If their conversations are any indication, Levi seems pretty determined to get her to understand. Results aren't great at the moment, though.

Something gets through, and though that isn't surprising, Levi still feels grateful for it. The touch is soothing, as it always is, and he leans back into it a little, angling toward Erwin as though drawn like a magnet. He sighs softly, trying to let some of the knots unwind from his stomach and shoulders, and abruptly feels foolish for being anxious in the first place. If Erwin would abandon him over this, that would mean everything else is as much of a flimsy lie, and that couldn't possibly be true.

"No," he says, shaking his head, but there's still a flush working up to his ears. "The opposite."

Stop being a constipated ass and spit it out.

He puts the book aside, realizing he's picking at the corners of the pages, and picks up the cup instead, holding it in both hands.

"We-..."

The fucking brats wouldn't be this stupid about this. Embarrassing. Like trying to shove out shit one piece at a time.