It had been two weeks since you'd brought the three kids into your family. You'd finally settled into a schedule, with the three of them thankfully sleeping in their own beds. Not that you didn't mind them sneaking into yours, you simply enjoyed your time alone with your partners.
The scouts had gotten used to the three kids running around with them during laps, and seeing them at mealtimes. Everyone in the regiment knew about the three of them, which was good in case any of them ever got lost.
Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie still woke up with nightmares, not as frequently as your partners did, however, you heard many instances of one of them running into Erwin's office - which was adjacent to his room - looking for someone to comfort them.
The first few times you'd gotten up, after a while, Erwin started pulling them onto his lap and letting them help with paperwork until they calmed down or fell asleep again. You'd always wait until they'd fallen asleep to swoop in and put them back to bed so Erwin didn't wake them up with his muttering.
Yet, thankfully, today seemed to be a day where no one had experienced night terrors. Rolling over onto your side as you slowly pulled yourself from sleep, your arm brushed against someone fast asleep, laying on their back. Prying an eye open, you saw the gorgeously messy face of Hange still fast asleep.
Their mouth was slightly open, hair splayed across the pillow as Mike curled up to their side, his head resting on their chest. You stared at the sight before you as daylight shone in from the window above the bed, content to watch your partners sleep.
You had no need to get up right away, Levi and Erwin took care of morning training, your job was afternoon training with Hange or Mike, with the other watching over the kids. They tended to sleep late - the kid. Erwin and Levi always woke up at ungodly hours - so you didn't have to be up until the near afternoon.
Which was fine by you, as it gave you all the time in the world to gaze at Hange and Mike as they slept. They always looked so calm and peaceful as they slept. It was nice to see their expressions when you were alone, near any scout they were stern and tense, but around each other, they were relaxed and happy.
Gingerly, you reach your hand out and brush a few strands of hair away from Hange's mouth, leaning forwards and pressing your lips against theirs. As you pulled away, a hand caught the back of your head. Looking down, you saw Hange staring up at you, sleep still clinging to their mind.
"Good morning, pumpkin," you whisper quietly, bending down and kissing them a second time.
"Good morning to you too, boo," they murmur back as you pull away again, hovering a few inches above their face.
"Did you sleep well?" you question, keeping an eye on Mike so that you didn't wake him up.
"When I get to wake up to you? Always," they state, carding their fingers through your hair with a smile.
You tip to the side, laying down with your left hand tucked under your head to prop yourself up to face them. Your right-hand reaches out to cup the side of their face as they continue to play with your hair.
"You're very endearing when you're half asleep," you praise, gazing into their eyes with a dopey smile spread across your lips.
"I could say the same to you," they reply, tilting their head to press a kiss into the palm of your hand.
"You're just saying that," you tease playfully, brushing your thumb against their cheek.
"I'm serious, (Y/N). You make my heart flutter - even your bedhead is stunning," they compliment, shifting their hand from your hair to mirror the one you're resting on their cheek.
"How did I ever manage any of you. You're too good for me," you chuckle, leaning your head forward to rest your forehead against theirs.
They grin at you, brushing their thumb against your cheek.
"Because you're just as brilliant as we are, Captain," they praise, causing a faint pink to spread across your cheeks from the nickname.
"When are you going to let that nickname go? I'm not your Captain anymore, I haven't been for a long time," you point out, giving her a bemused smile as they laugh at how you're blushing.
"When it stops being so much fun to say. Captain. It rolls off the tongue," they hum, drawing your attention to their mouth as they exaggerate the word.
You gulp, unable to take much more of their teasing. Instead, you lean forwards and crash your lips into theirs. They pull you closer, holding you against themself as tongues sloppily transfer saliva to each other's mouths, forgetting about Mike sleeping on their chest until he mumbles something vaguely intelligible.
"Mm... stop movin'..." he protests, clutching Hange tightly as you two pull apart from each other.
"Stop sleeping on me then," Hange huffs, gazing down at Mike as he curls closer to them.
"No-! You're my new pillow," he states as if it should be common knowledge, sleepily reaching his hand around them like a child cuddling their favourite stuffed animal.
"Someone's still half-asleep I see," you chuckle, ruffling Mike's hair as you gaze down at him with a smile plastered across your lips.
"I just like cuddlin' both of ya," he defends, rubbing his eyes as his mouth splits open in a massive yawn.
"We never said that was a bad thing. You're adorable when you cuddle us," Hange states, bending their body so that they can press a kiss to Mike's forehead.
"I-" Mike attempts to continue with the conversation before three small bodies burst into the room from the door connecting to Erwin's office.
"Dad! Baba! Nibi!" the three of them cry, running up to the bed and scrambling on to cling to the three of you.
They'd started using titles to refer to you last week when one of the scouts asked if you were their parents. Reiner had started it, adamant that you were his 'baba'. No one had corrected them, and even Annie and Levi were onboard, so you let them continue.
You sit there, a bit startled at their entrance as Reiner clings to you tightly.
"Hey, what's going on you three?" Mike whispers, rubbing Annies back as she clings to his chest.
"We had nightmares," Bertolt sniffles into Hange's chest, clutching them tightly.
"Nightmares? That can't do! Don't worry, we'll protect you!" Hange declares, hugging Bertolt gently as you reclaim yourself over your state of shock.
"Nibi's right. Nothing can hurt you as long as we're here," Mike verifies, rubbing Annie's back gently.
"Promise?" Annie sniffles, looking up at him with wide eyes, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks as she shakes in his arms.
"Promise," he confirms, shifting so that he can properly hug her.
"You're safe with us," you echo, gently brushing Reiner's hair with your hands as he clings to your torso, shaking as he sobs from the bubbling fear in his chest.
"You know what always makes me feel better after nightmares? Food. Why don't we go get you three some breakfast?" Hange offers on behalf of all grumbling stomachs within the room.
"You get nightmares too?" Reiner asks quietly, peering over at her from behind tear-soaked cheeks.
"Mhm, we all do. Sometimes there are scary events in life, that are scary for even adults. And that's okay, it's okay to be scared sometimes," Hange explains as you nod in confirmation when Reiner looks up at you.
"Is that how you lost your leg, dad?" Annie asks, pointing out Mike's amputated leg. Your gaze drops to the sheets, guilt still haunting the corners of your mind.
"Yup. Baba saved me from a titan, so I have the biggest battle scar and badge of honour to prove it," he explains, tilting his head to look over at you, "And I couldn't be more thankful for them to be alive today."
You look up, swallowing your pride and giving him a shaky smile as Reiner stares up at you with stars in his eyes.
"You're a hero, baba! I knew it! You'll keep us safe for sure!" he declares, holding you tighter as he buries his head into your shirt.
You chuckle weakly, patting his head lightly as a wobbly smile forms across your lips.
"I'm only as good as those I work with. That's why we train - speaking of which, we do need to get breakfast so we can go train. You want to be strong to protect yourselves too, right?"
All three kids nod vicariously as they scramble out of bed and down to the floor.
"Hey, are you three going to get up today or-" Levi asks, walking into the room, his scout uniform covered in dirt as he walks awkwardly. Levi was never one for germs, you knew this, so his rigid posture and the stiff walk were to be expected while covered in dirt.
"Mommy!" the three kids cheer, running up to him only to be caught by Hange at the last second.
They'd started calling Levi 'mom' because of a joke Hange and Mike had made at dinner last week, saying Levi was the 'mom' of the group because he was the most responsible and cleanest. Now they actually called him mom. Thankfully, he'd yet to protest or complain.
"Come on, let's get you three dressed first. Then you can hug mom, okay?" they offer, giving Levi a chance to step around them and grab a towel before darting out to the showers.
"Fine," they grumble as Hange chuckles, walking them out of the room to theirs so that they could get dressed.
Leaving you alone with Mike as guilt continued to creep up on you as you watched him sit on the side of the bed and fidget with his prosthetic.
"Mike, do you want help?" you offer quietly, unsure if your help was even wanted.
"Hm?" he mumbles, looking over his shoulder, "Oh! Yeah if you could get that third buckle for me please, it's hard to reach," he confesses, chuckling to himself slightly.
You nod your head, slipping off the bed to sit at his feet as you finish the buckles on his prosthetic. You avoid eye contact, staring at his leg instead with a solemn look on your face.
You're dragged from your subconscious by a hand tilting your head upwards. Mike's hands always engulfed anything he put them on that was your body, due to his size and bulk. It made you feel small and safe, even on your worst days.
"Hey, (Y/N), it's okay. I'm alive, which is much better than the alternative," he reassures you, stroking his thumb back and forth against your cheek.
"I know, but-"
"But nothing. There wasn't anything you could've done to save more than what you did. You were too far away, and I was stupid enough to get caught. Plus, my thrashing around in the cart probably didn't help much," he rambles, bending down to get as close to eye-level as he could with you.
"It changes nothing. In fact, it brought us closer together as a group and a squad. I don't think any less of you for what you did that day, and neither should you."
You manage to give him a weak smile as tears perked the corners of your eyes. You weren't sure you could respond without turning into a blubbering mess of tears. With a deep breath, grounding yourself to his touch, you whispered your heart out.
"I-I love you," you choke out from behind your tears. In the chaos that your life had turned into, you didn't realize that you'd never really said those three words to his face.
"I love you too, (Y/N)," he whispers back, pressing his lips gently against yours for a brief moment before pulling away, "Now, let's go grab some breakfast. I'm personally starving."
"Alright, breakfast sounds good," you confirm, standing up from the floor as he stands up from the bed.
He hovers near you, a hand on your back as he gives you one of his shirts for the day. You're comforted by his scent as you bury your nose in the collar while lacing up your belts around your legs.
He leads you out into the hall and down to the mess hall, where Hange was eating with the kids, as Levi walks into the bedroom after scrubbing his skin raw to get the mud off.
The kids cheer when they see you, showing you the breakfast bowl they'd made for you as you and Mike sit down at the table across from them, next to Hange.
"This looks delicious. Thank you very much," you praise them as you dig into the indeed, delicious breakfast bowl.
As they beam back from across the table, you cherish every moment of their smiles.