Adopt a Titan! (An Ereri fanfic)

Genre: Romance, Drama, AU

Rating: T, will be M in later chapters

Warning: None right now.

A tense silence hung between the two men, drawn out by Levi's suspicion and Eren's unwillingness to make any sort of move out of fear of getting shot. Their eyes remained locked on each other.

Head spinning with questions, Levi began to wonder: "Titans can turn into humans? How come Hanji, no, nobody ever mentioned such a thing? Isn't it even wrong to keep possibly human or sentient beings as pets? Or is he just some lying pervert who broke in, and Hunter is hiding somewhere?"

Levi tilted his head to the side, face emotionless. "Prove it."

Eren's face twisted into a pained expression. "I don't know how to. In fact, this is just as unbelievable to me as it is for you, since I've been stuck as titan for the past year and I've been trying to become human again."

This piqued Levi's interest, but he wanted Eren to confirm his identity first. After a thoughtful moment, Levi had a suggestion.

"Since you claim to be my titan, Hunter, you should know what you and I did today. Come, tell me. If you tell me enough about what happened today, I might believe you."

Eren gave a small smile. "You adopted me, sir. You visited me in the shelter with Petra, and my cage was the last cage. You brought me home and cooked spaghetti and fed me some, my first real meal in two months. I'm really happy and grateful that you chose to bring me back with you, sir."

The boy glanced up at Levi, who looked unconvinced. Panicking, Eren sputtered "A-and while you were holding me at the shelter, I showed you that I wanted to go with you….by trying to gently bite your hand." His face flushed crimson as he looked back at the floor.

Levi lowered the gun, returning it to its original resting spot under the pillow. "It wasn't particularly gentle."

"I'm really sorry for that sir." Levi gave a small nod.

Silence began to grow between them again. Eren's state of undress was now starting to bother the older man. Levi stood up and circled Eren as he made his way to his closet to find some spare clothes for the teen, who continued sitting on the floor with the comforter resting on his lap. Searching through a row of hanging shirts, Levi began to question him again.

"You say that you don't know how to turn into a human. Do you know why you are a human now? Or why you became a titan in the first place?"

"I don't know. I didn't even realize that I was human again until you pushed me off the bed while I was sleeping." An old shirt was tossed across the room and landed on the boy's head. Eren pulled the shirt off his face as Levi turned around, an accusing look in his eyes.

"I didn't expect to have some naked stranger snoring away on top of me. Besides, I didn't push you. You fell off."

Eren sighed and Levi turned back to his closet, now examining the neat stack of boxers.

"As for how and why I transformed into a titan, I have no idea either. I was escaping from a flood with my family when a large wave hit our car and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was already a titan. I couldn't find my family, and almost all of the buildings in the entire city had collapsed. It was terrible. Animal control soon found me, and they took me to the shelter where I stayed until I met you."

The man strode up to Eren, handing a pair of worn boxers to the sitting boy.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Would you happen to be from Shinganshina?"

Eren looked up in surprise. "Yes I am. How did you know?"

"I heard about the flooding from the news. A dam on Utgard River near Shinganshina broke apparently. The school districts over there are still closed because the city is rebuilding, so a lot of students transferred to schools in nearby cities. Trost Central High School, which is where I teach, received quite a few refugees in the aftermath."

A look of contemplation appeared on Eren's face as he stared at the boxers in hand. Clenching the garment, the boy spoke shakily.

"It might be a long shot, but would you happen to know of Mikasa Ackerman? She's my adopted sister. I've been hoping that she's alright."

It was now Levi's turn to be surprised. "Mikasa is in one of the math classes I teach."

Eyes lighting up and growing wider in excitement, Eren began to stand up, relief washing across his face.

"Can you take me to see her? I want to see my mother and father too!"

"Actually, would you like to use my phone to call them right now? I think your family would want to hear from you, even if it's the middle of the night."

Eren's eyes filled with appreciation for Levi.

"Thank you, sir. I'd be really grateful!"

Levi smirked. "Well, get dressed first, and I'll give you the phone."

The boy's face grew red again out of embarrassment, scrambling to dress himself while Levi went to pick up the phone from his bedside table, back turned towards Eren.

When Levi turned around, Eren had successfully pulled on the clothes, but in his haste had failed to put them on correctly.

"Tch, have you been a titan for so long that you've forgotten how to dress yourself? Your shirt is on inside out."

Eren stuttered, cheeks nearly a fire-engine red, casting his eyes down onto the floor.

Levi, now standing in front of Eren, slid his fingers under the hem of the shirt, fingertips inadvertently grazing the skin on the teen's stomach and chest, pulling it off over his head. In their proximity, Levi noticed with a bit of annoyance that now, he was the one looking up at the other's face.

Eren chuckled, marveling at the difference in height.

"When I was a titan, you seemed huge. But now, I'm taller than you!"

A sharp glare was directed toward the now topless teen as Levi flipped the shirt outside in.

"It's because you're an abnormally large brat for your age."

"Hey, no I'm not! I'm already seventeen, I'd say I'm average in height."

The shirt was pushed into the boy's chest.

"Any further comments on your or my height and I won't be lending you anymore of my clothes. What's next, my inseam not long enough for you?"

Eren stifled a laugh as he pulled the shirt on, the older man sending him a piercing stare. Levi then handed his phone to Eren, who immediately stopped laughing and looked at the man in gratitude.

"You should call your family."

With a small nod, Eren began to dial a phone number while Levi went to sit on the bed. Levi's eyes were trained on Eren's face as the boy brought the phone up to his ear, waiting and listening, his excitement difficult to contain.

Then his face fell. From where he was sitting, Levi could faintly hear the automated message. "We are sorry but the number you are trying to reach is no longer in service." With each call, Eren grew increasingly apprehensive, nervously awaiting for someone, anyone, to pick up the phone. He made seven calls before he turned towards Levi, panic-stricken.

"Sir, no one owns these cellphone numbers anymore. They're my parent's and Mikasa's numbers."

As a high school teacher, Levi had to deal with troublesome students on a daily basis. Comforting students who were Eren's age was not his strong suit, but now Levi took Eren's hands in his, pulling the phone out of the boy's grasp, gesturing for him to sit down. His hand remained on Eren's, hoping to calm the boy.

"I said that Mikasa was in my math class. She is alive and doing very well. I'll take you to school on Monday where you can return home with her. In the meantime, it is useless to worry about your parents, we will find out about them when you meet with Mikasa. For now, we're tired and should get some rest."

Eren nodded numbly. "Yes."

A hand ruffled the boy's hair as Levi stood up and began to walk toward the door.

"You can sleep here. I'll go sleep on the couch."

"No! Please stay here. After being kept in a cage for a year as a titan, I don't want to sleep alone anymore. Please?" Eren reached out an arm toward Levi, his eyes begging. Levi turned, gaze meeting with those large beckoning eyes. His expression was the same one that he wore when Levi held him as a titan at the shelter. The same expression that caused Levi to give in.

"Alright."

Eren, overjoyed, hugged Levi around the waist, the man trying sit on the bed and pull the discarded comforter up off the floor and onto them both.

"Ok kid, but no touching me while we sleep. And no funny business," he said pointedly.

The boy grinned, although it wasn't quite as wide as his grin as a titan. His body, though, was significantly larger, and Eren struggled to pull half of the comforter over himself while Levi yanked it away from him to cover his own body. They finally settled into an acceptable sleeping arrangement, Levi facing the edge of the bed with Eren almost snuggling up to his back.

Levi was just drifting off to sleep when a small voice woke him up.

"Sir, I just realized that I don't know your name."

When the older man remained silent, Eren assumed, with some dismay, that he had fallen asleep. After a moment, a quiet reply came from the man in front of him.

"Levi Rivaille."

Eren softly repeated the name, smiling to himself.

"If I could, I'd show you, Mr. Rivaille."

Levi pulled the comforter over himself. "Show me what. And Levi's just fine."

"Show you that I can become a human or cute titan."

Levi snorted. "Don't speak of useless things you can't do. Sleep."

Eren beamed at Levi's back, feeling content. He began to doze off, breaths turning slow and even. Levi, despite going through a tiring and eventful day, remained awake with a lot on his mind, all about the boy. When he was sure that Eren had fallen asleep, he whispered into the dark.

"You're fine either way."

When Levi woke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that the sun was shining brightly through his window. He glanced at his bedside clock, reading 9:35 AM. It was later than he had wanted to wake up, but considering the eventful night, Levi wasn't too surprised. He sat up in bed, finding it empty save for himself. He frowned.

"Seems like the kid got up earlier than me," he thought with a sigh.

Levi swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up. He was a tidy man and always made his bed first when he got up and today was no exception. As he pulled the comforter flat, he noticed the edge of a garment sticking out from under the covers. Upon removing it, he discovered that it was the pair of boxers that he had lent Eren the night before. "What the hell has gotten into his head? Stripping off his underwear in the morning?" He placed the boxers in his hamper in disdain, returning to the bed to continue straightening it out when he noticed a shirt sleeve also peeking out from underneath the comforter. Pulling up the covers, Levi wondered to himself how he was going to convey his displeasure about the situation to a naked teen that was probably lounging around his apartment. He gritted his teeth at the thought. He grabbed the neckline of the shirt and whipped it up…

…to have a small titan tumble out of it. It was Hunter, to be exact.

Author's Note:

Thank you everyone who read and reviewed, fav'd, and followed! I really do appreciate it, and hope you will find the story enjoyable. I apologize for the atrocious formatting of the first two chapters, which I just fixed today. I'm still trying to get the hang of things. Hopefully the formatting for this chapter is better (and with less typos).

After a bit of a delay, I've finished writing Chapter 3! I had hoped to finish it earlier, but things popped up, the main thing in the form of a Surprise! application. I had to pump out a personal statement within two days.

This chapter was also a bit difficult to write, since I wanted certain information to be given without turning it into a giant interrogation scene between Levi and Eren.