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She seemed to be in a hurry, from the moment she took the back seat and all throughout the ride in the bustling night as she frantically rambled some foreign language into her phone. Levi maneuvered through the streets in tired boredom, just bordering between getting used to his night shift and longing for sleep. The woman, who he'd been idly studying at each red light, seemed to be middle aged and extremely new to the U.S, if her lack of directions and heavy accent said anything.
There was a little boy dozing off beside her, and Levi swallowed down the booster seat complaint/rant only because he was too tired to go over the 'his brains will be splattered all over my windshield if shit happens and I'll be the one to pay' drill.
"Is this the krankenhaus?" The brunet woman said as she lifted the phone off of her ear for a second.
"Sorry?" Levi tried to hide his confusion.
"Uhm, the hospital?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'll go off here." She gestured towards the intersection just before the said building, quickly grabbing her purse and paying an amount she clearly wasn't paying attention to.
"Danke. Ah, thank you, keep the change." The door was manhandled and she was speeding across the street, Levi feeling a little guilty about the extra twenty she left, but knowing that she wouldn't lag for corrections. He pulled out of his parked position with an effortless swerve.
-
It wasn't until ten minutes into the drive that he noticed something was off. Like he forgot something, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. A comfortable yawn from the backseat gave him the answer.
He did a double take before gazing into the rear view mirror, watching as the little boy rubbed at his eyes and blinked around."Mama?"
Shit. He expected the wails of anguish to break out soon and mentally cringed before quickly pulling over to the side where permitted, then twisted his body around as much as his seat belt allowed him to.
The resemblance between him and his mother was unmistakable, from the rich chestnut color of his hair to the the swirls of curious green blue eyes that practically glowed in the dark. Levi knew he should say something before the kid started crying, because he knew from experience that once they started it took a miracle to stop them.
His thick eyebrows furrowed a little before he murmured,"Wo ist meine mutter?"
It was Levi's turn to blink at him dumbly."English at all?"
The boy just continued searching his face in confusion.
"Le Francais?" He offered in a vain attempt, only to get a weirded out lip bite.
"Alright." Levi huffed a breath and pulled a u-turn, quickly making his way back to the hospital. This wouldn't do at all. When they reached their destination, he simply sat back and stared at the enormous building. It was truly a stupid thought, how on earth was he going to find her in a goddamn hospital? He sighed in defeat and threw a glance at the kid, who had a cheek pressed against the glass of his window as he regarded the crowded streets and lights, looking slightly dejected nonetheless.
"Hey, brat." The boy instantly turned his head toward him."How old are you?"
More awkward staring. Why was Levi trying again?"Age." He held up a hand and ticked off fingers.
The boy hummed in thought for a second before lifting up his own hand and wiggling all five of his fingers."fünf."
Progress, right? "Good. Nationality?" Levi, he's five for fuck's sake.
He started throwing in whatever came to his mind."Argentina?"
His eyes narrowed a little as he seemingly caught on to the man's intentions, then shook his head."Deutschland."
That rang a bell."Dutch?"
"M-m." He shook his head again.
"Poland?"
"Nein."
"Europe?"
He got an enthusiastic nod in return."Italy? Soy Dora the explorer?"
"Nein. Deutschland." He snapped in annoyance.
Levi really sucked at this."Jamaica?"
If a child could master the 'what the fuck' expression at it's finest, then that's what the boy just did."Alright, alright." He threw that idea over his shoulder, deciding to head back home and grab his own car if he wanted to focus on getting the child back to his parents. He gave Erwin a call as an afterthought. "This kid was left at the back of my cab. Yeah, don't ask how he just was and he doesn't know English. How should I know? I tried to figure it out, but it's not working that great. Yeah. If his mom decides to give the agency a call tell me first. He's five. Pretty average size for his age, brown hair, green eyes. Or blue, whatever. Bye." He threw his phone to the side and haphazardly drove back home.
The kid looked uncomfortable when Levi switched over to his Chevy, and before he tossed him inside he decided to try to make him come to an understanding."Are you scared?"
The boy blinked up at him through his thick lashes and folded his arms tighter. Levi wiggled his fingers in a spider like motion and decided that he didn't want anyone to see him try to communicate with people. Ever again.
The little brunet giggled at this, clearly missing the point. Levi just rolled his eyes and buckled him up.
They barely pulled out of the garage before he was talking by his own will for once."Mein name ist Eren."
Well, what a pleasant surprise. Levi understood a word he said."Eren, huh? I'm Levi."
Eren's attention instantly went from Levi, to the window, then to Levi again."Ich habe hunger."
Here they go again."Say that again."
"Ich habe hunger." He repeated, putting his hands in his lap.
There was a universal word for bathroom, right? "Toilet?"
"Nein." No. Okay. Levi was just a bit over done. He pulled out his phone and searched up Google translate before he got a little beyond exasperated as well.
"Again?"
"Hungrig." He pronounced slowly, and Levi felt dumb to have a child understand half of the shit he says while he has to resort to this. He typed out a quick 'hungris' like Eren was saying, only to have the piece of shit flunk out. Then it occurred to him.
"You're hungry."
"Ja." He smiled a little. His patience was almost endearing.
"Well dammit if I'm not hungry too. Happy meal at McDonald's?"
Eren scrunched up his nose."Widerlich."
"You demanding brat." Levi should just be grateful the kid hadn't bawled his eyes out yet.
-
Eren refused pretty much every fast food joint that existed, Levi realizing the place he came from either had no fast food joints or he was spoiled with homemade delicacies all the time. He sighed tiredly, it was nearly one am and it was unhealthy for a child to stay up all this time."What do you want?"
"Wurst."
Oh. Wow. Well. It hit Levi in the face like a warm breeze."Germany?" He gave the boy a look in the mirror.
Eren blinked at him in thought for a second."Ja, ja! Deutschland." He grinned, and Levi suddenly wanted to facepalm. Maybe he should've listened to Hanji and watched a bit of the Fifa world cup, after all.
"Wurst it is." The raven drove once again with a specific spot in mind.
-
It was a cozy little shop that was bound to fulfill all of little Eren's German needs, surprisingly filled with quite a number of customers. Levi recalled that one documentary he watched about all nighter's popularity in Germany and wondered if he was being a bit stereotypical. Eren insisted on holding his hand for some reason and the boy got all the sweet looks and warm smiles. Levi wouldn't blame them though, the kid was a cute little shit that had a contagious smile and eyes that reflected an impossible amount of light, his little pink button nose twitching at the welcoming smells of food.
He ordered his desired wurst and some berry custard thing, Levi ordering a sausage as well but exchanging the custard for a pretzel. The cashier serving them was about to break her face smiling. She handed Levi their orders and directed her cheer at him."Is he your first one?"
Levi was honestly caught off guard by the question."Pardon?"
"Your son."
"Oh..no, he's not my..."Levi's eyes drifted towards the kid who was now swinging his arm lightly, and decided that a little suspicion would rise if he told the truth. Who'd believe his story? They'd instantly jump to the conclusion that he was some weird pedo or something.
"Yeah." He murmured, grabbing their tray and sidestepping the line. He set his eyes on a table in the far corner by the window, Eren following with idle eyes and bewildering nonchalance for a brat who just lost his mother and was holding the hand of a stranger.
"Meine mutter machte es besser."Eren said with something akin to smugness when he took the first bite. Levi didn't bother with understanding.
"Sure. Whatever you say." He pulled out his phone and texted Erwin to see if anyone had called for the kid, only to be disappointed. It hadn't occurred to him what he was going to do if Eren's company was prolonged. He would never take the kid home. It wasn't even for reasons of being irritated, but the whole notion of keeping a kid home, who undoubtedly will feel uncomfortable and displaced there was out of the question. It was just plain weird, and Levi hoped someone would come get him before it would have to happen.
"Don't you wanna go home, kid?" Levi mindlessly asked as he grabbed a napkin, the confused look settling back on Eren's face. He translated his sentence on his phone and clicked on the sound button. Eren listened as the automated voice read it in German.
He nodded."Mhm. Später."
Levi translated that as well."Later? Seriously? What about..." He typed 'sleep' in."...schlaf?" He tried, giving Eren a look."
He shrugged a shoulder."Später."
"Procrastination at it's finest." The raven went back to his food, and they fell into a comfortable silence. Levi was starting to get a bit worried at all the stares Eren was getting.
An old lady with a warm smile paused in passing to wave a little at Eren. The boy just grinned cutely in return.
"Aw." She cooed."Is he your first one?"
Levi tried not to choke on his food, and instead irritably glared at the table. Did he look that young, or were people just not used to this lack of children?
"No." She didn't notice his irksome tone."My fifth." Happy?
"Oh! Well. I'd make a few more too if they turn out as precious as this one." She chuckled a little before continuing on her way. Levi just wasn't in the mood to be incredulous.
Eren was a messy eater, Levi noticed as he watched the boy unceremoniously down his berry custard, subconsciously crumbling the napkin in his hand.
"Whew." Eren breathed, leaning back into his chair in a way only a person who'd just ran a marathon could pull off."Ich bin so voll."
Levi took this as his cue and grabbed a clean tissue. He beckoned Eren forward with a finger and pressed the material in his hand against the splotches of pink around his mouth. There was a dot of grease on his nose and Levi sighed."Jesus, child, did you shove the wurst up your nose or something?"
Eren didn't respond, frank in his giving up on understanding a long time ago. When Levi was done, he sat back with a huff."You ready to go?" He gestured with a tilt of his chin towards the direction of the door. It took Eren a second to understand."Okay."
The parking lot was empty, and the night morning air was crisp and cold, Levi realized when Eren tugged his sleeve over his hand and brought it over his mouth. He grabbed his hoodie from where he'd discarded it in the passenger seat and fitted Eren inside when he was in the car. He zipped it up, and Eren laughed as he flailed the huge sleeves around.
"The one time someone will be too small for my clothing." Levi grumbled to himself as he sat behind the wheel, Eren's amused giggles reaching his ears. They started driving, and suddenly he felt something brush against his shoulders. A glance in the rear view mirror revealed Eren standing on the seat and leaning against the head rest of Levi's seat.
"Hey, sit your ass down, brat." Eren instantly flopped back into his seat, nothing but his shins showing from beneath the sweater.
"Mach das Radio an." He demanded a second later, Levi picking up radio and mindlessly turning the said device on. Some news station went off and Eren protested. Levi changed it, Katy Perry went off and Eren 'nah'ed again. He went through a bunch of stations in a futile attempt to please the brat, and finally, he nearly jumped up in excitement at a certain station.
Levi winced when a screamo blared through the speakers, Eren instantly jamming along to the lyrics as Levi lowered the volume.
"Hey!" Eren whined when Levi nearly cut it off."Mach lauter."
"It two thirty in the fucking morning, holy wow child." Levi breathed and turned up the piece of shit anyway. There were a few German lines to it, and one that Eren particularly screamed too loud at.
"Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!" He continued bobbing his head along to the ferocious growls and Levi couldn't do anything than shake his head in exasperation. The song finally ended, the brat fell back in place and stared with a contented smile out through the window.
Levi was lingering back at the hospital, unsure of his next course of action, when his text tone went off.
Erwin 2:43
Five years old, brown hair, green eyes, German. It's your lucky day, his mother's back here looking for him.
"Hallelujah." Levi threw his hands up in the air, tossed the phone aside and quickly drove back to the agency. Eren was finally drifting back to sleep and was soundless by the time he parked at the designated building.
The first thing he noticed was his distraught mother when he went inside, nervously pacing by the front desk, looking sleepless.
"Hello." He greeted, and she instantly glanced up at his voice.
"Oh mein gott." She breathed with a drained expression, padding over to him quickly.
"Eren. He's with you, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Sleeping in the car." She sighed into her hand and followed him out.
Levi was going to be nice and pull him out for her, but the brat wouldn't budge."Hey, wake up." He gave him a nudge, and his head lolled to the other side. Knocked out cold. With a sigh, he fitted a hand between his back and the cushion, hooked his other one underneath his knees and pulled him out. Eren instantly stirred, but only to comfortably rest his head against the crook of Levi's neck and to wound his arms around the older's shoulder. Levi turned around and his mother instantly held him from his arm and magically took him into her hold without getting him hurt. The boy tiredly resumed the same position he had with Levi against his mother, who hugged him tightly."Es tut mir leid, baby."
Eren blinked a little."Mama?"
She smiled at him before turning towards Levi."Thank you so much. I'm sorry for the trouble, my son is a handful."
"Nah, he's a breeze. No worries." Levi shrugged a little, and she gave him a grateful smile before turning around retreating.
"Gehen wir nach hause."(1) She told Eren, who had his chin against her shoulder and was blearily blinking at Levi.
"Levi wird nicht mit uns kommen?" (2) He murmured.
"Hm? Er muss auch nach Hause gehen."(3)
"Oh. Auf wiedersehen."(4) He called, and Levi waved back because what else was he supposed to do. Damn, what a night.