CHAPTER 24

A New Leaf Turned

With the Fate's and the Watchers safe, and misunderstandings cleared away, Levi felt safe in returning to his home at St. Maria's church. Marco had greeted the demon warmly and was relieved to hear that disaster had been averted. Erwin had seen fit (for reasons Levi wasn't entirely sure of) to switch Nile and Eren's territory, so that Eren now also took up residence at St. Maria's.

Levi had to admit; they did make an awesome team. Contract breaking jobs were much easier with Eren's help. He also had to admit (though never out loud) that he rather enjoyed the young arc's companionship. When they weren't working, they were raiding the libraries of the world.

It had been nearly ten years since the battle to save the Watchers. Neither Levi nor Eren were surprised when Erwin dropped by St. Maria's for a visit, as he did so frequently. This time, however, he had a bald old man with him. Nile, Heron, Rico and several other arcs were with him as well. Levi was baffled when Eren, upon seeing them, immediately dropped down on one knee, placed his right fist over his heart, his left arm behind his back and bowed his head. "Your Majesty."

Levi just looked at Eren kind of funny and Erwin laughed. "Levi. Let me introduce you to the King of Paradise, Pixis."

Levi looked at the old man in shock. "Who makes an arc that's old?" he blurted out.

Pixis roared laughing. "Good question! Arcs and demons that get hungry, thirsty, sleepy, need glasses, need sex and some that are older than dirt like me! I never did get that!"

Levi raised a slender, ebony eyebrow and smirked. I think I'm gonna like this guy. He reached out and shook Pixis' offered hand. "It's good to meet you."

"Oh, stand up, Eren! You know I hate all that formal shit!" Pixis chided.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Eren stood up and remained at attention.

Pixis groaned. "Ugh! It took me three millennia to break Erwin of that habit! Please. Just call me Pixis!"

"Whatever you say, Pixie Dust," Levi said.

Pixis' eyes grew wide, Erwin face palmed and the rest just fought to suppress their giggles. Pixis again roared laughing. "I like you, Levi! You're so down to Earth and unpretentious!"

Levi's smirk intensified. "And you've got one hell of a sense of humor. So to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I suppose I should have visited long ago," Pixis started. "I've long been curious about the demon that can get into the Vatican, was chosen by Volpl as its wielder, speaks with the Fates, breaks demon contracts and can cast both the Jovis Pachem and the Sacramentum and can even garner the protection of the Watchers! You are one fascinating individual, Levi."

Erwin nudged the old man. "Sir, the uniform."

"Ah, right!" Pixis exclaimed. "The real reason for our visit today. While it is beyond my power to give you access to Paradise, I can still acknowledge you as one of us. I hereby decree that associating with Levi, the Contract Breaker, is not forbidden. In fact, I encourage it. Levi, I would like to offer you the official position of Eren's permanent partner. As such, I have a new uniform for you."

One of the other arcs stepped forward and offered Levi a plain wooden box. He opened it and took out the clothing he found. There was a pair of black jeans, similar to the once he was already wearing, only with silver trim on the pockets and the hem. There was also a plain white, button up shirt and a black, short waisted jacket with the same cross winged crest on the pocket as was on every arc's jacket, except his was silver instead of gold. There was a new silver trimmed belt with a new scabbard for Volpl and the boots were black and up to the knee.

Levi was stunned. They were actually going to let him wear the crest of the arcs? "I don't know what to say . . ."

"Just say you accept," Pixis replied with a grin.

Levi smirked again. "I accept. Thank you."

Years went by without anything more that the usual breaking of contracts and putting down the occasional intruding demon. St. Maria's and its surrounding community again flourished under Marco's tender loving care.

Levi liked how he looked in his new uniform and was quite proud to be wearing the crest of the Arc Guardian Forces. Jenna had told him more than once how good he looked in the uniform. She was now over a hundred years old and she once again summoned her long time friend to the hillside outside her village. The old woman was sitting in the grass, gazing out over the fields with a wistful look in her eyes. "Hello, Levi," she greeted as he landed beside her.

Levi sat down at her side. "Hello, Jenna."

"It really is a beautiful place here. I've lived here my entire life, and it's still my favorite place in the whole world. I've been sitting here reminiscing."

"It still seems like just a couple of years ago you were a six year old girl giving a naked demon a piece of birthday cake," Levi chuckled.

Jenna laughed as she took his hand and squeezed it. "We've had a lot of good times since then. You've been my best friend ever since that day." The old woman sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm tired, Levi. I don't mean sleepy or sick of living or anything like that. I'm just tired. Kind of like how one feels after taking a long and wonderful journey." She turned and looked the demon in the eyes. "I think my time has come, Levi. I've had a long life, and it's been a very good one."

There was no hiding the bittersweet sadness in his eyes, though he smiled. "I'm going to miss you Jenna. You were the first true friend I ever had, and you've been my best friend since the day we met." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as he put his right arm and wing around her shoulders.

Jenna leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I just wanted to see you one more time before I left so I could say goodbye, old friend." Levi kissed the top of her head as she continued speaking. "I wanted to be in my favorite spot with my best friend here to see me off," she sighed, a smile spreading across her face. "I love you, Levi," she whispered.

"I love you too, Jenna." As soon as the words had left his lips, he could feel her spirit departing her body. A single tear ran down his face as he held her lifeless body that still held a happy smile on its face. "And I'm going to miss you."

The entire village along with Jenna's extensive family turned out for the funeral. Her ashes were buried in the meadow atop her favorite hill. Levi sat by her grave and watched the sun set for one last time by her side. He left only when the full moon was high overhead and the fireflies danced thought the meadow and surrounding fields. "I will miss you, Jenna. But I will never regret having known you."

Scattered about in the grass by her grave, lay several purple, blue and grey swirl tear gems.

Over the years, Levi had learned that arcs, just like humans and demons, were highly sexual creatures. No real surprise as their souls were all the same species. And, like both humans and demons, they could be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or, like Levi, asexual (not interested in sex at all). When Pixis had stated that associating with Levi was no longer forbidden, Levi hadn't realized that this made him fair game as a potential mate. Erwin almost immediately expressed his interest in the diminutive demon, but Levi made his own feelings very clear. He was NOT available. Luckily, Erwin respected Levi's choice and the two still remained very good friends.

One evening, Levi was sitting atop St. Maria's roof, as he so often did, when Eren came and sat beside him. They sat in comfortable silence as they watched a full moon rise over the city. Eren suddenly seem to get rather fidgety. "What's bothering you, kid?"

"Nothings 'bothering' me. I just want to ask you something, but not really sure if I should. I mean, it's none of my business really . . . I'm just curious, I guess," the arc nervously replied.

"Well now that you've gone and made me curious, you have to ask."

Eren paused for several moments, trying to think how he wanted to word his question. "Well, I was wondering what happened to you that makes you so afraid of love and sex."

Levi looked at Eren in surprise for a moment before answering. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you. The man that took me in when my parents were killed – the man that was Father Ackerman of this church – he was a different person in my first life. He was hard and abusive. He raped me for the first time when I was only seven years old. In my experience, sex has always been a violent, painful and humiliating act. My opinion was only confirmed when Ran Mau force herself on me. As punishment for breaking the first contract, she had damn near every demon in the Underworld rape me before she finally exiled me. I was literally torn apart on the inside. Needless to say, sex is not something I'm inclined to give much thought to."

"I'm sorry." Eren couldn't think of anything else to say.

"You shouldn't be," Levi responded. "You had nothing to do with it. Besides, it's in the past; over and done with."

"But what about love? It's not the same as sex, you know."

Levi chuckled. "I'm not afraid of love. I'll admit I haven't loved many people in my lifetime, but I loved Jenna, and Father Ackerman. I love Joelle, and Father Marco. I even love Erwin, Nile, Rico, Heron and you."

"That's not the kind of love I meant."

Levi sighed. "I know. I guess it's just pure inexperience on my part. I don't know how to recognize it or how to react to it. Perhaps it is because I still associate that kind of love with sex that makes me afraid. I really don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I guess." Eren was now afraid to tell the demon the real reason he'd asked.

"Eren."

The arc wrapped his arms around his knees and looked down. "Because I'm in love with you."

At first, Levi, though not completely surprised, still couldn't figure out what to say. To Eren's surprise and elation, a spray of brilliant, crystal clear tear gems of pure joy burst from the demon's silver eyes and bounced noisily down the roof and to the street below. Levi took a chance. He placed two fingers under Eren's chin and turned the arc's face towards him. He then leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on the arc's soft lips. "I think I may be in love with you too, but that's what terrifies me."

Eren place a hand on either side of Levi's face and kissed him back, this time a slightly longer kiss. "That's okay. Just knowing is enough for me."

Nothing more was said on the subject as they continued to gaze out over the city in comfortable silence. For now, both were content to be in each other's company and to know that they were loved.

Eren later collected the five tear gems that Levi had shed, placed them in a pouch, and put the pouch in the left inside breast pocket of his jacket. I will always keep these close to my heart, for I know that these are the first gems of joy you have ever shed and I am so happy to know that I was the one who made you shed them. These are precious to me, and I promise you that I will make you shed many more tears of pure joy!

For the first time in his existence, Levi saw life as being beautiful. Having changed his outlook on being a demon had changed his life for the better. Though comparatively peaceful, Levi always knew in the back of his mind that it could not last forever. He knew that Ran Mau would eventually have to be dealt with. However, since she tended to stay in the Underworld, getting to her was impossible. The trick would be to lure her out into the human world to confront her, and Levi had no idea how to do that. So he focused instead on increasing his prowess with sorcery and eventually developed a shield that would not only deflect Ran Mau's power, but amplify it and throw it back at her.

Levi had stopped worrying about what he could or could not do. He simply had faith that he could do something and that if for some reason he couldn't, that someone else would. His trust in the arcs and those he called his friends grew with each passing year. Most of all, he had complete faith and trust in his partner, Eren.

Together, they watched St. Maria's grow and flourish and watched over each priest that came to take over the leadership. What had started with Father Kenny Ackerman, continued and grew for many decades.