Same, but Different

•Chapter I•

"Of course I think he'd benefit, I'm not an idiot. I'm a street rat, a young, single father, but I'm not uneducated. I'd give my life to make sure he can earn a living himself in the future, to send him to school, but I disagree with charity and there's no way I'm going to be able to pay those fees. I also can't just let you pay for my freakin' son's tuition! It's too much."

"What if I have you doing chores here?" I asked. "I'm really busy with my job and Aki."

"So what? Chores equal at least a couple thousand dollars of tuition?" He replied sarcastically.

"How about we talk over tea?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and took a few breaths, "Sure."

I left to make some tea and returned, handing him a mug before sitting down. "Tell me about yourself and how you got to this shitty situation."

Eren seemed to debate internally whether he wanted to share his life before sighing. "I'm twenty-three, Titan is three. We've been living on the streets for about one week." He briefed, "My fianceé was my high school sweetheart, and when we were both nineteen, she became pregnant. I was ecstatic, to say the least. I've always dreamed of a family. So, I proposed. The pregnancy was perfect, we picked out crap and figured things out with the aid of her parents' will money. Mine practically disowned me at the idea of being grandparents. Either way, she gave birth, she found a lump, we found out it was Stage IV Melanoma cancer. With the right medication, she was given about five years to live. I got a job, dropped out of university, and kept money so I could keep her alive while our original source ran dry. She died after two years. I had a kid, a young one at that, and no support. We were doing fine, then my dumb ass lost the job six months prior. Ended up at McDonalds, but apparently they don't like when you're in late or can't come in because your kid is sick. Bye bye, job two. I had enough money for a few weeks, but after that it went downhill. That enough for you?" He asked, the fight in his eyes gone.

"What were you going to college for?" I asked, intrigued.

"Teaching," He said, laughing lightly, "my fianceé always said I had a knack for it, that I was the only reason she didn't fail."

I nodded. "My... ex left after Aki was born. We got married at twenty-one and she left me with Aki. She came back a few months later, begging for money and forgiveness, but I divorced her instead and got sole custody of Aki. I've been a lawyer for a long time now even though I'm only twenty-six and I started focusing on divorce cases."

"So basically, you're the successful single father and I'm the deadbeat who didn't go to college and can't hold down a job for the life of him."

"I wouldn't call you a deadbeat, maybe just in need of a shower and a college diploma." I sipped my tea slowly.

"Titan doesn't really... know how this kind of thing works." Eren said quietly, ashamed of himself. "I didn't really have access to anything remotely luxurious."

"A shower?"

"A hot shower, with proper soap. I used to steal soap from my work place."

"I thought you've only been like this for about a week?"

"Do you seriously think that when I wasn't on the streets, I had enough money to live somewhere decent and buy things which weren't food?" He raised an eyebrow, "I worked at freakin' McDonalds for a living, for about six months. Not to mention they wouldn't pay me properly half the time because I was like ten minutes late. They should try raising a son, see how they like it."

"How about this... In the morning, you make breakfast, tea, and clean the kitchen before going job hunting. By the time Tobias and Aki come back from school, make dinner. You get to hang out with your son and after he goes to bed, you do various house chores such as dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, the laundry, and whatever else I may need?" I suggested.

"So I'm your live in maid?"

"Kind of." I shrugged. "Would you really turn down fifteen dollars an hour?"

"You... you don't need to pay me. Paying for Titan's schooling is enough. And I'll pay you back, all of it, I promise. You can add interest if you really want to." He vowed, bowing in gratitude.

"Deal, but only if you allow me to get you online college courses. One of my friends is trying to get more education students." I quirked a brow.

Eren's eyes softened. "I promise you won't regret this. I'll pay back every cent."

"DADDY!" Tobias yelled from upstairs, "There's hot water!"

Eren smiled, waiting for a sign from me to say it was okay for him to go to his son. I nodded, and he quickly left. I found him at the bottom of the staircase, Tobias and Aki standing together at the top. "Yessir, there is."

"This is freakin' awesome!"

"How does Tobias know this?" I asked, eyeing Aki and the fact that Tobias was wearing a dress of hers.

"I gave him a shower." Aki smirked.

"It was super duper cool!" Tobias mused, grinning at his father. "You should try it, it's fun as well!"

"Will I have to bathe you?" I asked Eren, crossing my arms.

"No," he scowled, "you will not."

Aki chuckled. "Where are they sleeping?"

"They're going to share the guest room." I paused. "That's okay, right?"

Eren nodded. "I don't sleep well if I don't know where Titan is when I wake up."

Tobias smiled. "Daddy needs me!" He sang.

"It's bedtime." I poked Aki and she scowled.

"Fine."

"Do you not want to sleep in Papa's bed?" I asked innocently.

Aki's eyes lit up and she ran off. "Make sure you take a shower, Mr. Eren! Sleep well!"

I nodded at the two males. "Feel free to help yourself to the fridge."

"Food?" Tobias asked, and Eren nodded 'yes'.

"I'll make you something." He promised, "Levi, Aki?"

"Yes?" I responded.

"Hai!" Aki called from upstairs.

"First of all, thank you again. Second, would you two like anything? I'm a decent cook."

"I ate some pizza rolls that I microwaved in the office!" Aki responded. "I'm not allowed to eat right before bed and neither is Papa, because that wouldn't be fair at all."

I shrugged, mouthing, 'she's right.' I placed my hands on Eren's shoulders, looking into his eyes and it was then that I realized that coincidentally, they were almost the exact shade of my favorite color. I teasingly pulled his long hair that went a little passed his shoulders (probably from the lack of money for a haircut). "Sleep well, brat. I look forward to breakfast."

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Author's Note:

What a start! I'm really excited to finally publish this! This is an originally idea and isn't a recycled piece from Jex's account. This is a work that I'm writing with QueenMeiofAnime and we're pretty confident in it.

Thoughts?

-Ari-gami aka Author-chan (CielElric)