{LeviHan} A Father's Love

Chapter 4: Favor

Levi's POV

"Daddy!"

I chuckled as Hanji opened the door and I saw my little boy on the couch. He was a bit sleepy, but I know he had a fun, exciting day. Hanji let myself in, and I gave her a smile of appreciation. "Heya, bud. Had fun?"

Eren nodded his head rapidly, "Uh huh!"

"Alright then."

"Can I stay here a bit longer, Daddy? I don't wanna say goodbye to Iris and Miss Hanji..."

"I don't have power for how long we stay, Eren. You need to ask-"

"It's alright, Levi." I turned around to see Hanji waving it off with a light smile. "Stay as long as you want- we can order pizza for dinner. Iris and I were craving for pizza lately. Well... it's been what we've wanted ever since we moved here. I just didn't have time to order pizza. Oh well, we can share."

I nodded my head, walking up to her. "I can help pay-"

"No no, it's alright." She says, trying to relax me with her sweet smile. I've known more than enough smiles to know something unusual is up. "You're doing me too much... let me repay the favor- at least."

Knowing I wasn't gonna win against her, I nodded my head and allowed her to order the pizza. While she was doing that, I was watching the little kids playing with each other. Apparently they were sharing their fond memories of their favorite stuffed animals. Iris had a white tiger while Eren had a brown lion. Interesting how they were both big cats in the wild.

Minutes passed and Hanji tapped on my shoulder. She took a seat across from me, sighing like she had a heavy secret to tell. "Something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head. 

Hanji nodded her head a bit. "Do you mind if I... vent to you? Since you're not exactly blinded by people around me... you're reliable for me to get a proper opinion from you. Especially since... you work with child services..."

I turned to Eren, shaking my head a bit. "He told you about my job?"

"Was he not supposed to?"

My broad shoulders shrugged a bit as I didn't exactly know how to word it. "Well... it's better to keep our mouths shut about it. Easier to keep corruption from outside parties from influencing our work. That sort of stuff. I asked him to not proclaim my job really... since he knows how important it is to me. Though I allow him to keep calling it a hero job."

Hanji chuckles softly, trying to cover her mouth. "That's adorable..."

"Anyways, back on subject. You wanted an opinion from me? Why does it relate to my job?"

I could see that she was struggling between stress and relief. It was hidden within her facial expression. Her right hand removed her glasses as she sighed heavily from the fatigue. "I have an ex... and ever since we've moved in and had Iris... I've noticed he was acting different. Just about a week ago, I found out he was cheating on me with some other girlfriend. I... I didn't know what to do, so I moved out here with Iris. I've wanted full custody of Iris and I don't want her near that bastard of a guy... but she still sees him. A weekend every month. How can I get full custody...?"

I leaned back in the chair, sighing heavily. "That's... that's a hard thing to determine, Hanji. You were somewhat lucky to have that much custody over her. Honestly... I can't do anything unless something bad happens to her under his care. Do you know if they sent someone to oversee his place?"

"No... I don't believe so..."

"Well... that's a problem..." I sighed once more, seeing so many holes. "At most, I can send someone to check out his place as a surprise check up... there's many problems with that. If he manages a proper place for Iris when she's not there, there's a high chance that he'll be trying to get full custody over Iris- or even more."

"What about them being there during the middle of Iris' time there?"

"It's a good idea... but I have to ask her to be strong. Do anything to get evidence and stuff like that. It's risky... but it's the best shot to trying to get evidence against your ex."

Relief seemed to have bawled out in the form of tears. Hanji smiled softly, looking down at the table. "That... that's possible...?"

"If Iris manages to be strong during her next visit, yes. Again, it's a possibility... but I think I need to go through more of this case. If you're struggling with a custody battle, there are some holes that completely doesn't make sense. Such as them not checking your ex's place. That raises a lot of flags. I'll check into it tomorrow."

"Thank you... I just didn't know how to keep it in anymore..."

My hand reached out for her shoulder, and I smiled gently. "Don't worry about it, Hanji. This does seem like a suspicious case, so I'll check it out. Don't fret, okay? I'll take a look through it. If I do see anything more suspicious, I'll investigate it. That I promise you."

Hanji nods her head, laying herself across the table. "Thank you..."

"Take my advice, Hanji, but... next time, you come to me. I'm completely open for you to vent to. Not to mention, I'm kinda trained in this kind of stuff."

"I can't thank you enough..."

"Just promise me that the next time you encounter something this bad, you report it to me. It involves your daughter... okay?"

"Okay..."