Fly on Wings of Freedom

Making her way into the kitchen, she noticed a large figure sitting in the adjoining mess hall. With a frown, the brunette gave up her mission for food and went to go and see if the commander was alright, both of them were able to function on a lack of sleep but she’d never seen him in here before. 

That familiar voice takes a moment to reach him and there’s a pause before Erwin acknowledges her words, jarred free from whatever thought he’d been consumed by. The Commander perks with the smallest of starts, shifting where he sat to properly face Hanji when she touches him, appearing out of the shadows like an apparition in the night. It’s dark, but his eyes are well attuned to moonlight. Adjusted long ago.

"Mn." His voice suffers the ill effects of disuse, catching in his throat. It’s a moment before he can speak, clearing it softly before attempting conversation.

"A walk? Considering you seem as awake as I am. Assuming you’d care to join me.” Erwin addressed Hanji as he spoke to everyone, with the same even tone measured with authority, and though it's laden with exhaustion, the smallest of smiles pulled at the corner of his lips just for her, simple and sincere. 

There’s few he’d rather see.

It’s Erwin’s birthday AND national desert day?!

As much as he wanted to avoid Erwin, he had every reason not to. With the amount of things that had been on his mind, Nile could do with some company in any capacity. He didn’t despise Erwin as much as he led on— in fact, they used to be as close as could be. Just one thing popped up, then another, and by the time all was said and done, they were non-issues to one another. That was just how the cookie was destined to crumble.

The flute found its way to his lips with a gruff sound bubbling up from within his chest. “How generous of you.” He said curtly, drowning out anything further with his pull of champagne. Anything witty he had to say found itself lost on his tongue the moment he found a way to execute it. Shit. “You look like you’re having fun. You being present almost makes it look like the Legion isn’t on our shit list.”

Erwin shook his head, popping a piece of puff pastry in his mouth before rolling his shoulders in a languid shrug, repelling the insult as easily and gracefully as rain rolled off a swan's thick feathers.

It's common knowledge anyway.

"That precisely why I'm here. And why it's necessary I look like I'm having fun." Erwin calmly sighed, chasing his dessert with the too-dry champagne.

"It would benefit me to be seen having a civil conversation with you. Like we are now. There are people watching us." The Commander spoke without missing a beat, a pleasant smile pointedly affixed on his expression. If Nile was feeling as ornery as usual? Erwin would be equally blunt.

Breaking away from his hooded gaze, he rests his chin against his palm. “Jeez. No one? No friends or anything?” Jean barks a sharp laugh, hand twitching with the urge to reach out and muss Erwin’s hair. “I don’t think I could imagine you fucked up enough to be caught knocking back booze in anything that isn’t as classy as those see-through Dixie cups.”

Whatever attention they'd attracted began to die down, diner patrons returning to their own meals and conversations. The well-dressed man and his much younger date now just a part of the scenery. Nothing novel beyond a few moments of gossip.

It's much more comfortable that way.

"You should try it before you denounce it." He hummed in suggestion, glancing around before leaning in to lessen the distance between them, deep blue eyes attentively meeting Jean's to hold his gaze.

demons // starset

It was a fucking hassle. He wasn’t in the company of a date— though lately he had been. It was weird to see him by himself at one of these things over the past few months. The surly officer with the fiery hair was almost always on his arm nowadays… Just not tonight. Or the past week or so in general. It was a long story that he wasn’t here to think about. Nile would deal with that later. 

… find anything worth trying there…?

That silly puff pastry had never looked so interesting before. Erwin had been the one thing Nile had been dodging all fucking night. Being emotionally-compromised and slightly inebriated around the other commander was a recipe for disaster that he was not ready to commit to at the moment. Slender fingers picked at the flaky crust and the mix of whipped custard, eyes entirely off of the blonde.

It's true, they'd been on better terms in the past...but hadn't they also been on worse? It had seemed to stabilize over the years. To something tolerably neutral, save when direct politics came into play.

But it had been a while since they'd spent any amount of time in one another's presence one-on-one in any regard. Maybe his memory had been rose-coloured after all.

But it doesn't deter the slight, soft smile that brightens his features handsomely as he offered the second champagne flute to Nile. "But here, I'll trade you."