Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It had been the perfect day. Levi had woken to a wonderful breakfast prepared by the family butler, before his parents had taken him out to shop for a birthday gift. The evening had been filled with laughter and even in such a world as the one they called home, as Levi drifted off to sleep, he knew he was lucky.

The flames raged around Levi as he was dragged from his room. The stairs left bruises as he was hauled down them and no matter how much he kicked or screamed the rough hands wouldn't let him go. He stopped struggling when he saw his parents bodies. What hope was there for him when someone as strong as his father could be mutilated like that?

What followed next was a level of pain that Levi knew he would never forget and as he cried out for God- for anyone who could make it stop -they had only laughed at him before they shoved him into a cramped cage.

A deeper laughter began to echo around them and as the shadows crept in from the corners of the room he'd been trapped in, Levi prayed that he was finally dying.

"Levi Ackerman." A smooth voice said as a tall, blond man stepped from the shadows. "You have made a substantial sacrifice, it is now for you to decide whether or not you will accept this contact and be granted that which you desire. But be warned, you will be abandoning the light for the path of Hell."

"What are you talking about?" One of his captors asked horrified. " We summoned you, to grant us power and wealth! The boy is the sacrifice!"

The man was silenced with a withering glare, hands clawing at his throat as if he could no longer breath as he silently gasped. Levi's eyes widened as he watched the man fall to his knees and his other assailants began to scramble over each other in their rush for the exit.

"I'll do it! I'll make a contract with you!" Levi yelled, gripping the bars as he stared up at his unlikely saviour. "Give me the power to take down the men who destroyed my family! Make me stronger than any enemy I face!"
It didn't matter what the price was, there would never again come a time when Levi knew such powerlessness or pain. Even if he had to give up his very soul to make sure of it.

"Good." The demon replied, kneeling to meet Levi's eyes with his own blazing gaze. "I will have to mark you. The seal with serve to bind us until the contract is complete. I will always be able to find you, and you will never be able to escape."

"Do it." Levi replied through gritted teeth, a scream tearing through him as the demons hand rested over his heart and it felt like he was being burned from the inside out.

"Now." The demon asked, smooth voice cutting through the pain that had consumed him. "What do you command of me?"

"Kill them." Levi spat, and as the shadows grew around his cage, blocking out his view of the room. "As you wish." Came the demons reply, before the air was filled with the sound of his captors screams.

Screaming soon faded into silence and as the shadows withdrew, the blond stepped forward to tear the lock from the cage before drawing Levi into strong arms.

"State the terms of our contract and be specific, I will allow you up to three conditions." The demon informed him as he carried Levi into the fresh night air.

"You will never lie to me." Levi replied, fixing the demon with a steely gaze after he had been set back on his feet. "You will always protect me and never betray me. And most importantly, until I have my revenge, you will obey my orders unconditionally."

"Your wish is my command." The demon replied, smiling down at Levi in a way that made his skin prickle. "Until the day that you have claimed your revenge, and then your soul is mine."

"If that's the price, then I'll gladly pay." He replied flatly, turning his eyes to the wall that loomed over them in the distance. He didn't know where they were- where he'd been taken -but if they could get to the top of the wall it would be easy enough to figure it out.

"Do you have a name?" He asked his companion as they walked past the stone buildings towards the wall.
"My name is whatever my Master wishes." The demon replied and Levi paused as he looked up at him, considering the blond for a moment.
"Then your name will be Erwin." He decided, before he continued walking, trusting the other would follow him.
"Erwin." The demon repeated with a nod as he followed after the human. "A good name. Did it belong to someone important to you?" He asked curiously.
"It was the name of my dog." Levi informed him, not looking up at the demon who let out an unsatisfied hum.

Once they had made it to the base of the wall, it was only a matter of seconds before Levi was sped to the top in the demons arms and as the sun rose he found himself standing on the top of wall Sina, staring down at Mitras

"Are you surprised to learn that your enemies may come from the heart of your world?" Erwin asked and Levi let out a huff as he glared out at the city below him.
"No. I expected as much." He replied darkly "And It doesn't matter. I don't care if I have to burn everything inside the walls to stop them I will."

He didn't expect the promise to be met with the sound of laughter and he tore his eyes away from the city to glare up at the blond. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Oh nothing's funny. I can just appreciate the irony of being ordered to be honest with you, when you yourself seem like a liar." Erwin replied simply as he met Levi's glare with an unflinching violet gaze.

"Do something about your eyes, I want you to at least try to blend in." He commented coolly, rather than rise to the accusation. As long as the demon was loyal, Levi didn't care what he thought of him.
"Does this satisfy you?" Erwin asked, closing his eyes for a moment before he opened them again and Levi was met with a startling blue gaze.
"It's fine." Levi replied, looking back out over Mitras one last time before turning his back on the heart of his world. "We shouldn't waste any more time, there's work to be done."

"As you wish, Master." The demon replied, lips quirking in a cold smile as he followed the human along the wall.
Whatever he'd expected when he'd been summoned, it hadn't been this. But far from being disappointed, Erwin was intrigued to see what his new master would do with the power he had so dearly paid for.

And if nothing else, the opportunity to kill humans until he finally was able to claim the meal that waited for him would keep things interesting for the time being.

Chapter Text

- - -
The smoke hung thickly around him. Burning his eyes and seeping into Levi's throat as he choked for air. No matter how he might kick or claw at the hands drawing him deeper into suffocating darkness they refused to release him from their crushing grip.

As Levi was pulled into the heart of the fire, he felt himself scream. Though the only sound he could hear was a deep, hideous laughter, echoing in his ears as the flames licked his skin and forced their way into his lungs.
- - -

Eyes snapping open, Levi fought against the blankets that had tangled themselves around him, hand grasping at his throat as he pushed himself to sit and gasped for air.
"Master?" Erwin's voice cut through the darkness and Levi fought to slow his breathing as the demon struck a match. Before long the shadows were pushed back by the glow of the lantern and Levi hugged his arms around his knees as his heartbeat finally began to slow down.

"I'm fine." He said finally. "It was just a dream." The same dream that had haunted him for the last five years.

Kicking the blankets back, Levi got to his feet, stifling a yawn as he stretched. "What time is it?" He asked as he reached for his uniform.
"It's almost dawn." The demon replied, turning to give his master a small degree of privacy as he lifted the teapot from it's shelf.

By the time Levi was dressed and sipping on a hot cup of tea, thoughts of the past became easier to push away, and he turned his thoughts towards the days duties with a dark frown.
He was on patrol again. Which meant walking for hours around Mitras, occasionally settling a domestic or public disruption. All while the higher ups slacked off. It was sickening.

He'd joined the Military Police as a way to infiltrate the heart of his world and the enemies that hid at it's core. But even after years of service he was climbing the ranks slower than he liked. Was no closer to learning why his parents had been murdered.
The demon was growing impatient too. He never said as much, but Levi could tell. Could feel his icy blue gaze fixed on him in the darkness some nights as he tried to sleep.

But Erwin had sworn never to betray him and for the moment Levi chose to trust in the promise as a fact. It would have felt far too isolating to allow doubt to begin gnawing at him regarding the blond's true intentions.

Finally the sun had risen enough to justify leaving the room they shared in search of breakfast and Levi ignored the lighthearted chatter of his comrades in the middle of the mess hall in favour of dropping into a seat at an empty table in the corner.
Picking at his breakfast as he glanced over at the other soldiers he barely managed to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. "None of them take any of this seriously." He complained under his breath, drawing an amused noise from the demon sitting across from him.

"They know the protection of the walls and the assurance that should the worst come, they'll be furthest from the destruction." The blond replied lightly, picking up a napkin to dab at a smear of porridge at the corner of Levi's mouth.
"What are you-" The shorter man started, batting away Erwin's hand as he blinked over at him, face warming. "If I had something on my face you could have just said so."

"My apologies, Master." The demon replied, setting the napkin down as he waited for the human to finish his meal. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"I'm not embarrassed." Levi retorted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "And you're wrong, there are no assurances in this world. Everything they think they know could be snatched away in an instant and they're fools for not seeing it. Expecting it."

"My, my. Aren't you just a little ray of sunshine today?" Erwin asked, the amused edge in his voice just making Levi glare darkly at him.
"But how could you not see the world that way?" The blond continued before the shorter man could manage a cutting remark. "It's been particularly cruel to you, after all."

"Let's just get to work." Levi replied flatly, dropping his fork and picking up his tray as he got to his feet.
"But what about your breakfast?" Erwin asked, moving to follow the human. "It's the most important meal of the day."

"I'm not hungry." Levi said flatly, scrapping the leftovers off his bowl into the slop bucket before abandoning his tray on the bench.

As the pair left the mess hall, Levi didn't care that his comrades had stopped laughing, voices dropping to hushed whispers.
He'd heard them before. Was well aware that the general consensus was that he was 'cold', 'arrogant', 'stunted' and how they couldn't understand why someone as well mannered as Erwin Smith would spend all of his time with an unsociable Ackerman of all people.

But it had been some time since anyone had bothered saying it to Levi's face and so long as they didn't get in his way it would only be more trouble than it was worth to relieve them of a couple of teeth. No matter how tempting or well deserved it might be.

Shouldering his rifle, Levi stepped out into the street. It looked like it was going to be a nice day. The sun, low in the sky as it was, was already casting it's warmth onto the city around them as the pair made their way towards the start of their now familiar route by the Church.

They had fallen into an easy silence as they walked, Erwin's eyes never straying far from his Master's back as Levi stared darkly ahead.
The scream tore through the air not even a block away, jarring both from their own thoughts.
The human reacted first, breaking into a sprint as he reached for his rifle. Bursting into the alleyway, Levi's eyes widened at the scene awaiting him.

The woman who'd screamed stood over the corpse, blood pooling out around them to paint the stones red.
"Military Police, please remain calm." Erwin said from somewhere above him and the woman choked out a sob as she shook her head. "She was supposed to help me open at the cafe..." She cried as Erwin stepped forward to place a steadying hand on her arm.
"It wasn't like her to just not show up so I stopped by, but... Oh God!" Leaning into the demon as he placed a comforting arm around her, the witness let out a shuddering sob.
"It's okay." The blond murmured gently, leading her away towards the mouth of the alley. "There was nothing you could have done. Now tell me everything from the beginning. No matter how small or insignificant it might feel, I want every detail."

Levi stepped towards the body as the woman began to sob out her story to the demon. Kneeling to roll the victim onto her back, Levi felt his stomach twist at the jagged gashes in her stomach that revealed shredded organs. Sucking in a steeling breath, he knelt to inspect the wounds closer, fighting the urge to lose his breakfast.

"Hey! Sergeant Ackerman! Back away from the body!" A voice snapped and Levi turned to raise an eyebrow at the angry looking Captain glaring down at him.
"Forgive me, Sir. I would have assumed it was prudent for the first responding soldiers to investigate the crime scene." He replied coolly. "Unless of course, you mean to imply I might be involved somehow?"

"Why you little brat.." The Captain started, cutting himself off when a firm hand dropped down on his shoulder.
"The good Captain is doing no such thing." Erwin hummed lightly. "It's obvious to anyone that this woman has been dead for at least two hours and, as any of our comrades who joined us for breakfast this morning can confirm, that places us at the barracks at the approximate time of murder."

"I- Right, of course." The Captain spluttered out, looking up at the blond, who only smiled politely back at him.

"Furthermore." Erwin continued, stepping past the superior officer to glance down at the body. "This wasn't carried out with a rifle or any type of military issued weapon. Nor was it carried out with a simple knife. No, our killer used something much more sophisticated."

"What are you suggesting, Staff Sergeant Smith?" The Captain asked, though the edge had faded from his tone, replaced instead with concern.
"I'm suggesting that we're up against something we're not familiar with." The demon replied simply. "As for what that might be, I couldn't begin to guess."

The Captain frowned as he glanced down at the body, waving over his partner as she finished talking to the witness. "Sir?" She asked, saluting.
"Block off the area, I want go properly inspect the crime scene before we move the victim." He ordered, before turning back to Erwin and Levi. "You two are dismissed."

Opening his mouth to argue, Levi closed it again when the demon's hand dropped down on his shoulder. "Of course, Captain." The blond hummed before steering his charge firmly back towards the mouth of the alley.

"You were awfully agreeable back there." The shorter man quipped once they were back on the familiar patrol route.
"I find that having a pleasant attitude tends to ingratiate oneself with one's superiors. Perhaps you could try it sometime?" Erwin replied with the hint of a smirk.

Eyes flashing, Levi brought his fist back, slamming it back towards the demon's face.
"Now now, Master." The blond said, catching his fist easily. "We wouldn't want you to risk damaging your hand, now would we? Besides, there were a couple other things I noticed that I forgot to bring to the good Captain's attention."

That was enough to pique Levi's curiosity and he snatched his hand back quickly as he glanced up at Erwin. "Like what?" He asked impatiently when it became clear his companion wasn't going to share without prompting.

"The Victim was missing some of her internal organs, her uterus to be exact." Erwin replied calmly. "It also appears that the weapon used to inflict the injuries possessed both significant force behind it, and an uneven edge. The tearing was consistent with teeth, though the placement was wrong."

"You barely glanced at the body and you noticed that?" Levi asked a little incredulously as he came to a stop, looking up at the demon in surprise.
"Of course." Erwin replied calmly. "What kind of Staff Sergeant would I be if I was unable to gather adequate evidence?" He asked.

"You wouldn't be nearly as useful to me if you couldn't, I'll give you that." Levi replied honestly, glancing back over his shoulder towards the alleyway. It had already been blocked off by a flimsy string of red tape and he tore his eyes away as the witness was led off by a soldier.

"Do you have any idea who did it?" He asked, as he continued walking, eyes flitting over the people who passed them in the street suspiciously.
"No, but I have a feeling." Erwin replied darkly. "I'd like to take my leave for a short time to look into my suspicions." He continued. "If you determine that's your best use for me, of course."
The hint of amusement was back in the demons voice and Levi wondered of he'd only imagined the darkness it had held a moment ago. Wished that he had for all it reminded him of the looming darkness in his nightmares.
"No, do what you need to." The shorter man agreed. "Just don't draw attention to yourself unnecessarily, the last thing I need is for you to get yourself thrown in the stocks for snooping around."

Holding his gloved right hand over his heart, Erwin smiled down at Levi. "As you wish, Master." He hummed, before turning back in the direction of the barracks.
As he continued his patrol, Levi couldn't help but think back to the blood. So much of it from such a small body and so deep behind the supposed safety of the walls.

But Levi Ackerman wasn't a fool, he knew the truth of the world. That humans were the real monsters.

Chapter Text

By the time his shift was over Levi was exhausted. After the mornings excitement the rest of the day had dragged on and Levi couldn't keep himself from wondering exactly what leads the demon was pursuing.
He should have asked him before giving the blond leave to do as he pleased. But there was no helping it now. He'd just have to be patient.

Letting his feet carry him back towards the barracks, all he wanted to do was sink into a hot bath. Maybe he could order Erwin to bring him something to eat later and avoid having to deal with anyone else for the rest of the night.

He was rounding the corner towards the military compound when he heard it- a cry for help from behind the bakery.
Rushing down the narrow passage that curled around the stone building, Levi came to a stop when he saw the recruit.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, frowning at the guilty look that shadowed her face as she refused to quite meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice." She replied, pushing past him in her haste to flee.
"What do you-" Levi started, turning after her to find himself staring back at the Captain who had taken control of the crime scene.
"Oh great." He muttered, rolling his eyes as the Captain and his friends closed in around him. "Is there a problem, Sir?"
"You're the problem, Sergeant." The Captain replied harshly, breath reeking of whiskey as he invading Levi's space. "Poking your nose where it doesn't belong, badmouthing your superiors and regiment behind our backs. You don't think we have ears everywhere?"

"I see." Levi replied flatly. "And I suppose you plan to what? Write me up for insubordination? Shall I write you a formal apology, Captain?"
The other man's fist found his stomach sharply and Levi let out a groan as he stumbled back, strong hands gripping his forearms- holding him in place -as the Captain struck him again.

"Get your hands off me!" He snapped, jerking against the soldier's grasp. "I swear, I'll-" He started, before the Captain's laughter cut him off.
"You'll what, boy?" He asked, seizing his chin roughly to force the Sergeant to meet his eyes. "Assault a superior officer? I'll have you thrown in a cell."
Bringing his fist back, the Captain slammed it forward to meet Levi's face- and he felt his nose crunch, with a sickening, burning sensation.

Worse though, was that the Captain's words had made sense, were enough to stop Levi from trying to fight back. It was better to let himself be kicked around if it appeased the drunk man's ego. His pride could handle a beating if it meant he didn't stay from the path before him.
Besides, as the Captain brought his fist back to slam into Levi's face again, all he was really doing was showing his hand. Showing the truth of everything the Sergeant knew was rotten within the Military Police.

"That's what I thought." The drunk man sneered, letting out a grating laugh as Levi went limp in the arms that held him in place. "You're just a dog, a dirty animal that should have had some respect beaten into you years ago!"

By the time they had stopped, Levi was barely hanging on to consciousness, he didn't feel himself hit the ground or realise that his attackers had left until a gentle touch found his arm.
"Are you okay?" The recruit asked once Levi had pushed his face from the dirt with a groan. "I'll live." He hissed, cradling his ribs as he stumbled to his feet.
When the recruit's arm tentatively looped around him, he frowned, eyes narrowing down at the soldier. "What are you doing?" He demanded.
"I was too scared to go against the Captain's orders." She admitted shamefully. "But I knew him and his friends weren't planning anything good, let me make it up to you by helping you back, Sir."

In the end Levi didn't argue because he wasn't sure he'd make it back to the barracks on his own, letting the recruit guide him back towards the military compound as he considered the days events.

"That's far enough." He said as they neared the barracks, pushing himself to stand properly. "I'll manage the rest of the way on my own."
"Sir, are you sure?" The recruit asked uncertainly, reaching out a hesitant hand towards Levi.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He replied, bringing a hand to gingerly prod at his nose, wincing at the sticky mess he found smeared over his face. "You followed corrupt orders today, but you saw them for what they were. You even made an attempt to correct your role in them. This won't be the last time you're placed in this position, you need to be strong enough to ask yourself each time. What are you really serving?"

"Sergeant?" The recruit asked uncertainly, staring at Levi wide eyed. She was young, still carried an air of naive innocence that the Sergeant couldn't bring himself to scorn.
"Forget it." He said flatly. "I must have hit my head when I went down. That will be all, soldier."
"Sir!" She replied, saluting before she hurried away. Levi watched her go for a moment, leaning against the wall of a house as he steeled himself to walk the final distance back to the barracks.

If any of his comrades noticed his injuries they didn't acknowledge them, avoiding Levi's eyes as he made his way to the bathroom.
He couldn't blame them for their apathy. Erwin had been right, for all that Levi Ackerman was a talented soldier he had done little to ingratiate himself to his superiors- or even his peers -and he had been a fool not to realise his mistake earlier. Until it had to be beaten into him.

Sinking into the warm water, the usual relief it brought him was replaced with throbbing pain. But he still made sure to scrub at every last spec of blood and dirt until his skin stung, but at the very least no one could say he was dirty.

Once he was clean, Levi let his head tip back against the edge of the tub as he sucked in a slow breath. It was tempting to just stay in the water, even as it began to grow cold.
Staying would hurt less than dragging his muscles back to his room and anyway, the last thing he wanted to do was face Erwin in this condition.

Letting his eyes slip closed for just a moment, Levi wondered about the woman they'd found that morning. He hadn't even bothered to find out her name.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, the Sergeant slid deeper into the water, lips parting as his head disappeared under the surface.

"Master!"

Erwin's voice called through the darkness as Levi tore his eyes open, coughing and spluttering to breathe and for a moment he thought he was back in the flames.
"It's okay, take it nice and slowly." The demon said gently and Levi let out a groan as strong hands pulled him to sit.

"I'm fine." He groaned, wincing as he placed a steadying hand on the edge of the bathtub. "I was just resting my eyes."
"Of course you were." Erwin replied, leaning to pull out the plug before he turned to retrieve the other man's towel.
"Let's get you out of there and into bed. Then you can tell me what happened today." He continued, setting about drying the Sergeant's hair.
"Stop it!" Levi snapped, attempting to bat the blond's hands away, eyes widening in annoyed surprise when Erwin securely captured his wrist.
"I'd prefer you didn't try and fight me, Master." The demon hummed lightly. "You're in bad enough shape as it is, I'd hate to think of you catching a cold now. Really, you humans. You're so incredibly fragile, it's a wonder any of you survive as long as you do."

Letting out a huff, Levi stopped trying to push Erwin away, sullenly allowing the demon to fuss over him until the blond was satisfied.
As embarrassing as it was, he wasn't sure he would have been able to make it back to their room by himself anyway. His muscles were stiff and threatening to lock up after his soak in the cold water and Levi didn't argue when Erwin helped him out of the tub, reaching for his shirt to help the other man dress.
"My my, you have had a difficult day, haven't you?" The demon remarked, eyes tracking over the human's body as he catalogued the injuries marking his frame before carefully buttoning his shirt.

"It doesn't matter." Levi replied, cheeks warming as he glared at the blond's shoulder. "This is nothing."
"No, I suppose it isn't." Erwin replied quietly. "Though I do wish you had called for me. I do detest the thought of dirty men placing their hands on my Master. I would have happily dealt to them."

"No." Said Levi flatly, not bothering to argue as he was scooped into the demon's arms. "Let them think I'm just a dog that they can beat down. They won't expect it when I bite back."

"So dramatic, my young Master." Erwin said with a sigh as he carried the shorter man back to their room. "And while I do see the value of allowing yourself to be underestimated by those who mean to hurt you, I really do wish you wouldn't compare yourself to such a loathsome animal."

"Woof." Replied Levi dryly as he was set gently down on the bed, leaning back against the pillows with a groan.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you still possess your sense of humour." Erwin said just as dryly as he reached to put out the lantern.

"Wait, leave it." Levi said quickly. "Please."
The demon looked up at him for a moment in surprise before withdrawing his hand. "Of course, my Lord." He replied. "Who knew that all it took was a simple beating to make you remember your manners?"

Levi had nothing to say to that, letting his eyes drop closed again as he stifled a yawn. "Sleep now, Master." Erwin hummed gently, reaching to brush away a stray strand of hair that had draped over Levi's forehead. "Tomorrow you can face your enemies, new and old. But for now, rest."

The human didn't reply, the tug of sleep lulling him back into the inescapable darkness. Though for once nightmares of flames and shadow were replaced with strange dreams where Levi found himself trapped in freezing water.
A raven's beak tapped against the sheet of ice that prevented him from reaching the surface- too small to break through -and Levi felt himself sinking down to the depths. Mouth opening to scream as water flooded his lungs.

Chapter Text

When he woke the sun was already high in the sky and Levi let out a groan. His body ached and he knew it would be torture to push himself through another patrol.

But pain was temporary. It was a lesson he had learned well.

His dream lingered over him and Levi tried to shove off the choking feeling as he remembered how the water had burned his lungs. It was foolish to even give the nightmare a second thought and he knew it, but there had been a familiarity he couldn't place that sat uneasily with the Sergeant.

He had crawled out of bed and was carefully tugging on his uniform when Erwin joined him. The blond setting down the tray he'd been carrying on the desk before he turned to help Levi with his buttons.
"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself." Levi pointed out flatly, though he made no move to push the demon's hands away.

"Good morning to you too." Erwin replied calmly, offering Levi a smile as he straightened the Sergeant's collar. "I took the liberty of having your patrol reassigned. Given your injuries it's prudent for you to rest and it was a small price for our esteemed Captain to pay to avoid having his abuse of power passed up the chain of command."

Eyes flashing, Levi took a quick step back, staring up at the demon. "What did you do?" He demanded sharply.
"I simply ensured that the incident wouldn't repeat itself, after all one of the conditions of our contract is to protect you. I can't exactly stand by and let this happen again."

Levi jerked his hand back, bringing it across the blond's cheek with a resounding crack.
A gasp escaped his lips as he drew his hand back, he hadn't expected Erwin to allow the blow to land.
"One of other conditions is that you follow my orders." He said coolly, eyes narrowing as he dropped down onto the bed, wincing as his ribs painfully protested the movement.
"My sincere apologies, Master." Erwin replied, holding his gloved right hand over his heart as he inclined his head. "I had assumed from your dramatic speech last night that you would prefer to appear weak if it's to your benefit. Forgive me for not understanding that didn't extend beyond taking a beating."
Levi stared up at him for a long moment, before shaking his head. "How is this to my benefit?" He asked after he'd recovered. "If I look like I can't get back on my feet after something as small as that I'll never be selected to join the Anti-Personnel Control Squad."

"If you take the day to follow up on the leads I spent the night piecing together, you might be able to put a stop to the murders." Erwin said calmly, turning to retrieve the tray from the table, setting it down across the human's knees. "But I'm happy to talk to my friend and see if I can arrange for you to be put back on your patrol instead. Whichever you prefer, My Lord."

Levi stared down at the food on the tray, shaking his head again before he laughed, even though it made him wince. "I didn't know you had friends." He replied after he'd managed to compose himself again, picking up his spoon to take a bite of his porridge.
"It's what happens when you stop treating everyone like the enemy and smile on occasion." Erwin replied lightly, shooting Levi another infuriating smile as he dropped into the chair.

"Because smiling will solve all of my problems." The Sergeant said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he took another bite of his breakfast. "What did you manage to find out?" He asked after he'd swallowed, picking up the napkin to dab at his lips.

"I had a closer look into our friend, the Captain. It turns out that he has a tendency to spend his time in one of the Underground brothels, drinking and gambling as well as less savoury exploits." The demon began, wrinkling his nose distastefully as he crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in the chair.
"It also appears that he's not very good at gambling. He's run up a substantial debt to several unsavoury people, as well as with several of his own men."

"How does that help us?" Levi asked flatly, looking up from his food. "So what? He's a scumbag, but it's a hell of a jump to link him to murder."
Erwin's smile widened and he looked amusedly at the human for a moment. "For one, it means he frequently spends large amounts of time in both areas that murders have occured. It also means that there's a chance that he owes some of his associates dearly for his losses and they may have motives we're yet to understand. Not to mention how quick he was to rush us away from the crime scene."

"You said you spoke to the Captain about my patrol, did you ask him about his involvement?" Levi asked, setting his fork down and placing the tray on the bed before getting to his feet.
"No, I thought it best to let him think my only interest was your wellbeing. Though I imagine if keep a close eye on him, he'll lead us to our murder eventually."

Levi let out a scoff, shaking his head as he bent to grab his boots. "That's your best plan? If we wait we're risking the possibility that someone else dies."
"Allow me." The demon replied, taking the boots from the Sergeant's hands and steering Levi back towards the bed so he could slide them onto the human's feet. "I forgot that you care so much about the preservation of human life, you spend so much time talking about how you're going to burn and destroy everything that I suppose I assumed you didn't care who had to die for you to achieve your goals."

Levi stared at him, lips parted slightly as he watched Erwin lace his boots and get to his feet, before offering Levi his hand. Wordlessly, the Sergeant took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.
"I forget you're a demon sometimes." He said finally, taking a slow breath as the blond released his hand again and his muscles complained. "And then you say something like that. My family was murdered, they weren't soldiers on a battlefield or facing down a Titan. People killed them and then they took me... That deserves justice."

Clenching his fists by his side, Levi looked up at the demon with steely eyes. "I don't care how many people have to die to get there, I'll kill them myself if I have to. But only because they're monsters and I'd rather die myself than live in a world where monsters are free to do as they wish. Do you understand me?"

"I do, Master." Erwin replied, tone carrying a hint of amusement, lips quirking in a pleased smile. "Though I must say that it strikes me as ironic that you're willing to work with a demon to realise these noble goals." He continued, moving to get the door for the human. "Given your opposition to monsters and all."

"You're a necessary evil." Levi replied, shrugging lightly, though he regretted the action as it made his ribs flare. "Besides, it seems we have different definitions of monster. You've never struck me as one."

Erwin waited until the human had stepped out onto the hall, before following him out and closing the door. "That's simply because my job would be a lot harder if you were afraid of me." He explained lightly, stepping towards Levi and bringing his thumb to trace over the human's cheek gently as his eyes flashed violet for just a moment.
"But make no mistake, Master. For all their childish cruelty and brutality, your monsters are nothing compared to what's forged in my world."

Levi felt a chill run down his spine and he watched the blond uncertainly for a moment, entirely unsure of what to make of the gesture. For all of the gentleness in his touch it had felt like a threat.
"But enough talk of monsters." Erwin continued as he started down the corridor. "There's work to be done and I wonder what might be gained if we go and question some of the people the Captain owes money to. Unless you had a better idea, of course."

"No." Levi replied flatly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he followed after the demon. "That's fine." It didn't matter whether or not it had been a threat, or a reminder of what waited for Levi at the end of their contract. Erwin was useful and there was no way that Levi could face down a world of monsters without him.

No matter how they might pale in comparison to the demon.

Chapter Text

The pair made their way towards the wide stairway that led down to the Underground in silence. It hurt to walk, but Levi hardened his expression, commiting to place one foot firmly in front of the other, his aching muscles be damned.
If he didn't, the risk was too high that Erwin would insist on carrying him and there'd be no way to come back from the embarrassment of being caught in his Staff Sergeant's arms by his comrades.

Even though he was propelled by determination, Levi felt himself falter as they began to descend the stone steps. His hand gripping at the railing uncertainly as he glanced back towards the sunlight behind him.
"What's wrong, Master?" Erwin asked, looking up from where he'd fallen ahead to peer back at Levi curiously. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

The hint of the smirk on the demon's lips was enough for Levi to keep walking, to keep descending into the stale air and dirt that awaited him in the slum.
"Of course not." He replied indignantly, narrowing his eyes at the blond as he caught up to him. "I just don't like the thought of how dirty it's going to be down there. That's all."

"Of course, my Lord." The demon replied and Levi wanted to punch him for the amused, disbelieving, edge in his tone. But Erwin would just catch his hand, or worse, he'd allow the blow to land again.
Levi still didn't know what to make of their conversation back at the barracks. The threat that had been spoken so gently. Almost lovingly.
But Levi knew he'd be fooling himself if he allowed himself to believe that the demon was capable of something as human as love.

"What happens at the end?" He asked as they stepped off the staircase onto the dirt street. "When you take my soul, I mean."

"I'm surprised that you're finally asking." Erwin replied, glancing over his shoulder at the human as he led him deeper into the Underground. "After five years I had assumed that you had your own ideas, or simply didn't care."
"You assumed wrong." Levi lied flatly. It was true that he hadn't cared much to think about the end, there was already so much that stood between him and justice that it had felt pointless to speculate. But now, surrounded by the suffocating stone, it was hard to think of much else.

Erwin had stopped walking, turning to look down at Levi as he let out a thoughtful hum. "When the terms of our contract are complete, I will remove your soul from your body and consume it." He explained calmly as he held the human's steely gaze. "I'll try my best to ensure that it is as painless as possible for you, but I imagine it will be a fairly excruciating experience."

Levi nodded once as he took the information in, sucking in a slow breath before his lips curled in a smile. "And then I'll die." He said, almost as if the thought were a relief.
"No." The demon replied. "You'll continue to exist as I continue to feed off the torment and pain that has stained you. It won't be a life such as you understand it, perhaps. But you will remain with me until the very end. That is the price of your revenge."

The human's eyes widened slightly as he continued to stare up at Erwin, uncertainty flooding his face as he began to understand the true extent of what he had agreed to.
"And if I decide I no longer wish to maintain the contract?" He asked, though despite the possibility he might be spared that unappealing existence, he had no intention of throwing away the demon's help just yet.

"That's easy." Erwin said, warm smile spreading across his face as he reached out to pat at Levi's cheek. "In that case I can just eat you here and now and go back home. After all, it's not often I find a soul as truly tortured as yours and I have no intention of letting such a fine meal get away from me. Is that what you'd like, Master?"
"No." Levi said flatly as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped around the blond. "We still have a murderer to catch and if you think I'm letting you off that easily, you're truly a fool. Now come along, I've had enough of talking to you and I don't want to be down here longer than I have to. Am I understood?"

Erwin's smile only widened as he followed after the human, bringing his gloved hand to cover his heart as he stared down at his Master. "Yes, my Lord." He replied smoothly. "I understand you perfectly."

Levi understood too now. Any illusions he may have held about the demon had been stripped away. It was better this way, rather than to delude himself.
Things he had mistakenly begun to see as actions based in affection and care, had been nothing more than the actions of a cook tending to it's meal.

For all Erwin claimed to be his loyal servant, the underlaying implications of the blond's words were hard to escape. The demon could possibly just eat his soul whenever he wanted, he just hadn't because he enjoyed Levi's pain. The way the human might salt his own meals for flavour.

It changed nothing. He still had a mission to see out and so long as Erwin was willing to keep playing out the role Levi needed him to, they would proceed as planned.

And if Levi had fight the forces of hell itself to achieve his goals, he'd do just that.

Chapter Text

Levi didn't bother looking over his shoulder to check whether or not the demon was following him. He knew he would be, for whatever reason Erwin was willing to play by the rules he had set them.

Had been patient as Levi had insisted on taking the slow way- earning his way -through the ranks. Even in the moments he patience seemed to wane, the blond had made no indication of planning anything less than he'd promised.

Maybe it was just Levi.

Erwin had told him his soul had been stained by the actions of his tormentors, maybe he was right. Maybe it had broken his ability to see people as anything less than monsters. To harden his heart against the fragility and temporary nature of trust.

It was a thought that he didn't like, though he supposed that he didn't have to like it.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts when Erwin pointed him towards the brothel, the Sergeant looked at the sign dubiously for a moment.
"I thought we were going to speak to the people he was borrowing money from, not the people he was wasting it with." He commented flatly, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

"I thought it would be a good idea to get a sense for where our crooked Captain spends so much of his time." Erwin replied calmly. "Not to mention one of the people he owes money happens to be the owner of this fine establishment. But I'm happy to go elsewhere if you prefer not to get your hands dirty, Master."

The glare Levi shot him was withering.

"You could have just led with the fact it was relevant." He replied curtly, letting out a huff as he made his way up uneven wooden steps towards the door.
"Apologies, Master. I'll try and be more succinct next time." Erwin hummed as he followed the human inside, smiling brightly at the woman waiting by the door to greet them.

"Hello lads." She hummed, pushing herself off the wall she'd been leaning against to approach them. "They're making boys like you soldiers these days?" She asked Levi, earning a scowl from the Sergeant.
"Not to worry, love." She continued, unperturbed. "You'll be leaving here a man soon enough."

"We're here on official Military Police business, actually." Levi informed her coolly. "A suspect in our case is known to frequent this establishment. We'd like to look around and speak to some of your workers about him."
The woman's demeanour changed instantly, arms crossing over her chest as she eyed them suspiciously. "Don't you go disturbing my customers." She warned them. "Last thing we need is more of you lot sticking your noses in our business."

"You've had problems with other members of the MP recently?" Erwin asked curiously, arching a brow at the woman.
"Your damn Officers are always down here antagonizing good, working folk. Don't act like it's new."
"Anyone in particular?" The blond asked, coming to stand beside Levi as he inclined his head curiously. "Among other things, we're looking into the misconduct of one of our Captains. A man named Djel Sannes."

"Sannes." She repeated, expression darkening. "I know him fairly well by now, he's the one that's been picking fights. Bloody sore loser, that one."
"That sounds like him." Levi agreed flatly. "We heard that's he's making quite the habit of running up debts. We'd like to talk to your boss about the problems he's causing here."

She fixed them with one last, wary look before throwing her hands down by her sides and sighing. "Do what you want, but don't be bringing any more trouble down here. Your people have done enough." She warned, and Levi frowned at the words as he followed Erwin towards a smokey back room. It was littered with patrons already in their various stages of intoxication as they sprawled out at tables and on couches around the bar.

"This place is vile." The Sergeant muttered under his breath as he glanced around the room, before making his way towards the bar.
"Yes, it is." Erwin replied, though the demon didn't at all sound displeased by the fact, letting his eyes linger on a couple who were making use of one of the sofas as they lost themselves in each other.

"Hurry up." Levi snapped impatiently, stopping himself at the last moment from leaning against the counter. The less he touched in this place, the better.
Coming to join him with an amused smile, the demon leaned across the bartop to wave over the man wiping a glass behind it.

"Can I assume that you're the owner of this lovely establishment." He asked politely, once the human had turned to approach them.
"Yeah, what of it?" The owner asked gruffly as he looked between the pair. "I pay my taxes and ain't doing nothing wrong."

"Of course not." Erwin replied smoothly, letting out a soft laugh. "But I believe one of our own is causing you trouble and that's the last thing we want. Could you tell us about your problems with Captain Sannes?"

"It'd be faster to tell you what's right with that man." The man replied, rolling his eyes as he stepped away from the pair. "Belinda, come mind the bar for me." He called, flipping open the wooden latch to step around towards Levi and Erwin.
"Come out back, a conversation like this one deserves a drink." The owner said as he nodded towards a door, and the pair followed after him, Levi dropping down into a padded chair as Erwin lurked by his shoulder once they'd stepped into the small office.

The man grabbed for some glasses on a side table, uncorking a bottle of brown liquid to pour three generous servings. "Cheers." He said, sipping on his as Levi took up his glass and inspected the contents.
"Cheers." Erwin replied, reaching for his and downing it in one, easy swallow. "Rumour is that our dear Captain owes you some money."
"Rumour would be right." The man replied, wrinkling his nose distastefully. "He brings in enough recruits it was worth having him around, but he's starting to go after bigger fish and bite off more than he can chew. I'm getting sick of his stand over tactics in expecting me to pay for it."

"We're sick of him for similar reasons." Levi replied flatly, downing the liquid in his glass and resisting the violent urge to spit it back out as he forced it down with a shudder.
"He's been something of a barrier in our murder investigation and I don't have any proof to stake my claims on yet, but I have reason to suspect he's covering something up."
"Soldiers who get in the way of their higher ups don't have an easy time of it." The man commented, leaning to refill their glasses. "Why'd you care so much about this guy?"

"Because if our suspicions are right, he needs to be brought back into line." Levi replied simply, downing his shot easily now that he knew what to expect from it. Not that it made it taste any better.
"I see." Their host replied, nodding grimly. "Well I can tell you that he's been consorting with some rather nasty fellows lately. Couple of nasty guys up in the higher ranks, looks like they're in some serious business."

"And how do you know all of this?" Levi asked as their glasses were refilled once more and he forced another shot down.
"That's easy." The man replied, smiling at Levi in a way that made the Sergeant's stomach twist uneasily.
"I work for them too." The owner continued, setting aside the bottle as Levi slumped in his seat. His head was spinning and he vaguely heard Erwin's voice calling out somewhere above him, but it was hard toake out the words clearly through the buzzing in his ears.

"Run, now." He snapped as the shadows closed in around him. "Arrest the Captain. That is an order."

Fire tore through his chest, burning his heart even as he slipped into unconsciousness, but this time was there nothing to prevent him from hearing the inky, smoothness of the demon's reply;

"As you wish, Master."

Chapter Text

Levi woke to more darkness and as he came to, he found himself wondering if his life would ever face a reprieve from the crushing darkness.
moments later he realised it was because of the bag over his head and he stilled as he sucked in slow, deliberate breaths. Fighting against the urge to react. To kick and strain against the ropes he could now feel biting into his ankles and wrists.

He hated playing the role of helpless prisoner. But the kind of person who was going to drug their wine, wasn't their killer. Perhaps it had been nothing more than a gamble, but even if he'd been wrong, Erwin wasn't allowed to let him die.
The floor beneath him was hard, it didn't feel like planks or stone. He could tell that he wasn't alone too, the occasional brush of cloth rubbing against itself as someone shifted and the odd grunt broke the silence every now and then.

Whoever his killer was, it was quite possible that he was watching him right now. Or maybe the demon had been wrong and led him into the middle of something else entirely. It was hard to know.

Hard to plan a response when he didn't know what he was up against and he let out a heavy sigh as he accepted the only realistic option before him.
"Are you just going to leave me here all day?" He asked finally, tone flat and indifferent as he tugged experimentally against his binds. "Because it's fine if you are, I could use the sleep. But maybe you could bring me a blanket."

The sound of laughter cut the air- brash, loud and familiar, and Levi felt like he'd been doused with a bucket of ice water.
"Shall I get you a pillow too? And a teddy bear?" Kenny asked, a mocking edge to his tone, before he laughed again.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Levi demanded, tugging harder against the ropes as he tried to shake off the bag over his head. He hadn't seen his uncle since before the fire, he'd written to the man many times over the years. Only ever receiving one letter in reply, a letter telling him to stop writing.

"The question is what the hell are you doing here?!" Kenny replied, tugging the bag off Levi's face only to grab a fistful of his hair as he drove a foot down, hard into his back.
"You could have just sat pretty behind the walls on your asshole father's money, drinking tea and whatever the fuck else caught your eye. Why the fuck did you become a soldier?"

"You don't get to speak about my father." Levi spat back, craning his neck painfully to glare up at the other man. "Whatever you thought about him, you're worse. You're scum, you couldn't stick around for your own sister's funeral! You don't get to lecture me about what I became, you weren't there."
Biting back a groan as his hair was released and Levi met the dirt floor hard, he jerked against the foot pinning him down, rolling hard towards the man's leg to send Kenny crashing down behind him.

Bound as he was, there would be no escaping, but he didn't waste the opportunity. Swinging his legs back, he felt a grim satisfaction in the cry of pain that escaped the other man as his feet connected.
"You little brat!" Kenny hissed, grabbing a fistful of his hair again, though this time it was to drag Levi to his feet. "If you don't calm down and start being reasonable, I'm going to kill you too. Do you understand?"

"Ah." Levi hissed, feet scrambling for purchase as his hair tore. "So you admit that you're behind the murders? You and your lackey Sannes."
Kenny let out an irritated huff, throwing to Levi to land against the ground hard and his already injured ribs complained as the Sergeant saw stars.
"You really are a little smart mouth brat, aren't you?" His uncle asked, though his voice has lost any of the familiarity it had held before. "You think that I like going around ripping bastard brats out of their whore mothers?" He spat, aiming a sharp kick at Levi's stomach.

Levi let out another pained groan, staring up at the other man in horror as the truth of the murders nature sank in. "Why?" He demanded, coughing violently when Kenny's foot found his stomach again.
"Because that's what the King demands of us." There was an almost desperate edge to the other man's voice, as if he was holding onto some bigger picture to justify his actions.

It was a picture Levi still couldn't grasp.

"Oh, you were just following orders were you?" He sneered up at the other man. "You the man who doesn't even know the definition or honour or duty! What did the King promise you? What is he hanging over you?"
It was too far. In his attempt to provoke more information out of Kenny he'd just tipped his uncle over the edge- or maybe the man really did just think that Levi was nothing more than his father's brat son.

As the blows rained down on him, Levi found himself contemplating how unsatisfying it was to find himself in this position again. For all he was supposedly sacrificing to change things, it felt like all that had changed was the tormentor he faced.

"Sir!" A woman from the door called, finding Levi somewhere from a distance as the beating stopped. "Ralph just made contact to say that the Captain's disappeared. So has our contact at the brothel, we need to start moving."
"Yeah yeah, okay." Kenny replied in a snap. "Help me move the brat." Levi heard footsteps approach him and he looked up into the face of another familiar officer before the bag was pulled over his head again before Traute hauled him to his feet.

He was scooped off the ground, arms encircling his legs as he was carried off somewhere else. Or perhaps this was it, his training had been clear about circumstances like this; that the odds of survival decreased if you allowed yourself to be shifted to another location.

But they'd already moved him once and he wanted to believe that even if his uncle didn't seem to have a problem with hurting him, the man wouldn't want to kill him too. He was still his uncle.

There was nothing else to be done.

Levi stilled against his captors arms, allowing himself to be carried down uneven stairs and deeper underground. He knew who was carrying out the murders now, just not why and before it all ended he wanted to at least understand that.

Why his only living family had seen fit to disappear when he had lost everything- to be as much a ghost as either of his parents -only to come back into his life like this.

It wasn't fair.

Levi had thought the words so much that it had become something of a mocking mantra. "Life isn't fair." He spat through gritted teeth when he was finally thrown down again.
"What's that, pup?" His uncle asked from somewhere above him as Levi pushed himself to sit awkwardly.
"I said life isn't fair." He repeated flatly, drawing in a breath of fresh air when the bag was removed from his head again.
"No shit." Kenny replied with a scoff. "You only just figuring that out?"

"It doesn't matter what we're faced with, it doesn't matter what cost we might have to pay. It doesn't matter if the King himself passes down orders." Levi continued, voice growing stronger and more venomous with each word.
"You still make a choice, you still ask yourself how much you're willing to pay to be better. To do better. Even though you know it's not fair. Do you know what kind of man can't make that choice?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kenny demanded, staring at his nephew with narrowed eyes, before he grabbed Levi around the throat and jerked him close. "You don't know anything about anything, boy." He hissed.

"No." Levi managed as the hand tightened around his throat. "But I know the kind of man who can't... Who can't make his own choices..." He choked out, trying to jerk away from his uncle's grip. He couldn't breathe, his heart was racing but he couldn't afford to panic.

If he made a mistake here he would probably die. It would make Erwin so mad, if he died down in this hole in the ground- this tomb -before the demon could claim his meal.

It was almost a satisfying thought.

"Yeah, what kind of man am I then?" Kenny demanded, bringing his face close to the smaller man's and Levi could smell the spirits on his breath.
"You're a spineless coward." He spat, jerking forward to smash his face against Kenny's, forehead connecting hard with his uncle's nose and Levi gasped for breath as he was thrown back, choking for air as his head hit the corner of something hard.

"You little brat!" Kenny roared and Levi tried to shuffle away before hands dragged him back, a fist found his face and it didn't matter that he heard his nose crunch. Pain was nothing more than a reminder that he was still alive.

"You don't know anything!" His uncle spat down at him. "You think you understand! You think you're so much better than me because I'll get my hands dirty for the King! You don't know anything about our world, you don't know anything! You talk about being better, but you don't know shit! If it wasn't for your scum of a father my sister would still be alive! You wanna talk about cowards?! There's your coward!"

Levi froze. His father had been a victim, murdered by the same monsters who had killed his mother and dragged him onto this path towards hell. The possibility of the truth being anything else hit sharper than Kenny's boot and the laughter that followed as his uncle finally let up on the beating only made Levi's stomach heave.

He barely managed to roll to the side as he threw up. He could feel the sick dripping down his cheek and tears came with the humiliation. Even if he had claimed himself willing to appear weak, to be beaten like a dog if it helped his cause, this wasn't fair.

"Then tell me." He breathed, blinking away tears furiously as he smeared his face against his shoulder. Attempted to wipe it clean. "Help me understand, because you're right. I don't know anything."
"Why should I expect a brat like you to understand?" Kenny asked, letting out another scoff as he turned his back on Levi. "You're just an entitled little shit, that's all you were ever supposed to be."

"Life doesn't care what we're supposed to be." He said flatly.
"No." The other man replied. "I suppose you're right. I suppose there's no harm in letting you in on it all now, not like you'll be able to tell anyone."

The confirmation that his uncle did intend to kill him landed heavily, though there was no time to focus on the fact. Not if Levi wanted to solve the case and stop the murderer.

It didn't matter if he was family.

"Our good King likes to get around like anyone else." Kenny explained simply, turning back towards Levi as he uncorked a bottle with his teeth and took a heavy swallow.
"Can't have a bunch of Royal bastards running about though, can we? So I help clean it all up."

"You're lying." Levi replied, rolling his eyes. "If you were really doing it for the King, I doubt you'd be leaving a trail of bodies behind you."
The look on his uncle's face was rewarding. The shock and surprise before it was replaced with a bitter snarl.

"Fine." He spat. "So some other sad little nothings get taken care of along the way, no one cares."
It was Levi's turn to laugh, though it was a cold sound and he smiled- almost sweetly -up at Kenny.
"Wrong again." He replied. "I care." He didn't try to fight back when he was seized again. Didn't try to turn away when his uncle's fist found his face. It was enough to see the fury in the man's eyes.

"You should have died with your asshole father." Kenny spat once he'd thrown Levi aside once more. "You should have never been born!"
"I'm sure that's something you're planning to correct." Levi replied flatly, spitting out the blood that had begun to pool in his mouth. "I'm going to have to disappoint you though, I'm not quite ready to die yet."

"No one is, kid." Kenny replied, taking another long mouthful of whatever was in the bottle before throwing it against the wall with a smash.

"I've had enough of this." Levi continued, ignoring his uncle. "Come and get me now, that's an order." Fire tore through his chest- burning through his heart -as he spoke.
"What the-" Kenny started incredulously. "Did I hit your head too hard? Who do you think you're giving orders to now?"

"My dog." Levi replied, spitting out another mouthful of blood before smiling up at Kenny.
The other man stared down at him for a long moment before reaching for the bag.
"You can't look me in the eye when you kill me?" Levi asked, though he didn't protest as the fabric was shoved over his face again. "That's a pity, I was curious about how you did it."

There was no reply, only the roar of something unfamiliar and Levi frowned as he heard a metallic grinding hovering somewhere above his face.

Before the sound of screams split the air.

Chapter Text

Levi froze, he could hear the sound of fighting breaking out above them. Hear the cries and choking sobs of pain before they were cut off
"What is that?!" Kenny demanded from somewhere above him as Levi began to laugh.

"My dog." He replied flatly, gasping when he was suddenly jerked to his feet and dragged across the room.
"What the fuck kind of dog do you have?" Kenny demanded and Levi heard the roar of metal on metal once more. "No mind, if he comes near me I'll kill you."
Levi didn't reply, wincing at the sound of splintering wood from across the room.

"My my, Master." Erwin said from the doorway, tone betraying the demon's amusement. "You really do have a knack for being captured, don't you? If I didn't know any better I'd say you enjoyed being tied up and knocked around."
"Very funny." Levi snapped in reply, trying to shake the bag off his head to no avail. "Hurry up and rescue me, I'm tired of being bait."

"How did one soldier fight through my squad?" Kenny asked, bringing the grinding sound closer to Levi's face as he tightened his hold on the smaller man. "That's impossible... Look, whatever you are... Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. You think this brat has any power? Join my Squad, I'll get you whatever you want. I can get you close to the King."

The demon laughed, the sound drawing nearer as Levi stilled against the feeling of something whirring by his throat.

"That's incredibly kind of you." Erwin said politely. "And I'm sure there are many who would be tempted. But I'm afraid that there's nothing you can offer me, I am but my Master's loyal guard dog."

"What-" Kenny started as Levi felt himself jerked against something solid- something warm -and the sound of tearing flesh and metal filled the air.
Laughter filled the air too, deep and cold as it vibrated out from the demon that had seized him. The Sergeant felt himself relax, he was safe now.

"What are you?!" Kenny demanded as Levi felt soft feathers brush against him before he was gently laid back onto the ground.
"I'm simply one Hell of a guard dog." Erwin replied and whatever Kenny had been going to say to that was cut off with a grunt.

"Master, I'm afraid that it's quite likely that arresting the murderer won't be enough. It's likely that our dear friend, Captain Sannes has already been released if this truly is the will of the King." The demon hummed smoothly.
"That means if you truly do want to bring these vermin to justice there's only one way. Shall I kill him?"

Levi felt his heart clench. Even if Kenny had been a rotten uncle, he was still his only family. But whether or not he could afford to let that mean anything was beyond him. Erwin hadn't been wrong before, hadn't led him astray even though he wore true his motives simply and honestly.

"Do it." Levi replied flatly, closing his eyes even though he couldn't see through the bag anyway.
"Is that an order?" The demon asked and Levi didn't need to be able to see to know that the blond was smirking.

"Yes." He snapped, through gritted teeth. "I order you to kill my uncle. I'm tired of bureaucracy getting in the way of justice."

"As you wish, Master." Erwin replied as fire coursed through the Sergeant's chest. He heard a cry of panic before there was a sickening crunch andLevi sucked in a slow breath when he heard a heavy thud somewhere across from him.

He was still clenching his eyes closed when he felt the bag drawn away once more. Opening them for just a moment to stare up at the demon's face, Levi felt them slide closed again.
His body ached, pain that had been so easy to ignore before sharply reminding him of it's existence. Now that he was safe he could afford to be weak, to be human.

"Master..." Erwin breathed, gentle hands helping him to sit before tugging away at his binds as if they had been made of nothing more than grass for how easily they snapped.
"You do really make a habit of letting yourself be treated poorly." Erwin said as he scooped the Sergeant into his arms and Levi was too tired too protest.

"I thought you'd approve, you like my pain well enough." The human said flatly, opening his eyes again to glance down at the discarded corpse on the ground as he was carried towards a stairwell.

"No." Erwin replied, as he carried him out onto the landing and back through a foyer littered with bodies. "Your pain might be delicious to me, but I truly do detest the thought of dirty people putting their dirty hands all over you. You're mine, after all."

It shouldn't have been a comforting thought. But as Levi was carried from the darkness- back into the light that was beginning to fade on the surface -the demon's presence was a comfort and Levi knew better than to pass up anything that brought him peace in a world such as the one he called home.

He didn't even demand to be put down as they neared the barracks. It didn't matter what his comrades said, the people in the city, on its surface and below, didn't have to worry about being torn open by his uncle anymore.

That was enough.

"It started out on the King's orders." He explained as he was lowered into a tub of steaming water. "He was ordered to kill any possible bastards he might have created, as well as their mothers."
"Rest, my Lord. There'll be time for debriefing tomorrow." Erwin replied gently as he began carefully wiping away the mess coating the human.
"He went further than that though, he wasn't just killing for the King by the end." Levi continued, ignoring the blond. "He said that it was nothing, that I knew nothing. But I do know one thing."

"And what's that, Master?" Erwin asked as he gently lowered the smaller man deeper into the tub.
"That true monsters lose themselves in their justifications. They distort the truth to suit them." Levi replied after a moment. "They're weak."

"And what does that tell you, my Lord?" The demon asked curiously, reaching to pull the plug before he turned to retrieve Levi's towel.
"That we can find them and destroy them." The human replied seriously, and Erwin smiled again as he helped the smaller man out of the tub.
"Very good, Master." He replied smoothly. "Know that whatever monsters you may face, none of them will ever harm you beyond what you allow yourself to take."

"I know." Levi said coldly, pushing away Erwin's hands as the demon began tugging his uniform on. "But not because I have a guard dog like you to come rescue me."

"Of course not." Erwin replied, sitting against the side of the tub as he watched his human struggle against his injuries to dress himself. "You're a survivor, a stubborn one at that. I doubt that you'd allow anyone to get the better or you, regardless of what tools you had at your disposal. Even today, for all my power I can only act as Master guides me. On your orders."

Levi only paused for a moment, fingers stilling on his buttons before they continued their task. He had killed his uncle today. Though it wasn't a surprise- after all, he'd been there, given the order -but he hadn't thought of it in such simple terms until now.

But Levi wasn't a monster, he wouldn't distort the truth of his actions for the scant comfort it might afford him. Even now he didn't regret what had happened.

The killer had been stopped. That was all that mattered right now.

"Exactly." He said flatly as he left the bathroom, glancing back over at the demon as he started back towards their room. "You're nothing more than a tool, regardless of how good a tool you are, and I intend to put you to good use before the end."

"I would have it no other way, my Lord." The demon replied as he followed his human into their room, closing the door behind him with a click. "Now rest. I'm sure tomorrow will be busy enough as it is, you need your sleep." Levi didn't argue, didn't fight this time when Erwin turned to help him out of his uniform and beneath the covers that waited to envelop him. He'd had enough of fighting, for one day at least.

Chapter Text

The next day passed in a blur. Levi still ached, but he didn't care. He knew that pain would be a familiar friend by the time his injuries had healed.
Erwin had insisted on having him seen to by a medic and even though the human had been tempted to argue, he hadn't.
He was smart enough to know when he needed help, even if he didn't like admitting it.

After that had been the meetings. The Commander had been harsh and angry, demanding to know why Levi and Erwin had interfered with something that was already being taken care of by the higher ups.
But when he'd heard the full story- that by the end it had little to do with the King's will -the anger faded from the man's face, exhaustion taking its place.

There would be ongoing investigations to determine who else in their ranks might have been involved, what else could be done to prevent the situation from repeating itself.

Promises that sounded appealing at face value, if Levi didn't know better.

For all he and Erwin had worked to uncover the truth, it seemed the Commander was all too willing to brush it back under the rug. After all, as the man had explained, it wouldn't do for the public to lose trust in the military.
Even so, Levi held his tongue. Accepted the promotion that was likely just an attempt to prevent him from causing more issues. A neat solution to a messy problem.

They left the Commander's office as Sergeant Major Ackerman and Master Sergeant Smith. Finally having made it one step closer to their goal reaching the higher ranks.
It was what Levi had been working towards over these long years, a foothold up so that he'd be able to trace and track his parents killers- access information that might have helped him make sense of what had happened that night -but for the victory it was supposed to be, it felt hollow. Empty.

Monsters weren't just the men who committed horrible crimes, they were also the men who helped cover it all up.

"I thought you'd be pleased." Erwin asked him once they'd made it back to their room. "This is another step towards your goal, is it not? What you wanted. Yet you look like someone just spat in your tea."
"I see no victory here." Levi replied flatly. "I thought the military would share my drive for justice. I was wrong."

"Then what do you mean to do about it?" The demon asked curiously.
"I don't know yet." Levi replied with a small sigh. "But one thing is clear. You and I are alone in this, we have to assume that everyone else is against us."

Otherwise it would be too easy to overlook their enemies again, to find comfort in the structure and order that claimed to rule at the heart of their world.

"You and I against the world." The demon replied seriously. "You truly do sneer at your own kind, it's amusing really. Sometimes I think that you act more the demon than I do."
"No." Levi replied flatly, offering Erwin a thin smile. "You're just a better actor than I am."

Over the passing days, ordered to bed rest as he was, Levi found himself missing even the monotony of his patrols. It had been better than staying cooped up in his room, where even the demon's company had begun to feel quite pleasant as Erwin dropped in between duties to bring him information or lunch.

But it gave Levi an opportunity- time -to decide his next move. Whatever Kenny had known about that night- about his father -couldn't have just died with him and Levi didn't care if he had to tear through the military to learn the truth.

Didn't care if he had to oppose the King himself.
His words in the Underground had been true, he was tired of bureaucracy getting in the way of justice.

If he was to be given the opportunity to rest, he'd take it. But only so that when he got to his feet again he was stronger, ready to face his enemies once more.
But that wasn't all, he had allowed dirty men to place their dirty hands on him for the last time. He would no longer play the weak brat while he clawed his way to the heart of the darkness that plagued his world.

He was a survivor and a stubborn one at that, and he was tired of letting himself be seen as anything less.

Chapter Text

"Levi!" He heard the voice call as he made his way back from breakfast one morning. Excited, familiar and not at all supposed to be there.
"Petra?" He asked, turning towards the woman as she threw her arms around his shoulders, sending him stumbling back a couple of uncertain steps.

"Oh ow, look at those bruises. Do they hurt?" She asked, prodding at one of the slowly healing blotches on his cheek.
"Ow, yes. What are you doing here?" He asked, brushing her hand away with a huff.

"Master Sergeant Smith wrote and let me know that you'd been having a rough time." Petra explained, linking their arms together as she started off down the corridor.
"I'd been considering joining the Survey Corps, but I wanted to come and help you here. It sounds like there's a lot more going on in the interior than people are being told."
Levi bristled, he should have known better than to think that Erwin was done meddling, the demon had been in too good a mood recently and Levi had foolishly assumed it was because of the case they'd solved several weeks ago.

"You should see if you can still be transferred to the Scouts." He replied flatly. "I don't need you here."
"You're still just as rude as ever." Petra teased as they stepped outside. "But I'm glad I'm here, I heard about what happened in the Underground. Do you want to talk about it? I can't even imagine having to go through that, but your uncle..."

"No, I don't want to talk about it." Levi said, rolling his eyes as he followed the woman down the street, avoiding her eyes as she fixed Levi with a stern glare.
"How do you even know who was involved? They're keeping that quiet." He asked, before he had to think about that horrible day more than he already had to.

It had repeated itself enough in his dreams, though his nightmares had taken it further from the truth- filling his nights with braying ravens and talons to drag him deep -without having to talk about what he thought or felt about any of it.

"The Master Sergeant told me." Petra replied with a shrug. "He said that despite the security concerns he was worried about the impact it left on you. Not to mention that I couldn't have been involved."

"I'm fine." Levi replied curtly, sucking in a heavy breath as he detached himself from the woman's side. "And I wish he hadn't interfered, I didn't want to drag you into any of this."
"I was already going to enlist." Petra replied with a shrug, offering Levi a smile as she propped her hands on her hips. "Now I'm just less likely to be eaten for it, think of it that way. Anyway, I have to run or I'll be late for my patrol. See you at dinner?"

"Sure." Levi replied, sighing again as she turned to leave. The Ral's had been good friends of his father for years, the assumption that he and Petra would marry one day had been made long before either of them had known what it had meant.
After his parents death, Levi had intended to simply disappear from their lives. After all, he had given up any notion that he would live the life that had once been promised to him.

It was strange watching Petra leave now, she was one of the few remaining ghosts left to haunt him, a reminder of another life and yet here she was so rudely colliding with his world.
Of course the demon had been behind it. Levi vaguely found himself wondering if it was supposed to be some kind of test, it was an easier thought to swallow than the idea that Erwin had really only dragged Petra into this mess for the sake of his social life.

Letting out a huff, he made his way to the Church. He'd been asked to look into some reoccurring vandalism, something that any recruit could have done. He supposed part of the reason for sending someone of his rank had to do with the stuffy religious men and the respect they thought they deserved.
Or maybe it was because his Commander thought he was weak. Levi walked with a limp, something Erwin had suggested a cane might resolve countless times now. But he knew it would be just another outward appearance of weakness and the passing time had done little to ease his convictions about never allowing himself to be used or underestimated again.

Pushing open a heavy wooden door, the Sergeant Major stepped into the stuffy room- covering his mouth with his hand as the incense snaked into his nostrils.
"Ah, there you are." A man wearing a robe said, stepping down from the pulpit to walk towards Levi. "We were told one of you would be down to resolve matters."

"That's what I'm here to do." Levi replied dryly, dropping his hand away from his mouth as the clergyman approached him.
"Good." He snapped in reply. "We can hardly have heathens defiling our beautiful Church like this, what's next? The very walls themselves?"
"Perish the thought." Levi replied flatly, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he followed the man back outside- into mercifully fresh air -and around the back of the building.

A window had been smashed, presumably by a large rock or something similar and a crude message had been left on the stone wall in bright red paint:

'Church of LIES!'

"At least our vandal is succinct." He remarked, drawing an indignant look from the clergyman. "Were you wanting the MP to personally wash this off?"
"Obviously we left it as evidence." The man huffed in reply as he glared down at Levi, who had the good grace to recognise that he was being an asshole.

"Sorry, one of those days." He apologised, sucking in a steadying breath as he stepped towards the wall to get a better look at the tag.
It had been easier with Erwin to shadow him, the demon was good at making people feel the way they wanted to feel and charming information out of them. It had mattered less if Levi had been curt.

But now the blond had his own duties, more often than not pulling him away from the human's side. While Levi knew it was useful- particularly with how close the demon was getting with the Deputy Commander -he found himself missing Erwin's presence.

Rubbing a finger over the paint on the wall, Levi frowned that the brownish flecks that flaked away.
"Do you have an empty vial or something?" He asked the impatiently waiting man.
"I'll see what I can do." The clergyman replied, turning back towards the church as Levi glanced at the street around them.

It was crowded enough, people bustling about their business- some sparing lingering glances at him before they continued -and it would have been hard to pull off something like this during the daytime with no witnesses.
"What time did you say it happened?" He asked when the clergyman returned, offering him a small glass vial.
"It was like that when I got here for the morning service." He replied as Levi carefully scrapped more of the flakes into the vial.

"Can I have a look inside?" He asked once he was done, nodded towards the broken window. "Oh, that's the vestry." He replied with a frown. "You can have a look, but I've already cleaned up the glass."
"Did you manage to find what was used to break it?" Levi asked flatly.

"Yes." The clergyman replied, wrinkling his nose. "Over here." Leading Levi back towards the door, the man nodded at a fist sized rock that has been thrown towards the street.
Nodding lightly, the Sergeant Major shoved his hands into his pockets. "How often did you say this had happened now?" He asked.
"This is the fourth time in the last two weeks." The priest replied, shaking his head darkly.
"And hopefully the last." Levi said. "I'll be following up on the incidents and attempt to prevent any further occurrences."

He'd already starting walking before the priest could splutter out his thanks and threats that it better be dealt with, turning out to the street to give it another glance. He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for until he found it, the small red puddle on the ground.
Kneeling down beside it, he pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, dabbing at the liquid before carefully folding the handkerchief and putting it back in his pocket.

Two things were already clear. Firstly, his vandal was certainly committed to making a statement. Secondly, given their pattern, it was incredibly likely that they would be back.

Chapter Text

Making his way back to the military compound, Levi picked his way to Erwin's office, knocking once on the door before letting himself in.

The demon looked up from the paperwork he'd been sorting through, smiling brightly when he saw his Master, before setting the reports down and clasping his hands on the desk. "What can I do for you, my Lord?" He asked pleasantly as Levi dropped into the chair across from him.
"Could you make me some tea?" The human asked, slouching down comfortably as he glanced down at the mess on the blond's desk.
"Right away, Master." The demon replied, getting to his feet to start towards the door. "I won't be a moment." The door clicked closed behind him shortly after and Levi was left to take the opportunity to rest his eyes while he waited.

Sleep had been difficult lately, but when hadn't it been?

Before long, the blond was back. Setting the steaming mug down in front of Levi, who took it with an appreciative hum.
"They're certainly keeping you busy." he commented, nodding down at the desk as Erwin dropped back into his chair.

"Such are the troubles that come with being someone who is supposedly trustworthy." The demon replied, wrinkling his nose slightly.
"I've been asked to review several things for my good friend, Nile. Though given you've ordered me to maintain appearances, I've also been doing a lot of reading to fill in the extra time."

"Come across anything that might be of interest to me?" Levi asked, glancing down at the papers again.
"Nothing yet. But should that change I'll be quick to inform you." Erwin replied, offering Levi a warm smile.

"And you're okay with this?" The human pressed. "Sitting around at a desk doing other people's work?"
Erwin's smile faded, a slight frown taking its place as he regarded his charge. "Of course." He replied smoothly. "It's what my Master has ordered me to do, if this is my best use to you it's not for me to question it."

"Right." Levi replied, letting out a sigh as he sipped on his tea. "There's something that I want you to look at." He informed the demon, fishing the vial and handkerchief out of his pocket to set them on the desk.

After he'd inspected both briefly, Erwin arched a brow at his human. "Is it your blood?" He asked.
"No." Levi replied, pulling a face as his suspicion was confirmed. "It was used to vandalise that bloody Church, 'Church of lies' apparently. I'll hang around tomorrow night and see if our artist returns."

"It sounds like you've been busy too, Master." The demon hummed in amusement as he smiled at his human again. "Would you like me to accompany you on your stakeout?"
"Maybe." Levi said flatly. "It depends how annoyed at you I am by then, Petra told me she's only here because you meddled again."
"And that annoys you?" Erwin asked, not flinching when Levi shot him a dark look.
"I thought given recent unpleasantness, that you might benefit from a familiar face, after all you're not exactly the most sociable of people and humans do tend to do better when they're socially stimulated."

Levi choked on his tea, cheeks warming at the implication that he needed help making friends.
"Stop trying to pretend that you understand what humans need." He replied flatly, setting the mug on the desk with a huff.
"I didn't want to drag Petra into this mess and I don't- I'm not here to make friends, I have you to talk to, that's enough."

The last thing he needed was even Erwin showing him pity. He'd seen it enough in the eyes of those who'd wailed all over him after his parents death, and again in the eyes of the Officers who'd thought him too small- too weak -to make it through training.

He'd much preferred their faces when he'd ranked in the top ten.

"Forgive me, Master." Erwin said calmly, holding his gloved hand over his heart as he inclined his head to the human. "I didn't mean to upset you, I made an incorrect assumption in regards to your care. Let me make myself useful in your investigation to make up for my mistake."
Levi couldn't help the snort that escaped him, rolling his eyes at the demon. "Fine." He replied, because If Erwin really wanted to help him, who was he to complain? The demon didn't tire like other soldiers and was better company than most.

"Finish your tea before it gets cold." The blond hummed and Levi rolled his eyes again, if only for show, as he reached for his mug.
"I thought I was supposed to be the one giving orders." He replied, though there was no bite in the words. They were just for the sake of argument.

"Do you have any orders for me, Master?" Erwin asked neutrally, arching a brow at his human.
"Shut up." Levi replied, draining the last of his tea with a huff before setting the mug aside and slumping further down in the chair.
The demon's expression hardened slightly as he frowned, uncertainty clouding his icy eyes for once. "Master, are you alright?" He asked after a moment.
"What kind of question is that?" Levi replied, frowning back at him. "I'm fine, I'm just tired and I don't like dealing with the church."
"Of course, my apologies." The demon replied and it didn't really matter whether or not Erwin actually believed him so long as he pretended to.

"No, forget it." Levi said with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. "You're trying and I'm being an asshole."
Erwin, brought a hand to his mouth- at least having the good grace to try and hide his laughter -and Levi shot him a dark glare, already halfway tempted to take the apology back.

"I'm not laughing at you." The demon promised quickly, before Levi could snap at him. "I just believed that your antisocial behaviour and tendency to push people away was subconscious, but you appear to be self aware after all. I'm merely surprised."

Levi's eyes widened for just a moment, before his expression hardened again. "I take it back." He snapped as he got to his feet. "You're the asshole and I'm through with you for the moment."
Without another word, he turned towards the door, jerking it open furiously, only for it to slam closed again and he glared up to find the demon standing over him. Heart pounding in his chest at how suddenly- and silently -Erwin had appeared behind him.

"Master..." The demon started, frowning down at the human uncertainly. "It wasn't my intention to upset you, yet clearly I have. Please forgive me."
Levi let out a scoff of disbelief, gritting his teeth as he held his ground- as tempting as it was to sidestep out from under the demon looming over him.
"And what was your intention?" He asked flatly. "Because I can't quite tell lately whether you mean to help me, or mock me."

Erwin blinked back at him, uncertainty disappearing under an impassive mask that felt worse than the edged amusement that it had held before.
"Forget it." The human continued before he could answer, sucking in a slow breath as his shoulders slumped. "I don't care, I never ordered you to be nice to me. Get out of my way."

"Is that an order, my Lord?" The demon asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, though he made no immediate move to take his hand away from where it rested against the door.
"Yes." Levi snapped, though whatever point Erwin was trying to make was truly lost on him. "I order you to get out of my way." His chest flared with fire as the demon's lips quirked in a smile.

"Right away, Master." He replied pleasantly, stepping back from the door though he continued to watch the human curiously. "Does that order extend beyond this one instance? I only ask because if I'm to seek alternative lodging I'd like to request a room with a nicer view."

Levi froze. He was angry and tired. His leg still ached as much he insisted it was fine, and Erwin's habit of meddling and infuriating comments had already been frustrating enough at the best of times, let alone now.
But the thought of the demon not being his constant and somewhat predictable shadow left him with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He was like a child clutching his teddy bear in the night, the thought made him feel sick.

"No." He replied after a moment, turning to pull the door open and shield himself from whatever amusement that the demon might draw from his weakness.
"Come back to the room when you're finished with your work for the day."

He left before Erwin could utter the predictable agreement, closing the door with a satisfying click.
The satisfaction faded as he began to walk away and Levi just wanted to go back to bed, even if he had no desire to sleep.

There was a part of him that was worried that the demon didn't want to stay with him, that Levi had begun to push the limits of Erwin's grace if not the his commitment to his meal.
It was an isolating thought, one that struck deeper than it should have. Or maybe what had happened in the Underground had shaken him more than he was prepared to admit.

But how could he be expected to do anything more than what he had always done in the face of loss?
If he didn't keep moving towards his goal- if he allowed himself to stop -he didn't know if he could make himself keep going and he doubted Erwin would appreciate his attitude then.

At least fighting gave him energy, kept him safe.

Chapter Text

By the time Levi made it back to their room, the heavy cloud that weighed over him didn't seem to be going anywhere and he wondered if he'd just been honest with the demon whether or not things might have felt better.
It was a pointless thought. He'd chosen to keep his walls up, to reinforce them against the one person who might have been able to shift some of the darkness that clung to him. Who might have understood.

But regardless of how lonely it felt, he knew he'd been right to do so.

By the time the demon joined him, Levi had begun to wonder if he'd wasted both of their time. Joining the MP, rising through the ranks to find his answers, it had made sense at the time, but now? When where was nothing to show for the thankless work and late nights. While the higher-ups sneered down at him, covered up the truth.

It was infuriating.

"I brought you some tea." Erwin said, setting the teapot down on the desk beside his human.
"Thanks." Levi replied quietly, accepting the mug offered to him once the demon had poured the steaming liquid into it. It did smell good, sweeter than usual.

"I can't lie to you, Master." The blond said after a moment, causing his human to look up at him in confusion at the seemingly random reminder.
"I'm aware..." Levi replied, sipping on his tea as he slunk down comfortably in his chair.
"Then you'll know that I meant it when I said I wasn't trying to upset you earlier." Erwin added gently, drawing a huff from the human, because he really didn't want to talk about it.
"To be entirely honest, I'm concerned about you." Erwin continued, ignoring the deepening frown on his human's face. "Though I didn't imagine that you would respond so well to a direct admission of the fact or anything that might be perceived as coddling. I did intend to provoke you somewhat earlier, I had hoped it would be productive. It was a misguided attempt to care for you."
The demon had been right about one thing, the admission of concern did little to shift the annoyance and frustration that seemed to be Levi's constant companions lately.

"It's your job to protect me, not to care for me." He pointed out flatly. "I'll be fine, I'm just... Impatient and tired, and I need there to be something to show for everything that's happened. I know I've been difficult lately, I'm sorry."
The silence hung uneasily as Erwin considered his words carefully. "I understand." He replied finally, tone almost apologetic. "I was mistaken to assume that you would simply bounce back from that unfortunate experience Underground. Perhaps I allowed myself to see you are something other than you are."

For all his supposed understanding, the demon's words once again were unsatisfying and Levi drew in a slow breath as he shook his head.
"I'm still human." He said flatly. "Maybe not a very good one, but I still care about things. People."

"Of course." Erwin replied, though whether or not the demon actually understood was beyond Levi. It really didn't matter, he just needed to keep moving forward.

"Demons aren't particularly given to empathy or loneliness, in fact emotions as you humans understand them are quite foreign to us." The blond continued thoughtfully after a moment.
"We don't often seek each other out unless there's a particular benefit to doing so and rarely without the intention of betraying one other. Ultimately it all comes down to what will benefit or amuse us most and that, naturally, depends on the individual demon."

"What's your motivation?" Levi asked after a moment, rather than ask why the other was telling him any of that. "I mean, your dinner obviously, but I imagine there are faster ways to go about it than all of this."

"You're right." Erwin replied, retrieving the teapot to refill the human's mug. "In fact if I wanted to I could break the contract myself and eat you here and now."

Levi's eyes widened as Erwin smiled down at him. While that possibility had occured before- been hinted at even -that the demon ultimately held all the power, it had been something that had remained unspoken. Something that the human hadn't been particularly worried about given all the blond's insistence that he was just a tool to be used as Levi pleased.

Even if it wasn't particularly surprising, the acknowledgment of the truth was jarring.

"I rather quite enjoy humans." The demon continued, seemingly oblivious to his human's unease as he dropped down onto the edge of the bed.
"They make for much better company than demons and are far easier to twist to whatever tune I'd like them to dance. They're also usually easy enough to understand and simply motivated, but on the odd occasion they can be incredibly intriguing too."

"So that's why you haven't broken the contract." Levi replied, looking down at his tea rather than the blond. "Because I intrigue you."
"Perhaps that's one of the reasons." Erwin agreed mildly. "I'm curious to see what you'll become before the end and I don't like the thought of going back on my word needlessly." He continued, before offering his human a slight smile. "Not to mention, when you're not being difficult or hostile, you make for rather pleasant company."

Levi laughed at that, shaking his head slightly as he brought his eyes to meet the demon's. "And you're telling me all of this why?"
"Because perhaps if I do you might not feel so compelled to push me away when things get difficult." Erwin replied simply. "I have never lied to you, Master. I'm almost wounded that you're still unable to trust me."

"I don't think I know how to trust." The human admitted after a moment, stifling a yawn as he sipped at his tea.
"I used to, I trusted that I had a place in the world, it made sense. Not now, that was all taken from me."

"If there's anyone in this world you can trust, it's me." Erwin replied seriously. "Demons are unlike humans in that it isn't necessary for us to claim to be anything less than we are. But more than that, our contract binds us together. That means that there's not a thing in this world that means more to me than you do. Do you understand?"

He didn't, but Levi didn't bother to say that, nodding lightly after a moment instead as he stifled another yawn. "Just give me time." He replied, draining the last of his tea before he got to his feet.
The exhaustion had hit him all of a sudden, tugging him heavily towards the bed. He didn't even complain when the blond's hands found him, fingers helping to carefully peel him out of his uniform and tug the blankets around him securely once he'd settled in against the pillows.

"I've missed having you close." Levi admitted through another yawn, fighting his heavy eyelids to peer up at the demon.
"I don't like how things have changed, I know it's important that we keep climbing but this isn't the life I wanted and it's easier when you're with me."

He didn't entirely know what prompted the admission, maybe there had been some value to the demon's idea of being honest to encourage the human to do the same. Or maybe he was just too tired to care about maintaining a safe distance.
He still didn't entirely believe Erwin- that he particularly mattered to the demon. But it was a comforting thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Black wings wrapped around him, the darkness closing around Levi as he was dragged down. This time it didn't feel suffocating and he made no attempt to fight when he felt something pierce him, the sharp talons tearing through his flesh as they cruelly gripped at him.
For once there was nothing to fight, nothing to be done as he was pulled deeper into the void that had claimed him.

Erwin's voice somehow still managed to find him, even here in the depths of the nothing that had so truly consumed him.
"Rest now, Master. Know that whatever happens, I will always be with you. All you have to do is call for me."

Chapter Text

The next morning Levi woke to the smell of bacon.

"Who did you steal that from?" He asked, pushing himself to sit as he stared at the tray waiting for him on the desk. Bacon, eggs, fresh looking bread rolls. He hadn't eaten such a good looking breakfast in a long time.

"I merely called in one of the favours I was owed." Erwin replied, setting the tray across Levi's knees. "There are certain benefits when one spends all their time doing other people's work and I thought you could use something more substantial than your usual rations."

"Thank you." The human replied, stifling a yawn as he reached for his fork. "That was thoughtful of you."

"Of course." The demon replied warmly, dropping down on the edge of the bed as Levi took a bite of his food. The bacon was cooked perfectly, and he let out an appreciative hum.
"Don't you have work to do?" He asked after he had finished his mouthful, mind turning to his own days work He still didn't have any leads, but he was determined to find something.

"I took the liberty of finishing up my days tasks while you were still sleeping." Erwin replied lightly. "There are more important things that require my attention today, and I imagine another set of eyes on your investigation would be useful."

He didn't reply immediately, taking another bite of his bacon instead. He could vaguely remember saying something about missing having his demon around as he'd slipped off to sleep, but he hadn't expected anything to come from that and he hardly deserved the other's attempts at making peace when he'd been such a brat about it all in the first place.

"Thank you." He said again quietly after a moment. "You didn't have to do that for me."

"It was nothing, my Lord." Erwin replied, smiling warmly at him. "I was getting bored cooped up in that office anyway and you do seem to have a habit of finding interesting trouble. I'm intrigued to see what our vandal has to say for themself."

"I looked over the other incident reports yesterday." Levi started after he'd finished eating. "They've left a few of their messages, but the most recent visit was different. Something about it isn't right."

"How so?" Erwin asked curiously, retrieving the plate to set on the desk once the human had set his fork down.
"It just feels anticlimactic." He replied, pulling a face as he got out of bed. "If you've been going to the effort of writing in blood, why break a window? It doesn't make sense."

"Dramatic as it is, blood washes away." Erwin said calmly, turning to retrieve Levi's uniform for him while the human stretched his arms above his head with a yawn. "Breaking a window is an intentional act of destruction."

"Yeah, maybe." The human agreed, frowning lightly as he got dressed. "We'll keep an eye on the place tonight, I'm sure they'll be back soon. We can use today to look around, see if we can find anymore anti religious stuff. Maybe we'll stumble onto something."

"As you wish, Master." The blond hummed in reply, following him out into the hallway. "If nothing else, it's a lovely day to get some fresh air."
"Yeah." Levi replied "It is." As they stepped out into the sunlight they fell into an easy silence, leaving the human to contemplate the demon's words from the night before.

It wasn't even that he didn't believe Erwin, worse than that he wondered if it was just him. That he was broken somehow.

When they made it to the Church, it was satisfying to see that he'd been right. Their vandal hadn't returned in the night.
"Such an interesting thought, isn't it?" The demon commented as they began to circle the building. "That God would waste his time building you this little pen of yours. You humans do truly amuse me sometimes."

"People don't like the idea that they're powerless. They want something bigger to rely on." Levi said bitterly. "Someone to guide them, or something that justifies their suffering."
"It seems they do." Erwin replied, looking down at the human curiously. "Though that displeases you, doesn't it?"
Levi just shrugged, turning his back on the building. "There's no proof that there is a God." He replied flatly. "But even if there is, I don't see why I should care. He's done nothing for me."

Erwin didn't reply and the human didn't want to see the smirk that was probably tugging at the blond's lips, so he didn't look back at the demon as he made his way back onto the street.

They spent the rest of the morning searching the area around the Church, looking for some trace of blood or anything else that might help them pick up a trail. But in the end there was nothing and Levi gave up, turning instead to the nearby shops to see if any of the merchants had seen or heard anything.

No one had, or if they did they didn't give anything away and Levi could feel himself growing irritated as the day stretched on.
If the blond saw anything he didn't comment either. In fact Erwin was unusually quiet as they walked, but the human wasn't about to ask. The silence was easy, didn't leave him questioning himself.

"I'm hungry, let's go back for lunch." He snapped finally. It was sometime after midday and it was becoming clear that they were just wasting their time. He hadn't really expected to find anything by just wandering the streets, but it had felt like a good idea that morning. Better than doing nothing.

"How about we stop in somewhere closer instead?" Erwin suggested lightly. "We passed a lovely looking restaurant a few blocks back."
Levi just shrugged his indifference, but that was enough for the blond to start back the way they had come, leaving the human to trail along after him.

Admittedly the restaurant was nice and he was happy enough to be off his aching feet that he didn't care that the menu was ridiculously expensive.

"Is everything to your liking, Master?" Erwin asked once the human's meal had been brought to him. It smelled delicious and despite himself his stomach growled as he took a bite of the juicy steak on his plate.
"It's fine." He replied with a shrug. "It's a surprise that they're able to source enough meat to operate like this, but I suppose the price is enough to limit the demand. This costs more than I make in a week."

"I'd be happy to cover lunch." Erwin said, offering the human an easy smile. "After all, I invited you here. It would only be proper for me to pay."
Levi rolled his eyes, accepting the glass of water that the demon poured for him with a small nod of thanks. "And you make more than I do." He pointed out flatly.

"That's because I'm simply one hell of a soldier." Erwin replied smugly.

"You're a nuisance." He retorted after he'd finished his mouthful. "And you should order something too, you're supposed to be blending in."

"I don't imagine anyone will get suspicious if they notice me skip lunch." The demon replied calmly, wrinkling his nose at the thought of eating anything the restaurant had to offer. "If I'm asked, I'll simply say that I'm saving my appetite for something far more appealing."

Levi let out an indignant huff, glaring at Erwin as he set down his fork, finding that his appetite had suddenly deserted him.

"I'm sorry." The blond said quickly, inclining his head to the human and he did have the good grace to look sheepish. "I didn't mean to be indelicate about it."

"I think you like reminding me actually." The human replied flatly. "Like you're think I'm going to forget, or maybe you can't decide if you want me to be afraid of you or not. Either way, in not in the mood for it."

The demon's brow furrowed and Levi let out a sigh, stomach twisting with guilt. "This is a waste of time, just like everything else we've done today." He continued flatly, before Erwin could disagree with him. "Go and make yourself useful. I'll pay for my own damn lunch."

"As my Master wishes." The demon replied, bowing his head slightly as he got to his feet. Levi could see the irritation in the blond's eyes, but he offered no complaint as he left the scowling human to flag down a waiter.

After abandoning his lunch, he wound his way down towards the river. Unless he got lucky- and luck never seemed to be on his side -he knew he was just wasting his time. But even wandering aimlessly was better than admitting defeat and heading back to his room.

At least if he was busy he could keep his mind from drifting back to the demon.

If he were honest with himself, he might admit that he was just picking fights with Erwin at this point. But that would have required him to acknowledge things he'd rather avoid thinking about altogether.

"Levi!"

Petra's voice cut through the stream of workers unloading heavy looking crates from a wagon. The redhead weaved through the crowd and she smiled as she threw her arms around his shoulders to pull him into tight hug.
"How are you settling in?" He asked once he'd freed himself from her grip. "If anyone gives you a hard time come and talk to me."

Petra just laughed, but it was a warm sound that made Levi smile.

"Everyone is absolutely lovely." She said. "But if you wanted to put in a good word in for me and get me off patrols I'll love you forever."
"No can do." He replied flatly, shaking his head. "You have to walk the streets for pointless hours like the rest of us, it's an MP rite of passage. But if you keep an ear out for anything off about the Church, I'll owe you one."

"The Church?" She asked frowning lightly. "I'll let you know if I hear anything, what's going on?"

"It's nothing." He replied with a shrug, offering the redhead another slight smile. "Just some vandalism, probably a bunch of bored kids. But I've been asked to put a stop to it, so that's what I'll do."

"I can keep an eye out for you." Petra said warmly. "Or better yet, I could help you out, two sets of eyes are better than one."
"Thanks, but I think I have it under control." Levi replied. "I'm going to hang around the place tonight with Erwin and if everything goes right we'll catch them in the act and that will be that."

"Erwin, huh? What's the story with you and him?" She asked in a teasing tone that made his cheeks warm. "He came across as.. Invested when he reached out to me, like you two were close."
"There's no story." He said quickly. "He's just.. we're just roommates."
"He's cute." Petra replied, laughing again when Levi scoffed at her. "Oh shut up, he is! You're not jealous are you?" She teased. "That's cute."

"Shut up, why would I be jealous?" He asked. "He's not that cute, he's just.. Tall." He wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that Petra thought that Erwin was 'cute', or the fact that it bothered him she did.

"Definitely jealous." She replied, grinning when he shot her a lukewarm glare. "I better get back to work, don't want to look like I'm slacking off, but I'll see you later."

With one last hug she was gone and Levi continued along down the river, finding himself begrudgingly glad that she was there after all.

He spent the rest of the afternoon walking the city, ignoring the dull thrum in his leg as he kept an eye out for anything out of place.
Over the next few hours he managed to put an end to a drunken brawl, reunite a missing child with her mother and help settle a heated dispute over the increase in price of salt. But ultimately it was just another day in the interior.

When the shadows finally began to stretch around him and evening settled in, he made his way back to the Church to wait. Finding a spot tucked away in an alley with a nice view of the stone building.

Erwin joined him shortly after the sun had fully set. Slinking out of the shadows to loom over him.

"Don't start." Levi warned when the blond opened his mouth and the demon just laughed dropping down onto the ground beside him.
"I can see your day has improved." Erwin said lightly, ignoring the halfhearted glare the human shot him. "I do wonder how you manage to maintain these moods of yours, it all looks quite exhausting if you ask me."

"I'm managing just fine." Levi replied, but it was a lie. Not that it mattered. Not really. At the very least he couldn't expect a demon to understand when he couldn't even begin to explain what exactly it was that he was feeling.

"I've found myself wondering if you're mad at me for killing your uncle." Erwin said after a moment. "It was an unfortunate necessity, but he was your last remaining family. It can't be easy."
"I'm not angry at you." He replied and it might have been true. "I don't want to talk about that, I don't need you pretending you understand the first thing about family. Or what it is to lose one."

"You say that with such certainty." The blond replied mildly. "Despite whatever experience you think I lack on the matter, I know it's something that's important to you."
"I told you I don't want to talk about it." Levi repeated firmly. "Let's just wait and see if anyone shows up, if we keep talking we'll just scare them off."

"Is that an order?" the demon asked, but the human just ignored him.

"Is it the nature of our agreement?" Erwin tried again after a while. "Have you become unhappy with the terms of our contract? Or perhaps the way that I am conducting myself?"
"What? No!" Levi snapped back, letting out a heavy sigh as he stared out at the empty street. "I should be afraid of you." He explained finally. "I'm not, but I should be."

"I see." The demon replied. "I am an exceptionally dangerous predator, it would make perfect sense for you to be scared of me. Though it might surprise you to learn, that I would be incredibly disappointed if that were the case."
"Why would you care?" Levi asked. "It wouldn't have made a difference, I would have still needed you. I still do."
"I suppose it shouldn't matter much either way." Erwin replied thoughtfully. "But like I've said before, I enjoy your company and I would hate for that to be ruined by something as human as fear."

"I am human." Levi reminded him bitterly, freezing when the blond dropped an arm around his shoulders to draw him close.
"I haven't forgotten." Erwin promised him gently. "Though it does feel like you've made some kind of commitment to assume the worst of me lately."

"No." Levi replied quietly. He didn't know what to make of the affectionate gesture, but he didn't pull away. Erwin was warm, and the wind was cold. "You're not the problem, I am." He continued after a moment. "It's just easier to get mad at you than it is to change something that's out of my control."

Erwin didn't reply immediately, tightening his grip on the human ever so slightly as he stared out at the shadows. "You've never struck me as someone who prefers to take the easiest path." He said after a long while, glancing down at Levi.
"I guess I'm learning to pick my battles." He replied, shrugging a shoulder as he met Erwin's eyes and this time the demon's smile didn't annoy him. It was one of the nice ones.
"That would be some miracle indeed." Erwin said softly. "It's okay if you need to be angry at me, you'll need that anger. I don't imagine that things going to get any easier for you, your world isn't particularly kind to ambitious people."

"The world isn't particularly kind to anyone." Levi replied flatly. "But that's fine, I don't expect it to be. I don't need it to be."
"What do you need?" The demon asked curiously and Levi shook his head, dropping the blond's gaze to stare out at the street instead.

"I need to know why." He replied bitterly. "I want justice, but I'm starting to see that there's no such thing and failing that revenge suits me just fine."

"And what if there wasn't a reason?" Erwin asked. "No bigger picture or evil agenda, will revenge really change anything?"
"A demon wouldn't understand." The human said flatly. "But I'm going to make sense of why they chose my family, why they chose me. And then I'm going to kill them."

"A reason to justify your suffering." Erwin replied, nodding lightly. "It intrigues me that you show so much contempt towards the pious, you're not so different to them yourself. Though contempt does seem to be something of a default setting for you."

"Shut up." Levi retorted, jabbing the blond in the ribs with his elbow. "I'm nothing like them, I'm not sitting around waiting for God to solve all of my problems for me."
"No." The demon said thoughtfully. "Though I do find myself wondering just what you will decide to rely on before the end."
"That's easy." The human replied firmly. "I can rely on myself. Everyone else wants something from me, which is fine. It's how the world works and I get it, I'm not stupid enough to expect anything more than that."

Erwin didn't reply and as the night dragged on Levi wondered if it had just been another waste of time. He had just about fallen asleep when he felt gentle fingers brush through his hair and he stifled a yawn, letting himself enjoy the way the blond's fingers felt as they dragged through his hair while he waited for the sun to call the futile stakeout to an end.

He didn't even begin to know what the demon was playing at, wasn't naive enough to think that he really cared about him. But in the dark alley, as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness, it was nice to just pretend it could be true.

If only for just a moment.

Chapter Text

"Shall we go back to our room?" Erwin asked the next morning as they left the undisturbed Church behind them. "I'm sure you could do with a couple hours of sleep."
"I'm fine." Levi replied, he had dozed on and off as the night had dragged on and the thought of wasting even more time than they already had was less than appealing. "Let's go get breakfast and then we can get back to work."

"I'm confident if we're patient our friend will reveal themself." The blond said as they made their way back towards the barracks. "Is it worth spending the day hunting for them?"
"If you have something better to do you're welcome to leave me to it." The human replied flatly. "But if they're leaving messages in blood that means that someone's getting hurt."

"And you don't like the thought of that." The demon finished for him. "It may interest you to know that I visited the hospital, as well as several doctors in the area, after you dismissed me yesterday."

"And?" He asked sharply. "Why are you only telling me about this now?"

"Because you didn't ask." Erwin replied, smiling back at Levi when he glared at him. "Besides, all I learnt was that whoever's been donating their blood to this little project isn't seeking medical attention after the fact."
"So it was just another waste of time." The human huffed, but Erwin looked thoughtful as he shook his head.
"I don't think so." The demon replied. "We know that whoever we're looking for is handling things on their own, I think that tells us a lot already."

Levi didn't see what that was supposed to tell them, but he didn't ask.

When they reached the mess hall he was unable to suppress the yawn that tore through him. Dropping down onto one of the wooden benches, he left the demon to find him something to eat while he sipped on a steaming cup of tea.

"Hey. How'd it go last night?" Petra asked, dropping into the seat across from him with a smile that was far too bright considering the early hour. "Did you catch your guy?"
"He didn't show up." He replied, pulling a face as he took a sip of his tea. "But that's okay, Erwin and I are going to hang around again tonight, it's just a case of waiting him out."
"That's the spirit." She said encouragingly over a bite of toast. "I can't wait to hear all about how you take him down. I bet it'll be exciting."
Draining the last of his tea, he set the teacup down with a sigh. "Hopefully there's nothing to tell." Levi replied seriously. "All I want is an easy report to write at the end of it all."

"When did you get so boring?" Petra teased, rolling her eyes at him lightly. "Before long you'll be telling kids to stop loitering too."
Laughing softly, he shook his head again. "I wish, boring would be nice." He said, smile straining when Erwin set a bowl of porridge down in front of him before dropping down into the empty space beside him with his own breakfast.

"Good morning, Miss Ral." The demon said warmly, offering the redhead a smile before he took a bite of his porridge. "I hope you're finding the interior just as charming as I do."

"I didn't actually realise how much the Military Police did in here, Sir." She admitted. "But now I'm here, I'm starting to see how much we can do to help people and I'm proud to be part of that."
Erwin's smile widened and Levi wanted to jab him in the ribs, because the last thing the demon needed was to be validated for his meddling. But secretly, he was glad Petra was there too.

The interior felt less lonely with the redhead around.

"I'm glad to hear that you recognise the importance of our role here." The blond replied smoothly. "While the other branches of the military have their place, ours stands at the heart of our society. It's both an immense privilege and responsibility to be tasked with the duty we have sworn to uphold. Wouldn't you agree, Levi?"

"Yes, Sir." He replied flatly. "It's a pity not everyone here feels that way."

Petra arched a curious brow at him as the blond nodded his agreement. "It's lucky that we have fine soldiers, such as yourself, committed to reminding those of us who may have lost their way." Erwin said seriously.

Levi just rolled his eyes, finishing his breakfast while the demon turned the conversation to safer topics, like Petra's patrols and her aspirations in the interior. Plans for a future that Levi had given up on entirely.

It made him want to scream.

By the time they set back out onto the streets his mood had soured again, but if Erwin noticed he didn't say anything as they wound their way back towards the Church.

The bells high up in the steeple were ringing, a low mournful sound, and Levi found himself joining the faithful as they wandered to their places among the pews. Erwin followed along obediently, offering the human nothing more than a questioning frown as he took his place beside him.

"We gather to give thanks." The priest in the centre of the room said once everyone had settled in and the murmuring voices of those gathered around them began to fall silent.
"We gather to give praise." He continued, sucking in a dramatic breath as he gazed out at his flock. "We gather because we know we are not worthy of the paradise that we have been granted!" His voice grew louder with each word, until it was echoing off the walls around them.

"We are not worthy. But despite our sins, despite our impurities, we have still been granted salvation! Maria, Rose, Sina! The towering walls that protect our society, our shields against the darkness that would devour us! They are the gift of the Divine, so that we may take our place in this world!"

After the service had finally come to an end, the last thing Levi wanted to do was 'mingle' with the other congregants. But he allowed himself to be herded along towards the hall anyway.
For all that he might have been hesitant to bring a demon into the Church, the blond seemed to rise to the occasion and it wasn't long before Erwin had a group of people around him, hanging from his every word.

The human rolled his eyes as he watched from the sidelines, stifling a yawn as he tore his eyes away from the blond.

"First time?" A soft voice asked and Levi glanced over to find that a friendly looking woman had come to join him in the corner.

"Yeah." He replied, wrinkling his nose. "Is it that obvious?" Her laugh was sweet, warm, and Levi didn't quite mind that he was being laughed at for it.
"It's okay, everyone here was once out of place too." She replied with a shrug. "I think it's my favourite thing about this place, no matter who you are or where you come from, we're all equal in the eyes of God."

"Is that why he separated us behind three different walls?" Levi asked, surprised when she just laughed at him again.
"Just because we're all equal, doesn't mean we're all the same." She replied easily. "But I think you already know that. Don't you, Levi?"

"How do you know my name?" He asked, eyes narrowing as he studied her closely.

She was beautiful, her slender face framed by pale hair and Levi was sure that he had never seen her before. He would have remembered eyes like that. Eyes the colour of amethysts.
"I know a lot of things." She replied, offering him an almost apologetic smile. "I know what you're looking for and why you won't find it. But I also know nothing I can say will stop you from trying."

"Why bother saying anything in the first place then?" He asked, glancing back over at Erwin, who was still distracted by his audience.
She shrugged again, following Levi's gaze over to the demon before she laughed her musical laugh. "Because I wanted you to know that you still have a choice."

"Angela, we need to go." A stout, well dressed man called out to her and she smiled apologetically, leaning close to press her lips to his cheek. "We'll talk again soon, Levi." She murmured in his ear. "But for now there are things I have to do and the same could be said for you."

With that, she was gone. Following the man who had called her away and it took Levi a moment to recognise him, because he didn't know why Rod Reiss would be attending a quiet service like this.

"Is everything okay, Master?" Erwin asked once he had finally detached himself from his admirers to appear by the human's side. "You look troubled."
"Let's just get out of here." He replied quietly. "The incense is giving me a headache."

Clouds had started to gather in the sky, blocking out the sun as they loomed over the city. People rushed past them, not paying the soldiers any attention as they hurried to finish up their errands before it could rain.

"Who was that you were talking to back there?" The blond asked curiously once they'd stepped back out onto the street. "She certainly seemed to have your full attention."
Levi scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked up at the demon. "I'm surprised that you noticed." He retorted. "Your little fanclub looked like they were keeping you busy."

"I was merely making polite conversation, that was our objective and you did ask me to blend in." Erwin replied. "But I would be a poor excuse of a demon if I allowed myself to become distracted from what truly matters most."
"If you have something to say, just say it." Levi said coolly, because the whole thing had left him on edge enough already and the fact that Erwin seemed to think it was worth bringing up didn't help.

"I just wonder what a friend of our dear Lord Reiss would say to put such a dark look on your face." The demon replied with a shrug. "If something has upset you, I'd be happy to address the issue."

There was a pleasant smile on the blond's lips, but Levi could see the sharpness in his gaze and he shook his head as he yawned.

"It's nothing, she was just being friendly." He lied, offering the taller man a slight smile. "I just hate small talk, that's all. Those sort of things are like my own personal hell."
Erwin laughed, sharpness fading from his eyes as he reached to ruffle the human's hair affectionately. "Your idea of Hell is most amusing." He hummed as Levi swatted his hand away with a huff.

"Yeah well, apparently you know everything." He said a little bitterly. "Unlike us ridiculous humans, with our oh so amusing problems and our childish need to believe in things."
This time, when the demon's eyes widened, it did feel satisfying. But Levi just kept walking, refusing to so much as glance back at the infuriating man.

"I have never claimed to know everything." The blond replied, hurrying to catch up with the human. "If I did, why would I waste my time making these deals with you 'ridiculous' humans? I'm afraid you seem to be projecting your disdain for own your species onto me."

Levi's eyes narrowed as he glanced back at Erwin, before he sighed and slowed to fall into step beside him again. "How do you see it then?" He asked after a moment.
"You intrigue me." The demon replied honestly. "You have the capacity to be something quite remarkable, yet you waste so much of your potential in favour of clinging to lies and hollow ambitions. Never entirely understanding this world or your place in it."

"My mistake, that makes us sound so much better." The human said dryly, rolling his eyes when Erwin just laughed at him again.
"Every so often one of you manages to rise above your nature." The demon continued gently. "When you do, it's really quite fascinating. You become so much more than you have any right to be and I'd like to learn why that is."

Whatever Levi had expected, it hadn't been that.

"Why?" He asked bitterly. "What could you possibly learn that could make any of this worth it? It's been five years and we don't even have anything to show for it, and don't just give me some bullshit about enjoying my company."
Erwin shrugged lightly, meeting Levi's wary gaze with a warm smile that reached his eyes. "Because you are already something truly fascinating, Levi. And I'm incredibly curious to see what more you will become before the end."

His name was even more jarring coming from the demon's lips than it had from the stranger's and Levi clenched his jaw, fighting the sudden urge to kick the blond.

"It sounds like you're the one that's projecting." He replied icily instead, but if the suggestion bothered the demon, he hid it well.
"Perhaps." Erwin agreed mildly. "But I've already paid the price for my damnation and I'm content enough with what I gained to let myself dwell on what's been lost to me."

"What price did you have to pay?" Levi asked, edge leaving his tone, his irritation temporarily forgotten in favour of curiosity. As honest as Erwin claimed to be, he never spoke much about his life before they had met.

"More than a human could understand." The demon replied, smiling in a way that didn't quite reach his eyes and Levi let out a huff of dry laughter, because he should have known better than to expect more than that.

They spent the rest of the afternoon winding their way between long rows of tall apartment buildings and warehouses. It would have taken them hours to search them all properly and Levi could feel the lack of sleep catching up with him. Clinging to him as he walked, making every step he took feel heavy as if he were fighting gravity itself.
"We should get back here early tomorrow and take a proper look around." He suggested, breaking the easy silence that had settled between them. "If you can afford to keep skipping out on your duties for me, that is."

"We're working on behalf of an important institution, I doubt my involvement will be questioned." Erwin said lightly. "If it is however, I shall simply explain that you asked for my help and I was only too happy to lend my assistance."
"You don't have to do that." The human replied. "Just because I like having you around, doesn't mean I'm not capable of looking after myself. I just want to make sure I'm getting the most out of our deal, that's all."

Erwin laughed and Levi glanced up at him to see that he was smiling again. The demon's smile was genuine and Levi rolled his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the road before him. He supposed he could see why someone like Petra might think he was cute.

Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, if Erwin heard him it would have gone to his head and his ego was already bad enough.

Chapter Text

They returned to the barracks for a late lunch and Levi insisted that they eat in their room, because he didn't have it in him to engage in small talk if Petra was around. Nor did he particularly want to deal with the farce that was Erwin's attempt to play the part of the dutiful soldier.

The fact that the blond did it so well only made it worse.

After he had eaten he felt marginally more awake and the thought of heading back outside had almost become bearable. Even if it was really just a matter of killing time until they could go and lurk outside the Church again.

It still felt better than doing nothing.

Erwin entertained his quest, following him back out into the cloudy city streets and if he thought that it was a pointless endeavour, he offered no criticism.

"Shall we turn left up here?" The demon suggested lightly as they made their way through the bustling city centre.

Levi nodded his agreement, because he was really only walking to keep himself awake at that point and to keep his mind from drifting back to the stranger he'd met at the Church.
He didn't bring her up and Erwin didn't ask again, but Levi didn't like the certainty in her voice when she'd promised they would meet again. It was just another mystery and the he was well and truly sick of being left to question everything.

"We should turn left again." Erwin said after they'd followed the block along and he just nodded again, trailing along past a particularly well tended garden outside of a nice looking house.
In another life, he might have had a house like that, with a host of staff to keep it clean and see to his needs. He might have been a doctor or a politician, something important.

Something that certainly wouldn't have suited him.

He would have married Petra and they would have been happy, they got along well enough. He would have been invited to dinners and dances and his life would have been a simple matter of following the path that had been set for him.

Erwin took the human by the arm, gently drawing him around the next turn they reached and it took Levi a moment to realise that he was effectively being led in a circle.

"What are you doing?" He asked, frowning up at the taller man as he led him down another street, away from the heart of the city.
"I didn't want to alarm you." The demon said calmly, tightening his grip on the human's arm when he tried to pull himself free. "But it appears that we're being followed."

"Great, of course we are." Levi said flatly, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder for fear of alerting their pursuer that they were onto them. "When were you going to tell me?"
"I just did." The demon replied calmly. "But I wanted to be sure before I said anything and as they haven't made any move to approach us, I figured there was little harm in seeing how long they intended to trail along after us."

It shouldn't have taken Erwin pointing it out for him to have noticed and Levi sucked in a heavy breath as he followed the demon around another corner.

"Why don't we just ask them what they want?" He suggested flatly, if they were lucky their vandal had caught onto the investigation and the whole thing could be easily resolved in time for bed. "What's the worst that could happen?"

He didn't like the way Erwin frowned at him, his expression was guarded, but he could see thinly veiled unease in his eyes. "That's not a question I like to entertain." The blond informed him. "It feels too much like an invitation and in this instance we would only be inviting trouble."
"I'm not running away without a good reason." Levi replied sharply, eyes narrowing as he came to an abrupt halt. "What aren't you telling me? You know something, so out with it."

Erwin didn't reply immediately, gaze flicking over the human in a way that made him feel uncomfortably like he was being assessed

"There are many things that I know." He said finally, tugging Levi along after him with an iron like grip as he continued down the street.
"However, I don't know how we might have managed to attract the attention of a Reaper. But I can assure you whatever the reason, we would do best to ignore them altogether."

"A Reaper?" Levi asked, only allowing himself to be all but dragged after Erwin, because he was actually explaining himself for once.
"They're little more than bureaucrats and nuisances, for the most part." The demon replied distastefully. "It's their duty to collect the souls of the dead and cast judgement upon them."

"And why would one be following us?" Levi asked, finally relenting and glancing back over his shoulder. There were several people behind them, but none of them looked particularly threatening or out of place.

"It's the brunet with the glasses." Erwin said before he could ask. "The only reason one would have to be here is because someone is going to die and soon I would imagine."
Suddenly the demon's caution made sense and Levi nodded his understanding, frown deepening as he stared back at the Reaper. "Could you kill them if you had to?" He asked.

"If I had to." Erwin replied darkly, though it couldn't have been that bad, because a hint of a smile curled at the demon's lips.
"Though Reapers serve as more of an omen than a threat, the real enemy is yet to reveal themself." The blond continued calmly. "But you can rest assured that you are mine and I won't allow anyone else to lay claim to you."

"People have tried to kill me before, what's different this time?" Levi asked, hating that despite the way they made his stomach twist, the demon's words were reassuring.
"I don't know." Erwin replied as he led Levi back up the road towards the barracks. "But I have dealt with this particular Reaper before and they have unusual methods. We should avoid making any assumptions and wait to see how this plays out."

"That's your plan?" Levi demanded incredulously, letting out a scoff of disbelief as he shot the demon a dark glare. "We're just going to wait around for someone to try and kill me?"
"It's been a fairly effective strategy so far." The blond replied lightly, smug smile fading when the human tore free of his grip and turned on his heel to storm back down the street with a scowl.

"Master, I really wish you wouldn't-" Erwin started, but Levi just waved a dismissive hand after him. They'd already wasted more than enough time and he was tired of sitting around and waiting for awful things to happen to him.

"What the hell do you want with us?" He demanded the brunet, who looked slightly startled and not at all like the omen of death.
Until he saw their eyes. They were a strange shade of green- almost yellow -and they shone brightly in a way that no human's could as they regarded him curiously.

"Hello Levi." They said, smiling brightly down at the human when he glared darkly up at them. "It really wasn't my intention to startle you, either of you, but I guess I wasn't being as subtle as I thought I was. It's nice to see you again, Se-"
"Actually, I go by Erwin now." The demon interrupted from somewhere above him and Levi glanced up to find him looming over his shoulder. "And as nice as I'm sure it is, my Master asked you a question."

Their smile only grew, until they were laughing. A raucous, bubbly sound that grated at his ears.

"I'm sorry." They said quickly, once they'd managed to stifle their laughter. Though they didn't look very apologetic. "It's just surprising to see you back in the role of the faithful servant. It didn't really work out for you so well last time, did it?"

"Rest assured that I've learnt my lesson." The demon replied seriously. "Is that what all this is about? They sent you to keep an eye on me? That does strike me as a particularly bold choice, no offense."

Levi didn't know who 'they' were, what history the pair shared, or how the Reaper- and what seemed like everyone else -knew his name. But he did know that he wasn't in the mood for any of it.

"Is this actually going anywhere?" He asked flatly, shooting Erwin a dark look before he glared at the Reaper again. "We've already wasted enough of our time trying to get rid of you, so you'll forgive me for not having the patience to listen to you two politely snark at each other."

"Aw, he's adorable!" Hange said, reaching to ruffle Levi's hair. "You really do have a type, don't you?" They added, grinning at the demon brightly as Levi let out a sharp cry of protest and batted their hand away. "As for what I want, I could go for something to eat. It's going to be a busy night."
Levi just stared at the Reaper, he knew he was being insulted, even if he couldn't explain exactly why and while the brunet didn't seem like much of a threat, he didn't exactly trust his judgement.

There was clearly too much that he didn't know.

"Fine." He snapped. "I'm hungry anyway, Erwin will buy us dinner if you agree not to annoy me and keep your hands to yourself."
"You seem like the kind of person who gets annoyed easily." They hummed thoughtfully in reply. "But I can definitely do my best. I'm Hange by the way, it's nice to officially meet you."

The Reaper offered him their hand but Levi ignored it, rolling his eyes before the three of them set off down the bustling street in search of a place to stop for dinner.

There was no end to the questions, they swirled in his head and fought each other for priority, even as he told himself none of them mattered. But he didn't want to ask with Hange trailing along after them and Levi shoved his hands into his pockets as he tried to turn his mind back to what really mattered.

The case.

"So, how've you been?" The Reaper asked, offering the demon a small smile as they followed after the human. "It feels like it's been ages, you look good by the way. I love the blond."
"Perhaps not long enough." He comment mildly. "But I've been content, the world is as it ever was and my Master keeps me entertained enough that I couldn't complain. And you?"

"I'm a Reaper." They told him dryly. "I work and work, and sometimes I dream about filing things under the wrong subsection and making even more work for myself. But I got to try some of the most amazing calamari the last time I was in Marley, so..."

"Truly fascinating." Erwin replied and he sounded like he actually meant it, which struck Levi as more than a little bit odd.

"Here looks fine." He said, coming to a stop outside a restaurant that looked clean enough. It didn't really matter so long as he could sit down, because his dark mood absolutely had to do with the pain in his leg and not the strange stab of jealousy blooming in his chest.

"As you wish, Master." The blond replied, reaching to pull the door open for him. The restaurant wasn't crowded, but there were enough people to create a cozy sort of ambiance and there was an empty table in the corner. Picking his way over to it, Levi sunk into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh.

His mood improved when the plate of steamed rice and spicy fried vegetables was set down in front of him and he accepted the glass that Erwin poured for him with a grateful nod.
"How do you two know each other?" He asked once he'd finished his water. "If I'm going to be involved in whatever it is this is, I deserve answers."

"It's a long story." The blond replied firmly, not quite meeting his eyes. "And not one that's appropriate for a place like this. However, any history between us is just that. History."
It was hardly a satisfactory answer and Levi rolled his eyes again, but he let it drip rather than deal with the demon's infuriating ability to say nothing in a variety of pretty words.

Instead he turned his attention to his dinner- which was admittedly nice -and tried not to resent the fact he knew so little about the demon, when both his life and soul were inextricably at his mercy.

Hange snorted in amusement, oblivious or apathetic to the human's frustration, and Levi glared at them as they scoffed down their mashed potatoes.

"He makes it sound so much worse than it is." They said, dabbing at a spot of gravy that had dripped onto their shirt with their finger and licking it clean, before they smiled at Levi again.
"It's just awkward, but that's kind of just life isn't it?" They continued with a shrug. "Erwin convinced me that killing myself was the only way out of a crappy situation and now he makes my afterlife miserable by interfering with the grand design whenever he gets bored."

"I thought Reapers were supposed to be neutral?" Erwin asked mildly, ignoring the questioning glance his human shot at him as he reached to pour Levi another glass of water.
"I'm not a very good Reaper." Hange replied simply, though their gaze sharpened, even as they smiled sweetly at the demon.
"Perhaps not, but I wouldn't consider that to be a bad thing." Erwin said, smiling back at the brunet ever so slightly. "It would be a shame to see you change, even for all you can be a pain."

Hange laughed and Levi just rolled his eyes again, because it was clear he wasn't going to much an explanation. Letting out a sigh, he decided he didn't care. Determined not to be put off another meal by the demon and his drama.

"So Levi, what's your story?" The brunet asked once they'd finished eating. "Did our charming friend here just straight up manipulate you into this? Or is he taking advantage of a terrible personal tragedy that left you desperate?"
"Neither." The human replied sharply. "Erwin and I have an agreement that suits us both just fine. The price might be high, but that doesn't bother me. I'm not particularly concerned with the fate of my soul."

"I see." Hange said, nodding lightly as they reached for the jug to pour themself another glass of water. "Desperation it is."

"You're wrong." Levi snapped firmly, it shouldn't really have mattered what they thought and maybe Hange was right. They actually seemed to know the demon. But it did matter and while he might only have been a human, he certainly wasn't going to sit there and let himself be insulted by a Reaper.

"Ignore them, Master." Erwin said gently, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder when he began to rise from his chair. "Let them assume what they will about our arrangement, a Reaper's mindset is often narrow at best."
Letting out a huff of a sigh, Levi dropped back into his seat, though his appetite had been ruined after all and he just wanted to fall into bed and sleep away the confusing day.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Levi." Hange said gently and this time they did look sorry. "It's just, if there's one thing that I've learnt, it's that you can never trust a demon to be more than they are."
"And why should I trust you?" Levi asked coolly. "It wasn't a Reaper who saved me, but you would have taken my soul wouldn't you? Judged me, even if I didn't deserve to die?"

The Reaper's smile faded, brow furrowing as they held the human's gaze. "You're right." They replied after a moment and Levi recognised the pity in their eyes for what it was.
"And then you would have known peace, an end. Good people die every day, it's sad but that's just the way the world is. But everyone deserves to rest."

Levi didn't reply, throwing his fork down and getting to his feet to storm out of the restaurant without a backwards glance. He didn't make it very far before Erwin appeared behind him, watching him curiously as he stormed down the street back to the Church. But he didn't break the stony silence and the human was grateful for that.

"Where'd they go?" He asked once they'd made it back to the alleyway and Levi had dropped down onto the hard flagstones.
"They're around here somewhere." Erwin replied. "It's unlikely they'll leave before they've taken what they came for, but I managed to convince them to leave us alone for the moment."

"Like you convinced them to kill themself." He said once Erwin had settled down on the ground beside him. It wasn't really a question, nor did he really expect an answer.
"That was a long time ago." Erwin replied after a long moment. "Their situation was a truly hopeless one, but I saw a way out for them. Perhaps it was unkind, cruel of me even. But Hange is still here to complain about it."

Levi just nodded. Erwin was a demon, it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that his past was full of terrible choices and questionable actions. But he was so good at presenting himself as someone who could be trusted- someone safe -that it was hard to really imagine him as being truly sinister. Maybe Levi was just naive.

"They said you had a type, what did that mean?" He asked, inspecting his nails for dirt rather than meet the demon's gaze. He could feel him watching him, as the blond so often did.
"You didn't think that you were the first to make a contract with me, did you?" Erwin asked curiously. "There have been others, of course. But each time is something new, a different insight to humanity and I detest the suggestion that I am anything less than I have claimed to be."

"Because you'd never lie to me." Levi replied dryly, shaking his head as he sighed. "But I still don't know anything about you, I don't even know your name."

Erwin was quiet for a long moment, tearing his gaze away from the human to stare out at the empty street and Levi found himself wishing that he hadn't brought it up in the first place.

It really didn't matter.

"My name is Erwin Smith." The demon said finally, tone firm, leaving no room for argument. "That has been my name since the night we met, the name that you gave me. Perhaps it hasn't always been my name, but I claim it as my own."
"Forget about it all, okay?" The human said with a sigh. "I don't care who you are, I don't need to know and I don't need you to be anything more than you are."

He would have liked to have believed it was true, really he just felt annoyed. Annoyed at Erwin for being so complicated and at himself for caring in the first place.

"And just what is that?" Erwin asked quietly. "I often find myself wondering if anyone can ever truly know another person, or if we even really understand the truth of our own being."
"That's easy." Levi replied firmly, finding the blond's gaze with his own. "You're mine. And I'm yours, until the end. Right?"

"Until the end." Erwin repeated, the barest huff of surprised laughter leaving his lips as he smiled softly down at his human.

Chapter Text

The night pressed in around them. Dark shadows pooled in the street, each with the potential to be concealing danger. 

He still didn't know what the woman from the Church thought he still had to decide, or how she had known his name. He didn’t know what else the demon was hiding from him either, but he didn’t really care. 

Or at least, he was trying not to dwell on it. 

Erwin was beside him, sitting in the cold with him. Patient and gentle in the way only a demon could be. Tentative and out of a sense of expectation, perhaps. But it was more than could have really hoped for. 

The clouds loomed above them, blocking out the pale light of the moon, but that suited Levi just fine. He had accepted his place in the darkness, even if he was yet to make sense of it.
Maybe Hange had been right. Maybe an end, no matter how unsatisfying was better than a hollow life filled with violence and the knowledge that he would never find peace. 

It still didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if he could back out of the contract now, and even if he had a choice, he wouldn’t. Not after he’d seen the way that justice was routinely denied by those in power.

He’d made his choice, it hadn’t been Erwin who had sealed his fate. 

“Perhaps we should call it a night.” The blond said after the first drops of rain began to fall. “It’s unlikely that our friend will appear now, and you could certainly use the sleep.” 
“No.” Levi replied harshly, determined not to walk away again without something to show for it. “We’ll wait until morning. If they don’t show up tonight, you're going to search the entire city while I sleep. Is that clear?” 
“Yes, Master.” The demon replied and if he disagreed with the human's plan, he said nothing and that suited Levi just fine. Even if before long they were both soaked and he felt miserable.

Exhaustion worked its way into his very bones and his uniform did nothing to combat the cold, clinging to him as he shivered. 

Erwin didn’t seem to even notice the rain, he barely seemed to notice the way the wind whipped through the alleyway. Howling as it sprayed them with thick, icy droplets. 
Or maybe the demon was secretly pleased that Levi was suffering, though once he had the thought he felt guilty. Glancing up at the blond gave nothing away. His steely eyes flicked out across the street, tracking over the potential places their ‘prey’ could be hiding.

He had been quiet since their run in with the Reaper, but whatever ghosts were haunting him, he kept them to himself. 

A yawn tore itself from Levi’s lips, and he pushed himself to his feet to pace better the narrow stone walls on either side of them in the hopes it would wake him up a little bit.
Or even just warm him up. He could barely feel the cold anymore, instead he had gone numb, and that was worse. Erwin would be insufferable if he got sick. He'd force him to rest and drink soup, along with whatever else the blond decided was best for him.

“Not the best night for it, is it?” The Reaper's voice said from somewhere above them, before Hange dropped from the rooftop to land easily in front of the human with a smile. 
Erwin was on his feet in an instant, coming to stand behind Levi, but far from being intimidated, they just laughed at the demon. 

The brunet was just as drenched as they were, but they were still smiling. A long, thin case hung across their back, held in place by a thick leather strap and they shot the human a conspiratorial wink when they caught him looking at it. 
“What do you want?” he asked, running a hand over his face to clear away some of the water that was dripping from his fringe into his eyes as he tried to look more threatening than he felt. 

“I got bored, figured I’d come hang out with the two people here who know what I am.” They explained, shrugging lightly as they leaned against the stone wall behind them. 
“And not because we’re about to make your night more interesting?” Erwin asked calmly. “Don’t forget, we know why you’re here. Will the collection be occurring soon? The cold isn’t good for my Master, humans are quite fragile. I’m sure you remember.” 

“Shut up, I’m fine.” Levi snapped, glaring at the blond as Hange just laughed again. It was one thing to deal with Erwin’s attempts to ‘care for him’ when they were alone, and another to be embarrassed in front of a Reaper. 

“We still have a few hours.” The brunet told them, resting the case they'd been carrying against the wall, to drop onto the ground. “But I imagine things will start to pick up before that.” 
“You’re still not going to tell us anything that might actually help?” Levi asked, deciding that he wasn’t fond of Reapers if they were all like Hange. “You're here because someone is going to die tonight, right? If you tell us how, we might be able to stop it.” 

“I’m not here to stop anything.” They said gently, a small, sad smile tugging at their lips. “Reapers are neutral observers, we can’t interfere. Death is just another part of life.” 
“Then what good are you?” Levi demanded, not sure why it made him even half as angry as he was. “You say it’s your duty to judge us, but what gives you that right? How is it you can live with yourself when you just stand there and do nothing?” 

Hange just stared at him, before they dropped their gaze from his and for a moment Levi thought he saw what looked like tears in the Reaper’s eyes. But when they looked up to find his again, he only saw pity.

“Do you think I like this?” They asked him finally. “Some of us enjoy what we do, I never have. But it’s important, people would get lost without us and I’d hate to find out someone was eaten by something like our friend here, because I wasn’t there to show them the way.” 

“He has a name.” Levi retorted icily. “And I don’t know exactly what happened between the two of you. But for as long as I’ve known him, the only people he’s hurt have deserved it." 
A soft laugh left the Reaper’s lips, but the warmth had faded from the sound. Their eyes flashed and Levi saw something deeper- something much darker - reflected back at him. Before it was gone.

“And I’m sure you know him so well.” Hange said, smiling at him again. But there was a hard edge to their voice and their smile didn't reach their gaze as they held his unflinchingly. 
“You said we had a few hours, right?” Levi asked, refusing to rise to the bait. “Erwin, I want you to look for anything that might even remotely suggest that someone is going to get hurt and fix it. I don’t care if it's not related to the case, no one’s dying in this city tonight.” 

It felt like a challenge, like if he could beat Hange he could prove that some big plan- some schedule that had been set for them -didn’t get to determine their lives. Didn’t get to decide their end. 

“And before you try to argue, yes. That’s an order.” He snapped, and searing fire burned in his chest as he met the demon’s eyes. 

Erwin’s lips curled in the slightest of smirks as he rested his hand against his heart. “It would be my pleasure, Master.” He replied, before he brought his hand to rest against the human’s cheek. “All you need to do is call me, and I will be by your side.” 
He was gone before Levi could tell him off for the unexpected touch, leaving him to glare at the Reaper, who was fiddling with their case and trying to look as if they hadn’t been listening. 

“How long have you been in love with him?” They asked casually, glancing up in time to see the horrified look on Levi’s face. “Or am I wrong?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, turning to stare at the Church rather than let them see the way his face had warmed. “Erwin’s my- He’s just a tool, something to use. A way for me to achieve my ambitions.” 
“What are your ambitions?” The brunet asked, and Levi considered them for a long moment before he dropped down beside them with a scowl.

“Justice.” He replied firmly. “My parents were burnt to death and I was... I wanted nothing more than to die that night, I begged for an end. Where were you? Any of you...”
“We can't act until it’s time.” Hange replied, and they sounded sorry, but their sympathy meant nothing to him. “You were supposed to die.” 

Levi just nodded, their words confirmed something that was far more valuable than pity. Erwin had thwarted the Reapers’ plans before and there was no reason to believe that he couldn’t do it again.

“Did you hear that?” Hange asked after the rain had stopped and the two of them had been sitting together in in silence for some time. 
“Hear what?” He asked, glancing back out towards the mouth of the alley. The street was still empty and all he could hear was the sound of the wind.

“That!” Hange hissed and this time he heard it, the sound of glass shattering, and Levi was on his feet and running around the side of the Church just in time to see the two small figures disappear around the corner. 

“Come on, we can’t let them get away!” He said, breaking into a sprint after them. Hange let out a high pitched whoop of laughter as they took off after the human gleefully. 
“The game is on!” The Reaper cried and Levi didn’t bother to reply, gritting his teeth as he threw himself around the corner and pushed himself on. “What do you think, Levi?” Hange called after him. “Is it time to call for your boyfriend?”
“I can handle myself just fine.” He growled. “I might only be a human, but I’m not useless. I think I can manage a couple of vandals.” 

And it was true, they were gaining on the pair and before long Levi was able to lunge forward and close his fist around the scruff of a coat, jerking his captive back to better secure his grip, while the other just kept running. 

“Go after them, they’ll get away!” He yelled at Hange, who had come to a stop beside him, watching as the other shadowy figure disappeared. “What are you doing?!”
“Neutral observer, remember?” The Reaper replied regretfully. “I can’t interfere. You got one of them though, good job!” 

Levi let out a frustrated growl, shooting the brunet a dirty look before he turned to look at the struggling boy he had caught. The kid- because he was just a child -stared up at Levi with fearful eyes, before he aimed a sharp kick at his shin. 
“Ow! Hey, cut that out!” He snapped, giving his captive’s arm a sharp tug. “I’ve been sitting in the rain all night because you and your little friend decided to mess with that damned Church. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me why.” 

“Do you promise?” The boy asked, glancing between him and Hange suspiciously. “Will you let me go if I do? I’m going to be in so much trouble if they find out I got got.” 

Levi sighed, relaxing his grip on the kid ever so slightly. “We can start by going and seeing what you did if you promise to cut it out, I don’t see why I can’t let you off with a warning.” 
The boy’s shoulders visibly relaxed, even if he still watched Levi nervously as the three of them made their way back to the Church. 

One of the windows around the side of the building was broken, presumably by another rock, and another bloody message dripped down the wall: 

‘Church of SECRETS'

“It’s not very helpful.” Hange commented as they frowned at the writing. “I mean, it just doesn’t give me enough to go on. Everyone has secrets. What makes theirs so special?”
Levi rolled his eyes, waving a hand at Hange to shut them up. “You’re not very helpful.” He said. “So be quiet and let me do my job.” Turning to the boy, he scanned him for any sign that he was hurt. “Is that your blood?” He demanded.
“No.” The kid said quickly, biting his lip as he stared up at the wall. “They get it ready for us before we go out, I don’t know who got bled tonight.”

Nodding lightly, Levi studied him for a moment longer. “What’s your name?” He asked, deciding they could start with something easy.
“Finn.” The boy replied, glancing anxiously between them as he bit his lip. As if deciding how much he should tell them.
“How old are you, Finn?” Levi asked, trying to look just a little less unfriendly. This was when Erwin would have been useful. He was good at being charming and winning people over.

“I’m seven.” The boy replied quickly, the hint of a smile ghosting at his lips. “That was my sister who got away. She’s ten, but I’m a big kid too. That’s why I got picked to go with her.”
“What’s the purpose of your mission?” Levi asked him, instead of what he really wanted to ask; Who had put children up to something like this? “I need to know why you’re damaging the Church.”

“We’re supposed to tell people the truth.” Finn replied hesitantly after a moment. “Like how the guys at the Church have all the secrets about, uh, stuff they don’t want us to know and they lie to people by... Pretending.”

“You don’t even really know what you’re talking about, do you?” Hange asked, shaking their head as they smiled sympathetically at the boy. “I bet they haven’t told him anything.” 
“I know lots of stuff!” Finn replied quickly, forgetting his fear in place of indignation, and Levi huffed out a laugh when Finn glared at Hange.
“I bet you don’t.” The Reaper replied, reaching down to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Look at you, you’re a kid, we caught the wrong person. I bet his sister knows more than he does.” 
“That’s not true!” Finn yelled and Levi shot Hange a warning glare, but the Reaper just laughed, ignoring him all together as they smirked down at the boy.

“Isn’t it?” They asked calmly. “I mean, you didn’t really tell us anything either. You’re about as much help as that sign of yours.”

“Cut it out, four eyes!” Levi snapped, shoving at the brunet to shut them up. “You’re being a pain, zip it.” It figured that he’d finally get somewhere only to have Hange screw it all up. They were a nuisance, Erwin had been right. 
“No, really!” Hange replied, ignoring him. “I get it. I mean, would you trust some kid with something that important? Because I don’t think I would, that just wouldn’t make sense.”

“I told you I know a lot of things!” Finn said sharply, glaring at the Reaper in a way that rivaled even Levi’s darkest looks. “They trust me. I even know where they keep the angel.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Levi asked. “What angel?” There was no way the kid was talking about an actual angel. Even if they were real- which Levi had seen nothing to suggest -it made no sense for an angel to be involved in this.

“He tells them the truth.” Finn said quickly. “Like how the Church wants us all to be like sheep and hide in our pen, and how the old times used to be better and different to this.” 
“Prove it.” Hange said, tone laced with disbelief. “Because I think you’re just lying to us so you can go home, I think maybe what you need is a night in the stocks. Then you'll talk.”

“I’m telling the truth!” Finn snapped, tugging at Levi’s grip to kick at the brunet. “I'd prove it if they wouldn't be mad at me, but they’ll send me to the dark place if they find out I told you...”

“They’ll find out we caught you and I’ll tell them you told us everything if you don’t.” The Reaper replied darkly and Finn stared hopelessly between them, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Levi said quickly. “I won't let anything bad happen to you, okay? I have a friend, he’s... Like an angel. If I tell him to protect you, there’s nothing in the world that can hurt you.” 
“Do you promise?” Finn asked quietly and Levi was determined to personally hurt whoever had made the boy so afraid.

“I swear it to you.” He replied firmly. “On my word as a soldier, I’m bound by oath to protect people like you. Your sister too, so I need you to be brave and help me do that, okay?”
After only a moment of hesitation, the boy nodded, sucking in a deep breath before he nodded at Levi. “I’ll take you.” He said quietly. “But you have to promise to hide me. They always find out and they always win.” 
“They won’t win this time.” Levi promised, letting go of Finn’s arm as he got to his feet. “Because I’d die before I let them hurt you, and my angel isn’t going to let that happen.

“He’s not going to like being called that.” Hange hummed as they made their way down the street together. “But I won’t tell him, even though it would be hilarious.”
“He doesn’t have to like it, he just needs to do what he's told.” Levi replied with a shrug. “How are we going for time? Has he stopped it yet?”

“You really do believe in him, don’t you?” Hange asked, tone gentle but their eyes were troubled. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but he’s only going to hurt you before the end.” 
“What do you know?” Levi asked bitterly. “Actually, forget it, I don’t care what you think. I know what he wants from me and that doesn’t change anything. In fact, I think it’s better this way. People are never honest about their intentions and Erwin might be a lot of things, but he isn’t a liar.”

“Is that what he told you?” The Reaper asked. But Levi didn’t reply, hurrying to catch up with Finn before he could disappear into the darkness.

Chapter Text

"We have a little over an hour left." Hange said after they had been walking for a while. They hadn't spoken much since they'd set out from the church, and Levi had made it clear that he wasn't interested in what they had to say. 

The Reaper's words replayed in his head, even as he tried to forget them. 

He'd like to believe that they were wrong, but hadn't he had a nagging suspicion that he was only being toyed with? Tolerated because the demon was bored and nothing deeper than that. 

"I offended you again, didn't I?" They asked, and Levi just rolled his eyes. "I was never all that great at making friends, but I was just trying to warn you. You seem like a decent person, I'd hate for you to make the same mistakes I did." 
"I'm not going to kill myself." He said with a shrug. "I don't think Erwin would let me if I tried, but I'm not worried about what ends up happening to me. I don't think anyone could hurt me in any way that really matters now." 

"What do I know?" Hange replied lightly. "I guess we're all capable of change, it stands to reason that a demon could learn from his mistakes. But your being here kind of proves that wrong." 
Levi covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned. "And just how is that?" He asked, though he wished they would just stop bringing Erwin up. He wasn't in the mood to argue with them. 

"Easy, you're not the first human he's saved." The brunet said lightly. "You even sort of look like him, which is the really funny part, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence." 

"We're here." Finn said- before Levi could tell Hange exactly where they could shove it -coming to a stop outside one of the warehouses he and Erwin had passed earlier that day. 
"Okay then." He said, offering the boy what he hoped was an encouraging smile. He wasn't sure it would make a difference, but the boy was scared enough already. "Lead the way." 
Finn bit his lip, staring at the door for a few seconds before he turned his pitiful gaze back to Levi. "Do I have to?" He asked, his voice practically a whisper. "I'm not supposed to go in there." 

Levi considered him for a moment, shaking his head slightly. "If you want my angel to keep you safe, it's better if you stay with me." He explained, but he stepped forward to open the door. Wincing at the way the hinges screeched as it opened.
"Look, if you want to go, I won't stop you." He said. "If you don't think it's safe, go to the military building, the one by the market. Look for Petra Ral, tell her that Levi sent you. She'll look after you until I get back." 

Finn stared at him just long enough to decide that Levi was really being serious before he offered him the slightest smile in return. "Thank you, Sir." The boy said, and Levi could hear the relief in his voice. "I'll find your friend, but be careful." 
He was gone before Levi could promise that he would, running off down the street and disappearing into the shadows without a backwards glance.

"Shall we?" Hange asked when the human turned back to the darkness on the other side of the door. "It doesn't look very inviting, but I'm sure there's no way it could be a trap."
"Shut up." Levi replied, stepping over the threshold without hesitation. There were worse things to be afraid of than the dark and whatever might be lurking in the shadows. 

Darkness loomed around him, deeper and denser than it had been outside without the pale light of the stars. But Levi pressed on into the wide room, holding a careful hand out in front of him as he felt his way through the pitch black room. 
"Look out!" Hange called from somewhere beside him. Before his foot slammed into something hard, and the human let out a groan as sharp pain shot through his toes. 

"Are you telling me you can see?" He asked, feeling for whatever he had crashed into. It was square, and it almost came up to his hips. 
"Yup." The Reaper replied. "For example, that was a crate you crashed into. There's a bunch of crates, actually, and a couple of tables. There's nothing to suggest that they've got an angel locked up in here though." 

"Keep looking." Levi spoke firmly. "If there's anything out of place.. Or maybe there's a room you haven't noticed yet— a trapdoor? Something." 
Hange didn't reply; instead, he heard a loud groan, like something was straining before it gave with a crack that echoed through the warehouse.

"No way! You won't believe it!" The Reaper cried gleefully, and Levi hurried towards the sound of their voice, cursing when his shin collided with something hard. "What is it?" He snapped. 
"It's chocolate!" Hange replied, taking his hand to tug the human towards them so that they could press a small, crinkly bar into his hand. 

"Are you actually being serious right now?" He asked the brunet incredulously. "We're running out of time to save someone's life, and you're happy because you found some candy?" 
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm a neutral observer?" The Reaper replied lightly, tearing into their prize with a satisfied hum. "But there are still some things in life I can enjoy, so I might as well take advantage when I get the chance." 

"Forget it." Levi snapped. His eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness, and he was starting to see the outline of grey shadows around them. "I don't know what possessed me to think you might help." 

"Unrealistic expectations maybe?" Hange replied. "That does seem to be something of a running theme with you..." 
"Shut up!" Levi retorted, throwing the chocolate back at them before he began to search the warehouse. But nothing stood out, and he had been about to admit defeat and call for Erwin when he heard a harsh, metallic screech and the door clanged shut with an echoing thud. 

"Hi there!" Hange called loudly, and before he could hiss at them to shut up, he heard something click. There was a flash of bright light and a loud roar, and Levi launched himself behind the cover of a crate just as the scorching heat of the flames whooshed over his head. 

It was the fire— the threat of burning —that made him curl in on himself as he struggled to catch his breath. The very air seemed to scorch his lungs, and his heart raced in his chest as if trying to claw its way out and escape. 

"Hey!" The Reaper yelled, and Levi found himself relieved that they were okay. "That wasn't very nice of you! Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's polite to ask before you try and blow someone up? But that's okay, it's my turn now, and I've been absolutely dying to test my new toy out!" 
A shrill laugh escaped them as a metallic whirring filled the air, and Levi thought for a strange moment that their attackers were using ODM gear, before the second blast rocked through the warehouse. 

"Wow!" Hange exclaimed. "You dodged that one really fast! "Now let's see if you can do it again!" 

Another explosion tore through the warehouse, but the human forced himself to his feet even as dust and splinters rained down around him. Smoke was starting to fill the air, leaving a bitter taste on his tongue, but to hesitate now would only prove that he really was helpless without the demon by his side. 

It was that thought that spurred the human on, sending him hurtling through the growing flames towards the Reaper, because he sure as hell wasn't going to stand back and let them handle this on their own. 

There was another click, another explosion, and Levi heard the brunet groan. They were covered in soot and splinters, but they smiled when they saw him, fitting a long, slender stick against their arm before he heard the sound of whirring metal again, and this time he understood what it was. 
The stick launched through the air, the thin cord that attached it to Hange snapping before it exploded. "Damn, missed again! Can you just hold still?!" They yelled, and this time, illuminated by the flames, Levi saw him. 

The man scowled darkly at them across the warehouse. He was holding a small metal object in his hand, from which he pulled a pin, and Levi heard it click as the stranger threw it towards them. 

Hange slammed into him seconds later, sending the breath from his lungs as he hit the ground hard. The explosion ripped through the air around them, and he heard the sound of something shattering nearby. But with the Reaper pinning him down, he couldn't see what had been broken. 

Their eyes shone in the firelight, looking even more like a cat's than usual as they tracked over his face for just a moment. Then Hange was gone, springing to their feet to fit another stick onto their arm.
Pushing himself to his feet again, he winced at the way his muscles complained. Smoke burned at his eyes, clawing at his throat to seep into his lungs, and Levi coughed as he turned to watch Hange fire at the man before he could run for the door. 

The human took off after him, determined not to let him get away. 

Their attacker just smiled as he closed the distance between them, Levi heard the click of the pin being pulled, saw the burst of bright light. He was too close to fall back, so he threw his arm up to shield his face, gritting his teeth as he shouldered his way through the flames. Refusing to give his attacker the satisfaction of hearing him scream. 

His knife was in his hand when he broke through the smoke to crash into the man, who let out a shocked cry as they both tumbled to the ground, and Levi felt strong fingers close around his wrist just before he could plunge his blade into the stranger's chest.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Master." Erwin's voice murmured apologetically in his ear. "Your orders were quite clear, no one is to die in this city tonight. Though I do wish you had called for me earlier, just look at the state you're in..." 
Levi could have cried, whether because the demon had swooped in at the last minute- despite his need to prove that he didn't actually need him -or because the relief that came with hearing his voice was almost palpable. 

Or maybe it was because the adrenaline was fading from his system, he could feel his nerves starting to scream. But it didn't matter; pain was temporary, and he was safe now. 

"We need him alive anyway." He said, leaning into the blond as the world tilted violently around him. "We're running out of time, make him talk now. I want to know where the children are, who's being bled, and what the hell an angel has to do with any of this. Do you understand?" 
"An angel?" Erwin asked, winding a strong arm around Levi's chest before the human could topple over. The building let out a shuddering groan before Levi could explain himself, and he coughed, turning to press his face into the blond's jacket to try and escape from the smoke.

"We need to get out of here, this place is going to come down!" The Reaper yelled over the screeching sound of metal tearing from metal, before something crashed to the ground nearby, and Erwin leaned over his human to shield him from harm. 

"I think you're right." The demon replied calmly, slamming his fist into their captive's temple, and Levi let out an outraged cry as the man fell still beneath him. 
"Try not to worry, Master." Erwin explained quickly. "I merely knocked him out, I doubt your friend would be willing to wait patiently for me to see to your safety before coming back to deal with him."

Before Levi could reply, he felt himself being lifted into strong arms, and a sharp cry escaped him when his arm dragged against Erwin's coat. 
"Oh, Master..." The demon said softly. "Try to stay still for me, I promise that nothing else is going to hurt you tonight. You really do have a knack for finding trouble, I shouldn't have left you alone.." 

"He wasn't alone!" Hange argued. "I was there the whole time. I tried to draw fire too, but I get the feeling that your precious little human isn't the sort to just wait on the sidelines. He would have kicked that guy's ass if you hadn't stopped him!"

Moments later, fresh air was hitting his face, and Levi sucked in a raspy breath as he let his eyes fall closed. If he was right, they still had close to an hour left; he just needed to stay awake long enough to see the night through.

"Let me make one thing exceedingly clear." Erwin said, once he'd set the human down carefully again. "The only reason that you're still here is because Levi is alive. Were that not the case, I can assure you I would have been quick to grant you the end you seem to so desperately desire."
The demon's voice was soft, but there was a cold, venomous edge to it that sent icy shivers down the human's spine. 

"If I didn't know any better, I might think you actually cared." The Reaper replied, tone almost gentle. "Why don't you stay here with him? I'll go back in and grab our guy, it hardly counts as interference if you were going to save him anyway." 

"Thank you." The blond replied, letting his fingers ghost over the human's blistered cheek so gently that Levi wasn't sure if he had imagined it. He wasn't even sure if he was really even conscious anymore; maybe the pain had followed him into the darkness. It wouldn't have been the first time he had been haunted by flames in his dreams. 

A loud boom tore Levi back from the edge of what almost felt like peace, acceptance perhaps, and a soft groan slipped from his lips as he peeled his eyes open again to blink up at Erwin. 
"The fire?" He asked, because he wasn't sure if he'd dreamt that up too. It was all bleeding together, and he felt so dizzy; his stomach churned and twisted. Threatening to relieve him of his dinner

"Shh, Master." Erwin said gently, drawing the human to rest against his lap while he trailed careful fingers through his singed hair, and Levi didn't fight him because it felt nice. "It's okay, I carried you out, and Hange has kindly gone back to retrieve our friend. Rest now, I'll take care of things."
"Because you play the role of the faithful servant so well?" He asked, remembering the Reaper's warning. "They told me you were going to hurt me, I don't think I care. Everything hurts anyway. At least you make it bearable."

"What is a servant, if not one who is truly dedicated to another?" The blond asked gently. "Do you still doubt my dedication to you?" 
"No." Levi replied honestly, throat burning as he fought the urge to cough, he could still taste the smoke. "I just hate your motivations." 

Erwin was quiet, fingers stilling in Levi's hair, and once again he wished that he hadn't said anything. 

"I thought you didn't need me to be more than I am." The demon said finally, his tone carefully guarded, and if Levi didn't feel like he was about to pass out, he would have slapped him. 
"Don't do that." He murmured instead. "I hate it when you do that." He might have said more— he'd opened his mouth to say more —but the building made a loud groaning sound, drowning him out.

"Get back!" A voice yelled, and Levi turned his head to see the chaos spilling out on the street around them. Soldiers were running towards the flames, armed with buckets, but it was too late. 

Flames shot into the air, the ground shook violently, and steel crumbled as stone and sheet metal rained down around them. The demon was quick to shield Levi, wrapping himself around him as people around them screamed. 
The crowd that had started to gather in the street began to run, shoving past each other as members of the MP called for them to remain calm, as if they could protect the people from the flames. 

Levi shoved the blond away and forced himself to sit as the Reaper stepped through the smoke to drop their attacker's limp body on the ground beside him. He didn't know what miracle had kept them safe in the inferno, but he wasn't about to ask questions now. 

It could have been Erwin in there. 

"Master Sargent Smith!" A young soldier called as she raced over to them. "We have medics on the way, and we're evacuating the area. What the hell happened here, Sir?" 
"There's nothing to worry about." Erwin said calmly. "The situation is under control. Focus your efforts on stopping the fire, and I'll take care of the rest." 

She looked like she wanted to argue, her eyes flicking uncertainly over the four of them. But she saluted the blond, running back to her comrades to bark out orders, and Levi let his eyes fall closed again.

"We need to get out of here." He said. They were running out of time, but with the way his head was pounding and the sharp pain that coursed through his entire body each time he moved, he doubted he was going to make it very far. 
"You need medical attention." Erwin argued firmly, and Levi scoffed because the last thing he wanted right now was for more people to fuss over him. 
"I'm fine." He hissed, forcing himself to his feet. The world tilted sharply, and he had to grab Hange's arm before he could fall over. "Pick him up." 

"Master..." The blond replied hesitantly as he rose to his feet. 

"I didn't ask for your opinion, that was an order." Levi snapped before he could argue, and the demon's gaze held his for a long moment, before he placed his hand over his heart. 
"As you wish, My Lord." Erwin said calmly, and his tone was guarded again, but this time Levi did slap him. He had half expected the taller man to catch his wrist, as he had so many times before. 

Instead, his palm connected with the blond's cheek, and Levi didn't care that he may have just been seen assaulting a superior officer. Because the demon deserved it, and he was losing faith in the military to get him anywhere.

"We've got forty minutes left." Hange said, as he started down the street. "You still think you're going to be able to stop me?" 
"No." He replied that he was having a hard enough time just staying on his feet. "But Erwin will. If he doesn't, you can take my soul and he can starve." 

"Now wouldn't that make things interesting?" The Reaper hummed thoughtfully. "I doubt your loyal Raven would just let me take you, but it'd definitely be a hell of a fight..." 
"You'd be dead before you could reach for your death scythe." The demon informed them calmly, scooping the unconscious man into his arms to follow after the human obediently. "Regardless of how petulant my master can be when the mood strikes him, he's mine." 

"Oh, jealous are we?" The Reaper teased, laughing as they glanced back at the blond. Erwin's gaze was cold as he held the brunet's, flashing deep violet before they faded back to blue. But the ice in his eyes remained, and Hange just winked at him as they laughed again. 

"Shut up, both of you." Levi snapped, not looking back as he stalked down the street. Time was running out, but the human was determined, and he'd die before he gave up. 

Not that the demon would let him. 

It didn't take long to find a nice, shadowy spot behind one of the apartment buildings that would suit their needs well enough. 

Though even if someone stumbled across them, it wouldn't be unusual to see members of the MP using unnecessary force. Though the human hoped it wouldn't come to that.
In the heat of the moment, surrounded by flames, he'd been ready to go for the kill. Death had been a part of his world for long enough now that he should have been able to face it without pause. 

Should be able to deal it out without hesitation.

But torture?

There was something deeply unappealing about stooping to the level of the monsters who had tormented him. Even if it seemed that their world was one where evil would always thrive on the bones of the virtuous,

"Wake him up." Levi demanded once Erwin had set the unconscious man down on the ground again. "Let's get this over with."

Chapter Text

 It didn't take long for Erwin to wake their captive.

"What the-" The man groaned once his eyes had opened, rolling onto his side to vomit onto the stone before he coughed violently. 

"My, my, what a mess you've made." The demon reprimanded, seizing him by his collar and pulling him to sit as easily as if he had been made of straw. "I'm sure you must feel truly awful, but rest assured that your night is about to get a whole lot worse. What inspired you to attack my comrades tonight?" 

"Why don't you piss off?" The man hissed back at him, attempting to jerk himself free of the demon's grip, but Erwin held tight, an amused smirk tugging at his lips as he arched a perfect brow at his captive. 
 "I do wish you'd just cooperate." The blond informed him calmly, turning his gaze to his human for just a moment before he drove his fist into the man's face. His nose broke, spraying blood over Erwin's shirt, and the demon sighed. "That's going to be a pain to get out, couldn't you be more considerate?"

Punching the human again, the demon pulled his captive's arm away from his face when he tried to shield himself. "We'll start with something simple." He hummed. "Who do you work for?"

"Screw you!" His captive hissed, reaching for his belt, and Levi saw the flash of steel as the blade slashed towards the demon's face. Heard the cry of pain and the sickening snap as Erwin caught his wrist. Twisting it sharply with no more effort than it would have taken Levi to break a twig

"How about we try that again?" The demon asked calmly, smiling down at his victim lightly. "Or shall I break the other one?"
"You really don't know who you're messing with!" The man spat back at the blond, attempting once more to free himself. The scream that left him when Erwin squeezed down on his wrist made Levi wince, but the human was silent. Watching with dark eyes as the demon laughed. 

"I do so enjoy when my prey think they're something to be afraid of, it just makes it all so much more satisfying when you realise the truth. That you are truly helpless." The demon said softly, reaching for the knife to rest it against the man's face.
"Confidence is such an interesting thing." Erwin continued calmly. "It only holds up so long as you believe in your own superiority, and I am remarkably good at causing humans to doubt themselves." 

"Hurry this up." Levi snapped, gritting his jaw as the snivelling mess of a man on the ground stared up at him pleadingly. Blood poured from his nose, from his lip, staining the demon's fist, but he still hadn't told them anything. 
Worse, the blond looked like he was actually enjoying himself; it was as if the mask he wore so convincingly had been abandoned, and Levi found himself struck with a sick sense of cognitive dissonance. 

"My master is losing his patience." Erwin informed his captive almost apologetically. "I'm afraid he's never been a particularly patient man, and I am but his loyal servant. So I'm going to ask you again, Who do you work for?" 
"I work for a candy manufacturer!" The man hissed, freezing when the tip of the blade flicked past his eye lazily. "That warehouse was private property, I was just doing my job. Security." 

Erwin considered him, brows furrowed as he drew the blade away from his face. "I don't appreciate being lied to." He replied, jerking his captive's wrist back at an awkward angle to brace it against the ground. Before he brought the knife to rest against the base of his thumb and the Reaper let out a cry of protest.

"Hang on a second!" The brunet said quickly. "This clearly isn't working. He's already terrified, he's not going to break. Erwin, please..." 
The demon stilled, before a heavy sigh left his lips. "I've found that pain can be a remarkable motivator. Once applied properly, it gets quick results." He said calmly, bringing his icy gaze to meet Hange's. "And thanks to you, we're short on time. Master, you may wish to avert your eyes now." 

The man on the ground let out a choked cry as the blade sliced off his thumb, and Levi had just been about to order the demon to stop when the choked words came from their captive's lips. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Erwin replied, releasing his victim's wrist to wipe the blade clean on the man's shirt while he sobbed. "Do you mind repeating yourself?" 
"He'll kill me!" The man managed through gritted teeth. "If I tell you who I'm working for, he'll kill me. Then he'll kill you and your friends. You don't cross these people!"

Erwin just laughed again, but it was a cold, cruel sound. "What makes you think I won't kill you here and now? Give up your master, and if you're lucky, he'll be dead by the time you've managed to lick your wounds clean. I find it hard to believe he's worth all this trouble." 

There was a strained moment, and Levi thought that the Reaper had been right and all of it had been for nothing. 

It was a terrible thought. 

"Deltoff, I'm working for a government official named Deltoff." The man spat at the blond, and Erwin smiled as he dropped the knife and leaned back on his heels, letting the mess of a man at his feet fall against the ground with a groan. 

"I'm familiar with the name." The demon said "He's a high-ranking member of the military government, though I'm surprised to hear that he has a bone to pick with the church." 
"It's not just the church." The man replied, flinching when the blond took his hand in his own, but Erwin just produced a handkerchief from his pocket to wrap around the bleeding stump that had once been a thumb. 

"No?" the demon asked. 

"No. It's the lies and the agenda it's all built on. I don't know much about it, I only take care of nosey assholes who can't look the other way." The man spat darkly, jerking his hand free. 
"Or I was supposed to. I suppose it doesn't matter now. There's a house down by the river, down by the docks. Got a red door, you can't miss it. It's where he runs everything. Look for Becker and ask him what the deal is. He's Deltoff's eyes on the ground." 

"How are we doing for time?" Levi asked, tearing his eyes away from the demon to look at the Reaper instead. 

Hange was staring at Erwin; it was hard to read what thoughts lay behind their blank expression, and Levi found himself wondering again just what they knew about the blond. 

Just what had led to their death.

"We have time." They replied. "But we have to be fast." Without another word, they turned and walked away and Levi hesitated for just a moment before he followed after them.
"How much time?" He asked. Glancing over his shoulder, he was relieved to find Erwin was right behind him, though the demon wouldn't meet his eyes and his expression was dark. Guarded, but the human was too tired and in too much pain to ask if he was okay. 

Or perhaps he just didn't want to hear the answer.

"Twenty minutes." Hange replied seriously, and Levi still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the strange creature, but he was glad they were there. 

"My Lord, we might make better time if I carry you." The blonde suggested lightly and the human would have refused outright if his legs weren't trembling. As it was, he was sure that spite was the only thing keeping him moving at that point.
"Fine." He said, swallowing his pride as he allowed himself to be lifted into Erwin's arms again, before they launched into the air. For just a moment, it felt like they were flying. Before the demon landed on the roof of one of the nearby buildings.

Hange was beside them a moment later, and then the three of them were speeding off through the night. Levi had to close his eyes; the way the city blurred beneath him made him feel sick. But the wind was cool, and Erwin's touch was gentle.

It was strange how someone who had just been so terribly cruel could still be so gentle. 

The world lurched, and his stomach rose into his throat as they plummeted back down to the street just minutes later. The river shone in the starlight, and Levi gripped the blond's arm unsteadily when he was set down upon the flagstones, and Erwin, to his credit, didn't say anything.

They had already started to make their way along the river when the brunet caught up to the pair, nodding once at Levi when he glanced over at them. Though the warmth and humour that had accompanied their presence had disappeared behind a dark frown. The human found himself wondering if it was because of what had happened back behind the apartment building.

Or perhaps their dark mood had to do with what was yet to come.

"You could tell us something." He pointed it out, though he didn't expect Hange to help them now. Even if their definition of 'neutral' had seemed to shift as the night wore on. 
"I could." They replied, fixing their gaze firmly on the road ahead. "But I won't, I can't interfere." 

Levi scoffed, it made his raw throat heave, and he had to fight back the urge to cough as he shook his head. "What do you call blowing up a warehouse then?" He asked finally.
"That was a grey area." Hange replied with a shrug. "He had explosives too, so it was a likely outcome regardless of whether or not I got involved. Besides, there are exceptions to every rule."

"I'm sure that's not an opinion that's supported by most Reapers." The demon mused, smiling at Hange when they glared at him.
"I'm not most Reapers." They replied sharply. "At any rate, we're here. I imagine you don't want to waste time debating the views of my colleagues."

They were right.

The place didn't look special from the outside. It was no different from any of the other houses that stood proudly by the waterfront.

Except for the bright red door, illuminated by the lantern hanging on the hook beside it. 

Chapter Text

"It looks like they're expecting company." Erwin said, nodding to the lantern by the door as he opened the gate for Levi. "Shall I go first, Master?"

"No." The human replied sharply, marching up the path past a well tended patch of hydrangeas with a stormy expression.
Precious minutes passed before the door opened, dark eyes peered out at him, before they widened in horror and he drove his foot into the frame before the girl on the other side could slam it closed in his face.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Levi asked, pushing his way inside before she could reply. The foyer was clean, decorated with a pale floral print contrasted by dark wooden panels.

"Who was it?" A man called from down a narrow hallway and Levi didn't waste any time in following the sound.
"Military Police." He called back. "We're here for Becker, we have some questions for him about Deltoff."

He heard someone curse from a room to his left and Levi reached for his knife as the sound of footsteps thudded towards the door.

He was ready when it opened, ducking under the heavy iron rod that arced through the air towards him. He flipped his blade, driving the hilt sharply into his attackers stomach before the palm of his hand found the man's nose.

The next man was on him after that, digging his fingers into the blistered skin on Levi's arm and he let out a sharp cry as he felt his burnt flesh tear.

Seconds later, he was released again.

A dark stain was spreading across the larger man's shirt as he stumbled back into the wall away from Levi. Hands scrabbling at the thin, silver needle embedded in his shoulder.
When he tugged it free, Levi saw it was a fork and he frowned but there wasn't time to question it, the first man was back on his feet and lurching towards him with a large fist raised.

Spinning on his heel, he flicked a foot out, taking out the other man's ankle to send him crashing down with a thud. "I'd stay down if I was you." He warned, pressing his boot down on his throat with enough force to make him gasp.
There was a blur of movement to his right, the man who had been stabbed had recovered enough to swing at him again. But before Levi could react, his would be attacker let out a cry of pain and Erwin had him back against the wall, ignoring the string of curses directed at him as his captive struggled in vain.

"I want answers, now!" Levi hissed, sneering down at the man beneath his boot. "Where are the kids? Finn, his sister... I want to know what you've been doing with them! Why do they think you have an angel? And I want to know why Deltoff is using them to pick a fight with the Church!"

"I have a better question for you." A cold voice said behind him and he turned to see a thin, well dressed man pointing a rifle at him. "Who the fuck do you think you are? I have powerful friends, you should'a kept your nose out of their business. They're not the most forgiving people."

Levi scowled, but he removed his boot from his captive's throat. He wasn't afraid of being shot, Erwin wouldn't let him get hurt. But he was sick of people thinking that he would be intimidated so easily.

"My name is Levi Ackerman." He replied darkly, raising his hands as he started to walk towards the other man. "I'm with the Military Police. We're here to put an end to this, so why don't you tell me what Deltoff is doing here. And I can promise that you don't want to find out how unforgiving my friends are."
The man, presumably Becker, laughed. The sound of the rifle firing echoed in the narrow hallway, but Levi didn't flinch. The demon was behind him in a flash, fingers deftly picking the bullet out of the air before it could reach him.

"Shall I return this to him, Master?" Erwin asked calmly, smiling down at his human as he held the bullet out to him between gloved fingers.
"No." He replied darkly, sneering at the way Becker's eyes had widened in fear. It reminded him of Finn's eyes when Levi had asked him to walk into the warehouse with him. "No one dies tonight, I thought I made that clear. But that doesn't mean you can't break him, if he won't tell me what I want to know."

"Wait!" Becker said quickly, fingers trembling as he aimed his rifle at Erwin's chest while the demon just smiled at him coolly. "Deltoff's who you want, I just clean up his messes, see to the shipments, keep the brats in line... Stuff like that. He's the one that's behind it all, I just keep my mouth closed and do whatever he tells me."

"What shipments?" Levi snapped, leaning against the wall when the world tilted again. He felt like he was going to pass out, but he kept his expression cold, flat. If the demon thought something was really wrong, he'd be impossible.
"It's mostly just candy, it's an established trade, the company has a good history." Becker said, finally lowering the gun when the blond took a threatening step towards him.

"The perfect front for smuggling." Erwin summed up lightly. "But why would your boss need to resort to something like that? I doubt he'd have much trouble moving whatever he liked through the gates, even if it raised questions."
Becker snorted bitterly at that, shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe he doesn't want to raise questions." He shot back, but the fire in his voice had faded in the face of his defeat.

The belief in his own superiority had been shattered, just like Erwin had said.

"Tell us what he's smuggling and where the children are." Levi demanded sharply, because he really didn't care about the motivations of a selfish nobleman at that point.
"Easy, the brats are in the basement and he's moving in gunpowder. Heaps of it, in the candy wrappers. There's this guy in Trost who packages it up and sends it in."

"Hange go down to the basement." Levi snapped, glancing over at the Reaper, who had been lurking in the foyer eavesdropping.
There was a moment where he thought they were going to refuse, but then they flicked their fingers against their forehead in what might have been some weird kind of salute. Before they wandered off, and the human hoped that they might just do what they were told for once.

"What's he trying to blow up?" He asked, before his eyes narrowed suspiciously and he pushed himself away from the wall to stalk towards the taller man. "Why should I even believe anything you say? You could be lying to me."

Becker let out a scoff, shaking his head as he stared back at Levi as if it should have been obvious.

"One of our warehouses gets blown up, and you look like you just walked out of it like it's a normal day for you." He said as if Levi didn't quite understand. "And your friend here catches bullets. I know when I'm up against more than I can deal with and I'm not getting paid enough for this bullshit."

Erwin laughed, as if the words had truly been amusing, smiling lightly at Levi. "I don't think our friend would have such an elaborate lie on hand." He said confidently, reaching to pluck the rifle from the man's hands. "But we'll find him again should anything he's told us prove false, there really are only so many places to hide behind these lovely walls of yours."

The threat was clear and well received as the man raised his hands defensively. "I'm telling you, I'm not dying for this shit. Deltoff can suck it, things were getting out of hand anyway."

"Levi?!" Hange called from somewhere below them before Levi could demand to know more. "You might want to see this!"

"Tie them up." He told Erwin, squeezing his eyes closed for just a moment. "I'll decide what I'm going to do with them later."
"As you wish, Master." The demon replied, and Levi heard Becker's cry of protest- and the string of colourful words that came after it -as he followed the sound of Hange's voice through a neat kitchen to a set of stairs that led down into darkness.

With a sigh he doubled back to grab the candlestick off the table before he made his way down the narrow staircase.

The basement was large, crates lined the walls and he could make out the Reaper's shape in the centre of the room. Saw their eyes gleam in the light as they turned to face him and gestured at what lay around them.

Stepping through the shadows towards them, he held the candlestick high, light shining on the bars as Levi realised with a lurch that it wasn't crates lining the walls, but cages.
Hollow eyes stared out at him from several of them. Flat, dull, and unafraid of the strangers who had disturbed their prison. But they didn't look happy to see them either.

"What is this place?" Levi asked, careful to keep his voice low and quiet. But it shook as he stared back at the imprisoned children. It was vile, some of them looked like they hadn't seen a proper meal in days and when he stepped closer to one of the cages he realised with a sickening jolt just where they had been getting the blood.

Blood stained the bars, the floor, and while the small girl's arm had been bandaged she looked pale and exhausted as she stared back at him.

"I'm going to get you out of here." He promised, fumbling with the heavy lock on the cage. "Erwin!" He yelled. "I need you!"
The demon was at his side moments later. "I did as you asked, Master." He informed his human, arching a brow as he glanced around the basement with thinly veiled disapproval. "But it seems perhaps I was far too kind in my treatment of them.. Shall I correct that?

"Get them out of here." The human replied flatly, turning back towards the stairs. "They're going to need medical attention, something hot to eat. Somewhere to sleep tonight too, we can sort out a permanent solution in the morning."

He didn't wait for the demon to reply. Making his way back up to the kitchen, he all but collapsed against the table, gasping for air. It took several deep breaths for the wave of dizziness to subside enough that his ears stopped ringing.

"Are you okay?" The brunet asked and he pushed himself to stand to find them watching him with a strange expression.
"Those sticks of yours, how do they work?" He asked, ignoring the question as he ran a hand over his face, wincing at the way his skin burned. He'd lost count of all the places that hurt, it all rolled into one constant ache for Levi to endure.

"They're not sticks." The Reaper replied as if they were offended. "They're pointy at one end, that clearly makes them spears. My thunder spears. Every Reaper has their own death scythe unique to them, I just like to be a bit more explosive than most."

"Right." He replied, rolling his eyes as he wandered back down the corridor to find the men tied together. by the door. Becker's mouth had been stuffed with his tie, but there was nothing more that Levi needed to hear from the vile man.
"How are we for time?" He asked Hange as he turned away from the men to pick his way through the house room by room. But the girl who had answered the door for them had seemingly fled.

"We're on schedule." The Reaper replied as they trailed after him, inspecting a box that claimed to be peppermints only to let out a disappointed sigh.

"Did you know?" He asked, frowning as he watched the brunet set the box down again. "That it wasn't chocolate." Hange smiled apologetically, shrugging lightly at the human.
"I was going to tell you." They said. "But then we got attacked and there were more important things to worry about. I figured it'd come out sooner or later and this way was more fun."

Levi scoffed his disgust, reaching for the box of gunpowder as he shot them a dirty look. "You really are out of touch with humanity, if you think that anything about tonight has been fun." He told them as he stalked back towards the kitchen.

Setting the box down on the table, he made his way back down to the basement, only to find it empty. Erwin and the children were already gone and Levi let out a small sigh of relief. At least they were safe now, for them the nightmare had come to an end and that was what mattered.
Now he just had to deal with the monsters that had trapped them in the dark, there were still answers that he needed, of course. But he doubted anyone in this horrible house would have them.

"Help me drag them down there." He called to the brunet, seizing one of the bound men roughly by the arm to jerk the three of them along the ground with a pained grunt.
The Reaper came to join him, silently hauling Becker and his friends to their feet so that they could stumble along after Levi. It was only once he had shoved them down the stairs and shut the door that Hange turned to him with a frown.

"What are you doing?" They asked as he picked up the box of 'peppermints' again, eyes cold as he met their worried gaze.
"I can't let them go." He replied. "If I do they're just going to run back to their master and this whole thing will be buried under red tape."

He'd seen enough of the inner workings of his world to understand that if this didn't end tonight, the vermin who had hurt those children would get away with it. "Deltoff can plead his case next."

"Levi..." Hange started, as he stalked back towards the basement.

"You're not supposed to interfere, don't try to talk me out of this." He replied sharply, refusing to look back at them, even if he could feel their eyes burning into his back. "I thought you'd find the whole thing fun, isn't human suffering the epitome of a good time to you lot?"

"I'm not a demon." They replied darkly, but they offered up no further protest and Levi descended back into the darkness, resigning himself to be the one to do what needed to be done.
"Look, kid." One of the bound men started when he approached them. "I don't know who you think I am, but I wasn't involved in this. I just helped get the kids. It's a better lot than they would have had, they're just brats from the Underground that no one will miss."

It was like a switch had been flipped, rage coursed through him. Burning hotter than even the flames that had scorched him and Levi made a hollow sound of disgust as he ripped open the box to pour the powder inside over the men.
It was Becker who realised what was happening first, screaming into his gag as he struggled against the ropes. Levi didn't care to hear the man out, there was nothing that could be said to justify anything he had done and he was sick of how ugly humanity could truly be.

It was almost satisfying when they began to beg. Almost justified for them see what it felt like to be truly powerless.

"Can I borrow one of your thunder spears?" He asked Hange once he'd stepped back into the kitchen, slamming the door against the cries and threats of the men below.

"I thought you said you didn't want me to interfere." They replied sharply and Levi was surprised that this was where they chose to draw the line, but he didn't care for the Reaper's judgement. "Do you really think that this is justice, Levi?"
Honestly, he couldn't say. He would have liked to think that he was motivated by something more than just vengeance. Something better, noble even. But the line between the two felt fine and in the absence of one, the other felt like it well deserved.

"It's an end." He said simply, rather than try to argue the morality of what he was about to do.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, the little explosives that had been used against them in the warehouse. There were six of them in a box, tucked away in the back of a closet upstairs and the human silently carried them back down to the basement with gritted teeth.
Taking one from the box, he left the rest at Becker's feet, pulling the pin and throwing the explosive down into the darkness below from the top of the stairs.

The explosion shook the house, as Levi slammed the basement door shut against the heat of the flames.

Hange didn't join him when he stepped back out onto the street. Smoke was already beginning to sting the air with it's stench, but it would take some time before the flames had a chance to consume the awful place completely.
The basement was made of the same cold, hard stone that surrounded them. It wouldn't surrender quickly to the flames. A patrol would pass by before the fire had a chance to spread, and it would have done it's job long before then.

Letting out a shaky breath, he stumbled over to the river. He nearly toppled forward into the murky water as he threw up, but a strong hand closed around his wrist, holding him in place.
"It appears that I have failed you, Master." Erwin said and the demon's voice was heavy with regret, as if he were truly devastated about something.

Levi sucked in a slow breath, wiping his face as he leaned into the blond's side.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, closing his eyes as the world tilted sharply around him again. "The children? Are they..?"
"Taken care of." Erwin replied gently, winding an arm around his human's waist. "I thought that your Petra might like the opportunity to oversee them for now, but I'll speak to the Commander tomorrow about long term arrangements."

"Good." Levi said, relief soothing the pain that tore through him. "Thank you." He added, yawning before his legs buckled. The demon didn't let him fall, but he hadn't expected he would. "How is it you think that you failed me then?"
"You ordered me to stop anyone from dying tonight." The blond replied as he scooped his human into his arms. "But I was unable to prevent the death of three men, I have failed to keep our agreement... In doing so I have broken our contract."

"That's where you're wrong!" Hange called out to them and Levi peeled his eyes open as the Reaper made their way over to join the two of them by the water. "It's officially been morning for the last two hours and forty eight minutes. The sun hasn't risen yet sure, but it's past midnight."

The sound of the blond's laughter- rich and warm -filled the air as Levi's eyes drifted closed again.

"I suppose you're right." Erwin replied lightly as he turned away from the river to carry his human through the darkness. "Yours is most definitely the professional opinion, after all."
"You're both as bad as each other." Hange replied, before they let out a heavy sigh. "I have to go, I've done my job and now there's paperwork to file. Take care of yourself, Levi."

Levi mumbled out a goodbye, but the words fell clumsily from his lips and he wasn't sure if the brunet had heard him.

"It's okay, Levi." The blond murmured gently as he set a path towards the nearest hospital. "You've done enough, now let me look after you. Someone needs to since you seem so determined to disregard the vulnerable nature of your species."
A breath of a laugh escaped the human's lips and he pressed his face into the demon's neck as he gave into the tug of exhaustion. "I have you." He said quietly. "There's nothing else that can hurt me now."

Erwin was quiet, Levi didn't see the frown that tugged at his lips or the way he looked down at him, with a tenderness that he wouldn't have been able to accept if he had seen it.

He just felt the way strong arms tightened around him and finally he gave in to sleep.

Chapter Text

Everything hurt.

His skin felt like it was stretching and might tear at any moment. Fire burned in his veins and Levi opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

He didn't know how long he drifted in the darkness, only that there were periods of blissful nothing that would snatch him away.
He couldn't remember why he was supposed to be afraid of the dark. It was soft, safe. Enveloped him in feathery weightlessness where he could float apart from the mess he'd made of his body.

When he felt himself drift back into being, he tried to open his eyes. But they were too heavy, it felt like his eyelids had been glued together. But somehow he knew that he wasn't alone.

It was enough to let himself tip back into sleep, into oblivion, and wait out the pain.

When he finally did manage to fight his way through the shadows, Levi wished that he could just fall back into them again.

But once it had started to come back to him, it was like breaking a dam. The Reaper, the children in the basement, Becker. The fire...
It felt he would never escape the the flames. Though this time, it had been him who had unleashed the unforgiving inferno.

If the cost of stopping monsters was to become one himself, it hardly seemed like much of a price to pay at all.

Except he felt it, really felt it...

He didn't know how the demon could deal out evil with a straight face, with a smile...

But they had deserved it.

Nothing he felt could change that, and so Levi could hardly bring himself to regret his actions. Nor could he deny that it wasn't really the first time he'd taken a life. It was just this time, he'd used his own hands.

He wanted to go back to sleep.

He wasn't even really awake yet, but already he seemed to be consumed by a confusing mess of contradictions that he couldn't make sense of.

Hadn't Erwin said that people rarely knew the truth of their own selves?

"Erwin?" He croaked, voice cracking as it left his chapped lips. Barely more than a whisper, but enough.

His demon would hear him.

"Levi?"

Petra's voice was warm and gentle, full of fondness for him. It brought him the rest of the way back and he peeled open his eyes, only to groan as painfully bright light seared into them.

"It's okay, it's over now. You're at the hospital." The redhead said quickly and he felt soft hands find his shoulders when he tried to push himself to sit. "You're in bad shape, you were lucky that Erwin brought you in when he did..."
His head was swimming and he closed his eyes again, falling back down against soft pillows. "I'm fine." He croaked, though that was a lie.

Everything still hurt.

"Yeah, and I'm a twelve metre tall Titan." Petra replied sarcastically, but he felt her take his hand and Levi curled his fingers around hers, holding on tight. As if she could anchor him in place.

As if they still had a future together.

"What happened to the kids?" He asked, frowning when the she withdrew her touch. She pressed a glass of water into his hand a moment later, helping him sit so he could gulp it down.

"We're trying to find their families." She replied, though there was something in her voice that he didn't like. The redhead sounded far too serious, too much like a soldier.
"But some of them don't have anyone, it's going to be harder to decide what happens to them, but don't worry about that now, okay? You need to focus on getting back on your feet."

"Yeah, yeah." He replied, wincing as he let himself drop back down against the pillows. "I'll tell Dok I'm happy to pay for their accommodation and whatever else they might need."
Her hand found his again and Levi let his eyes fall closed, his head was swimming again but he didn't want to pass out, Deltoff still had answers. Still had sinister plans that needed to be stopped.

The door opened and he forced his eyes open again, but it wasn't the demon. Rather a stranger in a clean, white coat.
"How are you feeling, Mr Ackerman?" The doctor asked, picking up the folder at the end of his bed to flick through it. "It's good to see you're finally awake, you had us worried."

"What do you mean, finally?" He asked, frowning up at the man. "How long was I out for?"

The doctor didn't reply right away, grabbing a roll of bandages before he dropped into the chair next to the bed. "Left arm." He said, snapping his fingers at Levi, who stared at him for a frosty moment before he complied. "It's been four days since you were brought in to us." He added as he began to unwind the bandages covering his patient's arm.

"Four days?" He repeated. "I slept for four days?" Sucking in a heavy breath, he brought a hand to rub at his face. Fingers catching on the bandages that were protecting the left side of his face. He felt like he was going to be sick again.
"It's okay." Petra said quickly. "We know all about the gunpowder, the Master Sargent gave Commander Dok a full report of the incident and the First Interior Squad has picked up the investigation."

"What?!" He demanded, shoving the doctor away to force his way through the dizziness to sit. He was halfway out of bed when the doctor let out a cry of protest, seizing his shoulders in an attempt to drive Levi back down onto the bed
"Get your hands off me!" He snapped, growling his frustration, but it was enough to make him fall back down against the pillows.
"Sir, you need to stay still." The doctor told him, ignoring the dark glare his patient shot him. "You have serious burns and there's risk of infection if-"

"Get out." Levi interrupted. "We're done here."

"Levi- " Petra started in a warning tone, before the door opened again and a warm voice cut her off.

"I might have known you were going to be difficult when you woke up." Erwin said. "He's never much cared for being looked after, even when he needs it. Allow me to take over from here."
The doctor stared at the blond for a moment, before he handed him the roll of bandages. "I have other patients who need me." He said mildly. "I'll be back to check up on him in about an hour. Keep him in bed, he needs rest."

The man left without another word and Levi glared after him, but he didn't pull his arm away when Erwin took it with a gentle hand.

"Forgive me for leaving your side." The blond said quietly as he wound fresh bandages around his human's arm. "I'm afraid I've been busy these last few days, we created quite the mess. Commander Dok has had his hands full."
Levi just let out a huff of a laugh, because it was good to hear the blond's voice, but also because only Erwin could sum up what they'd uncovered as casually as he might remark on the weather.

"You need to find Deltoff." He said, letting his eyes fall closed as the demon turned his attention to the bandages on his face. "I want him questioned, if it's been passed on they're just going to cover it up. We can't let that happen."
"The matter is already being handled." Erwin replied reproachfully. "I doubt the First Interior Squad would appreciate me involving myself."

Levi rolled his eyes, but he didn't argue. Erwin would do as he was told, even if he had taken his orders to blend in far too seriously.

It was only Petra.

"Forget it." He huffed, wincing when he felt something cool smear against his cheek.

"He's always been like that." The redhead said, while Erwin rubbed the ointment in. "I was actually quite surprised when I heard he'd enlisted, he's never been very good at doing what he's told."
Erwin laughed, a warm sound that rumbled from the demon's chest and sounded like it might be genuine. Or maybe, he was just that good an actor.

"It's nice to see that he hasn't changed." He replied.

"Will you two stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Levi snapped, but both of them just laughed at him and he sighed. "You're both just as bad as each other." He huffed, before he remembered the Reaper.

"Hange?" He asked.

"They've gone back to work." The demon told him. "With any luck it will be some time before we have to deal with them again."
"Who's Hange?" Petra asked curiously, dropping down on the edge of Levi's bed and arching a brow at him.

"No one." He said with a shrug, but he regretted the gesture when his arm throbbed sharply. "They were just someone we met on the case, they.. I guess you could say they helped us."
"Oh I see how it is, when I offer my help you're fine." Petra replied sarcastically. "But when some random does..."

"They didn't take no for an answer." Levi said simply.

"There, all done." The blond said, getting to his feet to discard the used bandages. "That was hardly worth all the fuss, now was it?"

"Shut up." The human retorted, but there was no edge to his tone. He was just happy that Erwin was there, that they were okay. The possibility that he might have broken the contract- if not for a minor technicality -weighed heavily over him. It was a terrifying thought.

"Miss Ral, would you mind seeing if you can find Levi something to eat?" The demon asked, offering Petra a smile. "I'm sure he must be hungry, even if admitting it would be the equivalent of revealing a terrible weakness as far as our brave soldier is concerned."

Levi glared at him again, this time meaning it.

Petra just laughed. "Of course I can, Sir." She replied, grinning at Levi brightly before she disappeared out the door and the room suddenly felt too small with just him and the demon there.

"Are you feeling alright, Master?" The blond asked and Levi closed his eyes, rather than deal with the concern in the other man's eyes.
"I'm fine." He replied, though the words came out far quieter and less convincing to his own ears than he liked.

"You must be in a considerable amount of pain." Erwin said, bringing a gentle hand to smooth down his human's hair. "I really do wish that you'd allowed me to handle things.. I don't like seeing you in pain." His voice was soft, sounded genuine and Levi just huffed out a sigh.

"I'm fine." He repeated, and this time it did sound convincing. But he also knew that if anyone could see through him, it was the demon.
"Why are you so determined to deny the reality of your existence?" Erwin asked curiously. "It strikes me as strange and appears to go well beyond any logical reason I might come up with."

"I just woke up." Levi grumbled in reply. "Can we maybe save dissecting my fucked up existence for later? Please."
"As you wish, Master." The blond said, chuckling as he smiled down at his human. "Though I would ask you to consider the question at least."

"Fine." He huffed, though he really didn't see why it mattered.

Petra was back before Erwin could press the matter, armed with fresh fruit, and toast on a tray that she set across his knees with a smile.
"Thanks." Levi said, smiling lightly back at her, his stomach growling loudly as he reached for a piece of warm, buttered toast.
"No problem." She replied, dropping back down on the end of his bed. "I'm just glad you're still in bed, did the Master Sargent threaten to throw you in the stocks if you moved?"

Levi rolled his eyes at her, before he frowned.

Her face had fallen, honey coloured eyes widening slightly as they flicked to Erwin before finding his again. "I didn't- That was thoughtless of me, sorry." She said quickly, frowning back at him when Levi just gave her a questioning look.

"You did tell him, right?" She asked the blond, biting her lip uncertainly.
"Tell me what?" Levi demanded, glaring suspiciously between the two of them, his breakfast forgotten.

"Eat your toast." Erwin replied, before he closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting out a small sigh. "I hadn't gotten around to it yet." He told Petra. "I had thought it best to prioritise Levi's recovery before adding to his problems."

His tone was calm, almost kind. But Petra looked guilty, refusing to meet his eyes. "Oh..." She said quietly. "Yeah, no. My bad..."
"Is someone going to actually explain, or are you both just going to let me sit here and wonder what the hell you're talking about?" Levi snapped darkly.

"I suppose there's no escaping it now." The blond replied. "The question has been raised whether your actions during our investigation were unnecessary and excessive. A hearing will take place once you've been discharged to discuss the issue."

"You're joking, right?" Levi demanded, because it was utterly ridiculous.

The look that the demon gave him made it clear that he wasn't and the human scoffed as he shook his head. "What the hell did you tell them?" He asked, glaring at Erwin accusingly.
"My report included the key points of the night." The demon replied evenly. "Unfortunately however, the ongoing investigation has made some troubling discoveries. But I am confident that there will be a reasonable explanation, and I've stated as much on your behalf."

Levi clicked his tongue, biting into his toast angrily because he knew that was all the explanation he was going to get while Petra was there, but he didn't want to ask her to leave either.

"Forget it." He huffed.

Once he'd finished eating, he managed to fight his way to his feet. Both Erwin and Petra protested, but neither of them tried to stop him.

They both knew him far too well for that.

"Get me a clean uniform." He snapped at Erwin, who sighed as he got to his feet.
"As you wish." The blond replied, before he turned to the door and left Petra to frown at him.

"What?" He snapped, before his shoulders slumped and he sighed. "Sorry." He added quietly. "I'm just- This has all just been a lot."
"It's okay." She replied, as if it actually were. "I get it, some of the stuff those kids were saying was.. I'm just glad it's over for them now, and that's thanks to you, Levi."

"What do you actually know about what happened?" He asked quietly, dropping down into the chair that the demon had just vacated.
"Not much." She replied, though her tone was too serious and she didn't quite meet his eyes. "But the charges you're up against are minor assault of a superior officer, two counts of arson and three counts of murder."

"I see." He said flatly.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Petra said quickly. "You'll get the chance to explain what really happened at the hearing and the whole thing will get cleared up in no time. Don't stress about it."
"Yeah." Levi replied. It really didn't seem fair, he'd seen countless abuses of power and injustices perpetuated among the ranks of his comrades. Why should the law suddenly matter when it came to him?

There was a tense moment he thought she might ask whether or not he had actually done it. Before she took his hand, tugging him to his feet to pull him into a gentle hug.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, but he didn't push her away. Bringing a hand to rest against her back instead to keep her close.
"Shh." She said, letting her head drop against his as she tightened her grip on him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been held like that. Hadn't realised how much he'd needed it.

He pulled away when he heard the door open.

Erwin was in the doorway, watching them with a strange expression. Before he smiled, and Levi wondered if he had just imagined the flicker of irritation in his icy eyes.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to interrupt." The blond said mildly. "But I have your uniform as requested." Levi's cheeks warmed, he didn't know why he felt guilty. Like he'd just been caught doing something that he shouldn't have, and he glared at the blond as he snatched the clean clothes out of his hand.

"You weren't interrupting anything." Petra replied. "I was just leaving anyway, I need to get back to work. Look after him for me, Sir."
"Of course I will." Erwin replied, inclining his head as he smiled down at her. "You can rest assured that I have our dear Levi's best interests at heart."

The human couldn't help the scoff that left his lips.

"I'll see you later." He promised the redhead, pulling her in for one last hug. "Thank you for being here for me, I appreciate it."
"Hey, of course." She said, smiling at him, but her eyes were bright and curious in a way that he didn't like.

Maybe the best thing he could do for her now, was to leave her alone.

"Allow me to assist you with that, Master." The demon offered once they were alone and Levi had begun to struggle his way into his uniform, stepping close to help him button his shirt.
Though his clumsy, bandaged fingers might have made dressing himself difficult, the human batted away Erwin's hand with a growl.
"I think I can manage it." He snapped, turning his back on the blond as he spitefully willed his aching digits to cooperate with him.

Levi won his battle against his shirt, but he let out a frustrated groan when he tried to tighten his sash, for it to just slip down his legs and for a moment he was tempted to just forget about it.

If he was found guilty of the charges he faced, he doubted that he'd be allowed to keep wearing it.

This time when Erwin stepped forward to help him, he let him. Letting out a huff as he leaned his head back against the demon's chest to look up at him with dark eyes. "Why is it they can do whatever they want, but the second that I take matters into my own hands, I'm suddenly the bad guy?"

"Why do you think?" The demon asked, winding his arms around the human's waist so he could fasten his sash securely in place. "This isn't the first time that you've disturbed the plans of important people. I'm sure you've made yourself some significant enemies among the upper ranks."
It made sense, but that didn't mean that he liked it. It was just another pointed reminder that justice and duty had been reduced to mere commodities. To be utilised by those in power as it suited them.

Perhaps his actions had been extreme, but that was the point. Passivity in the face of corruption wasn't going to change a damn thing. Instead he'd chosen to make a point, send a message.

At the very least, his hearing was proof that it had been received loud and clear.

"I assume you've already thought of a way out of this mess." He said, dropping down onto the bed so Erwin could lace his boots.
The fact that the blond didn't immediately reply didn't help, and Levi wondered what would happen if he was arrested. How long it would take for the demon to decide he wasn't worth the effort.

Wasn't going to satisfy his curiosity.

"I've made it clear I don't support the charges on my behalf" Erwin said finally, straightening and offering the human his hand. Levi took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet. "However." He continued seriously. "There were witnesses to your presence at Becker's house, and the warehouse."
"So what?" Levi replied with a shrug as they left the room, making their way down a long, white corridor. "All that proves is that I was there."
"You decided to pick a fight with a member of the Government." The demon said calmly. "I'm not sure that's an argument that will win us this case. Though it might have helped had you not decided to take such an explosive approach."

"Hey, you!" A voice yelled before Levi could snap back a reply and he turned to find the doctor running up the hall towards them.

"You're supposed to be in bed." The man snapped, casting Erwin a pleading look, as if the blond might back him up. "There's still risk of infection, we don't know if there will be complications with the healing process, as your doctor I-"
"You're not my doctor." Levi replied, cutting him off. "I didn't consent to treatment, or to being your patient. I've heard your advice and I'm choosing to ignore it, as is my right. Or am I wrong?"

He knew he wasn't by the way the man's face fell.

"Thought so." He said smugly, turning his back on the doctor. Erwin looked amused, but he didn't say anything. Following along after Levi as he made his way outside, ever the faithful servant.

"You do make it incredibly difficult for the people who try to care for you." The blond commented as they made their way down the street, and Levi rolled his eyes because he'd been waiting for some sort of snarky observation.
"I'm fine." He snapped, wondering just how many times he would need to say the words before he would be believed.
"If you could really walk away from something like what happened the other night and be fine, I would be quite alarmed." The demon said evenly, before his lip curled in the hint of a smile. "Or perhaps proud."

Levi wasn't sure which was worse. He definitely wasn't going to think about the fact he almost hoped for the latter.

It was an uncomfortable thought.

Chapter Text

"What's going to happen if I am found guilty?" Levi asked, frowning up at Erwin as they made their way down the street. "What would you do if they arrested me? Will that change things?"
The demon arched a brow, shaking his head lightly, as if he were amused by the human's uncertainty. "I would do what was asked of me, of course." He said smoothly. "The terms of the contract are clear, I will continue to carry out any orders I am given."

Levi just shook his head, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. It all felt so inevitable, even with the blond on his side. It just wasn't realistic to expect Erwin to take on an entire system and win.

"What if I don't know what to do?" He asked, even though it almost felt like an admission of defeat.

"Then you can tell me what you need." The demon replied firmly. "And if that's too difficult for you, I will just do whatever I think is necessary to protect you. I know it's a challenging concept for you, but try and have at least a little bit of faith in me."

Levi rolled his eyes, he was tempted to tell the blond that he'd done a poor job of protecting him so far. But that wouldn't have been fair and he knew it.

"Where are we going?" He asked instead, as they made their way through the city centre. He wanted to go back to their room and sleep until it stopped hurting. To stop thinking.
"Somewhere safe." Erwin said. "Given the severity of our current situation, I would advise against drawing any undue attention to yourself and it wouldn't hurt to buy us time to work on your defence."

"So you do have a plan?" He asked. He felt trapped, he knew that he'd come to rely on the blond far too much. But, even so, it was reassuring to know that nothing had changed between them.
"Not yet." Erwin replied, but he smiled down at him as he took his arm to guide him down an alleyway. "But I'm sure that if given time, I'll be able to resolve matters in a way that you deem satisfying. After all, I can be incredibly convincing when I need to be."

The thought of asking the demon to clean up his mess was less than appealing, but it didn't really feel like he had a choice.

"Where are we going?" Levi asked again, this time his tone was sharp and he came to an abrupt stop at the end of the alley.
"I already told you, somewhere safe." Erwin replied, tightening his grip on his human's arm to lead him back onto the street. Past the little bakery that his mother had once taken him, to buy his favourite cakes, and the park that he'd spent countless hours at. Playing 'Scouts and Titans' with Isabel and Furlan.

Before that life had been stolen from him.

"It's gone." He said darkly. "There's nothing left, the fire saw to that." He had only gone back once, after the funeral. To make sure.

"I had it rebuilt." The demon hummed, like it was nothing. Tightening his grip on Levi's arm again to lead him down the driveway, as if he expected his human to try and run.

Levi almost wanted to.

Because it was just as he remembered, as if he had stepped back into the past.

The manor stood proudly at the end of the drive, the well tended garden sprawling out around it and Levi felt like he was going to throw up.
"Why would you bring me here?!" He asked furiously, wrenching himself away from the demon, to glare up at him darkly. "I didn't tell you to do this, you had no right!"

"Master, I-" The blond started, before he closed his mouth again, shaking his head as if at a loss. Levi just laughed bitterly, he knew that he wasn't being fair. 

He just didn't care.

"Forget it!" He hissed. "You don't know the first thing about what it's like to be human, to lose everything! I don't know why I'd even expect you to understand why this isn't okay!"

This time when Erwin reached for him, it was to draw him into his arms. Drawing him near, despite the sharp cry of protest that left the human's lips.

"Let go of me!" Levi hissed, struggling uselessly against the demon's grip. His eyes burned, but the thought of the being caught crying over something like this was humiliating.
"I'm sorry." Erwin murmured. "I should have known that this would be too much for you. You're right, I don't know what it's like to be human. To feel your loss so acutely, your anger... I wanted to give you something familiar to hold onto, somewhere safe."

Levi fell still when a choked sob escaped him, it was mortifying. Erwin loosened his grip, but he didn't let him go. Holding him close as the human shook in his arms.

It was all too much.

"Let's go inside." The blond murmured quietly, once the smaller man's breathing had started to even out. "I'll run you a bath and you can have an early dinner. You must be so exhausted..."
He didn't argue, didn't reply. He just nodded, sticking close to the demon's side as the two of them made their way up the front steps and into the foyer.

It was like walking into a memory.

Everything was just as he remembered. As if the last five years had just been an awful nightmare and he'd finally woken up. Except it wasn't real, it was just the hollow imitation of a life that had been lost.

"Master?" Erwin said when he froze on the stairwell. Levi didn't hear him, staring up at the portrait on the wall with wide eyes. His parents and his younger self stared back at him. His father had commissioned it for his tenth birthday. Back when they'd just been a happy family and the world had made sense.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that." The demon murmured quietly, taking his human's hand to lead him the rest of the way up the stairs, towards the bathroom.

And Levi let him.

Holding Erwin's hand tightly as he followed him past his father's study and the library. It felt like they were intruding. As if too sudden a movement, or too loud a noise, might wake any lingering ghosts that could be waiting for him.

"There." The blond said, after the tub was full and he'd helped Levi out of his uniform. "Why don't you just soak for a while? I'm sure it will do you a world of good, I'll go get your dinner started."
"Forget it, just stay here with me." He replied quickly, wincing as he sunk into the hot water. It stung his tender skin, but he could already feel it working at the tension he was carrying. Forcing his muscles to slowly relax.

Erwin frowned at him, before he dropped to kneel beside the bath and Levi let his eyes close, sighing his relief.
"Thank you." He said quietly. He didn't know quite how to explain it, only that something was terribly wrong. But as long as the demon was there, it was going to be okay.

And it really didn't matter if that made him weak.

He didn't get out until the water was cold, allowing Erwin to fuss over getting him dry and bandage his burns up again. Before the blond wrapped a soft,  fluffy robe around his shoulders and led him back down the hall to his old bedroom.

It was just the same too.

"I'm just going to go to bed." He said, as the blond set about finding him something clean to change into. "Maybe the doctor was right and I just need to rest. Let myself recover..."
Maybe he could just go to sleep and it really would all just be a bad dream. He would wake up to find himself back in the barracks, with breakfast and a long day of work waiting for him.

He never thought he'd find himself missing patrol duty.

"Of course, Master." The demon replied, frowning down at him as he clambered into bed. "Rest now, I shall stay by your side until morning."
"Don't call me that." Levi huffed, letting himself fall back against the pillows. "I have a perfectly good name, I want you to use it."

"Hm?" Erwin asked, dropping down onto the edge of the bed to tuck his human in snugly. "May I ask why? After so long, I'm surprised it's an issue..."

He was tempted to just tell him to mind his own business. His eyes were heavy and it was getting hard to think clearly, let alone about that.

"I'm sick of pretending that this is something it isn't." He said after a moment, he didn't know how else to explain it. Only that the word felt hollow, mocking. Too much like a lie.

"As you wish, Levi." The demon replied, but it didn't sound any better. He seemed to twist his name as it left his lips, making it sound more like a promise.

Like a prayer.

It was a ridiculous thought and Levi let himself give in to sleep, because he had clearly lost the ability to be rational.

True to his word, Erwin was there when he woke. Perched on the edge of the bed, a book balanced carefully in his hand. He didn't seem to notice him right away, and Levi was content not to disturb him. Watching as the blond's icy gaze tracked over the page before him.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains, shining over the demon in a way that made him look as if he had been carved from marble. Just like a work of art, he was flawless. Not quite real, not quite human.

But still captivating.

"Good morning, Levi." The demon hummed, noting the page he was on before he set the book aside. "I would have made sure that breakfast was waiting for you, but I said that I would stay with you."
"Don't worry about it." The human replied, tearing his eyes away from the demon as he pushed himself to sit. Everything still hurt, but it wasn't quite as bad as it had been the day before.

"Did you sleep alright?" Erwin asked, getting to his feet to retrieve the clothes he'd set aside for Levi. It was strange, having him there in his room and the human realised why it felt so wrong.
"How did you do all of this?" He asked, frowning as he got out of bed. Because as far as he knew, Erwin had never been inside his house. It made absolutely no sense how the demon could replicate it perfectly.

"Hm?" The blond hummed arching a brow at him, as he tugged a shirt deftly over the human's shoulders before he could protest.

"This! The house, all of it." Levi replied, batting away the demon's hands to struggle with his buttons on his own. "Everything's the same, how did you do it?"

"Because I'm simply one hell-" Erwin started, before the smaller man cut him off.

"I'm serious!" Levi snapped, glaring up at the blond. "Don't you dare give me some bullshit, I want to know how you did it."
"I bound myself to you." Erwin replied calmly. "You didn't think that just meant that I had to obey your orders, did you?"

"How would I know?" Levi asked with a huff. "I only know what you've told me about how it all works." For all that he knew, the demon was influencing the way he felt about him too, it would be an effective defence mechanism.

After all, Erwin- as he often felt the need to remind him -was a predator.

"I'm hungry." He huffed, making his way down the hall towards the stairs. "You can make me breakfast and then we can figure out what we're supposed to do about Deltoff. Even if I have to kill him, he's not getting away with what he did."

"When did you develop such a taste for violence?" Erwin asked, frowning as he followed him down to the kitchen. "Or have you become so desperate to deal out your idea of justice, you no longer question the place of brutality?"
"I don't need to justify myself to you." Levi retorted, leaning against the wall as he shot the blond an icy glare. "And I sure as hell don't need you judging me."

"Of course not, Levi." Erwin replied calmly, bending to switch the gas on. "I wouldn't dream of it." He filled a pot with water and set it down on the stovetop, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips. "I just want to make sure you know you're doing." He continued evenly, glancing back at his human. "I'd hate for you to discover that the price of justice is more than you're willing to pay."

Levi scoffed derisively, pushing himself away from the wall. "Why don't you just do your job?" He hissed, stalking towards the door.
The demon didn't reply, frowning down at him before he turned back to the stove. Levi just rolled his eyes as he stormed away. The fact that Erwin seemed to think he had any kind of high ground was laughable.

Erwin found him in the dining room, bringing a nice, hot cup of tea and a steaming bowl of porridge with him. Levi pointedly ignored him as he reached for the mug, before he realised that he was just being childish and he sighed.

"I don't want to argue with you." He told the blond quietly. "But I know what's going to happen if we let him go, we can't just let him start up again somewhere else. We still don't even know what he's planning."

"It would have been useful if Becker and his friends could have answered some of our questions." The blond replied gently. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Levi. What we need is leverage, or a way to convince Deltoff that you're not a threat. Killing him won't help your situation."

"Fine." He replied, picking up his spoon with a huff. "You're right, I'm sorry." He corrected, because Erwin wasn't to blame for any of it and he knew it. "I'm just tired and this whole thing's a mess."

"Then you should take the opportunity to rest while you have it." The demon said gently, offering him an easy smile. "Why don't I invite Miss Ral over tonight for dinner? You enjoy her company."
"Don't be ridiculous." Levi replied, rolling his eyes as he sipped at his tea. "This isn't a holiday, I'm not just going to sit around and play house until they decide I'm well enough to stand trial."

"Of course not." Erwin replied calmly. "Forgive me for thinking that you might actually give your poor body a chance to heal before you thoughtlessly charge into a bigger mess."

"I told you that I wasn't in the mood to argue about it." Levi snapped, setting his cup down harder than he had meant to. Tea sloshed over the rim onto the table and he let out a heavy sigh.
The blond was there, rag in hand, to clean up the mess before he could haul himself to his feet. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with you." Erwin told him, reaching to smooth a gentle hand through his hair. "But I fear this is more than you can handle alone."

"I'm not alone." Levi retorted, catching the demon's hand with his own. "I have you." It was just a small gesture, simple words. But they had the intended effect. Erwin's smile was warm when he squeezed the human's hand.
"Yes, you do." The demon replied seriously, bringing Levi's hand to his lips, leaving him staring up at Erwin like an idiot.

For just a few, flustered seconds.

Before his brain kicked back into gear and he jerked his hand free of the demon's with a huff. "Clear this up, I'm done with it." He muttered, pushing himself to his feet. "Then come and find me, we can talk about the plan." He left without another word.

Shoving his hands into his pockets as he stalked up the stairs towards the library.

Bookshelves lined the walls, towering over him they always had, it was uncanny. Levi wouldn't have been surprised to learn that the demon had painstakingly replaced each and every book his father had owned.

But instead of feeling grateful, he just felt exhausted.

Huffing out a sigh, he dropped into one of the velvet armchairs in the corner. It felt like he was fighting a war on two fronts and if he wasn't careful he was going to lose both of them.
Erwin was right, he needed leverage on Deltoff. But for that, he needed information and it was doubtful that he would be allowed to travel to Trost and chase up the only lead that he actually had.

Erwin had promised to help him, if he would just put his faith in him.

He had promised Levi a lot of things, and for the most part he had delivered. But it wasn't the blond's dedication that was in question.

The whole thing was a mess.

He still hadn't come up with an actual plan by the time the blond found him, killing Deltoff still felt like the best way to make sure that it was really over. To bring him to justice.

"Do we know when the hearing's supposed to be?" He asked flatly, nodding to the armchair beside him in a silent invitation. 
"No." Erwin replied, gracefully sinking into the offered seat, a frown tugging at his lips. "But I've been thinking about how to approach the matter of your defence." 
Levi scoffed, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "What does it matter?" He asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "Even if I'd followed procedure, it doesn't change that I interfered with Deltoff's plans. I doubt they'll let me walk, no matter my reasons." 

"Perhaps." Erwin hummed calmly, tilting his head to the side as his icy eyes lingered on the human. "But it intrigues me that Deltoff would go to such lengths to conceal what he was doing. As a member of the King's inner council, I would wager he would have no issue in conducting whatever business he wanted."

Levi frowned. "Unless he was trying to hide what he was doing from his buddies on the council." He replied thoughtfully. "But I don't see how that helps me." 
The demon's eyes sparkled with a flicker of amusement, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"You know well enough that the rules don't apply to those in power." He hummed softly. "Or those who serve them..." 

"So what?" Levi huffed flatly, rolling his eyes at the blond. "I'm supposed to find someone who's more powerful than Deltoff and suck up to them?" 
"Not at all." Erwin replied calmly. "But if it so happens that Deltoff is working against the council, I'm sure that his colleagues would be grateful to know about it." 
Levi considered it for a moment, wrinkling his nose. "It's a gamble." He said finally. "Even if it's true, there's no reason to believe it'd help my case." 

"True." The demon said calmly, inclining his head in agreement. "But it could hardly hurt at this point."

Levi couldn't argue with that.

Besides, if Deltoff really was working against the King's inner council, maybe it wouldn't be covered up so readily if brought to light.

"I want you to turn me in to Dok." He said after a moment, his lip curling in irritation. He didn't like the thought of playing the helpless damsel yet again, but if he were out of the way it would free Erwin up to investigate Deltoff. "Whatever strings you've pulled to keep me out of custody, stop." He knew that the only reason soldiers hadn't swarmed him the moment he'd opened his eyes had to do with Erwin, even if he hadn't admitted it.
"Are you sure?" The demon asked, raising an eyebrow at his human. "It's just... I really do detest the thought of letting you out of my sight, especially while you're still recovering."

Levi shrugged, wincing at the uncomfortable tightness that radiated down his arm as he did. "I don't see any better option." He replied. "If we're lucky, Deltoff and his friends will be too focused on me to notice if you're out of the picture for a bit. I want you to go to Trost, follow up on his smuggling operation and see if you can learn anything. If Deltoff so much as sneezed near anyone inside Wall Rose, I want to know about it." He shot Erwin a look that suggested that he had made up his mind and any attempts to change it would be unwelcome.

"Is that an order?" Erwin asked instead, his tone light and even. Belying the amusement in his eyes.

Levi just scoffed, dropping his gaze to the arm of the chair, ignoring the ache in his arm as he lifted it to pick at an imaginary thread. "Fine, if that's what it takes, yes. I order you to hand me over to Dok and follow up on Deltoff." The moment the words had left his lips, he felt the mark over his heart flare, the familiar sensation of fire burning through his veins as Erwin lifted his hand to cover his heart.

"As you wish, Levi." The blond hummed, his lips curling in the familiar smirk that the human wanted to slap from his face. "But first, I will ensure you have recovered sufficiently. I am, after all, obligated to care for your well being and I shudder to think what conditions you may find yourself in once you leave my side. Nor will I be close at hand to rescue you should you bite off more than you can chew."
Levi scoffed, gritting his jaw as he forced himself to bring his dark eyes to meet the demon's gaze once more. "When did this become about negotiating? I thought you had to obey my orders?" He said flatly, before he sighed. The last thing he wanted was to get into an argument about the semantics of their contract. "Tomorrow." He said firmly. "We'll go to the military compound tomorrow. They're hardly going to let me die in custody, it'd look too fishy. Besides, you're not allowed to let me die. If I feel like I can't control the situation, I'll call you and you'll find me. That's how it works, right?"

Erwin laughed, shaking his head slightly as he regarded his human curiously. "You must be unwell." He remarked glibly. "It almost sounds like you have some semblance of faith in me after all."

"Don't push it." Levi replied flatly, rolling his eyes. "I just... You haven't failed me yet. We'll wait until tomorrow, I want at least another day to figure out a proper plan." He added after a moment. "Oh, and Erwin?" He continued before Erwin could be insufferable about the almost admission. "What do you know about angels?"

The demon's smile faded, his eyes narrowing as he frowned down at his human. "Angels?" He replied curiously. "They're foul, loathsome, creatures. Why do you ask?" 
Levi shrugged. "It's just something that brat Hange and I found said. He seemed to think Deltoff had an angel doing his bidding. But he also led us into a trap, so..." 

"I see." Erwin replied mildly, his icy eyes fixed on the human in a way that made Levi shiver.
"For both our sakes, I hope that it isn't true. I would much prefer that we didn't have to deal with such a nuisance." 
Levi frowned, searching the blond's gaze with his own, steely eyes. "Do you think you could handle it if we did?" He asked. 
A faint smile tugged at the demon's lips, but it didn't seem entirely genuine. "Rest assured, if it came to it, I would be able to deal with such a problem. But it wouldn't be easy."

Levi nodded, tearing his eyes away from the blond. "Right." He said flatly, sucking in a slow breath as he made his way towards the door. "Don't make me regret putting my trust in you." He added flatly, he didn't have to look back at Erwin to know that the demon was smirking. 

"You have my word, Levi." The blond replied softly, his gaze boring into the human's back. 

Levi ignored him, gritting his jaw as he walked out of the library and through the copy of his childhood home. The manor was eerily quiet, the silence seeming to echo around him with each step he took. 
Keeping his gaze fixed on the carpet, he tried his best to avoid the memories that felt as if they were leaking out of the walls. Levi's mind was a mess. Coming back home after so long was difficult enough as it was, but to consider the possibility of angels? 

Accepting the existence demons and reapers was easy. The world was a cruel place, it only made sense that there would be something in the shadows to feed off the callous nature of humanity, or to usher them into the shadows.

But angels? Did that mean that God was real too? And that he, for whatever reason, had chosen to forsake Levi. 

It didn't bear thinking about. 

Chapter Text

"It's your move, Levi." Erwin said, pulling him away from his thoughts. He'd agreed to a game of chess after dinner because it was a good distraction. But he was too tired to focus, stifling a yawn as he took the blond's knight with his bishop.
The demon smiled, moving his bishop to threaten it's counterpart. "I find the best traps take some time to reveal themselves." He commented, reaching for his human's mug to pour him a cup of tea.

"Uh-huh." Levi replied, moving his rook to cover his piece as he reached for his tea. It was sweet, usually he preferred it bitter. But with just a hint of honey, it was good. Relaxing.
"Ideally you want your enemy to maintain the illusion of control." Erwin continued calmly. "Allow them to believe that they have upper hand, before you finally go in for the kill."

With that the demon moved his queen across the board, capturing the pawn guarding Levi's king.

"Checkmate." He hummed.

"Is that what you're doing?" The human asked flatly, draining his tea while the blond put the pieces away. "Letting me boss you around... Telling me that you're just my faithful servant..."
"And just when I thought you were starting to trust me." Erwin replied, following after Levi as the smaller man started back towards his room. "I've worked hard over the years to prove my devotion to you. I'm not quite sure what I need to do for you to believe me, but I will certainly continue to try."

"I didn't mean it like that." Levi said, though he didn't see how the accusation could have been taken any other way. He didn't even have a good argument to offer up in his defence. It felt like every time he acknowledged the faith he had placed in Erwin- the stable constant he had allowed the demon to become in his life -the quicker his walls snapped back up around him. But he couldn't voice that thought aloud.
The demon dropped an arm around his shoulders, guiding him back to his room. "Is it the transactional nature of our contract?" He asked. "For all that you claim to have accepted your fate, there have been times when I've wondered if you resent me for it..."

Levi let out a frustrated groan as he dropped down onto his mattress, seizing his pillow to press it over his face.

"Do we really have to get into this right now?" He asked once he'd pulled it away to frown up at Erwin. "Forget I said anything. I know I can count on you, alright? We're fine."
The blond held his gaze, his eyes were sad, even as he smiled. "Of course." He said evenly. But that just compounded Levi's guilt and he sighed, reaching for the demon's hand.

"Stay with me?" He asked. Even if Erwin had retreated behind his carefully manicured mask, it was still better to have him there and Levi was trying. He was rewarded when he squeezed his hand, sinking to perch on the edge of the bed beside him.
"Is there anything I can do that would help?" Erwin asked quietly after a moment. "I don't want you to feel as if I'm only here because I'm obligated to be, this is more than that."

"You're not the problem." Levi sighed, tugging his hand free so he could roll to face the wall. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I'm being an ass."
"What is the problem then?" The demon pressed gently and Levi hated himself, because Erwin was trying and it didn't matter whether he was being genuine or not.

It wouldn't change anything.

"It doesn't matter." He replied, repeating the all too familiar mantra as he tugged the blankets up around him roughly. Pain flared, a rude reminder of his injuries, and he sucked in a sharp breath. "I don't want to talk about it."
The demon was quiet for a long moment and Levi had thought he'd won- that he could sleep in peace -before he felt gentle fingers brush through his hair.

"You matter." Erwin murmured quietly. "It seems to me that you've forgotten that you didn't die in that fire and you're content to live as a ghost. But you still have a life that's worth living and I don't want to see you suffer if I can prevent it."

"You wouldn't let me die" He retorted, pretending that he didn't understand which fire Erwin had meant. "Please... Just drop it. I need sleep, you heard the doctor."
Erwin stared at him, and it would have almost been funny how lost he looked if Levi didn't feel so guilty.

"You told me that you were sick of pretences." The demon said finally, his tone carefully calm. "So I will drop the matter, if you like. As a good servant should. Or you can tell me what I did to make you hate me as much as you do."
In that moment Levi wished that he hated him, it would have been so much easier. "Why do you even care?" He snapped. "You still get what you want out of this either way, why does it matter so much if I suffer? Won't that just make me a tastier snack?"

All he wanted to do was sleep, tomorrow felt like it was already looming over him. But his heart was pounding in chest and he felt like everything was racing far too fast.
"I told you that this is more to me than that." The demon replied. "Why don't you believe me? I don't need you to suffer any more than you have, you are already going to make a most exquisite meal. It's been almost tempting to forget myself and simply claim you as you are, but I find myself unwilling to break your trust."

Levi blinked, the barest huff of disbelief leaving his lips as he stared at the blond.

"Was that supposed to be reassuring?" He asked, scoffing openly this time. "But thanks, it's great to know that I'm traumatised enough for your tastes. I'd hate to be too much for you."
Erwin looked pained as he shook his head and the human groaned, swallowing down his guilt. "I told you I didn't want to do this tonight." He said quietly. He wanted to reach for Erwin's hand again, but he curled in on himself instead.

This time, the demon didn't reply. Nor did he reach for his human.

Levi lay awake, listening to the sound of his heart beating in his ears. He couldn't even hear the blond breathing, as if he were making every effort not to disturb him more than he already had. But it just made the room feel lonely.
"I don't hate you." He said after it became clear that he wasn't going to escape into sleep. "I wish that I did, I probably should. But I don't. Hange just got in my head, made me think about what this is, what it really is. But I'll get over myself, just give me time to get through the rest of this bullshit."

He was rewarded when the softest of touches brushed against his cheek, catching the blond's hand before he could withdraw it again.

"I would give you a lifetime and I fear that it wouldn't be enough." Erwin replied quietly. "I know that you've made up your mind about my motivations, but I don't want to be the reason for your pain. Perhaps I'm not capable of caring for something as a human might, but I am considerably fond of you."

Levi didn't reply, there was nothing that he could say to that. He felt torn, achingly so.

It felt like he was teetering on the edge of something dangerous. Maybe the demon was right, maybe it would never be enough.

There were too many maybes, but Levi was too tired to think about them all. Too tired to fight, tomorrow was going to be hard enough as it was. Huffing out a sigh, he tugged on Erwin's arm.
After a terrifying moment, the blond stretched down beside him. Winding a strong arm around the human to draw him against his chest. "You really do make it difficult for those who would try to care for you." He murmured softly.

"Then stop trying." Levi huffed, but there was no bite to the words. Not really.

"Never." The demon replied solemnly, pressing his face into the human's hair. Breathing in a deep sigh of content, as if there was nowhere else in the world that he would rather be.
As if Levi were something precious, someone worth caring for in spite of how difficult he made it. Even if only to the capacity that a demon could.

He desperately wanted to believe that it was true.

"You're an idiot." He said finally, stifling a yawn as he rolled to face the demon. Erwin's eyes shone in the darkness, sparkling like sapphires just inches from the human's face.
"Perhaps." Erwin hummed, shifting his grip on Levi to keep him close. "But I have no regrets, you have given me something worth holding onto and if that makes me an idiot, I'll bear the title proudly."

Levi just scoffed at him, rolling his eyes before he let them fall closed. "Shut up." He murmured, pressing his face into the demon's chest.

This time Erwin did as he was told, curling around Levi to trap him in a warm embrace. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought he could hear the demon's voice. But he couldn't make out what he was saying and he went to open his mouth to ask him to repeat himself...

But when he opened his eyes again, it was morning and he was alone.

Chapter Text

It was the thunder that woke him. 

Rain tracked down the window, blurring out the city and the angry, dark clouds above it. The whole world was shrouded in grey.

It looked like a truly miserable day.

Yawning as he got out of bed, Levi rifled through the drawers for something clean to change into. Setting off down the hallway in search of the blond once he was dressed. There was a tiny part of him that was disappointed that Erwin had left him in the night, but it was ridiculous and he knew it.

Nothing had changed.

Not really, not in any way that mattered.

It couldn't matter.

Because even if Levi had been completely wrong to ever doubt the demon's intentions, the terms of the contract remained the same.
Where something like love- or 'fondness', whatever the hell that meant -fit into something like that was beyond him.

The smell of bacon wafted from the kitchen to meet him, making his stomach growl and Levi followed it to find Erwin busy at the stove.
"Morning." He said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe. "You didn't have to do all this, porridge would have been fine."

"I thought that a day such as today was deserving of a decent breakfast." The blond replied, cracking an egg into the pan. "I'm not quite sure what's going to happen after I turn you in, the least I can do is make sure that you've been well fed."
"They'll throw me in a hole and I'll sit there until they decide what to do with me." Levi said with a shrug. "I'm sure I can handle it." At worst he'd be bored, or maybe they'd send someone to rough him up a bit. But he'd resigned himself to the idea.

"I'm sure you can." Erwin replied, switching off the gas when the kettle on the hob beside the pan let out a high pitched shriek.

The silence felt strained while the demon arranged the food on it's tray and Levi huffed out a sigh as he followed Erwin to the dining room. "I'll call for you if I need you." He said pointedly.
"I'm sure that you will." The blond replied, pulling a chair back for his human to drop into. His tone was mild, it was never particularly easy to guess at what he might be thinking. But right now, it was downright annoying.

The bacon was cooked to perfection- because of course it was -and Levi let out a hum of approval as he took a bite. "If you have something to say, say it." He said, reaching for his tea.
Erwin shook his head, a sheepish smile gracing his lips. "Forgive my lack of enthusiasm." He replied. "But I don't like the thought of letting you out of my sight, even if only temporarily."

Levi just rolled his eyes, looking up at the blond to make sure he saw. "You gonna miss me that much?" He asked sarcastically, regretting the words when the demon dropped his gaze.
"You know that I prefer to keep you close." Erwin told him seriously, frowning softly as he slid into the chair beside his human. "But stop worrying about me and finish your breakfast."

Less than an hour later they stepped into the rain.

Levi kept close to the demon’s side as they trekked up the drive, keeping his head down to ward off the worst of the stinging droplets that pounded down on them. It really was a miserable day.

They walked in silence for the most part, wrapped in their own thoughts. Levi found himself wondering whether or not Erwin had as much trouble guessing at his mind as he did the demon’s.
There were things that he just seemed to know, the two of them were undeniably bound in a way that Levi didn't understand. But he'd also mistaken the human's- admittedly complicated -feelings for hate.

The closer they drew to the military compound, the more the doubts started creeping in. Maybe he had been wrong not to have turned himself in right away.

Running was hardly the act of an innocent man. But he was hardly innocent.

Maybe he'd made things worse for himself by even trying to escape the parody of justice that awaited him. Maybe he deserved it, maybe Erwin was right and his sense of justice really had been corrupted along the way. Warped by an unjust world.

Or maybe that was just who he had always been. A man driven by something darker than he wanted to admit.

The demon's hand found his, slender fingers curling around Levi's, drawing him out of his thoughts. Like an anchor. He held onto Erwin tightly, and even if he had teased the blond about his reluctance to leave his side, he just wanted to go home.
"I'm fond of you too." He said quietly as they passed through the compound's gates, releasing the blond's hand reluctantly. The courtyard was deserted, their comrades were probably sheltering inside from the rain. Those lucky enough to escape bring sent out to patrol the city anyway.

He wondered where Petra was.

The rush of overlapping conversations that had just filled the foyer came to an abrupt stop when they stepped through the heavy, wooden doors. People stepped out of their way as he followed Erwin up the stairs towards Dok's office.
Levi kept his eyes fixed firmly on the floorboards in front of him, but he could feel the prickling sense of eyes on him. A tentative murmur sprung up behind them after they'd turned down the corridor.

A steadying hand found his shoulder and he looked up to find the demon's gaze. "Don't trouble yourself with what they have to say." Erwin murmured softly. "This is only temporary."
Levi just nodded, he didn't really care what anyone thought about him. Whether he'd been right or not, the children were safe. That was what mattered, it was absolution enough.

He sucked in a slow breath when Erwin knocked on the door, the blond's icy, unreadable gaze finding his one last time before the Commander called for them to enter.

It was too late to wonder if the plan was a mistake.

Dok greeted them with a heavy sigh, setting down a newspaper to look between the pair with a mix of exasperation and exhaustion. "This whole thing is a mess." He said finally.
Waving a hand for them to sit, the Commander pushed the newspaper across the desk towards the blond, who arched a brow as he read the headline. "How dramatic." The demon concluded dryly.

'Mitras Murder House; Could the military have done more to prevent tragedy?' The bold ink on the front page asked ominously.

"This is serious." The Commander snapped when Levi just rolled his eyes. "I've got journalists sniffing around the place, the First Interior Squad breathing down the back of my neck... I have half a mind to make an example out of you and-"
"Throwing Levi to the wolves won't do anything to help us now." Erwin interrupted him calmly, holding up a placating hand when it seemed that the other man might argue. "What we uncovered that night was only part of a much larger operation, the true purpose of which remains unknown."

"It's already out of my hands." Dok replied wearily, not quite meeting either man's eyes. "I'm sure that the First Interior Squad will handle it."

Levi made no effort to hide the scoff that escaped his lips. "The First Interior Squad's only interested in covering this up." He said bitterly. "If you think that they're going to do anything to help, that just makes you as useless as they are."
The harsh look that the Commander aimed at him was lost on Levi. It didn't matter that he wasn't going to help them, he hadn't counted on it. In fact it was satisfying, it felt like validation that he'd been right to take things into his own hands.

"What would you have me do?!" Dok snapped. "My hands are tied, I have orders. A good soldier's worth nothing if they can't respect the chain of command."

"And duty's just a four letter word, I guess." Levi shot back scathingly.

"That's enough." Erwin said calmly, before he could say more. The demon's eyes were narrowed, but his expression was impassive. Levi couldn't tell whether the reproach in his eyes was meant for him or not. "Arguing amongst ourselves now is pointless." Erwin continued. "No one's suggesting that we ignore our orders, but surely there's no harm in us conducting our own investigation."

There was a tense silence.

The Commander's serious gaze held the blond's for a long while. Whatever was being communicated in the silent exchange was lost on Levi and he couldn't help but feel bitterly jealous.
Before Dok sighed, shoulders slumping. "I trust you to be discreet." He said finally, his tone was that of a man defeated. But his eyes betrayed his faith in the demon and suddenly Levi wasn't jealous anymore.

Erwin had him exactly where he wanted him.

He didn't even realise he was being manipulated, that regardless of what he decided, the outcome would be the same. Because his most loyal soldier was really just an excellent liar.

Sometimes it annoyed him to no end, today it worked to his advantage.

"Thank you, Sir." The blond said evenly, bowing his head ever so slightly, respectful as ever. "I assure you that I'll proceed with caution."
"There's still the matter of the Staff Sargent." Dok replied, gaze falling on Levi once more. "Given the severity of the situation, I'm afraid I have no choice but to place you under arrest."

"That's fine." Levi replied, shrugging an indifferent shoulder. "Orders are orders, right?"

The rest of the meeting passed in a blur, it didn't matter where he was to be held, or when the trial was to commence. If everything went according to plan, he would be free before then and Erwin could handle the formalities just fine.

He felt numb to it all.

As if this were just another obstacle to be overcome on the way to revenge. Justice. Whichever word he chose to use for it.

That didn't really matter either, whichever motive was really driving him, the outcome would be the same. It only mattered that he reached the end.

Finally, the Commander got to his feet. Gesturing to the door and Levi turned and walked from the office without a backwards glance. they made their way back down to the foyer in silence.
He could feel Erwin close behind him, looming over his shoulder. A comforting presence. It was utterly ridiculous that the demon had become a source of comfort. But Levi just wanted to fall back into the warmth of his arms.

It didn't matter.

Sucking in a steady breath when they made it to the bottom of the stairs, he offered the blond the barest hint of a smile. "I'm counting on you." He reminded him flatly. It was better than goodbye.

"I wouldn't dream of letting you down." Erwin replied firmly, before he turned his icy gaze away from his human, back to the Commander. "If you've no other orders for me, I'd like to begin my investigation by following up on a lead in Trost."
Dok shook his head, sighing as he clapped a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Be careful, Erwin." He said. "The last thing I need is for you to get wound up in the middle of this fiasco too."

"What kind of soldier would I be if I couldn't handle such a simple matter as this?" Erwin replied easily, and Levi couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you just want to stab him when he does that?" He asked once the blond had left them to step back into the rain. Dok just sighed again, nodding for Levi to follow him.
"Erwin would throw away his career for you." The Commander told him flatly once they'd reached the holding cells at the back of the building. "But I'll be damned if I let him. It's one thing to make your own bad decisions, but soldiers like him do a hell of a lot more for our people than a vigilante who can't get his head around how to play others. Let this be a valuable lesson, Ackerman."

Levi scoffed incredulously, rolling his eyes as he stepped into the small cell. "What the hell do you know?" He asked bitterly.

The clang of metal of metal and the click of the lock made him wince.

"I know a good man when I see one." Dok told him, giving him one last, reproachful look, before he left Levi to wait for whatever would come next.

None of it really mattered. He just needed to keep reminding himself that.

Chapter Text

There was a wooden bench set into the wall, Levi dropped onto it with an impatient huff.

There was just enough space inside the cell that he didn't feel as if the air was being squeezed from his lungs. He could feel the bite of the wind as it tore past the bars of the tiny window.

Last time he'd been shoved into a cage, it had been hot. Smoke had invaded him, snaking it's way down his throat and into his lungs. Clawing at his eyes so the figures who had crowded around him had turned into faceless shadows.
This time there weren't any rough hands to tear him apart as they dragged him into darkness. This time he'd stepped into the cell willingly, this time the men who would come for him would hide their cruelty behind the pretense of order and justice.

Even so, his heart pounded in his chest.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. A soldier walked through it a moment later, stepping towards the bars to offer Levi her hand.

"My name's Pieck Finger." She informed him lightly. "I'm with the military medical division, I was sent to assess your condition."
Her tone was gentle, almost friendly and she smiled at him, even when it became clear that Levi wasn't going to take her hand. Looking mildly amused as she drew it back to set down a heavy looking bag.

"I wasn't aware we had an official medical division." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Pieck's smile just widened as she dropped onto the floor to dig through the bag for a notepad.
Flipping it open, she flicked through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "It says here that the incident was just under a week ago." She said lightly. "And that you left the hospital against medical advice, is that true?"

"If that's what it says, it must be." He replied with a shrug. The only reason she was there was to see if he was well enough to stand trial and that was fine. But he wasn't going to pretend that the whole thing wasn't just a mockery of due process.

"After reading over your file, I'm surprised to find you in such good condition." Pieck continued easily, dark eyes sparkling with amusement. She was as bad as the demon.
It wasn't a particularly comforting comparison and Levi just shrugged again. "I guess I'm just lucky." He told her dryly. "Is there a point to this? Have you got what you wanted yet?"
"Not yet, but I appreciate your patience." She replied, offering him another small smile. "This isn't the first time you've managed to escape a deadly fire, how long do you think it will take them to accuse you of setting the first one too?"

Her tone was light, gentle even. But Levi felt like he'd been submerged in ice, sucking in a slow breath as he got to his feet. "We're done here." He said through gritted teeth

"Not quite." Pieck replied, digging through her bag to produce a set of vials and a nasty looking needle. "I'm going to need to take some blood." She told him, almost apologetically.
Rolling his eyes impatiently, Levi rolled up his sleeve and shoved his arm between the bars for her. "Hurry this up." He huffed. "I'm sick of you."

Pieck just laughed at him again, setting the first of the vials securely in place before she got to her feet. "You might feel a slight scratch." She warned, before the needle pricked his skin.

It didn't take long for the vials to be filled.

Levi accepted the square of gauze Pieck offered him, pressing it over the tiny bead of blood oozing from his forearm. He dropped back down onto the bench, watching as the medical examiner packed away her things again.
"It was nice to meet you, Levi." She hummed lightly after she had slung her bag back over her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"Great." He replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes when Pieck smiled at him again. Like a cat might smile at a cornered mouse.

Before she left, shutting the door with a decisive 'click' behind her. Levi let out a frustrated growl. All of a sudden his cell felt too small, he felt restless. But there was nothing to fight.
Erwin was out there somewhere, would return to him if he called for him. Despite his complicated feelings for the demon, it was a comforting thought. It didn't matter what he was accused of, or who might want him out of the way. He just needed to be patient.

It was definitely easier said than done.

No one else came to see him that day. Not even to bring him dinner or to light a candle for him when the shadows began to loom around him. Gathering first in the corners of the room, before they began to bleed across the floor to reach him.

Pieck's question returned to haunt him. It was one thing to be accused of something that he'd actually done, but to suggest that he'd had anything to do with his parents murder was beyond cruel. It was downright evil.

But, like so many things, it was out of his control. So Levi tried to remind himself that none of it really mattered.

There were so many things that didn't matter, that couldn't matter. He felt like he was being crushed under the weight of it all. Once again he was struck with a longing to go home. But home was nothing more than an idea now, an empty promise. A game.

As the night dragged on, Levi curled his knees to his chest, pressing himself into the corner in an attempt to keep warm.
He didn't sleep at all that night, waiting silently in the shadows. The inescapable darkness that had taken over his life, his soul.

But the darkness had never been cold before, it had never felt this lonely.

He found himself longing for the comforting warmth of the demon's feathery embrace, for Erwin's arms to wind tightly around him again. Drawing him close, in spite of how difficult Levi had made things.

It was all a mess, but none of it mattered. Because it couldn't.

Except, alone in the dark, it was hard to believe the words. His mantra had become just another lie for him to cling to. Because if it was true Levi wouldn't have cared nearly as much as he did. He wouldn't have needed to keep reminding himself how utterly pointless it all was.

Chapter Text

The storm ended sometime during the night.

By morning the clouds had cleared enough to allow sunlight to stream in through the window. It was a new day, but the ghosts that had haunted him in the night still lingered in the back of his mind. Keeping him company.

He could hear the sound of the city waking up.

Footsteps pounded past outside and Levi imagined a courier on their way to diligently deliver whatever had been entrusted to their care. He could hear the sound of something heavy being shifted close by. A merchant's wares maybe, arriving from somewhere far away, like Shiganshina.

Soon they would come for him. Either to drag him before a judge, or to throw him into another hole to rot until they were ready for him.

Levi just hoped that someone would bring him breakfast first.

He wondered what Erwin was doing, whether or not the demon was thinking about him too.

Despite what the blond might think about what Levi felt or believed, he didn't doubt that Erwin would do as he'd promised and fix everything. Before long the demon would be back and whatever happened after that, he wouldn't have to face it alone.

It didn't matter- and he truly meant it this time -what he had to face before then.

He pushed himself to sit straight on the bench when the door finally opened, heart sinking when he saw the Captain's smug expression. "Come to gloat?" He asked him snidely.
The other man let out a snort of a laugh, tossing a loaf of bread through the bars for him. It landed on the floor with a 'thunk' and Levi scoffed his disgust.

"This has been a long time coming, Ackerman." The Captain told him, propping his hands on his hips, his lips curling in a hideous smile. "You deserve what's coming, now eat up. We need to get moving, I don't want this to take all day."

"I'll pass, thanks." Levi replied flatly, stifling a yawn as he got to his feet to approach the door. The other man just laughed at him again. He was getting sick of people laughing at him.
"Not so fast." The Captain replied, unfastening the pair of handcuffs on his belt and tossing them to Levi. "Put these on, you're a dangerous criminal."

After shooting the other man a withering glare, he did as he was told.

He kept his eyes fixed on the floorboards as he was led back through the building. Teeth gritted against the Captain's rough grip on his arm and the curious and accusing looks his comrades cast him.

Puddles still lingered in the courtyard, but it was a mercy to step out into the fresh air again. The sky was always a beautiful shade of blue after a storm.

There was a carriage waiting for them on the street.

Levi didn't fight as he was shoved inside, taking a seat on one of the benches inside. The Captain fell into the seat opposite him, tugging the door closed before they set off with a lurch.

"How'd you get involved in this anyway?" he asked, if only to distract himself from the fact he had no idea where the man was taking him. "I mean, no offense, I just don't see how a brute like you would be of any use to someone like Deltoff."
"Because I don't ask stupid questions." The Captain told him curtly. "And because, unlike you, I know how to follow orders. You can mock me all you like for it, but loyalty's worth a fortune in a city like this."

Levi couldn't disagree, without Erwin at his side, he knew he wouldn't have made it this far. The Captain was right about one thing, but even a broken clock was right twice a day.

"Would you die for your master?" He asked, arching a brow as the other man glared at him.

"I'd be more concerned with your own life if I were you." He said ominously. Levi just rolled his eyes at him. Men like the Captain hid behind empty threats and their own, inflated sense of superiority. But he wouldn't be the one calling the shots.
There was a velvet curtain covering the window on the door, blocking off his view of the street, but the interior had clearly been designed for comfort. The cushions on the bench were soft and the wallpaper covering the walls was decorated with intricately painted vines that glittered with tiny flecks of gold.

"Where are we going?" He asked the other man after a moment, unable to bite back the question against the uncertainty.
The Captain just snorted his amusement, raising his eyebrows at Levi. Obvious enjoying his discomfort far too much. But he should have expected no less.

Finally they lurched to a stop and Levi let himself be hauled out of the carriage onto the flagstones of a driveway that ended at a ridiculously palatial manor.

"Move it, brat." The Captain ordered, dragging him past a beautiful garden and through a set of double doors into a lavish foyer. Spotless marble shone in the sunlight that streamed through a skylight above them, casting a soft, natural light through the room.

He didn't get a chance to inspect the paintings that had been hung along the walls. Instead hurrying to keep up as he was marched through the house- past maids, who scurried out of their way, and less than friendly looking guards -to a set of narrow stairs that led down to the basement.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Levi asked furiously, glaring at the Captain as he was shoved through the door. He managed to catch himself and avoid falling down the stairs, but only just.

"You'll wait here until the boss is ready for you." The Captain told him, sneering down at him from the top of the stairs. "Don't touch anything."

With that he closed the door, leaving Levi alone in the darkness once again. He was sick of being left in the shadows by men who knew nothing. Hauled about like a thing, a nuisance to be stopped. Or like a child, whose behaviour needed correcting.

Sucking in a slow breath, he waited at the bottom of the stairs for his eyes to adjust to the dark. There wasn't much to see, just several crates shoved in the corner and a bunch of what was probably furniture, covered in heavy looking sheets.

Curiosity got the better of him and Levi tugged one of the sheets away to reveal a moth eaten couch, trying another to find a sturdy looking dresser, the drawers of which was empty.
The crates were a different story, even without the cuffs around his wrist, he wouldn't have been able to pry the nails away from their lids without something to help him and, given the possibility they contained some kind of explosive, trying to break them open felt like a bad idea.

Eventually Levi settled on the sofa, letting his eyes slip closed in an attempt to ward off the headache that was threatening his temples. He was hungry, tired, and he just wanted it to be over.

In the end he decided there was probably little harm in just going to sleep.

It wasn't likely they would have gone to the effort of bringing him there just to kill him now, everything about Deltoff screamed opulence, grandiosity. He'd want the chance to rub his victory in.

Levi woke to the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs.

Pushing himself to sit, he ran a hand over his face. "About time, I got so bored I fell asleep." He said dryly, getting to his feet. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, he felt groggy and his head still hurt, so it couldn't have been long.
"You might find out that bored ain't so bad." The man who had come for him replied, flashing a crooked smile at him, before he jerked his head for Levi to follow him back upstairs.

"Here." He said, once they'd stepped back into the corridor, reaching to unlock his cuffs. The sun was still high in the sky, shining though the windows to cast it's warm light over them.

After glancing back over his shoulder to make sure that Levi was following him, his escort led him back to the foyer and up a wide set of marble steps. "Did Becker cry like a baby?" The other man asked after they'd turned down one of several corridors.

Levi didn't reply, he remembered the pitiful way that Becker and his friends had pleaded for their lives all too well. Apparently he didn't need to say anything. His escort let out a rough bark of laughter. "Don't feel too bad." He told him. "That scumbag definitely deserved it."

Before Levi could decide what to make of the man- who aimed another crooked smile at him -the two of them reached a set of glass doors that opened onto a patio surrounded by flowers in a fabulous variety of vibrant colours.
There was a table in the centre of the patio, at which sat a well dressed man, who rose to his feet with a smile when he saw them. "Levi Ackerman." He said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"It's a pity that I can't say the same." Levi replied, the man- presumably Deltoff -didn't look like he'd taken it personally, his smile didn't waver as he dropped back into his seat and gestured to the empty chair across from him for Levi to sit.

"Tea?" Deltoff asked, pouring him a steaming cup before Levi had a chance to decline. His stomach growled despite himself and he let out a huff of a sigh as he snatched up the cup.
"Go and tell Pieck to make our guest something to eat." Deltoff ordered the man with the crooked smile dismissively, before he turned his gaze back to Levi. "You've certainly caused a lot of trouble." He told the smaller man, tone chiding- as if scolding a child who had been caught misbehaving. "But I'm sure we can still work something out."

Levi scoffed in disbelief, steely eyes narrowing as he sipped on his tea. "This should be good." He replied coolly. "What makes you think I'm here to save my ass? I'm not concerned about getting kicked out of the military, or going to prison and I dare you try and have me killed..."
"My dear boy, the last thing I want is for you to end up taking the fall for that unfortunately business in town last week." Deltoff told him, laughing lightly as if it were all just one big misunderstanding. "You and I could do great things together, Levi. The answer to all of it lies in your blood, I wouldn't even need test subjects if I had you."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Levi snapped, glaring at the confusing man across from him. Hie felt his stomach sink when the 'medical examiner' that had assessed him the previous day stepped out onto the patio. She held a tray heaped with pastries and tiny cakes, which she set on the table for them.

"Is there anything else I can get you, Lord Deltoff?" Pieck asked. Deltoff just ignored her, dismissing her with a wave of his hand before he reached for a one of the pastries. Her gaze lingered on Levi for just a moment, before she turned and made her way back inside without another word.
"She's quite remarkable, really." Deltoff said, nodding after Pieck. "Incredibly talented and not too bad on the eyes, but she comes at a cost. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"If you've got something to say, say it." Levi replied, clenching his stomach when it threatened to growl again. Despite his hunger, he refused to touch the food in front of him. "I'm not in the mood for vague bullshit, so either tell me what my blood has to do with this, or shut up."

Erwin would have handled it better, but Erwin wasn't there and Levi was tired.

"Your father was an incredible man." Deltoff replied, ambivalent to Levi's irritation. "I had the privilege of working with him from time to time, but it was your dear mother that really fascinated me. Tell me, how much do you know about your family's history?"

"I told you to get to the point already." Levi snapped, there was a fork on the tray. It wouldn't have taken much to grab it and jam it into the man's throat, it would have been easier than having to keep putting up with the smug look on his face.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" Deltoff asked him, and for just a moment he looked almost sympathetic.

Before he smiled a terrible smile.

"Did you never wonder why you were different from your peers?" Deltoff asked him curiously. "I'm sure, even without an activated bond, you're still stronger and faster than they are. That you could walk away from that explosion only proves it... But I'm getting ahead of myself. You're special, Levi."

"I got lucky, that doesn't prove anything." He retorted darkly. He still didn't understand exactly what Deltoff was talking about, but it was difficult to write him off as crazy. He could remember the arguments behind closed doors and the weight of something that had hung over his childhood.

He'd always just assumed that it had to do with his father's job.

"Maybe not, but you were kind enough to give Pieck some of your blood." Deltoff replied, popping one of the tiny cakes into his mouth. "Tell me, Levi. Do you know why your parents had to die?"

"What the hell do you know about that?" Levi hissed. He felt like he'd been doused in icy water.

"Ah." Deltoff replied, popping one of the tiny cakes into his mouth. Wiping the crumbs away before he smiled his horrible smile. "I can see that I have your attention now, good."

"Talk fast if you want to keep it." Levi told him flatly

"Your family was designed with a specific purpose in mind." Deltoff said, propping his elbows against the table to lean close. "To serve the members of the royal family, bound by the very blood that was the source of their strength... Until, of course, they decided that they couldn't control you anymore... When your father threatened to walk away to save his dear son from a life of servitude."

"Why should I believe anything you say?" Levi asked, if it was true then he'd finally found the answers that he had been looking for. He could finally avenge his parents and it would be over.

He felt numb.

"What do you remember from the night of the fire?" Deltoff asked him curiously.

"It was my birthday." Levi replied quietly. "We spent the day together, my parents and I... It was just like any birthday, until they came..."
"So you weren't aware that your father met with the King's inner council early that morning?" The other man asked him, smiling again when Levi frowned at him. "No, I thought not. I was also in attendance that day, and during the vote that took place immediately afterwards that sealed their fates... I kept the records."

"Why are you telling me any of this?" Levi asked. "What do you think you're going to get out of it?"

"I'd like us to be friends, Levi." Deltoff replied. "I think we could help each other, you and I. If you allow me to study you, to understand how to replicate what you're capable of, I'll give you what you need to seek your revenge. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Why someone like you would make a deal with a devil?"

Before he could reply, the sound of gunfire ripped through the air.

"It appears that we're under attack." Pieck told them calmly, appearing in the doorway again. Someone cried out sharply somewhere behind her and Levi jumped to his feet, fingers itching to draw a blade that wasn't there.
Deltoff didn't look particularly phased, reaching for one of the pastries to pop into his mouth before he stood. "Go and deal with it then." He told the demon, Levi was sure that's what she was now. He should have seen it straight away.

Even without Deltoff's vague hints.

"If that's what you desire, My Lord." She said, smiling a smile that was far too bright. One that didn't reach her eyes. Before she turned and walked back inside, towards the sound of violence.

Moments later there was an almighty crash and the bursts of gunfire cut off abruptly.

"Now then." Deltoff said, brushing the crumbs off his robes before he smiled at Levi. "We'll fall back to my safehouse in Utopia. You will come with me won't you, Levi? I'm sure you still have questions. But first, there's something we'll need."
He walked inside with the confidence of a man who knew that death couldn't touch him. Levi wondered what Deltoff had asked Pieck for, power or a way to overthrow his enemies probably.

Broken bodies littered the foyer.

Their twisted limbs bent in unnatural angles. Blood stained the marble and the jagged pieces of glass that had fallen from the skylight crunched under their feet. Levi reached for a rifle that had been discarded by the stairs, before he followed Deltoff back down to the basement.

"There's a secret staircase." The other man informed him. "Help me shift this out of the way." Nodding to the dresser, he took one end, waiting for Levi before they hauled it away from the wall.
"I'm not leaving here without those records." Levi said flatly, raising an eyebrow when Deltoff pressed down on one of the wooden panels on the wall. It swung open with a soft click.

"A man like me collects enemies as another man might collect hats." Deltoff told him, stepping onto the narrow staircase in the wall. "You learn to plan for the possibility that you might need to make a quick escape. Of course we'll take the records, but there's something far more important than those. Call it an old family heirloom..."
"Right." Levi snapped, following the other man into the cramped space. He pulled the panel shut behind him before an explosion echoed somewhere close by, shaking the house violently. "Let's just make this quick." He huffed.

The sound of glass shattering above them made both men pause, just for a moment. Until the pitiful screams that followed had faded. Before long they stepped through another panel into an extravagant bedroom. "This will only take a second." Deltoff told him, hurrying to the closet.

Levi slipped his rifle off his shoulder, checking that it was loaded, before he stepped towards the window.

The glass shattered and Levi just managed to duck out of the way as a bullet shot past him. He looked back out just in time to see a blur slam into the man who'd shot at him, before it was gone.

"Stay away from the window." Deltoff warned him belatedly and Levi glared at the man just in time to watch him tuck a small, velvet box into his pocket. "The records are-" He started, before the door burst open, the sound of a single shot cutting him off. A dark, red stain quickly began blooming on the front of his robes, over his heart and his eyes found Levi's again, before he collapsed.

He'd looked surprised.

"No!" Levi bellowed, swinging his rifle around to fire at the intruder. The man crumpled to the ground, but it was too late. "Erwin! I need you!"

Throwing his rifle aside, he dropped to his knees. Hands flying to try and stop the blood oozing out of Deltoff's chest. The man's glassy eyes stared up at him and Levi swore, before he reached for the box in the dead man's pocket.
After shoving the box into his pocket, he picked up his rifle. Loading the next bullet into the chamber as he stepped into the hallway. The smell of smoke was beginning to pollute the air, but Levi didn't stop to consider the irony of the flames. He refused to let Deltoff's secrets to die with him.

He should have expected nothing less. To be right on the edge of finally finding not only the proof that he needed, but a willing ally- no matter how awful he had been -only to have it all snatched away from him at the very last second

Chapter Text

The first few doors Levi tried just opened onto more bedrooms, the next was a sitting room.

Huffing out a sigh, he tried the next few doors, but none of them led to the kind of place he might have expected Deltoff to hide important documents. Even if he had time to search the manor properly, it could still take hours to find them.

He hadn't heard gunfire for a while, but there was no way of knowing what the situation downstairs was. Whether or not Deltoff's enemies were also his own.

"Erwin?" He called again quietly. The possibility that something was holding him up was an unsettling one. Worse, though, was the thought that something might have happened to him.

When facing humans- probably even titans -he had no concerns about the blond's ability to take care of himself. Even when it came to Reapers, Erwin had made it clear that he could have come out on top in a fight against Hange.
But when it came to another demon? "Get your ass here, you blond bastard!" Levi demanded, storming towards the stairs. "And that's an order." The seal on his chest blazed and it was enough to know that his demon was okay.

He reached the staircase just as the soldier stepped onto the landing. His rifle jammed when he pulled the trigger and she smiled triumphantly, training her rifle on his chest. Before it clattered to the floor, her hands scrabbling for her throat.

Levi watched in confused horror as she opened her mouth to let out a choked sound, blood oozing from between her lips. There were four tiny, silver points gleaming on her throat.

He realised it was a fork when she fell forward.

The blond was standing on the landing below them, smiling fondly when his icy gaze found his human's.

"You took your time." Levi said flatly, stepping over the body of the soldier on his way to join the Erwin looked fine, his coat was splattered with blood and dust clung to his hair. But he wasn't hurt.

"Forgive me for keeping you waiting." He hummed in reply, fingers brushing across his human's cheek, ever so gently. Before he tilted Levi's chin to find his gaze again. "Look at those bags under your eyes..." He said, tutting his disapproval. "But it's over, we can go home. I found the proof that we needed to put a permanent stop to Deltoff and your name has been officially cleared."

The barest huff of tired laugher left Levi's lips and he swatted away the demon's hand, shaking his head. "You don't understand." He replied, starting down the stairs. "Deltoff wasn't the real enemy, or at the very least we needed him. But it doesn't matter. There's a set of records somewhere here, from a meeting with the king's council, I need them."
"The building is on fire." Erwin said firmly. "We need to go. There was another warehouse packed full of explosives in Trost. If Deltoff has been storing them here too, I don't want us to be here when they ignite."

"This isn't about what you want." Levi snapped. "The records have the names of the people who voted for my parents to be murdered. I need them, they're the answer to everything."
The ground lurched beneath his feet as a loud roar thundered beneath them. Levi toppled forward, only for strong arms to wind around his waist. "They are dusty, old stacks of paper." Erwin disagreed sharply. "You've learnt that the King's council was involved, that's a lead we can follow. Levi..."

The sound of splintering wood groaned mournfully, before there was an echoing crash. "Why is it always fire?" Levi asked quietly.
"Come on." Erwin replied softly, taking Levi's hand to lead him through the smoke. The only sounds were those of the manor slowly falling apart.

He stuck close to the demon, stumbling over debris and broken bodies. Erwin didn't let him fall. "Pieck?" He asked, once they'd made it outside. Stopping to catch his breath in the garden. The flowers were still just as lovely, the battle had spared them.

"Gone." The blond told him, brow furrowing as he frowned down at the human. "I don't know where she went, or if she'll be back. But she disappeared not long after I arrived."
"Is she a friend of yours?" Levi asked, glancing back at the burning manor one last time before he set off towards the driveway. He was tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a bath.

"Demon's aren't in the habit of making friends." Erwin replied evenly, following after his human. "But I fear I seem to be particularly unpopular when it comes to my own peers."

"I guess we have that in common then." The human replied. There was still so much that Levi needed to understand. For every answer he found, it seemed like there were two more questions to take it's place.

"Perhaps that's why I'm so fond of you." The demon suggested, chuckling softly when Levi just rolled his eyes at him.

The sky was a brilliant orange, it reminded Levi too much of flames and he kept his eyes fixed on the dull flagstones as they walked. Despite what Erwin had said- that the records should be left to burn -it felt like a mistake.
But there was no helping that now and Levi reached for the taller man's hand, refusing to shift his gaze away from the street when the blond's fingers curled securely around his. It wasn't over yet.

The sun had set when they finally made it back home, or whatever the manor was supposed to be.

"Can you run me a bath?" Levi asked, discarding his coat once they'd stepped through the door. It would do better to be burned, than washed, it was stained with Deltoff's blood and reeked of smoke.

"Right away." The demon replied, disappearing up the stairs to do as he was told. Levi dropped down onto one of the plush benches in the foyer, kicking off his boots as he stifled a yawn.
Letting his eyes slip closed, he leaned his head back against the wall. It was still all too much. Instead of worrying about his fucked up blood- or the fact that his father's last, defiant act, had been to protect him -he tried not to think at all

It would have been easier.

But, now that Levi was safe again, it was harder to just shove the troubling thoughts aside. The reality of it all was starting to sink in.

"Levi?" Erwin asked, the demon's hand gripped his shoulder gently and the human opened his eyes to find the taller man's icy gaze.
"Sorry." He replied, attempting a weak smile as he got to his feet. "I must have dozed off.. Is the bath ready?" The demon nodded and Levi followed him upstairs, a soft sigh leaving his lips when he sunk into the hot water.

"I missed you." He admitted, closing his eyes again, rather than see the smugness that he imagined on the blond's face.

"And I you." Erwin replied sincerely, gentle fingers beginning to work out the tangles in his human's hair. "Are you okay?"
Levi cracked open an eye. The demon was frowning at him, as if he didn't know what to expect. It was comforting, to think that he might be something of a mystery to Erwin too.

"No." He replied honestly.

He wasn't sure that he even understood what 'okay' was anymore. "Why did Pieck just let Deltoff die like that?" He asked suddenly, opening his eyes properly to stare up at Erwin. "She was supposed to protect him, I don't get it."
Understanding and something far warmer filled the demon's gaze. Suddenly his eyes looked nothing like ice, they weren't nearly cold enough. "I told you that it was a choice." He hummed in reply. "That a demon can break a contract if they wanted to. Deltoff may have done something to displease her, or maybe she simply grew bored of him."

"Will that happen to us?" Levi asked. It was a stupid question, but he failed to catch it before it slipped from his tongue. He was too tired for his own good.

"No." Erwin replied firmly, bringing his hand to brush against his human's cheek. Levi trapped it there with his own, letting his tired eyes slip shut again. "I will always choose you." The demon told him.

Levi didn't reply, he didn't need to. Instead he sighed, leaning into the blond's touch.

"Did you set the fire?" He asked, after he had finally allowed himself to be led away from the, now cold, water. Back to the familiar comfort of his room. His eyes were heavy and he let Erwin help him out of his clothes, before he clambered into bed.
"Yes." The demon replied evenly, smoothing out the blankets to tuck his human in snugly. "I was in need of a distraction, given your tendency towards arson, I felt that it was only fitting."

"It was one fire." Levi argued, but there was no edge to his tone. He was too tired to really fight. "Hange and that idiot throwing explosives at each other is what made the warehouse explode. You were right about one thing though."

"Oh?" The demon asked curiously, stretching out on top of the blankets beside him without needing to be asked. "Just the one?" Levi rolled his eyes at him.

"I lost sight of the big picture." He elaborated after a moment, tugging at Erwin's arm. The blond draped it over his chest, curling around him and Levi sighed his content. Eyes falling shut again. "I was caught up in how angry I was, it was all moment to moment... I didn't care about the consequences."

"And now?" The demon asked, pressing his face into his human's hair with a soft hum.

"I've learnt my lesson." Levi replied. "I can't afford to screw up like that again. Deltoff could have been the answer to everything... I threw it all away because I wanted him to suffer for what he did."
"The world is no poorer for his absence." Erwin told him gently, his free arm snaking under the pillow to trap his human securely in his embrace. "Anything that might have been gained from him, would have only come at a steep cost. I wouldn't see this as a loss, he was never your ally."

It would have been nice to believe that he was right.

"Goodnight." Levi replied. He was over talking about it. Whatever his possible value, Deltoff was dead. He had a new lead. It was enough.
"Goodnight." Erwin said, letting the silence rest. Levi yawned again. It still wasn't over, but they were one step closer to the end. Or, at the very least, he was beginning to understand why his world had ended.

It was a mercy when sleep found him.

Chapter Text

Levi woke with a yawn, his arm reaching out to find Erwin's warmth. He only found cold, empty blankets. Pushing himself to sit, he ran a hand over his face. It all came flooding back. Like a wave crashing over him.

Dropping back against his pillows, he let out a huff of a sigh, there was a big part of him that longed to go back to sleep. Back to those first few peaceful seconds of wakefulness. Instead he got out of bed, stifling another yawn.

The sun was already high in the sky, he'd slept late, but Levi had nowhere to be. Not with any urgency. Despite Erwin’s words, he couldn’t help but feel he’d had an opportunity with Deltoff. A clear shot at the answers he needed. An opportunity for an end to a pitiful life. He didn’t want to die, but that shouldn’t matter.

The box he'd recovered from Deltoff was sitting on his dresser. He ignored it while he pulled on a fresh change of clothes. His head was already spinning from what the man had told him, that his parents' deaths were his fault. Because there was no getting past it, If what Deltoff had told him was true... He didn’t want to think about it. Instead he sucked in a slow breath, snatching up the box and shoving it into his trouser pocket. It could wait. He was burdened enough by ghosts as it was.

Making his way downstairs, a soft frown tugged at his lips when he didn’t immediately find Erwin. There was a plate of scones—still steaming—waiting for him in the kitchen, and he took one, biting into it with a soft hum as he turned to fetch the kettle.

Ten minutes later—armed with a cup of tea in one hand and a second scone in the other—Levi set out again in search of his demon.

He found Erwin in the garden, spotting him through one of the windows as he’d paced the corridors upstairs. When he’d lived here with his parents there had been a sense of aliveness to the manor. There was always some lunch, or gala, or guest making noise, and at the time it had driven Levi insane. But now, the silence felt crushing—haunting his every step. As if it sought to hammer in the bitter truth;

That he was a ghost as much as any of them, his parents. Kenny.

He sucked in a slow breath, making his way back downstairs. Crisp air engulfed him as he stepped outside, and for a moment it felt like a weight had lifted from his chest. He lingered for a moment on the backstep, before he followed the winding path down to where the blond was hanging laundry. Erwin smiled when he saw his human coming, his icy eyes flicking over Levi’s face.
Levi didn’t think, he just walked up to the taller man, setting his tea aside in the basket hanging on the line for pegs, before he closed the space between them. Letting his forehead drop to rest against the demon’s chest. Erwin’s arms wound around him a moment later.

“Levi..?” The blond asked him uncertainly.

Levi just shook his head, bringing a hand to grip at the demon’s sleeve. Keeping his arms securely in place. As if he could somehow hold the broken edges of the human together long enough for him to do what needed to be done.

“We need to get back to work.” He said after a moment, sucking in a slow breath as Erwin's hand came to rest against his hair. “If the King’s Inner Council really was behind what happened to my parents, it won’t take long to find out exactly who’s to blame. I want those names. They can believe Deltoff’s death is a warning, but you will help me find the answers I need. Am I clear?”

Erwin’s lips curled in the barest hint of a smile, an amused expression playing out over the demon’s usually composed face as he tightened his grip on his human. “Of course. Crystal clear,” he hummed in reply.

Levi just nodded, before he pulled himself free of the demon’s grip. “Good,” he replied, tone steely with a renewed sense of determination. He snatched up his tea cup, tipping the dregs onto the grass, before he made his way back towards the manor without a backwards glance.

He knew he should be happy—should feel satisfied that he was so close to the vengeance he craved. But he just felt flat and hollow.

Storming back inside, he let out a frustrated growl, throwing his tea cup against the wall, hard. It shattered with a crash, but even that didn’t feel particularly satisfying. Shoulders slumping, Levi brought a hand to his face. He needed to get a grip on himself. He fumbled in his pocket for the box, clenching it tightly in his fist as he drew it out, sliding it open without ceremony. Inside was a ring. A delicate gold band, with a silver disc set into the top—upon which were three golden blades, etched into the silver as they overlapped to form a triangle.

It was incredibly underwhelming and Levi was tempted to hurl it against the wall too. But he resisted the urge, shoving it back into his pocket instead. He was so sick of questions without answers.

“Master..?” Erwin tone was hesitant. Levi felt his heart jump, he hadn’t heard Erwin approach.

“I thought I told you not to call me that,” he snapped, glaring up at the blond over his shoulder.

Erwin didn’t bother trying to hide the amused smirk that toyed at his lips as he brought his hand to rest over his heart. “Of course,” he hummed in reply, tone calm and light as ever. “My apologies, Levi. Are you alright?”

“I’m not in the mood for stupid questions,” Levi retorted flatly. “Clean up that mess,” He added as an after-thought, hating the sharpness in his own tone as he nodded his head towards the broken glass on the ground.

“Right away, Master,” the demon replied.

Levi just blinked. His steely gaze snapped back to the blond, lips parting incredulously as a small scoff escaped him. “What the hell are you playing at right now?!” he demanded in an icy tone.
Because there was always some game, some subtle manipulation. Some sadistic way the demon had found to entertain himself with, at the expense of the humans whose lives he decided to meddle with. Yesterday had just cemented that thought in his mind—after all, it had been Erwin who had prevented Levi from finally finding the answers he needed.No matter how the demon wanted to spin it.

And Levi was sick of it.

“You told me you were sick of pretenses,” Erwin replied calmly, holding his human’s steely gaze with impassive, icy eyes. But there was an edge of something deeper— something far harsher—that Levi hadn’t heard before. “If you’re content to order me around like a servant, is it not right I show you the respect that you so clearly desire? Or is your childish attempt to cling to some sense of control truly subconscious? What did Deltoff say to you that has you feeling so vulnerable?”

Levi froze.

His eyes widened in surprise—in shock—before they narrowed in a withering glare “I didn’t ask you for your damn psychoanalysis of me,” he hissed. His hands were shaking, so he clenched his fists to hide it, his knuckles quickly turning white. “Who the hell are you to speak to me like that anyway?!”

“That is something I find myself contemplating fairly often, actually,” Erwin replied—his tone just as infuriatingly calm as ever. Ademon hiding behind a stoic facade, it drove the human mad how little he wore on his face—giving nothing but the tiniest hints of anything real under carefully constructed masks and velvet toned empty words.
“For years, I have done everything you have asked of me,” Erwin continued evenly. “I have put on the farce of a dutiful soldier, securing power and leverage within the Military. I have been a loyal servant and shield, dealing with your enemies when you yourself have been unable to. I have rescued you from the consequences of your own foolish actions, and still you refuse to trust me. Do you remember the fate that I saved you from?”

“Why is it always about trust with you?” Levi asked, running a hand over his face before he stomped towards the kitchen. “Why should I trust you anyway? Don’t you dare try to pretend that you’re doing any of this out of the goodness of your heart.” He returned a moment later with a dustpan and brush, dropping to his knees to sweep up the broken porcelain himself. “I want you to get me the list of names of the members of the King’s Inner Council. Now. That’s an order.”

He felt the familiar rush of heat ripple through the seal over his heart. Before Erwin sighed, laying his hand over his heart. “As you wish,” he replied in a flat, even tone. Before he turned and left the human to stomp off to throw the glass away, feeling worse than he had before he’d broken the damn cup.

But there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

One thing hadn’t changed though, he still needed answers. Deltoff had been so close to giving him everything he had needed and despite Erwin’s insistence that the man hadn’t been of any value to them, Levi couldn’t help but feel that he had finally found the answer to everything. Only to lose it to the flames.

When he was certain that the demon was gone, he left the manor. Shoving his hands into his pockets as he made his way down the long, winding driveway and onto the street. Taking a left to avoid having to stray too close to the market, he cut his way across the city. The sky was peppered with cotton candy clouds, the sun streaming down over the Wall despite the chill lingering in the air. It was a nice day, though he imagined it would sour soon enough.

Good things never seemed to last.

As he walked through the familiar streets towards the heart of the city, he found himself feeling lost in a strange way. Mitras was as familiar as it had ever been—it was still his home and Levi knew the city like the back of his hand. Even so, he felt as if a stranger to the place. As if he had changed in ways he didn’t even understand.

Ways that probably didn’t matter, because—as he reminded himself—nothing truly mattered.

By the time he reached Rod Reiss’ mansion, he had hardened his heart to the ways he had been failed—was to blame for the sins of his past. For the ghosts that seemed to walk with him up the dark marble steps of the ridiculously luxurious house. In the end, all he needed to do was see his goal through.

Even if he no longer truly understood just what was motivating him, only that it was all that could spur him on now. In this strange, half dead, state.

He only hesitated for a moment before his hand reached for the brass knocker on the door, letting it connect sharply against the hardwood door three times. Before letting his hand fall back to his side while he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Just minutes later, he heard the ‘click, clack’ of shoes on tile and the door opened to reveal a handsome young man in a crisp white suit. “Ah, Levi Ackerman,” he said sweetly, Levi’s name rolling off his tongue as if it were a treat to say. “What brings you to Lord Reiss’ home? Please, do come in. I’ve heard much about you.”

Levi was immediately struck with a sense of unease.

The man’s pale purple eyes sparkled as he followed him inside, a sweet smile curving his lips when the door closed with a definitive ‘click’ behind them. “I’m here to speak to Reiss,” Levi told him, tone flat. “It’s about his friend Deltoff and the potential corruption in the Inner Council, I’m sure you can understand why the MP wants to follow up on the matter.”
It seemed the best bet, to at least pretend to play by the rules for the moment until he understood exactly where he needed to strike. He had learned from his mistake at the waterfront—that acting carelessly would only slow him down.

“Of course,” the young man hummed in reply, gesturing for Levi to follow him upstairs to the parlour. Plush velvet armchairs circled a table, upon which a bowl of fruit waited. “Please, if you would take a seat I’ll have Lord Reiss informed of your visit. Would you care for tea as well?”

“No thank you,” Levi replied, he didn’t know why, but there was something about the man that he just didn’t trust—didn’t like. Something slightly off that he just couldn’t place. He left Levi to drop into one of the armchairs with a huff before he had figured it out. Something in the strange man’s eyes reminded Levi of a predator.

But it had been so much colder than that of the demon’s.

Levi let out a heavy sigh as he propped his elbow on the table, letting his chin drop into his palm. It seemed he was surrounded by monsters—human and otherwise—but he had long since realised that fact, it was just a shame to see it proven time and time again. Still, people like Petra were out there—people worth protecting. He didn’t know why the thought of her smiling face came to him now, only that it left his lips curling in the echo of a smile. The world might have been a cruel place, but it was also beautiful too.

He wondered if he’d been wrong not to bring Erwin with him.

He didn’t even want to think about the demon—that was too difficult right now, Of all the things he couldn’t allow to distract him, Erwin was near the top of the list. His feelings for the demon were far too conflicting—and ultimately pointless to be given consideration in the first place. But it was devastatingly cruel how much Levi wanted far more than he had any right to entertain even just the idle thought of.

More than he could even admit to himself.

He sucked in a slow, steeling breath as the door opened, his stoic expression betraying none of the turmoil in his own heart as Rod Reiss walked into the room, a smarmy smile on his lips as he opened his arms in greeting to Levi.

“My Lord, thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Levi said, standing and bowing his head just so before the man could speak.

“Not a problem, my boy. Both your father and uncle were loyal servants of our dear King for many years, of course I have time for their kin,” Reiss replied smoothly, extending one of his hands to Levi to kiss. Levi did so begrudgingly, before they both took their seats. “I’ve ordered my butler, Ash, to bring us some refreshments, but please. Tell me what I can do for you, Levi. Is this about that nasty business with Deltoff? I already signed off on your pardon myself and had it sent to your Commander.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he frowned at the other man. “You did?” His tone reflected his shock. He’d known that his actions had gained a lot of attention thanks to the media, but to think Reiss himself had seen fit to involve himself was a bit of an uneasy surprise. Especially if Deltoff had been telling the truth about the latent curse in his blood—the possibility he might be leashed as his uncle had.

“Of course,” Reiss replied evenly, reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl before he picked up a small knife to slice away a bite sized piece. “I had been concerned about the corruption in the Military for some time, but I hadn’t been able to pinpoint its source. Luckily for me, and the good people of the Interior, you were able to succeed where I had failed. You and that.. Colleague of yours. The well mannered one.”
Levi couldn’t suppress the scoff that left him at the other man’s words, leaning back in his seat with a smile that conveyed his incredulous contempt for the councilman. “Don’t act as if you’re some virtuous arm of the King,” he replied bluntly. “I can only assume that Deltoff saw the need for such secrecy because he was planning to move against his own. All I did was secure your position, or am I wrong?”

Rather than look annoyed, Reiss laughed, a hearty sound that lacked any real warmth. “My boy, you’re sharper than you look,” he replied, all but confirming Levi’s assessment of the situation. It was clear to him in that moment that, regardless of which of the councilors had voted for his parents' murders—regardless of the fact that they were all complicit in silence and inaction—they all had sins of their own.

That they were all monsters masquerading as men—as servants of the King and humanity. There was a moment where Levi considered snatching the knife from the man’s hand and jamming it into his neck. But he refrained.

“Why did you come here today, Levi?” Reiss asked curiously, before the door opened and the Butler, Ash, returned with a trolley laden with plates containing various pasties as well as a bottle of wine and two glasses. The pale haired man fussed around, filling their glasses with more than a generous helping and setting a plate of sweet smelling treats before Levi—but Levi had already decided to accept nothing offered to him. To do so would imply a level of trust—a willingness to an alliance, to become indebted to this monstrous man—that wasn’t worth entertaining. Not even for answers.

Those he would have regardless.

“Before he was murdered, Deltoff told me that the King’s Inner Council made the decision to kill my parents for their refusal to allow me to be bound to service as my uncle was through blood, and my father through the threat of the Crown’s punishment,” he said in a flat tone, seeing no point in lying now that he was here. “I want to know who was in the room that day, who decided that my parents should die. I want answers, and I demand justice.”
Reiss’ smile was a pleased one—hungry even—but it failed to reach his eyes. “And what then? When you have your answers, your justice, what will you do then?” he asked, eyes shining as if he had been presented with a brilliant opportunity, rather than the scowling man who sat across from him.

“Guess I’ll die.” Levi replied with a shrug.

“Because of some kind of deal with that charming demon you keep in your company?” Reiss' tone was saccharine and he leaned forward in his chair, the knife still held loosely in his hand. “I assume you made a deal with him to save you from my colleagues.”
“No,” Levi said firmly, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He wasn’t surprised that Reiss knew about Erwin, it wouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to learn that a man with as much power as Rod Reiss had made shady deals of his own. “I made a deal with Erwin so I could kill the people responsible.”

“And you accept this fate so willingly?” Reiss pushed, his tone sickly sweet now as he sliced another piece from his apple, popping it into his mouth with a crunch. His eyes never once left Levi’s. “It seems to me that you sought me out of your own volition, my Ash would have noticed if such a dark presence was lurking nearby. Tell me, what has this demon done for you that you could not achieve on your own? Do you truly owe him any loyalty, or do you simply accept your fate out of necessity?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Levi grit his jaw, he’d come here for names, not talk of the supernatural, or fate and the damned contracts that everyone seemed to know more about than him.

“I’m talking about a way to break your contract,” Reiss replied, saying the words slowly—letting them hang between them to give them a moment to sink in. “I could help you free yourself of your debt to this demon, seek your revenge against the ones responsible for your parents' needless deaths. And then, I would offer you a place at my right hand. Allow you the opportunity to unlock your true potential, to inherit the true power embedded in your genes...”
Levi felt like ice had been tipped down his collar, it crept down his spine as he drew in a steadying breath. “And why would you do any of that?” he asked flatly, eyes narrowed as he reached for a pastry for something to do with his hands. It was obvious, of course. Reiss wanted to have him collared, to gain the attack dog that had been lost in his uncle’s death. But he wanted the man to admit it.

“Because I was not in the room that day, nor did I know of the plan to kill your parents until it was too late,” Reiss replied grimly, slicing away his next piece of apple with a little more force than was necessary. “Your family existed to serve and protect the monarchy, while it was irritating to deal with your father and his sudden conscience when it came to you, your fate as an Ackerman was always sealed. As an outsider, he could never understand.”

Levi tapped his foot to try and dispel some of the frustration he could feel burning through him—tensing his muscles, like a spring, dangerously close to snapping altogether. Far from giving him any real answers—beyond his own supposed innocence—the other man was just being vague and irritating. “Get to the point you’re trying to make,” he demanded flatly. “Or at the very least, start making sense.”
“Simple,” Reiss replied, dropping any air of warmth as he set his apple aside, sinking the tip of the knife into the table with a sharp, sudden thrust. “I will free you of your contract, I will grant you your revenge, and in return you will agree to serve as the shield and protector of the Crown.”

Levi hadn’t been expecting that.

“You want me to serve the Crown? In case you haven't noticed, I don't have the best track record when it comes to respecting authority.” He shook his head, holding up a quick, halting hand to stop Reiss before he could launch into another ridiculously vague and ultimately useless explanation. “How do you plan to free me of my demon?” he asked bluntly.

That was the only thing that mattered right now, whether or not Reiss meant what he said—and that he gave him the damn names he wanted.

The rest could be figured out later.

“Bring him to me,” Reiss replied with a smirk, folding his hands, one over the other, on top of the table. “And I will have my servant deal with him. Demons are certainly forces to be reckoned with, but the righteous and just can call on forces far greater, and the light of our God can drive the darkness from even the most tortured of souls... Drive it back to the depths of their domain.”

“And the names?” Levi asked, gritting his teeth to reinforce the stoic mask he hoped was enough to hide his contempt.

“Once the matter of your contract has been dealt with, I’ll call my colleagues and you can deal with them as you see fit,” Reiss replied smoothly, glancing up when the door opened and Ash walked in again.

“Forgive the interruption, my Lord,” the strange man said, purple eyes flicking between his master and Levi. “But there’s an urgent matter that demands your attention.” Reiss and his butler exchanged a long glance, before the older man sighed. “I’ll give you time to think about it, Levi,” he said, getting to his feet. "You know where to find me."

Levi got to his feet too, bowing his head slightly to the other man, before he sighed. He still had too many questions, but it seemed all he’d walk away with today was the confirmation of several things—that Deltoff had been telling the truth, for one—and the promise of a way to beat the fate he’d resigned himself to facing.

“Ash, will you show Mr Ackerman to the door? I’ll be waiting in my study,” Reiss said simply, before he departed. Leaving Levi under the scrutinising lavender gaze of the butler.

“Please, this way,” Ash said, gesturing a hand to the door and Levi huffed out a sigh as he followed the man back down the corridor and flight of stairs to the lobby. Clouds had rolled in overhead, threatening rain. “I hope to see you again, very soon,” the strange man said as Levi stepped past him over the threshold. “When I first met you in that church I found myself wondering if you were too far gone, but you have held true to your course over these years. I look forward to seeing what path you choose to take before the end.”

Levi blinked, glancing back at him. “You.. You’re that woman?” he asked, blinking. Her words had stuck with them and now he wondered how he’d failed to see the similarities between them.

The butler—whatever they were—just laughed. “I was that day,” he replied, winking at Levi. “I, like all angels, contain a multitude of facets.” He shut the door in the human’s face with a ‘click’, before Levi could respond. He just stared at the door for a long moment, a flat huff leaving his lips. Before he turned and made his way down the drive, shoving his hands into his pockets as he made his way home.

Nothing had really changed, he decided as he walked back up the drive to the facade of his childhood home.

At the end of the day, two powerful people wanted to use him, and would dangle what he wanted most over his head to achieve their goals. It wasn’t about good or evil, or heaven or hell. It wasn’t even about fate, which he was inclined to deny just on the principle of the matter—and it certainly wasn’t about trust.
What it all really boiled down to was whether or not he wanted to keep fighting in a world as twisted and corrupt as this one—whether he really wanted to end up as a pawn for powerful men, or cut his losses and face his end at the hands of his demon.

And Levi wasn’t sure that he had an answer to that.