Secret Life

What to Do, What to Do...

I know I shouldn't be looking at this longer than I am right now - Holy fucking shit, isn't he, like, twelve! - but I can't stop my brain from imprinting the skintight red outfit draping his curves or the money belts hugging his thick thighs or.... Must. Stop. Now. I roll the poster back up and toss it far under my bed, so it would be too much of a hassle to get back. I lie back on the pillow and really think about what Dok is implicating and what it could mean for Eren. If Eren was a stripper/pole dancer/whatever before he started training, and Dok was able to get this and hold on to it for at least four years, then wouldn't it reflect just as badly for him as it would for Eren? Perhaps more so since Dok, I'm assuming, had the power to steer him in a better direction... that was hopefully not a bed. I should talk to Eren about this, but how to start? Oi brat, opened the last box, found a poster of you with a pole and lots of cash. Explain? Even I'm not that insensitive (though I could). Besides, I've had to dance and strip to earn money - living in the Underground was never easy. I could ask Erwin how to go about this in a hypothetical (learned that in an old dictionary last week), but he's too perceptive for that. What to do, what to do? Could sleep on it, but breakfast starts in an hour. I sigh thankful I gave the squad the day off before climbing out the bed to start the day.

***

The four of us - me, Commander Eyebrows, Shitty Four Eyes, and Mike - are going through the Scout pile of records for anything that jumps out as strange. Looking at all the numbers gives me a headache, so I suggest a break in the mess hall. They agree, and we leave talking about what we read.

"Maybe it's something hidden in plain sight," Erwin muses during the walk. "I didn't see anything in particular that I haven't before, but at the same time I'm not very good at remembering numbers."

"Neither am I," I say, "though you might be on to something. Maybe it's not some glaring red flag we should be concentrating on - maybe it's the same number or item swapped in different places?"

"And you're sure you didn't write this letter, Levi?" Mike asks. I almost forgot he went into town for supplies when all of this occurred.

"Very sure," I answer. "I wouldn't ask for all this needless crap." He hums and keeps walking looking thoughtful.

"Any idea on who would know he had all this?" Hanji asks me. I immediately think of the poster of Eren and just as quickly suppressed any thoughts of it before replying, "If I did, I would be kicking his ass right now." Hanji nods and starts a whole spiel about her latest experiment. I nod every so often to look like I'm paying attention and caught Mike looking at me curiously. What is it now?

***

After the break we went through the rest of the pile and the Garrison papers (which were mostly about maintenance). We compared these with the papers we had on file and did in fact find a few things off about them, something we wouldn't have found in summarized reports.

"I guess having the actual records did pay off," Erwin grumbles while writing a list of mismatched items on my now-clear desk.

"I guess so," I agree fighting a yawn. I wonder if the library was free but didn't want to tip them off to anything, especially Hanji, so I decide to find a spare television and VCR when everyone goes out later today.

"Whoa ho, who stacked them like this?" Hanji asks looking at the largest stack like a museum piece. "It looks so organized but so scattered at the same time.. I LOVE IT!"

"It was the brat," I mumble, the faintest blush dusting my cheeks. I can't really blame Four Eyes for loving it - the whole squad did when he finished - he has an artistic touch. He stacked and arranged the Military Police records like a sculptor molding clay into a woman with wings. He even showed us the photo he used as a reference after he finished: