A/N: Okay, trigger warnings to mentions of self harm and eating disorders. Not so much the eating disorders, but juuuust in case.

-Misty


Lost Cause

It's his job. Being in this special operation requires apathy, a cold heart, and dead eyes, making him just the man to do it. Of course this doesn't mean he likes it. However, when he runs into three young teens in the worst possible situation a life could lead, it turns out that he isn't as heartless as he once thought he was. Modern day AU: Officer Levi, Prostitute Eren. (Lots of trigger warnings. You're going to hate me so much for this fanfic.)

Rated M for adult themes, sexual content, adult language, violence and gore, child abuse, rape, drug abuse, oh so much more that I can't even list.

Main pairing: Riren. Other pairings with side pairings.

Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)


Chapter 12: Maria Psychiatric Hospital


"Ouch," Levi hissed, his hand flinching back.

"I'm sorry, captain." The little red haired nurse apologized, her hands stilling for a moment to examine the damage she had done.

"It's okay, Hannah. It's not your fault," He assured and wiggled his fingers. He had long since lost the feeling at the tips of his fingers, and his ring finger was swollen; Nanaba had mentioned something about the x-rays proving a few misplaced things. The only real sting he would feel was the feeling of pure alcohol soaking into the open bite marks along his fingers, but even that was beginning to numb.

"I could see about getting you something to numb the pain." Hannah insisted, but she was quickly turned down by a shake of the older man's head.

"No, I'll only need what's necessary. There are plenty of people who need that more than I do. Besides…" Levi paused to wiggle his middle finger. "So long as I have this, I can still use it in traffic." Hannah smiled, glad to see he still had a very harsh sense of sarcasm. That meant that Levi was fine, and if he was fine, then things around them were fine.

That was just how it worked.

"That is the most important one, sir." She agreed and set the bottle of alcohol beside her on the table. The wet gauze she had used against his hand and her gloves were quickly disposed of, and with that, her smile widened. "Well, after cleaning up that mess, I can easily say you won't need any stiches. Everything is pretty nasty, but nothing compared to Eren's damage." She said, but just as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

They weren't supposed to talk about Eren right now. At least, that was an unspoken rule between him and her. Bringing him up would mean bringing up the idea that something needed to be done with him, and he didn't need to think about that right now.

"That's good. What about this?" Levi asked and motioned to his unmoving ring finger. Hannah hummed to herself for a moment before grabbing at his wrist with one hand. The other used it's fingers to painfully and roughly latch onto his finger, and without even wasting a second to explain what she was about to do, Hannah pulled back. Levi felt a searing pain, followed by a very disturbing popping sound within his appendage. It was quick though, and after that, all that was left was a dulling pain that had him doubled over, nearly falling out of the bed.

"Eren pulled your finger out of your joint. It was a simple fix." Hannah assured. Levi was more than ready to reprimand her for being so hasty to rip his finger out of his socket, but after the sensations of agony reduced, he noticed that his finger was gripping at his palm like the rest of them.

Mission accomplished.

"Thank you… I think…" Levi sighed, while stretching out his hand.

"No problem. Glad I could help." Hannah said with a grin. Levi would have thought that the pain was intended, but she didn't have any vendettas against him.

As far as he knew.

"How are you, Levi?" Like usual, Erwin, who had been in the room the whole time, only spoke up when it was needed. When he came in, Levi wasn't sure, but his biggest concern was if Erwin had heard him speaking about Eren.

The older man didn't want Erwin thinking about the teen either.

"I'm good." Levi told him, his eyes failing to meet those blue ones, instead looking at the floor like it was interesting.

"It'll probably be stiff tomorrow though." Hannah explained with a small laugh.

"I'm sure it will. Eren did quite a number on you." Erwin said, no hint of sarcasm showing in his tone. He was being serious about this, and it was obvious that the subject of the teen was going to happen, whether he liked it or not.

One way or another, it was bound to happen. Levi knew it was, but he had just hoped it wouldn't.

"It wasn't intentional." Levi spoke up, hoping to make the brunette look innocent in all of this. "He wasn't aware of… What he was doing." That didn't help his argument, however.

"I can tell. Your arms are scratched up too." The blond stated and motioned to his bruised and slightly bloody arms.

"Battle scars. We all have them." Levi said and reached for his sweater. The scratches on his arms were of no worry. He probably didn't even need antibiotic, so there was no reason to have his arms exposed.

"Not from this type of situation." Erwin's voice fell low and grave as he spoke, as if he was simply stating that Levi wouldn't win this argument. Maybe Levi knew that, but it was worth some effort.

"Erwin-…" He began, but more faces decided to drop in at just the right time. A very sullen and quiet Hanji (which was rare and frightening to see) was following Nanaba, who was adjusting her scrub shirt to fit her better. Her gloves had long since been disposed of, but the smell of blood seemed prominent on her. Along with that, she walked with a sense of morose dread, and once again, the subject would be brought up one way or another.

"Nanaba," Erwin addressed, but it was Levi who beat him to it.

"How is Eren…?" He asked, trying hard not to show his concern. The rush in his tone gave him away though.

"Sedated, among other things." Nanaba answered as she took a seat in the hospital bed adjacent to Levi's.

"What about his hand?" Levi continued to question.

"He's a very lucky boy. Had he moved just a centimeter to the left, Eren would have bitten through his ulnar lateral ligament, and he would have lost the use of his thumb." The blond woman explained and rubbed at her forehead. "He's got a greenstick fracture from biting on his bone though. That'll take some time to heal."

"Fuck…" Levi cursed and dropped his head.

"And his head…?" Erwin asked, already up to date on what had happened in Levi's apartment.

"Levi's wall must be thin. He didn't hit his head as hard as you thought he did." Nanaba explained.

"It wasn't the drywall I was worried about him hitting. It was the wooden beam behind it." Levi uttered.

"No, he's fine. I wouldn't let him sleep off any drugs if I knew he had a concussion, and if by some chance he does, it's very minor."

"So he's going to recover well then?" Erwin asked.

"That depends on him." Nanaba said. There was something behind her words, maybe her tone or the way she slouched that said that there was something more coming, something worse.

"What does that mean?" Hanji asked, finally speaking up after such a quiet pause.

"Eren's got scarring on his other hand, in the same marks left by this one. This isn't the first time he's bitten his hand like this, and judging by the previous ones, this is a habit of his." The woman explained. "I'm going to go ahead and guess that Eren uses self-harm as a defensive trigger, something that Levi messed with this morning."

"I can't imagine this being self-harm." Levi spoke up and shook his head.

"How can you say that?" Nanaba asked as if morbidly surprised by his words.

"If I did trigger something, it was because I was being nice. It's not something normal for him, and he was looking for that sense of "normal" that he knows so well to calm down. Biting his hand was just a coping mechanism to help calm himself down. Other than that, Eren doesn't just bite on his hand for the purpose of pain."

"That's still a sense of self-harm though." Erwin said. "If Eren can't differentiate the sense of "normal" from reality, he's a harm to himself, and obviously to others."

"The only reason I'm like this is because I jabbed my fingers down his throat to get him to stop." Levi said, trying to stand up for the brat.

"And who is to say that someone else won't do that for him?" Erwin asked, receiving a frightening glare from Levi. "If Eren were to drop something in public and someone picked it up for him, if Eren were to trip and someone helped him up, who's to say he won't act up again, and who's to say that person won't try and stop him by using the action you did?"

"Someone wouldn't be stupid enough to do what I did." Levi admitted, and only a second later did he realize what he just said. He sighed and covered his eyes with his hands, his head still pounding from his fever and the "excitement" from today, if one were to even call it that. "So what happens next…?"

He dreaded asking that question. He really did. It was what he wanted to avoid entirely, but he knew it was coming.

"I'm going to have Eren admitted to Maria Psychiatric Hospital." Erwin told him. The words made Levi's blood freeze within his veins and boil all at once.

"You mean the loony bin?" Levi asked.

"It's not a loony bin, Levi." Erwin stated. "Maria's is a very safe-"

"It doesn't matter how safe it is, Erwin." Levi growled. "Eren isn't some nut. He's not some kid who sets cats on fire and he isn't suicidal. There's no place for him there."

"You can't say that for sure," Hanji said, and now she was on the receiving end of Levi's death flare.

"Eren isn't suicidal. He doesn't have a suicidal bone in his body."

"Then what was his morning?" Nanaba asked.

"He's scared!" Levi hadn't meant to raise his voice, but the conditions were changing, and it was needed. "His sister and brother are gone and he's a fucking prostitute! He's terrified that nothing is safe for him right now! He doesn't know how to handle what's happening around him!"

"I understand that, Levi, but-" Erwin began, but Levi wasn't going to let him speak.

"If a dog was caught in between a bunch of guys beating it up, it'd be scared enough to fight, and that's exactly what Eren is doing!"

"But Eren is beating himself up, not us, and what we're doing isn't provoking in any manner, but trying to help him." Erwin said.

"So what…?" Levi asked and stood up to walk up to the taller man. "You're just going to send him there and let him be tied up in a strait jacket? You're just going to let him rot in a room without windows?"

"Levi-"

"You and I both know that Maria is understaffed and underpaid. The good people who work there who sincerely care about their jobs are tired from dealing with all of that shit, and the others who work there don't care and don't bother trying! They'll drug him up and lock him in a room where he can't bother them, and then he won't get the real help he needs!"

"So what do you suggest then?" Erwin asked, his tone rising.

"He needs to stay with me, Erwin." Levi told him.

"What can you do for him that they can't, though?" Hanji asked, not intended as an insult, but a genuine question. "At least at a hospital they can sedate him if he gets out of hand."

"And how does that help him? That just teaches him that drugs will solve his problems." Levi turned to her to answer, but he was quickly redirected back to Erwin. "At least with me he has someone to talk to, someone watching out for him twenty four seven. With me I can watch him, unlike at a hospital where someone may see him once or twice a day. I can be there for him when he needs it, and I can help him solve his problems. A hospital won't do that for him."

Levi knew he was right. From personal experience to obvious knowledge, he knew that was he was saying was the truth. Eren wouldn't get the care he needed at a hospital. What he needed was someone to look out for him, someone to be there for him, and Levi knew it.

"Erwin, he needs to stay with me. I can take care of him, and I can watch him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself again. I'll be there for him-" Erwin raised a hand, insisting that Levi quiet down for just a moment so he could think. What was there to think about though?

"Honestly, Levi, I don't want this for Eren either. It isn't me you should be convincing, though. Nanaba is the one who decides in the end." He explained and motioned to the woman still sitting on the bed. Levi turned to her, a little breathless after his argument, but Nanaba was already shaking her head by the time his eyes met hers.

"I can state in my report that Eren isn't suicidal. I can't promise you that will work though."

"Why…?" Hanji asked.

"Because, even though Levi takes care of Eren, he isn't listed as his primary caretaker or guardian."

"He doesn't have one." Levi simply stated.

"Exactly. Eren is homeless, a stray, and without someone watching over him, even though he is eighteen, my boss can simply deny my report and still send him there. I can only buy you time and hope that it doesn't come to that." Nanaba stood and patted herself down of any wrinkles in her clothing. "She may still send Eren away, but it takes a few days for the report to reach her. That's all I can do."

"That's better than nothing." Erwin said. Levi turned back to him, hoping he could change his mind, but there was nothing he could do. "It is better than nothing, Levi. You're being given a chance to keep Eren. I suggest you use it wisely."

"But Erwin-"

"That's it, Levi," And it was. Erwin's tone was what would end the conversation, and that was all there was to it. Levi had no more say in this argument, nothing more to defend or fight for.

It was over.

"Fuck this," Levi growled, and before anyone could stop him, he stormed out of the room through the double doors. He was only followed by one though, and at first he thought it would be Erwin or Nanaba, but it wasn't.

"Wait, Levi!" It was Hanji, but she still didn't sound right. Hearing her sound so serious and sad wasn't something anyone was used to.

"Leave me alone, Hanji." He warned, because he was ready to blow up at any minute, and he didn't want her to be at the receiving end of it.

"I know you're upset, but I need to talk to you." Hanji stopped the older man by grabbing at his arm and pulling. Levi was truly ready to yell at her, ignoring the fact that they were in a hospital, but Hanji beat him to it. "It's about Mikasa!"

"Mikasa…?" Levi asked, his anger immediately dissipating into thin air. "What about her? Is she okay?"

"… I don't really know." Hanji answered.

"Where is she?" Levi asked.

"In the waiting room-" Before she could even finish, Levi was already trying to leave, trying to find his niece. "Wait, Levi! She's okay now!"

"What the fuck does that mean?" Levi asked and swiftly turned around to face her.

"I'll tell you when you can take a moment to breathe." Hanji said. Levi glared at her, but he knew she was being serious. If he didn't calm down, she wouldn't talk, and that was just how stubborn she was.

So Levi rolled his eyes before taking in a slow, deep breath and letting it out. He did this about three times before he sent another glare her way, and she seemed to be approving of his antics.

"Now what's wrong with her?" Levi asked, trying to remain calm so he could get answers.

"Well, last night Mikasa had fallen asleep on my couch. I covered her up with a blanket to keep her warm, but…"

"But…? But what? Come on, Hanji." Levi growled.

"… Levi, she… She has scars all over her arms."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what that meant.

"Oh no…" He breathed, and everything else at that moment just didn't matter.

"They looked old though. Maybe a few years? I did look as much as I could for anything that could be recent, but I didn't see anything."

"How bad are they?" The older man asked.

"Pretty nasty. At first glance, I thought they were just creases in her skin from the fabric of her shirt, but this was one of those rare moments I caught her in something other than a long sleeved shirt." Hanji explained. "Like I said, they look old though. I didn't want to say anything in front of Erwin, because you're the only family she has left. If anyone makes any decisions for her, it's you."

"She's eighteen." Levi told her.

"But if she still cuts, she's a harm to herself. Free will is taken away the instant that happens, and you're the only one who has say in what happens to her." Levi shifted on his legs and crossed his arms over his chest, his mind now racing with thoughts of Mikasa.

"Did you say anything about them to her?"

"No, I didn't. I don't know Mikasa, so I don't know what could trigger erratic behavior. I didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet, so I thought I'd bring it up with you. I was hoping you'd say something along the lines of them being injuries from a car accident or from when she was younger, so that way I'd know she doesn't do it now, but…"

But that wasn't the case. Mikasa was never a cutter, had never even dreamed of the idea. Levi didn't doubt that the scars appeared within the three years she had been missing, but when in those three years was the question. When had she bothered to put something sharp to her skin in a desperate attempt to, what? Kill herself, or dull the pain?

Levi knew that she had been through hell, and if she hadn't taken her life, Levi would sit there and tell her how proud he was of her. He knew that this meant there was some other alternative to her pain, of course, and it just had to be cutting.

"Shit…" Levi cursed. "I need to talk to her."

"You can't." Hanji reminded him.

"It won't be about her, and it won't ever have to be mentioned. I just need to talk to her. I need to hear her voice." Levi said and began wandering off to the waiting room.

He needed to hear it in her voice. Despite not having dealt with her, he had dealt with people with apathy. Genuinely, there was always something in their voice that he could hear. Maybe it was from personal experience, but he knew it wasn't always cold hearted. He just needed to talk to her.

Maybe this was also a way of reassuring himself that his niece was okay too.

The waiting room wasn't far, though off in a secluded area. It probably hadn't been the best of ideas to leave Mikasa alone in there, but there were cameras all around the hospital. She wouldn't have gotten far had she tried to run. Thankfully, she hadn't. She was sitting in one of the chairs, holding a little toy car meant for any younger kids in the room. There weren't though, and she was quietly inspecting the little wooden toy like it was the greatest thing in the world.

Levi didn't go unnoticed for long. He was sure Mikasa had seen him the moment he walked into the room, but she just hadn't bothered to look up. Her momentary pauses from playing with the toy to the awkward shifts just seemed to prove that she was just waiting for him to speak up.

"Hey…" No sense in prolonging the inevitable.

"Commander Erwin and Hanji said you aren't allowed to talk to me." Mikasa muttered, taking a moment to look up through her bangs at the man that was her uncle.

"True, but I'm not really here to talk about you." Levi said and pulled a chair in front of her to sit down. "I wanted to talk about Eren."

That got her attention.

"Eren…?" She breathed, her black eyes widening. "So we are here because of him? Where is he? Is he okay?" She asked, her apathy disappearing so she could show her worry for her brother.

"He's fine, Mikasa. Eren knocked his head against a wall, and I brought him here to make sure she doesn't have a concussion, which he doesn't." Levi explained.

"Hanji made it sound like it was really bad…" Mikasa mumbled, relief flooding over her like a tidal wave.

"Hanji can take a lot of things out of context." Levi said and crossed his arms over his chest. He couldn't help looking over Mikasa, his eyes primarily falling on her arms. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt, hiding away the evidence of what Hanji mentioned.

Now that Levi thought about it, when he first saw Mikasa, and when they brought her in, even though she was wearing skimpy clothes, her arms were hidden. If her shirt didn't cover her wrists, she'd have on a bunch of gaudy jewelry to hide them. She was always hiding those scars, which begged the question: Did Eren and Armin know of her scars too? Did she hide them from her family, or were they aware?

Levi managed to move his stare along her body. While he didn't want his niece thinking he was checking her out, he definitely didn't want her to realize that he knew of her secret. He also couldn't help it, because seeing her now after so long brought back so many things for him.

He hadn't seen her since two years before she disappeared, supposedly died. She was much shorter back then, and her hair was much longer. Her eyes had narrowed and hardened over the years, both from natural aging and from the terrible hand she had been dealt. She hadn't developed a woman's body yet, unlike now, and her cheeks were rounder and more childlike when he last saw her.

His little Mikasa had grown up.

"So why do you want to talk about Eren?" Mikasa asked, her eyes drifting back to the toy car between her fingers.

"I was just curious about something. Last night, Eren had a nightmare that really messed him up." At the mention of the nightmare, Mikasa's eyes flickered up to him, like the subject was familiar.

"You mean about the titans?" She asked.

"Titans…?" Levi questioned.

"The giant, man eating monsters." Mikasa clarified.

"Yeah, that one."

"Eren has that one a lot." The teen mumbled.

"He mentioned that. Do you know why?"

"Not really. I just know it fucks him up really badly. There have been many nights where Armin and I have to sit with him until he calms down." She told him.

"How long does that usually take?"

"Depends on how severe the dream was."

"I see…" Levi leaned back in his chair, his eyes falling to her arms again. What she hadn't noticed yet was a simple slip up. She hadn't noticed her sleeve slide up some, giving Levi just a little glimpse of the damage. It wasn't much from what he could see, but Hanji hadn't said "wrists." She had said "arms." There was far more to it than that.

However, when Levi looked up, Mikasa pulled down her shirt sleeve, her eyes catching his in the act. She knew he had seen it.

"What do you usually do to make him feel better? Besides sitting with him, I mean." Levi clarified and leaned forward some.

"Calling them titans makes him smile sometimes." Mikasa uttered, her eyes to the floor.

"Why is that…?"

"When we were watching TV once, there was this game on, the giants versus the titans. We thought it was funny, so we just kind of picked up the name. When he has those nightmares, sometimes calling them titans helps him out a little."

"Catchy," Levi remarked, but he didn't see how it'd help him much after an incident like before. "Anything else?"

"If we ever have some food left over from dinner, we eat that. We don't usually though, so we'll talk about other things to try and get his mind off of it."

"Like what…?"

"Like… Times when Carla would make Thanksgiving dinner, and we'd all be so hungry and drooling over the idea of it." It could have been the shadows and lighting, but Levi thought he could faintly see a smile on her lips. Was it possibly that these memories of when Eren's mother was alive did strike a chord with her?

It was obvious that she wasn't a heartless girl. Anyone who knew her would say that. However, it was rare to see her smile since after she was a kid, and seeing it gave Levi just a little bit of hope.

For her…? For their future? Both, because if she could lose her apathy to show her true self, there was a chance.

"Was that all you wanted to talk about…?" She asked, sounding skeptical and annoyed all at once.

"… Yeah, probably." Levi said and stood up to put his chair away.

"Wait," Mikasa stopped him with mild surprise. "That's really it?"

"Yeah. I guess I just wanted to make sure this wasn't him making up things." Levi said with a sigh.

"Eren doesn't 'make up things.'" Mikasa assured him with some offense shown. "Especially some nightmare that messes with his hea-!"

Mikasa all but stopped at the press of lips to the crown of her head.

He knew he shouldn't be doing this. Oh, he definitely shouldn't have been doing this. This broke so many rules and easily could have gotten him fired, but it wasn't like he was forcing her to do anything or even raping her. It was just a little kiss to her head, just a little kiss for a family member who he hadn't seen in years, and thought for the past three that she had been dead.

He missed her; had anyone asked he wouldn't deny it. Yes, it could and probably would get him in trouble, but just for now, he wanted to show his niece that he still loved her and still cared for her. He wanted to show her that she wasn't alone in this that she didn't have to take everything on by herself.

Fuck the rules for just three seconds, because that's all it took to kiss her.

"Behave yourself with Hanji." He said softly against her hair and rubbed at her shoulder. Mikasa lips were parted and moving slightly, but no sound came out. No doubt she was trying to form up some response, but simply couldn't. With black eyes wide and questioning, she silently watched as Levi walked out of the room.


"What are you doing here?"

The room was quiet except for footsteps. Levi had walked in, expecting to see Eren in his bed, probably pouting that this had happened and probably upset with Levi for bringing him here, but that wasn't the case.

Instead of the previous scenario, Levi saw that Eren was fast asleep in bed, tucked in with a thin blanket from the heaters and resting his head in the lap of a woman he knew all too well. She looked up at him and smiled, tucking away her short, auburn hair behind her ear while her other hand was busy running its fingers through Eren's hair.

"A bit of a long story," Petra answered and laughed quietly. "I was actually on my way to your place when I got a text from Hanji saying you were here. You were talking to the others, so I was watching Eren for a bit, and… Well, here I am."

"That's great, but I was more curious as to why you are in Eren's bed." Levi pointed out as he walked over to the hospital bed they were in.

"Eren was still a little loopy on medicine, so I think he'll regret this when he wakes up. He just asked me to sit by him, but he ended up falling asleep on me instead." Petra looked down at the brunette while brushing her fingers against his warm cheek.

"You're probably keeping him warm though. I can't imagine that bed doing anything for him." Levi said and sat down in the chair beside him. "You were coming over to my place?"

Petra motioned to the bag beside the chair with her free hand.

"My father always makes too much when he makes dinner. He said if anyone at the precinct wanted something, they were more than welcome to have it. I thought you and Eren, as well as Mikasa and Hanji, could use it though." Petra explained. Levi lifted the bag up into his lap and looked inside, finding a few Tupperware bins of food still hot and fresh. The smell was strong, overwhelming even; it was enough to have his stomach growling and reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet today.

"That's really sweet. Thank you, Petra," Levi said. The woman nodded her head with a smile, glad she was able to help some.

"You should probably thank my dad. He knows we can get busy there and that we forget to eat, so I think he does it this much intentionally in hopes that he can help us out."

"He's a good man." Levi stated as he set the bag down. "Hopefully I can get some of it into Eren's mouth. He's a bit of a picky eater."

"Well, if he ends up liking it, he's more than welcome to ask for more. I'm sure my dad would enjoy helping out if necessary." As Petra spoke, Levi's eyes wandered over the boy sleeping peacefully in bed. When was the last time he had, had a good night's sleep? Levi could only wonder.

He sighed before reaching out his busted up hand to brush it against Eren's cheek, tucking stray strands of hair back into place. Eren didn't even flinch, but a deep, heavy sigh left him, like the motion was comforting and relaxing to him, even in his sleep. This relaxed state on him was nice to see from the usual anger or sadness that Eren usually wore. It was a good change of pace.

"Did Nanaba say how many stitches it took to fix his hand?" Petra asked, soft and quiet so as to not disturb Eren.

"She said about ten," Levi said and looked at Eren's hand carefully placed on Petra's knee. "Knowing Nanaba, that was just a rough guess. It's probably less."

"Could be. It's probably going to be a nasty scar regardless of how many stiches there are." Petra told him, but Levi already knew. Glancing over at his other hand, Levi could see the scarring from previous bites, the bites that Nanaba had spoken of. His other thumb was littered with them, but none of them looked prominently as bad. Maybe Eren hadn't done as much damage as before? Levi couldn't possibly know without looking at his other hand, but he wasn't about to remove the bandaging to find out.

It could have been possible that the situation was never as severe as this time around. Eren may have bitten his hand at previous times, but those times may not have been for the same purpose as this one was. The scars were lighter on his other hand, softer, like the damage dealt was not as great. He hadn't attempted the same thing as when he bit his hand today, so what was it from? Was it really just from losing it? If so, this shouldn't have been Eren's first mental breakdown.

Who was protecting him before?

"Hey, Captain…" Petra whispered.

"Hm…?" Levi looked up, but seeing her smile gone was unnerving. In its place was a long frown, her eyebrows furrowed in worry and her brown eyes wide.

"Is Eren really going to have to go to Maria's?" She asked, her anxiety showing.

"How do you know about that?" Levi questioned.

"I overheard Hanji and Erwin talking. I just heard them talk a little bit about it though…" Her voice trailed off, her words making her sound bad. She hadn't been eavesdropping; oh no. Erwin and Hanji had been standing outside the door talking, and that's when she heard it. She hadn't heard much though, and thankfully Eren was already asleep by the time the discussion came up. She was only able to catch a bit of it before they walked off, possibly passing by.

"It makes sense it's an option though. I mean… He did do this to himself…" She uttered somberly, her brown eyes on Eren's bandaged hand that seemed to tighten around her jeans, but only slightly.

"We aren't entirely sure yet. For now he's not, and I'm going to try and keep it that way." Levi told her, his fingers running over Eren's forehead. "Every victim has open wounds that need to be healed, some more gruesome than others. We know there's a challenge when we bring them in, and that's why we're here. We're here to help them. Eren is no different a victim, and he is no different a case."

While Levi said this, he truly wished he could believe his own words. That wasn't an option though.

"We don't treat him any different either."

He couldn't follow through and believe what he was saying.

"I wish it was that easy… The world is so messed up, and that's why kids like Eren land in places like this."

"From your mouth to God's ears. If there is one, at least… It's very hard to believe in one with this line of work." Levi sighed, his hand stalling in his movements when Eren's cheek flinched at the contact. He must have been coming out of his drug induced daze, at least by some degree. It had been a few hours since Nanaba finished with his stiches (A few hours of mountains of paperwork that needed to be filed about this incident), so the drugs must have been losing their effects.

"At least Eren has someone like you though." Petra whispered under her breath, obviously not intending for Levi to hear it. It managed to rush through a small draft, however, and blow past his ear.

"Why is that?" Levi asked. Petra looked up, startled at the immediate realization that she had been heard by the man. Her cheeks instantly became pink from ear to ear while her wide eyes did nothing to conceal her embarrassment.

"Oh, n-nothing! I mean, uhm, it's just that you're someone he can look up to." She stuttered, her words slurred by the rush of her tone.

"How so…?" Levi's curiosity wasn't ever large, but sometimes his interest could be peaked.

"Well, you take care of Eren, and you uhm… You let him stay with you, you feed him. You tell him right from wrong. You're probably like a father figure to him, if we're being honest here."

"A father figure. I'm nothing like that, and if he were to look up to me that way, I'm not the best influence he could have." The older man admitted regretfully.

"Maybe not the best, but definitely not the worst." Petra told him.

"If there's anyone he needs to look up to, I would guess it'd be you." Levi said. "After all, he's already taken a liking to you. You're probably the closest thing to a mother that he has, besides Mikasa that is."

"A mother, huh…?" Petra laughed bitterly for a moment, and Levi flinched. He forgot that, with Petra, that wasn't a topic that could be breached with ease. "Well… I guess Eren is the closest thing I could have to a son then." Petra's hand sat on Eren's back and rubbed in small, soothing circles. The brunette's response was minimal; a small sigh.

"Well, you could be." Levi mentioned.

"You could be a father figure too." Petra said, or rather, she argued.

"I still fail to see how." Levi admitted.

"If I'm the mother, I'm just the one that feeds him and lets him sleep in my lap. You're someone strong, someone who can protect him. Even if by a miniscule amount, Eren does trust you, and he knows that you have his back, that you are there for him. If anything were to happen, you can always help him. You'll protect him, which is something I can't do." Petra said, but a weird smile crossed her lips. "You know, because I pinned him against a wall already."

Levi huffed, a dry laugh compared to anything else and stood up. He stretched his back, letting out a strained groan when muscles stretched and bones popped in painful, but relieving ways.

"Well then, mom, could you do me a favor?" Levi asked once his head stopped spinning after abruptly spinning.

"What is it, daddy?" She asked, but instantly made a weird face. Obviously the same though crossed her head as it did Levi's.

That was fucking creepy.

"Nanaba gave Eren the OK to go home for now. Mind holding open some doors while I take him to the car?" Levi asked and held up his car keys.

"Not at all. Although, wouldn't it be easier to let Eren walk himself?" She asked.

"Let him sleep. Eren was up late last night with the tail end of a cold. He needs to rest." Levi said while handing her the keys. "Besides, even if the drugs wore off some, I doubt he'd be able to walk a straight line."

"Good point," Petra said and leaned back to allow Levi space. The older man slipped his arm under Eren's head while he busied himself with removing the blanket covering him. He lifted the boy up some to reach for his legs, but the motion was enough to jar Eren awake.

His body went ridged quickly, cold and confused. He curled further into himself, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't warm anymore, and he wasn't sure why. His eyes were barely open, only getting a glimpse of dark blue, maybe even black fuzz. That didn't answer anything for him though. If anything, it only warranted a bit of panic.

Levi could feel the fear arise in Eren before he had a chance to say anything. His free hand, the one not bandaged, immediately clung to his jacket and pulled. His other hand, despite its injuries, lightly hit against Levi's chest, as if he were fighting back. His body was weak though, and any attempt to break free that he could possibly use was drowned away in a fog of sleep. His green eyes, clouded with exhaust, couldn't focus on anything let alone what was five centimeters in front of him.

"No…" He croaked, voice broken and scratched from previous screams. Levi readjusted his grip to bring the brunette closer so Eren's head could rest against his shoulder, against his heart. "L-Let me go…"

"Shh, Eren, it's just me. It's just me…" Levi whispered and cradled his head close.

That was all it took to help Eren relax.

It took a moment for the words to register in Eren's fuzzy mind, but once they did, Eren's body went lax. His tired but incessant hitting resided, his already injured handing stinging from the pounding. Eren's eyes focused in on him for a few short moments, but it was enough for him to see him, to see grey eyes and feel the stare on him so intently. It was enough to feel his arms around him in a protective embrace, making silent promises that he will be okay, so long as Levi was around.

Levi was there, and so long as Eren could remember that for a certain amount of time, he could stay sane.

Levi watched as Eren's head lulled against his shoulder, face hidden in his neck and eyelashes barely fluttering against his skin. Eren's arms wrapped around Levi's shoulders, but the grip was weak within a second after he held on. Levi let out an exasperated sigh as he helped guide Eren's arms properly so they wouldn't fall down while they walked. He heard a contorted laugh from behind him, and when he looked up, Petra was covering her mouth with dainty fingers, a "told-you-so" look in her eyes.

"Don't wake him up," Levi mouthed the words with only a bit of air, but it was enough to push his point across. Petra nodded her head with cocked eyebrows before moving ahead, deciding it was best to begin her job of holding doors open. She grabbed at the bag of food as Levi followed, Eren securely in his grasp and out like a light. If he were to have any knowledge of any of this when he woke up, it would surprise Levi.

"Do you need to pick up any medicine or anything for him before we go?" Petra asked, leading Levi into a quiet hallway. Levi shook his head no, leaving it at that as the two of them walked in silence.


A/N: So are you still there? I know people said they weren't leaving, but I'm waiting for that to change honestly. XD