When Levi's eyelids finally flutter open, he feels downright awful. His stomach lurches and a bucket appears in front of his face. There's no hesitation to empty the contents of his stomach into it. The nausea makes his head spin and he wants it to go away as quickly as possible.
"How are you feeling?" Somebody asks.
"Mmmm," he moans, clutching his stomach, "Not so good."
"Serves you right," another person says.
Levi glances up to see Erwin sitting on a stool beside his bed and Hanji leaning against the wall opposite him. Erwin looks mildly concerned, while Hanji looks downright pissed.
Levi clutches at his head. Everything is so fucking fuzzy. "What happened to me?"
"You don't remember?" Erwin asks. Levi can hear the hurt in his voice.
He closes his eyes and tries to clear his mind. He woke up, did his chores, ate breakfast, did his paperwork, went out to train the recruits and then-
Oh shit.
His stomach lurches and he vomits into the bucket again.
"Yeah, I remember," Levi mutters weakly after he's done vomiting. Erwin grabs a water bottle from beside his bed and passes it to Levi silently. He immediately takes a sip, with a small grunt of appreciation escaping his throat as the cool liquid passes his lips.
"What? You remember how you two fucked? What a blessing." Hanji rants, hands in the air.
The awkward tension in the room could be cut with a knife, and Levi feels like smacking Hanji in the face for making things even more awkward.
"I should leave…" Erwin says, standing up.
"No!" Levi says suddenly. Fuck, his mouth really needs a filter. He clears his throat and tries again. "You can stay, if you want…"
"I have work to do," Erwin says stiffly, making his way to the door. "Get well soon, Levi."
Levi feels his skin burn as the Alpha walks out the door. He desperately suppresses the whine in the back of his throat. Even if he doesn't feel the blinding sexual arousal right now, he's still needy of an Alpha's attention. Instead, he tries to focuses on Hanji's Beta scent, which always manages to calm him down.
"Now you have some explaining to do," Hanji grumbles. "When the hell was your last heat?"
Levi honestly tries to think about it, but he has no idea when his last heat was. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Hanji huffs. "Levi, it's fucking dangerous to suppress your heat for more than two years. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Once I entered the Survey Corps it didn't seem practical or safe to go into heat," Levi explains. "So I didn't."
"Oh, heaven forbid that Humanity's Strongest show even a little bit a weakness," Hanji says, slumping into Erwin's vacated chair. "And then you fucked the Commander?"
Levi bites his lip. More like the Commander fucked him, although the evidence has mainly been disposed of. The last thing he remembers is being covered in cum, but right now he's completely clean and in pyjamas. Somebody must have cleaned him up.
"Yeah, I did," Levi replies.
And in the blink of an eye, Hanji switches to manic mode. "Give me all the details," Hanji squeals. "How big was his cock? Because if you look at the height of his body, he should have been pretty considerable… And what position did you do it in? Because I always thought that our Commander was a closet kinkster- Wait! Did he hurt you? Do I need to beat somebody up? Commander of the Survey Corps be damned, I will hurt him."
"Hanji… Please… Quiet down…" Levi pleads, pain pulsing in his head. "I honestly can't remember the details."
"Well you're no fun," Hanji pouts. "You can't even remember the size of his cock?"
Levi muses. "It was big."
Hanji whistles, picking up something from his bedside table and pushing it in front of his eyes. "You'll need to sign these forms."
Levi glances at the papers in his hands and rolls his eyes. "Hanji, I don't need birth control."
"Are you planning to have pups?" Hanji squeals once again. "I'm so excited!"
"Hanji, no," Levi hisses, hand pressed up against his head. "Can you please keep your voice down?"
"Fine," Hanji mutters, swatting Levi's hand out of the way to feel his forehead for herself. "You're burning up again."
"Again?"
Hanji nods, before grabbing the water bottle and wetting a small towel to place on his head. "You've had a fever on and off for about three days now."
"Wait- Three days," Levi says in disbelief. He's almost slept through the majority of his heat. No wonder he doesn't feel as horny as usual.
Hanji nods. "We were really worried about you."
Levi doesn't miss the 'we' at the start of her sentence.
Hanji shoves the towel on his forehead and the water bottle back into his hand. "Drink the water."
In a face off between Hanji's wrath and the water bottle, Levi chooses the water bottle.
"But I don't need birth control," Levi states after gulping down the water, "I'm pretty sure you took care of that."
Hanji's eyes narrow and she crosses her arms. "What are you trying to imply, Levi?"
Levi glances sideways. He remembers the way Erwin held him protectively in his arms. He remembers the way Erwin's fingers carded through his hair. He remembers the soft touches and caring words. But he also remembers how desperate and messy and rushed it was. There's no way Erwin wanted more than that, and the way he practically bolted out the door a couple of minutes earlier confirms it. Levi is sure.
"Nothing," he says, turning his face back to look her in the eye, "I don't need the birth control. Erwin's not coming back, so there's no need."
"Wait," Hanji says, waving her hand in the air, "You think Erwin's not coming back?"
"Well, yeah."
"Are you kidding me?" Hanji shrieks. "I had to bring that man food because he wouldn't leave the room until he knew you were alright. He hasn't left for anything other than bathroom breaks. The only reason he left a couple of minutes ago was because he has three days of work to catch up on, and he knew beyond doubt that you were alright. Thank God for Mike, he's basically been running the joint."
Levi takes a few deep breaths in order to let Hanji's information sink in. But even if Erwin wanted him… He's an Alpha...
"I know your first instinct is to push him away," she says softly in a rare moment of calm, "But that man cares about you and I know for a fact you care about him too."
Levi bites his lip. "What about the Corps, Hanji? We've dedicated our lives to humanity. There's no time for bullshit like that."
"Fuck the Corps," Hanji says seriously. "If anything, that's one of the main reasons why you should go for it. Any one of us could die at any minute, so you should seize the day while you have the chance. Before it's too late."
Hanji slips the form for birth control in front of him again, shoving a pen into his hand. "Sign the sheet, take the birth control and see what happens."
Levi reluctantly signs and Hanji leaves it at that.
Levi can smell Erwin a mile away, before he even knocks on the door.
"Come in," Levi calls out.
Erwin chuckles and opens the door. "So you could smell me then?"
"Of course I could, you stink."
Erwin laughs again as he stands awkwardly beside the door. "Hanji said I should talk to you."
Levi hums, sitting up in his bed. "And?"
"Well- I-," Erwin mutters. "I'm not good at saying shit like this, Levi."
Levi fakes a gasp. "The great, charismatic, Erwin Smith lost for words? How could this be?" He drawls sarcastically. "It's me, Erwin. Just say what you think."
"Do you want to move into my room?"
Well, Levi was not expecting that. They haven't even talked about the one time they had sex and now Erwin is asking him to move in with him?
"What?"
"I just thought it would be nice," Erwin explains, scratching his head. "I really like your company- I mean, fuck- I really liked the sex too, well, except for the fact you were pretty much out of it, but that's not the most important part of our… our thing- well, it is nice- I mean, what I'm trying to say is-,"
"Come here," Levi says, cutting off Erwin's floundering. He walks up to the bed apprehensively and stops right in front of it. Levi sighs and pats a space on the bed next to him, hoping Erwin gets the point.
"Oh," Erwin sighs in understanding. He carefully creeps onto the bed, but keeps his contact with Levi at a minimum.
It's then that Levi realises Erwin is just as insecure as he is. They've known each other for 2 years and he's never said anything about wanting a mate. Levi hasn't even seen Erwin have a drunken hook up. The man is practically married to his work, and painfully so. He has absolutely no idea about what he's doing, much like Levi.
But he knows enough to respect Levi and his boundaries, and Levi thinks that's a pretty good start.
"I'll move in with you," Levi says.
"Really?"
"What did I just say? Yes, you idiot."
Erwin turns his body to the side so he can pull Levi into a half-hug. "Thanks."
It's scary. It's so freaking scary letting somebody, an Alpha of all people, into his life like this. The urge to say no and push Erwin away is itching under Levi's skin. But it's Erwin. If he can't trust Erwin, there's no hope in the world at all. He needs this in order to feel something other than anger over the titans. He needs Erwin so he can start healing and living like a human.
And Levi's starting to get the feeling that Erwin needs this just as much as he does.
Levi packs his suitcase and moves it into Erwin's room in the middle of the night to avoid detection. Rumours are already swirling around the base after the training debacle, and it's in both their best interests to keep this on the down-low.
The room is almost twice the size of Levi's own with an en suite attached. The thought of bathroom privacy – well, somewhat privacy - is really appealing. The room is kept fairly neat and tidy, so he won't have to worry about cleaning it up either. And it smells of Erwin, too. His lips curve into a small smile.
"I cleared out half the drawers and wardrobe for you," Erwin says.
"That isn't necessary, Erwin."
"Of course it is," Erwin says. "It's not fair that I have all the space. We're equals here. No ranks or positions."
Levi can feel the tears prickle at his eyes. Erwin may be talking about their military ranks, but the same still applies to their biological status. Erwin wants them to be equals. It's something that Levi thought he would never live to see; an Alpha ranking themselves the same as an Omega.
Levi sucks in a sharp breath and turns away, suppressing the tears. "Alright."
He zips open his suitcase and carefully places his few civilian clothes and belongings in one of the two drawers given to him.
"Wow, you don't have that much stuff," Erwin says over his shoulder.
Levi shrugs. "You can have the leftover drawer back."
"No, it's yours," Erwin murmurs. "Besides, it's just an excuse to buy you things so you can use it."
Levi honestly can't help the blush that forms on his cheeks. His heart thuds hard and heavy against his rib cage as he turns around to meet Erwin's eyes, staring at back at them in disbelief. Erwin just smiles.
"C'mon, it's late. Let's get your uniforms into the wardrobe and go to bed."
They transport his uniforms - which look almost ridiculous next to Erwin's when comparing size - with Levi stopping to iron some of them out. "It saves time later," Levi says, although it's got more to do with the fact that he can't stand his belongings looking messy.
Erwin yawns and starts to strip his clothes and Levi has to do a double take to make sure he's actually seeing what he thinks he is. I mean, sure, they had sex, but Levi can't really remember the details. And right now, he can see the details. Erwin keeps his boxer shorts on - thank God - but that doesn't hide the view of his incredibly muscular chest and toned arms.
This is something Levi has been fantasising about for years, and now that it's finally in front of him, he takes a few moments for some shameless staring before turning around to strip himself of clothes. He discards his jacket, shirt and boots – 3DMG straps have been long since taken off – but opts to keep his pants on. Erwin's done everything right so far, and he feels stupid for letting his anxiety get to him like this, but he's still not ready to be so vulnerable in front of Erwin yet.
Small steps, he remembers.
Erwin slips under the covers and Levi follows. Erwin doesn't make any move to touch him, and Levi thanks him internally. His skin crawls at the fact that an Alpha is right there and sleeping beside him. A normal Omega would never act like this, and Levi hopes Erwin doesn't think he's broken.
Levi closes his eyes and drifts into a fitful sleep, dreading the inevitable moment that Erwin stops caring about him so much.