Chapter Text
“Levi.”
“Zeke!? What are y–”
“Levi!” Another and more distant voice interrupted.
“Erwin!?”
Both blondes moved their gazes towards each other. Erwin gave Zeke a smile, his most charming one.
“Hi, Zeke!” Erwin waved his hand as he strode towards Levi’s door.
Erwin obviously refused to read the room as his smile was still on his face, arm sneaking around Zeke’s shoulders as he got closer. Both Zeke and Levi only stared at Erwin with small smiles plastered on their faces.
“Levi and I are about to grab some ice creams together. Wanna join?”
Levi’s smile faltered. As much as he liked to go eat ice cream with Zeke–despite their current dispute, Levi thought it was a date.
“Ice cream?” Zeke finally asked.
“Yeah! Mike told me the one near school just added new flavors. Not sure what, but I’m intrigued. Right, Lee?” Erwin turned towards Levi.
“Uh… yeah.” Levi only nodded at Erwin, though he could feel Zeke’s eyes on him too.
Gray still stays on the icy blue, because Levi wanted to see what was inside of Erwin’s mind. Levi thought his confusion was justified as to him and Erwin had been texting even more intensely for the past few weeks, he thought they were ready to go on the next step. Never once crossed his mind to see Zeke as a cockblocker of Levi’s love life.
Levi finally had the courage to look at Zeke. The man slouched a bit as Erwin had his arm tight around Zeke’s shoulders, which made Levi frown. He never knew Erwin and Zeke were that close, let alone Zeke hated physical touch if it was not from Levi.
Levi felt upset seeing Erwin and Zeke, but he could not figure out who he was jealous of.
He could not get angry at either of the blondes, not when Zeke had his brow knitted together, showing discomfort with Erwin’s proximity.
“Erwin, let him go. Now.”
“Oh?” Erwin’s eyebrows arched in surprise, looking at Zeke briefly to study his expression before finally letting go and muttering a sincere apology.
“It’s okay, but warn me next time, yeah?” Zeke chuckled nervously, “I can’t really join you guys, sorry. I just wanted to, uh…”
Both Erwin and Levi were in silence as they saw Zeke’s reddening cheeks whilst the man walked closer to Levi, making the raven frown in confusion.
“Zeke, wha–” Levi was about to protest before his face got buried into Zeke’s chest.
Zeke was hugging him.
Zeke was hugging him in front of his crush.
Erwin’s eyes widened.
The whole scenario would baffle any pedestrian who walked past Levi’s lawn. Three male teenagers standing in front of the door with two of them hugging awkwardly.
Nonetheless, out of three of them, only Erwin had a confused expression on his face.
Levi sighed before finally hugging Zeke back.
The whole school knew that Zeke and Levi were close, but only two of them understood the dynamic of their relationship. Between the Ackermans and the Yeagers, it was always the latter’s kids that were more emotional. Unlike Eren who had anger issues, though, Zeke was more of a crybaby. He would get upset over anything, according to Levi, because the raven had made Zeke cry countless times throughout their childhood.
They rarely fought, but when they did, they would ‘cuddle it out’.
They never really fought, but Zeke would ask to be held by Levi whenever he felt upset. For someone who hated physical touch, Zeke was pretty clingy with Levi.
Likewise, Levi would never admit the fact that he liked to hug Zeke when he was upset too.
Zeke only chuckled whenever Levi called him ‘an overgrown baby’ whenever Zeke asked for a hug.
Today, they only hugged in silence.
As if he could read the taller’s mind, he knew Zeke was also upset by the fact that Levi was leaving him. The blonde had admitted it many times for the past few days. He had admitted his hatred towards the distance between him and Levi, “not only about the literal distance, Levi, but I feel like you would eventually forget me.” Zeke said softly, eyes wandering everywhere but Levi.
Zeke was such a delicate guy for someone his size. He was never afraid to convey what he was feeling while Levi was the very opposite, thus his dynamic with Levi was pretty balanced yet a tad confusing for the outsiders.
“Zeke, it’s okay. I’m not angry at you, ‘kay?” Levi rubbed Zeke’s back as he peeked to see Erwin’s softening expression. Levi knew Erwin would understand, like he always did.
Zeke only hummed before letting go.
Levi heard a sniffle coming from his friend, he stared upwards to see Zeke’s teary eyes.
The raven held Zeke’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “I will come by to your house later, okay? We will talk.”
Zeke nodded, wiping his own tears with his other hand.
“Have fun today, Lee.” Zeke was so soft-spoken that Levi found it hard to be angry right in front of him.
Once they parted completely, Zeke smiled at Erwin.
“Have fun, both of you! Thanks for inviting me, Erwin. Maybe we’ll go some other time?”
“Yeah, of course!”
Zeke patted Erwin’s back before he walked towards his house.
“Chocomint? Are you insane?” Levi gasped, staring at Erwin in horror.
“Huh, yeah! They just added it to their menu!”
Levi had a cup of three scoops of strawberry cheesecake ice cream in his hands, as he thought that using cones was messy, proven by Erwin who had a small stream of ice cream on his fingers.
“That’s toothpaste!”
Erwin nonchalantly bit his ice cream, Levi cringed at the sight of Erwin biting the sweet with his front teeth.
“You’re a psycho.”
“Lee. stop nagging!” Erwin barked a laugh, motioning Levi to sit in a booth.
The store was not as packed as they thought it would be, and Erwin smiled because Levi seemed relaxed. The blonde knew that his small friend hated crowds more than anything.
They continued finishing the dessert with only pop songs being played in the store as the background noise.
“So, Lee.”
Levi hummed, pulling a wet wipe from his tote bag and wiped Erwin’s much larger yet sticky hands. Erwin smiled at the gesture, he liked being taken care of by Levi.
“We’re gonna be roommates soon, right?” He earned another hum.
Levi tidied up a bit around the table before propping both his elbows onto the table to stare at Erwin. Levi lifted his chin, “stop shitting around and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Well, I–”
“You look like you’re holding in a fart, Ervy.”
“I want to confess something.”
Levi stiffened. Perhaps he was the one holding in a fart now.
“Confess what?”
“Well, I have a crush on someone and I just want to let you know.”
Both Erwin and Levi were no longer in relaxed positions, as Erwin pulled both of his hands to fiddle his fingers on his lap, eyes avoiding Levi’s.
“S-someone?” Fuck, why am I stuttering!?
“Someone you know very well, like very well!” Erwin chuckled nervously.
Oh, so he’s playing this game huh.
Levi let out a breath he did not know he was holding in. He knew this trick.
“I trust you so much, Lee, I know I can speak abou–”
“What’s his name?”
Erwin took Levi’s hands into his, holding them softly and rubbing the back of Levi’s hand with his thumb.
“Lee, I don’t know whether you’ve realized this or not, but I–”
“Oh for fuck’s sake just say it’s me!”
Everything went silent.
The small chatterings around the store also went silent.
Erwin’s eyes widened, his body went rigid.
“Lee…”
Levi started to panic when Erwin started to pull his hands away.
It was very out of character of him for bursting in public like that. Levi had always been known for being extremely composed, let alone when it had something to do with his emotions.
Shit, does he still like me after this?
“Lee, it’s… it’s Zeke.”
“Huh?”
“I like Zeke.”
Silence.
Both Levi and Erwin did not utter a single word after that confession.
Levi’s ice cream had turned into a cup of milk when he finally took a deep breath to say something… anything.
Erwin’s piercing gaze stayed on the raven’s surprised one. His was calm, composed, while Levi’s was full of emotions, staggering.
Why not me?
The question filled Levi’s head, screaming to be voiced out. Levi had always seen Erwin as someone he trusted the most, alongside Zeke.
But now, he felt like he could not trust anything.
Every night Levi had a phone call with Erwin, he would imagine the feelings of holding hands with the blonde, the emotions he would experience once Erwin planted a kiss on his forehead, the smile he would show only to Erwin.
Everything seemed to falter.
He hated the thought that maybe every night, Erwin would imagine those things too, but not with Levi.
Why Zeke?
“What…” Erwin moved a tad closer, pulling Levi’s limp hands into his and giving them a squeeze in reassurance, “what does he have that I don’t?”
It was Erwin’s turn to have his eyes widened in surprise.
Levi was the type of person who would compress his feelings, but knowing him for a few years, Erwin never thought of Levi to be someone who would question his self-worth.
“Why do you ask that, Lee?” Erwin whispered, still in disbelief and confusion as to what to answer Levi’s question with.
Levi averted his gaze and pulled his hands from Erwin’s gripping ones.
“I just–is it because I'm short?”
“Wha–”
“No, I don’t give a shit. You two go fuck each other for all I care.” The emotions from his eyes were gone, it went back to being empty.
Just like Levi’s seat once Erwin realized that the raven left.
He even left his cup, not bothering to put it into the trash, very unlikely of the raven.
Erwin stared blankly.
He really did not know that this would be the outcome. Levi was one of the few people in Erwin’s life who knew that he was not straight. Levi was one of the people he trusted the most–the rest were Hange and Mike, but Levi was the only person he could be vulnerable with. Out of Hange, Mike, and Levi, the latter was the person he leaned on the most.
For the past few weeks, every time Levi and Erwin had a night phone call, the taller male would hint the fact that some people in their school were pretty attractive for him, which Levi agreed to.
This topic was brought up pretty often in their conversations.
It began after Erwin realized that he liked Zeke. He found the other blonde to be very passionate in the things he liked.
Erwin had always seen Zeke as a very intelligent person, and just like Erwin, Zeke was also book smart. The difference was that Zeke was more into science and Erwin was a history and politics geek, but they both like literature, hence their frequent book club meeting.
One day, the meeting was canceled, but both men were already at the library. Zeke frowned, he did not want to be home that early after getting yelled at by Carla that morning–he was sulking.
Erwin followed him as Zeke browsed through the library.
They never really talked at the meetings, though they would exchange opinions through whispers or some sort, Erwin never really knew what type of person Zeke was.
That day, the cancellation of the meeting had given the two men so much time to spend, thus Erwin initiated to open a conversation with Zeke. He was too bored to be home too early.
They decided to take a seat at the couch, in the space where the meetings would be held.
When Zeke said that he would grow a beard like Santa after graduating, Erwin laughed loudly, and people immediately shushed them.
They talked for so long, Erwin found that they had so much similarity in perspectives about the world, and Erwin found Zeke to be smarter than he imagined. He could not believe Zeke would be more mature despite being younger than Erwin.
“I just thought, you know, you pout or frown upon any mild inconvenience.”
“Yeah, Levi points out about that a lot.” Zeke laughed, “I am just really upfront about showing my emotions, that’s all.”
Erwin nodded, he smiled at how calm Zeke was when talking about his traits that were seen as childish.
“I’m sulking at my mom right now,” Zeke chuckled, “I always want people to know how I feel, even though it would make me look childish or whatever.” He shrugged.
Erwin was well aware about Zeke being an ‘overgrown baby’, the term Levi used for Zeke a lot.
The self-awareness he had amused Erwin. Zeke knew people saw him like a kid, especially around Levi. He would cling, whine, and would blatantly sulk in public over mild inconvenience.
More like an overgrown puppy , Erwin thought.
“I just have a unique way of getting affection.” Zeke shrugged.
Erwin then found out that Zeke’s mom passed away when giving birth to him, so Zeke did not have any memories about her. Moreover, Grisha was one of the vaccine researchers for an epidemic at the time, thus he had to stay with his grandparents for a few years. Putting the cherry on top, one day Grisha decided to marry a pregnant Carla, a then assistant of his.
Zeke was 4 when he felt a mother’s love for the first time. Carla was an angel, the most delicate one Zeke had ever known. She would provide the affection Zeke had always craved for since he was a baby.
He was a bit displeased at the notion of sharing Carla’s love. But who would’ve thought, once he met Eren’s teal eyes for the first time, the 5-year-old Zeke promised with a soft squeal, “I’ll give him all the love in this world!”
Levi had always told Erwin that Zeke was a good brother to Eren, he was like a whole different person when it came to Eren.
His maturity and childishness are kind of balanced, Erwin thought, amused.
“Me too.” Erwin suddenly confessed.
“What?”
“I have a unique way of getting affection.”
Erwin told Zeke that he could relate with the distance between Zeke and his father. Mr. Smith was a supportive father, a great one to Erwin, but the old man was never a fan of showing affection. He would just pat Erwin’s head or hug Erwin’s shoulders sideways for no longer than 5 seconds. Erwin appreciated all the gestures, but just like Zeke, he was a clingy guy.
“That’s why people think Levi and I are dating.” That had Zeke frown, he was not aware of that perception.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I hold Levi’s hands a lot. That’s just my love language.”
Erwin said in a very nonchalant manner, too excited to tell everything about him to Zeke, unaware of Zeke’s deepening scowl.
What?
Zeke wanted to avoid headaches that day, so he chose not to respond to Erwin's passionate blabbering about how touchy he was with Levi behind him.
Once Zeke initiated to change the topic, he realized how passionate Erwin was as a person. Despite being very intelligent, Erwin did not have an ambitious dream. He just wanted to be a teacher when he grew up.
Erwin’s eyes sparkled, Zeke realized that.
“Levi calls me a nerd.”
“He calls me that too!” Zeke whined.
Erwin laughed, but Zeke did not.
After the revelation of Erwin’s love language, Zeke hated whenever Levi’s name was uttered through Erwin’s mouth.
“Go home, Erwin.” Zeke suddenly said, “I’m just gonna hang out here for another hour.”
“Nah, I like hanging out with a nerd like you.” Erwin elbowed Zeke’s side, still grinning.
Zeke’s mind wandered, and perhaps he had connected the dots.
Erwin has a crush on my Levi.
His mood had turned sour.
Zeke moved his head to see that Erwin had been staring at him all this time.
Creep.
Zeke sighed, he regretted bonding with the man who was about to steal his crush away.
After the conversation, Zeke continued to treat Erwin like before–Levi’s mutual friends despite Erwin’s advances in getting closer to the other man. He still joined them in the cafeteria every day, sitting beside Levi and staying silent most of the time like before.
Zeke looked at him as if he was a competitor, but Erwin did not have to know that.
After the conversation, Erwin called Levi more often, almost every night. Levi even pointed out that Erwin had become more giggly than before, “it’s disgusting,” the raven said one night.
Erwin looked at him with butterflies in his stomach, but Zeke did not have to know that.