Erwin reminds me of Captain America. Although, knowing what I know now — I mean, everything that Levi has told me — I don't know how to fit the whole righteousness in with the illegal organized crime stuff.

What is he doing here? I was happily moving on with randos and now, he is back. And he is still calling me an angel. Is he stalking me? Why would he be stalking me?

"You're here alone, angel?" Erwin walks up to me and holds my face in between his palms. I have no recollection of when I stood up but of course, I did. It'd have been hard to look up at him from a seated position.

I take a step back. It's a knee-jerk reaction. He drops his hand and his gaze. What a golden retriever puppy!

"My friend just left." Damage control. I look to Erwin's side and Levi avoids meeting my eyes. "Hi there, Levi. Thanks for cleaning up the other day."

"No problem." He murmurs.

"Angel, if your friend has left, why are you still here alone?"

"Why not?"

"Are you meeting someone else, angel?"

"So what if I am?" Ugh... what the fuck am I doing?

"I'm only asking because it's late, angel. And you live on the other side of town." His eyes bear into mine but they lack intensity. In its place, there's a whole bunch of something else. I think people call this adoration. But why would he adore me? "I can be worried about you, can't I?"

I soften and my gaze shifts to his left arm. His shirt sleeve covers his wound, hopefully still bandaged. Hopefully, he's not too impatient for it to heal. "How's your arm, Mr. Smith?" I look away at Levi inspecting the items on the table I was hogging.

"It's alright, angel." He runs a careful hand through his coiffed hair. "I know you must have been disappointed. Trust me, angel, I was too." He takes my hands. "I didn't want to leave. You looked so pretty in the morning. But it would have been against my better judgment to-"

"Erwin, he's here."

Eat bricks, Levi.

Erwin tears his gaze from me and we both look at Levi holding up the bottle of Zurich's wine between two fingers and away from his face, like it's a stinky bag of garbage. "He's here," he repeats himself. "We need to talk to Pyxis."

Levi hands the bottle to Erwin who looks at the label intently, biting down on his lip.

"Angel, did anybody suggest this wine to you and your friend?" There's an undercurrent of hostility in his voice. It makes me take another step away from him.

"Ummm... yes. I mean, there was a man who bought me and my friend a glass each of that wine. And then we were going to have dinner together so he ordered a bottle."

"Did he give you a name?" Levi asks, promptly placing himself in the space between Erwin and me.

I look him up and down, trying to understand what's causing this reaction. "Yes. He said the wine is from his small business. His name was Zurich Jaeger."

"Zurich? Zurich?" Levi laughs with a hint of disdain. Somehow the sound he has concocted is worse than the loud club music.

Erwin glares at him. "Levi, compose yourself. We cannot and will not cause a ruckus at Pyxis' establishment. That's an order."

"Will somebody explain to me what's going on?" I feel like I've done something wrong. And I can't really put my finger on it since I feel like this ninety percent of the time.

"It was Zeke, dummy. Zeke Jaeger. Did you think Zurich is a real name?" Levi leers at me, folding his arms over his chest. He does that a lot. He probably thinks it makes him look intimidating. But I'm wearing heels today and approximately four inches taller. So I fold my arms too, glaring down at him.

"Enough, you two. Levi, how would she have known?" Erwin comes forward and stands between us, as if trying to protect me.

"Fuck it! Is he coming back?" Levi looks at me again, his jaw clenching. "And, more importantly, are you on a date with him? There are only two glasses."

I freeze. So does Erwin. He hadn't noticed before but now he looks closely at the table. The blinking lights of the pub barely make it visible but it is evident it's a date setting. He looks at me, questioning, and the guilt returns.

A waiter appears behind me, as if out of thin air, with one of those round, black trays where they gather the plates and glasses. "Should I clear this out?" They ask.

"Yes, please. And please get me the bill." I need to run away from here. Precisely, ten minutes ago.

"Oh, umm... Mr. Jaeger has paid the bill before he left, I believe. Will you be taking the bottle home?"

"Is that allowed?" Cheers,weird wine guy!

"Angel." Erwin gently grabs my shoulder. "Do you really want... the bottle?" He's nervous, I can tell. He feels like he's losing. There's something so hot about a big man feeling intimidated. I wanna play with this for just a little bit. I turn to the server and with the warmest smile I could conjure, I ask them to pack the bottle for takeaway.

So many things that Zurich — I mean, Zeke — told me make sense now. The brother he was talking about is Eren, I believe. And does that mean, Erwin is currently his legal guardian? Now, I get it. Erwin was only protecting Eren and keeping him out of jail that day by not going to the hospital. Aww...

"Not so angelic anymore, is she?" Levi mocks Erwin. For a right-hand man, he is very disrespectful toward his boss. "Anyhoo, we should go talk to Pyxis about this, Erwin. We were promised sole..."

"This is not the right place." Erwin looks at me. A glimmering disco light moves over his face, and I gasp inwardly. His chin is jutted. His eyes have darkened again. Uh-oh! As soon as I'm handed a long, slender paper bag with the Jaegers' wine bottle inside, Erwin grabs my elbow and turns me toward him. "I'm driving you home, angel."

"You don't—"

"Not another word, angel." He brushes his thumb ever so slightly over my lower lip. Fuck! Is it hot in here?

Erwin shares a glance with Levi — a meaningful, professional glance, an I-trust-you-to-handle-this-yourself glance -— before seizing my wrist and pulling me toward the exit.

The car ride is silent, urgent. Erwin's fingers tap dance on the steering wheel every time the traffic stops us. My purse and the bottle of wine are cradled in my lap while I tear away at the skin of my lips, trying to consume the lingering aftereffects of Erwin's touch. I definitely want him to touch me again, all my good parts. And I definitely need more booze in my system to get me through the red lights.

"Fucking hell, angel." Erwin breathes heavily as I take the bottle out of its bag and unscrew the cap. I take a swig just to enrage him even more. He shifts gears and speeds up, smoothly swerving past other cars, avoiding getting stuck at signals. We're in front of my house in record time.

He gets out of his side and comes over to mine to open the door for me. I take his hand and he almost pulls me out of his car. Suddenly, he's too close. Closer than my fantasies of him over the last few days. I'm stuck between his hips and the car door, beyond tempted to touch him. He has my face in his hands, clasping so the fat on my cheeks pool over his fingers. There are caterpillars everywhere inside my body, squiggling away in my stomach, my chest, my neck, my thighs. Everywhere that I want Erwin to touch me. Everywhere that I want him to like. "I'll buy you every bottle of wine ever produced in the whole wide world," he tells me. "I'll buy you vineyards, hire sommeliers to cater to your every boozy craving. Anything you want, angel. Just not this."

Erwin's nose is touching mine, that's how close he is. I smirk against his breath as I pull the bottle out again, and with my eyes fixed on his lips, chuck it just a few feet away from us. The bottle splatters on the concrete, splashing the wine on our feet and pants. He chuckles, finally easing up. "That was very irresponsible of you, angel," he says, my chin between his fingers. "Now, tell me. Were you on a date tonight?"

Oops! Trouble in paradise.

I shake my head. A sense of bravery washes over me and I loop my arms around Erwin's neck. I tiptoe a little. He bends down a little more till our faces are at the same height. "Angel, if you're involved with Zeke, I will forget about this. I can't promise you I won't harm him but I'd make sure nobody from my family harms you. Ever."

"There's nothing between us. He bought drinks for Roz and I and then... well, he was flirting a little. And asked us if we wanted to join him for dinner. But Roz had to go so I was left alone with him. But... but, if I knew he was your mortal enemy, I would... I mean, I would have thought twice before talking to him. I mean, what did you expect me to do? You left in the morning, and I had no way to contact you. After flirting with me the whole night, calling me angel, you just leave me high and dry. I thought I'll never see you again. What? Why are you smiling?"

Erwin touches my forehead with his. His smile is so bright, it might light up my whole bleak life. His hands slide up my sides, and I pull my stomach in, as if that would make my rolls and love handles disappear. The tip of his long nose brushes against mine, our mouths only inches apart. I really, really want to kiss him. I really, really want him to kiss me.

His palm settles at the small of my back, tense against my skin, pulling me closer. What is he afraid of? Rejection? From me?

"Can I kiss you?" He sighs against my lips. Like, there is more than one answer to this question. I nod and he smiles; he looks relieved. Is this an act to get me to put out?

This man is such a tease, a slow-burn expert. He doesn't kiss me immediately. He slides his nose along mine, presses the tip into my cheek and pecks me there first. He peppers kisses along my jaw, careful to not venture onto my neck like it's forbidden territory. Erwin comes up, rising from oceans, and pulls me into his tidal arms. One moment he's caressing my face, the next the color on his cheeks takes my breath away and in the next, he's giving the breath back into my mouth.

I open up to him so carelessly, my desires mock the walls I had built in vain. Brick by brick, he takes me apart. His mouth tastes of mint and something burnt, like coffee or cigarettes, as he presses deep kisses on my lips. My core is on fire, warming the cocoons of my caterpillars, the heat terrifyingly close to oozing out. I slide my fingers into his hair, then over his shoulders and down his arms, feeling the bandages on his left and the rippling muscles on his right.

Our lips part but Erwin still keeps me captured in his arms, smiling like a teenage boy, his hair all tousled, his lips glistening. He looks past my shoulders, his grasp easing around me. I turn. Ms. Fairybottom is standing on my porch, looking over with a frown, and my cat in her arms.

"Jenny, is that you, love?" She calls out. I can only describe her accent as a cowboy from England. And, yes, she calls me Jenny. Always has. Ever since I was little and visited Grampa during the summer. Honestly, sometimes it feels like a racist move but she's old and has some really cool stuff in her apartment, like a crystal ball and tarot cards, and sometimes she says things that make sense weeks later. And she loves Mirinda and takes care of her when I'm away, so I let myself be Jenny sometimes.

"Yes, Ms. Fairybottom." I tear myself from Erwin and walk up to the front of his car. "What are you doing here? I'd have gone over to get Miri back myself. Sorry it's a little late today."

"You've got a pretty friend there, Jenny." She completely ignores what I just said as she walks down the porch steps. "I'll tell you what. Why don't I keep Miri with me tonight? She'll only get in the way. Have fun, deary."

I scratch my cat a little on her forehead before Ms. Fairybottom takes her away. Great! Now the whole neighborhood will know Dr. Castillo's granddaughter brought a man home.

"Everything alright, angel?" Erwin walks up to me and puts an arm around me.

"Yes, Mr. Smith." I turn to my apartment door, as if seeking advice on how to conduct the rest of the night.

"Angel, you know you've called me by my name before, right? You don't have to address me so formally."

"I have?"

"Angel." Erwin presses his chest to mine. He takes my chin between his fingers and chastely kisses my lips. When I open my eyes, I know the look on his face. I've seen it on other men but let's face it, most men are the same. Hot and heavy, his exhales fall on my lips, making me more and more hungry for him by the drifting seconds. Most men may be the same but that doesn't make me want this man any less.

Throw caution to the wind. Trample over it. Beat its ass into the dirt. Fuck caution, that's what I'm thinking.

I grab his collar and pull his lips down on mine. His lips part, giving me entrance. His huge hands slide from my waist to under my ass. As I pull him closer, he bends his knees ever so slightly before picking me up by my butt like I weigh nothing. It feels unnaturally natural as he guides my legs to hook around his hips. "Keys in your bag, angel?" He asks, plucking stray hair from my face and tucking them behind my ear. He's holding me up with one hand, what?

I nod and he unchains my bag slinging from my shoulder to procure my house keys. He unlocks my door, carries me inside, and locks it behind him. Without breaking a single sweat. Motherfucking Captain America!

A/N: I genuinely thought I'll be writing the smut in this chapter but dedicating it to the anticipation alone felt the absolute right thing to do. What do you think about the tension and the kiss as the final payoff?

If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a vote. You wouldn't believe it but it does wonders o the writer's motivations.