.
.
Levi twirled the pen between his fingers, reading over the hastily written adoption papers. Hanji once again leaned over his shoulder to scan the papers for any flaws. She'd just made sure Erwin was comfortable with being their temporary son.
That was maybe an hour ago? Yeah, long enough for Levi to start feeling the affects of his insomnia. Hanji leaned over more until her chest was pushing Levi down. Completely oblivious to his discomfort she snatched the pen from him and with her arm around his shoulder, she signed the papers.
"Yay!" She quietly rejoiced. "I'm a parent!"
"Sure," Levi smirked. "Does that make me your husband?"
Hanji blushed, but her goofy smile dissolved the tension. Her smile faded as her ears tuned in to sobs coming from next door. Levi signed the papers with an Ackerman flourish, and rose to join Hanji in Erwin's room. The teen was sitting up on his bed, his long legs out in front of him. His back was leaning against the headboard with his face in his hands. Upon hearing Hanji's entrance he immediately tried to silence his painful sobs. The pain in his mind was too much.
I can't keep doing this, He thought provoking a fresh wave of tears. I miss him.
Him.
His father.
Erwin sobbed, folding forward and drawing his legs up to cushion his forehead. Hanji sat next to him on the bed, Levi on Erwin's other side. Hanji wrapped an arm around both men and drew them in like a mother owl does her chicks. "Oh Erwin..." She battled back tears of her own. "Does something hurt?"
Erwin shook his head no.
I just want to sleep, He thought as he felt Levi's soothing hand on his knee. Everything hurts.
"Oi, remember to breathe," Levi said. Oddly enough he didn't insult Erwin as he usually would. "Now you going to tell us what's wrong?"
"I..." Erwin choked out, "J-just remembered what ha-happened to my f-father."
His grief rose in volume even as Hanji pulled him into her side. Erwin's face pushed into her shoulder, his fingers curling in the leather of her jacket.
His other hand holds Levi's.
He holds on for dear life.