"Why are you raiding my fridge?"

Zeke stared, arms folded across his chest and leaning against the door frame to the kitchen as he watched a dark-haired woman rummage through his refrigerator—which only had a limited number of ingredients given that they didn't have the chance to go out grocery shopping since they still had a lot of boxes to unpack. At the moment, they only had a tray of eggs, a pack of bacon, and bottles of water stored inside, which was, according to Zeke's standards, pretty decent.

"Because," the woman started, straightening and sending him an unamused look with a hand to the hip, "I came all the way here to see my pretty best friend, only to see a musty old man lazing around like the bum he is. And I'm hungry."

"Hey," Zeke seethed, although his voice lacked any malice, as he pointed a finger at her, "I'm not musty—I just took a shower, and twenty-eight is not old, I'm literally one year older than you. Secondly, I was a fucking War Chief in the past life with no ounce of a normal childhood whatsoever, so I can be a bum whenever I want, okay? Thirdly, I already told you Isanna's out with some new city friends."

Pieck Finger rolled her eyes at his lengthy explanation—an explanation nobody asked for, by the way.

"Did you—did you just roll your eyes at—"

"Friends?" She interrupted him. "I'm her friend. Why does she need more?"

Zeke raised his hands in a casual shrug before he let them fall back to his sides in defeat. He rounded his heel and padded back to the living room of the apartment he shared with his fiancée. This was one of those times where he regretted introducing Pieck to Isanna—he often wondered whose fiancée she was: his, or Pieck's. He remembered that one time Isanna missed their anniversary because she had a fucking sleepover at Pieck's house. Forgetful was an understatement; Isanna could literally even forget tucking her pen behind her ear, then lash out at Zeke and blame him for hiding it.

Although, Zeke had to admit, that forgetful side of hers was just one of the many sides of her that he found cute.

As he slumped on the coffee-brown couch and snagged the remote to switch the channel the TV was showing—from a cooking one to some kind of reality show, he saw from the corner of his eye Pieck stalking out of the kitchen with a bag of chips in hand.

He immediately sat up, jaw unhinged in a look of outrage.

"Wha—I bought those!" he cried in disbelief. "You're filthy rich from your modelling career—buy your own chips!"

"Oh, shut it you," she quipped and flopped on the loveseat plush beside him, popping a piece into her mouth. "Do you know who these city friends of Isa are?"

Zeke sent a dramatic look of longing towards his stolen chips, a look that Pieck couldn't help but roll her eyes at. She thrusted the bag over towards him, and Zeke didn't waste another beat to snag it back and stick his hand inside, getting a fistful of chips before he returned it to her.

"She didn't tell me," Zeke said while chewing a piece, the snack making crunching noise as he did. "But I have a guess."

"Oh? Who?"

"Probably.. those damned Scouts."

Pieck arched a brow but made no comment. Zeke had told her of his encounter with the man named Erwin Smith, as well as the revelation of Isanna being just like them—reincarnated from another life, where the power of the titans roamed around the world. The information definitely took Pieck by surprise, because this meant that they had used to be enemies with Isanna, although they never actually met in the past.

"And you're fine with it?" she asked as she took her phone out and unlocked it, fiddling with whatever app she was on.

At her question, Zeke's gaze inadvertently flitted towards the lone picture frame on the shelf by the wall. It was still half-empty as they were still in the middle of unpacking, but that one picture frame was one of the first decors Zeke had put up.

A framed photo of their college graduation day: Isanna proudly holding her diploma and beaming towards the camera, as Zeke looked at her with a smile of his own.

Zeke snorted, reclining in his seat. The low chatter coming from the television did little to distract him.

"Isa doesn't remember shit. Smith can flirt however he wants."

"You do know her memory could return, right? Didn't you say they had some kind of special relationship in the past?"

Zeke hummed. "I don't know what they were exactly.. but it was definitely not a normal commander-soldier relationship; not with the way that damn Smith ogles at her."

He heard Pieck give out a half-hearted hum, clearly preoccupied with something else on her phone. Then she gasped, catching his attention.

"What?"

"This is Erwin Smith?" Pieck said as she squinted at the screen of her phone. "He looks better than half the models I work with. Thought he was a Greek god for a sec."

Zeke straightened himself, shooting her a half-hearted glare. He wasn't interested enough to see whatever she was looking at, especially more so if it was a photo of that damned commander. "You looked him up?"

"I needed a face to go with the name," she said with a shrug, as if it was a good excuse, then returned her attention to her phone and released a low whistle.

"I see Isa has a type.."

"What do you mean?"

"Tall.. blond.. blue eyes.. hunk.. and since he was a commander, bet he's got the brains."

Pieck then looked at Zeke with a smile he knew was definitely fake.

"Yep. She definitely has a type. No offense, but I could totally see her ditching you for this Erwin Smith guy."

Offended, Zeke scowled. In the past life, Pieck Finger was definitely kinder with her words (heck, she was called a goddess of beauty both inwardly and outwardly among their warriors then), but for some odd twisted reason that only fate will ever know, she'd developed a snarky tongue in this life. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was no longer her superior, but she was absolutely merciless when it came to her jabs (Zeke had a feeling she'd been waiting her entire life to talk to him so slanderously after 'turning his back' on Marley).

On the bright side, Pieck was quick to move on, so she didn't harbor any ill will towards Zeke for what he did in the past—although she never missed an opportunity to roast him, but still—

He jabbed an accusing finger at her direction.

"For the record, I'm smarter," Zeke argued. "I literally outwitted Smith at Shiganshina."

Pieck considered his argument and hummed.

"True. But then again, their side had been lacking information. Maybe if you and the commander had been fighting on even grounds.. I think he could have switched the tide."

"That's just hypothesis," he scoffed, not backing down. This wasn't just for Isanna; his pride as the former War Chief of Marley was on the line. "At the end of the day, Smith got shredded to rocks by li'l 'ol me, that's a fact."

"Are you sure?" she hummed, lips twitching. "Just because you killed him doesn't necessarily mean you won, you know? I seem to recall his last ditch strategy made the little Ackerman leave you traumati—"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

───

Sunday rolled by quickly, and when Monday came around to start another hectic week, Isanna showed up for her shift at the library.

Working as a library page didn't take up much of her time; it was a part-time job where she just had to keep the bookshelves tidy with a flexible schedule at that, pretty convenient for someone who just moved into the city. Isanna was juggling two jobs at the moment, the other being the new head veterinarian at Zeke's stepmother's clinic, Dr. Y's Veterinary Center. Aunt Carla had been nice enough to let her handle it after expressing her wishes of retirement, and Isanna was starting the job this coming Wednesday.

Her dream job. A pending married future with her fiancé. A new life in the city.

It was everything Isanna could ask for after stepping out of her comfort zone in the countryside.

Everything was going fairly well, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

If it weren't for this budding sensation that always left goosebumps in its wake, every time her eyes landed on one Erwin Smith.

Isanna had difficulty gauging the man. He was an enigmatic character. Puzzling. Gave off this mysterious stranger-turned-acquaintance vibes that just made no sense, and even after meeting the man for the second time that month, she still couldn't quite put her finger on him. He was—

Enchanting. Yes, finally, that was the word.

Erwin Smith was enchanting.

And for the love of god, she just couldn't find it in her to erase the picture of him in her head when she saw him at Paradis, wearing that smart casual baby blue dress shirt with sleeves rolled to his elbows that had fitted him so nicely. Those broad shoulders, muscled biceps and slim waistline (it was illegal to have a body so perfect) of his that seemed as if he'd been sculpted by the gods themselves, a silver watch to match his fashion, and black neatly-ironed chinos that had hugged his thighs far too perfectly, tucked into brown Chelsea boots.

Certainly, the man knew his ways in fashion; in such a way that accentuated his excellent physique, too.

It was downright absurd that she could still recall the image so vividly.

Erwin Smith. Erwin Smith. Erwin Smith.

What is with that name, and why does the mere sound of it evoke this sort of warm tug of emotions?

Am I going crazy? she thought in defeat as she adjusted the pile of books beneath her arms. Why was she even thinking so much over one man whom she barely even knew?

Isanna raised a book about economics and hit her head with it, hoping to get her mind out of the gutter and focus on work.

Now where's the economics section again..

A buzzing vibration from her pocket startled her, and she almost lost hold over her books. Biting her cheeks, she flumped the books on a random shelf and fished for her phone, using her thumbprint to unlock it before she pressed the notification without checking who it was first.

Jerk
♡dinner. Out. Later.

Her fiancé. What timing.

whats the occasion?

Jerk ♡
cant have a date with my girl for no reason? I just miss you 😩

u dropped me off an hour ago.

Jerk ♡
yeah and? I already miss u whats wrong with tht

Well I didn't say it was wrong

Jerk ♡
seemed that way to me 🤨

🙄

Jerk ♡
😘
gotta go. work. Love u

I love you too

Jerk ♡
sry but I have a girlfriend.

fuck you

Jerk ♡
Please do 😩💦

Yknow talking to u gives me a headache sometimes

Jerk ♡
LMAOAOAOA jkjkjkjk

A smile erupted across her face as Isanna read the last message, shaking her head in defeat. She tucked her phone away and picked the messy pile of books. Zeke may act like total asshole at times, but he had his soft moments. Although, now that she thought about it, he only ever flaunted it around her. He could treat her like a princess and be a total dickhead to the rest of the world in one breath—it was a skill he had inevitably mastered throughout their years together.

"Miss Isanna," she heard Moblit call out to her, making her turn around. "Kids from Stohess Elementary will be coming over; their teacher already rented the kid's corner, so would you please check it out to see if it's tidy enough?"

Always so formal, Isanna couldn't help but think to herself as she casually waved Moblit with a confirmation, "Sure thing, leave it to me." He had already told her that his tendency to speak politely was an innate trait of his, but she'd noticed he only took a polite tone towards her. Moblit wasn't as formal to their other colleagues at the library as he was to her, and after racking her memory, she recalled he had also spoken formally towards the four people she'd hung out with at Paradis. Towards Hange, Levi, Mike and Erwin, Moblit added a ma'am and a sir. It had struck her as.. odd. Because weren't they supposed to be friends?

Isanna eventually swept the queries away as she reached the second floor and headed to the door on the far wall that led to the kid's corner. It was basically just a mini-library, but with kiddie carpets and colorful plush seats settled around the area. There were small round tables and plastic chairs, accommodating a child's typical height, and below the window was a rectangular box that stretched wide and was filled to the brim with toys. Isanna was pleased to see that the public library took care of children's needs just as much as it did its adult patrons.

She sat down on one of the kiddie chairs and pulled out her phone. After unlocking it, it automatically took it to her homescreen, a wallpaper of Zeke beside the monkey area when they last visited the zoo ("To ward off any man flirting on my fiancée", he'd said last week), which elicited a tiny smile from her. She scrolled down through her timeline in Instagram, only pausing when she saw that Hange had posted something yesterday. Isanna had followed her back yesterday and did a rough scroll down her feed out of curiosity.

"He's looking for a girlfriend, btw" the caption read (so he's still single, she thought). It was a stolen photo of Erwin seated on a grey loveseat plush, looking at a different direction with a half-filled glass of some colored drink in hand. Isanna suspected the photo was taken in a friend's house, or apartment.

He looks so serious here, she thought to herself, barely noticing the smile on her own as she examined at the photo. The Erwin she'd met at the library and Paradis café felt so warm and friendly that seeing him with a stern, stoic face felt off-putting. He gave off the vibes of a strict authority figure.

Isanna continued to stare at the photo a second longer than necessary.

He's actually pretty handsome.

She decided to stalk Hange's feed for the second time, and one thing led to another and the next thing she knew, she was scanning down Hange's following list wondering if Erwin was among them.

Her eyes zeroed on the erwin.s account with the profile picture of none other than Erwin Smith himself. And somehow, she wasn't at all surprised when there were zero posts under his feed.

He didn't feel like the social media type, she thought with a hum, and then as if a different soul had taken possession of her own body, her fingers moved and pressed 'Follow' with no hesitation.

Isanna froze, blood gone cold.

Did she just—?

"Fuck," she cursed under her breath, fumbling with her phone as she internally screamed at herself over and over and over again, about to unfollow even though she knew it was too late, but then—

Ding!

'erwin.s followed you back'

What the fu—

She almost choked on her own spit. The notification surprised her so much she also almost dropped her phone.

Holy crap. Erwin just followed her back. In less than a minute, too. What the hell?

Heart drumming erratically in her chest, Isanna locked her phone and pocketed it inside her pants, deciding that pacing around the room would be an effective way of calming her nerves. What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I—

What was she doing?

I mean, sure, he's handsome—attractive, even—but that's just about it!

She convinced herself there was no particular meaning of her following him and him following her back—it was just a normal 'new acquaintance' thing, no biggie. She'd done the same to Hange; she'd followed her back yesterday as well, and she hadn't felt anything special about it.

Get a grip, Isa. You have a fucking date with your fiancé for dinner.

Fortunately for her, the gods granted her the opportunity to get her shit together in the form of a swarm of grade schoolers who arrived, led by Moblit and a woman with wavy ginger hair and a mesmerizing pair of emerald eyes that strangely felt familiar.

Upon noticing her, Moblit perked up. "Miss Isanna, these are the kids from Stohess Elementary School, and this is their teacher, Miss Marie Dok."

"Nice to meet you," the ginger woman greeted with a nod so graceful Isanna would have mistaken her as royalty. Even her beauty was regal—like a Greek goddess had taken the form of a mortal. Isanna realized she was staring in awe and quickly snapped out of it, nodding back in greeting.

After the mandatory introductions, Moblit left them to their own devices, and Isanna watched as the children pranced around the kid's corner with jovial voices, some racing each other to get a book, some heading straight for the toy box.

From what she'd been told, Stohess Elementary was right down the street; it was a small school, so the teachers often booked the kid's corner in the public library to borrow some of their resources.

"They're a lovely bunch," Isanna commented as she watched the children enjoy themselves. Marie followed her line of sight and mirrored her smile.

"They definitely are." Then Marie noticed a particular duo arguing over a pop-up book and sent Isanna an apologetic look, before she shuffled over towards them with a gentle, "Connie, Sasha, let's take turns, okay?"

Isanna repressed a smile at the soft way Marie handled her students, before she turned on her heel and exited the room, heading back to work.

───

Zeke had found a three-star French restaurant located in the middle of the city where it was the busiest and brought Isanna there for dinner. She had complained that it was too expensive; Zeke rebutted that it was just a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

"Besides, I'm paying for it," he added with his suave grin and a wink that Isanna only playfully rolled her eyes at.

"No you're not," she said. "We're splitting."

"Babe, let me look cool for you at least."

Isanna raised a finger, and Zeke zipped his mouth shut. "We're splitting."

He eventually sighed, defeated. "Yes ma'am."

Satisfied, Isanna leaned back as they continued to wait for their order, taking this opportunity to survey the interior of the restaurant that felt like it jumped straight out of a Disney princess castle more than anything. A golden glass chandelier hung suspended right at the center of the ceiling, casting a warm light across the dining area; white columns dressed with vines were situated around, adding glamor to the space, and decorated tables and chairs were sparingly occupied with customers. There was even a marbled fountain by the wall. The closest table to them that was occupied belonged to a dark haired man and a ginger woman that Isanna finally recognized as the teacher from earlier, which had come as a surprise at first, but then she shrugged it away and chalked it up to nothing of importance.

"How was work?" she asked when she finished her survey, looking back at Zeke whom she realized was already staring at her.

"Just the usual," he answered, then added as he remembered. "One of my students got sprained in the ankle so they took a trip to the clinic—this is exactly why we don't skip our warm-ups."

Isanna grimaced. "Were they okay?"

Shrugging, Zeke lazily rested his cheek on his palm, recalling the memory. "Called the parents. Probably be missing a few classes for a week or so."

"Hm.. oh, right. Did you meet with Eren? What grade was he again?" Eren Yeager, Zeke's half-brother and currently seven years old as what Isanna remembered, was attending Saint Joseph's Academy.

"Just entered first grade this year," Zeke answered, wrinkling his nose at the thought of the little guy. "Yeah. Still a brat as always. Little shit actually lunged at me when he saw me at campus. 'Zeke-bro!'" he mimicked in a voice a few octaves higher while making a face. "God, he can be a bit annoying sometimes."

Isanna laughed. "He's at the age where being annoying is the norm, give it a few years and you'll miss that side of him when he grows up."

"Doubt it."

Despite the dryness in his tone, Isanna knew Zeke cared for his little brother. She'd met Eren a few years back, and she loved the kid. Loud, full of life, and he never ran out of energy as if he couldn't get enough of play time.

"You're harsh to him for someone who acts like a child sometimes."

Zeke snorted, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand, absentmindedly twiddling with her fingers like he usually did whenever he got bored.

"I'm not harsh, it's called brotherhood," he countered, arching a brow, "and you just abnormally love kids."

"Kids are cute, who doesn't love them?"

"Me," Zeke flatly said, earning a shake of the head from her. An idea struck him and his trademark grin erupted, leaning forward so that Isanna could hear him as he lowered his voice, "I'm not into kids, but I can give you one if you want."

He watched in amusement as the slightest tint of red dusted her cheeks. Isanna knotted her eyebrows.

"Watch your tongue, Yeager. We're in public," she halfheartedly hissed, glancing around just in case someone heard them.

Zeke wanted to laugh. He always enjoyed seeing that flushed look on her. It just made him want to tease her even more and get an even bigger rise out of her—like the way her breath always shifts and gets heavier every time he kisses that specific spot on her neck, the way he could practically feel the shiver running down her body every time his fingers leave ghostly touches around her bare waist, and god does he go absolutely feral every time he manages to get a rare, small mewl from her during one of their too many intense love-making sessions—yep, Zeke definitely loved teasing her, all just because he could elicit all sorts of pretty reactions that never failed to get him turned on.

"Two things: first, you'll be a Yeager soon enough. Second, babe, we're engaged," he emphasized. "It's normal to talk about having kids. You act like we've never—"

She frantically shushed him just as the waiter carrying their order arrived and laid out their succulent dishes on the table. The delectable aroma oozing out of the meal wafted through their nostrils, stimulating their appetite and stealing their focus from the conversation.

"Enjoy your meal," the waiter said with a bow, then tucked the tray under his arm and headed off.

"This is really good," Isanna complimented, and Zeke could only grin at the sparkle in her eyes as she continued to dig in.

"Wouldn't want my fiancée to eat at just any random place, would I?" he said, slicing off a bit of his meat and placing it on her plate. "Eat up; I know you love this part."

She eyed the piece on her plate, a look of suspicion, before she finally shot a question that had been bugging at the back of her mind ever since, "Why are you extra generous today?"

Zeke faked a look of hurt, clutching the front of his shirt.

"What do you mean? I'm always generous towards you."

"Yeah, right, Mr. Dramatic."

For the past few weeks, Isanna had noticed Zeke acting a bit off. 'My fiancée' this, 'my fiancée' that—kept on throwing the term a little bit too often that she couldn't help but notice, as if he was repeatedly trying to make a point. She knew she was his fiancée, the ring on her finger was proof enough; she was his through and through, and vice versa.

Zeke shrugged as he forked a piece of the meat on his plate and lifted it to his lips.

"In a good mood," he lied.

Minutes later, he excused himself to the restrooms.

Zeke whistled a low tune as he stepped inside the men's restroom—squeaky clean, marbled tiles and sinks, and a wide mirror on the wall; as expected of a high-class restaurant. After doing his business, he walked out of the cubicle and turned the faucet on. He heard another guy come out of the far end cubicle and step up to the sink, washing his hands, the sound of rushing water the only thing echoing inside the restroom. Zeke couldn't care less, that was, until he lifted his gaze and made eye contact with him.

A man with dark hair and a growing stubble, eyes slowly widening as they stared at each other through the mirror.

Oh, Zeke realized. He remembered this guy at Paradis. It really is a small world.

Judging by the look on his face, Zeke bet he remembered him as well.

"Commander Dok."

Zeke watched, unperturbed, as Nile Dok swiftly turned to him and grabbed his collar, leaving the two faucets running, but neither didn't care about wasting precious liters of water.

Not when they both remembered the hell that went down Shiganshina that day.

"You fucker," Nile seethed, absolutely livid. "You—that day—"

"You mean the day I turned Paradis executives into titans?" Zeke hummed, unfazed, with a tone that seemed like they were talking about the weather. "Oh yeah.. if I recall, you were one of the unfortunate souls—"

Nile slammed him against the sink, his back ramming against the marble with a deaf thud.

"Still an asshole, I see," Nile harshly clipped, tightening his grip on his shirt. He never liked the guy. This was the same person who'd killed Erwin and Isanna and turned him into a titan—he never even got to see his family one last time—Nile was only lucky he managed to reunite with Marie in this life, but he never once trusted Zeke, not even when he first offered to 'help Paradis', which had turned out to be flat-out lie.

Of course it was. Nile always had his suspicions.

"You don't have any idea what you—"

Zeke grabbed his wrist and wrenched his hand away. "Calm down, commander. It was war, I had to do what I had to do; it's called a strategy."

Nile clenched his jaw as he narrowed a glare at the blond before him. God did he absolutely hate his guts.

"I don't ever want to see your face again, Yeager," he spat, then rounded his heel and stalked out of the restroom without so much as a backward glance.

Zeke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he watched the ex-commander storm out of the room. He wouldn't be at all surprised if Nile just upped and left the restaurant even without finishing his food.

Zeke really had a knack for pissing people off. And he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Where would be the fun in that?

"Didn't even turn the faucet off," Zeke grumbled as he reached to turn the two off, silence reigning back in the restroom. "His mom forgot to teach him manners or what?"

After straightening his wrinkled collar, Zeke finally decided to return to the table before Isanna got suspicious. He walked back to the dining area, eyes zeroing on the table she was occupying.

He recalled what he'd seen earlier, at the teacher's office.

He'd been in the middle of a conversation (it was more of a one-sided conversation more than anything) with Erwin (he may or may not have been annoying him) at his desk when they both heard the faint Ding! notification of his phone that was lying face up on the table.

Zeke had managed to catch a glimpse at the notif: Isanna had followed him.

"Would you look at that?" Zeke drawled in a lazy grin as he glanced at the screen, although everything inside him was wondering why. "Never knew you had Instagram. You feel more like the Facebook type."

He noticed the way the irritation on the ex-commander's face faded just a tad upon seeing the notification.

A bubbling suspicion in his chest made Zeke frown. Why did Isanna do that?

It couldn't be—were her memories really slowly resurfacing? Was it just a mindless gesture now that they were acquainted? Or was it the sense of déjà vu that almost every reincarnated person felt every time they ran into someone they knew from the past?

Of course, at the end of the day it was just Instagram; but either way, that had done it.

Zeke was determined to know the specifics of their relationship in the past life, whether it had been a measly crush, mutual pining that never got to see the light of day given their circumstances, a quick fuck, or an actual intimate relationship—he was going to find out sooner or later.

What was worse was that the longer they stayed in this city, the more Zeke realized that Isanna was bound to run into more familiar faces from her past.

Zeke looked at the woman across him, contentedly chewing down her three-star meal. The thought of her going back to that damn Smith—whatever kind of relationship they had in the past, brought a repulsive twist to his stomach.

Over my dead body.