Chapter Text
dun-DUN.
Startled by the sound, Levi jerked sharply in bed, swearing almost violently as his eyes flew open in alarm and he nearly bolted upright. Fuck, he thought next. Fuck. He’d almost been asleep. Almost, after hours of tossing and turning and trying to ignore the noise coming from downstairs, he’d nearly been there, nearly been at the point where he could nod off and conk out and get some of the elusive rest he was starting to desperately need now that it was nearing 1 o’clock in the fucking morning. He’d been so close, he knew, so close that his thoughts had gotten away from him and he’d been floating in that pleasantly calm, blissfully unaware stage between sleep and wakefulness that he’d been chasing all night, but now?
Now he was wide awake again, alert and annoyed and at his wit’s end because of his stupid neighbor’s television in the apartment beneath him. That was what was keeping him up, of course, as the fucker seemingly kept the damned thing on the loudest setting possible at all hours of the night. What the hell was his problem, Levi wondered? He didn’t know, but ever since he’d moved in down there two weeks ago it had been like this, and Levi was really, really about to hit his limit. It was ridiculous, after all. He had to get up at 5:00 A.M. for work, and even now, he could hear the voices. The narrator of Law & Order: SVU, talking about how the people were represented by two separate but equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
God dammit, Levi thought. He knew all of it by heart. He’d barely even watched an entire episode of the show but he knew the characters now and could recognize their voices, but he supposed that he should be thankful that it was a crime drama that night instead of a war documentary. Those were infinitely worse, he knew, as it was one thing trying to fall asleep while people calmly discussed tragedy and violent murder, and quite another to do so with the sounds of bombs going off and soldiers dying and planes screaming through the air echoing all around him. That shit was terrible and grated even worse on his nerves, and because of his viewing choices, Levi suspected that his neighbor was probably some kind crusty old man who smelled like bad breath and mothballs.
If he was, Levi thought, it might explain the extreme volume if the guy happened to have shitty hearing or something, but really, at this point, it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. It was a weeknight and the floors and walls in their apartment building were too thin for this shit, and he couldn’t understand why the bastard didn't have any goddamn consideration for literally anyone else around him. Did he not have a job during the day? If he didn’t, did it not occur to him that most other people had jobs during the day that required them to get up at ungodly hours in the morning? Obviously not, and quite fucking honestly, Levi had had enough. It was bullshit, but what could he do?
He couldn’t use earplugs because he worried that they would block out the sound of his alarm, and he’d already tried banging and stomping on his floor in the hopes that his neighbor would get the hint — something that obviously hadn’t worked either because he couldn’t hear it over the TV or he just didn’t fucking care. Levi had already complained, also, to the person at the front desk, twice, who had promised to tell the landlord, but clearly that hadn’t happened because nothing had changed. Or, Levi thought again, the guy didn’t care and had ignored the complaint. If that was the case, then he would probably end up getting evicted eventually which was good, but how would that help him now? He needed to sleep; the near constant lack of it was getting to him, and he had a lot to do at his job tomorrow. Or today, rather, as it was past midnight and his alarm was going to go off in less than 4 hours.
Groaning at the thought, Levi rolled over and sighed loudly and dramatically in irritation, grabbing one of his spare pillows so that he could clamp it down over his head in the hopes that it might drown out some of the noise. Needless to say, it didn’t, and even though Levi had already known it wouldn’t when he moved — he’d tried that many, many times; he’d tried a fan, too, but the fan had squeaked and annoyed him more than the TV — it still raised his ire even more, and he began to wonder if he should just march down to the floor below him and tell this piece of shit to quiet the fuck down himself.
At that point, although Levi wasn’t much in the mood for confrontation or even interacting with another human being, it seemed that it might be the only way for him to possibly get some sleep that night. Huffing again, but not feeling committed to it yet, he tried one last time to squeeze his eyes shut and block out the sounds of Ice-T discussing murder weapons and some gruesome killer’s weird ass M.O. For nearly ten minutes he tried, and after laying there a bit he did manage to relax some when the voices on the TV grew lower and his surge of strong anger from before had faded. Now, he thought, it was more dull, and because of that, his heart rate returned to normal and his breathing started to become even again, slow and deep enough so that his mind, too, eventually unfocused, wandering to idle things as Levi finally began to actively drift away.
dun-DUN.
“Fuck!” Levi shouted this time, practically flinging his pillow away when he was again rudely pulled back into consciousness — right before he kicked the bed covers away so that he could sit up and bolt right off of his mattress.
Stomping — literally, as he hoped the bastard in his living room beneath him would hear it — across the room and to his laundry basket, he hurriedly pulled some pajama pants over his boxers and grabbed a t-shirt, covering himself with a robe, too, that he fastened with such a harsh jerk that he actually made himself wince, before he next made a beeline for his kitchen. There, he grabbed his keys, phone, and shoes and only stopped his determined march when he saw his cat, a girl named Fluffy, curled up on a cushion, sleeping soundly, of course, without any cares in the world as if there wasn’t basically an entire crime drama being acted out inside of his apartment.
“I envy you.” He muttered at the sight, pausing to give her head a quick scratch before he continuing.
Grumbling under his breath as he did so, Levi exited his apartment and then made a hasty advance for the stairs, immediately noticing the contrasting quiet of the hallway in comparison to his apartment which made him feel angry all over again for having to deal with this. He hated to yell at an old man too, he thought, but it was just ridiculous and had gone on long enough, and...well, maybe he wouldn’t be so cranky in the first place if he’d been allowed to get a good night’s sleep. He felt like he hadn’t in ages and just that day alone he’d been up for 18 fucking hours straight, and if he’d had any chance of calming down on his walk to his nemesis’s apartment, thinking about all of that ruined it in a heartbeat.
As such, he had come up with a number of things that he was going to tell this bastard as soon as he opened the door, and because of that, he did not hesitate to pound on it almost as hard as he could once he reached the other apartment. Fuming, still, he ‘knocked’ like that and hoped that it would be heard even though his stomping might not have been, deciding that no matter what, he wasn’t going to leave until his neighbor answered the door and he’d thoroughly given him a piece of his mind. That being said, his determination to curse another human being out at 1:30 AM did not stop his anger from increasing when he had to rap his fist on the wood several more times before he finally heard something inside, before the sounds of the television — muted out there, irritatingly enough — disappeared in favor what had to be someone shuffling towards the door.
Yep. He thought, listening to the slow, dragging footsteps. Fucking old man.
Bracing himself when they grew closer, Levi crossed his arms tightly, straightening his spine at the sound of a lock being undone and deepening the scowl on his face, opening his mouth, too, as the door slowly swung inward and he prepared to unleash a torrent of verbal vitriol on his neighbor that was so poisonous the fucker would surely think twice before he ever even thought about turning on his stupid TV again as long as Levi was—
Oh. He thought when he saw him. Oh, fuck. Shit. His neighbor, apparently, was not some gross old guy at all. No, instead of that he was a man...or, well, a much younger man at least, appearing to be in his late 30’s and looking everything like he’d just stepped out of some kind of magazine. He was very tall, Levi saw. Very blonde. Very broad shouldered, blue-eyed, and handsome, and very much not what he’d been expecting to see when he’d decided to come down there to tell the guy off. That being said, though, that was what he was there for and instead of doing so Levi realized he was just standing in place, staring open-mouthed and wide-eyed like some kind of idiot, gaping, practically, because he was gay — yes, he thought, gay, really gay, extremely gay, more gay than he’d ever thought he could possibly be before, somehow — and this guy was one of the most drool worthy individuals that he had probably ever fucking seen.
The fact that he looked slightly rumpled with bedhead and wrinkly pajamas did nothing to change that either, Levi noticed, which was unfortunate, because if his sweatpants, white socks, old t-shirt and day’s old stubble had made him seem like the slob that he probably was, then Levi might have called him an inconsiderate piece of shit like he’d planned instead of making a fool of himself.
“Ah…” The man even said before he could speak, staring down at Levi with an expression of obvious confusion that had his cheeks suddenly burning in absolute embarrassment. “Can I help you?”
Yeah. Levi still couldn’t stop himself from thinking, though. You can help me by fitting those pretty lips around my—
No. No. Fuck, goddammit, what was his problem? So what if his neighbor was ridiculously hot? So what if he looked like he could throw Levi over his shoulder like a lumberjack and make all of his fantasies come true? It didn’t matter, because he’d pissed him off. He’d been an asshole with his television and had been keeping Levi up all night for weeks, and he was supposed to be mad. He was supposed to be yelling at this guy instead of imagining what he looked like naked — god, his sweatpants were so low on his hips and his shirt was so fucking tight, ill-fitting enough to ride up over his belly so that Levi was able to glimpse a sliver of bare skin covered with soft looking, fuzzy blonde hairs — and he cursed at himself, now, adopting a scowl because he couldn’t afford to get distracted over something so inexcusable and stupid.
“Yeah.” He finally spoke up then, clenching his jaw and tightening his crossed arms, willing himself to look angry and even raising his voice a bit as he continued. “Yeah. Your fucking TV — it’s too goddamn loud! It’s 1:30 in the morning, and I’m trying to sleep. Maybe you don’t have a job to go to so you can sit around in sweatpants and shit all night, but I do. In four fucking hours. I—
“Oh, god. I’m sorry. I had no idea.” The man said then, interrupting Levi and raising a pair of thick brows, appearing to be a little alarmed by what he’d done like he rightfully should be — at least until he yawned a second later and rubbed at his eye, anyway, which was...ugh, admittedly cute, but which also served to just make Levi feel that much more pissed off.
Was this fucker...was he mocking him?
“You...you had no idea? What the fuck do you mean you had no idea?!” He asked, uncrossing his arms so that he could hold out his hands incredulously.
“I mean, I didn’t realize it was that loud. I’d fallen asleep on the couch. I’m so sorry.”
“What? You were asleep?! How the hell can you sleep through that shit when I can hear every word of it? I’m not even in there, and I’ve been hearing it all since you moved in! Your stupid war documentaries, and the crime shows. These floors are thin as fuck, and it comes up through the vents. I live above you, and—
“You live above me?” The man interrupted again, asking Levi a question that — like before when he’d answered the door — threw him off and caused the tirade he’d managed to get started on to immediately die on his tongue.
Irritated, Levi made a face at the seemingly inane disruption, watching as his neighbor, contrary to him, seemingly brightened with interest at this new tidbit of information and suddenly stood up straighter. He ran a hand over his hair, Levi saw, and cleared his throat, and although it was admittedly a curious reaction, why the fuck did that matter? Had he not realized he’d lived in the same building somehow, or something? Did he not care about anything else he’d said before, about his damned TV?
“Yes.” Levi responded in what he hoped was a clipped tone, narrowing his eyes and trying not to stare at the guy’s big hands. They were both fucking huge, he thought, while his fingers looked long and capable, thick enough, Levi thought, to cause him to have to suppress a shiver — especially when he realized that they could probably wrap almost all the way around his waist if he squeezed hard enough. “As it turns out, you’re not the only person in this building, asshole.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Terribly, terribly sorry. I really am. I wish you’d told me sooner, in fact, so that it wasn’t bothering you this entire time.”
“Yeah, well, I complained to the front office, but I guess that shit didn’t get passed along to you, did it?”
“No. No, it didn’t.”
“I stomped on my floor, too, so that you’d get the point. Did you not hear that either?”
“No. I’m sorry. I haven’t heard a peep from you, but I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The man said, having begun to look more and more sheepish as the conversation wore on.
Clearly, Levi could tell, he did feel bad, and because of that, and also because he had apologized multiple times and assured him that it would now stop, he was kind of finding it hard to keep up his blustering and stay angry — or at least, he thought, he was finding it hard to hang onto any excuse he might have to do so, as his neighbor had been nothing but cooperative and responsible in the face of his accusations. As such, Levi was starting to feel a bit awkward because he had come down there expecting to fight with an old man but gotten a beautiful, understanding hunk instead, and was unsure of what to say next, really, when this had turned out to have been far, far less painful than he’d thought.
“Yeah.” He ended up saying, after he’d shifted back and forth from one foot to the other a few times, looking his neighbor up and down with his brows drawn in tight before he spoke in a forced, half-assed attempt at an antagonistic tone. “Yeah, good. Don’t let it, or whatever. Like you said, okay? I hate Law & Order.”
God dammit, Levi thought, nearly cringing because he was certainly aware of how lame he’d just sounded. Now he was just embarrassing himself, again, after he’d already done so before when he’d stared at his neighbor like a fish after he’d opened the door, but why the fuck did he care? He didn’t, he shouldn’t, because this was the guy that had kept him up all night for nearly 14 days in a fucking row and caused him to feel far more tired, grumpy, and slow than he might have normally, and it was bullshit. It was annoying. It had affected his sleep — a fact that was even worse now that he knew the bastard had actually been snoozing himself, somehow, and fallen asleep with the TV on while Levi suffered — and even if he’d received an apology, his neighbor had still been a jerk for not even considering that he’d been bothering anyone to begin with, which was an opinion that Levi was not going to waver on just because he was also so drop dead sexy that it hurt. Right?
Unfortunately, as determined as he was not to do just that, Levi’s resolve all but flew out the window when the man he was supposed to be irate at suddenly blinked and then smiled at him.
“Alright.” He said too, nodding at Levi reassuringly while he struggled not to splutter at how much his heart abruptly fluttered, at how fucking gorgeous and kind and warm his neighbor looked with such a soft, understanding, and friendly expression adorning his perfect face. “I won’t. I promise.”
Fuck, Levi thought, for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Fuck. His insides were melting, he could feel himself blushing, he was suddenly unsure if he could remember his own name. What the hell? How could a single smile do that to him? He didn’t know, but it was too late for this. He was tired, and he didn’t know what to say, as he was rapidly becoming more pissed at himself than he was his neighbor because of how he was affecting him. Also, he felt even more awkward now since his eyes had widened on their own and he knew his face was red, and because of that, in response, Levi did the only thing that he could think of to get the hell out of this situation: he fled, but not before he scoffed and made a face first, turning sharply on his heel after so that he could make a beeline back down the hallway almost as quickly as he had come before.
Clenching his jaw, he stalked towards the stairs and told himself not to look back, but he did anyway, right as he reached the end of the hall so that he was as far away from the other man as possible. Still, he saw him standing there right where he had left him outside his door, and noticed how he was looking in Levi’s direction and watching him with a curious expression on his face. He appeared calm, Levi thought, and not at all offended by his rudeness — which was fucking warranted, Levi told himself, it was — instead staring at him with something that seemed like obvious interest.
Ugh. Whatever. If this had been any other type of situation, Levi knew, he might have found this development to be a bit exciting. Hell, if they’d been in a bar he was pretty sure that it would have been all the excuse that he’d needed to hit on the guy, but he wasn’t and this was not the time for that anyway, as all Levi really wanted right then was to go to bed so that he could get some sleep and forget that the past two weeks had ever happened in the first place.
Thankfully, after he reached his apartment again he was able to do just that, almost immediately zonking out as soon as his head had hit the pillow — but not before he allowed himself a single moment, first, to savor the peaceful, uninterrupted, beautiful silence. It was such a relief, he thought, to not hear the goddamn television blaring from downstairs, that he forgot about everything else after a few moments, eventually ending up being able to let go of his anger, his frustration, and his embarrassment in favor of just sinking into the calm, pleasant embrace of sleep.
Unfortunately, though, it did not last long, as it seemed that he had only been out for just a few minutes before his alarm started blaring and he had to get up.
Feeling irate and miserable almost all over again, Levi groaned when it woke him up and fumbled for his phone to turn it off, disturbing Fluffy who had apparently curled up next to him sometime during the early hours of the morning. Roused, and knowing, surely, that it was close to feeding time, she jumped off his bed and left Levi with burning eyes and dark thoughts, dread at having to leave his warm, comfortable, soft bed far too soon making him again curse his stupid fucking neighbor for all the trouble he’d caused him.
“Bastard.” Levi mumbled, ignoring the weird fluttery sensation he felt in his stomach when he remembered the man’s smile.
It really had been a beautiful one, he thought, but so what? Why was he still thinking about it? He didn’t want to be, especially since, after he forced himself to get out of bed, showered and changed, and then dragged his exhausted ass to work, he began to become more and more irritated at himself because he felt like he’d gotten charmed, or something. Sure, he had managed, sort of, to let him have it a little bit like he’d intended when he’d first decided to go down there, but he hoped the guy — blondie, as Levi had started to think of him — didn’t believe Levi was going to let him off the hook that easily. He hoped too, he thought, that his neighbor had been sincere in his apologies instead of just saying it all to placate Levi only so that he could continue with his loud television watching habits, because he swore that if he heard that shit again...well, he was just going to call the fucking cops to make a noise complaint.
Maybe he should have done that to begin with, he groused to himself later in the day, because if he had, then they would have handled it and he wouldn’t be stuck there thinking about this shit over and over again, about the fact that there was a perfect male specimen living right below his floor who he really didn’t think he’d mind having on top of him. Was that why he continued to be agitated by this, even after two more days had passed and Levi had not heard a peep out of him? Was it because — in addition to being attracted to him physically — he now knew that the guy probably had been genuine when he’d apologized, suspected that he was a decent man, and undoubtedly felt interested in him?
Despite the fact that Levi told himself no, he knew deep down that the answer was actually yes. The only problem, though, was that he did not think there was anything he could do about it because he’d cursed him out. He’d been pretty fucking rude, he thought, even after he’d learned the guy hadn’t known he’d been loud because he’d been asleep — something that Levi still thought was fucking ridiculous, but whatever. He’d just been so hot. What did he have to do to forget about him? Why couldn’t he stop wondering how big his goddamn dick was? Fortunately, before Levi grew too desperate to actually do so, something happened to show that he, apparently, had somehow managed to leave a different type of impression other than small, angry, and foul-mouthed on blondie as well.
“Hello.” He said to Levi, after he’d heard a soft knock knock knock on his apartment door on the first Friday evening since the incident.
He’d been standing in his kitchen when he’d realized someone was outside, feeling refreshed after several nights of good sleep and preparing to make himself something delicious for dinner. It’d been a while since he’d cooked, he thought, really cooked, and he was looking forward to it, so much so that he barely gave a thought to who could be at his door even as he went to go answer it. It wasn’t until he undid the locks and opened it that he wondered who the hell was going to be on the other side and what they might want — something that he instantly regretted, as he found himself frozen in place and staring with wide eyes all over again as soon as he laid eyes on his neighbor.
“Uh.” Levi blurted after the guy immediately greeted him, so surprised to see him there that he felt his heart do something funny in his fucking chest.
Or...well, maybe that was for another reason, he thought in the back of his mind, because if he’d considered this man handsome before then he was even more so now — more perfect, anyway, as he was dressed in suit pants and a nice, baby blue colored button down instead of pajamas. The shirt matched his eyes, Levi noticed right away, and made him appear dapper along with his neatly combed hair and smoothly shaved face, and because the bastard just looked like he fucking smelled good, Levi could not help but lick his lips as he took him in.
Wondering what he would have to do to be able to shove his face against that gorgeous, thick neck and inhale, he cleared his throat too, somehow managing to stave off the inner panic that he probably should have been feeling over what the hell the other man was doing there in the first place. Instead, he just swallowed and glanced away for a moment, trying to will his heart to stop pounding and his cheeks from flushing too deeply so he wouldn’t end up embarrassed again, understanding right away, too, that this was probably the only chance he would get to show this guy that he wasn’t actually the antagonistic asshole he’d probably seemed like before.
“Uh...hey.” Levi said with that in mind, trying to act casual and friendly as he opened the door wider and let his hands fall away from the handle and the frame — right before he immediately felt awkward just standing there like that with both of them at his sides, hurriedly crossing his arms as a result and then wincing, too, out of concern that he was now unintentionally coming across as guarded or fucking hostile. “What’s up?”
Shit. He thought too. Shit, shit, shit. How did he look? Was his hair messed up? Probably because he’d been lying on the couch earlier, but the rest of him couldn’t be anywhere as bad as it had been a few nights ago, right? He had changed into jeans and a t-shirt after work but he hoped so, and luckily, however nervous he felt all of a sudden the man seemed to be just as oblivious to it, only ending up giving Levi that same smile again instead of anything else, the one that he’d been thinking about for days and that made him feel as if he’d just tripped and fallen headfirst down a long flight of stairs.
“Sorry to bother you.” He started too, his eyes noticeably brightening a bit when Levi immediately shook his head to try and indicate that he wasn’t. “I’m here because...well, I wanted to apologize again. You know, for the TV?”
“Yeah. I remember. Law & Order.” Levi said dryly and with a snort, somehow managing to convey that he was teasing, though, because the man let out a small, throaty chuckle in response that might as well have been the equivalent to sweet, warm honey dripping down into Levi’s ears.
“Yes. Law & Order.” He agreed, again look sheepish and like a guilty puppy. “I’m sorry for that. You were right; I was an inconsiderate neighbor. I brought you this, in the hopes that it might help make up for it.”
Raising his eyebrows, Levi noticed for the first time that the man was carrying something in his right hand. It was a bottle of wine, he soon saw, realizing that it was quite an expensive type of red too once his neighbor held it out and Levi was able to wrap his fingers around the neck.
“Shit.” He muttered, momentarily feeling at a loss for what to say. This, he knew, was incredibly thoughtful, and far more endearing to Levi than it had any right to actually be, showing to him — although he’d already felt certain — that his neighbor was sincere and that it really had just been some kind of stupid, unintentional mistake. That being said, though, this was a lot, and Levi couldn’t help but feel a bit bad that he thought he had to do something like this just because he had kept him up all night with his TV. “Thanks. This is really nice, but...uh, its ok. I mean, you didn’t have to—
“Don’t worry. Just take it; it’s the least I can do after bothering you for the last two weeks.” The man interrupted, shaking his head when Levi held up the bottle as if to hand it back.
Biting his lip, Levi glanced from it to the man’s kind eyes and back again, pausing for a moment to consider his words before he finally nodded his agreement to accept the gift. Clearly, he thought, even though he wasn't sure he deserved it, his neighbor wanted him to, and although by then he was really, really starting to feel bad about yelling at him, Levi also now could not help the way his stomach flipped in excitement over the fact that his neighbor had gone out, shopped for this, and bought it with the idea to give it to him that night.
“Thanks.” He said again, moving to cradle the wine bottle in one arm while the man gave him another hopeful smile.
“Of course. It’s the least I can do, as I said. I’ve been thinking about it, and I regret that we got off on the wrong foot.” He responded, pausing for a moment to look Levi over again as he raised his eyebrows. “I was...hoping that we could start over. May I introduce myself? My name is Erwin.”
“Erwin.” Levi repeated immediately, feeling a very real sense of warmth expanding in his chest at having finally learned his neighbor’s actual name.
He’d been wondering about it, honestly, the past few days, and as such, he did not hesitate to take Erwin’s hand after he held it out politely for Levi to shake.
“Yes. Erwin Smith.”
“I’m Levi. Levi Ackerman.”
“It’s good to meet you, Levi. Or at least, in a normal way this time.”
“Yeah.” Levi said to that, snorting in amusement as he, by then, felt a lot more relaxed around Erwin than he had when he’d first answered the door.
Knowing that he didn’t hate him — and sensing that this exchange meant they would be putting this entire incident behind them — had helped him to feel less awkward, and instead of worrying about how he was coming across, Levi could instead just focus on how cute and nice Erwin was without any of the concern that had come with that before. He sure had some balls coming up there though, Levi thought too, but oddly enough, he liked that, and he liked that he was very clearly willing to admit that he’d done something wrong without a fuss. That being said, perhaps he too should apologize for cursing Erwin out when he had not done anything on purpose, deciding that it would probably be a good idea in the hopes that they could truly get past this shit and start over like Erwin had said.
“Well, I’ll leave you now. I’m sure you’re busy, and that you don’t want me in your hair any more than I already have been. Have a good night.” Erwin said before Levi could though, nodding politely as if to say goodbye and giving him a quick wave as he turned and began to walk down the hallway.
Again, Levi was left standing there with his mouth open, feeling taken aback because he had not thought that Erwin might leave so suddenly. What was he doing, though? Why wasn’t he saying anything? This was his chance, he’d already realized — because clearly Erwin did not despise him and he apparently felt interested enough in Levi to buy him a bottle of expensive wine so that he wouldn’t hate him — to do something about the stupid, burgeoning crush that he so obviously felt, so why was he just standing there? Why couldn’t he—
“Hey, Erwin. Wait.” Levi blurted then, stepping outside the door a little bit and raising his voice to make sure that Erwin would hear him. Thankfully, Levi saw, he did, because he stopped and turned around, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion but again fixing Levi with that curious, bright-eyed expression that he’d given him a few nights before. “Uh...I’m sorry I called you an asshole the other day. I was just about to make dinner, and this wine would probably go pretty fucking good with it. Do you...want to come in? We can share it.”
For a single split second, Levi felt frozen with a deep-seated fear that Erwin was going to say no. His heart pounded in his chest and his throat immediately went dry, but then, amazingly enough, Erwin — who appeared taken aback that Levi had asked if his widened eyes and surprised, parted lips said anything — gave Levi an even bigger, softer, and more beautiful smile than the one he had before, clearly showcasing his delight at what he’d proposed before he nodded and stepped forward, murmuring a quiet, resounding yes, too, that suddenly had Levi nearly vibrating with happy excitement.
“I’d love to.” Erwin said as well, his entire response causing Levi’s cheeks to heat up in addition to everything else.
Feeling warm all over, in fact, and as if he was floating, he was unable to stop from giving Erwin a very tiny smile too — one that caused his to only grow wider as Levi stepped aside to let him in. After he walked past, and after Levi had shut the door behind them both, he led Erwin into the kitchen and opened the wine, and eventually, by the end of the night, decided that perhaps he did not hate Law & Order so fucking much after all.