Work Text:
The blonde sat in his desk chair, hunched over yet another form that needed to be filled out. He read and reread the page, none of the words going in. As much as Erwin tried to focus, the clock on the wall took most of his attention.
9:45pm.
The two of you had arranged to finish work at 10pm, meeting in Erwin’s room after you were both done for the day. Today was your three year anniversary yet neither of you had been able to get any time off. Between the losses from the recent expedition and the work being done with Eren, holidays weren’t exactly a priority, especially for squad leaders such as yourself. So you’d sacrificed the day to the Scouts, only reserving a few hours in the evening for yourselves.
Despite it being exhausted from the day’s events, Erwin found himself looking forward to finally getting some time alone with you. You’d both been working so hard recently that you deserved some release. The blonde rolled his stiff shoulders with a sigh, shifting in his seat before resigning himself to another fifteen minutes of work.
No sooner had his pen touched the page, Hanji burst into the room, the door swinging back on it’s hinges and hitting the wall with a loud bang. Erwin’s eyes went wide in surprise, whole body tensing slightly before he realised it was just the section commander.
“Erwin!” She didn’t even wait for him to speak first. “So i have a research design in mind for a new experiment with Eren,” Erwin sighed internally at that, already thinking of the most effective way to get Hanji out of his office without promising anything he couldn’t keep. “I’m extremely confident it will help him gain better control over his abilities and go for longer in the field!”
Erwin raised an eyebrow. Now that was valuable. He considered the woman for a moment before putting down his pen, giving her his full attention. With the current pressure from the government to get results, Erwin would gladly support anything that helped Eren get his abilities in check.
“What did you have in mind?”
You glanced up at the clock again with a small huff. Erwin was never usually late, even by a few minutes. Normally, the man was insufferably early.
10:05pm.
You fussed over your hair in the mirror, smoothing it down and checking over your outfit one more time. Since you and Erwin rarely got time alone together, you wanted everything to be prefect. You wore a dark blue lingerie set, buying it last time you were in Mintras and saving it for your anniversary. It hugged your curves perfectly, accentuating your assets in a way you knew Erwin would appreciate - if only he were there to see it.
With another check of the clock, you frowned. Had he forgotten? You quickly put the thought out of your mind - Erwin never forgot dates. You stood around for a moment, at a loss of what to do, before sitting down on the bed. ‘And now we wait’ you thought.
The hands of the clock moved at a snail’s pace, the quiet ticking being the only noise in the room. You lay propped up against the pillows, now starting to feel rather cold as you twiddled your thumbs.
10:30pm.
Erwin wasn’t coming. That much was obvious. You found that instead of being angry or upset with him, you were just sad. You knew he was probably still in his office filling out paperwork and it was beginning to tire you. Work had always been a high priority for him, for both of you, so it wasn’t surprising that it had taken priority again, even at the expense of your personal lives.
You began to put your clothes back on, having thoroughly given up on the endeavour. You planned to go back to your own room to sleep, not usually doing so unless you were coming to bed late and worried about waking Erwin up. Once dressed, you lingered for a few moments longer, as if expecting him to make a timely appearance, before you left.
Erwin gazed at Hanji, only half listening as she rambled on. Her latest proposition didn’t seem to be groundbreaking but it was just important enough that Erwin couldn’t justify sending her away.
Instead, he tried to give her as much attention as he could, resisting the urge to look over at the clock on the opposite wall. Knowing how the woman could happily talk for hours about her work, he spent his time looking for an opening to interject and excuse himself for the evening. Fortunately, Hanji got there first.
“Oh would you look at the time! I left some of Eren’s saliva in the oven, it should be ready by now!” A this point, Erwin couldn’t bring himself to be surprised. “I hope none of the cadets got it confused with their food!”
As she left, Erwin practically deflated, slumping in his chair and running a hand through his hair. He had no idea how Hanji could have so much energy, especially this late in the evening - even just listening to her was exhausting.
Erwin stared at the door for a few moments after it slammed shut behind her before glancing back down at his paperwork. It was then that the thought occurred to him: You.
Erwin tensed, sitting up as straight as an arrow before turning his attention to the clock on the wall. Shit. He was supposed to meet you almost an hour ago- for an anniversary no less. As he pushed his chair back, legs scraping across the wooden floor, his internal monologue was nothing but a string of expletives.
His footsteps were loud as he sped back to his room, no doubt disturbing people with his stomping, but Erwin couldn’t bring himself to slow down. Guilt ate away at him as he reached his room, bursting through so abruptly he almost broke the latch on the door.
“Y/N?” The room was empty.
Erwin stepped inside with a little frown, checking around the room again just to be sure. You were nowhere in sight. His bedroom was almost completely undisturbed, exactly how he remembered leaving it that morning. But on further examination, Erwin spied the tell-tale creases on his bed, indicating you’d been sitting there for a while before your departure. Your jacket was hung up on one of the hooks by the door so Erwin knew that wherever you’d gone, it couldn’t be far.
Regret sat heavy in his chest as Erwin pieced together what must have happened. Being almost an hour late, it wasn’t a great stretch for him to imagine how long you must have waited for him, probably getting tired in the end and giving up hope of him coming at all.
He let out a sigh as he chastised himself. How could he be so careless? Erwin gave the room another once over, what he was looking for he didn’t know, before leaving just as quickly as he entered.
A dip in the matress was the first thing you noticed when you woke, and then fingers softly brushing through your hair. You made a groggy sound, burying your head further into the pillow on reflex before cracking open an eye.
It was still dark, the door of your bedroom half open and allowing in a dim light from the hallway. You knew only a little time must have passed since you’d first fallen asleep but it still took you a moment to remember why you were in your own bed for once and not Erwin’s.
He’d forgotten your anniversary. The realisation was enough to wake you up completely. Work had taken priority yet again. It hurt more than you were willing to admit.
You pulled back from his hand, shifting your body away from him.
“My dear, I’m sorry…” You could hear the guilt in Erwin’s voice as he spoke. “I lost track of time…” Although Erwin was always concerned with work, that was rather unlike him. Normally his awareness of exactly how much time had passed was painful.
But still, what he’d done stung so you said nothing.
“I was looking forward to this all day… I’m sorry I’ve ruined it.” Erwin trailed off into silence, hand resting on your shoulder as you stubbornly refused to look at him. He didn’t try to make excuses for himself - that was something you’d always admired about the blonde. He was always willing to own up and accept responsibility for his mistakes.
Several moments passed by in silence and it was clear Erwin wasn’t getting up and leaving any time in the future. You let out a small sigh and rolled onto your back to face him.
“I waited for almost an hour.” Erwin winced at that, guilt soaring to impossible levels. He nodded, prompting you to continue. “I bought some new clothes in Mintras and i was saving them for tonight, I wanted them to be a surprise…”
“What new clothes would these be?” He asked curiously, eyebrows raised. In response, you pulled back the neck of your pyjama top, revealing the ornate strap of the bra you were wearing. Erwin made a ‘hmm’ sound, considering you for a moment.
“I’m sure they’re stunning, my darling. I’d love to get a closer look, if you’ll let me…” As he spoke, his hand began to creep upwards to the edge of the duvet, lingering there as he awaited your reply.
You felt your anger at your boyfriend dissipating as you considered what he was implying. Being late and forgetting dates was so unlike Erwin that you knew he wouldn’t make a habit of it. It really did seem as if he’d just lost track of time and made a mistake.
Pushing back the duvet, you pulled yourself up into a sitting position, leaning towards and pressing your lips to Erwin’s. He responded immediately, hand running down your arm to take yours as he kissed you back.
All too soon, you pulled away.
“You better make it up to me.” You smirked, pressing one last kiss to Erwin’s lips before pulling your top over your head.