A ringing in her ears was all _ could hear as she stared at the letter in her hands. Her wide (e/c) eyes slowly rose to meet those of Commander Erwin Smith, who was not only her commanding officer, but her lover.

"_, what is this about," the blond man asked, confused as to what the letter contained, "Why is someone accusing you of lying to the military?"

Her voice wouldn't work and she looked to Captain Levi Ackerman and Section Commander Zoe Hanji for help. Her friends could only stare back at her, as they were just as confused as Erwin. _ swallowed hard and forced her voice to work.

"Because I did…." She managed out.

Erwin's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned as said, "What?"

"What could you have possibly lied about?" Levi asked, frowning as well.

_ rubbed her face in pained exasperation and choked back a sob.

"My name isn't Green," she rasped, sniffling, "It's Quade…."

The room fell silent for a moment before Hanji asked, "As in the Quade family from Wall Sina? The Military Police's largest benefactor?"

The young woman sighed and nodded, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Alright kid," Levi said, rubbing his temples, "You gotta explain yourself here."

_ took a deep breath and said, "I ran away when I was fourteen…. I managed to make my way to Wall Maria and joined the military. I knew that if I used my real name, they would find me, so I used a fake one."

"Why did you run away?" Erwin asked, concern in his voice.

_ sighed again and sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. The other three took seats as well and _ prepared to tell them the truth.

"My parents hate the Scouts. My eldest brother had joined the military when he was old enough and graduated top of his class, just like our father, and his father, and his father before him. He joined the Military Police like everyone in our family, but after a few years of doing nothing of service to humanity, he decided to transferred to the Scouts. My parents were furious; they practically disowned him. Then he… he didn't come back from his first expedition…. After that, the just stopped talking about him; acted like he never even existed. I was six when he joined the MPs, and ten when he joined the Scouts. My brother was my hero. He always did what was right, even if it meant he would get punished by our parents or his superior officers…. I wanted to be like him so badly, but my parents refused to let me join the military. Only the men in our family could join. The women stayed home; had children and did housework.

"Shortly before I turn fourteen, my father brought home one of the high-ranking officers in the MPs in our town. I thought we were entertaining him so that my father could get a promotion or something, and I was right, in a way. He had agreed to promote my father if they were to marry me off to him. And they agreed without hesitating. I didn't find out until a few weeks after my fourteenth birthday, and just a month before I was supposed to marry him. My parents didn't even tell me. They knew that I would fight it, so they planned to just force me into it the day of. I ran away the night I found out. I assumed a new last name, made my way to Shiganshina, and joined the military. You all know the rest…."

The three older soldiers stared at the young woman in shock, never having thought that the normally happy and cheerful girl had gone through such hardships.

"But how did they find out that you lied?" Hanji asked, frowning.

_ sighed again and said, "Remember the military gala last month? The one in Stohess?"

They nodded.

"The reason I was so upset about having to go was because I was afraid someone would recognize me," _ said, folding her hands in her lap, "I saw the man they tried to marry me to there. That's why I suddenly ran off that night. I had hoped that he hadn't seen me, but I guess he did."

Silence fell upon them once more and _ couldn't bring herself to look at her friends or her lover. She heard the sound of a chair scraping across the stone floor, and suddenly, the crystal blue eyes she loved so much were looking up into her own (e/c) eyes.

"We're going to figure this out," Erwin said, taking her hands, "We're not going to let anyone take you away from us, rules and regulations be damned."

_ tried to smile at him but the fear in her heart was too great. She knew that the MP had informed her parents of her whereabouts and that she would hear from them soon. Her lover and friends began to discus what they could do about her predicament, but she was too distracted by her own fearful thoughts that she didn't hear a word they said. Eventually the other two left and Erwin led _ to their shared room.

"_…." He called quietly, gently taking her face into his large hands.

She slowly dragged her dull eyes up to look at him and his heart nearly broke. He had never seen her look like this before. She had always been his sunshine, his light in the dark. She was the person to melt his frozen heart and show him that he could have love; that he deserved to be loved. And he treated her like a queen for it, so seeing her this way made him want to do anything to see her smile again. He pulled her to his chest and held her tightly, trying to convey to her that everything would be alright; that he would protect her no matter what.

"I love you _," he said, nosed buried in her (h/c) hair, "You are my angel and I will do whatever it takes to protect you."

"I love you too Erwin…." She whispered, burying her face into his chest.

They pulled apart a moment later and got ready for bed. They laid down in each other's arms and tried to sleep, both of them fighting their own brains. Eventually they succeeded and fell asleep, their grip on each other never giving way.

"_ Lilian Quade!"

_ froze as at the voice she hadn't heard in so long, but could never forget. She swallowed hard and slowly turned around to see her parents walking towards her with the MP officer. Erwin and Levi were nearby tending to their horses and heard the shout, turning in shock to see the three as well. They quickly dropped what they were doing and started to make their way to _ but weren't quick enough. The sound of flesh striking flesh echoed around the courtyard as _'s father slapped her across the face. Furious, Erwin sprinted forward and pulled the young woman back, away from her father, and stood protectively in front of her.

"You have no right to come into my headquarters and assault one of my solders!" He all-but roared, glaring at the older man.

Mr. Quade glared right back and spit, "She's my daughter, and I can do what I please with her! Especially punish her for running from her engagement, lying to the military, and embarrassing her family!"

Tears poured down _'s flushed face and she unconsciously gripped onto Erwin for support as her knees began to buckle. He tore his gaze away from her father and quickly caught her as she collapsed.

"_, are you alright?!" He asked in concern.

He slowly lowered them to the ground so that he was kneeling while cradling her in his arms. Levi came to a stop beside them and crouch to see what was going on. Once he saw that she was still conscious, but in such a state of shock that she was out of it, he stood and glared at her father.

"I don't give a damn who you are. You don't get to just waltz in here and slap one of our solders, even if she is your daughter." Levi seethed, pissed that the girl he saw as his little sister was being treated like this.

"And who are you two to speak to him like that?" The MP asked.

"I'm her captain," Levi said, glare nearly sharp enough to physically cut someone, "And he's her commander."

Erwin glared up at the two men and said, "I am the commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. As members of the Military Police, you should know how to respect your superiors, and your fellow soldiers."

"She's not even a real soldier," the MP said, laughing, "She lied on her enlistment paperwork."

"It's a technicality." Erwin growled.

"Paperwork doesn't make her a soldier," Levi said, moving to stand between his friends and the MP, "She went through her training and graduated first in her class. She came back alive from her first expedition, making her a true scout. She's survived thirteen expeditions since she joined, and has saved countless other scouts from being eaten alive by titans. I handpicked her for my Special Operations squad, meaning she's one of the best soldiers we have. Five years in the scouts and all she's done makes her a soldier."

The MP and Mr. Quade were speechless. Her mother on the other hand, wasn't impressed.

"She was supposed to marry him," Mrs. Quade said, pointing to the MP, "But she ran out on the engagement!"

"Because I was only fourteen years old," _ shouted, finally coming to her senses, "You wanted to marry me off to a man who was at least twice my age just so father could get a promotion! And you didn't even tell me!"

She shakily stood from Erwin's arms and glared at her parents. Erwin stood as well and put a hand on her shoulder, letting her know that he was there.

"I had no choice but to run away. I wanted to join the military, but you wouldn't let me. I wanted to be like Charlie! He was my hero and you threw him away after he died and acted like he never even existed! What else was I supposed to do?" _ said, chest heaving in anger.

Mr. Quade sneered and said, "Be a good little girl and do as you were told, that's what you were supposed to do!"

_ laughed dryly, shaking her head as she said, "Never."

The MP stepped forward and said, "Regardless of past issues, you're in quite a bit of trouble with Commander-in-Chief Zachly."

"That can be fixed," Erwin said, sounding confident, "I know how the man thinks. It won't be hard to convince him that she's vital to the good of humanity and to fix the paperwork."

The MP scowled and said, "Well that doesn't change the fact the she was engaged to me!"

Levi snorted and said, "She was a child. And even if she was old enough to marry, she did not give her consent to the engagement. And you're too late now. She's already engaged."

"To who?" Her father demanded.

"To me." Erwin said, pulling _ in close to his side.

She was a little shocked, since there had been no discussion of them being married in the three years they had been together, but she wasn't going to say anything. Not only would this hopefully deter her father and the MP, but she actually did want to marry Erwin. She swallowed hard again and looked at her father. Both he and the MP looked angry, but they weren't saying anything. Did they win?!

"This isn't the last you'll hear from us!" Mr. Quade shouted, face red with anger.

He turned and stomped away, Mrs. Quade and the MP following. When they were out of sight, _'s legs gave out again and Erwin caught her, pulling her against his chest. He looked down at her in concern as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"When did I agree to marry you?" She teased, breathless and smiling.

Erwin's concern gave way to a relieved smile and he rested his forehead against hers.

"Right now, hopefully," he said, looking into her eyes, "Will you marry me _ Lilian Quade?"

Tears rimmed her (e/c) eyes and she breathed, "Of course I will Erwin Smith."

His smile grew and he kissed her lovingly. She kissed him back and smiled when they separated.

"Are you two finished?" Levi asked, reminding them of his presence.

They both looked at him, letting out laughs at his unimpressed expression.

"Yeah, we're done." _ said, steadying on her feet again.

"For now." Erwin added, winking at his fiancée.

_ giggled and Levi rolled his eyes, turning to head back towards the building.

"Guess I should go tell shitty-glasses we're planning a wedding." He sighed, already getting a headache just thinking about the woman's shouts of excitement he'd likely be subjected to.

A few days after the incident in the courtyard, Erwin and Levi took _ to see Commander Zackly. He had indeed been informed of the false paperwork, but not the circumstances behind it. Once the young woman explained everything and Levi told the man about all she had done in her time with the Scouts, he easily agreed to pardon her and they fixed her paperwork. They headed back to the Survey Corps HQ and began to plan the wedding every scout was looking forward to.