Work Text:
Eren hadn’t been looking forward to his return to school on Monday, but everyone had gotten a week off while the police scoured the area looking for Levi and, much to Eren’s relief, found no trace of the man. The teen slowly walked through the halls with his minding wandering off to the raven who had yet to contact him since that fateful night. The teen sneezed for the seventh time that morning placing the thought that he could be getting sick at the back of his mind as he trudged towards his locker with a small headache beginning to blossom. That was the last thing he needed when his friends were more than likely going to hound him about his whereabouts.
“Yeager! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Jean shouts from his spot beside Connie at an opened locker making Eren cringe from the volume.
Connie makes a mad dash towards Eren checking him over once he’s hugged the brunette, “What the hell happened to you?! We told the police that you were with us, but they didn’t find you anywhere! Are you ok?! You don’t look so good.”
“Please lower your voices, I have a headache. I texted one of you saying I was leaving and to not look for me. I’m fine, I’ve only snee-achoo! Correction, I’ve been sneezing all fucking morning. Stop that!” Eren shoos the hands away when they try to touch his still sensitive hips. Ever since that night with Levi Eren's hips had become an erogenous spot when pressure was applied.
Jean gives Eren an incredulous look, “Everyone was drugged from the punch so why were you the only one not effected?”
“I don’t drink alcohol. I’ve never liked the smell or taste.” Eren reminds his friends omitting the part where he almost chugged a cup of the liquid had it not been for Levi's swift intervention.
Connie starts counting on his hand confusing both Eren and Jean, “You should go home and get some sleep dude, you really look like you’re getting sick. By my calculations, if you leave now, you can beat the rain. Wait, you didn’t walk home that night, did you? That’s like a 20 minute walk from where Historia lived!”
“You guys are treating me just like the police did until Officer Gunther came in from a coffee run and confirmed that he and Officer Oluo have met me on my way home a few times when they were patrolling the area looking for a petty thief when that festival was in town. It’s not the first time I’ve walked home, remember when I got stuck doing a group project with that bitch? I guess I have to tell you the same story I told the cops, so you understand it a bit better. Listen up because I’m only going to tell it once, my throat is starting to hurt. I left the party sometime after 9 and I passed by what I thought were inebriated people on the way out but now I know they weren’t. I had just crossed the intersection where Officer Smith’s car sat, I didn’t see anyone, and again I learned he was dead on the floor in the back of the squad car. I don't know how long I had been walking but I was almost to the fork in the road that leads to where my house is when I heard a loud engine and a speeding car, so I moved over to get further into the grass when this red mustang shoots by me only to slam on breaks. Naturally I was scared but I’d come this far and I was thinking that if I could get just get to the fork, I knew all the places in the woods and behind abandoned houses where I could hide until whoever it was gave up and left. I kept my head level and my gaze locked on what was in front of me, checking out of the corner of my eye every so often when I drew closer to the car especially when I was right beside the passenger window. When I glanced over that time, I saw someone in a blood soaked Michael Myers costume staring at me from the driver side and I honestly expected him to follow me when I reached the fork and started that way, but the car roared to life and kept straight. I don’t know why he left me alone, but he did and I’m not going to question it.” Eren takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly to make himself appear sadder than he really was before he coughs. Maybe he was getting sick and should take Connie’s advice after all.
Jean does something that shocks Eren to his core, he hugs him tight, “Man we thought something bad had happened to you. Mikasa, Sasha and Armin wanted to leave their exchange program and come back to look for you, but we talked them out of it when the police told us they had found you. Why didn’t you call us?”
“If I hadn’t gotten fucked within an inch of my life by the now love of my life I would have but the euphoria kept me in a daze thinking about our future.” Is what Eren wanted to say but he catches himself, “I broke my phone, and I haven’t found the right time to use the landline and ask my parents for money to buy a new one yet.”
Connie fishes for his phone passing it to Eren, “Call them now. After what happened you definitely need a new one and if you have to get a new number you better give it to us immediately.”
Eren stares at the phone in hand before reluctantly punching in his dad’s phone number, they’ll have surely heard about what happened at the party, “Hello? I know, make it quick you’re busy. How could I ever forget that? I need a new phone mine is broken. I heard her, tell her I'm fine I didn't even stay an hour before I was out of there. Thanks. Bye.”
“Have I ever told you that your parents are assholes? Did they even ask if you were ok?” Jean looks down at Connie’s phone then back up to Eren.
Eren sighs ruffling his free flowing hair, “Yeah, you have and I’m inclined to agree with that. My mom did ask if I was alright which is new but I am getting a thousand bucks out of it, so I guess it’s something. They don’t ca-achoo about me I know that. She was probably worried about her reputation at the book club or whatever it is she does with those old hags every Tuesday when she's in town.”
“It’s not the same as parental love but let’s not kill the mood. Just get the same phone you had last time then you’ll have a ton of money left over to spoil yourself with.” Connie elbows Eren with a grin returning to his face.
Eren’s mood brightens up as he passes Connie his phone back, “I like the way you think my friend. Achoo!”
The rest of the school day was a blur for Eren but in his desire to do some research on Levi he snuck into the library during his free period sitting at one of the computers towards the back where no one usually came because of how dimly lit it was. Somewhere between reading about the merchants killed in Trost and Historia’s demise Eren had fallen asleep only to be woken up by the janitor telling Eren to let the dead rest and that there was nothing he or anyone else could’ve done to stop it. Eren thanked the old man, internally laughing that the man thought Eren's research was driven by grief, rising from the seat to stretch his head was swimming. Eren stands still for a couple minutes using that time to collect his bearings and his belongings before he slowly heads to the front of the school. The sound of rain hitting the roof of the school gets louder the closer Eren gets to the exit until he's standing under the canopy at the front of the school watching the rain come down hard. Eren didn’t have anyone he could call that would be able to pick him up and from the looks of things the last bus had already left for the day which meant Eren would have to take the 10 minute walk to his house in the rain. Unzipping his backpack Eren slips his phone into one of the inside pockets praying he would get home before his phone really got destroyed.
Eren was roughly halfway to his house when the sound of sirens turning on and off caught his attention, he’d been doing his best to keep his hazy mind focused on the task at hand, but he didn’t hear a car approaching which was dangerous.
“Eren what are you doing walking in the rain?! You’ll get sick that way!” The officer calls out pulling up beside the now soaked teen.
Eren looks to the right recognizing the dirty blonde haired man in the car, “I fell asleep in the library and missed the last bus. I’m almost home, don’t worry about it Officer Mike.”
“Eren get your butt in the car, now. I’ll take you home and I won’t take no for an answer.” Mike puts the car in park waiting for Eren to climb in on the passenger side.
Mike observes how Eren shivers when the heat coming from one of the vents hits his skin, “See, you’re freezing yet you wanted to keep walking. When you get home please dry off and take a hot shower, maybe you won’t get too sick.”
“Thanks. Not to sound ungrateful or anything but what are you doing out here? Officer Oluo and Gunther usually patrol the area.” Eren clears his throat a couple times before finishing his inquiry.
Mike sighs, shaking his head placing the car back in drive to continue the journey to Eren’s house, “Oluo’s missing. We’re all out looking for traces of him and his missing squad car. We all knew that this time of the year was going to be hard on him since we’re getting closer to the anniversary of Petra’s death but we didn't think he'd just disappear without a trace. He’s been convinced this entire time that Levi was behind the killing and even though evidence suggests otherwise but he just wouldn’t listen. Eren, are you sure what you told us was all you remember from the party?” Mike sighs, he hated repeatedly asking the same questions but maybe Eren remembered something no one else did since he was fortunate enough to not have been drugged and kidnapped in the same night.
“Um…someone gave me a cup of spiked punch…wait! A person walked in front of me and knocked it out of my hand while I was giving myself a pep talk to chug the punch and they kept walking. You don’t think…Levi did that…do you?” Eren hesitates unsure if he’s doing the right thing by giving out this information.
Mike hums glancing over to Eren whose head is in his hands, “If I said I do think it was him and that he had stopped the car with intentions of kidnapping you what you would say?”
“I’d want to know why he didn’t do it. I’d also think that maybe Levi has been watching all of the high school kids because that party was just word of mouth between students since you all saw that no adults were there when you arrived on the scene. If that’s the case, then he didn’t take me because even he saw that I was the loner of the school so no one would miss me.” Eren throat constricts at the thought, but he knows better than to doubt Levi, he wasn’t like everyone else.
Mike lets a small smile grace his face, something that was hard to do given how grueling the last few weeks have been, “You should consider joining the force after you graduate Eren. That’s a really good train of thought you’ve got going on but you’re wrong about one thing. There’s a lot of people who would care about you if you went missing and Petra would be sad to hear you say that since you were her favorite volunteer every year when we went to clean up the river or help the elderly. Well, we’re here, remember what I said and here, take one of my cards. If you think of anything else or you just want to talk you can call me and I'll listen. We can meet anywhere you'd like, it doesn't have to be at the station unless that's the most comfortable place for you."
“Thanks Officer Mike. I’ll keep that mind.” Eren gives a meek smile, forcing his legs to move until he’s out of the car, in his house and holding onto the railing for dear life as he fights to safely climb the stairs.
Eren doesn’t remember much about his bath or if he even made it to his bed but when he wakes up he feels as if his entire body has been set on fire with the exception of his forehead which is cool from a lukewarm towel resting there. Shifting around Eren finds that he's been tucked into his bed with an extra blanket placed on top of him. The smell of chicken noodle soup wafts to his nose making his stomach growl, did his parents come home and take pity on the boy? The teen attempts to shift his head enough to look at his alarm clock to find out how long he's been asleep but the pain that follows the movement makes him whimper.
“You’re finally awake. How do you feel?” Relief washes over Eren at the sound of a familiar voice.
Eren blinks, trying to will his eyes to focus on the person that’s appeared at his bedside, “L-levi?”
“Who else would it be? You’ve got to take better care of yourself you shitty brat. You can’t be my partner in crime if you ignore your own health.” Levi lectures the brunette helping Eren sit up without jostling his head too much.
Eren closes his eyes, covering his mouth to cough, “I-I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Do you think you can eat a few bites of soup for me and take a couple sips of water?” Levi reaches for the bowl of soup sitting on the nightstand alongside the glass of cool water.
Eren takes a deep breath opening his eyes again to look at Levi, “Soup sounds amazing right now. Did you make it?”
“Special made just for you. It should have cooled down by now. Say ah.” Levi brings the spoon to Eren’s mouth.
Eren gratefully takes the spoonful of soup chewing and swallowing, “It’s really good.”
“It was a recipe of my mother’s that I learned to make ages ago. Here.” Levi lifts another spoonful to the lips of the grateful brunette.
This continues several more times until the bowl is almost empty and Levi gives Eren a pill and the glass of water which he happily drains. Levi collects the dishes to take back to the kitchen when Eren’s clammy hand wraps around his wrist and the raven knows just what the boy is insinuating with his gesture.
Levi sits the dishes down to gently detaches the hand wrapped around his wrist soothingly rubbing his thumb over the teen’s hand, “I’m not leaving, I’m just taking these dishes downstairs to be cleaned then I’m coming back.”
“O-ok.” Eren stutters slumping down against the headboard embarrassed by his own actions.
Levi ruffles Eren’s hair feeling how damp the strands are from sweat, “You’re really cute, even cuter than before. Don’t be embarrassed.”
Levi leaves the room without another word spoken between the pair until he returns and strips down to his boxers after locking Eren’s bedroom door. Levi climbs into bed helping Eren lay down after the teen confirms his headache had started to recede and he was feeling a bit better.
“Thank you.” Eren’s quiet voice is full of sleep, and Levi knows the boy is fighting it.
Levi places an arm across Eren’s waist pulling him close until Eren’s back is flush against his chest and Levi can tuck Eren's head under his, “Sleep, I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Why are you here?” Eren stifles a yawn asking the first question that popped into his head.
Levi snorts, of course Eren would disregard his statement, “I came back for my second taste, but it’ll have to wait until you get better. You should be grateful I don't fuck sick people otherwise I might make your condition worse.”
“Lucky me indeed, I definitely wouldn’t be able to satisfy you in this condition. Can I ask you some questions?”
“About?” Levi can’t help but ask unable to suppress the curiosity that’s bubbling up.
Eren tilts his head laying it on Levi’s shoulder giving him the ability to look up at the raven, “About you. I know about Levi the serial killer but not Levi the person.”
“What do you want to know?” Levi mentally slaps himself for giving in that quickly, but Eren wasn’t some detective trying to pick his brain he genuinely seemed like he wanted to get to know Levi and he was sick so he may not remember a lot of the conversation come morning.
Eren smiles gnawing on his bottom lip until his thoughts flare to life, “When is your birthday?”
“It's on Christmas and no I’m not joking about that. Same question to you.” Levi responds figuring he may as well indulge himself in the mysteries that surround his young lover.
Eren lets out soft huffs of air in amusement, “Mine is March 30th. How old are you? You know how old I am.”
“I’m 31. I’ll be 32 in December.” Levi replies without missing a beat or the way Eren sucks in a small breath of air, “Is there a problem with that?”
Eren places a kiss on Levi’s cheek snuggling closer, “Absolutely not. If anything, it makes everything a lot hotter than it already is.”
“Good because you’ve already signed a deal with the devil and I’m not letting you run that easily.” Levi kisses the top of Eren’s head loving how the boy was making himself smaller for Levi to hold onto.
“Does that mean you’re my sugar daddy but instead of giving me money you kill people that make my life hell?” Eren inquires watching in amazement at the smile that finds Levi’s usually expressionless face.
Levi runs a finger from Eren’s throat down to the beginning of his pair of red sweatpants, “I could give you money if you want it. I’ve gotten plenty of it over the years.”
Eren lightly shakes his head barely keeping his giggles at bay, “I don’t want blood money besides I have my own. I was going to ask you if you need any because my parents will send me some without hesitation.”
“No, that’s your money Eren. Put it up for the future. There’s something else I want to discuss with you seeing as our other discussion is going to have to wait until you’re better. I want you to go to college even if it’s a community college here and I won’t take no for an answer.” Levi pokes Eren’s nose sincerity in his tone.
Eren can help but blush from the butterflies that burst to life in his stomach, Levi genuinely meant what he was saying but at the same time it filled the teen with confusion, “Why? Don’t you want me to stay with you?”
“Eren, I want you to be my partner in crime, but I also want you to have an out. You’ll understand my thought process and methods in the next few weeks. Let’s talk about something else, ok? None of this serial killer and accomplice business, just Levi and Eren business. What were you doing for your clothes to be that drenched from the rain?”
“I was walking home in the rain. I had been doing research in the library and fell asleep. I woke up long after the last bus left school, but I didn’t feel good when I went there to begin with. Officer Mike gave me a ride home and his card to call if I ever wanted to talk to talk to him. Levi…did you…did you kill Petra?” The last question comes out so hushed Eren isn’t even sure he asked it but for some reason the hand Levi has resting on his stomach turns into a fist.
Levi stares down at the boy brows furrowed at how quickly eye contact had been broken and the way Eren’s voice dropped, “No, that was a copycat. He’s dead though, he’s the body they found hogtied and suspended over the channel where the ships travel to get to the harbor. Did Mike tell you about that? Is that why you asked me?”
“I…yes…Petra was nice and to hear about her death hit the town really hard.” Eren chokes on his words feeling the sadness he had tried his best to bury coming back to the surface.
Levi shifts Eren forcing the teen to face him before he hugs onto the brunette as tightly as he can, “Eren stay away from Mike, he's dangerous and I don't want you caught in the crossfire. I could sense Petra's importance when I visited here at the beginning of the year, and when I caught the bastard that killed her, he was bragging as if it would make me take him as my protegee. It angered me at how sloppy he was and how he was creating unnecessary problems for me. So, I killed him, I won’t do the same to you but just know this, if you betray me, you better run because the cops won’t be able to protect you forever.”
“I’d never do that. If you go down, then so do I. That’s how partners work, which is why I still don’t get why you’re telling me to go to college or stay away from Mike.” Eren protests drawing a chuckle from Levi.
Levi hums using the hand that was originally resting on Eren's stomach to trace patterns on the small of Eren's back, “He's no good Eren and I want you to have a good life. I want you to do the things I couldn’t with the cards I was dealt. You can balance murder and work. I have faith in you but I really have your best interests at heart as strange as it sounds since we haven’t know each other for very long."
“Do you believe in fate?” Eren reaches behind himself to grab the hand tracing patterns to prevent the deft fingers from continuing their distracting motions.
Levi tilts Eren’s head up to kiss the brunette, not caring that he was sick, “I didn’t at first but right now it feels like all of the dreams I had from over a decade ago are springing back to life because of you, so yes. Yes, I believe it was fate that brought us together and only fate will tear us apart.”
“Levi…’m getting sl-sleepy. Tell me a story?” Eren yawns turning his head to rest in the crook of Levi’s neck inhaling the calming scent of tea and lavender the raven possessed.
Levi runs his hands through Eren’s hair, rubbing circles in one spot, “I don’t know any fairytales so what do you want to hear?”
“Tell me about your favorite memory…favorite kill…it doesn’t matter. I’ll listen.” Eren takes in a deep breath fighting off another yawn.
Levi is silently debating if he should tell Eren anything about his past or keep it guarded until he can be fully certain Eren won’t use anything against him. The mere thought of the brunette betraying him brings pain to his already scarred heart and he doesn’t like it given how long he’s known Eren but like a moth to a flame Levi is drawn in, “How about I tell you how I knew Erwin and how he died? Sound good?”
“Mhm.” Eren mumbles half-awake by the time Levi opens his mouth again.
Levi takes a deep breath knowing he’ll probably feel better once he gets this off of his chest, “I’m sure you heard by now that I’m from Sina but that’s not the entire story. There is this shitty little city underneath the city of Sina called the Underground. That’s where my story began, I was born there, my mother died there, and my uncle abandoned me until I caught up with the fucker. Anyway, it was kill or be killed, you knew when not to stick your head in someone else’s business and when to stand your ground. I had a couple friends back then, if you can believe it. their names were Isabel and Furlan. They were the closest thing I had to family and together we were unstoppable. Isabel was fast on her feet, Furlan was fast at thinking on his feet and me, well, I was the muscle to get the job done. Sometimes we’d go topside to steal and evade the cops by slipping back down into the Underground because many of them were too scared to chase after us."
Eren shifts a bit to get comfortable, sinking further into the heat Levi was producing.
Levi pauses to check if Eren is already asleep but the brunette seems more alert than he previous was so the raven continues, "Well one day word on the street was two new cops had shown up and they were hunting us down one by one, it didn’t faze us, we were brave and foolish. We sat back, watched them and we learned their patterns. Then we sprang into action when Furlan heard about a gold deposit coming through town not knowing our informant had been paid off by Mike and Erwin. I killed the guards with ease and together Isabel, Furlan and I highjacked the armored car except we found nothing in there. Realizing we’d been set up we prepared to head back below the surface when Erwin and Mike cornered us. The chase took us down alley after alley until I managed to steal a car for us to flee in when gunfire erupted from our pursuers. I sped through the streets like a maniac with Isabel and Furlan returning fire but there were more cops than we had expected. It seemed like each turn held cop car after cop car with officers ready and waiting to pepper the car with bullets. The shots were ringing so loudly in my ears that I didn’t know what was going on anymore. I managed to shake them on a dirt road they knew nothing about leading into one of Trost's many forests and when the car stopped, I looked over to Isabel and Furlan to ask them if they were ok only so find them dead. Isabel had taken a bullet to the head, I'm sure she died instantly, body slumped down in the backseat and Furlan was riddled with bullet holes...it was like he had used himself as a shield for me, as for myself I found a bullet hole in my shoulder where a bullet had gone clean through. I felt the anger welling up inside of me, my family was gone once again but I was older, stronger and I wouldn’t let them get away with it. I got patched up by this nice old lady in a hut in the woods, buried Isabel and Furlan, ditched the car in the river and began my trek back to Sina on foot with nothing but murder on my mind. I slaughtered every person in the police station the night I arrived, slit their throats, eviscerated their bodies so I could hang their organs from the rafters and then I cut their heads and limbs off to spell out “I’m Coming For You”, as the blood coated the floor of the building from corner to corner, all for the two bastards that had taken everything from me. After that I wandered around killing to survive until one night something changed and the need to survive turned into an almost insatiable hunger for blood to be spilled, the only thing that brought joy and life to my eyes was watching the life drain from someone else’s, until you came along that faithful night."
Eren closes his eyes, wishing he wasn't so sleepy because he wanted nothing more than to give Levi the comfort he deserved. It was obvious to the brunette that Levi has had to carry more pain than he let on and it made Eren's heart ache.
Levi's hand finds Eren's lightly squeezing, "I found out about a year and a half ago when I was on a murder spree in Trost that Mike and Erwin had taken it upon themselves to track me down. Earlier this year I found out they had come to Shiganshina hoping to catch me by surprise and that's how I knew this was the perfect time to enact my plan for revenge. What Mike and the news crew didn’t tell you is that Erwin was only at that intersection because he chased me down. I could tell he phoned the pursuit in and the road was dark so he didn't know the car he pulled over was the stolen one he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for. He had been heading back to the station when I shot by him on my way to the party and quite naturally, he pulled me over. At the time I had the Myer’s mask on so you can imagine his surprise when I didn’t hesitate to exit the vehicle while he approached me. He thought because it was Halloween the knife was fake and let me get within arm’s length of him. There was a scuffle and he ended up underneath me as I punched the shit out of him which caused some blood to spatter on the jumpsuit. He grabbed the mask, snatching it off of my face and I sincerely wish you could have seen the look of shock on his face. I used that opportunity to bring the knife down on his chest twice planting each stab wound near the center of his chest, he fought valiantly but it wasn’t enough and after the 38th time I stabbed him, I honestly lost count, he was dead, but I wasn’t done. I cut his uniform open and operated on him right there on the side of the road. I cut his his chest open, sawed through his ribcage with the hacksaw I had in the trunk of the mustang, took his heart out and crushed it in my hands. I placed him in the back of the cop car so anyone that happened to pass by would just think that it had broken down on the side of the road. I changed into my second Myer's costume after using my dirty gloves to smear blood on it, changed the gloves out and grabbed my mask chucking it in the backseat then proceeded to the party, and you know what happened in that house on Halloween night.”
“They…deserve it for…everything they…put you through.” Eren sleepily mumbles shifting to get comfortable in Levi’s embrace, “Let’s…get rid…of Mike…together.”
Levi is taken back by the response from the now sleeping teen in his arms, he couldn’t believe Eren had suggested such a thing, but it made him fall a bit harder for the brunette regardless, “I’m never letting you go. I just hope for your sake that you never try to run away from me. No matter where you are or how far you go I will always find you, Eren Yeager.”