Fair warning, this one ends in a slight cliff-hanger.
Third Spring…
"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Eren demands. His short brown hair bounces as he stomps his feet and puffs his cheeks. The toddler stands in the doorway between the small living room and even smaller kitchen of their apartment, watching his dad and sister prepare their lunch.
"Eren, be patient." Levi patiently chides him. "Mikasa, hand me the cutting board, please." She is three years old, going on four, and she is so very mature. Sometimes he worries about what that could mean, mostly he is thankful. Levi tries to prepare their food quickly but that was no comfort to Eren's stubborn impatience.
"But Daddy, I'm hungry now!" When Eren loses control over his emotions, he turns. As his little body trembled in frustration it started to shift and Eren turns away from the kitchen. He runs around the living room in his wolf form. Knocking down this chair and that lamp, jumping over a sleeping Armin. He is clearly an irritated puppy now, though he stood as a little boy not a minute before. Eren's fur coat, a beautiful earthly brown, ruffled as he stopped again at the doorway. His little muzzle set at a growl, emerald eyes intensely staring at them.
"I guess there's no helping it." Mikasa said with calm patience. She reaches for a handful of crackers and gives them to her brother to appease him. Eren stood from his puppy hind legs but reached with two chubby little toddler hands; his transformation seamless and fluid. And like that, happy and placated, he strode further into the living room and sat beside a sleeping Armin.
"Park!" Eren yells. Levi isn't surprised. It had been drizzling for the last three days and he knows how Eren gets restless after being inside for this long. "Daddy, let's go to the park!" He demands. And Levi reprimands him, well he tries to, "Eren-"
"Daddy, let's go for a walk!" Levi is patient, though somewhat exasperated. The shadows under his eyes darken further as his hand moves to rest on his hip. He says with an intensely flat stare, "Eren, what have I told you about yelling and demanding?"
"That I should ask politely." Eren says looking down. Quickly avoiding 'Daddy's scary eyes', as they've come to call it. When Levi looks at them with those eyes, they know that they're in trouble, or about to be.
"Daddy, pleeeaaase, let's go to the park." He pleads this time. Levi silently considers as Armin toddles toward them and tilts his head shyly to look up at Levi. "Yes, Daddy, please can we go outside?" Armin is two years old and he is timid but he is incredibly brilliant for his age. The youngest child comprehends and learns quicker than his older siblings, he understands the best action in any situation.
Levi looks to Mikasa, a little ways behind the two boys, "I want to go too, Daddy." She says softly. Letting out a breath, Levi moves to prepare their things. "Alright, but you all have to promise to keep your wolf in." He says in warning.
"Yes!" With a hurrah, Eren jumps in pure excitement and he shifts fluidly into a wolf. He runs a lap in the living room, to the kitchen, to the bedroom and back again and comes to a stop in front of Levi. Levi turns his 'scary eyes' on Eren again, as if to say 'what have I just told you?' It takes Eren a moment to realize that he had broken his promise just then and he shakes himself back into his human form "Oops. Sorry, Daddy."
Little Armin, who was caught by his brother's excitement turns into his wolf. Soft golden fur transforming from his skin, his little jaw elongating into a little snout, though his eyes remain their striking blue. "The same goes for you, Armin." Levi says reproachfully not even looking up from dressing Eren in a warm hoody pullover. Armin shakes himself, his fur forming back into skin, and like that he comes back to his human form. "Sorry, Daddy."
...
Third Autumn…
Whenever they go to the Park, they always walk the less trodden pathways to steer clear from other people.
Levi holds Armin's hand while the little boy toddles beside him. The twins walking a few steps ahead. He can hear them snigger in amusement as they stamp on the leaves on the ground. Quiet Armin copies his siblings and amuses himself beside his dad. Levi thinks they enjoy the park during the fall season because of this.
As they walk deeper and further into the park, he feels a tug on his hand. "Daddy, why is everything dying?" He glances down at the blonde head looking curiously at his surroundings. "They aren't dying, Armin. The leaves fall because they can't hold on when the sun doesn't shine on them as much anymore. But the plants are still alive, they only look dead. You'll see, in the spring, everything will be green again." He explains as he bends down to adjust the hood on Armin's head. Furrowing his little brows, Armin nods his head smartly as if that made perfect sense. As Levi moves to stand again, he notices that the twins had stopped a little ways in front of them.
"What's wrong?" He asks. As he gets nearer, he sees their hood-covered heads facing to the left. Curiously, he looks in that direction to see what caught their attention. Other people. His whole body tenses for a second. But looking from this distance, he becomes aware that they don't seem to be bad people. Just families spending their day at the park on this beautiful autumn afternoon. There are children that must be around Mikasa and Eren's age, he realizes. They are playing a game while their parents keep a watchful eye nearby.
Levi reaches a hand and places it gently on Mikasa's head, covered with the forest green hood that is identical to Eren's. At her daddy's touch, the little girl looks up, revealing her face. Levi reads her expression, and he immediately understands. Playmate. They want to play with the other children. He glances to the other people and looks back down to Mikasa. As he holds eye contact with his daughter, his expression changes to one of understanding and regretful sentiment that he can't risk allowing them playmates because he is worried and he is afraid.
Images and snippets of what could happen flitter through his mind. Eren loses control, as he has many times before, but this time while he's playing with other children. The parents see this and disorder and confusion erupts around them. They scramble to get their children away. Mikasa and Armin will startle and transform instinctively to protect themselves. His family's secret is discovered. They run home but the crowd come knocking at their door to take his children away. Levi is terrified. His worst nightmare come true.
He shakes himself from an oncoming panic that his mind has provided and comes back to their current situation. Somehow, they communicate without words. There is no need for words, Mikasa understands. Although not completely, she understands enough to know that they can't be allowed to be with other children. She knows that her family is different and it is a big secret that other people can't know about or bad things might happen.
Still looking into her daddy's eyes, she gives a little nod to show that she understands. Levi thinks it looks wrong for such a serious gesture to come from such a little girl. But still, he is thankful. Levi will forever be grateful to her, to have someone who understands. In these moments with his daughter, he gathers strength and believes he can do anything. He can raise all three of them to become wonderful people who will be happy with their lives. This was his silent promise to Erwin a long time ago. Suddenly, without prompting, the memory of that evening comes crashing to the forefront of his mind. They need me on the front lines. I'll be back soon. I love you… Erwin heads to the door, already in uniform… I love you, come back to me, he whispers to the empty room.
He shudders back to the present. Not now, Levi tells himself as as he takes Mikasa's hand and starts to lead them away. Retracing their steps, back towards home. Mikasa follows without pause but after only a few steps, they stop short. "Eren, we're going now." Mikasa says gently, reaching back for his hand. "We can't play with them today." Eren gives a tiny nod and holds fast to her hand. He follows their lead with his head hung low, the hood covering his face. Levi's heart clenches as he imagines Eren's miserable expression. He is dreadfully sorry and regretful but they can't afford to risk it. He doesn't have the courage.
Levi is at the lead, holding Armin's hand in his left and Mikasa's in his right, while Mikasa holds Eren's hand in her other. Somewhat subdued now, from the disappointment of not getting to play with other kids, they walk together in silence. But after a few more steps, they start stamping their feet, enjoying the crunching sound of the leaves once again. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Snigger. They're over it. Levi smiles to himself and heaves a small sigh of relief.
When they are almost to the exit of the park, Levi tenses warily as a man and his dog walk toward them. He holds each hand firmer and steers them to the side to avoid colliding with the man. The man smiles at them and Levi nods in acknowledgement. "Good afternoon." They say together as they meet. "How cute," the man says thoughtfully as he continues on. A small smile forms on Levi's tired face and proudly he tells his kids, "He called you cute."
The man and his dog, and Levi and his family keep walking in opposite directions. But they all pause in surprise when they hear the dog growl and bark and snap his jaws at Eren. They are all stunned for a moment and Levi almost stumbles when Armin moves to cling to his legs, startled and afraid.
But even more shocking was when they hear an answering growl from Mikasa. She pulls Eren to stand behind her and she snaps her little wolf jaws at the dog. The stranger is confused and flabbergasted at the little girl on her hands and feet as he pulls back his dog. He doesn't seem to realize that she had turned into a wolf as her hood was still in place. Levi panics for a second. Quickly, he lets go of Armin's hand and reaches for Mikasa, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm so sorry about that." He says quietly with a small bow. He carries Mikasa while securing her hood and walks away hurriedly. He calls for Eren and Armin to follow, hoping they won't transform as well. Eren grabs Armin's hand and hurries after their dad. In their haste, Levi barely saw the man wave his hand dismissively, "Ah, it's alright." It seems he hadn't seen anything too unusual. He must have thought what a strange child to pick a fight with a dog, but nothing more dangerous than that.
After seeing that, Levi slows down, relieved. He could feel that Mikasa was now in her human form, as he carries her. The little girl is quiet as she winds her small arms tightly around his neck and hides her face at the crook. She must be feeling bad about what happened, he thought. He holds her a little tighter and makes sure that Eren and Armin are still walking beside him as they continue home.
That night, as the boys sleep soundly, Mikasa crawls over her brothers to sit beside Levi's sleeping form. Tentatively, she reaches for his shoulder. "Daddy." She says quietly with a shake of his shoulder. "Hm?" Levi says, still groggy from sleep. "I'm sorry I lost control." She whispers brokenly. Levi wakes fully when he hears her sob. He reaches to embrace her in his arms and guides her head to rest on his chest, and tenderly places a kiss on top of her head. "I know, Mikasa, I know. It's alright now. Go to sleep." He replies gently. He lies awake, feeling the wetness on his chest, until the soft sobs subside to even breathing.
He makes sure that she's asleep and quietly turns to lay her down beside her brothers, and he watches over them. Mikasa understands more than her brothers how dangerous it is to be wolf in front of other people. That was the first time that she had lost control and he knows how terrible she feels about it. She must have felt protective of Eren and her feelings overwhelmed her.
Levi ponders silently as he gazes dotingly upon them. The three children had shifted silently into their wolf form as they slept. And seeing their puppy faces sleeping peacefully, snoring softly, still dressed in their pajamas; Levi comes to a decision.
Thank you for reading. I will update soon. Sometime this weekend, hopefully. :)