Chapter Text
There he was, a short, black haired beauty. His body looked extremely fit, like someone who exercises daily. But his eyes... His eyes took Erwin's breath away. They were so dark, not only in color but in feeling, perfectly matching with some dark circles underneath.
Erwin caught himself walking slower all of a sudden. He was so caught off guard by the beautiful man, that he forgot he was on his way to work. Suddenly becoming desperately aware of his surroundings, Erwin looked around. The black haired beauty was sitting inside a tea shop, sipping a small mug in the most bizarre manner. "How interesting", Erwin thought to himself. He kept walking, knowing it would be too awkward to walk inside the tea shop now, considering he had already passed by outside the street. "I'll stop by tomorrow", he thought with a positive hope that the short man would be sitting ever so gracefully there tomorrow as well.
Erwin was a simple man. He always considered himself somewhat of a bookworm, therefore, he became a teacher. Erwin loved teaching at the university. History, to be precise. Students considered him a strict but fair teacher, a little too passionate at times. "I bet he was an army commander in his past life"- said the students under their breath whenever he explained war formations during class. Erwin never bothered humoring the remarks, but didn't stop them either. Those didn’t bother him anyway. However what did bother him were the arm comments and speculations. Losing an arm after an accident wasn’t easy, and being a teacher only made it worse. People talk, speculate, mock and criticize, and even for Erwin, who would usually turn a blind eye to negative comments, the arm comments were still too much for him. The accident had just happened 3 years ago and adjusting to life was hard enough. Today, however, Erwin´s mind was elsewhere; back at that tea shop, the black haired guy drinking his tea in that bizarre manner, his leg lashes covering his eyes as he reads a small book, the sun illuminating his dark hair ever so slightly. The beautiful man had Erwin day dreaming like a teenager.
-“Earth to Erwin!”- Interrupts Miche with a hard slap on Erwin’s back, making him jump a little as he turns around to meet his childhood friend and coworker.
-“Hey Miche, didn’t see you there”- he answers blank minded.
-“Apparently didn’t hear me either. I was calling you for a while”. He speaks as he takes out his pack of cigarettes, this had become their unspoken signal to step outside off campus for a smoke. Erwin couldn’t smoke since the accident, but he still joined Miche to what used to be their stress reliever. Erwin secretly enjoyed the second-hand smoke as they chat about unimportant matters.
-”You really do look absent today..”- Miche stops to observe his childhood friend. His tall sculpted body looks as godly carved as usual, his blue eyes as deep as an ocean and his blonde hair is perfectly parted to the side. Physically, he looked better than anyone their age, let alone anyone their age who had lost an arm. But still Mike contemplated attentively.
Erwin quickly realizes the concerned look in Miche’s face and waves his hand in denial.
-“I’m fine, it’s nothing physical, I feel great” he adds before crossing his arms and smiling.
Miche raises a brow and inhales, his big nose moving slightly as he furrowed his thick brows.
-“Really? Because that smells to me like a lie, Smith”-
He inches closer and rests his arm on the blonde’s shoulder, his fingers holding the cigarette a little too close to Erwin’s face, he fails to realize how tempting it is for Erwin to take it for his own.
-“Again with the smell bullshit” Erwin pushes him away as he criticizes his friend’s alleged power to smell everything and anything, even emotions apparently.
-“I’m fine, I’m just thinking about a hottie I saw this morning”. Erwin surrenders, it would be better to tell the truth than having Miche draw conclusions about his physical condition…again. Not to blame, Miche had been with Erwin through the bad and the ugly. His amputation had been anything but easy, so his concern was understandable
-“Erwin Smith!”- Miche spats with a chuckle as he teases the blonde, towering over him and holding his shoulders around his arm.
People around campus called them the titan professors, Erwin is tall but Miche is even taller, together they intimidated almost everyone with their stature.
-“What is this? Are you finally ready to get back to the dating life?”.- Miche shakes him a little as he keeps a grin on his face. Erwin rolls his eyes and pushes him away again.
-“I don’t know, forget about it. What about yours and Nanaba’s anniversary party?”- Erwin manages to change the subject until their free time is over and they both walk back to their classes. Erwin pops a mint inside his mouth before stepping inside class (old smoker habits die hard). For the first time he momentarily forgets about the black haired beauty as he imparts his class. Being a teacher was truly Erwin's passion. Maybe it was because the dream had been passed from his beloved father to him. The rest of the day went by and before Erwin knew it, it was time to go back home. He had to go to the gym, and truth be told, he considered going back to the tea shop, but waiting until the next morning seemed more logical to him. The short man looked comfortable at the table, he was probably a regular, it would make more sense to find him there in the morning, so Erwin holds back his desire to go right away and headed to the gym. An hour at the gym felt like hell lately.
Truth be told, his new prosthetic was killing him. More detailed and precise actions could be performed with it, but it came with a cost.. it was twice as heavy as his last prosthetic, granted, his last prosthetic was a light non-functioning one. Going out without his prosthetic was still not an option. It felt too weird and unfamiliar, the imbalance of weight threw him off. That and people staring at him. Erwin took a shower after removing his prosthetic and sighing as he massaged the numb. The warm water helped relieve some of the pain away. As he finished his long shower, he changed into his pajamas. Desperate for some normality, he took his favorite book and read a couple of chapters before drifting away to sleep.
The next day, Erwin was determined, he wanted to encounter the black-haired men. He was certain, something told him that he would find the black head man sitting at the same table he had seen him at yesterday. So he walked determinedly. Usually he would go early to school but he decided he would grade papers at the tea shop today. He took his time walking and didn't want to seem too obvious. Once he walked to this tea shop ,roughly around 15 minutes away from his house, he took the time to read the sign on top of the small but pretty tea shop. "Alliance Tea". The place seemed empty, it was open all right, but it was way too early for anyone to be at a tea shop Erwin thought to himself "I guess this is better, if I encounter him we can make some small talk". Erwin fixes his blazer, which he took an embarrassingly long time choosing, and brushes his hair back with his fingers, which he took embarrassingly too long combing back this morning. Erwin walks inside, he walks to the counter to see no one. He looks around and reads the menu.
-"Oh hey there Levi I didn't hear you come in..."
Erwin looks confused as the barista talks in a nonchalant way, he smiles and waves as the Batista's jaw drops, almost cartoon like while shaking their head.
-"I'm so sorry! I thought you were the owner!.. "-
-"It's okay, don't worry! It's so early, I understand!",- Erwin interjects to blow off some steam from the poor brown haired barista, whose glasses looked as thick as the bottom of a bottle. The person's name tag reads "Hange, they/them"
-"Don't worry about it, Hange. I'm still reading the menu anyways, since it's my first time here."- He points at the menu and smiles as he keeps reading what seems like hundreds of different tea names
-"Hey, don't I know you?"- Hange asks as they inspect Erwin, inching a little closer, the bar separating them as they lead forward.
-"Do you?"- Erwin takes his eyes off the menu and looks back down at Hange, surprised by how close they had come to him.
-"oh! Right!.. You are a teacher at Trost University, right? I teach there too!"- Hange flashes a toothy smile and Erwin smiles back as he nods.
-"Yes! I am, History and Philosophy! What do you teach at Trost?" Erwin looks around as he asks. Looks like he wasn't going to have any luck after all.
-" I'm with the Robotics and Physics kids! I help them with their thesis and projects." Hange continues explaining. The bell rings, signaling the entrance of a new customer, Erwin then realizes he had been "reading" the menu for 10+ minutes and still didn't know what to get. He had forgotten a small detail… he didn't actually liked tea. He looks back at the menu, and Hange smiles, this time screaming as they speak:
-"Levi! This time it's really you! You would've told me and I could've help, ya know?"-
Erwin looks back without paying much attention to see what the whole ruckus was about and… there he was… the black haired beauty! He was holding the 3 Biggs sacks of flour Erwin had ever seen. His flexed muscles were unbelievable, even for Erwin, who exercised regularly, those muscles were at another level.
-" Stop screaming when customers are here, you four eyes!"- spat the black haired in a low registered voice. His cold eyes barely look at Erwin before he greets: -"'Morning"- He continues walking as soon as he greeted, before hearing back from the blonde. Hange intervienes before Erwin can answer back
-" Oh, look Levi! He is a teacher at Trost too!"- Hange points at the tall blonde at the counter and Levi finds it hard to believe.
-"His name is…"- Hange realized they don't know his name, Erwin however answers enthusiastically
-"Smith! Erwin Smith"- he flashes his perfect smile as he waves the short black haired man.
-"Levi Ackerman"- he answers coldly with a nod before getting back to carrying the heavy sacks.
-"Levi is the owner of this place!"- adds Hange in a singing tune.
-"Well, the place looks lovely, would you like some help with that? It looks heavy"- Directs Erwin at Levi, who looks back at him with an almost disgusted expression
"- I got it"- He says as he looks away and disappears into the back of the store with the sacks. Erwin can help but feel like he failed miserably at impressing Levi. He looks back at Hange, who's still waiting to get his order.
-"Oh yeah, uhmmm.. To be honest, I don't really know much about tea, so I'm not sure what to order"- he admits as he scratches the back of his head with his prosthetic. Hange chuckles and nods.
-"I'll get you the house's special then! Go ahead and have a seat! I'll take it right away." Erwin thanks them and looks around. He examines the place and takes the table he saw the black haired seated at the morning before. He could see why he chose that table, it was at the very back of the store, enough sunlight entered from the back and the view was wonderful. Levi… at least he knew his name now. And he OWNED the place, so finding him wouldn't be hard.
Erwin thanks Hange as they place a small cup of tea and pour a fruity smelling hot liquid into it. He takes a sip and can’t help but scrunch his nose up. He had never been a tea person, he was a coffee person, he liked bitter and strong flavors, to him, tea tasted stale, a little like hot water with a drop of flavoring. He tried to convince himself while he kept sipping and read papers, grading silently.
Levi puts his apron on and looks at the tall blonde who is now sitting at his personal favorite table. He reads in silence and scrunches his big nose every time he sips his tea.
-“Hange, what did he ask for?”- asks Levi as he points his chin at Erwin.
-“Oh, he didn’t know what to ask for, so I just poured him a special. Figured he would like it like everyone else.-“ Hange looks at Erwin for a second before they keep preparing the other customers´ orders.
Levi tsks under his breath and takes a hot pot he just got done preparing. The black haired man walks towards the blonde and clears his throat to get his attention. The blonde unforrows his thick eyebrows when he looks up from his papers. He smiles a little, looking somewhat confused.
-“You don’t like tea, do you?”- asks the short guy, standing in front of a confused Erwin. Erwin wonders if he is mad, he certainly looks pissed off, as he asks with a raised eyebrow.
-“Oh no, this is delicious!”- The blonde blatantly lies as he sips the almost flavorless hot water.
Levi rolls his eyes and places a clean mug. He pours a different colored tea on it and Erwin secretly wishes he wasn’t being a good server and pouring him more of the tea he had been drinking just to be polite.
-“Here, this is black tea. It is stronger, it has caffeine and its very flavorful and aromatic.. Seems like the only tea coffee lovers like.”- He finishes pouring the tea as he speaks and pushes it closer to the blonde, who now had a slightly embarrassed expression.
Erwin realizes he had been caught and instead of denying, he sips and smiles at the surprisingly delicious flavor.
-“Now THIS is delicious” he directs at Levi with a chuckle.
Levi rolls his eyes but Erwin notices a slight crooked smile as he does.
The muscular man takes the old cup and adds before taking it back:
-“Nah, you just suck at drinking tea.”
Erwin couldn’t be in a better mood. Levi was just his type, handsome and feisty. He couldn’t keep this so he told everything about it to his dear friend Miche after some very well deserved teasing. The morning had been so perfect that Erwin totally suppressed the annoying piercing pain his prosthetic was causing. It had been getting worse, but Erwin hated hospitals and his next appointment wasn’t for another month, so he powered through it, ignoring the pain as much as possible. “It’ll go away”- he kept telling himself. However that day, Erwin didn’t go to the gym, not because of the pain but because he wanted to prepare a nice meal, he lied to himself.
Pretending everything was fine was easy in the mornings, it meant getting to see Levi, establishing small talk here and there, getting a feisty moment and a shy hidden smile now and then. It seemed like Erwin knew just what buttons to push to make Levi react. Even though Levi was a rather cold guy, Erwin seemed to be getting to him. This helped him ignore the random pulsations, and dismiss his tiredness with excitement from hearing Levi’s dark humor everyday.
Its not until a full week of visiting Alliance Tea every day with the excuse of “having a confirmable and quiet place to work papers at” that the symptoms get too overwhelming. That morning, Erwin wakes up drenched in his own sweat, again, he justifies this by the morning being exceptionally hotter than any other. He liked cold showers in the morning. He also ignore the impossible wight the prosthetic felt like “I better get used to it soon”- he told himself while actively avoiding using that arm for anything. He walked to the tea shop as any other morning and sweets profusely, blaming again the warm weather. Finally getting to the tea shop after what felt like an eternity feels like a blessing, as he walks in to the cold AC. Levi isn’t here yet, so Erwin says hi to Hange an sits at the same table as he had or the last week, however, he doesn’t take out the papers to grade yet. Even though the AC is on, he can’t seem to cool off. Hange serves him his black tea and he flashes his perfect smile as always, however he doesn’t drink the tea, something about just the thought of the hot beverage made his stomach spin a little.
Finally he takes out the papers, these weren’t due to grade until next week, but he needed something to distract him from the pulsating pain in his right shoulder, it truly felt as if his prosthetic was tearing his whole shoulder down.
He concentrates so hard on repressing the pain that it takes Levi, lowering his face to Erwin's site for him to notice. "Your eyebrows look more concerned than usual". He hears distantly.
-"Sorry, what did you say?"- Suddenly everything is spinning and Erwin can't seem to concentrate.
Levi inches closer and talks with a concerned look on his face.
-" Smith, your face looks as red as a tomato, are you okay?"- What a terrible place to reach his limits. It was so embarrassing, Levi's thin eyebrows furrow with worry and Erwin can't seem to elaborate a single coherent sentence.
-"Erwin?"- Levi realizes the blonde is in a worse state than he thought so his hand reaches for his forehead. Erwin smiles as Levi's cold hand touches his painfully hot forehead, it feels like a blessing and he can't quite understand why Levi's expression twisted even more.
-" You are burning! How long have you had this ungodly fever for?.. Hange! Get me some cold water ASAP!