A/N: Oh... Filler... Sort of... A filler with plot. What a twist.

Andthischapterwasfinishedtwoweeksagobutinternetisabitchpleasedon'thateme. *Shot*

-Misty

I feel bad, because I can't think of songs. Y_Y Like, I was listening to Girl Digger by Faky, but does that match this situation? Uhm... No.

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, mild character death
Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs
Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

Chapter Fifteen: Painting

Sender: Eren (Brat) Jaeger

7:52 p.m.

"So you're saying that you're just going to be alone on Christmas, and your birthday?"

Levi sighed.

"Yes I am, and don't you even think of asking Mikasa and Armin if I can join you. That's just asking for a key to Pandora's Box. Even if you magically convinced them to let me over, I wouldn't accept the invitation. I wouldn't come over, so don't you even try." Levi typed out, but before hitting send, he continued. "Enjoy your time with your family, Eren. I'll see you at work the day after."

Levi sighed again before pushing his phone back into his pocket. The kid was incorrigible sometimes, and Levi didn't know how he put up with it. If it were anyone else, Levi would have easily just ignored them or punched their face in, but Eren seemed to be special.

Special.

Levi sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Since when had Eren gotten so far under his skin? Since when had he allowed Eren to do all of the things other people couldn't do? Not even Hanji was allowed to do things Eren did, like hug him or even get close to him. She wasn't allowed to poke and prod at sensitive subjects to Levi like Eren did, so why? He truly didn't understand it.

"Fuck it..." Levi said under his breath so the woman with her toddler beside him wouldn't hear it. He began walking away, his eyes scanning the aisle around him for anything he may have needed. It felt like it had been months since he last went grocery shopping, and his pantry was desperately in need of food. They might as well have been groaning, saying they were hungry and needed food.

It was pathetic. It really was. Levi was beginning to wonder why he stayed with his job. Even working twelve hours a day six days a week was not managing his bills anymore, and he was finding it harder to keep up. Of course he didn't mention any of this to Eren, knowing the brat would do something drastic like give up his paycheck for the older man. Levi didn't need that though. He just needed a little extra money.

Thankfully, he managed to get enough for a quick shopping trip. Why it had to be during the Christmas season he didn't know. He felt like anyone, himself included, who went shopping a week before Christmas was an idiot. It was just chaos, and that was just shopping. He couldn't even find a parking spot easily. It was a living hell, dangerous, and just horrifying to say the least.

"Levi...?" The man jumped in place at the sudden voice calling out from behind him. He turned, and once he located the source of the voice, his eyes widened in surprise.

If Levi were to put it bluntly, this was a stranger he hadn't seen in such a long time. He almost did a double take to be sure he was looking at this man right, that he hadn't lost his mind, but he was, and he hadn't. Behind him stood a tall man, far taller than him. Those baby blue eyes and that blond hair combed neatly out of his face was a sight for sore eyes. He was a man within a million people, but he'd be the one Levi could spot from a mile away.

"Erwin...?" He asked after realizing his mouth had been slightly gaped open in surprise. Said man smiled, a small laughed mixed with a happy relief leaving him.

"I knew that was you," He said and walked up to offer a hug. Levi wasn't one for a comfortable form of physical contact, but the man in front of him hadn't been seen or heard from in years. It was okay for just one simple hug, wasn't it?

"What are you doing here?" Levi asked after pulling away. "I thought you were in Europe for work."

"I got transferred back last month." Erwin explained with one of his lady killer smiles. "What are you doing here? Weren't you downtown?"

"Where Hanji goes I tend to follow," Levi answered him with a limp shrug.

"So you're still good friends with Hanji?"

"Until she jabbers my ears off. For now." Levi said. Erwin laughed, a laugh from the belly that was loud and full of life.

"Right. How is she doing?"

"As crazy as ever, I suppose. Not much has changed since you left." Levi told him. "And how are you and your wife?"

"We're great actually." Erwin said and began walking forward, Levi following at his tail. "We just had our second kid."

"Really...? Congratulations, Erwin." Levi said with a pat to the man's arm.

"Thank you."

"So is it a boy?"

"Yep." The blond stated proudly.

"Ah, you finally got that son you always wanted." Levi said with a small smirk. He remembered how Erwin used to talk of kids, if he were to ever have them. He used to say how he only ever wanted one son, a football star to make him proud. Turns out his first child was a little girl who had a thing for dirt and worms, all of which Erwin hated.

She was definitely more like her mother than him.

"Yes. That's it for me though." Erwin told him and laughed.

"No more kids?"

"No more kids, at least for a while. I'm quite content with diaper changes only three times a night instead of six." The man openly joked. "What about you, Levi? How have you been?"

"Just getting along like most in the world I suppose. There's really nothing interesting going on for me." Levi said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Really…? It's been six years since I last saw you though. There has to be something different. I mean, isn't there someone special in your life at least?"

Oh, Levi hoped he wouldn't ask that question.

"... Sort of." Levi responded in a small mumble while turning his head. He had hoped that luck would go his way and Erwin wouldn't hear it, but luck was not on his side today.

"Wait, really...? Someone finally managed to tie you down?" Erwin asked in utter shock.

"He hasn't 'tied me down,' Erwin. We're just... Seeing each other." Even he knew that was a lie.

Since that one shared kiss, things had been different. Little moments when Hanji wasn't around at work and there was no one to see them were devoted to small, secretive kisses. They couldn't go any farther than that, lest they be caught, but moments when it was just themselves in the office, Eren would pull him close, and Levi would easily give in and allow something bordering on "making out" to happen.

Sometimes they'd close the store early due to the heavy fall of snow. It seemed like each week another three feet would fall, only adding to what was there. Days like that were spent hidden away in Levi's apartment until Eren needed to go home, huddled on the couch for warmth and watching whatever could provide subtitles for the brat. Sometimes they'd kiss, sometimes they'd nap, or when they actually bothered to pay attention to the TV, Levi would try his best to translate something they said for practice and Eren would correct him whenever was wrong.

Other times they'd eat, sharing little stories with each other. Eren would ask him questions about things, like the uses of a credit card, loans, and anything else his mind could conjure up that he hadn't learned from his family yet while Levi cooked them something. It was partially why Levi was suddenly depleted on food. He never bothered making any grand and luxurious meals for himself, but when Eren was around, he put some effort into it. Just last week, Levi make them rigatoni that had Eren's mouth drooling. Levi was by no means a cook, and he even burnt some pieces of noodle (How he managed to burn noodle while it was in a pot of water he wasn't sure of), but it was something Eren enjoyed.

While they weren't sure about Armin, both of them knew that Mikasa would kill him if she found out that Levi was doing all of this for him. It was good for him, and Levi knew that, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it too. She just couldn't comprehend it for fear of losing him. She wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the already thin-iced situation they were living with, and that was understandable.

Things were far more advanced than they had been, and far more advanced than what Levi had ever imagined. They weren't uncomfortable by any means, but it was something further than anything Levi (and he was sure Eren was included in this) had ever done. As previously stated, Eren was his first kiss. He never had any interest in anyone else before, at least not anything as serious as Eren was. Were there crushes? Very minor ones.

They were nothing compared to Eren though.

"You don't 'see people,' Levi. I know you, and I know you aren't that type of person. Obviously this guy is special if he was able to get to you."

"Who said it was a guy?" Levi asked while trying to sound offended.

"You just did." Erwin pointed at him and chuckled. Levi wanted to mentally hit himself with an axe for already letting that slip out. "So what's his name?"

"Let's talk about your kids. How's your daughter?" Levi suddenly veered off the path, watching as Erwin rolled his eyes. Levi was never one good for tact though. Erwin knew that.

"Let's talk about his name. What's his name?" Erwin repeated the question. In the end, Levi knew he wouldn't win, and sighed in defeat.

"... His name is Eren." He finally gave in.

"Eren, huh? Sounds cute. What's he like?" Erwin asked as his attention turned towards some in the frozen foods display.

"Well he's... Different than most people," And wasn't that the truth?

"How so? Like, piercings, tattoos, and a chain smoker?" Erwin asked with a slightly puzzled expression. "I wasn't aware you were into that type."

"No, and you know I don't like smokers." Levi said and lightly shoved him. "He's uhm... Hard of hearing." He worded carefully.

"You make it sound like he's deaf, Levi." The man openly joked again while putting something into his basket.

"... He is." Levi told him.

"... Levi, that's not hard of hearing. He can't hear."

"I know..." The older man mumbled.

"Is it a problem with him not hearing?"

"Not really. Eren gets along really well without it, and he and Hanji have been helping me learn sign language, so it's coming along."

"You make it sound like there's still a problem though." Erwin said.

"It's not a problem that he can't hear me. He's just... Younger."

"When you say younger, do you mean two to three years younger, or ten years younger?"

"... More like fifteen years younger." Levi weakly admitted and watched as Erwin did the math in his head.

"He's nineteen?" He questioned skeptically, to which Levi simply nodded. "Dear Lord, Levi, leave the child alone."

"Already tried that, and it doesn't seem to be working out like I want it to." Levi rolled his shoulders to fix his jacket to lay better on his shoulders before his eyes started scanning some of the things in Erwin's basket, all of which looked tempting to buy, but we're probably far more expensive than the fifteen things in his cart, and he only had three items in it.

"You say that, but I think you actually don't want to lose him."

"And that's a story for another day. Now seriously here. What's it like adjusting back to our time? Is it hard?" Erwin smiled at Levi, knowing the older man had never been one good at facilitating emotions. He had them, yes, but he had a dry sense of humor and poor communication skills. He wasn't good at this sort of thing, and it showed.

"It was at first. Our poor daughter just isn't getting it that she's supposed to sleep a totally different time now." The blond decided he would just give Levi a little leg way.

"I can imagine. Your son?"

"Surprisingly he slept through the whole flight. The moment we got into our cab though and he became a pooping machine. We got out of the taxi handing the driver a forty dollar tip for detail cleaning." He told the smaller man, and Levi shook his head with a small laugh.

"And you and your wife? You settled okay?"

"Oh yeah. My wife is a little emotional about it all. A lot of it is just hormones from the birth, but her parents are coming to visit, so I hope that helps."

"Or makes it worse."

"Let's pretend that's not an option." Erwin looked back at Levi and said grimly. "Her birthday is coming up too, and I think she's starting to feel old."

"She's twenty nine." Levi stated bluntly, thinking for a moment what the woman was complaining about. He was thirty four after all.

"Soon to be thirty." Erwin pointed out. "I'm trying to think of a gift that will help her out, but everything I think of has some casualty."

"When is her birthday?" Levi asked, anything if it meant keeping the subject off of Eren.

"February. I keep telling her it's so far away, but time is just escaping. I think it was just yesterday when we were in college, wasn't it?"

"You blinked." Levi said and looked back to the items in Erwin's basket.

"That I did. Speaking of which though, how is your art coming along?" Erwin asked as he began walking again. Levi seemed to neglect the path he had previously been on in lieu of following Erwin now. He didn't even need to be in the baby aisle, and yet there he was.

"You know I stopped that years ago."

"Yes well, I was hoping that was just a phase." Erwin shrugged his shoulders. "So you don't paint anymore?"

"Even if I wanted to, paint is expensive and I can't afford it."

"So what are you doing now?"

"I'm working at a book store with Hanji and Eren. If you ever need a book, you could always come to us." Levi offered.

"I might if you have something for children. My daughter is just learning how to read, so she's trying to absorb everything she can with books."

"She's more than welcome to come by and read until her heart is content. I'm sure Hanji would love to see you guys again too."

"I could meet Eren while I'm there." Erwin told him and sent him a knowing gaze with a wink and a wiggling of his thick eyebrows.

"Oh God, just drop it, Erwin." Levi said.

"I'm just saying. I want to meet the child who took your heart."

"Okay, he's not a child, first of all, and second he's far more mature than someone else I know." The older man told him with a pointed glare.

"Hanji...?" Erwin guessed.

"... Okay, two people I know." Levi stated. The blond man let out another boisterous laugh as they continued to walk, drawing a few stares, but Levi didn't care. Screw the people who looked. It was none of their business what Erwin was laughing about.

"So..." Erwin began. Levi looked at him, waiting, but the taller man seemed to be hesitating on something he couldn't read.

"What...?" He asked.

"There's no way I can get you to paint, is there?" Erwin asked gingerly, his hands moving to sit in his pockets.

"I'm sorry, Erwin. It's just not what I do anymore. Why are you so interested in that?"

"Do you remember the painting you made for my wife in college after our daughter was born?" Erwin asked.

"Of course. I remember it made her cry."

"It did, it did. Well she was devastated when we moved to Europe and she couldn't bring it with her, and I thought maybe you'd be willing to make another one for her."

Levi frowned. How was that fair?

"… I don't know, Erwin. I haven't done it in so long, I'm probably shit at it by now. Not to mention that paint, brushes, and canvas iare expensive and something I just can't afford right now."

"I could always buy those things for you." Erwin offered him.

"Hell no. You've got kids to feed." Levi immediately shot down.

"We just got paid for our house in Europe. I've got a couple extra bucks that I can waste." Erwin assured him.

"Erwin-"

"Please, Levi? It would make her feel so much better," Erwin bent down to eye level and gathered his hands together to pout. His bottom lick stuck out like a child begging for candy, his blue eyes widening.

"The fuck is that, Erwin? That's doing the exact opposite of what you want from me." Levi told him.

"At least think about it then. I know you don't do it, but she's been very stressed with moving and our son, getting our daughter into a new school where she knows no one, finding a part time job that will let her work while she's at school-"

"Oh my God, Erwin, stop it." Levi told him.

"Jobs are scarce these days, and she's working so hard on getting her degree in nursing, and you know how hard nursing is. She already tried once and you saw what that did to her."

"Please stop."

"You know our daughter misses you to pieces too. She's always asking when her Uncle Levi is going to visit her and wondering if you're going to ever come back for dinner. My wife has to tell her that you aren't around though, and she has to see that sad face our baby gets when she knows you won't be around."

"Erwin, that isn't fair."

"And then when she's putting her to bed-"

"Okay, stop, seriously." Levi interrupted the man with a hand over his mouth before he could go any farther. He felt the smile form under his hands, cringing at the idea he had lost, but he couldn't resist Erwin's daughter. She was like part of his family, and he loved that little girl more than anything else. "I'll at least think about it."

"Really…?" Erwin asked behind his hand, his voice muffled.

"Yes, but don't use your daughter as an excuse for me. That's not fair."

"She really does miss you though," Erwin said once Levi released his mouth. "If you ever want to come over for dinner, you're more than welcome to."

"Well I should if I ever want to meet that little man of yours." Levi said and rolled his eyes. There was just no winning with this man.

"You free anytime this week?"

"Only after eight or seven on most weekdays, but I have to drop Eren off at home first. I'll let you know when I'm free if the snow doesn't destroy my car."

"Yeah, it's been pretty nasty. Our kids are loving it though."

"Because they don't have work or go to school. Of course they love it." Levi uttered in annoyance before he felt his phone vibrating within his pocket. He reached to grab it, and after flipping it open, he saw a new message from none other than the brat they had been previously talking about.

Sender: Eren (Brat) Jaeger

8:05 p.m.

"Alright, I guess... I'm still going to send you a message on Christmas though, and I'm still getting you a present! You can't stop me, lalala!"

"Brat," Levi scoffed and stuffed his phone away. He didn't need a distraction right now.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Erwin asked with a smug grin.

"He isn't my boyfriend, Erwin." Levi grumbled.

"He's a boy, in more meanings then one." Erwin said just before darting out of Levi's grasp.

Levi had never felt such a strong temptation to chase someone through a store before.