Chapter 7

The elevator soon dings and opens on to a sleek, sophisticated room complete with floor to ceiling windows, white walls and contemporary furnishings. It's clean, clinical and combines all of Levi's decorative tastes to a tee. In fact, without the presence of the imposing white receptionist's desk and the young woman behind it who looks like she'd rather be anywhere else, it could have easily been mistaken for Levi's old apartment.

Eren heads straight on over to the reception desk and Levi remains several paces behind, mentally scanning and mapping out the layout of the room, force of habit rather than looking for the means of a quick escape. Although, with the way the brat has been acting all morning, Levi thinks he wouldn't be too opposed to leaving him behind quite happily in the face of danger.

The receptionist herself hasn't noticed them yet, she's too busy typing away on her computer with one hand and practically downing her coffee with the other. Levi, sensing Eren is feeling too awkward to try and get her attention, clears his throat a tad too loudly as the girl is taking a large swig from her mug. She splutters and manages to spray coffee droplets over her screen, looking up at them with owlish eyes.

"Oh! Forgive me sirs! I didn't see you come in, uhhh…. what can I help you with?" She says in a mild panic, switching her attention between the men in front of her and wiping down her screen with a tissue taken from the box on her desk. Levi is scowling at the display and from the corner of his eye, he can see the subtle shake of Eren's shoulders, indicating he's suppressing a laugh.

"Please don't apologise on our account Miss. The fault is all ours." Eren says, glancing at Levi who glares back in return, "It's just that I'm actually running a little late for a meeting with Nile Dok, I was hoping you could let me know where I could find him?"

Her whole face brightens, "Ahh, you must be Mr Jaeger! Yes, Mr Dok has been expecting you. And this is?" She asks, indicating Levi.

"Just Eren is fine, and this is Levi, he's my personal security. Things have been a bit crazy you know?" Eren shrugs, looking a bit self-conscious for the first time since Levi has known him.

"I understand, if you both follow me, Mr Dok's office is right down the hall."

She leads them down a long corridor filled with posters and photographs. They're filled with famous people of all backgrounds; musicians, reality tv stars, actors, models, socialites, internet moguls. You name it, they're all here. There are even some that Levi recognises, which to be honest is a feat in itself. He surmises that they are or at least have been managed by Sina Enterprises at one time or another. 'Not bad', he thinks.

Eventually, they reach a large double door with a silver plaque that reads "Nile Dok, Head of Production, Sina Enterprises.". The receptionist knocks twice before opening the large door and leading them into the massive office, décor not unlike the rest of the building, only difference being the massive mahogany desk in the centre of the room and the man sitting behind it.

The man at the desk grins broadly and gets up to greet Eren and Levi, he wears a grey tailored suit with a white shirt and tie. His eyes and hair are dark, probably late thirties to mid forties, and he's around average height and weight, still taller than Levi much to his chagrin.

"There she is! There's my star!" The man states proudly, and for a moment Levi thinks he's talking about the young receptionist, but he's looking right at Eren and holding his hand out to him. Eren takes it in a firm shake.

"Rogue Jaeger, I've been looking forward to meeting the woman whose name has been on everyone's lips upstairs for the last month. It's such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, my name is Nile and I'll be in charge of the marketing and production of your entire brand here at Sina. I look forward to us working together as a team." The man is still smiling and sounds completely sincere as far as Levi can tell.

"It's Eren actually, and I would much prefer it if you used male pronouns if you wouldn't mind." It's phrased like a question, but Levi knows better, there's no room for argument on the matter. Not if this guy is looking for the rest of this meeting to go smoothly.

"My apologies, Eren. Please have a seat, can I get anything for you or your friend?" Nile asks, looking between both Eren and Levi in turn. They both politely decline, Eren taking one of the proffered seats at the desk and Levi moving to stand at the side of the room, his back to the floor length window. Nile nods towards the receptionist,

"Thank you Hitch, that'll be all, I will let you know if we need anything." She gives him a small smile and he lets his eyes wander after her for a second. 'They're sleeping together' Levi deduces, 'Or at the very least, they want to be'.

Levi had done his basic research of Nile Dok, of course, in the car before picking Eren up. He had a limited amount of time to fully look into the man, but no red flags had popped out, he's a simple family man with a successful career and leads a quiet life in the suburbs with his wife Marie Dok, who works as a school Nurse, and their three children all under the age of 10. Still, whether he's a cheating scumbag or not is hardly of any consequence to him or to Eren for that matter. Trivial really, but he notes it anyway.

"So…" Nile begins as he takes his own seat on the opposite Eren, "…I asked you to come here today because I would like to discuss the marketing strategy of your make-up palette, we love the whole idea you have of the two different themes and we want to get it out to the public as soon as possible, and this is where we would like your input. We thought you may like to do some public appearances to promote it, as Rogue of course. It would be high end of course, the best beauty outlets with no expenses spared, so you wouldn't have to worry about that." He hands Eren a list, presumably of locations for Rogue's appearances.

Eren examines it and shakes his head before answering, "That's no good. I have no problem doing public appearances, I'll even do live make-up tutorials like I do online if it's possible, but I don't want the palette to be exclusive to all these high-end boutiques. A large portion of my online following is young teenage girls, and I want it to be accessible to them too. So, I'll do the appearances, but you may want to add some local department stores around the country too, if we're gonna party, we're gonna do it the right way."

"You make a fair point, I'll make some calls. But we may need to make some changes to the palette itself if you want it to cost less. Right now, we have a proposed retail price of $34.99…"

"Are you serious?!" Eren practically yelps, "Nile, with all due respect, I'm a drag queen and in the 2 years I've been doing this professionally I have NEVER paid more than $20 per item, and that's at the tail end of my budget. Why is it so expensive?"

"Well, my team were hoping to get the aesthetic you wanted perfect, the emerald green and the golden trim..."

"Unless it's made of real emeralds and solid gold, they need to completely rethink their ideas. Seriously, $34.99? That's daylight robbery. I wouldn't buy it. What if we used more eco-friendly materials in production of the packaging at the very least? I did a whole segment on it in one of my videos and I know for a fact it can cut costs by more than half. Since it's quite a big, multifunctional palette, I would be willing to let it go out with a $20 price tag, but that's the best I can do. And my contract confirms I get creative control, it was my condition."

Nile chuckles, "You drive a hard bargain Mr Jaeger, I'll take your conditions to my team and we'll see what we can do and come back to you with a timescale. Which takes me on to the next topic, advertising for the palette. We were going to ask you about getting some pictures taken for billboard advertisements and we were gonna eventually shoot an ad for TV as well, how do you feel about that?" he asks as he types Eren's conditions up on his computer.

"I have no issues with that, but I do have one request." Eren says, leaning back in his chair.

"And what would that be?" Nile asks, hands clasped on his desk.

"Before we do any of that, I want to debut the palette on my Youtube channel. I would introduce it and do a couple episodes showing the different sections and how to use it. My subscribers have been very loyal to me, and I want to give them first look. I don't think that's too much to ask considering it will guarantee more sales." Eren raises an eyebrow.

"That, I can agree to. Crimson Bow & Arrow will make it's first appearance on TheRogueJaeger. Dates to be confirmed." Nile says out loud as he takes further notes.

Levi watches the scene unfold in front of him and is rather taken aback to say the very least, where is the whiny, obnoxious brat from this morning? He's most certainly been replaced with a determined young man with a firm business head on his shoulders. Eren positively owns this meeting, he's pulling no punches and fighting for what he wants. Levi is rather impressed, if he's being completely honest with himself…which he's not.

Before he can think on it any further, his phone starts to buzz in his pocket. He takes it out and reads the Caller ID: Erwin. Levi steps out of the office quietly, making sure not to disturb the men in deep business conversation and answers the call.

"What is it Erwin, I'm busy right now?" Levi snaps.

"Levi, I just thought I'd check up on you and see how you were doing. I haven't heard from you since before the move and wanted to know how things are?"

"Fine. The kid is as unbearable as I'd expected, his friends are all a shower of rainbows and I'm currently overseeing a meeting about make-up sales or some shit, so my life has definitely become so exciting that I can barely contain myself, just like you wanted." Levi says, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Anything else you needed to know?"

"That just about covers it I think." Erwin says, "But the thing is, I spoke to Hange this morning, and she seems to think you're having nightmares again…"

"Don't make me threaten to hang up on you as well, I've have had just about enough of this crap today. So, what if I'm having nightmares? Last time I checked that's normal."

"I know that Levi, but we both know what nightmares I'm talking about. And I just wanted to see how you felt about talking to a Psychiatrist in Shinganshina? I could set it up for you."

"Flashing all the power you have over there again Smith? And like I've said before, I don't need a shrink, I'm dealing with it my way. It's worked so far." Levi says, examining his nails, he's heard it all a hundred times over.

"Alright, but just let me know if there's anything I can do to be helpful to you. You're my best friend, and despite what you may think, I'm not doing this to make things harder than they've already been." Erwin says, sounding slightly remorseful. And Levi suddenly thinks of something.

"Actually, there is one thing. Last night I got talking to the co-owner of Maria's, a Jean Kirstein, a guy in his early twenties. Apparently, he's known Eren for quite a number of years…"

"Oh, so he's Eren now?" Erwin teases, "Thought he was known as the bratty kid to you?"

"I swear, I will shave off your eyebrows and use that prosthetic arm to feed them to you. Anyway, as I was saying, he's known the kid for years and according to him Eren's had anger issues for as long as he can remember and only a few months ago, there was a violent altercation at the club that could have landed him in prison if witnesses had decided to turn him in. I managed to get a basic search done on his background but other than college curriculum and his career as Rogue, I'm coming up blank. I was wondering if you could do a more thorough search with the clearances you have?" Levi requests, knowing Erwin will jump at the chance to help after actually being formally asked for once.

"What kind of searches are we talking here? Because depending on what you need or what I may find, it could take some time." Erwin says.

"Everything you can get. Criminal charges or cautions for petty crime, particularly assault as from what I've heard the kid got himself knocked around pretty badly when he was a teenager and would give out as good as he got. Family as well, I got the impression there's something going on there. I've been told he used to spend a lot of time at Maria's bar and at the residence of Jean Kirstein and Marco Bott growing up."

"I'll see what I can find, but in the meantime, why don't you just ask him? I'm sure there are things he'll be willing to divulge if you really want to know." Erwin suggests.
"I highly doubt he'll want to talk to me if he's got a shitty past, our personalities don't exactly mesh well…" Levi teeters off, knowing he'll be lectured if he lets too much slip.

"As long as you're playing nice Levi. I'll have a look into Eren and let you know what I come up with. We did run a background check when we were presented with his case, and nothing major came up to warrant a full search, but I'll see if we've missed anything minor and it might give you what you're looking for. I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

"Okay, thanks Erwin." Levi says, and the call ends.

Levi lets himself back into Nile's office and can see the two men are still invested in their conversation, and what looks to be a debate...

"I can assure you Eren, Marlowe is the best in our business. We think he would be the perfect candidate to act as your manager. He's highly qualified, comes greatly recommended and would be happy to adapt to your schedule…"

"I told you, I don't want Marlowe, as good as he may be. My agent Annie can act as my manager from now on. With you guys as my agency there will be nothing for her to do and I'd be lost without her. She's practically my manager already and I'll even pay her myself. I'm sure Marlowe is a great manager, but he'll be far better suited to someone who really needs him." The pair remain in a silent exchange, each waiting for the other to give in.

Nile relents, "Very well, I'm sure he can be assigned to one of other clients. But on the condition that we bring Annie on to our books and we'll pay her the salary of one of our managers. She can come and pick up her own contract later. Nothing under the table, as you said earlier, if we're going to party we have to do it right." Nile smirks and Eren grins in response.

"It's a deal!" He says, shaking Nile's hand in response.

"There's one last thing we need to go over, and then I won't keep you any longer. But I spoke to our CEO, Darius Zackly, I believe you met with him when you visited Sina last and we drew up your contract?" Eren nods and Nile continues, "When your deal was made, he left the window open for a reality TV show of your own and from what I heard you initially declined the offer."

"That's right, and my opinion on the matter hasn't changed." Eren says with an air of certainty.

"I just wanted to ask if there's anything we can do to make the idea more appealing to you? Mr Zackly and the team did go over the pitch for the show and it seemed like you weren't too happy with it. If you were to tell us what you would like us to change…" Nile appeals.

"There's nothing you can change that will make me want the show, Nile. My decision on it is final."

Levi could cut the tension in the room if he conjured up a knife out of nowhere, the sudden shift of atmosphere is uncomfortable and is noticeable to everyone in the room

Nile sighs, "Very well, but Eren please just know that you can say the word at any time. Mr Zackly is very keen on the idea of a show for you, we all are. You can always change your mind."

"I won't but thank you." Eren says as he stands and gestures to Levi, "We'll be leaving now, thank you for your time today."

"No, thank YOU Eren, we'll speak soon." Nile insists and sees them out.

Eren takes long strides towards the elevator without looking back, shoulders stiff and posture rigid. Levi almost has to break into a light jog to keep up with him.

The car journey back to Eren's house is a lot quieter than it had been on the way to the agency, what with Eren sitting like a normal human being, completely silent and staring forlornly out the window. Levi even considers sticking the radio on just to lighten the mood just a little.

When Eren sighs for the umpteenth time, Levi feels it necessary to take matters into his own hands.

"Alright I have to ask, what happened in there? Why did you get all weird when the TV show idea was mentioned?" Levi asks.

Eren doesn't look at him but answers, "You wouldn't understand."

"Look kid, there are plenty of things about your life that I can safely say I don't understand, and I never will. But this seems like one thing I might be able to understand if you just explain it to me." Levi says, turning away from the road for a split second to see Eren giving him a sceptical look.

"Really? You're willing to try and understand something that's bothering ME?" Eren questions, sounding surprised.

"You can either try me or forget about it, your choice." Levi offers.

"Okay, well, it's just that I actually thought I was being taken seriously when I was in there. That somebody outside my friends and the club was truly listening to my ideas and what I want to do with my brand, not treating me like some common circus freak for once. I was getting to have my say and he was taking it all in, even agreeing to some of MY terms. That's never happened before, it felt nice…and then he went and ruined it by bringing up that stupid show." Eren huffs and rests his face on his palm.

"Right, now you've lost me…" Levi remarks, fairly confused.

"They want to make a reality show about my life as a drag queen, they wanna know all about Rogue's daily activities, her social life, her friends, her enemies, her career, her preparation for shows. They want access to everything about Rogue and who she is. They want her story to be told, they said."

"And what's so bad about that?" Levi questions, "Didn't you just say you wanted your thoughts and ideas to be heard? Isn't that the point of the show?"

"That's just it Levi, they don't want me, they want Rogue. They expect me to be, think and act like Rogue all the time, even today when Nile introduced himself, he called me Rogue. People like that don't understand that Rogue is just a character, she's not the real me. Well, she's not the whole me. She's a massive part of who I am, but that's it. She's a part I play. And if I did that show, I'd be playing her 24/7 and it would just be making a dramatized mockery of every drag queen I know and respect."

Levi nods, finally understanding Eren's reasoning. In the last few hours, he's learned more about Eren than he thought he would manage in months, if ever. He should probably cut the kid some slack, no doubt he can be an annoying little fuck as confirmed this morning, but at the same time he's not the clueless, entitled, airhead he'd been expecting either.

"Do you want to know what I think brat?" Levi asks, side-eyeing Eren from the driver's seat.

"If you're gonna tell me being a drag queen is dumb, my whole lifestyle is disgusting to you and I should stop feeling sorry for myself because I'm damned to hell anyway, you can save your breath. I already know what you think about me."

"No, you don't, so listen to me because I'm only going to say this once…"

Why is he even bothering? Why does he feel the need to get involved with this situation? This is way out of his league.

"…while I'm not entirely comfortable with your…situation…I will admit that. I must say that you're kind of an enigma to me if I'm being honest."

"What? Really?" Eren exclaims, sitting up straight.

"Yes." Levi nods, "Last night I was met with a woman, tongue sharper than any of the blades I've ever felt pressed against my skin, who could easily laugh off my death glares that have made men twice your size crumble to their knees, who sauntered on and off a stage in and into the arms of strangers who came to the club simply to worship her. And then this morning, I was met with the shittiest little brat I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with, who stuck his feet up on my clean dash board, laughed at my height and took advantage of my position to treat me like some kind of glorified butler. It was a huge transformation in the space of a night, and you know what happened then?" Levi asks Eren, who is looking at him with wide, anxious eyes.

"What?" Eren's voice is quiet and full of genuine curiosity.

"You went and surprised me again. You walked into an office building, butted heads with a guy who's probably been in the business since you were in diapers and still got your own way." Levi answers with amusement, "What I'm trying to say kid, is that in all of those situations, you were the one in control. That's not something I'm used to, I crave control, I need it to get through life, but I've always had to fight for it. You seem to just attract it with whatever you do, and it's a mystery to me."

"So, are you saying i'm a mystery to you?" Eren teases with a smirk.

Levi scoffs, "And the brat is back in the room. Now don't push it, but yes, I guess you are. But my point still stands, you have all the control…so who's to say that if you did do the show, you couldn't make it what you wanted it to be?"

Eren ponders this for a while and Levi can see him visibly relax, the intensity of the situation lifting and he can feel the air becoming lighter.

"You're right, thanks Levi. I still don't want to do the show, not now, but I know that if I did want to…I could make it mine. Really mine. Seriously, thank you."

Levi isn't sure what else to say, nothing else needs to be said, so he settles with "You're welcome brat."

It's not long before they've reached Eren's drive, and Levi notes for the first time the lack of a car. He'd been so uptight that morning that he'd somehow overlooked it. It's 3pm now and Eren is getting ready to leave the car but hesitates.

"Levi…I know you've taken me everywhere I need to go today, and it's not in your job description, but Annie is taking a few well deserved days off and Mikasa texted me earlier to tell me she's nursing a hangover. I need to get my video done today so I can upload it on time, but someone normally comes over to assist with lighting and editing, otherwise it'll take me around double the time if I'm constantly checking and re-shooting. Could you maybe help me out?" Eren asks, looking both sheepish and hopeful.

He should say no, he should tell the kid to fuck off and that he has better things to do. But he would be lying, and he can't seem to stop the words before they come out.

"Fine brat, let's get this over with before I change my mind." He says, rolling his eyes.

"Awesome! Thank you, Levi!" Eren beams and manoeuvres himself to try and hug Levi, and is met with a palm to his face.

"Don't even think about it." Levi glares daggers at him.

"Sorry man! Force of habit."

As they make their way up the path towards the house, Eren still has a shit-eating grin on his face and he quickens his pace so he's walking just ahead of Levi.

"Just so you know Levi, you're a mystery to me too. But that's the beauty of mysteries isn't it? They're made to be solved."