Same, but Different

•Chapter III•

Levi

"Eren, just pick an outfit already," I groaned. "Don't look at the price tags. I promise, if it's too expensive, I won't get it. Tobias didn't have this much trouble."

Aki nodded, holding two of Tobias's shopping bags.

"Clothes are so expensive though!" He replied, ignoring me and checking the price tags anyway. "I mean, this sweater, thirty dollars. What is this?!"

"I said don't worry about it," I insisted.

"This is supposed to be one of the freakin' cheap sweaters and it's thirty dollars!"

"Just get what you want, Eren." I tapped my foot.

The brunet frowned as he continued to go through the racks of clothes, stopping when he saw 'sale'. He quickly grabbed a sweater, shirt and a pair of jeans. "There. That's all I need."

"Try it on," Aki groaned.

"Daddy, just get whatever!" Tobias urged, looking fed up of wandering around to find the cheapest clothes.

Eren's nose scrunched up before he begrudgingly walked off to the changing rooms, picking a five dollar pair of sneakers up on the way. We all waited for him as he got dressed, Tobias humming as he looked through his own clothes.

Eren came out with his hands in his pockets, wearing black jeans with a plain white shirt and a navy blue jacket with lighter arms. "How bad do I look?" He asked, a slightly sour look on his face.

"I think you look good, Daddy." Tobias replied.

"That's only because you get chocolate when you're nice," Eren sighed.

"You look good," I complimented, "minus those shoes. Get some that'll last."

"These'll last." He said defensively, "And they're cheap, so it's a bargain."

"No they won't." I crossed my arms, giving him my signature dad look.

"You're not the boss of me..." Eren mumbled like a scolded child, leaving the fitting rooms without shoes before coming back in. "Fifteen dollar sneakers good enough for you?"

"They'll do." I sighed.

"My shoes cost twenty dollars," Aki whispered.

"I got lots of shoes, so I dunno." Tobias replied quietly, giggling as his dad dragged himself back into the changing rooms.

I started grabbing more outfits and throwing them over the door so that Eren could try them on as well. "You're going to need more than that. Hurry up so we can find you an outfit for interviews."

Eren changed quickly, going in and out of the changing room multiple times to show us all the outfits I'd picked out for him. "You have expensive taste," he commented, coming out in dark gray ripped skinny jeans, a graphic tee, and a leather jacket. "Like, seriously. Why even go to brand name shops? Thrift shops are so much cheaper."

"Why would we go to a thrift store when there are people who actually need to shop there?" Aki questioned.

Eren thought for a few seconds. "I guess I forgot that I'm not one of those people right now..." He turned to me, "You have very nice taste. Maybe expensive, but it's nice. You make me not look crappy."

"We should get you two haircuts," I announce.

"Is Mr. Eren going to keep the long hair or get shorter hair?" Aki asked.

Eren fiddled with the longer strands, pondering. "I think... I want it to stay long. It's always been that way, not long but not short, and I don't want to change everything."