I don't own SnK or the movie mentioned

"Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time; effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end."
-Madame De Stael

~Chapter Thirteen: To Protect Him~

Green eyes were determined in searching the truth in those brown eyes that were staring right back at him. Eren hardened his resolve more when he saw Mike flinch as he asked that question to him. However, instead of finding a little triumph after he had been suspiciously right about something, he only found dread filling his chest and weighing him down. He suddenly wanted nothing to do with everything now; he wanted to forget what he had heard from the FBI agent, about his mom and her death, because now that his ears had been filled with the truth he had sought just thirty seconds ago, he knew that he was even more least likely to go back to his normal life.

He was no longer Eren Jaeger who had been ignorant about all these appalling facts hidden from him under his nose.

"Eren…" Mike started but the brunet cut him off effectively when his voice rose a bit higher.

"Forget that I asked that," he told him, sounding a little dead and yet it seemed appropriate because that was what he was exactly feeling at the moment.

Mike was looking at him warily, as if the young man would sprint out of there and start gunning at anyone he deemed suspicious enough to be the suspect. The idea was ridiculous but Eren couldn't deny that it had passed his mind for a brief second.

"I hope you do nothing stupid. This is exactly what I'm worried about. You've been in the dark for so long and I don't want you to—"

"I've been protected by you all these years without even a single clue about what was happening around me. Hadn't you been injured twice now because of me? Maybe even more than that. Mike," he narrowed his gaze, "I'm not a fucking child. It's true that I've been living in such blissful ignorance but I don't want to be like that. I've always believed that Carla Jaeger, my mother, died because of an accident, and now you're telling me that someone intentionally did that to her? And you're expecting me to stay put?!" He knew that he was probably yelling now, a noise that would most likely alert the nurses and rush to this very room he was currently in. He couldn't afford to waste any more time as he let out what was inside him; chest was heaving slightly and face was red in anger.

"You said that you still haven't found the suspect; so let me help you."

Mike's eyes narrowed on him and he muttered harshly, "There's no way I'm exposing you to that kind of danger, Jaeger." The way he said his name sent off warning signals to his head but he didn't want to back down now. Not now, not ever.

"Then, I'll work alone," he challenged, putting intensity into his gaze as if it wasn't already reflecting much of his anger now.

The agent looked away from him, face was downcast and eyes were on the sheets covering the bottom half of his body. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his good arm, a tube following the motion, in obvious irritation and frustration. Yet, Eren was more than sure about what he said; he would really do the digging alone if it meant that he would be able to catch the criminal that took his mom away from him. If he could just retrieve the hole in his memories, then maybe he would get more clues about what happened. He knew that Mikasa probably knew something about this but he didn't want to drag her or her family to this mess that could put their lives in danger. No, he would rather be alone on this.

"I'm not letting you deal with this alone," Mike suddenly said, shaking the brunet out of his train of thoughts.

"Then…" He sounded a bit hopeful; the second he heard the story from Mike, he knew that he was incapable of achieving his objective in a short amount of time without the proper equipment and authority. He'd probably spend half of his life trying to take on a case that hadn't been deciphered these past five years, but that didn't kill his determination.

"I'll let you in to the case. You're a student; barely aware of the laws and what is necessary to know about the criminal world, so let me guide you. I've been told that there's a probability that some other cases are involved in this one. You're still under my watch, got it?" There was a pressing need for an immediate response there, and Eren nodded.

"Got it."

Two weeks had passed and everything went back to normal; the bakery was fixed and they could work there again. There were security cameras now, thanks to the FBI fussing over a chance of another incident happening again and they were more than eager to find the culprit who rained bullets down at the place.

And Levi was seething in a different manner.

Eren had been picked up and driven home by his boyfriend and when short man wasn't available and was tied down on his desk because of the pile that had built up in the last couple of weeks, Petra or anyone in the SOS was in charge. Erwin would sometimes volunteer, even though it had only been twice. And this was one of those times.

"So Eren, is there anything you would like to eat?" the blonde asked him, his intense blue eyes were focused on the road and two hands were carefully placed on the wheel. He looked like a commander of an army or some sort with his uptight expression and all, which seemed reasonable since Erwin was like a guardian of the freaking law or something like that.

"Not really. Just drop me off?" the student said, sounding a bit unsure because turning the man down didn't seem like a good idea.

"I'll go to McDonald's, drive thru," the agent simply said, despite the brunet's response. The picture of the FBI dude getting fries and chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant was amusing. Levi would probably never get near the damn place because it would be "greasy as shit". The intrusion of the certain man made Eren smile sadly. They hadn't talked about the incident in the past couple of weeks and Levi wasn't forcing him to spill any information to him. He loved that his lover was giving him privacy, but he also felt guilty because stress had probably built in that short stature of his, especially since Levi was the type to put an emotional barrier when it was necessary.

"Is there anything that you could possibly remember from the incident?" Erwin voiced out his question out of the blue. The gravity of all this was lessened when he snatched some fries balanced on the center console as he led them out of the place.

"I thought you're not going to interrogate me," Eren said cautiously, narrowing his eyes slightly. The sight of the blonde man having some fries stick out his mouth was something he would laugh at, yet he didn't have the humor to do that. Erwin had been keeping tabs on him through Levi or Mike (he had a nagging feeling), but the agent hadn't talked to him directly ever since that one time at the hospital when the brunet got discharged. He had asked him about what he remembered about the incident and he only told him what he saw, and the intimidating man hadn't masked the doubt on his face. He remembered that Mike and Erwin had worked together in the past, and the reason that the latter was trying to get information out of him was most likely because he knew something about that case. However, Eren didn't want to take any chances; he promised Mike that he would keep his mouth shut about that matter no matter what happened.

"Did you talk to Levi?"

His response was quick. "No."

Erwin looked at him hard, blue eyes sent a dangerous shudder in him and that thinned line on his lips meant that the agent wasn't the one to beat around the bush. "Why?"

He didn't answer. Truthfully, the brunet had been planning that day to confess to his lover about what happened, but he promised to himself that he would leave out that detail involving his mom's death. It wasn't something that he could openly talk about with Levi, not when his life could be in danger if that information got through him. The last thing that Eren wanted was for that to happen, and he would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening—even if it meant hiding everything from his lover.

Even if he lost Levi's trust.

He'd rather see the one he loved living well than see a corpse of the once warm body that he found comfort in.

"I know."

Those words screeched his thoughts to a halt, making him turn sharply to the man who appeared to be more than composed as ever. That authoritative aura of his would possibly send anyone away with their tail in-between their legs, and Eren had that inkling that he would too. Erwin wasn't the type of person to play around, he knew that from the moment he met him in Levi's office and right now, the blonde could directly pull the truth out of Eren's tongue without any effort. The young man always forgot that the agent could probably read him better than Levi, and that thought irked him and sent fear right through him.

He knew. He said he knew.

"You're scared."

He breathed out a huff of air before replying, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you don't want to involve Levi. Because you know that revealing this to him would put his life in danger," Erwin said with such certainty than Eren could ever manage to say in his life.

"What do you know?"

To a stranger, the two of them were probably exchanging a bag of gibberish or riddles that were too difficult to decipher, but the two men knew exactly what was in their minds.

"I know about your mother's case. I helped Mike track down the criminal five years ago and we didn't get desirable results."

Of course, he did. He recalled Levi recognizing his boss the minute they saw each other at the bakery and the grey-eyed mad suspiciously said that he saw Mike with Erwin years ago. He was probably Mike's partner before he decided to settle down as a baker and take up the responsibility of protecting him.

"Are you gonna tell Levi?"

"Do you want me to?"

He paused; part of him wanted to reveal everything to Levi, assure him that everything was perfectly under his control, yet a bigger part of him knew that the lawyer would absolutely do nothing like sit down and watch Eren do something dangerous. Oh, no. Levi would be even more protective and he'd probably jail the artist inside his house, holding a house patrol every night. That was an exaggeration of course (or is it?), but something similar could happen. He wondered how that night under a starry night with his lover could turn into a night of terror and a shower of gunshots with Mike's stomach sporting a bullet wound. Something worse could happen, and he'd rather not let Levi witness it.

"No."

"Then, I won't. Just let me know when you find something," Erwin told him as he halted his car on the curb right in front of his apartment complex. He grimaced when an image of cops surrounding this shelter of his had come into his mind. He didn't want any more disturbances in his life, yet the underlying tone in what Erwin told him had sent the unspoken meaning behind all this.

It wasn't the end. It was merely the beginning.

And he begrudgingly thanked the man before he removed his seatbelt and walked into his sanctuary.

Two nights later, Eren's phone vibrated loudly on his center table. He slid his finger on the screen and pressed the device on his ear. He didn't expect that familiar voice to speak on the other line.

"Oi, brat. Are you doing something?"

A warm feeling spread to his chest and he didn't attempt to suppress the smile that formed in his lips.

"No. I'm just…doing a project."

He was actually waiting for Mike to call him, because the investigator told him that he would give him a brief summary about the cases that could be potentially involved in his mom's car crash. He really didn't know how could some other incidents be connected to his mom's death, but he wasn't going to take anything for granted. A simple hint could be a big piece in the missing puzzle, and he wouldn't pass up the chance to gather more evidence.

But there was that nagging feeling that he was missing something big himself.

"I'm coming to pick you up." That statement wasn't something to be argued with, and he knew Levi enough that he meant he was already driving to Eren's place and could be five to ten minutes away.

The green-eyed young man suddenly felt panic rise up to his throat and he hesitated. He didn't want to turn his boyfriend down but he also needed to talk to Mike about that important matter.

"Where are we going?" he asked instead, masking his nervousness.

"My house."

"YOUR house?" He realized that his voice rose a bit higher, clearly surprised.

"What? You don't want to?"

"No, no. Of course, I want to!" he immediately replied. Oh, shit.

"Good. Wait for me."

And the line went dead with a soft click. Eren hastily stood up from his couch, almost knocking the coffee cup down when he slammed his knee on the table. He yelped in pain and crouched down, massaging his knee that would probably turn bluish-black tomorrow. He didn't linger to think about what could mark his battered skin and he straightened up and limped down to his room to change his clothes. He was wearing cotton pajamas and a plain white V-neck shirt. He decided to keep the shirt and replaced his bottom pants with some clean blue jeans. Levi wouldn't appreciate him wearing something that he himself didn't know if it had already gone through the washing machine.

And true to his word, Levi pressed the doorbell that echoed in his noiseless apartment minutes later. Eren practically flew down the entryway and opened the door with more force than necessary that could've had severed the knob from the rest of the object. His eagerness had most likely shown on his face because the smirk that graced upon his lover's lips told him that he was definitely amused.

"Levi," he breathed out.

"Yo, brat."

He was glad that Levi's voice was light. The atmosphere around them the past week had been severely tense; Levi had became awfully careful around Eren like he was fragile china, which the brunet hated so he confronted him about it. Their little spat led to a make-up kiss—or more like a make-out session—and they both returned to their normalcy. However, the green-eyed lad knew that nothing was completely normal in his life anymore the day he agreed to be let into this FBI business. He could only imagine Levi flipping his shit out once he found out, but Eren would rather seal his lips than let him know about it.

As painful as it was, he wouldn't put Levi in any danger.

"You look constipated," the shorter man remarked, an eyebrow raised. Eren realized that he had been spacing out and was probably putting a face that displayed his emotions about his thoughts. His jaw snapped shut; he really needed to be more careful around Levi. He kept forgetting that he was like an open book to him.

"Uh, let's go?" he offered, itching to be out of the empty apartment and to distract himself with something less dreadful.

"Did you miss me that much?" There was a teasing edge in Levi's tone and before Eren could blush shyly, the raven's hand shot up and grabbed his to drag him out of his apartment once he switched off the lights. At least, he could conserve energy and still save some money.

"What's with the sudden plan?" Eren asked as he got into the silver car. The sight of the vehicle had become even more familiar to him the past couple of weeks.

"It's not sudden. We planned this before," Levi reminded him. The younger recalled that; his mind coming back to the incident at the bakery because that was where Levi was supposed to pick him up to go to his house. He felt a bit regretful that an expected wonderful night could turn dark and sour in just one moment.

The lawyer drove on the almost empty streets, and Eren looked at the dull blinking lights that told him it was 11:30 PM already. Levi didn't usually get off his work that late and he wondered what could've had held him up. The thought of him finding out everything that Eren had been trying to hide from him made his heart rattle in its ribcage, and he had to repeat a mantra in his head that Mike would never let that happen. Neither of them wanted anyone to get involved, unless it was a trusted professional person who knew everything around the criminal world—namely Erwin Smith.

They arrived to this two-story white house after a gate automatically opened for Levi, which was Eren's first clue that his lover could possibly be more loaded than he had imagined him to be. When they were parked in the garage, the brunet let himself out of the car, followed by the engine that stopped its hum after the driver turned it off. The older male followed suit and the brunet could only awkwardly stand there because he didn't know where to go. His teal eyes caught a sight of bike—a goddamned shiny black bike—and his voice was caught in his throat when he asked Levi a question.

"You have a motorcycle?" he squawked.

He received a sexy smirk in return as the grey-eyed man replied, "Yes. I'm pretty sure it's not just displayed there like a freaking trophy, though it could be one."

He let out a hesitant chuckle then scratched his head bashfully. The next thing he knew he was being pulled out of the garage and being led to the front door of his lover's house. And he might have had noted how those door stood majestically tall with its mahogany piece. Yep, Levi was definitely rich like hell. The lawyer opened his door with a long key; the sight of it reminded him of the one that he had pressed up against his chest. He'd have to think about that later. As soon as he stepped a foot on the threshold, his breath hitched.

Oh, how meticulously spotless it was.

The first thing that he noticed was the giant spiral staircase a few feet away from the foyer. There was a step in front of him, the real floor was alleviated, and he noticed that there was something Eastern about this. There was a pair of shoes and then two pairs of house slippers on the shiny black-and-white tiled floor, and he suspected that they were there to ensure that his house would remain clean. He followed Levi's example when he took off his black combat boots, clumsily leaning on the wall as he removed his own white sneakers.

He stepped onto the cream carpeted floor and walked behind his lover as they reached a part of his house—the living room. A bigass living room. There were expensive-looking couches, one was a black L-shaped one and a couple of reclining chairs on either side of the big one, and then there was that enormous TV occupying the wall. A bunch of papers and a laptop were placed on the long, glass center table and it made Eren wonder how many nights had Levi spent in this room, falling asleep or taking a dose of his caffeine as he typed the night away. The ceiling was high; the exterior appearance of the house was definitely not living up to its interior because this was no ordinary two-story house. It was a freaking mansion. He could see the railings of the staircase from where he was and he wondered if Levi's room was on the second floor.

"My apartment could fit in your living room," he dumbly uttered. His eyes caught the stools at an area, and he gulped when he walked a bit closer. He let his jaw hang open when he saw a mini bar and the dining area attached to it. A very clean kitchen and a small glass table of four were separated by an island with a bowl of different rounded fruits placed on top of it. All of the appliances surrounding him, without a doubt, could cost more than a year of his monthly down payment in his apartment, and the thought of that made him feel a bit embarrassed. Levi hadn't really reacted much when he saw his puny place months ago, and he mused at the memory of the raven making a fuss about his food.

"Done admiring?" Levi asked, snapping him out of his trance. Eren turned around and waved his hand around him, unable to speak properly. The short man shrugged and said, "My parents contributed to the place." It made the younger man remember about the amount of zeros on his own parents' savings; he could probably buy a decent house, probably (a lot) smaller than this place, but it could get him out of that stinking building he was currently living at. Only if he didn't feel hesitant about using money that didn't come out from his own pocket.

"Do you wanna watch movies?"

Eren nodded, smiling slightly at him, and he let Levi pull his wrist towards the living room. They settled on the big sofa, where Eren felt that comfortable soft cushion on his arse, and Levi grabbed the remote to turn on the TV. It made the younger wonder how did the grey-eyed man prepare everything in the period of time Eren was distracted, because the stacks of paper were arranged on one side of the table and a big bag of chips with cheese and jalapeno dip were placed on another side.

"Wow."

"You don't have classes tomorrow, right?"

"No?" he responded unsurely.

"Good," Levi simply muttered. Before he could ask why, the familiar sound of the opening epicness reverberated in the room.

"You're kidding," he uttered incredulously, looking at Levi who leaned forward to the table to open the glass jar of the drip and poured it on a small plate. He helped by ripping the bag of chips open, careful about the crumbs because his short-stack could be a little anal about cleanliness and whatnot. Judging by what they were gonna watch, he knew that their junk food wouldn't last the first hour.

"Nope."

"Harry Potter marathon?"

"Yup."

"Is there any ice cream?" Eren asked, even though he already knew that Levi probably had almost everything in that big fridge of his.

"You're not eating one here," Levi warned him with a small glare to emphasize his point, but the brunet was already immune to it. He simply leaned back and placed the small plate of dip and the bowl of chips on the sofa between the two of them to share. And as much as Levi hated the idea about spilling food on his furniture, Eren knew that his boyfriend wouldn't be able to complain about it as he shifted comfortably on the couch, bending his legs and feet dangling, and rested his head against his lover's. Levi also sat up in his comfortable position and focused on the movie, but not before one warning to Eren.

"Spill any dip and I'll make you lick it."

Eren was too light-hearted to take the threat seriously so he merely chuckled and placed a soft kiss on Levi's temple.

"Only for you."

Needless to say, the rose-tinted cheeks were enough to ignore that light jab on his ribs.

Oh, this night was going to be fun.

Eren was grateful for the afternoon nap that he took yesterday, because when the credits of Prisoner of Azkaban rolled down, it was already seven o'clock in the morning and the sun was shining through the glass panes. Oh yeah, Levi had these gigantic glass windows at the back of his house, covering the living room and the dining room area effectively. He had noticed the sun beginning to rise a little less than two hours ago, and it reminded him that summer was quickly approaching and that his classes would end. He would then have the entire three months before he decided to take another class in college, which he was unsure of now because he was suddenly interested about a whole different field than art.

"Let's take a break," Levi said before he stopped the movie, voice sending a little vibration to Eren. Somewhere along the long night, they both ended up lying on their sides with Levi tucked into Eren's chest, sometimes his black strands would tickle his chin, and the latter had his one arm hanging idly by the older male's hip while the other was splayed above Levi's head where he rested his cheek against on. He would've had preferred to stay in their position because it was damn cozy, but his freaking stomach took that opportunity to let out a low growl.

The lawyer let out a deep chuckle that successfully sent a shiver down the brunet's spine. He'd rather not pop something up early in the morning, but the way they were pressed close together was definitely not helping him calm the heat that was threatening to spread to his body. He just buried his face on that silky black mane, hiding his burning face. It proved to be a bad idea because his nose caught that familiar scent of shampoo and—just Levi. It was damn frustrating.

"Let me cook breakfast for us," his lover told him, his laughter ceased and he was already moving.

When that warmth left him, Eren unintentionally let out a small whine, which earned an amused look from Levi.

"What? Don't tell me you're popping a boner early in the morning."

Wow, way to be blunt.

The deeper shade of red on his face further became worse and he could practically imagine himself steaming as that smug expression on Levi just became more conceited by the passing second. He managed to grab a small pillow, which somehow manifested during their movie marathon, and threw it to Levi who caught it with no effort.

"You're an ass," he grumbled, rolling on his stomach and planting his face on the soft sofa.

"Oh, you know you love it," Levi remarked teasingly. The young man felt a smack on those cheeks, which caused him to yelp loudly in surprise. Before he could get back at him, Levi had already made his way to the kitchen.

Well, two can play that game.

He followed him to that pristine kitchen where the raven had turned up the stove in low heat and placed the skillet on it. Eren leaned onto the kitchen island, propping his elbow and resting his chin on his palm. He watched as his boyfriend opened the refrigerator and got some eggs, opened up the cabinets to get a bowl and a whisker, and then he turned to the brunet who was merely staring at him.

"Aren't you even gonna help me, brat?" That question made him straightened up and he glanced curiously around the kitchen. Uh, did Levi forget that he couldn't cook for shit?

The grey-eyed man seemed to get the gist of the situation and he told him, "I'm not letting you near the goddamned stove, kid. You can get the plates and set them on the table."

Eren asked where could he retrieve those items and Levi pointed to another cabinet and he smiled at how the ceramic plates were arranged carefully. His boyfriend really did have OCD. Now grinning and warmth filling his chest, he grabbed two dishes and placed them softly on the glass table before he went back to grab some cups.

Is this what it feels like to be at home with someone?

"Do you want coffee?" he asked Levi.

"Yeah, it will help to keep me awake. Though, I prefer tea," the raven answered back. He could hear the sizzle, and the aroma of the incoming mouth-watering food made his stomach protest a little more than necessary. He blushed in embarrassment and his suspicion that Levi had heard it was confirmed when soft laughter erupted from his direction. He tried to ignore it and focused on the coffeemaker right in front of him. He was relieved that he could at least use the appliances around here because fucking them up was not at option; they were, without a doubt, set at an eye-bulging price and he wouldn't be able to afford a replacement. Not that Levi would let him do that, oh, no.

When Eren finished setting up the machine, he went around Levi and a thought popped out in his mind. He looked at that gorgeous ass before he took the perfect opportunity to smack it as he passed by. The strangled-like noise that indicated he was surprised had sent Eren doubling in laughter.

"Fucking brat," Levi all but growled to him.

"Payback," he wheezed out between his breaths.

After a little more jabs and verbal smack down, the couple settled on the chairs adjacent to each other and ate peacefully, enjoying the view of the sun illuminating the area through the windows. The Eren admired the way it lit up the big house, touching the objects that he didn't see under the dimmed lights last night. He gazed at the little fountain next to the window; the water was spraying from a mouth of a dolphin, and a little rainbow appeared, successfully catching all his attention. Unbeknownst to him, Levi was staring at him, astonished as to how those Caribbean green eyes shine with fascination, with a little smile on his face that he hid behind his coffee cup.

"How long has it been since you had any visitors here?" Eren asked, suddenly curious as to how his lover could maintain this great place speckless and arranged accordingly.

"I don't know. I usually come over to their house when I'm invited."

"Hanji and Erwin?"

"Yeah." Levi rolled his eyes and continued, "It's hard not to say yes to that fucking glasses when she won't let go of my leg at the law firm."

Eren laughed. He could imagine the certain redhead clinging on Levi as he attempted to put her claws away from him, earning strange looks from the people at his workplace. He briefly admired Hanji for sticking to Levi because the man was a tough nut to crack. Well, maybe not to him. But the others most likely had a hard time making the lawyer smile, something that Eren saw every time they were together. Hanji and Levi's relationship was like his friendship with Armin and Mikasa, and it was undoubtedly a precious one. He was glad that someone was there for Levi during those years he wasn't there by his side.

"It's good to have friends, you know."

"Mhm."

"Levi," he called out, placing his eyes on those grey ones that looked so unusually carefree, like he wasn't stressed and he wasn't carrying anything on his shoulders. The image made Eren smile softly.

I love you.

He couldn't vocalized the words, but he knew that he got it across to the raven because Levi smiled back to him with all the gentleness and the love he could muster with that one smile. The others would surely kill to see that smile.

I love you, too.

Eren could only hope that he interpreted that right, but even if he were mistaken, he still wouldn't take his own feelings back. It was that moment when the house felt warm—felt like home—to him that he realized that he was more than ready to give all his heart to Levi. It made Eren lean down to the shorter man and capture those lips that met him halfway.

He'd do anything to protect that smile.

A/N: I didn't mean to get all serious, I swear :O Hahaha but this is all part of the whole plot, yes. Thank you for sticking with this story XD I hope you stay tuned to find out what will happen :) I'm sorry for the mistakes x.x I have no beta and I only try my best to proofread and all; hopefully, it's bearable.