Another Story: After Autumn (Attack on Titan AU)

On Dangerous Territory

Mike lounged comfortably on his couch, legs stretched on the edge of the table as he flipped through the remote of his TV. After browsing through over five channels, he eventually gave up and settled on a documentary of some sorts and left the television to buzz off with a hum to fill in the silence of his apartment. It was his day off from work, he was living alone, and had no plans on settling down as of the moment.

Hungry, he mused to himself as he grabbed his phone and decided to have something delivered to him. Mike was known to be hardworking and diligent in the police force, often finishing his assigned tasks with the highest efficiency and receiving lots of commendations from his colleagues, but away from it all, he liked to indulge in a little bit of laziness as well. It was his way of rewarding himself from everything he'd went through in the past life, he told himself.

In the middle of choosing what fast food chain he was going to order from, his phone vibrated, and the caller ID Nanaba popped up.

Mike blinked twice at the screen before he swiped to accept and held it close to his ear. "Nana. What's up?"

From what he knew, Nanaba was at her shift at the station today. Mike was more than used to the emergency calls he received from work, so despite being in a day off, he was always prepared to head to the station in case he was needed.

From the other end of the line, he could hear jabbering of conversations, no doubt his colleagues at work in their usual environment, until the person finally spoke.

["Why didn't you tell me you met with the Sergeant Major?"]

Ah. My bad.

"It slipped my mind, sorry." Mike shrugged, despite knowing she couldn't see him. In his defense, his reunion with Isanna was cut short because he was called in to work that day, and in the rush of excitement, he forgot to tell her. "Who told you?"

["I heard it from Moblit. The sergeant is working with him at the public library, so it seems. And she doesn't remember anything."]

"You do realize she's no longer a sergeant major in this life, right?" Mike pointed out. "So make sure you don't call her that when you see her."

Nanaba hummed from her end, then told him to wait for a second as shuffling sounds echoed. Her voice became distant in the next few moments. ["Gelgar! Where's the backlog I had you do? .. Not yet? I need it by the end of the day—no, I won't give you back your secret stash of beer, you fool!"]

Mike heard whines and groans and couldn't help quirk a smile. In what he could only call as sheer luck, almost all his squad from the past life somehow found their way into the police force with him. He found it admirable that even in this life, they still chose to serve the public—despite what they all went through in the past.

Nanaba's voice became clear from the other end with a huff.

["Gelgar, that bastard. He's whining about how I confiscated his stash in the lockers. Why does he even have a stash in the station? We're not allowed to drink on duty."]

Mike chuckled. "He doesn't actually drink during his shift at the station, per se."

["You're too lenient with him."] she sighed, and a momentary pause flowed into the conversation. Even from where he was, Mike could feel the contemplation going on in Nanaba's mind, and he waited patiently for her to speak up.

["So, you got any plans for the sergeant?"]

Mike pressed his lips together. Habits do die hard; Nanaba still calls Isanna with her title, heck, she even still calls Erwin commander at times, and Levi captain. Not just her, but the rest of the officers.