A/N: I did a little love language quiz the other day (I got receiving gifts as my love language) and ended up thinking which love language would suit Erwin and Levi. That little brainstorming resulted in many headcanons, so I just decided to write them down as a fic (albeit not a long one).
Never in a million years Erwin would have thought that Levi—humanity's strongest soldier, his Captain, best friend, and lover—secretly loved receiving and giving touches this much. The realization dawned upon him one morning during one of their day-offs. Their bodies were tangled on the bed. Some joints ached more than most, one side effect of making love all night at their age.
Erwin woke up to a smooth sensation on his head, but he kept his eyes closed. It took a moment for him to notice that it was Levi combing his hair with his hand. It took another moment to notice that he was wrapped loosely in Levi's embrace, face hidden in the raven's small yet muscly chest.
Next, he felt Levi's finger traced one of Erwin's bushy eyebrows slowly. The movement went from the outer edge of the eyebrow then inward, down to the bridge of his nose, and to the plump of his lips. It was then that Erwin decided to open his eyes.
Levi's finger quickly retracted as if it's burnt. Erwin missing it already.
"How long have you been awake?" Levi asked, frowning.
Erwin pretended to yawn and answered that he literally just woke up. Levi relaxed at that but didn't continue touching Erwin. Frustrated, Erwin finally made the move instead. He started peppering kisses on Levi's knuckles, sucking the skin on his neck, rubbing his cheek lovingly, kissing his mouth, and, even though his old body screamed for him to rest, it ended up escalating into another round of love-making.
Levi always looked like he hated it at first, but whenever Erwin asked if he could kiss or touch him, he always replied with either a whimpered yes or an impatient just get on with it, you big oaf!
It didn't take long for Levi's expression to morph into one of ecstasy. The hums of pleasure that came out of his lips whenever Erwin touched him were further confirmation of how much Levi loved touches.
Erwin thought that it must be Levi's love language, so he made sure to keep doing it outside of the bedroom too by innocently bumping their shoulders or thighs whenever they sat next to each other, holding Levi's hand under the meeting table, hugging Levi tight in private and rubbing his back soothingly before each expedition, and stealing little kisses whenever they're alone.
Levi was flustered and confused at first, raising this issue one night when they were about to sleep. Erwin was spooning Levi loosely, a thick blanket shielding them both from the cold winter.
"Why the fuck did you get touchy-feely all of a sudden these days?" Despite the choice of words, Levi's tone lack aggression.
Erwin replied sleepily, "do you want me to stop?"
Erwin thought that Levi was already asleep because he didn't hear any reply. But after a full minute, the man whispered weakly, "that's not what I meant."
"Do you not like it then?"
Erwin was half asleep when he felt Levi pulled him closer. Levi intertwined his fingers with Erwin's before saying, "tsk. What do you think?"
Erwin had to admit, he did enjoy touching Levi and receiving the man's touches in return. However, he felt ashamed that he was not so on board with physical touches before, at least not until he realized how much Levi loved it.
Sometimes, before Levi, he even thought that he was not suited for a relationship. He didn't crave touches that much, he was okay with not having sex for quite a while (heck, his men would even laugh at him if they knew how long he could stand without masturbation), and he generally kept a respectful distance from anyone showing interest in him.
But Levi, unbeknownst to the shorter man himself, managed to captivate Erwin's heart with all the little acts of services he did in the past few years they'd known each other.
It was the cup of coffee in the middle of the night (and Levi always remembered how bitter Erwin liked his coffee), helping explain new strategies to the recruits, washing both of their horses together, bringing food to his office when Erwin was too absorbed with work that he forgot to eat, and even awkward shoulder massages whenever Erwin suddenly had muscle cramps ("Shut up and let me do this so you can continue working. My uncle used to love this," Levi said when Erwin declined the offer at first).
His love for Levi heightened exponentially during the days Erwin recovered from his arm loss. Levi was always there in his room whenever he was not supervising his squad. He usually sat on the chair next to the bed, but sometimes sat or lay on the bed next to Erwin, paced around the room, or sat on the sofa working on something (Erwin was not entirely sure what). He was usually quiet so that he wouldn't disturb Erwin resting, but sometimes, when he noticed that Erwin's drug had worn off, he would update Erwin about the situation in the headquarter, discuss things that Erwin needed follow-ups on, and asked Erwin how he was doing that day.
(Levi held Erwin's hand too when he thought Erwin was still unconscious from the drug. He was, but sometimes Erwin was aware enough to feel the touch. He never told Levi that he knew).
Erwin suffered a minor infection on one of those days and had a fever from it. It was Levi who always changed the cold, wet towel on Erwin's forehead. He also helped the nurse changed Erwin's bandages and cleaned his wound. And when Erwin kept on spilling his spoonful of food because he was not used to eating with his left hand or when he would groan in frustration because his stubble was getting itchy but he didn't dare to shave it on his own, Levi helped feed and shave him instead. He even went as far as to clean the food spillage on the bedcover and brought the sheet to the laundry.
Levi was spoiling him so hard and Erwin felt so undeserved of all the attention and love he received.
"Your face looks like shit. What's wrong?" Levi asked when he saw Erwin's face darkened.
A quarter of an hour full of coaxing, a few swear words, and a gentle punch later, Erwin finally relented and confessed his insecurity.
Levi looked surprised, raised an eyebrow, and said flatly, "That's stupid. You deserve those more than anyone. And those are just minor aids, anyway. Don't get your panties in a twist. Now relax and eat your food." He brought the spoonful of porridge closer to Erwin's mouth.
Erwin just laughed. Of course Levi would say that. The little things Levi did for him would seem unimportant to the shorter man. Negligible. Trivial. Yet those were the things that made Erwin's chest felt so warm every time.
Levi might not realize it, but he had spoken Erwin's love language since the very beginning.
And even until the very end, Levi consistently delivered acts of services for him. Letting Erwin go—exempting him from this cruel world, letting him rest peacefully—was an act of service in and of itself.
When he saw (with blurred vision as he started to lose consciousness) Levi's grieve-stricken face staring down at him, Erwin wanted nothing more but to return Levi's last act of service with a touch—the kind of love language Levi appreciated the most.
But his soul has left his body before he had the chance to do that just one last time.
End.
A/N: Lemme know what you think of the fic! Also, do you have the same headcanon for Eruri's love language? Or do you think either/both of them would suit another type of love language? If anyone wants to create a longer fic exploring Eruri's love languages (either the same as this one or a different set of love languages), I think that'd be cool and I'd love to read it too!
Edit: For those of you who read this fic before May 4th 2021 and re-read it after, you might realize that the 2nd half of the story changed a little bit. You're right, I did add some stuff there (some? More like 400 words!). I did that coz I felt that the 2nd half was too short and didn't do enough justice to explore Erwin's preferred love language. I regretted not spending enough time on that part before and letting people read the half-assed version instead. I can only hope that those people can come back and see the better version of it (I personally like this version a WHOLE lot better)