Not Much Longer (AOT)

Dust

By the time Athena woke up, the sun had already set.

Erwin sat at the other side of the room, and wore a pair reading glasses. No longer was he in his uniform, but rather in a casual buttonup and pants. He was attempting to read one of her language books.

The entire room was illuminated by one single candle on the side table beside him.

As she made sense of her surroundings, Athena also made sense of the searing pain in her calf. It was then that Erwin noticed she was awake. As he turned the page, he looked up to meet her eyes. "The more you move, the more it is going to hurt."

She was able to get herself propped up against her head board and was now sitting upright.

"It seems like every time you come up to see how I'm doing, I end up getting hurt." She let out a laugh.

Erwin closed the book and took off his glasses. Sitting them in his lap, he looked to her.

"Athena I think I ought to tell you how important this situation truly is."

She straightened herself up as her smile faded. She could see this was a time to listen.

She had to admit, Erwin was pretty intimidating when he was serious.

"My father was killed when I was a child because of an alleged conspiracy against the government. They murdered him. They felt the need to silence him, for they feared a rebellion."

Athena felt sympathy for Erwin in that moment.

He continued.

"The documents are the only thing they have not taken, and it is only due to their ignorance of their existence. If you are able to do this, I believe we can rid humanity of the titans and live in peace beyond the walls."

Athena let her mind wander to what lie outside of the walls...

"But there is a risk, and this is why I must warn you." His voice was cold now.

She returned her attention back to him.

"I am afraid that they might find out about what we are doing. I am also afraid that when they come looking, they will search for you, and they will not be humane. I am the reason why my father was killed, and I am afraid they might kill you as they did my father those many years ago. I don't know if I can be the reason why someone else is..." his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Sir, I'm sure I can handle it..." She tried to be assuring, but Erwin could sense her uneasiness.

"You are not the strongest of people." His face was dead pan and he was fiddling with his glasses.

"I may not be one of strong body, but I am of strong mind. I can trick them or at least turn their noses away from us."

Erwin shook his head and slowly lowered his face into his palms. "They are the type to burn down a house without a care if the so called 'guilty' person is inside..."

She had not realized how much trouble she had gotten herself into. Fear began to bubble up into her body.

"I've seen them wipe away our history countless times. I've seen them rip away any chance at hope from my men's dying hands. I've watched them hang children for-..."

Erwin could not finish. He simply closed his eyes and used all of his willpower to shove away his emotions. He had done this so many times, but the sight of an innocent child being killed can never be washed away...

Athena unwrapped herself from her covers and limped over to Erwin. With her hands nervously clasped together, she stood in front of the hunched over man. He opened his eyes and stood up to face her.

They glared at each other for a brief moment. Each one trying to guess what the other was thinking.

Athena knew he was in pain, and she wanted to comfort him the only way she knew how. She slowly opened her arms and pulled herself tight against him. At first he only stood in silence, unmoving.

His mind raced back to his father, and the last time he had seen him alive...

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Athena. They stood in silence in an embrace for a some time. She slowly pulled away and gave a soft smile to Erwin.

That smile of hers melted his heart, and that feeling was immediately met with guilt. He hated the way he felt, but even though he hated it, he could not push it away.

His brow was knitted together from the intense emotions swimming in his head. The resurfacing of bad memories had upset him, but the presence of this woman... she brought him comfort.

She reached out her fingers around Erwin wrist and led him out of the room. On the opposite side of the second floor, there was a simple room with a small bed and a few small pieces of furniture in it. She let his wrist go, and watched as he walked inside.

With a swift nod he began to close the door.

As she began walking away Erwin softly spoke her name. It was almost as if he did not want her to hear him.

As if he were ashamed.

She turned around and locked eyes with him.

"...thank you..."

Her soft smile returned as she nodded to him.

The moonlight poured in through the windows of the little room.

He reluctantly shut the door and went over to the bed. Pulling over the covers, Erwin knew he would have no trouble falling asleep.

Before he could however, the moonlight illuminated the small veil of dust that covered almost the entire room.

No one has come to see her in quite some time...

He was definitely going to find out what was going on with this mysterious girl. But for now, he was going to fall asleep and dream of what he longed for.

And that is exactly what he did.