-

It was a dark, unsettling, room filled with every possible disguise available. There were wigs, masks, stage makeup, costume supplies. Just across the city, the very man that is after you was in his hideout. A very dilapidated and worn down hideout.

The lights in the room were nearly entirely dimmed down and the only thing that was bringing any sort of light to the room were the lights of the resident of this hideout's vanity. But it wasn't just any person that was staying here. It was the very man that was out for blood to kill you.

Since the acid attack he attempted on you, he'd spent days holed up, planning his next move, driving himself insane knowing that the stakes are higher since you hired a bodyguard and it would be harder to kill you with no one witnessing it like he hoped and he could cover his tracks.

It had become that much harder to find an opportunity for you to be alone now. And ever since the memorial, to which he had been disguised in as a security guard, he'd managed to get even more pictures of you to plaster on his wall.

That's right. Ever since he got this assignment, he formed some sort of obsession with you and everything you did. He had photographs of you from articles that he's taken himself over time and with harsh red 'x's' on them.

It was plastered all over his walls, with any information that could serve useful to him and since the memorial, that collection of pictures had only grown.

He'd been in a daze for days, staring at the ceiling, thoughts circling endlessly. Now, he lounged on his battered couch, hearing the song that was playing in the background. A record spun on the turntable, the same song looping endlessly for days now.

The song was a stark contrast to his violent intentions towards you, a haunting reminder of how his insanity was slowly starting to take over and that he no longer tried to fight it.

It was a slow jazz song, clearly from an era long past, yet he had somehow found an unshakable affinity for the soft tunes. He couldn't listen to anything but that. As it continued to play, he reached over for his phone on the table, an old flip phone. His trusted burner phone for these kinds of things.

He flipped it open, snapped it shut, again and again. It was as if it was the only thing that was keeping him somewhat tethered to reality and his goals.

His mind had been unraveling for years, but at some point, he stopped fighting it altogether. Now, he welcomed the madness inside him, letting it consume every part of him. The person he used to be isn't there anymore.

He had been looking up at that flip phone for a couple minutes before he set back down on the coffee table. He's been waiting for the call, or the call of the very person that was calling all the shots.

So, when he finally set his phone down and closed his eyes as he focused on the music for a couple more seconds, that brief 'peace' was disrupted when he heard his phone chime. His eyes snapped open and quickly reached over to grab it again.

When he had it in his grasp, he sat up on the edge of the couch and flipped open his phone to see that it was indeed from the person he was hoping to hear from.

When he clicked on the message and saw it splayed on his small screen, a sadistic and malicious smile crawled onto his face. 'Release the hunting dog', the text said, with the anonymous contact name on top. It was time to take this plan to the next phase, despite his past failed attempts.

With a huff, he stood up from the couch and began to walk over to his vanity with all of his makeup and masks, and when he sat down, he looked at himself in the mirror. He saw a person he didn't recognize anymore, but at this point, he was more than okay with that and he was more than ready.

-

Back at the office, it was just around early afternoon and since everyone had already had their lunch break, all employees had gone back to work.

You'd truly done your best to do the same to go back to your usual work routine after what happened with Levi just hours ago. You've been in a daze since then. You tried to focus on all of these reports and documents for approval but you couldn't think about anything else. Why couldn't you?

Every time your mind tried to slip that moment back into your brain, you shook your head and ignored the way your face felt like it was starting to burn up uncomfortably just at the thought of being trapped inside that closet with him.

The thought of him being pressed up against you like that, his breath fanning against your face, his hand on your waist, and staring deep into your eyes as if the two of you were the only people in the world. When did things between you shift that way? Did they shift or was that just your imagination?

And not to mention him falling on you after the two of you were trying to get out, and then putting his hand over your mouth. That didn't help.

You were just overthinking this. Right? It was beyond awkward, for both of you. There's no reason to try and convince yourself of a reality that wasn't true at all. But that still doesn't mean you have to deny any of it happened. It did happen.

And fortunately, Levi wasn't around to witness you trying to pull yourself together inside your office since he decided he'd stay just outside your office, sitting in an empty desk as he tried to sort through thoughts of his own. Whenever he took glances at you from outside and into your office, you seemed completely fine.

Working as you usually did and as if nothing was wrong at all. As far as that was from the truth. Sure, what happened back there in that closet had been on his mind for a WHILE. It was hard for him to set aside too. He never, ever, expected to be in such a compromising position with you, and he was thrown off. Being so close.

But, then it was overshadowed by a much more concerning realization when he started wondering why he couldn't picture that killer guy.

He remembers his face from being face to face with him when he fought in the night that he found you on that highway and helped you hold him off. If he remembered his face perfectly, then why hadn't his powers worked to find him before?

Right now, the empty desk that Levi was sitting in was very close to the trio's desks as well, which he should've known was the first mistake.

Levi was just minding his own business, trying to piece this whole thing together in his head when he suddenly felt a chair hurriedly rolling closer to him up until there was a presence next to him. He turned his head and saw Sasha next to him.

Her chair was right next to his and she was looking around as if someone was after her. Levi raised an eyebrow and watched as she cleared her throat and tried to seem as nonchalant as she possibly could.

"Hey, Mr. Levi. You know, word is that there is going to be a team dinner tonight. You should come! We're going out for drinks," She whispered and Levi rolled himself further away from her, not really interested. He's never been one for drinking, honestly.

Sasha wasn't discreet as she thought she was. As soon as she said that, Connie's head immediately peeked over his computer and he looked over to see his friend telling Levi about their team dinner.

He had to admit, it'd be fun to try to get to know Levi a little more since he was new to the company, as intimidating as he was. He started rolling away from his desk too and towards Sasha and Levi.

"No thanks," Levi muttered, side-eyeing Sasha when she rolled himself closer to him and not being able to realize he wanted to be alone since he had many other things to worry about it. He had no plans of going out to drink tonight and witness Sasha and her friends get stupid drunk.

Sasha propped her elbows on the desk and put her face in her hands, putting on her friendliest smile on. "Why not? Think of it as a welcome party for you to the company," She said, and then turning her head when she heard the familiar sound of wheels approaching.

Connie rolled himself to be right behind Sasha and Levi let his eyes go back and forth between the two as both friends tried to convince him to join them. He was an employee too after all, right?

"Yeah! It'll be fun," Connie added, sounding just as hopeful as Sasha was. Levi observed them both and noticed the identical glints of excitement that they both had on their faces.

And just when Levi thought any more people could join into this conversation, Levi, Sasha, and Connie all turned their heads when they heard Jean'a voice suddenly chime in from his own desk.

"Are you guys talking about the team dinner?" Jean whispered and Levi sighed, raising a hand to press against the ridge of his nose. He was surrounded. Could he say no? Why was he hesitating?

If this was a couple weeks ago, he would've just stood up in a heartbeat and rejected the idea but something was keeping him grounded. What the hell was the matter with him all of a sudden?

He dropped his hand from his face and sighed. He doesn't know what compels him to say the next few words. "If I go, will you all leave me alone?" Levi says and the biggest smiles suddenly erupt on Sasha and Connie's faces, including Jean as well, who was farther away and still heard Levi's response.

"You got it!" Sasha said, and then wheeled around to face Connie as the two of them started whisper amongst themselves excitedly and rolled away to their desks. Levi was just there wondering what he just got himself into and he knows deep down that somehow, one way or another, he already knows he's going to regret it.

-

Later that night, Marlowe, Hitch and their gang were all gathered in a room below a bar, trying to come up with their next Marlowe. But mostly it was him who was trying to piece everything together, despite how much any of the other gang members tried to help.

Ever since the burial and Hitch telling him that she found Levi's credit card information and even managed to snag some security footage, Marlowe had felt even more determined than before to find Levi. But it also meant that he was becoming more desperate.

Now, he was sitting on the couch in the back of the room, in the center of it with Hitch sitting diagonally from him on his right, while all of his other gang members were on either side of him on the other couches.

There were gang members who were standing on the other side of the room in a single file line and everyone was watching the way that Marlowe was falling apart.

They were the ones who had just come back from their search for Levi with nothing to show for it. Marlowe had his head in his hands, leaning forward as he tried to rack his brain. Aside from Levi's information and the security footage, none of them have been able to find any more clues on where he could be.

Marlow raised his head from his hands in a sigh and laid back against the couch with a thud, turning to look to his left at the guy who delivered the news about the progress they'd made. Which was none.

"You seriously haven't found anything else?" Marlowe asked, with frustration and fire beneath his eyes that made the gang member shrink back slightly and shake his head in denial. Marlowe groaned and put his arm over the armrest of the couch, gripping it tightly.

"I reached out to some contacts who I thought might have some information on him, but-" The gang member started, but it only made Marlowe angrier at what he was hearing. They've made no progress at all? Levi can't be that hard to find, right?

He groaned in rage, and out of the wrath and frustration that had been building up, without thinking, he grabbed the nearest ice bucket and lunged it at the gang member, who dodged it just in time but still had ice and ice water fall on him.

"Then hire a private detective, storm the card company, or anything! It's better than sitting here on your ass telling me this! It can't be this hard!" Marlowe yelled as he fell back against the couch with a sigh.

Hitch raised an eyebrow at what she just saw and leaned away from her spot on the couch next to Marlowe. Everyone in the room flinched and could feel the desperation ins his voice and everyone was afraid to speak up. Except for Hitch.

"Geez, Marlowe. Relax. We'll find that guy. He can't hide forever," Hitch said, falling against the couch again, seeing her partner side-eye a glare her way as he stayed silent and stewed in his own anger that was clearly eating him up inside.

Marlowe looked up at the gang members who were still standing in a single file line, waiting for their next orders. Seeing them standing there silently and not doing anything only fueled the burning emotions inside of Marlowe in that moment.

"All of you," He started, and the gang members quickly straightened up when they realized they were being spoken to, preparing themselves for their new orders.

"Don't just stand there. Go back out there! Don't come back until you have something worth my time. Find him!" Marlowe yelled out. The gang members were quick to yell back 'Yes, sir!', as they filed out of the room once again.

Marlowe fell back against the couch, raising a hand to press against his temple while the rest of the room had grown with uncomfortable tension. You could hear a pin drop by now. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of what they witnessed.

"Morons..." Marlowe muttered to himself as he moved forward to grab the cup of whiskey he'd poured earlier, raising it up to his lips and taking a sip. He'd taken assuming his boss' position very seriously and now everyone answered to him, having been the second in command when he was killed.

But he didn't realize yet that it was taking a bigger toll on him, trying to take charge in avenging his boss and also taking the reigns of what his superior used to handle. He's spiraling and becoming more and more unhinged every day that goes by.

But before anybody could even dare to say anything else, there was suddenly a knock on the door that made everyone turn their heads towards where the sound came from and then expectantly at Marlowe. Marlowe froze mid-sip and his eyes rose above his glass to see a waiter suddenly come into the room with a platter full of fruit.

The room was so quiet that the only thing that could be heard were the hurried patter of steps of the waiter as he walked around the couches up until the point he rounded a corner and was standing next to Marlowe, placing the platter in front of him.

Marlowe, and everyone watched the waiter carefully and apprehensively as he set the platter down and the stood back up. "This is on the house, sir," The waiter said and Marlowe looked up at the waiter with a raised eyebrow, turning his eyes back and forth on the platter and the man next to him.

This was sudden. And this also wasn't the waiter that's been serving them this whole time. Hitch leaned forward and placed her forearms on her thighs as she narrowed her eyes at the waiter with suspicion, who seemed to be completely unfazed by the number of eyes on him in that moment.

And it was even more awkward when the waiter turned around and started going back where he came from as Marlowe turned to look at the platter of fruit in front of him. He also noticed that the fruit wasn't the only thing on the platter. There was some sort of envelope on it.

Marlowe moved forward to grab it to see what was inside. They didn't order fruit or anything and he doubted anyone sent anything. Hitch leaned forward in her seat in curiosity, closer to Marlowe and tried to get a peek at it as her partner flipped it over on both sides.

There wasn't anything written on the envelope either but Marlowe could feel beneath his fingertips that there was something inside. The rest of the gang members pretended they weren't interested but in reality, they were in the edge of their seats as they watched Marlowe turn the envelope around, slip his hand into it, and pull out what was inside.

Marlowe had a disinterested yet slightly intrigued look on his face as he pulled out what was inside, but when he held up in his hands what was in that envelope, his entire demeanor changed.

He straightened up and his eyes went wide as his hand gripped the picture in his hands. It was a picture of you. And Levi. What the hell is this? Marlowe's head snapped up to see that the waiter was already out the door.

But little did he know that wasn't just any waiter. It's the very man that is waiting for the perfect moment to strike and cause your demise. Just as he closed the door, Marlowe's face dropped when he saw that the man had patches of dried blood on his neck, that was slightly blocked by the collar shirt he was wearing as part of the uniform.

The very thing that you saw the night that this man attacked you and you've made sure to remember if you ever ran into him again or if there was another attack. Marlowe saw it a split second before the waiter closed the door. It was chilling.

Marlowe wasn't sure if he imagined it or not or if was of any importance of him to remember that waiter since he's the one who brought over this platter with the letter.

But that very reminder made him remember of what he had in his hands and he turned the letter upside down to see if there was anything on the back. And shockingly enough, there was. His mouth dropped open and his hand rose to cover his mouth in utter shock.

Hitch, and every other gang member observed his reaction and she leaned to the edge of her seat even more to see what has Marlowe so shaken up all of a sudden. He was looking down at the back of the picture; eyes wide and his hands started to tremble in disbelief.

He didn't know who that waiter was, or how he got the information he was reading on the back of this picture, but he wasn't complaining. "Marlowe? What is it?" Hitch asked, but she didn't get anything in return. Her partner was frozen.

The back of this letter had every bit of information Marlowe and his gang needed to finally track down Levi. It says where he works, his current position of being your bodyguard, and not just that, but it also had information about you.

It said you were the CEO of Fashion and Beauty, and everything that connected you to Levi. This is exactly what they needed. Marlowe has a lead now, and as he raised his head from the letter shakily and took a look around to see that his fellow gang members were looking at him expectantly.

All he did was let a triumphant smirk tug on his lips as he waved around the picture and chuckled knowingly. He knows things were about to change and Levi wouldn't be able to escape now.

-

Grisha slammed his hand down on his desk sternly as he looked up with anger at the person that was standing in front of him.

He couldn't believe that he had to deal with yet another nuisance that is just adding more to his already existing problems that he was already bending himself over to solve alone.

Things were getting more out of hand recently and Grisha could barely handle that as it is. Now he had to hear this?

Grisha's breathing was ragged as intense and his eyes expressed all the rage that the person in front of him did not even seem to be responding to. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Grisha said lowly, but the person in front of them just remained with a blank look on their face, refusing to say anything and that only spurred on Grisha's frustration, making it harder to contain his outrage. This just added to the void he felt about the imminent threat that he knew would be coming his way in the future.

"On top of everything you've already done, you go ahead and kill someone?!" Grisha said as he stood up from his chair forcefully and sent his chair rolling behind him. His body was practically shaking with indignation, but the person in front of him was completely unmoving.

"Do you have no respect for anything any of us have worked for? You'll pay for what you did, I'll make sure of it, and I won't be so lenient as I've always been with you. Your luck's run out, I'm not covering for you anymore" Grisha said as he glared daggers at the person in front of him, and as if the universe agreed, thunder rumbled and lighting struck nearby, casting a light over the dark room, and especially over Grisha, showing that he really wasn't going to continue playing games and being forgiven. All of that was over.

"Now, get out of here. I can't even look at you anymore," He sighed and grabbed his chair behind him, sitting himself down on it with a huff and taking off his glasses. He put them down in front of him in his desk, and Grisha then leaned forward, leaned his elbows on the edge of the wooden surface, and then buried his head in his hands.

He had too much to think about, too much that he knew was coming and this just made it worse. Why couldn't things have gone differently? He didn't want to do this anymore.

After that, he could faintly hear the footsteps of the person that was in front of him start to depart and get further and further away, leaving Grisha to finally be alone at last. For the time being, at least one problem was out of his hands at this point and he could focus on other issues he had to attend to, even if in the back of his mind he knew he still had to deal with what just happened.

But, he refused to think about it right now. But at least, after this discussion, he knew one thing for sure. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree..." He muttered to himself, feeling like it was too late to change anything and that he needed to brace himself for what would happen to him.

Though, as for the mysterious person that Grisha was scolding just now, as they left the room, they didn't leave the premises entirely.

They decided to stay for a second and watch through the glass door of the office, watching as Grisha fell apart by himself with each passing minute.

It would be a matter of time before he broke and nothing else would be left inside him to continue fighting, and as the person's fist tightened with wrath and resentment from what just happened there, they knew for a fact that after this, he wouldn't have to wait very long.

There will come a time soon enough where everything will go their way. And it didn't mean that they couldn't do something to speed  up the process, right?

The person had left Grisha's office but came back later that night when they knew he wouldn't be around, and they could do what they were planning to do. This person stood just outside the glass door of Grisha's office and scanned from there the very item they were searching for.

And soon enough, they spotted Grisha's medical bag just across the room. They didn't waste any time after that. They'd opened the door, marched across the room, opened the bag when they got to the bag, and the fished out his pain medication, the one that they'd replace with Diclofenac.

After grabbing the pill bottle, the person immediately darted out of the office and headed to the nearest bathroom. They uncapped the bottle, dumped all of the contents out of it into the toilet bowl, and flushed them out.

After that, they fished out the Diclofenac from their own pocket, and then, without hesitation, started pouring that inside into Grisha's original pain medication.

The person briskly left the bathroom after that, head back into Grisha's office, put the medication bottle back in his medicine bag, and left as if nothing had happened. It all went downhill after that.

-

It was almost time to leave the office and nighttime had fallen over the city. You were still sat at your desk for what's felt like years of your life.

You've done some work, sure, but you've also spent the majority of your time looking through the rest of the security footage videos that you and Levi didn't get to go through because of the whole transporting fiasco from before.

You were now combing through one of the last videos, thankfully, that was taken the night before the day that Grisha died. It was security footage from a camera in his office, and you'd been scanning every tiny detail for a clue, but so far, nothing had come up.

For the last couple minutes, you've maintained the same position. Your cheek rested against your fist, elbow propped up on your desk.

The glow of your laptop was shining on your face and it was beginning to burn your eyes slightly and making them teary, and you could lightly hear the office chatter outside and that was the only other thing that you could hear besides the clicking of your laptop's trackpad, as you sped through the video in certain parts hoping to make it go by quicker.

Your eyes were droopy and bored, and you yawned every once in a while. This was really sucking all the energy out of your body, wasn't it? You remembered its better for the long run and that it'll pay off if you find just the slightest bit of evidence.

You've been staring at the same angle of Grisha's office that it felt like nothing will happen. It was as if it had become a still photo and you haven't noticed yet.

You blinked yourself out of your trance with a sigh and raised your head up from your fist, and lifting a hand to rub against your forehead. But then shook your head and went back to focusing on the security footage. You were planning to stay here just a little bit longer before you went home.

You started to scroll bit by bit through the video and narrowed your eyes in concentration, trying to catch any detail. But once you reached a certain point, you noticed something.

His medical bag that you always knew Grisha kept in his office and that you noticed multiple times through these videos, moved. It actually moved. Did you imagine that? Was this it?

Your curiosity piqued, you straightened up, and you leaned forward towards your laptop, ready to rewind the video to see if you saw that right. Your eyebrows pinched together and you looked closely as you moved your cursor around the screen to play the video back.

Once you brought video back, waited for a couple seconds and kept your eyes focused on the bag, a couple moments later, you raised a hand up to your mouth as you gasped. The bag moved. It really did. It moved places on the table. You didn't imagine it.

You looked up at the time that the security footage was taken and you saw that it was nearly 8:30 at night. It was the night before he died. But then you realized something.

You scrolled back again before the moment that the bag moved and waited, keeping a close eye on the time. It started at around 8 PM on the dot, but as soon as the bag moved, it jumped to 8:30.

Your shoulders sank. You fell back against your chair and sighed. "They got to it already..." You muttered to yourself, feeling the excitement of having found a new clue suddenly drain from your body.

You got excited for nothing. Whoever did this covered up their tracks pretty well. You didn't get anything from this that you didn't already know. Someone switched his medication and that bag moving just confirmed it. You still didn't know who.

You were about to continue searching through the videos to see if there's anything else that might be remotely useful, but you heard a knock on your door and saw Levi walk in, closing the door behind him.

You swallowed and sat up, sending Levi a small smile before turning your focus back to your computer. Working all day really did help with forgetting what happened in that closet but seeing him walk in and head towards you brought it back.

"How's it going? Are you almost done?," He asked, stopping in front of your desk. You glanced at him and nodded, inhaling sharply, not wanting to look at him for too long or he'd know what happened earlier that day was still having an effect on you that you couldn't explain if he asked.

"Yeah. I'm almost done looking through these videos," You said, but then you suddenly heard a buzzing sound that you felt through your desk. You turned your head to the side and saw that you were getting a call. From Erwin.

Levi glanced at the Caller ID too, then he caught the way a smile immediately tugged at your lips as you reached for your phone. He raised an eyebrow and he crossed his arms watching as you tapped your screen to answer and raised it up to your ear.

Well you sure looked awfully giddy to answer, didn't you? He wondered to himself if the Erwin that was calling was the same one that was at the memorial and the same one that he saw being extra touchy with you. He didn't know why that's what he's focusing on or why he remembers that. Levi's not really sure he wants to know either.

"Hey, Erwin," You said, moving your focus to be on your computer again as you decided to start closing some tabs. You'd drive yourself crazy if you stayed here any longer. If Levi was here, it means that everyone else outside must be heading out too.

"I was able to get Keith Shadis' laptop and see if there was anything here that was useful to us, but..." You heard Erwin say, but by the way he paused, your face fell a little. You know what that meant, but you continued to listen anyway. There have to be some bumps along the way, right?

"It's completely clean. There's nothing here. It was wiped out already," Erwin said and you let out a deep breath. The two of you were on the same boat then, huh? This was going to be a little harder than you thought.

"Same here. I've been going through security footage and I think someone got to it already. This sucks..." You said, using your free hand to run it back through your hair and grip it lightly with frustration. You hoped this wasn't a dead end or anything.

As you spoke to Erwin, Levi had started to make his way around your desk until he was behind you, waiting until you were done. He uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets.

He glanced at your computer and saw that you had been looking at more footage. From how dejected you looked and sounded, and from what you just said, it seems like the search through the footage didn't go very well either. Just how involved was Erwin in all of this?

"Why don't we have dinner? We can talk about this a little more. I'll come over to your office and we can head out together." Erwin suggested and then that question forced you to look at the time in your computer and your eyes widened. Oh wow.

It was really late. You turned your head to see if you could see through the curtains if anyone was still out there. People were filing out. There were very little people. You sighed and raised a hand up to your forehead, rubbing it slightly. You supposed it wouldn't hurt to accept Erwin's offer. You could eat something right about now. You were starting to feel it.

"I didn't even notice how late it was. But sure, I think I should eat anyway-" You started but then you were cut off by Levi putting a hand on the back of your chair and moving it around so you faced him instead.

You looked up, still holding up your phone to your ear, and saw Levi lightly leaning down to be face to face with you. You felt your breath get caught up in your throat as his eyes pierced through you and you could hear Erwin calling for you because he heard your sentence get cut off. He just didn't know the reason why.

"You already have plans. With me," He said and your mouth went agape. You couldn't find your voice after that. You were staring at Levi dumbfounded as you continued to hear Erwin on the other line asking who was with me, if there was anything wrong, if he should still stop by.

Levi's lips twitched, seeing how flustered you'd become, as he lifted his free hand and since you had moved your hand away a little from your ear, Levi moved his hand dangerously close to tap the red button to hang up. He was about to press it, but not before he spoke up. "Bye, Erwin," He said, and Levi hung up the phone.

That seemed to make yourself blink back into reality and you realized what he did. You looked down at your phone and then back up at Levi, who had straightened back up and was looking down at you with a smirk on his  lips.

"Levi! What-" You exclaimed, but once again, you were cut off by him leaning down again and grabbing your wrist, the one without his tattoo. "Come on. Grab your things. We're going to be late," He said, tugging you lightly so you stood up and he gestured with his head to your purse and your phone on the table.

Your annoyance for him was quickly overshadowed by confusion, with the mental note in the back of your head to call Erwin back as soon as you can to explain. "Late for what?" You said as you started to gather your things in one hand and put them in your purse.

There was a certain look on his face that told you that there was something he knew and you didn't and was purposely not telling you, and that he enjoyed it. "You'll see," He said, seeing that once you had everything you needed, he didn't let go of your wrist and started to walk towards your office door, bringing you along with him.

"Yeah, well, that's not concerning at all," You muttered once the two of you reached your office door and he opened it. He walked through first, turning off the lights for you.

You were about to do that, and once the two of you were out of your office, you were about to tell him to let go but then you saw that the office was practically empty. He began to lead the two of you towards the elevators and you began to wonder to yourself where your bodyguard is taking you right now.

You just hoped you didn't regret taking up Erwin's dinner idea sooner. A weird feeling settled in your gut and you didn't like it.

-

You should have said yes to Erwin sooner. You really should have. You had no idea what Levi had been thinking from the moment he hung up the phone, dragged you out of your office, drove you, and now you found yourself in a small and quaint bar with Levi. And your employees.

Why did you let him drag you into this? You should have pressed Levi more to get him to tell you because why are you here? Its clear that he was the one they invited and you weren't supposed to be here. You couldn't forget the looks on Connie, Jean and Sasha's faces when you walked in with Levi. They certainly weren't expecting you.

And although it's true that they liked having you as their boss, it was very different for you to be involved in what they did in their personal lives and after work.

They didn't know how to react once all 5 of you were sat down around a small round table and were clearly racking their brains to find a topic of conversation with you. And Levi wasn't making this any easier either. You should've known the real reason why he wanted you here with him.

You tried to keep a straight face as you kept your hands on your lap under the table, but not without feeling Levi glaring down at your wrists. You could feel them burning into you.

Is this how it had to be now because he needs to 'charge'? Wherever he goes, you go? Did he bring you with him so he can find an opportunity to hold onto your wrist?

The only reason it works if it was the other way around is because he's your bodyguard but he can't spend one evening without you now because he has to hold onto you all the time?

This was not part of the agreement. You agreed that it would be after you and him catch the guy that's after you, but here? In a bar? In public? Anybody could see if he held it.

You had one hand on top of the other and tapping your fingers lightly, or more specifically, you had one hand on top of the wrist that has his tattoo, knowing he wants to hold it and that he was staring at it. He knew exactly what he was doing when he brought you here but you wouldn't fall for it.

You looked around the table and at your employees. Sasha was twirling around the straw in her cup, clearly bored and not knowing what to say, Jean was tracing circles on the table and Connie was just looking off into space. You hated this.

Every part of it. How were you the one to ruin their celebration because of Levi's sneaky intentions?

Eventually, the awkward silence seemed too much to bear for your employees because Connie snapped out of his daze and decided to break the tension.

He cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "Geez, why is everyone so quiet? Are we forgetting why we're here? Is Ms. Y/n making you guys uncomfortable?" He said, thinking it was an innocent question, but it only got him a harsh nudge from Jean next to him that made him wince and a glare from Sasha.

You pursed your lips and looked down, not wanting to make direct contact with anyone. But Connie said the truth. It's clear they weren't expecting you, clearly. This was expected.

Jean turned to look at you with apologetic gaze. "Sorry, Ms. Y/n. Turns out alcohol doesn't make Connie any less of an idiot," Jean said, turning to look at the couple bottles of alcohol Connie has already had, but then he moved to look at you again and continued to explain.

"I swear, if we knew you were coming, we would've booked a much nicer place than a bar," He said, and you smiled nervously as you nodded awkwardly. God, you felt so out of place right now. After that, Sasha felt it was appropriate that she chimed in too to try and salvage the situation.

"This was actually supposed to be a casual welcome party for Mr. Levi. But we don't mind you being here! You hired him after all so you're the reason he's here," Sasha said, and you slowly nodded your head. That was nice when she put it that way but it still felt awkward knowing it was supposed to be just the four of them and you wouldn't have minded having been somewhere else tonight.

After silence fell over the group again, Sasha, Jean and Connie all exchanged knowing glances and from them on, they decided that they would continue the evening as they normally would have.

They wouldn't let this change in plans deter it. "Okay, what if we start with some beers?" Jean asked, earning nods and exclaims of agreement from Connie and Sasha while you and Levi just sat back silently.

Levi was just leisurely sitting back against his chair with his arms crossed, still taking glances at your wrist every once in a while, and you were sitting up with your hands close to you as you tried to get by the rest of the evening. It shouldn't be so hard, right?

You watched apprehensively and Levi watched with amusement as Jean suddenly stood up, grabbed a bottle of beer and started doing a trick to open it. Banging the top of it, twirling it around and with a tap at the bottom, the bottle finally opened.

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. That was impressive, you've never seen anyone do that before. "That was awesome, let me try," Connie said as smiled from ear to ear, reaching for an unopened bottle of beer and watching as his friend started to pour the drinks onto the cups that they were given earlier. He prepared himself to do it.

Like Jean, Connie stood up and started to mimic the same thing that his friend did. Although for some reason, you knew that since Connie was sitting next to you, you knew you were about to be in a bit of a splash zone.

Though, you hoped that wasn't the case. You watched carefully as Connie finished up doing the trick he was trying to do and when he tried to bang the bottle on the bottom, the cap of the bear bottle burst on one side and it started spraying out, making you raise your hands up to cover yourself of any beer.

Jean and Sasha stood up to avoid but they were still laughing heartily. Thankfully it didn't spill too much in your direction since Connie redirected the spraying beer down to his own cup until it overflowed.

You wiped your face off of small droplets of beer that you'd felt had fallen on your face and you turned your head to look at Levi to see how he reacted, but he looked completely laid back and unbothered by this. But you can see why.

You were closest to Connie so none of the beer landed on him. All you heard him say was; "God, they're a mess," You heard him say, and that was the most of it. When Jean finished serving all of the cups of beer, he held up one of the cups and extended it to Levi.

"This is for you Mr. Levi. You're the star of the night. You're one of us now," Jean said, and you smile lightly at Jean's words. That was nice. But you turned your head to see Levi raising a hand up between him and the cup of beer.

"Thanks, but I'm not a beer kind of person. And I'm still working," Levi said simply, and then Jean made a face of recognition. You turned to look at him for a second and then turned away, not sure why you suddenly felt a subtle tingly feeling in your stomach when you heard that. 

Why did him recognizing his job as your bodyguard make you react like that? What was the matter with you today? You haven't been the same since what happened at the closet. As much as you hated to admit it, you weren't as unaffected by him as you thought.

Even if you did feel annoyed that he brought you here to keep you and his tattoo close to him. You were getting caught up in the games he's playing and you needed to continue keeping a level-head throughout this whole night.

Jean nodded slowly and sat back down on his chair, setting down the cup of beer. In his head, he thought it was good Levi said no. More for him and his friends to drink tonight. Though, Sasha was a bit more opposed. "But this is your welcome party to the company!" She said, and your face softened at how much her and your employees hoped that their new colleague could enjoy himself tonight.

It was sweet, honestly. "Let's all drink on his behalf then! To welcome him properly!" Connie said, while Jean and Sasha exclaimed happily in agreement, raising their cups and clinking them together. But as the trio was distracted, Levi used this as an opportunity.

He turned his head to see you taking a sip of your drink with your tattoo-less wrist and then turned his head down to look down at your wrist that has his tattoo on it.

He waited a couple seconds but as you were drinking from your own cup, Levi made a move and reached over when you couldn't stop him and gripped your wrist.

You were mid-sip when you felt it and you nearly choked on your drink as you started to cough. Before you could jerk your hand away, his fingers closed around you even more, unyielding.

And as if it couldn't get more embarrassing, you let out a hiccup, catching the attention of your employees who were a couple drinks in and they were already tipsy.

Your eyes widened a fraction at what was coming when you saw teasing smiles on their faces, clearly feeling that the lines between employee and boss had blurred.

You turned your head to look at the person that caused this and you nearly scoffed when you saw Levi leaning forward, with his elbow in his leg and his chin in his hand. As if he didn't just almost make you choke on your drink because he wanted to hold your wrist.

The moment that his fingers wrapped around your wrist, a spark shot up your arm. His grip was firm, possesive, and his thumb was brushing over the inked skin as if he was trying memorize the shape of it if you pulled away too soon.

You'd tried to pull away multiple times but the pressure only continue to increase and it was slow and deliberate. You swallowed hard, knowing he wasn't letting go anytime soon. You needed to do something.

You tried to be as discreet as you possibly could, trying to tug your wrist away from his under the table where no one could see, but he just gripped it tighter. You wanted to wipe that unbothered and smug look on his face, acting as if he wasn't holding onto you under the table.

You looked back at the trio and saw that they all had knowing looks on their faces, and the only think you could think of doing was start to laugh awkwardly, which made them start to laugh too. "Oh, this is fun," Connie said drunkenly as the laughter started to die down and the trio focused on something else.

But as they started to talk to talk amongst one another and you were in the clear, you turned to look at Levi, even he wasn't looking at you, but you glared at him pleadingly for him to let go or the others would see.

But as he started to tug your wrist back to you more forcefully, it only made him tighten his grip on it. And you don't know he thinks you can't see if him or if he's doing it to spite you but he's smirking.

There was satisfaction in his eyes that only made your blood boil further. Did this really amuse him? Is he enjoying this?

He knows exactly what he's doing right now and he has been the entire night. He's so aggravating. Why's he putting you through this? He knew he had you cornered enough to do this. And it wasn't just that.

But you've been avoiding any sort of contact with Levi since the closet so the moment you felt him tighten his grip around your wrist, you felt your face start to heat up involuntarily. God, could they see that? Could they tell? The heat creeping up on your neck felt like a flashing red sign.

You couldn't let them see. You were holding your breath and you nearly shuddered. Damn him and his stupid tattoo. You hoped this moment would be over soon enough.

You were so caught in the fact that you wanted Levi to just let go that you didn't realized that Sasha had been drunkenly staring at the two of you, sensing some weird behavior between the two of you, but she was knocked out her thoughts when she knocked over her fork, making her jump in place.

She groaned as she slowly started to lean down to get it, feeling like the effects of alcohol were starting to get to her. Jean and Connie were continuing to pour drinks for each other while she did this,

But as she bent down to pick it up, Sasha's fingers brushed against her fork, but suddenly, she no longer care about it. She froze and she was staring, wide-eyed, at what she was seeing under the table.

Her boss' wrist trapped in Levi's grip. His fingers curled around it like they've always belonged there. Sasha's lips parted in shock. She was too tipsy to know if she was imagining things, but—oh my God—were they really holding hands?

What does this mean? She was so drunk she couldn't tell whether you and Levi were holding hands or if he was holding your wrist, but either way, you two were holding each other's hands under the table and that was enough for her to gasp and slap her hands over her mouth.

Just as she was about to sit back up, she saw you pulling your wrist away from Levi's hold hurriedly and put your hand back on your lap. Then, suddenly she moved to fast.

A loud thud echoed as she hit her head against the underside of the table, making everyone jump and the items on top rattle. Sasha barely registered the pain because she was too busy piecing together what she just witnessed.

Sasha turned her head to look at Jean and Connie who were looking at her with concern but also on the verge of laughing. "Sasha, geez..." Jean chuckled as he reached over and pat the back of Sashas's head where she hit her head, but her attention was preoccupied elsewhere.

She turned her head with wide eyes and saw you and Levi having a pretty intense conversation with just your eyes. You looked very annoyed and Levi had his eyes narrowed at you. It was for reasons Sasha didn't know but you and Levi were trying your best to not raise in suspicions. You didn't know that you'd done exactly that.

Levi sat up and leaned back against his chair with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest as if he wasn't the primary cause that your heart rate went up the way it did, pretending nothing was going on.

But was much as he wanted to pretend, he couldn't hide the defeat and irritation in his face as you crossed your arms over your chest too, looking away from him, keeping your hands out of his reach.

There would be a point where you wouldn't be able to hide or explain how flustered it made you whenever he did that now. He's enjoying making you lose your composure like that and you hated it.

Eventually the trio got lost into their own celebration and they clinked their glasses again, serving themselves drink after drink, eventually taking their focus again.

Seeing as they were preoccupied, you lowered your hands onto your lap, but further away from Levi this time, thinking that would be enough to stop him. But apparently not. You'd think that after what he did just minutes ago, he'd realize this is not the place to want to 'charge', but you were very wrong.

You felt Levi's hand suddenly wrap around your wrist. Again. And once again, he you turned to look at him again, you looked at him in horror and eyes wide as he looked ahead, unbothered.

What was his goal here? Didn't he get this wasn't the place? He only brought you here so he could have his tattoo close and the least he could do is be a little bit more discreet and tell you about it. You pursed your lips and tried to tug your hand away yet again but he didn't budge.

And unlike last time, he actually took a moment to look at you with amusement all over his eyes as a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.

You sighed and reached over for your drink again with your free hand. You took a big gulp once you brought it up to your lips, and then setting it back down.

You'd need a lot more alcohol than this. You give up trying to fight him on this, but you'd give him a piece of your mind as soon as the two of you were alone. You've been thinking of how to confront him since you got here. You'd think of something concrete,

And after many, many, drinks, drinking games, toasts, glasses clinking, and more, all while Levi held your wrist the entire time, it seems that your employees must have reached their limit when Sasha was knocked out cold and her head fell down on the table.

She has flushed cheeks and she immediately started snoring. You drank when you could, but not too much, knowing you wouldn't be able to get through the rest of the night sober and Levi didn't have a single drop either, because he didn't need to. He was so breezy the entire time.

It was already so later too and the only ones left at the bar were you, Levi, the trio and some employees. Jean and Connie were quick to notice their friend's state and sighed, with chuckles in between. "Sasha's out," Connie said, and Jean nodded, very tipsy as well.

Neither of them were any better but after having as many drinks as Sasha, they were on their way as well. Jean let out a dazed laugh and reached over to pat Sasha's head as he laughed drunkenly.

Him and Connie were practically wobbling in their seats from side to side. It seems you and Levi were the only ones sober enough to recognize your surroundings.

But you had no idea you'd become a target for them now that they were as drunk as they were. Connie turned to look at you and leaned forward, making you lean back a bit. "Ms. Y/n?" Connie asked and your eyebrows furrowed. He wanted to ask something but you didn't know what.

You didn't know if you wanted to know either but now you had to answer. "Yes?" You said, sounding very uncertain. Connie started to laugh for a bit just as he was about to tell you what he was thinking about while you awkwardly sat there, waiting.

"Your...your face is all red," He said in between laughs and while your mouth dropped for a split second, not having seen that question coming, it was quickly covered up by an uncomfortable and hopefully believable laugh. So they did notice.

You raised your hand up to you cheeks subconsciously and you made the mistake of turning your head to glance at Levi and you saw that he was observing your reaction at Connie's question.

You whipped your head back around and faced your employee again, still feeling Levi's eyes burning into you. You stopped laughing and answered Connie; "Oh, it's just the alcohol. I had a lot of drinks," You said as a cover up, suddenly feeling painfully aware of the real reason that your cheeks were flushing. Levi was very much still holding onto your wrist and he has been since you stopped fighting him on it. You'd tug it back to you the moment the others left.

Now, since Connie had braved enough to ask you a question, Jean felt like it was his turn to air out the question everyone at the office had been wondering to themselves.

"Hey, Mr. Levi," Jean slurred, and Levi hummed, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what question they had in store for him next, but he felt like he could be quick enough to turn down or answer anything thrown his way. It took a couple seconds for Jean to get the question out, seeing as he was very out of it.

"Why did you turn down Ms. Y/n?" Jean asked and you exhaled through your nose, closing your eyes and fighting back a groan, kicking yourself for thinking that wouldn't come back to you eventually at some point.

You'll never be able to escape that, will you? But as you opened your eyes and moved to look at Levi, you saw that his expression hadn't changed. You already knew the answer to it, because he's expressed it many times so you won't be shocked at what he says.

"Yeah! Is she not your type?" Connie added and exclaimed loudly, with the alcohol making him a lot more opinionated than usual. Jean nodded along and turned to look at Levi for an answer, because they were very antsy and curious to know. They'd never ask if they weren't as drunk as they were right now.

Before Levi answered, you grabbed your cup with your refilled drink, raised it up to your lips and then began to down it all in one go. You needed to find a way to hopefully drown all of this out and if you drank enough, the Earth could swallow you whole.

You needed to put an end to this. You slammed your cup down on the table again, catching the attention of Levi, Connie and Jean. "Alright! I think it's time to call it a day, don't you think-" You started, Levi felt it was his time to chime in and cut you off. You turned your head to look at him, puzzled.

"It's not that. I do like her," He said and your mouth dropped open and your mouth went wide. What the fuck? No, seriously. What the fuck? What did he mean by that? What's he talking about?

Did he mean it in the way you thought because if not, what was that he said not that long ago about him not liking you or being his type? At all.

Jean and Connie's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads as they slowly turned to look at each other and started screaming in disbelief at what they just heard.

Then they both realized they both had more questions to be answered because Levi just dropped a major bomb on them but they needed details. "Then why did you say no?" Jean insisted as he turned to look at Levi again and Connie did the same as well. "Exactly! It doesn't make any sense.

"Why did you turn her down?" Connie asked, him and Jean practically on the edge of their seats. They would be sure to tell Sasha everything they were finding out, if they even remembered it. That may be part of the reason Levi is so comfortable divulging this.

You were trying to contain your composure but your mind was going haywire right now. Your chest was starting to rise and fall with deep and shaky breaths you were taking in through your nose and staying quiet as you glanced at Levi.

His silver eyes were lazy and relaxed, you watched as he leaned back against his chair in a leisurely manner again, inhaling sharply through his nose as he looked off into the room and thought of an answer.

He was also able to feel your eyes on him as you waited to hear what he had to say. "Well," He started, and you looked away from him while Connie and Jean looked like their were about to fall off their chairs.

"People who like pork, they don't marry pigs, do they?" He said bluntly, and all you could was freeze on the spot.. You slowly started to turn your head to stare at him in utter and complete disbelief.

What did he just say? How can he just drop a bomb like that and expect you not to think about it a hundred times? Was he just saying that so you can be more inclined to let him grab your wrist more?

Did he actually like you like that despite how much he denied it before? Was the real reason behind his rejection is that he liked you but didn't want to be tied down? Did he feel the same things you did in that closet and that's why he's admitting it?

You couldn't be certain of anything with him, especially now. Or was he just trying to get Connie and Jean of his back?

You had so many questions right now. As for Connie and Jean, they were silenced. They didn't know what to say after that. All they could talk about after once they changed the subject is how they were going to get home.

That was not the answer they were expecting after they built up the excitement in their heads. It completely fizzled out and even they were shocked by their own stunned silence.

Levi turned to look at you and the brisk and relaxed expression that he had on his face suddenly twisted into a very taken aback look as he saw that you were looking at him with eyes wide and complete incredulity.

Did he think you weren't going to react in any way to that? It was an expression that sent an uneasy and foreign feeling in his stomach that forced him to look away.

You were mad. Very mad. Perhaps there was even a stronger word to describe that. The conversation that Connie and Jean were having about when the next bus would come around drowned out in your ear and you looked away from Levi, shaking your head.

He's been unbelievable all day long. You yanked your hand away from him yet again and looked ahead. Levi could see anger was stewing behind your eyes and he needed to prepare himself.

You watched as Connie and Jean stood up and then walked over to grab Sasha on either side of her. "We'll get going now," Jean said as he securely moved to grab one of Sasha's arm and Connie held the other, starting to bring her up and put her arms around their shoulders.

Sasha groaned uncomfortably in her sleep but she didn't refuse. As all three of them started walking out the door of the bar, you and Levi could faintly hear Sasha start to cry because she was woken up. But you two could also hear the way Connie and Jean comforted her until their voices trailed off.

That just left you and Levi alone in the bar together. In complete silence. Levi could feel your anger just radiating off of you that he had to move away from you. Once they were gone, its like Levi couldn't read the room because he thought just because the two of you were alone, he could recharge. But he was very wrong.

"Finally, they're gone-" He started, reaching over for your wrist but you moved it away sharply before he could take it. You still weren't looking at him. You couldn't bring yourself to look at him.

There was silence for a few seconds as Levi watched you take a deep breath, but still refused to face him directly. He's trying to keep you close but with comments like that, he just pushes you further away.

"You think I'm in the mood for that right now?" You spat, in a dangerously low tone and simmering with emotions that you couldn't describe right now even if you wanted to.

You grabbed your purse that was on the floor next to you and didn't glance at him once as you stood up and head towards the door, leaving Levi alone and dumbfounded in his chair. He watched you walk out the door and he cursed under his breath and stood up as well, heading towards the door to go after you. He couldn't just let you go like that.

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