"So do we finally all agree that there is literally no other way to get this fucking box without Eren?"
"I wanted to exhaust every other option first. Which we have." Erwin's tone was sharp and the frustration in Levis posture released as he sat down, a cup of tea in hand.
"Thought we couldn't get a hold of the bank manager?"
"Moblit contacted a colleague in Shiganshina. Apparently he went missing over the weekend." A grim look settled on Hanji's face. "He turned up in the Maria River this morning. Originally they were calling it a suicide but I doubt the man voluntarily took a long walk off a short pier with a broken leg, fractured ribs, hands tied behind his back and a face like hamburger meat. There isn't anybody who would buy that. So now they're saying it was a mugging gone wrong, never mind the wallet with two hundred dollars still in his pocket."
"Just like a break-in gone wrong? Four tortured and their necks snapped but nothing stolen?" Levi's jaw clenched and a grim air settled over the three of them. It stretched out, stifling and still.
"Yeah, just like that." Hanji's voice was quiet, breaking the silence but not the mood. Levi tipped his head back, speaking at the ceiling.
"So we're fucked. They got to the manager while we were trying to figure out our own shit."
"Under normal circumstances to get to a deposit box they would have needed him alive so that he could go in and get it for them... and yet that's not what they did and nobody at the bank has seen him since he went on vacation." Erwin leaned forward, elbows on the table and chin resting on laced fingers, a thoughtful look on his face. "I have a hunch that there's a biometric component to Eren or Grisha proving their identities. The Titans didn't want anyone to know what they were asking and they can't get to it without Eren or Grisha anyway; he was a liability to them after they found out what they needed."
"Autopsy says he spent about twelve hours in the river. His lungs had water in them which means he was still alive when he went in. So that puts it at them having him for about two days before killing him. If he'd had the ability to get them the box they would have done it then." Hanji tapped their pen against the notepad in front of them. "So yeah, there has to be some biometric identification requirement, and not something easy to lift like a fingerprint either."
"So let's grab the kid and go." He frowned at Hanji and Erwin's exasperated looks. "What?"
"It's December 23rd" Hanji was staring at him incredulously and a pained look went across Erwin's face.
"And?"
"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The bank is going to be closed tomorrow and the day after." Hanji raised an eyebrow. "You may hate the holiday but the rest of us would like a break and I'm sure Eren would appreciate it too."
"And as much as I'd like to put it off until New Year's I think it's imperative we do this quickly." Erwin frowned. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can move forward."
"You're not giving yourself a lot of time to plan out how we're doing this." Levi was giving Erwin a puzzled look.
"We need to keep this operation small. Fly under the radar as much as possible."
"No." Levi's eyes narrowed and he glared at Erwin. "Absolutely fucking not."
"You were out on injury for a month and a half and since getting back you've been almost exclusively tailing Eren. You leaving for a couple days is far less noticeable than Hanji or myself leaving."
"Besides, he likes you." Hanji was grinning at Levi's sour look.
"That's my problem."
"Fine, he's comfortable with you."
"The two of you can talk about weird science shit."
"Levi, enough." Erwin gave him a stern look and Levi leaned back into his chair and dragged his hands across his face.
"Happy Birthday to me."
.
"Let it be known that you invited me out for coffee."
"Just tell me what you want and go find a place to sit."
"Large black coffee with a splash of milk. Can I get a pastry too?" Eren met Levi's glare with a cheeky smile.
"Just go grab a fucking table."
The tiny café was surprisingly busy for it being the day before Christmas Eve, though Eren supposed it was mostly last minute shoppers coming in from the chilly air outside. There had been an inch of snow in the morning that was now nothing more than ugly gray slush now sluggishly disappearing down storm drains. There wasn't an inch of pure white snow left and Eren felt himself hoping that it would melt soon, even if the dismal gray skies stayed in place at least the ground wouldn't match.
"Here." Eren jerked around, Levi's sudden appearance from behind surprising him.
"Thanks." He took the proffered cup of coffee and Levi moved to sit down, placing an apple tart down in front of him. "Oh, wow. I didn't –"
"It's a preemptive apology."
"Apology for what?" Eren looked at him warily as he removed the lid from his cup, blowing on it to cool it down. Levi mimicked Eren, taking the lid off his tea and blowing on it before taking a sip.
"This tastes like shit. 'Full leaf' my ass." He wrinkled his nose and put it to the side, sighing and pressing at his temples before continuing. "We need to go to Shiganshina."
"The fuck?" Eren set his coffee down hard, wincing as some of the hot liquid spilled onto his hand. A man with a toddler sitting to their right glared at them. "I'm going to need a hell of a lot more than an apple tart. And an explanation."
"There's a bit to bring you up to speed on." Levi brought his hands up to scrub wearily at his face. "About two weeks ago we got a tip off that the bank robbery in October was the Titans but it wasn't just for the money. There was a safety deposit box registered to Grisha Jaeger."
"Bullshit." The man at the table next to them made a move as though to get up and tell them off but Eren's angry glare had him retreating back to his own table. Levi got Eren's attention again when he resumed speaking.
"We looked into it a little more and it turns out the bank has a branch in Shiganshina that also has a deposit box registered to Grisha… and you."
"Me?" Eren's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would –?"
"We have no idea." Levi cut him off abruptly. "What we do know is that we've spent the past week and a half hunting this down and they're refusing to release the box to us."
"Can't I just, I don't know… sign something?"
"Hanji kept on them about that. They wouldn't let anything drop but there are clearly additional requirements to the usual ones. Erwin has a hunch that it's some sort of biometric identification since they're not budging on you needing to be there."
"How the hell would Grisha – or anyone – get my fingerprints or anything?"
"Fingerprints are easy to lift which means it's probably something more difficult to fake. Fuck if I'd know how he would have pulled off getting anything like a retinal scan though."
"Right. So I have to go to Shiganshina to get a deposit box from a bank. That's kind of a trek." Eren's eyebrows knit together again. "Do the Titans know about it?" A frown tugged at Levi's mouth and he looked away. "They do, don't they?"
"Yeah, we're finally caught up to them information-wise."
"Finally?"
"We've been doing a lot of muddling around. They hit us hard. All of our sources dried up for a month and I was out on injury until two weeks ago and pretty much all I've done since then is tail you."
"Yeah, thanks for that super helpful text by the way."
"I was in a bad mood."
"You know, you can't just text someone to keep their guard up and not respond when they text you back." Eren smiled sweetly as Levi narrowed his eyes at him.
"Anyway. Ideally we'll leave the 26th and –"
"December 26th? As in the day after Christmas?" Levi watched Eren's hands draw into fists on the table, his voice heated.
"Yeah, I'd like to leave the 25th but –"
"So you want me to suddenly pick up and go to Shiganshina just to get some stupid fucking box – do you even know what's in it? – and you're giving me only two days warning. Shiganshina was a war zone when I left. Do you have any fucking clue what it's going to be like for me to go back?"
"I think I have an idea, yeah."
"Fuck you." It came out as a growl, Eren's face contorted slightly as he glared furiously at Levi.
"Eren, the sooner we do this the sooner we get back and you can enjoy the rest of your winter break, okay?" He refused to meet Levi's eyes, staring out the window with his jaw clenching and unclenching.
"Fine." Eren's face relaxed slightly as he turned back to look at Levi, anger still evident but ebbing. "What's the plan?"
"We leave at the ass crack of dawn on the 26th and head out immediately." He ignored Eren's groan and continued. "It's an eight hour drive without traffic but I'm betting we'll hit some because of the holiday though leaving early should minimize it. We'll stay over outside the city, hit the bank in the morning, get the fucking box and get the fuck out."
"And if I get piss drunk on Christmas?" Eren gave Levi a challenging look. "What then?"
"Sleep it off in the car since you can't drive anyway. And if you throw up in my car I will end you."
"Duly noted."
The both of them sat quietly, Eren sipping at his coffee and picking at the apple tart, vestiges of anger giving way to a contemplative silence as he stared out the window and watched holiday shoppers milling around. Levi didn't interrupt the increasingly melancholy atmosphere gathering around them, leaving silently without finishing his tea and taking the paper plate in front of Eren with him to throw out. When Eren finally turned away from the window he found himself alone, the café slowly emptying as everyone headed home.
As he walked home gentle snowflakes began to fall, the hush of gathering dark on the day before Christmas Eve pressed in around him, purpled and calm. The silence was only broken by the occasional car, tires sluicing a path through the wet slush left on the road. In spite of everything he felt calm, a sort of inner peace descending over him. He wondered if Levi was tailing him now, watchful eyes and ears out of sight as he trudged along, the dampness of remaining slush creeping up from the hem of his pants. The repetitive rhythm of his step created a sorrowful tattoo for a litany of names: Mom, Hannes, Dietrich, Jarnach, Pixis…
The tiny flakes continued to swirl in the wind and Eren watched as they alighted on his dark wool coat, the white flecks landing and melting and shimmering in the glow of the street lights. He recalled the only time he had seen snow in Shiganshina; school closed and drinking hot cocoa, he and Mikasa getting together all the blankets and cushions and building a fort and watching cartoons until their mom got back from her shift at the factory. Hannes showing up to check on them and to let them know she was going to be back late, his face flushed and smelling of cold and giving them each a small slab of chocolate and a smile before leaving again. The deep black darkness and the beautiful swirling glitter outside the windows when Carla returned, tired and with cold fingers and a weary tautness as she began to heat up leftovers.
Snow fell over Trost as it had over Shiganshina, covering in pristine white both the living and the dead.