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The phone ringing at ungodly times of night is not something that Erwin is unused too. As a doctor he is used to an erratic schedule, particularly at night. People have a tendency to get into nasty accidents at the worst of times, and Erwin has had more than one experience in dealing with them. As a doctor on vacation however--or rather, as a doctor forced into vacation--he is not prepared for the irritating ringing of his phone to wake him up. It's across the room of course, as habit had dictated he put it. He's always had trouble taking the first steps to getting up, so putting his phone and alarm clock far enough away so that he has to walk to turn them off only made sense--it was also something he’d learned from Eren.
Grumbling under his breath, Erwin fumbled with his sheets, nearly tripping over himself on his way out of the bed. The cold wood against his bare feet was irritating at best, painful at worst, and did wonders to wake him up. That of course didn't stop Erwin from reacting like a vampire who'd just seen the sun as soon as the light from the phone hit his eyes, though.
Stabbing blindly at the screen with his face turned away and his eyes scrunched up, Erwin's fingers found the answer button more out of memory than of sight. Raising the phone to his ear, he rubbed at his burning eyes, barely holding back a yawn.
"Hello?"
"...Erwin?"
Erwin blinked, nearly tugging his phone away from his ear to glance at the caller ID before remembering just how bad of an idea that was when he was nearly blinded again. "Who is this?"
"It's Eren," a male's voice answered, hurried and hushed as if he was hiding from something.
"Eren?" He repeated, still half asleep. Erwin squinted at his alarm clock. So much for catching up on rest. It was just past 2am. "Why are you whispering?"
"Because I'm in hell," came the serious answer.
Erwin was half certain he was having some sort of elaborate dream. "...what?"
"Hell, Erwin."
Shaking his head, the blonde flicked his lamp on. The new light brought some substance of thought back into his brain. "What day is it?"
"Um, Friday I think?" Eren made a noise of consideration, voice raising from a whisper to something of normal volume.
"Friday," Erwin repeated, shoving his hair back out of his face; he'd need to get it cut soon. "Don't you babysit Fridays?"
The whispering was back. "Why do you think I'm calling you?!" Eren hissed. "You know that I'm normally good with children right? I mean sure, adults piss me off at the snap of a finger--and sometimes with less--but kids? Kids I can handle. They're innocent and cute and just want you to pay attention to them. But this child? Oh man, Erwin, this one is the devil. I feel like she's going to crawl down the stairs and use her friend the vengeful spirit to kill me."
"Eren," Erwin sighed. "I thought you couldn't watch scary movies?"
"I can't," Eren's pout was heard even through the phone. "But that doesn't stop Jean from telling me the plot lines."
Jean. Of course, he should've known. When he spoke again, his voice was gentle. "Do you want me to come over there, love?"
"...Would you?" Eren's voice was too hopeful to deny, despite the fact that it had woken him up hours before he would've liked to have been up. "I wouldn't ask, but it's just--it was all last minute and I don't really know what to do."
"What exactly is she doing?" Erwin asked, moving into his closet. It wouldn't do to show up in his pajamas, after all.
"She won't go to sleep and if she hears even a sound she starts screaming about how she wants ice cream. She even tried hitting me a few times!"
Erwin made a soft sound of sympathy, shifting to speakerphone so that he could shrug on a t-shirt. "Sounds horrible."
"And it's been going on for hours!" Eren agreed, voice rising with his frustration.
"I'll be over soon, alright? Just text me the address and I'll--" Erwin paused, jacket half on and keys in hand. There was a muttered curse from the other end before the sound of what had to be feet hitting floor filled his ears. "Eren?"
A scream sounded from the other end, ear piercing and angry. Erwin barely heard Eren telling him to hurry over the ringing in his ears. A moment later the call was ended, a text displayed on his screen instead.
Erwin sighed, hurrying out the door.
Eren opened the door mere seconds after Erwin had knocked, as if he'd been sitting by the wall waiting for it. His expression was one of a desperate man, and what could have been some sort of food was smeared all over his jaw and left cheek. There was even a few flecks of paint in his hair, and when Erwin glanced at the hand clinging to the door as if for support, he saw a crust of sparkled nail polish smeared over Eren's fingers.
"You poor thing," he murmured, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Eren's ear.
His face wobbled, as if unsure of whether to smile or cry. "Erwin," the smaller male sighed, shoulders slumping with relief. "I thought you'd never get here."
"The GPS got me a little turned around at one point," Erwin apologized, stepping inside. He shrugged off his jacket as he went, voice turning crisp and business-like. "Now then, where is she?"
"Upstairs still," Eren grimaced, leading him to the staircase. "I managed to contain her there. I did cave in to the demands of ice cream though. It quieted her down, though I haven't checked to see if she's asleep."
"Stay here," Erwin told him, brushing a hand against his back. "Go clean yourself up and relax a bit. I'll get her to bed."
Eren looked all too relieved to have the responsibility taken off of his hands. "Thank you so much. I'll make this up to you, I promise."
Erwin shook his head, climbing the stairs with a smile. Honestly, the things he did--and would do--for that man were insurmountable, and not a single one needed to be 'made up to him'.