Hey guys!

Hope all is going well for you. Alas, I am sick again – had to get Covid tested and still waiting for the results. Fingers crossed right? It's been a pretty miserable week, but I did want to take the time to upload this week as I know I skipped last week. Shoutout because so many of you guys have commented that there's no need to rush and that its okay to take the time I need, and seriously, you guys really are just the best. In real life I am very used to deadlines in my line of work, so it can be a bit odd to be reminded that its okay to slow down – but yeah, it's needed because I can get hyper focused on deadlines and the pressing need to wrap up this story that I've been writing for over two years now. So as I've said many times, but it stands to be repeated, I really have the best of followers and it's a joy to keep exploring this fandom together with you. We will of course get to the end here, and soon, but I promise I will not rush it or skip over sections just to force it to a close.

Enjoy this chapter, and have an awesome Sunday!

…

…

It was late into the evening, hours after the expedition had successfully come to an end that Petra had finally been able to take a few moments to catch her breath, because much like Erwin had said, the second the Expedition had ended and people began to give their reports, the raw data had been piling in like a tidal wave – accounts of what they had seen, what the land looked like, advantageous positions, landmarks they could reference – but at the same time, all the lost Scouts. Damaged materials. Loss of revenue. Who was dead, who was wounded, who was traumatized, and who needed medical attention versus who was already a lost cause, whether they had the resources to keep them comfortable, or if they'd even last through the night.

All of the data, no matter the sort, was being filtered in a chaotic sort of channel where leadership was working tirelessly to make sure everything, be it resources to eyewitness accounts to the Scouts themselves, had all been appropriately reviewed and accounted for.

When they had first returned back into the Walls and the Expedition was considered successfully completed, Erwin had directed Petra to work with Hanji's squad as an additional resource to help track and organize the initial onslaught of data, and the demanding job had been so busy as various teams came to give their reports, that Petra hadn't had even a single moment to think about her change of position or what her own squad might be up to.

For hours she had partnered with Hanji's team as they all worked at a frantic and desperate pace, making sure that all the materials were returned, people accounted for whether dead or alive, and that every scrap of data was tracked and organized accordingly for further review, come the time that they actually returned back to the Scout's Headquarters.

The hours passed by in a frazzled blur of shouting and pointing of directions, folders stacked haphazardly and ink flying onto the pages as the data was collected, but eventually, the initial reports finally seemed to stagnate and their time became less frantic as they finally reached a sort of lull. It was nearing sunset; Scouts were finally getting settled into their temporary camps, some habitually lining up for dinner as the night began to unwind, and only then did Petra give a long sigh, falling back into her chair and rubbing her eyes in complete exhaustion.

"You did well Petra, especially for a first timer."

From beside her, Hanji gave an exhale of her own and sat back into her chair as she pulled off her goggles and gave a tired smile, "The Expeditions are hard enough on the mind and body, but for groups like mine where we are more experimental and thrive on the numbers, the end of the Expedition is really where the hard work begins. Someone has to get all that data, and unfortunately just getting the data isn't even the half of it. I just want you to know that you were extremely helpful Petra. I know the Commander ordered you here, but even still, I really appreciate it. We all do."

Petra allowed her head to roll to one side over the back of the chair, trying not to give Hanji a look of sheer dread as a frown came across her face, "I'm happy to help but for the record, this is insane that you guys do this. And this is every Expedition, right? On my squad, Erwin usually has us transporting all the gas tanks and doing things more on the manual labor side of things until everything is put away and accounted for. This sort of work is so different though, and like you said someone has to get it, but still. Hanji, this is grueling. An hour in I wanted to throw in the towel, and I think that was five hours ago. I've been writing so much I think my hand is stuck in this claw sort of position and it hurts to make a fist."

"Tell me about it." Hanji gave a small chuckle, and she sat back upright in her chair and set her goggles onto the table so she could fix the hair out of her face, "None the less, this data is critical for the Scout's existence – if we can't prove we are beneficial for the government with data from the frontlines, we'll get disbanded. When an Expedition comes to an end, all the data has to come out somehow, and it's not exactly a system that can be automated. It's like this every time for my team and other members of leadership, but it can't be helped."

"And I take it we're not done, either."

A faint smile came to Hanji's face and she shook her head, "I'm afraid not. It's going to be a long night, but now that people aren't lined up as far as the eye can see, I do feel a break is in order because you're not the only one who's due for some fresh air. Between you and me, I've seriously had to pee for the last three hours."

Petra couldn't help the amused smile that pulled at her lips and Hanji stood up from the table, moving through the various stacks of chaotically arranged folders until she finally gave an 'Ah' and turned back to Petra, "One of the most important reports is the death count, which I do believe is ready for the Commander to review, now that the teams have come and gone. How about you take the report, stretch out your legs a little and get it into Erwin's hands? We've got a little bit more to see to before we break for the night, but it's a lot less hectic going forward. Catch your breath, clear your mind and come back here when you're ready. No rush, okay?"

Hanji handed her a manilla folder and Petra nodded in understanding, standing up from the table and stretching out her stiff limbs. She walked away from the tent she had been stationed at, looking around the area and only now able to ponder what had happened to her squad during the Expedition. She hadn't seen them during the operation of course, which made sense considering the Commander was always stationed at the center of the Scouts and the Elite Squad was usually at the very front as a first point of defense. Considering they had only finished scouting the perimeter when Erwin had removed her from her team, Petra had spent virtually the entire expedition by the Commander's side. While she knew it wasn't what the blonde had originally intended, even still the Expedition had been boring as hell.

Being in the center of the ranks, where the division as a whole weaved and fought Titans only as necessary – Petra hadn't even had to draw her blades even a single time. If anything, it was nothing more than a scenic horseback ride and she had felt endlessly frustrated, irritated that she had worked her ass off all summer, for this.

Even still, now that the Expedition was over and Petra got to experience what it was like on the other end of the spectrum – how busy leadership still was even after participating in an Expedition themselves, she found she wasn't nearly as frustrated as she had been at the start of her realignment. While unexpected, her skills had undeniably been put to good use in a different setting altogether, and she couldn't dismiss the role as a waste of her time because it was clear she had been desperately needed.

As she walked through the temporary campus towards the direction of Erwin's workstation, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her team. She knew it was unlikely that anything had happened – she knew the Titans posed little threat to someone like Levi and the squad as a whole, but even still, things could always take a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye and that no one, not even Squad Levi, was immune to sheer bad luck and unfortunate timing.

She had been hoping she'd see them make their way through the data team – that Levi or someone would have something to report – but as the hours went by without even a trace of her squad, she supposed it only made sense. In the previous Expeditions, Petra couldn't remember Levi having to go off and report in or anything of the sort because they were always put to work to secure and pack all their left-over materials. In some ways, it was simply just assumed that his squad was fine because since the squad's debut, they hadn't had even a single casualty.

She supposed there wasn't much to do about it. She had her own work to get done, she knew full well that her own squad was busy transporting who knows what across the campus – she'd run into them sooner or later and there was nothing to be done about it until then.

"Knock knock Commander," Petra announced her arrival as she came up to the large tent that comprised Erwin's temporary office, unzipping the entry way and stepping inside, "Pardon my intrusion but Hanji asked me to give this to you. It's the present death toll. I think we've gotten through all the impacted teams, so this should be fairly accurate."

Erwin was seated in a wooden folding chair that admittedly looked much too small under his massive frame, and the blonde looked up from his desk with a slow nod. He took the folder with a quiet thanks and began looking through it purposefully, "Eleven deaths, twenty-six injuries. That's certainly less than our normal toll of casualties, but I'm sure you noticed it was a rather quiet Expedition. It'll be hard to know if the data is a result of your specialized training, or the lack of Titans we encountered as a whole, but that's data we'll dive into a bit more deeply when we're back at headquarters."

Petra gave a nod and Erwin continued looking the report over, "Do you know how many are critically injured, out of those twenty-six?"

"I think about five or six, but don't quote me on that. Nanaba took charge for the detailed injury reports, and I think she's still adjusting the data as the doctors touch base with her."

"Understood, thank you Petra." Erwin set the folder down and looked at her more directly, "Well, working with Hanji's squad is certainly a far cry from your normal role; how did you take to it?"

Petra bit her lower lip in a moment of contemplation, not certain how she was supposed to respond, and after the silence thickened between them, eventually she looked up and watched him almost apologetically, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Erwin's eyebrows rose in surprise and he gave a slow nod, "Of course, Mrs. Ackerman."

She gave a relieved exhale and crossed her arms, "It was horrible! They are terribly short handed and you know it! Why haven't you hired more people onto Hanji's team, or even just assigned individuals like myself to help them out? I mean, we'll get the data organized, but the system is so inefficient, data comes from so many sources that it's an absolute cluster fuck; there are virtually no controls and with the fact that this data is vital to the Scout's successes in the future, I can't even fathom how you've allowed it to function this way for so long! The margin for error is astronomical, you'd have no way of knowing if data was missed, so much of the information is subjective to the individual recording it – I don't even have words for what I saw today and with how brilliant you are, I hold you accountable for all of it!"

At the end of her unexpected and surprisingly passionate tirade, Erwin found a smirk at his lips and he simply nodded toward her patiently, "Well I appreciate the feedback, Mrs. Ackerman. And I know it's easy to say, but trust me; I'm actively working on getting the right pieces in place. At the very least, it's gotten you more exposure to various fields that you might find yourself excelling in, and like you stated, I'm well aware that Hanji's division is painfully shorthanded during times like these. Unfortunately though, just because the need exists, doesn't mean I have the resources to fill it. I do the best with what I can, as I can. Has the rush slowed down at all yet?"

Petra took a collecting breath and nodded, "Yes, at least I think so. Most teams have given their reports as applicable, and Hanji's squad is taking a bit of a breather where she sent me here to drop that off to you. Honestly my mind is shot and I'm ready to call it a night, but I know full well that they still have a lot to do. Considering how much help I was during the Expedition itself; I'd like to make up for that deficit here so if it's all the same with you, I'll take my leave and get back to it."

Hearing this, Erwin gave a pleased nod, "Well feel free to work until it's out of your system; like you said they are shorthanded and could use your intellect. As always Mrs. Ackerman, I do appreciate your work ethic. Even if the Expedition didn't turn out how either of us would have predicted, even still you've found a way to be instrumental."

Petra wasn't sure what to say in response, and so she merely gave a polite tilt of her head, exiting out of his tent in the next moment and trying to force her mind to reset so she could prepare for another long stretch of mental demands as she worked with the Hanji Squad.

Much to her surprise, it wasn't even five steps outside of Erwin's tent that Petra caught sight of Eld, and her eyes widened at once as she scanned the area, seeing the various faces of her teammates walking together as they fulfilled their duties. Any previous thoughts she had regarding her upcoming tasks were lost to her at once; a tangible weight instantly lifted off her chest in overwhelming relief because as she looked them over, everyone seemed…just fine.

"Eld!" she called out, instantly moving through the various Scouts who were walking down the path, and the blonde's attention turned at once, a smile brightening his face as he recognized the source of the voice and he used his free hand to wave.

"Guys! Hey, it's Petra!"

Gunther and Oluo looked over toward the direction Eld was pointing, their expressions also brightening as they caught sight of her and called back, "Well now, look what the cat dragged in!" and "Here we are hauling gas tanks, and you're just out for a stroll. Getting lazy there, Angel!"

Petra had given a laugh, about to make some snappy retort, but the words died on her tongue outright because coming up behind Eld was none other than Levi himself. At first the Ackerman seemed confused by his team's sudden lack of forward progress, eventually following their gazes to see what the commotion was.

His expression changed at once as he caught sight of her, his stare heavy with guilt as he stood frozen in place for a moment. Petra mouthed a silent 'Hi' almost shyly, and Levi nodded back, setting the canisters he had been carrying down on the ground intentionally. He whispered something to Eld, and began making his way toward her with purpose.

Petra's feet were moving before her mind had even registered what she was doing, already attempting to meet him step for step, weaving in and out of the various Scouts as she worked to reach Levi. Once they finally met somewhere in the middle of the path, Petra had her hands resting over his shoulders, framing down his arms slightly as she looked him over in concern, then looked past him back towards her squad with wide eyes, "Captain – how are you? Is everyone okay? I mean it was just a glimpse but was Oluo limping just now? I know we always do a good job out there but is he okay? Did something happen? After I left, was everyone able to-"

"We're all fine, everyone's just fine. Oluo, when he caught you he rolled his ankle and…but we're fine." He cut her off in a whisper, and he shook his head and pulled her chin back so she was looking at him directly, his expression marred with obvious concern, "Petra I need to talk to you, now. About the Expedition? Look, I know that-"

"Petra." Erwin's voice suddenly came from just outside his tent, and their attentions both turned toward the Commander as Erwin walked toward them and continued seriously, "I don't recall granting you any free time with the Special Ops squad. Let them care for their responsibilities without interruption. You should all get back to work; the Hanji squad could use the help and Levi's squad already has tasks of their own to complete, as you are well aware."

Petra turned more toward Erwin, her mouth agape as she watched him in outright disbelief, "Commander, I've been worried sick about them! I just wanted to make sure that everyone is okay and-"

"And we can all see that they're alive and well, so you have your answer. Your personal business with Captain Levi will need to wait until further notice."

A sort of cough left her throat; her fingers tightening into Levi's jacket as she struggled to find her words. Feeling this and seeing the unwavering stare of the Commander, Levi gave a tense exhale through his nose. Though he was speaking to Petra, his attentions were focused onto Erwin as he watched him with a lingering, volatile stare, "It's fine, Petra. Do as he says."

Without another word, Levi shrugged out of her hold and walked back to the squad, leaving Petra standing alone with her mouth agape as she tried to come to terms with the situation. With a collecting breath and a click of her tongue, she looked back toward Erwin and mumbled a low, "As you wish, sir. I'll regroup with Hanji's squad as we discussed."

Erwin nodded simply, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes because if looks could kill, he would have died a thousand deaths between the two Ackermans who were simultaneously staring him down with barely restrained fury. "Thank you. Dinner will be served in a few hours. Once you've finished eating, please come meet with me, and we can talk then."

Petra gave a clipped nod, watching as her squad mates looked between Levi, herself and Erwin, then began moving down the road with purposefully casual expressions, as though they were once again unaware of the brewing storm resulting from the odd balance of power between the three of them.

Petra took a collecting breath and forced herself to give a respectful nod, "Yes, sir."

….

…

It was hours later that Petra found herself back in Erwin's office tent, and regardless the time that had passed, none the less she found that she was just as angry – hardly able to even muster up the decency to announce her arrival when she stormed into his tent.

"You are displeased with me." Erwin stated flatly as she walked further into the spacious area, and Petra set a collection of folders down on his desk with a barely restrained snap of her wrist, still saying nothing in actual response to him.

After a long silence between the two, Petra gave him a long, distrustful stare, and Erwin nodded toward her as if understanding her unspoken request, "Of course, you have permission to speak freely, Petra. What is bother-"

"He knows he messed up, and you're keeping me away from him as a punishment, to make him sweat it out and dwell on it for literal days!" Petra's words had come spilling out of her mouth like a tidal wave, and with a furious inhale, she gave him a dirty look and continued, "We won't be back to headquarters until the end of the week at best, and he's going to be completely miserable until then."

"Is that so bad?" the Commander responded simply, and at the sheer callousness of his words, Petra almost groaned.

"I don't understand you at all! Are you his friend, or aren't you? Why can't I see Levi? Why do you just want to make him miserable? Don't you have any compassion for him at all? You already humiliated him by publicly taking me off the squad to get your point across, so why do you insist on tormenting him even more?"

Erwin sighed and set the papers to one side, "Petra, I understand why you are upset and it's not that I'm trying to be cruel or be overly harsh on him for the mere sake of it. I know full well that his position is one of great difficulty, but instead of asking for help or handling the situation with even the slightest amount of grace, he instead negated all of his training in a way that exploited you and the squad. To be perfectly frank, I want him to sweat it out. I want him to have the time to think and reflect on the fact that he put his entire squad on the line because he let his emotions get in the way. I'm holding you back because if you go to him now, you'd only try to comfort him, and I simply can't allow him that luxury right now."

When Petra merely watched him in outrage, Erwin folded his hands and watched her expectantly, "Tell me something, are you planning on leaving him? Or pursuing a life that is lived apart from your Captain?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Well then he's going to have to learn how to balance his life in the military as well as his life with you alongside him, now isn't he?" He paused and watched her with a cold expression, "Or am I wrong?"

Petra scowled at Erwin and the Commander only shrugged at her open disdain, "Our roles in his life are different Petra. You encourage him, you console him and bring a softness to his life that he's desperately needed, but never been able to obtain until now. My role in his life is one of struggle – like you stated, I am his friend, but I'm also his boss. While Levi is a person, a human being with dreams and ambitions all his own, at the same time he is a tool that is uniquely available to the Scout Regiment alone. It is my job to ensure that all of our tools are used to their greatest capabilities, and in times like this, where the human element is interfering with his ability to succeed as Humanity's Strongest, it is my job to come in with a firm hand and ensure that the human element is dealt with so that his judgment calls remain calculated and decisive."

Erwin gave her a direct, flat stare, "When we return to Headquarters, addressing Captain Levi will be my highest priority. I intend on giving him a very direct conversation that with any luck, will make him feel even worse. After that, it is my intention to leave him be for a few days. He won't be called into meetings, I will have Eld lead the squad for basic drills-"

"You want to make him feel worse and then give him even more time to fester and beat himself up?" Petra spat back in sheer outrage, and Erwin smirked.

"Not at all. After that I intend to leave him alone, because I am in hopes that his wife will come in and help patch him up – something that would be very difficult to achieve if you and him were separated all the more. You'd like that, right? You know full well the type of man Levi is, and I'm sure your charms and encouraging words will do him wonders after being apart from you for so long."

"You're manipulating him, and you're using me as a pawn to get the behavior you want out of him." Petra stated lowly, in obvious disgust, and Erwin merely nodded as he looked across his desk, grabbing a stack of folders with a resigned sigh.

"I manipulate everyone, Petra; you, Hanji, the Scout Regiment, and yes, Levi too. You can call me a monster or hate me outright, but I shape people into survivors; into true warriors that can stand up to a threat like the Titans and somehow manage to come back alive. I suppose at the end of the day, I don't know any other way to fight these monsters, than to stoop down to their levels and become one myself. I do what gets results, and in this particular case, I have a rogue Captain who could have lost his entire team from a single bad judgement call. If allowing his guilt to eat him alive for a solid week ensures that I protect him and his squad in the future – one week of his temporary misery is more than worth it if it means I get to keep four elites alive. Actually, it's a small price to pay and I'd do it again gladly."

Petra couldn't quite find the words to disagree with him, and Erwin opened the first folder with a flick of his wrist, "On that note, for the remainder of the Expedition as we travel back to headquarters, you'll be staying with Hanji in her tent, instead of the one you were previously sharing with your Captain. I've already made arrangements for your things to be moved over, so whenever you have your work completed for the day, I expect you to retire there. I know you're not planning on it, but for the record, any attempts made to contact Captain Levi or your squad mates will be seen as direct insubordination."

At the harshness of his words and the little room that had been left with her to work with, Erwin looked up from his paperwork and paused, offering her a gentle, understanding smile, "I know how hard this is, for someone like yourself to just sit by and watch someone live in hurt and misery. For the record, I appreciate everything you do for the Captain, because while there are some things I can do for him as a friend, there are other areas of his life that I'm not exactly…interested in shall we say, so it's for the best that I allow his wife to see to those details that I myself would steer clear of."

"You mean sex?"

Petra's expression was just as guarded, though there was a note of smugness to her stare, and not offput nor taken aback by her directness, Erwin shrugged, inwardly amused at how easily Petra had spoken of such things because she was very different from her more reserved, guarded counterpart in ways that most wouldn't come to expect.

Not so long ago, Erwin had attempted to have a conversation with the Captain regarding the impending reality that was their steadily growing intimacy, but the Ackerman had been in such a strong state of denial that he almost entirely shut him down and wouldn't listen to reason. It was almost amusing, the fact that innocent Petra seemed to have more of a backbone, than the crass, outspoken Captain, who had in his words 'fucked' a lot of women, but had never actually experienced true intimacy with one before, until now.

Erwin's expression remained even and he continued, "Among other things. Between you and me, he's been a lot easier to manage this year – a few hiccups along the way resulting from the marriage – but all in all, his work is turned in on time, the data you were feeding him helped him organize more effective training, he's had virtually no violent outbursts-"

"And you think it's all my doing?"

"Do you have evidence that suggests otherwise? Simply put, your marriage license, for it being a simple piece of paper of course, seems to carry a hefty sort of weight to it - enough so that it changed two lives, when you were once so certain it would change neither."

Petra couldn't help the smirk that came to her lips, unable to hold onto her anger entirely and she crossed her arms in challenge, "You know Commander, it's a lot easier to sound intelligent like that, when the reality is that you're just speaking through hindsight."

Erwin's blue eyes glistened with sudden amusement as he watched her in challenge, "Hindsight? No, I'm afraid you're mistaken on that point Mrs. Ackerman. On the night he proposed to you, it was I who told Levi from that very first moment, when he cautiously mumbled out that he could just marry you, I told him that should he choose to walk down such a path with you, the relationship between you and him would not stay platonic."

"Right. And I suppose you warned him that I'd fall for him or something?" Petra responded simply, and Erwin looked up carefully, his blue eyes piercing into hers as he watched her in an almost confused sort of wonder.

"Oh not at all Mrs. Ackerman – while such a response from you was admittedly predictable, that night my priority was to inform him that in such a setting, he would develop feelings for you."

When Petra was successfully stunned into silence, Erwin shrugged passively, "Of course he didn't believe me, and in some ways I think part of his motive to see it through was simply to prove to himself how wrong I was because he…"

Erwin paused as though collecting his thoughts and he eventually shook his head after a deep sigh, "It may not show outwardly, but no doubt you're aware that Levi's been deeply hurt by loss. In some ways, I believe that his gut level reaction to the grief he's experienced, was to internalize the trauma and intentionally close himself off from building any bonds that had true depth. Levi Ackerman, for as long as I've known him, has never lived a charmed life. He was born a prodigy, and yet his days are marked with discrimination, distrust, loss – some of its self-inflicted but on the whole, he tends to get the short end of the stick more often than not. It's a shame, because yes he has a dark past and a list of crimes that would make the average civilian stutter, but even still, he's put in more than enough time to prove himself honorable for the cause of humanity."

Erwin took another breath and looked towards her with a nod, "So that's why, when Levi said he would marry you – what can I say, I was truly happy for him. As much as he wanted to suppress it, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to reject your affection because he had been denying his need for connection for far too long, and what's more, you have a certain persistence about you that turns the tides in your favor more often than not. I knew from the start that it was only a matter of time until his reluctance gave way to your charm. He's an easy-going man in some ways, and with the way you trust him and the way you selflessly prioritize his needs above your own – well, let's just say I knew full well it wouldn't be long until you had him pursuing after you, even if he wasn't consciously aware he was doing so. Admittedly, it's been fascinating to watch, especially during these last few months. You have…both grown to care very deeply for each other, yes?"

Petra couldn't help but stare at Erwin in wonder, suddenly crossing her arms self-consciously as she gave him a mystified nod, her mouth all but hanging open after hearing his summation. To hear Erwin speak freely, to hear how easily he had foreseen the outcome with a single passing glance; she felt somehow very naked and exposed to the blonde intellect sitting behind the desk, and she found a new understanding as to why Levi had complained on more than one occasion that he just wished Erwin would be wrong for once, because even now, the blonde's knowing stare was completely unnerving, regardless the fact his expression was casual at best.

As if able to read her mind, Erwin gave the smallest, almost untraceable smirk and cleared his throat as he grabbed a paper off his desk lightly, "In any event, I know it may not look like it, but to reiterate the answer to your previous question – I am his friend. I hope the best for him and support him and play my part to watch his back come the times that he doesn't know how. Sometimes, that comes across in strange ways I admit but…I am his ally." Erwin gave a half smile as he looked over the edge of the paper purposefully, "Yours too now, Mrs. Ackerman."

A long silence fell over the room as the Commander continued reading the report he had grabbed, and eventually Petra sighed, admittedly irritated because without her consent or knowledge, she suddenly found she simply wasn't mad anymore.

She looked toward the man and cleared her throat, "I'm not sure what else to say, but for the most part, I get it. I don't like it of course but…" she trailed off for a few moments and eventually sighed, "I think I'll just take my leave for the night, if that's okay with you. Perhaps I shouldn't be asking this but…Hanji – does she snore?"

Erwin's expression fell to something more amused, because there were times that he forgot that Petra knew about his little secret, and he eventually shook his head as he set the paper down on his desk and tried to pick his words carefully, "She doesn't snore, but she tends to talk in her sleep. Usually about very odd, sometimes disturbing things. I'd recommend using ear plugs, unless you want to be kept up by her latest theories regarding the Titans, the apparently concerning population of feral cats in the streets, as well as why meatloaf is apparently an unsuitable meal for mankind."

Petra blinked, and Erwin returned back to his reports with a chuckle, "Best of luck to you, Mrs. Ackerman."

…

End of Chapter

…

Yes, it's been commented by myself and you guys as well – but where would this story be without the very needed 'side' characters – and I put quotations on that because I can't rightly claim they are side cast at all when it comes to this piece. Eld is a course a personal favorite of mine because he has this casual mannerism to him but he's a bit of a mischief maker, so there's that added bonus of shenanniganizing when Eld is around, but Erwin is also a repeated plot driver because….Erwin.

I find that as a human being (INTJ here) it's easy for me to write as Levi because there are many facets of his canon personality that are similar to that of my own, but there is something so refreshing when I get to write as Erwin who just owns his intelligence, owns his decisions through hell and high water, and knows that even if it's brutal or blood thirsty or outright 'betrayal', SOMEONE has to make that judgement call and he knows that he's rarely incorrect. Mad respect for Erwin, because those sorts of people are rare and are often powerful in their respective timelines. In that sense, he's a breath of fresh air from Levi – who is often second guessing his decisions and lives in retrospect as he tries to mentally justify his decisions.

I'll cut if off there – I can tell I'm a bit more abstract than normal today and we'll blame that on the being sick. I'm hoping that I kick this bug quickly, so if the material presents itself, I'll update on Sunday. If not, that's what that good old follow button is for. Thanks for your patience and support guys! See you soon and Happy New Year!

~Mid