"Yes, of course."

The blonde beau sits down on the rim of the bathtub, shirtless, with a freshly bandaged wound. Trimmed yellow hair scatters all over his chiseled chest like blown dandelion seeds, growing darker and thicker as my gaze roams southward. Erwin catches me redhanded. "My eyes are up here, angel."

I let out a shaky sigh and press my eyes close. "You deflected when I asked you how you knew my Grampa."

"My apologies, angel. I must have been distracted by..." He smirks. "Dr. Castillo treated my father when I was... ummm... I think I was twelve at the time. He had a profound effect on me and had been in touch with me for most of my teenage years. However, me being me, I went down the path he had particularly advised me not to take. Over the next few years, I've had to visit him here, in this apartment, on several occasions. Mostly night time visits. And he had stitched knife wounds, taken bullets out, brought down raging fevers. He was a good man."

Grampa was a doctor at the ER. I want to ask Erwin what he treated his father for but I don't. "What... path did you go down where you've been attacked so many times?"

"You're better innocent, angel. I don't want to sully you with my darkness."

His eyes do the thing that a dark romance lead's do. They darken. I scoff. "I just took a bullet out of you, Mr. Smith. That's sullied enough."

"And I wish I was suicidal enough to let myself bleed out instead." Erwin takes my hand in his and lifts my knuckles to his lips. I think my soul explodes a little. "But you were my only hope. What else do you want to know, angel?"

Biting my lip, I ask my next question, "Why did you pick up the bullet? Who shot you?"

"A kid."

"You're gonna make them pay?"

Erwin chuckles. "No, no, angel. He's a dumb kid, just looking for an outlet. I'm going to get the bullet cast in resin and gift it to him on his birthday next week."

That's brutal.

I gulp down more of my curiosity, the dumb questions that I've been asking just to delay getting murdered. It's time to bring out the real stuff. "Am I now... an accessory to the murder attempt, or I don't know... the law. What I mean is... are you going to kill me now? Is that why you need your friend to come in?"

"Oh, angel, angel." Erwin rises from his seat and produces his long arms to take my face in his hands. His rough fingers fan over my cheeks, pinkies tucked under my jaw, warm like a comforter in the middle of winter. He towers over me like a canopy of trees, the tubelight disappearing behind his broad back. "You saved my life. And, I hold that to a very high regard. I'm indebted to you. Kill you? No, I'll kill for you, angel."

Erwin's touch lingers on my skin as I walk back through the hallway to the main entrance. Miri follows me up until the kitchen before deciding to head back to the bedroom. I pick up the scattered items from the floor — my phone, my purse, my keys — to buy myself some time to prepare for a second man to come into my house. In all the months I've been here, I haven't had this many men come in, neither for matters of the heart or the heat.

Once I've taken enough deep breaths, I turn the knob. The click makes my heart jump before I pull the door open in a swift motion.

I don't know what I thought Erwin's associate would look like but it was definitely not a skinny-ish king of about the same height as myself, wearing a full fancy black suit with a white cravat. "Who are you?" He asks, as if irritated by my existence. "Where is Dr. Castillo?"

"Please come in. Levi, right?" I hold the door open for him. "Mr. Smith is in the bath."

He softens at the mention of Erwin. "How is he?" He pushes past me and toward the back of the apartment, like he knows the layout by heart. Maybe he has had to see Grampa too, or maybe he has had to accompany Erwin before.

Levi halts in front of the wall with the handprint and clicks his tongue. He trains his eyes to the floor and walks along examining it. I shut the front door, bolt it to prevent any more men from coming in, and follow him, looking closely at my hardwood floors. Drops of blood scatter all across the length of the hall. Oh God, so much cleaning to do!

As I reach the bedroom, I hear muffled conversation between the men.

"Where is he?"

No reply.

"Levi, don't tell me he's still out. Zeke's men are all over the city. I don't want the kid to fall in his hands again."

"Mikasa and Armin had followed him out. Hopefully, they'll bring him back soon."

"Hope?" Erwin sounds disappointed. He sighs and adds, "Hope is not for the damned, Levi." This sounds nothing like the man who's been calling me an angel for the last whole hour.

"The kid acted up, Erwin. He won't run to his stupid half-brother just because his body is rushing through puberty."

"He shot at me, Levi. If you're excusing this, I'm afraid that you've gone soft."

For a few seconds, there's no reply. Then, Levi says, "You're right. I'll call Miche."

"No, put Hange on it. They're closer to the kid and will probably know best where to find him."

"Sure, Erwin. What about..." Levi pauses and turns back, immediately spotting me. I freeze under his gaze. "What about this one? Should I..."

"Angel?" Erwin's voice returns to its initial bright nature. "Angel, come look. Your kitty loves me."

Levi makes space for me in the doorway and I slide through it. I see Miri on the floor, the blood wiped poorly off the tiles, likely by Erwin's feet. His injured arm hangs over the edge of the tub and my cat sits just close enough for him to scratch the top of her head. She has her eyes closed, ears relaxed, relishing in the attention from Erwin's long, well-kept fingers. Miri likes him.

"Eyes up here, angel." I hear Erwin's teasing voice just milliseconds before losing my mind at the sight of his fingers. What is this behaviour, Niji?

"I... I have..." I stutter. "I think... there are some of Grampa's clothes in the store room. I'll get a shirt and... pants out for you."

"That's so kind of you, angel."

When he spoke to Levi, Erwin sounded like someone in charge. Like, he's the boss, the one who gives out orders. And what was with the emo one-liner about hope? As though he has only ever witnessed horrors. As if his life has only ever been shrouded by a pall of darkness. But when he smiles at me, genuinely smiles and not smiles because he needs me to stitch him up, he looks  like the Sun. Like he can see through me, like he knows all my secrets already.

I take out a matching pajama set from a box of Grampa's things in the storage closet and just as I'm about to shut the door, I spot Levi. "A wash cloth, liquid detergent, cold water. No, wait, two rags. One wet, one dry. Now," he says and turns to leave.

Where does this tiny man get the audacity?

"You'll find liquid detergent here, on the shelf over the washing machine. Rags too. And cold water is in the refrigerator." I stop him and point into the closet. "And, while you're at it, why don't you put your boss's clothes in the washing machine?"

"You don't give me orders, lady." He points his finger at me, glaring, and I realize I only find tall men intimidating. Or, tall people. Ones I can piggyback easily are not that scary, no matter their affiliation or authority in my life. Actually, that is probably not true, considering how terrified I was of Abuela.

"This is my house. You respect my orders here, you get it? I've tolerated enough of your shenanigans and now, I just want to sleep. Do what you will. Stay the night, or leave. I don't care. Just do it quickly so I can go to bed." 

I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone like this. But something about this guy just makes me want to challenge him. Or, maybe it's the fact that Erwin is his boss and he calls me an angel. Here I go again, feeding off of a man's validation.

Levi doesn't speak back anymore. He seizes the doorknob from me and walks into the closet to look for the things he wanted. As I step back into the bedroom, I hear sounds of splashing from the washroom. Miri, it seems, had come out some time ago and situated herself on one of the hammocks installed on the wall for her.

"Hi, just leaving these here." I take a quick glance at Erwin's wet back, his bare cheeks glistening, before quickly turning to leave. Halting just outside, I announce to him, "Give me a few minutes. I need to change too."

Levi is crouched on the floor of the hallway, still examining the blood on the floor when I shut the door on his back. I take off my dress, the blood on the hem almost dried and heavy, and toss it to the side of the room. I will treat these stains like I treat period stains — with disgust. And also care, because the dress is expensive. Opening my closet doors, I take out a pair of shorts and a comfortable t-shirt to wear for the night when I hear a cough from behind me.

I turn in a hurry, knowing exactly who it is, but not knowing how and where to hide. For the last whole hour, this man — this gorgeous man — has been impressed by me, has called me an angel, made passes at me, or maybe he was just being nice. But, what now? I don't want him to see the hideousness that I keep well shrouded by my pretty clothes, my thought-out makeup and the personality I play. I pull myself within the closet — how ironic — and try to close the two sides of the door on me. It's not that I don't want him to look at me; I don't want him to look at this me.

From the narrow slit between the sides, I can make out Erwin's baffled face. He only has my pink towel on around his pelvis. "I told you I need some time, Mr. Smith," I kinda scream at him.

"I'm sorry," he says, "When you said... that, you weren't implying for... this to happen?"

"No," I coo from my hiding place. "And I can see why you'd feel that way. I have been zoning out and staring. You're a good looking man, Mr. Smith, anybody would be tempted to look. That doesn't mean... I mean... I'm not sure if I want anything further to happen between us. I don't even know you that well."

For a long while, there is no reply. And then he speaks. "I'm sorry, angel. I should have clarified before walking in on you. I'll be in the washroom, please take your time."

I quickly dress up and push the door to the bathroom open to find Erwin leaning against the sink, fully clothed, not a hair out of place. God, he's gorgeous! The water in the tub has been drained and the tiles are as clean as he could get them to be. He's not a cleaner, that is evident. He probably just wipes a dirty floor with his feet and calls it clean.

"I've put your grandfather's kit where it belongs," Erwin sounds serious. His cheery, flirty demeanor is gone. Maybe I've offended him by denying him sex. Please, pretty guy, don't be a red flag.

"I don't know where that is, unfortunately."

"Really, angel?" His bright smile is back at my expense. Maybe not a red flag after all. "You've never noticed the hollowed out tile in your bathroom?" He points to behind the toilet seat and starts to walk in that direction. But his feet fail him and he doubles over.

Erwin sits back down on the floor and puts his head in his hands. "Oh, that's not good," he says into his hands. "Is it, angel?" He looks up at me with beady eyes, like a big golden retriever, and my heart melts like ice cream.

"Why don't we go lie down on the bed?" I give him my hand. "You've lost a lot of blood, so it makes sense that you'll feel a little fainty right now."

"I should leave though," he suggests, looking away. "I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable, angel."

Wait! Is this reverse psychology?

"No, that's alright. You should stay the night." I'm me, unfortunately. And I shall go to the depths of rock bottom to please people. Letting a hot blonde sleep in my bed pales in comparison to what I've done in the past. "But, again, I'd like to clarify. I don't mean for anything to happen between us tonight. I just think you should rest. That's all."

"You're an angel." Grinning, he takes my hand and lifts himself up.

A/N: Do you think Erwin is a red flag? Or, is he just the cutest, most adorable, golden retriever good boy?

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