Yay it's Friday! Yay another chapter!

So I meant to make a note about the police codes on the last chapter but I forgot. Sorry! I did a lot of volunteer work for my local police department, so these are the 10 codes they use. They can vary from department to department, but in this story 10-4 is 'okay' or 'copy', 10-6 is 'busy', and 10-8 is 'at the station'. S301 is Levi's designated radio number. At my department, officer numbers started with L and detective numbers started with S. I kind of made Levi's number up at random, but my thought process was 'S' for detective '3' for 3rd Precinct and '01' because he's the lead detective for the department. Hopefully that clears up any confusion!

Anyways, enjoy. More escalation and more Eren being a stubborn brat...


Chapter 4: Discovered

"Really, Titan?" I grumble as the dog trots through my dirt pile, scattering it all over the kitchen floor for the third time since I've started sweeping. "That's it, outside."

I tow the dog out the door and close it behind him. He sits on the top step, staring back at me through the glass with his head tilted to the side. The top step is soaking wet and muddy from the downpour we had all day yesterday and all last night. I grimace as it soaks into his fur. Perhaps putting him outside wasn't the best idea. I'll have to clean him off before letting him back inside.

Picking my broom back up, I start to sweep again. After gathering all the dirt Titan scattered, I pull out the mop and bucket to begin scrubbing the white tiles. I'm just about finished when I Reiner throws the sliding glass door open and trudges in. Titan following quickly behind him. His boots and pants are covered in mud. He kicks off his boots and tosses them by the back door. I grimace at all the mud covering the newly cleaned floors.

"Clean this up," he snaps at me, pointing at the mud. He leaves the kitchen without another word, heading upstairs to change for work.

"Yes, Reiner," I mumble, even though he's already out of earshot, as I drag a muddy Titan back outside,.

I hate when Reiner has a night shift, or days off in general. It means that he's here during the day, while I'm up and awake, and he can keep a closer eye on me. I can't call Armin or Mikasa, I can't have them over here or go over to their houses, I can't read my textbooks, I can't do anything but chores and make sure Reiner is happy. But it's nearing five thirty, which means Reiner will be leaving soon for his night shift that starts at six. I can stay up late tonight and watch movies or read or do whatever I want. Today has been a long day- they always are when he's home- but I'm about to have the night, and our bed, to myself.

It's been a little over a week since I went to visit Levi at the 3rd Precinct, and I've gone back every day since. I still plan on going today, since there will be about an hour and a half of time between when Reiner leaves for work and when Levi's shift ends. I've really enjoyed the little bit of time every day that I've gotten to be with Levi. He's so calm and collected, and he's becoming my reality away from reality. Even though he's the only person to ever suspect that Reiner's been hurting me, when I'm with him, I can pretend like that part of my life doesn't exist. He doesn't push me about it, he doesn't ask probing questions, he just sits and talks with me. And as I get to know him better, I realize that he treats me differently than everyone else. What Gunther and Eld said that day while I waited in the lobby, about how Levi is blunt and unapproachable, is true with everyone else I observe him interacting with. I've only ever seen him around other detectives and a few witnesses and he's very cold and off-putting, so I'd hate to see how he is with suspects.

The kitchen is just about clean again when Reiner comes back down stairs, dressed in his dark jeans and dark grey blazer. He doesn't say a word to me as he pulls his muddy boots back on and leaves the house. I feel the tension in my body slowly fade. Reiner is gone now. I can relax.

The cuts on my wrists have scarred and the bruises from last week are almost gone as well, only yellow patches of skin now. There is a new bruise on my hip, but that one really was an accident. I ran into the corner of Reiner's desk while I was cleaning his office a few days ago. It's very rare that my body has no bruises caused by Reiner, but right now that's the case, and it raises my spirits a little bit.

When I finish cleaning the kitchen, I run upstairs to change into black skinny jeans and a grey tank top. It's not very often that I can show off my arms like this because usually I'm hiding bruises or cuts on my wrists, but today I'm free of that burden. The night is unusually warm for late fall as I step out of the house and head with hurried, eager steps down the sidewalk towards town. A smile is on my face, and I feel that now familiar feeling of stepping away from my shitty reality. The feeling is like a drug. It's addictive, and I feel like I'm riding a high.

The department closes to the public after five, but whoever is on duty in the reception room today recognizes my face and buzzes me in. Stepping into the lobby, I start to head towards the front desk, but Petra gestures towards the door as she reaches over for the button that will unlock it. I hesitate, but then quickly pull the door open before it locks again. On the other side of the door, Petra runs up to me and starts pushing me towards the elevators. Before I can ask what's going on, Petra flashes me a big smile and explains.

"Levi is conducting an interrogation right now, and I want you to see it before they finish," she says, repeatedly pressing the button for the elevator. "It's a real treat to see him work like that. That man is incredible."

The elevator doors open and I almost collide with another man when Petra tries to shove me in through the opening doors.

"Mike!" Petra squeals. "Can you take Eren up to the interrogation rooms? He wants to observe Levi's interrogation. I need to get back to the desk."

He nods and steps back onto the elevator with me. The man is so tall. He has blonde hair and blonde scruff on his chin and upper lip. He leans towards me and I involuntarily flinch away from him, but then I realize that he's... sniffing me. He straightens back up with a smug grin on his face. What the...

The elevator doors open and even though I know where I'm going, I follow Mike through the open room and towards the hallway. A rather large crowd of police officers and detectives stand outside the first interrogation room on the left. I slowly approach the crowd. They're silent, their eyes intent on the one-way glass. I can hear a distorted voice over the speaker. It's not Levi's. Eld's maybe?

I step up beside a tall blonde man with an undercut who's standing in the back, leaning against the opposite glass. He has a thoughtful look on his face, his blue eyes focused as he watches the glass. He's wearing a grey suit and a bolo tie. He looks very... authoritative. I wonder if he's more than just a detective.

On the other side of the glass, a rugged looking man sits in the chair on the other side of the metal table, directly facing the one-way glass. Eld is pacing behind the man, reading off of a file in his hands. The man looks nervous. I don't see Levi though. He must be standing somewhere out of view.

I feel a tension between my shoulders and a tingle up my spine. Someone is looking at me. I look over to see the tall blonde man staring down at me. I fidget nervously, then look back at the window.

"You're that kid that keeps coming to visit Levi," he says finally, after a long, tense minute.

"I'm not a kid, sir," I reply. "I'm twenty-three."

He chuckles, looking back up at the window. "Normally you wouldn't be allowed to see this, but I won't deny you the opportunity to watch Levi work, although it seems that they are almost done. What's your name, kid?"

"Eren Jaeger."

"It's nice to finally meet Levi's stalker," he smirks, extending a hand. I blush at the comment. "I'm Commander Erwin Smith."

Commander? So he's the man in charge of this precinct. I shake his thick hand, and I swear his grip is strong enough to crush bones. He falls silent again and focuses back on the room. Eld slams the file down onto the table next to the suspect and leans his hands on the table, staring him down. I jump at the sudden noise and Erwin casts a glance down at me, a thick eyebrow raised before he looks back up. I fight the embarrassed blush and focus on the suspect. He twitches away from Eld as Eld continues to glare at him.

"All the evidence points to you, David," Eld says. "You're not going to get away with this."

Levi suddenly steps forward from next to the glass. He has a few pictures in his hands, but I can't see what's on them. He flips through him, his face calm, then tosses them onto the table towards the suspect. The man jerks his head away, not looking at the photos. Levi quickly grabs a fistful of the man's hair and shoves his face towards the photos. I flinch at the way he handles the man. Sharp memories of Reiner grabbing me in the same way flash through my head and I look down.

"You don't like looking at your own handiwork, David?" Levi says, and his voice is hard, demanding. "You beat her, you raped her, and then you killed her. Look at it. You did this to her."

I look back up when the man chokes out a sob. Levi isn't holding him by the hair anymore. He's standing on the short side of the table, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes are dark, like they were when he glared at Reiner the first time we met. It sends a shiver down my spine, and I'm not even the one the glare is directed at.

The man visibly shies from Levi's intense glare, and I can practically see his resolve cracking. I know how to read people very well, and I can see that he's not going to last much longer. Levi has already intimidated him too far.

When Levi leans his hands onto the table, the man snaps, jumping from his chair and hurrying to the back wall. "That bitch led me on! She wanted it," he snarls, pointing at the photos on the table. "But that bitch shot me down. I was so mad... so I hit her, and I hit her, and I hit her. She wanted it. She led me on. She led me on..."

Without another word, Levi straightens from the table and heads for the door while two police officers enter the room. That's it. It's over. Levi doesn't say a word as he leaves the room and pushes through the crowd of officers. He hesitates though when his eyes fall on me. He gestures for me to follow him as he heads back to his desk.

"We'll have to talk out here today, because I need to close out this case," Levi says as he grabs a chair from beside a pair of desk and drags it over next to his own. I sit down. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come by today. Why so late?"

"Reiner has a night shift tonight," I tell him.

He looks over at me as his computer boots up. "So you only come here when your partner is at work?"

I nod. "He doesn't like me leaving the house by myself."

He watches my face, my expression, waiting for me to slip up and reveal something. But I keep my emotions under control, and off my face.

"So Erwin let you watch my interrogation, huh?" he asks, turning back to the computer. "How much did you see?"

"Not much. Only the last minute or two," I say.

"So you missed all the good stuff. You just caught that blubbering idiot's confession."

"It was pretty intense though. You're scary when you're with a suspect," I say, trying to make it sound like a joke. But I can't stop thinking about the rough way he handled the man. It was only for a second, and it wasn't that severe at all, but that grabbing of the hair is a favorite of Reiner's when he wishes to control me, and it brings back too many painful memories. My fingers involuntarily scratch at my healing wrist.

He picks up on my nervousness. I can't hide it. He watches me in concern for a moment before asking, "Do I scare you?" His voice is soft, calm, and so different from the hard, sharp tone he had in the interrogation room. It's like he's a whole different person now, like I get to see an entirely different Levi than everyone else. It sooths me, relaxes me, and I feel safe in his presence again.

"No," I answer immediately. I don't even have to think about it. "You make me feel safe."

This makes him smile, and the smile is contagious as I feel it pulling on my own lips. He looks back at his computer and starts to type.

"So, brat, what boring ass textbook are you going to make me explain today? I thought I was done with all that shit when I graduated," he teases.

"Oh, I didn't bring a textbook today," I say. I hadn't even thought about it. "I was just-"

My phone starts to ring in my pocket, interrupting my train of thought. My heart jumps into my throat, and I reach into my pocket to see who's calling me. When I pull the phone out my heart stops all together and I suddenly can't breathe. I can't feel anything, my body is numb. Incoming Call: Reiner Braun. What does he want? Why is he calling? Did he go home and see me gone? I can't breathe...

"Eren?" Levi questions.

"I have to go..." I manage to say, the words weak. I stand on shaky legs, but hurry towards the elevators. I can hear Levi following behind me, but I ignore him. I answer the phone and slowly lift it to my ear. "... Reiner?"

"Where the fuck are you?!" his voice yells at me.

"I-I went for a run," I lie quickly, repeatedly pressing the down button for the elevator. He must be home if he knows I'm not there. Why is he there? Did he forget something? Did his boss decide that he didn't need him tonight? I was supposed to have all night. Why is he home?

"Without Titan? Don't you dare fucking lie to me! Get your ass back home now, little shit." He hangs up.

I swallow hard, trying not to let my legs give out underneath me as I slowly pocket my cell phone. The elevator doors open, and I push past two officers as they leave the elevator. Before the door closes, Levi sticks his hand through the opening, then enters the elevator.

"Eren, what's going on?" he asks me.

"It's nothing," I reply in a daze as the elevator starts to descend. "Reiner came home, he's just wondering where I am. I have to get back."

"If it's that simple then why do you look like someone just shot your dog?" he questions. The elevator opens and I run towards the exit, throwing it open into the warm night. Levi follows. "Please, Eren, let me help you. Is he going to hurt you? Is he abusing you?"

I turn on him, trying to fight back my shock. He's never said that word before. He's never straight out questioned how Reiner treats me. He's always tap danced around the topic. Hearing it from his lips, hearing him ask that question, it makes it so much more real. But it's not abuse. I deserve it. If I wasn't so disrespectful, he wouldn't have to hit me.

"Don't follow me," I tell him, trying to make my weak voice sound strong. "You'll only make it worse."

That gets him to stop, and I quickly turn back around and take off down the street. My pulse is hammering in my ears by the time I reach my house. What is Reiner going to do to me? What will my punishment be for sneaking out? He doesn't know I was at the police department. He has no way of knowing that. Maybe it won't be too bad.

I ease the front door open and make my way inside. I can hear the TV on, blaring the baseball game. No footsteps sound, so he's not getting up. Titan trots up to me, his tail wagging, and I quickly scratch his ears before trying to sneak upstairs. Maybe he's not mad at me. He sounded so angry on the phone, but he always sounds angry. I get to the top of the stairs and suddenly Reiner is in front of me, stepping out of our bedroom. His eyes are pure blue fury. My heart stops and fear paralyzes me as he grabs the front of my shirt.

"Where were you?!" he shouts in my face. "And don't you fucking lie to me! Where were you?! Were you fucking that blonde geek? That horseface?"

I clinging to his arm. His hands are lifting me off my feet. Tears prickle at my eyes. "N-No, Reiner, I would never-"

"Then where were you?!"

"I just went out for some fresh air, I promise," I say. Lying is so easy for me, especially to Reiner. I've had a long time and a lot of incentive to perfect it.

"You're lying to me," he says. It's not that he sees through my lie, it's just that he's paranoid. I can see it in his eyes. There is no reasoning with him. He's beyond that.

His fist slams into my stomach, and then he's shoving me backward. I'm falling, and it feels like everything is moving in slow motion. I'm tumbling down the stairs, and pain radiates through my whole body. I try to protect my head, but it hits the banister and everything goes black.

...

Pain. Everywhere. My skull is pounding, my left arm is killing me, and every other part of my body throbs. Where am I? What happened? I'm laying on my back on a cold floor. Something wet presses against my cheek. I can hear a whine. Something soft brushes against my face. I open my eyes to see Titan standing above me, whining and licking at my face. He barks, and the loud sound slices through my head, pain erupting between my ears.

I'm laying on the floor at the base of the stairs. I struggle for breath. My chest sears in pain. When I finally get the strength to move, I reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone. Titan barks again, and I wince, trying to push him away, but my left arm explodes in pain, making me whimper. Is Reiner still here? Is he somewhere in the house? Or did he leave after he threw me down the stairs?

I unlock my phone and struggle to get my eyes to focus on the screen. I press the call button, then the numbers 9, 1, and then 1 again. It begins to ring and I relax back against the ground, trying to will away the throbbing pain.

"9-1-1, what's the location of your emergency?" a female voice says after the first ring. It's familiar. I know that voice. But I can't think passed the pain enough to place it. I find comfort in the voice though, and relax in knowing she'll make everything okay.

"I..." my lungs scream and I can't force enough air through them to get the rest of the sentence out.

"Hello? Caller?"

"I need... help," I breathe. "Fell... down stairs." Titan barks again.

"We're tracking your call, an ambulance will be at your location shortly. Please stay on the line until they arrive," the voice says. "Can you tell me your name, sir?"

"Eren," I force out.

"Eren? Eren Jaeger?" It hits me then, who that voice belongs to. It's Petra.

"...yes," I manage. My chest and lungs are searing.

"Oh my god... help is on the way, dear. Hang in there, okay?"

I don't have the strength to respond. It seems like forever, an agonizingly long forever, until I hear sirens. But in reality, it's probably only been a few minutes. The front door gets kicked in, just a few feet from where I lay in the entry hallway. Titan barks at the two firemen that run into the house and kneel before me. I'm half expecting Reiner to run into the front room to see what's going on, but he doesn't. He must not be here. Good.

I only half listen to the two firemen talk to each other and into their radios, trying to focus on not letting my pain consume me. They strap something onto my neck, keeping me from moving my neck or head. Two more men in blue uniforms hurry into the room. They're not police officers, and judging by the way they talk with the firemen, they're probably paramedics. I try to focus on their voices instead of the pain, but it's hard. The pain in my head is so intense, I can't handle it. Tears pool in my eyes and my vision blurs. Everything is going numb.

"Stay with me, Mr. Jaeger," one of the paramedics says.

But I can't. Unconsciousness is pulling me under, and I have no desire to resist it. I give into the numb, emptiness eagerly, but just before my vision goes completely dark, another figure hurries into the room. I know that short stature, that dark suit and shiny badge hanging from his neck. I know that neat undercut and those intense grey eyes. But I am too far gone to place a name with that worried face.

...

I come to surrounded by beeping, bright lights, and the smell of antiseptic. I can feel a very faint numb pain throughout my whole body, but it's not bad. It's wrapped in the soothing haze of drugs. Morphine. I am no stranger to the wonderful, pain consuming drug. I've been in hospitals before. My head still feels too big though, like it's about to burst. And my arm feels heavy. I twitch my fingers and move my left arm. It's in a cast. I also feel tight bandages around my left knee and ankle. Damn...

I open my eyes to a white ceiling. My vision is blurry at first, but quickly clears up. I take a deep, shuttering breath. It feels like my diaphragm is bruised, and the breath hurts a little, but the morphine dulls it.

I hear someone sigh off to my right and I startle. The beeping of my heart monitor accelerates. Is Reiner here? Is he going to punish me? The last time I ended up in the hospital he blamed me for the cost of my medical bills and beat the shit out of me as soon as I was released.

But when I look over, I see Levi stand from the chair he had been occupying in the corner. The relief that floods me is nearly incapacitating. He has a bored, tired look on his face, but I can see the worry in his eyes. He cares about me. He's here, visiting me in the hospital. I catch the gleam of his badge, hanging in plain sight against his chest. Suddenly I have doubts. Is he here because he's concerned for my health, or because he wants to question me about the incident? But why would he question me? He investigates homicides. And it seems to me that I'm still alive.

"Oi, calm down, brat," he says in that same soft, soothing voice that I've come to love.

"Levi..." I murmur. My voice is hoarse, my throat like sandpaper and my mouth dry. I swallow hard.

"Let me guess," he sighs, crossing his arms over his chest as he stands by my bed. "It was an accident."

I nod quickly. "I fell..." I start to say, but my hoarse voice cracks. Levi reaches for a cup of water on the table next to the bed. He hands it to me and I eagerly take a drink. "Mikasa told you that I'm a klutz. It's true."

He exhales sharply and suddenly his bored mask falls away. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and squeezes his eyes shut. "Damn it, Eren. I've been doing this too long to fall for your lies," he snaps at me. His tone is harder than it usually is with me and I flinch away from it. My chest is tight and tears burn behind my eyelids. He's mad at me. And for some reason, I can't stand the thought of him being mad at me. But I can't tell him. I can't...

He sighs, the anger in his expression falling away. "Don't cry, brat," he murmurs, resting a gentle hand on my shoulder. The warmth in his touch courses through me and makes me shiver. The tears dry up in my eyes as I look up at him. "I just wish you'd let me stop this. I can protect you, Eren. If you'd just tell me the truth, he'd never hurt you again."

"He's not hurting me," I reply, looking away from him. "It was my fault."

"No," he snaps, making me startle again. "It's not your fault. Never blame yourself for what he does to you. Nothing gives him the right to hurt you. Nothing."

I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't want to talk about this. I can't turn Reiner in. Levi sighs again and moves away from the bed. I open my eyes. He shoves his hands into his pockets and heads towards the door. "The doctor said that none of your injuries are life threatening, and that you'll be released as soon as your next of kin arrives to pick you up. He's been notified, and he's on his way."

Fear grips me again, and I can hear the heart monitor accelerate. Reiner is on his way? He's going to be so mad at me. I'm sure these medical bills won't be cheap. What's he going to do this time? Is he going to actually kill me? I used to pray that he'd kill me so that I didn't have to live through this shitty life anymore, but now, the thought of dying actually scares me. I look at Levi, panic clear in my eyes, but his back is still turned and I don't stop him, don't say anything. I do absolutely nothing as the detective leaves the room.

The tears fall then as I watch Levi disappear. He's the only one who's ever cared about me, and he's trying so hard to help me, but instead of letting him, I'm running back to Reiner. How long will he keep tring? How long until he gives up on me? I can't stand the thought of him walking out of my life forever. I need him. I... I love him.


I know that in the beginning I said this fic would be seven chapters, but I added a Levi POV chapters so that bumps it up to eight. The Levi POV chapter will actually be the next chapter.

So I seriously debated for like five minutes on whether I should leave Erwin's title Commander or switch it to Captain since the title given to the head of a police precinct is Captain, but it was just too weird. Captain Erwin Smith. ...no. That's Levi's title. So I left it Commander. This was a serious problem for me guys! Literally five minutes! XD

I'm also on AO3 under the same pen name, and on Tumblr. zoey04ereri. tumblr. com. Feel free to leave questions/comments/concerns on either of those sites or here. Thanks for reading!