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Levi groggily went to the mess hall, eager to get some strongly caffeinated tea. Yesterday was quite hectic, between killing titans and accompanying Erwin with his debriefing after missions. That and coupled with the fact that he only gets a couple hours of sleep, he definitely wants to get his hands on that drink he’s been thinking about ever since he woke up. He reaches the dining area while avoiding other soldiers. He’s extra “not nice” (as Hange would say) when he hasn’t drunk any of his tea in the morning, so he just avoids any form of interaction altogether. He grabs one cup from the open cupboards and begins to rummage absentmindedly for tea leaves and hot water. He spots Erwin and others, the blond too prim and proper for an early morning. Mike and Hange were yawning and still looked like shit when he plopped his cup on their table and parked himself right beside Erwin. Normally he would try to control his blush while secretly staring at the squad leader but right now he was too sleepy to care. He will never admit that he has a crush on Erwin, no matter how Hange insists that they "caught Levi staring longingly at him too long for it to be casual".
He blinks and stirs his tea while he listens to Erwin and Hange chatting about formations, the latter beginning to wake up and starts to be animated and loud as usual. He grunts while the shaggy giant just huffs amusedly, seeing Levi's annoyance as entertaining. He sensed that the giant also knows of his little "secret" admiration for his friend, so he just stays silent and lifts his cup to take a sip. He realizes it was a big mistake when he feels the scalding liquid hit his tongue. He felt awake right at that instant, eyes going wide and his cup dropping loudly on the floor. His clothes are now wet and every soldier in the hall is looking at their direction. 'Just fucking great, what an awesome way to start the morning', he thinks. He's so embarrassed he wishes the ground would swallow him whole but he has his goddamn mess to clean, so instead, he starts to crouch and grab his cup under the table, avoiding the curious stares of people. He so badly wants to return to his room and try to forget what just happened when he felt something covering his shoulders and another hand covering his own.
"Levi, are you okay? You must be very tired." Erwin's deep voice whispering over his ears drowned all his overwhelming thoughts. He was now feeling embarrassed for a different reason but he tried to compose himself. "I'm fine, just extra sleepy." He lies, inwardly cursing while getting a whiff of the blond bastard's scent. Erwin always smells clean and his clothes freshly washed and it takes him a lot of effort not to say "fuck it" and hug and cuddle with the taller man (who has no clue about how he feels about him, by the way). Instead, he stands up and looks at the floor, avoiding Erwin's concerned gaze.
"Are you sure? You should go get some more rest; we have today off anyway. Don't worry about cleaning, I'll handle it." Erwin says as he drapes his jacket over Levi's shoulders. He feels his face is on fire by now, greatly affected by how the blond treats him kindly even though he acts like an asshole around him.
"Um. Thanks, I guess. I'll return this after I wash it." He grabs the jacket by the collar and pulls it closer to him, shielding the stain left by the tea. He lifts his head and sees Erwin give him a small warm smile, his blue eyes mirroring the sky on a clear summer day.
"You're most certainly welcome Levi. Have a nice rest." He nods as he hurriedly walks back to the quarters, not sparing the blond a glance. He hears Hange and Mike snicker but he pointedly ignores them.
He never stopped half-running until he stood in front of his room and opened the door. Fortunately, his other roommates were nowhere to be found, presumably still eating breakfast. He exhales in relief as he gets a spare set of his uniform and starts to change. He carefully lays Erwin's jacket on his bed, as if it'll disappear. He smiles. He rarely does. But the fact that Erwin was concerned about him earlier made him think that it was worth it being a fucking moron and spilling tea on himself and would do it again just to see the squad leader being so nice to him, even giving him his jacket even though it was starting to get colder this time of the year. He lies down on the bed, taking the blond's jacket and wraps it around him, taking in its scent. He's glad that no one sees him acting like a lovesick teenager (he never felt that way before until he met Erwin, chasing him that fateful day). He remembers the smell of books Erwin likes to read after a long day, and his soft voice while he sometimes reads aloud to Levi when he can't sleep at all and sneaks to his room to complain about his noisy roommates as he drifts off to sleep.
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After a couple hours, Levi wakes up to the sound of the door opening. He expects it to be one of his roommates but he sees Erwin holding a tray of food with a cup of what he thinks is tea and sits down at the lone chair near his bed.
"How are you feeling?" the blond asked him cheerfully as he flashes a charming smile that made Levi all fuzzy inside.
"I feel better. Had enough sleep now. Thanks." He still feels like an idiot from this morning but the fact that Erwin's right beside him makes him forget his little mistake.
"I saved you some lunch just in case everyone's decided to empty the kitchen. And some tea since you didn't get to finish the one you made this morning." Erwin says as he slides the tray towards Levi's lap. He nods at Erwin in gratitude as he starts eating.
"Um, you know if you're cold you could request for more blankets right?" The blond says as he gestures to the jacket wrapped around him. He blanches in horror, realizing another mistake that happened this day. Apparently, his brain decided to take a break today too, for fuck's sake.
"Oh yeah, I got too tired. But I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Smith." Erwin flashes him another soft smile that he loves to see. Oh, what he would do just to see that smile on the man's face every day.
Erwin really goes above and beyond just for him ever since he started "officially" in the Survey Corps and has only been so kind to him he thinks he doesn't deserve it. So after drinking his tea (fucking finally), he voices out his thoughts.
"Hey Smith, why are you so nice to me? I've only been an asshole to you ever since I tried to kill you but you didn't give a shit." He says as he slides off the tray on his lap and prepares to stand. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Erwin's cheeks turning slightly pink while fidgeting on his seat.
"Well, Levi. Uh. I know you haven't had the chance to be treated kindly when you lived underground, so I'm trying my best to make you feel welcome here. I apologize if at any point I made you feel uncomfortable while doing so." He scoffed at Erwin's apology.
"You're silly, there's no need to say sorry. I'm just wondering why. I actually appreciate it." The last couple of words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He's on a roll today it seems. He wants to smack himself on the head.
Erwin's eyes went wide in surprise, not used to Levi saying gratitude out loud. "I'm glad to hear that Levi. Just let me know whenever you need anything." Erwin said as he stands up and leaves.
'Yeah if I could get a hug from you that would be great.' He thought as Erwin opens the door.
"Wait, Levi, what did you say?" The taller paused when he was grabbing the knob.
FUCK. Levi didn't realize he actually said that out loud. The tea wasn't waking his stupid brain up like it usually does.
"Nothing! I'll go return the shit back to the kitchen." He says as he tries to escape through the door but Erwin closed the door again before he could even run away.
"No, I definitely heard something. Levi, tell me what you just said." He commands, using his voice that intimidates other soldiers. However, it doesn't work on him.
"You're imagining things, crazy bastard. Let me out before they figure out they're missing utensils in the kitchen." He tries to maneuver his way out of the damn room but Erwin steps forward, making a shocked Levi move back to his corner. Erwin takes a seat at the edge of his bed as Levi growls in frustration. So much for being discreet about his crush.
"Fine, you fucking bastard. I've had a crush on you for a while now. I always imagine getting hugs from you recently 'cause I'm a lonely dumbass. Happy?" He confesses angrily when he's sure Erwin won't let him leave without him saying something.
"...I'm sorry for pressuring you, Levi. I honestly didn't hear what you said so I decided to force you to say it again. I did not expect it to be what you've just... I'm flattered Levi, I don't know what to say."
"You ain't saying anything, that's what. Now let me leave before people get mad at me for eating late and not cleaning my shit." He was about to stand up but instead of the door, he sees the bluish-green gem of Erwin's bolo tie as he engulfs him in a hug.
"I really am sorry Levi. Mike actually gave me little hints of your secret but I was so dense I just ignored him. I never expected it to be actually true. Thank you, Levi... I, please give me some time to process all this..." He murmured quietly as he snuggled Levi's hair.
'HOLY SHIT. This can't be happening.' Levi thought, frozen on his spot as he wraps his head around the fact that the man he has been crushing on is giving him a fucking hug. He tries to relax a couple minutes later as Erwin sighs and starts to gently pat his back. He eventually gives in and leans to Erwin's touch and rests his head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I said it so suddenly, didn't I? Don't blame you for getting shocked. Sorry for just randomly saying it out of the blue like that, guess my shitty head's not working today." He says after a couple moments, getting up to return the tray. As much as he wants to just be in Erwin's arms for the rest of the day, he has more important things to do. He also needs to give Erwin space, letting the man decide what he wants to do with Levi's (accidental) confession.
"Don't worry about it Smith, just go back to your room. You look like you're about to take a shit." He said as he leaves the room.
"Wait, Levi." He turned his head back to face the blond man. He was fucking pouting, red as a tomato. He feels like he's gonna have a heart attack at how cute blondie looks like right now. "Can I... can we talk later in the evening? you can meet me in my room as usual." Now it's Levi's turn to blush. He only goes there to mope about his fellow corps members but now there's a different reason for him to go there tonight.
"Uh sure." Then his genius brain decides to add, "Sure, if I get to hug you again after.” Fuuuuuuck. He should stop talking now goddamnit.
"Of course. I find hugging you to be an immensely enjoyable experience. I'll see you later Levi." Erwin announces as they leave the room and go opposite directions.
If all it takes for Erwin Smith to give him hugs is him being an absolute fucking moron, then so be it. He could actually see himself getting used to that arrangement, receiving hugs from him. That's a small sacrifice he could make.
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