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Levi would rather not go to parent teacher conference. First off, there would be dozens of other parents with their respective children. And then there was the teacher herself.
He didn’t want to hear what Eren and Mikasa’s teacher had to say about them, how Eren was a disruption or Mikasa was too shy or whatever other shit. It wasn’t that Levi thought the teacher was horrible and misunderstood his angel children. But Levi also knew that their teacher didn’t know his children and their unique situation like he did and that the teacher couldn’t possibly give them the attention they needed with all the other students they had.
However, Levi needed to go to this particular parent teacher night. There was a specific issue he needed to speak with the teacher about. Mikasa had recently brought to his attention that the two of them and Armin (who was also in their class) were being picked on. This was completely unacceptable and needed to stop.
Levi was bringing Erwin along to help him stay calm and talk things through with the teacher. Of course, Erwin needed to be there for Armin anyway. But Levi liked to have Erwin’s extra support and silvery tongue on his side.
“This is our classroom!” Eren announced excitedly, gripping Levi’s hand and dragging him along when he wasn’t walking fast enough for Eren’s liking.
“Did your class do those drawings?” Erwin asked, referring to the various art projects hanging in the hallway leading to the classroom.
“Yes! We made them! Do you wanna see which ones are mine?” Eren asked excitedly. He didn’t wait for an answer before pointing his fingers and explaining each assignment that was displayed. “This one we used glue and paper and made um- what are called again? Oh collages, thanks Armin. And in this one we had to draw our family. That one’s mine and that one is Mikasa’s and that one’s Armin’s.”
“Those all look very nice,” Erwin answered, looking at each piece carefully.
Truthfully, to Levi, they all looked pretty terrible. Eren’s, at least, seemed to be the messiest pieces in the class. But the boy still beamed brightly at showing off his work. Levi ruffled his hair and smirked.
“We’ll have to hang them up at home,” he said. “Yours too Mikasa and Armin, they look very lovely.”
“Really?” Eren radiated pride, which in turn made Levi proud as well. Mikasa simply blushed with a little pleased smile, which was absolutely adorable.
“Alright, so introduce us to your teacher,” Levi said, herding the group along.
And into the classroom they went. There were a few other sets of parents milling around the desks that had been organized into groups of four. A parent was currently speaking with the teacher at her desk to the side of the class. As soon as they were in the classroom, Eren darted over to a group of desks near the whiteboard.
“This is where I sit!” he explained, pointing to the nametag on his desk with ‘Eren’ scrawled in messy handwriting.
Levi tried not to cringe at the way the desk was smudged with fingerprints and graphite. The whole thing was probably filthy and needed a thorough cleaning. But then the whole classroom needed it as well and if Levi continued in that train of thought he’d never let his kids return. So he focused back on Eren, who pointed to the desk next to his. It was Mikasa’s, with a nametag with much clearly handwriting.
“I need to sit at the front, to help me pay attention,” Eren continued to explain. “Mikasa sits next to me, because she cries if she doesn’t.”
“Eren,” Mikasa hissed. “I told you not to tell Papa!”
To which Eren looked embarrassed and sorry and Levi sighed. He could already imagine the sort of conversation he would be having with their teacher.
“Where do you sit, Armin?” Erwin asked, directing his attention to his own son.
“I sit in the back,” he muttered softly.
“Can you show me?” Erwin asked and Armin reluctantly took him by the hand and took him to a cluster of desks in the back corner. Levi watched the two go, ignoring the way Eren and Mikasa were bickering, until a little hand grabbed at his shirt.
“I don’t think Armin likes the people who sit in his group,” Eren said, looking concerned. “I think they’re mean to him. But he won’t say anything to the teacher.”
Levi nodded in understanding. “Erwin and I will bring it up, okay?”
That satisfied both of them and with the major concern out of the way, Eren and Mikasa continued to show Levi around the room. They pointed out interesting posters and decorations on the wall, showing their Papa the things they had learned- as if he didn’t already know from the time he spent seated next to Eren, helping him focus on his homework each night. Eventually, Erwin and Armin joined them again, with Armin in a considerably brighter mood as he explained in detail the books he had read in class.
Just as Levi was going to suggest he and Erwin go speak to their teacher, as she was currently not speaking to other parents at the moment, he heard something that caught his attention.
“That’s the kid! That’s the boy who pushed me! And has two dads and that weird sister and brother who acts like a girl!”
Levi’s head whipped around and his gaze zeroed in on the little boy standing with his parents a few feet away with his little finger pointing at Eren. He wasn’t the only one who heard the accusation however and all three of the kids behind Levi tensed. Eren’s little hand gripped at Levi’s shirt again.
“I told you, Erwin isn’t my dad and Armin isn’t my brother!” Eren called out to the boy. Then to Levi he added, “That’s the kid who’s been saying bad things about you and Mikasa and Armin.”
“I see,” Levi said, feeling his temper rising sharply. This was the real reason he came to parent teacher conference, to deal with this issue. Now, he had the chance to confront the kid’s parents directly.
A steady hand fell on his shoulder. It was Erwin.
“Remember, we’re here to discuss this calmly,” he said quietly, knowing that Levi could become very aggressive and defensive of his kids when they were under any sort of attack.
In response, Levi only nodded curtly.
“See, Mom and Dad. I told you, they’re weird,” the boy said loudly.
Immediately, Levi stepped forward. “Excuse me, I’m Levi Ackerman, Eren and Mikasa’s father. Also, boyfriend of Erwin Smith and his son Armin,” he introduced himself, almost certainly failing at keeping his voice civil. He didn’t offer his hand to shake, for more than his usual reasons.
“We’re the Jones’s,” the man introduced, his lips pursed. He kept his hands firmly on his son’s shoulders. “This is our son Trevor. I believe we have some things to discuss with you.”
“I agree,” Levi nodded.
“Your boy pushed Trevor,” Mr. Jones accused.
Levi looked over his shoulder and gestured for Eren to come forward. With his shoulders ducked, Eren stepped forward and stood just behind his Papa.
“Eren, did you shove him?” Levi asked, crouching down to be at his level. He noted how Eren was avoiding looking him in the eye.
“Yes,” he said quietly. The louder he explained, “But he was saying mean things and he made Armin cry and he wouldn’t leave us alone. I promise I won’t do it again. He didn’t even fall over.”
“Well, there you have it,” Levi said, straightening up. “It seems Eren was provoked and was just trying to look after his friends. I think we need to discuss the things your son is saying to my kids. He’s been picking on them.”
The woman, Mrs. Jones, sniffed. “Trevor’s done nothing wrong. You can’t blame him. If anyone is to blame, it’s you and your boyfriend.”
“Excuse me?” Levi tested, voice low and dangerous, eyes narrowed.
“I think what my wife is trying to say, is that your kids wouldn’t be having such things said to them, if you weren’t living in sodomy,” Mr. Jones clarified.
“You-“ Levi hissed, seething and ready to step forward and punch the man in the face. He was only stopped by Erwin’s hand on his arm, halting the already formed fist.
“It’s unfortunate that you feel that way, however, we request that you ask your son not to say such things to our children,” Erwin said smoothly. “Our personal life has nothing to do with our kids or your son.”
“It has everything to do with our son! He’s exposed to children who’ve been ruined by the lifestyle of their parents,” Mrs. Jones accused, sounding downright angry. “It’s bad enough the two of you are faggots, but to drag innocent children into-“
“How dare you,” Levi growled, “How dare you say that shit in front of my kids.” The only thing stopping him from getting violent was Erwin’s steady hand on his arm and the fact that Eren and Mikasa were watching him.
“I have to agree that is completely inappropriate,” Erwin said, his voice going from calm and diplomatic to calm and threatening. “If this continues to be an issue, we’ll have to go to the principal with concerns for discrimination. I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
The couple in front of them looked surprised and, thanks to Erwin’s subtle ways of being threatening and Levi’s more overt aggression, concerned. However, they also fumed with anger and looked ready to say more.
“Levi take the kids out to the hallway, I’ll take care of this,” Erwin said quietly.
Levi was furious and no longer felt able to deal with the situation anymore. He turned around and grabbed Eren, Mikasa, and Armin and walked straight out of the classroom. How dare they? How dare they make judgments about their family? How dare they suggest he and Erwin were bad parents because of their orientations? Who the fuck were they to-
But his trail of thought was quickly interrupted.
“Papa, what about my teacher?” Eren asked.
“What did she mean we’re ruined?” Mikasa asked quietly.
Levi stopped and crouched down to their level. The three of them looked confused and even a little frightened. Armin was crying quietly and clutched onto Eren for support. What was he supposed to say to them? How the hell was he supposed to explain to his kids what a bunch of homophobic assholes the Jones’ were?
“Don’t listen to what they said,” Levi growled, the anger in his voice making the kids flinch. He paused a moment to calm himself down. They needed to understand he wasn’t angry at them. “There’s nothing wrong with you. They just have a problem with me and Armin’s dad being in love. Because they think it’s wrong.”
Eren’s brow scrunched up with confusion. “Why? Why do they think it’s wrong?”
Levi huffed. “Some people think boys should only fall in love with girls and that it’s wrong for boys to fall in love with other boys.”
“Is it wrong?” Mikasa asked quietly.
“What do you think?” Levi asked calmly. “Do you think me and Armin’s dad being in love is bad?”
All three kids violently shook their heads.
“Erwin is nice. You’re happy Papa,” Mikasa noted. “I don’t think that’s bad.”
Levi smiled. “I agree, I think they’re wrong. There’s nothing wrong with our family. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise,” he finished. “Armin, are you okay?”
The little boy nodded in response, still a little shaken from the encounter.
“If anyone ever says things like that to you again, tell us right away, okay?” Levi instructed. He received three shaky nods in return. “Come here,” he said, holding out his arms.
Immediately, all three of them rushed to his embrace. Little hands gripped at his shirt tightly and little faces pressed into his chest and shoulders. He wrapped his arms around them tightly, holding them close, as if he could protect them from all the bad things if he just held them close enough.
“I’m sorry Papa,” Mikasa said quietly.
“Don’t apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Levi replied gently. He pulled back from the hug and looked each one of them in the eye, to make sure they were all okay.
The classroom door opened again and Erwin joined them.
“I talked to their teacher,” he explained. “She’s now aware of the situation. Hopefully this won’t happen again.”
Overcome with the need to touch him, Levi stood up and pulled Erwin down into a kiss. Maybe he needed to be comforted too. “Thank you,” he breathed as he pulled back.
“No problem,” Erwin smiled. Then he added, “I thought you were going to punch that man out.”
“I wanted to,” Levi agreed, before quickly adding. “But hitting people is wrong. Even if they are mean and say things that aren’t true.” The last part was added for the children’s benefit of course.
“Yes,” Erwin agreed.
“Good. Then I think we’re ready to go,” Levi decided.
“But you didn’t talk to our teacher,” Eren complained.
“Yes, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go back in there. We’ve had enough for one day, I think.”
Erwin then suggested they all go out for ice cream, which cheered everyone up right away. The ice cream at least, distracted the kids from the horrible encounter they just had. It had left a sour taste in Levi’s mouth, one that couldn’t be soothed with ice cream (which was too sweet in the first place, in his opinion).
Logically, Levi knew that there were people out there like the Jones’, who thought like they did. But he never expected he would encounter them here, in a classroom. He never thought his kids would suffer the same crap he had to when he was young.
It was unfair.
But there wasn’t anything Levi could do about it.
For now though, ice cream seemed to be doing the trick.