Levi looked at himself in the mirror. He was back in his apartment changing his piercings to small silicons that filled their places. In case things would start to get messy, he didn't want to damage himself because of them.
Even when he knew exactly what he wanted to do, his mind felt somehow empty. He supposed it could be his natural reaction to deal with extreme emotions. Even looking at his reflection seemed somehow unfamiliar.
He went back to the living room and hid the gun inside his jacket. He didn't intend to use it, but it was good to be prepared for anything. He already called Farlan for assistance and texted Erwin to let him know that he might get himself in some shit. Levi ignored his calls knowing well that he would try to dissuade him from this. It wasn't his problem right now. He was goal-focused and what he wanted to see was Dieter's face dragged through the floor.
He did a quick research. It was easy, as he figured out Brzenska might know something, and he was right. He was glad to learn she was eager to share the information. Everything about that man disgusted him. Not like he needed any other reason to get him. He flinched at every thought of Petra's bruised face.
He knew the places he usually hung out at, where he used to live and how he looked from his social media profile he found.
One thing he wasn't able to get out of Brzenska was what else he was guilty of. He wanted to fuel his anger to the point that the shithead deserved.
On his way to the car he messaged Nifa, writing outright what happened and that she should go see Petra.
He wasn't in a rush, the night was still young. His phone started to ring again, and just when he was about to decline it, he noticed it wasn't Erwin this time.
"Hange," he answered.
"STOP. STOP RIGHT NOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I'm going to beat the shit out of Petra's ex."
"What? Wait, no, shorty, you can't. Erwin called me you're about to do some crazy shit. What is it about?"
"I don't care what you two think."
"And who will have to save your ass again?!"
He took a deep breath, slowly losing patience.
"He hit her. Yesterday. She looks like a fucking train hit her." he told them and this time, he had to wait a bit longer for their response.
"Levi," they started in a composed voice this time. "Can you wait until I get there?"
A few hours later he found himself sitting on a bench in the park surrounded by way more people than he planned. Farlan said he couldn't stop Isabel from coming when she overheard their conversation. Hange was there, and they took Mike with them, which was surprising but not unwelcome.
"I'm surprised you didn't drag Erwin with you."
"There was no point, he wouldn't let us do anything," they said, indifferent.
"All I needed was Farlan in case he won't be alone. You're all too dramatic."
Isabel stepped closer and punched his arm.
"It's not like you're the only one that cares for her. She's one of us now," she said. Her fiery look made him believe her words. Even if they didn't know her that well, they still had the right to avenge her if they wanted.
He averted his eyes to look up at Mike whose expression was unreadable as always. To be honest, he didn't care if he just wanted to go into a fight or if he took a liking to Petra during the wedding. Any help was appreciated.
"Everyone has something for self-defense?" he asked, taking two spring knives out of his pocket.
The city center was full of people by this hour. No one really paid attention to their group. Levi was walking at the front with Hange and Farlan on his sides.
"I don't want you to stop me. Whatever will happen," he said which made them look at each other doubtfully.
Levi put on a bandana to cover his face.
Finding Dieter wasn't as easy as it sounded. They decided to split up in groups of two, which made Levi go alone. No one really paid attention to him. Just some short punk with eyes seemingly glued to his phone. There were no messages from Petra, and he wasn't sure if he should be worried about that or not. He came back to looking through Dieter social media in case there was any sight of where he could be. Just as he thought, the idiot had his stories on Instagram set as public. He held his finger on a picture of a group of people and took a closer look on the background.
He let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and messaged the others on their new destination.
He was disgusted when Isabel suggested that she would lure him out from the bar. They were sitting in front of some street food cabin a street away from it.
"No. This is out of question. Do you want to hear it in French?" Levi said, irritated. It was the first emotion he showed since they met that day.
Isabel stood up propping herself with her hands on the round table they sat at.
"You're treating me like a child, Levi, I'm twenty-four! I take care of myself, you know? I've lived through the time without you, and now you're underestimating me!"
Even Farlan looked at her with concern painted on his face. It wasn't a good time to snap like that. There was an uneasy silence as Levi and Isabel stared at each other, both too stubborn to let go.
"You're a lesbian goddammit."
"So what?" she snorted at him. "Men are easy. I'm trying to help you, whatever you will do next, you know I'm not good at fist fighting."
Hange leaned between them, separating them from each other a bit.
"Ehh, come on. I will go with her and in case something goes wrong I'll take care of it. How about that?" they asked.
Levi scolded at both of them and folded his hands.
"Let it be." he said, tense. The plan itself wasn't bad, but the thought of Isa even getting close to Dieter was tragically discomforting. They were dragging his ass to trust them more since they reunited. It wasn't easy for him. He stood up and nodded to Mike.
Hange and Isabel went to the bar first and Levi let himself wait exactly three minutes before gesturing for the rest to follow them.
The dark alley they went to smelled like gasoline, and he couldn't quite place why. Both buildings on their sides had backdoors to shops a long time closed by now. The only light that was giving them any view, was the rusty lamp above one of the entrances. Its blinking light was getting on his nerves.
Farlan was walking slowly in circles, anxious of why it took so long. He was playing with his pocket knife as no one could see them there anyway.
They stilled when Isabel's purposefully loud laugh reached them from around the corner.
Levi and Farlan joined Mike who was crouching behind a container on the side of the alley as they lurked to see if she was okay.
The auburn haired girl was embracing a tall man's arm as she pulled him to the alley with perfectly acted excitement. They couldn't see his face from their position, but definitely could see how he turned her around and pinned to the dirty brick wall of the building.
Levi got out from hiding feeling the blood boiling in his veins. He went unnoticed since Dieter was turned to the other side. Before he could even reach them, Hange got out from the same corner and grabbed the blonde by the collar of his shirt to aggressively pull him away from the girl.
He stumbled but did not fall as he turned his head to see the cold stare of the person behind him. They used all their force to push him deeper into the alley. The fact that it was easy was either a sign of his confusion or not being sober.
Before he could say anything, he was met with a sight of Levi standing in the middle of the dark alley. It didn't scare him, as he sent him a despising look.
"So you had to invite your friends again, huh?" he snorted and straightened his back, taking slow steps in the direction of a short man scolding at him. Levi still wore a bandana over his face, but it was never to mislead him. "Pathetic."
Despite his words, he twitched when Mike stood up, towering over Farlan with both his posture and height. Dieter's eyes quickly found Levi again. The cold stare was suddenly unsettling. He didn't look angry, so he started to doubt if he knew what was happening.
"Don't think my people won't look for me. You wouldn't like that."
Levi thought about how pathetic that sounded. He tilted his head to the side in a sharp tick.
"Tell me," he started, not moving an inch as they were already a meter away from each other. "You met Petra yesterday, didn't you?"
"Is that what this is about?"
He wasn't provoked by his contemptuous tone. There was a glimmer of fear in the blonde man eyes, and it was enough to satisfy him at the moment.
"Tell it to my face. How did it go?"
A laugh echoed through the alley.
"How do you think it went? She ran back to me the moment I texted her. I warned you about it, remember?" he pointed out, with amusement all over his face. It was clear how he tried to hide his panic. "She cried about how much she missed me, you know?"
He was pulled down by the front of his shirt. Levi stared at his eyes, disturbingly blue like his own. His hand was shaking.
"She gave me head and I gave her a lesson," The man said right to his face.
In a fast move, Levi threw him down, but before he got hit with his knee, Dieter blocked it with his arm, visibly, professionally trained to fight. The only training he got on the other hand was what living on the streets taught him.
No one made a move, fully aware that it would only trigger Levi more. He wasn't someone who needed help, or at least this was what he lived by.
A repelling smell of sweat reached him when Dieter shot up. In the last second he dodged the side of his fist.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he grabbed his arm and twisted it back, which earned him a fizzle from the man.
"A lesson, huh?" he growled, pushing him to the ground, as the bandana slid down from his face. Levi's head jolted up as he heard "Dieter!" from the front of an alley. Mike and Farlan passed him, already bolting to help Hange and Isabel before the strangers would get to them.
His attention was brought back to the man below as he broke out of his grasp, using the opportunity of his averted attention.
Dieter was only able to turn, and before he got a chance to stand up properly, he was met with Levi's boot right on his face.
At this point he was sure the blonde was drunk. At least slightly, judging on his delayed movements.
He kicked him back to the ground and picked up a spring knife that fell out of his pocket.
A clacking sound of it's opening was barely heard through the chaos around, but the howl that followed it took everyone's attention.
Hange looked in horror at the scene. Dieter's hand was pinned to the ground underneath with the sharp edge of the knife while Levi aimed a hit on his face.
"How does it feel? Your lesson?" he barked, landing another punch.
"Levi!"
Farlan pushed away the stranger in his way to stop his friend.
"Don't touch me," Levi warned and sent him the coldest look he'd seen in years.
"Fuck!" Hange yelled, throwing themselves in their direction. At the same time, Mike moved to throw away the man closest to Isabel. He took it on himself to take care that none of them would try to approach them.
The blood splattered on Levi's hand when he broke the man's nose. He stood up as Dieter pushed him back with his free hand. Fired up with the sudden move he kicked down on his chest. For him, the squeal of the man was only an affirmation that he was getting what he deserved.
He broke out from the hands of whoever tried to hold him back and kicked him again. He was reaching for the knife when someone pulled him back with a force he wasn't able to resist.
Mike was met with the terrifying look of his face. Isabel had never seen him like this. She ran to him when Mike threw him away from the whining man.
"Levi!" she yelled at him, grabbing his arms and pushing him back down when he tried to stand up. "Get a grip on yourself, you idiot." she cried and slapped his face when he looked at her angrily.
Shocked by her action, he didn't turn his head back to her right away. She hoped he was getting back to his senses.
"Here!" someone screamed and only when he noticed a shadow of people with guns, he was brought back to reality.
He shot up instantly and grabbed Isabel's arm to pull her into a furious run to the opposite direction.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Hange screamed as they leaned on the steering wheel. A long groan followed, and no one else made a sound. At least aside from their uneven breathing from the running.
They stopped at the outskirts of the city, on some almost empty parking lot.
Levi was tucked at the side back seat as Farlan took care of Isabel's cut lip on his side.
"We're so fucked! No...you are, and you left the fucking knife too!" Hange screamed, turning their torso to him. He looked up at them with his tired eyes.
"Sure. Whatever. It already happened."
"Levi."
The stern voice of his friend stopped him from going right to the parlor without saying a goodbye. He gripped the car's outside handle and moved to look at them through the open front door window.
"Were you about to kill him?" they asked and fixed their glasses in a nervous movement.
"No. I don't know. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted him to pay with his pain," he admitted.
Hange laughed maniacally.
"Well, at least you look like you regret it. In some sort. Right?"
"Hange, I'm not a murderer." he told them, furrowing his brows.
Mike leaned to look at him with a frown.
"You better get yourself some meds." he only said before moving back.
"Yeah, he's right, probably, you should, since you can't control yourself."
Levi was silent, but glad that they already drove Farlan and Isabel to their flat. He wouldn't want them to listen to this. It was humiliating enough.
"Hey. Are you sure you don't want to go with us?"
"I can't leave now."
"Levi…"
"Go. In any case, I won't tell that you were here. Anyway, we're probably worrying too much about it. It's not like anything happened the other time I beat him up," he sighed and cracked his head. "See you."
On his way up the stairs, he wondered if Petra slept well.
"Please tell me you're fine."
He was leaning over the desk in his office listening to her voice with closed eyes.
"I am. It's okay. Will you come to the Parlor today?"
"Yes, I think so. I'll just...say I had an accident or something. You didn't tell them, did you?" She asked anxiously.
"No."
"Good, I don't... I don't want them to know. I don't want to think about it at all."
"See you in two hours then?"
"Yes. If it's ok, I'd want to stay the night too."
"Stupid question. You don't have to ask."
He barely heard her small laugh. She always tried to approach things as positive as possible. He had no idea how she was able to do that in a situation like that.
Petra entered the parlor with a smile on her face. She made sure to grab them coffee on her way.
"He- Petra what happened to you?!" Oulo screamed, startled by the view of her. Fortunately, there weren't any clients here. Gunther and Eld got out of the break room to see what was happening.
"Uh... hit by some biker and hit the car a bit too hard. The car was parked, of course! Probably why I'm still alive," She lied nervously. Gladly they couldn't tell since her behavior seemed understandable. "Please let's not focus on that too much. It's embarrassing enough to look like this."
They got a little less tense, however, the worried mood still hovered over them. She handed Oulo his coffee with a smile and approached Eld at the counter. He was leaning on his hands on it, looking like he was waiting for her. She put two paper cups in front of him as Gunther went back to the break room.
"Where's Levi?" She asked then, wondering if he took her advice to eat breakfast at least around this hour, since he was skipping it all the time.
Eld looked up at her, his look concerned.
"They took him. The police." He said.
