Chapter 29: Worth the Wait

Erwin's POV:

The party was already in full swing when I arrived. I looked around at all the people in the Great Hall, it looks like it is mostly nobles and politicians. Dr. Banning's place is huge, I guess that's one of the perks of being on the King's council.

I recognize quite a few people, even Shadis and Pixis are here. I'm still trying to figure out what this party is even for. He is a doctor, is he celebrating some breakthrough? If it were for a birthday, I feel that would have been made clear by now.

I make polite conversation with people who stop me to greet me. I had a few women trying to keep me around to chat with, but I make it clear I don't have any interest in them.

I decide to go up the stairs to a balcony overlooking the large room, maybe I'll be able to see (y/n) from up there.

"Ah! Erwin!" Pixis calls to me as I start heading up the stairs, "Strange to see you here, where is (y/n)? Oh! Is that why you decided to come?"

I turn around to give him a confused look, "How did you know she was coming?" To my knowledge, (y/n) didn't exactly advertise the fact she was going to come to this event, let alone tell anyone she was performing.

"Heard it through the grape vine!"

"Hange told you, didn't she?"

"Yep!" He laughs, trying to hand me a glass of wine, but I wave it away, "That's why I'm here! I can't wait to hear what all the fuss is about when she lived in the capital."

"You're here because there is an open bar, Pixis," I chuckle at him, "(y/n) being here is just an added bonus for you."

"Cheers!" Pixis grins at me and makes his way back over towards the bar.

Well, he seems to be well on his way to a drunken stupor. Oh well, whatever gets him through the night I suppose.

I weave my way through the crowd of people on the upper level, making my way toward the balcony when I hear someone call to me.

"Commander Erwin!" I look to my right to see who called my name, it was a man I didn't recognize, "Wait until I tell everyone you came to my party and no one else's!"

Ah, this must be Harvey Banning. He holds out his hand for me to shake and I accept, "Thank you for inviting me." He looked to be in his mid to late 40s, he had short blonde hair combed back, dark brown eyes, thick glasses and a few inches shorter than me.

"It is curious though, I must admit," He continues, "Why you would choose to come to my event and never any other events."

"I'm curious as to why you find that curious." I reply to him.

"Well, it's curious that (y/n) (l/n) joins the scouts, and suddenly you are eager to attend a party within Wall Sina."

He captures my full attention when he mentions (y/n)'s name, is there more to this than Banning just being a fan of her's?

"Relax," Banning says when he sees me tense up a bit, "I doubt she remembers me, but perhaps that is for the best. Tell me, Erwin, is Peter well? Will he be attending this evening?"

"To my knowledge, no." I answer curtly.

"Such a shame," Banning sighs, "Oh well, if you see (y/n) tell her I would like to meet with her before she performs."

He doesn't wait for me to answer, just waves and makes his way over to a group of people that were waving at him. I finally make it over to the balcony overlooking the room.

What was that interaction just now? So, he has met with (y/n) before...

"Erwin?" I'm startled out of my thoughts by someone calling my name from my left, I look over to see that it was Marie.

"Oh, hello Marie." I greeted her politely. It has been a long time since I have seen her last, but she looks just as I remember her, only older.

Her long wavy light brown hair is falling loosely around her, she smiles up at me with shinning blue eyes, "I never thought I would see you at one of these!"

"I have my reasons." I say simply, taking my eyes off of her and return to scanning the room below for (y/n). I can kind of hear Marie trying to chat with me, but I don't really pay attention to what she is saying.

"Geez, talking to you is almost like talking to Nile these days." She sighs heavily and steps closer to me.

"Nile has a lot going on right now, and that is mostly because of me, so I apologize for giving him more work to do."

"It's not just now." She continues, "It has been hard to get any time with him for awhile now. He is away from the kids and I too much, and when he is home, he is far too distracted."

"That's just how it is, Marie," I reassure her, "If you wanted a husband who would be home everyday at set times, you picked the wrong type of man."

"You made time for me when we were together," Marie whispers, "Before you chose work over me anyway."

"Marie, what do you want from me?" I ask her, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Where is your date, Erwin?" Marie inquired, avoiding my question and trying to keep a conversation going. "I didn't bring one." I answer shortly, hoping if I don't contribute much to the conversation, she will take the hint and leave me be.

"That can't be true," She gasped dramatically, "You must have had women knocking down your door to be invited to come with you!"

"Not really."

"So, what's the occasion anyway?" Marie asks, trying to engage me with another question, "I've never seen you at a party."

Why is she doing this?

I'm still trying to look through the sea of people in this giant hall for (y/n). I scan the dance floor to see if she is there, and along the edges where there are tables and people chatting. Nothing. I look towards the opposite end of the hall, where there is a couple sets of stairs leading down from the entrance to the hall when I finally see her.

She definitely knows how to make an entrance without even trying. (Y/n) was walking arm in arm with Ellen and who must be Ellen's husband. She looked like she was giggling at something Ellen said, a beautiful bright smile on her face that I can see even from how far away I am.

There were a lot of people who stopped to stare at her as she came in and walked down the stairs, but she ignored them all. She walks with confidence and her head held high.

She was wearing a quite unique (f/c) dress that seemed to have two pieces to it rather than just being one uniform dress. She's too far away, I need to get closer to her.

"Wow," I hear Marie gasp next to me, "I never would have thought I would see (y/n) at a party like this after she left! She looks amazing!"

"She does." I agree, not having the ability to take my eyes off of her. I want to go over to her, but I also feel frozen. I don't think I have ever felt this nervous because of a woman before.

Suddenly (y/n) turns her head and she sees me. She is still a bit far, but I can see a smile spread across her beautiful face, making my chest feel tight. She waves a greeting to me which I return. Our little interaction is interrupted when Pixis sees (y/n).

He greets her and appears to ask her for a dance, which she politely accepts. My smile is replaced by a frown as he leads her onto the dance floor. She looks up at me again and playfully sticks her tongue out at me.

"Erwin," I hear Marie say quietly, tone more serious. I forgot she was still here, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"The way you were looking at (y/n), I've never seen you smile like that."

I just shrug in response, this is none of her business, why is she involving herself?

"Erwin, you can't be serious about her," She says giving me an exasperated look, "No way! I can't allow that!"

"I'm fairly certain that my personal life is none of your business, Marie," I cross my arms and frown down at her, "Why are you still standing here? I thought my short responses were a clear indication I'm not interested in going on with a conversation."

"I thought you weren't interested in any kind of relationships," She argued, "That's the reason you pushed me away, remember?"

This is getting really annoying now, I guess holding back isn't going to get me anywhere, it's probably best to just be brutally honest with her.

"It would have never worked out for us, Marie. You wanted kids and a husband that would put you first. You knew I would not be able to give you that. Our personalities were never compatible, we were both young and I never saw anything long term between us. You were better off with Nile, he loves you and will do anything to keep you safe. And I am better off alone."

"But now that some beautiful young cadet comes waltzing into your life, you're all about commitment?" She retorted angrily.

I need to get out of this conversation, it's starting to get more exhausting. Arguing more with her at this point isn't productive, so leaving it entirely is probably the best course of action.

I turn to my right, but she grabs onto my arm like a stubborn child, "Just tell me why it didn't work for us, but it can work for you 2. Just tell me that!" She begged.

"Because you're not her," I answer her simply, "I didn't expect to ever feel this way, but here I am regardless. We have similar motives and goals, she makes me excited to see what happens tomorrow, instead of just living off of revenge and spite. Do you really need me to explain more? Is this doing anything for you, or have you finely had enough?"

I can see the frustration and sadness in her eyes as she continued to clutch onto my arm, but I felt nothing looking at her. There was a time where I thought I made a mistake in letting her go. But now I just see a woman who is confused and frustrated that I want nothing to do with, she isn't my problem, hasn't been for a very long time.

I feel a tug on my other arm and look down to see (y/n) smiling up at me, "Erwin, just because Pixis beat you to me does not mean you are excused from dancing with me. I owe you a debt, remember?"

Now that I'm closer to her I get a much better look at her. Her beautiful (h/l) (h/c) hair is pulled up into a loose but neat updo, with strands of her hair framing her face.

The dress she is wearing does not disappoint; I haven't seen anything like it before. Her arms and chest are covered in beautiful patterns of lace, her shoulders are mostly bare, and her breasts are mostly covered but also offering a little peek, making me bite my lower lip as certain thoughts start running through my head.

A few of her scars are showing where the 2 parts of the dress almost meet at her abdomen, showing off a little bit of her abs. The skirt of the dress goes all the way to the floor, it was loose and flowed gracefully around her, but tight enough to show off the beautiful curve of her ass.

This is definitely worth the wait, but I already know it's going to be hard to control myself around her. Note to self, don't drink any alcohol.

"Hi Marie," (y/n) greets Marie politely, "It's nice to see you again! I just ran into Nile on my way up here, he is looking for you."

Marie gives (y/n) a suspicious look, she looks like she is about to argue but decides against it. She gives me one final look before heading toward the stairs, finally leaving me alone with (y/n).

"Thank you," I whisper to her, "That conversation was getting very uncomfortable for me."

"Yes, I heard," She laughed, "But, like I said, I still owe you a dance," She grabbed me by my tie and pulled me down to her, "You're mine, let's go."

I have to admit, I like the aggressive side of her. She let's go of my tie and grabs my arm again, leading me down the stairs and onto the dance floor. As we danced I could smell her intoxicating lavender scent.

I had my right hand more on her back than on her waist where it should be. I feel like I'm trying to avoid touching the bare skin of her waist, afraid to make any sudden moves that may scare her off.

"You haven't said anything about my dress yet, Erwin," She giggled looking up at my flushed cheeks, "What do you think?"

She steps away from me and twirls herself around so I can get a view from all angles. What can I say that she doesn't already know? She has to know what kind of affect she has on me, she is just teasing me.

"Come on, Erwin," She says impatiently, "I'm not your sister, say what you feel."

"You look.... Taller." I smirk down at her.

She gasps, "Erwin, stop! You're making me blush!"

"Obviously you're beautiful," I tell her as I pull her toward me again, resuming the dance, "You have tons of people who remind you of that."

"I know," She shrugs, "I can have 1000 people compliment me and feel nothing, but one compliment from you and I can't think straight." She grabs my hand that is on her back and moves it to the correct spot onto her waist.

Her skin is soft and warm to the touch as I rub my thumb against one of her scars, "You know what you do to me," I whisper to her, "You know I find you incredibly attractive, why are you being coy with me?"

"Because it's fun, of course." She replies.

We dance for the rest of the song in silence. I enjoy the feeling of my hands on her soft skin and the smell of her sweet scent.

I didn't want to let go of her when the song ended, but (y/n) pulled away and looked around at the sea of people, "Is everything okay?" I ask her, giving her a confused look.

"This is the best time to do a little investigating, the party is still in the beginning stages. Banning will be busy greeting his guests for the next little while. That gives me a small window of opportunity where I can slip away and do some digging."

"What can I do?" I ask her, confusing her a bit, "What? I would love to help you in some way."

"(Y/n)! There you are!"

(Y/n) turned around to see who had called to her, it was Dr. Banning.

"I'm sorry, I -"

"No, I should be apologizing," Banning smiled at her, "I've seen you many times, but we have not officially met." Clearly, he is concealing the fact that they have indeed met before.

He holds out his hand for her to shake, "I'm Harvey Banning, and I'm very excited you decided to come." (Y/n) takes his hand to shake it, but he brings her hand to his lips and kissed it.

I wanted to slap his hand away from her, but I had to make sure to hold myself back, "Thank you for inviting me sir," She smiles sweetly at him, "It's an honour."

"If you're free now, I would like to hear that pretty singing voice of your's again," Banning starts leading her toward the stage, "I want you to perform before everyone is too drunk to truly appreciate it!"

(Y/n) gives me an apologetic smile over her shoulder and allowed Banning to lead her.

Part of me wanted to follow and yank her out of his hand, but at the same time I have been excited to finally hear her sing.

Your POV:

It feels like I have met him before... Could I have met him and not remembered him? If that were true, why is he hiding it?

I can think about that later, right now I have to concentrate on my performance; I don't want to disappoint Erwin...

It is not the time to be worrying about something like that, (y/n), focus!

"Wait here," Harvey says to me, leaving me at the side of the stage, "I'll introduce you."

I give him a small smile and nod. I've never been nervous for a performance before. Is it because it has been so long? Is it because I'm back at a party within Wall Sina? Or is it because there is actually someone here who I want to impress?

Harvey claps his hands to get everyone's attention as he walks out onto the stage, "Everyone! I would like to start off by saying thank you for coming. It's been a long road, but we have finally been making progress! But more on that later, for now I'm very pleased to announce I was able to convince a very special performer to come tonight. None other than the former darling of the capital, formerly known as Peitho, but from now on known for her real name, (y/n) (l/n)!"

He holds out his hand gesturing for me to go out on the stage. I take a deep breath and walk confidently up onto the stage, close to the piano.

People in the crowd who didn't see me enter the party originally seemed to be shocked to see me. But once the initial shock was over, I was met with a sea of applause. I look down on them and politely bow. It's difficult to conceal my distain for the majority of the people in this room. They applauded me for years for my success, but they also found pleasure in my downfall.

I seat myself at the piano bench and close my eyes, willing a song to come to my mind. What do I want this performance to convey? What am I feeling? Without thinking my fingers begin to move skillfully over the keys. Ah yes, it's been so long, but (your choice of song, piano version) seems to be just the right song to sing.

Erwin's POV:

I thought her normal voice was pleasing to the ear, but it had nothing on her singing voice. I listened closely to the lyrics, but she could be singing about anything and it would sound amazing.

I can see why she is still as popular as she is, Lawrence would be foolish to let anyone other than her to be the star of his shows. A person who has had an easy life doesn't sing with the amount of soul and heart she has. She doesn't just sing the song, she feels it.

The emotion of the song shows in her body language and tone. She makes you feel everything she is feeling, it's truly captivating. Like she is the only other person in the room besides you; like she is singing directly to you.

It seems everyone else in the room feels the same. No one else is saying a word, barely even breathing, too focused on (y/n)'s performance.

Your POV:

The lyrics flow through my lips so effortlessly, and my fingers manipulate the keys as if I had never taken a break. Whenever I perform, I always block out the audience, like it is just the piano and I.

When I finish there was roaring applause coming from all around the great hall. I get up from the bench and bow politely to the crowd.

"Breathtaking as always, (y/n)!" Harvey claps as he returns onto the stage next to me, "I hope you'll grace us with another song later in the evening! But for now, I'll bring the regular band back up, please resume the drinking and dancing!"

I nod and smile at him as I quickly make my way off the stage, eager to get back to Erwin.

I try to make my way back over to where I left him, but a crowd quickly forms around me. I'm overwhelmed by people trying to talk to me as soon as I leave the stage. I try to politely make my way around them, but it is kind of difficult for a person of my height.

I feel a large pair of hands grab onto me and help me wade my way through the groups of people. I'm relieved to look up and see that it was Erwin.

"So, what did you think?" I smile up at him.

"Not the worst I've heard," He comments, smirking down at me, "Looks like sneaking away is going to be a bit tougher for you with the crowd of admirers you have amassed."

"Just glower at them for me, you have a very intimidating scowl."

"Joking aside," Erwin sighs, "I've never heard anyone sing quite like you. You have my permission to sing whenever and wherever you want on base."

"If you're lucky I can offer you a more private performance," I wink at him and smile when I see a faint blush in his cheeks, "Try not to miss me too much, I have a mission."

"Wait," I pause when Erwin grabs my wrist, "I said I would help you. I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer, so just tell me what you want me to do."

Usually in parties like these there are not guards standing in front of any rooms that are off limits, that would draw too much attention to that room. They keep the doors locked and leave the key to some member of the staff. The hard part is finding out who that would be. When I figure that out, it should be easy to manipulate my way past the person, it was basically my job once.

"I need to figure out who of the employees has keys to locked rooms on the upper floors." I tell Erwin quietly as we make our way to the outer edges of the room, where there is a little less noise.

We both look at the employees around the hall, they were all wearing burgundy-coloured jackets, black bow ties and pants. None of them stood out right away to me, so Erwin and I take our time in watching them. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Erwin nudges me when he notices something I don't, "See the man on the top of the stairs now?"

I look to where he is pointing, there is an employee standing by the stairs, seemingly monitoring the other employees, "Yeah, why? Is there something different about him?"

"I've been watching him; he is the only employee that talks to the other ones. None of the other employees talk to one another, he is the common denominator. When they do speak with him, they start doing something different than what they were originally doing." He explains to me.

There are many reasons why he is the Commander, but this is definitely one of them. His observational skills are seemingly unparalleled.

"Thank you," I say gratefully, "That makes things easier for me. After I'm done speaking with him and he comes back, try to make sure he stays in this area. Please don't get involved too much, I don't want you to get in trouble. I can only slip away for at most an hour before people start to notice."

He nodded at me, "Be careful, I want you returned to me unharmed."

"Yes sir." I smirk at him before I head for the man at the top of the stairs.

"Excuse me, sir," I say sweetly, getting his attention immediately. Once he sees me, a smile spreads across his face, "Oh hello, that was a great performance, Ms. (L/n), you had everyone transfixed."

"Thank you, sir," I flash him a big smile, "That means so much to me! It's been so long since I performed, I'm a little out of practice. Being around this many people and this much excitement has really been depleting my energy. And I'm still technically in recovery from my time stuck outside the wall."

"Oh yes!" He replied excitedly, "I heard about that, you're a real survivor!"

"Thank you, but it did take a lot out of me, and I really don't have much energy still. I know it's a lot to ask, but may I please just lie down in any of the rooms here? It doesn't even have to be a bedroom, just anywhere with a couch where I can quietly rest for a bit. I want to make sure my next performance will be just as good as my first."

The man bites his lip nervously, clearly trying to decide on whether or not he should allow me access into any other rooms on the upper floor. I rest my hand on his arm and lean into him, "Sorry, I'm just feeling a little faint."

His face goes red and he puts his arm around me gently, "Okay, I'll bring you to one of the rooms." He relents, letting me lean on him as he walks with me down a hallway and up another flight of stairs.

He stops a few doors down a hallway after the stairs. I watch carefully to see what pocket he keeps the keys in. He reaches into is left pant pocket and quickly finds the key to open the door.

"It would take me forever to figure out which key to use," I giggle as he immediately puts the correct key in the hole, "I would be completely useless."

"It's not too difficult," He said proudly, "All the locks and keys have slightly different patterns, it isn't something one would notice unless you knew."

"Very clever," I compliment him as he opens the door for me. I pretend to trip over my feet on my way through the door. The man quickly catches me before I fall to the ground. His left hand seems to be his dominant one, his keys are in his left pocket. He used his left hand to unlock the door and he caught my upper body with his left arm too. Perfect, I should be able to swipe his keys from him when he is putting me down.

The room he brought me to did seem to be a bedroom, a guest room, perhaps? It somehow feels familiar, and I don't know why...

"Okay," He sighed as he lay me down on the bed, "Take some time to rest in here."

Before he can turn to leave, I grab him by the bottom of his jacket, "Thank you so much, I really appreciate this."

He smiles down at me, "No problem." As I slowly release my hold on his jacket, my hand slips down to his trouser pocket where the keys are dangling out ever so slightly.

I am able to grab it without rousing his suspicion and wait a few minutes for him to leave the room. I wait for a few more minutes to give him time to walk back down to the party.

Once I'm comfortable with the amount of time I have given him, I get up from the bed and quickly made my way back to the door. I open it slowly to make sure I wasn't mistaken, and he decided to stick around in front of the door instead of heading back down.

The hallway was clear, perfect. A weird feeling came over me as I start to head down the hallway. It kind of feels like in my dreams where my body knows where to go, but my mind is unsure.

So, I must have been here before and don't remember it. I let my subconscious lead me to wherever it feels like I need to be, and I come upon a door that is at the end of the hallway on the left.

I examine the lock and the keys I have in my hand. The man was right, each key had a slightly different intricate pattern on it. I flip through the keys and quickly find the one that matches the door in front of me.

I turn the key in the lock and quietly open it. The room looks like an office, there is a large desk and chair at one end of the room, and a large bookcase on the other end.

I make my way toward the desk first. It doesn't seem like any of the drawers are locked, so I am able to get into them easily. Most of the drawers have nothing of note in them, just regular office supplies.

I open the final drawer and I see a small black box in it. I take it out of the drawer and open it. There was a syringe and a vial with some form of liquid in it. There was no label anywhere around it, so I'm not sure what it is.

Best to leave it alone for now, so I make my way over to the bookshelves instead. My subconscious brought me here, but I don't know what to do now. My body isn't moving automatically anymore... Looks like it's only up to present me now.

I look at the spines of the books and files that are on the shelf. There are a lot of names, probably patients. I freeze when I come upon a familiar name though, Laney Sanderson.

Why does Harvey Banning have a patient file of my mother? Peter is supposed to be her only doctor, to my knowledge, she has never been seen by anyone else. I grab it off the shelf immediately so I can flip through it. But it's empty. Why have all the documents been removed?

I put the empty file back up on the shelf and tried reaching for a book instead. This may take a little while, but I can't take too long...

Erwin's POV:

It's been a little over an hour now, and I still have not seen (y/n) return. Could she be in trouble? The man that led her away hasn't left the party area, but could someone else have caught her?

I'm starting to get a little worried, maybe I should walk the halls and see if she's okay. I make my way towards the stairs leading out of the great hall, being careful and mindful that no one sees me go.

Most of the guests are either tipsy or drunk, dancing and chatting the night away. I am able to slip away quietly and head upstairs. I try opening doors as I go, but all the ones I try are locked. I'm about to give up when one door I try does open.

I open it slowly and step inside. It looked like a guest bedroom with a pair of glass doors leading out onto a balcony. (Y/n) was there, staring at a book she has in her hands, it doesn't seem like she heard me come in.

"Snooping again, Peitho?" I say in a low voice, startling her so much she almost dropped the book over the balcony.

But she relaxes when she sees it is only me, "Not funny, Erwin." She smirks at me.

"Find anything interesting?" I ask her, sitting down on one of the benches.

"I did find something very curious," She hands me the book she was flipping through, "Take a look."

"Plants, Animals and Fungi," I read the cover and give her a quizzical look, "This book interests you? Seems to be very old too."

"It's not the contents that's curious, it's what isn't in there that is curious." She corrects me.

She takes the book back from me and starts flipping through the pages, "Everything seems to be normal, but when you reach the middle, there are some pages that have been ripped out."

"That is curious, but without knowing what those pages contained there isn't much we can do with this book."

"Look at the front where the table of contents is," She replied, flipping back to the front of the book, "Whoever ripped out those pages was dumb enough to not rip out the table of contents too."

(Y/n) was right, the table of contents remained intact, "Animal and Plant Pheromones and How to Use Them." I read the missing pages title out loud.

"Yes," (y/n) said excitedly, "If you skim through this book there are a lot of plant and animal species that are not documented in any books available to the public within the walls. And if you look at the subscripts underneath the title, it lists medicinal benefits and titans are mentioned in the table of contents too."

I raise my eyebrows and give her my full attention, "What if fighting the titans head on isn't the right way to win against them? What if there is a way we can camouflage ourselves against them? They don't attack animals, just people. Is it because they just see us as human? Or is it our smell? Is it the way we sound? Is it all of the above? What is it specifically that draws them to only us? What if in this old book was an answer for how to do just that? But it was removed so no one else could figure it out?" She concluded excitedly.

"That's quite the jump to make from only a few pages missing out of a book," I consider her questions, "But why not just get rid of the entire book?" I puzzled, "It seems counterintuitive to me."

(Y/n) shrugs in return, "There must be other uses that he still needs this book for. Maybe medications. But, if nothing else, at least this book is even more confirmation that the government is doing their best to hide the mysteries outside the walls. I tried flipping through a bunch of other books, but this is the only one that really got my attention. I don't know what came over me, but I somehow knew to go to the office I found this in… Maybe I have read it before but don't remember. Perhaps that's why I feel so strongly."

She grabs the book from my hand and throws it over the balcony, "You worked pretty hard for that," I laugh at her strange action, "Why did you do that?"

"Ellen and Paul are letting me use their carriage to get to my place tonight," She explains, "The carriages aren't parked far from here, so I'll collect the book when I'm on my way over to get the carriage and go to my place. I can't be seen walking through the party with that book on me."

She's going to her house instead of back to base? I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm sure she has a valid reason.

"I know it's a bit odd," (y/n) sighs, "But Commander Pixis and I are meeting up later. I feel we will be a bit too noisy, so I thought it would be best if we just went to my house instead."

I know she's joking, but just the thought of her ever hooking up with anyone else irritates me to no end. She starts laughing at my stern expression, "I am joking, you know that right? Though I guess sometimes it's hard to tell with me, but it's usually safe to assume I'm kidding."

"I know," I give her a reassuring smile, "Why aren't you just coming back to base?"

"I'm going to visit my mother tomorrow, my house is closer than HQ is, so it is just easier if I stay there tonight," She explains, "I also want to take a look around there too. The room I found that book in also had many files on patients. One of those patients is my mother. I've never heard of him trying to help my mother, but that doesn't mean it never happened. But her file was empty, like all the other files on patients, so I'm not sure what he was treating her for. Did he move the actual contents of the files to a more secure location? And why?"

Very curious, a doctor with empty patient files. What is he hiding?

"I also found this weird syringe with some unknown fluid in it. Is it some kind of new drug? Is he doing tests with it?" She sighs, "No use trying to figure it out now I guess, we don't have enough information to go off of for a solid theory. I thought I was going to find more than what I did. But we better get back to the party," She said as she started heading towards the door, "I can't have them get suspicious."

I get up from the bench and follow her to the door, "You know, if you're feeling lonely tonight you can always invite Marie back," She laughs, "I'm sure she would be more than willing."

She tried to say it nonchalantly, but I could detect a little hint of jealousy in her tone.

"Never going to happen." I say firmly.

"I mean, she is married, but that doesn't seem to deter her at all considering the way she was clinging on to you."

"We had something a long time ago," I admit, "But that's in the past, I would have thought she would be long over it by now. But I guess she is not."

"Maybe you guys should talk before you leave, it seems like she has a lot she still needs to say."

Before (y/n) can open the door, I put my hands on the door on either side of her, boxing her in front of me, "What are you doing?"

Her face is completely red, and she won't look me in the eye, "You just have some history with her, so I thought maybe you would like to get closure too."

"I don't need closure, I was the one who ended it. You're trying to test me, see if one meeting with an ex will make me lose interest in you?"

She doesn't really respond, just continues to avoid my gaze, it's actually kind of entertaining watching her squirm.

"Are you jealous?"

"No!" She replies quickly.

"You have a lot of nerve being jealous of Marie when men throw themselves at you all the time. I have to keep myself from punching all of them." I smirk at her.

"I didn't know you felt that way." She replied, feigning ignorance.

"Stop playing." I lower myself closer to her level.

"Someone's bold tonight." She giggled.

"It's your fault. Look at me."

She finally raises her (e/c) eyes to meet mine, and now I have to look away. I feel the overwhelming urge to kiss her, but I don't know if it's the right time.

"Fuck it." She groaned and pulled my face closer to her's and pressed her lips to mine.

The kiss turned into a more heated one fast. I place my hands on her ass and pull her further up more against the door. I've thought a lot about grabbing her ass, it feels even better than I imagined.

I bite impatiently at her lower lip, demanding access to inside her mouth which she eagerly allows. I grind myself against her and she moans into my mouth as she wraps her arms around my neck.

I shift her weight more onto my left so I could reach the door handle with my right hand. The door locks with an audible click, and I bring my full attention back to (y/n).