𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑵 𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑻𝑺 ꨄ︎

𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 | Eʀᴡɪɴ X Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Major Season 3 Spoilers

No warnings

Gender not Specified

You are Levi's sibling

I finished Stranger Things yesterday (7/2), so I wrote this. I hope you enjoy me projecting my pain into writing 

You're not strong. Not like your brother.

But you are smart. You may not be as physically adaptable as others, but strategies, planning, and statistics are what you are best at. Which is probably why you were put on Erwin's squad. Your brains before brawn combined with Erwin's brains and brawn worked dangerously well together, and your completely opposite experiences made you both look at all sides of a plan to contemplate every measure you would have to take.

That's what you are working on now with Erwin. The mission to retake Wall Maria began the next day, and you and Erwin are still obsessing over every detail.

Finally, Erwin placed his quill down and slumped back into his chair, placing a hand over his mouth as he stared intently at the paper. By now, night had fallen, and the moonlight filtered through the curtains. The candle flickered beside you as you glanced at Erwin.

"We can do this in the morning, Erwin. We have tomorrow." He didn't mind you calling him by his first name. Well, to be specific, he got used to it. When he dragged you, Levi, and your friends from the underground, neither you nor Levi was fond of calling your superiors by their title because you didn't respect them. They blackmailed you and forced you to join their cause. Why should you show respect if they have none to give? That habit stuck for you both, but Levi gave them nicknames, and you called them by their first name.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Erwin nodded at your decision to end your meeting. You began packing your papers and arranging them back into their files when Erwin leaned forward and placed a hand over yours. "Will you stay for a minute?"

You raised an eyebrow while you finished positioning all your papers in their correct folders. You shoved the folders roughly into your bag and took a step away from Erwin's desk. There was no way in hell you would stay here longer than needed. You're desperate for alone time and sleep after many sleepless nights of planning this life-altering mission.

"Please," Erwin begged, his voice lacking its usual authority. Your hands stopped moving, frozen in place, and with a dramatic sigh, you set the bag down and flopped into the chair in front of his desk. Your heart pounded against your rib cage, and you swallowed thickly.

Erwin cleared his throat, his eyes darting everywhere except yours. "I want you to stay behind."

He didn't even need to clarify his vague statement because you know what he meant. He wants you to stay behind on the mission to reclaim Wall Maria. You shot up from your seat and slammed your palms against the wood. "What?!"

"You would just be a liability," he explained, but you didn't see the sweat collecting above his brow, his hands fidgeting under the desk, and the anxious expression he tried to conceal.

"You don't trust me," you said incredibly. "After all this time, you don't trust me?!"

Erwin's hands clenched into fists. "I suppose not. You're not skilled at combat; this is a combat mission with humanity's survival on the line. I won't allow you to jeopardize the mission."

Your hand finds your face, covering your mouth, slumping back into the chair. You stare at the map sprawled out on Erwin's desk. "I thought you trusted me."

He stares back, his eyes finally finding yours, before changing the subject. "I want you to be the head of the strategy division after this."

"What?! Why?" You eye him up and down before leaning forward. Erwin was a complex man with many flaws, but when it came to the Survey Corps, they seemed to evaporate along with any reasons to distrust him. You knew he did this so his men would follow him to their deaths without a second thought. He was a precise and cunning man, who did everything with purpose, so what was his aim here?