Noon came in what felt like a matter of minutes, and as Silica monitored her squad's progress on the horse track, she was told by one of Erwin's secretaries that Mike had arrived on base with their son, as promised the week prior to Silica's return to duty.
At the news, Silica turned back to her squad with a sharp whistle, and signaled that day's training was over. She didn't miss the relieved sighs from her subordinates, and offered Brutus a curt nod as she climbed upon Toffee's back and rode back toward the main base building.
Silica hurried up HQ's steps and straight toward Erwin's office. She opened the doors to see the man in question with Lucas in his arms, standing at the window on the furthest side of the room. He rocked him side to side as he pointed at things outside, and Silica smiled warmly as she quietly stood there watching them. Erwin talked to Lucas in a voice so soothing and quiet; a voice that sounded so foreign on his lips. It was as if Erwin had morphed into a completely different person when Lucas was in the room, and Silica couldn't be more happy to know that she had nothing to worry about when her son was in his care.
"Knock, knock," Silica said, still standing in the open doorway. Erwin turned his head upon hearing her voice, and immediately beckoned her into the office with a smile on his face. "Hope I'm not interrupting."
Erwin scoffed. "Not at all. Come in."
The pair met each other halfway, and without a word, Erwin handed off the small child to Silica. She sighed contentedly as she hugged Lucas close to her, and rubbed the baby's back as he garbled absently.
"Where's Mike?" Silica asked when she finally looked up to Erwin.
"He couldn't stay long," Erwin replied as he motioned for Silica to sit down. She complied and watched as he walked back toward his desk. "Said something about needing to catch up on reports."
"Darn," she huffed a strand of hair out of her face. "Those dreaded reports."
"Yes..." Erwin agreed absently as he rummaged through a stack of papers in his drawer. "While you're here, I have something for you."
Silica looked up just as Erwin made his way to her again, and plucked the small folded paper from his pinched fingers with a risen brow.
"A note from Levi," Erwin nodded toward it as she opened the page. "He gave it to me in passing this morning."
Silica's brow perked in curiosity whilst severing her gaze from Erwin to look at what Levi had written for her:
'We need to talk.'
"This is ominously vague." Silica spoke her thoughts aloud, still finding herself confused as she shoved the small paper into the pocket on her waist coat.
"He did not specify the details with me," Erwin said whilst sitting at his desk. He took a pencil up in his hand. "However he did say to meet him in the archive when your duties for the day were completed."
"So..." she trailed off as she adjusted Lucas in her arms to stand. "Now?"
"I would assume so." Erwin nodded curtly.
Silica sighed as she made her way toward Erwin to plant a kiss on the top of his head as he worked. He smiled.
"Then I guess duty calls," she said once he looked at her. "Will I see you tonight?"
"Of course," Erwin kissed her knuckles. "You should get going. Best to not keep him waiting."
Silica playfully rolled her eyes on her way out the door. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later."
She left Erwin to continue his work with a slack wave, and made her way toward the archive in which Levi would be waiting for her. She absently wondered what it was that he wanted to discuss as she patted Lucas' back, and walked into the open doorway to see the ravenette sitting at the table where she used to receive her lessons in Titan combat. The sight of the room itself made a melancholic feeling wash over her.
"Hey," Silica called as she walked down the few steps separating her from Levi. At the sound of her voice, he upturned his gaze to look at her. "Erwin said you wanted to talk to me."
"Yeah," Levi said, reaching his hands up to take Lucas. Silica silently handed him off and sat in the open seat beside him. "How was the first day back?"
"It's like I never left." Silica replied curtly, anxious to cut to the chase. Noticing this, Levi sighed as Lucas garbled, holding Levi's index finger with his tiny hands.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," he said without looking at her. "For a few months now, actually."
"Why wait until now to talk?" Silica asked whilst crossing her arms over her chest. She leaned back in her seat.
"There never seemed to be an appropriate time," he stood Lucas up on his legs. His silver eyes were trained on the baby in his lap. "With the new arrival and all."
"Right," Silica nodded once with her heel bouncing off the ground. "You've got me now, so spill."
"Your family's name is Ackerman," Levi stated, and only then did he look her in the eye. "Right?"
Silica only nodded in confirmation.
"So you must know of a man named Kenny Ackerman?" Levi guessed, and at her father's name, Silica tensed.
"Uh..." she trailed off and bit the inside of her cheek. She squinted her eyes at him. "Not exactly... do you?"
"You could say that." Levi replied.
"Well then I suppose now's as good a time as any to tell you something, too," Silica leaned forward in her seat. "I saw my mother a few months ago. She stirred up trouble in Mitras to get the MPs to request my help in figuring out what she was up to."
"Your mother?" Levi couldn't fight the shocked look on his face. "You mean the bitch that left you when you were ten years old?"
"That's the one," Silica sighed. "And when I went to speak with her, she gave me a list of addresses... one of which belongs to Kenny Ackerman."
"Why would she do that?" Levi adjusted Lucas in his lap.
"Because Kenny is my father." Silica revealed. She could audibly hear Levi's breath catch in his lungs.
"Your father?" He repeated, seeming to not believe his own words. Silica merely nodded again.
"I didn't even know he existed until Agnis gave me his address," she explained. "He's a high ranking MP in the interior. The location of her parents is on the list, too."
"Kenny... had a connection to my mother," Levi looked down as Lucas pulled on his cravat. He took one of the child's hands in his. "He found me a few weeks after she died, and raised me for a few months before he left."
"Sounds like my parents have a bad habit of leaving children behind," Silica rolled her eyes as she thought. "What do you think their connection was?"
"Not sure," Levi muttered, brow knit together into a contemplative scowl. "He could simply be a relative... or..."
As he trailed off, their eyes simultaneously met, and a thick silence befell the archive. The two seemed to collectively be at a loss for words, and the more Silica stared at him staring back at her, the more it made sense.
Silica and Levi were, in fact, related.
"What're the odds," Silica mumbled, trying to smile. "We could be siblings, Pipsqueak."
Levi scoffed, but didn't seem bothered by her statement. "So what're you going to do with his address? You know where he is, are you going to seek him out?"
"I've thought about it," Silica confessed. "But like you said, there's never really been a good time."
"Right," Levi sighed as he absently pat Lucas' back. "And Agnis' parents?"
"Same thing," Silica shrugged limply. "I haven't even put in the effort to find out who these people are yet."
"You know Erwin would be willing to find that out for you." Levi offered her a look.
"One estranged relative at a time," Silica blew a strand of hair out of her face. "I can barely tolerate the ones I do know."
Levi pursed his lips at her and she snickered.
"Besides you." She added.
"That's better," Levi offered her a brief smile before holding Lucas out to her. "We can talk more about this later. You should get him home."
"Right," Silica agreed as she took her son from him, and just before she made her leave, she turned and offered him one last fond look. "Hey... Levi?"
He looked up to her in gesture that she continue.
"Do you think we're siblings?"
Her question made an inevitable smile crack across his face, and he stood to meet her by the base of the stairs.
"In my mind, we already were."
Silica returned his smile with one of her own, and with a final hug of farewell, Silica had left the archive.
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An: lol hey guys, long time no see. I'm sorry that updates have been so few and far between, but I'm trying to work on being able to update more often.
In the meantime, enjoy the beginning of the next arc, and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter.
Thank you all for sticking around. It means more to me than you know <3
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