A/N: After coming back from Japan, all I wanted to do was update this chapter, guys. I'm super excited to keep this going while I've got a good grip on things. I couldn't even wait until Saturday! It had to be now, while I'm wide awake and stuck on another timezone. :)

Enjoy, and thank you for waiting!

-Misty


Lost Cause

It's his job. Being in this special operation requires apathy, a cold heart, and dead eyes, making him just the man to do it. Of course this doesn't mean he likes it. However, when he runs into three young teens in the worst possible situation a life could lead, it turns out that he isn't as heartless as he once thought he was. Modern day AU: Officer Levi, Prostitute Eren. (Lots of trigger warnings. You're going to hate me so much for this fanfic.)

Rated M for adult themes, sexual content, adult language, violence and gore, child abuse, rape, drug abuse, oh so much more that I can't even list.

Main pairing: Riren. Other pairings with side pairings.

Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)


Chapter 45: The Other Side of the Fence


"He'll be okay then…?"

Seeing Eren's limp form in a hospital bed was too much.

It had been hours since the incident at the court house. Eren was quickly rushed to the emergency room where Nanaba looked over him, but the rush was overwhelming. The adrenaline had spiked, but then depleted rapidly. Everyone was weary, tired, and broken, simply waiting to hear from the woman.

When she came out, the only ones to rush to her were Mikasa and Armin, heavily worried for their family. Levi was slouched over a hospital bench, feeling utterly drained. He had little to no energy left to rush, but stood regardless to follow them, keeping a distance from Armin. The blonde was still utterly livid with him, and now was not the time to try to patch things up.

Nanaba assured them that it was a fainting spell. Much like Armin's situation months back, the stress of the trial finally took its toll on him. The paparazzi were of no help, and neither was the sudden admission that, to their unfortunate dismay, she now knew of.

It was everywhere. The news of what Levi had done had made national headlines. There was nowhere they could go without being hounded by people, and in Levi's case, cussed out and called terrible names.

Well, he had been called worse.

Nanaba had been watching, making sure the children were alright when the sudden admission happened. She knew, but she was managing a professional air about herself. One wouldn't know how she felt about it, because she wouldn't speak of it. She wouldn't involve her personal feelings into her work, per her work ethic, and silently Levi thanked her from the bottom of his heart.

He needed that right now. A nonjudgmental person to keep a calm head and take everything in with a grain of salt.

"He's going to be okay…" She answered and set a clipboard down in the cubby of Eren's bed. "I'm having him stay overnight though. I want to make sure he doesn't try anything stupid."

"Thank you," Hanji spoke gratefully. The woman nodded her head before stepping away, leaving the two adults to themselves. Levi heard the brunette beside him sigh, he himself letting out one as relief took over. The adrenaline rush was over, and now he felt he could take a moment to breathe, to really let things settle in knowing that Eren was okay.

"… Levi," Hanji began, but he lifted a hand, stopping her.

"Don't." He said. Hanji didn't continue, knowing there was more that needed to be said. Oh yes, a lot more, but he needed to speak first. "I don't want to talk about it. Not right now anyway. Right now… We just need to get the kids set up."

"Set up…?" She questioned, confused.

"The case is over, Hanji." He said, taking a seat in the chair beside Eren's bed. He looked at the soft expression on his face, so deep into sleep, but he still looked troubled. Even subconsciously he couldn't rest. "Grisha is going free. What we need to do now is find a place for the kids to stay, somewhere safe where no one knows them, and somewhere where Grisha or any of his partners can't find them."

"I mean… It hasn't been decided yet." Hanji mumbled dejectedly.

"Hanji…" Levi breathed her name in a berating manner. "I slept with a victim in our case. It was covered up by Erwin, the commander of the station. Unfortunately it's not just me going down anymore… But I'm not concerned about that right now." He reached forward and brushed Eren's bangs from his face.

They'd gotten so long, but he'd noticed long ago. Eren was declining right in front of him.

"My biggest concern is keeping Eren, Mikasa and Armin safe. I won't be able to do that anymore, but someone else can. We need to find a safe place for them, and soon, before the chief comes in and says we're fired."

"That could be any minute now." She admitted gravely. It wasn't just over Levi and Erwin's heads. She knew about it too, although she didn't know it had never been reported. Because of this, she would surely get in trouble. She herself could lose her job. None of them would be surprised if the whole station was suddenly shut down, and everyone would lose their jobs.

They'd messed up so bad. This was the end, and they knew it. Hanji admired that Levi was still thinking of the kids despite the morbid situation, even if it wouldn't do anything for the case. He'd come back to himself on a later date, but right now, they were the most important thing. Grisha would be free, and that meant he could see them whenever he wanted to.

Would they just allow it? After all the fighting they'd done against him, would they fall right back into his hands?

Something told the both of them that, while Mikasa and Armin would still fight, Eren would give in. It was in his nature not to fight his father. He was his father after all, and if Eren gave in, Mikasa and Armin would follow. They were attached to the hip, refusing to let Eren go down alone. If he went down, then so did they. That was how they worked as a family.

"Hanji, take Mikasa and Armin home. Get them to bed." Levi told her. "They need their rest."

"What about you?" She asked. Levi shrugged his shoulder, his hands moving to his pockets as he stood up.

"I need to clear my head a bit. Figure things out." He told her. Hanji nodded her head in understanding. She knew he needed time.

"Alright…" The woman stepped to the doorway, prepared to leave, but stopped just shy of the hallway. She looked back to him, noticing his sunken expression, his slacked shoulders, the air of dread around him; he looked like a mess. "Levi…?"

"Hm…?" He sounded in response, eyes drifting from the brunette's form to look at her.

"Take care of yourself." She begged of him. The older man frowned, not entirely sure how he was supposed to take that. "Please…?"

"Yeah, I will." How else was he supposed to answer? He didn't know. All he knew was that the kids come first, and that was it.


Maybe it wasn't the best idea for him to be walking down the streets so late at night. He'd branded himself a terrible name, and yet the officer was too preoccupied with the thoughts in his mind to worry about people seeing him or judging him.

It was over. It was all over. There was no way Judge Zackley wouldn't call it a mistrial. Grisha would go free, and now his kids were in far more danger then they had ever been in. They were safe so long as Eren's father was behind bars, but he couldn't even fathom what would happen now that he would be set free.

Could he protect them? More than likely, Levi's job was gone now. No, it was an absolute loss in his job. No longer an officer, he wouldn't have to worry about being separated from his kids. However, he wasn't sure if Zackley would put an order out. He might keep him away from the kids, regardless of his lack of job.

What about Erwin? Covering up such a thing would cost him his job. For Levi, it wasn't so bad. He didn't really care, because there was no one waiting for him at home. Erwin, however, had a family to take care of and support. Who would hire him now that this was on his record?

What he had done cost them both of their jobs. It was his fault, the guilt eating away at him little by little. It was consuming.

If he could go back in time, what would he change?

Sadly to think, he would still sleep with Eren. It helped him, took care of him, so he couldn't take that away from him. He'd change Erwin finding out though. No one would ever need to know. He'd never be taken off the case, and none of this would have ever happened.

Armin wouldn't detest him. He wouldn't be so angry at Eren or Mikasa. Erwin would still be able to take care of his family. Levi could have kept the kids and taken them in.

Now what?

What was he going to do?

He couldn't even care for his wellbeing. His lack of job didn't scare him, nor his sudden financial instability. He wasn't afraid about bills or rent, wasn't afraid of being homeless. All he hoped for, all he prayed for, was his kid's safety. If they weren't safe, all of this would have been for nothing. Everyone's sacrifice would have been for nothing.

Petra. Gunther. Oluo. Eld. Their deaths would be a waste.

Eren had said he wouldn't let Petra's death be in vain. He'd promised her father to do right by her name, but he'd lost his way. When he woke up, he'd have to talk to him. He needed to talk some sense into him. He needed to remind him of what he was fighting for in the end.

The case may be over; no. It was most likely over, but Eren needed to fight. He couldn't give up. He had to keep going.

Levi sighed.

He knew it was a challenge in the end. Eren was a rebellious teen. He couldn't be told what to do. Not by him or anyone else. Just because he was closer to Eren than the others didn't mean anything. Levi seemed to have more leverage over other people in his life, but with Eren's reaction earlier, it seemed like his mind was set in stone.

There was no changing his mind.

Regardless of the trial, Eren wasn't going to go against him any longer. He wouldn't go against his father despite all that happened, even if it meant a better end for them. Would Erwin get a court order forcing him to appear in court? They needed Eren's testimony after all. They didn't want to have to force him into it. They wanted him to help willingly, to want the man that had done them all wrong in prison for life, but if he didn't fight, there was no case.

With the meaning that there was a case in the end.

Turning a corner brought Levi's attention back to his walking. He'd been out already for an hour, no place to go, and no one to visit. He was just walking. Trying to clear his mind and make magic happen out of nothing.

He was further into the city now, but it was so late that most places were closed, and everybody had retired for the night, with the exception of a few bars and diners, which he had no intentions of going to. No need to attract more attention to himself.

Coming up on a diner, Levi looked at the neon lights flickering above it. It was an old place, and very empty. He only saw one waitress inside, who looked utterly spent and hated walking at this point. Only a few customers were left inside at this point, three of which were vaguely familiar to him.

"Erwin...?" He uttered.

Seeing the blonde man brought great surprise to him. This wasn't Erwin's usual setting so late into the night. Then again, he spent his time at home with his wife. He didn't mix business and personal, but seeing him out of the office at a diner, not alone, was surprising.

He was arguing with someone. It was a heated argument, but about what, he wasn't sure. Levi couldn't be spotted from where he stood, but that didn't stop him from stepping closer, risking being seen to see who he was with.

Again, he found himself surprised.

Across from him sat Judge Zackley, returning the argument with disgust. Next to him was Flagon, and all three were discussing something extremely important.

What were they doing? They weren't allowed to talk about the case outside of the court room. They were going to get in trouble. Well, Zackley would. Erwin was in enough trouble already, and Levi was sure Flagon was in some heat as well. He shouldn't have been, considering he knew nothing of it, but now he had to do damage control. This looked bad on him as well.

Was that what this was? Damage control? Were they trying to keep this from becoming a mistrial?

Levi felt it to be a very small chance of that happening, and judging by the look on Zackley's face, the way his mouth moved like he was yelling, seemed to prove that all the more.

He felt it unnecessary to keep watching. He knew the outcome of where this would lead, and yet his eyes lingered on the men inside. It was then that Erwin set something down in front of the judge, pushing it towards him and ignoring the plate of food right there on the table. Levi recognized it as a folder, a specific folder, but from where did he know it? He'd seen it before. Why it stuck out to him compared to the rest of the folders in the world he wasn't sure. He just knew it looked familiar, and that it seemed to draw interest from the judge.

He set his fork down and opened the folder. Levi couldn't hear them talking, but the man seemed to be taking in something very carefully, as if what was presented to him sparked something new for him. Something important. Game changing. The emotions swept over his face from disturb to shock.

What was in that folder that Erwin had?

A car screeched behind him. The sound was loud enough to startle the older man and make him back away, because if it was loud enough, the three men would hear it, and if they heard it and looked, they'd see him standing outside, watching.

He backed away a few paces, hearing the car drive by at probably illegal speeds before two loud pops rang in the air, far louder than the sound of the car as it sped off.

The air in his lungs suddenly burned. He found it hard to breathe, a pain in his chest restricting him. He reached up to clutch at his shirt, finding it wet with something, but he wasn't sure what at first glance.

Looking down, he could see a dark red substance coating his fingers, shining in the neon lighting. The liquid soaked into his white shirt, forever staining it, dripping down his chest and to the waist band of his pants. The pain in his chest intensified, and with a startling realization, the world around him began to go black.

He'd just been shot.


A/N: Did you miss me? ;)