Home

"Hey, everyone, we're home!"

Eren raised his head in surprise as Gunther and Eld came striding into the old mess hall, each of them burdened with a full pack they seemed to have trouble carrying. The pair had left for Trost early that morning on a supply run and had been gone all day.

"Welcome back." Petra looked up from mending a tear in her uniform. "Did you get everything?"

Eld promptly dumped his bulging shoulder bag onto the table and began pulling out its contents. "One newspaper, a loaf of bread, bandages, about a quart of milk, one box of tea, and….let's see, oh, Petra, here's that spool of thread you asked for."

"I found some while you were out." She answered, holding up her nearly repaired coat. "But thanks anyway."

"No problem. A little extra thread never hurt anyone." Eld returned his hand to the bag, looking up when Levi came down the stairs. "Oh, Captain, I got you that cleaning stuff you wanted. You know, that weird powder you can't touch with your bare hands."

Levi picked up the brown jar Eld set out, opening the lid a fraction and sniffing at its contents. "Yeah, that's the stuff. Thanks, that brown spot in the upstairs floor just isn't coming up."

"Hey, watch it with that shit. Remember what you did last year?" Oruo warned as he approached the table and picked up the newspaper, spreading it out by one of the flickering candles. "Oh, look, Reeves Company's going bankrupt."

Levi set the jar down with a thud and picked up the box of tea leaves, nodding in satisfaction. "Any trouble on the road?"

Eld shook his head. "Nope. The rain last night left a lot of mud, but it was mostly dried out by this afternoon."

Gunther removed an apple from his pack and was about to take a bite when Eld snatched it back from him with a warning glance. Shrugging, the dark-haired smiled. "What about things back here? I see Eren finally finished clearing out the weeds in the yard. What's it been, kid, five days?"

Eren fidgeted uncomfortably, hiding his grass-stained hands under the table.

"Yeah, it's actually starting to feel like home instead of old, useless ruins." Oruo remarked, flipping a page and running his finger down a column in the newspaper. "Suppose the captain's obsessive-compulsion is good for some things. Don't look at me like that, Levi, you smell like disinfectant and today you scrubbed your hands raw while scouring out the kitchen."

This time, the captain hid his hands under the table, shooting a poisonous glare at his comrade, but Oruo had turned back to his newspaper to ignore him. Eren laughed as Levi grumbled something to himself. "Well, I think it's nice you all call this place home even if it's only temporary."

"Home is where the shit goes." Levi said bluntly.

Eren flinched. "Uh….sure?"

Gunther narrowed his eyes, looking just as confused. "I think what he meant is home is where the heart is."

"No, what I meant was home is where we make it."

"That's the same thing, Levi." Petra laughed.

"That's how I say it."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: That's probably how he would say it.

I don't think Eren will be showing up for too many of these. The reason he's included in this one is technically speaking he was a member of the original Levi Squad, but mostly, I wanted an outside party observing the main five.

Standard disclaimers apply.