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In all of his years, Levi had never hated a singular day more than this one. It wasn't exactly the day, but the event that accompanied it. He simply despised it. He detested the attention that came along with this "special" day. It never felt any different. He would probably completely forget about it if it weren't for certain people.
He laid in bed, face shoved into his pillow, dreading the day ahead. Somehow everyone always knew. He had his suspicions that a certain blonde-haired boyfriend could be the culprit.
"Heyy..."
"Ugh, let me sleep in..." Levi said into his pillow. He felt the bed dip down on both sides and he tried his best to ignore Erwin. He mussed up Levi's hair and poked his back and did a number of other things to get Levi out of bed.
"Come ooooon. I made you breakfaaast." Erwin mumbled against Levi's hair, still sitting on him.
"Get off me, oaf." Levi said, smiling slightly. He managed to roll over onto his back, still under Erwin. He took both of his hands and intertwined them with his.
"Wanna do something today?" Erwin asked. He still hadn't said the "b" word. Maybe he had forgotten. That was not likely.
"If having rough sex, eating pancakes, and sleeping all day qualifies as 'doing something'." Levi said, smirking and sitting up to nip at Erwin's neck. Erwin considered it, but he already had plans.
"While very tempting, I had something else in mind. Although, there will be pancakes." He assured, kissing Levi quickly before getting off of him. Levi huffed and laid back down. "Come on, lazy bones." Erwin said. Levi waved him away and got up only when he had left the room.
He changed into one of Erwin's plaid shirts and a pair of dark jeans. He could wear a paper bag and Erwin would still think it looking "dashing".
In the kitchen, a stack of confetti-chip pancakes sat in the middle of the table. Even more appetizing though, was Erwin. He was now wearing a black v-neck under a dark green cardigan. His pants were tan and fit very well, to say the least. Erwin noticed he had come into the kitchen and smiled.
"I hope you're hungry." He said, putting the last pancake on the stack.
"Not for pancakes..." Levi murmured.
"What's that?"
"Nothing, dear... Have you reconsidered my offer?" Levi asked hopefully.
"Not a chance."
"So what exactly are your plans?" Levi asked, taking a few pancakes off the stack.
"That is confidential."
"Ugh, you know I hate surprises."
"I know you hate a lot of things, but that hasn't stopped me before."
It ended up being an all day affair.
"Don't you need the GPS?" Levi asked when they got into Erwin's old Chevy.
"Hell no! I know where I'm going." Erwin assured him.
"Didn't you say you wanted to take Route 80?" Levi asked.
"Yes, darling. Why?"
"It's... the other way."
"Right... I was just making sure you were paying attention." Erwin said quickly.
"Oy vey..." This is a good sign, Levi thought.
They drove for an hour or two, the countryside becoming less and less familiar as they went. If there was one thing Levi loved, however, it was road trips. He could drive all day and never really make it anywhere and still feel accomplished.
"So... are you going to give me a hint or anything?" Levi asked, tapping the air freshener on the rearview with his foot. Erwin stared ahead and didn't answer. "Okay, fine, I won't ask anymore." He said, switching through the stations and getting mostly static. "We really are in the boonies." He glanced at Erwin and noticed he looked... nervous?
"Erwin?" He asked, snapping his fingers.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Did you say something?" He asked, looking at the signs that seemed now few and far between.
"You... you don't know where we're going." Levi concluded, trying not to laugh.
"I do! It's just... how to get there..." Erwin said, biting his lip and looking downcast. Levi shook his head and smiled.
"Look, there's a diner there. We'll just ask for directions." He said. Surprisingly, Erwin obliged. He usually hated asking for directions.
"Should have brought the damn GPS..." Levi heard him mumble as they entered the little diner. It was the first building they had seen in quite a while and the pancakes were beginning to wear off.
"Might as well eat, then." Levi said, sitting in the first booth. Erwin sat across from him, but refused to make eye contact. He picked up a menu and held it in front of his face, pretending to browse his options. Levi put his hand on the top of the menu and pushed it down enough to see Erwin.
"Is it a bad time to say 'I told you so?'" Levi asked, trying in vain to suppress a small smile. Erwin glared at him and tried to put the menu back up. "I'm kidding, doofus!"
"I just wanted to do something nice." Erwin said sadly. Erwin had always reminded Levi a lot of a golden retriever: eager to please and cuddly.
"Are you shitting me?" Levi asked, not able to contain a laugh. Erwin looked surprised. "You're always nice to me, asshole." Levi said, taking his hand in his.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Erwin said. "It obviously didn't rub off on you." He added.
"Definitely not. Can you imagine me being nice?"
They both ordered hamburgers and milkshakes because it only felt right.
"If you can change the oil in your car with it, you know it's good." Erwin always said.
Levi looked around for the first time and realized this place was not new. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier.
"Does this place seem familiar to you?" Levi asked. Erwin looked around and shook his head.
"Mr. 'I-remember-every-place-we-have-ever-been' doesn't remember." He said, shaking his head. Erwin looked confused. "Do you remember that cat we almost hit? We came here afterwards to get food."
"I have no fucking clue what you're talking about."
"Oh, that's right. You hit your head off the steering wheel." Levi said, attempting to stifle his laughter. "Y-you had a concussion or something."
"Oh my god, how would I remember then?" Erwin asked through a bite of hamburger. In that moment, Levi realized that this had to be the best birthday he had ever had. It wasn't full of balloons and presents and there wasn't even birthday sex. But looking at his confused and borderline annoyed boyfriend, he knew that spending it any other way with anyone else wouldn't make him a quarter as happy as he was now.
They got directions, but Erwin didn't seem up to his original plan anymore.
"Hey, pull over here." Levi said. It was getting dark at this point and the stars were starting to come out. Levi got out and sat on the hood of the car, looking up at the night sky. Levi despised cliches among many things, but looking at the stars was one he never counted.
"I'm sorry about this shit day." Erwin said half-heartedly, sitting next to Levi and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Should have just gone with your plan..." He nuzzled Levi's neck.
"I thought it was a good day." Levi said. "Due to the lack of cell service, I avoided calls from all of my relatives. It doesn't get much better than that."
"Don't try to make me feel better." Erwin said, kissing Levi's neck softly.
"You know me... I don't lie about anything."
"That's true." Erwin mumbled.
Levi took Erwin's face in his hands.
"I'm serious." Levi said. Erwin leaned back against the hood and took Levi down with him, mussing his hair up as always.
"This is why I don't bother doing anything to my hair." Levi said, straddling Erwin's hips just as he had done to him that morning.
"The night is still young. We can always go with your ideas..." Erwin said in a low voice. Levi leaned down and kissed Erwin's neck slowly, drawing it out to the point of driving Erwin insane. "Seriously..." He groaned.
"Now?" Levi asked breathlessly.
"Not on the car..." Erwin said sheepishly.
"You're right, this day is kind of shit." Levi said in fake disappointment. Erwin grabbed his hips roughly, causing him to yelp.
"I'm kidding."
"No, I'm kidding! Do you know how unsanitary that is, Erwin Smith?"
Erwin shook his head and laughed.
"Ugh, I loathe you."