The Newest Addition

Another Late Night

*March 24th, 4:45 a.m.*

Eren was sitting on the bed holding a crying Mathilda. It was about 4 a.m. and she woke up from another nightmare. He rocked back and forth, his fingers combing through her curls and whispering to her. She was shaking and gripping his shirt.

Armin was dead asleep, having returned at 2 a.m. from an important meeting with Hanji and Erwin.

"Calm down princess, Daddy's got you. You're okay." He whispered, moving his hand from her hair to her back, patting her gently. Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, causing Armin to sit up, awake and alert.

"Shhhh. Lay down, I've got it." He said softly to the blonde. He laid back down and instantly went back to sleep.

She looked over to Armin and sniffled, still crying. Eren set her on the bed, expecting her to cuddle up to Armin, and got up to answer the door. When it swung open, he saw Hanji standing at the door.

"Oh, hey Hanji. What's up?" He asked in a low voice.

"Just checking in. I thought I heard scream." They questionably looked up at him. He sighed and nodded, shifting onto his left foot.

"You did. She keeps having nightmares. They're so bad she wakes up screaming and crying, and she shakes really badly." He explained to them. Hanji nodded and looked down to see the girl run over and latch onto her Dad's leg.

"Hi Mathilda, it's Hanji! Did you had a bad dream?" They asked, hoping to grab her attention and ask her more. Eren lifted her up and held her close.

"Yeah... Scary..." Mathilda whined, nuzzling her cheek into his arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Can you tell me what happened in your dream?" Hanji asked. The girl looked at them for a second before looking up at Eren in confusion. He chuckled.

"Tell them what your dream looks like, mamas."

"Was dark. I not find Daddy. He was not here and... And was red stuff and pokies on all the things. Always that." She told them, choking on her words as she started to tear up. Eren rubbed her back and Hanji nodded.

"Oh, that sounds pretty bad. I want you bring her to me tomorrow, I want to check on her mentally as well as physically. For now, I assume you know how to handle this." They concluded. They turned to the girl and smiled at her, patting the top of her head.

"Try to get some good sleep, okay? I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, you guys." They waved and walked out.

It was now just the three of them. Hanji served as a nice distraction for the little girl, who laid flat against Eren's chest. He stretched his neck to see her face, and smiled when he saw her eyes becoming droopy.

He laid Mathilda in the middle of the bed, walked over to her crib for her binky and her stuffed animals. As soon as he sat on the bed, Mathilda's eyes cracked open.

He smiled at her and slipped her pacifier into her mouth and gave her the stuffed animals. She smiled and played with the fur of the bear until Eren laid down. She tried to sit up, but Eren's hand prevented her from doing so.

"Shhh, lay down Tilly. We have to go to sleep, like Mommy." He whispered to her. She sniffled and turned onto her side, facing Eren. The two brunettes faced each other until they both fell asleep at some point.

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The next morning, Armin woke up before anyone else. He slipped out of the bed and went downstairs. He made himself a cup of coffee and made light conversation with Mikasa, who was up training early.

Once he was finished with his coffee, he made a bottle just in case and made a second mug of coffee for Eren and took it upstairs. He tucked the bottle under his arm to open the door, and came in to see the sight of Eren and Mathilda cuddling, still asleep. She misses Eren a lot on his work days, but she tries to be a big girl about it.