Eren was conflicted and fuming by the time he made it into work the next morning. He had hoped dealing with Levi would have been easier if Rogue had hated the salmon dinner, but unfortunately Rogue had dug into the meal wholeheartedly and demanded more with aggressive advances. Previously believing that Levi had just been trying to screw him over, Eren tried to brush it off as a fluke.
Which hadn't helped his mood, especially when he had tried reaching Jean but hadn't gotten an answer.
"I'm killing them both..." he grumbled as he shoved some folders into his desk and threw a pen at Armin. He'd been meaning to do that since he had walked into the department; Armin looked blissfully happy and content, a sure sign of being sexually satisfied in a budding, solid, relationship.
Sure enough, he hardly looked upset when the pen made contact.
"Did you know he's an artist?" Eren snapped after Armin spun around in his chair and made eye contact.
Armin smiled when he caught onto the subject. "You must have a thing for artists."
"Business men are boring," Eren conceded with a frown.
"Artists are horny."
"Men are horny."
"True enough," Armin agreed with an uncharacteristically sly grin.
Eren gave up with a groan. He hated when Armin was sensible, but he was also relieved Armin offered no false assurances.
"I'm a relationship slut aren't I?" he asked while picking at his nails.
Reiner and Connie let out a whoop and he was fairly certain Bertl snorted a "finally."
"I wouldn't say that," Mikasa scolded as she settled on his desk. "You've only been with one person this year."
Facing Mikasa, Eren didn't have the courage to prove her wrong and say he was already eyeing another poor decision.
When Reiner walked by he slapped Mikasa on the back and let out a boisterous laugh, ignoring the dark glare she set on him as he did. "Don't deter him, Mikasa! He gives this office drama."
"Thanks, man," Eren sneered. "Don't you have a cat to save?" His remark was a dismissal Reiner took in stride.
"Are you really going to take a break this time, Eren?" Mikasa asked as soon as the blond had returned to his side of the office. Her glare was on him for a few more moments before she was able to tear it away and fix a lighter one on Eren.
"O-of course. It's not like I can get over a guy in three days," he snorted, trying his hardest not to avoid her steely gaze or tug on his ears. Lying had never been an easy feat for Eren and Mikasa made it especially hard. Yet, surprisingly enough, he made it by this time... Or, rather, he made it without too much of a lecture before Mikasa gave up and placed a car key in his hand.
"Nile got a call a few minutes ago, he wants us out," she started. "Breaking and entering, property damage, and an owner that apparently needs to be contained. His response was a little unusual."
Excitement chased away the rest of Eren's foul mood, and with a grin he grabbed the keys to the patrol car.
"Permission to speed?"
"Permission granted."
With a snort he flicked on the sirens and shot out onto the freeway. The heady rush of power that granted made Mikasa and Eren both laugh over classic cop songs and the sight of cars hurrying to get out of their way. The fact that he did this at all was the reason Mikasa was usually his babysitter when they went out, but Eren had suspected Reiner and Connie did it, too.
They were just better in action, he guessed. Nile had said he was a bit too aggressive and emotional, which was usually why cat cases and B and E's were assigned to him. Actual criminals weren't involved, and most of the time he'd spend it trying to calm down stressed victims.
"So we've got a vic that needs to be contained?" Eren asked while looking for their exit. Wherever this guy lived, he was pretty isolated.
"Nile was warned by the girl on the line that he's "covered in blood" and "wielding a scalpel." Whether he actually attacked the intruder is still up in the air, but I guess she spilled so we don't freak out and pull a gun on him," Mikasa explained with a shrug.
"Tazer, you mean. If I can't use a gun you're not allowed to either," Eren teased, ignoring the amused roll of her eyes and settling down as she directed him. "It's a B and E, Mikasa. What could go wrong?"
He found out ten minutes later that everything could go wrong. Already standing outside of the tattoo parlor the crime had apparently taken place at, was Levi. Covered in blood had been no exaggeration either; latex gloves protected his hands, but something must have gone wrong for the blood to spread to his elbows. Streaks also covered his neck, but that had probably been a nervous action- rubbing his neck or even running his fingers through his hair, if the dried streaks throughout it were anything to go by.
The look on his face did him in, however. The second Eren had put the car in park, Mikasa was out and had her gun trained on him, telling him to put his hands up.
"Shit..."
Levi did nothing to ease her apparent suspicion, leaving it up to Eren to hurry to his sister's side and try to do it for him.
"Mikasa, stop. It's a body shop that specializes in scarification, he was probably in the middle of an appointment," he mumbled as he put his hand on her arm. The gun came down after a moment, but Levi kept coming.
"It fucking took you long enough!" he burst. Furious was one word Eren was sure didn't cover the way Levi felt, but he was too relieved the shorter man was doing an amazing job at not recognizing him. "Your incompetent timing resulted in a poor man getting an erect cock tattooed on his neck," he sneered, but the anger was replaced with smug satisfaction.
All sense of professionally ignoring how they met faded, and Eren hissed, "Levi! You could get sued! And I'm pretty sure that's something that could get your license revoked!"
Levi recognized him then, if the surprise on his face was anything to go by. After that had registered, he eyed Eren with consideration and thoughtfully flipped the ring in his lip.
"You look good in uniform," he praised, so serious it threw Eren for a loop.
"You two know each other?" Mikasa asked, her shock and horror blatant.
"More or less," Eren mumbled while Levi sneered, "Not as much as I'd like to."
Forgetting about the problem at hand entirely, Eren stared at the man, dumbfounded and amazed.
"I'll find out later," Mikasa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as if she were fighting a headache. "Right now, we need information."
Levi shot her a fierce glare, one that equaled the worst of her own. "Of course, officer," he all but growled. "Some jackass broke into storage and tried bailing with a few dozen boxes of ink and needles. Now, I'm a pretentious fucking prick so that's a lot of money going down the drain. Spilled a few hundred bottles of ink- cost me hundreds of dollars in the process."
Mikasa took his attitude in stride, as expected, and countered, "So where does this come in?" she pressed while gesturing to Levi's appearance.
"I was in the middle of scarifying," he replied easily. No fear, no hesitation.
Eren was impressed. Even people who weren't in the wrong acted as if they had shot a puppy when Mikasa honed in on them.
"Are you licensed?"
Levi looked appalled, even offended. "The fuck kind of question is that? Best in California, Ms. Bitch. I wouldn't get very far without a damn license," he nearly growled, bristling like Rogue did when Eren watched his soap operas.
The comparison made Eren smother a chuckle with his hand. The exchange was far from worrying, it was hilarious, but he had a freshly tattooed 'criminal' to see to.
"Levi, what about the guy who broke in?" he asked, trying to steer them both on topic. And Mikasa away from the bitch comment.
"Knocked out, tied up, and freshly tattooed," Levi grumbled, never taking his eyes off of Mikasa and even throwing the bloody gloves at her feet. "I'm fucking filthy. Feel free to look around, I've gotta clean up and get a client sterilized and stable."
With that, Levi turned on his heel and headed back towards the unimpressive brick building. Eren caught Mikasa's arm as he started after him.
"I'll stick with Levi. You check the area, get the guy in the car maybe," he mumbled then glared when she opened her mouth to protest. "I know Levi, Mikasa. And I won't piss him off, you stick with what you do best and I'll help Levi with his client. Your emotionally unstable people skills are in the negatives," he added.
"We're talking later, Eren," she warned him as the set off.
"There's nothing to talk about."
There was a lot to talk about, but Mikasa wasn't going to hear any of it, he decided. Armin would simply because he wouldn't interrogate him, but Mikasa always went "bad cop" when it came to guys.
Eren had to admit she was a better dad than their own in that way... Among others.
With a huff Eren set his mind to the matter at hand and nearly stomped his way into the building. It was fairly simple, the same as any body shop, he assumed. Both beautiful and grotesque art hung from the walls, and portfolios were lined up on the front desk. Dark and Gothic until it reached a singular hall where Eren guessed the artists and piercers worked.
That was when everything went one hundred and ten percent sterile.
"Jesus..." Mikasa breathed, her eyes trained on the body Eren had overlooked.
Sure enough, a young man- no more than nineteen at best- lay hog tied and out cold. Eren gave the dick on his throat credit- it was an impressive piece of art, though hasty as it was and no doubt done out of anger. The skin around it was red and puffy, and the ink was fresh.
"He's crazy..." Mikasa murmured as she gathered the slender man and started easily towards the door.
Shoving a hand through his hair, Eren started towards the sterile hallway. He noticed distantly that it smelled like lemon pledge and bleach, though a heavier, more sinister, smell hit him as he continued on. Definitely burned skin and blood.
He had to give Levi credit- if this was what his job entailed every day he'd be a little pissy, too. And stumbling across Levi in his element gave him that much more respect.
In a rather small room, totally devoid of any decorations, a man was screaming into a shirt. Levi stood between Eren and what was probably the worst thing he'd ever see, spraying the chest down and softly wiping at edges of what could only be the interrupted results of the appointment.
Eren stayed by the door, torn between offering help and just hoping Levi could fix everything himself. If he screwed up trying, he had no doubt that'd he'd be in the hospital with a scalpel lodged in his stomach. Or a bottle of disinfectant up his ass. He was perfectly content safely watching Levi work around his client, his concentration itself admirable.
It was as if nothing else in the world existed to the other man, his entire focus was on the bloody mess of a chest. Which, as he shifted to start on a new area, Eren got full view of. Horrifying at best, he couldn't even discern a shape from the grafted and burned skin, and why anyone would want to do that was beyond him.
"Shit..." he muttered despite himself, though Levi hardly even spared him a glance.
"Damn right. It's always nasty unfinished," he grumbled instead while spraying the new section of skin liberally. A ragged scream the shirt couldn't even muffle escaped his client as a result. "Not deep enough to make the design yet..." he added softly before bandaging the wounds and kneeling down so he was eye level with the nearly crying man. "I'm not finishing it. Let it heal, it'll scar for a few weeks, maybe months if you're unlucky. Go to a hospital. Get it checked again if it gets infected, and if you have any expenses at all, I'll cover them."
Eren was surprised by the pissy and unsympathetic tone, but the man sniffled and nodded. Levi helped with his shirt, muttered a "don't worry about paying" and sent him on his way. He nearly collapsed in the only chair by the table afterwards, tearing a face mask off once he had settled.
"Fucking hate that," he grumbled while rubbing his face wearily, almost angrily. Practically leering at Eren, he drawled, "Turned you off of the idea didn't it?"
"Never been attracted to it anyways," Eren admitted with a halfhearted shrug. Tattoos, piercings, none of it appealed to him. Some people, like Levi, could pull it off, but people like him couldn't. He was the type of person who would get a smiley face tattooed on his ass, only if he was completely wasted, then never speak of it again.
Not that he had ever done that, of course.
"I don't blame you," Levi agreed after a moment of contemplation. "It's disgusting and messy. I can't stand sharing space, yet here I am rolling around in their blood."
A little dramatic, Eren noted, but he asked nonetheless, "Then why do you do it?"
"Because I'm good at it, and it costs a lot. It's not like I tattoo or rip into just anyone though," he answered with a sincere but fleeting glance. A moment later he was looking again however, staring at Eren with a rather critical eye. "Did you look Soul to Skin up last night?" he asked.
Eren shrugged. He hadn't wanted to, but after Rogue's fourth meal he had given into temptation. To say he was impressed was an understatement- Levi had appointments set for the end of the year, and it was a strict process to earn one.
Smirking, Levi pressed, "Then you know there's stages. You have to call in, show up, interview... There's a background check, I don't do criminals."
"Well..." Eren snorted, eyeing the shorter man doubtfully. "I bet there's someone with a new dick on his throat that'd like to argue that statement."
"He was not a potential client," Levi argued with a fierce glare.
"Whatever floats your boat," Eren hummed, rolling his eyes at the childish denial. "You put an awful lot of effort into it." That, Eren decided, would be as close to a compliment as he would get for Levi. Feeding the already massive ego didn't strike him as appealing, but he'd give credit when credit was due.
"I'm not going to half ass a dick," Levi snorted before shaking his head a bit and smirking. "You know, we'll keep meeting like this 'til you let me take you out."
Eren noted that he had said out instead of home this time. Though, if the change was intended or not, he didn't know. He may have been hoping for the latter, however- maybe Levi was actually interested, but would it continue if he gave in?
"Are you saying that's a fact?" Eren asked, trying for nonchalant though not entirely sure how well he pulled it off. The last thing he wanted was for Levi to know he was even a bit interested. "Careful, Levi. I might think you're stalking me with anymore run ins. And you're not supposed to fuck with cops."
He realized a bit too late that he could have worded his last comment better. Levi snapped into focus quickly, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"But I hear cops are the best," he nearly purred.
"Not this one," Eren snapped dryly, glaring at the other man until the grin faltered and he shrugged an apology.
"We're clearly not getting anywhere, so-"
"You're not getting anywhere," Eren corrected, but Levi ultimately ignored him save a pointed glare.
"If I accept the fact that you're not a fuck after the first date kind of guy, could I take you out?" He flipped the silver hoop in his lip, an action Eren still hadn't figured out yet. It could be either a nervous tic or a thoughtful habit, maybe even both, and the fact that Eren couldn't figure it out was infuriating.
Swallowing the correction that he wasn't a fuck after any date kind of guy, Eren gave a noncommittal shrug and looked away. The same thing that had called him to Jean seemed to be in Levi... Maybe he could get at least six months out of Levi, or three if he was being realistic. Though he was sure the only reason Jean had lasted so long was because he had already known before jumping in, Eren still somewhat hoped.
Four days without Jean and the apartment was nearly unbearable, Eren couldn't stand it. Maybe just going out sometimes with Levi, nothing serious or promising, would keep him out of the apartment long enough to curb that loneliness. He knew he could pull of flirty, he could tease like none other... Eren could make it work.
After he heard Mikasa calling for them, he looked back at Levi warily, taking note of the already triumphant smirk. "I'll think about it," he answered before turning on his heel and hurrying back to the front room. Levi took his time in following, much to Mikasa's chagrin, with his smirk only slightly subdued.
It was obvious enough for Mikasa to throw Eren a chiding glare, however.
"He's awake and having a panic attack in the car," she explained softly, which only furthered Levi's amusement, then began a horribly professional and detailed explanation of what she noted and what Levi could do.
Eren learned quickly that Levi didn't care much for environmental analyses, he just wanted to know who was going to replace the damaged ink. And if he was going to keep his license. After assuring him both would be handled easily and favorably, they said their goodbyes and Mikasa practically carried Eren out of the building.
"Before we get into the car and have an insane man on our hands, I want you to know I don't agree with what you're going to do," she said as they made their way to the patrol car. "I don't like Levi and I don't want you seeing him."
Eren snorted and ruffled her hair. "It's a good thing I'm not thirteen and you're not my mom, then, huh?" he teased, then tossed Mikasa the keys and made for the passengers side. He was awful at driving when someone was in the back, screaming and thrashing which was exactly what the young man in there was doing. "If it makes you feel any better, it won't be serious. We'll just hangout, the apartment's kind of shitty when I'm by myself."
"You have friends, Eren," Mikasa argued softly, her concern and worry almost palpable. "You know Reiner has party nights on Fridays. Why don't you come with us?"
Eren rolled his eyes. "Because party nights are loud and obnoxious. I can't just hangout with a single guy? And don't say Armin, he's a taken, happy, man now. I need to let him go, and as hard as it is watching him leave the nest, I'm glad he's getting laid," he countered lightly and with a smile he felt was far too forced to be convincing.
"Eren..."
"Let's get this guy back to the station. Lord knows we'll have some convincing to do about the "erect genitalia" on his neck," Eren snorted, eliciting a small smile from Mikasa as he opened the car door.
Her response was drowned out by the enraged curses now flowing freely from the cab, but it hardly mattered. Successfully distracting Mikasa from a touchy subject was celebration enough, all he had to do was smile and laugh to keep it up.
