'Knock it off. You looking like a fucking puppy dog. '

I tried to stay consciously aware of the fact that I was bouncing in place, but my brain had long since gone home for the night and my nerves were set on vibrate. I fidgeted with my fingers and reminded myself that Corporal was taking me up to his apartment to talk about another man. Nothing else would be happening, no matter how many sexual fantasies my virgin mind dreamt up. I had never realized how actively horny my mind could be until this night, and it was the perfect explanation as to why I was jiggling like a bowl of jell-o. My sudden bout of stationary hopscotch was a vain attempt to alleviate any boner that might pop up to say hello.

'I had a lot of coffee, ' I muttered in a pitiful attempt to disguise the fact that I was as giddy as a schoolgirl about being invited to his room. I wanted to kick myself for reacting this way to a man I barely knew, and filed the thought away for later. A personal ass kicking 'it was necessary at this point.

'Aren 't you a little young to drink coffee? ' He said, raising one eyebrow as he watched me bounce. I could hear the teasing lilt in his voice and it stung almost as much as the dig at my age. 'Sure it wasn 't candy? Get lost in Willy Wonka 's ass for a day? Taste his everlasting gobstoppers? '

'That 's gross. '

'Since when do I ever say anything tasteful? ' he shot back and then leaned into the familiar corner of the elevator.

'Not once since I met you. ' I shrugged. I didn 't add in the fact that it was his crudeness that drew me to him.

'And never once before, ' he said with a passing glance at the floor number that was slowly ticking by. 'I hate this thing. What a crappy elevator. I take faster shits than this thing moves. '

I wasn 't sure what sort of look must have crossed my face then, but whatever it was had amused him to the point of a small chuckle. Which was saying something for him, considering his face rarely changed at all. 'You look surprised, kid. What, have you never heard anyone talk about taking a shit before? Are you one of those prudes who claims not to fart? '

'No, ' I muttered and shifted a little. I had never heard anyone older than me talk in such a crude way. Of course, I was used to those adults being teachers or holding other positions that demanded a certain level of class. Obviously Corporal didn 't come from the same walk of life, and I hadn 't exactly expected him to talk in a way that was well-mannered. However, I had hoped that my first trip into his apartment would have been a conversation that didn 't involve bowel movements. What a romantic. Shits and farts.

'Good. I can 't deal with people who walk around with a stick up their ass. '

'You don 't seem like you can deal with people in general. '

'That 's true, ' he agreed and the corner of his mouth twitched. 'There are only a select few that I tolerate. '

'Like the girl at The Wall? ' I asked and then promptly clamped a hand over my mouth. I didn 't mention that I had gone past his club and I wasn 't planning to do so, but the word vomit had decided to come up and ruin that secret.

'Didn 't I say you were too young to go there? ' he chastised and the icy tone coloring his voice was unmistakable. I lowered my hand back to my side and opened my mouth to speak, ready to defend myself, but he cut me off, 'Seriously, if I get shut down because your kindergarten ass just had to see what I do for a living, I will give you the beating of your life. '

'I didn 't even go inside! ' I exclaimed defensively and then quickly lowered my voice when his eyes narrowed, 'I mean, I wasn 't even planning to go there. It just sort of happened. '

'How did you 'just sort of ' go to The Wall? Nobody 'just sort of ' goes there. '

'Well, it 's right by Trost. I actually had no idea that it was so close, and I never come from that direction. Not at night, anyway. ' I added the last bit because it was true. There were certain parts of the city that you just didn 't walk through after sundown, and that street was one of the few that made me uncomfortable when it was dark and I was alone.

This response seemed to be enough to satisfy him, and he gave a half roll of his shoulders to indicate that he was now indifferent to the matter. After a moment of silence had passed, he looked back at me and fixed me with a stare that was nothing short of playful, another small smirk turning up the corner of mouth, 'So, did you see anything ' interesting? '

I wasn 't even sure I wanted to linger on that word. The way he had said it had dragged it out into the full three syllables that it deserved, each sound articulated so perfectly and in such a mischievous way that I was absolutely certain I hadn 't seen anything that would be considered the type of interesting he was talking about. Of course, the woman I had met at the door had been remarkable in a peculiar sort of way, but I had the sudden feeling that there was a very good reason the windows of the club had been tinted black. The prying eyes of the streets wouldn 't be able to see what went on behind the closed doors. That probably wasn 't a bad thing.

'Nothing too interesting, ' I started, and could have sworn I saw a look of disappointment flash across his features, 'There was some strange chick at the front door, though. '

'What did she look like? '

I described her to the best of my abilities; pointing out the details I had remembered such as the bizarre 1950s curved glasses and the long trench coat. Corporal was already nodding when I had started with the color of her hair, but he let me finish with the rest of the description before he spoke, 'That 's Hanji. She technically works under me, although at this point she may as well co-own the business. She handles a lot of the shit that I don 't have the energy to put up with. I 'm not surprised that she didn 't let you in. For all her insanity, she 's actually decent with the publicity shit. She knows better than to let some brat fuck up the energy of the place. '

The comment stung, but I decided to ignore it. At least for the time being. I wasn 't about to mouth off and have him take away the invitation. I was getting into that apartment; even if I had to bite my own tongue clean off in order to avoid saying anything stupid. I decided to settle for something that would make him laugh instead.

'She can 't be that great for the club. She 's not the best with invitations. '

'What the hell do you mean by that, brat? '

'She hit me with a whip. '

He tilted back his head and barked out a laugh, genuine amusement lighting up in his features. 'Oh, kid. That is exactly why I need her at The Wall 's entrance. '

The elevator arrived at the penthouse and the doors slid open to reveal the ever-stunning view of his apartment. I restrained myself enough to let Corporal walk into the apartment first, despite the fact that my body was ready to leap into the foyer the second the doors were open. He wagged one thin finger in a come-hither motion over his shoulder and continued to walk into the expanse of the room, 'Come on in, kid. '

I had come to both love and hate the nickname he had given to me the day we met. While I mostly hated it with a fierce passion, it was still better than being called a brat, which seemed to be the term he reserved for when I had done or said something to piss him off. Kid was something he used over my name on a constant basis, and part of me wondered, or hoped, that there was some level of endearment in the epithet.

I was good at fooling myself.

He walked over to the kitchen island that had a grey marble top that reminded me of his eyes. Stormy and cold, expressionless unless you looked at it in the right light. He set the black wig on its surface and turned to snatch two short glasses from the cupboard. I stared at the wig and tried to recall what it had looked like on his head. I had only seen it twice, I realized after thinking back on my memories. He had a towel draped over his head on his way in from the gym, and a swimming cap on at the pool. Tonight was the first night that I had seen him in his true form.

I had grown so accustomed to seeing him with long hair that the image of him now was still a little jarring. The wig had softened his features to the point that he had appeared almost feminine. Without the wig he had a severe attractiveness that I had never appreciated before. It was like staring at a wolf in its natural habitat; beautiful and deadly all in the same moment.

'That right there, ' he pointed at my face with his index finger; his other fingers were curled around one of the glasses he had taken out. 'That 's why I 'm going to choose you for him. '

'Huh? ' I touched my nose, as if that had to be what he was talking about. Was there something on my face?

'Oh, come on, ' he exhaled; annoyed with the fact that I was clearly missing something that was so obvious to him. He set the glasses down and grabbed a bottle filled with a smooth amber liquid. 'Let 's not pretend like you haven 't been eyeing me like I 'm some tasty treat in a candy store. '

I could practically feel the blush flood my cheeks and creep its way up into my ears. Once again I found myself fidgeting, and my words were caught in my throat. Which was probably the best place for them, considering I had no idea what they would be when they finally came out of my mouth. He knew exactly what to say to send my heart into a panicked flutter and he was more than happy to use his knowledge against me.

He chuckled when I said nothing, 'Drink? '

I eyed the liquid and decided that it would be better if I remained in control of my motor functions, 'No, thanks. '

'We 're about to negotiate prostituting your body for the greater good, ' he remarked as he poured the drink into both glasses. He lifted one and held it out to me, 'Trust me, you 'll need this. '

I walked over to the island and took the glass in my hand, surprised by the weight of it. It wasn 't at all like the cheap pieces that we had in my cupboard at home. It was thick, elegantly cut crystal that made the amber liquid shimmer enticingly. I took a small, timid sip and felt the fire hit my tongue and slide down my throat. I suppressed a gag and covered my revulsion with two raised eyebrows, giving a little nod and setting the glass down. I could only hope he didn 't notice how I nudged it away from me.

He glanced at my glass and I noticed the corner of his mouth lift just slightly in his classically emotion-free smirk. He sipped his own drink and set it down on the counter, tracing the rim with his index finger. He was bent over the counter, his other arm resting lazily across the marble so that his hand dangled over the edge. His eyes were hooded and I saw nothing but thick lashes as he stared down at the liquid in his glass. He was, in every sense of the word, exquisite.

'I feel like I should be charging for a peep show. '

The comment snapped me back into focus and I realized that I had been caught staring once again. I could still detect the faint curve of his lips, but his eyes held enough annoyance in them to make me question whether or not I had pissed him off. 'This is why I hate being around kids. Brats like you were never taught that it 's rude to stare. '

'My parents failed a lot with me. '

'Stop right there, kid, ' he interrupted what was going to be a joke, and I knew I had said something wrong. He held up his hand and nailed me with a 'I don 't have time for this shit ' glare. 'I am not your fucking therapist. I don 't care if your parents tie you to a wall and sacrifice you to Satan on a daily basis; you leave me out of it. We clear? '

'I wasn 't ' I mean, I 'm not ' ' I fumbled over the words, completely discombobulated. I hadn 't meant for him to take my comment in a serious light. I was the last person to open up about what was going on in my life, especially when it came to my parents. 'Damn it, do you always have to be so blunt? '

'It 's part of my charm, ' he replied with a small shrug. He was holding his glass again and waved his hand to the side, causing the liquid to slosh around. 'But enough about me. We 're not here to talk about me. Let 's focus on getting you some ass. '

'I don 't want ass! '

'Oh, honey, you 've wanted ass since the day you were born. It just took seeing mine to get you to realize it, ' he crooned. 'I 'm your real-ass-ation. '

'Are you even aware of what you 're saying? '

'I 'm very aware of everything that goes out of and comes into my mouth, ' he replied with a salacious smile. I didn 't have to think hard to figure out the double entendre.

'Whatever. I 'm not gay, ' I said the lie like I meant it.

'And I 'm not antisocial. Now we 're both liars. '

I stared at him and set my hands on the marble countertop. I was surprised by how cold the surface was beneath my fingers, and I fanned them out to explore it. The chill stung my palm, but I liked it. I had always found myself drawn to pain, at least in small amounts, and I wondered if that was why I couldn 't admit something so simple to myself. I was shying away from something I knew my body wanted and I couldn 't deny that there was some form of agony in that.

'I 'm not lying. '

The sharp clink of glass striking the marble counter was still ringing in my ears when I realized he had pressed me against the kitchen island. My mind didn 't even register that he had moved, so when his hips pressed into mine and called attention to the steady beat throbbing in my pants, I cried out. Embarrassment flooded my body as quickly as it did my face, and I stared at him with an incredulous and betrayed expression, 'What are you doing? '

'Proving something. '

His hips pushed into mine once more and the sensation forced my lips to part in a gasp, allowing him take full advantage. His mouth was on mine before it had closed and his tongue moved without hesitation, gliding across mine in a slick heat that sent arousal coursing through my body. He was invading every inch of my mouth in probing licks, and I couldn 't find enough sense or desire to protest. I could taste an array of intoxicating flavors that were undeniably him, and I felt myself greedily leaning into the kiss. A moan stirred somewhere between us, but I wasn 't sure if it had come from him or me. I didn 't care.

A fire lit in my belly, the desire spreading through me like wildfire. I was losing control of myself in his taste and yet I couldn 't get enough. I needed more. With a newfound confidence, my tongue caressed his, softly at first and then with more insistence. I wanted to taste his mouth. I needed to explore him as thoroughly as he had explored me. My demanding tongue pushed into his mouth and he appeased me just long enough for a good taste. Then he bit the tip of my tongue and I felt a jolt of pleasurable pain shoot all the way into the head of my cock. With a groan, I pushed my hips into his and grabbed a hold of his ass.

He broke away with a laugh and I was left standing there with my arms held out and my face plastered with confusion. 'What the hell was that for? '

'To prove something. ' He pointed at my pants, which had apparently turned into a circus tent boasting the newest spectacle of the great one-eyed monster. 'Hip Hip Hooray! Honey, you 're gay. '

I groaned and leaned over the kitchen island, hiding my face in my hands. I had no way of arguing with him or myself at this point. It was hard enough to ignore the fact that I had ruined more than a few sheets while fantasizing about him on several occasions. Not to mention the fact that I had been trying to find any reason at all to see him since meeting him for the first time. Of course, that didn 't mean that I would feel the same way for just any man. But this whole set-up meant that I could stay around him, even if just for a little longer.

'Fine, ' I relented, 'Who is it? '

'I 'm not about to give you his name right off the bat, ' he said, and lifted his glass by the rim to take a sip. What a weird way to hold a drink, I thought, amazed that he didn 't spill it all over himself. 'He 's an important man, so I can 't throw his name around like it 's nothing. I 'm going to feel you out first, and if I think it 'll work, then you 'll meet him. '

He could spend the rest of eternity feeling me out and leave it at that, for all I cared.

'Why me? ' I paused, trying to decide if I really wanted the answer to that. I quickly interrupted him before he could answer, 'Why are you trying to set him up with someone? '

'Let 's just say I owe him one ' '

I felt the chill shoot down my spine before I realized how eerie his statement was. I had heard it before, but the way he said it was not in the casual way of owing someone a favor in a good sense. There was something menacing in his tone, and his eyes had entered a glacial state I had not yet seen them in before. The way he tilted his head cast a shadow over half of his face, and I knew that I would have seen emotion then if I could have seen his eyes at all.

'Who is he to you? ' The question came out before I could stop it, but curiosity kept me from regretting it.

'He 's my not so former, mostly current lover, ' he spat.

The chill that spread through me now was for another reason entirely, and I felt my stomach turn uncomfortably. There was a sour taste in my mouth, and I quickly reached for my glass to burn it away with fire. I wasn 't looking at him when I finally spoke, 'What 's in it for me? '

'Well, do you like comic books? '

I turned to stare at him, wondering if he had purposely said the last thing I had ever expected to come out of his mouth. 'Huh? '

'What am I saying, of course you do. You 're practically twelve, ' he teased, and I burned away my comment with another sip of the liquid fire. 'And what sexually confused fanboy wouldn 't want to say that he had his first fantastically gay fuck with Captain America? '

I choked on the next sip and slapped the glass down on the counter, bending over as I coughed to clear my airways. When I finally had control over my voice, I spluttered, 'What? '

'I 'm telling you, the man is some kind of perfect sex god, ' he said this so casually, working his glass in a slow circle to swirl the liquid, 'Looks just like that guy in the Captain America movie. '

'I 'm not interested in fucking Captain America. '

'Thor, then, ' he suggested, glancing up at me, 'We 'll have him grow his hair out. You seem to like long hair. '

'It has nothing to do with the hair. '

It had everything to do with him. I wasn 't looking for some superhero fuck, unless that superhero in some way resembled the man in front of me. But what kind of superhero would that be? The Amazingly Spunky Shrimp? The Daringly Dangerous Dwarf? I was sure he would bash my head in if I mentioned either, so instead I focused on nursing my drink. It wasn 't so bad once I had time to adjust to it.

'So you 're not going to do it, then? ' he prompted.

'I don 't even know if I 'd be interested. '

'You could at least give him a try, ' he pushed, eyeing me over the rim of his glass. He was drinking in that strange way again, and I found it almost comical.

I could have given it a try, and I was almost willing to let myself consider doing so. However, his earlier words and the frigid anger they contained kept me from pursuing the idea. I felt like a pawn being set up for a very intense game of chess between two men I barely knew. Corporal wanted me to enter into a relationship, but I had the distinct feeling that it wasn 't meant to be long-term or enjoyable.

'Listen, I feel weird about this whole thing, ' I started to decline of his offer, but he cut me off before I could finish.

'Fine, forget it, ' he snapped. He grabbed his glass and mine, carrying them to the sink and depositing them there. 'I thought you might be halfway useful, but clearly I was wrong. '

'I just feel like there 's a lot you 're not telling me. '

'Yea, there 's plenty I 'm not telling you, ' he admitted and turned to face me. He leaned against the counter by the sink, staring at me with narrowed eyes. The color of them was suddenly much darker, housing a series of emotions I couldn 't hope to decipher. 'But it 's not like I 'm going to get you hurt. You can trust me. '

Somehow I knew those words were true, and I realized I trusted him more than I had trusted anyone since Mikasa had up and vanished. He had a brutal honesty and a blunt way of saying things that reassured me he wasn 't living under a disguise. He was the person he claimed to be, and nothing more.

'Fine, ' I said and then nodded to solidify the agreement. 'Fine, I 'll trust you. I 'll do it, if that 's really what you want. Whatever it is. But I want something out of it in return. '

'Like what? '

'Let me in your club. '

He scoffed and turned back to the sink. I heard the water turn on and he started to clean. 'I could get shut down for having some under aged brat in my club. I 'm not risking my livelihood for you. '

'No one 's going to know, ' I grumbled, rolling my eyes. Sure, I wasn 't old enough, but that didn 't mean I couldn 't look the part. 'Beside, I 'm pretty damn sure the guy you 're trying to hook me up with is older. So we 're not exactly in the legal territory anymore, are we? '

'That 's kind of the point, ' he sighed and then shut off the water. He lifted one of the glasses and started to dry it, turning to face me. 'Fine, one night in my club. It pays on delivery, though. No free pass until you get some ass. '

'You 're the dirtiest poet I know. '

'I wasn 't aware you had such a wide range of poetic friends, ' he murmured, and I watched in satisfaction as the corner of his mouth twitched.

'So, I get to hang around you until you decide if I 'll work for him, right? ' I suggested as casually as possible. I didn 't want to make it obvious that I was pretty much agreeing to the entire thing because of this little stipulation.

'Stop falling for me kid, ' he warned, 'I 'll break more than your heart. '

Either I had done a horrible job of disguising myself, or he was just able to read me like an open book. I frowned, watching him dry the cup. 'Is that supposed to be some kind of threat? '

'Let 's call it friendly advice, ' he replied. He set the glasses back into the rightful place in the cupboard and then turned to me, giving a little wave towards the door, 'Now get out, kid. We 'll talk more about this later. '

Despite my best efforts, I wasn 't able to catch a glimpse of him the following day. I had resigned myself to sulking in my bed for the remainder of the weekend, knowing that the dreaded internship was waiting for me tomorrow. Armin must have sensed that I had decided to become a recluse for the day, because he had already called me twice. There was another number that practically buzzed my phone off the table three times, but it was unknown. I had thought, in a brief moment of hope, that it was Corporal and then quickly reminded myself that I had never given him my number. I let it ring, and never bothered to pick up.

However, when Armin 's cheerful face lit up my screen for the third time that day, I decided to pick up, 'No, I 'm not going out. '

'Uh ' hi? ' he said on a small laugh. Then the laugh turned into a squeal and I could hear him shifting around, 'Jean, stop! '

'Ugh, gross! Armin, I don 't want to listen to you have sex! '

'Eren! ' Armin chided me, and I knew without being there that his face was one of pure chagrin. 'We 're not having sex, he 's just tickling me! '

'That sounds like it 's going to lead into sex. '

'No! I mean, maybe, ' he huffed on the other line, 'Can we change the subject? '

'Please and thank you, ' I sighed, and turned my head in towards my pillow. My voice was muffled in the fabric, 'Sup? '

'You know we have the internship tomorrow, right? '

'I 've been trying to forget, but thank you for the reminder. '

'Don 't forget to bring a clean copy of your resume with you, ' he paused, clearly waiting for me to acknowledge what he said. I was too tired. 'You still have the one I helped you make, right? '

'Yea, somewhere, ' I mumbled and he groaned. I knew he was getting ready to reprimand me. 'I 'll find it, don 't worry. Promise. '

'Just don 't forget it, ' he insisted, and then I heard more shifting on the other line as the phone was wrestled out of his hands.

'And don 't forget to wear something that doesn 't make you look like you attacked the elderly on your way into work, ' Jean guffawed.

'Jean, I told you I took him shopping! ' I heard Armin in the background, struggling to get the phone between fits of laughter. I assumed Jean was still tickling him. At least I hoped that was all he was doing.

'Yea, you did, ' Jean continued in a teasing voice, 'Said he had a nice ass. And what was all this I heard about a vest? I think Armin 's straying from me. Should I feel threatened? '

'Jean! ' Armin squealed and he laughed.

With a groan, I shoved my face further into the pillow. I didn 't feel like listening to any of this.

'E-Eren? ' Armin spoke around a laugh, 'I 'm going to hang up now, okay? '

'Kay, ' I mumbled out from under my pillow. I was pretty sure he heard me.

The line went dead and I tossed the phone back onto my nightstand. I pushed my head back into the pillow and shut my eyes, knowing that tomorrow would be here too soon.

I did my best to listen to supervisor Mike as he showed our group around the massive building that housed Survey Corporation. He was a larger man with sandy blonde hair that was parted down the middle, and on his face was what I assumed was supposed to be an attempt at a goatee or at the very least a mustache. I wasn 't sure he had succeeded on either, but it was a better attempt than any I could have made. Despite the fact that I was determined to hate everything about this place, I couldn 't bring myself to dislike him.

I couldn 't say the same for the job position he described.

We were going to be in the mailroom, to start. Apparently all interns started at the bottom and the lucky few were able to work their way up into higher positions as time went on. Which essentially meant that I would be getting comfortable in the mailroom and waving goodbye to Armin all too soon. He would be on his way into an office by the end of the day, once they had recognized his potential. It was better that way, though. I didn 't want to ruin his internship experience with my constant complaining, and I knew that I would at least have Connie to keep me company.

'When 's lunch? ' Sasha whispered, rubbing her stomach as we walked down the hall.

We were being shown around on the upper floors first, which housed the very best of Survey Corp. I assumed Mike did this because he wanted to give us something to strive towards. Some gem at the end of the internship that I was sure most of the team was salivating for. Unfortunately for him, the only thing I was interested in striving towards was the door.

'Next I have someone very special for you all to meet. ' Oh, goodie.

Mike opened the door to a magnificent office that made me think twice about resigning myself to the mailroom. Behind the desk sat a man of intimidating size and strength. He had blonde hair that had been tamed into perfection, and he met our presence with a blue stare that sent a shiver through my body. Everything about this man screamed power. I could practically see the muscles through his black button down, and suddenly I wasn 't so sure that I was only attracted to one man.

I quickly shook the thought from my head and composed my expression back into one of bored indifference. He rose from the desk and stepped out into the hall to greet us. I couldn 't help but notice that his size was even more impressive when he was standing up. I heard a gasp to my right and glanced in the direction to see Armin tense up as the man shook his hand.

Jean noticed it, too.

'You 're President Erwin, ' Armin said in a voice that wavered.

'You know who I am, that 's good. I 'm the President of Survey Corp. It 's so wonderful to have the chance to meet you. ' Erwin said with a smile that should have been illegal. It felt like he was taking advantage of the fact that Armin was currently experiencing absolute hero worship. I suddenly had the strong desire to protect him from this man, but I restrained myself. Good first impressions and all.

'I 'm going to be joining Mike in showing you around the rest of Survey Corp, ' Erwin informed us, finally releasing Armin 's hand. Jean grabbed it in his the moment it was back at Armin 's side. I think I actually approved of Jean in that moment.

'But we do have one more person we 're waiting for, ' Erwin continued talking and I tuned back into the conversation, only mildly interested. 'Ah! Here he is now. Vice President Levi, come, meet the new recruits. '

We turned as one group to face the man Erwin addressed. When my eyes met his I felt everything inside of me spin out in all directions, leaving me empty and confused. Two nights ago I had been so sure that I knew who this man was, and yet here he was in front of me, transformed. His hair was as short as it had been on Saturday night, but the dark eyeliner and black nail polish were gone from his body. He wore a black suit with a white button up and something that I assumed must have been a tie, but it was unlike any I had ever seen before. It was white and somehow reminded me of a folded dinner napkin, which should have been comical, but I felt my knees go weak at the sight of it.

I wanted to grab it and pull him to me, and I might have considered doing so if I hadn 't felt so betrayed in that moment. He had been wearing a disguise this entire time and that disguise was all I had known, up until now. Suddenly the wig and the clothes made sense. The words he had said two nights ago rang in my head.

'Ever wanted to be someone you 're not? '

I stepped forward and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. And regretted it the moment I met his eyes.

'Corporal? '