A/N: I never really have referred to it as Eren's home. It's just "the apartment," and I did that for a reason. I wanted to expand some on that.
Home.
The word home had been a fairly foreign concept to Eren for a long time. Eight years living in this small apartment with a small guardian and he hadn't felt at home for one minute in it. In fact, he hadn't felt at home since before his mother had died. Carla had given him a good home and a good life with Mikasa and her for seven years of his life. She had brought such a warmth and a pleasant relaxation to the aura of their home. Her laugh had always given the air a pleasant tinge of sweetness that contented Eren's heart. But when her life was snuffed out so suddenly, his home had vanished.
The small duplex they had lived in was no longer home. There were too many memories attached to it. It was so empty after she had passed. Two sad children inhabiting it made it seem even larger than it actually was. Of course, they hadn't stayed there alone. Various friends of their mother's had stayed with them to take care of them, and when the decision was made, Eren went off to live in a very cold, hard apartment with Levi, and Mikasa went off to live in Hanji's brick house that was too far away from Eren, even if it was only a five minute drive away.
He knew that maybe it was childish of him, but he never referred to the apartment he lived in as home. It was always just, "the apartment." Maybe it was a last grab at freedom from the place or maybe he just called it that to reassure himself that he wouldn't always live there and he would find a home somewhere, someday.
No matter the reasoning behind it, he would never stop calling it that. It was somewhat trying, living in an apartment that never felt warm enough to him, and though he did love Levi (no matter how little he said it), he would never be able to live with him and call their residence a home.
It was strange, in a way. It was such a material thing, and yet it never let him relax enough to be comfortable. It never invited him inside and it never became a haven for him like a home was supposed to. Maybe he over-thought it or was too materialistic, but he still missed the home he had had with his sister and mother. He simply could not form an attachment of any sort with this place.
He was glad when he could stay at either Armin or Mikasa's home, but when he thought about it, he knew it definitely wasn't the building he was in that made him feel more at home. It was the presence of people he had known all his life and trusted and loved more than anyone else.
Maybe, Eren thought to himself, someday I'll leave this shitty apartment and find a place with Armin and Mikasa. Yeah... that would be nice...