A Different Proposal

When they drew apart from their embrace, Armin once more used his handkerchief to wipe his face.

"Thank you so much," he said, still downcast. Armin shyly looked at Levi and Hange, who were beside him, "You're like parents to me..."

Hange was so happy when he said that, that she pulled him into another hug, and this time, Armin didn't groan in pain, but reciprocated with affection. Even Levi, who, despite the stitches on his mouth, managed to give a little smile, also slowly pulling him into a hug (Armin had to just pat him lightly on the back, so as not to hurt his father-in-law). Lara was so touched by how her parents were so welcoming and loving to her fiancé, that she couldn't hold back a few tears. She massaged Armin's shoulders, who turned his head and gave her a peck kiss.

"Look, my dear," said Hange, holding her belly with a playful smile, "we just don't adopt you legally either, 'cause it'd be really weird, you marrying your 'sister'. Until we get to explain the whole situation, someone would already have insulted us to our fifth generation."

They all laughed and Armin agreed, claiming that it would definitely not be a good idea, but that he was already very happy to have gained a new family, especially at such troubled moment.

"I think it's a good time to have some tea, to calm our spirits a little, don't you guys think?" asked Hange, heading towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lara got an authoritative tone of voice, raising an eyebrow, "Mom!"

Hange pouted in indignancy. She couldn't stand to lie down on her bed anymore, and every now and then, Hange tried to slip off the bed, but Lara never allowed her.

"You shall lie down, right now!" ordered Lara, pointing to her side of the bed. "Let me make the tea myself, young lady!"

Stamping her feet, Hange complied. She held her belly.

"You see, Tiny-Human-Bean? How she treats and scolds me?! Get yourself ready, 'cause you're gonna have a very stern sister!"

Levi rolled his good eye, huffing some air through his mouth, as he got back into bed. Armin couldn't help but laugh. Lara just crossed her arms, looking bored.

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that, Mom. I'll sue you for the highest level of defamation."

Hange stuck out her tongue, to which her daughter replied the same, but they ended up smiling at each other. Lara stood up to go to the kitchen, but Armin pulled her back.

"Baby, wait," he said, pressing his lips together. "I still have a few more things to tell you all."

"There's more?!" exclaimed Hange. She, Levi, and Lara widened their eyes, leaning forward.

"In general, I told you guys everything that happened in relation to the battle," replied Armin. "But there are other things that happened that you need to know." He then turned to his father-in-law, "Levi... Zeke is dead."

He widened his good eye, straightening his back, with an expression of utter astonishment. Hange and Lara were gaping, staring at each other in perplexity. Everyone was silent for a few seconds, feeling tense, gazing at Levi. Finally, he asked:

"How?"

Armin took a deep breath.

"We're absolutely sure he drowned. Pieck told me that when she, Reiner, and Galliard were fighting Eren in the ocean, she noticed that there was literally a man, fused into his Titan skeleton. That man was Zeke. He must have fused when Eren transformed."

Levi listened to that with much attention, his good eye widened. Lara and Hange were pale.

"Wh-What do you mean? Fused?" asked Lara, puzzled, unable to avoid a disgusted face.

"In the literal sense," Armin also made a certain expression of disgust. "Half of his body was attached to one of the bones of the skeleton, practically being part of it. So when Eren was killed, his Titan gradually sank into the ocean and evaporated. Zeke had no chance of surviving that, especially now without his regeneration powers. He sank along with the skeleton and… Died."

A silence fell upon them. Then, Levi let out a big sigh, as if a heavy weight was off his shoulders, lowering his head. Hange took her husband's good hand.

"You'll finally be able to sleep in peace, won't you, my love?" she gently asked. Slowly, Levi nodded in agreement. He looked at Armin and said:

"Thanks... For... Telling."

Armin nodded back, pressing his lips together.

"There's more..." he said, "Yelena is also dead. Floch himself killed her. He shot her in the head."

Hange, Levi, and Lara seemed tense but didn't say anything.

"Speaking of Floch," continued Armin, now looking seriously at Lara, "he's dead, too."

Her eyes widened and at the same instant, she stared at Hange, who had the same surprised expression. Only Levi seemed to have no reaction to the news.

"What's wrong?" he asked, finding the expression of his wife, daughter, and son-in-law strange.

Lara lowered her head, running a hand over her face. She cleared her throat. Hange also tried to avoid Levi's gaze.

"D-Dad..." said Lara slowly, "Mommy and I ended up forgetting to tell you what Floch did, or rather, tried to do to us."

Levi got a frowny expression, knowing that something unpleasant was coming. So Lara, Hange, and Armin told him what Floch had done on that day when they were at Niccolo's restaurant, by saying and doing those vulgar things to Lara, shooting Armin, and threatening to shoot the baby as well (and Hange, consequently). When they were done telling him, Levi's face was so red, that for a moment, they thought he would have to take some medicine to lower his blood pressure, because he looked furious.

"THAT BASTARD!" he managed to exclaim, loud and clear, grimacing in pain by feeling he forced the stitches on his mouth too much to speak.

Hange tried to calm him down, saying that in the end, the girls and Armin were fine, because back at that time, he still regenerated, and Floch didn't touch them anymore, due to the nice kick that Lara had given him. Levi was particularly proud when Hange told him that Lara had shouted at the top of her lungs that she considered herself an Ackerman, making him smile like a doting father. After Levi finally seemed calmer, Armin told them how Floch had died:

"You guys remember the Back-Up Squad that I mentioned? With Magath, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Niccolo, Gabi, Falco, his brother, Kiyomi, and her crew? They were all in Magath's charge. We agreed that it would be very dangerous for them to stay in the port, because of possible tsunamis. So, they immediately ran away on horseback, since none of the Original Titans were with them to take them on the back. Sasha was smart enough to suggest they take a sneakier way, avoiding any major roads. Because when we were in Shiganshina, Jean realized that the Jaëgerists were wanting to take control of everything and it didn't take long for us to think that eventually, they could go to the port to take control of it as well. Thankfully the Back-Up Squad returned by going on a sort of a hidden path, because indeed, at one point, they looked into the distance with the binoculars and saw the Jaëgerists arriving at the port, using the train and railroad that we built a while ago."

Armin sighed.

"And then... The inevitable really happened. Some strong waves did hit the port. It wasn't those gigantic waves Onyankopon told us that had already been recorded in human history, but it was enough to take some Jaëgerists under the sea or kill them with their impact, by the waters coming into the port cabins. A good number of them died, including Floch. The port is not completely destroyed at least, so much so that some ships are still intact."

"But what about the Back-Up Squad?!" Lara straightened up, pretty concerned, "Were they hit by the waves?! Are our friends okay?!"

"They're just fine, baby. Safe and sound," Armin squeezed her hand in a comforting way, "Don't worry, everyone was already far away from the port when it happened."

Lara placed her hand on her chest, sighing. Hange and Levi also looked very relieved.

"And do you think those tsunamis hit Marley, too?" asked Hange.

"When it was all over and Marley's airships came to pick up the soldiers who were here, we were told that, fortunately, the waves were very short in their country, and that only a few soldiers were injured near the shore. Because the real impact of the force attack was actually towards our island, which is where Eren was coming from, so the bombs from the submarines were more directed to here."

Armin paused and rubbed his hands together, giving a long weary sigh.

"Well, I guess we can take a tea break now, huh?" he tried to give a sad smile.

Everyone agreed, also feeling somewhat mentally exhausted. When they looked out the window, they saw that it was already night. Lara then thought it was better to prepare dinner for them, instead of tea. She got up and went to the kitchen, while Armin tucked Levi and Hange in bed, for it was starting to get cold, and told them to take a good nap since dinner would probably take a while to be ready. He left the bedroom to go to the kitchen and help Lara, closing the door so his in-laws could sleep more peacefully.

When Armin arrived in the kitchen, his fiancée was wearing an apron, chopping some vegetables on the counter to make another soup. The pot of water was already heating up on the fire. Sneaky, Armin walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She got a little startled but enjoyed that gesture very much.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Armin whispered in her ear. Lara squirmed, feeling tickles and giggling. She turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck, touching their foreheads. Lara began to chuckle.

"What is it?" asked Armin, still with his eyes closed with her, rocking themselves slowly.

"It's just that... Despite all these terrible things that happened and that I'm deeply sad about it all, I still cannot believe that your curse has been broken, and that you won't die anymore. A part of me is leaping for joy!" she raised her eyes up to Armin, unable to hold back a smile.

Armin replied, holding the back of her head.

"I'm also feeling the same way," he pulled her and pressed their lips in a long and soft peck kiss. They gave several other quick and very noisy pecks, but had to stop when they saw that the pot of water was already boiling.

Armin put on an apron as well and began to help Lara prepare the soup. At one point, he said:

"Guess who we met in one of the Districts."

"Go on," replied Lara, as she put the chopped vegetables in the pot.

"Annie."

"Huh?!" Lara turned in a sudden movement, almost dropping the vegetables, "How come?! Wasn't she inside the crystal?!"

"Yeah," answered Armin, going to help her. "Apparently, when Eren unhardened the Walls to release the Colossal Titans, her crystal was also unhardened, for being made of the same material."

Lara was gaping, covering her mouth.

"My God... But, how was she?!"

"Not quite well, you know..." Armin raised his eyebrows, as he got the spices from the pantry, "She was all pale and looked very weak. We found her eating with Hitch downtown, where they were serving lunch for the homeless people who had suffered some damage from the Rumbling. She seemed to be starving."

Lara shook her head in bewilderment. She took the spices from Armin's hand, tossing some into the pot.

"Really?!" asked Lara, placing the pot lid, throwing a dish towel over her shoulder, and leaning against the counter.

"Yes. Annie said that she seemed to be in a sort of dream, but that she listened to absolutely everything," Armin began to gather the dirty utensils, to wash them. Lara then noticed that he had turned extremely red and was avoiding her gaze.

"Oh, boy..." she said, arms crossed and with a mischievous look. "I know you, Armin... Spit it out! Don't tell me you said some nonsense to Annie?"

"No!" he exclaimed, washing the cutlery, "W-Well, I don't know if this is considered nonsense, but... During all the past years, what I talked the most to her was about..." Armin blushed more, "You."

"Ha!" Lara pouted, "Lemme guess..." she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "You told Annie that... Let's see... Ah! Got it! That you were... Wanting to give me a nice tongue kiss, right?"

Armin widened his eyes, turning literally purple, staring intensely at her. He was silent for several seconds. Lara was finding it the most amusing thing, until Armin replied:

"H-H-How did you f-find out?! What in the world?!"

This time, it was Lara who turned completely purple. She was so startled that she choked and her fiancé had to tap her on the back.

"A-ARMIN!" she coughed again. Lara stared at him with bloodshot eyes, but couldn't help but burst out laughing, as she had another coughing fit, "HOW DARE... cough cough... YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT... cough cough... ABOUT ME TO ANNIE?! I CANNOT BELIEVE... cough cough... YOU LITERALLY SAID THAT... cough cough... TO HER!"

Lara grabbed the dish towel and started chasing Armin around the living and dining room, trying to whip him. He desperately tried to dodge the raging onslaught of that dish towel, jumping over the couches and barricading the dining table chairs to protect himself, but at the same time, he couldn't stop laughing either. They both tried to make as little noise as possible, yelling at each other in whispers.

"Forgive me!!!" he exclaimed, tripping over one of the chairs, being whipped on the back, "I just thought it out loud! I wasn't supposed to tell Annie that, I didn't mean to! It was on a day when you were very pretty!"

"And when was that?!" asked Lara, spinning the dish towel above her head.

"The day you were pretty?" he exclaimed, clearly quite confused, running around the couch, "All of them, of course!"

"No, you crazy!" laughed Lara, "I wanna know what day you said that to Annie!" she climbed onto the couch, whipping his arm.

"Oh, okay! A few months ago!" replied Armin, hiding behind the living room curtain, but Lara soon reached him and he ran away again, "I do remember Hange was already pregnant!"

Lara and the dish towel seemed inflexible.

"Armin Arlert, come here right now for me to teach you a lesson!" said Lara, now running out of strength, so much she was laughing. Armin stopped in the middle of the living room, resting his hands on his knees, panting. He looked at his fiancée and made an "X" sign with his arms.

"I call a truce! I surrender!"

Still with a threatening and playful look, Lara slowly walked toward him, showing that she still had the ultimate power of the dish towel in her hands. Trying to hold back his laughter, pressing his lips together, Armin watched her approach, his chest rising and falling with weariness.

"Oh! Come on, baby!" he exclaimed, making a needy pout. "Cut me some slack! I was a poor young man with a broken heart and--"

To his utter surprise, Lara grabbed his face and gave him the tongue kiss he so much wanted, almost as good as the one they had given on the road a few hours ago. Armin was delighted and embraced her tightly, rocking her slowly as he enjoyed his fiancée's goodwill. When they drew apart, Lara said to him:

"Today, you're forgiven," she pointed her index finger at his face, with a playful expression.

Still with a silly, passionate smile on his face, Armin asked:

"How did you find out I said that to Annie?!"

Lara chuckled with confidence.

"Well, well, babe! We may be engaged for a short time, but I said I know you! Or do you think I didn't see when you would stand next to me and keep gazing at my mouth? I very well notice that when I hurt my foot and you stayed with me in the infirmary, when you tucked me to sleep, you kept gazing at right here," Lara pointed to her lips, "So, it wasn't too hard to guess."

Armin's expression turned into indignation.

"Wow! Was I that predictable? Sorry about gazing at your mouth, it was stronger than me, so cute it is..." Armin leaned over to give her another kiss.

"That's enough," she walked away, chuckling. "You're done for today!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" he replied, grabbing her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist, with them both staggering to the kitchen. Armin approached his lips to her ear and whispered, "Well, do know I also noticed you kept gazing at my mouth! You cannot fool me, miss!"

Lara turned her head to look at him, faking an expression of complete indignation.

"But that's absurd!" she waved her hand, "Okay, I confess I might have looked at it. However, I knew how to disguise myself quite well!"

They both laughed and tried to kiss (Lara had apparently already forgotten that Armin's was done for today in her opinion), but they were still walking and their legs got tangled up, causing them to almost fall over the pot with the boiling soup, leaving them somewhat frightened, and thought it was best to go back to washing the dishes. As Armin washed a wooden board, he turned to Lara.

"You said we've been engaged for a short time. How long exactly, do you remember?"

"Hmm..." Lara was thoughtful, drying the board, "I believe it's been a little over a month."

"Huh?!" Armin looked confused. "Only a month?!" He picked up a dirty bowl, "I have the impression that we've been together for ages! Do you feel that too?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Lara, smiling and checking the soup. "But, I also had this same feeling when we were in Shiganshina. We were together for only a few hours, but, I at least, felt that our level of intimacy increased very quickly." Lara chuckled, "So much so that we even fell in love right there."

"That's true..." he stole her a peck kiss, while drying his hands, "But, I believe it's because we went through so many intense situations, that demanded us to be more united, I guess. Shiganshina and the events of this last month were examples of this. That must be why we feel like we've been together for a longer time."

"You're right, babe," Lara threw the dish towel over her shoulder, going to him and wrapping her arms around Armin's neck, while he held her waist, waiting for the soup to be ready, "But, back to Annie, tell me, what did you keep talking about me to her anyway? Now I'm curious!"

"Oh!" he clicked his tongue, brushing the bangs away from his fiancée's face, "Actually, they were more laments than anything else." Armin got a downcast expression, "By the time, Eren was getting weirder and Mikasa was getting sadder and sadder... So, I had no one to vent or talk to about our situation." He shrugged, "Annie was my only solution. I talked to her like… I was writing in a diary, you know? And nobody keeps showing their diary for people to read around! That's why I didn't expect her to actually hear what I said. Although sometimes I wanted her to answer me because it was pretty boring talking to myself… But anyway, I didn't want anyone to know about my sad feelings towards both of us. Not even Annie."

Lara couldn't help but feel sorry for her fiancé and pinched his cheeks, talking about how cute he was, and gave him a peck kiss.

"What did Annie say to you?"

"Well, actually, she talked to me and Hitch at the same time about this matter. Apparently, Hitch also talked about her boyfriends to Annie, which left her quite embarrassed when she found out she was being heard," they both chuckled, "But in the end, Annie thanked us for going there to keep her company, and that it made her very well, despite the situation I was in and her not being a big fan of listening to other people's relationship problems. However, when we said goodbye, Annie punched me in the arm, claiming I deserved that for having taken so much time to finally sort things out with you," Armin massaged where he was punched, making a face and a pout of indignation, "It's hurting till this very moment! I think I'll have to amputate my arm!"

"Gee, Armin!" Lara tapped his chest lightly, "That's exaggerating! You seem like my dad when he bumps his toe on the corner of a closet and claims that 'his time has come!'. How dramatic you guys are..."

Armin pouted in indignation again, but Lara massaged her fiancé's punched arm, unable to help but giggle at the situation.

"So? Annie was saying goodbye and...?"

"Oh, right. She was going to leave with Magath back to Marley, and before she left, Annie wished us happiness and thanked me for talking about Bertholdt. Even though Annie doesn't seem to be a very romantic person and doesn't have the patience for such things, I noticed a certain twinkle in her eyes when she mentioned Bertholdt, and I suspect she liked him, too. Anyway..." Armin looked down at his feet, frowning, now getting a serious tone, "Before leaving, Annie asked for forgiveness for everything she had done against us, and claimed she knew very well that she had committed unforgivable sins, in these very words. Annie told me that everything she did was in order to come back to her father."

Lara sighed, pressing her lips together.

"Well... I hope Annie finds peace, wherever she is. Not just her, but all the others as well…"

Armin agreed. While Lara finished the soup, he set the table and tidied up the mess they had left in the living and dining room during Armin's chase against the dish towel. He went to call his in-laws to eat. Hange arrived warning that Tiny-Human-Bean was starving, while Levi was helped by his son-in-law to sit at the table. The couple really looked to have had a good nap, as they looked very sleepy and their hair was completely messy.

As they ate dinner, Armin told them what he had been doing during the days following the battle against Eren. Asking them to excuse him (because they were eating), he said that they buried Eren's head under a tree where he and Mikasa used to rest when they were children. Later on, they started helping the soldiers to rescue the people who were left under some rubble, due to the Rumbling, and organizing the Districts, trying to pacify some civilian rebellions who were starting to join the Jaëgerists who had survived the tsunami and were in Shiganshina.

"I slept for two days in a row after that," said Armin, eating a spoonful of the soup. "But please do not think I wasn't worried about you all. I only managed to sleep peacefully, because before that, I sent a soldier to come here to your house and check if you had arrived safely. I instructed him to only check if the cart was in the stables, because to me, that would be a sign that you had all arrived safe and sound."

"Oh, babe," said Lara, serving herself more soup, "Why didn't he come to talk to us? He could've knocked on the door and given us some news about you all."

"I know, my love," replied Armin, squeezing her hand, "I apologize. But I didn't want to disturb you. In my point of view, you would get even more worried to receive all this news from a strange soldier. So I thought it was best just to make sure that you guys had arrived safely, and after I had rested enough, I would come here and tell you everything in person."

"He... Is... Right," said Levi, drinking the soup through a straw.

"Yeah," agreed Hange. "There's nothing worse than receiving bad news from a person you don't even know. You did well, Armin."

He thanked them. Everyone finished dinner and Lara went to make the long-awaited tea. Armin headed to help her, getting some sweet cookies they found in the back of the pantry. While they were finally enjoying the tea and cookies, at one point, Armin got very quiet and Lara noticed.

"Hey..." she stroked his back, "What's wrong?"

Armin cleared his throat and looked deeply at Lara, Hange, and Levi.

"There's just one more thing I need to talk to you about."

"Oh, Lord..." Hange started fanning herself nervously, "What happened this time?"

"Say it at once!" exclaimed Lara in anxiety.

Even Levi looked uneasy. Armin took a deep breath.

"Calm yourselves down. In fact, what I have is a... Proposal."

"Proposal?" repeated Levi, confused.

"Yes," Armin paused, looking at his tea, then went back to looking at his fiancée and in-laws, "I'll be very direct with you. I believe it would be good for us to leave Paradis."

Lara, Hange, and Levi held their breath. A great silence fell over them. Only a few sounds of some crickets outside could be heard. Then, almost in a whisper, Lara said:

"L-Leave...? B-But why?"

She looked from Armin to her parents with a worried expression. Her fiancé took another deep breath and took her hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Please, listen to what I have to say," Armin gazed at Lara, also at Levi and Hange, "You guys have no idea of the chaos this island is! Although Eren didn't exterminate humanity, the consequences of his actions were enough to make Paradis a complete mess." He pointed to his military overcoat and his cap, hanging on hooks next to the front door, "See that? Soon, it'll be nothing more than just for show! The Survey Corps will no longer exist. There's nothing else for us to do here!"

He felt his fiancée's hand shaking. Hange and Levi stared at each other nervously. They both placed their hands on the table and squeezed them as well.

"As I said," continued Armin, looking serious, "Rebel groups are emerging all over the place. Soon, I believe there will be some revolution against the government or even a civil war. People are very uneasy."

Lara pressed her lips together and slowly nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid you're right," she said. "When I went downtown to buy food, I already felt the heavy atmosphere of the whole situation."

"Exactly, baby," replied Armin. He then squeezed Lara's hand and placed the other over his in-laws', "Listen, the four of us technically won't have a job anymore! As well as Mikasa, Sasha, Connie, Jean, and all of our friends. Things won't be like they used to be, everything will turn into a war zone!"

"So, do you really believe that we should leave Paradis?" asked Hange in distress.

"Yes. I do," replied Armin with conviction.

"B-But where would we go?!" Hange stared from her son-in-law to her husband and daughter, apprehensively, "Everything we know and have is in here, in Paradis!"

Levi was downcast, in silence.

Armin pressed his lips together.

"I know, Hange... However, I already have something in mind."

"Really?!" exclaimed Lara, mouth agape, "Wh-What?"

"I had lots of help from Onyankopon. In fact, he was the one who first suggested we all leave the island. Listen up," Armin leaned over the table, as if he was about to share a secret. Lara, Hange, and Levi looked at him with much attention, "Onyankopon told me that when Marley attacked his motherland, his entire family took refuge in a country named Italy. There is a large community for refugees from many nations, in the countryside."

"Italy?" asked Lara, curious. "Is it far from here?"

"A little. It would be a few days' travel by ship," Armin once more squeezed his fiancée and in-laws' hands, "Onyankopon said it's a great place to start over, and the refugee community is very welcoming to everyone."

"B-But," started Hange, looking anxious, "would they accept us Eldians? Like it or not, we are still hated by many people around the world."

Armin sighed, agreeing with sorrow.

"Look, Hange... Hate against people from other nationalities will always exist. It doesn't matter if we're Eldians or not," Armin tried to give an optimistic smile, "From what Commander Magath managed to tell me before he left, the fact that it was the Eldians themselves who fought and defeated Eren, our moral seems to have gone up a bit around the world. The fact that we killed him, preventing humanity's extinction and finally causing all the Titans to cease to exist, increased (even in the slightest degree) our reputation. From what Onyankopon said, this refugee community has Eldians too, and they are treated well," Armin sighed, looking tired, "It's all a double-edged sword, because even though we are now being seen with a little more respect out there, there are still many people who hate us and who might want to come and attack Paradis. That's why I'm so worried about getting us out of here as soon as possible!"

Anguished, Hange looked at her husband and daughter. Levi was still quiet, gazing at his teacup.

"Mommy..." said Lara, squeezing Hange's shoulder, "Armin's right. If the Survey Corps will no longer exist and a revolution or civil war really happens, this place will turn into complete chaos! If we stay here, we won't know what future we'll have." She pointed to her mother's belly, "You don't want Tiny-Human-Bean to grow up in such an environment, right?!" Lara looked at her fiancé, "If we really manage to leave for this country Italy, we'll at least have a small certainty of a promising future! It's our chance to start a new life, completely from scratch!"

Armin and Lara looked at each other with an optimistic expression.

"So?!" he asked, gazing at his in-laws, "What do you guys say?"

Hange wet her lips and sought Levi's eye, who was also looking at her, but with a very enigmatic expression. Tears started to well up in Hange's eyes.

"S-So you mean that..." she started, her voice a little choked-up, as she gazed around the kitchen and the living room, "We'll have to leave... All of this?" Hange raised her hands, referring to the house, "We'll have to leave this place, which we deeply love and that your father took so many years to get?"

Lara and Armin started to get a little apprehensive at Hange's words.

An uneasy silence hung over them.

Then, Levi finally spoke:

"Armin... Is... Right."

Everyone turned to him, surprised. With a lot of effort, ignoring the pain he felt in the stitches of his mouth, Levi forced himself to speak more freely:

"I don't want my baby to be born in an environment that will have more wars," he grimaced and placed his hand on his mouth. Then, Levi pointed to everyone around the table, "We need to live in a place of peace."

They all looked at him anxiously.

"I agree with Armin," Levi opened his arms, "As for all of this... We can build another one just the same in this 'Italy'."

Lara and Armin looked at each other with big smiles. Now, everyone was gazing at Hange, the only one who still looked a little apprehensive. She pressed her lips together and looked down at her belly, stroking it. After a few seconds, Hange finally lifted her head, with a determined expression and gazed at them all.

"You guys are right. My baby doesn't deserve to go through difficulties anymore," Hange straightened her back, with a steady voice, "May it be born in a world where the Titans no longer exist and live far from war!" She turned to Levi, "But, I want you to make me a bigger lab, 'cause despite Titans not existing anymore, I still like to study and research Biology!"

The four of them laughed and then, joined their hands in the middle of the table, squeezing them affectionately. They gazed at each other with hopeful smiles. Even Tiny-Human-Bean gave some kicks of excitement.

"So, that's it!" exclaimed Lara happily, "We're going to Italy!"

She turned to Armin.

"I wonder if there's ice cream there!"