Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan!

A/N: This is a modern AU of my Levihan Family Fluff AU. AU inception. It's really just an excuse to have Levi carry around a Hello Kitty backpack. Remy is 8, Ava is 3, Hanji has overplanned for Thanksgiving, and Levi is trying to not lose someone in the chaos.

Thankful for Red-eye Flights

"Did we get everything? Oh my god, did I leave my laptop cord—nope, there it is. Wait. Yeah, no, it's okay, this is it! Did we leave anything else?"

"We left Ava."

"Remy, that is not helping. Levi?"

"I have her. Get out of the trunk, Four-eyes."

Hanji was halfway in the trunk of the car, searching around the edges as if she was going to discover a glasses case or twenty bucks or everyone's spare underwear supply. Nearby, Levi was standing with all their luggage and the kids, holding Ava while Remy swung around a parking lot light pole. It was close to one in the morning, and it was colder than freezing outside. Remy was ecstatic about being up this late, but Ava had lost her normal sunny disposition and was currently grumpy at the world like only an exhausted three-year-old could be.

Her expression matched her father's exactly as they both frowned at Hanji.

"I don't think we packed toothpaste," Hanji said as she extricated herself from the trunk and put her hands on her hips. "Did anyone get the mittens?"

"I did. We're leaving now. Lock the car."

"But—"

"We're going to be late," he said, handing Ava over to Hanji so he could grab their carry-ons. There had been concerted effort to pack everything into small luggage so they wouldn't have to pay extra baggage fees. Sighing, he picked up Ava's Hello Kitty backpack from the top of the car and tossed it over his shoulder before grabbing Remy's Transformers backpack and throwing it to him.

"Oi, Remy."

The eight-year-old spun and caught it, pulling it over his shoulders.

Hanji's own backpack was hanging from her shoulder, the laptop cord still spilling out of the top, along with the handle of her small pocketbook. It was going to be a miracle if they made it to Seattle with everything and everyone. She reached for one of the luggage bags, but Levi was already walking away, both of the carry-ons wheeling behind him. The cartoon on Ava's bright pink and white backpack winked at Hanji as she walked behind Levi.

"I can see my breath," Remy said as they all headed off to the bus stop in a line, Levi in front, then Remy, and Hanji bringing up the rear with Ava. "What time are we going to get there?"

"About eight in the morning," Hanji said. Her dad or her older sister was going to pick them up at the airport and bring them to her parents' house, and Hanji was honestly hoping the driver would be her dad. Levi was better at tolerating her dad rather than her sister. That whole death glare thing the two of them exchanged with each other every time they were in the same room was exasperating.

Remy raised his eyebrows. "So we're going to sleep on the plane?"

"That's the plan," Hanji said with a smile.

Levi made a noise of disgust, probably because the sanitation on the plane wouldn't be up to his normal standards. Hanji hoped that he wouldn't demand cleaning supplies from the flight attendants and scrub the windows or something. Or, alternatively, spend the whole flight writing a long letter of complaint to the airline.

And also hopefully Ava would be in a better mood after the plane ride. She had been grouchy since Levi had pulled her out of bed and stuck her in the car, and judging by the alternating glares and pouts, she really needed to get a few more hours of sleep.

They all rode the bus to the airport with the rest of the Thanksgiving travelers, most of whom looked stressed and harried. Ava fidgeted the whole time and played with the long bunny ears on her knit toboggan, at least until Remy got her to draw on the bus window instead.

Hanji reached out and touched Levi's fingers, smiling a little as he caught her hand in return. Okay, so he wasn't too pissed off about this whole family adventure.

At least not yet.

He wasn't thrilled about visiting her family, which she honestly didn't blame him for. The Zoe clan had never really taken to Levi, mostly because they thought he was cold and distant. Which, you know, he could be, but Hanji knew there was a lot more to him than that. It was just that her family didn't understand, especially her older sister Josephine.

Josephine had pretty much decided that Levi was bad news the moment she met him, while on the other side, Levi had quickly come to the conclusion that Josephine was an empty-headed idiot who worked for a gossip website. It meant that they spent every reunion and family holiday snarking at each other.

Which was soooo much fun for everyone.

But they couldn't skip another family holiday, not when Hanji's mom kept calling and demanding to see her grandkids, occasionally tearing up so she could lay the guilt on thick. Since Ava had been born, Hanji and Levi had managed to beg out of the holidays, saying that traveling from D.C. to Seattle would be too hard on the baby. Unfortunately, Ava had turned into a toddler and they had lost the whole screaming-baby excuse.

At least they were making it up later by visiting Levi's makeshift family back in D.C. And then there was the Thanksgiving dinner that Erwin had invited them, too. And the staff and student post-Thanksgiving party back at campus she had signed them up for. Okay, so maybe she had overscheduled them this week, but there was only one Thanksgiving per year! They needed to enjoy it.

As the bus stopped at the right entrance, they gathered their stuff and headed into the airport. They had checked in online already, so they headed straight to the security line. It was controlled mayhem, what with people having to pull off jackets and hoodies and shoes, yanking laptops out of bags, tossing bags and gear onto the conveyor belts. At least they got to use the family line, even though that still took a long time to get through.

Levi was efficient as always, setting each thing down on the belt neatly, while Hanji flung her things down haphazardly, almost setting Ava on the belt with everything else. A quiet 'tch' from Levi kept her from sending their daughter through the X-ray machine.

"Take shoes off," Ava said, lifting her feet as she saw Levi and Remy unlacing their boots. Remy technically didn't have to take his shoes off, but he was just copycatting his dad.

"You don't have to take your shoes off," Hanji said as she set Ava down so she could slide off her own shoes. "That's awesome, right?"

"No." The three-year-old sat down and started tugging on her boots anyways. "Don't want them."

"Ava, not now, please," Hanji said, trying not to get frustrated. She knew Ava was tired, but she also wasn't going to let her have an all-out tantrum right in the middle of the TSA line.

Luckily, Levi had seen the potential trouble brewing, and he picked up Ava, pushing her boots back on her feet. "Don't tell your mom no." Ava poked her bottom lip out in an embarrassed pout, at least until he handed her one of his boots. "Help me put this on the conveyor belt."

She set the boot down and then reached for his other one, momentarily distracted from her own shoes. Levi handed it to her then carried her through the metal detector that the family line used. Hanji yanked off her hoodie and then followed after them, pushing Remy in front of her.

None of them beeped, which was a blessing because she totally expected Remy to have packed a pocketknife or something. Hanji was still putting on her boots when she was suddenly tugged to her feet.

"Come on, Four-eyes, we're late," Levi said, grabbing her hoodie from the conveyor belt and tossing it to her. She snatched it up and tied it around her waist before grabbing her backpack, looping it over her shoulders. Everything else was gone though…

"Hey, Levi, did you—"

"Hanji! Move it!"

Okay, so she had to laugh. Levi looked mildly ridiculous. He had that tiny pink Hello Kitty backpack on one shoulder, his laptop bag under that, and the neon green Transformers bag on the other shoulder. Ava was clinging to his back like a monkey, her arms wrapped around his neck, and he was pulling the two rolling carry-ons behind him. Plus, Remy was running along beside him, carrying his hoodie and Levi's jacket, looking like he was going to trip at any moment. Still, Levi managed to look completely composed as he took off down the hall, heading toward their gate.

Hanji followed, and they ran through the airport, weaving around their fellow travelers until they made it to their gate. There wasn't anyone left in their staging area, so they rushed to the ticket counter, Levi holding out all four tickets. The zealously chipper attendant at the stand scanned the print-outs and waved them all through.

While Hanji got the kids into their seats, Levi stored their bags in the overhead compartments. Hanji and Ava were on one side of the aisle while Levi and Remy were on the other. Before he sat down, Levi grabbed a stuffed rabbit out of Ava's bag and handed it to her, his hand brushing over her head before he squeezed Hanji's shoulder.

"Get some sleep," he said, giving her a stern look before dropping down in the seat beside Remy. The eight-year-old immediately curled up in the seat and leaned against him, like Levi was just a comfortable, convenient living pillow. Sighing, Levi looped an arm around him and pulled him closer, letting his head rest against the back of the chair.

Hanji smiled to herself as the plane started heading for the runway and Ava drooped into her lap. She stroked the toddler's back, wondering if the rest of the trip was going to be as adventurous as the first few hours.