A/N: First SnK fic ever! Haven't written in a long time, so getting back into the rhythm of writing! Of course, true to self, I have to take on the biggest pairing the series has to offer. Hope that this is at least something that pique's interest! *bites nails nervously!*

He wasn't really sure how this had started happening in the first place. For a while, he convinced himself the feelings were from too little sleep, too much booze, or perhaps even both. But as time went on and the feelings kept happening, he decided that perhaps this really was something he should deal with. It wasn't as if Erwin didn't want to deal with the feelings, but feelings were something that never came quite as easily to him as it had to others. He'd been clinging to a thread, some frayed thread with some sort of semblance of normality since he had moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, just weeks after his father had passed away and his life had gone to total shit. He wanted away from the pressure of having to deal with a grieving mother and finances that weren't his own, and the uncovering of things that were never have meant to see the light of day. To be honest, he was dangerously close to a mental breakdown in more than one way.

But now it had been three nights of sleeping in a hotel bed, curled up next to a man he barely knew and yet wanted to know at the same time. Because how the hell did he get to this point in the first place, where he genuinely felt comfortable sleeping with Levi in this strange, fucked up situation he had gotten himself into. He felt Levi turn in the bed, stretching and seeking warmth from the cool winter air at the same time. Legs tangled around his own and toes rubbed against one another and Erwin felt Levi relax, his body going completely limp and his face peaceful, giving a sigh of contentment. Erwin reached out a hand, softly brushing black tendrils away from his eyes. He was rewarded with a small noise and another deep sigh, and Erwin didn't bother hiding his smile.

Truth be told, he really wasn't sure how this whole thing had started in the first place. He wasn't really in the mood for a relationship and hadn't been in years, not since his engagement had been shot to hell. He'd fallen for Allison near the end of his freshman year of college and the two had settled into what Erwin later realized had been been a give and take relationship. He had been only too happy to happy to lavish her with gifts, something he realized made her happy beyond belief and Allison had been only too happy to take everything she could get from him. His parents had disliked her and his father was very vocal about how he thought Erwin was whipped. It hadn't been only about sex though, Erwin had tried to tell him, although that had been a fantastic plus. She'd been his first and she wasn't exactly inexperienced or boring in the bedroom and she opened and introduced Erwin to things that had been shocking to him at the time. No, it was about the companionship, about being a part of a relationship and a part of a 'we'. That was something Erwin craved more than he had cared to admit.

The relationship had fallen to pieces when he had come home from Easter break to find her in bed (his bed - his dorm room bed. She hadn't had the decency to go use her own bed) with one of the guys from his biology class. Allison had tried to apologize and promise it wouldn't happen again, but Erwin saw her more clearly, perhaps for the first time. She wasn't worried about losing him so much as she was worried about losing all the pretty gifts he lavished upon her. After their relationship, Erwin was selective about those he chose to be around, having learned a hard lesson that not everyone wants to be around you because of your personality. He slept around here and there, mostly one night stands that ended too quickly or where the other left soon after to avoid awkwardness. Erwin had hated those encounters - they left him feeling empty inside.

"I think you just need a fresh start." His best friend, Mike, had said to him one afternoon as they messaged back and forth through Facebook. Mike had just moved to North Carolina, trying to get away from the close minded and slightly stale mid-western city they had both grown up in. Since he had arrived, he had flourished, taking a job as a teacher at a local high school in the area and had even started dating again. "Get out of the town after you graduate and start doing something with your life. You've got one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met, Erwin, but you almost shut yourself down to the point where you're unapproachable. Get away from your parents and our town and all the stupid, small town shit that goes along with it. I know there's a college up here who is looking for a history professor and all they're requiring is a bachelor's. You're fantastic at teaching and you've got the credentials. I'll send you the listing. At least send in your resume."

He had and the college had been interested in him. As Erwin debated telling his parents about the sudden need to move away and get out from under their wing, the unthinkable happened. His father died from a sudden, massive heart attack.

Afterward, Erwin had almost jumped at the chance to move away. He accepted the job, moved a thousand miles away from his home state and started his life over. The thing was, it was startlingly similar to his old life but there was a lot less sex. The other side of this was for the first time, Erwin actually had a group of friends besides just Mike. There was Nanaba, the slightly young but brilliant self defense professor who was known throughout the college for having gone public with her male to female transition. From what Erwin had discovered later, there had even been a fundraiser for her, giving her the last few thousand dollars she needed to receive her reassignment surgery. She was returning to work for the first time in months after her recovery and Erwin could tell it was a celebrated return. She was incredibly sweet, welcoming Erwin into the fold of the college without any hesitation at all. Zoe Hange and her intern Moblit Baner were the chemistry professors and Erwin could honestly say he had never met anyone as crazy as Hange. She was all over the place, talking and waving her hands as she did so and greeting him with the biggest hug he had ever received from someone who wasn't family. Erwin learned she was also well known in the college for her experiments, some of which had a tendency to take a turn for the worst. He had looked forward to hearing her stories. There were others as well, but Erwin hadn't cared to form relationships with them.

Two years in, they were family. They celebrated when Moblit joined their lunch one day with a bright smile on his face and grinned as he told them how they had officially been hired on by the college as one of the Chemistry professors. They received looks when Hange could barely contain her scream, reaching over and hugging her intern, pride showing all over her face. "We need to go out to celebrate this," she declared, looking all of them over. "I know a really great bar that one of my friends works at. It's clean and not the dark and smokey ones so many people are used to. I'll call my friend and let us in without being checked by the door. Everyone want to meet there at nine?"

It had apparently been established that everyone was attending and Erwin asked if he could bring Mike along. She agreed, wrapping her arm around Moblit again as the both of them sat together and began talking about his future position.

Mike met Erwin at his apartment and they rode together to the address Hange had text everyone. It was a small place, something that could barely be considered a hole in the wall and it wasn't in the best area of town. Erwin stepped out of his car and looked around, swallowing a little and made sure to press the 'lock' button on his car a few more times than necessary. Mike seemed unfazed by the area, only commenting slightly that the outside smelled like straight up ass. Erwin chuckled slightly and walked inside, holding the door open for Mike out of habit.

The Pour House was just as small on the inside as it had looked from the outside. Small and clustered, Erwin wasn't exactly sure where they were going to put their group of five or six people, but he found Hange had already taken care of the problem. She, along with the other three that were joining them for the evening, had secured the back corner and had already ordered a three different pitchers of beer. "I wasn't sure what people liked," She explained as they took off their coats and sat down. "So I ordered what I know and one that my friend recommended to me - he's not a huge beer drinker himself, but he knows his shit. Also, if we need to order refills or you want something different, order from the small guy with black hair. That's my friend and he'll give you discounts if he knows your with me. Just don't expect to actually get him to talk to you other than to comment on what your ordering."

Nanaba had slid in to the seat next to Hange, catching the tail end of the conversation. "Does he just not like to talk?"

"Oh, he likes to talk," Hange said, and the smile and half eye roll she gave as she said the words told Erwin she'd heard more about this friend's personal life than anyone ever should have. "I've known him since we were fourteen - his acceptance that he was gay, his relationships, his running away from home and all the issues that came after that - and he's been open about everything. And I do mean everything." Hange gave a light chuckle, running her hands through her messy red hair. "I think I've heard more about his lays than I ever heard out of my own!"

Moblit choked on his beer, dribbling a little down his chin and turned to give Hange a weird look. Already slightly tipsy, Hange was in quite the mood this evening and it seemed that alcohol turned off what little filter she had in the first place. She rubbed his back slightly, apologizing for choking him before settling her gaze on Mike. "I don't know you," she announced, pointing at Mike as she did. "Who are are you? You're a friend of Erwin's right?"

"Mike Zacharius." Mike stuck his hand out and Hange met his and they gave a firm handshake. Mike looked pleased and Erwin had to suppress a chuckle. He knew that look - having known Mike since childhood, he knew the look Mike took when he was impressed or even slightly attracted to someone. "Grew up with this lug over here, moved to North Carolina about four years ago and I teach Math at a local high school."

"Impressive," Nanaba stated, her eyes lighting up just slightly. Mike gave her a brilliant smile. "You couldn't pay me enough to teach math - hell, I barely passed it in high school and had help all the way through college. That's just not how my mind works."

"It isn't that hard if you break it down," Mike offered, but was cut off buy the sound of the group laughing. He took it with a grin and a shrug. "Well, I guess for me. I've accepted the fact I'm a bit of a strange duck when it comes to that."

They went through the pitchers faster than Erwin would have thought possible and even he was beginning to get a nice buzz by the time he finished the last of his glass. Deciding he wanted to check out the menu by himself, he excused himself from the table and made his way to the bar. No one was judging if he was having a little trouble getting his feet to move in a orderly fashion. Erwin all but flopped down on the barstool, surprised at himself and how the alcohol had hit him quicker than he had expected. Looking up, he saw the menu for the beers written in chalk on the wall and was slightly ashamed to admit he could barely read it. Fuck, did he need glasses already?

"Are you going to order anything, or are you just going to squint at the wall forever?" A clipped, slightly sarcastic voice broke Erwin out of his haze and he turned to focus his eyes on the person in front of him. The man looked bored was the first impression that went through Erwin's mind as he stood in front of him, hip slightly cocked, cleaning out a bar glass and stared at Erwin through narrowed eyes. He was short, Erwin could tell, barely standing over the counter and the large sweatshirt he had pulled over him did nothing to help him seem larger. Despite his short stature, Erwin felt the man was bigger - taller even - than his height, because the way he was currently staring at Erwin made him feel about fourteen inches tall.

"Do you need me to read you the menu or something?"

Erwin jumped again and shook his head. "No, no. Sorry. Spaced out there for a few minutes."

"Right." The man snorted and put the glass down that he'd been drying. "What can I get for you?"

"I was actually trying to see your menu - "

"Suddenly realizing you're blind?"

"Something like that." Erwin coughed a little. The man leaned down under the counter and pulled out something, sliding it across the bar in front of Erwin - it was a laminated copy of their drink menu. "Thanks."

"No problem." The conversation was short and Erwin didn't really feel the need to expand upon it. It felt cooler over here, away from the small, smushed space his group had packed in to and with the alcohol in his system, the temperature had only elevated. Across the bar, he could hear Hange's laugh and Moblit's sudden, slightly desperate response and a chorus of laughter that followed. Erwin was glad they were having fun, but group outings had never really been something he'd been interested in. For the time being, he was content to stay over here. He looked over the menu and finally decided upon something. The man gave a grunt in reply and grabbed the glass, pouring it and sliding it toward Erwin.

"Why aren't you joining your friends?"

Erwin looked up from over his glass to see the man staring at him again, one eyebrow raised. "I don't know." Erwin answered slowly, giving a shrug in reply. "I'm not really into the whole party scene."

"That hardly classifies as a party."

"You know what I mean. Group outings. Social functions where everyone gets together and gets wasted and has a fantastically good time. I'm more of a stay at home and watch Netflix or whatever is on television. Or I read."

The man gave a slight sneer. "I bet you even knit."

"I do know how to knit, actually." Erwin said, surprised as it came out of his mouth.

"Beautiful. I'm sure you have fun at home knitting your old man sweaters while Bing Crosby plays in the background."

Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was just the absurdity of the statement, but Erwin let out a genuine laugh, throwing his head back and giving a full body wheeze. It hadn't been that funny and the look on the man's face confirmed it, staring at Erwin like he had completely lost his mind. "I'm sorry," Erwin said, still chuckling and trying to take a sip of his drink. "It's so absurd and ridiculous and hell, probably true. That's probably what I'll be doing in another ten or so years of my life. Old Man Smith with his grandpa sweaters and cane, yelling at people get get off his front lawn."

He was surprised to hear the man chuckle. "From the ten minutes I've spent with you, I can't say that wouldn't surprise me. Are you going to be okay to get home? Do I need to call a cab or something?"

Erwin looked over at the group of people and took note Mike was now only drinking water and Erwin was certain he'd only had one beer. He did notice, in his brief assessment of the group, that Mike was leaning a little further toward Hange. That was interesting - he'd have to ask him about that on the way home. Turning back to the bartender, Erwin shook his head. "No, my friend will be able to drive me home. Although I can't say the same for the rest of my colleagues."

The bartender snorted. "I'll take Hange home and I guess whoever else I can fit in my small-ass car."

Erwin blinked and it finally sunk in. "You're Hange's friend."

"Guilty." He was moving away, leaning down to grab a bag from under the bar and he slung it around his shoulders. "And I'm off for the evening, so I'm going to cut her little party short so I can take her drunk ass home. I'm tired as fuck and I just want to go to sleep."

Erwin stood, feeling a little better on his feet despite the fact he had more alcohol in his system than he had when he'd walked here. He followed the man toward their party and grabbed Mike's glass of water, chugging it until it was empty.

"Sure, you can have a sip of my water." Mike deadpanned.

"Shut up." Erwin said, sitting down and putting his head on his arms. "I think I might be drunk."

"I think you might be too. Which is amusing. Don't think I've seen you drunk since we were about twenty-two." Mike patted him on the back, rubbing soothingly. "You always were a quite drunk - reclusive. Did you have a good conversation with the bartender."

"No," Erwin said into his arms. "I think he made fun of me, actually."

Above him, he could hear Hange giving protests about having to leave and the annoyance in the bartender's voice. He looked up to see the man physically pulling Hange up from the table (with slight help from Moblit) and offered any of the others a a ride. Moblit and Nanaba agreed. Mike shook his head, saying he would take Erwin home.

"You can help him with his knitting." The bartender said, a very small smile playing over his lips.

"What?" Hange said a little too loudly. "You knit Erwin?"

"Oh my God, Zoe. It's a joke and we're getting you home." He gripped her by the arm and began to steer her toward the door. "Have a good night everyone, and safe driving home. Have fun with the knitting, Erwin."

It only dawned on Erwin halfway through the car ride home that he hadn't even caught the bartender's name. Oh well, he thought. I'll just ask Hange about it tomorrow.