Erwin's Family

The routine in the Smith household was strictly observed by both members of the apartment. It wasn't because of any rules or consequences that were enforced, but rather because both were creatures of habit. Erwin and his four year old son, Armin, found a sense of peace and closeness from their mutual, silently agreed upon routine.

It started at 6:15 am when Armin crawled into his Daddy's bed for some morning snuggles. Quietly he padded across the hall from his room to the open door of his father's. Daddy's door was always left open a crack as an invitation for Armin to come in whenever he needed to. His little hands gripped the sheets of the bed as he pulled himself up and carefully crawled over to his Daddy's sleeping form. Erwin always slept on his back, so Armin liked to curl up on his chest in the morning. After several moments, Erwin sighed and wrapped a warm arm around his son's tiny form.

"Good morning Daddy," Armin murmured.

In return came a low grunt that rumbled in Erwin's chest and a hand running through Armin's soft hair. Erwin was never quite able to form a more coherent response after just waking, but Armin didn't mind and curled closer to his father's touch and kissed his scraggily chin.

Armin seemed to intuitively know that his Daddy generally needed more prompting to get up and going than most people. Snuggles in bed were a pleasant method to start the day off and get Erwin moving. After a sufficient amount of cuddles and kisses, Erwin carried Armin to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Cereal or waffles?" Erwin asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Waffles please," Armin answered as he climbed onto his designated chair and settled on the table with a little cup of milk. The waffles were frozen of course; Erwin didn't have the time or desire to make anything in the morning. "Can I have them with jam and sugar, please?"

"Of course Armin," Erwin replied and prepared the freshly toasted waffles with strawberry jam and a dusting of powder sugar, the way his son liked them best.

"Thank you Daddy," Armin said when the plate was placed before him.

Erwin smiled and kissed the top of his head. He wasn't sure how his boy had turned out so sweet and well behaved, but he suspected it was inherited from Armin's mother. After all, his looks were all his father's, but Erwin could only see his late wife in his sweetness. Of course, there were other personality traits of Armin's that were clearly a reflection of his father, such as the way he always seemed to be able to get his way.

"Go get dressed and brush your teeth," Erwin instructed as Armin finished eating.

Like the obedient child he was, Armin nodded, slipped off the chair, and padded off to his room. It didn't take long for the boy to join Erwin in the bathroom that they shared; having traded his blue flannel pajamas for tan shorts and a teal polo (Armin had a great fondness for blues and purples). They stood on each side on the sink, Armin on a stepstool, both brushing their teeth and Armin carefully mirroring his father's movements. Next, Armin brushed his hair with delicate movements while Erwin shaved and styled his own blond mop.

"Daddy, help please," Armin whined softly with the brush tangled in a particularly large knot.

His hair was fine, silky, and was unfortunately prone to disastrous bed head. With a smirk, Erwin took the brush from the smaller hands and gently pulled the bristles through the knotted mess. Thanks to Hanji, Erwin knew how to start from bottom of the tangle and work his way up to ease the pain and reduce the amount of hair pulling (without their help, Erwin wouldn't know how to deal with Armin's longer locks).

"There, all done," Erwin stated with another kiss, before Armin hopped off the stool and started preparing himself for Hanji's arrival.

By the time 7:15 rolled around, the time that Hanji arrived, Armin was settled in the living room. His favorite doll sat in his lap as he brushed her hair (her name was Tricia and she wanted to be a scientist, but was still in school at the moment). There was also a stack of books he wanted to read with Hanji; the day's theme being marine biology. Then came a goodbye kiss from Dad, this time on the forehead and against Armin's pale bangs.

"Be good for Hanji," Erwin instructed, even though he knew it was unnecessary. Hanji and Armin absolutely adored each other and they had few problems babysitting.

"I will Daddy! Love you," Armin waved farewell, before being distracted by Hanji who was asking how Tricia was doing.

The two didn't see each other again until Erwin came back from work, right on time for dinner. Erwin had grown accustomed to being greeted at the door by Armin, who immediately began talking about everything he'd done that day.

"And then Hanji read that book about different sharks," Armin explained, following his Daddy from the front door, past Hanji preparing dinner in the kitchen, and into Daddy's room. "Did you know, there's a shark, I think it's called the macko-mak- mako shark, that can jump up to 24 feet in the air!"

"That's very interesting Armin," Erwin replied sincerely. He always tried to show interest in what Armin had to tell him. His boy had a curious mind and Erwin wanted to encourage that as much as possible. "Do you know where those kind of sharks live?" he asked as he shucked off his dress shoes and removed his tie.

The little blond head nodded quickly. "Yes! Hanji says they live in warm water. Like the gulf of Mexico," he answered with a little bob of his head.

Like a little chatty shadow, Armin followed his Daddy back into the kitchen where Hanji was pulling frozen lasagna out of the oven. Hanji never stayed for dinner, but always helped make it. They understood that dinner time was special for the father and son duo.

"Thank you Hanji, as always," Erwin thanked them as they prepared to leave.

Hanji waved a hand. "It's no problem. As always, Armin was a little angel."

Beside Erwin, Armin gripped his slacks and was beaming with pleasure. He loved getting compliments from Hanji.

"Thank you Hanji!" Armin parroted to them, waving goodbye. He giggled loudly when Hanji tickled his tummy in farewell.

Then with a kiss on Erwin's cheek goodbye, Hanji was gone and the boys sat down for their dinner. Dinner time was special for Armin. It was when he animatedly explained everything that he'd done throughout the day. It was the only time he had his father's complete and undivided attention. Whether it was telling Erwin about the books Hanji read to him or the problems Tricia was having with her friends, Erwin would listen with rapt attention.

"I think I like orcas better than dolphins," Armin explained. "They can eat sharks!"

"Really?"

"Yes. And they live in cold water," Armin continued. "Orcas also have pretty patterns on them, in black and white. That's why I like them best" Armin thoughtfully scooped a piece of lasagna and brought it to his mouth before he continued. "Then Hanji wanted to go to the park, but I said no."

This perked Erwin's interest. He'd learned very quickly that Armin wouldn't outright discuss his problems or insecurities. Perhaps Armin didn't want to appear weak before his father, or maybe he preferred to quietly hide away his problems rather than taking care of them outright. Either way, it was a concern of Erwin's. To combat this, he learned how to pick up on the small bits Armin would drop in the midst of the rest of the information he shared.

"Why didn't you want to go to the park?" Erwin asked casually.

"Because it was sunny out today," Armin answered, the reasoning behind his thinking being clear to him. He didn't look up from his dinner plate, a sign he didn't want to talk more on the subject.

"Why is sunny bad?" Erwin prodded, knowing that he'd struck something important.

With a little sigh, Armin answered. "Because when it's sunny those older boys are there," he explained, sounding a little exasperated. "And they say that girly things are dumb, which isn't true. Hanji and Daddy say so. And girly things are nicer anyway," he concluded with his face screwed up in a little frustrated frown. "But they don't listen to me."

When he finished Erwin nodded in understanding. "They aren't very nice, are they?"

"No, they aren't," Armin confirmed.

"That's too bad," Erwin lamented. "It's okay if you don't want to go to park, but let Hanji know when someone else isn't being nice to you, alright?"

Solemnly Armin nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

Quickly, Erwin redirected the conversation. "So, what did Tricia do today?"

After dinner and clean up, bedtime came quickly. Before bed, Armin would always change into is pajamas and then read a story with his Daddy before bed. He rested in his father's lap, leaning against the arm wrapped around him. The rumbling feeling from being against Daddy's chest was soothing to Armin and helped him relax for bedtime.

"Goodnight Armin," Erwin said as he tucked his little boy into bed. He ran his fingers through his hair and kissed his little nose. "Sleep tight."

As he pulled away, Armin's hand gripped his sleeve, holding him in place. This was a break in the routine. Patiently, Erwin looked at his son, saw the questioning look on his face, and waited for him to speak.

"Daddy," Armin began softly, "I know my Mommy's gone, but will I ever get a new one?"

Surprised by the question, Erwin pulled back a little, sitting up straight at the edge of Armin's bed. "Do you want a new Mommy?" he asked quietly.

"I think so," Armin said. "Hanji is almost like a Mommy. But they only stay during the day."

Erwin simply hummed in response. This was the touchy subject they never spoke of often. Of course, Armin understood that his mother had passed away when he was a baby and he'd never seemed to be very upset by that. On the same token, however, it brought the core reason for the father and son's routine into focus.

With the strict keeping of routine, Erwin and Armin had something that kept them together and halfheartedly filled that empty part of their lives. Despite how much Erwin loved his sweet little Armin, they never had enough time. Even though it had been three years since Marie's passing, her absence was strongly felt by Erwin. Armin was too young to remember her, but he still felt the absence of another parental figure. As he had said, Hanji was close, but not quite enough.

Erwin would always be grateful for their help in looking after Armin. The arrangement had started as a temporary one, when Erwin was so low in grief that he could barely look after himself let alone a one year old child. Before things had fallen apart, Hanji, one of Erwin's dear friends from university, stepped in and offered help. Things had certainly gotten better since then, but it didn't change the fact that Armin was asking Erwin this question now. A slow feeling of guilt settled into his stomach. Somewhere he was failing.

"Well, honey," Erwin began. "We'll just have to do our best without a Mommy. Is that okay?"

Armin nodded sleepily. "Yah, it's okay Daddy."

"Then goodnight," Erwin said, giving Armin's hand a comforting pat.

"Night Daddy," Armin said as Erwin got up and turned off the lights.

From the doorway, Erwin watched Armin curl up on his side and drift to sleep. To any outside observer, their family and its routine was nearly perfect. But Erwin knew that despite how much he tried, things weren't quite working. There was something that needed to change and Erwin wasn't sure getting married was really what needed to happen.

He and Armin could figure it out, though.


AN: Hello dears!

Really, this is going to be so tooth rottingly fluffy. There will be a plot, however. So stayed tuned for whenever it decides to appear.

Love,

Allie