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The slam of the front door startled him from his book. Erwin glanced up, his gaze following his (very obviously) tense husband as he hung his coat and marched into the kitchen.
Clearly, today had been a bad day.
Quietly, the blond closed his book and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table, then rose from the couch to follow Levi. Erwin leaned against the wall for a moment, fondly watching the love of his life quickly make a cup of tea with the already near-boiling water.
Erwin had learned early on in their relationship that despite owning a tea shop and making all sorts of drinks all day every day, Levi unwound best after a few cups of his own. Within a few months of living together, he settled into the habit of putting the kettle on shortly before Levi would get home. Levi never said anything directly, but he appreciated the gesture.
After all, it was yet another way to show how much Erwin loved him.
Thick eyebrows rose as those small, nimble fingers roughly spooned in the loose leaves of his favorite black tea into a clean infuser and dropped it into the cup. Even with a scowl furrowing his brow, Levi was impossibly beautiful with ivory skin, thick raven hair, and sharp grey eyes.
Erwin watched for another moment before softly clearing his throat, though Levi would already know he was there anyway. “Hey, baby.”
Silence.
Levi didn’t so much as pause as he reached over to grasp the kettle handle, carefully pouring the steaming water into the mug and bobbing the infuser a few times to encourage the steeping process.
Erwin frowned in concern and slowly stepped forward, waiting for Levi to put the scorching kettle down first. Perhaps he should give Levi his space, but...
Big hands gently settled on thin muscled shoulders, thumbs rubbing slow, soothing circles into Levi’s tense shoulder blades. Erwin leaned forward to nuzzle the top of his hair, cerulean eyes fluttering closed as he inhaled the scent of fresh espresso beans, tea leaves, and the tea tree shampoo Levi favored.
Levi paused as he bobbed the infuser in the cup, body coiling like a spring under Erwin’s touch. The blond expected to be nudged away with an irritated click of Levi’s tongue, but rejection never came. Instead, Levi seemed to marginally deflate, though his muscles remained impossibly stiff.
“Rough day today?” Erwin murmured, low voice cutting through the silence of their home with only the swish of water disrupted by the infuser to accompany him. He pressed a soft kiss to Levi’s undercut and rubbed his hands up and down Levi’s shoulders soothingly, hopelessly willing his husband to relax.
“Just bullshit,” Levi finally muttered, impatiently bobbing the infuser in the cup as the water darkened. “Spilled fucking coffee everywhere and the fucking espresso machine broke, so I had to deal with customers bitching all day.”
Erwin tried to ignore the pang in his heart as Levi finally shrugged him off, stepping back a few feet to give him some much needed space. “I see.”
“And then someone fucked up inventory so I have to go in tomorrow on my shittin’ day off to fix it—“ Levi practically threw his dirtied spoon in the sink from frustration, the clang of metal on metal cacophonous and dissonant. As he snatched his cup, a bit of liquid sloshing over the side to dirty the counter.
Erwin’s frown deepened as he watched his husband glowered at the mess, clicking his tongue as he set down his teacup and whipping a towel with particular force off of the oven door to wipe furiously at the offensive spot.
Definitely a bad day today.
“Hey— go sit down and relax. I got it,” Erwin said, reaching over to cover Levi’s scrubbing hand with his own. At first, Erwin thought Levi would push him away again, but after scowling at the blond for a moment, Levi nodded curtly as he pulled his hand out from underneath. He took his cup — a bit gentler than before to avoid another mess — and stormed off into the living room.
After watching Levi’s retreating back, Erwin bent down to grab the bottle of cleaner his husband preferred under the sink. Carefully, he sanitized the dirtied spot and wiped it clean with a paper towel. When they first married and moved in together, adjusting to Levi’s cleaning quirks had been quite the learning curve.
Now, it was just second nature. Clean house, happy husband.
(Well, most of the time).
Once finished, the counter spotless and gleaming from the setting sunrays streaming from the window above the sink, Erwin put away the bottle and tossed the soiled towel in the laundry, then cautiously peeked into the living room. Levi sat, curled up on the sofa, glaring at opposite wall as he sipped his tea.
If he wasn’t so upset, Erwin would have found the sight comically cute.
He stood there for a few moments, staring at the back of Levi’s head as his mind raced to figure out how to help and then –
Perfect.
Casually, Erwin stepped back into the living room and paused, pressing another kiss to Levi’s hair. “Do you mind if I put on some music, darling?”
Levi merely shrugged in reply, sipping from his cup again, not even sparing Erwin a glance. The blond dropped his hand to his shoulder to squeeze reassuringly, trailing his fingers along his back as he made his way to the record player displayed on the console table adjacent to the couch.
He hummed quietly to himself as he knelt down to flip through the numerous records displayed on the lower shelf, then smiled as he found the one he wanted. With a grunt of effort, Erwin stood and carefully pulled the vinyl out, settling it into the player and pressing play.
The strumming of gentle acoustic filled the room as Erwin made his way to the back of the couch once more, once again starting to slowly massage Levi’s shoulders in an effort to get his muscles to loosen. A soft “tch” echoed, just barely loud enough over the folksy, breathy voice of a woman singing, but Erwin wasn’t pushed away. Slowly, Levi’s shoulders started to drop, the stresses of the long day of running a tea shop finally starting to melt into oblivion.
It was exactly what Erwin hoped for.
Leaning down, the blond pressed his lips to Levi’s temple. “Dance with me,” he whispered, his voice aching with tender pleading, hoping – beseeching – that his husband would give in.
Levi sighed and started to shake his head, lips parting, but Erwin’s hands tightened almost imperceptibly on his shoulders. “Please, Levi.”
There was a beat of stillness with nothing but the crooning of the record and Erwin’s stomach slowly sank, expecting that Levi would stubbornly refuse –
“Fine.”
It was almost inaudible, but the assent nonetheless there. Erwin couldn’t help but grin as he kissed his beloved’s temple once more, guiding him up and circling around to the front of the couch again, taking Levi’s slender hand into his own and pulling him flush against his body, his other hand settling in the swooping, graceful curve of Levi’s spine.
He almost expected a roll of eyes, or a huff of impatience, but Levi merely rested his hand on Erwin’s shoulder and allowed himself to be lead.
They swayed together, much like their first dance at their wedding a few years prior. The living room melted away as they danced, one with the music and with each other, moving in perfect harmony. As the melody rose and fell with each wistful lyric and chord of the guitar, Levi relaxed just a bit more under Erwin’s touch until finally, as the last few strains faded away, Levi’s head fell forward to rest against Erwin’s chest.
He made no move to pull away and neither did Levi, both unwilling to interrupt the tranquil repose as the living room fell silent once more.
Eventually, Erwin trailed the hand on Levi’s back up to gently rest under his chin, guiding it up and leaning down to kiss him sweetly, sliding his hand to rest on Levi’s cheek and stroke his skin with his thumb.
The blond broke the kiss, straightening up but momentarily pausing as their gazes met, overwhelmed by the soft, rare, vulnerable emotion swimming in silver. Levi leaned into his hand, a quiet sigh finally escaping his lips, body finally loose and pliable.
“Better?” Erwin breathed, smiling softly as Levi tenderly kissed his palm.
“Mmhm.” Levi nodded, the movement undetectable if Erwin’s hand hadn’t been on his cheek. “Thanks.”
Erwin smiled again, leaning forward once more to kiss his husband’s forehead before pulling away to choose another vinyl, the beginning notes swelling as their hands joined once more. “I love you.”
And so they danced.