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It was dark by the time Levi got home after work, and bitterly cold. As December approached, it brought chilling winds and 5 PM sunsets that combined to make his walk home from the studio absolutely miserable. It didn't help, of course, that it was Friday, which meant that he had back-to-back classes almost all afternoon. His shoulders and back ached like all hell, the cold only causing his muscles to tighten further and aggravating the pain. By the time he pushed open their front door and kicked off his boots, all he wanted to do was take the longest, hottest bath in his life.
"Hello, love," Erwin called. Levi followed the sound of his voice to find him in the kitchen, stirring the contents of a pot slowly. A mouth-watering smell wafted through the air. The kitchen glowed with the warm lights over the island counter, the only illumination in the otherwise dark house. It was remarkably soothing.
"Hullo," Levi said, trying and failing to keep the exhaustion from his voice.
Erwin shot him a concerned look, "Alright?"
"Fine," he said, stepping around the island to the stove, "Sore. Those fucking kids are going to be the death of me."
He peered into the pot, raising an eyebrow, "What's this?"
"Chicken and dumpling soup," Erwin replied, "Moblit sent me the recipe for the one we had last time we visited."
Levi hummed, pressing a kiss to Erwin's shoulder before turning away. In the bedroom, he hung his coat up and, wincing at the tight ache, tugged his shirt over his head. He sighed as his arms fell back down, rubbing his shoulder with one hand. The muscles flared with pain under his touch, drawing an involuntary hiss from between tightly clenched teeth.
"I haven't seen you this sore in a while."
Levi half-turned to see Erwin leaning against the doorframe, head tilted and a question in his eyes. Levi pressed his lips together, turning away again and throwing his shirt in the laundry, "It's been a long week. I'm going to take a bath, and I'm hoping that will help."
"Right," Erwin replied, a tilt to his lips and a look in his eyes like he was going to say something. Levi waited.
"Come eat dinner," he said eventually, "After, I'll give you a bath and a massage."
Levi frowned, "You don't have to do that."
Erwin shrugged, pushing off from the door and stepping forward to curl an arm around Levi's waist. Levi let him, one hand coming up to rest on his bicep as Erwin pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Relaxing slightly into the touch, he sighed against Erwin's mouth and shivered. Still cold from being outside, Erwin's warmth was a welcome relief; the man tended to run hot, a trait which was frustrating and uncomfortable in the summer months, but in winter Levi never complained.
"I want to," Erwin finally replied, pulling back just enough to look Levi in the eye. He cupped Levi's cheek in his hand, rubbing his thumb across his cheekbone ever so gently, "Did you know that taking care of you is one of my greatest and favourite privileges?"
Levi's breath caught, heart skipping in his chest, but he refused to let the reaction show on his face. He scowled, resting his cheek against Erwin's chest, and hoped his ears weren't too terribly red, "Don't say shit like that."
Erwin laughed a laugh that was entirely unapologetic, hands rubbing up and down Levi's side, "Please? Let me take care of you?"
And, really, who was Levi to say no? Maybe another day he might have had the strength to put his foot down and say he wasn't a child, and that he could wash himself. Today, though, he was exhausted and in pain, and, although he would never admit it, the thought of Erwin giving him a bath and a massage and Levi not having to do anything at all sounded unbelievably nice. So he sighed and nodded and did his best to pretend like the proposition didn't sound like the best thing ever, "Fine, have it your way."
"Thank you," Erwin smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of his head before letting him go. Levi relinquished his warmth reluctantly.
"Dinner's ready whenever you are," Erwin said, turning away.
Levi went to follow him down the hall, but he hesitated. After a moment's deliberation, he grabbed the throw blanket from the foot of their bed and wrapped it around his shoulders before going to the kitchen. Erwin smiled when he saw him, but didn't say anything, which was probably for the best. Levi might have hit him if he had, and in his current state, that would most certainly hurt Levi more than it did his husband. Humming a soft tune that Levi couldn't quite place, Erwin scooped them both full bowls of soup, along with two slices of sourdough bread he'd made the day before, setting them on the table. It looked absolutely delicious.
"Thanks," Levi said.
"Of course," Erwin replied, "My afternoon was free, and I was bored, so…"
He trailed off with a vague wave of his hand. Levi smiled slightly, "So you made way too much soup for two people?"
He hadn't missed the fact that the pot on the stove was still halfway full even after Erwin had scooped them both large portions. Levi figured the leftovers would last them at least another week. Erwin smiled sheepishly, "This just means we don't have to cook?"
"I guess," Levi replied, amusement touching his voice.
"How was your afternoon?" Erwin asked, "How are the kids?"
It was embarrassing how the mention of his students filled Levi with a sudden rush of fondness. When he'd first started teaching Kali classes, he'd never imagined he would come to love his students so much, nor could he have guessed how proud he would be watching them grow and get better. He was getting fucking soft. Maybe it was his age; old people always seemed to get stupid and sentimental, although he loathed the thought of that happening to him.
"Armin's started participating in class. Did I tell you that?" Levi glanced up, and Erwin shook his head. "Well, he has. I guess Eren and Mikasa finally convinced him that if he was taking the time to sit around and watch anyway, he might as well join the practices. He's…not very good, but Eren's thrilled he finally agreed, and I think that alone will keep him from quitting."
"Are Eren and Jean still fighting?" Erwin asked.
"No, thank heaven," Levi said vehemently. From the moment Eren and Jean had met, it had been like they were specifically designed to find each other's last nerve and do a full dance routine on it, a job they performed with almost sadistic glee. They'd been practising together for months now, and only recently did they start being able to go through practice without going for each other's throats every chance they got.
"What changed?" Erwin asked, tearing off a piece of bread and dipping it into the soup.
Levi shrugged, "Can't say for sure, but if I had to guess, Mikasa finally got sick of it and knocked their heads together, and they gained some sense in the process."
Erwin laughed, "She's a tough one, isn't she?"
"They all are, now," Levi replied, a rueful look on his face, "If you thought Eren was insufferable before, he's even worse now that he actually knows how to win a fight."
"It's alright, I figure I can take him if he tries anything," Erwin smiled, eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Wow, congratulations," Levi said dryly, "Glad you think you, a fully grown adult man who is 6'3", can beat a 15-year-old in hand-to-hand combat."
"I'm a man of many talents," Erwin said sagely, and Levi couldn't help the short laugh that escaped him.
"Sure you are," he said, reaching across the table to pat his forearm. Erwin looked offended enough at the vague derision that Levi nearly laughed again.
"How was your work today?" he asked, cutting off any of Erwin's forming arguments as to how special and talented he really was.
Erwin gave him a look, but let it go and instead began to tell him about the meeting he had to go to in the morning, how his students bought him lunch today, and it wasn't even awful, and all sorts of other mundane things that came with life. Levi listened carefully, eating quietly and letting the soothing baritone of his husband's voice wash over him. Erwin's voice was uniquely relaxing in a way that Levi had never found anything else to be, though whether that was because of something Erwin did or just the side-effect of loving him, Levi couldn't say. When they finished eating, Levi gathered their bowls and rinsed them, setting the dishes in the dishwasher. Once Erwin had finished putting away the rest of the soup, he washed the pot as well, before turning and leaning against the counter with a small sigh. The countertop was cold where it pressed against the small of his back. He shivered, feeling goosebumps erupt on his skin.
Erwin put the dishes away, dried his hands, and reached out to tip Levi's chin up for a kiss, one hand on the counter to brace himself as he leaned down. Levi sighed against his lips, letting Erwin lift him and set him on the counter so he could wrap his arms around his shoulders. They kissed slowly, unhurried, both aware that they had the whole evening and weekend to themselves to do whatever they wanted. Erwin's lips tasted like spices from the soup and the last traces of his chapstick, familiar and warm as he moved his mouth against Levi's. Levi thought idly that there was nowhere else he'd rather be than right there in the warmth of their home, kissing his husband and being kissed in return.
Erwin exhaled as he pulled back just far enough to speak, their breaths intermingling. His thumbs were rubbing slow circles into Levi's hips, the pressure firm and distracting. "Bath?"
Levi hummed, forcing his attention from Erwin's fingers against his skin and instead drawing him in for one more gentle, lingering kiss before he replied, "Go start it. I'm going to clean the counter first because I don't want food being made where my ass has been."
Erwin laughed, eyes crinkling with a smile, "Aw, you're no fun."
"Disgusting," Levi replied, shoving his chest lightly and hopping off the counter, "Go."
Still looking altogether too pleased with himself, Erwin retreated down the hall. Moments later, Levi heard the sound of running water. He cleaned the countertop quickly, wiping it down with spray from under the sink and a few paper towels, before hurrying to their bedroom. He stripped off the rest of his clothes quickly, grabbing underwear and a shirt from the closet. He hesitated there a moment, staring at his clothes, and then Erwin's. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled one of Erwin's sweaters from its hanger and folded it over his arm. The bath was full by the time he entered, and Erwin sat on the edge of it, running the tips of his fingers through the water and sending soft ripples across the surface. He looked up when Levi entered.
"I got you a towel," he said, jerking his head in the direction of a fluffy white towel folded neatly on the counter.
"Thanks," Levi said. He set the clothes on the counter beside it before stepping into the water, hissing as it burned pleasantly.
"Fuck," he groaned, sinking down until only his head was above the surface. Fractions of tension unwound from his shoulders as he tipped his head back against the porcelain.
"Not too hot?" Erwin asked. Levi shook his head, eyes falling closed. Steam rose around him, warming the air.
He opened his eyes again at the sound of Erwin dipping a cup into the water. Slowly, he sat up and tilted his head back so Erwin could pour the water over his hair. Neither of them spoke as Erwin washed his hair carefully, taking his time to work the suds into every strand. His fingers pressed firmly against Levi's scalp, fingernails scraping lightly in a way that made him shiver pleasently, and it wasn't long before he was fighting to keep his head up as exhaustion crept up on him.
Erwin laughed softly as Levi's head nodded forward, "Alright?"
"Fine," Levi mumbled, forcing the muscles in his neck to engage and giving him a glare that was probably not that intimidating, considering his eyes were heavy-lidded with tiredness and he could barely keep his head up.
"Sure," Erwin replied, eyes fond. He ran his fingers through Levi's hair, and Levi leaned into the touch. After a moment, he continued, voice gentle, "Do you want to get out now? I haven't done conditioner yet, but if you're ready to be done, I don't care."
Levi frowned, then shook his head, lifting it from Erwin's hand, "No. I'm okay."
He managed to keep his head up as Erwin worked conditioner into his hair, letting it sit for a minute as he washed his body, and then rinsed it out with a few more cups of water. Levi shivered as he pulled the plug and the water drained from the tubs, exposing him to the significantly cooler air of the bathroom. Erwin laughed, and he glared at him.
"The fuck are you laughing at?" he grumbled.
"You look like a drowned cat," Erwin grinned, then yelped as Levi shoved him, nearly knocking him onto the bathroom floor and leaving a wet handprint on his pants. Levi smirked, getting up and reaching for the towel.
Erwin gave him a look, "Well, you must be feeling better."
"Quite," Levi replied, feeling impossibly smug. He towelled off and pulled on his underwear as Erwin returned to their bedroom to dig the massage oil from his nightstand. They'd invested in their first bottle of massage oil early on in their marriage, and the stuff had quickly become a staple in their house, as essential as soap or laundry detergent. Between how taxing Levi's work was on his body and how freakishly tall and broad Erwin was, they both frequently found themselves complaining of some sort of ache or pain, so massages had become a regular occurrence. Erwin had gotten good enough at it that Hange would even call upon his services on occasion, when their days spent hunched over microscopes and bug samples caught up to them (Levi was sure he could help too, but he would rather die than give a massage to anyone but his husband. That was something for Erwin and Erwin alone).
Setting the sweater aside for now, he lay down on the bed, head pillowed under one arm. He heard Erwin huff a laugh and craned his neck to glare at him. Erwin smiled, "You're especially eager tonight."
"Yeah, my back fucking hurts," Levi grouched, "Hurry up."
The heat of the bath had helped ease the soreness of his shoulders, but his back still ached like all hell. He winced as he shifted so his arms were at his side, cheek pressed against the mattress. He watched Erwin as he settled one knee on the edge of the bed, pouring some of the oil onto his hands and rubbing them together to warm it. He smiled softly when he saw Levi watching, and Levi's ears warmed.
"Ready?" he asked, as the room filled with the smell of lavender. Levi made a noise of assent, letting his eyes close. He sighed involuntarily as Erwin applied gentle pressure to the small of his back, rubbing up his spine in slow, careful strokes. His hands were far softer than Levi's. Levi's were hard and callused from years of doing Kali, while Erwin's were soft—a teacher hardly had a reason for his hands to be any other way, after all—but strong and large. His two hands spanned the width of Levi's lower back, making it almost too easy to apply soft pressure everywhere that hurt. Levi used to be uncomfortable, embarrassed, even, when he was reminded just how much smaller he was than his husband. After a few years, however, he came to realise that he didn't really care anymore. Erwin never tried to make him feel small, and never mocked him for it, either, and, eventually, Levi realised that it simply didn't matter to his husband. In fact, Erwin once admitted on a quiet night when they'd stayed in and gotten drunk together, he hardly even thought about it. Once Levi realised that, it became easier to let go of his own worries.
"I wore my glasses to work today for the first time all year," Erwin said, voice low and relaxed. Levi hummed curiously, and he continued, "I don't think I have been so soundly degraded and put down in all my life. You want to know what one of my students said when I walked into my first-period class?"
He laughed softly to himself, pausing as he found a particularly tense spot on Levi's back. He pressed into it with his thumbs, rolling them slightly against the knot as he continued, "He said, and I quote 'uh-oh, nerd alert'."
Levi smiled. That student was right; Erwin did look like a nerd with his glasses. He supposed, though, that he could let it go this time. He was far too comfortable to try to stir up trouble.
"Then, Eren, Mikasa and Armin hung out in my classroom during lunch, and Armin told me that my glasses were so thick that he figured I had a 'monopoly on glass'," he continued.
"Creative. A bit rich coming from him. I don't even want to know what that boy's prescription is," Levi muttered. He groaned softly as the knot of tension Erwin had been working at unwound, and his hands continued up his back. Already, the pain was easing out of the muscles in his lower back, draining like water from a sieve.
"He was completely deadpan when he said it, too; it made me laugh. He looked rather pleased with himself, so I didn't actually mind. Heaven knows that boy could use a win. Although any goodwill was immediately erased when Eren followed up immediately with 'yeah, they make your eyes look tiny. Teeny teeny tiny'," Erwin sighed, "Direct quote."
Levi snorted, covering his mouth to muffle the noise and coughing lightly, "Sorry. He's always so eloquent, isn't he?"
"I'm just glad I'm not his English teacher, is all I'm saying," Erwin replied ruefully. He sat back, pouring more oil onto his hands, "I don't think I've ever found a group of people more hurtful than high school sophomores, I don't think I ever will. The things they say to me are honestly so creative I can't even be offended most of the time."
"Except for when they say your eyes look teeny teeny tiny with glasses on," Levi replied, "Not the most creative of insults, but it's effective."
"I thought it was good considering who said it. Even if it was surprisingly hurtful," Erwin said. He placed his hands again on Levi's back, "Does your back still ache anywhere?"
Levi frowned, then shook his head, "No, it's okay."
"Perfect," Erwin said, and moved his hands up to Levi's shoulder blades. He began to knead the muscles there in slow circles, and Levi sighed.
"Back to your students slandering your glasses," he muttered, "why are you getting butt-hurt over what a bunch of children are saying to you?"
"You try being told in full confidence by one of the most honest kids you know that your eyes look absolutely minuscule with glasses on. A man does not so easily recover from such a slight," Erwin replied, voice solemn.
"Right, of course," Levi smiled, "My mistake."
Erwin chuckled, hands pausing as he pressed a kiss to the base of his neck, "You mean he never says things to you that are just absolutely uncalled for?"
"Oh, he used to," Levi said, "So I sparred with him and whooped his ass. A martial arts instructor can get away with things a high school teacher can't, and now he's just mean to the other students. Not much I can do about that, even if I felt like it."
That wasn't exactly true. Levi did try to mediate when he could, but that had never really been his strong suit. He wasn't their father (and thank whatever powers may be for that), and as long as they weren't causing each other irreparable emotional damage, he figured it was fine. He was certain he said worse things to people who deserved it even less than he did as a child.
"I suppose," Erwin hummed, placing his hands on Levi's shoulders and pushing his thumbs out in slow lines. They fell into peaceful silence, and Levi focused on the feeling of Erwin's hands kneading the tension from his muscles, the small flares of aching pain that came with the pressure worth the relief he felt when Erwin was finished. By the time Erwin was satisfied he'd gotten every last bit of tension from Lev's waist all the way up to his neck, Levi felt like putty poured onto the mattress, comfortable and sleepy. A flash of disappointment flitted through him when Erwin finally sat back, but he forced himself not to reach for him as he went back to the bathroom to get soap and a towel to wash the oil off. He wasn't that far gone.
The cloth was soft on his skin, warm with water, and absolutely didn't leave Levi any further from sleep. He groaned softly as he rolled reluctantly onto his back, rubbing his eyes. Erwin tossed the towel into the laundry, throwing him the sweater Levi had set aside. Levi sat up slowly, pulling it over his head. It swallowed his figure in a way that he found to be uniquely comforting. He'd always scoffed at couples that were overly affectionate, constantly kissing and hugging and sharing clothes, but time had proven him to be a hypocritical fool because if stealing his husband's clothes just to be able to smell like his cologne was a crime, Levi would certainly be guilty ten times over.
"Want to watch a movie or are you ready for bed?" Erwin asked.
Friday was, generally, their movie night, a ritual they'd started years ago and kept up ever since. Levi could probably count on one hand the number of times they'd missed movie night in the past year, and he wasn't about to make that number go up, no matter how tired he was. So he shook his head, pushing himself off the bed and to his feet. Erwin's responding smile was brilliant, and any misgivings Levi had about choosing to stay up another hour and a half immediately dissolved. He'd do anything to keep that smile on his husband's face.
Levi gasped as, faster than he could react, Erwin wrapped an arm around his waist, lifted him into the air and started down the hall. Levi gave him a furious glare, smacking his chest with the back of his hand, "Some warning next time would be nice, damn. You fucking brute."
"Sorry," Erwin said, in a voice that implied he really wasn't. Levi scowled, but didn't try to get away. He couldn't really complain, not when Erwin was holding him easily with just one arm, and Levi could see his biceps straining under the tight fabric of his shirt.
He was set down with far more care than he'd been picked up with, at least. Erwin grabbed the blanket Levi had been using earlier from where it hung forgotten off the back of his chair and settled onto the couch. Levi tucked into his side as Erwin threw the blanket over them both and closed his eyes.
"What do you want to watch?" Erwin asked.
Levi shrugged, too tired to care, "Your pick."
"It's your turn to pick, though," Erwin replied.
"Then I'll pick the next two weeks," Levi said, "How's that?"
Erwin scowled, and Levi tried not to laugh. He reached a hand up to guide Erwin's face towards his, pressing a slow kiss to the corner of his mouth and trailing his lips along his jaw, down his throat and over his collarbone until he finally melted.
"Fine," he muttered, "Only for you."
"How kind," Levi said, returning his head to Erwin's shoulder. Erwin's arm went around him, the weight of it comforting. He yawned.
Erwin eventually settled on an old Disney movie, although Levi already wasn't paying too close attention, and he would find he didn't even remember what it had been the next day. He'd agreed to watch a movie, but the likelihood of his staying awake through it all was dismally low. He tried, really, he did. Movie night was something he looked forward to all week, and, come hell or high water, they were dedicated to enjoying their Friday evenings together watching whatever dumb movie was chosen. Unfortunately, exhaustion, the massage, and finally being able to relax after a long and stressful week were a lethal combination.
He didn't even realise his head had nodded onto his chest until he felt Erwin shift, and then he was being guided down to lay it on Erwin's lap. He opened his eyes as Erwin settled the blanket over him, half-asleep already, "'M fine."
"Sleep," Erwin said gently, "It's okay."
"No, the movie," Levi protested weakly, and Erwin smiled, looking amused.
"Levi, you haven't been paying attention to the movie anyway," he said.
"It's movie night, I need to—" he began, but was cut off as Erwin placed a finger over his mouth.
"Shh. You don't have to do anything. Go to sleep," he murmured. Levi glared at him.
"Sleep," he insisted.
Levi continued to glower for a long moment before finally his gaze cut away from Erwin's. He rolled onto his side, and Erwin's hand found its way to his hair. He ran his fingers gently through it, scratching lightly at where his hair was cut close to his skull. Levi shivered, eyes drifting closed again. The sounds of the movie quickly devolved from words to an unintelligible jumble of noise as sleep settled over him, just as welcome and comforting as the blanket over his body. He fell asleep easy and content, trusting Erwin to get them in bed properly once the movie was finished.