Glancing at her watch, Xora read 23:59, the manor dark as she leaned her back against the wall beside the front door. Shortly after Levi had dismissed her earlier that day, Eren had delivered what would be the most casual outfit Xora had worn in years.
It consisted of a simple white tank and a pair of khaki cuffed shorts. On her feet she donned dark brown boots, and her wrists and ears were decorated with gold jewelry.
"Interesting," Levi commented, jerking Xora out of her thoughts. She looked up, bowing in greeting as he approached from the balcony. "I see Eren is going out of his way with your costumes. It's not a bad choice."
"Yes, sir," Xora said briskly, lifting her head. In truth, Levi looked to be the well-dressed on, wearing black jeans and a collared shirt. His hair was ruffled and unkempt, the complete opposite the night of the gala at the Louvre.
"Before we leave, I have something to give you," he noted. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ring. A beautiful, cube-shaped diamond the size of a pencil eraser was encrusted onto an intricately engraved gold band, floral patterns etched into the metal.
"A ring?" Xora asked. Her eyes went straight to Levi's in suspicion that he was messing with her naivety, but by the way his deathly pale cobalt eyes glittered, she could see he was by no means joking around. He took her hand, but Xora shook her head. "I know our false identities are supposed to be wed, but with all due respect, it wasn't necessary for you to go out of your way to find a ring."
Levi snorted. "You misunderstand. These were specially made from the Iridescent Empire. They're communication devices; if you push down on the diamond, it sends a signal directly to a ring I'm wearing and alerts me of your location." Reaching into his pocket again, he pulled out a ring that looked exactly like the one for Xora, except it lacked the gigantic diamond. "Of course, it will be helpful in maintaining the consistency of our disguises, but it's also a tool. It can only be used once, because after it gives out the signal, it self-destructs after a certain period of time. Save it to use in the case of an emergency."
After Levi slipped his ring on his left ring finger, he held out his hand expectantly. Reluctantly, Xora reached over and let him take hold of her left hand. His touch was surprisingly gentle, his hands warm as he held hers. Slowly, he slid the ring onto her finger, his fingertips softly brushing against her skin.
"There," Levi murmured softly, lifting her hand to his face. "It's the perfect fit, mon amour." Then, before Xora could react, Levi pressed his lips to the pale skin of her knuckles, sending sparks through her body where they met her skin. Xora winced when he did so, reflectively retracting her hand behind her back.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked. When she didn't respond, he let out a small sigh. "You must get used to this. When we are in front of others, even the smallest mistake creates room for disaster."
"I'm sorry," Xora apologized, casting a gaze of shame to the ground. "I am giving it my best, Captain. Although socially inept, I will continue to strive to get better."
"Do you need more practice?" After a few silent moments of frantic contemplating, Xora gulped audibly and slowly nodded once ever so slightly.
"Y—yes," she stuttered.
"It's alright. With me, there's no need to be afraid." He took a step toward her, and it took everything in her not to take one back. "Where do you want to start? I could touch you, embrace you, kiss you—"
"A hug," Xora interjected, flushing when he dared to venture as far as kissing. Did people normally kiss others they had only met weeks ago? Did people normally kiss at all? "Embrace me." Shutting her eyes tight, Xora braced herself.
Levi stepped forward again, venturing even closer, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pressed her close to his chest, allowing her to feel his gentle heartbeat. Overwhelmed, Xora froze. His warmth was soft like a blanket, and cozy, like curling up beside a fireplace to read a book. For a reason she couldn't place, it was as if she'd felt this before—this warmth, and this feeling—but it was too far away for her to grasp.
"When someone embraces you, it's normal for you to hung them back," Levi instructed, his hot breath tickling Xora's ear. Her shoulders stiffened, but she mustered up enough courage to wiggle her arms out from between their bodies, wrapping them around him. In the back of her head, she heard a haunting reminder to never grow attached to anyone... but she couldn't resist.
They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity.
"Am I doing a good job?" Xora whispered, flustered.
Levi clicked his tongue, giving Xora a tight squeeze for a few more moments before he finally let go. "You did it perfectly, but you ruined the moment. I was enjoying myself, Xora." His words left Xora with her jaw hanging, but he strode out of the front door without another glance backward. Blinking in awe, Xora was wordless, dragging her feet sluggishly behind her as she slipped outside and shut the door.
He was a strange man.
---
The ride to the private club in the beautiful city of Paris was not a long one—precisely nineteen minutes as Xora had counted. It was all she could focus on doing as she tried frantically to collect her thoughts. Levi thanked the driver before opening the door, taking Xora's hand in his. As the car pulled away, she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, settling her buzzing nerves. Going to a formal gala was one thing; going to a club where there would be blaring music, dancing crowds, and alcohol was another.
"You'll be fine," Levi reassured her, winding their fingers together. The motion made Xora's shoulders stiffen, but she relaxed her face and limbs as best as she could. "Just remember to stick by me, and don't take anything anyone gives you, no matter what." She gave him a small nod and together, they entered the club, into the nightlife.
The moment Xora stepped into the dark building, an explosion of lights bombarded her view, temporarily blinding her. She raised an arm to cover her face, overwhelmed with the thrumming bass of an energetic song. The atmosphere was stuffy and suffocating, the sour smell of human sweat and bitter alcohol burning the inside of her nostrils. Levi pulled on her arm, their fingers still tightly woven together. She was thankful to have a least one familiar thing nearby.
As Levi pulled her through the swaying bodies of dancing people, he occasionally turned to shout something to Xora, but the music was much too loud, leaving her to read what she could off of his lips. With the flickering colorful strobe lights, though, she could recognize nothing.
Finally, the couple reached the very back of the vast room where a section was barred off by a red rope, a large bodyguard standing beside the entrance. Looking past the guard, Xora could spot the VIP section filled with many intoxicated people. She made eye contact with none other than the host, Alan Clark, and he sauntered over immediately, the red wine in his glass sloshing from side to side with every step he took.
"Seraphina!" Alan greeted with a large grin, shoving the bodyguard out of the way to meet her. "Fancy meeting you here. I'm so glad you came." Leaning forward, he took her hand and placed a slippery kiss on her knuckles, a trace of the wine left on her pale skin.
"I must thank you for the invitation," Seraphina thanked him in seamless French, bowing her head. "But I must admit that I don't go to these kinds of events that often. Are you doing well? Did something happen to your face?" Alan flushed when Xora pointed out the small bandage concealed with makeup on his cleft chin, a result of their clash from the other night at the Louvre. Pulling on a very forced smile, Alan's eyes glittered with faint irritation as he shook his head in denial. Her grip on Levi's hand tightened greatly as Alan leaned in closer, the smell alcohol strongly overpowering.
"Why don't you introduce us to some of your friends?" Levi urged, stepping in front of Xora. His eyes darkened the moment they met the Alan's. "My wife, Seraphina, would love to meet some of your colleagues."
"Why, of course, Mr. Rivaille,," Alan trilled, his hungry gaze flickering back to Xora's before he turned, whipping the tail of his jacket. Beckoning them forward, they slowly trekked their way through a masses of people, but luckily, there were much fewer people in the VIP section than out on the public dance floor.
First, Alan led the two over to a pudgy man sitting in the farthest left corner of the VIP section. Beside him sat two women dressed in bright red lingerie, giggling over the man whilst he sprinkled wads of euros over them.
"Alan!" the man greeted with a crooked smile, showing cracked, yellow teeth. He snickered and chugged down the rest of his deep brown drink, handing the glass to the woman on his right to refill. "Is this the beautiful doll you told me about? She most certainly does not match up to my gorgeous Stella and Lissette!"
Xora watched as Levi's brow twitched in irritation, but he was masterful in maintaining his poker face. However, the grip on her hand did not loosen.
"Jacque Germaine," Alan laughed, pointing at the woman to his left. "Seraphina is more beautiful than all of your twenty women, combined!" Turning to Levi and Xora, Alan waved a hand to the large man with lustrous eyes, Jacque's beady gaze slithering up and down Xora's frame. "Rivaille, Seraphina, this is Jacque Germaine, the owner of Wellworks Incorporated. He is one of the top competitors for the Mona Lisa, like me, but despite the competition, we have been the greatest of friends since childhood."
"How wonderful," Xora remarked, pulling on the most believable smile she could.
"Ah!" Jacque exclaimed as one of his partners returned, handing over another refilled glass into his sausage-like fingers. His wide eyes were glued onto Xora's grinning face, his dark cheeks turning a deeper red. "I see it. She really is quite the beauty, Alan!"
Unexpectedly, he stood, his height towering far beyond that of Levi's and Xora's. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat, his other hand grabbing Xora's. Pulling out a very thick wad of money, he placed it into the palm of Xora's hand, a sly grin on his thin lips.
"My beautiful Seraphina," the man spoke with a curdling, deep voice. "My beautiful Seraphina. Why don't you accompany me for the night? I assure you that you will be well-fed and well-entertained, not to mention well-paid. I'm sure you must be a bit... bored with what you've got now."
Levi's jaw dropped and he look ready to fight, but Xora stopped him; it seemed the pudgy man had misinterpreted the situation, but perhaps she could use this to her advantage.
"I would be delighted," Xora cooed, grinning her forced smile again. "But for tonight, we will do whatever it is I wish. How does that sound?"
Jacque's round face lit up the moment her answer reached his ears, and using his thick fingers, he wrapped Xora's thin ones around the wad of money before turning away, striding towards a door at the other side of the room. "Wonderful, wonderful! Then I will meet you in private room number four."
Patting off her shirt, Xora slipped the cash into her back pocket before she turned to go after the man. Levi followed her obediently, without surprise.
"What the hell are you doing?" he growled, the gray in his eyes simmering. "Why did you accept that—that preposterous offer so eagerly?"
"I have a plan," Xora whispered lowly under her breath. "Hange packed me some truth serum. I don't intend to do anything with this man besides talk. I'll try to pull as much intel out of him as possible."
"And what if he tries to do something to you?"
"I ask you to place some of your faith into me." With that, Xora gave his hand one last squeeze before she turned, her hair swaying as she made her way over to private room number four.