Chapter 13: Exposed

Erwin's POV:

"So, what was (y/n) doing here?" I ask Levi as I sit in the chair (y/n) just left. Her lavender scent still hung in the air. "I was making sure she is mentally ready for the upcoming expedition." He replied, focusing on the stack of papers he had in front of him.

"You didn't tell her the real plan, did you?" I inquired, leaning back in my chair a bit, studying Levi.

"Of course not," He answered, "Although, it may be a good idea to talk to her about it when we get back. Maybe she's heard or read about the possibility of other titan shifters from her time in the capital."

Hmm, that may not be a bad idea. It's too risky to press her about it now, but maybe something will jog her memory when we get back...

The silence of the room is interrupted by Hange. "Don't you know how to knock?" Levi grumbled as Hange pulls up a chair beside me.

She waved off his question and went straight into her own, "I was thinking about (y/n), don't you think she could be a potentially useful source of information from the capital?"

Funny, (y/n) seems to be on everyone's minds today, though I guess that is to be expected, "We were just talking about her actually," I nod, "But I am a bit concerned about her remembering too much. When I spoke with Dr. Thompson, he warned me not to dig too far."

"But what if she can remember something really important?" Hange argues, "What if it could really be useful? I'm sure (y/n) would want to help any way she can."

"We don't know enough," Levi cuts in, "Plus, there is no guarantee she will remember anything."

"I've read up on ways to recover lost memories," Hange said excitedly, "Maybe we could try that!"

"No." Levi and I both answer. I'm also curious to know what is buried deep in her mind, but I'll never make her suffer for my own curiosity.

Before we could continue the conversation, Cadet Blouse burst into Levi's office.

"What the hell are you doing, Cadet?!" Levi yells at the terrified-looking girl.

"I'm sorry, sir. But (y/n) is in trouble, please hurry!" She gasped as she tried to catch her breath.

Without another word, we all ran after her toward their dorm room.

It doesn't take us long, we burst through the door and saw (y/n) being pinned against the window by a man who appeared to be kissing her neck. Anger flared up in me immediately and I quickly made my way over to the man, grabbed him, and threw all my weight into him, pinning him against the wall.

(Y/n) fell to the ground, eyes open but didn't seem to see anything. She looked lifeless; there was no light in her (e/c) eyes, and she just stared at the ground, unmoving. Then I notice the blood on the floor and the broken window. (Y/n) had shards of glass sticking out of her back.

"Hange, get (y/n) and bring her to my office, it's closer than the hospital wing. Levi, go get Dr. Thompson." I say to them, not taking my eyes off the man in front of me.

The man had shoulder-length silvery blonde hair and looked to be in his mid to late 50s. I wanted to go with (y/n), but I had to deal with this vermin.

"Who are you?" I growled at him.

"Her owner." He replies as he smiles at me.

"You're Lawrence, aren't you?" I ask him, tightening my hold on him even more.

"She told you about me, good. Then you'll know I've come to take her back to where she belongs." His smile fades and his amber eyes grew darker.

"She's not going anywhere," I smirk at him, "She's a scout now, she belongs here with me."

"We'll see," Lawrence replied as I pull his hands behind his back and walk him out of (y/n)'s room.

As we were walking down the hall, Mike comes rushing around the corner, "What's going on? I just saw (y/n)..." He pauses as he analyzes the man in front of me.

I was relieved to see Mike, he can deal with Lawrence so I can check on (y/n). "Mike, take him to the dungeons, and don't take your eyes off of him. I have to go check on (y/n)." Mike nodded and took Lawrence from me.

As I start to head toward my office, I hear Lawrence say, "Tell her I'll see her soon!" I ignore him and quicken my pace.

Hange's POV:

I figured the bad guy from (y/n)'s past would show up sooner rather than later, but I didn't expect it to be this fast.

When we entered the room, right away Levi and I made our way over toward (y/n), and Erwin went for the man attacking her.

I've never seen either man more angry than they were at that moment. Erwin ordered me to bring (y/n) to his office, and for Levi to go get Dr. Thompson.

"(Y/n), can you get up?" I ask her gently. She's conscious, but it's like she is not even there. Her usually bright (e/c) eyes were now dull and lifeless, open but seeing nothing.

I grab her under her arms and pull her to her feet. She stands a little shakily, so I put my arm carefully around her, avoiding the glass sticking out of her back, so she can lean on me and walk.

Levi ran in the direction of Thompson's office, as I make my way toward Erwin's.

Just before I'm at Erwin's door, I see Mike walking down the hallway. He sees us and rushes over, "What the hell happened?" He asked as he looked over (y/n) with concern.

"No time to explain," I say quickly, "Go to (y/n)'s room, Erwin may need help."

He nods and quickly makes his way down the hall and out of site.

When I finally get (y/n) into Erwin's office I bring her into the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub.

"Do you have any personal attachment to your shirt?" I ask her as I grab a pair of scissors out of the drawer. She shakes her head, giving me permission to cut it off. No point in trying to slowly ease it over her head, might as well cut it off as to not disturb the glass that was keeping her from bleeding out.

I cut her out of her shirt gently and ease it off the glass sticking out of her back. I throw it to the floor and examine the damage. She has 6 pieces sticking out of her back, and some other more shallow cuts.

I saw some of her scars when she was confronting Oluo, but now that I'm closer, I have a better view of her back. They are all pretty unique, some long some short, some straight some jagged. There is an odd one that I can kind of see under her bra, but I can't make out the whole thing.

I'm distracted by a quiet knock on the door, "I'll be right back." I tell (y/n) as I open the door. It was Levi, without Dr. Thompson. I walk the rest of the way out of the bathroom and close the door to protect (y/n)'s privacy.

"What are you doing? Where's Thompson?" I ask him quietly.

"He wasn't in his office. I asked around and someone said he was at his Stohess office. Here," He hands me a suture kit, "Better to just do it here, rather than moving her all the way to the hospital wing."

I nod at him as he helps me look for a comfortable and practical enough spot to put (y/n), so I can slowly remove the glass from her back.

All of a sudden we hear the water running in the shower. What is she doing?

Levi and I rush into the bathroom to check on (y/n). She was standing in the water scratching at her neck furiously.

"(Y/n)! What are you doing?" I yell at her as I make my way toward her.

"I can feel him on me," She says in a quiet monotone voice, almost as if she were in a trance, "His touch burns, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, get it off." I grab her hand and see blood on her fingers. She was clawing at the hickey he left on her.

Levi steps in and grabs her face, "(y/n)," he said in a calming voice, very uncharacteristic of him, "It's fine, you're safe now, he's gone and we have you."

She looks at him with a confused look. But she relaxes slightly and allows him to pull her out of the tub. His face goes a little red when he sees (y/n) is only in her bra and pants.

Erwin enters his office and walks into the bathroom too, as I place a bandage on (y/n)'s neck, "How is she doing? Where is Thompson?" He asks as he notices it's just the three of us there.

"He's at his other office," Levi says, steering (y/n) out of the bathroom. "Where can we place her to stitch her up?"

"Just place her on my bed, it's fine." He says as he goes to grab a couple of clean towels.

"Did you grab any painkillers?" I ask Levi, "We may be at this for a while."

(Y/n) startled me by pulling hard on my arm, "No!" She screams, "No painkillers, please!" I'm shocked by how insistent she is, borderline hysterical, she looked terrified.. I wonder why..

Levi tries to calm her down again, "We're removing glass from your body and stitching you up. You're going to be in pain for a while yet."

"No!" She screams again, "Please! I'll behave, I promise!" Her pleading made me a little emotional. 'I'll behave'? She must have had a really bad experience with them... But how?

"Okay okay," I finally give in, "No painkillers, just lay down on your stomach, okay?" She relaxed a little and let go of my arm, leaving some red marks behind her nails.

"I'm sorry," (y/n) apologizes when she sees the marks left on my arm. "Don't worry about it," I laugh and wave off her apology.

Erwin lays some towels down on the bed so her blood doesn't stain his sheets. (Y/n) lays down on her stomach and rests her arms under her head.

"Alright, out boys! Girl time!" I shoo the two men out of the bedroom and close the door.

"I'm going to undo your bra too," I warn (y/n), "I just want to have a full unobscured view of your back."

She nods and I gently unhook her bra and push the straps aside. I make an audible gasp when I see the scar that lay under the fabric of her bra.

It was a jagged uneven scar that spelled out 'slut'. (Y/n) must have known what I saw, "I got that from Laurie after Mac died. He didn't want me to forget how he felt about our marriage." She said quietly.

I don't say anything... What can I say? How much does it hurt her to hear that word, knowing it's carved into her for life? She explained it so nonchalantly as if she were just explaining what she had for dinner. But it must still bother her.

I get to work removing the glass one shard at a time, trying to chat with her to keep her mind off of the pain.

"You know, I've never seen Erwin and Shorty so worked up over someone before. They must really like you." I say, chuckling softly.

"They shouldn't." (Y/n) mumbles quietly.

"You know, there are a lot of girls here who would love to get that attention from them," I continued, "I've never seen them like this before. It's kind of refreshing."

She winces when I pull one of the longer shards out of her back. "I like them too." She mumbled, probably more to herself than to me.

I smile when I hear that, things may get even more interesting...

I was able to remove all the glass from her back fine. I covered her stitches with some bandages and told her I was finished.

"Here, wear this," I say to (y/n) as I see her looking around after she does up her bra, handing her one of Erwin's shirts.

She looks at the shirt and goes completely red, making me laugh rather loudly, "Come on, it's fine! You need something to wear."

She glares at me but takes the white shirt from me. I watch as she stands up carefully and puts it on, it looks huge on her... it's adorable.

"Come out when you're ready," I say to her as I exit the bedroom and close the door behind me.

Erwin and Levi are still here. Erwin doing paperwork and Levi sitting on the couch, reading a book. They both look up at me as I walk into the room, "Is she okay?" Erwin asks me, taking his focus off his paperwork.

"She'll be fine," I say with relief, "She should probably stay here for now though. At least until her window is replaced."

Erwin nods, "I was already thinking of that."

I laugh when I see the irritated look on Levi's face, I think someone is jealous. "You'll have to check on her stitches and clean them so they don't get infected," I instruct Erwin, "And just to warn you ahead of time, she has the word 'slut' carved into her back. So try not to be shocked by it, she's already uncomfortable enough as it is."

Erwin and Levi are silent, just staring at me with anger in their eyes, "It wasn't me, I didn't do it!" I joke as I raise my hands up in surrender. "Stop joking, shitty glasses," Levi growled at me, "That's not funny."

"I know," I respond seriously, "Apparently it was given to her by Lawrence after (y/n) returned to him after her husband died."

The two men remain silent, lost in their own thoughts. "Well," I say, clapping my hands to snap Levi out of his thoughts, "Time for us to go, shorty! Let (y/n) get some sleep."

Levi reluctantly followed me out of Erwin's office, giving him a look before closing the door behind me. I bid Levi goodnight and we parted ways to go to our own rooms.

Erwin's POV:

After Hange and Levi leave I knock softly on my bedroom door, "(y/n), are you decent?"

I hear her walk to the door and she opens it slowly. Hange must have given her one of my shirts to wear after cutting her's off. My breath catches in my throat when I get a good look at her. Her face is red and she's looking down at her feet. She looked really good in my shirt.

I was at a loss for words, so (y/n) spoke up instead, "Sorry, Hange told me to wear it. I'll have it washed before I bring it back to you."

"Please don't worry about it, it's fine." I tell her, "I just wanted to let you know you'll be staying here for a bit. Until the window in your room is replaced."

"Is Sasha okay?" She asked me, a worried look on her face. "Yes, I believe she is staying in Cadet Ackerman's room."

She giggled a bit when I finished, "Oh no, Mikasa is in for a treat."

"Do you have an extra blanket?" She asks me while trying to exit my bedroom. "Are the blankets on the bed not sufficient?" I ask her, is she one of those girls that get cold easily?

"Why would I take the blankets off your bed when you need them? I can go and grab a blanket from my room to use on the couch."

"You're not sleeping on the couch," I smile at her, "You can have my bed, I'm sleeping on the couch." She looked at me in horror, "I can't kick you out of your bed, sir!"

"You can call me Erwin, remember? You're not kicking me out, I'm ordering you to sleep in my bed." I didn't really think about what I was saying until I said it. "That came out wrong," I say, feeling a blush coming on, "I didn't mean it as an innuendo."

(Y/n)'s cheeks go red as she looks up at me, "No, I know, it's okay. But you know, the bed is big enough for two. I promise to keep my hands to myself."

.... It's not her hands I'm worried about. "Is there anything you want me to get from your room for you?" I ask, hoping to change the subject.

She looks at me seriously, "You don't have to do that, I can go." She tries to push past me, but I pick her up with ease and place her gently on my bed. "You've had a rough day, lay down." She starts to protest but I silence her with my hand, "Don't make me get Hange back in here to tie you down like one of her titan subjects."

I remove my hand from her mouth to find her smirking, "You have a very dirty mind don't you, Erwin?" I glare at her as she laughs at my reaction. "Okay okay," she relents, "Just my toothbrush, pajamas, and another change of clothes, please."

I nod and turn to leave my bedroom when I hear her voice again, "Try not to go through my underwear drawer." She says with a teasing smile. I turn back toward her to flick her in her forehead before finally leaving.

This is going to be difficult...

Your POV:

After Erwin left I finally broke down. I can't do it in front of everyone. It's exhausting pretending that I'm okay, but I don't want anyone to worry about me.

I pulled my hair out of the tight bun I had, kind of surprised it was still mostly intact. As I run my fingers through my (h/l) (h/c) hair, I wince as my finger brushed against a bandage on my neck. When did that happen?

I get up and walk to the bathroom to look in the mirror. I avoid looking at my puffy red (e/c) eyes and focused on the red mark around my neck where Laurie had grabbed me. Then my eyes move to where the bandage is, and I gently remove it. A purple bruise was revealed on my neck with cuts through it. I remember Laurie sucking and kissing my neck, but where did those cuts come from?

I put the bandage back on, maybe I'll ask Erwin when he gets back. I make my way back to the bed and wrap myself up in the comfy blankets. It smells nice in here, smells like Erwin. I feel my face go red, "Stop it, (y/n)! What are you thinking?" I ask myself.

It doesn't take long for my mind to go back to Laurie. I wonder where he is now. Maybe in the dungeons? Doesn't matter, he won't be there for long. He has a lot of important friends and ties with the king and military police. He can get out of anything.

People in the capital know what he does, but they don't care. A lot of them profit from it too, especially the higher-ups in the MPs.

I feel so helpless. What if he starts going after my friends here now? What will happen to them? I feel myself tearing up more. Damnit, I don't usually cry. But the thought of someone else being hurt because of me affects me very deeply.

What will happen to Erwin? What about Levi? Hange? Eren? Mike? They are the ones who are around me the most. Will he go after them?

I hear the door to Erwin's office open and close. I didn't want him to see that I had been crying, so I pretend that I am already asleep. I hear him knock softly on the door, he pauses and then opens it.

I hear him walk quietly to the other side of the room and place something on a chair in the corner, probably the stuff I asked him to grab from my room.

I figured he would just leave when he dropped my stuff off, but before he exited he stopped next to his bed. I felt his fingers brush a few strands of my (h/c) out of my face. I hope he can't hear my heartbeat getting faster and louder. I could hear it pounding in my ears, I held my breath, hoping it would calm down.

Erwin leaves the bedroom and closed the door quietly as he heads into his office. I open my eyes and try to breathe as steadily as I could. What was that about?

I lay on my side, staring at the door. How am I ever going to get to sleep?

...

It's been a least a few hours and sleep still eludes me. I've tried laying in different positions, but it's difficult with the stitches in my back.

I would kill for something to read. Erwin has lots of books in his office, I'm sure he won't mind if I grab one. I light the candle next to the bed, and as quietly as I can make my way toward the bedroom door.

Erwin is probably asleep, so I tried to be as quiet as possible. But it seems I didn't have to be, I see him laying on the couch with a candle next to him and a book in his hand.

He looks up at me as he hears me open the door, "Good evening (y/n), what are you doing up?" He asks as he set his book down, giving me his full attention.

"I couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I would grab a book." I admit as I walk over toward him, "I don't think I'm going to get back to sleep, so you can take your bed back if you want."

He shook his head, "No, that's quite alright. I end up falling asleep on his couch a lot anyway. But since you're up, I'd like to have a look at your stitches."

My face goes red, oh no, I hate the thought of him looking at the scars on my back. But I guess I hate the thought of getting an infection even more... It doesn't look like I have a choice.

Why am I so nervous around him? Plenty of men in the capital have seen me half-naked, so what makes him different?

Regardless, I nod my head and turn my back to Erwin. I pull on the shirt so it can reveal my back, but I kept it folded over my arms so I can still cover my front.

He goes into his bedroom to get some supplies to clean my wounds if necessary. He comes back and lights another candle on the table next to where I was standing. He examines my back closely as I stand there nervously. I feel his fingers gently brush across my sensitive back, making me shiver. I know which scar he is focusing on, "Did Hange tell you about it?" I ask him in a low voice.

"Yes," he admits as he retracts his fingers from my least favorite scar. "Charming man, isn't he?" I ask, chucking darkly.

Erwin doesn't say anything, just goes back to checking on my stitches. I try to keep myself calm, but every time his fingers brush against my skin it makes me shiver but also makes me feel hot at the same time. It was wishful thinking, but maybe he doesn't notice... No, he definitely notices... Damnit.

"All good," He finally says, signaling to me I can put the shirt back on. "Thank you," I say to him as I shrug my shirt back on.

"If you're not tired, you're welcome to go through my book collection." He smiles at me, then turns to sit back on his couch.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you, what happened to Laurie?" I ask him nervously.

Erwin sighs and pats the open couch cushion next to him, "Sit."

I feel myself blush a little as I take the seat next to him. "After I restrained Lawrence, I asked Mike to take him down to one of the cells underground. He's still there, so don't worry, I'm watching over you."

"You can't keep him there," I say quietly, "He has confidants everywhere. I guarantee you will be forced to release him by tomorrow."

Erwin studies me with his brilliant blue eyes, making me fidget a bit at how intense they were. "I figured," He replies, "I'll keep a close eye out though. And I want you to come to me if you see him around or anyone associated with him."

"It doesn't matter," I smile sadly, "He won't let me go. He always finds a way." I stare down at my hands, "I deserve this."

Erwin cups his hand under my chin and pulls it gently back up for me to look at him, "Don't say that."

"I'm not this amazingly brave woman people think I'm being," I say as I stare at him with sad (e/c) eyes, "I ruined people's lives to better my own position with Laurie, we all did. And I used people for my own personal gain."

"On some of the portraits, I'm sure you saw the name 'Peitho', correct?" I ask him, eyes still locked on his.

"Yes," he answers, "The Greek Goddess of seduction and persuasion, yes?"

I was surprised he knew, not many people outside of the capital know a lot of history that is not just about life within the walls. "You've read about Greek mythology?"

"My father was a teacher," Erwin began to explain, "He had some pretty rare books in his possession. I'm unsure of how he got them, books about anything other than our history are illegal."

"Your father sounds like an interesting man," I commented. He smiled sadly and nodded for me to continue.

"Laurie liked to use me to recruit others. Especially for his brothels," my eyes darken as I think about that depraved place, "The people who work there have it the worst. And I used my seductive and persuasive nature to coax people into working for Laurie. I would promise them luxury and positions in some of Laurie's most prized establishments. But what they got was abused, raped, and humiliated."

I fall silent again. I never had to work in the brothel, I was too precious to Laurie and he had much higher paying and important clients for me. Usually, he liked me to spy on them, or gather information. But sometimes it was just to appease those he was trying to suck up to.

"Don't feel sorry for me, sir," I say as I see him give me a sympathetic look, "It could have been much worse for me. I don't deserve to feel sorry for myself when there are people who had and still have it worse than me."

"Saying you're not allowed to be sad because other people have it worse, is like saying you can't be happy because other people have it better than you." Erwin says with a sigh, "You're allowed to be upset. No one deserves the treatment you received."

I guess I never thought of it like that, I did it all to keep myself alive, but does that make it okay? I don't think so...

"Can I ask you a question? Not counting that though." I ask him with a small smile.

He returns a smile, "Sure."

"How did I get these scratches on my neck?" I say, taking the bandage off my neck. His smile disappears immediately, "You don't remember?"

I shake my head and put the bandage back on, "I wasn't here for when it happened," Erwin started, "But Levi said you started scratching at it, probably after seeing the hickey."

"I see," I reply, looking down at my hands again.

"Now, may I ask you a question?" Erwin inquires.

"Yes," I say cautiously, what is this going to be about?

"Why were you so terrified when Hange mentioned giving you painkillers?"

I freeze at his question, my scared (e/c) eyes staring into his concerned blue ones. "You don't have to tell me if it's too difficult to talk about." He reassures me when I remain silent.

"Some of Laurie's customers are very depraved people." I speak up in a monotone voice, "Laurie wanted me to stay a virgin because either he wanted to marry me, or sell me for a very high price to another nobleman. But I still had to 'earn my keep'."

"Laurie had some rules when it came to me for his customers, whereas with other men and women he owned, they were allowed to demand sex from them if they desired. For me, strictly speaking, they were not allowed to have sex with me, but they were allowed to do pretty much anything else they wanted..." I trail off into silence, and Erwin let's me collect my thoughts before continuing.

"When Laurie first started renting me out, when I was 15, I was pretty 'uncooperative'. A lot of the time they would sedate me with doses of pain killers."

I pause again, trying to force the memories of those times away, "I am used to dealing with pain, so I will always reject the use of painkillers."

Erwin is silent, probably doesn't know what to say or how to respond. "It wasn't all bad though," I try to make him feel better, "It would have been constant if I had worked in the brothel. Plus, I got lots of fancy gifts and candy from fans." I laugh softly and punch his arm playfully, "Come on, cheer up."

All of a sudden I feel his arms wrap around me and pull me into a tight hug. I was shocked. Definitely not expecting this to happen.

I allowed myself to relax as I accept the embrace. He leans back on the couch, pulling me with him. My face rests on his chest as he grabs his book off the table and started to read again.

He didn't say anything, he didn't have to. I appreciated the silence, other than his heartbeat. It almost acted as a lullaby as I slowly fell asleep.