No Choice (Eruri)

Friendship

A sudden movement jolted him from his dreamless sleep like a thunderclap, at which point Levi turned to his side with a disapproving grumble and, with his eyes still closed, stretched out his arm to push away the cat he suspected was on the sheet beside him.

"Don't take so much space. You're still smaller than me," he mumbled sleepily but jerked his eyes open when his fingers didn't touch the cat's fur as he expected.

He felt his heart begin to race as he stared at the broad shoulders of the man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and was now lying right next to him. Immediately he straightened up and leaned over him to look him in the face. The smell of alcohol and cigars hit him as he looked down at the man with wide eyes. "Erwin? What the hell?"

Why the hell was he here? And why in his bed, of all places?

Somewhat overwhelmed, Levi looked around him as if this was helping him find a way out of his predicament.

"Erwin?" he finally decided to go on the offensive and put a hand on the shoulder of the blond man who was apparently slumbering comfortably next to him. He didn't respond at first, so Levi tried a second time, this time with a little more force.

At last, Erwin seemed to stir and began to turn toward him with his eyes still closed. To Levi's chagrin, however, he stopped there. Again Levi reached out his fingers to him, but he flinched mightily when a hand suddenly wrapped itself around his wrist. Before Levi could even grasp what was happening, he felt a strong tug on his arm, followed by a warm touch on his cheek as his face was pressed against Erwin's chest. Levi panicked and pushed Erwin off him in reflex so violently that he finally opened his eyes.

Levi gave him a deadly look while Erwin sat up with a curse and looked around in confusion. His eyes widened in surprise when their gazes finally met. For a moment, they stared at each other in silence, apparently both unable to say anything, before Levi opened his mouth, but Erwin beat him to it.

"What are you doing here, Levi?" He glared at him with a glazed look and reddened cheeks before finally seeming to realize his mistake.

"Shit, Levi. This is usually my room. I ..." he mumbled, pushing his legs over the side of the bed.

But he didn't get far when Levi grabbed him by the collar. "You're completely drunk," he growled as Erwin continued to avoid his gaze. Instead, he tried again to get off the bed.

"Where are you going?" asked Levi.

Erwin rubbed his hand over his face in a daze. "To the dormitory. I'm sorry if I ..."

"Are you going to lie down in the wrong bed there, too, because you're too drunk to find the right way?"

Erwin didn't answer but stood up, but Levi didn't let go of his collar and instead pulled him back with a jerk, causing Erwin to fall backward onto the sheet.

With a mixture of surprise and displeasure, Erwin looked up at him.

"You stay here. I'm going." With those words, Levi climbed past him and let his feet slide over the edge of the bed.

"Do you think that will be less suspicious?" asked Erwin, lying on his back with his forearm covering his eyes.

Levi paused and stared down at his bare feet. "Is that what you mean by 'let me prove you wrong'? Or are you trying to speed things up by failing instantly?"

Erwin moaned, displeased. "Give me a short break, Levi. Just a brief moment. Let me just be a normal person for five minutes."

Levi eyed him thoughtfully while Erwin still lay with his upper body across the bed, hiding his eyes.