Monster of Heartlines

The drive to the hospital was silent. No matter what he tried, the angel refused to wake up that morning. Anxious, Levi had called the only person he could trust to keep a secret, and give a proper diagnosis.

Hanji Zoe was aggravating, but she was an amazing doctor.

If he didn't trust her judgment, he wouldn't have wasted his gas on a 45 minute drive to her hospital in Malibu when there was one 10 minutes away from his own house.

He sighed as he pulled into the parking lot usually reserved for workers. Saying goodbye to his patience, he lowered his window to speak with the excitedly waving woman outside his car door.

Bright honey golden eyes peered at him from behind a pair of spectacles. Cherry red lips spread into a wide, toothy grin as dangly arms reached inside the car and roped around his neck.

"LEVI!" Hanji shouted, for no real reason other than meaningless joy.

"Zoe. Get your arms off of me."

She, as usual, ignored his tone of voice but did as he commanded. Her button nose wiggled as her eyes scanned the passenger seat.

"You said you had something interesting for me. I can smell it. Where is it? In the trunk?"

Hanji jumped back, umber ponytail and bangs swishing, and Levi stepped out of the car. Before he moved to open the adjacent door, he shot her a warning look.

"Don't scream when you see it."

She put a fist over her heart in salute.

"Yes sir! I give you my word!"

The detective pulled open the door, gesticulating for her to peer inside and see what was spread on the seat.

"Why? It's a guy!"

What? Slightly perturbed, Levi asked whether she was blind. Couldn't she see the wings? The halo? But she only fixed him with a look, as if he were going insane, and then proceeded to inquire as to exactly what he was doing with a teenage boy passed out in the back of his car. She wasn't referring to it as an 'it'. She called it a 'he'.

She thought that it was human.

Speechless, he only watched as she carried the teen bridal style, searching for signs only she knew to look for. He followed as she rushed him up the stairs and into the emergency ward.

But throughout the process, only one thought was running in his mind. A terrible thought that made his blood run cold.

He was the only one that could see the wings protruding from its back.

It was a week before those wild eyes would open again. Levi spent each day in the hospital room, cautiously watching for any signs of trouble. It was like he was on guard duty. With files for his cases in his lap, he kept up with his detective work while trying to unravel to new mystery before him.

Hanji didn't know why the teenager (She later found that his features were more baby faced than she thought) was in a coma.

"Nothing internally wrong with him. His organs are functioning fine. External damage is also healing nicely. Heck, the burns were gone after 3 days! There's no reason for him to be comatose…"

Then she always asked him so many questions. What's his name? Where are his parents? Does he take illegal drugs? Perhaps he overdosed? How did you find him?

Of course, he had no answer for any of these questions and he was offended by the very notion that she assumed he would. He wasn't the most social of people. She should've known that about him after 8 years of…whatever they were. (He refused to call them friends.)

Over the week, the highlights were the supernatural occurrences. The angel had two visitors. The first, he had seen when he came in early, a cup of Starbucks coffee in hand.

At the sight of a thin blonde teenager flying over the foot of the hospital bed, whispering into the comatose brunet's ear, the cup almost fell out of his hands.

But his startled intake of breath was enough to bring himself attention. Neon blue eyes fearfully looked at him. Levi only needed to blink and the apparition was gone.

That was on Monday, the day after he had brought the brunet in.

The second interaction occurred the very next day, a rainy Tuesday. Levi had fallen asleep only to jolt awake at sunset. When he looked up, he found a young black haired woman at the brunet's bedside. He knew she was one of them by the way she dressed. The three had all worn knee-high riding boots over white, denim-like pants. But this one adorned the same jacket as the brunet, with the black and white patch on the upper arm.

The only difference was the huge sword next to her.

Once again, as soon as he blinked, she was gone.

4 days had passed and no sign of either apparition came again. It was when a full week had passed that it had opened its eyes.

Thick eyelashes gave way to bright irises of turquoise, flecked with amber shards. Their eyes met, and Levi fell.

It was a sensation he was merely acquaintances with; he was never one to often affiliate himself with such an emotion. Thus, when his stomach began to tumble and his heart began to race, he had almost convinced himself that he was going to be sick and lose his lunch. But it was sweaty palms and shortness of breath that sealed the deal. It was the lightheadedness and reluctance to look away that playfully whispered into his mind that he had actually found 'it' attractive.

The eyes were otherworldly. As bright as large pieces of jade, they held the light of morning and retained it, bringing a sunny tint to their stare. He had never seen anything like them before. He was reluctant to look away, for fear of him disappearing like the rest.

When those wide green eyes hardened into a glare was when Levi brought himself back to reality.

He pulled out his phone, calling for Hanji as it thrashed with its wings struggling in the sheets.

"Zoe, It-….He's awake." Correcting himself, Levi returned to his calm demeanor. After a rushed phone conversation, he ended the call and slipped his phone in his pocket. He didn't move from his spot next to the bed as the angel squirmed and struggled.

"I hope you are prepared to answer questions. Hell, I hope you can speak English, otherwise you're really going to have to struggle. Quit moving. The needles won't come out like that."

At this the wings quit beating. Curiously, their rapid movements hadn't disturbed a single thing in the room like they had in Levi's house, not even the lights. Green eyes stared at him cautiously and tense shoulders seemed to grow lax. (But Levi could see that left hand ever so slightly reaching up.)

"What's your name?"

The angel only stared.

"Where did you come from?"

Blinked.

"You're not human are you?"

The left hand had reached shoulder height and was continuing. Levi, keeping constant eye contact, stood and grabbed the object the angel was looking for before any protestations could be made.

He turned the halo around in his hand. Surprisingly, it was cool to the touch, almost like metal. He glanced up to find that the patient was enraged.

"What were you planning on doing with this?" He interrogated, brandishing the crown.

The thing opened its mouth, but the words that left it were not English. The sound that escaped it wasn't even human. It was high-pitched, painful to listen to and he just wanted it to stop.

Levi covered his throbbing ears, and walked forward. Harsh and painful, his hand slapped against open lips.

"Here in Los Angeles," He began darkly, leaning into the angel's space. "We speak English. Don't ever do whatever that was again."

Green eyes flashed dangerously and a wing shot out, knocking the halo out of his hands and onto the bed. The Angel grabbed it and the flecks of amber in its eyes grew larger

Just as the door burst open for Hanji Zoe. Excitedly, she ran in, tails of her white coat flying. Her pen was already at her clipboard, ready to take notes.

"You're awake! Finally! We've been waiting a while week for you! I'm Doctor Hanji Zoe! I've been working with you for the past few days."

The angel only stared up at her, hands clutching the sheets. This didn't bother the doctor at all, she continued with the same enthusiasm.

"Would you mind telling us your name?"

Levi tore his gaze away from the city view outside the window to look at the 'teenager'. This would be it. The moment of truth. When that thing shrieked, Hanji would surely realize that it wasn't human and help him figure out what to do.

Green eyes glanced at Levi, before a throat was cleared and pale lips parted.

But what came out was a voice with a thick German accent.

"My name is Eren Jaeger, born under the first day of light."

Hanji wrote this down, only asking the exact spelling of his last name. Taking a seat, she crossed her legs and shot Eren the sunniest of smiles. An explanation followed this act, stating how he was brought in by 'the short guy by the door' and that they were all quite worried about him since he had been unconscious for a whole 7 days.

"Do you remember where you're from?"

"The 104th Sector."

Once again, the woman wrote this information down which Levi wouldn't take sitting down.

"You're just going to let it feed you bullshit like that? What does that even mean?" He rounded on the patient, who raised his head and leered at him defiantly.

"Where I come from, men are referred to with 'he'. I am not an 'it'."

"From my perspective-,"

"Your perspective is incorrect. Clearly, I am a dude-," The angel paused, then proceeded to wiggle his tongue. Rubbing his throat, he coughed and help up a hand when Hanji moved to provide assistance.

"I'm a dude," He said, and the thick accent was gone. "You can refer to me as a 'he' or 'him'. I'm not a monster. Am I right doc?"

His voice…it changed. How could he make his voice change? Why did he sound like Shaggy from Scooby Doo? He wasn't paid to deal with this. He was dreaming. For fuck's sake, why couldn't Hanji just realize that the damn thing wasn't human.

"Yes," Hanji gave Levi a curious look. "I don't know why you kept doing that. It confused me to no end."

With a short sigh, the man surrendered and sat back down amongst his case files.

He would receive answers, proper ones, when Zoe wasn't present. For now, he could only listen to the conversation for any clues. That boy wasn't human and for some reason, he was the only one that knew it.

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead ma'am. Murdered about a decade ago."

Fingers rifling through papers paused, quaking slightly. Pressing a hand to his face, Levi abruptly left the room.

Waiting outside wasn't what he had wished to do. But after that little incident, he was reluctant to go back in. Splashing water on his face, he looked into the mirror to find cool grey eyes leering back at him. He was still pale, and there were bags underneath in his eyes, but he doubted anyone would be able to tell that something was off. He pulled a travel-sized bottle of mouthwash out from his pocket and quickly washed out any traces of his retching from his mouth.

Murdered parents was a topic that never failed to make him sick.

Ten minutes later, as he crossed his arms, gazing at the wall opposite, Hanji entered the hallway, a pout on her face.

"This is the strangest thing I've ever seen."

"Haven't I told you that he's not-?"

Hanji interrupted, flying off on a rant. With every word, Levi felt his hopes sink lower and lower till there were none left.

"He knows his name, which is good. He knows where he's from. Apparently the 104th Sector is somewhere in Berlin. But Berlin's in freakin' Germany Levi! He says he's too old for a guardian but the kid can't be any older than 16! 17 at the very most! And, get this,"

She lowered her voice, beckoning to come closer. Expression neutral, his eyes scanned the paper she showed him.

"Am I supposed to know what this means?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the unintelligible symbols.

"These are his blood tests," The woman explained as she adjusted her glasses. "Eren has many more platelets and white blood cells than the average human being, which indicates that he's probably fighting off an infection. But, Levi, his burns and wounds are all gone. He has no symptoms of any major disease either. I thought that it might be Leukemia but the cells are fully developed and normal. There's literally no explanation for something like this."

She paused, cupping her own chin thoughtfully. "Unless we're encountering a new disease."

Levi remained silent throughout this speech. The extra white blood cells and platelets explained the quick healing, but the fact that they were even present meant that the teen had a human body. Surely angels didn't receive diseases. What germs would they even encounter in heaven?

In heaven…If angels existed, did that mean that all the other stories were true too? Were there actually saints? What about the presence of God?

"-evi! Levi!"

Hanji snapped in his face, shocking him out of his reverie. Concerned, warm brown eyes analyzed him.

"Hey are you okay? If you need to rest than go home. You've been coming regularly all week. You must be tired. And, I saw the way you ran when he mentioned his folks. If you want, you can just leave him with Erwin and I-."

"I need answers." He said shortly. He turned away from her worried expression, face stoic. Without another word, he stepped back into the hospital room.

Eren looked up with excited green eyes. When he noticed who it was, the smile fell from his lips, and he formed a serious expression.

"I know what you are."

"Well I kind of figured, since you can clearly see these."

He spread his wings out to fully show off the razor-sharp feathers in a way that was intended to be intimidating. Levi merely blinked. The angel frowned, dropping the appendages unceremoniously.

"Why am I the only one that can see those?"

Eren, eyes hooded, only looked out the window at the setting sun.

"Why were you hurt? Is someone after you?"

Vibrant jade eyes leered up to connect with steel grays and Levi felt it again.

His chest hurt, a throbbing pain that flowed from the center out, sending tingles to the rest of his body. With bated breath, he clutched a shaking, cool palm to his rib cage. Eyes always on the other, he saw as the defiant expression turned into one of confusion and concern, and then anger.

"Faking a bond will get you nowhere, stupid human."

Then Levi snapped. The bad cop routine was switched on and before he knew it, a punch was thrown towards the other's jaw. As it connected, the angel grabbed his wrist, but Levi quickly came with his left hand, breaking the hold. A swift kick to the chest put the angel down. (Ironically, he cursed like a sailor as his back hit the pillow.)

Glaring, Eren moved to yank out the needles in his arm, when a horrified shriek came from the door.

Hanji ran towards her patient, making garbled noises as she looked between the blood marring his face to Levi and back again.

"He just got out of a coma!" She complained. But a glare was quick to silence her. He relished this for a moment, feeling no remorse until a large, warm hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"Hitting comatose children? Come now, Levi. Now that's extreme."

"Oh? Are you scolding me Erwin?"

Blue eyes stared him down, alight with mild amusement. A small smile graced the elder man's face, letting the tired wrinkles fade for just a few moments.

"If I scolded you, would you listen Levi?"

"Of course."

"It wasn't always like this," His brother said fondly. Mischief sparked in his expression as he gave Levi a sly, sideways glance. "If I recall correctly, I used to have to spank you."

Levi scoffed. "Telling stories to look good in front of your girlfriend?"

"And yet you don't deny the truth." Erwin focused on the newcomer before him, a friendly smile on his face. "Hello Eren Jaeger. I'm Erwin Smith, captain of the police force of Los Angeles. I would like for you to answer a few questions."

The angel straightened, Levi noted, and his wings aligned behind his back. It reminded him of military salutes. The tone of surrender and respect was present. Judging by the way Erwin's jaw clenched, he noticed it as well.

"I will do my best sir."

Erwin gave a short nod, and then continued on to interrogate. They were simple questions, almost an exact repetition of Hanji's. Where he came from, his age, who his parents were, why he was alone in a foreign country, what he was doing before he trespassed onto Levi's property.

"I was fighting demons." He had stated ominously. Levi could only scoff in annoyance.

When it came to living arrangements, the interesting personality change came about.

"Since you are underage, have no parents, family that is close, or American currency, you'll be living with Mr. Levi when you're discharged. At least, until we can find a distant relative to care for you for a year or two."

Gray eyes watched the angel, gauging his reaction. Instead of a flare-up of denial, he nodded eagerly.

"Yes Mr. Smith!" Turning to Levi, he bowed his head. "Thank you for your generosity sir!"

Eyebrows raised, he looked at Erwin, who gave him a warning leer.

He wouldn't fight it even if he wanted to. At least now he had a chance at getting some answers. Averting his gaze to the darkening sky, he flattened his voice.

"Just don't bring dirt into the house. No crazy house parties either."

This was how the two ended up in the car back to Levi's place. An awkward silence filled the gap between the two. Levi scowled as the other fidgeted uncomfortably, tossing the occasional glance at the radio. After ten minutes of not-so secret peeks, Levi sighed, and his hand slowly turned the knob until soft indie music filled the Toyota Celica.

Eren hummed along, mumbling lyrics under his breath.

"Oh? So you listen to human music?"

And just like that, the awkwardness turned into a deadly tension. Eren's mouth snapped shut with an audible click. The vehicle slowly pulled to a stop. Stuck in traffic, they had no choice but to sit and allow the tension to wind around their chest like a rope of thorns, crushing them and taking their shallow breaths until finally,

"Eren, do you hate me?"

"Hating a creation of God goes against my moral code."

"Does that answer my question?"

Immediately, Levi went into interrogation mode. Eren may have crash-landed past his walls, but he was still seen as a threat.

If he didn't answer correctly, Levi would throw him out the way he came.

Eren didn't falter, fully facing the elder man now. "No. No Mr. Levi I do not hate you. I cannot hate you."

"And why is that?"

The angel fidgeted, ears burning red. "It honestly goes against my nature."

They didn't speak for a few moments as Levi let that information sink in. The boy's feelings towards him weren't negative. Why did that fill him with a sense of relief? It was strange. But, then again, so was the concept of finding an angel in your backyard.

He speed up as the traffic cleared. The thoughts racing in his mind were as fast as the roofless cars around them. He said nothing as Eren rolled down his window to let the wind run through his hair. The burning need to ask questions lingered on his tongue.

"I want to fly." He heard the other say softly.

"What were you doing that day? When you fell?"

"I told you, I was fighting demons."

"Why?"

Pride was apparent as the teen's chest swelled. The streetlights of Malibu reflected off his turquoise eyes as he practically sang,

"I'm a Warrior of Heaven. A member of the ARC who has devoted his entire life to fighting the forces of the darkness in their pursuit of taking over Heaven and Earth."

"I bet you grip people tight and raise them from perdition too." Levi muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Give me the specifics of what happened on that day."

"You're a rather precise human."

"It's my job kid," Levi deadpanned. Turquoise eyes narrowed as they looked towards the evening sky. A scowl pulling at his features, he began,

"I was jumped. 3 Upper Class demons came out of nowhere. The odds weren't fair at all."

"So you lost."

"I did not lose." He said, rounding on Levi with a fierce bark. His eyes flashed a dangerous golden for a moment and his wings flared. But the human continued to stare at the black tar ahead of them. Eren calmed himself, taking a deep breath. "A warrior of the ARC does not fail. Failure means death."

"You were pretty close to death when I found you."

Inwardly, Levi winced at the thought of the teen covered in blood and the beautiful white wings burned and stained with red. He briefly took his eyes off the road, eyes running over Eren to simply confirm that he was still there. That he was okay. The clench in his heart slowly, but surely, reduced. Of course, oblivious to this, Eren continued his little honor speech.

"We were taught to do whatever it takes to win in training. I had something they wanted and Annie was gaining on me fast. I had no choice," His fists clenched and his voice grew thick. "I had to fly towards the setting sun. They wouldn't dare follow me there. It was stupid but-."

He cut himself off, eyes growing wide. Frantically, his wings flapped and he patted his persona. When his palm touched something near his collar bone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is that?"

"Nothing," The boy said quickly. "I just felt a little pain."

"I thought angels weren't able to lie."

"It wasn't a lie. Wing space in this car isn't the best. The vehicles in the heavens are much better."

Levi pulled into his driveway, the gleam in his eyes betraying his interest.

"No, we don't travel strictly by wings," Eren said. When the elder's lower jaw tensed, he grinned. He had correctly guessed what the other was thinking. "Not all of us are messengers. Our wings don't go nearly as fast as a car, and we can't fly for too long."

"So you all drive around in 1967 Chevy Impalas."

Eren fixed him with a strange look as he stepped out of the car.

"No," His eyebrows furrowed. "A majority of us prefer Italian brands of this century. Why?"

Levi locked his car and dug out his house keys, mouth open to formulate words to respond.

Then, faster than the crack of a whip, he was sprung at.

The assailant came from the bush, cloaked in black to blend in with the night. The person was fast, but Levi was faster. Just as they reached him, he spiraled, shooting his foot into their face. With a sickening crack, the kick connected. The other fell, grunting as he clutched his nose.

Levi was just waiting for him to get up. Fighting was second nature to him. He was trained to survive.

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to continue the brawl, when a hand pulled him back.

"No! It's dangerous! That person isn't human. That's a demon!"

Putting up his guard, Levi did his best to distinguish the attacker's figure. Smoke billowed from the wound, and the flow of blood immediately stopped. No, the attacker wasn't human. The injury had already healed.

"I don't like your friends already." Levi commented, narrowing his eyes.

The assailant jumped at him again. He caught a blow with his right forearm. As punches and kicks rained down on him, he blocked to the best of his ability, but the other was fast. Too fast for a mere human to keep up. A kick to his chest sent him into the ground. Nothing was broken, that he was sure of, but the pain sent sparks throughout his entire body. Numb for a moment, he grunted as Eren shouted something unintelligible.

He could only catch a glimpse of icy blue eyes with silver specks as the attacker loomed above him.

"You're female." He noted dully.

She said something, but he clearly heard the name 'Jaeger' thrown in there.

"You got the wrong guy." He stated. As her foot came down, his arm shot out. He caught the limb, pushing against it to propel himself up. She ripped herself away and held up her fists.

Cautious, they circled each other. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, hastening his breath. She lunged for a punch and he ducked, rolling underneath her outstretched arm and blindsided her, smashing into her arm.

The crack and high-pitched scream that followed let him know that the limb was broken.

The fight was finished.

She clutched at the limb, limping and curling in. Glaring at him, her icy blue eyes contorted into an expression of rage and began to turn a deep crimson.

"Now she's angry. You made Annie angry. Come, you really can't do anything now."

"And you can Jaeger? Why don't you?"

The angel shook his head, focused on the female before them.

"I'm a warrior of the light. Warrior classes are practically useless when there's no sun. Redemption, we can barely fly! The only angel class that can function in darkness-."

The sound of large flapping disrupted his statement. Gusts of wind shook the trees around them. Warm summer air went cold as something approached. Within seconds, a new arrival came dashing in, straight for the demon. A large sword was raised by this person. As it swung down, he tensed, and the demon's shrieks were cut short.

A pillar of blue flames shot up before turning into puffs of electric cerulean and pink smoke.

That was all that was left of the demon.

Their savior turned, looking at Levi with cold, black eyes.

"Like I said," Eren continued, walking forward to meet the sword-fighter. "The only angels that can function at night are the Reapers. Like Mikasa, here."

The Reaper fully faced the two, expression cold and merciless. Charcoal black eyes outlined by long, full eyelashes narrowed as they saw Levi. She pulled out her hair tie, letting her jet black hair fall to their place by her shoulders. It was only through the scarlet red scarf, however, that Levi recognized this woman as one of the two that visited Eren in the hospital. He gave her a curt nod. Mikasa ignored this, turning to her friend.

"Eren," Her voice was silvery, hushed and pleasant, as she turned into the Warrior for an embrace. She clutched him close, balling up her fist in his shirt.

"I was so worried. I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, well, Annie almost got me for good. I got saved by a human."

"You can come back now. We need you."

Levi shot him a sharp look. If the boy left, the amount of explaining he'd have to do to Erwin would kill him. Sensing the dark aura behind him, Eren nervously jumped to decline.

"No. I'm going to stay on Earth for a little while. I need to get some information," He gestured towards Levi. "I'll be fine. I'm staying with Mr. Levi."

Mikasa actually glared at the man, sending a jolt through his body. She kept Eren within her grasp, hold tightening. Levi, sensing what was going to happen, stepped forward. A bit too late.

"You'll be fine with me too. Can't you get answers from your commander?"

She didn't give him time to respond. She grabbed him about the waist and began to ascend.

Eren's heart wrenching cry was the only thing that could stop her.

"What is this?" Levi questioned.

His eyes stared down at his chest. A glowing white string came from the center, going all the way up to where Eren was. The Warrior clutched at his own torso, begging for Mikasa to place him down. Curious, Levi prodded the taut thread, and grunted as pain seared through his ribs.

It was as if the string was tied around his ribs, lungs and heart. The slightest provocation tightened it, crushing him on the inside.

"Heartlines," Mikasa breathed in unadulterated horror. Her voice turned sharp and deadly as she rounded on her friend. "What have you done?"

Turquoise eyes sheepishly looked from Levi back to reaper. When Eren's boots brushed against the ground, the string disappeared, leaving no sign that it was ever there. The pain simply vanished.

Slowly, Eren walked backwards until Levi formed a proper barrier between him and Mikasa.

Eren's nervous laugh rang throughout the night.

"I kind of…sort of…"

The rest was spoken in the language of the angels. Mikasa didn't say anything, but Levi could see her expression darkening with each syllable that left Eren's lips.

Finally, when he had stopped, she shook her head disappointedly. Without a single word, she darted straight into the sky.

"Your girlfriend's pissed off." He tried to sound impartial, but a trace of bitterness leaked into his voice.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's my sister. Adoptive sister since we were cherubs."

"Adoptive isn't blood relation."

"She's married." Eren deadpanned. Levi ignored the happiness that flowed through him at this fact. Instead, he focused on digging out his keys. As he opened the front door, he removed his shoes, instructing Eren to do the same.

"You have a lot of explaining to do brat."

"I kind of figured." The teen said, removing his jacket in favor of the thin tunic underneath.

Eren exhaled deeply, stretching as he did so. Leans abs contorted as his hips rolled forward. He extended his arms to the heavens, leaning back as he did so. White wings spread out to their fullest, he let out a sigh of release. Catching Levi staring, he winked, straightening up.

"Need something sir?"

"An explanation." The elder replied coolly. He gestured for Eren to sit on the couch before he went to warm water for tea.

When he returned, Eren was looking intently at a photograph, a scowl on his face and eyes narrowed. He cleared his throat, bringing turquoise eyes back up.

"This is you and Mr. Smith." He said, holding up the photo. Indeed, it was him and Erwin. The photo was from three years ago, if he recalled correctly. They were in uniform, black helmets on their heads and camouflage uniforms on their back. Erwin had his vest on. Badges upon badges gleaned on the thing, taking all the shine in the picture.

"Yes. From a while ago."

"You were a soldier. A warrior."

"For six years." He really did not want to talk about this.

Eren gave a low chuckle, setting the photo on the counter.

"You and I are alike."

"How so?" How could a mere child understand? He wanted to exclaim. The angel looked up, fixing Levi with a bittersweet smile. Wisdom beyond his years swirled in the depths of his eyes, amber shards shining in the light.

"We've both seen hell, haven't we sir? Companions dying before your eyes. You can only look on without being able to lift a single finger because you know their sacrifices were necc-."

"How long?" Levi cut in sharply.

"Since I was 13 human years. To you, it would be 6 six years. For me, it's been a century."

"How is that possible?"

Eren shrugged. "Ask the Guardian of Time. I'm not quite sure how Heaven time converts into Earth Time. We're on two different planes. I-."

The boy cut himself off with a strangled gasp. Immediately, he jumped up, pointing at the television.

"It-It's the thing! That thing that does the thing!"

Confused, Levi looked at the screen. 'The thing' turned out to be a ferris wheel. The huge one located in Santa Monica pier. He had gone but twice. The first time was with Erwin, Hanji and her niece, Sasha. The second time…Well, that was more of a private meeting.

"This is what you humans use for entertainment right?" Excitedly, Eren turned to his elder. "Armin told me that his grandfather-He was a Watcher-took him to a thing called an 'Amusement Park' once. They're supposed to be interesting, human made attractions to help mortals feel better about their dull, superficial lives!"

Levi wisely chose not to reply to that last statement, pinning his tongue beneath his teeth.

"I've always wanted to go but my parents…weren't available."

A chill passed through the room as Eren's eyes lost their lights. The amber receded and his eyes grew into a darker jade.

"What happened?" All the information he could receive would help him get out of this mess, and the kid out of his hair. He braced himself for the story, willing memories to stay locked the pits of his mind.

The angel's wings dropped, growing dull, as he sank back into his chair.

"They were murdered," His voice was thick, taut with anger of years passed. "My mother was a Watcher. One day, she went down to Earth and never came back. We received word that she was killed by a nephilim in a place called California the next evening. My father was a Guardian, but the day he learned my mother died, he changed." The boy paused, crossing his arms. "He went crazy. The only thing he was focused on was fighting demons. He thought he should go into hell and kill them all."

Memories.

Memories of men's dying screams.

The copper taste of blood in his mouth.

Smoke filling his lungs.

Levi shut his eyes and locked that memory corner of his mind. He reached for something, anything to say to distract himself.

"And that's not right?" He asked finally.

"The destruction of all evil will disrupt the cosmos. Everything, in every single plane, will cease to exist."

Eren looked at his feet, clenching his fists.

"The next morning, we learned that he had gone straight into the darkest circle of the Underworld. There was a rumor has it that he was destroyed by Lucifer himself. All that I have left of him is the key."

"That's terrible."

"No!" Eren objected. "It's an honor. He fought so fiercely that the king of demons himself was forced to put effort into bringing him down. For someone that's not even a member of the ARC, that's impressive."

"I don't even understand what you're saying." Levi stated. Eren fell silent, eyes imploring for the man to continue. "You talk about this ARC, Warriors, Reapers and Guardians so freely, as if you expect me to know what you're talking about. We're from two different worlds kid. Explain these terms to me."

"What do you want me to start with?"

Levi rose as the kettle began to whistle, putting the conversation on pause. Did he himself know what to begin with? A new mystery had been opened up to him, and he wanted desperately to figure it out. As a detective, this was his purpose. Going against this urge would be like going against his core being.

Deep in thought, he set the tea cups on a tray, arranging a few cookies next to them.

Perhaps, he would be able to figure out the truth about religions. The truth about the world.

"You will explain the different types of Angels first. The Warrior, Guardians…All of that. I want to know what that means first."

They would start from the basics and move from there. Eren cleared his throat.

"Obviously," His voice was hoarse, rough and painful to listen to. Furrowing his eyebrows, he cleared his throat again. "Obviously, I can't tell you everything. Despite who you are, there's still angel-only information. But the classes is basic knowledge. Most humans know about those."

He shot Levi an accusatory glance. Unashamed, he met it with defiance.

"I'm not religious. I don't believe in any God."

"Not even my half-brother Freckled Jesus?"

"No."

Eren shrugged. "It's your life human. You have the free will to do as you like."

"And I will." Levi crossed his legs, raising his cup to his lips. Looking at a spot on his wall, he waved his hand. "Continue to explain."

Eren thoughtfully bit into a cookie. Gray-blue eyes peeked at the angel as he smiled out of delighted surprise at the chocolate taste.

That damn bursting feeling in his chest needed to stop. Immediately.

"Jaeger, don't waste my time."

The boy set the cookie down reluctantly.

"Sorry. There are 7 classes of Angels. The first is the Warrior class. Every angel born on the day of light-You humans call it Sunday-is placed in the Warrior class. Whether or not you join the ARC is based on your class rank."

"What's the ARC?"

"Archangel Recon Corps. The best of the best. We're the ones that are on the offensive. If demons try to start something, we're the ones that are the first to respond."

Levi didn't miss the amber sparks in Eren's eyes growing larger as he spoke of his duty. Pride practically oozed off the boy.

"Angels of Sunday are the warriors." Levi repeated. He found it ironic really, seeing as how he himself was born on that day. His mother used to call him…No, he wouldn't think of such a thing.

"Then those born on Monday are the messengers. They're the ones with the small, hummingbird wings."

To emphasis his point, Eren stood, bringing his hand up to half of his wing height.

"They would be that small. Warriors have the medium sized wing for balance and easy flying. But Messengers are the ones that need speed. They dash all over the place at the speed of light. Humans rarely, if ever, get to catch even a glimpse of Messenger."

Levi's thought back to the first, blond boy in the hospital.

"Do you know one?"

Eren nodded, grinning. "He's my best friend. Whenever he gets a break, we can hang out." Suddenly, his grin fell. "He must be really worried."

"He'll be fine." Levi said firmly. At this, Eren relaxed, nodding to himself.

The continued well on into the night, without disruption. Despite his constant poker face, Levi was intrigued by the concept of angels being assigned jobs since their day of birth. Other than the Warrior and Messenger classes, there was the Reapers. They were born on Tuesdays, and given the duty of taking away the lives of humans.

While all other relied on light entering their eyes to gain powers, Reapers could function in any condition. Mikasa was one of these death bringers. ("And the best at it too! She's famous!" Eren had bragged.)

Those born on Wednesdays were Judges, assigned with the task of weighing the souls of the dead, determining where they would go for the afterlife.

Children of Thursdays were the Watchers, soldiers of the Earth that mingled with humans. They watched for any suspicious activity, and were heaven's spies for infiltrating demon run areas.

Those born on Fridays were human protectors. They followed various humans around, making sure they didn't die when it wasn't time, listened to their prayers, and protected them from demons.

But it was those born on Saturday that were the most influential.

"The Guardians are the Angels of Saturday. There are few. I personally know three. Mikasa's husband is one. My friend Connie is another, and his girlfriend is the last one I know."

"What do they do?"

Eren yawned. Droplets of umber liquid grouped at the bottom of white porcelain cups. The plastic tray was bare and both bellies had swollen slightly. Eyes drooping, the angel curled his wings around himself.

"They protect crucial items that keep the world functioning. Connie, for example, is the guardian of the concept of space. He keeps the planes and dimensions separate as they're supposed to be. He always has this…" Eren blinked sleepily, mouth shut.

"You forgot to finish your sentence." Levi pointed out, arms crossed. His head reclined against the arm of the couch.

"Sorry. He always has this orb thing on him. If he loses it then his boss will have his head."

"Hnn…" Levi attempted to shift his foot, but the willpower simply didn't come. Sighing, he removed his shirt, folded it, and placed it on the ground next to the couch.

"Hey,"

"Ah?"

"What's your last name? It's only fair for me to learn yours."

"…Winchester."

Eren made a sound of mild surprise.

"I've heard of you."

"I'm lying. It's Smith."

"Just like Mr. Erwin."

"He's my adoptive brother. Of course…we'd have the same name."

"Mikasa doesn't have mine."

"Because angels don't follow American legalities." Levi said in a soft murmur. One final question pulled at the edges of his mind. Lazily, he watched the boy toy with his key necklace out of the corner of his eyes.

"That the key your Dad gave you?"

The hands froze, tucking the item back underneath his shirt.

"Yeah. The day before he left."

"What does it do?"

The apprehensive silence that met his question said everything.

"I'm not going to snatch it. I have enough crap upstairs. That old thing won't do anything for me. Rest easy. Don't tell me if your don't want to-."

"It opens a rip in space that can bring everything from hell to earth. It's the key to the apocalypse."

"Hnn…Let's pretend that we never talked about that."

"Agreed."

The two fell into a comfortable, warm and calm silence. It was strange, Levi had thought as his eyes began to droop. He and the boy had barely known each other for a day, but yet he had no problems with the other sleeping on his pristine, white couch. Even Hanji didn't get such a privilege.

He was getting too comfortable. His walls had been smashed through and yet he didn't move to rebuild them.

This was going to hurt. He acknowledged this fact in his subconscious, but did nothing. He only closed his eyes to avoid catching sight of disaster.