Chapter Text
A scuffle right outside his office caught Erwin’s attention.
“...the commander insisted he didn’t want to be disturbed…” Erwin’s assistant’s muffled voice could be heard through the heavy wooden door, just before they swung inwards, bouncing against the walls with a loud bang as if they were made of paper and not dense maple.
“It’s getting late. You may take your leave now, Nifa.” Unperturbed, Erwin bid goodbye to his assistant from where he sat, not looking up from the document in his hands. Sensing her hesitation as she stood by the door, confused whether she should drag Erwin’s unwelcome guest with her or to leave them be, Erwin spoke up again. “It is quite alright. Good night.”
“If you say so. Good night commander.” With a salute, Nifa left the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
Even without looking, Erwin could sense the piercing gaze upon his person as his visitor stood impatiently by the door, torn between wanting to grab Erwin’s attention but sensing that whatever document was in his hands must be important enough that he wouldn’t even acknowledge other people’s presence in his room.
And indeed, Erwin was in the middle of dissecting a crucial clause that had the potential to cut budgets from the Survey Corps.
“Someone looks like they had a good dump today.”
With a playful smirk that made the blond look much younger than he actually was, Erwin put the parchment down. “Not quite, Levi.” With a pencil, Erwin started to underline the ambiguous statements in the paper- he had just the idea to exploit the loopholes he’d discovered here.
“Cheh.” Levi circled around the huge oaken desk that took up a major portion of Erwin’s new office, eyeing the dusty tabletop with disdain before plopping himself down on it. “Must be pretty damn close if it makes you skip dinner with the officers and have you grinning like an idiot all alone in your new office.”
“I ate here.”
“You too good to eat with us commoners now?”
Erwin shrugged noncommittally. His tone turned teasing, a single thick eyebrow rising at the way Levi had just perched himself on his desk, legs crossed over each other. The way Levi managed to glare down at him from under his bangs, you wouldn’t think he was more than a head shorter than him. “Is that how you’re supposed to speak to your superior officer, Levi?” Erwin’s voice lacked the heat that should’ve been there at the lack of respect.
“Sorry I don’t feel like kissing your wrinkly old-ass Commander .” The way he spoke the title felt like more of an insult than anything else he could’ve said.
“I’m not that much older than you.” Erwin sighed. “At least you’re addressing me by my title.” He started storing the papers away into random files before Levi had the chance to start threatening him to go to bed “By the way, why the sudden hostility, Levi?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He couldn’t help it- Erwin chuckled at Levi’s childish attempt at dodging the question. “I think you do.”
“Stop seeing things that aren’t there, shitty eyebrows.” It was almost adorable how, despite how hard he tried to hide it, the tips of Levi’s nose gave him away with the way it crinkled upwards when he was displeased.
“I’m not though Levi. The way I see it, it’s you who’s refusing to see things…”
Levi gasped, catching Erwin by surprise. He followed Levi’s wide-eyed gaze downwards to find his traitorous hand on Levi’s thigh.
“Levi… I…”
“Have you gone senile, old man?” Levi barked, taken by surprise at the unexpected turn of events. “Or has the promotion gotten to you?” He followed, acidly.
“What if it has?” Erwin shot back. It was an honest mistake. Levi didn’t have to get this defensive over an innocent touch like that. “What would you do if I decided to become a power hungry, grabby old man?” He challenged him. His rare nasty streak chose to rear its head when, instead of apologizing, and instead of removing his hand from Levi’s thigh, he clamped down his hold on Levi’s thigh, above the crossing leather straps, hard enough to leave a bruise.
The way Levi’s eyes narrowed into little slits made him loosen his hold immediately. Erwin had made a mistake, perhaps even overstepped his boundaries. “I’m sorry Levi, I-” Erwin moved to retract his hand, but found it caught between thin, bony fingers.
“If you did,” Levi spoke to Erwin’s hand, his voice uneven, as if it took him great efforts to force his jaw to speak, “then I’d lie through my teeth to you. Even when you fucked shit up, I’d say, “Excellent job as always Commander.”
Levi raised Erwin’s hand to his lips. “Congratulations on getting promoted to Commander.”
“Thank you for blessing me with your company.” The touch of Levi’s chapped lips on Erwin’s warm hand was like a searing brand of insult on his skin. “I’m but your humble servant.”
“Hey, wait Levi ..” Erwin got up from his seat, hot on Levi’s heels.
Levi pulled the doorknob, but a large hand encased his in a tight grip, while the other pushed the door closed before Levi had a chance to escape the confines of the newly-minted Commander Erwin’s quarters.
“I said wait!”
“What? First you control who can and can’t come to your office. Now you’re gonna start controlling every second of our lives too?”
“Is that what this is about?”
Levi refused to look at him. Erwin brushed his hair back from his face in his frustration. “I could never, no, I would never force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”
Levi turned around to face Erwin, and the repentant puppy look on the blond’s face made Levi’s temper simmer down. He nodded stiffly, his gaze fixed on the lamp on Erwin’s desk, flickering in the light breeze.
Erwin raised Levi’s hands to his lips, and gently kissed the back of his hand. “You’re too important.”
To the Survey Corps?” The words slipped out before Levi had a chance to stop himself. He looked up, at the face of the man towering above him, searching those clear blue eyes for an answer he wasn't sure he would find.
“To me.”