A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

♪ Perfect ♪

Isanna noticed something below her and looked down, just in time to see her Commander walk out of the building and head at a certain direction. 

With an idea, the raven woman hoisted herself up on the windowsill with her hand on the side of the frame as she hollered, "Erwin! Heads up!" 

Erwin was about to head to the mess hall when he heard someone calling his name, causing the blond to stop in his tracks and crane his neck upwards at the voice; when his eyes saw a figure descending at him in a free fall, his arms instinctively stretched out just in time to catch Isanna in one swift motion, while his mind was still in the middle of registering what just happened. 

"Nice catch, Commander." Isanna grinned as she patted him twice by the cheek, before she pushed herself off of his arms and jogged towards the direction of Hanji and Lauren a few meters away without so much as a backward glance at him. 

Erwin blinked at her retreating figure as he lowered his hands back to his side. When he dismissed the event in his mind, he glanced around him and saw the way the surrounding soldiers flinched and returned their attention to their current training exercises. 

The Scout soldiers who had seen everything acted like they didn't see it; as if they had not just witnessed their Sergeant Major leap out of a window and use their Commander as a cushion for her free fall ride. Not at all, nope - they pretended not to see anything. 

Act normal, they all thought as they continued on with their training. 

::

"Hanji, be careful," Isanna chided as she followed the horse around with slow footsteps and a weary gaze on Lauren as Hanji glanced behind at her. 

"Relax, Isa, she won't fall down," she snickered with a roll of her eyes, returning her gaze ahead of her and lowering her face near the toddler, "your mommy's such a worrywart."

"'Wart", repeated Lauren, only eliciting a laugh from the brunette as she threw her head back. 

Isanna sighed at them. She was beginning to worry about Hanji teaching Lauren... some things.

They rode across the courtyard for a while, until Isanna noticed Erwin leaning against the wooden fence that enclosed the area for their horse back-riding training a few meters away from them. 

What's he doing over there? She lifted a brow before she jogged over towards him.

"What's our Commander Eyebrows doing outside his cave under this lovely afternoon?" Isanna teased as she neared him, stopping beside the blond and mimicking him as she too leaned her back against the fence behind her. 

Erwin glanced at her briefly, unbothered at the nickname; he had his arms crossed as he observed the trainings of the soldiers on the courtyard. "I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air."

Isanna faked a gasp. "Shocking. And here I was thinking you were secretly a vampire." He often spent his days inside his office buried in his work, only ever rarely stepping outside, so to see him leisurely outside on the grounds of their headquarters was a sight.

She heard him chuckle at her words, but didn't say a reply as Erwin stared at Hanji and Lauren, who were clearly enjoying themselves.

Following his gaze and realizing who he was staring at, Isanna found herself smiling. 

"Y'know," she started, glancing at him, "you'd make a great dad."

As her words sank in him, Erwin slowly turned his head to look at her, the ghostly smile in his lips  fading slowly as he stared at her.