Love Games - Erwin x Reader

Part 5

(This is my fav chapter hehe)

WARNING: The following chapter contains suggestive themes, proceed with caution.

The next few days were painfully awkward.
You avoided Erwin like he had some sort of plague, only ever acknowledging his existence when you needed to see him in an official capacity. You completely blanked him in the mess hall, averted your gaze in the corridors and if you were training you would immediately engross yourself in the lesson you were teaching to avoid needing to see or speak to him.
Even Levi had noticed the frosty air between you, however he chose not to get involved.
He did however give you a stern warning about letting personal conflicts interfere with your training. It was as close as you were ever going to get to a friendly "don't let Erwin get to you" from the short captain, so you made do.

You sighed and leaned your elbow on the hard wooden table where you currently sat having breakfast with Mike and rested your chin on the palm of your hand, disinterestedly poking at your porridge with your spoon.
"Erwin's really upset you hasn't he?" Questioned Mike, gently rubbing your back and raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the commander, who was once again staring at you worriedly.
"I know he didn't actually accuse me of being a whore, but it was the fact he said "flirting with your superiors" rather than just saying I was flirting with you...He made it sound like I try it on with everyone who ranks above me." You furrowed your brows, putting your spoon down in your half empty bowl and turning to face him. "I don't do I?"
Mike growled and shook his head, pulling you against him and resting his chin on top of your head.
"Of course you don't." He muttered gently. "Ignore him, he'll apologize for being such an asshole eventually."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Trust me f/n." Said Mike sniffing the air and giving the commander another death glare. "I know what I'm talking about."

Erwin sat a few tables away from you and Mike, his icy blue eyed gaze fixed on your slouched form.
The past few days had been absolute hell for him, every time he so much as casually glanced at you he felt a dull ache in his chest when you refused to meet his gaze. You barely acknowledged him when you collected your paperwork which really stung him, but what hurt him the most was when you saw him walking towards you and deliberately chose to use another route so you could avoid him altogether.
"Just apologise already will you?" Groaned a female voice next to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"How?" Questioned Erwin, finally turning back to face the table. "Hanji, every time I get near her she finds a way to avoid me! Trying to get close to her is like trying to catch smoke at the moment."
"Well she'll be heading to the stables soon, everyone knows her morning routine never changes." Said Hanji suggestively. "She has breakfast, tends to her horse, double checks her paperwork and then has a mid morning coffee with Mike before she joins the others for training. Levi help me out here will you?"
Levi raised his eyebrows and glared at her over the rim of his teacup, choosing to remain silent.
"Ugh never mind, forget I said anything." Snorted Hanji, turning her attention back to Erwin.
"Tch, that shouldn't be too hard considering I wasn't listening to a word you said." Muttered Levi under his breath before leaving the table.
"Follow her to the stables, corner her if you have to...just sort this mess out!"
Picking up her bowl and spoon she also left the table, leaving Erwin sat by himself and once again focusing his attention on you and Mike.

You sighed deeply and started humming as you picked up a thick bristled brush from the grooming box mounted on the wall of Whisper's stall. Unlatching the door you patted the horse's neck and started brushing her silky mane, completely oblivious to the sound of heavy footsteps on the stone ground outside.
"F/n?"
You froze and swallowed hard, your eyes widening nervously at the sound of the familiar male voice.
'Oh crap what's he doing here?'
"Good Morning Commander." You said evenly, keeping your back to him and resuming your task. There was no point in trying to run or hide, so you opted to just remain where you were and focus on grooming your horse.
Erwin sighed and folded his arms, the fact that you refused to look at him stung like a slap to the face. However he knew full well he deserved it after the way he spoke to you a few days ago.
"How are you?" He asked cautiously, desperately wishing you would at least glance back at him.
"Fine thank you Sir."
That hurt even more than the fact that you wouldn't look at him, he expected a cold and casual attitude from Levi, but coming from you it just felt...completely wrong. Where was the usual friendliness in your voice? The warmth you usually showed your comrades?
"F/n, look at me."
Halting your task you slowly turned around to face him, making his heart ache at the emotionless stare you directed at him. He knew he had some serious making up to do, starting with a long overdue apology.
"F/n I want to apologize for the other day."
You furrowed your brows at him, Erwin never apologized for anything. What exactly was he playing at? Did he genuinely feel guilty for upsetting you?
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you flirting with your superiors. I know you are like a sister to Mike and I respect that, in fact I admire the bond the two of you share."
You blinked rapidly, completely caught off guard.
"I...apology accepted...Sir," You replied carefully, still not looking directly at him.
Erwin gave you a small smile, however you blushed and averted your gaze, making him chuckle.
"So, have you worked out who your secret admirer is yet?"
'Oh, so he thinks by apologising I'll automatically forgive him?' You thought, a frown spreading across you face. 'Not a chance!'
"No Sir, I haven't." You lied, starting to brush Whisper's flank so you wouldn't have to look at him again. "Anyway it doesn't matter now, they seem to have given up."
Erwin swallowed hard and moved closer to you, effectively blocking you from leaving the stall.
You were clearly disheartened by the lack of romantic gestures, maybe now an apology had been issued they may...resume?
"Then they are a fool to give up on such a beautiful young woman."
The blush on your face intensified, causing your cheeks to rapidly heat up.
"That...that's very kind of you to say Sir."
"I'm merely telling the truth."
'Shit, he's smooth!' You cursed internally, feeling your resolve waver at his compliment. 'No, he doesn't deserve to be forgiven so easily...it's time to up the stakes!'
You turned around to face him, looking up and making full on eye contact with him for the first time in several days, however before you could speak Mike appeared and interrupted the two of you.
"Ah f/n, there you are." He said in his usual gruff tone. "Captain Levi is looking for you, he wants you to go meet him in his office."
"What? Now?" You asked, furrowing your brows suspiciously.
"Yes."
"Alright I'm going," You groaned, rolling your eyes and putting the brush back in its box. "Excuse me Sir."
Erwin remained frozen for a moment before registering that you were talking to him since he was still blocking your way, he quickly stepped to the side, pressing himself against the wall to make space between him and Whisper.
He tensed up when the top of your rear end made subtle contact with his groin as you brushed past him, thankfully he managed to control himself and maintain his composure.
Once you had left and were out of earshot, Mike turned his attention to Erwin.
"Since when do you go after the females of this regiment when you want to get your end away?" He demanded of his superior, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Erwin furrowed his bushy brows and blinked in surprise, sure he and Mike were good friends but this wasn't like him. He never directly challenged him on anything without adding the words "no disrespect" at the start of his sentence.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you pursuing f/n." Said Mike evenly. "I care a great deal about her and I will not let you hurt her!"
Before Erwin had a chance to reply, Mike walked off and headed back towards the castle.
"Hmm, is he still testing me or does he actually have feelings that run deeper than brotherly love when it comes to f/n?" Mused the commander to himself.
Nonchalantly shrugging off the other man's warning, Erwin also made his way back towards the main HQ building. Since you seemed to accept his apology, it was time to begin the process of earning your forgiveness and winning your heart.

You straightened your uniform and raised your hand to knock on Levi's office door, however the sound of someone shouting your name stopped you at the last second.
"F/n wait!"
Turning around you saw Mike running towards you, shaking his head he grinned and stopped a couple of feet from you.
"Sorry, I lied about Levi wanting to see you."
"What the hell for?" You snapped, folding your arms and giving him an accusatory glare.
"I needed to get you away from Erwin. I think we need to change our strategy where he is concerned."
"What strategy? Mike what the hell are you talking about?"
"Look, I know you still want to give him a chance to woo you." Stated Mike, folding his arms and staring down intently at you. "But, I think he needs to suffer for upsetting your first. So..."
He pulled you close and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, the stubble on his upper lip and chin tickling the shell of your ear as he whispered into it.
"NO FUCKING WAY!" You laughed, slamming your hands over your mouth and nervously glancing at Levi's door. You seriously doubted he would be happy to hear you and Mike plotting outside his office.
"Hey you've already been accused of it!" Snorted Mike. "Come on, you want to teach him a lesson don't you?"
You giggled and lowered your hands.
"If I get demoted because of this..."
"Don't worry, you won't...trust me."

Later that morning Erwin, Levi and Hanji sat in the mess hall enjoying a mid morning break from training.
Erwin sighed and reached for the wooden bowl of fruit in the middle of the table, picking up a ripe red apple he rubbed it on his jacket sleeve before taking a bite and glancing towards the heavy wooden doors.
"So did you manage to apologize to f/n yet?" Questioned Hanji, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Yes, I caught her out by the stables."
"And?" Persisted the titan loving maniac, making a circular movement with her hand to encourage him to elaborate.
"She seemed to accept my apology." Shrugged the commander, however his attention was soon pulled to the doors once more as a certain young squad leader and her seemingly ever present former squad commander walked through them.
"Hmm, I think our next move should be getting her away from Mike." Mused Hanji, picking up her coffee. "You can't very well attempt to woo her with him constantly following her like some sort of chaperone."
Levi rolled his eyes and tutted, so much for him being able to enjoy a cup of tea in peace without Hanji and Erwin's scheming.
"Levi..." Smiled the bespectacled brunette, batting her long eyelashes at him behind her glasses.
"No."
"I haven't even said anything!"
"I'm not helping you with your shitty plans for f/n."
"Hmph, fine but I'm not taking a bath until you do!"
Levi raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, if that was how she wanted to be he would simply knock her unconscious and bathe her himself...he'd done it before!
Erwin shook his head and continued to watch as you and Mike sat down a couple of tables away, however this time he couldn't help but notice you were sat facing him rather than with your back to him...was this some sort of sign? He seriously hoped so.

"Okay he's staring at me again." You giggled, quickly glancing the in the commander's direction.
"So give him something worth looking at." Suggested Mike with a shrug.
"Hmm." You grinned evilly and reached for the fruit bowl in the middle of the table, picking up a freshly ripened banana you made eye contact with Erwin as you slowly and seductively began to peel it.
"Oh I see where this is going." Chuckled Mike, watching you with interest.
"Hey you said give him something worth looking at!" You snorted in reply before proceeding to show Erwin just how...erotic eating fruit could be.

"What the fuck is that brat doing?" Asked Levi cocking his head to one side and frowning deeply.
"Oh the filthy little minx!" Laughed Hanji, desperately wishing Moblit was present to sketch your performance.
Erwin swallowed hard, a hot blush starting to creep onto his features as he watched you slide your lips up and down the banana in a teasingly slow manner. Your e/c eyes remained locked with his as you seductively narrowed them and ran your tongue along the underside of it before winking at him.
"Wow!" He muttered, he wasn't sure what to say or do in the situation. He did know that if you carried on like this he was going to end up with a bit of a problem...one that would require his immediate attention and a hasty exit from the mess hall.
He was snapped out of his lustful fantasy a moment later when you removed the banana from your mouth long enough to smirk at him and wriggle your eyebrows before taking half of it in your mouth. The "forming problem" he was worried about soon deserted him when you violently bit the top half of the banana clean off and angrily chewed it before swallowing.
An involuntary squeak escaped the commander's lips, his blush intensifying as he spun around in his seat and nervously crossed his legs under the table. His icy blue eyes were wide with panic and he couldn't bring himself to look directly at Hanji or Levi, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Hanji was frozen in her seat. Her puppy brown eyes were wide with shock and her jaw was hanging open, while Levi was sat staring straight ahead looking like someone had just taken a shit in his tea.

"Yeah, erm...when I said give him something worth looking at...that wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Mused Mike nervously as you finished eating your banana and casually reached for a tissue to wipe the remnants from your lips.
"Oh, was it not?" You asked innocently. "Come on Mike, you know me better than that. If you issue me with a challenge, I will run with it!"
Mike chuckled and shook his head, curling his hand into a fist and raising it.
You smirked and did the same, giving him a fist bump before reaching for your coffee.
"So what's next? I think I'm going to enjoy winding up our dear commander."

After mid morning break you made your way to the library to pick up a couple of training manuals before joining Mike for ODM Gear care and maintenance, an essential part of any scouts training when they were forced to camp out in titan territory during an expedition.
You reached up for a book a couple of shelves above you and frowned when the tips of your fingers just brushed against its spine, failing to get a good grip on it and pull it down.
"Damnit!" You cursed, jumping up and trying again.
For some strange reason, the ladder had mysteriously...vanished and you couldn't find it anywhere. So with no one else around to help, you were forced to struggle by on your own.
"May I assist you?"
You jumped around and backed up against the shelf, seeing Commander Erwin stood behind you.
'Oh shit!'
"Erm, thank you Sir." You smiled shyly, clutching your paperwork to your chest like a nervous school girl being confronted by the teacher she had a crush on.
"Well it wouldn't be right to see you struggle now would it." Stated Erwin, stepping towards you and reaching over your head.
You swallowed hard at the close proximity of your bodies, the commander's natural musk filled your nostrils as you fought back the urge to run your shaking hands over his firm upper body.
'Quit fantasizing about what he looks like under his uniform f/n!' You internally scolded yourself. 'You're supposed to be playing hard to get damnit!'
"So." Questioned Erwin with a smirk as he pretended to scan the books looking for which one you were after. Oh revenge was sweet! "Have you always hated fruit?"
"Huh?" You blinked rapidly and frowned in confusion.
"The way you angrily chomped down that banana during morning break." He chuckled. "Anyone would think you were forcing it down like bad medicine!"
You giggled nervously, desperately trying not to blush and struggling to maintain eye contact with him.
"Well what can I say Sir, I was hungry."
Erwin raised his bushy eyebrows at you, resisting the urge to say something lewd.
"Evidently...ah here we are." He finally pulled a thick heavy book from the shelf and held it out to you. "I take it this is the book you were after?"
"Erm, yes. Thank you Sir."
You cautiously reached for the book, bravely trying to reassert some of your early confidence by lightly brushing the tips of your fingers against his when you took it from him.
Erwin nodded and smiled, lowering his head to yours and looking into your e/c eyes.
"You know f/n...I've never seen anyone eat fruit like you before, it was almost as if you were thinking of something else before that angry little biting fit."
You gulped, your gaze fixed on his. Your lips were so close you half expected him to try and kiss you...
'Oh hell! What would I do if he did try and kiss me?'
"Oi f/n are you ready or not?"
You finally broke eye contact with Erwin and looked towards the door, seeing Mike stood there with his arms folded and a rather unimpressed look on his face.
"Yeah...erm...sorry Mike," You stuttered, quickly sidestepping the commander and making your way over to him.
"Th-thank you for your help Sir." You nodded, turning back to face Erwin for a moment before making a hasty exit.
Erwin raised his bushy eyebrows at Mike and smirked knowingly, earning him a snort from the taller male before he walked away, closing the door behind him.

"That sneaky son of a bitch!" You muttered under your breath, holding your book close to your chest and purposefully striding towards the main classroom where the rookies would be assembled with their gear awaiting your arrival.
"So what was that about then?"
You jumped around and saw Mike stood behind you, one eyebrow raised and his hands on his hips.
"Geez do you have to sneak up on me like that?" You questioned angrily.
"I take it by the snappy reaction and the way he had you cornered he's gained the upper hand?"
"Yeah it seems that way." You snorted, watching Mike as he walked up to you and put a hand on your shoulder.
"Alright, well we got off to a good start with the banana in the mess hall. Now we need to step up our game, he's not the commander of the Survey Corps for nothing f/n."
You furrowed your brows and regarded him with interest.
"Look, I had a...word with him earlier. His reaction spoke volumes...as did his scent."
"So what are you saying exactly?"
"He's not just after you for a quick fumble, he actually wants a relationship with you."
Your jaw dropped open so quickly it nearly hit the floor.
"For real?" You asked, your voice hitching slightly.
Mike nodded and stared at you intently, giving you a moment to take in this little revelation.
"So, what happens now?"
"Well." You mused, rolling your eyes. "I think you're right and we need to step up our game."
Mike grinned and put an arm around you, leading you towards the classroom where you would be conducting your lesson.
"Alright then, let's throw around some ideas after we've dealt with the rookies."

Hanji casually walked through the corridors of the Survey Corps HQ looking through a messy folder full of papers relating to her latest experiment, failing to notice someone walking towards her until it was too late.
"Ouch!" She gasped, colliding with a firm muscular chest, causing her paperwork to spill out of the folder and flutter to the floor upon impact.
"Are you okay Hanji?" Asked a deep voice.
"Huh?" Hanji blinked rapidly and straightened her glasses, looking up into the icy blue eyed stare of the commander. "Oh Erwin it's you!"
"You really should watch where you're going."
He squatted and helped her pick up the scattered paperwork, handing it back to her and brushing past so he could return to his office.
"Thanks, so have you seen f/n since morning break?"
"Yes I have." Grinned Erwin.
"I think it's safe to say I've...gained the upper hand."
"Ooh what happened?" Asked Hanji excitedly, straightening her paperwork.
"Let's just say separating her from Mike is a good idea, she's a lot more...vulnerable when he isn't around and I stand a better chance of seeing the real her."
"Hmm, leave it with me." Mused the bespectacled brunette. "I'll see what I can come up with."
Erwin nodded and smiled, waving her away and continuing on his way.
He was going to enjoy this little game that you had initiated, however what he was really looking forward to was being declared the winner and claiming you as his prize.