Love Games - Erwin x Reader

Part 8

Returning to his office Erwin growled under his breath and slumped down in his seat, resting his elbows on his desk he let out a frustrated sigh.
After a pleasant, what one could possibly class as a date with you, he had asked for your permission to kiss you. You were hesitant at first but in the end granted his request, only to have Mike show up and ruin the intimate moment between the two of you.
"Just when she was finally done teasing me." Muttered Erwin under his breath. "I should've known Mike would continue to meddle in my attempts to court her."
Before he could brood further there was a loud knock at the door, knowing his luck it would be Hanji come to ask awkward questions and that was the last thing he wanted.
However there was also the possibility that it could be you, you usually showed up around this time to pick up your paperwork. Maybe he would get another chance to try and kiss you?
Swallowing hard, adjusting his bolo tie and drawing a deep breath he focused his attention on the door.
"Yes?"
'Ah...it's him.' He mused internally, a look of evident disappointment etching itself onto his features when the door opened and a tall blonde haired section commander with dark stubble around his mouth entered the office.
"Mike." Said Erwin evenly. "What can I do for you?"
"I've come to collect my paperwork." Replied the taller male bluntly, stopping when he reached the desk and folding his arms.
Erwin nodded and started searching the drawers under his desk for the folder containing Mike's paperwork, however when he did eventually find it he did not hand it over straight away.
"Sit down, I need a word."
Mike shrugged and did as he was asked, his narrow blue eyes bore into the commander's as he discreetly sniffed the air.
"I take it you know what I want to talk to you about?" Questioned Erwin, raising a bushy eyebrow at his subordinate.
"Something about f/n." It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"That's correct. I want to know the extent of your feelings for her."
Mike raised an eyebrow.
"I care a great deal for her, she's like a little sister to me."
"Is that all?"
"You think I have feelings of a romantic nature for her."
Erwin narrowed his icy blue eyes and folded his arms, staring Mike in the eye.
"You're wrong." Continued Mike raising his head slightly. "I told you before, I won't let you hurt her. I'm not going to let her become another one of your conquests."
"Your nose must be losing its touch." Challenged Erwin. "I wouldn't make this much effort to try and gain f/n's affections if all I wanted was a one night stand."
"My nose is in fine working order thanks." Snorted Mike, sniffing the air and smirking. "If f/n wants me to back off then I will, but until then I'm going to keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Erwin's left eye twitched slightly and he found himself responding to his subordinates baiting.
"I respect the fact you're looking out for f/n Mike, but she is an adult who can make her own decisions. She doesn't need a babysitter."
"May I have my paperwork now?" Asked Mike, swiftly changing the subject.
Shaking his head, the blonde commander handed over the manilla folder, watching him through narrowed eyes when he took it and stood from his seat.
"Goodnight Erwin." He said amicably.
Making his way to the door and smirking, he opened it to leave, struggling to suppress a chuckle at the frustration that radiated from the blonde commander.

The next morning after you'd had breakfast and tended with your horse you met up with Levi to go through the recruits final tests before their were assigned to their squads for the upcoming expedition at the end of the month.
"Morning Levi." You smiled brightly, earning you a grunt in reply from the raven haired captain.
"Nice love bite by the way!"
Levi's head snapped round and he shot you a death glare, which only intensified when you giggled and pointed at your own throat to indicate the location of the small purple bruise on his skin just above his cravat.
"Tch, where are those brats we're meant to be assessing?" He snorted, adjusting the white fabric so that Hanji's handywork was now covered.
"Mike is escorting them over once they're finished with their horsemanship assessment." You replied.
"Ah Levi, f/n there you are!"
The two of your turned around and saw Erwin walking briskly towards you.
'Oh crap here we go.' You thought worriedly. You'd been feeling uneasy around him after yesterday's failed attempt at a kiss thanks to Mike interrupting you. The atmosphere between the two men afterwards had been extremely tense and you were far from comfortable at being caught in the middle of it.
While you appreciated Mike looking out for you, you were also by now convinced that Erwin wasn't just after using you for a night of passion and then casting you aside the next morning.
Although after all the teasing you had been doing, he would probably think that if you suddenly decided to give him a chance you were going to use him and then brush him off afterwards.
You needed to proceed with caution if you were to actually give him a chance and you knew it.
"I came to see how the recruit assessments were going." Said Erwin, jerking you out of your thoughts.
"Section Commander Zacharius will be escorting them over when he's finished with them Sir." You spoke up, since Levi seemed to be more interested in staring at his paperwork. "After that we will be assessing their hand to hand combat skills."
Erwin nodded and gave you a small smile, causing a light blush to rise on your cheeks.
"Alright then."
However his smile soon disappeared when he saw Mike and the recruits approaching, something which you instantly picked up on. Swallowing down your nervousness you turned to look at Levi.
"They're here." You said, gaining his immediate attention.
"Tch, about time." He snorted, handing you the paperwork and folding his arms.
You rolled your eyes and looked at Mike, your brows furrowing at the sly grin that crossed his face when he saw Erwin stood with you and Levi.
"Oh boy!" You muttered, half out of fear and half out of amusement. "Looks like the game isn't over yet."

Erwin sat at the table and watched with interest as you, Mike and Levi sorted the recruits into pairs to practice before facing off against Levi to determine their final assessment scores.
They were originally going to be fighting you, however Erwin had stepped in and decided to pit them against the raven haired captain instead, since his hand to hand combat skills were more formidable than yours.
You walked around the sparring pairs and watched them closely, stopping them and offering advice where you thought necessary.
However the smooth flow of the lesson was not to last...once the first recruit stepped up to face Levi, Erwin decided to approach you and unfortunately for him, this move did not go unnoticed by Mike.

You stood watching Levi and his opponent with the clipboard and pen in hand, closely scrutinizing every move the youngster was making and marking down comments on his test paper.
"How are you feeling today f/n?" Asked Erwin quietly, moving to stand behind you and lowering his head to yours, his warm breath fanning across the shell of your ear as he spoke.
"I'm fine thank you." You allowed yourself a small smile, forcing yourself to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Good." He nodded. "I enjoyed our little ride last night, I was hoping maybe we could do it again sometime?"
"Yes, I'd like that."
Erwin smiled and angled his head closer to you, watching Mike out of the corner of his eye and raising his bushy eyebrows when he noticed the taller male narrow his eyes at him.
"So would I."
You bit your lip and remained facing forward as the sparring session came to an abrupt end when Levi pinned the young recruit on his back with his hand around his throat.
"I yield!" Yelled the terrified teenager.
"Okay not bad." You said, writing down the final marks on the test paper. "Go fetch the next one please, then you can sit over in the shade until everyone else is done."
"Yes Squad Leader." He replied, jogging back to the main group.
You walked over to the table where Erwin had previously been sitting and removed the completed test paper from the clipboard and placing it down before making your way back to the assessment area.
"So what did Erwin want?"
You looked up and saw Mike staring at you with a raised eyebrow.
"He just wanted to know how I was after yesterday, he asked if I wanted to do it again sometime." You smiled, knowing full well what he was up to.
"Okay." Remarked Mike, gently brushing a lock of stray h/l h/c hair back behind your ear and looking into your eyes. "Just watch yourself around him, I still don't think his intentions are honorable."
"Yes dad!" You giggled, lightly shoving his shoulder and making your way back over to Levi.

Erwin narrowed his icy blue eyes and curled his lip, watching Mike brush some stray hairs away from your face. As much as he respected the other man's protectiveness of you, in Erwin's eyes he was starting to take it too far. If his intention was to continue to make him jealous it was working, perhaps a little too well.
Deciding he'd had enough Erwin returned to your side and stood as close to you as he could without actually touching you, earning him a suspicious glance from the blonde section commander as he walked back to the group of recruits.
"I see your chaperone is back on duty." Erwin smirked, earning him a giggle and a playful nudge. "He's just looking out for me."
"I know he is, but don't you get annoyed with him being so protective?"
Before you could answer, a loud thud followed by a frightened squeal of "Please don't hurt me!" pulled your attention to the recruit currently sparring with Levi.
"Tch, go back to the main group and send the next brat. F/n, put this one down for a retest."
"Yes Captain." You replied, removing the test paper from the clipboard and putting it underneath the others for later.
"Squad Leader."
You looked to your right and saw Mike approaching you, he didn't look particularly happy.
"Yes Sir?" You questioned, your brows furrowing worriedly.
"One of the recruits is injured, can you deal with them."
You smirked and shook your head, handing over the clipboard and pen.
"On my way."
Mike nodded and watched you walk away before turning his attention to Erwin and giving him a stern glare.
"I shall leave you to it then." Stated the commander. "Carry on Captain."
Levi shrugged and prepared to spar with the next recruit, completely ignoring the raised eyebrow Mike was currently directing at Erwin when he sighed and glanced back at you one last time before finally admitting defeat and heading back across the training grounds towards the castle.

You finally managed to finish assessing the recruits ready for squad selection and made your way to the mess hall to meet Mike for lunch.
Upon entering you got yourself a bowl of soup and a bread roll, making your way over to a table in the corner and sitting down next to the the tall male.
"Okay Mike enough is enough." You stated in a matter of fact tone. "No more teasing, no more games. I was honestly convinced you and Erwin were going to end up scrapping this morning!"
Mike looked at you and chuckled, pouring you a cup of coffee.
"After last night...I'm pretty convinced I'm not just the next female in a long line of conquests." You continued.
"You're right." Said Mike, pushing the now filled coffee cup towards you. "I had a word with him last night and warned him that I wasn't going to let him hurt you. He had the nerve to ask me if I had romantic feelings for you."
"Seriously?" You giggled. "What did you tell him?"
"The truth of course."
You rolled your eyes and stirred your soup, a small sigh escaping your lips.
"Look f/n, if you want to give him a chance then do it." Said Mike softly. "You know I'll always be here for you when you need me. I just want you to be happy."
"Thanks Mike." You smiled, pulling him into a hug and burying your head into the crook of his neck.
Mike smiled and gently rubbed your back, resting his chin on your shoulder.
"Just promise me you won't let him pressure you into anything you're not comfortable with."
"If he does you'll get first dibs on ripping his eyebrows off!"
"It's a deal."

"So still no luck in getting f/n to agree to another date with you?" Questioned Hanji.
"She's agreed to go riding with me again, but we just haven't arranged anything yet."
"Hmm." Hanji was about to suggest something when she noticed you and Mike engaging in a rather intimate looking hug.
Erwin frowned and turned to look behind him, instantly wishing he hadn't when he saw you and Mike.
"Jealousy is a natural feeling, but it isn't attractive Erwin." She advised with a small smile. "Mike will always be a big part of f/n's life, there might not be any romantic feelings between them but there is still a strong bond between them."
"I know." He sighed turning back to face her. "I'm through playing games though, it's time to come clean and make my intentions clear."
"Well I wish you luck, just make sure you get f/n on her own before you make any sort of confession."
"Easier said than done." He mused, standing from his seat. "If anyone wants me I'll be in my office."
Hanji nodded and watched him leave, turning her attention back to you a moment later.
A sly smile crossed her face when she saw you quickly down your coffee and follow Erwin out of the mess hall, leaving Mike sat by himself.
"Hmm, looks like Erwin may get the opportunity to confess sooner than he thinks." She giggled quietly, making her way over to her comrade in an effort to prevent him from going after you.