IN WHICH ARAMINTA LEARNS ABOUT THE
ENEMIES ACROSS THE SEA!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

EREN WAS, ONCE AGAIN, IN JAIL.

       As it turned out, there were consequences for trying to go against your superiors and attack them. Surprising, right? So, he and Mikasa were currently locked up for their actions on that rooftop, when they'd tried to fight Hange and Levi for the Titan serum. Araminta was just lucky that she had chosen to turn the syringe back over to Levi before it was too late, otherwise she might have been locked up down there with them.

       Since they locked the two of them up for their crimes, Araminta had gone down to visit a few times. After all, they had just retrieved his father's diaries from their basement, which meant he had to fill her in on everything he found out.

       The first time, she had sat outside his cell with her back pressed against the stone wall as he told her about their enemies beyond the walls — the people of Marley.

       A long time ago — so long ago that Araminta didn't understand why they were still being punished — the Subjects of Ymir, otherwise known as the Eldians, had used the powers of the Titans to wage war on the rest of the world. So, when the Marleyans had finally defeated them, they decided that the Eldians should pay for their crimes against the rest of the world for as long as it took.

       Eren's father, Grisha, had been one of the Eldians living in Marley. He had gotten married to Dina Fritz, a descendant of the Royal Family, and they were working with a group to revolt against the Marleyan government.

       "They were ratted out, though." Eren told her. He was sitting with his back to the crappy bed they had in his cell so he was facing her. "You remember... The Beast Titan... And he said he knew my father?"

       Araminta nodded.

       "His name is Zeke... And he's the son of Dina Fritz, and... My father."

She sat up. "Wait... So that means he's your brother...?" She asked slowly, and the more she thought about it, the more it all made sense.

"Yeah." Eren nodded. "And he was the one who ratted them out. He got them sent to their deaths." He was rolling a loose pebble he found on the floor between his fingers, then threw it at the floor. "And you know what they did to traitors, Ara?"

"Hanged them?" She guessed.

"They took them on a boat, across the ocean, to a little island in the middle of nowhere. Then, they injected them with Titan serum, and left them there to die." He spat out. "Guess where that island was?"

Her heart sank. "Right here."

The next time she went down to see him, Armin came with her as well. He went in Eren's cell and sat at the desk, while Araminta went in Mikasa's cell to change the bandages on her wounded arm.

"They call it the Curse of Ymir." She heard Eren speak up from his cell. "Ymir only had her powers for thirteen years, and nobody can surpass her, so Titan shifters will die after thirteen years of having their powers."

Araminta paused what she was doing. "What?"

"So... I only have thirteen years left to live..." Armin spoke quietly.

"And I only have eight. Well, closer to seven." Eren replied.

Araminta set down the wrap she was using. "You're kidding, right?"

She had never thought that hard about what the future held for her and Eren. Up until now, every day could have been their last, but things were was a chance for things to finally start to settle down on their island. And now you were telling her she didn't even have eight years left with him...?

"No. That can't be true." Mikasa shook her head. "They have it wrong."

"Maybe." Eren replied, but it was obvious he didn't really believe that.

The third and last time Araminta went down to visit them, it actually wasn't for a visit at all. Hange and Levi had accompanied her and Armin this time, and they were finally going to release her two friends from jail.

When they got down the stairs, though, Eren appeared to be deep in thought. He was posed with his hand in front of his face, and he had a faraway stare. "It's called the Attack Titan." He said.

Hange glanced down at Araminta. "What the hell was that?" They asked, then moved to pose in the same position. "It's called the Attack Titan." They mocked.

Araminta rolled her eyes, staying back so Levi could get around her to unlock the cell door.

"You saw that too, right, Araminta?" Hange asked her.

"Let it go, Four Eyes. He's fifteen, we all go through phases." Levi grumbled.

"Hey, it's Three Eyes now." Hange reminded him, tapping the lens of their glasses on the side they lost their eye. "And anyways, what kind of phase is posing weird and saying vague stuff? I certainly never went thought that phase, did you, Holm?"

Araminta shook her head. "Nope." She smiled at Eren, sort of hoping the teasing might help in lifting his mood, but it didn't.

"What are you guys doing down here?" He just asked with a sigh.

"We're letting you out!" Araminta told him while Levi fished the keys out of his pockets.

"What?! But we still have ten full days left!"

        "You just got ten days worth of punishment from Hange." Levi sighed, referring to their teasing.

       "We spoke to Zachary, and he agrees, it doesn't send a good message to keep the brave soldiers who took down the Colossal and Armored Titans in jail!" Hange added on enthusiastically.

       Levi unlocked the door to Eren's cell then passed the key to Araminta so she could unlock Mikasa's. When the taller girl stepped out of her cell, Araminta was surprised by how skinny she had gotten.

       "Are you okay, Mikasa? You look thinner." Armin frowned as he observed his friend.

       "Weird. We were given plenty of food." Eren narrowed his eyes at Mikasa, who began to grip her head as if it was aching.

"Hurry up and get dressed." Levi grumbled as he pushed past the four of them.

Eren looked over at Araminta. "Where are we going?" He asked her.

"A state meeting." Levi answered for Araminta.

The dark haired girl nodded. "Yes. Her majesty has decided to pay a visit to Trost."

She held out her hand and flexed her fingers, signaling for him to take it. He smiled softly at her as he laced his fingers together with her own, then began to walk in tandem with her out of the jail.

Things were changing. The Scout Regiment was starting to eliminate the Titans beyond the walls, they had learned about their enemies across the sea, and worst of all, she discovered she only had eight years left at the most with her boyfriend.

One thing that never changed, though, was how perfectly her hand fit together with his.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK IT SAYS?" JEAN ASKED ARAMINTA. He turned the letter over in his hand, eyebrows pulled tightly together as he observed it. Back in Shiganshina, Reiner had delivered a letter to them, addressed to Historia from Ymir.

Now that the queen was in town, they were finally going to be able to give it to her.

Araminta hummed, plucking the letter from Jean's grasp. "Maybe if we hold it up to the light like this, we can read some of it." She suggested, raising it so it was facing a window.

"How are you going to read it when it's all folded up in there?" Jean rolled his eyes, snatching it back from her.

"Whatever. I'm sure it says something like 'My Dear Historia, I wish I could come and kiss you, but Reiner is a bitch'." She did a horrible impression of Ymir.

"You're such an idiot." Jean said, but she could see the smile on his face.

       After a few minutes of the two of them trailing behind Hange in silence, she finally cleared her throat. "How's your shoulder?" She asked, gesturing to the sling he wore around his arm. During their battle in Shiganshina, he had gotten pierced by a stray piece of debris.

        "It's fine." He shrugged with his good shoulder, glancing down at the sling. "The doctor said it's healing nicely, I should be able to take the sling off within the next few weeks."

       She smiled. "Good, that's good. It would kind of suck if you lost it forever."

       "Just a little bit." He replied, and pinched his fingers together which made her giggle. "And your nose is looking better. It would kind of suck if it ruined your pretty face forever."

       Araminta laughed, until it hit her what he just said. She came to a stop in the hallway, furrowing her eyebrows at him. Did Jean Kirstein just call her pretty?

       "What?" He turned back to look at her, as if he was completely oblivious to what he'd just said — which he probably was, he probably wouldn't have said it at all if he realized what the words that just came out of his mouth were.

       Your pretty face.

       There was only one logical course of action. She punched him on his good arm — hard — causing him to let out a loud yelp.

        "What the hell was that for?" He tried his best to use his slung hand to rub the sore spot, but he wasn't quite able to reach it.

       "I told you. Back in the crystal caves. If we lived, I was going to punch you!" It was true, but not really the real reason she punched him. "And we're alive! So, there!"

        He huffed and started walking again. "You could have given me a warning or something, you know."

       She shook her head. Any awkward tension she'd been feeling before was completely gone now, which meant that punching him had been the right thing to do. "Nope. That would ruin the fun."

       "Hey! Hurry up, slowpokes! Her Royal Highness is waiting for us!" Hange scolded the two of them, and Araminta did not like being scolded by Hange. She scurried after them, patting Jean's back as she passed by.

         If things had been awkward in the hallway, then Araminta had no idea what to call what was going on in the office. She was sitting between Jean and Hange, toying with the hem of her jacket as Historia read Ymir's letter — which, based on Historia's sniffling, must have been very emotional.

        The nosy part of her wanted so badly to know all of the contents of the letter, but the other part of her wanted to respect the girls' privacy. Imagining what Ymir might have written to Historia, the girl who she obviously had strong feelings for, made Araminta realize how romantic letters were.

        If she were to write a letter to Eren, what would hers say? Probably something about his eyes, since she loved his eyes so much. Or maybe about how she loves the feeling of him enveloping her into his arms. There was an endless supply of things she adored about Eren that she could write pages of. Maybe she would go home and write him a letter.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Historia gasping, and the three of them perked up.

"What is it?" Hange asked, and Historia glanced over at them, clearing her throat.

"Nothing. Um, is this all she wrote?" She looked down at the three pages, and they nodded.

"Yeah. We imagine Reiner didn't really let her write any more than that." Araminta said.

Historia nodded, her sad eyes trained on the papers.

"Was there any secret message she left in there just for you?" Jean queried. "Some kind of code?"

Historia shook her head. "I don't know. But frankly, that doesn't sound like her." She turned to look away from them, scoffing to herself. "That idiot. What's with her? Playing it off when she got embarrassed... I could never tell with her..."

Araminta wondered how Historia was feeling. Obviously, Ymir was most likely eaten by another Eldian in order to possess her powers, so that letter was probably the last thing she ever wrote. She wondered what it was like to read that, knowing the author was now dead. It must have been tragic for the queen.

There was a knock at the door, and the voice of Levi announcing he had arrived with the other three. Araminta watched Historia hurriedly wipe her tears away, then walk over to greet the others. She stood as well, following the blonde over to their friends. The three sank into a bow, and Historia waved them off.

"Oh, stop it! I'm not even ruling yet!" She exclaimed, her cheeks a bit red from embarrassment. "But... Wow, look at you guys. You've all been through so much. Meanwhile, I've done nothing but watch the southern sky and wait."

"Hey, it's an important duty of yours just to stay safe." Araminta reassured her.

Armin. Eren and Mikasa nodded in agreement.

Historia glanced over at Araminta, giving her a grateful smile. "Well, it's good to see you're all still acting like yourselves, right?"

"Maybe it's just because it hasn't all really set in yet." Eren said plainly.

Araminta disagreed with Historia. Ever since they'd visited the basement, Eren wasn't acting completely like himself. She knew that he'd been given a lot of new information in just a short amount of time, so it was expected he might be thrown off by it, but that wasn't all it was.

He just seemed so... Far away. Like he wasn't all there. But maybe she was over analyzing him. Maybe she was just paranoid after everything they'd gone through that he was pulling away from her. If nobody else had noticed it, she was probably just crazy, right?

       He wasn't slipping away from her... Right?

NOW THAT ARAMINTA DIDN'T HATE JEAN ANYMORE, SHE WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF A NEW RIVAL to keep things interesting. Sure, she could still argue with Jean every now and then, but they had become much too close in the past few months. Plus, she had finally gotten to punch him, so it seemed that the door to her rivalry with him was now closed.

      Reiner didn't count, since he was on the other side of the sea now, too far away for her to wake up every morning and be actively annoyed by his presence. And, her hatred for him went just a bit deeper than being bothered by him.

       Luckily for her, though, she didn't have to wait very long to find somebody new!

       About a month after they had presented the information they recovered in the Jaegers' basement to their government, those who survived the reclamation of Shiganshina were now officially being honored. It was an exciting day, why wouldn't it be?

       They were all gathered in the royal court, where soon, Queen Historia would come in and present them all with awards for their bravery. Araminta was leaned back against a pillar on the edge of the room, waiting for things to start while her friends chatted.

       Eren was currently working on buttoning up his jacket, but appeared to be struggling with the last button. She watched him for a moment, waiting for him to finally figure it out and get it, but it looked like that wasn't happening. With a frustrated grunt, she pushed herself up off the pillar and made her way over.

       "Let me help you." She sighed, pushing his hands away so she could have access to the button.

      He rolled his eyes. "I almost had it, you know."

      "Oh I'm sure you did." Araminta smiled as she slipped the button through the slit and got it locked into place. "There you go! All done!"

       He glanced down, giving the collar a tug to make sure it was secured. "Thank you. How do I look?" He asked her, straightening up and pushing out his chest.

       She laughed. "You look like an idiot."

       "Hey!" He frowned. "You're so mean to me. What did I even do?" He accused her dramatically.

       "Oh, come on, I'm kidding. You know I always think you look handsome." She reassured him, running her palm across the fabric of his jacket to flatten it out.

A grin spread across his lips. "You really think so?"

She nodded, and stepped closer so her face was only inches from his own. "Mhm. I really do."

They moved in sync to connect their lips, but were very rudely interrupted. Which wasn't that surprising, since every time they came close to kissing since they came back from Shiganshina, they were always interrupted. Whether it be by Connie coming to annoy Araminta since Sasha was still in the hospital wing, or Hange coming to ask for her help with something, they were interrupted every. Single. Time.

      This time, the culprit was Hitch Dreyse. "Well, if it isn't the brave heroes of the walls!" She sang out.

       "Hitch. I'm surprised you came." Jean said as the girl waved at them.

       "Yeah, I just wanted to watch you guys get your medals." She smiled. "Araminta, how's your head doing?"

       At the mention of her head, Araminta instinctively reached up to rub the spot Hitch had hit her before. "It's fine. You'd have to hit me a little bit harder to do actual damage."

        "Huh? What do you mean?" Eren looked over at Hitch with narrowed eyes. "You hit her?"

       Araminta nodded. "Mhm. With a log."

       "What?!"

       "It's fine, it's fine, it was just a misunderstanding." Hitch waved him away. She looked over at Jean, who had become a bit awkward.

       "You know... Marlo was... Very brave. Right to the end." He told her, his gaze falling down to the floor.

Oh. Araminta had forgotten how close to Marlo Hitch was. She had only met him once or twice outside of their confrontation in the woods, but he had always seemed like he was a good person to her. Learning of his death was awful, she thought the Scouts would have really benefited from having someone like him around.

"Isn't that right, Floch? You should tell her." Jean said to the redhead standing next to him. He looked a bit caught off guard, but agreed nonetheless.

"I rode right beside Marlo. Just like me, he joined as an urgent recruit. But unlike me, he was brave, and a natural leader. Our situation was hopeless. It seemed to us that the Scouts were on the verge of ruin. Just as our fear was giving way to panic and despair, he stepped in and inspired us to push on."

Araminta felt sick as she listened to his story. What she had gone through inside Shiganshina was horrible, but she also couldn't imagine what the Scouts on the other side of the wall had gone through. The more she heard about it from Floch, the more she felt for her fallen comrades.

Hitch nodded sadly.

"He was an amazing person." Floch told her.

"I know. And that's why..." She paused, looking like she was trying to hold back tears. "Well, it's probably why he never listened to me."

They were sweet words from Floch that probably really comforted Hitch. If he would have stopped there, everything would have been fine. But no. He just had to open his stupid mouth and ruin it all.

"But in the end... I'm sure he wished that he'd never volunteered."

Hitch gasped, and hurriedly turned away. "Um, thanks for that!" She said quickly, her voice wavering. "I'll laugh if you guys screw up the ceremony!"

Once she was out of range, Jean whipped around to face Floch. "Hey! Why did you tell her that?" He demanded, and at the same time, Araminta asked "what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Because." Floch replied flatly, looking between the two of them. "Somebody has to speak the truth around here." Then, Araminta realized he was glaring at Armin, and she felt herself become enraged. If they weren't standing in the royal court, surrounded by military, she would probably deck him right there.

Armin cleared his throat. "I heard about what you did Floch — how hard you fought to save Erwin."

"You should be dead. And Erwin should be standing in your place. I'm not alone in thinking that."

"Shut the hell up, Floch!" Araminta snapped at him, but it just seemed to egg him on.

"Everyone who read that report had the same thought: why wasn't Erwin the one that was saved?"

Araminta wanted to punch his stupid face. So badly. More than she ever wanted to punch Jean. She barely knew the man, but she absolutely despised Floch Forster.

"And what do you know about Armin that makes you feel justified in saying that?" Eren growled at him.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm not a childhood friend of his." Floch laughed. "But I can still tell you why he's the one standing here right now. It's cause you two — " he pointed between Eren and Mikasa " — got emotional, and Captain Levi did the same. You made an irrational choice! You treated that syringe like it was yours and you wasted it! Hes alive because you think your friends are more important than the rest of us."

Araminta stomped over towards him, jabbing a finger in his face. "That's enough, Floch. You can shut up now." She warned him, her eyes narrowing.

"And you? I thought you were smarter than this." He said to her, which made her laugh.

"Then you don't really know me, because I am not that smart. I'm stupid enough I'm going to punch your stupid face right in this room if you don't leave Armin alone."

He smirked. "I'd like to see you try."

"Leave her alone." Eren stepped in front of her protectively. Part of her wanted to make him move and show that she didn't need his protecting, but she found it sweet, and decided to stay there.

"Eren. I bet even at your core, you're completely certain that you're in the right. That's why you wouldn't give up. You're like a little kid who won't listen to reason."

Now it looked like Eren was going to be the one to punch him, and Araminta probably would have cheered him on, but Mikasa put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Guys, come on. He's not worth it."

"You two are perfect for each other." Floch smiled, looking between Eren and Araminta. "A couple of rabid dogs that got off of their leashes."

That seemed to really set Eren off. He moved to attack Floch, but Jean stepped in between them at the perfect time, blocking Eren from the redhead. "Guys, knock it off!" He shouted. "Floch, let's not do this during a memorial for our fallen comrades."

"What's done is done. Stop dredging it up." Connie finally got up from his spot by the wall.

"As for you two? You didn't try and fight Captain Levi, but you didn't try to stop Mikasa and Eren either. You would have just let it happen, wouldn't you?" Floch spat at them.

"Shit. Medals for what? A memorial for what? When you guys start to rebuild the Scout Regiment, you'd better tell your recruits the truth, or else you'll end up with cowards like me in the ranks. What the hell are we supposed to do now that we've lost Erwin Smith?! I understand I'm just a toddler, and that my life is expendable, but still... I should get to call it like I see it... And to decide if this cause is worth dying for."

Araminta stared at him. Maybe he had a point. Maybe he should be allowed to be angry about what happened on that roof, but he absolutely was not allowed to talk to them the way he did. It was like Connie said. What's done is done, and harassing them wasn't going to change that.

"I think Floch is right." Armin spoke up with a soft voice. "Commander Erwin's the one who should've been saved. Maybe he could have turned our situation around. I can't, though."

He stared at the floor sadly, and Araminta felt her heart sink. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He hadn't chosen for them to save him, he didn't promise them he could save humanity. But, he had been saved, and now people like Floch were belittling him left and right. Armin had such a gentle soul, he didn't deserve to be hurt like this.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Eren asked Armin. "I don't know what choice was right, and I won't pretend to. None of us know what the future might hold. I mean, we can barely imagine it. Think about it! If we rode straight from Wall Maria, what would we find?"

Armin gasped and looked up, his blue eyes going wide. "The sea."

Eren grinned. "Yeah, that's right. We'd find the sea. A place we've only dreamed about. Water that flows like fire, fields of ice, giant rocks that take days to climb! How are we supposed to be sure of anything when there's so much we haven't seen yet? On the other side of the wall, freedom is — "

Eren suddenly cut off his own little rant, his eyes going wide. Araminta watched him, waiting for him to move, but it was like he had seen a ghost. She reached out to touch his cheek, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Eren...?"

"Alright, brats." Levi appeared, his suddenness causing Araminra to flinch. "It's time. Line up."

Araminra watched as everyone started to move away, and stayed by Eren. Sasha walked by, giving Araminta a look that asked "what the heck?", and the dark haired girl shrugged in response.

Finally, after a few seconds, Eren shook his head, dragging himself back to reality. "Sorry. What's going on?" He looked over at Araminta, nonchalant like nothing had happened.

"Um, we're lining up." She told him. "Are you okay? We kind of lost you there for a minute."

He shook his head as he grabbed her hand and began to lead her over to the steps. "It's fine. Don't worry about it, okay?" He smiled, then leaned down to give her forehead a quick kiss.

She gave him a forced smile, muttering a quiet "okay".

       Don't worry about it? Of course she was going to worry about him. She was always going to worry about him. Especially after everything that had unfolded in the past few months. She knew for a fact that there was no way he was just okay with everything that happened, because there was no way she would be okay if she was him.

If he wasn't ready to talk to her about it, though, she wasn't going to force him. He had waited for her to be ready to open up, and he made it known he was there for her throughout it all. So, for now. the only thing she could do was return the favor.

IF HANGE OR LEVI CAUGHT ARAMINTA NOW, SHE WOULD BE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. This was absolutely against just about every rule put in place at the Scouts Headquarters, and Levi would probably have her hanged. Araminta wasn't usually a rule breaker, so the thought of getting caught terrified her, but she had good enough reasoning it outweighed her fear.

       Ever since their return to Shiganshina, she had been plagued with nightmares. Being in her hometown had dug up all sorts of old memories she'd buried years ago. And even though she was fine now and very much alive, the images of Sasha's cloak drenched in blood was enough to create all sorts of scenarios in her mind.

        Tonight, she'd had a particularly awful dream combining the death of her sister and Sasha's injury that was just too much for her to deal with.

       When she woke up, she was drenched in sweat, and had a Charley Horse in her leg from how tense she had been. It was a full moon outside, so her room was a bit illuminated from the moonlight trickling in through her window. But, she was all alone, which made it difficult to sleep.

       She had an idea — one that would probably get her in more trouble than she could imagine if anyone found out — but she was desperate for some form of human contact to calm her down. So, she threw caution to the wind, and crept out of her bedroom.

       It was completely silent in the barracks — safe for the obnoxiously loud snoring coming from Connie's room. It made her journey down the hallway feel ten times more nerve wracking than it probably needed to be.

       After what felt like an eternity of tiptoeing barefoot across the stone floor, she finally made it to the room she was looking for. As gently as she could, she turned the handle, then stepped inside of the room.

       Luckily, she didn't have to worry about waking anyone up, because Eren was already awake. His dark haired was a disheveled mess on his head, and he was rubbing his eyes to try and focus up his vision.

       "Ara? What are you doing in here?" He asked groggily.

       "I had a nightmare." She told him, and for a second she thought he might laugh at her and kick her out, but he didn't. He just lifted up the blanket, gesturing for her to climb into his bed.

       So, she slid underneath the blanket, and pressed her back against his chest so he could wrap his arms around her. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath.

      "What was your dream about?" He whispered.

      She shrugged. "The same stuff they're always about. I'm in Shiganshina, I see my sister die, then I watch Sasha die, and the whole time I'm paralyzed and can't do anything to stop it from happening."

He nodded in understanding. She knew after many old conversations he had the same kinds of dreams. "I'm sorry." He told her.

"It's okay. I'm already starting to feel a lot better." She grabbed hold of one of his hands, and started rubbing circles onto his palm with her thumb. "You weren't sleeping before I came in, were you?"

He sucked in a breath. "Uh, no. I wasn't." He said uneasily. "If I tell you something, do you promise not to get mad?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Sure?"

That was a good enough answer for him. "Honestly, I have barely been sleeping at all lately. It's like, every time I close my eyes, I either see my own memories, or my dad's memories or..."

       She turned around to face him, frowning at his words. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how much of a mess your mind probably is." She said quietly, reaching up to brush his bangs out of his face.

       He smiled. "It's okay. I'm already starting to feel a lot better." He echoed her words, which caused her to smile, too.

       "Hey, speaking of your dad's memories, can I ask you something?" She asked him, already worrying that it was dumb to even ask. But, he nodded, so she just continued. "When we saw Zeke in Shiganshina... He and that ugly Titan called me the Tybur girl... Did you see anything about that in his memories...?"

       It was something that had been driving her crazy ever since that day. But, there'd been so many things going on, she never really got the chance to sit down and ask him if he knew anything about it until now.

       He hummed in thought for a minute, then shook her shoulder with a gasp. "Oh my god. I don't know how I didn't realize it earlier."

      "Tell me!" She whisper-shouted dramatically, shaking his shoulder back.

       "There's this Eldian family — the Tyburs. They helped Marley win the war against Eldia, so they're basically the only respected Eldians in Marley." He spoke slowly, like he was recalling it as he talked. "Didn't you say your mom told you that story about your relative coming from beyond the walls?"

       Her eyes widened. "Yes! So she wasn't just making shit up!"

      He shook his head. "Guess not. Congratulations, you're descended from the richest Eldians in all of Marley."

       "That's so dumb." She began to giggle, and he laughed, too. It was probably the most she'd seen him smile in weeks, so it felt good.

       Once they'd finished laughing, he let out a soft sigh, his eyes flickering between hers. "Ara?" He whispered her name.

       "Eren..."

       He brushed her hair out of her face, and his hand lingered on her cheek. "I just... Thank you. For sticking by me. I feel like I can do anything, as long as you're by my side."

       Her chest started to swell, and suddenly there were butterflies raving in her stomach. "Of course, Eren. I'll always stick by your side, okay? No matter what."

       "Do you promise?" He asked her, and his gaze became more intense.

      Without any hesitation, she nodded. "I promise."

      She didn't have any time to react before he was colliding his lips against hers, the suddenness knocking the wind out of her lungs. He clung desperately to her, one hand underneath her and gripping her hip while the other tangled itself into the stands of her hair. He was kissing her like it was the last time he would ever have the chance to.

       He rolled her onto her back and maneuvered himself around so he was leaned over her, hips slotted in between her legs. He had his elbows on either side of her head to keep himself propped up, so his body was basically pressed flush against hers.

       They had never kissed like this before — most of the time, they were either around other people, or they were tired and it was just soft little passing kisses. This was entirely different, though. Araminta didn't even really know you could kiss someone like this. But, she was enjoying it. Really enjoying it.

       Even though she was starting to get dizzy from lack of oxygen, she still found herself chasing after his lips when he pulled away from the kiss. Once again, he was just staring at her, eyes desperately searching her own like they were looking for something.

       "You're so pretty, Araminta." He finally spoke, and even though he was literally her boyfriend, it still made her cheeks flush.

        After that, he dove back in to kiss her again, and this time she was surprised when she felt his tongue pushing against her lip, begging for her to let him in. She obliged, parting her lips enough for his tongue to slip through. Meanwhile, she had started desperately tugging at his pajama shirt, needing it off his body as soon as possible.

       He seemed to catch onto her hint, breaking the kiss once again to start unbuttoning the shirt. She tried her best to help him, but she was so worked up she couldn't get her fingers to stop shaking long enough to help her. Eventually, though, the two of them got it off, revealing his smooth tan skin that seemed to glow under the moonlight.

He was so pretty. He was so, so pretty. No matter how long she sat there and stared at him, taking in every inch of him, she didn't think she would ever be able to get over how absolutely beautiful he was. From his dark, messy hair, to his enchanting eyes that were swimming with different shades of blue and green, to his perfectly toned body and tan skin. He was absolutely the most gorgeous person she had ever laid her eyes on.

And he was all hers.

"Eren?" It was her turn to call out his name, the two syllables coming out barely above a whisper.

"Araminta."

"I really, really like you." She confessed.

He blinked at her. His lips parted, like he wanted to say something to her, but he just shook his head. "I really, really like you too." He laughed.

There was an opening for one of them to say something more, but neither of them did. Instead, he leaned back down to kiss her once more, and they did that most of the night rather than talking to each other.

She wondered if things would have turned out different if she took that opening.

WHEN ARMIN AND EREN HAD FIRST TAUGHT ARAMINTA ABOUT THE SEA, SHE WASN'T REALLY SURE WHAT SHE HAD BEEN EXPECTING.

It definitely wasn't this, though.

After being cooped up inside of the walls for hundreds of years, and dying nearly every time they attempted to leave, the tide had finally shifted for the Scout Regiment. They were finally able to venture out beyond the walls, and not just a short distance away, no, they had gone all the way.

        They just kept on moving South from the walls until they couldn't anymore. And, it was just like Eren said.

       If we rode straight from Wall Maria, what would we find?

       That's right! The sea!

        Araminta could hardly believe it. After years of trying to imagine what it would look like, it was finally there. And it was even more beautiful than she would have ever guessed.

       The water was such a vibrant shade of blue, and seemed to shimmer as it reflected the sunlight above off of its surface. There were waves, that rolled up along the sand, then returned back to the sea. Each time, she could hear the water dancing along the beach, and each time, it made her stomach flip again and again.

       All she could think of, as she listened to the waves, and stared at the deep blue water, all she could think of was how badly she wished she could have been there with her older sister. Marina would have loved it.

       We made it, Marina.

       The corners of her lips curled up, and her vision became slightly blurry.

       We made it.

      Once her boots were off, she trailed after Sasha and Connie in the direction of the water. She couldn't help giggling at the feeling of her toes sinking into the sand. Everything still felt like a dream, she wasn't actually convinced she was there.

       "Araminta! Hurry up! You have to see this!" Sasha yelled at her, as though she had just found something monumental.

       The cool feeling of the water enveloping her feet when she first stepped in made her gasp. "Shit! Why's it so cold?" She cursed, shaking her body as a shiver wracked through her.

       "Because it's water, idiot. Haven't you ever been in a lake before?" Connie asked her. She swatted at the surface of the water, splashing it onto him.

        "Guys! Don't get it in your eyes! It's salty!" Jean began to wail, and Sasha did the same.

        "It can't be that salty. You guys are just babies." Connie replied, then touched his eyes with his wet hands. Immediately, he cried out as well, sinking down so his body was further submerged in the water.

       "Yeah, and who were you calling the idiot?" Araminta smiled smugly at him, then used her foot to push him over further into the water.

       He gasped, blinking up at her with bloodshot eyes. "Oh, you're dead Araminta!" He shouted, then wrapped a hand around her ankle to trip her.

       For a minute, she thought she was gonna die. But luckily, her head didn't even go below the surface, so it was just the rest of her body that was soaked.

        "I'm going to drown you in the burning sea water, Connie!" She screamed at him, but he was already running away with Sasha chasing after him. It was nice, seeing Sasha so active after that scare in Shiganshina. She seemed to be all better now, though, which she was so thankful for.

        Jean wandered over towards Araminta, blinking rapidly to try and get any more saltwater out of his eyes. "This stuff is dangerous." He told her.

        "It's not dangerous, you're just the idiot who got his eyes in it." She laughed at him, and he glared at her for as long as he was able to keep his eyes open, which wasn't for very long.

       As he was walking, though, he suddenly hissed and lifted his leg up like he had stepped on something. He fished down into the water, then pulled out what looked like some kind of rock. Only it was much flatter than most rocks, and smoother, too.

       "Here. For you." He flung it towards her, and luckily she caught it.

        "What the hell is this?" She wondered, turning it over in her hand. She realized there was a thin line running along the rim of the whole thing, and stuck her nail in between. After a few minutes of struggling and forcing Jean to help her, they finally broke it open.

       "Oh! It's a shell!" She realized, and was surprised to see that whatever creature was living inside must have still been alive. It was actually kind of gross on the inside. She noticed a few little bumps on the tissue inside, though, and started to poke at it.

       "Don't! It could be dangerous!" Jean warned her, and tried to take it back from her but she snatched it away from his grasp.

       "It's fine!" She hissed at him. She poked at it a bit more until one of the little bumps popped out. It was a perfect little sphere that was a shiny white color she'd never seen before. She had no clue what it was, but it was pretty.

       "What's that?" Jean looked over her shoulder curiously, trying to grab it from her to look.

       "I can't show you! It's dangerous!" She smiled at him, before running away to find someone she needed to show her discovery to. Jean tried to stop her, but Sasha and Connie had returned, and were set on drowning him.

"Eren!" She called out, cradling the shell in her hands as she tried to run through the water. He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. "Hold out your hand." She instructed him.

He sighed and held out his hand for her. She delicately put the small rock thing she had found in his palm, grinning excitedly. "Isn't it cool? And so pretty? I found it in this weird shell thing. Look, Armin!" She turned to show Armin, and Mikasa came over to look as well.

Eren didn't seem as interested as them. He rolled it around between his fingers, a blank expression on his face as he stared out at the expanse of water in front of them.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Armin asked, his attention now refocused on the sea. "It's just like I said, Eren. A body of water so big, merchants could spend their whole life and still not get out all of the salt."

"Yeah." Eren said. "The sea. It's so damn big."

"Hey, it's like you said, too!" Armin exclaimed. "On the other side of the wall is — "

"The sea." Eren answered him. "And on the other side of the sea is freedom. At least that's what I thought before. But I was wrong. I know what's waiting for us on the other side now, and it's our enemies. Everything we've seen has been exactly as it was in my father's memories."

He turned back to look at Araminta as he spoke, and the look in his eyes made her heart shatter. So, it really was true, then. Beyond the sea, there was a whole continent full of people who wanted them gone from the Earth. Reiner, Zeke, and all of their other enemies were out there, waiting for them.

"Hey. If we did cross the sea, and we killed our enemies..." He turned back to face the sea, and raised a finger to point out in the distance. "After that, would we finally be free?"

Araminta grabbed his outstretched hand, forcing him to link his fingers together with hers. "Hey. It doesn't matter what's on the other side of the sea. Because we're going to face whatever it is together. Right? Together?"

He looked down at her, and at first he didn't react. Then, he finally gave her a weak smile, and nodded. "Yeah. Together."

Then, he returned his attention back to the sea, to their enemies on the other side of it.

Together.

omg. and just like that, arms tonite is finally
complete. she ran from feb 13, 2021 all the way
to december 8th, 2023. i genuinely cannot believe
i actually stuck it out and finished this thing do
you know how insane that is ???

i've said it so many times but im going to say it
again because it's very true and it's very important
to me everybody knows it. this fic is genuinely for
real my baby never have i ever put this much effort
into any piece writing ever. it means so so much to
me and to finally be able to say (at least one
installment) is done is so wild to me.

this isn't the end, though! i will post book 2 in just
probably a few days after i post this chapter so
keep your eyes peeled for that!! maybe i'll take
another 2 3/4 years finishing that one maybe i
won't who knows ??

anyways i just want to thank everyone who read
this fic so so so so much. to see anyone who
enjoys reading it at least half as much as i enjoyed
writing it fills me with so much joy. thank you
guys so much and i hope you'll stick with me in
the sequel too !!

okay that's enough blabbing i think everyone
gets the point!! tysm for reading arms tonite and
the next time i see you will be in flightless bird!