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By the time the police officer exited the elevator at close to midnight, Eren was at his wits end. It had been a long week to begin with, and the college student had been looking forward to the moment when he could finally just sleep a day away. Earlier, he had taken a long and relaxing shower, had ordered some nice italian food from the surprisingly cheap place a few blocks down, had settled into his bed and finally, had prepared to sleep. That all had come to an end however, when the couple next door had decided to have loud, wall banging sex that made Eren’s aching head throb in protest. He was just so tired. All he wanted was to sleep, laze around in his sweatpants and maybe, once he’d gotten at least twelve hours of sleep, watch a couple movies and eat some junk food.
All of this, of course, led to his tired eyes nearly crying in relief when the man in a police uniform started towards him. In his relief, Eren didn’t stop once to think about why a cop would be in his apartment complex, all he was focused on was the couple next door and making them stop so that he could finally, finally sleep.
“Excuse me!” He called, nearly running up to the man in his desperation. “I know you’re probably busy but I could really use your help!”
The man blinked for a few moments, looking surprised. He glanced around once, as if to make sure that Eren was actually talking to him, before turning back to the other male. “Oh?” He smiled slightly, looking rather tired himself. “What can I do for you then?”
“The couple next door won’t shut up and I’m really tired. I know that it’s probably not something any cop would want to do--I mean awkward right?--but I’d really appreciate it if you could ask them to stop. I waited a while, I swear!” Eren hurried to explain, desperate to make the other man understand his situation. “It’s been almost two hours since they started and I’ve been waiting ever since and I just--I just want to go to bed!”
They stared at each other for a few long moments, Eren nearly heaving and with tears in his eyes, with the police officer looking both stunned and apologetic.
“I…” He trailed off, shaking his head as if he’d thought better of whatever he’d been about to say, and Eren was almost positive he was going to refuse, was preparing himself for a mental breakdown of some sort--and then he said something so blessedly perfect and wonderful that Eren could have hugged him right then and there. “Alright.”
“Alright?” He echoed.
“Alright.” The other male nodded. He smiled then, as Eren was gaping at him in surprised gratitude, and if Eren hadn’t been half dead on his feet, he might have taken the fact that the police officer looked like a rendition of Captain America into more consideration. As it was, he merely slumped with relief, pressing his palms into his eyes.
“Thank you so much!”
“Just wait here, please.” The man smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze before he moved to knock on the door across from them.
Eren watched in a grateful daze, swaying on his feet as after a few long minutes a mused woman appeared at the door, looking annoyed until she took in the tall, blonde, Captain America look alike at her door, dressed in a police uniform. If someone asked him later, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them just when was said between the two, all he knew was that after a few words the woman was nodding and backing into her apartment with a stammered apology, the policeman turning to him once more.
“They shouldn’t bother you any further,” the blonde smiled warmly. “You’re free to rest in peace now.”
Eren nodded slowly, slightly dazzled by that smile. “Th-thank you. Really. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come around.” And then, it occurred to him that he probably should stop calling him Captain America or police officer in his head: “What’s your name anyways?”
“Erwin Smith,” the other male introduced. “And you are?”
“Eren Jeager,” he answered, struggling to contain a yawn and failing miserably.
“It was nice to meet you, Eren,” Erwin chuckled, walking past. “You should get some rest now.”
“R-right.” He muttered, slightly disappointed but more than relieved. “Night.”
“Goodnight.” The blonde called. “Oh and Eren?”
“Hmm?”
“This is a costume. Just thought you should know.”
Eren stared at his door, the sound of warm laughter echoing in his ears. His body seemed torn between blushing madly and collapsing into a tired heap, standing almost statue still in front of his apartment. Finally, he muttered a drowsy “fuck it” deciding he’d apologize to the blonde at a later time when he’d had enough sleep and caffeine to function as a normal human being. Besides, it wasn’t like Captain America had protested all that much.