mirror dp: Levi is a field operative for his agency. Imagine Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D or something like that.
Levi knew he had a reputation around the agency. He was one of their top agents, after all, but more than that, he was someone you didn't want to cross. There were unofficial rules. People didn't make mess, they didn't touch the tea supply in the kitchenette, they got out of his way when he had a heavy scowl on his face. At least most people did.
"I would make a comment about your face getting stuck like that permanently but it's already too late."
"What do you want, Hange?" he asked tiredly. He hadn't gotten drunk last night but that had been only because he hadn't wanted to deal with a hangover on top of everything else. He had spent a better part of the night deciding when to speak to Noemi and how to approach that conversation and he wasn't in the best of moods. If it had been Friday, he would talk to her over their regular drink together at a small bar near the agency.
"I find it quite sweet how much you trust Erwin and myself," the Deputy Chief of FOSCA told him as they poured their second cup of coffee. "It's really humbling."
"What are you babbling about?"
"That matter with the background checks, of course."
Levi reminded himself that Hange, for all their quirks and eccentricities, was an excellent Deputy Chief. They just sometimes didn't realize that other people might have no clue what the fuck they were talking about. The background checks were something the analytical department did and the results were forwarded to Hange who was in charge of them. Depending on the situation, they might then pass on the results to Erwin who then made decisions based on the information. It had worked that way for years so Levi saw no reason why he should be involved.
"It's way too early to deal with you, four-eyes. Just go away."
"So rude," Hange tsked but took their cup and left the kitchenette. "One might think you'd be in a better mood, all things considered."
Levi sighed as he waited for his tea to steep. He had arrived early, hoping to catch Noemi before everyone else but of course she would be running late on this day of all days. Erwin had left him a message last night, telling him to be in the office at eight for an official meeting regarding the search for Mikasa Ackerman and as it was now five to eight, he had barely any time left to prepare his tea, much less have a discussion with one of his colleagues. Who was late anyway which made the point moot.
Levi poured himself a cup when the requisite steeping time passed and started walking towards his desk. Erwin asked him to bring the copy of the will into the meeting plus any notes on his current cases. He couldn't head out on any assignments, not with this whole thing hanging over his head, so most of them would be redistributed to other agents.
There were brisk steps echoing from the direction of the elevators and Levi looked up to see Noemi hurrying towards her empty desk across from his own.
"Hey, good morning," she greeted. "Sorry I'm late."
"Is everything alright?"
She nodded, unwinding her scarf and taking off her coat.
"Yes, it's just that my beloved brother," she said, injecting the appellation with a healthy dose of sarcasm, "who's crashing on my sofa while his apartment gets repainted, took my alarm clock and forgot to give it back. I overslept and Erwin left the message yesterday that he wanted me for a meeting that was at eight."
Levi shook his head. Noemi was one of their best trackers. It made sense that Erwin would want her on this case and as Levi himself had been so adamant about things not being personal between them, he couldn't complain, much as he wanted to.
"I was about to go in myself. Unless you want to get something to drink first?"
"Later, I don't want to keep the boss waiting."
Erwin had a very smug expression on his face when they entered his office. He was doing his best to mask it but Levi knew him too well. Something good for the agency had happened. At any other time, Levi would be glad, too, but he just couldn't muster any enthusiasm.
"Take a seat, you two."
"Is this going to be another two-men operation like Ajave?" Noemi asked. Levi winced at the reminder. That hadn't been one of his brighter moments.
"Not exactly," Erwin replied. "Noemi, how much do you know about Kenny the Ripper?"
"I read a dossier on him a few months ago, after we came back from Stohess. Why?"
"He died recently and we are in a position to get a hold of his journal. The one where he kept records of all his jobs."
Levi wondered why Erwin was beating around the bush so much. He had known his boss for a long time and the only time Erwin acted like this was when he was planning something.
"Do you want me and Levi to retrieve it?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
That was it. Levi was done with Erwin's evasions.
"Erwin, just tell her what she needs to know," he spoke, glaring at the other man. Erwin sighed.
"Very well. It turns out Kenny's full name was Kenny Ackerman," he paused expectantly and Levi frowned. What the- then he looked at Noemi who straightened up in her seat. "We found out after Stohess but didn't think it wise to bring up as the other thing we learned back then was that Levi here was his nephew."
Noemi glanced at him, her face openly displaying her surprise.
"Such a connection revealed at a time when ISMRT was sniffing around after the failure of the Stohess mission, well, we - as in myself, Hange, Mike and Levi - decided it was better to keep quiet for the time being."
"I see," Noemi murmured. "You had no idea?" she asked Levi.
"No," he replied shortly. "I didn't think it mattered at the time, just a way for him to throw me off."
"How does it tie to the journal?"
"Show her the will, Levi."
He handed the document over. Noemi read it quickly and Levi knew exactly when she came upon the marriage condition. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him. Then she looked down, rereading the section more slowly and she looked up at Erwin.
"I take it the marriage option is the easiest way to get it."
"Yes. It would be purely for show, of course. Levi talked with the executor of the will and the woman is willing to be satisfied with a pretend fulfillment of the condition. I believe 'keeping up the appearances' is how she formulated it."
"How long would it have to last?"
"A year or so. A sort of long-term undercover mission."
Noemi snorted and shook her head. Then she glanced at Levi. He met her gaze, wondering what might be going on through her head. She didn't seem angry or anything. Then again, she had no reason to be.
"How long do you think it will take you to find her?" he asked and was taken aback by her reaction.
"What? But-" she stopped and then she glared at Erwin. "He doesn't know."
Erwin shook his head, smiling a bit.
"Levi doesn't go through the background checks, trusting me and Hange to handle it."
"What the fuck are you two talking about?" Levi was starting to suspect where this was going but if it was so, it was a massive coincidence the likes of which just didn't happen in normal life. Then again, hardly anything about his life qualified as normal.
"Noemi Yeager is not my real name," Noemi said. "My parents died when I was nine. Killed, in what was concluded to be a failed robbery. I saw it and it was thought best that I disassociate from everything that might remind me of the trauma, including my real name. But I was born as Mikasa Ackerman and I'm pretty sure I am the woman your uncle wanted you to marry."
"I told you it was all about Noemi," Erwin said, looking awfully pleased with himself, as if he had come up with everything himself. "This makes things incredibly simple for us. We don't have to persuade someone unknown to help and the whole matter stays inside the agency."
"How wonderful," Levi bit out. "You just assume we're going along with it."
"You told me you would," Erwin pointed out.
"Yes, but she didn't. You can't just order her to do something like that."
"She is right here, thank you very much," Noemi - or should he start calling her Mikasa? - spoke sharply. "I appreciate your input, Levi, but this isn't some kind of a suicide mission that requires me to think carefully about agreeing."
"You would have to pretend for a year to be married to me."
Levi wasn't even sure why he was arguing this. This was one of the best possible outcomes. They were on friendly terms and both of them understood the reasons behind doing this. Maybe he just felt the need to regain some control. The revelation had thrown him for a loop and Levi didn't like that. There had been far too many instances of that recently.
"I'm sorry but you vastly overestimate your unpleasantness," she said calmly. "If I survived those two weeks in Ajave, with your constant bitching from second day onward, because we had to ration our drinking water and everything was, I quote, 'fucking filthy', then I'm pretty sure I can handle living with you for a year in a midst of a city."
"While this is very entertaining to watch," Erwin interjected, "we need to come up with a solid plan. I take it both of you are okay with getting married?"
Both of them nodded.
"Good. Now, we need to decide whether or not you tell people about the real reason behind it."
"I don't think we should," Noemi - Mikasa - he should really found out which she wanted him to use - said. "Even if the executor of the will knows we're just pretending, she specified we should keep up appearances. The less people that know about this, the better."
"I agree in principle," Levi said. "But in that case, we need to establish some prior relationship which will take a few months at the very least."
"Or you can let the rumour mill and some very happy winners do the work for you."
Levi resisted the urge to groan. Of course, Gelgar and his betting pools. He understood the reasoning. Their work was stressful and any kind of release was welcome. Speculating on who in the agency was getting it on and with whom was supposed to be a harmless fun.
"I believe it's currently 4:1 on a casual fling and 2:1 on a serious relationship," Erwin said. "So if you eloped tomorrow, most everyone would believe it."
"And these are the people responsible for the security of the country," Levi murmured. He heard the quickly suppressed chuckle from the woman next to him. "Should I still call you Noemi? Or would you prefer Mikasa?"
"I think, given the circumstances, I should start using my first name. Less legal complications that way."
"Alright, Mikasa."
The name felt strange on his tongue. She had been Noemi to him ever since they met.
"We still need to establish some kind of a cover story for why we're doing this now," she thought aloud. "We have the partners-at-work and friendly-to-the-point-of-going-out-for-drinks-every-Friday things in our favour as far as a relationship goes but we need to come up with a reason for the marriage."
"We got tired of hiding it," Levi suggested. "Sneaking around was fun and all but we decided it was time to make it official."
"And it doesn't get more official than marriage, yes," Mikasa said, nodding. "It's a simple explanation but simple is good in this case."
"Take today off to talk everything out," Erwin said. "Focus on the timetable. Make it believable but fast. Also, think about a way to separate amicably after we get the journal. I would hate to lose you as a team."
"Sometimes people are better off as friends," Mikasa said. "Levi and I are mature enough to realize after a while that the marriage doesn't work so we go back to being friends and colleagues. That's not going to be a problem."
Levi nodded. It wasn't like anything was ever going to happen between them anyway. Even without this complication, she might have turned him down if he ever asked her out so it was better to have things out in the open like this. That didn't mean he liked it but he had learned a long time ago how to separate his personal and business lives, mostly by not having much of a personal life. He would keep this strictly business and they would go back to normal after a year.
"Good. Still, go over all the contingencies you can think of. I'm pulling both of you off the active roster until after the wedding so don't take too long."
It was a clear dismissal. Once they were outside, they looked at each other. It wasn't exactly awkward but there was a certain tension between them.
"So-"
"So-"
It was one of the most clichéd situations ever. Mikasa snickered and Levi cracked a smile and just like that, the tension was gone.
"I don't think the office is the best place for that discussion we need to have," Mikasa said.
"Right. It's still morning and it's not Friday but I could do with a drink."
"Sure, that sounds great right now."
A/N: The whole Noemi thing was always meant to be a red herring and clarified within the first couple of chapters. See you on Tuesday.
