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Erwin runs a hand through his hair nervously. Nervously? No. No, he’s not nervous, just a little… restless. That’s it. A bit restless because his dear Corporal has once again vanished.
Nodding in reply to the salutes of a few recruits as he passes them in the hallway, adjusting his shirt—which is more wrinkled than ever (why do his shirts seem more and more wrinkled lately, he has no idea)—Erwin mentally goes through all the places the little Corporal could have hidden —there are quite a few.
Levi, in fact, has an unfortunate (and adorable) habit of disappearing to take naps. Humanity’s strongest soldier collapses in the most unexpected and bizarre places to peacefully snore away until Erwin finds him. Erwin doesn’t mind that Levi sleeps, quite the opposite, but rather that Levi doesn’t just fall asleep on a chair or a random couch. No, he instead ends up perched on shelves or ceiling beams. And honestly, finding a man so used to vanishing into spots that require some serious acrobatics to reach isn’t exactly a joy for someone of Erwin’s build.
The first time it happened, Erwin luckily found Levi before anyone else saw him. The Corporal was curled up on one of Erwin’s bookshelves, tucked against the wall, fast asleep. Erwin wouldn’t have seen him if Levi hadn’t mumbled in his sleep just as he entered the room. Stunned, Erwin had looked up and blinked, fearing he was hallucinating. But seconds later, Levi opened one sharp grey eye, still half-asleep, growled, then turned his back on his Commander and went back to snoring, baffling Erwin even more.
Eventually, he figured it out. He noticed that Levi rarely slept and that the only times he seemed secure enough to doze off were when he hid in high places. His childhood in the Underground likely taught him to use his small size and agility to keep out of reach from attacks, and that habit had stuck.
So Erwin let him nap. He walked to his desk, and resumed work, a little dazed. He spent the afternoon fulfilling his duties as Commander, occasionally casting amazed glances toward Levi, who continued his nap undisturbed. How he managed to look comfortable in such a curled-up position between a shelf and the ceiling remained a mystery.
That day, only Hange and Mike came to visit, and only the latter, thanks to his nose, noticed Levi’s presence. The Corporal finally came down from his perch late in the afternoon. He settled onto the chair across from Erwin and explained he hadn’t neglected any duties that day. Erwin excused him, knowing he had the afternoon free anyway. Besides, it was so rare to see Levi sleep that he didn’t want to deprive him of it. They needed Levi in top form, and if the remedy was to perch on a shelf for the afternoon, so be it.
Snapping out of his thoughts, surprised he hadn’t run into a door while lost in his thoughts, Erwin quickly checks room after room in the barracks. He glances around, trying to spot Levi. They have a meeting in about an hour, and he must find him before then. Erwin arrives at Hange’s lab and pushes the door open. A foul stench hits him. He nearly chokes before spotting the mad scientist behind a cloud of smoke.
“Hange, I need your help, Levi’s gone again!” he coughs, covering his face with one hand while waving the air with the other.
Hange looks up and scratches their neck. “He’s not in your office?”
Erwin gives them a deadpan look. “Do you really think I’d come to you if he was in my office?”
It’s true that Levi’s favourite nap spot seems to be Erwin’s office. Occasionally, when the two of them are alone, the Corporal curls up on one of the armchairs and sleeps, snuggled against the backrest. Erwin has never seen anything more adorable. So whenever that happens, he takes a short break to watch the man who’s decidedly more cat than human.
“You need me?” Hange pouts. “I was hoping to finish my work before the meeting…”
The look Erwin gives shuts them up immediately. They sigh, circle the table, take off their gloves, and head for the door. “Alright! Let the Levi hunt begin! Got any idea where he might be hiding?”
Erwin shakes his head, standing straighter as two young recruits pass. “No, I haven’t seen him since this morning and forgot to remind him about the meeting. He didn’t have anything else to do, so I assume he took the chance to go perch somewhere… Problem is, I’ve checked all his usual spots and he’s in none of them. Lately, when he disappears, I have no idea where he’s gone. I fear he’s found a new hiding spot.”
Hange furrows their brow, tapping their chin with a finger stained by some sticky-looking substance. Glancing out the window they’re passing, they exclaim: “It’s nice out today! Did you check outside?”
Erwin turns to look. Indeed, the sun is shining. “Levi doesn’t care for sunlight all that much… I mean, not direct sunlight. So we’ll probably find him somewhere shaded. It’s worth a shot.”
“Let’s go!”
Hange dashes down the stairs, and Erwin has to hurry to keep up with their cheerful pace.
Outside, Erwin considers calling Mike for help before remembering he’s busy training new recruits and won’t be free until they’re due to meet. They need to find Levi before then. For now, in the courtyard bathed in spring sunlight, there’s no sign of the Corporal. The worst part? They’re expecting important guests for this damn meeting. The last thing they need is for those guests to be welcomed by a Corporal dangling from the ceiling. Because yes, Levi sometimes uses his gear to hang like a giant bat from the beams of the main hall. It’s happened twice and gave Erwin nightmares for three weeks.
They check the stables and the training grounds, scanning rooftops and beams. Still no Levi. He could be anywhere.
The most improbable place Erwin ever found Levi was one of the officers’ bathroom stalls. A stall that, at the time, was the cleanest he’d ever seen—sparkling—but still a toilet. Levi had fallen asleep by accident and made a disgusted face when Erwin woke him by a shake of the shoulder. He then spent most of the evening bathing, as if he’d been irreversibly contaminated.
If they could find Levi asleep in a toilet, they had to be ready to look literally everywhere.
“What’s the most likely place, in your opinion?” Hange asks.
“You mean the most unlikely… He usually doesn’t pick obvious places. A tree? Seems too easy…”
“Oh, don’t torture yourself. Let’s check the trees!”
Hange bounds off, shaking thinner trees in hopes of making Levi fall out. Erwin stifles a smile and jogs after them. As they round a corner, they spot Mike and the new recruits running by. The tall blond greets the two veterans, and while Hange coos a greeting, Erwin responds automatically, his gaze suddenly caught by a small figure moving from one window ledge to another.
“Hange. Look.” He elbows the scientist, drawing their attention to the fleeting figure slipping away.
“Levi?”
“Looks like it.”
“What the hell is he doing?”
“No idea, but I think we’d better follow him.”
With that, the two officers turned trackers take off, eyes fixed on their target, who doesn’t seem to be fleeing but more like strolling. If Erwin didn’t know Levi better, he could swear his Corporal was enjoying himself, dancing along the building’s facade, hopping from stone to stone, completely detached from the world.
“Where’s he going?”
Hange’s whipser pulls Erwin from his focus. “Think he has a secret hideout or something?”
Erwin snorts. “Why not? With him, who knows… He could be a pickpocket and I’d have no idea.”
Hange groans, half amused, half scornful. “What a sense of humor. Truly hilarious, Commander.”
Erwin gives them a mockingly smug smile. “I think so too.”
Hange chuckles, and right then, Levi disappears around a corner.
They speed up and reach the stables’ roof just in time to see him leap toward the dormitory wing. They realize they’ve made a full loop around the main building. They’re back at the starting point.
“What is he doing?” Erwin can feel Hange’s curiosity radiating off them. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just as intrigued.
As they get closer, they see Levi reach the side of the building that leads to the officers’ quarters—and watch as he heads straight for… Erwin’s room.
Erwin turns to Hange just in time to see them smirking. “Well, well, this is getting interesting… So, Commander, thoughts?”
Erwin answers with a grunt just as Levi, somehow, gently opens the window to Erwin’s room, slips inside, and vanishes.
Erwin stares, mouth agape, deaf to Hange’s cackling. “Don’t tell me he…”
Before he even finishes the thought, he dashes to the nearest door, takes the stairs four at a time —long legs— and rushes to his quarters.
He fumbles for his keys, and unlocks the door as silently as possible. He doesn’t want to startle Levi and make him flee. He opens the door slowly. Inside: silence, and a room that appears empty.
Confused, Erwin scans the room—shelves, wardrobe, under the bed. Nothing. Until his eyes land on the wardrobe. “There is no way…”
He tiptoes over and gently reaches for the handle. He opens the door—and nearly chokes. From surprise. Disbelief. Tenderness.
In the middle of the closet, Levi is curled up among his shirts.
Curled. Up.
In the middle of his shirts.
Erwin feels his heart swell, a tangle of emotions fighting for space. Amusement? (Seriously, what a ridiculous idea.) Anger? (SO THAT’S WHY HIS SHIRTS ARE ALWAYS WRINKLED!) Tenderness? (Why is Levi so adorable?)
Erwin suddenly wants to scoop Levi up in his arms and kiss his face all over. Strange? Certainly. New? Not really. For reasons he can’t explain, he’s always wanted to hold this terrifying, capable man who somehow turns into the most endearing creature in his arms. To feel his heart beating against his own. To bury his face in Levi’s dark hair. On mornings when he wakes early enough, to brush his cheek against the stubbly jaw Levi shaves clean with a flick of the razor. To feel his small yet strong body against his own. If only he could take one of Levi’s perfectly kept hands in his own, trace the calluses and short nails. Press his lips to his knuckles and—
“Erwin? You’re starting to freak me out, staring at me like that.”
Erwin jumps at the sound of that rough voice. A grey eye peers up at him, the left side of Levi’s face hidden behind his dark hair and one of Erwin’s shirt sleeves.
Clearing his throat, Erwin puts on what he hopes is a stern expression. “Care to explain why I find you here, diligently wrinkling all my shirts?”
Levi grunts, burrowing deeper into the pile of clothes. Erwin thinks he sees a glint of mischief in his Corporal’s eye just before his face disappears again. Levi’s muffled voice reaches him. “It’s quiet here. You’re the only one who comes in.”
Erwin raises a brow, even if Levi can’t see it. “So you decided invading my closet was the way to go?”
Amusement laces Levi’s voice as he replies, “Obviously. Since you’re still in the closer, I figured I’d join you… Thought maybe some moral support would finally make you move your ass.”
It takes Erwin a second to process the implication. A small smile curves his lips as he crouches next to Levi, still buried in clothes.
“Really? That’s very kind of you… but I figured I’d have to come out eventually. So if you don’t mind…” Erwin dives forward, grabbing Levi, who lets out an outraged cry. He straightens with the Corporal in his arms, grunting—Levi’s heavier than he looks! “...you’re coming out with me.”
He gives a satisfied grin to Levi, who stares back in shock, arms around his neck. One shirt dangling off his shoulder, Levi suddenly bursts into laughter. Now it’s Erwin’s turn to be stunned as Levi, face split by a ridiculous and delighted smile, watches him with eyes brimming with joyful tears. “You idiot. What kind of confession is that!”
Erwin, face lit with an incredulous smile, watches Levi’s laughter slowly fade, his expression slipping into one of forced composure. Erwin still sees the joy glowing beneath it, however, the faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. As the adrenaline fades, Levi looks suddenly shy. He avoids Erwin’s eyes, cheeks tinged with pink. “So. What are you going to do with me now that you’ve caught me?”
Amused, Erwin paces the room, pretending to think. “Well… if you’re up for it, I was thinking we could maybe be late to that meeting this afternoon…”
Levi frowns, turning to Erwin, tightening his grip around his neck. “What meeting?”
With a soft laugh, Erwin leans in, closing the distance between their faces until their breaths mix. His heart pounding, he draws in a shaky breath, inhaling Levi’s scent. Levi freezes but doesn’t pull away. Instead, he nuzzles Erwin’s nose with his own as the Commander replies, “Exactly. What meeting?”
And with a smile Levi returns, he captures his lips in a hungry kiss.