Erwin woke Aura up the next day with fervent kisses and cuddles. He had been up all night, like she had feared, thinking about their recurring foe - her smoking addiction. He had tried everything he could think of over the years to get her to quit and they had always worked. She had quit smoking at least 7 times over the last 10 years that they were together, only to get back to it whenever situations worsened.

She was a strong woman, he knew that. She was levelheaded and thought through situations she faced. But whenever someone she loved was in a situation that she couldn't help, she resorted to a cigarette.

When her younger brother died at their Colonith base, with her doing an adamant CPR on him, she had not shed a tear for 2 days. It had only been 2 months since he had been able to get her to quit for the third time. He knew it was sensitive, and only a little stimulation would bring it back. But when she didn't touch a cigarette for two days, he was somewhat relieved. He had held her by her arms and vocally urged her to cry, but she didn't.

Not until her parents had arrived at the base two days later, to claim the body of their deceased son. Erwin wanted to stand outside the room when they spoke to Aura, but Dr. Arthur Tubrey had forbidden him to leave. "You're the boyfriend, aren't you?" he had asked, to which he had agreed politely, producing his hand to shake. The doctor only grunted and looked back at his daughter.

"Chosen to be the next Commander, huh?" he had asked his ward, "tch! I'm ought to say that this was the best decision you've ever made, huh?"

Lena was in the other room, sobbing at the sight of her dead son. She had wanted to go, see her daughter who she knew would be miserable, but was, as usual, forbidden by her husband.

A few 'yes, Father's later, Arthur had still expressed no remorse for his daughter. "You're a disgrace," he had told her as Erwin had to stand there and listen, "and to think that you'll have to carry the name of the Tubrey family ahead! Tch. I told you to just stay at home and learn to do household work. No, you had to become a doctor. Look what you did! You couldn't even save your own brother. For all I know, you killed him."

"Sir," Erwin had had enough. Aura was listening to her father ramble on and on about her failures and misdemeanors. She was used to it. She had specifically wanted to keep Erwin out of it, because she knew listening to her father would enrage him.

"That isn't true," she heard him say, as she stood with her head hanging low, "Aaron had no pulse when they brought him in. Aura tried anyway. She didn't.."

"So now you have a lawyer," Arthur's voice boomed over Erwin's and Aura almost trembled with fear. The tears that had accumulated in her eyes finally fell out and both the men were quick to notice.

"You're not to come to the funeral," her father spoke one more time before leaving, "and neither are you to return home again. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Father," she muttered to herself and broke down on the floor the moment he walked out. "Mom," she whispered, wheezing, as Erwin held her up, "mom." "You want me to call her?" he asked and rushed as soon as she nodded.

The Tubreys were rich. Arthur had arranged for a handcrafted casket to be transported between Ehrmich and Colonith for the resting place of his son. Lena stood next to him, sobbing as his men carefully placed the box in the back of a specially-built, larger carriage.

Erwin found them and rushed to her. "Mrs. Tubrey," he called out. She looked up, recognizing the man from her daughter's stories and letters immediately. "Erwin Smith," she called back, admiring.
"Wouldn't you come meet your daughter?" he asked, "she's devastated."

She kept quiet for a long time, her face flooding. "Lena," he called her by her name, "you can go see your daughter. You don't have to seek permission. Right?" His thick eyebrows were furrowing.

"Of course, Lena," they heard Arthur's voice, "go, see your murderous daughter. You don't need permission. But you know the consequences."

"I'm sorry," Lena muttered and in that moment, the mother looked exactly like her daughter. "You sick bastard," Erwin was about to aim his fit of rage towards Arthur, but she stopped him. "Give her this," she took out a small package from her bag and handed it over, "her favorite cookies. You should have some too." She feigned a polite smile and pinched his cheek lightly.

"Give some to Levi and Hange too, okay? Tell her I miss her, okay?" She looked away, not being able to hold her tears anymore.

The next six months were a challenge to their relationship as Aura had mentally hibernated into a cave that Erwin had been patiently waiting outside of. He had given her the time and the space she needed to adjust to the circumstances, all the while trying to get her to speak to him. She smoked all day, became a little lousy at work and did not open up to him for a very long time. When she did, the revelations of her childhood and family life shook him.

He snuggled closer to her as a few of those memories came back. "I love you," he whispered near her neck as she twisted in bed, still not wanting to wake up. "Wake up," he kissed her again as she tried to fall back asleep.

"What time is it?" she said sheepishly as he tried pulling her up with one hand. "It's half an hour to a very important meeting," he told her, "Levi sent me a note saying you have to tell us something important. So I called everyone in. Half an hour, baby girl, half an hour!"

"I really like it when you call me 'baby girl'," she said, her eyes shutting close again. "Oh my God, what has staying with your mom done to you!" Erwin gave up and dropped himself on the bed beside her.

"Okay fine, I'm up," Aura sat up straight on the bed in less than a minute and looked back at her beautiful boyfriend. "I'm really up," she said goofily, smiling, her hair all disheveled from the peace of sleeping in his company. He sat up too, and kissed her, passionately.

"They send me breakfast in the office nowadays," he said, tucking her loose locks behind her ear, "I asked them to bring yours too." "That's fancy. I guess I'll have to get used to the perks of being the Commander's girlfriend," she smiled and pecked his lips one more time before going off to the washroom.

"Who changed your dressing?" They were on the couch, munching on toast when the new set of bandages caught her eyes. "Sherridan came in when you were sleeping," he said, drinking from his cup, "she gave me Levi's note and then changed the bandages."

"Who's Sherridan?"
"The doctor you're gonna replace! Levi didn't tell you about her?"
"No."

"Hange didn't tell you anything about Levi?"
"No. Why? What's up? There's tea that you haven't spilled yet? Are you fucking kidding me, mister?"

"Okay," he smirked at her, "see, we're not sure of this, okay? Obviously he doesn't tell us. But, there's a possibility that Levi likes this woman. He calls her Sherry when we're not around. We were hoping he'd tell you. Do not ask him anything. I don't want him to hold a blade against my throat just because I told you this."

"Oh my God," Aura looked like she had an epiphany, "and we're gonna send her away? To keep me? No, no, no. If this is at all true, we can't let her go, honey. We have to keep her."

"Well, that's not really possible. Only one doctor is enough for the Survey Corps. We can reallocate her to the nearby Garrison maybe."

"But.. you made arrangements for me to stay here. You can do that for Shorty! Erwin, you're the most powerful person in.. literally.. the nation, right now. You can get anything done."

"That's not true, baby," he laughed out, "we have a Queen and the Commander-in-Chief."

Aura rolled her eyes at him. "Honey, who made Historia the Queen? You. Who staged the first ever coup d'état and overthrew the existing government with one hand? You. Who got his 12th Medal of Valor in 20 years of service yesterday? You. Of course you can do something so simple. Please!"

Erwin never got used to compliments. Especially, if those came from Aura, he always ended up blushing. He pulled her by the leg towards him and made her sit across his lap. "Okay, baby girl," he kissed her lips softly and continued, "if you say so."

The veterans and the Levi Squad came in on time. "Jean, honey," Aura greeted the young recruit as soon as he came in, "can you be a good boy and run to the infirmary and ask Sherry... dun to join us?" Erwin stifled a burst of laughter with a fake cough and Hange knew what was up.

"I think she's packing," Levi said after Jean was gone. "It's okay, Shorty," she said, crossing her legs, "after this meeting, she wouldn't need to." He looked up as she gave him her biggest I-know-everything smile.

Sherridan Davos walked in a few minutes later and Aura could see why Levi could be so unreplenishably in love with her. She was a beauty to behold, with a perfect face and the most beautiful smile there could be. "Hello," she walked up and shook Aura's hand, "nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." Even her voice was beautiful; it was like a song. Her hands were unreasonably cold and Aura looked concerned.

"Your hand is so cold, dear," she asked, turning it up. "Yeah," she smiled, "it happens when I'm nervous."
"You're nervous? Why?"
"I guess.. because of all the packing and moving!"

"Oh," Aura mellowed down her voice, "did you pack already?"
"I'm a last-minuter, so.. I'm kinda struggling." She smiled shyly and Aura's heart melted by the warmth in her authenticity. She smiled back at the taller girl and said, "you don't have to pack. You're not going anywhere."

"What?" Her expressions changed and Aura could say she was somewhat elated.
"Take a seat. Let me tell you what I'm planning to do. If it's at all possible and allowed," she looked back at Levi and Erwin, "then I'll need you and Hange for some brainstorming and some lab work."

"So.. umm.." she started as everyone got calm, "Hange, do you remember how we used to isolate microbes from Titan wounds and culture them to find out if they had anything to do with the regeneration?"
"Yeah," Hange replied, adjusting her glasses on her nose.

"And then you went on to study their behavioral pattern instead because that was more important for the missions," Aura continued, "well, I.. kind of kept looking for an answer to our initial question and read up on research work on tumor happening in different districts and met a few scientists who work on cell cultures. And now that we know that it's the spinal fluid that makes a Titan what it is.. what they are, sorry Eren.. my guess is that the regenerative secret is definitely in that. My first plan of action was to culture the fluid derived from The Ripper, but Levi forbade me to even think about it anymore.."
"And, here we are, still talking about it," Levi scoffed, "tch!"

"What's that noise?" Aura tried disregarding Levi's threat as noise and continued. "Anyway, since that option is not valid anymore, I was hoping," she looked at Eren with eager eyes, "to collect a little bit of Eren's spinal fluid and work on it, if that's okay with everyone."

She looked around expectantly as most people stared back at her with blank faces. She knew that would happen. She was speaking in science, and she expected only Hange and Sherridan to understand.

However, even they had blank faces. Hange looked like a lighting had just passed through her, paralyzing her for eternity. When she finally spoke, she said, "so, you're saying that.. we could make more of it from the spinal sample and use that as...?

"Medicine," Aura answered, "regenerative therapy, maybe. To get back parts that were lost?" She looked back at Erwin and he looked up at her, with a surprise flicker of hope in his eyes.

"So you're saying.." Hange started again, "we're gonna use it to make more Titans?"
"No," Sherry answered for Aura, "we only use the regenerative property of the fluid. Not the shifting property. Right?"

She looked up at Aura and she nodded. When they looked back at Hange, there seemed to be a dark shadow looming over her head. She stared at the carpet below Erwin's desk and chewed her nails. "What happened?" Sherridan asked, "why is she shutting down?"

"She's wondering why she didn't think of this earlier. It's okay, give her some time. She'll be back. So.." Aura looked up at Eren, "will you be willing to go through a little bit of pain?"

Eren stood up, his usual self. "Yes, ma'am," he said, proudly, "I am willing to go through pain, no matter how much, for the sake of.."
"Question!" Hange interrupted Eren's speech, "how do we know it won't cause immunological rejection?"

"We don't," Aura replied, as Eren froze in his salute, "we'll do clinical trials first. Obviously! Levi squad, catch all the mice that you can. And, honey," she addressed Erwin, "I'm gonna take a little bit of tissue from your wound to make a cell line. And, Eren.."

"How much is it gonna hurt?" Mikasa spoke up. This was the first time she spoke to Aura.
"Umm.. I have never really gone through a lumbar puncture procedure myself. But, I've heard from patients that it feels like something's flowing out of you. Well, that's exactly how it should feel like."

Sherridan laughed at this, "I know, right," as if it was an inside joke and looked at Hange, who tried hard to stifle her chuckle. "Oh boy," Levi looked at Erwin, dismayed, "now there's three of them!"

"Eren," they all stopped when Mikasa spoke again, "I want you to reconsider. What's the point if it's gonna hurt you and make you weak? You're the hope of mankind, our trump card. You have to train. You can't be in pain at all times. Please reconsider."

"No, Mikasa," Eren stood up from his seat again, "there's nothing to reconsider. If I can contribute to the cause of humanity by means other than my Titan, I'll do so."
"Son," Erwin tried to calm him down, "sit down. There's nothing to be so excited about."

"Eren," Aura spoke to them, "Mikasa, see lumbar puncture is usually safe. And, it should be even safer for Eren because his cerebrospinal fluid would just regenerate in a couple of hours.. a few hours, depending on his regenerative rate. But, yes.. umm.. do speak with your peers, Eren. Your superiors too, if you feel like. You have to make a choice by yourself. Do not make it too hasty, or too lousy. Let us know by the end of the day?"
"Yes, Doctor," he saluted her.
"Please never ever do that again," she said, nervously, "I'm not a scout."

The recruits had gone for training and the grown-ups had stayed back to discuss some other important aspects. Hange had asked some important questions. "What if the Shifter ability passes on along with the Regeneration ability? How do we ensure that?" she asked Aura.

"Well," she answered, "I met this group of scientists in Mitras last month, who have developed a really strong and accurate microscope that can look at the molecular level of anything. One person is even working on something he calls the light bulb. Apparently all his attempts have failed, but he told me that every time he failed, he felt a little closer to his legacy. Mr. Thomas what's-his-name! He seemed like a genius. Maybe I'll get my hands on this microscope."

"Honey," Erwin tried to bring her back to reality, "I have a really tight budget. Are you sure..?"
"You don't have to worry about it," Aura shut him down, "consider this as my pet project while I'm working here. I'm gonna take care of it."

"Are you sure?" he asked again.
"Yes, I'm sure." When Erwin still didn't look convinced, she said, "I'll ask for it if I need help."

"I'd like to have a few words with the Commander alone," Levi told everyone as the meeting finally adjourned. Aura looked at him with an eyebrow raised. She bent over Erwin's desk to give her boyfriend a nice, wet smooch before leaving. Levi closed the door behind her and stood there, leaning against it.

"What is it, Levi?" Erwin asked, arranging the redone paperwork from the night before.
"I see you're not wearing your ring," the Captain demanded, "may I ask why?"
"Ring? What ring?"

"The one Aura.. she didn't? She didn't ask you anything last night?"
Erwin looked up, baffled.
"Levi? What are you saying?"
"Maybe I've said too much."
"Then, say it all."

"Aura wanted to give you a ring. She wanted to ask you to marry her and plan your wedding.."
"Oh, that's why.."
"What?"

"She did ask me if we should start planning the wedding and I told her it'd be better if we do that after the expedition."
"Why? Why not now?"
"Because.. because everyone's busy right now. A ceremony seems a little over-the-top for a time like this, don't you think, Captain?"

Levi proceeded from the door towards Erwin's desk. "Is that so? Or are you just scared that you won't make it back and leave her widowed and, maybe that's why you don't want a wedding now?"

Levi pressed his palms against the wood of the table and looked deep into Erwin's eyes. "Commander, stay back," he said to him, "retire from the mission and let Hange take over. Let the good news come to you, while you enjoy your honeymoon in Satis. I've heard of the canoe rides at sunset there. A little expensive, but.. well.. how many times do you get to go on a honeymoon!"

"I appreciate your concern, Levi," Erwin held the stare, "but.. Aura actually wants me to go on this mission.."

"Of course she told you that. I'll break your legs, Erwin, if you try to get on a horse and ride to Shiganshina with us. You're in no shape to be in the battlefield against Titans and the only plan you can come up with is gambling your own life. I am not going to let you do that. If not for the Survey Corps, if not for humanity, if not for yourself, fucking do it for Aura."

Erwin looked away, and touched his empty sleeve with his left hand. "Levi," he spoke, his voice quivering like a child who was about to cry, "from a man to another man, I need to do this. I need to go, see the cellar for myself, lead the Scouts one last time. Yes, one last time! I have decided to pass the duties on to Hange and retire after this particular expedition. I too want to start a family, live a peaceful life with Aura. But, I will always live in regret if I don't do this. And that's something I can't overbear Aura with. She deserves more than a regretful man to live her life with, to have kids with, to get old with. I too want to marry her, have a ceremonial wedding with all our friends and family. You know what, I'd do it. I'd marry her before the expedition. If that makes her happy, I'll do it."

"Tch, that wasn't the point.."
"Wouldn't that be an extra motive for me to come back alive from Shiganshina? Yes. Thank you, Levi. Thank you."

"That wasn't the point," Levi's voice rung up louder that he had expected it to be. He quickly regained his composure and asked, "so you'll go to Shiganshina no matter what?"

"Yes," Erwin replied with a straight face, "and this is the end of this conversation."
As he looked away from Levi and started working again, the latter stood in silence for a while.

"I'm hoping to hear about your wedding soon then," he said, putting his hands inside his pockets, "I hope it's okay with you that I'm going to be the one giving her away." And before there was a reply, he stormed out.

Levi found Aura at the mess, drinking tea with the love of his life. Sherridan was an unexpected plot in the story of his life. He was not hoping to fall in love with someone. He was definitely not looking for human company, if it was for more than a couple of nights.

But then, a little over a year ago, the most beautiful woman walked into the Colonith base camp and he found himself awestruck. He had never seen someone so beautiful that they illuminated everything around them. She was the first person who he was never, or could never be rude to. He tried. He tried starting conversations with sarcastic comments about her cold hands or how she was always so nice to everyone. But he failed.

Initially, he only wanted to be the first to sleep with the new hot doctor. But the first time he kabedoned her after their first date, he found himself taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles softly. As he left her in front of her room, dazed by the unexpected softness in his action, he mentally kicked himself so hard, he actually tripped over his own foot.

"Are you okay?" Sherridan had come running to check on him. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, grunting as he got up and left without saying another word.

He walked up to the two doctors. "Oh my God, you're from Satis!" he heard Aura gasp when she heard about Sherridan's origin. He sat down beside Aura as they continued speaking. "It's one of the places that I wanna go to before I.. you know.. die," she said, acknowledging Levi's appearance.

"You should go there with the Commander," Sherridan replied, blushing a little, "the townscape is built for a lovers' trip. The streets are beautiful to walk along, the night sky is clear and you can see the moon on a full moon night and all the stars on a new moon night. There are canoes on the river, that show you around the town and drop you off at places of tourist interest. And I know you have interest in art, so there are a lot of museums you can visit. And, music! There are artists sitting along the pavements, playing on instruments and singing. You would love it."

"Hmmm.." Aura smiled at her, "I wonder how you know so much about me and I know absolutely nothing about you." She arched her eyebrows at Levi and he knew he was in trouble. He immediately admitted defeat and apologized.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up at Sherridan.
"We are sorry," Sherridan corrected him, "more like, I am sorry. Levi did invite me to your get-together last night, but I was so sad that I had to go because of you, I didn't want to meet you."

"I am sorry that I didn't tell you about her anyway," Levi chipped in.
Aura looked back at him in awe, "who are you? And what have you done to Levi? And, who are you?" She looked back at Sherridan, "what have you done to Grumpy McShorty?"

She ruffled his hair up and gave him a hug from the side. "I'm so happy," she whispered to his arm before letting go.
"Who are you?" Sherridan asked now, "and how do you get to hug him?"
"It's because I'm as much of a clean-freak as he is. Captain Levi trusts my microbes," Aura replied, laughing.

They spoke for a while before Levi had to leave for training. He gave his girlfriend's palm a little squeeze across the table before leaving and left both the women smiling at each other.

They spent the entire day together, at the chamber and at the lab. Hange came in several times, and they found themselves in the process of designing experiments even before they had Eren's consent. The day was over and neither Eren nor any of his friends had come in to inform them about the decision.

"Maybe Mikasa convinced him otherwise?" Sherridan questioned her fellow scientists.
"Possibly," Aura replied.
"Highly unlikely," Hange commented, "have you seen that boy's spirit? His Titan is a little bitch on the field, but his spirits never falter. He'd do anything to compensate for all the inadequacies as a Titan."

"Maybe I should go see him myself," Aura started to stand up but sat back down again, "or maybe it would look too pushy."
"How long do you think it would take for us to reach any sort of potential result?"

Sherridan asked, fidgeting with her pencil.
"I'm not so sure, honey," she replied, "depends on the first phase of clinical trials, I guess. I'm absolutely not sure. If we succeed in the mice models, then we'll have to do them on Erwin's tissue culture. If it works there, voila! We have to design some delivery system for it to work, I guess. We'll have to do a lot of tests before we can give it to Erwin."

Hange looked up at her. Heaving a sigh, she extended her arm to squeeze Aura's shoulder. "I can only imagine how much stress you had to go through," she told her, "we were all worried. In the letter, I didn't want to forbid you to come. But Erwin was persistent. He could sense the political resistance, and he was right."

Aura's eyes watered up at the memories of the past few months. Her father's funeral was the last time she saw Erwin and he had to rush back from Ehrmich because of an expedition. They had one night together after the closed-casket funeral like her father had demanded, and in the morning, he was gone.

"I'm just happy that I didn't have to see him," he had said, jokingly. She had rolled her eyes at him, making him promise to come visit her again next month. He did promise but was unable to keep it. Every piece of news in the paper, every letter had kept her on the edge. She wanted to come to him, see him, help him assess the situation, help him sleep at night. But every letter asked her not to. Her anxiety had brimmed and before she knew it, she had given up on her promise to him and resorted to smoking.

"I'm just glad I'm here now," she told Hange, sniffing and stifling her tears back. "We're glad too," her friend assured her, "we need you. He needs you, more than anyone."

They sat at the lab until late evening, going over and over with their experimental possibilities. "We don't even know where Mike was when.." Hange was still telling Aura about the incidents over the span of 10 months, "he was taken. Nanaba was with the new recruits. And then Ymir's Titan showed up. Then Reiner's. And Bertholdt's. We don't even know if there are any other such shifters."

"What about that Annie girl? The one who became a crystal?"
"Yeah, she's there. Still working on it. I don't know.. you should take a look at her. I'll take you to her one of these days."
"And the.. beast? The Beast Titan?"
"All we know about him is that Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie work for him. And that he's disgusting and is totally gay for Eren. And hates us, for some reason."

Sherridan chuckled at that. "For some untold reason, we're stuck with the most useless Titan. I mean.." Aura and Hange looked at her in awe, as Levi's words came out of her mouth. Before they could say anything, the door to the lab opened up. In a very dramatic manner, Eren came in and stood, saluting them.

"Section Commander Hange, Dr. Tubrey, Dr. Davos," he greeted them all, "I have decided. I'm up for the lum.. umm.. thing." Behind him, just outside the door stood a furious Mikasa, clutching to her scarf. And behind her, the rest of Levi Squad, with a range of expressions on their faces.

"Cool," Aura replied, holding her thumbs up to the teenager, "don't eat anything after midnight and tomorrow morning, sharp at 7:00 am, meet me here. Thanks, Eren."

Erwin had tried to keep himself occupied all day. The conversation with Levi had been an eye-opener to him. Of course Aura wanted a wedding! She had been with him through and through, no matter how situations worsened. Their love had been put to test by circumstances, family and duties. And they survived through all that.

Aura supported him and believed in him more than anyone ever did. When she opened up to him about her childhood traumas as the daughter in a son-enthusiast family, he was assured they had no more secrets between them. She had kept this part of her life from him for two years, not willing to let the past hurt her present. She had grown through it, after all. With her mother's support and her own will, she had brought herself up to be one of the most sought after doctors in the Council.

Erwin had dreamt of marrying this strong, independent woman a long, long time ago. But he was a man of logic, not to be driven by emotions. He had persuaded himself to not expect ahead and bring disappointment to himself. But when she stuck with him through thick and thin, he wondered if there would ever be any disappointment with this woman in his life.

On a drunken night, two years ago, after they had just made ardent love, they had promised to each other to get married after Wall Maria was retaken from the Titans, if there was a possibility. They had no knowledge of Eren's abilities, after all. After that, they had often spoken about it, even told their friends and family about it. The news even went to Dot Pixis through many of the old man's spies. But they never got around to working out on it.

He came back to his room from an evening of meetings to find Aura standing by a candle with a fat book in her hand. He stood by the door for a while, absorbing the scene in front of him. It had been months, he thought, that he had had the chance of staring at her like that. No, that was wrong! He did it that very morning, when she was peacefully sleeping in his bed.

A slight creak in the wooden floorboard gave him away and she looked up. "Hey," she said in a cherry tone, "guess what? Eren said yes."
"Wow," he came forward and tossed the ration logbook on his table, "congratulations, honey," and kissed her forehead.

She giggled like a little girl as he held the kiss for a little longer than expected. "Do you like my new I'm-getting-old glasses?" she asked, adjusting her glasses, as he finally let her go. "Yes, baby," he replied, looking at her adoringly, "you look very pretty. What are you reading?"

"Just.. something about cell cultures. I thought I should brush up on my barely-there knowledge."

Erwin smiled at her. He had something in mind. He should have done this earlier. And if she wanted to do it again, she could. But now that he had ruined her one chance to speak, he'd be the one to do it. He was always ready for speeches, he had concluded and the ring.. he had had it in one of his trunks for years.

It was his mother's, the woman he never saw and it was to be given to Aura, the woman who meant the world to him. He wished sometimes that he could introduce her to his father. Mr. Smith would have really liked her.

"What's up?" Aura broke his reverie, "what are you thinking about?"
"Only about my father."
"Oh," she left her book on the table and took him in an embrace, "that hasn't happened in a long time. You wanna talk about it?"

"Oh, I wanna talk about a lot of things. Do you have the time to take a bath with me?"
"You wanna take a bath? You sure we'll talk in the bath? You want me to set it up? I got some really nice bath salts from Ehrmich. You want me to try them?"

Erwin nodded to all her questions and she smiled and left for the bathroom. As she set up the bath, he went through one of his trunks where he remembered keeping the ring hidden for so many years. When he took out the box and opened it, it had a few other items inside.

He knew all of them by heart. A couple of love letters from his father, a diary, a woollen amigurumi doll his mother had made when she was pregnant, a cheap pearl necklace with matching earrings and a beautiful, beautiful ring. He took it out and examined it in the candlelight. It had lost it's shine over the years, but the stone in the middle was still shining with all the love it was presented with. He had shown Aura everything from the box, except the ring.

"Honey," Aura walked back into the bedroom and he quickly put the box away. "I need to change your dressing afterwards," she said, leaning against the wall, her hands wet, "can you go down to the chamber and get a cap for your arm? I still need a little bit of time with the bath." He nodded and left.

When he came back, he also had a little bouquet of peonies in his hand. What had come over him, he had no clue. But when he went downstairs, something urged him to go outside and get her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. In a world of war, he had to make his share of love feel as special as he could. "Oh wow," Aura admired the gesture, "looks like we're gonna have a real heart-to-heart."

"What's that?" she asked as Erwin put down the box beside the bath. He was already undressed, his wound covered with the cap to prevent it from getting wet. "It's one of the things I wanna talk about," he said, getting into the tub. "Oh, boy!" he exclaimed as he sat down, the pressure of the salts engulfing the lower part of his body, "this is.. umm.. exotic."

Aura smiled at him as she undressed too. "We're gonna talk," she smirked at her boyfriend, who watched her with his chin resting on his palm as she took her clothes off and tossed them away. "Of course," he assured her, giving her his hand to help her inside the tub.

The water rose to her chest as she sat down and snuggled closer to Erwin. He embraced her from behind and put his head down on her shoulder. Aura caressed his face and scratched his slight sideburn with her long nails. "Talk to me," she whispered, feeling the pressure of the bath salts all around her body.

"What were you thinking about before? What about your Dad?"
He smiled softly. Pecking her neck, he said, "he'd have really liked you, you know. He'd have been really glad that we chose each other. He'd be thankful to you for everything you've done for me.."

"And everything you've done for yourself," Aura added, shifting in between Erwin's strong thighs.

He smiled and said, "this is exactly what you've done for me. Without realizing and trying to take any credit for it, you've made me a stronger and better person than I was before. And, I'm thankful for that. I love you for that. I still remember the time before you, only because it was 28 years and I don't want to. I wish I had met you earlier and kept you for longer.."

"You have me for the rest of my life," she said with a little pang in her chest, "that's definitely gonna be longer than now."
"I do, of course I do. And my father would have been glad that I do. I wish you met him. You would have liked him too. Do you have a cigarette?"
"What?"

"I wanna smoke. Do you have one here?"
"Are you sure?"
He nodded. She wiped her hands on the towel kept nearby and rose from her position. As she looked for the pack of cigarettes she had kept on the shelf, Erwin stared at his beautiful girlfriend's body. He could change angles of sight and she'd still be beautiful to him.

Her body was still plump like before, soft, malleable to his touch. Like a waterbody, she could contain him without distorting herself, wash over him sometimes gently and sometimes like a ferocious tide. She never backed off from taking him on boldly. Her body was a work of art to him, something to pay homage to and violate as he wished, and as she demanded.

"Here," she sat back down and handed him a cigarette, putting the ashtray down beside Erwin's box. When she took one out for herself, he sighed. "How many more in that pack?" he asked. "Five," she answered like an obedient child.

"Can we finish this pack together tonight and try to quit from tomorrow?" he asked, as she lit it. She looked back at him and nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, smoking, letting their breaths make all the sounds. "You remember that box?" he asked, pointing the burning cigarette towards the case on the floor. "I think I do," Aura answered, "is that your mother's box?"
"Hmm.. do you remember everything that's in there?"

"Ohh.. is this a memory game?" Her eyes started shining, "because I'm very good at that. Okay.. so there are two letters from your father.."

He smiled at her innocence. Sometimes, he felt like she was still a child, trapped in a 35-year old woman's body. He also knew that the feeling was mutual. He kept nodding as she got all the contents right gradually.

"I actually started making a case like that," she informed him, smiling at a memory, "but you write me so many letters, it started overflowing. Now there's an entire drawer in my room with all your letters."

"It can stop," he said, nuzzling his nose under her ear. "How's that?" she asked. Her cigarette had burned out and she stubbed it on the ashtray. She watched Erwin as he extended his arm to retrieve the case they were just talking about. "There is one more thing in this box," he said, handing it to her, "that I never got around to showing you. Open it."

Aura took it and opened up the case. From behind her, Erwin produced his hand again and pulled her closer to his body. She giggled out, adjusting her legs on top of his. Although she had only seen it once, just like her boyfriend, she remembered all the contents of the box by heart. They meant so much to him after all.

All, except one. She noticed how everything in the box was neatly arranged to make room in a corner for one particular thing she never saw or heard of before. It was a ring, a simple yet elegant ring with a beautiful stone at the center. It was as if her heart stopped beating as she realized what this was all about.

Erwin wiped his hand on the towel and picked out the ring. "This was my mother's," he said, holding it up for her, "it's not much, I know, but.."

"It's perfect," Aura whispered, tearing up. She turned her face to look at him and he was in a similar state. She put the box back on the floor, turned her entire body towards him and descended her lips on his, claiming him to be her own.

The kiss was desperate, tears running down both of their faces. Her hands attempted deliberately to smooth out the scars of war from his back and torso as she tasted herself in his mouth. His nose crinkled every time he shifted from one side of her face to the other and he knew he could go on like this forever.

The lips of the woman in front of him claimed him to be her own, and he was. For this lifetime and all other lifetimes there were, if there were any.

Finally they parted for breath. Aura pressed his head against hers with her hand at the back of his neck as she breathed heavily on his face. "I'm sorry," she apologized, assuming the kiss was too needy.

She was still crying, overwhelmed with the idea of him asking her to marry him. Even though she had prepared an entire speech to tell him, she had not prepared herself for an event like this. She did not know how to act when he was to ask her, or give her his dead mother's ring.

He smiled briefly before putting the ring up in front of her again. "I want you to have it," he said, breathily, "and, yes, we should plan the wedding. And I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention last night." Aura looked up at him, tears pooling up in her eyes and rolling out constantly. "I don't know what to say," she said, her breath punctuated by mild hiccups.

"Say yes?" he looked at her innocently, "and let me put it on you?"

She nodded and was about to present him her hand, but stopped midway. "Wait, let me get the one I got you," she said, quickly rising from the tub and escaping the bathroom, water dripping all over the floor from her body.

She was back in an instant with a small box in her hand. She got back into the tub, and rubbed her tears away.

They quickly exchanged the rings and kissed again, smiling, but passionate still. "Now, let's go," she spoke as soon as they parted, sniffing a little, "I have to change your dressing."

"Umm.." Erwin stopped her as she was about to get up and leave, "we have a situation." He looked down at the water in the tub and so did Aura. "Oh boy!" she laughed out, looking at his erection. It looked even bigger under water and she swiftly dipped her hand to hold it.

As he looked up and smiled at her, she commanded him, "stand up." As he did, all the water fell from his body and he looked like a God.

Aura realized that the water was not putting up much of a facade, he was big in air too. "How about we utilize this chair?" he asked, pointing at the saddle stool they had at a corner.

He went up and sat on it, joining his legs for her to sit on them. But she came and parted them up, her body arousing him with every movement. Without breaking eye contact, she knelt between them, gripping his thick member with the ring-adorned palm.

"Oh baby girl," he breathed out as her lips merely brushed the top of his phallus. Her tongue spiralled on the underside of his huge length, as her head torturously bobbed up and down on him. His breath hitched every time he looked down at her, seeing her in a tireless action.

His hand found itself proceeding for her hair and tangling in her locks, softly caressing her head. Her hands played with all his organs as her mouth mapped out the surface area of his massive cock, until she had a different idea in mind.

"You wanna come up here now?" he asked, panting, as she took him out of her mouth. She shook her head, peeking at him through her lashes as she held her breasts up and put them around him. "You got to be kidding me," his breath hissed out as she rubbed flesh against flesh.

"I'm dealing with the situation," she said cockily. He smirked at her, feeling himself near his edge. He fondled one of her breasts, rolling the nipple between his fingers as he came all over her. With a quiet grunt, he released entirely on the tops of her ample breasts.

"The things you do to me, Mrs. Smith," he smiled at her, looking completely satiated, as she washed herself. She looked up at the term of address and smiled back hugely.

"Come on now," she said, getting out of the tub and wrapping herself with the towel, "we absolutely have to take care of the dressing now."