Alrighty!

~Sum-Won~


CHAPTER 12: GAMBLING WITH NO CHIPS


"That was quite the show you put on," laughed the bald grizzly old man.

Erwin smiled politely at the gesture although he seriously didn't feel like he deserved any more compliments, "No, Pixis. It was necessary."

"Ha! Necessary he says! Well, Humanity does owe a great deal to the boy," grinned the bald military veteran with eyes crinkling, "I can't believe I've made it this far in life actually. Thought I'd die before the last wall was torn down!"

The blond Commander couldn't hold back the low chuckle that escaped his lips as he leaned on the edge of his seat in order to call on the bartender for another order of drinks.

"The same again, please," Erwin asked politely to the gentlemen on the other side of the counter.

The worker gave a quick nod to the blond before turning back around in order to pour the requested beverage.

"Oho! That's going to be your third, Commander! Watch out for yourself or you won't be able to walk back to your lodging later," advised Pixis with a shake of his head.

"I'll be fine, sir," reassured Erwin with a light smile.

Pixis leaned on the smooth walnut counter and tilted his drink, inspecting the glass cup."Pf! That's what all youngsters say until they hit rock bottom. Remember way back when we'd just hit the booze like there was no tomorrow cause we thought—Hell? We're gonna die anyway? A bad liver was the least of our worries then. I could handle the damn newbs that passed out after a drink or two. But you, Commander..."

The bald military veteran clicked his tongue together, "I never knew what to make of you when you went overboard."

The bartender returned to Erwin with the ordered drink. Erwin gave a curt thank you to the gentlemen before taking a sip from the cup and quirking a brow at the older man sitting next to him, "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean, you young fool!" scolded Pixis with a frown blatantly plastered on his face, "Don't even remember? Lovely. My grandma had the same issue before she passed away."

The blond Commander was taken aback by the stark comparison, "I become like your grandmother?"

Pixis gave out a booming laugh before continuing, "No, Commander. Not at all. Haha! Alcohol makes you sharp."

Now Erwin was really lost. Had the old man taken in one too many already? However, glancing at the single cup in front of Pixis made the blond male decline such a thought. He had drunk with the bald military veteran before, and he was confident that one glass for the older man was definitely nothing in comparison to what Pixis had gurgled down in the past.

"Everyone has hidden goals, right? Desires that they want to unleash but control? Say, I really hated the damn dog outside my house, right? Cause, son- I do. Every morning I wake up to its' barking and curse it all! I wish I could get a gun and shoot its damn mangy snout right into the sky. But that's not right. It's not right. My consciousness says I can't do it. It ain't my dog. All I can attempt to achieve is hopefully beg for my neighbors to give it a bone or something so it'll shut up."

Erwin gave a nod to the man, gesturing that he was still listening- although he wasn't sure if this was really relevant to him anymore.

"You're like that. We're all like that!"

"True," agreed Erwin glancing down at the gold liquid occupying his glass cup, "We must control ourselves well in order to reach a higher goal."

"That's why I can't handle you when you're drunk."

The blond Commander turned his head to the side as his brows bunched together, "Sir?"

"When you're drunk you let loose that side of you."

"You mean I'm a loud and crazy drunk?"

"No," grunted the bald veteran crossing his arms together, "I'm saying you set sight on something and you do it. Silent. Quiet. Without warning."

The blond Commander was listening intently now.

"I remember the first time you went a little bit too far with Hange and the others. Took too many down, son. I warned you too! Thought you were asleep, because—damn, you were silent as a fish under water."

"Are you talking about when we got back from our first expedition? We were still quite young back then," uttered Erwin softly as he thought what could have been so significant pertaining to the event. All he could remember was them sitting around the campfire drinking and then waking up the next day to a horrid mess of hangovers.

"But suddenly you got up out of the blue from your seat and started stripping."

Erwin nearly choked on his drink as he just about spat the contents onto the smooth counter. Luckily, he was able to catch himself before that happened. Wiping away at his lips, the blond cranked his head towards Pixis with an incredulous expression.

"Don't worry, son. Everyone was asleep," reassured the bald veteran looking up at the ceiling, "Not like I hadn't seen you youngsters naked already anyway."

Erwin did his best to keep his composure as he stared at the older man before him, "Ah, of course. I trust in you not to put us in danger after all."

"Moving along— After stripping naked you strolled right on out of the camping site. I yelled after you, but you just went about not even listening to me."

The blond Commander couldn't believe the story he was being told. How could no one have ever spoken to him about this event to him? Oh—right. Everyone had been asleep. But there had to have been other occasions as well, right? Did it just not occur to anyone that he could have put himself or someone else in dan…

Erwin stared down at the drink in his hand.

"Alcohol makes you sharp."

Sharp?

"I'm saying you set sight on something and you do it. Silent. Quiet. Without warning."

Pixis noticed the blond Commander's sudden stillness and reached out to the younger man giving Erwin a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, son! You just went for a swim, naked in the river and then came back—put your clothes on and passed out. Nothing too crazy now! Haha! Scared you didn't I?" grinned the bald veteran.

Erwin gave a short laugh at the kind gesture, "Of course."

The blond remembered his first expedition. It had been horrible. Heated and tiring. The group had finally came by a river at the end of the day—thank the heavens.

Upon seeing the running stream of cool liquid, Erwin had seriously just wanted to drown in its clear cold contents for the rest of the day. He had saved the majority of his canteen of water for the people of his squad that had ran out halfway through their journey. Having restrained himself from taking more than a sip here and there, the blond knew that he was near his wits end. But the idea of jumping into the clean source of liquid was outrageous. Not to mention, he'd have gotten his uniform wet and perhaps everyone would have laughed at him for the unforeseen action.

As the day had passed, the blond had slowly forgotten about the thought in order to concentrate on more important things such as setting up camp and making dinner. Of course, the idea had indeed been planted at the back of his head that was for certain.

Under normal circumstances Erwin would have never that sort of stunt any time soon— Or not. Seeing as Pixis just told him he literally stripped naked in front of the old man and strolled into the forest like a caveman on a hunt.

"Everyone has hidden goals, right? Desires that they want to unleash but control?"

The Commander had been drunk that night of the Legion Scout celebrations hadn't he? Erwin leaned over the counter as he planted his face into the palm of his hands.

"I embarrassed you didn't I?" grinned Pixis as he released a whistle of a laugh before looking up and turning towards the bartender, "Hey! Get me another one of these!"

Erwin's jaws clenched together as he rubbed his eyes.

What was it?

What had Erwin been thinking of that night?

"I wish I could get a gun and shoot its damn mangy snout right into the sky. But that's not right. It's not right."

That's not it. It wasn't that night.

It had been before then.

Way before then.

What had Erwin been thinking when the last titan had been slain?

When the Legion scouts had been clearing themselves of the bodies that littered the city pathway?

When he turned to the side and saluted his soldiers announcing that they had won freedom?

What was it?

"My consciousness says I can't do it."


Something wasn't clicking and it was annoying the older man as he stared on at the brunet. Lover or not, the hickies on Eren made Levi question the scenario coming into view at the back of his brain.

Unless Eren just liked his romance hard and kinky- which was totally possible.

However some part of the Captain wanted to deny such an assumption. There were seriously too many factors and possible scenarios flying in the older man's train of thought at the moment. And so, the French soldier settled for simply gathering as much evidence as he possibly could before striving to make any more further conclusions pertaining to Eren.

"Why should I take off my clothes, Captain? You've seen enough haven't you, SIR? Because- YES. It was totally my lover and I making out. Why would you want to see more huh? Or are you just trying to humiliate me?" Eren spitted out, cocky and loud with a hint of mockery.

Levi's brows rose slightly at the sudden immaturity springing forth. The French soldier leaned forward slightly towards the younger man in order to assert his authority. Eren didn't seemed phased though. Instead he quietly watched Levi's fingers come together to form a small fist at the French soldier's side as if anticipating for the older man to spring forth and land a punch to his stomach. Levi took notice of how intensely Eren was staring down at his knuckles. The brunet quickly glanced back up at Humanity's Strongest, having realized the older man was following his line of vision. Eren took a step to the side, away from the French man and sink.

"Suddenly not sure if you can take me on?" taunted the German male snidely.

Humanity's Strongest wasn't having this.

Hell no.

"Stop it."

However, the ex-shifter continued on, speaking as he let himself settle a good distance from the shorter of the two, "Worried for my performance? You're not going to get their name, if you're wondering."

"Stop it, Eren," Levi's voice rose an octave this time as his gaze narrowed in on the younger soldier.

"What? I can't even hear you! HOW FREAK'N SOFT HAVE YOU GROWN HUH?! Haven't punched me in what? Half a decade? You've lost your touch, old man!" shouted the brunet with a buoyant smile as he gave Levi a condescending shrug, "You can't even keep me in check. Look at you, thinking you know everyth-"

And that was it.

Before Eren could finish his sentence, the French soldier dashed forward closing the distance between the two. Without warning, the brunet's feet were swept from under him as he landed on the damp ground with a hard thud. Eren tried to catch his breath due to the air having been knocked out of his lungs, but Levi immediately fell forward onto the taller soldier sprawled on the floor and flipped the German male onto his stomach. The brunet didn't even struggle as he felt the firm pressure of his Captain pushing down on his back side although he shivered involuntarily from the contact. Straddling the soldier from behind, the older man pinned in front of himself both of Eren's arms in alignment to the soldier's shoulder blades.

"What the fuck are you trying to do, shitty brat?"

Levi crouched down towards Eren so that his lips were but an inch from the back of the ex-shifter's head.

"Enlighten me, because even the blind and deaf would be able to tell that you're a rattle snake with no venom."

Eren's breathing was quickening as the seconds passed with the two awkwardly positioned on the ground, but the soldier tried to ignore his rising anxiety and instead sputtered under his breath angrily, "What are you talking about? You think I'm joking?"

Levi's firm hold didn't loosen as the older man responded, "If this was your lover we were talking about, shouldn't you be a bit more proud of those wounds?"

Eren stayed silent.

"You're not blushing like you would have ten years ago, and that means something," growled the French soldier atop of Eren, "You know what I think, brat? I think that if this was just about you and your lover, things would have made complete sense if it were not for one single detail. Sure, let's say that you did make out with your damn Juliet... That would back up the reason why you've been so anti-touchy lately with the others. That would also explain the damn bruises on your neck for sure. But would that explain Erwin being involved in this?"

Eren stiffened slightly at the mention of the Commander.

"Hell it wouldn't. Oh, but what if you were to go beyond just making out? Perhaps if you had finally gotten laid? Well, I could totally see the Commander, who must have found out about your love life one way or another, putting in a word pertaining to you, because no one who cares enough about your ass would not be worried about just what would happen if you fathered a child right under the noses of the court shitheads. That would also explain why you're being so defensive towards me and sacrificing your good name in order to conceal your love affair. You'd most likely think that I'd be against this little romance of yours since it has interfered with Hange's experiments."

Of course.

Everything Levi had stated aligned just right and it made sense didn't it? Eren gritted his teeth praying that Levi was merely expanding on the German male's lie.

But before Eren could get his hopes up, Levi cutted into the brunet's only route to escape, "Although your lie is convincing, it's not believable enough- And you know why?"

Eren's heart fell.

What else was missing?

What in the hell could the brunet have said that would make his falsified rationale miscarry? Although Levi couldn't see the brunet's face from where he was seated, he knew that Eren was listening.

"You've grown fucking terrified of people touching you."

The brunet paused for a second before gasping out in disbelief, "What?"

"Getting laid with the person you love might make you conscious of those around you, but it doesn't make you tremble like a rabbit about to be devoured by a wolf."

Unless Eren was that horny, but, hell, Levi was sure that the brunet was the faithful type.

"I'm not afraid of people touching me," Eren rumbled in denial.

"Really now? Then tell me why you can't stop shaking?"

The brunet glared at the wall visible to him and gritted his teeth in anger. It was true. He couldn't stop the sensation of wanting to throw Levi off of him and it scared him. However, it couldn't have been that he hated physical contact right? It was just that the situation right now was making him frustrated. But then came the rushing memory of the incidents with Armin, Jean, and Reiner from Hange's experiment the other day.

"All of this roose about a lover? About training with big ass trees? You've been lying through your teeth to everyone. Even Arlert and Ackerman."

What?

How in the hell had Levi known about the things he had said to Armin and Mikasa?

They must have told Levi what they knew about Eren's situation.

Hell, Armin and Mikasa could have just been making small talk and answering Levi's sudden questions regarding the state of Eren's performance. But the thought that someone as sharp as Armin would have just let information about Eren loose to just anyone made the German soldier doubt that his friends had been ignorant of Levi's goal in unraveling the brunet's secret. If Armin felt the need, he'd stick his nose in the German male's business even if the brunet didn't want him too.

Of course, that was only if things were getting out of hands.

Had things gotten out of hands?

Eren glared down at the floor pressed against his stiff body.

No—it hasn't.

Eren could take care of this. He was freak'n twenty five. He was grown up. However even with such a resolution, the brunet couldn't stop the sadness and guilt rising in himself. But he wasn't going to let it get to him.

Not now.

Not during such a crucial moment.

"Something else happened didn't it? What was it, Eren?"

The ex-shifter didn't answer. He wouldn't.

When Levi had told him to strip, the brunet hadn't wanted his Captain to see the bruises on his body. So Eren had done what he had to- Make an attempt to provoke his higher up in punishing him physically.

If Levi had followed through, the brunet would have no doubt been able to cover up the cause of the purple and green blotches that still discolored his lanky frame with a pretty valid excuse. Because typically, Levi would kick his ass then let him sit there for a minute or two in order to think over the situation before actually taking further action. And if the Captain hadn't given up by then and still ordered for Eren to strip, even if Levi saw him naked, it would make sense that there were bruises on his body. And because of that, the German male wouldn't have hesitated to take off his clothes in such circumstances.

But Levi hadn't hit him.

Instead, the Captain had charged at the situation with a completely different mindset to the brunet's utter frustration..

Damn it all…

His plan had backfired and now all Eren had achieved to do was further the older man's investigation pertaining to his situation. The German male closed his eyes clamping his jaw tight. Just because Levi had gotten this far, it didn't mean that Eren would give up…

Right?

As the German male felt the cold wet stone beneath him pressed against his flushed cheek, the German male suddenly sensed something warm come in contact with the back of his neck.

The ex-shifter froze abruptly.

"W-What are you doing?" Eren grunted out, not even attempting to conceal the nervousness etching at his voice.

Levi didn't answer.

Instead the older man stayed silent as the subordinate felt his Captain's fingers dig into the collar of his polo shirt from behind and begin tugging the dampened cotton down.

Unable to see the activity occurring behind him, seeing as he was lying on his stomach, Eren panicked.

"Stop! What are you doing, Captain? L-Let me go!" yelled out the brunet, attempting to flail the shorter man off.

But Humanity's Strongest continued to ignore him and keep his weight firmly planted on the lanky German male below him. Eren could feel his shirt, having begun to stick to his skin due to coming in contact with the wet floor from earlier, begin to peel away slowly from the spine of his neck. The ex-shifter's plan had backfired alright, because Levi was still attempting to strip the brunet.

No! I won't let this happen!

"Get off!" barked Eren as he made an attempt to shove the older man off of him.

A sense of dejavu was hitting the brunet as he flogged about under Levi.

"Let me go, Captain! LET ME GO!" thrashed the younger male as he felt his shirt slide down further, exposing a sliver of one side of his shoulder.

Levi was beginning to lose hold of the lanky male below him due to Eren's uncontrollable thrashing. But the brunet's efforts weren't going to stop the older man's investigation as he pulled down the back of Eren's white polo from behind. And sure enough, the Captain's beady eyes trailed down to find more bruises following those that already snaked Eren's neck down to the soldier's barely exposed shoulder blade. Levi's hands froze momentarily as he glanced at the small patch of skin that he had hardly uncovered. Eren's tanned flesh was no longer the expected consistent bronze. Instead, it was a mix of green, light purple, and yellow.

"It get's worse as you go down though."

Something wasn't clicking.

Or perhaps…

It was.

But it was just hard to believe.

Or was it really?

Levi abruptly released both of the German male's bent arms and slid off of the soldier completely. Surprised, but finally freed, Eren attempted to push himself off the floor in order to scurry away from Humanity's Strongest. However, Levi suddenly bent back down to jerk Eren up so that the German male was, without warning, forced to come to a standing position within seconds. The brunet barely had time to register the older man's intentions when he felt an unsaid jab meet his collar bones. With a smooth flick, all of Eren's buttons that he swore took him thirty minutes to pin together were undone. The brunet instinctively made a move to pull the two loose sides of his shirt together, but immediate hands stopped him by yanking at the younger man's elbows

The room that had been filled with echoes of the brunet's cursing and struggle a moment ago was suddenly dead silent.

Eren felt the heat slowly drain away from his face as he attempted to stare down at the ground, but his Captain was much too close for him to actually tilt his head to such a level so he settled for the French soldier's waistline instead. The ex-shifter swallowed nervously as he contemplated whether he should be the one to first speak but he was distracted by the desire to shove at the older man standing in front of him so that he could free both of his arms from Levi's hold.

Well, what did Eren have to lose now?

He was at wit's end wasn't he?

The brunet fought the bubbling fear at the pit of his stomach and took in a trembling breath in order to speak, "C-Captain Levi?"

Was the older man going to swat him in the head and tell him that he looked utterly appalling right now?

Dirty? Disgusting?

Was Levi going to laugh it off and shove Eren back into his cell?

Was Eren going to finally get the slap in the face that he definitely deserved?

What was his Captain thinking?

What was Levi thinking?

Eren's thoughts slowly seeped out onto the younger man's face, painting his green orbs into a dull murky yellow of dread.

"Look, Captain… Nothing happened. I really do have a lover and we just sort of… Urm… Went all the way," stammered the brunet somewhat sheepishly, "About having a child, don't worry about it, sir. The thing is my lover's a guy. We couldn't have a kid even if we wanted to."

Come on, Eren! Cover up all your bases!

It didn't freak'n matter that the ex-shifter wasn't even sure about his sexual orientation right now. Screw social norms! He had to make it through this! To the world, it didn't matter whether he was here or not anymore anyway right? He was just the abandoned shell of the monster that Humanity used in order to save itself.

Sacrifice your pride.

Sacrifice your good relations.

Sacrifice yourself.

"I- I've just never slept with a guy before so we had to try something different. And it scared me to death but we made it through," continued the German male sounding somewhat more confident now, "So I'm a bit scared of people touching me now because I-"

"Shut it."

Eren's eyes widened slightly at having unexpectedly heard Levi's voice. If it hadn't been for the fact that the French soldier was so close in proximity to the ex-shifter's face, he would have almost passed it off as the hissing of the water pipes from above them.

The older man whispered low and husky, "This whole time, you've just been playing along with me, haven't you?"

The German male mustered up the courage to finally look up at his Captain. But to his wonder, Levi wasn't looking at Eren. Instead, the older man's head was hanging quite low, still inspecting the wounds on the subordinate's abdomen.

"Anything I say, you agree. Anything I pull up, you build off of." spat out Levi in a lethal and rumbling baritone.

Eren's lips formed a thin line as his green eyes bore into the crisp raven locks of the older man's head in front of him.

Levi spoke firmly although quite low. But the words carried enough venom to make the brunet's heart almost stop.

"Who did this?"


CHAPTER 13 PREVIEW:


"What in the hell did you do, Eren?" Jean spat out under his breath.