The Commander's Wife

4: Trial & Trost

[Author's Note: Based on my research, Hange's gender is ambiguous so I will be using they/them pronouns for Hange. If you see me make any slip-ups, please point them out! Thank you!]

I drew up Erwin's tie, making sure it was secure and neat for the trial. I wasn't allowed to be present during the trial but Erwin had told me everything he knew and what he planned to do. The little privileges of being a Commander's wife. We were in temporary living quarters for our short time in town for the trial. It was less comfortable than my home but Erwin was closer here, so I didn't mind.

When I finished with his tie, he looked down at me and smiled. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I was only able to enjoy a second of his lips on mine when our door burst open. I jumped at the sudden sound but just saw Hange Zoë standing in the doorway with Levi Ackerman right behind them. 

"Ready for the trial, Commander?" Hange said, making themself welcome into the room, and I laugh. Erwin sighs but I look up to see that he's smiling and I know he's happy to see his friends. 

"Yes, I'm quite ready. I just thought I'd have a few private moments with my wife before I had to leave," he playfully scolds them. Hange walks over to me and throws their arm over my shoulder.

"I want a few private moments with your wife, too! I haven't seen her since..." their voice trails off and my mind wanders to when I had last seen Hange and Levi. It was my pregnancy announcement. I guess that Hange's hesitation means that Erwin sent a letter ahead of time to inform them of what happened to me and to not bring up the baby while I was there. I glance at Erwin and notice that his eyes have gone dark and he's glaring at Hange. It's an expression he doesn't wear often and I know that it unsettles Hange so I take it upon myself to turn and wrap my arms around them.

"It has been a while, Hange. I'm really happy to see you," I tell them, and I feel them relax in my arms. I let go and look towards Levi. I take a step forward to hug him, too, but I decide against it. 

"Hello, Levi," I say, smiling.

"Mrs. Smith," he greets me, nodding once. Although he was shorter than me, the way his low eyes gazed up at me from under the hair that fell over his forehead was intimidating. It made me wonder if the titans were ever afraid of him rather than the other way around. I look back over to Erwin and I see that my reaction to Hange's almost-slip-up eased him and he looks happy to see us all together again. 

There's a comfortable silence before Hange perks up again.

"Oh, Lydia! Now that you've finally left Stohess, you should come to visit Headquarters! We've recently captured two cute little titans, Sawney and Beane. I can introduce you to them and you can learn more about these beasts your husband works with all the time!" Hange starts laughing and I can tell they're excited about the titans. It was so much like them to view titans as something to learn about rather than fear. I liked the idea of learning about what Erwin was constantly fighting against and I smile at them.

"I'd love to-" I start.

"Absolutely not," Erwin interrupts me and I look up at him with a frown. He turns to speak to Hange, "They're dangerous. Lydia isn't a Scout, there's no reason for her to be around them." When Erwin looks away, Hange gives me a small wink and I stifle a giggle. Hange was a scientist at heart, no rank system could get in their way of teaching or learning something new. Levi, who has been standing silently by the door, gives Hange a warning glance but Hange shrugs it off. Levi trusted Erwin full-heartedly and was more willing to follow his orders no matter what. They had such a strong bond, one that I couldn't even begin to understand, but I was always comforted by the fact that when they were outside the walls, they were together.