Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Author’s Note  

Hello to the two people reading my fic! First of all, thanks for taking the time to read my work. Its been AGES since I’ve taken a stab at writing something so we’ll see how it goes lmao. So, just as a reminder this story will have strong themes of homophobia, gore, and sexuality for those that might be sensitive to such topics. I’ve been reflecting a lot this year on my identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and that clashed with my findings of an old Levi x Eren fanfic idea I had a long time ago and voilà! This was born, so this story is almost like a therapy session to me, lol! Anyway, enough chitter-chatter! Let’s get into it!

~Gum

• STORY ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET
• THE AGES OF MOST OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE BEEN CHANGED

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 He felt as if demons were following him. He couldn't help but turn back every few minutes or so to make sure no one was there. His heart raced faster with every step and his hands shook with more intensity as he left the busy streets of the heart of the city and began approaching the shady parts of town that no one with good intentions stepped into. His body began trembling and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the cold or his nerves. He stopped to look around (and to regain his shaky breath) trying to figure out where he was. He pulled out the bundled up piece of paper he had forcefully stuffed down the pockets of his blue jacket trying to decipher his own drawings.

 Eren Jaeger was a lot of things but an artist was not one of them.

The teen squinted, trying to recall if those chicken scratches he called letters spelled out "restaurant" or "gasoline stop". In the distance, he could see an abandoned car that had crashed right into an old building. The structure had "Hannes' Filling Station" painted on it.

"Jackpot." Eren whispered to himself.

 He ran towards it and then turned left into the alley way directly in front of it. It was a narrow and damp place. The sounds of mice squeaking and water dripping echoed through the empty space. Eren walked slowly, not on purpose; his feet felt like tons of lead.

 This was a mistake. I should've never left.

 "Eren Jaegar."

 The teen jumped at the sound of his own name, a girlish squeak leaving his lips. Suddenly the alley way was filled with booming laughter, causing Eren to blush from the absolute embarrassment he felt. He approached the dark figure he had confused for a shadow earlier, swaying his shoulders side to side in an attempt to appear manlier.

 "Uhh.... hi."

 "New to this, aren't you kid?"

 Kid? Kid? He was on the verge of being 18. He wasn't a kid any more.

 "Well I don't think a lot of people are familiar with hiring assassins." He said, letting the annoyance he felt seep through the words.

 The man laughed again, this time not as strongly but definitely enough to make Erens blood boil, "Whatever kid, let's just get this over quickly. I have much more important things to do."

 The teen felt his stomach drop, almost instantly his nerves came back at full force, "S-S-", he cleared his throat, "So, how does this work exactly?"

"Just like I said through the phone, I ask a couple of questions, you answer. If you lie, you get shot, if you say the truth, we offer our services," the man took a step forward tapping the gun safely stashed away on the side of his belt. Instead of looking down at the gun, Eren couldn't help but look up at the man, surprised by the pronounces wrinkles of his face and the lame undercut he had styled his light brown hair into. It didn't look good at him at all. Hell, Eren was pretty sure it couldn't look good on anyone, but he wasn't stupid enough to say something about it.

 "What are you staring at?" The old man growled, straightening his back to try and appear taller.

 "Nothing... nothing..."

 "Hmph, usually this procedure is to ensure that our customers aren't traitors working with cops but I can tell from miles away that someone like you isn't smart enough to pull something like that."

 Eren barely contained the swear words burning in his throat. Still, he couldn't help but stare daggers at that bastard tapping his yellow nails against the cold metal of his weapon, "Can we just get on with the interview?"

 "Name."

 "You already know my na-"

 "Name." He repeated with a harsher tone.

 The teen slowly breathed in and out, "Eren Jaeger."

 "Age."

 "17... but I'm a few days away from being 18."

 "How did you find out about our organization?"

 "A friend gave me the phone number to contact you."

 "And how did this 'friend' find out about us?"

 That was a good question, one that Eren didn't really know the answer to, "I... I don't really know."

 "Hmm." The old bastard (as Eren had now dubbed him) squinted his eyes, examining the boy to try and figure out if he was keeping secrets.

 "Look, I needed to escape from a shitty place I was in and my friend knew that once I would be out of that place for good I'd have some bad guys searching for me so she went out of her way to find someone that could protect me before I left. I didn't really get a chance to talk about the weather or anything while I was running away so, yeah, I don't know."

 "Well, idiots do get in trouble all the time. There's only one things that bothers me and that's age. We can't have teens going around town spilling our secrets. How can I be sure that you won't go around telling your friends about the organization of illegal bodyguards and killers?"

 "Easy, don't have any friends."

 "What about your little friend that gave you the contact?"

 "Didn't you hear? I escaped. I won't be seeing her or anyone that is remotely familiar for the rest of my life." Eren felt a knot burn in his throat. Everything had happened so fast in the last couple of days that he hadn't had time to truly take in what he had lost when he left.

 Like a fish being caught out of water, he was pulled out of his thoughts as a rough hand grabbed his chin fiercely. His face was inches away from the older mans. He had nowhere else to look but at the cocksuckers beady brown eyes that were suddenly much scarier that before.

 "Swear to me that you will keep your ties with our company a complete and utter secret."

 "W-What?" The boy breathed out as he struggled against the surprisingly strong grip.

  However, the man did not respond. Instead, Eren heard the very audible click of the safety lock, "I-I swear! I-I won't say a word! Please believe me, I'm just trynna run from a shitty past I never asked for." He tried to repress the familiar sting of tears forming in his eyes but he had been through hell and back during the last couple of years. He was finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel but this jackass still had the audacity to make things difficult.

“Please," Eren whispered, “I don't give a shit about the cops or anything. F-Fuck man, I just want to lead a normal life, I'll do anything!"

  The old bastard laughed darkly, letting Eren go in an instant. So much so that the teen stumbled to regain his stance, “Didn't think you'd actually cry."

 He grabbed something out of his pocket and shoved it onto Eren's chest with so much force the teen almost fell back. It was a small piece of paper with an address printed onto it alongside what seemed to be a list of instructions.

 “Wha-What's this?"

 Eren looked up from the paper to see the other man walking away, “Can't you read numbnuts? It's a list of instructions."

“For what?" He yelled out.

“For your service dimwit. Congratulations. The Survey Corporation is at your service."

Chapter Text

Author’s Note

For anyone wondering, I’ll be uploading two new chapter every Wednesday/Thursday :D

~Gum

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It surprised him how such drastically different ways of life could coexist in such a small city. Unlike the unpleasant surroundings of yesterday, Eren Jaeger now found himself in a neighborhood full of tidy houses and well-trimmed lawns so similar to one another that he almost got dizzy.

Home after beige home Eren walked by, peering at the number neatly painted onto each one of them. 17. He was looking for the number 17.

Jackpot.

He examined the house in disbelief. What the hell did the menacing Survey Corporation have to do with such an innocent looking house? He could see a gingerbread man and his loving wife coming out of that thing. Precisely cut grass, potted plants of a variety of beautiful colors and a shimmering white car without a speck of dirt on it. The house matched well with its front lawn; two stories, windows so clean you could lick them and, of course, beige. The teens eyes lingered on the wine-colored drapes that hid the interior of the house on each and every window. What could be hiding inside?

Suddenly, he felt nervous or more like... suspicious. Taking a deep breath, Eren walked to the front door. He frantically tried smoothing the creases of his newly bought white buttoned up shirt only to accidentally create more instead. Despite all the unanswered questions floating in his brain, the first instruction printed onto the sheet he was given suddenly made sense.

Rule number 1:

The client must wear a semi-formal outfit. If the client is under or overdressed they will be denied service.

If he were to walk around in his usual hoodie and baggy pants, people might confuse him for a robber. The rich folks were always so paranoid, thinking everyone was out to get them.

Eren looked down at his watch.

2:20 PM

One more minute.

Rule number 2:

Arrive exactly at 2:21. At that time the client will have no more than three minutes to knock on the door. If the client arrives anytime later than what was previously established, the meeting will be canceled entirely.

Meeting.

Who would he be meeting? His guard? The boss of the corporation? The old bastard again? A rifle to the head? Were they just going to rob him and then dispose of him? After all,

Rule number 3:

The client must have the first payment in hand at the time of the meeting. The sum of money being 1,600 dollars. The client must bring the amount in one hundred-dollar bills. Note that the first payment may not necessarily be the continuous payment given during the period of time the client will be hiring for.

2:21 PM

 Eren gulped. If he knocked too loudly would the other person get mad? But if he knocked too soft maybe he wouldn't be heard.

Oh, shut up and just do it Eren.

So he did.

 Knock. Knock.

His knuckles barely left the wood when the door rapidly opened. He flinched instinctively.

“Eren! Hi! How are you doing? Come in, come in."

He was swiftly ushered into the house, not by a rifle, or a big guy but by a short, sweet looking blonde with warm brown eyes. She wore a white buttoned up shirt and a classy black skirt that ended right above her knees, exposing her well defined legs which were enhanced by the slick black heels she wore. The outfit complimented her slim figure quite well. Eren wondered how such a delicate woman handled the rough and tough guys she probably had to deal with on a daily basis.

“U-Uh hi, th-this is about the... umm... hiring thing, right?"

“Yes, yes, you're at the right place. Come along now." She turned around and walked down a corridor, signaling for him to follow, “I hate to skip the pleasantries but I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment so if we could do this as fast as possible that would be great."

“Fine by me."

Eren's eyes wandered through the rooms he passed. A big, shiny kitchen, a living room that was so impeccable it didn't even look like anyone had actually lived there. Though a beautiful house, it didn't feel like a home. Everything was too in place, too bare. There weren't any pictures of loved ones or little ornaments that had no purpose other than to look pretty.

Things began making sense when he saw the tons of carton boxes in a hollow room, some empty, some labeled with BOOKS, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, PLATES and more.

“Moving in or out?" He mused only to mentally slap himself in the face for being so nosy.

“Out. Here we are!"

The teen turned his attention forward. He was presented a small office with light blue walls and a white desk with a matching computer. He sat on the seat in front of it and looked at the empty shelves backed against the wall. Looked like she was packing up the stuff in that room too.

The woman sat in front of him, moving the mouse to activate the computer and quickly typing things into the keyboard.

“So, Eren Jaeger. 17, quite young-"

“I-I'll be 18 soon."

“Oh! Well, considering this is probably the only time we will see each other, I grant you an early happy birthday!"

“Uh, thanks." Man, this woman was so nice. He wanted to hide in her arms and never let go, and he had barely met her 30 seconds ago.

“So, you're looking for a full-time protection package. Now, there are three: basic, normal and premium. They vary on the skill of your main bodyguard, now for you I would recommend-"

“Ah- Premium. I... would like Premium." The teen fidgeted with his hands. He just wanted to feel safe for one second.

The woman gave him a curious glance, “I understand but Premium full coverage is expensive. If you are feeling insecure, we have many greatly skilled bodyguards in the Normal package-"

“I-It’s okay. Money's not... not an issue."

She hummed thoughtfully before returning to her screen, “Alright then. Premium package and do you have an estimate of how long you will be needing our services?"

“Uhh... No... N-not really..."

“A week? A month or two?"

Eren sighed heavily. These weren't the type of questions he wanted to answer quite yet. He felt so... clueless. The past month had felt so bizarre to him he couldn't tell if he was actually dreaming or not.

“Six months? Maybe?"

The blonde nodded, “So a long-time user."

“Hopefully."

If he didn't die first.

One or two minutes passed in which the sound of fingers tapping away at the keyboard echoed throughout the semi-empty room. She typed at an extraordinarily fast pace, hypnotizing the teen. Eren couldn't help but notice the shiny diamond ring she wore on her left hand. This woman was obviously used to a very particular way of life.

 After a quick exchange of money, she said, “Now all that is left is for your main bodyguard to be assigned. This won't always be the person that will be guarding you but they will be your main connection with the company. If you have any questions, comments or concerns you will direct yourself to them and you will entrust this person with all and any information they may need to ensure your protection. We here in Survey Corps do not take personal matters into consideration so know that if you are asked something by your main bodyguard it is solely to complete their task of avoiding possible threats."

 Eren nodded.

 “Any particular requests?"

 “Uh, requests?"

 “Male, female, interactive or distant? More than anything people ask for someone that will be in touch quite often but there are those that prefer to be interrupted as little as possible."

 “No, it can be whoever."

She nodded once again. Petra flipped the screen of her computer so the teens view of it was much clearer.

“This is Oluo Bozado. He is one of the best bodyguards this company has."

Eren repressed a groan. It was the old bastard from yesterday. If he couldn't stand 'Oluo' for a couple of minutes how was he supposed to see his face during the next six months?

“Oh, that's the guy that I, uh, did the interview with... we didn't get along very, uh, well... Isn't there someone else... maybe?"

“I'll do it."

Eren nearly fell off his chair. Though he had tried holding onto his dignity by gripping onto the table before hitting the floor, it was thrown out the window as a small whimper escaped his lips.

The woman, who was unfazed by the intruding voice, gently covered Eren's hand with her own and gave him a comforting smile. Turning to whoever had spoken, her anger seeped through.

“Dammit Levi, can't you be more considerate? You know very well our clients are running away from bad things and then you just barge in like that."

Eren slowly took back his hand, still feeling the warmth of the woman's hand. It occurred to him that it had been kindest gesture another human being had shown him in some time. The brown-haired boy turned his head to see who she was directing herself towards.

Apparently, this “Levi" figure was a... rather short man leaning against the door frame. Pale skin, black hair in the shape of an undercut... man, since when did undercuts look so cool?

Suddenly, he was caught staring. The young man's cool silver eyes dug into Eren’s, sending shockwaves of fear down his body. He quickly turned back terrified, focusing his gaze onto his lap.

“Didn't you hear Petra? I said I'd take the client."

Petra rubbed her temples before situating her hands back into a typing position, “Loud and clear. Eren, this is Levi Ackerman, also a very skilled bodyguard. We could assign him to your case if that is what you prefer. "

“I wasn't asking."

“It’s not your decision to make." She whispered venomously.

Eren didn't know what the hell he was in the middle of but Eren knew that he wanted to get the fuck away from it before things got any more intense.

“Eren? Would you prefer Oluo?"

The teen was just about to agree when he felt a hard hand land roughly on his shoulder, “Doesn't get any better than me kid. Even Petra has to accept I'm the best at what I do."

He didn't even bother to look at Levi, opting for Petra's honeycomb eyes for some guidance.

"Since when do you care so much about who your clients are?"

“If he's gonna pay Premium he might as well get his money's worth. Oluo will just pester him all day. He's a nosy bastard. Doesn't take the “no asking about personal matters" rule seriously. The kid just said he hates him already. I'm trying to spare him. Isn't that right kid?"

Well, looked like he was between a rock and a hard place. Why did he say anything about Oluo in the first place? He should've just kept his mouth shut. 

“U-Um, yeah..."

“Are you sure, Eren? Levi's just a big bully, you don't have to listen to him."

Levi was a big bully indeed, that would probably break his neck before he could even say no.

“Y-Yes?"

“Fine." She said, clearly upset.

“Current address?"

The older man groaned. Roughly gripping onto the sides of Eren's arms, he ungracefully pulled the teen up into a stance, “We can do this later."

“Levi, what are you doing?!? I'm working here!" Petra sharply responded, rising from her seat and shooting a menacing glare towards the man.

Said man slapped a hard object onto Eren's chest to which the teen responded by grabbing it. It was a cellphone. Not a moment later was he forcefully turned around and pushed. The brown-haired boy didn't know what else to do except be guided towards the exit.

“I'll figure all that shit out." He said coarsely.

“By the gods, Levi! Are you really going to ruin this for me? It's my last client!"

“Shut up."

Eren only focused on not tripping on his own feet as the man continued pushing him down the hall. He didn't even bother to look back at Petra who was following them.

“Excuse me?!? Did I hear correctly?!?"

“If you heard the word 'shut' followed by the word 'up' then yes. You heard correctly."

They were at the front door when Levi Ackerman said, “Listen kid, I'll reach out to you in an hour or two. Until then, lay low."

The man was pushed aside by Petra, “And if he doesn't reach you by that time, do yourself a favor and come back for a reassignment, because it'll mean that he's dead."  

She then slammed the door closed, sending shivers down the teens spine. Okay, maybe now he could see how she was capable of handling herself in the Survey Corps.

Eren sighed, the feeling of dread filling his entire body. Now facing the street, he looked to his left; he looked to his right.

 What now?

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Yay! Levi has joined the party! From the original material he is my favorite character so I’m glad to have him around. See you guys next week!

~Gum

Chapter Text

Author’s Note

Hello again, I hope y’all are doing well. Quick shout-out to BBQSerenade for leaving first comment! Comments always inspire me to keep writing :) Anyways, off to the chapters!

~Gum

The grey walls were riddled with a wide array of markings and stains. It was more than obvious that they had seen its fair share of people. Eren wondered how many stories had unfolded before those walls. How many people had stood where he was standing in that very moment....

 Man, he really needed to get a TV.

After being ungracefully kicked out of Petra's house, the teen didn't know what else to do but to go to the shit apartment he had rented just two days prior. He was too afraid to go out without being sure that he had a bodyguard around and he didn't exactly have friends or family to visit. So, the boy ran to the illusion of safety found in his apartment, ordered a pizza with his new phone, devoured half of it and then proceeded to blankly stare into the void for the past 20, maybe 30 minutes. There wasn't much to be done inside the tiny place other than that.

Those stained walls held within a dirty old mattress slightly elevated by a primitive block of wood pushed into the center. Next to the bed was a wobbly stand that could barely support the weight of the lamp on top of it. In the left corner there was a small refrigerator with nothing in it... and that was it. Everything else was bare, cold, musky... Just overall shitty.

The only semi-decent thing about the apartment was the tiny bathroom it was connected to. It didn't seem as ancient as the rest of the place, not to say that it wasn't old but if the apartment was built when the Gods walked the Earth, the bathroom was made when humans discovered fire. It had a shower, a toilet and a sink and Eren was happy with just that.

Knock. Knock.

The teen grabbed his chest in fright. Eren's startle died down quick, being replaced with desperation. By the Gods, he hoped it was the bodyguard. The boy raced to the door only to have his body freeze once his hand was inches away from the doorknob.

What if it wasn't the bodyguard? What if it was one of the guys looking for him? Would they kidnap him? Torture him? Outright kill him?

“It's me." The familiar voice spoke.

Eren sighed in relief, the tension in his body melting away. The boy felt considerably happier to see Levi Ackerman's face than he had been about an hour ago.

“Hey-"

Out of nowhere, the man grabbed Eren by his collar, forcing his way in, shutting the door and then turning around to push the brunet against the wall with such force, Eren thought his bones would begin to crack.

“Listen to me you little shit, the only reason I took you as my client was so I might as well get paid while I stalked you because if you get anywhere near Petra's house ever again I will throw you into my basement and cut you up little by little until you're nothing more than a mountain of meat on my floor."

Terrified didn't even begin to cover it. The panic took the boy with such rigor that his nervous system was on the verge of shutting down completely.

“Ah- I- I didn't even go there 'cause I wanted to! She appointed me there! I swear!" He shrieked.

“All I know is that you know where she lives now and if you ever get any bright ideas of doing anything to her, then you're dead. I'll make sure of it. Got it?"

Eren nodded.

“Good."

The teen was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

The man pulled out a tablet of some sort and looked around. He drew the device closer to Eren and squinted. He crouched down and roughly began searching the pockets of the teens pants. Eren let the man do as he pleased, being too afraid to defy him.

Levi Ackerman extruded the black cellphone out of his pocket and began typing things into it. Moments later, the man threw it onto Eren's stomach carelessly.

“I still have to do my job so I added myself to your contact list. I'm under 'Jonathan' and I'm also your number one on speed dial.

“Petra told me that you'll be my client for six months. The first month I'll be watching you closely for 24 hours so I can learn your habits, routines, patterns, all that shit. After that I might not always be around. Sometimes I may assign someone to guard for me while I do other things or I'll just do it through devices like cameras I've placed and such.

“I already scouted the area and I have a good view of this place but for your sake and mine, the bathroom is off limits for me. Last thing I want is to see you jacking off all day.

“If you're ever in danger, you call me immediately. Another way to signal you're in trouble is by doing this."

Levi Ackerman walked towards the only window in the whole apartment that faced the street. He closed the old flower curtains, leaving them to meet at the right side instead of the middle.

“Got it? Not the middle, not the left, only the right. If you do this you're telling me there's someone in here that shouldn't be." He put them back in their original state and looked at his hands with distaste.

Just as the man began to direct himself towards the exit he said, “Oh, and try not to call me too much, it really annoys me. Welcome to Survey Corps. We're glad to be of service."

And just like that he walked out, leaving Eren on the floor completely disheveled. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Trying to even out his breathing, the brunet put his head between his knees and focused on his heartbeat. He focused on the rhythmic drumming of his heart.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Levi Ackerman was a scary man, but that was good. That meant he could ward off all the other scary guys looking for Eren.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

And only Mother Ymir knew just how scary they were.

Eren didn't know how long he stayed in that position; maybe 5 minutes maybe an hour. All Eren knew was that when he finally came to, he realized how tired he was. The boy hadn't been able to sleep last night or the night before that. The paranoia had been eating him alive. He hoped that that wouldn't be the case anymore.

Eren dragged his heavy body towards the window, pushing aside the sticky pink curtains. His eyes lazily moved downward where cars sped past the world as if they were being chased. Then he lifted his gaze, looking forwards at the buildings just as ugly as the one he was currently in. They all seemed to be one kick away from breaking down entirely. Most windows were closed. In the few that were open there were people watching TV or writing. Then there were the more extravagant ones like the couple arguing from the top of their lungs or a drunk man singing a love song to his lamp. Lastly, he looked upwards; past the rushing cars and the vomit-inducing neon signs and past the angry couples or the drunken bastards.

His dad was always a fanatic of the stars. He could talk and talk and man, could he talk about them. The brown-haired boy had never been very smart but he would enjoy those talks anyways because the passion in his dad’s face was enough to keep him interested. And every time Eren felt blue he would look up to the stars to remind himself that his dad would always be there to protect him.

But there were no stars in the sky of the city nor were there Grisha Jaegers.

The teen wondered if Levi Ackerman was watching him in that very moment. Scary Levi Ackerman.

The man was probably laughing at him or muttering something about how stupid Eren looked. The teen concentrated on the roofs, hoping to catch a glimpse of him somewhere just so he could make sure that he wasn't alone. It was to no avail since they seemed to be completely deserted.

All Eren wanted in that very moment was to close his eyes for a couple of hours, that was it but they kept on opening by themselves. He felt as if an axe murderer would appear if he let himself drift off.

Eren pulled out his phone and stared at it. Levi Ackerman had said not to call him but he was more tired than he was scared of the bodyguard. After all, Eren was paying top dollar for him, a single call was little to ask for in return. Eren just wanted to make sure there was someone, anyone looking out for him.

Eren dialed for 'Jonathan'. He looked back to the empty roofs. The teen waited for the other person to pick up not even caring if the man began cussing him out for directly disobeying his orders.

 "Are you deaf, brat? I told you no constant phone calls and seeing as you're on your ass staring out the window like a dumbass, I doubt there's an emergency."

 So he was watching him. Eren searched for his bodyguard again and unsurprisingly failed at discovering any shadowy figure that could resemble Levi Ackerman.

 "So... you're there?"

 "What? Of course I am you dumbass, you're hearing my voice aren't you?"

 "No... I mean... you're out there... guarding me..."

 "Yes, it's literally my job." The man responded dryly.

That one affirmative word soothed his nerves more than his guard would ever know, "Great. Thanks... sorry, I just needed to make sure, you know?"

 There was a small pause and then Eren heard a sigh from the other side.

 "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Is that all?"

It was but Eren didn't want the conversation to end. If it did, the brunet would be subjected to the horrors of his crippling loneliness.

"Can we just talk... until I fall asleep? I don't really want to be alone right now."

Another pause.

"Look kid, I understand you're probably going through some difficult stuff right now but you need to know, and hear me well because it's important, that I'm not your friend. You can call to confirm that I'm doing my job or to ask about any suspicious activity I may see but I don't do small talk, I don't do gossip, I don't do conversation and I sure as hell don't tell you bedtime stories, understood?"

Oh, Eren understood. He had understood even before he had asked the question. The teen nodded, forgetting that he was on the phone. Luckily, the person on the other side of the call had a clear view of him.

"Good. Now go do whatever the hell it is you usually do without worrying about any psychopathic killers 'cause I've got that covered."

Then the call ended.

Eren closed the window, leaving the curtains open for Levi Ackerman just in case. He didn't blame the man for being so outright honest with him, in fact, he appreciated it in a certain way. However, that didn't stop the burning knot in his throat from forming or the tears forcing their way out of his already tired eyes.

He really did understand, more than ever before. The realization had finally begun to settle in. It forced him to face the consequences of his actions; to take in this new reality.  Nevertheless, Eren didn't want his bodyguard to hate the brunet any more than he already did by seeming so pathetic. So, Eren slowly tumbled his way into the restroom where he would remain unseen. Falling to the floor as soon as the door was shut, the stream of tears began falling down his face and wouldn't stop. He cried for hours on end until the exhaustion finally took over, allowing him to drift away into slumber. In his last seconds of consciousness, he couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing by running away.

Chapter Text

“No me toques, no me toques!"

 “Querida... Pero yo te amo!"

 “Pues yo no... porque te vi besando con Ana Gabriel Torres de la Rosa!"

Dramatic music played as the camera zoomed into the girl's poorly produced angry expression. He never understood why soap operas were so popular. But then again, Eren wasn't watching because the show was particularly enticing, hell, he didn't even know what the hell they were saying. He was just too lazy to get up and change the channel.

After Levi Ackerman had officially begun his work as Eren's bodyguard, the brunet had felt brave enough to find the nearest electronics store and buy the cheapest TV he could find. Much to his displeasure, cheap also meant old as fuck. The device was awfully similar to those TV's teachers would use in school meaning it was small, had poor quality and no remote. As if that hadn't been enough, the moment he walked into the apartment heaving from walking up two flights of stairs with that thing in between his arms, the teen realized he didn't have the slightest clue of how to connect it to the cable or if there even was any in the first place.

As a result, Eren had to drag his body back to the store and ask for help from the smelly and blatantly uninterested worker. After a very frustrating back and forth, the worker shoved a bunch of strange contraptions into the teen's arms while he yapped on about “analog” and “digital" and "coaxial cables". When the teen got back to his new home, he fiddled with the things he had been given trying to get the damn TV to work. After an hour or so, a fuzzy image of two people kissing each other passionately began to take form. Eren sighed in relief. He had taken for granted the good old days when all the teen had to do to watch a good show was a single push of a button.

4 days passed.

Ever since, that TV had become his best friend and frankly, even Eren had to admit it was pathetic. For 4 days and 4 nights the teen had been glued onto his bed with nothing more than a blanket he had stolen from home and the increasing pile of Chinese takeout containers and empty cheeto bags.

When he wasn't plastered onto the mattress, he was in the bathroom either crying or masturbating... Or both. Either way the bathroom floor would be riddled with his bodily fluids. It was gross but it was the only coping mechanism he could work with in that moment. However, Eren knew he couldn't keep watching telenovelas forever.

He needed to find a way to make cash.

Sure, the brunet had taken a big stash of money before leaving home but with all the expenses of the Survey Corps he wouldn't last forever.

The green-eyed teen flipped onto his back. He began rubbing his eyes while sighing heavily. The boy had taken note of a diner with a HELP WANTED sign on his way to buy food a couple of days ago. While the pay would be trash, it would be a start. Not to mention, it was only a few blocks away. Eren let his hands plop back onto the mattress and stared up at the roof, trying to muster up the courage to get up. After a couple of minutes he finally threw himself forward, grabbing the jacket carelessly lying on the floor and got up.  He turned off the crappy TV and headed for the door. Only when he was a couple inches away from it did he stop. Eren stared at the doorknob, his heart racing with fear. He shook his head in an attempt to make the feelings go away.

Eren retrieved his phone from his pocket and dialed 'Jonathan'.

"Hey... you're there... right?"

"...yes."

"Ok."

"Are you really gonna call me every time you go outside?" The voice on the other side seemed bothered.

Eren cringed on the inside. He didn't mean to be so pathetic but he couldn’t help it, "...I ...don't really know. Probably not... right?"

"Right."

And the call ended.

Once again, the green-eyed boy sighed deeply. Maybe one day he could feel at peace with his heart and mind. Still, he pushed his internal turmoil aside to concentrate at the task at hand. Staring at the doorknob with replenished courage, he quickly turned it and opened the door.

Once he was at the entrance of the diner, he looked through the big windows to see what was inside. Maybe once it had been a nice little place to hang out with your friends; ten, maybe twenty years ago that is. It had a bit of a retro theme going on with the blue walls and the diner booths and the used jukebox tucked away in the far right. It even had the classic black and white tiles to go with the rest. However, it was missing that neon affect when one thought of retro. All the colors, even the once electric blue, seemed dulled down and lifeless, leaving behind only a memory of a once bright place.

Eren could make out a cute blonde at the reception. Even though she had her back turned to him, he could tell she was the petite type. She had short hair ending a few inched above her shoulders.

Sure, he was currently being followed by crazy criminals and had just hired an assassin bodyguard to keep him safe but a few make out sessions with your new cute coworker couldn't hurt, right?

Eren pushed the glass doors open, a little bell announcing his presence. The girl turned around just as Eren arrived at the bar. The teen looked at the blonde with curiosity, she looked nothing at all like what he imagined. That is, she wasn't ugly or anything rather he had envisioned a girly face with the plump pink lips and mascara. In reality, the girl had much more androgynous features than he had anticipated. She had the big blue eyes and pointy chin but there was something about it that didn't make much sense to Eren.

"Uh... hey." He began.

"Welcome to the Silver Spoon Diner, what can I getcha?"

The voice was also deeper than he had imagined... Eren squinted his eyes and slowly leaned closer and closer to get a clearer view of her face.

"Yeah... about that... I saw the HELP WANTED sign and..."

It suddenly clicked in Eren's head.

"ARE YOU A GUY?!?" He blurted out.

The girl-no, the boy's big blue eyes widened in surprise. Eren stared back horrified both at the fact that he had been attracted to this person initially and that he had no filter. A maniacal laugh distracted them both.

Eren turned to his right to see a brown-haired girl sitting at the bar with a plate full of bacon. Did this place sell dishes of ONLY bacon?

He then looked back at the blond... boy that was now blushing even harder than Eren, "Yes! I am a boy!" His voice trembled with insecurity.

"Don't get mad Armin, even I wasn't sure when I first met you." The girl said with a mouth full of meat.

"C-Can I help you with something else sir? Or are you just here to question me about my gender?"

The brunet wished the world would just swallow him then and there, "Sorry, I didn't mean to- I just- It's not like... MY POINT IS! I saw the HELP WANTED sign outside and I was just wondering if the job was up for grabs." He sheepishly stuffed his hands in his pocket and swayed back and forth. Eren wasn't even sure if he still wanted the job at that point.

The other boy -whose name was Armin apparently- instantly lit up, "Oh! Yes, yes, of course!"

Armin scrambled around for a bit, sounds of tinkering and papers being shoved aside echoing throughout the diner. He took out a form. It had multiple pages and it was filled to the brim with questions.

"Here, if you just fill out this form giving us your information, you know, the basics, name, age, experience, health, allergies, personality test, math level and such we can talk about setting up an interview. Don't worry too much about the interview, it will only be twenty questions that will help me evaluate your personality and go-getting attitude. Afterwards, I will disclose the information I've recollected to the boss and if all goes well we'll give you a call back so you can start the training program and-!"

"Armin, Armin, CALM DOWN. Do you really think all of that is necessary?" The words came out muffled through the bits of bacon.

"Huh?" The blond looked bewildered by the simple question.

The girl snorted, "Just give the guy the job."

"But the boss is counting on me to pick the perfect person to replace Thomas!"

"Dude, the boss just wants to collect his money so he can go home and get wasted. Trust me, he doesn't care who you pick. You know I always trust what you have to say Armin but I feel like this is one of those times where you go a liiiittle overboard." Astonishingly, the girl had already devoured the entire plate and was now petting her stomach, "Now, Imma make some more bacon. Want any?" She playfully stuck her tongue at the boy.

Eren simply kept quiet during this whole exchange. He was considering telling Armin that everything was okay and that he didn't really want the job anyway. However, the blond looked down pensively, his equally blond eyebrows squeezing together in concentration. After a while, he sighed and shook his head.

Looking up at the girl with a small smile he said, "You know what? You're right. I have bigger things to worry about." He turned back to Eren, "You're hired!"

The girl gave Armin a big smile and two thumbs up. Eren on the other hand just looked back at the boy in confusion, "Wh- Just like that? O-Oh, okay. So... when do I begin?"

Armin brought his slender finger to his lips, looking up at the ceiling as he began to think. It was kind of adorable, Eren thought to himself though he quickly shoved that weird idea aside.

"Think you can be here tomorrow at 10 AM?"

Eren sighed, “Sure.”

Kind of a meh chapter, I know, but longer chapters to come! :) 

~Gum

Chapter Text

Author’s Note

Last reminder, this story has strong themes of internalized homophobia. It might get uncomfortable but that’s the point. This story includes some of the homophobia I myself have faced both internal and external, like I said, it’s kind of like therapy lmao. If these themes are too upsetting for you, now would be the time to refrain from reading the rest. It is completely understood.

~Gum

Eren's eyes lazily wandered throughout the diner. He was currently working the cash register after a whole morning of being "coached" on how to do simple tasks like mop and take orders. In reality, that meant that he was just staring there waiting for customers. While it was quite boring, Eren considered it better than having his new coworker go into another winded explanation about how to properly wipe down the tables.

Currently, there were only four customers in the whole shop; a couple and two men eating by themselves. As a result, the boy didn't have much to do but to stare outside in the hopes that something interesting would happen. His eyelids felt heavy and a sudden tiredness washed over his body. The soft sounds of the jukebox playing in the background, the quiet chatter of the couple and the noise of water running as his coworkers washed the dishes in the kitchen didn't help his case. He was just about to give into slumber when the little bell announced someone's presence, pulling Eren out entirely from his previous state.

"H-Uh-Hello! Welcome, what can I get you?" The boy shook his head in an attempt to rid away the sleep.

"Oh... are you the new guy?"

Taken aback by the question, Eren took a good look at this new customer. He seemed to be around Eren's age, slightly taller, with light brown hair and just an overall punchable face.

"I guess."

The other teen looked behind Eren as if he were looking for something, "So, is there anyone else here or just you?"

The green-eyed boy lifted an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"Oh! Hi Jean nice to see you here! Ididn'thinkyouwouldbecomingtoday..." Armin let out a nervous giggle, "But I'm glad you took the time to stop by! Don't worry Eren, I'll tend to our customer."

The blond boy shooed the brunet off to the side to get directly in front of Jean. Eren couldn't help but feel a little irritated by his dismissal. With a huff and a stomping of his feet, he went to sit down on the swivel chair. It was close to the window to the kitchen where Sasha, the brown-haired girl from yesterday, would drop off the plates for Eren and Armin to serve.

"Hey, Sasha."

"Hmm?" The girl appeared with a plate and a drying rag in hand.

"What's with this guy? He tells me all morning about how to do things professionally and shit and just as this random dude comes in he shoves me aside and starts acting all weird."

His green eyes analyzed the weird way that Armin swayed his body from side to side as his hands nervously played with his hair. Not to mention the light blush dusting his cheeks or the way his eyes seemed to spark when they met the other boy’s darker ones.

"Hah, don't worry about that. Armin's just in looOOooVe~"

Eren scrunched his face in disgust, "Wait, I thought Armin turned out to be a guy."

"Yup! Armin's a guy!"

"But that other person is definitely a guy."

"Yup! Jean's also a guy!" She said casually.

Eren's stomach lurched. So not only was his coworker a man instead of a cute waitress but he was also...

The teen watched how Jean would lean into Armin once in a while, smirking at the fact that the simple act would throw the blond boy into a nervous fit of giggles. On the other hand, Armin would make excuses to touch the other boy like by complimenting his shirt or saying his hair was getting longer. They were... they were flirting.

Eren couldn't take the sight of them anymore and turned his back to them in an attempt to calm down his nausea. His dad had taught him that the people that sought romance with those of the same sex were nothing but hooligans that had nothing but lust and orgies on their minds. Even though Armin was a rather effeminate man, Eren hadn't thought the blond was a sexual pervert.

Man, if he wasn't regretting taking the job before he really was now.

After Jean ordered a black coffee and a pastry, the two boys sat down in one of the booths to talk. During this time, Eren still had to be managing the cash register so he tried ignoring them by playing Snake on the shitty phone Levi Ackerman had given him. Still, once in a while he would catch a glimpse of the two smiling at each other like idiots or laughing together and it would cause an inexplicable rage inside of Eren.

Two men weren't supposed to do that.

After two long hours, the taller male finally said goodbye with a long hug and a wink, leaving the blond boy on cloud nine. A couple of minutes passed and he finally seemed to have woken from his daze. He practically bounced his way to Eren and with a goofy smile said, "Sorry about that, I got a little carried away with my-uh... friend."

Eren squinted his eyes at the word friend.

"But", the blond continued, "I'll make it up to you! I can manage for the rest of the day with Sasha so you just go home and rest, ok?"

It should've been news that would make Eren jump with joy but he was still bothered by something, "Ok..."

"Ok!"

As Eren slowly took off his apron and gathered his belongings, he eyed the blond boy who was writing some stuff onto a piece of paper, "Sooo..."

"Yeah?"

"You're... one of those."

Armin was puzzled, "One of those?"

Eren sighed, "You know... you're..." he made vague gestures, "gay." He finally blurted out.

Armin's eyes widened only for him to narrow them a few seconds later, "Yeah."

The brunet's green eyes wandered around, not really knowing where to look or what to say.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Armin finally broke the ice, "Is that a problem?"

Eren took a step back. What was he supposed to say to that? Was he okay with having to spend so much time with a sexual deviant? No. But also, this place was the closest to his apartment and he hadn't seen any other place offering jobs nearby. The teen had a hard enough time calming his nerves long enough to get out of the door, he wished to avoid being out on the street as much as possible.

Eren pensively looked out the windows. Of course there was a problem but he wasn't exactly in the best situation at the moment to do something about it. Best he could do was to keep his mouth shut. Unfortunately, keeping his mouth shut wasn't his strong suit.

"Whatever, just don't try to start something with me 'cause I don't flow that way."

Armin was irked by the response but decided to keep his comments to himself, "Trust me, I won't."

"See you tomorrow then." Eren strolled out of the diner, not even bothering to say goodbye to Sasha. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

His own plan backfired however when he was already a few feet away and heard his name being called.

"Eren!" Armin called out his name, holding the brunet's jacket in hand, "You forgot this."

The brunet awkwardly approached his coworker, "Right, thanks."

The two stood there a while, not quite sure what to do next. It wasn't until Armin spoke up that the building tension dissipated, "Like you said, see you tomorrow then." And with that, the blond boy walked back into the restaurant.

Eren instantly retook his path onto the streets, head full of too many thoughts to truly take in his surroundings. It was a sunny day with a couple of clouds in the sky, enough to keep the day cool but not too much to make it chilly. Typical of the area and the hour, there weren't many people out and about. Since Eren's apartment wasn't located on a pretty side of town, not many were big on the idea of wandering through the area especially considering sunset would begin any minute.

There was a strange stillness in the air, one that some might've chalked up as calm and comforting. However, if Eren hadn't been so wound up in his own thoughts he would've thought it to be eerie. He was so distracted that the boy hadn't noticed how empty the streets were just as he was passing an alleyway. In fact, he didn't notice a lot of things up until four hands forcefully grabbed him from behind, dragging him into said alleyway and disappearing him from the public eye in an instant.

The green-eyed boy twisted and turned in an attempt to escape. His screams were muffled by a dirty hand.

"Grab onto him better dammit, he's slipping!" A grating male voice hissed.

"I-I'm trying!" Another masculine voice replied.

"You're fucking useless, I'll shut him up!"

Just as Eren thought he could escape from the tight grasp, BAM! He received a big blow to the back of his head. His knees buckled, his vision blurred, his whole body went limp. For a moment, Eren wondered if the dusty floors of that random alleyway were the last thing he would ever see.

"Not so tough are you now? Don't worry though, we aren't gonna kill ya. Your daddy Grisha wants you alive, didn't say anything about roughing you up though." The voice cackled.

His green eyes watered at the sound of his father's name. He thought about those endless nights the two had spent under the stars. Flames of anger burned him from the inside. How had things gotten so fucked up?

Suddenly, the mysterious hands let go of Eren who in turn plopped onto the ground face first. The boy heard a bizarre sound he couldn't quite place alongside the sound of liquid splashing on the floor. He meekly lifted his head to look back at what was occurring behind him. The two older men who had attacked him were now falling to their knees. Eren couldn't make out their faces as they were both looking up, hands desperately clawing at their necks. That was because of the hideous gash marked deeply into each one. The bizarre sound he had heard were the gurgled screams coming out as bubbled blood. Behind both of them was his bodyguard Levi Ackerman.

The man had seemed quite short when Eren had first saw him but now Levi Ackerman appeared so tall, no, at that moment he looked like a giant. He stood tall and proud with a bloody sword in hand. His face showed no expression at all, as if he were staring at grass growing and not at two men meeting their demise. Said couple had now fallen completely onto the ground, a wet sound bouncing off the walls as their bodies collapsed onto their own pools of blood.

One fell directly in front of Eren, his green eyes now looking at black, lifeless ones. He stayed there in shock and maybe he would've stayed there all eternity if Levi Ackerman hadn't pulled at the back of his clothes so Eren would reposition himself onto his knees.

"You okay?"

Eren slowly nodded his head.

"Good. Think you can hide behind the dumpster over there for 15 minutes?" He pointed to the item in question.

At that point, Levi Ackerman could've asked him if Eren wanted to dress up in a bunny suit and dance around and he'd say yes. The teen got up, his knees still shaky from the event. The older man firmly helped him get up so Eren wouldn't topple over. Once he was completely up, he stumbled over to the dumpster that was pressed against one of the walls of the alleyway. Once the boy was there, he let his body slide back down to the ground and he hugged his knees.

"Stay. Here. Ok? Don't go anywhere, and if someone sees you and tries to question you give them false information."

The brunet vaguely registered the sounds of his bodyguard moving things around for a while. He heard an abnormal whirring noise and then silence. Moments passed and all he could do was sit still. Eren's eyes sluggishly drifted to where the men were killed only to find that there was nobody there. Not even the pools of blood. The teen didn't even question it. He couldn't. All he heard was a buzzing sound in his head. He simply waited like a good boy for Levi Ackerman to come back for him.

The minutes passed by like water and Eren remained absolutely still during all of it. Had anyone taken a look at the scene they would've thought that time itself had stopped. Before the green-eyed boy knew it, the older male was once again standing before him, looking down at him with a neutral expression.

"Let's go." The bodyguard gestured towards the exit of the alleyway where he had been initially attacked.

The brunet mustered up all his strength to get up once again and walk out. Shivers ran down his spine as he passed the spot where the dead men previously laid. Upon approaching the site, he noticed the area was covered by something akin to black sand.

"Don't worry about that," the shorter man looked down at the pile, putting a hand to his hip, "It absorbs liquids like blood and then stiffens with time so it ends up looking like asphalt. It’s for cases like these when you can't exactly get a clean-up crew to cover up what happened." His silver eyes then traveled to meet Eren's which instantly made the boy look away. There was something about Levi Ackerman that made Eren Jaegar incredibly nervous.

The bodyguard stepped in front of Eren, taking precaution of any passerby before gesturing at the younger male to follow him. It was so bizarre to walk around like two buddies hanging out when they had just been part of two murders not even five minutes ago. Eren made sure to give the shorter man enough space so as to not accidentally bump shoulders. He didn't want to end up with a gash on his throat as well.

Levi pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to Eren, "You should probably take care of that bruise as soon as you get home."

Eren snapped out of his shell-shocked state, "What bruise?"

"You mean you haven't noticed? When you fell face first onto the ground you hit yourself pretty hard."

The brunets tan hand quickly traveled to the right side of his face. Indeed, the area above his eye was swollen and he had even broken skin right above the tail of his eyebrow. There was even a small trail of blood travelling southward. As soon as he had touched the center of the wound, he hissed in pain, suddenly being hyper aware of just how badly it hurt.

"Fuck. How did that even happen?"

"You gonna use the handkerchief or not?" The bodyguard reproached.

The teen gratefully took the cloth and wiped the blood the best he could.

Eren busied himself poking around the sensitive area while he mindlessly followed the bodyguard. He had deduced that the wound wasn't very big and that it was no cause for concern. Still though, he knew that by tomorrow morning, his eye would look like a purple plum if he didn't ice it soon.

It wasn't until they were a few feet away that Eren realized they were headed for his apartment. At no moment did the bodyguard require to be reminded how to get there, basically walking up to the door of Eren's apartment as if it were his own. While it was reassuring to know how efficient Levi Ackerman was at his job, it was also chilling. They went inside the building and up the numerous cases of stairs.

"You first." The raven gestured at the door.

The teens stomach sank. Why did he want to go inside? Of course, Eren quite literally trusted the man with his life but on the other hand, last time they had been alone, the bodyguard had scared the absolute shit out of him, pressing him up against the wall and yelling at him.

Upon seeing the brunet's hesitation, the bodyguard rolled his eyes, "I'm not gonna do anything to you. We're just gonna talk."

Eren's eyes shifted nervously between the doorknob and the older man until he sighed and caved in. After all, if it hadn't been for the man he'd probably be in the back of a van right now. He jimmied the key in and turned it, opening the creaky door with a small push. The brunet awkwardly stepped back to let the other person in.

"Uhh, after you...sir." Eren didn't really know how to refer to the bodyguard.

"Sir? What are we, in the military? Just call me Levi." The bodyguard said as he pushed the brunet another step back.

He watched as Levi casually strolled in, his face distorting into one of disgust. Eren could tell he was secretly judging the messy bed, the pile of garbage and just the overall state of the room.

"I knew you were a slob but it’s even worse up close."

He closed the door, feeling a tinge of embarrassment.

"Sorry." He shrugged.

The man waved him off, "Whatever, its none of my business. I just need some info and I'm off again."

While his bodyguard stood in the middle of the room, the teen took the liberty to walk past the shorter male and sit on his bed. He put his back up against the wall in an attempt to make as much space between the two of them as possible.

Sitting on the bed, his nerves began to settle. While that hadn't been the first time that he had faced a live or death situation, the mention of his father's name had agitated him.

"What kind of info?"

The raven-haired man crossed his arms. He hummed as he thought about his words. As the bodyguard sorted out his thoughts, Eren's mind started to wander. The green-eyed boy had to admit there was something captivating about the man’s face. That is, not that Eren found him attractive, Eren was very much straight. It was much like how people of all walks of life could appreciate a sculpture. Because in reality, Levi Ackerman was much like a living, breathing sculpture. His skin was pale and smooth and his features were slim and fine as if an artist had spent hours and hours carefully chipping away at their block of marble. Even with his uniform on, the brunet could tell that the man had toned muscles underneath.

Eren quickly snapped out of his own thoughts. He really didn't need to be wondering what was underneath another man's clothes.

I must've hit my head pretty hard.

A fiery pulse spread through the right side of his forehead, reminding him of its wounded existence, "Uhm, I'm gonna grab something for my bruise. You think about that."

The teen headed to the restroom where he picked up a small plastic container and a rag that had previously been an old T-shirt. He filled up the container with cold water and headed back to the bed, putting the supplies onto the cheap night stand.

"The hell is that?"

Eren turned to look at the bodyguard who looked almost irked by the very existence of the plastic container and the old T-shirt, "It’s... for my bruise?"

"You're cleaning your wound with that? The rag is so dirty it'll give you an infection instead of preventing one."

Eren looked at the dark brown cloth, "Well... it’s the only thing I have right now."

He had already given back the handkerchief to Levi and he was too scared to ask for it again. The bodyguard pinched his nose and sighed. Whatever was frustrating him, Eren couldn't tell.

"You are... ok, look kid, some things aren't adding up. You told me that people were out to murder you but those two dipshits weren't trying to kill you otherwise they would've pulled out a gun or a knife so, what gives?"

Eren looked down at his lap, "Well I thought they were gonna kill me. I mean... I didn't exactly leave on the best terms... but, one of those guys said they were just planning on kidnapping me, you know, take me back to where I left. But-" Eren turned back to the bodyguard with fiery eyes, "that doesn't change shit! I'm not going back so if any more of those assholes attack me please don't hold back!"

The man tapped his foot, "Right. Well in any given case that makes things easier on my end. If they ever do manage to kidnap you I'll track you down and bring you back, just don't go blabbering on about how you hired me. It's best to keep the element of surprise, got it?" he said sternly.

Eren nodded. He slowly dipped the cloth into the water, "Man, how'd they find me so quickly? I thought I had done a pretty good job at leaving without a trace." The teen mumbled.

The bodyguard watched as the teen sloppily wrung out the cloth and absentmindedly smeared it onto his brow bone, "Don't be so surprised, they weren't total idiots. They found you three days ago and were stalking you 24/7. Since you never leave the apartment, and when you do its during broad daylight, they had no choice but to attack you when they did-what are you doing?"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the bodyguard took wide strides to the bed and snatched the rag out of the brunet’s hand, "Do you do everything so haphazardly?"

"Haph-whatnow?"

Eren's green eyes widened in panic, his pulse instantly fastening at the sudden lack of space between the two males. Levi neatly folded the cloth, dipping it rhythmically into the water and then wringing it properly till it was still wet but not dripping with water. He then placed a delicate finger below Eren's chin, lifting his head ever so slightly. The feeling of the marble fingertip on his own skin made Eren's heart race even faster. He looked up at the man's silver eyes and was fascinated by the way his delicate eyebrows would furrow in concentration. The bodyguard then began to gently press the cool cloth onto Eren's cut. The brunet felt like a deer in the headlights.

"As I was saying," the bodyguard said casually, "They were keeping track of the people passing by through live footage they had on a tablet. Not to mention their van was nearby. They had equipment ready. They weren't just two random criminals that had been offered a hundred bucks to find you, they knew what they were doing."

Eren gulped. It was chilling to know they had been stalking him and he hadn't the slightest clue, "Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered, still uncomfortable with how close the bodyguard was.

"I wanted to analyze how they operate. With how jumpy you are if I told you that they were stalking you, you'd give it away instantly."

Eren frowned, he knew it was true but the comment still irritated him.

"Anyway," the bodyguard sunk the rag into the water, a light pink now flourishing as the once dried blood mixed into the liquid, "don't worry too much about it kid. They had means of communication with someone else so I'll plant a false lead. If I can keep it going for long enough this shitty town will be the last place they'll look. The good thing is that you didn't drag anyone else into this like your blond friend."

Blond friend? The brunet recalled how Armin had chased him outside of the diner to give him his jacket back. Armin the pervert that flirted with other men.

"He's not my friend." Eren blurted out, "Don't get things mixed up. He's one of those weirdos that like men and I don't want anything to do with homos like him."

The words came out much angrier than he had originally intended to the point where even Eren was surprised by the acidity of his own voice.

The atmosphere shifted. The bodyguard stopped what he was doing and then silently put down the rag onto the nightstand. There was a quick downward tug at the corner of Levi's lips. Eren's anger rapidly died off, instead feeling embarrassed about his sudden outburst. The awkward silence didn't help either.

Ultimately, the bodyguard turned around and headed for the exit, "Ok then, I'm off, that’s all the information I need for now." He opened the door but stopped at the doorframe, momentarily looking back at the teen still sitting on his bed, "I wouldn't be too harsh on the kid though, after all, a homo just saved your life today." And with that he closed the door.

Eren sat there shell-shocked, his mouth hanging open. A homo had just saved his life? What the hell did that mean? Could that possibly mean that Levi Ackerman was... no, it couldn't be. Had he understood correctly? He reviewed the sentence over and over again trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The teen buried his face in his hands. Had he just pissed off his bodyguard? Was the man going to stop protecting him because of what Eren's stupid mouth had said? An everlasting pit grew inside of Eren's stomach. With all that had happened that day the teen knew that he preferred no one else to Levi to be his bodyguard. Eren only ever felt safe when he knew the raven was watching over him.

Eren groaned, throwing himself violently onto the bed. He had just fucked up big time, hadn't he? Fuck. Why did he have to have such a big mouth?

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 6

Author’s Note

*Pokes head out* Whoops.

Sorry about not posting last week! My internet, school, and really just about everything was testing my patience lmao. I should mention though that I do have several chapters written ahead of what I publish so it's very unlikely that I would ever stop updating this story without a warning just so y'all know.

Also, I’ve been questioned about this before and apparently most people only use teenager for 17 and under but the reason I use “teenager” when talking about Eren is because it’s quite literally in the name “teen-ager” so I would still use the term even for a nine-teen year old. Idk if its correct but at this point I’ve used it so much it seems daunting to correct it all! Lol!

That being said, let's get to the chapter!

~Gum

The next day, Eren crawled out of his bed with low spirits. Not only was he still embarrassed by the events that had happened last night but his cut had now become swollen to the point where Eren could feel it throbbing. When he made his way to the bathroom, he groaned at his reflection knowing that people would be giving him curious stares all day. Still, he brushed his teeth, took a quick shower and changed clothes in an attempt to feel refreshed and energized.

However, his mood quickly sank once again as he stood in front of the exit to his apartment. Any other day the teen would've called his bodyguard for some reassurance that he was still looking over the brunet but now Eren wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to do it or not. The brunet took out his phone and looked at it for a while, his thoughts continuously bouncing back and forth between doing it and not doing it.

Much to his surprise, the phone began vibrating on its own. 'Jonathan' was calling him. His heartbeat spiked.

"Y-Yes?"

"Why are you taking so long to call me? I've been waiting all damn morning." Levi's voice was as harsh and cold as always.

"Sorry..." The teen mumbled.

"Whatever. Listen, I've got shit to do concerning the two men that attacked you yesterday. Once you arrive at the diner I'll be on my way and I should be back around the time you get off work so be aware of your surroundings and if anything strange happens call me immediately, got it?"

Eren almost had a heart attack upon hearing the news, "Wait, what? B-But what if- I mean- just yesterday."

"Calm down, I'll still have an eye on you. I have some cameras set up and its highly unlikely that anyone will attack you while you're at work."

Eren nodded even though it was a phone call. Wherever he was, Levi must've seen it because he continued saying, "Good. Go on to your job then, or else you'll be late."

The bodyguard hung up. Eren stuffed the phone back into his pocket and shook his whole body, hoping it would relieve a bit of tension. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and left to work.

Eren's worry still consumed him as he approached the diner. Questions like, when will he find me again? will I hide forever? how long can I keep this up? swirled through his head. A part of him wanted to fight back instead of cowering, but he didn't know how.

"Ouch, what happened to you?"

Eren lifted his head to meet Sasha's curious gaze. She sat at her usual place, stuffing her face as always. This particular morning she was downing a plate of scrambled eggs. Armin appeared behind her, his eyes widening at the sight of Eren's nasty bruise.

"I- uh... I got in a fight with someone." The green-eyed boy mumbled.

"Who?" The girl inquired.

"Sasha!" Armin reprimanded, "Maybe he doesn't wanna talk about it." The blond whispered, even though Eren could hear him clearly.

"Why would he not want to talk about it?" Sasha said loudly, "Who beat you up Eren? We'll find him and beat him up too!" Sasha made punching motions. Armin, on the other hand, facepalmed.

"It's no big deal really, just some random guy..."

"Some random guy? That could be anybody!" Sasha threw her arms in exasperation, clearly missing how uncomfortable Eren was with talking about the subject.

Armin frowned, "Still though, it looks pretty swollen. We have a first aid kit here in the diner, it’s not complete but it’s better than nothing."

"Did you even treat it when you got home? Your parents must've gotten mad at you."

Eren avoided eye contact, "Well I haven't mentioned this but I'm new in town so I'm missing things like first aid kits and stuff. Guess I should come around to buying shit sooner than later."

"I could help you out with that!" Armin interjected.

When his gaze drifted back onto his coworkers, the brunet couldn't help but notice that Armin was staring back at him much like how a mother bear would look at her cub, "I take care of most of the house chores back at home so I could help you settle in-" the blond suddenly stiffened, as if he had just remembered something, "I mean... if you'd be comfortable with the idea." He mumbled.

Eren stiffened as well. The memories of their awkward interaction yesterday came flooding back.  Sasha, failing to read the room once again, gave the blond boy a sideways stare, "Why would Eren be uncomfortable with the idea?"

Armin looked off to the side, a pink blush creeping up on his cheeks, "I don't know Sasha, sometimes people prefer doing stuff alone!"

The girl cocked her head, surprised to hear him talk so uncharacteristically loudly, "Hm?"

The green-eyed boy stayed silent. On one side, the thought of buying cleaning supplies with a little gay blond boy was way too cutesy and domestic for Eren's taste. On the other hand, the teen couldn't help but wonder if he could take advantage of this opportunity to get on Levi Ackerman's good side. After all, the bodyguard had mentioned not to be so rough on the blond boy. If Eren were to treat Armin nice this one time, maybe Levi would change his mind about Eren. Then, the teen could stop worrying about Levi leaving Eren to die just because they- ahem, shared different morals.

"You're being silly, right Eren? I'd go with you boys but I gotta babysit my siblings this week. Dad's out of town." She shrugged.

The teen boy chewed on his lip. It was in Eren's best interest to swallow his pride this once, and yet the brunet still felt like he was choking on it.

"Sure." He said hesitantly. All he had to do was to be nice to the blond boy for a couple of hours right? And he could really use the trip to the shops. All the brunet had to his name was a couple of shirts, some underwear, a toothbrush and a bag of stolen money.

Armin perked up a bit at the response, "Alright! Well, you got free time after our shift?"

Eren looked up at the ceiling in thought. He had all the time in the world after work but hadn't Levi said that he was going somewhere? The teen didn't want to be out and about when his bodyguard wasn't around. Also, if the man wasn't around to see Eren acting all nice with Armin, it would defeat the purpose of the trip, "I have to make a call first, then I'll know if I got free time."

Armin nodded, his hair swaying gracefully alongside the movement, "Sure thing, I'll go get the first aid kit meanwhile."

"I already told you, I'll be back by the time you get off work. Stop worrying and do your job."

"Are you sure though? What if you get held up or something? Can you at least call me when you get back?" The brunet whined.

"You know, you're starting to sound a lot less like a client and a lot more like a clingy girlfriend."

The bodyguard was able to make out a huff. The comment obviously irritated the younger male. The older man rolled his eyes.

"Yes," he said exasperated, "I'll call you when I get back, ok? Now you go do your job and I'll go do mine."

He swiftly hung up, not even taking the trouble to say goodbye. A small voice at the back of his head chastised him for being rude to the younger male, a voice that suspiciously resembled Petra's.

Petra.

Man, did she owe him. He was going out of his way to protect her because of how careless she was acting lately. It's not like watching a teenager sprawled on an old mattress, only getting up to piss and jerk off in the bathroom was Levi's ideal Friday nights. Seeing how naïve Eren was, Levi had thought that the job was going to be a piece of cake. How much trouble could a wimpy guy like Eren get into? And yet there he was, only a week into the job and he was already cleaning dead bodies and planting false leads.

Levi groaned, stretching his body out to relieve some stress. He sighed deeply, turning around to look at the van he was about to search. It had false advertisements of a fumigating service plastered all over it, a simple yet effective cover up. He grabbed the keys in his pocket and got to work.

The bodyguard had already taken care of the dead bodies. After patting down the corpses he found no identification of the men. However, he had found the keys to the van, some weapons, a couple of burner phones and a peculiar syringe with a sickly green liquid contained inside. He had them carefully bagged and stored in a black satchel he was carrying, hoping to get them to Moblit as soon as possible to be examined. Even though they were just burner phones, they could be carrying valuable information within. As for the syringe, Levi hypothesized it was nothing more than a drug that the attackers used to get high. Still, there was only one way to know for sure, he had to get it examined as well.

The man opened the vehicle carefully, keeping an eye out for any potential traps. He swung the doors of the back of the car open, revealing a rather empty interior. Levi guessed that it was where they had planned to keep Eren in. He hopped inside, approaching a metal box that had seemingly been soldered to the floor of the vehicle. He crouched down to examine it. Inside he found nothing of interest. Rope, blindfolds, a tire pressure gauge and a couple of bloody rags.

Levi sighed. Looked like the van was going directly to the junkyard. He got back up to a standing position and headed to the front of the vehicle. Once the raven was in the driver’s seat he grimaced at the musky smell in the air. He looked around, failing to find anything out of the ordinary. Upon opening the glove compartment, he found a yellow folder and an unfamiliar grey device.

Levi cautiously opened the folder, an image of Eren Jaeger greeting him as he did. It held sheets of paper with information detailing the teenager’s appearance, age, health conditions and more. There were some type of instructions on the very last sheet.

Do not kill.

Do not rape.

Do not torture.

Knocking out is ok.

Only use syringe in case of emergency.

In case of emergency? Maybe it was a calming drug. 

He read the couple of sentences over and over trying to make sense of it but ultimately decided to stuff them in the satchel to be dealt with later. He moved onto the device. It was mainly a screen that was currently turned off. The man turned it around to examine it from all angles and discovered a couple of buttons on the sides. Looking closely, he was able to make out the telltale engraving of a power button. The moment he used a slender finger to gently press it, the screen lit up a neon green. The bodyguard set some distance between the device and his face as the brightness was too much for his eyes. On the screen were a series of lines in a shade of light green and a bright dot in the middle. In the lower left corner there was a smaller blue dot. Levi looked at it blankly.

He shuffled out of the car all while his eyes stayed glued to the screen. The whole overlay was akin to that of a map, so if the lines indicated streets then what were the dots? The bodyguard extended the arm holding the device and moved it to the sides and behind him, wondering if that would cause it to react. The screen remained static. In turn, Levi took long strides north. First three, then four and finally eight. Levi had just been on the verge of giving up as he saw no response when the screen finally began to adjust itself.

Despite his initial concern for his eyesight, Levi drew the device closer. He realized that the dot in the middle hadn't moved, yet he had sworn the map had gotten closer to it. It was then that he realized that the dot hadn't moved but the blue dot had. So he was the blue dot huh, and apparently he was getting closer to the green dot. Having the streets memorized like the back of his hand, he closed his eyes, mentally wandering through the city. If Levi's calculations were correct, the green dot would be around...

Oh.

That's what the green dot was.

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"That'll be $1.99."

Eren swiftly gave the cashier the asked amount, taking in his other hand the drink he had just bought, "Thanks."

"No, thank you!" She said cheerfully.

The brunet lifted his heavy shopping bags and nonchalantly headed to the blond boy that was sitting on a bench nearby. He was already sipping on his own drink. Things had been awkward when they got off work but once they got to the shops and they had begun discussing what kind of things Eren needed, the tension dissipated little by little.

"Ready?" Armin asked innocently.

Eren nodded, "Yeah let’s go."

"Wait, you gotta try your drink first!"

The brunet made a face at the beverage. Eren and Armin had been on their way back from shopping when the blond boy insisted they stop at a small plaza to buy a couple of drinks from a stand that sold cool beverages, fruit cups and sweet snacks. He had been gleaming with so much excitement that Eren found it hard to deny him so there he was with a cold cucumber-lemon mix in his hand waiting to be drunk. The way the ice cubs glimmered in the pastel green liquid was hypnotizing and the droplets of water forming on the exterior of the cup made it all the more desirable yet Eren still felt hesitant to try it.

He slowly sucked on the straw, his eyes widening as the drink hit his tongue. It was in that moment that Eren realized just how long he had spent surviving off of energy drinks and coffee. The refreshing taste of cucumber was like heaven on earth.

"Damn, that's good."

Armin giggled, "I know, right? That's why I love coming to this place, the blond cocked his head to the side as he spoke, leaving Eren to wonder if he was purposefully trying to act cute, "I used to come here with my grandpa all the time when I was a kid!"

Armin got up and started walking. Eren took the hint and walked alongside him. He gazed at the orange skies above as he listened to the blond boy.

"Used to? Why don't you do it anymore?"

"Well, you know he's older now... he can barely walk nowadays so he can't really do much without help."

Eren was reminded of his next-door neighbor. She wasn't particularly old but she was very much bat-shit crazy. She would constantly ask Grisha if Eren could come over to help her. However, some tasks were stranger than others like unclogging the shower drain, doing the bed-and then undoing it for some reason, counting all the forks, knives and spoons or that one time she asked him to take all the lamps and put them in the living room to ‘ward off ghosts’.

Eren turned to look at his coworker, "Does he live with you and your parents?"

Armin shook his head, "No, my parents live in Rose City. I don't know if you know where that is, it’s a neighboring city two hours from here. I came to live here with my grandpa last year."

"Really?" Eren was surprised, "Wanted to live in the big city of Sina huh? Well, I guess it is a pretty cool town. It’s just our luck that we have to live in the shitty parts of this place." Eren kicked a stray can with more force than he intended. It was frustrating that people were living it up in the heart of the city while he was living in a shitty apartment with crack-heads and lunatics all around. 

"Oh no I didn't come for the big city experience. It's... uh, well I'm planning on getting into Sina university."

The brunet whistled, "Fancy, isn't that school like super prestigious and hard to get into?"

Armin nodded eagerly, "Yeah, but I got a scholarship last year and everything! It isn't a full ride scholarship though and it’s still expensive so I talked to my counselor and we were able to work out a deal. My scholarship would be respected for a year while I save up money- she is the best counselor ever, she's supported me so much. But yeah, basically that's sort of how I ended working at the diner." He shrugged coyly.

"I do other stuff too like babysitting and selling pastries when I have time so, little by little I'm getting there. What about you, thinking about going to college?"

Eren hummed, "I haven't really put much thought into college. I'm just trynna figure out the whole living by myself thing first."

The brunet turned to look at Armin that in turn was looking back at Eren with his blue eyes, waiting for Eren to continue. Eren's pulse quickened, his eyes were so big that they made him nervous. It was like he was being inspected with a magnifying glass, "Ah- yeah, you know, I don't really get along with my dad anymore so I'm on my own."

"What about your mom?" The worry in his eyes became so intense that Eren shifted his attention to the road before them.

"She passed away when she gave birth to me."

"Oh... my condolences."

Eren shrugged, "It’s okay, I mean I never met her and it was a long time ago so, I dunno it’s kind of weird. When I was a kid I used to wonder what she was like. My dad would talk about her once in a while but I wanted to know more, you know? So I would rummage around in the attic looking for old photos of her and then make up stories about her..." Eren suddenly became hyperaware of how much he was oversharing, "But uh yeah, no big deal. Uh, what about siblings? You look like the type that has to babysit your siblings."

Armin gave Eren a small smile. The green-eyed boy wondered if that hint of sadness in the smile was his imagination or not, "No, I don't have any siblings. Just me. You?"

Eren chuckled, "Not blood siblings but back home I got along with a girl that lived next door. I still consider her to be like a sister. We spent every day together. She's kind of scary at first but she's a big softie on the inside."

The blond giggled, "Why would she be scary?"

"Dude, she's got that Medusa stare. Her eyes are like all pitch black so when she gets mad it’s like staring at two black holes sucking your soul out."

Armin's giggle escalated to laughter, "Medusa stare?"

"Yeah! And it doesn't help that she's ridiculously strong-like, strong for a human. I swear she came from outer space. The first time we met, we were in first grade and my dad had told me to take care of Mikasa-ah, that's her name- to take care of Mikasa at school you know we're just getting to know each other, she's nice but a little shy so we didn't hit it off immediately. Well, there's this douchebag that just bullies everyone, he's so mean to everyone but no one would ever stand up to him because he's like 6 feet tall."

"6 feet tall. A first grader. Really." Armin teased.

"Okay-okay maybe I'm exaggerating but he was really tall for his age, ok? And really wide too so you knew just by looking at him that his punches would hurt but he starts poking fun of Mikasa about how she's new and ugly and stuff -which is a total lie because Mikasa is the most beautiful girl your eyes will ever see- but he keeps on spewing bullshit and I get pissed because I had already taken it upon myself to take care of this girl so we're about to get into a fight, no teachers are around to stop us, not even other students because recess was almost over and everyone had gone to do formation to get back to the classroom." Eren took a deep breath.

"Well, we're about to fight when suddenly Mikasa gets in front of me without saying a word. I'm like hey, it’s dangerous, I'll beat up this kid for you don't worry, I get in front of Mikasa again when this kid throws a punch right to my face when I'm not even looking, that little shit.

I fall to the ground and look up and what do I see? This little girl that was so shy and quiet kicks the bully right in the knee, the kid falls to the ground too and she just starts punching him like crazy. She's like one third of his size and he is completely defenseless against her, ok? And then I swear she grabs him by the arm and just throws him up in the air!"

Armin bursts into laughter, "Ok, now you're really exaggerating!"

Eren starts laughing as well and held his hands up as if defending himself, "No, no! I swear, I saw it with my own eyes."

The blond boy stopped walking, holding his stomach that shook with every wave of laughter, "You had just been punched! You were delusional!"

"Ok but-! But here's the weird thing." Eren widened his eyes, "I never saw him again after that."

"What, you think he's floating up in space somewhere?" The blond wiped the tears that had formed in his eyes.

Eren shrugged, eyes still widened in horror, "I'm just saying, weird things happened that day man."

"You're silly." Armin playfully pushed the boy, "His parents probably transferred him to another school after getting into a fight."

"I guess we'll never really know."

Armin looked up at the taller boy tenderly, "Well, as much as I'd like to keep sharing childhood stories, we're here now."

The brunet whirled around to find his building right in front of them. He had been so enthralled in telling the story that he hadn't realized when they had arrived.

"Huh, I hadn't even noticed."

"Yup. So I guess this is goodbye. See you tomorrow?"

Eren pursed his lips. He had to thank the blond boy for helping him out but he was having trouble forming the words. In reality, it had been quite a nice trip.

"Uh, yeah. You got a long walk from here to get home?"

Armin shook his head, "No, I actually live pretty close from here. Don't worry."

A thought arose in Eren's head. Maybe in a parallel universe, they might've been good friends. However, Eren knew that from that day forward he would limit his interactions with his coworker. The whole trip had been only to get on Levi's good side. After that, he had no need to go on shopping sprees with the boy. May the Gods forbid Armin would develop a crush on Eren. The very thought made him a little sick.

"Cool, see you tomorrow then."

The blond boy bowed his head ever so slightly as a goodbye and walked off, sipping on his drink once again. Just before he was too far away, Eren's own lips betrayed him as he suddenly shouted, "Wait! Armin!"

Said boy looked back in confusion, "What is it?"

Eren jogged a little to catch up to him. His right hand unconsciously rose as he automatically tried scratching the back of his neck like he always did when he felt embarrassed. However, the cucumber mix didn't allow him to do such a task so he was left there to fidget on his own two feet.

"Uhhh, well I dunno I just wanted to say thank you for taking me to the shops. I don't know the area very well yet soooo... it was very helpful. And well you really didn't have to do that so it was cool of you to do it anyway." He shrugged, feeling a bit of heat rise to his cheeks.

Armin giggled sweetly, "No problem Eren. When I came to live with my grandpa I had to take charge of the house so I know how intimidating it can be to do these kinds of things on you own so, yeah. It was my pleasure."

Eren stared back at Armin dumbfounded, "Yeah, yeah, cool. I'm... heading up to my apartment now so, bye?"

Armin nodded, "Bye Eren."

The green-eyed boy watched Armin turn around and resume walking. After a couple of moments, he snapped back to reality and turned around as well. The orange sky was now being consumed by a dark blue. Despite the fact that it was only around 8, Eren was totally exhausted.

As soon as he got to his apartment he dropped all the heavy shopping bags and stuffed the cucumber mix in the tiny fridge. He violently threw his body onto the bed, seriously considering just falling asleep with all his clothes on and his teeth unbrushed. The Gods must've really hated him however because in that very moment he heard a knock on the door. The green-eyed boy buried his face in the mattress, hoping to drown out the sound. Instead, the gentle knocking was replaced with a harsh voice.

"You better open this door brat or I'm knocking it down!"

Levi Ackerman.

By the Gods, what did he want this time?

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 7

Author's Note

How are you lovely people doing? I hope well! Comment some song recommendations if you like! I've been listening to the same songs on loop for like a month and could use something fresh, lmao!

~Gum

"You better open this door brat or I'm knocking it down!"

Eren groaned. He was left with no other choice than to get off the bed and drag his tired body across the apartment. Opening the door ever so slightly, he peaked through to see who was on the other side. The shorter man was staring back at him with icy silver eyes. The brunet was about to ask him what he needed when the bodyguard swiftly pushed the door, knocking Eren back.

He stared back at Levi with anger who in turned walked into the apartment like it was his own. The man looked around, his disapproval evident as he eyed the mess. Was he really going to make that face every time he swung by?

The bodyguard closed the door behind him and looked at the shopping bags dropped on the floor, "You just gonna leave those there?"

Eren was bewildered, first this man forced himself in and then he had the audacity to look all disgusted and criticize him immediately, "Uhh..."

"Whatever, so I took care of the bodies of the guys that attacked you yesterday. The van they were traveling in was also dealt with. "

The green-eyed boy quickly fell silent. His irritation was now replaced with concern, "Yeah? And did everything go smoothly?"

The bodyguard nodded, "Yes and I also found this."

Levi pulled out something from his satchel and threw it at Eren who frantically moved to catch it. Eren stared at the black screen and then back at Levi, "... what is it?"

The older man sighed and took a few steps forward, close enough to push the button that activated the device. Neon green lights shined onto Eren's face. In the middle there was a small blue dot and a bigger green dot.

"See that blue dot? That's me, or well the tablet. The green dot, however, is you."

The brunet furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean it's me?"

"You're chipped."

Eren almost dropped the tablet in shock.

"Chipped?!?" He shrieked.

Once again, the older man nodded, "Know by any chance how the people chasing you down got you chipped?"

The boy took a shaky breath. He unconsciously went to sit on the edge of his bed all the while keeping his eyes glued to the green dot. Noticing how shaken up the younger male had become, he let the brunet take in a moment of silence before answering.

"The person chasing me... it's... it's my dad so, he's a doctor and I was a rowdy kid." Eren quickly glanced at Levi, he had expected the bodyguard to show some surprise upon this revelation but his face was as expressionless as always, "He stitched me up plenty of times. Could've chipped me at any time."

"It certainly explains how they found you so fast."

Eren remained silent.

"Think of it this way, if we extract it we can use it to our advantage for the false lead."

The boy's eyes lit up. It was true. Grisha had no way of knowing that they had found out Eren was chipped, he would keep on thinking that wherever the green dot would go, he would go, "W-Well, let's take it out!" He said, anxious to get started.

"That's what I came here to do." Levi approached the bed as he took out two little cases, a grey one and a black one. He laid them out on the bed and opened the black one up, revealing medical instruments like the ones Grisha had back in his studio, "Strip."

Eren's mood fell immediately, the horror rising in him, "W-What?!?"

"What's the hold up? I gotta search you for the tracker."

Eren could feel a blush forming which made him all the more flustered, "Y-Yeah but..."

His mind entered a blank. In reality there was no reason for him to be putting up a fight.

"But?" The bodyguard crossed his arms, a tapping of his left foot signaling impatience.

"Nothing..." He muttered.

The brunet threw the device aside and hesitantly got up from the bed. The stare of Levi's eyes felt so intense that in a burst of anger, the teen blurted out, "Can you at least turn around? You're making me all uncomfortable."

The bodyguard rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Eren peeled off his T-shirt and all but kicked his stupid shoes and jeans off all the while mentally cursing his whole existence. Eren wasn't the self-conscious type and yet he worried about what Levi would think when he would see Eren's skinny frame. With the stress of running away and being on his own he had lost a couple of pounds. He was naturally a skinny person, so to have lost weight made him look almost sickly. His embarrassment only heightened upon realizing that he was wearing his white boxers with little red hearts -a gift that Mikasa had given him with a shit-eating grin.

Eren pressed his hands against his face and took a deep breath. If ever there was a good time for Mother Goddess Ymir to take him away to sleep for eternity it was in that very moment.

"Ready." He mumbled after finally accepting his destiny.

Levi faced Eren. Whatever comments the bodyguard had he kept them to himself.

"Sit down on the bed and stretch your arms out like this." He lifted both his arms in a T position.

The green-eyed boy followed the orders. His blush deepened as Levi got closer. The bodyguard got down on one knee as his eyes drifted all around Eren's upper half, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The raven then grabbed Eren's left arm and began kneading into it with his fingers, almost like a massage. Slowly but surely, he started from the wrist but travelled upward.

"This'll be faster if you relax a bit you know."

Ironically, Eren tensed up more when he heard the statement. The brunet had been certain that Levi was about to chastise him but much to his surprise, the man simply sighed and continued with his work. Eren's green eyes followed the man's slender fingers. His tan skin made Levi's lighter complexion pop out. Just like the time the bodyguard had helped him clean his wound, he was fascinated by the way the bodyguard touched his body with delicacy and precision as if the raven knew exactly how much pressure to use and where to use it. For a second, Levi looked up at the brunet which made Eren instantly look away, his heart racing at a hundred miles per hour.

"So," Levi's deep voice hit Eren's ears, "how was your date with the blond one?"

Eren almost fell off the bed, "Date?!? What date?!? I wasn't on any date!"

The bodyguard chuckled, the sound being low and rich, "Calm down, I'm just teasing."

The green-eyed boy took a deep breath. If he didn't control his emotions soon he was going to blurt out something else that would piss Levi off, "I needed to buy some things and he offered to show me around since I'm new in town, that's all." He gritted his teeth to avoid blabbering on.

"That was awfully nice of him. You won't meet a lot of people like that here in the city so you should be grateful. It even seemed like you two were hitting it off. Who knows, maybe you two could be friends."

The brunet furrowed his eyebrows, "He's nice but I don't really plan on making friends right now... you know in case I need to move or something."

Levi nodded, his pitch-black hair swaying gracefully with the movement of his head.

How could the man make such a small movement seem so elegant? It was really starting to piss Eren off. The brunet looked off to the side. "Plus... what if he like... falls in love with me or something I dunno..." He said without much thought.

Levi chuckled again, though this one was closer to a laugh. Eren glanced through the corner of his eye to look at the bodyguard's face. He perceived the smallest of smiles dancing on the man’s thin lips. The brunet was fascinated. Such an insignificant detail completely changed the face of the bodyguard. Levi was so scary because of the intimidating scowl he always had and yet with an upturned corner of the lips he seemed... nice. Like the kind of man a group of girls would be swooning over. Eren's lips slightly parted as his eyes began to drift all over the man's face. He wondered how many girls hearts the raven had broken. Many, that was certain.

"I don't think you're that boys type. Didn't you see him the other day? He was head over heels over that tall one that visited him."

Eren snorted. Something about the comment made Eren feel like Levi was gossiping with him like two teenaged girls, "Yeah, do you think they make a cute couple?" He teased.

Levi looked up at Eren, the small smile still there, "What? You think I'll just stare at you playing on your phone for 3 hours straight? Even I get bored you know. Plus, it was pretty obvious."

The man who had now finished examining the arm, set about doing the same thing to his left leg, starting at Eren's foot.

"I guess." The younger male mumbled.

Eren watched Levi for a while, a somewhat comfortable silence hovering between them. Unbeknownst to the boy, he had relaxed considerably with the conversation. The fact that Levi's delicate exploration of Eren's skin felt like a massage helped the brunet relax further. The bodyguard stopped once he reached the brunets knee and switched to Eren's right hand.

"Still though, I find it strange that you agreed to having him help you out. I thought he creeped you out." Levi's smile was now gone. Instead there was a neutral expression in his face, "Well... it's none of my business really."

The bodyguards lips pressed into a tight line. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the man liked to keep his relationships with his clients strict and with minimal contact. Yet there they were having a casual conversation as if they were buddies. For some inexplicable reason that made Eren's heart swell up with pride. 

Even so, he chewed on lip as he was unsure of what to say.

Really I just did it so you wouldn't hold a grudge on me because you're the guy keeping me alive right now so I don't have much choice but to be on your good side, do I?

That wouldn't go down well.

The green-eyed boy shrugged, "I dunno. Just thought it was a nice offer since I don't know the town well."

The bodyguard silver eyes stayed glued to his work, "Right."

He let go of Eren's arms and got up. Placing a hand onto Eren's left shoulder he said, "Turn to the right."

The brunet obeyed. Levi gently pushed Eren's head down to inspect his back better. A small shiver ran down his body at the sensation of Levi's cool fingers on his spine. The two said nothing as the bodyguard inspected the younger males back. The silence began to lull Eren into a sleep. He soon remembered just how tired he was. His eyes were about to close completely when a pinch to his left shoulder blade woke him up.

"Hey! Careful!" He yelped.

"Should be here." Levi responded.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the bodyguard reach out for a pair of gloves in the little black box, "You're not sensitive to pain, are you?"

Eren gulped. He was familiar with pain but that didn't mean he was a big fan of it, "Nah. Go for it."

The brunet closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He ignored his flesh being cut open and prodded to the best of his abilities. In a way, it was sickeningly nostalgic to the times Grisha would treat him.

Levi was quick and efficient. It didn't take him long to extrude the small chip from the boy’s shoulder blade and carefully place it in a little container. He then stitched the younger male without much trouble. The raven was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly he was able to do the whole operation. Eren hadn't lied, he was good at dealing with pain.

Soon after, he grabbed the grey case and opened the zipper. Inside were bandages, gauze, a mini alcohol bottle and some ointments. With said material he patched the brunet right back up.

"You should be good with that for now." He said as he put all the instruments back in their place.

"Does that mean I can put my clothes on now?" Eren questioned.

"Go right ahead." The older man answered.

The teen grabbed his clothes and shuffled on to the restroom leaving Levi to pick up the mess that had been made. Once he was done, Levi waited for the brunet to come out. The silver-eyed man put his satchel back on and looked around.

What a dump.

The sound of a door creaking notified Levi that Eren had finally come out.

"So what now? Are you taking the chip around the world or something?"

Levi waved him off, "I'll work out the details tonight. I gotta swing by the labs to pick up some stuff I left this morning so don't do anything stupid. Just go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning."

Eren raised an eyebrow, "You guys got labs?"

"Of course we have labs. There's a reason why we're number one in this business. We're prepared and we do things the smart way."

Without a warning, Levi threw the grey compact case towards Eren who once again scrambled to catch it, "A heads up would be nice, you know?!!" The teen said exasperated.

Levi ignored him, "Don't forget to clean the wound daily. Everything you need should be in there. It'll also help with your eye so you don't have to wait for Armin to do it for you."

The brunet tsked, crossing his arms. 

"What? You're offended?" The bodyguard walked towards the exit, blatantly uninterested in repairing any feelings he might've hurt, "You should be grateful. Think of it as a gift for your birthday."

Eren's arms dropped. He looked at the shorter man with wide eyes. Upon noticing the change in Eren's mood, Levi said, "Oh yeah, I guess no one knows huh, happy birthday brat."

"H-Wh-How did you know?" The younger male shrieked, too surprised to catch the name-calling.

"The hitmen had a file on you." Levi shrugged.

Eren felt a blush creep up on him once again. It felt nice to have someone remember your birthday.

"Uhm... thanks... thatsreallyniceofyou." He mumbled.

"Don't get too coy on me kid. You better use that kit or else I'm beating the shit out of you with it. Talking about shit, clean your damn apartment. I've seen trash cans cleaner than this place." He gestured wildly at the room, "Next time I come this place better be so clean you can eat off the floor- trust me, I'll know. I'm not entering the room otherwise, got it?"

Eren pouted. Talk about ruining the moment.

"YOU GOT IT?" The man repeated himself, a sassy hand placing itself upon his hip.

"Whatever." Eren mumbled.

"EXCUSE ME? That didn't sound like a yes to me. I should get closer to hear you better."

He took a few steps closer towards the young man, a menacing glare warning Eren to tread lightly.

"Yes siiiir."

Levi ignored the mocking tone, "Good. Now go to sleep and keep your phone nearby."

Eren sighed, the weariness washing over his body. Going to sleep sounded pretty good, "Alright, goodnight."

The bodyguard nodded, "Goodnight."

The raven promptly left the room. As soon as the door was shut, Eren went to put on the locks. After a moment of leaning against the door, he made his way to the bed. Sprawled all across, he tried to convince himself to put on his pajamas and brush his teeth before falling asleep. However, it was too late. His eyes had already shut close on their own accord and they weren't planning on opening back up.

Chapter Text

The sound of flirtatious giggles softly echoed through the diner, reaching Eren's ears. One of his eyebrows twitched in response, the annoyance rising inside of him.

"Eren, stop sulking already. You're driving all the customers away." Sasha teased.

"I'm not sulking." He muttered.

Sasha eyed him. Said boy was sitting on a swivel chair next to the cash register. He sipped orange juice from a red straw that had clearly been chewed on. The brunet was all but slumped over the bar with his head leaning against his palm. His furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyed plainly indicated irritation. 

"Really? Because you look like a jealous ex-girlfriend right now." She snickered.

"Ha. Ha." Eren retorted, "I just don't understand why they gotta do their..." the brunet crinkled his nose, "mating ritual right in front of us."

Another round of giggles could be heard. Irked, Eren glanced over to the source. Jean had once again visited Armin and just like before, the blond boy forgot everyone and everything the moment the taller boy walked in. Armin had led Jean to the booth tucked in the right corner of the restaurant, something Eren had found strange. The green-eyed boy obsessed even further with the act when he clearly saw Armin glance nervously towards Eren before they sat down. Was Armin trying to hide their romantic interactions from Eren? It was something that should've appeased him as it meant that Eren could ignore them better and yet it only irritated him further.

That had been around an hour ago.

"Oh lighten up, here! Try one of these." Sasha placed a plate of tater tots in front of Eren.

"Food isn't the solution to every problem you know."

The girl made a face, "I beg to differ. Try them, come on!"

Eren sighed. He bit into one to appease Sasha. They were actually very delicious as they were stuffed with cheese and sausage.

"Good, right?"

The brunet nodded, too busy stuffing his face with food to give a proper answer. Sasha laughed.

Meanwhile the two conversed, Jean and Armin had stood up from the booth and said their goodbyes. One last wink from Jean made Armin practically float over to Eren and Sasha once the tall boy had left.

Sasha nudged him, "Hey there lover boy, how'd things go?"

Eren rolled his eyes.

"Great!" The blond boy’s cheerful expression soon turned wry, "Wait-no... bad!"

Eren and Sasha exchanged glances, "Bad?"

"Yes! Jean invite me to a party!"

The other two coworkers stared at Armin like he had just grown an extra head. It was Sasha who finally questioned the boy, "Isn't... that a good thing?"

"It's great!" Armin buried his face in his hands with despair.

Eren blinked slowly, "Is this some kind of gay thing I'm too straight to understand?"

Armin seemingly ignored the comment, instead grabbing Sasha's hands and pulling her closer, "Sasha I can't go to that party alone! I'm awful at parties! Come with me pleeeeeaaaseee!"

"What do you mean you're awful at parties? It's the easiest thing in the world! You just get drunk and do stupid shit."

Armin nodded vigorously, "That's what I'm bad at! I don't like drinking, I just kinda stand there watching everyone do weird and gross things... I spend most of the time thinking about how I'd rather be at home..." He looked down shyly, a light blush appearing on his face.

Sasha chuckled, endeared by Armin, "I wish I could but I already told you my dad's outta town. I'm gonna be babysitting my siblings till next week. Can't you find someone else to go with you?"

Armin's blush deepened, "I-I don't really have any friends my age with me taking a year off of school and all."

"Wait! I know someone who could go with you. He's our age and I'm preeeetty sure he'll be free."

The blond's eyes lit up, "Really?!?! Who?"

The girl pointed at Eren who had just finishes annihilating the plate of tater tots. He had a ketchup stain on the corner of his lips, "Say what now?"

Before the green-eyed boy could say anything else, Armin pushed the plate aside and all but threw himself over the counter, now grabbing Eren's tan hands instead of Sasha’s. His big blue eyes shined like the ocean on a sunny day, "Eren, I know we haven't known eachother that long-"

"Noooooo…" He began, already knowing where this was going, "No way."

The blond frowned, something that appeared more cute than intimidating, "Pleeeaaseee, I have no one else I can ask."

"Yeah, and wasn't Armin nice enough to help you out with your shopping yesterday? Sounds like you owe him one." Sasha chimed in, blissfully unaware of the venomous daggers Eren's eyes were sending her way.

"Uhhh... I don't knoowww..."

Armin's eyes widened with realization, "Ah! Beer! There's gonna be free beer aaandd every party needs cute girls. Maybe you could find a nice one and chat her up."

Eren's hesitation halted. Booze? Hot girls? Was he going crazy or was going to the party starting to sound good? He had only gotten drunk once before and it had been an awful experience. The brunet had been itching to give it a second try, maybe this time with a better outcome. And making out with a cutie wouldn't hurt either.

The blond boy noticed Eren's inner turmoil and quickly pounced, "You'll just have to arrive with me and stay for the first half hour. Once I find Jean I should be good! It's just the ‘getting there without knowing anybody’ bit that has me nervous. After that you can drink and make out as much as you want."

Only thirty minutes? That didn't sound too bad...

The brunet liberated his hands from Armin’s grasp. He scratched the back of his head, deep in thought, "Weeellll, how bad could it be?"

A small smile formed on Armin's lips, "Is that a yes?"

The brunet sighed, "Sure."

"Yay!" Armin leaped a foot into the air causing Sasha to cackle at the sight.

Eren chuckled as well.

"Gimme your phone number and I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" The blond sweetly smiled back at Eren.

The boy rolled his eyes even though he couldn't hide his smirk, "Okay."

Author’s Note

Y’ALL

Sorry for the short chapter, hehe! Next week I’ll only be posting one instead of two but that's because it’s one big boii. Also, it’s one of my favorite chapters! Can’t wait for you guys to read it :) See you next week!

~Gum

Chapter Text

Author's Note

For anyone that wants ambient music for this chapter, I wrote it listening to this : (youtube . com ) - watch?v=dUudCz02bb4

~Gum

The last hour had been a blur for Eren. Just a while ago he had met up with the blond boy so they could head to the party together. Much to the brunet's delight, a beer had been placed in his hand almost immediately by some random dude in a Hawaiian shirt. However, things hadn't gone so well for poor little Armin. Jean had greeted them upon their arrival but much to the blond's disappointment the tall boy only chit-chatted for a while before leaving to talk to some other friends.

Ever since, Armin had been busy sulking in a little picnic table farthest away from all the movement. Surprisingly, Eren had decided to keep him some company though it wasn't so much so the green-eyed boy having empathy for the poor soul rather Eren just wanting a nice place where he could get drunk in peace.

And so, they had been sitting there for ten or fifteen minutes in total silence, watching everyone else have a good time. The party was situated in what Eren could only assume to be Jean's backyard. The two boys had arrived just as the sun had set so the place was illuminated by orange lights with a couple of colorful blue, purple and green bulbs here and there. Backed up against the tall wooden fence was a set of tables mostly with beer but a couple of bowls with chips as well. Closer to the center there were four speakers that formed a square, where girls and boys alike swayed to the club music blasting through the air.

Eren had been content with just that until he tipped the metallic can onto his lips only to find that no more beverage came out.

Fuck.

He stared at the can angrily, mentally cursing the innocent container for being empty. His eyes wandered about, not really knowing what to do. He found himself staring at Armin who was slightly pouting all the while looking in Jean's direction. Eren couldn't help but notice the way Armin's lower lip seemed to glisten. Was he wearing lipgloss? Now that he took a closer look, he had put on some mascara and blush as well. If Eren hadn't known Armin beforehand, he would've never believed that Armin was actually a boy. Not only did his long eyelashes and rosy cheeks resemble that of a schoolgirl but his outfit didn't help him look any more masculine either.

Armin wore a sky blue shirt alongside some skinny jeans that ended right above his ankles. His shoes were a snowy white, as spotless as the open cardigan he sported. The oversized cardigan made him look even smaller than he was, giving off the impression that you were looking at a petite girl.

Even his hairstyle was different that night. Armin had two clips in his hair, one white and one black that made it so his bangs were swept to the side and not straight over his forehead like always. In the back of his head, Eren thought about how he preferred that hairstyle to his usual one. There was something about the way the side swept bangs combined with Armin's delicate face that the green eyed boy liked. But he would rather die where he sat than ever admit it to the blond or anyone for that matter.

Eren frowned, shaking his head to get rid of the strange thought that had entered his mind. Armin must have noticed as he turned his attention onto the brunet.

"What's the matter?" He said in a concerned voice.

It made Eren sick. Why did this guy always have to put up a sweet and innocent act?

"No beer." he muttered.

Armin chuckled, pushing the beer that was given to him towards the green-eyed boy, "Here, take mine."

Eren examined the can. He realized it hadn't even been open yet. He lifted an eyebrow, "You sure?"

Armin nodded, "I don't drink. Don't really get the point of it."

Don't really get the point of it?

There were plenty of points to it. To drown the millions of thoughts screaming in your head. To forget you were sad. To forget you were mad. To feel more relaxed. To get a good night's sleep or to lose total inhibition and have fun.

However, Eren kept his mouth shut. He didn't want Armin changing his mind. He gladly took the beer, smiling at the blond as he did so, "Thanks!"

Armin put his elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand, smiling back at the brunet, "You're welcome."

Eren's face quickly dropped, shifting his attention to opening the beverage. Sometimes Armin would stare at him in a way that would make him feel uneasy.

"So... shouldn't you be wooing Jean... er... or the other way around? I dunno." Eren fidgeted with the tab of the tin can.

Armin sighed, "Well, I could ask you the same thing."

Eren gave the boy a puzzled expression, "What do you mean?"

"Shouldn't you be flirting with some cute girl right now? There's plenty around."

Eren looked around, "Eh, none are really my type."

"Not your type? What are you talking about? There are plenty of pretty girls around!"

The brunet sipped on his beer, "No offense, but how would you know? You've got other tastes..."

Armin exhaled, "I mean I don't own a car but I can still tell a good-looking one from an ugly one."

Eren shrugged, "I guess."

Armin playfully slapped the other boy's shoulder, "Come on now, tell me, what's your type? Surely we can find a girl for you."

The teen ran the thought through his head. Looking back at his love life, he couldn't discern a pattern in the girls he had dated. When he was in the last year of middle school he had a girlfriend that was very shy, with a couple of big brown eyes as sweet as a cup of hot cocoa. The relationship only lasted that year since Eren didn't go to the high school she attended next year. Other than that he could only think of one other person that he had been involved with romantically.

"Well, I used to really be into this girl. She had blonde hair- it was so soft all the time I don't know how she did it," Eren furrowed his eyebrows as he lost himself in his memories,"and she had these really pretty blue eyes you know, sort of likes yours." Eren's stomach sank. What in the hell had he just said? "Ahhh... don't... don't take that in the weird way. I was just trying to say that she had blue eyes and you have blue eyes... you know a lot of people have blue eyes." He rambled on.

The boy chuckled, seemingly unfazed by Eren's comment, "Tell you what Eren, I don't take anything you say in a 'weird way' and in exchange you act more relaxed when you talk to me."

The brunet was flabbergasted. What had Armin meant by that? He was suddenly hyperaware of how on edge he always felt when talking to the blond. Eren wasn't the type to think before he spoke- as if it weren't obvious -but he was always worried about Armin taking what Eren said as some kind of flirtatious invite. If it hadn't been for keeping his bodyguard happy and the promise of free beer he would've just kept his distance from the blond boy since the first day they met.

Eren didn't understand why he was always so high strung around Armin and since he couldn't understand why he felt that way he just got angry. He would've frowned all night if it weren't because something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Wait, what about her? She's cute." Eren pointed at a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and baby blue eyes just like those of someone he used to love except this girl's eyes glistened with innocence and happiness, something he had always wished to see in the eyes of his beloved but never did.

Armin winced, "Oh, um, not her."

Eren raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. Another girl, much taller and with tan skin approached and wrapped an arm around the smaller girls waist, promptly kissing her on the lips.

Eren threw his arms in the air, utterly exasperated, "Seriously?!"

Armin bursted out in laughter, hiding his smile behind a hand. Despite his own misery, Eren joined in on the laughter still not believing how unlucky he was. However, the feeling of someone staring at him crept up on him but when he turned to look at who it was he only found Jean talking to Hawaiian Shirt guy. Eren shrugged it off, he must've imagined it.

"Ahhh, fuck my life man." Eren chuckled to himself, taking a chug of his beer.

"Don't worry," Armin wiped the tears from his eyes, "the night is still young. Who knows what'll happen?"

Armin subconsciously turned to Jean's direction who was now cheering for a friend to drink two beers at the same time.

Eren slumped a bit into his chair. Seeing Armin look at the tall boy like a lost puppy was bumming him out.

"So, you ever gonna talk to him? Or are you just gonna watch me get drunk all night?"

The blond quickly turned away, blushing a bit as he did so, "W-What?"

Eren gestured at Jean. Armin's blush only deepened.

"Well," he started playing with his hair nervously, "if he wanted to talk to me he would've done so already." He shrugged.

The brunet eyed Armin. He really was just like a girl, mannerisms and all, "Well if you aren't going to talk to him you might as well have some fun while you're here."

Armin perked up, "Oh yeah? Like by doing what?"

The green eyed boy shrugged and scanned the crowded backyard, "I dunno, how bout dancing? Dancings fun."

"Alone? No way! I'll look like a total loser. Not to mention that I'm not even good at dancing."

"How can you not be good at dancing? All you have to do is, like, sway with the music."

Armin laughed, "Oh really? Are you good at dancing?"

Eren huffed, "I can move to a beat or two."

Armin's blue eyes brightened up, "Excellent! Then come dance with me!" He said as he clapped his hands together.

The brunet's brain stopped working for a second, "Wow, wow, wait a minute. I said I can dance, I never said I'd dance with you."

The other boy pouted, "Why not? You were the one with the idea. Plus, it's not like we'd be dancing together, we'd just be dancing in close proximity," The blond crossed his arms, "And if you're as good at dancing as you say, you'll be able to swoon a lady nearby no problem."

Was that a little bit of sass he detected in Armin's voice?

If there was anything Eren could never do it was to back down from a challenge. In that moment he realized just how black the sky was and how sober his mind was so he guzzled down the rest of his beer and slammed it against the little picnic table, wiping his mouth with his hand, "Alright. You wanna go dance? Let's fucking go dancing." He muttered.

Despite Eren's attitude, Armin was brimming with joy, "That worked?! Alright! Let's go!"

The shorter male practically bounced to the unofficial dance floor with Eren trudging not too far behind. When they were in a spot close enough to blend in with the moving and grooving bodied but not too close as to be swimming in people, Armin turned to Eren with that same spark in his eye albeit more nervous than before.

Eren had naturally started bopping to the beat as soon as the vibrations of the speakers reached his body. Armin however stood there awkwardly.

"Alright," Armin looked around like a lost pet, "show me how to dance!" He made something akin to a welcoming gesture to the green-eyed boy.

The brunet quickly examined his surroundings to make sure no one was looking at them. Luckily for him, everyone seemed to be wrapped up in their own business.

"It's really not that hard. All you have to do is-you're too close to me."

Though somewhat mean, Eren's bluntness caused Armin to laugh. He respectfully took a step back though he did so with a mocking look on his face.

The teen rolled his eyes, though a small smirk formed on his lips. The shorter boys laughter was quite contagious, "Look, for beginners all you have to do is just sway from side to side," Eren shuffled his feet just like he had described, each step synchronizing with the beat, "You can literally do this all night and no one will bat an eye. If it were like techno music or something you'd jump but its not so you can just do this and then you let the music take over and tell you what to do with your arms."

He demonstrated by first moving his arms side to side like his feet, then putting an arm up, pointing to the sky while moving it slightly. Then, he stood in place while pounding a foot into the floor and pumping a fist into the air. Finally he stopped and simply swayed with the beat.

"See, you don't need to fucking breakdance or anything-"

"What?!" Armin pointed at his ear, the song had changed into a much louder one.

In response, the green eyed boy tilted his body closer to him, "You don't need to breakdance or break into a fully rehearsed choreography or anything!" He basically screamed, "Just do what I just did and eventually your body will naturally know what to do."

Armin nodded sheepishly.

"Well," Eren still spoke in that louder tone, "What are you waiting for? Do it."

The boy timidly began moving his body around though the shyness of his movements didn't match the energy of the song.

"Move your shoulders more. You're too stiff."

"What?!"

"Move your-" Eren took a step closer to Armin, raising his tone once again, "Move your shoulders more! And the torso, you gotta move the torso! Like this!"

As Eren tried showing Armin a few ways to move his upper body with the beat, the song changed once again to one that he was quite familiar with.

"FUCK! I fucking love this song!" Eren screamed.

In a matter of minutes, Eren went from basic dancing to him doing pop and locks and bodyrolls to the sticky rhythm that blasted into his ears. All the while, the blond boy studied the teen, mimicking a couple of the more basic movements here and there until after a while he found his own, much more reserved, style of dancing.

In the middle of the song, Eren found himself making eye contact with Armin who giggled at the way the brunet had lost himself in the music. Eren laughed as well, a bubbly feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time spread through his stomach.

"Hey! You're Jean's little friend right?"

The two boys turned to look at Hawaiian Shirt guy. The way he sloppily moved with the beat indicated he had drunk his fair share of alcohol. Armin raised an eyebrow.

"Ummm... I guess?"

"Yeah! Jean's told me about you!" He yelled cheerily, "Hi, I'm Marco! You want one of these?" The boy raised one of the two red cups in his hand.

Armin absentmindedly accepted the cup handed to him, "Really? What has he said?"

Eren however, couldn't help but interrupt, "What's that?!"

The cup held a bright orange liquid with a couple of ice cubes floating on top.

"Orange juice!" The dark haired boy said brightly, "Oh yeah mixed in with a little bit of tequila."

Armin pouted, handing the drink over to Eren almost immediately, "Sorry, I'm not a big drinker."

The green eyed boy took a quick sip, his eyes widening at the fruity flavour, "Oh damn, that's some good shit."

Hawaiian shirt guy laughed, "Yeah? I could get you more of those if you wanna get shitfaced tonight!"

Eren chuckled, "Why else would I be here? I'm not leaving till I'm crawling on the floor."

The other boy cackled, "You're gonna need to finish that one first though if you want another one. Come on, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG!"

The boys whoops caught the attention of the others close by, causing them to join in on the clamor. Eren shrugged, doing as the audience asked and gulping down the alcoholic beverage without hesitation. He finished with a refreshing "ahhh" which caused the people around him to cheer and laugh excitedly before returning to whatever it was they were doing.

Marco was exhilarated, "Hell yeah dude! H-Hold on! Hold on!"

The boy drank the remains of the other cup he had held onto only to stumble away. He disappeared for a moment, a moment that Armin took to give Eren a teasing look. It didn't take long for the boy to appear before them once again, this time with a new set of cups.

"Here man, you earned it! And another one for you Armin, I know you said you didn't drink but you should at least try it." Marco winked.

"Yeah, if you don't like it you can just give it to me." Eren remarked, looking at his new drink with excitement.

"Marco! Floch is puking all over the place! Kick him out already before I do. He's grossing me out." The tall tan girl Eren had seen before looked at the boy with little patience.

"Oh. Well fuck." He said carelessly.

The girl's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Fuck. Seriously? You're drunk too!"

"Whaaaat? No I'm not. I'm as sober as a... very sober person. Look!" The boy formed a very wobbly four with his legs.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Whatever, drunk or not you're dealing with him!"

"Wait! But I was gonna tell Armin that-!"

"I said you're DEALING WITH IT!" And with that she grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away. The sudden movement caused Marco to trip with his own feet and stumble himself out of the dance floor, hitting a lot of people on the way.

Eren watched them leave until they could no longer be seen. It wasn't until Armin spoke up that he realized he was just standing there.

"Eren? You okay?"

The green eyed boy whipped his head to face Armin. A big mistake, he found out as it caused his surroundings to whip around as well. He blinked a few times to get rid of his confusion. How much tequila were in these drinks again? Oh well, time would tell. He drank from the cool cup once again. There couldn't be too much alcohol in them as the overall taste was sweet. While the orange flavor was definitely present, there was something else in it that enriched it. Maybe a bit of lime with a hint of something else. The bitterness of the alcohol gave it a nice touch so that the sugary taste wouldn't be overpowering.

Eren started dancing once again. "You should try the drink. Its pretty good. You don't have to finish it if you don't want to."

Armin, who also resumed swaying side to side, examined the cup with curious eyes, "Well, one sip can't hurt can it?"

Eren shook his head, "No way!"

The blond boy hesitantly took the cup to his pink lips. After a moment of savouring the flavor, Armin looked up at the taller male with enthusiasm, "Oh wow! You're right! It's pretty good!"

The green eyed boy chuckled. He nodded with the rhythm of the beat, "Told you, now let's dance!"

"UGH! In a moment. There's too many people there and I'm so hot!"

"Huh?" Eren looked around bewildered. They were no longer at the dance floor. They were sitting on a new picnic table that was a couple of feet away.

Armin rested his head on said table with half-lidded eyes and a flushed face.

"Are you okay? You look a little red." The green eyed boy was astounded to hear his own voice slurring a bit.

"I'm okay," the blond made a waving motion, "...probably shouldn't have drank that thing Marco gave me. I think it made me a little sick..."

Eren chuckled, "Sick? You're probably just tipsy."

He looked at the half empty cup in his hand. He had sworn he had already finished his drink. Had he gotten another one at some point? He couldn't remember. The brunet left said cup on the table and changed his position to where he was no longer facing the table, rather looking outward to the people dancing not too far ahead. However, his limbs felt light and his body tingled which caused his movements to have very little grace.

"You're one to talk, you can barely stay still!"

"I'm fiiineee, I'm fiineee. I'm just, just..." Eren flailed his arms around, trying to find the word he was looking for, then slumping completely against the table, "...relaxed."

The shorter male giggled, "Ok. Mr. Relaxed, well I'm tired, I-I'm Mr. Tired so just like- give me a moment before we go dancing again."

The brunet rolled his eyes, "Fiiine, whatever. But what are we supposed to do meanwhile? Just sit here looking at all the people?"

Eren scanned the place. He hadn't even realized more people had arrived and it sounded like the speakers were blasting music even louder than before. Not to mention the place was starting to look like a mess. He saw cute blonde girl making out with tall brunet chick in a corner and Hawaiian Shirt guy screaming the lyrics of the rap song playing from the top of his lungs all the while holding an empty bottle of tequila in his right hand. In an instant, the teen remembered why they were there in the first place.

"Oh yeah," he blurted out, "when are you gonna fuck that guy? What was his name? Jacob? Jason?"

Armin slapped his shoulder, "First of all his name is Jean! Second of all..." he crossed his arms on the table and buried his chin in them, leaving only his nose and eyes exposed, "I just wanted to spend some time with him..."

Eren stared at the boy. Armin's disheartened eyes left the brunet feeling sad as well, and frankly a little pissed. He looked back at the crowd of drunken teens.

"You should do something to capture his attention. It's like you said, the night is still young, you still got a chance."

"Oh yeah, how am I supposed to do that?" His tone was pessimistic but he still rose his head to look at Eren at eye level.

Eren thought about it for a bit, though his ideas were so jumbled up he could barely decipher what they were, "Do something crazy like streaking! Or beat a guy up! No, no, kiss one of his best friends! Yeah, that'll drive him nuts."

Armin huffed, "I am NOT kissing one of his friends."

"Why not? Think of it this way, this guy flirts with you non-stop, invites you to a party. Suddenly, he's too much of a cool guy for you. Oh yeah? Too cool for me? Well, BAM! I'm making out with your friend, serves you right for ignoring me." The teen nodded to himself, quite pleasant with his own plan.

The blond plopped his head back onto his arms, "Sounds like something a toxic girlfriend would do."

"But-!" Eren raised a single finger, "they get results."

Armin giggled, "That's dumb."

The clamorous sound of glass shattering against the floor rang. The green-eyed boy lazily rolled his head to see what had happened. Hawaiian Shirt guy was cackling, hands holding his belly and all, all the while Jean supported the other boy to keep him from falling over, "Dude, the hell has gotten into you?!"

Eren elbowed his coworker who groaned in response, "Owwwww... what was that for?"

The brunet sluggishly raised a finger, pointing it towards Marco, "There's your answer. Kiss him."

Armin grabbed Eren's arm and lowered it in an irritated fashion, "Didn't your mom teach you that its rude to point at people?"

Eren hiccuped, his head spinning with all the alcohol, "I dunno. My mom's dead." He muttered without much thought.

Armin's eyes widened in surprise, his body now being fully erect, "What? Oh Eren... I'm so sorry, I totally forgot..." His eyes watered.

The brunet waved him off, "It's ok I don't really- are you crying? What the hell? Why are you crying?"

Armin's eyes only watered more.

"Because I'm a bad person!" Armin covered his eyes with his hands, "I'm so sorry," he blubbered, "I was so insensitive to say that!..."

He was not sober enough for this.

What were you supposed to do when someone was crying?

Eren threw an arm over Armin and dragged the blond's head to his chest. Armin immediately stopped crying, too busy being utterly perplexed to continue. Since his head was buried in Eren's chest, he couldn't see Eren's face to try and decipher what the hell the taller boy was thinking. So instead, he awkwardly pat Eren's arm with the hand that wasn't being totally crushed against Eren's body. He couldn't help but ask, "Uhhh... what are you doing?"

The green-eyed boy closed his eyes for a moment before answering, hoping that it would help the place stop spinning so much, "Hugging you. So you stop crying."

Armin was silent. He appreciated the gesture but it was also just... so ... weird?

"Uhhmmm... thanks. You can let go of me now. I feel better."

However, Eren didn't budge.

"Are you sure? 'Cause you say that but I got a feeling that you-you're just gonna burst into tears again the moment I let you go."

"No, no, I'm sure!" His voice was a bit muffled due to how plastered he was against Eren's jacket.

Opening his eyes, they roamed to where Marco and Jean had been standing not too long ago. Instead, Marco was now sitting down on the grass, further away this time. He was as vulnerable as a rat was to a cat.

"Bingo." Eren hiccuped. He let go of Armin's head only to grab his hand instead. With his free hand, he snatched the red cup he had left on the table earlier and swallowed the remaining contents in one swift gulp.

Before the blond boy could protest, the brunet dragged him off in Marco's direction.

The sound of glass slamming against the marble counter made Eren's consciousness crash back into his body. He stood in a kitchen with dark blue walls and white counters. Marco yelled out a small victory scream, having just drunk a shot like Eren and slamming the shot glass as well.

"Amiright or amiright?"

"Saywhatnow?" Eren held onto the counter to keep himself from swaying so much.

"I saaaid amiright or amiright? This 's quality tequila." Marco's words slurred so much, Eren could barely understand.

Oh. So that's what he drank.

"Armin! Duntthink I furgot about you." He shuffled to the fridge where he clumsily took out a large pitcher holding a red beverage. He grabbed a plastic cup from where there was a pile wrapped in a plastic bag and filled it to the brim with said liquid.

"Here, try this! 'S really good. Strawberry flavoured instead of orange. Came out so delicious 'sat wewere keeping -hicc- keeping it to arselves but you're prutty cool."

Eren hadn't even noticed the blond boy standing next to him. His cheeks were still flushed and his eyes a bit droopy but all around in a much better state than the other two.

"Oh I don't know... I already drank half of the other one-"

"Only half?!" Marco questioned.

Armin held his hands behind his back, "Yeah... Eren drank the last half for me..."

He had?

"Then there's nothing to worry about! Here yuhknow what? Les do something."

He reached for another plastic cup and only filled it halfway. The boy then added a bit of water and mixed it with a spoon he had retrieved from one of the several drawers.

Handing it to Armin he said, "Juss try it! If yuh dunt like it yuhcan give it tah me er Eren."

Even though the short teen vacillated, curiosity gleamed in his eyes, "Well, ok. I'll taste it at least."

The moment the taste hit his tongue, a gasp escaped Armin's lips, "Wow! This is really good! It's even better than the orange flavoured one."

Marco closed his eyes and nodded, not opening them for another while. Eren wondered if the tall boy was going to fall asleep right then and there.

"Eren, taste it!" Armin insisted.

The beverage was shoved into his hands before he could say anything, so out of pure habit he raised the cup to his lips. It was definitely tasty. The strawberry flavour was powerful and it was much sweeter than the orange version. However, the green eyed boy couldn't imagine drinking too much of that without getting sick of so much sugar.

Eren returned the drink to its rightful owner, "Yeah, its pretty good."

Marco's eyes snapped open and in a crystal clear voice said, "I'll be right back."

Eren didn't know if it was because of his drunken state or if Marco had indeed been that quick but the tall boy practically disappeared from the room without a second warning.

"What was that all about?" He muttered, trying his best to not slur his words.

Armin shrugged and sipped from his drink.

"And where are we?" Eren questioned.

Armin raised an eyebrow, "What? Are you joking or do you really not know?"

All it took was for Eren to look at Armin's eyes for the shorter boy to know that he wasn't kidding.

"You know maybe you should lay off the drinking a bit. I know we said we were gonna get you drunk but we don't want you getting alcohol poisoning either." He laid a soft hand on Eren's forearm.

Eren shivered.

"Yeah... I-I think I've had enuff."

Armin nodded, "Good. Well basically, after we had taken a break from dancing you decided it was a genius idea to drag me to Marco to try to convince him that I was cute and that we should totally kiss- he's not gay by the way. Lucky for me, Marco's so drunk right now that he just laughed it off- to be honest I don't even think he really understood what you were saying.

"Anyway, Marco said he needed to pee and you said you needed to pee so we all went inside the house to pee. Then Marco offered you a shot of tequila and you accepted. So now," Armin pressed his lips together and gestured at the room, "we're in Jean's kitchen."

Eren scratched the back of his neck, "I furgot all that?"

The blond giggled, "Yeah. I only wish I could forget," He facepalmed, "and I pray to the GODS that Marco forgets."

"Ha! 'hat guy's worse off than me. Trust me he won't be ruhmembering any of this."

"Yeah well I just hope you don't end up the same."

The brunet shook his head. "No, no. I'm done. That's 'nuff drinking for me. Just hope that shot doesn't hit me too hard." He laughed nervously.

Spoiler alert. It did.

Next thing he knew, they were at the backyard again, dancing their little hearts out. Eren could barely move an inch without bumping into someone else but he didn't care and neither did Armin. The smaller boy had loosened up considerably and was now bouncing to the beat without any awkwardness or stiffness in sight. The two boys made eye contact which incited Armin to laugh. The lipgloss had long disappeared from his lips and the mascara had spread with the sweat which left behind a tinge of black around Armin's eyes. It made them pop out more. Blond strips of hair clung to the side of his cheeks and hairs that had escaped from the clips Armin had worn on his hair stuck to his forehead. At some point, Armin had lost his white cardigan.

"You having fun?" Armin asked sweetly.

"Who knows. There's a lot things I don't know lately." Eren said.

The stars twinkled up above, swimming in an ocean of blackness. What time was it?

Armin chuckled sadly, "I get it. For a long time a lot of people hurt me too but I wasn't like you. I was stupid enough to stick around. I let them make me feel like shit. It took me way too long to realize that I didn't deserve that. My mom and dad hadn't taken the time to raise me, take care of me, love me, build me up to the maximum just so some random person would knock me down. I try not to make the same mistake you know? But it's hard. I don't wanna be one of those people that are apathetic to everything. I wanna help people grow and learn but there are some really evil people out there that will take advantage of that- that'll take advantage of you. And that's scary..."

Eren was sprawled out on the ground. The grass felt fresh against his hot skin. He found Armin on his left. He too was on the ground, still sweaty from all the dancing.

What was Armin talking about? What had Eren said? What the hell was going on?

Even though he was laying down, he felt like the world was moving like a hammock and it caused him to feel a mixture of tranquility and nausea.

"You know Eren..." Armin broke the moment of silence, "I think there's more to you than meets the eye." Armin turned to rest on his side, looking at Eren head on, "Whatever you're scared of showing, you can tell me. I'm good at keeping secrets."

Eren looked at him dumbfounded. The smaller boy giggled, "But you gotta put in some work too, you know? I have an inkling that we could be really good friends but it depends on your willingness to open up."

The brunet still looked at him like a deer in the headlights. A lot of feelings and thoughts surged through him but he couldn't make out any of them.

Armin examined him like a sample under a microscope, "Do you wanna be friends?"

Dance for the money, girl, show me what you got

Move it all around, yuh, show me what you got

Everyone's looking at you, you're a star baby,

Keep on shaking that thing yuh, all eyes on you

Even though he was absolutely exhausted, Eren couldn't stop dancing. He wanted to dance until the world around him fell apart. Now that the place was considerably less crowded than before, he had more space to express himself. And he would've danced till his feet fell off if Armin hadn't tugged on his shirt. He too had lost his jacket at some point.

"Eren..." he panted, "Eren I'm exhausted."

The brunet stopped dancing. It was in that moment that he realized he had double vision. Eren rested a hand on Armin's shoulder to anchor himself to reality.

"Me too..." he breathed out.

Armin looked up at him with those big blue eyes that made his stomach lurch, "Maybe we should go home... I think that's been enough fun for one night."

The small boy pushed Eren away from all the people and the taller male let it be as he was too drunk to put up any resistance. The blond stopped when they were close to one of the many picnic tables where Armin's cardigan and Eren's jacket laid in wait of their owner.

Just as Armin was about to turn to grab his sweater, Eren instinctively grabbed the blond's wrist. He hadn't known why so he just made up an excuse.

"W-Wait... we leaving a'ready? W-What 'bout Jean?" His voice was wobbly much like his whole body.

Armin shook his head, "Let's just go home..."

Eren looked around for the tall boy. The place was absolutely trashed. All kinds of garbage was scattered around on the grass and the once neatly organized tables were now covered in chip crumbs and a variety of liquids. Ten or fifteen people still stayed though Eren couldn't recognize any familiar faces like Marco's or the couple of girls they had noticed earlier. However, just when Armin was retrieving his arm from the brunets grip, his eyes landed on the person he had just been looking for.

Jean was nearby a group of three people. Though said group was sitting down, Jean was standing tall with his arms crossed and an irritated look on his face, all but ignoring the conversation his friends were having. His eyes struck through Eren like lightning.

"Armin, Armin..." Eren whispered.

Said boy had finished putting on his cardigan and hadn't even noticed the tense stare off between the two boys, "What's up?"

Eren turned to look at the blond, "Don't -hicc- don't look know b-but Jean's s-staring aht us."

"What?" He whispered in a panicked tone, "Really? Does he look like he wants to say goodbye or something? Should I go to him or should we just leave?"

Armin shuffled closer as he asked for advice. He was so close in fact that Eren found himself drowning in the boy's charm. Armin was truly beautiful, handsome yes, but also beautiful. Golden hair, eyes that held the vastness of the ocean and the sky, lips and cheeks a lovely shade of purity and pink.

He was reminded of how he had felt when Levi Ackerman had gotten up close to treat his wound. Nervous, confused yet unequivocally enthralled.

"You gotta..." he said in a tone so soft, even with how close Armin was he couldn't make out the words.

"What was that?" The boy tilted his head like a puppy.

Eren's lips went dry.

"You gotta... you gotta catch his attention..." His eyes began closing on their own accord.

Just as the words slipped through, Eren's mind shut down and his body took over, closing the gap and pressing his lips against Armin's. The moment they made contact, electricity shot through his body, exciting every cell in his body. The emotions awakening inside of him made him feel elated, but as Armin quickly jerked back in shock, Eren felt his spirit plummeting, violently crashing back onto Earth.

His eyes shot back open, the reality of the situation dawning on him. Armin was just as confused as he was to the point where he was struggling to come up with words.

"Eren! I- uh- what- I'm not- I'm... what?"

"I- I- I didn't mean too... I don't-"

Jean all but teleported behind of Eren, aggressively grabbing onto his shoulder and pushing him away from Armin, "Leave him alone! He's not interested buddy." His teeth clenched with that last word.

Jean's scream had garnered unwanted attention from a couple of the remaining guests which only amplified the humiliation Eren felt rising in his stomach. Not knowing what to do, Eren retaliated in an even more aggressive manner.

"Don't fucking touch me!" He shoved the other boy as hard as he could.

Jean tumbled backwards. The moment he regained his balance, fury burned in his eyes.

"Okay! Asshole! You wanna go? Let's fucking go!"

Armin, who had been too stunned to do or say anything other than hold a hand to his lips, quickly interjected, "W-Wait! Let's all just calm down! We don't want any of this getting out of hand."

"Out of hand, out of hand?! This got out of hand when this asswipe decided to kiss you without your permission!"

Eren felt the stares incinerating his body. Though everybody confused his deep blush as a symptom of his rage, in reality it was the result of a bruised ego.

Now everyone was probably looking at Eren thinking, oh, this guy kissed that person? Isn't that person a guy too? They must be gay. A homo. A goddamn monster.

They didn't know the truth. They didn't know that Armin acted all cutesy and in his drunken stupor, Eren had fallen in the blond boys trap. They didn't know anything.

Eren shook with anger. All he wanted to do was to destroy Jean, pulverize him to dust for having humiliated him this way. Just as he was about to let all his wrath explode, Armin shoved Eren's jacket in his arms and in a shaky voice pleaded, "Please Eren, let's just go!"

Jean wasn't having it though.

"No! No way!" Jean stepped in between the two boys, "You're not going anywhere with this creep!"

Armin was opening him mouth to refute when Eren couldn't take it anymore. He was suffocating with all the attention.

Throwing his arms violently into the air he yelled, "Fine! Good even! I'm fucking leaving your shitty ass party. I'm not taking any shit from a pussy like you! Spend the whole night looking our way but too afraid to do anything about it. Pussy. You're a fucking coward!" Eren spat in the most venomous tone he could concoct.

He stomped away, giving zero shits about anything. He didn't turn back to look at Jean or Armin, he didn't even care about how Armin would get home that night. Eren was absolutely seething. All he wanted was for everyone in that backyard to drop dead.

The moment he was far enough from the house, his stomping became more of a brisk walk. He didn't want anyone to see the angry tears that begun streaming down his face. The last thing he remembered was just wanting to go home and sleep till his body would rot.

From that night to the day he would die, Eren never knew what happened after that. He never knew of how he had terrified a young man walking home that had confused Eren for an insane person, Eren never knew of the homeless man that was about to rob him until a certain bodyguard silently intervened. And most of all, Eren never knew of how his fury was so massive that it collapsed onto him to the point where it mixed with the alcohol and made him sick. He would never have a memory of how his knees gave in only to throw up in the middle of the sidewalk, creating a puddle that the passerby would have to step over the next day. And most importantly, Eren would never know of how after vomiting, he passed out on the middle of the street, alone and vulnerable until Levi Ackerman came to clean him up a bit, pick him up and safely take him home.

Chapter Text

Eren groggily pushed himself off the cool floor. He groaned, a loud thumping in his head making him more nauseous than he already was. He looked around to find that he had somehow made his way to the bathroom of his shitty apartment.

Half-dried vomit and saliva was plastered all over the toilet and swimming around in the bowl was a nasty mixture of orange-colored puke with chunks of the food he had eaten before heading to the party. From it, a putrid smell emerged suffocating the entire room. Eren was close to vomiting once again just from the sight and smell of it all.

Turning his head and closing his eyes, he flushed it all away hoping to keep down what was left in his stomach. Eren wanted to leave the room immediately but he wasn't sure he could. His whole body felt a thousand pounds heavier. So instead, he pushed himself away and got himself into a sitting position, resting against a wall. The green-eyed boy was about to rub his face when he noticed how awful his hands smelled and decided against it.

Why did the sink have to be so high?

He threw his sticky hands onto his lap, opting to clean them after everything around him stopped swaying so violently. He took a few deep breathes to try and recollect himself. As he did so, memories of the night began poisoning his mind. The anger and humiliation started tingling all over his body, regret adding onto the pile of already suffocating emotions.

What had he done last night? Why had he accepted going in the first place? The only thing that consoled him was that he would never see that group of people ever again. As for Armin...

Rrriiinngggg! Rrrriiinnngg!

Eren jumped at the sound. A big mistake as it would cause the thumping to come back full force.

"Fuck!"

The brunet angrily snatched the phone that had been carelessly lying on the floor. He was about to throw it through the open door of the bathroom when his eyes caught a glimpse of who was calling.

'Jonathan.'

He didn't really want to pick up but he was scared what would happened if Eren were to ignore Levi's calls so he begrudgingly answered.

"Hello?" He muttered.

"Oh, good. I thought you were dead from alcohol poisoning." The voice answered.

Eren's eyes narrowed, "Hmphf, you know you could sound a little more excited to hear that I'm not dead."

"I could." He simply stated.

Any other day the brunet would've just waved it off but Eren had woken up in the worst of moods and that small comment shot through him like a fire arrow.

"Yeah. Well I guess we could all do a lot of things." He said in an overly-aggressive tone.

"Don't sass me or you'll wish that hangover is the only pain you feel."

Eren quickly fell silent. After having seen the man slice two throats open as if it were as easy as cutting open a loaf of bread, threats like that weren't to be taken lightly.

"Anyway," the older man continued, "I'm guessing you'll be staying in all day?"

It was a Sunday which meant there was no work that day. The boss used Sundays to drink and gamble- and even if there would've been work that day, Eren wouldn't have gone. Not with that headache and especially not with Armin there. He didn't have much food and drinks in the small refrigerator but he felt way too shitty to leave the apartment. Really, his game plan for that day was just to sit still until he either felt better or died. Whichever came first.

"Yeah, pretty much." He muttered.

Someone knocked at the front door. Eren ignored it. Only the Gods could pick Eren off the floor in that moment.

"Good. I'll take off then. There are some errands I have to do concerning the two men that attacked you."

Eren became tense, "Like what?"

"Nothing you have to be concerned with. I'll take care of everything. Anyway, Olou will come around a couple of times to check up on you. You know how it is though, anything happens call me immediately. Understood?"

Eren hummed a response. It was not enough for Levi.

"I said. Understood?"

The brunet huffed, "Understood."

Another knock.

"I'll be back tomorrow in the morning. Open the goddamn door brat. It's me."

Even practically lurched to his feet, "Ah! S-Sorry I didn't know!"

Just as he was about to take a step his vision became hazy and his stomach churned. He bent over the sink half expecting to puke all over again.

"Oh, oh Gods... shouldn't have gotten up so fast..."

Even could hear Levi sigh through the phone and even though the brunet couldn't see his face he was certain that the older man was rolling his eyes in that moment.

"Whatever, I'm just going to leave it here, come get it before someone decides to rob it from you. Drink water. None of those energy drinks you guzzle down every day. You'll feel better if you do, trust me."

Eren only heard half of what Levi had said as he was ferociously swallowing back whatever was trying to come out. A beeping sound indicated Levi had hung up. Eren placed the phone down and slowly opened the faucet. He meekly washed his hand. Once they stopped feeling sticky, he pooled the water into his hands and threw the liquid onto his face. He rubbed his eyes, his cheeks, his lips, his chin. It wasn't much but it made him feel better. Eren caught a glimpse of his reflection in the small round mirror hanging on the wall.

Shit. He looked like shit.

Eren averted his eyes. His mood was bad enough, dwelling on his looks would only make him feel worse.

Drink water. He didn't even have water. Not unless he drank it from the sink. He'd just have to live off of whatever soda he had in store.

He trudged his way to the front door. Luckily, the curtains were closed so the main room wasn't too bright. He meekly opened the door and looked down.

On the floor was a box full of big water bottles. Eren chuckled.

Shit, no excuses now.

"Here's your tea, anything else I can help you with?" The waitress smiled at her customer, taking note of what a lovely shade of grey his eyes were.

Levi took the cup, "Thank you. I'm good for now."

The girl bit her lip, wondering if there was anything she could say to start a conversation but nothing came to mind, "Alright, well if you need anything I'll be here in a jiffy!"

Levi nodded in response. Noticing that the waitress was still standing there, he looked up at her with a quizzical expression. The girl quickly came to her senses and hurried off, a blush forming on her cheeks. Levi didn't think much of it. He didn't think much of anything that didn't concern his job.

The cellphone he had just bought that morning vibrated against the wooden table. He swiftly picked it up, "Ready?"

"Yep! Next location is to the west. It's quite hidden so I've got a good feeling about this." The voice was also male yet a lot softer in comparison to Levi's.

Levi hummed, "Who knows, this might all just be a waste of time."

"No, no. I'm certain something will come of this. I'm telling you, this café stuck out like a sore thumb to me. All the other locations the phones connected to made sense if they were following your client but this one is so much more far away than the rest. They must've come here for a reason."

"And yet we haven't found anything in the places I've already checked. I'm thinking of just calling the whole thing off and heading home. Ever since I got this client I haven't had a moment to myself. He's a really paranoid brat, you know?"

He scooted further into the booth and rested his back against the wall. Even though he wasn't saying anything particularly conspicuous he still made sure no one was close enough to hear any of his words.

"Listen, I've been working with you for a couple of years now and if there's anything I've learned in this time is that if you've got a feeling about something, chances are, there's something there. Plus, there are only two places left so we'll just quickly get through these locations and you'll be home with a drink in your hand by 5pm!"

That did sound nice.

Levi took a sip of his drink, "Alright then, send me the details and I'll be off."

"I'm sending you the info as we speak." The tip-tapping of the man typing away at his keyboard could be heard.

"Thanks Moblit."

"Happy to help."

Both men simultaneously hung up.

Levi drank his tea as the phone began receiving the messages. Maybe Moblit was right. The place was a small warehouse. According to Moblit, it didn't receive much attention but was visited once in a while by what appeared to be workers. The raven lost himself in thought while staring at a photo of the place. In reality, he wasn't even sure why he was there in the first place.

The attackers had been communicating to someone else via cellphone where they gave updates of their findings. In said conversations, there had been talk of "picking up a package at the location" around the time that they had been hired for the job. Moblit and Levi had deduced that said location had to be close to the café but it was nothing more than speculation.

The two men had already planted a false lead via fake updates and whoever the person on the other side was didn't seem to be too suspicious at the moment. However, Levi didn't know for how long they could keep it up. Said person had stated they would be calling soon and while an excuse could be made, it would alert the person to the fact that something was off.

Not to mention... the files, the syringe he had found, Eren Jaegar. There was something nagging away at Levi. He didn't know what but he had a feeling that there was a lot more to the story that he wasn't aware of. Of course, his only job was to protect Eren, he didn't need to know his whole life story. After all, most of his clients preferred privacy and Levi was happy to oblige. Yet this time, Levi felt the need to investigate further than usual.

Gulping down the last of his tea, the bodyguard asked for the check and paid what was due. The waitress thanked him for the generous tip he had left with a smile and a wink. The waitress stood there as he grabbed his backpack and took off, hoping the raven-haired man would say something else to her. He didn't even notice how the girl pouted as she watched the handsome man walk away without saying another word.

Upon arriving, the first thing he did was scout the area. He didn't get too close though as to make sure he didn't appear on any camera or get caught by any "worker". Sure enough there were a few cameras and even a tall metal fence separating the warehouse from everything else.

The street as a whole lacked activity. To the left there was an abandoned building that was falling apart. On the right, there was an Auto Part shop that was closed due to it being Sunday. On the other side of the street there was an unkempt park with dying trees and yellow grass.

The warehouse was steel structured, the once white paint now a greyish shade with rust adorning it here and there. Just like it appeared in the pictures, it wasn't very big. Maybe fifteen feet by twenty. The main entrance was a huge white curtain but there was also a door on the left wall. Levi took note of the fact that there were no windows. On the top of the metal fence there were barbed wires to keep intruders from climbing in.

Levi looked around. The only person in sight was a bum passed out on the yellow grass of the park though the stillness of the body was eerie. He didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.

At least Levi didn't have to worry too much about being seen. That pesky fence was really bothering him though. The man made his way to the abandoned building on the left. It appeared to have been a house once. Trash like worn blankets and empty food cans suggested homeless people would use the place to spend the night. The building was two stories high so he walked upstairs and found a dusty corridor opening way to two rooms. The doors had been torn off at some point and laid in the hallway broken into pieces. Levi stepped over it and entered the room on the far left.

The walls were a pale pink and though bare, the room was decorated with litter. The only thing that wasn't trash was an abandoned horse rocker sitting in a corner. A toy meant to cause joy now existed in that lonely corner emanating a sinister energy. A remnant of a past that would never come back.

Levi was not there, however, to contemplate any of that. He was there for a job. So, he made a beeline to the already shattered window. There. He could get in from there.

He put the backpack on the ground and from it took out the gadgets Moblit had made for him. He opened one up forming a bow and then took out the arrows. They were nothing fancy, just arrows that would latch onto surfaces, in this case, arrows to block the view of the cameras. He aimed at the camera right above the door and hit it with the ease that would only come with years of expertise. He then did the same to a second camera attached to the warehouse.

That would have to do. Since he couldn't climb in, however, he took out his gear and began putting together his 3DMG belt on. Before anything else, he sent Moblit a message.

'I'm going in. Stand by.'

Just as he was putting on a set of black gloves and a face mask, he received an answer.

'Gotcha. Standing by.'

In a swift movement he propelled himself forward and latched onto the roof only to slowly lower himself onto the ground. He pressed a button that caused the claws to loosen and he retracted the cables back into the belt.

Levi eyed the place once again. Everything was silent. No alarm had been set off, no person could be heard. The only thing that was left was to open the door. He approached and examined said door with a lock that could be picked, no problem. He reached into one of the pockets of his belt and took out his lock picking supplies. He picked it until he heard the telltale clicking sound.

The man sighed. He quickly put the utensils back and took a handgun out in its place. He slowly pushed the door, the creaking sound echoing through the warehouse. Midway, a bullet cut through the air, barely missing Levi's left shoulder. Levi quickly reacted by shooting at the offender all the while running to get behind cover.

A barrage of sloppy bullets shot his way though luckily none hit. He hid behind a stack of boxes. As soon as he was out of sight, the shooting ceased. Levi listened. He heard ragged breathing. Maybe one of his bullets had landed.

"H-Hey! Get outta there!" The stranger heaved, "You're gonna get... get me in trouble..." Those last words came out soft, almost like a whimper.

"Ooof..." Levi heard a smacking sound.

With his gun aimed and ready to go, he poked his head out. A man laid against a wall, slowly falling to the floor as his knees gave in. A hand was placed on his chest were blood oozed out and trickled onto his white T-shirt. His face was a sickly pale white and it accentuated the heavy bags below his eyes. The man was tall yet skinny to the point of being skeletal. Levi cautiously approached the man though he knew that the stranger meant no danger to him. Not anymore.

The stranger did nothing but collapse to the floor. In fact, he let go of the gun so that he could place his hand on top of his other bloodied one. He wheezed, a wheeze Levi knew all too well. The man didn't have much time left.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Levi raised an eyebrow. The raven wondered who he was apologizing to. He never did get an answer as the last breath escaped the man's lips. His eyes went dull and his body went limp.

Still, the raven kicked the gun out of the corpse's reach thinking that safe was better than sorry. He spun around, scanning the area to make sure there were no more like him in the warehouse. However, there was nobody there.

Feeling a bit more assured, Levi took in his surroundings. The warehouse was full of stacked boxes, ready for shipping. Some small, some big. Metal shelving units filled the right wall. A couple of trolleys where scattered here and some pallets there. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The raven looked back at the corpse. The dead body belonged to what had once been a young man- maybe around Levi's age. He had wildly curly brown hair and a matching beard. His clothes- a white T-shirt and washed out jeans- were torn and ragged. Levi tsked in disgust. If it weren't evident by his appearance, the odor that emanated from the body signaled at poor hygiene. At least he had the barrier of his face mask to protect him from the stench.

Further away to the left of the corpse there were a couple of blankets and a bland pillow strewn about. A make shift bed it seemed. Levi frowned.

Levi took a step closer. The sheets were as dirty as their owner. The raven noticed a stack of porn magazines next to it. A girl cupping her hefty breasts stood proud on the cover. Just by looking at the pile he could tell they were a sticky mess. Levi looked away at the repulsive sight. He instead turned his attention to a room-no, more like a closet in the corner. He laid a gloved hand on the doorknob and turned it. Inside was a very small bathroom. A small space to shower, a toilet and a sink crammed in there. Levi looked back at the corpse.

As he did so, something caught his eye. A neon green he recognized. Levi hadn't seen from where he stood before but he now saw a syringe placed behind the stack of magazines. A syringe just like the one he had found in the car of Eren's attackers. He crouched to get a better look.

What the hell were in those things anyway?

The bodyguard had sent the syringe to Moblit for examination yet he hadn't gotten word back on what exactly was inside of them. He picked up the needle and placed it high in the air. The color of the liquid was so... unnatural.

While he studied the strange substance, his eyes focused back onto the dead stranger. He briskly walked back and grabbed one of the pale arms, checking the inside of the elbow and the forearms.

Nothing.

He checked the other arm.

Bingo.

The telltale scars of drug usage. So it was a drug after all? Levi turned back to the stacks of boxes. Something told him that they weren't exactly shipping bunny dolls and rainbows.

He walked up to the closest stack of boxes and took out a knife, opening the box with the precision of the surgeon. Cocaine. Lots of it.

"What kind of mess did you get yourself into brat?" He muttered.

CRASH!

Levi spun around. Someone had thrown a jar of a viscous dark liquid onto the ground and then-

BAM!

The door had closed.

The bodyguard ran up to it, avoiding whatever had been thrown onto the ground. Had someone found him? Or maybe the boy had alerted someone before Levi had entered and killed him? But Moblit hadn't said anything. No point in questioning it now. He simply had to deal with the situation at hand.

Just as he got to the door, a loud sound made the warehouse tremble. Taking out his gun once again, he turned the knob and slammed into it, hoping force would be enough to break it open.

Much to Levi's dismay, the door had opened just a tad bit but stopped as it hit something on the other side of the door. Something very heavy.

In other words, Levi was trapped.

Chapter Text

Rrrriiinggg, rrrriiiiing!

Even with the phone hiding below the pillow, its ringing reached Eren's ears. How Eren had come to hate that sound in the past couple of hours. Still, Eren lifted the pillow enough to look at the caller in the off chance that it was his bodyguard calling.

Armin.

The brunet huffed, throwing the pillow back onto the phone. His coworker had called two times already and in both instances Eren had promptly ignored it. Eren didn't want to talk to Armin. Not now, not ever. He thought about never going back to work there, even moving away though Eren wasn't sure if he had to pass that by Levi or not. Either way, he would never lay eyes on the blond boy ever again.

Eren went back to wallowing in his own misery. He had tried drinking water like his bodyguard had said but the brunet would end up puking it back out again. Not to mention the teen was hungry yet everything made him nauseous.

The teen threw his shitty blanket on, only to kick it off a few moments later. Everything felt uncomfortable, everything made his stomach churn.

Eren groaned. He would never drink ever again.

He wanted to turn on the TV to let his brain rot a moment but even the slightest of sound pissed him off. Just as the boy was going through the logistics of jumping off the building to end his suffering, a loud, aching knock pierced his sensitive eardrums.

"AAgh!" Eren grimaced, "who is it?!"

No answer.

Eren mumbled curse words to himself. If it wasn't Levi he was going to be severely angry. He dragged himself towards the door, violently ripping the door open.

The moment he saw who was on the other side his attitude dropped to his feet. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Pink lips.

"Annie." He breathed out.

She stood there unimpressed as always. Her hair was in her standard bun with bangs parted in the middle and swept to the sides, framing her face. Even in a bun, Eren could tell her hair was longer than the last time they had seen each other. She had a white shirt on with a jean jacket thrown over, a pair of jeans and white shoes.

"About time you left Grisha." She leaned against the doorframe.

"You... how... I..." The brunet was in shock.

"I see you're as eloquent with words as always." She teased.

Eren stared at her in amazement, "...wh-why are you here?" He finally blurted out.

"I'm here for you." She said nonchalantly.

Eren was even more lost than before, "Huh?"

"What?" She raised an eyebrow, "That's your reaction? I thought you would be more excited. Didn't you always want us to ride off into the sunset together?"

The brunet couldn't wrap his head around anything Annie was saying in that moment. All of it was so bizarre. What... she was saying... 16 year old Eren- hell, Eren from two months ago would've been elated to hear those words but now...

"What's wrong? Grab your stuff and let's go." She began getting irritated.

Eren furrowed his eyebrows, "You're kidding right?"

Annie widened her eyes and shrugged like there wasn't a problem in the world with what she was demanding of him.

Such a simple motion of feigned ignorance made the boy's anger explode in a split second, "What's wrong?! What's wrong?!"

The boy didn't even know where to start. He suddenly wished he was back at the bathroom drowning in his own vomit. At least then he didn't have to deal with this bullshit, "You come here after who knows how long of not seeing each other and then you expect me to just leave with you to who knows where to do who knows what! There's a lot of things wrong with that!"

Annie rolled her eyes, "There you go again, having a temper tantrum every time things aren't to your liking."

A temper tantrum? Why couldn't Annie be like the normal girls that would start off the conversation with a simple 'hi'? Fury tugged away at his heart strings to the point where he had a tough time forming words. He threw his hands in exasperation.

"Calm down Eren, you're being overdramatic."

Eren stared back wide-eyed at the girl. Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe he had drunk too much and was having hallucinations. The thought took root in his mind and dug deep. He squinted at Annie. There was only one way to know for sure.

His hand slowly reached for her. Confused by what he was doing, she stopped with the snarky comments and instead watched how the hand inched closer to hers. The moment their skin made contact she flinched her hand away. Annie looked up at him. He stared back, hurt that he had been rejected. Just as he was withdrawing his own hand, the blonde reached for him instead. In the middle of their two bodies, their hands intertwined in the same manner they had done hundreds of times in the past.

The two teens stared at each other in silence. There was something so... familiar about it all. Annie had come busting through the door pissing Eren off but in that moment he remembered how much he had missed her.

"Annie..." he whispered.

"Eren..." she whispered back. Her tone wasn't harsh or cold like before. It was soft and sweet. It was Annie. Eren's Annie.

"Eren, come with me." And the way her big blue eyes looked back at him made him want to run away with her in that very moment.

Still...

"I'm not sure I can do that Annie." The very words burned as they traveled up his throat and slipped out of his lips.

She lowered her eyebrows in a way that made her look pouty and Eren's heart shrank, "What are you talking about? Why not?"

The nerves crept into every pore of his body. He closed his eyes, remembering the night he had watched Annie walk away from him when the brunet needed her the most.

"Because! Because you just appear out of the blue and demand for me to go with you? Can't we talk first?"

Her pout turned into a frown, "There's nothing we need to talk about."

Eren was flabbergasted, "Nothing? Annie, the last time we saw each other you-"

Annie dropped Eren's hand. Eren sighed and made a fist of his now empty hand.

"Last time we saw each other," she interrupted, "you did just this. You refused to come with me-"

"You abandoned me!"

"I abandoned you?!" What are you on about? You decided to stay!"

"I wasn't ready! And I'm not ready now! You always run ahead of me and expect me to catch up but you don't even look back to see where I'm at!"

"OH by the GODS!" Annie aggressively shoved Eren to the side and walked into the apartment.

Eren stumbled a bit but was able to regain his balance in time. The headache and nausea assaulted him once again though he wasn't so sure it was because of the hangover anymore.

Annie gestured to their surroundings, "Look around Eren! What does it matter where we are going or what we are going to do? You'd rather sit in this shithole all day?!"

The brunet looked down to his feet. That only angered Annie more. She walked up to him and grabbed his chin so that he would look directly at her. "Say it Eren! Say you'd rather stay in this shithole than go anywhere with me! I must be a really shitty person if that's the truth-"

"No, that's not true at a-"

Annie let go of Eren's chin and walked back to the center of the room, "Save it! Rot here then, just like you wanted to rot away with Grisha. Oh! But fuck Grisha, you've got a new babysitter now don't you? Well guess what, he's probably dead by now so what's your plan now Eren, huh?" She shrugged, "Fuck around until Grisha inevitably finds you and start from square one again?"

Eren froze, "A new... babysitter?"

Annie furrowed her eyebrows, "Huh? Yeah, that bodyguard you hired."

"Wh-Wh-" Eren shook his head, "What do you mean he's dead? Did you do something to him?!" He shrieked.

The girl put her hands to her hips, tilting her upper body towards Eren.

"Does that... worry you?" The question was but a whisper yet there was something so sinister behind it that it made Eren shiver.

Of course that worried him. Levi had protected him, made him feel safe these past couple of weeks. Without the man he would go back to feeling scared and trapped and, fuck, was he tired of feeling that way.

"Do you care about him more than you care about me?"

Eren jumped. "No! Of course not!"

Annie stomped her foot on the ground, "Then why are you acting like it? You're here all worried about your bodyguard meanwhile you didn't give a shit when I told to come with me!"

Everything was fucked. Everything was so fucked. He ran away from home. His own father was trying to kidnap him. He kissed a guy yesterday and today Annie was there and his bodyguard was dead. Eren was on the verge of throwing up.

"N-No... that isn't the case at all! I just..."

Annie crossed her arms. She looked at Eren as if he were an insect. A disgusting insect. That stare always made him feel like shit.

"No, you know what? Fine. Go to him. Worry about him. I'm leaving. I don't know why I came here anyway. What a fucking waste of my time."

She walked away only stopping at the doorframe to look back at Eren and say, "Oh, and you asked what I was gonna do? I've got big plans. You might like running away but not me. I'm taking down Grisha head-on."

A knot formed in Eren's throat. A knot that didn't allow him to speak.

"You can join me Eren... but if you keep on crawling you'll never catch up to me."

Just as she turned her back to him Eren leaped forward, grabbing onto Annie's hand, "W-Wait!"

But nothing else came out. Eren was shaking. He was desperate. But he didn't know what to say or what to do.

Annie slowly tugged her hand free from Eren's. It dropped to her side and the two fell silent. Eren was still looking down at her hand but she was already facing forward.

She took a deep breath, "Yeah... that's what I thought."

He couldn't bear to watch her leave again. Eren stood in the doorframe looking down at the ground as Annie walked away.

She poured herself another glass of wine. After all, she deserved it. It had been an exhausting day. Petra sat in her dining room alone sipping wine. She looked around at the empty room and shivered. Ever since she had finished boxing up all her things, the place had felt so cold. The home had reverted back to a mere house.

Just as she was about to lean back into her chair, someone ringed the doorbell. She looked at her watch. It was already late. Who could be bothering her at this hour?

Even so, she put on her stilettos once again and went to the front door. Much to her surprise, she found Eren Jaegar on her front porch.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here but... Levi. I think he's in trouble."

Author's Note

Y'know out of all the characters I include in this story I think Annie is the most out of character in comparison to the source material. That being said I find her a very interesting character to write about... for reasons we will discuss in the future. This is just the beginning of the whole can of worms that is Eren and Annie's relationship @_@. Anyway, next week is another solo-chapter week! See you guys till then! :)

Chapter Text

Author's Note

Guys, thank you so much for the 50+ kudos! Honestly, I would've kept on posting even if it was only one person following along xD But I'm glad you guys are liking the story!

\(^.^)/

~Gum

"Fuck." Levi hissed.

He took out his phone and dialed Moblit all the while looking for a way to get out.

No windows. Sealed shut. Metal walls. Things weren't looking so hot.

As if that weren't enough, the call wouldn't go through. All that could be heard was static. Levi stared daggers at the phone. The warehouse must've been doing something to it.

Ok. Moblit was waiting on an update so surely he would call backup if Levi wouldn't respond. Even so, Levi had to consider that they wouldn't arrive in quite some time and if there was only one exit, there was only one way to enter so he would have to be prepared for anything that would come through that door-

A strange sound echoed through the warehouse. It sounded like gurgling... and it was coming from behind of Levi. The raven slowly turned around. He looked at the viscous substance that had been dumped on the floor. It looked different. At first Levi had thought it to be a purely black slime but now that he took a closer look there were dark purples and reds swimming in it. No wait. They weren't swimming in it. They were actually moving in it. The substance was moving on its own accord.

The pool of liquid was shrinking, forming a more solid matter. It then turned to the shape of a blob. Levi could only observe in horror as two extremities extended from it and grew four little nubs on each one, resembling two arms. It then grew longer to where a distinction could be made between its 'body' and its 'head'. It was around the size of a toddler when the 'head' extended as well, a huge, gaping mouth taking shape. Levi's blood ran ice cold as a whimper -much like that of a baby- escaped the monstrosities mouth.

"What the fuck?" He whispered to himself.

The bodyguard then realized that two more were taking form right behind the first one and that's when he frantically took out his gun. The first creature began dragging itself with its arms towards Levi all the while making those ominous whimpers. The raven promptly responded with a barrage of bullets.

The creature whined and moaned as they pierced its body and for a second it collapsed on the floor, wheezing. The bodyguard would've sighed in relief if it weren't for the fact that it recollected itself and began moving towards him faster than before.

Levi quickly ran to the back of the warehouse in order to make space between himself and whatever those things were. He shot again but to no avail. Moments after the bullets would harm them, the wounds would close up and they would resume slithering their way to the raven-haired man. The worst part was that with every second that passed by they were getting faster and faster.

The bodyguard took a deep breath. It had been a while since he had been this unnerved by something. Guns were not the solution to this problem. Levi ran to the side of the warehouse were some wooden pallets laid on the floor. He proceeded to pick one up and hold it high in the air. His pulse quickened as one of the blobs got closer and closer. Right when the thing was at his feet, he slammed the pallet onto the ground with all his force.

The monster shrieked, its 'body' wriggling in pain. Levi didn't have much time to observe though as the other two were catching up quick. He ran back to where the dead man was. The creature had gone back to its liquid form.

In an instant, Levi ran to where there were more pallets. The blobs were now incredibly swift. Fortunately, Levi had quick reflexes. As soon as they reached him, BAM! They were met with a mortal blow to the face. The monsters sagged down to a liquid form- burbles and whimpers still came from them. The raven thought about taking a sample to give it to Moblit later but he couldn't fathom the idea of getting close to the still bubbling substance.

The gurgling sound settled down. All the raven could hear was his haggard breathing. Chills went up and down his body. He was covered in sweat.

"What the fuck... what the fuck?" He hissed.

Levi took a moment to calm himself. After a couple of deep breathes, the bodyguard steadied himself. He had to push all of what had just happened to the side -as hard as it was- and focus on the door. All Levi wanted at that point was to get the fuck out of there.

He took a few strides towards said exit. The sound of his heavy boots hitting the cement floor echoed through the warehouse. He hit the ground with his shoes once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, six-.

No. The sixth time it wasn't that dry sound. It sounded more like he had splashed in water...

Levi looked down.

One of the blobs was wrapped around his right foot. The raven frantically looked around. The two creatures he had just hit were still puddles on the floor. He whipped his head to look at the first one. It was no longer there.

The bodyguard quickly went to take off his shoe but the blob took no time in engulfing Levi's shin. If he wanted to remove it he would have to touch it. The bodyguard kicked around but it was no use. The creature was stuck like glue. Levi growled. He was so fucking done with these things.

Levi had no other choice. He lunged at the creature and tried to pull it off but even with all of his force he couldn't get the thing to budge. In fact, it kept crawling up Levi's leg and by the gurgling sound rumbling anew, the raven knew the others were coming for him as well.

The raven took out a knife -not even sure if that would do anything- and plunged it into it though not deep enough to hurt himself. The creature shrieked once again and the grasp it had on Levi's leg loosened. Noticing this, the bodyguard plunged the knife a couple more times with one hand and pulled with the other until the monstrosity finally let out.

Much to the raven's dismay, it had let go of his leg but was now sticking to his left hand. As Levi had grabbed it from its back, he now had the pleasure of staring right at its mouth from which the cries were being emitted. Levi flinched as it shrieked from the top of its lungs- did it even have lungs?

His left hand was now useless so all he could do was keep on stabbing it. It was turning a reddish hue though it began oozing a dark liquid. The raven was about to give a final plunge of the knife in hopes that it would finally give up when its mouth lunged for his hand, swallowing his extremity and the knife as well. It was as if the thing was trying to eat him. It sucked in more and more of his hand, extending its body as much as it could. Levi thrashed around. The feeling of something warm crawling up his leg warned him that another one of those monstrosities was sticking to him. Fortunately, he was able to stomp the third one before it attached itself as well- giving him some time before it recuperated itself.

Levi couldn't help but let go of the knife at the feeling of his hand being swallowed. The inside of the monster felt wet and gooey. It made Levi's blood run cold. He was scratching at the insides as best he could when he felt various openings- the ones he had made with the knife. He was pulling and tearing at the tissues when he felt something solid on the inside. The bodyguard's eyes widened. At that point he didn't have any better idea than to try to feel out what the thing was in hopes of it being of any use. His hand felt much more constricted as time went on which only added to Levi's frenzy. Not to mention, the second was at his knee and well on its way to the top.

The moment he felt that hardened material once again, he gripped onto it. It felt like a jagged rock. Solid but smooth. Without knowing what else he could possibly do, he grabbed onto it tight and began pulling. The creature screamed. That only motivated Levi to keep on going. Summoning all the strength he could muster, he tugged and tugged on the material until he heard a ripping sound. A ripping sound of flesh. He had torn it from the creature's body. As soon as he did, the creature released the pressure it had on Levi's arm and cried in pain. Its gelatinous body lost its consistency and turned completely black. The knife that had been stuck inside of it hit the ground with a clamorous sound. The creature melted completely into a liquid that splashed all over the ground. Said liquid expelled a piercing gas. The man took a shaky hand to his eyes, a hand that was now covered in little cuts from the knife.

Levi took a couple of steps back. The third creature was burbling again but there were no indications that the first one was going to regenerate. He looked down at the creature now on his abdomen and then at the rock he had torn from the monstrosities body. It was a small crystal. Though murky with residue of the blob, Levi could tell it would be completely transparent once clean.

The raven took no time in reaching for the weapon and jamming it into the thing. The bodyguard did the same thing he had done with the other one though now with more precision. He hurt the creature until it gave out and the moment Levi was able to pull it from his body, he struck his hand right into the creature's mouth, feeling around for the crystal and tearing it away before the thing even had a moment to react. It too melted away.

The final monster was barely taking form when Levi stomped on it once again. Gashing it with the knife, he tore it apart until he found the third crystal. The blob turned black and perished.

Levi furthered himself from the puddles. He stood on guard expecting them to revive at any moment. One minute passed, two, three. Nothing. They were finally dead.

The gas they secreted caused him to go into a coughing fit. The man walked backwards until his back hit a wall. He took shaky breathes. The bodyguard was covered head to toe in whatever the hell that black substance was. His right hand was covered in gashes from which oozed bright red blood. He held onto one of the crystals. He carefully placed it in one his belts pouches. Maybe Moblit would know what to do with it- that is, if Levi got out of there in the first place.

He went into a coughing fit again. Desperate for clean air, he hurried off to the door. In a moment of panic, he threw down his face mask to inhale whatever oxygen he could get from the outside. With renewed lungs, Levi felt brave enough to look back at the puddles. He wondered what those creatures were.

Then, something caught his eye. A dot. A red glimmering dot. It was up high in the ceiling. Levi knew exactly what it meant. It hadn't been turned on before but much to Levi's luck it was recording him in that very moment. A camera.

Levi threw his face mask back on though he knew it did little to repair what had been done.

Damn, he felt queasy.

"Levi sir! Sir!" Someone was banging on one of the metal walls.

He recognized that voice, "Hello?!"

"Sir! Moblit sent us! It's me Marlo!"

Levi sighed in relief. Marlo was one of the workers of Survey Corps.

"Are you alright sir?!"

The raven stiffened. He didn't even know how to answer that question.

"I will be once I'm out of here... if you can make it quick. I think there's a gas in here that's making me nauseous."

Levi heard the panic in Marlo's voice, "Y-Yes sir! We're on it!"

Just like the creatures, he too melted. He let his body slide down against the door until he was sitting on the floor. The raven did his best to try and inhale whatever clean air was coming from the outside through the small creak in the door.

All he could do at that point was wait.

"Dammit Moblit! I should have been the first person to have been informed!" Petra all but screamed into the phone.

Eren awkwardly sat in the passenger seat in total silence. As soon as Eren had told her about Levi being in danger, she changed into an outfit similar to Levi's uniform and had hopped onto her car. Though she had initially insisted on Eren staying in her home until she got back, the teen had resisted and due to the hurried state she was in, she simply agreed and told him to hop in quickly. Revving up the engine, she dialed someone and had been arguing with said person on the phone ever since.

"Don't... No. Don't listen to him! You know how he is! I'm not out yet. Up until both my feet are out of Sina I expect to be informed of everything like I normally would!"

The brunet twiddled his thumbs. Some of the things he was able to gather from the phone call was that Levi was fortunately alive though he was stuck in a warehouse. Eren knew it was one of the many places where Grisha would keep his 'products' for when they had to be distributed. Three backup members had already arrived and were trying to get him out. The more he pieced together, the more the guilt and shame arose in him. Levi wouldn't have gone to investigate the warehouse if it weren't for Eren. It was all his fault.

"Ugh. We'll talk about this later. I'm close to the site."

Petra parked the car. She stuffed the phone into her belt and quickly got out of the car. It wasn't until she was about to close the door that she saw Eren and remembered his existence, "Oh! Uh- you stay here!"

The green-eyed boy jumped, "Wait! No!" He undid his buckle as well and leapt out of the vehicle, "I-I know about these warehouses. I can help!"

Petra huffed. Her once soft and motherly eyes were now harsh and cold. It terrified Eren as he was actually lying through his teeth. In reality he didn't know much about Grisha's warehouses. He had visited a couple but was left out for the most part of all the distributing operations.

"Fine. You stick to me like glue unless I tell you otherwise, got it? I don't want you even two feet away from me. You'll practically be my shadow."

Eren nodded, "Yes."

"Come here!" She ordered.

He did as she said. Petra grabbed the brunet's wrist and lead him to an alleyway. She turned her back towards him, "Hop on."

Eren was baffled, "W-What?"

"Hop on Eren! Before anyone sees us. Hurry!" She insisted.

Eren looked at Petra sideways. He was so much taller than her. They would probably topple over if he hopped on not to mention it was just weird.

"No offense but I don't think you can carry me."

Petra turned around, "Eren, I've been doing my job for a long time I know what I can or can't do. Just trust me! Okay?"

Eren scratched the back of his head, "How though? I'm like double your size!"

Petra sighed, "Okay, okay, let's do this."

She hurriedly took off her belt and put it on Eren. It had a mechanism to adjust its length so she had no trouble in fitting it to Eren't waist. Without a warning, the blonde jumped onto his back to which he responded with a small shriek of surprise.

"Shhh. It's okay." Petra put a hand to his hip, "Turn your hips a little to the left."

"O-Ok?"

"Great, now try to keep your core and neck tight or else you'll be breaking in two."

"Breaking in two? From what?"

But it was too late. Petra had pressed a button and two cables shot to the rooftop. In an instant, they were lurching towards it. Eren stifled a scream. It wasn't an easy journey (the boy was sure he would be riddled in bruises the next day) but between Eren's persistence and Petra's instructions they were able to arrive to their destination.

When they got there, Eren saw a man and a woman already at the site. The metal gate that surrounded the warehouse had been opened forcefully so the two simply walked in. A huge chunk of rubble blocked the only door on the left side of the building, keeping his bodyguard trapped inside. Petra and Eren had to make their way to the back as that's where the other two were working, presumably to avoid being seen by any passing car though the place was practically deserted.

"Put this on." Petra said to the teen.

She handed him a black face mask while putting on her own. He obeyed and put it on, making sure to follow her closely as she approached the workers who also wore masks.

A woman was cutting away at the metal warehouse with something akin to a torch that was connected to a canister. The man was supervising the process. Upon hearing their footsteps, he turned around to greet them.

"Ms. Ral, everything is under control. We are almost done cutting into the warehouse and we have a third worker on watch. Surely people are on their way to check on the warehouse. Mr. Ackerman informed us that a man was inside when he broke in. The man has been dealt with. Good news is that Mr. Ackerman is well and alive. We'll all be out of here in no time." The man said calmly.

Petra nodded, "Thank you Marlo."

Marlo looked back at Eren and raised an eyebrow, "Is he authorized to be here with us?"

"He's with me. Can Levi hear us?"

Marlo eyed the brunet but said nothing about it, "Yes. He is on the side of the door. We asked him not to get close to the back as the heat of the cutter could harm him."

"How long do you estimate that it'll take to get him out of there?"

"5 more minutes max."

"Good. I'll be right back."

She made her way to the rubble, inching as close as she could to the door.

"Levi? Are you there?" Petra called out.

"Petra? Ugh, did Moblit tell you? I'm ok Petra, go home." The man said sternly.

Eren breathed out. He hadn't noticed how tense he was until he heard the bodyguard voice. Levi Ackerman was alive. He was actually alive.

"It wasn't Moblit. It's..." Petra gave Eren a quizzical look, "it's a long story. But I'm not going anywhere until you're out of there so don't even try to convince me otherwise."

Levi audibly sighed, "Yeah I figured. You can be really stubborn sometimes you know?"

Petra giggled sweetly, "I know."

Eren got the sensation that he shouldn't be listening. He felt as if he was hearing two friends having a private conversation.

"Oh, also Eren's here!" Petra announced.

The blonde had said it with a cheery attitude but it made a pit form in Eren's stomach.

"Oh-uh, hi."

"What the fuck is the brat doing here?!" He was a lot less forgiving to Eren's presence than Petra's.

"Like I said, long story. We'll sort out the details later. For now, you gotta tell me what the hell happened. You're usually so careful with missions like this!"

There was a long pause, "It's also a long story."

"Levi!" she whined.

"It's all kinds of fucked up Petra."

Petra hummed, "How did this rubble even end up here?"

"I don't understand what the hell happened. One moment I was inside fighting with this guy that was here and then suddenly someone closed the door on me. I didn't hear any machinery or anything." There was something about the bodyguard voice, something... agitated? But he was always so unimpressed by everything that Eren found it hard it to believe that the man would actually be distressed by something.

"A lot of things..." The bodyguard spoke so soft that the sound didn't travel through.

"What?! I can't hear you."

"I said a lot of things aren't making sense!" Levi said frustrated, I just..."

"Speak louder!"

"I just gotta get out of here Petra!"

The woman threw a worried glance in Eren's direction, "It's ok! They are almost done! You'll be out of there in no time!"

"Ms. Ral!" It was Marlo jogging towards them, "I got word that a vehicle is coming our way. 4 men. They're sporting guns. It's probable that a fight will break out when they get here."

Eren was quick to panic and yet Petra took the news as if they had told her the toilet was clogged.

"Tell the lookout to act as a sniper. She can keep informing us of anyone else coming from up there. If she takes at least one out that'll be good enough. With Levi trapped inside there'll only be three of us down here."

Oh. Apparently Eren was so useless he didn't even count. The embarrassment stung. He wanted to be as useful as everyone else.

Marlo saluted her, "Yes Ma'am!" He hurried to the back all the while talking to someone through an ear piece.

"I can kick my way out! All I need is a couple of minutes!" Levi yelled from the other side.

"We don't have a couple of minutes Levi, stay in there. We can take care of this!" Petra yelled back.

"Listen Eren," her voice was much softer, "Take one of my guns, I have another don't worry. Only use it if absolutely necessary okay?"

"You'll need me! These guys aren't fucking around Petra!"

The woman ignored him. She instead grabbed Eren by the shoulder and led him to the back of the building, "Stay put Levi!"

There, the pair of workers were hurriedly putting away their utensils and preparing their weapons. Petra sat Eren down next to where the woman had been cutting.

"If anyone approaches you do not hesitate okay? Otherwise, simply sit right here. Don't go anywhere unless I specifically tell you to!"

As the gun touched his hand, his anxiety spiked. He felt that same adrenaline that coursed through his body when the two men had attacked him not too long ago. Petra must have noticed the panic in his eyes as she grabbed one of Eren's hands and squeezed it as if reassuring him that everything would be alright.

Even though Petra was a total stranger, he squeezed back. The brunet nodded to assure Petra that he would follow through with her orders. She gave the teen a sweet smile before turning her attention to the workers.

"Alright, get in position! We'll stay back here until they get close and ambush them."

Eren held the gun close to his chest. He had never used one before but he was well aware of its lethality.

"25 feet away and approaching. I'll take the first opportunity I get to fire a clean shot." The look-out said from the mic Marlo was wearing.

"The moment she takes that shot we go in. No hesitation, got it?" Petra whispered.

Eren focused on the sounds around him. A car approached, the motor clanking loudly through the streets. It screeched to a halt. Doors were being open and shut. Soon, the sound of multiple footsteps got closer and closer until-

PEW!

"What the fuck?"

"Carlos is down!"

"What was that?!"

The three bodyguards jumped into action. A plethora of bullets echoed through the air.

"Another car! Another car is coming! 4 men!"  The lookout informed.

"Fuck! We need to spread out or they'll corner us!" Petra ordered.

And in a blink of an eye, Eren was alone. Alone in the middle of a gunfight where everyone knew what they were doing except him. The teen held out the gun, looking frantically to the left and to the right over and over again. The second car that was mentioned accelerated upon hearing all the commotion and unloaded an ungodly amount of ammo.

The harsh sound of metal scraping made Eren jump five feet into the air. It had been nearby but Eren couldn't place where it was coming from. The brunet looked around as lost as a puppy. He heard it again! Then it hit him. It was Levi kicking his way through the metal.

"L-Levi?!" The green-eyed boy's voice was so shaky he could barely say the name.

"What's going on out there brat?! Be my eyes!"

"Uh! Uh! Uhm!" The teen changed position to all fours and crawled his way to the right. He took a deep breath before rapidly poking his head out. In the exact moment he did so, he had the displeasure of seeing one of enemy's head get shot by the sniper, "T-Two down on the right! Both enemies."

Eren proceeded to crawl to the left side and do the same thing. Petra had a dead man by her feet. Despite her small size, she stood there strong and powerful. The woman took a clean shot to one of the man's chest.

"Two down on the left!" The brunet looked back to see that Levi was almost out. He was pushing the thick metal to the side with his bare hands now.

"Give me a hand!"

Eren was about to move back to where Levi was when he took one last glance towards Petra. She must've seen what Levi was doing as she was making her way towards them. However, what Eren saw was that the dead body at her feet wasn't as dead as he has previously thought. While she was distracted, the burly man reached out for his gun and pointed it at the blonde.

"Petra!" Eren cried.

Without a second thought, the boy lunged himself towards the woman and threw her onto the floor. The bullet barely missed.

She looked at Eren bewildered and then up at the man that had shot at her. He had stood up, wounded stomach and all and lined up a shot right to Petra's head.

Before he could pull the trigger, a bullet landed right in between his eyes. He went cross-eyed and collapsed on the floor. Both of them looked back at the same time.

It had been Levi.

He hurried towards them to pull them up while simultaneously shooting at another enemy that had spotted them. The raven frantically pushed them behind the building, a deranged look in his eyes. Eren was about to thank him when the bodyguard shot his hooks to the roof of the warehouse and propelled away.

"W-What's he doing? Wha- Ah- What the hell is going on?!" Eren panted frenetically.

Petra looked around to make sure no one else was around. Seeing as the coast was clear, she pulled Eren down to the floor. She took her and Eren's facemask off so they could both breath better.

Eren had never had a mother so he never knew what motherly love was like. However, when Petra pulled Eren's neck and nestled his head onto her chest he wondered if that fuzzy feeling in his heart was it. The woman tenderly stroked his head as a plethora of bullets and horrible screeches went off in the distance.

"It's okay. Levi will take care of it. Just rest here with me." She whispered.

Eren blushed as he felt embarrassed of being treated that way and yet he didn't want to let go.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't follow orders. Y-You told me to stay put." Was the only thing he could come up with.

"It's okay. You did good. You did good. Thank you." She reassured him.

"I did?" He questioned.

"Mhmm."

Eren couldn't believe it. He wasn't almost double this lady's size but he felt so safe in her arms.

The horrible sounds of violence died off but Eren hadn't noticed until Marlo and his companion found them.

"It's over!" the companion spoke, "Mr. Levi took care of them like it was nothing! I've never seen anything like it!" she acted as if she had just witnessed her favourite rockstar do a show.

Petra looked up at them, "So they're all dead?"

Marlo nodded, "Sandra is wounded but there are no casualties on our part."

Levi landed not too far from Eren, bathed in blood. Eren should've been horrified, petrified even and yet, the green-eyed boy looked up at him in amazement.

He wanted to be as strong as Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Eren, Petra and Levi were in the blonde woman's dining room. The walls were a beautiful beige that mixed well with the dark brown of the mahogany table. The room was bathed in a yellow light coming from the intricate chandelier.

Outside was pitch black though no one in that room was sure of how late it was. Once they had arrived at the house, Petra had taken care of Levi's wounds all the while Eren sat nearby watching. On many occasions, him and the woman had tried to start a conversation but Levi was having none of it. Every time he would shut them down with a 'Zip. Not now. In a minute'.

Eventually, the two had given up and waited for him to begin talking. That had been a while ago. Due to the rectangular nature of the table, Eren was able to sit next to Petra on one of the long sides while Levi sat on the front of the table like a father that was about to have a stern talk with his children. Eren had to admit he was sitting a little too close to Petra but that was because he felt safe around her.

During all that time they had spent in Petra's house, the raven would glance at the brunet now and then. But they weren't normal glances. The way Levi would look at him made Eren's blood run cold. The boy felt he had done something wrong though he wasn't even sure what.

"Levi..." Petra hesitated, "we're gonna have to talk about what happened eventually, you know?"

The bodyguard had taken his belt, his hood and his mask off and he had his black shirt rolled up to his elbows. The dark colors contrasted greatly with his pale skin. He would've been all black and white if it hadn't been for the blood-stained bandage on his right hand. The man rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, looking sternly at Eren.

The teen froze up.

Levi huffed and then leaned back into the chair, giving Eren some leeway to breathe. Instead, the bodyguard turned to Petra.

"You shouldn't have gone out there Petra."

The blonde rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I wouldn't leave you alone in a situation like that in a million years."

BAM! Levi slammed the table with an injured fist. The sudden sound caused the other two to jump in their seat.

"DAMMIT PETRA! You should. You're just a few days from retiring!" He shouted harshly.

Eren was absolutely horrified. Petra on the other hand recollected herself quickly.

She put a hand on the man's wrist, "I appreciate your worry but this isn't about me right now Levi. I can tell something's bothering you and I can tell it has something to do with Eren. We can work through this if you simply talk."

Levi leaned forward again which caused Eren to squeeze back into his chair.

"Drugs." The bodyguard said flatly, "Drugs! There were drugs in the warehouse. No big deal. We work with drug lords all the time." Levi shrugged.

The woman raised an eyebrow, "Right."

Levi then pointed at Petra, "I'm used to drugs. But you know what I'm not used to?"

The bodyguard reached into his pocket for something only to slam it against the table a few seconds later. It was a crystal.

Petra stared at Levi like he had lost his damn mind. She then turned her head to see if the boy was equally confused only to find that he was appalled.

"Recognize that? Eren?" Levi's voice came out acidic, "What the fuck is that?!"

The woman shook her head, "Wow, wow. Wait. I'm not understanding a thing. Can someone explain?"

The raven rested an elbow against the table and drew a knuckle to his lips. He thought about what words to use long and hard.

"... I'm sure either Moblit or Marlo already told you but when I entered the warehouse there was a man there. I think he was living in it. There was a bed and everything. I shot him dead no problem. Looked around, found drugs. But then... someone closed the door." Levi looked in the distance, his mind recalling the events one by one.

He ruffled his hair, "Fuck Petra I don't even know how to say this. Someone threw something at the floor before they closed the door... it was like this black goo. But it started shifting and it turned into this... this, this little living creature."

Petra pressed her lips together. She reached for Levi's injured hand, carefully petting it. The bandages were even more colourful than before due to his abrupt movements. However, the bodyguard didn't look at her. He was staring off.

"Oh Levi... you must've had some horrible hallucinations in there. Moblit told me you had mentioned something about a gas. Maybe we should take you to one of our doctors! Better safe than sorry."

The bodyguard lifted his head, "I'm not making it up. I know what I saw and this brat knows what I saw too."

Petra shifted her attention to the teen. He was pale. Petra worried he was on the brink of throwing up.

"Eren?"

Levi freed his hand from Petra's, "Just what kind of fucked up shit did you get dragged into Eren?"

The boy's lips trembled. He didn't know what to say.

"You're scaring him Levi, let him calm down and he'll speak-"

Levi stood abruptly, "ANSWER ME BRAT!"

Eren shrunk in his chair, "I- I never wanted any part in this!"

"Any part of what?" He hissed.

"M-My dad. H-He's the one doing all this shit. He's into the drug business but he also does other stuff... black market type shit like harvesting and selling organs."

Levi picked up the crystal with his delicate fingers and shoved it in Eren's face, "And this?"

A tan hand rose to grab onto the crystal all the while shaking violently. He slowly wrapped his fingers around it, "This..."

Levi dropped his hand back onto the table now that he had given the crystal to Eren.

The boy looked like he was about to cry, "This is just one of his many fucked up projects. My dad... does experiments. Sometimes on plants, sometimes on animals, sometimes on people. He calls these Infants."

The raven narrowed his eyes, "And he uses them to attack people?"

Eren fidgeted with his hands, "Sometimes. They can latch onto people and suffocate them. If there's a lot of them they'll bunch up together on a single person. B-But all it takes is for one to reach your face. If one covers your nostrils and mouth you're done for...

"Usually they are just sold as... well my dad says people buy them as pets."

Levi furrowed his eyebrows, "Pets?! How the hell would those things be pets?!"

"He has a lot of fucked up clients, okay?! And... fucked up people like doing fucked up shit. There's another version of those that aren't aggressive at all. They just sort of fumble around... my dad knows certain people that buy them to torture them. They get off on that kind of twisted shit." Eren gritted his teeth. Repressed memories flooded his brain like a dam that exploded. He hated them. He hated them. He hated them.

"Fuck. That's why I'm not going back man! I'm tired of their sick games!"

Eren kept his gaze down at his lap where his hands had turned to fists. He could feel the crystal poking the insides of his right palm. Tears spilled from his eyes. They weren't tears of sadness though, they were tears of unadulterated anger.

Petra was all but speechless. She was trying to wrap her head around the idea of engineered blob monsters. She was so puzzled by the whole situation that the blonde couldn't even react properly to Eren's tears. All she could do was look back at Levi. Said man sighed. He didn't try to comfort the teen but he didn't upset him further either. Instead, he sat back in his chair. Levi's silver eyes connected with Petra's brown ones and in that moment he felt a hundred years older.

"It's been a long day. We could all use a break." The man's voice was now soft. It rumbled darkly in the bodyguard's throat, "I asked Marlo to take you home a moment ago. He should be here soon. Go wait for him outside. Scream if anymore of those bastards try to get you."

Eren stared at the bodyguard surprised but said man was looking into the distance. His eyes twinkled with the yellow light of the chandelier.

"S-So you're not mad at me? I mean... you'll keep protecting me?"

Levi waved him off, "We'll talk tomorrow. Get some rest."

The teen frowned but he knew pushing it would only cause him more trouble. Eren stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He gave Petra a nod goodbye -who in response gave him a sweet smile- and walked away.

Levi waited until he heard the door being open and then closed that he then slumped into his chair. He was absolutely exhausted.

Petra reached out for his hand, stroking his forearm lovingly. She knew how much Levi loved that -though he would always deny it.

"I'm going to be honest Levi, I'm not sure I understand what's going," her voice was barely above a whisper, "but what I do know is that you don't have to keep protecting him if you don't want to. You can deny him service any time you want."

Levi chuckled though it wasn't an amused one rather it was more like him laughing at his own misery, "I think it's too late for that Petra."

Petra frowned, "What do you mean?"

"There was a camera inside the warehouse. After those things attacked me I was so shaken that I took my mask off without thinking. They got me on film."

The blonde woman pressed her lips together. A pit formed in her stomach.

"We can find a way. We can let go of Eren and hide you for a while!"

Levi raised an eyebrow, "We?"

The woman lowered her eyes, "Oh... right."

Levi leaned forward and raised her chin, "It's okay. Trust me. I'll take care of it. You focus on retiring. Don't go thinking about trying to save me... or Eren."

Petra laughed, "Eren? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, how long have I known you now? You gave the kid that stare you give people. That 'I've found an abandoned puppy that I'm gonna adopt and care for' stare."

She snorted, "Me? By the looks of it, you're the one adopting the puppy. You've gotten yourself quite involved this time, haven't you?"

Petra smirked knowing damn well she was getting on Levi's nerves. The man rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

He got up and walked towards the living room, "I'm crashing on your couch by the way."

She hesitated. A part of her wanted to keep talking but she knew that pushing Levi would cause more harm than good, "Yeah, yeah I figured. Want a cup of wine before bed?"

Levi raised an eyebrow, "Got anything stronger"

"Whisky."

"Now you're speaking my language."

Chapter Text

I can't sleep.

I can't sleep.

I can't sleep.

Eren stared at the ceiling. In the dark it was a grey mess. As soon as he had arrived to his apartment he had tried to go to sleep but alas, there he was. His eyes felt heavy but every time the brunet would try to close them images would spark in his mind. Images of Annie, of a crystal shard, of a bloody Levi, of a worried Petra.

Eren twisted and turned, hoping to shake all those thoughts away. The more he tried to erase away the colors, the more they would burn into his mind. He kicked and he groaned until every last drop of energy the brunet had dissipated. And so, it wasn't until the clock marked 4:39 AM that Eren Jaegar could be found deeply sleeping in his bed. That was until...

RRRRRINNGG! RRRRRIIINNNGGG

Eren's eyes shot open, "Levi!"

He lunged for the cellphone, "Levi! I have something I want to tell you!"

"Ummm... it's Armin."

The boy's adrenaline rush dropped, "Oh...·

"Are you okay Eren? I was calling you all day yesterday and you didn't answer. I was starting to think something happened to you the night you took off."

Eren rubbed his face with his free hand, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I was just really busy yesterday..."

"Thank the Gods." Armin paused, "But does that mean you're coming to work today? It's already 10:20am."

"What?!" Eren jumped from his bed, "I'll be right there!"

"Wait! I-"

But it was too late. The green-eyed boy had already hung up. He was halfway through putting the jeans from yesterday on when he was interrupted by a voice.

"Ugh, don't be disgusting. Change your clothes properly."

"AAH!" Eren tripped on his own feet and fell to the ground. When he rose his head to see who it was he found Levi Ackerman resting against the window sill.

"What the hell are you doing here?! How did you even get in?!"

The brunet looked at his bodyguard like he was a maniac but said man didn't appear to see any issue.

"Wha- Okay never mind that. Why are you here?" He slowly stood up, still putting on the same pair of pants despite Levi's reprimand.

"Come here and I'll tell you." He made a 'come hither' motion with his finger.

Confused, the green-eyed boy did as he was told and approached the raven. The shorter man analyzed the brunets face. Before he could ask what Levi was doing, one of his bodyguard's fists swung to Eren's left cheek, sending him to the floor once again.

"What the fuck?!" Eren yelled, holding his tender cheek.

Levi slapped a bag of ice he had been keeping who knows where and then crouched down to the boy's level, "It seemed to slip from Petra that it was you who told her I was in a pinch which is strange. Really strange in fact because I specifically recall telling you to never go to her house ever again."

Eren gulped.

"That begs the question, how did you even find out in the first place? Hmmm?"

The brunets mind started going a million miles per hour. He was confused about a lot of things but one thing he knew for sure was that he didn't want Levi to know about Annie. The bodyguard wouldn't understand their complicated relationship and he would only see her as a threat. Sure, Eren and Annie had had their rough patches, but didn't everybody? She would never seriously try to hurt him… right?

"I- uh- It was because- because I called you! And you didn't answer!" Eren died a little on the inside. There was no chance in hell the raven would believe such a stupid lie.

The shorter man stared at the brunet blankly. He rose without saying a word and continued to look at the boy. Then, not much later he exploded.

"What are you, an idiot?! I didn't know you were that stupid. I wouldn't have answered you anyway dumbass! I was in the middle of illegally breaking into a place!" Levi pinched his nose, clearly annoyed, "You're gonna be the death of me."

Eren stared up at the man with a gaping mouth. It had worked. It had only worked because Levi thought the teen had one single functional brain cell- but it worked!

"O-Oh... yeah, guess I didn't think about that." Eren chuckled nervously.

Levi stared daggers at him which sent shivers don't Eren's spine, "I give you simple instructions. Stay in your apartment. And you can't even do that."

The green-eyed boy huffed, "You know, keep insulting me all you want but I don't regret a thing! Sure, I was... kind of a dumbass but you were in trouble and yeah, you got backup or whatever but what if you didn't! I didn't know that! For all I knew, you were already dead as dirt somewhere!"

And it was true, Eren was speaking from the heart. When Annie had told him that Levi was probably dead, he had felt his heart drop into an icy abyss. Even though the bodyguard wasn't exactly a warm ball of sunshine, Eren wouldn't have been able to live with himself if something had happened to him. The boy literally owed Levi his life.

Said man rubbed his temples. Eren was afraid the older man's head would explode from the tension.

"You're just as stubborn as she is..." He muttered to himself, "Whatever. Don't make a habit out of it. I'm the one taking care of you, remember? I wouldn't be a bodyguard if I couldn't protect myself."

Eren slowly nodded. There was a moment of silence where both males just looked at each other. It wasn't until Levi slowly nodded back that the air around them felt light again.

"Good, good. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Eren switched the hand that was holding the bag of ice against his face, "Huh?"

"You said you wanted to tell me something when you were on the phone."

The teen blushed. He had forgotten that Levi had heard that. However, he put aside his embarrassment. What he wanted to say was important. The boy looked up at his bodyguard with a spark of passion in his eyes.

"I want you to teach me how to fight."

The raven stared back unimpressed, "You want me to teach you how to fight."

Eren nodded.

The shorter male crossed his arms, "That's not really in the job description you know. I'm not a kindergarten teacher."

The green-eyed boy quickly got up, "No, no, but think about it! If you teach me I'll be able to take care of myself better! I- I won't be as 'clingy' or whatever."

Levi thought for a second, "That does sound tempting. You are really clingy."

"I want to be like you and Petra. Yesterday, you two kicked ass! And I was useless... well I don't wanna be useless anymore."

Eren looked at the bodyguard, determined to get a yes from him.

Levi sighed, "You don't want to be like us, trust me kid."

"But I do!"

The raven tsked. Eren could tell he was having an internal debate.

"You wouldn't last a day with my training. I don't go easy."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows together, "Try me."

The bodyguard rolled his eyes and chuckled. The younger male held his breath.

"We'll see about that."

"So is that a yes?" Eren perked up.

The bodyguard began walking away, "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6 am. Not a minute before, not a minute after. We'll see what you're made of."

The boy was about to complain about the early hour but decided to keep his mouth shut. He would show him. Eren was going to work his butt off. So instead of daring to say anything, he simply gripped the bag of ice with determination. It had become slippery from condensation.

Just as the bodyguard reached the door he said, "And you better hurry for work or you'll be late."

With his free hand, Eren scratched the back of his neck, "A-Ah, about that. I don't know if I should go... I mean I dunno what if I need to move places or something? After all that happened yesterday maybe I should switch apartments."

"What? Are you scared of facing blondie after having kissed him?"

Eren nearly fell back onto the floor. It hadn't really crossed his mind that Levi had obviously seen such an encounter.

"Wh-What?!" He stammered.

Even though the teen was unable to look his bodyguard in the eye, he knew Levi was staring straight at him, probably with mocking eyes.

"Stop being a wimp and go to work. We aren't moving anytime soon."

Eren glanced at Levi and muttered, "Fine."

"Remember. 6 am sharp."

The door slammed shut.

Eren facepalmed. He felt so embarrassed. So much so that he could hardly concentrate on anything else for the rest of the morning. He broodingly changed his clothes like Levi had said, brushed his teeth, hell, he even brushed his hair. What did it matter? He was already going to arrive late whether he took his time or rushed through the process. The teen all but strolled down the street, dreading every step that took him closer to the restaurant.

He thought about his childhood friend, Mikasa. He thought about how much he missed her. Then Eren thought about Annie and wondered what she was doing in that very moment. Finally, the green-eyed boy thought about his father. He remembered a time years ago when Grisha had told Eren he loved him because that's what fathers were supposed to do. They were supposed to love their sons. They were supposed to protect them.

A jumbled-up pile of thoughts crossed through his mind. Memories from long ago and memories from yesterday clashed together, playing through his head without any prominent rhyme or reason. When he was a few feet away from the restaurant, he raised a hand to his lips, stroking them slowly. Eren didn't remember much from the party but he vividly remembered the kiss. There was another moment from the party that he remembered well. One that haunted him even more than the kiss itself but Eren was having trouble understanding why.

He silently entered the diner with his head swarming in memories. Like a mouse, he reached the lockers where he changed into baby blue dress shirt he had been given as a uniform.

The brunet was finishing doing all the buttons when suddenly, "Hi there."

For the second time that day, Eren almost had a heart attack. He swiveled on his heels to find a familiar blond staring back at him.

"Armin."

"I'm relieved to see you. I was starting to think you wouldn't be coming back."

Eren scratched the back of his neck, "Well, I'm here."

There was that stare again. Armin was staring at him like he was a helpless puppy.

"Eren, I wanted to talk to you for a sec."

Seeing as he couldn't come up with an excuse, he simply shrugged, "Sure."

"I wanted to apologize for my behaviour on Saturday."

The brunet's eyes widened. Out of all the things he had expected Armin to say, an apology on the blond boy's behalf was not one of them.

Armin facepalmed, "Ugh Eren I'm such an idiot! When you... you know kissed me I was all freaked out! And I have to admit I was a little drunk... see, this is why I don't like drinking!

"After you left, everything happened just like you had said! Jean and I talked for sooo long and he admitted that he was trying to play it cool but that when he saw you kiss me he got jealous and couldn't take it anymore!"

The blond boy's cheeks turned rosy as he looked down at his feet and began fidgeting, "Actually... he even asked if we wanted to be, like, a thing. You know? And, if I had gone alone I know for a fact that I would've left early without talking to Jean and I dunno, I feel so guilty that you almost got into a fight with Jean just because you were trying to help me!"

Eren stood there shell-shocked. He was being painted... like a hero in this situation?

Armin sighed heavily, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry! I really owe you one and that I hope you're not mad at me for being such an idiot! I should've defended you when Jean started insulting you. My brain failed to make the connection that you had kissed me to trick Jean..."

Armin looked up at the taller boy expecting some kind of answer to which Eren responded by stammering, "Ah- uh- yeah, totally. Um, it's all good. Whatever."

"Really?!"

Eren pressed his lips together. What else could he say? That in the very moment before they kissed Jean was the last thing on his mind?

"Totally."

His coworker took a small hop of excitement, "Oh thank the Gods! I'm so relieved. I felt so crappy about the whole thing, I mean I was so taken by surprise. If I'm being honest with you Eren I kinda thought you were homophobic at first so to say the kiss was unexpected would be selling it short!"

Armin laughed all the while Eren stood there awkwardly. The blond boy hadn't the slightest clue that Eren was dying a little more with every word.

After his laughter died down, he cocked his head to the side, "Well, I feel a lot better now. Shall we get to work? I could use a hand with some heavy boxes we gotta move."

The green-eyed boy chewed on his lips. There was something he wanted to say but his mouth felt as if it were shut with glue. So instead, he nodded.

The coworker explained that the owner of the diner was throwing a party later that day so it was up to him, Eren and Sasha to close up at 4 pm and clean the place up. And so, the three of them did just that. The hours melted away quickly as they worked non-stop to get every nook and cranny clean as per Armin's insistence. It wasn't until the place was eating-off-the-floor clean that the blond boy let the other two rest.

Eren and Sasha threw themselves into a booth. He was spread on one side while Sasha was across from him with her head on the table.

"Gods Armin, you work us to the bone harder that the boss does." Sasha muttered against the cool metallic table.

Said boy came waltzing towards them, daring to giggle at the comment, "Sorry guys. I really wanted everything to look nice! The boss told me he was celebrating his daughter's pregnancy."

Sasha and Armin shared a look, "Ohhh really? That's surprising. Good for him, good for him."

Eren pouted, "I don't get it. What's surprising about it?"

The girl raised her head to look at the brunet, "The boss had a sour relationship with his daughter. One time they got in a fight in front of us, remember Armin? Called her an accident, that he never wanted kids. Suuuper awkward." Sasha shrugged, "Something must've happened to the guy though. He's really been trying to reconnect with his daughter for a while now.

"Armin and I might get a liiiittle nosy when the daughter swings by but, overall, things seem to be going good. Right, Armin?" She looked up at the boy standing in front of the booth.

"Mhm! I mean not great. He still hasn't gotten a grasp on not being a total jerk but he's certainly gotten better over time."

Sasha pursed her lips to the side, "I can't help but wonder what made him change. Maybe a mid-life crisis?"

"Well she's his daughter after all. Mr. Stannard might be a lousy guy but he isn't downright evil. I think seeing her pregnant has made him realize a thing or two about life. Still, I don't think he was meant to be a father. A lot of people that have kids shouldn't be parents."

Eren gulped.

The girl sighed, "Well, whatever. I'm happy for him. Imma grab a beer from the fridge-" Armin gave her a stern look, "Don't worry, I'm paying for it. You want one Eren?"

He shrugged, "Sure. Might as well make the most out of the fact that I am now drinking age."

Sasha was getting out from the booth when she asked, "Oh yeah? When was your birthday?"

"Last week." He said casually.

"Last week?!" The pair said in unison.

"Um... yes?"

Sasha slapped Eren's arm in a playful manner, "You should've told us!"

"Yeah, totally!" Armin agreed fervently.

"I dunno I mean we had barely met, it's kinda weird to just be like 'hey what's up, my name is Eren Jaegar, my birthday is in a couple of days so buy me a present, thanks and bye' ", he reached out for his wallet, "anyway, how much do I owe you for that beer?"

The girl shook her head, "No, no. It's on me. I got a shiny penny worth two beers. Happy late birthday." She stuck her tongue out in a playful manner.

(1) He stuck his bottom lip out and raised his eyebrows, impressed by the gesture, "Thanks."

As the girl walked away, Armin took the place she had been previously sitting in. He put an elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand all the while turning to look through the window. It was drizzling outside. The pitter patter of the water droplets was relaxing.

The soft light traveled through the grey clouds, the sky and the window illuminating Armin's face. His eyes sparkled in its cool radiance, intensifying the color. They really were the same shade as Annie's. Every time Eren would look at them for too long he would think of her but Annie and Armin were vastly different people. Annie would have never apologized to Eren for something she had done. Annie was perfect. It was always Eren's fault so he should be the one to apologize.

Armin noticed the brunets intense gaze and faced him, "Is everything okay?"

No. Nothing was okay.

"How much do you remember? About the party I mean." Eren questioned.

The blond raised his eyebrows, "A couple of moments are a bit blurry but I remember everything. I didn't drink nearly as much as you."

The taller boy leaned in slightly, "There was a moment. A moment where it was just the two of us. We were lying down on the grass and you told me you thought we could be really good friends."

Armin's eyes were wide, "Um, yeah. I remember."

"You... did you mean it? Do you think we could be friends?"

Armin was stunned. He took a moment to analyze Eren's face. Finally, he leaned in as well, "I would be glad to be your friend Eren. The only question you have to answer is if you want to be mine."

Upon hearing those words, the teen felt a strange ache in his heart. A million voices in his head told him to say no, that it was wrong. Just yesterday he never wanted to see Armin ever again but having him there, not looking at Eren with annoyance or disgust especially after what had happened at the party, made him feel at peace. He should've kept his distance from the blond boy, yet his body had plans of its own. He nodded.

"Things have been fucking crazy lately. I could use a friend."

Armin reached out and grabbed Eren's hand that had been resting on the metallic table, "Then we're friends."

The blue-eyed boy offered Eren a warm smile. The brunet couldn't help but give him a small smile back. Sasha came back with two beers and a soda can causing the two boys to lean back into their seats.

"Scooch!" Sasha said to Armin.

He did as was told and made way for Sasha to sit in the booth as well.

"Two beers for the adults and a soda can for little Armin!"

"Ha. Ha. But also, thanks!" Armin took the soda can gleefully and opened it up.

Sasha handed Eren his beer and grinned, "A toast! To Eren!"

The brunet chuckled but still, he raised his drink in the air and clinked it against Sasha's and Armin's.

"Here, here!" Armin exclaimed.

The three coworkers stayed another while at the diner talking, joking, laughing. Anyone that would have passed by that window on that rainy day would've seen three friends having a good time.

;__;

Eren finally got a well-deserved break. And ALSO,

(1) BRO, THIS SIMPLE LINE TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG TO WRITE. Basically, I was imagining Eren do what I can only explain as the "Not Bad Obama Face Meme". Did you know there's not a concrete word for that expression? I dunno why I was so flabbergasted by the fact that there wasn't a word for it XD Someone really outta make one like Eren pamped, snurpled, suppesed... huh, making up words is suprisingly difficult. ANYWAY, enough of my incoherent ramblings! I just had to get that out there. 

~Gum

Chapter Text

Eren's phone sang and danced the moment the clock struck 6. Eren, who had been in the process of putting his shoes on, sluggishly went to answer it. He didn't even bother to look at the caller name. He knew exactly who it was.

"Hm?" A primal huff was all he could manage in that moment.

"I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of your building. You have three minutes to get here or I'm leaving.

"Mm-hmm."

Beep.

The teen summoned all his will to get up and trudge his way to his destination, only half aware of what was going on around him.

It was unholy to wake up so early. Eren had always been a bad student due to his lack of interest and hyperactivity but the reason he hated school the most was because of how early he had to wake up.

Walking out of his dingy old building he saw no other than Levi Ackerman, his bodyguard. His face was as neutral as ever, though instead of his usual black outfit he wore a long brown coat.

"Follow me."

And so he did. The green-eyed boy was led away from the building and to the streets where they eventually stopped in front of a white vehicle.

Eren raised an eyebrow, "This is your car?"

"It's the car I'm driving in today, yes."

"Oh, ok."

The green-eyed boy wasn't sure what Levi meant with his strange phrasing but he was too dead on the inside to ask.

"Get in." The bodyguard said as he unlocked the car.

Something about the inside of the vehicle felt so mundane. It could've been anyone's car, that is, it didn't reflect the uniqueness of Levi's spirit. Eren didn't know what to expect but that average white car wasn't it.

"One more thing. Put this on."

Levi threw him a black sleep mask with the words 'Beauty Sleep' painted on it.

"What the fuck? Why do I have to put this shit on?"

Levi occupied himself with putting his seatbelt on, "Consider yourself lucky. I'd blindfold you properly if I could but that would only arise suspicion. Either way, you better get used to it." He revved up the car.

Eren pouted, "Whatever."

He slipped it on begrudgingly. Levi took the liberty of adjusting it properly.

"Have I ever told you how sloppily you do everything?" He didn't wait for an answer, "If I see you peaking I'm cancelling the whole thing. I'm taking you to the Survey Corps training area and it's not exactly a place where people like you should be hanging out."

"Yeah, yeah..." He grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

Eren couldn't see Levi's face but he imagined the man to be looking ever so slightly pissed.

"Yessir."

The boy had no interest in going against the older man's wishes so to try and decipher the route of this secret location was off the table. The brunet was aware of the fact that if anything awry were to happen, Levi would never agree to such training and Eren was committed to not fucking things up.

They must've driven for 20 minutes. The gentle roaring of the car and the gentle motions put Eren into a comatose-like state where he was neither asleep nor awake.

"We're here."

Eren adjusted himself from his previously slumped position, "Oh? D-Does that mean I can take this thing off now?"

The bodyguard didn't even bother answering, instead taking off the face mask in one swift movement. Luckily for the teen, his surroundings were dark so his eyes adjusted quickly. At some point, Levi had driven inside a building and now they were in what Eren presumed to be a garage.

"Let's go." The older man said.

The brunet trailed not too far behind as Levi walked to a door and revealed a much larger room on the other side. Turning on the lights, Eren could see it was a gym. From its dark grey walls hung all kinds of equipment and weapons. Red and blue lines painted a large oval in the room, suggesting it could be used as a running track. In the middle was something akin to a boxing ring though hardly elevated at all. On the opposite wall to them, there was an area of matted flooring. On the far left there were rows of lockers and a couple of benches while the right side was empty.

Eren couldn't help but wonder what that place was like when it was full of young, strong people, training to be ruthless killers like Levi Ackerman.

"So, this is where you all train?"

"Well, in reality it's just one of the training areas we use." The man looked around, "We'll only have this place for two hours for today so no lollygagging. Put all your belongings in one of the benches and once you're done come to me."

Eren was already wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top so all he did was throw his grey jacket onto a bench and walk towards Levi who stood with his arms crossed near the free matted areas. He too had taken off his coat, revealing a pair of loose beige pants and a tight fitting olive green T-shirt. Eren had known that the man was muscular but if before it had been nothing but speculation it was now a fact. The way his arms were folded made his muscular shoulders and biceps stand out and every time the bodyguard inhaled, the fabric would wrap itself around his tight abs.

It made Eren feel very nervous.

"Alright. Warm up with 20 laps. Go."

"Wh- 20 laps?"

"20 laps."

He sighed, "Ugh. Fine."

Surprised, Levi lifted an eyebrow as he watched the boy head for the track without hesitation.

1.

The first lap was a piece of cake. Eren thought for a second that he wouldn't have such a hard time after all.

2,3,4.

Okay, maybe his heartbeat was starting to rise but that was normal when exercising.

5,6,7.

Sweating, he was definitely sweating.

8,9.

Almost halfway there, he could do this right?

10.

Oh no.

11,12.

His breath was shaky and his thighs were itchy. So. Fucking. Itchy.

13,14.

Plus, his sides were burning.

15.

His breathing could be better described as wheezing and the sweat made his top stick to his back.

16.

It was hell on earth. There was no way he could do four more laps.

17.

Eren's feet felt like lead. Every step was a challenge and the beads of sweat trailing down his forehead only made him as itchy as the rest of his body.

18.

Pain.

19.

Almost there... his mind completely shut off everything around him, only concentrating on breathing and running. He slowly but surely inched closer and closer to the finish line until finally...

"Twenty!" He gasped, throwing himself forward and resting his hands on his knees.

Just as he was about to look up at Levi, his vision was obstructed. Everything was dark. His hand rose to his head and tugged at whatever was keeping him from seeing. Levi had thrown a rag onto him.

"Took you long enough but at least you finished. Dry off quickly and we'll get to the actual training."

"Actual-" /wheeze/ "training?!" He panted.

"I told you it was a warm up." The bodyguard shrugged.

"Ohgods..." the boy muttered to himself.

As a young boy, Eren had been very athletic. The type of kid to squirm when told to sit still; to get first place in all the races but fail the easiest math exam. Alongside Mikasa, they ruled the gym halls. All the coaches loved them and some would even mention what a promising future they would have if they dedicated themselves to a sport. One late afternoon, Mikasa and Eren were walking back from their first day of middle school when she stopped at the basketball courts, watching a group of tall men play.

"Mikasa?" The boy stared at the little girl.

Mikasa's eyes were so enormous in her small head. Huge and black like two voids that took everything in and let so little out. Nevertheless, even at his young age Eren knew that behind those dark pits of life was a warm soul and a huge heart.

The little girl wore a light pink dress that reached her ankles. Her matching shoes were covered in dirt. Mikasa's aunt always dressed her like a doll and it drove the young girl crazy. She wanted to run and sprint and move. As a result, her cute dresses would always end up torn and stained.

Mikasa turned to Eren. Her long black hair moved like a silk curtain. As if her eyes weren't piercing enough, the fact that a red scarf covered most of her face didn't help. It was no wonder most of the kids were scared of her.

"Hey Eren, have you ever thought about it seriously?" Her voice was high and sweet like that of any young girl, but at the same time calm and slow like someone who had lived entire lifetimes.

Eren frowned, "Thought about what?"

Mikasa turned back to the young men, "About trying out sports for real. All the gym teachers say we're good at it. Plus, we're in middle school now. We're practically grown-ups now."

The tan boy furrowed his eyebrows further. Eren put a hand to his chin and nodded his head, "Hm. I hadn't thought about that but you're right! We're the big kids now. We gotta start thinking about the future!"

"What do you wanna be when you grow up?" She asked.

His eyes sparkled. There was so many things he could be, how could he only pick one?

"An astronaut! Or a race car driver! Or like, I can be an astronaut first and then get so rich that I make race car races on the moon! And the first place wins a bajillion dollars! But I would win since I would be the best and I would get even richer!" The boy laughed.

The girl giggled as well, "That's silly. You can't even get on roller coasters without throwing up. How are you gonna make it to the moon?"

"I'll train!" He puffed up his chest and put his hands to his hips.

Mikasa giggled again, "Whatever you say, pukeface."

"Whadabout you? Wanna be a basketball player? I bet you'd kick butt at it!"

She shrugged, "Maybe. Volleyball is fun too."

"What about boxing! You can beat guys up like you beat up that bully from elementary school."

"Boxing? I could try it..."

"Yeah, yeah! You know what? I change my mind! I wanna be a boxer too!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Boxers ON THE MOON!"

The two kids laughed, "We can start by beating everyone on Earth," Mikasa said, "And when we win every match we'll go to the moon and fight aliens!"

The boy got so excited he started jumping around, "We'll fight big green alien dragons and save the universe!"

He skipped his way to the girl and grabbed her hands, tugging her along so she would also start jumping around with him, "Just you and me against the world, got it?"

Even though her lips were covered by the scarf, Eren knew she was smiling, "Ok, ok! Got it! Let's get home though cuz it's getting dark!"

The boy looked up at the sky, "Ahh dangit. You're right. Dad's gonna get mad at me."

Mikasa stopped jumping, "Why? Did you do something bad?"

Eren shook his head, "I dunno. I totally forgot he wanted me early from school today. Said he wanted to talk to me about something." The boy shrugged.

Mikasa, who still held Eren's hands in hers, dragged him towards their path, "Well then we gotta hurry!"

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" The boy blurted.

In an instant, the two children jumped into action, moving their little bodies as fast as they could as the sound of joyful laughter echoed through the skies.

"Oi! Are you ready yet? I'm not waiting for you all day."

Eren snapped out of it. "S-sorry."

He could take whatever Levi had in store for him. He knew it. Yes, he was already tired and sweaty from the warm up. He hadn't done any proper exercise in many years and in his current state he was so weak he had a hard time picking up a gallon of water but a small, hopeful voice, one that sounded a lot like Mikasa's told him he could do it.

He straightened up, "What's next?"

For a split second the teen could've sworn he saw the bodyguard smirk, "50 push-ups followed by 75 curl ups, and I'm going easy on you."

The older man's face was as stoic as always but Eren couldn't help but feel as if the bodyguard was teasing him.

Eren grunted and heaved. He sweat and burned all over. Hell, he would've cried if he hadn't sweated all the water from his body. Ultimately, the boy could only lean into the pain and soon, everything disappeared, even the bodyguard judging his poor form. It was just him and his body. It had been a while since he had taken a moment to connect with it. He poured his determination into every curl up and sit up until finally,

"Alright. You're done."

The teen boy collapsed onto the floor, looking up at the older man.

"You sure took your sweet time though."

The green-eyed boy half-expected a compliment afterwards like, 'hey, but good job' or 'you'll get better with time' but it never came. The bodyguard must've noticed the irritation in the boy's eyes as he said, "What? You expect a pat on the back or a hug? I quite literally know 12 year old girls that are fitter than you."

Eren roped the rag he had been given previously around his body, "Whatever... are we done for the day or is there anything else you'd like to humiliate me with."

"Glad you asked. We're doing a final exercise."

Eren sat up and ran a hand through his greasy hair, "Let me guess. 100 pull-ups? A 10 minute plank?"

"Not exactly."

Levi threw a pair of bright red boxing gloves right between his open legs. The younger male looked up at his bodyguard with confusion. He could only stare in horror as he watched Levi put on a couple of boxing gloves as well, though his were black.

"Come now."

"Wow, wow, wait a minute. I'm not sure I'm ready to fight you..."

"Relax, I'm going easy on you, remember?"

He couldn't protest quick enough as the older male had already began making his way to the boxing center in the middle of the gym. Eren realized they had been there a while as the morning light filled the room. Close to the high ceiling, there was a row of thin, rectangular windows from which the first rays of the day coyly made an entrance.

Levi had mentioned they didn't have much time to occupy the gym and Eren had to take advantage of every minute of the training. He would regret slacking off if Grisha's men would ever get to him again.

The boy forced his tired body to stand up and walk up to the boxing ring. He could barely do such a task, to box was nearly impossible.

"You've ever been in a fight, kid?"

Kid. It bothered Eren every time Levi would call him that. The bodyguard had hard features, sure, but he couldn't be too much older than Eren! In fact, he wondered just how old Levi actually was.

"I mean, as a kid I got into a lot of trouble. And I had a few boxing classes in middle school but... I stopped going. Didn't get much farther than learning how to put the gear on."

"Well I hope you're a fast learner."

"Yeah, I'm kind of a fast-"

BOOM!

A punch right to his face.

"WOW! WHAT THE FUCK MAN?"

BOOM!

Another punch.

"YO- YO STOP."

"Stop complaining and start defending yourself."

BOOM! This time to the side.

"Ah! FUCK!" He took the advice and rose his arms up in defense, "I didn't even know we had started yet?"

"When more kidnappers come for you they won't be giving you a heads up." The bodyguard threw another punch but this time Eren was able to block it.

"W-well I guess but-" He blocked another.

"You gonna stand there all day?"

"N-no!"

"Then do something. Or give up. Periwinkle is the safe word."

The bodyguard threw a barrage of punches that pushed Eren back. The adrenaline pooled in the green-eyed boy's stomach. Blocking a right hook, the teen went for it, throwing all the strength Eren could muster towards the older man's stomach.

Big mistake. The bodyguard swiftly moved to the side. As Eren lost his balance, everything went in slow motion. Levi simply observed him. This time the boy knew for sure there was a twinkle of devilish amusement in the bodyguard's eyes as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Oof!"

"Well, you sure are good at beating yourself up, I'll give you that."

Eren had no time to react as he was aggressively turned around by Levi and grabbed by the collar, one boxing glove off, one on. The bodyguard held the glove up in the air menacingly, "I'm not stopping until you tell me to."

There was a moment of silence in which Levi was expecting the teen to say the safe word. His green eyes looked around in a mix of panic and thought. His lips quivering in indecisiveness. That was until his breathing was stabilized, he furrowed his eyebrows and dug his teeth into the bottom lip, sealing them shut.

"Ah, I was right. You're a little bratty aren't you." He thwacked the boy again, sending him back to the floor.

Even though the bodyguard hadn't intended much force behind his hits, the boy had begun dripping blood from his nose and mouth. Even so, Eren looked at him furiously.

"Hit me all you want, I'm not giving up."

Levi shrugged, "As you wish."

In a moment of surprise, Eren tackled the bodyguard. There was much courage but not a lot of planning in the move as all the teen could do was hide himself in the bodyguard's stomach as Levi striked Eren's head three or four times until he finally let go. The bodyguard quickly stood up, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Good one brat. I certainly didn't expect that." He threw a swift kick to Eren's stomach which in turn made the boy cough up a storm, on the verge of vomiting.

Once again, he grabbed the boy by the collar, "Done being brave yet?"

Eren's eyes were unfocused and his body was shaking yet in spite of that, he shook his head.

Levi cocked his head to the side, fascinated by the brat's sheer stupidity, "You know, sometimes giving up is the best thing you can do."

The teen coughed again, spitting blood onto Levi's forearm which certainly peeved him, "I'm not exactly known for making good decisions."

The bodyguard took a good look at Eren's bruised face. All pink and red, the purples and blues sure reaching the surface with time. That certainly wouldn't look good tomorrow. Maybe, he thought to himself, he had gone a little too far.

"Well, you're lucky you have me then."

He let go of the boy. Eren was confused.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

The two men shared a look, both confused and fascinated by the other.

"We're done with training for today." The bodyguard took off his boxing gloves.

"D-Did I do a good job?" The younger male asked, his head still spinning from all the punches.

Levi smirked, "You did just fine."

.

.

.

I love this little chapter . Slowly, but surely, we're building up that Levi x Eren relationship! And I like to think the "12 year old girl" Levi mentions as fitter than Eren is Gabi XD! See you guys next week!

~Gum

Chapter Text

"Anyway, I'm leaving you here." Levi parked the car a few blocks from where Eren lived.

The boy groaned, "Do you really have to leave me so far away? My legs are so tired I don't think I can even walk."

The bodyguard tsked, "Don't question me. You know out of all the brats I train, you're the one that's the most smart-mouthed. All of the Survey Corps trainees wouldn't even dream about talking to me the way you do."

Eren felt smug, "What can I say? When you're this cute you get away with a lot of things."

The boy saw his life flash before his eyes as he saw the man lunge towards him. Luckily, it was just him opening the door on Eren's side, "You're such a fucking smartass. Get out already. I got shit to do."

Eren laughed as he undid the seatbelt and threw his legs to the side, "Fine, see you later then."

Levi hummed in response.

The green-eyed boy took it as the cue to get up and leave. He threw his hoodie over his head and walked slowly towards his building. His whole body ached.

It had been a week since they had begun training. Because of Levi's tight schedule and Eren's inexpertise in working out formally, they had settled on training every other day. If Eren had thought the first day at the gym had been bad, he had no idea of what followed. Levi had put him to work on various exercises to build muscle. As a bonus, he got a long lecture about how poor his diet was and a couple of hurtful jabs about how he looked like a skeleton because he was all tall but no meat.

In order to keep the suspicion to a minimum, he told Armin and Sasha that he had joined a boxing club. That way, if his face looked like a bloated tomato, no one would question him. He had mentioned in passing how he was trying to better his diet and Armin had jumped in to talk about how important eating healthy was which only led to another long lecture (though one that was drastically more polite). Armin even offered to teach Eren where to buy food and cook dishes that would be good to him to which Eren hesitantly agreed.

Despite the craziness of the week and learning how to balance training with work, he had felt pretty good. His bad moods hadn't consumed him as much as other weeks. In fact, Eren had felt more confident than he had in years.

Dragging himself through the halls of his building, the boy smiled to himself, thinking about his friends Armin and Sasha, his trainer Levi and his body that would soon be bigger and stronger. The good thing about being sore was that it meant that the body was working on making a better version of itself. The teen jimmied the doorknob, went inside and slammed the door shut, ready to throw himself onto the bed for a while before heading to the diner. That was until he saw a familiar girl.

His smile dropped.

"Annie?!?"

"Hey Eren, did you miss me?" The girl said sweetly.

"What are you doing here?"

She frowned, "Guess not."

"Wh-What are you doing here?" He repeated.

Annie stayed silent. The girl had her pale hair in a loose ponytail. Her eyes were disinterested but her lips were slightly curved downward. Her bottom lip was busted. She must've fought with someone.

Annie wore a black jacket over a thin grey hoodie coupled with light blue jeans and black sneakers. She looked like any normal girl.

"Lev- My bodyguard will see you. You have to go." He pleaded, "Please. I don't want him to do anything to you."

"Hm. Don't worry about that. He's dropping that rental car as we speak. Then he'll take a couple of minutes to get in position to guard you. We've got time."

"But-"

"His cameras didn't catch me either and the window," she pointed at the closed curtains, "is closed. Though I think he's begun suspecting that someone is following his tracks. He's a slippery fella I'll give him that. Sometimes that guy disappears into thin air. I'm glad that your bodyguard is good. Would've beaten myself up if I had given you a shitty contact. I guess what they say in the streets is true, the Survey Corps are the best." Annie's eyes wandered around yet she looked at Eren through the corner of her eye when she said, "Still, I'm better."

The boy fidgeted in place. Annie sighed.

"Gods, you hate me don't you? I shouldn't have come here..." She plopped onto the bed.

Eren jumped, "No! No of course not, I could never." He hasted towards her, falling to his knees right in front of the blonde girl. The boy grabbed her hand, "I could never hate you."

She had a small smile on her lips. Her eyes, however, remained sad, "But you still won't come with me right?"

He tightened his lips. A small voice whispered an idea into his ear. What if he were to go? What if he were to drop everything and run into the sunset with her? But after all that had happened Eren wanted nothing more but a little bit of peace, and Annie was everything but peaceful. Her very existence fed on chaos; the silent type that you didn't even notice until it was too late, much like a toxic gas seeping into your lungs while you slept.

When Eren opened his mouth in attempt to speak he was shut down, "Don't say it. I couldn't bear to hear it. I know you wanna run away from everything. You wanna stuff the past in a chest and lock it forever but it doesn't work that way Eren. The past eventually comes back to haunt you. Hell, it's already happening as we speak."

Eren frowned, "What do you mean?"

Annie observed the boy closely, "Grisha has Mikasa."

"What?!?" The boy leaped to his feet. A cold electricity ran through his entire body.

"Yup, overheard it while I was snooping around one of Grisha's facilities. I even got to see her file. Pictures and everything."

The girl also stood up. She went to fidget with the old flower curtains, tugging at it and feeling the fabric between her fingers. Another smile arose on her lips, one that was more sinister. She was playing with the devil, tempting destiny to reveal her to the bodyguard on the outside. Meanwhile, Eren was too appalled to notice such perverse games.

"She's not as pretty as you always described." She mumbled so low that Eren's brain didn't register the words.

"Is she okay? What are they doing to her? Wh-Why does Grisha even have her?" His hands began shaking, he paced back and forth, the anxiety gripping at his lungs and pulling violently.

Annie watched him with dull eyes, "Probably to get info about your whereabouts. I don't know how much she knows but I doubt she'll last any longer than two torture sessions."

"Torture?!?" He shrieked.

"Yeah, you know. Pulling fingernails, pulling teeth, cutting toes and tongues. Spraying them with ice cold water. Breaking their arms and legs. The usual." She shrugged.

The grip on his insides got too tight, Eren could hardly breath, "B-But she's innocent. I have to help her she can't.... they're going to... they're going to kill her!"

Annie crossed her arms, "Relax. Grisha's not an idiot. He wants to get you back not drive you away. Grisha knows that if he kills her you are never returning. She's far more valuable alive."

Eren buried his fingers into his chocolate hair while breathing heavily.

Annie stepped forward and leaned towards him, "Didn't you hear me? Grisha wants you back. Shouldn't you feel happy? I thought daddy's love was all you wanted."

Eren shook his head. Of course it sounded nice in theory: a father devastated over the loss of his son and doing everything he could to find him. And yet Eren had the feeling that it wasn't fatherly love that was driving Grisha to search so desperately for him.

"It doesn't matter. I just need to rescue Mikasa."

Annie smirked.

"I can help you with that. Meet me on 32nd street, right in front of the junkyard sign. 8 pm sharp. You know where that is?"

"No." He said honestly.

"Ha, thought so. I'll leave these instructions. Get rid of the bodyguard and we meet up there." She walked up to the boy and roughly pressed the note into his chest.

"Why don't we go right now?!?" The boy pleaded.

She caressed his chest, "Patience, Eren. Things have to fall in place. There’s no use in going if the right people aren’t there, you know what I mean? I’ll tell you how to win the game, the only thing you have to do is move how I tell you to.” She whispered in a low tone, “That includes ditching the bodyguard. Any sign that you told him or that he knows something and I'm not helping you, okay?"

Eren inhaled sharply, "Why?!?"

"Because," she murmured, "I said so."

The blonde leaned in to kiss Eren's cheek. It was a soft, tender one. Then, she threw her hoodie up and left. The door was slammed shut.

Eren stared into the abyss. His mind was failing to make sense of everything happening around him. His phone rang. Eren went to see who it was. Levi had sent him a message.

I'M BACK AT THE GUARDING POST. EVERYTHING OKAY? -Levi

Eren could barely read the message with how violently he was shaking. The boy breathed once, twice, thrice.

He typed out the following:

YEAH, EVERYTHING'S OK. 

-Send-

"Excuse me!" A middle-aged woman snapped her fingers in front of Eren's face.

He snapped out of his trance. He hadn't noticed her at all.

"Hello? Yes? Are you listening to me now? I'm a customer. I expect to be treated as one. I've been sitting at my table trying to get your attention for the past FIVE minutes. Are you trying to embarrass me in front of my daughter? You see her? She's the one sitting in that booth right there," she pointed, "My poor angel has been wanting to order some french fries and you're up in the clouds! She's starving. Starving!" The woman threw her hands into the air.

"Ma'am, is everything okay?" Armin had been passing through when he heard the commotion.

"NO. Everything is not okay. Are you the one in charge? This boy is NOT doing his job. He's just sitting here staring into oblivion!"

The coworker put the dirty dishes he was holding onto the counter and told Eren, "Here. Go wash these. Table Seven's order is about to come out too so please serve them. I'll take care of this."

He then turned to the customer and began apologizing in a soft, professional voice.

Eren was flabbergasted. He simply took the dishes into his arms and walked away. He made his way to the kitchen where Sasha was finishing up cooking two burgers. The girl had a spatula in one hand and the other on her hip.

"Everything alright out there?"

The boy shrugged, "I dunno. This lady started screaming at me out of nowhere."

"Don't get so flustered."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm not flustered."

"Really? 'Cause you look like you've seen a ghost."

The green-eyed boy bit his lip. The lady wasn't what had his stomach in a knot.

Sasha served the food onto some plates. Eren stepped forward to take them but she refused, "Don't worry I'll take them. You stay here a while 'kay? You could use a break."

Her voice was uncharacteristically serious. It must've been obvious what a mess he was. The moment Sasha left the kitchen, he took a deep breath.

By the Gods. His heart felt like it was being shredded to pieces. All he could think about was of Mikasa afraid and in pain. It didn't help that the harder he stared the clock, the slower it ticked.

Not too long after did the door swivel open again. While turning around to face her, he said, "Damn, you served those in no time Sasha."

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder, "I'm sorry about that Eren."

It was Armin.

"Some people are like that. I wish I could tell you it won't happen again but, if anything, you just get used to it."

Eren chuckled, "Eh. She wasn't entirely wrong. I've been a little out of it today."

His coworker cocked his head to the side, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

The tall boy smiled sadly. Eren wasn't even sure if there was anything he could do, "I think all I need is a rest."

An idea came to mind. He swallowed hard.

"W-Well maybe there is something you could for me. If it's not too much to ask I mean. The day is almost over. How about I go home an hour early and I'll make it up to you tomorrow?"

Armin nodded, "Of course, of course. Sasha and I can handle the diner just fine. Go ahead."

Next thing Eren knew he was standing in front of his locker, staring blankly at his phone. His heart was going a thousand per hour.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He closed his eyes. In the darkness he saw Mikasa's face. She was always so serious, ever hardly showing emotion. And yet, when she would hug him when he had a rough day or give him words of encouragement, her love would seep through his skin and reach his heart, warming his twisted insides. Mikasa was more family than Grisha ever was. Could his father really be capable of hurting her?

With shaky fingers, he typed into his phone.

TIRED FROM THIS MORNING. I’LL BE IN THE BACK TAKING A NAP. -Eren

A couple of minutes later he received a response.

O K . -Levi

He stared at the two letters for ages. Usually, Levi kept an eye on him from the front of the restaurant. Maybe the bodyguard wasn't even there at all. Maybe he had just left the cameras on Eren and would be coming back until closing hour. The brunet begrudgingly put down his phone in the locker. The light emanating from the bulb above him twinkled in his emerald eyes. Levi would kill him for running away like that but Eren was finding out that there were far scarier things than death. He slammed the locker closed. There was no point in wondering if the bodyguard would catch him instantly or never. He would soon figure it out.

Throwing all thoughts and logic out the window, he put his jacket on and left through the back exit without a second warning. 

Chapter Text

Author's Note

Hey, guys! So, I've been totally swamped with school work lately which is why I've been struggling to post. That's why finishing ACT I aka the first 20 chapters I'm gonna take a break to catch up on school and writing ACT II :) Also, because this ~forgetful bitch~ only posted one chapter instead of two last week, I'll be posting the chapter that I forgot last week plus the two chapters for this week between today and tomorrow! Hope you guys are doing well :) 

Oh baby, baby,

I'm addicted to the party,

to the honey,

to the pretty pill, to the fresh kill

Techno-pop music shook the earth. The sky was barely setting, yet some clubs had already begun blasting music to the max, though it seemed everyone around was too high or drunk to care. The brick buildings were rickety and old. They thumped with every beat of the rhythm, threatening to crumble with every step of the catchy song and the rainbow lights shining on the inside was like caked-on makeup on an elderly woman.

The dirt streets were riddled with piss, vomit and a variety of garbage items like bottles, plastic bags and used condoms. Luckily, it didn't smell as bad as it looked-that wasn't to say it smelled like roses. Most people wobbled from one side to another, others stayed put with frantic eyes and fidgety hands, some were plain passed out.

Eren zipped through the streets like a nervous fly. If it were up to him he'd run out of there as fast as his legs could take him but the boy didn't want any suspicion to arise.

"Hey there lover boy, where are you off to in such a rush?"

A woman had approached him wearing a short red dress, black tights and matching crimson heels. Her long blonde hair was framed in a poofy half-ponytail that intertwined itself in the big hoop earrings she wore. Though she had a pair of youthful emerald eyes, the crow's feet and bags around them suggested otherwise. The wrinkles in her face pointed to a life full of adventure, whether it was good adventure or bad adventure Eren would never know. Her figure was slim, too slim. Her arms and legs were so thin, the teenager couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for her to walk.

"S-Sorry, no thank you!", Was all he could think to say.

"No thank you what? I haven't even offered you anything." Her voice was low and raspy.

His eyes widened, "Uh, I mean, I-"

"Come on boy," she stepped closer and ran a finger up and down his arm, "don't you wanna be a man? It'll be the best night of your life."

Eren watched nervously as her finger went from his arm to his collarbone, then it started travelling downward...

"N-No thank you!"

He ungraciously pushed the woman aside and headed for the hills. The woman, obviously angered, yelled after him, "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING YOU LITTLE SNOT BRAIN?! FUCK YOU, PRUDE!"

Eren eyed his surroundings expecting the gaze of a million eyes on him. Instead, everyone kept on minding their own business. A man to his left sat down to drink a nameless bottle all while singing old timey shanties. Meanwhile on his right, another club kept on blasting music like the world depended on it.

The tan boy turned to see if the woman had been following him but she had wasted no time in chatting up another man who by the looks of it was far more infatuated with her than Eren had been.

He threw his hoodie over his head and continued forward. With every block the streets became increasingly lonely which put Eren at ease for one reason but on edge for another. When he was three blocks away from his destination a man tried to offer drugs to him. The boy didn't even respond to the "salesman" and just hurried forward. When he was one block away, he saw a woman dancing and chanting something to the sky, dirty from head to toe. Out of nowhere, a short but fat man came out from the alleys and punched her square in the face. Eren would've felt bad for her if it weren't for the fact that not even five seconds later, said lady pulled out a gun from behind her baggy pants and shot the man in the upper body. He was still groaning and moaning when he fell back and hit the floor but Eren took no time to see if he was okay, opting instead for scurrying off before he was next.

A wave of relief washed over him when he was at the dump site Annie had told him about.

He rushed to the entrance with a big sign that had been washed out back to white throughout the years, though a few scraps of paint and flyers remained. The green-eyed boy looked around confused. There was no one in sight. He eventually turned to the sign once again, wondering if he was in the right place. That's when he noticed something taped to it. It was a walkie-talkie. A note was attached.

I really hope you didn't bring your bodyguard with you.

Eren went to grab it, examining the small device.

"Hello, dear." Eren almost dropped the fucking thing.

The nickname annoyed him, but he decided to ignore it, "Where are you Annie?"

"Oh, I'm close by. I just decided to take precaution in case you weren't alone."

Eren glanced around, "Well I am, so can't you come out?"

"I think I'll wait a little longer." Even through the static, Eren could tell she had a teasing smile on her face.

He threw an arm up in the air, exasperated, "So, what? You're not gonna take me?"

"Oh stop being so emotional Eren. I'll take you. Walk straight inside, I'll tell you when to turn."

Eren contemplated the dumpsite, "You... you want me to go inside the dumpster?"

"Yes." She said as if she was asking for him to walk into a quirky little coffee shop.

The boy ultimately shrugged and went ahead. It's not like he had anything to lose.

"Be careful in here. You'll see a couple of nutbags and junkies around. Avoid them at all cost otherwise you'll have to knock them out."

Eren chewed on his lip. He had only had a couple of classes with Levi, surely they would be of some use if things got messy, right?

He frowned, "Why does Grisha even have a hideout here? Doesn't he usually like cleaner places?"

"It's new. Not many people flock to dumpster sites so he was using it to handle the... residues. He put Mikasa here because not a lot of his own workers know this place exists. She's guarded well. Grisha is keeping her in top priority. Turn left here."

His lips tightened, "Fuck. I swear, if he laid a finger on her..."

"If he laid a finger on her, what Eren? What are you going to do?"

Eren breathed in sharply.

Annie chuckled, "Kill him?" The words felt as sharp as a knife.

"No!" He was so startled, he hadn't realized he had stopped walking.

"You do know what'll happen once we get her out of here right? The chances of not being caught on camera are slim. If we manage, we'll still have to burn the whole thing down and that'll certainly grab his attention." Annie lowered her voice, "You're going to face him eventually Eren. What'll you do then?"

Eren knew she had that expression, the one where her eyes where half lidded and her lips a bit low on her face, the one that meant 'you're such an idiot sometimes'.

It's not like Eren hadn't been questioning himself the same thing for the past month. And yet no matter how many times he mulled the question over he couldn't get to an answer. Eren simply picked up the pace. There was no point in lying to Annie. She could always see past his bullshit.

A few moments of silence passed. Eren was completely focused on walking. Finally, Annie broke the ice.

"You know Eren," her tone was of a parent talking to her silly little child, "I know the idea of killing your father might seem horrifying, monstrous even-"

"Annie, don't." He knew exactly where she was taking the conversation and he wasn't in the mood.

"It's true! Even the words "killing your father". They sound so cruel, don't they? So cold. Wouldn't you agree?"

The boy sighed, "I don't know."

"Of course you know." She snapped. "You just don't wanna admit it. Turn right."

Eren glanced to his right and his feet followed suit. He ran a hand through chocolate locks, "What's your point, Annie?"

Annie took a moment before responding.

"I thought the same way. When I was a little girl, my father was my whole word. Don't you remember? I would go on and on about him. He was number one in my eyes."

Eren shivered.

"But that day. That day that I killed him, I was... free. I was so nervous, I couldn't stop shaking. But when I dropped the knife and got back on my feet-"

Eren shook his head, "I don't wanna hear about this Annie."

"When I got back on my feet and looked down at his dead body, I felt so light I felt like I was flying!"

The exhilarated tone in her voice made Eren feel a bit sick.

"I was a caged bird inside those labs Eren. When I killed him, it was like I unlocked the door and liberated my wings for the first time in forever. Don't you wanna fly as well?"

The boys lips trembled.

"I'm not killing him, Annie." His voice was weak.

"Well... I guess we'll find out soon. Turn right again."

There was a shoddy building in front of him. He had seen an exact replica near the entrance which begged the question, was this building copying the other one or was the other one copying this one?

Eren was about to take a step forward when- "Wait. Don't go in yet."

"Why not?" He looked at the walkie-talkie in wait for an answer.

Silence.

The boy huffed. Mikasa was in there and he was standing outside doing nothing.

"Why not?" He glared at the device.

"By the Gods, you know what your problem is?" Said a voice right behind him.

Eren jumped 3 feet into the air, luckily, Annie was able to cover his mouth before a squeal escaped his lips.

Once the teen realized who it was, Eren settled down. She released him and stationed herself in front of him.

"You always run into shit without a plan. The only time you don't is when running into shit without a plan is exactly what you're supposed to do."

"Yeah? Well! You know what your problem is?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. Eren stammered around trying to find an answer to his own question.

"Wh- You, are always, you know- walking around and, and telling people what to do and-"

The girl raised a hand, "Eren, just... stop."

The boy stammered around a bit more until he decided to, in fact, just stop.

There she was, looking at him with that half-lidded expression again.

By the Gods, you're such an idiot sometimes.

Annie inhaled, "Yeah, well. If you're done, I'm gonna tell you the plan."

Eren nodded fervently.

"Ok. I'm going to go in here and clear the way. You stay here, count to 100 then go in got it? Everything should be safe by then but if I miss someone in there and they attack you you're gonna have to take care of them. The building has three floors going down, Mikasa should be at the bottom."

'Take care of them.'

Kill. She meant kill.

Annie put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm serious Eren. Don't hold back. I don't know who's in there. They might not recognize you as Grisha's son, just as some intruder in their territory. I might not be near enough to save you if something goes wrong. I know you can take a good beating but not even you nor I can survive a bullet to the heart."

Eren placed his own hand on top of hers. It felt so... nice... to know that she worried.

"I'll be careful." His voice was so low it rumbled in his chest.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. I'm counting on it." She began walking backwards, "Ready? Start counting to 100."

"One."

And she was off. Eren could only watch as she headed for the door. Sometimes he forgot how small she was. There was something about her that made the blonde girl appear three times her size. Soon, she disappeared inside and Eren was left counting.

"Ten." Eren began hearing a few undistinguishable noises.

"Twenty." The noises hadn't stopped, he wondered what was going on in there.

"Thirty." Was Annie okay?

"Forty." Was Mikasa okay?

"Fifty." Was Grisha really capable of hurting Mikasa? He remembered one time Eren had asked if she could stay over.

'Of course! Mikasa is like family.'

"Sixty." Though, Eren doubted Grisha truly knew what 'family' meant.

"Seventy." What if Grisha was in there? Annie had said so herself that he had kept Mikasa in top priority.

"Eighty." What would he do if he saw Grisha?"

"Ninety." Hug him?

"Ninety-one." Kill... him?

Eren shook his head.

"Ninety-two." He continued, focusing all his attention on the door.

"Ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-"

BAM!

The door swung open, almost snapping off its own hinges by the force. A forty year old man stood at the doorway. He was pale, extremely pale, bald and with ripped up clothing. His left arm was torn off. His right arm reached forward. It was swollen to the point of tearing the black sleeve that once covered it. Cysts of all shapes and sizes ran along said arm, from each one an acid green leaking out. Veins, also a vibrant green, coursed through it, throbbing with every beat of the man's heart.

The moment Eren's figure appeared in the man's eyes, he lunged forward, frothing at the mouth. The teen yelled, throwing himself to the side just in time for the man to plop onto the ground with a nasty thump.

Blood spurted out of the severed arm, crimson with hints of green here and there.

"AAGH. AH-UH-AUGH!" The man babbled on.

Once again, the man charged towards Eren but this time, the green-eyed boy was able to swiftly kick the man in the face, sending him flying back. The man got angrier, yelling louder and louder. Eren kicked him in the stomach, hoping that would do anything. The man convulsed, throwing up blood that would accompany the quantity gushing out from his arm onto a puddle that soaked his entire body. He twitched and jerked around until, little by little, his movements became slow and stiffer until finally laying down dead on the floor. Eren backed away in disgust. He gave the body one last look before venturing inside.

The shoddy building didn't look so shoddy on the inside. It had polished cement flooring and grey walls. A few feet away from the entrance stood a second entrance where a thick metal door once stood, though now it had been blasted open. The inside was a long hallway, one that was eerily quiet. Two bodies were sprawled on the floor plus an arm, probably belonging to the man rotting outside. The walls were splattered with blood, so much so it almost looked like an abstract painting. Little bags of sentient flesh slumpered around. Infants. Lots of them. They didn't pay any attention to Eren however. At the end of the road was a shiny, metal elevator. Eren tiptoed around the bodies, shivering as he was forced to step into the puddles of blood to get through.

The lights flickered on and off, putting Eren on edge. His imagination had him thinking that in one flicker of darkness, the bodies would come back alive and attack him. Luckily, he was able to get to the other side without a scratch. He pressed the button next to the elevator. The machinery whirred as it was activated, pulling up the shaft to where Eren was.

The boy looked back a few times while waiting, just to make sure that the bodies stayed put. He could still see the legs of the dead man outside, now completely soaked in blood. The green-eyed boy frowned.

Ding! The elevator bell rang.

He kept staring at the pair of legs. Eren would've recognized that acid color from anywhere. It had meant Grisha had experimented on that perso-

WOOSH!

Someone tackled Eren to the floor. Fortunately, he was able to kick them away the moment they hit the ground. The boy rushed to his feet, slipping on fresh blood as he did.

In front of him, a male figure was doing the same. Said person wore grey clothing that had seen its fair share of rips, tears, stains and blemishes. As they stood up, Eren noticed they were tall and lanky like him. He had black hair and sickly pale skin. He had dark circles under his eyes and well-marked bags, those that came with a lifetime of insomnia.

Eren shivered as he looked into the other boy's eyes. They were black, as dark as Mikasa's. After all, that boy and Mikasa shared what in the Old World was called Japanese blood(1). Eren knew that because in fact, he recognized the boy.

He was another one of Grisha's experiments.

A fuzzy memory came to mind. One of a green-eyed boy holding on to his father's hand.

"Be a good boy. Do not speak until I tell you to." The father had whispered.

And they sat down at a large, wooden table, next to a bunch of old people the boy did not recognize.

"I do hope you have something good for me Grisha."

First, Infants of different colors and sizes were shown. Then people came in front of them and showed off their 'abilities'. The first was a man that had a chimp hands sewn on. Then, a woman with skinless arms, yet she appeared to feel no pain. Third, was another woman seemingly normal at first. That was until she unhinged her jaw and from her mouth fell infants. One, then two, then five, and finally the green-eyed boy counted twelve.

"The Infants live inside of her." The father explained, "They are resistant to stomach acid so they crawl through her digestive tract with no problem."

An elderly woman offered the father money right away, throwing around big numbers. The old man next to her started doing the same but the third man stayed quiet.

"Are you disappointed by my display?" The father asked the gentleman.

A back and forth ensued. The boy didn't remember the exact words but he remembered the tension in the air. The father chuckled, he lifted up two fingers, his silver ring shining brightly, and made a "come hither" motion to someone standing in the dark.

"We have many projects in store. I assure you that if what you've seen today has been lackluster, what will come tomorrow will certainly please you."

A boy came forward, two or three years older than the one with green eyes. He appeared so frail, so small, so vulnerable.

"Show them."

The little boy nodded. An assistant came forward, a woman wearing a long white dress. She held up a long metallic rod. The crowd, clearly confused, stared in silence. The boy took a deep breath, immediately he strained his neck and moved his jaw from side to side, his once small black eyes now wide and full of adrenaline.

The green-eyed boy squeezed his father's hand. That other boy was scary looking. Very, very scary looking. The father smirked and squeezed back.

The boy standing in the spotlight brought his jaw forward, putting his bottom teeth in front of his top teeth as much as he could. His jaw widened, the skin stretching over the increasing surface to the point where it became bone white. The elderly woman screamed in a mix of fear and exciting surprise. The boy then stopped straining and stopped moving his jaw. It had grown to twice its size, the bottom of his face being significantly much wider than it had been before. The boy walked to the assistant still holding up metallic rod. In one swift moment, he clamped down on the rod with his teeth, he thrashed his head around, growled, howled, moaned and groaned until he effectively bit a piece of the rod clean off.

In utter amazement, the once tense gentleman jumped out of his seat and began clapping, "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

The boy fell to the ground moments later, holding his face in pain. The father assured them that it was normal but the green-eyed boy couldn't help but feel bad when the child burst into tears as his jaw regained its normal form.

"Do not pity him, my dear." The father whispered to his son.

The other investors were so busy discussing numbers that they hadn't noticed the father now leaning closely towards his child.

"What you have witnessed just now is a miracle."

"A... miracle?" The boy repeated meekly.

"Yes. You might not understand right now," he lovingly caressed his boys cheek, "but one day you will cherish my work for I give people power. Think about it, would you rather be weak or powerful?"

The son thought about it. The answer seemed so obvious but something about the boy being dragged away by the woman made him doubt it, "I think... powerful."

The father nodded, "That's right Eren. That's right."

Years later, Eren stood in front of that same boy except that boy was now a man. The years had taken a toll on his face but Eren didn't have a doubt in his mind. And by the way he was looking back at Eren, it was clear he recognized Grisha's son.

"You..." he said with acidity.

His black eyes wandered to the exit. They widened and shimmered. Eren recognized that expression. He had one thing on his mind.

Freedom.

He glared back at Eren, "You... you... I'm getting the fuck out of here. But before I do that, I'm going to make that bastard pay for everything he's done to me by killing his own son." He laughed darkly.

The man jerked around unnervingly, summoning the powerful jaw much faster than he had when he was a kid. As his body had grown to the size of an adult, so had his jaw. Eren knew that if it could cut through a metal rod as a kid, bones would be like butter now.

The man went to grab Eren but he got out of the way. Frustrated, he leaped forward to try and tackle him once again. In response, Eren made a swift kick to the man's right knee, sending him hurdling to the ground. The man briskly got on all fours and tried taking a bite out of Eren's leg. The teen nervously stumbled back. As he did so, he noticed one of the Infants had quietly latched itself onto the man's calf. He thanked the Gods. Maybe he wouldn't have to fight this alone after all.

Eren hastily reached for an Infant behind him and promptly threw it in the man's face. Taken aback, the man clawed at the gooey creature but as Eren knew, it would only harden with more effort. The teen took no time in collecting another one and doing the same thing. As the man struggled against them, Eren took his chance and booted his enemy in the stomach.

"AAGH!"

Seething, the man forced his jaw open. The creatures cried as their flesh was ripped by the force. Eren kicked him once again, but the man ignored him entirely, focusing on clamping down as hard as he could into the creatures, breaking the crystals inside of them which gave them life.

The green-eyed boy looked around for anything, a weapon or something that could help him. Just as he saw a black gun silently stowed away in one of the corpse's bodies, he was forced to draw his attention back to his enemy which looked at him back dead on. He jerked around once again, this time his shoulders and arms swelling up and getting bigger.

Well, that's new.

Tired of kid's games, he lunged at Eren much faster than any of the previous times, grabbing him by an arm and violently throwing him against a wall. Eren lost consciousness for a split second. A powerful ringing shot through his head. When he came to, he found that lethal jaw inches away from his face. The boy was extremely weakened. Even so, that didn't stop him from punching and kicking against the hard body but to no avail. The man leaned forward, letting go of a grueling scream, more beast than human.

"Let go of me bastard! I didn't- Fuck you! I didn't want this for anyone!" Eren screamed, but no one listened.

He opened his jaw, little by little, enjoying the screams of hatred and horror.

"Get away from me!" Eren threw his head to the side and closed his eyes, a part of him accepting death.

"AaAaH!" The monster hissed.

Eren opened his eyes at the sound of the whimper. The monster had now completely unhinged his jaw, but between his teeth was the tip of a dagger.

The brunet blinked once. Twice. Thrice. He had no idea what he was looking at. The monster plopped to the side as a corpse. A dagger had entered the back of his head and traversed his skull till reappearing above the tongue. Eren looked up in amazement.

It was Levi Ackerman.

"L-Levi. L-Levi!" A wave of emotion hit him like a truck, sending an ocean of tears to his eyes, "Levi! I'm so happy to see you, Levi!" He said the name as if it were that of a God.

The bodyguard looked down at the teen boy unimpressed, "What the fuck, brat?! You won't be happy for long because I'm going to bash your teeth in if you don't tell me what the fuck is going on?!"

But Eren didn't listen. He flung himself onto Levi's leg and hugged it. His head felt like it was splitting into two, and he could barely tell north from south with how dizzy he was but Levi was there to protect him. And that was all that mattered.

"Levi, pleeaase!" He pleaded, snot travelling down to his lip, "Please you have to help me! Mikasa, my dad has her. Sh-She's family. She's like my sister, I can't let him fuck her up, Levi. I don't- I don't want her to end up-"

Confused, the bodyguard slowly pushed Eren away, "Wow, wow. Slow down man, I can barely understand what you're saying. Looks like you split your skull, you're bleeding like a faucet, Eren." His tone was much gentler than before.

The man pulled Eren up, putting an arm around the taller boy's waist to help him with his balance. The teen could only desperately cling onto the bodyguard shirt as his eyes failed to focus on anything around him. His head fell onto Levi's shoulder.

"Levi, Levi, please. Help me... help me save… she- my sister. My dad... has her." He whimpered.

"Is he here?"

Eren frowned. What did it matter where Grisha was? All that mattered was Mikasa. Mikasa. Mikasa.

"What? No... we need to... we need to..." He wobbled around, trying to find the elevator door but all he saw was a mush of colors.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. We'll save her, okay? But first we have to get you to a hospital."

"No... no..." He cried into the bodyguard shoulder.

"Listen to me. It's going to be ok, okay?"

Eren sniffled. If Levi Ackerman said everything was going to be okay, then it was true. There was no other way around it. So he nodded.

"Okay."

And he let himself be engulfed by the darkness.

(1) Honestly, don't think about this Old World thing too much lmao. It's my most half-baked idea. This damn sentence caused me writer's block but basically I was trying to say that the guy would've pertained to that Japanese-Ackerman faction from the original anime but I also didn't want to imply real-life geography in this world and ahhhh, whatever lol. He's not actually in the original anime though if any of you were trying to place him. Fun fact: I had named him Marco :D

Poor Marco ;_;

Chapter Text

Just you and me

Poor thing

Broken

Against the world

Don't worry

You used to be

Broken man

Just you and me

He may not look the part

You used to be unstoppable

But he's pretty tough

You're a broken man Eren, just like me.

Eren woke up in a start. He found himself in a space enclosed by grey curtains, lying down in a medical bed. He looked around disoriented. The air was still. Beeping sounds hummed from a distance. A chair was next to his bed with only his clothes sitting in them.

Without a thought, he threw the white sheet aside, flinging his feet to the ground. He sat upright on the bed and went to grab his clothes. They had been washed. The green-eyed boy looked down at what he was wearing. A long white robe. He went to undo the button on the back but struggled. The teen was in the midst of fidgeting with said robe when a figure entered through a curtain.

"I see you're awake."

Eren was taken a back, eyeing the unknown man.

"Don't worry. I'm a friend of Levi's. He asked me to keep an eye on you. My name is Moblit." He stretched out a hand.

He had light brown hair parted in the middle with matching eyes. His face was long and his skin light. While not a robust man, he wasn't exactly slender either. The man wore a long white lab coat with an olive-green button up underneath and khaki pants.

Eren sluggishly stretched out his hand as well, greeting the stranger.

"Where is Levi?" The boy all but whispered.

"He's off doing some errands. He is safe and sound if that is what you're asking.

"I have a car prepared for you. It will take you home so you can rest. Levi had informed me that he believed you had fractured your skull? However, I ran some tests and fortunately, it seems it was but a good blow to the head. Nothing that won't heal in a couple of days. That being said, I believe you have a mild concussion so take it easy and if you start feeling strange in any way like nausea, headaches, confusion, dizziness please inform Levi as quickly as possible and he will bring you to me. Do you have any questions?"

Eren could hardly keep up with all the information thrown at him, "Uh, I guess not."

"Good. Well then," the man took a step forward and undid the button of the robe that Eren had been having trouble with only to immediately step back to where he was, "I'll leave you to change back into your clothes. The car will be downstairs. Please do not snoop around on your way."

Moblit smiled as he said these last words but something about his tone made Eren think that it was more of a threat than a request. He shuddered.

From one moment to the next, Eren found himself back in his apartment, no lollipop or pat on the back, no nothing. A part of him was hurt that the bodyguard hadn't been there when he woke up. For some reason, the teen had an urge to see the older man, to make sure that they were ok, and that the bodyguard wasn't too mad at the boy for having ran away. He wanted to try and explain everything to the bodyguard.

But alas, there he was, sitting on the foot of his old bed. His emerald eyes stared off into the distance, a ringing in his ears refusing to go away. Flashes of memories would come into view. Him holding onto Levi. Someone opening his eye and shining a light. Mutterings in a serious and somber tone. A snippet of Petra's voice.

"Poor thing."

Eren's phone received a text. He looked at it through the corner of an eye. A hand of his inched closer to it. It was Armin.

SO WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER AT THE MARKET LATER RIGHT? I JUST FOUND THE BEST RECIPE FOR COOKIES! :D CAN'T WAIT TO TRY IT OUT B) -Armin

"Shit." Eren muttered.

He had totally forgotten. Armin had insisted on joining Eren in a grocery shopping trip to give him a few tips on his nutrition. Apparently living off of take-out food was a big no-no. The brunet thought about cancelling the trip but the idea of sitting there looking into nothingness sounded terrifying. He needed to take his mind off of things. Hesitantly, he typed the following into the phone:

YUP. SEE YOU THERE. -Eren

The boy plopped onto the bed. Unfortunately, he still had some time before having to meet his coworker which meant he had nothing but his thoughts to accompany him till then.

Not even 24 hours ago they had been so close to rescuing Mikasa. Now, he knew nothing of her whereabouts, nor Annie's. Hell, he didn't even know what Levi was up to at the moment.

He sprung upright.

Levi. Was anyone watching him? If there wasn't, there was no way in hell he would dare to go out. Once again, he pulled the phone into view. Eren pouted. He wasn't sure how well received a call from him would be after all that had happened.

A text message. Yeah, a text message would be better.

HAVE TO SHOP FOR GROCERIES. ARE YOU OUT THERE? -Eren

He threw himself back onto the bed, holding the cellphone close to his heart. The bodyguard was quick to respond, like always.

Eren took a peek.

OLOU'S GUARDING YOU FOR THE DAY. GO GROCERY SHOPPING. HE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE. -Levi

A pit formed in the teen's stomach. Levi hadn't been at the hospital, now this. He was going to drop Eren as a client, the boy was sure of it. He turned to the side and drew his knees closer to the chest. Maybe if he closed his eyes for 5 minutes, when he would awake everything would be better.

"GRAPES, ORANGES, APPLES, STRAWBERRIES, YOU NAME IT, WE GOT IT! AND ALL THAT AT LOW, LOW PRICES! COME NOW, COME NOW-"

"FRESH PRODUCE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. FRESH! STEP UP, TAKE A LOOK YOURSELVES. STRAIGHT FROM THE FARM-"

"WATCHU COOKIN' TODAY? FOR THE MISTER OR THE MISSUS? WE'VE GOT THE BEST IN TOWN!"

A diverse gathering of little shops covered the plaza. It was a vibrant, energetic sight with an array of oranges, greens, blues, pinks, reds and more as people walked and talked all over the place. Sellers yelled from the top of their lungs, hoping to catch the attention of the customers that strolled by with bags of food in their hands. Little kids ran circles around their moms, curiosity and happiness charging them to buzz around like flies.

Eren stood a distance away, leaning against a light pole. Some would glance nervously towards him as they would see a young man with glassy eyes and a hoodie covering his head. He had gotten there early since with every passing moment the apartment would suffocate him more and more.

He watched a little girl in a frilly pink dress and pigtails show off her baby doll- also wearing a pink dress and pigtails- to her mother. She was so excited that she jumped in place. The woman laughed heartily, watching the girl hug the toy. She scooped up the child, cuddling her in the same manner. The child giggled and kissed her mom on the cheek. The woman turned her back from where Eren was and walked away.

"You're silly!"

"Ya got me."

A familiar set of voices snapped him back to reality. A few feet away Armin walked towards him wearing a big Sunday morning hat, a white shirt with matching shoes and kaki shorts. His skinny, pale legs looked a bit strange in the baggy trunks but Armin didn't seem to care. He was too busy looking up at Jean who unfortunately accompanied him.

Eren hadn't seen Jean since the party, though Armin had mentioned in passing that the blond boy had 'explained Eren's actions of that night'. In theory, Jean had no reason to hate Eren any longer and vice versa, yet the sight of him drew a scowl on the tan boy's face.

The two lovebirds kept at their flirtatious teasing as they approached. They were so focused on each other that they hardly recognized Eren's presence.

"Alright, I'll stay here. You go do your things. We'll talk later." Armin spoke in a low tone. These were obviously words he wasn't supposed to hear.

The other boy whined, "Mmmm, I don't want tooo..."

"You have to!" The blond giggled.

"Ok, ok. We'll talk later though, you promised."

"Of course."

"Then I'll leave you here."

The tall boy leaned in for a kiss to which the shorter male responded by getting up on his tippy toes to reach the others lips. Eren rolled his eyes and turned away. It was funny really. Despite the fact that he had... done... that, he wasn't used to seeing two men kiss. It was such a strange sight, that was for sure. The reminder that he had once done that made him stomach churn.

"What, you got a problem?"

Eren realized Jean was finally acknowledging him.

"Huh?" He threw his shoulders up and made a face.

"Yeah, I see you rolling your eyes. You got a problem?"

Without missing a beat, Eren said, "Oh sorry, it's just that every time I see your face I get the urge to vomit."

Armin laughed nervously, pushing Jean back a tad bit, "Alright, alright, you two calm down. We're all friends here."

Eren's eyebrow twitched upon hearing the word 'friends'.

Jean glanced down at the blond boy and gave in, "Fine, I got shit to do anyway."

The two whispered their goodbyes until eventually it was just Eren and Armin.

"Sorry about that," the coworker explained, "you know I already told him about everything but he can be a little hotheaded sometimes."

"Huh. Well good thing I'm always as cool as a cucumber." Eren shrugged.

Armin stifled a laugh. He wasn't sure if Eren was joking or not but on the off chance that he was being serious, Armin didn't want to upset Eren further.

"Ah- yes, of course... well, anyway! Let's get started shall we? How about we start with vegetables. Fiber is an important tool for a healthy digestive system..."

The boy wandered into the heart of the plaza, telling long tales of nutrition and health. Eren tried to pay attention, he really did, but his whole mindset was in a foggy ambience that day.

"Well, let's not get distracted or we'll be here all day! So let's go to-"

A delicious smell reached Eren's nostrils; that of fried meat and rich spices.

"What's that?"

The blond was puzzled, "What's what?"

"That smell. It smells so good." Eren sniffed around like a bloodhound until his eyes ultimately landed on the prize.

It was a red and white stall, quite small in fact. It was hardly anything more than a man working with fryers. Above, a sign read SEARING SHRIMP! JUST $1! A DELICACY OF SINA!

"Oh fuck yes! I've heard about these before. It's like common food here in the city right?"

Armin nodded, "Yeah, you haven't tried it yet?"

"No." Eren muttered, "I saw a guy selling these the first day I got here but uh... I was in a rush that day." The boy clapped his hands together, "But that doesn't matter anymore! I've got time now!"

Armin could do no more than trail behind the taller male as he excitedly made his way to the elderly man cooking up a new batch of shrimp. To the side of his cooking station, a bundle of skewered shrimp were hot and ready. Eren was drooling over them like a dog.

"You like these?" He asked the shorter boy.

Armin chuckled, "Who doesn't?"

"How many will you be having boy?" Said the man in a loud, jolly voice.

"Two please." Money and formalities were exchanged.

"Fun fact! Even though Searing Shrimp is considered the go-to iconic snack of Sina, it was actually first invented in Maria City near the lands of, you guessed it, Maria's Ocean. They mainly feasted on aquatic foods while Sina's population mainly feasted on land animals since there aren't that many large bodies of water around here." The boy beamed with pride.

Eren handed one of the two sticks to the shorter boy, "How do you know all these things, Armin?"

Armin unknowingly took the stick into his grasp, too entertained by the conversation, "I don't know. I guess it's like people say, there's no better company than a good book!"

"That's a saying?"

Armin laughed, "Yes! People say it all the time."

Eren sucked in his lips and raised his eyebrows, nodding his head as if he was familiar with the phrase, "Uh, yeah. Totally. Anyway, enough chitter-chatter! I've waited long enough for this. Come here, come here!"

The taller male made his way to a bench nearby, licking his lips as he examined the food.

Armin looked down in surprise, only then realizing he too was holding Searing Shrimp, "O-oh!"

Flattered by the kind gesture, he giggled and went to sit down next to the brunet. Eren chomped into the first shrimp excitedly. Armin, on the other hand, nibbled on his, taking his time in enjoying his snack.

'The weather is nice', the blond thought to himself.

Though the sun was strong, the clouds made it so it wasn't overbearing. As a result, it was a peaceful, warm day outside.

"What do you think? Did you like it?" Armin turned to Eren, still nibbling on the first shrimp.

Eren sat there with wide eyes, looking up at nothing.

"E-Eren?"

"This shrimp... it tastes likes a hug from the Mother Goddess... I have never in my 18 years of life eaten something so delicious."

The blond bursted out laughing. Eren, however, was too busy enjoying heaven itself to notice as he immediately devoured the second and third skewered shrimp.

Meow.

A little whimper took hold of Eren's attention. He looked down at his feet, then the right and finally behind the bench. A tiny black kitten was set in the shadows. He gazed up at Eren with big, glimmering, green eyes.

"Armin, look!" He nudged the boy a bit too aggressively, "A lil kitty!"

The blond whipped his head around, finding the same small animal inquisitively staring at the pair. He meowed again.

"Awwww!" Eren squealed, "He's so damn cute! You know, I always wanted a cat but my dad never let me have a pet!"

Armin snickered, "He probably wants some of your snack."

The taller male looked down at his Searing Shrimp. He tore off a small piece and threw it in the cat's direction. The animal cautiously walked towards it, took three, four sniffs and then took a bite. When all was said and done he sat down on the floor, waiting for another piece to be thrown.

"He liked it! Here little buddy, let's do this. One for me, one for you!" Eren declared.

The tan boy would take a bite of his food, then give the kitten a tiny piece of meat and so forth. With every slice eaten, the kitten would inch closer and closer until he landed next to Eren's foot. Eventually, they finished the entirety of the snack this way.

"Sorry bud, we're all out!" Eren explained.

But the cat wasn't having it. He rubbed against the boy's leg, anxiously waiting for more food. When that didn't work he sat right in front of the boy, his tail swinging from one side to the other.

Armin took the chance to stand up from the bench and tell Eren, "We should probably get a move on or we'll be here all day." He threw the remaining skewer stick in a trash can nearby.

The brunet stood up as well, happy to see that the cat would follow as they walked towards the stands. The way Eren's eyes were to the brim with joy was sweet, so sweet in fact that Armin silently decided to go to the stands in the outer circle of the plaza so there would be less people that could potentially scare off the cute kitten.

"Alright. Where were we...? Vegetables! Right so..." Armin went into one of his notorious intricate speeches with complex words and confusing subjects. The taller male wandered behind the blond, occasionally humming in agreement or shaking his head.

The blond explained the importance of vegetables and their placement in the nutritional value in the body. Armin ended up buying a handful of carrots, potatoes and onions with a woman that recognized him from all his trips to the plaza. The blond then walked off to a stand a few feet away where he would always buy the broccoli because-

"It's always the freshest here! I know a lot of people don't like broccoli... but honestly I think that comes from all the bad press it gets in cartoons. Broccoli is delicious! But if you see it as this gross, stinky food in cartoons when you're a kid and have an impressionable mind, chances are you're gonna hate it, ya know?"

"Uh-huh."

Armin swiveled around to find Eren being a hundred percent unaware of whatever it was his coworker was saying. At some point, he had found a string that he had attached to the skewer stick and was having fun watching the kitten flutter around trying to catch it.

The blond squinted his eyes, "So as I was saying, broccoli is gross..."

"100%..."

"I mean broccoli is all purple and gooey."

"Yup..."

"The only good thing is that it gives you super powers you know? If you eat enough you'll be able to shoot lasers out of your eyes and breath underwater!" Armin said in an over-the-top happy tone.

"Totally..."

Armin snorted, "Eren."

"Yeah..."

"Eren!"

The teen hastened into an upright position. The cat, also startled, jumped three feet into the air.

"Wh-What now?" Eren stammered.

Armin facepalmed, though the brunet could see it was all in good fun as a smirk traversed the shorter boys face.

"Eren! I'm trying to explain something to you?"

"Oh! Yeah, totally. Sorry I got distracted. Hey! How about we do all this vegetable stuff later and buy some meat? Yeah, let's do meat first like fish and stuff."

Armin was no fool, "You want to buy the cat more food don't you?"

"What? Noooooo."

The blond laughed.

Eren caught a glimpse of something, "Look! Let's go there, that guy sales meat."

Upon seeing what the green-eyed boy was looking at, Armin clutched Eren's arm with force, "Noooo, not there. That place is food poisoning on wheels. Trust me."

Upon closer inspection, Eren noticed the meats riddled with flies. They were already a strange color despite the fact that right beside them was a sign that read FRESH.

"I buy my meat at a store nearby. Let's go, it won't take more than 5 minutes."

They made their way to the sidewalk, walking slowly so the kitty could catch up. Eren turned to the left, then the right and when there were no cars coming he crossed the road expecting the kitten to be right behind. Nonetheless, when Eren was already on the other side, he saw that the kitten had remained static.

"Come on little kitty, come on!" He made kissy sounds in an attempt to lure the cat in but the black ball of fur just looked back at the boy like he was an idiot.

"Maybe he's scared?" Armin suggested.

When the kissy sounds failed, the teen decided it was best to carry the kitten to the other side. However, his desperation got the best of him as without a second thought he stepped onto the street, trying to woo the cat with words of love and kindness.

"Eren, wait!"

A honking sound startled the boy. As he realized a red car was coming his way, he leapt forward to get out of its way. The abrupt chaos of movement and sound frightened the kitten, causing him to run away at full velocity.

"Hey!" Eren took no hesitation in running after the animal, leaving behind a shell-shocked Armin and an angry driver. The blond gave a brief apology to the irritated gentlemen and chased after the two with bags of vegetables and everything.

The brunet pursued the black kitten through people, streets and cars. People would curse him out or huff angrily but he would pay no attention. At some point Eren lost track of his location, only knowing that when he turned a corner he landed in the back alley between two apartment complexes.

Eren inspected the area. There was a large amount of trash in that alley, probably from the people living inside the grey buildings. Above were a series of windowsills, each pertaining to an apartment. Some had flowers on it, others ashtrays but one in particular was adorned with a smug furball looking down at the inferior human being.

"Eren!" Armin panted, "Ah! Finally you..." He bent over, putting the bags on the ground and his hands on his knees, "Damnyou'refast... finally you stopped running." Through painful gasps of air he said, "The kitten is long gone. It just- It just wasn't meant to be."

"There." The tall boy pointed upward. "He's there."

The blond laughed when he saw how high up the animal was, "Oh well, there's no way in hell we can get him now. Let's call it a day Eren."

The brunet was appalled, "What?! No! We can't leave him all alone! Don't you see? He's terrified up there."

But all Armin saw was nature's dare devil looking down at them with its signature look of superiority, "I dunno, he looks fine to me."

The tall boy inspected the jagged rocks that made up the buildings. He squinted his eyes. He could climb that.

"What. What are you doing." The words suggested a question but Armin's tone was as deadpanned as it could get.

"I'll go get him."

"Eren there's no way you can climb all the way up there. Plus, what if one of the residents sees you and thinks you're breaking and entering. This is just asking for trouble."

"Come on Armin, be a man." He said confidently as he was already a foot above ground.

"What does 'being a man' mean according to you? Doing incredibly stupid things?"

Eren wiggled to the left to align himself perfectly with the window sill where the kitten was placed, "It's fiiiine."

"No, it's not. It's dangerous and you're gonna get yourself killed."

He was about three feet off the ground, "It's not dangero-uh-OH-OH!"

Losing grip, he was able to push himself off the building in time to land on his feet. It would've been a slick move if it weren't because he landed right on a slippery cloth that took his traction right from him, causing the boy to fall square on his ass.

"Ah-ah-OOOW!" Eren complained.

The blond shrugged, "Told you so."

Eren shot the boy a death glare but it was hard to be intimidating when you were rubbing your butt. As he slowly got up, he examined what it was that had made the boy slip. He took a hold of it, displaying the sheet that had played such a cruel trick on him. On it, was a painting of Mother Goddess Ymir. She was in her standard form of a blond child with a ribbon in her hair and closed eyes. Her hands were on her stomach that would one day give life to the Gods and Goddesses that would serve and protect humanity.

"Ugh. Why would anyone throw this away so carelessly? No respect." He folded up the cloth, dirtying his hands with icky substances in the process. The brunet neatly put it on top of a garbage bin nearby, knowing there was nothing that could save the old and beaten cloth now.

Armin raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Didn't know you were the religious type."

Eren put hands to his hips, facing away from the blond, "Eh. It's complicated... my dad really went nuts over that stuff." He bit his lip, "Are you not? You look the type."

'All goody two shoes and what not.' He thought but dared not say.

Armin chuckled, "Not really. You ought to know about how people always say that since 'Mother Goddess Ymir married human King Fritz to give life to our protectors, man and woman are the only true forms of love'. A lot of people that follow the Old Religion don't exactly agree with... my life style."

"Well that hasn't stopped you anyway." Eren said, still irked by the burn in his tail bone.

The blond made a face, "What do you mean?"

The tall boy shrugged, still having his back towards Armin, "I dunno... you walk around holding hands and kissing Jean like it's a normal thing."

Armin was taken aback, "Well, yeah. It is a normal thing. Homosexuality is nothing new. It's been present throughout all history but time and time again its documentation has been repressed."

Eren shook his head, a wave of exhaustion washing over him, "Whatever, whatever. Let's simply get the cat."

"No, no! Say what you have to say Eren, I wanna hear it."

The brunet faced his coworker, shocked to see an angry Armin for the first time. His eyes wandered around, not really sure what to say. His own irritation pooled in his stomach.

Finally, he vomited whatever came to mind, "I don't know Armin! Don't fuckin' pay attention to me. I don't know what I'm saying half the time." He threw his arms upwards.

"What? Do you believe it?"

Eren rolled his eyes, "Believe what?"

"That homosexuality is bad. That what I am is sooo offensive and disgusting to society."

Eren felt like a deer in the headlights, "Wh- How did we even get to this topic?"

"Just answer the question!"

"I don't know!" Eren exploded, "I don't know what I think Armin! And not just about this, about EVERYTHING! My dad told me a lot of stuff during my lifetime and it turns out that a lot of those things are lies so yeah, you could say I'm a bit confused. I'm not like you, I don't have an encyclopedia in my brain! All I have is bad feelings and even shittier thoughts so sorry if I haven't figured out how to stop being such a dumbass!" Eren forced his lips into a straight line. His breaths long and deep.

They both looked at each other without daring to speak a word.

Armin opened his mouth then closed it again. His blue eyes fell to the floor, then to the sides and then on Eren again. Lastly, he shook his head.

"Eren... you're right. How did we even get to this? Let's calm down."

Eren lowered his head. A part of him wanted to apologize for yelling but his pride wouldn't let him.

A window opened. Both boys looked up to see who it was. A young woman had lifted the window where the black kitten still sat. She gave the kitty a quick pet before walking away. A much larger cat jumped on top of it and sniffed the tiny baby. It was black as well with equal emerald eyes. By the way she began licking the kitten it was obvious that she was the mother. The mother took her baby by the scruff and jumped inside the apartment, away from the two boys looking up at them.

Eren laughed, but there was no joy behind it. He rose a hand to his face.

"Armin?"

"Huh?"

"Let's go home."

"Ok, Eren."

.

.

.

Fun fact, this chapter was supposed to be a soft filler episode because the next ones are kinda intense but things went off the rails between Armin and Eren and I ended up feeling so saaad for Eren at the end ;_; why do I write things that make me suffer? XD

Also, important fact but apparently, while you can give cats shrimp, it's best not to give them too much. So, uh, yeah, don't do that. I was tempted to change the shrimp to like chicken or something but I had already written the whole thing, lol. Anyway, see you guys next week!

~Gum

Chapter Text

6:04 AM

That's what the cellphone said anyway.

Eren sat on his bed, changed and ready to go, praying for Levi Ackerman to call him. They were supposed to have a training session that morning but will all that had happened in the last couple of days, a sinking feeling in his stomach told him Levi wouldn't be guarding him any longer.

He's not calling.

6:05 AM

Nope, he's definitely not calling.

I'M HERE. COME DOWN. -Levi

The brunet sighed in relief. He sped out the door and down the staircases. When he opened the front door of the building, he had no time to do or say anything, as almost immediately, the bodyguard turned to him and said, "Let's go."

The bodyguard led him to a car -this time grey- and hopped in. No words were exchanged as they put their seatbelts on. Even though Eren always felt tense around the man, that particular morning the tension was extra straining. Levi started the car, checked a few things and was about to head off when the boy interrupted.

"Uh-uhm." Eren looked out the window, then back at the bodyguard, "No blindfold today?"

"What? Oh. Right. Here." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and threw it towards the boy.

Eren raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like the bodyguard to be so careless. He dared to take a good look at the man. He was in all black that day. Long black jacket, black pants, black boots, black everything. It made his pale face pop out. Upon closer inspection, Levi had bags around his eyes, a dark color around them suggesting a restless night. If Levi was crabby when he had a good night's rest, Eren didn't want to imagine what he was like when he was insomniac.

The brunet was in the midst of putting the blindfold on when the bodyguard stopped him, "W-Wait actually no. Hold on a minute I gotta tell you something before you put that on. I know you're gonna be all fidgety when I tell you."

Eren was startled at the feel of Levi's cool hands on his wrist. As a result, he simply dropped them to his lap, completely shutting down in the middle of his nervousness.

Here it comes. He's finally gonna tell me he's leaving me. I knew it. Where is he gonna take me? With Petra to get a new bodyguard assigned? Oh Gods. Is he taking me to some shady place and killing me off?!

"I looked into your sister's case."

Eren's thoughts stopped dead in their tracks.

"Y-You did? What did you find?!"

Levi sighed heavily, "It's hard to say. Grisha - that's your father's name right? - his workers are just as confused as I am. It seems since that night when you forced your way in she disappeared. I tried tracking her down but she was just... gone. Maybe she escaped on her own in the midst of all the chaos but if I'm honest I have no idea where she is."

Eren's gaze fell on his lap.

That meant... that had to mean that Annie had been successful right? Mikasa was in her care. That would explain why Levi hadn't found anything. Mikasa on her own would've left some kind of trail behind but with Annie she would know how to leave without a trace. He took the biggest, deepest breath he had taken since all of yesterday. If Mikasa was with Annie that meant she was safe.

"You seem to be taking the news... rather well." Levi spoke.

Eren nodded fervently, "Yes. Tha- That's good. It's good that she escaped. I know she did. She's strong. She can handle herself, so, that definitely makes me feel better."

Levi glanced quickly at the brunet, "Good to hear."

Eren clasped his hands together, "Thank you by the way... I know you didn't have to do that."

The bodyguard huffed, "Yeah, well. I made a promise that I would look into it."

The memory flashed back of the young man holding onto Levi, begging him to look for his sister. Normally, he would've felt embarrassed but he had no regrets. Had Eren said nothing, he would know nothing about Mikasa otherwise.

"S-So you're not dropping me as your client?" Eren ventured.

Levi furrowed his eyebrows, "What? No, dumbass. Not yet at least." He teased.

"Thank you..." Eren whispered again, so low that Eren didn't expect the bodyguard to hear.

He did, in fact, but chose to say nothing else but, "Now put your blindfold on or I'm not driving."

"50, 51, 52, come on, you're barely half way there. Pick up the pace, those jumping jacks aren't gonna do themselves."

"22, 23, 24, no. No. Don't stop there. Give me at least 5 more push-ups."

"44, 45, 46 almost there. Do those curl ups right or you'll have to repeat them!"

"PICK THOSE FEET UP BRAT! YOU STILL GOT 7 LAPS TO GO!"

"You're gonna have to squat deeper than that if you want me to count it. Do another set."

Eren panted, "You're- ah- you're gonna kill me!"

The brunet laid on the floor, sweaty and exhausted.

The bodyguard put his hands to his hips, "No. What's gonna kill you is Grisha's men when they come knocking down your door. Trust me. When you have those guys on top of you you're gonna regret not having done your work-outs properly."

The brunet rolled his eyes, "Yes. My 'poor form squats' are gonna be the first thing I think about before I get a bullet to the head."

"Is that an attitude I hear?!"

Eren was an idiot, but he wasn't stupid.

"No sir." He quickly responded.

"Good. It better not be."

Eren observed Levi take off his long coat, storing it on a bench nearby. Underneath was an equally black shirt. Though it was short-sleeved it had a long neck. The brunet noticed how the bodyguard's muscles would be accentuated when the man stretched his upper body.

"Get up. We're not done yet."

The green-eyed boys heart sank. He could only dig his teeth into his lips to keep a complaint from coming out.

"W-What are we doing? I'm gonna be honest man, I don't know how much gas I got left in the tank."

If his heart had sank before, it was definitely at the bottom of the ocean when a pair of boxing gloves where thrown in his direction.

"Nooooo."

"Yes."

"Noooo!" He said with even more horror.

"Yes."

After that first match, Levi had given him some lessons.

LESSONS!

Not a whooping. But by the way Levi had thrown the gloves, same as the first time, Eren knew that it wasn't gonna be a lesson. It was gonna be a survival of the fittest.

"I can't I'm too tireeddd."

Levi, who was already strapping his gloves on, shrugged, "Ok. Stay there I don't care. I'll beat your ass wherever."

The brunet groaned. He forcefully pushed himself off the ground, unsurprised by how wobbly his legs felt as he walked towards the ring. When he finally got there, the boy fell onto the ground again knowing Levi wouldn't let him do that for long. He began strapping his own gloves on.

"But don't leave my face unrecognizable like last time. Armin's already getting suspicious of all the injuries I've been getting."

Levi hummed, "That boy really cares for you, doesn't he?"

Eren shrugged, "I guess."

The bodyguard crossed his arms, "And you must care for him I imagine."

The teen fidgeted with the Velcro straps of his gloves, "I dunno."

The bodyguard sighed, "Look, all I'm saying is... try not to get too attached, ok? I know everything may seem fine right now but it's becoming increasingly clear to me that it's not everyday thugs we are working with here. Any day of the week we gotta be willing to pack up and make a beeline out of the city."

The brunet raised his shoulders, "Why would I become attached? I'm not attached to Armin. It's whatever."

Levi made an irked expression, "You don't wanna admit it? You two hang out all the time."

"Well it's not like I have a lot of options." Eren blurted out, feeling a tinge of guilt in his heart.

"So what, you don't like him?"

"Like him!?" Eren shrieked in a panic voice, "I mean he's nice but it's not like I wanna marry the guy!"

"Oh. That's right." Levi tilted his head to the side, "You don't like him 'cause he's gay right?"

The boy panicked. Where was all of this coming from?!

"I never- I don't- Let's get on with the training thing!"

Levi frowned, "You piss me off sometimes, you know that?"

Eren's pride pooled over, "You're probably just mad that I don't like Armin 'cause you're gay too!" A heat washed over Eren's body, a strange combination of fiery rage and searing regret.

There was a moment where Eren saw everything in slow-motion. Glaring at the bodyguard, he observed how the man's face contorted at the words. First shock, then confusion and finally anger.

Levi lurched forward, "Do not talk to me so casually, brat! I should have never told you such a thing in the first place."

"Yeah! You shouldn't have but you did and i-it fucked with my head, dude!" Eren confessed. The words were coming out of him on their own accord.

A deep scowl was drawn onto the man's face, "What?"

"If you hadn't got mad at me for calling him a homo I would have never hung out with him!" He blurted out.

Levi paused. Everything Eren did confused him. The boy always managed to surprise him whether it was by befriending the blond kid after berating him for being gay or running away spontaneously on a heroic journey to save his sister. Thinking back on the party, everything clicked in the raven's mind. Eren was a dumbass beyond Levi's comprehension.

"Ohhh... I see. You're trying to blame me for having kissed him. If I hadn't been annoyed by you, you never would've gone to the party in the first place." He raised his gloved hands up, "Hey, don't try to pin that on me. That was all you. Though I bet that's got you all confused, huh."

Eren felt as if he was being pricked by needles all over, "What?! No! I- I was just trying to help Armin get Jean's attention!" It was the only possible explanation to why he would do such a thing after all. Armin must've been right all along.

The bodyguard huffed, "Hah! Please. You were piss drunk. That Jean boy was the last thing on your mind."

The brunet sensed the heat rising to his cheeks. His pride swelled so much, it felt like it was going to explode. Eren staggered to his feet. Ok. Now he was pissed off.

Levi laughed darkly, "Oh, what? Now you wanna fight? Come on, take a step forward. Try to hit me."

The smugness in his words were as grating as whippings to the back. Eren wanted to punch that smugness right out of Levi. He threw a punch right at the shorter male but it was easily blocked.

"You're so easy to provoke Eren, you know that? Such strong emotions all the time."

Eren threw another unsuccessful hook, "You're one to talk! You're always angry too!"

Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Right. Right. Yet he couldn't land a single one.

"Maybe, but I'd never let my anger consume me." Levi landed a precise blow to the stomach, knocking the air right out of Eren. He then effectively kicked one of the boy's legs, sending him tumbling down.

The teen wheezed. Once he was able to regain his breath his eyes slowly panned up Levi's body. When their eyes met, the bodyguard kept that same air of arrogance.

"What's got you so worked up anyway?", the bodyguard scoffed, "Did you like it or something?"

That's when Eren saw red. He promptly mustered up all of his strength and tackled Levi to the floor. As soon as they hit the ground, the brunet balanced himself on his knees and flung a cascade of punched towards Levi. Quick to respond, the raven hurled his arms in front of him as a defense mechanism. He had an amused smirk drawn on his face that boiled Eren's blood even further.

"You did, didn't you. That's why you're so pissed."

The moment he saw an opening, the bodyguard jabbed Eren's jugular. In the midst of the brunet's disorientation, Levi punched the younger man square in the face. It was soon Levi to be the one in a perplexed state as Eren bluntly headbutted the raven.

Big mistake, Eren soon realized as the trauma his head had been subjected to in the past few days came back to him all at once, aching and thumping all around. Nonetheless, he was too vexed to care.

"I'm... not... gay!" He panted.

The raven laughed lowly. He knew the boy well enough to know that Eren hadn't any energy left. After all, Eren was practically slumped over Levi to the point where he couldn't even take his forehead off of Levi's. In his current state, Eren was a threat to no one, much less Levi.

"How would you know? What did you feel when you kissed him? You should've felt something."

The brunet could feel Levi's hot breath as he spoke. He stared back at Levi in defiance. The devil waltz around in the bodyguard's eyes, mocking him.

"Nothing!" Eren insisted.

Levi put a gloved hand against Eren's chest, intending to push him off and stop with this ridiculous back and forth they were having. Levi worked with plenty of homophobic people. Hell, if anything he would say that his clients were almost exclusively so. Levi was well accustomed to hearing slander against people like him and took nothing personally. Other than what the job required, he cared very little for his clients and their opinions. They ultimately meant nothing to him. What Levi had found so painfully irritating however was the way Eren would sometimes stare at Armin with belittlement and demeaning when the boy had done nothing but care for Eren. It was times like those when Levi's cool demeanor would stumble.

Eren, on the other hand, couldn't even think with how much his head was swirling. He was so close to Levi that he was drowning in him. All he knew was that that smirk still danced around teasingly on Levi's face and all he wanted was to slap it right off. He felt as the gloved hand slowly pushed him away.

"If you say so... nothing, then." The man said in relaxed, low, voice.

In one last attempt to erase that mocking smile, Eren did the unthinkable and flung himself forward, smashing his lips against the older man's. Even with his mind in a twist, he quickly detected the way Levi's lips dropped into a line and even opening slightly due to shock. Feeling satisfied with the result, Eren got up on his own. He moderately stumbled about as he stood, a ringing in his ears making it hard for the brunet to find equilibrium. Oppositely to him, Levi was stuck to the ground like a bug, looking up at the boy like he had lost his damn mind.

Eren took long, haggard breaths, "See? Nothing." He said as if anything he was doing or saying made any damn sense.

Eren had never seen Levi in such a state, that is to say, so stupefied. He was half expecting some snarky comment. After what felt like one of the longest minutes in Levi's entire life, he was finally able to navigate outside his own befuddlement.

The raven spoke at a snail's pace, "You... let me get this straight. You, a guy, just... kissed me, another guy... to prove that you're... not gay?"

Eren was seemingly unfazed. The ringing had stopped, the thumping had ceased and now that he had come to his senses all he knew was that he would refuse to accept he was somehow in the wrong.

"Yup."

Though he projected a nonchalant attitude, the anxiety was rising inside. Why the fuck had he done that? Why the fuck had he thought that was a good idea? Why the fuck? Why?

One moment, Levi was still laying down with a frown so pronounced one could think it would be etched there for all eternity. The next, he took to his feet so fast that it would've been missed in a blink of an eye. The raven ripped off the gloves his hands and sped past the boy without even taking the time to look at him.

"We're done for the day. Grab your things and get in the car."

Other than Levi notifying Eren when it was ok to take his blindfold off, no other words had been exchanged on their way back to Eren's apartment. The boy was slumped against the window, watching the world go by. Meanwhile, Levi wouldn't take his eyes off the road and had a tight grip on the steering wheel.

Eren was angry but he didn't exactly know why. All he knew was that he was pissed off, irritated, annoyed. He was all that and Levi's strange change in attitude didn't help. All Eren wanted was to punch random things until those stupid feelings would go away but someone had forced him out the very gym they had been in and into a small car where all he could do was sit and settle alongside those very emotions.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. The brunet grumpily went to check it, desperate for any kind of distraction. It was an unknown number. Eren's frown deepened. He cursed out the stupid phone for having ever been built by some stupid person working in a useless phone-making factory that should burn to the ground. Eren hated everything that had ever existed because of its audacity to be born.

The bodyguard cleared his throat as if about to speak. The brunet glanced at the car door, considering how painful it would be if he would open the handle and fling himself out.

"Eren, listen. I've realized that I have been acting unprofessional with you. It is unlike me to get so... involved with clients so for that I am sorry." His voice held no sneer or bitterness, rather he was talking like a lawyer speaking with a client.

The green-eyed boy shivered. It was so bizarre to hear Levi Ackerman apologize.

"When I told you about my sexuality I did so without thinking and I know you will believe me when I say that is very unlike me. You had no reason to know that and I none to say it."

The brunet had been progressively slumping into the chair until another buzz of the phone interrupted him. Once again, he took a look.

HEY EREN. AT LEAST I HOPE ITS YOU. IT WOULD BE AWKWARD IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE SOME RANDOM PERSON. 

Eren read and re-read the message, eyeing it suspiciously. Levi, however, was too concentrated on the road ahead to notice.

"It is none of my business what your beliefs are and even less who you make acquaintances with. It was out of place for me to tease you about Armin. I want to make this very clear, from now on it is best that we distance ourselves a little..."

Buzz! A second message.

ITS ME, ANNIE. AND GUESS WHO IS WITH ME! I'M SURE YOU'LL BE THRILLED TO SEE HER.

A photo was attached. Levi remained oblivious.

"I will suspend the training sessions for a week while I sort some things out. As for our communication methods, I will insist on keeping the calls to a minimum. Plenty of clients don't even have conversations with their bodyguard after the first few weeks and they are guarded just fine. None of this will hinder me from doing my job properly..."

With a trembling finger, Eren opened the photo. The moment he saw Mikasa's face plastered on his phone, he wanted to cry. Not because of any relief or happiness, but because of the way she was tightly tied to a chair. Thick tape covered the bottom part of her face but her eyes were enough for Eren to know what she was feeling. They expressed a brave front of courage crumbling beneath the increasing weight of fear. Her left eye was swollen from a nasty hit she had taken and even though her hair was as shiny and silky as always, her clothes were all torn and dirty, covered in blood and dirt.

Annie hadn't saved Mikasa. She had taken her with equally wicked intentions.

Eren didn't even hear Levi when he said, "I hope you understand why I am doing this. It is in our best interest to keep a clear, solid line of where our professional relationship begins and where it ends. Ok?"

The green-eyed boy was too stunned to say anything. He stared at the picture, asking himself why Annie would ever do such a thing.

COME TO THIS ADDRESS TOMORROW AT 9 PM IF YOU WANT TO SEE MIKASA AGAIN. REMEMBER, NO BODYGUARD. SHE REALLY MISSES YOU :( SEE YOU SOON!

Annoyed by the silence, Levi at long last turned to the brunet, "Eren. Eren?"

The brunet could barely contain the tears. He closed his eyes, seeing Annie's face when he did so. Despite all the years he had known her, Eren could never figure out what went on in her head. All he wanted was to run away into the sunset with her but she wanted to grab him by the hand and jump into a volcano instead.

This is Mikasa, our new neighbor. You two will be going to the same school so make sure you take good care of her.

Yessir!

Promise?

Promise!

Eren opened his eyes with decision. He knew what he had to do, even if that meant doing the unbelievable and going against Annie.

He turned to the bodyguard, "Levi, there's something I need to tell you."

.

.

.

Ooooo, 18 chapters in and we FINALLY got a kiss lmao, and a very awkward one at that. Eren being like I'M NOT GAY and then proceeding to be very gay makes me cackle every time because bitch if that wasn't me 5 years ago XD And yes, Annie is kiiiinda a psycho in this fanfic. Whoops. See you guys next week for the last two chapters of ACT I!

~Gum

Chapter Text

"Gloria! There are customers at the door. Do not keep them waiting." A female voice announced.

Gloria puffed up her curly brown hair, admiring herself in the mirror. She went to quickly put on a fresh coat of ruby red lipstick, "Just a moment."

"GLORIA! NOW!" The old hag screamed.

The young woman huffed. By the Gods, how she hated that woman sometimes. She gave herself a wink, hurrying off through the pink hallways. When she got to the door, she peaked through the small opening to see who was on the other side. Two young men. She cupped her breasts and lifted them up. Her low-cut corset did a fine job in supporting them high on her chest. She opened the door with a sexy smirk.

"Hello boys, how can I be of assistance?"

Gloria looked up at the tall one, who in turn searched for the shorter male's eyes for an answer. She couldn't see their complete faces as they wore face masks; something not too uncommon in her line of work. All she could see was their eyes, both which were very beautiful. The tall one had gorgeous eyes, mostly green though a swirl of blues and yellows gave uniqueness to them. The other one was the complete opposite. His eyes lacked any color since they were a solid grey. Still, the manner in which they glistened was as quietly charming as the moonlight. Gloria wanted to see more of them.

The one with grey eyes spoke up, "We're looking for a room."

Gloria bit her lip, "Excellent! Would you like some company?"

Gloria stepped closer to the taller boy and swirled a finger around on his chest, "Or are you boys planning on playing all by your lonely selves?" She pouted playfully.

The boy jittered back like a scared deer, abruptly bumping into the other man as he did so. Gloria bit back her giggle. She liked it when they were shy. Annoyed, the raven harshly grabbed his companion by the sides and put the boy behind him. It appeared this one was a lot less jumpy.

"We'll be joining a room that's already rented."

Gloria's pout was no longer playful. In a disappointed voice she said, "Oh, yes of course. What room will that be?"

"Room S."

Her flirtatious act dropped immediately. Room S was a third level room. Every worker there knew that any room above Q meant ugly business. She tried to hide her frightfulness as best as she could, though she was sure that the grey-eyed one noticed it. For her own safety, she took a step back and grabbed her tablet. Searching for Room S, she found all the information given about said room.

Gloria cleared her throat, "Code?"

"EX3416."

It was correct.

"Very well. A moment please."

Gloria shut the door for a split second to extract the key to said room. Once in her hand, she returned to the boys. She hung the keys out for the raven. Before giving them away she warned, "The room is three stories down. Please note that trifling with other rooms will get you in serious trouble. And remember, no one will disturb you no matter what so long as so it is kept inside the room. If anything sour occurs inside these rooms we are not kept responsible."

The girl realized that the tall boy was more frightened than she was. What could a boy like him be doing in places like these?

The raven took the keys, nodding in response. He was surely a lot more gentle-mannered that a lot of clients that swung by. Gloria stepped aside to let the boys in, offering them a warm -though fake- smile as they walked away. Once they were a good distance away, she ran back to her room, not wanting to know any more of those two men.

"Stop being so tense. You're putting me on edge." Levi complained.

Eren tensed up more, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting a brothel. I would think Annie would be working in an abandoned warehouse or sumthin'."

They got in an elevator going down.

The bodyguard eyed the boy, "You're new to this aren't you? This isn't a normal brothel. These are whorehouses perfect for shady business. They offer rooms where you can do anything- no questions asked. These types of rooms have thick walls. If you pay enough money, nothing could interrupt whatever it is you're doing in there."

Eren took a deep breath. All he wanted was to get to Mikasa already. However, a voice deep inside his mind told Eren he should be careful for what he wished for.

"Listen. I know Annie can be... challenging. But promise me you won't... you know, kill her." Eren shivered.

"You two have a weird relationship, you know that?"

Eren almost laughed. 'Weird' didn't even begin to cover it. Sometimes, even Eren didn't understand it. He loved the girl so much, yet she damaged him to the point where Eren wanted to let go but couldn't. No one - NO one- understood Eren like Annie did.

"I know... I just hope she's actually there. Are you sure it's a good idea to get here earlier than when she told us?"

Levi sighed, "I already told you brat. We got the element of surprise this way. It's-" Levi checked his watch, "20 minutes before 9:00 pm. She'll be there but I don't want her to have time to plan things before we get there. It's better to catch her off guard like this."

Eren nodded. His doubt remained but if Levi said so then he would follow through. Once the elevator door opened, they were presented with a similar hallway to the one they had been in before. The walls were a pale pink and the floors black. Rows of pink neon lights were placed up above where the walls connected to the ceiling, showering the entire place in a fairy-like ambience. Loud pop music played throughout. The two men walked out.

The rooms separated long ways from each other. They stopped at the third room that had an "S" painted on it. Eren looked at Levi, unsure on what to do next. The raven gently positioned himself between Eren and the door. With one hand he took out his gun which he hid behind his back. Meanwhile, the other hand inched closer to the doorknob, unsure of whether it would even be open or not. While busting through the door would make a great dramatic entrance, Levi wasn't sure how kindly it would be looked upon by the owners of the building. After all, only what happened 'inside' was ignored.

Click.

It was open.

The door creaked as it slowly let way into the room. A couple of low-hanging lightbulb brightened the place up. The main room was medium sized though with a high ceiling. A rectangular diner table was pushed to the far right. On top of it were stacked various chairs. To their immediate left there was a blue love couch, a table, and a TV also pushed up against the wall.

On the wall opposite to Levi and Eren there was a banner hanging which read WELCOME, EREN. One corner had already fallen off so the last two letters couldn't be made out. Right below it was a big wooden chair. It was so fancy that it almost looked like a throne: a throne on which Annie sat upon. She looked at the boys with indifferent eyes, though a devilish smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She had an elbow on one of the arms of the chair that led to a fist she used to rest her head upon. Though Annie wore that tight bun she always had, her hair was more tangled than usual. Dark circles below her eyes gave her a much more menacing gaze.

"Hello Eren. You're here early." She stood up and strolled forward, "Plus, you brought a friend!"

The green-eyed boy swallowed hard. He peeled off his face mask. Levi did the same.

"We're not here to hurt you Annie. Just give us Mikasa and we'll go."

Annie laughed, "Why are you here?"

Eren was confused, "F-For Mikasa."

"NO!" Annie yelled, "Why are you here, right now?! I told you to get here at 9 PM, Eren. 9 PM! I had a whole thing planned out you know. You're so incredibly rude to get here early. Mikasa was going to be the one seated there when you got here and it would've been a fun little family reunion!"

Annie clapped her hands together, staring off into a reality were the events she described were taking place. It didn't last long however as she dropped her smile in an instant, "But you ruined it. Like you ruin everything."

The brunet was exasperated, "You sent me a picture of Mikasa beat up!-"

"What does that matter Ereeenn?!"

Eren continued, "How was that going to be a 'fun family reunion'?! Where is she? Where is Mikasa?!"

Annie pouted, "You only care about her, don't you? What about me- what about us? Do I matter to you at all?!"

"Of course you do b-"

"Then why didn't you follow my instructions?!"

The brunet rubbed his head. When Annie got in a mood, it was impossible to get her out of it.

"Please, let me see her. I need to know she's okay." He practically whispered.

The girl's eyes went blank when he said this. Levi was perturbed by the way her eyes switched to those of a doll; glossy and with no emotion behind them.

"Ok. You want to see her. You need to know she's okay, yeah. HANJI! BRING MIKASA OUT. EREN WANTS TO SEE HER."

Eren felt his blood run cold at the sound of that name. From an opening on the left side of the main room appeared Hanji Zoe pushing forward an unconscious Mikasa in a wheel chair. Hanji Zoe had been one of Grisha's brains. After all, his experiments required advanced sciences for them to work. Hanji was quite an enigma, both in body and mind as Eren never knew with certainty if they were male or female, nor did the boy ever understand the strange ramblings they would go into when discussing complicated topics with Grisha. The scientist wouldn't appear frequently before Eren, but when they did he knew it was bad news. While Eren had suppressed various memories from those days, one thing he remembered clearly was that Hanji Zoe was batshit crazy.

From a first glance, Hanji appeared to be an average person. They were of average height, they had common brown hair and eyes with simple glasses adorning their face. They were the type of person that would walk down the street and few people would take a second glance. What those people didn't know was that behind those simple glasses and common eyes was a genius mind that had the capability of breaking the world.

"There she is, are you happy?" Annie teased.

Eren's eyes slithered down to Mikasa. Her eye was still swollen. It filled the boy with anger. Her porcelain skin clashed with those ugly blue and purple hues. They had no business being there. Her eyes were closed shut, her mouth slightly hanging open. She had a long white robe on her. It had some stains, mostly blood. He instinctually stepped forward.

"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going?" Annie took out a gun without hesitation. Though Eren had initially thought she would point it at him, she pointed it at the unconscious girl. Eren tensed so much he could barely breath.

"You might want to second guess that action." From behind of Eren, Levi pulled out his own gun and pointed it at the blonde.

"OOuuuhhhh," Annie hummed, "I see you want to die first." She changed the position of the gun so it would now point at the bodyguard.

In an instant, the girl threw a hidden knife with her free hand, simultaneously shooting a gun to try at trap the bodyguard. Levi read her well however as he hurled himself to the ground and rolled forward to avoid both of them. He cut the gap between them so they were now face-to-face. Shocked, Annie quickly knocked the gun out of Levi's hand to which he responded by stealing hers in a moment of confusion. Quick on her feet, Annie took Levi's gun that had been dropping to the ground and in just a few moments they had suddenly exchanged guns.

They began fighting with the quickened pace and grace of a jaguar but Eren didn't stay to watch. He had other things on his mind. Amidst the streperous sound of bullets, the brunet fell to the floor with his hands protecting his head. Seeing as Annie was concentrated in other matters, he crawled his way to Mikasa. He was weary of Hanji and any attempt they would make in stopping him but they looked between the fight and Eren with indifference.

"Hi, Eren!" They said as if the two were pals before returning their attention to the fight.

Eren shivered.

Once he was close enough, he looked at the girl with better eyes. Though out of it, her eyebrows were knitted together, the corners of her mouth pulling downward as if she were having a nightmare. Eren looked up at Hanji who was well focused on Annie despite them knowing very well he was right there.

"Mikasa! Psst! Mikasa!" He whispered loudly.

If only for a second, she fluttered her eyes half-open. A couple more attempts were made in opening her eyes but they ultimately fell back to a close. She muttered incoherent phrases. Among all the nonsense the green-eyed boy could make out a few words.

"Eren... is that you?"

Desperate to get her out of there, he stretched out a hand. He wanted to caress her face, wake her up properly and tell her everything would be alright. Plans changed as his hand abruptly exploded into a bloody mess.

It took him a while to understand what had happened. His hand dripped thick streams of blood, his bones, now visible to the eye, failed to do as he instructed. Shocked, he gradually shifted his vision to the cause of it. Annie looked at him with hard eyes. The barrel of the gun faced him fully. It was obvious to Eren that she hadn't even hesitated in shooting his hand.

"Hanji." Annie said roughly, "Plan 6."

"On it!" Said scientist gave Eren a last curious glance before disappearing off into another room.

Levi -who at some point had been hurt to the point of kneeling to the ground- took the same knife Annie had thrown at him some time ago and flung it right at her face. Only barely did the blonde girl escape a grim fate. The cool air whipped past her as the steel blade missed. She felt a sharp sting on her left cheek. When she touched the sore spot, her fingers covered themselves in blood. She looked back at Levi like he was a maniac.

"Y-You cut me!" She said as if not five seconds ago the girl had tried to kill him in cold blood, "You monster, you fucking freakshow!"

Annie had been caught so off guard that she hadn't noticed she dropped her gun when evading the knife. It wasn't until the bodyguard stole the weapon, now having a gun for each hand and both pointed at her, that she realized what had happened. The girl laughed.

"You're a slimy one, aren'tcha? That's fine." She raised her empty arms, "I don't need a gun to slaughter you anyway."

Eren -who hadn't felt pain yet because of the adrenaline- shrieked, "Annie! No! Don't hurt him. He's not an enemy, he's an ally!"

Annie's smile dropped, "No. No he's NOT! Eren, why do you even want him around anymore? I'm here now, see? We don't need him! We'll kill him off and it'll be you and me like it should always be!"

"But-"

"We are one and the same! Two parts that make a whole. You don't need Mikasa either. She's nothing but extra garbage to lug around."

From a mix of pain finally settling in and genuine hurt from the words, he frowned, "How could you say that?"

Annie looked at the boy like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Don't you get it, Eren? That's why I did all of this in the first place! You need to realize that we don't need her! Not permanently anyway."

"Wha-What's that supposed to mean?"

The girl was exasperated, "Grisha wants you back. That's why he kidnapped Mikasa in the first place. He knew that you would come back for her. Grisha also knows that I would never sell you off to him but if- if I stole Mikasa from him, I could lure him somewhere with the promise of giving her back and BAM! We kill him. Slowly. So slow that he'll beg of us to stop but I won't listen… if anything I'd enjoy the screams even more… then once his heart gives out we can finally be free, Eren! To do whatever we want. Don't you want that?"

Eren stared back in horror. It took him a while to regain his ability to form words.

"I would never do that."

Annie took the news surprisingly well. She simply nodded.

"Ok, then."

Without a second warning, she swooped a kick right into Levi's legs. He fell back forward, pushing the triggers too late for the bullet to accurately hit its target. Annie took deep, long breaths. Her upper body swelled and shriveled with each gasp for air.

"I'll have to kill all of you too."

Levi attempted staggering to an upright position but fell back onto the ground. It had been a simple kick from a small girl yet it had felt like much more. To say Annie was strong would be an understatement. His eyes glazed over the girl, stopping when he saw something that confused him. From her body, smoke was erupting. She looked like she was burning but without any fire. Her skin glistened with sweat, her chest heaving with strength. Her eyes twinkled in the light of the bulbs; blue and bold, like a tsunami rising to its highest before erasing an entire city.

"ANNIE-!"

WHOOSH!

A hot stream of vapor birthed out of nowhere. The heat stung Levi's hands and face, forcing him to blink away tears. The thick gas made it hard for him to breath and it eerily reminded him of that gas he had been trapped with when he was stuck in the warehouse. He coughed a couple of times and flailed an arm to try dispersing the gas from his nostrils. The vapor soon settled revealing the girl once again, only Annie... wasn't Annie anymore.

In her place stood a large -no, a gigantic woman twice Annie's size. Her head was but an inch away from the ceiling. The haunting eyes were the same as was the color of the hair though shorter than what Levi had remembered. The body, however, caused Levi to shiver. There was no skin. Her muscles and tissue were exposed from head to toe except for a couple patches of skin on the face. She opened her mouth as wide as she could from which fell a couple of Infants. It was in that moment of Levi watching this grotesque scene unfold that the dots connected in his brain and he realized Annie was another experiment of Grisha's.

Author's Note

Oh snap, only one more chapter to finish ACT 1! He, he. Side note, I decided to keep Hanji as nonbinary both because I liked Isayama's thought process about how "gender doesn't impact Hanji's story" and because I wanted to try my hand at writing a nonbinary character. That being said, my native tongue is a gendered language so I get the feeling I'm gonna fuck up eventually and use she/her like in the anime so, if you spot any errors feel free to mention it and I'll fix it! XD

Also, wasn't one-shot character Gloria the cutest? I had fun writing her little intro sequence.

~Gum

Chapter Text

Levi's blood ran cold. He had faced many things in his short life but a biologically engineered giant woman was not one of them. He had made a promise to Eren, one that dictated the bodyguard would not hurt Annie. However, looking up at the creature before him, he knew that promise would have to be broken sooner than later as much as it pained him to go back on his word.

As Annie stopped vomiting out Infants, the raven shot two times aiming for the upper right chest. He needed to take her down quickly. She guarded herself well however, throwing an arm in front of her to take the bullets in. They pierced the muscle but did not come through the other side. Even so, it created some type of pain as Annie flinched upon impact. She was tough, but not invincible. That hardly appeased Levi's mind as he was painfully aware of the fact that he didn't have any strong enough weapons for such a task. If bullets did barely more than a scratch, he would have to come up with something much more lethal if they wanted to get out of there alive.

She heaved like a bull, staring at the bodyguard like he was the embodiment of evil itself. Annie took a step forward, strong vibrations reaching Levi's feet as she did so. He hardly noticed when Eren ran to his side.

"Annie!" He yelled, "Stop it! We can settle this. Just come out of there."

Levi stared at the boy like he had lost his damn mind. So Eren had known she was... whatever she was and it didn't cross the boy's mind to tell him?!

There was no reasoning with her. From the moment they stepped into the room it was more than clear to him that she was absolutely crazy. For the boy not to notice it was baffling. The sound of drip-drops caught Levi's attention. Eren was bleeding profusely. The boy grabbed his wrist desperately as if that would do anything to stop the bleeding. His face was all scrunched up and sweaty. The pain was taking him apart and yet he refused to come undone. If they didn't treat Eren's hand soon, things would get ugly.

The brunet continued, "L-Levi can take Mikasa to a safe space and we can stay here! W-We can do something about Grisha but you gotta change back."

Annie took another step forward.

"She doesn't have to be the bait! I can be the bait! I'll be the bait!"

Another step. Levi was done with these games. While Annie's focus was diverted to Eren, the bodyguard took the opportunity and shot for the face, aiming for the eyes. No matter how thick the armor, the eyes were always a weak point. Unfortunately, he missed by a few inches, shooting her in the center of her left cheek. Nonetheless, it hurt her enough for Annie to emit a strained grunt, stumbling back in agony as she covered her face with her hands.

Eren's eyes widened, "What are you doing?! We can talk to her-"

But Levi paid no mind. He ran past the brunet and towards the giant woman. Despite his efforts to do so as fast as he could, his damaged leg slowed him down. As he was about to jump onto her, Annie caught glimpse of the man and kicked him back, stumbling as she struggled to find her balance. He was flung back to where Eren was standing, sending them both to the floor.

While the boy hissed and cursed because of his tormented hand, Levi swiftly recovered from the fall. He lurched forward to attempt collecting the gun he had dropped but to no avail as Annie promptly stomped on it plenty times to ensure the gun was nothing more than scraps of metal.

Before he could step back, he was affronted with Annie charging her fists at him. He narrowly avoided the punches, knowing just one would mean trouble. He could do nothing but evade. Even if he found an opening, his hands were useless against such a creature. He held onto his knife well but Levi doubted its use. Levi cursed himself for not bringing his 3DMG belt with him. Had the raven brought it with him, he would be able to zip around her to not get caught. Levi wasn't used to being so ill-prepared and the fury burned his chest.

Much to Levi's surprise, the green-eyed boy threw himself on Annie's back. He was hardly hanging on with his good hand but the brunet wrapped his legs tightly around her torso. His bloody hand flung around in the air like the limb of a rag doll. The raven was about to jump into action as well when he tripped on something. Infants had attached themselves to his feet with plenty more making their way to him. Levi groaned. He was so damn sick of those things. Luckily, he had his knife in hand so he quickly went to work on them.

Levi could only watch as Eren gripped down on Annie, hanging on like a cowboy on a wild bull. With a single functional hand, he took the bizarre decision of burying his teeth into the nape of Annie's neck. She hissed and groaned, violently tossing herself around so Eren would fall off. He kept at it, chewing and biting as hard as he could. Eventually, Annie reached back to grab him by the back of his shirt and flung him to the ground. Levi cringed at the dry sound of the poor boy's bones impacting onto the hard floors. No matters how frantically he strived to rid himself of the Infants, it felt as if with every blob he killed, two more would attach themselves.

Annie picked Eren up by the back of his collar like a dog that had done something naughty. The effortlessness in which she did so was frightening. She hovered a hand over the brunet's neck yet she ventured no further. Eren chuckled. Levi couldn't see it from where he laid but a stream of blood ran from the middle of Eren's forehead all the way down to his mouth and chin.

"What are you gonna do? Snap my neck? Go ahead. You've done it millions of times. What's one more neck?"

Annie stretched her hand, then relaxed it. Her face was unreadable. All of a sudden she emitted something akin to a surprised shriek. She looked down to her side. A dazed Mikasa had dug Annie's dagger right behind her knee. She looked up at the big woman with bewildered but determined eyes.

"Leave... him... alone..."

Eren wiggled out of his clothes while all of this happened, dropping down with his torso bare. Annie promptly kicked Mikasa with a disgusted expression. Unlike with Eren, she had no empathy for the girl. The blonde observed Mikasa with disdain. The girl didn't dare get up. She writhed in pain with closed eyes. Mikasa didn't even notice when Annie rose a foot and stomped on her. Only then did her eyes burst open as air was forced out of her system. Annie lifted her foot and crashed it against the girl again, digging in her heel almost like she was having fun.

Levi could've sworn she was smirking. The bodyguard growled, infuriated by the way she was torturing the innocent girl. At that point, he was all sweaty from fighting off the Infants not to mention covered head to toe in goo. He shredded the Infants apart, eager to get to Mikasa and help her in some way but he still had a couple more Infants to rip through. To lay there, only being able to glance once in a while as he killed the creatures had him absolutely livid. He hated being so useless.

His grey eyes slid over to Eren, hoping he would do something to help the girl. And yet, the boy stood there with a vacant expression, watching as Annie stomped her foot against Mikasa once more. Levi felt a tug at his hair. An Infant attached itself to the top of his head. He had his hands full dealing with another which left him defenseless.

"Fuck!" He shrieked.

Eren watched all of it happen: Levi frantically pulling at the Infants, Mikasa coughing up blood upon the fourth stomp. Eren didn't want to see it any more.

A heatwave hit Levi. A curtain of vapors and gases arose once again. Though it stung his eyes, he refused to close them, too preoccupied with what was forming at the heart of the smoke. He heard Eren screaming, groaning, weeping. Frightened that he was hurting, Levi frantically searched for Annie. In his mind she was causing him the pain enough to justify those screams. In the thick of it all he saw her standing in the same spot. When the smoke was thin enough to look through, Levi saw Eren holding onto his head like he was losing his goddamn mind. It appeared as if he were melting with the way his muscles bubbled and popped and how his body released an endless stream of vapors. He swelled up to an enormous level, ripping his clothes open as he doubled in size. Even his face structure changed from his soft, youthful features into sharp, jagged ones. His mouth split through his face, his hair grew all the way to his shoulders and when Eren opened his eyes it wasn't the colors of the ocean that Levi saw but a razor-sharp green.

Eren went from all fours to a full on running motion in an instant, taking Annie by surprise. He swiftly punched her in the face, the force reverberating through her skull as her head was thrown back. She soon forgot about Mikasa as the two giants were locked in a fight. Coming back to his senses, the bodyguard cut through the last of the Infants with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He showed no mercy as he tore the creatures apart. When the last of them disassembled into a puddle, Levi leapt to his feet. The raven was well aware of the fact that he currently stood no chance against the two giants. Either one of them could crush him without even realizing it.

He limped his way to Mikasa. Once at her side, the bodyguard lightly tapped the side of her face to make sure she was still alive. The girl whimpered in response. Levi dragged her to the far corner of the room, left to the door. The vibrations caused by Eren and Annie fighting would throw him off his balance once in a while but he was able to reach his destination without dropping the girl. He was looking around for a solution when Mikasa's eyes fluttered open. Seeing the strange man, she swatted at him with a debilitating force.

Annoyed by the slaps, Levi whispered in an irritated tone, "Sto- Stop! I'm here to help, not to hurt you."

Satisfied with the answer, she stopped, opting instead to grab his shirt as she coughed meekly. Her eyes wandered about. When they landed on Eren's monstrous form, she shrieked. Levi gripped onto her, almost cradling her. He didn't blame her for being terrified. Hell, Levi would be lying through his teeth is he said he wasn't scared either.

It was hard to tell who was winning the fight. Eren was bigger, heavier but that wasn't necessarily an advantage. He was hunched over because of his length and his movements were a lot slower than Annie's fox-like maneuvers. Not to mention, the girl moved herself with more expertise. Such was the difference that Annie overwhelmed him with ease, attacking Eren from so many directions he could barely keep up until a headbutt sent him back. Annie pounced like a tiger, opening her jaw to its limit and cracking down onto the side of Eren's neck.

The green-eyed giant croaked out a whimper. His eyes became glassy, his knees weak. Annie tore the bite of flesh away, snapping the meaty strands that connected it to the neck. In a last moment of strength, Eren grabbed onto Annie head and jerked it to the side, almost spinning it round.

Both fell to the ground, seemingly melting into large pools of blood and flesh. Said pools began evaporating, filling the room with a bitter smell. Levi said nothing as little by little, the heaps of meat dissipated into the air.

Just as he wondered if they had killed each other or not, the blonde... human girl rose from the dead. She stayed in a sitting position for a moment with eyes so opened Levi thought her eyeballs would fall out. Her hair no longer stayed in a bun, instead exploding into a cascade of pale gold around her shoulders. Her face, arms, breasts and stomach were splattered in blood and strands of human tissue.

Levi carefully pushed Mikasa aside to stand up. His jagged movements caused by the wounded leg made it so the blade of the knife accidently scrapped against the floor as he did so. The sound made Annie flinch, snapping her back to reality. She turned to Levi ever so slowly with the same wild eyes.

They stared at each other.

Annie rushed to grab something from under the couch tucked in the corner opposite to the one where Levi stood. His eyes watched her as attentive as that of a cat. The only reason he didn't strike her then and there was because of the promise he had made, one that he deeply regretted in that very moment.

She pulled out a duffel bag from which she extracted a long cape to wrap around her body. Annie slung it onto her shoulder and swiveled around to face the bodyguard. She held a pocketknife in her hand. It wouldn't do much against the ravens much larger weapon but it surely made her feel safer.

"You're as bad a mess as me..." she signaled at Levi's leg with the point of the pocketknife.

She wasn't wrong. Levi was beat up, bruised, sweaty and exhausted. The girl looked no better but to fight her was a 50/50.

"I'll leave through the door without causing more trouble and I'll let you keep your head. I don't bother you, you don't bother me." Annie bargained.

Levi said nothing.

The girl frowned but didn't add anything. She tested the waters by taking a step forward. The raven stood silently. She took small steps, inching closer to the door. Once the distance was short enough, she glanced at Eren's body strewn on the floor, then gave a nasty stare to both Mikasa and Levi and finally ran through the door, opening and closing it in an instant.

The raven exhaled all the air he had been keeping in his lungs. He put his hands to his knees as his body pleaded for a moment of rest. A pale hand tugged at his pants. Levi turned to look at the girl next to him.

"E-Eren..." Was all she could muster.

The bodyguard looked back at the body. Eren was so still, Levi questioned if he was even alive.

"Can you walk?" He gently asked Mikasa.

The girl who had kept such a brave face up until that point closed her eyes and knitted her eyebrows, shaking her head no. Her breathing was slow and heavy. He needed to get her to a medic. He carefully scooped the light girl into his arms and made his way to Eren. The bodyguard set the girl on the floor, trying to figure out how he was going to get everyone out of there if no one could walk properly.

"Ohhh... oh Eren..." the girl mumbled while she rid his face of any bloody residues.

Levi could not see her face but by the small, broken-up whimpers he could tell she was crying. He took a wide stance and put his hands to his hips. The bodyguard took a deep breath.

"Did... did you know that he could transform... into that?" The bodyguard asked softly.

"No..." Mikasa whispered, "No I didn't."

Levi looked down at the boy with sadness, ever so intrigued by the one they called Eren Jaegar.

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Hi, it's me. How y'all doin'? He, he. With this chapter, ACT 1 has concluded. I'm about to go into a long-winded speech so for anyone that just wants to get to the point, basically, I'm gonna take a couple of weeks to catch up on my writing and then come back with ACT 2 :)

So let me say, it has been a ride writing this, both good and bad. Funny thing, this story was originally gonna be a simple smutty enemies-to-lovers 10 chapter story between bodyguard Levi and bratty Eren lmao. Then, I added Grisha to the mix and in that moment the story snowballed into something much bigger and let me tell you, I didn't realize how exhausting it can be to write such a long story yet I've also enjoyed it tremendously! As of late, I've been swamped with school stuff. I won't bore you with the details but basically I've been having to make important decisions about where I want to take my education and future career and blah blah. Sadly, as much as I like writing, it is nothing but a hobby at the moment so I've had to put it in the back burner for a hot second.

Still, when things get too stressful writing is my way of escaping everything. So, all of this being said I have 10 other chapters already written but because I've been thinking about adding a chapter or two in the middle of them, I don't wanna release them just yet. So yeah, like I said in the beginning, I'll take a break from posting to finish up all the immediate work I have to get in for school and catch up on writing. Then, I can go back to uploading consistently!

Most importantly, thank all of you that have made it this far in reading my story :) It means the world to me! Honestly, every time I checked on the story and saw a new like or comment I would spend the rest of the day on cloud nine. As someone that struggles in expressing their sexual identity cough, cough, like SOMEone in this story, it felt so nice to create something so unabashedly gay and not have people look at you sideways because of it. And just wait for ACT 2 'cause things finally heat up ifyaknowwhatImean. 

I'm in the middle of finishing a big school project at the moment but I'm so excited to keep on writing once I'm done with that because there are soo many ideas and themes I have for ACT 2 and honestly I have no idea how I'm gonna cram it all in there but figuring it out is part of the fun, I guess. Anyway, I've rambled for long enough. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all! I promise we'll see each other soon! 

<3

~Gum 

Chapter Text

BEGINNING OF ARC 2

Author’s Note

THAT’S RIGHT, I’M BACK!

Did I die? YES! But I survived!

Author’s Rambling Incoming (HONESTLY JUST SKIP THIS PART AND GET TO THE STORY XDDD)

OKAY, OKAY, hear me out. 2022 was a WILD year for me. I kind of fell in love, got my heart kind of broken, fell into depression (for other reasons than the heart-breaking reason but it certainly didn’t help LOL), got better, fell into an even WORSE DEPRESSION, faced some fears, learned A LOT of things about myself and now I want to say that I am possibly in the best mental state I have been in in years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still one hell of a ~meSSy biTch^TM~ but we gettin’ there.

I sat down last November I think? And poured my scrambled mind into the next 20 chapters of this story. Because of it, in what I’m calling “ARC 2”, a lot of topics about identity pop up. I’m actually pretty satisfied with the chapters I wrote. There is one or two that I find meh but there are some moments where I’m like DAMN, I WENT HARD OMG I’M MAKING MYSELF SADDDD. Lol.

Anyway, if anyone that was reading this story 6 months- 6 MONTHS?!?!? HOLY SHIT. TIME PASSES FAST. But yes, if anyone that was reading this story 6 months ago is continuing to read this story now, I am eternally grateful and THANKYOUVERYMUCHFORYOURPATIENCE. If anyone is new, then welcome!

I will be posting a new chapter every Thursday, like I said, I have 20 chapters locked and loaded. Honestly, I was going to start posting at the beginning of the year but for some reason, I got very anxious about posting a new chapter since 6 DAMN MONTHS have passed lol. Anyway, I’m here to rip off the bandage!

Oi, I feel better already after all that rambling. Let’s get to the the story! Things get very spicy in this arc so while I am nervous about y’all reading it, I’m also excited!

Enjoy!

~Gum

Levi sighed.

Eren was always so expressive, even when he tried not to be. When he was angry his eyebrows would slant to a near impossible degree, when he was sad his eyes would be so wounded, when he was happy he would have a gigantic goofy grin across his face. Only then, lying unconscious on a medical bed did Eren have a neutral expression. He looked so at peace, though Levi knew the kind of war Eren found himself in the middle of.

It was strange. This wasn't the first time he saw one of his clients in one of those beds. If anything, Eren was pretty healthy in comparison to the mangled states some had been in. At most he felt disappointed in himself in not being able to protect the client, at worst he felt nothing. Nonetheless, in that moment he felt a peculiar tug at his heart.

To think a father could've been capable of experimenting on his own son. Levi could only imagine the kind of things Eren had been subjected to. And for what? To be sold off to an old geezer in exchange for a shiny penny? Or maybe to test the limits of the human body? Levi couldn't find a concrete answer.

His thoughts were interrupted by Petra quietly entering through the grey curtains. Moblit trailed behind her with some papers in hand. The moment her eyes landed on the brown-haired boy, Levi could hear her heart break.

Petra, Levi thought, was also like Eren in that she felt every single emotion to the fullest, albeit she had far better control over hers. Levi and Petra had lived through most of the same horrifying events and catastrophes, and while Levi had shut himself out emotionally because of it, Petra refused to stand down, believing that to lose her emotions would be to lose her humanity. As a result, she would hurt and cry, scream and yell, jump and laugh. She would feel everything, good and bad, no matter the consequences. Levi always admired her because of it.

"He barely got out of this place and he's already back in it..." she whispered as she made her way to the bodyguard's side, "what about you Levi, how are you?"

The man waved her off, "My leg has a nasty bruise on it but nothing time can't heal."

"Are you sure? I can look at it if you want me too..."

"I'm ok. Don't worry about me."

In true Petra fashion, if she didn't have to worry about one person, she would worry for another instead, "And Eren? How long will he have to stay here, Moblit?"

She turned to Moblit who was frowning at the papers he was holding. He glanced up momentarily when he heard his name and then back down. The man flickered through the pages as he quickly scanned the documents. He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged.

"I-I don't know what to tell you but the data doesn't lie. Looking at these charts, Eren could go home as soon as he wakes up."

The bodyguard frowned, "How is that possible? I saw him get slammed into the floor, his hand was shot open. There has to be something. A broken bone, internal bleeding... a cut for crying out loud!"

Petra took note of the fact that Moblit tightened his lips. Scanning the boy's face and what could be seen of the silhouette of his body he appeared to be in perfect condition, "Which hand Levi?"

"The right one but-"

The woman reached over and gently tugged at the thin blanket covering the unconscious boy. She carefully pulled out the hand from underneath, "Levi..."

"But he healed it when he turned back to his human form!"

Petra glanced at Moblit then at the bodyguard, "Listen, Moblit told me some tid-bits about what you said went down. You know I'd never believe you were lying on purpose but we should start considering the possibility that there might be hallucinogenics at play here."

"I know what I saw. I know it sounds crazy but I'm not making it up!"

"Eren is in one piece, how can you explain that? You said he got shot?"

Levi huffed, "Body modifiers are nothing new. Remember when news broke out that there was an organization in Marley doing similar kinds of experiments?"

"Yeah, like 20 years ago and those were things like getting 10% more muscle or changing your eye color AND if you remember correctly, the people that tried it died in a matter of months. You're telling me Eren can transform into a giant and look fresh as a daisy the next day?"

"She has a point, Levi." Moblit interjected, "Though..."

The pair turned to him in unison, "Though what?"

Moblit hesitated, "His vital signs have been getting better and better since we put him in that bed. And Levi also has a point in that body modification experiments are nothing new. They've never taken much form since it's always resulted in people dying a premature death. With that in mind, I look at this data and can't help but think that this is not a normal healing rate by any means."

Petra opened her mouth in shock, "...Seriously?"

Moblit threw his hands up in defense, "I'm not saying Levi is right but I'm not saying he's wrong either."

"How could that be possible?" She questioned.

Moblit shook his head, "No idea. I could try and run some tests but..." he scratched his head, "Look, you guys know me. I'm not a doctor in the formal definition of the word, I'm an engineer with a doctor's knowledge. I may have learned a thing or two about patching people up to keep this hospital running, but if we wanna get to the bottom of this I'm gonna have to talk to a couple of people that know more about this than I do. Problem is, if it turns out to be true that Eren has been experimented on, I don't know who could be trusted with that kind of information. If this gets out to the wrong people we could potentially incite those old groups of human experiments to resurge."

Petra shuddered, "Ugh. No way, we can't have that happen. You're right, we have to be real careful who we consult with... anyone got ideas?"

A lightbulb went off in Levi's head, "I think I might know just the person."

“Hanji Zoe." Moblit said with a mix of surprise and fascination.

Levi lifted an eyebrow, “You know who that is?"

The man nodded, “Small world! We went to the same college. We were in different areas, I was engineering, Hanji was chemistry but through common friends we had the pleasure of meeting each other. They were one of the most brilliant minds I have ever met. It was a shock to us all when they dropped out in sixth semester and never came back."

“They who?" Levi asked.

“They..." Moblit pointed to Hanji through the window, “them."

“They him?"

“No!" Petra scoffed, “They her."

Levi gave her a quizzical expression, Petra returned one right back.

“In all the time I've known Hanji," Moblit interjected, “they've never specified their gender. I once asked them about it and they said I could call them whatever I wanted so I've always referred to Hanji with gender neutrality. It was never of importance to our conversations anyway. We would talk about so many interesting topics about science and the future."

The bodyguard noticed the way Moblit's eyes lit up as he reminisced about his time in college with this person. He grimaced. Levi searched through his words trying to figure out how to phrase the following.

“I have no doubt they have a brilliant mind but I should warn you, they've probably changed a fair amount since you last saw them. I found Hanji working for Annie. Things must've not gone as Annie planned since she left Hanji behind. I don't know what Hanji was helping her with but I can't imagine it was something pretty."

Moblit took a deep breath, “You're right. I mustn't lose focus."

Levi nodded, “Good. Let's go."

The trio walked into the small room. All prisoner rooms were the same. They had a one-way window on one wall and a thick metal door on the other. On the inside was a bed most of the prisoners barely fit on, a toilet tucked in the corner and a sink.

When the door opened, Hanji perked up, their eyes avidly watching every movement. They weren't angry or scared, rather curious as to what was happening around them. It reminded Levi of the eyes and spirit of a dog; always excited and ready to explore.

“Moblit Berner. Long time no see!" They spoke enthusiastically though there was a drop of sadness in those words.

Surely, this wasn't how neither Moblit or Hanji had imagined they would be reunited.

"Hanji Zoe. It's a pleasure to see you again... despite the difficult circumstances."

Hanji laughed brightly, "Difficult is one way to put it."

Levi stepped forward, halting any further exchange of words as he did so. He took a moment to examine the brunet. Their hair was a tangled mess and they wore the same clothes as yesterday, that being a loose-fitting beige button up shirt and grey pants. At no moment had Hanji shown any signs of fear, not then, not when Levi cornered them in that whorehouse.

"I hate to interrupt but we aren't here for chit-chatting. I've come for information. Will you be giving it willingly or will I have to beat it out of you?"

In his head, he was already planning out the torture sessions. He was wondering where they had left the battery jump starters when, much to his surprise, Hanji said, "What da ya wanna know?"

Levi inhaled sharply through his nose, "Just like that? I'm not an idiot, what's your price?"

Hanji shrugged, "No price."

The raven crossed his arms, "No loyalty to the blonde girl?"

The brunet chuckled, "Why does everyone ask me that?!? I'm not loyal to anyone. Not Annie. Not Grisha. Just science."

"Grisha?"

Hanji rose their eyebrows, "Ah, yes. I worked with Grisha before I worked with Annie. I would've thought Eren would have told you by now... hmmm... I guess he's still recovering from transforming though."

The raven stiffened, "So you do know about Eren's... condition."

They nodded fervently, "Yes, of course. I helped Grisha with the chemical formulation side of things."

Levi didn't miss a beat, "What kind of things did you do to him?"

"Me? I mean I didn't do anything per say. Grisha was really special about Eren. Only he and his right-hand man would conduct the experiments on him. All I would do is run the numbers, you know, tell him what worked and what didn't work. I'd help design the substances we would inject into Eren and all that but I never got up and close with him. I never got up and close with anyone really. Grisha insisted on keeping me apart from the test subjects. I guess he wanted to keep that distance so I could analyze things with a cool, calculating head. I never asked him and he never told me." Hanji shrugged.

"Sub... stances..." Moblit muttered, "You- Do you recognize-" he shuffled through some papers, "do you recognize this substance? It's a bright green liquid with a basic pH, contains molecules of a high molecular mass. I think it's a sort of '-caine' substance, you know, cocaine, benzocaine, lidocaine but I can't make out what it is exactly. I've had two other chemists working on it for a while now and they've rendered little to no results."

Moblit hurriedly handed them a sheet of paper filled to the brim with information. On it was a picture of the substance Levi had found a long time ago in the van of Eren's attackers. The brunet took their sweet time in reading every word while the three Survey Corps stood around waiting for a reply.

"Quite the thorough report you have here. I'm pretty sure I've told you this before but it's a pity you didn't decide to study chemistry. You would've been an excellent chemist."

Moblit laughed sheepishly.

"The only problem with it however," Hanji continued, "is that you were looking for something that was already made when this is something entirely new." Hanji turned the paper and pointed at the image of the green liquid like a professor giving a lecture, "This little thing is what made it everything possible. It's how we've managed to create people with extraordinary abilities and it's what's given Annie and Eren their power.

"The body has to under-go a pre-treatment of sorts. Red blood cells must be increased, white blood cells must decrease as it will attack the serum and then- well, if I were to explain it with detail we would be here for hours but we treat the body with a diverse set of substances. If not, the body will die instantly when injected with the serum. The risk of dying is never zero but if everything is done properly, like with Eren, it can be lowered to 35%.

"The higher the concentration of the main component, the better the abilities. Annie was the first of her kind. She was the predecesor to Eren's design. Once she transformed successfully we began the experiments on him. This,” she tapped on the image, “is a weak version of the original dosis. You give it to him now, and you’ll have him in a catatonic state as his body will recognize it and enter in shock, not knowing if to transform or not.

"However, change the cis molecular structure to trans, dilute it to a very, very low concentration and skip the pretreatment and you'll find that it won't do much. It'll give the user a high boost in adrenaline and oxytocin. That's why Grisha took profit from the situation and sold it as a drug. You guys are sure to have met your fair share of drug users in this line of work. We call it Titan. Ever heard of it?"

Levi had certainly heard of it before. His previous client spent every day either smoking, inhaling, chewing or shooting up something. He had stolen an absurd amount of drugs from who knows where and was both consuming and selling it. He had made a small fortune as a result. In the client’s last weeks of life, Levi had heard mention of that so-called 'Titan'. Another seller had offered the client some and since the first hit he was hooked. One day he had the bright idea to mix Titan with cocaine and LSD. Funny enough, it wasn't a drug overdose what killed him rather such was the strength of his hallucinations that he confused a razor blade for something delectable and forced it down his throat till he choked on his own blood.

Levi had heard that a group of policemen was looking for the suppliers of Titan for months now but they were as lost as a fish on land. As it turned out, who they were looking for was none other than Grisha Jaegar.

"Why do you think he would do that?"

Levi and Petra were back at her house. He sat on the dining room table as she took off her coat and shoes. It was her last day there so she had asked Levi to accompany her for the night. She hadn't wanted to stay in that cold place by herself.

"Why do I think who would do what?" Petra questioned.

The raven picked at a small bowl of peanuts Petra had on the table, "Why do you think Eren's father did that to him? Experiments and stuff."

The woman sighed, "Who knows. There are plenty of shitty fathers, I mean just look at you and me."

"Yeah but-" he swallowed another peanut, "I never knew my dad and he never made an effort to meet me either. Yours didn't give a shit about anyone but himself. There was a certain distance between us and them. To experiment on your own kid, though? That feels... intimate. Like you personally want your kid to suffer."

"Who knows? You'd have to ask him yourself."

She had just sat down across from him when the man asked, "You still got whisky?"

Petra giggled, "I do, actually. I kept the bottle in case you asked for some."

Before she could stand up he said, "No, no. Stay there. I'll get it."

The silver eyed man made his way to the cabinet where Petra always kept the liquors. He took out two whisky glasses and put both the glasses and the bottle on the table.

"O-Oh, no. I won't be drinking tonight."

"C'mon, prude." The raven poured her a glass anyway.

"I got a long drive tomorrow..."

"It'll be a tiny sip to toast that it's your last day in this house." He handed it to her.

She begrudgingly accepted it, "Hmmm, I can't believe I'm finally leaving tomorrow."

"Time goes fast, huh."

Levi raised his whisky in the air. Petra took the hint and clinked her glass against his. She watched as he took a long sip. It has been a long day, after all. Every day was a long day when you were working in the Survey Corps. The woman lifted the drink to her lips. Lost in thought, she lowered the glass without actually taking a sip.

"What are you going to do when Eren wakes up?" She questioned.

Levi breathed slowly, "I have no fucking clue."

Petra caressed the glass, "You're thinking about taking this to police aren't you?"

The man leaned back into his chair, "Maybe. What do you think?"

She looked down at the whisky, “Last time we worked with the police, it was a fucking mess.  It was a huge dick-measuring contest between us and them. They killed some of ours, ours killed some of theirs and everyone was angry 24/7! Still, I think it was the right thing to do in that situation, and as exhausting as it may be I think it's the right thing to do again."

Levi nodded, "We'll see..." he curiously glanced at her, "how are things with Pete?"

Petra exhaled, "They're perfect."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"No, no, I mean it!" She chuckled, "He's perfectly handsome, he has perfect suits, perfect hair, a perfect job, a perfect house and a perfect personality."

"But...?"

"There is no but, that's the problem! He's so goddamn perfect and I'm... I'm... not."

The raven leaned forward, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Levi, I've stolen from people, I've tortured them, I've killed them. I'm pretty sure the only crime I haven't committed is rape. Just last week we were watching a horror movie at his place- or my 'soon-to-be-home' and there was a scene where a guy choked another guy with a necklace. He was talking about how silly that was and without thinking I said 'you'd think that but with the right necklace, it's possible'. He asked me how I would know that, I panicked and said ‘I dunno, I'm guessing!' What else was I supposed to say? That I know because I've actually done it before?"

The man whistled, "That was one stuuurdy necklace. What ever happened to it anyway?"

"I'm trying to be serious here."

"So am I, it was one sturdy necklace."

Petra's eyes sent firebolts in Levi's direction. He stood up from his chair chuckling and made his way to a chair next to her, "Look, it's easy to say Pete is a good person when he's never had his morals challenged. People will say 'oh, I would never do this' or 'I don't think I'd ever be capable of doing that’ but when there's no food on the table or a fire to keep you alive through the winter, you'll see how fast those sentiment change.

"Yes, you've done less than favorable things but never out of some twisted desires or sick satisfaction. Everything you've ever done has been out of necessity and the times when you were able to spare a life you always chose mercy. Peter doesn't know what it's like to be in that situation. He was born into an inheritance that will last him a life time with supermodel parents that gave him all the attractive attributes and love he could ever ask for. Throw a cute fancy dog in there and tie it all with a pretty scarlet ribbon.

“You aren't any less perfect than Peter so stop thinking like that. You'll see that soon that picturesque upper-class family life will come naturally to you... in 9 months it would seem."

"What?" Petra squeaked.

"What. You thought I wouldn't notice? I know you like the back of my hand and the Petra I know would never decline a sip of the smoothest whisky money can buy. Come out and say it. I'll be pretend to be surprised and everything."

The woman chewed on her lip. Levi took the liberty of reaching across the table to regain his drink as she mustered up the courage to say-

"I'm pregnant."

Levi threw his hands in the air and widened his eyes to an exaggerated level, "Oh wow, I would've never guessed." He took a sip of his whisky.

"And it's yours."

The moment the man choked on his drink, Petra let out a wild cackle.

"Wh-Why-" Levi started, "Why-haha! Why did I think that was true for a second there?"

They shared a joyous laugh that echoed throughout the empty rooms.

"You know," Petra wiped a tear from her eye, "our kid would've been so badass."

"Oh, the coolest kid on the playground for sure." Levi added.

"And hot." Petra giggled.

"A girl with your legs and my eyes? Everyone would worship her."

"Or a guy with your face and my personality. All the girls would want to marry him!"

They both snickered at the thought.

"Man," Petra wrinkled her nose, "why'd you have to be gay, Levi?"

"Oh you know, no present father figure." He joked around.

"Oh yeah? What about Joshua? His father was very present in his life and he loved men more than he loved breathing."

"Yeah, his father figure was especially present when he walked in on me face-fucking his son."

Petra went into another howl of laughter, "Oh Gooooods, I always DIE when you tell that story. The dad must've been mortified."

"Mortified doesn't even begin to cover it. I never did see Joshua again, I wonder how he's doing."

"Probably getting face-fucked by some other guy now."

Levi smacked his lips, "Lucky bastard."

Eventually, their giggles died off, leaving behind a comfortable silence.

"You'll be a great mom." The raven whispered.

"You think so? I'm beginning to doubt it." Petra whispered back.

"Are you kidding? You were born with the mother chip already installed. You mother me, you mother Moblit, you even mother Peter a little. Trust me, that transition will be an easy one on you."

"I dunno," Petra kicked the floor, "I just don't want to wake up one day feeling like a stranger in my own bed."

"Don't self-sabotage Petra Ral. Not when you're this close to your happy ending. You have a good heart and you're the kindest person I know. You deserve to be happy."

Her eyes glistened with sadness, "How am I supposed to leave you, though? You deserve to be happy too. Retire with me! We'll leave the Survey Corps together!"

He chuckled, "I don't know how happy Pete will be to have me bunking with you. Just him, his wife and his wife's gay ex-boyfriend."

"If he truly loves me, he'll let it be." She teased.

"Ha. Well, better not take the chance. I still have to do a couple of things here. Don't worry about me, you have a kid on the way. I won't be your top priority anymore."

Petra reached out for Levi's hand, "I'll try. Promise me one thing though."

"Hm?"

"Promise that we won't lose touch after I leave tomorrow."

"Never."

She smiled sadly, "Promise me... one more thing. It's kind of silly though."

"Clown jester. At your service."

Petra giggled, "Promise not to laugh?"

"No, I'm definitely laughing."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. C'mon, out with it!"

Petra shrugged sheepishly, "Can we sleep in the same bed like when we were kids? For old times sake."

Levi was taken a back for an instant. Flashbacks from a thousand yesterdays ago returned to him: that of a lost boy and a lost girl sticking together to survive the dangers of extreme poverty.

He smiled nostalgically as well, "Of course."

In the night, Levi spooned Petra like they had done when they were two runaway teens with nowhere to go. While she was sound asleep he thought about how difficult it was to promise words like 'forever' and 'never'. He kissed the back of her head and silently said goodbye, knowing full well that forever and never would blend into one the moment the sun would rise.

It's good to be back :)

See y'all next week

~Gum

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 22

Author's Note

Guys! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! Also, this story has 110 kudos now??? Insane! Big thanks to everyone reading along <3

~ Gum

The place was a hellscape. The fire drained everything of its life until only ash remained. The floor had been drenched in gasoline, encouraging the fire to go further and further. The air was thick with smoke and soot. The heat was so intense, Eren's hair had stuck to his forehead with sweat.

Mr. Leonhart was sprawled out on the floor. His body laid there eerily still. His eyes were blank and his mouth open wide as if still releasing a blood-curdling scream. Eren was on his knees, silently watching the blood from the multiple stab wounds trickle down his side and into a puddle.

"Eren, look at me." Annie stared down at him as if he were a worm, smaller, as if he were nothing.

"Why did you...?"

"They took me outside, you know."

"... do this...? Eren finished.

Annie ignored him, "Grisha wanted me to take down a Drug Lady. A lot of people were loyal to her so he wanted to take her down to make business grow even more. They made me go undercover, she took me under her wing. I got on her good side and she told me that one day I could be as powerful as her if I wanted to.

"I met her daughter. She was supposed to take over when the mom would retire but she was a real ditz. She spent most of her time buying clothes. Fashion was her whole world. She didn't care about being a Drug Lord. She went out to peaceful places, ate cute food, made silly jokes. She was never tortured. She hadn't been poked and prodded at since she was a baby. And there are so many girls out there, in the outside world that live their life without being hurt or having hurt anyone. They haven't so much as seen a dead body. There's hundreds, thousands of them."

The green-eyed boy wiped his sweaty forehead, "We can tell Grisha it was a stranger who did all of this. He doesn't have to know it was you."

"Don't you get it?" She knitted her eyebrows together.

Eren's gaze shifted around wildly, trying to find any meaning behind all of it, "Get what? That you murdered your own father?!?"

"WHY DO THEY GET TO LIVE LIKE THAT?!?" Her shrieks pierced through the air, "WHY DID WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT PAIN?!? WHY DID I HAVE TO BE WOKEN UP AT 6 AM EVERY DAY TO HAVE MY BONES BROKEN AND MY BODY SKEWERED?!?" The fire reflected onto her eyes, making them appear as red as the element itself. Annie swallowed back the burning knot in her throat, "They lied to us. Everything they put us through was for nothing but their own entertainment. This is what I've come to realize."

The girl made her way to the hallway that led to the exit. Annie stopped in the middle of it and turned back, "Are you coming or staying?"

Eren felt his world collapse, "A-Annie, no."

"Come with me." She said in an irritated voice.

"I can't leave my dad. He's my only family. He's already lost my mom-"

The blonde took a deep, deep sigh.

"Stay here then. I can't -and won't- force you to come. You may be happy being locked away in this jailhouse, being experimented on, but I am not. Not even you can get in the way of my freedom." She pulled out a folded piece of paper and scrunched it up, throwing it towards him.

It landed a foot or two from Eren. He fell on all fours to reach for it. Once in his grasp, the brunet opened it up. He pinned the paper down on the floor, scanning the words.

"Keep that hidden from your daddy. It's a bodyguard agency. If you ever decide to escape this hellhole, you'll need it. Grisha doesn't give a shit about me but he'll move mountains to get you back."

Just as Annie was about to turn back, "Annie! Annie! You can't leave, we're one and the same! You said so yourself!"

She gave the boy one last glance, "What happened to you, Eren? You used to be so... unstoppable."

But she didn't wait for a response. Eren watched helplessly as the silhouette of his beloved got smaller and smaller until finally, she was no longer there.

The green-eyed boy woke up with a start.

He was in a sweat but there was no heat around him. On the contrary, there was a light breeze flying through the room. Eren was in that same medical bed he had woken up in not too long ago. He groaned. His whole body ached dully. It always did after he transformed.

"Oh, you're finally awake. You sure took your sweet time, you know that?"

The teen was astonished to find Levi sitting in a chair next to his bed. He sat there elegantly with an elbow resting on an arm chair, legs crossed and a heavy book resting on his lap. He was wearing a dark blue turtleneck and black jeans. A silver chain bracelet on his wrist twinkled in the light.

"Oh, hey... glad to see you're okay." And Eren genuinely meant it. Thinking back on how Levi hadn't checked up on him last time he was in the hospital, Eren found that he liked it when he woke up with the bodyguard by his side.

Levi rested his chin on his hand. "Right back at you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days. I was starting to think you weren't ever gonna wake up."

A lightbulb went off in Eren's head, "Is Mikasa okay?"

The bodyguard nodded, "She's here at the hospital too. Moblit told me she'll have to stay here for a while. He mentioned something about broken ribs but he didn't say how or if there was anything else wrong with her. Things have been a little hectic lately. That being said, if she stays here you'll have to pay for additional costs. If you don't want to pay, you can take her home anytime you want."

Eren shook his head, "No, no. I'll pay whatever. Let her stay here."

The bodyguard hummed, "Yes, I thought so. As for you, they asked me to take you home once you were feeling okay."

A deep scream echoed through the building, "AAAAAH! AaAaaaAAAH! I'M FUCKING BLEEDING DON'T fuckingletme DIE! AAAAH!"

The screams got quieter and quieter, as if the person responsible was being dragged away.

"Yeah, that's why. A guy that leads an illegal weapon-armory asked for our services. He's a usual costumer but he really fucked up this time. Got the wrong people mad. His store was getting torn up when our workers got there. 4 dead, 11 injured. The hospital is gonna need all the resources it can spare." He casually flipped over to the next page of his book.

Eren nodded, "Sure, I get it. I'll get my clothes so we can leave-"

The man waved him off, "You just got out of a two-day coma. No one will know if you lounge around for a couple more minutes."

Levi reached down to grab something for Eren. It was a plastic tray with a petite carton of orange juice, a vanilla pudding and two sandwich triangles wrapped up in shrink wrap, "You hungry?"

The brunet's mouth watered, "Starving."

Levi handed the food to him, "It's not cold anymore. I may have misjudged how long you were gonna take in waking up."

"No problem." Was the only thing Eren said before tearing the plastic wrappings off of the sandwich and taking half of a triangle in one bite.

"So I guess it would be silly of me to ask if you're feeling nauseous or light-headed?" The bodyguard chuckled.

Eren fervently shook his head no. The bite of food had reinvigorated his whole body. In his head, he was singing a happy song to himself now that he had a mouth full of cheese and ham. It took him a while to notice the peculiar way Levi was staring at him. When Eren met his gaze, he suddenly felt like he was under a microscope.

Even though the man said nothing, Eren could feel the way his grey eyes would scan him. The brunet chewed slowly as he realized why the bodyguard was acting so strangely. 

He swallowed down the food, "I'm sorry you had to see that by the way." He took a smaller bite.

Levi was puzzled, "See what?"

Again, the boy took his time in chewing his food and swallowing it down, "Me. Transforming. It's not something I like to do. I... I bet you have a lot of questions, huh."

The bodyguard leaned back into his chair, closing his book entirely and tucking it into the side, "I do but that doesn't mean you have to tell me. Some questions are best unanswered. It's your decision what information you share and what you don't."

Eren fiddled with a piece of lettuce that had fallen out of the slices of bread, “Just know that I didn't, uhm, I didn't ask to be that- that monster." Eren's stare was fixed onto his tray.

The raven took a moment before speaking, “You know Eren, no one picks the cards they are dealt. I'm sure if that were the case we would all be billionaire super models. One day, two people decided to fuck and suddenly there you are, wide awake in a house you didn't choose, surrounded by people you didn't choose, living a life you didn't choose, in a body you didn't choose. It's quite terrifying how little control we have over our lives. That's why the things we do have control over are so important." The man examined the brunet carefully.

He continued, “There's nothing you can do about the past, but there is something you can do about how you deal with it in the present. You get what I'm trying to say?"

Eren quickly glanced at the man, “Yeah, yeah, I think so."

The bodyguard stood up and gave the brunet a quick pat on the shoulder, “Good. You stay here now and finish that up. I'm gonna run a quick errand. I'll be back in 20 to take you home, ok?"

“Ok."

It was a calm ride home. Neither person said much, they simply let the soft jazz on the radio fill the space with a comfortable ambience. Once they arrived, they each mumbled their goodbyes as Eren staggered out of the car- his body wasn't responding as it should've.

It had happened the first times he had transformed. The first time, Eren hadn't been able to move at all for a couple of days. Everyone had feared he had lost his mobility forever. Luckily, the recovery period had gotten shorter and shorter every time. However, having not using his giant form in a while had taken its toll and Eren was experiencing symptoms he hadn't felt in a long time.

As soon as he was inside his apartment, he called for a pizza. The brunet was eternally grateful for the sandwich and pudding he had been given but his stomach needed more. Knowing it would be a good half hour before it would get there, he decided to take a quick shower.

On multiple occasions he stumbled and bumped into things. He hoped there would be no bruising the next day because of it. Getting out of the shower, he slipped into his most comfortable pants: blue pajama bottoms with white stripes. For a shirt he wore a white cotton top so bright that it made Eren's tan skin appear darker in contrast.

He was running a comb through his hair -something he did very rarely- when the brunet heard a knock on the door. Putting the comb down he bounced his way to the entrance, already tasting pepperoni and cheese on his tongue. On the other side was a bald, stocky man wearing a thick leather jacket over baggy jeans and a red shirt. He didn't have a pizza in his arms.

"Gotchu, idiot."

The man pulled out of a gun. Two others appeared behind him, sporting similar 'everyday-man' clothes. It was obvious by the way they looked at him, however, that they had malicious intentions. Eren stumbled back, putting an arm in front of him as if that would protect him from anything.

"Who are you guys? What do you want?" He said in a rush.

"Yer not getting away so make it easy on us, wontcha? We won't hurt ya unless ya give us a reason to."

As Eren's heartbeat spiked, he had to remind himself to stay calm. Transforming into the giant form was very much addictive. Just as it got easier to get out of it with each time, it also got easier to get in it.

He took deep breaths, finding that it helped him think better. The boy needed to find a way to contact his bodyguard but taking out his phone was a no-go. Eyeing around the apartment in search for an answer, he remembered something the bodyguard had told him a long time ago. Curtains closed to the middle meant he was fine. So did curtains closed to the left. Curtains closed to the right meant he was in trouble.

“Leave me alone, fuckers!" The brunet yelled as he staggered back. He inched closer to the window until finally he made the performance of a lifetime and pretended to fall down, gripping the curtains as he did so to pull them to the right.

The stocky man laughed, “All bark, no bite, ey?"

Cutting the distance between the two, the man aimed the barrel of the gun right at the boy's head. Eren swallowed hard but he didn't waver. For the first time in a long time he wasn't scared of dying. He simply wouldn't allow it. He couldn't, until Mikasa was safe and sound in her home.

“Who sent you?" Lately it felt like everyone was coming for Eren's head.

"Who do you think?"

WHACK!

The man struck him across the face. However, he must've intended to knock him out, as he looked back at his fellow men to laugh and mock Eren when he fell back on the floor. Realizing this, the brunet grabbed the opportunity and sprinted for the door. The boy knew that with the two men blocking the entrance he would have no chance to escape but all he needed was to get the attention of his neighbors. If someone, anyone were to call the police, it could create the right amount of chaos for him to get out of there.

"HEYY, HEYY!!!" He yelled to the wind.

Both men threw him back when the green-eyed boy struggled to get through. When he tried again to force himself outside, an undeniable force grabbed him by the back of his hair and threw him down.

The stocky man peered down at him, "Ah, you got a little fight in ya? It won't last long."

He made a gesture for the other two to get out of the way and proceeded to drag Eren along the floors, burying his fingers in the boy's chocolate locks. Eren flailed around but to no avail. He was playing a game with inverted controls. Left was right, right was left, up was down and down was up. He was like a toddler learning how to move around.

As his body slid through the ground, a tiny splinter of wood imbedded itself onto Eren's back. The boy hissed in pain, anger and frustration.

"AGH! FUCK! SOME-SOMEONE HELP ME! HELP ME, ANYBODY!"

Eren's attacker chortled, "Ain't nobody gonna save you kid."

And much to Eren's horror, he caught a glimpse of one of his neighbours peering back at him with vein-ridden eyes. He was a man in his 30s with a sharp nose and even sharper teeth. He wore a dirty wife-beater coupled with ugly boxers and socks that reached his knees. The man stared back at Eren with fear and maybe a tinge of sadness. It must've not been much, however, as he took the money one of the criminals handed to him without question. The neighbour glanced down at the hefty stack of cash in his hand, then one final time at Eren, and after swallowing hard he disappeared back into his apartment.

It clicked in Eren's head that everyone in that floor had been paid off. The green-eyed boy yelled even louder, not because it would help him in any way but because of how betrayed he felt by the bunch of strangers he called neighbors. Did loyalty exist at all anymore?

"Armando, throw me the handcuffs. Woo-jin, keep your gun pointing at him. If he does anything shifty you shoot him right in the foot. Hehe, I'll even let you choose which foot to take." They all cackled.

"Sure thing Boss!" Woo-jin replied.

The boss pinned Eren on the floor facedown. He was so heavy that the boy could barely breath, much less move. Putting on the handcuffs, the boss made sure to tighten them up as much as possible. The brunet wriggled his wrists, stretching and pinching the skin as he did so.

"Fuck you! I'm gonna... I'm gonna kill all of you!" Eren bellowed.

"Sure you are, kid."

In one swift motion, the boss picked Eren by the back of his shirt and threw him down the stairs to the second floor. The boy barrelled down as helpless as a fish being flushed away. At the end of the first section of the stairway, Eren hit his chin with all his bodily force, his teeth vibrating with the impact and reverberating throughout the skeleton. He rose his head in a feeble manner. The criminals were doubling over in laughter.

"He's gonna kill us you hear that! Hahaha!", the boss guffawed.

Eren heard someone running up the second section of the stairs.

"Better watch out, boys or soon we'll have a bullet in our head-"

PEW!

A singular bullet landed between his eyes and caused an explosion of blood and brains to paint the wall behind the boss.

"Boss?!?" Armando shrieked.

"What the fuck?!?" Woo-jin cried.

PEW! PEW!

They both collapsed on the floor.

Levi crouched down at Eren's side, tinkling at the handcuffs for a bit until they let loose. The boy spared no moment in rubbing his wrists to soothe the pain.

"Levi, thank the Gods." He got on his knees.

The bodyguard wasted no time, "Get your essentials and come back to me. Hurry. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"But- the bodies! We're gonna leave them here?"

"I've got people coming our way. They'll tie up the loose ends here. Now go."

Despite the millions of questions running through his head, Eren sped to his apartment. He threw as much as he could into two duffel bags. When Levi impatiently asked him if he was done yet, the green-eyed boy rapidly scanned the room one final time. Gasping, he lunged for the phone he had left on the stand, threw it in the bag and closed the door on the dusty room.

Levi ushered him to the exit out of the building. Speeding through the floors, the place was completely silent. Everyone was hiding in their rooms. Even the maintenance workers were hidden away. Eren wondered to what extent those criminals had gone to ensure no one would get in the way of their kidnapping. Even though Eren was the taller of the two, he had a hard time catching up to the bodyguard's swift pace. The brunet followed the man outside where it was pitch black. They ventured through the deserted streets before arriving to a black car.

"Get in." The bodyguard commanded.

Eren took the liberty of throwing his bags in the backseat before settling into the passenger’s seat. He paused to regain his breath from all that sprinting. The raven revved up the engine and drove away. Without noticing, he began hitting the steering wheel with his thumb.

The brunet exhaled, "Where are we going?"

Levi gave Eren a peculiar look. One with wide eyes and a tense biting of the lower lip. He shook his head to himself.

"Dammit..." the man made a fist and softly punched the wheel.

With his silver eyes glued to the road, Levi leaned over and searched the glove compartment. He threw something in Eren's direction. It was his blindfold.

"I know a place where we can go... but you can't question me about it. Not yet at least."

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Poor Eren can't catch a break, huh! I wonder where they're going? ;D Stay tuned for next week. Funny moments ensue, aw lawdy! XD

Chapter Text

When Eren woke up he was more well-rested than he had been in years. Rising from the bed, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He had messy chocolate locks sticking out every which way, dry drool sticking to his chin and a perfect imprint of the pillows pattern of creases on his cheek. Eren stretched his young body out, enjoying the sensation of the stiffness dissipating. He did his whole morning routine of changing clothes, untangling his hair and brushing his teeth. Luckily there was a small bathroom connected to the bedroom. It had no shower but a sink and a toilet was sufficient for the time being.

The bedroom Eren had spent the night in consisted of a heavenly bed with thick royal blue covers and plump white pillows, a white dressing table with a big mirror to accompany it, and a black closet that Eren hadn't bothered to open yet. The carpet was a fluffy blue with sprinkles of white and grey here and there. Two walls were painted in a lapis lazuli while the other two walls refreshed the pallet with a simple snowfall white. On one of the white walls was a small window from which entered the gentle morning light. A thin curtain prevented the room from being flooded in the brightness, instead letting through enough light to make the room feel warm and peaceful.

Such was the calming nature of the room that Eren found it hard to leave. However, his curiosity had been piqued ever since Levi had taken him to this mysterious place. The bodyguard hadn't said much once they had arrived, instead ushering the young man into his room before Eren had gotten the chance to ask anything.

The brunet creaked the door open ever-so-slightly, an eye peering through the slit. The bedroom was the last in a hallway. Seeing as there was no one in sight, he ventured outside. Walking out of the hallway, he entered the living space. Now with the bright light of the morning sun, he was able to examine the place much better than last night.

Entering from the main entrance, there was a cooking space to the right; not big enough to be a kitchen but not tiny enough to be a kitchenette. The marble counters were supported by dark wood cabinets, both sparkling in cleanliness. A compact table stood a few feet from the kitchen space. The walnut-colored surface allowed enough space for two black chairs on each side. Without any particular thought in mind, the brunet went to touch the smooth surface of the table.

He looked to the other side. To the left of the main entrance was a living room. The far left wall had a huge window built into it. Much to Eren's displeasure, it was covered by a thin beige curtain. However, it must've been cracked opened as a delicate breeze waltzed with the fabric, swaying back and forth rhythmically. 

The walls were entirely a silver satin. The big, comfortable couch found in the middle of the room was a much darker grey with forest green and lime pillows brightening it up. It sat in front of a pitch-black flat screen TV perched on a shelf. Two lively plants were placed on the sides of the TV. The living room repeated that same pattern of different shades of grey being broken up by green and even some yellow accents.

The boy's emerald eyes took notice of the lack of intimacy. That is, much like Petra's house, it lacked any family pictures, little trinkets or quirky decorations that reflected the personality of the owner. Then, he noticed something on the black table in the midway between the TV and the couch. Approaching it, he found a black frame holding a picture.

The brunet lifted it up. A young Petra greeted Eren with a huge smile plastered on her face. She appeared to be in the middle of cackling as her eyes were closed and her body slightly bent forward as if the laughter had made her lose control of her balance. Her face was more circular and her body much smaller. She must've been just a teenager, not even that, a pre-teen.

12, maybe 13, Eren thought to himself.

She wore a wrinkly white dress shirt folded up to the elbows and a plated red skirt that ended below her knees. One of her legs was slightly lifted, causing for that ruby flip-flop to be on the verge of falling off her foot. With her delicate hands, she formed bunny ears on the young boy next to her. He wasn't nearly as amused as she was. He stood there with irritated eyes looking to the side and crossed arms. He also wore a white dress shirt though, instead of a red skirt, he wore black dress pants with matching shoes.

Pale skin, jet-black hair, annoyed expression.

It took Eren a moment to realize that that innocent boy was none other than the lethal Levi Ackerman. Bringing the image closer to his eyes, he made out a faint blush in the boy's cheeks. Eren was stunned. He hadn't even thought the bodyguard capable of blushing.

The lock of a door clicked open behind Eren.

"What are you doing, brat?" Levi chastised.

The brunet boy was so amused by the picture he couldn't take his eyes off of it, "Is this you when you were little? Does this mean this is your place or something?"

When Eren diverted his gaze from the picture, his amusement fell to his feet. Panic had taken its place.

Levi had walked out of the bathroom- the bathroom with the shower it would seem as the bodyguard glared at Eren with nothing but a lime green towel hanging around his waist. Steam billowed out from the bathroom and swirled around Levi. Droplets of water would gently slide down Levi's dark hair, hanging onto the points, until they would succumb to gravity and splatter on his shoulders and chest.

The man took long strides towards Eren and practically ripped the picture out of Eren's hands, "Look- just, listen. How good are you at keeping a secret?"

The bodyguard's sharp gaze snapped Eren back into reality, "Huh? Oh, uh. I mean, sheesh. I've been doing a pretty good job at hiding the fact that I can transform into a giant monster. I dunno if that answers your question."

Levi pouted, "Well, that'll have to do..." he muttered more to himself than to the boy, "Look- this-... yes. It is the place I am currently staying at-" Eren made an expression that crossed surprise with excitement, "No, no! Don't say shit! It is the place I am currently staying at but it isn't like, my home or anything so don't get any weird ideas out of all of this. Motel workers are shit at keeping secrets and those shit-heads looking for you are so hot on your trail that I didn't trust leaving you alone somewhere. It was the best solution I could think of on the spot."

Since the bodyguard had said 'don't say shit' Eren had pressed his lips together in an exaggerated fashion. When the bodyguard had finished speaking, Eren's eyes pleaded for any indication that he could now talk.

"Wh- are you waiting on me to tell you you can talk-? Say something!"

The brunet inhaled deeply, opening his mouth wide as he did so.

Levi facepalmed, "Ohseriously..."

"So this is your house?!? That..."

"It's not my house..."

Eren ignored him, "... is so cool! You know, now that you say it, this place does feel like you, all eerily clean and perfect and-"

"Yeah, yeah," Levi's forehead was scrunched up in annoyance, "but listen to me carefully. CARE-FUH-LLY! You can't tell anyone I brought you here. It might be hard to explain to people that don't know that we are dealing with literal fucking mutating people. Also, the less people that know about your location, the better. Got it?"

Eren nodded vigorously like a little girl that had promised to not act up when she knew very well she was going to wreak havoc the moment she got a chance, "Mm-hmm!"

"You better. We'll figure something out but for now you'll stay here for a couple of days until..."

The bodyguard kept talking but little by little, Eren lost all interest in his words. Though he tried his best at keeping eye contact with the man, his eyes had other plans as they kept slithering down, no matter how many times the brunet would look back up. He focused in on a drop of water sliding down the bodyguard’s forehead, gliding against the curvatures of his eyes and cheeks and past his lips and further to his neck, meeting its end in the crook of Levi's clavicle.

Eren swallowed.

"Stop looking at me like that." Levi snapped.

The boy jumped, "What? Looking at you how?!?"

Levi furrowed his eyebrows, "With those eyes."

"What eyes, my eyes? You want me to change them for somebody else's?"

"Stop being a little shit, I'm saying that-"

Knock knock.

Their heads simultaneously swiveled towards the front door. They exchanged a glance. Though no words had been spoken, they both knew they were thinking the same thing.

Could it be Grisha's men?

Levi tip-toed closer to the door, "Who is it?"

They held their breath.

"It's Erwin." A non-threatening voice replied.

Eren relaxed. Levi did the opposite.

"Oh, shit! Fuck!" The raven hissed, "Be there in a moment!"

He sped past the brunet with a firm hand on the towel. He skidded to a stop and turned back to Eren, “Go open the door, it'll be fine. Oh! And remember to not mention you're crashing here."

The bodyguard disappeared into a room. The green-eyed boy glanced at the door, puzzled as to who could fluster Levi in such a way.

He opened the door halfway, sticking his head out curiously. A man stared back at him quizzically. Erwin was a very large man both in width and in height. He kept his hair well combed and parted on the right side. The man had a heavy set of eyebrows and strong facial features yet somehow his blue eyes remained soft, gentle even.  He wore an impeccable navy-blue suit with a white dress shirt underneath. There wasn't a single crease in sight.

“Hello..." The man curiously examined Eren, “may I come in?"

The teen was at a loss, “Uhh... sure, sure, go ahead."

He opened the door fully, gesturing at the man to enter. Erwin accepted the offer, making his way to the couch with steady steps.

“Soo... you must be one of Levi's new friends." The man inquired as he sat down.

Eren pulled up a black chair from the dining table, “Ummm... yeah, I guess I am."

Erwin smiled mysteriously. He looked the boy up and down, chuckling to himself, “I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude it's just that you don't look like the type to be into Levi's... endeavors. I usually meet much more, hm, let's say exuberant types when I come around."

Eren made a face. He thought back to the strange stares he would receive upon meeting people from the Survey Corps. Surely it meant that he was informed about Levi's job as a bodyguard slash hitman. After all, it appeared the man was well-familiarized with the raven.

Eren hummed thoughtfully, "You know, I get the feeling everyone thinks that same thing."

Erwin lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? You've been around for a while?"

"Uhhhh," he thought back to when it all started, "yeah kind of. I've known Levi for like... two months? Give or take."

The man whistled, "I'm surprised. Levi isn't one to keep people around. He must really like you."

Eren's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Heh. Yeah well it hasn't been easy, I'll tell you that. His temper is hard to deal with sometimes."

The man chuckled, "Hah! I know all about that. Back when we were an item he would get mad at me aalll the time and over eeevvery little thing... I'm not complaining though. It made for great sex."

Eren choked on his own saliva.

"Surely you know all about that by now. For a guy that's so serious you'd never expect him to be such a vigorous lover in bed."

The brunet felt like his face was about to explode from the heat of his own blush.

Erwin continued, "Has he done the thing where he ties you up yet? He loves doing that with his boy toys."

"Ah- no, no!" Eren interrupted.

"No? It's where Levi takes candle-wax and a whip and-"

"No, you're misunderstanding! We are not a couple! Like, AT ALL!" Eren insisted.

The man was puzzled, "If you're not his lover, then what are you doing here?"

"We know each other because of Levi's job."

The man raised an eyebrow, "His job?"

Wait, did that mean he didn't know about Levi being a hitman?!?

Eren panicked, "W-Well not his JOB job, more like, I mean, he and I, I saw him- I see him, you know, like, sometimes I see him on his way to work and I-I bumped into him once and uh-"

"I thought you said you were good at lying." Levi appeared next to Eren.

The brunet nearly fell off his chair, "Fucking hell! Geez man, a warning would be nice!"

The bodyguard ignored him, "Erwin, this is Eren, the client I mentioned to you the other day. He's kind of a dumbass but he means well." Eren protested with a small 'hey!', "Dumbass, this is Erwin, the chief of police in the district."

The man gawked at Levi, dumbfounded for a second, before releasing a boastful laughter that filled the room, "Hahaha! I see now, that's why he turned as red as a tomato with all I was telling him!"

Eren felt the heat in his cheeks rise once again. The man doubled over in laughter. The brunet stayed rigid in his chair. Levi just looked back between the two trying to decipher what had happened while he was gone.

"Son of a bitch, Erwin, what did you tell him?"

The man flicked a tear from his eye, "Mind it no trouble. No harm was done, right Eren?"

The brunet nodded. Much harm had been done to his psyche, in fact. The words 'vigorous lover' would now be eternally etched into his brain but he was so desperate to change the subject that he would've agreed to anything in that moment.

The bodyguard accepted defeat with a sigh. He grabbed a chair in similar fashion to Eren. The boy wondered why Levi hadn't sat down on the couch next to Erwin if they were as intimate as the man had accidentally confessed. Watching Levi take a seat, Eren took notice of the raven's new outfit. He had changed into a thin scarlet sweater with a wide neck- wide enough to show off the man's delicate collarbone and pearl-like skin. It was a bit loose on his frame, hiding his toned muscles in a way that made him appear less intimidating- kind of cute, though in Eren's mind 'cute' and 'Levi' were antonyms. Below, the raven sported black skinny jeans and matching shoes. When Eren's stare casually drifted back to Erwin, he noticed the man was also scanning the other man head to toe. There was a glint in the man's eyes that irked Eren. The man was practically undressing his bodyguard with his eyes.

"You got here early, you know that?" Levi started.

"I knew that would bother you." Erwin teased.

Levi huffed, "You always like to annoy me don't you?"

Erwin only offered a smile in response. Levi bit his own smile back though a tiny smirk shined through. Eren, sitting in the middle of all of this, didn't like the strange energy in the air one bit.

"So, why are you here again?" Eren questioned Erwin in a biting tone.

"Ah, yes! Good question. Levi? Care to enlighten us?"

Said man crossed his legs so that the ankle of his right leg was resting on the knee of his left leg, "Well, it's unfortunate. Truth is, yesterday we got sidetracked with some problems and I forgot to arrange everything for today. I barely remembered you were coming over this morning," he paused, "this actually concerns you, Eren. As you know, your case has special circumstances. When problems of a larger scale are known to us, we sometimes partner with the police to deal with them. I asked Erwin to come here today in the hopes that he could talk to us about the possible ways he could help us."

Eren shook his head, "Wait, you called the cops on me? 'Cause I'm not going to any shitty jail cell, if I wanted that I would've called them the moment I ran away-"

Erwin rose a hand, "I see that you aren't a fan of the police. Trust me, I understand why a lot of people hate us but do not worry. Let it be known that any information you share with me will not be taken to my coworkers if you do not wish it. As Levi said, we sometimes partner with the Survey Corps when dealing with larger problems that threaten the whole city. It's a symbiosis of sorts. This way, we get information we would've otherwise missed and, in exchange, we turn a blind eye to certain activities that the Survey Corps don't want us getting involved in.

"Ha, ha! Your face says it all. You must think us corrupt, right? Cops working hand in hand with criminals. While I can't say that this collaboration is 100% pure, I know Levi will back me up when I say that more good than bad has come from it.

"The first time I met Levi, they had asked me to collaborate with them to take down a sex trafficking ring: one of the biggest in the city. A years work was reduced to months; by the end of it, 83 people were back with their families, among them 19 minors that were unjustly taken from their parents.

"That being said, if you do not like what I have to say, we stop it here and we go on with our lives. I tell you all of this so you know two things. One, you can trust that I will do what is best for the common good. And two, you are the one in power here. Not me, not even Levi, just you."

Eren pouted. So aside from being ridiculously handsome, built like a brick house and a successful career man he was also as eloquent as a theatre writer. It pissed him off. Unfortunately, the words had reached him.

"I guess I could hear what you have to say." The brunet crossed his arms.

Erwin nodded gently, "Good. Though I'm gonna need some basic info about this case. I'd be more than glad to help but I at least need to know what we're dealing with."

The brunet nervously turned to his bodyguard. Levi was as cool as a cucumber.

"There are certain topics I can't share with you till I talk them out with Eren, but what I can say is that we have uncovered a Drug Lord; a man that's been taking over little by little."

"What has he been selling? Cocaine? Heroine? LSD?"

"All of it. Plus a new drug. They call it 'Titan'. Every heard of it?"

Erwin exhaled deeply, "Heard of it. I'm sick of it. It was mentioned a couple of months ago and ever since it's been popping up more and more. I fear its effect on society will cause a new drug epidemic. So this man has been selling it, you say?"

"Not just that, he is the main producer of it."

The man slowly leaned forward. He gazed down at his shoes in thought. With his face tilted downward, he shot his eyes up to look at the other two men. His once gentle blue eyes shifted into an icy stare.

"I see." Was all he said.

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Hey, don't look at me like that. Of course we had to to have a classic "walk in on someone with a towel on" scene! It was necessary... for the plot!

Anyway, what is Erwin's role in all of this? Find out next week ;D

~Gum

Chapter Text

Author's Note

Sorry for going quiet for a while! I wanted to include some things last minute (it's hard to explain without spoilers lmao) and I wasn't sure in what chapter to include them so I was going back and forth on that lmao. Worst part is that I ended up editing chapters that are way down the line xD! Oh well! Anyway, there will be a double upload this week to make up for it. These two chapters are probably the slowest out of ARC 2 anyway lmao! Anyway, let's get on to the story!

~Gum

"So, you'd be willing to take the case?" Levi inquired.

Erwin sighed heavily, "I'd be more than glad to. Unfortunately, it isn't so easy. While I've been pushing for preventative action towards Titan consumption, the chiefs of police of the neighbouring cities aren't as keen on it. I'm sure you are both well informed of the rise in drug usage here in Paradis. The other chiefs believe that focusing in on Titan would only take away resources from much more important matters. They do not believe the drug to be as dangerous as I do."

The bodyguard rose from his chair, "Fuck politics, so damn annoying. I'm gonna get a glass of water, anyone want one?"

While Eren shook his head no, Erwin accepted the offer. As Levi made his way to the kitchen to grab a pitcher of water, the robust man kept on talking, "If I were to start an investigation concerning Titan without convincing them of its importance, it would be chaotic."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows, "Even it's just an investigation in the city?"

The bodyguard gave Erwin a glass of cool water. Filling up a cup of his own, he leaned against the dining table, taking small sips.

Erwin hesitated, "It's a... delicate situation. Despite my attempts to make peace, the chiefs of Rose and Maria City are distrustful towards me. They may not say it out loud but I am aware of the fact that they consider me ill-fitting for the job."

"Hah!" Levi interrupted, "Can you blame them? Both of them are prim and proper ladies born and raised into rich families. Now look at you, fuckin' 20 feet tall and 90% muscle, intimidating as hell. You can play the Gentle Giant all you want but one look at you and they see a caveman with his dick in his hand."

Eren widened his eyes in shock of the rawness of Levi's words. When Erwin saw the look on the younger male’s face, he let out a hearty chuckle.

"Do not be alarmed Eren, he speaks the truth, as cruel as the truth may be. I'd be more scared the day Levi doesn't speak his mind as frankly as he does."

"Well, I'm sure if you do your job well, they'll come around to liking you." Eren encourage the older man.

"It's more complex than that. There are many reasons they do not like me but I'd say the biggest is that the last chief of police was a very respectable woman. She was strong but kind, she hit with a heavy hand but caressed just as gently. No one foresaw her sudden death. When I was asked to take her place, pushback was inevitable. She left a pretty big role to fill and many think me incapable of doing such a task."

Levi sat the glass down on the table with a noisy clank, "Look, I'm loving this little bonding moment you two are having but let's get to the point. What do we do about this?"

The blond pursed his lips, "We have to disguise the wolf in sheep's clothing. You say this man deals in various types of drugs? I'm gonna need you two to make a bust. I don't know how much information you're holding onto but if you have a lead on where they might have production plants, that would be great."

Levi crossed his arms as he thought to himself, "I might know a person with that info."

"You do?" The teen interjected.

The bodyguard nodded, "I do."

"Fantastic. Take down a location that's not too big, not too small. Gather some evidence for me that shows this is worthwhile. Once we have that, I'll offer all the resources I can spare to you."

Levi whistled, "All your resources?"

The police officer spoke in a serious tone, "Yes. The more junkies I see the more frightened I am for the future of this drug. I have... a feeling, that there is something else going on but I can place my finger on what."

The bodyguard glanced towards the green-eyed boy. In response, Eren dropped his gaze to his lap. Even though the interaction was brief, Erwin's keen eyes noticed it immediately.

"I'm right aren't I? There's something else. Something you can't tell me just yet I imagine."

Levi pulled himself away from the table, "That's all for now Erwin. Eren should have a moment to think things through before starting anything."

Erwin rose to his feet, "Of course, of course. If you would like another conversation or if you have any questions I'll be more than happy to comply, Eren. It was a pleasure to meet you." The robust man stretched out a heavy hand towards the brunet.

The tan boy stared at the hand for a second before giving in and shaking it, "Yeah, nice to meet you."

The officer made his way to the exit with Levi trailing behind him. The two murmured words Eren could not make out. They chuckled at a joke that had been made. Straining an ear, he heard Erwin teasingly say 'don't forget we have lunch next week' and then they exchanged a goodbye.

Eren pouted as he put the chair back in place, opting to settle himself onto the comfy couch. He poked his head from over the sofa to stare at Levi closing the door. Once the bodyguard turned around, Eren turned back and sat like he hadn't been watching the man. He had just had a very serious conversation with the head of police of Sina. He should've been thinking about important things. And yet, he found himself trying to restrain himself from saying something stupid about Levi and Erwin.

‘Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Bro, dude, don't fuckingsayany-‘

"So... 's that your boyfriend er something?"

‘Goddammit.’

"Hmm?" Levi questioned.

Eren said nothing, hoping that Levi would let it go and move on.

He didn't let it go, "Why are you asking me that? Did Erwin say something to you? Fuckin' man can be such a blabber mouth sometimes."

The brunet felt a hole form in his stomach, "So he is?"

Levi frowned, "No, no. What- what did he say exactly?"

‘That you were a vigorous lover.’

"Just said something about being your ex but you two act like a couple, I dunno..."

‘DON'T say anything stupid.’

"... he's... he's really big."

‘WHY???’

The bodyguard sat where Erwin had previously been, throwing an arm behind the sofa with such force that it startled Eren. He looked at the brunet like he was an alien, "He's big? The fuck is up with that comment. You're such a weirdo sometimes you know that? Yes, we dated a few years back but that's very much done now. Don't concern yourself with that anyway, it's my personal business."

Eren bit his lip. In truth he wanted to know every detail about Levi's personal business. The boy was so fascinated by his bodyguard and the more Levi would tell him to stay away, the more he wanted to know about the silver-eyed man.

Levi continued, "We have much more urgent matters to deal with. You can take a day or two to make the final decision but I am curious as to what your initial thoughts are."

Eren tensed up. He had been haunted by a thought lately. A thought that told him to stop running away, to fight back. He looked back at the people Grisha had experimented on. Many were vastly different from each other, yet they shared that same facial expression; one of exhaustion, defeat and hopelessness.

Annie has offered him a way of seeking revenge. She wanted to make Grisha pay for that very hopelessness he had caused. Grisha had hurt Eren too. Deeply. But for every moment of pain, Eren could think of a moment of joy between father and child. Should he pick the good moments? The bad moments? Or did they, instead, cancel each other out in such a way that Eren was meant to feel indifference towards his father. Maybe that was the answer.

In fact, it made much sense to the boy in that moment. He didn't know how to feel about Grisha but he did know how he felt about his victims. Eren carried the guilt of their pain in his blood. He wanted to help them. He wanted to save them. He wanted to see the hope come back into those hopeless faces. That's what he wanted more than anything else.

He licked his lips, "I want to but what will they do with me if they find out about... my condition?"

He shivered at the thought. There was a reason he didn't go straight to the police when he ran away. Not only would Grisha find him immediately if the police documented him in any way, but the brunet was also convinced that by going to them and confessing about his abilities, he would be subjecting himself to more poking and prodding of his body.

"If Erwin leads the investigation as intensely as he says, they'll find out about the body modifications even if we don't tell them. However, that doesn't mean they need to know you were one of the victims."

Eren made his hands into tight fists on his lap, "You promise? You promise they won't find out?"

"Hey..." Levi laid a hand on the young man's shoulders, "Hey, look at me. I promise."

The green-eyed boy inhaled deeply. He could do it. It was too late for Eren, he was already damaged, but he could end the suffering of everyone that was still under Grisha's claws.

Eren nodded with resolve, "Let's do it. I don't need more time, I've made up my mind."

Such was the boy's determination that the bodyguard found no use in asking if he was sure. He nodded in return.

"So," the brunet started, "who are you gonna get the info from? I dunno where he makes his drugs..."

Levi stretched his body, "Oh, that's right, I haven't told you who we captured."

"Who?"

"Hanji Zoe, we meet again."

"Ah, Levi-! Uhmm... Levi-! ... I don't actually know your last name." They laughed, "What a pleasure for you to come visit lil old me. Ya need something?"

The raven eyed the place. The wall the bed was against had strange writings scribbled onto it. Though he didn't understand them, he recognized them as expressions of chemistry. He decided against making a comment about it.

"You said you had loyalty towards no one, not even Grisha. I was wondering how true that was."

"Hmm?" Hanji scooted to give Levi plenty of space to sit down, "Oooh this is gonna be interesting. Sit, sit. What are you planning on doing to Grisha? Kidnapping him? Torturing him? Killing him? Letting him go? Hiring him?"

The bodyguard cocked his head to the side, wondering if he should sit or not. He decided to keep standing. He did not trust Hanji enough to know whether or not they would surprise-attack him at any moment.

"Does that worry you?" He questioned.

Hanji shrugged, "Not really, I'm just curious."

Levi looked at them sideways. He had met plenty of eccentric people throughout the years but he couldn't get a solid reading on Hanji. There was a lack of fear in their eyes that ticked Levi off. Hanji felt so... open, as if they didn't wear a mask like everyone else did. That openness made Levi all the more weary. Surely, they had to be masking something. No one could be so upfront, could they?

"You don't trust me, do you? I get it. Maybe I should explain it to you. People tend to be afraid of what they don't understand.

"My relation with Grisha was strictly formal. See, I studied chemistry here in Sina University and I was SO excited my first semester, dreaming about the fun things we would do and whatnot. Then I was disappointed to found out how boring it was. It was nothing more than sitting down and listen to old geezers talk to me about subjects I had already mastered, going to laboratories to conduct common experiments to prove things that's been proven MILLIONS of times before. Don't get me wrong, I get why it was structured that way, but it wasn't for me.

"Then, I found Grisha, or he found me- I'd rather not delve into the details of how we found each other, it's a long story. But he promised me a lab and money to do as I pleased and, in exchange, I would help him with his experiments. I agreed. I had my good share of fun in that lab but ultimately I became bored of it just like I became bored of university and I went in search for a new adventure.

"Annie offered one to me. There wasn't much of a plan or a goal but that's what made it so exciting! Now I'm here, in this place completely unknown to me!"

Hanji gestured to their surroundings as if they were in some kind of wonderland and not a claustrophobic room. Their eyes twinkled with madness the same way a small child would look at the world; with chaotic curiosity and unlimited energy.

‘Hanji's as mad as everyone says,’ Levi thought to himself.

But then again, many people thought Levi was mad too.

He crossed his arms, analyzing the peculiar person. Realizing that Levi was staring at them, Hanji grinned even though they had no idea why the bodyguard was examining them. He decided to take the leap.

"We're looking for something. Know anything about Grisha's production plants? Warehouses? Old buildings?"

"Production plants?" The brunet questioned, "You mean, like, places where he makes drugs? I know a couple." But they didn't elaborate further.

Levi took the hint.

"What do you want in exchange?"

"I want to talk to you... oh! And Moblit!" The brunet said sweetly.

The bodyguard scrunched his face up in confusion, "About what?"

"I dunno... anything! Do you guys use gadgets? Who builds them? Who has been your most dangerous client? Were you ever involved with the infamous killers like the Sunshine Killer or the Rat King? Or maybe you were hired by the KCW gang or that weird cult that wore clown masks a few years ago?"

"...that's really your price?"

"Yup!" Hanji said without a doubt.

He lifted an eyebrow, "What do you want to do with this info?"

Hanji rolled their eyes, "You're sooo paranoid. Your guys already checked me. I don't have anything on me, no way to talk to Grisha or Annie. I just wanna hear what you have to say, I bet you have a lot of cool stories to tell! Come on, come on, spill them out!"

"There's no way that's your price." Levi insisted.

"It sure is!"

Levi sighed deeply. He missed the days when the prisoners would only ask for a hooker for the night and a girthy steak. He finally took a seat. It was going to be a while.

"Uhmm... the Sunshine Killer, right? We didn't know shit about him, he was a weird one. I guess he worked alone. The Rat King, nah, him neither, though I think one our workers bodyguarded his cousin for a bit. The KCW gang are a bunch of fuckin' idiots though. They hired a couple of us for a mission and I was unfortunately among them. The leader was this big rat-toothed guy, you would've thought he was the Rat King..."

Hanji laughed, "Ha, ha! Yeah? And then what else?"

Levi told the story in detail and, every time he would try and cut corners, Hanji would press him for the full picture. The brunet made questions, inside of questions, inside of questions, and every time Levi thought they had exhausted all their inquiries, they would ask another thing. Hanji listened to every word, imagining the scenes vividly. The two sat there and talked for so long, at some point Levi had lost track of time. All he knew was that when he left the room, his mouth had become dry from talking so much.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Author's Note

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Jack just wants to write a gay love story instead of being up to their ASS in work.

Poor lil Jack.

~Gum

Levi rushed through the front door and hurriedly made his way to the couch, pinning the map he had in hand onto the table in front of him. He scanned the diagram from top to bottom. Levi had found that preparing for a mission was similar to chess. You had to look into the future to see the possibilities; the ways something could go great or wrong. The key difference, however, was that losing a game of chess would only mean a bruised ego while the game Levi was playing was gambling with actual human lives, his included.

"Watcha doin' there?"

The bodyguard was startled. He found Eren staring down at the map with curious eyes. Despite the fact that the brunet had spent a couple of days in his apartment by then, Levi still wasn't used to having him around. In fact, he had went out of his way to spend as little time in the apartment for the same reason. The place meant little to Levi anyway. It was not a home of any kind, simply a safe place to sleep in. He had a couple of those scattered around anyway – though that apartment was the most comfortable. Instead, he had spent his time getting things done for the first attack on Grisha.

As a result, the raven had found himself time and time again in that little cell with Hanji Zoe. Most of the times, they would discuss the doctor's habits, how he liked operating his businesses and such; but sometimes they would discuss other things, topics that were more of Hanji's interests. They had kept Levi to his word of paying with information and, though he would never care to admit it, the conversations he would have with the mad scientist would offer enticing back and forths. Levi had found that as crazy as Hanji was, there was a certain method to their madness. One that the bodyguard found interesting.

Levi turned back towards his diagram, "Preparing for Erwin's mission."

"Oh really?"

The bodyguard said nothing in response in the hopes that if he ignored Eren long enough, the boy would leave him alone. His hopes soon withered when the raven felt the couch dip as the brunet settled into the sofa next to him.

"Do you guys have a plan already? You sure got that info quick. Hanji decided to help us just like that? Cool. Did they ask for anything freaky in exchange? That Hanji is a fucking weirdo, don't you think? What is that place on the map? Is it nearby? What are we gonna do?"

As if Eren bombarding the raven with questions wasn't enough, he inched his face closer to the diagram to get a better look. Levi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He went to push Eren away, hard enough to not give the teen a chance to fight back but soft enough to not hurt him.

"We are not doing anything. I will take care of it with some workers. You don't worry about it."

Even though he had kept his silver eyes glued on the map, he just knew Eren was pouting. Levi glanced at the brunet to see if he was right and sure enough there Eren was with a bottom lip sticking out and brows low on his face. Levi sighed.

'Here we go.'

"Uh! Excuse me! I totally AM going! Why don't you wanna let me go? I have to be there!"

The bodyguard snorted, "For what? So you can fuck things up? You've got no training, you're brash and you're loud. You're a liability, Eren."

"Hey! If you recall, before everything went down with Annie, we had practiced a bit!"

"Yeah, like for 5 minutes. I barely taught you how to throw a fist. If you think your skills are comparable with even the worst of my workers, you're sorely mistaken."

Eren crossed his arms, "If it weren't for me, none of you wouldn't even be doing this! If I'm here causing wars I should at least be there. I'm going."

"No." Levi mimicked Eren's tone of voice, "You're. Not."

When the tough act didn't work, the brunet resorted to a new, whinier approach, "Come ooooonnnn. I really want to help people. I've been feeling so guilty about me sleeping in these comfy beds and taking these hot showers when I know there are people kept in CAGES by HIM, Levi. CAGES! I've seen it myself. And when I was a kid I didn't know what to do! I just felt bad but I'm an adult now and I can actually do something about it! I can help them be free! Won't you help me help them?"

Levi massaged his temples. Kid was damn good with his speeches, he couldn't deny that. Eren said nothing while Levi contemplated blowing his own brains out to make the headache go away. His emerald eyes shimmered with anticipation.

"You're a real pain in my ass, you know that?"

Eren didn't deny it, instead nodding vigorously to encourage the bodyguard to keep talking.

All Levi had to do was say no. That was all! But for some FUCKING reason, he found it hard to say no to the brunet.

The shorter man sighed, "If I don't let you go, I'm gonna have to tie you up or something, aren't I?"

"Not even! I'll gnaw through the rope!" Eren said with devilish enthusiasm.

Levi took a moment before he continued, "We're retaking the training from two times a week to three. We only got a week before the mission so in those three sessions you're gonna have to work your ass off."

"So does that mean-?"

"IF you work hard -I'm talking TO THE BONE- in ALL, and I mean ALL the sessions-"

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" The teen vigorously encouraged.

"Then I guess that-"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Fuck you. Yes. You can come."

Eren cheered and howled and threw a whole goddamn party for himself next to an increasingly aging Levi. By the time he stopped jumping about, the bodyguard felt three times his age.

"I won't let you down! I promise!"

"You better not. I'm giving you one shot at this. You fuck this up and I'm not dragging you around anywhere else, got it?"

"Yep, yep!" Eren impatiently replied, "Now tell me everything! What's the plan boss?"

The bodyguard took in a deep breath, knowing damn well it was going to be a long day.

Despite Eren's fair share of, ahem, challenging qualities, if there was one thing even Levi couldn't deny it was that the boy was determined. He soaked up every piece of information the bodyguard would throw at him, and he would go around repeating the plan like a parrot. Even in the training sessions, the brunet displayed an exceptional effort. However, his skills were so unrefined that most of the times his attempts to do more than his body could handle would end up with the brunet square on his ass. Eren's downfall was his own irritation when he couldn't do the things his bodyguard asked of him.

During the measly three sessions they had before the mission, Eren had desperately tried to impress Levi. He wanted to show the man how serious he was about helping those hurt by Grisha Jaegar. Yet no matter how far the teen pushed himself or how hard he tried, the raven would end up with that neutral expression on his face.

One that to Eren said,

'Good. But not good enough.'

In fact, though Levi was naturally a stoic man, the brunet had felt coldness in every interaction they had that week. Eren had thought that they had begun to reach a certain level of comfort around each other. Yet when they retook the training sessions, the bodyguard would not respond to Eren's smartass comments or quips like he used to, instead quietly moving forward with the lesson. Their conversations had been strictly business until the very day before the mission.

They had just been finishing up their session for the day when Levi said, "Oh, by the way, your sister's been asking about you. You should fix up her situation before we leave for tomorrow. It's not guaranteed we'll be coming back from it."

So there he was, standing in front of a white door.

They had stored Mikasa away in a part of the hospital than Eren wasn't familiar with. There, the rooms weren't separated by measly curtains, rather by actual walls. Passing through the hallway there were a couple of nurses checking on the rooms. From some, moans of pain could be heard, from others the faint sound of chatter and from the rest a deadly silence.

The click-clancking of shoes added to the soft sounds of that building's wing. Hurried whispers from the workers and squeaking from their dragged equipment combined into a cloud of noises.

Itching to get inside, Eren carefully turned the doorknob and made his way inside. When he turned around and closed the door, he found a total silence inside the room.

"Eren? Is that actually you?"

The tall boy whipped his head around. There Mikasa was, laying on a bed with a light blue medical gown. Her eyes were puffy, one of them having shades of yellow and green as remains of a healing black eye. The way her obsidian eyes stared back at Eren with amazement made Eren's heart shrink. Without even realizing it, he went to her side to hold her hand. The girl gripped his hand with force, it would've almost been painful if it weren't because the explosion of relief washing over Eren's body engulfed anything else he felt.

"I can't believe it..." she muttered, "you're real, right? Not a dream or a hallucination."

The green-eyed boy fixed Mikasa's hair with his free hand. It was more tangled than usual.

"No, you're not that lucky. It's actually me." The boy teased.

Mikasa laid her other hand on top of the one she was holding. She tightened her lips into a straight line. Eren said nothing but he knew that expression well. It meant she was trying her best to hold back her tears. Seeing her in that state, so fragile and small in that medical bed, it made the guilt burn in his chest.

Mikasa had always been the strongest of the two. While Eren would get lost in his own emotions, she would always be there to make sure he wouldn't stray too far. She protected him; making sure he wouldn't do something idiotic that would get himself hurt. She was also the smart one. Luckily, Mikasa had enough brains for the both of them. Without fail, she was there to guard him from himself and yet Eren hadn't been capable of returning the favor of protecting her. She was there because of him, because of Grisha and because of Eren's relationship with his father.

"I'm... so... sorry, Mikasa." He caressed her hand with a thumb.

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"I'm sorry." He repeated, thinking that maybe she hadn't heard him properly.

When he met her gaze, he found the girl staring back at him like a lost puppy, "Sorry? For what? They told me no one could visit me this week. I know you would've been here with me since day one if they had let you-"

"No." Eren shook his head, "Sorry for doing this to you. You're here. You're here because of me. I'm sorry."

Much to the brunet's surprise, Mikasa smiled, "Shut up. It was your fault we got in trouble with Mr. Barrymore in 4th grade. It was your fault when I fell into the pool at Mercedes' birthday party and it was 100% your fault my dress got ruined at the middle school prom- I still haven't gotten over that by the way- but it's not your fault I got here. It was mine."

The boy chuckled sadly, "Don't say that."

Mikasa shrugged, "It's true. I got nosy. When you left I knew something was wrong. Grisha told me you had gone to some bullshit sports camp but I knew he was lying through his teeth. You would've told me about it, at least mentioned it in passing or something, anything, but you didn't. From one day to the next you disappeared. So when Grisha was out of the house I would break in and snoop through the house. I started with your room and then branched out. By the time I got to Grisha's office I had already broken in twice and I'm pretty sure he was already suspicious by then. Just when I was starting to piece things together, he found me out."

Eren slowly processed everything she said. While he sat there motionless, Mikasa leaned forward to add one more thing, "Don't blame yourself for anything, okay? I'm here because of me. I was about to cry right now because I'm so damn happy you're here with me."

"I'm so damn happy you're here with me too." Eren immediately went in for a hug, the warmth of Mikasa's body comforting his poor, tormented soul.

Just as the tall boy was about to lean back, Mikasa was the one to dig her fingers into his back so he wouldn't escape, "There were some documents in Grisha's office, you know. They weren't too detailed and they confused me a lot but I knew Grisha was up to shady stuff. I never thought... he was always so... I dunno I'm having a hard time processing it... and you... what he did is so unforgivable." She fell silent.

"I know." He stroked her back, eyes watering, "I know."

"Is that why he suddenly decided to 'home school' you after middle school? Or why you missed so many days before that..."

Eren had a bitter taste at the back of his throat, "Yeah."

"I should've noticed... I should've noticed..." She whispered more to herself than to Eren.

The boy gently pushed her away. He put on a serious face, "Hey, just like you say I shouldn't feel guilty, you shouldn't either. How were you supposed to know? Grisha had everyone fooled, even me. What's important is that I'm not there anymore and we're ending it soon. My bodyguard got in contact with special people from the police, we're taking Grisha's fucked up businesses down."

Her eyes widened with exploding curiosity, "What, seriously? How? Who? When? Where?"

Eren settled back into his seat, "Well, it's kinda complicated but tomorrow we attack one of his sites-"

"Tomorrow?! You should've told me earlier! I'll help! I'll help with anything I can!" She sped through her words.

"What? No! How are you planning on doing that? You're in a hospital!"

"The doctors already told me I'm ready to be discharged-"

"Yeah, you're ready to leave the hospital but you're not healed up yet. You still gotta take it easy." Eren crossed his arms.

Mikasa arched her eyebrows with irritation. Ultimately, she looked down at her medical gown and sighed forcefully. He was right and she hated when he was. Mikasa glared at her own body, angry at its current state, "Fine. You're right. But be careful. I barely got you back I don't wanna lose you again."

Eren smirked, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I got a bodyguard I'll stick to."

"Oh, the same one from last time? Yeah, stick with him like glue. I like that guy. Honestly you shouldn't even be going. It's dangerous."

The boy shrugged, "I kinda forced my bodyguard to take me."

Mikasa was unsurprised, "Of course you did. You're as stubborn as a mule. 'Yeah! I'll just waltz into one of these super dangerous places my dad has been keeping for freaky experiments and drug selling! What could go wrong?' "

"You're one to talk," he teased, "but that's not it. I've been training for a while with him. It hasn't been long but I think I'm starting to pick up on a thing or two."

"They train people? For self-protection and stuff?"

"Uhhhh..."

How would the conversation go down if he confessed the training was aimed at assassins?

"Yeah, something like that. He's mentioned other students and stuff but my training is kinda being kept on the down-low..." Just as Mikasa was going to ask something else, Eren thought it better to change the subject before confessions rolled off the tongue and things would get nasty, "But let's not talk about that right now. I could use taking my mind off of things."

Mikasa sighed, "Of course. Of course. Well... what do you wanna talk about?"

There was a moment of silence.

Eren rubbed his hands together awkwardly, "Well... nah, whatever I shouldn't even say anything..." He mumbled.

"What? What is it? Say it."

Eren looked up at the ceiling and scrunched up his face, wondering if to say it or not.

"Spit it out already." Mikasa insisted.

"I don't wanna get in a fight, okay? All I'm saying is that it's been like, what? Four years, five? And that time you ruined your dress at prom was NOT my fault-"

"Oh by the GODS! Are we really having this fight again?" Mikasa threw her arms in the air with exasperation.

"You were the one that told me to say it!" Eren defended himself.

"It was SO your fault. SO your fault."

"HOW? I demand evidence."

"You want evidence! Oh, OH! Okay, let's start this from the beginning, then! It was a sunny day in June when you came up to me and said 'hey Mikasa'," she said in a derisive tone meant to resemble his voice, " 'you know what would be fun? If we went to prom!' "

The two went on and on over a discussion they had had millions of times before and, just like that, it was like the two had never been separated.

.

.

.

So there was actually supposed to be a double chapter upload this week so I guess I'll be uploading the next one soon lol. This is because next chapter is a little different in that it has very little to do with the actual story which is ironic because its actually one of my favorite chapters <3 I got super inspired out of nowhere and wrote something akin to a short story lmao. Anyway, I'll leave it optional to the viewers. If you want to read it all then I'll be super happy! But if not, its okay to skim through most of it but read the last part to have some context for Chapter 28 lmao. My schedule is so messed up rn so be patient with me! >.<

Chapter Text

Mable.

When people thought of the name Mable maybe they would think of a fair, young woman. Maybe they would think of dirty blonde hair and sun-kissed skin sprinkled with a sea of freckles. Or maybe, they would think of a girl with warm brown skin, so smooth and flawless that it appeared polished by a skilled craftsman. They would think of chocolate locks woven into a bun on top of her head with a couple of wild curls spilling out in an act of defiance and rebellion.

Yes, one could think of many things but few would think of a 33-year old balding man with a crooked nose and a missing tooth. As if that didn't drive the ladies away, maybe his greyish skin and random patches of hair on his chin would do the job. Mabel had always hated his name. It had been a curtesy of his mother who was hell-bent on naming her first child that way, and when the expected daughter turned out a son, she doubled down and kept the name.

Mabel stared back at the old TV in front of him with bitterness. It was so grainy that it was hard to distinguish what was going on. All he wanted was to watch the soccer match but it appeared the world couldn't even give him that.

He wasn't even supposed to be there that day. It was his day off, but Mabel had shown up with the intention of showing the boss that he was a 'hard worker' even though he had spent most of the day barking orders while sitting on his ass. However, once the boss would see his value and promote him, Mabel had plans of spending his time and money coked up and gambling.

When he saw someone walk by he hollered at him, "Ey! You! What's your name again? Eric? Emmett?"

"Evan." He corrected. Evan was a young black man with a lanky figure, baggy clothes and a buzzcut. He was one of the new workers and, as if his naivety wasn't enough, Mabel was irked by the way the boy would walk around with his head in the clouds.

Mable tsked, "Yeah, Evan. Do me a favor will ya? Move the antennas around, the fuckin' TV ain't working."

"Hey Mabs! Don't go taking advantage of my lil bro just 'cause he's new." A third man chuckled, "I've got my eye on you!"

Ayden was Evan's older brother. They shared similar facial features but had wildly different bodies. While Evan was as skinny as a stick, Ayden was built heavier. He had massive arms, a cushiony torso and a rounder face. Though the two brothers were the same height, there was an illusion of one being a lot bigger than the other, especially with how Evan slouched over at any given hour. In spite of this, Mabel would mix them up multiple times since 95% of the time he was higher than a kite. To him, the brothers were big Ayden and little Ayden.

"C'mon!" Mabel complained, "I'm not askin' for a miracle, I'm just tellin' him to move the antennas."

"It's alright, I got it!" Evan spoke up.

Ayden laughed while setting down a set of heavy boxes, "Aw, he's such a good kid you know. You better treat him right or else!"

"Whatever!" Mabel waved him off, "More to the right, kid! More, more, no! To the left! There? No, more! There!"

The red pixels on the TV became a soccer player running around and the white pixels, an opposing player trying to steal the ball. Mabel sighed in relief. He hadn't missed anything important.

"There ya go. Alright, shoo now, you can go!"

"Wow, wait up a minute," Ayden sat down in a brown sofa next to Mabel's chair, "we wanna watch too! C'mere Evan, I'm sitting down for a while, I don't give a shit. I'm tired as fuck. They worked us like dogs today. Actually, I think a dog would've worked less."

The young boy was as silent as a mouse, sitting on the side of the sofa that put him exactly to the left of Mabel. He soon regretted it as the stench of sweat and weed invaded his nostrils. Even so, he was too shy to move, thinking it would offend the man.

Mabel scoffed, "Yeah they worked us like dogs alright. With everything happening it ain't a surprise." The man farted loudly with no consideration of the other two people in the room.

"Yeh, about that, what do you know? Nobody's been wanting to tell me shit." Ayden threw an arm behind the couch and relaxed into the cushion.

"I heard two of our sites got attacked. One was a warehouse, I dunno about the other place but it got blown up to bits. A guy from the cleanup crew told me the place was fuckin' drenched in blood. Everyone is scramblin' to get their shit together. If it's the police we're fucked."

Ayden threw a curse word at a soccer player that had missed a goal, "I thought the boss got the police under control."

Mabel bent down to reach for a beer placed on the floor, "Eh, he got some under control but those fuckers are always fighting among themselves. Some leave us alone, some poke their nose in things that don't concern 'em."

"So you gonna leave like Johnny and Rhett?"

"You kiddin'? This' what I've been waitin' for forever!" Mabel put an arm uncomfortably tight against Evan's neck, "Can you believe this guy? Tell 'im something, he's your brother! This is when the good shit comes along. People pussy out, higher positions are left open and people like me that have been at this a while, get promoted! Good promotions equal good money."

Evan scrunched his face up. He put the entirety of his will into not gagging from the putrid smell emanating from the man's mouth.

"Isn't Lola looking for a new assistant? People working in the labs make a lot more than our asses." Ayden chuckled.

"Yeh, but that's chemistry shit and math shit and... I dunno about that shit. Too much work. Too many numbers. I like makin' money and keepin' it simple. Would I be shitting out money? Totally! They won't admit it but losing the top scientist hit the boss hard. Never met the fucker but everyone said they were a genius.

"Y'know I'm kind of a genius too. I'm like really smart and shit, like, I look at a jar with candies and I can tell you how many are in there. I'm lazy though, that's why you won't catch me two plus two-ing or talking 'bout hydrogen or shit. But, like, if one day they made me do an IQ test I bet I'd be top 10%, trust me."

Ayden wrinkled his nose, "The more you keep talking the more I start thinking this whole place is going to shit."

"Nah, nah. The boss is the boss for a reason. You've never met him, duh, he only meets important people but I did once. Hear that? I met him in real life. He's got that crazy glare in his eye, " the man pointed at one of his beady eyes, "and he don't talk too fast and he don't think he's the second comin' of King Fritz or whatever but he makes ya think 'this guy knows what he's doing'. Let the cowards flee. When all this is over, we'll be running this bitch."

As he finished talking, the camera cut to a woman jumping up and down in excitement. She held a sign of her favorite team and, if that weren't enough to show what team she rooted for, she wore a red soccer T-shirt that was wrapped into a knot at the waist.

While the man was distracted, Evan subtly tried to wiggle out of Mabel's grasp but to no avail. The man didn't budge.

The smelly man whistled, "Look at that beauty. I could use one of hers on my lap. Ey Evan, what's your type? Your Papa Mabel can buy a pretty girl after work." The man cackled as he ungraciously swung Evan side to side.

"Hey man, leave him alone, he's just a boy." Ayden put a hand on the arm that was wrapped around Evan's neck.

Mabel roughly tugged the boy closer to him and out of the brother's reach, "What? He's got a working dick don't he? I know I've been crazy 'bout whores since I was 8 years old. You look, what, 15, 16 Evan? You 16 Evan? Is that your age?"

Evan said nothing, instead shooting an alarmed stare at his big brother.

"Stop lookin' so scared, I ain't gonna hurt ya unless you make me." The man giggled in such a way that made Evan's skin crawl.

"Hey man, I said leave him alone!" Ayden gripped the arm and forcefully sent it back to his owner. Taking a few breaths to calm himself down he added, "You always take things too far, man."

Watching Evan squirm closer to his brother, Mabel couldn't help but laugh. He screamed and he hollered, tears streaking down his cheeks, "Ahaha! Awww, you two in love or somethin'? You two delicate flowers? Gonna make out and have gay ass sex?"

The older brother stared back at him in disbelief, "We're brothers Mabel, that shit mean anything to you?"

The greyish man leaned back into his seat, "Not really. I got three sisters and I hate every single one of 'em. I'd be happy if they got their throats slit and bled out."

"Goddess Divine." Ayden mumbled.

Unfortunately, the man heard said mumble. From one moment to the next, his giddy mood spoiled into loathe, "What?! Those three bitches never did anything good for me! My mom was the worst of all of 'em. Gave my sisters everything they wanted and then turned around and told me to get out there and make someone out of myself.

"I spent 15 years in a house with four of the most insufferable women on Earth. But I'm smart, ya see? I learned reeeaal quick that you're all alone from birth to death. The world ain't ever given me shit! I've had to work for everything I have! So yeah, I owe nothing to my sisters, nothing to my mom and nothing to my pops whoever he fuckin' is.

"All I know 's that I'm here for a good time, so yeah, I'm gonna get fuckin' high every day and fuck whores when I get off of work and then I'll drink till I pass out 'cause that's what I do and if you don't like it I don't give a shit!" Mabel was interrupted by a violent cough. Settling down, he added, "Ah fuck, the weed's wearing off. You happy now?!"

Finishing his rant, Mabel slumped deeply into his chair. Evan and Ayden simply stayed quiet. They exchanged nervous glances and then silently turned their attention to the TV. Even when the red team, the team the three men rooted for, scored a goal, no one said a word.

"Aah!" A short scream traveled through the rooms.

"Who the fuck screamed?" Ayden whispered with wide-eyes.

Mabel took out a tiny orange container and spilled pills into his palm, "Beats me."

"I'll go check it out." Ayden got off the couch.

Evan was following suit when his brother stopped him, "You stay here. If I need your help I'll call for you."

"But-!"

"Do as I say." Ayden said through gritted teeth, "I'm not playing around."

But the boy wasn't paying attention anymore. He was looking behind Ayden, where the doorway was. The younger brother's face turned from an irritated expression to a horrified one. Ayden lifted an eyebrow. He swiveled around to find another of the workers standing in the doorway with wide eyes and a parted mouth.

He was bleeding from the chest.

"Mabel... I... I think we're in troubl-"

Before he could finish he was shot straight through the head, exploding into a bloody fountain of brains. Evan instinctively screamed, Mabel jumped into a standing position and Ayden grabbed his brother by the shirt and forced him behind the brown couch.

"Come out of there with your hands in the air! You're cornered!" A voice announced from the other room.

"We're cornered!" Evan repeated in a panicked whisper.

Ayden reached around for his gun and pushed it into Evan's hands, "Here. Use this to defend yourself."

"But that's your only gun!"

"You're a better shot than me, anyway!"

"You have five seconds to come out!" The same voice from before announced, "Five."

"Ayden-!"

The older brother forcefully closed Evan's fingers around the gun handle. Looking past him, he noticed Mable moving a bookshelf.

"Mable, what the fuck are you doing?!"

The older man heaved, "You two flowers might be ready to die but not me. I'm getting the fuck outta here."

Behind the bookshelf was an entryway to a long, grey, hallway. The man continued, "You comin' or not?"

The boys scattered to their feet, exiting the room and pushing the bookshelf back in its place before the enemy could say-

"One!"

The three men rushed through the hallway with quickened breaths and sweaty palms. Ayden was the first to speak.

"How long has this hallway been here? I've never been told about it..." He kept that whispered tone in order to keep the noise to a minimum.

Mabel chuckled, "There's a whole set of secret rooms and tunnels in this building. 'S just that only the important people know about it. Once you've been here for as long as me, you learn this place inside 'n' out." The man looked back at the other two with smugness.

"Ha, ha! Look at you two scared shitless. Not me though, this is a normal Tuesday for me. Gimme a couple of hours and I'll be partying with hot babes. If they even let me. I mean, they are so picky nowadays. They got these bullshit rules now. They're like 'no this, no that'! So fuckin' annoying. Ya know what I mean?"

But the brothers were busy looking around with nervous eyes.

"Ya aren't even paying attention!" Mabel chastised.

"Uh," Ayden started, "no, yeah Mabs. We'll be partying soon. So, this hallway leads us to an exit?"

"It could, but we ain't gettin' to the exit just yet." Mabel turned a corner.

"What?!" The boys said in unison, but they didn't stop following the older man.

"We gotta get Lola first. You said it yourself, lab techs are valuable to the boss. If we save her, the boss'll have to reward us! He'll finally give me that fuckin' promotion."

"That's insane! Let's fucking leave this place before we get shot dead."

The man shrugged, "Do as you want. You don't have to follow me around."

Ayden weighed his options. The brothers could try stumbling around until they found the exit or they could follow Mabel on a suicide mission and eventually leave.

Ayden was caught off guard by a thumping sound. Evan perked up like an attentive dog. The two scrambled to the corner they had turned at to look back at where they had entered. Someone was pushing the bookshelf back open.

"They're coming!" Evan announced.

"Run!" Ayden instructed.

They ran through the hallways with haggard breathing. Evan uttered prayers to Mother Goddess Ymir under his breath. After turning another corner, Mable stopped in the middle of the hallway. He stood in front of a cut out portion of the wall, covered on the other side by a cloth of sorts. Mabel pulled out a knife and slashed through the cloth. It revealed the common kitchen on the other side. Ayden thought back to the times he had spent in that small kitchen drinking coffee. There, he would stare at a big painting of a beautiful mermaid. Ayden had always thought it to be a strange detail. There weren't many art enthusiasts in his line of work. It then clicked in Ayden's head that that same mermaid painting was just what Mabel was slashing through to get to the other side.

The older man wiggled through. The rectangle was barely big enough for him to fit through. Scared that someone dangerous would be on the other side, Ayden pushed Evan back so he could cross first. That way, Evan would cross when Ayden was sure that it was safe.

Mabel's second foot had just touched the floor on the black and white tiles when a woman screamed, "Stop right there!"

A shot went off.

Mabel ducked as soon as he heard the voice. Evan, who had a clear view of what was going on, aimed the gun and pulled the trigger, hitting her right below her left eye. She fell to the floor.

Mabel chuckled, "Ha, ha! Good shot kid! You-"

When glanced back at the kid, he saw Ayden instead, clutching the side of his torso with white knuckles. Evan was horrified.

"Fuck, Ayden! Did she get you?!" The brother shrieked.

Noises of people running came from inside the grey hallway.

Ayden stumbled through the opening. His face was scrunched up in pain and fear. He grabbed Evan by the shirt and practically threw him through the other side. Once the boy landed next to Mabel, the older brother leaned against a wall with wobbly knees. He gazed up at the torn-up mermaid. So much of the fabric had been ripped and torn to the sides that she was unrecognizable. Still, he could make out the delicate hand that stretched upwards to the skies above. One that held a golden necklace in it. He shook his head. So many times had he stared at the hand, never had he thought it was the last thing he would see.

"Y-You two go on ahead, I'll only weigh you down! Get the fuck out of here, I'll be fine!"

"What are you, an idiot?!" Evan reprimanded.

"Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. You know it's true. LEAVE. Hurry, before those fuckers get here."

"No!" Evan noticed Mabel making his way out of the kitchen, "Mabel?! Where the fuck are you going? Help me carry him!"

He shrugged, "You heard him. I got shit to do. I don't got time to be dragging his fat ass around!"

Evan was shocked as the man kept on walking, "Fucker! Motherfucker! You fucking traitor! Scum! Douche!"

His brother patted him on the shoulder, "Hey, hey. Keep your voice down and go with him. You don't got much time. They're coming through the hallway."

"What about you?!"

"You're not dying in a shit hole place like this, okay?! Go!"

"You're a fuckin' idiot if you think I'm leaving you here, dumbass!" Evan ignored his brother's wishes and put Ayden's arm over his shoulders, forcing Ayden to get up with him.

"Seriously?!"

Stompings were heard from the hallway.

"Yes, seriously, now let's go!"

Ayden kept his complaints, frightened that they would be found, and so the two boys limped out of the kitchen. As they did so, they caught glimpse of Mabel turning a corner so Evan, in his desperation, decided to follow him. The older brother couldn't protest as he had begun panting from the exertion of walking. The balding man didn't notice the two boys following him, irking Evan even more.

"Fuckin' old bastard. I can't believe he'd abandon us just like that!" Evan was muttering to himself.

Ayden, on the other hand, wasn't surprised one bit. He had worked with Mabel for a while and he had gotten to know the nastiest sides to him. As Ayden and Evan turned the corner, they saw Mabel crossing the big space cluttered by old machines that no one used anymore. That was when something else caught the older brother's eye.

"Yo, hide, hide! Behind that big pile of junk, hurry!" He whispered in a rush.

The young boy lost his balance just in time for both of them to fall behind an old machine. Ayden inhaled sharply, struggling to keep his cries of pain on the inside. Evan poked his head out ever so slightly, curious as to why his brother had told him to take cover so desperately.

"Put your hands up." Said someone behind Mabel.

Mabel stopped. He chuckled to himself, knowing he was fucked. He sluggishly rose his arms, wondering how the fuck he was gonna get out of that situation. After all, he already knew there was a gun pointing to the back of his head. Sure enough, when he twisted around, there was a tall man aiming at him.

The man wore a black combat suit. Even though he had a mask covering most of his face, Mabel knew he was young by the energy in his eyes. They were a mixture of greens, blues, maybe some browns and a twinkle of yellow. Mabel had been in that line of work for a long time so he knew nervous eyes when he saw them. A little cackle resonated through Mabel's head.

'Maybe if he's just as young as Evan, he's just as stupid too.'

Mabel stumbled back, purposely tripping on his own feet and pretending to fall down. He acted as pathetic as possible.

"P-Please! Please don't kill me! I'm a good person! A father!"

There was a tinge of hesitation in the tall man's eyes, enough for Mabel to know it was working.

"Yeah, yeah. I have two daughters at home. They need me! They already lost their mom. Don't take away their daddy."

The brunet's hand trembled. His eyes were fierce but behind them was an ongoing war.

"Come on, man. I don't do this shit job for myself, I do it to give 'em a good life. Little Emmie just turned four. Mercedes is twelve. Let me see them one more time, I beg of ya."

The brunet lowered his gun at a steady pace. Once fully down, he ordered, "Leave now and I won't tell anyone! I promise, now hurry!"

Unbeknownst to the stranger, Mabel sneakily pulled out a gun from behind, "Oh, I know you won't tell anyone."

He shot at the man without a warning. The bullet cut through the air and landed in the center of his for him, his combat suit was bullet proof in that area. Unluckily, he was so shocked by the attempted murder that he didn't have time to react when Mabel tackled him down.

Now on the ground, the brunet was more angry than scared, "You-You backstabber!"

Mabel laughed so hard he almost threw up. He laughed at the sheer stupidity of the boy. Unlike him, the brunet hadn't known the World the way Mabel had gotten to know her. He didn't know what a heartless bitch she was.

"Of course, you idiot! HA, HA, HA!" He continued laughing while holding a gun to his enemy's head.

He knew the tricks up everyone's sleeve. He knew it all. He understood how it worked. That's why he knew that-

"HA! I'M NEVER GONNA DIE-!"

BAM!

Someone had shot him through his neck. The blood gushing out prevented him from breathing, even less speaking. In those last precious moments before his brain gave out, he realized he was falling to the floor. He didn't know what had happened. He didn't even process where he had been injured but he knew he was dying. It occurred to him that the world had never offered him a choice. He hadn't chosen his awful mother or his wretched sisters, nor the impoverished state he had grown up in. He hadn't even been given the chance to choose a name for himself, but he comprehended that, had he just stayed in that morning, gone out the exit when escaping through the hallways or humbly accepted the boy's offer in running away, he might've lived to see a day where he would realize that Mabel was a precious name to have.

Chapter Text

Levi Ackerman barged into the room. Relief washed over him when he saw the brunet boy standing tall. Alarmed by the gunshot, he had been worried it was Eren to receive the bullet. There was a strange man dead on the ground. Levi had encountered plenty of his kind during his career as a hitman; grey-skinned, drug-addict, foul-smelling, perverted. One glance and Levi knew everything there was to know about the man.

He hummed, "Fuck, brat. I thought I told you to stick to me like gum. At least you defended yourself well. C'mon, let's go."

The bodyguard took a few steps before realizing the brunet wasn't following him. Instead, Eren had stayed there with shock written all over his face.

"H-He... he told me he was a father. Do you think that was true?"

The bodyguard didn't miss a beat, "No. He was lying to get some sympathy out of you."

"How do you know? What if he was telling the truth?"

Levi sighed, "It happens all the time. He would've said anything Eren. One look at him and I'm 99% sure that he was lying."

"But what if he wasn't."

"He was."

"But what if he wasn't." Eren insisted.

The bodyguard licked his lips. There wasn't enough time for this pointless conversation.

"Ok. I see you're in shock. Take a moment. You got one minute. ONE MINUTE. One more second and I'm dragging you with me. I'll be nearby. The clock is ticking and we got important shit to do. Shit YOU swore you would do. You understand that?"

Eren tried to say something, but whatever it was it got stuck in his throat. Instead, he turned back down at the poor man and gave a weak nod to Levi as his response.

"Good. But keep your guard up. If you see any other motherfucker, you shoot, like with him, got it? NO HESITATION. "

Eren stayed silent. Levi sighed. In a low voice, the shorter man said the following, "You're doing a good job, keep at it."

Eren lifted his gaze in surprise. Before Eren could say anything, the man walked away. It was strange to receive a compliment from the bodyguard. The young man took a deep breath.

Up until then, Eren had done just as promised. He had kept quiet, followed every order to a tee and didn't get in anyone's way. Eren had fantasized for quite some time about getting another compliment from Levi Ackerman himself but, in that moment, Eren felt like he didn't deserve it.

After all, it wasn't him who had shot the man.

He took steady steps forward. He hadn't captured the face of the shooter, just the direction from where the bullet had come from. Whoever it had been was hiding behind an old rackety machine that was rusting away into oblivion.

NO HESITATION. Levi had said.

IF YOU SEE ANY OTHER MOTHERFUCKER YOU SHOOT. Levi had said.

He rose his weapon up with a finger ready to pull the trigger. Peaking over, he found the shaky barrel of a gun pointed to his face. Holding it was a young teen, probably younger than himself. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his whole face was contorted in fear and sadness. Behind him, was a similar face. A brother; it had to be. Having been found, the brother allowed himself to heave as heavily as he liked. A hand clutched at his side. His shirt was darkened by blood right there were he held himself.

The armed boy trembled immensely. It occurred to Eren that they were trapped like a pair of rats whose tails had been caught. If Eren killed the one with a gun, the other one was defenseless. If the boy shot Eren, Levi would hear and hunt both of them down. Either way they were dead and the terrified boy knew it.

The brunet slowly opened his mouth. When a voice came out, it was barely above a whisper, "Was it true? Was he a father?"

The boy was shocked. He took a moment to process the strange question, but once he did, he shook his head 'no'. He had begun crying so hard he was hiccupping. The older brother was pale from blood loss but surely he too was aware of their situation. The weakened brother pressed his lips into a tight line and closed his eyes. Eren wondered what was going through his mind in that moment.

'I want to be as strong as Levi. I want to make him proud.'

For that, he had to continue following Levi's orders as cold as they were. Surely if they had been in the building, those boys weren't so innocent. Who knows what kinds of stuff they had done before that day?

Yet Eren felt his arms give out, lowering the gun at a steady pace. The scared boy stared at him intensely. Eren stared back, trying to communicate a whole life story through his eyes. One that told him to leave that wretched place and never come back. The brunet glanced around to see if there was anyone else but it was just him and the two boys. Eren put a finger to his lips.

"Ssshhhhhhh."

And he walked away.

If he had to live another day as a disappointment then so be it.

When he got back to Levi, the bodyguard was talking to two other workers guarding a door. He was able to catch a snippet of the conversation.

"Yessir," one of them said, "and I've just got word that Sandra was shot. She was already dead by the time they found her, it wasn't too long ago. That adds up to three fatalities."

"Hmm..." the bodyguard hummed, "that's unfortunate. Sandra was one hell of a shot." When he recognized Eren's presence, the bodyguard quickly changed topics, "Oh, you're finally here. Gunther, hand me those boxes."

Shoving Eren into the room they were guarding, Levi picked up a set of boxes and warned the other two to not get nosy. He then proceeded to close the door, leaving only Eren and Levi inside the room.

Eren recognized the place immediately. Not because he had been there before, but by the scent in the air, the organized fashion everything was in, the minimalist yet stylish decoration of the room. It was Grisha's office.

Much in Grisha fashion, there was a giant desk in the center of the room. Eren's father had kept one of similar size back at home: one was a rich mahogany with detailed engravings of patterned swirls decorating its borders. That one, however, was much simpler... much colder. It had a wooden top but metallic legs and drawers. There was a singular lamp resting upon it. No pictures of Eren growing up throughout the years, not a frame of Eren's mother when she was alive, not even a miniature statue of Mother Goddess Ymir; just a lamp. It was another desk of the same man but a different version; an emptier one.

The bodyguard set the boxes down, "Alright, we gotta be quick. Anything important for Erwin you put in the big box. Anything that mentions yourself or body modifications you put in the small box. Do I make myself clear?"

As soon as Eren agreed, Levi turned around to explore the room. Eren followed suit. They tore through the bookshelves first. They were stuffed with books with all kinds of data: finances, chemistry, drug recipes, schedules and worker info.

While Levi found them very useful, he continued to search for something a little more specific. Sure, with the pictures they had taken and drugs they had recollected they had more than enough to convince Erwin's people of the threat that Grisha was but he wanted information of what, when and where else these activities occurred.

"Find anything good?" Levi inquired.

"Don't think so." The brunet muttered.

The bodyguard inhaled. They didn't have much time left but there was one more place to search. He analyzed the desk. There was a metal drawer on the left and on the right but both were locked by key. Luckily, Moblit had given him gadgets just for that. He attached a black object in the shape of a half-sphere right on top of the keyholes. Upon activating them with a single press of a button, they flickered green. Levi instructed the brunet to take a step back and cover his ears. The flickering got faster and faster until finally causing a small explosion. Both drawers busted open.

"Neat!" Eren admired.

Levi couldn't help but chuckle.

He dug into the drawer on the right. There was a mountain of journals and papers that instantly caught Levi's eye. Giving them a swift flip of the pages, he spotted one in particular.

Jackpot.

It was the records of the imports and exports of that warehouse. His delicate fingers traced the letters as he read. With the directions written down in every entry, he could extract information of other locations, partnerships, operational behaviours, high seasons of sell and low seasons. The possibilities were endless. He stuffed the records into the big box.

Glancing over to the tall boy, Eren inspected a red journal with sad eyes. It was big in length but not in width, maybe 30 pages max. The page depicted a beaten man in his 30s. Above his picture it said NUMBER 0073. Levi was reminded of the file on Eren he had discovered back when the brunet had been attacked for the first time. It was the same format, the same design, the same style. Eren plopped the journal into the small box without saying a word.

"Move over a bit." Levi muttered so he could get to the other drawer.

Opening it up, he stared back at it dumbfounded.

"What is it?" Eren questioned.

"Well..." Levi reached down to dip a finger in, "... ashes."

"Ashes?"

"Ashes."

"Why the fuck would he just keep a drawer full of ashes?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know? You're the son."

Examining the peculiar setting, something white popped out. He pushed the ashes away to reveal a piece of paper folded in two. When he went to lift it, a heavy object slipped out from between the fold. It clanked loudly against the metal bottom of the drawer, causing a small cloud of ashes to fly into the air. Eren coughed, waving a hand in front of his face to protect his nose.

Levi first opened the note. Someone had attempted to begin a letter various times but had scratched the words out every time. The singular exception was at the very bottom of the page. The phrase was short and to the point, yet in such few words the pain of the writer seeped through.

FORGIVE ME, CARLA

"Carla?" Levi accidentally said out loud.

Eren grabbed the letter with bitter eyes, "My mother."

Levi hesitated, "Did... did your father kill her?"

The green-eyed boy leapt, "What? No! Well, I guess with all he's done it wouldn't be a surprise, huh... but no, she died in childbirth." He swallowed hard, "My dad didn't talk about her often but when he did it was like he was talking about a Goddess. For him, she was the kindest, most gentle woman on Earth. He was totally in love with her."

The shorter male scooped up whatever had fallen down before. It was a key. It had a simple sculpt, hardly anything more than a diamond shape on the top followed by a standard key design. Shaking the ashes away, the golden color twinkled in the light.

"Wait-" Eren attempted to snatch the key from the bodyguard's hands but the man was quicker.

"You know what this unlocks?"

The green-eyed boy licked his lips. His eyes reeked of desperation.

"I've seen that key before. Grisha used to wear it around his neck all the time. It-It unlocks a safe he used to keep at home but he never let me see what was inside." Eren breathed heavily as his eyes switched between the letter and the key, "I think- I think it's where he kept some of my mom's stuff. I mean it makes sense doesn't it? That's why this letter is here. It doesn't have to do with the mission, just give it to me."

Eren outstretched a hand, his fingers twitched nervously as he waited for the bodyguard to give him the key. Levi thought about it for a second. If Eren was wrong and the key had nothing to do with his mother, they could potentially be missing out on crucial information. Certainly, if it was important enough for Grisha to wear it, it must've been something of great importance to the man. However, the pleading glint in the green-eyed boy's face made it hard to say no. How could Levi deny the brunet the chance to know more about his deceased mother?

"And you're planning on opening this safe?"

Eren sighed heavily, "I have to find it first. My dad moved it a couple of years ago. I... have no idea where it is anymore."

Levi stared at the boy for a few seconds, "Fine, you can have it, but promise me this, you'll keep it close to you. We'll look into this safe if we have time but you can't lose it."

Eren's eyes brightened up like two gemstones sparkling in the presence of sunlight. The unbound oceans contained in them moved and swayed with joy and excitement.

"Yes! I won't lose it, you have my word!"

When Levi planted the key in Eren's palm, their hands touched for a brief instant. Eren glanced at his bodyguard coyly. Levi, on the other hand, looked off to the other side and cleared his throat.

"Let's wrap things up here. It's time to leave."

Going through the last of the documents, they finished categorizing everything and hurried out of the room. Levi lead the brunet out of the building where most of the Survey Corps had gathered. Two men were on their knees and handcuffed. One was screaming insults into the air while the other was as quiet as a mouse.

Eren leaned towards the bodyguard to whisper in his ear, "Who are those guys?"

A woman glanced at them curiously. Eren had been getting weird stares from Survey Corps workers the entire day. The brunet wondered if Levi hadn't noticed or if he was feigning ignorance.

"Grisha's men. We'll probably be interrogating them before giving them up to the police." The silver-eyed man gave orders to people nearby.

"Her too?"

A young woman with long, tangled hair was being led to a car. She was swatting against the worker that was struggling to get her inside without being violent.

"Wh-Where are you taking me? Where are you taking me?! Get your hands off of me, you bastard!" No matter how she belted the words, the panic in them was evident.

"No, not her. C'mere for a minute." With a finger, he indicated Eren to follow him as Levi approached the situation.

"Ma'am we are here to help." The worker insisted but his words meant nothing to her.

"You're lying! Let me go! Where are you taking me?! Ah-!"

"What seems to be the problem?" It was Levi's turn to talk.

"Wha-" she failed at punching the worker in the stomach, "ugh! What's the problem?! You guys are kidnapping me that's the problem! Leave me alone, you want money? I'll give you money! Just let me get back to my family, please!"

"Ma'am we aren't here to kidnap you we-"

"Yeah, yeah, taking me to the police but I don't see any identifications. You liars!"

Levi huffed, "Okay. Listen, if you want to be let go, you are more than welcomed. The problem is that more criminals are coming to this warehouse. We, in good conscience, would prefer to deliver you to a safer location but you are right. We have no identifications and no way of proving that to you. If you want to leave right now you are allowed to do so, so long as you at least take a taser or pepper spray from us for your personal defense."

The bodyguard made a gesture with his hand, one that told the worker to let her go. When he released the girl, she stopped like a deer in the headlights. She studied her surroundings carefully. Just about everyone was involved in their own work. No one was looking to tie her down. Levi was right, she could've waltzed out of there if it pleased her. She stumbled back and put a hand to her head as if it hurt.

"W-Wait. Is this for real? Am I actually... free?"

The silver-eyed man crossed his arms, "Of course."

A single tear rolled down her cheek. Then three, then eight and in a matter of seconds she was sobbing so hard that Eren lurched forward to catch her before she collapsed completely. She began praying.

"O Mother Ymir! O Goddess Divine!

Take my soul, take my heart, take my essence,

For I owe you all that is me and mine!

And may I be worthy of your presence!

As time consumes my physical remains,

I yearn to return to your precious womb,

To rid me of all my humanly pains,

How I wish to reunite with your bloom!

O Mother Ymir! O Goddess Divine!

Spare me! Love me! Your son, your protector

Spare me! Love Me! Your daughter, your bloodline,

We owe all to you, your flesh, your nectar."

The worker that had been previously battling against the girl, swooped in, "I got it from here. Thanks."

After having attacked him multiple times, it was now the woman to grab the worker with force, gripping onto him as if her life depended on it. She rested her tired head on the workers chest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She whimpered over and over.

"Eren." Levi stated.

One word and Eren knew it was time to go. He took one last good look at her before leaving. The green-eyed boy said nothing on their way to the car. It was a long walk since Levi had parked a long way from the warehouse but the bodyguard was more than happy for some quiet time. It wasn't until they got there that the silver-eyed man threw the boxes into the backseat that he started complaining.

"Ugh, remind me to teach you how to use 3DMG gear," he said while revving up the engine, "it's such a drag walking to places like a normal person. You could probably pick it up in a month or two, right? How good is your balance?"

No response.

Levi begun to drive off. the bodyguard snorted to himself, "Well, if our training sessions are any indication you'd probably fall flat on your ass the first couple of times. Y'know, using 3DMG gear isn't something that can be forced. You have to be patient, precise. You have to listen to your body so it can tell you how to hold yourself."

Still no response. Not even a sarcastic comment.

Levi rolled his eyes and shook his head with irritation, "Are you even listening to me-?"

"Levi, look!" The brunet shoved a book in Levi's face like an excited toddler.

"Ah!" The surprise made the bodyguard swerve the car by accident, "Hold on, man, I'm driving here, you're gonna get us both killed!"

"Ok, but did you see it?" Eren innocently asked.

"See what?"

He peeked at whatever it was the brat was showing him. It was the red journal they had found in Grisha's office. It was opened to where there was a photo of the woman they had been talking to earlier.

Satisfied, Eren sat the book back down on his lap, "I knew it! Dad wrote her down in the journal. Mariah Hall. She was going to be an experiment! It says here that they captured her a few days ago though so I'm pretty sure they didn't get to start yet. She was in the process of being relocated for the experimentation to begin. Isn't that great!?"

"... that makes you happy because...?"

The brunet was so excited he jumped in his seat, "Because it means we did it! We actually helped someone Levi! They would've done a bunch of awful stuff to her and for years! When Grisha kidnaps someone for these kinds of things he either uses them until they die or kills them off if they don't give good results, no in between. But now, she's gonna go home to her family and live a nice, peaceful life! That's what's so great! We helped her! Was there anyone else in the warehouse? Someone like her?"

The bodyguard thought back to what the workers had told him, "Ah, I think someone mentioned that there was another man but he wasn't nearly as feisty as her."

Eren was elated, "That makes two! And soon we'll save more and more until NO one has to go through his fucked up shit. That's what's so great about it! Isn't it fucking amazing?"

Levi thought about saying something snarky but opted for staying quiet. It was true. He had felt it the last time they had worked with the police as well. After spending so much time hurting people as part of his job, it felt nice to do the opposite and help repair a broken soul. However, the silver-eyed man didn't let the emotion grow any further. There was a long ways to go and to celebrate preemptively would lead to disappointment. In spite of that, he didn't share his thoughts with the brunet. He wanted the boy to enjoy that moment of peace. Levi had spent so much time staring at the Eren's angry eyes that to see them overcome with joy, Levi didn't want to shut them down so fast.

"It says here," Eren continued, "that she's a great swimmer! Competes and everything. Makes sense, Grisha likes athletic people for his experiments. He says they yield better results. Maybe she'll go back to competing once she gets home. She won second place in a local competition last year!"

The green-eyed boy spent the rest of the ride reading from the girl's file, sharing with the bodyguard fun tidbits and imagining what it would be like when the blonde returned to her family. Meanwhile, Levi listened in silence up until they got to the apartment.

Levi gave way for Eren to enter the place but stopped at the door himself, "Alright, get some rest. You did good for your first mission, we'll see each other tomorrow morning."

Eren dropped the red journal on the couch, "Wait, where are you going? We gotta start planning! What's next? We gonna bust into another location? Which one are we choosing?"

The bodyguard closed the door so no random person walking by would hear, "It's gonna be a while before we do anything else. I have to work things out with Erwin, talk with Hanji, organize everything, it's gonna take some time."

"But we gotta help-!"

"Hey, hey," Levi said in a soothing voice. He closed the gap between the two and set a hand on the young man's shoulder, "we will, we will, but we gotta be smart about it or else things get messy and if things get messy, innocent people die."

Eren stopped his frenetic pace. Instead, he nodded nervously. The space between then was narrow and it tingled right there where Levi was touching him.

"Hey Levi... thanks for..."

Eren lost his train of thought. With Levi so up-close, he lost himself in the other man's eyes.

By the Goddess, did he have beautiful eyes.

Yes, much like a knife, they were sharp and dangerous but they also had that metallic glint that one would admire in the sunlight. And sometimes, when the bodyguard wasn't glowering, the harshness in his stare would melt away, leaving behind an ethereal gaze that would emit peace similar to that of freshly fallen snow glimmering in the moonlight.

Below that powerful stare was a slender nose, and below that were a pair of captivating lips. Eren thought back to that one time during their training session where he had thought it to be a bright idea to kiss the bodyguard. He hadn't made sense of the action but in that moment, purely the memory was enough to make his stomach lurch.

He wanted to do it again.

Usually, he would have a voice inside his head that would halt him from thinking such strange thoughts or doing weird things but, after the incidents of that day, he was feeling on top of the world. He felt useful, helpful, achieved, like he was worth something. That voice could go to hell because with that emotion filling his chest, he wanted to take all that felt good just because he had the power to do so.

Before he knew it, Eren placed his lips on top of Levi's. It was hardly more than a brush but the modest act was enough to send a wave of fuzzy heat down the brunet's body all the way to his tippy-toes. Even when he pulled back, the tingling sensation on his lips remained.

Levi was frowning but his voice was soft when he said, "Why did you do that?"

Eren decided to be honest.

"Because I wanted to." He offered no more explanation.

Levi opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, "See you tomorrow morning."

The bodyguard walked out the door, leaving Eren standing there. He touched his lips, wondering if the sensation would ever go away. He could've felt a lot of things in that moment; a lot of bad things like fear, anger, horror, confusion but Eren was hell-bent on feeling good that day. And so, shoving everything to the side, he ripped out Mariah Hall's page from Grisha's journal, went to his room and spent the afternoon reading and re-reading about the girl he had helped save.

Chapter Text

Author's Note

>Randomly disappears for a couple of weeks

>Up and publishes four chapters back to back

>Refuses to elaborate further

Lol, this chapter is 100% skippable btw, next chap tho? It's what the youths of today call "a-spicy-meat-ah-ball".

...

Yes I am losing my mind, how could you tell? See you guys next week! XD

~Gum

Had anyone been walking through Mayland Park that day, they would've seen two brothers trudging along. The smaller one was struggling to support both their weights since the bigger one was leaning onto him for stability. If one would've taken a close look, they would've noticed that under the black jacket the older brother wore was a bloodied shirt, for he was wounded on a side. They had done a shoddy attempt at bandaging the wound with a first aid kit they were able to snag but it was no show of craftsmanship.

"You okay, Ayden?" Asked the little one.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

It was both a lie and the truth. The pain was no laughing matter and he felt light-headed but it was bearable and, though every step was a task, the gentle air, the delicate sound of rustling leaves and the soft warmth of the sun of his face soothed his torment.

Ayden continued, "Skip will be able to patch me up. At least the gunshot didn't hit anything important."

The younger brother swallowed hard, "Fuck, I still can't believe that I..." He trailed off.

"What, Evan? That you shot Mabel? Honestly? Good riddance. That fucker had it coming. I almost wanted to tell you to shoot the guy that caught us too. I've got no fucking clue why he let us go but I ain't complaining..."

Evan lost his gaze to the void. Ayden knew he was replaying that memory of Mabel falling dead to the floor. He didn't want to add to the turmoil in his brother's head but the question was burning in his throat.

"Why did you shoot Mabel though? I mean! I'm not judging, like I said, good riddance but I dunno."

"I dunno either." Evan tried shrugging but he couldn't with the weight he was bearing, "That guy gave Mabel a chance to leave and he almost died because he showed Mabel mercy. It... didn't feel fair." He sighed, "But that almost got us killed. Next time I'll know better."

"Next time?!" Ayden shrieked, "There won't be a next time. I'm getting you the fuck out of this shit. You know why Dad wanted you to tag along with me? He was spewing shit about you 'becoming a man'. How the fuck are you supposed to 'become a man' if you're dead?! No fucking way, he can shove it up whatever he wants.

"You're gonna have a better life, okay?! Better than all of us. You're gonna do the right thing, go to school, get an education, get a real job, all that shit. I won't let mom and dad fuck up like they did with me." Ayden would've continued ranting but he ran out of breath. The ache on his side made itself known.

Ayden's words cut deep. A peculiar pain seeped into Evan's veins and attacked at his heart. Sure, it would've been nice to have that normal life, but the very idea wore dream-like robes. To think it could ever become a reality felt as if he were convincing himself of the impossible.

"Did you lose a screw in that big head of yours? Stop talking shit. How the fuck would I ever afford University. And what about you? You expect me to leave you behind?"

"You're a smart kid, Evan. All the teachers say so in school. Talented too. Don't snitch on me to Mom and Dad but I've been doing some snoopin' around. Remember that time you got in a fight in school and I had to go pick you up? I got talking with the counselor. She told me about these scholarships. There are some for people with art skills. You'd get in instantly!"

Evan shook his head, "Fuck no. Why'd they choose someone like me? Tagging buildings isn't art."

"It so is! Like the funky alien you painted or the big bleeding eye. Just do the same shit on, like, an easel and they'll give it to you no sweat. I'm telling you, you're meant for more than this."

Evan sniffed, "You've been... you've been thinking about this for a while, huh?"

Ayden took a moment to respond, "Maybe."

"And Dad?"

"Fuck him. Good for nothing junkie."

"And Mom?"

"She don't need us. She's been practically doing her own thing ever since we learned how to walk anyway. She acts like she cares but she'd be happier if we left. Trust me." Ayden tried to hide the bitterness in his voice but by the sad glint in his brother's eyes he knew he had failed.

"If we do this -which I'm not even sure if it would work by the way- but if we did, you're coming with me! It's like when Mom caught us doing something bad, we always covered for each other even if that meant a whooping for both of us..." He cleared his throat, "Ya fucking shithead!" He added so he wouldn't sound corny.

Ayden chuckled but the pain grew to be too much for such a simple act.

"You win. I want to quit. A friend told me about a job I could take. It wouldn't be much money but I got a little savings on the side. Maybe we can hold out for a couple of months on our own."

The younger brother felt a surge of excitement run through his body. It was scary to hope, Evan thought, but he truly wanted to believe that there was a better world out there for him. Out there for both of them.

"You really think we can do this, man?"

Ayden had no fucking clue, but there was no other way to go but up, "I mean, we won't know till we try, don't you think?"

"Yeah..." Evan nodded, "yeah..."

The older brother smiled. He too felt that tinge of hope flourish in his heart. Indeed, had anyone been walking through Mayland Park that day, they would've seen two brothers trudging along to an uncertain but exciting future.

Chapter Text

At 5:40 AM, Eren staggered out of his bed with a nasty scowl plastered on his face.

At 5:45 AM, Eren wished the whole world would go to hell while he brushed his teeth.

At 5:48 AM, Eren almost fell back asleep while putting on a fresh pair of socks.

At 5:52 AM, Eren was on the verge of having a meltdown when he tripped over his own feet while putting pants on.

But then at 5:55 AM, Eren was in front of the mirror with the black top and grey sweatpants he liked wearing for training. That's when he saw it.

He had lifted his arms to give his chocolate locks a quick combing when he saw it.

He SAW it.

The teen practically burst through the door.

"Levi, Levi! LEVI!" His grin was so big it almost split his entire face in two.

"Huh?" Said the young man casually leaning against the couch.

"LOOK!"

The brunet elevated an arm similar to before only this time he actually flexed. He pointed at his own bicep while presenting a 'ta-dah!' expression to the older man.

The raven said nothing. Instead, he looked at the bicep with a blank stare, then back at the green-eyed boy.

Levi sniffed, "What am I looking at exactly?"

"Can't you tell? I got muscle now! See this line here? It's, like, more defined now and here? Yeah that looks WAY better!" The brunet nodded to himself as if what he was saying was as obvious as the sun was hot.

The bodyguard remained with his arms crossed, "You call that muscle?"

Eren scoffed in a high-pitched tone.

Levi back-peddled, "Alright, alright. Don't go throwing a tantrum on me, Jaegar. You're right. Very impressive." But the words dripped with mockery.

Eren made an irritated face. Levi looked like he was biting back a laugh.

It occurred to the brunet that for as much as Levi liked to act as the straight man, he sure got a kick out of pissing Eren off.

"But you see," Levi continued, "this is what happens when you put in the effort into training. Now with a better diet, you'd have results twice as fast."

"Well one way or another, I'll be catching up to you in no time." Said Eren in a cocky tone, "You'll see! Let's go, I'll be training EXTRA hard today just to show you!"

The energetic brunet started making his way down even though he had no idea where the car would be parked. Levi trailed behind.

When the time came to prove what he was made out of, Eren's determination didn't waver. The bodyguard gave him a routine of exercises and the taller male would make a point of putting on more weight or doing more sets than usual whether it was as small as an extra kilogram or as big as 6 sets instead of 4.

Soon, Eren's blood coursed through his veins piping hot. It fed every muscle of his body, giving them the strength to exceed himself. That feeling invigorated Eren. It reminded him of the person he used to be; it reminded him of the boy that existed before Grisha's insatiability tore him down. The only thing Eren was missing was Mikasa by his side, challenging him to see who could do more.

Two hours felt like fifteen minutes and, before he knew it, Eren had finished the routine for the day. He sat down on the floor with his legs spread and his head hanging low. He concentrated on his heart beat. It was so strong and steady in his chest. Its rhythmic beatings hypnotized the green-eyed boy. When he noticed his bodyguard getting closer, he didn't miss a beat.

"What's next boss?" He teased.

"You still got energy in you?" The bodyguard questioned.

"Totally! You say the word, we'll do it!" Eren punched the air with enthusiasm.

"Hmmm, alright. We'll do one more thing then. Let me just..." The raven looked around, "let me just grab some things..."

He left without saying anything else. Eren prepared himself mentally. Levi hadn't boxed Eren since the last time when Eren had...

Well, they simply hadn't boxed in a while. This time, however, the brunet was stronger and faster. Surely, he stood a better chance against Levi this time. Eren was busy imagining what he was going to do when the bodyguard came back but, much to Eren's disappointment, the raven wasn't holding boxing gloves. Instead, he was holding a pair of 3DMG gear.

"Aww man! C'mon! I had a whole thing planned out." Eren whined.

The bodyguard lifted an eyebrow, "What on Earth are you on about this time?"

"I thought we were gonna box!"

"No, no," the bodyguard shook his head, "we aren't doing that anymore. This is more important anyway; that way I won't have to fuckin' walk everywhere when I'm with you."

But Eren wasn't having it.

"No, no. I get it. You don't wanna box me now. I wouldn't want to either. I mean I would only wanna box people when they don't know how to. That way my face doesn't get fucked up. Yeah, no problem. I get it." He mumbled in a tiny voice.

Levi pursed his lips, "What."

"What? I geeeet it. You don't wanna fight me now that I stand a chance."

"What." Levi repeated.

"It's understandable. You don't want me kicking your ass, that's all."

The bodyguard sucked in his lower lip, "I'm not falling for that."

"For what? I'm not doing anything?" He glanced upward at the bodyguard with angel eyes.

"You really think you could beat my ass? I hear you falling over every time you change in the mornings."

"Hey! That doesn't count! I get very sleepy!" Eren reproached.

Levi couldn't hold back any longer. He let out a low laugh as rich and pleasing as the smell of coffee and warm bread on a chilly day. It made Eren's stomach go fuzzy with joy.

"Careful what you wish for. Since you're such a threat now I wouldn't have to go easy on you anymore."

Okay, that definitely made Eren's determination waver, but it was too late to back down now so there was nothing left to do but dig his grave deeper.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The taller male shrugged.

"You serious right now?"

"Super serious." Eren said confidently.

"You wanna get your ass beat so bad, go get the gloves. They're in that basket over there." The bodyguard pointed.

"Really?!

Levi shrugged, "Your funeral, not mine."

The teen ran to the basket like a toddler excited for a toy. When he got there, he saw there were multiple pairs of boxing gloves stored in it. He grabbed the red ones and black ones that they usually wore. When he got back to Levi, the bodyguard was stretching by rolling his shoulders.

Not a good sign.

"Here." He went to give the bodyguard the black pair when- "Wait! No, you-you always get the black ones. I want them this time."

Levi snorted, "You think that'll give you better odds at winning?"

"I mean, can't hurt to try, amiright?" The brunet laughed to himself.

The pair strapped on their respective gloves and made their way to the ring. When they got there, Eren gave the shorter man a taunting stare. It was like that of a court jester: playful yet chaotic, innocent yet tainted with sin. In matter of seconds, Levi's previous smirk dissolved into a blank expression. The bodyguard cleared his throat.

"You know, maybe this isn't such a good i-"

BAM!

A punch to the face.

The thrower of such a hand was horrified, "Oh Gods! That was WAY harder than I intended. I'm so-"

And BAM!

Eren got a punch tenfold in power.

Even though his nose stung and he had stumbled back from the force, the green-eyed boy chuckled. Levi hadn't even HESITATED in reciprocating the punch.

The bodyguard took no time in throwing a left punch straight at the brunet but this time Eren was quicker and moved back just in time to feel the air swoosh towards his face. The raven threw another punch. In an attempt to retaliate, Eren ducked ever so slightly and aimed for the stomach. Levi too backed away in the nick of time. Eren stood tall once again, jumping from side to side like he had seen the professionals do on TV. Levi watched him with amusement. The brunet was taking this oh-so-seriously.

The raven faked out a right punch, which startled the taller male enough to make a face. Seeing that Levi was simply messing with him, he frowned. The shorter male threw another right punch; that one was not fake at all as it caught Eren's nose. Eren huffed like a bull, entertained but irritated by the way the bodyguard was teasing him.

"You remember the safe word, right?" Levi purred.

Annoyed, the brunet took a step forward with aggressive eyes. The bodyguard tossed a left hand but Eren was able to dodge by ducking and, before Levi could guard himself anew, the brunet hurled an uppercut. The raven shuffled back in awe and, seeing as the teen was ready for the next attack, he speedily went to clinch Eren. The green-eyed boy's brain stopped for a second as he had never been so close to the bodyguard. The man was practically hugging him. Such was his confusion that he had no time to react when the raven let the taller boy go and pushed him away.

Levi rolled his shoulders, Eren took deep breathes. They had hard gazes on each other, each man trying to predict the other one's moves. Eren knew by the sharpness in the raven's eyes that he was fucked. The steel in them reflected back danger. They were cold, calculating, and lethal, like a piercing knife.

Levi sent a right jab in Eren's direction. Thinking about dodging it by ducking like he had earlier, he repeated those movements. However, Levi had already seen that trick once and it wasn't going to work again. Just as the green-eyed boy was swooping down, the bodyguard flung a left punch to the side of his face. Eren acted as if he hadn't been hit at all but the daze in his eyes was obvious as he messily pitched a right punch that Levi easily evaded and countered with a right punch of his own. This time it was Eren to clinch the raven.

The brunet was panting from the exertion. His whole body was hot, so much so that he was sweating up a storm. Having Levi stuck to his body, he could feel the way the shorter man's chest also expanded and contracted with every breath. A fluttery feeling emerged from the pit of his stomach.

Levi forced himself out of the hug and jumped back. He licked his bottom lip before saying, "Alright, enough games."

There was a moment where they simply looked at each other. There where green met grey, the tension was high and the air electric. Eren swallowed hard. The bodyguard took note of the way the brunet's throat muscles moved with the act.

Levi threw such a swift hook that Eren didn't register it until the pain reverberated throughout the side of his face. A second later, the bodyguard gave the brunet an uppercut, then another right hook and then a left jab and then a barrage of punches that Eren couldn't keep up with and then suddenly he was lost in an ocean of blurry colors and the only thing he could sense was pain coming from a flurry of different directions.

Forcing his eyes to make sense of the mess around him, he was able to distinguish the raven's body and went to clinch him once again. However, in the hurriedness of his actions, the brunet had hugged the bodyguard around the waist and buried his head in the crook of Levi's neck more like a pair of lovers than two fighters. Meanwhile, Levi's arms had been awkwardly caught between the two bodies, smooshed together in such a way that he was ultimately left defenseless.

"E-Eren...?" Levi questioned.

The brunet was astounded to hear the bodyguard stutter. His conviction was always so strong that it was hard to believe the bodyguard was able to make such small, human mistakes. He lifted his head enough to stare at the man. He felt the raven's hot breath and the warmth of his body. The sensation was too much to bear.

Losing himself in his emotions, the boy dipped his head to kiss the shorter man. Unlike the last time he had done so, the kiss was not chaste and shy rather desperate and urgent. Eren had half expected to receive a knee to the groin or a stomp on the foot as result of his actions, yet much to Eren's pleasure, Levi did not stand idle like last time. The moment their lips touched, the man lunged himself into the kiss, giving into the desire as well. More than lips alone, tongues intertwined in a messy fashion and the very act sent shockwaves of lust down Eren's spine. How miserable he was that he couldn't rip off the stupid gloves to feel to his hearts content.

Eren had never experiences such a thing. He had kissed before, certainly. His first girlfriend wanted to spend their days kissing. Though she often sought his lips, he never found much interest in hers. He had guessed that kissing was more a girl thing and that the satisfaction boys would get would be from other things like touching each other or actual sex. However, she had always been afraid of doing more than kissing and, though Eren had yet to put his theory to the test, he never cared to push her into doing anything she was uncomfortable with. After all, his father had taught him that it wasn't a man's place to pressure his lover into doing something for the sake of his own pleasure.

As it turned out, everything about Levi Ackerman shattered Eren's worldview. While the green-eyed boy had barely felt anything when french-kissing his first girlfriend, the simple act of being close to the bodyguard made his body react in such a way that couldn't be ignored. Eren felt in heaven when the arms of the man wrapped around his neck and brought him closer. Eren frantically explored the man's mouth as if there was no time left. He let out a heavy breath, on the verge of being a moan, when Levi sunk his teeth into Eren's bottom lip. The raven was about to pull back but the taller male wouldn't have it. He mashed his lips on the other man's once again so that it wouldn't end so soon. Levi begun melting into it once again but, just as Eren was reaching nirvana, the shorter man abruptly pulled away.

His lips had turned a beautiful shade of pink from the kissing.

Eren was so captivated by them, it took him a while to look up and realize Levi had an angry expression on his face. There was a short moment in which they both recollected themselves.

"What the fuck?!" Levi shouted between breaths.

Eren was flabbergasted.

"What?!" He asked innocently.

The raven bit his lower lip. Eren was sure he was gonna be driven crazy by his desire to kiss the man once again.

"What do you mean 'what'?! Why are you kissing me?!"

It was Eren's turn to frown, "I already told you! 'Cause I want to!" He stated plainly.

The bodyguard searched around with bewildered eyes, "S-So, what? What does that mean? You want to kiss me? So, you're gay?"

"What?!" Eren was horrified, "No! No, I'm not gay!"

Levi looked like he was about to explode, "You just kissed me!"

"Yeah, you! I'm not gay, I just like you!"

The bodyguard's expression softened into something more akin to sadness, "Eren..." his face hardened once again, "Eren. You're obviously confused about a lot of things. We can't do this."

Eren was taken aback, "Why?!"

"What do you mean why, Eren?! You're standing there saying you don't like men when you just kissed me, a man, and it's obvious to me you need to figure some things out and I won't take advantage of that situation!"

"Take advantage?! You're not taking advantage of anything! I don't understand what the fucking problem is! Or why we have to fucking label this as anything other than two people just hanging out! It's not like we're fucking or anything, it's just a damn kiss!" The brunets face had turned red from the screaming.

"NO." The raven declared loudly.

"But-!"

"I said no Eren! We are NOT doing this. End of conversation."

"I-"

"END of conversation! Now get yourself together and get in the fucking car or I'll drag you there myself. We're leaving this fucking place."

Levi stomped away without even a second glance at the brunet. As Levi exited the gym with a violent closing of the door, Eren was left behind without anything or anyone to console him. In a fit of rage, he aggressively ripped off the gloves and slammed them to the ground with such force that the sound reverberated through-out the whole gym. Breaking apart by the intense nature of his emotions, he practically fell down on the floor into a sitting position and buried his face in his hands.

He had never felt like such a fool.

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Author's Note

Ok, ok! This is the last of the weird "boxing turns hot" chapters

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Probably

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LMAO, on a more serious note! I should add, from my limited queer-person-stuck-in-a-homophobic-town point of view, I do believe that there can exist a case of a straight person potentially being attracted to someone of the same sex and it doesn't particularly mean that they are attracted to ALL the men or ALL the women if you catch my drift. But I think in Eren's case, he is terribly misguided about a lot of things and Levi thinks that as well. So, just wanted to clarify that. Next chapter is probably gonna appear to be out of left field but this story became a monster of its own long ago and the more I wrote, the more I started to delve into topics I didn't even think I was gonna delve into when I first started out. Y'know what they say, life is like a box of chocolates. See you guys next week!

~Gum

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 31

"Go, Mikasa, go! Go, Mikasa, go!"

It was a nice sunny day in the suburbs. The birds were chirping, the air was singing, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was the perfect day to be outside and to play around. So there they were, Eren and Mikasa, playing in his backyard. Eren had been having the time of his life. The pair had spent a good hour pretending to be pirates in search of a treasure. The boy loved when they pretended to be pirates or aliens or soldiers, it was something that Mikasa had unfortunately been losing interest in so, for her to give in that day, was the best treasure Eren could find.

A little Eren Jaegar cheered for his neighbor and long-time friend as she stared down the slide before her like a beast that had to be tamed. She took a couple of slow, steady steps back before launching herself down the slide.

"AAAAAH! OOF!"

Such was the force in which she threw herself that she overshot it and, instead of landing at the bottom of the slide like she was supposed to, her petite body landed on the cold, hard, ground. The young girl glanced up at the green-eyed boy and, without exchanging a single word, they bursted out laughing.

"That was awesome, Mikasa! Do it again, do it again!"

"No way!" The girl said in between laughs, "That hurt enough the first time."

The girl rubbed the side of her sore bottom. Eren laughed at how ridiculous she looked in doing so. Mikasa stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh come on, don't be such a baby-!" His eyes shot open, "Wait a minute-!"

The boy leaned forward to get a better look. Mikasa noticed the sudden change in his behaviour.

"Huh? What is it? Did I tear my dress?" She tried inspecting her bottom but her limited flexibility kept her from getting a good view.

Eren, however, had his eyes well fixed in that grass-stain that had just been made in Mikasa's pale pink dress. There was no doubt in the brunet's mind. Beneath the thin layer of grass and dirt was a red stain. A blood stain.

"Mikasa, you're bleeding!"

Mikasa widened her eyes, "Seriously?! Where?"

Eren shrugged, "I dunno."

"Lemme check!" The girl ran off without a warning.

"Where are you going?!" Eren shouted as he bursted into motion as well.

"The bathroom!"

The brunet could hardly keep up with how quickly the girl shut herself in the bathroom. He knocked at the door impatiently, "Mikasa? Are you okay, Mikasa?"

"I-I dunno! Gimme a moment!" The girl replied in a distressed voice.

"Maybe I should get my dad! He'll know what to do! Wait there!"

Just as he was turning around, he slammed into a hard body. The boy glanced upwards and locked eyes with a man. A man with Eren's same eye color and hair tone except that man's hair was longer and his eyes smaller, much calmer than the boy's. It was his father, Grisha.

While in Eren's eyes, the colors of a playful and excited sea could be counted, Grisha's held the calm ocean that took place when the sun was setting and the air was getting chilly. The man still wore his reading glasses, something that he was wearing more and more as his age advanced. Grisha had forgotten he was wearing them as he had come out from his office in a hurry from the commotion the kids were making.

"Eren? Is everything okay?"

The boy pulled at his father's sleeve, "Dad, dad, Mikasa is bleeding! Help her!"

"Hm?" The father took long strides to the bathroom door and knocked softly, "Mikasa? Eren tells me you are bleeding. Where are you hurt?"

There was a short moment of silence.

"Um! I don't know how to explain it!" She said from the other side.

"Would you mind opening the door for me? There is no need to be afraid, I can help you feel better, trust me." The man said in a calming tone.

Mikasa hesitated but surely enough, the door swung open. The girl stood in the middle of the bathroom holding her dress down with anxious hands. Her tiny face was covered in panic but the way her cheeks reddened with emotion and her eyes shined with barely-contained tears made her so adorable, one would only want to scoop her up, give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Grisha got on one knee in front of her, "There you are," the man smiled, "now tell me what happened."

Mikasa fidgeted with her dress, "Eren and I were playing in the backyard and I was going down and fell on my butt, but I-I don't feel hurt anywhere and I don't get why I'm bleeding!" Her cheeks deepened in color.

Grisha was taken aback, "Well, where is the blood coming from?"

"I dunno! It's-It's like I'm peeing blood!" Mikasa was certain she only had five minutes left to live.

Grisha worried, Eren could tell he had that doctor brain where he was going through a list of possible diseases, "Peeing blood? Are you sure? Has this happened before or is this the first time?"

"No! It's all over my underwear... and on the back of my dress..." she muttered.

The man put a finger to his chin, "Maybe I should take a look at your families' medical records..." he muttered more to himself than to her, "Or- how old are you Mikasa? Eleven, right? Is there a possibility you are confusing this with your cycle? Menstruation can be very irregular the first couple of years."

Mikasa stood there in silence. She didn't know what to say. Searching for someone to understand what she was feeling, she glanced back at Eren. Yet much to her astonishment, the boy made a little surprised face when Grisha had said 'menstruation' and then curiously stared back at Mikasa, expecting an answer. It was not common for Eren to understand something that Mikasa did not.

Feeling helpless, she said in the tiniest voice, "Wh-What's that? What's 'menstruation'?"

Unconsciously, Grisha exchanged a glance of shock with his child. The boy was just as taken aback as he was. The father carefully took one of Mikasa's hands into his own.

"Mikasa, has your aunt not told you about puberty and the changes your body experiences during such a transformation?"

The poor girl wasn't used to feeling so out of the loop. She simply shook her head 'no'.

"Ahh, I see." He gifted her a warm, understanding smile, "Come with me to my office, darling. I have some menstruation pads there, it will help you with your bleeding and we will have a talk about what is going on. There is no need to worry about anything, my child. This is all perfectly natural." He carefully guided the young girl to the room, briefly glancing back at Eren to say, "Give us a moment Eren. I think it best that we have this discussion in private."

And so, the green-eyed boy waited in the living room. He let the minutes pass by while playing with his toy soldiers. He thought about the anatomy lessons his father had given him about puberty. In females, puberty meant the enlargement of ovaries, the beginning of menstruation and the development of breasts and hips alongside the appearance of armpit and pubic hair-though that last one, he remembered, was for both girls and boys. His dad had explained that it was the start of a human's transformation into being an adult.

When he got bored of the toy soldiers, he changed to paper airplanes. After a while, the boy laid down on his back and threw an airplane carelessly. Such carelessness quite literally struck him back as the plane crashed right into his face.

"Ow." The brunet boy rubbed his face.

Grisha's office door opened and closed. Eren hastened into a standing position as if he hadn't been acting like an idiot moments ago. Mikasa was shyly making her way to the front door of the house. Eren went to her side.

"Hey! How'd everything go?"

The young girl dropped her gaze to her dirt-stained shoes, "...fine, I guess. Your dad told me a lot of things about growing up... did you know all that?"

Eren didn't think twice, "About puberty and stuff? Yeah. I thought everyone did."

Mikasa frowned, "Ugh! Stupid Aunt Mai! She never tells me anything! She's as stupid as she is crazy."

The boy was dumb-founded. For as much as he knew that Aunt Mai wasn't Mikasa's favorite person in the world, he had never heard the girl talk so ill of her aunt, "Well, if you need anything my dad can help you out!"

"Yeah... I think I'm just gonna go home. I gotta change anyway." She shrugged, "Maybe I should be alone for the day."

Eren felt like an arrow had struck through his heart, "What? No! Come on! We didn't finish playing!"

Mikasa hugged herself, "I dunno... I feel kinda weird with everything that happened."

"Weird how?" Eren questioned.

"Weird... gross." Mikasa replied, "The back of my dress is dirty and I can't stop peeing blood. I feel icky."

The brunet stared at her like she was crazy. Mikasa was so cool without trying. There was no way in his mind that she could ever be deemed 'gross', "Hey, don't say that! Gross? Eric C. from English class is gross. I saw him eat a caterpillar once. Try and beat that."

The pair giggled.

"I say," The boy continued, "you go change clothes real quick and then we hang out here! We don't even have to play. We can watch a movie or- or, hey! I can tell my dad if he can lend us one of his anatomy books so you know what to expect! We'll do anything you want! You say the word and it's done!"

Mikasa smiled sheepishly, "Really? You don't think I'm... gross then?"

"I mean yeah," Eren joked, "but not because of the period thing."

Mikasa shoved Eren to the side. The boy cackled mischievously.

"You're a dummy, I dunno why I hang out with you."

Eren shrugged, "We're neighbors. You literally can't escape me."

Mikasa's spirit revived itself, "Ha, ha, that's true! Ok, ok! Y'know what? You're right! Go ask Mr. Jaegar for a book- a good one! I wanna know what's coming my way! I'm gonna go change real quick- and, probably tell Auntie? I dunno! We'll see! Lemme go change then! I won't take long!"

"M'kay!"

"Kay!" Mikasa opened the door and zoomed away, her dainty hands covering her bottom so no one else would see the blood stain engrained in the fabric. Eren watched her until she was inside her house.

He stood there for a while longer, feeling the breeze. It really was such a beautiful day. After taking in the afternoon air, he plodded over to Grisha's office in a casual fashion. Knocking carefully, he entered when Grisha called for him to do so.

There his father was, sitting in his big desk like always. It was a rich, dark wood with meticulously elegant carvings that one could stare at for hours. On the desk were stacks of medical papers that Eren could never make sense of, a holder for pens, pencils, markers and paperclips, a collection of photos of Eren throughout the years from infant to pre-teen, a single photo of Carla Jaegar, his mother, that the boy had come to have a special kind of love for and finally, a medium-sized statue of Mother Goddess Ymir holding a hand up to the sky, signaling freedom and forwardness and another one on her holy womb symbolizing life and love.

Grisha gestured for his child to sit down in the wide, comfy chair in front of the desk. Eren did as told and once he was settled in the chair, he noticed that his feet were but a few inches away from the floor. Without noticing, he too had been growing.

"How is Mikasa, dear? Is she feeling better?" The man scribbled into some papers without glancing up.

"I think so. She was kinda bummed and wanted to go home but I told her to come back so we could watch movies or read a book about puberty or somethin' so she wouldn't have to be alone. Could you lend us one?"

The man finally rose his head to stare at his little miracle. He had the warmest of smiles on his face, "That was very sweet of you, Eren. Of course I can lend you one."

The father got up and walked towards his chestnut bookshelf. It was filled to the brim with an array of thick medical books. He glanced down at the lower shelves where the smaller books were, for more inexperienced readers. He was pensive as he scanned the titles.

"Hmmm, a simple book should do for now. It's quite unfortunate, you know? Mikasa is here all the time with you and it never occurred to me to teach her about these kinds of subjects. I assumed that as her caretaker, her Aunt Mai would do such a task, as is tradition. In hindsight, it's not a surprise with how... special her aunt is." Grisha lamented.

Landing on a modest green book, Grisha extracted it from the bunch and delivered it straight to his child's hands, "Here you go, that one should do. Be sure to support Mikasa extensively during this trying time. Puberty is not an easy thing to go through. Worse, if you don't know what to expect."

The boy eyed the book as Grisha made his way back to his desk. He was ordering his papers in that same fashion that meant he was going out soon. The boy chewed on his lower lip.

"Were you scared when you went through puberty?"

Grisha chuckled, "A little, yes. Believe it or not, I was like Mikasa as well! My parents never told me anything about growing up so it was an adventure to say the least."

Eren was stunned. He couldn't imagine a version of his father that didn't know absolutely everything about the human body and its experiences. In the boy's eyes, Grisha contained the world's entire knowledge of anatomy in his brain.

"But we survive," Grisha continued, "and once we are on the other side we realize how silly it was to worry over such small things."

One of Eren's tan fingers traveled across the edge of the book and back, "So, this means I'm next, right?"

His father raised his eyebrows, "Next in what? Sorry, I'm not following."

"You said girls get their puberty first, then not too long after it's the boys, so if Mikasa's already going through it that means I'm next." He swung his hanging feet from side to side.

It was both an exciting and terrifying thought. He longed to be one of those cool, strong men in the TV; the ultimate guardian, the noble soul that laid down his life for his wife, his children, his country; the type that spoke briefly but got the job done with his bulging muscles. On the other hand, Eren knew well that once you 'got through the other side' there was no going back. Puberty's changes were permanent. And they weren't just physical. Grisha had told him his brain would also change, his way of thinking, his way of viewing life. As alluring as the fantasy was, 'the ultimate guardian' was also cold. The ultimate guardian didn't smile or laugh. He was stoic and strong. The ultimate guardian didn't play either. He didn't throw paper airplanes or play with toy soldiers, and even less did he roleplay as pirates in search of treasure. Those things- those fun things, were reserved for kids only. Eren wasn't sure if he was ready to give it up yet but time had different plans and in none of them did they consider the boys emotions.

"Yes well, I'd give it another while my child. Don't fret too much over it. There is still some time... unless... have you started seeing changes in your body as well?"

Eren shook his head, "No, I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Remind me what the symptoms of puberty are." The father said as he lifted a suitcase onto the desk and begun stuffing things into it.

The boy cleared his throat as he thought back to the lessons his dad had given him, "Um, growth of testicles, hair in armpits, face and um, what's it called, above the penis-"

"Pubic area." Grisha nodded along.

"Yeah, hair in pubic area, growth spurts, the voice deepens, weight and height gain, uummm... acne! And the thing that's like peeing the bed at night."

"I think you are referring to nocturnal emissions or, simply put, ejaculation at night."

"Uh huh, nocturnal emissive- I mean, emissions."

"Anything else?"

"Mood changes. Oh, and being smelly."

"Increase in body odor, yes. Good job, Eren. So, none of that yet, right?"

"No. None of that."

"Good. Feel free to ask me anything when you do start experiencing these things."

The boy fingered the golden words on the cover of the book.

'HELP! I'M TURNING INTO A MONSTER!

A PRE-TEENS GUIDE ON HOW TO SURVIVE PUBERTY'

"Well, I actually do have a question."

Grisha examined a pen that was failing to work, "What is it, my dear?"

"It's actually about periods."

"Oh?"

"Why do they happen?"

Grisha was puzzled, "Do we need a refresher? The signs in females are-"

"No, no. Like, I get what it is but how does it work?"

"Oh, I see." Grisha went to open a nearby closet and rummage through his belongings. He took out a model of a uterus and set it on the table.

"This is basically what a uterus is like if you were to split someone in two," Grisha chuckled, "you see these two cream-colored ovals? Those are the ovaries where the eggs are kept safe and secure. You see it all starts with these eggs, these tiny, tiny things even smaller than a poppy seed! A menstruation cycle consists of one those eggs traveling through this section here called the Fallopian tubes. Now see this red part on the uterus? This red lining gets thicker with passing days. It's purpose is to support the development of a fertilized egg-"

"Kinda like food? It's the food of the egg?"

"Uhhmm..." Grisha looked up, trying to simplify the technicalities as much as he could, "it's more like the house. A fertilized egg will stick to it to be safe like someone going in their house and hiding into their bed! Now, if an egg isn't fertilized by sperm that, like we mentioned, come from males, it will die off and this red lining will break apart as it is no longer needed. See, this is what the bleeding is. It's the shedding of this layer.

"On the other hand, if it is fertilized then, like I said, it sticks to the red lining and little by little that tiiiny little thing grows and grows and grows until it's a big boy with wild hair and crazy eyes sitting in my chair!"

Eren giggled. Grisha chuckled as well.

"You see Eren, this is basically the source of life. That is why a woman's womb is so holy. It is the origin of our entire existence and this is how our Mother Ymir gave birth to our eight guardians. Women are natural creators. Not just of life but of art and love."

The boy kept on swinging his feet around, "What about boys?"

"Boys?" Grisha raised an eyebrow.

"If girls are creators, what are boys?"

The man was so taken aback by the question that he took a moment to process it. His entire mood changed. While he had previously spoke with glee, his mouth was now tight and his forehead embedded with profound wrinkles.

"Well... we are cursed with a much less brilliant destiny..." His voice was low and somber, like that of someone at a funeral. He carefully rose a fisted hand and analyzed it as if staring at something that wasn't there, "we are such... lost creatures. Many men are blessed with extraordinary physical strength. Maybe it's not much in comparison to a tiger or an ape but it's enough to contribute to our society, to help build a safe and secure place for ourselves and for those we love but..." he began opening his hand, "we are often misguided. Without anyone to illuminate our path we stray and instead of protecting, that strength can end up hurting, and hitting, and destroying... and killing."

His hand was shaking. There was a ringing in his ears.

"Ha!" Eren bursted out laughing with the delightful melody of a child's naivety, "I don't believe that for a second! You heal people all the time! If anything, I'd say you're more of a creator. And Mikasa, a creator? Tell that to my sandcastle she obliterated when we went to the beach! She's a big destroyer, through and through!"

The ringing in Grisha's ears had stopped. Instead, he too laughed alongside his child even though the sorrow wouldn't leave his eyes. He went to Eren's side, "Oh my little miracle, come give me a hug."

Eren plopped out of the seat and wrapped his arms around his father's torso like he had done millions of times.

"The best creation I was ever given was you, and for that, I owe your mother my entire life." The man said as he patted Eren's hair.

"Mom... was a creator?" Eren questioned gently. Every time Grisha mentioned her, the boy tried his best to pick for more information.

"Yes, it was well ingrained into her soul. She loved sculpting and writing and she made everything she touched instantly better. She even created me in a way."

"What do you mean?"

"She created a good man out of me." Grisha explained, "You'll understand soon enough. When you are older you'll meet that special woman that you'd give your life for. She'll give everything meaning and keep you on the good path. She too will make a good man out of you, just like your mother did with me."

Eren stopped staring up at his dad and instead completely rested his head on his father's chest, "I'm already a good boy though."

"Hmmm, that you are. But only a good woman can create a good man."

Eren fought with the covers of the bed for the umpteenth time. Usually, he slept so well in that bed. Ever since the first night he had moved into Levi's apartment, he had slept like a baby.

Yet there he was. 3 AM. Wide-eyed. Frowning. Anxious and sweaty.

Every time he settled himself into the bed and his mind would start to relax, the memory of his kiss with Levi Ackerman would strike his mind and body like lightning. It was the only thing he could think about. The taste, the smell, the sensation, the passion. The young man aggressively put a pillow over his face, hoping it would drown everything out.

He felt like he was going mad.

At that rate he would never fall asleep. The brunet decided to try an old tactic he hadn't used since he had moved into that new place: masturbation. He had found out a couple of years ago that it helped him out in his sleepless nights. Still, he felt strange doing it in his bodyguard's apartment.

Eren sighed. He concentrated on his surroundings. In his first years going through puberty, Eren had found that he had a peculiarity when it came to pleasuring himself. While the other boys would talk about how they would fantasize about having sex with a variety of hot models and TV celebrities, the green-eyed boy had found that it worked better for him to have a blank mind. More than simply searching for an orgasm, sometimes Eren would touch himself just to ease his mind for a bit.

Taking a deep breath, he slid a hand further down to his groin. Sneaking his fingers beneath the underwear he began stroking himself and little by little, the world dissolved around him until, finally, there was nothing on his mind.

.

.

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Author's Note

Was this chapter a lil weird? I dunno! But it'll all come together eventually! Or at least I think it will LMAO We're finally reaching the point where we talk a little more about Grisha and, y'all, I can't with him *crying*

It's... it's complicated... ;-;

Next chapter we chillax because my boys need a breather with all I'm putting them through! I wonder if someone out there is writing my story. If that's the case, YO, I NEED A CHILLAX CHAPTER TOO PLEASE XD See you guys later!

~Gum