[ it sounds like a challenge, but as usual he's full of shit. in reality, there's no doubt in his mind that this is gonna be the best tea he's ever tasted. then again, it's pretty likely he'd think that even if he didn't just see a list of the ingredients. being from Erwin is enough.
there's an almost robotic way that he prepares the tea because he's done it so many fucking times, and he still catches himself trying to make just one cup pretty often. not this time, though. this time, he's even happier than usual to be handing Erwin a cup of tea.
he's probably never been happier on his birthday than this. ]
[ the thing about being here now, about having time together, about having this thing that's just for them, is erwin can just sit and watch levi do things. so he does. he doesn't plan anything, doesn't think about anything else, just watches levi make tea with a warm feeling in his chest.
levi remembering to make two cups of tea without course correcting in the middle is nice too, and he tilts his head while he watches him do this part, perfectly goddamn content. he can feel levi's emotional state too and that just works as a sort of feedback loop.
he takes his tea with a grateful hum even though he needs to let go of his hand to do it, but this is for his honor. it's important. ]
[ spoken like someone who doesn't compulsively deep-clean their cabin like every other day, or perhaps someone who has some exhaustive knowledge of his own. whatever.
anyway, once Erwin takes his cup he picks up his own, but for a second he just looks at it. after that, he sniffs it, and takes another second to appreciate the aroma. he likes the smell of tea anyway, but a tea custom-made for him? by Erwin? it's definitely a new candidate for Favorite Smell.
he finally takes a sip, and for a moment, nothing happens. he doesn't react to it in any way. it doesn't last too long, though—he doesn't want to make Erwin nervous that he doesn't like it.
quite the opposite, in fact. even though he doesn't say as much, the verdict should be fairly unambiguous when he instead sets the cup back down and walks right back up to Erwin, reaches up to draw his face down, and kisses him full on the mouth.
it's probably not how Erwin expected to have his first taste of the tea he created, but that's just too fucking bad. ]
[ mildly. where did he learn that vernacular? whatever, it sounds cute coming from him.
he does watch levi closely though as he does his various tea-testing actions, from looking to smelling to tasting, and he's juuuust about to get nervous when levi sets the cup down. he's briefly unsure what kind of sign that is but then levi is kissing him and he returns it fervently, setting his own cup down to put his hand at the side of his neck.
he can pick the cup back up later, because he can definitely taste the tea on levi's lips.
when the kiss ends it's actually pretty cute because he's flushed slightly pink from some kind of pleasure-embarrassment, looks like he was a little more nervous than he'd let on. ]
[ he can't help but smile a little at Erwin's flush—the fact that he can evoke such a reaction is still weird to him, but in a way it also makes him feel powerful.
humanity's strongest nothing, who cares about that? this is the real shit. ]
It's perfect.
[ he leans up to kiss him one more time, and then hands him his cup again. ]
I'll have to thank you properly later.
[ give his brain a second to catch up with what his mouth just said. when it does, suddenly he looks mortified—he can't just talk like that.
[ yeah, he's flushed. move on, dude. he hums into the second kiss, then noses against his temple as he takes the cup, then straightens to take his first actual sip.
audibly chokes when levi speaks again.
has to cough a couple times before he regains his composure but he's way more flushed now, genuinely so, just absolutely obliterated by the tiniest flirt because for as well as he knows levi, he was not expecting that in the least. ]
I. [ oh my god is he at a loss for words. ] I'd certainly welcome it, you know that.
[ oh god. oh god why did he just say that? he's trying to hide his face by going back to drinking his (perfect) tea, but he's probably even redder than Erwin is.
fuck. ]
I—
[ fuuuck. should he apologize? it's not like he didn't mean it. he just didn't mean to blurt it out like that.
...on the other hand, getting that reaction out of Erwin feels kind of awesome. maybe not the nearly-choking part, but his response?
[ that flush is not going away. it looks really cute on him actually, makes him look a little younger, a little less worn. not that levi cares that he looks a little worn.
he looks at levi a moment after he speaks again, still visibly flustered but not upset in literally any way.
he reaches out to gently take levi's teacup and set it down, then plants his hand on the counter to hem him in a little and lean in for another kiss. it's not demanding, but it is lingering, and he huffs a breath against his mouth. ]
[ it does look cute on him. Levi doesn't get to see it very often, but other people never get to see it at all, so he counts himself lucky.
in many, many ways.
but Erwin's not the only one looking flushed—he can't hide it as easily with his teacup taken away, and then Erwin kisses him so that just makes it worse. ("worse", like he isn't already having the best birthday he's ever had.)
of course, he's still more than happy to return the kiss, and when Erwin admits defeat he smiles, a little smug even though he didn't actually do it on purpose, lifting a hand to touch Erwin's (cute, flushed) face. ]
So all I have to do is say something vaguely suggestive and you're done for? Good to know.
[ again, said like any of this was intentional. he'll never be that cool. ]
[ even when they're not kissing erwin is just looking at levi lovingly, devoted, dedicated. levi's flush is cute too, it always is, and it always makes erwin smile.
he leans into the touch easily, eyes lidding, and just fucking keeps smiling at him.
levi looks good with that smug look, and erwin kisses him again to see if he manages to keep it on afterward.
he hums against his mouth before answering, trying to regain a bit of the suave thing he normally has going (at least when it comes to levi) and failing. ]
[ he certainly tries to keep that face on, just like Erwin does. and just like Erwin does, he fails. he won't say it, but it's pretty clear that the feeling is mutual.
and yet, even if Erwin is his main weakness, he's also the main source of his strength. weird.
he's still trying to pretend he's Cool, though, even if he's failing miserably. he slides his fingertips over to rest against Erwin's lips. ]
Well, don't worry. I would never try to exploit something like that.
[ they're both pretending to be so goddamn cool right now and they're both entire losers but that's just how it goes, isn't it?
erwin is still charmed past his own embarrassment though, and he does manage to brush a kiss across the tips of levi's fingers before he even tries to say anything. ]
[ the real question is, which one of them is less cool? highly debatable. fortunately, both of them think the other is amazing, so maybe it doesn't really matter.
in any case, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to stop doing whatever the hell he's doing. his free hand moves to join Erwin's on the counter. ]
[ he's probably never heard it before, but there's a saying about not writing a check with your mouth that your ass can't cash, and usually that's not an issue for him, but, well... ]
Wh—
[ he may have insufficient funds.
it's easy enough to tell, with the way he has to break eye contact and the complete lack of a comeback, and then it's his turn to be obliterated.
he'd opened his mouth to say something, but nothing really came out. he's too flustered. so much for winning anything. ]
[ oh, so erwin is back in the saddle. points to him. a big double thumbs up. (ha ha ha.) he huffs a sound though, ducking to kiss him again, just a little light thing with a hum against his mouth. ]
Sorry, sorry.
[ he doesn't sound sorry, but he does sound indescribably fond. ]
[ he punches Erwin very very lightly in the chest. it's not very convincing. it's even less convincing when he then uses that same hand to hold Erwin's head where it is at his level so he can kiss him again. ]
[ yeah. believe it or not, Feelings win every time, and it's not even close. ]
Really?
[ it's hard to say whether he's being unsubtle on purpose as a bit or if he just doesn't know what he's doing as usual, but either way, he very un-subtly starts fiddling with some of the buttons on Erwin's shirt. not undoing, just fiddling. ]
[ honestly, the win keeps flopping back and forth between the both of them, because once levi starts fiddling (not undoing, just fiddling) with his shirt buttons, he flushes a little again, once again sort of obliterated by something so simple.
he swallows, not in a bad way, just in a way that makes it clear he's veered into thinking about what 'whatever' can entail. please ruin him, he is weak. ]
[ Erwin's not the only one whose imagination is wandering in that general direction. Levi pauses his fiddling when Erwin reiterates; either he's spacing out or he's concentrating really hard. it's hard to tell with him sometimes.
then, suddenly he lets go, grabbing Erwin's teacup instead and handing it back to him. when Erwin takes it he takes a few steps back, never looking away, and takes his own cup.
he starts to drink it again. he doesn't chug it, but he's pretty clearly intent on downing the whole cup right there.
[ for a split-second erwin thinks he did something wrong, but levi's emotional state doesn't seem bad as far as he can feel, but then he's briefly staring at levi just drinking that tea down like nothing else.
while meeting his gaze.
and erwin can't help it: he flushes slightly again despite himself, before drinking his tea as well. it's a race, perhaps, to who will finish their tea first.
it happens to be erwin, actually, and he sets his cup aside and barely waits for levi to finish his before he's planting his hand lightly at his hip. ]
[ when Erwin finishes his tea first his brows furrow, almost like he's scowling for losing the race even though it's not a race and that was never the idea.
whatever.
anyway, once he does finish his he sets the cup back down and takes a moment just to appreciate how goddamn delicious it is and to acknowledge how fucking stupid it was to just pound it in one go like that instead of savoring it slowly. stupid, admittedly, but in this particular situation he doesn't think he'll regret it.
Erwin putting his hand on his hip like that makes him wonder if he knows what he's up to, even though he's trying really hard not to broadcast it. it's not terribly difficult because he doesn't actually know what exactly he's doing. honestly, he's not sure if he ever will.
he holds Erwin's hand where it is for a moment, and then takes it in his own and starts to lead him out of the kitchen, still without a word. ]
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[ it sounds like a challenge, but as usual he's full of shit. in reality, there's no doubt in his mind that this is gonna be the best tea he's ever tasted. then again, it's pretty likely he'd think that even if he didn't just see a list of the ingredients. being from Erwin is enough.
there's an almost robotic way that he prepares the tea because he's done it so many fucking times, and he still catches himself trying to make just one cup pretty often. not this time, though. this time, he's even happier than usual to be handing Erwin a cup of tea.
he's probably never been happier on his birthday than this. ]
Time to see if all the stalking paid off.
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levi remembering to make two cups of tea without course correcting in the middle is nice too, and he tilts his head while he watches him do this part, perfectly goddamn content. he can feel levi's emotional state too and that just works as a sort of feedback loop.
he takes his tea with a grateful hum even though he needs to let go of his hand to do it, but this is for his honor. it's important. ]
My exhaustive knowledge of you always pays off.
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[ spoken like someone who doesn't compulsively deep-clean their cabin like every other day, or perhaps someone who has some exhaustive knowledge of his own. whatever.
anyway, once Erwin takes his cup he picks up his own, but for a second he just looks at it. after that, he sniffs it, and takes another second to appreciate the aroma. he likes the smell of tea anyway, but a tea custom-made for him? by Erwin? it's definitely a new candidate for Favorite Smell.
he finally takes a sip, and for a moment, nothing happens. he doesn't react to it in any way. it doesn't last too long, though—he doesn't want to make Erwin nervous that he doesn't like it.
quite the opposite, in fact. even though he doesn't say as much, the verdict should be fairly unambiguous when he instead sets the cup back down and walks right back up to Erwin, reaches up to draw his face down, and kisses him full on the mouth.
it's probably not how Erwin expected to have his first taste of the tea he created, but that's just too fucking bad. ]
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[ mildly. where did he learn that vernacular? whatever, it sounds cute coming from him.
he does watch levi closely though as he does his various tea-testing actions, from looking to smelling to tasting, and he's juuuust about to get nervous when levi sets the cup down. he's briefly unsure what kind of sign that is but then levi is kissing him and he returns it fervently, setting his own cup down to put his hand at the side of his neck.
he can pick the cup back up later, because he can definitely taste the tea on levi's lips.
when the kiss ends it's actually pretty cute because he's flushed slightly pink from some kind of pleasure-embarrassment, looks like he was a little more nervous than he'd let on. ]
Is that the final verdict?
[ he even sounds pleased. ]
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humanity's strongest nothing, who cares about that? this is the real shit. ]
It's perfect.
[ he leans up to kiss him one more time, and then hands him his cup again. ]
I'll have to thank you properly later.
[ give his brain a second to catch up with what his mouth just said. when it does, suddenly he looks mortified—he can't just talk like that.
...right? ]
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audibly chokes when levi speaks again.
has to cough a couple times before he regains his composure but he's way more flushed now, genuinely so, just absolutely obliterated by the tiniest flirt because for as well as he knows levi, he was not expecting that in the least. ]
I. [ oh my god is he at a loss for words. ] I'd certainly welcome it, you know that.
[ does he? well, now erwin's said it. ]
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fuck. ]
I—
[ fuuuck. should he apologize? it's not like he didn't mean it. he just didn't mean to blurt it out like that.
...on the other hand, getting that reaction out of Erwin feels kind of awesome. maybe not the nearly-choking part, but his response?
hmm. ]
—I think that can be arranged.
[ he meant to say it this time. ]
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he looks at levi a moment after he speaks again, still visibly flustered but not upset in literally any way.
he reaches out to gently take levi's teacup and set it down, then plants his hand on the counter to hem him in a little and lean in for another kiss. it's not demanding, but it is lingering, and he huffs a breath against his mouth. ]
You've finally won, I'm at a loss for words.
[ he sounds fond, pleased. ]
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in many, many ways.
but Erwin's not the only one looking flushed—he can't hide it as easily with his teacup taken away, and then Erwin kisses him so that just makes it worse. ("worse", like he isn't already having the best birthday he's ever had.)
of course, he's still more than happy to return the kiss, and when Erwin admits defeat he smiles, a little smug even though he didn't actually do it on purpose, lifting a hand to touch Erwin's (cute, flushed) face. ]
So all I have to do is say something vaguely suggestive and you're done for? Good to know.
[ again, said like any of this was intentional. he'll never be that cool. ]
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he leans into the touch easily, eyes lidding, and just fucking keeps smiling at him.
levi looks good with that smug look, and erwin kisses him again to see if he manages to keep it on afterward.
he hums against his mouth before answering, trying to regain a bit of the suave thing he normally has going (at least when it comes to levi) and failing. ]
What can I say? You're my only weakness.
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and yet, even if Erwin is his main weakness, he's also the main source of his strength. weird.
he's still trying to pretend he's Cool, though, even if he's failing miserably. he slides his fingertips over to rest against Erwin's lips. ]
Well, don't worry. I would never try to exploit something like that.
[ the bullshit levels are skyrocketing. ]
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erwin is still charmed past his own embarrassment though, and he does manage to brush a kiss across the tips of levi's fingers before he even tries to say anything. ]
That's alright. I trust you, anyway.
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in any case, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to stop doing whatever the hell he's doing. his free hand moves to join Erwin's on the counter. ]
Oh? It's alright if I exploit it?
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[ a low hum. their opinions really are the only ones that matter, aren't they? so they're both amazing.
he hooks his fingers with levi's on the counter as he ducks a little past levi's other hand to urge a kiss to his mouth instead. ]
You can exploit me all you like.
[ oh, is he back in the saddle? ]
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Wh—
[ he may have insufficient funds.
it's easy enough to tell, with the way he has to break eye contact and the complete lack of a comeback, and then it's his turn to be obliterated.
he'd opened his mouth to say something, but nothing really came out. he's too flustered. so much for winning anything. ]
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Sorry, sorry.
[ he doesn't sound sorry, but he does sound indescribably fond. ]
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[ he punches Erwin very very lightly in the chest. it's not very convincing. it's even less convincing when he then uses that same hand to hold Erwin's head where it is at his level so he can kiss him again. ]
I'm going to remember you said that, though.
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when they're done kissing.
he smiles against his mouth, though, and doesn't draw away to answer. ]
I'd expect nothing less.
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[ don't make fun of him. he is physically incapable of punching Erwin harder than that.
(just kidding. please make fun of him.) ]
Maybe I'll happen to remember it later. It is my birthday, after all.
[ this shit again. no one is buying it, buddy. ]
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well, we all know the answer.
he steals another kiss after levi speaks, considering his answer before responding. ]
It is your birthday, which means you can have whatever you want.
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Really?
[ it's hard to say whether he's being unsubtle on purpose as a bit or if he just doesn't know what he's doing as usual, but either way, he very un-subtly starts fiddling with some of the buttons on Erwin's shirt. not undoing, just fiddling. ]
Whatever I want?
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[ honestly, the win keeps flopping back and forth between the both of them, because once levi starts fiddling (not undoing, just fiddling) with his shirt buttons, he flushes a little again, once again sort of obliterated by something so simple.
he swallows, not in a bad way, just in a way that makes it clear he's veered into thinking about what 'whatever' can entail. please ruin him, he is weak. ]
As I said. Whatever you want.
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then, suddenly he lets go, grabbing Erwin's teacup instead and handing it back to him. when Erwin takes it he takes a few steps back, never looking away, and takes his own cup.
he starts to drink it again. he doesn't chug it, but he's pretty clearly intent on downing the whole cup right there.
he still doesn't break eye contact. ]
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while meeting his gaze.
and erwin can't help it: he flushes slightly again despite himself, before drinking his tea as well. it's a race, perhaps, to who will finish their tea first.
it happens to be erwin, actually, and he sets his cup aside and barely waits for levi to finish his before he's planting his hand lightly at his hip. ]
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whatever.
anyway, once he does finish his he sets the cup back down and takes a moment just to appreciate how goddamn delicious it is and to acknowledge how fucking stupid it was to just pound it in one go like that instead of savoring it slowly. stupid, admittedly, but in this particular situation he doesn't think he'll regret it.
Erwin putting his hand on his hip like that makes him wonder if he knows what he's up to, even though he's trying really hard not to broadcast it. it's not terribly difficult because he doesn't actually know what exactly he's doing. honestly, he's not sure if he ever will.
he holds Erwin's hand where it is for a moment, and then takes it in his own and starts to lead him out of the kitchen, still without a word. ]
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