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youre-ackermine · 26 days

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Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin // Attack on Titan

Fanfiction, headcanons & moodboards posted here on Tumblr

Fanfiction & headcanons posted on AO3

English is not my usual language

Posted: 03/30/2024 || Last update: 04/20/2024

Levi Ackerman x Reader

Under the Mistletoe • Tumblr // AO3

Don't you dare! • Tumblr // AO3

Levi Ackerman x Hange Zoe (Levihan)

Sunburst • Tumblr // AO3

Belated Birthday • Tumblr // AO3

Echo • Tumblr // AO3 • for @dont-f-with-moogles

Dumbstruck • Tumblr // AO3

Night Out • Tumblr // AO3

Flushing • Tumblr // AO3

Lips like Sugar • Tumblr // AO3 • fanart by wolfstar13_ on Instagram

Troublée (part one) • Tumblr // AO3

Levi Ackerman x Petra Ral (Rivetra)

[coming soon]

Levi Ackerman x Erwin Smith (Eruri)

[coming soon]

Levi Ackerman x Miche Zacharias (Rivamike)

[coming soon]

Levi Ackerman x Hange Zoe x Erwin Smith (Erurihan)

[coming soon]

Hange Zoe x Pieck Finger (Pikuhan)

Behind the Scenes • Tumblr // AO3

Hange Zoe x Erwin Smith (Eruhan)

[coming soon]

Erwin Smith x Reader

[coming soon]

Erwin Smith x Miche Zacharias (Mikeeru/Erumike)

[coming soon]

Levi Ackerman

Levi's Birthday 2023 + moodboard • Tumblr // AO3

[coming soon]

Levi Ackerman x Hange Zoe (Levihan)

Postwar!Levihan Valentine's Day 2024 + moodboard • Tumblr // AO3

Our First Christmas + moodboard • Tumblr // AO3

Sunday Walk • Tumblr // AO3 • inspired by @ashh-ketchup 's fanart

Hange Zoe x Erwin Smith (Eruhan)

[coming soon]

Jean Kirstein x Reader

Jean Kirstein x Fem!Reader Valentine's Day 2024 + moodboard • Tumblr // AO3

Historia Reiss x Ymir (Yumihisu)

Yumihisu Band AU + headcanons • Tumblr // AO3

Levi Ackerman

Love Bites (NSFW) with @leviismybby • Tumblr // AO3

Levi's Fingers (NSFW) • Tumblr // AO3

Levi Ackerman / Levi Week 2023 Event

for @leviweek2023

Day 1 Tea Shop

Day 2 Underground City

Day 3 Affection and Fondness

Day 4 Dad / Family

Day 5 Vampire AU // No Name Band

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Levi Ackerman x Reader

TattooArtist!Levi for @stellar-smth || fanfiction Under your Skin

Postwar!Levi fanfiction inspo "Mursa" for @sixpennydame || fanfiction North Star

Postwar!Levi fanfiction inspo "Postwar Fort Salta" for @sixpennydame || fanfiction North Star

Levi Ackerman x Hange Zoe (Levihan)

No Name #1

No Name #2 [coming soon]

Postwar!Levihan Valentine's Day 2024 + headcanons

Our First Christmas + headcanons

Student!Levihan for @smol-lydia || fanfiction I Wanna Make a Couple Bad Decisions (with you)

Scouts!Levihan for @this-is-krikkit

Valentine's Day 2023

Levi Ackerman x Petra Ral (Rivetra)

Rivetra for @love4-bunny

Levi Ackerman x Farlan Church (Levifar)

[coming soon]

Erwin Smith x Reader

[coming soon]

Erwin Smith x Miche Zacharias (Mikeeru/Erumike)

[coming soon]

Eren Jaeger x Mikasa Ackerman (Eremika)

[coming soon]

Jean Kirstein x Reader

Jean x Fem!Reader Valentine's Day 2024 + headcanons

Historia Reiss x Ymir (Yumihisu)

Yumihisu Band AU + headcanons

Header & dividers: @youre-ackermine || Do not use without credit 💟

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this-is-krikkit · 23 days

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no more boops? have a fic instead!

rating: Mature relationships: Erwin Smith/Mike Zacharias, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë

summary: Teleworking at Erwin's place grants Mike a front row seat to his boss honoring a stupid dare. Let's be honest, though: it has other perks.

additional tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, slightly kinky, Light BDSM, very light actually most of it is only mentioned, Based on a Tumblr Post, i gave Nanaba a family name for the narrative, i also gave her a couple heart attacks. also for the narrative!, Tumblr Prompt, Mike and Hange both wearing their boyfriends' shirts Challenge: complete, Office Romance

inspired by:

enjoy!!

“To conclude this meeting and another productive week, I’d like to have everyone’s attention for a few of our most pressing matters.”

Oh, he’s going to do it now, Mike realizes.

For the hundredth time in the last hour and a half, he has to check that both his microphone and camera are offline. He’s not usually so easily spooked about these things, but it’s one thing to want your privacy during a meeting with twenty people and the company’s CEO himself making a presentation, and it’s another to have to hide the fact that you’re teleworking from said CEO’s penthouse apartment every Friday because you’ve been secretly —Mike’s decided that drunkenly confessing to Nanaba a few weeks back doesn’t count— fucking each other for months now against all company guidelines.

He almost feels sorry for not warning his friend Hange, the only one besides Erwin and a few less highly ranked colleagues who’s currently got their camera on —and who is probably unaware of that fact, seeing how their crumpled shirt is hanging open as far as he can see— for what’s about to happen, but he couldn’t do that without giving himself away.

“I’m going to need Business Development, Sales and Marketing to work together closely on the Titan project next quarter. Zoë, Ackerman and Zacharias, as respective heads of these divisions, I’ll require that you regularly meet and update me directly on this matter. It’s a great challenge, but I have no doubt your BDSM task force, as I’ve labeled it, will tackle it under the deadline I stipulated earlier.”

It’s probably unnoticeable to everyone else with his camera so high on his laptop’s screen, but Mike knows he didn’t imagine the way Erwin’s eyes just settled on him, all the way over where he’s lounging on the comfy couch in his boss’ home office, when he said the acronym Mike dared him to place. Knowing this was coming does little to stop Mike’s shock at hearing the awfully casual way he enunciated those letters, and it’s physically painful to have to contain his hilarity —Erwin’s microphone is definitely still on and it’s not that big a room— when he glances back down and sees Erwin actually put it into bold, huge characters onto an otherwise blank slide.

His eyes catch movement on his screen then, and he realizes that some screens that were previously showing faces have suddenly gone dark.

His friend Hange's, however, hasn’t. In fact, they’re currently losing their mind over what just happened, and they’re definitely unaware of their camera being on if the image of them picking up their laptop and running into another room before settling it down in front of Levi as they hurriedly gesture at —Mike’s guessing since their microphone is still thankfully muted— Erwin’s scandalous slide is anything to go by.

It’s not unusual for Hange and Levi, two of the most important people in this company and annoyingly close friends —who, in Mike’s opinion, are two close idiots who really are in love with each other and should get together already— to be spending teleworking days together.

But something is… off in this picture.

Then Mike realizes, now that he’s seen them standing, that Hange’s shirt’s probably been hanging open because it’s obviously several sizes too small. And, before Levi’s eyes comically widen and he extends his arm towards their camera to turn their tiny window black as well, it finally clicks in Mike’s brain.

That wasn’t just Levi.

That was Levi and his naked torso, sculpted by the endless hours he spends in the same gym Mike trains at, and covered in hickeys.

Mike steals a glance at Erwin, but his boss is now calmly calling the end of the meeting, his usual poker face on although there’s no way in hell he didn’t notice what just transpired.

Before he can think of addressing it out loud as Erwin turns his computer off and stands from his chair, Mike’s phone chimes with Nanaba’s special ringtone. He sighs and picks up, knowing making his best friend wait after these very interesting last few minutes isn’t the best idea.

“Mike, what the fuck?” She starts, and Mike rolls his eyes as he rethinks of the countless times she’s threatened him with days long HR seminars about his swearing. “You and Eyebrows did this on purpose, didn’t you? Hange’s freaking out so bad right now!”

She’s being so loud the sound of her voice carries way further than Mike’s phone speaker, and Erwin mouthes the nickname back at him with obvious amusement, now close enough to sit with him on the couch.

“Well, first of all, I didn’t know their camera would be on,” he says, trying not to sound as defensive as the guilt he feels about his other friend’s distress wants him to. “And besides, it serves them right for not telling me they're finally hooking up with Levi! Did you know and forget to tell me by any chance?"

Mike shares a glance with Erwin at that, who shakes his head condescendingly at his outrage —and if Mike wasn’t almost sure his boss had figured his two friends out before they all just got accidental proof of their relationship, now he is— and extends one arm over the back of the couch to scoot even closer to Mike’s lap, before casually starting to leave feather light kisses along his neck.

“You do not have a fucking leg to stand on here, Mister Secret CEO Boyfriend,” Nanaba scolds over the phone, making Mike freeze at the unexpected title, even as the pressure of Erwin’s lips only increases against his sensitive skin. “Which, by the way, I know this was his idea and not yours, you’re not twisted enough to come up with something like this. And I know I said I wanted to make friends with the big boss now that you two are doing the horizontal tango, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea after—

“That’s alright, Miss Fischer,” Erwin interrupts, taking advantage of the speechless state his hickeys have left Mike into, sounding way too unbothered for their current predicament. “I’m not here to make friends anyway.”

There’s a sudden squeal followed by the muffled sound of Nanaba possibly trying to catch her phone before it falls from her grip.

“Erw— Mister Smith? Oh my God. Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Sir, Mike never said… I mean, had no idea you could overhear—”

“It’s alright,” Erwin says again, pausing to nibble at the skin over Mike’s collarbone, who’s trying to glare at him even though he knows it’s a lost cause. “I’ll see you Monday, Miss Fischer. Have a restful weekend.”

“Yes, Sir. Sorry again. I’ll see you on Monday, Sir.”

Erwin takes the phone away before she’s even done and throws it behind him on the cushions, not bothering to check that the call effectively cut —although Mike’s sure it did, because Nanaba sounded absolutely terrified.

“You just terrorized your HR Director,” he tries, still panting from Erwin’s most recent attention to his neck.

“I know,” Erwin singsongs like he just got praised instead of scolded, nipping along Mike’s jaw playfully now.

“Did you do it because of the nickname, or because I told you she had a crush on me back when we started at the company?”

Erwin chuckles, his breath fanning over Mike’s overheated skin in the process, and draws back far enough to look him in the eyes.

“Come on, I don’t hold such childish grudges,” he says smoothly, predatory smile firmly in place.

Mike bites back his own smile, and tries to keep his face neutral.

“You know I’m aware that you’re lying, right?”

Erwin only grins wider and lets his hand travel along his torso, down his abdomen, and finally cups him briefly over his pants, tearing a hiss out of him that effectively ruins his attempt to appear unimpressed.

“And you know I’m aware of how much that turns you on, right?” he asks in his ear.

"Fuck. Kiss me,” Mike orders.

He doesn’t often use this tone of voice, but you'd need to be blind not to notice the surprising effect it has on such an authoritative figure as Erwin Smith.

But his boss still isn’t one to give up control that easily, as assure the previous times they’ve been together in bed —or this couch, his kitchen, his bathroom... even under his on site desk one memorable time— combined with the way their lips fight for dominance the second they connect and the rough hands that immediately begin tearing at his clothes —well, at Erwin’s shirt that he borrowed today, actually, so Mike really couldn’t care less about the buttons sent flying around the room right now.

Mike lets out a gasp as Erwin pushes him firmly onto his back and trails his hands over the skin he’s just uncovered. His fingers find Mike’s nipples and pinch them, reaching that perfect line between pain and pleasure right away as Mike curses as much as he blesses how well Erwin’s come to know his body in only a few months of casual —is it still casual? Erwin didn’t exactly react to Nanaba calling him Mike’s boyfriend earlier— sex encounters.

The edges of his mind are already getting fuzzy, but Mike doesn’t let himself completely fall under Erwin’s spell yet.

One of his hands cups the back of Erwin’s head and adjusts the angle with enough force to bury his face in his neck, tickling his skin with the facial hair he knows Erwin finds irresistible and unexpectedly biting down, hard. It’s definitely going to leave a bruise; but for one, it’s low enough that Erwin will be able to hide whatever faded mark is left after the weekend under a high collar shirt; and this move is one of Erwin’s weaknesses that’s never failed before.

It doesn’t disappoint now, either, and Erwin moans loudly and goes slack enough at the sudden teeth impact to let Mike switch their position and land on top of him instead.

“You really shouldn’t lie to me, Mister Smith,” he growls as he settles on top of him, rotating his hips so his ass rubs against the hardening erection in Erwin’s pants even as he brings one hand to wrap his around his throat.

He spreads his fingers around his airway, teasing gently before he starts squeezing.

“Wait,” Erwin chokes out suddenly.

Mike lets go of his neck at once, dropping the act and cupping his cheek instead.

“Red?” he asks, searching Erwin’s eyes for signs of pain.

He tried to erase the surprise from his voice but knows he only partially succeeded —choking is certainly not where they’ve ever drawn the line before. Then again, if that’s what Erwin needs right now, of course he’ll stop.

“No, of course not,” Erwin says, dismissing his concerns with a scoff. “But don’t you want your assignment first?”

“Oh. Well, sure, but why… I mean, what is it, do you think I’m going to fuck your brains out so hard you won’t remember when I’m done with you?” he teases, grinding against him again.

“Actually, yes,” Erwin breathes through a tender smile.

There’s no trace of humor in his tone or on his face now, and Mike is split between a surge of white hot arousal at knowing his lover genuinely thinks that highly of him, and near-overwhelming affection for the sometimes disarmingly honest, always unpredictable, and forever complicated man he’s currently pinning down on expensive leather they’re about to ruin.

“Alright,” he concedes, putting both hands on each side of Erwin’s head and stilling his movements. “What inappropriate word do you charge me to use in workplace conversation next week, Sir?”

Erwin curls his index to coax Mike closer. He follows the order and leans over him until Erwin’s able to take his lower lip between his teeth and suck on it, and Mike’s groan lingers even after he’s let go with a loud pop.

“C.B.T,” Erwin enunciates.

Mike closes his mouth and swallows. Hard.

Erwin smirks up at him, his clever hands using the distraction to unbutton and unzip Mike’s pants in one fluid movement.

#snk #aot #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #erumike #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #erumike fanfiction #erwin smith #mike zacharias #miche zacharias #mikeeru #erwin x mike #erwin x miche #levihan #(minor/background but they're still in here)#my stuff #ao3 link

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mikeeruprompts · 4 months

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MikeEru Month 2023 is reopened!

Missed MikeEru Month last October? No worries–we're accepting late submissions for the event!

The event is accepting entries until January 31, 2024. Submit your entry now ✨

#mikeeru month #mikeeru month 2023 #erumike #erwin x miche #erwin x mike #miche x erwin #miche zacharias #miche zacharius #mike x erwin #mike zacharias

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foundfamilyshenanigans · 2 years

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Bois night 💅

#it just happened #mike zacharias #erwin smith #levi ackerman #erumike #eruri #snk veterans #shingeki no kyojin #shitpost #my art

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elmundodeflor · 1 year

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The place is packed. Crowded to its full capacity. The music’s too loud, the floors almost bumping to the beat of every compass. And Levi thinks, sure enough, he’s too sober to do this right now. That he, most definitely, isn’t one for weddings.

Even if it’s Erwin’s.

He huffs and chugs over the last of his champagne glass. It’s a sweet haze that lingers on his tongue. A bubbly daydream that makes him stare at the scene with softer eyes, if only for a brief moment.

He had told Erwin that he should have gone for something more intimate, that one night when he asked for opinions. That he should have rented the small chapel by the beach, and invite a few of his closer friends only. He had never been that of a pretentious man to begin with. And Mike preferred keeping things low-profile, anyways.

So, what was the need for all of this big fuzz?

He looks over at his friends, shaking it off in the middle of the dancefloor. It’s a nice venue they’ve rented: that, he has to admit. There are fairy lights hanging from the tree branches, and everything else is covered in delicate, white décor. It reminds him a bit of Christmas, he tells himself: how joy is palpable in the air. How it seems, somehow, that the breeze smells of tender hoping.

He puts the glass on the table, and rests an arm on the back of his chair. He has been sitting for a while already, all-too abstracted from the rest of the party. It's no surprise, he had always preferred to be a silent witness, after all. Someone who rather enjoys from the peripheries. It’s the reason why he’s chosen Architecture, he figures. Why he’d followed Erwin to open up their own studio in the first place. To look at the fuller landscape. To contemplate at the maimed beauty that one can only taste from the distance.

He hums, content. In front of him, Mike, Moblit and Nana are already tipsy, slurring out a very drunken chorus to the song that’s playing. It’s a sight that’s so warm with gentleness, he’s afraid he’ll tarnish it if he stares any longer. Mike puts his arms around both his friends, and he finds himself smiling, all of a sudden. It’s in the way blush glazes over their cheeks. The rush of wonder that flashes through their bodies as they dance.

Yep. He’s certainly too sober for this.

He tends to the bottle and pours himself another glass. The night is young, still: the weather damp and fresh, typical of an august spent in Paradis. He remembers long-lost summers like this, where Hanji took him to the base of the same cliff they’re at now. They would crash at his house uninvited, sneak over the fence of his backyard. And he’d jump off his window and run for the hills, too bold to ever look back.

He guesses, he misses it all a little bit. The reckless laughter, how Hanji would teach him about a different star every time. He has the feeling that the world was a much more interesting place when they were a constant to it. That now that they’re in Marley, even the moon has stopped to shine, as well.

He takes a sip. Champagne drowns out the echo of his thoughts for a second, soothes out the tinge of nostalgia that tugs at his chest. Hanji is dancing in front of him, too. And he can’t help but seek for them in the crowd, like when they were little kids figuring out life.

There’s something about the way they move, really. A whimsical magic that pulls him into them, brighter than a thousand sunsets. Maybe, it’s that they haven’t seen each other in three months, he wants to believe. Or maybe, it’s their hair: how it’s loose and wild and free, beautifully tousled by the drumming of the music.

Has he ever told them how pretty he’s always drawn them?

He shakes his head, takes every corner of them in. Their suit is slightly wrinkled from all the dancing, their face flushed a faint tone of peach. They make him dream of dawn over the ocean, how untamable they are. Make him think of going on adventures and getting fake tattoos.

"Why don't you dance with them?", Erwin talks from behind, sitting down next to him. He’s wearing head-to-toe white: a rose clipped to the flap of his tux.

Levi grunts. He has no idea how does he know that he’d been staring. Or for how long. But then again, this is typical of his best friend to do.

"I don't dance.", he says, plain and simple. And that much, is true. “Besides,”, he adds, as he lifts up the glass once more. “Shouldn’t you be concerned about other stuff? It’s your wedding.”

Erwin lets out a light chuckle.

"Precisely.”, he deadpans, then. “You and Hanji are my best-men tonight. I’ve noticed how you’ve been looking at them, Levi..."

That earns him only but another grunt.

Of course, the bastard had had to pick upon it.

"I'm not looking at them in any particular way.", he lies.

Erwin raises a brow. Out on the floor, Hanji spins to the rhythm of a melody that’s born anew, so faded that they’re barely aware of the universe. And Levi’s eyes are glued upon them, still, staring with a love so burning, it seems as though a comet has just crashed onto the shores.

Did he really think he wasn’t being obvious? That he could get away with fooling his life-long companion like that?

"You wanna know how I know...?", he starts, after what appears a long minute of silence. His voice has become lower all too quickly. Almost as if he’s setting free of his heart’s best kept secret. "I know because that's the exact same way I look at Mike."

Levi holds in his breath, stays quiet for a moment. He thinks of the night Hanji had showed him the constellations up the skies, right before leaving off abroad. They had told him, that every star belonged to another. That they were all threaded together, connected somehow. He had supposed it was a little stupid, back then. Science was something far beyond his field of comprehension.

Still, Hanji had persisted, he recalls, stubborn as they were. They had taken his hand into theirs, pointed them up at the ignites of a flickering planet.

“Look…”, they’d said, in a whisper drowned out by moonlight. “You and I… are like the stars, Levi…”

He didn't understand.

“Like the stars?”

Hanji had nodded, then glared up at him a second too long.

“You know…?”, they hushed. Their voice smelt of spring, and of the cheap wine they’d bought from the store. “No matter how far we stray, we’ll always be linked close, side by side…”

He swallows, and stares over at them once more now. Their slender figure, the smile that hints at the corner of their lips. They are putting up a spectacle for one without even realizing. A show that names them the owner of every light upon his skyline.

Because his pulse has raised too obnoxiously loud, almost audible above the music. And he's sure, right there, as he watches them move, that his childhood's best friend has screwed him over.

That his soul will always be tied to the brightest star that could be up the cosmos.

“What do I do now…?”, he asks, more to himself that to anyone else.

Erwin places a hand on his shoulder, gives him a tight, reassuring squeeze.

“Just be yourself.”, he concludes, as he gets up to join Mike back on the dancefloor. “That should be enough.”

He's two more champagne glasses down when he bumps into Hanji by the dessert table. Still, he's too sober to be making this much of a ridicule act.

"'Wassup!", they exclaim, as they turn around to face him. And they notice, almost immediately: he appears all too serious. Like he's just been invited to a funeral. "Everything alright?", they ask, concerned. "You look... constipated."

Levi bites his tongue. He seriously wants the Earth to swallow him whole.

"Well...", he begins. He can feel his skin turn to an aching shade of red. "Ewin's been telling me not to hold back my shit anymore, so..."

He instantly face-palms himself. Hold back his shit? What is he even talking about? He is too nervous and not making any sense right now.

Hanji laughs, and it's like time has never ran between them, really. Like they are still the same children who chased after fireflies and built up tents with their bed covers. Truth is, they had missed Levi, too. His permanent scowl and his endless battle with words. His perfectly parted hair, and the softness that lies within his eyes.

They take the rose that hangs from his suit, then put it in between black locks, there in the tender spot behind his ear. After all, they have a silent agreement to their friendship, old as the day they met. He allows them into the parts of him that hurt, and they are careful not to talk about them.

"So...", they say. Their hand is still on his face, lingering on the sides of it a minute too long. They have no idea what it means, but it's a gesture so intimate, Levi doesn't dare move. "Lets go dancing! Shall we...?"

He smiles. Up the skies, stars dapple in the dark canvas of the night, glimmer like distant raindrops on pitch black. He recognizes, they are all stitched together into the glints of a million different constellations. That no dot is left untouched. And he thinks, maybe, that Hanji was probably right.

All along. All this time.

They have always been just alike.

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nerdynuala · 1 year

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This is the oldest draft I had in my draft folder :')

Mikenana and Erumike brotp excuse me while I go happily cry in a corner. Good times, very good times when I had the time to be drawing all this stuff

Why did I not post this sooner? No idea

Anyway have a healthy vets triangle here

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arkquille · 9 months

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The couple that reads together before bedtime ♥️

#aot #attack on titan #erwin smith #mike zacharias #mikeeru #erumike

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dudelegushbka · 2 months

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💛

#erwin smith #mike zacharias #erumike #aot #snk #my art

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wingedwhitelioness · 9 months

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It’s world lion day 🦁

Here’s to: 🍻

Mikelion 💘 Cougarwin

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mikesmatcha · 6 months

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Together in life and beyond.

#mikeeru #attack on titan #erumike #mike zacharias #erwin smith #進撃の巨人 #mike x erwin #erwin x mike #miche x erwin #erwin x miche #erwin smith x miche zacharias #miche zacharias x erwin smith #miche zacharias #aot erwin #erwin aot #aot mike #aot miche

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youre-ackermine · 2 months

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Sunburst: a sudden brief appearance of the full sun from behind clouds

Characters: Levi Ackerman / Hange Zoe / Petra Ral / Erwin Smith / Miche Zacharias / Nanaba / Zeke Jaeger / Nifa (mention) / Moblit Berner (mention) / Yelena (mention)

Pairing: Levihan (friendship) / Rivetra / Zekehan / Erumike (implied)

Wordcount: 2265 approx.

Modern AU / SFW / Levihan slow burn / High school friends / Established relationships / Non-binary AFAB Hange Zoe / Swearwords / POV Levi Ackerman

His mood probably couldn’t get gloomier now that he had finished all the tasks -most likely meant to distract him from his dejection now he thought about it- that Miche had assigned to him since morning.

He was sitting on the steps leading to the porch, a glass of iced-tea from the bowl he had freshly prepared in hand. On the surface his face showed all the usual signs of annoyance and boredom that seemed to be his signature expression but, if you could get a closer look, melancholy tinged his features quite unexpectedly as he scrolled on his phone.

Levi frowned, squinting his eyes in the sun and gluing them to the screen. His heart sank when he saw Petra’s latest post on Instagram, a picture of Nifa and herself, all smiles as they drank some fruity cocktail from a ridiculously huge coconut through colorful straws. A nasty surge of jealousy stung him when he noticed the lustful glances a bunch of guys sitting with them around a restaurant table cast her way.

“The fuck that means,” he mumbled under his breath.

They were supposed to drink stupid cocktails from stupid coconuts together and they were supposed to bask in the sun on this stupid white sand beach together and they were supposed to soak in this stupid warm lagoon water together. But she had gone on vacation with Nifa instead, arguing she needed time. And space. To find herself, to recharge. To think about them.

Yeah, they were on a break. Yeah, she had decided this one-sidedly. Yeah, she had urged him to pack some of his stuff and stay at his best friend’s for a while. Yeah, he didn’t understand the fuck why she wanted this but he had obliged. Yeah, he would oblige again and again. And fucking yeah, he would do anything she asked if it meant he could win her back.

But dammit! Seeing her having a good time away from him, seeing her smiling as he was still stuck in anger and sadness after four weeks apart, imagining other men ogling her perfect curves, flirting with her, or even laying their dirty hands on her was tearing his heart apart.

A firm yet friendly pat on his shoulder snapped Levi off his stupor. He glanced sideways at Erwin as he sat down next to him.

“No point in hurting yourself over something you can’t control, Levi,” his best friend said, a hint of concern in his soft tone. A faint but incredibly fond smile appeared on Erwin’s face. “Get rid of your phone for now and go freshen up. You wouldn’t want Miche to scold you in front of the guests, would you?”

“As if I gave two shits about what that blond titan thinks!” Levi replied, rolling his eyes. He got up and pocketed his phone nonetheless, heading to his bedroom to change clothes.

He was pouring a refreshing drink for Nanaba, casually catching up with her, when a boisterous exclamation caught their attention. Everybody raised their heads and glasses, cheering the guest of honor as they waved frantically from the driveway where they were stepping out of their car.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe you all came! I’m so happy!” Hange shrieked, eyes sparkling with excitement and a huge smile on their face.

They laughed heartily as their step-brother picked them up in his arms and spun them around as if they weighed nothing.

“Happy birthday, Nerdling,” Miche whispered in their ear, his mustache tickling their skin when he pecked their cheek.

He loosened his embrace and let Hange go. Their gaze wandered around the garden to greet their guests, their radiant smile growing wider and reaching their eyes as they finally fell on their best friend.

“Happy birthday Hans!” she said, her arms wrapping around them. They held each other tight for a while until Hange peeked past Nanaba’s shoulder and recognised the short man standing next to the iced-tea bowl, his pouring gesture frozen in the air.

Hange’s eyes widened. “Holy Walls! Grumpy Pants, is that you?!”

“Tch… No shit, Four-Eyes,” he deadpanned, still gripping Nanaba’s glass by the rim.

“Still so handsome behind the scowl, right Shorty?” They chuckled and winked at him before turning to another guest.

For some reason his stomach churned.

A rhetorical question. Obviously.

The festive afternoon was drawing to a close. The birthday cake was nothing more than a few forgotten crumbs on a plate by now, the opened gifts had been thrown haphazardly on Hange’s car backseat, and the last guests had said their goodbyes a while ago.

Trash bags in hand, Miche, Erwin and Nanaba busied themselves around the garden and the terrace to throw paper plates and plastic cups away.

Levi had found the party more pleasant than expected. And definitely more pleasant than he would ever admit.

After flitting from one friend to the next, Hange had finally pulled out a chair to sit across from him in his favourite corner of the garden, near a bush of fragrant roses that always reminded him of his mother’s perfume.

They hadn’t met since the graduation ceremony a few years ago. They had caught up on what they had both been doing since then, inadvertently -and frankly, as an afterthought, much to his relief- dodging the matters of the heart.

He knew from Miche that they had been studying abroad in a prestigious university in Hizuru and had recently come back to work in a renowned research company in Trost, dragging their all-time lab partner Moblit -the fuck was this name by the way?- along with them. They had asked him a lot of questions about his work as an architect and his accomplishments in his hobbies. MMA techniques seemed to fascinate them by the way.

Levi's mind had been at ease listening to Hange’s enthusiastic babbling for hours, taking in their lively face and their bright, beautiful brown eyes behind their stained glasses. He had forgotten his worries for a while, lulled into a blissful daze by their voice, his heart almost soothed by their cheerful presence.

As the sun slowly set behind a hill, the gate creaked open to reveal a tall blond man with a well-trimmed beard and a pair of golden round glasses. Levi looked up at the newcomer who gestured to him to remain silent while he smoothly joined them, careful not to crunch the gravel under his feet.

Sensing something was off when their eyes fell on Levi’s face, Hange stopped their rant about whatever toxic plant they were blabbering about.

“Shorty? Something’s wrong? You’re as white as Moblit’s asscheeks all of a sudden!” they asked in a worried tone.

Moblit's assch-, what? Taken aback, Levi didn’t have time enough to retort.

Hange squealed when the man slid his hands over their waist from behind, but tilted their head back to look at him and flashed a beaming smile. He kissed their lips, lingering a bit too much to Levi’s liking, forcing him to avert his gaze in a burst of decency.

“By the Walls Zeke, I missed you so much!” Hange asked between kisses. “I’ve been waiting for you all day! Where have you been?”

Levi felt more and more like a creep, staring at the couple.

“Yelena missed her train to her parents' town so I gave her a drive there. Thought you wouldn’t mind, Honey!”

“Oh, Yelena… Of course I don’t mind!” Their voice faltered uncharacteristically.

Levi’s chest tightened as he noticed the way Hange’s face fell with their half-assed reply. How could someone be oblivious or careless enough to let down someone as kind as Hange on their own birthday? How could someone be cruel enough and bear to swipe Hange’s bright smile off their face?

That monkey could, of course.

Hange’s smile quickly came back to enlighten their face though. They got up, fidgeting with the paper napkin they still held in their hands. They tittered and gestured between both men.

“Oh, I'm sorry! Let me introduce you, guys!” they blurted out. “Zeke Darling, this is Levi Ackerman, Erwin’s best friend. Shorty, this is my fiancé Zeke Jaeger.”

Levi got up, gritting his teeth as he extended his hand and shook Zeke’s in a tight grip.

“What are the odds! You’re both renowned architects now I think about it!” Hange exclaimed cheerfully.

“Oh but your friend and I have already met before Honey!” The blond man smirked. “I won the Trost Finance Center building project over him!”

Zeke let go of Levi’s hand.

“Nice to see you again Ackerman,” he added with a feigned joviality.

He snaked his arm around Hange’s waist to pull them closer.

“Let’s go Honey! It’s getting late and I’d like to make it up to you tonight,” he said in a disgusting husky voice, shamelessly kissing his fiancée’s skin under their ear until they blushed and gasped like a shy teenager. Levi clenched his fists.

Hange stuttered as they bid him goodbye, promising to meet again soon over a cup of coffee, and waved to their hosts and best friend before heading to their car. They giggled when Zeke slid his hand down the small of their back and over their ass, whispering something in their ear as they walked down the driveway.

Levi’s eyes followed the rear lights until the car turned left at the end of the street, leaving a hollow feeling in his guts.

A friendly arm wrapped around his shoulder and Nanaba dragged him towards the house.

“C’mon Munchkin, let’s grab a beer and order a pizza!”

She pecked him on the cheek.

“So fucking gross Nana, I can’t stand wet kisses,” he grumbled.

“Of course you can’t sweetie.”

But he couldn’t help but smile when she pulled him closer to kiss him again and burst out laughing when he swiftly wiped his cheek.

Levi relished in the cool sensation of the breeze over his skin and the comforting warmth of his tea. The chirping of crickets nearby was lulling him into a peaceful slumber. He felt his stiff shoulders, his clenched jaw, his tense nape finally relax.

“So, Hange…” Erwin started once Nanaba had left and Miche had gone to bed.

“The fuck are you talking ‘bout Four-Eyes?” he replied, all the tension washing back over him.

Erwin raised his hands in a gesture of appeasement. “You seemed to get along well today, is all.”

Here we go, you blond bastard.

Erwin’s speech was only getting started and pain already throbbed in his head. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Yeah, ‘twas nice to catch up after all those years. They’re not so bad to talk to.” He paused. “Distracted me from this shitty life of mine for a bit.”

“I could tell.” Erwin took a sip of coffee and placed the cup back on the saucer. “You didn’t seem to enjoy Zeke’s company though.”

“That monkey? Hell no! You know how dirty he played with the Finance Tower project and fucked me over! How could I ever want to see this shithead again, you dumbass?”

Erwin knew better than to reply yet.

“How this brainiac is engaged to such a jerk is beyond me! Like, it’s their birthday and he shows up when the party's over, with all his lovey-dovey shit to cover up how he spent the afternoon with someone else instead… Disrespectful at the very least ‘f you ask me!”

Erwin smirked at his friend’s rant.

“What’s with the smirk, moron?”

“Nothing really.” Erwin’s gaze softened. “I don’t remember hearing you say so many words in one go. Ever. I wonder what got into you.” He chuckled.

Levi clicked his tongue. “Nothing special. We were having a nice little talk with Four-Eyes and I started to forget the crap piling up in my life at the moment and that fucking monkey ruined it all.”

Silence settled for a few minutes between both men.

“Seemed to do you good talking with someone else. You’re gonna hang with them again? I mean Hange.” Erwin asked after a while.

“Er yeah I guess… They mentioned a cup of coffee or shit some day soon.”

“Good! We’re your friends and we’re all worried about you, Levi. But, as you won't talk to us then talk with Hange. Anything that makes you feel better.”

Levi facepalmed to soothe the increasing pounding in his head and sighed.

“Could you mind your own fucking business for once, Blondie?” he hissed, rubbing his temples in a circle. “You’re giving me a headache.”

Erwin stood up, put a hand on Levi’s shoulder and squeezed it.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone then.”

He scooped his coffee cup off the table and took a few steps towards the door before turning around.

“Try to sleep tonight. You need to get some rest.”

Levi remained silent.

Erwin’s steps echoed in the evening darkness and he stopped briefly when gripping the handle.

“Good night Levi. See you tomorrow.”

As the door softly clicked shut, Levi let out a sharp breath he was holding for some time.

Yeah. Another day full of crap. The sparkle Hange had briefly brought in his otherwise dull life today was at least something he supposed.

“Shit! Life sucks, huh Four-Eyes?” he muttered to himself. His day couldn’t get any shittier than it already was, right?

Something vibrated in his back pocket. He fished his phone and answered without even thinking.

“Levi?” Petra’s voice. His body stiffened.

“Uhm yeah…” He ran his fingers through his hair to try and shut down his nervousness.

“We need to talk.”

Requested by anon // Prompt #30 "Where have you been?" from this drabble challenge

Proofreading @dont-f-with-moogles Thank you so much for your help Terra Darling 🩶

Header & dividers @youre-ackermine

A/N: Crossposted on AO3 as chapter 2 of my series It's not like I've got something grand to say to you // This takes place one year before Dumbstruck // English is not my usual language

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