A LATE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR WINGS!
This is a thank you from Iris and I for reading WINGS and supporting it! Hope you read more of my works!
A modern AU of my Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin Fanfic entitled WINGS. This is a LEVIxReedFamily Fanfic. A "what if" chance in a modern setting!
Enjoy!
______________________
A CHANCE
Part One
December 19th
Levi received the papers at one autumn morning, and since then he still could not believe what he was reading. He never knew that it would turn to such circumstances, he thought he could still save it, he thought he could still make things better, but it seems Maria have given up and was brave enough to make the move.
He remembered when the papers came. It was sudden. He wasn't the one who received them since he was at work when the lawyer came and left it to his old friend, Farlan, who he was staying at for the past few weeks since his and Maria's last fight. He came home late that night and found Farlan and Isabel talking in hushed tones in the kitchen, both with distraught looks on their faces, when he asked why they were being secretive, the two only asked him to sit down for the new they were to give him.
"What the hell is going on?" Levi asked, confused and agitated with how the two acted oddly.
Isabel have taken a seat across from him, she took his hand with hers and squeezed it comfortably. A gesture that she only does when news about his daughter would come to him. He was about to question her behavior but Farlan came back to the room with a folder in hand.
"Levi... this came earlier... it was Rico Brzensca who sent it." Farlan spoke.
The name Rico Brzensca had Levi frozen on his seat. He met Rico Brzensca numerous times because of the law firm that Maria worked at, Reed-Reiss-Zachary LLP. She was a divorce attorney.
He never really saw Rico Brzensca as a threatening figure, but now with the papers before him, Levi felt fear towards the woman.
"I'm so sorry, Levi..." Farlan spoke.
It has been three months since he received the papers, in those three months he has spoken to Maria, he tried reasoning with her but nothing he did stopped the meetings at their law firm, nothing stopped Maria when she took off her wedding band that he have given her when she got pregnant with Iris, nothing stopped when he watched his daughter look at him with tearful eyes when he took his belongings from their home. Now living in an apartment in Trost District, Rose, Levi read the divorce papers again and again, already memorizing the lines the agreements, and slightly crumpling the edges from turning the pages over and over. And then there was the blank line where he needed to sign which he still has not.
The sudden ringing of his phone pulled Levi from his reverie. The caller ID made him flinch. It was Maria. With hesitant hands he took the phone and dragged the green icon to answer the call.
"Maria?" He spoke. His tone colder than intended.
"Levi." Maria spoke at the other line. "I'm sorry for the short notice, I know you're busy, I usually call Nanaba for this kind of things but she's – "
"Maria, what's wrong?" Levi asked, he got up from his seat, he went to get his coat from the hanger and then his keys, "Is it Iris? Do I need to pick her up? Is she alright –"
"No, no – ah – yes! Iris is fine, and no, you don't need to pick her up... she's already home..."
Levi sighed in relief. He tossed his keys in the bowl again.
"I'm needed in a meeting with a client at Orvud District, it'll take three to four days to settle things, and I can't find anyone to look after Iris. I usually leave her with Nanaba or Petra, but they're coming with me to Orvud... I know you're busy but can Iris stay with you for a few days?"
"Of course." Levi answered, in shock that Maria had to ask him if he could look after their daughter.
"Thank you, Levi." Maria sighed. "I'll drop her off tomorrow at Seven-thirty. I'm sorry again for the short notice –"
"Maria there's no need to apologize... I'll look after Iris. It's no problem... she's my daughter too."
There was a full minute of silence in the line before Maria spoke again.
"Of course. Thank you, Levi. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
~*~
Levi heard the doorbell from his apartment door. He took a breath knowing who it was he was to see at the other side once he opened it; upon opening the door, he was met by the sight of Maria's slightly tall frame, fiery red locks and sapphire blue eyes. She held a duffle-bag in one hand and a backpack in another.
"Levi." Maria greeted.
"Maria... where's Iris?"
Levi moved aside to let the woman in, he took the duffle-bag from her hold and set it on the floor by the counter. He watched as Maria eyed the only photo that he placed on his counter. It was small family photo of them during Iris' first birthday; Levi had their daughter on his shoulders, grinning, and Maria smiling lovingly at the sight of them.
"She and Petra are on their way. They just went to buy a little snack." Maria answered.
There was an awkward silence between them. Maria's eyes shifted to the counter where the divorce papers laid sprawled, then to Levi who have been watching her since she came to his apartment. "I-Iris still has school... her coat and scarf are in her bag and as well as her gloves. She fixes her own things, so you don't have to worry about that – and does her homework once she gets home. Her classes start at nine, and she won't be out until two – she has volleyball practice after so maybe around –"
"Maria." Levi stopped the woman from rambling seeing that she was trying to make the situation less awkward between them. They haven't had a proper conversation since their fight. And he could see that she was trying to make everything normal. "You don't have to remind me. I know about Iris' schedule. I'm her father."
"Right..." Maria bit her lip.
The sound of laughter caught the two adults' attention, turning to the door, they saw Petra laughing along with Iris as they both ate the last of their their ice cream cones. The two seemed to have done something mischievous since they tried to hide their laughter when they saw Maria and Levi.
"Seriously, Petra, ice cream? This early in the morning?" Maria sighed as she approached her daughter and her associate with a pointed look.
"Sorry, but I couldn't say no." Petra said, grinning at Iris, who too smiled cheekily.
"Oi, brat," Levi spoke. "I thought we made it clear that you can't have sweets before noon."
Iris' smile disappeared when she met her father's gaze. She stared at him with dull eyes and a frown. She has not properly seen him since he left their home and the only time she does was when he would come to pick her up at school. Levi saw the sudden change in his daughter's demeanor and frowned, maybe he shouldn't have come too strong? Maybe he should have rode along with her and Petra's antics?
Maria sighed, breaking the stare between the father and daughter.
"What's done is done." She knelt down to Iris' height and pinched her cheeks. "That's all the sweets your going to get for the day."
Iris pouted and rubbed the cheek where her mother pinched her.
"Miss Reed, the driver is right down stairs, I'll go meet him now." Petra spoke.
"Yes, thank you, Petra. Iris." Maria nodded.
Iris turned to Petra and said her goodbye. Petra did the same and wiped the girl's chocolate stained lips with her handkerchief. She then turned to Levi and nodded as a greeting before she left, finally leaving the family to discuss amongst themselves.
Maria turned to Iris with a small smile.
"Now, I have to get going..." Maria began. "I'll be back by the 24th, but if things go well, I might get back earlier... be good to your father, alright? Do your homework, listen to your teachers, and don't cause too much trouble in school."
Iris chuckled.
"I will. Don't worry." Iris replied.
Maria smiled, she then placed a long and exaggerated kiss on Iris' cheek causing the girl to laugh out loud. She kissed her again on the nose and then on the forehead.
"I'll be back before the Holiday... I love you." Maria said.
"Love you too, Mama." Iris said back.
Maria got up from the ground and turned to Levi, she opened her mouth to say something but then hesitated seeing that she didn't know what to say to him. Seeing that she was struggling, Levi held out his hand to her.
"We'll see you when you get back." He said. "If you want, Iris and I could pick you up at the airport."
"That won't be necessary... Thank you, again, Levi." Maria said and took his hand with hers and shook it.
"Have a safe trip." Levi said.
Once they let go, Maria said her last goodbye to Iris then left. When the door closed, Iris wasted no time to run to the huge window that had the view of the front of the complex. She pressed her forehead on the glass (which Levi was sure would leave a mark) and waited as her mother got out of the building. When she saw her mother leave the building and enter the black car that waited at the front, Iris' smile disappeared and she got off the window.
Levi watched as his daughter stared out at the window, eyes following the black car that drove Maria to the airport disappear in the sea of traffic, he sighed seeing that he needed to get his daughter ready for school and himself for work, and that he would be needing to talk to Erwin about his hours at work for the next four days.
"Oi, brat." Levi spoke. Iris turned to him the moment he called her. Her eyes dull unlike how it was earlier. "Bath. Time for school."
~*~
After dropping off Iris to school, Levi went straight to the station. He worked at the Mitras Police Department or well known as Scouts, since they often do more of the "dirty work" than of the Military Police of the government. He was a Detective who have gained the title "Titan" when he managed to detain a coup leader that was trying to take down the current government.
Upon entering the station, he received numerous stares since he came later than usual. Levi was known for his punctuality, sense of order, discipline, and of course, cleanliness. He always came to work thirty minutes before the expected time – some even thought that he lived in the station since he's the first one to come and leave.
"You're a little late today."
Mike Zacharias came before Levi with his usual stoic face. Like Levi, Mike was a detective, so need not wear the standard blue police uniform, instead, he wore a light blue button shirt, a black tie, pants, his belt that had his badge and gun, and a pair of polished shoes.
"I had to take Iris to school." Levi answered.
"Maria out of town?" Mike asked.
Levi glared at the man. He took off his blazer and hung it neatly on his chair, and then placed his bag on his organized table.
"Why ask what you already known the answer to? I'm sure Nanaba told you already." Levi said.
"I just wanted to make sure... how is the kid?"
Levi sat down on his chair and sighed.
"She's fine..."
Seeing Levi's reaction, Mike placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him.
"She come around. Just talk to her." Mike said.
"How can I when all she does is stare at me like I'm some stranger." Levi muttered.
Entering the station while being followed by the Deputy Commander, Hange, Erwin's presence had everyone in the station (but for Levi and Mike) to straighten up and return to work. When Erwin entered his office, everyone relaxed and return to whatever it was they were doing.
Levi got up from his seat, muttering on how he would be having every police officer running laps for slacking off.
"Where're you going?" Mike asked.
"Gotta talk to Erwin." Levi muttered.
Levi's day went by smoothly as he only finished his reports, he spent his lunch break finishing his work since he came to the station late and will be leaving early. There were a couple of bumps with Hange making a ruckus in her department, and of course Isabel and Farlan have butted heads with a couple of Military Police at a case involving a robbery at the Reiss Estate. In the end, he was able to finish work and leave at exactly 3PM on the dot.
He arrived at Regalado District School at exactly 3:30, he parked his car near the school entrance and waited outside for Iris. At exactly 3:45, Iris came out of the school building wearing her winter coat, and with her were her friends – Leon Kirsch and Sofia Weaver – and a couple of boys that Levi have not formally met but seen a couple of times. The additional two boys were circling the three friends as if teasing them, he thought of letting Iris handle the matter not wanting his daughter to be seen as weak, but when one of the boys started throwing snowballs at them, he got up from his car and went to stop them, when came closer he could hear the teasing names that the boys were calling his daughter and her friends.
"CRAWL BACK TO YOUR RATHOLE!" A boy with brown hair yelled.
"GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM RAT!" A boy with auburn hair yelled as he threw a snowball at Iris.
"Stop it!" Sofia protested when she tried to protect Iris and herself with her bag from the snowballs.
"HEY, LEAVE HER ALONE!" Leon yelled.
Iris bent down, she got a rock from the ground and covered it with snow, forming a snowball.
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Iris yelled, about to throw the snowball, but a hand caught her arm before she could, stopping her. Startled at the sudden hand, Iris looked up and was met by her father's steel eyes staring down at her. She lets go of the snowball and lets it fall on the ground.
"Mr. Ackerman!" Sofia gasped.
"Don't." Levi told her.
Iris glared at him. She pulled her arm from her father's grip and looked down on the ground. Levi then stood before his daughter and her friends, protecting them from the three bullies, he glared at them with his steel eyes.
"Don't you have somewhere to be? Where are your parents?" Levi spoke with his usual frightening tone. His glare never faltering.
Levi could see the auburn-haired boy, Floch, tremble in fear, and he was sure that the boy even pissed himself. Not long, a woman came running towards the boy, she had the same hair as him and facial features.
"Floch!" The woman ran to her son.
Upon hearing his mother's voice, Floch ran to his mother, crying. Mrs. Forster caught her son in her arms, she listened to his cries and then turned the "scary man" with a glare.
"What's wrong with you? Scaring children!" Mrs. Forster yelled at Levi.
"Scaring them wasn't my intention..." Levi replied. "Your son was bullying my daughter and her friends."
"My son is no bully!"
"Tell that to them, lady." Levi gestured to the children behind him; Leon had stood up before Iris and Sofia as if he were to protect them from any attack, while Iris glared at them with the same steel eyes as her father. "I saw it with my own eyes... they were throwing snowballs at them –"
"They were playing a game!"
"Not from how I saw it –"
"SHE TRIED TO THROW A SNOWBALL WITH A ROCK INSIDE!" Floch yelled, pointing at Iris.
"What is wrong with you?!" Mrs. Forster said. "Is this how you raise you –"
"You worry about your kid and I'll worry about mine, lady." Levi glared at the mother. He then turned to the children behind him. "Let's go home, we've wasted enough time with them already."
Following Levi to the car, Iris walked a few steps behind her father, but before Leon and Sofia could leave, they stuck out their tongue out at Floch and his friends, teasing them. When they got to the car, the three children sat at the back, Sofia at the middle, Leon behind Levi, and Iris at the other side. They first drove Leon and Sofia to their homes, dropping them off, before they went back to his apartment. For the whole ride, Levi would glance at the mirror to check on Iris. He noticed how quiet she was and how she was glaring outside the window.
They arrived at the complex. Levi parked his car at the underground parking, and they both got on the elevator to get to the seventh floor, where Levi's apartment was. And just like the ride home, their ride on the elevator was silent and tensed, when the doors opened, Iris was the first to leave and walk to her father's apartment door, she waited for him to arrive there and open the door, and when he did, she walked inside, took off her shoes (knowing that her father hated bringing inside the shoes they wore outside), and was about to run to the room provided for her but was stopped by Levi's call.
"Hold it."
Iris turned to her father, her eyes meeting his.
"What?" Iris asked.
Levi raised a brow at her tone. Not once had she used that on him before. Closing the door behind him and locked it, he took a few steps forward, and arms crossed over his chest.
"What the hell was that earlier?" Levi asked.
Iris did not reply. She simply stared at her father with a glare.
"I'm not going to take any of this childish behavior –"
"I am a child." Iris remarked.
"You have some balls, brat." Levi muttered. "What you did earlier was going too far –"
"You stopped me didn't you?"
"What if I didn't? What you did was dangerous, Iris, and it could get you in a whole lot of trouble – and I'm not just talking about a visit from the Principle's office."
"He deserved it!"
"Listen to me." Levi walked towards his daughter, he knelt down before her and held her by her shoulders, tightly. "Bullies like Floch can be handled differently... you need to learn how to pick your fights -- you can't just go throwing rocks at any person who pisses you off."
"You did." Iris muttered.
Levi fell silent. He looked into Iris' eyes, the glare she was sending him had him remember the night of the fight. The harsh words exchanged, the glass that shattered upon crashing to the wall.
Levi fell silent. He couldn't find anything to say to his daughter, so he told her to go to her room and do her homework. Iris complied immediately and ran to her temporary room and slammed it shut, leaving Levi to sit on the floor, his back leaning on his couch as he massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to rid his mind of the memories of that night.
~*~
December 21st
Levi ignored the stares of the other teachers, staffs and parents as he walked through the halls of Regalado District School. A few hours ago, he received a call from Iris' adviser, Miss Margaret, about Iris getting into a fight and that he was needed at school to see the Principal to discuss the matter. He had to leave work a bit early than yesterday to answer the call. When he got to the office, he was met by the reception – an elderly woman – when asked for his purpose, he simply answered "I was called for Iris Ackerman." The reception pursed her lips and then gestured for him enter the office and that they were already waiting for him inside.
Upon entering the office, Levi was greeted by the sight of the Principal, a middle-aged man who wore a suit that looked as if it was styled in the mid-50's; and then Mrs. Forster with her son, who had blackeye and a couple of scratches on him, and blood stain that came from his nose, sitting on one chair; and then by his daughter, who sat quietly at the side of the room, her hands wrapped with bandages, a gash on her face and her hair all messed up.
"We're glad that you could make it, Mr. Ackerman." The Principal spoke. "Please take a seat –"
Levi ignored the Principal's greetings and Mrs. Forster's glare and went to his daughter's side, he knelt down to see her injuries, he see that her knuckles were a bit raw and that the gash on her face wasn't too deep, but her hair looked like it were pulled by a moving car.
"What the fuck happened to my daughter?" Levi growled, turning to the Principal and to Floch.
"Mr. Ackerman, language! We are in a school!" The Principal chastised.
"I don't give a damn about how I speak." Levi got up and faced the man. "Now, who did this to my daughter?"
The Principal sighed, seeing that the man won't listen until he was answered.
"Earlier, Iris and Floch got into a fist fight. A couple of teachers came to stop the fight, but it seems that the damage is already done..." The Principal eyed the two children.
Levi's gaze whipped to Floch, eyes glaring to his soul, and then to Mrs. Forster.
"If you don't teach that son of yours a lesson, I will, because no one has the right to –"
"How dare you accuse my son –" Mrs. Forster began.
"Isn't it obvious, Iris has been bullied by that son of yours, and she acted on self-defense –"
"MR. ACKERMAN, THAT IS ENOUGH!" The Principal stood from his seat.
Levi turned to Principal, glaring at him.
"If you're not going to do something about this, then I will –" Levi growled.
"You're mistaken, Mr. Ackerman... it wasn't Floch who started the fight. It was Iris."
Levi's eyes widened. He turned to his daughter in disbelief, sure Iris have gotten into a couple of fights but she never initiated it, it was always for self-defense, just like how they taught her.
Seeing that the father was finally silent, the Principal continued:
"A couple of students saw Iris punch Floch for no apparent reason. He was simply helping his other classmates with cleaning then she punched him at the face. A couple of their classmates tried to stop her were too afraid since she already gave the boy a bloody-nose. One of their classmates were smart enough to call for a teacher's help, and when they got there, other students were already caught in the fight." The Principal explained.
No... impossible... Iris would never... Levi thought. He then took a seat on the chair before the Principal, beside Mrs. Forster and Floch.
"See... my son is not the bully. Your daughter is." Mrs. Forster added.
"Mrs. Forster." The Principle chastised. He then sighed. "I called you both here to talk about the children's behavior..."
The rest of what the Principal said went a blur to Levi, he couldn't believe it. He tried to retrace anything that could have led to this. Was it because of their old home and his old job? Before moving to Rose, Levi, Iris and Maria lived in the bad side of town. He wasn't the best role-model as well. He was sure to always guide Iris as she grew up, to teach her that violence was never the answer to anything –
His mind then went to the recent events that was happening in their family. The fight flashed in his mind, the harsh words, the shattered glass –
Or maybe it's because of the...
" – and as for Iris, Mr. Ackerman, she will be suspended for two days for such behavior... this will be the first and last time I shall hear of such incident. Understand?" The Principal got up from his seat. "Before you leave... Iris, is there something you want to say to Floch?"
Levi turned to his daughter. He saw her glare at the Principal and then at Floch. She forced herself up from the bench she sat on and walked towards Floch, she balled her hands to a fist, ignoring the stinging pain of the raw flesh of her knuckles. He could see that she hated what she was about to do. He was about to stop her, but then Iris spoke.
"I... I... apologize... for... what I did..." Iris forced herself to say.
The whole time, Iris kept her chin up, her eyes glaring daggers at Floch, her fists trembling from the pain and the humiliation she felt. After Iris said her apology, Mrs. Forster took her son and left the office. The father and daughter followed after, Iris walking ahead of her father, head now bowed down as she tried to hide her face, and when they got to the car Iris got inside and slammed the door shut.
Levi got inside the car and then started the engine, he peeked at the rear-view mirror to see his daughter and when he got a good view he saw the most heart-breaking sight.
Iris clutched on to her coat, her head bowed down as she tried to stop her falling tears.
~*~
Upon arriving in the apartment, Iris ran to her room and slammed the door shut while Levi trailed after her, thinking on how he was going to approach his daughter. He never got the hang of parenting, and in all honesty, it was the first time he got called to Iris' school since Maria always did it for them both.
But there was one thing that Levi knew about his daughter is that she wasn't one to cry about an apology she just made. And for her to cry just as she did earlier mean that something happened that started the fight and was left out completely during their discussion.
Sighing, Levi finally found the courage to go confront his daughter about what really happened and why she gave Floch a blackeye. He grabbed the first aid kit from the kitchen before going to the room. He stood before the door of his daughter's door and knocked.
"Hey, kid, open up." Levi spoke. When there was no response, Levi decided to come inside the room anyway. "We need to talk –"
Just as he opened the door, he was met by the sight of his daughter butchering a doll with a needle, and what was more disturbing was that the door had the name 'Flock "Fucker" Forster' stitched on its body. And all Levi could think of was where and how did Iris get that doll?!
Levi walked into the room, he grabbed the butchered doll from his daughter's hands and stared at it for a moment, it was badly stitched with cheap cloth and a few tears... or maybe it was because of the stabs she's been giving the poor thing.
"I'm not even going ask where you got this." Levi sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "But we are going to talk about what happened earlier... care to explain what that was?"
Iris did not reply.
Levi sighed. He grabbed his daughter and carried her to her bed. He then threw the Flock "Fucker" Forster doll at the other side of the room, and sat down on the bed beside her, he opened the kit –
"Fine... we'll wait until you start to talk... I don't care if it'll take us the whole night, none of us are going to sleep until you do."
He started to unwrap his daughter's knuckles, when he saw the rawness of the skin he cringed. He took out the Betadine and a few cotton balls, he poured some betadine on the cotton balls and then he started to clean the raw fists of his daughter, cringing as he did so when some of her scraped skin got off.
What the hell did you punch? The fucking floor?
When his daughter flinch Levi lightened his touch and once done, he got out a fresh pair of bandages for her fist. He has finished cleaning her up, fixing her hair and covering the gash on her face with a patch, and still, the girl did not speak. When it was time for dinner, no words were exchanged between the father and daughter, and after washing the dishes, Levi and Iris went to her room. He stayed there until she talked, but it seems that the girl just found entertainment from having a stare off with her father and then eventually falling asleep, and that was when Levi finally gave up and let the girl be for the night. He tucked Iris, and then opened the night light before leaving the room, keeping a small opening for her.
The sudden ringing of his phone caught his attention. Levi went to get his phone from the living room and answered it before checking the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Levi! I-I received a call from Miss Margaret about Iris – is she alright?" Maria's frantic voice came from the other line.
Levi sighed.
"Yeah... she's fine... just got into a fight in school." Levi answered.
"Is it that Forster kid again? I swear, I'm going to –if he misplaced a hair on her –"
"Iris started the fight." Levi cut her off.
There was silence in the line.
"What?" Maria said.
"Iris started the fight... she gave him a blackeye and a bloody-nose."
Levi heard the woman swear at the other line.
"Can I speak to her?" Maria's voice sounded to be begging.
"She's already asleep..."
"Did you talk to her?"
"I tried talking to her... but she won't say anything."
"Did you at least try?"
"She's a stubborn brat." Levi sighed. "She's suspended for three days."
"Suspended?! Levi! I'm heading home now –"
"Hold on, what about your meeting?"
"Fuck that, Iris needs me!"
Levi sat on the couch, cradling his head with his hand. It was typical of Maria to act so impulsively when it comes to their daughter... it was only natural, right? For a mother to act as such when it comes to their children... but what about the father? He doesn't seem to be alarmed about the situation, he was a bit too calm about it in all honesty.
"Maria, listen to me. Don't come home –"
"What the hell are you talking about –"
"Listen to me, brat." Levi sighed. "Finish what you have to do there. I'll handle Iris..."
"But Iris –"
"Do you really have so little faith in me when it comes to our daughter?"
There was silence in the line. But inside, Levi wasn't sure why he said what he said. It was too impulsive, very unlike him.
"Levi... let's not talk about this here..." Maria sighed. "This isn't..."
"You're right... I'm sorry."
Levi's words silenced Maria. Never. Never have she ever heard him those words to her, and never did she ever though she'd hear them in one sentence from him.
"Listen. Finish what you have to finish in Orvud. I'll take care of Iris. Alright?"
"But what about her suspension? Whose going to look after her when you're at work?" Maria asked.
"Don't worry about that."
"Alright... I'll talk to Iris tomorrow then... goodnight."
"Yeah... goodnight."
The call ended. And Levi was left to think about their conversation earlier, and the current problem. Who will look after Iris while he was at work? While he tried to think of someone, there was always that one person that was in his mind that wouldn't seem to mind about babysitting his daughter for the day tomorrow. Besides, he'll make sure to repay him with a pint. Opening his contacts, Levi entered the person he could trust with Iris with no worries.
"Mike, I need your help."