I'm so sorry for the long wait! I was just really unmotivated for the longest time...I'm trying though. And I guess I might be getting a little better? Maybe?

"You're being too hard on yourself, Levi. Come on! So you hit him a few times? Who cares? He'll get better." Hanji sat perched up on the kitchen table, swinging her legs back and forth as she ate her dinner. "Armin got what was coming to him. You can't baby him forever, you know. He's getting spoiled."

"I do not 'baby' him..." Levi interjected, leaning against the counter across from the woman. Yes, he may be softer towards him than the rest. Yet that was no excuse for him to ignore a direct order. "But you have a point...you know that fucker who tried to escape?"

Hanji clicked her tongue, staring up at the ceiling as she thought. "Ah...the tall one? Or the girl? Be a little more specific."

Levi rolled his eyes. "The tall one. Anyway, he asked me if Armin was my son earlier."

"So? What did tell him?"

"What do you think I told him? I told him it's none of his business. Nosey brat..." Levi muttered the last part under his breath, exhaling deeply. "I never should have let him live. All he's done is cause problems for me." Because of him, he ended up taking out his frustration on his 'son'. It was a stupid, compulsive move, but what's done is done. He just hoped Armin wouldn't dwell on it for too long. The kid could hold a grudge, Levi had to give him that.

"Thats too bad...its an interesting story. You leave to hunt down a campsite and come back with a damn toddler. I still cant wrap my mind around why you didn't kill the little thing...does the grand, stoic Levi have a soft spot?" Hanji jeered, a wide grin splitting her face as she leaned forward slightly.

"You're going to have a soft spot in your skull if you keep talking." Levi growled. He wasn't proud of it; he'd killed children before. But they were either babies with no understanding of the world around them or bratty older kids who screamed and gave him a headache. Not tiny three year olds who remained curled up asleep as their parents were butchered only inches away. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do the deed, so to speak. "...dont you have things to do? Why the hell are you still inside? Get out of my house."

"You're such a killjoy." Was the last comment Hanji managed to sneak in before scurrying from the kitchen, shortly after accompanied by the slamming of the front door.

Levi sighed heavily, starting to question his judgment on allowing Hanji to remain breathing. Picking up his plate of food off the counter, he sat on one the worn kitchen chairs. He'd been concidering going into town to get some new furniture. Something sturdier and less...offensively old. "Maybe oak..." He murmured, the man's eyes darting to the stairs when he heard someone step into the hall.
Armin stiffly made his way past Levi, clearly doing his best to avoid eye contact. Levi watched as he dug through the cupboard for a rag, which he then placed a few ice cubes in and gingerly pressed against his bruised cheek with a sharp hiss. When he looked up, he caught Levi staring at him.

"..." Levi raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "...are you expecting a pity party? I told you to go clean up. Get your ass upstairs and take a shower or something." That may have been a bit harsh, but he was in no mood to conjure up any form of an apology. Especially when this was of Armin's own doing.

Armin sucked in a breath before turning on his heel and left the room in just as stiff of a manner as when he'd entered. Once he was out of sight, Levi slid down in his chair and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back to awkwardly rest on the back of the chair. What a mess. This was the last thing he needed to deal with piled up on top of all the shit he was wadding through at the moment. For his sake, he prayed Armin would grow up and get over it.

Armin viciously scrubbed at his neck and cheek until the skin became an angry scarlet, irritated by the friction of the washcloth. He grit his teeth and pushed harder against his skin, only satisfied when saw that every trace of blood had vanished.

His face still stung from earlier, the flesh of his cheek having darkened to a dull purplish color over his cheek bone. There'd be a nasty bruise for sure. "I dont get it." The blonde found himself thinking out loud while patting his face dry with one of the towels that hung off the back of the door. Levi showed no remorse for what he'd done to him. He hadn't gotten so much as an apology.
With a heavy sigh, he trudged out of the bathroom.

For a moment he considered going to check on Jean, but then he remembered that he'd ran away. Perhaps they would be serving him for lunch tomorrow...Armin quickly shook his head to try and get the awful thought out of his mind.

It's not that he particularly liked Jean...he was just the only outsider he'd spoken too in forever. He had been waiting until the teen had healed more to ask about where he'd come from. Every time he talked to Levi about it, the man got all stiff and told him to go to his room. As Armin made his way downstairs, he found that Levi was no longer in the kitchen.

He took a step into the kitchen and glanced out through the large window over the sink. Outside, he could see Levi dragging a very beat up looking Jean behind him. The poor guy looked even worse than when he'd been brought in...

Armin didn't wait for them to come inside, instead running out the side door and into the humid summer air. "Father? What are you-...why are you bringing him back?" The blonde slowed once he reached them, coming to stop only a few feet away.

Levi shoved Jean to Armin, saying nothing when the teen stumbled and nearly collapsed onto the grass. "Him and I had a little talk. He wont be trying anymore stunts like that if he ever want to see the fucking light if day again. Next time, Armin, you need to listen to me. I wont be this forgiving next time your...pet gets off its leash."