"Oh, Eren Sweetheart! They're gorgeous!" Eren's mother, Carla Yeager hugged the bouquet of flowers like it was a baby and beamed at him. "Thank you so much, Honey!"
Eren leaned in to give her a big smooch on the cheek. "Anytime Mom, you deserve it."
Eren gestured at the table and hurried to make his mom some tea.
"So how are things? How are Jean and Armin?"
"They're fine, work is fine."
"And school?"
Eren added a tea bag to a mug and poured hot water over it. He shrugged.
"That good, eh?" Carla sighed. "You know you have to keep your grades up. You know how your father—"
"Oh don't talk to me about Dad! I know!
Carla cleared her throat.
"Try to be more patient with your father, Darling. I've been worried about him lately."
"Yeah? Why?"
"He's been feeling run-down and tired."
Eren felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry. I'll try, Mom."
"So …" She fiddled with the string on her teabag. "Are you seeing anyone?"
"Nah." Eren sat down at the table opposite her and stared down at the tabletop. "I do … uhm … have my eye on a guy though." He blushed a bit. He'd never even admitted that fully to himself.
"Oh! Is he gay, too?"
"He's bi-sexual."
"Bi-sexual." Carla tried out the unfamiliar word. "And what does that mean, exactly?"
"He likes boys and girls."
"Oh! Well … "
"He actually works in the flower shop." Eren indicated Carla's bouquet. "He made that."
"Well, he's very talented! Does he know you like him?"
Eren picked at a gouge in the surface of the table. "No."
"Hmm." She was clearly disappointed.
Eren felt wretched but he didn't know if it was for his mother or for himself.
Friday dawned bright and clear and the Child Development class stood shivering slightly and waiting for the bus. Eren was pissed. He stomped around, gloved hands jammed into his coat pockets and a scowl on his face. It was field trip day and they were going to a large daycare in town. Eren didn't hate kids, in fact, he kind of liked them, but being forced to interact with them sounded excruciating.
He tried to mollify himself by shooting little glances at Levi and outright staring when he thought the man wasn't looking.
The bus arrived, a standard ancient activity bus, and the weak winter sun glinted off of the chrome on its bumpers. Eren glared at the sky, trying to distract himself. It was a washed-out, pale blue without a cloud in sight. Just the sheer chilly prettiness made Eren frown. He could be inside where it was warm and comfortable and admiring the view out of the window. But, no. Here he was standing around waiting to board a fucking bus to somewhere he didn't want to go, freezing his ass off.
It was going to be a long day.
Levi was whiling away the time hunched into his jacket and shivering. He had to keep his teeth clenched together to keep them from chattering. He glanced occasionally at Eren. The kid seemed angry at the whole field trip thing.
Levi watched him pace, staring enviously at his thigh-length, dark blue, LL Bean coat, and admiring his long legs.
Levi had positioned himself right at the curb and when the bus pulled up he was the first one on. It was blessedly warm inside. He quickly took the first seat, behind the driver, sitting in the outermost seat. He looked steadfastly at the grey, ribbed, rubber mat on the floor between his feet.
All of the students crowded on, most heading for the seats farthest back. Out of the corner of his eyes, Levi saw Eren's coltish legs. Eren hesitated. Levi kept his gaze down. Finally, Eren moved on.
Levi let out a slow breath and looked straight ahead, out of the huge front windshield. He didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed.
The daycare they went to, Abby's Wonderland Pre-school, was a large one. It smelled like finger paint, crayons, Spagettios, and bleach. Even the bleach didn't eliminate the faint, faint smell of urine.
Shadis had chosen this daycare because of its diverse clientele. A small, older subdivision, with middle-class parents, sat to the daycare's left. To the right were tiny streets with houses built in the 40s and 50s. These people were solidly lower middle class.
These weren't privileged kids.
Once there, they split into groups and, to Eren's chagrin, Levi was put in a different group than him. When the groups had observed their room (the rooms were divided by age,) they all switched.
Eren ended up actually enjoying the field trip. He loved playing with the toddler-and-up kids and watched with fascination at the feeding of the babies. He also cringed during the (mandatory) observation of a diaper change.
The weirdest thing to happen, however, happened at the end of the trip. It was a little after four in the afternoon and parents were beginning to trickle in to pick up their kids. All of the parents had been informed of—and had approved—the class's visit. The group had all gathered at the front in preparation to leave when a very friendly and chatty mom offered to answer any questions. She had a baby, about four months old and boy-girl twins who were three. Unfortunately, the twins, who were obviously excited to be going home got restless and began to fight. The mom tried to wrangle them and this made the baby cry. The mom was clearly embarrassed and frustrated.
The baby, a little girl with gorgeous strawberry blonde hair, absolutely refused to calm down and was crying lustily. The mom was losing it when one of Eren's fellow students pushed gently through the class and approached her.
"May I?"
Eren looked around and almost shit himself. It was Levi, of all people. The small man stepped forward and stood next to the mom. The mother hesitated, understandably, and her two toddlers continued their meltdown. The little girl dragged on the hem of the mother's shirt and the little boy sat down hard on the floor and burst into tears.
Finally, the mother gingerly held out the baby. Levi raised his arms and took her gently, cradling her head just as the mom had done and cuddling the child close. But the most bizarre part of the whole fantastical episode was the look on Levi's face. His whole countenance softened and a tiny smile tipped up the corners of his mouth as he gazed down into the baby's eyes. The baby, obviously startled and fascinated at this new stranger, quieted immediately. For a long moment the two just stared at each other—bright blue eyes into somber grey—and most of the girls in the class began to hesitantly gather around, cooing and murmuring.
Eren couldn't even …
He didn't know how to react. How did this scary man act so sweet and soft? He couldn't stop looking at Levi's face.
Eren was lying on his couch, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He was thinking of Levi. His face, his body, his foul mouth that looked so kissable, his unexpected soft side. He had to know more about the man. He just had to.
His mind wandered to his stupid fuck up in the flower shop. Ugh. He'd essentially insulted Levi implying that he was too poor to buy proper clothes. Eren didn't know why he said these things. He even did it sometimes with Jean. Eren had had everything he'd ever needed and he struggled to see through the eyes of people who were disadvantaged.
He sighed. He had to do better. Maybe he could go by the flower shop again, but what excuse did he have to buy flowers?
Monday was another clear, bitterly cold day and Eren actually jogged to the building from the gravel lot. He was well and truly late and Shadis spent several minutes lecturing him as he stood awkwardly at the door and the whole class smirked at him.
When Shadis finished, Eren walked down the steps to the bottom of the amphitheater and his seat. Then he suddenly froze, jaw agape.
Babies. There was a whole row of life-sized baby dolls lined up next to Shadis on the stage. Shadis was talking about them.
" —off in pairs. Each pair will get a baby and you must care for it—and pay attention here!—exactly like a real baby! You will 'wash' it, 'feed it', change it, and take it with one of you wherever you go."
Eren got to his seat in a daze. Fake babies?! Was ole Shadis for real?!
Oh shit. He was missing the partner assignments.
" —mir, you're with Historia, Nifa with Sasha, aaaaand Yeager, you're with Ackerman."
Ackerman? Who the fuck is Ackerman?
The pairs slowly drew together and mounted the stage to choose their babies. Eventually, only two people were left sitting. Eren and ... Levi.
Levi? Eren's pulse raced. Levi Ackerman. Levi Ackerman. He committed it to memory.