Work Text:
“Erwin.”
He appears at the door like a specter, hovering half in the doorframe as though afraid he’ll be turned away.
Erwin lifts his gaze, tearing his eyes from the ever-growing stack of paperwork on his desk. “Yes, Levi?”
Levi’s throat bobs as he swallows. “I…I want…”
Erwin doesn’t interrupt or try to finish his statement for him. He puts his pen down with an audible sound. Levi’s head drops to stare at the desk. His mouth is open, moving but no sound is coming out. He can’t find the words.
“Close the door,” Erwin says. Levi slams it, something frantic and sudden. “Come here.”
With soundless steps, Levi crosses the room, rounds the desk, and stands at Erwin’s shoulder. Erwin pushes back from the desk, angling his body toward Levi, and opens his arms.
Levi doesn’t say a word, but slowly, as though he’s thinking about every tiny movement, steps closer and sits in Erwin’s lap. He leans against Erwin’s chest, and it’s so easy for Erwin to envelop Levi’s much smaller body in his arms. It’s minute, but he can feel Levi shaking against him.
“What’s wrong?”
Levi makes a noise between a hum and a scoff. “Couldn’t sleep,” he says to his hands.
“Want to talk about it?”
Levi pauses, then shakes his head.
“You just wanted physical touch?”
Levi nods, and Erwin rests his head atop Levi’s. He focuses on making his breathing even, hoping it’ll calm Levi; and sure enough, it works. He feels Levi’s shaking slowly subside, feels Levi’s breaths come slower and calmer, and they stay there just like that. Levi always runs warm, but right now he’s like a little furnace on Erwin’s lap. Erwin feels wetness on the front of his shirt, and holds him like the campfire’s last ember.