Work Text:
"Erwin, what the fuck are you doing?"
Said boyfriend, previously seated next to Levi, was now out of his seat and flailing wildly, about to smack the people on either side of him in his blind excitement.
“Levi, did you not just see that hit?! That ball was headed right toward us!” Erwin exclaimed loudly, sitting down with a pout when the ball hit the wall of the third base line. “I wanted to catch it.”
“Of course you fucking wanted to catch it,” said Levi, simpering, “but jesus, Erwin, what are the chances of that even happening?”
“High, considering where we’re sitting,” said Erwin, eyes trained on the batter as he lined up for his second swing. “Where do you think all the foul balls go, Levi? They don’t just disappear into thin air.”
“Yeah, well they’re not gonna come to you like a magnet, either,” Levi snorted. “I just don’t understand the appeal.”
Erwin turned to Levi, eyes wide.
“Levi, that’s what you do at baseball games. You bring a glove and try to catch the foul balls and you eat all the greasy food your heart desires and you fish prizes out of the Cracker Jack and buy overpriced merchandise sometimes and—”
“And you sound like an overexcited kid whose daddy took him to his vewy fiwst game,” said Levi, rolling his eyes.
“I’ve wanted to catch a ball ever since I was a kid,” Erwin said softly. “When my dad used to take me to games, he always made sure to get us seats where the foul balls would land, and a couple times in the outfield in the hopes of a home run making it back there, but we never did get one.” He sighed; bringing up his late father was still a painful undertaking. “It was a good experience, but… I just wish I had something to remember it by besides the memories.”
Levi frowned in concern, rubbing Erwin’s arm like he could scrub the sadness away. “Sorry, Erwin. If it makes you feel any better, Kenny never bothered to take me to games. We only listened on the radio.”
“I bet that would be hard for a kid to keep up with,” said Erwin, a little of his cheery demeanor returning.
“Yeah, you bet,” Levi snorted. “Bastard called me a snot-nosed brat and told me to run along and play with my building blocks every time I had to ask a question. Those mile-a-minute Chicago accents don’t really help with listening comprehension, you know.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Erwin smiled, the scene unfolding in his head. How he wished he could have plucked Levi out of that dingy house and spirited him away. A man could dream.
“Fuckin’ Kenny,” Levi swore.
“Fuckin’ Kenny,” Erwin agreed, snaking an arm around Levi’s shoulders.
About halfway through the fourth inning, Erwin succumbed to his hunger pangs.
“Please will you go get us some food?” he wheedled, plying Levi with his fattened wallet. “I brought extra cash so we wouldn’t have to use our cards at the ballpark today.”
“Can’t you just get one of those shitty limp hot dogs from the guys wandering around?” Levi sniffed, looking up and down the aisles for a vendor. “I don’t see what’s so hard about that.”
“But I don’t want a hot dog,” Erwin whined, “I want nachos. And a popsicle.”
“Those don’t even go together.”
Erwin pulled out his best pleading face, one that even Levi usually wasn’t able to resist. “Pleeeeeease?”
“Jesus christ, Erwin, you are a grown-ass man,” Levi scoffed. “Go get it yourself, if you want it so badly. You have all the cash, anyway.”
“But Levi, what if a ball comes while I’m gone? I don’t want to miss it.”
Levi’s eyes softened around the edges. “I’ll catch the ball for you if it means I have to punch, kick, and claw my way to it, okay?” Erwin’s lower lip still jutted out, unconvinced. “Why don’t you at least wait until the next inning? You can slip out then while they’re switching everything over and doing one of those dumb sponsored pizza races or something.”
“But then I could miss one of the free t-shirts!”
“Fuck, you are hopeless.” Levi shook his head, running a hand over his face to keep himself in check. “Fine. I’ll go, after this inning is over. We ponied up for these seats, and we’re going to sit in them as long as we’re legally allowed.”
“I love you,” Erwin grinned, his childish method winning over his boyfriend once again.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting crack rent the air. Levi squinted at the field and elbowed Erwin hard in the ribs.
“Two o’clock, Erwin. Look sharp.” He pointed at the white dot in the sky that was quickly traveling towards their section. The next few moments played out in slow motion: a clump of ten people – with Erwin at the center – stood on cue with their hands in the air, all making a grab for the foul ball. The first to touch it was a man, just taller than Erwin and wearing a jersey for the opposing team, but his bare hands betrayed him as the ball bounced traitorously off his fingertips and into Erwin’s waiting glove. The crowd sat down with muffled grumbles until Erwin was the last one standing, clutching his forearm and staring at his gloved hand with reverence.
“Sit down, you idiot, don’t make a scene,” Levi hissed, tugging on the bottom of Erwin’s shirt. “Hey, earth to dumbass. Erwin!”
“I caught one,” said Erwin, smiling beatifically and tilting his glove to show Levi the ball nestled therein.
“Congrats. Sit down and I’ll gush over it more.”
Erwin sat down with a thump.
“Would you allow me to give it to you?” he said bashfully, extending the glove to Levi.
“Wh– but… but this is your first ball,” said Levi, quietly incredulous. “Don’t you want to keep it?”
“I know. But this is a memory I’ve made with you now, and I want to share.”
“Erwin…” Levi struggled to find the right words. “Thanks. I’ll take good care of it.”
Erwin smiled, a small, secretive thing he saved just for Levi, and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Maybe we can get it signed after the game,” he whispered. “We can get one of those little collectable ball boxes at the team shop…”
“Maybe I can shove it up your ass after the game.” Levi stuck out his tongue, rolling his eyes at the thought of the grimy baseball being displayed on a bookcase or tabletop.
“Bit thick, don’t you think?” Erwin winked. “Also, how dare you, this is my first baseball catch and I will not have you ruin the sanctity of this momentous occasion with your—”
Levi pressed the baseball against Erwin’s mouth. “Shut up and watch the game, Erwin.”
The fifth and sixth innings flew by as the home team racked up points. No more foul balls flew their way, though Erwin did catch one of the coveted free t-shirts and immediately tried to get Levi to wear it (“It’s too big for me,” Levi whined, but let Erwin tug it over his head anyway).
Two boxes of nachos, four beers, and one stadium-wide round of the wave later, the score had climbed to an impressive 7-2. Levi sat slumped against Erwin, a little bloated and a little sleepy from the bright sun overhanging the field. Erwin had an arm tucked around him protectively, eyes half on the game and half on the megatron as the last batter struck out and the teams began to switch places.
Suddenly, an announcement rang around the stadium, and the megatron was filled with a shower of LED hearts and the caption “Couple Cam” in comic sans.
“Levi, look up.” Erwin nudged him awake and pointed to the board. “Maybe we’ll be up there.”
“Nooo, I don’t wanna,” he whined, picking his head up anyway to see what had Erwin all excited. “Erwin, there are only ever boring straight people on there, I don’t c—”
Erwin bit his lip to hold in a smile as the camera switched to Levi’s face mid-sentence. Levi’s reaction came in phases: first as a disbelieving squint, next as a shocked stare, and last as a disbelieving squawk.
“How did they pick us out of the crowd?!” he shrieked. “Damn it, Erwin, did you do something…”
Levi noticed that the stadium had gone quiet, and when he looked to his left for an explanation from Erwin, his boyfriend had dropped to one knee on the sticky concrete.
“Levi,” he started, voice quaking with emotion, “there’s one more thing I want to give you today, if you’ll accept it.” Erwin opened his palm to reveal a small cobalt box, and hidden within a nest of fine black silk was a sleek platinum band. Levi’s eyes went so wide it almost hurt.
“Erwin…”
“Since you came into my life, I’ve known a happiness like none other, and I want to give that happiness back to you. Levi Ackerman, would you do me the honor and the privilege of becoming my husband?”
Levi’s first response was to be overwhelmed – the unexpectedness of the proposal and the extremely public nature of the stadium left him speechless – but beneath his initial apprehension and the frantic pounding of his heart, he knew that he wanted to spend nothing less than forever with Erwin. His mouth curled up in a rare, warm smile as he clasped the box and Erwin’s hand between both of his own.
“Yes, Erwin, god yes, I’ll marry you.”
Erwin’s eyes began to glimmer with emotion as he gently took Levi’s hand in his own, slipping the band onto his ring finger like it had always belonged. Levi rocked his hand back and forth, admiring, before stretching his arms out for a hug. Erwin took it one step farther and hoisted him up, holding him close and whirling him around in a circle as the crowd began to scream their praise and congratulations. A chant of ‘Kiss him! Kiss him!’ went up around the stadium. When Erwin finally stopped spinning, Levi locked his legs around his back, brought both hands up to his face, and kissed him like nobody was watching.