A/N: Oh my gooooood! You guys~ The weekend I had at yaoi con beats all other conventions by far! I got to meet Reika, I got pictures with her (all on meh tumblr if any of you are curious to see), and had breakfast with her! Gah! *Faints like a fangirl* I just can't even. I have officially gone gay because of her... Well, gay for her anyway. XD

Ah! But you're here for the fanfic! Of course! :D Well, here is another chapter. For this one, again I'd like to point out that I have my intentions for having Mikasa so harsh as an elder sibling to Eren. I also know that it's still building rather slow, and hopefully you guys don't get bored with that. ^^' I'll try to keep you guys entertained as much as possible! Thank you for keeping up with the story so far, and thank you for all of the wonderful comments! You have no idea how much I really appreciate it. *tears of joy* As usual, a big thanks to Marika for the beta reading, and enjoy!

-Misty

Song of the day: Mienai Tsuki

By: Fujita Maiko

The Change You Wish to See

(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things at all. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.

Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death
Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs
Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

Chapter Four: Acceptance

When Levi bothered a glance at the calendar, he already found it to be September. The fall temperatures were cold, but a welcoming change of pace from the hot summer they had. He hadn't even really noticed it, but the only reason he did now was for the sake of checking the date.

Eren and he had made plans for Thursday, and it was already Wednesday. The kid hadn't come in since Friday when he last saw him, and he should have bothered exchanging numbers, but that was even if the brat hadn't lost his cellphone to his sister. At least this way he could have known if he told his sister about him or not.

So, when Eren suddenly came storming in at five-thirty in the evening, forcibly tugging his sister behind him, it was indeed a surprise.

"E-Eren, stop pulling!" Mikasa yelled, but she didn't bother signing. Levi definitely wondered why the girl tried talking out loud when the kid obviously didn't hear anything. Maybe it was for the sake of her sanity? He'd never know. "Eren, stop!" Mikasa yelled and pulled back so hard that it yanked Eren to the floor.

The poor kid looked dumbfounded, but nonetheless, he stood and continued to pull.

"Eren, what is this about?" This time Mikasa had her brother's attention, enough to sign her question for him. Levi watched with mild interest as the boy signed back, though he couldn't be sure of what. He only knew it was something that took the girl by surprise.

He couldn't have possibly told her now, could he?

"... A date?" Yeah, he did. "W-Wait, wait a minute here. You want to go on a date with someone?"

"Yes," Eren said and nodded his head.

"With who?" Mikasa asked. Eren motioned towards Levi with his head, and her dark blue eyes traveled to find him. When she saw him, there wasn't much of a reaction; possibly disgust, but no real reaction. "With him?" She asked.

"Mhm..."

"Wait..." Mikasa looked like she was trying to correctly process everything. The words made no sense to her, like Eren was speaking gibberish to her. It probably didn't help any that he was indeed speaking in sign language. "You want to go on a date with him?" She signed. Eren nodded his head eagerly, and Levi wouldn't lie and say it wasn't the least bit cute.

The older man sighed and closed his book before stepping out from behind the counter. He straightened his apron and walked over to the two, noticing the glaring Mikasa was doing to both him and Eren.

"Hey," Levi said and held out his hand. "I'm Levi; it's nice to officially meet you." Mikasa glared, and she didn't bother trying to shake his hand.

Well this was already going well.

Eren made a sound of protest and pushed at his sister's arm. She glared, but Eren continued to hit her arm until Mikasa took Levi's waiting hand. She had a firm grip when she shook it, or maybe she was just trying to break his hand off, but at least she was being civil.

"Nice to meet you too." She muttered. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman, Eren's sister."

Ackerman? As in she didn't have Eren's last name. Could she have been born with a different parent? That would explain why they looked nothing alike. Or maybe the two of them had the same relationship as he had with his own little sister.

Levi sighed.

"Eren, is this why you came here in the first place?" Mikasa asked. Eren shook his head and began signing, and Levi internally cursed. He was going to have to pick up sign language, because there was no way he was going to talk to this kid with a notebook for the rest of his life. "Wait, what do you mean you were here Friday? You were grounded."

"Good one..." Levi mumbled under his breath.

"No," Mikasa said. She didn't even sign it, but Eren knew her answer without having to hear it. Eren whined, but Mikasa shook her head. "Eren, no. I don't know him, and I don't think it's a good idea for you to be going out by yourself with him."

"I'm standing right here." Levi uttered.

"I know," Mikasa said and glared at him.

"So stop insinuating that I'm some fucked up rapist. It's insulting and I don't appreciate it." Eren's eyes were darting between his sister and Levi, and he didn't need to hear to know that they were practically growling at each other. He could just feel the anxiety in the air crushing down on him, and he wasn't sure if he should intervene or duck behind one of the tables and hide in fear.

"I never said you were one."

"You didn't need to say it. It's so obvious that you think that way."

"You don't know what I'm thinking." The two of them stepped closer, facing each other and glaring absolute hate through equally cold stares. Eren whined and pulled at Levi's arm, but he wasn't backing down.

"Oh really? If you didn't think I wouldn't mess with Eren, you'd be fine letting him go out with me."

"Anyone can mess with him."

"Anyone who doesn't give a shit. I'm not trying to fuck with him, got it? It's just us going out to the park. We're going to walk, and then we'll go eat at some fast food place. We'll talk, get to know each other, and that's it. That's all we're doing. If you want, you can even give him a curfew and I'll bring him back at that time."

Eren tried prying the two apart, but they were now practically chest to chest, Mikasa trying to tower over Levi even more than she was now.

"This "date" is more like two friends going out to have a good time. Is that okay with you, mom?" Levi bit out. Eren squeezed himself between the two and held his arms out, hoping to get some distance between them.

"Stop it...!" He yelled, but it sounded more muffled than he was probably intending it to sound. "Don't... Fight…!"

"We aren't fighting, Eren." Mikasa said and signed, but she had her eyes glued to Levi.

"I get out of work at seven tomorrow. Can you trust me enough to bring him back by nine?" Levi asked.

"No," Mikasa hissed. She looked down at Eren, and Eren was flashing his big, eyes at her and sticking out his bottom lip. Mikasa frowned a little longer, but even Levi couldn't resist his pouting face.

"Just say yes so he'll stop." He groaned. Mikasa eventually sighed, the muscles in her face relaxing. Eren knew he won the battle just from that alone.

"He better be back by nine, or I'll have the police on your ass before you can even blink." Mikasa warned, and she signed it to make sure Eren understood. Eren lit up with happiness at the thought of her finally letting him free for a night, and he began jumping around and cheering. Again, Levi was thankful that no one ever came into his bookstore.

"Deal."

Though the nights could get chilly, this was ridiculous for September. Levi had no choice but to dig into his winter clothes and yank out a heavier jacket, which he was now digging his hands into the pockets of to keep warm while waiting for Eren to leave his house. Mikasa was persistent though, making sure he was completely ready before he left, not to mention that Levi definitely saw something akin to pepper spray being slipped into Eren's jacket pocket. The kid whined and pushed the girl away, but Levi knew it wasn't enough. It wasn't until seven forty-five that she actually relinquished her hold on him and let him go, and Levi was sure that this was her way of buying time.

Regardless, when Eren was free, he was relieved. He already had his notebook ready and waiting to write so they could talk, and the first words he wrote down were simple.

"Hi, Levi," The words said. Levi took the pen and paper that was offered to him and wrote down his response.

"Hey, brat." Simple and easy. Eren rolled his eyes in annoyance, but the smile that was spreading his lips was saying different. He must have been on cloud nine right now with no hopes of coming down, and there was a weird sense of pain to think that he'd have to come down eventually. It was a simple date, going for a walk and eating. He chose a fast food place, because he didn't want to be in a fancy restaurant where there would be pressure. A fancy place would insinuate too much, and Levi didn't want to put that much pressure on either of them.

He was sure he couldn't handle it if Eren took something the wrong way.

"So, do you want to eat first?" He asked on the paper. Eren nodded his head as the two began walking to Levi's car.

"I'm starving."

"You didn't starve yourself all day for this, right?" Levi chuckled as he waited for Eren's response.

"I had breakfast?"

"And what did you eat?" Eren hesitated to answer.

"Eggs?"

"And...?"

"Okay, it was one hard boiled egg with some salt on it. Sue me." Levi rolled his eyes as he got into the driver's seat. Eren may not have been able to hear, which kept him from talking, but his writing spoke volumes for his personality. As Levi and Eren took their seats, Levi felt a tap on his shoulder. Eren was trying to get his attention, and when he had it, Eren held up his notebook. "You have a nice car."

Levi chuckled again as he took pen from him.

"Don't be impressed. It's a shitty ass car." He wrote down.

"It's still a nice car," The kid responded. "Where are we going for dinner?" He then asked.

"Just a quick fast food place. I didn't have anything big planned out beforehand, but your sister took up quite a bit of time just to be sure." Once he wrote that down, Levi turned the ignition on. The heat was on full blast, and Levi forgot how cold he was until the heat hit him fast. Even Eren reveled in the heat, letting out a sigh of relief and slight irritation as he continued writing.

"Ignore her. She gets very overprotective of me, and it's not worth worrying about for you." Levi couldn't reply while he was driving, not unless he wanted to risk both of their lives. No doubt his sister would kill him if he didn't die in the crash. Instead, he kept quiet. Levi kept his eyes on the road, occasionally looking at Eren to see what he was doing.

Eren's golden eyes were everywhere, looking from one thing to the next with a dangerous curiosity. He acted like he had never stepped foot into the outside world, and it was troubling to think that way. Levi would never admit it out loud, and it took a lot to admit it just to himself, but the boy was rather cute in a boyish sort of way. He had a face that would probably make any girl swoon; if only he hadn't been cursed with his lack of hearing. Eren didn't seem to mind, but that could have been a facade. He could have been acting so people wouldn't really see that he was in pain, but one wouldn't know.

Would he possibly find out later? Was Levi even thinking of pursuing something with this kid for that long? He didn't necessarily like him, but he didn't hate him either, and that said a lot for someone like him. Eren was a good kid, and he didn't seem to mind hanging out with Levi.

Hopefully Levi didn't mess that up for him either.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Levi waited for the next red light before bothering a glance over at Eren. He was holding up his notebook, but Levi noticed the worried expression on the kid's normally happy face before seeing the words on the paper.

"Are you okay?" The words asked for him. "You look upset." Levi offered up a nod, because that was all he could do when the light had tuned green. Eren didn't seem very convinced, but he placed his notebook down and continued to watch Levi from the side.

Maybe he would find out later.

"So what happened then?"

"Connie literally snuck into the girl's bathroom."

"Oh God, are you serious?"

"Here's the best part. Miss Nanaba was in there!"

"Awe man! Why can't I be in public school? I miss out on all of the cool things!"

"It's not as fun as you think it is, Eren, trust me."

"Well neither is home schooling... I think it would be less boring if Mikasa would just let me go out and have fun with some friends. Hell, I'd even hang out with Jean if it meant I'd be allowed outside."

"I don't know if she'd let you do that. If it helps though, I'll see what I can do about getting everyone to go out every few weeks, and if I'm there, Mikasa should let you go."

"Thanks, Armin, you're the best."

Levi couldn't help but read over some of the previous conversations in Eren's notebook while the kid got up to go to the bathroom. Levi was left with more questions each time he met up with Eren though.

He saw firsthand that Armin could use sign language, so why did he choose to write instead of sign? Was it a personal preference for him? Did Armin like writing a lot more than he did signing? It would make sense considering how often he read books.

Levi barely caught a glimpse of Eren coming back in time to turn the page and write something. Eren must have been distracted by everything around him, because he didn't notice Levi do it, and he sat down in his chair to continue eating.

"Did you wash your hands?" Levi showed the page to Eren, who made a weird face with a French fry hanging from his mouth.

"Of course I did. I'm not some disgusting pig." Eren replied before stealing a French fry from Levi's tray.

"You say that when you've got food hanging out of your mouth." Levi smirked when he saw the dumbfounded look that came across Eren's face. Eren swallowed before grinning, and that grin stayed there as he ate and continued to write.

"So are you really thirty-four?"

"Are you really nineteen?"

"How did you know I was nineteen?"

"Hanji told me."

"Hanji is the lady from the bookstore, right?" Levi nodded his head as he took a bite from his own meal.

"Yeah, the crazy one."

"I wouldn't say she's crazy." Eren's words made Levi frown.

"What would you say then?" Levi noticed it, and he sometimes wondered if Eren actually noticed it too. He used the word "say" often, as if he was really talking. Did that ever upset him?

"I would say she's eccentric."

"No, she's legally insane, and she doesn't get offended if you say so." Levi corrected, making Eren chuckle.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. How do you say her name anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, is her name said with a soft j, or does it sound like a hard j?"

"It's like a hard g, and the first part sounds like "on." Hanji." Eren tilted his head to the side while reading the words Levi wrote.

"Hanji..." He mumbled and looked up at Levi. "Hanji...?" Levi nodded his head, a little surprised by hearing Eren speak.

He didn't think Eren would try. He didn't know Eren even could. Sure, the kid had been able to talk since he was nine, but a fourth grade education could only take one so far. How much did Eren know? How long did he spend studying to be able to comprehend sound? It was all still a mystery to him.

"Perfect," Levi wrote down. Eren smiled before continuing to write.

"So where are you from?" He asked.

"You should be more specific. I'm highly obligated to answer that I'm from my mother's uterus if you don't." With Levi's response, Eren scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, how about what town, city, or state were you born in?"

"Paris, France." Levi answered.

"Wait, you're French too?" Levi nodded his head, rather pleased that he could create such confusion for the poor kid.

"Yes I am."

"Do you have an accent?"

"No, I grew out of it. I moved to America when I was eighteen, so it's been awhile since I've had one."

"Why did you come here? I mean, was it for a job or something?"

"No, I just didn't want to be in France anymore." Levi sighed as he handed Eren the pen, but it was obvious that Eren knew that the subject was being pushed.

"Well... I don't know why you chose America. You could have gone somewhere fun like... I dunno, Korea, Japan, or Ireland; anywhere really. I'd like to go to Hawaii if I was given the opportunity."

"You're still in America, dummy." Levi replied. Eren's grin provided a satisfactory result as Levi looked at his watch. "Shit..." He cursed.

"What's wrong?

"It's already eight twenty-five. If we want to get to the park, we need to leave now." Levi didn't know that so much time had gone by. He thought he'd have more time, but after having to close the bookstore, go home and clean up, go pick up Eren who was then held up for twenty-five minutes because of his sister, time had been utterly wasted away into dwindling minutes.

"How far is the park?" Eren asked.

"Ten minutes by car. It may be easier to just ignore the idea of the park though."

"There's a park a block from my place. We can go there, and we wouldn't have to worry about time, because we'd only be a block away." Eren suggested as Levi began to clean up his food.

"Are you okay with doing that then?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Eren stood up with a smile to clean up his mess, but not without writing once more. "I like the park by my place anyway."

Levi knew of the park Eren had been talking about, though there was one thing he didn't know about, and that was that the park was an actual playground for children.

"Eren..." Levi sighed, but he knew that Eren didn't hear him. Eren bolted for the nearest swing set and took the middle one, one with a blue swing seat. Levi rolled his eyes before joining and pushing at Eren's back, only nudging him forward a little.

The brunette didn't seem interested in actually swinging; it was more like he wanted to just sit, and Levi was fine with that. He sat down in the red swing beside him and looked down at the dirt, trying to remember the last time he had done this sort of thing. Nothing came to mind.

"Levy..." Eren mumbled. It took a lot from Levi to keep himself from snapping; if he was paid a quarter for the amount of times he'd been called "Levy" when he was younger, it would make him a rich man in minutes. Of course he knew that Eren didn't know any better, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Hm...?" Eren pulled his notebook into his lap to write down what it was he needed to say.

"Why did you decide to go out with me?" When Levi read the words, they didn't quite make sense. At first he thought that it was because Eren was confused, but then he realized it was because he didn't know the answer himself. Why did he say yes? Why did he agree to go on this date with him in the first place? The answer was completely oblivious to him, and for an answer, all Levi could do was shrug his shoulders.

He stood up and walked over to Eren, giving him a few light pushes to get him going, but Eren didn't bother trying to go higher. He simply let himself be pushed until another question rose up in his head.

"Was it because I really am an easy target?" He questioned. Levi's eyes looked from the notebook to Eren before he shook his head. When had he gotten so close?

The swing stopped moving. Indeed; when had they gotten so close? The fog from Eren's breath was able to fan against his face, and his eyes wouldn't stop looking at him; those big, incessant, gold eyes.

"What is this...?" Levi wondered through the thick fog that was his mind right now. He felt a small tug on his jacket and looked down to see Eren's hand hanging loosely off of his coat pocket. He cleared his throat and stepped back, breaking the space between them and looking down at his watch. He motioned to a very confused Eren for the notebook, and Eren handed it to him in a daze. Levi made quick work to write down what it was he needed to say, and he handed it back to brunette before the kid could question anything.

"We need to get you back." The words on the paper said. Eren nodded his head and stood, his gaze now averted to the ground where it stayed. He didn't bother to write anything down, and Levi knew that this was his way of admitting that he didn't have anything to say, which was good. He didn't have anything to say either.

They didn't bother getting into his car. They were a block away, and at least then they could get their walk in. It was completely silent, minus Eren's nose when he sniffled every few minutes. When they got the chance to stop in front of his house, Levi pulled out a small packet of tissues his winter jacket miraculously had. He gave one to Eren, and he smiled and shook his head.

"I'm okay." He wrote down on his notebook. "Thank you though... Tonight was nice."

Well, Levi wasn't looking for a mind blowing date. Like he said to Eren's sister, it was more like two friends going out for a good time. It took a lot of the pressure off of their shoulders that a real date would cause, and he could breathe easier tonight knowing it was over.

But did he want it to be over?

"Glad you had fun."

"Maybe we can have fun again next time?"

Was Levi reading that right? Was Eren hoping for another date? Was he actually asking for one, and was Levi actually thinking of agreeing to it?

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea." He was. He was actually agreeing to another date. He wasn't drunk, was he?

"I should go inside. Mikasa is probably watching us through the window."

"That would be a good idea." Levi gave Eren his pen and notebook back, and Eren forced them back into his book bag. He waved Levi off, and Levi lingered to make sure Eren got in safely. Eren opened his front door, but before that, Eren looked back at him.

Before Levi knew what happened, Eren abandoned his post at his door to stand beside him. Levi was about to question him before Eren grabbed at the buttons of his jacket and pulled. Soft lips were against his cheek, and Levi's grey eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't even comprehend the fact that Eren had kissed his cheek before Eren pulled away, a big, goofy grin spreading his lips from ear to ear and his cheeks a dark red color.

"You better hope that Mikasa didn't see that!" Levi lifted his head to the sound of the voice, and Eren followed his gaze, seeing Armin leaning against his windowsill with a smirk on his lips. Eren whined and pulled the pepper spray from his pocket (Levi knew that was what he saw), and chucked it at him. Armin ducked from his window to avoid getting hit, and he laughed as he came back to look at the two.

While Eren continued to argue with Armin in his unintelligible cursing that only the blond seemed to understand, Levi simply stood stalk still, frozen as the thoughts from before slowly caught up with him. He cheek was warm from the previous touch of Eren's lips, and he knew that he was faintly blushing like some school girl with a massive crush on a student in a higher grade, which was more annoying than anything at this moment. He buried his face as far down into his scarf as he could, trying to hide the evidence before anyone saw, but he knew better.

Well, the night wasn't a total loss after all.

A/N: I may and or may not be in the process of another Ereri fanfic... May or may not... Depends on what you think. :3