So I realized how depressing this story has kinda gotten (especially in recent chapters), so as a Christmas present, here's a chapter with fluff! Don't worry, I'm trying to think of something else to put in here before we move on and end it so soon (but not too soon)! Anyway, on to the story!

Erwin

I watched Ariadne leave the office in a stupor. I laughed inwardly to myself at her. Her expression after I finished kissing her was highly amusing. I turned back to my desk. "Let's get started then, Levi," I said sitting down in the chair.

While we discussed plans for an upcoming expedition outside the walls, I kept thinking of Ariadne. Of course, it was natural and probably expected for me to do so, but it was hindering my thought process of creating this plan. I shook my head to get refocused. It took longer than usual, but eventually we did get something planned out. Espyon had given a few suggestions and gently corrected mistakes in Levi's spelling every so often. He would mutter a thank you as he fixed it.

When all was done and Levi left, Espyon lagged behind, standing beside the bookshelf and looking in my direction. "Sir," she said quietly. "May I ask something?"

"What is it?" I asked.

Espyon shifted her weight between her feet. She turned her eyes down to the floor, but then back up to me. Her fingers played with each other so she intertwined them to keep them still. I predicted what she would ask before she even opened her mouth to speak.

"Sir, I want to go on this expedition. With your permission, of course," she added. She looked at me hopefully, anticipating my answer.

I sighed. "Espyon, I admire your skills as a soldier and your eagerness to go outside the walls, but I cannot allow you to do so."

She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor again. "But… why not?" It was not an act of defiance, but persistence. It certainly was not the first time I denied her. She glanced up at me then back at the floor. "Commander, I've never been outside—"

I held up a hand and she stopped speaking. "I'm sorry, Espyon. I can't allow you to go outside the walls. I'm know you want to, but you're needed here." I hated the disappointed look in her chocolate brown eyes, but whether she liked it or not, I was saving her life.

Espyon slowly nodded her head. "Yes, sir," she said eventually.

I watched her salute then leave my office without saying another word. I expected her to be more pressing than she was to try to convince me, but she seemed upset already. I sighed and leaned back into my chair, deciding to think of something else. Ariadne.

Ariadne

I left Erwin's office and stumbled down to Hanji's little laboratory to help her. She wanted my help with testing some things today. What they were, I was unsure, but would find out soon enough.

She noticed me as soon as I walked in. "Ah! Good to see you, Ariadne!" she said brightly. "Come, come!"

She led me to a messy table with a bunch of scientific equipment and quickly got me mixing certain concoctions together. I was trying to focus on working with what Hanji gave me, but my mind was kept slipping back to thoughts of Erwin. I could still feel his lips on mine. My stomach felt like it had butterflies jumbling aimlessly around. I was eager to see him again.

As I mixed the liquids, I realized it was the same white color as the poison that was injected into me. The memory of my near death and my torture came back to me all at once. I had almost forgotten about being poisoned until now. Why? Why now of all moments? I felt my face flush. I felt hot. The vials dropped from my hands, the glass shattering and the contents spilling across the floor and table.

Hanji rushed over to me. "Are you alright?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I-I'm fine," I replied, wiping my eye. "M-my hands just slipped."

She looked at me. "You don't look too good," she stated. "You feeling alright?" She put a hand to my forehead.

I brushed away her hand. "Yes, I'm fine," I said again, not meaning to sound rude.

"Well, clean this up and then you can go for the day. You really do look sick." She was staring at me, concerned. "Go and lie down in your room for a bit."

I nodded and continued standing there for a moment. I breathed in heavily and then began to clean up the glass and the liquid. My hands were visibly shaking. Hanji stood at a distance watching me for a while before returning to her own work. When I was done, I told Hanji I was leaving and she watched me go.

Erwin

Dinner was several hours later. As usual, I went to the dining hall and got the food they were serving that night. I quickly scanned across the room, looking for Ariadne's honey colored hair, but I could not find her. Not even sitting with her friends. I then went to sit at the regular table reserved for the higher ranking officers.

"Hello, Commander Erwin!" Hanji said cheerfully. "Nice of you to join us. I didn't think you were going to come out of that office of yours anytime soon."

I chuckled lightly. "You make it seem like I coop myself up in there all the time."

She shook her head. "No, you're right. You do go outside the walls sometimes."

"He could say the same for you, shitty glasses," Levi said, taking a drink from his cup. "You're usually down in your lab doing God-knows-what."

Hanji pouted. "I wasn't alone," she retorted. "I had Ariadne working with me for a while."

"Why only for a while?" I asked, taking a bite of food. "Did she leave?"

Hanji nodded. "She dropped some vials and she wasn't lookin' too good so I told her she could go. I believe she went back up to her room to rest."

That would explain why I could not find her in here. "I see," I said finally.

I finished my meal early and then left the cafeteria, finding my way towards Ariadne's room. I made sure no one saw me before I entered, but since it was dinner time, most everybody was downstairs. Her room was much the same as I knew her to keep it. Not necessarily tidy, but it was clean for the most part. I saw light from under the bathroom door and the sound of water splashing. I easily assumed she was bathing, most likely unaware of the time or that I was in her room. I decided not to leave in case someone saw me, but instead I sat on her bed, removed my boots, and waited for her to come out.

Ariadne

I went back up to my room and shut the door behind me. I stood staring at the room, taking in my own personalized touches to it (which really was just better curtains made from fabric I bought myself and a beautiful red quilt I bought on my bed). I walked across the room towards my nightstand. I opened the drawer and took the phone out. I tried turning it on, but it was dead. I would have to get the solar charger out and put it on the windowsill. I searched into my nightstand for my charger. I could not find it. It was gone.

I hit the phone into the palm of my hand, trying to wake it up or something. "No, no, no, nonononono," I was panicking again. "Please, turn on!" I pleaded, knowing it was useless. I threw the phone onto the mattress and put my head into my hands, running my fingers through my hair. I rocked myself back and forth, tears coming down my face. I needed the phone to turn on. I had to remind myself of where I had come from. My memories of my world were dissipating. I needed to remember. I had to remember.

But…why?

Why was I holding on to my old world? I was here now. I did not see any way of getting back to my old world (at least not anytime soon), so what was the point of hanging on? When I came to this realization, I wiped my face of tears and walked to the bathroom. I stripped while the tub filled with steaming water. I avoided looked at the scars on my skin as the water rose and I stepped into the tub. I was going to allow myself to fully accept being here in this world. When the tub was full enough and the faucet turned off, I submerged myself under the water, holding my breath for as long as I could.

I was unsure of how long I was actually bathing, but it was long enough for my skin to wrinkle and my fingers to prune. Eventually, I pulled the plug and got out, drying my skin with a towel. I rubbed the towel into my hair, hoping it would dry quicker. The whole room smelled like lavender soap. I put on my shirt and a pair of underwear from a pile of clothes I kept on the floor in the bathroom. Quickly, I ran a comb through my hair, untangling all the knots.

It was dark outside when I got out of the bathroom. I was surprised to find that Erwin was sitting on my bed. "Oh!" I exclaimed and quickly covered my already (mostly) covered body.

Erwin looked up at me, just as surprised as I was. "I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

"N-no, no, it's fine," I replied.

"I didn't see you at dinner so I came to check on you. Hanji said you weren't feeling well."

"I'm okay now, really," I assured him, sitting down beside him. I was aware of how much skin I was showing by not wearing pants and all, but I figured it did not matter anymore. We were married now.

He nodded. "Right." We sat awkwardly beside each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Did you get the plans for the next expedition done?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He nodded again. "Yes. They aren't finalized, but yes, we do have something completed."

"That's good," I said. Another awkward silence. I thought of something to ask him. "Erwin, why have you not let Espyon outside of the walls? She really wants to go." Why I thought now was a good time to ask it, I had no idea.

He sighed and took my hand in his. "It's simple really," he started. "I don't want her to die. I have no doubt in her skills as a soldier, but she is much more valuable here in relative safety than outside the walls where she could die." He looked at me. "Did she tell you I denied her request again?"

I shook my head. "I haven't seen her since I left your office." I hugged my knees to my chest and rested my head on my knees, watching him.

"Hm." He sighed. He let go of my hand and shrugged his uniform jacket off, hanging it carefully on the bed post. He looked at me again. "Do you mind?" he asked, gesturing to his bolo tie.

I gulped nervously, butterflies returning to my stomach for the second time that day. "Sure," I said, sitting on my knees beside him and reaching up towards the tie.

I undid the clasp and set it on the nightstand beside the bed. I felt a hand at my hip and another hand caressing my face. I steadied myself with my hands on his chest as he pulled me toward him and kissed me deeply, gently at first but then more hungrily. His lips trailed down my cheek to my neck and then back up to my mouth. I sat up a little straighter and kissed him back, running my fingers through his hair. I could feel Erwin's calloused hands under my shirt, traveling over the skin of my spine.

I found the buckles holding the straps to his body and undid them, my fingers fumbling with each clip. Eventually he helped me remove them and leave them on the floor. My hands went back near his throat and unbuttoned his shirt all the way down then I pushed it off of his shoulders. I did not know what to do afterwards. I was distracted by his own body that I forgot to breathe for a moment. I noticed little scars here and there on his chest and stomach. A tattoo on the left side of his stomach was ruined by a large scar running through the ink. The Wings of Freedom. Even as I looked at him, I could not believe that he was mine as I was his.

I was suddenly in his lap, facing him and my legs straddling his thighs. My face blushed and I hid my face in the crook of his neck. He laughed quietly and wrapped his arms around me, taking in the scent of my damp hair. He smelled masculine and faintly of pine. We sat like that for a long time.

Erwin

When Ariadne did come out, I was shocked to see her wearing only a shirt and underwear. She was surprised to see me sitting on her bed. The scent of lavender filled my nose as it wafted out of the bathroom. "I didn't mean to scare you," I apologized quickly. I had not really thought of what to say other than that.

"N-no, no, it's fine," she replied, walking towards me.

"I didn't see you at dinner so I came to check on you. Hanji said you weren't feeling well." Hanji had spared me the details, but I would find out later anyway.

"I'm okay now, really," she assured me. I felt unconvinced. She sat beside me on the bed.

I nodded. "Right." I looked her over. Her still-wet hair clung to her neck and parts of her face. It dripped lightly onto her cream colored shirt, soaking the fabric. The skin on her legs was pale and her knees were scarred. I did not think those scars were from her time with the Military Police, but instead most likely from childhood incidents. I could just see the top of the scar that ran down her middle peeking over the neckline of the shirt. Most of the time she had her scars covered, but I wanted to touch and kiss all of the ones she kept hidden.

Ariadne asked me about the expedition plans and I told her how those were going. She then asked me about Espyon. I answered in the best explanation I could muster. No, it was not a lie. I did not want Espyon to die. She was a good assistant and a close friend. I was unsure of why I gave her "special treatment" compared to my other close friends (all two of them). I could not stand letting her risk her life. I felt she had a bigger purpose than that.

I took my jacket off and hung it on the bed post. I turned to Ariadne and asked her to undo my bolo tie. She complied and set it on the nightstand. I rested a hand on her hip and the other one to turn her face towards mine, kissing her attentively. I wanted more. I kissed her deeper, hungering for the way she tasted and felt. My hands were stroking her spine under her shirt, gently pulling her closer to me. I wanted the space between us to close.

I helped her undo the rest of my buckles and tossed the belts onto the floor. I could tell by the way her fingers fumbled with the straps and the nervous look in her eyes she had never done something like this before. I liked watching her face as she undid my shirt buttons and slid the fabric off of me. She paused for several moments, just staring. I wondered what she thought of my own scars, including the one tearing through my tattoo.

I pulled her onto my lap, her knees on either side of my hips. Her face blushed a dark red and hid between my neck and collarbone. I knew she was nervous, but I did not realize how nervous. It was amusing. I embraced her and took in her scent. She smelled of lavender and something else I could not quite place, but it was entirely Ariadne.

Ariadne

I awoke the next morning with Erwin's arm draped protectively over me. I was not facing him, but I could feel him breathing softly and evenly on the back of my neck as he continued to sleep. I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it gently. It was still too dark to get up for the day, but light enough that I could just barely see the outline of our clothes on the floor. I could hardly comprehend what exactly had happened last night, but it was wonderful. I did not know something could be so intense, but also intimate and gentle at the same time.

I sighed contentedly and snuggled closer against Erwin, falling asleep once again.

You guys can guess what happened between them. I don't need to write it out for you lol

Also, is it wrong to think of your OCxCharacter as an OTP because if it is then I'm okay with being wrong on this one

I hope you enjoyed this (couple of days) early Christmas present! And even if you don't celebrate Christmas, enjoy it anyway.

What did you guys think of this? I'm not used to writing happy/cute/fluffy stuff like this. Nor have I ever really experienced something like this, but how was it? Good? Meh? Either way, I probably need to work on that writing skill.

Anyway, please leave a review! Until next time!