Chapter 5

The roars of excitement as Rogue steps out past the silky curtain are almost deafening, and Levi can't quite bring himself to look away from the tall, statuesque woman that's decided to finally grace the rowdy patrons with her presence.

Her massive, pointed, platform heeled boots click on the stage with every step she takes, her golden head of thick blonde curls fall in waves that reach just above her shoulders, and a bare leg of caramel coloured skin is poking tantalisingly through the slit of the elegant gown that Levi had, only a couple of hours prior, watched her scrutinise with sharp, calculating eyes. Multi-coloured eyes of green and gold that had once burned like fire, now calmed under matching, ocean blue contact lenses. Her flawless skin, from top to bottom, looks to be covered in a shimmering glitter like substance.

Levi's head had been racing all day as if in a kaleidoscope filled with brand-new information to comprehend, new faces to memorise and a whole new lifestyle to adapt to. However, his conscious mind was rapidly becoming clearer, the edges of his vision no longer clouded in sharp pain and his whole thought process was halted with the abrupt realisation that there was now actually only one, very singular thought running through his mind.

This woman, right in front of me, is the single most stunning creature I have ever laid eyes on.

The enthralling beauty has him caught in a whirlwind of feelings and sensations he had long since forgotten about, not even his own fantasies could have ever conjured something so mesmerising, and he is fully aware that he is staring.

Rogue approaches the mic stand and grabs the crystal encrusted microphone before beginning to sing a well-known 90s feel good song, her powerful yet very clearly autotuned voice filling the speakers of the cosy lounge. The dancefloor also begins to fill quickly with groups of friends dancing together in large circles, couples sensually moving together to the beat as one, and the throngs of singletons rushing towards the front, so they can take photos or film Rogue on their cell phones.

Levi is brought out of his slight trance by a deep, heavily southern accented voice addressing him directly.

"Beautiful, ain't she?" The voice to his right asks, and Levi looks over to find that Maria has joined him and Jean (whom he had briefly forgotten about) at their table. Maria is looking at him with amused eyes and a bright smile that reminds him ever so slightly of his friend Petra, and although Maria is nowhere near as striking as Rogue in his opinion, Levi must admit that she is still rather attractive in her own right.

That is, if he were into men wearing dresses recreationally to even begin thinking of one as "attractive". Levi shakes his head mentally, this is all so bizarre.

Jean has a lazy arm wrapped around Maria's waist and they are sitting close together, a brand new bottle of beer sitting on the table in front of each of them, and to Levi's surprise, a tall glass of water with a lemon wedge has been placed in front of himself as well. He has to wonder how long he had been staring intently at the stage for the arrival of Maria and three drinks to escape his notice.

"Cat got your tongue cutie pie?" he hears and remembers he has yet to properly acknowledge the club owner for the first time. Jean is paying no interest to their exchange, sipping his beer and watching Rogue's performance with reasonable interest. Maria, on the other hand, is still smiling with an unwavering friendliness, the likes of which Levi hasn't encountered in a very long time.

Levi takes a sip of his water and clears his throat, for some reason he feels the compelling need to look unphased and unwavering in front of the drag queen, still patiently waiting for his response.

"Ahh yes, she is rather lovely." Levi finally states before adding, "I also very much enjoyed your singing Miss Maria, you are incredibly talented I must say." In all honesty, he hadn't been paying that much attention to Maria's set through his conversation with Jean, but he feels in this instance, flattery is bound to make a good first impression.

Jean, however, doesn't miss Levi's trick for a second and coughs out an audible "Kiss ass".

Maria's grin becomes impossibly wider before she takes a sip of her own beer and turns to Jean with a playfully stern look.

"Sweetheart, I hope you have taken the time to offer your hospitality to Mr Ackerman here." So, she knows who I am, he notes, no need for another awkward introduction on Levi's part, "Have you offered to show him around the place? Or to introduce him to our security staff? Or even for Sasha to make him something decent to eat? He's had a long trip and a tiring day no doubt, I would have thought you would have known better than to just sit there on your lazy ass while Eren's guest is left to fend for himself." Jean's face has gone awfully red and he begins sputtering some almost inaudible excuses, before Levi has had enough entertainment to come to his aid.

"Miss Maria, you can just call me Levi. And not to worry, I had already taken it upon myself to have a proper look around a few times before I got talking with Mr Kirstein, and he's been very helpful thus far." Levi locks eyes with Jean, the pair sharing a knowing glance before he continues, "As for the security team, that can wait for now, this place is pretty busy as is and I would hate to take anyone away from their post unnecessarily. And in terms of food, I had a decent lunch today already and my appetite isn't all that big to begin with so there's honestly no need. Plus I'm Eren's employee not a guest, I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense!" Maria exclaims, "When Annie said backstage that you guys picked up some take-out food from some god-awful drive thru, I almost had a heart attack. Seriously, I could have died." She raises her perfectly polished pointer finger to his face "Employee or not, you're not leaving here without having a proper feed, I won't accept it. It ain't the Southern way!" Levi has to supress a snort as Jean silently mouths the last 5 words as Maria says them with a roll of his eyes, it's obviously not his first time hearing them.

Maria rises to her feet, she's surprisingly tall, taller than Eren but not quite Reiner's height either. She ushers Levi to stand with her and places a hand on his shoulder, leading him to the bar. "Come sit at the bar with me, I'll get Sasha to cook you up something real nice, and please, call me Marco."

"Hey! And what about me?" Jean questions looking mildly put out.

"Oh no darling, don't you move a muscle now! You must be so tired from sitting there doing absolutely nothing all day. Don't strain yourself too much, but you know maybe Connie could do with a hand up on stage? He looks a bit peckish. In fact, why don't you get some food from the kitchen and go eat with him once Rogue is done?" It's phrased like a question, but all three of them know there is no room for argument, and Levi slyly smirks at Marco's amusement as Jean huffs and makes his way towards the kitchen.

At the mention of Rogue, Levi lets his attention wander to the stage where the alluring queen is now swaying her hips seductively to the beat of an electronic dance tune that he can remember from his college partying days. The crowd are going wild now, jumping around and throwing their fists in the air to the beat. Rogue is grinning widely, whipping her hair and getting lost in the feel of the music. She looks so comfortable and at home on stage, a million miles away from the frantic, scatter-brained, half-naked ball of stress he had met earlier.

"I'm surprised, she normally goes down the comedy route on a Friday night, but they're obviously not complaining." Marco says, gesturing towards the dancefloor at the very happy patrons from the barstool he has now sat himself on, legs crossed, and hands clasped over his knee. Levi occupies the stool next to him, stretching his arms out and relaxing properly for the first time this evening, from what he's seen Marco seems to have a rather calming effect on people.

"So, she normally has a set schedule then? Somebody could memorise it if they really wanted to?" Levi asks, business head turning itself back on automatically. He can't help it, years of experience makes friendly conversation a great difficulty. His handful of actual friends can vouch for that.

"Oh sweet pea, as much as I love and adore my little Rogue, that girl needs a firecracker shoved so far up her ass. I am not kidding." Levi can tell from Marco's expression, that he most definitely is not, "In Rogue world, there is no such thing as a schedule, never mind a set one. Honestly, if I had a nickel for the amount of times I have had to improvise because she's had a creativity block, or a make up disaster, or the outfit she "most definitely" has to wear has magically shrunk two sizes – which of course has absolutely nothing to do with the four double cheese burger meals with large fries and shake she's had that week- I would never have to pay taxes on this place again."

The discomfort on Levi's face must be visible by now, and that's simply to mask the sheer horror he is definitely feeling inside. It seems now would be the worst possible time to drop the bombshell that Levi has the worst OCD known to man…. that definitely would not be helpful information to disclose at this moment in time.

"Don't get me wrong though Levi, she works so hard I actually don't mind as much when she slips up these days. And it's not like she's gonna be here almost every day anymore, soon she'll barely be able to fit a show in a week. I'll miss her disasters when the time comes."

"Wait, you're saying she won't be working here as a regular anymore?" Levi asks confused, as far as he'd been made aware Maria's was Eren's firm home base and Rogue had been hard pressed to work anywhere else.

"Well yeah, I mean when her contract comes to fruition, she'll have other commitments to prioritise, it's only natural. She won't be able to do as many shows here, never mind spend us much time here as she's used to." Of course, that would make sense, why would Eren be getting paid a six-figure sum to sing and perform in one local lounge on the outskirts of town? More than likely he'll be shipped all over the country once the deal is done, Levi is unsure how to feel about that now, having met Eren… or Rogue as Jean insisted, and bore witness to her comfortable chaos as it were.

"I inherited this place when I was 20…" Marco continues "…so Eren has been coming here since he was about 16 years old. I got sick of kicking him out after months of him showing up underage so he was allowed to sit with Jean at a table as long as he was only served hot meals and sodas, and he always paid despite my protests. It didn't seem like he had anywhere else to go, I felt sorry for him and kind of took him under my wing. Whenever he wasn't here, he'd be hanging out at mine and Jean's place, he'd bring his sister sometimes too, and we eventually met all of his school friends. Some of my best memories are of us all just hanging out, drinking soda and ice cream floats because they weren't 18 yet and playing stupid games. It was actually because of a rigorous game of Truth or Dare that I put Eren in his first drag." Marco says with a fond smile and slightly wistful look. Levi listens intently, feeling himself being pulled into the memory he wasn't present for.

"I still remember the days Eren would turn up at my apartment, sobbing inconsolably or his hands covered in blood from a fight he'd been in. Back then I hadn't known how to help him, all I could think of was to bake him cookies, I picked that up from my momma, and hold him close until he calmed down. He would tell me why he was getting into his fights and what was upsetting him enough to make him cry, but he would never tell me the real source of his problems. He never told me what was truly bothering him, those were demons not even my momma's baking could get through to. But having drag, having something that was truly and creatively HIS, it helped him more than I could have ever imagined. It gave him control, it allowed him to throw his emotions into a visual, and he's never looked back. And now he gets to show it all off to the world, I couldn't be prouder of him." Levi looks at Marco to see his eyes are filled with unshed tears, but he's polite enough not to comment, simply handing him a handkerchief from his lapel pocket while Marco apologises for acting so "silly". Levi ponders his next question carefully, before his curiosity gets the better of him.

"Marco, if I may ask, Annie said in the car that you arranged for the entertainment scouts to come and watch Rogue perform, and that's how she was picked up by the agency. That contract includes a record deal, and I'm no expert but you seem to be a far more natural singer than Rogue is, so why not look to be scouted yourself? Why let Eren take the deal and not be in his position yourself?" Levi ponders and Marco laughs good-naturedly before answering.

"That's a question I've been expecting for a while, and the answer is simple, I don't want to be in Eren's position." Marco says honestly, "I've been Maria ever since I can remember, wearing my momma's clothes or my sister's make up, and she's stuck with me ever since. I've known Jean since I was a kid, and we've been dating since high school, he's the love of my life." Surprisingly, Levi doesn't feel the need to retch at the statement, "I have everything I need right here, I have this lounge named after me, I have the man I want to spend the rest of my life with by my side, my closest friends and family all work here and/or live close by, stardom is not something I want to add to that list."

Levi searches Marco's face for any signs of dishonesty and comes up empty, he looks completely content and at ease. No animosity. Not a threat.

"Besides, Eren was born to do this." Marco says, nodding towards a table to their far right. Levi follows his gaze, and sure enough Rogue looks to be in her element, draped across a lounge chair and singing a sultry R&B song to some adoring fans, who are looking at her like she's an angel descended from Heaven. Levi isn't convinced he's looking at her any differently. With a sly wink to the crowd, she struts back up to the stage, touching hands with everyone she passes on the way, leaving behind a path of glitter on her way.

"She belongs up there" Marco finishes, before breaking them both out of the moment, "Anyway, let me go speak to Sasha, her meat loaf is the best in town, I'm sure you'll simply adore it, unless you're one of those vegans or whatever?"

"No absolutely not." Levi responds, "I like a good slab of meat." And then realises his mistake.

"Haha, me too! Seems like we've got more in common than I first thought." Marco chuckles and slaps his arm, slipping away before Levi has time to argue with him. Shaking his head and silently huffing at the encounter, Levi looks once more towards the stage, where Rogue has already announced the end of her set for the evening, bows and blows kisses to the crowd that cheer, wave, take pictures and clap for their queen, and then saunters off the stage.

Levi has just finished his huge helping of meat loaf (which is admittedly delicious, this Sasha person can cook like no one's business and makes a mental note to ask for the recipe) and crusty corn bread when he feels a prodding tap on his shoulder, a patch of glitter left on his suit from the light touch. He turns sharply on his stool to find a far more casual looking Rogue looking back at him.

Levi takes a moment to assess her up and down; she's wearing a royal blue, wool knit, sweater dress that hangs off of one shoulder and reaches just below her thighs. Thighs that are once again clad in the red, fish-net stockings he'd seen her wearing earlier and a pair of white, comfortable looking sneakers on her feet, a million miles away from the heels she'd been adorning for half the night. Her blonde wig is tied in a short, low ponytail and her make up has sweated off a touch, the little droplets collecting glitter clumps at the edges of her face. He notes, she has also removed her blue contacts and is holding a scotch on the rocks with a lime twist and strangely enough, a cinnamon stick, in her manicured hand. All in all, if she weren't all bony collar bones and protruding Adam's apple, she would very easily pass for a young, teenage girl out looking for trouble in the big city.

"I saw you were watching my set." She says with a smug little grin, "What did you think of me? How did I do up there Handsome?". We're back to that again, she seems to have forgotten all about what happened in her dressing room…or at least is acting as if she has…Levi thinks, and to what end he does not know. He clears his throat before responding.

"Not bad, brat." He says shrugging, refusing to give too much away, "If you like that sort of thing."

"Well you seemed to like it well enough!" She protests, folding her arms, "You were watching me pretty much the whole time."

"Look brat, in case all that glitter you've been snorting has damaged the few brain cells you actually have up there, I should remind you that it's my job to watch you. It's kind of why I'm here. Maybe, you should be doing your job a bit better by watching your own clientele" Levi remarks, annoyance laced into his words.

She titters, "You know you really shouldn't snort glitter short stack, you'll end up sneezing rainbows for weeks. Then you'll be just be like me, and we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"Listen here you little shit, call me short stack one more time and I'll…"

"Patiently wait for 5 minutes as this is important." Annie cuts in from behind him, looking awfully bored and far more tired than she'd been a mere few hours ago, Levi stands to greet her but her full attention is on Rogue, "Eren, you have an appointment with the agency tomorrow at noon, they wanna go over some things for your make-up brand."

Rogue groans, "But I already told them everything I wanted! We've been through everything from colours and allergens to cost and packaging. Plus, I spent HOURS talking them through my whole concept, and they agreed my idea would be a hit! What more do they need?"

"I know, but they want to go through your ideas for marketing the brand, and how you want to distribute it."

"And they can't do that over the phone, or fucking Skype or something?" Rogue complains.

"I asked, but the Head of the Production team wants to meet with you in person and discuss it in depth, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours at most." Annie promises.

"Well it can't take more than 3 hours anyway, I have to film, render and upload a video for the channel tomorrow. I was going to take it easy and make it a little longer, but I won't have time if I want to get it up before midnight. And it's my first Saturday off in months." Rogue pouts.

"Better get used to it kid, something tells me you won't have many Saturdays off for a long time coming. Gotta just take it on the chin, grin and bear it sometimes." Levi advises from the side lines, Rogue gazes at him with a pout that could rival that of a five-year-old child.

"Are you sure you can't just take my place instead, hot stuff? Let a girl catch up on her beauty sleep?" Rogue asks hopefully, eyes glimmering with barely contained mischief.

Levi raises a perfectly arched eyebrow, his expression practically screaming "Do you REALLY think that's going to happen anytime soon brat?"

Rogue rolls her eyes and groans once more, "Fine, I'll be there. But I'm not dressing up, they wanna work with me, they work with the real me." She huffs.

"I'll call them in the morning to confirm. Speaking of which…" she turns to Levi, tired eyes barely reaching his "…once we pick up your car in the morning, remind me to give you the details of the agency's headquarters so you can take Eren to his appointment straight after."

Levi's whole demeanour shifts in an instant, "Wait, I'm taking him to this make-up thing tomorrow?" he asks sharply.

"Of course, you're security after all and you will have your own car. I simply arrange these things, you don't need me there." Annie shrugs looking unbothered, but Levi swears he can see a hint of amusement on her fact. It's hard to tell with the curtain of blonde hair in front of it.

"Ooh, looks like you're stuck with me all day Sugar!" Rogue chimes next to him, scarlet-lipped grin practically plastered to her face. Reminding him for the second time today to call Hange soon.

"Fantastic, what could be better than that?" Levi deadpans, causing Rogue to snort as she downs the rest of her drink and begins to nibble on her cinnamon stick.

"Anyways, I'm beat, Annie darling could you take me home now or do we have to wait for Mika?"

She shakes her head, "We can leave now, she said she's gonna crash at Jean and Marco's place tonight, I think Dietrich's guys are out tonight so they'll all most likely be drinking until daybreak. Levi, you good to go now? Get everything you needed?"

Levi grabs his jacket from the stool and slips it on, "I think I have everything I could possibly need for now." He says as he follows Annie out the main door, she nods to a tall freckled woman on her way out, who in turn also nods to Levi and Rogue as they leave the club.

"Everything you need? Does that include me sweet thing?" Rogue sing songs from behind him.

"In your dreams, Jaeger." Levi snarks.

"Ooh, I'm counting on it." Rogue retorts, and then yells "SHOTGUN!".

Annie had point blank refused to allow Rogue to sit up front, much to her dismay and Levi's unsuppressed smugness at the look of pure insult on her face. However, no more than 10 minutes into the journey, the sleepy queen had already managed to sprawl herself out across the three back seats and was snoring awfully loudly.

For a while, Levi just listens to the sound of her breathing. Despite the god-awful noise, he is oddly calmed by the notion she is there, snoring away without a care in the world.

"I'll take you back to the hotel first, it's a going to be a nightmare trying to wake her without the whole neighbourhood thinking I've roofied her." Annie says, matter of factly.

"Okay, but I can help if you want? Wouldn't be my first time hauling a hunk of dead weight from a car to bed. Plenty of my squad back in the day seemed to think I was some sort of personal courier service with the amount of time I had to drag their drunk asses from the mess hall to bed. When in actual fact, I just didn't want to get vomit or their drool all over my nice clean floors."

Annie lets out a huff of a laugh, "That's really quite alright, it's been a long day for all of us but for yourself especially, get some rest." She says, and Levi realises they've somehow travelled all the way to the parking lot of his hotel room. He wonders idly about how long he'd actually been listening to Rogue and her snoring.

Without hesitation, or a look to Rogue's sleeping form, he bids goodnight to Annie and exits the car. As he walks up the steps to the entrance of his brightly lit Hotel reception, he thinks over the sheer strangeness of his incredibly long day. In a matter of 24 hours, he's found himself wrapped up in a world that he would have considered a million miles away from his quiet, serene, clinical every day life. He couldn't deny the excitement he felt at the prospect of finally being busy for the first time since leaving the military, but also an undeniable feeling of dread at the idea of spending the majority of his days surrounded by gays – specifically gay men – for his foreseeable future.

Sure, he had had pleasant, almost friendly exchanges with Marco, Reiner and even Eren himself today. But that was all part of his job, he was expected to be polite and respectful right? It wasn't friendly, it was completely professional…Levi thought to himself. That's definitely all it was, the fags weren't going to be his friends. What a stupid notion.

Levi enters his room quietly and strips off to his underwear with a sigh, letting the fatigue seep into his bones as he pulls back the covers of the soft king-sized bed and climbs into it. As he lets the familiar blanket of sleep take over, he is reminded of multi-coloured eyes and that tomorrow, he will meet the true from of Eren Jaeger.