Partners (ereri/riren)

Chapter 18

'Levi blinked, and blinked again. He was honestly speechless; his fingers froze around the doorframe. The man just continued to stare at him with a questioning look. Levi didn't know a whole lot about Eren's father- but he knew this couldn't be good. Not at all. A voice broke him out of his trance.

"Levi who is it?-"

Eren stopped dead short. Levi took a small step to the left, allowing Eren to see the figure better. "Its.."

"Dad." Eren was dumbfounded. His breath quickened, and Levi noticed his pupils dilate. Eren felt a lifetime of memories flash in front of his eyes.

"Dad, dad...where's mom?"

"ha...dad...p-please don't- i'm sorry-hic-i'm so-dad-"

"You can't leave us! We're only kids!"

It was silent. He felt his hands begin to shake. Levi was about to speak up when the stranger in the doorway did it for him.

The stranger gave a friendly smile. "Eren! There you are. You have no idea how hard it was to find this place. He stepped past Levi and opened his arms towards Eren. Levi watched as the shocked look on Eren's face changed into disgust.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eren snapped and took a step back as his father froze.

The man tensed up as he pushed up his glasses, "That is no way to speak to your father."

"You're not my dad anymore." Eren crossed his arms and glared. "Grisha." His father gasped, and Levi was still at a loss at what to do. It had been a long time since Levi had seen that kind of fire in Eren's eyes.

Grisha reached for Eren, who jerked back. Levi observed the situation, staying close to Eren. "How dare you! After I came all this way to-"

"Go home!" Eren hissed. He took a deep breath, "I'm fine.... just go."

"I won't." The man's voice was a strangled calm. "Not until you hear me out."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." Eren responded.

Grisha jumped forward and snatched Eren's wrist. The man caught Eren by surprise; he tried to pull out of his father's familiar grip. Levi took a menacing step forwards.

"You sure have gotten pretty spoiled haven't you? You never acted this way at home."

Eren growled, "You were never there, so, I guess you wouldn't know huh?" He yanked his hand out of Grisha's grasp and glared.

"You little-" Grisha clenched a fist and Levi stepped in front of Eren.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Levi's calm voice sounded forced as he scowled.

The man stood up straighter. "And who are you? Are you Armin?"

Levi blinked. Wow; He knows so little that he doesn't even know Eren's best friend. Who the hell is this guy? Levi looked over at Eren, who looked about ready to fall apart at the seams. Levi finally spoke, "No. I'm his frien-"

"Boyfriend." Eren looked his father straight in the eye. I have nothing to hide. His voice was confident. "He's my boyfriend. And it's none of your business. So please leave-"

Grisha was shocked. His eyes turned to anger-it was almost sickeningly similar to how Eren's eyes. He snarled, "You fag-" His father reached for the front of Eren's shirt- but Levi was quicker. He had Grisha's outstretched arm pulled behind his back faster than Eren could blink. The man's face was plowed into the wall, and Levi kicked the door shut with his foot.

"Listen dude." Levi tightened his grip on the arm, as Grisha snarled. "You need to leave right now and never set another fucking footstep near Eren ever again."