A/N: Wrote this for a friend's birthday a while ago. It's basically just Erwin/Mike friendship.
He finds him on the edge of the roof.
The night sky stretches above them, an infinite expanse of deep blue dotted with pinpricks of light. Sometimes Mike wonders if the stars are shining in the sky or if the sky is simply littered with holes, letting whatever is beyond peek through, but that is usually only in his more fanciful moments—and now is not the time for those.
"You should sleep," he says. "You'll need rest for tomorrow."
Erwin does not look at him as Mike sits down on the edge of the roof as well, crossing his legs and watching the quiet stillness of the world beneath them. "It must be like this on top of the Wall," Erwin says. "Only everything below is free territory."
Free territory that humans could live in, if only there were no Titans around. Mike tries not to think of the giants he will inevitably face tomorrow and thinks of the wings emblazoned on his back instead, spread wide in a gesture of everything he believes in. He, Nile, and Erwin all ranked in the top ten; now he and Erwin will do everything they can in the fight for humanity's freedom.
Nile is not mentioned, but his presence still lingers. Erwin glances at the empty spot to his right before turning to Mike. "You're on the left flank."
Mike knows his friend well enough to know what he is thinking. "What would you do?"
Erwin's smile is a faint flicker across his face. "They've seen your reports, but they haven't seen you in action. Shadis will notice you eventually."
And you, Mike wants to say, but Erwin is looking back up into the sky again, his eyes far away, and Mike can tell he is no longer thinking about the upcoming expedition—their first—and formations and strategies or even Titans, but something far bigger and far deeper, something that began many years ago with a little boy's curiosity and tales not meant to be heard.
"The stars are bright tonight," Mike says.
He remembers looking at them outside his window as a little boy, through holes in the roof of a barn, a patch of night sky glittering within wooden beams and the strong scent of hay and manure. He remembers standing in the fields outside, watching the sun sink into the edge of the land, watching the oranges and yellows fade into indigo, and he remembers how small he would feel under all those eyes above.
"My mother always had nice stories about the stars." Erwin leans back to consider them. "Why they were there, what groupings of them meant… I never found her stories interesting enough to talk about. There were always other things."
Other, more real things—things that could only cause trouble. Mike thinks of his own hardworking parents for a moment, but he has heard Erwin's stories so many times now that he can only focus on the present as well. In a way, he is still a boy on a farm, staring up into the same sky that overlooks the entire world, from humans to Titans to the ocean somewhere far away, but now the fields are the outside lands, and he has much bigger pests than bugs to deal with.
"At least now we can do something about them," Mike says eventually.
It is peaceful a moment longer, two new recruits to the Scouting Legion sitting on the edge of the roof of their headquarters, contemplating the world around them. A mosquito buzzes in the night and without thinking, Mike slaps it. He can almost forget the third phantom presence by Erwin's side, the expedition coming tomorrow, their first and possibly their last, until Erwin stands suddenly in one fluid motion.
"You're right," Erwin says. Mike stands too and they consider the ground below from their new vantage point; everything seems just a little smaller, just a little dimmer. "We should rest."
He turns and walks away, but he clasps Mike's shoulder briefly as he passes. Mike watches his friend go and thinks of all the burdens Erwin has placed upon himself, and hopes when tomorrow comes, and all the days after that remain, they can share those burdens.
Mike is not surprised when he pushes open the door to Erwin's office only to find it empty. He simply closes it again and heads back outside.
Now that Erwin is commander of the entire Scouting Legion, there is always something requiring his attention in one way or another, but he still manages to find time to himself when he needs it. Tomorrow will be one of the most important days in the Scouting Legion's history, but tonight is still his.
"We're not as young as we used to be," Mike says when he finally pulls himself onto the edge of the roof, loosening a shingle in the process. The stars are not as bright as they are most nights, but the moon's glow illuminates the hint of a smile on Erwin's face.
"Still young enough," he says. "You're still an excellent fighter."
"And you're still too smart for your own good. Good thing for humanity though."
Mike says the words lightly, but he cannot help thinking of the first time he saw his friend, a skinny blue-eyed boy who had not lost all his baby fat yet, and he cannot help feeling a tinge of regret. He trusts Erwin and always will, but since Erwin became commander the burdens they have always shared have been falling more heavily on him, especially of late, and Mike does not know how to alleviate the weight—does not know how to make Erwin let him take some.
He does not say any of this though; Erwin already knows. They often joke that Erwin knows everything.
They do not say anything more; there is no need to. Erwin stares into the night sky a few minutes longer and Mike wonders what he sees.
"You should sleep," Erwin says at last. "You'll need rest for tomorrow."
Mike leaves him there, sitting on the edge of the roof, but not before turning and grasping his shoulder once in solidarity. Erwin nods in acknowledgment and Mike feels a bit more relieved; things may be different now, but as long as Erwin can still accept his friendship, he knows one way or another they will be alright.