A Little Bit Human (Erwin x OC)

62: Dinner with the Dawks

A/N:

I was going for "your parent's dinner party" with this chapter, so I hope it meets your expectations :D

Lillian and Erwin stood on Nile and Marie's doorstep. After months of both Commanders being busy, they finally decided on a time to meet for dinner. And that time was tonight.

"You look beautiful." Erwin squeezed her hand.

"No, I'm not." Lillian ran a hand over her swollen stomach.

"You are. You always are." Erwin looked down at his daughter in his other arm. "Isn't mommy so pretty?"

Little Carina laughed and lightly hit her father as a show of affection. Lillian smiled. In those little moments when Carina was the cutest creature on the planet it made all the sleepless nights, throw up, dirty diapers, and crying worth it. It made Lillian feel more ready to have another baby this soon.

"Erwin!" The door opened and a woman with red hair lunged at Erwin. Well, it wasn't actually a lunge, but she was quick to hug him. "It's been so long!"

So this was Marie. The only woman Erwin had loved before Lillian. And Lillian understood why. Her red hair was thick and curled, her blue eyes were bright and lively, unlike Lillian's dull jade ones. Her smile was beautiful, with dimples on either side. And despite having three children, her figure was slim. She was also very tall, standing just a little under Nile. But Marie stood almost a head taller than Lillian.

"You must be Lillian!" Just like she had with Erwin, Marie was quick to hug her. She pulled away from her, getting a good look at the shorter woman. "You are so cute, so pretty!"

Lillian blushed. "Thank you. You are very beautiful too. I love your hair." Lillian wished her hair was thicker, sure it would be harder to manage, but her hair was too thin for her liking. And Marie's natural curls were something Lillian would die for. Her hair was so straight that even when she did try to curl it, nothing happened.

"This must be your daughter!" Marie turned away from Lillian and to the baby. She raised her hand up to the baby, offering just one finger for Carina to wrap her small hand around. "What a beautiful girl. She is so precious."

"Thank you." Lillian smiled.

"What's her name?"

"Carina." Erwin answered.

"Last time I checked dinner takes place in the house, not on the doorstep!" Nile yelled to them.

"Sorry." Marie showed them inside. Nile was standing in the kitchen, finishing up dinner.

"Erwin, Lillian." Nile walked over to the couple. He shook Erwin's hand, and patted Lillian on the shoulder, he was unsure of whether they were close enough to hug. Nile shook the baby's hand. "You're cute, aren't you?" Carina laughed at Nile. 

"Let me hold, Carina!" Marie practically begged Erwin. He handed her over to Marie, already missing his daughter despite her being in arm's length. "I do love my girls, but I miss babies."

Nile handed a glass of red wine to each of them. Erwin took his, but Lillian shook her head. "No thank you."

"Already planning on giving Carina a sibling?" Nile joked, but the joke soon turned to reality when Lillian took her jacket off. At three months pregnant Lillian was already showing more than she had last time, but as another month passed and her baby began to kick, she realized there were two. Twins.

"No way!" Marie laughed. "How far along are you?"

"Four months." Lillian played with her wedding ring, twisting it on her finger.

"How old is Carina?"

Erwin and Lillian shared a look. "Six, almost seven months."

Marie laughed loudly; Nile was soon to follow. It was embarrassing, but it had been their own doing. Not that they were mad about having another child, it was just too soon. Levi and Hange had a field day once they found out. Levi was silently disappointed, making snide jokes, while Hange reacted like Marie had, immediately bursting out into laughter.

The four of them sat down for dinner. Marie and Nile's daughters were gone for the night, and Lillian laid Carina down for a nap. But Lillian wished she hadn't, at least then she would have someone even if it was just her baby. Marie, Nile, and Erwin were all laughing and reminiscing about old times back when they had all been friends. When Marie worked at a bar, Mike, Nile, and Erwin would all visit her. It made Lillian sad to hear about Mike, mixed with being semi ignored, she was not having a fun time. But Erwin was smiling and laughing, so Lillian kept her mouth shut.

Times like this was when Lillian missed Furlan and Isabel the most. If they had lived, she and Erwin might not have ended up together, but Lillian liked to imagine what kind of situations they could have gotten themselves into if they were still alive. It would be Erwin being silent with nothing to say as her, Isabel, Furlan, and Levi would reminisce about old times, about the Underground. She missed them so much it hurt her heart.

Erwin's hand slid under the table, reaching for Lillian's and squeezing it. Lillian's eyes looked up to Erwin's ocean blue ones. He looked at her for just a second out of the corner of his eye. He squeezed her hand three times. I, Love, You. Is what that meant. Lillian returned the motion, squeezing his hand three times.

"I should go check on Carina." Lillian slipped her hand out of Erwin's and walked in the other room to check on her daughter. Carina was in one of Nile's daughter's rooms, lying on the bed with a familiar pink blanket under her. Her blue eyes were closed, and her small mouth was parted just a bit, breathing so quietly Lillian had to hold her breath to hear.

"I love you." As she said the words and kissed her daughter on the head, one of the babies inside her stomach kicked her. She ran a hand over the spot they had kicked. "Yes, my little loves, I love you too."

"Loves?" Marie was in the doorway, smiling at Lillian. She always seemed to be smiling. "Twins?"

Lillian nodded.

Marie sat next to Lillian. "May I?" Her hand hovered just above her stomach.

"Sure."

The red-haired woman placed her hand on Lillian's stomach. She smiled as one of Lillian's babies kicked her hand.

"Now that it's just us, please tell me how Erwin is. How he really is?"

Lillian thought it was a strange question, but she answered it. "He's happy. Of course, it's hard for both of us since he really only has twelve years left, but our many blessings are keeping our thoughts away from that."

Marie smiled. "That's good." She took her hand off of Lillian, and for the first time that night, her smile disappeared. "I hate to be upfront, but I have to know. Do you hate me?"

Marie hated to be upfront, but Lillian didn't mind it. Especially since she was four months pregnant with twins and had a six-month-old daughter, speaking the truth was never so easy. "As of right now, yes. But I am also very emotional right now, and not myself. You are just a very friendly person, and as someone who grew up in the Underground, I don't really understand friendly people."

"I understand." She nodded. "I hope in time you and I can become friends. Nile has been talking about Erwin so much recently, and the past. Especially since we know the truth now, and with Erwin almost dying I think Nile remembered how important Erwin was to him."

"Erwin has also been talking about Nile." It was half a lie. Erwin did talk about Nile, but not nearly as much as Marie thought.

"I have to ask. And don't take this the wrong way, I in no way want Erwin, I'm only curious. How did you manage to marry him? Erwin was always so insistent on following his dream, and how he didn't want to leave behind a wife or a family."

"I'm not sure. At first Erwin rejected me, then we started dating. Even through us dating and our engagement Erwin always had second thoughts. But I reminded him that even if he did die, he should live with no regrets, and his one regret would be never being with me." Lillian turned to Marie and smiled. "Plus it helps when you have a scary brother."

Marie laughed so loud that the two men still sitting at the table could hear it.

"I'm glad they're getting along." Nile said.