CHAPTER 1

Author's Note

Hello to the two people reading my fic! First of all, thanks for taking the time to read my work. Its been AGES since I've taken a stab at writing something so we'll see how it goes lmao. So, just as a reminder this story will have strong themes of homophobia, gore, and sexuality for those that might be sensitive to such topics. I've been reflecting a lot this year on my identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and that clashed with my findings of an old Levi x Eren fanfic idea I had a long time ago and voilà! This was born, so this story is almost like a therapy session to me, lol! Anyway, enough chitter-chatter! Let's get into it!

~Gum

He felt as if demons were following him. He couldn't help but turn back every few minutes or so to make sure no one was there. His heart raced faster with every step and his hands shook with more intensity as he left the busy streets of the heart of the city and began approaching the shady parts of town that no one with good intentions stepped into. His body began trembling and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the cold or his nerves. He stopped to look around (and to regain his shaky breath) trying to figure out where he was. He pulled out the bundled up piece of paper he had forcefully stuffed down the pockets of his blue jacket trying to decipher his own drawings.

Eren Jaeger was a lot of things but an artist was not one of them.

The teen squinted, trying to recall if those chicken scratches he called letters spelled out "restaurant" or "gasoline stop". In the distance, he could see an abandoned car that had crashed right into an old building. The structure had "Hannes' Filling Station" painted on it.

"Jackpot." Eren whispered to himself.

He ran towards it and then turned left into the alley way directly in front of it. It was a narrow and damp place. The sounds of mice squeaking and water dripping echoed through the empty space. Eren walked slowly, not on purpose; his feet felt like tons of lead.

This was a mistake. I should've never left.

"Eren Jaegar."

The teen jumped at the sound of his own name, a girlish squeak leaving his lips. Suddenly the alley way was filled with booming laughter, causing Eren to blush from the absolute embarrassment he felt. He approached the dark figure he had confused for a shadow earlier, swaying his shoulders side to side in an attempt to appear manlier.

"Uhh... hi."

"New to this, aren't you kid?"

Kid? Kid? He was on the verge of being 18. He wasn't a kid any more.

"Well I don't think a lot of people are familiar with hiring assassins." He said, letting the annoyance he felt seep through the words.

The man laughed again, this time not as strongly but definitely enough to make Erens blood boil, "Whatever kid, let's just get this over quickly. I have much more important things to do."

The teen felt his stomach drop, almost instantly his nerves came back at full force, "S-S-", he cleared his throat, "So, how does this work exactly?"

"Just like I said through the phone, I ask a couple of questions, you answer. If you lie, you get shot, if you say the truth, we offer our services," the man took a step forward tapping the gun safely stashed away on the side of his belt. Instead of looking down at the gun, Eren couldn't help but look up at the man, surprised by the pronounces wrinkles of his face and the lame undercut he had styled his light brown hair into. It didn't look good at him at all. Hell, Eren was pretty sure it couldn't look good on anyone, but he wasn't stupid enough to say something about it.

"What are you staring at?" The old man growled, straightening his back to try and appear taller.

"Nothing... nothing..."

"Hmph, usually this procedure is to ensure that our customers aren't traitors working with cops but I can tell from miles away that someone like you isn't smart enough to pull something like that."

Eren barely contained the swear words burning in his throat. Still, he couldn't help but stare daggers at that bastard tapping his yellow nails against the cold metal of his weapon, "Can we just get on with the interview?"

"Name."

"You already know my na-"

"Name." He repeated with a harsher tone.

The teen slowly breathed in and out, "Eren Jaeger."

"Age."

"17... but I'm a few days away from being 18."

"How did you find out about our organization?"

"A friend gave me the phone number to contact you."

"And how did this 'friend' find out about us?"

That was a good question, one that Eren didn't really know the answer to, "I... I don't really know."

"Hmm." The old bastard (as Eren had now dubbed him) squinted his eyes, examining the boy to try and figure out if he was keeping secrets.

"Look, I needed to escape from a shitty place I was in and my friend knew that once I would be out of that place for good I'd have some bad guys searching for me so she went out of her way to find someone that could protect me before I left. I didn't really get a chance to talk about the weather or anything while I was running away so, yeah, I don't know."

"Well, idiots do get in trouble all the time. There's only one things that bothers me and that's age. We can't have teens going around town spilling our secrets. How can I be sure that you won't go around telling your friends about the organization of illegal bodyguards and killers?"

"Easy, don't have any friends."

"What about your little friend that gave you the contact?"

"Didn't you hear? I escaped. I won't be seeing her or anyone that is remotely familiar for the rest of my life." Eren felt a knot burn in his throat. Everything had happened so fast in the last couple of days that he hadn't had time to truly take in what he had lost when he left.

Like a fish being caught out of water, he was pulled out of his thoughts as a rough hand grabbed his chin fiercely. His face was inches away from the older mans. He had nowhere else to look but at the cocksuckers beady brown eyes that were suddenly much scarier that before.

"Swear to me that you will keep your ties with our company a complete and utter secret."

"W-What?" The boy breathed out as he struggled against the surprisingly strong grip.

However, the man did not respond. Instead, Eren heard the very audible click of the safety lock, "I-I swear! I-I won't say a word! Please believe me, I'm just trynna run from a shitty past I never asked for." He tried to repress the familiar sting of tears forming in his eyes but he had been through hell and back during the last couple of years. He was finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel but this jackass still had the audacity to make things difficult.

"Please," Eren whispered, "I don't give a shit about the cops or anything. F-Fuck man, I just want to lead a normal life, I'll do anything!"

The old bastard laughed darkly, letting Eren go in an instant. So much so that the teen stumbled to regain his stance, "Didn't think you'd actually cry."

He grabbed something out of his pocket and shoved it onto Eren's chest with so much force the teen almost fell back. It was a small piece of paper with an address printed onto it alongside what seemed to be a list of instructions.

"Wha-What's this?"

Eren looked up from the paper to see the other man walking away, "Can't you read numbnuts? It's a list of instructions."

"For what?" He yelled out.

"For your service dimwit. Congratulations. The Survey Corporation is at your service."