Pairings: Eruri

Ratings: T

Genre: Alt. Universe, Romance, Fluff, Holiday.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story: living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.

Author's Notes: Happy Halloween (2021) to all my readers! This was inspired by the Sanrio x Attack on Titan Collaboration. Just a very quick one-shot to enjoy the spooky season.


Happy Halloween, Hello Kitty

"Clear skies aren't predicted until late into the week. Tonight's Halloween forecast is heavy rain. We're expecting to see anywhere between eight to ten inches tonight, so if you have plans to go Trick-or-Treating, you might want to consider staying indoors. As well, there is a wind warning in effect, so make sure that your Jack O'Lanterns don't go flying off the porch. Stay warm and safe tonight-"

"Mike, turn that off." Erwin requested softly. He was mixing pancake batter in a large bowl and didn't even bother to glance up.

"Mmh," Mike replied, then picked up the television remote and hit the power button.

"Hey! I was watching that," Hanji complained.

"It's the same rubbish that's been repeating for the last hour," Erwin replied. "C'mon, we have more things to do than worry about a storm."

"Are we stilling going to Nile's party?" Mike asked, standing up from the couch and stretching his arms above his head. He gave a low groan as he stretched his spine, then sighed in relief.

"I didn't think we would cancel." Erwin replied, his tone amused.

"But what about the storm?" Hanji asked, turning away from the window where she had been monitoring the cloud coverage.

"I'm not afraid of some wind and rain." Erwin replied, turning to the electric griddle he had been heating on the counter and beginning to pour some pancake mix onto it in large circles. "I have my costume and Nile has been planning this party since the summer. It would suck if everyone just bails because of the storm."

"You just want to go because no one has talked to Nile since his wedding," Mike commented, heading to the kitchen to grab some plates from the cupboard.

"I don't deny that," Erwin replied. He paused for a moment after putting down the bowl of batter to reflect on his relationship with Nile. He had never meant to be the leader of the group, but Erwin always had strong leadership, which had drawn people like Mike, Hanji, and Nile to him.

Nile had been one of his close friends since college, quickly becoming second on Erwin's speed dial list, but the group had drifted apart as they all entered the work world. Nile eventually escalated the growing tensions within the group after he had sent out wedding invitations to everyone but Erwin. Mike and Hanji hadn't gone despite being invited since they felt that Nile was being immature about the whole thing, and so no one had spoken to him in the last three years.

"I was surprised to receive the invitation, so I thought that I would take him up on it. I mean, I missed his wedding and never found out why. Was it just that woman who had gotten between us?" Erwin mused aloud.

"Well, he is divorced now. Has been since July, which was when he started to plan this crazy thing." Mike added, beginning to set their plates on the kitchen table.

"I mean, he must've spent a fortune on it," Erwin added, poking a spatcula under the first pancake's edge and testing its resistance to see if it was cooked.

"Nile always accused you of liking the same woman as him, didn't he?" Hanji asked, "Whatever her name was. I never really got to meet her."

"And yet you got invited to the wedding and Erwin didn't," Mike rolled his eyes. "I don't really forgive him, Erwin. But I do think you're right. If we have a chance to figure out what happened tonight, that would give us all some closure."

"That was never the case, Hanji," Erwin sighed and flipped their pancakes. "I never had the guts to tell him that I'm interested in women. Besides," He risked a glance at Mike and smirked. "It was awfully amusing to tease him and see Nile get all worked up."

"He'd puff up like a roster!" Mike laughed, nodding. "Oh, it was funny."

"And you think accepting his Facebook invitation to his Halloween-Extravaganza is going to make this all better?" Hanji asked, raising an eyebrow above her thick glass's frame.

"Well," Erwin shrugged. "It's Halloween. It's Nile Dawk. I have a costume. I've got tomorrow off work. Why not? The universe seems pretty in my favour, no?"

"Besides," Mike turned to Hanji from the fridge, where he had gone to get the orange juice. "The invite seems to have been accepted by almost everyone who had been invited. The list is over two-hundred people long."

"He intends to have two-hundred people in his house tonight?" Hanji asked, beginning to head to the kitchen table.

"Hanji," Erwin scooped the pancakes onto a plate, which he handed to Mike. "Eat, and stop worrying about the storm. It's Halloween. Live a little."


"What's the plan for tonight?" Furlan asked in a cheery tone. He entered the bathroom as Levi was in the shower and Isabella was brushing her teeth. The three friends were used to sharing the bathroom, amongst other things, as they had lived together in a single bedroom apartment since they graduated high school by some miracle.

"Not 'ure," Isabella replied, her words muffled by her toothbrush. "I 'eard there's a 'torm."

"I heard there's a party," Levi added, his voice rising over the opaque shower door. "I figured we could go to it."

"Oh, that Facebook one." Furlan asked, pulling down his jeans and sitting on the toilet. "I didn't think you were serious about going. We don't even really know the guy hosting it."

"Don't need to," Levi replied. He opened the shower door and stuck his head out, grinning at Furlan. "A friend of his friend added me to the invite. And apparently, that's been happening quite a bit."

"'Ow many are going?" Isabella asked, glancing at Levi through the mirror and meeting his gaze.

"Last I saw, over three-hundred were invited."

"Are that many going?!" Furlan asked, his voice rising with surprise.

"I'm not sure, but loads of them have accepted." Levi replied, returning his gaze to Furlan. "Don't flush 'til I get out." He warned him, then retreated back into the steamy shower. "I doubt that many would show up because of the storm."

"Probably. I doubt this guy's place would even host that many. People aren't gonna wanna be out in someone's yard tonight. That's for sure." Furlan nodded.

"Well, I figured that we could grab a few bags of chips and maybe a cheap bottle of wine. Show up with something subpar and eat the good stuff, y'know." Levi shrugged, though it was unseen by his friends. "We were invited."

The three friends mused in silence for a moment over the fact that they had indeed been invited to a party.

"What are we even going to wear?" Isabella asked, finally rinsing her mouth and breaking the silence that stretched between them. "I haven't gone shopping for a costume."

"We'll find something," Levi replied. He was determined to make it to the party. "We can dress up as ghosts or some shit if we have to."

"Well, we still have that stuff from that convention we went to in the summer," Furlan replied, standing up and flushing the toilet. He came to stand beside Isabella as he washed his hands.

"That would work," Isabella agreed, stepping aside to share the small sink. She brightened immediately as she recalled the convention's costumes. "Though, I hope no one makes fun of us. They aren't exactly scary."

"It'll work." Levi replied, stepping out of the shower and wrapping his waist in a towel. He hit Furlan's head with three of his fingertips to pay him back for flushing the toilet and turning the shower water to a scalding degree. "A costume's a costume on Halloween."


"That's it?" Mike asked, attempting to hide his laughter. Despite his best attempt, it was obvious in his tone that he was amused. "That's the grand costume you kept saying you bought for Halloween?" He teased.

"Shut up," Erwin replied. "It's pretty badass."

"Yeah. About as badass as a chihuahua." Mike replied, placing his make up on the bathroom counter. He couldn't hold back his laughter any longer and burst into a fit of it.

"Shut up!" Erwin glared at him. He leaned back from the bathroom mirror to check himself out. He was wearing a pair of rugged blue jeans, a tan sweater and a thigh-length green sweater. But that wasn't the part that made Mike laugh. It was the round white tail attached to his backside, black cat whiskers, and signature red bow that tied the character that he dressed as together, and consequentially amused his friend. "What's wrong with Hello Kitty?" He demanded.

"Nothing," Mike replied, then burst out laughing again. "Erwin, it's just too cute for Halloween."

"Hello Kitty?" Hanji asked, entering the bathroom. She paused in the doorway and her jaw dropped in surprise. "Too cute?! Mike, he made Kitty look smokin' hot! Is that even allowed? A sexy Hello Kitty?"

Erwin's cheeks flushed a light pink. "It's not a sexy version. It's a regular version. And there's nothing wrong about it. Hello Kitty can be scary as fuck. The only downside is I just need to carry an apple around all night."

"Erwin," Mike sighed, trying to calm down. He spread out his makeup, then picked up a red lip liner and began to trace a slit-design on his neck. "I don't mean to rain on your parade, but no one is going to be wearing an outfit as cute as Hello Kitty. Is this really how you want to see Nile after all these years?"

"What? You suggest I try to out-man him?" Erwin asked, raising a thick eyebrow at Mike. He turned his attention away from his friend and back to the mirror, which he leaned into as he began to thicken the black whiskers he drew on his face with eyeliner. "This is a strategic move, Mike. Very much like Hello Kitty, who is quite the strategic leader. I intend to use this as a conversation starter with Nile. A way to tell him that I would never be interested in his women because I am happily, only interested in men."

"And have been since the third grade." Hanji added.

"Right." Erwin agreed, then his face fell as he realized Hanji was making fun of him. "Wait."

"Hah!" Mike paused in drawing on his brutal injury to burst out laughing again. "Actually, that's quite ingenious."

"Isn't it?" Erwin beamed. He began to run the eyeliner pencil along his water line, adding a darkened ring around his seablue eyes. "I think that this costume is the best one for Halloween."

"So long as it doesn't make us late for the party." Hanji replied.

"What are you going as?" Mike asked. He turned away from the mirror to face Hanji and noticed she was wearing a white coat with some strategic tears and stains.

"Mad scientist," Hanji replied. "You?"

"Very fitting," Mike nodded. "I'm going as Pumpkin-Head."

"That's why you're…"

"Yeah."

"Ah."

"Well, I'm off to find my apple." Erwin announced, then checked his phone. "I already called the Uber and it will be here in, oh twenty-two minutes. So be ready by then."

"Yes, sir, Commander, sir!" Mike teased Erwin, then rolled his eyes. "No one at that party is going to be as cute as you are!" He called after Erwin left the bathroom. "You'll see."


Nile's house was the scene of the block by the time Erwin and his friends arrived. The Uber driver had a difficult time even navigating the street towards it as Trick-or-Treaters and party goers made the roads congested with foot-traffic. Erwin and his friends got out a block early and decided to walk, tipping the driver for having taken them as far as he did.

"Man, Nile really went all out." Mike commented, glancing around at all the people drinking in his yard. He grunted as the wind tugged at their umbrella and firmly held it in place. Without it, the trio would be soaked in less than a minute as the rain hammered down around them.

"We need to get through this crowd and into the house," Erwin murmured. "Before my whiskers get washed right off my face with this rain."

"I don't know if there's even gonna be room inside." Hanji commented, amazed by all the people around her. "It looks like his house just vomited guests all over the neighbourhood."

"There's no way Nile even knows this many people." Erwin commented in awe.

"That must've been one hell of a divorce." Mike added in a tone of agreement.

The trio had stuck together and made it to the front gate of the property. Erwin took a moment to reach out and unlock the gate, which was difficult since there was several people that continued to press up against it. After some bickering, the trio had managed to open the gate and wedge themselves into Nile's cramped, yet still meticulously landscaped yard.

This close to the house, the trio were assaulted by a remix of classic Halloween songs being blared at an ungodly level from inside the house.

"This takes me back to our college days," Erwin cringed, recalling the many house parties that they had attended.

"Alpha Delta Omega," Mike murmured under his breath, equally embarrassed.

"I wonder where we'll even find Nile in all of this," Mike began, looking around as they approached the front door."

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in years." Erwin agreed. "He better not have dressed up with a mask again. I hate it when he does that. Minimal effort jerk."

Hanji laughed and stretched up on her tiptoes as they entered the house's front door. The inside of the house was loud and dark, with swinging neon lights being the main source of illumination. Many party-goers were wearing glow stick necklaces and bracelets and bobbed their heads to the music as they danced by.

"Well, that's where the music is coming from," Hanji half-shouted to Erwin and Mike as she pointed out the DJ spinning tunes through two large speakers in what they could only imagine to have been the living room.

"And you wanted to stay home because of the storm," Erwin teased Hanji, knowing her love of music. "Safe to say Nile won't be in there?" He asked, going off of his past knowledge of his former friend.

"Who knows," Mike replied. "This whole thing seems 180 from what he usually would do."

The trio made their way away from the DJ and down the main hallway. It appeared to be leading them to the kitchen, where they were immediately greeted by a loud chorus of "Alpha Delta Omega!"

Nile Dawk rushed over to them right away, having led the group of their former fraternity in greeting Erwin and Mike. Many of the other men turned to continued their conversations, leaving Nile to address Erwin and Mike alone.

"You came!" Nile greeted them. "We were taking bets to see if you would show up." He motioned to two carved pumpkins that had money poking out of both of their heads. One was carved to read "show" and the other "no show."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Nile," Erwin greeted the younger man with a polite smile. Despite himself, he couldn't hide his discomfort by the flashback to his college days. "Especially since I wasn't invited to your wedding."

Nile waved a hand, dismissing of Erwin's snide comment. "Forget it. It wasn't worth going to anyways. It wasn't even worth having!" He laughed aloud.

"Are you drunk, Nile?" Erwin asked, surprised to see the usually uptight man behaving so wild.

"I had a few, but no that's not it." Nile replied. "I've been riding this high since July. Since I cut loose from the ball and chain. Let's just say, I caught her in bed with my boss. So," He shrugged. "I mean, I thought I was doing myself a favour distancing myself from you, but she seemed intent to sleep with any six-foot blonde she could find so… I didn't really do anything except lose all my friends."

Erwin raised a thick eyebrow, then chuckled. "I hate to say it, but that's karma for you."

"I know, I know," Nile replied, then accepted a beer from one of the former-frat boys. "You guys want anything. I have our old college bartender here, making drinks. A few of the other guests took a wine bottle to the fireplace."

"Is that a good idea?" Mike asked in a concerned tone. He glanced at Erwin, feeling more like a cop than a friend in the moment.

"It's fine, the fire's gas." Nile waved a hand, figuring that the glass window between the fireplace and the wine would be a sufficient barrier. He sipped his beer, then offered it to Erwin. "Let's get you something, big man." He encouraged him. "And maybe a scarier mask or something. You really came to my post-college Halloween bash dressed as a goddamn kids' cartoon?"

Erwin chuckled softly. "No, I'm a sexy Hello Kitty," he replied, then winked at Hanji who began to chuckle.

"What the fucks that supposed to mean?" Nile asked, waving at the bartender to pass him another bottle of beer. He handed it to Mike, and then waved for another one. "There's nothing sexy about your outfit."

Mike accepted the beer and began to chuckle.

"Well, maybe not to you," Erwin began. He was suddenly nervous. He knew Nile for years, and he had come to have very little respect for the man, so he wasn't sure why he was nervous. He had been out as a gay man for quite some time too, and had gone through the endless explanations a million times. Yet, for some reason, he was still nervous to tell Nile his truth.

Nile handed Erwin a beer and then raised a dark eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused. The raunchy attitude had dropped from his voice, indicating that he was seriously interested in what Erwin had to say.

"I mean, you're straight Nile." Erwin replied, "So you won't find my outfit attractive." He turned around to show Nile the tail, strategically placed above his backside. "But other men would."

It took a moment before Nile's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in surprised. Whether it was because he was quite drunk or because he had genuinely never noticed, but his realization was delayed. Still, it finally seemed to dawned on him.

"Oh shit!" He began in a voice thick with surprise, then reached out to touch Erwin's shoulder. "Oh shit!" He repeated and gave his head a shake. "Erwin, I'm so sorry. I… when did you?"

"Since college." Erwin began. "But it's fine. I didn't tell many people. And then you kept telling me about this woman and that woman and I just… It never came up, Nile."

"But, Erwin," Nile began, his voice still softened with shock. "I… my wedding man. I… All these years."

"Yeah," Erwin replied with a nod.

"All the costumes, the flirting… I never thought…"

"It's not about what you wear or who you talk to, Nile." Erwin replied with a shake of his head. "I wanted to tell you, really I did. But-" The blonde sighed and shrugged. "I didn't know how, Nile. You're one of my closest friends and I… I didn't want you think other of me."

"But Erwin," Nile began. He glanced behind Erwin to Mike, seeking reassurance. "Any help here?"

Mike shrugged. "I only know he's gay because I walked in on shit you don't want to know, Nile." He waved a hand then sipped his beer. "Trust me, it's better not knowing that."

Hanji shuffled closer to Mike. "What did you see exactly?" She whispered.

"Nile," Erwin tried to get his friend's attention back, despite the blush on his cheeks from Mike's remark. "I didn't hide it to hurt you. And I didn't exactly help either. I flirted with Marie just to piss you off because you kept accusing me of stealing her. But I didn't think you would be that upset with it. I didn't think you would think I would literally do it."

Nile laughed once. "Well, you didn't have to." He replied. "But hey, let's… it's Halloween. Your costume's great. And uh, well, we're here now. Let's get hammered. You like men, that's cool. There's men here." He motioned around them. "Men aplenty. I, uh, think there's some in that wine group I mentioned earlier. In fact, I think they're dressed as some cartoons too."

"Oh?" Erwin raised an eyebrow. He hadn't come to the party with the intention of meeting anyone since he was hoping to find a stable partner for the longterm rather than a one-night wonder, but he figured he would take Nile's lead as a show of friendship between them.

The group followed Erwin as they wondered from the kitchen towards the den. They paused at the intersection of the two rooms and began to laugh as their eyes fell on the only trio that Nile could possibly have meant to point out to them.

The trio only had two men in it, but their costumes were cute, just like Erwin's was. The red-haired lady that was with them was dressed in all pink to depict a box of golden french fries and the tall blonde man was dressed in a casual t-shirt printed to replicate a hamburger. The last man was wearing all black with a black pointy crown on his head that had a yellow-beak designed brim. He was holding a headband with a rectangular orange flag on it that the blonde was reaching for, teasingly withholding a piece of the blonde's costume from him.

"Oh my god, Erwin," Mike stated in mock-horror. "They're from Hello Kitty too."

Erwin grinned triumphantly at his friends, unable to hide his gloat. "They're Dokidoki Yummy Chums and Badte-maru!" He explained to Nile, who was visibly confused, then turned his attention back to the trio. The Badte-maru had definitely caught his attention, being just the kind of man he was attracted to: handsome, friendly, and just a little bit of a tease.

Nile gave his head a shake. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied.

Erwin laughed and then smiled at Mike. "Well, looks like you were wrong, Mike. People are wearing costumes as cute as Hello Kitty. I'm off to test Nile's theory." He announced, then began to head towards the trio.

"What do you mean?" Mike called after him.

Erwin paused and turn to face Mike. "I'm gonna see if he likes Hello Kitty." He replied with a wink, then turned and headed towards the trio.

"Badte-maru," he greeted the dark-haired man. This close to him, Erwin was surprised to see that he was quite short.

The dark-haired man turned to face Erwin and his smile dropped into a look of shock. His friends dressed as Dokidoki Yummy Chums also looked surprised. Clearly, they had also thought that no one would arrive as a Sanrio character. Then they all began to laugh aloud.

"Hello, Hello Kitty," Badte-maru replied with a smile. He was clearly amused. He handed his blonde friend back his headband. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I can say the same for you. I expected to find Dear Daniel, or least another kitty." Erwin replied, taking a seat beside the dark-haired boy on the raised fireplace hearth.

"That's overrated," the man replied with a roll of his silver eyes. "I'm Levi, by the way."

"I'm Erwin," Erwin introduced himself. "Would you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Levi replied, shifting to sit closer to the blonde. He liked him already, despite having been enjoying being ignored by all the party-goers. "Price to join is one apple," he teased.

Erwin chuckled and held out the one he was holding. It had become quite warm in his hand all night.

Levi took the apple from Erwin's hand, set it aside, and boldly placed his hand in Erwin's instead. He was captivated by the blonde's blue-eyes and wanted to express that interest to him in a bold manner. "What made you dress up as Hello Kitty, Erwin?" He asked, curiosity in his tone.

"The tail," Erwin replied, glancing at his backside and arching his back to tease Levi. He held his hand gently, taking his time with their flirtation. "What about you?"

"Oh, this?" Levi motioned to the hat he was wearing with his free hand and chuckled. "It's just something I had in my closet."

"My friends told me Hello Kitty was "too cute" for Halloween," Erwin rolled his eyes.

Levi raised a thin eyebrow, then looked Erwin up and down to make it clear he was checking him out. "But, you're a sexy Hello Kitty." He replied. "That's the rule for Halloween. Be sexy or be scary. You're sexy."

Erwin laughed. "That's exactly what I said." He shifted closer to Levi, enjoying how Levi was confident in praising his costume. "And you're a sexy Badte-maru."

"Of course," Levi replied. "I'm always sexy."

Erwin nodded. He liked Levi's confidence, but the man seemed out of place from the other guests and Nile in general. It made Erwin wonder why Nile had even been friends with Levi, let alone invited him to his party. "How do you know Nile? You don't seem like the kind of people he usually associates with?"

"Nile?" Levi asked, appearing uncharacteristically unsure as he glanced around the room. "He's the guy who owns this house, right?"

"Yeah, it's his party," Erwin clarified, surprised that Levi appeared to have no idea who the man was who invited him.

"Oh, no idea then." Levi confessed with a wave of his free hand. "I got invited by a mutual friend, Zackly. He was here with us, but he wondered away and took our wine with him."

Erwin shook his head as he laughed. "Oh, shit. That's why theres over two-hundred people on the guest list. He didn't limit who can add people."

"Four-hundred, since I last checked. And, I guess not." Levi replied, then smirked. "But I'm sure glad he didn't, because if he had I wouldn't have met you just now."

Erwin's cheeks flushed a soft pink, which made his painted whiskers appear darker. "Ah," He replied, finding himself flattered beyond words and softly squeezing Levi's hand to return his flirtation. Levi managed to make his heart beat race by just his delightfully teasing words. He knew that despite how the night played out, he would want to see Levi again.

"Welcome to the party, Erwin Kitty," Levi continued to tease him, enjoying the blush on Erwin's cheeks.

"Happy Halloween, Levi Badte-maru." Erwin replied.