It's been a week now since Hange accidentally turned you into a three year old. She had predicted that by the week, you would turn back into the fifteen year old, abled soldier you were before Hange came around, but you had yet to turn back. Much worse, you had started acting a bit strange, which had both Hange and Erwin concerned. Erwin was paying special attention to you since you stuck to him more than you stuck to Hange. Lucky for him, the most he had to do lately was paperwork, since there wasn't any scouting scheduled lately, only mild planning.
Hange had informed him that because you were young and technically still growing, you needed to eat more often than everyone else did. Thankfully, you weren't a big eater as a three year old, so Hange or Erwin would usually take you to get little meals when you were feeling hungry or Hange would feed you a bottle of milk, the bottle she got from Mike, who had picked it up thinking it would come in handy. What's been concerning your stand-in parents the most is your loss in appetite. It wasn't normal to your week long feeding pattern.
You walked hand-in-hand with Erwin to the mess hall to get you a little something to eat, despite the fact that you had told him you weren't hungry when he asked you about lunch prior. It hasn't been too long since you ate, but with your loss in appetite, he wanted to get a little something more into your stomach. Erwin always had to slow his stride because you couldn't keep up with his normal pace, but today you seemed more sluggish than normal. You weren't feeling well, that much was certain, but the last time he and Hange checked you, you weren't ill. Erwin didn't have the slightest idea what was wrong with you.
"Daddy..." you called in a pained tone, walking even slower.
He looked down at you and your complexion seemed paler than usual. He stopped in his tracks and knelt down, putting a hand on your forehead.
...Damn it, damn it all!
Erwin quickly scooped you up and hastened his walk. He has to get some cold water into you.
A fever. How did he not notice sooner? You were usually so cheerful, especially when you were around your inner circle of friends. He suspected something was wrong. He should have been more careful with you!
"Here. Drink." Erwin put a cup filled with water to your mouth and you obediently drank.
The water was so refreshing you went in for seconds after you caught your breath from the first drink. Erwin found a clean rag—which he assumed belonged to Levi, he'll return it sometime later—when he shifted you to hold you like an infant, wet the rag with cold water, wrung it out as best he could with one hand, then placed it on your forehead as he made his way back to his bedroom. It hasn't been too long since you ate and you now had some water, so what you needed was rest.
He lay you on his bed, covering you with a blanket and now you realized that you were feeling cold and tired, so you buried yourself further into the blanket. Erwin sat next you, thinking about what he needs to do to keep your temperature down. He should bring up a bowl with cool water in it. If he wipes you down with cool water, that should help with your fever. You had started to fall asleep as he was thinking, so he waited until you were fully asleep to get up and get everything ready so you wouldn't fuss about him being absent.
~*~
"Y/n's sick?!"
"I'm afraid so." Hange responded.
The 104th had noticed you haven't been running around today, like you have been for the past week and they also haven't seen you inside. When they spotted Hange and you weren't with her, they didn't think of it as a big deal since you were more attached to Erwin, but they haven't seen much of the Commander either, so they decided to ask.
"Erwin is taking care of her as we speak." Hange added. "I was just on my way to check up on them."
"May we come with you, Lieutenant?" Mikasa spoke up.
Having become close friends with you in camp, she wanted to check on you. She has never seen you sick, not even that time in camp when everyone seemed to be catching a cold, you had seemed perfectly fine.
"I'm not sure if the Commander will let you. Let me talk to him and I'll let you know."
A bit saddened, Mikasa nodded and watched Hange go on her way. When Mikasa turned, most of your other friends were behind her, now muttering about how bad they feel to hear you were sick. At least she wasn't the only one worried.
"We should get her gifts. If we don't get to see her, she could at least receive some "get well" gifts." the ever kindhearted Krista had suggested.
"We could go to town tomorrow and pick something out." Sasha added excitedly.
Mikasa let a small smile rest on her lips. She knew you would appreciate that.
Hange knocked on Erwin's door and waited for him to either open the door or for his verbal permission to let herself in.
"How's she feeling?" Hange asked as she closed the door softly behind her after Erwin verbally called her in.
She found Erwin sitting on the bed beside you. Hange has never seen Erwin so worried over one particular person before.
"She's better. I've made sure to keep her temperature down."
"She ate?"
"A bit. She still doesn't have much of an appetite, but she's drinking well."
"That's good." Hange hummed and found a chair to pull up and sat closer to the bed. "I'm surprised she's in bed and not in your arms."
"She'd be fussy over that if she wasn't sleeping."
Hange chuckled. "I wonder why she clings to you so much."
"I'm not sure of the real reason, but I do have an idea."
Erwin reached over to replace the now warm rag with a face cloth he found earlier. It's been resting in a bowl filled with cool water on the small bedside table next to his bed. He wrung it out, folded it, then rested it on your forehead. He put the rag that was on your forehead in the cool water. When the face cloth on your forehead gets warm, he's going to rinse and repeat with the rag.
"After talking with the cadets, I learned that her parents had passed just before she enrolled into the military. They didn't disclose how. I was thinking that she misses them and, perhaps, she was just as close to her father as she's projecting onto me."
"It could be." Hange answered, looking at you.
You were sleeping deeply, and your face looked peaceful. She counted your breathing and was relieved to know that it was normal for your current age.
"If you need to rest, I can watch over her." Hange offered.
As worried as he was, Erwin was feeling a bit fatigued, so he nodded.
"I'll be in my office."
Hange nodded back, taking his spot when he got off the bed. He's been by your side for hours, he deserves a break.
The next day, you had woken up whimpering and crying. You were feeling weak and thirsty and hungry and just all around terrible. Both Erwin and Hange were there for you, showing you TLC as if they were your real parents. They made sure you had something in your stomach and kept you hydrated and Hange gave you a nice lukewarm bath before putting you back in bed. Your fever was kept down and it seemed you were making a slow yet steady recovery, which Erwin was relieved about. For a small child, a fever can be as bad as the common cold, if not, worse. They simply don't have the medicine they need for a fever and that made Erwin very worried, but he and Hange were managing the fever well. You were doing so well in fact that your friends gained permission from the Commander to finally visit you. Erwin sat at his desk, but kept an open ear for any distressed sounds from you. They crowded Erwin's bed and you hid under the blanket.
"Aw! She's hiding!"
"Don't be so loud!"
"We must have crowded her too fast..."
"Y/n." Mikasa kneeled on the side of the bed closest to you and rubbed your side through the blanket. "It's just us."
Slowly, you peeked out of the blanket and her face was the first thing in your line of sight.
"Hi, 'Kasa." you softly greeted, your voice slightly muffled by the blanket and she resisted the urge to pull you into a tight hug. She made a note to give you one when you were back to normal.
"Hey, Y/n." Armin spoke softly, but gained your attention. "We brought you some presents to help you feel better."
"You got pwesents?" you asked, still half hidden.
"We did." Krista spoke up, placing a small box next you. "Here's what I got you."
You slowly sat up, the blanket falling onto your lap, and you took the small box. The lid came off easily and you pulled out a f/c silk ribbon. Your entire face lit up.
"So pwetty!"
"What do you say?" Erwin's voice floated into the room and your friends looked to the doorway to find him leaning on it.
"Thank you, Kwista!"
As the days turned into a week, you had started referring to everyone in the old way you used to before your transformation. It seemed that your memory slowly returned, but it would only be certain things. Perhaps your three year old mind was protecting itself from the horror that were titans as nothing about them had surfaced to your mind, save for the fact that every once in a while you would wake up from a nightmare, crying about how a monster was trying to get everyone, including you. Erwin and Hange deduced that your mind was indeed trying to protect itself. For now, they thought it was for the best.
"Look, Daddy!" you held out the ribbon towards him, so he walked over to you to get a closer look.
"That's very nice." he responded and looked at Krista to thank her.
"It was no problem, Sir. It was fun shopping for her."
Your friends gave you their gifts one by one and you thanked each of them, some with a reminder from Erwin when you got too excited about the gift itself to thank the person who gave it to you.
Armin gave you a children's book for your current age. Holding the book in front of you, he very slowly read the title out loud, which you mimicked and everyone practically melted. You just about wanted to read it then and there, but Erwin turned your attention back to your friends.
Conny remembered you absolutely loved sugar candies. They were small, multi-colored star shaped candies made of sugar and you couldn't get enough of them before. He found some and had bought a small bag filled with them. Since you were still not at one hundred percent, Erwin took them for you to give to you when you got well.
Jean got you a stuffed toy bear that was almost as big as you. As far as Jean could tell, it was very rare to find a bear that big, but when he saw it, all he could think about was how big that smile of yours would be when you saw it. To him, it wasn't very big—although it was the biggest one he had the fortune of finding—but compared to you, it was huge since as a three year old, you were pretty small. When he presented it to you, the smile on your face was the biggest, brightest smile he had ever seen on you, he found himself smiling with you. As soon as you had it in your arms, you hugged it as hard as you could and you would not let it go. As far as you were concerned, that was the last of the gifts. It was the best one so far, so that must have been the end of it, right? Although, there were more gifts, you had decided the bear won, so Erwin took the liberty to gather the gifts you hadn't yet looked at, so he can give them to you later when the bear had lost a little bit of your attention.
Some of the left out cadets pouted at Jean for stealing all of the spotlight while he smirked and walked taller, proud of himself. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that Erwin would make sure you would get their gifts and you were feeling better because of the items you did see.
In all the commotion, Erwin nearly forgot that he had a meeting to go to and if he didn't leave soon, he will be late. He had to think. Besides Hange, who will you be the most comfortable spending an extended amount of time with?
Hange was buried up to her chest with the work she had been neglecting in favor of taking care of you. He can't let any of the cadets take care of you, they're too young, they have other responsibilities they need to attend to and he knows it will be difficult to juggle you and their duties, especially with how ill and extra clingy you were. He can easily give you to Mike or even Petra, as the red head had expressed she would be happy to help in any way she could, but he remembered how you hid from her every chance you got. Erwin was sure that if he gave you to Petra, she would be an excellent caregiver, even Mike would be good to you, but he was sure that if you got upset and wanted your "Daddy", you would get yourself so worked up, your fever would probably spike up again, even with Hange's help.
"You want me to what?" Levi narrowed his eyes at his Commander as if he just accused him of being filthy.
Erwin had called him to his office after he remembered that you had no problem with Levi being around, even on the first day.
"I believe you are the only one, besides Hange, that can care for Y/n and can make sure she won't overwork herself worrying about where I am."
"Are you hearing yourself? Had she not been glued to your side since day one? She'll worry about where you are regardless of who has her. What the hell do I have that the others don't?"
"Well, I thought as "the strongest knight" you would be able to handle anything."
Levi glared at him and crossed his arms. "A child's nickname is not enough to tie me to the job, Erwin."
"Levi, you are the only one she answers to without complaint and without hesitation, besides Hange and I."
"Really? What the hell was that reaction to me on that first day?"
"You opened the doors so hard, they hit the wall, the sound startled her. I remember it didn't take much for you to get her to answer to you."
Levi scowled. He's right, he knows he is, but damn it, Levi does not want to spend all his time for the foreseeable future taking care of a toddler who wasn't supposed to be a toddler! You were supposed to be with the other cadet brats! What the fuck was Hange doing anyway? Wasn't she supposed to fix this mess she's made?!
"Fine." Levi finally grounded out after a moment of irritated silence. "She's sick, right? What does the brat have?"
Erwin chose to ignore the "brat" comment. "She has a fever. You know as well as I do that a fever in a small child is not to be taken lightly."
Levi sighed. Why did you have to have the most burdensome symptom?
"We managed to keep the fever down, so she's stable for now, but we still need to be careful." Erwin continued to explain as he started to gather the rest of what he needed for this meeting.
Levi rose an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not the mother?" Then, he quickly headed for the bedroom after he thought he heard a whimper.
Erwin paused. He does sound like a mother, doesn't he? He doesn't believe he's ever been this thorough with one of his underlings. Then again, he's never had someone cling to him like you do. You've spent seventy percent of your time with him for the past week and frankly, he's started to find himself out of place when you weren't with him.
He can't; he can't get used to this. Sure, you're two days late of your supposed day of turning back, but eventually, you will turn back to your fifteen year old self. Then, "Daddy Erwin" will have to disappear forever and he will have to treat you like he treats everybody else, just like he used to.
...
If he didn't know any better, he would think that the thought bothered him.
"I'll be back in a day." he called out to Levi.
"Leave already." Levi appeared at the bedroom doorway. "Before she wakes up."
"I'll inform Hange on my way out."
"Don't you worry, "Mother", I'll keep your little chick safe." Levi disappeared back into the room before Erwin can turn around and shoot him a dirty look.
~*~
"I have to leave. I've left Y/n in Levi's care in case you're too busy." Erwin poked his head into Hange's study room and with luck, found her there, bend over a couple of research materials.
"Levi?" Hange looked at him in surprise.
"She doesn't have a problem with him."
"Ah." Hange had also seen how you usually shy away from people, but Levi seemed to be one of the only exceptions. "Have a good day, Erwin~" she called after him as he turned to leave.
~*~
Hange poked her head into Erwin's bedroom about an hour later and saw you sleeping with your new teddy and Levi sat near you, reading and sipping on what she assumed to be tea. Levi looked at her, having sensed someone creeping up behind him and Hange smiled at him, quietly making her way into the room. Hange went over and put a hand on your forehead, then let out a soft sigh.
"She still feels a little warm, but she seems fine otherwise. Did she wake up at all?" Hange asked in a soft voice as to not wake you up.
"She was thirsty." Levi nodded. "She went right back to sleep after having some water."
"Poor dear..." Hange cooed and reached over to pull the thin blanket higher up on your tiny body.
Hange then informed Levi that she was going to get you some soup to eat before leaving the room. She returned after ten minutes, letting Levi step away from you to do whatever it was he wanted or needed to do. Hange woke you up to eat—which you protested and cried weakly about. Afterwards, she had you use the bathroom and you wanted another drink of water before she sent you back to bed. She checked your temperature one last time before she called Levi back, so she could return to her work.
Levi wished he had asked about lights out. Your stand-in parents are very worried about you and as your superior, so was he. He assumed your stand-in parents wanted him to keep an eye on you throughout the night as well, but he wasn't really inclined to sleep on the wooden chair he had next to the bed. Would it be OK if he slept next to you? After giving it a couple of seconds of thought, he decided against it. However, after almost falling over while dozing off, he abandoned that decision and carefully slipped onto the bed, trying to not wake you. He didn't bother going under the covers with you and just laid on his side facing you and fell asleep. The short man awoke to you seemingly having a nightmare. You tossed around a bit and the lieutenant felt bad for you. Perhaps rubbing your tummy will calm you, even if just a little? It seemed to calm you enough to keep you from tossing, but you instead started muttering in your sleep. Levi continued to soothingly rub your tummy slowly, even as he started to doze off, but was half awakened when you muttered a pained, "Mommy..." He didn't respond and decided to wait. Perhaps that was all?
"Daddy...?" Levi heard another mutter. "Don't...die..."
Levi perked up to that, awake enough to pull you to him, gently pressing you against his chest.
Losing a loved one is never easy, but learning that a three year old—even if you were actually a fifteen year old—was having a nightmare about losing her parents, pulled at Levi's heartstrings. He was glad he was here with you while you went through it and that he could, at the very least, offer you moral support. After holding you against him, you seemed to finally settle down. Before going back to sleep, he checked your temperature, but didn't like what he felt, so he reached over to pull the wet face cloth out of the small basin of cool water, tried his best to wring it out without waking you (which he was convinced he didn't do a good enough job, since the cloth was still a little more than damp) and placed the haphazardly folded face cloth on your forehead. He thought having you against him while you had a fever was most probably not a good idea, so now that you had calmed down from your nightmare, he put some distance between you again and tried going back to sleep. Usually, he hated being a light sleeper, but in this case he was able to help you.
Hange showed up in the wee hours of the morning to find Levi laying next to you with a hand on your tummy. She tried her hardest not to squee at the cute sight and instead burned the image into her mind. That was just about his equivalent to hugging you in his sleep. Then, she quickly checked your temperature, felt that the fever was still present, but still under control and smiled. She softly called Levi and his eyes sleepily fluttered open. She told him that she can take over now, so he got out of bed and headed to his room. Hange took his place and ended up dozing off.
Hange woke up to your whine, as you woke up to discomfort. This is a huge concern, now that she has time to think about it. Why did you still have a fever? Were you simply suffering through a child illness or was your body perhaps trying to turn back? The only way she can find out is by some simple hands-on. She let you have some water, then carried you to the bathroom, had you use it and then gave you a bath with lukewarm water. After that, she called Levi once again, so she can step away to make you soup, since you seemed to enjoy it last time, plus it's good for your weakened stomach.
You didn't seem to weigh more nor did you seem to be taller. No signs of transforming back, meaning you have a child illness, which means you're worse than she originally thought. She would have much rather preferred you be on your way to going back to normal. At least then you would have gotten better when it was over...
"Hello, Knight Levi." you greeted him to fill the silence that settled when Hange left, squeezing your new teddy to your chest.
"What happened to "Sir"?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Sirw Knight, Levi." you responded.
Good enough, Levi mentally shrugged. Silence momentarily settled in once more when you broke it again.
"Whewe is Daddy?"
There's the golden question.
"He's on an important job."
"When is he coming back?"
"Tomorrow."
"Oh." Another moment of silence. "Whewe did Mommy go?"
"Shi—" Levi stopped himself short, he almost referred to Hange by the very "affectionate" nickname he gave her. "Mommy is getting you food."
"Okay."
Silence settled in once again. Good talk, Levi almost sighed. He remembered Erwin mentioned how quickly you can pick up irritated or worried signs. He didn't want you thinking he was worried about something, even if he was worried about everything, but that's besides the point. At least you're eating. It's a good sign, you're on the smooth road to recovery.
"Why do the monstews want to huwt us so badly?" you suddenly asked.
The monsters? Were you thinking about the titans? It made sense, he guessed. If you were having nightmares about your parents, it was only logical that you may have had nightmares about titans as well.
"They're monsters. That's what they do." he gave you a moment to soak that information in, before he continued to speak. "Do you dream about the monsters?"
"Sometimes." you nodded, playing with one of your teddy's arms.
He thought so.
"You're safe here."
"'Cause you'we pwotecting the castle." you nodded again.
Goddesses bless this child.
After another moment, Hange returned with your hot soup, sat next to you and started feeding you. Levi stayed seated, reading a book he brought with him for quiet moments like these.
"Your friends want to see you." Hange spoke as she was feeding you the last couple of spoons. "Would you like them to visit?"
"Yeah! I want to see Sniffy, too." you responded with a big smile.
"Aw, sweety~" Hange cooed, with a giggle. You have been having little conversations with him here and there and you got along pretty well. It seems you grew a little bond with him. Unfortunately, Mike had accompanied Erwin to the meeting, so hopefully you'll be happy with just your friends.
Levi silently stood up, gave Hange a look that said "I'll get them" and then left the room. Hange smiled after him. He, too, seemed to enjoy keeping you company, even if he wants to deny it. He came back quickly with your friends trailing excitedly behind him and you shied away a bit. Hange mentally shook her head as she chuckled. You said you wanted to see them, what were you getting so bashful for? Mikasa sat down beside you with a small smile.
"'Kasa." you acknowledged her.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm full."
Huh? Perhaps you misunderstood her question?
"Y/n just finished eating." Hange explained with a smile and a ghost of a laugh in her voice and there were scattered chuckles among your friends.
"That's good." Mikasa spoke up again with a small smile, placing a hand on your small one.
You felt a little warm, but not enough to cause concern, she noticed, her shoulders losing their bit of tension. This might pass faster than everyone thinks if your health keeps this up. At some point, you wanted Hange to hold you and once she did, you weren't letting go for anything. Although she doesn't have any children of her own, she knew and heard enough stories of how particularly clingy small children are when they're sick. In your case, you're always clingy, but not to her, so this is taken into consideration. Hange has a feeling she won't be escaping you for a time, but she still has work to do. She's so close to finishing!
Now that the excitement of seeing your friends wore out, fatigue caught up to you and Levi ushered your friends out of the room. They quickly said their goodbyes and get-well-soons and headed out. Hange gave Levi a look as you started to fall asleep on her.
I have work to finish! She stared at him.
That's too damn bad. He stared back.
Hange sighed, thinking the short Lieutenant was going to let her handle you and up and leave the room to attend to his own responsibilities, but he stayed with her, waiting for you to fall asleep. Then, he came up and gently picked you up, holding you instead. You whined; protesting, then clung to him, pushing your face into the crook of his neck. That seemed to be your favorite thing to do when you clung to anyone.
Levi smelled faintly of soap and black tea. You became sad. This wasn't what your daddy smelled like at all! Levi said he would be here today, where was he?!
"Y/n." Levi called softly, sensing your mood suddenly drop. "What is it?"
"Daddy..." you whined.
Shit. Levi knew this moment would come. This is when you'll probably start to stress at the fact that "Daddy Erwin" isn't with you.
"He'll be here soon." Levi replied.
He knew the Commander was most likely on his way, maybe even almost here by now, so at this point, it might be safer for you to let Hange hold you after all. There's only so much "the strongest knight" can do; "Mommy", however, will most probably be able to calm you down the most. Before she even had a chance to stand up, Levi shot her a warning stare.
Don't you dare leave this room.
Hange wanted to slam her head against the wall. The longer she waits, the more work she has to finish!
The only good thing here is regardless of the fact that you're fussy, you couldn't keep your eyes open. When it seemed like you were sound asleep, Hange shot him a look that said, 'I'll be right back.'
'You better.'
Levi thought he might as well get comfortable since he knew that you will most probably wake up and fuss if he tried to put you down. This was probably not ideal for your fever, but he doesn't seem to have a choice on the matter. He sat down and leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the night stand, then he shifted you slightly, so you weren't literally breathing down his neck and put an arm around you. If you shifted, you wouldn't fall.
Levi woke up to the bedroom door opening. He doesn't remember falling asleep, but it explains why his body felt a bit stiff. He looked up and found Erwin looking at him.
"About time." Levi lightly scowled at him and put a hand on your back while he shifted himself to sitting position.
"How was she?" the Commander asked softly to not wake you.
"Fine, for the most part. She started calling for you earlier today."
"Good." Erwin replied, picking you up when you started whining.
You shifted your face into the crook of his neck, something that he didn't know he missed until he felt you do it.
Missed? He internally scolded himself. This is temporary, stop getting attached!
"Erwin." Levi called, staring at him. "She won't be three for much longer."
Levi must have noticed his inner conflict with himself. He often forgets how perceptive he is. When you think he's not looking, Levi has already analyzed the whole picture.
Your fever was still present, judging by how warm your face felt against his neck, but it was still, thankfully, under control.
Erwin simply nodded as a response to Levi, then placed you on his bed and pulled the covers over you. Hopefully, you'll feel much better tomorrow.
——————————
An almost frantic knock rapped on Hange's door. The noise snapped her out of her thinking spell and as the knocking continued, she stood from her seat to get the door. As she was about to grip the door handle, it opened rather rough and Hange let out a sound of surprise as her name was called with a sense of urgency. Erwin looked at her, a look of worry on his face and a bundle wrapped in a blanket in his arms. Before she could utter his name, Erwin interrupted her with a simple sentence.
"She's gotten worse."
Instantly, Hange put two and two together, quickly gesturing to her bedroom. She was quick in taking you and unraveling you from the blanket.
"She's unresponsive. What should we do?" Erwin asked.
"We can't stick her in a bath to cool her down, I'll have to wipe her down. I'll need cold water and towels."
Erwin didn't even respond, he was out of the door as soon as she finished her sentence and he was back as quick as humanly possible. Hange ushered him out of her room when he gave her what she asked for, telling him that if she needs anything else, she'll call for him. She expects him to stay out of the room while she works? You were already in this state when he woke up, what if he didn't get to Hange in time? And if he did, what if Hange can't bring down your fever? He'll be damned if he let you go after a week and four days of taking care of you like you were his own. However, Hange had already kicked him out and started working with you. She put towels under you, undressed you and started wiping you down with a cold wash cloth and just like Erwin said, you didn't even flinch.
Erwin was unsure for how long he waited for, but he thought he couldn't wait there any longer when he caught himself a couple of steps mid-pace. He gently knocked on Hange's bedroom door.
"I will be in my office if you need anything."
He waited for any kind of response and when he heard a soft 'Alright', he left the room. He can't stay there. He needed something to distract him and he thought a bit of work was what he was looking for.
"Hey."
Erwin was a couple of pages away from finishing a pile of paperwork that had accumulated while he was busy taking care of you when Levi walked into his office without even knocking.
"The door was closed." was Erwin's response, code for: Knock.
"And now it's open." one of Erwin's eyebrows twitched. "Your little chick's awake and she's asking for you. Get your ass up and go see her."
Levi didn't even wait for him and left as quick as he entered. Erwin stood faster than he should have, but the thought was gone as fast as it flashed through his mind as he made his way out of his office and to Hange's. When he got there, he gently knocked on Hange's open bedroom door, quickly catching Hange's attention. She smiled softly, motioning him closer.
"Daddy." you whined, when he came close enough.
Erwin sat down next to you, knowing by the tone of your whine that you wanted him to hold you.
"Her fever broke." Hange happily said, while wiping your forehead with the damp face cloth she was holding. "She's still a little warm, but she should be better in no time."
You slightly pulled on the sleeve of his shirt, so he finally reached over and pulled you into his lap, you happily burying your face into the fabric of his shirt. He shared a look with Hange as he regretted picking you up. You were most probably not going to let him go anytime soon.
"Are you hungry, Y/n?" Hange asked and you nodded your head.
"Hungwy." you repeated.
Thank the Goddesses your appetite seemed to be back at full force. Hange smiled, stood and left the room to grab you a bite to eat. Levi entered the room after she left and sat down in the now empty seat, glancing at you.
"How is she?"
"Her fever's broken. I've made the mistake of holding her."
"You either have no self-restraint or you're spoiling her."
"I'm afraid both might be the right answer."
Levi shook his head in disapproval. Why is Erwin doing this? He knows not to get attached. It didn't take long for Hange to return with soup for your weakened stomach and you happily ate without leaving Erwin's lap. Before Levi left the room, he informed his Commander that he'll be turning in early. He did not get the uninterrupted sleep he was supposed to get and it was affecting him in the worst ways. Erwin approved and Levi left to finish a little something before he turned in when evening rolled around. You finally left his lap when Hange quickly scooped you without giving you a chance to cling. You let out a whine that had Erwin's fingers itching, almost getting him to pluck you out of Hange's grasp.
"Bath time." Hange cooed. You were slightly sweaty and she was sure that giving you a nice, warm bath will get you feeling better in no time.
"I'm returning to my office." Erwin said, moving to stand a bit awkwardly. He was at a loss as to why he felt awkward in the first place.
Hange nodded, taking you away before you decided you really didn't want to go. You waved at Erwin from over Hange's shoulder and the Commander couldn't help but smile at you. Thank the Goddesses that fever mess was finally over.
Full and clean, you didn't want to spend anymore time away from your stand-in Daddy, so as soon as you were dressed, you practically pulled Hange all the way to Erwin's office. You were at his side as soon as the door was open. Erwin had just finished the last of his documents and had let out a long, relieved sigh right before the door was opened after a knock. He suppressed another sigh. At least you were your old, bubbly self again.
"Daddy!" you happily greeted. He put a hand on your head, your smile growing just from the contact.
"Well, I'm off!" Hange all but said, but was stopped short with a call of her name.
"Thank you." Erwin genuinely expressed.
"Of course, Sir." Hange smiled at him.
You were a bit sluggish, as expected from laying in bed for four days. You seemed elated to be out and about, but you didn't have much energy and you refused to be in bed when Erwin tried to lay you down. He didn't learn his lesson from last time and picked you up to attempt to put you in bed, but you were clinging once again.
"No bed." you whined.
"Y/n." Erwin was exasperated.
What was he supposed to do with you now?
He thought about laying down with you, but he's busy. There are things he needs to do around the castle that he's been overlooking in favor of you. So, his only option is to take you with him. Once you end up falling asleep—because he knows you will—he'll put you to rest comfortably, so he can work in peace, without having to work around you.
It was such a relief to see the Commander walking around with you. It meant you were well enough to be out of the room, possibly even rid of your fever. The blonde man seemed busy, so your friends didn't approach him for fear of interrupting him, but after being stared at, he eventually approached them, telling them that your fever was broken and that you'll be running around again in no time. They had to celebrate quietly, because just like he predicted, you fell asleep, your head resting on his shoulder. He quickly returned to his room, lay you on his bed and went on his busy way. He'll deal with your fussiness when he's finished.
——————————
Erwin awoke in the middle of the night. Strangely enough, he didn't feel like anything woke him up, so he couldn't figure out why he awoke so early when he was feeling plenty fatigued just a few hours earlier. He searched for you in the darkness of his room, extending his arm and reaching for you. He stalled his search when he found you, but his eyebrows furrowed as you felt strangely different. He sat up to attempt to look at you properly, the dim moonlight pouring through the windows of his room offering slight assistance for his eyes. You seemed bigger? His half asleep brain was slow to process what his eyes were telling him, but when it finally registered, he took a minute to think before moving into action. It's only been a few hours and you seemed to be around five years old now. If you are to keep this steady growth, you'll probably be stunted by those tiny clothes you're wearing.
He stood from his bed and proceeded to rid you of your three year old clothes in the darkness, noticing that your clothes were already very tight on you which only further proved his stunting theory. You whined at him, a plea to stop waking you, but he quietly settled you, trying to work quickly so you can go back to your deep slumber. He made sure to afterward keep the blanket over you, you will have to sleep naked. If your growth stopped by the morning, then he at least avoided you extreme discomfort. If you were going to be back to your original age by morning, then he can't be caught in the same bed as you, no matter the circumstances. Especially with you naked. So, he took out an extra blanket he uses for cold weather and left the room, turning the door knob to silently close the door behind him. He'll sleep on the couch in his office.
Erwin checked on you once he woke up again in the morning and noticed that you had grown to just about to your original age. He can tell that you weren't quite there yet, probably missing a couple of years off fifteen. He usually wakes up before some of his lieutenants—save for Hange and sometimes Levi, who were natural early birds—and before the cadets, so you have plenty of time to grow to your original age between now, while he goes about his morning routine to when the cadets go about their morning routines.
"She's growing." he told Hange when she visited about an hour later.
Excitedly, she peeked into his room and sure enough. She was a bit disappointed in a sense. She rather enjoyed being called a mommy and taking care of you and vaguely hoped that if she has a child, that child will be just like you; adorable and well behaved. Knowing her luck, her child will probably be hyperactive, but she could see Erwin really having a child like you. He seemed like the type to have a calm child. Erwin neither agreed nor disagreed and asked her if she was finished with all her work. It's just like him to change the subject, she laughed, then told him that she'll be back later to leave you some clothes before excusing herself and leaving the Commander's office.
~*~
You awoke suddenly, now at your original age, feeling like you've experienced the weirdest dream. Sluggishly, you slowly took in your surroundings and recognized this to be the room of a father figure's. You sat up and stood carefully, quickly spotting some clothes folded neatly on a wooden chair near the bed. Curiously, you looked down.
Why am I naked?
You picked up the folded clothes, finding that they were your clothes, even finding some underwear. You got dressed, but feeling a little chilly, you grabbed the thin blanket from the bed and draped it around yourself before reaching for the door.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
You froze. That's not your father. You spoke without thinking and now you and your Commander stared at each other in awkward silence. You hoped to the Goddesses that the floor would open up somehow and just swallow you whole.
The Commander hadn't expected he'd answer to that. Having learned to at least respond to it for the past week and a half, it just kind of happened. Now, he stared at one of his cadets in stunned silence, until your face suddenly flushed red.
You abruptly saluted your Commander, effectively startling him out of his stunned state. "I'm so sorry, Sir!!" you threw your head back, not wanting to look at him as you vibrated in nervousness and embarrassment.
"Y/n." he called your attention after a moment and you slowly looked at him, a bit confused that he didn't call you by your last name as he usually does. "At ease." he paused, as you released your salute. "You dropped the blanket."
"Huh?"
Not expecting him to say that, it threw you for a loop until you looked down. You jumped upon seeing it, quickly bending to scoop it up, but then you merely stood there, not sure if you should enter the Commander's room to return it, even if you just emerged from said room. With a small eyebrow raise and a flick of his hand, you startled, jumping once again with a small noise and disappeared into the room to return it. It's not like you needed it anymore anyway, you felt plenty warm. You all but threw it on his bed, then quickly exited the room and closed it behind you out of habit. When you didn't move, he called out to you once again, motioning to the wooden chair in front of his desk.
Still emanating embarrassment, you moved away from his bedroom door and sat in the motioned chair. You sat there and watched him work on what seemed to be a new document for twenty minutes in what you perceived to be deafening silence, until you started to sweat. Was he not going to address the elephant in the room? Were you in trouble? Is he just going to work? Why wasn't he saying anything? You shifted uncomfortably in your seat.
"D—S-Sir?"
You very narrowly called him Dad again, your face flushed once more. He hummed, not even taking his eyes off of the document.
"Uh..."
You didn't know what to say next. You had a bunch of questions, but you didn't know how to present it to him without sounding desperate.
"Just a moment." he said.
Perhaps he wanted to finish his work? After he left you to your thoughts for another five minutes, he finally put his pen down and stared at you. You stared back, nervously playing with your finger nails.
"What is the last thing you remember?"
Confused, you searched your thoughts. "Lieutenant Hange asked for my assistance with an experiment."
"Tell me what you remember following that."
"Ah..." you rubbed the back of your neck as you thought. "She had me drink this strange liquid. I remember feeling strange and kind of drowsy. I guess I fell asleep after that."
"Do you remember anything after that?"
"After that...After that, I..."
Your mother was holding you in a blanket and your father was standing behind a desk like the one in front of you. You were scared because you didn't know where you were, then the door slammed open...
"My mother and father..."
Your mother and father would have no reason to be in an office like this one...You looked at your Commander for a moment as the pieces in your head started falling into place. Erwin exhaled from his nose. You don't remember. He's going to have another talk with Hange about experimenting on his soldiers. He looked to see your face once again flushed and your eyes watery. Perhaps you remembered something?
"Y/n."
"I thought you were my Dad..."
You did remember. Or perhaps you put two and two together somehow.
"Tell me about him."
You seemed to hesitate, but you soon started to speak as you lowered your head. "He was blonde and had blue eyes. He was a proud man, very prideful of his work and he believed in sacrifice to achieve. He was strong, but he was gentle. He was a very serious man and he was a great father. I couldn't have asked for anyone better..." your voice cracked, so you stopped talking for fear of crying.
He now understood. It seemed like Erwin and your father shared enough qualities that you projected everything your father was onto him. With that information, he can only assume your mother must have been an intelligent, energetic person filled with compassion for you to project her onto Hange. Erwin nodded, going through a drawer at his desk and he walked around, placing a hand on your shoulder. You startled once again, looking up at him. In his hand, he held a small cloth bag, which he held out for you. You held your hand out, so he placed the bag in your hand.
"This is a bag of sweets a friend of yours picked out for you. You weren't feeling well at the time, so I put it away for you."
"Th-Thank you, Sir." you sniffed.
Erwin motioned to follow him, so you stood up and trailed beside him as he walked. To feel less awkward, you opened your little bag and found sugar candies, your favorite treat. Placing one in your mouth, you barely held yourself back from humming happily.
"Sir?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for taking care of me."
"You chose me. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter."
The fact he said that with such a straight face, made you want to laugh. You held a snicker behind your hand.
"My apologies, Sir." you said as he raised an eyebrow. "This is going to seem strange, but can you hold your hand out for me?"
That was certainly a strange request, but he did it anyway with curious confusion in his eyes. You placed a small handful of sugar candies on his palm. He gave you a blank expression.
"They're good." you smiled, almost snickering at his expression again.
You plopped another one in your mouth before sealing the bag again and he tentatively did the same. Yup, that's sweet. They're not half bad. Your smile widened at his expression, then you looked away and found yourself at Hange's office. Hange looked up from her work when she heard footsteps, her face lighting up when her eyes landed on you.
"Y/n!" she cried happily, practically running up to you and grabbed your hands to hold. "Let Mommy look at you!"
You smiled at her antics, also feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Hi...Mom." you replied with a blush.
Hange couldn't help but squee at you. She pulled you into a tight hug, a wide smile on her face.
"They grow up so fast! Don't they, Erwin?" Hange continued as she laughed a little and you couldn't help but laugh yourself.
Erwin sighed. Hange's ridiculous...
"I want you to check her before I take her to the infirmary wing."
"I have to go to the infirmary?" you asked as Hange led you to a wooden chair and she sat in another chair in front of you.
"Daddy just wants to make sure you're completely fine, sweetie." Hange responded.
"Stop that." Erwin sighed once more.
Hange laughed and you joined her. Erwin was almost inclined to leave. Hange checked your movements and reactions before deeming you OK. She gave you another hug and you shared a small handful of sugar candies as thanks for taking care of you, before Erwin led you out and headed for the infirmary. Hange practically glowed in happiness. At the infirmary, they also gave you the OK to go back to your life as a cadet after a couple of tests. With that, Erwin was confident enough to let you go back to your friends, parting ways with you to get back to other matters.
As soon as Mikasa spotted you, she pulled you into an embrace, thankful that you were alright. Your friends took turns giving you a hug, which you immediately returned. You found your reversed roll a bit funny, you were usually the one giving out hugs. You picked up from where your friends left off, but since they were already paired for training, you decided to save your strength and sit this one out. After, Levi had called the cadets for a roundup. Upon seeing you among them, he stared, approached you, then put a hand on your head.
"Welcome back, little chick."
Little chick?
"Proud to be back, Sir Knight." you replied with a soft blush on your cheeks and a smile.
"Smart ass." he scoffed, flicking your forehead lightly, before promptly getting on with business as usual.
——————————
You startled awake from a nightmare. Sitting up, a cold chill ran up your spine and you shivered, noticing you had a cold sweat clinging to your body. Half awake, you got up from your bed and traveled to the Commander's office. You chided yourself, under your breath. There's no way he'd be awake, it's the middle of the night, but just the thought of the possibility that he'd be up spurred you to lift your hand and lightly knock. You waited and listened, hearing nothing but silence. Of course; you don't know what you were expecting. You thought you should go back to your room, when the door opened.
You stared surprisingly at the disheveled blonde man. His hair was down and slightly messy, his shirt was untucked and unbuttoned lazily at the top and he wore pajama pants.
Crap. Did you wake him up? You don't even know what you were doing here. You should just apologize and go back—
"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, speaking softly.
Surprised that he guessed right, you nodded slowly. He paused for a moment, before moving aside and signaling to come on in. Surprised yet again, you took a second to move and hurried in when he raised an eyebrow. He closed the door behind you when you entered. You followed him to his desk, watching him walk past his desk to a small table with a tea set under one of his windows. He poured a cup and handed the cup to you.
"Drink." he still spoke softly. "This tea is good for calming the body."
The drink was hot and smelled good, sweet like apples. He must have made it not too long ago. You took a sip and instantly started to feel better, a small smile playing on your lips. You remembered your mother used to make you this tea, Chamomile, when you had a hard time sleeping as a child.
Looking up, you saw Erwin with his own cup, gazing out the window, his expression solemn. It looked almost sad.
"Thank you." you found yourself whispering.
You had to say something to shift his attention, maybe that will make his expression change. He turned his head to look at you.
"For the tea." you finished in a soft voice.
He merely nodded and you could have sworn his expression softened.
"Take your time." he replied.
"Aren't you tired?" you inquired. You were still pretty tired yourself and you still felt as if you woke him up. You still aren't sure why you walked here fresh out of a nightmare in the first place.
"Very. But, I'm having trouble falling asleep."
"I didn't wake you, did I...?"
"No. I was making tea."
"R-Right..." Now you felt silly.
Silence settled between you two, serene and comfortable. Now that he eased your doubt, you felt completely at ease, a soft sigh leaving your lips after another sip from your cup. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was your father for a time, even if for a little while and his presence was a comfort thing for you now.
That could be it.
"Y/n." Erwin's voice was sharp in the silence and it made you jump.
"Yes, Sir?"
"No need to be so formal." he said with a ghost of a chuckle in his tone.
"O-Oh?"
"How are you feeling?"
"M-Much better now."
"Good."
A moment of silence passed as you took a long sip of your tea, now noticing you were just about finished. You thought perhaps you should head to your room now that you were feeling relaxed and your drowsiness was starting to hit you hard. You downed the rest of your tea, walking up to your Commander to return the cup.
"Thank you again for the tea."
"It was no problem." he paused, then spoke again. "If you have another nightmare, feel free to visit."
You looked at him in pleasant surprise, then smiled.
"Ok. I will."
You headed toward the door and put a hand on the handle, then you paused, thinking, "Ah, what the hell?".
Once more.
"Good night...Daddy."
It was something Erwin didn't think he missed until he heard it for most probably the last time.
Missed? For once, he allowed himself the feeling. He's earned that right, hasn't he?
"Good night, Y/n."