Work Text:
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Levi grumbles, holding his arms up to let Erwin’s shirt splay out to its full width. He’s practically drowning in the fabric.
Erwin suppresses a laugh and indulges himself in a smile. “Trust me,” he says. “You’ll be way more comfortable this way.”
But Levi gives him a pained look. “I was comfortable before.”
“In that wooden chair? In full battle gear? I don’t buy that for a second,” Erwin says, pulling Levi into a hug. He presses a kiss into Levi’s hair. “Besides, it’s weird trying to fall asleep when you’re sitting in that chair over me like you’re watching me.”
“But I am watching you,” Levi mumbles into Erwin’s T-shirt.
“And that’s what makes it weird.” Erwin laughs and pulls away to give Levi a proper kiss. “Just try it. One night. And if you don’t sleep well, then you can go right back to sleeping however you’d like. But I’m telling you. You’ll be way more comfortable.”
Levi just grumbles something likely offensive and lets Erwin tuck him into bed for the first time. They’ve been together for months now, but even though they’ve fucked regularly, they’ve never properly slept in a bed together. Every time, Levi would drag himself out of bed, muttering obscenities about his sore ass or other, before cleaning himself up, getting fully dressed in his battle gear, and settling himself into that wooden chair.
The first night it happened, Erwin didn’t know what to make of it. Levi had been so cuddly not two seconds before, and then suddenly he was refusing to spend another minute in bed. He gradually got used to it and learned that it wasn’t personal -- Levi explained that he just felt safer that way.
But a part of Erwin couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about the whole thing. Not just because Levi would watch him sleep, or because Erwin wanted to keep cuddling, but also because Levi, himself, just looked so terribly uncomfortable, neck crooked at an impossible angle, body slumped awkwardly with 3DMG straps digging into his sides.
Erwin instantly began wondering if that was the reason why Levi never got a good night’s rest. And after a long conversation and a fair amount of persuasion, he finally convinced Levi to spend one night in his bed ‘as an experiment’.
He can’t hold his smile back as he pulls the covers over them and snuggles close to Levi. It’s like a sleepover. Despite his age, he’s feeling a strange sense of excitement.
“The hell are you so smiley for?” Levi asks suspiciously.
“Nothing,” Erwin says, still smiling. “I’m just glad you agreed to this. It means I can cuddle you all night.”
Levi tsks and rolls over to scoot his back into Erwin’s chest, but he looks rather pleased with that response. Well, as pleased as Levi can look anyway. With a little more squirming to fit closer together and some final goodnight kisses, they bid each other goodnight and fall asleep in each other’s arms.
In the morning, Erwin wakes up to the feeling of Levi shooting up from the bed.
“Mmm. Good morning, gorgeous. How did you sleep?” Erwin manages to mumble through the haze. Eyelids still too heavy to lift, he feels around in the space in front of him, but finds emptiness. He hears Levi moving rather frantically around the room. “Is everything okay?” he asks groggily.
But Levi doesn’t respond, and when Erwin opens his eyes, he opens them just in time to see the bathroom door slamming shut. The shower turns on not a second later. Suddenly very awake, Erwin frowns, unsettled. Levi has always showered first thing in the morning, but Erwin can’t remember the man ever rushing to the shower like that.
He whips around to look at the clock, wondering if maybe they’d overslept, but no, they’ve woken up almost two hours early. Worry deepening, he slides out of bed and pads over to the bathroom door. He can hear Levi wildly scrubbing away.
“Darling, are you alright in there?” he calls out.
“Uh… yeah.” Levi does not sound alright. “I’m just… showering.”
That doesn’t make Erwin feel any better, and he worries over it as he makes the bed and gets his things for the day. Levi takes a lot longer than usual, and when he finally exits the bathroom, Erwin has worried himself into a frenzy.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” he asks, hurrying over. The wave of steam hits him like a slap in the face. Levi must’ve been showering in scalding hot water. He only does that when he’s stressed.
“I’m fine.” Levi isn’t meeting his gaze. “We woke up early. I’ll go make us a pot of tea.”
Dumbfounded, Erwin watches Levi go, unsure as to what he should be doing. Then, deciding he’ll ask Levi about it over tea, he gathers his things and takes his own shower. Once he’s ready for the day, he meets Levi back in the bedroom for tea.
But whatever panic gripped Levi this morning is suddenly gone, and any questions Erwin tries to ask about it immediately get redirected. When they finish their tea and set out to start the day, Erwin can’t stop himself from troubling over it.
Was Levi just stressed about sleeping in a bed for the first time? Did he have a bad dream? He is always standoffish about sharing his mind. That would explain his behavior at teatime. Or is it something else? Instantly, Erwin is hit with a wave of guilt when he realizes the cause. It’s not like the bed was dirty or anything, but the sheets were at the end of their usual wash cycle, and Erwin had reworn his bedtime shirt.
Foolish, foolish, foolish. He kicks himself mentally. He should’ve thought to wash the bedding and made things as clean as possible for Levi. How had he not thought of that? He makes a mental note to wash the bedding in the evening so they can have a clean bed tonight.
To his surprise, Levi agrees to spend another night in his bed, and they snuggle under the crisp sheets, drifting away to the smell of soap and clean laundry.
But in the morning, it’s the same thing. Levi shoots out of bed and hurtles into the shower before Erwin can even properly say good morning. Erwin is left sitting in bed, bewildered as to what might’ve been the cause.
He manages to confirm with Levi that no nightmares were had and that Levi is feeling safe at night, but now, with his only two leads declared null, Erwin finds himself more confused than ever. If it’s not anything stress-related that Levi is hiding, then Erwin can’t think of any reason why Levi would hesitate to share what is so clearly bothering him in the mornings.
Unless… Erwin’s stomach drops. The only other thing Levi would hesitate to share is if he had some sort of genuine problem with Erwin. Don’t get him wrong, Levi is always insulting Erwin about little things -- the faces he makes in the mirror, the speed with which he does his paperwork, the noises he makes when he eats -- but those are all things that can be easily changed. Erwin can’t remember a single time when Levi insulted him for something he couldn’t change.
Instantly, he finds himself feeling insecure. Does he sweat a lot when he sleeps? Maybe he drools. Or maybe his morning breath is terrible. Perhaps he has some sort of morning bodily stink?
He showers extra-thoroughly that night, soaping himself down twice, and he opts for thinner clothing to hopefully reduce any nighttime sweats. But in the morning, when Levi is in the middle of his frantic shower again, Erwin seeks Miche out.
“Do I smell bad to you?” he asks a little self-consciously.
Miche gives him a quick sniff and steps back with a noncommittal look. “Well, apart from your morning breath and the fact that you and the little guy clearly had sex last night, I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary.” He wrinkles his nose. “A bit rude not to wash off your sex particles before making me smell you though, don’t you think?” Then, with a cheeky grin, “Wait, was that the point? Is this some sort of new exhibitionist kink or something?”
Erwin gives him a pained look. “No, it’s not a kink,” he says, half disturbed, half amused that that was Miche’s first conclusion. “And sorry for not washing off. I just don’t know what’s going on with Levi.”
And then he explains everything that’s happened so far. The panicked showers. The lack of eye-contact. The failed attempts at making things better.
“Hmm, I have no idea,” Miche says with a shrug. “Levi is a weird dude. I’m pretty sure it’s not you though. Apart from the… aforementioned scents, you smell pretty normal to me.”
Erwin sighs and claps Miche on the shoulder. “Alright, well. Thanks for the help.”
Miche grins. “Any time, chief. Wash up soon though. It’s too early for that kinky shit.” His laughter follows Erwin out the door.
The next two days follow in a nearly identical fashion. No matter how much Erwin tries to clean himself or make the bed clean, Levi always rushes to the shower in the morning and avoids Erwin’s questions after. As he grows more and more insecure about what the answer might be, Erwin starts losing hope, wondering if it was a mistake to try to change Levi’s sleeping habits.
And so, it doesn’t come as a surprise when Levi enters the bedroom one night in full battle gear and says, “I think I’m gonna sleep in my chair again.”
“Okay.” Erwin doesn’t know if he’s disappointed or relieved. “Is there any particular reason why?” he asks hopefully.
But Levi just shakes his head and averts his eyes in the same way he’s been doing for the past week, and Erwin resigns himself to the fact that he’ll never know why.
The next few months pass by quickly, and any thoughts about this failed attempt at getting Levi to sleep in a bed slip out of Erwin’s mind until he hardly thinks about it at all. They sleep next to each other, Erwin tucked in bed, Levi watching over him in his chair, and they never question it again.
Until Erwin gets his arm bitten off.
He can barely recall the past two days. All he knows is the cottony feeling in his head, the aching chill down his spine, and the nightmares that plague him every hour.
“Levi,” he croaks out, heart pounding in fear. There’s a pile of dead bodies all around them. He can see it. But Levi doesn’t seem to notice. “Levi, there’s so much blood.” He coughs wetly, every muscle in his body aching with the effort. “You have to-- have to get out.”
“Shhh. Erwin.” Levi’s voice feels like a sip of crisp, cool water. “You’re okay. Everything is okay. You’re in the infirmary right now. Try to breathe.”
“No.” Erwin can’t find the energy to shake his head. “So much blood. Titans coming. I-- I can’t lose you. Levi, I--”
Suddenly, a cool hand is stroking back his sweaty hair, and Levi is shushing him. “Breathe, Erwin.”
With a shuddering breath, Erwin tries his best to focus on the touch and pulls in air, struggling with every painstaking breath. Slowly but surely, the images start fading, and Erwin manages to calm down, but the terror still gapes within him, ready to swallow him up at any moment. Levi continues to stroke his hair and takes his hand.
“Do you want me to lay down with you? Do you think that’ll help?”
Erwin musters up the tiniest of nods, body still shaking from fear and chill, and Levi climbs into bed with him, nestling up close to his left side.
“Breathe, Erwin,” Levi repeats gently. “That’s it. You’re gonna be okay.”
Lulled by Levi’s warmth and steady breathing, Erwin manages to drift off, and Levi, after spending two full days without a wink of sleep, finds himself pulled away into the same peace.
In the morning, Levi is pleased to find that Erwin’s fever broke overnight, and he can’t stop a tiny smile from reaching his lips at the dumb expression on Erwin’s face. The man sleeps with his mouth wide open like he’s parched and waiting for rain. Or like he’s sucking ghost dick. With a tsk, Levi rids himself of his smile and rises up to fill a cup of water.
“Erwin,” he says softly, indulging himself in a quick kiss to Erwin’s blissfully cooled forehead. “Wake up. You were sweating like a pig all night. I want you to drink some water.”
At the sound of Levi’s voice, Erwin’s eyelashes flutter open, and Levi’s heart leaps when he sees that Erwin’s eyes are clearer than they’ve been for the past few days. He didn’t even know how much he’d missed seeing Erwin’s eyes like this until he finally saw them. In fact, he’s so relieved that it takes him a long, long time to realize that Erwin is staring at him oddly.
“What?” Levi asks, suddenly growing worried again. Is Erwin seeing things again?
Erwin tries to speak, but only a rasp comes out. He clears his throat and tries again. “Your h--” His voice gives out on the last syllable.
Levi goes cold. In all the worry and rush to take care of Erwin, he’d completely forgotten. He whips his head around to look into the mirror on the wall and cringes back from embarrassment.
His hair, normally so neatly combed and styled, is an explosion on his head. Chunks and strands of it are sticking out like bug antennae in all shapes and angles, very much giving him the appearance of a soldier who put his nose too close to the cannon fuse.
It doesn’t help, either, that Erwin was sweating up such a storm last night. The right-hand curtain of Levi’s bangs is reaching straight up like a grade-A student, coincidentally adding about four inches to Levi’s height.
A dry wheeze breaks Levi out of his horror. “This whole time… I thought…” Another wheeze. Erwin is shaking with laughter.
“Shut up and drink your water,” Levi snaps grumpily.
His face is on fire. If Erwin wasn’t laying there, pale and thin, he might’ve run out the door. He instead opts to feebly finger-comb the stubborn strands down, knowing even as he does it, that the act is futile. Erwin starts wheezing again, nearly choking on his water, when Levi’s bangs spring back up, wagging stupidly in the air as soon as Levi’s hand releases it.
“Fuck off.” Levi can’t find the usual venom to throw behind his voice. The joy in Erwin’s laughter is too damn contagious.
“I’m sorry,” Erwin manages between laughs, looking very much like he’s not sorry at all. “It’s just… this whole time, I thought you didn’t want to sleep in my bed because I smelled bad or something. To think the real reason was that you get bedhe--” He wheezes again, a cackle escaping his throat as he desperately clutches his stomach, face screwed up in pain even as he keeps laughing.
Levi isn’t sure if he should feel guilty that he’d inadvertently made Erwin feel insecure, or if he should feel justified in hiding his bedhead in light of all of Erwin’s laughter. He decides on the latter.
“Well, you seem more than healthy enough to laugh at me. Shall I call the nurse over so she can take care of you instead?” he says grumpily, feeling very off-put, even if he is amused in spite of himself to see Erwin so happy.
“No, no!” Erwin croaks out quickly, reigning in his laughs. He reaches out and grabs Levi’s hand. Pulls it to his lips and presses a kiss to Levi’s fingers. “I won’t laugh anymore. I promise.” Even after all the blood loss and fever, Erwin’s eyes are brighter than Levi’s ever seen them before. His thumb strokes Levi’s hand fondly. “It’s just that you look…”
Erwin’s voice trails off, but Levi knows exactly what word Erwin was going to say based on the look on his face: adorable.
He scowls deeply, expression almost childish in its ferocity. “Fuck off,” he repeats crossly, turning away. But Erwin holds tight to his hand.
“No, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he pleads, face still split wide with a grin. “Please Levi? Can you stay with me? I’ve already seen you like this, so you may as well. And besides, it seems to be healthy for me. It was you who broke my fever, was it not?”
Levi mutters something or other about shoddy logic and stupid handsome commanders. But after giving Erwin one last disgruntled look, he relents and climbs back into bed to snuggle against Erwin’s side.
“Drink more water or I’m leaving,” he grumbles, reaching back to grab Erwin’s cup.
Erwin obediently sips water until he’s emptied the jug, and Levi stays tucked against his side. But it doesn’t take long for Erwin to grow sleepy again. The effort of laughter was far more than he’d been ready for. His breaths start growing deeper.
“Does this mean…” Erwin mumbles against the drowsy haze. “You’re gonna sleep… in my bed from now on?”
Levi tsks as if in disapproval. But he knows the answer is yes. Erwin’s bed is way more comfortable than a chair. Levi has no idea why he’d been so stubborn about hiding his bedhead. So much unnecessary trouble over such a stupid insecurity.
When Erwin lets out a light snore, Levi gently lifts his head from Erwin’s chest and finds the man fast asleep, mouth wide open, a slight rosy tinge still on his cheeks from all the laughter.
He allows himself one small smile. “Goodnight, Erwin,” he whispers, settling his head back down, bedhead and all.
And together, they drift off into a peaceful sleep.