Chapter Text
The first time it happened, Erwin was sure that it was a trick of the light. After all it had been late, and stubborn as Erwin was to jump through the hoops necessary to find out the truth for humanity, the hours he had spent perfecting formations and writing grant proposals was enough to make anyone cave. And, as Erwin’s tired gaze traveled across his office to settle fondly on the slumbering figure curled up in the chair by the fire, Erwin realized that the hours he kept were preposterous, even by Humanity’s Strongest’s standards.
Erwin sleepily rested his cheek on his palm as he regarded the other man in the room. It was rare, to have the opportunity to study Levi so openly. Erwin was used to glimpses of the Scout’s newly minted Captain. He’d hear Levi’s quiet baritone carry across the training grounds and see the muscles in Levi’s back stretch as he rigorously cleaned the libraries in their base, but it wasn’t often that Levi stayed so long in Erwin’s company. The two had only just settled into a fragile trust that only grew with each expedition and progressed to the carefully brewed teas that Levi would bring to Erwin whenever the light in his office glowed deep into the early morning hours.
Tonight was different, though it started the same as any other. Close to midnight, Erwin perked up as he heard the muffled clink of the tea tray from beyond his door, followed by the unceremonious way Levi kicked open the door without asking.
“You’ll die at your desk before you ever get the chance to be eaten by a titan,” Levi huffed in lieu of a greeting as he set his tray down at the edge of Erwin’s desk.
“Perhaps that’s what the nobles planned all along,” Erwin said, smiling ruefully at the pile of letters he’d been writing to various potential donors.
Levi only made a displeased sound as he crossed the room and began fussing over the coffee table by the fireplace, straightening the books that littered the table. Erwin picked up a tea cup, hands warming immediately from the rich brew inside. Something in Erwin’s chest tightened as he protectively held the delicate cup and glanced up at the grumpy captain whose roughened hands were surprisingly gentle as he set down the tea set in front of Erwin almost every single night.
“As long as I’m dying a slow death by paperwork, care to keep me company?” Erwin asked offhandedly. He kept his eyes carefully trained to the letter in front of him as Levi’s shuffling paused. It was a departure from their normal routine, Levi usually leaving after helping Erwin finish his reports or tidying up his office.
After a beat of silence, the shuffling continued. “I suppose somebody has to keep you from dying such an idiotic death.” Erwin laughed unabashedly. Already, the long hours of desk work ahead of him didn’t seem so bad.
Countless rolls of parchment later, the embers were now dying in the fireplace and the soft sound of Levi’s breathing filled the silence in the office. Erwin stood and stretched, groaning quietly as his joints cracked and popped. Given the greying skies outside, it wouldn’t be long until morning, however Erwin would take whatever rest he could.
As for Levi…
Erwin grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and crossed the room to crouch before the other man. Up close, Erwin could appreciate how the wrinkle between Levi’s brows smoothed in his sleep and the way Levi’s lashes brushed the delicate skin under his eyes and---
Erwin blinked. Surely, he had been awake too long, or Levi had lingered too much by the fireplace. For unmistakably, Levi was glowing. Pulses of light seemed to emanate from just under the other man’s skin, as though his body had captured all the stars in the sky. Entranced and unthinkingly, Erwin reached out, the tips of his fingers skimming Levi’s cheek in wonder. Almost immediately, Levi’s eyes snapped open, blinking confusion as the other tried to remember where he was, then sharpening at the sight of Erwin before him. The glow was now gone.
“What the hell, Erwin?” Levi snapped, pushing Erwin’s hand away. He pushed back the chair and stood, uncharacteristically disheveled and almost anxious. At Erwin’s silence, Levi seemed to tense further.
“Well?” Levi ground out.
Erwin retracted his hand from midair, recollecting himself. In the light of day, what he had seen seemed like a figment of his imagination or the hallucinations of an overworked lunatic. Questions rested on the tip of Erwin’s tongue, however he bit them back with the hunch that asking them would only incense the shorter man further.
“My apologies, Levi,” Erwin smiled sheepishly instead. “It wasn’t my intention to wake you. I just thought that perhaps you’d be more comfortable with a blanket?” Erwin held up the jacket he had planned to drape over Levi.
Levi stared at the article of clothing as though it offended him. He then met Erwin’s gaze with an unreadable expression before turning away and busying himself with collecting empty teacups off Erwin’s desk.
“Get some rest yourself, Shitty Eyebrows. You’re getting disgustingly soft in your old age,” Levi muttered as he gathered the last of the silverware and headed towards the door. “I’ll see you later today.” And then, he was gone.
Erwin stared contemplatively at the closed door of his office and shook his head in mild bewilderment. With little grace, he landed on top of the couch across from the armchair that Levi had occupied. Levi. Enough time had passed since Levi first joined the Corps that he and Erwin could tentatively be called friends, however in other ways, Humanity’s Strongest was still a complete mystery to Erwin. Levi was blunt and callous and yet, there was a softness to him that revealed itself in pockets of time insulated from the world. There was only one thing that Erwin knew for sure: Levi was maddening, a contradiction that challenged and allured Erwin.
Little by little, Erwin thought as he closed his eyes to the memory of glowing skin and steady breaths, he’d figure Levi out.