"Wow...your brows are even thick from below..."

Erwin glanced down at me as I rested my head in his lap, uttering a soft chuckle.
"Don't worry, I'm sure yours will fill out enough to put mine to shame." He laughed harder as my hands flew up to clutch my face, shrieking. "So, you were saying you went and saw the children one last time before the expedition?"

Settling down, I nodded, reaching to bat the dangling material of Erwin's right sleeve.
"Yeah, I kinda like the little shits. I promised them I'd bring them a new toy when I get back." The commander caught my smirk, and he mirrored it perfectly.
"Said toy being Levi, correct?"

I'd spent the last week trying to trick the captain into heading out to the orphanage with me, but he wasn't about to fall for it. My motives weren't all jestingly sinister. Being from the underground himself, I thought he may be a good mentor for the boys and girls.

"Mmhmm...Hey, did he really try to kill you back when you two first met? He's your dog now, so it's hard to imagine." I asked curiously, and he shifted, beginning to give my hair a gentle pat.
"He was intending to, yes. He probably would have if the circumstances had been different. I don't hold it against him, though. He wanted to survive. Besides, it resulted in us becoming rather good friends. Almost a brotherly bond."

The expression on Erwin's face seemed lost in nostalgia, and I cringed, crossing my legs that were spread along the length of the sofa.
"Ew, please don't say that. That'd make him kinda like an uncle...and that's disgusting..." Shifting a little, he made me look at him, cocking a magnificent brow.
"And why is it disgusting, hmm?"

Ah, crap.

Sitting up rigidly, I clumsily grabbed my teacup, pretending to take a sip.
"O..oh, no reason..! D..did you get some new tea leaves in? This is good shit!" He wasn't buying it, that was for sure, and he cleared his throat expectantly.
"Did something finally happen between you two?"

Choking and spluttering on my luke warm beverage, I whipped my head around, trying to glare at him.
"I...uh...we...what?!" I stammered, putting my cup back down so I wouldn't spill it everywhere. "What do you mean finally?! He's, like, old, and an asshole!"

Smirking, Erwin stood up and made his way over to his desk, sitting down to shuffle some papers.
"I personally enjoy the sight of you together. Are you really going to deny that anything happened when you two were alone on your little mission?"

Why do you have to be so damn sharp?

Crossing my arms, I fell back into the back of the sofa with a loud huff.
"You're my dad. Pretty sure you're not supposed to be so excited about my potential love life..." When everything was silent for a while I glanced over to him, and his gentle smile was truly a sight to behold. "Wh..what..?"

Waving me off, he continued to smile as he turned his attention back down to the paperwork before him.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just think I could get used to you calling me that." It wasn't only him that thought that. I was starting to warm up to the idea myself.

"When I get back from Shiganshina, why don't we make it common knowledge..?" Why was I so afraid of his answer? Was it because I wanted him to truly accept me as his daughter? To be proud of me?
"You mean when we get back. But, yes, I think we should."

Wait...

I wasn't sure if I had heard him correctly or not, and I slowly rose to my feet to approach the desk.
"We..? You seriously aren't considering going, are you..?" Who was I kidding? Of course he was. He was Commander Erwin Smith. There was no way he was going to stay behind without a fight.

"I may be lacking in limbs, but I need to be there when we reach Grisha Jaeger's basement. Whatever lies beneath may change the course of history..." That fucking key Eren always wore around his chokeable little neck. I could understand his desire to be present at such a time, but it scared me. Anxiety draped over me like a heavy, roach infested blanket.

"Stay behind. For me." It wasn't a question, nor was it an order. It was a plea. Ever since the expedition had been announced, I'd had a bad feeling, but I had tried to lock it away. Now, it was all trying to come back to the forefront of my mind.

Shaking his head, Erwin held out a leather binder, meeting my eyes with the most sincerest of crystal.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that. I love you, but you need to understand." Chewing on my botton lip, I accepted the folder, tucking it under my arm. "I need you to deliver that to Moblit for me, if you would. It's the final check list for the supplies we'll be taking."

I looked to the side and heaved a long, worn out sigh, knowing that no matter what I said, he wasn't going to listen to reason. There was no real reason to be worried, anyway. He was the commander. He had proven time and time again that he wasn't close to death's door.

"Sure..." I murmured, turning to leave, taking a detour past his personal bar table and picking up a small bottle of gin. "I'm taking this for him, too. God know's he needs it after dealing with Hange for the past few weeks." Nothing else was said, and I left the room, dawdling along until I found myself atop Wall Rose, lazily falling into Moblit and handing him the binder.

"Uh...thank you..?" He quickly passed it over to one of the passing Scouts, and I quickly filled his empty hand with the bottle, the buckle of his chest strap squishing my nose.
"A gift. From me to you. Thanks for being Hange's mum."

He chuckled awkwardly as I finally stood up properly, and he tucked it into his jacket pocket for safe keeping.
"I prefer right hand man, but thank you. I appreciate the sentiment." We stood around and chatted like old friends for a while, until he was called away, and I decided to wander around the wall, searching for something to do.

I stayed away from the edge by habit, sticking to the middle as often as possible, stepping around crates and soldiers before eventually breaking past the mayhem. Further along, it was quiet. Peaceful. Turning, I gazed out across the vista, the light breeze pushing my hairs out of place.

The view really is beautiful from up here...

"Starting to get nervous?" I didn't bother glancing over my shoulder to Connie, who had crept up on me without a sound.
"I'm always nervous. You?" Chuckling, he moved to stand beside me, taking a deep breath of fresh air.
"Been in a constant state of nearly pissing my pants for the past few days."

I admired Connie's bravery. His mother had been turned into a titan - his whole village - yet he still stood tall. I knew he was hurting. I had been there, alongside Sasha, comforting him when he had been given the news, but he still showed up to do his best the next day, bright and early. I wanted that kind of strength.

"I had a super cool idea for a way to distract the titans." I announced, my eyes following the slight curve of the horizon.
"Yeah?" A small smirk tugged on my lips as I glanced to him out of the corner of my eye.
"Use the light reflecting off of your bald head."

I giggled as he swatted out at me, though he hadn't taken serious offence. I could tell by the way he laughed along with me, a grin on his face.
"Damn, harsh, but I needed that. Thanks, (Y/N)." I smiled back at him, feeling my anxiety ease, at least in that moment. Laughter really was a medicine, at times. "So, how'd your date with Jean go? You never told me your side of it."

My body became a little stiffer as I quickly directed my attention back to the distant fields of Wall Maria, popping my lips.
"Wasn't a date. Why is everyone so interested in my personal life today?" I mumbled, screwing up my nose. "We had a good time, and it was nice to just exist for the day. Why? What did he say about it?"

Wiggling his brows, Connie stepped closer to my side, clasping his hands behind his back as he tilted towards me.
"He was a mess of gushy giggles, like a little girl. He wouldn't say much, but he did mention that you gave him a little almost kiss~."

Of course that's the part he told him...

Groaning, I threw my head back, squinting into the midday sun.
"Yeah, well, I need time to think. I like Jean...a lot...but I also really care for Levi. Then there's the whole Reiner fiasco..." I sighed, trying to shrug it off the best I could, not wanting to fall into that pit again for a while. "Gonna flip this right back at ya...How are you and Sasha going..?"

Anyone with half a brain knew that Connie had a little thing for the potato loving angel, and I thrived seeing the man turn red from the neck up.
"I heard my name! What're we talking about?" On cue, the brunette popped up, eyes big and curious.
"Oh, I was just asking Connie aboumppfffff!"

I nearly choked on my muffled laughter when Connie threw his hand over my mouth, dragging me into a headlock.
"Meat! She was asking me about my favourite types of meat! What about yours, Sash..?!" He was hopeless at hiding his fluster, but luckily the girl was as clueless as they came, starting to immediately yammer on about pretty much every cut of meat there ever was.

Once she began to settle down, I recalled something that Erwin had disclosed to me, and considering he had never explicitly stated it wasa secret, I cleared my throat to gain their attention.

"Speaking of meat...I have a juicy slice of news for you two..."

.
.
.
.
.
.
***Kind of filler stuff because drama may or may not occur soon...

I started replaying AOT2 because I bought the expansion, and I'm gonna cry cuz I have Eld following me around :')
A poor photo of some dumb scout npc we stumbled on because I only took thirst videos (all on my thirst stories, pinned on my insta profile wombat.squid)

Oh, mystical scout npc, tell us, what does the wall whisper to you?

Next Time: Please Don't Try To Eat Jean, Sasha. He is Friend, Not Food***