One by one, I was breaking all my self-made rules for this kid.

First, no holding hands in public. Now I'd held his hand three, four times? And I kept finding excuses to do it again. Jesus, if someone caught us we were fucked.

Second, no kissing in public. What's one kiss, I thought, on the Eiffel Tower? Then the little shit had to snap a goddamned picture. If anyone found it we were really fucked.

Which rules would I break next?

Thing is, I found myself living moment to moment trying to find ways to make Eren laugh or smile. Because somehow, when he did, and his expressive green eyes lit up, it made something squeeze in a painfully good way in my chest. I knew that meeting me had been the catalyst for Eren's life to change to one filled with danger, and violence. Did that give me the right to try to offset that with fun and love? Could I, somehow, make him happy?

It seemed to absurd to be possible. How could someone like him, who was full of sunlight and joy, be happy being around someone as dour as me? I don't know, but when he turned to me on the Eiffel Tower and told me that he was happy to have met me, in spite of everything, I knew he spoke the truth.

If I wasn't careful, I'd fall for him. I couldn't let myself break that rule. Then we'd be royally fucked.

—

"Let's go for fondue," I found myself saying as I disentangled my hand from his, when we were clear of the crowd. "There's a good place I know, close to the water. It's kind of touristy but good. Then we can go back to the hotel and get a proper night of sleep before our shift tomorrow."

Eren nodded, flashing a half-smile, but it quickly disappeared. He was obviously thinking hard about something. It didn't happen often, but when Eren turned introspective, you could practically hear the gears grinding from a mile away.

Whatever it was, I let him think it out.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I saw that Étienne was still working there, and he greeted me with a smile. He was a waiter that was the son of the owner, and he'd been there as long as I could remember, though he wasn't any older than me. He was tall and dark and handsome, with twinkling brown eyes and dimples.

"Levi, enchanté. Ici pour le travail?"

"Comme toujours," I agreed. "Mais aujourd'hui j'ai un ami avec moi. Alors table pour deux, svp?"

"Bien sur. Venez."

Étienne led us to a table outside, tucked in a corner where we could people watch the crowd go by. It was my usual table, I'd sat there every time I'd come to Paris in the past 10 years.

He passed out the menus, then asked, "Un litre de vin pour vous?"

"Oui merci." Étienne always had good house wine on the go, so I knew I could trust him to bring something nice.

As he was going to go away, he put his hand on my shoulder and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Ton copain est très beau, Levi. Je suis un peux jaloux."

I snorted and waved him away, and he walked away cackling to himself.

"Did he just call me beautiful?" Eren asked, his eyes wide.

I eyed him under hooded lids. "Did you hear that?"

Eren nodded, his face flushing. "You didn't correct him when he called me your boyfriend."

That was because a part of me wanted that to be true. Even though it was foolish. "That's just Étienne for you. It's an ongoing joke with us - we usually people watch when I'm here, and pick out the most good-looking people."

Eren scratched the side of his head, screwing up his face. "I'm really nothing special," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Kid," I said, reaching out and touching his hand just for a moment. "If you weren't special, do you really think I would be wasting my time with you?"

Eren bit his lip, and shook his head.

"Trust me, you are." I couldn't bring myself to be more sappy than that, so I just pulled my hand back, and just in time since Étienne was bringing the wine and pouring it for us.

I ordered a cheese fondue for us, and in the meanwhile, poured the wine and then clinked glasses with Eren.

"Shouldn't we toast something?" he said before bringing the glass to his lips.

I raised an eyebrow. "How about, to your first trip to Paris?"

We clinked again and he drank. I watched the way his head tilted back and his lips brushed the rim of the glass. Damn, those lips… Just a few hours ago they'd been wrapped around my cock. I never realized I'd find that so sexy… It really wasn't my thing. But now I couldn't stop remembering the fact that he really didn't mind that I didn't want to do that back to him, that warmed me inside. He didn't want me to be something that I wasn't. I couldn't remember the last time someone had been with me and hadn't tried to change me.

"So what was your favourite part of today?" I asked the kid.

He chewed on his lip while he thought. Then, he smiled and said, "The Eiffel Tower."

I rolled my eyes. "Was that because of the view, or the selfie?"

Eren's smile spread wider, which made something clench inside of me. "Both. But yeah, the view was spectacular." He propped his chin on his hand, and looked out at the crowd as he toyed with his wine glass. "Don't you ever just wish that you could fly? I mean, you're up so high above the ground, looking out - it would be something else to be able to just jump."

I frowned. "Jesus, you're not suicidal are you?"

Eren started, sitting up in his seat. "God, no! I meant like if you could fly, like if you had some special gear or something that would let you jump without dying."

"Like rocket man."

Eren went beet red. "Or something," he mumbled.

I took a sip of my wine, savouring the flavour. "I've jumped out of planes a few times," I commented.

Eren's eyes went wide as saucers. "Really?"

I nodded. "In fact, that's something we might want to get you guys training on when we're back in town. It's always handy to know how to skydive, and work a parachute. You never know when it'll come in handy."

"What was it like?"

I pursed my lips. "Like… flying, I guess. While you're in free fall, you kind of let everything go. It's just you and gravity. It's nice. Unless you forgot your chute, in which case it's nice for a short while then messy."

I achieved my goal of making Eren laugh with that one. His eyes crinkled as he giggled. "A short drop and a sudden stop."

I let the corner of my mouth turn up. "Uh huh."

Étienne brought the fondue, setting up the sticks and giving us the bread to dip into the cheese. Then his dad called him over and he bounced off again without further ado.

I had a hell of a lot of fun watching Eren dip the bread into the cheese, then try to get it into his mouth without dripping the cheese everywhere, dropping the bread, or burning his mouth. It was a disaster, and after a few attempts, he had managed to spill cheese on his chin.

I reached out a hand, and swiped my thumb across his chin, collecting the cheese. Then, without thinking, I brought my thumb to my mouth and sucked on it, eating the cheese.

I saw Eren watching my mouth, and the way I sucked on my thumb. I couldn't help drawing out the moment just a little, then knocking my knee into his under the table.

"Did you bring condoms and lube?" Eren asked suddenly.

I nearly snorted my wine. I coughed delicately, then dabbed my mouth with my napkin. I glared at him. "Yes, though I wish you'd have saved that question for a more private place."

"Oh. Sorry." He went red again, and shut himself up by eating more fondue.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, I couldn't help it. "Why?" I asked.

"Huh?" He looked utterly confused.

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you wondering if I have supplies?"

Eren shot me a smile. "I just thought you've been looking really fit lately, so maybe your stomach has healed enough for you to fuck me properly." He was smart enough to lower his voice at least.

I went hard just with the suggestion. I shifted, trying to adjust my pants, much help that'd do.

Eren watched me with an impish smile. "So? Will you?"

I held him off for the moment by eating another piece of fondue. The pot was getting empty really quickly though. Plus I was getting full. "What we did earlier didn't satisfy you?"

When he caught my eyes, Eren actually winked at me. "That was nice too. But now that I've sucked you, I really want to feel you in me."

Jesus, I couldn't get any more hard. I wanted to groan, but I just managed to hold the sound in. "This isn't supposed to be a fuckfest, you're supposed to be working."

"You almost make it sound like you don't want to fuck me," Eren pouted.

Our table was small enough that I could grab Eren's hand and put it on my cock under the table, just for a second, just so he could feel how hard I was. Eren's eyes widened, then he grinned wide enough to split his face. I shoved his hand away and looked away, letting my eyes roam over the crowd of people walking by.

"So what's the problem, then?"

I shrugged. "It's just… it's your first time, isn't it? Are you sure you want to do that with me?" I couldn't meet his eyes.

My first time had been less than ideal, to say the least. And trust me, I hadn't let a single person fuck me since then. So it felt like a pretty fucking huge responsibility.

Eren grabbed my hand under the table, and squeezed it. "Levi, I want you so much it hurts," he admitted in a quiet, throaty voice. "And what could be better than our first time being in Paris?"

I played with his fingers, while I sipped wine with my other hand. "If you're sure."

Eren smiled at me in a way that made me melt inside. "I'm sure. Now can we finish our wine and get out of here?"

Étienne grinned at me when we settled the bill. "Bonne soirée, les gars. À bientôt, j'espère."

—

When we got back to the room, Eren wasted no time in kissing me, pressing me up against the door. I loved the way that he kissed, he took cues from me very well, and had just enough pressure, just enough tongue. He tasted good, like wine and cheese.

I fisted my hands in his hair, and pulled his head down more forcefully, angling his head to let me kiss him deeper. Eren's hands were grasping at my hips, and yes, he pulled me up and hitched me up against the door so that he could slide our bodies together. I hooked my leg over his hips, and pressed my tongue inside his mouth, while my arm hooked over the back of his neck.

Eren's arms tightened around me, and he hugged me as he kissed me. I ran my hands through his hair, then looked in his eyes for a moment.

It was a mistake. Looking in his eyes, I drowned in the sea of green. His pupils were dilated, and I could see the lust mixed in with something more tender that had no right to be there. I scratched my nails over his scalp, and ran my nose along the tip of his, wondering what my eyes looked like to him.

Then I let myself kiss him again, tenderly, my whole body sinking into his. I could lose myself in him. Eren's scent wrapped around me and he enveloped me in his warmth, I could almost feel his joy sinking into my skin. I could feel his smile against my mouth.

"Shower," I grunted into his ear.

"Before the sex?" he clarified.

I nodded, nuzzling his neck. "Need to prepare you. When did you last take a shit?"

Eren stilled, then laughed. "I suppose it's a relevant question. A few hours ago, I guess? At the Louvre."

I bit into the skin at his neck, sucking it gently. "Good, that's good." I then worked my way up to his ear, and kissed just below it. Eren's head fell aside, and he let me kiss and bite his neck, and twirl my tongue around his ear, and blow into it. He shivered.

I splayed my hands on Eren's stomach, riding his shirt up. His abs were firm and ridged, months of kickboxing toning up his body in a way that made my mouth water. I slid my hands up his sides, sliding up his shirt and tugging it off his head. I slid my hands back down his arms, trailing my fingers down in a pattern. I nuzzled his neck, inhaling his scent in a heady rush.

"Shower," I reminded him.

Eren groaned. "I don't want you to stop."

"I won't stop, I promise. This is just the beginning."

Eren put me down, squeezing my ass as he did so. Then he started to take off his pants, walking backwards with an enticing smile on his face. I watched him disappear into the shower, and broke out of my trance when I heard the water running.

I rummaged through my bag, and found my vanity kit. Sure enough, nestled inside there were the three things I wanted. Condoms, lube, and cleaning device. I removed all my clothes, folding them quickly and setting them on top of my suitcase. I grabbed the lube and the cleaner and headed for the bathroom.

The shower was pretty small, so there wasn't room for two people, but Eren was already all wet and everything, so I told him to turn off the water. He did, then turned to look at me, and fuck he was perfect. Eren was all long limbs and lean abs. When I pulled him down into another kiss, he grabbed my ass and moulded my body to his, and somehow even though he was so much taller it just worked.

I went back to his neck, kissing the other side, and biting it. I swiped my tongue over his pulse, feeling his heart beating rapidly. I let my arm wrap around him, and I trailed my hand down his back, to his ass, which I cupped and then slapped, the sound ringing out between us.

Eren pulled back, shocked. But when I did it again, his eyes went hooded and he flushed.

"Turn around," I ordered him.

Eren turned, bracing his hands on the wall. I ran my hand down his spine, then parted his cheeks with my hands, to bare his pucker. It was glistening, and I knew that Eren had already soaped it up for me. I ran my thumb over it, and Eren quivered. I squirted some lube onto my finger, then circled it around his hole, playing with it until Eren ground out, "Levi, please."

"I'm just going to clean you out, okay?" I asked him, filling the cleaner with water from the sink.

Eren turned around to look. I showed him the device, which was basically a thin tube with a bulb on it that filled with water. A gentle stream of water would squirt out the tip when I squeezed on the bulb. When he saw what it was, he nodded. "Okay."

I inserted the cleaner into him, lubing it up first so that it slid in easily. Eren's cheeks clenched, but the tube was thin enough that it shouldn't hurt at all. I squeezed the bulb, cleaning him out. Then I pulled the tube out, and parted Eren's hole, and watched the water pour back out. I grabbed the shower head and turned it on, rinsing him off. Then I put the cleaner back in the sink and filled the sink with warm water.

I pulled Eren out of the shower, now that he was clean inside and out. I knew it was a pet peeve of mine that was a turn off for some people, but Eren didn't seem to mind. He just pulled me back to him, kissing me again, his arms sliding over my shoulders. He tossed an impish smile at me. "Am I good to go now?"

I put my arms around his waist, nuzzling his chest. "If you're ready, then yeah. Let's move this to the bed."

Eren picked me up, making me flail a little, then tossed me down on the bed. I landed and bounced, but he was on top of me, his body pressing mine down into the bed as he kissed me. I let him take control for a minute, fitting our bodies together, and I felt how hard he was when his dick lined up to mine.

I let Eren hump into me, his mouth now lining kisses on my neck. I arched my back, and his mouth nuzzled into my collarbone, his mouth seeking out my nipple. I let him play with it, biting my lip when he bit into it, pleasured pain shooting up my spine.

Then I grappled with him, fighting for dominance. It became a game, to see who could end up on top. Even though he may be strong, I was stronger, and faster. I ended up getting him pinned beneath me, his arms above his head. Then I kissed him, driving my cock down into his stomach.

"Ah, fuck Levi," Eren groaned.

"Oh, I will, Eren," I promised.

I hiked Eren's leg up, sliding down between his legs. I rubbed our cocks together for a moment, because damn, I just loved doing that. I loved the way it felt, the way it looked. But that's not what either of us wanted tonight.

I picked up Eren's other leg, and I pushed his legs up, splaying them out. I placed his ankles over my shoulders, so he could rest his legs there. Then I reached out for his cock, and gave it a few tugs.

"Levi," Eren glared at me. "Will you fucking… oh, yeah," he trailed off when I lubed up a finger and slid it in him. He was so ready, his hole was twitching. But he was tight. Shit, he was tight. I made my finger into a hook, and pulled gently, stretching his hole as my other hand kept the motion up on his cock. I stretched him in all directions, taking my time so that he was ready.

I wanted this to be good for him. I didn't want him to be in any pain. Not like I'd been, the only time I'd ever done this. The pain had been…

But no. Not now. I'd make this good for him.

I let go of Eren's dick so that I could use both hands to stretch him. I hooked the index finger of each hand into his hole, then pulled apart gently, until he opened up for me.

Since my fingers are small, my index finger wasn't long enough to reach his prostate. So I put both my index and middle fingers in, and searched around until I felt the hard nub. Then I rubbed it, massaging it until Eren was twitching and moaning.

I smirked. Eren's whole body was arched, and he was flushed all the way down to his chest. His cock was leaking onto his stomach. Damn, he was gorgeous.

When I pulled my fingers out, Eren's hole was stretched, like it was begging for me to be in there.

My cock was leaking too, and shit, I hadn't even touched it.

"Levi, please," Eren whimpered. "Please put your cock in me. I want it."

I rolled the condom on, adding some extra lube to my cock and to his hole, stretching him out with my fingers one last time. Then, I carefully positioned myself. I looked up at his face, looking for any sign of resistance or pain as I pushed in. There was some resistance at first, so I pulled back.

Eren frowned, his brow creasing. "Levi, don't stop."

"Then don't tense up," I ground out, my fingers going in him again. "Just breathe through it, and think of bearing down when I press into you."

"It's okay if you just push through," he said, propping himself up on his elbows to look down at me.

"I am not going to hurt you, Eren. So just do as I say and relax. Lay back, bear down, and breathe. Okay?"

Eren flopped back down, but this time he did as I said. I pushed in, this time meeting no resistance. But hell, he was still tight. I don't think I'd ever been in anyone for whom it was their first time, but this was crazy. It was tight and hot and it was Eren and I thought I'd blow my load as soon as I pushed in.

Eren arched his back and scooted down, impaling himself on my cock, and I put a hand on his stomach to stop him. He looked down at me, all flushed and panting. "Don't stop," he pleaded.

I pressed harder on his stomach, stopping him from moving. "Just give me a sec, Eren." I closed my eyes, breathing. God, he felt so good. "You feel so good, I just want it to last. Just give me a sec, okay?"

Eren covered my hand with his own, and I threaded our fingers together. "Okay."

I touched him with my free hand, pulling on his cock, and cupping his balls. I loved holding him in my hand, he was so responsive. When he liked something, he tensed, and I could feel it in the way he clenched around my cock, and damn that was nice.

When I had myself under control, I slowly pulled out and pushed in, going a little deeper each time, until I was in him all the way. I looked down at him, and he met my eyes, and smiled in a way that gave me butterflies.

I wanted to kiss him. Fuck, this was one time I was damning my height. I adjusted Eren's legs so they were clamped around my waist instead of on my shoulders, which let me bend over him, but I could only reach his chest, to mouth his nipples. Better than nothing, I could torture him a little like that as I thrust into him.

Eren propped himself up on his hands, bending his body over, and there, now I could kiss him. He threaded a hand in my hair and his mouth was on mine, and I kissed him while I fucked him.

He could only hold the position for a minute, so he had to break the kiss and flop back down. He threw his arms over his head, arching his back. I took his hips in my hands and held him up, then picked up the pace, slamming into him harder. Then Eren arched his back in a way that got me to hit him in that place, and yes, now he was screaming my name.

"Levi, fuck, don't stop don't stop, right there, oh yeahhh…"

Eren's arms were bent, his hands fisting into the sheets above his head. His head was thrown back, so I couldn't see his face, so I turned my attention down to us. I watched my cock thrusting into him, and god that turned me on even more. I grabbed his cock and jerked it in time with my thrusts.

I pulled on Eren's knee, bending his leg up so I could kiss the inside of his knee as I fucked him. The angle must have done nice things to him again because he was screaming again, his voice echoing off the walls, and I was very glad our room wasn't close to anyone else's from our group.

I wanted to draw things out, to flip him over, to fuck him against the wall, on the floor, into the sink, everywhere. But this first time, I just wanted it to be good, I wanted him to be so lost in pleasure that he forgot his own name.

I twisted my hips each time I thrust into him, adding an extra whirl that made my side ache a little, but was so worth it because Eren began to moan each time I pressed into him. I wrapped my arm around one of his legs, keeping it held up at the right angle, and let my other hand go back to jerking him off.

Eren was so flushed and panting, his skin covered in sweat. "Oh god, oh god Levi, fuck, mmm."

I let loose any control I had left, and pounded him into the mattress, my thrusts hard and deep. "Come on, baby," I coaxed him. "Come for me, Eren."

Eren's hand flailed, and I let go of his leg so that I could catch his hand and grip it. He squeezed my hand tight as his back arched, and his cock twitched in my hand. "Oh god Levi, don't stop, I'm going to come."

I didn't stop. I kept thrusting into him, though I slowed my thrusts a little. Eren moaned, and he twitched, and then he was coming, his cock pulsing in my hand. He came in thick pulses, his come dropping onto his stomach in glistening trails. He shivered, then he moaned and went boneless.

I was so close, but I didn't want to hurt him. I pulled out, and yanked off the condom, then I jerked myself off to the sight of him lying there sated. I came so suddenly it almost surprised me, and I straddled him, jerking myself onto his belly, so our come mixed together there.

Eren was looking up at me through lazy eyes, a soft smile on his face. He reached up a hand, and I threaded my hand into his again, as I climbed off him and flopped down next to him.

"Jesus," I swore.

Eren laughed, shaking. He propped his head up to look down at himself, then laughed again. "Levi, look. I'm a total mess."

I propped myself up on my side, looking over at him. He was a total mess, our come all pooled together on his flat stomach. I smirked. "Don't dare roll over and get that on the sheets. I'm not sleeping on a crusty patch."

Eren laughed and squeezed my hand, his eyes crinkling up. "Why don't you clean me up, then? I think you fucked all my bones out of me."

I leaned over and without thinking about the gesture, kissed Eren on the cheek, then got to my feet. It was only when I was coming back with the damp washcloth, and Eren was lying there with a stupid smile on his face, and his hand on his cheek, that I realized what I'd done.

I sucked my lip into my mouth, and focused on cleaning him up instead. I swiped the cloth carefully over his stomach, trying not to spill any of it until he was fully clean. Then I brought the cloth back into the bathroom and rinsed it out, rinsing out the cleaner we'd used earlier as well and putting everything away to dry.

I hopped in the shower for a 3-minute rinse to get the sweat off my skin, and brushed my teeth. When I got back to the bed, Eren was fast asleep already, and I couldn't bear to wake him. So I just crawled in next to him. The sweat had already dried on his skin anyway, so it wasn't too gross.

I pulled the blankets over us, set the alarm, then tucked myself in against his side, throwing my leg over his. Eren burrowed in under my arm, and I fell asleep faster than I could have realized, lulled to sleep by the sound of Eren's heart beating next to mine.

—

I laughed when I woke up to see Eren stumbling on wobbly legs to the bathroom. He let out a groan when he was pissing, and I admired his form, wondering how someone could look so good even just taking a piss.

Thankfully Eren saw to his teeth, brushing them thoroughly, while I lay there and watched him. I got up finally and brushed my own teeth, standing next to him and knocking my side into his as I did. I nearly laughed when I saw our height difference as we stood there next to each other, doing something so domestic as brushing our teeth.

We had some time to kill that morning before taking the afternoon shift, so we packed a picnic lunch of baguette, cheese, and fruit, and went to the Luxembourg gardens. We strolled around for a while, taking in the scenery. Then we found a park bench and ate our lunch. After a while, Eren fell asleep with his head on my lap, and I sat there just enjoying the moment.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd enjoyed travel so much. Most of the time travel for me meant running from people who were out to get me, or running after people I was out to get. Even when I had an extra day here or there and could see some things, I had never enjoyed that down it took over a whole new dimension, because I was able to see things through Eren's eyes. Everything for him was new and amazing. To me, it was all stuff I'd seen before. So I could focus on looking at what I really wanted to - him.

I watched the play of all the emotions on his face. I watched him chase after the ducks. I watched him as he pointed out the flowers he liked. I watched him when his jaw dropped open when he saw the palace. I watched him look up at the canopy of trees above our heads. I watched his awe at the beauty of the Medici fountain. I watched each smile, each expression, and committed it all to memory.

Even if I had no other chance with Eren, I wanted to remember this. God, I wish we didn't have to go to work. I wished it was just us here. But it wasn't, and we did have to go to work.

—

When we arrived at the surveillance apartment early, Nanaba, Mikasa, and Armin were still there. They were all standing by a wall that had been bare the day before, but was now covered with printouts, pins, and white-board wall paper and notes written in dry erase.

There were pictures of 5 men and 2 women, with names, birthdates, places of birth, places of residence, and other factoids. Then there was a timeline, and a date circled, which happened to be tomorrow.

"Hey, Eren!" Armin called out, then went and gave Eren a hug. Eren also hugged Mikasa.

I wasn't jealous, because I knew they had been friends forever. Besides, I knew that Eren was mine if I wanted him.

I walked over to Nanaba, leaving the kids to get reacquainted. I pointed to the date on the wall. "Do we have a problem?"

Nanaba scratched the back of his head. "I would have called you in, but I knew you were about to show up anyway, so I figured it could wait. But yeah, we have a problem. They're planning a bomb. Or several bombs, actually."

That wasn't on our radar. How had our previous intel missed that piece of info? "When?"

"As far as I can tell, the bombs will be planted tomorrow. It was unclear whether they are going to set the bombs off the same day, or hang onto them for later." Nanaba crossed his arms over his chest, lips pursed.

"Did you get a chance to sneak into his apartment?" I asked.

Nanaba nodded. "Yeah, for what good it did me. I got information on these guys. I also have identified that they are a part of some new religious group, calls itself The Wall. I can't quite understand what their edict is, though. I gather that they approve of segregation, for cultures to stay separate. From what I can tell the group sprang up just after the Berlin Wall went down, though they are only recently becoming active."

A totally new group? That was unprecedented.

"How can you be sure about the bombs?"

Nanaba sighed. "Erd overheard a phone conversation, that linked back to the meeting we were surveying yesterday. Then when I snuck in there today is when I found to the details. Problem is, there are too many targets for us to deal with this on our own."

Nanaba led me over to a map that was spread on the table. "It looks like they want to create a 'wall' by bombing across the centre of the city. It has something to do with the metro line, running from Champ de Mars all the way through Montparnasse to Place d'Italie."

I whistled. "That's half the city. There's no way we'll be able to cover all that territory. We'll have to notify the local police."

Nanaba gave me a look. "We don't have authority to do that. This is just a survey mission, remember?"

I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. "We have all the authority we could want. We're a private organization now, and we operate under our own rules. We can do whatever we think is best, and in this case it means turning over everything we have to the locals."

Nanaba nodded, his eyes going dark. "What about our mission for the government?"

I gestured at the wall. "Let's collect all the data that we have, and send it to them. We will have fulfilled our obligation there. Send the kids you, Erd, and I can stay and interface with the local authorities to get them up to speed."

"We're not leaving," Eren said, moving to stand up behind me.

I turned, fixing a glare on him. "Who gave you the right to have an opinion?" I snapped. "This isn't a fucking democracy."

"Don't talk to him like that," Mikasa spat, stepping between Eren and me.

I sat down, crossing my ankle over my knee and draping my arm over the back of the chair. "Whatever words I use, it doesn't make a difference. I'm the head of this operation, sweetheart. And I say you kids are too green to be put in the middle of a live situation like this."

Armin stepped forward, chin jutted out stubbornly. "We weren't too green to help bust you out of jail in Mali, though, were we?"

I inspected my nails. "There's a hell of a difference between some sandcastle jail with no security and a handful of rebels, and an organized terrorist group in the middle of Paris. You shits haven't even been cleared on weapons training, I'm not putting you in the middle of live fire."

"But we could help," Mikasa insisted.

"Oh? Do any of you have bomb diffusing capabilities I'm not aware of? Or negotiating skills? No. And if you stayed here, you would be right in the middle of a situation that we have no control over, you'd just get in the way."

I could see Eren's eyes harden when I said that. It twisted like a knife in me, but I had to push the feeling away. This wasn't about Eren, or us. This was about the job. And they weren't ready - none of them were.

"Get on the phone with Hanji, Nanaba. Time for the kiddies to go to bed and let the adults play."

I ignored Eren's glare eating into the back of my skull. It was for the best. I wouldn't put him at risk, not before he was ready to defend himself. Not yet. I'd keep him safe a little longer. As long as I could.

Even if it made him hate me.