Chapter Text
It had been a long week at the flower shop where Levi and Erwin worked. Levi had dealt with numerous difficult customers who wanted their orders “just right.” He hated wedding season. It always brought in the clients that their shop needed, but it also came with tons of drama.
“I want the flowers to be flashy, but not too flashy. I don’t want the bouquet to be prettier than my dress.”
“I love it! But my fiancée is allergic.”
“I want it to have some pink, but not too pink. Maybe I want a light green. Green is a nice spring color right?”
“I want flower x, y, and z but I don’t want it to be expensive. You can do that right?”
“Roses! I want roses everywhere!”
“I love lilies, but is there a way to remove the pollen? I don’t want it on my dress.”
Ugh. Wedding season.
Erwin was out of town for some national florist convention or something. Erwin had asked Levi if he wanted to go with him, but Levi had declined. The shop needed him to run it since they had no assistant, and Levi hated crowded rooms anyways.
Levi climbed the stairs up to the apartment they had above their flower shop and had gone straight to his room where he flopped onto the bed. He and Erwin had been friends since college and had met in their botany class. The two had become friends despite Levi’s best efforts to deter Erwin’s enthusiastic friend-making tactics. The man had never stopped! Most people were turned away by Levi’s prickly personality but not Erwin Smith, oh no, Erwin Smith kept trying to crack Levi’s shell until one day it did crack. Levi’s lips quirked into a smile as he remembered Erwin walking into the bar on That Night 10 years ago.
Levi and his band, The Wings of Freedom, had been performing at a bar near campus. Erwin had been pestering Levi to come and hang out all week much to his displeasure. Levi had finally snapped and he had handed Erwin a flier for the event they were playing at that night. Levi hadn’t really expected Erwin to show up. The bar was dark, dirty, and stank of stale booze and cigarettes. Levi hated the dirt and the stench, but at that time he had thought that The Wings of Freedom could really go somewhere. They needed any gig they could get. The bar was no place for a man like Erwin Smith.
Levi remembers seeing Erwin walk into the bar that night and locking eyes with the enthusiastic blond. He remembers the feeling of power he felt over him as he played his guitar and sang into the mic. Yes, Erwin Smith may have been Mr. Social and outgoing on campus, but in that bar Levi was the one running the show. Levi recalls how the rest of the evening went. They finished their gig and had begun to pack up as Erwin approached. He waved at Levi who nodded his head in response. Eld and Gunther had whooped and hollered about Levi finally making a friend, and a hot one at that. Oluo laughed and Petra smacked him fondly on the head. Levi introduced Erwin to the others and then they left. Oluo volunteered to take the band gear so Levi could hang out with his “new hot friend.” Levi glared, but he didn’t correct him. Levi remembers Erwin offering to buy them drinks, and for some reason he accepted.
The two had spent the next few hours chatting (mostly Erwin) and drinking. By the time they stumbled out of the bar they were both undeniably tipsy. Erwin, being the perfect gentleman that he is, had offered to (shakily) walk Levi back to his apartment. Levi was too drunk to remember that he didn’t like having people know where he lived and he agreed. The two men wobbled back to Levi’s apartment building. Upon reaching the complex they realized that they lived a floor apart. Levi lived a floor below Erwin. Funny how the world works. Levi distinctly remembered thinking this as Erwin clumsily smashed his face against Levi’s. He also remembers returning Erwin’s kiss and dragging him inside of his apartment. After that the memory turns into a blur of bodies crashing together, nails gripping shoulders, skin brushing against skin, and lips biting at whatever they could reach. The next morning had been considerably less awkward than either of them anticipated. Erwin had apologized, Levi had said that they should share the blame, and they had established that it was the result of pent up sexual frustration not romantic attraction. After That Night the two had fallen into easy friendship and they hadn’t looked back since.
Levi lay in bed and looked around the room. It wasn’t hugely extravagant or anything, but it was home to them. He and Erwin hadn’t spoken about the events of That Night since the morning after. Neither of them wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with the other. They were just good friends. Erwin had dated other people and Levi had been fine. Petra and the former band were all surprised when Erwin had brought Mike as his date to one of their parties. Levi assured them he was fine with it and that he and Erwin were just good friends, really. And they were. They were great friends. Levi remembers holding Erwin as he silently cried after Mike had left. He had expected Erwin to become clingy after losing his boyfriend, but he still let Levi have his space. Erwin understood Levi and let him be his grumpy self without trying to change him. He had tried dating in the past, but no one understood him quite as well as Erwin did.
I’d date Erwin if he wasn’t Erwin, he thought to himself.
Shit. He did not mean that. Levi always missed Erwin when he was away. The apartment just wasn’t the same without the blond oaf. Levi sighed and dragged himself out of bed. He needed to make himself something to eat before he passed out. Levi walked to the fridge and was met with the sight of it’s nice, clean, white interior. There was no more food. Levi groaned. Erwin always did the shopping and cooking while Levi did the cleaning. He’s forgotten to go shopping since Erwin had left. Levi’s stomach growled impatiently at him. Levi shuffled over to the cabinet over the stove and reached. Fuck. He was too short by a few centimeters. Life is really cruel sometimes.
Fucking giant.
He remembered when they had installed the cabinets and Erwin had assured him that he wasn’t “that short.”
Fucking tall freak, thought Levi as he went and dragged a chair over.
He opened the cabinet and rummaged around until he found some pasta and sauce. He made enough pasta and sauce for himself and sat down. He looked to where Erwin should’ve and sighed.
After dinner Levi rummaged around in their cabinet for some whiskey. It wasn’t his favorite drink, Erwin was the big fan, but tonight he wanted something strong. He needed something that would stop these treacherous thoughts. A few glasses in Levi starts to feel the effects of the alcohol. He feels the pleasant buzz that one gets before they’re really drunk. His eyes fall on his guitar across the room by the couch. He walked over to the guitar and picks it up as he sits down on the couch. He gives it a light strum. The sound bounces around in his head as the alcohol works its magic. He giggles drunkenly to himself as he remembers That Night-the night of the bar incident with Erwin. Erwin! He should write a song for Erwin! About friendship! He should record it and give it to Erwin so that he knows they’re friends right?! Yes, yes he should! Levi enthusiastically starts strumming and coming up with a song for his friend. A few hours later he records the song on their shared desktop and falls asleep on the couch, guitar in hand.
The next morning, Levi wakes up to someone gently shaking him awake.
“Levi?”
Levi blinks slowly, tries to sit up and winces. Fuck, his head hurts. What the fuck did he do last night? Levi groans and slowly falls back over on the couch. He cracks an eye open and sees a concerned looking Erwin staring back at him.
“You okay Levi?”
“Shhhhh. Hung over.”
“I can see that,” mutters Erwin.
Erwin walks over to the cabinet by the sink and grabs Levi some ibuprofen, a glass of water, and some crackers.
“Here,” he says as he hands them to Levi, “take this.”
Levi groans and nibbles at a cracker. In a few minutes he has eaten the crackers and taken the pills. He looks up at Erwin, “thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.”
“I got bored and decided to come home,” Erwin shrugged.
After that Erwin made them breakfast and they went on about their day. Levi asked Erwin about the conference and Erwin showed him pictures of some arrangements that he thought they should try. The recording was long forgotten in Levi’s drunken haze.
A few weeks later they were filling yet another wedding order. Erwin wanted to look up a picture from the conference. Now, Erwin Smith was a lot of things, but he wasn’t that skilled with computers. In fact, most technology was a mystery to him. Levi was in charge of the technology size of their lives. Erwin was, however, competent enough to be able to upload pictures from his phone to the computer and then look them up later. Or so he thought.
Erwin entered “Erwin” into the search bar of his computer search thingy (It’s called finder, Erwin) and clicked on the first thing that came up. This was not a folder of flower pictures. Before him on the screen was a video of Levi. A video of Levi singing. A video of Levi drunkenly singing. A video of Levi drunkenly singing a song he had dedicated to Erwin.
I know there's lots of kind of love in the world
And they're not all romantic
And not all for boys and girls
But what we have doesn't have certain definition
'Cause I love you just as much I hate my college tuition
And that we're basically like dating
Without all the romance
Don't get me wrong I think you're pretty
But I don't want in your pants
It's just that I'm in best friend love with you
So I wrote this song for you
And I know you think it's weird, it's true
But I’m in best friend love with you
And I think we should go all the way
In the 100% friendzone way
And I can’t get you out of my heard
And as long we're in separate beds
I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with you
Like maybe we would work out if we were single and were gay
But what I’m really trying to say is
I don’t love you like Shang loves Mulan
You’re more like the Robin Hood to my little John
And I love you like auto tune loves t-pain
Like a prostitute love crack cocaine
I love you like batman wishes his parents hadn’t died
Like Anne frank wanted to fuckin' go outside
You’re more than my best friend
You’re my partner in crime
That I’d never ever make out with except for that one time
And I know you think it’s weird, it’s true
But I’m in best friend love with you
And I think we should go all the way
In the 100% friendzone way
And I can’t get you out of my head
And as long as were in separate beds
I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life with you
Whoa- oh
Best friend love
Best friend love
Don’t need no love glove with best friend love.
Erwin laughed as he watched drunken Levi sing on the screen. Who knew Levi had such a cute side to him? Cute? Erwin froze in the chair as he sat staring at Levi’s singing form on the screen. The video had ended with a still of Levi and his guitar smiling at the camera. Erwin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He had thought Levi was attractive from the day they had met. He remembers the pain he felt the morning after That Night when they had pretended it had meant nothing because it had meant something to Erwin, but he knew that he’d rather be friends with Levi than nothing at all so he kept his mouth shut and dismissed it as a case of hormones. Erwin sighed again.
“Why are you sitting up here on the computer and sighing? Are you watching porn you perv?”
Erwin jumps in his seat and turns around to see Levi walking up the stairs. Levi starts walking into the room. As he takes in what’s on the screen-and it’s obvious that Erwin has seen the whole thing because it’s on the last frame and ohmygod Erwin has seen the drunken love song- he turns around mid-stride and tries to retreat quickly back down the stairs.
Shit shit shit! He’s seen it. Ohmygod he’s seen it. This is so bad. He’s gonna think I’m making a pass at him and then he’s going to reject me (reject? Since when do I care if I’m rejected? Fuck) and then he’s going to move out because things are going to be weird and it’s all going to hell. Fuck everything.
As Levi is panicking at the top of the stairs he feels two strong arms wrap around him.
Oh god, he’s going to kill me. Maybe he’s part boa constrictor?
The arms embrace him gently but firmly and bring him in for a great big bear hug that actually lifts him clean off his feat.
Levi freezes in the embrace as his feet hover a few inches off the ground.
What’s happening?
He feels Erwin’s face pressed into his back. Erwin mumbles something into his shirt but he can’t decipher what he’s saying through the sound of cloth.
“What?”
“I said, I don’t feel the same way.”
Levi freezes. This is it. This is the rejection. This is the beginning of the end of his world. Levi feels his heart clench in his chest. Who knew rejection would hurt so badly?
“I’m sorry Erwin. I understand if you want to move out. It’s okay. You should probably actually stay and I should go since you’re better with flowers and stuff. And people and cooking and-“
Levi is cut off by Erwin setting him down on the ground and turning him around.
“Levi, what are you talking about?”
“That love song I wrote you. You’re weirded out and you want me to leave right? I’m ruining our friendship and everything.”
Erwin quirks his head to the side, “that song was about best friend love. You hardcore friendzoned me. And I don’t want that. I love you as more than a friend. I always have. Ever since you told me to stop staring at you in botany class I’ve been in love with you, but you’ve never returned my affections and that’s okay because I’m happy to be just your friend because you’re amazing and I’d never want to give up a friend like you, Levi.”
Levi stands there stunned. Best friend love? The song wasn’t a love song? Shit. Levi laughs nervously and rubs his neck awkwardly.
“I don’t think I remember everything that I said in that video. I think I was drunk…”
Erwin laughs and walks over to the computer and clicks play. Erwin stands next to Levi trying to discreetly see his reaction to watching himself. Levi is standing there completely mortified. I wrote this mush? He can feel the blush creeping up his neck to his ears. After the video finishes Levi buries his face in his hands.
“Holy shit. There was nothing about romantic love is there? And I basically just confessed just now…and ohmygod you said you loved me. Didn’t you!”
It was Erwin’s turn to blush and hide his face, “yeah, yeah I did.”
Levi sighed and shook Erwin’s shoulders. We should talk about this later, but we probably have some angry customers downstairs who want their flower arrangements.
“Right! I’ll print off that picture right now! But wait, Levi, can you find the image file for me? I was trying to find it when I found this instead…”
“Hopeless old man.”
Later that night after they have a long talk (apparently they were both in love with each other for a while but they were too big of dorks to admit it) Levi goes off to bed. Erwin tells him he’s going to stay up a bit longer and read on the couch. After he’s sure Levi is gone, Erwin pads over to the computer and emails the video to himself so he can watch it over and over again. Levi really is really cute.
The next morning Petra, Oluo, Eld, and Gunther walk into the shop with wide grins. Gunther thumps Levi on the back, “Congrats dude! You finally told him! I admit, it’s rather uncharacteristically cute for you, but way to go man!”
Levi looks at his friends’ smiling faces with confusion. At that moment Erwin comes out of the back of the shop carrying an armful of flowers.
“Hey Erwin! We got your email! Congrats on finally getting this guy!”
“Erwin, what email?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“This one!” Gunther proudly hold up his phone. On his screen is an email titled “He loves me!” with a video file attached.
“Erwin, did you send that video to everyone we know?”
“I just sent it to myself! I wanted to be able to watch it anywhere.”
Levi sighs and walks up the stairs. Erwin and his former band mates follow-all are still sporting wide grins, except Erwin who looks like he wants to be anywhere but there.
Levi wakes the computer up and pulls up Erwin’s sent email. Just as he thought. Erwin had sent the email to everyone they knew. That means that…
“LEVI! ERWIIIIIN! YOOHOO!” a singsong voice calls from downstairs.
Levi sighs and they all walk back down stairs. All Levi sees is a blur of brown hair as he’s tackled to the ground. “Get off, Shitty-glasses!”
“Levi! You finally told him!”
“Hanji, get off me right now or I will smash your glasses and make them part of an arrangement.”
Hanji crawls off Levi and beams at him.
“So you guys are a thing now right?” asks Oluo.
Levi stands up, “yes, we are a thing. This technically challenged doofus seems to have told everyone before we could,” he fondly thumps Erwin on the head,” I guess it saves us time.”
“Woohoo! Party!” exclaims Hanji, arms flailing wildly in the air.
Petra congratulates them both and Oluo, Gunther, and Eld all dish out cash to Petra.
“They all thought Erwin would be the first to confess, but I knew you would. You big softie!” She gives Levi a big squishy hug. Hanji and the others join in.
As Levi feels the air being squished out of him he feels happier than he has ever felt before. He has friends, he has a wonderful business, and now he has Erwin.