your and erwin smith baking a cake for levi's birthday ꒰ ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ
a special moment to share
cw: none! pure fluff
It’s the 24th of December at 10 p.m. when you and Erwin sneak into the kitchen. You two have exactly two hours to bake a fairly decent cake for your lover’s birthday. You were the one who came up with the idea and the one who tried to guess Levi’s favorite cake flavor. It was a hard task, but a chocolate cake was the answer. Erwin was the one in charge to gather all the ingredients, and now, it’s time for you and him to bake together making sure that you don’t wake Levi or the other twenty soldiers sleeping on the top floor.
“Stop eating the chocolate, my love, it won’t be enough for the cake,” Erwin tells you as he measures the flour carefully to not spill anything.
He was already in the kitchen when you arrived, with all the ingredients ready for you to pull your grandma’s chocolate cake recipe and bake together. The main problem is that neither of you have been in this situation before, having to bake a cake is new for you. But it shouldn’t be that hard, right?
“How much do we need again?” you say, checking the paper with your own handwriting. “What does it say here, baby?”
You put the note between Erwin’s eyes and the flour, he squints his eyes in the low light of the kitchen. “About 200 grams.”
You nod and keep cutting the chocolate bar in pieces with a knife while Erwin is mixing all the dry ingredients. You were supposed to be in charge of mixing the wet ingredients but you got distracted by him. You lean over his shoulder to watch him work, your chest brushing against his back enough to make him pause. His big hand reaches back and finds your waist without looking, pulling you closer so you’re basically hugging him from behind.
“You’re distracting me already,” he whispers with a soft laugh, not letting you go.
You grin and steal another small chunk of chocolate, popping it into your mouth before he can protest. “Am I, commander?”
You giggle softly against Erwin’s back as you hear him sigh playfully, your arms wrapping a little tighter around his waist as you press a quick kiss to the side of his neck. The kitchen feels too quiet for how loud your heart is beating, any second Levi might appear with that sharp glare and catch you both red-handed.
“Fine, fine. I’ll behave.” you whisper, finally pulling away to focus on the chocolate again. But behaving is hard when Erwin looks this good in the dim lantern light, sleeves rolled up, flour already dusting his forearms.
He chuckles low and goes back to the bowl. “Two hundred grams of flour, right. Now the sugar.” You hand him the note again, but your eyes keep drifting to the way his shoulders move when he stirs. You’re supposed to be cracking eggs for the wet mix, but instead you end up leaning on the counter beside him, stealing glances while you try to remember the recipe.
“Levi’s gonna love this, right?” you whisper, cracking the first egg a little too hard so shell bits tumble in. You fish them out quickly with a spoon, hoping he doesn’t notice. “I mean, chocolate’s his thing. He always steals the dark pieces when we have rations. But what if it comes out dry? Or burnt?”
Erwin pauses mid-measure, turning his bright blue eyes on you. He brushes a bit of flour from your cheek with his thumb, lingering there longer than necessary. “He’ll like it because we made it for him.” His hand drops to your hip, giving a gentle squeeze. “Besides, even if it’s a disaster, we can blame it on the new recruits and eat the evidence together.”
You laugh under your breath and finally get the eggs into a separate bowl, adding the milk and vanilla. Things start moving faster after that, but chaos follows right behind. You bump elbows while trying to combine the wet and dry mixes, sending a puff of cocoa powder into the air, it lands on both of you. Streaks across Erwin’s cheek, a light dusting over your shirt.
“Oh no,” you whisper, trying not to crack up as you reach up to wipe his face. He catches your wrist instead, bringing your fingers to his lips for a quick kiss.
“Careful, love. We’re running out of time,” he says, but his voice is playful.
He takes over stirring the thick batter while you grease the pan, your hands still shaky from how close he’s standing. Every time you move, your shoulders brush, or his hand finds the small of your back. It’s silly and perfect all at once.
You pour the batter in together, fingers overlapping on the bowl. “How do you think he’ll react?” you ask quietly, sliding the pan into the oven with way more care than usual. The smell of chocolate already starts to fill the kitchen.
Erwin closes the oven door softly and pulls you against him fully this time, both arms circling your waist as he rests his chin on top of your head.
“He’ll act annoyed at first. Call us idiots for staying up late. But he’s going to love it.” His fingers trace slow circles on your back, right over your spine, sending little shivers through you. “I’m glad you thought of this. Being with you and him makes everything worth it.”
You tilt your head up, stealing a soft kiss that tastes like stolen chocolate and shared secrets. The timer ticks away in the background, the kitchen a quiet battlefield of bowls and spilled sugar, but right now it’s just you and him and the warm glow of the lantern.
“We’ve got an hour left,” you whisper against his mouth, grinning. “Plenty of time to clean up so Levi doesn’t freak out.”
After the time needed for the cake to bake, the kitchen smells like warm chocolate by the time you pull the cake out of the oven. It’s not perfect, a little lopsided on one side and with a crack across the top, but it looks homemade and real. You and Erwin high-five quietly, laughing under your breath when you both realize your hands are still covered in batter.
“Quick, the frosting,” you whisper. It ends up messier than before, but you add a few extra shavings of chocolate on top for good measure. One single candle gets stuck in the center. It's almost midnight. Your heart races as you both carefully carry the cake down the hall, dodging creaky floorboards like you are on some secret mission.
Erwin pushes Levi’s door open first, the soft glow of the candle lighting up the small room. Levi is curled under the blankets, breathing steady and deep, his usual scowl gone in sleep.
“Levi,” Erwin says gently, setting the cake down on the small table beside the bed. You light the candle properly and nudge his shoulder. “Hey, birthday boy. Wake up for us.”
Levi stirs, brows furrowing before his eyes crack open. For a second he just stares at the ceiling, then at you two hovering there like idiots with flour still on your clothes. His expression shifts fast from sleepy confusion to full annoyance. He sits up slowly, his hair is a total mess and his voice rough with sleep. “What the hell are you two doing? It’s the middle of the damn night. I swear if this is some stupid—”
His words cut off when his gaze lands on the cake. The single flame flickers between you, casting soft light over the uneven chocolate layers.The anger drains from his face, replaced by surprise. He rubs a hand over his eyes, trying to clear the sight away, but it stays right there.
You bite your lip, smiling nervously. “Happy birthday, Levi. We made it for you.”
Erwin rests a hand on your lower back. “It’s not much, but we couldn’t let the day pass without reminding you how important you are.”
Levi stares at the cake a moment longer, then looks at both of you. His cheeks flush the tiniest bit, barely noticeable in the candlelight, but you catch it. He sighs, running fingers through his hair. “You idiots. Sneaking around like recruits on their first mission, baking at this hour. You could have burned the whole damn place down. And waking me up? I was actually sleeping for once.”
He scolds, but his voice softens at the edges as he swings his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up fully. One hand reaches out and hesitantly touches the edge of the plate. “You really made this? Together?”
You nod, stepping closer until your knee bumps his. “Yeah. It’s probably not as good as the ones from the old cafes, but we tried. Erwin measured everything and I mostly distracted him.”
Erwin chuckles softly beside you. “She had the idea.”
Levi huffs, but the corner of his mouth twitches up in that small, rare smile he saves only for you two. He grabs your wrist gently and pulls you down to sit on the bed next to him, then tugs Erwin closer by the front of his shirt. “You two should’ve just slept…” He glances back at the cake, the candle still burning. “It does look decent. Smells better than the crap they serve in the mess hall.”
You lean in and press a light kiss to his temple. “Blow it out and make a wish, Levi. Then we can all share a piece before it gets too late.”
He grumbles something about not needing wishes, but he does lean forward, blue-grey eyes flicking between you and Erwin. The candle goes out in one breath. Levi pulls you both into a loose hug, his face buried against your shoulder for just a second.
“Next time, do it in the morning like normal people,” he mutters against your skin, but his arms stay tight around you. “And do not think I missed the mess you probably left in the kitchen. We are cleaning it up together tomorrow.”
Erwin smiles against Levi’s hair. “Whatever you say, Captain.”
You grin as Levi cuts the first slice with the knife Erwin hands him.
a/n: it's been a while since i don't write for them ugh i missed them sooo much<3
levi pulling erwin down by his bolo tie to give him a kiss // levi stepping on erwin’s boots to get better leverage so he doesn’t have to tilt his neck as much to kiss him
The candle on Erwin’s desk sputtered, nearly burnt out. He dragged a hand across his face, mentally steeling himself for another late night. It was just about midnight, and he hadn’t even gotten to the latest mission reports.
Erwin’s thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. He was surprised, at this hour, but long years of practice smoothed his exhaustion into an air of dignity.
“Come in.”
Levi entered the room and shut the door silently behind him. He inclined his head in greeting.
“I know it’s late,” he said.
Erwin waved it away. “What do you need, Levi?”
The Captain held out a box. “This came for you- some urgent shit from the MPs. Felt like a lot of paper.”
Erwin groaned and crossed the room to take the box. It was heavy- he wouldn’t be getting any sleep at all tonight.
“Thank you,” he said drily. “Just what I wanted.”
Levi’s lips twitched, and he stepped closer to the desk, leaning over the opposite side as Erwin sat back down.
“You should open it, make sure.” Levi’s flat expression seemed contrived, somehow. Erwin almost thought he saw amusement in his eyes.
“Since when do you care about paperwork? Just be glad it’s not for you.”
“Sure, I’m thrilled.” Levi crossed his arms, but still didn’t seem truly upset. “Just check it already.”
“Fine, fine.” Erwin untied the box and lifted the lid under Levi’s careful scrutiny. Inside, there was indeed paper- but it was scrap, used and crumpled into padding for the central item. A deep brown bottle of liquor, cork-stoppered and wrapped in a thin green ribbon.
Erwin lifted it out carefully, his eyebrows knit together in surprise. “What is this?”
Levi clasped his hands behind his back, rocking forward a bit on the balls of his feet. “It’s your birthday.”
Erwin laughed softly, shaking his head in surprise. “How on earth did you find that out?”
“I have my methods,” Levi answered. His voice was clipped, but he was fighting a smirk and quickly losing.
Erwin looked back at the bottle, tracing his fingers along the ribbon. It had been so long since he’d received a gift- he felt strangely shy. “Thank you,” he said finally.
Silence stretched between them for a moment, Levi’s cheeks pinking under Erwin’s thoughtful gaze. Then Erwin narrowed his eyes.
“How did you get your hands on this? This is well beyond rations.”
“What is this, an interrogation? You can just be grateful.” When Erwin didn’t relent, he rolled his eyes. “They stiffed us at that fundraiser and you know it. It’s the least they could do, and no one missed it.”
Levi cast a defensive look at Erwin, his heart faster than he wanted it to be. Stupid traditions, awkward nonsense-
But then Erwin laughed. A true, shoulder-shaking laugh that drove the doubts right out of Levi’s head. He stared at the Commander, fixated on his bared throat as his head fell back.
“You’re right,” Erwin said, the words falling through his laughter. “Cheap bastards.”
Levi shocked himself by starting to chuckle. Erwin’s damn laughter was contagious, he couldn’t help it. And anyway, the Commander had looked exhausted when he came in, haunted really, but now he was red-faced and happy, holding the bottle like it was a real, proper present and not stolen goods, the best Levi could do.
Something warm and foolish filled Levi’s chest and grew when Erwin grinned at him, blue eyes flashing.
“Let’s break it open.”
By the time the candle burned out, Erwin and Levi were sitting against the wall, their shoulders nearly touching. The bottle was more than half gone, and toast after increasingly unprofessional toast had been made into the night.
Erwin felt boneless, childish, his head and eyelids too heavy to hold. He dropped his head against Levi’s shoulder, determined to blame the alcohol for anything they’d regret.
Levi stiffened, then shifted to better accommodate the taller man. He closed his eyes in the dark. “Happy birthday,” Levi mumbled.
