I awoke the next morning because Marcus was pawing at the door and meowing loudly. I looked out the window, seeing the sun just barely peeking up over the horizon. I went to get out of bed to find Erwin was still asleep beside me. All the memories of the night before came flooding back into my head. My face blushed and I squealed happily on the inside.

I shook Erwin by the shoulder. "Erwin, you need to get up," I said gently.

He immediately opened his eyes and looked up at me. "Already?" He checked the time. "Oh, right." He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Marcus meowed even louder. "Alright, alright," Erwin said, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He leaned over and kissed me deeply before he stood up and grabbed his boots. "I'll see you later this evening, okay?" he said with a small smile.

"Okay," I replied, smiling as well. "Don't be late."

"I'll try not to." He walked to the door and left, Marcus exiting swiftly before him.

As soon as the door shut, I could not stop myself from squealing happily again, this time audibly. Last night did happen. I did not just dream it. I felt giddy. My lips still felt abuzz with Erwin's kiss. His kisses made my skin tingle pleasantly. I could still feel his calloused hands on my skin where he had held me affectionately.

I stood up and stretched. It was pointless going back to sleep. I went to the bathroom to take a shower. As I waited for the water to warm, I looked in the mirror at my neck. There were not any marks on my skin as I suspected there might be. Erwin was surprisingly gentle with everything he did. The fierce demeanor as a Commander he portrays is the exact opposite of himself when we are alone.

I concluded one thing though: I was in love with Erwin Smith.

I showered then got dressed. I thought about what we had talked of the night before in between our kisses. He reminded me to keep it a secret between us. Which was understandable since he was my commanding officer and it would be seen as fraternization. I asked that he would not give me any special treatment under any circumstances. It would be unfair to anybody else. Plus, it could help keep us a secret.

As much as I wanted to tell Espyon about it all, I kept it to myself for the time being. Since she was my best friend and basically Erwin's assistant, she would find out sooner or later. There would not be a ceremony (much to my disappointment), but we would sign the certificate and get matching plain, gold rings. Although, I had always wanted a church wedding (I had described to him what a wedding was like in my world), I was informed that a church here had such a negative connotation, he did not want anything to do with it. I settled with subtle.

I was unsure of when we would actually go and sign the certificate (or where we could get it and still have it be secretive) or when we would go and get rings. My mind was so highly occupied that I had no memory of even leaving my bedroom and going downstairs to eat breakfast.

I went through the line to get food and soon found Espyon and Mary Kat sitting across from each other at a table. I sat beside Espyon. "Good morning," I greeted with a smile.

Mary Kat rolled her eyes begrudgingly. "Ugh, morning people." She stirred her drink lazily with her spoon.

"Morning," Espyon replied, taking a bite out of her muffin. Her lips were pressed together tightly. I could tell she was upset.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, taking a bite out of my own food.

"Nothing," Espyon replied quickly.

Mary Kat put her head on the table. "Why do you people insist on conversation this early in the morning?"

I ignored her and continued to question Espyon. "Seriously, what's going on?"

Espyon sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

I creased my eyebrows. "Tell me later then." I would ask her about whatever was bothering her.

I looked over my shoulder at a man who had called us all to attention. "Alright, the list of the soldiers going outside the walls today are these people…" a man had called out loudly, naming off a lot of people. As soon as he and the group around him left, over half of the cafeteria had followed after him.

"They didn't call out any of our class' names," I noticed.

"They aren't gonna let freshie recruits die the first day they come out of training," Mary Kat said muffled into the wood table. "Hell, they gotta get some use out of us."

"But Espyon isn't a newbie. She's been here just as long as anybody and he didn't call her name either," I commented.

Mary Kat sat up to take a drink out of her cup. "Oh, you come in as a teen then, huh?" she said talking to Espyon. Espyon nodded quietly, leaving her muffin on the table. "How'd that work out for ya?"

Espyon shrugged. "I'm still alive."

"Duly noted," Mary Kat replied.

It had occurred to me a while back how much the people in this world really focused on whether or not they were alive. Even in the worst of situations, they seemed to have a sense for the importance of life. Although, I would say that those in the interior certainly did not have the same world view (at least not entirely). These people put themselves in front of the very thing that causes their extinction. I would almost call it suicide, but I realized I was one of them now. Some day (and possibly very soon), I would have to face Titans again.

As I thought about the expedition, I realized Erwin would be leaving with them. Of course he would, I thought to myself. He's the Commander. He has to. A bout of fear struck me. It was possible that Erwin would not come back. That thought alone made my heart ache. Not now of all times.

Espyon stood. "I have some things to take care of. Corporal Levi left me and some other people in charge while the Commanders and them go outside the walls."

I looked up at her. "I didn't realize you had such a high rank."

She shrugged again. "Not many stay alive as long as I have." She walked away leaving her muffin untouched on the table.

Mary Kat reached across the table and grabbed the muffin. "Don't act so surprised, Ariadne," she said, pulling off a chunk and eating it. "You know the survival rate of the Survey Corps. It ain't high."

"Yet here we are," I said with a sigh. I stood up. "Actually, I'll talk to you later. See ya." I skipped away from the table and out the cafeteria before Mary Kat could say anything or question me. I followed down the hallway where I thought Espyon had gone.

It took me a while until I actually found her. She was sitting outside against the wall of the castle petting Marcus. She looked up when I walked up to her. "Hey," she said.

"Hey." I sat down beside her. Marcus rubbed his body against my legs then went back to Espyon. "What's bugging you?" I asked her. "Must be something big if you didn't want to talk about it in front of Mary Kat."

"I said I didn't want to talk about it at all," she snapped. She sighed. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly.

I leaned against the wall behind me. "Don't be."

We sat in silence for a while, soaking in the summer sun. It was very hot, but the breeze made it tolerable. Espyon hugged her knees to her chest. "You know," she started, "I have never been outside the walls."

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I say. I've never been outside either Wall Rose or Wall Maria."

I creased my eyebrows. "How come? I thought that was why most people joined the Survey Corps was to go outside the walls."

Espyon shrugged. "Erwin has never granted my request to go on expeditions."

The first thing I noticed when she spoke was not the information she said. It was the fact that she did not use Commander in front of his name. Whether or not that bothered me, I was unsure. When it finally registered what she said, all I could do was stare at her and blink.

"Huh?"

"Commander Erwin has never granted any of my requests to go outside the walls," she repeated. "I have no idea why." She continued to pet Marcus. He purred loudly.

Honestly, I had no idea what to say to her. She was my best friend so I felt obliged to say something comforting. "I have no idea why he wouldn't either," I finally replied. It did not make sense to me. I stood and patted off the dirt from my pants. "Come on then," I said holding my hand out to her. "You got duties to attend to. Corporal's orders, right?"

She gave me a small smile and took my hand. "Right," she said.

As it turns out, the expedition that left that afternoon had returned several hours later. There were so many wounded and just as many missing from our numbers. Myself and several others had orders to help the injured give them the medical attention they needed. Many times, I nearly threw up because of the mangled mess some people were in. Titan attacks were not pretty. I had not seen Erwin anywhere when they returned. I expected to see him at night, but he never came. A lump appeared in my throat.

I went ahead to my bedroom near midnight after I had finished taking care of the remaining wounded. I had seen several people die today. They had tried so hard to stay alive, but soon death consumed them. I wanted comfort. My heart was heavy and the lump in my throat had not gone away. Around one in the morning, I left my bedroom and went to Erwin's office. If anywhere, he would be there. I knocked on the door softly and waited for his voice to beckon me inside.

Erwin looked up from his desk, pen in hand. His hair was slightly out of place and his eyes looked defeated. "Ariadne," he said quietly. "Sorry to have kept you waiting," he said placing the pen down.

"It's not your fault," I replied, walking towards the desk. The lump in my throat had lessened some at the sight of him.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I've signed so many of these death notices I would gladly welcome any interruption; however, I have many to finish." He signed his name on another sheet of paper and put it into the pile that was slowly growing.

"Would you like me to leave?" I asked. I figured if he wanted to work then I would leave him alone and go to bed myself for a night. I also wanted to ask him about why he never let Espyon outside the walls, but it was not the time for that.

Erwin sighed. "I want to say no," he said, pausing his pen again.

"I can leave if you want to work. It's not that big of a deal," I said quickly as I headed towards the door. It really was not that big of a deal, but I soon realized my actions said otherwise.

I heard him get up from his chair and walk across the room to me. I paused in front of the door, my hand hanging in front of the knob. He embraced me from behind, his arms going around my middle. I could tell he had to bend down slightly to do so. My hand entwined itself with his. I felt his face beside my own, breathing in deeply. I had read in some book a long time ago that when someone is in love with someone else, just their scent could be described as intoxicating. I would highly agree with that statement.

I felt Erwin's lips trail across my cheek and down to my lips. He had turned my head so he could kiss me on my mouth. I put my arms around his neck, drawing him closer to me. I felt his hands on my waist, holding me gently. His lips found their way to the skin on my neck. I accidentally let out a sigh.

As much as I wanted to keep going, I had to let him finish his work. "Erwin," I said softly. "You need to get back to work. It's late enough already."

He let out a disappointed grunt. "Fine." Reluctantly, he let me go and went back to his desk. "I'll try to join you in bed soon," he said, sitting down.

"Don't push yourself too hard," I advised, leaving the office.

I went back to my room and laid down on the bed. Marcus was curled up in his spot beside my pillow in between the wall. My hand absentmindedly stroked his orange fur as he slept soundly. Eventually I fell asleep myself.

All I remember dreaming is fire and destruction. Loud screams of people and monsters filled my ears. It was so loud I was afraid my ear drums would burst. I was standing on a rooftop in the Interior. My 3D maneuver gear hung at my sides, feeling like burdens. I began running across the shingled roofs and jumping from building to building. I felt like I knew where I had to go, but I was entire unsure of where that place was.

I heard a commotion of voices coming from the streets below me. I looked to see a man holding a gun to Erwin's head. I woke up when he pulled the trigger. I sat up in bed, catching my breath. It was not as bad of a nightmare as I had before, but it was still heavy. I put my head between my knees, trying to calm myself. The lump in my throat had returned.

Marcus looked up at me with his yellow eyes. He meowed softly and rubbed his head under my hand, trying to get me to pet him. I pet him, not thinking of what I was doing. I was surprised to find that I was feeling calmer. I remember knowing people who had PTSD and things like that had gotten therapy pets to help them. I realized that this was what Marcus was to me. A therapy pet. I picked him up and gently squeezed him to me, burying my face into his neck. All he did was purr loudly. This cat was definitely one of a kind to let me do this sort of thing without clawing my face out. I spent the rest of the night cuddling with Marcus. Erwin never came to bed, but I was alright as long as Marcus stayed beside me.

I awoke the next morning to Espyon rushing into my bedroom. "Ariadne, you have to get up! We're going on the mission in the Interior. Get yourself ready now!"

And here we go with the cliffhangers again. (sorrynotsorry)

Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep the kissing scenes to a minimum because that's not what I want the focus of the story to be about. It's part of the story for sure, but it's not the main part. You could argue that however you like. (I THINK THEY'RE AN ADORABLE COUPLE AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THAT)

Anyway, feel free to leave a review down below. Next chapter may be for a while because it's going to be pretty intense and I want it to be really well written.

Thanks for reading!