Love Above the Law (Erwin x Levi)

Chapter 6

A/N: I am using gender neutral pronouns for Hange. Examples: they, their, them. Just so you know.

When Mike woke up the next morning the only thing on his mind was Erwin. It was a feeling like the night before; uneasy, as if he could sense that something was wrong. Erwin might have been reckless but he was still excellent at what he did, this Mike knew and respected. Erwin would get hired by people to do different jobs and Mike always sensed that there was something fishy about all of it but this time Erwin was hired by a good friend so at first Mike didn't think anything of it. But last night when he realized that Erwin had been gone for so long he couldn't help but worry about the man. Erwin may have been reckless but he was still cautious, and even though the way he spoke and the things he said would get him in trouble a lot it always seemed that he could manage. Mike had learned to expect those kinds of things from Erwin.

As he pulled himself out of bed he glanced at his phone, anxious to pick it up and call Erwin. He thought better of it when he seen the time and decided that he would call him when it got closer to lunch. That was usually when he was most likely to pick up. He walked out of his room in nothing but boxers and headed to the small kitchen in the far right corner of the room. The apartment was small having one bathroom, two bedrooms which meant that one of them had to sleep on the couch and that was usually Hange, and the kitchen and living room which were in one room. When you first walk into the house your met with the living room and kitchen on the right. Then there's the hallway on the left that leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms. It was simple and it was something that they all enjoyed.

Mike opened the fridge and got out some eggs and peppers and bacon, intending on making omelettes. He could hear Hange snoring from the couch and when he looked over he could see them splayed out across the cushions; glasses hanging off their face and bent at a weird angle and messy unwashed and unkept hair gone wild. He turned back to the kitchen and got out some pots and pans. He started to chop up the peppers and bacon and put them in a pan. After the bacon was partly cooked he cracked an egg and put half the contents in along with it. He made two; one for him and one for Hange when they woke up. He sat himself at the counter and started to eat. The feeling in his stomach made it hard for him to swallow; making it difficult to eat. After he was finished he heard shuffling and grumbling from the couch. Hange wiped their eyes and got up, stumbling over to the kitchen and grabbing their plate. Mike knew that Hange was not a morning person and he wasn't either. Erwin definitely wasn't. One time he slept in till 2pm. Mike knew that they'd all probably get more stuff done if they woke up earlier but he just didn't have the strength to get out of bed at 8am every morning.

He made his way over to the couch and sat himself down, turning on the tv. Despite the apartment looking shitty they still had nice furniture, they even owned a Wii. Of course they bought everything with dirty money but it didn't matter to them. They didn't care.

He flipped through the channels on the television, eventually settling with some cheesy sitcom.

"You phone him yet?" Hange said, their voice scratchy and hoarse with sleep.

"Waiting till lunch. He'll be more likely to pick up then rather then now."

"Right..." Hange agreed. Although Mike didn't want to wait that long.

He sat on the couch, mindlessly looking at the tv screen and thinking. It was something he did often; turning the tv on as background noise and just thinking. He thought about a lot of things. Right now he thought about Erwin. He'd fallen in love with Erwin in their high school years; his charm and good looks drawing him in, but Erwin never saw him as anything more than a friend. That's all he was, and Mike accepted that that was all he was ever going to be. A friend. But he would play with the hand he was dealt. He always had.

"Well don't worry yourself too much. I'm sure he just hit a bump or something."

Hange understood Mike's worry. They were the only one that did.

"We should sort out those bags, see how much we made." Hange said, changing the subject.

"Good idea." Mike agreed.

He got up from his spot on the couch and grabbed the duffle bag that held the valuable gems. He sat in the middle of the floor and unzipped the bag, looking at the contents before carefully placing them on the stained carpet. Hange joined him.

"Shit these are tangled." He murmured, looking at the jewelry that he didn't have enough time to sort into bags, all in a jumbled mess of metal and gems.

"You try and untangle those and I'll start counting." Hange said, getting up and getting the notebook and calculator that they used to record all their progress and money. Hange pushed their glasses up the bridge of their nose and opened the notebook to an empty page where they wrote the date and name of the jewelry store they robbed. There was silence, neither of them talking. The only thing that entered their ears was the sound of the calculator buttons, the scratch of pencil on paper, and clinging jewelry. Mike wondered that if Erwin was gone for good that this would be what it would feel like. Silence. Mike found that wherever Erwin was there would always be a ray of happiness following him. Something that made everyone happy. It was his good sense of humour and his charms that lightened everyones day and Erwin could sense when Mike needed to have some extra happiness. That was just another reason why Mike loved him. He gave him happiness when no one else would. He valued that.

"You're overthinking again." Hange murmured, eyes not leaving their task.

Mike sighed. "I know. I can't help it."

"I don't blame you. But we'll figure it all out when we call. I'm sure he'll pick up." Mike nodded his agreement.

As they kept working Mike's mind started to become clearer and less filled with worry which surprised him. It was a new feeling.

"Okay. So, I counted everything and our total is..." Hange said, punching in numbers and scribbling totals. "$150,000."

"Yes!"

"But. If we count up all the debt that we still have to pay off along with all Erwin's mistakes, that leaves us with..." More waiting, "around $40,000." All joy was washed away.

"You're fucking kidding, right?" Mike said.

"Nope."

Mike blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "We have to call him."

"Let's." Hange agreed.

Mike got up from his spot on the floor and walked to his room, grabbing his phone and walking back to Hange. He dialled Erwin's number and put the phone on the ground.

It rang five times before a familiar voice spoke on the other end.

A/N: what did you think? I'd appreciate feedback if you have any, thank you for reading. See y'all in the next chapter.