No Regrets

Lara was sitting alone on a bench in the middle of the airship room, facing a window.

With the help of the crutch, she walked over to it and looked at the sight ahead.

She was in Liberio. In the distance, there was ruin, chaos, and death.

In that spot, Eren had turned into a Titan and killed many, including civilians and children.

Just minutes before, Lara was with her Squad in the cockpit, when they heard the big thunder of Eren's transformation and all the destruction he had left behind. When they realized the damage he had done, great bitterness got into their hearts, including Mikasa's.

"That's enough," thought Lara at that moment, and she left the cockpit.

Now, alone in that other room, she closed the blinds, trying to hide the horror that was happening ahead of her, and went back to sitting on the bench, her back to the window. Lara felt a pang in her foot. At least the room muffled the sounds outside and now it was all in complete silence. Only her heavy breathing was heard.

She pressed her eyes together, trying to hold back tears.

"Eren, what have you done?" she thought to herself.

She heard the sliding door open and looked up.

It was Armin.

Just like Lara, he was wearing the new Survey Corps black uniform, which had a different kind of ODM gear. It was more focused on personal combat, where, instead of blades, there were reloadable pistols attached.

"Your father, Mikasa, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Floch, and the others went out to rescue Eren and Zeke," he said wearily. Then, Armin closed the door behind him, locking it.

Lara just nodded, looking at her feet.

"Armin..." she said, running her hand over her face, "What are we doing here?"

He took a deep breath.

"I'm also asking myself the same thing…" Armin pointed to the door. "Some soldiers back there are saying that I'll need to transform into the Colossal Titan, to decimate the port of Liberio."

Lara lifted her head, looking deeply at him.

"Do you wanna do this?"

"No," Armin replied firmly. "There are civilians who live in that area…" he pressed his lips together, "I don't wanna see what Bertholdt saw in Shiganshina. I don't wanna be like him..."

Lara gave him a sad smile and nodded. Then she took a long weary sigh.

"There's no one righteous in this world..." she muttered to herself, "Not even one..."

Armin nodded, crestfallen.

"It seems that..." he said, "Everywhere I look, sometimes we find enemies, sometimes we find allies, that it's getting to a point where I don't even know what our real goal is anymore, and who we are..."

A tear fell down Lara's face and she agreed. Trying to compose herself, she took a deep breath and wiped her face. She turned to him and did her best to give him a smile.

"How can I help you, Armin? Do you need anything?"

He then got a very anxious expression, clasping his hands at his sides. His heart started racing wildly.

"Lara..." said Armin, initially avoiding her gaze, but then he forced himself to face that big blue eyes, "I want to know if... I can stay with you."

She raised an eyebrow. There was something else in the tone of that question.

"In what way, Armin?"

He wet his lips and took a deep breath.

"In every possible way," replied Armin, convinced.

Lara's eyes widened and she felt her heart speed up. Her throat completely got dry and her palms began to sweat. She looked at her bandaged foot.

"I need to ask you something first," she thought to herself.

"Armin," she said, looking at him, "answer me something."

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

At first, he seemed surprised by the question, but slowly, a kind smile formed on his lips.

"Do you remember when we were in Shiganshina..." said Armin, starting to walk slowly to Lara, gazing intensely at her, "... And when I was flying towards Bertholdt, I looked back? At you?"

Lara gave him a sad smile.

"How could I forget that? Yeah, I remember."

"I turned only to see if you would look back at me too," continued Armin, now closer to her. "And you did."

Lara held her breath. He sat next to her and got even closer.

"It was there, at that moment, when I fell in love with you," Armin blinked slowly, still with a kind smile.

Lara couldn't help but widen her eyes. She felt like her heart was going to explode.

"So," said Armin, now taking her face with both hands, "the answer to your question is: yes, I do love you, with every inch of my being."

Without Lara having time to even think, Armin pulled her into a fully passionate kiss. At first, she remained with her arms raised to her sides, not knowing what to do, but when she felt Armin's intense kiss on her mouth, she gave in entirely, and for the first time, she felt completely free to hold his blond hair.

All those years of resignation, longing, and above all, sadness for not being together, were translated and gradually erased with that kiss.

You could see the intensity of the pain on their faces, which they had felt for a long time, and which was now fading away with each movement their lips and heads made. Tears came out of their eyes. Armin embraced her with passion, holding her behind her neck and Lara ran her hands over his face and hair, as if she wanted to keep that touch forever in her memory.

Their hearts burned, transforming all the suffering they went through, into the purest love. They were feeling such emotion, that their bodies trembled.

Every now and then, they stopped to catch some breath, only to go back on kissing with more intensity again. If anyone were to watch them at that moment (which would be a tremendous lack of manners, good thing Armin locked the door), they would never suspect that this was their first kiss, for they had such harmony and synchronization, they looked like perfect professionals.

No one ever knew for how long they kissed. But the only thing I can tell you is that it was for a long, long time.

At one point, they slowed down and their breathing began to return to normal. Armin wrapped his arm behind Lara's neck, which she laid her head down, like on a pillow, looking at him from below as he ran his hand over her face. They stayed there, with their lips and noses brushing against each other.

"I love you too, Armin," Lara managed to answer him just now, still a little out of breath. They chuckled.

They both vowed their love and then began to kiss slowly, enjoying every second. It was soft, tender kisses, one tasting the other's sweetness. They stayed like that, caressing their faces and kissing slowly, for a long time.

Then, Armin held behind Lara's hair and gazed deeply at her.

"Marry me," he whispered.

"S-Sorry?" asked Lara, widening her eyes.

"It doesn't have to be now," replied Armin, smiling. "It could be about three years from now, when you turn twenty."

"It's a very specific date, don't you think?" Lara raised an eyebrow, chuckling.

"Well..." replied Armin, giving her an awkward smile, "That's up to your father. It's what he allowed me to do."

"W-Wha--" Lara couldn't complete the sentence. She had initially been so startled by the sudden kiss, that she had forgotten to ask the obvious.

"Armin, wait!" she finally managed to speak, still lying on his arm. "Tell me, what made you change your mind like that, all of a sudden?! I'm extremely happy, of course. But I don't get why you're wanting this just now, after all this time."

Armin ran his free hand behind his neck, shyly.

"Let's say that your father... Gave me a good shake-up. He told me certain things that made me wake up to reality. Your father helped me make a choice that I know I will never regret. I'm very grateful to him." Armin chuckled, "And also because of Dr. Wilson's commentary, of course."

They laughed. At that moment, Lara felt very proud of Levi and made a mental note to thank him immensely when she got home.

"And when I stayed with you in the infirmary," continued Armin, brushing Lara's bangs out of her eyes, "I realized how much I love being in your company, and I confess that before talking to your father, I was sad because soon you'd be discharged and then..." he lowered his head, "We would go back to what it was before."

Lara stroked his face and gave him a long peck kiss.

"Don't worry about it, because what's up to me, I'll never let us go back to what we were before," she smiled.

"Please..." Armin ran his hand over her face, gently, "Forgive me." He pressed his eyes together, with an expression of pain, "Forgive me for making you suffer so much. I was a complete idiot. I-I thought I was trying to protect you, but I was actually only hurting you more... And hurting myself too."

Lara took a deep breath, stroking the back of Armin's head with her fingers.

"Yeah... I confess it wasn't easy at all…" she wet her lips. "But, one way or another, I could understand a little of your side, although I didn't agree with your decision." Lara forced herself to smile, pushing those old sad feelings out of her heart, "But, it's in the past. What matters is that now, you've changed your mind."

Then Lara finally pinched Armin's cheeks.

"Of course I forgive you, you cutie! But you'll have to make up for it with lots of kisses from now on."

Armin got so happy, that he immediately started to pay off his debt, filling her face with very loud kisses, making her laugh a lot because they tickled. She then took his face with one of her hands, squeezing his cheeks so that he was forced to make a pout.

"By the way, when did you and my father talk?"

"Just yesterday," replied Armin, running his finger across her nose, as if drawing. "As soon as he and Hange arrived at the infirmary."

"Oh!" exclaimed Lara. "So that's why when I woke up, only my mother was in the room. I kinda noticed that you looked all blissful when you later came into the room with my father. I thought you both had talked about Rufus and that my father had congratulated you."

"Well, speaking of which..." chuckled Armin, "I was very surprised when he actually thanked me that I dislocated Rufus' wrist." He looked at Lara suspiciously, "Can you believe you were right?! Levi did ask your mother to fire Rufus and put me in his place as the instructor! How did you know that?"

"I do know my father very well," Lara gave a mischievous smile. Then, her expression turned into confusion, "Wait, did you call my father as... Levi?" She placed her hand on his forehead, "You're not feverish..."

He chuckled, taking her hand and placing a kiss on the top of it, intertwining their fingers.

"Your father asked me to call him by his first name. I simply followed his order."

Lara's eyes widened and she couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Wow! That's quite an achievement! As far as I know, only me, my mother, and Erwin called him by his first name. I know Mike called him sometimes, but even his elite soldiers, the former Levi Squad, didn't call him by his first name. Well... My father really does like you."

Armin gave her a genuine smile.

"But..." he said holding her face again and looking deeply at her, "You didn't answer my question. So? Do you wanna be my fiancée?" Armin smiled.

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed, also smiling from ear to ear.

Armin pulled her into another long, passionate kiss. Then, he slowly stopped it.

"But..." he said, in a sad tone of voice, "By the time we get married, I'll only have six more years to live… Is that okay to you?"

"Armin... I know it's kinda cliché to say this, but I would marry you even if it was to live just one day by your side," she kindly looked at him.

They both slowly brought their lips together and gave one more kiss. Then, with their eyes closed, they began to hear a certain buzz coming from outside the room. With their mouths slightly opened, breaking the kiss, they looked at each other in a curious way.

Armin helped Lara to walk to the door with the crutch and they left the room.

They were now at the airship lobby, next to the front door. It was packed with soldiers, celebrating something. As soon as they closed the door behind them, they met Sasha, Connie, and Jean (who seemed to be a little shaken, saying something about how many battles they would still have to fight). When all five of them saw each other, they formed a circle.

"Armin!" exclaimed Connie. "There you are! I thought you were going to turn into the Colossal Titan..." He looked at his own feet, seeming distressed, "I heard some soldiers talking about it..."

"Eren and Zeke have already been rescued and are with Captain Levi in a room near the cockpit," added Sasha. "We're going home."

Armin and Lara sighed in relief.

"Well… Apparently, I didn't have to turn into the Colossal Titan then..." said Armin, his voice sounding like a big weight got off his shoulders.

"Yeah, it seems that by some miracle, we managed to pass through the port without major problems. At least one good thing had to happen," replied Jean, through gritted teeth. He told them about the Survey Corps soldiers who died during the rescue operation, and Lara and Armin lowered their heads, sad for their lost colleagues.

As Jean and Armin talked about more details of the operation, Sasha approached Lara, as if she wanted to gossip about something. Connie watched them.

"Were you two in there?" whispered Sasha, with a playful expression, while pointing to the room that Lara and Armin had just came out of. "Is that what I'm thinking? Did you guys sort things out?!"

Lara couldn't hold back a smirk and the girls, at the same time, held their hands and gave a little squeal of excitement, attracting the eyes of Armin and Jean, who looked at them, confused.

"What was that squeal for?" asked Jean, still grumpy.

"You'd never understand," replied Sasha, waving her hands and pouting.

Jean looked at Connie, who just shrugged.

"Don't ask me, 'cause I don't understand either."

"That's because you're a scatterbrain, right, Connie?" joked Sasha. He stuck out his tongue to her.

Jean then looked from Lara to Armin and then to the door they came out of, and connected the dots.

"Ohhh, now I get it," he said, who, despite his irritation, couldn't help but grin. Jean smacked Armin on the back hard, "Congratulations, champ! You finally stopped being a dumbhead."

Armin turned very red and looked down at his feet. Sasha and Lara laughed and Connie looked confused.

"I still don't get it."

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Sasha, stamping her feet. "Lara and Armin are dating!"

The four of them waited for Connie's brain to process the information and soon his face changed from confusion to joy. Now he was the one patting his friend on the back.

Then, Lara and Armin looked at each other in a meaningful way.

"Well..." he said shyly, "Actually, we are..."

"Engaged," completed Lara, also with a shy smile.

Jean, Sasha, and Connie's eyes widened in complete bewilderment. Armin and Lara blushed. Sasha gave another little squeal and walked over to her friend, hugging her and congratulating her.

"How much I wanted Niccolo to be like that!" said Sasha. She turned to Armin, "Hey, can't you have this conversation with him for me, please?!"

Everyone laughed. Niccolo was Sasha's Marleyan boyfriend, an excellent cook.

"Wow, Arlert!" Jean shook his friend's hand, impressed. "What's gotten into you, huh?!"

"Are you that desperate?!" joked Connie.

Unable to hold back a laugh, Armin pointed at his friend's face.

"Watch here, Connie... Give me some respect, 'cause I'm still the Officer of this Squad."

"Uhhh, look at him," Jean pointed at him with his thumb, "just because he has a fiancée now, he's all cocky."

"Don't be sad, Jean," said Armin, squeezing his friend's shoulder, "your time will come."

"Dunno..." he replied, a little sad. "The woman I love doesn't love me back." Jean took a deep breath, downcast. He was referring to Mikasa.

Then, Sasha, Connie, and Jean excused themselves and went among the soldiers, who were celebrating the triumph of the rescue. At one point, Lara and Armin saw that Connie hugged Sasha and Jean, happy that they had returned safe and sound from the mission.

Standing next to the airship's opened front door, Armin looked at Lara with a smile, to which she replied. Their hands brushed to their sides and they really wanted to intertwine them, but they were embarrassed, for being in public and not having officially announced anything, except to their three friends just now. So all they had left was to lightly stroke their hands, surreptitiously.

Lara and Armin heard Jean yelling for the soldiers to be quiet, because Sasha had heard a strange noise, but no one obeyed. Connie asked Jean if Private Lobov was around and Jean replied that he had not seen him, but believed that he had already come aboard. Armin and Lara started to search for Lobov among the soldiers, but they didn't see him either. They looked at the airship's open door and saw that there was still a wire from the ODM gear attached to it, so the person could climb on and board. Then, they heard the sound of the wire going up.

"It must be him," said Armin.

Suddenly, to the complete astonishment of them both, instead of Lobov coming aboard, a little girl of only about twelve years old rolled into the door, in a perfect somersault. Behind her, a little blond boy of the same age followed her, looking pretty scared.

What happened next happened so fast, that no one really knew how it happened.

With her eyes wide, Lara realized that the little girl was holding a heavy rifle in her hands. In a split second, the little girl pointed her rifle in a certain direction. Then, like lightning, Lara dropped her crutch and threw herself on the little girl.

BANG!

A shot was heard.