Chapter 1: Odds

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: "So," Levi cleared his throat, "you moved into my building. What are the odds, huh?" [Modern AU]

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open and a group of people in a mix of civilian clothes and scrubs stepped out. He stood by patiently, waiting for the metal box to empty. A quick look at his watch told him what his stomach was saying. It was time for dinner. There was a pizzeria just around his place and the thought of pepperoni, sausage, and onions made his mouth water. Levi pulled out his phone, searching through his contacts. The plan was to order some dinner then pick it up and go straight home.

He glanced down momentarily to see a little kid get in after the elevator stopped just one floor down. Unable to find the pizzeria's number, he went online. "Oops," the kid muttered. Levi looked between him and the closed door before punching the previous floor's button.

"Thanks!"

"It'll go down all the way before going up."

Bright green eyes widened, "Oh, mom's gonna be so mad."

Then the elevator came to a sudden halt, throwing the occupants off kilter. He knew what had happened even before he glanced at the sign stuck between 5 and 4. Great. He glanced at the kid. Just great. At least they still had light. Hospitals had back-up generators and if the power had gone out, he would have noticed the switch. It shouldn't take too long then. He was grateful the kid hadn't started wailing, instead he was staring expectancy at the adult. Levi quickly hit the call button, relieved someone answered.

"Yes, I'm stuck in Elevator 3A. There's a little kid here—"

"My name's Eren."

"—and we're stuck between the fourth and fifth floors. The kid's—"

"Eren," he said again.

"—mother got left behind on the fifth floor. You might want to notify her."

"Thank you. The other two elevators in the wing also stopped functioning. Unfortunately, because of a medical emergency, we have to take care of those first before we get to you. Is that alright?"

Levi sighed. "How long?"

"Half an hour."

That's not too bad, he thought. "Alright, thanks." He made himself comfortable, noticing Eren in his peripheral vision, watching him and doing the same. Levi pulled out his phone, happy to still have internet connection, and opened a game to pass time. He let out a huff, mildly annoyed at coming so close to beating his previous record.

"What's that? Is it Fruit Samurai?" Eren had been inching closer and now sat less than a foot from the older man. "What's your score?" He learned in and peeked. "That's it?" He snorted. "You suck."

"You think you can do better?" Levi raised at eyebrow. Eren grinned and held out his hand. Levi paused briefly before putting the phone in the open palm. Tiny fingers began slashing the screen with much speed and accuracy. Stupid brat, he frowned as the kid blasted past his record. "Fine, I'll give it to you, you're not half bad."

"Half bad?" Eren held the phone with the super high score tauntingly in front of its owner's face, beaming with pride. "But I want to play again," he pouted and scooted closer when Levi took it back.

"Hold on," Levi moved his arm away. "Here," he opened up the dial pad, "it's been over 10 minutes, call your mom, she must be worried." Eren's fingers were flying across the numbers before Levi had a chance to wonder if he even knew his mother's phone number and how irresponsible on her part if he didn't.

"Hi mom."

Legs crossed and face resting in his palm, Levi half-listened to the conversation while daydreaming about Bella's pepperoni, sausage, and onion pizza. His stomach growled in response and he snuck a peek to see if Eren overheard. Nope, he too busy gushing about his new high score in Fruit Samurai.

"…and missed the stupid pear but I still beat my score on your phone!" He nodded, listening to the feminine voice on the other end. "Okay… I know… I know, mom," he rolled his eyes. "…I love you, too. Bye." Eren disconnected and stared at his fellow prisoner, crestfallen, arm moving slowly and reluctantly towards him.

Levi rolled his eyes. "It's fine." The boy beamed, eagerly searching through the games to pick a new one. "Where are your manners, brat?"

"Thanks," he replied quickly. Ten minutes later, Eren shoved the rectangular object in the frowning man's face. "I beat your high score!"

"Nobody likes a show off," Levi folded his arms. "Do you want me to take my phone back?"

"No," the child pouted. "I'm sorry." His face lit up. "I know!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out a bar of chocolate. Carefully balancing the phone on his thigh, he unwrapped the candy bar and presented it before his companion. "You can have half."

Levi didn't want to eat the sweet treat. He was hungry for pizza and didn't want to ruin his appetite. But Eren's shoulders slumped when he didn't react and the young boy got a dejected expression on his face, making Levi feel slightly guilty. Listlessly he snapped off half of the bar and bit into it. Chocolatey sweetness flooded into his mouth and Eren was happy-smiley once more.

"So, what are you and your mother doing here anyway?" He asked after finishing the chocolate before it could melt and stain his hands.

"My mom's friend hurt himself. We came to visit him. It was so boring and he's so lame. I wanted to be home and watch cartoons but mom said no."

"That why you ran ahead?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded without taking his eyes off the phone. "We were finally going home. Hey! I beat—"

"My high score, yeah, yeah, I know."

"Are there other games?" Eren asked a few minutes later.

"No," Levi glumly took his phone back. He couldn't believe all his scores were beaten by a kid half his size. According to the time, nearly half an hour had passed. "We should be getting out of here soon."

"Aw," Eren groaned.

"What?"

"I have to clean my room when I get home," he sulked.

"What's so bad about that?"

"I don't like cleaning," Eren folded his arms. "But mom's always making me clean it every week. And I have to make the bed every morning too! It's just gonna get messy again at night!"

"That's no excuse to leave it a mess."

"We'll be done in a minute."

The two jerked in surprise. Levi stood and stretched his stiff muscles. "That was surprisingly fast. I thought it'd be a few more minutes." They felt the shift in the air as they began to descend. The doors opened on the fourth floor and they were greeted by a man in a maintenance uniform. "You two alright?"

"Fine," Levi answered. He stepped out, unable to find a middle-aged woman resembling Eren. "Where's your mother?" He turned back.

"She's waiting on the fifth floor," the dark-haired man answered, stepping in the elevator. "Are you going down?" His finger hovered over the button.

"I'll take the stairs, thanks," Levi waved his hand. "Spent enough time in an elevator today."

"Wait, what's your name?" Eren cried when the door began to close.

"Levi," he replied.

"Bye Levi," Eren waved before the doors shut.

I hate this. He'd been wandering the store for what felt like an eternity. His feet hurt. And he could feel a headache coming. Levi wanted to be back in his apartment, on the couch eating chips and watching some random movie. Instead he was at the store doing some last minute gift shopping. Why had he thought putting it off until the last minute would be a good idea? Feeling aggravated, he grabbed the first quirky looking book he could find, scanned the blurb, and moved towards the bakery, cutting through one of the frozen foods isles.

He needed to pick up some bread and he was pretty sure he was running low on mayonnaise. Do I have enough salt? A fist tugged at his jacket sleeve, ripping him from his thoughts and halting him. "Hi Levi!" Eren smiled up at him.

Levi looked around. There was no one else in the aisle. "Did you run away from your parents again?"

"I'm here with my mom."

"Your mother needs to put a leash on you."

Eren grinned toothily, "She complains that too."

"Didn't you learn your lesson in the elevator last week?"

"We're in a store, I won't get stuck."

"That's not the problem here, kid." He frowned in disapproval.

"Mom knows where I am," he shrugged. "I told her I wanted ice-cream."

Levi folded his arms. "You shouldn't run off on your own. Your mother must be worried sick."

But Eren's eyes and focus were on the ice-cream, not on Levi's words. He opened the glass door and attempted to reach the box at the very top. After a couple of failed attempts, he turned to the taller man with his eyes wide and begging. "You go straight to your mother after I get it, okay?" Levi said. "No more running off."

"Okay," he nodded enthusiastically.

"No," Levi moved the container out of his grasp. "We'll find your mother first."

"Fine," he turned and pointed. "She's this way." He began to lead. "She's looking at boring microwaves and stuff."

"Appliances are this way," Levi gestured in the opposite direction.

"Oh," Eren grinned and followed him. "Mom and I just moved here," he began. "She got a job with lots," he emphasized the point by opening his arms wide, "of money so we moved closer cuz our old apartment was too far. I'm going to be in 2nd grade," he said proudly.

"Kid, you shouldn't go around telling strangers things like that. Especially that your mom has a lot of money," Levi chided.

"But you're not a stranger, we're friends," he replied cheerfully.

"What if I was some creep, huh?"

"Then I would scream pervert really, really loud and kick you in the nuts."

"You know you got quite a big mouth for a 5-year-old."

"I'm 6 years old. And I beat all your high scores," he added as an afterthought.

"That's got nothing—"

"There's my mom," Eren pointed.

Levi sighed. A young woman was consoling the frantic-looking dark-haired woman. "Here," he handed Eren the box, "you better get there before she has a heart attack."

"Okay, whatever, bye!" Eren waved as he ran off.

Levi's phone buzzed. "Yeah I'm on my way," he said and walked towards the self check-out area.

Curtains rustled at the cool air blowing from the window, carrying the sounds and smells of the city. The weather man droned in the background, explaining an upcoming sunny week. Levi seriously doubted it. After flicking the TV off, he shut the windows and drew the curtains, mind buzzing with thoughts on dinner while grabbing his laundry and heading downstairs.

It was Sunday evening and most of the families had finished their laundry earlier in the day. They were sitting down and eating together and it gave Levi plenty of access to any machine of his choosing. After mechanically stuffing his clothes in the washing machine and pouring the detergent, he dug into his pockets for loose change. Keys, phone, cash, but no coins. The curse was just at the tip of his tongue when tiny footsteps came from behind him.

Levi blinked, unable to wrap his head around the sight before him. "You're kidding me." He stared into familiar green eyes incredulously. What the fuck? Am I being stalked by a six-year-old?

Eren began babbling but Levi fell deaf to his words. His eyes moved to the newest arrival. The redhead seemed familiar somehow. He couldn't quite figure out where he'd seen her. In his defense, he was appropriately distracted. Levi gestured to talkative kid while staring into the familiar woman's face. "You see him too, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, face morphing into a look of confusion. "What?"

Something about her expression, the way her facial muscles stretched, tugged at him. He glanced between her and Eren. And suddenly, he recalled where he'd seen her. At the store, consoling Eren's mother. She must be his babysitter.

"Eren?" She finally spoke, searching for an explanation.

"He's the one I was stuck with in the elevator," Eren pointed.

"Don't point, it's rude," she chided.

"Okay, mom."

"Mom?" Levi parroted. "Then who was she?"

"Who was who?" Confusion melted into her tone once again.

"The lady who was freaking out. At the store. I thought it was her…"

Realization dawned in her eyes and she smiled. "She lost her wallet and was freaking out. I was just trying to get her to calm down and offered to help her look for it. I can understand why you misunderstood." She placed the basket down. "I'm Petra. And thank you for looking after this little monster," she nudged Eren who'd come to stand next to her.

"He said you should put me on a leash."

Utterly mortified, Levi unconsciously shrunk a little, preparing for an outraged response at the ill-thought words he'd blurted at the store. Petra snorted, "Leash? Sweetie, I'm thinking about having a tracking chip put in your head."

"Cool!"

"So," Levi cleared his throat, "you moved into my building. What are the odds, huh?"

Petra shrugged, "That hospital and store are the closest to this apartment building, not really surprising we'd run into a neighbor."

She was right of course. Levi had seen his neighbors out and about in the street and in the local shops and stores. Only he'd never really cared enough to stop and make small talk. "Yeah, guess that's true."

"Are you done?" She nodded towards the washing machine

"No," he glanced over his shoulder. "Forgot to bring the change."

"Here," she reached into her pocket.

"No, it's fine—"

"It's the least I can do. Seriously."

A moment's hesitation later, he reached for the outstretched hand. "Thanks." He quickly put the coins in and started the machine. "Well, thanks again."

"It was nothing. See you around," Petra said and Eren waved beside her.

Levi left with a nod. They look absolutely nothing alike. Shrugging to himself, he made his way back to his apartment. He must take after his dad.

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