Levi's Family
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 (the clever code name for nap time, because 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 (more likely) 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 and Mikasa wasn't far behind. As soon as he saw Levi with the disappointed look on his face, Eren froze and ducked his head in shame. On the other hand, Mikasa- holding Eren's old red baby blanket tightly her in arms as usual- sidled up to Levi's legs, rubbing her tears into his knees and Levi tried not to think about stains 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 with shame. He looked up with a pleading and bright teal eyes glittering with gathering tears. "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. Trying to soften his expression- which was known for being naturally stern and intimidating- 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 quickly, wanting to show his Papa that he had listened well.
"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. Tears started spilling down his cheeks again, with the shame of disobeying his Papa. Eren adored Levi and hated to disappoint him. Levi felt it reflected poorly on him as a father, if his child was always in fear of losing his Papa's love. He suspected it was due to his generally aura of grumpiness and blunt way of parenting. After all, Levi was given custody of Eren when he was only 2 years old and it had only been the two of them, until Mikasa joined them one year later.
"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 and do as I say."
Eren's wet face rubbed a nod into his Papa's shoulder and Levi tried not to worry about the snot smeared on his sleeve.
"Good. Now, Eren, can you apologize for not asking nicely?" Levi asked- but both knew it wasn't a request- and turned his attention to his little girl. "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, didn't obey and only clung tighter to Levi. The grip she had on both Eren's red blanket and her father was surprisingly tight for a 4 year old. Levi sighed, understanding the reasoning behind Mikasa's defiance. He leaned his head in close and repeated the instruction. His little girl only made small whining noises.
"But I want to play with Eren. I don't want to be alone," she worried.
Levi's arm that was around Eren moved to join his other around Mikasa. It was just as he expected. Unlike Eren, who had come an orphan from a loving family -through a very odd set of circumstances, as not many social workers would put children in the custody of single men- Mikasa had come from the foster care system and had a history of neglect and abandonment. As a result, Mikasa often became very dependent on Eren and Levi. It was why she always had Eren's red blanket with her and why she was always within an arm's length.
"You're not alone Mikasa," Levi assured her and Eren immediately voiced his agreement.
Levi made a mental note to praise Eren for his reassurances later. When Mikasa had joined their family, Levi had explained her situation to the boy and, despite being 3, Eren had understood. That moment he and declared that he would always try to protect Mikasa from the scary feelings and offered his prized red baby blanket to her.
"Your brother and I will always be here to love and help you," Levi continued to assure Mikasa. "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.
The child visibly tensed in his arms. Levi sighed internally. He knew that Mikasa would obey his order, even though she didn't want to. She was still shaken up and anxious, so forcing her into quiet time would only lead to more traumatization.
"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. Eren on the other hand looked at his Papa with a jealous 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 from Papa.
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. Awkwardly he reached around her to work, trying not to jostle her too much. 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 (something Eren had once said he wished he wanted to be) making noise and ungracefully forcing himself onto his Papa's lap. Levi groaned as Mikasa woke with a disorienting start and made her little whines- he knew exactly how grumpy Mikasa could get when her naps were interrupted.
"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 the little monkey into a more comfortable position on his lap. "Eren stop wiggling!" he commanded, to which Eren marginally obeyed.
"Papa, quiet time's over! So I can play with you right?"
Levi didn't have time to respond before Mikasa chimed in with a complaining, "But Eren, I want to play with you!"
It was quickly settled when Papa announced that he needed to make dinner so neither of them could play with him and Eren and Mikasa decided they would help him make dinner instead. 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.
AN: YAAAY DOMESTIC FLUFF. Clearly, that is all I'm capable of writing.
Erwin and his family will be introduced next. I can't promise this will have any sort of regular update schedule... But thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.
Love,
Allie
