Erwin - Reverie

He couldn't believe how much the old landlord had aged in the years since he'd last seen him.

Erwin paused midway down the stairs once he saw the man standing behind the vacant bar, his weathered hands planted on the smooth, polished surface as he stared sadly across the empty tavern. He wasn't as strong or sturdy as he used to be, his rich, brown hair had faded to a gray coffee color, the wrinkles around his mournful eyes were deeper than ever, and his back had curved from too many long hours in his youth spent hunched over the books that monitored the blood and soul of his beloved tavern.

He was a good actor, though.

During the day, Ingomar Hallman was still the same welcoming, jovial innkeeper who laughed with his regulars and chatted with newcomers. He listened to and told stories and jokes. He was kind to his employees, even the unfortunate ones. Under his watch, the Winged Sister ran smoothly.

But at night, after closing, he shed that armor and became the lonely widower sensing the end. Erwin's throat felt dry. Ordinarily, an old man like him should be well and retired, reaping the benefits of a lifetime of hard, honest work. Together with his wife, Ingomar had built his business from the ground up, purchasing the disheveled property some forty-odd years ago. The Winged Sister then had started out as a small and not particularly prosperous coffee and tea house, half the size of the establishment now. But the pair had endured their setbacks: heavy taxes, economic struggle, one fire, more bills, debt, and the birth of a daughter who was seen as an unwanted burden, which both parents regretted in later years. Through their perseverance and resolve, the Winged Sister finally became the prosperous tavern it was now, growing from a small coffeehouse, then later a small tavern, then a larger tavern where more people could converse, then the boarding house was added, as well the livery stable and other amenities, and since then the Winged Sister had doubled in size. The old man had every right to be proud. And every right to enjoy the rewards of his lifelong work.

Only the daughter he should've left the tavern to was no more, killed along with her husband in what the Military Police had ruled as an 'unfortunate accident.' Once again, the landlord's face was clouded with worry for the fate of the Winged Sister. And worry for his orphaned grandson.

"It's always this part of the night that's my favorite, you know." The old man said without looking at him. A smile came to his craggy face, warming a small fire in his eyes. "Certainly, I've always loved the talk and conversation that happens under my roof, but I'm afraid in my old age, all the excitement becomes a little hard to take. I just don't seem to have the energy I used to."

Erwin nodded wordlessly and returned the smile as Ingomar looked at him.

"So many things have happened under this roof." The landlord continued. "The good…and the sour, of course. I can still remember the day Val dragged you and Nile through the front door."

An embarrassed chuckle escaped him as he finished his descent down the stairs and joined the elder at the bar. It had been their first night away from training. He and Nile had been new to the southern region and had been discussing walking to Shiganshina to find a good tavern when a fellow cadet, a tall, red-haired girl stepped into their path, declaring she knew a place. Following her may or may not have been optional, and the three of them had been inseparable ever since.

At least until graduation day.

"How has Nile been these days?" Ingomar asked, apparently thinking the same as him. "It's been some time since I've last seen him, too."

Erwin didn't know how to answer. It wasn't as though he'd seen Nile enough to offer an accurate response. Yet for all the years the landlord had known them—watched them, along with many of their classmates, endure the harsh training, cheered with them in their accomplishments, laughed at their embarrassing stories, scolded them during their idiot teenage moments, mourned with them when their friends died in tragic accidents, and celebrated with them when they finally graduated—he felt obligated to give the old man a complete and thoughtful response. But all he knew, shamefully, was only from hearsay and things he'd observed during councils. Erwin sighed in resignation. "I'm afraid Nile and I don't talk much these days."

"Ah. That business with Marie still?" When he did not answer, the landlord turned away. "I see. She was a lovely lass, wasn't she? Last I heard, she'd just had her first child."

"I believe she has a second now."

"Goodness! Already?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Where does the time go, I wonder. It seems like yesterday she was a serving girl here, always smiling and flirting with customers. I do hope she's happy, though. My wife used to say she would make a great mother."

Again, Erwin didn't know how to answer, so his eyes fell to the bar. Marie had made her decision long ago, as had Nile. There was no use thinking about what might have been now. It wasn't as though Nile choosing to join the Military Police had been without warning. He and Val both had seen the signs: his unexplained silence as graduation drew near, his sudden absences from conversations about plans to join the Corps, it had all been there. In denial, he'd ignored it for as long as he could, and eventually, while sitting over drinks at this very bar, Val had looked their friend in the eye and murmured, "You're not coming with us, are you."

She was right, and Nile's choice had dealt a serious blow to their friendship. It was a sensible choice. Fourth Rank in the Elite Squad and engaged to marry the following year. Had their places been reversed…no, Erwin sighed. He'd have enlisted in the Corps no matter what. And that had probably been what scared Marie.

True to her word, Val came with him, despite achieving the First Rank. She actually laughed at the letters from aristocratic families requesting her service in the Interior and kept them all in a little box in her room. "Beyond the Wall is the only place for me." And it was. Every expedition, her mount surged through the gate as she spread her arms wide and laughed into the endless sky. She was a talented woman, and the two of them together had made a formidable team.

"People here still talk about how you should've married Val, you know." The landlord interrupted his thoughts, smirking.

"And those people should remember that Leo was her one and only." Erwin shook his head. Val was assertive, even brash at times, yet without fail, the Winged Sister's young stable master always had her blushing and tongue-tied whenever he so much as looked her way. He was her polar opposite: quiet and painfully shy, always keeping to himself as he cared for the horses, and often tinkering with something or other when he was bored. In the end, Erwin could only remember one conversation he'd had with Leo, and had almost no memory of how the man's voice sounded.

There had been no other for Val. Leo had won her heart from the very beginning, without even intending to. How and when he'd even learned of Val's affection, as well as accepted and returned it, was a complete mystery to Erwin, although he suspected it was an embarrassing story on Val's part, on account she'd never breathed a word to him or Nile. The first they'd learned of it, they'd been leaving the Winged Sister and had been passing the narrow alley between the inn and the stable to find the pair standing close, deep in a conversation that was punctuated by the stable master raising their friend's hand to his lips and tender kissing the palm of her hand.

Erwin raised his head at the sound of rapid footsteps sprinting down the stairs and turned to see the landlord's grandson leaping down the steps two by two—something he'd never consider the boy brave enough to do—and ran down the corridor in the direction of Ingomar's private living quarters. His smile faded.

The last time he'd seen he'd that boy—up close and not from a distance—he'd been a week old baby in Val's arms, her pride and joy. She introduced them the day she was discharged from the Survey Corps and transferred indefinitely to the Garrison. He was bringing the papers for her to sign. All these years had passed, and he'd never forgotten her smile, her laugh as tiny fingers tugged at her red curls, and her alarmed face whenever the infant so much as whimpered. She was so proud.

"Armin's growing up fast." He said.

Ingomar nodded in agreement. "Aye, that he is."

"He has to be at least ten now, right?"

"Just turned ten. About three weeks ago, in fact."

Erwin sighed. Val had made her choice, too. Up until the birth of her son, the Survey Corps had been her entire life, but after realizing she was pregnant—possibly her most shocking discovery beyond the Wall—they both knew she wouldn't be with them much longer. It was a choice she'd had to make. And…much like the day he and Nile had met her in training, her choice was not optional. Val never regretted becoming a mother, nor should she have. And he never begrudged her for leaving, yet he couldn't deny he'd missed her after she'd gone, and that the Corps had lost a valuable soldier in her.

The only thing he regretted was never visiting an old friend as often as he should have.

The patter of bare feet shocked him out of his reverie once again, and Val's beloved son reappeared, this time carrying a heavy tome and running back up the stairs.

"Armin!" Ingomar shouted after him. "Armin, where are you going with my copy of The Wall Kings?"

Armin halted in his tracks and spun around. "Levi just told me he doesn't know anything about the surface's history."

"Ah." The landlord nodded. "And I suppose you mean to rectify that. Don't stay up too late. Remember, you have school in the morning and Levi has work to do. And he just got over being sick besides."

"Don't worry, he says his cough is gone now." The boy grinned and bounded back up the stairs, nearly tripping over his own feet at the top one.

"He seems close to Levi." Erwin remarked as the boy's footsteps receded. "I always thought Armin avoided the seasonal workers."

Ingomar sighed and rose to his feet. "Most of the time he does, but most of our seasonal workers are always asking him why he's reading those dusty, old books of mine and why he doesn't run outside and play with all the other boys his age."

"And Levi?"

"Levi doesn't talk." The old landlord stretched his arms above his head with a tired groan. "Levi just listens."

As the clock behind the bar, coincidentally one of Leo's many creations, chimed nine o'clock, Erwin got up. Ingomar excused himself to lock up the tavern, extinguish the candles, and complete the night's paperwork. The two men bade each other good night, and the elder disappeared down the corridor to fetch the keys. But before Erwin could return to his room, none other than the Underground Rogue himself came running down the steps, looking both tired and exasperated.

"Enjoying your lesson?" Erwin smirked.

A weary sigh. "He doesn't know where to start, so I told him to figure it out while I made some tea."

"Ah" Remembering the herbal tea Dr. Jaeger had given him the other night, Erwin asked, "And how are you feeling? I understand you were sick for a time."

Levi's shoulders stiffened at the inquiry and his black eyes narrowed warily in the dim light, like those of a predator cornered by a superior hunter. "I lived." He said finally.

"Of course. I'm sorry to hear you were ill." Erwin nodded and reached for his inner coat pocket. "I was actually hoping to speak to you tonight. I had something to give you."

"Do you?" The Rogue took a step back, reaching behind him, presumably for his knife.

Erwin did not answer, and instead removed a trio of folded papers from his jacket and placed them unceremoniously on the bar.

"What's that?" Levi asked through his teeth, as though he'd set a half-decomposed rat in front of him.

"Discharge papers."

At that, the man jolted in surprise, not even bothering to cover up his thoughts with an impassive face. In later years when he looked back on this moment, Erwin was never able to tell what expression that was. He didn't look angry, just disturbed, as though he wanted to ask what the hell was in his drinking water.

Erwin cleared his throat. "Your crimes in the Underground have been absolved." Foregoing any sense of composure, Levi lunged for the papers and unfolded them, frantically reading the documents. "For your brief service in the Survey Corps, you've earned your citizenship above ground. And you're officially discharged from military service." With that, he abruptly turned on his heel and made his way back to the stairs, the old steps creaking and groaning under his weight as he made his way up and out of the tavern.

"Hold on!" He heard the sound of thudding footsteps as Levi ran to the bottom of the staircase and shouted up after him, "What the hell is this? What have you done?"

"Exactly what it looks like." He answered, finding himself smiling. "You're released from service."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: And here we are back for a visit to the Winged Sister. Wasn't expecting to get back to Erwin this quickly, but I absolutely loved writing about his past and his connection to the tavern. Little bittersweet considering the fate of Winged Sister and various members of the Arlert family, though. A big thank you to Scordatura and Maria Albert for suggesting bringing Erwin back when I was at a loss of whose pov to do next. So please be sure to check out both their work, they're both amazing!

And another special thanks to Scordatura for proofreading everything once again, I seriously don't know what I'd do without her.

Hope you enjoyed, please be sure to favorite and follow and/or leave a review if you're new to Tavern Ventures. It's much appreciated, but nonetheless, thank you for reading!

AutumnM

As always, Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.