Chapter Text
Who is Eren Jeager?
That is a loaded question, isn't it? One will always have trouble answering, and some can't even supply a reply; Eren is the latter.
Who is Eren Jeager?
The question gives him a legitimate headache, but the four simple words have been swimming in his head for as long as he can remember.
He wants to be something. He doesn't necessarily want to be recognized the minute he steps foot in public, no, he doesn't want that.
He wishes to help.
He always has. His mother thinks he has a hero-complex. Thinks he is always at the ready to save anything, literally anything, that needs saving.
And maybe he does.
But is that really so bad? To want to make a change to this world? To fight against all the evil thriving upon them?
Eren shakes his head quickly, focusing his eyes in his reflection in the mirror. He's getting carried away, he's thinking too much about saving the world.
Yeah, definitely a hero-complex.
He puts his mind to where it should be: looking at his appearance for his first day at a brand new school.
Fucking wonderful.
"Mom, why can't I do online?" The words burned in his throat, he knew. He knew they can't afford it. He wanted to smack his own self upside his head. "I'm sorry." He told his mother, laying his head on her shoulder and heaving a heavy sigh. She patted his hair and turned her head to kiss the top of his.
"I know you are, sweetheart." She told him. "You know I would if I could."
He nodded against her. "I do... I'm still sorry. I can suck it up." He lifted his head up and looked her in her eyes. "Don't worry about me, ma."
She smiled, Eren was relieved to see it genuine.
He hasn't sucked it up.
He's nervous and he isn't even trying to mask it. Each and every school is a nightmare to Eren. There's too many teenagers who frankly do not give a shit about anyone else.
"You look fine." His mother tells him. She's leaning on the door frame and Eren looks over to her.
"If you say so." He mumbles, grabbing his backpack and ushering her out of his room.
"No fights, okay?" She half askes, half tells him.
Eren has had his fair share of fights, but it isn't his fault assholes don't know when to just leave him be. Eren has started fights, as well as finished them. He isn't weak, he can't be with how he has grown up, but he doesn't really like fighting; despite what his friends might tell him.
"Yeah, yeah," He dismisses the subject with a wave of his hand. "I suppose I should leave now, since I'm walking." He tells her as he opens the fridge and grabs the milk jug.
"I wish you'd take the-Eren!" She yells at him, smaking his arm. "Quit drinking out of the jugs!"
Eren just smirks, bringing it to his lips once more.
"Little shithead." She tells him. "You're gonna be late, start walking little one."
"I'm taller than you." Eren tells her seriously, but his eyes are crinkled with him trying to hold in his smile.
"Oh my god, just go!" She laughs, pushing him toward the front door and eventually out of it. "I love you Eren, I'll see you tomorrow moring."
He laughs and turns back to her. "I love you, too. See you!" He yells before turning to make his small journey to the hell they call a school.
The walk to his school is actually quite peaceful, for New York, anyway. He passes a park with green grass and giant trees looming over him, blocking the sun rays from Eren's eyes. There's coffee and tea shops and petite diners across the road.
The park to his one side is humming quietness and nature, while the shops to his other are thriving with customers demanding their orders to the poor souls behind the counter. He hears a woman yell at the timid young lady behind the counter and Eren wants to go over and say something, but he stops himself.
He should, but he shouldn't.
The employee handles it well, if not too well. She takes the yelling with a worried smile and apology after apology; Eren thinks what he'd do in the situation... It wouldn't be anything professional, that is absolute.
He walks on until he reaches his school, which is rather large. He's glad he's somewhat early, so he's able to find his classroom. He knows he's going to get lost.
There's multiple teenagers already here, Eren discovers, and now he doesn't feel so early.
He doesn't get one look thrown his way, from what he can see and he has never been more thankful for this humungous ass school.
He studies the people around him, sitting on plastic benches and hanging around lockers. The building to his side is large and packed. There's kids among kids and he decides he never wants to set foot in there, but it comes to his realization that he will have to.
That busy building is the cafeteria.
Eren grimaces and looks away. He needs to focus, try to find his classroom so he isn't late, then there will truly be eyes all over him.
Eren rips out the crumbled up schedule of his and he needs to find building B and room 2. For his first class, calculus.
Eren is smart, even if he doesn't act like it most times. He has always gotten straight A's, aced his tests and even did extra classes on the side. He doesn't really enjoy school work, not really, but he wants to get a good career so his mother can quit her job and he is able to support the both of them, even if they're not together.
His mother will always be his motivation.
Eren is having a difficult time.
Is there a secret passage to building B or something, because he has circled around this whole fucking school and he wants to throw a tantrum.
"This is the thrid time you've walked here, kid." He hears a smooth voice say. Eren whips his head around to the tone and stutters.
"I-I... I'm lost." Eren admits, his shoulders dropping in defeat.
"Clearly." The teenager says straight faced and Eren thinks this guy is probably an asshole.
Eren is torn between saying two things. "Okay, bye." Or: "Can you help me?" But the guy is intimidating. On top of his unwavering bored expression he is undeniably the most attractive person Eren has ever seen.
His hair is ink black, styled into a neat undercut that Eren thinks fits him amazingly well. His eyes are narrow and slanted, matching his face shape. They're a baby blue, grey mix from what Eren can make out, and his lips are a perfect size for his shape and impossibly pink. His outfit is simple, adorn in black skinny jeans, black converse and a grey v-neck.
"Oi." He calls, ripping Eren away from his studying of the other man. "Gonna keep checking me out, or actually say something?"
"You're kinda rude." Is what flies out of Eren's mouth and his own eyes grow wide.
The other guy looks a little stumped and Eren files that away in his small list of victories, but then he looks torn.
Eren is tyring to read him, but the teen pushes off against the wall he's leaning on and makes his way to Eren.
"You're kind of a brat." He tells him, before snatching the paper from Eren's shaking fingers. Eren is about to protest, but the other's voice stops him.
"B building, huh?" He asks, looking up at Eren. Eren failed to notice before, but he is a couple feet shorter than Eren. "Yeah, fuck, I know I'm short, shut the hell up." He mutters.
"I didn't even say anything?" Eren says, confusion evident in his tone.
"Your eyes were judging." He bites back.
"I don't judge." Eren says with a shrug. "I don't really care about your height, I was just looking at your appearance and that's what I noticed just now."
"You talk too much." The other tells him and Eren becomes self-concience and replays what he just spoke in his mind.
"Sorry." Eren says, shutting his mouth.
"What'd you notice first?" The question shocks Eren and he looks down to the other, his eyes wide.
"Your voice." Eren admits.
"Hm." The other doesn't look away from Eren, even when Eren shifts his eyes away. "Come on." He says, walking away. Eren wants to ask many questions, but two mostly rang in his head. What did the other notice about him first? And why does this guy want to know Eren's first impression of him?
He decides to go with another question, instead.
"W-What? Where?" Eren asks, stumbling after him.
"I have the same class, and your brat self is lost. I'm here to save the day." He says, deadpan, as they make their way to the building.
It turns out the building is on top of building A and Eren huffs.
"I swear, I had no idea." Eren tells the stranger who helped him, yet insulted him.
"Obviously." He says, holding the door open for Eren. Eren looks at the hand holding the door and sees a glove on it, Eren didn't notice it before. "You gonna come in or stare some more?"
"S-Sorry." Eren says, rushing himself inside. The building is warm, but not muggy, which Eren appreciates.
Eren turns behind him and notices the one who helped him, take off the one glove and look up at Eren.
"Pick a seat." He says, gesturing to the empty room. "Do it now, before the other shits get here." Eren nods quickly and all but sprints to the back table in the corner and sits, his backpack almost falling from his back because his speed.
"Calm down there, Speedy Gonzalez." The other tells him before he sits at the chair next to Eren's.
"Sorry... I guess I'm.." Eren tries, but his nerves grow.
"You guess you're what?" He asks and Eren can feel his eyes searching Eren.
"Nevermind." Eren says, stretching his arms in front of him. "Sorry."
"Quit saying you're sorry, you didn't hurt me."
"But I've annoyed you." Eren reminds him.
"You're not the first, don't take it personally." He tells him, still looking over Eren's form and Eren wishes he would cease it.
"Okay." Eren sighs, hoping it'd lessen his anxiety.
It didn't work.
"I'm Levi."
Eren looks halfway over to him, shocked. Levi doesn't seem like the type of person to carry on a conversation after an okay. Much less offer a name.
"It's nice to meet you, Levi." Eren says, returning to face forward, his voice doesn't seem to be shaking and Eren is quite surprised.
"Sure it is." Levi says sarcastically, finally looking away. "What's yours?" Levi asks, his eyes returning and Eren swallows.
"I'm Eren." Eren says, meeting his eyes. Levi's eyes widen for a millisecond and Eren touches his face to see if anything is on it, besides his gladses, but other than those there's nothing. Eren wonders why Levi's eyes had went a smidge larger.
"Well, Eren..." Levi tells him. "Welcome to this hell of a school." Are the words he hears before the doors open and the room grows more packed with students.
"Hey, momma." Eren speaks into his phone as he sticks the key into the lock on their screen door. "Literally getting inside the house as we speak.." Eren pauses as he enters his house and closes the door behind him. He tosses his backpack onto the couch as soon as he can. "Uh, school was school. I didn't really meet anybody, except for this one guy Levi, but I don't think he really liked me." Eren says, sighing. He isn't too sure about Levi, doesn't know where he stands with him. Will Levi speak to him tomorrow in class? Should Eren speak a word to him? It seems logical, Eren thinks; they sit together and know eachother's name, isn't it acceptable to say hello?
But Levi is different.
Eren thinks Levi has better things to do than speak to him and Eren thinks he's silly for even thinking about this so hard.
"I don't have any homework, I guess that's understandable for the first day, huh? There isn't much to say, mom." Eren admits. He wishes he had more stories to tell her when she listens to his voicemail. He wishes he could tell her he has friends and that he's invited to parties and out to eat and things teenagers do. "I know you don't really want me to, but I'm going to job hunt tomorrow after school, I think it'll help alot... A-and I'm sorry you don't really want that, but you can't stop me." Eren chuckles into the phone. "Okay, see you tomorrow. I love you." Eren tells her before hanging up.
They have a tradition, he and his mother.
Ever since she got this new job, one of them would call the other and leave a message about their day. It helps, since they don't really have much time to talk when they are together.
On second thought, Eren thinks, he has the whole day ahead of him.
Why not job hunt now?
It's noisy in here.
Not that Levi can hear anything around him, thankful for the earbuds stuck in his ears, but he sees the clutter of people in the coffee shop he is in.
He wants to leave, but he's promised to walk Hanji home after their shift, since they have something oh so very important to tell him.
He's tired.
Levi wonders if you can see it in his eyes and why that kid, Eren, looked so startled when he looked at Levi for the first time that morning.
Eren.
Levi's scowls at the thought of him, looking just as tired as Levi felt, but yet still... cute.
But annoying and naive.
His eyes turquoise and wide, but dark circles and disgusting sleep in them.
Levi ponders about what he's gathered about Eren at all: he's different... That is without denying. Unlike anyone Levi has ever met or seen. Dark, brown skin contrasting against bright eyes really nicely. Messy hair, which Levi wanted to be irritated about, but it suited Eren. Tall and scrawny, but Levi could tell there was muscle hidden under the thousand layers of fabric he was wearing. Large glasses, much too large for his face, but Levi can still see his eyes clearly.
Levi doesn't think he's ever met anyone so nervous in his life and he almost feels bad for being hard on him.
He wonders what Eren thought of him and is suddenly... nervous. Nervous that he now seems unnaproachable, not that he wanted the shithead to talk to him anyway.
No.
He most certainly didn't.
-
The waiting was getting old. It's well thirty minutes from when Hanji said they'd be clocked off and the tables around him are dirty because no one has cleaned the damn things.
He's just about to stand up to tell Hanji they'll have to wait to tell him tomorrow at school, because it could probably wait.
But the door opens, once again, slowly; and for the first time Levi looks up to see who is walking in.
And great.
Just fucking great.
It's Eren. His hood up, blocking most of his face. His clothes are damp from what seems to be rain, and Levi now sees why it's been so constantly busy.
Levi wonders if it is Eren's first time in this coffee shop, he's never seen him in here. Or anywhere, for that matter. Did he just never leave his house? How long has he been in this town, surely not long, Levi would have noticed him. He isn't exactly hard to ignore, even if he tries to be invisible.
Eren doesn't seem to be the coffee shop kind of guy, but Levi shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, he guesses.
Levi turns down his music so he could listen in when Eren speaks to Hanji at the front counter.
"What'd you like, cutie?" Hanji inquires. "You're new, huh? I saw you at school, barely, I should have said hi but I was kind of busy and-"
"You're holding up the line!" A customer yells from the back of Eren, which makes him flinch. Levi frowns, what an asshole.
Hanji's smile doesn't waver. "Anyway, back to doing my job, I guess." They giggle.
"I, um, I just wanted an application." Eren says and surprisingly, his eyes didn't leave Hanji's.
He supposes that Hanji is kind and approachable at first, not the mad scientist you'll later get to meet.
Levi loves them though.
He doesn't tell them enough, barely actually and he feels a twinge of guilt.
"Of course!" They yell, rummaging on the shelf under the register. They thrust a small stack of papers to Eren. "I already like you and will put in a good word, we're short on staff and really need someone as you can-"
"Fuckin' hurry!" The man yells again and Levi wants to kick his shin.
"Why don't you calm the fuck down, man?" Levi's eyes widen as he sees Eren say the words and turn back to look at the man.
"Wanna say that again, kid?" The scum seethes, sizing up Eren.
"Pretty sure you heard me the first time, I'd hate to waste my breath." Eren says without a thought and Levi is honestly shocked. The little ball of anxiety is now a ball of anger and Levi doesn't really know what to think.
But when he sees Eren being shoved to the ground and punched in the temple, Levi knows what to think then.
Before Eren can fight back, or gather himself, Levi is pulling the man off of him before he can land another punch on the poor kid.
"Get the fuck out." Levi tells him calmly.
"Now we got a munchki-"
Levi kicks his shin before he can finish his sentence.
Eren wakes up on something soft and cushony and slightly warm. There's a knitted blanket over him and it's really soft and Eren closes his eyes again and decides he wants to sleep here forever.
But his senses kick in.
Where is here?
Oh no. Oh nononono. Has he been kidnapped? No way, the coffee shop was filled with people. But someone could have claimed to know him and picked him up and brought him to god knows where, fuck this, he's got to get out-
"Hanji, that's great and all, but you made me sit in a gross coffee shop for an hour and a half so you can tell me you get to manage and school trip to the magical Oscorp." The familiar voice says, even though Eren has only heard it a select few times. "Little fucking ridiculous, don't you think?"
Oscorp. Eren thinks. Where his father used to work, doing god knows what. Eren has always wanted to set foot in there, see what all the hype was about. He actually rather enjoyed science, and wouldn't mind going there. He reads about the discoveries they've made there and what they're trying to achieve.
A world without weakness.
They make it sound as if being weak is a bad thing. Shouldn't they be striving for a world without evil?
"Yeah... But wait, there's more!" Hanji says and Eren thinks they sound like an over-excited commercial. "I was wondering if you wanted to join and help me out!"
"No."
"But wait-"
"No, Hanji, I don't give a shit if there's more." Levi says calmly, but Eren could tell from the other side of the wall that Levi is being incredibly firm. "Not my thing."
"But Levi-"
"No, Han-"
"Nope! Let me talk!" Hanji yells over him, drowing out his voice.
"No." Still calm and collected.
"Blah blah blah blah blah." Hanji yells loudly.
"W-What the fuck are you-"
"Blah blah blah blah-" Hanji continues on.
"Hanji!" Levi finally raises his voice.
"I'm not gonna stop until you let me finish, Levi." Hanji explains. "BLAHBLAHBLAH-"
"Fuck, okay! Okay." Levi says, giving up. "Just fucking stop with that shit, you might have just woke up the-shit." Levi says. "We should check on him, the nurse said not to let him sleep too long."
The nurse?
"It's fine." Hanji says. "He can wait a couple more minutes, believe me, I know." Hanji says. "Okay, so... A lot of kids are gonna be there and it's going to be hard for me to manage all of them together, so if you and Erwin join me, so you're not alone, then-"
"Hanji, are you fucking kidding me." Levi interrupts.
"No." Hanji says, and Eren can tell they're probably smiling.
"You owe me!" Hanji reminds him.
"For fucking what?" Levi asks then and there's a pause.
"For... Um... Something?"
"Exactly, you moron." Levi says dismissively and there's quiet footsteps coming his way and Eren isn't sure if he should fake being asleep or act like he just woke up.
"Not a moron, genius, remember?" Hanji asks, they're footsteps louder as they join Levi.
"You wish."
"I don't wish, Levi!" Hanji whines. "I've showed you the paper so many times, do I need-"
"No, I get it." Levi says and now Eren can see him finally and there's a faint smirk and Eren wants to smile at that. "He's awake."
"Oh, sweety!" Hanji exclaims. "How are you feeling? The nurse, your mother, said you should be okay... Just a headache. I have some asprin if you're not feeling too-"
"My mom?" Eren interrupts them.
"Oh, yeah, you ended up kind of being knocked out slowly by that asshole." Hanji informs him and Eren kind of remembers now.
Fucking prick.
"But don't worry! Levi saved the day!" Hanji yelled, smiling wide. Eren thinks they're beautiful when they do that.
"I seem to be doing that alot for you today, hm?" Levi says. "And are we not going to talk about the fact he was just probably eavesdropping?" Levi asks, tilting his head at Eren. "How very rude of you, Eren." Eren doesn't know if it's playful or not.
"Y-Yeah, I mostly tuned in at Oscorp." Eren lied. "Lucky you guys get the opportunity to go." Eren says, trying to divert the subject.
"See, Levi!" Hanji says, narrowing their eyes at him. "Can you believe he doesn't want to go?" Hanji asks, directing their attention at Eren.
"Yeah, so unappreaciative." Eren says with a smirk and Levi narrows his eyes dangerously.
"SEE!" Hanji says to Levi.
"Fuck, fine! Yes, I'll do it. But only if Erwn does all the explaining." Levi says, crossing his arms and Eren tries to hide his smile.
It was sort of cute.
Hanji's smile widens as they look back to Eren, thanks shining in their eyes.