The Town Hall was beaming with joy and glow that day. Even with an Abnormal attacking Wall Rose, and the unmasking of the King and his Council, the news of the new Queen had brought peace to the people. They saw her slay the Abnormal with their own eyes. Who could be more worthy, if not her?

The genius of Commander Erwin Smith and the optimism of Historia Reiss lead to what could be seen as a new beginning for their nation. With the last few months brimming with new discoveries about the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and the loss of soldiers and citizens galore, there was absolutely no time for personal reflections for anyone.

Ever since the attack on Shiganshina five years ago, and the emergence of Eren Jaeger as a Titan within the Walls, everyone has always been on the lookout - cadets, captains, commanders and civilians alike. The only people to have had the opportunity to visit their homes were Sasha and Connie, and that was only to witness their houses shattered, families lost. While many lost their families during the attacks on Shiganshina, Orvud, Ragako, Trost and other districts, many others did not get the chance to go back to their loved ones for months on end. Their comrades had become their family away from family.

The day of Queen Historia's coronation was a small sigh of relief in a long period of ghastly accidents. The living families of the soldiers - dead or alive - were all invited. The civilians were all asked to gather just outside the Town Hall, where the Queen would address them, after honoring the Scouting Legion for their heroic ventures and sacrifices in the last few months.

The 104th Cadet Corps were lined up on one side of the huge room. Captains Levi and Hange stood near them, speaking. Hange's father had arrived a little earlier and was seated in the audience.

"It is too much for Historia to handle, don't you think?" Eren whined, standing at the front of the line.

"Well, she chose it for herself," Mikasa said, adjusting her scarf, "you heard her say it. The Commander only asked."

"You know that's not true," Eren almost screamed.

"Oi," Levi called out from where he stood with Hange, "shut up already."

Eren stopped whining at the warning, but was not satisfied. He looked up at his friends, with pursed lips and clenched fists. Except for Mikasa, everyone gave him the rolling eye.

"Where is he anyway," Sasha asked, "the Commander? Isn't he supposed to be the one leading us, when Historia calls the Scouts?"

Commander Erwin shouldn't have been hard to notice. He was easily the tallest man in the room. And with his handsome face with those striking blue eyes and prominent eyebrows and only one full arm, he should not have been hard to notice. That would have been the case if he was in the room in the first place. He was in a different room with Pixis, Zachary and Historia, discussing future affairs.

"Hey, isn't that Aura?" the Cadets heard that name for the first time, coming out of Hange's mouth. "Of course it is. Aura! Aura!" She called her out, waving her arms frantically in the air to get her attention. When she did, and the new woman started making her way towards them, Hange tuned to the freshmen and said, "now this is someone you're all gonna absolutely adore."

"Hange! McShorty!" The new woman came running into her friends' arms.

"Jeez!" Levi shrugged, looking dead at his apparently old friend's face, "with that year-long cold shoulder, I could have iced all my whiskey, Aura."

"Shut up, Grumpy! You could have written some letters too, you know." She seemed to have some cool nicknames for the captains already. The Cadets listened on very carefully, trying to figure out who that person really was.

"So..." she rubbed her palm on her arm, and bit her lip, "where is he?"

"He is in a meeting with Pixis, Zachary and the Queen. He'll be here any minute now," Hange answered.

"Is it really true? Has he really.. lost.. an arm?"

"The better one, actually," Levi tried to lighten the mood.

As Aura looked away at the Cadets, Hange rolled her eyes at him, mouthing 'not cool'.
"Connie? Connie Springer, is that you?" Aura seemed to recognize one of the Cadets.

Connie looked up and examined her face. "Dr. Tubrey?" He shook her hand and said, "hasn't it been a really long time, Doctor? I almost didn't recognize you there."

"Yes, Connie, it has been four years since I left Ragako," she touched his shoulder, "I heard about Mrs. Springer, honey. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Connie scratched his head, "I'm not sure, ma'am, if I've really lost her yet."

"Aura!"
The Commander's heavy voice startled everyone. Their eyes met for a brief couple of seconds, before hers shifted towards his flapping sleeve. She immediately looked away, her eyes tearing up. She drew a sharp breath in and walked towards him, putting a smile on her lips.

"Erwin," she called him out, and placed one hand on his cheek, "how are you?"

His stern face almost melted at her touch. As the Cadets kept looking at them in awe, he took her hand in his and said, "I've never been better than I am right now."

As Pixis and Zachary appeared with the Queen Historia, Aura withdrew her hand. The latter, older woman gazed at awe as a 16-year old girl was introduced to her as the Queen of the nation. However, she had heard all the stories about all that was going on in the Scouts, Garrison and Military Police through letters and she knew that Historia was worth it.

"This is Dr. Aura Tubrey, Your Highness," Pixis introduced her, "she was appointed to the Scout Regiments back when Erwin, Nile, Hange and the others were only starting out as captains. If I'm not wrong, that is when she met Commander Smith here, right Erwin?" The old, bald man laughed out, as if mocking the innocence of youngsters.

"The two of them have decided to get married after Wall Maria has been recaptured, isn't that right?"

Aura only half-smiled, getting all uncomfortable. She could only imagine how pissed Erwin must be. "Yes, Sir," he answered, sounding unusually unwavered.

"Oh is that true?" Historia spoke in her child-like innocent voice, "where are you currently appointed, Doctor?"

"In the Ehrmich district, Your Highness."

"Oh! That's pretty close to the palace, right? Were you there when the Commander was taken into custody?"

"Yes, Your Grace, I was in the district. I wasn't allowed to meet him though."
She teared up a little again, only imagining what all Erwin had to go through.

As Historia made her way towards the dias for her coronation, the more interesting subject of concern for the Cadets was the new woman. They stared at her like she wasn't supposed to exist. Erwin Smith's girlfriend? Seriously?

Did Erwin Smith really have a soft side? Was Erwin Smith even lovable? Was he even capable of love?

"From as far as I can remember," Connie whispered to the rest as the coronation ceremony began, "she is the sweetest person you'll ever meet in your entire life. To see her with Erwin Smith... it's surprising! I guess it's true that opposites attract."

"What did I tell you guys about shutting up?" Levi Ackerman gave them his death stare for a solid ten seconds.

As the Cadets stood in silence, they couldn't take their eyes off their much respected yet much feared Commander and his supposed girlfriend.

"They're holding hands! They're holding hands!" Sasha squealed at her comrades. It was too much for the young ones to handle. They could have never imagined their tough Commander Erwin Smith to be in love with someone.

But, he was. He was head-over-heels in love with the woman beside him, and had been for the last 10 years. The only weakness Erwin Smith had was his desire to see this woman one more time before he died. One of the reasons he kept coming back from the grips of death was because he wanted to come back to her. The last 10 months had, however, been the hardest time in their relationship, when two letters a month were all the communication they had. Even that came down to zero in the last couple of months.

"I missed you," Aura whispered to her boyfriend, a little over the music and the chattering in the huge hall. He looked at his short girlfriend with only a slight tilt of his head. "You've no idea," he whispered back, squeezing her hand.

Ever since Eren Jaeger turned out to be a Titan shifter, defying the King and the government had become a hobby for Erwin. And, beyond the wall, his favorite activity has always been a risky suicide charge. People talked about him being a 'devil', a 'monster', a stone-cold hearted asshole for leading so many of his soldiers to death. But, Aura saw a different man when she looked at him. She saw a fearless soldier, a strong man, a determined and strong-willed leader.

When she got the letter of his missing arm from Hange, she wanted to come to him running. But, strict orders in the letters stopped her from doing so. When he was captured by the Internal MPs and taken to Ehrmich, she thought she'd see him. She wanted to fight all their enemies and bring him out of the hellhole he put himself in. But, by then, the number of enemies they had were doubled, and not only were they humans, but also people they trusted. Another letter came to her in the handwriting of Officer Nile, but with Erwin's words, asking her not to come near the palace.

She sent a letter back to the address, with only one line, "Nile, could you please ask him to stop gambling with his own life?"

Ever since he lost his father at the age of 10, Erwin's only dream has been to prove their theory right. When they discovered about the cellar at Eren Jaeger's house and the possibility of some sort of proof of his hypothesis, all he seemed to care about was venturing to Shiganshina. But, that was not true. Yes, he did want to fulfill his life's purpose of proving his father right. But, he also cared about progressing Humanity and was ready to sacrifice himself and his soldiers for the cause.
When, in the battlefield, he got lifted off his horse by a Titan by the arm, he commanded his soldiers to not look back and move forward to save Eren. "I can always be replaced," was his excuse when he was the one who finally saved Eren, even after losing his right arm.

Erwin and Aura were apart for longer than they were together. Yet, their love never faltered. They supported each other through thick and thin, no matter where they were. They completed each other in an odd way. Like Connie said, Erwin Smith dating her seemed like an abomination. But it was true. Their love was happy, passionate, optimistic, strong and they were often envied.

Aura watched from the audience with tears in her eyes, as the Queen honored the Scouts. She put emerald medals around their necks, as the audience applauded for the heroism.

"I don't know what we're celebrating," Eren complained again, "Historia is having the hardest time coping up with all these responsibilities. Ymir is gone. Reiner and Bertholdt are still at large. What the hell are we doing here?"

"Eren Jaeger," he was interrupted by the voice of Aura, "hello! I've heard so much about you."

Eren scratched the back of his head, "hello, Dr. Tubrey! It's nice to meet you."

"I met your father when I was in Shiganshina, Eren. I know that recent discoveries have made you feel like he was evil. But, I want you to know that he was a good man. It may not be my place to say, but I think he had his reasons, Eren."

"Not to be disrespectful or anything, ma'am, but I'd like to disagree. If he really cared about humanity, where has he been for the last five years? And let's not even say that he cared about me. He left me in this hellhole of being a Titan."

"Oh! So, you haven't figured it out yet? Armin, did you?"
Armin's huge eyes shone from underneath his golden hair. "Umm... I..."

"Aura!" Hange interrupted the conversation by jumping into it. "Aura! My beautiful babe! Good God! It has been so long since I've seen you. Nobody listens to my Titan theories anymore. Let's get drunk and discuss science, shall we, sister? You know, like old times. You, me, Erwin, Levi, Moblit.. we could take the kids, if that's okay with the Commander. Oh hey.. I forgot. I think Historia has some news for you."

"How would you like to be reappointed to the Scouts, Aura?" Commander Pixis had the same cocky smile as before as he asked. Queen Historia stood beside him, smiling innocently, beaming at her. It sometimes worried Aura if she'd make an efficient ruler, but maybe, Humanity did not need a ruler anymore.

Erwin stood behind them, a slight smile lighting up his face. She locked her eyes with his for a second, before knowing exactly how that idea came to be. "I guess I'd be very pleased, Commander and Your Highness," she said, letting only the slightest blush touch her face.

"What was she saying?" Eren was still asking Armin the same question when they were all asked to head back to the quarters. "What did she mean? What am I to figure out? Armin, do you know what she was talking about? What is wrong with her?"
"How do you no like her, Eren?" Sasha asked, "she seems like a really nice person."
"Shut up, Sasha," Mikasa cut her off, "you like her only because she's going to feed you food tonight."