Levi
Erwin was busy reading the document he just printed. The man's eyes heralded the coming storm. Something was about to happen. And... It did. Smith widened his eyes and hid his face in the crook of his elbow.
He let out a sudden, loud sneeze that could destroy the walls.
"Bless you!" Hanji said and in the same time she put down her phone. "Eh, I was just talking to that teacher from the Stohess University. There is no trace of our man there. No Xavier had ever worked there. Erwin, did you catch a cold, honey?".
Erwin sniffed and nodded.
"Levi, do you remember that dealer we've been interrogating, who sneezed right at me?" He asked, looking tiredly at Levi. Ackerman was just looking at the photographs and sketches, which were hanging on the board. It was like a habit.
Ackerman nodded.
"So you got a cold from him after all".
Mike, whose desk was right next to Erwin's, looked at the man with a smile.
"Ah, the police work, so full of dangers!".
Erwin laughed, but then his laugh was interrupted by another sneeze.
" I think I'll take some medicine… I need to be in shape. Levi and I are going out of town today. It's been two weeks since the last meeting".
"Are you serious? Stay home and rest". Levi sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll go with Hanji or Mike".
"But..." Erwin looked disappointed.
"I'd love to!" Hanji raised her hand. "It's been a long time since I saw our kiddo! And about that, gentleman... His birthday is approaching, how about we buy him a gift? Don't you think our little sunshine would be on cloud nine?".
"Great idea" Erwin confessed, then sneezed again.
"Okay, then I'll find something. We can also buy him a cake. Levi, you know a place?".
"Hey, Hanji, don't change the subject, I also want to go to the meeting!" Mike's eyes narrowed.
"Three is already a crowd" Levi sighed. "We don't want to get attention. Settle this between you two".
"Let's handle it like adults do!" Hanji adjusted the glasses on her nose. "Rock, paper, scissors…".
"Oh no! Why am I always losing?".
"Levi, can I make cookies?".
Reiner
He crossed the sliding door and entered the brightly lit room. He began to walk down the long hall. He passed by the nurses, dressed in white uniforms, some elderly people standing in front of their rooms or sitting in wheelchairs and talking to each other.
Reiner stopped in front of the door with number 15 on it. He knocked and then went inside.
He saw a cozy bedroom with a large window. There were pots and vases with flowers everywhere, on the shelves, on the table and on the windowsill. They were delivered here every few weeks. Grisha might have been a dangerous and spoiled man, but he was good at hiding it.
Karina Braun was sitting in a deep armchair. She looked at the visitor and her wrinkled mouth stretched with a smile.
"My son. My dear, little son" she said, reaching out to Reiner. The man leaned over and let his mother kiss both his cheeks. "You're late for tea. I've already had it".
"It's okay, mom" Reiner sat down in the other armchair and took the old woman's hand. "Good to see you".
They stared at each other for a moment, exchanging soft smiles.
"Is everything at work okay?" Karina asked, leaning back against the headrest of her armchair.
Reiner nodded.
"Yeah, it's okay. I got a new case, I have a lot of work".
The woman sighed and leaned toward him.
"I'm so proud of you, son". Karina squeezed his hand lightly. "My son, a real detective... Your father would be proud of you too, you know? He was in the army. He knew what it means to be a real warrior".
Reiner's face tightened nervously. Recently she started bringing up that topic faster in their conversations. He didn't like it.
"Yes, you already told me about that… So, mum, how was your day? What did you have for dinner today?".
But Karina seemed not to listen to him anymore.
"You should meet your father, it's about time. I'll call him". The woman tried to get up, but Reiner grabbed her shoulders and put her back on the chair. "What are you doing? I have to introduce you. I want him to be proud of you".
"Maybe another time, mom. Let's do something together. Do you want to watch TV? Or maybe to play chess with me?"
"No, I want to make a call! Let me go!"
"Mom..."
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Leave me alone!" Karina raised her voice and began to struggle. Even for her age, she still had a lot of strength. Suddenly, she raised her hand. The man felt a hard slap on his cheek. "Help! He wants to kill me!"
Reiner came to the conclusion that he couldn't handle it on his own. He hurried to the door, calling for a nurse. After a while two women entered the room, one of them holding a syringe. They approached the screaming woman to give her a sedative. As Karina's body went limp, the nurses laid her on the bed.
"She'll sleep for a while" one of the nurse explained, as she walked over to Reiner. "Do you want to stay with her?".
Reiner's eyes went to the big mirror in the gold frame, which was standing by the wall. That was one of the many decorations, which were placed in this bedroom. Grisha had furnished this room pretty well. He was probably thinking that Reiner's mother would be spending her time on doing make up.
The man saw a red scratch on his cheek.
He shook his head, not looking at the nurse. He felt tears under his eyelids so he decided it was time to leave.
"No thank you. I'll see her next week".
Braun left the room and began to walk toward the exit. While being outside, he quickly reached for his pocket to pulled out a pack of cigarettes and then he lit one.
It was the best facility in Trost, where his mother could receive proper care. Without Grisha's help, it would be really difficult for him to pay for Karina's treatment.
At first he thought it was the best deal he could dream of. He was underestimated at work, he often thought about quitting this crap... Until one day Bertolt, with whom he had no contact for a few years, contacted him. He made him an appointed with Grisha… And that's where it all started. He was Grisha's informant and the man was paying him a lot.
Reiner knew, however, that it all had its own price.
If he would get under Grisha's skin, the man for sure would deliver to Karina's room something different than flowers. Something far more explosive.
He could only blame himself for this situation. He get himself into this mess, no one forced him.
Reiner smoked his cigarette to the end, then started walking towards his car.
Eren
He switched off the car's engine and looked around the parking lot. It was almost completely empty at this time of a day. He waited for a moment before he left the vehicle. He always wanted to make sure no one was following him.
Eren tucked a disobedient lock of hair behind his ear, staring at the front mirror and meeting his own gaze. Light circles under his green eyes, drooping eyelids... He was exhausted, but he still wanted to meet with Levi and Erwin. The boy didn't want to canceled it. They were slowly planning their next move, and Eren hoped that this time they could hit Grisha's weak spot.
He closed his eyes for a moment to let them rest.
Today he and Zeke visited one of the laboratories. They went there to oversee the production of the another part of the stuff. He had to admit that everything was working like clockwork and the whole place was well guarded. A large hall, the underground area, adequately stocked and filled with quiet, hard-working people. None of the workers even glanced at Eren when he was marching alongside Zeke, examining the huge boilers, steam extraction machines and mysterious barrels.
After that, Zeke took Eren back to Grisha's mansion, where they attended a meeting with some friend of their father, who wanted to work for them. Mikasa was participating in the meeting too, but this time it was Zeke who was doing everything to be the center of attention. He was constantly interrupting the conversations and pouring too much alcohol. Grisha seemed very irritated by his son's behavior, but Eren came to the rescue. He initiate the talk and found a common language with their guest.
The meeting ended with the handshakes and, what was most important for Eren, with a broad smile on Grisha's face.
"Well done" his father muttered as their guest disappeared, escorted by Grisha's men to the car. "Next week you're going to Stohess with me".
He was tired, but it didn't matter. He achieved some success today.
Eren opened his eyes.
Grisha was pleased, Eren had no doubts about that. Another important thing was that he had lost his interest in Mikasa. Unfortunately, he still wanted her to be an addition to his meetings; a hostess, a model, a decoration that is pleasing to the eye, but completely irrelevant. And he would surely get rid of her if Eren or Armin would disobey him.
The boy opened the door and get out of the car. He returned with his thoughts to the present. He had to concentrate.
Eren used the stairs and went to the second floor, where the motel rooms were located. He found the one with the newspaper tucked between the door and the frame, and went inside.
"Hello, sunshine!" Hanji greeted, getting up from the pinstripe couch. The boy raised his eyebrows at the sight of the woman and smiled widely.
"Hi! I wasn't expecting you! What about Erwin?" Eren asked, pulling his jacket off his shoulders and tossing it casually on a chair. He caught Levi's disapproving gaze, but ignored it and lifted the corner of his mouth.
"He got a cold" Levi replied, then picked up a notebook and a pen. Ackerman sat at the table while Hanji returned to the couch. "Let's get straight to the point".
Eren sat down across from Levi and nodded. He also wanted to end the meeting as soon as possible. He saw Ackerman opening his mouth to ask him the first question, but suddenly he closed it and looked at Eren more carefully.
"Is everything okay…?" Levi asked, while his hard gaze softened a little.
"Yeah. I'm just tired. It's nothing" Eren waved his hand. "It was a long day, a lot has happened. I'll try to tell you everything... Oh, but maybe I'll try this".
Eren reached for one of the cookies, that was lying on the table, in a small box.
"Wow! They are delicious" he confessed, after the cookie disappeared in his mouth. Eren immediately seemed to be in a better mood.
"Really? I'm so glad!" Hanji grinned at him. "You know, I found a new recipe…"
"Okay, we've got some backlogs, but now tell us what has happened today" Levi interrupted his friend, fixing Eren with a look. "Was it something important?".
Eren quickly told the detectives about his day, mostly about his visit in the lab and the meeting with Grisha's friend. Levi and Hanji asked him a few questions and then moved on to the other topics. Eren introduced them to the details of his current situation. Every day he saw that his father trusted him more and more, and they had to focus on that.
"So everything is going according to plan" Levi said. "Now give me a minute... Erwin's not here, but he asked me to clarify a few things".
Ackerman started looking for something among his documents. Meanwhile, Hanji stood up and stretched.
"Someone wants coffee?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and smile. "What do you say? Levi? Do you want tea?".
"Coffee sounds great". Eren lifted the corner of his mouth. Levi only nodded. As Hanji left the room, Ackerman found the document he was looking for.
"Okay, maybe let's start with this... Erwin would like to know who is Grisha's closest adviser."
Eren reached for another cookie. He bit it in such a way that by accident a piece of the treat broke off and fell to the floor. Levi pursed his lips, which in turn made Eren burst into laughter that he could barely suppress. He was amused by Levi's attachement to cleaniness and order. He found that really cute.
"Let me think..." The boy rested his chin on his hand and focused on the topic. "I don't know if there's anyone like that. Zeke does the dirty job, but Grisha doesn't discuss the details of the actions with him. My brother is too impulsive. I think that the Owl advises my father the most".
"The Owl... Was he the Grisha's man from the very beginning?" Levi asked. "Or is he also from this whole Titans group?".
"He worked for my father earlier than the rest, they had some history. I suspect it was the Owl who introduced Grisha to these people".
"All right" Levi said. He looked at the next question and apparently saw something that made him frown slightly. He looked up at Eren, gloomily. "We have to get back to this topic, sorry… What exactly happened to Hoover?".
"Hoover ...?" Eren narrowed his eyes, not understanding." Ah, you mean the Colossus? Sorry, I always forget his last name".
"Yes, I mean exactly him" Levi muttered softly. Eren sensed a hint of annoyance in his voice and decided to tease the man a little.
"You don't like this nickname?" Eren asked, and that made Levi seem to bristle. The boy smiled with amusement, pleased with the reaction he has caused. "Not that I'm suggesting anything... You shouldn't worry about that."
"I coudn't care less" Levi drawled in an icy tone, fixing his murderous gaze on Eren. "Are you willing to answer me any time soon? Maybe this century?"
"Of course, take it easy". Eren sat more comfortably in the chair and sighed softly. He had no idea it would be so hard for him to recall that memory. "As you already know, Bert was Mike's informant, but he wasn't careful enough. Zeke found out about him and immediately informed our father. When Grisha called Bert to the meeting, the Collosus hadn't expected anything. Well…" Eren's face expressed great distaste at that moment. "You can guess what they did to him".
"What did they do to him?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, but we need more details this time".
Eren saw that Levi's gaze softened a little again. The boy nodded quickly. It was his choice, it was him who wanted to cooperate with the police. It was known from the beginning that he would even have to talk about the things he wanted to forget.
"Okay, so... Zeke was torturing him for hours to get as many information out of him as possible. With who he worked in the police, how long did it last, how much data did he give them. They ripped out his hair, teeth and nails. Then they crushed his fingers and toes. He said them all he knew, but it didn't matter. Grisha let Zeke play with the Colossus until the end, and Zeke agreed to that, because he rarely has the opportunity to torture someone. So he wanted it to last as long as possible". Eren's face turned pale and he clenched both fists. Levi tensed a little, seeing this. "Bertolt repeated over and over that his conversations with the police were at an early stage and that he did not have enough time to provide them any information. But Zeke was having too much fun to stop and Grisha did no longer care about Bert anymore. I mean, he wanted this to happen. He made me to watch it… " Eren swallowed loudly. "At the end, Zeke was slowly crushing Bert's whole body, and when he came to his head, it just...".
"Okay, stop" Levi muttered, reaching out and placing his hand on Eren's clenched fist. "That should be enough. Great job, Eren".
The boy blinked. He looked in surprise at Ackerman's hand, which was gently touching his own hand.
Eren seemed like he saw a ghost.
Levi quickly withdrew his hand and stared back at the list with Erwin's questions.
"Okay, we don't have much time, so we should move on" Levi confessed, clearing his throat. "Okay, now... The dumbest thing you have done in your childhood" .
Eren's cheeks turned red. He felt his heart racing a little bit. It took him a moment to realize that Levi was waiting for his answer.
"You mean, me? Emmm…" Yaeger pondered the question, but suddenly his eyes widened and he looked at Levi indignantly. "Hey, you must be kidding! You don't have that question there!"
"Oh, I do have. Erwin apparently found it very important to the case" Levi raised one eyebrow. "So?".
"Show me that!"
Eren tried to grab the document Levi was holding, but the man pushed it aside, out of Yaeger's reach.
"Hey, it's classified" Ackerman muttered. "Okay, you don't want to answer this, so let's move on again. What was your nickname at school?".
Eren burst out laughing, then stand up and jumped towards Levi, trying to grab the document again. Levi frowned, but even he couldn't help but smile a little.
"Get off of me, you little shit, it's a police document!" Ackerman said, holding the page as far as possible so that Eren couldn't reach it, which was difficult considering the boy was taller than him.
"Show me that! If there is such a question, I will answer it, but I want to see for myself!".
"Of course there is! Erwin is a very serious man, and so am I. Okay, mister Yaeger, another question, also very important: what do you do when you have stuffy nose but you don't have a tissue?".
Eren laughed out loud as he saw Levi's gaze fixed on him. There was a cheerful gleam in the man's eyes. Eren almost reached the document, but Levi stretched his hand even farther apart, almost lying on the table. Eren pressed his body against Levi's. They faces were suddenly very close to each other.
Levi reached out and grabbed the boy by the cheek, trying to push him away. Young Yaeger burst out with laugh again and at the same moment he heard the door opening. Hanji entered a room, holding a box with three paper cups. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of two men, scuffling with each other.
"What is happening? Did I miss anything? I'm gone just for a minute and you two are already at each other's throats?"
"This crazy kid demands access to classified information..." Levi muttered, again trying to push Eren away, this time successfully. "Han, you are a witness. It was an assault".
"Oh, it's you who went too far, detective. All that questions about such personal matters…" Eren replied, unable to help but laugh again as Levi rolled his eyes. "Okay, nevermind. I want coffee!".
Eren left Ackerman alone and sat back down in his chair. Hanji gave each of them a mug of warm drink, smiling under her breath.
Yaeger took a sip of coffee, casting a brief glance at Levi. He could guess why Ackerman had done this, and he was grateful for it, though he would never have expected such a gesture from him. He felt so much better, almost forgot what they were talking about. He hated revisiting some of his memories... But that was inevitable, especially when working with the police.
Also, he still felt his heart racing faster than usual.
They went back to the case. Levi showed Eren a sketch of a man whose role they could only guess. The boy confirmed their suspicions.
"Yes, this is the man we talked about recently, his name is Tom Xavier".
"That chemist, right?" Hanji wanted to be sure. Eren nodded.
Levi looked like he was thinking about something. After a while, he raised the cup of tea to his lips, holding it in his typical way, with his fingers from above.
"It would be definitely be a huge loss to Grisha, if that man would suddenly dissapered?" Ackerman asked, while drinking his tea. "Just asking".
"Oh, definitely" Eren lifted the corner of his mouth and winked at him.
Erwin
When the doorbell rang, Erwin was just half asleep in front of the TV, huddled under a warm blanket. He was surprised because he wasn't expecting anyone. He got up and, before opening the lock, he peered through the visor, just for safety. Then he quickly opened the door.
"I thought you are sleeping already" Mike confessed, stepping inside and handing Erwin a small bundle. "A chicken soup for your cold. May I go in? How are you feeling?".
"A little better, thank you. I took the medicine… Weren't you supposed to be at your mother's birthday today?"
"I was, but I left earlier. Where do you think I got the soup from? Cooked it myself?"
Mike laughed, then took off his sport jacket.
"How can I help you? God, this place is a mess... Hmm, Levi would be much better help than me".
Erwin raised an eyebrow. He put the bundle on the coffee table, then walked over to Mike and touched the man's cheek.
"Do I hear jealousy? It's not like you".
Mike put his arm around the shorter man's waist and looked into his eyes.
"I'm not jealous. You know well that I just love our sarcastic, little shrimp. Since we're talking about him, I think we should finally let him know... Well, about us".
"What do you mean?".
"We should tell him that we're seeing each other. You said that there is nothing between you two now, so I think he should accept that".
"So it's official?" Erwin asked, lifting the corner of his mouth. "Me and you, together?"
"I don't know. Do you want it to be official?".
Erwin, in response, clung to his partner's mouth, kissing him passionately.
They hugged each other tightly, exchanging kisses. After a while, Mike deepened the kiss, examining the inside of Smith's mouth with his tongue and sighing softly. Erwin felt his body is getting warmed by something else than a fever. He also felt Mike pushing him onto the couch.
He fell back on the soft pillows, staring at the mustachioed man. Mike knelt in front of him and widened his legs. Then he pushed down the fabric of the trousers Erwin was wearing, as well as the dark underwear. They both saw a red, pulsating penis, demanding attention. Erwin sighed loudly as he saw Mike bend over his erection and run his tongue along its entire length.
Everything was very innocent at the beginning. Stealthy glances in the corridor, short kisses behind the parking lot, tender hugs for goodbye. Erwin wasn't sure where this was going. All he knew was that when he was with Mike he felt the real happiness. It was quite similar to what he had with Levi a long ago. At first it was just friendship and then, all of a sudden, it turned into something more. Besides, since his relationship with Ackerman didn't work out… Nothing was stopping him from trying with someone else.
With every meeting with Mike his feelings were more and more serious. And it was really hard for him to hide those feelings at work.
He groaned as Mike wrapped his lips around his penis. The man began to move his head up and down, taking Erwin's erection into his mouth, all the way to the testicles. Erwin braided his hands into Zacharius' blond hair and closed his eyes. The sensation was amazing. The waves of excitement grew stronger. Erwin at one point pushed his hips forward, going deeper into the warm, wet mouth of the man kneeling in front of him. Mike accepted him willingly and allowed him to move on his own, agreeing to the rhythm of Erwin's hips. Smith pressed his hands around the man's hair and then came with a loud groan.
He was breathing fast, trying to calm his madly beating heart. Mike sat down next to him and hugged Erwin tenderly.
"I know you should rest, but I couldn't help myself" he whispered into Erwin's lips, then gave him a kiss.
Smith kissed him back immediately.
"You can bother me some more" Erwin replied, lifting his eyelids and smiling at Mike. "But don't be mad at me, if you also get a cold".
The man laughed softly. Smith thought to himself that this sound was one of the reasons he was starting to fall in love with this man.