Pairing: Levihan (part 2 will include Eremika)

Setting: Modern-day AU

Summary: Levi and Hanji are a wealthy couple who adopt an orphan named Mikasa off the streets.

Rating: K

There were two very different levels to living in the capital city of Mitris, and they were known as the illusion and the reality. The illusion was what the people in smaller thought when they heard Mitris - a beautiful, thriving economic utopia of wealth, where life was easy and simple. It was safe and calm, far from the fears and horrors that plagued the residents of less fortunate areas. It was the best place in the world to live, if you were lucky enough to be one of the rich and the noble.

If you were a part of the reality, however, you wanted nothing more in life than to be able to escape the misery of the inner walls. Levi Ackerman was one of those very few that had the privilege of being a part of the illusion, but wasn't blind toward the reality.

As he was approaching the road that led to his house, he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. What looked to be a young girl was curled up on the sidewalk, back pressed against a building so that her body was facing a small alley between two of the buildings. From what Levi could see, her hair was long and black and the rain kept it slicked to her neck and the top of her knees. She was in a compact ball, her knees pressed against her chest and her face buried in her arms. The girl seemed completely ignorant to the icy rain that was pelting her relentlessly, as she made no movement to shelter herself. The only motion from her was the occasional shiver that rocked her entire body.

Levi had noticed the pathetic bundle of rags on the sidewalk, but continued moving past her, pretending he didn't see the piteous soul. It was an all-too-common sight, unfortunately. The people who where ill-fated enough to end up living on the streets of Mitras suffered a wretched, miserable life. Many turned to petty thievery as a means to merely survive, and even more ended up killed by the harsh lifestyle, either due to illness, starvation, murder and countless other factors. Eventually, one learned to simply look the other way toward their plight. It was cruel, but it was a reality.

Still, Levi was finding it difficult to merely walk pass the youngster. It wasn't hard to ignore an adult, or even a teenager, as a lot of them were less concerned with feeding themselves so much as having money to fuel their various unhealthy habits. But a child was different, especially one as young as this one seemed to be. She didn't looked much older than nine or ten, and clearly had no place to go to even get out of the rain for a few minutes.

"Oi," he said to the girl. She flinched heavily, as if he had just struck her. A pair of weary and worn black eyes – eyes that seemed far too mature and scarred for such a young face – peeked up at him from over her kneecaps. She didn't say a word, but she didn't have to. She was afraid of him. That was how people like her were conditioned to look at people like him. Those without a name or status were expected to look at the rich and understand that they were inferior. Wordlessly, the girl jumped to her feet and that was when Levi got a good look at her clothing.

She was wearing what Levi thought was meant to be a dress at one point, but it was faded, dirty, torn and tattered beyond recognition. Not exactly the best choice in clothing for this time of the year, he thought. Her feet were wrapped in cloth instead of shoes, and even that was filthy. In fact, everything about her was disgustingly filthy. She looked like the water that was dousing her was the closest thing the girl had to a bath in months. But even more noticeable than her hygiene was her weight. She was absolutely emaciated, which became painfully clear when he actually studied her legs and face. This girl was a fucking mess, the kind of person that was often found dead on the road or in alleyways after succumbing to the harsh lifestyle.

When he looked at her, a strong sense of deju vu hit him like a boulder, for he saw reflected in her eyes an all-too-familiar sight. He himself had been there, years upon years ago – living on the streets, having no place to sleep and nobody to ask for help, stealing food and money just to survive. Most people would have walked past her and left her to her fate. Some kind soul might have given the obvious orphan some money, but Levi knew firsthand how pointless that was. It would buy her a few meals, but she'd go right back to the same routine as soon as the money was gone. It was an inescapable cycle.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly. As the girl tried to move past him, he grabbed her arm firmly.

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" he asked her. Her eyes refused to make contact with his, and she didn't answer him. She just stared at her feet fearfully, as if waiting for him to do something horrible to her. Levi didn't release her arm, but tried to remind himself that she was a child. He'd have to attempt to be more gentle with her if he wanted her to not run away in terror. Not quite his strong suit.

"How old are you?" No answer. Levi bit back the urge to curse at her and instead softened his voice. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"Mikasa." Well, that was a start.

"Mikasa," he repeated, bending down so that he was eye level with her, "how old are you?" This time it was said with more authority. The girl's dark eyes didn't move from their position on her feet.

"Eight." Levi's perfect poker face hid the surprise those words caused him. Mikasa was even younger than he had originally thought.

"Where are your parents?" he finally asked, knowing the answer before the words even left his mouth.

"Dead." Her voice was completely deadpan and her eyes showed no emotion. "They died a couple months ago." A couple months ago, and she was already in such a bad state? She was as good as dead out here. It was clear to Levi that this girl had no concept of providing for herself. She knew nothing about how to survive, and it was solely do to her age. He could tell by the sad flicker in Mikasa's eyes that he was opening wounds that were better left closed, so he dropped the topic of her parents. He didn't really care how the girl had ended up orphaned. The fact was, Mikasa was all alone, and if she didn't get help soon, this eight-year-old was going to die a slow and miserable death.

"Do you have anyone?" The girl shook her head. "And where do you plan on sleeping tonight?"

"Here." Her voice was soft and meek. An aggravated noise passed the man's lips. He released her arm and grabbed her hand.

"Come on." At first, Mikasa refused to budge, clearly apprehensive about going off with him. Levi fixed her in a glare, abandoning all his patience. "Look, brat," he snapped, "do you want to sit out here and freeze to death, or do you want a dry place to sleep tonight? I could really care less, but I'm offering you food and shelter for the night. It's your choice." He started to walk away, but within seconds, he felt a cool and tiny pair of fingers wrap around his as Mikasa followed him.

For a moment, his eyes drifted downward toward the frail, small young girl. She stared ahead, still acting rather leery of him, but she was still moving forward willingly, so that was good enough for him. After a few minutes, Levi felt her shake violently, as she cringed and shivered through her drenched clothing. The man came to a stop and removed his jacket, draping it over Mikasa's shoulders and pulling the hood over her head. She definitely needed it more than he did. Gently, he scooped her up into his arms and began to carry her as they turned onto the street leading to his house, as he knew he could move faster in the pouring rain holding her than he would if she walked.

She pressed her face against his chest as he carried her, shedding her face from any more rain. The timid girl finally looked up when Levi stepped onto the driveway laid out in front of his house. Mikasa peeked out from under the hood just above her eyes, the black orbs finally looking up at the enormous home laid out in front of her. When they finally crossed the threshold to the mansion, Mikasa stared forward, trying to take in just how big this building was. To her surprise, however, the man didn't sit her down once they were inside. He continued moving forward, only pausing when he moved a man in one of the hallways.

"Moblit," he stated, causing the man to stop and turn his attention toward Levi instantly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell the kitchen to set dinner for three tonight." With that, Levi turned into what Mikasa recognized as a bathroom, and shut the door behind him. He finally let Mikasa stand. "Before you touch anything in my home, you are getting a bath," he informed her. "You look disgusting." Mikasa could tell from his tone that the issue was not open for debate. Levi reached for the faucet to the bathtub, and began drawing up warm water for her. As he was doing so, Mikasa stood beside him awkwardly, not really sure what to do.

"Are you not capable of bathing yourself?" he snapped at her. The girl just looked at him, and he bit back the urge to sigh. He gently helped her out of his far-too-big jacket first, sitting it across a sink. "Arms up," he told her, as Mikasa obliged and he pulled the tattered excuse for a dress off over her head before depositing her into the water.

The girl's immediate reaction seemed to be pleasure; she instantly closed her eyes and sunk into the warm bath. Levi imagined it probably felt good to her, considering how cold she probably was and how much dirt was coating her body. Her eyes finally opened when he grabbed some soap and rag and began to scrub the grime from Mikasa's back. His hands and touch were gentle, as he was aware how frail her body was.

No words were exchanged between them, and the man soon after moved to her hair, dumping what seemed to Mikasa to be an unnecessary amount of shampoo on her head. Despite her initial fear of this stranger, she found herself growing more calm around him. He had so far shown her nothing but kindness, something that she hadn't seen since she'd watched both her parents die. When he was done rubbing the lather from her head, he picked her up from the tub and sat her on the ground, tossing a towel over her head. .

"Dry yourself off, then wait here."

Mikasa took what he said quite literally, refusing to budge, despite her curiosity about the room she stood in. She felt a bit overwhelmed ever what had just happened. Finally, the door to the bathroom opened again, but it wasn't Levi that re-entered, but a much taller woman. She had brown hair that fell to her shoulders, and glasses that magnified her sepia eyes ever so slightly.

The first thing she did was cover the child with a long white nightshirt that clearly belonged to an adult that lived in the house, but it was better than nothing, so Mikasa wasn't going to question it's origin. The woman crouched down so she was eye level with the girl, and Mikasa found her eyes to be a stark contrast to Levi's – they were warm and inviting and kind.

"You must be Mikasa," she said softly, a smile on her face. The orphan just nodded. "My name is Hanji," she told her, offering her a hand. Mikasa took it willingly, following her back out into the house.

"What were you planning on doing with her?" Hanji asked, looking up from Mikasa's sleeping form. After her bath, Hanji took Mikasa to the dining room, where she had ensured that the malnourished girl had a good warm meal, probably the best one she'd had in her entire life. As a result, Mikasa had gotten sleepy, and Hanji had sat her on her lap, where she fell asleep within minutes, resting against her abdomen.

"I'll go see if any of the orphanages in town have room for her tomorrow," Levi answered. "We might have to travel a bit to find one, but I'm sure as hell not throwing her back out on the streets." Hanji's eyes softened considerably when she looked down at the girl in her arms.

"She really is a beautiful little girl." Her voice was soft, and Levi couldn't deny the truth in his wife's words. Rid of all the grime and in clean clothing, Mikasa was a very alluring girl, thin as she was. She was going to grow into a gorgeous woman; that much was obvious. What was also obvious was the desire in Hanji's voice when she spoke of Mikasa.

"Hanji," Levi said, "I know what you're thinking, but we can't." For a long time, Hanji didn't say anything to him. Finally she spoke.

"I don't see any reason as to why you feel that way."

"No."

"Why?" Levi met her fiery, angry sepia eyes and glared back, refusing to relent, but he could already see this was going to be a hard battle if he expected to win. In a way, he had almost expected that Hanji would cling to the girl. It had been his only apprehension in bringing Mikasa back to their home in the first place, but he really hadn't had much of a choice. He couldn't just leave her out there. Most people would have, but not him. But if there was one thing he didn't want, it was a kid. Children were overly attached, needy creatures. There was more to raising one than feeding it. A parent had to be able to nurture them, to provide them with compassion and love and support and a lot of other shit that was more trouble than it was worth. If he was correct in assuming that she'd been with her parents when she lost them, Mikasa had already seen enough – she needed a safe and stable family, and that was something Levi Ackerman couldn't provide for her.

"Hanji, we aren't good for her," he told her, his tone blunt.

"Maybe you aren't," the brown-haired woman retorted, glaring at him, "but I know what it takes to care of a kid her age."

"What kind of a life would this be for her?" he replied. "She needs a stable home-"

"Which she won't get if you stick her in an orphanage." Two pairs of eyes glared into each other. "The orphanages in this city are overcrowded as it is, and nobody relieves their numbers. She'll spend her whole life alone, then be tossed on the streets again when she turns eighteen. She won't stand a chance." Hanji paused, trying to gauge her husband's face. His expression was just as deadpan as usual, but it softened ever so sightly at his next words.

"You can't make up for our own shortcomings by adopting her." Hanji immediately recoiled from his words, like she had been struck across the face.

"You better not be saying what I think you're saying," she warned him, her voice a low growl. Levi's eyes remained locked on hers.

"I know you want a kid," he told her, "but didn't we already decide it was for the best that you can't?" Levi sat on the couch next to her, feeling a pang of guilt at the look on Hanji's face when he brought up the one flaw about herself that she resented. It wasn't that they were incapable for providing for a child – Levi and Hanji had more than enough money and resources to give Mikasa a long, healthy life of luxury and material possessions that she couldn't even begin to understand at her age. The problem was that all their wealth came at a cost, a cost that an eight-year-old orphan didn't need to be caught up in.

"Hanji, you can't just make a decision like that on a whim." She seemed completely unabashed by Levi's deadpan glare.

"This isn't a whim."

"What the hell do you call it, then?" Levi's face was slowly losing it's composure, his usual stoic expression replaced by anger and irritation. "You want to go out and adopt a street rat that you've known for two hours. Do you have any idea what she's like? She could be a vagrant thief for all we know." Hanji raised an eyebrow at him.

"I had no idea that the mighty Levi Ackerman had this irrational fear of being mugged by a malnourished eight-year-old." Levi just glared at her. "You're the one that brought her here," Hanji continued. "If you were so worried about her crime record, why bother?"

"The way she said that she was going to sleep on the sidewalk in the rain was the most pathetic thing I've ever heard." The man's blue eyes fell to the sleeping orphan.

"Agreed," Hanji shrugged. "That's why I want her."

"I realize that," Levi snapped. "Why, I have no damn idea, but I get it. I want a lot of shit I'm not going to get."

"Like not needing a ladder to reach your wife's chin?" Levi chose to ignore that comment.

"What the hell do either of us know about children?" To that, Hanji grinned.

"I have a mother's instinct. You're a man, so you won't get it."

"You aren't a mother."

"I am now."

"Hanji."

The argument stopped abruptly when they both noticed Mikasa stirring. Her black eyes looked almost guilty – clearly, she had heard some of the conversation.

"Don't fight over me," she told them, her voice soft. "If you don't want me here, I'll go." Her thin arms went around Hanji's waist, as she gave her a small hug. "I just don't want you mad at each other." She buried her face into the brown-haired woman's abdomen. Hanji shot Levi a glare, before gently running her fingers though Mikasa's ebony hair.

"Don't mind him," she told the girl, rubbing her back with her free hand. "He's just mad that in a year, you'll be taller than him." Mikasa peeked at him from behind her curtain of hair, apprehensive. She hadn't seen Levi's face change at all in the time she'd known him, and his expression didn't exactly look happy. Finally, he looked up at Hanji.

"We'll discuss this tomorrow," he muttered, standing up and walking toward the other room. Hanji rolled her eyes and stood up with Mikasa still in her arms. She clung to the woman's neck as they moved through various hallways, Mikasa looked around herself in wonder at the beauty and sheer size of this house. Her family had never had much. They had at least made enough money to keep a roof over their heads and enough food in her belly to keep her from starving to death, but the house had been old and decrepit, and being cold and hungry was a daily part of her life. In that sense, not much had changed since she'd been forced onto the streets.

Finally, they made it to a room, and Hanji sat her down on the biggest and most comfortable bed she'd ever seen. Her previous drowsiness immediately overtook the orphan, and she rested her head on one of the numerous soft pillows spanned across the top to the bed. She tucked a lock of Mikasa's ebony hair behind her ear, as she gave her a very warm smile.

"If you need anything, we're right down the hallway." Mikasa nodded once, already asleep before Hanji could leave the room.

When Levi finally joined his wife in bed, he found the bed occupied by a certain houseguest, and his wife wide awake as the girl cured up against her chest.

"I thought you were putting her in a guest bedroom?" he told Hanji, his voice flat. Hanji just grinned at him.

"She had a nightmare, so she's sleeping with me. If you don't like it, go sleep on the couch." Levi gave her a glare before crawling into bed beside Mikasa, so she was laying between them. As he shifted the bed, the girl tossed in her sleep and turned toward him, pressing her small body closer to his. His last thought before falling asleep was a silent curse toward Mikasa for being one of the cutest little brats he'd ever seen.

When Hanji woke up the next morning, it was to Levi thrusting a paper in her face. Drowsily, she grabbed her glasses from a table beside the bed.

"What is this?"

"Adoption papers. Just sign it, before I change my mind." Hanji just smirked at him, as she grabbed the document and wrote her name on them.

"Why the change of heart. Lord Ackerman?" Levi's blue eyes shifted to the sleeping girl., but that was all the answer Hanji needed. "She'll be a heartbreaker, that one," Hanji laughed. Levi just glared at him.

"Not if you expect me to call myself her father, she won't be."