Once they were at the hotel, Hanji jumped out of the carriage, followed closely by Levi, carrying Eren. They walked quickly past the front desk, and up the stairs to her room, ignoring the stares and hushed whispers of the other hotel patrons. Hanji only stopped to asked a member of the staff to bring hot water and extra sheets to her room as soon as possible. Then, she turned to open her door, and greeting her assistant, who had stayed there to unpack the medical supplies, she stepped quickly inside to start getting things prepared. Levi followed her, shutting the door firmly behind him, so as to discourage the overly curious onlookers that were starting to gather. Erwin and Armin had followed at a more relaxed pace, making sure the staff were getting what Hanji needed and trying to dispel the worried crowd so Hanji could work in peace. Though Armin desperately wanted to be with Eren, Levi's actions had made it clear that he would be in his way. So he was content to stay with the tall blonde man, who, although he hadn't said much to Armin, made sure the boy was warm and had made Armin feel safe. They stood outside the room now, waiting for the staff to bring the water and sheets before entering. They didn't have to wait long. Instead of letting the servant enter the room, they took the requested items, and went in themselves. Hanji's assistant, Moblit, quickly took the things from them and joined Hanji at the make-shift operating table. Levi had laid Eren on the table, and helped him remove the warm cloak. Eren held tightly onto the blanket though, embarrassed to be naked in front of Levi. But Levi didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he was kind enough to not bring it up.

Levi pulled up a chair and sat next to the "table", intending to stay and observe the surgery. He tried to tell himself it was out of curiosity, but he knew it was really because the idea of leaving the boy alone made his stomach twist in knots with anxiety. However, Hanji was having none of that.

"Alright, everyone except Moblit and Eren, and myself, of course, need to leave." Hanji announced sternly, staring mainly at Levi, who just stared back, making his intentions obvious. "Now, your highness, I do not need people in here distracting me, this is going to be difficult enough as it is. Or do you want the boy to die because you were in my way and caused me to make a mistake?" Hanji asked sternly, her tone leaving no room for protests.

Levi cursed under his breath, as he realized he wasn't going to win. Sure, he could pull rank, as he was a prince, and Hanji technically worked for him, but that would only give away his real reasons for being there, and that would be far worse. So, with a low growl, Levi stood and stalked out the door, followed closely by Erwin. Armin walked over to Eren first and took his hand.

"You'll be fine, I know it. I will just be in the other room." Armin said softly, knowing his lifelong friend must be scared. "I'll see you when you're done, yeah?"

"Of course, Armin, don't worry about a thing. I'll be just fine." Eren put on a brave smile, but he couldn't hide the nervous trembling of his hand, or the bright crimson that had developed on his ears.

Giving Eren a small smile back, Armin let go of his hand and followed the other two into the hall, closing the door behind him. Levi was pacing the small hallway, his eye twitching in irritation every few minutes. Erwin just watched, having realized why his prince was so anxious.

"Your highness, perhaps we should wait in your room, where you will be more comfortable, and away from unwelcome eyes?" Erwin suggested quietly when Levi's pacing brought him close enough to be heard.

Levi immediately stopped walking and glared at the blonde man. But even though he wanted to be angry with Erwin for even suggesting such a thing, he knew it would be better for them. So, without a word, he turned and walked down the hall to his own room. Fortunately it was next door, but to Levi, it was not close enough. He needed time to think about everything, but he was so worried about the brat, he couldn't. This kid is really getting to me already. I've never felt this way about anyone, much less a brat I just met. I'm a prince, I shouldn't be looking at a boy this way, I should meet some princess and marry her. That's what my father would want. He would be angry if I brought home some young man to be with. Whoa. Levi stopped at his own thoughts, shocked at what had just crossed his mind. Fuck, I've known this kid two hours and I'm already thinking about taking him home. What the fuck is wrong with me? First I'm possessive, now I'm being sappy, thinking about taking him home and him meeting my father? I've got to get a grip, this is fucking ridiculous. Besides, he's just a child, while I am a grown man. Levi continued to think as he now paced his room, not even noticing the worried looks from Erwin.

Erwin could tell Levi was struggling with his feelings, even though Levi would never admit it. At twenty-two years old, Levi had never had a relationship. In fact, Erwin had never seen him show interest in anyone until now. This was a side of Levi he had not seen since his mother had died, and that had been when Levi was very young. Erwin had been by Levi's side since he was five, Erwin himself being eight. Erwin had been trained to become Levi's adviser, hand-picked by the king himself. The king had brought them together so early because he wanted them to be close, so Levi would trust him, and he, Levi. Watching Levi stressed like this hurt him, for he didn't know how to set his lord's mind at ease. He could only watch, so he did. He observed Levi very carefully, and, while Levi's face never changed, his eyes flickered with every emotion.

After a half hour, Levi finally sat down, staring blankly at the wall, still lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice when his two body guards, Gunther and Aururo, entered the room. He didn't notice when some of the hotel staff brought in dinner for the five of them. He didn't notice when Armin fell asleep in his chair and Erwin tucked him into Levi's own bed. He didn't know how long he had sat there staring at that same spot on the wall. However, he did notice when Moblit came in, looking exhausted. Levi immediately stood up, walking quickly over to the young man.

"What happened? Is he okay? Where is Hanji?" Levi asked quickly, not actually giving the man time to answer.

Erwin came over and put his hand on Levi's shoulder, signaling for him to calm down and be patient. Levi shrugged his hand off, but stayed silent, waiting for an explanation from the assistant.

"The surgery was successful, Dr. Hanji is just talking to the boy," Moblit answered quickly, looking nervously around the room. "She requests that no one disturb them until they join us in here for dinner."

Levi huffed angrily. Who did she think she was, giving him orders? He started to walk towards the door, when Erwin stopped him.

"Your highness," Erwin spoke low so only Levi could hear him. "Perhaps it is best to stay here and wait. Hanji could need some information from him that would only be hindered by another presence. Why else would she have sent Moblit away?"

Levi could not argue with that reasoning, so he went back to his seat and waited.

Eren sat on the bed, fidgeting nervously. Hanji and Moblit had taken down the makeshift table and allowed him to rest while the hotel staff procured him some clothes. Then, she had sent Moblit to tell the others what had happened, saying she had to discuss some things with Eren first. Then she had sat in a chair across from him, studying him intently, as though he was her new science project. She had yet to actually say anything to him, though, and that is what made him nervous. Suddenly, she let out a short laugh, causing Eren to look up sharply.

"You are really adorable when you are nervous." Hanji said kindly. "I'm not going to bite, I just want to talk." She smiled at him.

"What did you want to talk about?" Eren swallowed nervously, her smile making him more uncomfortable than before.

"Well, for starters, how did you get shot?"

"Oh." Eren sighed. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he didn't know if he could trust her. No, it was probably better to leave out some details. "Well, my friend Armin was being attacked by some men near our house. I heard him crying and asking them to stop, so I went to help. While fighting them off, one of them shot me. Next thing I know, I was on my couch with a group of strangers."

"So did you shift before or after you were shot?"

"Wha-what?" Eren stared at her in alarm. How does she know? "What are you talking about? I'm not a shifter." Eren averted his gaze.

"Sure you are!" Hanji laughed. "You think I wouldn't recognize a shifter if I saw one?" She looked at him critically. "But okay, if you are not a shifter, why were you naked when the prince found you? Do you normally run around outside in the snow naked?"

Eren shook his head, still not looking at her. Shit, I didn't think that part through.

"Not to mention the fact that your wound was almost closed by the time we got here, and even now it is almost healed. Only shifters heal that fast. Now, I'll ask again. Did you shift before or after you were shot?" Hanji smirked at him in triumph.

"Before," Eren mumbled, ashamed at getting caught. "Please don't tell anyone though, please, they'll kill me if they find out."

"Of course not, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. It's not your fault you were gifted with the ability to shape shift." Hanji said seriously. "But you need to be careful, not everyone here would agree with me."

"I understand," Eren said quietly, feeling very disheartened at the idea of Levi hating him for this.

"So what can you shift into? Is it just one form you were born with, or can you choose your form at will?" Hanji asked him, an excited gleam coming into her eyes.

"Er, I can choose, but I prefer a tiger. It's fast and powerful, so that way I am always protected. Well, I guess not always, since I can't really protect against guns, but against everything else I'm fine." Eren answered honestly, a little relieved that he didn't have to lie for once.

"That's so cool!" Hanji responded with enthusiasm. Just as she was about to start really questioning him though, a light knock on the door rescued Eren.

"Oh, darn," Hanji pouted. "That would be your clothes. I'll get them."

Hanji quickly opened the door, and thanking the young servant, took the clothes. She turned around while Eren got dressed, since her argument "it's not like I haven't seen you naked" did not work in her favor. As they started to leave the room, she turned to Eren.

"Look, I won't tell anyone unless you say it is okay. But so I know, does anyone else know about you?"

"Armin, and my sister, Mikasa. And I think my dad knew, but he disappeared a while back, so I doubt he matters." Eren stopped. "Oh my god, Mikasa is going to flip out when she comes home from work and Armin and I aren't there."

"Oh, don't worry about that, we will send someone to your house to bring her here." Hanji said easily, laughing at his reaction. "But seriously, you cannot let Levi find out. Ever since we arrived a couple of days ago, I have heard several rumors about there being a shifter here. And, as I'm sure you know, Levi has been commissioned to capture or kill every shifter in the country. It's his father's test to see if he is worthy of inheriting the crown. Ridiculous, I know. But, if he finds out, he will be duty bound to either put you under arrest, or kill you. And I would hate to see either one happen. So, I suggest you do not shift as long as we are here."

Eren blushed. "Yes ma'am, and um, thanks." He scratched his head nervously as he followed Hanji out the door and down the hall.

As hungry as he was, Eren wasn't sure he was ready to talk to so many people. Well, mainly Prince Levi. Eren thought with a slight grimace. That man made his stomach do flips. The way he looked at him, Eren was sure he could see right through him. The idea of seeing him again was enough to take his breath away. But there wasn't time to dwell on it, as Hanji had already opened the door, and green eyes had met the now familiar gray. Levi.

Relief washed through Levi as he saw Eren walk into the room. He seems fine, that's good. Why does he look so nervous? He started to get up and speak to the boy, but Armin had beat him to it. Levi was decidedly not jealous of the blonde when he pulled Eren into a tight embrace. Levi was also definitely not jealous when Eren actually hugged him back and spoke softly to him, reassuring him of his well-being. Unable to control himself much longer, Levi forced his attention to Hanji, who had been talking about how well the surgery went, and how Eren would heal quickly and fully. It was hard, as he didn't really care about the details. He just wanted to talk to Eren. But when Hanji mentioned needing someone to go and bring his sister here, Levi gave her his full attention.

"He has a sister?"

"Oh, yeah, she should be headed home about now, and she'll panic if I'm not there," Eren explained, looking worriedly at Levi.

"Very well, send Aururo to bring her here." Levi commanded, not taking his eyes off Eren. "Eren, you must be hungry, come sit down and eat."

Levi spoke softly, hoping to make the boy relax, but firmly so Eren would know he was not asking. Eren nodded and sat down next to Levi. As Erwin uncovered the food for everyone, Eren kept glancing at Levi, trying to figure him out. He seems so kind, but so harsh. Sitting this close to him, I feel like I can't breathe, my heart is pounding so hard it hurts. But I still feel so safe, like if anything happened, he would protect me. I don't understand this. Eren glanced over at Levi again, only to meet his gaze. Instead of looking away again, he just stared. Levi didn't look away either, as he was struggling to figure out his own feelings. He had been thinking about them ever since they reached the hotel, and the only conclusion he came to was that he didn't want this boy to ever leave his side.

Hanji interrupted their staring as she practically dropped a plate in front of Eren. Eren blushed, hoping no one had noticed him staring, but one quick look at Armin dispelled that hope. Eren just shook his head slightly, as if to tell Armin not to ask. Armin nodded, but his expression told Eren that they would have a conversation later. They hadn't been eating long when the door was opened, and Mikasa ran into the room.

"Eren, oh my god, I was so worried when you and Armin weren't home. What happened? This man said you were shot? And you had surgery? How many times have I told you not to get into fights? You could've been killed." Mikasa threw her arms around Eren, holding him so tight, it was uncomfortable.

"Mikasa, I'm fine. Prince Levi showed up and brought Armin and I here, so Hanji could check us out and make sure we were okay. She had to do surgery to remove the bullet, but it wasn't so bad." Eren replied nervously, shooting Armin a look to back him up.

"Yeah, Mikasa, we're fine. Nothing happened, and Hanji took good care of Eren, she said he will make a quick recovery. No need to worry." Armin quickly spoke.

Mikasa finally loosened her grip and turned to Levi.

"Your highness, thank you for helping my brother."

"It was no trouble," Levi replied automatically, not really taking his eyes off of Eren. He could see the boy was uncomfortable with all the attention. "Why don't you sit and eat with us?"

Mikasa studied Levi carefully, not liking the way he looked at Eren. Or the way Eren kept glancing nervously at him.

"I ate already, but thank you. Eren, we should be going, we've imposed long enough." Mikasa replied, glaring slightly at the prince. The sooner she got Eren out of there, the better.

"O-okay, Mikasa, if you say so." Eren looked down at the table, not really wanting to leave. He started to get up, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"You don't have to leave right away. You should at least finish your dinner. I insist." Levi glared back at Mikasa, daring her to argue. He could see the relief on Eren's face.

"Of course he can finish eating," Mikasa replied coolly, moving to sit down by Eren, Armin quickly sliding over a seat so she could. "I thought he was already finished."

"Thanks, Mikasa." Eren smiled gratefully at her. He settled back in his chair and started eating.

Eren ate like he had not had a meal in weeks. Levi was somewhat amused, but it saddened him to think that the boy had been starving.

"Slow down, brat, you'll make yourself sick." Levi chastised gently.

"Sorry, sir," Eren replied, and attempted to eat slower. "I've just never had anything so good."

"What kind of stuff do you normally eat?" Levi asked.

"Oh, you know, stew, bread, apples when we can get them. Normal stuff." Eren didn't want to tell him that those were only on very special occasions. Even with Mikasa working, they couldn't afford much, so they basically lived on bread and water. Occasionally, Eren would shift and go hunt them some rabbits for a stew, but that was happening less and less, as Mikasa thought it was too dangerous for him to shift anymore.

Levi didn't know what to say, so he let it go. He knew this was a poor town, but he didn't realize it was that poor. Now that he really looked at the three, he could see how thin they were. They clearly were worse off than Eren was saying.

"How old are you, kid?" Levi was dying to know.

"Just turned eighteen," Eren replied quickly, giving Levi a curious look. Why does it matter how old I am?

Levi couldn't hide his surprise. This kid looked like he was fourteen at the most, but as Levi thought about it, it could just be because he was so thin.

"Where are your parents?"

"Gone."

Eren stopped eating and looked down. It wasn't Levi's fault, he didn't know, but Eren had trouble talking about his parents. Even mentioning his father to Hanji had been upsetting. He really didn't want to talk about it. But by now, everyone had given him their full attention.

"What happened to them, Eren?" Hanji asked gently. She wanted to know about his mom, since she already knew his dad had left.

Eren just looked at her, despair engulfing his features. He then looked at Levi, unsure whether to answer or not. But Levi just looked at him, his expression giving away nothing. Eren couldn't answer, he could barely breathe as it was. So he did the only thing he could think of.

"Excuse me," Eren mumbled, getting up quickly and all but running out the door.

Mikasa watched him sadly, knowing why he had to leave.

"Our mother was killed when he was ten. The man broke into the house, thinking it was empty, but when he found our mother, he shifted and attacked. Eren came home from school and saw him kill her. The man escaped, and Eren hasn't really gotten over it. My dad went crazy with grief, taking it out on Eren most of the time. Then one day, five years ago, he just left. We haven't seen or heard from him since."

Levi listened patiently, and when she was done explaining, he stood without a word and followed Eren. He wanted to talk to him, apologize for bringing up such a sensitive subject. He wanted to make Eren happy again. He would do whatever it took.

Finding Eren proved to be fairly easy, since the boy had just gone back into Hanji's room. Levi found him sitting at the foot of the bed, curled into a ball, crying softly. As he went to join him on the floor, Eren finally looked at him, just noticing he was there.

"I'm sorry," Eren whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Levi answered gruffly. He wasn't used to comforting other people. "Mikasa told us what happened. I'm sorry for your loss. If I could do something to change what happened, I would."

Eren looked at him in surprise,but then looked away quickly. Why would he say that? He just met me, my pain means nothing to him, right?

Levi blushed slightly at the look Eren gave him. He knew he shouldn't have said it, it didn't make sense for him to say that to someone he just met. But he couldn't help it, he hated seeing Eren so sad. He really wasn't very good at this stuff, he had no idea what to say. So he decided to not say anything, enjoying the mutual silence. Eren seemed lost in his own thoughts anyway, Levi could tell from the haunted look in Eren's eyes that he was reliving his past. Twenty minutes or so had passed and Eren found himself unable to stay awake much longer. Levi noticed him struggling for consciousness, so, he pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around them both, scooting closer to Eren in the process. Pretty soon, the boy drifted off, his head falling to rest on Levi's shoulder. With a contented sigh, Levi closed his eyes as well, letting sleep over take him.