Chapter 15

Levi and Erwin leave Maria's dressing room shortly after, quietly mulling over what to do following the shocking news of Nac's death and the revelation that that Titans seem to have Rogue firmly set in their sights.

"I can handle this Erwin, honestly. You're here on vacation, you don't need to be pulled into this crap fest. Eren is my responsibility." Levi insists.

"I have no doubt that you can handle it, Levi. That's why I trusted you with this job in the first place. But at least allow me to call in a few favours from some of my contacts, just to see if they have any further information on the Titans? You know It'll be far easier to protect Eren if you know what to be looking out for. It wouldn't hurt for me to ask, would it?" Erwin suggests, resting his good hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I guess not." Levi relents, sighing a little before checking his watch, "Come on, we better go and find Hange. Rogue will be finished her set by now. And Erwin…. thank you."

"It's no problem. You're my best friend, I want to help where I can." Erwin assures him.

"Alright, you want to get another drink or call it a night?" Levi asks.

"I think I'm just going to call a cab and pick up the car tomorrow, I'm beat. Hange might want to stay, so I'll need to come and give her the address." Erwin says, yawning and stretching.

"Levi! Erwin! There you are! You had me wondering where you'd gotten to. Luckily for me, I had some fantastic company." Hange grins, holding a bottle of beer and wraps her free arm around Rogue, who Levi notes has now changed into a loose band t-shirt, a pair of denim shorts and flat shoes. Her blonde hair still falling in loose waves to just above her shoulders and she has removed her contacts. Even in her casual clothing, Levi still thinks she looks stunning.

Mikasa stands with them, dressed in a plain, black crop top that shows off her impressive abs, a pair of dark skinny jeans and some very uncomfortable looking stiletto heels. She pays little to no attention to Levi's arrival, simply concentrating on sipping her martini and curiously eyeing the blond man to his left.

"I was just seeing if Ymir needed a hand out front, but she seems to have it under control. Eyebrows came with me and we bumped into Jean on the way back. Maria insisted on meeting my boss so she could sing my praises or whatever." Levi rolls his eyes dramatically, hoping his lie isn't completely transparent, "Isn't that right Erwin?" Levi asks, but when he gets no response after a second, he glances at his friend and notices that Erwin's attention is 100% elsewhere.

"Hello, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting." Erwin says, holding his left hand out to Mikasa, "I'm Erwin Smith, Levi's boss."

"Mikasa Ackerman, Eren's sister." She says, grasping Erwin's much larger hand and giving him a coy smile, they don't let go for several seconds, simply looking at eachother until the air around them becomes slightly awkward from Hange's teasing giggles and Mikasa pulls away blushing.

Rogue wants to burst into loud laughter at the expression on her sister's face. In the many years they've been family, Rogue has never once seen Mikasa flustered around someone she's attracted to before. She's definitely interested in the tall blond man, that much is obvious, but she's never been one to shy away, she's always been the type that tackles things head on, romantic interests have never been any different.

Levi watches the exchange between his best friend, his charge's sister, a giggling bespectacled maniac and the incredibly amused looking drag queen in bewilderment, before shrugging his shoulders in defeat and changing the subject.

"Are you ready to go?" Levi asks addressing Rogue, "You're working here tomorrow night and you said you wanted to do some filming in the afternoon before we leave. It's nearly 1 in the morning and you'll need to get some sleep."

"Aww spoilsport!" Hange pouts, "Rogue and I were just getting to know each other properly! I was just telling her and Mikasa about the time you got drunk at a house party for the very first time and danced the Macarena with a bottle of windex!"

"Hange, I swear to fuck if you keep telling people embarrassing things about me, I'm gonna tell Moblit what happened to his coin collection." Levi threatens with a glare.

"Alright aright! I'll keep my mouth shut, just don't get your panties in a twist." She winks at him and salutes.

"Hange." He growls.

"I'm sorry, I promise I won't say anything else!" She says, and Rogue pats her on the shoulder.

"I'm here tomorrow anyway, and I have the day off on Sunday, so if you want to come, I'll have a proper drink with you then." Rogue promises with a smile.

"I'm staying out for a while anyway, this place doesn't close until 4, some of my friends are here and Jean and Marco will be coming out to drink with me soon. You can come join us if you want." Mikasa asks, uncharacteristically friendly in Levi's experience.

"That sounds fantastic! Count me in!" Hange beams, no longer mourning the lack of Rogue for the night.

"Will you be joining us too, Erwin?" Mikasa asks hopefully, draining the remnants of her drink in one last gulp.

"I'd be happy to, I had planned on staying out a while longer anyway." Erwin says, removing his expensive blazer.

"I thought you said you were heading straight home?" Levi asks confused, turning to look up at his friend who seems to be trying to communicate purely with his massive eyebrows.

"No, I didn't, I said I was staying here and then going straight home after. As in, I have no plans to visit anywhere else tonight." Erwin clarifies with a slightly strained grin to a still very puzzled Levi. Rogue laughs and pulls Levi away from the group so they walk away together arm in arm.

"Come on Handsome, let's get you home before you start suffering from some bad foot in mouth syndrome." Rogue says under her breath before calling behind her, "Have a good night everyone, don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Well, that's not giving them many restrictions." Levi mutters. Rogue giggles, pulling Levi closer to rest her head on his as they head out of the club, bidding Ymir a goodnight as they leave.

As expected, Rogue falls asleep around 10 minutes into their drive, and Levi knows that by the time they arrive home, it will be almost impossible to wake the sleeping woman without receiving a swift kick to the balls. It's happened before. He shakes his head in exasperation at her sleeping figure and continues watching the road, glancing over at her only a couple of times on the way.

Pulling up to the drive, as per Levi's suspicions, Rogue is completely dead to the world, and the only way to get her out of the car and into the house is to carry her inside. With a sigh, he places his house keys in his mouth and lifts her easily bridal style before kicking the car door shut behind him. Luckily the car locks automatically or he'd have some real trouble juggling sets of keys in his occupied limbs.

Rogue clutches on to the lapel of his shirt in her sleep and tucks her head into the crook of his neck, mumbling slightly as she does so. It would be adorable really if she wasn't slightly drooling at the same time. It's disgusting to Levi, but he can't bring himself to mind too much, because it's her and because right now she has limited control of her bodily functions. Stupid brat, he thinks.

With monumental difficulty, Levi manages to successfully coax his keys from his mouth to his left hand and unlocks the door. As they enter the house, he closes it over with his foot and carries the slumbering woman in his arms to the comfort of her own bedroom. He lays her gently on the bed, removes her shoes and tucks her thin quilt over her chest, as he's done many times before. He opens her bedroom window and turns on her fan, as he knows she gets too hot in the humid summer nights, and gets her a fresh glass of water from the kitchen in case she gets thirsty.

After setting the now full glass on her nightstand, he perches on the side of her bed and gazes at her as she sleeps softly. He can't decide if she's dreaming tonight or not, she looks too calm to tell. He knows he's got it bad, and he can't even pinpoint the moment where the shift from aesthetic admiration to complete and utter adoration of the young woman took place. All he knows is he feels like an intruder, an old, creepy pervert watching her as she unknowingly rests peacefully in her bed.

He sighs quietly, running a hand through his hair and wishes her a silent, sweet dreams before turning out the light and leaving the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

What he doesn't know, is that Rogue opens her eyes as soon as he leaves, buries her face into her own T-shirt to sniff at the remainder of his scent on her clothes (he always wears a very distinct, clean smelling cologne), and smiles happily.

"Please Levi! I really, really need you!" Eren begs, pulling on Levi's wrist.

"What part of 'No' aren't you understanding brat?" Levi asks mockingly, ignoring the pleading stare of the boy practically on his lap at this point.

"Oh, come on, please! There's no one else I'd rather do this with." Eren says, pouting like a child which looks completely ridiculous.

"If you really wanted to do this with me, why didn't you think to ask before now?"

"Because I knew you'd say no! Or at the very least, I'd manage to convince you and you'd change your mind again…." Eren admits, playing with he hem of his own shirt and looking a little timid.

Levi sighs before considering the boy in front of him with a resigned expression, "You are such a little shit. What is it you need me to do? But I swear to god, if you even THINK of putting lipstick on me…."

"It's nothing like that!" Eren assures, "I just wanna test lighter coloured make-up on paler skin for my video, as I'm a bit restricted with my own skin tone. It would be foundation and concealer only! Maybe a little primer, but I swear that's it."

Levi is silent as he ponders the request.

"You promise you're not gonna put loads of glitter and shit all over my face, make me look fucking ridiculous?" Levi asks, folding his arms and raising a perfectly plucked brow. He may or may not have allowed Eren to tidy them up for him a few days ago.

"I promise dude! I'm only trying to make a point with this one video and there's nobody else I know that's as pale as you. We're all too tanned with the Shiganshina sun." Eren laughs nervously. Levi breathes out a final pained breath and answers,

"Fine, I'll do it. But don't make me regret this brat!"

"Woo! Thanks Levi, you're the best! I love you man." Eren says, wrapping Levi in a bearhug as he settles on his lap.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Levi says nonchalant, completely ignoring the tiny flutter in his chest at the words. Must be allergies or something, he reckons.

"So, what is it you need me to do right now?" Levi asks, settling into the chair placed next to Eren's. This time in front of the camera, as opposed to his usual spot behind it. Levi has gotten accustomed to helping Eren film his videos, sometimes Rogue makes the odd appearance also.

"If you want to use one of those make up wipes to clear any dirt or oil residue from your skin. Just make sure you scrub hard enough." Eren says, taking his own wipe and cleaning his own face at the same time.

"Tch, you do remember who you're talking to right?" Levi scoffs as he begins cleaning his face and neck also. Eren ignores him and continues scrubbing.

Levi takes a second to look down at his own outfit and suddenly feels slightly self-conscious next to Eren, who's wearing a fitted V neck, black sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans with chains on them. Levi has opted for a loose, casual, black button up shirt with his old, tattered blue jeans which he'd assumed would be best considering he was having make up put on him, but Eren had assured him there'd be little to no mess with what he had planned for today.

After they've thrown the wipes in the trash, Eren fiddles with his camera one last time before addressing Levi again.

"Okay, you good to go?"

"Ready when you are." Levi replies, and after receiving a smirk from Eren in response, he presses the play button on the camera. Eren beams to the camera and does his signature salute.

"S'up Jaegerbombs! It's Eren here once again, and today I'm joined by a very special guest. You all currently know him as the poltergeist in my bedroom, but I know him as my roommate and friend, Levi!" Eren says, gesturing with both hands to the man next to him.

Ever since Levi started helping out with Eren's YouTube videos, people in the comments section had been commenting in their thousands about the shadow of a person in the back of the frame. Eren hadn't told anyone on film that he had someone in the room during filming, so his subscribers had started theorising on their own about the poltergeist living in Eren's room. They'd even watched and laughed over some very creative videos people had made, compiling "evidence" of the strange shadows that appeared in several of Eren's episodes.

"Levi, say hi to everyone!" Eren urges with a pat on the back, as Levi looks directly into the camera.

"Hi, I'm Levi, I babysit this brat on a daily basis and make sure he doesn't hurt himself by thinking too hard" Levi says, smirking at an affronted looking Eren.

"Umm fucking rude, anyway Levi here moved in with me around 5 or 6 weeks ago now?" Levi nods in agreement, "Yeah 6 weeks ago, from Trost as he's here for work. So, he's been assisting me with filming behind the scenes up until now. However, lovely Levi is here today to help me show you guys how to get the best coverage on even the palest of skin tones." Eren picks up a little bottle of white liquid and squeezes a little on to the tips of his fingers.

"So, Levi, you're from Trost. Do you guys even know what the sun is over there? It comes out like every 10 years, right? Give me your face." Eren jokes, as he positions Levi's face so it's tilting slightly upwards and shows in the centre of the frame.

"You're hysterical, kid. But no, the sun comes out every so often in Trost and our summers can be quite hot. I just happen to live in a crypt." Levi replies and Eren snorts, dabbing little spots of the liquid on Levi's face before rubbing them in to his skin.

"That's right, you're a vampire, aren't you? It would explain the pale skin."

"Worse, anaemic."

"Oh, I see." Eren chuckles, "This right here guys, is just a little moisturiser that I like to use every day. It softens the skin and helps your make up slide on a lot easier, so if your skin is quite dry it won't leave little clumps all over your face. Also, it has a little SPF protection mixed in, so your skin will stay nice in healthy in the sun. How does that feel Levi?"

"It feels very light I guess, I can barely tell it's there really." Levi says, focusing more on the light touches of Eren's smooth fingers on his velvety skin.

"It helps that you have naturally very soft skin. All except this little section here." Eren says, pressing slightly on Levi's scarring, "It's not irritating you here, is it?" He asks, a little concerned.

"Not at all, I can barely feel anything there anyway if I'm honest." Levi says truthfully. If he's completely honest, Levi normally forgets his face is marred at all. In his own head, his face is how it was all those years ago, when he was considered devilishly handsome and unattainable. That's how his only other girlfriend aside from Hange had described him. It's only when someone reminds him, or he catches a glimpse in the mirror that he's reminded of what's happened to him.

Eren picks up a bottle of light-coloured liquid and squirts quite a bit on to a large sponge. Eren has referred to it as his beauty blender in previous videos.

"Just for some background information, Levi is a veteran. So, he's unfortunately been left with this burn scarring from his time in the military. Not that it takes anything away from his looks, wouldn't you agree guys? But what I'll do, is I'll cover it up using a little concealer and some foundation, to show you that even this level of scarring can be sufficiently covered if any of you feel overly self-conscious about blemishes or abnormalities of your skin. That sound okay to you Levi?" Eren asks gently before touching the make up sponge to the man's face.

"I mean you can try kid. Don't think there's much you can do to make this shit look any better." Levi shrugs, looking at Eren unconcerned as the boy flashes him a toothy grin.

"Oh sweetie, I think you're completely underestimating my skills as a make up artist. Now hold still while I cover your face in my liquids." Eren jokes with a laugh.

"You're disgusting brat." Levi says with a slight shake of his head.

"And I told you to hold still. Now everyone, the shade I'm using here is called "Snowdrop" and it's the lightest shade available of this brand, and I don't wanna get sued so I'll link in the description of where you can buy it for the cheapest price. Normally, I would mix this a little with my own shade, which is "Sandy Beaches" to make a fair tone for lighter skin. However, Levi is so pale that Snowdrop matches his skin almost perfectly, so we're just putting this straight on as it is." Eren says, as he concentrates smearing it on Levi's face. It feels almost mousse like, Levi notes.

"Normally people just like to use either their blender or a make-up brush to put on their foundation, but I on the other hand, like to use both. I find that the blender allows me to get right into the little cracks and difficult places that are hard to reach, but the brush leaves a nice finish on top and gives the coverage we all look for in a good foundation. Honestly, it's more about how you apply it rather than the brand itself. In my earlier drag days, I had to use the cheapest of the cheap, and still make it look good. And it's possible, if you know how to do it. How Is it feeling on your skin Levi?"

"I thought it would feel quite oily and thick, but it's surprisingly light on. It's as if it's my own skin." Levi says honestly, in fact the whole ordeal is a lot less taxing than he'd thought it would be. He can already tell that the clean up job will be easy enough at the end of it all.

"I'm not gonna lie, this does actually have a lot to do with the brand of the make-up. There are a lot that can give you the same level of coverage but feel a lot heavier on your skin. This particular one is my favourite due to how light it is, and how gentle it feels on your skin. Levi is a foundation newbie, so I thought this would be the best option." Eren confirms, taking the make up brush and spreading some more liquid on the plains of Levi's skin and scarring.

The process continues for a little longer until Levi speaks up once again.

"Honestly, if this is how long it takes to look presentable in your world every day, I think I'll pass in future."

"Good things come to those who wait, Levi, patience is key." Eren giggles softly, putting away the make-up brush, "I'm just gonna add a little concealer to 'fill in the cracks' if you will, and then you'll be all finished." Eren unscrews a little tube of matching concealer and spreads it in little sections over the skin, especially on the scarred part of Levi's face.

Eren continues the process for a little while longer. Levi watches Eren as he works, carefully spreading the concealer evenly over Levi's skin, touching him as gently as possible and chewing his lower lip in concentration. A little bead of sweat forms on side of his forehead, and his eyes move quickly and rapidly, assessing the whole of Levi's face for any imperfections. Without a word, he takes a little pencil from his make-up bag and runs it over the skin next to Levi's eyebrow, he thinks, choosing to stay silent rather than question Eren's method.

"Okay, I think we're done. Would you like to look in the mirror?" Eren asks, offering his small bathroom mirror to Levi, he takes it from him to review the 'end result'. When he sees his face for the first time since Eren started, his breath hitches in surprise.

His skin is all the one colour for the first time in 2 years. The burned section which is normally tinged in a permanent pink, is now snowy white once again, matching the rest of his face perfectly. The scar tissue can barely be seen under the layers of make-up, only a couple of little ridges and bumps showing when he turns his head in the light. And he can see that Eren has filled in and extended the missing part of his left eyebrow with the pencil, as the hair follicles had previously been burned off. He looks perfect, ethereal, like the man he once was before his face was wrecked by his captors.

"So, as you all can see, I have covered the burn section completely so that the skin tone matches to perfection, I have covered his face completely in the one tone so it looks natural and added a little to his neck, so the blend doesn't look painted on. And finally, I have added a little bit of pencil liner to his eyebrows. This was simply for aesthetic purposes and can be completely skipped if you have naturally dark, full eyebrows. But I think overall, he looks pretty great, what do you think Levi?" Eren asks Levi, who is still assessing his new look in the mirror.

"I…. can't believe you did this." He looks to Eren with an unreadable expression, and the boy looks slightly nervous in return, "Thank you Eren, you made me look…. like me again." Levi says finally, and Eren smiles warmly at him.

"You're very welcome, Levi." Eren says softly, "It's not like you needed it or anything, but you do look pretty incredible. I mean that."

They continue looking at eachother, smiling and saying nothing at all for a long period of time before Eren remembers they're still recording and is pulled out of his reverie.

"Anyway, thank you so much everyone for watching! I hope you enjoyed this segment and can feel more comfortable and confident in your beautiful pale skin. Later in the week I'll be focusing on darker skin, so please look forward to that and I'll see you in the next video. Bye everyone!" Eren says, before switching off the camera and standing up abruptly.

"Okay, thank you so much for helping me Levi! But we have to be getting ready to leave for tonight, let's go!" Eren says, in a hurry and breathless all of a sudden.

"Slow down a minute brat." Levi stops him by standing also, and grabbing the now frantic boy's wrist, "Seriously, thank you for what you've done today. Never before would I have even considered getting my make up done, even as a favour to a friend. But I'm glad you got me to do this, for once I feel close to the man I once was again."

"Levi…. I didn't think this would mean so much to you. I just thought it would be a little bit of fun and that you'd look at it and be like 'Whatever kid, hand me the soap' in that voice you do when you're annoyed with me. But…. I'm happy I could make you feel this way. I guess I just got a little overwhelmed at your gratitude." Eren says, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear.

"Do you think…. actually, never mind." Levi says, trailing off.

"No, what were you going to ask?" Eren ponders, tightening his own grip on Levi's wrist.

"Do you think that, maybe, you could do this again for me some time?" Levi asks sheepishly, and Eren full on grins at him.

"I would be delighted to do this for you again, and I'll even show you how you can do it yourself. You're my friend Levi, please don't be embarrassed to ask me things like this." Eren implores, moving his grip to Levi's hand and squeezing gently.

"Thanks brat, now we definitely need to start getting ready to go." Levi says, before collecting his abandoned cardigan and leaving for his own room.

He took a quick shower before, so he simply strips off his casual wear and dresses quickly into a clean, white shirt, his cravat, his black slacks and a waistcoat. Deciding to forgo his usual blazer in the overly warm temperature of the summer evening. He tucks away his firearm and combs his hair before looking in the mirror one more time.

He decides to leave the make up on.