Isanna adjusted the white coat and smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

"Doctor, our supplier just arrived with a new stock of penicilin," a voice informed from outside the room, catching Isanna's attention as she briefly glanced towards the door. After telling them to come in, the door creaked open and a girl wearing an assistant's uniform popped her head in, flashing a smile.

"I already signed it. Should I send it to the back room?"

Nodding, Isanna thanked her assistant and was once again left alone in the room after the door was shut.

It's been a few weeks since she's started working as the new head of Dr. Carla Yeager's veterinary clinic, but that rush of elation that overcame her each time she saw herself wearing this coat never failed to make her giddy. She can definitely confirm those arduous six years she'd spent in college were worth it, now that she could finally witness her efforts bearing fruit through every patient and pet that walks out of the front entrance of her clinic, satisfied at their services.

After sending one last look at her reflection, she was about to head out when something in the pocket of her coat vibrated. She took out her smartphone, glanced at the screen and realized it was her fiancé.

"Zeke, what's up?" she greeted, absentmindedly making circles on the floor with her sandal as she waited.

[ "How's my girl doing?" ] She could imagine that trademark grin of his through the line and didn't realize a smile of her own was slowly starting to form.

"You always talk as if we haven't seen each other for ten years," she sighed with a shake of her head. "I'm at work. What do you want?"

[ "That's not an answer." ] A picture of him pouting made her stifle a chuckle. [ "But anyway, you're free this weekend, aren't you?" ]

Isanna made a mental skim of her agenda the coming weekend. "Yeah. Why?"

[ "There's this amusement park that just opened. Wanna go?" ]

Amusement park. Isanna didn't have many memories about going to one, if you didn't include the little rides that were set-up at some festivals near her hometown, although it was hard to compare those small-scale rides to rides in an actual amusement park. Zeke sometimes took her to one back when they were in high school. The long drive from the countryside to the city proper was exhausting but worth it, especially since she got to witness Zeke turning blue every time they went on the Drop Tower. She'd always tease him for it, saying that he didn't need to ride it with her but he wanted to impress her. Men.

"I like the sound of that," Isanna grinned, picturing her grown-ass fiancé screaming his head off as the Drop Tower descends with them at lightning-speed. Maybe she could take a picture, frame it and hang it in their apartment for commemoration. She could even get one of those frames with a custom labeled print, 'The time my fiancé lost his dignity and wet his pants at the amusement park'.

[ ".. You're thinking of something devious, aren't you?" ]

"What? Me?" Isanna placed a hand on her chest even though she knew he couldn't see her and faked a tone of obliviousness, although the smile was still there. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She heard a sigh from the other end and chuckled. That was when she heard a distant chime of the school bell from Zeke's end.

[ "Aaand that's my cue. Gotta go, babe. Love you!" ]

Isanna couldn't even insert a reply when she heard the beeping tone, signaling the end of their call. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she stared at her home screen—a photo of Zeke and a monkey when they were at the zoo (he always had a weird fascination towards monkeys for as long as she knew)—before she pocketed her smartphone. She finally stepped out of the room and headed for her private office, passing by some of the staff who promptly greeted her.

Isanna's office, one that had been previously occupied by Carla Yeager, was quaint and cozy. On one side of the room was an empty shelf, on the other side was a shelf filled with all sorts of toys she could use for the pets as she examined them; at the center was a short rectangular wooden table situated between cream-colored sofas, and across the room was her main desk and swiveling chair. The cold chill from the inverter filled the space as Isanna padded over towards her desk and settled down, busying herself. Time seemed to tick by fast; Isanna noticed that a lot these days—life in the country felt steady, relaxing, as if you had all the time in the world and the sun was moving as slow as the rush-hour traffic jam in downtown city on weekdays. But ever since moving to the city, a significant change of pace was evident. Isanna could lock herself in her office and work for what felt like fifteen minutes, and when she'd look out the window she'd realize it was already five o'clock. Everyone and everything felt like they were rushing, pressed for time as if it was their last day on Earth.

A knock from the door distracted her from both her work and thoughts.

"You have an appointment," her employee kindly reminded her, and Isanna finally remembered her schedule.

"I'll be there," she told her, organizing the scattered papers and pens. Not later than a minute, she already arrived at the front desk, perking up when she came into contact with a familiar blond.

"Mike," Isanna piped up, flashing him a smile and a nod as he returned the gesture. For a man with a stature as demanding as his, she noticed Mike Zacharias was too soft-spoken and gentle-mannered, a trait of his she found quite endearing.

"Never knew you worked here," Mike commented, sweeping a gaze around the place. "Now I know where to go if I want to get my cat checked."

"You didn't strike me as a cat person." If anything, Mike Zacharias felt like a dog person. But who was she to judge?

"Can't count the number of times people have told me that," he chuckled, lifting the carrier in his hand and placing it on the counter between them. "Let's just say I'm an animal person."

Laughing through her nose, Isanna opened the latch of the carrier. She slightly tilted her head, about to peek through the cage when the cat walked out on its own.

Domestic shorthair. A pretty common breed, with a black coat as dark as the night and green slits for eyes.

The smile on Isanna's lips faltered.

There was that familiar throbbing in her head, around her ears, as if the blood was rushing and pounding against the hardness of her skull. All the noise drowned out in her ears the longer she assessed the cat as it peered back at her. With her heart thumping loudly in her chest, she swore she felt a squeeze around her throat, constricting her breathing.

There was distant laughter ringing in her ears. An office. People in uniforms, a child, and a cat.

Mike didn't notice the change in her demeanor. "His name is—"

"—Mhile."

The name echoed loudly against the still lounge area. The rest of the working staff had gone to their duties, leaving the both of them alone, and it took Isanna a few seconds to register that the name came from her own lips. When she finally looked at Mike, she realized that he was just as surprised as her. Probably, even more surprised.

".. What did you just say?" Mike inquired, brows shot high up his forehead.

Isanna felt her own face heating up in embarrassment. "Uh.. I'm not sure—"

"Mhile," he interrupted, almost breathless as he leaned forward over the counter towards her, "you just said Mhile."

"Y—yes.." she stammered, without an inkling as to why Mike suddenly seemed.. anxious? "Is that his name? I'm not sure why I—"

"Where did you hear it?" Mike pressed, "Do you reme—" he caught himself and froze. Maybe it was the sheer look of confusion in Isanna's face, or maybe it was because he remembered pushing her to remember wasn't the right way to do things, but Mike stopped prodding. He cleared his throat and straightened himself, adjusting his shirt.

"No, don't mind it," he said, putting on a smile, although Isanna knew something was definitely off. "But.. yes, his name is Mhile. I'm here for a routine check-up."

Even though Isanna had a lot of questions—none of them clear even to herself—she decided to put it beside herself and work. She later guided Mike to another room, the strange feeling never disappearing at the back of her mind.

As she worked with Mhile, Mike stayed at the back of the examination room, watching with a mulling expression and arms crossed while sitting on the couch.

She said 'Mhile', he thought to himself solemnly. That was obviously no coincidence. Isanna was remembering. Just like how the rest of them were prior to getting their full memories back. She was going through the same process as them—bits of memories resurfacing randomly, and Mike knew it was because there were just too many familiar things around Isanna lately, triggering that sense of familiarity.

If she could even recall names now.. Mike guessed it was only a matter of time before she gets a full recovery, and he didn't even want to imagine the possible backlash it could give her.

───

Levi's blood was boiling.

And no, it wasn't because Isabel accidentally dropped some of his precious china silverware at the back rooms (even though it may have sent a pained shock to his chest), but it was because for some reason, the goddamned ape bastard had decided it was a good idea to bring Isanna to a date in his tea shop. Out of all the date-friendly shops there were out there, he just had to choose Levi's shop.

That was basically Zeke asking to get decked in the face, but Levi had a reputation to maintain among his regulars. Just the thought of an online article out there with the headline 'Tea shop manager beats the living shit out of his customer unprovoked!' was enough to convince Levi to stay calm. Although, imagining an exclusive close-up of Zeke's bloody nose in the aftermath was therapeutic.

"Nice place you have here," Zeke nodded appreciatively, scanning the place, and although it was a compliment with no underlying tone whatsoever, Levi was still irked. This was Zeke Yeager after all, master of deception, and sarcasm was his mother language; you could never know what's hidden beneath his words.

"If you're done, get your ass out of here," Levi grunted lowly but loud enough just for Zeke to hear. "You already paid. Get out of my sight."

Zeke whistled, looking pretty much unfazed at the blatant hostility. Levi hated that part of him, and he hated it even more when he realized he was similar to Erwin in that regard—calm composure no matter what, although Zeke had a more playful disposition while Erwin more rigid.

At that moment, Levi wondered whether the reason Isanna was attracted to Zeke was because she was subconsciously chasing after an afterimage of Erwin, and Zeke was the only one who could give her some sense of semblance.

The fuck, Levi thought to himself, inwardly scoffing. It wasn't like himself to overanalyze all this complicated shit. That was more Hange's forte.

"The place is good, but the customer service could need some improvement," Zeke finally mused, "or is that just an exclusive thing for me?"

"The latter," Levi said, trying to distract himself as he counted some money in front of the register. "Now are you leaving or do you want me to lop your head off like before?"

"Geez, you Scouts do not know how to relax," Zeke snorted. "And here I was thinking it was just Smith who still has a stick up his ass over the past. What did I do to deserve this injustice?" he dramatically sighed, only pissing Levi more.

Slamming the money back inside the register, Levi roughly pushed it close before he lifted his eyes to glare at Zeke.

"You know exactly why Erwin's treating you like a piece of shit."

"I don't know, you tell me, Levi, do you think it's right to tell me off simply because Isa's with me? Last time I recall, a fiancé loving his woman wasn't such an abhorrent thing to do."

Yes, he was right. There was nothing wrong about his relationship with Isanna at all. Heck, it was most likely a happy, healthy one, based on the way Isanna acts around him. But—

Levi swore his blood pressure surged just a tad bit. Glimpses of Shiganshina echoed in his memories—the screams, the cries, the blood.

He just cannot find it in him to separate the past from the present, and he knows that is a thing that all of them still struggle with. Erwin, Mike, Hange, and all the others he knew from the past; they were all still recovering from past horrors and pain, even though they do not talk about it.

Just as Levi was about to reach over the counter to land a hit on Zeke's smug face when someone walked over.

"Levi, I'm here to pick up—" the voice froze. Levi registered the voice even before his eyes landed on the man, and there he stood, watching both him and Zeke. Plastered in his face was pure confusion, then realization, then rage.

"What's he doing here?" Nile seethed, glaring daggers at Zeke as if he had dragged his entire family out to feed to the titans—well, not exactly. But remembering the things Zeke had done to Nile in the past, it could be equated like that.

Zeke innocently raised both hands, face looking as if he was getting tired. "What is it with you Scouts and holding grudges? You'd think starting a new life from scratch would make us happier."

Seriously, Zeke Yeager was starting to feel like a punching bag with all these people glaring daggers at him every chance they got. Not that it really affected him.. in fact, he would be lying to say it wasn't fun seeing the way people get so riled up whenever he was around. He wasn't sure what to call this feeling. Was it his ego? Who knows?

Nile scoffed, rolling his eyes as he tried his best to ignore the blond and turned to Levi with a grunt. "I'm here for Marie's order. Is it ready?"

Levi held back a tired sigh from all the accumulating stress that had been gathering ever since Zeke had stepped in his shop. He massaged the bridge of his nose briefly.

"It is. But I still don't get how you order from here all the time. Would it kill you to go and branch out to other stores?" It was a silly question coming from someone who was running a business, but Levi wasn't really fond of seeing faces that simply reminded him of not-so pleasant memories. Erwin and the rest got a slack from him since they literally went through blood, sweat and tears together and Levi cares for them more than they will probably ever realize (although he would rather die than admit this out loud), but the others? Levi preferred not to have even a glimpse of them.

Nile grumbled. "Believe me, I don't want to see your face more than necessary either. Not my fault Marie likes the pastries here."

"True that; the pastries here are simply exceptional," Zeke chimed in with a grin as if they were best buddies having a civil conversation, and Levi caught the exact moment Nile's eye twitched—at least he wasn't the only one who hated the annoying blond down to his guts.

At this point, the hostility was probably irrational, but Levi simply did not care for pleasantries around someone like Zeke Yeager. And he doubted the blond cared, either. If anything, knowing him, he was probably having fun pissing people off.

As if the situation wasn't tense enough, it only worsened when Isanna arrived, and oh how Levi wanted to walk away and call for Farlan or even Isabel to man the register while he walks out and gets some fresh air. But alas.

"I was waiting for you in the car. What's taking you so long?" Isanna frowned at Zeke, before she noticed Levi behind the counter and nodded with a small smile. Sometimes, it sends a chill down Levi's spine whenever Isanna smiles at him. In the past, she was always being such an annoying little shit with a mouth as dirty as his, cussing like a sailor every chance she got.

If ever there was a need to prove the drastic changes a new life could give to a person, Levi would nominate Isanna Herrmann as the best proof there was. That is, if her memories never return.

"Sorry babe, was having a nice chat here with my friend," Zeke mused, snaking a casual hand around her waist and—Levi wanted to roll his eyes, until he saw Nile and oh.

Levi almost forgot about Nile, and the fact that this was probably the first time he ever saw them together.

The said man was literally balking at Zeke and Isanna, brows scrunched up and jaw slightly unhinged—didn't even bother to hide the absolute mortification in his face, and Levi would be lying if it wasn't a bit comical to watch.

So he watched Nile look at Zeke, then Isanna, then Zeke, then Isanna, then finally, he looked at Levi. Face written with 'Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' and eyes filled with 'Are they for real?' and basically all the questions that a normal person from the past who knew about Erwin and Isanna's relationship could ever think of.

Probably noticing the awkward air, Isanna turned to Nile, oblivious to the flinch he'd made when they made eye contact. "Are you Zeke's friend?"

Like a punch to the gut, Nile finally realized what was going on: Isanna didn't remember him. Not their trainee days, not their complicated.. 'friendship', nothing. Nothing at all. He was quick to piece things together, but the truth wasn't easier to digest even then.

He glanced at the hand that was on her waist, and had to doubt his own eyes.

"Um.." A solid NO was on the tip of his tongue, but Nile had decency, at least. "We know each other."

Isanna smiled and introduced herself, hand stretching out and Nile flinched yet again. Memories of her briefly flashed, particularly their last conversation, and he never would have imagined seeing her smile directed at him. Isanna never smiled at him. Heck, they were always at odds with each other, it was just straight up uncanny to have her sweetly smile at him, but nothing was more uncomfortable than seeing her with someone that wasn't Erwin. Nile knew that one fact; Isanna used to be glued to Erwin at his hip—so what the hell happened?

Luckily for Nile, the conversation never lasted long because he finally found his voice and excused himself after briefly introducing himself to Isanna. He didn't even bid Zeke nor Levi a goodbye. He just took his order and practically zoomed out of the café.

Isanna watched the man go, her gaze lingering on his back, wondering why the man looked so out of it when he saw her and why he seemed so constipated as he anxiously walked out. But just before she was about to think more of it, Zeke tapped her and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Well, that's that," said Zeke, turning to Levi and nodding. "We'll be heading out. See ya later, Levi."

Levi was too busy with the register to even lift his head, and Isanna thought he just didn't hear Zeke.

"Levi," Isanna called, "thanks for the service. We'll see you around."

Levi glanced at her briefly and nodded.

As the couple walked out of the cafe and headed into their car, Isanna couldn't help but wonder out loud. She voiced the question the moment she got settled in the passenger seat and Zeke ignited the car.

"Zeke, did you do something?"

Zeke didn't take his eyes off the road, humming. "What makes you think that?"

"I just think.. everyone seems tense around you."

Isanna wasn't dense. At least, not that dense. She could very well pinpoint the strange tension between Zeke and the new people she's met in the city, the most prominent of them all being Erwin—it was like there was something in the air.

Isanna watched the subtle way Zeke tightened his jaw, before he relaxed and cheekily grinned.

"They're new acquaintances, Isa. The awkward air is only natural."

"That's not what I mean," she said, thinking about it. "Did you.. have you met them before, Zeke?"

It took a while before Zeke managed to say, "No, can't say I have." And there was a certain tone to his answer that had her do a double take, a certain change of shine in his eyes that had her staring just a tad longer.

As the silence settled, Isanna dropped the subject altogether and decided to look out the window of the passenger seat, watching the buildings and passers-by eventually mesh together in a blur. The sun had begun to set, the cars congesting as rush hour flowed in.

"You know those dreams I told you about in the past?" she started, eyes glued at the window.

".. About those big.. giant monsters?"

Isanna nodded. "For some reason, they feel more vivid ever since we moved." Zeke's silence prompted her to continue. "And not just that, it's not only about those monsters anymore."

"What do you mean?"

The longer she stared out the window, Isanna realized her attention eventually shifted from the passing scenery and to the small bit of reflection she could see against the glass panel that was staring back at her. The image she'd seen in the mirror of her apartment—of her in that strange military uniform—was still fresh in her mind.

"I think.. I'm starting to see more of the rest of the people in that dream."

A sudden touch on her hand finally pulled Isanna from her stupor; she teared her eyes from the window to her hand, seeing Zeke's hand holding it. And when she looked at Zeke with his other hand still on the wheel, she could not read the distant look in his eyes, even though they were still clearly glued on the road ahead.

"Do you remember who they were?" he asked after a long pause, voice so low and quiet like a whisper, as if he was hesitant to ask her. Voice so soft he almost sounded—

Afraid?

For a split second, there was a slight tinge of pain that shot through Isanna's chest, seeing the expression on his face.

"No," she answered. "Actually, right now that's all I can remember. That there were.. people."

She couldn't dare bring up the fact she saw Erwin's face so vividly—that amidst all the blurry chaos in those flashes of dreams, amidst all the confusion, Erwin was the only distinct thing, the thing she was so certain of seeing. After all, that was just one time. It probably didn't mean anything, right?

Right?

Isanna casted her gaze downwards at her lap, somewhat feeling.. ugly, and disgusted, at herself.

And when Zeke brought her hand to his lips, eyes never leaving the road, and pressed his lips firmly against her skin, Isanna couldn't bring herself to look at him at all.

"I love you," he said out of nowhere.

"That's sudden," she said with a slight chuckle, if only to forget her thoughts for a brief moment.

"It's not," he disagreed, "I feel that about you all the time."

The smile from Isanna faded, and she could feel it—that strange churn in her stomach. It was a bit chummy; chummy because Zeke said it so casually her heart kind of fluttered despite being together for years, and guilt because of the thoughts she just had about Erwin mere seconds ago.

She brought her free hand to massage her temple, eyes shut close. God.. what am I doing?

That's enough, she told herself, cursing and mentally slapping herself repeatedly. Enough of that. It was a litany, trying to convince herself to just stop. Stop whatever that is. She's had enough.

"I love you too," Isanna said after a while. And she was expecting the usual teasing remark from him, just like how Zeke always was.

But when he turned to face her, all she saw was a silent, lopsided smile, his eyes looking just a tad bit differently, before he looked back at the road.

The rest of the ride back home was silent.

───

Erwin looked at the clock that hung in the faculty office. 5:26 PM. He took off his reading glasses and massaged his eyelids, holding back a sigh. Just a bit more and he can finally go home.

The thought surprised Erwin. He loved his work. He loved it so much he kept on burying himself in it the past few years because it was really the only thing that took up so much space of his time and he refused to leave his work half-assed. But for some reason, every day, he looked forward to finishing his work so he can go home. Preferably, earlier. Which was only more confusing because.. there was nothing to do at his apartment.

And he would be stupid to not realize this train of thought started after he saw Isanna again. It was like a switch had turned off—and everything that he was so used to doing suddenly did not feel worth it after the mess that had come to his life.

Erwin palmed his face, trying to get the unnecessary thoughts out of his head, the ugly pit beginning to form in his chest once again and he was so so tired of it that maybe a good night's sleep would be enough to forget about it for a while, but then nowadays, he always finds himself waking up in the middle of the night, dreams of the mission to return to Shiganshina haunting him awake. And just when he'd think 'it was just a dream of the past', he'd remember the state of his reality and Isanna and just feel like shit all over again and—

A pat on the back was what pulled Erwin out of his (unhealthy) thoughts. A mug of coffee was placed on his working desk in front of him and he turned to thank whoever was the kind colleague but words left him when saw Zeke Yeager leaning against the edge of the desk next to him, folded arms across his chest.

"You looked like you were having a mid-life crisis," Zeke pointed out in amusement, almost as if Erwin's suffering was entertaining to him, and nodded at the mug. "Drink that and better go home. I can feel the stress oozing out of you from behind and it's uncomfortable, honestly."

Erwin slowly blinked at him, only just noticing that it was only the two of them left in the office, before he looked at the mug in front of him, the steam curling upwards like tendrils. He stared at it like it was something so out of his world.

Zeke snorted. "I didn't poison it, in case you're wondering."

Erwin frowned at him, and although he knew there was no poison in it, he couldn't dare accept something from him without the least bit of suspicion towards Zeke's intention.

"What do you want from me?"

"Can't a colleague show some care every now and then without suspicion?" Zeke sighed, as he took the chair of the desk he was leaning against and sat down on it. "And here I thought we had something special now that we raced against each other during Intrams."

That familiar sarcasm dripping from his voice had Erwin rolling his eyes.

"You set it up so that I had to compete," he reminded him. "Not exactly the traditional way of forming a 'special' connection, as what you termed it."

"But it was fun, wasn't it? Besides, you won."

Erwin wouldn't exactly call it fun. He probably took that race a lot more seriously than he'd ever want to admit, which was childish of him.

"What exactly do you want from me, Zeke?"

The silence pervaded for a few seconds, the both of them staring at each other and neither side backing down. Eventually, Zeke sighed with a defeated smile, averting his gaze.

"Well, since you're so insistent, might as well just spit it out," he mused, then looked at him once more. "Actually, it's more of a question than anything."

"Of what?"

"What else? Isanna of course," Zeke scoffed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and honestly, Erwin was tempted to end the conversation right then and there because talking about Isanna with Zeke was the last thing on his bucket list. As if he needed another reason to feel shitty about himself.

"I don't want to ask anyone else," Zeke added, and maybe it was the genuine look in his eyes that made Erwin rethink. "And I'd rather just lay it out in the open, y'know."

Before Erwin could even steel himself, Zeke already blurted the question.

"What exactly was Isanna to you?"

It was a question so simple, a question that had passed by Erwin's thoughts numerous times, more times than he can count even with all the days he's lived. But, even after two lifetimes, Erwin will probably never be able to answer it clearly. Not because he was unsure, but because he truly believed there was not a single word in the entire world that could accurately describe Isanna the way his soul yearned for her.

A lover? A soulmate? Family? His reason? A home?

No, Erwin realized. None of those words will ever be enough.

He was probably taking too long to answer, since all Zeke could do was laugh quietly.

"Damn, Smith. You're actually smitten, huh." He placed his chin on his palm and briefly glanced at the clock, reading the time. "Well.. not that I don't understand. She can have that effect on people. Something about her draws you in."

Erwin couldn't believe they were actually.. talking. Talking so civilized, like normal people with no bloody history. And Erwin couldn't believe he actually found himself nodding along to him, his eyes now plastered on the mug of coffee that was still left untouched.

"So unapologetically herself," he muttered quietly, although Zeke could probably hear him. He thought about all the years he'd spent with her in the past, of Isanna's boldness and fiery personality that was most likely a product of her tough experience and pain, and then he thought of the Isanna he now knew, of the gentleness and joy she exuded and how Erwin realized the reason she could be like that now was because she finally felt safe enough to be one. "So bold yet so soft."

"Wears her emotions on her sleeve, too," Zeke added, and Erwin couldn't believe he found himself agreeing because yes. Isanna was an open book yet with so many pages that it will take you forever to read them all, yet in each page, he finds himself loving her more.

Zeke snorted. "And most importantly—"

"—she's a bad liar," the both of them said simultaneously, so synchronized that it took them by surprise. But what Erwin did not expect to see was the wistful smile on Zeke's features as he looked away, something distant in his eyes, and Erwin realized there was something more to the words he was letting out right now, and it was most likely the first time he had ever seen Zeke Yeager so.. raw, without all the mean façade and sarcasm.

The question left Erwin before he realized.

"Did something happen between you two?" And he instantaneously felt like an asshole. Was this guilt? What if he was part of the reason? And yet what a hypocrite he was, still doing all those things, still yearning for Isanna. And then Erwin realized just how messed up everything was, just how.. revolting his actions were, and how selfish he was.

Zeke laughed and shook his head, but before Erwin could even prod further, he stood up and stretched.

"Well, that was an unexpected but fun talk, but I'll have to call it a day." He turned around and headed to his desk, but just a few steps in and he stopped, looking over his shoulder with a grin.

"I must say, Smith, you're a pretty fun guy to talk to—when you don't have a stick up your ass, of course."

Erwin watched as Zeke gathered his belongings, flicked him a lazy salute, then walked out of the room.

Once the silence returned and Erwin finally processed everything, he heaved out a loud sigh, questions swirling about Zeke Yeager and why he suddenly decided to strike up a civil conversation with him, without all the hostility, and how Erwin felt even worse knowing that Zeke was a decent guy who probably loved Isanna just as much as he did, yet he was out here being a dick to him—

This wasn't supposed to happen, Erwin thought. Zeke was supposed to be the asshole, because that just made things easier. It was just easier to despise him when he was being a mean sarcastic little shit who makes it his life goal to get on people's nerves.

But seeing that humane expression on him, and listening to the way he talked about Isanna, Erwin was fully convinced he himself was the bad guy.

───

A/N: [hides behind the wall in shame] yes I know.. it's been months. I have no excuse. Simply just caught up with life and all that. Actually maybe the reason why I finally managed to continue this chapter halfway thru (the first part was written months ago💀) was bc the past few weeks were a struggle to get thru and I needed a distraction/outlet

Also, I know its late but 1k followers! 🎇 thank you all for the support and love you've been giving this book and A Promise <33 im not that active on wattpad anymore but I still receive notifs daily and I always feel so appreciated whenever I read those comments. Sometimes when im feeling down i go thru the comments and feel a bit better knowing that we bonded thru the trauma together 😍 lol. I'll probably go and reply to those comments sometime soon so yeah

And I finally FINALLY finalized my outline for this story and im so excited to write it but I cant promise when the update will be. Just know that I wont put u all thru the same pain from A Promise so rest assured this will be a happy ending (somewhat, sorry for the Zeke lovers out there in advance, but we know Erwin endgame)

Lastly, I want u to know that even tho im writing this, I do NOT condone cheating. Granted its emotional cheating or whatever it's called, I DO NOT SUPPORT IT at all. I am aware its not morally correct which is why both Isa and Erwin acknowledge the ugliness of their actions, yada yada yada—its for the drama bc I need some spice in my life even tho its not real

AND WOW. This is so long but. I just really, really, love you all. Thank you and I didn't proof read this at all and I know my writing's gone a lil rusty but I love this story I love my characters and I don't want to discontinue this, not even the thought crossed my mind bc I have so much love for it. Even if it takes me months and years to update I will always go back to this story no matter what. Thanks again for waiting!