*December 5th, 7:30 a.m.*
Today was the day they deemed as Mathilda's birthday. In the note when they received her, said she was three months old. So they knew when, but they had no exact date. It was December 5th now, and Armin randomly asked Eren that morning if they would be having a birthday for her at some point.
"Why not today? I'm sure she'll love it. Besides, early day for us today." He responded. Armin looked excited and laughed. He told Eren he was going to get a start on his chores and kissed his cheek, leaving him to wake their daughter.
He leaned over and looked into the crib. Her pacifier was still in her mouth, and she snored peacefully. She laid on her stomach and her head turned to the side. He chuckled and moved her hair from her face and she smiled in her sleep. He rubbed her back and whispered to her.
When her eyes opened, she tiredly looked at him.
"Good morning, mamas. Happy birthday!" He whispered to her as she stretched her arms and legs. Her arms lifted towards him and she made grabby hands.
He picked her up like a little baby and cradled her against his chest. She curled into him and sighed, her eyes closing again. Eren shifted her, and one light blue eye cracked open to look at him.
"It's time to get up. Do you want to get breakfast?"
She nodded, her head against his chest.
"Fwuit?" Her tired voice cracked. Eren chuckled and nodded.
"Yes of course, I'll get your fruit. Strawberries and 'nanas?" He asked, making her nod and giggle; eyes slipping closed again as he carried her out of the room.
Once they were down in the mess hall, he spotted Hanji at the table with the Levi squad. He smiled and walked up to her.
"Hey, Hanji? Will you hold Mathilda for me while I grab her breakfast? I'll be quick." He promised. They smiled and nodded, taking the girl into their arms.
"Oh take as long as you want. It's been a while since I last saw her!" They exclaimed, looking down at the girl who now sat in their lap. Eren smiled and made his way to the kitchen.
"Hii~" Mathilda cooed and waved to her. Hanji chuckled and waved back. She turned back towards everyone else at the table and did the same thing. They all waved or said hello back. Then, she looked at Levi. He was sipping on his tea and reading a book. She tugged his sleeve and he looked at her.
"Hey, kiddo."
"Like books?" She asked him. He nodded and let her look at the cover.
"Mama like this. All time." She babbled and giggled. She then removed herself from Hanji's lap and squirmed into Levi's hold. Many people were expecting the worst case scenarios, and no matter how different, all imagined it ending with a crying baby. But, he actually just kept an arm around her to prevent her from falling and let her look at the book.
She giggled, being able to look at the book. Even if she couldn't read the book, she liked to look at the words and the way the letters looked. And the pictures in the corners of some pages.
She looked for one, and found a picture at the bottom right corner of the right page.
"What is it?" She asked, pointing at the picture. Levi moved her finger to look at it and then went back to reading.
"It's an island."
"Coconut?" She asked. And to everyone's surprise, Levi chuckled.
"Yes, coconut. Does your mama read you this?" He asked her.
"Ya!" She nodded and giggled, still studying the page. He nodded and picked back up where he was.
He had expected her to eventually ask him to read it to her, but she didn't. She only asked about the pictures, and, every once in a while, a word she was interested in. They were all pretty impressed by her desire to learn so early on, but more impressed with the fact that she could make Levi laugh.
Armin walked in, gloved hands already dirty from pulling up weeds. Mathilda giggled, but made no effort to move from Levi.
"Hi Mommy! Look, a book!" She shouted as he walked by. He barely heard her, but he stopped. He smiled and did a jog up to her.
"Oh, you're reading that one?" He asked both of them, but mainly talking to Levi. "That's my favorite. Mathilda's too. Do you know where Eren is?" He asked. The way he spoke made it seem like he was in a hurry. Just then, Eren walked out of the kitchen.
"Hey, Armin. I thought you went to do chores?" He asked, setting a plate of fruit on the table near Mathilda's hand. On the plate were sliced bananas and strawberries, along with a small bowl of oatmeal. She saw it and smiled, reaching for bananas.
"Fair warning, Captain, she's a messy eater." Eren warned the older man. Levi looked down at her wearily, before setting her on the bench. She had to stand up to eat, but Levi kept a hand out incase she fell. Eren smiled at the scene before he was pulled down by Armin. They talked for a bit in private before Armin walked over to Mathilda and kissed her cheek. The brunette girl turned and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek in return.
"You goin, Mama?" She asked. Armin nodded.
"Yep, gotta work outside. I love you, see you in a little bit." He smiled and reciprocated the hug she offered.
"Love you, Mama." She laid her head on his shoulder and smiled when he kissed her hair.
"Okay. I'll be back soon, lovie." He repeated, letting go of her and tapping on her plate. She giggled and reached for a fruit. He waved bye to Eren before trotting back outside.
"What was that about?" Hanji asked.
"Armin was just asking about something we're doing for Tilly." He responded, walking over to the girl to mix her oatmeal. She was messy with utensils, and knew his Captain would be angry if it was messy.
"I try, Daddy?" She asked, reaching for the spoon. He looked nervous, but knew she just wanted to be independent. She liked trying things on her own, which is why she usually likes to walk more than be carried.
"Okay, but go slow. Don't make a mess." He warned. She settled for sitting on her knees , just barely big enough to see into the bowl.
"What are you planning for her?" Petra asked, responding to his earlier question.
"Well, we know she was born in December. When we got her in February, the note said she was 3 months old. We have no specific day written down, so Armin suggested we just do something today. He's very excited." He chuckled, watching Mathilda grab a bite awkwardly, albeit carefully and bring it up to her mouth. But it slipped off of the spoon and back into her bowl. She pouted and shoved the spoon back into Eren's grasp, grabbing his attention.
"What's wrong?"
"Fall off." She said and stomped her little foot.
"How many times did you try?" He asked. She held up one finger.
"This many."
"Only one time? You have to try more than one time. Come on, try again." He said, giving her the spoon back. She pouted, but tried again. She almost had it, but it slipped off again and she whined in frustrated.
"Here, let me help you, mamas." He fixed the way she held it.
"Grab it like this, okay?"
She held it tight as tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's okay, don't cry. Just keep trying until you get it." He encouraged her. He helped her scoop it and she finally got a bite. She looked up at him with a small smile.
"There you go, see? Now you try." He said, letting go of her hand. She scooped it up, and slowly brought it up, and she finally made it.
"Good job! See, I told you, just keep trying." He laughed and ruffled her hair. She smiled and looked up and him.
"Well, if you're planning on having people, just use the commons. I don't care." Levi spoke suddenly. Eren smiled and nodded.
Once she was done, she reached up for Eren, and he took her to go get dressed.
"Mamas, did you know that today's your birthday?"
"That mean?" She asked. He chuckled and they went up the stairs to their room.
"It's the day you were born. You get to do whatever you want with Mommy and me!"
She looked up at him and her eyes widened and her mouth made a little 'o'.
"Really? Wanna play outside!" She threw her arms up. He kissed her cheek and nodded.
"We will, baby, but you need to get dressed first."
Once they got up there, Eren picked her up to let her see in her drawers. She looked until she found the dress she wanted. Its main color was a mint green, but it was basically rainbow colored. She put it into her Dad's hand and turned back to find socks.
She found a pair of yellow socks, and placed them on top of the dress.
"Oh, very pretty. Let's get you dressed."
She giggled and climbed onto the bed, laying on her back. He unbuttoned her pajamas and slipped her limbs out. She rolled over and stood up so he could move the outfit, and bounced on the bed over to him.
"You're such a goofy girl. Hands up, we're gonna put on your dress." He laughed. She did what she was told, and when her dress was on, she looked up at Eren, confused.
"Daddy what goofy means?"
"Goofy means funny." He responded, smiling at her. She plopped down and held her feet up for him to slip her socks on. Once those were on, he helped her off of the bed and took her to the closet to pick a pair of shoes.
"I funny?" She asked, clearly not understanding what it meant.
"Yeah, you're very funny. You make me and Mama laugh all the time!" He offered her a wide smile when she looked up at him. She giggled and picked up a pair of black shoes. They were flats, with a strap that wrapped over her foot and buttoned on the side. She slipped them on by herself while Eren slipped his boots on.
"Ready to go outside?"
She nodded excitedly and held his hand as they went down the stairs. Once they were outside, they saw a lot of people were out there she giggled and ran out to go look at the trees.
"Woah! Daddy look! Big!"
"Yeah, that's a tree."
"Woooow..." She stared in awe before spotting a few pink wildflowers.
"Dada! Look, pwetty!"
He looked at the flowers as she picked some of them. He was worried at first, but upon inspection, they were not poisonous flowers.
"Very pretty. But be careful, some plants give owwies."
"Owwies?"
"Yeah. Make you itchy or sick. Don't touch unless you ask."
She nodded and kept looking, keeping her hands to herself. Until she saw more flowers further down, but these were a different color.
"Dada! I get it?" She yelled. Eren, who was walking a few feet behind her, walked over and looked at them. They were just yellow dandelions.
"Sure can, baby. Are you collecting flowers?"
"Mhm. I get for you and Mommy and Mika." She told him. She held a few flowers to her chest and was about to walk when she suddenly noticed how scary the woods looked. She ran over to Eren's side and held his hand, pulling him to walk with her. He said nothing, only held her hand and let her lead him.
"Daddy I get those?" She pointed. These were bigger and red, and she really wanted to grab it.
"Woah, you found roses! You can't touch them, they have sharp parts. See?" He showed her the thorns. She saw them and nodded.
"I'll take the pokies off for you. When the pokies are gone, you can hold them."
She nodded and watched Eren take a pocket knife from his supply bag. He opened it and cut a few off and carefully set them on the ground. After he grabbed a few, he quickly cut off the thorns, handing her a rose everytime he was finished. He noticed that she stood close and tried to keep her body pressed against his.
"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to come out?" He asked, a bit confused at her behavior.
"I do, but it scary there..." She mumbled, looking into the woods. He looked out and then back at her.
"Don't worry about it babygirl. Just stay right by me and you'll be safe." He reassured her and handed her the last rose. He grabbed her other hand firmly, and she gripped back.
"Ooh! Those, Daddy, those!" She exclaimed as she pointed at some little blue flowers. This continued until she had a few of each flower. They made three piles and went to deliver two of them. She then made Eren walk with her to find Armin first, as per Mathilda's request.
They ended up finding him by vegetable garden pulling weeds. She ran over to him and hugged his leg.
"Hey, Tilly. What are you doing out here?"
"We got flowers! Is for you, Mommy!" She shouted and held out a small bouquet. His eyes widened, then his face softened into a gentle smile as he accepted them. He smelled them and looked down at the girl, who waited patiently to know what he thought of them.
"Oh, Mathilda, honey, these are beautiful! Thank you so much, babygirl!"
The girl laughed and ran to her Dad.
"Daddy, Mommy like 'em!" She shouted with glee. He nodded and picked her up to rest her on his hip, handing her Mikasa's bouquet.
"What are you guys doing here?" Armin asked them while looking at the different flowers, specifically twirling the roses. Eren smiled while the little girl looked around for Mikasa.
"I told her that since it was her birthday, I'd play whatever she wanted to play and she said she wanted to play outside. But she really just wanted to walk around and pick wildflowers." He chuckled, looking down at her as she smelled the flowers individually. Armin was about to say something, until he watched a flower get thrust into Eren's face.
"Dada, smell!"
He laughed and pushed it back a little to smell it.
"Yeah, smells good, huh?"
"Mhm!" She squealed. They made a trip to the room to put their flowers into a vase. Coming down the stairs, they met up with Mikasa who was sweeping.
"Mika! For you!" Mathilda sing-songed and leaned towards her while resting against Eren's hip. The ravenette laughed and accepted the flowers.
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2506 Words