The Intern

Chapter 23

Levi

"Good luck, kid."

I watched as confusion spread across Armin's features and then the doors to the elevator slid shut. Part of me wanted to stay around for their conversation, but I knew that wouldn't be the best idea. There was no way in hell that Eren would be able to have that talk with me in the room, and even if he could somehow manage it I had no idea how Armin would react. Even if I wasn't there, I was pretty damn sure he wasn't going to take the news well. Armin had gotten close to Erwin in the past two weeks, closer than I was going to admit to Eren. The kid was already stressed out enough over his friend and if he knew half the things they were doing, his head might actually explode.

I could only hope that Eren knew what he was doing by placing his faith in the little mushroom. They seemed to be very close. Actually, they were probably a little too close for being only friends, but I knew there was nothing there. At least not on Eren's end. I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't quite friendship that Armin felt for my little brat, but I wasn't about to compromise my relationship or theirs with some pointless display of jealousy. Especially not when things were going so well with Eren.

I still couldn't believe it myself. I was in the first real relationship of my life and I wasn't running from it. I didn't even want to run, and part of that terrified me because I had never been so close to anyone before. He was able to hurt me now, and no one had been able to do that since I had let Erwin in. I still wasn't sure what compelled me to show him that room, but I didn't know how else to tell him that I actually wanted him in my life. It was by some miracle that he actually realized how much the gesture meant for me. No one else had ever set foot in that room, but having him there hadn't felt invasive at all. Somehow I knew he belonged there. In that room, and in my life.

It had been over two weeks since that day, and our relationship had become second nature. I went to sleep wrapped around his body and woke up the same way every morning. We showered, dressed, and ate breakfast together as if we had done it for years. As if it was no big deal for either us, when really we were both waiting for everything to unravel. To be honest, I was surprised it hadn't at this point. For some reason the game was still going, but neither of us were willing participants. I didn't know how to tell him to stop and he never asked to call it off. Somehow we were locked in this mess, I was starting to worry it had become an integral cog in our relationship. Pulling it out could make the well-oiled machine fall to pieces, and I wasn't willing to have that happen.

When the elevator arrived at my floor, I passed through the foyer and headed straight for my room. It was hard to explain, but I was actually eager to get to The Wall tonight. It had been a few days since I had made an appearance and although I wasn't going to complain about the reason for my absence, I had to admit that I missed the place I'd grown to call home.

I'd toyed with the idea of bringing Eren along with me, and Hanji begged me to on a regular basis. It wasn't exactly the fact that he wasn't a legal age. To be honest, he was passable and most people were willing to live under the belief that he had been properly carded at the door. I knew there wouldn't be any question of whether or not he belonged there, and I honestly couldn't care less if anyone asked. My real concern was that he didn't want to be there. I was still mentally kicking myself for putting him in the position he had been in on his first trip to The Wall, and I didn't know how to bring up the subject with him. I wanted him to be there with me, but I didn't want to force it on him either.

Although it had been a while since I'd gone all out with dressing up for The Wall, the entire process happened as naturally as it always did. I wasn't even sure I consciously selected my outfits or if it was just a gift I was born with, but I always wound up in front of the mirror wearing exactly what I wanted. Part of that was due to the fact that I had enough money to afford all of the clothing I could ever want, but I had seen millionaires dress themselves like they had done so in the dark, so money wasn't everything. Although I was sure many of them would look at me in the get-up I was in now and think I had lost my damn mind. Not that their opinions mattered, of course.