Omake: Levi vs. Erwin, just a couple of cool bros hanging out

[solutioning]

The clouds covered the moon, and so it was an exceptionally dark night, and bitterly cold. The worst of the storm had passed. Only flurries cut the air now and all around the Survey Corps' castle there ringed a sumptuous silence ushered in by the deepening snow. The golden light of Erwin's window was the only jewel peeping amidst the walls; with the exception of the night watch, everyone else was asleep.

Against the cold and the draft an enormous fire crackled in the hearth. No other lights burned here in Erwin's office. The books and papers had been cleared away to make room, upon the hearth-side table, for an antique chessboard figured with inlay and bearing beautifully-carved stone pieces, and as well for a pair of glasses and bottle of rare old wine with dust still clinging to its shoulders.

Erwin poured a little into Levi's cup and his own. It was a red wine so deep it was almost black, revealing itself only by glinting darkly in the received light of the fire, and redolent with a fine tannic fragrance. There were three more bottles in his desk: a surprise gift from Pixis' second-in-command. Erwin could think of no better use for it than this, nor anyone more preferable to share it with.

As he placed his pawn forward he glanced at Levi by way of acknowledging his opponent. More than one game had begun.

((It's an omake I can impose winter on a show that appears to have none.))

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[solutioning]

"On a soldier's salary?" Came the almost too-gentle reply, light as the snow laid in crisp falls upon the stone ledges of the windows.

He brought his king's knight forward. An obvious sort of move, functional. Without inspiration, it had an unsophisticated feel compared to the elegance of his opening. His face had become impassive and his single hand rested around the stem of his wineglass.

"There isn't much point in a wager when you already know the outcome."

[shortcutter]

Fighting words. The hint of a smile nearly returned to Levi's face as he gazed steadily across the table at Erwin. He took another swig of wine, this time unprompted, finding it as drinkable as ever. When he castled, it was with one hand and one motion; the stone pieces clacked together softly as they rolled between his fingers.

"So we don't involve our shitty pay." He paused. "But if that's how you feel, then why not resign now?"

Levi felt confident. He figured himself well-defensed, and whatever Erwin was planning for his grand attack, it could be dealt with. At the very least, he would be able to mitigate his opponent's mustering of power in what would likely prove to be an active and bloody midgame.

[solutioning]

At this Erwin chuckled, a dry, warm, extremely uncommon sound. He smiled often, but laughed almost never. Perhaps as an acknowledgement of a joke; perhaps, too, he was laughing at a pretentious statement.

"What more could I ask of you? You're already captain. You like chores."

He was quite relaxed as he held Levi's gaze, though even Erwin's relaxation was straight-shouldered and drawn-bellied. When he looked down at the board the corner of his mouth ticked up before he brought his bishop forward -- arguably in a manner underdeveloped -- to make room for castling. The whole thing gave off a perfunctory air, like a man who had figured out the whole thing so far in advance that he was only going through the motions now. Or one whose condescension was unwarranted.

[shortcutter]

Whether the condescension was or wasn't unwarranted, it was effective all the same.

"So as soon as money's off the table, you're dreaming up ways to punish me. What am I supposed to think of that?"

A bit of a leap, but the implication was there: if Levi lost the wager, and the result was something he potentially enjoyed, then what was the point? That element appeared to matter more than Erwin himself reaping a benefit.

Levi took so little time to move his queen's knight that an onlooker might have guessed they were playing blitz. Erwin had no obligation to follow at a similar pace, but he might play along in hopes of coaxing out a blunder in the flurry of their next several moves. Conversely, he could move slowly with the idea of tempting Levi into making a poor, overly bold play in hopes of accelerating the action.

[solutioning]

Neither swiftly nor slowly, Erwin castled, and in a rather amateur fashion, as he was not -- had not been -- left-handed. It was simply the next move. It would have happened no matter what Levi did.

Benevolently, he replied, "That's how wagers usually go, don't they? Well, then you tell me: what's your bet?"

And if Levi were not too far in his cups he would see, in Erwin's cool, serious blue eyes, an uncommonly sharp attention; a focus to make the hair on the back of anyone's neck stand on end. This was no idle conversation.

you asked for this

[shortcutter]

Levi could still see quite well, and Erwin's degree of focus was palpable in both the standing of hair and the rising in his chest. He swiped his queen's bishop across the board, again moving rapidly. Then he drank, draining his glass as visions of the game's progression appeared in slivers. It lead to serviceable position, and no lurking dangers he could ascertain.

"How about yours?" he said. "Since you still won't let me have the Ape Titan's head, I'd take the second best one I can think of."

Crude, but it could have been worse. For instance, he left out any reference to a forsaken backroom in the castle that desperately needed a selfish touch; but, as much as Levi would have liked to throw that particular word back at Erwin, all the wine in Pixis' cellar couldn't loosen his tongue to such extremity.

i almost feel sorry. almost.

[solutioning]

A cold flash masked by a gentle smile. Erwin advanced his bishop, bolstering his hold on the quarter and developing what was becoming, however slowly, an extremely direct assault on Levi's queen.

As he refilled Levi's cup, he remarked, casual, "Really. Confident." Tellingly he raised no objections. "I would only ask you for something very small."

The words hung in the air, solemn and aureate, couched in his round, sound, clear voice. The snowfall was general and persistent beyond the windows, enfolding all the world in hushed and splendid whiteness. Erwin was wearing that creepy smile again. He was thinking about the dirty bit. The untidy part of the tidy captain. The booty.

so like not at all basically

[shortcutter]

Not that Erwin needed reminding, but his captain's specialty was cutting down much larger foes — bringing them to their knees, as it were. And though his targets were generally more dimwitted, that unsettling smile wouldn't look out of place on the face of a titan.

"Sounds fair. But…" He hesitated uncharacteristically, either for emphasis or because he was being picky with his words (and attempting not to the slur them). "I hope you won't be too crushed by the result."

Big things could come in small packages, after all. Now Levi needed to bring his focus back to the board before his thoughts settled into free-flowing spurts of uninspired adages and less related pleasures. The game required his full attention, because things were about to get messy. Levi took with his queen's pawn, twirling the captured piece in his hand before setting it aside.

^_______^;;

[solutioning]

Less elegantly but no less forcefully, Erwin took the offending pawn with his bishop. There were stakes now, big stakes, girthy stakes, mouthwatering steaks. He was no longer playing for entertainment but edification and his scientific curiosity would not be satisfied with anything less than a thorough probing of Levi's depths.

He was not unaware of the magnitude of what he asked, or asked for. Gently he fondled the rim of his glass with his tongue and then sipped the dregs.

"And I," He murmured thoughtfully, "Hope your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach."

[shortcutter]

Levi threw back another gulp, unconcerned. Next in line was Erwin's knight; he erased it from the board with his advanced bishop, all but forcing an appearance from the black queen.

"Worry about what's going down your own throat."

His banter was devolving quickly, but he'd never had much of a talent for subtle speech. The weightiness of the outcome was growing ever thicker, and Levi's casual posture became more unconsciously erect. If he was certain of one thing, it was that he had no chance of thrusting himself to victory by any soft, limp means.

[solutioning]

"Worry more about putting it there." He sounded very jolly about it for all that. Indeed the queen made her appearance, beating Levi's little white bishop from the board, and granting Erwin quite the spread upon which to directly assault his opponent's holiest of holies. He was justly famous for this stuff; all through the barracks, among all the players, one might have heard from anyone that Erwin played a fearsome queen.

More wine. At least he thought it was more. Was it more? The bottle was empty. He watched the last drip roll wetly from its tip and licked his lips. Collecting bottle number two from his desk, he twisted off the top (it was, after all, wine from Pixis' cellar) and freshened everyone's cups. Levi proved to be as formidable a drinking partner as chess player; indeed, he seemed impossible to satiate, and Erwin worried for a moment about his own stamina, and whether he would be able to keep it up long enough to provide satisfaction.

[shortcutter]

"Why?" he said. "I've already got you licking your chops."

Even without being privy to accounts of his play, that Erwin would be specifically adept at manipulating the strongest weapon in his arsenal came as no surprise. The thought made Levi's brow furrow, though at least he could pass the look off as a bout of deep positional pondering.

The commander's queen did have plenty of room to move, but there was one spot it was no longer protecting. The last pawn at the board's center fell as Levi swung in with his queen's knight. This allowed the black queen even more mobility, which was concerning; there was at least one tight, vulnerable place where Erwin could stick his most powerful piece. Levi was all but inviting him there.

So he drank. Levi drank to the stationary life and service of his b-file pawn. Revenge — a dish often best served cold — would be hot and meaty on this night.

erwin slide over. wow.

[solutioning]

"I'm just reminded," The edges of the words were only very slightly slurred. "Of how much I like peanuts."

There it was. An irresistible little capture. Erwin could hardly wait to overtake Levi's pawn with his big guns, even if it meant dropping his queen into the dangerous heat of Levi's back row. Hazardous, to go so deep so quickly. They'd barely gotten warmed up.

Drink had made him loose and hasty. If it was a trick on Levi's part, then he was ready to fall for it; it wouldn't be the first time that his captain had pinned him and taken what he wanted, and, Erwin confessed to himself, there was always something thrilling about his lust to dominate the board, something exciting about feeling himself overtaken. It was part of Levi's charm, that magnificent tactical brain of his. How such a small body could contain such a overdeveloped organ was quite beyond Erwin's tipsy comprehension.

[shortcutter]

The time for tricks had passed. All that remained: Erwin, the board, and Levi's desire. His knight was well surrounded by black pieces and did not seem long for this world; why not allow it to penetrate deeper into the bowls of enemy territory? Levi saw no better alternative, so the knight jumped again, pressuring Erwin's rook while preparing an exchange for his bishop.

"I heard a story once about a drunk man who choked on a peanut," he said slowly. His voice carried a slight, bizarre menace. "He didn't use his teeth."

It was no cautionary tale — just vulgarity for its own simple sake. Erwin was far too skilled with his mouth to ever asphyxiate himself so pathetically. From intimate experience, Levi knew this quite well.

[solutioning]

Occasionally Erwin forgot where Levi was from; this sort of headlong dive into the nasty and weird was a refreshing reminder. He could almost smell the sewers still.

A little more wine went into cups, somehow. He was quiet for a long moment. Finally he leaned over and murmured, "Levi, I'm not going to choke on your dick."

Sedately he brought a rook around to menace Levi's queen. It wasn't his style to be vulgar; however, he was not above trolling. His voice dropped half an octave and, soft as a bedroom whisper, he finished with, "Do you like it with teeth?"

sewer people love the rough bjs. and play the mad chess.

[shortcutter]

As Erwin posed his query, Levi was in mid-guzzle. With no outward reaction, he swallowed and set his cup down while a sharp snap came from the fire, not unlike the clack of a jaw.

"Try it." His voice was low but clear. "I bet your successor wouldn't ask the same stupid fucking question."

Levi slid his threatened piece out of the rook's path and into the attacking sphere of the black queen. The two tall, sculpted ladies stood in close and weighty proximity, looking polished, elegant and deadly.