[That feels to be the end of that particular conversation, so he lets it end there and continues with the meal. Once they've both finished, he gathers the plates to clean them. Erwin had made the meal, so he doesn't mind cleaning.
Some time later, after the kitchen has been made virtually spotless once more, Levi disappears into his room and returns with a book. There's a page marked in it with a bit of paper. He sets it on a table before moving to put on water for tea.]
[ Erwin thanks him as Levi takes his plate away to wash it, remaining seated as his captain bustles about the kitchen. He doesn't doubt that Levi can feel the weight of his gaze on his back, but he simply continues cleaning, likely more than used to being watched by Erwin after years of the same treatment.
He disappears briefly, wordlessly, but before Erwin can get up to move to the other room, he returns with a book in hand. His interest is piqued even before Levi speaks. ]
[Erwin watching him carry out various tasks is nothing new. He used to watch him train, seemingly for hours, after he first arrived. It'd given him the creeps at first, but now he's more than accustomed to the long gazes. Sometimes he doesn't even think Erwin is truly looking at him, but rather some far off future, or something else entirely.]
Something someone told me a few days ago. Thought you might like it.
[Especially after learning - rather awkwardly - that Erwin had a fondness for poetry, he'd been determined to track down the poem that Edward had told them that first day they met...and subsequently managed to get Levi into his bed.
The kettle whistles, and he prepares two cups of tea, bringing each over to the coffee table before settling on the couch.]
[ Their exchange that evening had been by far their most awkward in the city yet, and that is saying something. They haven't spoken about it directly. Erwin had intended to that night, but they hadn't actually ended up seeing one another again--and when they had, late the next day, neither had brought it up. It seems too late to do so now, especially when things are finally more at ease, and Erwin feels comfortably in synch with Levi again.
But this is an oddity, to be sure. Levi has something he wants to read to him? So he'd been thinking of him enough over the last few days that he had heard something and thought of him, and then wanted to share it with him--not because it was some vital piece of information or important to their cause, but purely because he thought he would enjoy it. That stirs something warm in him, to combat the cold he'd felt descend over him those few nights ago, when he'd reproached himself so completely for daring to assume things about his and Levi's relationship. Perhaps it isn't incorrect after all to view Levi as a close friend as well as a subordinate, as he has done for years now. Erwin's face registers the pleasant surprise he feels, and he rises immediately at the suggestion to join Levi on the sofa. ]
Of course.
[ The smell wafting from the cooling tea is nice. They're nearly shoulder-to-shoulder when he settles down, knees pressed together and body angled toward him. ]
Please.
[ He indicates the book with a sweep of his right hand, but his gaze remains fixed on Levi's face. ]
[Really, Erwin, he thinks about you all the time. Erwin has been the closest person Levi's had for a long time, the only person he's ever trusted as deeply as he does. He'd follow him no matter what, and not even Ariel can change that. Here, it's sometimes a struggle to focus on anything else, and it's not even just unbidden thoughts of sex.
The trouble, really, is that Ariel pushes other, more dangerous thoughts to the surface and makes it even more difficult to push them back down. It's so much easier to have other life and death things to worry about in their own world, but here the distraction isn't so pronounced. Erwin is right there, all the time, in closer quarters than they've ever shared.
It takes an immense amount of concentration to not focus on the parts of their bodies that touch as he opens the book to the designated page and reads the poem.
When he finishes, he lets it linger in the air a moment, then closes the book.]
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no subject
My thoughts exactly. All we can do is persist, for now.
[ He lets the conversation rest there in favor of continuing to eat, thinking as he does. ]
no subject
Some time later, after the kitchen has been made virtually spotless once more, Levi disappears into his room and returns with a book. There's a page marked in it with a bit of paper. He sets it on a table before moving to put on water for tea.]
There's something I'd like to show you.
no subject
He disappears briefly, wordlessly, but before Erwin can get up to move to the other room, he returns with a book in hand. His interest is piqued even before Levi speaks. ]
What might that be?
no subject
Something someone told me a few days ago. Thought you might like it.
[Especially after learning - rather awkwardly - that Erwin had a fondness for poetry, he'd been determined to track down the poem that Edward had told them that first day they met...and subsequently managed to get Levi into his bed.
The kettle whistles, and he prepares two cups of tea, bringing each over to the coffee table before settling on the couch.]
Come over here so I can read it to you.
no subject
But this is an oddity, to be sure. Levi has something he wants to read to him? So he'd been thinking of him enough over the last few days that he had heard something and thought of him, and then wanted to share it with him--not because it was some vital piece of information or important to their cause, but purely because he thought he would enjoy it. That stirs something warm in him, to combat the cold he'd felt descend over him those few nights ago, when he'd reproached himself so completely for daring to assume things about his and Levi's relationship. Perhaps it isn't incorrect after all to view Levi as a close friend as well as a subordinate, as he has done for years now. Erwin's face registers the pleasant surprise he feels, and he rises immediately at the suggestion to join Levi on the sofa. ]
Of course.
[ The smell wafting from the cooling tea is nice. They're nearly shoulder-to-shoulder when he settles down, knees pressed together and body angled toward him. ]
Please.
[ He indicates the book with a sweep of his right hand, but his gaze remains fixed on Levi's face. ]
no subject
The trouble, really, is that Ariel pushes other, more dangerous thoughts to the surface and makes it even more difficult to push them back down. It's so much easier to have other life and death things to worry about in their own world, but here the distraction isn't so pronounced. Erwin is right there, all the time, in closer quarters than they've ever shared.
It takes an immense amount of concentration to not focus on the parts of their bodies that touch as he opens the book to the designated page and reads the poem.
When he finishes, he lets it linger in the air a moment, then closes the book.]
...reminded me a bit of home.