Work Text:
Erwin had known many basements in his time.
When he had been a child, the family home had had a basement. It had been fairly average, as far as basements went. There was a long, somewhat steep set of stairs leading down to it, but it had been otherwise comfortable—open and spacious, with shelves of storage along the walls, and tiny windows at the top, which were level with the ground outside, to let in a little light. He had hidden things in the basement he didn’t want his parents to find, and often played down there when he wasn’t sent outside.
His bedroom had not provided much privacy, since the door didn’t lock and there was nowhere to hide in the tiny space. Erwin had grown to hate that lack of privacy, especially as he grew older; it was the kind of household where his parents might just waltz into his bedroom unannounced, so he couldn’t even change his clothes without worry, let alone… other things. So those other things ended up happening in the basement. He studied in the basement. He grew to love the basement. He told it all his secrets.
And in short… Erwin may have developed a slight fetish for basements.
After the death of his father, his family had moved, and Erwin had never seen that basement again. There had been others, but they just weren’t the same. Erwin did not expect to find another basement that would share his passions in life, and had moved on as best he could. He had dated a woman named Marie for a time, but that had not worked out either. Erwin had resigned himself to his fate of being married to his work.
So he could hardly believe what he was hearing the first time he had been told about the Jaeger basement. Could it actually be true? This basement really held the secret to defeating the titans, the thing he had devoted his whole life to achieving? And it was just waiting for him in Shiganshina, waiting to be rescued like a lovely damsel in distress?
Well, Erwin Smith was up to that challenge.
Erwin’s drive to get to the Jaeger basement brought his passion for his work to new heights. His friends and coworkers commented on it, some of them with worry. But Erwin knew that if he could achieve this, everything would be worth it. He told himself it was all for humanity. And that was part of it, for sure. But deep down, he knew, there was something else, something a little more selfish. Another reason why he just had to get to that basement.
Eren had told Erwin what he knew of his family’s basement, which was little. Eren seemed pretty sure that it was old and rickety, but Erwin did not care about that. He was fine with a basement that showed its age, that had experienced some ups and downs. It was what was inside the basement that mattered. And what was in there was their salvation.
He dreamed about it. In the daytime, he would not let his mind wander, but in the gentle embrace of sleep, his thoughts went to the basement, and what it would be like to finally reach it. He just wanted to open that door, to delve inside of it, to walk through the dark, narrow passage that was its stairs and discover the secrets within.
But now, that may never happen.
As his hopes and dreams began to slip away before his very eyes, Erwin made his way to a nearby crate, just out of range of the rocks, and collapsed onto it, weary. Levi looked on, worry slightly creasing his brow.
“I… really… just wish I could go to that basement.”
Finally, Erwin just relented, and let out all his feelings of guilt and hopelessness and longing to someone he knew wouldn’t judge. Levi knew. He had told Levi everything some weeks ago over drinks, about his guilt, and about his love for the basement. At the time, the Captain had shot him a level gaze over his beer, not unlike his usual expression, and chuckled, which was rare for him. “That’s a good one.” Levi had continued to act as though he thought it were a joke, but Erwin knew that he understood.
Now, Levi had a pained expression that looked like a mix of understanding and pity. Suddenly, Erwin was hit with a wave of doubts. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Levi had laughed because he did not believe Erwin’s love was real. Maybe it wasn’t.
Maybe it was not possible for a man and a basement to have a happy ending.
“It’s all in my head, isn’t it? It’s just a childish delusion, right?”
But then Levi knelt down and gave Erwin the assurance he needed to keep going, the promise that Erwin’s ultimate goal would not be abandoned. That the basement would not be forgotten about and abandoned.
As Erwin rode forth to his possible death, he at least felt solace knowing that someone else might get to the basement, and grant it a future.