Eruri stories(Erwin x Levi)

Oneshot's 31

A:N I hope you're going to enjoy it

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"What are you working on?" Levi asked, balancing a tray of tea and cookies after pushing open the door to Erwin's bedroom with a purposeful kick.

"The speech for the new recruits," Erwin replied in a thoughtful, absent voice, while his feather scratched eagerly over the paper and the flickering light of the candle danced like ghosts over his blond hair, while his deep blue eyes were hidden in deep shadows. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The hint of a smile was on Levi's lips, but he quickly tried to hide it as he put the tray with a dull sound on the simple, round table, loaded with many piles of documents.

"Are you making any progress?" the captain of the Survey Corps asked with a frown as he sat down next to his commander on the bench.

"Not really." Erwin sighed and rested the feather aside, rubbing his eyebrows to ease the headache which working in this uncomfortable sitting position in the dim, flickering light had caused.

"Shall I have a look at what you got so far?" Levi offered, while he reached for the papers. Erwin nodded and slid them towards him, before he leaned back on the bench, thoughtfully nipping on his tea and taking a bite from the slice of bread. His stomach grumbled gratefully and a heaviness began to spread through him which he had fought against all day long, while Levi read focused through his attempts of a speech, his frown deepening with each word.

"That bad?" Erwin asked and Levi made an indifferent sound as he turned the page, but then put it away with a sigh.

"It just doesn't sound like you at all." Levi pursed his lips. "It sounds rather like an imitation of someone else's speech and not like what you actually want to tell them."

"You're not wrong about it." With a deep sigh, Erwin rested his head on his folded hands. "We need new recruits, urgently. But they are the first training crops after Wall Maria fell and now, they have also seen Titans. It's quite possible..."

"That they are too afraid to join us, I know," Levi completed the sentence in a thoughtful voice and Erwin nodded in resignation.

It was another one of those moments when the fate of the world seemed too heavy for his shoulders and even the self-confident commander of the Survey Corps often doubted whether his decisions were right. It was a feeling that Levi could understand only too well.

"What does your instinct tell you?" he asked while he gently rested Erwin's head on his shoulder and began to stroke through the blond hair.

"I want to tell them the truth," Erwin murmured with a heavy voice after some moments of hesitation and Levi's frown deepened even more.

"The truth?" His fingers stopped for a moment as he repeated it surprised. "I'm sure Darius and Mike already told you that is probably a bad idea."

"They did." A deep sigh escaped Erwin and he snuggled a bit more against Levi's side. "But I want them to know what they are getting into. Everything else would be disrespectful."

Levi sighed. That was typical for Erwin.

"You can't prepare them for that no matter how hard you try," he pointed out. "They will never be able to understand what it really means to make expeditions to Shiganshina or even behind the wall. No one can."

"I know," Erwin said sadly, all the memories of all the terrible things they had seen shimmering in his voice. "But I want to try. As best as I can."

"I understand." Levi nodded and placed a soft kiss into the blond hair, while he took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "I trust your judgement and instinct, Erwin, and if that's what feels right to you, then you should do it."