Birds chirping, breaking the silence of an early morning, had Levi waking up. He groaned, cracking his neck from side to side a few times to get rid of the stiffness. He rubbed a hand on his eyes to remove the sleep and tried to hold back a yawn, finding that he couldn't move his lower body properly.

Something's wrong, he thought. He shouldn't be hearing birds chirping outside, not in this place, and he shouldn't be sleeping on the couch. Most of all, he realized, Eren shouldn't be sleeping on him, on his lap, specifically.

"Fuck, brat," he grumbled. "Get off, I need to pee."

Eren did get off. Matter of fact, he rolled off and fell on the floor.

"Fuuuck," he drawled out. "God, I hit my knee on the goddamn table."

Levi pushed off the couch and dropped his comforter on Eren's face, not bothering to comment on the kid's morning potty mouth. He walked on wobbly legs, feeling the strain of Eren's heavy body sleeping on his thighs. When he got back, Eren was sitting on the floor, Levi's comforter wrapped around him.

"It's chilly," he commented.

"Yeah, but it's not raining." To prove his point, Levi pulled back the curtains to reveal the long glass windows. It wasn't sunny outside, but the streets were definitely dry. The sky was a mix of grey and blue, and every now and then the sun would peek out from big chunks of clouds.

"Wow."

"I know. I swear to god, there were birds chirping outside when I woke up. Crazy." He let his body collapse on the sofa once again, using his arm to cover his eyes. He felt the comforter drape over him and removed the arm to look at Eren.

"I'm gonna make breakfast. Bacon?"

"Thanks," he replied, ruffling the kid's hair. He chuckled when he heard Eren whine something about Levi treating him like a kid.

When Eren left for the kitchen, Levi sat up and massaged his temples. He had work later and the weather outside wasn't exactly telling him that he could stay in. He took the comforter and went to his room and tidied it up. By the time he entered the kitchen, breakfast was ready.

He smirked at Eren as he approached the counter. "I told you, so much for healthy living." He grabbed a fork and put some egg into his mouth, following it with bacon.

Eren poured him a glass of water and started to eat his own food, using bare hands. He chuckled at Levi's sneer of disgust. "Do you think there are people in the world who'd say no to bacon?"

Levi finished chewing before answering. "I don't know, Eren. Vegetarians, maybe? Vegans? People allergic to meat?"

Eren rolled his eyes at him. "Thanks, captain." He threw another bacon strip into his mouth and Levi paused to give him the stink eye.

"You're the one asking stupid questions," he said, shrugging. He flashed Eren some teeth when he faked a smile and the teen completely stopped eating. "What?"

A surprised laugh bubbled out from the kid's chest and he visibly turned a soft pink. "Nothing, just didn't know you could actually smile like that. You know, not the grins and smirks."

"Really, Eren," Levi drawled. "Next time, take a picture. It'll last until the next century because that's when I'll smile like that again."

"Yup," the brunet replied. "I'll have my phone always at the ready."

They made more idle chitchat while eating and then Levi insisted that he could wash the dishes alone ("It's just two fucking plates, one fork, and a pan, calm yourself.") and then he asked Eren if he had plans for the afternoon.

"I thought you already knew how boring I am?" He was smiling when he said this. "I don't have anything to do."

"You're not boring, kid." Before Eren could say anything, Levi continued, "The weather's fucking nice so I thought we could drive around for a bit until before I have to go to work. Knowing Hanji, she probably didn't have enough manners to actually tour you around."

Eren looked ecstatic. He chuckled and scratched his cheek. "Yeah, she hasn't. Toured me around, I mean. That sounds like an awesome plan, by the way."

"Okay, kid, don't get a stroke, we're gonna go to fucking Disneyland. Shower first, though. I'm not taking your ass around town if you come out smelling like pizza and bacon."


Levi dressed lightly, a simple button down and some jeans. Eren came down clad in something similar but instead of a button down, he wore a long sleeve shirt. Levi raised the keys in his hand and asked the brunet if he was ready to go.

"Ready."

They went down to the building's parking lot and Eren mock-whistled (the kid couldn't whistle at all) at the Mercedes. Levi called him a retard.

"Do I need to put my seatbelt on?" Eren asked while Levi climbed into the driver's seat. The younger male started to look around the car, even inspecting the backseats.

"Don't need to, but do whatever, just don't make a mess in here." He turned the engine on and the car roared to life. Once they pulled out from the building and hit the road, Levi turned on the stereo.

"You know, I've always thought that you seem to be awfully rich for a pharmacist," Eren started. "You have a nice two-storey flat in a nice apartment complex, your car's more than nice, your fridge is overflowing with food, and you have a nice TV set."

Levi took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Eren and shrugged. "Thanks?"

"You're not involved in illegal stuff, right?"

"Like what?" Levi asked, trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

"I dunno… selling people's organs?" Eren tried.

"That sounds like something your aunt would do, not me." He changed radio stations when he heard Nicki Minaj go on.

"You're right, it does." Eren was quiet for a while and Levi glanced at him, seeing that he was concentrating on thinking. "Or, you could be selling illegal drugs or under the counter medications, since you work in a pharmacy…"

Levi sighed. "Nice try, kid. Sounds shady, totally my type."

Eren laughed, asking Levi if he could change the station. He fiddled around with it for a while before he stopped at one song with cheery voices singing a duet. "You don't like Nicki Minaj?"

"I don't understand a word that comes out her mouth," Levi admitted. "And to answer your question, I'm not exactly just a pharmacist, Eren. I'm like the head pharmacist slash supervisor, plus the hospital I work in is the biggest one in town, Sina."

Eren momentarily looked like he was shocked but then he quickly recovered and scoffed. "Rich old man."

Levi had to smile. "Being a lonely, old man has its benefits, child. Like this car, for example." He sent a smile at Eren's way and shook his head at the skeptic expression the kid was giving him, like there was something he wanted to say. "What?"

Eren shut the radio off and Levi saw him shake his head from his peripherals. "Nothing, nothing. Where are we now?"

"Still in town, but we're going to the shopping district. I know a nice coffee place and it's a block away from Sina, so I'll let you see that first."

Eren looked excited to see the hospital and Levi thought it was silly. He pulled into the parking lot and greeted the security guard with a nod. He looked surprised to see him there so early.

"He's with me," Levi said, pulling Eren by the wrist. "Erwin's in yet?"

"Yeah, didn't take his car, though."

Levi nodded and pulled Eren along after throwing in a quick thanks to the guard. They entered the hospital through the back door and emerged inside the main pharmacy building. Levi saw Petra working at the counter with a few other familiar faces and she immediately noticed them.

"Levi! Oh my god, this must be Eren," she exclaimed, wide eyes trained on the tanned brunet. Levi felt Eren slightly turn to look at him and he suppressed a sigh.

He looked around the place and decided that it was lax enough for a quick introduction. "Hey. Eren, this is Petra, obviously a coworker, Pertra, this is Eren, yada yada."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Eren." She extended a hand and Eren took it. "Wow, your eyes really are insane."

Eren made a choking sound from behind his throat. "E-excuse me?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it in a bad way! I meant that it's really so bright and… well, green." At Eren's confused expression, she hurried to add, "I've heard so much about you, specially whenever I'm assigned the night shift."

This time, Levi really did sigh and he even added an eye roll for extra effect. "Yeah, no, she's exaggerating." He pretended he didn't see the wink Petra sent at Eren's way. "Erwin in the office?"

"Yes, he just came back. Go ahead," she said. She gave Levi a knowing smile and he almost rushed to get Eren away from her, but not before they were able to wave goodbye at each other.

"Who's Erwin, again? What does he do?"

"He's like the other supervisor," Levi explained. "He's not exactly my boss, but I follow orders from him. He works the morning and afternoon shift while I work the rest."

They approached the office and Levi gave the door two quick rasps.

"Come in," Erwin called from the other side and Levi lead Eren inside. The man's eyebrow arched when he saw his visitors. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise."

"It's your fucking birthday," Levi announced in a monotone. "This is our favorite person's nephew."

Erwin stood up and closed the distance between them, shaking Eren's hand, like what Petra did. "Glad to see you again, Eren."

"Again?" Eren repeated. Levi almost felt sorry for him, all these confusing people suddenly telling him crazy shit.

"Well, I went with Hanji to visit your family back when you were still a little kid, so I technically already met you before this. You remember that, Levi?"

He had to think for a while but he did remember saying no to Hanji pleading for him to visit California with her and Erwin for some sort of house blessing (he also remembers blatantly telling her that he wasn't going to goddamn California just to watch someone sprinkle water all over a house). He nodded his recognition and Eren smiled.

"I think I kinda do remember seeing a really tall man then," Eren told him and he looked like he honestly did.

"Guy's a giant," Levi casually said, earning a chuckle from Erwin.

"The memory would be fonder if you saw a giant and a midget."

"Oh, yeah? Fuck you, too, Erwin, we're leaving." Levi flipped him off after he and Eren said their bye's and out from Eren's sight. He was hardly out the door when Erwin made his rebuttal.

"Oh, and Levi, kid really does have nice eyes."

They encountered a few more people who he introduced to Eren, and one of them was Dot Pixis. Now, this guy Eren knew. Apparently, he was Eren's neighbor back in California, before the old man moved to a different hospital and to a different state. They chatted for a couple minutes while Levi left to talk to one the doctors he knew. When he came back, Pixis was gone.

"Sorry, did you wait long? Where's the old man?"

"Nah, he just left. Said he needed to go to the director," Eren told him, all smiles.

"You look happy," Levi observed as they walked to the coffee shop he mentioned earlier.

"That's 'cause I am," the brunet admitted. He looked at Levi and gave him a wide smile. "Thanks for taking me here, Levi. And for introducing me to all those people. I even got to see my former neighbor and I really liked that man."

Levi patted his back, his own way of saying that it was no big deal. "Now you know where to go if you ever need to. You can get Hanji's work schedule from her. Maybe you could even work there when the time comes, I don't know."

"Yeah, that was what I was thinking about, even talked about it with Pixis," he told Levi. They entered the shop and Eren seemed to be overwhelmed by the smell of coffee and pastries, the warmth of the place, and the homey music playing in the background. "This is amazing."

"Try not to drool." He made Eren sit on his usual place on the far end, by the windows. He ordered him a classic hot caramel latte and an espresso for himself. Levi added a plate of sandwiches to his order and paid everything on the counter.

When he sat down in front of the teen, he was looking out the window and humming an unfamiliar tune. Levi thought that Eren didn't really fit in there, with his tan skin, barely-there child-like features, and eyes so vibrant and alive, it made it seem like everything he saw in this world was sunshine and daisies. He stuck out in quiet and mellow places like this, but not like a sore thumb. In a way, he made the place look livelier just by being there.

"Got any hobbies, kid?" Levi found himself asking, breaking the silence.

"Seriously, stop calling me a kid, brat, child, and every other synonym you can think of." Although he said this, Eren didn't look the least bit mad at being called any of those, but Levi didn't tell him that. "I do art sometimes, sketching."

Levi raised an eyebrow; that was surprising. "Well, wow. Any good?"

"No," the way Eren said it, it was like he laughed it out. "But I can show it to you later, when you get back from work."

Somehow, Levi doubted that Eren wasn't good. He seemed like the kind of kid who worked really hard at things. Before he could voice his thoughts, their order arrived. Eren burned his tongue and had to cool it down by sticking it out for a few minutes while Levi tried not to laugh. They left the shop after finishing their food and Levi toured him around a bit on foot, then on car when he circled the small town, all the way back to his house. He dropped Eren off after eating dinner at a popular fast food chain a few streets away from the residential part of town.

"What about your coat?" Eren asked, leaning on the car's open window.

"It''s okay, I have an extra at the hospital. Get yourself inside before it starts to rain."

Eren nodded, managing to slide in another, "Thanks, Levi."

"See you, kid. Try not to bore yourself to death."

"Earlier today you said I'm not boring."

"Oops," he said this with the straightest face he could muster before speeding off.

He had to hang around the office for a while because his shift wasn't due for another hour and a half so he arranged the files on Erwin's deck, earning him a hearty thank you from the man. He felt like he was hearing those words too much today so he decided to start his shift early, slipping on the pristine white coat. Some of the braver pharmacists, mostly the seniors, teased him about bringing a kid with him, while the interns pretended not to be listening. They stopped after he politely told them to shut the fuck up.

When he got home, he heard Eren's voice coming from somewhere inside the house, and someone was talking to him. "Eren?" he called out, toeing his shoes off. Why the hell was the kid up so early and who the hell was he talking to?

Before he made it to the kitchen, Hanji's head popped into view from a corner and slightly startled him. "Levi!" She ran towards him and practically hugged the breath out of him. He hugged back before it turned into him frantically patting the crazed woman's back, telling her to let him go before he died.

"I'm home!" she announced, like Levi couldn't see that. She gave him a once-over and flicked her forehead. "Did you come here directly from the airport, you idiot?"

"Not really, no. I dropped my things at my place before I decided that I wanted to visit my favorite small guy because big guy's sleeping." She started bouncing on her feet. "Also, also, I wanted to pick up Eren early so we can open the gifts together, unless you want to join on in the fun?"

"No, thank you very much."

Right on cue, Eren appeared, a single duffel bag slung on his shoulder. He was still wearing his clothes from their little trip.

"Could you really not have waited until a more reasonable time?"

Levi immediately knew that he made the wrong move, with the way a smile slowly crept on Hanji's mouth. "Why, gonna miss someone?" As she said this, she wiggled her eyebrows at Levi.

"Fuck, you're creepy, get out."

"Fine, I'll just find a way for you to get the souvenirs or you can drop by, whatever works. You've love them," she swore. "Thanks for taking care of my baby Eren, Levi. You're a-ma-zing."

He ignored Hanji in favor of looking at Eren, who gave him a sheepish smile. He barely noticed Hanji making a detour to his kitchen, probably to steal his food or to give them some alone time.

"Thanks for having me this past few weeks, Levi," Eren said earnestly, his grip on the bag tightening.

"Don't sweat it, kid. It was fun. I'll see you around." Levi didn't want to make it any more awkward than how it already was so he patted the kid on his back, and then Hanji was back (with an apple in her mouth and another in her hand) and then they were saying bye and good night and thank you to Levi that he decided that he didn't want to hear the word "thank" for a whole week.

When he shut the door behind them, he waited a few moments for their voices to die out, a bit thrown off by the silence that greeted him. He changed into more comfortable clothes and crawled into bed, trying not to think about how empty the whole house was again, and forced himself to go to sleep.