His lip had a slit, he could taste the blood. He felt the gravel under his palms and knees as a shooting pain forced his lungs to take short shallow breaths. He was being kicked in the ribs. Again. Again. A hand reached for his hair pulling him up, asking how he dared stealing from them. He clutched his left side, the source of most of the pain. The large man threw a fist onto his eyebrow, the thick liquid poured down his pale face forcing him to close his eye for a second. Suddenly, he went numb, his body wasn't aching anymore, a fuming feeling filled it up as he raised his gaze to meet the look of amusement in the man's hairy round face. He was enjoying the cheers from two outsiders who decided to watch the show in a dark alley near the main street. "It's just milk." He said with a smile playing on his thin lips, "are you just so greedy that you value the milk carton I borrowed from your shop more than your own life?" The man's expression darkened, it was either fear or confusion, "You- you stole it." As the man spoke those words, the hand that was previously grabbing the ribs had travelled under his shirt and drawn a gun between the man's eyes, who loosened his grip placing his shaking hands in the air "Wh- who are you?"

"The last thing you'll ever see." He pulled the trigger of his .40 caliber and the man fell to the ground as blood pooled around him. Without hesitation, he rapidly aimed at the voyeurs who would have fled otherwise, "this was supposed to be a clean assassination without witnesses, but you sick motherfuckers insisted on watching the whole damned thing" Bang. "Tch." Bang. Two extra casualties. Damn.

He felt the grip of a hand on his shoulder. "Levi" Kenny called.

"Levi" Eren called. What the hell? "Levi" Eren? Levi opened his eyes, his heartbeat like a hummingbird's, and realized he was at his office, he had fallen asleep on his hand at his desk. "Are you okay?" Eren's hand was still on his shoulder. A groan left his lips as a response. The raven man's forehead creased at the boy's presence, but before he could comment on it Eren justified "I saw you come in earlier, while I was waiting for class, but professor Moblit had an emergency and didn't show up so I decided to pay you a visit-" Eren's words came out like a gun machine "s- since you didn't answer when I knocked, I let myself in…" he stuttered.

The man brought his hands to his swollen eyes rubbing them as a subtle yawn left his mouth. On his desk, the black screen of his laptop reminded him that he had emails to reply to and an article to review, but instead he fell asleep. "Levi, I was wondering," the boy started as Levi closed the computer and put it away. He got up and placed his coat over his shoulders. "Do you want to go get some coffee?"

"I'll pass," he responded in a hoarse tone not giving it much thought, "I'm tired… clearly."

"It just that I haven't seen you since that day and-" He trailed off at the thought of Mikasa saying Professor Ackerman was a criminal. Should he fear him? Would the university allow a criminal to be in contact with students? He drove away those thoughts, he regained his composure and continued, "and you haven't been at the lab either, I have only seen you in class."

Levi's usual narrowed eyelids widened; an unrecognizable emotion made his dark eyes come to life. "Did you miss me?"

"Yeah- n-no-" Eren clutched onto the hairs at the side of his head "I mean, which one will get me out of trouble?" The question made the man chuckle. The boy grinned. He didn't seem to recall seeing Levi laugh like that, his heart felt full of joy.

"Alright, brat," Levi walked past Eren brushing his hand on the boy's back "coffee isn't such a bad idea." He paced toward the exit and Eren followed. He pulled the door open, however he stopped abruptly halting the taller one whose chest and stomach stuck to his back. "By the way," he looked back through the corner of his eye at the flustered boy, "in here I'm not Levi, I'm your professor."

"Yes," Eren replied "s-sir" it came out like a whisper making a crooked smirk dance on Levi's lips.

The library café was practically empty with only a few people scattered through the tables. Levi ordered their coffees, and they made their way towards the table next to the window – where they first met. October winds brushed the leaves away outside, but there was no rain unlike the morning Levi called Eren to sit with him. The thought brought a smile to the brunette's face. "Why did you call me?" Eren inquired as he studied the mans hands fidgeting with the porcelain cup. "I mean, when we first met." Levi stared until brown eyes reciprocated, the muscles of his jaw moved under his skin. "You were wet and didn't have a place to sit." He sipped his black unsweetened coffee. "Also, you had a look in your eyes, like you wanted to either yell at or kill everyone. It reminded me of someone I used to know." Eren took time to digest the response. Who did he remind him of? He reached for the sugar pot at the center of the table, but he was surprised by a slap in the hand, "No sugar." Eren let out a laugh at the other's sly smirk hiding behind the cup. Dangerous. It crossed his mind; he was thinking about Mikasa's words once more. If she knew he was with Levi she'd flip and would quite possibly drag him away from him. Yet how can this man be dangerous? He used to feel intimidated by his stare, sure, but never once had he felt in danger or threatened in anyway. Dangerous. The thought began to take another shape, it excited him, it made his toes curl inside his sneakers. "Red." Levi commented as he took a casual sip of his beverage. The boy seemed confused as a line appeared between his eyebrows. "Your face. It's red." The blushing worsened at the statement, "Tch, I don't even want to know what is going on inside that head of yours." You had better not. "So, how's Mikasa? She hasn't been attending my classes." He asked in a more serious tone. "Midsemester exams start next week"

"My father is too overprotective, he made her go home for a week once he heard what happened" Eren rolled his eyes in disagreement, "I talk to her and send her photos of my notes every night, don't worry." He gulped the rest of his coffee which had become too cold to enjoy. "Um… sir, who's Kenny?"

"My uncle." Green eyes watched closely, eager to know more. "I lived with him for a while when I was a kid"

"Why is that?" it hit like knives in his chest. The one thing he didn't do is dwell on the past, he did everything to avoid thinking about his life up till then. "He took me in when I was six, after my mother – his sister – died." Levi revealed, his voice low. "And your father?" the younger insisted. He could choose not to answer, but the questions like a magnet kept pulling the truth out of him. "My mother was a prostitute. I never knew my father." Nothing Levi said seemed to shake Eren's serenity. "Was he a good guardian?" Levi released a painful laugh. "He abandoned me in my early teens." Eren's glistening eyes filled with pity. He imagined the elegant, strong, and collected man in front of him as a poor kid whose only family had abandoned him. His heart rose to his throat.

As he opened the door to his apartment, fatigue weighed on his muscles and his head felt like it was being squeezed. Outside the night had fallen and it had started raining. The apartment was dark, though it seemed like turning on the lights wasn't his priority. He took off his shoes at the door and placed the computer case and his keys on the table heading for the kitchen. Something felt off. There was someone inside. Someone was sitting on the couch. He gave into his instincts and reached for a knife and pressed the switch bringing his apartment to life.

"How the fuck did you get in here?" His black hair shadowing a sinister stare.

"Come on, kid, you of all people must know how easy it was." A familiar voice spoke "I didn't even have to break the lock"

"What are you doing here, Kenny?"