There were one main regret Erwin had in his life.
His children never called him father, or dad anymore. It was the painful truth that left Erwin in tears. Although they would occasionally call him father, some more than others, it still did not atone for the fact that he had more nicknames from his children than he had titles for his job.
The nicknames varied between Erwin, old man, annoying bastard, and just plain stupid.
However, Erwin liked to think that they were mere names of affection from his children as it was common for family members to give each other enduring names to show their love. Right?
It probably started with Levi as the eldest child was the first to stop calling him dad. It had then escalated to the others to the point that the word dad seemed foreign to them, and Erwin was left to regret his decision on not being more persistent.
His two eldest children, Levi and Hanji, were now eighteen while Annie was sixteen, and his younger children were fifteen. But, regardless of age, they should still call him dad, or at least give him a hug.
Even so, Erwin still had no doubts that his children spoke well of him when his back was turned. Or so he liked to believe because there was no doubts in his mind that his children loved him dearly.
The Smith family lived in a large mansion that resided on fifty acres of land, and it consisted of four main gardens, a center garden in the middle plaza, over twenty fountains, and the large building itself that could easily be mistaken for a castle.
There was a large number of staff and workers though none compared to the private military that the family owned. Erwin had demanded that guards be posted at all times, inside and outside of the mansion, for the sake of protecting not only his property, but also his children.
It was also Erwin's fear of the outside world hurting his family that caused Erwin to ensure with great precision that none, absolutely none, of his children were able to step one foot off of the Smith property. Although Erwin must admit that it may be the cause as to why they went through more personal tutors then he could count or even care to remember.
This one rule causing the children to have a limited world which also meant conversation spies.
Erwin had been walking down one of the many hallways when he spotted two of his children standing by one of the glass windows. They spoke in hushed voices, or at least one did.
"That's so awesome!" Hanji shouted happily while waving her arms around frantically in an erratic pattern.
"Shut up you shitty glasses!" Levi hissed angrily. "Do you want us to get caught?"
"Were you guys talking about me?" Erwin spoke loudly while trying to sling his arm over his son's shoulder.
Levi, although remaining indifferent on the outside, stiffened in slight panic. Hanji meanwhile let out a nervous laugh while trying to come up with an excuse, but before she could utter another sound Levi gave her a warning glare before speaking angrily.
"Of course not you annoying bastard!"
"Are you sure? I heard the word awesome," Erwin said with a bright smile.
Levi turned quickly, and in a flash his fist connected with the wall just centimeters away from where Erwin's head used to be.
Erwin, long used to this, did not even flinch or blink. Instead, he smiled and spoke out in a tone far to happy for someone that had just been attacked.
"It's okay to be shy Levi!"
Hanji resisted the urge to laugh as her elder brother began to crack his knuckles.
000
The children of Erwin Smith were currently bored. Biggest understatement of the year.
They were now indulging themselves in one of their favorite past time hobbies: searching for mistakes left by the maids. This actually being easier said then done.
For starters, the maids were immaculate with their work to the point of perfection, but this was the Smith household where Erwin held complete control over everything. This leaving no opportunity for mistakes least someone get fired.
For the children; however, this lead to a great game that as soon as they had created it, became boring.
"I think I see a speck of brown on the ceiling," Eren pointed out as he lay on his back on the tiled floor which was surprisingly comfy.
Jean scoffed, "That's the same speck I saw over two hours ago you idiot."
"Yeah right horseface. As if you could see that far," Eren spat back with equal hate.
Jean opened his mouth to retaliate but was immediately stopped by Mikasa. The girl merely sitting in between the two to stop the banter. However, Jean's short joy of happiness was stopped as Mikasa began speaking to Eren in a hushed tone. Something along the lines of 'he's a waste of your time.'
The seven children, although none blood related, were quite close. Mikasa especially with Eren as the two were found together abandoned on the streets with Armin, but Mikasa's protectiveness towards her younger brother also was aided by the fact that Eren was in a wheelchair.
The youngest of the seven children was born without the use of his legs, and although the children, for the most part ignored this, Armin couldn't help but notice Levi's look of pure guilt whenever the topic was brought up.
Regardless, Mikasa had become somewhat of a mother hen to Eren which annoyed the boy to no end as he complained fruitlessly to his younger sister.
Hanji smiled upon seeing her younger siblings before shouting out in a great boisterous laugh. "How about we play truth or dare!"
Levi, who was drinking a cup of tea at the time, spat it out in extreme haste before turning to glare angrily at Hanji.
"NO! Absolutely not."
Hanji pouted, though it only seemed to anger Levi even further.
"Why not?" she asked as it came out in a pleading whine.
"Do you remember the last time we played that?" Armin asked quietly as all of the children began to reflect on their previous game.
Hanji frowned, she had briefly remembered a section of the roof falling off, or was it the whole roof?
"But that was the fun part," she said with a smile.
Everyone sighed before Eren, craning his neck to look over Mikasa's shoulder, turned to Jean and said, "Are you sure you saw that speck before me?"
Jean smirked in victory, "I'll give you two guesses. Yes or no."
"Hmm …" Eren hummed softly, "I don't want to waste a guess."
The two began to angrily yell at each other once again as Annie merely watched with a small roll of her eyes.
"Tomorrow were going to try to leave, right?" Annie spoke in a monotone voice to everyone which caused a long pause of silence.
There was a sudden air of seriousness as the children glanced at each other. They loved their father, they truly did, but being trapped within their own house had left them all pent up for adventure, and with an overprotective father that wouldn't let them walk outside without guards left the children no choice but to escape.
"Yeah," Levi spoke calmly. "We'll plot our escape tomorrow."
AN- I just realized that the summary was wrong, so I had to correct it. If there are any problems, feel free to tell me, and I appreciate everyone that looked at this fanfiction because I know I stink at this. Sadly, I also fail at humor.
