A/N: This chapter is from Erwin's POV.

I've covered our enemies' turfs the color of roses, taken down any family that dared to cross us. But last night, only for a moment, when I thought Niji was involved with Zeke, my faith had faltered. I can never hurt her.

Having evaded death so many times, I've been titled the Undying Boss. Some new cadets, I've heard from Hange, regard me as a God while others as the Devil Reincarnate. I'm more inclined to believe the second group.

But in her arms, I'm just a man.

Her curves, her touch, her giggles, her gasps, the warmth of her cunt, everything, everything about her drives the God and the Devil in me on their path to demise. For her, I'm just a man. A teenage boy with a massive crush, hoping to see her another time, hold her, kiss her soft lips, have her run her fingers through my hair as I pleasure her. Her moans are sermon to my ears.

I swerve the car to a stop in an alleyway. At five-thirty in the morning, there's not enough traffic for someone to find me in this vulnerable position but I'd still like some privacy. Just thinking about her has gotten me hard. This is awkward.

I take out my cigarettes and lighter from the glove box to help me calm down. As I let out huffs of smoke through the window, my phone rings on the passenger seat. Dropping the half-burnt cigarette out, I scramble for it, thinking, wishing that Angel has found my card and decided to call me immediately.

It's Levi. Well, that should soften me right up.

"Where are you?" He asks in his forever cold tone, monotonous yet somehow comforting in the way of a stern father figure. Now, obviously, Levi is not a father figure to me, considering I have at least three to four years over him, and a whole foot but I like to think that he is an old soul and likes more to guide than be guided.

"Just around the corner. I'll be home in five... erm, ten." I look down at my crotch.

"Make it quick."

Did you get laid, Erwin? I hear Hange's loud, enthusiastic voice in the background, followed by Moblit's hushed, that's not an appropriate thing to say to the boss. Levi clicks his tongue before hanging up.

I back out of the alley and onto the road, the downward slope that leads to the beach. The sound of waves crashing, the saline air, the humidity welcome me as one of their own. The transition from my father's one bedroom apartment to the foster homes to the filthy shared spaces of the underground to having several properties in my name - a pipeline I always knew I'd see through. But it's only collateral, a side dream. Finding my father's murderer, now that's what has driven me all my life. After that? Well, it's a dream I don't even have the first step for.

A left turn brings me to the back of the bungalow, the winding road leading into the garage. The doors are wide open; the news of my arrival must have reached the associates appointed for security here. I drive in, rolling toward my designated spot. Passing the other cars, I make note of who all are present and here. Levi's black Mustang, Hange's yellow Fidato electric scooty on which they absolutely insist Moblit to ride pillion every time they go out together, Miche and Nanaba's white Range Rover, Jean's grey Chevrolet Camaro and I'm sure Connie and Sasha cashed in a ride since I don't see their cars, unless they're not here. Ymir's Kawasaki Vulcan bike is parked between Mikasa's burgundy Nissan Z and Armin's gray Toyota Prius, while some other cars and motorcycles lay scattered throughout.

There's no sign of Eren's 2-week-old convertible. So, unless he rode in with Mikasa or Armin, he's still not ready to show his face. Even after I sent word with Hange that he's been forgiven? He's being quite unnecessarily stubborn and borderline rude.

"Good morning, Boss." Nifa, a soldier from Hannes' regime stands across from me as I get out of my car, her right fist clasped over her heart - the Scout family salute.

"Good morning, Nifa." I return her gesture.

The elevator doors open up into the living room where everyone waits for me. Fresh sunlight pours in through the open windows, the door to the balcony invites the salt air inside, the white curtains rising like waves before crashing midair. The conversations among my peers turn to silence as I step in.

My eyes scan the gathering for any signs of Eren and land on Armin's apologetic face. The smartest of the bunch, this one, a free thinker, maybe not a free speaker yet but he's still growing. Some say, he bears a striking resemblance with me, although I don't see it. Maybe the blonde hair and the blue eyes, but that's all there is. His intelligence is unmatched by mine.

Levi hands me a cigarette as I reach the threshold of the room. When I put it to my lips, he tiptoes to cover it from the wind and holds up a lighter. It's a ritual that my consigliere insists on performing every morning - he says this is what keeps the family together, that internal conflicts have broken out on the days he failed to keep the tradition up. It'd devastate him if I divulge that I've already had half a cigarette before coming here.

"Thank you, Levi."

I walk to the edge of the balcony and rest my elbows on the railing, gazing at the sea. Nothing calms down the horrors of my heart, the despair of my soul like the unruly, unpredictable waters. The bungalow stands on the edge of a cliff that juts out over the beach, our beach. Technically, it's private but we let lost tourists and lonely travelers walk in and sunbathe here from time to time. I gape at the creamy waves breaking over the sand as I drag in and breathe out the smoke.

"Erwin." Levi walks up beside me, a tab in his hand, business on his mind.

"Do you think she'll like it here?" I ask before he can say anything else.

He sighs. "She, who? The new one-night stand?"

"Oh, she's definitely more than a one-night stand."

"Really? How so?" So condenscending!

"I've known her forever."

"You mean, you feel like you've known her forever. That's very juvenile."

I sigh. "Levi Ackerman, always the truth-teller. What's on that?" I point to the device in Levi's hand. "Did you find anything yesterday?"

His mood shifts for the better. "Yes, I got the manager to pull up the CCTV footage of the camera angled on... well, near Niji's table. That was definitely Zeke with her. Before getting to the table, they were sitting separately at the bar. Then he bought drinks for her and another girl who was also with her, and came over to talk."

"Show me."

"It's very basic real-"

"Show me."

Levi hands me the tab with a heavy breath. The play button glares at me as I hesitate to see for myself what's behind it. In a hazy black and white screen, I make out Angel's figure too easily. Her wavy hair cascades down her back while she plays with a wine glass on the counter. I can even make out the way her thighs fluff and spill over the edge of her seat. The image evokes a surge downward from my navel, making me shift in my stance.

Flinging the cigarette off, I press play. I watch as Zeke makes his way to my Angel, chats her up with unparalleled smugness before asking her and her friend to join him at a table. He scoots his chair closer to her, touches her hair, and at one point, it seems as though he's trying to kiss her. My fist clenches in my pocket.

I'd always known my first meeting with Zeke would be bloody but this drives it home. He looks like he isn't even paying attention to her when she's speaking. He is distracted, looking around the crowd, as if to locate a familiar face. He nods at someone on the dance floor and I pause the video. The timestamp shows 21:36, just about when Levi and I had entered the pub. "Did you find out who his associate was?" I ask Levi.

"We couldn't make out the face. And there were no names in Anka's records that we're familiar with. Of course, unless it was a fake name or someone new in his family."

"Anka couldn't recognise anybody?"

"She told Hange that Zeke came alone. He'd been at the bar since before the rush hour started and had been offering wine to a lot of people."

"So it wasn't just her?"

There's frustration in Levi's sigh. "No, but she was definitely the only one he came over to speak to. And by the looks of it, she was pretty interested too."

I turn away from him and press play again. Zeke speaks animatedly for a few seconds before getting up from his chair. As he rounds Niji's chair, she takes her phone out to distract herself. Having evaded her line of sight, Zeke beelines for the back exit and just disappears.

"Did you find anything on the other cameras? In the parking lot, any of the entrances, or in front of the washrooms? It's most likely you wouldn't find anything. This man's smart. That little nod may have been only a mistake on his part, or something he did on purpose because he knew we'd look at the cameras. At least, we know that he's not aware of our connection with Angel. Let's keep it that way. What about Pyxis?"

Levi stares at me blankly for a couple of seconds before answering, "He was not there yesterday, gambling away at one of his other establishments, and is vacationing this weekend. I've set up a meeting with him on Monday."

"Find out where he's gone and send him better booze." Handing over the tab, I walk toward the living room. "And, women."

Hange waves me over to the desk where they have papers strewn all across the surface. Moblit salutes me. I nod. "The shipments have reached, Erwin," Hange tells me. "The Tyburs are happy. They're sending over stuff of their own. The kind of stuff Eren really liked the last time."

"That should bring the boy back. You can't get Tyburs' stuff in any other family. What about next weekend's plans?" I ask them.

"We're on track. Nanaba has sent out the invitations. And the decorators will be here, getting the place ready on... Thursday?" They look at Moblit and he nods. "I've sent Sasha over to Niccolo's to get a dinner menu ready. What else?"

"Do you have update on the locket I ordered?"

"Yes, that should also be here by Thursday. It's only taking time because the resin needs to set before it can be cast into-"

"Understood, Hange." With that, I turn to the rest of the room. This is my family, my legacy. Most people in this room came to us in their darkest times, and decided to stay on forever. Some of them, children of the elite, saw the world with the same eyes as us - Jean, for example, and his balls. He's on his way to leading a regime on his own very soon.

As if I'm speaking my mind out loud, Jean looks up at me. He salutes. "How's your project going?" I ask.

"Doing my best, Boss. I've appointed our people in the Warriors' mansion and I'm in touch with them all the time to get a blueprint of the place. Or, make one. They haven't found any cameras so it's going to take a little longer."

"That's alright. Take your time." I pull my phone out of my pocket when it vibrates. It's only some mail, not Angel. Maybe she isn't up yet. That is expected, considering how I might have tired her last night. I could use some sleep as well.

"See you all at the office then." I speak to everyone, clasping my hands.

"Boss, it's Saturday." Connie speaks up.

"And how does that change..." I pause, remembering Angel's face last night. Exhausted after a whole week of work.

My employees at the firm are expected to show up five days a week, for seven hour shifts. But the members of my family work beyond that, through the nights, early in the mornings, making sure the firm soars, our connections are kept stable, side businesses stay afloat. I've been strict with this bunch for as long as I've been the Boss. But that doesn't mean that things can't change. I soften and tell Connie, "you know what, take the weekend light. I'll see you all on Monday."

The words have made my family go uncharacteristically mum. Connie eyes his friends as if the unthinkable has happened, leading me to feel utterly sorry for making kindness an unexpected trait of their leader. Hange giggles, as they have at many a funeral before. "Erwin's in a good mood because he got laid last night," they declare to the whole room, inciting a tsk from Levi and a shush from their partner.

The heat on my face reminds me of last night, of Angel's breath on my face as she orgasmed. I had felt the same heat when she had touched my scars, so delicately, so politely. She wanted to heal me. She was healing me. "You'll be assisting Jean with his blueprint assignment for the coming week," I tell Hange.

Their face drops. Hange might be the only person, other than Levi, of course, who speaks their mind to me. A tech and science enthusiast, they're always up to innovations that make bribing fire marshalls a part of our lives. Situational awareness may not be their strong suit but they're one of the most important members of the family. If anything were to happen to me, they'd be appointed as the new Boss.

I take the elevator to the basement, the storage unit for the poisons we export. Levi tails me as we make our way to Miche and Nanaba through the stacked bundles of green, packets of white and brown powder, colorful pills in the facade of prescription bottles. The underboss and his wife and capo are overseeing the smooth transit from our lab to the market. I never touch our products but word from different members of my family convinces me we're always a few steps ahead of our competitors in terms of consumer satisfaction.

"Erwin, hi!" Nanaba stifles a yawn to greet me. "How was last night?"

I glare at Levi. Of course, he told Hange and they told everyone. This is not new; my romantic life has never been in the shadows. My family has been privy to the women I've been with, since on many occasions, they've led these women to me, introduced them to me at parties and meetings during which, if I liked them, we'd made advances toward each other for the rest of the night before sharing a bed. These relationships were always futile, going nowhere, only meant for the flesh.

But Angel... I've known her forever.

"It was good, thanks for asking."

"Did you ask for her number this time?" She pries. Miche walks over to me and sniffs at the side of my neck.

"L'Occitane Lavender. She's classy, yet frugal." He notes.

I turn at his words to smell my collar. It's her perfume, all over me. I've been so proud of having her smelling like me, I had forgotten how she had been covering me with her scent too.

"So did you get her number, or do you finally want me to make you a file about her?" Levi demands.

"No, thanks." I let go of my collar. "I left her my card. Hopefully, she'll call me-"

Nanaba laughs out, making me tense. "You left her your business card? That's so on-brand for you. But, Erwin, that's probably not what a woman wants."

"Oh! Well, I'm sure she'll understand the purpose of the card." I pull out my phone. Still nothing.

"Yes, hopefully." Nanaba smiles before turning to her husband with a grin on her face.

Yes, hopefully.

A/N: Releasing this chapter the day after AoT ended. It feels so surreal to me that this show is over. Like, donezo. I wasn't a part of the fandom since the beginning but I've been here long enough to know that 5th Nov, 2023 was a day of mourning. So long, Scouts! Shinzou wo sasageyo.

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