Chapter 33
"Eren, I need to talk to you about something." Levi pipes up suddenly from his place on the couch as his younger boyfriend snuggles up against him, paying not even an ounce of attention to the weird soap-drama show that's currently on their TV.
"Let me guess, you're pregnant?" Eren turns to look at him, grinning stupidly and gripping the soft fabric of the azure blue jumper that Levi had chosen to wear today. It's been a number of weeks since Eren found his secret stash of clothes originally intended for women and since then he's become rather comfortable in wearing them around their home, so it takes a few seconds for Levi to click on before rolling his eyes at the remark.
"No, incredibly enough." Levi deadpans, "But it is something rather important, so if you could please sit up and look at me properly."
Sensing the seriousness in Levi's tone, Eren's grin falls from his face and it's all Levi can do not to cave again. He's been meaning to tell Eren about Galliard since his meeting with Armin, but since then he's had to deal with being outed as a secret crossdresser by his romantic, male partner and finding his very own drag persona…two things that Levi never thought would happen in this, or any other of his lifetimes for that matter.
In addition to that, any time he has attempted to tell Eren, something new has come up that requires their immediate attention. Annie and Armin have decided that instead of having the large spring wedding they'd originally planned for, they're going to have a significantly smaller ceremony just before Christmas, just over a month away, consisting of only their nearest and dearest - Levi had been more than surprised to have been included in that rather tiny list of people. With Marco's rapidly increasing health and mobility following the shooting, he and Jean had decided to re-open Maria's on a part time only basis, which includes days Thursday, Friday and Saturday only. The reduced opening hours paired with the immense publicity the club got due to the nature of the crime and also Rogue's affiliation, the club is almost always full, and Levi has to be on high alert whenever Eren/Rogue chooses to visit. As a patron instead of a performer.
Rogue managed to do her very final show as a regular at Maria's without a hitch this time around, with all of her old regulars and best friends making an appearance for this one. Armin notably had been able to attend, as well as both of Eren's parents, which meant Levi was able to meet Eren's mother for the first time. Carla Jaeger - for all intents and purposes - is not a frightening nor even a remotely imposing woman, however when faced with her for the first time, Levi's pulse was practically visible in his neck. It was as if she could sense that he and Eren were more than friends just with one look at the guilty expression on his face. Which, to be fair, it transpired that she actually could.
Once Rogue's set had finished and she was safely in his sights – cringing visibly into her scotch while watching as Grisha Jaeger 'bust some moves' on the dancefloor to "Funky Town" with some other drag queens – Carla had approached him with a bright smile and a knowing look in her eyes. 'Just be good to eachother' was what she had said to him when he finally cracked, pinching his cheek affectionately before interlocking her arm with his and resting her head on his shoulder. Levi has never been used to anyone being so outwardly affectionate apart from Eren, however it was at that moment he decided he really liked Carla Jaeger.
"So, I'm guessing that going by the look on your face, we're not getting a puppy?" Eren asks with a half-smile in an attempt to lighten the mood, and Levi finds it so endearing that he lets out an amused breath of air at the question.
"Not quite, brat. Although if we were ever to get a pet in this place, I would consider a cat only. But no, it's not that. It's about what happened to Marco." Levi says and Eren bristles at the mention of it, it makes Levi not want to continue, but he knows realistically that he has to.
"I think, well, Erwin and I think we know who did it." Levi continues, Eren's eyes widening and ears practically perking up like a dog when he hears this, "Eren, do you remember a man named Marcel Galliard?"
Eren nods confusedly, "Yeah, we were in the same school for a while and…I used to sell coke to him. He was one of my regulars, I didn't have many. I heard he managed to quit a while back, I think it was a lot harder for him though. His parents didn't have the money and resource that mine did. In fact, if I'm remembering right, he only ever had his mom. That's right! My dad mentioned she'd gotten sick…with cancer, I think? He didn't think she was going to make it for a while, but apparently, she got a bit better. I think that's around the time Marcel got clean."
Levi listens intently, nodding his head when necessary and making mental notes in his head, his story so far matching Pastor Nick's almost exactly, "You said you guys went to the same school, while you were there, did he ever…was he ever hateful towards gay people or members of the LGBT community, that you know of?"
"What is this Levi? What's with the interrogation?" Eren asks uncomfortably, his glare not quite reaching his eyes fully.
"I just need to know Eren." Levi insists with no further explanation, and Eren sighs deeply.
"No, he didn't. If anything, I would say he was more than supportive of the community. He was friends with Bertl and Reiner back then, had known Bert since they were kids, and would always say how much he wished they would just get over themselves and date already. He would even suggest that he should be best man at their wedding…" Eren says sadly, trailing off suddenly, no doubt thinking of his late friend. Levi has never gotten the impression that Eren and Bertholdt were overly close, but their entire friend group is almost like a large family, any loss no matter how personally close or not would be like losing a limb, Levi imagines.
"And that didn't change during the drug addiction or anything?" Levi asks curiously and Eren shakes his head vehemently.
"Not at all, whenever I was selling to him, he would make a point to ask about how they were doing. Annie too. You see, Marcel was one of the good kids, he was real smart and was going places, you know? When his brother died, it was like the whole world stopped turning for him, and he hit back at everyone and everything he knew. People pay attention when a kid like that goes off the rails. Bert, Annie and Reiner got hurt in the process and he ended up quitting school before anyone even realised I was acting any different. Everyone was used to my outbursts by then, so it didn't strike them as something to be concerned about." Eren explains, "But Marcel…man, he lost everything. When I got back from rehab, he approached me and asked if I was still in the business of selling. That his new dealer lived miles out, was charging him through the nose and that he'd gladly bring his business back to me. I told him that I wasn't and…he smiled. He just wished me the best of luck with everyone and that I was to pass his regards on to the others. I never saw him again after that."
"Damn." Levi says simply once Eren has stopped recounting his past with the tragic man from Pastor Nick's story. This all but confirms that Marcel Galliard did not set out to attack Marco in an act of hatred…although he had pretty much narrowed that down already. Instead, there is another thought clogging up Levi's mind at the moment. He'd always thought in his life that drug addiction was an easy enough concept, that those who fell to it's clutches were weak minded and needed to get in touch with reality, but hearing about the bright young man who lost his world in the blink of an eye… and looking at the man that he now loves, the one who was too afraid to accept himself for who he is…it puts it into perspective for Levi, and he feels nothing but a great deal of sympathy and sadness for them both.
"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for him to quit." Eren says, "When I heard that he managed it, I was surprised to say the least. I had always assumed that the next I would hear of Marcel would be that he had died or was in prison for doing something stupid like I…well, like I could have done. All I remember about rehab was that I was vomiting a lot, shaking almost constantly and that I would have done anything for a hit. There were always staff there to talk me down, other recovering addicts to remind me why I was there and my own self hatred to make me want to stay. He had nothing, not like that anyway, and he still managed it."
"Eren, I hate to put you in this position…" Levi begins softly, and Eren just looks on at him with big, bright eyes, "Do you think that there is any reason that Marcel would have wanted to hurt you or any of your friends?"
"You think he did this, don't you?" Eren asks, there is no accusatory or affronted tone in his voice, he's simply asking, "You think that he's a Titan."
Levi shifts slightly uncomfortably at the directness of Eren's statement, "I…Erwin and I have reason to believe that he conducted the attack on Maria. We have no concrete evidence, nor do we have anything other than a couple of stories to go by, but so far, he's the only name we've been able to come up with. And my gut feeling tells me that we've found the right guy."
"I could understand why he would want to hurt me; I do. But I don't believe he would do something like this to Maria or to Nac for that matter, he didn't even know them. And he certainly wouldn't have done it to Bertholdt, they were like brothers…no matter how things ended between them."
"Neither do I." Levi supplies, "But I also don't think he was working alone or even directly with the Titans. All we know is that Marcel was the one who leaked the information of your show to the public, he led the Titans to Maria's and we can place him there at the time of the shooting also. I…I don't know for certain if it was him, but Erwin thinks that it was Marcel who he tailed for a while. He followed him to the East side of town, to some abandoned buildings and he heard part of a phone conversation. Obviously, Erwin's never heard Marcel's voice before, so he can't actually confirm they are one in the same."
"Abandoned buildings on the East side?" Eren's eyes go rather wide, "Apartment buildings?"
"How did you know that?" Levi asks with a narrowed gaze. Abandoned, derelict apartment buildings were how Erwin had described them.
"We…we used to go their sometimes. It was a good place to go to for privacy and if you were locked out at night or didn't want the Spanish inquisition as soon as you walked in the door. Everybody there had their own problems and were good for nothing deadbeats anyway, no one even blinked an eyelid when we went there." Eren explains, and his eyes cloud over with an emotion that Levi is unable to place, "So he really did it, huh?"
"I think so." Levi states solemnly, "But like I say, I have no real evidence."
"Then Marco, Nac and Bertholdt…what happened to them, it's all connected to me right? The hate crimes, the Titans…none of it's been real. These murders, they haven't been random. That's what you're about to tell me?" Eren asks, although he phrases it like a statement…like he already knows.
"Eren, nothing is for sure…"
"But that's what you think, isn't it?" Eren cuts him off abruptly, moving himself away from his boyfriend's body and folding his arms in front of himself, "And if so, then I wanna know."
Levi sighs deeply, leans forward so that his elbows are resting on his knees and begins to rub at his sore temples, "Yes. Okay? I think that you're the common factor in this situation."
Eren says nothing, simply gets up from the couch, arms still folded and moves across to the other side of the room. He stops and stands just staring outside the window at the view. Shiganshina is much warmer than Trost at this time of year, and despite it being near the middle of November, the sun can still be seen in the sky, even if the residents have taken to wearing slightly warmer jackets now.
"Have you told the police about any of this?" Eren asks, still looking out the window, "They could maybe get in contact with the district police in Trost and Karanes…"
"No, they're useless, almost as completely pointless as the military police in the inner cities. Armin's team have taken over this case under the guise of eradicating the Titans."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Eren shouts and whips round to face Levi, "Bertholdt is dead. He is never coming back, and I have to look Reiner in the face and know that I'm the reason for that! That it's my fault! A kid, an 18-year-old kid from Karanes, with his whole life ahead of him was murdered because he decided to talk to me in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He is gone, and that's on me! And Marco…a man that's like a brother to me, was almost killed and has had his whole life entirely changed forever, because someone out there is looking to send me a message. And now, Armin, my best friend in the whole world, is involved and actively trying to hunt them down…who do you think is going to be next Levi?!"
Eren is practically screaming the words at him now, so Levi stands up and slowly begins approaching him in a way that one would a wild animal, "Armin is entirely different. He is trained for this, Eren. And whoever is orchestrating this can't go after Armin anyway if they're using the Titans as a shield, he doesn't fit the profile!"
"That doesn't matter! People are murdered all the time! Even if they are using the Titans as a cover up, who's to say that they won't just kill him anyway and pin it on someone else! I'm not naïve enough anymore to believe that Armin's line of work isn't dangerous, desk job my ass!"
Levi places a tentative yet comforting hand on Eren's shoulder in a calming gesture as the younger man visibly shakes with anger that melts in an immediate pool of fatigue as soon as Levi touches him.
"I've never believed that the Titans were the ones behind all of this…I've faced them before and beaten one half to death. That was different, a truly random attack…the shootings felt personal, and I couldn't put my finger on it. Part of me started to believe that I was just being selfish and that my ego was getting in the way…that my pride was hurt. No, I know now what this is…someone, somewhere is out for my blood. And I wish that this would all just stop…if they want my blood, they should just stop stealing innocent lives and just fucking take it from me! I'll give it to them willingly if it means no one else has to get hurt!" Eren's shouts of anger very rapidly turn into harsh sobs that make his knees buckle from underneath him, and Levi has to physically hold him up, wrapping both arms tightly around the younger man's waist, "No one else needs to die protecting me! Not Erwin, not Armin, and especially not you! I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you, Levi. It would tear my heart apart, rip my body to shreds and destroy me from the ground up! I…couldn't bear it…it would kill me…I couldn't live without you…not now."
"Shh Eren…" Levi coos softly in his ear, using one of his hands to softly rest just under Eren's chin as he speaks, "Listen to me, and listen to me good. Nobody you love is going to die, okay? Not anymore. You are not going to lose another fucking person you care about to these sick sons of bitches; I promise you that. I promise you that with every fibre of my being, that we are going to find these fuckers and that they'll wish they had never been born. But for now, I will NEVER stop protecting you Eren. I will spend every waking moment of my life making sure that no one ever hurts you again. You've changed me Eren, you and Rogue, in ways that I had never even thought possible. You're part of me now, without you, there is no me. Do you understand that?"
Eren's violent sobs begin to simmer into slightly shaking shoulders and hitches of breath, and he nods at Levi's sudden declaration, "I feel the same way about you. I don't want to lose you, I can't. Not after everything we've been through. I love you, Levi. I know I say it all the fucking time, but I do."
Levi huffs out an amused breath, "I love you too, shit for brains. And nobody is going to take you away from me. Not while there is still breath left in my body."
Eren smiles shyly at him then, tears and snot still running down his face, and Levi can't bring himself to care as he loses himself in the kiss that follows. Soft lips and tongues moving steadily against one another in a well-choreographed dance that has been refined over time, allowing them to express those feelings for eachother that just can't be vocalised, there simply are no words. At least not in any dictionary that Levi owns. There are just feelings…and flashes…and colours…and all he knows is that he feels safer than he's ever felt before in his life.
Although, he does begin to slightly regret his final sentence upon reflection, as Eren's eager lips against his have so far never failed to leave him breathless.
Levi and Eren remain entirely wrapped up in eachother for quite some time, never moving any further than their confident kisses to their partner's lips and neck or the odd touch here and there. A hand running through hair or splayed fingers across a back, innocent but wholly passionate in its own way.
Entranced, is the word that comes to mind when describing the scene, exclusively lost in one another, like no one else exists in the entire world.
So much so that neither of them looks out of the window again, despite still standing right in front of it, in full view of everyone and everything.
And so, neither of them spots the hooded figure hidden in plain sight, blending right into the small passing of people going in both directions in front of their house this afternoon. They fade straight into the background, like part of a painting, but not the main focal point. As if everyone's eyes will focus everywhere else before they'd even notice that it was there. And some people do begin to notice eventually, a person in a black hoodie in the middle of a relatively sunny day, standing stock-still and facing a different direction than everybody else. It's only then that they realise this figure is slightly more out of place than they'd originally thought.
But it doesn't matter, the hooded figure has seen all they need to see. Without a word or a big grand gesture, they place a set of earphones in each ear and begin to walk away in a different direction, melting back into the scene with very little effort at all.
Once the figure is a few blocks away, they pull out a cellphone and the call that they make is answered within a matter of rings.
"H-hello sir, it's Galliard. I know you said to only contact you if it was a matter of life and death…but there's been a development that I think you should know about."