The one time Jean is tired, overworked, worried, feverish, and almost taken out by one of Levi's runners during a drug raid.
Levi sits on the floor by the bed and waits until Jean's breathing evens out.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Levi murmured and was surprised to find that he actually meant it. He brushes Jean's bangs away from his forehead and spots the edge of a dark bruise under his officer shirt.
Erwin took a deep breath and turned away to look out the office window. His eyes were icy and deep set beneath his bushy eyebrows, and his posture was overly erect, as if someone was holding his spine upright with a marionette string. He remained silent for so long, Jean began to wonder if he had forgotten about this conversation. Then, Erwin said, in a neutral and even voice, "Levi refuses to take up the cartel, because he doesn't want to put you in a position where you would have to arrest him."
"What the hell happened to you?" Levi demanded, his tone harsh and his grey eyes darker than usual.
"Nothing, I got drenched by a passing car on the way home," Jean said dismissively.
"They're harassing you." Levi says, and it's not a question.
"No, you silly, if was them, they wouldn't stop at just a bucket of water," Jean says lightly, but immediately wishes he could bite back his words, because Levi finches.
"No, they wouldn't," Levi spits out the words, jaws tense and brows furrowed, like they caused him physical pain.
"Say it like you mean it!" Erwin bellowed, his clenched fists shaking and blue eyes flashing wildly. Levi had never seen him loose his cool, not like this, not even when the boss accused him of working for Bodt a few years ago, not even when they were that close to being busted last year because of a runner's slip up.
"I want you to let me leave the nest," Levi said, his voice a little shaky in spite of himself, and Levi kicked himself internally for it. Erwin said nothing.
"I want you to – " Levi felt a hard slap across his face and tasted blood in his mouth – salty and coppery.
"So, what about Jean?" Erwin asked, his face carefully arranged in a neutral expression, hair neatly combed to the side and shirt impeccably pressed as usual.
Levi's eyes darkened instantly. "Nothing. Why do you ask?" His voice was too hard and terse. Erwin's heard this tone before. It's a tone Levi used whenever he mentioned Jean's name, and once when he had a gun pointed at his head. Erwin shifted his weight imperceptibly, and mentally checked that he had enough space to back up if necessary. After all these years, Levi's moves were still difficult to predict. The fact was that Erwin trusted him. It was more of a necessity than a choice. In crossfire lines, having someone to watch your back could mean the difference between life and death. But this does not mean that Levi would hesitate to use a little force to make his point clear, and Erwin knew this.
"You deliberately did not cut the deal with Petra, even though they gave us a good offer. Is this because our lines have crossed with Jean's investigation? It would be easy for me to make sure that it doesn't become an issue."
Levi's expression was unreadable. Erwin reached out to take the documents on the coffee table, and the next thing he felt was a sharp knee in this gut. He flew backwards and slammed hard into the wall behind. A letter opener came flying into his face. He just barely dodged it, and his cheek was already smarting from the cut.
This was new. Levi had broken the unspoken rule. As much as they crossed blows, there were no knives, no weapons. Not when they were just fucking around, and certainly not when they were dead serious.