Chapter 14

Moving into Eren's place had turned out to be far more difficult than they had originally thought, considering Levi had only taken a suitcase and had a few boxes shipped to him since arriving in Shiganshina.

However, between Levi barking instructions on how Eren should carry his things without damaging anything, Eren's complete inability to fold clothing and Hange pestering him via text for information on how his new living arrangements came about…. it took them hours to finish.

Once they'd finally gotten Levi checked out of the hotel and actually moved everything into his new bedroom, things ran much more smoothly as Levi simply threw Eren out, unpacked his things and started setting up the room in the way he liked. By the time he'd finished, Eren had cooked them a home-made meal and they ate together before retiring to their rooms for the evening.

The next morning, Levi went for his altered run, showered, got himself dressed into his usual security attire and kicked Eren awake so they could leave for work. That had been weeks ago now and marked the beginning of a new routine and an incredibly busy schedule.

Nile Dok had called Eren in the week Levi hadn't been working to set up meetings at Sina to discuss Rogue's finished product, the plans for promotion and finally, the date in which Rogue would be revealed to the public as the new face of their brand. It would no doubt cause a stir online as well as local news outlets, as Rogue already has a massive, loyal, international fandom as well as the fact that she would also be the first ever drag act under Sina's label. Preparation and careful planning were key to a smooth and successful outcome, so it would need to be discussed at great length before she'd be thrust into the spotlight.

Eren had been overjoyed with his finalised palette and planned on filming the debut video in the next few weeks or so, meaning within the next couple months he would be finishing up at Maria's and Queen Cosmetics in order to begin his country-wide promotional tour. Naturally, Levi would have to accompany him the entire time.

Maria's bar had become like a second home to Levi in the last few weeks due to the sheer amount of time he found himself spending there. Eren insisted on going in at least 5 days a week, 3 of which he would actually be performing on stage as Rogue. The other 2 days were devoted to Eren perfecting the "vision" for his shows and would consist of him turning his dressing room into an absolute bombsite, which Levi would eventually end up cleaning, trying on numerous clothes for which he would hound Levi and anyone he else he encountered for their opinions before changing his mind entirely and starting from scratch.

Levi found that the best way to deal with Eren when he was in Rogue's stress mode was to leave him alone entirely, less of a headache that way and the kid wouldn't be constantly second guessing himself. Instead, Levi would occupy his time surveying the area, people watching or chatting with Eren's friends - well THEIR friends now he supposes.

Maria would fawn over him and always insist that he have a free dinner at the club, and to be honest he no longer put up much of an argument as Sasha is a miracle worker when it comes to food, he swears he's never eaten so well in his life. He's also met Ymir now and she'd gone through a large list of people he should keep an eye out for as well as their security protocols within the club if he found himself needing to physically remove anyone, she'd pretty much given him the all clear to do so at his discretion. Connie would take him up behind his deck as Levi would be able to keep a good vantage point from there for the evening and they would talk at length about his time serving, Connie's attempts at a music production career and of course, little Kaya. Since that one Sunday dinner, she'd become his favourite little person and he would always make a big deal when he got the chance see her every week, he'd even agreed to babysit her at his place in a couple Saturdays from now to give Sasha and Connie some well-deserved free time. Eren made sure to give Maria enough notice so they could both take the night off.

Rogue has also done a couple of shows as a favour at a club in the city of Karanes, aptly named "The Basement", as it's located completely underground. After hearing about the incident at Wall Rose in Trost, a lot of the regular performers decided to take an extended break from the club scene and too many of the inexperienced queens were expected to hold the fort, so Rogue had stepped in as a substitute, along with a couple other visting performers from surrounding areas. She took the time to introduce Levi to a bunch of her friends in the business, as well as helping a couple newbie queens out with their looks and acts for the evening before taking to the stage herself. Naturally, she was a massive hit, with both the audience and the younger queens alike. Levi couldn't help but feel slightly prideful watching as he watched her work her magic.

Mikasa visits their house occasionally, and now that she's more familiar with Levi and his habits, she's stopped glaring at him so often. In fact, they've actually had a couple of decent conversations when Eren has been busy and they've been left in eachother's company. She's not half bad, he thinks, just incredibly overprotective of her brother. Annie tells him that she's always been that way, ever since Eren had protected her from some perverts in a park when they were kids and she was still relatively new to the family. He can understand, he was the same with Izzy when she was so young and so naïve to the big bad world around her. It took everything he had not to coddle her away from everything and everyone, especially when she developed a crush on his then best friend.

One of the biggest surprises to come out of his position, however, is the friendship he's managed to strike up with Jean. As it turns out, they're both massive fans of science fiction and superhero movies, as well as online gaming. They'd began chatting about a new video game release one evening at the club, which turned into them discussing their shared favourite games and then agreeing to do multiplayer when they'd both managed to purchase a copy and had free time. The rest, as you could say, was history.

Eren and Levi now dedicate at least one evening during the week when they're not working to visit Jean and Marco's place to hang out and stay overnight, in separate guest rooms of course. Jean and Levi would play video games in the living room while Eren and Marco would chat together with a bottle of wine in the kitchen and periodically bring them beer or would join them to play along on occasion. Marco's not a massive fan of video games in general and Eren's relatively short attention span means he can only play a couple rounds before he gets bored, but regardless they enjoy watching as the guys' incredibly inventive insults to other online players and to each other leave them in breathless laughter for hours on end.

The funny thing is, at the any other time in the last 2 years, the idea of having homosexual friends would have absolutely repulsed Levi incredibly, but with them he finds he more often than not forgets about the fact completely, and when Jean and Marco do inadvertently remind him, he realises it doesn't bother him as much as it once would have. He still looks away of course, but that's more out of common decency than anything else.

His relationship with Eren and Rogue has also continued to improve immensely. At the club, he watches all of Rogue's performances and gives his feedback when she leaves the stage. He's now seen her sing, dance, lip-synch, play games with the crowd and do stand-up comedy. She's even mentioned him a few times in her jokes, and in return received a firm smack up-side the head for her efforts. She's still undeniably beautiful when she performs, Levi has to admit to himself, he can barely take his eyes of when she's on stage. She's so completely captivating, and going by the reactions of the audience, he's not the only one who thinks so.

When she's done for the evening and had a couple drinks, he takes her home in her casual wear and she often falls asleep in the car, so he has to carry her into her bedroom, remove her shoes and tuck her into bed. He watches her sleep for just a little while each night, takes in the sound of her breathing, listens to the little whimpers she makes and the crinkle of her eyebrows as she dreams, before leaving to shower and going to bed himself. And in the mornings, he and Eren wordlessly make breakfast and tea together, head out for a short gym session and spar a little before going to work and doing it all over again.

Overall, Levi thinks that he has managed to create a decent little life for himself in Shiganshina, one far better than he could have ever expected. Nothing can burst a hole in the little bubble he's constructed…. or so he thinks….

It's a Friday evening, and Levi is knelt on the gleaming floor (that he cleaned himself) of the dressing room, helping Rogue strap herself into massive, hot pink, knee-high boots with laces all the way up the front when he hears an all too familiar shrill screeching.

"LEVIIII! You're here!"

"Oh, fucking hell." Levi mutters to himself, before standing up and walking towards the person responsible, "Hange, what on Earth are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pay you a visit, silly!" She says, beaming and pulling him into an un-reciprocated hug. He pulls back once she's satisfied and glares at her.

"Why didn't you call me? When did you get here?" He asks, looking her up and down. Her hair is tied up in her usual high ponytail, and she's wearing a grey vest top, a pair of dark sweats and some fairly old sneakers. He also notes her lack of deodorant and the fact her hair is slightly greasy at the roots, probably forgot to shower again, typical.

"Only landed a couple of hours ago, Erwin insisted on picking up the car he owns here instead of getting a rental and we stopped by your place first, but obviously you weren't there…." She rattles off, before Levi cuts in abruptly.

"Hold up, Eyebrows is here too?" Levi asks and Hange nods an affirmative.

"Yeah he's just parking the car." Hange replies, before tilting her head to look behind Levi. He follows her gaze and spots Rogue shifting a little awkwardly from foot to foot. Hange's grin becomes ever wider at the sight of the queen and she squeals loudly before rushing past Levi to greet her.

"Hi! Eren isn't it?! I'm Hange Zoe, I'm a friend of Levi's and a big fan of your work!" Hange says excitably, thrusting a hand out to Rogue for her to shake. Rogue takes the slim hand in her own and shakes it lightly with a smirk before letting go.

"Oh, so you're Hange? Levi's told me a whole lot about you." Rogue wags her eyebrows suggestively and returns her grin. Hange simply cackles loudly and playfully smacks her shoulder.

"I take it Levi told you that he used to be my little love muffin many, many moons ago?" Hange asks as she grabs said man by the arm and rests her chin on his head. Levi grumbles in response and frees himself from her grasp.

"I think I focused more on your lack of personal hygiene, shitty glasses. When did you last take a shower? You smell like a hobo's trash bag." Levi says, as he wipes non-existent dust from his blazer and pants. Hange thinks for a moment, but clearly gives up as she can't say for certain. Rogue simply giggles at the scene.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Hange. Any friend of Levi's is a friend of mine. God knows, he doesn't have very many." Rogue jokes.

"I'll say! And just Hange is fine. I'm guessing that based on your outfit you'll be performing tonight?" Hange asks, a look of sheer excitement on her face, "I've never seen a live drag show before!"

"Yeah, I'm on in about an hour. You should go out front and see if you can catch the tail end of Maria's set, she'll be up for a little while longer." Eren suggests, just as a tall, blond, hulk of a man wearing a dark grey suit enters the room, accompanied by a comically intimidated looking Reiner.

"Uhh Levi, this guy says that he knows you…" Reiner says, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"He's fine, let him in." Levi sighs, as Erwin thanks Reiner for his help, before entering the room. Reiner turns on his heel and leaves as Erwin immediately shakes Rogue's hand with a warm smile.

"Eren Jaeger, it's good to finally meet you, I'm Erwin Smith. I'm the CEO of The Recon Corps and a friend of Levi's." Erwin says as he introduces himself.

"Oh wow! It's such an honour to meet you Mr Smith. I'd just like to say thank you for the incredible work your company has done for me this past month. It's very much appreciated." Rogue says genuinely, "And please, feel free to call me Rogue when I'm dressed like a stripper." She gestures to the bright pink, PVC body suit she's wearing.

Levi rolls his eyes as Hange barks a laugh and Erwin chuckles good-naturedly, "As you wish Rogue, and you're very welcome. Your business has been very exciting to us and created a fantastic opportunity for Levi here. I trust that based on your new living arrangements, you two are getting along well?" The teasing isn't apparent in Erwin's voice, but Levi has known him long enough to know it's definitely there.

"We had a bit of a rocky start, but we're definitely getting along much better now. Aren't we Handsome?" Rogue asks with a wink.

"Whatever you say brat, shouldn't you be doing your voice warm ups or something?" Levi responds with a flick of his hand.

Rogue rolls her eyes, "You're unfortunately right, I hate to cut this short guys but it's been nice to meet you. Please feel free to sit out front and watch the show, Levi does most nights anyway if Ymir doesn't need him out front. I'll come and catch up with you all later." She says as she saunters out of the room with a wave and heads towards the back of the stage.

"Damn Levi, I didn't realise how cute he is in person." Hange says conspiratorially.

"He's far too young for you and you're married, idiot." Levi remarks, scowling at his dishevelled friend.

"Ten years isn't a huge age gap! And Moblit knows I'd never do anything, I'm still allowed to look!" Hange pouts childishly.

"Twelve years, and anyway you've still not told me why you're here. Explain." Levi demands, folding his arms in annoyance.

"What? We can't just travel half way across the country on a whim to visit a friend with no ulterior motives?" Hange asks with a hopeful grin. Levi raises his eyebrow in a prompt for the real reason.

"Okay fine, we're here because we were concerned. You texted us 5 weeks ago to tell us you were moving in with Jaeger and since then we've received practically nothing from you. Admittedly, we were a little worried and maybe jumped to conclusions. We thought that maybe you'd secretly quit and chose not to tell us." Erwin explains sheepishly.

"So, instead of trusting me to act like a responsible, professional adult, you decided to come all the way out here to check up on me? Like you're my fucking parents?!" He narrows his eyes dangerously at them.

"We're really sorry Levi, we just thought that because of y'know, how you feel, the last thing you'd ever do is move in with Eren. I mean, you didn't even like living with me when we were together. It was just a bit of a shock is all and we couldn't quite bring ourselves to believe it." Hange frowns, looking at her feet.

"I apologise Levi, we didn't mean to make you feel belittled, that wasn't our intention at all. We also just wanted to see how you were doing in general." Erwin says apologetically.

"You're my friends, I expect you guys to trust me, not question me. I've literally trusted both of you with my life in the past, I just wish you could grant me the same courtesy." Levi replies with despondence. Hange and Erwin share a look of regret and say nothing. Levi takes one look at their faces and decides it's time to take a leaf out of Marco's book.

"Look, let's just forget about it. You're here now, how long are you staying?" Levi asks.

"We're here for a week, we took some time off to see you and to actually have a look around Shiganshina. I haven't been back here for a while and Hange has only ever been here for…. uhh well…." Erwin trails off uncomfortably.

"The funeral? I remember, you're allowed to say it." Levi says, collecting his things and putting away some of the pairs of shoes Rogue left at her ass, as per usual, "Where are you guys staying anyway?"

"At my apartment, my housekeeper still has keys so she visits once a week to keep the place in order so it should be liveable enough, just need to stock the fridge." Erwin says.

"Old Rosie still cleans up after you? You need to give that woman a raise. Anyway, lets head out front, Rogue will be on soon. And seeing as you're on vacation, you should try one of Reiner's cocktails, he makes a mean 'Sex on the Beach'." Levi insists.

"Well that's gotta be the first time an offer of sex from you has actually sounded in any way appealing." Hange teases with a manic laugh.

"Shut up, four eyes." Levi says without malice.

"You know Levi, you haven't taken your eyes off her for even a second tonight?" Erwin says with a knowing look.

"Tch, it is technically my job." Levi responds with a scoff as he watches Rogue strut across the stage in her heeled boots that reach all the way up to her bare, tan thighs. She's opted tonight for her signature wavy, blonde wig that frames her face like a golden halo. Her usual blue contacts glimmer in the white spotlight, she looks like a stranger when she wears them, like a completely different person to the boy he's become used to living with. He once asked her why she wears contacts instead of showing off her natural, mismatched irises and she responded with, "Well, somebody once said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and seeing as Rogue is a soulless bitch, I thought it was only fitting."

"I know that, but it's different with her. You're different with her. I can't quite explain it." Erwin says, watching Levi with an odd look on his face.

"Whatever you're implying Eyebrows, I'd just suggest you rethink it completely." Levi says, giving his best friend a scathing glare.

"I never said I was implying anything, I was merely observing. Whatever you think is something you've conjured up on your own. Maybe you've been doing your own thinking on Rogue and starting to come to certain conclusions all by yourself?" Erwin suggests with a slightly smug expression.

"You're an annoying bastard, you do know that right?" Levi asks and Erwin simply chuckles in response.

"You have told me on many occasions, Levi. I haven't forgotten yet." He replies, smiling at his friend.

"She's just…. she's something else Erwin. These last 5 weeks have been a real eye-opener for me, I can tell you that. Her schedule has been jam-packed and I've been with her the whole time, hence the lack of texts or phone calls. I…. feel different around her, and I can't even tell why myself. I mean, there was one night she was waiting to be called on stage, and we just talked for hours while we waited. Hours and hours, about nothing and everything, and it was amazing, just to hear her speak, about anything at all.

There've been nights after a show where she'll be full to the brim with energy and she feels the night to stay up and bake cookies or something. Then half an hour later, she's crashing and we're both covered in cookie dough and watching late night tv, and I can't even bring myself to care that the kitchen is a mess, and that we're both a mess, because she's laughing and smiling, and I don't want her to stop…. and the way she looks at me when she does and just…." He pauses, noticing the stare of his best friend and getting the feeling he's said too much.

Levi tears his eyes away from Erwin's face and spots Hange at the front of the stage, watching the show with Mikasa in tow, at least she managed to make a good first impression to the aloof Asian woman.

"I'm not going to sit here and patronise you Levi, I think you know exactly what's going on in your own head right now, and you have to admit it for yourself. I can't tell you how to feel." Erwin says, taking a sip out of a bright orange cocktail with a little pink umbrella. In any other setting, Levi would have mocked the sight.

"What does it matter how I feel anyway? It's not like anything could ever happen, even if I wanted it to." Levi mumbles, looking forlornly into his own glass of iced water.

"Why do you say that? The only person stopping you here is you, Levi. If you want something to happen, whatever that may be, you are the only one who can make it happen." Erwin urges.

"But she's not even real, Erwin. She's a character, she's fictional. Right now, all I want to do is go up there, take her hand, kiss her and tell her how beautiful she is. The need to do so is killing me, and there is NOTHING I can do about it." Levi says, staring Erwin in the eyes, his face a mask of pained longing.

"Look at her Levi, she's real. She's living, breathing and completely real. You can go up there if you'd like to and tell her how you feel if that's what you wanted. Like I say, the only person stopping you is you. Rogue is a real person, Eren is a real person." Erwin says.

"That's just the thing Erwin, I could never want another man, and underneath all that make up, padding and PVC is a 21 year old man. And that fact alone is killing me."

"Levi…" Erwin begins, but stops as Jean sprints towards them and comes to a halt at their table.

"Levi, Mr Smith sir, I need you both to come quickly, it's an emergency." Jean says, breathless.

"What is it Jean?" Levi asks with urgency.

"Not here." Jean shakes his head, and without another word, they follow him backstage towards Maria's dressing room.

"Oh Levi, thank you for coming 'round so quickly. I'm sorry for ruinin' your night, but I thought y'all should know as soon as possible." Maria says, pacing up and down the room. She's kicked her heels off and Levi can see she's picked off her fake nails, a clear sign of anxiety or distress. Jean isn't doing any better, as his nostrils flare and he looks about 2 seconds away from punching a hole in the wall.

"Of course, what do you need Maria?" Levi asks, grasping her by the arm in order to steady her.

"There's been another shooting, Levi. In Karanes." Maria whimpers, tears welling up in her eyes.

"At 'The Basement'?" Levi asks in disbelief, he and Rogue were just there a little under a week ago.

Maria nods solemnly, "The titans were seen protesting there tonight, one of them must have gotten in when security were busy and they shot a young queen dead. A new kid, his name was Nac. The shooter got away."

"God Dammit. Nac? There was a kid called Nac when we were there, about 18 years old, Rogue was helping him with his make-up. They talked for a little while and she gave him some tips on how to not wash himself out with the lights. She's not gonna take this well." Levi says regretfully, he remembers the kid, he was a little excitable and had attempted to hit on Levi unsuccessfully, Rogue had teased him for it the whole night.

"She can't know Levi, not right now, we can't tell her." Maria pleads, hands clamping tightly on to Levi's wrists.

"Why? She knew the kid, she has a right to know." Levi insists, looking over at Jean who shakes his head solemnly.

"You're right Levi, but it's not a good time right now." Jean says, silently willing his friend to understand.

"But surely if a young man has ended up dead and Eren at least knew him, he should know about it. There'll be a funeral and he might want to go and pay his respects." Erwin says gently.

"Y'all don't understand." Maria says, "They left that boy to die but that's not all they left behind."

"What do you mean?" Levi asks.

"We've been told by the owner that a bunch of photographs were left behind at the scene. Black and white photos scattered all over the place. Apparently Rogue appears in several of those photos, performing at the 'The Basement'." Jean confirms, his expression a mixture of sad and furious.

"That's impossible, she was only there a couple of times over the last few weeks! How could the shooter have picked to be there one of the only nights she made an appearance?" Levi asks, a hint of incredulity in his tone.

"It's too much of a coincidence." Maria insists, "They had to have been keeping an eye out for her."

"You said that she appears in quite a number of the photos? Were there photos taken that she isn't in at all?" Erwin questions curiously.

"Yeah, apparently there's quite a few photos of her and some other queens that were there that night." Jean says, "Why'd you ask?"

"Well, if she's not the sole participant of the photos, then there is no evidence to suggest that she's a target." Erwin states, "But off the record? One of her friends AND a kid she's socialised with are shot dead at clubs she just happened to be working in a week or so prior? It seems like too big of a coincidence to have happened completely by chance. She may not be targeted specifically, but that's not to say she isn't being monitored."

"You mean somebody could be watching her?" Maria asks fearfully, clutching at her own chest, "Oh god, why would anyone do that?"

"I don't know." Levi says, voice filled with fury, "But I'm sure as hell gonna find out why."