It does help - but perhaps the touch more than anything, even when he thought he was feeling too jittery to be touched. Erwin has always been the exception there, it seems, or nearly so. The shape and feeling of his hand is warm and familiar, as is just standing at his side. It's that steadiness that has always been what he needed, someone sure and strong and unwavering with the patience to guide him out of the tumult of his emotions, when anger or anxiety or even loss became too much.
Levi lets that comforting familiarity seep into him, feels his heart rate slow and some tension release from his hands.
Of course they've had to make calculations on the lives of others. That was the price of leadership, the burden Erwin carried to see out his vision - because even if his true motivations had been ultimately self-serving, everything he'd done still counted towards humanity's freedom. Because people still mattered. Any time it seemed he was in danger of losing sight of that, Levi would remind him, was there to help him shoulder that burden, because someone needed to be willing to make those choices. If Erwin didn't care, Levi wouldn't follow him.
He's quiet, absorbing calm from Erwin's soothing touch as he carefully puts the tea and measuring spoon back in their proper places in the cupboard. His hands settle lightly on the countertop, gaze drifting to the golden glint on his left before he sighs, shaking his head.
"Maybe. In my experience, people like that happy to tell you exactly the kind of fucked up they are." Levi glances up at Erwin. "What did he tell you?"
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Levi lets that comforting familiarity seep into him, feels his heart rate slow and some tension release from his hands.
Of course they've had to make calculations on the lives of others. That was the price of leadership, the burden Erwin carried to see out his vision - because even if his true motivations had been ultimately self-serving, everything he'd done still counted towards humanity's freedom. Because people still mattered. Any time it seemed he was in danger of losing sight of that, Levi would remind him, was there to help him shoulder that burden, because someone needed to be willing to make those choices. If Erwin didn't care, Levi wouldn't follow him.
He's quiet, absorbing calm from Erwin's soothing touch as he carefully puts the tea and measuring spoon back in their proper places in the cupboard. His hands settle lightly on the countertop, gaze drifting to the golden glint on his left before he sighs, shaking his head.
"Maybe. In my experience, people like that happy to tell you exactly the kind of fucked up they are." Levi glances up at Erwin. "What did he tell you?"