A month of worrying over what was happening and what made it worse was that you actually got a glimpse of Erwin, even if it had been Zeke's intention for it to happen. He wanted your reaction. To gauge your relationship with him, as if he already knew. You knew you gave him what he wanted. Erwin looked so tired, but remained poised. The diligent commander. From your understanding, he didn't know anything about your situation. You stood there, in full view of Zeke's ever-watchful gaze and all but stared down Erwin, hoping that you could make him turn his head towards you without saying a word. But it didn't work, and now you stood there with tears rolling down your face, cheeks likely flushed. 'I hope you enjoy this, bastard.'
"Y/N. Come." He ordered you around like a dog. You hesitated before following, deciding that it was for the best. 'Like I have a choice.' While you didn't care what happened to yourself, you were scared of what he might do to him, and the others with him. The 104th and a couple vets were with him: Miche, Levi, and Connie included. Connie, who likely ratted you out, even if he had been drunk that day. You wanted to hate him, but couldn't. He did the right thing, even if it caused more trouble than you wanted.
You knew that Erwin was negotiating for Eren's release, maybe yours if Zeke had been honest with him. For all you knew, Zeke had lied to him about having you as well. He was clearly using Erwin as leverage for you to stay and not do anything rash. And it was working. All you wanted now was for him to see you, to know you're okay... The time away from Erwin changed nothing, and now you know it never will. You thought that maybe the feelings you had would retreat, but seeing him tonight confirmed that they weren't leaving.
Zeke wasn't willing to give you any information on how he and Erwin came to know each other. In fact, he only told you the important things as he felt you needed to know; to explain things away as they happened. It pissed you off to no end.
"You'll be sitting with me tonight." He said as he and Yelena led you into a stadium-like area. A stage sat in front of chairs. Lights directed the incoming crowd's attention to a lone microphone that you assumed would be occupied by Willy Tybur. You hadn't seen him since the night you killed his wife, but maybe it was for the better.
"What did you say this was for, anyways?" While you didn't want to face Tybur, you also didn't want to spend your time sitting next to Zeke or his biggest supporter. The more time you spend with her, the weirder she gets. She treated him like a god, like he was a cult leader with extremist views and a devout following... If you could make it through tonight, you believed you could make it through anything.
Maybe even see Erwin again.
It was the only thought you had as you tuned out Zeke's droning on about what was happening. All you really knew was that there would be a speech or an announcement made by Tybur that was important enough for you to be dragged out of hiding. Uninterested as you were, you still attended, sat a few rows away from the stage and between your two "guards." You grumbled out answers as they were talking to you in hopes that they'd get quiet, but they continued to chatter on excitedly.
It felt like eternity before the crowd finally came in and sat down, everyone talking amongst themselves and you wondered if any of them knew what the announcement was or had any inkling of what it could be. When Tybur entered the stage, the crowd cheered and applauded. He waited for the crowd to calm down and as he scanned the crowd, his eyes met yours and you knew he knew. You could see the anger and sadness he held in his eyes. And at first, you thought you might cry, but your eyes were uncomfortably dry and the edges of your vision became hazy.
A shutter breath led you into darkness. It felt like a fever dream the way you could see him standing in the doorway and for a moment, the blond hair makes you think that it's Erwin in the distance. The sound of children crying in the background breaks your heart. 'I left children motherless. What if they were my kids?' You felt this overwhelming love for kids that weren't even your's. As you pulled back to the present, you struggled to catch your breath at the sudden loss of feeling. It stunned you how powerful that emotion was.
Your once dry eyes were now filled with tears. You could see your company glance at you out of the corners of their eyes, as if they knew something had happened with you. You could hear that Tybur was speaking, but you couldn't decipher the words coming out of his mouth. Extremely uncomfortable, all you wanted to do was get out of there. Lowering your head, you tried to avoid any more attention and wiped away any trace of tears from your eyes.
"... War!" As you regained composure from the flashback, clarity hit you full force. They want war. He's angry at you and wants war. And it seemed fair that he was angry, but war? Against just who?
... Erwin. He's in danger.
Panic sat in as you at the thought of him being hurt. Hearing Zeke chuckled made you see red. 'Fuck this.' You stood up and made a point to punch him square in the nose, hoping that it hurt. Yelena was already in motion as you turned and took off the way you came in. You could hear the gasps from the people as you ran, Yelena in full force behind you. Behind you, you could hear a rumble and the now-familiar static of lightning, assuming that it was Zeke. To your knowledge, you two were the only shifters there. Until you heard Eren's roar.
Risking a peak, you turned your head and confirmed that it was in fact Eren and he was following right behind you. Hearing the screams of people, you hoped there was a crowd that you could hide in, so you could lose your pursuers. Between the screaming and commotion, you could hear the thunder rumble that you could only assume came from Zeke. Eren let out another roar, but this time you didn't bother to look back as you took a hard right into an alleyway.
With Yelena still in pursuit, you pushed past people and just hoped you didn't piss somebody off. Reaching a brick wall, you attempted to climb up it. You refused to change into your titan form and destroy the buildings around you, potentially killing innocent people. Not only that, but you didn't want to out yourself. So, now you look like a fool trying to climb a brick wall and hoping that you don't have to fight the six foot woman behind you. You could hear rushing footsteps come up behind you before a hand gripped your ankle and yanked hard.
"Get back here." Her voice sounded too calm for the situation, almost like she teetered on the verge of a psychopathic break. You lost your grip with the pull from her and fell, knocking her down with you. Having your breath knocked out of you hurts more than people let on. While you struggled to catch your breath and get back up, Yelena was already on her feet again. She grabbed you by the shirt collar and hauled you against the wall you fell off of.
"That was smooth, what you did there. You honestly didn't think that you'd get away with it did you?" In the distance, you could hear what sounded like people fighting. Moreso, Zeke and Eren and you genuinely hoped that Eren won. Anything was better than that monkey bastard winning. Between the yelling of people and the fighting going on in the distance, you heard an oddly familiar sound of gear whirring around near you. Yelena fished for something out of her back pocket, presumably to handcuff or sedate you with. A sudden whoosh alerted you to a figure dropping down behind her. You couldn't see the face for Yelena's tall stature, but the voice made you want to weep with joy.
"Let her go, Yelena." A blade you recognized as part of ODM gear snaked its way around her neck. She immediately halted in place. And laughed in that psychotic voice you had.
"I wasn't expecting someone to come rescue this... precious gem of our's." She crooned, "Especially not the Commander of the opposing military. How would our little deal work out when Zeke gets wind of this?"
"I honestly don't give a fuck what happens to it. As far as I'm concerned, the deal was off when y'all declared war." It shocked you to hear Erwin cuss. He pulled her away from you, allowing you to see him fully. Decked out in a black outfit with silver straps with the gear hanging from his lean hips. 'To all of the gods that I've learned about here in Marley, thank you for blessing me with this man.' He was incredibly attractive in this uniform and you were eager to get him out of it. You couldn't tell if you had issues breathing because of him or if you were still recovering from the fall.
"Let's get out of here." He barely glanced in your direction, but you could tell he was talking to the both of you. You followed him as he led the way out of the alley and handed her off to someone else, who handcuffed her. He didn't speak to you as you walked side by side, and you didn't mind it. You hadn't thought about what you wanted to say to him, if you had ever seen him again.
"Erwin, I -"
"Not now." He interrupted. He sounded angry, but also relieved and it broke your heart knowing that you did this to him. He led you to an airship that was already occupied by other scout members, including Levi who greeted you at the door.
"Hey, brat. Welcome back." You gave him a small smile, anxiety building in your stomach. Knowing you were going to have to have to talk to him at some point, you just hoped that it worked out for the better. Wanting to give him space to process everything, you took a seat in the very back of the ship, on the floor and out of the way of everyone, hoping to remain unseen.
The airship hummed to life and it jostled forward, indicating that you were up and moving. The crowd dispersed, breaking off into groups of two and three here and there. You could hear the conversations, but couldn't differentiate one from the next.
"Did we lose anyone?"
"How long will it take us to get back?"
"Too long, but at least we got them both."
"Both?"
"We lost four..."
"It's done."
And it was done, wasn't it? You were heading out of Marley and were finally out of the situation that you put you and Eren into. While you didn't feel safe just yet, you were glad that you made it out alive. 'Maybe things worked out for the best.' You got Warhammer and you hoped that Eren was still alive. Not only that, but Yelena was captured, which you hoped would benefit the Scouts and Paradis in whatever was planned.
Taking in the people that still lingered near you, you had Connie, Sasha, and Jean, who were already goofing off. Always happy. You could see Mikasa leaving, likely looking for Eren, if he was here. You wondered where Armin was. Tired but curious, you allowed yourself to get up and meander around the airship. It was smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside and it wasn't nearly as big as the one that you came over on when you first arrived at Marley.
Following the direction that Mikasa went, you passed by a few rooms looking for her. The first one was dark, but you could make out Yelena's shape laying on the bed. You didn't know if she was awake or not, but you didn't really care. The second and third ones were empty, and the fourth emit a light and voices. Inside was Mikasa and Eren, along with Levi, Erwin, and Zeke.
"Look who decided to join us." Zeke addressed you, but you paid no mind. "I enjoyed that little stunt you pulled."
"If she hadn't pulled it, you wouldn't be here right now." Levi interjected. "So, we should be thanking her."
"Why did you do it?" Zeke asked.
"You don't need to know." You didn't care to talk to him, so you turned your attention to the people you were interested in. In a lowered voice, you moved closer to Mikasa and Eren. "Where's Armin?"
"He-" Mikasa started, but Eren placed a hand on her elbow, making her stop talking. He all but glared at you. He had every right to hate you for what you did to him, but this made you worry. With his hair grown out, he looked like a completely different person.
"Sorry." Mikasa replied. You nodded in understanding, knowing that if he wasn't here, she probably would have told you. It wasn't that important anyways. You were sure to run into him eventually. You turned around and left, catching Erwin's gaze on the way out of the room. Deciding to move to one of the vacant rooms that you passed, you chose the one next to Yelena so that maybe you could sleep. Taking off your shoes and coat to get comfortable, the silence you wanted was broken.
"I wrote to you everyday, in hopes that you'd come back to me, sunflower." His voice was quiet and you hadn't noticed that he followed you.
"Erwin, I'm sorry. I wish I had a good enough excuse for what I did, but I don't. I didn't want to hurt you like this. I -" The door clicked behind him as he closed it. Closing the distance, he pressed his lips against yours delicately, as if he couldn't believe that you were there.
How could you have forgotten what the taste of lips did to you? He was so gentle, it made you want to cry. Wrapping your arms around his waist and breaking off the kiss to press yourself against him, you finally felt completely safe. 'This is what I was missing. I didn't want to go home, I wanted him.'
"I didn't know if you were real or not when I saw you. When you broke away from the crowd..." His voice cracked, "I thought you had died. They let me believe you were dead, even Eren. I was told what you did up until you got away from Zeke, but they let me believe that you died out there. I thought I lost you and I don't know if I should treat this as a fever dream right now or not. Are you real?"
"I am." His hands moved to your face as he turned your face to look up at him. He had tears in his eyes. Cupping his hand in yours, you gave him a small smile. His hands left your face and moved to your waist, picking you up and guiding you towards the bed. Without a word, you allowed yourself to sit on the edge of the bed and watched as you undid the belt around his waist. You pulled off your scratchy shirt before pulling down his pants, eagerly revealing him to you.
Not wasting any time, you took him into your mouth, eliciting a groan of relief as a response. Teasing his tip, you circled your tongue around his girth as you bobbed your head back and forth. He reached the back of your throat and it was tempting to take him all in. You quickened the pace and listened as his breathing sped up with it. Cupping him, you went down and took him all in. You stayed there, enjoying how he filled your mouth perfectly, the salty taste of him filling your senses. Still hard, he pulled away and kneeled down before you and took off the rest of both of your clothes.
"Lay back for me." Doing as you were told, you laid back and scooted yourself towards the edge of the bed, hoping to give him enough room to lay with you. Instead, he greeted you with his lips pressed against your thigh.
"That's my girl, already wet for me." With the same gentleness as the kiss, his tongue matched the warmth between your hips that wanted it. "How I've missed the taste of you," he whispered, making you clench up with nervous butterflies. Two fingers pushed themselves slowly into you while his breath and lips sucked and kissed at your clit, encouraging you until you felt like you would cum on his fingers.
"Cum for me, my sunflower. I want to taste every bit of you."
"Yes, commander." Not caring at how loud you were. Long overdue, you came at his command, coating his fingers in the clear liquid. He chuckled and licked his fingers clean. With a smile on his face, he lifted himself on top of you and moved your hips up to meet him. He slid his cock inside and you tightened around, turning Erwin's smile into parted lips.
Moving your hips in time with his, you wanted him to cum so badly. And it didn't take long, either. Gripping your hips, he pushed one last thrust into you and came. You didn't care that he came in you, especially not with the look of pleasure on his face. He let go of your hips and slowly pulled out of you. Not bothering to clean himself up, he flipped you over on top of him so that you were laying on his chest.
"I love you." You questioned if you heard him correctly.
"I love you more." Wrapping his arms around you, you fell asleep to the steady beating of his heart.
Safe. You were safe.