Shingeki no Kyojin

Hello, everyone! I'm finally back! I've been working on nothing but SNK fics and this is the first one, I've decided to publish on here. I have so many unfinished stories, but I'm going to find the time to finish them. College has really taken over my life and it doesn't help that I'm a master of procrastination. It's probably one of the only things I'm good at.

This is my first attempt at an Ereri story, so I hope it satisfies your tastes. I'm also working on a Jeanmarco story, but I doubt I'll publish that one any time soon. Aside from those two ships, I also like Eremika a lot. So, maybe I'll end up writing one for them too. I don't know. I guess only time will tell. Still, I would to thank everyone that took the time to check out this story! Feel free to leave any reviews and/or flames (even though that'll make me sad).

Disclaimer: Obviously, SNK does not belong to me. It belongs to the evil genius, Isayama Hajime.

Caged Bird

Chapter 1 – Burden

He didn't want to accept. He didn't want to add a burden to his life, but how could he say no when the man was practically begging him? Not only did he seem desperate, he was clearly emphasizing that he was the only one that could help him out. He, Grisha Jaeger, didn't come to him because he wanted to. He was asking for his help because he was the only choice and apparently the only option.

Levi crossed his hands as he leaned back against the couch. Either way, whether he was his only hope or not, he wasn't about to give in so easily. Grisha Jaeger had been his friend during his military life, but once that affair was over, they never saw each other again. Levi had no idea how he had found his contact number, but he was almost sure Erwin had something to do with it. He was definitely going to get him back for this.

With that in mind, he picked up his glass of wine and gave it a small sip. He was probably driving Grisha mentally insane since he was purposely acting calm and uncaring. It's not that he didn't care what happened to his old ex-comrade, though. His situation did seem pretty serious and that was probably the reason why he didn't want to get involved in the first place. It had nothing to with him and yet, Grisha wanted him to take a responsibility that was way to big for him to carry.

Placing his glass back on the coffee table, Levi turned to look at Grisha's face once again. It was filled with agony, pain and a great deal of suffering. Of course, Levi couldn't really blame him. His wife had just been murdered and what was worse, his 15 year old son had witnessed the entire thing. It was definitely traumatizing for the both them, but still, Levi didn't want to get involved. He knew nothing good would come out of the situation if he accepted to do his old friend a favor.

"Do you understand, Rivaille?" Grisha continued to press on as he leaned a bit closer to the coffee table that stood between them. Silence followed after his last question and the only thing could be heard throughout the house was rapping of the rain hitting against the window. Every now and then, a crack of lighting would light up the room which was quickly followed by a loud roar of thunder. A rainstorm had been predicted, but probably not on such magnitude. "Rivaille, will you be willing do me this favor?"

"Why does it have to me?" Levi asked for the millionth time as his face turned stern and serious. After his service in the military, instead of going to college like most of his comrades, he accidentally sank into the writing business and became a novelist. He did have the talent for writing and his most famous work had sold a million copies globally. He was bringing in good money and he was gladly more than financially stable. He wondered if that was the reason why Grisha had picked him to do him the favor.

"I'm sure there are plenty of relatives you can take the boy with. Why does it have to be me precisely?" Levi asked, placing his hand over his knees. It was late in the evening and Grisha was really taking up his time. There was a deadline hovering by and he knew Hanji would bite his head off if he didn't submit the next chapter's rough draft. "This clearly isn't the environment for a 15 year old boy and I don't have the time to watch over him."

"I explained to you why." Grisha pressed on, pushing his glasses back. "It's an emergency. I need to get out of town because of certain matters and I don't have the time to find a more suitable guardian for my son. With everything that has happened and with everything that he has experienced, I don't think leaving him alone will be the proper idea. I could leave him with one of his friends, but I don't want to put them in any danger."

"So, you think it's better for me to get chased down by criminals and gangsters?" Levi asked him with a sarcastic grin on his face. He was finally starting to understand the what was really going on. He was coming to him because he believed that he was the only one capable of protecting his 15 year old son. With a smirk on his face, Levi picked up his glass of wine and slowly pressed it against his lips. "Do you really think I have the capability to protect your son? Don't make me laugh. What in the world gave you such a stupid idea?"

"You have a great sense of responsibility." Grisha suddenly exclaimed which caused Levi's eyebrow to twitch a little. He lowered his glass of wine and stared at his old friend that had now become a complete stranger. "I learned that during our years in the military. You always do what you're told and you're not as cold hearted as you think you are. You always found a way to execute plans so that there would be low casualties. I'm asking you as an old war buddy to help me out. I really need you, Rivaille."

"What have you been doing during all these years?" Levi suddenly asked a bit more seriously, slamming his glass against the table. He stared at Grisha and he was surprised to find some anger inside his voice. "What exactly are you involved in that caused the death of your own wife? Worse yet, you're telling me that the same people that killed your wife are after your son? Just what type of bullshit is that? Why the hell are you leaving him if you're so damn concerned? Wouldn't it be better if you just took care of him yourself? Or better yet, why don't you just take him with you?"

"I told you that I can't!" Grisha placed his hand over his forehead and Levi could tell that he was running out of patience. There were just so many questions and there were still many things Levi didn't exactly understand. He couldn't just take custody of kid knowing that he was going to be chased down and possibly killed. "I made many mistakes and now, I'm starting to get what I deserve. Unfortunately, my wife was the one that ended up paying the consequences and those same people are going after my only son."

The house was filled was silence once again as the sound of thunder echoed through the room. The ticking of clock suddenly became loud and noticeable, increasing the tension that was slowly filling in the air. Grisha choked on his words, biting his lips like if he was holding in his tears. "I couldn't protect Carla. She died because of me. I don't want my son to share the same fate as wife. I will protect him and I need you to help me. Take care of my son while I settle these matters. I need to end this once and for all."

Levi let out a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Once again, he had come to the same conclusion as before. He didn't have much of a choice but to accept. He couldn't turn him down no matter what he said. If he did, then he would only seem like a bigger asshole and he would probably send his old comrade into the depths of despair. Levi looked at Grisha once again and he was surprised to find his eyes looking back at him in a pressuring manner.

"These people know everything about me, but I'm almost certain that have little to no information about you. I know my son will be safe in your hands." Grisha continued with some determination inside his voice. "Please, Rivaille. Do this favor for me? I know it's a lot to ask, but you're the only person I know that will be capable and able to do it. I trust you and your abilities. I promise to return once this situation is cleared up. Please, Rivaille. You're the only one I can turn to."

For the first time since Grisha's arrival, Levi turned to look at Eren Jaeger, the boy he was supposed to take custody of. He seemed to be in complete daze and his eyes were still stricken with shock. He was the boy that Grisha wanted him to take care of. He was the boy that was being looked for by a bunch of possible criminals and murders. Even though he was sitting right next to his father he didn't seem to be tuning in to their conversation at all. Still, how could Levi blame him? His mother had been killed right before his very eyes.

"Fine. I accept." Levi finally said standing up as his eyes remained on the boy. Of course, Eren Jaeger didn't bother looking up at him, but Grisha did walk over to him letting out a sigh of relief. He shook his hand with appreciation as a small smile formed in his face. "However, if things start to get messy and I find myself unable to handle this sticky situation then I won't hesitate to get the police. I don't care if they take your son away from you. In fact, I wouldn't care less. Do you understand? You better come back as soon as you can. There's only so much I can do for that brat of yours."

"Thank you so much, Rivaille." Grisha told him, placing his hand over his shoulder. Then, he quickly walked over to his son and gave him a pat on the head. It was finally until then that Eren Jaeger was snapped from his thoughts. He turned up to look at his father with almost a dead expression in his face. "Eren, this man is going to take care of you for the time being. Try not to give him any trouble."

Eren's eyebrows suddenly furrowed as his father's words sunk in and Levi could almost see a spark growing inside his eyes. He stood up from the couch with anger, pushing his father's hand away from him. "So, this is what you decided to do after all?! You're just going to dump me here while you runaway?! You coward! Mom was killed and yet, you didn't even bother to call the damn police to tell them about!? If they're not going to seek out mom's murders, then I sure as hell will! I'm not going to just sit here and watch you run like a coward!"

"I told you already!" Grisha snapped back at him, grabbing his shoulders firmly. His son tried to squirm away from his grasp, but Grisha was just too strong for him. "I'm leaving to take care of these matters myself! I'm risking my own life here too, Eren! I'm up against the wall and if I contact the police about this, then the situation will only grow worse! Don't you understand?! Those people are dangerous and they know how precious you are to me! They'll come after you in a heartbeat! Can't you see I'm being threaten here?!"

"Oh, really?!" The boy shouted back and Levi couldn't believe he had actually agreed to become the guardian of such a thing. "Why are these people chasing after us?! Why did they go after mom?! Why?! Tell me?! What exactly did you do to cause all this?! What type of bullshit are you involved in that cause the death of your wife?! What the hell are you hiding from me?!"

"Eren!" Grisha grabbed the collar of his shirt and held his son closely to his face. Eren Jaeger stopped his yapping and came to a silence when he saw sorrowful tears running down his father's face. "I'm so sorry about this. Please. Let me set things right. I promise to come back for you once you're able to fly free again. Let Rivaille take care of you in the meantime. He'll protect you."

With that being said, Grisha released his son and let him boil in his own anger. He grabbed his briefcase that was laying against the couch as he headed toward the door. He turned back to give him a small farewell before he walked out into the cold rainy evening. He slammed the door shut, leaving Levi alone with his only son. Levi smacked his lips as he picked up his glass of wine from the table again. He took in the last sip before placing it back.

"Damn." Levi walked over to the window and stared out at the pouring rain. There was no sign of Grisha anymore which only meant that he was really going to take care of his son for who knows how long. "I wonder what type of shit he's in."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Eren suddenly commented which caused Levi to look back at him. He was shaking from his own anger, his hands curling into tight fists. Levi could see his hatred flowing out from his eyes and that would probablybe enough to scare the living heck out of anyone. "I'm fifteen years old already. I don't need you or anyone else to take care of me. I can take care of myself. So, just let me be."

"Listen up, you damn piece of shit." Levi stated in a loud raspy voice. He walked over to the boy that seemed ready to run after his father. Knowing that much, Levi walked toward him and made sure to make the most intimating face he had. "It's clear that you didn't hear a single word you dad said, so let me fill you in the details." Levi took a couple of steps toward him, but the boy's face still expressed remained embodied with anger.

"From this point forward, I'll be your guardian and I'll take care of you just like your father told me too." Levi got a bit closer which caused the boy to take a step back. "However, don't think that just because you're under my responsibility you'll get to do whatever you want. You'll live in my house which means you'll live under my rules. You'll do what I say when I say it. Don't think I'll let you do whatever you want because of what you've experienced. My sympathy only goes so far and if you cause me any trouble, I won't hesitate to discipline you the way they disciplined me in the military. Do you got that?"

He didn't say anything, but Levi figured he had made his point. He grabbed his laptop that was sitting over the counter and started heading down the hallway. "Your room is the second one from the bathroom. Bring your stuff and sleep there. My room is right across from yours, so call me if you need anything. Do something stupid and I'll beat your ass."

With that said, Levi headed toward his room. He had a long chapter he needed to work on and he knew that Hanji would be calling him in any minute to ask him about it. She was definitely one passionate and persistent editor, but it was her personality that brought out his full potential. It was thanks to her that he even had a successful career.

However, he could clearly tell that his peaceful days had come to an end. He had a tormented hormonal boy to take off and that was definitely a huge burden for anyone. He did feel sorry for him because of everything he was going, but what exactly was he supposed to do about it? In his mind, he had already done enough for him by taking him in his own house. He was risking his own life by taking care of him and becoming his guardian. He hoped Grisha's son was smart enough to realize that.

Just when Levi was about to walk inside his room, he heard the loud crying Eren Jaeger.

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