"Idiot."

Erwin teared his attention from the newspaper he was reading on his couch just as Isanna bursted into his office with an annoyed irk, stomping while she made her way towards him. 

"Is something the matter?" the blond inquired as he watched her plop down on the couch he was sitting on, wordlessly resting her head on his lap as she let out an irritated huff. 

Isanna clicked her tongue. "Levi said he doesn't want to keep Levi Junior in his room, so he gave it to Hanji."

Erwin looked down at her, momentarily forgetting the newspaper in his hand. And here he was thinking what made her so upset. 

"I swear that guy's too emo," Isanna continued on with her rant, accompanying it with all sorts of gestures, "just you watch, I'm painting Zeus violet and sticking a makeshift horn on his forehead - it's time to let the world see Humanity's Strongest ride out in expeditions on a unicorn."

The blond's lips twitched into a soft smile at the thought. Zeus was the name of Levi's horse; it was a steed that was as dark as the night sky without stars, a horse that suited Levi so well, but the thought of painting it a bright shade of violet was entertaining. 

Humanity's Strongest Soldier, off to kill titans while riding on his unicorn. 

Erwin shook his head and returned his attention back to his newspaper, continuing to read down the contents. "That would be a sight to see."

"I know right?" Isanna grinned at him. "Do you think I should put stickers behind Zeus' butt, too? Like, yellow sparkles or something? Y'know, for extra effects."

"I don't think Levi would appreciate that."

"Who cares?" She rolled her eyes, folding her hands behind her head as she shifted slightly in her position on Erwin's lap. The raven began to think about all sorts of possible decorations she could adorn Levi's horse, with all the rainbows and sun stickers - because she wanted it to be the most colorful horse ever ridden by a soldier. By Levi, no less. 

A few minutes ticked by, with a comfortable silence enveloping the office, until Erwin shifted in his position with a faint frown

"My legs are starting to numb."

Isanna, who was peacefully closing her eyes in an attempt to take a nap, fluttered them open and looked up at the blond. "I was about to sleep."

Erwin moved his gaze downwards from his newspaper to her. "I need to get up."

"No."

"Isanna," he paused with a small sigh, "I have work to do on my desk. I need you to move."

The raven smirked at him, undaunted. "Make me."

Staring down at her, Erwin mentally sighed. She was never one to not listen to him, but when she did, it would always turn like this. While Isanna made sure to strictly follow orders from her superiors outside on the battlefield, she tended to show a more playful and lazy side of her during her break. 

Isanna watched with an unwavering smirk as Erwin slowly lowered the newspaper in his hand on the side of the couch, waiting to see what he was going to do. 

Then, he looked at her with a familiar glint in his eyes, causing her smirk to falter. 

"No - wait, Erwin - I was jok - HAHAHAHAHA!"

She was shaking uncontrollably in laughter, thrashing around in an effort to shield her vulnerable, ticklish spots from Erwin's touches. Unfortunately, having known each other for almost her whole life meant he knew where he should target her. 

"STOP - HAHAHA - WAIT - I'M FALLING - oof!"

Isanna fell off the couch with a thud. When she heard Erwin release a soft chuckle, she sat up on the floor and lightly slapped his leg with a playful glare. The audacity of this man to laugh after what he did.

"And you call yourself a gentleman?"

Erwin was still smiling, clearly amused at her, as he replied, "If you just listened, I wouldn't have done that."

Isanna didn't have a good comeback for that. So, being the mature adult she was, she crossed her arms and huffed as she looked away from him. "Whatever. Go away, you big oaf."

She heard him softly laugh once more, and even though his husky voice was music to her ears and she would have loved to hear more of it, she clicked her tongue in mild embarrassment. There were shuffling sounds as Erwin stood up from the couch, ruffling her hair as he did so, before she heard him walk away and head to his desk.  

Just as Erwin seated himself behind the table, the door to the office was pushed open, causing both him and Isanna to look at whoever entered the room. 

Imagine their surprise when they saw Mike standing in the doorway, carrying a cat. 

Isanna blurted out a question rather suddenly without thinking as she was taken aback at the random animal her friend was carrying. "What's that?"

Mike looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "A cat."

Snapping her lips shut, the girl pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can see that.. I meant," she said with gritted teeth in emphasis. "why is there a cat?"

Shutting the door close behind him, Mike stalked over towards the second couch of the room. "Are you asking me why cats exist in general?"

It seemed like Mike also had his 'stupid' moments in life, she thought. With an exasperated sigh, Isanna threw her hands in the air before they landed beside her as she shot a look at Erwin that basically screamed: 'Can you believe I'm friends with this idiot?' 

Ignoring the face Isanna was giving him,  Erwin asked where Mike found the cat, studying the black creature in Mike's arms. It wasn't scrawny and it looked neatly groomed, like it came straight out of a healthy home.

The blond adjusted the cat on his lap, its green slits darting around the room and surveying its new environment as it curled around Mike's lap.

"I found it lurking behind the kitchen hall," he answered, petting the cat as it purred under his touch.

Isanna had went closer to the blond and kneeled in front of the couch, nearing her face to the cat as she intently eyed it like it was some kind of specimen.

The cat meowed at her, causing her lips to curl into a smile. "Hi, there."

The cat slowly blinked, before it stood up on Mike's lap and padded forward, rubbing its furry head on Isanna's neck.

"It's cute." Isanna beamed and picked it as she stood up, stretching her arms at a length as she stared at the black cat. She turned to Erwin. "Can we - "

The door to the office bursted open once more, and Hanji came tumbling inside in restrained chortles of laughter as she ran. "Isa, you gotta help me!"

Isanna arched a confused brow as the brunette ran and hid behind her, clutching the raven by the shoulder and turning her to face the open door as a shield from the man who arrived after Hanji.

"Shitty glasses, I don't have time for this. Where's my - " Levi stopped when his eyes landed on the creature in Isanna's hands.

"The fuck is that?"

"A cat," Mike and Isanna answered simultaneously.

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. No shit. You'd think that flat face, green slits, pink nose, furry tail and stubby legs were enough of an explanation; he knew it was a fucking cat, but he thought they'd understand what he meant with his question. He didn't know if they were messing with him or were serious.

Hanji, on the other hand, perked up and twirled Isanna around so that she was facing her, the brunette's eyes looking down at the creature she held in her arms as it blinked at her. An excited grin spread across her face. "It's a cat!"

Erwin silently observed from his desk as the group who had somehow bursted inside his office unannounced began to gather around the cat as if it was the first time they had laid eyes on such an animal specie.

Apparently, Levi had been chasing Hanji yet again because the latter had stolen his cleaning supplies; with her explaining that she was just 'borrowing' it because she needed to clean her room as well.

And now, the four of them (actually three, because Levi couldn't care less) were currently engaged in a serious discussion about the probable names they could give the cat after identifying that it was a male.

"Isa, I don't think we should let you name it," Hanji pointed out which caused the said girl to frown at her and ask why she couldn't.

Levi, who was now sitting on the couch opposite Mike with crossed legs and an arm draped at the back like he owned the place, was the one who answered, "Because your shitty naming skills are either Maximus or Fish. No in between."

"Nobody asked for your opinion, you abominable windex gremlin!"

Her retort caused Erwin to smirk, the blond subtly covering the lower part of his face with a fist as he continued to watch their heated debate with interest; with the way the four of them were seriously discussing, you'd think they were hatching up such an important plan that could save humanity - but no, they were just arguing about a cat's name. A cat that they weren't even sure the Commander would allow them to have.

Hanji stepped between Isanna and Levi who were having an intense staredown, stopping their short glaring competition before a fight could break out.

"Okay, okay, let's not fight over this." The brunette crossed her arms, before she turned to Mike, who was just silently listening from the other couch. "What about you, Mike? Any suggestions?"

A few seconds of silence passed by, with the said blond scrunching up his forehead in deep thought, before he spoke up.

"Mhile."

Everybody stared at him.

Wrinkling her forehead, Isanna tilted her face. "You want to name the cat after a unit of length?"

Before anyone else could comment how lame the name sounded, Mike spoke up. "No, not Mile. M-H-I-L-E. Mhile." He made sure to stress each letter, as a small smile graced his lips. "It's our initials."

As his explanation sinked inside Isanna, she found herself staring back at the cat in her hands with a wide grin. It wasn't the greatest pet name out there, but the idea that the initials of their names were put together to name the cat had.. a good ring to it.

"Ooh, I like it!" Hanji claimed with sparkles in her eyes, while Levi clicked his tongue and muttered about how cheesy it sounded, but nobody paid attention to his snide comment.

Isanna excitedly turned to Erwin, who had been silent this whole time. "What do you think, Erwin?"

The blond's eyes drifted towards the cat, wondering how the Commander would react should news of his strongest soldiers deciding to keep a cat in their headquarters without his permission reach his ears.

But, his eyes went back to Isanna, who had a childish sparkle in her eyes while waiting for his reply, I suppose taking it in wouldn't be a bad idea.

"I like the name," Erwin said, earning cheers from both Isanna and Hanji, the two girls clearly ecstatic at the prospect of keeping a pet under their watch.

"Eh, where are you going?" Isanna asked when the cat leaped from her hold and stalked towards Erwin's desk, the creature leaping on the table and padding towards the blond.

The four who were observing the cat's movements widened their eyes in surprise when Mhile clambered up at the top of Erwin's head and curled in a resting position.

"..."

Silence.

Then, Isanna was the first to react.

"Pft - !"

Her snicker eventually caused the trigger as both she and Hanji bursted out cackling with no restraints, with the brunette kneeling on the floor and banging her fist on the small coffee table in front of the two couches.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The two girls' outburst caused Mike and Levi to smirk at the scene, shaking their heads at the image of Mhile comfortably perched atop Erwin's head like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Oi Erwin, I think you mistook shampoo with catnip when you were out in the market!" Hanji guffawed, only causing Isanna to laugh even harder.

Erwin had to refrain from sighing at the four; with the way they were blatantly making fun of him, he doubted they even remembered they were in the presence of a superior. However, he couldn't bring himself to reprimand them since even he was sure he looked ridiculous with a black cat on top of his head, so he figured he should let them have their laugh for now.

Above all, the blond knew that nights such as these were quite rare to have more so especially in their line of work; it was during moments like these did Erwin realize how sharing a laugh every now and then did more good than he gave credit to it.

As the evening went on, Erwin's office was the only place in the Survey Corps' headquarters that was drowning in blasters of laughter, the loud voices penetrating through the windows and echoing throughout the otherwise silent campus.