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I am so sorry for missing the deadline of the update guys, but now that I am officially in Christmas break, I'll make sure updates stay as consistent as possible so that they can get right back on schedule!

Also, small disclaimer, these next few chapters contain sensitive content and themes, so please proceed with caution everyone! Other than that, hope you guys enjoy another longer chapter and i'll see you guys in the next one!

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Usually Levi didn't sleep for a few hours a night, and somehow it was becoming even less hours with everything he suddenly on his plate, so when Onyankopon suggested that Levi was just too riled up, frustrated and out of sorts to think clearly and that it would be best that Levi just slept on it, he had been really against it.

Levi didn't think it would work and that if he didn't end up sleeping like he usually did, keeping himself up, he would spend most of the night just thinking about what was happening to him.

Feeling horror and the impending fear that he was running out of time with every passing second and that very thought kept him up at night even more than usual. He knew that not having his powers would catch up to him but he still refused to admit he needed to team up with you. It was a game of back and forth himself that he felt was driving him to the edge of insanity.

But somehow, it turns out that he was more worn out than he thought he was. Even if he didn't sleep for more than just a couple hours, when it was morning again, Levi woke up with some sort of epiphany.

Just before he'd gone to bed, it felt like his mind was going in circles, like he had been staring up at his ceiling in bed for hours and he felt like his head would explode, but he didn't even notice he fell asleep until he woke up the next morning and a thought had finally occurred to him.

There was somehow some part of his brain that was listening to his stubbornness about refusing to work with you, and he somehow convinced himself he'd found a loophole in this whole situation.

A solution where he wouldn't have to be your bodyguard, where he could just maybe do things on his own terms and not have to rely on anyone else. Or at least that's what he thought. He'd somehow managed to convince himself that with this solution, his tattoo would no longer be in danger in your hands and it would come back to him sooner than he thought.

He didn't know that he was so deep into his own denial even his own ideas were going in circles just because he wouldn't give in, but no one has been able to break into that exterior and knock some sense into him.

Which is why, as soon as Levi woke up in the morning and his idea suddenly dawned on him, he shot up from his bed and started getting ready, feeling awfully confident about the alternative that he'd come up with.

After Levi finished getting ready to look presentable for the day, he headed out of his room in the Scouts Foundation and started heading for his office, that was in the same hallway as his bedroom and living space.

Soon, when getting to his office, which had a very different demeanor than he did the night before, he started walking towards the bar in his office.

It was pretty straightforward the way he grabbed all of his supplies to make his favorite tea as if it was second nature to him. He'd first made his way around the bar, heading towards the stoves and began to boil the water he'd put in the kettle that always uses.

Then, after that was done, he pulled the kettle out of the stove and walked back around to the front of the bar and let the water cool a bit. After that, he did the usual process of putting the tea bag first inside the cup, and then proceeding to pour the hot water over the teabag and the cup, that was already placed over a saucer.

He was just waiting for it to let it steep for a couple minutes and the aroma of the tea was already doing wonders for him in soothing him in the early hours of the morning. This is exactly what he'd needed to gather his thoughts correctly.

Unlike the night before, his shoulders weren't tense and had risen up as his anger did, they were sunken and relaxed as the smell of tea soothed him. His head was hanging low, sure, but he was just taking in the serenity that he was feeling from doing his usual morning routine.

His raven bangs fell over his face and he closed his eyes lightly. He didn't even want to think about his behavior the night before because he had been so immersed into his panic that it's only when he woke up that he realized how ridiculous this situation was in the first place.

Levi was so relaxed that he didn't even react when he suddenly heard the door to his office open, and soon after, he heard Onyankopon's voice echo across the room. Levi lifted his head and opened his eyes but still didn't look back.

"Morning, Levi," Onyankopon greeted, which was responded to with a soft hum from Levi. Onyankopon made his way around the bar and stood right in front of his boss.

"Morning," Levi replied gruffly as he finally realized that his tea was steeped enough, so he took out the tea bag and not wasted a second to wrap his fingers around the rim of the cup, and raised it up to his lips. Onyankopon crossed his arms in front of him and studied his boss' body language carefully.

He seemed very different from the day before and it seems like he was more level-headed now. He thought about the chances that Levi actually took his advice about getting some sleep but he didn't know how true that was. Most of the time, just a couple hours was enough for his boss to get through the day and to get his head cleared, for the most part.

"I guess you're feeling better," Onyankopon said, and Levi looked at his assistant as he took a sip of his tea, so Onyankopon could only see Levi's piercing eyes looking at him.

Levi put down his cup of tea on the saucer and put both of his hands on the table, gripping the edge of it as he slightly leaned forward in place.

"Well, I did get some sleep like you told me to," Levi started, and Onyankopon's face immediately brightened in surprise hearing his boss say that, but before he could say anything else like he knew his assistant wanted to, Levi raised his hand in the air and stopped Onyankopon from cutting him off.

"Before you go bouncing off the walls, It wasn't that much of an improvement from the hours I usually sleep, but It surprised me that I woke up feeling a lot better. Also made me realize how much of an idiot I was last night," Levi said, and even after hearing that, Onyankopon's smile still didn't waver, and in fact he was excited to hear his boss' thoughts.

A smug look crossed Onyankopon's face. "Should I feel honored? That only happens once every blue moon," He teased, and Levi rolled his eyes, knowing that having admitted he took his assistant's advice would come back to bite him in the ass.

Onyankopon will never let him live it down. "Don't flatter yourself, it's not a big deal," Levi muttered, but Onyankopon's smug expression still didn't drop.

Onyankopon shrugged and his smirk grew. "Oh but it is. I'm going to rub it in your face from now on as much as I can. And also you finally decided to be y/n's bodyguard?" He asked, but after hearing that, Levi pushed himself off of the table and looked at his assistant with a threatening glare, even if he knew that wasn't going to do anything because Onyankopon was basically desensitized to it.

"Careful," Levi warned, but Onyankopon simply nodded, and his expression turned a little more neutral but was also ready to hear what his boss had to say next. It's clear that he got to think about stuff overnight.

"And I'm seeing things more clearly now but let's not push it. I haven't gone that crazy yet," Levi assured his assistant, but Onyankopon looked at him skeptically. He knew that Levi had begun to live in delusion from the moment he lost his tattoo, but if he wanted to leave this room, he was just going to keep his mouth shut and not say any of that.

So instead, Onyankopon opted to go another way when it came to his questions about what Levi came up with. "Okay, then. So if you didn't change your mind, then, what did change, though? You obviously seem to be in a better mood," Onyankopon asked, and he watched as Levi took a couple seconds to answer as he raked his hand back through his hair, but then he put his hands back on the the table.

He was about to tell what he thought of the moment that he opened his eyes and his mind just had a lightbulb moment. Well, not so much of a lightbulb moment, but just an idea to delay the inevitable.

"Well I did come up with an idea after I woke up," Levi said and Onyankopon nodded as a curious look came onto his face. If he hadn't changed his mind about being your bodyguard, then what did he come up with that could be as good of a temporary solution as the one you suggested.

"Oh, do tell," Onyankopon said as he began to reach under the table to get some supplies of his own to prepare his own breakfast. Levi ignored Onyankopon' sass and just continued to say what he'd been thinking.

"The moment I woke up, I realized that this situation might not be as bad as I thought. I think I might have overreacted a little," Levi said, muttering the last part to himself as he looked off to the side in shame for a bit, but Onyankopon pursed his lips to fight back a laugh.

But instead of laughing, he just settled for a teasing smile and just saying; "Shocker," He said, turning away for a second, avoiding Levi's annoyance that he could sense was rising just from that comment.

"Keep that up and I'll wipe that smile off your face," He heard Levi say as Onyankopon turned his body around and grabbed some more ingredients for his food. Yup, he's back. He heard Levi sigh, and then decided not to comment anymore until Levi finished his thoughts, because maybe he'd be onto something.

"As I was saying, I started to see the silver lining. My tattoo still hasn't disappeared, and at least it's in y/n's wrist. Not necessarily safe, but it's there," Levi continued, but Onyankopon turned back around as he raised an eyebrow at his boss' words. It seems like there was something missing there, he was expecting something more.

Already having what he needed for his breakfast, Onyankopon came back to stand in front of his boss and laid everything out in front of him, getting to work. "But how will you use it at all? How will you make sure it stays there until you find a way to get it back? She won't let you near her and just use her when you need to do deals," Onyankopon asked curiously, trying to see where his boss was getting at, not realizing he was being roped into Levi's ideas unknowingly. It was like the blind leading the blind in that room and neither of them were realizing it.

"I haven't thought about that part yet, but, I realized this morning that the reason I didn't get my tattoo back last night when I jumped into the water with y/n," Levi said, but Onyankopon lowered his head as he started occupying himself and preparing his own breakfast, refusing to let Levi see his face when he said those last few words. But he just couldn't help himself, he needed to say something back,

"Sure, 'jumped'," Onyankopon muttered, but Levi heard it loud and clear. The raven leaned forward as he glared daggers at his assistant, watching as Onyankopon tried to keep busy. He hadn't let go of his little quips ever since he came into the room.

"Did you forget to leave your shitty sarcasm outside when you came in here?" Levi said, and Onyankopon raised his head and pursed his lips, turning his head to the side for a second, concealing his teasing smile.

"Alright. Carry on," He said, and Levi nodded once and leaned back again, leaning his body forward as he kept his hands on the edge of the table. "As I was saying, I think that the conditions of getting it back have to be the same as when it was transferred," Levi started, but Onyankopon's hand froze and looked up at his boss, tilting his head in puzzlement.

"What kind of conditions?" Onyankopon said as he put both hands on the table and his eyebrows furrowed. He watched as Levi seemed to go deep into thought for a second, but quickly started explaining.

"I mean, the location, the temperature of the water that night, the weather, and just anything that resembles that night has to be the same. Maybe that's what will get my powers back," Levi said, and after hearing that, Onyankopon considered it for a couple seconds and shrugged, even if there was still a lot of uncertainty in his eyes and his voice.

"I mean...I guess it makes sense. But are you sure it'll work? You seemed pretty confident yesterday too with the plan you had and look how that turned out," Onyankopon pointed out, and that seemed to send Levi into an even deeper train of thought. But Levi raised his left hand and began rubbing it on his neck back and forth, he let out a huff through his nose and then looked up at Onyankopon with a simple shrug.

"I'm running out of options, and I don't have the luxury of waiting around anymore. It doesn't hurt to consider it," Levi said as he dropped his left hand from his neck and grabbed his teacup by the rim and took yet another sip of his tea, and then set it back down.

Onyankopon went back to setting up what he wanted to eat, and after a couple seconds of reviewing in his head everything his boss suggested he would try to do, Onyankopon sighed. "Maybe," He muttered, finishing up putting together his breakfast.

But just as the two of them started to get back into their rhythms of doing their own thing, Onyankopon stopped his movements altogether and started glancing around warily while his nostrils became upturned in disgust at a weird scent that he suddenly sensed in the room.

"Do you smell burning?" He asked, taking a couple sniffs into the air. Levi didn't look up to face his assistant and got ahold of the rim of his tea cup. "Maybe you burnt your own food," Levi started as he took another sip of his tea. "Never took you for a good chef anyway." He said, and Onyankopon looked at him indignantly.

He gasped dramatically, a fake pained expression on his face. "I'm an excellent chef, thank you." He defended himself, holding his plate up with his breakfast all set up for Levi to see.

When he gained no other reaction, he simply spun around to observe the surroundings. "It smells like burning meat though." Onyankopon added, still not being able to ignore that there was a weird smell in the air that he couldn't quite place yet.

Levi simply rolled his eyes, a scoff escaping his lips. "How are you smelling burning meat?" He asked, not having caught the smell quite yet that his assistant was picking up.

But the second he voiced his thoughts, he could smell it too. The pungent stench of charred meat suffocated the duo in the room, and Levi had to hold back the cough building up in his throat.

Levi's face twisted with discomfort as soon as he started feeling it. "Wait, you're right," he admitted, sending Onyankopon a small glare as he set down his cup and looked up. "It's like you're grilling up a steak or something in here." Levi said, and Onyankopon returned his boss' expression, and folded his arms across his chest. "Clearly, I am not grilling a steak." He deadpanned.

"No shit." Levi said to him and then started looking around the room, just like Onyankopon was doing before, in an attempt to find the source of the smell. If no one was grilling anything, where could the smell be coming from?

He heaved a heavy sigh, blowing the air out through his mouth with a sudden uncomfortable feeling of heat settling in the room. "Onyankopon, is it hot in here?" Levi asked all of a sudden, grabbing the front of his shirt and started to air it out. How was this happening all of a sudden?

Onyankopon spun around to face Levi, a confused look settling on his features. "No, I don't think so. You could be coming down with something." He faced away again, continuing to look for the source of the burning and the sudden feeling of heat coming into the room. "I'm not coming down with something," Levi raised a hand to pitch the bridge of his nose out of annoyance, Onyankopon getting on his last nerve this early in the morning.

But as Levi expected more comments from Onyankopon, it never happened. Instead, as soon as he lifted his hand, his eyes widened, because a flame sat on the tip of his finger glittering in his grey hues.

Levi blinked at it a couple times, trying to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but once he realized this was all very real, all he could say was; "Onyankopon." Levi said simply, almost in a daze as if to comprehend what he was looking at.

He hummed, turning back around once more, but when he did, he froze when he saw what Levi called him for. As he stared, he noticed the very thing Levi had requested him to focus on; the burning embers, flickers of orange and yellow staring right back at the pair.

"Well, that's not good," he stated, still staring at the tip of Levi's finger. "Does that not burn at all? Why is that happening?" He asked cluelessly and Levi glared at Onyankopon as the effects of the flame were slowly but surely starting to sting his skin.

"Hell if I know. Why are you asking me? Of course it burns!" Levi snaps, sending an icy glare to Onyankopon, internally hoping the flame could transfer from his finger to the man just for his dumb question.

"Holy shit- Fuck- this hurts!" Levi said as he gripped onto the table harder and tried to get a closer look at the flame, trying to understand how this was happening, but then it suddenly hit him what this was. And Onyankopon said it for him. This is exactly what Levi had been fearing and dreading this entire time.

"Is that how 'spontaneous combustion' works?" Onyankopon asked and Levi kept glaring at his assistant, but also considered his question for a second, because even if he knew he would suffer spontaneous combustion without his powers, he had no idea this is what it would look like. "I suppose so." Levi muttered and Onyankopon was quick to respond.

"Shit," Onyankopon repeated, briefly looking around before locking his gaze back to the flame. He was puzzled, his mind rushing to think of a solution to the problem, because how do you put off a fire that appeared out of nowhere with no explanation whatsoever? Levi was becoming very annoyed with the way Onyankopon seemed to be tweaking in place trying to figure out what to do about this, but failing to get his body to move.

"If you don't help me put this fire out," Levi warned, a deadly stare taking over his features. His spare hand gripped the counter, the knuckles slowly turning white.

He grit his teeth painfully, the scorching heat beginning to permanently burn his skin in a way that he would never wish on anyone, and even on his worst enemy. It was becoming far too unbearable.

Onyankopon's eyes widened, came back down to Earth, and he did the only thing he could think of doing once his brain started to cooperate. He came around the counter of the bar, stepped closer to Levi, bending forward slightly so he was eye level with the flame.

Levi froze at what Onyankopon was doing. He was blowing on his finger. He huffed out a puff of air straight towards the flame that was still burning atop Levi's fingertip. But Levi couldn't reply; he simply stared, too confused with what just happened.

Before he could comment on it, the burning and stinging sensation started to get worse than before, scorching and charring the skin, turning his finger a bright crimson color. It was a stark contrast against the paleness of his knuckles as he gripped the counter even harder, if that was possible.

He too started to blow out air onto his fingertip in an attempt to put out the fire. If you can't beat em', join em', right? But to their disappointment, the fire wouldn't go out, no matter how much they tried to blow it out.

Soon enough, Onyankopon and Levi were both aggressively huffing and puffing out air, growing more desperate to put this flame out. It was starting to burn Levi's skin beyond repair, and he could feel the layers beginning to melt off completely, threatening to permanently damage his skin cells, and the more they attempted it, the more it sent agonizing pain through Levi's body.

Panic grew inside Levi as he felt like he couldn't even think straight with how painful it was. The two were both so invested, so set on putting this fire out by themselves that they failed to miss the sound of Levi's office opening, followed by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps.

"Levi! Did you manage to recover your..." The voice said, and both Levi and Onyankopon's heads snapped up and saw none other than Petra. As Petra had opened the door, she almost couldn't believe her eyes; she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Levi was gripping his finger with such force, the skin was beginning to turn white from the lack of blood circulation. Meanwhile, Onyankopon was hunched over Levi's hand, aggressively blowing out puffs of air to put out the growing flame on his fingertip. "What is going on?" She asked with so much bewilderment at what she was witnessing. What did she just walk into?

Onyankopon's eyes widened as he realized that Petra just gave away that she knew about what was happening between you, Levi, and his tattoo, when Levi had told him he wanted nobody else to find out about it.

"Nothing!" Onyankopon quickly interrupted, trying to cover up that Petra had revealed what he did, but failed to miss the deadly glare radiating from his boss."You told her?" Levi almost growled, his grip on his finger only tightened as Onyankopon continued his attempt to put out the growing fire.

Onyankopon huffed in defeat, stopping his attempt for a measly moment. "I had to! I was scared for my life!" Another puff of air. And another. Yet no avail; the flame was still burning brightly atop Levi's hand. He glanced over at Petra, who was still standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

"Would you care to help instead of just standing there?" He snapped and Petra was quick to react. She quickly nodded, rushing over towards the duo to help them out. She too started to blow out huffs and puffs of air in an attempt to put out the fire. Yet it only grew; the specks of golden yellow and burnt orange doubled in size as the fire continued to burn his skin agonizingly.

Onyankopon grabbed Levi's hand, wanting to stabilize it and the fire while using his spare to fan the flame, another attempt to put it out. Levi hissed in pure torture, squeezing his eyes shut to try and minimise the pain.

"It's just getting worse, nothing's working!" Onyankopon announced, and Levi lifted his head from having it hand low and turned to glare at his assistant. "You don't say," Levi spat out with pure spite, his jaw clenching, teeth gritted.

Onyankopon ignored his boss' snark and paused, leaning back to examine Levi's hand. He pointed, a confused expression painting his features. "Do you think the oxygen we're adding is fueling the flame?" He said and Levi's eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth together in annoyance.

"First of all, it's not oxygen we're adding," Levi started, glancing up at Onyankopon with a sour face, truly fed up with this. "And second, none of us are scientists, so cut that shit out." He said and Onyankopon rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, preparing to return a snarky comment until Levi groaned out in pain again.

It was becoming increasingly hard for Levi to pretend this wasn't tearing him apart. "This is too damn hot," he chokes out, practically collapsing, resting his other hand on his knee as he folds over in half. Onyankopon supported Levi the best he could, keeping his hand around Levi's wrist, forcing him to stay up-right as best he could because Levi wasn't handing on for long.

Meanwhile, Petra had thought of an idea and walked over towards the kitchen in the middle of this chaos and filled a small bucket with ice cold water. She quickly walked back over towards the duo, who were still trying their own methods of putting this damn fire out. As Onyankopon was about to attempt to blow the fire out again, Petra threw the water at Levi's hand, interrupting Onyankopon's actions altogether once and for all.

Finally, the fire was out with a small sizzle, a couple seconds of silence passed after that and Petra stood proudly with a hand on her hip as she had succeeded at such a simple task the other two were failing miserably at.

However, her aim was slightly off, and so she glanced to the side and gasped. Onyankopon was drenched in water from head to toe. He stood there bewildered. With a sigh, he huffed the water away from his lips, wiped the water from his eyes, and his grip finally loosening from Levi's hand.

Levi pulled his arm away from Onyankopon, balancing it on the counter, his once lit hand now in front of his face with bafflement written all over his face. He could see clearly now the way that the skin on his fingertip was a bright scarlet, the skin cells were surely burnt to a crisp and would take longer to heal than any ordinary burn. "What the fuck was that?" Petra asked, the now empty bucket still in her hands, finally setting it back on the counter.

That's when Levi could finally think clearly and he said the only thing he could think of in that moment. "The spontaneous combustion started," He muttered to himself in horror. Levi knew what this meant, and it wasn't good. He was out of time.

He didn't have nearly as much time to think anymore of a new plan to not have to be your bodyguard and that's what hurt him the more to realize. As much as he pained him to admit it, knowing that his body just caught on fire because he's stalling to think of a new plan, he needed your help. And he needed it urgently. He needed free access to his tattoo at all times, which is still within your possession. The only way he could get this was by accepting your offer of becoming your bodyguard.

He hated that it's come to this result, because he made such a big deal about not accepting it before to you and to Onyankopon and even after he rejected your proposal countless times, you were probably still hoping he changed his mind.

He just kept doubling down on his dignity and self-respect over and over when it came to you, and now he felt he's hitting a new low. How is it going to look when he suddenly agrees overnight on your proposition? He couldn't think of anything he could say to you as a cover.

But what other choice did he have? He needs his tattoo, he needs his powers and while he has no way of figuring out a transfer quickly enough, so being near you is his only solution at this point. He couldn't afford to be picky and selective.

Having made this decision on the spot, Levi straightened his posture and spun around on his heel, attempting to rush out of the room and head for the stairs in the back of his office. But he never made it.

Onyankopon beat him to the doorway and blocked his path with a smirk, his eyebrow slightly arched with a smug expression. His head hung low in exasperation, as if it was weighed down with the heavy thoughts of his situation. The possible solutions would soon become his troubles if he couldn't figure this out.

Petra noticed Levi and Onyankopon standing in the doorway, and a frown painted her lips as she folded her arms across her chest. "Where are you going?" She asked, realizing that she had missed a lot more than just what she'd forced Onyankopon to reveal to her, so she needed a little update.

Levi turned to look at her and put it as simple as he could possibly do it. "To find her." Levi mumbled out, but the smiles on both Onyankopon and Petra's face indicated that they heard him loud and clear, and they immediately got it.

He didn't have time for their games or their questions; his time was running out and he couldn't spare a second to stick around and answer all of their doubts. That could wait until later. He had to accept your stupid offer before it was too late, as much as he knew it would only be a hindrance to him and everything he stood for.

"Well?" Onyankopon asked, that smug expression still glazing his features. "What are you waiting for? Christmas?" His assistant said and Levi looked at him with an expressionless look on his face.

Levi rolled his eyes, but pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket regardless. He knew he needed to do this in front of these two just so they'd leave him alone and they could be up to speed.

He quickly tapped away on the screen and pulled up your contact, not taking a moment to let himself hesitate. The ball was in his court now, and he was also under the pressure as his two colleagues were watching him like a hawk would its prey. He didn't leave a second for hesitation; he couldn't hesitate now, he's running out of time.

If he didn't do this now, he never would. He couldn't back out now. Even if he hung up now, his call would be on your call history and he felt like that would somehow be even worse. He can't handle more embarrassment. He pressed the phone to his ear as he left the building, listening to the repetitive rings as he awaited your answer, feeling his colleagues stand on either side of him.

If you would only answer- Levi thought to himself in irritation at how long you were taking, but then again, the hour he was calling you at seemed justifiable for you not to answer right way. Though, as he hoped, it only took you a matter of seconds to pick up the phone, and Levi heard your familiar groan and voice on the other side of the call.

"You better be calling me for a good reason this early in the morning," he heard you huff. Or was it some kind of yawn? You must have woken up just now, then.

He once again rolled his eyes at your words, not having time to fire back at you, but he still didn't hang up. He couldn't afford to. He knew you needed this opportunity as much as he did; this would benefit the both of you.

He couldn't hang up now just because of your snarky comments. It also didn't help at all that Petra and Onyankopon weren't being subtle at all.

"She actually picked up?" Petra asked quizzically in a whisper, looking over at Onyankopon on the other side of Levi, who was waving a hand at the ginger woman to get her to be quiet. "Shut up, I can't hear her!" Onyankopon whisper-shouted back at his colleague, and she raised her hands in defense.

This was finally her chance to learn more about this mystery woman Levi and Onyankopon just refuse to talk about since this started. Levi held back a groan and closed his eyes shut in frustration for a second. He placed a hand over the speaker of his phone, scolding the two beside him.

"Would both of you shut it? It's painful enough with you two here." He scolded the two of them, and that seemed to have shut them up effectively in a second.

As instructed, the two kept quiet after that, and Levi could finally get over his own ego; he could finally accept your offer, despite the unsettling feeling in his chest for what he was about to say. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Are you home?." He said, cursing himself mentally for actually going through with this thing. "Yes." Levi couldn't miss the uncertain, confused and questioning tone in your voice, knowing you were wondering why you were asking her that when its clear she just woke up.

"I'll do it." Levi blurted out before he could back out, and it took you a couple seconds to process what he just said, because Levi wasn't exactly clear about what he was talking about and you needed a little bit more than that.

It was too early in the morning to try and figure out what he wants from that call just from that. "I think I might need little bit more than that," You said quizzically, wanting more context and not to mention feeling beyond lost and confused.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he continued. "I'm saying...I'll be your bodyguard." He said, and all he heard was the quick sound of rustling on the other end, followed by a gasp from you.

"You will?" It was as if someone had injected you with some kind of drug, because Levi was not expecting your reaction nor the tone it flowed through it. You seemed ecstatic that he had accepted your offer, but he couldn't make out why.

Were you simply excited over the idea of having some protection? Or because you knew you were right and he needed your help.

Whatever the reason was, his response changed you briefly, and he couldn't help the sudden urge he felt to start rushing to go and see you to seal the deal.

He didn't want to waste this phone call with idle chit chatter for no reason, so he was going to go just straight to the point now.

"I'm coming over, I need to see you. Now." He said firmly, and then he hung up, failing to let you reply to him as he practically threw his phone back into his own jacket pocket.

He made his way back towards the kitchen and picked up the bucket that Petra had used earlier to put the fire out, and soak Onyankopon from head to toe.

Silently, his colleagues watched as Levi filled it to the top with ice cubes, rushing and spilling ice cubes all over the counter as he did so out of the sheer hurry and urgency in his movements. He glanced at Petra and Onyankopon, who were simply staring at him as he raced around like a madman.

"Don't just stand there, I need to go, now!" Levi retorted at them and almost instantly, they responded and quickly started helping him, trying to shovel as many ice cubes into the bucket as they could while trying not to freeze their own hands themselves from grabbing so many at once.

As it was nearly full, Petra paused and looked up at Levi, a question on the tip of her tongue. "What's your plan for this anyway?" She asked, not really knowing or understanding what Levi's plan was from here on out, what he was thinking of or if he's just making it up as he goes along.

Levi looked up to face Petra, with the desperation still clear in his eyes. "I need to make a deal," Levi explained, placing the last couple of ice cubes into the bucket before he placed his hands on the counter, leaning his weight down and lightly drummed his fingers on the surface.

"And fast, because I'm running out of time, in case the spontaneous combustion wasn't enough of a give away for you." He said, not wasting another second to pick up the ice bucket once it was full and then headed straight for the exit of his office, leaving Petra and Onyankopon behind in silence once he went through the door and it slammed shut and all you could hear was Levi's departing footsteps.

Onyankopon and Petra looked at each other in worry after everything that just happened just dawned on them and the silence became even more deafening.

As for Levi, he doesn't think he's ever driven as fast as he did as soon as he left his office. He know he couldn't feel like more of an idiot the more this situation escalated, especially since he drove with one hand on the wheel and another with his hand inside an ice bucket.

He just got a taste of what his instant combustion will look like if he doesn't find a solution, and soon. He didn't want to take any chances anymore. He had to debase himself and agree with you just to avoid his own doom.

He felt like he was losing his dignity more and more with every second, not to mention that he had no choice now but to agree to go to you for help when he'd denied it to you so many times just the day before and he'd been so against it.

This was taking a blow to his ego and he didn't like any part of it. He was driving to your apartment now after he hung up the phone and rushed out of the Scout Foundation and you agreed to meet up with him.

With how hopeful you sounded on the phone about him changing his mind, for whatever reason it may have been, and sounding not at all resentful for him turning you down so many times, maybe he could make this work somehow.

He'd somehow have to explain to you why he was holding an ice bucket too. You were too insightful for your own good, it was unusual for anyone to be carrying an ice bucket with them, and he had no way to hide it. Levi didn't feel like explaining that he had to have it on standby or he'd burst into flames.

Every second that passed as he drove made him remember that he was continuously going back and forth on this with you, and even if he kept in mind the idea he came up with this morning, that was obviously out the window now, and that he has to begrudgingly give into this whole bodyguard idea of yours, despite how much he hated it and refused to do it in the first place.

But, he knows and was well aware that he had to make a deal now in whatever means possible, and that he needed his powers, and to do that, he needed to be your bodyguard.

Knowing that the clock was ticking, he couldn't spend time anymore thinking of new plans, and if he could bend this whole bodyguard idea to delay the inevitable, then he would do just that.

He had nothing to lose now and agreeing to this was becoming the least of his problems. He needed to shove aside the petty stubbornness he had towards you so he could get his life back.

Before, when he woke up this morning, he came up with he idea and felt optimistic, but of course his body had to remind him that he was on the clock.

Levi could see no other way around it since he knew you wouldn't let him just stop by whenever he wanted to use his powers and drag you to do deals with him. That was just terribly inconvenient. He hated to admit that you were right, that he would have to put up with your gloating and that he was wrong.

Even if he could see your point before when you first mentioned the idea, and still refused, that being by your side all the time would let him use his powers all he wanted, while protecting you and his tattoo at the same time, would let him make deals like before and it would be a much more convenient option now that he could see that he didn't have the luxury anymore to wait around for a day to roll around where the conditions were the same as the day he lost his tattoo. He could do this without forgetting what he's truly after.

Levi also realized that he had to do at least one deal to able to delay the combustion process and to give him time to think about a new plan. You knew he made deals with humans, but you have never actually seem him do that before, so that was another downside to this.

To make deals, you'd have to be joined at the hip with him and watch him do his job. It wasn't ideal because he usually did his deals alone, but now he had no choice but to take you around with him.

The whole ride there, the hand that he had on the steering wheel had been gripping the leather with a hold so tight that his hand was turning white. He hoped you didn't patronize him for finally agreeing with you, because the inner turmoil in his head wasn't helping the fact that he was losing his dignity bit by bit with this whole situation.

He didn't want you to ask any questions because he didn't feel like answering them. He didn't even know himself. All he knew is that he didn't want to burst into flames just because he thought he could handle this on his own.

He hasn't figured out how to deal with this situation at all because it's so foreign to him. He didn't know how to react, how to feel, how think and it was driving him insane.

That was how he found himself where he is now. Levi had hung up so quickly before when he left his office that he texted you right after with his free hand to tell you to meet up with him in the parking lot of your building.

So now, he was standing in the parking lot of your building, holding the ice bucket close to him just in case. As he waited, he got a little too consumed into his thoughts and he zoned out a bit, trying to think about he could possibly explain the ice bucket to you, and trying to come up with potential answers for any suspiciousness and hesitancy you might have towards him for suddenly changing his mind.

His foot was tapping anxiously against the floor and his fingers were drumming anxiously against the cool metal of the ice bucket. You'd sent a message you were heading down soon, why weren't you here already? Levi had no time to waste.

But then, as if the universe was listening intently to his thoughts, Levi perked up at the sound of distant footsteps coming from behind him, and it sounded like heels so he knew it was you. Levi quickly turned around, since his back had been facing the entrance to the elevators, and he saw you walk out.

He noticed that you walked out and were looking elsewhere and hadn't noticed Levi's presence yet, but Levi would make sure you knew he was there. So, Levi immediately turned on his heel and started walking towards you, and from the sound of his footsteps, you turned your head and finally saw him.

Though, when you first saw him, you made eye contact with him but then your eyes trailed down and you saw he was carrying an ice bucket for reasons that were unknown to you.

Because he was walking towards you, you just decided to stay in place and kept your arms in front of you, holding your purse with both hands. It made you a bit nervous the way he was striding towards you, but you kept your head high and hoped that what he called you for, was to tell you that had finally come around.

It was all you wanted to hear from him and it would make you feel ten times more at ease, and you'd know how to start moving forward to find a solution for both of you.

He reached you and you raised your arms from their position in front of you, to now crossing your arms while still holding onto your purse in one hand. "Your call this morning was really sudden, I didn't expect to be hearing from you so soon. But...were you serious about what you said?" You said as you looked at Levi and saw that he was looking at you with that same icy glare as always, though, this one in particular was making you shrink back a little.

You had no idea what was going on in his head or what he was thinking. He tilted his head to the side and let out a huff as he held eye contact with you.

You waited for him to say something after that, and when he did speak, your body froze and for a second you thought you'd misheard. "Yes. I decided to be your bodyguard," He said suddenly, with a simple blank expression, that rivaled yours by a lot since your eyes widened and you gasped in surprise.

You really hoped that's what he would say, but to actually have him confirm your hopes was an entirely different thing. After all that bickering last night, you must have gotten through to him.

"Really? You'll do it?" You asked with so much hopeful innocence in your voice, feeling this day starting out much better than you would have hoped.

Levi agreed to be your bodyguard, even if you still didn't know what changed his mind, and now the two of you would have much higher chances of solving each other's problems. At your question, you only receive a simple nod and a hum from him.

Your shoulders sank in relief and you let out a soft laugh as you let yourself be more relaxed now. "I'm so glad you came around. I promise, you won't regret..." You started, but then a thought came to mind and you trailed off.

You really didn't know what made him change his mind. He seemed so against it last night that you thought you were holding onto that hope that he'd change his mind by a thread.

Your eyes narrowed suspiciously and you stared at him skeptically. Sure, you were over the moon that he agreed, but suddenly you became aware that from the short time you've known Levi, he wasn't one to just fold like that after he refused your proposal so many times.

He had something else in mind, didn't he? And you wanted to know what it was. This involved the two of you now, more than before, now that the two of you have come to a single agreement.

You ignored how intensely Levi was looking at you, knowing that there was a hidden intent behind him suddenly changing his mind overnight. "Wait," You said, and Levi raised an eyebrow at you and his eyes narrowed further, feeling them pierce through you. But you continued nontheless.

"Why did you change your mind so suddenly? You were so against it last night I thought I wouldn't hear from you for a while, or ever again honestly" You said accusingly, whispering the last part to yourself, being careful with your words and not make him change his mind.

"You made it very clear that you wanted to figure out the problems with your powers on your own," You added, looking at him expectantly, wanting to know why he's suddenly so into this idea when it seemed like its the last thing on Earth he wanted to do and be a part of.

You didn't miss the way that he looked off to the side for a second, and then looked at you again, steeling and hardening his eyes again. You raised your eyebrows expectantly and watched as he visibly racled his brain for something to say.

"I couldn't stop thinking about your proposal all night, and you were right. This wil benefit both of us, so I'm on board," Levi said simply, trying to sound as convincing as possible, but by the way you looked at him with a skeptical look on your face, he knew you were having a hard time buying that.

And when your eyes trailed down again to the ice bucket he had in his hands, you were having a hard time believing it was as simple as he made it out to be. You didn't know how exactly, but in a very bizarre way, that ice bucket had something to do with this.

Levi realized were you were looking and quickly made him hold the ice bucket behind his back hurriedly, making you look at him strangely. What was wrong with him? But your attention was drawn back up to him when you heard him continue to speak, so you listened intently to what he had to say.

"It hit me this morning after I remembered everything you said. I need my powers, you need protection. I'm willing to take precious time out of my precious day to do just that," Levi explained, and you rolled your eyes and raised your hand to rub against for your forehead for a second and scrunched your face a little.

When you dropped your hand back down, you crossed your arms again and looked at him again. "You're acting weird. Even more than usual," You said to him, and he clicked his tongued at your words. But his entire demeanor still seemed very different.

He kept one arm behind his back with he ice bucket and leaned forward. "I'm not. Stop being so paranoid and just accept my help already. That's what you wanted. I just changed my mind, that's all. You were practically begging it from me last night. Do you want my help or not?" He said, and you raised your hands up defensively.

You didn't mean to offend him or anything or insinuate that you didn't want his help just because you felt he was acting a certain way. The kind of way that made you believe he was hiding something since he had a change of heart so quickly.

"I do, I want your help, but I'm just saying that you must have changed your mind for a reason I want to know what it is," You said as you looked down and let your head hang a bit low, letting your feet play push around some loose pebbles of concrete on the ground.

Though, as you looked elsewhere, Levi felt the familiar sting and heat arise in his finger once again, so his eyes widened and his breath got caught up in his throat when he saw that there was a small flame growing again in his finger. He looked back and forth between you and his finger that was catching on fire again and panic began to grow in his body all of a sudden.

"You hated the idea of it so much yesterday that I just thought-" You started, but then were cut off when you heard a loud splash, followed by a sound of sizzling dying down. Your head snapped up at the sound and your eyebrows pinched together as your face twisted in confusion when you saw Levi sticking his hand in the ice bucket that he brought.

You blinked at him a couple times and watched as he looked up at you with wide eyes and a very guilty look on his face. Your eyes darted back and forth between his face and his hand in the ice bucket.

A suspicious amount of time passed before you finally found your voice. "What was that?" You asked, watching as he forced his wide eyes to go back to normal, obviously hoping you'd ignore why he has his hand in a bucket filled with ice.

But you weren't that dense. It was hard to ignore the way he was holding it when you first spotted hi, with it, but now you felt the urge even more to ask what was the context behind it. "What was what?" He asked right back, and you looked at him incredulously. Was he seriously trying to pretend what he was doing wasn't incredibly strange?

You sighed and looked at him dead in the eye. "See? This is what I'm talking about. You have your hand in an ice bucket, and you think I'm just going to brush that off?" You said, and Levi's eyes hardened as he almost felt the need to scoff at your words.

"Well, It's none of your business," He said, and your eyebrows raised in surprise. He really wasn't making it easy for you to stop wondering what was going on with him. He was acting more and more suspicious by the second, which wasn't helping your curiosity. How was he offended that you wanted to know?

Your stance became a little more defiant, keeping your arms crossed as you looked at him without any fear. "That's where I think you're wrong. We're in this together now, you're clearly hiding something and I don't think it's so crazy that-" You started, but you were cut off when you saw the slight panic in Levi's eyes and how there was a flip of a switch in his eyes.

You didn't even have time to process that, because you watched as in the blink of an eye, he put the ice bucket on the ground, kicked away so quickly that the sound of metal against the ground made you jump and then you were forced to look back up at him when he suddenly stepped closer to you and put both of his hands on the sides of your arms and pulled you closer to the point that your faces were inches apart.

You were frozen and were looking up at him in shock and with your eyes wide and with confusion and shock lying deep beneath them.

You were taken aback by the fire in his eyes that he was looking at you with, and it was so intense that you couldn't bare it but also couldn't look away at the same time.

"You were right, before. Remember what you told me. Our futures are one in the same now, we're in the same boat and we need each other. That's what you said, right? Always remember that we're in this together now," He said to you with such hurry in this voice that it was hard to believe you were seeing this side of him so suddenly, and as much as you opened your mouth to say something back, nothing came out. Only choked sounds that you could barely form into words out of pure puzzlement.

His hand on your arms had a tight grip, but not a painful one. Only one that reminded you of the fervent fire that you could sense, feel and hear from him right now.

Did this become a lot deeper and important to him? More than you realized? There was desperation in his eyes that in a way made your eyes soften just a bit, seeing that there was clearly something else missing here that he was trying to transmit to you through the intensity of his words.

But you shook your head and swallowed hard, forcing yourself to continue looking at him. If he didn't want you to pry, then you wouldn't. He would tell you in time why this suddenly became so important to him, if he wanted to. What was important, is that the two of you had finally come to a single agreement and that's what matters.

By the way he was looking at you, you knew he was expecting an answer from you now, so you tried your best to get your voice to work and said something back to him, trying your best to ignore his weird behavior before and the fact that there was a huge puddle of water and an empty ice bucket across from the two of you.

He must have had a reason for that. Right? "Y-Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry for prying so much," You said shaking your head and letting out an involuntary nervous laugh. A few more seconds passed and Levi still hadn't let go and was still staring at you intently. You decided to add one more final thought you were having.

"So...you'll be my bodyguard, then," You started, not saying it as a question but rather a statement, just wanting confirmation from him if it was really happening. You watched as he nodded wordlessly with a hum, and his features softened slightly from the glare that he had on before.

Though, he still hadn't let go of you. You also couldn't ignore the way his gaze towards you had shifted into something you couldn't place, but you tried your best to ignore it as you continued to voice out your thoughts.

"Could you start today?" You asked hopefully, wanting to get this on the road as soon as possible while also feeling Levi's grip on your arms start to loosen little by little.

It was hard to focus on your relief of him finally agreeing when he was looking at you the way he was and you were struggling to keep eye contact, not to mention he still hasn't taken his hands off of your arms. But as soon as you asked that, you noticed that he looked away for a second and then back at you with uncertainty.

"I can. But we have to do something first," Levi said, pulling his face away from yours, but still holding onto your arms. Why do you keep fixating on that? It's not a big deal. But after he said that, something clicked in your head.

Maybe this thing that he wants to do is why he's acting so weird, but you can't help but feel wary about it for some reason. He needed you for it, clearly, but your gaze became uncertain and you couldn't help but voice out your thoughts. "Do what?" You asked him cautiously.

He didn't say anything after that. Instead, you watched him look down and finally felt one of his hand start to trail down your arm until he grabbed your wrist with his tattoo on it. You ignored the goosebumps on your body and the chill that ran down your spine when he did that, trying to focus on what's important here.

You looked down as well, so the two of you watched as his hand made contact with your wrist, and saw the way that his tattoo on your wrist started to emit that familiar crimson glow as the light started to stretch across the branches and paths of it. You just couldn't help but gape every time that you witnessed that, and it didn't get any more astounding to you. It felt so surreal to you every time.

But that astonishment was short-lived. From one moment to another, it took you a couple seconds to realize that you and Levi were no longer in the parking lot and his powers had done their job.

At first, things were a little distorted and muffled, and even if you felt Levi still holding onto your wrist, you quickly came into the realization of where you were.

The metropolitan sounds of the city like cars beeping in the distance, strong winds wafting against you, and last but not least, the height you two were at, made you come back to your senses and your heart dropped to to your stomach as you felt all of the blood drain from your face.

"What the-" You started, cutting yourself off as you started to look around your surroundings and saw that Levi had transported the two of you to the top of the highest tower in the city. Not to mention that he decided to have both of you appear dangerously close to the edge.

Your breathing got heavier with panic bubbling inside of you as you began to realize where you were and you stumbled back by instinct to get away from the ledge, and then your body finally decided to react.

You let out a terrified scream and took as many steps back as you could, given that Levi was still standing close to the edge and holding onto your wrist tightly. You didn't even have time to wonder how Levi looked so unbothered, but you supposed you shouldn't be surprised at this point, right?

This tower in specific is the one Levi went to whenever he had to make deals, which is exactly the first thing he needed to do before he could even start his duties as your bodyguard. It's one of the towers with the highest vantage point in the city, letting him look over everything.

While Levi stood by the ledge, you were continuing to hold onto the dear life to the edge of the giant clock that was in the middle of the roof and where you could be farthest away from the ledge. You were letting out horrified whimpers of fear as you kept repeating to yourself the same mantra; don't look down, don't look down, don't look down.

"This is so high up! Are you out of your mind?" You demanded loudly at Levi, hoping he heard you even through the gusts of wind. You were screaming because of the adrenaline that was suddenly surging through your body and your heart beating against your chest painfully.

You kept your eyes shut and you were breathing and panting heavily. You hated heights. They were one of your biggest fears, and being up here was the last thing you wanted. What was he planning? What did he want?

You forced yourself to focus on the fact that Levi still hadn't said anything yet and you got the courage to open your eyes and look at him desperately. "Levi! Why did you bring me up here! Answer me!" You screamed and your voice resonated through the wind, and you went back to closing your eyes and keeping yourself as far away from the ledge as possible. But you still needed him to give you an answer. He couldn't just continue to stare forward like that without saying anything.

Though, you opened your eyes the slightest bit and all he did after that was kneel down close to the ledge and look out into the city. Because he moved to kneel down and he was still holding onto your wrist, you were forced to move down too as well.

You tried to get closer to the clock as much as possible and you finally heard him say something. "I've been using this place for years to spot people to make deals with. Stop freaking out, I won't let anything happen to you, trust me," He said, still looking out into the city. You scoffed and looked away from him.

"You mean you won't let anything happen to your tattoo, right? That's reassuring," You said, loudly for him to hear. He could have at least given you some sort of warning that he would bring you to one of the highest buildings in the city. You could have prepared yourself.

He keeps giving you reasons to not fully trust him, though he just said that he's up here to a deal, so you knew that at the very least. A little warning would have been nice, though. You've had like 10 mini heart attacks in the span of the days you've known him because he's just so cryptic and unpredictable.

"Look, I get it, I do! But I hate heights! This is insane!" You yelled out to him, and he still looked completely unbothered. Although, at least that's what it seems like since he has his back to you.

But in reality, just as you said that, Levi felt that stinging sensation come back to his hand, so he looked down and saw that the flame in his finger was coming back and it was growing quicker than before. His breath got caught in his throat and his eyes widened. He was running out of time, he needed to make a deal.

His eyes quickly hardened and he stood up again, clearly in a rushed manner. In silent panic, he quickly began to overlook the city and see if there was anybody that he could sense he could make a deal with, all the while he hid his hand on fire from you.

After focusing hard enough, as he held onto your wrist even tighter and his tattoo glowed in a brighter red, he had to ignore your pleading whimpers as you held onto the clock and then his powers finally responded, finding someone he could make a deal with at last. "I got one, let's go!," Levi ordered sternly and your eyes widened with horror at what he meant by that.

"Go where?!" You yelled out to him as he unexpectedly suddenly tugged on your wrist, pulling you away from the clock and closer to the ledgee. And just when he seemed like he was about to make you jump with him and you closed your eyes shut and tried to prepare yourself for what you thought he was about to have you do once again, when you opened them back up again, you breathed heavily as you looked around and saw that Levi and you were somewhere else entirely.

You were trying to become familiarized with your surroundings and trying to adjust again, but all you knew is that at least the two of you were back on solid ground.

God, did he know your blood pressure and your heart rate had risen that much more because of him? He was just carelessly transporting you around the city and you were scared for your life every time he did it. It's ridiculous.

But as you were trying to get your bearings again, you weren't paying attention to what was happening to Levi. As you looked around and realized the two of you were at the lobby of a hospital, Levi's face drained of color when he saw that not only his pointer fingers was catching fire, but now a second finger, his middle finger, was catching fire too.

He breathed heavily as dread filled his entire body. He desperately started to look around the room for anything that could put out the fire with, and when he finally spotted a water dispenser across the room, he didn't hesitate to start walking towards it and tugging you with him.

"Come on, this way," He said, trying to sound as passive as he possibly could to not raise suspicion to you. Just as you began to feel a little less disoriented, you let out a yelp when you started to feel Levi start to tug you wherever he needed to go.

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