Chapter Text
It was a normal day in the summer month of July. People were either on the beach, stuck at work, or just like this group of people, they were grocery shopping. A small group of six people walked down one of Sunnymart's isles. This group consisted of five people who were referred to as the Margaux 'squad' (no not a secretive group of spies or ninjas; just a close group of friends, basically family), plus the 'squad's leader' boyfriend, Levi Ackerman.
"God damn it Wolfram. We do not need all this junk food," Arnoldo snarled, walking while pushing a shopping cart.
"But you don't understand," Wolfram defended, "I need it."
"I swear to god, you're so annoying..." Arnoldo groaned under his breath, continuing to walk down the aisle, trying to ignore the taller black haired male who kept sneaking junk food in the shopping cart.
"And this is exactly why I do grocery shopping alone," Levi finally spoke up, walking behind the other four, a small annoyed look on his face.
"Oh come on," Scarlett laughed a bit, and leaned in close to his ear, "Our shopping is never boring with our group. Besides... You never shop with us! So you finally get to see all the adventures we find when we come."
Gray eyes glared at the reddish-brown haired female, "I only came because you asked. I'm starting to regret it now. Like I said, this is why I do grocery shopping on my own or only with you."
The female only pouted a bit, swinging their hands gently, "Don't be so grumpy Levi. They like having you around. Plus, you can't say you hate them because you decided to move in with us~" Her mouth dropped open, "Unless you regret moving in with us now? Is that it?"
The male only sighed and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist, "I know, I know... You brats can just be too much at times, you know?" He leaned up and lightly pecked her cheek, "I don't regret moving in with you. Your house has more room than you need, and I'm surprised it's actually as clean as it is."
"We may be crazy, but we are not lazy bums," Mirja turned around with a grin, "Oh! I want to paint my room a different color. Ken and I will be back. See you in a bit!" And off she went with Ken right behind her.
"For fucks sake Wolfram! We do not need ten huge bags of different chips!" Arnoldo exclaimed hitting the black haired male over the head.
Wolfram only laughed followed by a small grunt rubbing his head, "Okay okay... five bags then!"
"That's it. You and I are getting what WE need. We're getting our own cart," Levi growled, grabbing Scarlett's hand and dragged her away.
Scarlett only laughed and nodded as she happily followed her boyfriend. The two arrived back to the entrance of the store. Levi grunted a small 'stay' as he went to go get a cart. Scarlett only hummed as a reply, looking around until her good ears heard someone crying. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and walked away from where she was. She followed the desperate crying, which eventually led her to the toy section.
"Hello?" She asked looking through each aisle.
"M-Momma...?" A young boy, by the looks of it he was around six years old, looked around, turquoise eyes red and puffy. Brown messy hair framed his slightly chubby face.
Scarlett froze for a bit before walking towards him slowly, "Did you lose your momma?" She crouched down to his height, as he only replied with sniffles and a nod of his head, "Don't cry," she smiled a bit, "Want some candy? I have a lollipop." He nodded his head, his small hands wiping his tears away, "Good. Here," she dug her hand in her purse, and took out a blue wrapped lollipop, "Blueberry flavor. Is that okay?" He nodded his head with a small smile. She unwrapped the lollipop and handed it to him, his small hand taking it and putting it in his mouth. A warm smile placed itself on her face, her heart warming up from the sight at the boy in front of her, "Do you want help looking for your momma?"
"Y-Yes please..." He muttered, slowly eating the lollipop, "Y-You're a nice lady ma'am..."
This comment only made the female smile as she stood back up, "It's not good for a cute young boy like you to be alone. You're lucky I'm a good person." She chuckled and extended her hand to him, "Here hold my hand while we walk around so you don't get lost again okay?" The boy only looked up at her, extending both arms to her, "You... You want me to pick you up?" He nodded his head, too busy eating the candy to talk, "Are you sure?" Again he nodded, his little hands opening and closing towards her. She chuckled a bit, and gently picked him up, placing him on her side, right above her left hip, an arm wrapping around him securely. She poked his nose playfully making the boy giggle, "Now that you're as tall as me, you can spot your momma better. If you see her let me know and I'll walk over there alright?" Again he nodded.
She walked around the aisles slowly, keeping an eye for a mother looking around like a maniac, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary. Does the mother even know her son is missing? The thought went through her head as she walked around until a cold stern voice was directed to her.
"Oi, brat," Levi hissed, "I thought I told you to not move."
As soon as his steely gray eyes glared at Scarlett, the boy in her arms whimpered and hid his face in the crook of Scarlett's neck. His voice quivered, "He's mean looking... and he sounds scary."
Her eyes glared at her ravenette boyfriend, "Can you shut up? You're scaring the kid."
"Kid? Did you really fucking kidnap a kid in the little time you ran off?" He spat.
"Shh!! I just said there was a kid here and you still cursed!" Scarlett scolded glaring at him, "Listen, he lost his mom. I'm helping him find her. Now if you excuse me, if you're not going to help, I'm going to continue searching," She scoffed a bit, and turned on her heels, gently ruffling the boys hair to cheer him up. Soon after she heard the wheels of a shopping cart behind her, and light foot steps behind her.
"I'll stick with you," Levi looked at her, "I'll just pick up what we need while we search around."
That only made Scarlett smile, as she turned just a bit to the right, to lightly peck him on the lips, "Thank you Levi~" The male only looked away, a small blush on his face when the little boy in her arms stared at the two with wide eyes.
"Is he... Is he your husband?" He asked making the female blush furiously. "Oh! Do you have kids I could be friends with?!"
"H-Huh? N-No no," She laughed a bit nervously, "I mean he is my boyfriend, but we're not m-married. Kids is also a no...holy..."
"Tch, brat..." The make scoffed, hiding his embarrassment behind his stoic face.
"Oh I see..." The boy laughed a bit, "He has a very pretty girlfriend then! Very nice too!"
His comments only made her smile more, "Why thank you, uh... Can I get your name?"
"Eren!" His turquoise eyes sparkled, the once sad look on his face was now completely gone.
"Why thank you Eren," She poked his cheek smiling, "You can call me Scar, okay? It's short for Scarlett." He nodded his head with a grin. "Hm... Where could your mother be...?"
"We should just go to the front desk and notify the staff there's a lost child. Clearly the mother hasn't reported it yet," Levi advised, while picking up a few things they needed.
"I guess... but Eren doesn't want to be left alone with those bad people right?" He nodded again, his little arms wrapping around her neck, making her heart flutter, and make her hold back a squeal of cuteness.
"Scar has pretty hair..." Eren whispered as his head lay on her shoulder, one hand playing with some of her curls. The girl only grinned, her cheeks a slight tinge of red.
This didn't go unnoticed by Levi. He watched her as her face was full of pure happiness with every little compliment by the young boy. She got along with kids magically, and this wasn't his first time seeing it. He noticed she had such a mother instinct ever since he met her. In all honesty, it was quite a cute trait about her. She could knock down a man five times her size in mere seconds, but she could also make a kid stop crying just by smiling at them. He watched as his girlfriend and the young boy kept joking around, both poking each other playfully. Unknowingly a small smile crept upon his face.
"Oh Levi," Scarlett snapped him out of his daze, "We needed more cleaning supplies too right?"
"Yeah," He replied and looked around him to see they were in the cleaning supply aisle. He went to go pick some items out, while she walked a little down the aisle to pick up some laundry supplies, quickly putting them in the cart.
"Do you have more candy?" Eren asked, his big turquoise eyes looking right at her.
She faltered a bit, but smiled, "I do, but I won't give you another until we find your momma, okay? I don't want your momma to be mad at me for giving you too much candy."
"Okay..." he sighed disappointingly, pouting just a bit.
"Oh my god... Don't do that," she whined, "Too cute! Eren's gonna be quite a catch when you grow up, aren't you??" She squealed, not able to help herself and kissed his forehead. This only made the young boy blush, a goofy grin on his face.
Levi looked over and felt a slight ping of jealously. Was he really jealous at this kid? He felt a bit jealous, but that soon disappeared as soon as he heard Scarlett laugh, followed by the boy's giggles. His heart fluttered at his girlfriend's melodic laugh, only looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She seemed so happy right now and all she was doing was helping this boy find his mother.
"Attention all Sunnymart customers: A small boy of the age of six is lost in the store. Brown hair and turquoise eyes. Her mother is at the front desk. If you spot the boy, please inform a staff member immediately or help him to the front desk. Thank you," a voice through the speakers intercom spoke.
"M-Momma?!" The boys eyes lit up in excitement.
The female only laughed, "Well that's our cue. You coming Levi?"
"Yeah," was his curt response as he followed his girlfriend who was walking in front of him. The three stayed quiet until they were yet back at the entrance of the store. She made a left, walking towards the front desk. As soon as they walked closer, a lady with long brown hair and a young girl with black hair ran towards them.
"Eren! My baby!" The lady almost cried.
"Momma!" Eren yelled happily, extending his arms towards his mother. Scarlett only smiled and gently handed the boy to his mother.
"You're safe... Oh my god my baby..." The mother kissed the boy's face repeatedly, then looked at Scarlett, "You... You helped him?"
"Yes Momma! She found me crying and she was super nice!" He grinned, "She's a pretty lady isn't she? Very pretty! Mikasa, don't you think she's pretty?"
The young girl looked up at Scarlett with a worried expression. Scarlett only smiled and waved her hand gently, speaking in a soft voice, "It's nice to know this family is blessed with adorable kids." Immediately the young girl's cheeks reddened.
"S-She is..." Mikasa mumbled her answer to Eren's question shyly.
"Thank you so much for helping him! We were just shopping around and I turned around for a second and he ran off. Eren what did I tell you about running off like that?" His mother scolded, his face slowly saddening.
"S-Sorry..." His lips quivered making Scarlett's heart drop.
"He won't do it again! Right Eren?" She gave off a friendly grin, "I was telling him how not everyone will be as nice as I was. He needs to be very careful from now on, right?"
He nodded his head furiously, "I promise Momma!"
The mother only smiled and kissed her son's cheek. Then she looked at the reddish-brown haired female, "How can I ever repay you?"
Scarlett only waved her hand in a 'don't worry' motion, "I'm just happy he's with his mother and sister again safely," she smiled.
"W-Wait... I won't see you again?" Eren asked, eyes getting teary again, making Scarlett take a sharp breath.
"Well yeah..." she rubbed her neck, "I-I'm sorry Eren."
"Momma! Can I visit her?!" He asked excitedly.
"Now Eren, I'm sure she's too busy for that," his mother scolded.
"Well... if you want... I can visit or even babysit him and your daughter when needed when I'm not working," A sheepish grin was on Scarlett's tan face, "Eren's too cute. I'd miss the kid even though I just met him..." She realized how weird she probably sounded, "Sh- shoot... I probably sound really creepy and crazy don't I?"
Eren's mother could sense the motherly nature of Scarlett. She didn't need to know her too much to see that. Plus, she got Eren to trust her easily which wasn't an easy thing for him. He was a stubborn child who didn't always do as told. She shook her head and smiled, "You don't. You're really sweet aren't you? Are you sure you wouldn't mind babysitting him and even Mikasa? Eren can be quite a handful."
"Yes. I love kids," Scarlett laughed a bit, "I wouldn't mind one bit." Soon after, the mother and Scarlett exchanged names and phone numbers. After Eren hugged the red-haired female goodbye, also placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek, the family of three left. The mother and daughter only waving bye to them with smiles on their faces as they walked out the store. Scarlett sighed a bit, her arms now feeling empty and cold, a small pout on her lips. Even though she would see the young boy sometime later in the future, she was already missing the young boy.
"Brat," Levi snapped her out of her thoughts as he flicked her forehead, "You're really going to babysit him?"
"He's a nice kid..." She shrugged, "Like I said I love kids."
"Tch," he scoffed. As soon as she was about to walk away to continue their shopping, a hand grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back, making her crash right into a chest. Scarlett looked just a bit down, her body right against Levi's, his cold eyes staring right into her amber eyes. "Why do you have to be so cute around kids...? It makes me jealous seeing you gushing all over them." She only blushed a bit. As she was about to respond, he interrupted her, "Why can't you gush over me like you do to them huh, brat?"
That only made her laugh, "But I do~" she smirked a bit, "But you get embarrassed and tell me to shut up. Isn't that right Mr. Handsome?" He immediately scowled at the compliment, lightly squeezing her hips, "You see! You're doing it again!"
"Oh shut up," he rolled his eyes, a hand holding the back of her head, pulling her head closer, immediately clashing his lips against hers their teeth slightly hitting each other at the abrupt movement.
This shocked Scarlett. He usually wouldn't kiss her like this in public, or even show this much display in public. Don't tell me he was actually jealous of Eren?! Oh my god... how sweet! Just as she was about to pull away to tease him, he pulled her closer, his lips moving passionately against hers. Slowly but surely she melted into the kiss, responding with a bit more fire. She grabbed onto his collar a bit, the kiss heating up. Just as he gently bit her bottom lip, someone cleared their throat behind them.
"Get a room or stop that. There are kids around here," Arnoldo scolded.
"Damn Levi, what got into you today?" Wolfram laughed.
Levi and Scarlett quickly pulled away, their faces pink from embarrassment. Levi glared at the two males for interrupting them, and Scarlett only rubbed her neck with a lop sided grin.
"Grabbed everything we needed?" The female asked.
"Yeah, after finally knocking some sense into Wolfram for all the junk he was getting," Arnoldo informed.
Scarlett's eyes looked around, "Where's Mirja?"
"She said she wanted to re-paint her room. She might there be there?" Wolfram asked unsure.
In a silent agreement, the four started heading to the paint section. Levi pulled Scarlett behind so they walked behind the other two males, his right arm wrapping around her waist, his other hand still pushing the cart. The female only grinned, and leaned against him while walking, using one hand to push the cart as well. Levi of course didn't mind how close she was. In fact she was warm, and in this freezing store, it warmed him up. He moved his hand a bit to where it was rubbing small circles in the small of her back. She blushed a bit, but continued walking after giving him another quick peck on his cheek, making the male show a tiny smile.
"There you are! What's taking you so long?!" Wolfram questioned finally spotting Mirja and Ken.
"Erwin?" Arnoldo asked confused, seeing the tall blonde male standing beside Ken.
"Oh, you're all here?" Erwin asked then smiled, "Lettie! How are you?"
Scarlett immediately grinned seeing who was basically like a father to her, "Erwin! I'm swell, and you?"
The blonde male only chuckled, "That's good. I'm doing fine as well."
Mirja then mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that?" Erwin asked.
"Don't ask..." Ken advised.
"Why shouldn-" Arnoldo started, but stopped as Mirja started cracking up with laughter.
"Erwin Squirmy!" She laughed holding her stomach in pain, "I was trying to hold back the laughter, but it's too much! Scarlett you out-did yourself last time we got drunk together! Erwin Squirmy!" She laughed falling on the floor, holding her sides, "It's too much!"
The six around her only deadpanned. She was bringing that drunk nickname up again? Why? What even triggered it? Erwin. Erwin was the answer. Scarlett groaned in embarrassment, while Wolfram joined in the laughter. Arnoldo rubbed his temples while Erwin only sighed and shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. Levi rolled his eyes while Ken started getting uncomfortable. Everyone around them was starting to stare at them, and the blond girl on the floor who was still dying of laughter.
Ken's face slowly got red as he quickly went over to Mirja and threw her over his shoulder, "I'll be outside with her at the cars. Oh, she wants this color by the way," He spoke quietly and handed Arnoldo a color card. As he walked away with a laughing Mirja over his shoulder he asked himself with a groan, "Why are you like this?"
Mirja hearing his question only continued laughing, not having a care in the world.
"First the kid, and now that laughing maniac," Levi groaned, "You didn't lie when you said you have adventures when you go grocery shopping."
"Nope!" Scarlett laughed, and quickly escaped Levi's arm to hug Erwin.
"I'll be seeing you, okay?" Erwin hugged back the female then nodded his head to everyone else. They all nodded and said their goodbyes to the blond male leaving.
"Let's just get this shopping over with," Levi ordered, "I don't think I can take more of this."
"Welcome to my life Levi," Arnoldo groaned and continued walking.
"I told you Levi~" Scarlett whispered in her boyfriends ear, "Grocery shopping with us is always an adventure."
He only scoffed a bit at her comment, but couldn't help the small shiver when she whispered in his ear. He decided to get some small revenge, and whispered in her ear, "How about when we get back home, we have some adventure of our own...?" He added a little nibble to her earlobe, making her gulp. Perfect, he thought, smirking to himself.
"Well if that's the case, then you are so on Ackerman," Scarlett quietly replied, a smirk of her own on her face. Levi couldn't help but chuckle at her reply. After all, this was his girlfriend he was talking to, and he would never do anything like this or say anything like that, unless it was her, Scarlett Margaux. And yes, that included even going grocery shopping with her.