The Transtempus Penalty (ERERI//RIREN)

Chapter 37 . 1996

Alright, y'all. Here ya go. In a few moments, you may be thinking to yourself "WTF." And my response to that is: "Fair enough." Things are taking a steady nosedive as of right now, but don't worry, we aren't at the bottom yet ;)

Enjoyyy~

The sheer amount of terror I felt shaking the hand of Levi's defense attorney was enough to leave a mark on my mind for the rest of my life. If I hadn't been so aware of my quickening heartbeat and clammy palms, I would have thought I was having a nightmare. Unfortunately consciousness was deafening in that particular moment, and I could scarcely find the air to breathe with.

"Good evening, Ms. Zoe," I said quietly, pulling my lips into a thin smile, all the while trying to avoid too much scrutiny from the woman standing before me. If I had ever seen another person channel Levi in a simple facial expression, it paled in comparison to the icy dead stare Hanji was dealing me.

"Please follow me," Hanji instructed, straightening her back almost to the point of hyperextension before strutting forward like she was the only rooster in a chicken coop. I could feel the ice begin to spread through my body, washing me through with the gnawing fear that Farlan and Isabel had set me up. She led me through the corridors of the prison Levi had been in before his trip to the hospital and out the front door.

Much to my surprise, once I stepped outside, the sun was still high in the sky and the consuming humidity saturated every inch of my skin that wasn't already damp with cold sweat. Outside of the prison gates, idling in the parking lot was a black Bentley Continental. I could not see into the tinted windows, but I slid into the back seat when Hanji took the passenger seat, doing anything to avoid talking to the woman.

Once the man in the driver's seat began to pull out of the driveway, Hanji spun around in her seat and spoke. "Eren this is Mike, my husband, but didn't you totally think he was my bodyguard or something with that suit on?" She shot me a sort of strained grin before moving her gaze back out the front windshield.

Her casual, chipper attitude only managed to jar me further in comparison to how our reunion had commenced. "Uh, sure," I nodded, almost entirely at a loss for words.

A short drive later, and the court house took me by surprise when Mike took a final right hand turn onto the avenue where it stood, looming over the city like an omnipotent monolith, watching my every move, knowing all of my unconfessed transgressions.

"Thank you for the ride, Hon," Hanji said, pinching her husband's cheek, eliciting only a short grunt from the attorney's shockingly few-worded husband. I had thought Levi was quiet, but I didn't hear a single word from Hanji's husband during the entire twenty minute drive. It occurred to me that Hanji likely did the majority of the talking when the two of them were alone, and had seemingly chosen a spouse that preferred using their ears to their lips. "C'mon, Eren," she instructed, looking at me over her shoulder before beginning to walk up the stairs to the busy courthouse.

Without speaking, I followed behind the casually confident woman striding deeper into the belly of the county's justice system, leading me like a stray dog into the back of an animal control van. I had no choice but to follow, not that cutting my losses and bolting hadn't crossed my mind. Unfortunately, whether I liked it or not, I was invested, now. I had somebody else to look out for, with needs I had to meet before I met my own.

The jingle of her keys spinning around her finger was enough to keep me at least partially grounded in the events unfolding around me. She slid one key into one of the dozens of doors we passed since entering the court house.

"So Eren," Hanji hummed, closing and locking the door behind us once she had ushered me into her office. "How have you been doing?" she asked, and the gentle tone of her voice immediately put me on my guard.