Year 4
Eren frantically rushed into their bedroom but managed to gently push the door shut behind him with his foot. His grin was practically maniacal.
"Did you get it all?" Levi asked, swiftly closing his laptop as Eren dumped an armful of candy onto the bed. Levi sifted through it, pleased to find a few Kit Kats in the mix.
Eren was tearing open a bag of M&Ms when Levi held up a hand. "Hey, we agreed."
Despite his miserable protests, Eren grabbed most of the candy back off the bed and hurried into the bathroom where they proceeded to stuff their faces full of chocolate. At anyone else's home, he would have had reservations about eating in the bathroom, but Levi kept theirs pristine. It was cleaner than most of their friends' kitchens.
"We're awful," Eren moaned as he reached for a Kit Kat. Levi swatted his hand away and guided him towards one of the Hershey bars. He hated those. Eren hardly noticed, still lamenting the situation. "We're stealing from our daughter."
"She's four. She doesn't know any better."
"I mean," Eren continued, "this was completely appropriate when she was a baby and we were using her as an excuse to have candy in the house, but we're really playing with fire here. She's going to catch on someday."
"And?"
"And she'll feel so betrayed by us."
"Huh. Shouldn't you be scared she'll feel betrayed if she finds out you cheat at Candyland?"
"But I always let her win. That's noble. "
"Sure, if it wasn't so the game would be over sooner."
Levi stared until Eren sighed in defeat. He finished his Reeses Cup and covered his face in shame. "I'm an awful parent."
After he'd thrown out all of their wrappers, Levi put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be an idiot," he said. Levi had very sage advice sometimes.
He'd been joking about the particular situation - Cassie had plenty of candy left, and he'd take the truth behind her Candyland winning streak to his grave. But there was some truth behind the joke that Eren knew Levi hadn't missed. This wasn't the first time it had come up in the past few months.
Though Eren sometimes suspected he was the favorite parent, it didn't make him feel like he was the better parent. Levi enforced rules and bedtime schedules and remained stoic in the face of temper tantrums. Eren played games - even when he ensured their speedy conclusion - sang all the grating children's songs ad nauseum, and was always willing to make a fool of himself if it would put a smile on Cassie's face. These were good things, of course, but he did worry. Especially when he could tell Levi was getting tired of being the bad cop.
Eren stood, tossed the wrappers in the trash, and held out a hand to help Levi up. They brushed their teeth side by side, and Eren followed Levi back into the bedroom.
"So you don't think I'm a bad parent?" he asked, knowing the answer would be along the same lines as, 'don't be an idiot', but still craving more reassurance.
"What's this about?" Levi sighed. "It can't possibly be about Candyland and a few bits of chocolate."
"Well, no." Eren pulled off his shirt, and started undoing his jeans. "Hey, eyes up here," he said.
Levi rolled his eyes. "It's not happening. You know she's going to get scared tonight, or at least use Halloween as an excuse to come sleep in here. You shouldn't have read those stories to her."
"I borrowed them after we went to the library's Halloween event for the kids. We just had to say, 'boo!' at the end of pretty much every story! How badly could they have really scared her?"
Levi shrugged.
"And see, that's what I mean: bad parenting. You wouldn't have read them to her."
Levi, now in his boxers and a t-shirt, got under the covers and leaned back against his pillows. "Just because I wouldn't have read them to her doesn't mean that's the right choice. You can't compare every single parenting decision we make. We're raising a good kid; she's fine."
"I just don't want you to feel like you have to be the bad guy all the time."
Levi thought about this. "Okay. I do like that you handle the singing. But no, you aren't great at the other side of things."
Eren deflated a little. He appreciated Levi's bluntness, but it did sting. Especially since it was true.
Levi continued, "But I suppose sometimes I can tell you when and how to be the bad guy. If you wanted that."
"Yeah, that would be great. Teach me how to care about a child making her bed every day." He cuddled up against Levi's side and smiled up at him, feeling a little better.
"I'll do my best. You have a lot to learn." Levi smiled back and stroked a hand through Eren's hair.
They had just turned off the lights when they heard Cassie screaming. Levi bolted out of bed faster than Eren. "I got her," he said. Though he would have gone in a heartbeat, Eren was pleased that Levi got to be the hero. When Levi returned he was cradling a distressed toddler in his arms.
"There were a lot of monsters everywhere, and they were attacking!" Cassie was explaining this urgently, as though they might be in imminent danger. She was looking around the room frantically, checking for danger. Levi unwrapped her arms from around his neck and set her down between them in the bed as he nodded his head intently.
"That sounds really scary." Eren snuggled Cassie. "But the good news is that it was a dream, and you're safe now. Do you really think your papa or me are going to let a monster attack?"
"No," she said thoughtfully.
"And why's that?"
"Because Papa is grumpy and would scare them away."
Levi looked affronted, and Eren laughed. "Yes! Exactly. So you're safe and sound. Do you want me to take you back to bed?"
She shook her head and looked over at Levi hopefully. He said with resignation, "I suppose you'd like to stay with us tonight?"
Cassie grinned. It was clear she'd gotten the outcome she'd desired. Eren suddenly questioned the validity of this nightmare. 'Monsters attacking' was suspiciously vague. Was his daughter a criminal mastermind? She was looking up at him, her eyes strikingly similar to his, and he wanted to believe they were utterly guileless.
They hadn't wanted to know which of them was biologically Cassie's father, but it had quickly become obvious she was Eren's. At first, it made Eren a little guilty, wonder if they should have a second child that was Levi's. But neither of them was particularly interested in having another child, and if anything Eren wondered if Levi was more besotted with their daughter for the fact. It was a flattering, humbling thought.
Levi's promise of telling Eren when to be the enforcer suddenly seemed far more daunting when the subject of his enforcement was sitting before him, so sweet and adorable.
"Come here then," Levi said, shifting closer to both of them. "If I'm to scare the monsters away, you'll have to stay close."
"Protect us, Papa!"
"Yes, please protect us, Levi." Eren looked over at Levi, expecting to catch his eye, but he was looking down at their daughter with so much love in his eyes that Eren's breath caught for moment. Yes, Levi got to be a hero to them both tonight.
Year 6
It was well past Cassie's usual bedtime, just after nine, but it was a Friday and she was still so enthusiastically taking stock of the night's haul. She had carefully organized and counted all of her favorite chocolates and put her least favorites into a pile that Eren and Levi were permitted to take from freely.
They were standing side by side at the kitchen table, while Eren sat just off to Levi's right looking dejectedly at the reject pile that was not only full of Cassie's least favorite chocolates but also his own.
"Okay, Papa, you can have a Kit Kat if I'm excused from cleaning my room this week." Cassie smiled sweetly up at Levi.
Eren was rooting for her. If either of them was going to finally bring Levi down, it was definitely Cassie. It didn't matter that really Levi could go out and buy as many Kit Kats as his heart desired, Eren knew he would pretend otherwise. He took these sorts of negotiations very seriously.
Levi folded his arms. "That's a terrible deal."
Cassie looked over at Eren who nodded subtly. Levi still clocked it and arched an eyebrow at Eren in response.
"What is your..." She looked over at Eren again expectantly.
"Counter-offer," he whispered.
Cassie smiled and declared, "Counter-offer!"
Levi shrugged and said lightly, "Three Kit Kats and you don't have to make your bed all week."
"Is that a good deal?" she asked, coming to stand by Eren.
"Nah. That's not worth three Kit Kats. You love those."
"Um, okay." She mulled this over. "Three Kit Kats, no making my bed, and you'll put my toys away for me tomorrow."
Eren rolled his eyes. Half the time he put her toys away with her anyway. He knew his parenting skills still left something to be desired; he was too easily turned to mush. Levi was better at staying firm and calm and keeping order in the house. Eren got dragged down in the mud too easily. But more than anything, Eren wanted Cassie to know he was always there for her, would always have her back no matter what.
Levi came to stand behind Eren and rested his hands on his shoulders. "Well, I'll have to give this some thought. Eren, do you think it's a good deal?"
"Oh yes, Levi. You're getting quite the deal."
"I suppose I accept your terms then, Cassidy," Levi said with formality. "Now, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed."
After Cassie had left the room, Eren said, "You know you can just buy Kit Kats whenever you want. They aren't available exclusively via trick-or-treating."
"This way I feel I've earned them," Levi said, and Eren didn't entirely get the feeling he was kidding.
They began clearing up the kitchen, Eren loading the dishwasher and Levi wiping down the surfaces sighing as he maneuvered around various Halloween decorations.
"We should clean these up tomorrow."
"Oh, no. It's so sad to just put them away the day after Halloween. Give it a day or two." Eren was feeling particularly protective of the pumpkin in the centre of the table that he and Cassie had carved out and turned into a makeshift flower vase. They'd also turned paper cups into bats and ghosts and spiders the weekend before, and even though Eren knew they couldn't really keep them around indefinitely, he was reluctant to throw them out so soon.
Cassie came back downstairs, dressed for bed. "I need to sleep in your room tonight," she announced.
"Why?" Eren and Levi chorused, but their tones were diametrically opposed.
"I'm scared of the monsters," she said solemnly. She clarified, "From Hanji's haunted house."
Levi and Eren exchanged looks. Lately she'd wanted to sleep in their room all the time, but it wasn't clear if there was something she was actually afraid of or if it was more of a need for attention. They'd been trying to address it with varying degrees of success. When Cassie cried, his protective instincts went into overdrive. The rationalizations poured out of him uncontrollably: it's just one more night. None of us will get any sleep if we let this go on. We'll talk to her about it again tomorrow when we've all calmed down. Who's it hurting having her in here? She'll outgrow it; she's still young.
"Excuse us for a second," Levi said. He tugged Eren's arm and pulled him into the living room.
"What are we going to do?" Levi asked, and Eren knew this was a test he was going to fail. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation.
"You're going to get back in there and give her a piece of your mind?" Eren guessed.
Levi narrowed his eyes, unamused. "No."
"That's all I got."
"It's your turn."
"I couldn't possibly…"
"You can," Levi said firmly. "We're going to go back in there, and you're going to tell her that she'll sleep in her own bed tonight."
"Yeah, okay. I'll tell her that we can stay with her while she falls asleep, but she's not sleeping in our room."
"Not bad," Levi smiled, tugging Eren down to give him a quick kiss.
He was still Eren's coach on the stern parenting front, but Eren just wanted tonight to be easy. As much as he would love to have the bed to themselves without Cassie moving about and kicking him through the night, he really didn't mind so much.
"Wait. What if we get out the sleeping bag and have her sleep on the floor?"
"Eren," he warned.
"Fine. Okay let's go," Eren sighed.
"Remember. Don't look into her eyes for too long."
"She's not Medusa, Levi..." But he had a point.
They returned to the kitchen, and Cassie was glaring at them. She was in almost a fighting stance with her legs apart and her hands balled into tiny fists. It was hard to keep a straight face. "I'm sleeping in your room," she said.
"No. You're not," Eren told her, trying to ignore her betrayed expression. He didn't look into her eyes for too long.
She stomped her foot. "You don't love me anymore," she accused. "You used to let me, but now you don't!"
"That's not true. We love you very much." Eren didn't coerce or threaten. He tried to stay firm and calm the way Levi always did, but it was hard. He could feel emotion surging up through his chest, fueled by a mixture of empathy and frustration. He wasn't good at maintaining a facade of impassiveness.
"I don't want to sleep in my room! I don't want to! You can't make me!" and on and on, kicking and screaming on the floor, until she had worn herself out.
Levi retrieved a pack of tissues from the junk drawer, and began wiping the snot and tears off Cassie's face. "Have you calmed down now?" he asked.
She shook her head, but it was clear she was now exhausted.
"Cas, your papa and I are going to go upstairs and read you a story. We'll stay with you until you fall asleep. I promise, you'll be fine."
There was no response forthcoming aside from a glare.
Though she was scowling, she didn't protest when Levi went to scoop her up into his arms. Her gaze was still focussed on Eren, her fury directed fully at him. His mother had warned him about this, and not for the first time, he guiltily recalled what a difficult child he'd sometimes been.
Eren followed them upstairs and to Cassie's room, but once he'd reached the doorway, she said, "I only want you to read me the story, Papa."
Well. That didn't feel great.
"I'm also not letting you sleep in our room," Levi said.
"But he was really mean," she snapped. "He wasn't nice daddy anymore."
Levi told her, "It's your loss."
Cassie scowled and turned away, arms folded across her chest.
On most other occasions, it would be Levi who was exiled from storytime. Eren knew it was his turn to take one for the team and that Levi took more than his fair share of hits for the both them, but he felt like shit. The careless words of a child shouldn't cut so deeply, but now Eren was on the outside of his family. Excluded from one of his favorite parts of the day when the three of them were together.
He was inexplicably embarrassed, though of course Levi would never gloat over this. In fact, when he came downstairs - where Eren had retreated to the living room with a glass of milk and a plate of the bat-shaped chocolate-chip cookies - he was nothing but gracious.
"It hurts her more when you're the bad guy because she's not used to it," Levi explained.
In a way, Eren wished Levi would have smirked or cracked a joke because then Eren could have hid behind the humor. Now he was exposed. He took a bite of cookie (his third) and said, "I'm still getting used to it I guess."
Overall, Cassie was an easygoing, happy child. There hadn't been very many occasions for him to develop thicker skin.
"It gets easier. Kids are like fucking goldfish."
"Translation?"
He sighed. "You have to remember she means it in the moment, but not in any lasting way."
"Right," Eren said, unconvinced that she would not carry these perceived injustices with her throughout her entire life.
"We're not picking up the therapy bills over this one, if that's what you're thinking," Levi said dryly. Eren burst out laughing. He stood up from the couch and kissed Levi, who opened to him immediately. The kiss turned hotter than Eren had (consciously) planned; Levi had put a hand on the back of Eren's head to pull him deeper as he ran his tongue along Eren's bottom lip.
Levi pulled back and gave Eren a heated look. "You did well tonight."
"Yeah," Eren was panting a little, his hands had drifted down to grip Levi's ass. "Why don't we go upstairs, and you can show me your appreciation?"
Year 10
Armin and Erwin had been hosting their annual Halloween party for the past five years. It seemed like that officially made it a tradition and thus exceedingly difficult to excuse yourself from once you'd been established as a regular guest.
Eren didn't particularly want to attend, and he was still the most enthusiastic of the family.
"Carter's mean now," Cassie told Levi as he drew whiskers on her face.
"Stay still," he said gently, "or you'll wind up looking like a fucking linebacker. Oh, sorry. Don't repeat that."
Eren laughed as he came into the room, only briefly scolding Levi for his language before asking, "Why is Carter mean?"
Cassie took Levi very seriously and stayed still. "Dad, I can't talk now."
Eren waited patiently as Levi finished up the whiskers. When he was finished, Eren grabbed the cat-eared headband from her dresser and placed them on Cassie's head as she said, "Well, he's always telling me he does better on tests and that he's the smartest person in our class."
It was probably true considering who his fathers were, but Eren was instantly furious on Cassie's behalf. Book smarts weren't everything! Carter was such a smug little shit anyway. Levi shot Eren a reproachful look, as though he could read Eren's mind.
"Even if it's true," Eren said, "bragging isn't a good look for anyone. And no one likes a know-it-all." Carter probably got that from Erwin - Armin was humble!
"You don't have to tell Carter how you did on a test," Levi added. "Next time he asks, change the subject. Besides, you're doing very well in school."
Cassie was frowning down at the claws she'd put on, so Eren chimed in with, "Yeah! You got a ninety on your last math test."
That made a small smile appear on her face, but she kept fiddling with her claws. "I guess. But I still don't wanna go tonight."
"Hey, listen, Cas," Eren said. "Look at me. We're not going to go for a long time, and then tomorrow's real Halloween anyway. Think of tonight as a bonus candy night. Enjoy it. When do we ever get to eat so much chocolate at once?"
Levi was unwavering in his house standards for food. Eren and Cassie had a weekly standing ice cream appointment that they kept strictly under wraps.
"Yeah, okay," she said, but she was still frowning.
"Hanji will be there," Levi said.
"Really!" She brightened instantly at the mention of Hanji. "I have to tell her about the moldy bread!"
"Yes, you certainly do." Levi had a look of distaste on his face, still bitter about the moldy bread experiment.
He'd refused any involvement in Cas' science project and blamed Hanji for giving Cas the idea in the first place. Despite their best efforts, both joint and individual, Levi and Eren had been unsuccessful in their attempts to talk Cassie out of this project. Once she had set her mind to it after a discussion with Hanji, she stubbornly refused to consider any other suggestions.
Levi had hissed, "This is your fault. She's just as stubborn as you."
"As me? " Eren had replied incredulously. "I think we have nurture over nature to thank on this one."
Eventually they had agreed to disagree lest they both refuse to budge until the end of time.
The promise of seeing Hanji at the party and having an engaged audience for her project had perked Cassie up. Eren only hoped Carter didn't try to butt into the conversation and start bragging about his own project - probably working on a vaccine for the common cold.
"Can Hanji come trick-or-treating with us tomorrow?"
"Probably not. You know how hard she works on her haunted house. She'll want to be there for the trick-or-treaters."
Cassie pulled a face, "Can't Moblit do it without her this time?"
"No one can really cackle quite like Hanji can," Eren said.
"Well, are we going to their house then?"
"You were too scared last year. Are you sure you want to go?"
"I wasn't scared!"
"Then why did you sleep on our floor that night?" Levi asked. Cassie had outgrown her desire to sleep in their room constantly, but suddenly last year after a visit to Hanji's House of Horrors, she had relapsed.
"I thought you might be scared."
Levi scoffed. "Forgive me if I don't believe you, Cassidy."
"We can stop by," Eren cut in. "Hanji would be pretty mad if we didn't at least check it out."
"Yeah, see!" Cassie widened her eyes at Levi. "So we'll go?"
Levi hummed noncommittally, but Cassie seemed to take this as a yes. It may very well have been.
"Come on. We need to get a move on," Eren said. "The sooner we go, the sooner we can leave."
Eren and Levi finished getting their own costumes ready now that Cassie's was done. Levi put on a lab coat and a stethoscope.
"I still can't believe you're going as a doctor again."
Levi turned to him, and Eren reached over to adjust the stethoscope around his neck. "It's funny because I'm a lawyer," Levi said flatly.
"Hilarious." Eren rolled his eyes. "I still think one year we should go as Erwin and Armin."
"We're never doing that."
"Oh come on! It would be great. Better than me being your zombie patient."
"That is a very stupid costume," Levi agreed.
"You kind of forced me into it." This made Levi scoff. "What? You did!' Eren argued.
Levi laughed, and Eren gave up and finished putting fake blood on his face and clothes.
When he went downstairs, Cassie was fiddling absentmindedly with the jack-o'-lanternshe'd made last night. She ran her fingers in its open mouth, over the jagged edges.
"Why so gloomy?"
She startled. "Did you ever...like someone and you weren't sure why?"
"Yeah. I'll have to introduce you to this guy Levi I know sometime."
Cassie burst out laughing. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
"Dad!"
"Okay, okay. Yes, I have. Why do you ask?"
She winded a bit of hair around her finger and said, "I think I might like someone even though he's really annoying."
"Would this someone happen to be Carter?" he ventured.
Her eyes snapped up to meet his. She looked amazed. "How did you know?"
"Context clues."
She furrowed her brow. "I guessed from what you said," he elaborated.
"Oh."
"You know it's okay if you like him. I don't understand it at all, but it's okay. I think if you like him, you probably see something special in him."
"Yeah, well. He can be really annoying, and he brags a lot but...he also always makes sure someone saves me a seat at lunch. And if Erwin's made cookies, Carter always brings me some. He's really cute too." She sounded completely defeated.
"See? You see something special. He's crazy if he doesn't see something special in you too."
She ducked her head and smiled. "Thanks," she said. "You're the best dad ever."
"One of the best dads," he corrected.
She just smiled at him.
Year 15
Cassie hated Eren's guts. It was official. Levi was the beloved, revered parent, and Eren was on the outside of his own family.
The door slammed loudly moments after Cassie had stormed upstairs, shouting behind her that she hated Eren and he could go to hell.
"We're going to have to ground her for a week," Levi said a bit too calmly for Eren's taste.
"For a month or even a year is more like it!" Eren said loudly, hoping the sound would carry up the stairs after her.
"Eren," Levi said, "come on." He sat Eren down on the island in the kitchen and put on the kettle.
"Maybe we should just let her go to the party," Eren said as Levi pulled the tea and the strainer from the cupboard. "I want to be alone with you anyway."
"We can't let her go after now," Levi said. "But I agree, I was looking forward to tonight."
It wasn't fair. Cassie had ruined her own night and both of theirs. If she had just gone up and changed her outfit into something, anything even slightly more appropriate they wouldn't have fought, and it wouldn't have turned into such a heated argument that eventually Eren shouted that she could forget going at all.
"I don't want her to ever feel self-conscious, and I don't want to be one of those dads, but my god. You could see almost everything, Levi. She's fifteen! Why is she dressed as a barmaid? Why not just a cat at an appropriate level of 'sexiness' for a fifteen-year-old?"
Levi nodded seriously as he placed a mug in front of Eren. "Your point wasn't wrong, your approach was."
There was a time Cassie had been his best friend, his most powerful ally. Now they were stuck in a spiral of arguments and battle of wills. He said as much to Levi.
"Firstly, I'm your best friend. Secondly, she loves you. You're both just being stubborn idiots. I can't imagine where she gets that from."
After a moment of deliberation, Levi sighed and headed towards the stairs.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I'm going to sort this out. There's no reason I should be punished. I'm fucking my husband tonight. Loudly."
Eren didn't think he'd ever swooned so hard in his life. Levi was going to confront their terrifying teenage daughter on his behalf. Had anything so heroic ever happened to him before? He couldn't recall.
He paced the kitchen nervously, and when Cassie's door opened and the sound of Levi's voice carried down the stairs, he sat back down and pretended he'd just been doing something important on his phone. Reading the news, maybe. He sipped his tea seriously.
When Cassie came into the kitchen, Eren saw she was crying. His anger melted away instantly. He wasn't made of stone.
"I'm so sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have been so mean to you. I really don't hate you, I promise." Cassie hugged him tightly,
Over her shoulder Eren mouthed to Levi, "What did you say?"
Levi smiled faintly and mouthed back, "I'll tell you later."
Eren also noticed that Cassie had modified her outfit enough that he was sure - biased but still sure - that she would impress whoever it was she was trying to impress.
"Cassidy and I reached an agreement about the party," Levi said, nodding over at Cassie.
"Pops said I can go to the party if I promise to make it up to you all week, so I'm gonna do all your chores."
"And?"
Cassie looked at Levi with shock. "I thought you were kidding about the second part."
"Did I sound like I was kidding?"
"No! But you never sound like you're kidding; that's the problem!" she said miserably.
"What's the second part?" Eren prompted.
"I have to compliment you three times a day."
"Morning, noon and night," Levi confirmed.
"Huh," Eren said. "Boy, you must really want to go to this party tonight. Who's going to be there?" It was possible she just wanted to go to see her friends, but Cassie was rarely so dead set on going to events like these unless someone she was interested in was going to be there too. He'd thought she just wanted to generally impress everyone with her outfit, but he now suspected there was someone in particular.
"No one."
Even Levi looked interested now. "Do we know them?" he asked.
Cassie mumbled something at the floor, and Eren looked at Levi in triumph. "It is someone we know. Who is it, Cas?"
"You have to promise not to say anything. Or I'll never speak to either of you again."
"Why should we both be punished if the other says something?"
"Because it'll give you both incentive not to fuck up." She caught herself, saying, "Oops, sorry." At the same time Levi and Eren were halfheartedly saying, "Language."
"I respect that plan," Levi nodded. "Sure, you never have to talk to us again. Everyone wins."
"Papa!"
"I think he's kidding," Eren said, glancing over at Levi. "He's kidding."
"It's Carter."
"...Oh. Really?"
"Yes! Why are you making that face?"
"I just thought you had finally lost interest in him."
"I did, but then I didn't. He's been really cool lately."
He still seemed like a pretentious douchebag to Eren. What the hell did kids think was cool these days? He thought back to years ago, when Cassie had described a side of Carter that was thoughtful and sweet and hoped that was what she meant by 'cool'.
"Well? Are you ready to go?" Levi interrupted, raising an eyebrow at Cassie.
She started scrambling, heading towards the stairs. "Oh! I have to fix my makeup. Just give me two minutes, pops."
"I'm going to go heat up the car," Levi said. "Don't be too long."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She scurried up to her room, and Eren heard her crashing around for almost five minutes before she came back down.
Eren followed Cassie to the front door. "Hey, you know I'm always rooting for you, right?" he said, feeling a little foolish as the words left his mouth.
She shrugged her coat onto her shoulders, and Eren reached out to fix her collar, pleased when she didn't protest.
"Even with Carter?" she asked skeptically.
"Even with Carter."
"Well, alright," she smiled. "Thank you."
She was halfway out the door when she stopped and turned back. "I, um. I didn't really mean what I said earlier. I'm sorry."
"You already apologized," he reminded her.
"Yeah, but. It just feels extra shitty when it doesn't feel like you're on my side." Eren didn't bother to comment on the cursing. He was frozen in surprise. She added, "It just felt like you were working against me, is all. I wasn't expecting it."
"I'm always on your side," he said carefully.
"I know. That's what pops said too. He told me he had to teach you how to be the bad guy. He said that pretty much every time I got mad at you when I was a kid was for him because you always were ready to do whatever I wanted." It looked like she was trying to hold back tears. Eren knew he was.
Eren hugged her tightly, not caring about the cold air blowing into the house. A few trick-or-treaters were making their way up their path, so Eren let Cassie go. He adjusted her scarf a little even though it was fine, and said, "Just remember, Carter's an idiot if he doesn't like you."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, trying to hide her smile, and went to join Levi in the car.
Year 18
For years Cassie had been trying in vain to impress Carter, and now he was dating someone he'd met over the summer.
"And she's older and way cooler than me," Cassie said miserably from the living room floor.
"Why are you on the floor? Don't be so dramatic," Levi said.
"Be more dramatic," Eren suggested. "It's really helpful."
"I absolutely cannot go to Armin and Erwin's party. I just can't and I won't. Because Carter's girlfriend is going to be there, and I just can't with it, dads."
"If you don't go, it's going to look like you care too much," Levi pointed out.
Eren and Cassie exchanged shocked looks. "It's a Halloween crisis!" Cassie cried, getting off the floor and pointing dramatically at Levi. "Pops has been possessed. Where do we keep the holy water and spare crosses?"
Eren laughed, Levi didn't. "That's the last time I try to be helpful."
Still recovering from his laughing fit, Eren said, "We could say we all came down with the flu or food poisoning."
"Hm. We used that one a few years ago already."
"Right. Good point." Eren considered this. "It's only noon. Do you have anyone you could invite to be your cover date? Whatever happened to Luke?"
Cassie got a dreamy look on her face. "Oh, Luke's so great. We still talk sometimes, but I don't know if he's around. He's probably still on campus...but I guess he's only an hour away. Ug, but why would he want to come to this with me on a Saturday night!"
"What's the harm in asking? Carter brings his college date, you bring yours." Eren was fully invested in this plan now. He looked over at Levi who had a tiny, amused smile on his face.
"Okay, okay, yeah!" Cassie said enthusiastically. They made room for her between them on the couch, and she flopped down and started crafting a text aloud. Levi politely helped for about four attempts, but began pottering around the living room as Eren and Cassie continued on to iteration ten. They made Levi weigh in on the final attempt, and when they were all satisfied, Cassie hit send and then squealed and threw herself back down on the floor.
"The floor is so clean, pops." She grinned up at Levi who was looking disapprovingly at her again.
"Tch. I know. I'm worried you'll make it dirty again; you shed everywhere."
This made Cassie giggle, and Levi nudged her fondly with his foot. Eren was simultaneously hit by how happy he was right now and how this was might be Cassie's last Halloween living at home. Soon they'd be dropping her off at college and the house would be quiet, which was great and sad. He liked having Levi all to himself, and he liked watching Cassie tease and cajole Levi. He wanted both.
Cassie got up to go to her room. "I'll let you know if he responds," she said.
"Thank you. Please don't let us miss a single development."
She rolled her eyes and left the living room.
"So, last Halloween together," Eren said after a while.
"Eren, don't be an idiot. You know we're not going to be able to be rid of her so easily."
"It'll be different, though."
"I'm ready for different."
"You are?" They had only briefly touched on what life after Cassie moved out might look like. The conversation never seemed urgent enough, always something more pressing to discuss. And it always seemed too far away to contemplate in any concrete way. But here it was, and here they were.
"We'll no longer be at the whims of a teenager."
Eren considered this. They hadn't really been at Cassie's whims all that often since she got her driver's license. They had family dinners together, and they attended all her soccer games, but these seemed like features rather than bugs. He was looking forward to wearing underwear around the house on weekends or having carefree sex with Levi when they wanted, but those were the only two things he could come up with.
Eren was about to reply when Cassie came barreling back down the stairs, shouting, "He can come! He's coming! I can't believe it!"
"See?" Levi said, cutting a look at Eren.
"Is it okay if Luke comes over here first and hangs out for a bit?"
"Sure, that's fine," Eren said, and Levi nodded.
"I'm working on a list of scary movies that we can watch before the party."
"Who exactly are you making that list for?" Eren asked skeptically.
"Uh, me and Luke? I guess you two can join if you want..." she offered reluctantly.
"But you can't handle scary anything," Eren pointed out. "You can't even handle the trailers for scary films. How are you going to sit through the whole thing?"
"That's not true. I'm really very brave."
Levi scoffed, "This coming from the girl who shits herself every time someone walks into a room."
"That's different! Why do you both move around so quietly?"
"If I had a dollar for every time you've had to sleep in our room over the years, your entire college tuition would be paid," Levi said.
"That math can't possibly check out."
Eren added, "I understand that you're using the classic move of watch a scary film, and I respect that, I really do, but this just can't end well for you."
"Dad!" she wailed, "Oh my god!"
"Well, you're not sleeping in our room tonight, that's all I'm saying."
"Oh, did the big boss man put you up to that again?"
"Big boss man...he is not the big boss man."
"You're right," Levi interjected, "I would never allow myself to be referred to that way."
Cassie laughed. "I'm just saying, I know the truth now about everything."
It was Eren and Levi's turn to laugh now.
She looked between them excitedly, "What? What other secrets are there?"
Eren confessed, "We ate your Halloween candy for years until you started basically itemizing it."
"What!"
"Yeah, and to cover our tracks we'd eat it upstairs so you didn't notice all the wrappers in the trash. Like you would have even noticed!" Eren was laughing so hard at this point it was hard to speak. "And Levi made us eat it in the bathroom so we didn't get food in the bed."
Cassie and Levi were laughing just as hard now. Cassie managed to get out, "Of course he did!" before descending into another fit of laughter.
They spent the rest of the day together until the party. Cassie's invitation for them to watch the film morphed into something genuine sometime after Levi revealed how Eren used to cheat at board games to speed them up and Cassie laughed so hard she cried. Luke was sweet and didn't seem to mind watching the movie with them or Levi's need to point out inconsistencies and plot holes despite Eren's pleas for him to shut up.
"It's been a really good day," Eren said as they headed outside. There were still traces of light left in the sky, and it was a little warmer this year than usual. Cassie and Luke were driving over separately in his car, so it was just Levi and Eren now.
"Jesus. If you're getting soppy over Halloween, I dread to think how it's going to be over Christmas and my birthday."
But Levi looked pleased too, and he took hold of Eren's hand and brought it to his lips.