Daily Dose
Erwin x Levi
[Fic Reupload] - The movie theaters here are playing the Attack on Titan final movie so of course I had to go watch it, cry over it at the cinema, cry over it at home, and reupload one of the several old fics I wrote 💔
Summary: Ever since Erwin discovered that Levi is ticklish, he has made it his official duty to bring the usual frowning guy his daily dose of laughter, whether Levi agrees with it or not. (Also on AO3)
Word Count: 2.1K
Levi could remember very clearly when it first happened. The way some troublesome young cadets would engage in the most childish tickle fight, loud inappropriate laughter resounding everywhere, and how he stood there to watch them, judging them quietly.
Not really aware that he had been staring at the laughing guys rather than taking action, Levi was surprised to suddenly have Erwin by his side.
“Are you ticklish, Levi?”
Levi totally did not see that coming. “Eh?” Dumbfounded, he stared at Erwin who looked too casual after asking such a preposterous question. Erwin smiled at him. “Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask.”
Levi sighed in relief. Indeed it was.
“But.. That doesn’t mean that I am not curious to hear your answer. Won’t you tell me?” Erwin added to that, causing Levi’s insides to continue the crazy dance they were doing.
He scoffed. “...Ridiculous. Of course I’m not. We have to stop them,” he said hurriedly, but Erwin grabbed his arm.
“I don’t see why we should. A bit of laughter can’t hurt,” he said. Levi disagreed.
“It is not right to play around like thi-HNMgh!” Levi spazzed when he felt a single finger pierce into his side, and he jumped up and turned to see the mischievous smile on Erwin’s face.
“Figured as much,” he said, and he did it again. This time Levi was quick enough to grab his hand and stop him from making such a ridiculous scene in public, but that was when Erwin reminded him he had two hands, and before Levi could react, his side was getting tickled with the most unbearable finger wiggles.
He shook heavily and let out a strangled noise that dissolved into forced giggles. “Erwi-Hngh! H-hehehey!”
Blushing heavily, he tried to break free, but his boss was persistent and calmly chased after him, fingers with a mission to tickle him to death.
“ERWahaha! I am wahaharning you!” Levi cackled. How embarrassing. He whipped his head around and saw the other two were still engaged in their outrageous tickle fight. He gave another panicked look in the other direction where people were; all occupied with their own business. Phew.
“Don’t worry, no one is watching,” Erwin reassured him kindly. “Let out that laugh some more?” he said with that goofy grin, his fingers climbing up and down Levi’s sides in what felt a maddening ticklish way, and he struggled against Erwin’s bigger body and laughed loudly.
“GAhah! You’re unbehehelievable!”
“Hmh. Consider it a fair punishment for lying to your superior.”
That Erwin...! Levi made a dive to the side, but Erwin closed him in, and stumbling backwards, Levi ended up with his back against the wall where Erwin took the opportunity to trap him, blocking his way out completely.
“HAH--!” Levi pressed his lips together and stopped the stream of laughter that was about to come out when right at that time, Hange came walking towards them.
“Everything alright over there?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. Just discussing a strategy. Right, Levi?” Erwin said, his hand subtly digging into his side which Hange couldn’t see from this angle. Levi nodded.
“Y-yes,” he wheezed.
“Would you kindly check on the junior cadets for me? I believe they are nervous for tomorrow’s mission.”
Hange did seem a little suspecting about their position but did not look any further as she turned around again. “Aye aye sir~” she sang, leaving Levi alone with Erwin the childish tickle monster again. He swiftly caught his hand and shot him a glare.
“I s-said don’t-GAHH!” Erwin used this move against him as he grabbed his hand and pinned it above his head.
“Come on now. I am just making sure you get your daily dose of laughter, Levi~” he taunted, using his free hand to poke at Levi’s exposed underarm. Levi shuddered and let out a tiny most embarrassing shriek.
“NAhahh! I hahahad plenty! Lehehet go of mehehe!”
He blushed when all Erwin did was smile. “I will, in a moment. Okay?” Levi just whiiined when Erwin tickled him some more, making him giggle and laugh until he could hardly breathe. At some point he just stopped struggling. Erwin then finally released him and patted his shoulder.
“Hope that makes you feel better. I will see you at our meeting in an hour,” Erwin resumed business casually, and he finally stepped away and left, leaving Levi with room to finally breathe and embrace his personal space. His heart was racing. What was that for...!
Erwin was too random sometimes. He wouldn’t have thought something so silly would occur again, but he was wrong.
From that moment on, Erwin would actually keep up his daily dose joke literally. Everyday, he would sneak up behind Levi and tickle him. Sometimes briefly, sometimes longer, depending on the moment and their whereabouts.
Sometimes Levi hated him for it. And eventually, sometimes he hated him for not doing it, or for not doing it long enough. And most of the times he hated himself for actually enjoying this nonsense, but Erwin’s magical ‘daily dose’ of laughter actually did wonders to his moods, strength and energy.
It made him feel energized and more optimistic going into missions, and well yes, maybe he also just enjoyed being close to Erwin in the end.
Even losing an arm on the battlefield did not change Erwin’s optimism or behavior. “Levi~” he signaled he should come over.
“What is it?” Levi made his way towards him, wondering if he needed help with anything. Even though the mood had been quite gloomy since that battle, and Erwin had nothing to smile about after losing an arm, he gently held out his one arm and smiled.
“Come. I haven’t heard you laugh today.”
Levi blushed. He couldn’t even bring out a silly excuse as he voluntarily stepped closer to Erwin.
“...Right here?” he muttered.
Erwin chuckled. “No one’s here right now, is there?” Levi looked at the others in distance and sighed. He closed the last bit of distance between him and Erwin until Erwin could curl his arm around him. His fingers instantly started to prod his side gently.
“Hmph..” Levi shuddered, his lips pressing together but forming a goofy smile he never would want to show anyone else but Erwin.
“You don’t need to hold back,” Erwin said while his fingers continued to dig into his lower side. Levi bucked slightly and gasped when Erwin’s grip suddenly felt tighter. As he was pulled against Erwin’s taller body, Levi squealed when Erwin’s only five fingers started to run all over his side and ribs, up and down, up and down.
“HAahah! Eheheherwin, hahahave mercy!” he whined, his laughter instantly loud, and he blushed in embarrassment. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought this was just a usual ten finger - tickle attack. With Erwin’s skill and precision, it absolutely felt like it.
“N-no hahahah hahahang on ー not thehehere!” Levi cackled when Erwin’s traveling fingers went past his ribs where they crawled under his arm. He gasped when Erwin held him so tight that he ended up with his face against his shoulder.
“Just give me a moment, m’kay?” Erwin huffed, and Levi thought he sounded sad, as if he had been longing for this moment of pure innocent joy, so he nodded and buried his face in Erwin’s shoulder. Erwin’s fingers then started to scribble against the sensitive area of his armpit, and Levi let out a wave of hysterical squeals and giggles as he squirmed in Erwin’s arm.
“Hahahaha! Oh-- ahahaha!” His laughter sounded funny and a little messed up as he took deep breaths and fought to not hold back. His automatic response would be to try and hold back, but he didn’t want to hide his laugh from Erwin at the same time.
“At least you’re still ticklish. Glad that did not change,” Erwin said softly, his fingers playing Levi like an instrument, and Levi giggled and shook his head.
“Y-you haahah-- you didn’t chahahange eiheither!” he gasped. That made Erwin’s tickle-hunt stop for a moment, and he felt how Erwin hesitated. Levi grabbed him and panted while leaning against his shoulder.
“You are still the same lousy Commander,” Levi panted, smiling mischievously.
“Ah yeah, is that right?” Of course it reactivated Erwin’s tickle attack, but definitely worse than before as he dug mercilessly into Levi’s torso, making him burst out in a hysterical laughing fit, and even shriek.
“Ehehehehrwin! Aahahah!” From then on Levi knew to keep his liar-mouth shut. Of course he didn’t think Erwin was a lousy commander, but at a moment like this, the man just deserved to be teased, to lift his spirits. And even if that meant provoking Erwin right at the moment he had his tickly claw on him, it was a risk Levi happily accepted.
A daily dose of laughter, both of them knew it wasn’t actually daily. Still, Erwin would act like it, telling Levi things like how he wasn’t planning on missing out on a single day’s dose.
Even right after an argument.
“You were quite mean,” Erwin said. Levi turned his head angrily.
“Huh?” he growled.
“Telling me you’d break my legs.” Erwin gave a dramatic sigh. Levi rolled his eyes.
“I was serious.”
“Yeah, I know. So come, sit, while they still function properly,” Erwin mocked, inviting Levi to sit on his lap. Somehow, Levi had felt strange leaving Erwin in the office after their intense conversation, which brought him back inside before he actually could reconsider.
Luckily Erwin made it less awkward by initiating the continuation of their chat right away, even inviting him to come closer like this.
“I really dislike you sometimes,” Levi sighed.
“I know,” Erwin said again. Levi still did as he was told and sat on his lap.
“I also know you are just worried about me,” Erwin said, his hand resting against Levi’s lower back. “And I thank you for that.”
Levi felt something burn in his stomach right then and there. Anger, frustration, sadness, and also something else. That something else was the exact thing that drove him over the edge, and he roughly grabbed Erwin’s collar and kissed him, but not after telling him: “Shut up!”
For some reason, Erwin seemed prepared for that as he kissed him back without even a brief moment of hesitation. They kissed until they were almost breathless, and even then Levi was determined to keep on kissing.
Frankly, he had wanted to kiss Erwin for ages and hated himself for delaying until now, as much as he hated Erwin for delaying it too. With all of his ‘daily dose of laughter’ tickles, instead of doing something like this. What even..?
Oh, speaking of..
“HMH!” Levi spazzed when he felt Erwin’s fingers curl against his side. He could even feel the smirk on his face too.
“Don’t you dare,” Levi huffed in the middle of their kiss.
“Dare what?” Erwin hummed.
“Tickle me.” They both froze and Levi couldn’t believe he would fall for something so stupid.
“You said it Levi~” Erwin said, and his fingers started to do their thing: tickling Levi. Levi squirmed in his lap and laughed, but despite his loud reactions Erwin wasn’t reluctant to pick up their kiss again.
“EHeheheh mmphh! Erw--hmhhh!”
Levi had put all of his love, respect, desire and whatever into that one kiss, and here Erwin was, turning it into one of their tickly sessions. Then again, he couldn’t hate him for it. After all, something about this felt intimate too.
That day he allowed Erwin to kiss and tickle him silly, and perhaps something more, but that was something to keep to themselves.
The flower was moving slightly in the wind. The single flower Levi had decided to bring today.
He sat before Erwin’s grave and sighed. The silence was maddening. The lack of Erwin’s voice. The lack of Erwin’s touch. Even the lack of Levi’s own laughter... as well.
He had not laughed a single time since Erwin’s passing, nor did he think he ever would again.
“Tch... Where is my daily dose of laughter now, Erwin?” Levi muttered. Strangely right at that moment, the flower he had placed on Erwin’s grave was taken away by a gust of wind. Or well, a breeze. Just a simple breeze, but strong enough to make Levi watch it fly away as if to tease him.
His lips curled in a very little smile. “One last trick, huh. Erwin? I am sorry, you fail. I am not laughing.”
He fought back the urge to cry pathetically. “I’m not laughing at all, you idiot.”
Levi sighed. If only he did not waste the time they had together, by running away from Erwin’s tickles. if only he had seriously grabbed a chance anytime to tell Erwin that a daily dose of laughter would go both ways, so why not tickle him back?
Still, despite all those things, Erwin’s daily dose of laughter thing was going to stick in his memory forever, and he didn’t want to ever forget.
