nodded and looked around to find Mikasa- he didn’t want to keep talking to this boy. He wanted to keep having fun.

Mikasa was standing in the same spot he’d left her. The blanket was held close to her face and eyes were still taking in everything. She watched him approach and stared at him as well.

“Kasa, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Will you play with me?”

With a little shake of her head, Mikasa pressed her blanket tighter to her face.

“But there’s lots of things to do!” he said, tugging on her arm. “Come play with me.”

He tugged on her arm until she reluctantly followed him towards the bins and shelves that lined the wall. With enthusiasm, Eren pulled out a tub of cars and handed it to his sister, who peered into it without much interest. Not noticing the lack of interest, Eren plopped himself on the floor and started rolling cars around the floor, making racing noises. It took until he ran the little vehicles into Mikasa’s shoes for him to realize she wasn’t playing as well. He looked up with a little frown on his face.

“You’re not playing with me!” he complained.

“I don’t wanna do cars,” Mikasa said, speaking finally for the first time since entering the daycare.

“Well, what do you want to do?” Eren asked exasperatedly.

Again, Mikasa looked to the table in the corner, where several kids were coloring and painting. Finally Eren got the hint. With a bit of grudgingness, he thought of suggesting drawing so Mikasa would feel better. And because he really wanted to play with Mikasa.

“Do you want to go over there?” he asked, pointing.

Instantly, Mikasa nodded and moved towards the area. Eren trailed behind, much less eager. Upon seeing the two of them approach, another daycare worker kindly asked if they wanted to color. Mikasa nodded and sat herself down at the table, putting her blanket in her lap in preparation. The worker showed them a few coloring pages and asked which ones they’d like to do. Eren chose the one with the dinosaur, but even something as awesome as that couldn’t keep him entertained for long. He glanced sideways at Mikasa who was totally enthralled with her coloring. She made exact, careful strokes with her crayon and debated color usage. It was likely that Eren would never understand how she enjoyed coloring so much.

“I’m gonna play cars now,” Eren declared, having only partially colored his own picture.

Mikasa looked at him and he could see the disappointment in her eyes.

“You can keep coloring,” he added quickly, but she still frowned slightly.

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

Eren didn’t know how she did it, but Mikasa stayed at that table the rest of the time there.

When Levi went to pick up his kids, he honestly expected the worst: that Mikasa had cried the whole time and Eren had been too rough with the others. Or both of them had argued with each other the whole time. Or now both of them had picked up horrible diseases from others.

The way things had been going recently, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

But the daycare hadn’t called, so maybe Levi was just letting his anxiety get away from him. Then again, he didn’t know the conditions under which the daycare would call. He was thinking himself circles.

At the front desk, the daycare worker greeted him with a smile, which was a good sign. The smile didn’t look particularly fake either, another plus. At the half door leading to the play room he saw Mikasa sitting quietly at the craft table, coloring with great concentration. She saw him instantly and hopped down from the miniature chair she sat in and rushed to him. Elsewhere in the room, Eren was enthralled with a pair of toy tigers that were clearly in a fierce battle with each other. The friendly daycare worker from before called his name and when he looked up he caught sight of Levi.

“Papa!” he cried happily, standing up and running over, toys still hand.

“Hey, how are my little monkeys doing?” Levi asked.

Eren laughed and Mikasa smiled, lifting her arms to be picked up.

The same worker whose name Levi didn’t remember came over as well, holding a little stack of papers. “These are Mikasa’s,” he said, offering them to Levi who took them on handed.

“Got busy drawing, huh?” Levi remarked to his girl who nodded bashfully. With a quick glance at the work he declared them “not bad.”

Not to be overlooked, Eren jumped up and tugged at his shirt hem. “I was a good boy!” he declared.

“Were you?” Levi asked, looking to the worker who smiled.

“He was a little rough, but he calmed down after a little talk,” the worker replied. “Mikasa was kinda shy though.”

Levi hummed, not really wanting to talk more with this person now at least he knew that his kids hadn’t been horrible little monsters like they had been. Instead he started herding his kids to the hand sanitizer and then the shoe holder so they could leave quickly.

“I’m glad you both were good,” he told them as he helped Eren tie his shoes.

“Because I’m a good boy!” Eren declared.

“Did you have a nice time Mikasa?” Levi asked. She was still feeling quiet and shy from all the people, and she only nodded slowly.

“Good, I’m glad,” Levi replied. The whole thing had gone so much better than he expected and he was truly relieved. This could present a solution to his current stresses. And this could be a good way to help Mikasa and Eren start to get along again. So next, positive reinforcement.

“I think we should have a treat for dinner, because you did so well at daycare.”

Both of them audibly gasped with delight.

“Can we go to McDonalds?” Eren asked, almost with reverence.

Ah yes. Levi should have seen this coming. Going out to eat was always a treat and of course they always McDonalds. Levi hadn’t meant to suggest fast food. But he couldn’t deny them a cheap greasy meal. Not when he saw the looks on their faces, which were so hopeful.

Right. Positive reinforcement.

“Sure,” he replied. It didn’t matter that he’d said it with no enthusiasm and a hint of reluctance. They were both beyond ecstatic. “Only because you’ve both been so good at daycare.”

They went through the drive through, because Levi didn’t think he could deal with the filth of the restaurant after having to already deal with the daycare. As it already was, the kids were going to need a bath. The little ones didn’t mind and Levi suspected they were both a little tuckered out. Besides, their main goal was obtaining chicken nuggets and root beer- the two things were rare delicacies for them.

Once back home and with the kids settled at the table with their happy meals, Levi set about making himself something to eat; he sure as hell wasn’t having McDonalds. While he moved around the kitchen, Eren was regaling him with the details of everything he’d done at the daycare.

“Did you play with other kids?” Levi asked cautiously, noticing how Eren had failed to mention anyone else besides Mikasa.

There was a pause, before Eren said, “No. I don’t like them.”

Levi only hummed in response. Well, at the very least, he hadn’t thrown a fit or gotten into any fights. So that was good.

At that moment, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. It was Erwin. They hadn’t spoken since Tuesday and he was suddenly missing him a lot. With a glance to make sure the kids weren’t about to get into trouble, Levi stepped into the hallway to take the call.

“Hey,” he greeted, trying not to sound nervous and breathless or ridiculous in general.

“Hello Levi,” Erwin’s voice replied. Levi was very fond of his voice. It was a nice voice. “How are things with writing going?”

“It’s going alright,” Levi replied. “I think I’ve found a way to keep the kids entertained so I can work on it more.”

“That’s good,” Erwin said, sounding a little relieved. “That’s very good to hear. I have to admit, I was a little concerned when I didn’t hear from you.”

Levi stared at the wall, feeling a bit guilty at that. He hadn’t put much thought to Erwin in the last few days, mostly in selfishly wanting him near. The last he’d seen him and Armin, things had been a little uneasy and he’d hardly concerned himself with it.

“Sorry. Busy is all,” he grunted. “How’s Armin?”

“He’s doing much better. I think he just needed some time to himself. But he’s back to normal now. In fact, he asked about Mikasa and Eren today,” Erwin answered.

“That’s good,” Levi replied, genuinely glad his kids hadn’t messed up such a sweet kid. “Maybe they can have a playdate soon.”

Then the line was quiet. Levi didn’t know what else to say. The situation was awkward and he wished his stupid deadline hadn’t been moved. Just as this new relationship with Erwin was starting, making things complicated.

“Well, good luck with your writing,” Erwin said finally.

“Thanks,” Levi replied. “I’ll uh, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sounds good. I look forward to it,” Erwin said, sounding fond.

“Bye then,” Levi said, not knowing how to convey his appreciation or affections for Erwin over the phone. With a little blush, he hung up.

The next day, Friday, Levi sent the kids to daycare for the whole day. He was feeling optimistic about it and Eren was clearly excited by the idea. Even Mikasa wasn’t as hesitant as he expected. With that easing his mind, Levi was able to plow through his writing. It was a good morning of writing for him.

Of course, he should’ve known something would happen.

Around lunch time, he received a call. On the other end he could hear the distinctive sounds of Eren’s angry shouting and the quieter crying from Mikasa. Instantly his heart sunk. The daycare worker didn’t even need to speak before Levi was replying, saying he’d be there soon.

When he arrived, Mikasa and Eren were sitting off to the side with an employee, both crying and looking generally unhappy. Even his own appearance did little to improve their expressions.

“What happened?” he asked wearily.

“Mikasa just seems to miss you and has been a little upset the whole time,” the worker began to explain. “But then Eren, he was fighting-“

“He was saying mean things!” Eren cut her off, with defensive tears.

“Eren,” Levi sighed resignedly. He crouched down to his son’s level. “Eren, look at me,” he said when the boy looked away with tears streaming down his face.

“He was being mean,” he mumbled.

“I understand that, but you can’t fight like that,” Levi said sternly. He looked to the daycare employee. “What exactly did he do?”

“There was some pushing and hitting,” she explained.

Turning back to Eren, he said, “Eren that’s not acceptable behavior. When you’re angry you need to use your words or find a grown up to help. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Eren weakly replied, ashamed tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Did you apologize?” Levi asked.

“They made me,” Eren answered.

With that taken care of, Levi directed his attention to Mikasa. “What’s wrong sweetheart?” he asked softly.

She was also avoiding his gaze and refused to speak. When Levi opened up his arms, she allowed him to hold her, but still didn’t speak. At least she’d stopped crying.

“I’m sorry for the trouble they’ve caused,” Levi apologized, standing up. “Come on Eren, it’s time to go home.”

The ride back, the car was completely silent, except for sniffles and quiet crying. The whole time, all Levi could think was that the daycare clearly wasn’t a viable option anymore. Once again, he was left out of options. He didn’t know what was going on with his kids or how to help them. He had a big deadline looming over his head.

As Levi was pulling Eren out of his car seat, his little voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I’m sorry Papa,” he mumbled, clinging to Levi’s shirt. “I did my best.”

He had nothing to say, so he held tight onto his little boy and hoped things would be better the next day.

Chapter Text

To say that Erwin was worried about Levi would be an accurate statement. By the time Saturday morning came, exactly one week after Erwin had woken up curled up on the couch with him, Erwin was even more concerned. Communication between them had been sparse, which was understandable. But Erwin hadn’t heard from Levi at all in the last few days, except for the phone call he made on Thursday. There had been none of the ‘good morning’ or ‘how was your day’ or ‘have a good lunch’ texts.

Erwin understood. Levi was busy and didn’t have time to have a friendly chat.

The whole timing of their newfound relationship, or whatever it was, couldn’t have been worse. Levi’s deadline couldn’t have been inconvenient.

So Erwin took it upon himself to call Levi to see how he and his kids were doing. He hoped the daycare had continued to work for Levi, so he’d had time to write and look after himself.

It wasn’t a good sign when Levi answered with a quick, “What?”

“Hello Levi,” Erwin greeted. “How are you doing?”

There was a long sigh. “Not great,” he replied. “The kids didn’t do well at the daycare, I’ve made terrible progress on my writing, and my house is a mess.”

With every word, Erwin could hear the fatigue and frustration in his voice. It was not at all going the way he’d hoped.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Erwin replied sincerely. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

There was another sigh from the other side of the line. “Not unless you can figure what the hell is wrong with my kids. Or write a novel for me,” Levi replied.

“I’m afraid I can’t do those things for you,” Erwin answered. There had to be something he could do. “Are you taking care of yourself at least?”

There was the muffled sound of Levi scolding someone for knocking something over before Erwin got a vague reply. “Yeah, sure.”

Erwin knew what that meant. It meant that Levi was hardly taking care of himself, but he didn’t want to worry him. All the stress was surely getting to him. Erwin didn’t think he could take another two weeks like this one. Immediately, Erwin had an idea.

“It sounds like you could use a break,” Erwin stated.

With a huff Levi responded, “I don’t have time for a break.”

“Just a few hours, tonight,” Erwin continued. “Have dinner with me. Hanji can watch the kids for a little bit. They’ve all had some time away from each other, so the kids could probably handle it. I know Armin has been asking about Eren and Mikasa.”

“I don’t think-”

“I insist,” Erwin stopped him before he could refuse. He was not going to take no for an answer. “If you get too burned out, you’ll be less efficient in writing. A break will help you get things done faster.”

There was no arguing with that logic and Erwin knew it.

After a pause, Levi replied dryly, “There’s no stopping you when you want something, is there?”

Erwin laughed. “No. I can be quite determined.”

“I’ll go on your date then,” Levi agreed grudgingly. “But you better not take up my whole night,” he warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Erwin replied fondly.

Levi expected Erwin to take care of all the plans and didn’t spare another thought about their break date. There were much more urgent matters that required his attention. Like not blowing up at his children for example. It was hard to keep calm when his children behaved normally and made loud messes. But it wouldn’t be fair of him to lose his patience at two 4 year olds. They hardly knew better.

Saturday was his usual shopping day and after snapping a little when trying to herd them out the door, Eren and Mikasa were quiet and obedient at the store. That didn’t last once they got back home, but Levi was grateful it lasted while it did- even if he also felt guilty they’d been scared into submission by his shortness with them. That’s not how he wanted to parent, not on a regular basis.

Once back home, Levi saw the state of the apartment and began cleaning. He’d already done his cleaning for the week, but the heightened level of stress he was feeling made every speck of dirt and every smudge stand out more.

“Papa, are you mad?” Mikasa asked quietly, interrupting his quick cleanup.

Levi paused in his counter wiping and realized that he might have been scrubbing too aggressively. Really, he was just trying to do it quickly so he could get back to working.

“Sorry Mikasa,” he apologized, dropping his rag and getting down on eye level with her. “Papa’s just a little… a little grumpy.”

Mikasa was always more attuned to how he was feeling than Eren was, which meant she was more sensitive to when it started to affect the way he parented. Instantly, he felt guilty again. He could see that look in her eyes, that she felt partially responsible for his mood.

“I’m not upset or grumpy at anything you’ve done. Okay?” Levi said, gently but firmly.

“Okay,” she replied.

“Now go play,” Levi instructed and patted her on the head.

With another look around the apartment, he decided it really was clean enough. He needed to stop wasting time and get writing. Particularly if Erwin was going to insist he take an hour or two off that evening. So far nights had been the best time for him to work, as there were no kids he had to entertain.

Which reminded him, he hadn’t told the kids about being able to play with Armin later. Perhaps that could keep them happy for the rest of the afternoon. They had both asked for Armin every day since they’d last seen him. That was how quickly kids were able to get over some things.

The children’s room was right across from his office, so he peeked his head in. Eren and Mikasa weren’t playing with each other- clearly kids didn’t have short enough memories to forget whatever was going on between them- but at least the two weren’t fighting. Mikasa sat on the bed, playing with her doll while Eren was spread eagle on the floor in what Levi knew was his bored pose. Neither noticed him in the doorway until he cleared his throat.

“Hey, goober nuggets,” he stated, grabbing their attention.

“Papa!” Eren responded sitting up.

“Armin is coming over to play after dinner,” Levi stated. Both children gasped with excitement. Before either of them could ask any questions, he continued.

“Can you both be good and get along until then?”

“Yes!” they both cried.

“Good,” Levi replied with a smile. “I’ll be in my office. Please be quiet while I’m working okay?”

“Yes Papa, I can do that!” Eren declared and Mikasa nodded vigorously.

Then Levi settled himself down for some serious writing.

All in all, it was a pretty good session. Still, Levi was feeling grim about being able to reach his deadline. The end was in sight, but he kept finding the story was getting longer than he was expecting. Of course, this always seemed to happen when Levi wrote, but he usually didn’t have such a rushed deadline.

‘It doesn’t have to be perfect,’ Levi kept telling himself. But even if it was a first draft, it still had to be finished, at the very least. And he hated doing sloppy work.

But it was time to step away from that now and to have this forced break with Erwin.

Though really, Levi didn’t mind that much. He was grateful that Erwin was so concerned for his well being. He knew that with all the stress he was feeling, he was likely to have a total meltdown. He missed Erwin’s company too. There was a sort of steadying comfort that Levi felt around the other man. Perhaps it was his confidence, the way Erwin carried himself. Erwin could get people to bend to his will with a little persuasion. What about that made Levi feel safe and steady, he wasn’t exactly sure.

There was more to it, of course. As much as Erwin supported him, Levi also felt that he wasn’t judged or looked down upon. They were on equal standing. Both having some baggage, but able to support the other regardless.

And Levi had missed all that.

By the time Levi set the table for dinner, Eren and Mikasa were practically vibrating with excitement. Neither of them even complained about the carrots and peas.

Luckily for them, Armin and Hanji and Erwin arrived not long after. Levi had to keep Mikasa and Eren from swarming the poor kid at the door. But Armin greeted them both cheerfully and accepted the tight hug from Eren.

“You brought Tricia,” Mikasa observed, pointing the doll hanging from his hands.

“Yah,” Armin replied shyly, glancing at Eren as he hugged the doll to himself.

“She hasn’t played with you guys in a while…”

“Cool,” Eren replied.

The three adults observed their interactions as they moved to the kid’s room to play properly.

“It seems they’re getting along just like always,” Hanji declared cheerily. “I’m glad. Armin was asking about Mikasa and Eren.”

Erwin nodded in agreement. “He missed the two of them.” Levi vaguely hummed in agreement. “And if the three of them are getting along fine, then we can get on with our date without worries.” Erwin added with a sly glance at Levi. He rolled his eyes in return.

“Have fun you two,” Hanji said, waving them out the door. “I’m sure the kids will hardly notice you’re gone.”

“They better not,” Levi huffed. “Because we won’t be more than a couple hours. Right?”

“Right,” Erwin reaffirmed, humoring his short date.

Levi had to roll his eyes at the broad grin on Hanji’s face. If not for them he’d of blushed from embarrassment. Even if it was just in front of Hanji and they definitely knew what was going on between them. Levi had no doubts that Erwin gladly spilled all the details of his feelings to them. He wasn’t very comfortable being ‘coupley’ in public. He wasn’t accustomed to his feelings and intentions being open enough for everyone to see. Because everyone couldn’t be trusted, especially with things like his thoughts and feelings.

When Hanji finally closed the door and left them alone, Levi turned to Erwin expectantly.

“So. What are we doing?” he asked. He hoped they weren’t going to go anyplace fancy. His outfit had been the last thing on his mind earlier. Let alone the fact he didn’t have the energy or mental capacity to deal with being out in public.

Erwin smiled genially at him before turning back to his apartment door, opening it wide and gesturing Levi to enter.

“Please, take a seat on the couch and make yourself comfortable. I just need to make a few more adjustments and dinner will be ready,” Erwin explained and closed the door.

Looking around the apartment, Levi could see it was well cleaned. There had also been some care taken to making the place seem more romantic- candles and table cloths and a pleasant scent of lavender. It was cheesy, but also cute. Levi smiled quietly to himself as he settled on the couch. The whole thing was so Erwin, in a way he couldn’t really describe.

It was funny how this sort of romantic gesture was always annoying to Levi in the past. But this, this was different. Because it was Erwin and he was trying very hard… it was just worked.

Levi let himself sink comfortably into the couch, giving his back a break and his aching body a rest. When he was in the midst of writing or cleaning, he never noticed how tired or sore his body was. It always caught up to him when he was relaxed.

One thing was for sure, Erwin was definitely correct in insisting Levi take breather.

“You certainly look comfortable,” Erwin observed.

Realizing he’d let his eyes close, Levi slowly opened them to gaze up at his handsome date.

“Mmm. I have a pretty nice view too,” he replied slyly. “Helps with the relaxing.”

Erwin laughed and Levi let himself smile. Sure, he was awkward at romance, but he could do blunt, forward, and crass advances. Hell, it was certainly wasn’t subtle charm that made Erwin fall for him.

“Well, I’ll have to be sure look pretty for you tonight,” Erwin returned smoothly.

God, how could be so charming so easily? Levi could almost hate him for it, if he didn’t enjoy it so much.

“Good,” Levi replied.

“We can eat on the couch if you like,” Erwin offered. “If you don’t want to get up and sit at the table.”

“No, we’re eating at the table,” Levi replied. Eating anywhere else was too messy and stressful.

“This evening is supposed to be relaxing,” Erwin reminded him as Levi heaved himself up from his comfortable spot on the couch.

“Yah, exactly,” Levi replied and then Erwin seemed to understand what he was saying.

“Of course,” he answered, easily adapting.

Dinner was simple. Just pasta and fresh bread. But it was perfect and comforting. Just simple enough and delicious enough and warm enough to make Levi feel right at home. The conversation between them was easy and light. Any silences between them weren’t awkward. They avoided all topics that might be stressful, such as work and children’s problems.

Levi could almost say he’d forgotten about all the things that had been weighing on him the last week. And he definitely remembered all the reasons why he was so fond of Erwin.

After they finished eating, Erwin let Levi help him clean up all the dishes without any protest or complaint. Already he adapted to what Levi needed. Levi was going to have a hard time leaving and returning to his apartment, thick with stress and anxiety.

With all the things cleaned up, Levi moved towards the couch, assuming the two of them would sit and talk until Levi couldn’t put off going home any longer.

“Where are you going?” Erwin asked slyly.

Levi paused and gestured towards the couch with his thumb and an eyebrow raised.

“But we’re not done yet,” Erwin replied, the most charming smirk on his face.

With great interest, Levi raised his brows even further and followed Erwin, who led him to his bedroom. At this Levi gave him another look.

“And what are you trying to suggest?” he asked sarcastically.

“Well hold on now,” Erwin replied with a laugh. “I was going to offer to massage your back. You seem tense.”

Levi was a little taken back. While he was open to a more… adult activity, this was just as intimate. And such a kind offer. But after everything Erwin had done, was this really such a surprise?

“Alright,” Levi replied.

“Great,” Erwin smiled. He guided Levi through the door to his room. It was also clean with candles, lit and sparkling.

“You’re such the romantic, aren’t you?” Levi observed dryly. He didn’t mean it as an insult; it suited Erwin. Even if such tactics weren’t needed to win Levi over, they were appreciated.

“Have I wooed you yet?” Erwin replied with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.

Levi snorted. “Oh yeah. I’m practically swooning,” he said flatly.

“You know, you’re a lot funnier than you give yourself credit for,” Erwin remarked sincerely. “Now if you’d please take of your shirt and lay down on your stomach.”

The instruction was given so quickly, that Levi couldn’t respond to the comment about him being funny- which he certainly didn’t think was true. Instead he did as Erwin asked and unabashedly pulled off his shirt, neatly folded it, and set it on the bedside table. Then Levi sat himself on Erwin’s bed and tried not to let his mind run away with the situation. At Erwin’s gesture, he scooted back and turned onto his stomach. He felt tense, not just because he was stressed and spent a lot of time hunched at his desk, but he also anticipated Erwin’s touch.

“Is it alright if I straddle you?” Erwin asked and Levi could feel the bed dip.

“You’re really asking me, as I’m lying shirtless on your bed?” Levi replied, turning his head to the side to speak.

“Keep your head forward; you don’t want to kink your neck,” Erwin instructed. “And I don’t want to do anything that might make you uncomfortable.”

Levi smiled to himself and turned his head back and forced himself to relax. Then he felt Erwin move closer and throw a leg over him. He never felt the weight of Erwin against his back, but he could feel the warmth of his legs on either side of him. And then he felt Erwin’s hands on his back. They were warm and large. As soon as they pressed into his muscles and moved in soothing circles, Levi had to resist the urge to groan loudly. Instead hummed contentedly.

“Let me know if I’m doing it too hard,” Erwin murmured with amusement.

Levi felt so relaxed that all he could do to reply was hum again. He didn’t realize how tense he really was, until Erwin was loosening him up. The stress and tension was slowly melting away with every knead.

“You’re too good at this,” Levi muttered as Erwin moved from his shoulders to his back.

“I used to do this for Maria when…” Erwin began and then stopped short. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Levi replied quietly. He didn’t feel threatened or jealous by thoughts of Erwin’s previous wife. Levi hardly knew anything about Maria and knew that Erwin didn’t feel comfortable talking about her. He only felt sorry that Erwin was obviously still feeling hurt by her passing.

Erwin’s hands lifted from his back.

“I know it’s not polite to talk about exes on a date,” he replied, voice calm but clearly guarded.

“Well, I don’t know about that stuff,” Levi replied. “But Maria isn’t just an ex.”

There was more he wanted to get across, to let Erwin know that it was okay. That he understood that Maria was more important to Erwin than that. But Levi was always terrible with words and didn’t know how to say those things. Maria was a difficult subject and he didn’t want to ruin things with his bluntness. But the issue was something they needed to discuss.

“Just… get back to relaxing,” Erwin replied. His hands returned to making soothing circles weary muscles.

But perhaps today wasn’t the day for that discussion.

Levi’s eyes slowly closed as he let himself drift into the calm and warm.

Levi woke up slowly, having not even realized he’d fallen asleep. A glance at the clock let him know it’d been a little cat nap. Judging by the warmth clinging to his back, Levi guessed that Erwin had indulged in one as well. With a sigh, he stretched luxuriously.

He definitely needed this break with Erwin. His body felt loose and reinvigorated. Now he felt like he could return to his apartment, handle his children and writing.

Next to him, Erwin was stirring out of his sleep as well, letting out a contented hum. Levi turned his body around to face him. He enjoyed seeing Erwin’s face up close. He reached out a hand and traced the man’s eyebrows.

“What are you doing?” Erwin asked softly, opening his eyes and squinting at Levi’s fingers.

“Trying to determine if these brows are real,” Levi replied flatly.

Erwin rolled his eyes and lightly smacked his hand away. Levi smiled smugly to himself. But the smile faded when Levi took another good look at the man before him. His eyes were puffy and strained. There were dark circles under his eyes and small worrying lines around them.

That concerned him. Erwin hadn’t been feeling under pressure, had he? Was it Levi’s fault? Had his stress bled into Erwin’s life too much?

“I needed this break too,” Erwin spoke. “Thanks for doing this with me.”

Levi nodded. “Is everything alright?” he asked hesitantly.

“Just work stuff,” Erwin replied with a shrug.

The way he phrased that bothered Levi. Like it was unimportant or not worth sharing with him. But Levi shared his work problems with Erwin. Work was a pretty big part of both of their lives. Suddenly Levi realized that he didn’t even know what Erwin did, beyond that his job was in the government.

“Well, what is it?” Levi pressed. If there was something bothering Erwin, he wanted to support him in it.

“Really it’s nothing,” Erwin tried to play it off, but at Levi’s persistent stare he sighed reluctantly. “The department wants to move me from my administrative desk position back to the field.”

Levi’s brow furrowed further. “What do you mean ‘field’?” he asked firmly. “What do you even do, Erwin?”

“I work for the Department of Homeland Security,” Erwin admitted, eyes closing with resignation.

“The Department of Homeland Security,” Levi replied flatly.

“Yes,” he replied.

“What the hell Erwin?” Levi exclaimed. “Is it dangerous?”

Erwin was doing a very good job at not looking in Levi’s direction. “The field work is. I work under Border Protection and preventing terrorism. When Maria passed I requested to be put at a desk job. So I could be around for Armin.”

Levi soaked in the words. “How long have you been worrying about this?” he asked quietly.

“A few weeks.”

And then Levi snapped.

Abruptly he sat up. “Were you ever planning on telling me about all that crap?” he asked sharply.

“I… of course. Eventually,” Erwin replied hastily. “But then you had that deadline change and I didn’t-“

“Didn’t what? Want me to support you? To know the important things about you?” Levi cut in. “You didn’t want me to know your life isn’t as perfect as it seems?”

“No!” Erwin replied defensively. He opened his mouth to say more, but Levi cut him off again.

“So what? You can help me out with my crap, but I can’t even know about yours?” Levi asked sharply. “Do you even see this as an equal relationship or am I just some project?”

He knew, he knew, that Erwin had more of his life put together. In comparison, Levi’s was a mess. But he hadn’t thought that had made things uneven between them. He’d assumed.

Erwin hadn’t said anything to defend himself. Either the silence was the confirmation for Levi to know he was right, or Erwin couldn’t come up with an explanation. It didn’t matter though, because Levi was already pissed and hurt. So he roughly got out of bed and searched for his clothes.

“Levi, what are you doing?” Erwin asked from the bed. His voice was cool. He was hiding what he was feeling once again. How many times had he done this?

“What does it look like? I’m leaving,” Levi snapped. He heard Erwin get up from the bed and rounded on him.

“So what, you’re leaving rather than talking it out like an adult?” Erwin replied, moving from the defense to offense.

“Well it seems to me you wouldn’t tell me much anyway,” Levi retorted, moving around him. Jacket and shoes were by the front door.

“As though it’s easy to open up to someone like you,” Erwin said quietly to Levi’s retreating back.

Levi stopped, but didn’t turn around, just glanced icily over his shoulder.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked lowly. But he already had an idea of what Erwin was going to say- it’s what they all said.

“It’s hard to open up to someone cold and closed off,” Erwin replied, sounding so infuriatingly calm and logical.

Levi didn’t need to hear anymore. Without offering a retort, with his lips in a tight line and jaw clenched he stormed out of the room. A few moments later, the front door slammed.

Chapter Text

As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Levi let out a quiet, frustrated sound. His throat felt tight and his eyes prickled. Damn it, he wasn’t going to cry! With a deep breath, he clenched his fists and blinked rapidly, getting himself back under control. Hanji and the kids were just right across the hall. Eren and Mikasa couldn’t see him like that; they would worry.

This was why Levi hardly dated, why he hadn’t had a successful long term relationship. Men didn’t like how cold and coarse and awkward he was. People like him weren’t meant for relationships- he knew that. He’d been cautious because of the fact. But with Erwin- he thought he’d been doing so well. Levi thought he had understood, and accepted him anyway.

It wasn’t just his fault though! Erwin had been keeping things from him. Levi’s stomach boiled at the thought of Erwin lying to him. At least Levi had always been straight forward. He’d guessed that Erwin had been holding some things back from him. Foolishly, Levi had assumed it wasn’t a big deal, that it was something Erwin would talk to him about when he was ready.

But Levi wouldn’t be left in the dark. He’d promised himself after waking up cold and abandoned all those years ago that he wouldn’t let a man play him like that again. Erwin hadn’t lied or tricked him to that extent yet, but keeping something like a high risk career from him? That wasn’t a good sign.

Levi wondered if this meant the end of their relationship. He wasn’t sure to be honest. He was angry and so was Erwin.

But that didn’t matter because he didn’t have time. With his evening break over- which had lasted longer than it was supposed to- the weight of his upcoming deadline came crashing down on him again.

There was no time. Levi didn’t have any emotional or mental strength to deal with this. So, even though Levi hated to shove problems to the side and deal with them later, he didn’t really have a choice. He couldn’t possibly deal with this head on.

With another breath, Levi stood himself up straight. Time to get back home.

From behind the door, he could hear the sound of laughter and squealing. Good, at least his kids would be in a good mood. He entered the apartment silently and took off his shoes, just as a few sets of pattering feet came rushing into the living room. Mikasa gripped Armin’s hand tightly and dragged him towards the couch. Eren followed behind, a paper towel roll wielded in his hand as a weapon.

Once Armin was safely on the couch, doll clenched tight against his chest, Eren turned toward the hallway in a protective stance and cried, “Protect the Princesses from the monster ‘Kasa!”

From the hall came Hanji, making exaggerated stomps and roaring dramatically, with their head thrown back.

Ah. Levi understood now.

The three little ones squealed in anticipation and Eren held his cardboard roll sword high in the air, making big slashing motions. Levi watched in amusement until Hanji caught sight of him, halting mid stomp.

“Hey Levi!” Hanji greeted, completely unashamed of their monster persona.

“Papa!” Eren cried, scurrying around the couch to greet him. Behind him came Mikasa, still holding onto Armin’s hand. “We’re fighting the Hanji monster who’s tryin’ a get Armin and Tricia!” Eren explained rapidly, brandishing his sword as proof. “Kasa and me are knights!”

“I saw,” Levi replied.

“Where’s Erwin?” Hanji asked.

“He’s at home,” Levi replied quickly, not making eye contact. Instead he kept his attention to Eren, who was resolutely telling his story over the adults talking, determined to be heard. In fact, his voice only rose when Hanji started speaking again.

“Is everything alright?” they asked. “You don’t normally return back alone when-“

“If you want the details, you can ask Erwin,” Levi said sharply, cutting them off.

Hanji frowned and looked a little hurt. A small twinge of guilt struck Levi; he was usually more kind to them. But he shook it off quickly.

“It’s time for Armin and Hanji to leave now,” Levi announced flatly.

Immediately a small complaint rose up among the kids, but Levi silenced it with a sharp look. Mikasa knew better than to keep arguing with Papa when he gave them that look. Eren wasn’t as aware, but Mikasa always poked him in the side and shook her head at him. That usually got the point across.

Instead, Eren gave Armin a tight hug and said a sad goodbye to him. Without looking at Levi, Hanji came forward and scooped Armin into their arms, telling him it was time to get ready for bed. Mikasa waved and Eren repeatedly called out goodbye until the door shut.

“Alright, time for you to get jammies on too,” Levi said, placing a hand on each shoulder and attempting to herd them towards the hallway.

“But Papa! I’m not tired!” Eren argued.

“Well that’s what happens when someone decides it’s a good idea to let the kids run around right before bed,” Levi muttered irritably under his breath.

“What Papa?” Eren asked.

“I said ‘too bad it’s bedtime’,” Levi answered shortly.

Eren gave him a pouting look before crossing his arms and marching towards his room. Mikasa hesitated and gave her Papa a confused look, before hurrying after.

In the back of his mind, Levi knew he was being more impatient that usual. It was a little unfair. The kids and Hanji weren’t to blame for his heightened state of stress. He really ought to reign himself in, maybe take out his frustration through a good session of writing.

But another part of him knew that wasn’t going to solve the problem. At this point, Levi didn’t really know what would.

Everyone when to bed a little grumpy that night. With much prodding and nagging Eren and Mikasa were put to bed, both with little frowns on their faces. Not even goodnight kisses seemed to help their mood. Immediately, Levi returned to his office and set about writing. He could never quite get fully focused on his project. His mind wandered too much, guilt and stress pulling his thoughts every which way. Finally, Levi gave up and tried to get some sleep.

Unsurprisingly, it alluded him, the thoughts whizzing around in his mind, leaving him restless and frustrated.

Early morning found Levi back in his office trying to write. A cup of coffee, already empty, rested on a coaster beside him. In his lap was his notebook, full of outlines, ideas, and research notes. He’d searched through it briefly, like it might hold some sort of inspiration for him. That hadn’t helped as much as he’d like. Instead he found himself skimming what he’d already written, hoping that would give him the spark of creativity he needed.

Eren and Mikasa found him like this when they woke up. Usually they woke up to Levi getting ready for the day of making breakfast for them. Instead they stood in the doorway of his office and watched as their Papa frustratedly tapped on the keyboard.

“Papa, did you work all night long?” Eren asked, with amazement despite Mikasa’s hand on his arm to stop him. They weren’t supposed to interrupt Papa when he was working. And he looked extra grumpy today too.

Levi looked up from his computer and then back to check the time. It was later than he thought.

“No, Papa just got up early,” he replied, moving quickly to save his document. “Are you two ready for breakfast?”

“Yes! I’m hungry!” Eren declared. “And Mikasa is hungry too!”

For the kids, Levi cut up a banana and got out the strawberry yogurt. His little monkeys loved having parfaits; they thought it was a special treat, like a dessert. Really it was easy for Levi to whip together and healthy too, but he kept that information to himself. No need for them to lose their love of something that was an easy fall back for Levi. But serving it this morning was his way of an apology being a little short the night before. The guilt and stress of everything had weighted on him heavily.

So he added extra granola; it was their favorite part.

When he placed the plastic kids’ cups filled with fruit and yogurt on the table in front of them, Eren stood up on his seat and bounced up and down.

“Sit down Eren, or I can’t give you your spoon,” Levi instructed. He waited until the boy was settled before handing each of them a spoon. “Please don’t make a mess.”

The only downside to yogurt was that it was sticky and no matter what precautions Levi took, Eren always seemed to get it everywhere. The was a deep sort of itch in the back of Levi’s mind- worse than usual- for him to stand and watch his kids eat, to be ready to clean up the first drop that got on the table and chairs. Instead he made himself make another cup of coffee. He’d already had one or two mugs that morning and really, he preferred the taste and calming effects of tea. But Levi needed the higher dose of caffeine to get him through the day.

As Levi rinsed out and washed his mug, he felt his phone ping in his pocket. Immediately, his stomach tightened. He had a strong suspicion of who it was. With a sigh, Levi pulled out his phone and saw Erwin’s name. No, he didn’t have the time or emotional energy for this stuff. So he ignored the text and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

Then he heard the sound of a metallic clang and a splat. Oh god, he really didn’t have time for this. He turned around and saw Eren’s plastic cup tipped over and the boy trying to scoop the yogurt back in. He had a frantic look in his eyes and started scooping faster while Levi watched as the yogurt spread further across the table.

“Eren,” he breathed out frustrated.

“It’s okay Papa! I’m cleaning it up!” Eren replied immediately, looking up to him apologetically.

“No, please Eren,” Levi said quickly. “You just go and play. I’ll take care of it.”

With a ducked head, Eren scooted off his chair and ran out of the room. Levi knew he’d hurt his feelings and should do something about it. But the sticky goopy mess that was congealing on the table top was making his skin itch. As he wiped up the spill, Levi knew he needed to pull himself together, or he and his kids wouldn’t survive the next two weeks.

The extra reminder of his upcoming deadline caused a rush of dread to flash through his spine. Immediately, Levi began to scrub faster.

He didn’t have time. But everything was falling apart and needing his attention.

Levi didn’t know how he was going to do it.

The rest of the day passed in an almost feverish haze. The hours were spent rushing from the computer to the kids, to the dirt that seemed to slowly inch its way all over the apartment. To keep himself from having a complete and utter breakdown, Levi kept himself strictly focused on whatever task was at hand.

Like in the serious situations he’d run into in the past, Levi was able to feel an odd sense of calm and extreme focus. All other feeling became unimportant and sank away, not urgent enough to matter in the moment. He didn’t have time or mental capacity to spare for anything other than the drive and focus to get everything done.

At dinnertime, Mikasa and Eren sat at the table, eating peanut butter sandwiches with red rimmed eyes. As they ate, they watched their Papa scrub at the dishes in the sink- only a knife and a few cups- with vigor. His arms and legs shook, but he ignored it. Right now, his mind and body had switched to survival mode. The most important thing was to keep the kids alive and finish his draft. He would get it done, no matter how rough a manner it had to be done in.

When Papa told Eren and Mikasa it was time for bed as soon as they’d finished eating, neither of them argued. Both could see that their Papa was not acting normal, that he was very distressed. Eren didn’t even mention that he wasn’t tired yet.

The goodnight kisses he left on their foreheads felt cold and mechanical.

With the children out of the way, Levi immediately set about writing again. He hated everything he wrote, but he forced himself to continue on. Time passed inconsequentially to him. He only checked the clock when he heard crying from the kids’ bedroom.

For a moment, his drive was paused, as he hurried to the children. As suspected, Eren was having a terror. Levi sat on the bed with Mikasa in his arms, watching his son toss and scream and he felt a disorienting disconnect. He could feel how automatic his actions were, how without feeling. But he couldn’t pull himself out of it.

After Eren had settled back down into a peaceful sleep, Levi let Mikasa follow him into his office. She curled up on his lap while he shifted back into full writing mode again. He completely forgot she was even in the room until she stirred around dawn.

But his body couldn’t keep up with this pace forever.

With one day passing and no word from Levi, Erwin wasn’t sure what to do. Had he given Levi enough time to cool off and talk things over? Should he send him another text? Should he just show up at his door and ask to be let in? Or did Levi need more time? At the very least, Erwin wanted some assurance that Levi was physically okay.

The text he had sent the day before had seen no reply. Erwin had just wanted to talk. The argument had… well Erwin had been stupid. They both were under a lot of stress and said things they hadn’t meant. Well, he couldn’t speak for Levi, but Erwin knew he’d been wrong. As soon as Levi had stormed out of the room, he’d felt terrible. He had used words against Levi that he knew would hurt the most. And that was wrong of him.

There had been a lot of things Erwin had done wrong though, like not telling Levi about his job. But he wanted to make things right. However, Levi was also under a lot of pressure at the moment. Erwin hoped he hadn’t made him more distressed than he already was.

But, he supposed it would be best to wait for Levi to come to him. Then they could talk. And maybe, Erwin could fix things. Because he didn’t want it to be over for them. It was just a little fight after all. They could definitely work it out.

Erwin pondered this as he prepared for his day at work. Hanji was already over for the day, playing with Armin. They had asked many questions and been concerned after having come back from Levi’s apartment. So far though, Erwin had avoided telling them anything.

There was a sudden quiet tapping on the door, almost unnoticeable that made Erwin pause as he buttoned his shirt. Curious, he went to the door, passing Hanji and Armin who were too engrossed in a book to notice. Through the peephole, Erwin couldn’t see anything, but he opened the door to check anyway.

It was Mikasa in her pajamas, with hot red streaks of tears running down her cheeks.

Immediately, Erwin dropped down on one knee. “What’s wrong Mikasa? Where’s your Papa?”

“Papa’s hurt,” Mikasa hiccupped, “Help!”

Behind him, Erwin could hear Hanji asking what was going on, but Erwin was already standing up.

“Go inside to Hanji,” he commanded, not waiting to see if Mikasa followed the instruction before marching across the hall.

Internally, he pushed down his panic. There was only one thing that needed to be done: making sure Levi and Eren were okay.

The door to their apartment was open ajar and Erwin entered it without knocking. The apartment was quiet, except for the sound of Eren’s crying- something he recognized well. His eyes took a quick sweep of the kitchen and living room, before he hurried to the hallway.

The crying was coming from Levi’s office. Eren sat on the ground, wailing and calling for his Papa.

And Levi.

Levi was sprawled, collapsed on the floor by his desk.

Chapter Text

Immediately, Erwin dropped down beside Levi’s prone form. He was trained for situations like this. Levi had fallen on his side and Erwin carefully turned him over onto his back. A few fingers at his neck told Erwin he had a pulse and he was breathing.

“Eren,” Erwin said calmly, turning his focus to the crying child. “I need to ask you a few questions. Can you be brave and help me help you Papa?”

With a shuddering sob, Eren nodded and rubbed his fist under his eyes.

“That’s a good boy,” Erwin assured him, knowing how much he needed praise. “Did you see what happened? Did you see your Papa fall?”

Eren nodded. “Kasa and I wanted breakfasted, but he was working and when he stood up he looked funny and he fell over,” he explained with little hiccupping breaths.

“How long ago was that?” Erwin asked, knowing that Eren wouldn’t be able to give him an accurate answer. “Has it been a long time, or just a short time?”

“Just a short time, I think,” Eren replied. “Is Papa okay?”

It was probably collapse from exhaustion, Erwin concluded. Based on how stressed out Levi had been, and considering how poorly he likely took care of himself. He probably hasn’t slept of eaten decently in a few days. Nothing life threatening, but definitely a concern. Levi needed rest.

“Your Papa is going to be fine,” Erwin assured. “He just needs to see the doctor.” He gave Eren a pat on the head and the boy scooted close to him, seeking comfort. Obligingly, he put an arm around him, as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

He called the 911 dispatcher and calmly gave the needed information. Levi probably wouldn’t be happy with a trip to the hospital, but Erwin knew he needed it. They needed to be sure that nothing more serious was wrong with him. Not to mention Levi clearly needed rest and Erwin doubted he would get any at home.

As he was staying online with the dispatcher waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he heard Hanji’s voice entering the apartment. He waiting until Hanji, Armin, and Mikasa found them.

“Oh my god what happened?” they asked frantically.

“Levi collapsed. I’m calling an ambulance. Can you look after the kids? I’m going to follow behind,” Erwin explained succinctly, voice calm but commanding. Hanji nodded.

“Eren, Mikasa, I need you to stay with Hanji and Armin okay?” Erwin instructed. “Your Papa is going to be taken care of.”

Mikasa was holding tightly onto Hanji’s hand and she nodded. Eren still clung to him but with a nudge and a push, he went to Hanji and held onto them. Knowing it was best to get the kids away from the situation, Hanji steered them all to the bedroom. Distantly, Erwin could hear them instructing the kids to pick out some clothes and a toy to bring back to Armin’s apartment.

Erwin was glad that the children were gone by the time the paramedics arrived. He heard them at the door and called out to let them know where they were. As they hurried in, Erwin stepped back and let them do their work. Levi still hadn’t stirred.

With as much accuracy as he could, Erwin answered the paramedics’ questions as they lifted Levi into the stretcher. He followed them out of the apartment and down the hallway, needing to see Levi safely in the ambulance.

Finally, when he was being loaded into the truck, Levi groaned and stirred.

“Hey- what-“ Levi mumbled, trying to move from the gurney.

The paramedics reached forward to restrain him immediately and Erwin raised his hands placating.

“Listen, Levi you collapsed,” Erwin explained. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“What? No!” Levi replied dazedly. “I need to get back to writing.”

“Levi. You are not okay. You are going to the hospital,” Erwin replied firmly.

Levi unfocused eyes widened. But he shut his mouth and didn’t argue. “Okay.”

The he was packed away in the ambulance and Erwin stepped back and watched it go. Immediately he hurried back up to his apartment, first checking that everything was in order at Levi’s- even grabbing his cell phone and wallet. After he stepped across the hall to his own to gather his things and put on a pair of shoes.

Hanji was sitting on the couch, waiting for him, looking nervous and shifting agitatedly. From down the hall, Erwin could hear the kids playing quietly. Good, Erwin was glad the little ones were distracting themselves from the trauma.

“Is Levi going to be alright?” Hanji asked quietly as soon as he came in.

“He gained consciousness just before the ambulance left,” Erwin explained. “Which is a good sign. But he still needs to be checked out by a doctor to make sure everything’s alright. I’m guessing he just needs rest and some food and he’ll be fine in a few days.”

Hanji nodded. “That’s good. I think it really scared Eren and Mikasa. Poor guys.”

“Thank you for looking after them,” Erwin thanked as he tucked in his shirt properly.

“Oh, of course,” they replied. “It’s not a problem. Someone needs to keep them busy today.”

With a hum, Erwin agreed. “You should do something extra nice with them, like getting ice cream or going to McDonald’s,” he suggested while slipping on his shoes.

“They’d love that,” Hanji replied.

“I’ll keep you updated on the situation with Levi. Perhaps later you’ll be able to bring the kids by,” Erwin said, finishing up by slipping his phone and wallet into his pockets.

He’d need to call work at some point. It would use up a sick day, but he was hardly ever sick and Levi needed his help. Even if Levi didn’t want them to be together romantically anymore, he was still his friend.

And single dads needed to stick together.

Once at the hospital, Erwin was directed to the wing of the hospital where Levi was. The nurse informed him that they were going to do a few tests to make sure there weren’t any problems with his head, but otherwise the only pressing problems were dehydration and exhaustion. In all likelihood, Levi would be kept overnight, but released with no long term issues.

Even if Erwin had suspected as much, it was still a relief to hear. Sitting in the waiting room he felt much calmer than before, which gave him a chance to analyze what he was feeling. With the crisis over, he was flooded with emotions.

Mostly he was upset at Levi for not taking care of himself. He understood the stress and pressure he was under and if Levi didn’t have two children to look after, Erwin wouldn’t feel as frustrated. But as a father, Levi’s neglect of himself affected his children. Erwin also felt Levi had avoided taking actions to help him learn to cope better with the stress and anxiety. The issues that brought Levi to work to the brink of collapse weren’t going to go away with a hospital visit.

Levi’s emotional and mental health, along with those of his kids, were a definite sore spot of his. And Erwin knew he certainly had his own share of issues in that particular area as well- hell, they probably had a lot to do with their recent fight. But Erwin felt strongly that Levi’s physical health was in too much jeopardy to keep ignoring them now.

While he waited for more news and the go ahead to visit Levi, Erwin began making plans and doing research.

He hoped that Levi wouldn’t be too upset with him when they had their next conversation.

But Erwin felt there was simply too much at stake to be worried about feelings now.

The scene that Erwin found when he was allowed to see Levi was almost comical, if it wasn’t serious. Levi sat in the hospital bed, dwarfed by its size and the pillows propping him up, with the too large hospital gown slipping off one of his shoulders. The food tray on his fold up table had been pushed far away, but the plastic cup of water with a little bendy straw remained near. Levi’s arms were crossed tightly and he glared sharply at Erwin as he entered.

“They won’t let me leave until tomorrow,” he explained. He pointed an accusing finger at him. “And it’s all your fault.”

Well, at least Levi had all his mental faculties still. Erwin was relieved that his voice was stronger and his eyes clearer and his face less pale.

“It’s good to see you too Levi,” Erwin replied wryly. He didn’t seem amused by Erwin’s levity.

There were two other occupied hospital beds in the same room and Erwin could see their curious eyes watching them. This was probably the most interest thing going on in the room all day, so Erwin couldn’t really blame them. But he would appreciate a little privacy for this conversation, so he pulled the curtain close around them Not that the curtain was soundproof and keep the others from listening in, but at least Erwin wouldn’t be able to see them doing.

“You look a lot better. I’m glad,” Erwin began.

But Levi was speaking before he could finish his thought.

“Yeah, I know. So there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer!” Levi replied sharply. “I need to get back, I’m wasting all this writing time. I can’t miss a whole day!”

Erwin sighed. “You can’t leave early Levi. You need to do what the doctors say.”

“I know that, but they’re being unreasonable. I’m fine,” Levi argued.

“Levi, you are far from fine. You collapsed. You were unconscious for nearly 10 minutes, maybe longer- I’m not sure,” Erwin replied firmly. Levi looked away, keeping his eyes focused on the cup before him.

“Could you at least bring my laptop over so I can get some work done?” he asked quietly, a small bit of desperation betrayed in his tone.

“The last thing you need right now is more work and stress,” Erwin replied tiredly.

“I know!” Levi replied frustratedly. “But I just need to-“

“You need to stop. You need a break. You’re practically killing yourself over this,” Erwin declared, raising his voice.

“I can’t Erwin,” Levi gritted out. “My deadline-“

“Levi, I need you to listen to me,” Erwin stopped him firmly. “If you were on your own, maybe you could do a big push to finish you draft. But you’re not Levi. You can’t just neglect yourself because you have Eren and Mikasa. Your little girl had to come and find me when you fell. They were both traumatized. You can’t do that to them again.”

At those words, Levi flinched, fists clenching.

“You need to take care of yourself to properly take care of your kids.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Levi asked quietly. “I can’t reach my deadline any other way.”

His voice was quiet and desperate, almost helpless. The sort of voice Erwin had never heard from him before. It felt wrong, coming from someone as strong as Levi. As someone who had fought for everything he had, who despite circumstance and personal shortcoming, was raising two troubled kids all on his own. Erwin imagined Levi had never been backed into a corner like this before.

That hurt Erwin. The knowledge stung, made him want to envelope Levi in a hug and take all the bad things away. But Erwin couldn’t do that, nor did he think Levi would appreciate him waving away all his problems. Especially if he was already concerned about the balance in their relationship.

But Erwin could help Levi find a way to attack his problems on his own and give him support while he did it.

“Have you considered contacting your editor and telling them you need an extension?” Erwin asked carefully.

Levi looked up at him with an incredulous look. “Erwin you can’t be serious. I can’t just phone my publisher up and pull that kind of shit! I’m still fresh meat and I can’t lose this contract,” he replied quickly.

“I understand your concern,” Erwin acknowledged, then countered, “But I’m sure if you explained that you were in the hospital, they’d understand and be more flexible.”

At that argument, Levi looked away again and contemplated what he said for a moment, with a shaky breath, he closed his eyes and relaxed his clenched fists.

“Okay,” Levi relented. “I’ll trust you on this and try.”

Immediately, Erwin smiled. “Good, it’ll be so much better for you.”

“Yes, alright,” Levi grumbled. “It’s all better. Now do I have to stay here? I know you could talk the hospital into letting me go.”

“Levi, I’m not going to do that. And you know that’s not the only issue here,” Erwin replied, though he could probably do what he asked. He was remarkably good at getting his way. “The source of the stress may be taken care of, but that doesn’t change the fact you nearly self-destructed.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” Levi snapped. “That’s just how I deal with things. I know it’s screwed up, but it’s the way I am.”

Erwin paused, having some internal debate on whether or not to suggest what he was going to next. He knew Levi wouldn’t take it well. It could even hurt his feelings, something Erwin had already done a few nights ago. But as he’d already decided while waiting in the hospital, it was important enough to at least bring up.

“I think it would be good for you to see a therapist,” he said at last.

Levi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Like a psychologist?” he asked lowly. “You think some smarmy overpaid asshole with a degree telling me how screwed up my brain is, would be good for me?”

“Yes Levi, I do think it’d help,” Erwin replied carefully, guessing that Levi hadn’t had any good experiences with therapists in the past. “With the right person-“

“What, you finally realized how crazy I am? Don’t wanna date someone like that now? Don’t want your kid-“ Levi snapped back accusingly.

“Not at all!” Erwin cried back, offended that Levi would even suggest such a thing. He took a breath to calm himself, not wanting the discussion to get any more heated. “I’m suggesting it purely out of concern for you. I know you’re not crazy Levi, you just have some particular problems you could use some help with. Many people do. Hell, I would benefit from seeing a therapist,” Erwin explained.

Feeling bold, he stepped forward and crouched down to grasp one of Levi’s hands. “I think it could help you learn some strategies to cope when you get stressed out. I still care about you the same way, regardless of what’s going on in your head.”

They were still in an awkward relationship limbo, but it was important to Erwin that Levi knew as much. He watched Levi’s reaction carefully, to see if he’d crossed a boundary. But Levi only pressed his mouth in a tight line and glanced away with a faint blush. Still, Erwin could see he was feeling hesitant about the idea of a therapist.

“You could ask the staff for recommendations,” he suggested. “If you’re concerned about getting a good one. The hospital probably has someone in house you could talk to.”

Slowly, Levi looked back to him. “Do you think… do you think it could help me deal with the kids better?”

“Yes, I’m sure it would. That’s definitely something you could talk to a therapist about,” he replied with a smile.

“Then I’ll do it. But only for my kids,” Levi stated stubbornly.

“Good,” Erwin replied with relief. He stood up from where he’d crouched down beside him. “Well, I should leave you to rest now. You look tired.”

“Wait a minute,” Levi protested. “Are we going to talk about what happened…” he gestured awkwardly between them. “About what we are now?”

The suggestion gave Erwin a pause. It was definitely something they needed to discuss. But it didn’t feel as pressing as it had before. Now didn’t seem like a good time, as Erwin was reminded that they weren’t alone by the sound of a sniffle from the bed over.

“We’ll talk about it,” Erwin affirmed. “But it can wait until you’re out of here. Actually, that reminds me.” Erwin pulled out the second phone and wallet that had been sitting in his pockets. “Here are these. Thought you might need them.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Levi replied taking them and placing them on his fold out food table. “That was thoughtful.”

Erwin shrugged it off. “The kids and Hanji will probably stop by later,” he remarked. “I can come too, if you’d like.”

He nodded. “Yah. How are they doing?” he asked, guilt clear in his voice.

“Last I saw, they were shaken, but Hanji’s doing their best to distract them.” At Levi’s frown, Erwin added, “They’ll be okay, once they know you’re fine.”

With a reassuring pat to Levi’s shoulder, Erwin said farewell and left him in the privacy of his curtained off bed.

He was going to be alright.

And Erwin could breathe again.

Chapter Text

The recognizable pitter patter of little feet woke Levi from his doze. The sight of Eren’s head peeking through the curtains surrounding his bed greeted him. A little sluggishly, Levi pulled himself up into a sitting position as Eren’s face brightened with a large smile.

“Papa! You’re awake!” Eren yelled excitedly, rushing forward to his side.

“Eren, we said you needed to be quiet and calm!” Hanji whisper called after him.

Next from around the privacy curtain came Mikasa, Hanji, and Armin, who all held hands and stepped in cautiously. But upon seeing her Papa sitting up and pulling Eren onto the hospital bed with him, Mikasa rushed forward as well. There were tears in her eyes as she reached up her arms and Levi felt a pang of guilt. He lifted her up as well, and situated the kids so they sat on either side of him, an arm wrapped tight around both.

“Look, Papa’s awake!” Eren declared to Hanji and Erwin, who was the last to enter their private space.

“I see we didn’t succeed in not waking you up,” Erwin observed with amusement.

“It’s fine,” Levi replied, pressing his cheek against Mikasa’s head. She was clinging to him tightly. “I’m happy to see my little kidlets.”

“Papa, are you all better now?” Mikasa asked quietly.

Levi gave her a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, I’m all better,” he replied. “I’m sorry I scared you sweetheart. But I heard you were very brave and got help. I’m proud of you.” He punctuated his praise with a kiss on her head.

Eren tugged on his hospital gown sleeve. “I was brave too!”

“I know. You were brave and helped Mr. Erwin. I’m proud of you too buddy,” Levi told him, giving him a nuzzle as well. “But Papa’s not going to be sick and worry you again.”

“It’s okay Papa,” Eren replied. “We accept your ‘pology”

Levi felt like his heart was going to burst with pride and love for his children. Eren had parroted those words just like Levi had taught him.

Erwin had been right, all his stress had taken a toll on his kids. Even if he hadn’t meant to and even if the circumstances had gone out of his control, he hadn’t done all he could to support his kids. This wasn’t going to happen again, Levi was going to make sure of it. His monkeys were too sweet and innocent to go through something like that once more.

“Thanks for looking after Eren and Mikasa today,” Levi said to Hanji.

“No problem,” they replied. “We had fun. And Armin helped too!”

Levi looked to Armin who was standing shyly by his dad. It occurred to Levi, that he’d probably been worried too.

“Do you wanna sit up here too, little guy?” he asked, patting the empty space in his lap. With a little duck and nod, Armin muttered a yes. “Come on up.”

With Levi’s hands full, Erwin lifted Armin up and sat him down on Levi’s legs. The little boy sat up straight and clasped his hands together.

“I’m glad you’re okay Mr. Levi,” he said quietly.

“Thank you Armin,” Levi replied.

With a little nod, Armin looked down again. He looked like he wanted to snuggle close, but felt hesitant. But Eren reached forward and grabbed his hand.

“You’re too far away,” he remarked and gave Armin and encouraging tug.

So Armin smiled and scooted forward to curl against Levi, squished between Eren and Mikasa. All three of them were a pleasant weight against Levi. The feeling of his kids physically being there and physically being alright, helped ease the guilt he’d felt.

Levi hadn’t just gone to sleep when Erwin had left him earlier. The remains of anxiety he’d felt wouldn’t let him do that. There were things he needed to get done. First, using his phone, he called his publisher and explained that he wouldn’t be able to make his deadline. To his surprise, they had all been understanding.

“Just get it to us when you can,” they’d told him.

With that taken care of, Levi felt as though the weight that had been crushing his lungs had been lifted away. He’d known he had been stressed, but Levi hadn’t known how much until he didn’t have to worry anymore. Still, the holdover adrenaline left him feeling tense and shaking until an hour after, when he could finally calm down.

After that, he’d called a nurse and asked to speak to someone about psychiatric help. Levi had been nervous and ready to be defensive, but the nurse hardly batted an eye. The person that they’d sent in had been kind and let Levi speak, making no assumptions and only asking probing questions. It was sometimes difficult for Levi to find ways to describe what he was feeling- he was always more eloquent in writing than speaking. Honestly, he felt like he was somehow answering their questions wrong. But they seemed to understand what he tried to express and gave him a few recommendations for therapists to look into.

The exchange had left him feeling emotionally drained and with all the tasks Erwin had given him to complete done, Levi had finally felt ready to sleep. All that was left had been guilt regarding his kids.

They were here now and they knew he was going to be okay. He was taking steps to make sure he could be a better father. In that moment Levi felt more at peace with himself than he had in a long time. Thanks to Erwin, who had been better to him than any lover- any man- ever had before.

A few days ago he’d been furious, but now, he was ready to forgive and deepen their relationship. There were still things they needed to discuss; it wasn’t as thought everything was perfect between them now. But based on the strength of Erwin’s caring for him, how is own wellbeing was so important, Levi knew that it would work out alright for them. Levi could see their relationship going for the long haul, making him and his little family happier than they’d ever been.

“Thank you,” Levi repeated again, quietly this time and keeping his eye contact with Erwin.

“It’s nothing really,” Erwin replied. “We’re all happy to help you out and to see you healthy.”

“Eren, you should tell you Papa what we did today,” Hanji prompted.

Instantly, Eren sat up straight from where he’d been resting lazily and started bouncing with excitement. Normally, Levi would’ve told him to calm down and sit quietly, particularly as tiny knees jabbed at his side, but this time he allowed Eren his exuberance.

“Hanji took us to the park and then we went to McDonalds and then we even got ice cream!” Eren explained.

“Wow. Sounds like you were spoiled today,” Levi replied and Eren agreed with a vigorous nod.

“Hanji should babysit us all the time!” he declared.

“I don’t know if they can handle you every day, buddy,” Levi answered with a gentle tease.

“Eren forgot the cards,” Mikasa interjected, giving his sleeve a tug. “We made cards for Papa.”

“Did you?” Levi asked and he received three little nods in return. “Well, do I get to see them?”

“Hanji has em!” Eren said, twisting around to point at them. They were already fishing three slightly crumpled pieces of paper form the bag they were carrying. The cards were handed over to Eren who gave them to Levi.

“You all made these for me?” Levi asked softly, pulling his arms from behind his kids so he could look at the cards properly.

Mikasa nodded and pointed to the top one. “This is the one I made. That’s me and that’s Papa.”

The figures were crudely drawn and surrounded by a wobbly heart. At the bottom, Mikasa had signed her name is carefully spaced out letters. It was colorful, but also fairly neat, like many of the other works of art she’d done.

“It looks great, thanks sweetheart,” Levi replied, giving her a little kiss on the forehead. She blushed with pride and snuggled close to his arm again.

He flipped to the next paper, which he instantly recognized as Eren’s. It had his trademark spider-like people, with short lumpy bodies and long wiggly limbs. Across the top was a long line of half formed letters and scribbles, followed by Eren’s messy name squished at the end, curving up to fit on the page.

“Is this yours, Eren?” Levi asked.

“It is!” Eren replied delightedly. He pointed to the scrawl. “It says ‘I love you Papa!’”

Levi hummed in acknowledgement. His signature was as carefully crafted as Mikasa’s but they could work on it. He gave Eren a kiss, which Eren returned with giggle. Last, Levi flipped to next card. This one had actual words, in a shaky writing, surrounded by flowers. It read ‘Get well Mr. Levi!’

“Armin did you write this?” he asked, impressed.

The boy nodded. “Hanji helped me spell.”

“You did a good job little guy,” Levi said. “Thanks for making me cards guys. I feel better already.”

“It was Armin’s Papa’s idea,” Mikasa replied.

Again, Levi looked to Erwin who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. How much had this man done for him? How much more would he do in the future? And he asked nothing in return. Levi wondered how he managed to get a guy like Erwin to care about someone like him. However it had happened, Levi wasn’t going to let him go.

“Thanks,” Levi repeated. He’d said the phrase more in the space of 20 minutes than he had in a while.

“Papa, when are you coming home?” Eren asked, as he settled back against him.

“Tomorrow morning,” Levi answered, putting his arms back around Mikasa and Eren. “The doctor says I need to get some rest. Do you think you can sleep over at Armin’s house?”

Eren rested his head heavily against him and nodded. “Yeah."

All three of them were snuggled sleepily around Levi. They’d had a long day, so Levi wasn’t worried about letting them fall asleep against him. He looked over to where Hanji and Erwin stood, still a little distance from the bed.

“You can come closer. Pull up a chair or something,” Levi muttered. “I think these guys are gonna be here a while.”

“They’ve had a very busy day,” Hanji agreed as they pulled up a seat to sit closer. “Now that they don’t need to worry about you, I’m not surprised they seem ready to crash.”

“I’m not gonna crash,” Eren mumbled in protest, as he hadn’t fallen asleep just yet. Though he didn’t move from where he was pressed all comfortable against his Papa. “Just wanna snuggle.”

“Of course Eren,” Levi humored him and gave him a squeeze.

“What have you been up to these last few hours?” Erwin asked. “Sleeping I hope?”

“Well, it’s not like there’s much else to do around here,” Levi muttered flatly.

“But, uh, I actually did what you suggested. And I’m feeling better.”

With Hanji around, he didn’t want to go too into detail. But that was enough for Erwin to understand. He nodded and smiled softly.

“I’m glad,” he replied. “Oh, by the way, I drove your car down here, so you can leave as soon as the hospital releases you tomorrow. I would pick you up, but I have to make up for unexpectedly missing work today.”

“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Levi stated. Another thing to add to the list. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Erwin had missed work to get him to the hospital and make sure he was okay. “God you literally think of everything. What would I do without you two?”

He spoke in an almost sarcastic manner, but he knew his eyes were sincere. Feeling tired and overwhelmed by the kindness being shown to him, Levi settled his head back against the pillows.

“Well, that’s just when friends do,” Hanji replied with a smile. “Single parents like you guys need all the help you can get.”

“Think of it as repayment for who you did to help me, back when we first met,” Erwin added.

Now Levi felt all kinds of embarrassed. He’d had enough of all the gushy feelings stuff for now. Another wave of tiredness gave him the perfect escape too.

“Well,” Levi stated, letting his eyes close. “I’m going to sleep now. You two can do whatever you want.”

“Do you want us to take the kids?” Erwin asked.

“No, let em sleep here for a while,” Levi replied, not wanting to admit that he would miss the comfort of the touch. It helped him fall asleep quickly and deep, so he hardly noticed when the children were being pulled from his sleepy grasp and Erwin offering him a good night.

Once home again, Levi was greeted by Eren and Mikasa giving him a big hug. He suggested they all make something special for brunch, and Hanji politely excused themself and Armin from the apartment, saying the kids needed some alone time with their Papa. No one protested.

Enthusiastically, Eren and Mikasa helped Papa cook, a rare treat. But today was special, a day Levi planned to use as a silent apology to his kids for worrying them so much recently. He helped them into aprons, folded and adjusted to fit them better and he let them push two chairs to the counter so they could reach.

Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes were the obvious choice for breakfast. Levi didn’t even insist on making eggs to go with it this time. He didn’t allow himself to worry about the mess of flour on the counter or the spilled vegetable oil (he’d clean the whole kitchen later, in a bit of a frenzy, being sure to sanitize everything- but for the moment, the mess would be tolerated).

When it came time to actually putting the pancake mix onto the griddle, Levi did insist on doing it himself. Eren jumped up and down excitedly as he carefully poured the mix into the iconic Mickey Shape. Both kids had to be reminded a few times to stay back from the hot griddle.

“Papa, you’re so good at this!” Eren declared as he flipped a pancake. “Can I try?”

As much as Levi was planning on being extra doting on his kids today, that was a little too much. He wasn’t ready to trust Eren with a spatula and griddle.

“No,” he answered firmly.

Even furrowed his brows and scrunched his nose in annoyance, but didn’t argue. “Okay…”

As soon as two pancakes were ready, Eren and Mikasa scooted the chairs back to the table and sat in anticipation. Levi brought over the plates and set one in front of each and Eren clapped his hands in excitement. For once, Levi made himself a Mickey Mouse pancake and sat down to eat with his kids as well. Rarely if ever, did he eat breakfast with them. They both smiled brightly at him as he sat down.

It took until the three of them were done eating for Levi to need to clean the kitchen. The kids seemed to be fine with it however, and went off to play while Levi scrubbed until he was satisfied. Once done, he sat himself down on the couch for a quick rest.

That was when he remembered the other things he’d planned on doing once hone. There was a conversation he needed to have with a certain tall, handsome, blond who lived across the hall. Levi took out his phone and sent Erwin a quick, inviting him over later; Armin invited to play with the kids as well.

A while later- Levi suspected during his lunch break- Erwin replied.

'Glad you got home okay. Armin and I would love to come over.’

We need to talk’ Levi replied.

Of course. I’m looking forward to it’.

Even when Levi was direct and forward in his words, Erwin knew how to read between the lines.

For the rest of the day, until it was time to make dinner, Levi hung around his children. Mostly, he sat on their bed and watched them play and listened to the rambling tales they had to tell him. He would’ve joined in, but he was never good at improvisation and the ways children played. That was alright with Eren and Mikasa though- they had no desire to be slowed down by their Papa’s ineptitude. Both were just happy to be able to be near him and show off. And Levi was happy to be showed off too, even if he got a little tired of Eren’s near endless chatter.

“What should have for dinner?” Levi asked when he could really feel his patience waning. If he had to listen to more ‘then your guy says this’ and ‘then my guy says that’ he would get a headache or snap- which was the opposite of what he wanted to accomplish today. “Armin and Mr. Erwin will be over.”

That grabbed their attention and halted the play.

“Armin’s coming?” Eren asked excitedly.

“Yeah, so what do you think we should make for dinner?” Levi repeated.

“Pancakes!” Eren declared.

“You want pancakes again?” Levi replied incredulously. Both nodded. “Why don’t we try something else?”

“Mac an’ Cheese!” Eren offered next.

“Hmm… something nicer than mac and cheese,” Levi countered.

“Pizza!” was Eren’s next suggestion.

Levi opened his mouth to shoot down the idea, but paused. He could do homemade mini pizzas. With all the ingredients kept well stocked in his kitchen, he wouldn’t even need to stop at the grocery store.

“Alright, we can do that,” he agreed and Eren cheered.

The whole process of trying to get three four year olds to pick out toppings for their pizza was a difficult one. Eren in particular made a mess of the cheese and pepperoni. Luckily, with Erwin there, he was able to help Levi sort everything out. Levi knew it was going to be tricky, letting the kids help with the pizza making, but his guilt was still pushing him to say yes to doing things the fun way.

With the pizzas in the oven and the kids wiped down, Levi sent them off to play. He had to have a conversation with Erwin.

“This was a fun idea,” Erwin remarked, drying off his hands. “I’m surprised you agreed to it.”

“It was my idea and I’m never going to do it again,” he replied flatly.

Erwin smiled and stepped forward to put his hand on Levi’s shoulder, almost like he wanted to give him a hug, but changed his mind halfway through. “I’m glad you’re doing better,” he said quietly.

“You mentioned that already,” Levi replied. “But we need to talk and I’d like to get it down before the pizzas finish cooking.”

“Always so efficient,” Erwin observed with amusement.

“Yes, someone has to be,” Levi quipped, then sighed.

Wordlessly, he moved to the seating area and sat down. Erwin followed but sat a little away, giving him some space and angling himself to speak more face to face. Both were quiet, waiting for the other to start. Finally, Levi decided to take the lead to get the whole thing over with.

“First, I just. I want to apologize. I overreacted to the whole job thing. I mean, I was stressed, but that’s not really an excuse to take things out on you.”

Instantly, Erwin was shaking his head, “No don’t apologize. I overreacted too and said some things that were definitely out of line. Besides, you did have a point, I should’ve told you about my job sooner.”

“But it’s not like we’ve been dating long. We’ve only known each other, what, two months?” Levi replied. He could see Erwin open his mouth to protest again, but he quipped, “Just let me apologize and be sorry alright? Doesn’t happen very often.”

And Erwin closed his mouth again.

“Sorry,” Levi added. He was trying to apologize and make things better, now wasn’t the time for snapping and impatience. But Erwin grinned at him.

“It’s fine,” he replied, his voice had a hint of amusement. Then he cleared his throat. “But it did seem that you had some concerns about the power balance in our relationship?”

Levi nodded. “Yes, though I may be overreacted to everything.” For a moment, Erwin looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it and let Levi continue. “Just… you’ve done so much for me and my kids. Given so much help and advice and support. Not to mention all the stuff with … yesterday. I just feel your life is so much more put together than mine, that you’re more put together. And I won’t be able to catch up or return the favor,” Levi explained.

He let himself say all the things he’d been feeling, even though it left him vulnerable and awkward. But that’s what needed to be done if he wanted to be with Erwin. The other man nodded at what he had to say, before reaching forward to place his hand over Levi’s.

“That’s not how I feel at all Levi,” Erwin replied gently. “And let me say that I’m not all put together either. I suppose I just hide it better. I guess I’m good at hiding things from you,” Erwin attempted to add lightly. But Levi only gave him a weak smile. “And you’re forgetting all the things you’ve done for me and Armin. That’s how we met after all. You’ve watched and cared for my son. I just can’t express how much happiness you and your children have brought us.”

As Erwin finished, Levi had to look away. He felt overwhelmed, something Erwin seemed to make him feel quite a lot, and he knew his face was flushed.

“Well,” he muttered. “You two make me and the kids happy too.”

There was a pause and Levi turned over his hand to link his fingers with Erwin’s. He turned his face to look at him, biting his lip. But he was met with Erwin’s fond expression.

“So, if I’m following this conversation correctly,” Erwin began. “It sounds like we’d both like this relationship to continue in some manner.”

“Yes,” Levi replied, feeling his throat go tight.

“In a romantic manner?” Erwin asked again and Levi couldn’t help but notice the way he was leaning towards him.

“Yes,” Levi breathed.

And then they were kissing. Their lips met gently at first, much like their first kiss, before Levi found himself scooting closer. At that vantage point, he could wrap his arms around Erwin’s neck. Hands snaked around his waist, pulling him up into the kiss more. Erwin hummed against his lips and gave him a squeeze before deepening the kiss to something more passionate.

Levi had missed him. He poured those feelings into the embrace, into the way their lips moved against each other. This was the best way Levi expressed himself, he knew. He let his hands grip at Erwin’s collar and he sighed into his mouth and-

“What are you doing with Armin’s Papa?”

And it all halted with a startle.

Levi whipped his head around to see Eren, Mikasa, and Armin watching them with confused faces, standing at the start of the hall. Immediately, Levi dropped his hands and scooted away a little. But it was too late. The kids had seen them kissing. He hadn’t wanted to let them know about their relationship just yet. But he didn’t think there was any avoiding it now.

“I. Uh. We were,” Levi tried glancing at Erwin for help. He was the smooth talker after all.

“Were you kissing?” Mikasa asked.

“Yes. We were,” Levi admitted slowly.

“Are you boyfriends now?” Eren asked. “Because boyfriends kiss,” he declared knowingly.

They hadn’t expressly used that term, so Levi wasn’t sure what to say. But Erwin stepped in for him.

“Yes, we are,” he answered, taking Levi’s hand again and giving him a smile.

“Okay,” Eren replied. “Is the pizzas done yet?”

And that was as much as they talked about it that evening. The kids were far more interested in dinner, which coincidentally, was just about ready. When they all sat at the table, the pizzas cooled and cut into more manageable pieces, Levi sat next to Erwin. Not so subtly, Erwin placed his hand on Levi’s knee.

As they ate, Levi watched his little family. They were all still a little broken, still a little screwed up. But now they had Erwin and Armin, who were also a little broken in their own way too. All together though, it was their brokenness that make then special, that made them all fit together as a whole.

And with Erwin, Levi knew he could make it all work.