"Order whatever you want, I'll pay." Eren offered.
"Excuse me?" Levi was taken aback.
"You're the one who said this was a date!" The brunette blushed in his panic. "I'm just following what you said. Besides, you don't wanna leave a trail, right?"
How did this guy read me so fast? Levi wondered if he was going soft on this kid.
"Thanks." He quickly changed the subject by placing his order.
"You little shit." Eren glared. "You just had to go order one of the most expensive plates?"
"You said you would pay. I'm getting my money's worth from a pig." Levi teased with a weird glint in his eyes and a faintest hint of a smile. Eren couldn't help but stare.
They waited until a few minutes into their meals once their plates were brought out. Levi broke the awkward silence first by diving headfirst.
"I'm hiding from them." His voice was low, but it was enough for the microphone to pick up for Erwin on the other end.
"What - what did you do?" Eren almost choked on his food.
"I'll tell once I see the file." Levi had made this change recently. He wanted to be sure that he wasn't being played like some puppet into throwing random people he sort of knew from his circle in jail.
I'm lucky I'm known as the cold bastard who wouldn't tell the pigs shit. Levi thought to himself.
"What the hell is he doing?" Erwin frowned as he heard the tell tale of rustling as Eren brought out the folder.
"This mole is good. Wonder who he is? Wish we had video camera on Eren." Hange almost giggled.
"Mikasa, Armin. Be our eyes and take pictures across the street." The Commissioner wasn't all that pleased with his star detective now.
Meanwhile back in the restaurant Levi was fast reading through the file. It was bloody gruesome. But it sure sounded like his uncle all right. Capturing all the unwanted people, taking those that people won't notice went missing. Then their bodies turned up beaten and bloody. It was documented that the number of missing persons couldn't be fully verified since a lot of missing homeless or severe mental cases was never reported.
What caught his attention was the amount of meth in the autopsy reports of all these bodies.
"Injected?" Levi asked. He felt stupid when he came across the notes on an injected wound site in the forearm.
"Yeah." Eren watched him carefully. For the first time in a long while he was wondering just who was Levi? He had been too distracted by how cute and adorable he was, and his want to wrap his arms around him and protect him.
Levi was still reading. Then he came across the calling card of Death's Jesters gang. A human skull with a lopsided jester hat inside a summoning circle was branded onto the body. They branded on either the shoulders, the back, or somewhere on the leg. Most of the time the upper arm or back.
Shit. Kenny was in town again after nearly a decade of silence.
"So what's your story?" Eren pressed gently, he was genuinely curious.
Levi looked up from the papers. He had read enough anyhow. He studied the detective, weighing his options on wether to tell or not.
"I can't clarify all the details. But I've been on the run from the leader of that gang for over a decade. Actually, I'm the reason he moves around."
The table was silent. Even the van was silent. Across the street, Mikasa was having a hard time capturing a good photo. They weren't able to listen in as Commissioner, and he would only use the radio if something came up.
Mikasa studied the photos. It was all due to the lighting. The mole sat in such a way that no matter the angle, the shadow from the building would cover his face and it would turn out grainy. So instead of using a cheap camera for tourists, she reached for the professional one with a long lense.
He caught on just as she pressed the button to snap a photo.
"Are you being followed?" Levi snarled. From the corner of his eye he saw someone exchange a cheap tourist camera for a professional. And she took a picture of him, he was sure of it.
"I don't believe so?" Eren was confused. He had never seen this much animosity from his crush before. It caught him off guard.
"Bullshit. You're not wearing a wire, are you?" Levi saw the panic in those eyes. "Are you?"
"... It wasn't my idea." Eren bit his lip.
"Fuck you pigs. I'm out." Levi gathered his backpack and stood up.
"Wait, Levi - " Eren reached out. The pale hand pulled away from him.
"Don't say my name!" He shouted. Levi turned to glare and maybe punch him, and just then he caught sight of a familiar face.
"Get down!" He pushed Eren against the wall as a gun took aim.