#the boys she’d so badly misjudged when they first met

[blackhakumen]

Fanfic #2: A Halo Friendship Part 2: Ozpin's Brief Return (RWBY)

While walking through the night, yet chilly streets of Argus, Oscar begins to have thoughts about what had happened at the Arcs' household and what he said to the team. A part of him thinks that all of his words, while somewhat harsh, needed to be said back there and that he had every right to be frustrated by their actions that they displayed on the poor farm child. Yet somehow, the other part of him feels a little bad about walking out on them like that. Especially to Ruby Rose, the one person who actually treated him with actual care and kindness. While he would want to see her face to face and apologise, he knew that he couldn't come back there. Not while everyone else still thinks of him untrustworthy to the team. So for now, Oscar continues walking. Looking for a nearby bus station to get him to the nearest train station to get home to see his aunt, who he'd already missed very much. That is until a certain spirit came back to his inner conscious. A spirit know as Ozpin.

Ozpin: Oscar...

Oscar: O-Ozpin? Y-you're back!!

Ozpin: For the time being actually. But enough about me. Where on Earth are you going in the middle of the cold night? You should be inside with the others.

Oscar: ...Yeah about that... I'm actually going back to the farm...

Ozpin: W-what?! I-I don't understand... Why?! Did something happened between you kids?

Oscar: Wait....you didn't know already?

Ozpin: Oscar, I immediately disappeared from your self conscious after getting yelled at by my...former students. Of course I have little to no idea what happened after that. Now please...tell me what is going on?

Oscar: Well...I honestly don't know where to start but...

While finding a nearby seat to sit on, Oscar began to tell Ozpin everything that happened back at the house. From Jaune pinning him to a wall, Oscar calling him (and almost everyone else) out for their lack of trust and respect, all the way to actually walking out on them. After hearing what happened between them, Ozpin began to have mix emotions; between shock and sadness. He was no only shocked that one of his now former students would go as far as to attack Oscar and easily questioned his loyalties to the entire team but also how the farm boy would go as far as to walk out of them after calling them out on their misjudgements. However, he felt terrible about letting Oscar deal with all of this alone while he was dealing with his own issues himself. After regaining his thoughts on the situation at hand, Ozpin begins to tell his host:

Ozpin: Oscar....words cannot begin to describe how terrible I feel about the situation you all been through. And I am terribly sorry for leaving you to deal with this alone. Have I've known sooner I would've-

Oscar: No. I-its okay, Ozpin, really. You were already dealing with your problems back there. So there's no harm done. Even still, I've already made up my mind.

Ozpin: Oscar please. You can't go home. At least not yet.

Oscar: I'm sorry, Oz. But I refuse to go back to a team who's going keep blaming me for something I hardly even do. And I really do meant what I said back there too. So there's no point going back to them now...

Ozpin: 'Sigh' Look, I completely understand where you are coming from in all of this, I really do, but you must understand. These children has lost a lot throughout the years. Especially after everything that happened in the Beacon Academy.

Oscar: Yeah...and so does everyone else in this world, Ozpin. And believe me, I want to understand what they've been going through. Even if that were the case, that doesn't excuse any of them for acting the way they did back there, no matter how badly their loss were!

Ozpin: You're... absolutely right, Oscar. They shouldn't have let their emotions get the better of them...even if they were justified. But believe me when I say that they need us much more than ever. More specifically, they need you more than they need me.

Oscar: Why me, though?! We both know that I'm the weakest out of everyone in the group...I might as well be a lost cause at this point...

Ozpin: Oscar Pine... don't you ever let me hear you say that about yourself ever again, young man. You are absolutely not a lost cause! You achieved more than you could ever imagined. You were able hold your own fairly well against foes who seemed a little out of your league. And let's not forget the way you tried to help anyone out the best way you can. I don't think you've given yourself more credit than you should. Those two alone deserve as much praise as it could get.

Oscar: ...I guess you're right about that. I've.... really have came a long way, huh?

Ozpin: Why of course, my boy. And I can't be more prouder than I am now

Oscar: Wow, Ozpin I-...Thanks but... I'm still not sure if Ruby and the others even want me back or not...

Ozpin: I know my students can be...a handful sometimes. Especially when comes to dealing with their own personal issues, but I can assure you that they are one of the most finest young men and women I have ever met in my entire life. And knowing each and everyone them, I can tell that they would missed you terribly if you were to left home. And would possibly do everything they can to go and look for you as we speak. Especially, Ms. Rose.

Oscar: Even Ruby?

Ozpin: Well, she is the one who worries about you the most. Well, actually, Ms. Valkyrie worries about you a bit little more (considering the fact that she'd thinks of you as her own son for some reason), buuuut Ms. Rose is a close second. After all, she was the one you admired the most, yes? Imagine how devastated she would be when she realized you already left Argus.

Oscar: ............'heavy sigh' Okay.

Ozpin: Hmm?

Oscar: I'll go back and help them whatever I can. I..just can't leave them alone like that. Even if they don't fully trust me, a man never leaves a team behind.

Ozpin: Thank you, Oscar. I'm positive that you won't regret this. And on the contrary, it's me that the group doesn't fully trust. You won't be losing their trust anytime soon.

Oscar: You...really think so?

Ozpin: I know so, my boy. Now can we please get back inside before the night gets even colder?

Oscar: W-w-wait! Before we do that, could we go by a local supermarket from the other side of the street there? I need to pick up somethings.

Ozpin: Well...I suppose. But are you sure you have enough money to help get you what you need?

Oscar: Trust me, Oz. I think I have just enough.

Ozpin: Very well then. But it's straight back to the house with your, mister.

Oscar: (Soft Chuckle) Yes sir, Professor Ozpin.

And so, with all of that out of the way, Oscar began to walk towards a nearby supermarket to buy the things he needed before going back to the Arcs' household.

After getting what he wanted from there, which were a little bit of groceries, the ingredients for his homemade casserole, and some classy new clothes, Oscar heads back to the house where he spotted a bright light up on the staircase of the apartment.

Oscar: (Maybe they've already left to look for me...)

Ozpin: (Possibly...)

While they approach the staircase, the first thing he saw was a certain drunken grim reaper passed out on the first floor.

Ozpin: Should we... wake him up?

Oscar: .... Actually, I think it's maybe best if we don't... I'm honestly not ready to talk to him yet after...you know.

Ozpin: Yes...I believe I'm not ready to do so either...plus now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the others will come back here eventually.

Oscar: Yeah. You're right about that.

Ozpin: Anyways, we should get inside before it gets freezing.

Oscar: Right.

And with that, Oscar left the unconscious Qrow alone and went inside to change and get dinner ready before the others comes back.

The farm boy has already realized that the road he took was far from simple but as long as he has people like Ruby, Ozpin, and the others by his side and have the will to never give up, he believed... that he'll be just fine.

#rwby #oscar pine #ozpin #qrow (sort of) #chapter 2 #continuation #what should've happened in chapter 9 #takes place after oscar left #pretty proud of this one #just edited the chapter just in case #a halo friendship #fanfics

[somethingjustsouthofbrilliance]

I Got You (Tony/Rhodey secret service AU) Chapter 10

Warning for mentions of abuse of a minor. Again, nothing graphic, just an fyi.

Links to chapter 1, chapter 9

Tagging @jamesrhodey  @supernaturalyloki @chanderefk @aimeeroot21 @markedplaces @mostly-marvel-stuffs @matre-dee @le-ephemere @lo-anlurui @savedbyholmes @kimmycup @typicalcampbell @natty-ts70 @damnhiatus @pubzie @giulisetta @goose-danvers  @donttellanyoneitsmebabe @bookwermthings @tonystark5ever  @polygamoussquamous @swanheart69 @schalabi422

Chapter 10

She’s in the middle of changing the dressing on Tony’s wound when the door to her bedroom is pushed open and James walks in.  He watches her in silence for a few moments, hovering awkwardly by the far wall, before stepping further into the room.

 “How is he?”

 She shrugs, one-shouldered, picks up a roll of gauze to place over the dressing.  “The bleeding has slowed down quite a bit,” she allows, carefully smoothing out the gauze.  Lingers, her fingers resting lightly on the strip of the tanned skin turned pale with blood loss.  It feels warm under her touch.  A little too warm.  She tells James as much.  

 “Infection?”

 There’s an unmistakable note of worry in his voice, a reflection of her own, and she bites her lip against it.  Sighs, pulling the blanket back up to cover Tony’s shoulders.  

 “I’ll be keeping an eye on it,” she says.  “There’s a pharmacist I know next town over.  I can get antibiotics from him, if need be.”

And, hopefully, there won’t be, she thinks.  Because, Tony’s strong.  He’s gonna beat this.  She has to believe it, she has to.  

She scans the slack features before her, her chest tight with concern.  “You made me a promise, Mr. Stark,” she reminds him silently, smoothing her fingers over a furrow of pain that creases Tony’s forehead even in the unconsciousness of sleep.  “Don’t you dare break it now.”

 She hears James hum distractedly in response, hears the floorboards creak as the man approaches the bed, hesitating to a stop a couple steps away.

 “Something on your mind?” She raises an eyebrow at him, waits him out as he stands there, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as if unsure how to begin.

 He sighs, long and heavy. Runs his palm over his short buzz of hair.  “Is it true? About Howard?” he blurts out finally, his eyes a bit desperate, a bit wild.

 “What about Howard?” She sees James flinch at her tone. Knows she sounds cold, hostile even, but she can’t help it – the mere mention of that man sets her teeth on edge. Especially now, when Tony lies here, unconscious; when it’s only been hours since she cleaned his blood off her hands; when she can’t help but remember the last time she’d seen him like this….  

 To James’s credit, he doesn’t back down.  Holds his ground even under her scorching glare.  “I didn’t know Howard personally,” he begins, cautious but determined, “but his reputation–”

 “I know all about his reputation,” she spits, her lips pursing in disgust.

 “He was a well-respected figure in Washington,” he objects weakly, like it’s an obligation he feels somehow to defend Howard’s name, and she grits her teeth sharply to keep herself from snapping at him once again.  

He’s got more to say, she can see it.  So she’ll let him talk and then she’ll decide if what he says justifies her committing murder.

 James chews his lip again, blows out another breath.  “Look, I misjudged him.  Tony. Badly.  I… everything I’ve learned today, it’s…” He shakes his head, looking weary all of a sudden, drained.  “Tony said something in the car on the way here.  I don’t think he meant to say it and I, well, frankly, I wasn’t even sure I understood him right, but…”  He flicks an oddly distressed, uneasy glance at Tony before meeting her eyes once more. “Did Howard really…” He makes an aborted gesture in Tony’s direction.  “Was Tony…”

 “Abused?”

 He winces at her bluntness. Nods, crossing his arms on his chest as if to protect himself somehow from the ugly truth of it.  

The absurdity of the gesture almost makes her laugh.

 “I met Tony when I was in fourth grade.  Our principal, Mr. Wolfe, came in to our classroom one day almost halfway through the first semester with this scrawny 7-year-old.  Said the kid was gonna be joining our class.”  He reminded her of a cornered wolf cub then the way he stood there, staring defiantly at the classroom full of much bigger, older kids – frightened and beaten but ready to fight.  

 “Fourth grade at 7 years old?” James whistles in surprise.

 “Yeah,” she chuckles grimly, remembering the angry looks, the jealous rumors, the taunts that were thrown Tony’s way.  “It didn’t go over well with the rest of us, as you can imagine.  Everyone saw him as a spoiled rich brat whose daddy probably paid off the principal to get him placed in a higher grade (never mind that he was smarter than everyone there).  Who was too good to talk to any of us or to sit with us at lunch.  Too good to ride the bus, so he had his butler take him to and from school.”

 She runs her hand absently down the blanket, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles.  Stops when she reaches Tony’s hand, her fingers twitching slightly in indecision before she carefully picks it up to cradle in her own.

 “Took me months to realize that that butler, Jarvis, was the only person in Tony’s house who actually gave a damn about him,” she admits, her voice thick with self-loathing.  Runs her fingers with soothing apology over the bruised, scraped knuckles.  “Tony would disappear every so often.  Wouldn’t show up to school for days at a time.  Everyone thought he was probably tanning on some exotic beach in the Caribbean or something.  Only…. only he would come back and he’d be paler than before and he’d walk funny and flinch as if he were in pain whenever people bumped into him in the hallway.”  She looks up at James, her lips twisting bitterly. “You don’t get concussions and broken bones while lounging on the beach.”

 James runs a shaking hand over his mouth, eyes wide with horrified disbelief.  “And nobody… nobody knew?”

 “Some people did,” she acknowledges, the old familiar pang of guilt thrumming deep in her heart, making her chest twinge with it.  “But nobody could do anything.  Howard had the whole town bought and paid for.  His staff, the school administrators, the teachers, the doctors – if any of them so much as thought about going to the authorities, Howard’s lawyers would have… these people would have been out of the job.  He’s done it, too.  It wasn’t an empty threat.”  She drops her gaze down to where her thumb continues to trace gentle, absentminded circles along the skin of Tony’s hand.  “And Tony knew.  That’s why he never complained to anyone.  Lied whenever someone would ask him how he got hurt.  He’d say he fell off a bike, or tripped walking down the stairs, or ran into a door, or some other ridiculous excuse like that.”  

 A harsh angry bark of laughter scrapes its way out of her throat, and she clamps her mouth shut against it, clenches her free hand into a fist.  Because those lies? She fell for them, too, at first.  She fell for them, too.  And she never did forgive herself for it.

 “He didn’t want people losing their jobs because of him.  Didn’t think he was worth it,” she whispers, feeling the shocked horror of that realization gnaw at her heart even now, decades later.  “Can you imagine that?  The kind of life he had as a kid that would make him believe something like this?”

 James swallows thickly, looking vaguely sick.  Works his mouth for a moment, the words seeming to flounder in their attempt to break past his lips.  “And his mother?” he manages finally in a breathy whisper.

 “His mother…” She huffs out a tired, rueful breath.  Maria loved Tony, Pepper’s sure of it.  Tried her best to protect him from Howard’s drunken rages when she could muster enough courage to do so. Which wasn’t often enough.  Not nearly often enough.  But she did try.    

 In the end, it was what got her killed.

 “Tony got sick one time over the winter.  The flu.”  Her lips twitch with mild amusement when she sees the way James frowns at her, confused at the apparent non sequitur.  But her smile dims all too quickly as her mind flashes back to that night she visited Tony at the hospital, to the way he sat there, slumped in Jarvis’s cautious embrace, still so frighteningly pale and with that heartachingly lost, broken look in his eyes.

 “Howard didn’t believe in being sick,” she spits out, her voice dripping with venom.  “His favorite mantra was ‘Stark men are made of iron’. Been drilling it into Tony’s head from the day he was born.  Imagine how disappointed he was when he found out that Maria kept Tony home from school because of some flu.  So the bastard made Tony stand outside for 3 hours in his pj’s in 20 degree weather.  To toughen him up.” She raises one hand in the air, her fingers snapping out air quotes. Drags in a breath, struggling to maintain her rapidly slipping composure.   “Tony ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.  Jarvis told me his fever got so high, they were afraid they were going to lose him.  And Maria, she didn’t take it well.  It…uh… it was the first time that Tony actually came close to dying at Howard’s hand and, I guess, it rattled her.  Enough so that she confronted Howard.”

 “What…uh… what happened?” There’s a hesitancy in James’s question, almost as if he’s asking it against his will, as if he would really rather not know.  Not that she can blame him, really.

 She doesn’t know all that happened, though.  Jarvis wouldn’t even tell Tony all of it, trying to spare the boy (not that it helped any).  

She tells James what she does know.  That there was an argument, a bad one.  That, for a long time after, there was a faded bloodstain on the floor of the Stark mansion next to a broken piece of railing at the bottom of the staircase that led from the upstairs floor down to the foyer.  That Tony got so upset when Jarvis broke the news to him that a nurse had to sedate him to keep him from hurting himself.  And that Tony believes his mother’s death was his fault because, in his mind, he was the reason for that argument and because he was stuck in the hospital and wasn’t there to keep Howard’s fury away from her.

 Tony had vowed then that he wouldn’t let anyone else he loved get hurt because of him.  He hasn’t broken that vow since.

 Beside her James sinks down heavily into a nearby chair, moves his head from side to side with a wide-eyed, shell-shocked look.  “Was that when… You said before that Jarvis was Tony’s guardian.  Did he take custody of him then?”

 She shakes her head, presses her lips together hard enough to feel the ache shoot all the way up to the joints of her jaw.  “About a year later,” she replies, reaching for the blanket again to pull it down from where it’s covering Tony’s chest.  “After this.” She points to a small round patch of scarred skin slightly to the left of Tony’s breastbone, faded over time.   Hears a sharp intake of breath beside her that lets her know James recognizes it for what it is.

 “H-how?” is all he manages, his voice sounding dangerously strained, as though it physically pained him to say it.

 She raises Tony’s hand to her lips, turns it gently to press a light kiss into his palm.  Lays it against her cheek, letting herself burrow into its familiar calloused warmth, drawing strength from the contact.  She’s gonna need it if she has any hope of getting through that particular story without breaking down completely.

 “It was the anniversary of Maria’s death.  Tony was…,” she closes her eyes briefly, wincing at the memory, “he wasn’t handling it well.  Couldn’t really concentrate in school.  The teachers were understanding, of course.  They knew.” She huffs, resentful.  “It was hard not to, what with the news coverage slobbering all over the tearjerker story of the poor grieving widower Howard Stark and his son.”  She finds it hard not to gag as she says it out loud now.  Back then she felt like scratching out the eyes of every news anchor that waxed poetic about the elder Stark on that ‘difficult anniversary of his wife’s untimely death’.

 “They let him go home. I volunteered to drive him – the perks of being 3 years older.” A smile tugs at her lips unbidden as she remembers Tony pouting like a disgruntled toddler the day she got her learner’s permit. She, of course, made sure to milk the advantage fully for the next three years, rubbing it in her friend’s face any chance she had.  

 Except that day.

 “We heard a gunshot just as we pulled up, and Tony… he just ran inside – didn’t even wait for me to stop the car.”  

 She takes a breath, short and unsteady.  Feels it hitch uncomfortably in her chest.  She remembers running into the house, following the sounds of raised voices. Remembers finding them all in the kitchen: Howard, his eyes bloodshot with alcohol and anger, a half-sloshed-out drink in one hand and a gun in the other; Jarvis, pale but determined, his hands gripping the countertop as if he were trying to stop himself from lunging at his employer; and Tony, slowly inching closer to his father, his hands raised imploringly as he pleaded with him to put the gun down.

 “Howard was drunk,” she says, gripping Tony’s hand harder.  She can feel herself start to tremble, can feel her heart stammer wildly in her chest.  She doesn’t think she’s ever been as scared as she was that day.  

“He was drunk and he was angry, and he decided to take it out on Jarvis.  And Tony, he…  he couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else.  Especially not on that day.  There was already a smoking hole in the wall next to where Jarvis was standing, and Howard wasn’t calming down, he wasn’t even… I don’t think he even knew where he was or what he was doing.”

 There’s a watery veil in her eyes, and she raises her gaze to the ceiling to keep the tears at bay. Beside her James sits still as a statue, she’s not even sure the man’s breathing, but she can feel his eyes on her, the shocked, troubled heaviness of his scrutiny.  

 She forces herself to keep talking.

 She tells him how Howard raised his gun again, and how Tony lunged at him, pushing him hard into the wall to get him away from Jarvis.  How Howard roared in a drunken rage and swung the weapon at his son, pistol-whipping the boy and sending him stumbling down onto the floor.  How his trigger finger jerked at the tail-end of that wild swing; how deafening the sound of the gunshot felt when she was standing so close.

 She blinks, letting the tears spill over, running unchecked down her cheeks.  Drops her gaze back down to the small pink scar on Tony’s chest, her free hand reaching for it without conscious thought, fingers ghosting over the puckered skin.  

 A memory washes over her, a nightmarish flood of images she knows she’ll never forget.  

 Jarvis rushing past Howard to get to Tony, who’s struggling weakly to pull himself up, looking dazed and scared.  There’s a small trickle of blood on Tony’s face from where the impact of the barrel broke the skin, and it runs in a thin steady line down his cheek, curving at his jawline to slip innocuously down his neck and stain the collar of his shirt.  Another, larger stain mars the front of it, spreading outwards from a small ragged hole in it center, growing and growing and growing.  Jarvis presses his hands over it – they tremble, Pepper notices.  And isn’t that odd? Jarvis’s hands never tremble, but here they are, shaking like an aspen leaf in the wind.  And Tony winces, trying to flinch away from Jarvis’s touch, his face scrunching up as if in pain, but Jarvis doesn’t relent.  Jarvis shouts at her, at Pepper, to call the ambulance, and he presses down on Tony’s chest harder and harder and harder.  And Tony cries out, Jarvis’s name falling from his lips – a gasped out plea chased with blood that stains them red and drips down his chin when he attempts to speak again.  And Jarvis’s face grows ashen with fear, something Pepper’s never seen before.  And then he’s lifting Tony up in his arms, and then they’re running, out the kitchen, down the hallway, outside, to Pepper’s car.  No ambulance, it’s gonna take too long….

 She takes a long, shuddering breath, pulling herself forcibly out of the haunting vision.  Glances at her suspiciously silent audience, sitting hunched over in his chair, his head buried in his hands.  

 “I’ve never seen Jarvis so angry.  He was… I honestly think that the only reason he didn’t shoot Howard right then and there was because Tony needed him more,” she muses quietly.  “And I think Howard realized that, too.  Jarvis told him after - once we knew that Tony was going to be okay – he told him he was taking Tony away.  He went back to the house, packed up all of his and Tony’s stuff right in front of Howard and told Howard that he was leaving and taking Tony with him, and that if Howard so much as thought about stopping him that he would rip him apart with his bare hands.  And Howard just… let him go.  Let them both go.  He didn’t fight it.  I think he was afraid to.”

 Gently, she lays Tony’s hand back down onto the sheets, tucks it under the blanket that she pulls back up to cover his chest.  “Very few people know about this.  Even here at the Foundation,” she warns, and James raises his head at that, gives her a slightly confused look.  “Tony doesn’t like to talk about being abused.  Thinks it makes him weak.”  She closes her eyes, pained, lifts one hand to wipe at the tears drying on her cheeks.  “Another one of Howard’s life lessons,” she adds, her lips twisting in disdain.  She’s glad Howard’s dead, but she still thinks he got off too easy.  One day, she thinks, she’s gonna drive out to New York to the ruins of the old Stark mansion and dance on the bastard’s grave.   Maybe drag Tony and Jarvis along, make it a party.

 “The only reason I told you,” she continues, stern, “is because Tony let some of that slip out in your company, and I could see you’ve already started making assumptions.  I didn’t want you to make the wrong ones.”

 “I understand,” James rasps out, subdued.  “I won’t say anything.”

 She nods, satisfied, rises stiffly to her feet.  “I’m gonna go check on the animals,” she says. “Gotta secure everything for the night.”  She still feels shaky and cold, her head swimming with the haunting memories of the past.  Some fresh air would do her good.

 James doesn’t move from where he’s sitting.  Looks at Tony with an expression of pensive worry and a watchful sort of protectiveness that loosens something in Pepper’s chest, fills it with warmth.  “I…uh… I think I’m gonna stay with him a bit, if that’s okay,” he murmurs, breaking his vigil for a moment to send a questioning look Pepper’s way.

 She dips her head in approval, leans in to plant a quick gentle kiss on Tony’s brow.  “Don’t stay up too late, though,” she warns, trying to pull off an easy smile but still falling far too short.  “This is a working farm, Mr. President, and we are all in the habit of rising early.  As a temporary resident here, you’ll be expected to pitch in.” She gestures vaguely in the direction of the window that looks out onto the field and the barn behind the house.  “Them cows ain’t gonna milk themselves.”

#ironhusbands #ironhusbands au #tony stark #james rhodey rhodes #president au #secret service au #angst #hurt/comfort #somethingjustsouthofbrilliance writes

[ackbang]

tea time for eruriweek ‘18. prompt: enemies to lovers

they had met for the first time on a friday night--erwin’s typical raid night. it had gone like any ordinary night--hange scrambling to find fill ins as some players dropped out last minute. it had been like any other night, except levi had joined and fucking ruined it all.

erwin had learned then to never trust rogues again. 

he yelled at hange after the raid, had to leave the house and go for a drive to blow off steam. how could he have made such a mockery out of this? playing was his release. his activity. his way of dealing with things. and then this fucking night elf rogue piece of shit fucking twat ass mother fucker just stomps on through and doesn’t at all... AT ALL... follow their plans.

fuck rogues.

apparently levi hadn’t been delivered the message that following friday. he appeared again in their group, and erwin whispered angrily at hange asking what the fuck he was doing there. “he’s going through some shit right now man just chill,” hange wrote back.

erwin festered. he quipped snarky messages at levi the entire night whenever he messed anything up to the point that hange had to tell him to cut the shit or they’d kick him out. he tried to behave, until levi started to whisper lines of backstreet boys songs at him, and consequently, being a thorn in the raid’s side once again.

erwin was kicked out.

the weeks continued until finally levi was invited to their discord channel. apparently the rogue had solidified a place within their ranks, and with it, a seat among the commune of online friends. erwin was in the voice chat when he heard the harsh barking of a laugh coming from a screenname he didn’t recognize.

“who’s grabasnickers?” erwin asked.

“i dunno, but i might run and hide if you scream my name.”

erwin was kicked out of the voice chat.

levi was an annoyance, a nuisance, but then one day he did something remarkable. he played right, and he played well. he saved erwin during a critical moment in battle, allowing him to heal the tank that, in the end, saved all their asses. it was the first completely successful raid in weeks with this makeshift group of misfits, and erwin, being the bigger man, whispered at levi to thank him.

levi: np

erwin: no seriously, thank you. maybe i have misjudged you.

levi: it’s just a game, weirdo.

the self imposed tension started to alleviate after that. erwin responded to levi in the chats, even struck conversation with levi in the voice chats, and they quickly became the pair that stole and derailed the conversations from the rest of the group.

erwin sent the friend invite first.

erwin: hey. thanks for accepting my request.

levi: whatever. you aren’t as uptight as i thought you were. still p uptight tho

erwin: hahah. well, thank you.

talking to levi became a regular thing. erwin asked levi if he wanted to quest together when the new expansion dropped, and levi agreed. they spent the entire weekend void of sleep and beat the expansion in record time. erwin’s voice was hoarse from laughing and talking for so long, and he went to bed that night afraid that he might actually feel something for that little rogue night elf.

work was just a way to pay the bills now. getting home to spend the night talking to levi gave him a new purpose outside of his routine. they stayed up until the early morning talking, even after they had logged off the game. levi gave him his phone number. they started texting. erwin got the courage to send him a selfie at a very particular angle, one that showed just his shoulders and up and made his nose look reasonably sized. levi returned with a darkly cropped selfie where erwin could only see a pair of tired eyes in a sea of black.

erwin definitely, completely, and totally had a crush.

the discord chat’s secret santa came around, and erwin managed to get paired with levi. he spent three times as long shopping for levi as he did the rest of his friends and family, despite it having to be restricted to twenty dollars. he waited anxiously for levi to receive the package, until he finally got a text message three days before christmas.

levi: wth

erwin: what’s up?

levi: why did you send me a candy pooping unicorn?

erwin: do you not like it?

levi: you’re disgusting

erwin: you love it.

levi: sure we’ll go with that

a few minutes pass.

levi: thank you

several months pass, and memorial day hits. erwin hasn’t taken a vacation in almost two years--or at least one that didn’t involve leaving the state. erwin got the wild idea some time ago of visiting levi. he staved off of asking--he’d never met anyone from online before, and levi wasn’t particularly the type of person to hang out with much of anybody from what he had told erwin. but talking to levi hurt his heart too much, not being able to see or touch him, see him smile, watch the way he eats, how he would tuck the hair behind his ear... he wanted to see it. to be there.

“i don’t know if this is weird...”

“oi, just spit it out, dumbass.”

erwin chuckled, rubbed his eye with his index finger and shook his head at his screen. “i have some vacation time coming up. i’m not sure what to do--would i be able to maybe... would you...” the words caught, and normally he was so composed. “can i...”

“erwin.”

“can i visit you?”

the silence was deafening, and erwin kept his eyes on the clock. only a minute passed, but it felt like an eternity. “i live with my mom.”

erwin breathed out a laugh. “oh.”

“i mean...”

“i can just...”

“i don’t think she’d care.”

“i can stay at a hotel nearby.”

“that’s dumb. i’ll ask if you can stay here.”

erwin rubbed at his forehead, tried to dash away radical fantasies of kissing levi, touching him, making love to him. they were just friends, what the fuck was he thinking those things anyway? “only if you want...”

“i don’t see why not.”

they solidify the plans. levi’s mom doesn’t care, as he had said. erwin loaded the car and embarked on the longest roadtrip he’d ever taken alone--five hours and three states away. he made it to levi’s house and parked in the driveway next to levi’s mother’s car. he rested his forehead on the steering wheel and curbed a panic attack that he hadn’t had since he started talking to levi. he was about to start the car again and turn right back around, until he heard a knock on his car window. he startled and looked out the window, wide-eyed and terrified like a deer in headlights.

levi waved at him.

erwin gasped in.

he was much shorter than he thought he’d be.

“you comin’ in or...”

erwin sealed his lips, smiled, and nodded. it was now or never. “yeah,” he shouted through the window.

he regretted everything. sending the friend invite. talking to levi all these months. sending him that stupid fucking unicorn. he hated his crush, he hated how levi, in all his hobbit-sized glory, was exactly what he never knew he wanted.

and levi was going to be disgusted in him.

he stepped out of the car and kept his right side close to the car.

“do you need help with your stuff?” levi asked.

“n-no, i can handle it. i--”

“oh.” erwin looked down at levi who was staring at the empty sleeve of his right arm. the damned secret that erwin never told anybody online; one he definitely didn’t want to tell levi, and now he felt like a damn fool for being too afraid to. levi seemed to be moving through many thoughts before finally landing on: “you’re a lot taller than i thought you’d be.”

and that was the moment erwin fell in love with levi.

the long weekend with levi and his mother was a treat. levi showed erwin around his hometown, even paid for their movie that he had jokingly called a “date”, and erwin so badly wanted it not to be. levi filled the space on his right side like he was always meant to be there. he tried to burn the feeling in his mind along with the soft smiles and the hiccuping laugh and the way that he always smelled like fresh detergent.

the last night, they spent on the couch, like a pair of teenagers despite being in their early thirties. levi leaned into erwin’s left side, and erwin lifted his arm and wrapped it around levi’s shoulders.

“i hate this movie,” levi mused.

erwin chuckled. “we don’t need to keep watching it.”

levi snuggled deeper into erwin’s side. “nah.”

erwin smiled and squeezed his hand against levi’s bicep.

the next day, erwin packed up his car and stood before levi, a heavy weight dragging his heart into the pit of his stomach. he couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun, and he knew, without a doubt, he was going to miss the fuck out of levi.

“thank you for having me.”

“thanks for coming.”

awkward silence.

“i--” they say at the same time.

“we can--” they say again, like a terrible sitcom.

“let me know when you get home,” levi said, bringing the string of his hoodie to his mouth, as he did when he was nervous, erwin had discovered.

“yes, of course,” erwin said, edging his fingers under the car door handle.

“and uh,” levi swayed and moved in toward erwin. “it was... nice having you.” 

“maybe i can do it again sometime?” erwin smiled softly.

levi’s voice was low. he nodded once. “that’d be cool.”

erwin opened the car door and stepped one foot in before levi took his arm and tugged. “i... wait.”

erwin paused. “what is it, levi?”

“i...” levi looked away, his neck shrinking more into his hoodie, a dusting of pink capturing his cheeks. “i dunno... what... i just... fuck.” he breathed out. erwin stood straight. “i’ve never liked anybody before.” levi said so quietly it was nearly inaudible. but erwin caught every word, and felt them in his own throat. “and i think... i...”

erwin put his hand on levi’s shoulder, bowed his head and pressed his lips firmly to levi’s cheek. he breathed in the cleanness of his hair, the smell of his shaving cream, the warmth of his skin. his heart railed in his chest and it nearly breakout and onto the ground to die like a fish. he couldn’t believe he was doing this... he couldn’t...

levi moved his head, looked hesitantly into erwin’s eyes, eyebrows upturned in fear, as he clumsily met his lips to erwin’s, puckered and nervous and quick. levi retreated, putting one hand up to his face, his whole body shaking as he breathed out. “sorry, i’m sorry. fuck. what the fuck.”

the feeling of levi had smacked erwin upside the head, and he tried to gather his own breath. “w.. what? for what?” erwin reached out and put his hand on levi’s shoulder again. “i like you too.” he smiled. “you’re fine. thank you.”

levi looked up at him, his oversized hoodie making him look smaller than he already was. “you sure?”

“i’ve never been more certain.”

“i’m not...”

“may i have another? for the road?” the grin hadn’t dissolved.

levi looked at erwin, then at his lips, and nodded. he leaned in and kissed again, still awkward, but they were softer now, and god, erwin was on cloud 9 even after it ended. “d... drive safe.”

“thank you,” erwin said, stepping one leg into the driver’s seat again. he looked up at levi once he was seated. “i’ll see you soon?”

“yeah,” levi nodded, smiling now, toothy and just criminally adorable. “yeah yeah. get the fuck outta here.”

“aye aye.” erwin closed the door, started the car, and backed out of the driveway. he stopped the car to safely wave at levi before driving off. 

and for five hours he relived every moment of his trip with a smile on his lips.

#eruriweek #eruri #erwin smith #levi ackerman #snk #aot #my eruri #eruri fic #ack fic #titan fic #tea time #this is a warm-up for next year's long fic #i'm so excited to write this #they're so dang cute #haha #there's a lot more to this story #IT'S TENDER AND CUTE AND FLUFFY