Hey guys! Welcome to Eye of the Beholder! This story is second on my priority fanfic list for now, as my main focus is finishing my Riren story Only Lonely. However, after Only Lonely is completed, I will update this one regularly. The plot in this story has a special place in my heart, and by the time this story ends, hopefully it will have a special place in your heart too. :)

Title: Eye of the Beholder

Rating: M

Pairing: Ereri

WARNINGS: Yaoi lemon and unexpected plot twists. Since Levi is a Hebrew name, his nationality will be Israeli in this story. And he will be culturally Jewish. Don't give me grief about it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. Credit goes to Hajime Isayama.

Summary: AU. Eren Jaeger, an extremely talented photographer, always dreamed about traveling the world in search of the most beautiful buildings and people. After getting a grant by a traveling agency to tour Europe for a year, he saves the most beautiful country in his opinion for last: France. He will soon realize that the most precious things in life have flaws. Riren.

A/N: I have never been to France. The only European country I've been to is Ireland. So if I mess up something, or the few French words I use is grammatically incorrect, please don't spam the review section. If it is a huge bother, please PM me, and I will fix it. Also, some places will be made up, since constantly searching for shops and restaurants in France would be tedious. Don't get offended by stereotypes. I make fun of America, too. I'm telling you now, they will be used. Thank you. :)

Chapter 1 Vive la France!

Eren Jaeger stepped off the plane at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. He grinned as he looked at all of the people in the airport, briskly walking to their destination.

Finally...! After ten months of touring Europe, I'm finally in the most beautiful country in the world! France.

Eren quickly went to customs, clutching his carry on close to his chest. His carry on had two professional cameras inside. He would be devastated if something happened to them. He checked to see if his memory cards from his time in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and England were still there. To his relief, they were in the same place he left them.

Eren Jaeger is an eighteen year old college dropout. Pre med just didn't interest him. So, after getting financially cut off from his father Dr. Grisha Jaeger, he was out on his own, living his dream of traveling and capturing gorgeous sites on camera thanks to a contract from a traveling agency.

As Eren approached customs, he sighed as he looked at the signs for two lines. One was for Americans, and the other for Europeans. He had trouble with this in the other European countries he had visited thus far. Eren was born in Germany, but moved to America with his dad and adopted sister Mikasa when he was ten years old. He still had dual citizenship in both countries. Thus, he has two passports. So which line should he go through?

Shrugging, he went to the EU line, which was much shorter anyway. The customs officer asked for Eren's passport in French. Eren, only knowing very little, managed to understand what he was asking and took out his German passport.

"Ici, vous allez." Eren carefully replied in French.

The customs officer raised an eyebrow at the young adult's American accent, but cleared him through.

Maybe I should have slipped back into my German accent for this one. Eren thought to himself as he finished up declaring his items. But, I've been hiding it for eight years now. It's hard to go back.

After he was finished, Eren went to baggage claim and retrieved his two packed to the brim suitcases. It was hard to believe he has managed to live off of two suitcases for almost an entire year. Apparently miracles do happen.

As soon as he stepped out of the airport, he had the strongest urge to take out his camera and take a picture of the evening sky. However, he knew that if he did, he wouldn't leave for hours. He planned on getting to Trocadero before nightfall. After exiting the airport, Eren found a taxi rank and stood in the short line. After about fifteen minutes, Eren finally got his turn to get in a taxi.

Geez, why must we wait in line for a taxi? Eren grumbled to himself as he slid in the backseat. When I vacationed in New York, we just had to raise our hands in the air like we just didn't care.

The chauffeur looked at Eren expectantly, waiting for him to tell him where he needed to go. Eren looked up, suddenly remembering.

"Oh!" I need to ask him how much it costs to go to Trocadero.

"Er...je allons au Trocadero. Le tarif est combien?" Eren asked nervously in French.

"Je ne sais pas Monsieur, tout dépend." The man replied.

Eren twiddled his thumbs nervously. Damn! Rosetta Stone didn't prepare me for this shit! Did he say genocide, then tampon?! No! Wait! He said "je ne sais", then "tout dépend". I think he's asking it depends. Oh, now I remember!

"Uh... mais plus ou moins?" Eren asked.

"Bon, plus ou moins, disons soixanteeuros." The chauffeur told him.

Sixty euros?! That's over eighty dollars!

"Ok. So... Le trajet prend combien de temps?"

"Une trentaine de minutes." He informed him.

"Merci." Eren slumped back in his seat as the taxi driver started driving. There's no way I could ever be fluent in French. I didn't have a hard time in Germany and Switzerland, since I'm a native speaker.

After half an hour passed, Eren was dropped off at another taxi stand. He paid the chauffeur forty euros before taking out his map of Paris. He quickly located Trocadero.

"Okay, I have to find Du Cheteau apartments." Eren murmured. "That's where I find Levi Ackerman... Mikasa's old acquaintance."

Eren took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He opened it up, revealing Levi's address.

"Levi... that's not a very French sounding name." Eren chuckled.

When Mikasa found out one of the countries he was visiting was France, she told him he could save money by housing with someone. Mikasa met him when she was three, but he left a few years later. He was a teen at the time, and was taken in by her father. Since Levi was speaking broken English to her father, she has no idea what nationality he really was. She recalled him seeming pretty nice.

Shortly after, her father and Japanese mother were killed, and she never saw the man again. However, she kept tabs on him. He's now residing in Paris in the 16th Arrondissement. Mikasa had no way of contacting him, but she assured Eren that he would take him in.

After navigating the streets, he turned down a corner and was met with a road lined with many tall apartment buildings. They were absolutely astonishing! The apartments were beige with a black roof and white chimneys. The top floor of six story each building had a balcony. Flowers decorated most of them. Again resisting his urge to have a photo shoot, Eren looked down at the scribbled instructions once more.

"Okay. Levi is the sixth building down, on the sixth floor, in room six." Eren read off the instructions. "Oh wow... 6, 6, 6, huh? How unfortunate."

Eren approached the sixth apartment building, dragging his suitcases behind him.

I wonder what this Levi guy is like? Eren thought. I guess I was lucky Mikasa was able to track him. Now I don't have to pay for a hotel. The grant money is starting to get tight, anyway.

Eren climbed up the stairs. He reached the sixth floor and walked to the room with a metallic '6' attached. The metallic '6' seemed to loom over him. Ignoring the thought, Eren knocked on the door. He quickly went through basic French introductions in his mind. Okay, I can do this.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a man s few inches shorter than Eren. He had straight black hair that was styled in an undercut and piercing grey eyes. He had what looked like a scowl on his face. Eren suddenly forgot the little French he knew as those eyes bore holes into him.

"Eh... uh... Bonjore, Levi Ackerman." Eren stammered, forgetting how to pronounce the French words correctly. "Jay... m-maple? Maple... Eren Jaeger."

Levi closed his eyes, obviously irritated. "I'm not French, you American idiot." He snapped in perfect English. "I'm Israeli. And even if I was French, your stupidity would make me despise the country all together."

Eren gawked at Levi's abrasive outburst. "Excuse me?! First off, I'm not American. I'm just a citizen there. Second, I'm not an idiot!"

Levi scoffed. "You certainly sound American."

Eren balled his fist. "And you look ignorant! But we can't judge, right?" He barked, slipping into his German accent.

"Get the fuck off my property." Levi slammed the door in Eren's face.

"Hey! Wait!" Eren pounded on the door. "My sister Mikasa told me to come here!"

Levi quickly opened the door again, narrowing his eyes. "Mikasa? As in Mikasa Ackerman?"

"Yes!" Eren was exasperated. "She says, and I quote..." Eren reached back into his pocket and unfolded the piece of paper. "...'You owe the Ackerman family one favor, correct? This is the favor. Let my adoptive brother Eren Jaeger stay with you for two months as he endeavors in his photography in France. If you dare refuse, I will take it upon myself to come over there and shove a baguette up your ass.'"

Levi's lips formed a thin line. Only Mikasa could come up with that. "What the fuck ever. Get inside, you brat. Take your shoes off as you come in."

Smiling victoriously, Eren marched inside with his suitcases. He kicked off his shoes as he stared at the spacious apartment in awe. It had a medium sized dining room, what looked like two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and an interior. He also had a balcony that had a table and two chairs. It overlooked the Eiffel Tower, it's bright lights sparkling in the night sky.

"What the hell are you doing, brat? Line your shoes up against the wall!" Levi barked at Eren, snapping him out of his daydream. "You must have assimilated into American culture too quickly."

Growling, Eren did as he was told. "Don't diss Americans. They're pretty cool!"

Rolling his eyes, Levi beckoned Eren to follow him. "If you're not American, then why do you sound like you were born and raised in California or some shit like that?"

Eren picked up his suitcases and followed the shorter man into the second unused bedroom. "Ha, ha. But no, I was born in Dortmund, Germany. I lived there until I was ten years old. At that time, we had just adopted Mikasa after her parents were murdered. My father is a doctor, and he was offered a job at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana. So we moved there. The reason why I speak in a Midwestern accent is because people thought I sounded weird when I attended elementary school. So I masked it. I did pretty good job, if I say so myself."

"Hn. Pathetic." Levi muttered. "So you have assimilated into American culture."

Eren's expression faltered. "Well, I-"

"So, just because I'm allowing you to stay here, doesn't mean you can lay around like a bum and take selfies on your damn cameras all day." Levi told him.

Eren was taken aback. "What kind of photographer do you take me for?! Don't belittle my-"

"You will be responsible for chores around the house." Levi interrupted him. "My apartment was always spotless before you came, and it will remain that way. Make yourself feel at home, because it will be hell."

Smirking at Eren's shocked face, Levi left the room.

Eren scowled. "Perhaps the 666 wasn't such a coincidence after all."

That's it for the first chapter! More of Eren's past will be revealed at he chapters go along, as will Levi's! Also, before you leave this story, I had an idea.

How about we have a contest? We shall call it, "Our Beautiful World" contest. As you know, the main plot of the story is Eren discovering what is truly beautiful, right? So, you guys can send in a picture with you standing next or near a place in your hometown you deem to be pretty awesome! However, I won't go into any further details, because it's up to you guys if you want to participate. And it has to be a lot of people, not just a few. Shoot me a message if you would like this to happen! :)

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REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!

I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!