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Levi was starting to feel that anxiety again. He’d been feeling it almost every day now, every day since Erwin had said it: I love you. They’d just finished having sex in Erwin’s bed when he’d pulled Levi into his arms, kissing him sweetly, and said it. It seemed so easy for Erwin to say, so natural, but Levi had been shocked:
“You... You what?” he asked, pulling away from Erwin with wide eyes.
“I said I love you, Levi,” Erwin murmured with a sweet, tender smile on his face.
Levi’s heart began to pound, and he shifted away from Erwin uncomfortably. He’d never thought about how he felt about Erwin. Of course, he liked him a lot, but did he love him? He wasn’t sure, and he felt so much pressure in this moment to figure out his feelings.
“You don’t have to say it back,” Erwin reassured him, “It’s okay. You take your time and think about it, okay? I didn’t say it expecting you to say it too, I just wanted to tell you.”
Levi nodded, but he still felt anxious. What if Erwin was disappointed in him now? What if he stopped loving Levi simply because he couldn’t figure out his feelings for the blonde? All sorts of thoughts were running through Levi’s head, and he was incredibly concerned about his relationship with Erwin now.
It’d been about two weeks since this moment, and Erwin hadn’t bugged him about his answer; whether he loved Erwin or not. He’d been patient with Levi, and hadn’t pressured him about it at all, but that didn’t stop Levi from worrying about it. He was currently in Erwin’s makeshift office, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched Erwin work. They were in the capital on business, and Erwin had been given an old abandoned office to work in for the time being.
“Would you like to come to lunch with me?” Erwin asked suddenly, catching Levi off guard.
Levi shrugged, “I suppose I could eat. Sure.”
Erwin smiled and got up, walking over to Levi and tilting his chin up so they could share a kiss. Levi kissed back sweetly, unable to help the small smile that crossed his lips once Erwin pulled away. The man had such charm, and his smile was contagious.
The two of them filed out of the office building and into town, finding a cute little café to eat at. Erwin pulled out Levi’s chair for him and then sat down across from him. Levi could feel his heart skipping; the man was so romantic and gentlemanly.
Levi started looking over the menu to figure out what he wanted, feeling Erwin’s eyes on him. He looked up, the blonde staring at him with a loving expression as he rested his chin in his hand. Levi could feel himself blushing, and quickly looked back at the menu, listening to Erwin chuckling at his reaction. Erwin was clearly so in love with him, and Levi felt bad. He didn’t know how to sort out his feelings; didn’t know how if he reciprocated the love.
He’d never been in love before. He’d barely even felt love in his life; Kenny was probably the closest relationship he’d had, and Levi wasn’t sure he’d even call that love. How would he know when he was in love with Erwin?
Erwin stood up hurriedly, and Levi looked up with a start. Erwin’s eyes were trained in on something, and Levi followed his gaze to see a group of three teenagers beating up on two little kids: a boy and a girl. Erwin didn’t say a word; he straightened his jacket and walked calmly over to them, grabbing one of the teenagers by the arm and ripping him away before he could pummel the little boy on the head.
“What the hell do you three think you’re doing?” Erwin growled, and Levi quickly got up to go help.
“They’re just Underground scum, sir!” the teen struggled in Erwin’s grasp, “We were teaching them not to come up here!”
But the three boys had backed off by now, looking a little terrified of Erwin, as the man was tall and built. The little girl, who looked much younger than the boy, was crying, and the little boy was holding her hand tightly, trying to calm her down. They appeared to be siblings.
Erwin let go of the teenager’s arm and barked, “Get the hell out of here. If I see you making trouble again, I’ll be sure you get recruited into the Survey Corps.”
The three looked scared by the threat, and rushed off down the street. Levi watched Erwin kneel in front of the two children, asking, “Are you okay?”
The little boy had a black eye, and the little girl look scared. Neither of them spoke, just staring at him with widened eyes as they tried to decide whether they could trust him or not. Erwin reached into his pocket and pulled out some chocolate. Levi wondered if Erwin always kept chocolate in his pocket, or if this was just a coincidence. He broke off a piece for each of them, holding the chocolate out to the children.
Levi knew the children had never had chocolate, but had likely heard about it. From his own experience in the Underground, he knew the children were likely starving. They both looked thin and weak, and they took the chocolate from Erwin with fervor, both of them starting to nibble on it and looking a little more trusting of him now.
“Are you okay?” Erwin asked again, hoping to get an answer this time.
“We... We’re hungry, mister,” the little boy explained, “We don’t have no ma or pa, so we snuck up here to look for food.”
Erwin’s expression softened, “I see. What are your names?”
“I’m Henri, and this is Charlotte,” the little boy introduced.
Charlotte was practically hiding behind her brother, eating hungrily at the chocolate Erwin had given them. Levi was just watching with curiosity, seeing what Erwin was going to do with the children. He supposed they would have to be sent back to the Underground; where else would he send them?
“Nice to meet you, Henri,” Erwin held out his hand, and Henri shook it, “Charlotte, that’s a very pretty name.”
Charlotte peeked out from behind Henri and gave Erwin a shy smile, and he waved at her sweetly. Levi could feel something in his chest swelling. Was that his heart? He felt a little overwhelmed, but why?
“My name is Erwin,” the blonde greeted before motioning to Levi, “And that’s my partner, Levi.”
Henri and Charlotte were looking at Levi now, who waved awkwardly at the children. He wasn’t sure if he was good with kids; he’d never had to take care of any, unless you counted his squad of 15-year-olds, which sometimes he did.
“Would you two like to join us for lunch?” Erwin asked.
“But we don’t have no money, Mister Erwin,” Henri replied.
Erwin ruffled his hair gently, “That’s okay. It’s my treat.”
Henri giggled and smiled up at him, “Okay.”
Erwin led the children to their table, and Levi helped pull up two chairs to the table for the kids to join them. The children reminded him so much of his own childhood, and the horrible memories of his childhood made him all the more grateful with how Erwin was treating them. He was so sweet, such a genuinely good person. He didn’t have to go out of his way to help the children, and here he was, feeding them chocolate and paying for their lunch.
He ordered some sandwiches for the children, as they couldn’t read the menu, and Henri and Charlotte ate the food as if they hadn’t eaten in days, which might have very well been the case. Erwin watched them with a sad smile while he ate his own lunch, as if he pitied them, wanted to help them.
But Levi didn’t know what other options they had. They were on business, surely Erwin wouldn’t be able to rescue these kids from having to go back Underground. But Erwin looked like he was thinking deeply, and Levi knew he was trying to think up some sort of plan.
“I have a friend in town,” Erwin explained to Levi quietly, the children too focused on their food to notice his words, “A friend of my mother’s. She’s a sweet old lady who loves kids. We’ll drop the children off there until we can figure a long-term plan for them.”
Levi’s eyes widened slightly, “You... You’re not going to send them back?”
People above ground were so dismissive of those Underground, even children, and Levi hadn’t expected Erwin to say such a thing. He supposed he should’ve figured that Erwin was too kind-hearted to do such a thing, but he was still shocked nonetheless.
“Of course not,” Erwin responded with a scoff, as if offended Levi would think such a thing, “I couldn’t do that. It’s not right. I have enough heaviness on my conscious, I don’t need sending children to starve join that list.”
Levi could feel that swelling in his chest again, and he couldn’t help the dumb smile that crossed his lips. His face felt red, and his whole body felt melty and gooey. What the hell is going on? Levi wondered, thinking perhaps he was sick.
Once the children were done with the food and looking full and sleepy, Erwin paid for the lunches and got up. Charlotte was already falling asleep on Henri’s shoulder, and Erwin picked her up. She instantly laid her head on his shoulder and clung to him, and Levi looked on with that giddy feeling in his heart again.
“Henri, hold Levi’s hand,” Erwin instructed, “We’re going to take you somewhere to stay for a little while, okay?”
Henri reached up to take Levi’s hand, and Levi couldn’t help but cringe a little, as he knew just how dirty these kids were. But he held Henri’s hand tightly, not wanting to treat the poor kid any differently because of his circumstances; he couldn’t help that he was dirty.
“Can’t we stay with you, Mister Erwin?” Henri asked as they began to walk.
“Unfortunately, no,” Erwin explained, “Levi and I are in the military - the Survey Corps - we have missions to go on and business to attend to.”
The little boy frowned and nodded in some disappointment, but his face quickly lit up again, “You’re in the Survey Corps? My mama used to tell me about you guys. You go outside the walls?”
Erwin smiled, “Yes, we do.”
Henri suddenly had a million questions for Erwin as they walked to his mother’s friend’s house: how big are titans? What’s outside the walls? How do you fly through the air? Levi felt a little bad that the kid appeared to idolize them so much. There was nothing great about being in the Survey Corps; only death and despair.
But Erwin answered the questions passionately, allowing the little child to be impressed and excited about it. He would learn one day just how much one didn’t want to join the expeditions outside the walls.
The four of them approached a small house in the middle of town, and Erwin knocked on it. An old lady opened the door, a smile on her face when she saw Erwin, “Erwin Smith! What are you doing in the capital? How nice of you to visit! Oh, and you brought children with you! Are they yours?”
Erwin chuckled and shook his head, “No, Helga. I found them in the streets. They’re hungry, and need someone to look after them. I was wondering if I could ask you to take care of them until I could figure out something.”
Helga’s face softened and she nodded, “Of course, of course! What is your name, little one?”
She asked Henri first, who was clinging to Levi’s leg shyly as he mumbled, “I’m Henri.”
“This is Charlotte,” Erwin explained, patting the sleeping toddler on the back gently, “We took them to lunch, so they’re a little sleepy from the food.”
Helga nodded and held her arms out, Erwin handing Charlotte over. Henri let go of Levi’s hand to stand at Helga’s side nearer to his sister. Erwin pet him on the head gently, “You be good for Ms. Helga, yeah?”
Henri nodded, “Yes, mister. Thank you.”
Erwin smiled, “Good. Thank you, Helga. I owe you.”
Erwin took out a small bag of coins and handed it to her, “Take this, for some clothes for them.”
Helga took the money, “Erwin, you’re a good man.”
Erwin simply shook his head, “I could never leave children on the street like that. They deserve better”
With that, the two said their goodbyes, and Levi and Erwin began walking back to the military base. But with every step, that weird feeling inside Levi grew. All he wanted to do was throw his arms around Erwin and kiss him all over his face. Is this what Levi thought it was? Was this love?
The closer they got to the military base, the more sure of himself he was. When they got inside of Erwin’s makeshift office, Levi instantly pressed Erwin to the door once it was closed, pressing a deep kiss to Erwin’s lips.
“Whoa,” Erwin gasped a little when he pulled away, “What’s with you?”
“Erwin, I love you,” Levi whispered against his lips, “I love you so much.”
He kissed Erwin again, Erwin blushing a deep red and grinning a bit, “You... You do? Are you sure?”
Seeing Erwin take such good care of those children from the Underground had warmed his heart. It made him sure of what a good person Erwin was, made him realize that every part of Erwin’s personality was someone Levi enjoyed immensely.
“I’m sure,” Levi murmured, pecking Erwin’s lips, “I love you.”
Erwin sighed contently into their kiss, “I love you too, Levi.”
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