Chapter Text
Eren’s footsteps echoed off the tightly packed buildings that lined the dark and twisting lanes of Shinganshina’s Old Quarter. Over his head, the old walls seemed to lean in towards each other, blocking out what little light the moonless night sky might have offered.
Even the sound of his own breathing seemed loud – too loud – against the otherwise absolute silence surrounding him.
He almost missed the whistle of the icy winter winds that had been – right up until they abruptly died off a couple of blocks back - making him wish he’d thrown on more than an old sweatshirt over the thin tee and worn jeans he’d been wearing when Hanji had convinced him this was a good idea, and that he should go right away.
And now he was cold, epically lost, and a little freaked out.
Slowly, his feet came to a halt. He bit his lip, staring into the inky darkness ahead, and then glanced quickly around at the silent storefronts on either side of him.
This wouldn’t usually have been all that big a deal - the dark had never scared him, particularly, and he could see well enough to get by. What was really bothering him was that, despite the complete silence and stillness around him, he just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that he wasn’t alone.
This part of town had been built by people who’d never imagined things like electricity, vehicles wider than a horse drawn carriage, or mobile phones with GPS, and nothing much had noticeably changed over the past few centuries. These days, the Old Quarter was a maze of narrow walking streets, packed with tiny shops and quiet houses, all tucked away behind Shingnashina’s brightly lit city center with its clubs, bars and restaurants, and its shiny new multi-story mall.
And yet, Eren knew the businesses out here did pretty well. This part of town was – by all accounts - usually packed with tourists and shoppers during the day.
Not now, of course. No self-respecting pedestrian would think of coming out here at half past midnight on a Tuesday night. And no self-respecting shop would think of being open.
And yet, one was. Supposedly. If he could just find it.
Eren glanced down at the scribbled slip of paper in his hand.
Ackerman’s place, Tunnbridge Lane, big black door. Creepy. Can’t miss it.
What the hell had made him think this was a good idea? He’d been grasping at straws.
But if it worked out, it would solve all his problems. Or a few of the larger ones, anyway.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped closer to the store front nearest him. The lack of light didn’t keep him from clearly making out the numbers above the door, but that wasn’t all that helpful. He thought he was on Tunnbridge Lane, but that worn signpost he’d followed six or seven blocks back could have been meant for any one of three streets leading off from the intersection.
He’d only picked this one because it seemed the best lit. Clearly, he’d been wrong.
He let out a long sigh, and reached into his pocket for his phone. The GPS was of no use in this part of town – he’d tried – but he could at least call Hanji and ask for better directions.
A glow of light at the edge of his vision had his hand going still. He turned his head, squinted, and then quickly walked back the way he’d come.
He hadn’t noticed when he’d walked by the first time, and even now, following the faint light, he almost missed it again – a gap between two of the buildings.
Edging around the trash can half blocking the entrance, Eren stared down the length of a long, narrow alleyway. The blank, windowless walls on either side bowed out a little and some kind of mist seemed to be hanging in the air, making it hard to see much of the other end. If he squinted, he could just make out the top of a single, brightly shining, streetlamp.
A steetlight meant there was, most likely, another street at the end of the alley, and maybe that street would be Tunnbridge Lane.
Or he might get even more lost.
Eren glanced back into the shadows behind him, darker now that he had the light ahead to compare. There was no sign of movement, no noise, and yet he still felt eyes watching him.
Without hesitation, he turned and walked into the long, narrow alleyway.
It wasn’t until he was about halfway through that Eren heard the first footstep behind him. He was almost relieved when he stopped, looked over his shoulder – at least he’d have a face to attach to the feeling.
A soft gust of wind rushed past him, carrying a hint of cold rain and dispersing most of the lingering mist. The alleyway was completely empty.
One slow blink later, Eren turned back around and carried on walking.
When he heard another step, and another, he walked faster. The pace behind him was a little off, somehow. He couldn’t figure out how fast the other person was going, or how close behind him the footsteps were.
He’d almost reached the far end of the alley, could clearly see the cobblestones in the street ahead of him, when he heard something that sounded remarkably like his name. Almost without thinking he stopped again, turned back around.
“Who’s there?”
His eyes studied every inch of brick, stone, and wall, the light at his back highlighting the complete absence of anyone.
A long beat of silence passed, and then someone laughed.
Eren ran.
His feet thudded over cobbled stone. He was too focused on getting away to take in much detail, but could tell the new street was wider, much better lit than the one he’d left. And best of all, directly ahead of him, he saw a pair of narrow, lighted shop windows on either side of a big, black, door.
He didn’t bother to glance behind him as he dove across the street, yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind him.
He stood, gripping the door handle, trying to catch his breath, listening for any sound whoever it was had come after him.
“Who the hell are you?”
The hard voice had Eren jumping, though he didn’t release his white knuckle grip on the door. He looked up, for the first time registering the man standing in the middle of the room.
Black hair, pale, pale skin, and what might have been a strikingly beautiful face if it hadn’t been set into a deep scowl. The man took a step in his direction, and Eren might have tried to back up if he’d had anywhere to go. He was almost petite, a good foot or more shorter than Eren, and yet gave off the most threatening aura.
“You don’t want to try stealing from me.”
Eren’s eyes widened, and he shook his head urgently. “No, no. I’m sorry. I just…I thought someone was following me.” He let go of the door, taking a deliberate step to the side so he wasn’t blocking it anymore. “This was the first place I saw so I…”
His words trailed off as he suddenly realized where he must be. He glanced back at the door. Big and black. And around at the small waiting room they stood in, full of dark woods, black leather couches, and deep velvet curtains.
It could definitely, firmly, qualify as creepy.
“Ah, this wouldn’t happen to be Ackerman’s Photography, would it?”
One thin eyebrow arched up. “Yes.”
“So that means you must be…Levi Ackerman?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, good.” No, wait. Not good. This plan was so not going to work. This Levi would see through him in an instant. He’d expected someone more…creaky. From Hanji’s description he’d expected an eccentric, grey-haired old man.“I was trying to find you, this place. But then I heard someone following me and-”
A loud clanking sound, somewhere above his head, made Eren jump. He whirled around, his arms up and ready to defend.
And then he let them drop, watching with amazement as a large black bird ducked in through what looked like the avian equivalent of a cat-flap.
The bird – a raven, Eren thought, as he’d never seen a crow with quite such a beaked nose, or anything like this one’s size - hopped onto the end of the small platform set into the wall, and then dove down to a stand, clearly meant for its use on the counter next to Levi.
And then both bird and man stood, or perched, studying Eren, while Eren started to wonder if this was all actually a dream.
It was possible. Levi, now that he’d stopped frowning, looked a little unreal. His almost delicately beautiful features were only enhanced by the pure white of his shirt and the starkly plain black suit he wore. His fitted pants were tucked into low, heeled boots, each embroidered with a silver snake that twisted around his calves.
And then there was that bird.
As if it knew his thoughts, the raven looked Eren straight in the eye, opened its beak, and let out an oddly distinct sound. Not quite a bird call, but rather a short, low cluck that might, in an echoing alleyway, sound something like a footstep.
Eren’s mouth fell open.
The raven flapped its wings, let out a rasping call that this time sounded remarkably like a laugh. A short, harsh laugh, just like the one Eren had heard in that same alleyway.
“No way. That was you?”
Cackling, the bird hopped off the stand, and stepped to the edge of the counter until he could nudge at Levi’s arm. Without a word, Levi pulled a small plastic bag from his pocket, picked out a fat seed, and held it out in the palm of his hand. He still said nothing as the bird carefully took the seed, and then dropped off the edge of the counter and flapped across to a tall stand that took up the entirety of one corner of the room.
Eren turned wide eyes back to Levi. “Your bird-”
“He’s not mine.” Levi’s voice was abrupt.
Almost against his will, Eren’s eyes flicked down to the hand currently tucking away the bag of seeds.
Levi followed Eren’s gaze, and then scowled. “He’s not mine.” He repeated, firmly. “He just won’t leave.”
Eren only just restrained himself from glancing back at the convenient, clearly custom-built bird-flap above the door. “What’s his name?”
“Gix.” Levi spoke quickly, and then scowled.
Eren didn’t dare smile, but he wanted to.
He must not have hidden his amusement well enough, as Levi’s expression was a little suspicious when he spoke again. “You said you were looking for me?”
“Oh, right.” Distracted, Eren patted at his pocket, and then pulled out the scrap of paper with the useless address, and a folded envelope. He held out the envelope to Levi. “This is from Hanji. I’m Eren.”
Levi stared at the envelope for a long second, before reluctantly taking it from Eren. He didn’t open it, but held between two fingers as he looked back up at Eren. “Why.”
It really hadn’t sounded like a question. Eren blinked. “Why?”
“Why did you come here?”
Eren opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He couldn’t really think of a plausible lie, and the truth was impossible.
But maybe blunt honesty, to a point, would be ok. “I kind of need a job, really quickly, because I lost my last job a couple weeks ago and I have to pay rent yesterday. But it has to be at night, because I can only work nights, with time to do my homework, and there have to be other people around but sometimes I’m bad with people so it needs to be someplace where it doesn’t matter if I get mad at customers and Hanji said you might actually like that, because you’re even more terrible with people so…”
He saw Levi’s eyes narrpw at that, and flinched a little, internally. Less blunt honesty, okay. “Um. I’m good at cleaning, because those are pretty much the only jobs I’ve ever managed to keep for long. Hanji said I should tell you that, specifically.”
“Why do you have to have other people around?”
Shit. He hadn’t meant to mention that part. “I, uh, get lonely?” And of course that sounded not at all convincing.
But Levi just eyed him for another long second, and then, without a word, turned and walked away.
Eren stared after his retreating back as he stepped through the heavy black velvet curtains separating the waiting area from the rest of the building. He thought he heard paper ripping, and hoped it was Levi opening the envelope and not shredding it.
He’d give it a half hour. If Levi didn’t come back, he’d head home.
Even the thought made his stomach sink. He glanced around. The room, despite its slightly disturbing atmosphere, felt oddly welcoming. Framed photographs hung on the walls, lighted by spotlights set into the ceiling, leaving warm, comfortable shadows in the rest of the room.
Eren could already imagine himself setting up his computer behind that long, cherry wood counter, or stretching out on the soft leather couches. In between doing whatever other work Levi needed, of course.
But he liked it here, already. Plus, for some reason, he was a little curious about Levi.
Gix let out a snort.
Pulled from his thoughts, Eren looked over his shoulder and found the bird watching him.
Evidently no longer interested now that he had Eren’s attention, Gix turned back to a stuffed animal – maybe a bear – tied to one of the pegs of his massive stand, and started enthusiastically tearing the thing apart.
As Gix’s growls filled the room, Eren had to shake his head at the irony of the situation. This was the type of place he’d usually avoid. He’d never have felt safe letting anyone spot him anywhere this…gothic, but now he was starting to think that had been a mistake.
After all, anyone seeing him next to Levi would never think he was a vampire.
--
“What the hell are you trying to do here, Hanji?”
Hanji laughed. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist him.”
Levi scowled, shifting in the office chair he used when he had to do what paperwork he couldn’t avoid. “I can resist him just fine. That’s why I’m calling. What are you up to?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Hanji’s voice was light, innocent, and completely unbelievable. “Just calling in a favor. Eren’s one of my neighbors, I like him, and he needs a job. He can be your receptionist.”
“I don’t need a receptionist. That last one nearly got me arrested.”
“Sure you do. And Eren is nothing like that…whatever that was. He probably wouldn’t even call the cops if he found you actually sacrificing someone, and not just doing a fancy photoshoot.”
“Hanji, I’m doing fine without anyone else here, I don’t need him.”
She snorted. “When was the last time you checked your voicemail? And before you say ‘no one important ever leaves a voicemail’, when was the last time you had a full night of work scheduled, and everyone turned up on time?”
Levi rubbed at his forehead. “I still don’t need-”
“And when did you last do your accounts?”
“I’ll do them later. Besides, I’m not having some kid do my accounts.”
“Uh huh. He’s studying to be an accountant, by the way.”
“He’s not touching my accounts.”
“Fine. He can clean so you have more time to do them.”
“I like cleaning. It keeps things from smelling. You should try it sometimes.”
Hanji just laughed, unoffended. “Don’t worry. I just know you’ll fall in lo-” She cut herself off with a loud cough, and then continued. “I just know you’ll like him. Give him a chance.”
“What are you planning, Hanji?”
“Oh, look. I gotta go.”
“Hanji.”
“Levi. Just give him a job”
Sighing, Levi rubbed at the back of his neck. “Fine. But you owe me.”
“Uh-huh.” Hanji was silent for a long second, and then let out a loud peal of laughter. “But I’m pretty sure you’re going to owe me for this one, in the end.”