Pack Leader

Ackerman

Eren took the girl around showing her everything. Taking her into his room, Levi could hear him jabbering away. “He got me a phone for my birthday.” Mikasa put her number into it as they came back out.
“It's been a long day. Eren's hardly slept. Why don’t we all meet at Grady's for lunch, one?” Levi asked the quiet girl.
“Sure.” She muttered. Erwin took her out. The crime lord took his lover to bed. He couldn’t just let the boy sleep, Eren was happy to indulge his sexual appetite once more. When the boy fell asleep, Levi left to clean up the apartment. At nine he texted Helen about Armin coming in. “Give him legit work.” He added. She sent a smiley face back. Levi shook his head, he hated the damn emoji’s.
He woke the boy just after noon. Groggily, Eren tried to pull the man down into the bed. Expertly, Levi dodged his arms. “Come on, we have to meet that terror of a sister of yours.” He teased.
“You, Levi Ackerman, are afraid of my sister?” Eren was incredulous.
“Only to the extent she may try to take you away.” Levi whispered low enough for the boy not to hear, or so he thought. Turning his head away, he went to stand starting to tell Eren to go shower. The younger man caught his arm. Kneeling on the bed, Eren spun Levi to face him. Cupping the others head in his hands Eren pressed their foreheads together.
“I’m not going anywhere unless you kick me out.” He said. Levi kissed him, curling his arms around the boys neck. Grabbing a fistful of his hair he held him tightly.
“Go shower.”  As soon as the boy left, Levi stripped the bed throwing everything in to wash. Once more he went to Eren's room to find him a suitable outfit.
“He's growing on you.” Levi didn’t turn at the sound of that voice.
“There's something about him. He kind of reminds me of you, once.” Arms came around his waist as the voice purred in his ear.
“If I hadn’t taken the detective exam, hadn’t stayed a cop…” Turning in the tall mans arms Levi looked up at him. He neither stopped the man from hugging him, nor returned the gesture.
“I could never ask you to stop being what you are, Erwin. To you being a cop is like breathing. Life just took us two different ways.”
“I’ve missed you every night.” The tall man let him go slipping over to lean against the door frame. “It helped knowing you had chosen to remain alone too.” Levi walked to Eren's closet pulling out a long sleeved t shirt. It was blue, he laid a pair of black distressed Jean’s with it on the bed. Bending he shuffled around the shoes until he found a pair of black converse that would work. Standing he looked at Erwin.
“I hadn’t planned on taking another lover. What we had…” he let it trail off. No point going down that road. Looking away he went on “Eren is so full of life. You know the night I met him, I was contemplating letting you kill me. It would have gotten you that promotion.”
Large strong hands fell to his shoulder. Erwin shook him back and forth like a ragdoll. “Don’t you ever think like that again!” he growled. “You promised me, Levi you weren’t going to go postal on me!” he shouted. Levi hung limply in his arms.
The steel grey eyes slowly turned to the blue. “Well then, I guess you have something to be grateful to Eren for.” Gently but with a firm grip, Levi pulled the mans hands away from him. “He, at least, gave me a reason to live that night.” He whispered.
Erwin stumbled back, his hands catching the dresser. Mouth open slightly, breathing shallow and quick he stared at his former lover. Was the short crime boss really that done with his life? Couldn’t he see all the good he was doing? The lives he was saving?
“All of those kids down there are off the street because of you! How many single mothers do you have employed just to give their children a better life? Levi, why the hell do you think I have never arrested you?” Erwin cried.
“You're feelings for me.” Levi answered the last. Neither man realized the shower had stopped.
“I may still love you, probably will love you until the day they bury me, but that has never stopped me from seeing the good you do. The rest of my police brethren see only the crimes on paper.” Erwin stepped a few inches closer to the shorter man. “I see the lives you saved.” He whispered.
The bathroom door opened. Levi looked up to see Eren standing in the doorway, a towel around his waist looking between the two men. Rolling his head around his shoulder, Levi fixed his gaze to the boy.
“It was a long time ago, Eren. We really are just friends now.” Looking at the tall blonde who backed up to the dresser once more.
“We have a lunch date, did you come here for any particular reason?” the coldness in the others tone would have had lesser men scrambling to get away from that icy gaze, but this was Erwin Smith. The one man who had taken the time to get to know how to read the short thug.
“No, only to tell you that they have suspended the task force in those drug crimes.” Pinching his nose, Levi looked down.
“I had nothing to do with that.” He growled.
“They figured it out.” Erwin slipped passed Eren, pausing to whisper to the boy. Levi didn’t hear what he said before he was gone.
Looking across the bed at the boy, Levi raised an eyebrow. “What did he tell you?” he asked without emotion in his voice.
“To keep you alive. What did that mean?” Eren had felt his blood turn to ice when the tall muscular man had whispered that to him.
Waving a hand at the clothes on the bed, Levi said. “Get dressed. Now we are running late.”
Fifteen minutes later the strolled into Grady's, at five after one. Mikasa stood from a table near the back. Eren rushed to her, collapsing into her arms, he hugged her tightly. Much more slowly his lover sauntered over.
“Mikasa.” He nodded his head in greeting. They sat down. Tea was brought over immediately.
“No soda!” Levi barked at Eren before the woman could take his drink order. Laughing Eren looked up at her.
“I will have an ice water with lemon, please.” He asked very politely. Levi watched him over the top of his cup.
Eren gave him an eye squinting smile before turning to Mikasa. “So, boyfriend? Married? Any children? Am I an uncle yet?” he fired the questions at her. Levi suspected to get the very result he did. She had been glaring at the crime boss. Now she laughed turning to her brother.
“I’m single, no children. In fact I’m thinking about moving out here. Closer to you, and I could do with a career change.” She smirked.
“What is it that you do?” Levi asked setting his cup down.
“I’m a social worker.” She told him tartly. He nodded. Pulling out a clip of business cards he flipped through them. Finding one he slipped it out. Laying it on the table he gave it to her.
“Try calling them. Mention my name or not, it doesn’t matter to me. They’re good people. Do a lot help with the under privileged in our fair city.” He told her. She looked at him shocked.
“Why would I work for a crime boss?” She snarled. Her drink was suddenly slammed onto the table. Fire in her eyes the waitress glared at the woman sitting next to him.
“Mr. Ackerman is not a crime boss!” she growled. “He has cleaned up our little section of the world. Yes he has to do things to keep the thugs away but it’s to protect us all!” she cried.
“Easy Estelle.” Levi said softly. He had stood to come behind the older woman. Taking her shoulder he started to guide her away.
“At what price is this protection?” Mikasa demanded.
Estelle turned her coal black eyes on her. “That table!” she snarled. “All he asks is that we keep a table open for him. We don’t pay him, we don’t give him free meals, although we try every time he comes in here.” With a kind smile for the waitress, Levi escorted her to the back room.
“He made her say that. He has this whole town brainwashed!” she cried.
“Actually ma’am, he doesn’t. Never a day has gone by that Mr. Ackerman has done anything wrong by us.” A man slightly older than the siblings was sitting at the bar. He spoke without turning to face them.
“If his goon squad gets out of control, its Mr. Ackerman who personally takes care of it.” Now the man turned his head to look at her. A smile on half his face, the other half was burned and scarred. The man called for his check but was told it had already been paid.
“Marco, it's been awhile.” Levi was back holding out a hand to the injured man.
“Captain.” Marco shook his hand. “Looks like you’re still scaring the ladies away.” The scarred man laughed.
“Doing my best to leave as many as I can for you.” Levi smiled. The man, Marco laughed.
Standing he clapped a hand on Levi's shoulder. “Just don’t work Jean to hard today. He hasn’t been sleeping well.” With a tip of his imaginary hat, Marco left the dinner. Levi came to sit back down.
“Who are you?” Mikasa asked. Snorting Levi raised his eyes to her.
“Look around sister.” He began. “I built this place. You see I was born in the underworld, raised to be a thug and killer. Did my share of both. All I ever wanted was a peaceful clean place to sleep. The only way I got it, was by building it.” He looked away knowing he had told her more about himself than he should have.
“How are you an Ackerman?” he asked suddenly.
“My father he came from here.” She stated looking away.
“How old where you when he died?” Levi wasn’t too gentle with quizzing the girl.
“Ten.” He nodded. Looking out the window. Now he understood. She didn’t know what it meant to be an Ackerman. Once a noble name that brought people from all around to see them, now a name associated with the trash and gutters of the world. Kenny had done little to fix it, Levi would reclaim their lost birthright.
“We are probably related. The Ackerman name used to mean something. Here it still does. You mean a lot to Eren. I ask nothing of you, aside from allowing him to make his own choices, in return I will help you any way I can. All you need to do, is ask.” Her eyes widened as she looked at him. With  smile he sat back as their food came out. A quiet Estelle placed it on the table, far from the dark haired girl. Levi slid it over with a tsk at the waitress.