It was dark and quiet, and Eren sat on his bed, clutching his sheets to his chest and shaking slightly. The three year old was terrified, watching the shadows on his walls with wide eyes, and he jumped in surprise when the scratching on his floor began. No matter how hard he tried to stay strong, he just couldn't, and he whimpered when the noise grew louder. A growl from behind the closed door of his closet had tears welling in his eyes, and he cried out for his mother.

Whimpering, the little boy relaxed a bit when he saw her smile in the doorway, illuminated by the soft glow of his nightlight and focused entirely on him. Her voice was soft when she walked over to sit next to him, "What's wrong, sweetie?" The brunet's lip wavered, and he dropped his blanket to crawl into her lap and wrap his small hands around her neck in a hug. "It is back?"

Eren nodded slowly, tightening his grip and whispering in her ear. "Mhm, Momma." The little boy bit his lip and kissed her on the cheek before returning to his spot underneath his comforter. Now that she was here, he wasn't that scared. This wasn't the first time that the monster had kept him awake, and every time, his mother made sure to stay with him until he fell asleep. "I wanna hear you sing Momma. He doesn't come when you sing." The monster never came for him when the older woman was there for some reason, but he never gave it more thought than that. It left him alone when she sang to him, and that was all that mattered to the three year old. Carla chuckled, pinching her son gently on the cheek before tucking him in and began to sing.

The woman's voice was thick with love, coating Levi's mouth in sugar. He frowned as he listened to her sing, noticing that the boy- his charge to frighten- was already fast asleep. His breathing was even, and the boogeyman knew better than to enter the brunet's dreams while his mother was there to calm him down. It'd be a wasted effort on his part if she pulled the boy from his nightmare, and even though the boogeyman would never admit it himself, he loved hearing the woman's voice. It made him feel less alone.

His nails scraped against the wooden floor, and even though he knew only Eren would be able to hear him, he flinched, thinking that the boy's mother would investigate the source of the noise. She didn't, never did after Eren had stopped insisting, and Levi relaxed against the wall. It had been four or five months now since he was tasked with Eren, but the demon still found himself closing his eyes as he listened to the lyrics. He'd found them strange in the beginning and not suited to be a lullaby, but it grew on him quickly, and now he mouthed the words along with the boy's mother.

It didn't take long for her to finish the song- she always made sure to finish even long after he'd fallen asleep- and Levi yawned when he heard the bedroom door shut before walking out of the closet. He looked at the brunet with a frown on his face, leaning over to brush the child's hair from his closed eyes. The boogeyman wasn't quite sure when the idea of scaring Eren to tears had become unappealing, but he decided that it would be alright to let him have one night of peaceful sleep.

The lullaby was stuck in his head and on his tongue, and Levi hummed softly to himself as he walked over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Curling up, the boogeyman hid his presence with shadows and closed his eyes, letting Eren's dream wash over him in gentle waves. It felt warm, and a small smiled graced his lips when he realized the boy was dreaming of his future. A tickle at the back of his throat reminded him of his duty and his need for Eren's fear, but he pushed back the urge and left the brunet alone.

/

It was too quiet in the room, the silence deafening, and Levi thought back to the first time he hadn't manipulated Eren's dreams. The years felt like a lifetime, and as he stood over the child's bruised body, he wished for the countless time that night that he'd been born a sandman and not the monster he was. Eren was crying softly to himself, not moving an inch even when the boogeyman loomed over him, and the demon wrapped his arms around him tightly. With the contact, Eren whimpered and dug into the older man's chest, his small hands clutching at the dark fabric of his shirt.

The boogeyman sighed. It was strange to think that the woman he'd grown attached to all those past years was gone and that he'd never hear her soft voice or the lullaby that she'd managed to inadvertently engrain into his brain ever again. His eyes prickled, but he couldn't cry, wouldn't let himself breakdown in front of the little boy sobbing into his shoulder. Levi had known the second Eren had walked into the house that something was very wrong. The brunet didn't have to try and explain- he'd been able to fully piece everything together by listening to the conversations downstairs.

Carla Yeager had died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital when her car had been hit by a drunk driver and crossed into oncoming traffic. Surprisingly enough, Eren, who'd been in the backseat of the car, had only received some minor cuts and bruises and a fractured ankle. The six year old refused to talk to anyone about the accident or his mother's death, hiding up in his room whenever anyone mentioned it.

Dark circles under the boy's eyes gave away his lack of sleep, but it wasn't the boogeyman's doing, and the demon pulled him in closer, picking him up from the floor and tucking him into bed. Eren didn't help, but he didn't fight either, never letting go of Levi's shirt. Nightmares had plagued the brunet since the accident, and he'd been suffering for it. That much was obvious.

"I-It's not fair, Mr. Boogeyman. It's not- Momma."

The older man didn't know what to do, mind trying to figure out how he could calm the child down, and only coming up with one idea. Licking his lips, Levi forced Eren to let go of him, wrapping the brunet's fist against his clawed hand instead and then began to sing the same lullaby Carla had the night before. It was lower and a little darker coming from the demon's mouth, but Eren stopped crying after a minute, snuggling closer to Levi for warmth as he fell asleep for the first time in days.

/

Eren sat against the locked door of his bedroom with his eyes closed, trying his best to block out the crashing of wood and glass hitting walls and the ache in his chest. He opened them when the noise subsided and stood up carefully. The anniversary of his mother's death always brought the same violent reaction from his father, and by now he was used to hiding in his room until the man calmed down or passed out. It'd had already been eleven years since the accident, but it still felt like yesterday. The pain had never gone away, really. His legs were shaky and weak, but what after what felt like the millionth time of falling over, he was finally able to keep his balance.

Slowly, he made his way over to his bed and pulled back the covers, sliding under his comforter with a groan. When he was safely under them, he eyed his nightstand and the alarm clock on top of it before yanking out its cord and curling into himself; there was no way he would be able to go to school the next day. He'd left his light on, and it burned his eyes, but he was too tired to fix it. What little energy he had left was used to hold back the tears threatening to fall, and he flinched as his fingers trailed along the bruises on his arm. Most were old, but the telltale colours pooping up near his forearm and wrist told him that he'd have a fresh batch by the morning.

His eyes widened when he heard the rustling, relaxing when he realized that it was the monster that lived off his fear and not his father coming back for more, and he let out a thankful sigh when the lights went off. Burying his face in his arm, he shivered when he felt its clawed hand run through his hair, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from crying.

The demon hummed, low and quiet, rubbing his thumb against the back of Eren's hand. When it became apparent that his image wasn't crucial to maintain the brunet's fear, he'd been able to alter his looks to be more human, and he was grateful that he could comfort the other boy properly. The teen had promised that he didn't care what the boogeyman looked like, and that they'd be friends regardless, but he knew that Eren was happier with someone he could cuddle up to.

"I miss her so much, Levi…"

"I know, kid. I do to."

A/N: To clear up- Eren was three then 5 then 16 ^^ There won't be any ROMANTIC Ereri/Riren until Eren is older...until then it's platonic.