Right, so, I figured we could go for some prequels now. I reread this story last week before I updated, and I figured there was much that could be added to Casual Affair and The Baby. So yeah, things are gonna be out of order now, but I'll let you know where each piece takes place. Buckle up and let's go!
Enjoy!
Casual Affair (Office!AU): The Beggining, Devil Of A Boss, Cancelled Plans, Confessions
The Baby: Silence, Assurances, Truth
Icaurus: Found, Awake
X: Casual Affair
IV: The Beginning
Mikasa nods to the elderly man standing guard inside the doors of the building, throwing a small, polite smile his way as she walks past, heels clicking lightly on the polished floors of the entrance hall. She fingers the documents in her hands, thinking over her schedule for the day. Her paperwork is nearly done and she promised Eren she will help him, along with Armin, catch up on his work, then they are going to have lunch together, and in the afternoon, she will most likely review a few contracts in her table before turning them in to her superior.
Approaching the elevator, a freckled man with dark hair standing outside allows her in first with an exaggerated flourish, causing the other man accompanying him to laugh loudly as he clutches his stomach. Thanking them after shaking her head, she steps inside and stands by the corner to give them space. They introduce themselves as Jean and Marco. Jean is the one who laughed, with lighter hair and bright caramel eyes; Marco has one of the gentlest gaze she had ever seen, and also the friendliest of smiles. Marco explains that they have been working there for only a few weeks (she remembers seeing them in the print/copy room), but that they have known each other for too many years, and Jean asks for her floor after he presses the designated button for theirs.
The doors begin to slide closed, but Marco places his hand between them when he spots a figure rushing in their direction. With the passage clear once again, the person steps inside, and they immediately recognize them as Hange Zoe, in charge of closely assisting the president of the company, Erwin Smith. Hange greets them enthusiastically, and they greet back in varying tones of hesitancy and politeness. They go up the first two floors shrouded in awkward silence, none really knowing how to act now that someone so important was breathing the same air in the elevator, though Mikasa manages to hide well whatever feelings she might be feeling.
It is not until they make it past the third floor that Hange turns around, smartphone in hand, and breaks the quiet atmosphere. "You're Mikasa Ackerman, right?"
Blinking her eyes and focusing her gaze on the person facing her, Mikasa squares her shoulders lightly before replying. "Yes, that should be me."
"Oh, great to find you here!" They pat her on the shoulder a couple of times, either ignoring or not noticing the way her muscles stiffen upon contact. "Would you come with me to Erwin's office? He wants to talk to you."
Simply nodding, she tries to ignore the way Jean and Marco, the former much more than the later, shoot her worried glances from the corner of their eyes. She takes in deep, even breaths, trying to remain calm despite the situation. Not many people return from Smith's office with good news, and despite knowing that she has never given him any reasons to fire her, she cannot help but feel like what is to come is not entirely pleasant.
Hange bids the men farewell once they stop at the fifth floor and both walk out; Mikasa only assents with her head absentmindedly, not even sparing them a glance as they go, and the two that remain resume their elevator ride in one-sided silence. Hange talks for the remainder of the ride, and she knows they do not do it to lighten the mood or to fill in the silence. They talk because that is their nature, simple as that.
By the time she is sitting across from Erwin Smith, she cannot focus on anything. The sound of his fingers typing away on his computer, the tick of the clock on the wall, Hange's voice coming from the other room, all of it blends in her ears until they are ringing, and she feels a headache coming. Erwin finally stops, turns to her with a small, amicable smile, not nearly as friendly as Marco's, and laces his fingers together on the desktop.
"Miss Ackerman, it seems that in the last year you've been working with us, you were never late to turn in your paperwork, not even once. It baffles me that you never got a raise before, or never were promoted before." Everything inside her shuts down as her eyebrows pinch together. "We've decided to promote you, all thanks to your competence."
She chooses not to say anything, simply because her throat does not work. Promotions mean raises in her salary. Raises in her salary mean that she will be able to rent the apartment next door, move from their little shared cubicle and let the boys have a room for each of them instead of letting them share one. It means that she will have some more money at the end of the month to spend on whatever she decides, not that she spends much money to begin with. Perhaps, she can start saving it for a very much needed trip? She is sure Armin would love that.
"You can move your things to the floor below." Erwin explains as he hands her the new ID. "From now on, you're the vice president's assistant."
All of her personal stuff could fit into a shoebox, really.
Her adoptive brother and their childhood friend were ecstatic to hear the news. Though she was reluctant to leave them behind, Mikasa knows a little extra money can do them some good, so declining the offer was never even considered an option. She arranges her few things neatly on the desktop and moves over to the window, silently admiring the view she is granted. Now she has something interesting to look at whenever she is finished with all her paperwork and has nothing better to do with her time, though she might just do part of Eren's job herself, anyway.
The elevator doors slide open with a ding and she walks away from the window to greet her new boss, curving her lips in a small, polite smile and keeping her hands folded neatly before her navel. Mikasa is about to bow her head in greeting, but he beats her to it as he places his left foot on the ground. "Oi, what are you doing here?"
She freezes, watching as he walks over to her. Her boss is just a tiny man with narrow eyes and small blue irises, and dark hair much like her own styled in an undercut. What kind of grown man has that hairstyle anyway? She knows that, if she were wearing flats, he would still be shorter, perhaps three inches or so. He can easily be mistaken for a teen if he decides to use more casual clothes – that is if he does not open his mouth, because his voice actually is deep, fitting for someone his age. And who wore cravats nowadays, anyway?
Blinking, she has to train her features so she will not scowl at him, though her smile dissipates as soon as he is done speaking. "I'm your assistant."
"I don't need any assistants." Her boss, Levi Ackerman, she reminds herself, simply walks past her as if she were a piece of furniture. "Go back to where you came from." He groans some more about Erwin and things she actively ignores, and Mikasa trails after him, her steps less quiet than they usually are.
She stalks after him inside his office, standing in the middle of the dark carpet with crossed arms and hips cocked to the side, watching through narrowed eyes as he drapes his jacket over his chair and claims his seat, back turned to the window overlooking the city outside. "What do you want?"
"I'm staying." She replies, her temper starting to slip from her careful hold, her fingers grip her arms so tightly it bothers her. "You can't send me back."
"Is that a fucking challenge?" His eyes glint when he reclines on his leather chair, forearm resting on the edge of his work desk. "I'm going to make you run back with your tail between your legs, brat."
Mikasa raises her chin in defiance, staring down at him from her full height and added two inches from her heels. "I'd like to see you try." She does not say anything else as she exits his office and closes the door behind her so hard and loud that it could be knocked off its hinges.