Disclaimer: I own none of these characters!

Notes: Yay okay so chapter is up on time AND I posted a new mini chapter (last night) with some JeanMarco goodness! (It's partially relevant to the next update x3) :'D I'm feeling good! This chapter is only a feel good at the end. Thank you all for your continued love and support *3* Next chapter is Mikasa's freakout. So until then, have this.

Everything was pure bliss for Eren. The trip had been beyond perfect. He spent time with Levi, quality time doing nothing in particular; simply sightseeing overseas and exploring his own relationship. He got to see Levi naturally, away from the stress of work. And Eren forgot his own worries and fears of running into someone. He saw a bit of Levi's life, through Isabel; a part of Levi he never knew existed and a part he was fortunate enough to see. All of this in a beautiful city surrounded by delicious food.

There was nothing Eren would change about it; except for maybe more of that food.

He was at a point that coming off as too dreamy-eyed never crossed his mind. Although, the constant stares his mother gave him said otherwise.

"Eren, you've done nothing but smile all day," she laughed.

"Sorry…"

"Don't be! It makes me happy to see you so excited," Carla said. "Your trip must have been good for you to still be smiling so big."

Eren nodded and looked down at his bag because he knew his cheeks were glowing again. "It was…one of the best experiences I've ever had. I'm so glad I was able to go."

"I can't wait to hear more stories about where you went and what all you saw. Especially the food. Oh, it must have all been amazing."

Eren started to laugh as he unpacked, throwing his clothes into piles to be washed. He let his mother take care of his other bag, with his toiletries inside, as he wanted to make sure none of this clothes had any leftover (love) stains from the trip. He found one of Levi's shirts (an old Master of Puppets t-shirt) buried in the middle of his clothes and a ribbon of unused condoms. He pushed those back into his suitcase, keeping them out of his mother's sight. He would have to pack his clothes for school soon, so he would easily be able to get them out of the house without being noticed.

He pulled his sketchpad from his luggage and the door opened, his father poking his head into the room, probably searching for Carla. Eren swallowed, already feeling tense, but Grisha half-smiled.

"You're back," he said, saying it like it was supposed to be a greeting. Eren nodded.

"Yeah." That was a confirmation Eren heard said shitty greeting.

"Glad you're home safe."

"Thanks."

It was the longest conversation they had gone through in a long time without raising their voices or throwing something. Eren returned the half-smiled, holding his sketchbook to his chest.

"You drew a lot there?"

"No," Eren quickly said, because the last thing he needed was for his parents to see Levi's nude drawing, "I took picture references—"

The camera. It wasn't in his bag. And then he remembered setting the camera bag down by the…

Eren looked at his mother, who was holding his camera in her shaking hands. He inhaled and looked away, as if he could ignore it, but Grisha saw the change in his expression and the way Carla stared in horror.

"Carla," Grisha said, "What is it? Carla?" He snapped her name out the second time he said it and his eyes narrowed, the storm already brewing.

It was like a horror movie and Eren had lost his voice. He sputtered out noises, none of them coherent, and stared down at his open suitcase. He knew it was coming. And he could do nothing—absolutely nothing—to stop the inevitable.

"Eren. Jaeger. You lied to me!?"

He cringed.

"What? What did he do, Carla?!" Grisha demanded, storming over to her. He tried to snatch the camera from her, but Carla was too fast. She raised the camera in her hand and shook it firmly as she stomped over to Eren in two quick steps.

Eren jumped to his feet, trying to grab the camera from his mother. "Mom, no, it's not like that I swear—"

"You fucking lied! Who is he!? Eren, I swear if you're doing some illegal sex trade—"

"It's not, stop! Give me my fucking camera!"

Grisha managed to grab the camera from Carla before she could hand it over. Eren knew the real shitstorm was coming and he even saw it in his mother's eyes; she knew it too.

"You went overseas with some old man?" Grisha asked, throwing the camera on the bed. Eren cringed as it bounced, thankful it did not hit the flood. "You used my money for some fag—"

"It wasn't your fucking money so get off your fucking high horse," Eren shouted. "And I swear if you call Levi a goddamn fag again—"

"I had to put up with this during high school and you're still doing it—"

"It's not like a fucking habit I can just quit!"

"You always act out. You just don't want to change! You don't give a fuck!"

"Exactly, I'd rather get made fun of and have my dad call me a fucking fag." Eren said it with a sharp tone that made Grisha's face pale and his hand go up. Eren grit his teeth, bracing himself for the quick slap he knew was coming.

"Stop it, stop it both of you!" Carla shouted, grabbing Grisha's wrist hard enough to catch the old man's attention. "Grisha, go sit in your fucking office and Eren, you just cool down here."

Eren was livid. He was holding in a lot; he was afraid if he lost it, with his mother that close to him, he'd have an accident. A bad accident that could put him in jail for assault because his father was an asshole when he was pissed off enough. Grisha wasn't above sending Eren to jail out of spite. Or at least trying to.

Grisha turned away, jerking his arm from Carla's grip, and pulled the door open. He deliberately made sure it swung and slammed against the wall. Carla flinched and Eren held his breath until there was a crash of glass against the floor. Carla ran to the door first and halfway down the stairs before Eren heard her yell.

"GRISHA!"

"No son of mine is going to be a free-loading, cocksucker!"

Eren wrapped his arms around himself and walked to the stairway landing. His graduation picture had been pulled from its spot on the wall, a mess of glass all over the stairs.

He held it in. He kept his face straight until he found a pack of hidden cigarettes and a lighter in the bottom of his dresser. He ignored his father's violent slurs and threats, walking right into the quiet of the backyard.

Colossus instantly perked up and walked over to him, tail wagging excitedly. He was oblivious—completely oblivious to the distortion he caused—and was just excited that someone was finally in the backyard with him.

Eren needed a moment to himself, just to clear his head. He lit his cigarette, putting his feet in the pool, and leaned forward, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He closed his eyes and blew smoke into the night, enjoying the fresh feel of the air against his skin.

It was hopeless. Useless. No matter what he did, his father found something wrong with him. Something to pick at. Something to deliberately make him feel like shit. A reason to fight and to yell and to throw whatever was closest.

And now his mother was left trying to calm the old bastard down. Eren felt even more like shit. His father put him down; and now he was sitting outside and letting his mother deal with it. It was a copout, and he knew it. However, he was afraid to face his father because he was afraid of that monstrous fury they both had.

It wasn't like his junior year of high school. It wasn't like when his father caught him cheating on a test or smoking pot with Jean. Because when they fought then, Eren would just get grounded. If he broke something, he would get scorned. The worst that could happen was juvenile hall and then he'd have a clean record.

But now he had to be careful. If he threw a punch it was assault. If he punched a wall, it was destruction of property. He could be tried as an adult and sent to jail. Real jail. And that would be one more mark his father could bitch about.

The door opened and closed and he cringed.

If Grisha was standing there, they would yell and fight. If it was his mother, she'd yell and he'd feel guilty for hurting her. Honestly, he'd rather take his father because it would be an equal match.

"Eren…"

That gentle sigh and then his name. It was his mother.

Eren dragged on his cigarette and refused to look at her as she sat down by him. Her voice was shaking, and even though she was calm now, Eren knew she was still upset.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just…I—"

"Eren, wait," Carla said. "Before you explain, let me tell you now, I'm not upset that you went with a man. I could care less about who you dated as long as they're good to you. And as long as they make you happy. Your father is an asshole for saying what he did in regard to that."

Eren stared at the ripples in the water, taking another long smoke. Colossus sat by him, mouth open with hot breath on his shoulder.

"I am upset, however, that you lied about who you were going with. Eren, I never want you to feel like you have to hide or lie. You should never feel ashamed of that. But also, that's so dangerous, not telling me who you were going with. What if he had been a serial killer and you went missing? We'd have no idea what happened or who to even start a search with," she said softly.

"I know and I'm sorry, okay…," Eren said. "And trust me, I felt like shit after. I didn't want to…lie about it. But I felt like…you wouldn't want me to go across the world with him either."

"Of course I wouldn't!" Carla gasped. "No one wants their child to go across the world with someone they haven't met yet. I'd let you do it; I'd have to though. You're practically an adult and you can make your own decisions. Are they the right decisions? I don't know but it's my job to guide you. And to be here for you. You would have gone and I would have snuck a pack of condoms in your suitcase, for Christ's sake."

"Ma…you…," Eren laughed a little at her comment and she threw her arm around his shoulders.

"You did take condoms, didn't you?"

"Yes!"

"Better question: did you use them?"

"Mom."

"I am just making sure you're being safe, honey," she said. She hesitated. "And he's…older?"

The tone in her voice made it obvious that she was not thrilled about the idea.

"A little…"

"Eren—and be honest—is this some…sex-money exchange thing? Like a sugar daddy?"

Eren swallowed. "It started out like that but I swear it's not anymore. Ma, he's so…perfect. Like he's actually perfect and it pisses me off because I'm such a dysfunctional piece of shit."

Carla eyed him carefully; from his ears to his eyes and she sighed. "You're not a piece of shit. Or dysfunctional."

"I'm still not good enough for him," Eren said. "But I am so in love with him. He makes my heart flutter and do stupid shit and…you're smiling. You are you smiling?"

"Eren," she said, "a long time ago, when you were dating Jean, do you remember when I asked if you loved him?"

"Yeah…?"

"And you said 'I think I love him'." Eren half-shrugged, just to have her continue. "Right now you didn't hesitate or have to think about it. You said 'I am in love' and Eren that's all I could ever wish for you," she finished.

All of the worry and every negative feeling vanished for a brief moment. He smiled, letting his cigarette burn away.

"His name is Levi," Eren said softly, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Levi, huh? That sounds…familiar," she muttered.

"You met him at that art show…"

"Were you two…?"

"Back then? No. Not really."

"Hm. You know now this means I have to officially meet him."

"But—"

"I did it with Jean and Levi is no different. We'll get together, have coffee and I'll make sure he's treating you right."

"He has work!"

"If he has time to take you to Paris, he can spare an hour for coffee, Eren."

Eren's new schedule:

Photography 1, French 2, Advanced Drawing, Advanced Painting and Sculpting 2. Class Monday through Friday.

His only saving grace was sharing a class with Armin and Ymir (French 2). Not that he really wanted to share a class with Ymir, but being with Armin would make the class bearable.

It had been a while since he last saw Armin. After the trip, Eren had been busy hunting down books (last minute) and packing. Armin was busy with his own matters, so Eren barely had a chance to talk with him. However, he did notice a slight change in Armin; and Armin's constant stare in Eren's direction was unsettling.

"Are you okay?" Eren asked as everyone settled into their seats to wait on the professor. Professor Dawk was known for being late and Eren definitely remembered him being scatterbrained from his previous French class.

"Huh? Yeah, totally, why?" Armin asked. He pulled at the scarf around his neck, opening his notebook and pulling a pen from his bag.

"Well, you've been fucking weird lately," Eren replied, lying across his notebook. "Hey, do you have an—"

Armin pulled out an extra pen and handed it to Eren before he could finish talking.

"Wow, thanks. You're a total life saver."

"You're welcome," Armin smiled.

"Where were you last night, by the way?" Eren asked. "Mikasa and I missed you at dinner."

"You're certainly chatty for someone who hasn't had his coffee yet," Armin sassed. "Are we playing twenty questions this morning?"

"You were out half of the night," Eren replied. "You never—Oh shit is that a hickey?!"

Eren slammed his hands on the desk and a few of their classmates looked around at them, whispering quietly. Armin pulled on his scarf and pinched the soft skin of Eren's upper arm. Eren winced silently, trying to catch a better glimpse of Armin's purple neck.

"Shut. Up."

"I'm telling Mikasa. Who is it? You can tell me."

"Eren!"

"I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"You just said you're telling Mikasa!"

"That's because you pinched me!"

The door opened and Professor Dawk stumbled in, dropping a few papers behind him. People shuffled around, realizing that class was about to start. Eren ignored him, still focused on Armin.

He dropped his voice low. "Is it Erwin?"

Armin's cheeks turned red and his grip on his pen tightened. "Eren. It is not."

"Oh fuck it is!"

Armin glared. "Like you should talk."

"I never knew you were into older guys. I'll have to have the talk with him to find out all of the juicy details."

Armin turned toward the front of the room as Eren continued to poke and tease.

"Can he even get it up? He's pretty old. But you're a science nerd so I'm sure you've found some way to make it—"

"You're dating Levi Ackerman."

Eren's voice hitched in his throat, his eyes wide in horror. Armin took a sip of his coffee, flipped a piece of hair from his face and clicked his pen; all with a look of triumph on his smug face. Eren sank into his chair, wanting to disappear.

This was not good. Armin knew. He spot-on knew.

Eren had to wait until the end of class to question Armin and even then he didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I called you out," Armin said softly. Eren groaned.

"How did you—"

"Erwin let it slip on accident. Sort of. He just mentioned Levi and I was able to add it up from there," Armin explained, putting away his books. "I haven't told anyone."

"Okay good."

"I told you I'd find out though," Armin teased, nudging Eren's shoulder. Eren gave him a little push back.

"Oh ha-ha. How funny."

"It's nice," Armin said. "He seems to make you happy. You went on a trip with him, so I would assume he makes you happy."

"Well…oh my God, he does," Eren said. "I just—"

"Can the two of you please move and stop talking about your damn sugar daddies?" Ymir drawled, tapping her fingers against the table. "I have a class."

"Want to go to the caf and grab some lunch?" Armin chimed. "We can talk there."

"That sounds perfect," Eren said. "I really want to hear more about Erwin. And I do need some coffee for our twenty questions. Oh, I hope they have peach cobbler—"

"MOVE!" Ymir shouted.

"Sorry!" Eren and Armin screamed, hurrying out of the aisle.