Hanji's POV

"Mommy! Eren's here! Eren's here!" She says, waving her hands in the air. If she could, she would've been jumping up and down. Unfortunately, we were in this apartment with neighbors above and below- she couldn't have jumped. "Mommy!"

I chuckled, opening up the pizza boxes and walking towards the door. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Iris. Remember, we have neighbors." Opening the door, instantly, a little boy just darts inside the apartment, giggling and racing to Iris. "Hey there, Eren." I chuckled as his father walked inside the apartment with their bag. "Glad you can make it, Levi."

He chuckled a bit, setting the bag down and seeing his son hugging my daughter. "Well... I've never seen him that excited... thanks for hosting this sleepover."

"Iris is extremely excited too- her first sleepover."

"Same thing with Eren." Levi says with a smile, closing the door behind him. "How have you been holding up? Hopefully well."

I nodded my head, giving a soft smile. "As of right now, I'm satisfied. I don't have to worry about Iris meeting her father for another month. And now that she has a friend to be looking forward to every weekday, I'm not that worried to have her playing with other kids."

Levi nodded his head, sitting down at the kitchen chair. Already, Iris and Eren have been sneakily going through the pizza boxes. I guess Levi also joined in with me, because when I glared at the kids, catching them, Eren and Iris had their mouths drop to the floor. It wasn't until the little boy asked nervously, almost shaking a bit.

"C-Can we eat the pizza?"

I chuckled a bit, nodding my head. "Of course. And if your father says yes, I also have some soda. Just don't go too insane with the sugar high. What do you say, Levi? Can Eren have some soda?"

Levi chuckled, running his fingers through his hair with a confused look. "Uh... yeah... he can. But if you can't finish it, I'm drinking it, alright? No wasting soda. And I'm pretty sure you can't finish a whole cup."

Eren cheered happily, saying his thanks to his father before going to eat a pizza slice. I tapped Levi's shoulder, smiling a bit. "You want me to give you a slice? Maybe your own soda?"

"Yeah, it's fine for the slice. Soda... no. I'll have whatever Eren doesn't finish. If he miraculously drinks it all, I'll take the soda. I just want to ensure that his drink is completely finished. You know how kids are- never finishing their food or drinks."

I chuckled, walking over to the pizzas and taking out a slice for me and a slice for Levi. I hand over his slice, chuckling more and more. The little kids were already at their pizza crust, giggling and laughing. I bet they were planning some little, harmless pranks on the adults, based on how mischievous those two were. Ever since I started to watch Eren... I realized that those two were perfectly two peas in a single pod. If I didn't know better, they would've been siblings. Unfortunately, they were not.

"What kind of girl is Iris?"

"Hm?"

Levi took a bite out of his pizza, smiling softly. "With all the kids that I've seen interact with Eren, he's never been this energetic. That's why i asked what kind of girl Iris is."

I chuckled a bit, looking towards the little ones again. "Iris is a mischievous little girl. She acts very like me. Loving to play pranks, always causing trouble around us. I can see why so many of my... friends... used to be afraid for me. I'm so... open and risky. Iris is just like that."

"Is that so?"

"What about Eren?"

Levi rolled his shoulders, chuckling a bit. "Eren's something like that. I mean... he's shy at first, but he's strong. Sometimes, he would play pranks on some of the kids that we save. He wouldn't know how to interact with the kids properly, but once he does... he just plays and plays. Though he does have this... I guess I would say... a strong heart. I try to hide all the bad things in my job... but he still wants to be just like me."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard about how he and his son are. I wish Iris' father was something like that. Instead, he's off being with his girlfriend. "That's adorable." There was one thing going on in my mind... and it was about Eren's mother. Levi never mentioned her, and Eren tends to not talk about it much. "Levi... can I ask you something...? It might be personal..."

"Hm? What's that?"

"Eren's mother..."

I could see that I've struck a nerve as he leaned in close to me. His gentle gray eyes were steady on Eren, almost like he's trying to ensure his son wouldn't hear. Most likely, they haven't gotten to that topic yet... and Levi wasn't ready to tell his own tale about it. I could gather all of that just by his action and his reaction.

"Levi...?"

"Let's... keep it between us, okay?"

"I'll keep my word."

Levi nodded his head, continuing to check up on his son just by looking up. "I'm not married... and I've dated a few times before Eren was born. The last time I've dated... was someone from my work. Petra... was her name... and we hit it off pretty quickly. We tried not to keep it public, but our feelings just grew and grew. The one time we were told we weren't allowed to be date because of a rule at our workplace... that was the time I found out she was pregnant..."

"Wow... just like that?"

Levi chuckled once more, looking down at his hands. "Ever since that was... somewhat announced... the boss had to retract that rule because we were both well-respected workers. And we didn't want to get involved with our own battles with our unborn child. We used our funds to get ourselves a house- just because of the little one. Petra wanted a lot of kids... so that's why we wanted to prepare ourselves for a bigger family."

"Something happened... huh? Your relationship with her seemed... close. There was no way she would've left you, huh?"

Levi shook his head. "Died during childbirth. I was with her that whole entire time. The doctors and nurses were worried because there was something wrong happening... and we didn't realize it until it was too late. Petra was weak... but she did give out a name she wanted for a boy: Eren."

I looked down at my own hands, holding back my own tears. The single father... 

"When the news hit the office of my son and Petra's death... it was mixed feelings. I didn't want to sell the house for an apartment, so I occasionally use it as a safe house for other kids. I have the space for it anyways."

"Did Eren ever asked about his mother?"

"From time to time... there was rumors circulating some kids about how it was Eren's fault about why his mother wasn't here. Of course... I didn't tell him about what really happened... I just explained to him about why it wasn't his fault. When he asked, I just told him that he'll understand when he gets older. Of course, like all children, he proclaimed that he was older than everyone. But I still never told him the truth."

My hand wanted to reach for his hand... but I held myself back and put it on his shoulder. "My condolences, Levi. I shouldn't have asked-"

He waves it off with his hand, clearing his throat. He just smiled softly, chuckling a bit. "It's fine. I hadn't have been able to tell anyone about it. Since Eren doesn't know... he doesn't ask me about his mother much. He just... goes along with it..."

I chuckled a bit, smiling softly.

"Your turn. Tell me about your ex, Hanji. I've told you my tales, let's hear yours."

I nodded my head, starting from the beginning. "Honestly... I was working in a lab, since I have a degree in chemistry. Some guy was trying to invest in the company I was working for... and I've met Erwin Smith. He first complimented me on my work and how well I've been working. His visits became more frequent and one time... he came over at our company party... and we kissed. He was the legit first love I ever had... made me feel special. We didn't care if things got too fast... especially when I got pregnant with Iris. The second Erwin found out... he... he didn't care."

"Didn't care?"

"Yeah... like... he didn't care about his own child being grown in me."

"As a father, I would've been overwhelmed just by hearing those news."

I chuckled a bit, nodding my head. "Well... I was the only one who was overwhelmed with the news. Either way... I had Iris. Erwin was more or less... caring. He wasn't there when I gave birth. I had one of my friends there with me. It was like that for the next 3 years with Erwin. I wasn't sure if I was stunned when I found out he was with another girl... or if I should've known. That's why I instantly took Iris and left."

"Don't worry about that, Hanji. We're handling it. I promise."

Weakly, I gave a smile and nodded my head. "Thanks again- I can't thank you enough for helping me."

He just gave off a smile, leaning closer into me. "Again, I'll be glad to help. Again, there were lots of holes in that whole case- I could determine that as corrupted." The next second... I... I was stunned. I don't know if it was intended or not... but he kissed my cheek.

"Mommy! Mommy! Can we have the soda now?"