Broken Hearts, Severed Limbs (Levi x OC x Erwin)

|117| Back to Trost

There wasn’t really much left to do at the port. The volunteers were under the custody of the Scout Regiment, but Levi did not let her trouble herself with anything. Nathalie would ask about their current situation, and everybody would just keep her in the dark. You have to rest they said. You still need time to recover. And she couldn’t say that they were wrong. She needed time, but lately she had been sleeping better. Clutching onto her husband like a clumsy little suffocating vine. But she was sleeping. Her body would have given up to the exhaustion one way or another.

She was no longer an Enhanced. At least, some things about her body were normal now, and her body needed sleep. She needed rest. It wasn’t like back then, when she’d spent weeks with no sleep just because her body did not need it at all. She liked it. She was getting more and more used to this normality. Her kids were happier than ever now that Eren was back. Erwin had assigned Hitch and Marlowe to keep an eye on him at all times making sure he wouldn’t escape again and they didn’t mind.

Hitch was teasing the hell out of Eren and Mikasa for their relationship, and Marlowe was always there to balance things out and scold her for teasing them so damn much.

Connie, Sasha and Jean were taking after their Captain and they were helping with the younger recruits’ training, and Armin- Armin was a Commanding Officer, Erwin’s right-hand man. Man. Nathalie chuckled as she made her way to the Catacombs of the Survey Corps HQ of Trost. They had returned to Trost. There was no need to hang around the port anymore. The attack on Liberio was about a month away. But Nathalie chuckled as she thought about her kids and about how much they had grown.

She couldn’t deny it. She felt bitter about not being there for them those past three years. She felt bitter about not watching them grow, and spoiling them just a little more. She sighed heavily. At least, she was there now. She was there for them even though, a few years more and they would no longer need her to be around.

Nathalie promised herself she wouldn’t start crying thinking about this but… she sniffled. They’ve grown up so much… and so fast. Ah dammit. She blinked away her tears when she found Armin sitting right there in front of the crystal where Annie was still hidden beneath. Erwin had asked her that she figure out some way to pull her out of there. But Erwin had explicitly stated that Nathalie should rest before doing that.

She knew she’d find Armin there. Nathalie and Armin had almost made that little misty place in the catacombs their own little meeting place. It was the only time of the day when Armin wasn’t busy planning with Erwin their masterplans.

“Nat!” Armin stopped his long monologue when he saw her and his eyes widened in excitement. He jumped on his feet and took that tray off her hands. He placed it down on the bench and pulled her into a tight hug. Almost everybody knew how Armin would come down to this place and he’d do nothing but talk to her. He’d keep her company, every single day, he’d make sure his schedule was cleared for at least an hour to fill her in with everything that had been going on.

Nathalie smiled as she squeezed Armin tightly in her arms and buried her face in his shoulder. “Oh God- even you’ve grown much taller than me!” Nathalie told him for the hundredth time and Armin only chuckled and held her for just a little longer, burying his face in her shoulder and sighing in relief. Her hand found his hair and she caressed gently before she pulled back and she cupped his face. “How are you doing, darling? I brought you some tea and a slice of cake,”

Armin’s attention fell back on the tray that he had taken from her hands and he launched right in. “Aw, Nat, I’ll never get tired of your cakes,” He took a large bite and he started munching on it, humming in delight.