IN WHICH ARAMINTA GETS KISSES A BOY!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE IDEA OF DEATH BARELY FAZED ARAMINTA ANYMORE. After watching not only her family but also thousands of other people killed in the fall of Wall Maria, and after watching her fellow soldiers she'd trained with for three years die in The Battle of Trost, and after watching one of her closest friends turn into a Titan and murder soldiers that were supposed to be his comrades, she had witnessed enough death. Probably way more death than a fifteen year old should witness, but that's beside the point.

What did faze Araminta, though, was the idea of being the one doing the killing. To become the hand of death, and take the lives of other people, was something entirely different that terrified her. She knew it was the only way she was going to survive the bloodbath they were about to walk into, the only way to properly defend herself, but that didn't make the idea any less nauseating to her.

She knew she could do it, she'd already done it once before. She was more concerned how she was going to react to it afterward. After she'd done the killing, after they'd completed their mission, once she finally got a moment alone with her thoughts, what was going to happen to her then? Would she go insane and throw herself in harms way just to escape the awful thoughts plaguing her mind?

As she pondered this hypothetical, her gaze drifted over to Captain Levi. That was someone who knew the answers to all the questions she had, that was the person most equipped to help her. Now wasn't the time to approach him, though. Not when they were busy getting ready to break into a church basement, fight a bunch of trained killers, and retrieve Eren and Historia. And definitely not when she was pretty sure she'd figured out a very crucial piece of information about him that he seemed to be in denial about. Either that, or he was completely oblivious. Both were extremely possible.

So, Araminta settled on saving her questions for when (read: if) they made it out of that death trap alive. Two seasoned soldiers and some kids who just barely graduated the cadet corps a few months ago were more than capable of going up against a group of soldiers who had been trained to kill other humans, right? She hoped so.

Araminta was more adjusted to getting ready to go into a life threatening situation now. Her first time, back in Trost, she hadn't even been able to control her nerves long enough to get her gas tanks locked into place of her gear, but today, she was able to do it no problem. Remembering that day, that felt like a million years, she felt her gaze shift over to Jean, who was working on getting his own gear ready.

She decided she didn't hate Jean anymore. No, she was pretty sure she stopped hating him a long time ago. And now, after all the time she'd spent with him over the last few weeks, she was starting to think maybe she even liked him a little bit. He wasn't the stuck up asshole he once was, back when she first met him.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He suddenly asked her, having taken notice of her staring. She perked up at the question, letting out a small "hm?" noise.

"Aside from your ugliness? No, you're fine." She teased, and he rolled his eyes. "I was actually just thinking... About how much you've changed since I first met you. It's nice." She actually found herself giving him a soft smile, before looking back to her ODM gear.

She couldn't see it, but he smiled, too. "Yeah. I think we've all changed. A lot. Not you, though." That caught her attention, and her eyes darted back to his curiously. "You're still the same, stubborn and determined girl I met back on our first day. You've always had this..." He paused, squinting his eyes like he was trying to find the perfect word. "...This fire inside of you, this burning fire full of hope that can't be put out. It's kind of inspiring."

         Inspiring. She felt her cheeks warm. "See? A few years ago, you would have called that stupid." She mused, and watched him laugh softly in agreement. "Honestly, though... Lately, I've been wondering if I am stupid. If blindly trusting this hope that we can restore humanity to what it once was makes me stupid." The confession slipped through her lips before she got the chance to stop herself, the chance to think about exactly who she was confessing this to. Jean Kirstein, her old enemy, had now become her new confidant.

"You're not stupid." Jean said, and Araminta couldn't help but rolling her eyes at him. "No, I mean it." He reassured her, stepping over to place his hands on her shoulders affirmatively. "You're not stupid. You're probably one of the smartest people I know."

Araminta averted his gaze, instead glancing over at Sasha and Connie, who were currently joking around with each other as usual, like this was any regular mission. She wasn't used to compliments from Jean. He wasn't supposed to compliment her. He was supposed to say annoying things, and be her enemy.

"Hey, Jean, if we make it out of this alive, can I punch your face?"

He was taken aback by her question. "Huh?"

"Ever since we were cadets, I really wanted to punch you. Just once. So, if we both survive, and I punch you?"

He blinked down at her, processing her request, before his lips slowly curled into a smile. "Fine. Just not in the face, this is my money maker."

Araminta laughed. "Maybe at some horse auction, it is."

"Shut up! You know, I've never gotten the horse jokes! I don't even look like one!" He shouted at her, removing his hands from her shoulders to point one in her face. She giggled, swatting his hand away from her.

For a brief moment, she felt young again. For a moment, she was back in her cadet days, eating dinner with her friends, and riling Jean up just to see the way his face got all red, while Connie and Sasha cackled in laughter a few feet away from them. For a moment, she almost forgot that she was going to have her swords turned on real life people in a few minutes. She wished she could marinate in that feeling forever.

"Holm. Kirstein." A new voice broke the illusion, and Araminta looked over to see Levi glaring at them. "It's time. Let's go."

THE MOMENTS LEADING UP TO THE BATTLE WERE A BLUR. Araminta and the rest of Levi Squad, minus Levi, Mikasa and Sasha, roll a bunch of gun powder filled barrels down the stairs of the church, and into the crystal caves that occupied the space below. The plan was simple: create an immense amount of force that would make them difficult targets for the Anti-Personnel Brigade Squad. Then, they would attack.

Araminta knelt close to Sasha as she fired her first lit arrow, launching it at one of the gunpowder filled barrels to cause an explosion. As her eyes gazed around the cave system, she felt a bit bad that they were probably going to destroy such a beautiful formation, however, preserving the space was the absolute last thing on her list of priorities.

At the top of her list was finding Eren.

She began loading smoke signals into her gun, then firing them out into the caverns to aid in creating a thick smog. Mikasa and Levi had already set off, not wasting any time in taking out their enemies. Her fingers remained steady as she loaded the signals, still able to keep her composure even with all of the chaos immediately erupting around them.

"Okay, I think that's good." Hange decided, once they'd filled enough of the cavern with smoke. "Armin, you stay here and keep firing, and Sasha, you keep lighting those barrels." They instructed the two young soldiers, who nodded in response. "The rest of you, roll out!" And with that, they zipped into the air.

Araminta turned to Sasha. "Stay safe, okay?" She instructed. "If you die, then... Then I'll have to kill you."

Sasha tilted her head. "How can you kill me if I'm already dead?" She countered.

"You don't want to find out." Araminta replied, and a small smile crept on her face. "Good luck."

Now it was her turn to launch the hooks of her gear, and propel herself up into the air. She could spot dozens of Anti-Personnel soldiers positioned on the tall crystal columns, and the realization she was going to have to kill them hit her. It wasn't just a hypothetical anymore, now it was actually happening.

But, when she saw one of them hurdling towards Connie across the cavern, she didn't stop to hesitate. It was either his life or Connie's, and even though he might be a bit dumb sometimes, Connie's life was much more important to Araminta.

She let out a grunt and flew towards the soldier, and raising her sword up above her head. Once she was in position, she drove her blade right between his collarbones. The blood from her kill splattered across her face, the same way a Titan's would.

Only this time, it wouldn't evaporate.

Connie turned around to look at her with surprised eyes. "Thanks." He breathed out, glancing down to where the soldier had fallen to the crystal floors. Araminta chose not to follow his gaze, knowing that seeing the body would make the killing ten times harder than it already was.

She stopped for a minute, hanging on the wall to catch her breath, then set off again. Her instructions had been very clear: kill them before they got the chance to kill one of you. Now, that she had gotten her first kill out of the way, she was hoping it would make the task a bit easier for her to complete.

One solider locked onto her as a target, firing one of her shots directly at her, but Araminta leapt out of the way at the last second. The soldier prepared her other shot, aiming it at Araminta, then took fire.

They only had two shots before they'd have to reload.

Araminta narrowly dodged the second shot, then took her chance. The soldier seemed so caught off guard by Araminta rushing in, she barely had any time to come up with a retaliation. In what felt like a split second, Araminta had sliced her blade across her throat.

In an attempt to prevent herself from letting any negative thoughts in that might cause her to spiral, Araminta didn't slow down for a second. She reminded herself that these were the people who had taken Eren away from her, the ones who were conspiring to murder her and her comrades, and it made the job a little bit easier.

At some point, she started to lose count of how many people she had killed. She preferred it that way.

But, something happened. There was a loud smash, and she looked over her shoulder to see that Hange had been flung against one of the columns, and left a trail of blood as she slid down to the ground. Araminta felt her breath catch in her throat, and she almost missed an Anti-Personnel soldier flying right at her. By the skin of her teeth, she was able to slip below him and avoid his shot. She instead came back around, swinging her blade through his back before he got the chance to get to her.

Once he was out of her way, Araminta's attention became entirely focused on her squad leader. She zipped down and landed roughly next to them, slipping her blades into the sheaths so they were out of the way. "Hange!" She exclaimed, the. knelt by their side and rolled them so she could get a good look at their face. Luckily, they didn't look very dead yet. Just a puncture to the shoulder, that they would likely be able to survive as long as they got out of there soon.

"I'm fine, Araminta. You need to go." They told her, but Araminta ignored them, trying to find something she could use to wrap up the wound and apply pressure to it.

"Just let me do this really quick, okay?" She said, untucking her own blood-stained shirt and preparing to rip it. But Hange stopped her, extending their hand and resting it on her own.

"Holm." Hange stated firmly, the formality causing Araminta to freeze up. "As your superior, I am telling you, you need to go."

Araminta's gaze flickered between Hange's wound, and their narrowed, commanding eyes. She wanted to stay, and help them the best she could, but she knew they were right. She needed to help her comrades. With Hange in this state, they were already down one person, they didn't need to lose Araminta's help as well.

She let out a defeated groan. "Okay. Okay. Let me help you sit up first..." Under Hange's uninjured shoulder, Araminta looped her arm, and helped move her squad leader so she could sit back against the column.

"Thank you, Araminta." Hange gave her a weak smile, just in time as Moblit and Armin appeared. "Be careful, okay? I don't want to lose my best assistant." They glanced over at Moblit, who frowned at the statement. "I mean, my other best assistant."

"We can carry them over. You go ahead." Armin told her.

Reflecting on Hange's words, Araminta felt a warm feeling spread through her chest, and she nodded in return. "I'll be safe. You be safe, too." She gave her squad leader one quick salute, before following orders and launching herself into the air to trail behind her comrades.

She had been expecting to catch up with them, and continue their fight. But, the remaining Anti-Personnel Brigade Squad members had retreated through a tunnel, and blocked off the entrance behind them with a giant net. Araminta landed down beside Captain Levi, pressing her lips together into a tight line as she stared at the net in front of them. All movement had ceased from both sides, safe for Armin and Moblit arriving with an injured Hange.

"Shit. It's too bad we used up all of our ammo." Levi grumbled, narrowing his gaze at the net like he might be able to burn holes through it with his eyes alone. "If we go through now, we'll be ambushed. There's nothing we would be able to do."

"What do we do, then?" Araminta asked, glancing over at her captain hopefully. "I mean, they have Eren and Historia back there, don't they? We have to figure out something."

Levi grumbled, lowering his head to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I know. Just give me a minute, I'll think of something."

Araminta didn't know what she was supposed to do. Was she just supposed to stand there, knowing Eren could get eaten at any second, and do nothing? Was she supposed to ignore orders, and get her way through the net, and risk being killed? Considering either one of the options was eating her alive.

Luckily--or maybe not so luckily--she didn't have to debate the options for long.

There was a bright light that came from the other end of the tunnel--the kind of light that signified a Titan transformation, only way brighter--and all around them, the walls started to rumble. Beside her, Sasha lost her balance, nearly falling over if it weren't for Araminta there to catch her.

The dark haired girl felt her heart began to race, and panic set in. "What's going on? You don't think Eren transformed, do you?" She asked as loudly as she could over the noises. She had a strong feeling this wasn't the case, though. Eren's Titan transformation had never been something this intense.

She was more worried it was someone else turning into a Titan to eat him.

"Levi! Look!" Armin shouted, and everyone looked to see Armin pointing at a hole in the ceiling--an escape.

"Okay, you and Moblit take Hange and get the hell out of here! The rest of us, let's go get Eren!" Levi instructed. Araminta waited, watching as Armin and Moblit grabbed hold of Hange, and relaxing once they made it up through the opening, finally getting Hange to safety.

There was no sign of the Anti-Personnel Brigade once Araminta made it on the other side of the tunnel and into the rest of the cavern. She wondered if they'd started evacuating, opting to let the Scouts get to Eren instead of getting crushed by chunks of rock falling from the ceiling while trying to stop them. Araminta was thankful, but it did make her trek a bit more uneasy.

Sure enough, there was a Titan transformation happening up ahead. It was definitely not Eren, though. No, this one was much larger than Eren's Titan ever was, his full size not even visible due to the confined space. It was surrounded by a gust of wind, that nearly knocked Araminta into a wall as she searched for her comrades.

Finally, Araminta located them, and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she finally saw Eren.

There he was, with his arms tied up to the sides, alive and uneaten. A bit bloody, maybe, but still alive nonetheless.

There was a feeling that flooded Araminta's body that she could barely describe--somewhere between relief and adoration. It was reminiscent of a few weeks earlier, when he'd told her he would travel the world with her.

With a grunt, she landed down on the ground beside her friends, digging her heels into the ground to stop herself from sliding. Connie, Jean and Levi were by Eren, frantically using a set of keys to unlock the metal cuffs that held him hostage. Araminta wanted to help, to get up there and snatch the keys away to do it herself, but she didn't want to waste any time by getting in the way. She realized she was standing next to Historia, and also felt relief to see her alive.

"That thing's way bigger than the Colossal, isn't it?" Sasha asked, and Araminta glanced forward to get a better look at the Titan. It definitely was, now that she was able to see it in all its glory. It was hunched over, but still more than double the size of Eren's Titan.

It was absolutely massive, the biggest Titan she had ever seen.

It stretched up, pressing its back against the ceiling, which was no good. The rocky ceiling began to crack, and even more boulders began to fall from above. One in particular began to crack right above where Eren was, and Araminta once again felt her nerves jump to high alert as panic kicked in.

"The ceiling! Look out!" She screamed, just in time for the others to hear her, and drag Eren away from the spot. She watched as the boulder slammed against the ledge where Eren had been tied up, completely smashing it and causing it to collapse. If they had gotten there just thirty seconds later, he would probably be dead.

But he wasn't. He was alive, running over to the wall with the others as the ledge they were standing on continued to collapse more and more.

He was alive.

He took the spot next to her, pressing his back against the wall and breathing heavily as he tried to regain his composure. The sound of his loud breathing really made it set in for Araminta that he really was alive. Once again, Eren had been taken away from her, and once again, she had gotten him back.

Without even realizing what she was doing, she grabbed his arm and wrapped her own around him tightly, pulling him close to her. He snapped his head to look at her in surprise, and when his eyes made contact with her own, all she could think about was how much she adored his eyes.

Araminta had never seen the ocean before, she'd only ever heard Armin and Eren talking about it here and there when they were cadets, but she imagined it would look something like Eren's eyes. A soft blue with hints of emerald green swirling around, and glimmered underneath the sunlight. She imagined the ocean to be beautiful.

"Araminta." He breathed out.

"Hi."

He didn't smile, though. Instead he collapsed to the ground, dragging her down with him. "I'm sorry everyone. I'm so useless." His beautiful eyes became wet with tears, and he squeezed them shut so she couldn't see them anymore. "Ever since the beginning... I've never been the hope of humanity. I've just been completely useless. Even now, there's no way I'm going to be able to save us."

Everyone stared at him, unsure of what they were supposed to say. Araminta assumed they'd all given up hope that he was going to help them, and honestly, so was she. She looked away from him, gazing out at the caverns that had once been a brilliant blue, and were now a horrifying rust color due to the Titan's transformation. The ceilings all around them were caving in, and it was only a matter of time before they were crushed, too.

There had been many times where Araminta was sure she was on the verge of death, and every time, she had somehow managed to escape. When the Titans breached Wall Maria, and she was completely surrounded, Araminta thought for sure she was a goner, but somehow made it out. When she and her friends were stuck at Castle Utgard, with no gear and nobody to save them, she thought that was the end, but then the Scouts managed to show up just in time.

As the ceiling was collapsing, and rocks were tumbling from the sky and shaking the ground she stood on, Araminta was hoping--praying--that this would be one of those times. Maybe Captain Levi would reveal himself to be a Titan, or maybe Reiner would show up and apologize for everything and rescue them, or maybe Commander Erwin would appear with all of the Military Police to aid in their saving.

But the longer she sat there beside Eren, listening to him cry, the more and more unlikely it seemed that something would happen.

Finally, Araminta looked back at Eren, who had at some point had grabbed her hand and held onto it, like she would get swept away by the winds if he didn't hold onto her tight enough. He wasn't looking at her, he was still crying, which gave her enough time to get her own good look at him.

Even though everything around them was falling apart, and they were surely going to die, a swarm of butterflies still managed to stir in her stomach as she observed his features. Even now, with blood covering his forehead and tears staining his cheeks, he looked absolutely angelic.

"Hey, Eren!" She called out over the sound of the rumbling around them, and he finally peeled his eyes open, turning to look at her. "You remember that night, after we fought the Female Titan for the first time? The night after the forest of giant trees?"

She watched his cheeks become dusted a rosy color, blending in with the blood trickling down from the wound on his forehead. "Yeah... What about it?" He yelled back at her, his dark brows becoming furrowed together.

Araminta swallowed hard, gripping his hand tightly. This wasn't the way she wanted to tell him, but she didn't really have a choice anymore, did she? "Well... I like you, too, Eren! A lot!" She shouted, her heart hammering against her chest. He didn't react.

"What?"

"I like you too!" She repeated, shaking the hand that she was still holding. He still didn't seem to hear her. A frustrated groan escaped her lips, and she risked a glance back into the cavern, realizing how quickly time was slipping through her fingers.

In her life, Araminta had made too many mistakes, and wasted too much time. Everyday, more and more regrets were piling up on her shoulders, and for the first time, she wasn't going to let another one get added to the list.

If he wasn't going to hear her, then she would just have to show him.

With a sigh, she dropped his hand, and instead cupped his cheeks. Without any hesitation, she finally crashed her lips against his, and time stopped.

Just like she had imagined, his lips were soft against her own. Smooth and gentle, they fit against hers perfectly, as if they were made for each other. And the swarm of butterflies that resided in her stomach erupted, filling not only her belly but her entire body. Araminta couldn't help but feel like her lips had been waiting to connect with his for their whole life.

For a minute, she forgot all about their impending death. All she could think about was his hands finding themselves on her hips, pulling her closer to him, like he would die if he spent a second away from her, and the feeling of her fingers knotting themselves in the hair on the base of his head.

All she could think about was how much of an idiot she was for not kissing him sooner, because she was probably going to die, and she would never be able to kiss him again. Now, she wanted nothing more than to stay there, in his arm, with her whole world between her hands, and ignore the world crumbling around them.

But he pulled away from the kiss, and she realized she wouldn't be getting what she wanted. He propped his forehead against her own, his hands slipping off her waist and instead finding their home on her cheeks. "Do you know what I was trying to say now?" She breathed out, opening up her amber eyes to meet his pretty teal ones.

"I do." He smiled at her, causing her to laugh softly.

"Hey, lovebirds, break it up!" Connie yelled, and honestly Araminta had forgotten he was there. She slowly looked over at him from across her shoulder, giving him a glare so nasty it should have killed him. "It's gonna be tough navigating our way out of here, you know. We should get a move on."

"Not like we haven't been through worse, though." Jean said, and Araminta glanced up at him. He was looking away from her, and although he appeared to be nonchalant about it all, she swore his eyes looked to be a bit glassy.

"We're not going to be able to escape." Eren urged them, letting go of Araminta and letting his hands fall to his side.

"So, what? You want us to do nothing?" Historia spat. "You want us to sit here and hold hands until we're either crushed or burned to death? Because we're enemies of humanity?"

"You know, I hate doing this to you every time, but..." Levi finally spoke up, looking down at Eren. "You've gotta make the choice."

Araminta returned her gaze to Eren, staring at him with hopeful eyes. He seemed to mull over Levi's words, his brows knit together and his lips pulled into a straight line in concentration. After a few seconds, he looked up at Araminta, his eyes searching her own as he looked for some kind of answer. She knew that he knew exactly what she was thinking, and she trusted he would make the right choice. He always did.

He grabbed her cheeks again, giving her lips a quick peck, like it was the most normal thing in the world, then stood up. He walked over towards the back of the ledge they stood on, then picked up a little vial she hadn't even noticed before. He let out a loud yell, then ran in the direction of the newly forming Titan, and she watched as he stuffed the bottle in his mouth and crushed it between his teeth. There was another light that filled the cavern, and Araminta held up her arms to shield her eyes from it.

When she finally opened them, though, he was in his Titan form, and there was a strange crystal-like material coming out of him. It reached around and up around him, creating the outline of a crystal sphere around him, like armor. It reminded her of the crystal Annie had surrounded herself in, which meant it was probably just as impenetrable as her shell. The liquid in the bottle he had ingested must have given him the ability.

"Everyone! Get under Eren!" Levi shouted, and they all obeyed. Jean grabbed her hand, dragging her up to her feet as he ran past her, and she barely managed to keep up with his speed. She was too focused on observing the crystal structure, entranced by the way it had managed to appear, and the way it didn't even chip as pieces of the ceiling crashed against it. She had never seen something like it.

The Titan in front of them fully pushed up through the ceiling, and it began to completely cave in around them. Just like that, the caverns were being destroyed, and outside of their crystal structure, she could see Anti-Personnel Brigade members being crushed underneath boulders falling from the sky. A tiny part of her felt bad, but she was mostly relieved at least one of their obstacles was out of the way.

She couldn't believe they had managed to make it out of the collapse of the cavern alive. Once again, she had survived by the skin of her teeth, and once again, it was thanks to Eren. The only problem now, though, was the giant monster of a Titan that was crawling away from them, dragging it's long, disgusting body across the cavern floor. She was not looking forward to finding a way to kill that thing.

FINALLYYYYYY AM I RIGHT??? i have
been looking forward to writing this chapter
for years (literally lol).

idk if i've mentioned this b4 but eren and
araminta are ljterally my bsbies i love them
sm i love to see them happy.

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter mwah <3