Levi could smell a rat.

Since the gang had all gone to visit Eren in the hospital, they had been bringing Erwin up. Levi didn't want to hear about Erwin. He certainly didn't want to talk about Erwin.

Their next assignment had been in an extra warehouse on the grounds of the wire factory outside of town that the production company had leased to build some interior sets. Mike and his crew had been busy. Actually everyone had been busy as Hange revised and finalized plans and Levi and his crew had been decorating the sets that Mike had built. Levi had also been extra busy with the costume department, helping with creating costumes and scouring thrift stores for likely clothes to use.

Levi was doing just that—roaming around a local thrift shop looking for clothes and set decorations—when his phone buzzed. He grabbed it out of his pocket.

Eren.

He picked up, stuffing his list into his pocket to be sure he didn't lose it.

"Hey, kid, what's up?"

"Hey Levi! How are you doing?"

"I'm good, just shopping for movie stuff."

"Ohh, sounds cool!"

"Hah! Not so cool. I have to scour thrift stores for good stuff for the film. Thrift stores are fucking nasty."

Eren laughed. "I love thrift stores! They have the coolest clothes! And cheap!"

"That's why I'm here. They're still fucking nasty."

"You seen dad? Mike said he was gonna go by the set today."

Levi was immediately suspicious. "No."

Eren breezed on. "Cuz I think he has my earbuds and I—"

"OK, kid, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean everybody has been talking to me about … your dad. What are you guys up to?"

"Levi, he misses you."

"That was not the impression I got."

"He was scared and confused! He lost my mom! He hates hospitals. You can understand scared, right? He wasn't in his right mind."

Levi was silent. He could understand scared. He'd spent hours in the hospital, outside the ICU, waiting to see Farlan after the accident that had killed Isobel. He hadn't known what to expect, what to say to Farlan. Then the ICU nurses had come out and told him that Farlan had died.

He squeezed his eyes closed on that memory.

"So all this is some sort of con?" he said, low.

"It's not a con, Levi. We care about you. Dad cares about you. Please, please …" There was a sniffle, "Just talk to him."

"Why should I?" Levi was getting angry, he could feel it boiling up in him like a volcano getting ready to explode. He tried to tamp it down as best he could, not wanting Eren to bear the brunt of it. "You're dad made it pretty fucking clear how he felt. This also isn't the first time, Eren."

Eren was silent at that.

Levi waited patiently till he realized that there was snuffling and rustling on the other end of the line. "Eren? Are you OK?"

"No."

"Tell me what's wrong. I don't read minds."

It was clear that Eren was crying. Levi shuffled uncomfortably. All his life, living with his uncle he'd been told by Kenny to 'man up' and that 'crying is for pussies'. He'd not had very much experience with men who showed their emotions. He waited, trying to be patient, trying not to feel guilty.

Another sniffle. "I thoug … I thought … I had hoped that you'd be my …" Eren broke down then.

"Oh, fuck, Eren. Don't cry!"

"I thought you'd be my fucking Pops one day!" Eren yelled, so loudly that Levi had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Eren!"

The line went dead.

Levi slowly and sadly put his phone away. He thought, briefly, about calling him back but chickened out. He wondered where all of this was going. He pulled his list out and continued shopping.

Hange set upon him next.

They were in the motel room (Moblit had to work late) and getting settled down for bed.

"I hear Eren had a bad day."

Levi was immediately attentive and anxious. "Did he? What happened? Anything serious?"

Hange shrugged casually. "Just that Erwin found Eren in his room crying."

Levi looked closely at them, concerned. "Pain?"

"No. Erwin said he was upset by a phone call."

Levi flinched. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Erwin doesn't know who it was but Eren was very upset. Said he cried for a good while."

"Well, he's just had a bad accident and his emotions are all over the place …"

"Levi, did you talk to him today?"

Levi scrunched down in his bed, clutching his beer. "Maybe."

"What did you say to him?"

Levi's hand tightened on his beer. He was feeling belligerent. He took a long drought. "He talked about Erwin. What was I supposed to do? Lie to the kid?"

Hange punched aggressively at the remote, scrolling through mindlessly.

"You could have at least been civil."

"I was fucking civil! I don't want to talk about fucking Erwin!"

Hange pinched the bridge of their nose then let out a slow breath. "Levi, would it hurt you to just fucking talk to the man?"

Levi slammed his beer onto the bedside table and it foamed over all over the place. Cursing, Levi jumped up to get a washcloth from the bathroom.

"Number one," he said when he emerged, "this shit has happened before, remember? If Erwin wanted to be with me so badly then why does he run so hot and cold? One second he's sweet and kind and the next he's a fucking asshole!"

"Then tell him that! Ask him what he's planning on doing about it!"

Levi knelt and scrubbed at the carpet. "It's much easier to just distance myself from the whole fucking situation!" He moved to wipe at the puddle on the bedside table. He finished and his shoulders sagged. "I'm just so fucking tired, Hange. I'm sick of this shit."

"I told him about your mom. And Farlan and Isobel."

Levi glared at them. "You had no right."

"True. I was wrong. But I wanted him to know. I wanted him to know how badly he hurt you in the hospital and why." Hange stared down at her clenched hands. "I really care about you, Levi. You're my best friend in the world. I also care about him. I want you both to be happy."

Levi sighed and got himself another beer while his other one's foam died down. He climbed back onto the bed and opened the new beer. He took a gulp and let his head drop back onto the headboard and looked at the ceiling. "I don't know what to do."

"Me either, really. All this is very stressful for everyone and Nanaba is worried about the baby."

Levi's head came up. "Is she? Mike hasn't said anything. Is she OK?"

"She's afraid all the stress and tension is going to negatively affect the pregnancy."

Levi absorbed all of this silently. He genuinely cared about his new friends. The bare thought of anything causing Nanaba's baby any harm was horrifying to him. Especially if he could do something to help.

Mike and Hange and Levi all stood on one of the sets and Hange was explaining something to Mike. Levi was painting a fake fireplace.

"Can we make that entranceway arched?" Hange asked, pointing. "Would that be too much of a pain in the ass?"

"Nah, not at all. I even have the wood for it from set three. I'll just pull off the wood that's there, cut the arch and nail on the new wood. Easy peasy."

Hange patted his arm. "Thank you! Hey, how's Nan doing?" They inclined their head toward Levi whose back was to them. Levi paused, acting like he was getting excess paint off of his brush.

Mike nodded. "She's really worried. Her stress levels are through the roof."

"Moblit and I are going to the hospital today, are you and she up to going?"

"Absolutely. I'll ask Nan if she's up to it. She'll probably come too. What time?"

"When we finish up here. I thought we could all stop by the Mickey D's by the hospital and grab some food. Eren would love that."

Levi turned around slowly. He never raised his head but looked down at the paintbrush in his hand. "Can I come?"

Mike and Hange were clearly floored.

Levi finally looked at them. "I'd really like to see Eren."

"Are you gonna be an ass?" Hange finally asked.

"I don't know," Levi confessed.

"Will you try not to?" Hange asked.

"I'll try."

"You can come," Mike said decisively.