Levi Has A Pet

Summary: Levi has a pet, an unusual one, but it's a pet and he likes it with all of his dark little heart. It's small, undemanding and, most of all, clean. But it's a blast from the past and when word gets out, everyone wants it. Levi has to make sure his unique pet remains his and free. Eren, already done with this BS 2000 years ago, gets dragged into it. He's not complaining, despite his complaining.

Eren's idea of a private place to talk with a large variety of food to choose from ended up being his and none other than Armin Arlert's temporary office while they intern at the big Barcelona Aquarium in Port Vell. Armin had looked just as stunned to see Levi when Eren guided him through the door of their joint office and Levi was a bit surprised to see him jump up from his seat into a perfect salute. Seems two people he's found now have their memories of their past life, which Levi considered to be incredible luck. Though Eren's mother had seemed to be 'familiar' with him, too, possibly remembering Humanity's Strongest Soldier of the past. Maybe there was something in the water here in Spain?

"Levi-heichou, sir! It's a pleasure to see you again!"

"At ease, Armin," Levi said with good humor even as he also felt too stunned to believe what he was seeing. "As far as I remember, you ended up being my superior the last time I bore that rank."

"S-still," the blond stuttered but Levi just waved him off.

"I can't believe I've found two more people who have their memories," Levi said, letting Eren usher him into the office with his free hand, the other one still holding Levi's new backpack to keep the fussy Hallucigenia calm. Whenever they had tried giving it back to Levi, the little shit would just hiss out that awful sound until it was back in Eren's hold. Jaeger didn't even know what he was holding, which was probably for the best. No doubt he hated the thing after the shit it had started and Levi didn't need it dying after he'd kept it safe and alive for over a decade. As such, Eren held Levi's bag while Levi carried the food they'd gotten from the cafeteria before they made their way to the office. Eren had given him a strange look when Levi ordered three different but miniature portions of fish and algae, knowing Levi wasn't actually fond of seafood, but he didn't ask and Levi didn't elaborate. He figured once he started feeding his pet everything would explain itself.

"Have you met a lot of people from the past?" Eren asked cautiously as they set all their things down, sure to keep the 'fussy bag' close to him lest it assault their ears with its hellish noises once again. The way Eren's mood suddenly shifted alerted Levi to the fact that it had just sunk in for Eren who he had been riding around in his car with for the past half an hour through the hellish traffic of midday Barcelona and that Levi might resent him for the Rumbling two thousand years ago.

So Levi rolled his eyes and flicked the brat's forehead, no way in the mood to discuss the mass genocide the man had committed and the weirdness of reincarnation and why one shouldn't drag past conflicts and negative feelings into the present. Though he once again hated the Monkey. And even Shitty Eyebrows, if he was being honest, but that was because they were on his ass more than any offenses those two idiot blondes had committed against him in the time of Paradis and Titans.

"Actually, quite a few. My mother, Kenny; Historia, Frieda, Uri and Rod Reiss; Nile Dock, Erwin and even your primate of a brother," Levi listed off, trying to remember if he'd met anyone else. "That's about it ... Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked Eren, who was glaring like his life depended on it.

"Oh, he's not glaring at you, sir!" Armin, always the diplomatic little shit, was quick to reassure. "It's just that, well, the, uh, Jaeger family situation is complicated as fuck." Levi arched an eyebrow at the cuss, to which Armin blushed. It's not like Levi was offended, he just wasn't used to Armin actually saying something like that, least of all in front of Levi. He was usually too respectful and shy and was trying desperately to live up to the sacrifice of Erwin Smith to ever be anything but polite around Levi. Hell, even when he was Commander and giving Levi orders, he was always respectful and looked like he wanted to ask Levi if he was okay with the orders he'd been given.

"Mind elaborating that, brats?"

Eren scoffed and tapped on the bag he'd been carrying around for the last half an hour or so. "Isn't the hissing bag a more pressing matter? I mean, I've seen a lot of bullshit in my life, but never before have I seen a hissing bag."

"Yeah, no, you're not gonna like the 'hissing bag'," the black haired man said with an eye roll and appropriate sarcastic air quotes. "Once you see what's in it and it will be far easier to explain that shitshow with a little show and tell. This, though," he said as he looked between his former subordinates. "This seems like a more complicated affair."

"Well, affair is quite the right way to describe it," Armin said awkwardly, looking at Eren for help.

The 'Usurper' rolled his eyes, huffed, crossed his arms and started explaining while Armin hurried to distribute the food all over his desk, not daring to disturb The Bag. "Well, long story short, my father first found his first wife from our previous life, married her, had Zeke and then suddenly ran into my mom a few years later, had an affair with her, secretly roped her into some weird sort of hybrid marriage, got her pregnant with me and kept deceiving her that they had a steady monogamous relationship for a few years. Not sure if he actually remembers our past lives or not, but he definitely wasn't prepared for me."

"I'm not sure anyone or anything in this world is prepared for you, Eren," Levi said sarcastically and the other two males had to agree.

"Anyway, my mother remained blissfully ignorant until my nine year old ass nearly stabbed Grisha to death when I was going through his phone and found exactly what I was looking for: Dina's and Zeke's names in his contacts, a few family pictures of all three of them, that sort of thing, all in a secret, secure folder." Levi was not even surprised that that was Eren's reaction. He knew the former Titan Shifter too well to be surprised. "My mom found out what he'd done. We sought help from her parents in Turkey and thanks to their embassy and government, we escaped Germany. But Grisha kept trying to track us down, so we moved to Spain; Mom's grandaunt lived here and was willing to take us in, so I grew up here, in Calella. It's only a few miles out of Barcelona-"

"I know. I was planning to go there until I ran into you," Levi interrupted and Eren nodded in understanding. "So, what? You grew up here? Decided to study marinology or something?" He asked, gesturing around at the aquarium they were currently in. Levi's heard great things about this place, but he wasn't a sea-lover, so he didn't really want to know what sort of animals take a shit in the water everyone likes jumping around in.

"Pretty much," Armin confirmed with a shrug. "Eren and I met in highschool and immediately became friends again. Though I'm double majoring in marine biology and marine paleontology while Eren's the one specializing marinology in hopes of working fulltime in an aquarium like this," he corrected and the brunet nodded.

"Now, when's the last time you've seen my brother?" Eren all but demanded and Levi arched an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to track Grisha down and, quite frankly, finish what I've started. This isn't even about our past lives; this is about what he's done to my mother and me this time around. I liked Germany and I liked Turkey just fine, too. I wasn't very fond of the idea of leaving, especially since I knew it was because we were running away because we weren't strong enough to stand up to him. Well, I'm strong enough and all grown up now. I at least want to deck that bastard in the face. And if he tries anything? Well, I have plenty of shifts in the shark tank."

Levi massaged his forehead. "You haven't changed at all," he said semi-fondly, because, like it or not, that was just so Eren of him that Levi honestly didn't know if he should be scared or not of the man this Eren could become.

"Actually, he's taking anger management classes," the blond of their unusual trio supplied, which earned him a groan from his taller friend. "It's just that Grisha is a sore spot."

"Yeah, well, I get it," Levi replied. "I've wanted to strangle a few of my own relatives over the years, or pretty much everyone from our past that I've run into."

"Even Erwin-danchou?"

"Oh, especially him," Levi assured, running a hand over his left wrist, which Erwin had broken a few months back in an attempt to capture him. "Oh, and Frieda and Rod. Rod's a given; I've wanted to strangle him even before he refused to help pay for my mother's medical bills despite Uri insisting on it and us being family and whatnot since Uri is Kenny's husband this time around. Frieda, though ... Well, Frieda got me caught up in quite the shitshow, which is how I even ended up running into Eren and his mother."

His former subordinates exchanged a look. "That sounds like quite the interesting story," Eren commented and Levi rolled his eyes, gesturing for him to hand over The Bag. He did, albeit reluctantly, clearly wary of the hissy fit The Bag might make. Levi almost rolled his eyes again but he figured it was a legitimate worry.

"Yeah, well, it all starts with this, which is fucking ironic," he said and before either of them could question him about what he means, Levi pulled the container out of the bag and was witness to Armin and Eren nearly aving their eyes fall out of their sockets and their jaws hitting the floor when they saw the, unfortunately, all too familiar 'glowing centipede' that had started the whole shitshow four thousand years ago.

"Is that-"

"A Hallucigenia!?" Armin shrieked, cutting Eren off and clearly focusing on all the wrong things about this reveal. "Oh my goodness, I thought all the chatter on all the scientific forums and websites was just some hoax and that that one picture was just a really realistic edit or something! But now all the donations and bids make sense! As well as the discussions of whether or not more Cambrian and Jurassic and all those other ancient species might actually still be alive down in the Mariana Trench despite some scientists' claims that nothing can live on those depths and in that lack of light and warmth but clearly they were wrong because-"

"Seriously, Armin? You're focusing on some made up rumor on the internet?" Eren asked incredulously and Levi just watched the two friends in curiosity and confusion. "That's the fucking creature which merged with Ymir Fritz and started the Titan age!"

"Wait, really? Was that thing really a Hallucigenia? I mean, I never got a really good look at it and the times I did see it, I'm pretty sure it was much bigger than this," Armin argued, but then shook his head. "I guess it could be some sort of mutation or something, which caused it to have special powers that other Hallucigenia probably didn't have-"

"Actually, it's the same shitstain that crawled out of Eren's ass and attacked us when we were working to stop the Rumbling," Levi interrupted Armin's ramble, surprised the boy could go off like that, not even noticing that he was mumbling and shit. "And, as you can see, it's not a rumor on the internet. It's very fucking real."

"How can you tell?" Armin asked, referring to Levi's first statement, but Eren didn't seem doubtful. In fact, he was glaring death at the Hallucigenia, which was facing him and not taking off its simple, creepy little purple eyes off of him.

"Well, because it went all radioactive-spidery on me one day and suddenly, I had all my Ackerman abilities back. I could literally flip over an armored vehicle with one arm, my stamina increased tenfold and I could probably run faster than the current Guinness Book record holder. My senses have sharped, allowing me to stop wearing glasses, and my instincts are almost on an animal level. In other words, the way I was back then, two thousand years ago." As he was speaking, he took some of the algae and oysters from his seafood salad, opening the container just enough to drop the food in. The Hallucigenia finally lost interest in the humans around it, for the moment, because it was hungry and was finally getting a good fucking meal after months of surviving off of scraps and Levi's dead skin.

When Levi looked back up at his companions, Eren's face was grim and Armin looked a little green in the face. Quite understandable, really.

"Does this mean that the age of Titans could return at any moment?" The blond asked and Levi sighed.

"I don't know. It never showed an interest in any other human than me and it was only interested in me because I was feeding it, but it's been acting weird as shit since I ran into Eren. And I'm honestly no longer sure if it biting me was an accident or not."

"It's a lot more aware and intelligent than you guys or these modern day scientists are giving it credit," Eren retorted with a snort. "It probably bit you because it wanted to. It gave you your powers back because it wanted to. You said Frieda got you into some sort of shitshow. Armin said this thing is from the Cambrian. I can just imagine how the rest of the world is reacting to this thing's existence. I guess it knew you two were in danger and it wanted you to protect it."

Levi nodded. "My mom and Uri got sick at the same time. Frieda was trying to help since her father was being a dick. She knew the Hallucigenia was some rare species and that it was probably illegal for me to have it as a pet-"

"A pet!?" The two former Titan Shifters asked but Levi ignored them for the moment.

"-and that it could probably earn us the money to save my mother. So she posted it on the internet, said it was for sale or something. Suddenly, I had government secret agencies, scientists, pseudoscientists, conspiracy theorists, millionaires and billionaires and everything in between at my doorstep, trying to take it from me. I knew there was a great risk of this thing having the same powers as the one that had created the era of Titans four thousand years ago by merging with Ymir Fritz, so I knew I couldn't just let anyone take it. It's why I took it as a 'pet' in the first place when I found it. Long story short, this thing bit me when I was seventeen on the day I had to go on the run. I've been running ever since. I don't even know what happened to my mom, my family. I haven't heard from anyone in two years ... "

"Wait, you're only nineteen?" Eren asked, looking stunned.

"Why, how old are you, you brat?" Levi challenged as he closed the container, sealing the Hallucigenia away from the world. And the two former Titan Shifters it might try to transform again.

"We're twenty two, Heichou," Armin replied while Eren kept staring incredulously at him.

Levi groaned. "Great. Just fucking great. Not only are you two giants, you're now also older than me." Eren burst out laughing at that and even Armin giggled. "But back to the serious topic: I'm seriously still on the run because of this thing. I have no ID or passport or anything. I've been living off of pickpocketing people and smuggling myself over borders in whichever way I can, lugging this damned thing practically halfway across the world just to keep humanity from rediscovering Titans."

"Is that how you ran into other people from the past?" Eren asked and Levi nodded. "So they were all chasing you or something?"

Again, Levi nodded. "Zeke works for the CIA and Erwin for MI6. Not sure about Nile; he might be military or from some private secret agency or something."

"But wait, the CIA is an American agency, right? Why would Zeke be working for them?" Armin asked and Levi shrugged.

"The best financing for science research, I'm guessing."

"I thought you said he was chasing you?"

"Who said he isn't? Your monkey of a brother wants to be on site when they take the Hallucigenia from me to make sure nothing happens to it or some shit." the Ackerman said with a shrug. "It doesn't really matter to me. I only care about getting away from him and his crazy scientist friends. Arlert, stop poking at the container and provoking that damn thing; apparently, it's quite vocal."

"Sorry," the blond said sheepishly, taking his finger away but still staring at the Hallucigenia. "It's just ... This is a huge thing for me, okay? Hallucigenia is one of the most mysterious creatures of the Cambrian and I just can't believe that I'm in the presence of a live specimen ... "

"Armin, I've had that thing in me; trust me, it's nothing special," Eren said with a shudder and Levi arched an eyebrow at the former Attack Titan and Founding Titan.

"Aren't you interested in these sea creatures and shit?"

Eren snorted. "I want to work with living creatures, not fossils." Levi arched an eyebrow and pointedly glanced at where the Hallucigenia seemed to be making what might be rude gestures at the curious, wide-eyed Armin. Though Levi might be projecting. Eren rolled his eyes so hard, Levi thought they might get stuck in the back of his skull. "Modern day living creatures. Specifically dolphins, whales and maybe sharks. I don't mean living fossils."

"Well, technically, some sharks and sea turtle species-"

"Armin?"

"Shut up?"

"You got it." Levi snorted at the interaction. "So, Heichou, now that you've found some allies, what do you plan on doing?"

The former Captain arched an eyebrow. "Allies?"

The two older men - and wasn't that weird - nodded. "Of course! You didn't expect us to just ignore your existence and the fact that you've been on the run for the past, what, two, three years?"

"Two," Levi confirmed and Eren nodded before continuing.

"You remember, we remember. You somehow got stuck babysitting the Coordinate again," he said with a nod towards the Hallucigenia, which had gone back to staring obsessively at him, though Levi might just be exaggerating at this point. But who cares? He's a teenager; if anyone can exaggerate or be dramatic, it's him. "And you need help. It would be irresponsible not to aid you, not to mention despicable after everything you've done for us in our past life. Besides, it will be nice to be comrades again."

The Ackerman had to agree with that. He's been alone for two years with only fleeting connections to other people that usually began with 'Hello' and ended with 'Have a nice day!' when he could afford to buy food in a nicer place. And though he wasn't much of a people person, he was still human and craved some form of human interaction and connection. Especially with someone who would understand his plight, as both the 'babysitter' of the Hallucigenia and as someone who remembers a time when Titans roamed the Earth. Or, well, Paradis, but you get the point.

"So, what's the plan?" Eren asked, clearly recognizing that Levi wasn't about to turn down their offer. "I mean, you have to have some sort of plan in mind, right? You can't keep running your whole life ... Right?"

Levi couldn't quite meet the brats' eyes. "I didn't exactly ever have a chance to just take it slow and think up a long term plan. I tried, in the beginning, but things always turned to shit before I could even begin fulfilling such plans. And it's not like I have a choice; as long as the Hallucigenia exists, I can't just let it be taken. We don't know if it can merge with another human like it had with Ymir Fritz. We can't afford another Titan age; you both saw how that shit ended and I don't mean just Eren and the Rumbling. The world was in shambles long before Eren decided to flatten it. And there are a whole lot more people now at risk, seven billion plus humans and who knows how many other species of living beings on this planet. But we can't just kill the Hallucigenia, either ... It wouldn't be right. It just wants to survive, just like any other living thing. And it's possibly one of the oldest organisms on this planet; we'd be committing a crime against nature or something if we just offed it."

"So, what? We hide it somewhere? Fake its death? Where would we even hide it that the rest of the world wouldn't be able to find it?" Armin asked and Eren was the one who gave a nonchalant answer.

"The Mariana Trench? There's already speculations of dozens of beyond ancient animal species living down there, humans just can't prove it because nothing really works down there, not humans and not machines, so we can't really record anything, especially at the bottom of it. And it's so dark, too ... Though this thing might stand out, since it likes to shine."

"But would that be safe? I mean, can it merge with other living things, not just humans?" Armin asked and Levi just sat back and listened to the two scientists-to-be discuss things between themselves while he finished off his food and relaxed. He couldn't remember the last time he was able to relax. It had to have been before he'd let Freida and Historia see the Hallucigenia, since Historia was rather grabby as a child and Freida was a bit too curious for his own comfort when he's hiding the most powerful, most ancient being on the Earth. Now he was in the presence of comrades, friends ... He was, quite frankly, only able to relax like this because he was in the presence of Eren.

There was no doubt in his mind that if anyone would be able to keep the Hallucigenia safe in his place, it would be Eren fucking Jaeger, through sheer stubborness, none the less.

"Heichou, are you alright?" Armin asked as he appeared in Levi's line of vision when he opened his eyes. He hadn't even realized he'd closed them in the first place. "You look a little ... uh, rundown."

Levi groaned, closing his eyes again and sagging in his seat. "I'm just tired." He opened his eyes again when Eren put a hand on his shoulder, looking up into concerned green eyes.

"How about I take you to our place so you can take a decent shower and get some actual sleep?"

"Eren, I could fucking kiss you," the nineteen year old said with a happy sigh at just the thought of a warm, long shower. It had been hell, keeping clean over the last two years, especially in the winter. Seeing as he'd had to resort to either streams and rivers or sinks in public bathrooms most of the time, an actual shower, even if it somehow had shitty pressure and mold in every single corner of the bathroom, would be a luxury, a godsend, if he were to believe in a god, that is. "Let's go. And take the Hallucigenia."

Eren did, but the thing started up that awful hissing sound the second he held up the container. Armin looked like he had just shit his pants in fright, clearly all too surprised at the loud and terrifying noise. Eren stared down at the Cambriac animal in confusion.

Levi just marched over to the contianer, put it in the bag, and marched out the door, shouting for Eren to get a fucking move on. The Hallucigenia did not protest. Moody shit. "Can't believe this thing suddenly gets picky over who carries it," he grumbled as the last Founding Titan caught up with him, casting suspicious glances at Levi's bag. "Twelve years. Twelve fucking years, it's as silent as the vacuum of space and now it suddenly decided it wants to make its opinion known."

"Let's hope it doesn't change its mind all too often or at random," Eren commented as he led Levi to the employee parking lot and to his car. "Though I think it was just worried for you. You really don't look all too hot, Levi-heichou. Should I take you to a doctor?"

"Eren, I don't have any proper identification," reminded Levi tiredly as he got into Eren's car. Nothing flashy, good for maneuvering through the city streets, probably has a good tank and engine that doesn't guzzle gas like Pixis used to guzzle alcohol. Levi wouldn't really know. He's never bothered with cars before. Then again, he'd never thought he'd need to. He'd lived in a good neighborhood where everything was within walking distance and there was a bus towards the center if he had ever planned to stay there and get a job in his hometown. Now, though, the only thing Levi is interested in regarding vehicles is how easy it is to sneak into one to catch a free ride. So far, he's had a love-hate relationship with those big trucks and their drivers. Plenty of space, a place to sleep, friendly folks about 90% of the time, but their hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. The cabins of their trucks were usually full of food wrappers, water and soda bottles, sometimes even beer cans and, when he'd traveled with that one disturbing old pervvert whom he'd ended up knocking a few teeth out not even a mile since the guy had picked him up, used condoms and wet wipes. Some of them pee in jars. Savages. Trains and subways/metros have proven most civilized so far, not including planes. He thinks. He's never actually been on a plane before.

"Okay, so? We can take you to the campus nurse or something! I just want to make sure you're alright," argued the former Titana and Levi couldn't help but smile. This Eren, despite having his memories, acted a lot more like the fifteen to seventeen year old Eren of their past life, always worrying about his friends and comrades and still a little too eager to please or impress Levi. Levi never understood how the kid's heroworship didn't wane over time, but he'd honestly been a bit thankful for it, too. It meant that the spirited, opinionated young man followed his orders to the letter - most of the time - and that he set a high standard for his fellow soldiers to do the same, especially where cleaning was concerned. It also helped Eren strike up a unique sort of comradeship with Levi that he never did with Hange or Erwin or any other of his superiors, despite them being around almost as often as Levi was.

It was probably the first tell for everyone that something was wrong with Eren in the last year before the whole shitdhow with Marley and the Rumbling got underway; the day when Eren wasn't as enthusiastic in greeting Levi when they crossed paths in the halls of HQ had definitely left more than a few Scouts confused and worried.

"I'm fine, you brat. I just need some sleep now that I can relax. And a bath. And probably some more fresh drinking water-" No sooner than those words left his lips, Eren had thrust an unopened bottle of water into Levi's hands as he started up the car and started driving them towards his and Armin's home.

Levi smiled as he relaxed into the backrest of the shotgun seat, letting his eyes close for a nap.

He trusted Eren not to let anything happen to him or his 'pet'.