Same, but Different

•Chapter I•

He blushed and looked down.

"We don't need anything, sir. I'll just take Titan and we'll leave." The brunet grabbed his son and put him on his hip. "I apologize for any inconvenience..."

"It's fine," I said quietly. "You can spend a night or two, maybe even a few. My name is Levi, what about you?"

"Eren, spelled E-R-E-N, not A-a-ron," he explained sheepishly. "This is my son, Tobias, but his family usually calls him Titan."

I nodded. "Well, Eren, Tobias, I guess you get to stay in the Hotel de la Ackerman."

Eren looked down, biting his lower lip. "Thank you."

-

"This is the place," I introduced, showing them the outside of my house. Although I was a lawyer, I only had a modest four bedroom house, one of the bedrooms working as an office while the other was for guests. I didn't have house staff, but I did have a nanny for Aki. Sadly, she had quit a few days prior to me running into the brat and his brat.

Tobias looked at the house like it was the best thing he'd ever seen, practically drooling at the sight. "It looks comfy."

Aki nodded, squeezing his hand. "Yeah. It's cozy." She smiled up at the two strangers. "Welcome to our humble abode."

I pinched my daughter's nose in adoration and she wiggled it like a rabbit, swatting my hand away with a blank expression. Rolling my eyes, I unlocked the door and Richie, our Golden Retriever, tackled me to the ground, sniffing all over me.

"Calm down boy." I pet him, ruffling his fur.

Tobias' eyes lit up as he saw the dog, and he instantly turned to his father. "Daddy, can I? Please, can I?"

Eren looked to me for confirmation before nudging his son forward and nodding. "Go and play, Mr. Levi said it was okay."

Tobias giggled happily and ran over to me and Richie, his hands trailing over his fur as he hummed contently. "He's so soft..." The boy whispered, almost in amazement. "And clean."

"I like clean things." I shrugged. "Now how about you, Richie, and Aki-Aki go play in her room while I talk to your father?"

Aki perked up. "You should come. I've never had a friend before!" She led the other two to her room upstairs and I sat on the couch after kicking off my shoes, watching Eren.

"We should talk," I said slowly.

The brunet nodded, staying standing. "Titan and I will be out of your hair as soon as I can get a steady income, shouldn't be more than a few days."

"You don't have to rush." I massaged my temples. "A small paycheck isn't going to be that helpful right now. You need to pay for food for you, your son, a roof over your heads, insurance, bills, and a ton of other stuff. Wendy's won't do it. I can tell you're doing the best for him despite the situation, but I can also tell that all of the food you manage to get your hands on goes to him. He's the most important, but without you, he'll be alone."

"I will never leave him alone," the brat's eyes shone with a mix of rage and tenacity before he shook his head. "I'm grateful for your hospitality, really I am. I can't keep the two of us alive without food. But I'm not going to leech off a stranger. Don't you think I must've brought this upon myself? I can look after us both, I just need a little time."

"I'm telling you I'll give you that time." I sighed, patting beside me. "Tobias is about three, right? School is about to start and don't you think he'd benefit from going to preschool?"