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It was February 14th today, better known to the masses as Valentine’s Day, and Levi’s mood was swinging from sour to anxious. He always thought of it as commercial bullshit. Just another way for the big companies to get to spend them their hard earned money on the most cliché of things like heart pillows, teddy bears and chocolate. He could deal with the chocolate, cause at least that would be actually used. But those heart pillows and teddy bears? He didn’t fucking think so.
Those pillows wouldn’t match with any of the furniture and he thought of a teddy bear as childish. Both would just be put in a box after a few days to never see the light of day again and it would be such a waste of money. It wasn’t like he was some stingy and cheap bastard, not at all, but he rather spent his money on something worthwhile.
It didn’t help at all that Erwin was the complete opposite in these kind of things. He had been super excited about Valentine’s Day and Levi had to tell him that he didn’t give a fuck about that commercial bullshit. Erwin’s face upon hearing that had been calm and collected, but Levi knew him better than that. He knew Erwin had actually been very disappointed that he didn’t want to do anything tonight and it had made him feel a bit guilty. But before he could take back his words, Erwin had left the room already.
Erwin had been pretty quiet this last week and it didn’t help Levi’s feeling of guilt at all. Maybe he should go and apologise, but on the other hand he had just stated his opinion. It wasn’t like he had insulted Erwin or anything. At least he didn’t think he did. But he couldn’t shake that nagging feeling off that something wasn’t right about it. It wasn’t like Erwin to be so quiet and it made him wonder if he had seriously fucked up after all.
Was Erwin getting sick of his unwillingness to do cliché things? Did he think of him as unromantic? Maybe the reason Erwin was so quiet was that he had found someone else who did appreciate his cliché gestures. Maybe he just didn’t know how to tell Levi that they were done, cause he didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Those thoughts made him very anxious and he needed to know the truth. He would apologise to Erwin for his behaviour, even if all he did was state his opinion.
He didn’t want to lose Erwin over something so trivial. Now that he thought about it he did kind of make a big deal out of it. What was so bad about a little extra romance? It wasn’t like it was Valentine’s Week, it was just a day. And if he truly loved Erwin then it wouldn’t be a problem at all to indulge him with cliché romance.
Yes, he did love Erwin very much. In fact he was Levi’s whole world. Hanji wasn’t the typical romance lover either and cliché stuff wasn’t always up their alley either. Despite that they had been going on about how they and Moblit would go out on a romantic date this evening, cause Moblit, just like Erwin, did love all that overly romantic stuff. When he had asked them why they would go on such a cliché date, their answer had been very simple. Because they love Moblit dearly and if spoiling them made him happy then they would be happy too.
Honestly he should have thought about that when Erwin suggested going on a date this evening. But no, he didn’t and now he was stuck here wondering if Erwin was done with him. Once Erwin would be home he would talk about it with him and tell him he would do any romantic cliché he wanted. Hopefully it wasn’t too late yet.
He would just clean the house to get his mind of it and to make the time pass by faster. After scrubbing for hours he had lost track of time and after checking how late it was he realised Erwin should have been home already. Dread started to form in his stomach and he immediately thought the worst. Erwin had left him.
He fought back the tears that threatened to spill and with shaky hands fished his phone out of his pocket. Maybe he was just being dramatic and Erwin had left a message he didn’t hear when he was vacuuming. But there was nothing at all. Not a single message. He bit his lip and didn’t know what to do. Maybe he should call Hanji and ask for advice.
He was about to press call when he heard the front door opening and sighed in relief. Erwin was probably just stuck in traffic or something. Or was he late because he was thinking on how to tell him that he had found someone else? Anxiety returned full force and he needed answers quickly. He hesitantly made his way over to the hallway where Erwin was taking of his coat and shoes.
When Levi entered the hallway, Erwin greeted him with a smile. That smile soon faltered when he saw Levi’s distressed face. “Lee, what’s wrong?”
Levi didn’t answer him. Instead the tears he had been fighting back started to spill from his eyes.
Erwin was in front of him within seconds and wrapped his arms around him. “I’m here, it’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong, please.”
Levi shakily told him what he had been worrying about for the whole afternoon and how sorry he was for being selfish. Erwin shook his head and assured him that he wasn’t angry at him at all. He hugged him tight and gave him the time to calm down a bit.
“I wouldn’t leave you for something like that. I love you.” Erwin gently wiped his tears away.
“Then why were you so quiet and distant this week? We barely talked.” He couldn’t help but wonder about it, cause it was so unlike Erwin.
“Ah, well you see I was worried I was going to give the surprise away. That’s why I said as little as possible.” He released his hold on Levi to pick up a bag from the floor.
The short man eyed him curiously, wondering what the blond was up to. “What are you talking about? What’s that?”
“I know you’ve said you don’t like Valentine, because it’s cliché and all, but that didn’t stop me from making reservations in a fancy restaurant in hopes of you changing your mind.” Maybe he shouldn’t have done it, but he had planned this whole thing out for months and it would be such a bummer to cancel it all. Besides if Levi knew the real reason behind this dinner then he would probably have no objections at all.
Of course Erwin had something planned for today. He should have known it all along, but no, his anxiety decided to think the complete opposite. “I should have known. I’m sorry I didn’t consider how important all this cliché stuff is to you. I’d love to go on a date with you.”
Erwin’s face lit up at that and he pulled Levi into a tight hug and lifted him off the floor. “I’m very happy that you’ve changed your mind.”
He rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s sappy display of affection, but had to admit it was pretty nice. “I’m still not fond of all the cliché stuff, but for you I’ll do anything.” He realised too late that saying that sounded pretty cliché too and Erwin’s face turned way too smug at that in his opinion.
Erwin put him down then and picked up the bag again. “Since you said you’ll do anything, I hope you don’t mind changing into this.”
He took the bag from him and took a look inside to find a beautiful suit inside. “You really are the definition of cliché and I have the feeling I’ll be saying and thinking that a lot more times tonight.”
“I’m sure you’ll look fabulous, so let’s go change.” Erwin grinned at him excitedly.
Levi had to admit he was looking fabulous in the black suit with matching tie, as he checked himself out in the mirror. Of course Erwin looked stunning as well in his dark blue suit with bowtie, but he didn’t expect otherwise. Sometimes Levi still wondered how he got so lucky with having Erwin. The man was a fucking Adonis and could probably get anyone he wanted, but still chose his short and grumpy self.
After getting changed they made their way to the restaurant and as soon as Levi realised which restaurant it was, his mouth fell open in shock. Erwin had taken him to the most expensive restaurant in town and getting a reservation here wasn’t easy. He was pretty sure that Erwin had used his smooth and charming personality to ensure a reservation here. He probably came here in person to charm his way in. Not that he was complaining, he just hoped that they didn’t have to live on dry bread for the rest of the month.
Of course Erwin held the door open for him when they went inside, politely declining the staff that would otherwise open the door for them. Another cliché, but despite it, it made Levi’s cheeks flush. After that Erwin gave their names for their reservation and they were led to their table. Erwin pulled the chair back for him and Levi took his seat, silently muttering the word cliché with a smile on his face. After making sure Levi was seated comfortably, he took his own seat.
Levi gave himself the time to take everything in. There were two red candles on the table and also a vase with a beautiful, fresh rose. They were seated by the window and the night sky looked beautiful. Levi was pretty sure that Erwin had payed extra to have these fantastic seats. It was all so cliché, but definitely romantic. The warm light from the candles gave him a pleasant feeling and he sure hoped it remained burning for as long as they would be here.
He didn’t care he was starting to get cliché as well, cause it all didn’t matter. Not with Erwin staring so lovingly at him as they were served their drinks. They toasted to a wonderful evening and everlasting love. They both took a sip and then got handed their menu’s. Levi noticed that Erwin kept glancing nervously over his menu towards him and wondered what it was all about. It wasn’t like Erwin to be nervous about things.
Erwin got up then and Levi assumed that he just had to go to the toilet. He supposed the toilets were really fancy here and he definitely should check them out before leaving. But instead of going to the toilet, Erwin made his way towards him and cleared his throat. Just what the hell was he doing?
Erwin took his hand then and got down on one knee. Then it dawned on him what Erwin was going to do. “Oh my God…”
“My dearest Levi. We’ve been together for three years now and have been living together for two. I feel like it’s time to take the next step. I love you so much and I can’t imagine a life without you anymore. Will you marry me?” A kind and hopeful smile graced his features.
Levi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting this at all. What a fool he had been. All his worrying had been for nothing and he was glad about that. He felt Erwin squeeze his hand and he realised he hadn’t given him an answer yet. He had been zoning out a bit. “Fuck. I mean, yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Erwin smiled brightly at that, got back up and kissed Levi deeply. Levi kissed back and wrapped his arms around him, never having been this happy. Once they broke the kiss, they could hear everyone around them clapping and cheering, happy for them that the proposal had gone well. Levi had to admit that Erwin had guts to propose to him in public. That took a lot of courage. Something felt off however and he couldn’t put his finger on it, until he actually looked at his fingers. There was no ring.
“Where’s the ring, Smith?” Levi said with a cocky smile, not actually being angry that there was no ring.
“Well, I worried you would find it, since you literally clean everywhere. I didn’t dare to hide it at work either, so I hope you’re not angry. Now that I think about it I don’t even know your ring size.”
“Of course I’m not angry. Maybe it’s even nice, cause with all those clichés you’ve made me endure, it’s actually kinda funny that you proposed without a ring. That means this evening hasn’t been a complete cliché after all.” He was just teasing Erwin, cause he came to appreciate all his clichés.
Erwin shook his head at that, relieved his boyfriend, no fiancé, could find the humour in it, instead of throwing a tantrum. “How about we order some food now? I’m getting kind of hungry.”
They both took their seat again and after checking the menu again, they ordered their food. It was absolutely delicious, but they both paid more attention to each other than to the food. When they were waiting on dessert, Erwin was looking rather happy and pleased everything went the way he planned. Levi had a slight blush on his face and still couldn’t believe he was engaged now.
They ate their dessert in blissful silence, content to just enjoy each other’s company and the warm atmosphere the restaurant provided. When it was time to go home, Levi insisted they both tried out the fancy toilet, cause they probably wouldn’t have the opportunity for a long time anymore. Levi took his sweet time, wishing they had such an amazing toilet at home and Erwin just shook his head at him when he was finally finished.
They left the restaurant hand in hand, with smiles on their faces. Their bellies were full, but they both still possessed a hunger that needed to be satisfied. They couldn’t wait to be home to celebrate their engagement in the confines of their bedroom and Levi didn’t care it was cliché as fuck.