Love Games - Erwin x Reader

Part 3

"Okay, no more beating around the bush!" Declared Hanji, bursting into Erwin's office. "You are going to tell that girl you like her to her face!"
Erwin furrowed his bushy brows, this didn't seem like the appropriate course of action to take. What was he supposed to do? Just order you to come to his office, sit you down and say "f/n I like you, will you let me court you?" You'd probably run a mile and never look back.
"I'm not sure about this Hanji." He replied, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms. "Furthermore I'd appreciate it if you knocked before just walking in here unannounced."
"Ugh fine, we'll give the subtle approach one more shot." Hanji rolled her eyes and decided to ignore the telling off, pressing on without waiting for permission to speak again. "If that fails we go with a straight out confession."
"Okay then, what do you suggest?"
"I'm not sure yet." Mused Hanji, scratching the back of her head. "I'll come up with something though, just hang on in there."
Erwin sighed and waved a hand to dismiss her.
"Try not to lose hope and don't let what you saw with Mike earlier get you down." She said, walking back towards the door. "If he and f/n were romantically involved I think the entire regiment would know about it."
Once Hanji had departed and the door closed behind her, Erwin reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a copy of his long range scouting formation plan. Staring hard at it, he decided that amending it would probably take his mind off you. With a sigh he picked up a pencil and started to scribble some notes on the plan.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully for you.
You visited your two injured squad members in the infirmary before helping Mike train the rookies on how to deal with minor battlefield injuries.
By the end of the lesson you were nearly covered from head to toe in bandages thanks to Mike making you demonstration dummy.
"Any questions?" Asked Mike, his narrow blue eyes scanning the classroom of assembled recruits.
"No Sir!" Replied the recruits in unity.
"Dismissed!"
The recruits silently stood from their seats and started to file out of the classroom, leaving you and Mike alone together.
"Right can I unwrap myself now?" You questioned, looking down at the mass of bandages covering your body.
"No, I'm going to stick a pretty bow on you and send you to Erwin!" Smirked the tall section commander, pinching your cheeks. "He can have fun unwrapping you!"
Your eyes widened in shock, surely he wasn't being serious?
"You wouldn't dare send me to the commander's office looking like this!" You challenged, however there was a slight hint of fear in your voice that he was quick to pick up on. This became clear when an evil smirk slowly spread across his face.
"Wouldn't I?"
You gulped and continued to stare at him nervously.
"Squad Leader l/n, I order you to go and fetch my paperwork from Commander Erwin...immediately."
"I hate you so much!"
"Liar!"
You looked at him pleadingly.
"Come on Mike, at least let me take these bandages off first."
"No, now off you go and take these while you're at it." He gestured to a pile of personal files relating to the recruits daily testing and training.
"Tomorrow I'm offering to help Levi clean the HQ!" You snorted, picking up the stack of files.
Mike chuckled and waved you away.
Little did you know that he had an ulterior motive for sending you to Erwin's office covered in bandages.
During lunch, he had noticed the commander staring at you and a discreet sniff of the air had confirmed his suspicions that Erwin had a personal interest in you. He also picked up on the fact that he wasn't sure if there was anything intimate going on between you and your former squad commander, of course there wasn't but clearly the commander didn't know that.
Mike grinned and snorted, leaning back against the desk and folding his arms.
Despite being a serious soldier, he enjoyed a bit of fun every so often and he was keen to see how long it would take you to work out that Erwin was your secret admirer...

"I'm so not helping Mike with recruit training tomorrow." You grumbled, making your way through the HQ to Erwin's office.
"F/n? What the hell happened to you?"
"Huh?"
You looked up, seeing Levi and Hanji walking towards you carrying a stack of paperwork each.
"Oh hey guys, Mike decided to order me to go and collect my paperwork as well as his while trussed up like this."
Hanji giggled while Levi simply glared at you.
"You look like an idiot." He remarked bluntly.
"Really?" You questioned sarcastically, cocking your head to one side. "I had no idea, thanks for that Captain Obvious!"
"Tch, smart mouthed brat!"
You gave him a cheeky grin, if you'd have spoken to him like that before you were promoted to squad leader he would've made you run laps until the bones in your legs crumbled to dust. As it was since you were promoted and started to hang around with the other officers during down time, you learned that they were open to humor and good natured teasing...within reason of course.
"So Mike made you his demonstration model again huh?" Giggled Hanji, secretly hoping she could get some information out of you about the extent of your closeness to him.
"He usually does." You shrugged and gestured to your bandaged body. "I think he's trying to wind me up today though, I just can't believe he's taken it as far as actually ordering me to go to Commander Erwin's office looking like this!"
"Oh dear, did you do something to annoy him?"
"Not that I'm aware of...but I can though." You grinned evilly and turned your attention to Levi. "Hey Levi, need help with anything tomorrow?"
Levi raised a skeptical eyebrow at you, clearly suspicious of your motives.
"You want to help me? Why?"
"To teach Mike a lesson." You smiled, trying to look innocent.
"Tch, nice try brat, not happening."
"Damnit!" You muttered, turning to look at Hanji.
"Oh no, don't get me involved!" She giggled. "I want no part of your lovers tiff!"
"Lover's tiff?" You gasped. "Hanji, Mike's like an older brother to me!"
The titan loving maniac grinned and decided to press the issue.
"So...you and Mike aren't...you know..."
You frowned for a moment before finally catching on to what she was implying. Eyes widening in shock, you felt an intense blush sweep across your cheeks.
"No...oh hell no!"
"Okay just checking!" She smiled with a casual shrug. "Anyway you better go see Erwin. The sooner you do, the sooner you can take those bandages off."
"Hmm, good point. See you guys later."
Levi remained silent and watched you leave while Hanji enthusiastically waved you away. Once you were out of sight he rounded on her and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"What are you up to Shitty Glasses?"
"What makes you think I'm up to something?" She asked innocently, failing to stop a manic grin from creeping across her face.
"Tch, I know you too well. You're up to something."
Hanji giggled and started to walk away, leaving the short captain to follow a few seconds later.
"Honestly Levi, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

You finally reached Erwin's office and sighed deeply, mentally preparing yourself for a roasting about your physical appearance and how it wasn't appropriate for an officer to be walking around looking like an escaped hospital patient.
Knocking on the door you swallowed hard and waited.
"Yes?" Asked the commander's voice a moment later.
"It's Squad Leader l/n Sir, I've come to pick up my paperwork."
"Come in Squad Leader."
Nervously biting your lip you opened the door and stepped into the office, closing it behind you and approaching the desk. You quickly averted your gaze and avoided making eye contact with him when he looked up at you and frowned.
"Squad Leader, would you care to explain why you are covered in bandages?" He questioned in a low tone.
"Section Commander Mike ordered me not to remove them until I returned with his paperwork." You muttered lowly, your voice heavily laced with embarrassment.
"I see." Replied Erwin. He clenched his jaw at the mention of Mike's name, still feeling slightly jealous that his friend was able to casually talk to you and even embrace you while he struggled to get you to see him as anything more than your superior.
"Erm, Sir..."
"Yes?"
"Permission to remove these bandages?"
Erwin's attitude softened, clearly you weren't comfortable with being forced to stand before him in this state. He made a mental note to speak to Mike about his actions later during evening meal.
"Of course." He replied kindly, before an idea struck him. "Would you like some assistance? Some of those knots look a little tight."
"Oh erm." Your cheeks heated up, still unable to meet his gaze you nodded. "Thank you Sir."
Erwin sighed and stood from his seat, slowly approaching you and starting to untie the bandages from your arms while you worked on the material criss crossing your thighs.
After a few minutes all that remained was the bandage around your head.
You reached up to untie it, not realizing that Erwin was also reaching for the knot at the same time. Your breath hitched in your throat, causing you to tense up when your hands lightly brushed against his.
"Sorry." You muttered sheepishly, meeting his gaze for a split second.
"May I?" He asked, a small smile gracing his handsome face.
You nodded and gave him a shy smile, lowering your hands and relaxing as his roughened hands carefully untied the knot at the back of your head before slowly removing the bandage.
"Much better." He said, gently brushing a few locks of stray h/c hair back behind your ear and looking into your eyes for a moment, losing himself in their warmth.
"Thank you Sir."
He nodded and handed you the bandage before making his way back to the desk and retrieving a stack of paperwork, which was neatly contained in a manilla coloured folder with your name on it.
"Erm, may I have Section Commander Mike's paperwork as well please Sir?" You asked cautiously, taking the folder from him. "He did ask me to take it to him."
Erwin's expression hardened slightly as he reached behind him for another folder, this time with Mike's name on it.
"Thank you Sir." You smiled, taking it from him and meeting his gaze for a moment.
"Next time you can tell Mike to come and get his own paperwork." Said the blonde commander evenly.
"Yes Sir."
"Dismissed."
You swallowed hard, feeling more than a little nervous at how Erwin had gone from staring at you so tenderly, back to the straight laced commander in the blink of an eye and left the office. Closing the door behind you quietly you started to make your way back to your own office.
Of course you failed to notice that as soon as the door closed behind you, Erwin returned to his seat and slumped down in it.
Sighing heavily he ran his hands over his face in frustration and fixed his icy stare on the door you had just left through.
"Maybe Hanji is right." He muttered to himself, placing his elbows on the wooden surface of his desk and resting his chin on his hands. "Maybe I should just tell f/n to her face how I feel about her."

You felt so much more comfortable at having being relieved of the bandages Mike had seen fit to wrap you up in, however you hadn't expected Erwin to assist you in removing them.
You shook your head and frowned, of course he was going to assist you...you looked a right mess!
Reaching your office you unlocked the door and entered, walking up to your desk and placing the two folders down on it with a small thud. Looking to your left your attention was pulled to the card that was propped up against the vase, you noticed it just in time to see it flutter to the stone floor.
Bending down to pick it up you furrowed your brows as you read the sweet message that had accompanied the bouquet of roses earlier that day.
Just who was this mystery admirer who was sending you flowers, love notes and chocolates?
Obviously you were flattered that someone was sending you gifts and attempting to woo you with sweet words.
Placing the card back against the vase, you turned your attention back to the folders on your desk, however you stopped when you looked at the handwriting on the top folder.
"Huh?" You picked it up and scrutinized the neat ink marks on the manilla card, why did it suddenly look so familiar to you?
"No way! I've gotta be seeing things!" You muttered, blinking rapidly in disbelief.
You reached for the card again and held it against the folder containing Mike's paperwork to compare the handwriting, your eyes widening in disbelief when you realized it was a perfect match.
"Holy shit!"

A loud knock on the door soon disturbed Commander Erwin's solitude.
"Yes?" He called, not looking up from his paperwork.
"It's me Erwin!" Came an enthusiastic female voice.
"Come in Hanji."
The door swung open and the titan loving scientist happily bounded into the office.
"I've got some good news for you lover boy!"
Erwin finally looked up to face her and raised his bushy eyebrows at her as she stopped in front of his desk, her puppy brown eyes wide behind her glasses.
"F/n has confirmed that there is nothing romantic going on between her and Mike, she sees him only as an older brother type. Isn't that great? You can make a play for her affections now without worrying about stepping on his toes!"
Blinking rapidly the blonde commander leaned back in his seat and folded his arms, choosing to remain skeptical of Hanji's findings.
"You heard this from f/n herself?"
"Yep, Levi was with me at the time as well. He'll be willing to confirm it too...well he will if you order him to!" She giggled. "So did you manage to confess to f/n when she came to pick up her paperwork?"
"No I didn't." Replied Erwin with a frown. "I'm also uncertain as to why Mike ordered her to turn up here covered in bandages, it's very unprofessional of him."
Hanji hummed thoughtfully before an idea struck her.
"Maybe he's worked out you're the one sending f/n flowers and chocolates? He could've done it on purpose to try and use it as an opening for you to try and flirt with her?"
Erwin silently continued to frown at her, so she pressed ahead with her theory.
"Come on, this is Mike we're talking about! He can sniff out anything, maybe he's uncovered your secret and that was his way of trying to help push the two of you together?"
"It's possible." Mused Erwin with a nod. "How do we get him alone to raise the subject though? F/n is nearly always with him when she's not on duty."
"Just you leave that to me!" Smiled Hanji. "I'll take care of everything!"

You quickly made your way to Mike's office to take him his paperwork.
You were still in shock at the idea that Erwin, the commander of all people was the secret admirer that had been sent you the beautiful rose bouquet, the expensive chocolates and sweet little love notes. You were flattered of course that he had made such an effort for you...but why?
Why you? What had you done to attract the attention of such a respected military official?
Shaking your thoughts from your head you walked up to Mike's office door and knocked waiting for a response.
"Yes?"
"It's me Mike, I got your paperwork." You called through the solid wood.
"Come in f/n."
You swallowed hard and did as asked, approaching the desk.
Mike looked up and gave you a smile, however it soon disappeared when you handed over his paperwork folder.
"F/n, what's wrong?" He questioned, his facial expressions and voice evidently showing his concern.
"Can we talk?" You asked nervously, still in shock over the discovery of Erwin being your secret admirer.
"Of course." Nodded Mike, standing from his seat and walking up to you. He took you in his strong arms and embraced you.
"Well it's not that something's wrong as such." You mused returning his hug. "You know I mentioned that someone had been leaving me gifts and sweet little notes outside my office today."
Mike smirked knowingly, quickly wiping it from his face he pulled away from you and looked into your eyes with nothing but the utmost concern on his features.
"Yes, what about it?"
"I think I've worked out who it is."
"Really?" He gasped, pretending to be shocked. "So who is it?"
"Well erm..." You bit your lip and met his gaze. "It's Commander Erwin."
"Erwin?"
"I know I sound crazy, but I swear the handwriting on the notes matches the style on our paperwork."
You pulled one of the notes out and held it up against Mike's paperwork, showing him the comparison. "
"Well that's definitely Erwin's handwriting." Nodded the tall section commander. "So, how do you feel about this?"
"Obviously I'm flattered." You began, a small smile gracing your lips for a brief moment. "I'm...I'm just confused as to why me?"
"Well why not?" Grinned Mike. "You're a lovely young woman, kind, easy on the eyes and a skilled soldier. So how do you feel about him? Is the attraction mutual?"
You giggled and blushed at his compliments before becoming serious once more.
"I think he's handsome, a good leader and respected by his peers." A frown spread across your face. "The only thing that worries me is those rumors that he only uses women for one night stands."
Mike narrowed his eyes, yes that was a worrying factor and the last thing he wanted was to see you treated the same way. However he knew Erwin well enough to know that he wouldn't be making an effort to woo you if he was only after a quick fumble to satisfy his carnal needs.
"If he was serious about you, would you give him a chance?"
You hummed thoughtfully.
"If I knew for certain he wasn't just wanting another conquest, then yes I would."
"Alright, in that case I will help you find out his intentions towards you." Said Mike evenly. "I care a lot about you f/n, you're like a little sister to me and I won't let anyone hurt you."
"Thanks Mike." You smiled, pulling him into another hug. "Although, how are we going to find out if he's not just trying to win me over with gifts just so he can get me into bed?"
"Oh don't worry." Said Mike with a grin that made you immediately think of Hanji. "I have a plan."