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“This is it, then.” Mike looked over the room he once called his own, empty now, all bare walls and dust bunnies in the corners, his smell fading out the open windows, being replaced with fresh spring air. A new beginning.
Levi walked up next to him, only the scoff betraying his presence, and his confused scent. Where it normally smelled a bit like pine trees, peppermint and fresh grass, now the scents were muddled. “I’ll have to fumigate it now, probably,” he said. Leave it to Levi to bring some levity to a situation that might otherwise be uncomfortable.
Mike snorted, turning away, making his way to the front door. “I would’ve cleaned, you know. But you would have done it over anyway, so I figured I’d just leave it.”
“I’ll send you the cleaning bill,” Levi said from behind him as they reached the door.
“I’d expect nothing less.” Mike turned to him, grinning down, thinking he’d miss it, really, living here, but it was definitely time to move on. “You have the address, right? Erwin-“
Levi cut him off. “Of course I have the address, and even if I didn’t, I could always call. Idiot.”
“Good.” Mike bent down and wrapped Levi up in a hug, though he knew he hated them. Levi shoved at him, but then reluctantly returned it, briefly. “Okay, okay, that’s enough, you giant oaf. Now go, get out before you stink up the place.” And with a final shove, Levi kicked him out.
Mike didn’t begrudge him, given he had taken his sweet time moving out. All his things, including the bag in his hand were at the new house, and all Mike had to do was unpack it all and get it ready. Alone.
Calling up Nile and going for a few beers was definitely looking like an option, but he remembered that Hanji and Nanaba had told him they’d be by to help him set up a bit in a few days, so maybe getting some things done wasn’t that bad. And it’s not like he couldn’t buy his favourite cheap beer to keep in his fridge – there was no Levi to scoff at him now.
***
He opened the windows, letting the wind meander through the rooms, bringing spring and sunshine everywhere it went. The noises from the outside were calming, too, though there weren’t many, a residential neighbourhood that this was – some barking dogs, passing cars, and kids cheering in the distance. It felt less lonely that way.
Mike pointlessly looked at his phone, scrolled through his messages and sent one out, I miss you., though he expected no reply. Then he decided that he was a grown man who would enjoy having his own space and would not spend the first true day in this new house moping.
So he didn’t.
It took Mike the rest of the day to unpack the kitchen, and a bit of the dining room, mostly anyway. All the plates, bowls and cutlery had been washed before being boxed, and he wiped down all the cupboards, drawers and countertops…so maybe living with Levi did rub off on him a little.
But definitely not too much, as evidenced clearly by his socked feet resting on top of the coffee table, laptop propped on his knees, pizza box next to him on the couch, watching old DVDs of Trading Spaces for inspiration because the internet and TV wouldn’t be getting installed til the next day. Once he was sure he’d seen all he could handle of Doug and Frank and each of their own brands of weird, it was bedtime.
Falling asleep was a chore, even with the unwashed sheets covering the bed, their smell fading too quickly and doing little to ease Mike’s mind.
Eventually, Mike figured he must have managed some sleep, since he was startled awake by noises coming from downstairs. Because he didn’t know this house, he waited it out, maybe it was a racoon, or some pipes settling. But the noises continued, and they sounded decidedly human, if not a little ominous, so Mike decided to act.
He slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and inched along the wall to the hallway. There, Mike grabbed the first long, blunt thing he could get his hands on – the broom leaning against the top of the bannister, then walked quietly downstairs.
As he made his way downstairs, he knew it was the right decision, seeing a shadow moving in front of the door through the little stained-glass window. The scratching, undoubtedly a lock being broken, was getting more insistent as he inched his way closer, and by the time he was at the bottom of the stairs, the door swung open.
A couple of things happened then. First, Mike hopped the last few stairs down, wild yell coming from his mouth, an attempt at scaring away the intruder, along with the broom actually landing a hit, somewhere on the side of the man in front of him. Second, the man dropped a suitcase he was carrying and screamed out in pain, falling to the ground.
But he didn’t just scream out, no, he screamed, “Mike!”
Mike dropped the broom and turned on the hallway light immediately. “Erwin?” Mike moved closer, kneeling in front of Erwin, who was holding on to his bicep, where the broom must have hit him.
Watching Erwin shake in front of him, Mike felt his heart drop, stopping his hand from reaching out. “Oh god, Erwin, I’m so sorry. I –”Mike started, but was interrupted by Erwin, by his hand on Mike’s on the floor and by the giggles coming out of his mouth.
“Are you okay? Erwin?”
“Yes. I am. I’m fine. Just give me a minute, okay?” Erwin said, lifting his hand as he kept laughing, shaking his head, but he wasn’t hurt. He was okay.
So Mike did. He took that time to calm down, giving Erwin space to stop laughing. Once the adrenaline began to leave his body, tension draining out, Mike couldn’t help but grin, looking at the dishevelled top of Erwin’s head, wanting to do nothing more than run his fingers through it, bury his face and inhale.
Finally, Mike’s knees began to protest his position on the floor, so he got up, extending his hand out to Erwin.
“I am sorry, you know.” Mike said, pulling Erwin up by his left arm – the one he didn’t hit, then pulling him into a hug, unable to stop, in spite of the humph Erwin let out.
“I know,” he felt more than heart Erwin murmur against his neck, breath hot and damp, followed by a press of lips, then another. “I’m never letting you live this down.”
Mike laughed, pulling back a bit, hand resting on the side of Erwin’s face, thumb stroking along his cheekbone, every single bit of his body relaxed and content now. He leaned down and kissed him softly, tasting the stale peanuts and bourbon on his breath.
“I know,” Mike said before he reluctantly let go of Erwin to close the front door. He took the fallen suitcase and carried it upstairs, letting Erwin follow him. The luggage found room in a corner of their bedroom nearest the walk-in closet, they’d deal with it in the morning. For now, Erwin was home.
Erwin was home.
And he was getting undressed, too. In their bedroom. In their new house. And there was absolutely no chance of anyone interrupting anything ever again. It felt good.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be back til next week.” Mike took Erwin’s jacket from him, hanging it up on a hanger, then the tie. Erwin hummed in response, so Mike figured he hadn’t heard him. He was just about to ask again as he went back into the bedroom, but was stuck to his spot.
It had been way too long since they’d seen each other, and Erwin was bent over, in nothing but his green and white boxer-briefs, slipping off his socks. When he saw Mike looking, he cocked an eyebrow at him and sauntered over, pressing himself up against Mike, a wall of solid muscle and warmth.
He wrapped his arms around Mike’s middle and leaned up to kiss him, slowly at first, but more passionately the longer they stood together, their bodies pressing closer and closer, realigning after weeks apart, fitting just right. Feeling like home.
Mike walked them toward the bed before pushing Erwin down and crawling on after him, sniffing and kissing up his legs and torso, more out of the need for closeness than arousal.
He stopped at Erwin’s neck, then nibbled his way to Erwin’s jawline, his lips. He let himself brush Erwin’s hair from his face, pushing it back, then flicking Erwin’s nose when Erwin’s hand moved from Mike’s arm to his side and began a motion far too similar to tickling.
“So why are you back so early?” Mike asked, pulling the covers over both of them and cuddling up to Erwin, feeling none of the doubt and dread from before, only the warmth from Erwin’s body next to his.
Erwin turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes, a quality Mike thought would probably unnerve him to some extent forever, but one he appreciated nonetheless. “It’s our first night in the new house. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Erwin said, like it should have been obvious.
He kissed Mike softly, not letting Mike reciprocate much before turning away and shuffling up against Mike, back-to-front.
“I hope you weren’t expecting anything, by the way, because I have just spent eight hours on a plane next to the most annoying man in the world and I just want to sleep.”
“Never,” Mike said, wrapping his arm around Erwin to pull him even closer, face buried in the crook of his neck. He hadn’t been expecting anything either, but even still, there was nothing he wanted or needed that he didn’t have in this moment, in their bed, in their shared bedroom, in their first house together. “You’re more than enough.”