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“The offer still stands.”
Erwin speaks casually, bringing up the offer for the third time since lunch. He leans heavily against the bedpost of Levi’s bunk and the wood creaks slightly against his weight while he waits for Levi's response. Levi only glares up at him before flicking his gaze back to the rest of the dorm hall irritably. Not only are the other soldiers not willing to share their bed space, but they also leave as much space between themselves and Levi as physically possible. Obnoxiously so, even.
The other soldiers will share their beds. Levi will be alone.
Tempting though it may be, Levi isn’t exactly keen on sharing with Erwin, in spite of the sudden cold snap that finally moved in early that afternoon. Erwin has graciously offered a space for Levi, but it seems too much. Far too much for Levi to accept. The officers are fortunate enough to have hearths in their rooms so there is no reason Erwin needs to extend this offer for himself. Levi is tired of debts he can never repay.
"Well," Erwin breathes, running a hand through his hair, "If you change your mind..."
Levi turns away without saying anything further and ignores Erwin's heavy sigh as he turns to leave. He's given him his answer twice already, so Levi regards Erwin coldly out of the corner of his eye while he prepares his bedclothes. He continues to watch out of his peripheral as another soldier catches Erwin before he leaves, saying something to him in a low voice. Their eyes flick to Levi, only briefly meeting his gaze from where he remains rooted at his bunk. Levi watches the exchange with feigned disinterest.
The whispered words are surely a warning for Erwin that Levi is still not to be trusted. Levi understands.
He retreats to his bunk, pretending he doesn't see the exchange.
When he crawls into bed, Erwin long gone, Levi realizes the extra blankets from the vacant bunks around him have been removed. He sleeps alone and in a cold bed without any comfort. He almost smiles to himself, thinking just how much they all must want him dead. He buries himself in his meager warmth once lights go out.
Levi actually makes it about four hours into the night before he is wide awake and shivering uncontrollably. He absolutely does not want to make the trek down to Erwin's quarters after turning him down three separate times through the course of the day. But the thought is still so tempting. So thoroughly tempting. He thinks about the warmer room with a fireplace and the heavier blankets, far plusher than the generic sheets issued to the newer recruits. He then unwittingly thinks of Erwin's warmer body pressed against his own.
He is reminded again why this is such a bad idea.
So Levi waits, freezing, in his bunk for another half hour. He's shivering so violently that his muscles start to ache and he knows he will be of no use for training come morning if he lets this go on any longer. He hauls himself out of the bunk with a quiet curse, bed creaking so loudly in the quiet cold that he stops momentarily to be sure he hasn't woken anyone. Surely, it will not reflect well upon him if he is caught sneaking around the barracks after hours.
When no one stirs, he gathers his uniform in his arms and slips out of the room. He pads down the dark hallway and the cold seeps through the floorboards to his bare feet as he goes. He continually reminds himself why this is still a poor idea the whole way as he wanders down the officers' hall. He pauses at Erwin's door before walking in, hand on the door. He doesn't want to be a charity case. He doesn't want the other soldiers to have more reason to resent him. He doesn't want to admit he's weak. He considers turning around when a gust of chilled wind rattles the walls.
He opens the door and steps in without knocking. As expected, Erwin's quarters are noticeably warmer than the common hall at the far end of the barracks. Erwin is also snoring loudly, a heavier sleeper in his own bed than on missions, it seems. Levi pushes the door shut more loudly than when he opened it and clears his throat.
Erwin rouses lazily and gives a half-hearted, tired mumble, "Took you long enough."
Levi grimaces, "Shut the hell up."
"Nice to see you too, Levi," Erwin responds, still sounding half asleep with his voice slurred. "Lock the door before you get in bed."
Levi frowns to himself as he re-folds his uniform in an empty corner of the room, wondering who exactly Erwin thinks is going to come barging in on them. Or why it should even matter. By the time his things are meticulously situated and the door needlessly locked, Erwin is snoring again. Levi is disappointed to find, in the moonlit room, that Erwin has taken residence on the left side of the bed and the right side backed against the wall.
Levi quietly curses again as he climbs awkwardly over Erwin's limbs and settles into his allotted space on the bed.
It is, at least, warm. Comfortable in an uncomfortable way.
They both survive the night.
Levi returns the following evening with no resistance. Erwin doesn't comment.
He and Erwin fall into a natural rhythm quickly enough. The cold doesn't let up and Levi ultimately takes up permanent residence in Erwin's quarters. It's not a difficult transition since Levi doesn't own much, nor does he take up much space. They mostly ignore each other, going about their day-to-day duties.
And Levi absolutely does not cuddle.
They're both up before daybreak. Levi showers while Erwin brushes his teeth and Levi cleans the bathroom while Erwin prepares his squad's schedule. They stay out of each others way and would barely be aware of the other's presence...
If they were actually unaware.
Levi, at least, seems to become constantly aware of Erwin's presence. At all times. Erwin smells... acceptable. He bathes almost nightly - which is far more than can be said of most soldiers - though Levi occasionally wonders if this is an intentional precaution to their current arrangement. Thoughtful, maybe, if it is. Then the sound of Erwin's soft snores become lulling. Levi starts to smell Erwin on his clothes. Eventually, he smells him on his skin and Levi tries not to think about that too hard.
Levi still insists he does not cuddle.
Yet Erwin always manages to take up more than his fair half of the bed and their bodies wind up in some fashion of contact more often than not.
After the first week, Levi stops shoving him off.
It turns out to be a mistake, two weeks in. Levi wakes up that night, only a few hours after falling asleep. He is met with darkness, flat on his back and eyes unfocused toward the ceiling. It takes him a moment to get his bearings right, sucking in air shallow and deep, with his heart pounding against his ribs. His mind is fuzzy and confused but he knows what he was dreaming about. He knows exactly why he is out of breath, hot, and painfully aroused. He and Erwin somehow became intertwined in the night, legs tangled, Erwin's knee hooked around Levi's calf, arm draped heavy across Levi's chest, and Levi's hip pressed against Erwin's crotch.
The worst thing is how Erwin's face has somehow become buried between the pillow and the back of Levi's ear. His breathing - slow and still dead asleep - comes in long puffs of heated air against Levi's neck, tickling the hairs at the base of his head. Levi could feel that in his sleep, remembers it in his dream, amid the other hazy visions of fingertips brushing across his skin.
Levi has to move.
He miraculously pries himself out of the bed without waking Erwin, who simply rolls over back to Levi. He wishes he could just lie back down now that Erwin is facing a safe direction, but the throbbing in his groin begs his undivided attention. He surreptitiously removes himself from the bed and sneaks into Erwin’s bathroom, feeling ridiculous and like an ashamed teenager waking from his first wet dream.
It’s dark and as unromantic as jacking off in the bathroom of your superior officer can possibly be, but it’s never felt quite so necessary. Levi doesn’t even remember the last time he touched himself as his thoughts swirl with leftover fragments of his overheated dream dance around in his head. He feels disgusting, biting his lip and coming in Erwin’s sink.
He will have to clean that before Erwin wakes.
The next few nights go more smoothly, despite the commentary from the other soldiers. Winter has fully set in and snow and ice make training outdoors less and less practical. The solders are indoors most of the time, all anxious and bored all unadjusted to such a life. There is more than the fair share of disparaging comments thrown around behind Levi’s back.
Word has gotten out about his shacking up with Erwin, and though everyone seems to agree if Levi were to kill Erwin he’d likely have already done it, the others seem to pick up on other issues. There are plenty of curious whispers about Levi’s sexuality – he never did want to join the other recruits for trips to the brothel in town, did he? – and now he’s pegged as Erwin’s personal pet. Levi has been told (by Erwin) not to start any fights with his fellow soldiers, but Levi doesn’t always understand how Erwin can be so passive about the whole thing.
But Erwin doesn’t really get it, Levi decides. Only Levi remembers waking up hot and aroused, feeling oddly settled into his particular spot on the right side of Erwin’s bed. Levi tries to keep things safe without giving too much away. They sleep back to back. It works. Until Levi wakes up to find them tangled together again. Erwin's bare chest is flush against his back and legs strewn amid his ankles, and an arm securely planted below Levi’s head.
His erection is unmistakable, digging into Levi’s backside.
It's alarming. Troublesome. Distracting.
Levi throws his elbow back and nudges Erwin hard, "Are you going to do something about that?"
When he says it, Levi expects a very specific response. He assumes Erwin will leave the bed and seclude himself in the bathroom. He assumes that Erwin will maybe even be reasonably embarrassed and ashamed at such a callous albeit unintentional display. This is how any sane person would respond, Levi is fairly certain.
Erwin, instead, removes the arm from Levi's torso and reaches between their bodies. His knuckles brush innocently along the small of Levi's back, sending chills up his spine and heat toward his belly. Erwin begins to stroke himself against the back of Levi's thigh. He buries his nose in Levi's hair and mumbles something about how good Levi smells, like this is some sort of justification regarding his current actions when it, in fact, rationalizes nothing.
Levi shifts awkwardly, wondering if he is supposed to say something. Or do something. His own groin tightens amid the languid thrusts Erwin makes into his hand. His blood rushes through his veins and his heart pounds. It's beyond warm, so hot now, curled easily in the curve of Erwin's torso.
Caught up and unsure of what else to do, Levi experimentally rolls his hips backward. Just to see. He angles downward against Erwin's upward thrust, the head of his cock inches in the crease of Levi's ass. He feels his breath hitch in his throat as he fights the urge to start touching himself, his own erection now straining against the fabric of his pants. He grips the sheets in front of him instead.
The sound of their course and heavy breathing fills the room, cold air emanating from the frost-covered window above their heads. It is growing light out, though still cloudy and cold, and Levi relishes in the heat building inside and around him. He feels Erwin maneuvering himself free of the waistband of his pants to press his cock fully against Levi, only the fabric of Levi’s clothing separating the touch of skin to skin.
Levi lets out a strangled breath, holding back a moan and grips the sheets harder. He twists his face so his lips are pressed to Erwin’s arm, still propping up his head. Giving in to the sound of Erwin’s deep sighs Levi reaches his hand under the waistband of his pants and wraps his fingers around his length. His mind immediately flashes to going through the same motions by himself, in Erwin’s bathroom, only a couple nights earlier.
This is incomparably better.
Levi’s arousal grows tenfold and he slides his thumb over the tip of his cock, spreading pre-cum down his length. He pushes his hand further down and massages his balls and places an open-mouthed kiss to the dip of Erwin’s inner elbow. He realizes with an odd pang that Erwin’s scent has grown comforting and welcoming and Levi is enveloped it in.
Erwin pushes one of his legs between Levi’s, garnishing more friction and Levi rolls his hips more desperately back against him. Erwin bends the arm under Levi’s head to pull Levi closer against him, the warmth of his body trapped in the confines of the blankets that Erwin pulls over their heads to block out the increasing light from outside.
Levi is writhing against the confines, legs tightening around Erwin’s and his hand more aggressively running up and down his length. Erwin presses himself against Levi, letting loose the hand he’d been using on himself to hold Levi’s hips in place as he ruts against him. The contact is lost for a brief moment when Erwin raises himself up and bends down to run his mouth along the shell of Levi’s ear. In return, Levi moans, the air in their confined space no longer enough, and he twists himself around. He needs more contact, more heat, more something.
Levi tries to flip himself over but Erwin is suddenly on top of him, straddling his legs. He doesn’t struggle because he now has a good glance at Erwin’s hard cock, glistening with pre-cum even in the dim light. Levi grabs a fistful of Erwin’s hair and pulls him down, mouth hovering over his own. They stay like that for a solid second before their mouths collide. Levi’s lips tingle and his body is alight. He takes control, pushing his tongue into Erwin’s mouth, exploring his taste – just as intoxicating as his scent.
When the kiss finally breaks, Erwin brings his lips, along with his tongue, down, down, down Levi’s jawline and then over the skin of his neck. Levi rolls his hips upward, desperately. He pushes the waistband of his pants down around his hips and starts to pump himself again, renewed desire heating up by the heat radiating down from Erwin still poised above him and sucking on his neck, his collarbone, his chest.
“Slow down, Levi.” Erwin says against his skin. Levi almost fumes. It’s condescending, he knows it’s condescending, but holy hell if that voice isn’t about to send him spiraling over the edge of some unknown precipice.
Levi heads and slows the movement of his hand but his hips still buck helplessly below where Erwin straddles him. He sets his jaw firmly, he’s panting, and Erwin is just watching him. It is no longer morning. It is no longer another day, trying not to die. It is just this one moment. It is thrilling. Exhilarating. Levi has never wanted someone as badly as he does in this minute of his life.
Erwin has one hand by Levi’s head, balancing himself on his knees above Levi’s shaking body. He starts touching himself again, slow and steady, matching Levi’s pace and making his mind feel hazy. Levi runs his free hand down Erwin’s side, along his ribs and down his abdomen, the sweat on his skin gleaming and wet under his fingertips.
Levi’s wandering hand lands on Erwin’s upper thigh and his fingers dig into the bare skin above his boxers still bunched at his hips. He moves his other hand faster along his length, fingers squeezing tighter, and breath coming quicker. Erwin follows his lead. They watch each other, mindless of their movements, both panting and gasping. Levi feels himself growing close, his breaths shallow and labored and he thrusts shamelessly into his own palm. His eyes flutter shut.
“Yeah… yeah,” Levi moans, unaware he’s speaking. His toes curl and he drops the hand on Erwin’s hip to dig into the sheets. Erwin kisses him again and it’s almost more than he can take between the searing feel of those lips upon him and the friction of his hand. There is something more. Something heavy but fleeting. It is the fire in-between.
Erwin comes first, releasing warm and wet across Levi’s stomach and chest along with a muffled groan. It drives Levi finally over that edge and into whatever abyss waits on the other side. He comes violently, a shuddering mess, but too numb too care how ridiculous he must look and sound.
They stay like that, catching their breath in silence. Levi is afraid that when he opens his eyes, things will be awkward and uncomfortable. He's vaguely aware of the increasingly alarming sticky mess spread across his abdomen as well.
What the hell were they thinking?
But Erwin rolls off him first, lying down on his back beside Levi. “Better?” he asks, breaking the silence.
Levi almost rolls his eyes. “Yeah,” he concedes, “Better.”
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