Chapter 12

Both Mike and Erwin settled themselves comfortably in Petra's living room, having been there on more than one occasion. Levi stood awkwardly with both newcomers staring at him as Petra hurried into the kitchen. He turned away from both pairs of prying eyes and focused on one of the paintings hanging on the wall. He did not like the feeling he got as the men stared. Their gazes made made him uncomfortable. Had Levi been the same man from years ago, this would not affect him but he was not the same man anymore.

Petra arrived after a few minutes later holding a tray with four glasses of orange juice.

"I'm sorry but I don't have any coffee right now. Will juice be alright?" She asked as she neared the men and stopped before the officers.

"That will be fine. Thank you Petra." Erwin smiled at the young woman as he picked up a glass of juice and took a long drink. Petra smiled in return as she then offered the tray to Mike. He took a glass and set it down on the coffee table in front of him.

Petra had known Erwin and Mike since she was a young girl. Her father had befriended both of them almost 12 years ago. The officers regularly stopped by his coffee shop to have lunch or a drink. Eventually they and Petra's father had become good friends.

Petra noticed Levi was still standing as she sat down and motioned for him to sit beside her. He did so with some reluctance, wary of the men before him. He did not like the police. He rarely had good encounters with them. Petra placed a glass of juice in front of him.

"Is there… Anything you can tell us right now? About…" Petra trailed off.

"I can't tell you much but you won't have to worry about them. All of the men you described are in custody. Now, I just need both of you to tell me everything you can remember. You gave me a brief description on the phone but I want all the details, no matter how insignificant it may seem." Erwin motioned at Mike, before continuing. "Mike will write everything down for us. You'll also be needing to tell me more about your friend here, Petra."

"We'll start with Levi first. Who are you, what do you do?" Erwin asked.

"That's none of your business." Levi responded cooly. He did not want to give them his life story. All he wanted to do was talk to them about what happened tonight and then hopefully leave.

"If you're going to be a witness then I'll need to know more about you." Erwin narrowed his eyes at the shorter man.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to corroborate Petra's story but I refuse to tell you anything else."

Erwin felt a surge of suspicion. Just why did this man refuse to divulge any information about himself? There was something wrong here.

"Since Petra is taking you in tonight, I'm assuming you don't have a place here?" Mike finally spoke.

"... No." Levi admitted after a pause.

"Did you just arrive in this city?" Mike continued and Petra could see Levi becoming irritated. His eyes had narrowed and he clenched his fists.

"How about we just get started on telling you what happened? If Levi doesn't want to talk about himself then we should respect that. I am still willing to be a witness if I am needed." Petra interjected before Mike could question her new roommate further. She did not want Levi to leave, which she was afraid he would do if this kept going on.

"... Fine." Erwin conceded. He decided to look this man up when he got back to the station. He doubted "Levi" was using his real name but it would be worth a shot to look through the criminal database and see if a name with his description popped up.

Together, Petra and Levi retold everything they could of the night's events. Levi started off by explaining everything that happened at the warehouse before he arrived at the coffee shop. He could see from the officers' expressions that some of the questions they had been asking had been answered by his explanation.

Petra joined in afterwards and noticed that Levi seemed to have a much better memory than her and was able to recount everything perfectly. He would take over telling things when Petra became upset or if she missed some details, which seemed to be embarrassingly often. When both Petra and Levi had finished speaking, Erwin was silent.

"You are sure of what you saw and heard?" Erwin finally asked after a minute. Petra nodded.

"Completely." Levi answered assuredly.

If everything they said was true, Levi didn't seem to be as bad as Erwin had originally thought. The tall blonde did blame him for bringing his mess to Petra but Levi did try to keep her out of it and ended up saving her in the end.

"The Mayor and the Titans? Doesn't seem too hard to believe. I never liked him anyway." Mike added as he finished writing down everything he heard. He then grabbed his glass of juice and chugged it down before speaking again. "We might be getting in over our heads but I am willing to do what I can to take these men down."

"Alright then, I believe we are mostly finished here. But first, Petra?".

"Yes, Erwin?"

"May I speak with you in private for a few minutes?" Erwin's request startled Petra.

"Ah, yes!" Petra stood up quickly and followed Erwin to the guest bedroom. They shut the door behind them. Levi already knew what they were going to talk about. Him. He hoped Erwin wouldn't convince Petra to kick him out as he sighed in exhaustion.


Levi was left alone with Mike. The blonde stared at Levi without any sort of hesitation and seemed to contemplating something.

"Do you have to stare?" Levi growled out before he could stop himself. It was probably not a good idea to be rude right now.

"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?" The man asked, almost curiously. Levi could admit to himself that it did. Levi did not like being stared at ever since he began living on the streets again. It was better when people ignored him.

"Tch." Levi knew he would say something sarcastic so he forced himself not to say anything at all. He just stared out the window to the left for some time and ignored the man sitting across from him. Levi barely paid attention to Mike so he was startled when the man was suddenly right beside him. The black-haired man turned to find the officer shoving his face close to his neck. He heard and felt him sniff a few times before Levi pushed him away with a shout.

"What the fuck!" Levi yelled as the man before him stumbled back with a grin.

"What's going on?" Petra rushed out of the room, Erwin right behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy? He was sniffing me like some mutt!" Levi shouted angrily.

"Oh…" What could Petra say right now? Mike was Mike. He did that to some people. Maybe they should have warned him first before leaving Mike alone with Levi?

"Mike!" Erwin sighed. "We've talked about this little habit of yours. People don't really appreciate their personal space being invaded. We are almost done here, go wait in the vehicle."

"Sure thing boss." Mike gave Levi a smirk, taking enjoyment in making him freak. Levi narrowed his eyes at the man's retreating back.

"I apologize for his behavior." Erwin began. "Levi, Petra? I believe you two will be safe. The Titans don't know your full names and with the amount of evidence we have against them, the ones in our custody will not be leaving anytime soon. We will be taking on the rest of them as well."

"That is such a relief Erwin." Petra admitted softly.

"Now that we are finished, I will need to head back to work. Petra?"

"Yes?"

"Could you go and grab me my phone? I think I may have left it in the bedroom." Erwin asked pleasantly.

"Oh, sure. I'll be right back." As soon as Petra vanished from sight, Erwin moved with a quickness that surprised Levi, though he had been expecting it. The taller man grabbed the collar of Levi's borrowed pajamas and pulled him close. He towered over Levi and stared menacingly into his eyes.

"Levi. I will say this once and only once. I see something in you. I'm not sure if I am wrong but I think you are deserving of help and a second chance. But... I could be wrong. If anything happens to Petra or her friends and you are the cause, you will regret it. No matter where you are or how long it takes, I will hunt you down like an animal and make you wish you had died, laws and morality be damned. Don't make the trust I am putting in you be broken." He hissed intently, watching for a reaction in those cool grey eyes.

"I swear to you, Erwin. I will not hurt her." Levi's eyes shone with anger and determination. The smaller man grabbed Erwin's wrist with his own strong grip and pulled it off of his collar. Erwin looked at him in respect, he had shown no fear and Erwin saw some hidden potential in this man.

"Ah! Nevermind Petra. I found it. I must have placed it back in my pocket without realizing. Be safe, alright?" Erwin stepped back from Levi and called out to Petra. She stepped out of the room and headed toward Erwin and Levi.

"Okay! You too. And thank you for everything." Petra was extremely grateful. Talking to Erwin helped relieve much of the stress and fear she had been feeling. The Titans were in custody. They could not find her now.

"You're welcome. I will see you again tomorrow." Erwin promised as he headed for the door. As he left and shut the door behind him, Erwin's eyes hardened and his mouth set in a grim line. He would make the Mayor and the Titans pay for everything they had done. They were the cause of his father's death and now they almost killed Petra as well. Erwin vowed then and there to do everything in his power to make sure they never hurt another person he cared for again.


It's been some time since I last wrote a chapter for this story so hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. ^.^'