A/N I apologise for the length of this, I got carried away. The length also means that there will probably be a lot of mistakes so bear with me. This was inspired by the game Mystic Messenger.
Eren didn't realise when he bought the app just what it entailed. How he had found it at all was a mystery. The app name didn't suggest much, simply being: Messenger For SC. He was hoping that stood for Snapchat and finally he had found an app he could use on his terrible phone in place of the world-known app. He was still questioning whether spending so little money was worth sacrificing all his communication but texting but at least he hadn't been stripped of that.
The app downloaded quickly and after filtering through hundreds of menus just to find the damn thing, he clicked on it and waited for it to load up. The first page was what he expected. It opened up, the letters SC in large letters across the small screen, and then, a voice came in. 'Welcome to the Survey Corps chat room. Please enter your ID.' The voice was loud and boisterous but it was clearly a girl speaking. She sounded excited despite being recorded for anyone to hear and this whole thing didn't seem all that great. So far, it didn't seem like it was much to do with Snapchat. But, Eren continued on, more out of curiosity than anything else. Still confused as to the function of the app, he put in his Snapchat username- which he had made on his old, much better phone that he had to sell to pay off some of his loans. He clicked okay and watched as the screen changed, the entire screen fading to white and the name Jaegerbomb appearing on the screen in bold letters. He was almost regretting choosing that name now.
Like before, the woman began to speak again. 'Hi, you! Welcome to the new Survey Corps app...or Recon Corp...or Scouting Legion...or Scouting Regiment. Forget that, the name is unimportant. After the...incident with the last app, I made this much better, improved version! All people who have logged in will go straight into your contacts, you all know each other anyway!' Eren paused for a second, blinking a few times as he set his mind straight. Knew who? The realisation dawned on him that maybe he wasn't supposed to be on this app. Nevertheless, he continued. 'Enjoy!'
With that, the app finally opened, revealing a dark loading screen with a few too many options. Eren, unsure of what to do, just began to click on everything.
Firstly, he clicked on the blank box in the top right corner of his screen. Upon opening, he found it to be his profile. Despite his wariness, he put in his details anyway. It was only fair, it seemed everyone else had. But, then again, they were all supposed to know each other. He put in one of his more modest selfies as well as Eren in the name box, not putting his last name despite it probably being evident by his username which appeared underneath it. He read the small information screen with squinted eyes, hoping the light wasn't going to blind him. Midnight was far too late to be doing this.
SC registration date: 03.08.17 (0 days).
Name: Eren
Username: Jaegerbomb
Contacts: Petra, Mike, Levi, Hanji, Erwin
Despite being short, it gave Eren more information than he had ever intended. His curiosity peaked as he read the names. With that, he went back to the menu and scanned the faces lining the top of the screen. On the far left was an angry looking guy, pale skin and dark hair. The bags under his eyes looked prominent yet Eren couldn't find himself but being attracted to the mysterious character in the corner. Upon clicking, he found that it was Levi. The information wasn't as in depth as his own profile but it gave him a picture, name, background image and a small box to put a message in. Levi's was simple. The picture, of him in a suit, was matched with a black cat on the back of his screen- most likely his- staring at the TV as if it were magic. Eren, despite being more of a dog person, couldn't help but awe at it. The message was what drew him in most, though, reading: why the hell does this exist, you're distracting me from work. Eren wasn't sure whether to take it seriously or not. Levi Ackerman, which was his full name, either had a bitter sense of humour or really was a workaholic. From the look on his face, Eren bet it was the latter.
Hastily returning to the menu, he clicked on the next image. This one could almost be the complete opposite of Levi. He was smiling for a start, although it was more a sly smirk than anything indicating happiness, and to say hot was an understatement. He looked like a model or something of the sort. With a neat blonde hairstyle, calm, blue eyes and eyebrows that were large but in fashion, he was no doubt in the magazines in some way. Despite the smile in his profile picture, the rest of his profile wasn't all too happy. His background image was on of a woman with crazy brown hair, slipped back into a loose ponytail, typing away at a computer. But that wasn't it, the computer was on fire, spark falling around it. The woman didn't seem to notice and was focused on typing but Eren could only assume that Erwin was not impressed. Under his name- Erwin Smith- was a curt and polite message but aggressive nonetheless: Hanji, after last time, I refuse to partake in this. Eren looked back at the picture and assumed that Hanji was the one typing. With slight fear, Eren left Erwin's profile and moved to Hanji's.
Hers was a lot more confusing. Her picture was her laughing, somewhat like a mad professor, but her background image was blank. Under her name, Hanji Zoe, her message was simple: AFK until everyone decides to calm down.
Eren, now even more confused, returned to the menu and quickly looked at the last two profiles. Mike and then Petra. Mike seemed nice, although young, but his profile picture was a bit too close to the camera giving Eren a far too clear image of his nose. It was as if the guy was sniffing him. His message box was even blank. Petra's was similar to Mike's. She was smiling in the photo but unlike Mike's, hers was far enough away from her face to give Eren a general idea of how she looked. Her background image only showed a stack of paper and underneath her full name- Petra Ral- she had written: Just let me go home. Eren assumed the pile of paper was actually work.
Finally, Eren had made his way through all the profiles but he couldn't help but be even more confused than before. Who were these people and how did they know each other? Still curious, he looked over the last few buttons. There were four, each with the name printed underneath a small icon: message, email, call and chatroom. Sighing at just how much there was to look through, Eren opened messages to find five messages; each said the exact same thing, who are you? Eren didn't answer, thinking ignoring it was a much better option that trying to explain to some strangers how he had gotten onto their app.
Then, he clicked on emails, to which there were none so he returned to the menu before clicking on call. There was only one, this one from Hanji. It didn't say much but missed call from one minute ago. Eren didn't remember having anyone call him but then again, he wasn't sure just how this app worked.
Finally, Eren clicked on the last button. Chatroom. It was larger than the rest, about double the size and took up a large portion of the lower half of his screen. He clicked and suddenly, he was attacked with a plethora of all-caps messages ranging from 'WHO ARE YOU?' to 'HOW THE HELL DID YOU MAKE IT ONTO THIS CHATROOM, ARE YOU A HACKER?!?!?!?!'. Eren wasn't sure how to respond to that one deciding to just put something simple.
'Hi?' He typed, breaking the stream of messages he was being bombarded with. He looked to the top of the screen to find that only three of the five that's pictures had been on the menu were on the chat. Hanji, Levi and Erwin continued to message him until finally Erwin had the sense to stop.
'Stop, guys. He finally sent something.' The stream of messages did stop and Eren tried again.
'Hi, I'm Eren.' The response was immediate.
'We know.' It was Levi, the message appearing to the right of his angry face. The messenger was similar to texting and he found he could at least work this even if the rest of the app was rather confusing (the mechanics were actually rather simple but Eren was wary as to what it was and why he had found it).
'Levi, don't be rude. He clearly doesn't know how this app works.' Erwin wrote, clearly the voice of reason amongst the group. He followed up with another short message. 'Hi, Eren. If you haven't seen by now, I'm Erwin Smith. The angry one is Levi and the mad looking one is Hanji.' The message was immediately followed by two messages, each the same, from Levi and Hangi.
'Hey!' It seemed neither liked being called angry nor crazy.
'Hi, everyone.' Eren replied anyway, ignoring Levi and Hanji for fear of continuing the argument.
'So...' Hanji typed, the message followed by three bouncing dots that showed she was typing.
'Eren, how did you get this app?' Was the first, most expected question.
'It was in my app store and all it said was SC so I was hoping it was a way of getting Snapchat on my phone. Btw, if you don't want people to come on this, you really ought to change the name.' He replied, deciding to tell the truth. He knew there was no point in hiding anything from these people. They were eventually going to get the truth or just kick him off the app; Eren just wanted to make that happen as soon as possible. He wasn't one to waste time evading what was inevitable.
'Wait, so you didn't hack onto this?' Came Hanji's replied followed by a cute little moving cartoon of Hanji's head tilting sideways before returning to normal: moving on a constant loop.
'No. I don't have a computer.' Eren's reply was short, still wary but proved his point. It was true, he didn't have a computer. He had sold that too. Student loans were a b*tch.
He didn't get a reply by message, simply a little emoticon of Erwin this time, his thick eyebrows raising up and down in surprise. Eren laughed at the cuteness of it and wondered if Hanji had programmed these. She seemed like she knew about computers after all, even if the one he had seen her using was on fire.
'Yeah, I sold it.' He continued, followed by another emoticon, still Erwin, which matched Hanji's from earlier. Eren laughed again, these things really were adorable. He wondered if he could get Hanji to make any of himself.
'Stop. We still don't know if Eren is dangerous.' Levi interrupted, no emojis present. From the way he acted, Eren could only assume he never used them in his life. He looked a little too serious (Eren failed to deny that that was what made him attractive).
'Don't worry! He's not! Just did a background check!' Hanji's response was a little too excitable for what it was.
'You did WHAT?!' Eren rushed to reply, his fingers flying back and forth, correcting multiple typos along the way.
'A background check, I wanted to know who you were.' Hanji was definitely too casual about this, he thought nervously.
'Hanji's a hacker, don't worry about this. She did it for all of us when we joined.' Erwin explained, remaining Eren's rock in all of this. He seemed like someone he could trust. Levi, he still wasn't so sure. Hanji, definitely not. But, who knew, maybe he would grow on them.
'Wait, join what???' Eren replied, now more intrigued than ever. What had he really ran into? Was this a secret organisation? Where was it based? Was it near him? Who were these people?
'The Survey Corps.' Erwin replied as if that meant anything.
'Scouting Legion.' Levi interrupted, his answer just as curt.
'We've already agreed that this is the Survey Corps, Levi.' Erwin replied. Eren could imagine the sigh that was coming from the man's mouth.
'It is officially the Scouting Legion on paper, therefore, I will call it the Scouting Legion.' Levi's reply was aggressively formal, setting a deep-rooted fear into Eren. He, despite being alone in his room in his small apartment, tried to pretend that he wasn't set on edge by the whole scenario but there was no doubt about it, he was absolutely terrified.
'Can someone please just tell me what the hell is going on!!! What the hell is the survey corps/scouting legion/whatever the hell the name is!!!' Eren finally broke out, frustrated and a little tired: he really should have been finishing off his work.
'Eren, it seems you've joined by accident but I think you being here means you've joined nonetheless. Welcome to the Scouting Legion, we are a charity organisation that supports ex-military in their lives after returning from war.' Levi's response, although as formal as ever, explained a lot and Eren couldn't believe he was being roped into this. It was a good cause, he could tell that much but did he really have no choice in this? It wasn't as if he had volunteered.
'Wait, I had no choice in this, why am I now a member?!' Eren typed back quickly before waiting an entire minute until someone bothered to even begin typing and then another minute after that of the three little dots coming and leaving. They were really struggling for a reason.
'This is a pretty secure app, Eren. We can't tell you everything but we can say that you shouldn't be here and now that you are, it would be best that you didn't leave. For your safety.' Erwin replied and within a second, Eren felt chilled to the bone. For your own safety. That was not good. Was he in danger now? What was this organisation? A charity, apparently, but Eren couldn't believe that was all. Something else was going on here and he was going to figure out what.
'Anyway, it's nearly midnight, I have to go. It was night talking to you, Eren. I hope you stay. It really will be for the best.' Eren didn't reply to Erwin, his entire body set on edge: he didn't trust his shaky fingers to type.
A little banner appeared saying that Erwin had logged off, Levi following suit without even typing a message. That only left Hanji. Those three dots appeared again, this time constant.
'Eren, I'm sorry about this all. We'll explain soon. Have a good night.' That was odd, Eren thought as Hanji logged off herself. Hanji, from what he had seen so far, had been quite excitable. He assumed the woman who had talked to him when he first opened the app was her and there was no doubt that, although she was a bit luny, she was excited by the prospect of this app. That message seemed a little too serious, only reminding Eren that this may be more dangerous than he anticipated.
Eren was scared, terrified even, of what he had gotten himself into but as he went to sleep, forgetting about the work that was due tomorrow, he deliberated that he would return if only to figure out what was going on and why he had found his way on to it.
-
Eren woke up to a buzzing phone. He looked over to find someone calling him, yet, this wasn't what normally appeared. At the top of the screen, SC was written in large letters and underneath, Erwin's face appeared, taking up the majority of the screen, his name written much smaller beneath it. Eren hesitantly pressed the green, pickup button and brought his phone to his ear.
'Hi, this is Erwin. I hope this is working. This is Eren, right?'
'Yes.' Eren replied warily, glancing at the clock. 'Why are you calling at...sh*t. It's midday. I'm late. Crap, I'm SO late!' Eren panicked, his phone tucked in between his shoulder and his head, flinging himself off of the bed and into the bathroom. He immediately began to scrub his teeth, ignoring Erwin's requests to calm down.
'Eren! Stop, it's fine. It's Sunday. Hanji says you don't work on a Sunday.' Eren paused, took the toothbrush from his mouth and looked down at his phone. He was right, it was Sunday. Eren didn't work on Sunday.
Ignoring just how creepy it was the Erwin knew that, he let out a sigh of relief and scrambled back to bed, falling upon it like a damsel in distress. 'Thanks.' He breathed, bringing a hand down his face in an attempt to calm his ragged breathing.
'It's no problem, Eren.' Erwin replied and Eren could practically hear the smile in his voice. Erwin, being the least intimidating so far, was easy to talk to and obviously a nice guy but Eren couldn't help but flinch each time he talked as if each note reminded him of the words from yesterday. For your safety.
It didn't make Eren feel safe at all. 'Anyway, I called you to ask how you were. This has all been piled on you very quickly and I thought you might want to talk about it.' Eren was starting to believe this man's kindness was fake. Was he really calling just to see how he was? Was anyone really that nice? It was true, though, Eren did want to talk about it- desperately- but was Erwin really the one to dump all his troubles on. He guessed so, he could only discuss it with the SC members and Erwin was the best candidate so far: he was yet to meet both Mike and Petra.
'I do but...I think I just need some time to process. Thank you, though.' Eren tried to remain formal. He felt so young, they all seemed around ten years his elder and from the way they talked alone, there was no doubt that they were respected members of society.
'There are no questions you want to ask?' Erwin continued on, sounding just as curious as Eren was himself. He had good reason. Eren must have had millions of questions buzzing around his mind, it was just a question of whether he had the confidence to say it.
'Um...well...how old are you?' Eren finally spat out, his voice slightly too off-key to be passed off as confident. He was reassured by Erwin's chuckle on the other side of the line, though, as the man let Eren recover from his hesitance.
'35.' Erwin's answer was simple and proved most of Eren's theories. Erwin, Eren having just turned 21, would be 14 years his elder and suddenly, the way they acted made a lot more sense.
'Oh...wow.' Eren replied, despite lacking surprise. It still hit him a little too hard at being admitted aloud. How had Eren ran into an app that was for a bunch of strangers and on top of that, most of them were a decade older than him.
Erwin chuckled again, the deep sound resonating loudly as Eren set his phone down on the bed and put it on speaker, his hand to lazy to hold it to his ear.
'How about you then, Eren? Hanji was stupid enough to reveal some of your information yet she never did say your age.' Eren smiled slightly at the venomous tone that was directed at Hanji. Erwin seemed like such a reserved man yet Hanji had the ability to make him mad. Was she really that bad?
'Oh, um, 21 as of last week.' Eren smiled as he thought of his birthday party- he didn't think he would ever have the capacity to hold as many shots as he did.
'Congratulations on reaching adulthood.' Erwin replied, a comfortable silence settling for a few seconds.
'Wait...Hanji did what?! What did she tell you!' Eren demanded, sitting up in alarm. He knew a background check had been done but then revealing the information, this was getting worse. He knew, at some point, he might have to get the authorities involved.
'Nothing much, Eren, don't worry. She keeps plenty of secrets herself, I don't think even she had the audacity to give away others. But, we all know the general area you live in- which isn't all that far from all of us, coincidentally- and where you work and what hours you work as well as the college you are attending.' Eren, despite the reassurances, still felt as if his whole life had been given away.
'Well, thanks for telling me, at least. I've got to go now. I'll talk later. Bye.' Eren rushed, the lies clear on his tongue. But, before Erwin could even retort, he had cancelled the call and was staring up at his ceiling in disdain. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
-
Work the next day was torturous and alongside that, his constantly buzzing phone was not helping. Between calls and chatrooms, his phone was going crazy. As was he. After an hour, he had turned his wifi off but then, by some 'coincidence', Hanji decided to add a feature in which it could be used through phone signal. Eren needed his phone on, Mikasa was going to call today so in no way was he turning it off. So, with a scowl permanently etched on his face, he continued work, trying to pretend his butt wasn't vibrating.
When work ended and he had called Mikasa to ask how she was doing on the other side of the country- to which he was still disdainful about- he was home and finally picking up his phone. Still scowling, he clicked on chatroom. It was empty.
He sighed, it just had to be the one time he was on that no one else was.
Except, then, a small grey line appeared on the screen saying: 'Petra Ral has entered the chatroom'. Eren smiled, he hadn't met Petra yet and she seemed like a kind girl, even if she looked stressed in almost all the photos she saw.
'Hi!' He typed, making sure to sound happier than usual, he wanted to make a good impression. She was the only girl here- excluding Hanji but that woman's insane- and Eren thought that he might as well make the most of this and make a friend. He had come out recently and it had just made him feel awkward talking to other men for fear of their reaction. So far, the girls had reacted a lot better to it. By that, they didn't really react at all. Although, he had been asked to be someone's gay best friend a few times. That was a nuisance.
'Hi, Eren, it's nice to meet you.' She replied, sending a little smiling emoticon afterwards. 'And!' She sent, three little dots following. 'I also wanted to apologise about this all. This is an...eclectic mix of people and I know that doesn't exactly help the situation. Don't worry about anything, though. As soon as Hanji gives us the all clear, we can tell you everything.'
'But, I thought Hanji had already done a background check?' Eren replied, confused by the entire situation. His life had been chaotic recently and this secrecy was not helping.
'She has but there a few things she has to sort out. It will all make sense when we tell you.' Followed by another sweet emoticon. Eren couldn't help but give in. This woman was clearly sincere in her actions and really did seem like she wanted the best with Eren. So, for the first time since he had been dragged into this chat, he tried to make proper conversation.
'So, where do you work? It seems everyone knows a fair bit about me and I don't know that much about them XD' It was true, even maybe a bit passive aggressive but true nonetheless.
'Oh, I'm Levi's assistant!' She replied quickly.
'Assistant? Why does he need an assistant?' Eren looked down at his phone, going through the possibilities of what he could be.
'He's the CEO of Ackerman Industries, has no one told you yet?'
'WAIT, NO! He's THE Levi Ackerman?!?!?!?!? How was I not told this?!?!?!' Eren replied in a rush, trying to find the write words but typing no better than almost gibberish with a bit too much punctuation.
'Haha. You have a lot to learn Eren. But, yes, he is THE Levi Ackerman.' And, almost perfectly, another thin grey line appeared. 'Levi Ackerman has entered the chatroom'.
'Levi, we need to talk, now.' Eren looked down at his screen in shock at Petra's words. Where had all the kind words gone?
'Not now, Petra. I'm not in the mood.' Levi replied lazily, talking far too long for such a simple message- it clearly wasn't because he was trying to figure out how to be nice about it.
'Levi!!! You will not ignore me! You cannot dump another project on me!!! We have far too many already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Wow, he thought he was the one to use too much punctuation.
'Petra, calm down. Another one won't kill you.'
'Actually, at this rate, it might! I haven't eaten properly in three weeks! I've been living off small pieces of fruit and the odd sandwich!'
'Well then, you have substance. You won't die.' God, this guy was heartless. Yet, something about him was just as intriguing. He was honest. Eren liked that.
'Hi, Eren.' Levi suddenly typed. Eren felt like a deer in the headlights. Why was he being addressed in the middle of an argument?
'Yes?'
'Why the question mark, brat.' Eren didn't understand why he had been titled as the brat but he made no move to argue against the guy. He was clearly a no-nonsense kind of guy.
'Um...no reason?' Levi only replied with an emoticon. Huh, Eren didn't think he would be the type to use them. It wasn't like the rest of them, though. This was in no way happy. It was just Levi glaring. And, dear God was it scary. Eren felt like the cartoon was looking into him and through him. He shuddered. Since when had emoticons been scary?
'Levi! CAN YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!' Petra typed and with that, Eren found it was his time to leave, exiting the chat without so much as a goodbye. Well, at least, he had met a new person and learnt a little bit more about these people.
Still, that feeling didn't go away. Eren was beginning to doubt it was fear.
-
Eren didn't know how he ended up on the phone to Erwin again. He didn't know how his finger had ended up on the call but or how Erwin he had actually had Erwin pick up. The chain events that lead up to this moment were blurry. As were Eren's thoughts. He didn't have the guts to delve into why he felt this way.
'Wait, what?!' Eren screamed down the phone, a large smile on his face. He was laying on his bed, his bones aching from walking back home but Erwin's voice was distraction enough.
'Yeah, I'm an actor.' Erwin chuckled on the other end.
'Don't tell me. First, Levi and now you! You can't be THE Erwin. Like, just Erwin.' Eren didn't have the words to speak. How the hell had he managed to not only talk to the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world but also a Hollywood actor, all within a week. This was a dream...definitely a dream.
Or, maybe, it was just a too-good-to-be-true book.
'Uh huh, that's me. Dropped the Smith, it's dull.' Eren could practically hear Erwin's smirk on the other line. Suddenly, Erwin's personality made so much more sense. Eren would deny to Erwin that he had watched every single one of his films. That would be a lie. Maybe not the very old ones, his career spanned a lot of years, but yes, he had watched most of them.
'No. Frickin. Way.'
'I thought Mike told you at the chatroom earlier.' Erwin chuckled, he couldn't help but find Eren's naivety and excitability utterly adorable.
'He said you were famous but not THIS famous!'
Erwin continued to laugh whilst Eren continued to splutter almost incomprehensible sentences in his shock. Then, after a few minutes of rambling and more laughter, Eren paused.
'Sh*t.' Another small pause as Erwin waited for the continuation. 'It's late.' Eren continued, his sentences stilted in shock.
'What is it, Eren?' Erwin asked calmly, never the one to worry in the face of another's panic.
'Oh, don't worry. I just...I have to go. I have to be in early tomorrow. I really wanted to keep continued but I didn't realise how long we had been talking and I got carried away and...'
'Eren, stop. It's fine. Sleep, we'll talk tomorrow.' Eren smiled. Erwin was ever the gentlemen. With that, Eren said his goodbye and hung up, got ready for bed and fell asleep with the thought of Erwin on his mind.
He fell asleep with a smile.
-
Eren didn't want to be in the middle of an argument...again. This time, he was surprised to hear, it was about cats. Yes, they were arguing over a cat. Well, Hanji was arguing about a cat. Levi's responses were fairly minimal.
'Levi! I love Captain Rivaille, HOW COULD YOU KEEP ME AWAY FROM HIM!' Hanji complained, her constant use of capitals becoming as annoying for Eren as it was for Levi.
'Hanji, you torture him.'
'I do NOT! I love him! More than you do, grumpy pants.' Hanji was dealing some low blows but nothing seemed to pass through Levi. He was an impenetrable wall. Captain Rivaille, as it took Eren a while to figure out, was Levi's cat. Levi's cat which was very much treated like a living, breathing human being. Despite Eren's initial fear, he found it quite endearing how much Levi cared for the animal, even if he did restrain himself from talking about the little cat too much. He could see, behind the blunt words, the care for his pet.
Levi didn't seem like the person to care about much. It was nice to see that he had something in his life.
'Hanji, could you leave? I would like to talk to Eren alone.' Well, that was a sudden change. Yet, it didn't surprise Eren. Not one bit. Levi did what he wanted. Whether it was interrupting a conversation or it was sending pictures of his cat for no reason, he did it.
Hanji, with the addition of a little scowling emoticon, left the chat. It was just Levi and Eren left.
'Hello, Eren.'
'Hi?'
'I said stop with the question marks.'
'Okay...' Eren didn't know what else to say. With hesitance, though, he began to type despite the knowledge that Levi would most likely call him a brat for asking. 'Um...Levi, why did you want to talk to me in private. Well, not private really, everyone can read this later but...why?' Eren paused again before typing. 'And you can't tell me off for that question mark, that was an actual question.'
The answer didn't come for a while. Eren was beginning to think that Levi was just quite a slow typer.
'I didn't want Hanji here and I wanted to talk to you. No reason. Just do.' Eren blushed as he read it. He denied the reason why. He seemed to do that a lot lately.
'Oh...okay.'
'Stop with the whole ... thing. You and your bratty punctuation. You're typing, there's no reason for it.' That message came a lot faster. That got rid of the slow typer theory. Eren wondered why it took him so long to type the last message. Maybe he was just busy. He was the leader of a company; that would strip any man of his free time.
'Okay.' Eren restrained from adding another ellipses. 'What you doing right now?' Eren wrote lamely, failing to think of anything better.
'I am at home looking after Rivaille. He had a vet appointment earlier and they scare him so I won't leave him until tomorrow. I can't miss work for long. For now, Miss Ral can take the workload.' Selfish but it was adorable just how much he cared for the fluffy, black cat.
'Why don't you call her Petra?'
'It would be unprofessional to call her by another name.' Eren huffed. It seemed odd that despite being in such a tight-knit group that he would still call her by her last name. Poor Petra.
The atmosphere suddenly felt far tenser than before. Eren didn't know what to say. Neither did Levi. So, in his usual fashion, Levi did the only thing he could think of. He scrolled through his photos and sent another picture of Captain Rivaille.
Eren was stuck in a state of shock. Rivaille was rolled on his back, his paw reaching up to touch Levi's cheek. And, Levi, he was smiling. Levi was actually smiling.
'Beautiful.' Eren typed. He didn't know quite who he was talking about.
'He is.' Was the only answer he got.
-
'Eren. I'm glad you're here.' Eren stared at his screen, tempted to switch it off and never look at it again. Who was this? How did they know he was? Why were they on the chatroom?
'Who are you?' Eren typed back in panic.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself. I'm Historia Reiss, the founder of this organisation.' Eren stared blankly at the screen.
'The founder? Why haven't you been mentioned before then?' Eren was suspicious. Who was this girl? What did she want?
'I'm sorry but for security reasons, my identity was withheld. But, WELCOME TO THE SURVEY CORPS!' Eren was already having whiplash from this woman. How had she turned so quickly from formal to an excitable child?
'Thanks?'
'No need to thank me, silly. I'm sure you have a lot of questions and I'm here to answer them.' Eren squinted at her profile picture, trying to get a feel of who she was. The image, though, consisted of two people. He had no idea which one was her but he could only hope it was the smaller, blonde one. At least, she was smiling. The taller one, brown-haired with freckles, scowled at the camera as if she was ready to punch it. Eren would rather not get in her path.
'Oh, well, yeah. I don't know where to start really.' Eren typed. He felt like there were so many secrets but he couldn't find the questions that would unveil them.
'That's okay, Eren. How about I start by explaining all of this?'
The history was long, as was the story. He learnt a bit about each one of them, though. Erwin had joined the organisation long before he had hit the jackpot and ended up as a superstar. And, that said something. This charity was old. It had been working for over a decade to support soldiers in need. The sentiment warmed Eren's heart. On top of that, Historia had expanded it to not only help soldiers but children too. She set up an orphanage in the city and funded foster homes in the nearby areas.
Levi, on the other hand, had come after the riches had come in. Being closer in age to Historia, they had crossed paths at college and slowly, she had coaxed him into joining. Despite being in college, Levi's uncle- Kenny- had already pushed him into a leading position in the company, piling work upon work onto the man. Petra had come even later, joining when she had found out about the charity through Levi whilst working as his assistant. The SCs kept relatively quiet and didn't draw attention to themselves unless needed for fundraising, especially as it was a place where the members could escape from their lives that were often surrounded by media and gossip.
Hanji was actually the first to join, though. Her and Historia had had a long history and had practically created the organisation together. Historia had come up with the concept and had thrown in her dedication to helping people whilst Hanji's tech skills had helped them get noticed as well as easily transferring money and services to the people that needed it.
Mike was the odd one out. He was actually Historia's second cousin, once removed. And, despite the only distant relation, they had been close since they were little. Mike, despite looking around the same age as Erwin, had been revealed to only be in college. He was quite close to Eren's age in reality. He had joined mostly out of dedication to Historia but didn't forget the meaning behind the charity and put in his bit wherever possible.
The main event, though, that had been kept from Eren for so long, was the party. The party was held has sporadic intervals but still quite frequently. It was a fundraising event, always aimed towards a specific charity. It was never held under the SCs name but the charity that the money was being given to in the end. Between all the members, guests were collected and sponsors were made. Eren, on the other hand, had another job.
'Eren, I know this might be quite a load to drop onto you but we really need some help. I have, well, let's just say I can't quite do what I used to be able to do so we really need your help. We need you to organise this party. All you have to do it sort out the guests, get the emails and find a venue. The other members will help you along. I have to go now.'
Historia logged out.
And, Eren was left in utter disbelief at his situation. He had a job. He had work to do. He didn't have the time nor the will to do this. Did he? Over the last few days, they had all talked about what they did for people and it warmed Eren's heart to hear the dedication. But, was Eren the same? Eren cared, that wasn't arguable but did he care enough to organise the entire event.
And, most importantly, what had happened to Historia and why could she no longer do it herself?
-
'W-what?' Eren stammered down the phone, his fingers trembling as his heart began to beat heavily- adrenaline pounding through his veins. He was nervous. He shouldn't have been. That didn't stop him.
'I would like to meet you. I want to discuss the party with you. I know it must be a large load on you and I think I could be of help.' Erwin told as if he had rehearsed the words. Eren knew he hadn't. Erwin was too good with words for his own good.
'Uh...yeah, I heard that. Are you sure? I don't want to...I don't want to take up your time or anything.' Eren stuttered, his mouth agape. Was he really about to go and meet a Hollywood actor under the pretence of party planning? What had the world come to?
Eren hadn't been this shocked since Mikasa had told him that she was going out with Annie- the dead-eyed girl from the street around the corner.
Erwin chuckled deeply. He did that a lot. Eren wasn't sure whether it was his humour that set Erwin off or whether he was just that much of a fool but either way, he was proud that he managed to make the man laugh at all.
'Of course, I'm sure, Eren. I would love to meet you and I am always glad to help out when it comes to the Survey Corps.'
'Scouting Legion.' Eren muttered. He and Levi had talked about it and he had been much more persuaded by the name.
Erwin just laughed again, his words slightly stilted as he caught his breath. 'Okay, I'm always glad to help the Scouting Legion. Would you be able to meet me tonight, six o'clock at the Maria Cafe?' Erwin asked. Eren didn't have a reason to object. Well, apart from the work that he was supposed to do tonight. He could put it off, even if it was due soon. He was meeting Erwin, like THE Erwin, he didn't care about work anymore.
'Uh-huh.'
'Good.' They hung up with minimal goodbyes, they would be meeting in an hour anyway. And then, the panic set in. What should he wear? Should he put on cologne? Was it worth having a quick shower? Should he eat or were they going to eat there? Did he need to bring a notebook to take notes?
The questions came at a rapid pace and Eren himself almost couldn't keep up. In the end, he decided simplicity was best. This was only an actor, he told himself. Yeah, just an actor. He held his hand over his heart for a second, feeling it pumping in his chest a little too fast. He breathed in and out at a steady pace until he felt it regulate again and deliberated that he would be fine.
Everything would be fine.
Everything was not fine.
He was running late. Very late. The effort he had put into his hair had been undone by the wind and the outfit he wore was now soaked by the rain. Why he hadn't brought a coat, he was still unsure. Maybe it was the fact that the ugly, multi coloured anorak was in no way suitable to be seen by any other eyes. He still contemplated what his mum had meant when she wrote that 'it would suit him' in the card that had been laid upon the present.
When he did finally reach the cafe, his heart was pounding and his breathing was heavy. The breathing exercises had been useless. And, unfortunately, when he did spot Erwin- THE Erwin- he looked as perfect as he did in the films. Maybe, the makeup had been stripped off and he looked a little more tired but damn that man was the reincarnation of perfect.
Eren shook himself. He had no reason to be thinking these thoughts about Erwin. It was Erwin. He had no right.
'Eren! Over here!' The man called out just as Eren was about to walk about, embarrassed to the core. Eren looked back, trying to hide a scowl, and walked to the angel in front of him. He scooted into the booth and decided that his best option was to glare at the table and not the man opposite him.
'Eren, is something wrong?' Of course, that was the first question.
'Nope.' Yes.
'What is it?'
'Nothing.' Everything.
'Eren.' He warned and finally Eren pulled his eyes from the table and to the man opposite him. Erwin looked at him with worried eyes and suddenly it all came crashing down on Eren. What had he been thinking? This was the first time he had met the man in person and suddenly he was being a brat. That would be what Levi said, at least.
'No, seriously it's nothing. I'm being childish.' Feeling like an absolute idiot, he sighed and rested his head in hand before the burden weighed heavier, dragging him down the bury his head in his arms on the table.
'That doesn't seem like nothing.' Erwin replied, his tone as caring as before. It only made Eren feel worse. Could he have acted more immature?
'I've ruined everything, haven't I?' He muttered to himself. But, as expected, Erwin was listening in on him with great intent.
'You haven't ruined anything, Eren.' Erwin spoke to him, slightly confused.
'Yes, I have. I come in here looking like a mess, soaked and then start acting like a bratty child.' He complained, taking his head out of his arms and opting for leaning his head against the plasticky cushions of the booth.
'It sounds like you've been talking to Levi a little too much.' Erwin chuckled before stopping abruptly and looking at Eren with serious eyes. 'Eren, there's no reason to feel nervous. Is it because of my career? You can tell me if it is.' Eren just nodded shyly, his head barely moving but noticeable enough.
'There's no need to be nervous, Eren. Just pretend I'm something like a...' he paused, bringing a finger to his lips before smiling. 'Pretend I'm a janitor. I'm sure that will get rid of this inferiority complex you seem to be intent on.' The words were forceful but nonetheless kind. Eren nodded again, smiling.
'A janitor? I really can't imagine you being a janitor.' Eren laughed quietly, the sound muffled by the back of his hand.
'You can't? I think I would do very well cleaning.' Erwin laughed, following up his original statement. He was glad to see Eren smiling, even if he was sacrificing some of his dignity for it. 'I would look very good cleaning school toilets, don't you think?' He continued, only for Eren to burst into a fit of giggles as Erwin continued to make up silly scenarios about himself.
Eren finally ceased laughing and looked up at Erwin with a timid smile. Silence fell for only a second. It wasn't awkward, not at all. It was as if Eren was wrapped in Erwin's kindness and that smile would not just leave his face, even if he wanted it to. 'You're really not what I expected you to be.' Eren admitted timidly, the smile still quirking up the sides of his lips.
'I hope what you got was much better.'
By the end of the evening, they still hadn't talked about the party.
-
It was another week until Erwin and Eren saw each other again. They talked in the chat room often, much to the disgust of Levi. To which Erwin teased him about being jealous. Eren didn't quite understand. There was nothing to be jealous of.
He and Erwin weren't anything, were they?
'Eren! I'm glad I got you at the right time! I hope I'm not disturbing anything.' Erwin asked down the phone as Eren sat on the couch, his spine curling in a position only a student or teenager could muster, watching some god-awful TV show.
'No, you're not disturbing at all.' Eren tried not to let on just how glad he was that he really was doing nothing. Lately, he and Erwin had definitely grown closer. Maybe a little too close. They both tended to ignore that.
They also tended to ignore just how close Eren and Levi were getting as well. Levi tended to be angry in chats or, at least, simplistic in his messages but there was no doubt that something about Eren was changing him. His honesty was still there but he put it across gentler. He wasn't as blunt and harsh. His crude jokes had become more subtle and less in your face.
They were all changing.
And, it was all because of Eren.
Mike had never been doing better at school. Petra had never been complaining less. Levi had never opened up as much. Erwin had never smiled so much in his life. And Hanji, she was crazier than ever.
And, despite that never having been a good thing. They couldn't help but smile at her craziness, now.
'That's good. Are you free for the rest of the evening?' Eren gave the all-clear and it was planned that they would once again meet up. And, this time, there was no excuse of party planning. Which was actually going rather well. The sponsors were already piling up as well as the guest list.
Eren, cringing at the awful memories of last time, decided to relax on this. He had been reassured that although Erwin was taking him to a restaurant, it would be nowhere fancy and he wouldn't have to dress up. And yes, he would definitely be able to understand the menu.
He got changed into what was voted as the best outfit by Mikasa over Skype and ignored the recurring questions about who it was he was going on a date with. He had hung up quickly only to get more texts. He put his phone on silent.
That wasn't such a great idea when he stood outside of his apartment alone, in the cold, with Erwin nowhere in sight. He had been waiting twenty minutes when he checked his phone to find ten missed calls, eight messages. Eight of the calls from Erwin, one from Mikasa and another one from...Levi? Only one of the messages was from Erwin- who he had learnt didn't like to text- whilst the other ones consisted of five from Mikasa and two from Levi.
Mikasa (5) ~
Tell me!
Please!!
Eren, I need to know!
You better answer me, mister.
If you are with the guy now, he is so in trouble. I will not stand for being ignored.
~
Levi (2) ~
Are you free?
You better f*cking answer me, brat.
~
Erwin (1) ~
You won't pick up so I assume you don't have your phone on but I'm really sorry. I am running late. I should be at yours in 30 minutes.
~
The message had been sent fifteen minutes ago. So, Eren decided to stick out the cold, sticking his hands in his pockets and hoping that his jumper was enough to protect him from hypothermia.
When Erwin did arrive, he had never heard a man apologise more. Erwin was usually so calm but it was clear something bad had come up, even if he was covering his tracks well.
'It's fine, Erwin. Really. I was late to our last...' Eren paused, swallowing down the word date. '...meet up. This makes us even.' Eren laughed shyly, sending a small smile to Erwin's face. He smiled every time Eren laughed. He was adorable like that.
Erwin then reverted his eyes to the road and kept silent whilst Eren put his phone back onto ringer and answered the messages, giving Mikasa a small 'go away, that's not why I'm ignoring you' before staring at Levi's messages in confusion.
'I think Levi wants to meet me?' Eren asked, a question rather than a statement. Erwin knew Levi far better than anyone.
'What did he say?' Erwin asked, not looking away from the road but overtly curious.
'Are you free? Followed by, you better f*cking answer me.' Eren couldn't help but laugh slightly before adding, 'brat'. Erwin sighed but chuckled along. 'Well, that's definitely Levi and I do think that's an invitation to meet him. I'm surprised you haven't yet. Am I the only Survey Corps member you've met yet?'
Eren nodded shyly before whispered, 'Scouting Legion.' Erwin only glared at him playfully.
After that, sending Levi 'tomorrow?', everything went rather smoothly. It was quiet but comfortable and the restaurant was delightful, selling a myriad of Asian cuisine- he learnt that that was Erwin's favourite.
It wasn't until the end of the night that things went a bit awol.
And by that, it means terribly, terribly wrong.
'This is my stop.' Eren said, unbuckling his seatbelt and looking over at Erwin with a kind smile.
'I'll walk you to your door.' Was all he replied with, ever the gentleman. They got out slowly and walked in calm synchronisation. When they reached the door, both of them paused, unsure quite what to do.
'I had a really good time.' Eren turned, shyly, not yet getting out his key.
'Me too.' Erwin looked down at him softly, his lips not set in a smile nor a frown. He just looked...gentle. Kind. Just as he had been to Eren over the last weeks.
'I.' Eren stopped himself, looking up to the man above him. He didn't have words anymore. Their eyes were locked together and their lips were only inching apart. Neither stopped what was about to happen. Neither wanted to. It was perfect. A good night kiss for the perfect night.
Their lips brushed, both of them smiling madly against the other's lips. Then, with muster only Erwin could have, he swept Eren into his arms and brought his lips down hard on Eren's.
And then, the moment it all went wrong.
They heard the click before they saw the flash. Erwin was the first to turn, he knew what this was. He knew exactly what this was. How had he not expected this? 'Did someone just take a picture?' Eren said in utter confusion, looking up to the man whose face only represented fear. The realisation dawned upon him. 'That was the paparazzi, wasn't it?' Erwin only nodded.
'They didn't know you were gay, did they?' Erwin only nodded again. 'Sh*t.'
-
Eren had never seen so many people outside his door. Most of them held cameras whilst a few stood with microphones and notepads. It had only been one week. How the hell was he supposed to make it out of this mess?
Last time he left, he could only get out because Levi's body guards had escorted him out. It had ended up quite nicely, though. His inability to go in public meant that he got to stay in Levi's penthouse sweet and dear God was that place nice.
Eren was on his way again, this time without the help of Levi after claiming that the crowd had died down. It was just an excuse not to see his body guards again, they scared him more than he cared to admit. So far, he had avoided the news. He knew what he would see. The scandal had spread quickly and Erwin had barely enough time to apologise between shooting his new film and sorting out this entire mess. Eren had watched a few of the recent interviews and although Erwin was putting on a strong facade, Eren could see the toll it was taking on him. Eren didn't blame him, not at all. They had both been careless and forgotten such a key part of Erwin's life. But, it was neither of their faults. The media had no right to follow them, especially to Eren's home. Even if, legally, they couldn't be prosecuted.
Eren breathed in and out in steady intervals before grabbing his back and opening the door. Per Erwin's advice, that had been sent to him in a hastily written text, he had a baseball cap on and he kept his face low. He didn't speak and only pushed past the interviewers to his car, hoping that his face wouldn't appear on everything from magazines to websites the next day. He couldn't help but feels sorry for his neighbours, most of them students like him. For once, he felt bad for Jean who had been mistaken for Eren a few times in the past.
He quickly pushed his car away from his house and sped to Levi's apartment, hoping he wasn't being tailed. Even if he was, hopefully, it would be fine. There were enough reporters outside Levi's house for the man himself that Eren could get passed it with the help of a few terrifying bodyguards. At least, this time, he wouldn't have the be stuck in a car with them.
He was right. As soon as he left the car, he was escorted by five or so bodyguards into the lift and up to Levi's apartment. Eren let out a sigh and smiled as the doors open and Levi's penthouse was revealed. It was becoming familiar and was beginning to feel like a safe place rather than a foreignness of a stranger's home. He didn't see Levi right away and was greeted by Captain Rivaille, who squished his head against Eren's leg in a sign of affection. Eren smiled even wider and leaned down to rub under the cat's chin. They were soon purring contently as Eren looked around for Levi.
Soon enough, he appeared from around the corner, loosening his tie as he came. 'I still don't understand why he likes you, brat.' Levi's face didn't move an inch but Eren could see the hidden smile in his eyes. He was beginning to see the signs and even if he never saw Levi smile, he would be content in the glint in his eyes he saw whenever he addressed his cat or heard something funny.
Eren just laughed slightly and let the cat run over to Levi, where it did the same. 'Anyway, brat, keep your shoes on, we're going out.'
'W-what?! I can't do that! Neither can you! If I'm seen with you-' he was cut off as Levi sent him a death-worthy glare.
'Shush, kid. Do you think I didn't know that? I know somewhere we can go.' Eren only nodded and followed Levi out of the door.
-
Eren never wanted to drive with Levi ever again. Ever. Eren didn't believe the confirmation that Levi had, in fact, gained his license. Or, at least, Eren decided that he hadn't driven since that test.
He didn't know quite what to say when Levi nearly started driving on the wrong side of the road, leading to him simply gaping at the man like a fish. Levi continued to drive on without even sparing a glance in Eren's direction.
They did, eventually, come to a stop. To which Eren caught his breath and scrambled out of the car for fear of it starting again. At this rate, he was driving them back or he was walking. He would not get in the car with Levi in the driver's seat ever again.
'How have you not got enough points to stop you driving altogether.' Eren panted, his hands on his knees, not bothering to look at where they were.
'Money.' Levi dismissed and stalked off to the left, Eren obediently following behind. It was getting late and the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, blocked by a line of iron warehouses on the left side of the plot.
'Where are we?' Eren asked, finally taking the silence as an opportunity to find his bearings.
'No idea but it's empty.' Eren just stared at him as if he was a lunatic. He was so getting murdered.
'Empty? Why does it have to be empty?' Levi looked back at him in disdain.
'Do you mean you've already forgotten the exact reason that you've had to lock yourself in my apartment, brat?' The realisation dawned upon him and yes, he figured, he probably wasn't going to be murdered. Probably.
The media was hiding around every corner but they could only hope that they would have some peace and quiet in some abandoned work area after hours. 'Did you pick a lock or something to get in here? Do they not have like any security?' Eren asked, kicking some dirt up with his shoe.
'Brat, you saw me drive in. You would have seen me if I did. Security will only be detailed by the actual warehouses. What's anyone going to steal from here, dirt?' Eren had to agree with Levi's testament and followed him to some creaky bench. 'Filthy.' Levi complained, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to dust before Eren even had the chance to sit down. When Levi finally drew away, Eren took it as his invitation to finally sit down.
Levi followed suit and sat next to Eren, folding his legs and leaning back with one arm on the backrest to support him. Eren, feeling slightly serene in the stillness of it all, leant his head against Levi's shoulder and closed his eyes.
'You can see the stars.' Levi stated, seemingly bored but Eren knew better. That glint in his eye was back. That beautiful, fantastic glint. Eren opened his eyes but didn't look up. He could see the stars reflecting in Levi's eyes and that was all he needed.
'Yeah, you can.' He breathed, his face leaning upwards to watch Levi's eyes dart around the darkening sky.
'You're not looking, brat.'
'I am. I'm just not looking where you are.' Eren breathed, too warm and comfortable to think of the situation he had stuck himself in. Levi suddenly drew his eyes from the sky and looked back down at Eren. His face softened as he watched the admiration on Eren's eyes. And, for once in his life, Levi admitted something. He had the capability to fall in love. He hadn't yet, not by a long shot but he knew when he looked into the brat's eyes. He knew. He had the capability of love.
They both leaned in without realising it and neither spoke until their lips were brushing and the wrongness of it all set in. It was the right thing at the wrong time. A misfortune neither decided to dwell on.
'We can't.' Eren spoke shyly, backing away a bit. He thought of Erwin, the guilt he would feel when he saw his face but then, it was as if all dissipated with two simple words spoken from Levi's lips.
'We can.' Their lips crashed together desperately. They adjusted so they were facing each other, stuck in a battle of dominance. And then, to both of their surprise, from behind their closed eyes, they saw a flash of white. They pulled away immediately, looking towards the source of the light. A man, presumably, from the shadow, held his phone up, directed straight towards that.
'You have GOT to be kidding me!'
-
It is confirmed that Levi Ackerman is, in fact, gay. After years of rumours and conspiracies, he has finally be found kissing another man. BUT, more importantly, he was found by an abandoned warehouse kissing the one and only ERWIN's lover. What is going on? What secrets are going on? And, does the other know?
And the one thing the whole nation wants to know. Who is Eren Jaeger?
~Trost Magazine
-
As Eren read the article on his phone, he was close to crying. He looked down at this buzzing phone to see that Mikasa was calling him again and despite the knowledge that it would only make him feel worse, he picked up hoping to hear a familiar voice whilst he locked himself away in his apartment.
It had been three days since he kissed Levi. Over a week since he had kissed Erwin. And, over an hour since he last broke down.
'Eren Jaeger! What the HELL are you thinking!' Eren stared down at the screen, not bothering to turn on speaker for how loud Mikasa's voice was and watched as the chat room went crazy with notification. Everyone but him, Levi and Erwin were on, making theories on what happened. He didn't dare read Hanji's crazy conspiracies but was glad to see Petra's sense as Mikasa yelled down the receiver.
'Huh?' He asked when the voice stopped, turning on speaker hoping that maybe she had just quieted down.
'I asked you a question, mister! You better be listening!' Mikasa threatened and instead of turning off speaker, Eren turned down the volume to none but one. Eren hummed, a vague answer to whatever she had asked only gaining him a sigh.
'Eren, what's happened?' Eren looked down at his phone, the tears welling in his eyes again.
'I don't know, Mikasa. I really don't know.' He held in a sob but it was clear enough just how upset he was.
'Are you alright, Eren?' Mikasa worried on the other end of the line. 'God, I regret moving this far away. If only we had moved together and this all would have been sorted-'
'Stop, Mikasa. This isn't your fault. This is mine. You couldn't have done anything to stop it, anyway. You would only have got caught up in it yourself.' Eren breathed in and out, letting the tears flow down his cheeks.
'Eren, you know you can cry if you want to. You don't have to hold it in.' Mikasa's soothing voice came down the receiver and Eren broke down. One hour, that was a record. He let the sobs take him over as he held onto his stomach, trying to breathe. Mikasa continued to talk, trying to soothe him, shouting at whoever came into her room to 'go away! I'm doing something important!'.
When Eren recovered, Mikasa finally hung up, saying to call whenever he needed. He agreed and watched as the call faded out and was replaced with even more notifications from the chat. He picked up his phone with shaky hands and looked down at it. He unlocked it but didn't open the chatroom, only watching the messages as they came through on his notifications.
Erwin was there as was Levi. 'We've decided something.' Erwin wrote, followed by, 'this will all be solved soon'. Levi agreed, saying that 'we have it sorted out' and with that, Eren felt the guilt hang lighter. He still had plenty to apologise for but at least, he knew they had talked through it and if he was lucky, it wouldn't end in a punch to someone's face.
He switched off his phone and threw it the floor carelessly and watched the wall mindlessly until there was knock at his door. Odd, he thought. Despite the constant personnel standing outside, no one had ever dared knock. Warily, he looked through the peep hole to see the two most unlikely candidates standing outside.
Quickly, though, he opened the door and ushered them inside to let them avoid the flashing of the cameras and the bombardment of pointless questions. Eren slammed the door shut, staring at the two in a mix of guilt, awe and fear. Neither seemed all too angry, just as tired as before. 'W-why are you here?' He stammered, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly.
'We came to talk, Eren.' Erwin spoke calmly, emotionlessly. Eren scavenged for any sort of feeling but found nothing. It was like he was staring at the wall again. Hastily, he wiped at his cheeks, trying to cover that he had been crying but it was clear enough that they already knew by the way Levi stared at his cheeks, just as emotionless.
'Oh, okay. Well, sit down.' He motioned to the couch and let both the men stride over, sitting down. They emitted confidence and poise in everything they did and Eren's inferiority complex returned as he took a chair opposite the pair, feeling small despite being very much in between both men's heights.
'Um, before you begin...' Eren took a breath, he had to do this. 'I want to apologise. For everything. This whole scandal thing is my fault and I shouldn't have-'
'What?' It was Levi who watched him in utter confusion. He looked at Eren before moving to watch Erwin's face who looked like he was calculating some sort of plan. Erwin just looked lost. That was a first. Erwin always had a plan and if not, Levi definitely had some sort of impulse that he would go off. But no, both sat in silence.
Eren was about to continue when Levi raised a single finger, motioning for him to stop. 'No, don't even continue that.' He spoke calmly but his statement was undoubtedly an order so, with little hesitation, Eren shut up and gazed at his lap. After a minute of deafening silence, Erwin spoke up.
'We came here to apologise, Eren but you've thrown us off here. What do you have to apologise for?' Eren stared up at them incredulously.
'I mean, I kind of started a scandal.' He looked at Erwin and Levi who looked at him as if he had just told them he was an alien.
'You did what?' Levi spat, leaning forward in his seat. 'Eren do you realise that none of this was at fault of you? Think it through. If it were not for my and Erwin's positions, this would not be happening at all. Erwin, as I've heard, was the one to initiate the kiss, as was I. You were the one that got caught up in all of this, Eren. You didn't do anything wrong. And if anything, it's the media's fault for being nosy pigs.' Eren, despite his shock, couldn't help but snort at Levi's comment. He didn't think Levi would ever drop the crude humour.
'It's true, Eren. This isn't your fault.' Erwin followed up to show that he too agreed with Levi's statement.
'So...so you're not angry?' Eren asked shyly, letting a wan smile onto his face. Erwin chuckled whilst Levi smirked.
'No, Eren, we're not angry at you at all.'
'Oh, thank god!' He breathed out and rushed towards them, wrapping them both up in either arm. It took a full few seconds before he realised what he was doing and rushed back to his seat, staring awkwardly at his lap again. Erwin chuckled again and Eren looked up to see a warm smile on his face, Levi's smile- or as much as a smile as he would ever have- was still there too.
'We had to talk about another thing too, Eren.' Erwin spoke again, his smile getting slightly larger. 'We both like you Eren. And as much as Levi won't admit it, we might just be falling for you.' Eren gaped at the two of them. 'But, we won't risk losing you for another so we decided, that if you were willing, we would like to try something. Do you know what polyamory is, Eren?' He nodded enthusiastically, knowing exactly where this was going. 'Well, we would like to try it.'
'Yes! Yes! YES!' He squealed, repeating his earlier movements and wrapping them both in a warm hug. 'I think this is the best thing to ever happen to me.' He whispered into their shoulders causing Erwin to laugh and on Eren's left, he felt someone's shoulders shaking. Levi's hand was on his face, trying to cover the smile that was playing on his face but Eren was having none of it. He pulled his hand away from his face and watched Levi's lips quirk up into an awkward smile. Eren had never seen something better in his life.
'I made Levi smile! I MADE HIM SMILE!' He squealed and Levi only smiled more as Erwin almost rolled over from laughing so hard but couldn't help but stare at Levi too as Levi tried to withhold his laughter.
Eren began to laugh too and squeezed his arms harder around them, whispering a quiet 'thank you'.
-
The party planning was finally finished and two weeks after the 'talk' at Eren's house, it was finally taking place. They had found a hotel on the west side of the city which was large enough to fit their large audience and had brought in decorators to do the rest for them.
Eren didn't know quite what he was supposed to do but he was told to wear a suit, which he had to go out and buy, and arrive at six o'clock sharp. Levi had made sure to add that if he was late, he was a dead man. Since seeing him smile, though, his threats didn't seem all that dangerous.
As told, he reached the venue at 5:59, hoping that he wasn't going to be told off for being a minute early or something ridiculous like that. Levi was unpredictable, anything could happen. And, if he hadn't had enough reporters outside his door already, the ones at this venue were in larger numbers and it was almost impossible to decipher their questions.
He stepped out of his car, which looked out of place amongst the shiny sports cars, and walked down the red carpet that had been rolled out for the guests. Feeling shy, he kept his head down like usual until a spritely Petra ran up to him in a beautiful, red dress that flew down to the floor like a waterfall.
'Eren! It's so nice to meet you!' She spoke excitedly, wrapping him in a hug, causing the flashes to go crazy. He really hoped a hug wasn't enough to cause another scandal. He didn't want to be known as the guy who went out with everyone.
'Same here. That dress looks amazing by the way.' Eren added, smiling gently at the shorter girl.
'And you look dashing in that suit. Should we go inside?' She asked and Eren nodded, holding his head a bit higher as the cameras followed him inside. The doors shut behind him before he heard the squeals and at exactly six o'clock, the men of the hour walked in, the cameras seemingly brighter than before. The questions shouted louder than ever. Erwin and Levi walked in side by side, their demeanour as calm as ever. But, as they saw Eren, a small smile appeared on both of their faces- Levi's much more inconspicuous than Erwin's.
'Hello, Eren.' Erwin introduced himself as if they were strangers but that look on his face was something Eren had seen far too many times. Erwin was planning something. Something big. Levi was less formal just addressing him with a simple 'brat' to which Eren smiled and gave him the same in reply: 'Levi'.
After that, Eren was introduced to both Hanji and Mike in person and Eren was shocked to see just how tall Mike was. If he had to guess, he would say the man was in his late thirties, not early twenties. Hanji, like the woman she was, wrapped him up in a lung-crushing hug but let him go with a warning glare from Levi.
'Protective of him already I see.' Hanji winked, raising her eyebrows up and down separately, running away gleefully when Levi came after her. When Petra and Mike went to say their welcomes to the guests, Erwin and Eren were finally alone in some forgotten corner. They didn't dare try anything as the media was still just outside but it did give them at least a semblance of privacy.
'What are you planning, Erwin?' Eren sighed as he saw Erwin smirk at the crowd.
'Oh, that's nothing to worry yourself with yet, Eren. You'll see. And, I think you'll like it.' With that, Erwin left, leaving Eren gobsmacked and feeling a bit lonely. He had at least wanted to talk. Sighing, Eren scanned the crowd and smiled at the guests he had curated last minute. In his strop, he had forgotten about the party and it had all been a bit last minute but it couldn't have turned out better. He was proud of himself.
With an awkward ring, the microphone was turned on and all attention went to the main stage at the back of the room. By now, most of the guests had arrived and there was nothing left to wait for. On the stage, leaning down to speak into the microphone, was Erwin.
'Hello, everyone. I hope you can all hear me.' He gave them a blisteringly bright smile, one only an actor could pull off. 'I wanted to welcome you to this charity event and also clear up a few things. I hope by the end of the night, all our sponsors will be glad to have donated and if you would like any more information, the organisers all have a stamp on their hand,' Eren looked down and finally understood why someone had come up to him and stamped his hand whilst he had been waiting for Erwin and Levi, 'but, on another note, I would like to address something much different. I am sorry for drawing our eyes away from charity but if you would not like to hear what I have to say, feel free to go on with your own business, there is plenty of food and drink to spare.' Nobody moved; Erwin smiled. He waved his hands and suddenly the doors were opened and the reporters let in. Eren stared in shock but Erwin looked as composed as ever. This was part of this plan. Eren couldn't help but be curious as to what it was.
Suddenly, Levi was on stage. Eren looked at him, wondering how he had appeared so suddenly but it was Levi, there was little point asking questions. Not now, not when his other questions were all too overpowering.
Erwin began to speak again. 'Lately, as most of you have probably seen, Levi and I have been in the news a lot. We have been the source of many theories and gossip and I finally want to clear everything up. Eren can you please come up to the stage.' Eren didn't know if he was moving his legs but it did feel as if the stage was drawing closer. Almost unwillingly, his legs moved up the stairs and to where Erwin and Levi stood. He had never been one to get stage fright but looking out at the crowd, he was sure he was going to faint. A hand on his back was his only reassurance.
'Feel free to leave if this makes you uncomfortable but I hope with this, people will become more aware that this isn't something that doesn't happen. Dating more than one person, also known as polyamory, is just as valid a relationship as a monogamous one. And, on top of that, yes, Levi and I are both homosexuals. And, we are both dating Eren Jaeger.' Eren froze to the spot, looking between them frantically but they only looked confident in their actions and as the cameras flashed, they leant round and both of their lips locked onto Eren's.
-
It is confirmed that BOTH Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith are dating Eren Jaeger, a twenty-year-old born and raised within the city. They are hoping to make people more aware of polyamorous relationships and have said that they are always willing to explain to people just how their relationship works.
In an interview, Eren himself said 'I love them both, that's just how it is. It's nothing more complicated than that.'
They now have gained a heavy social-media following and post regularly on Eren's account: @jaegerbomb. When asked about the name Erwin replied with: 'the name was the reason we met. We thought that it was the most fitting name. Although I admit, Levi did argue against it.'
The three of them are living happily and apparently, Eren's lack of status has had no effect on their relationship due to the media's recent questions. It is becoming clear just how little it matters as each and every single one of them has said the same statement when asked. 'We're in love. That's all that matters.'
~Trost Magazine, follow @tr.magazine or @jaegerbomb to find out more.
word count: 12,926
published: 07.08.17