Preparations and an Unexpected Proposal

The news that Hange was pregnant again brought a lot of euphoria and joy to their house.

Right away, they decided to nickname the new baby "Tiny-Human-Bean II" (you read it as Tiny-Human-Bean, the Second). Levi promptly said that this time, he wouldn't be tricked by any fetus anymore, and that he would be wary of the future answers the baby would give to his questions.

Kuchel initially seemed not to like the idea of not being the youngest sibling anymore, with her being a bit jealous, because she was terrified that Tiny-Human-Bean II would steal her teddy bear. However, Armin assured her that he would buy an exclusive toy for the next baby and that Kuchel didn't need to worry about it. Upon hearing this, her jealousy seemed to pass, coming to the conclusion that it would be nice to have someone close to her age to make all the mischiefs she was already making up in her little brain, especially if her parents were really going to travel and the two children were staying at Lara and Armin's future house.

Now that Hange lived in a much relaxed and less stressful environment, compared to the terror she had experienced in Paradis in her first pregnancy, she was now having a relatively peaceful pregnancy, with only a few morning sickness, nothing more than that.

About three days before Lara and Armin's two-year engagement anniversary, Hange and Levi were bathing in the bathtub of their suite in the middle of the night. Levi massaged his wife's belly, gently rubbing the soap. However, Hange noticed that he was way too quiet.

"What's wrong, babe?"

Levi remained silent for a few seconds, washing the belly with the handheld shower. Then, he replied:

"I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Levi looked up at Hange.

"It's just that I wanted to give a nice wedding present to Lara and Armin."

Hange frowned.

"Oh, babe. But this will take a while. They've just started building their house. I believe it'll still take about a year for them to get married."

"But that's the thing. The present I'm thinking about giving might already be useful to them right now."

Hange straightened her back, confused.

"Huh? But what do you wanna give them, anyway?!"

"Our car."

Hange's eyes widened in surprise. Levi pressed his lips together.

"You see... They both already told us they wanna buy their own car, and I understand that it's natural for them to want to have their own stuff. To be honest, I think they'll do better than us, since we don't go out that much. They already use our car for working and grocery shopping. And it can be very useful for them to buy things for their house, instead of having to spend more money on delivery. Have you seen the shipping price people are charging? It's absurd!" He pouted indignantly and Hange giggled, "Besides, Lara and Armin are gonna live literally next door. If we ever need the car, we just borrow it. If later on we feel the need to have one of our own, we buy another." Levi looked at Hange, "What do you think?"

Slowly, a kind smile formed on Hange's lips and she took her husband's face.

"I think it's an excellent idea, my love," she gave him a soft peck kiss. "Are you planning on giving the car on their engagement anniversary?"

"That's right," Levi then looked down shyly, "Do you think they'll like it?"

"If they'll like it?!" laughed Hange, "They're gonna freak out!"

Their engagement anniversary day arrived, and Lara and Armin had previously asked Sergeant Hans to schedule their day off on this date, so they could spend it together and go out.

They had a very pleasant day. Lara woke up to someone knocking on her bedroom door and when she opened it, Armin was bringing her breakfast on a tray. They had breakfast together, sitting at Lara's drawing desk, watching the sunrise from the big window.

At lunchtime, they went to Niccolo's restaurant and found Sasha and the baby there, since she was on maternity leave. Afterward, they had ice cream together in the small square downtown. They took the opportunity to visit the works on their land, which was at the very beginning, but it already brought them great joy to their hearts, for they saw that little by little, their house was taking shape.

They spent the rest of the day sitting under a tree, embracing each other, just as they did on their first date. They talked about their house construction planning, the wedding party, and the honeymoon, among many passionate kisses.

When they arrived home at dusk, they were surprised by a nice dinner made by Levi (even Hange and Kuchel helped) and when he announced that he would give the car as a wedding present, the couple got very emotional. Lara showered her father's face with kisses, who by now was already used to it and no longer felt embarrassed of his daughter showing affection in public (as long as this public was his own family and it was done inside his house). Armin also gave him a big hug, thanking him for his generosity and already allowing Levi to use the car whenever he wanted, without even asking for it. In the middle of their laughter and hugs, Kuchel exclaimed:

"Wanna dwive car!!!"

Hange replied that the only thing she could drive at the moment was her crib, which made Kuchel not talk to her mother until bedtime when she was forced to talk again since it was Hange's turn to give her "nighty-night-bottle" (Kuchel's words).

Months passed and Tiny-Human-Bean II was growing, just like Armin and Lara's house as well. Every day that the couple visited the works on their land and, especially when on their days off they went to help (so they saved money a little), they felt that they were getting closer and closer to their dream, loving each other more and more.

Lara and Armin's friends would surprise them, also coming to help them with the construction from time to time, on their days off. By that time, Sasha was back to work and when she had a day off, she would leave Ben at Kuchel's house to play, and would go help too. Mikasa left any construction workers with mouths agape when they spotted that she carried wooden beams on her shoulders as if carrying a pile of sticks (Jean usually watched her with pride). When the day was over, Connie and Jean would get some pizzas for the six friends to eat in the front yard, while they enjoyed the progress they had made on the house.

Armin and Lara were pretty happy to see how Mikasa was a completely different person now, who, despite still being a shy woman, was much more cheerful and, above all, loved being who she was. By that time, her hair had grown a lot, having once gone to work with her hair down (where it was past her shoulders). At the sight of Mikasa entering the Headquarters, gorgeous and wonderful as she was, Jean felt his heart run so wildly, he thought it would explode. Without even realizing it, he gazed at her with a passionate expression. However, Mikasa noticed and walked past him with a shy smile and blushing. After that day, Lara commented to Armin about how Mikasa always seemed to forget about her hair scrunchies and now would only work with them loose, resulting in the two of them giggling as they saw that their plan to join Jean and Mikasa together seemed to be working better than they thought, since Armin was still pairing them up to do the patrols.

Hange was much relieved at how her pregnancy was going well, without any complications or pains. They thought it was funny how Tiny-Human-Bean II was the complete opposite of Kuchel, because it was very quiet and would only occasionally give a shy kick. Lara suspected that the baby would have Levi's personality.

As promised, Armin bought an exclusive toy for Tiny-Human-Bean II, a stuffed puppy, who had long and soft paws. Kuchel was much more relieved to know that now she could finally sleep in peace, for she still spent many nights awake thinking about how, in the dead of night, Tiny-Human-Bean II would invade her crib and steal her teddy bear, threatening her with a wooden spoon.

It was in the middle of a Tuesday night that Tiny-Human-Bean II decided to be born and, once more, Armin had to rush, completely disheveled and in his pajamas, after Imani. At least, this time Levi knew what he had to do and before Lara could ask him, he had already provided the clean towels and warm water, while Hange screamed in pain with each contraction. He was also smart enough to ignore Hange's curses, which were worse than the ones she said at Kuchel's birth.

Hange gave birth to another beautiful baby girl, who, this time, was named after her mother, Hannah.

Hannah was completely different from Kuchel, for, on the outside, she was identical to Hange, with dark brown hair and a curved nose. On the inside, as Lara had predicted, she took after Levi. Hannah was a very quiet baby and didn't give any trouble, and she enjoyed sleeping a lot, which was a great relief for Hange and Levi, who didn't have to spend whole nights awake anymore trying to get their daughter to sleep.

Along with Hannah's birth, another joy got into Lara and Armin's hearts: they set the wedding date for within a few months, because half of their house was already built and soon, Lara would turn twenty years old.

The car Levi gave to Armin and Lara proved to be very useful in helping with their house building, because the couple really managed to save a lot of money by getting the construction materials and other small stuff by themselves, instead of having to pay for delivering them at their house, which made them quite happy, for they could spend this saved money on nice places on their honeymoon.

Time passed and Lara finally turned twenty. She and Armin spent the day in their house, which at this point only needed to be furnished with the furniture and home appliances. In the evening, Armin took her out to dinner at a restaurant that served all-you-can-eat Italian pasta, and of course, they couldn't miss the famous ice cream cup, which Lara loved so much.

When the wedding was about a month away, Lara was finishing setting the dinner table, while Connie helped Armin set up the refrigerator. Sasha couldn't come this time, as her son was having a strong stomachache, probably due to drinking more bottles than he should have. As she attached one of the table legs, Lara spotted from the window Mikasa and Jean walking slowly up the street, and smiled to herself at seeing that her two friends seemed to talk and get along well.

However, at one point, when she accidentally looked out the window again, Lara noticed that Mikasa and Jean had stopped in the middle of the street and started contemplating her and Armin's house, in the distance. Lara narrowed her eyes to get a better look and noticed that, as her two friends seemed to be talking about something, their expressions began to change. Mikasa to a very shy expression and Jean to an expression of complete astonishment and anxiety.

Then, to Lara's utter surprise, she saw Jean seem to get pretty euphoric and turn around and back again. What Lara saw next surprised her so much that she dropped the screwdriver she was holding and gave a little squeal of excitement, because, after the euphoria, Jean slowly brought his face to Mikasa's and gave her a pretty nice kiss. The most extraordinary thing is that Mikasa, despite still looking very shy and embarrassed about whatever was happening there, returned the passionate kiss with the same intensity.

Lara waved her hands in sheer excitement and hopped in place, beckoning Armin and Connie to rush over her to see what was going on outside. When the boys arrived, worried about Lara's state, they also opened their mouths in complete perplexity at witnessing Jean and Mikasa kissing in the distance.

Lara, Armin, and Connie then watched them finish their kiss, touching their foreheads, while Jean affectionately held Mikasa's face and gave her a few peck kisses. He entwined his fingers with Mikasa's and together, they started walking towards Armin and Lara's house.

Upon seeing Jean and Mikasa approaching, the three of them immediately went back to their tasks, pretending they hadn't seen anything. Seconds later, they heard the doorbell ring and Lara answered them at the front door, feigning surprise that they had come to help on their day off.

"Sorry for our delay," said Jean, who was panting, "It's just that... We were sorting some things out," he looked at Mikasa with a nervous smile, who was blushing a lot.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" said Lara, waving her hands, almost dying of anxiety to ask what on earth was that kiss.

Armin and Connie approached to greet their friends, also trying to disguise their great curiosity. Then, an awkward silence fell over them, and Jean and Mikasa glanced at each other.

Until, in a sudden movement, Jean once more entwined his fingers with Mikasa's (who blushed even more) and held up their joined hands, so that Lara, Armin, and Connie could see them.

"H-How can I say this?" Jean asked himself, running his free hand behind his neck. "Uhh... Me... Me and Mikasa... Well... We... We're engaged!"

Armin gripped his hair, Lara opened her mouth and Connie laughed out loud in mockery because he didn't believe it at first, until Jean glared at him and he then widened his eyes in utter bewilderment.

Lara started laughing with joy, approaching her friends, but still very surprised.

"My Go-- Guys! Wow!" Lara couldn't speak, so much she smiled.

Mikasa looked shyly at her friends, still holding hands with Jean, but couldn't hold back a smile. Armin came over and patted Jean on the back, congratulating them.

Only Connie was still standing in place and seemed to do some math calculations in his head. When he was finally able to speak, he exclaimed:

"Wait a minute, Jean! Since when do you like Mikasa?!"

Lara, Armin, Jean, and even Mikasa, opened their mouths in complete indignation, bombarding him with questions like: "Where have you been in the last few years?!", "What planet did you come from?!", or "Did you hit your head this morning?!"

Connie, who seemed offended by his friends' exclamations, for in his mind, he had asked a very genuine question, demanded Jean and Mikasa to explain themselves how apparently, they had suddenly decided to get engaged.

Looking shyly at each other, the new couple began to explain how it happened, in a simpler version, as they were still a little bashful. But I'll tell you the full, uncut version.

Mikasa was walking up the street to Lara and Armin's house, accompanied by Jean as they talked. They were chatting about everyday matters, avoiding talking about work. However, Jean had the habit of giving some nuanced compliments to Mikasa during their conversations. That's something you must have already noticed Jean used to do, and here we have to admit that these compliments were doing Mikasa very well because finally, she was feeling... Valued.

During these now almost three years since they moved to Italy, that big scar Eren had left in Mikasa's heart began to close and heal. At that point, it was rare for her to remember anything related to him, and, little by little, her thoughts turned to other things. Embroidery also helped her a lot in this process. To be honest, Mikasa couldn't even remember the last time she had a headache.

Now that she spent more time with Jean and, by noticing how he always treated her with much love and affection, when she least noticed, Mikasa began to realize that Jean couldn't get out of her mind and that she really enjoyed his company, especially talking alone with him.

Over time, she began to yearn to be in his presence, going to sleep feeling pretty excited when she knew that the next day was patrolling day and that she would spend it in the pleasant company of Jean, who would always made her laugh, feel respected and, above all, deeply loved.

Now that she had been paying more attention to her own feelings and actions, lately, Mikasa had begun to notice that whenever she was close to Jean, her heart would beat faster and she would swallow hard, but tried to keep her composure. And one night, a few months ago, before going to sleep, Mikasa found herself thinking a lot about him and felt her heart swell and get warm at the thought of his face, and a sense of peace got into her chest. After pondering through the night, Mikasa got a big shock when she came to the conclusion that she was definitely in love with Jean. She thought there was no other explanation for why she was feeling that way when she was around him.

When Mikasa finally realized that, staying in Jean's presence was getting harder because she could really prove to herself she was in love, and Mikasa would catch herself gazing at Jean when he wasn't looking, counting the days for her to take Kuchel to the playground and be able to invite him to come along. There was this time when she caught herself gazing at his lips when they were out on patrol. Fortunately, she knew how to hide it very well and Jean didn't notice.

So, when she was walking up the street of Armin and Lara's house, talking to him, Mikasa felt her heart racing at the sound of his voice, and how, with every word he spoke, Jean showed how pleased he was to be there, with her.

At one point, without even realizing it, Mikasa stopped halfway and contemplated her friends' house in the distance. Jean was startled to see Mikasa's sudden stop and looked at her with curiosity.

"Wh-What's wrong?" he asked, approaching. "Are you okay, Mikasa? You need something?"

"No..." she shrugged, sighing, contemplative, "I'm just seeing."

"Seeing?" repeated Jean, a little confused. He then turned in the direction Mikasa was looking, "Oh... Lara and Armin's house?"

"Yeah..." she replied, still contemplative, "It's beautiful, don't you think?"

Jean also observed the house. It was completely made of light brown wood, with a porch at the front accessed by steps, and had several large windows, giving it a very cozy and welcoming aesthetic. Lara and Armin had planted a few small bushes around the house, which were now blooming with several colorful flowers, standing out in the green color. In the distance, mountain ranges crisscrossed the shape of the house, which brought an intense sense of tranquility.

Jean smiled.

"Yeah... As always, you're right… It's beautiful, indeed…"

Mikasa sighed.

"I wish I also had a house, just like this one..." she said, unintentionally making a pout.

Jean felt his heart melt at the sight of Mikasa's accidental pout. When he managed to compose himself, he turned to her, who was still gazing at the house, and said, shyly:

"But… Don't you think it's too big for just you alone?"

Mikasa placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully as she continued to analyze. After a few seconds, she replied:

"Yeah... You're right… It wouldn't be good if only I enjoyed a house like that."

They were silent for a moment. Jean wet his lips, anxious, for he didn't know what to reply. Finally, he ended up saying:

"W-Well... If you want, I'll help you build one." He gave her a sheepish smile, shrugging.

Mikasa turned, gazing at him.

"Really? Would you help me?"

Without even thinking, Jean replied, blinking several times:

"For you, I would build even two houses."

Mikasa giggled, which warmed Jean's heart because he was feeling quite nervous. She replied:

"Well, so... Since you're so willing to help me, nothing fairer than you living in the house as well, don't you think?"

Instantly, Jean straightened his back and widened his eyes, in utter astonishment. After stuttering for a few seconds, he replied:

"M-M-Me and y-you? Living... together? In the same house?"

Mikasa turned redder than a tomato when she realized what she had said and lowered her head to hide behind her bangs, wetting her lips and clenching her fists. Her heart was beating wildly.

They were silent. Then, Jean gently took her face with both hands, making her gaze deeply into his eyes. Mikasa's body tingled at his touch. Jean was panting.

"Mikasa..." he said, his chest rising and falling, "Would you… live with me? Just… the two of us?"

She pressed her lips together and looked away, with a much anxious expression. Then, Mikasa slowly looked back at Jean, nodding in agreement. He gasped, widening his eyes, and shivered. Then, he ran his thumbs over her face, gently caressing her. Jean took a deep breath as if mustering up the courage. Softly, he asked:

"W-Would you... marry... me?"

Feeling her body shaking, Mikasa widened her eyes. They gazed deeply at each other, and Jean could feel Mikasa's rapid pulse in his hands. She swallowed hard and slowly, once more nodded, answering:

"Y-Yes... I-I would."

Jean couldn't believe his ears and ended up asking while blinking several times:

"Wh-What?! What did you say?!" he felt his jaw trembling, "Y-You really want to marry... me?"

Mikasa wet her lips and this time, she held Jean's arms, squeezing them tenderly. She took a deep breath, trying to control her heartbeat, and repeated:

"Y-Yes, Jean... I-I want," she gave him a little smile, very shy.

He was so perplexed that he covered his mouth with both hands. Then, his shoulders began to bounce, because Jean had burst out laughing and crying at the same time. Jean held Mikasa's arms, shaking her slightly, as she tried to hold back her laughter and felt her eyes water.

"A-ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" exclaimed Jean, now with tears running down his cheeks, "Please, tell me you're not joking!"

Mikasa chuckled softly as she sniffled and felt her eyes start to blur with tears.

"Y-Yes!" she replied, nodding, "I'm serious!"

Jean once more covered his mouth with both hands, turning around and back again, now running his hand over his face, feeling that his heart would come out of his mouth. Then, he took Mikasa's face again, analyzing every detail and realizing that tears were now running down her face as well. She leaned into his arms and they gazed deeply at each other, with a big smile.

They both looked at each other's lips and slowly closed their eyes, with Jean getting closer to her face. When their lips met, they felt a tremor throughout their bodies and their hearts seemed to burn. They moved their mouths for a kiss. Mikasa never imagined feeling something like that in her entire life. She could hear her heart thudding in her ears and realized that both she and Jean were shaking a little, such emotion they were feeling at that moment.

When she least noticed, Mikasa held Jean's face and then, wrapped her arms around his neck. Jean thought his heart would explode at any second, for finally tasting the sweet taste of the woman he had loved all his life. Their breaths became intense and he embraced her passionately, holding her behind her pretty black hair and her back.

They both drew their lips apart and touched their foreheads. They stayed like that for a while, rocking slowly.

"I love you, Mikasa," whispered Jean, smiling, "I've always loved you..."

Mikasa gave a sad smile. She knew it. Everyone knew it (well, except Connie, apparently).

For just a second, she felt bitterness in her heart, remembering so many times she had been rude to Jean, didn't give him much attention, or ignored him completely.

However, this feeling soon went away, for now, a feeling of the deepest love filled her chest, and then, Mikasa replied:

"I... love you too, Jean."

For many years of her life, Mikasa never imagined she could say those words to another man other than Eren. But now, she was saying it with complete honesty and sincerity.

Jean smiled, with a tear running down his eye, and slowly pulled her face, giving her a long, very soft peck kiss that made Mikasa's heart skip a beat. Jean began to analyze her face, keeping every detail to his memory, and ran his thumb over the scar on her cheek.

"S-So... does that mean... we are... engaged?" he asked anxiously.

Mikasa blushed a little and looked at him from below with a shy smile.

"I-I think so, right?"

Jean smiled from ear to ear and gave her another peck kiss, closing his eyes. Then, he entwined his fingers with hers, gazing at her with the purest expression of happiness.

"Let's tell the others!" he said. Mikasa smiled back, nodding in agreement, and they started walking towards Armin and Lara's house.

And that's how they, according to Connie, suddenly decided to get engaged.

When Jean and Mikasa finished telling them, Lara and Armin were smiling, extremely happy at the news. Connie squinted at the new couple, scratching his head, thoughtful and intrigued. Armin, Lara, Mikasa, and Jean patiently waited for Connie's brain to process all the information. Then, slowly, his face turned to one of pure joy, and he exclaimed:

"Oh! Now I get it!" he said. Then, Connie frowned, crossing his arms, "But, hang on a second... Technically, it was Mikasa who proposed to you in marriage first, Jean! Since she was the one who invited you to live together!"

Everyone turned to Mikasa, who widened her eyes and turned purple, so embarrassed she was, because she hadn't thought about it that way. They all laughed as she covered her face and Jean hugged her sideways, stroking her shoulder, and kissing the top of her head.

Then, they gave a group hug, congratulating Mikasa and Jean, claiming they were very happy they had finally sorted things out. At one point, Armin declared that it was Lara who came up with the idea of pairing them up during the patrol, making them laugh. Lara vehemently denied it, replying that it was all a figment of Armin's imagination.

After teasing each other some more, Connie excused himself to go to the bathroom. Then, Jean pulled Armin aside, while Mikasa shyly turned to talk to Lara alone.

"Lara..." she said, hugging herself, looking tense, "I-I'm feeling a bit... lost... What do I need to do now?"

Lara chuckled softly, and held her friend's hands, comforting her.

"Mikasa... You don't have to do anything at all! Just keep being yourself, which is already enough for Jean!"

Mikasa gave her a shy smile, thanking her. Lara then pulled her into a tight hug, saying that Mikasa could talk to her whenever she wanted and that she would be available to help with whatever was needed. Feeling relieved, Mikasa thanked her once more.

Meanwhile, a few meters away from them, Jean asked the same question to Armin, who also smiled and squeezed his friend's shoulder. For a moment, Armin looked at Lara, with a contemplative smile on his face, and sighed. She looked back at him and winked. He turned back to Jean.

"What you need to do now is keep loving Mikasa more with each passing day. Just that. By doing it, everything else will flow naturally," Armin smiled at him. Looking shyly at Mikasa, Jean ran his hand behind his neck and replied:

"I swear I'll do it. I don't wanna disappoint her."

"That's it, my friend!" replied Armin, patting him on the back. "Now, could you do me a favor and hand me the screwdriver? Connie put a screw in the wrong place here in the refrigerator."

♦♦♦

Four days before the wedding, Lara and Armin were in their studio/library, finishing up everything.

Lara was arranging her paints and crayons in her new workspace, while Armin was placing all his books on the bookshelf. Every now and then they would look at each other, with a sweet smile, and then go back to work.

When it was close to dusk, the couple finished tidying up the room, hands on hips, proudly contemplating the work done. In silence, each walked through the other rooms of the house, making sure that everything was already set and organized. In the end, they ended up meeting in the living room, in front of the fireplace they had built. They looked at each other, a little open-mouthed.

"W-We... we're done?" asked Armin, still gazing around, looking for anything that was out of place.

A little in disbelief, Lara did the same thing, turning around.

"Babe... I-I think so!"

Slowly, they began to open a big smile, and then, they burst out laughing, hugging each other tightly and rocking themselves. Still holding one another, they looked around again, just to make sure everything was set, for sure.

Everything was in its place. They had bought simple but good quality furniture, and Lara's artistic side helped to decorate the house in a stylish way. She had painted a few landscapes of the valley, which decorated the walls. And Armin's sense of organization made everything work in harmony.

When they finally realized that one of their biggest dreams had come true, and that it was right there, built around them, Armin and Lara gazed at each other with a big smile on their faces and hugged again. They couldn't help but cry a little. Together, they touched their lips, in a long and soft peck kiss, and continued embracing for a while longer, rocking slowly and contemplating their new house, with their hearts rejoicing with happiness.

♦♦♦

They would get married the next Sunday at four o'clock in the afternoon, with the party going until nine o'clock at night. So, on Saturday, they were packing their suitcases for their honeymoon in the living room of Hange and Levi's house, as they were going to catch a train to Tuscany on Monday at lunchtime.

Kuchel and Hannah were taking an afternoon nap. Lying in their bed, whispering, Hange was trying to convince a nervous Levi that it would be good for them to talk to Armin and Lara about their "first-time" on their wedding night, because Hange thought it was important that, as parents, they give them some advice. Levi was already red with embarrassment at the prospect of having to talk about that with Armin, but Hange was right. If parents knew how to talk about these matters with their sons and daughters, and sons and daughters also knew how to listen to their parents, the world would surely be a better and less troublesome place.

Fortunately, as far as you could read up to this point, Hange and Levi were excellent parents, as well as Lara and Armin were also great daughter and son, so we can conclude that a conversation on this subject with the future husband and wife would be pretty healthy.

Still a little reluctant from embarrassment, Levi followed Hange into the living room, where Armin and Lara checked their list to see if there was anything missing to pack in their suitcases. Hange cleared her throat and the young couple turned around.

"Can we have a word with you both, alone?" she asked, smiling. "Lara, come with me to your bedroom. Armin, go to yours with Levi too."

Lara and Armin looked at each other, a little confused. However, they were smart enough to have a sense of what matter awaited them and they blushed. They obeyed and then, Hange and Lara locked themselves in her bedroom, while Levi and Armin locked themselves in his.

With the wedding day getting closer, it was inevitable that this subject crossed Lara and Armin's minds, making them both blush when, for example, they finished tidying their new bedroom in their house, while arranging the bed with the sheets and pillowcases. They glanced at each other nervously, trying to hide the embarrassment that, pretty soon, the two of them would be there, joining themselves in that bed.

Lara was very embarrassed when her mother, sitting next to her, made it very clear that they were going to talk about the wedding night. At seeing her daughter's state, Hange became more relaxed and began to offer some advice on how Lara might feel when she was finally alone with Armin.

As she knew her mother was completely shameless to talk about these matters, Lara fought against her shyness and, since they were already talking about it, she took the opportunity and asked all the questions she had on the subject, especially about the part where Lara knew she could feel some pain.

"I also had this fear, sweetheart," replied Hange, holding her hands with affection, "and it's completely normal. On my wedding night, your father was very caring to me, and in the end, I felt absolutely nothing. Of course, I felt a slight discomfort at first, but it soon passes, because it's also normal. Don't be scared if you bleed a little, okay? 'Cause it can happen to some women. But the way we know Armin, I'm sure he'll be as kind as your father was to me, and I'm also sure it'll be wonderful for you both. Of course, you won't be any professionals in the beginning, but over time, you'll get practice. It doesn't have to be perfect, just nice and comfortable for both of you," Hange ran her hand on her chin and gave a mischievous giggle, "Although, Levi and I were really good at it since the beginning, hehehe!"

Lara rolled her eyes.

"Mom, please spare me these details."

Hange shrugged, pouting with a vain expression. However, upon hearing her mother's words, it was as if a fifteen-meter Titan was off Lara's shoulders, for she was quite afraid that her first-time would be a complete disaster, and Lara thanked her from the bottom of her heart for the advice and questions answered.

On the other hand, in Armin's bedroom, the mood was different and an awkward silence fell over him and Levi. The two of them had been sitting on Armin's bed for some time now, not saying a single word. Levi opened and closed his mouth in an attempt to say something, but failed miserably. Until, he finally took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure, and slowly said:

"Just... be kind to her, because Lara will probably be more nervous than you. You both don't need to do anything in a hurry, because after all, now you'll have the rest of your lives to do it."

Armin looked at his own hands, rubbing them together nervously. Just like his fiancée, he also had questions and really wanted to ask Levi a few things.

"I-I..." began Armin, pressing his lips together, "I'm afraid of hurting her."

Levi nodded.

"Good thing you fear that. It's a sign you love her."

Armin smiled with shyness. He ran his hand behind his neck.

"W-Will we make it on our first-time?"

Levi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Look... To be very honest, maybe yes, maybe not. Hange told me that there are couples who don't make it on their first-time, but that's pretty normal too, and you shouldn't worry about it. You can try again later." He gave an optimistic smile, which Armin returned with a nod.

They were silent again. Then, Armin slowly turned to Levi.

"Dad..." he said, a bit nervous, "I want to know it... Is it really that good?"

At first, Levi straightened his back and widened his eyes a little. But, seeing that Armin was asking a sincere question, he started to chuckle. He placed his hand on his son-in-law's shoulder, squeezing him lightly.

"Why do you think there are so many people in the world?"

Upon hearing the answer, Armin couldn't hold back a chuckle as well. After that, the mood between them seemed to lighten a lot, and he took the opportunity to ask some questions he had, which Levi answered them all, as best he could, poor thing...

When the four of them were done talking, Levi and Hange returned to their bedroom, while Lara and Armin returned to the living room. As the young couple met again in front of their suitcases still open on the couch, they glanced at each other and turned pretty red, swallowing hard. Unintentionally, at the same time, they gave an optimistic little smile. They continued to pack their suitcases in silence for a few minutes, still a little embarrassed, but gradually they got back to normal.

Despite being very happy, Lara and Armin went to sleep with a little feeling of melancholy in their hearts, for they knew that this would be the last time they would sleep at Levi and Hange's house, and the time the four of them (plus Kuchel and Hannah) lived together was wonderful and brought back beautiful memories.

Already in their pajamas, before going into their bedrooms, Armin and Lara met in the hallway to say good night. They hugged each other tightly, burying their faces in each other's necks. Armin took Lara's chin and got closer to give her a long peck kiss. Then, he said softly:

"Tomorrow, at this time, we won't have to separate anymore to go to sleep." He smiled, and so did Lara.

"I'll already warn you that I wanna be the little spoon," she said, getting a little blushed, leaving Armin also red, but in the end, they both ended up chuckling and giving another peck kiss.

Armin watched Lara walk into her bedroom. Before closing the door, she looked at him in the spare still open, with a sweet smile. Armin returned, blinking slowly as he felt his heart warm.

"I love you," he whispered.

Lara also winked at him and replied, softly:

"I love you too. See you tomorrow."

"See you..." replied Armin, still smiling, "Mrs. Arlert."