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"Grisha!" Both you and Grisha heard a familiar voice call from the entrance of the greenhouse, so both of you whipped your heads up and saw none other than your friend and Grisha's colleague, Erwin, jogging towards the two of you with a warm smile on his face.

The moment you saw him, your face matched his and you beamed at him, straightening up in your seat, watching as he got closer. He was one of your dearest friends and one of Grisha's closest associates.

You've known him since the two of you were kids, and now every time he was around, you were just glad he was by your side because he brought a certain tranquility that made you remember you could always count on him for a smile.

He went from jogging to walking briskly over to Grisha, and noticing your presence as well, sending you a gentle smile and a small wave, that you quickly returned as your smile grew and your eyes softened. You noticed his appearance, and you knew he had been so busy that he forgot to tidy himself, yet again, very unlike him unless he was incredibly immersed in his work. That was one thing you and him have in common, being too focused on working that the world just passed both of you by.

His tie was loose, the first two buttons of his shirt were undone, his blazer was undone, and a couple strands of his golden blond hair fell onto his forehead. Though, his blue eyes were as warm and beaming as they always were. Even if you could tell that he clearly came from work, you could see that he still had so much energy, judging by the fact that you knew the smile he sported on his lips all too well. He was genuinely happy doing what he does, and for being here in the greenhouse at all.

Erwin eventually stopped in front of Grisha, while sending you occasional glances as you kept your gaze on the two of them. "I don't know why I'm surprise that you're still up an running right after being discharged a couple of hours ago," Erwin chuckled as he turned to look at you to see if you agreed with him since you know what Grisha's like as well, and you nodded in agreement with him with a small chuckle, putting your hands on your lap one on top of the other while leaning forward slightly in your seat.

"Don't waste your breath, Erwin. You're barking up the wrong tree. He won't listen to me either about taking some time to lay down and trusting me with his plants. You know what he's like," You stated, while your gentleness remained on your features, and Erwin nodded as he let out a breath through his nose and ran back a hand through his hair. He knew that the two of you are the ones who spent most of time around Grisha and that you both should be used to his antics and habits at this point in time.

"Excuse me, I'm right here. Since when have you two started ganging up against me?," Grisha said as he sat up and turned his head back and forth between the two of you. You and Erwin heard his words, made brief eye contact, and it seems like the two of you were thinking the same thing because you smirked lightly at the same time and looked away from each other as amusing looks came upon your faces, which Grisha noticed.

"Okay, I see how it is. It seems I have failed to raise the two of you well, so I guess I have only my plants to depend on," Grisha said, making Erwin roll his eyes playfully while you tried to hold back laughs. Erwin's father wasn't around much when he was a kid so Grisha looked after him often as well at the same time as you, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.

Grisha has influenced and guided so many members of the younger generation in the family to become successful figures and he didn't even realize it. He is the very foundation that held the family together, and if he was gone, you were sure everything would just unravel.

"You don't have to depend on your plants solely, Grisha. You should know that everyone in the family has been behaving recently and your branch is booming with profits," Erwin said, and you raise your eyebrows in surprise, but also not at the same. You'd heard of the company's accomplishments recently and it was all thanks to Erwin and his branch.

You knew that Erwin handled the investment aspects of not only his own branch but practically of the entire Eldia Group, including Grisha's branch. He was the CEO of it after all, but still, you were glad that business was doing well. All but one, which was yours that had taken a plunge, but you didn't want to talk about that again so you pushed it to the back of your head once again so that you could focus on the current conversation.

"It's true, Grisha. I've heard nothing but good things about the financial status of the company recently. And as hard as it was to believe, even Zeke is turning a new leaf. I didn't buy it at first, but it's true," You said as you shrugged slightly, ignoring the way you wanted to grimace at trying to even believe that Zeke would just flip a switch an trying to do better from one day to another all of a sudden, but you were trying to be more positive so you truly wanted to believe that he was out there doing good.

"Well, I would hope so. At his age, I expect nothing less from him than for him trying to finally have some sense knocked into him. It's about time, isn't it?" Grisha said, making you and Erwin nod, knowing what kind of person Zeke has proved to be over the years and this apparent 'change of heart' of his was something everybody who's had a hellish experience with him was trying to get used to. But it was becoming easier.

"You two have seen all the obstacles and hoops I had to jump over just so that he could finally start thinking clearly. It wasn't easy, but it looks like it finally worked," Grisha continued, making you and Erwin briefly look at each other, remembering the kind of trouble and the amount of times that Zeke had gotten himself into unredeemable situations that Grisha had to jump into so that he could pull his son out of them. It was years ago, though, so it seemed like Zeke was finally getting back up on his feet.

There was a little awkward silence after that. You cleared your throat and shuffled a bit in your seat, until you looked up and saw Erwin raise a hand to rub the back of his neck. It seemed to you that he was finally realizing that it was a good time to bring up what he came here to do in the first place. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a folder with papers.

"Grisha, I actually came here to give you the reports of last quarter's earnings and I wanted you to take a look at them if you can," Erwin said as he extended out the folder for Grisha to take. Grisha noticed this and turned his body to face Erwin and the folder, quickly taking it from his hands and opening it. You looked at Erwin for a couple seconds, noticing the way he waited patiently for Grisha to tell him what he thought of the reports.

You turned your head to look at Grisha as well, so you and Erwin could see the way Grisha had opened the folder on one page, looked at it once, did a once-over, and then closed the folder back up just as quickly and handed it to Erwin. "It looks fine," Grisha said bluntly, looking back at his plants as he extended the folder back to Erwin. You purse your lips as you try not to laugh, seeing the way Erwin's face dropped in confusion, looking back and forth between Grisha and the folder a couple times.

Erwin took back the folder, but after hearing your barely concealed laughter, he began to smile as well. Even if it was a smile of defeat. "Come on, Grisha. I worked really hard on this, at least look at it a little more," Erwin chuckled as he continued to hold onto the folder in his hands and not putting it in his satchel just yet. Erwin was glad you at least found it amusing and it made you laugh. In a way, it was funny to him too.

He turned to look at you and saw that you had raised your hand to cover your mouth as you leaned forward in your chair, but even as you tried to conceal that you were laughing, the quick rising and falling of your back gave you away. Erwin's smile remained as he proceeded to put the folder back in his satchel. At least there was some sort of comfort knowing that Grisha trusted him so much with the investments of the company, or at least that's what Erwin was trying to convince himself of.

"Y/n, can you believe that after all this time he hasn't given me a single compliment on my work?" Erwin said as he began to walk towards you, standing next to the platform and right next to where you were sitting. You had dropped your hand from your mouth and looked at him with a gentle and reassuring smile. Erwin was great at his job and he knew it, and you knew this was all for laughs, but if he needed it, you'd remind him.

You raised your hand again, but this time to place it on his arm. "Yeah, I know. But you don't need any compliments. You already know you're the best at what you do," You said, looking up at Erwin with a certain softness in your eye that made Erwin take a few seconds to finally nod back.

You turned away from Erwin with a sigh and reached over to the table next to you to grab your purse. You figured it would be a good time to take your leave now and finally head to work. "Alright, I think I should go now. I need to head into work," You said, and Grisha was quick to turn around when he heard you say that. After the conversation from before, he was glad to hear that.

Erwin also perked up at your words, as his smile grew. "Oh, y/n, I'm leaving too. Let's head out together" He said, making you turn your head to look at him with a smile and a nod as you stood up, began to walk on the platform and then stepped down. It wasn't too high up, but you were still in heels.

You moved to stand next to Erwin as you already made your way down and quickly turned your body around once more so that you could bid goodbye to Grisha. After hearing Erwin's words, Grisha's eyebrows furrowed. "You're leaving already? I understand that y/n's leaving since she's been here for a while but you just got here," Grisha said, and you looked up at Erwin as you kept your purse in front of you, so that you could hear what he'd say.

Erwin had a bashful look on his face as he ran a hand back on the back of his neck. "Oh, I should hurry back to work as well. I just came here so that I could show you these reports," Erwin said, and Grisha stayed quiet after that as he looked back and forth between you two, narrowing his eyes.

"You're heading back to your office, right?" Erwin asked, making sure he heard right before and you turned your head to look up at him when he asked you a question, and you nodded quickly with a hum. "Yep," You said, and after that there was a moment of silence between the three of you, until Grisha decided to speak up after looking at you and Erwin.

It was hard for Grisha not to notice that the two of you had pretty much the same tendencies when it came to working yourselves to the bone and pretty much spending all of your time in business nonstop. You were both pretty good friends, you've known each other for years, and got along incredibly well. It wasn't hard for Grisha to suddenly have a lightbulb go off in his head when an idea started to float around in his head.

"You know," Grisha started, making you and Erwin both turn to look at him at the same time, and waiting for what he was going to say next. "You two are practically married to your work just the same and its all you have going on in your lives, so..." Grisha trailed off, making you tilt your head to the side and for Erwin's eyebrows to furrow just a bit in confusion as to where he was going with this. Neither of you had any idea.

But your eyes nearly bugged out of your head when Grisha concluded his sentence. "Why don't you two just marry each other?" Grisha suggested, making you immediately roll your eyes and raise your hand to press to the bridge of your nose. Did the conversation between you, him, and Eren the day before vanish from his memory? You couldn't believe he brought it up again.

You looked over at Erwin and saw that his eyes were wide as well as he looked back and forth between you and Grisha with panic and confusion. Though, his eyes settled on you more as his gaze silently asked you what Grisha meant by that. Judging by your reaction, he could infer that there was something in that question that he wasn't aware of.

He was just taken by surprise. "Sorry? Marry each other?" Erwin asked, looking at you and wanting to know the explanation behind that question out of the blue.

You cursed under your breath and ran a hand back through your hair with exasperation. You thought you already had this conversation with Grisha before. "Grisha, not this again. Seriously. We've talked about this already," You said, looking completely indignant as you crossed your arms and looked at Grisha. How many times would you have to tell him?

Your adoptive father looked completely taken aback that you were acting so against it. He knew you didn't want any more blind dates and he accepted that, so why not just go for someone you know? What he hasn't accepted is that you're not looking for love or to be married right now, and that's what he hasn't understood just yet. You wished he would.

"But what's so bad about it? Two have known each other since you were kids, you're very close, you're not related by blood, and you're not even registered as family," Grisha said, making you hold back a groan. He really wasn't getting the point, was he? You realized Erwin had been hearing this whole argument and he must be really confused. You turned your head to look at him and gave him a reassuring smile, putting a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, Erwin. It's not because of you, don't mind what he said. You know just as well as him why I'm not in a relationship or why I'm not looking for one. He's just dying to marry me off to someone," You said with a chuckle of defeat at the end and turned to look at your adoptive father again, not believing you were having to explain this yet again to Grisha.

But when you looked away, you failed to notice the way that his eyes lingered on you for a little longer and his features softened. He did know better than anyone you weren't looking for a relationship, you didn't have to explain it to him. He was just really taken aback and confused before.

You directly at Grisha again and your eyes got serious. "I'm leaving now, Grisha. Who knows what kind of things you'll say about me if I stick around," You said and quickly turned on your heel to head towards the exit. Grisha's shoulder sank hearing you say that. He supposed that it really was a long shot. "It was worth a shot, right?" Grisha called out to you.

"No, it wasn't!" You called back as you continued to walk away. Erwin looked back and forth between you and Grisha. He had to hurry if he wanted to catch up to you and you were already walking away. "See you later, Grisha. I'll stop by again soon!" Erwin said as a bright smile took over his lips again and his whole face brightened up once more.

He was quick to turn around and jog lightly towards the entrance to catch up to you as his light laughter reverberated across the greenhouse. Seeing as Erwin lightly stopped running and was able to catch up to you, and then began walking side by side with you up until the moment the two of you turned a corner, Grisha watched intently.

When he was left all alone, it was like there was no one around to stop his mind from taking a dark path yet again. He couldn't help it. He wished that he could have you, Erwin or Eren around right now to stop his mind from taking another path. But now that he was alone again, in his greenhouse, with nothing but his plants. He truly began to wonder just how far he could take this facade for. He didn't know how long he could continue to do it for. He felt like his time was running out with every second that passed by and it was truly driving him insane. What could he possibly do now?

It was a contrast from Grisha's inner turmoil to how you and Erwin were briskly walking together, side by side, while you both turned a corner from the entrance of the greenhouse and were currently heading back to the parking lot so that both of you could head back to work. You two were engaged in light conversation as you walked across the cobblestone path that would lead to the backyard and eventually back towards the house.

"You said you were heading back to your office, right?" You asked Erwin as you briefly turned your head to look at him and then looked forward again to see where you were going. At your question, Erwin hummed and continued to look forward as well. "Yeah, I really need to get back to work," He said, and you nodded, suddenly coming up with an idea in your head.

"Well, Hange is actually waiting by the car. Do you need a lift?" You asked, but before he could say anything else, you quickly realized something. "Wait, I guess you drove here too, huh?" You asked as you laughed bashfully as you came to the conclusion that he must've gotten here somehow, so it wouldn't make sense if you asked him if he wanted a ride to his office.

But Erwin seemed to be lost in thought for a couple seconds before he halted in his steps altogether, which made you stop walking too as you waited for his response. He had his hands behind his back, which you didn't think anything of, but that also meant you didn't see the way he secretly slipped his car keys into his satchel without you noticing.

"Uh, no, actually. I didn't drive here," He said, making your eyes widen slightly in surprise as you looked at him. A smile was tugging at your lips as you read his body language and facial expressions. "I actually took a taxi here to drop me off," He said and you were quick to make a face of recognition and nodded. Well, that made sense. Either way, you sent him a soft smile and were about to say something but he beat you to it.

"Why don't you let me drive you instead? I'll take both you and Hange to the office," He offered, and your smile grew at the gesture. Though, you didn't know why you were surprised. That was always the kind of person Erwin was. "You'd do that for us? Thank you," You said gratefully, leaning over to nudge your shoulder with his, making him chuckled a bit.

His eyes turned soft when he looked at you, showing you that he was completely serious. Though, a part of him hoped it'd be just you and him. But he should've known that Hange goes practically everywhere with you during the day. "Of course. It's been a while since I've driven you around," Erwin said, making you nod in agreement. You remembered times when you and Erwin would just drive around after college classes to take some stress off. You really appreciated what he was doing for you again.

"Sounds good to me. In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go," You smiled and turned your body forward to start heading back to the house. The moment you started walking away, Erwin stayed behind for a couple seconds as a fond look on his face took over and his blue eyes softened. He couldn't help but smile and once again, start jogging to catch up to you.

But what happened afterwards wasn't exactly what he had in mind. The two of you eventually made it across the yard, through the house and then back towards the parking area in front of the house. When you and Erwin opened the front door and began to make your way down the stairs, Hange heard the footsteps and looked up to see who was coming.

They had been on their tablet and doing some work while leaning against the car when they heard the sounds of steps getting closer and the front door opening so they looked up and saw that not only were you quickly approaching, but Erwin was by your side.

Hange had crossed paths with Erwin when he arrived, and they exchanged brief words before they both went their separate ways. Now, you were heading out at the same time as Erwin, so Hange straightened up and leaned away from the car, keeping their tablet at their side. "Hey, y/n!" Hange greeted cheerfully, which made you turn away from Erwin for a second since you two were engaged in light conversation.

Your eyes lit up when you saw your assistant in the distance, so your steps quickened and you began to rush towards them down the stairs, leaving Erwin to continue to walk at a normal pace towards the two of you.

"Hange, guess what? Erwin offered to drive us to the office," You said gleefully as you reached Hange's side and their eyes went wide, which you could see even behind their glasses. They were just as shocked as you were, but you could tell that they weren't opposed to it at all. Their eyes went from you to Erwin, back and forth, up until the point that he reached the two of you.

"Alright, then," Hange said, being quick to let their surprise subside and then reached into their blazer's inner pockets to grab the keys. When they pulled them out, they handed them to Erwin. Erwin had extended out his hand and happily accepted the keys from your assistant.

After that, all of you began to make your way around the car to get in. Erwin unlocked the car so that everybody could get in, and that's when you began to make your way towards the backseat, Hange was quick to be right by your side and opened the door for you. You turned to them with a smile.

"Thanks, Hange," You thanked them, and got into the car, quickly moving to sit on the other side of the car. You heard the door close next to you and watched as Erwin opened the door to get in the driver's seat and Hange went around the car to get in the passenger's seat. They both got in and closed the door after they were inside. After that, both of them put on their seatbelts, Erwin turned on the car, and he switched gears.

The car finally got moving after that and Erwin began to drive out of the mansion, driving past the gates after they were opened by some guards on watch that approved who came in and out of Grisha's home. After the three of you were finally out on the road, this is when Erwin's hopes about how this was going to be were starting to be a little different than what he expected. It was quiet the whole way back to your office, and once again, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the car running.

Halfway through the journey it's when Erwin's hopes crumbled. Hange was on their tablet again doing some work, and you were quietly in the backseat just looking out the window peacefully and occasionally looking at your phone. Erwin had his elbow propped up on the car door as he leaned his head against his hand, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. Occasionally he stole some glances at you in the back seat and then at Hange. This wasn't at all how he imagined this would go.

Though, Erwin must have been too careless and loud with the way he sighed and leaned away from his hand, putting both hands on the steering wheel, because you looked away from the window and your eyebrows pinched in concern as you leaned forward slightly. "Is everything okay?" You asked, and that's when Erwin blinked and looked back at you for a second before turning his head back to look at the road.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, It's nothing," Erwin reassured, sending you a reassuring look through the rearview mirror. You nodded and left out a soft breath when you heard him say that. You thought something was wrong. You leaned back in your seat again and began going on your phone to answer some business texts you've gotten. After that, the car went silent again.

Erwin kept debating with himself if he should say something to start a conversation, because even if his initial plans didn't work, he could make the most of it at least. He swallowed a bit and then turned to look at Hange. He knew they could be talkative when they wanted to. "You seem to be doing well, Hange," Erwin said as he looked back and forth a couple times between Hange and the road. Hearing their name, your assistant looked up from their tablet to look at Erwin and they nodded assertively.

"Well, thanks to you, I've been able to get a lot of my work done," They said with a bright smile on their face and quickly went back to look down at their tablet. Erwin nodded and realized at least one good thing must have come out of this, even if it wasn't what he hoped for. "Don't mention it.." Erwin muttered, letting out a long breath and continued to look at the road.

After that, there was silence, yet again. And it would've lasted longer if it wasn't for Hange finally speaking up and creating yet another topic of conversation. Erwin simply continued to drive. He could see the way Hange looked up from their tablet as a thought clearly came to mind.

They turned their head to the side and spoke to you, since you were sitting right behind them in the car. "Y/n, don't you think we should still try to find a way to repay Levi somehow?" They asked, and you looked up from your phone after they said this, and you nodded in agreement as you crossed your arms. It was something you had been thinking about too.

"Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, he did pay for the meal after all. I feel like I owe him even more now" You said with regret in your voice knowing you didn't try harder to make up for the incident, and even despite everything that happened with him after that date. As for Erwin, his eyebrows pinched slightly at the mention of someone he's never heard of before.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Erwin asked, hoping it was okay that he wanted to know who it was. It must be recent since this is the first time you've brought him up. You had gone back to answer texts in your phone, but when Erwin asked, you looked up again to look at Erwin and you hesitated for a moment in your words, but you still hummed and leaned your head back against your seat, closing your eyes briefly and then opening them back up to answer him briefly.

"Oh, it's just some guy that I went on a blind date with yesterday," You said with disinterest, not putting too much into your response, because you knew that the date was just the tip of the iceberg of experiences you've had with that guy in less than two days. But upon hearing your words, Erwin's eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed. "A blind date?" He muttered.

He didn't know why but the moment you said that, his body acted on its own and he slammed hard on the brakes, making the car stagger and lurch forward, making the car stop abruptly in the middle of the highway.

All that could be heard was the sound of beeping cars outside that had to swerve and almost crashed into your car. You and Hange both lunged forward because of it, and you were so in shock that you failed to hear the thud and the yelp that came from the seat in front of you. You'd put a hand in front of you to stop you from crashing into the passenger seat. Your mouth was agape while your breathing was heavy and filled with shock.

You all took a couple seconds to figure out what just happened and to get your bearings. A couple strands of hair had fallen in front of your face and your eyes were with surprise as you noticed Erwin had turned his head back to look at you and to check to see if anything happened. "Y/n, are you okay? I'm sorry about that," Erwin said as his eyes fell slightly with concern.

You blinked a couple times as your heartbeat got back to normal and you took in your surroundings before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine," You said as you fell back in your seat and placed a hand on your forehead. That was so abrupt you could barely register it until after it happened.

But then Erwin felt movement on the seat next to him and saw that Hange was slowly lifting their head up, that just happened to have been on the dashboard seconds before. When your assistant lifted their head fully from and turned their head to the side to look at Erwin, Hange had a deadpan look in their eye that made Erwin's eyes widen as he lightly shrunk back on himself and gulped hard as your assistant looked at him dead in the eye.

Hange was breathing heavily and Erwin felt color drain from his face when he saw that not one, but two of Hange's nostrils were starting to bleed rapidly. "Hange..." Erwin said as his eyes remained wide and shocked at what he was seeing, especially since he was the one who caused it. "Y-Your nose is bleeding," Erwin pointed out, making Hange's eyes narrow.

"Oh, yeah? I didn't notice," Hange quipped back at Erwin. Hearing those words all the way from the backseat made you want to see what happened, so when you leaned forward to the edge of your seat and got closer, you turned your head and gasped, while your hand flew to your mouth, as you saw that Hange was bleeding from their nose. "Oh my God, Hange..." You said, as your words came out muffled against your hand.

You watched as they pressed the button to the glove box without taking their glare off of Erwin, and grabbed some emergency tissues, opening the packaging, taking some out, and beginning to wipe their nose. Wonce they'd cleaned themselves up enough, they kept the tissues pressed up against their nose so that the bleeding stops on its own.

It was pretty quick the way Erwin and Hange agreed that he should go sit in the back with you and that your assistant should drive the two of you the rest of the way to the office. In a way, Erwin was happy he'd be able to sit in the back with you now, even if his plan to drive you didn't quite work.

Erwin pulled the car up to the curb of the road, he put the car in neutral and then unbuckled his seat, turned the side, opened the door and got out at the same time as Hange. While Erwin moved to open the door to the backseat, he watched as Hange made their way around the car as well and went to the driver's seat door, and how they avoided eye contact with him.

Erwin pursed his lips together and opened the backseat door, quickly slipping inside and closing the door next to him. He turned his head to the side and saw that he was met with a smile that was borderline turning into a teasing smirk that was begging to mock him. "Hi," You said, and Erwin rolled his eyes as a smirk came upon his face too and he got comfortable in his seat. "Hey," He said as he sighed and got settled in.

In the time he had gotten comfortable and you and him had your exchange, Hange had gotten into the car, switched gears, put their seatbelt on and began to drive once again, pulling out of the curb quickly enough to blend in and got in the same rhythm as the rest of the cars in the highway.

Once they were on the road again, so that Hange could drive and wouldn't have to hold onto the tissues to their nose, they decided to simply stick them up there as their face remained neutral. Now that Erwin was in the backseat with you, your eyes went back and forth between Hange and Erwin and you could see the way your blond friend was clearly showing inner discomfort as to whether he should say something or not.

You tried your best to not laugh, so you kept your lips pursed together as you watched the exchange in front of you silently with amusement, and even so when Erwin finally decided to do something so he hesitantly leaned forward. "Um, Hange? Are you sure you're alright?," Erwin asked, watching as Hange didn't turn their head forward and kept their eyes on the road in front of them. The silence after that was so deafening that you just continued to watch with anticipation.

"I think we'll all be alright as long as I'm the one who's driving," Hange said and that might have been the last straw for you. You couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a snort that made Erwin's head snap back to look at you. You waved your head silently, but your facial expressions betrayed you in every way. Erwin looked back at Hange and said his piece.

"I really am sorry," Erwin said, and you raised a hand, placing it on his arm in an 'It's okay' motion, which made him look back at you and then lean back in his seat completely. Hange wasn't one to hold grudges, so it'll pass. Erwin looked completely defeated as he sat back down and you rubbed up and down his arm comfortingly before you took your hand back.

When the two of you were finally settled in your seats and there were a couple more seconds of silence until you remembered what caused Erwin to be in the backseat with you in the first place. "Hey," You started, and Erwin was quick to turn his head to look at you and hummed expectantly. You smiled nervously and leaned your head back against the headrest.

"Why were you so shocked that I was on a date with someone? I mean I know I'm not looking for a relationship, but...was it so weird?" You said, and when you asked that, Erwin was like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before he cleared his throat and decided to answer.

"Oh...It wasn't shocking, but I guess it was a bit surprising since it's not like you. You're always so adamant on not wanting to be with anyone and focus on your work so I suppose that part was what shocked me a bit" Erwin explained, and you nodded. He had a point there. And it's also the fact that nobody else knew about the countless other blind dates Grisha had set you up with besides Hange. You understood his response now.

But just as you thought the conversation was over, you perked up when Erwin spoke up again. "So, why did you end up going on a blind date? Are you changing your mind about marriage?" Erwin asked, and he watched your smile almost turn into a laugh when he said that. Not in the slightest.

You quickly shook your head and chuckled with denial. "No, not at all. Erwin, you know me. Why else do you think I'd agree to it? Grisha practically backed me up into a corner so I'd agree. It's why he got his checkup in the first place. We had an agreement," You said and a look of recognition crossed Erwin's face. It made sense. It sounded like something Grisha would do and the suggestion of him marrying you before made sense now.

There were a couple moments of silence as Erwin processed what you were telling him, and you looked out the window and then back at him. "I don't plan on getting married. Not now, and not for a long time. Grisha doesn't understand that and it drives me crazy" You said to Erwin, and as soon as you said that, he was quick to reply back to you, keeping his gaze forward.

"Then neither do I," He said, and you raised your eyebrows. He didn't want to get married either? You don't think you've ever said that before until now. Feeling that you were looking at him, he turned his head to make eye contact with you. "What do you mean? Since when?" You asked him, seeing how he visibly tensed up, which is something he rarely does.

"W-Well...what I meant by that is that since you don't plan on getting married, which is a theme i've noticed among young people these days..." He started, and you narrowed your eyes as a teasing smile came on your lips, noticing the way he kept finding the right words. His words eventually trailed off in your mind as you quickly focused on something else.

Your eyes went downwards a little and saw that there was a very visible stain on his shirt, which made you realize a bunch of other things about his appearance today that you didn't notice before. "Oh, your shirt is stained," You started, as you reached over and placed a hand over his clothes to get a better look at it. You leaned your body forward a little to get a closer look.

"What's this from? Did you eat before visiting Grisha?" You said as you continued to inspect the stain. Erwin looked down too and by the looks of it, it seems like he hadn't noticed it was there either. "Hmm, not sure. Maybe it's from yesterday?" Erwin said absentmindedly and your eyes nearly bugged out of your head when he said this. He was really on another level when it came to his work. He's really starting to forget to take care of himself, isn't he?

"From yesterday?! Erwin, what's going on with you lately? You're usually so put together. Geez..I can't believe these clothes are from yesterday too," You said in disbelief. "I thought I was a workaholic but you clearly beat me," You chuckled slightly, and then looked slightly upwards to see yet another detail about him that was slightly out of place as well.

"God, look at your tie. It's all loose, let me see," You pointed out to him, and before he could do anything about it, you scooted closer to him and began to fiddle with his tie until you untied it completely. You haven't tied many ties in your lifetime before but you could figure it out. You hoped that after he made it back to his office, he fixed himself up a little too.

Erwin sighed but didn't stop you as you buttoned up the first few buttons of his shirt before anything else. "How is it that you can look so professional and normal most of the time, but somehow you're always a mess. I'll never know," You said as you finished buttoning up his shirt and smiled lightly as you fixed him up. You moved onto his tie and then your eyebrows furrowed, your eyes hardened and your lips pursed as you tried to figure it out alone.

"Not sure when it started. All I know is that my schedule has been all over the place recently and most of the time, I spend the night at my desk and don't even get to go home," He admitted, making you frown. He was really not looking after himself. If it meant that he didn't have to do the investments at your company anymore and a load could be taken off of him, you'd do it. You could just hire someone else and it'd be completely fine.

But after spending a couple more seconds on his tie, fumbling a little to try and figure it out, you were completely distracted. Erwin just took this as a chance to take a moment to just look at you and let his features soften with admiration for a couple seconds. Once he felt like he'd stared for too long, he cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his seat lightly, looking away.

Trying to change the subject, Erwin thought of another conversation starter that he assumed you had been thinking about recently. "I thought of a solution, by the way," He said, making you briefly look up at him and then back down at his tie you were trying to neatly put together. "A solution for what?" You asked, and Erwin sighed, realizing he had to be more specific.

"Well, I was thinking, and maybe we could try to buy enough of Eldia Fashion and Beauty's shares and that way it could be enough to offset the loss, and-" He started, and once you realized what he was talking about, you rolled your eyes and used the tie to tighten it up to his throat to get him to stop talking, making him choke back on his words slightly.

You knew he meant well, but you need him, Grisha and everyone else to know that you could do this alone. You didn't need anyone's help. "You know that this is how rumors about stock manipulation and insider trading start, don't you Erwin? I built my company from the ground up and I can restore it back up the same way. I don't need any more attention on this issue than it already has," You said, watching as Erwin looked down at you.

"But, y/n, I know what I'm talking about. From an investor's point of view that is interested in your company, buying your stocks is a good deal for them and you," Erwin managed to say even with restricted airways, which reminded you to let go. You loosened the tie and watched as he let out a choked breath of relief, raising a hand up to his neck to relieve it.

"Erwin, relax. Don't worry about me, okay? Like I said, I can take care of this on my own," You said, letting out a short sigh and quickly went back to figuring out how to tie together his tie. You were desperately trying to remember how it is that you've seen Grisha do it, but it was blurry.

Erwin's chest rose and fell as he took a moment to look at you again and a soft smile reached his lips. He should've known better than to think you couldn't handle it alone.

"You know, sometimes I forget how great you are. Forgive me. Or how strong you are. I won't doubt you again. You almost killed me just now," He chuckled heartily, referring to what you did with the tie just now to get him to pause and stop talking. His words managed to make you giggle too as you beamed up at him, while your hands were still hard at work at tying his tie. He loved having moments like this with you.

Him reminding you about what you did before with his tie only made you laugh a lot more, realizing that once you tightened the last knot, you saw that his tie looked worse than before.

You started to laugh harder and released one hand from the tie so that you could raise it up to your mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, It looks horrible," You said in between laughs, seeing that his tie was just a bunch knots together one after the other.

Erwin looked down and your eyes widened, so you put your hand over his eyes. "Wait, no don't look at it. Let me try again," You said as you continued to laugh and attempted to try to undo the knots, but he gently moved your hand away from his eyes and he looked down, not being able to help but burst into laughter as well. The car had an entirely different environment now.

"No, It looks great. I love it," He said wholeheartedly, seeing you let go of the tie entirely. He held onto it with both hands as he looked down to look at it. You slumped again in your seat as you looked between his tie and his eyes, to see if he was lying or not to make you feel better about it. But Erwin took the extra step and leaned forward in his seat and held up the tie.

"Hange, what do you think? It looks great doesn't it? Y/n did it," He said, making you slump in your seat and cover your eyes as you continued to laugh.

Not even Hange could hide the faint smile that was tugging at their lips as they watched the interaction through the rearview mirror. "Yes, it looks very nice," Hange said as they turned their heads to the side so you couldn't see the way they were hiding their own laughter.

Erwin sat back down in his seat and continued to look down at his tie. it didn't look too shabby, despite the various knots on it. Erwin sucked in a breath through his teeth and smiled. "Wow, no wonder you own a fashion company, y/n. This is great," Erwin said, making you reach over and slap his arm teasingly. You knew he was just messing with you now.

"Now I know you're just making fun of me, it's not funny," You said through laughs of disbelief and looked away for a moment as you hid your face in your hands and then quickly dropped them to your lap.

"I'm not, I swear," Erwin promised but you knew he was. You continued to laugh as you scooted closer to him again. "I know you are! It's not good at all, let me try again. It can be better," You said through giggles as you reached over to his tie again and began to fiddle with it.

Erwin continued to laugh, not stopping you for anything. The sound of both of your laughter subsided but the air around the car was still as bright as ever. You two continued to banter back and forth and make each other laugh all the while you continued to try and fix his tie.

In the meantime, Hange remained silent but even they couldn't hide the light smirk and the light in their eyes upon witnessing this. They were glad that you had figures in your life that could still make you as happy as you are right now, like Erwin. Today, you woke up to a nightmare, but now, you looked the happiest they've seen you in a while, and they hoped it never ended. You deserved it more than anyone they've ever known.

Though, they didn't know this would be one of the last times that they would see that bright smile adorning your face for a long time.

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Hi! I don't have a whole lot to say this time around but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and you're enjoying the book! I really liked portraying more of the relationship that y/n has with Grisha, Erwin and Hange in this chapter. Rest assured, there will be more Levi on the next one so stay tuned! :,)

I'm kinda worried these coming weeks because final projects are coming and I really felt it this week when I was trying to write. But, i'll find a way to stay consistent because when I go into Christmas break, Im trying to prewrite as much as I can! :,)

I said this before in the past chapter but I am planning to go back to other chapters for spelling and grammar mistakes because there might be a few if any of you noticed :,) But don't worry, I'll definitely come back to correct them and take care of them!

So, anyway, I'll see you guys next Sunday with the next chapter! Love you all so much!

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