It was Friday evening and Erwin was grading his student's papers, but he was distracted. Levi ha consumed his mind.
It had been a month since they laid Isabel and Mrs. Church to rest. Farlan had been discharged from the mental hospital, and while he hadn't self harmed, he was still quite an emotional wreck. Levi volunteered to keep an eye on Farlan; he moved into Farlan's house, kept him company and made sure he didn't hurt himself. However, Levi's doting meant that he was largely missing from Erwin's life. Erwin hadn't seen his brother since they had gone bowling three weeks ago.
Sied iher das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!
Erwin groaned, annoyed his cellphone was ringing. When he first heard the song, he was smitten, but now he associates the song with stress and distraction. After all, he was almost finished grading! He pops his flip phone open, having not bothered to check his caller I.D.
"I'm not interested in what you're selling!" Erwin shouted into his phone.
"Wow, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Mike said. "How are you?"
"Oh sorry, I didn't check for your name," Erwin apologizes. "I'll be fine once I'm finished grading. Is it possible I could call you back? I'm not in the mood to be distracted."
"Well..."
"What?"
"You may have to pack up those papers and come outside," Mike said timidly.
"What?" Erwin stood up and glanced out of his window. Sure enough, Mike was standing outside, leaning against his car. He could see two people sitting in the backseat. "What the hell, man? I don't remember talking about taking a trip with you!"
"This was a kinda last minute thing," Mike said apologetically. "It's about Cecily."
"Oh! This was her idea?" Erwin rolled his eyes. "Makes sense."
"Listen, just come on down with a pair of clean underwear. I promise to have you home by Sunday," Mike said, flustered.
"Fine. Give me five minutes."
When Erwin stepped outside (with a fresh pair of tidy whiteys in his pants pocket), he saw that the two people sitting in the backseat were Cecily and Nile. He found himself grateful that he didn't have to sit in the back with them. If this was going to be an overnight ride, Erwin didn't want Cecily drooling on his shoulder or hear Nile mumbling in his sleep.
"Glad you could join us." Nile said as soon as Erwin got in the car. "I thought you'd be too engrossed in your work to give us the time of the day."
He gave his friend a quick smile. Cecily was being oddly quiet. In the midst of this tragedy, had she decided it was best to become mute as well? Erwin was used to Levi's brooding, solemn silence, but not hers. Before he could ask anything, Mike started the car and the ride began. Other than the radio playing soft classical music, everyone was quiet.
After they'd been driving for twenty minutes or so, Erwin breaks the silence.
"Guys, this is turning out to be a sorry excuse for a road trip. If I wanted peace and quiet I would have stayed home." Erwin said to lighten the mood. "Why is everyone so grim?"
"Cecily." Mike said. He never takes his eyes off the road. "You've got to tell him."
"We're driving to Hoover City." Cecily whispered apprehensively.
"What? That's a four hour drive! Why are we headed there?"
"Allow me," Nile said excitedly. "Cecily is too nervous to talk. So, you all know about my parents connections right?"
"Yes." Erwin played along.
"Well...they really adore my Lion Girl and my mother has gotten quite passionate about uncovering the truth of her origin."
"You let Mrs. Dawk read your letter?" Erwin whipped his head around, his neck cracked.
Cecily nods.
"I thought you said you'd burn it!" Erwin eyes are wide with disbelief. "You wouldn't even let Aunt Desmonia read it!"
Cecily grimaced instead of retorting. Erwin's knotted his eyebrows in confusion. Although it was dark, Erwin could see that Cecily's color was pale and she had bags under her eyes. Perhaps she'd gotten so nervous that she was ill. She certainly looked on the sickly side. Erwin decided against teasing her further.
"Go on, Nile." Mike commanded. "Finish what you were saying."
"My mother, secretly, had dedicated the last four years to find Cecily's aunts," Nile said happily. "It is hard to keep track of women, you know? They get married and their last names change, but something happened recently. Cecily's aunt, Cadence, suddenly changed her last name back to Davenport. I'm guessing she got divorced, but nonetheless, it was a blessing. My mother got in contact with Cadence and they've been talking. She was more than happy to hear about Cecily's existence and arranged for us to meet. My mother surprised us with this news right before we came to pick you up. That's why everyone's acting so weird."
"I wasn't keen on finding them," Cecily said solemnly. "But when Mrs. Dawk told me that my aunt...my real family...was dying to meet me...I couldn't stop crying. I thought I was stronger. I thought I didn't need them, but they want me. They want to make up for lost time. In four hours, I'm going to fill the void in my heart."
"It's great timing too," Nile said mysteriously.
"We're all nervous. I'm a bit envious," Mike admitted. "However, I'm also overjoyed. That's why you're here on on an impromptu road tripe, Erwin. We couldn't take this trip without you. Or Levi, for that matter, but when we tried to call him, he never answered his phone."
Erwin stammered. "I-I don't know what to say."
"Then shut up," Cecily snarled playfully. "and enjoy the ride."
"There's the Cecily we know," Mike smirked.
When they arrived at Hoover City, it was ten pm and they were not only nervous but tired. Nile had fallen asleep shortly after he told Erwin the reason for their trip, but Cecily and Erwin tried to fight slumber. Mike, the driver, found it even harder to stay awake, and so Erwin had to take over. By the time they pulled up in front of Cadence's small brick house, they all were in need of rest, but it wasn't meant to be. As Erwin turned off the ignition, the front door to the brick house opened and a petite, blonde-haired girl came dashing out. She was wearing a thin nightshirt, loose pajama bottoms and she had tied her hair up for the night, but her face beamed bright with joy.
"You're here!" She shrieked as she enveloped Cecily in a tight hug. "You're here! You're here! You've brought quite the entourage."
Nile sleepily asked, "And you are?"
"I'm Hera!" Hera replied gayly. "And you are?"
"He's Nile," Cecily gently wiggles out of Hera's grasp. "He's my boyfriend," she paused to point at Mike and Erwin, "These two are my adoptive brothers. The tallest one is Mike and the cute one is Erwin."
"Hey!" Mike yelped. Erwin couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I disagree with you," Hera said honestly. "Mike is way cuter. The beard shapes his face."
"Haha! You're a riot!" Nile laughed.
"Grab your bags and come on in, all!" Hera said as she ran inside the house. "My mom is asleep on the couch, so please watch your step and come in quietly."
The inside of the home was full of pretty nick knacks and that were covered in thick layers of dust. The house smelled of apples and clean linen. The living room was tiny, only containing a small couch and a rocking chair. The dining room table had two chairs, and the kitchen was so small that you could barely turn around in it. Try as they might not to make a sound, the floor boards creaked as they walked through the narrow hall. Hera stopped them to open one door and gestured for them to take a peak. There was a frail woman snoring on a twin mattress.
"That's my Mom." Hera whispered. "She can't stay up as long as I can. She's got health issues, but she'll be up in the morning making blueberry pancakes."
She then led them to another room and opened the door. This room was clearly a room meant for a teenage girl as there were posters of boy bands and magazines everywhere. Erwin looked up and noticed that there was a dark patch on the ceiling and it looked as if a leak was going to start. The bed in this room was also tiny and the floors were made from hardwood instead of carpet. Hera gave them all an apologetic look.
"This is where you'll be staying tonight. If we knew there'd be four of you instead of two, we would have made better arrangements." Hera said quietly, quickly. "Go on in, and I'll be back with blankets and some of Pop-Pop's old t-shirts. It doesn't look like any of you all brought any bags."
"We were told to pack light," Cecily said humbly. "We didn't want to bring too many things."
"Oh, Cousin Cecile," Hera said seriously. "There is always enough room for you."
With that, Hera left them and they all stood together mystified.
"That was one hell of a meeting," Mike said with a chuckle. "These are definitely your people, sis."
Cecily attempted to smile, but Erwin noticed that she only looked greener.
"Are you okay?" Erwin asked. "You look like you're going to throw up."
"I'm fine," Cecily snapped.
"I don't know, Lion Girl." Nile said, suddenly bright eyed and awake. "You've been saying your fine for the last week now. Maybe Erwin's onto something. Why don't we sit you down?"
Before he could grab her shoulder, Cecily recoiled from his touch and stomped to the bed and angrily flopped down on it. Mike shook his head, but Erwin and Nile went to her side. Nile put his palm on her forehead.
"You don't have a fever." Nile said.
"I'm not sick." Cecily said, flustered. "Don't patronize me. I'm just nervous. It's an upset stomach."
"This is more than nervous," Erwin muttered.
"Yeah," Nile agreed. "When we're done here, I'm taking you to the doctor."
"Like hell," Cecily frowned. "It's nothing more than an upset stomach. Maybe, I've got a bug is all. Everyone is over reacting."
Hera knocked on the door and they all went silent. She came in holding several blankets in her skinny, out-stretched arms. Mike and Erwin gently took them from her and started to place them on the creaking, cold, hardwood floor. Hera again apologized, told them where the restroom was and asked them not to shower until morning. Cecily asked her where she was going to sleep and Hera's reply was she'd sleep on the tiny couch in the living room. With that, she left them.
"I'm sleeping on the floor," Nile said firmly.
"Why?" Erwin and Mike asked simultaneously. Cecily gave him a sheepish look.
"Because she's sick and I don't want to catch what she has," Nile explained. "Besides, this bed is too little for two people. It's only fair Cecily gets to sleep in it. I don't want her waking up with a crooked neck because she couldn't get in a comfortable position."
"The ever doting boyfriend," Erwin said sweetly. "Fine. Let's sleep now. Something tells me we have a long day ahead of us."
"Agreed." Mike said.
Erwin woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes. He slowly shifted position on the hard floor and noticed that his neck had been bent at a strange angle. He groaned, lifted his head and opened his eyes and saw that he was in a teenage girl's room. He blinked in alarm, having forgotten he was in Hoover City and had spent the night in Cecily's cousin's room. Erwin looked about himself and discovered that he had been abandoned by his friends. He glanced at his watch and cursed at how late he had slept in. Why hadn't Mike or Nile woke him up?
He groggily arose from his makeshift sleeping spot and tentatively stepped out of the room. The pancake smell enveloped him then and he eagerly stepped into the dining room. Instead of finding Cecily, Nile and Mike seated at the table, the only person in the dining room was Cecily's aunt.
"Oh," she said demurely. She held a plate in her hand, and Erwin noticed that it trembled in her hands. "I didn't see you there, Blondie-boy."
"I'm sorry I missed breakfast," Erwin apologized awkwardly.
"It's fine," Cadence said with a small smile. "They told me you wouldn't budge. The flat faced one said that you don't sleep as well as you'd like because you were up grading papers. Now that I'm getting a good look at you, I would never have expected a fine young man like you to settle for teaching. Modeling, maybe, but teaching? That's something I never would have guessed."
"Yeah," Erwin averted his gaze, truly embarrassed. "It's my passion."
He was trying not to stare. It was weird seeing Cecily's blood relative. Last night, Hera was so full of energy that she didn't stay still enough for him to get a good look at her face. Cadence, however, reminded him of Cecily. Both of them had the same devilish twinkle in their bright blue eyes and smirks that dared you to challenge them. Their only difference was their age and hair color, as Cadence's hair was completely white and she was frail and thin--Erwin deduced that she's suffering from some ailment.
"Well, what are you waiting for, blondie-boy? Why don't you help me clean up this mess?" Cadence said with a smirk. "You're going to have to earn your breakfast. I saved you some pancakes."
"Oh, yeah. I can help." Erwin said as he started to clear off the table. "Uh, where are Cecily and the gang?"
"My eager McBeaver niece has taken them to the park," Cadence said humorlessly. "I had asked her not to do that, but what can I do? I'm too sick to enforce my rules. Hera's going to give Cecily a tour of the place her parents went."
"Hera is your niece?" Erwin blinked in bewilderment. "How does she know where Cecily's parents went on dates?"
"Yes, Hera and Cecily are my nieces," Cadence says nonchalantly. "Out of the three of us, I was the only one who decided against having children in favor of pursuing a law career. Carlisle liked living an unstable life, while Caroline thought she was destined to become a wife and mother. I was the only one with dreams...Hera knows so much because her mother was very close with our brother. Carlisle told Caroline everything, and before she passed, Caroline told Hera everything. The eager Beaver knows a hell of a lot more than me about what transpired between my brother and Cecily's mother. Come on, let's take these to the sink."
"No, you sit," Erwin commanded gently. "I wash these up for you."
"Well, there's an authority in your tone I didn't expect. Perhaps you were destined to be a teacher," Cadence said as she sat down in the creaking chair. "Tell me, Blondie-boy, do you have someone you love in your life?"
"Pardon?"
"Is there someone you've got waiting for you when you get back?"
Erwin immediately thought of Levi and said, "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," she said seriously. "Don't you ever let them go. Make sure you tell them you love them, all the time, anywhere. Treasure them, Blondie-boy. You never know when your time will be upon you. I'm glad I got to meet you, Cecily and those other two before my time was up."
"If you don't mind my asking--"
"It's Mesothelioma," Cadence interrupted. "I was working in a law firm with asbestos for years. No amount of suing is going to keep me alive, but I have no regrets. Only concerns. Cecily's beau's mother is going to take Hera in after I die. That way the two of them can live on and live happily together."
"Cecily's always said she wanted to be surrounded by her real family members," Erwin said thoughtfully.
"I don't know much about her, but I knew my brother. Carlisle always said coy shit. He had a slick mouth and a taste for competition, but it was only way he could express himself after our dad got killed in a car accident," Cadence said in a sober tone. "Being rude and mean was the only way he could keep himself from crying, and I guess it passed down to his daughter."
"She's been snarky and competitive since our days at the orphanage."
"Then she's always had a hole in her heart," Cadence shakes her head. "That poor girl. I bet she still struggles to keep her tears at bay. She was probably confused when her mother sent her to the orphanage. I can't imagine how she felt when she realized her mother was never coming back. It's all Carlisle's fault. He had no business messing around with a married woman. He had no business messing around with Marley Hoover--"
Erwin dropped the plate in the sink. "That was Cecily's mother's name?"
"According to Caroline," Cadence shrugged. "I believe it, though. Mrs. Hoover is tamed now a days, but twenty years ago, she was wild. Miserable. I couldn't understand it; I couldn't understand her. She was married to one of the richest bureaucrats in the state of Paradis, but she risked everything to be with my brother. She gave Cecily up, moved on with her life and even had a proper Hoover heir--a son named Bertoldt."
"Bertoldt Hoover," Erwin muttered to himself. He had remembered reading that name when he was an intern with Keith Shadis. That name appeared on list of people who'd be the first to try the Titan Serum. "Uh...Cecily's mother didn't identify herself in the letter she wrote. She wrote that she felt it'd be dangerous for Cecily to try to contact her, considering she felt her husband had Carlisle killed."
Cadence was quiet for a moment. "Then try to forgot I mentioned her name. I don't know if Marley Hoover is Cecily's real mother...only Carlisle knows the real answer and he's not here. Because of her, he'll never be here to answer that question."
At that exact moment, Hera burst through the front door. Hera had bright brown eyes and round cheeks--a face totally different from Cecily's. In followed Mike, then Nile and then Cecily, whom still looked green but she had a large grin on her face. Cadence offered them all a wide smile.
"Did you enjoy the tour?"
"Yes." Cecily said. "Yes. It was amazing. Hera took us to Zeke Fountain and Marley Park. She said those were the two places my parents went the most on their trysts. I felt connected to them. I felt like a fly on the wall. I feel more complete than I ever have in my entire life!"
"Great," Cadence coughed. "Because I have a lot to tell you."
"It's going to have to wait," Mike said devilishly and pointed at Nile.
Nile proceeded to get on one knee. Cecily narrowed her eyes in confusion. Hera's mouth dropped open. Cadence, shocked, stood up. Erwin's eye went wide with disbelief. Mike had a large grin on his face, while Nile looked completely serious.
"What are you doing? Get up!" Cecily's facial expression was a cross between annoyance and joy.
"Will you marry me, Cecily?" Nile asked, tone firm. "I've been meaning to ask you, but I wanted to ask when I felt the time was right. You are surrounded by your loved ones. Some of your family are here to bear witness. Please, say yes, Cecily. I've already asked Harold for the blessing and he has agreed," he opened the ring container to reveal a small, but breathtakingly shiny engagement ring. "Will you marry me?"
Cecily was silent.
Everyone was silent.
Erwin could hear a pin drop.
But then something remarkable happened. Cecily hunched over and threw up in front of Nile.
"Oh my god," Cadence said with amusement. "You're pregnant, Cecile."