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Levi leaned back, arms crossed, heel pressed against the stone wall and stared ahead. Biding his time.
The sun moved slowly across the sky above the parade ground, made its arch from east to west without a care to his vigil.
He took the switchblade from its hiding place in his right boot and gingerly cleaned his pristine fingernails for the third time in as many hours. Admired his handiwork, nodded to a group of veterans as they made their way into town.
He could have joined them for a drink. Could do plenty of other things with his day of leave. Any number of things but perch along the empty wall beside the gate and glance, periodically, up at the large window belonging to the Commander’s office. But he hadn’t done any different in the past months or preceding years and he saw no reason to change now.
He looked up again, hoping against hope, that the familiar figure would appear at that window. His strong, broad frame would gaze out over the base and fix it’s eye on the sky over the horizon beyond the wall. That office was a cage to him as much as the walls were.
The sun sunk behind those stone barriers and no light appeared in the window, nor silhouette, so he abandoned his post. Stalked back into the ancient fortress that housed so many souls and many more ghosts. He climbed the sturdy stairs up to the officer’s wings, down the hall he walked so often and hung outside the Commander’s office for a moment.
He never knocked, had never needed to. His hand hovered above the lever. He let out the breath he’d been holding and pressed down, stepped over the threshold in one movement and looked at the desk.
Empty.
The chair was empty, the surfaces all bare. The room was utterly lifeless.
Levi backed out, panicked for a split second and closed the door too quickly, banged off of the door jam with a heavy crack.
He tore down the hall the the Commander's private quarters and flung the door open without a second thought, eyes wide and desperate.
“Levi!” Erwin looked up, startled. “Are you alright?”
His shirt was half on, one arm in a sleeve as he tugged it over his head.
Levi blushed and turned to allow him some privacy and hide his growing embarrassment.
“Shit, Erwin! I thought you had left or something. Your office is all clear out.”
“Ah, yes!” He buttoned the cuffs and worked on the collar with diligent fingers. “I decided to do a bit of spring cleaning.”
He smiled at Levi with a touch of pride in his eyes.
“Erwin, I’ve been waiting for you. All day.” He stressed “And you’re telling me you’ve been cleaning that pigsty you call an office the whole time? I could have done it for you in half the time!”
Now Erwin blushed at Levi’s outburst, “Mm, I suppose it did take me a bit longer but you indulge me too much already, Levi. I didn’t want to impose on your free time once more.”
He smiled at Levi a bit abashed.
“I bet you didn’t even dust the tops of your bookcases.” He grumbled with a less than convincing scowl.
“No, I admit I may have cut a few corners.” Erwin’s ears were positively pink.
“I’ll take care of them tomorrow. Are you ready to get out of here now?”
“Yes, Levi.”
Erwin laughed and followed Levi out of the room and off the base with a faint tug to his lip for the remainder of the evening.