The Ereri Project (#2)

Accepting (Werewolf)

Nothing changed much. Well, the two of them kissed now and had sex occasionally, but for the most part their lives were exactly the same.

And then, one night, Levi came home to find Eren wasn't there. There was a cold, only half-eaten bowl of soup on the table and the TV was still on but Eren was nowhere to be found. The first thing Levi did was look for a note. Maybe he would be right back.

He is not right back. It's nearly midnight and there's still no sight of him.

He tries calling his friends, hoping they're still awake enough to answer. Isabel and Erwin are the only ones who answer but they haven't seen him either. And he can't file a missing person's report until it's been twenty-four hours.

Tired and worried, he sets himself up on the couch with the TV on, unsure if he'd actually fall asleep if he tried to get in bed. He has to fall asleep at some point, though, because he wakes up to the sound of the front door pushing open. "Eren?" he asks, sitting straight up and trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Shh," Eren replies, walking in slowly.

Confused, Levi turns a lamp on for more light and almost starts to panic when he sees blood on Eren's clothes. But then a notices a bundle in his arms. "What's that?" he asks.

"Take her," Eren replies. "I wanna get this blood off me before I sit down."

"Her?" Levi asks but is forced to take the bundle of blankets when Eren holds it out to him.

As Eren walks to the bedroom, Levi looks down to see what is, in fact, a little girl's face framed by the blankets. She has a big purple bruise blossoming beside her left eye and her bottom lip is split. Little wolf ears as black as the rest of her hair peek out from the crown of her head. Levi looks up when Eren walks back in. "Who is this?" he asks.

"That's Mikasa," Eren replies, sitting down. Levi can see a large scratch on his cheek now and bruises on his hands. "I've been meaning to tell you, but I found another clan of my kind living nearby. My uncle is the pack leader so I've been going to visit when you're working. And, um, they were attacked tonight like mine was before I came here. We can look for someone else to take her once that bruise clears up but..."

"But what?"

Eren takes Mikasa back so he can hold her instead. "It was a long fight, Levi. She saw a lot of people die today. Including both of her parents," he says quietly, absently finger-combing her hair. "She strong though. After she knew what was going on she wanted to fight with us. She killed both the men who killed her parents on her own."

"So you're saying a normal family might not be able to handle her?"

Eren nods. "My uncle might take her but I don't know if he'll be able to properly take care of her after this, he lost a lot of friends today."

Levi sighs. "We'll keep her then."

Eren looks at him. "For real?"

Levi shrugs. "What's one more brat to take care of?"

Eren smiles slightly but Levi can tell there's something broken behind it. He saw death today too. Looked it right in the face and fought to bring this girl home. Yes, he certainly isn't a child anymore.

~~~

When Mikasa finally wakes up, she clings to Eren and won't go anywhere near Levi. "She doesn't talk much," Eren tells him. "She never has."

"Fine by me," Levi replies. "I prefer quiet people."

He finds that even though the little girl doesn't speak and won't go near him, she likes to stare at Levi. He doesn't like how red her eye is beside that big bruise, or how puffy it's making that part of her face. He can't imagine the type of person who would even try to punch a child in the face.

He put some ice in a sandwich bag and wraps it in a towel. "Here," he says, holding it out to her. "This will help your eye."

Well, the swelling at least, the bruise will probably be there for a while.

She shakes her head, holding onto Eren's shirt. Eren takes the ice instead. "Please, 'Kasa?"

She looks up at him and takes it hesitantly, gingerly pressing it against her face. She holds it there, leaning closer into Eren's side. Levi nods at her and sits down, on the far side of the other couch. She's still staring at him when he looks back up at her. He stares back this time. "Thank you," she says quietly, her voice almost as tiny as she is but genuine.

Levi nods at her again and she turns to watch TV instead. He hopes that that's her little way of accepting him.