IN WHICH ARAMINTA TURNS SIXTEEN!
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ARMS TONITE  ∕  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

BIRTHDAYS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER THINGS, were a memory lost to time following the fall of Wall Maria. Before the tragedy had struck humanity, Araminta and her family had loved celebrating each others birthdays. Whether it be with a special dessert, or a new blanket her mother had knitted up, the Holm family loved to find something special to do.

Now, though, birthdays had become an afterthought. Most of the time, Araminta barely even knew what day it was. One day she would be one age, then a few weeks later, she'd realize she was a year older. In a world where any moment could be your last, there was no time to dwell on something as mundane as birthdays. In fact, Araminta had a hard time remembering her own birthday now.

But, things were starting to change. After defeating Rod Reiss's one hundred meter tall Titan (that was mostly Historia's work), and bringing Eren back home, the Scouts had been blessed with a very rare gift--a chance to slow down, even if it was just for a minute, and catch their breath.

They didn't have to worry about the corrupt government trying to shut them down, or a secret, royal bloodline plotting to eat one of them. Instead of worrying about all of that, the Scouts were now preparing for the coronation of their nation's new queen, Historia Reiss. Due to all the planning that went into something of that scale, Araminta was well aware of what day it was.

It was October 27th. The day before her birthday.

Truth be told, the date had totally crept up on Araminta and caught her off guard. The realization that she had lived another year, that she had somehow not died yet, was absolutely insane to her. Though, she knew she shouldn't speak too soon, since she had one more day, and that was more than enough time for her to die.

Today wasn't about her, though. Tomorrow, she could have an existential moment and contemplate her sixteen years on Earth. Today was about Historia. The new queen of the walls, the slayer of the biggest Titan humanity the world had seen.

Since they were cadets together, in the 104th cadet corps, Araminta had witnessed Historia make a complete 180. If you had told her a year earlier that Christa, the sweet girl from her cadet class, would become the ruler of the walls after slaying the biggest Titan the world had ever seen, she would not have believed you.

Since they'd been on the run, it had been a few weeks since Araminta had gotten to wear her Scouts uniform. The old khaki jacket being pulled over her gray button up brought a wave of comfort over her body, and it really settled in that she was safe. Maybe not for long, because who knew what the future held, but even a moment of safety was a moment that was more than welcome.

Once she was in her uniform, she stood in front of the mirror of the room she was given, taking a minute to get a good look at herself. Appearance wasn't something she was usually too concerned about, but today she was very stressed about it, and she knew exactly why. All of the military that was currently stationed in Wall Sina would be at the coronation, and fortunately (or rather, unfortunately) for her, that included Eren.

Araminta had no idea where she and Eren stood now. She'd confessed her feelings for him, and they had kissed, and she thought that meant they would be together now. But when she had seen Eren the day before, things had been incredibly awkward. He had stiffened at the sight of her, and avoided eye contact without making it painfully obvious. Did he not like her anymore? It was he just in the same boat as her, and didn't know what exactly came next.

She was seeing him, though, and though she knew it was incredibly lame, she wanted to look pretty. Her inky hair that was usually kept up in a ponytail was instead left down today, and she was shocked when she realized how long it had gotten. She had to tuck it behind her pointy ears to keep it out of her face. She wished that she had some of the lip balm her mother would wear every once in a blue moon that tinted her lips red, something her father always liked.

As she observed herself in the mirror, her gaze drifted to the reflection of the window, where she spotted a bush that grew red berries. An absolutely ridiculous idea popped into her head, and before she could even stop herself and think who what she was doing, she was practically running across the room and throwing the window open.

With a small red berry pinched between her fingers, she returned to her spot in front of the mirror, giving it a soft squish so the red pigment oozed out onto her fingertips.

"Araminta!"

Just as she had started to rub the berry guts onto her lips, there was a loud bang on the door, causing her to jolt and smear the pigment onto her cheek. Araminta stared at the mirror in horror, realizing how incredibly crazy she looked now. The door opened up, and thankfully it was just Sasha, but even she immediately noticed the stain on her skin.

"Oh, did you try to eat one of those? I tried one earlier, it wasn't very good." She commented, and for a second, Araminta thought she was off the hook, but then she gasped loudly. "Wait! Were you trying to stain your lips?"

"Shut up!" Araminta hissed, rubbing the sleeve of her jacket across her skin.

Sasha began to howl with laughter. "Oh my god! Never in my life did I think I would see Araminta Holm trying to do makeup!" She cried, and leaned against the wall before she fell over.

Araminta rolled her eyes, pulling her sleeve away to see the redness was mostly gone now. "And you didn't see me trying to do makeup! That's not what that was!" She snapped at Sasha, throwing a pointed finger in her friends face. "If you tell anyone this happened, I'm going to kill you. Especially Connie!"

        The brunette was still giggling, though, and Araminta thought she might die of embarrassment. This was at the top of her list of regrets, overtaking even her crush on He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.  A part of her was contemplating jumping out of her window and running away to join a traveling circus. She certainly felt like a clown after that little stunt.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! It's cute, honestly!" Sasha tried to reassure her as Araminta led her out of the room. "You must really like him if you're willing to use some random berry as a lip stain."

"It has nothing to do with Eren!" Araminta whisper-shouted, praying none of their comrades staying in the same hallway would be able to hear her. "I was just... You know, I'm turning sixteen tomorrow, and — "

"Tomorrow's your birthday?!" Sasha's eyes widened, and her voice boomed through the space. Araminta gave her a panicked glare, but Sasha brushed it off. "Oh, wow! If you're going to be sixteen, that means I'm going to be sixteen next year! We're going to be old!"

Araminta snorted. "That's not old. You know who's old?"

"Captain Levi." As if she could read her mind, Sasha answered, which made the two girls begin to giggle. Araminta was proud of herself for successfully diverting the conversation away from the scene in her room earlier. She was hoping Sasha would just forget about it, and not bring it up again.

They made it outside, where they found most of the scouts had already gathered up. Araminta's amber eyes scanned the group of them, and unsurprisingly found Eren immediately. He was talking to Mikasa and Armin, with a wide smile spread across his cheeks that made her heart melt. Sasha gave her a knowing look, and Araminta quickly responded with the most intimidating glare she could muster up.

"Sasha! 'Minta!" Connie was the first to notice the two girls approaching, greeting his friends with a wide smile. "I was starting to think you two weren't going to show up!"

"Ah, you can't get rid of us that easily, Connie." Araminta replied, patting him atop his buzzed head before he got the chance to fight her.

"Araminta!" Hange sang out, and Araminta turned to see her favorite squad leader approaching. "Come find me after the coronation! I have something very important I need to talk to you about, okay?"

Araminta grinned, and nodded back at them. "Yeah, of course! Something good, I'm hoping?"

"You'll have to wait and see~!" They replied, then just as quickly as they had appeared, they left to return to their conversation with Levi. Araminta wondered what in the world Hange wanted to talk to her about, but had a feeling it was going to be something she should be excited about.

She was so excited, in fact, that she almost forgot about the thing that had been stressing her out so bad just minutes earlier. There was a tap on her shoulder, and the girl spun around, expecting to see Sasha or Connie, and instead finding a familiar pair of teal colored eyes boring into her own.

It wasn't until he was standing directly in front of her like this that she realized just how tall he had grown over the last few months. A few years ago, they had been about the same height, but now it felt like he was towering over her. If she kissed him now, she'd have to step up onto her tiptoes.

"Hi." Araminta greeted him.

"Hi." He replied. "Your hair looks nice. You should wear it down more often." He told her, his fingers reaching out to play with the ends of her locks.

She smiled. "Yeah. It's not very convenient for Titan killing, though. Gets in the way."

She watched has his gaze drifted from her eyes down to her lips, and she thought he might kiss her again, which she really hoped he did. Instead, though, his eyebrows furrowed together, and he leaned forward to get a better look. "Are you wearing... Makeup?"

"Sasha made me try some of these berries she found." She quickly lied, stepping back so he would stop looking. "I'm surprised you noticed, though. Since you were avoiding me yesterday." She didn't mean to come across as so confrontational, but she was so desperate to change the topic.

He frowned, letting his hand fall to his side and her hair slip out of his fingers. "I know... I'm sorry, I just... I don't know how I'm supposed to act, now." He confessed, and she felt relieved to hear him say that. At least she knew it wasn't because he had lost interest in her.

"I know. It feels a little weird, right?" She asked, and he nodded. "We should talk about it... Later, though. Not when all of our friends are here watching us." She made a point to glance at Sasha, who she knew had been watching their interaction like it was her own form of entertainment.

Eren also looked around, spotting their brunette friend who quickly looked away and started talking to Connie when she realized they'd both noticed her staring. Araminta rolled her eyes at her friend's actions, returning her attention to Eren. She'd been to focused on the fact that he was there at all to really get a good look at him.

Ever since she'd realized her feelings for him, and especially since she kissed him, a giddy feeling washed over her body just from looking at him. Just her gaze grazing across his features was enough to make her heart feel like it would explode out of her chest. A small part of her wondered if that was what it felt like, that feeling she had been trying to figure out for so long. But even just contemplating that possibility overwhelmed her, and she wasn't sure she could think about that.

"Eren!" Sasha had finished up her conversation with Connie and appeared next to the two of them. "I need to talk to you after the ceremony."

"Me?" He looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Why?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Just trust me! It's important, you won't want to miss it!" She told him matter-of-factly. "Oh! Bring Armin and Mikasa, too."

"Hey, what about me?" Araminta frowned.

"Oh, um... You're talking with Hange, right? Sounds like you'll be really busy, we can talk later." Sasha assured her with a wide smile.

Araminta glanced over at Eren, exchanging a suspicious look, before looking back at Sasha. "Okay, later." She shrugged, and Sasha nodded. She gave one last look to Eren, then made her way over to Jean. Araminta followed her friend with her eyes, watching as she began to chat it up with Jean.

Jean was another person who confused Araminta. When Eren had been gone, and they were on the run from the Military Police, Araminta thought they had grown close. She'd started to consider him a friend — which was crazy, for how much she used to hate him. But, now he was avoiding her.

Had she done something wrong since the last time they spoke? Maybe it was because she told him she wanted to punch him, and he was running away so she didn't get the chance. That was very possible. As much as she hated to admit it, though, she'd rather be able to talk to him again than punch him.

"Do you think I should be worried?" Eren spoke up, dragging Araminta out of her inner monologue. She let out a soft hum of confusion, then processed what he was talking about.

"With Sasha?" She asked, then laughed. "Probably. She might be putting together a heist to rob some local butcher of their finest meats or something."

Eren let out a small laugh through his nose, glancing down at his shoes. "Yeah, probably..."

There was something he wanted to say, Araminta could tell, but it seemed like the words got stuck in his throat. He flexed his fingers, and Araminta had a feeling he was itching to lace them together with hers the same way she wanted to with his, but she chose to let him make the next move. Unfortunately, he didn't do anything, instead balling his hand into a fist and letting it fall to his side.

"We'll talk later?" He asked her, and she nodded almost instantaneously.

"Yeah. Later."

He nodded in confirmation, his eyes flickering up from the pavement to gaze into her own. "Okay. Later." He repeated, and then he began to slowly back away, probably to go back to Armin and Mikasa.

"Later." Araminta repeated the word for a final time, and a grin appeared on his lips before he turned to face away from her and jog back over to his friends.

Later.

Now, the dark haired girl stood alone, watching her friends conversing one another. Connie, Jean and Sasha, deep in a very secretive, hushed conversation with one another, and Eren talking excitedly to Armin and Mikasa. A small part of her felt left out, watching them from the outside, but the much larger part of her enjoyed watching them. A warm feeling spread through her chest just from watching them.

Araminta never imagined herself growing attached to people ever again after her family died. The idea of getting close to someone just to have them ripped away was unbearable. But, she'd made the mistake of letting her guard down. At first, it was only for Sasha, a girl who had forced her way into Araminta's life, but pretty soon, she'd let all of them in. Somewhere along the way, these six comrades had become  some of the most important people in her life.

Araminta didn't know if she'd ever experience being apart of a family again, but if she had to imagine, this would be pretty damn close.

THE CEREMONY WAS NICE. Historia made a few vows, Araminta still didn't know who the guy that placed the crown onto her blonde hair — a priest, maybe? — then she was officially named the Queen of the Walls. Araminta still hadn't fully processed the fact that the shy girl who she had once envied over something as trivial as a boy was the ruler now. But, she also couldn't imagine anyone more fit for the job.

Now that it was all over, though, it was time for Araminta to talk to Hange. She wasn't quite sure what to expect from her talk with her superior. All she could do was hope that it was something good, she wasn't sure how she would be able to live with herself if she'd somehow done something to disappoint them and prompt them to have this conversation in the first place.

After what felt like an eternity of wading through the sea of people that had attended the coronation, she found them, in deep conversation with Commander Erwin. Even though Araminta had charged into battle with her commander many times, there was still something about the way he carried himself that made her immediately feel intimidated in his presence. She quickly fixed her posture and crossed her heart over her chest once she was in their presence.

"Squad Leader Hange, you wanted to talk to me?" She asked, eyes flickering over to the commander for approval. His mouth froze mid sentence when he realized she had appeared, and the corners of his lips slowly quirked upward, almost like he was amused.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Araminta, no need for all the formalities!" Hange waved her away, beginning to sound like a broken record, and Araminta hesitantly lowered her hand. "Erwin, this is the girl I've telling you all about."

Erwin nodded. "Yes, Araminta Holm. We met briefly in Trost, and I've heard all about her since then." He said, giving Araminta a small smile.

She didn't like the sound of that. "You do?"

"All good things, Araminta!" Hange was quick to reassure her, throwing one of her arms around her shoulder. Araminta looked to Erwin for confirmation, and he nodded once again.

"Yes, all good things, I promise. Hange and Levi only have good things to say about you." He winked playfully at her, and Araminta felt her cheeks burn at the praise. Hange talking good about her, that was more or less to be expected, but she couldn't imagine Captain Levi talking about her to Commander Erwin. "Well, I'll leave you to tell her the good news then, Hange." He gave the two of them one last nod of acknowledgment, which Araminta mirrored, then he disappeared into the crowd.

Good news. Good news? Well, that certainly lifted a weight off of Araminta's shoulders.

"Yes, Araminta, the good news!" Hange sang, slipping their arm off of her shoulder so she could instead stand in front of her. "So, now that we know all about Eren's ability to create that same crystal material that Annie used, I'm hoping to do some experiments to see how that can be of use to us, and since you're close to Eren, and interested in this stuff..." They paused, and Araminta stared up at them with wide eyes in anticipation. "I would like for you to be the leading assistant in my research.

Araminta gasped.

"After Moblit, of course, since he's my lead assistant on everything, but he doesn't really count, does he? So, yes, I'd like for you to help me out with this research!"

Araminta couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her! Araminta Holm! Helping with Titan research, the kind of research that could help humanity rid Titans once and for all! Excited wasn't a big enough word to describe how she was feeling. "Oh my gosh, yeah, I would love to! Thank you!" She couldn't contain her excitement as she looked up at Hange, an impossibly large grin forcing its way onto her cheeks.

They grinned right back at her. "Perfect! Thank you, Araminta, I knew I could count on you! This is going to be so much fun!" They exclaimed, and before Araminta could stop them, they were pulling her in for a hug. She hesitated at first, unsure how to react, but let herself sink into their arms.

Hange's hugs felt safe. Like as long as Araminta was hiding in their arms, nothing could harm her. It was a feeling of comfort that Araminta hadn't felt since she was a little girl, back in Shiganshina, when she would be enveloped in warmth and feel a gentle hand caress the back of her head, and remind her everything was alright. It was a comfort that Araminta didn't realize she had been missing so desperately until that moment. That epiphany sent her into a panic, when she remembered what happened to the last person who provided her that comfort.

So, she abruptly pulled away, clearing her throat. "Um, thank you, Hange. I promise, I won't let you down." She forced a smile, and although Hange was eyeing her suspiciously, they didn't say anything. "I will see you later."

"Okay... See you, Araminta." Hange smiled softly at her, and though Araminta couldn't read their mind, she could sense a bit of understanding.

As much as she wanted to allow herself to let her guard down, and accept that she deserved to experience a little bit of comfort after everything she went through, she wasn't at that point yet. But, maybe she would get there, soon. After all, things were starting to look up for her.

ARAMINTA DIDN'T SEE EREN THAT NIGHT. When they'd said, "we'll talk later," she hadn't necessarily assumed it would be the same day, but a small part of her hoped it would have been. The longer that time went by, the longer she went without talking about it, the more nervous she was beginning to feel, and the more her mind began to wander.

She didn't see him that morning, either. In fact, she barely saw anyone. She assumed most of her friends were busy, whether it be training or wandering around Wall Sina while they had a few days to themselves. Whatever the reason may be, she only caught glimpses of them throughout the day, and they seemed to run away whenever they saw her coming. Even Sasha, who made up some excuse about having to wash her horse and excused herself the second Armainta sat down across from her in the dining room.

After a long, grueling, and very lonely day, Armainta was planning to head out to the sparring grounds that were set up outside the Military Police compound they were currently staying in to get in a bit of practice, just to be sure she wouldn't get rusty before they headed out to retake Wall Maria in a few weeks. She had gotten used to working out at night, especially after all the long hours she'd spent with Eren when they were both just cadets. But, one of her friends finally decided to show their face.

It was Mikasa, who caught her just as she was walking down the hallway to her room to change her clothes. "Araminta." Mikasa had greeted her flatly, and the way she had basically emerged from the shadows caught the dark haired girl off guard.

"Jesus, Mikasa." She muttered in surprise, placing a hand over her chest to ease her racing heart. "Hi, sorry, what's up?"

"Captain Levi wanted all of us to meet him in the stables." Mikasa replied, and Araminta furrowed her eyebrows together.

"What? Why?"

        Mikasa shrugged. "I think some people haven't been keeping their horse's stalls clean. He sounded mad."

       Araminta paled. She knew she'd been keeping her own clean, but the fear of being the target of Levi's anger was enough to make her doubt herself. And if she was, and she didn't go right then, his anger would only increase tenfold. "Oh. Okay. Let's go then." She shrugged it off, trying her best not to let her fear show.

         Mikasa nodded and led the way, making her way towards the stables while Araminta trailed behind her. As they walked, she could help her mind wandering off to a few weeks earlier, when she'd thought maybe there was something going on between Mikasa and Eren. Looking back now, it was extremely embarrassing. But, even without any romantic feelings, Eren and Mikasa were close. Which prompted her to ask the question, "So... Has Eren talked to you?"

       The taller girl glanced over her shoulder, her expression unchanging. "Eren talks to me a lot. You'll have to be more specific."

Araminta's cheeks reddened, and she shook her head. "Never mind. It's nothing." She mumbled. Thankfully, Mikasa wasn't like most of the other people Araminta knew, who would push her to elaborate.

         Mikasa let it drop there, giving a small shrug and returning her attention to what was in front of her. She really liked that about Mikasa. They were able to walk with each other quietly, without the need to speak to each other. The silence with Mikasa was comfortable, which Araminta could not say about most of her friends.

         The walk to the stables flew by, and the next thing Araminta knew, they had arrived at their destination. The stables, as it turned out, were completely empty. Which was weird, since Mikasa said that Levi wanted everyone to meet them there. Not a single soul from their squad was to be seen, not even Captain Levi himself. She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing around the area.

"I thought you said he wanted us all to meet here...?" She asked, looking over to Mikasa. She thought about making a joke about how Jean was the only person there, because of all the horses, but she figured Mikasa wouldn't find it as amusing as Connie or Sasha would.

"Hmm... That's weird..." Mikasa mumbled, beginning to look around as well.

All in the span of a second, the doors on the opposite end of the stable flung open to reveal the rest of their squad lit up by a few lanterns, wide grins painting their faces. "Happy Birthday!" They all shouted in unison, and Araminta thought her ears were going to fall out. She backed up into Mikasa, her hands leaping up instinctively to protect herself from the sudden noise.

"What?" She breathed out.

"Happy Birthday, Araminta!" Sasha beamed at her, rushing over to engulf her into a hug. Araminta glanced over at Mikasa, who she was shocked to see was wearing a very slight smile, one so small it could be missed but so rare Araminta noticed it right away.

         "I--I'm so confused, what's going on right now?" She asked, glancing around the room as her comrades began to fill the room. "Is this supposed to be, like... A celebration?"

        "Yeah, idiot. It's your birthday party." Connie informed her, reaching out to nudge her shoulder.

         "We thought... Things are starting to look up. Really look up. And we thought maybe it was time we start celebrating making it another year on this godforsaken Earth."  Sasha explained. Her grin stretched ear to ear.

        A warm feeling spread through Araminta's stomach. "Oh. Wow. That's really sweet, Sasha." Before she could process what she was doing, she was pulling her best friend into a hug, burying her chin in the crook of her neck. It was then that she caught a glimpse of Armin, Jean, and most importantly Eren standing behind her.

       Oh. She wondered if this was why she hadn't seen him sooner. He'd been busy helping Sasha to plan this little surprise celebration. The frustration she was feeling towards him began to melt away. Once she pulled away from the hug, she moved to go talk to him, but was stopped by Jean.

      "Hi." He greeted her, and she glanced up at him suspiciously.

"Hi...?"

"I got you a present." He smiled, and she realized he indeed had his hands behind his back, hiding something from her.

"Are you serious? You did not have to do that."

"Yeah, he really didn't." Connie heckled, and Sasha punched him in the arm.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I don't know if you remember, but a few nights ago, you told me about your stuffed rabbit..." He moved his hands from behind his back, revealing a small stuffed animal that looked strikingly similar to Alvin.

        She gasped. "Oh my god! Are you serious? Where did you even get this?" She interrogated, her mouth hung open in disbelief as she snatched the stuffed animal from him and began to inspect it. "Did you go back to Shiganshina and find it, or something?"

         He grinned down at her as she gaped at it in excitement. She couldn't see it, but there was something similar to endearment in his eyes. "Yeah, I took on the Titans all by myself and went back and found it. No, I saw a little shop selling them this morning in town. I saw it and thought of you..."

        Araminta couldn't believe her eyes. She had become a little girl all over again as she hugged the rabbit close to her chest, reveling in how familiar it felt. "Wow, I — Thank you, Jean, really. This is amazing."

       They gazed at each other for a moment, and Araminta thought she felt something pang in her chest, but whatever it had been quickly disappeared when he was practically shoved out of the way by none other than Eren.

       "Dude, what the hell?" Jean snapped at him, but Eren chose to ignore him.

        "I also got you a present." He told her bluntly, and Jean scoffed. "But, why don't we go on a little walk, yeah? We still haven't really talked." He leant down close to her to mutter the last part, hoping nobody would hear.

        Araminta mulled over his words, and glanced over at Sasha for permission. It was clear she had been the one to plan the celebration, anyway. "Okay, fine, you can steal her away for a minute. But we still need to eat the meat I stole from the dining hall!"

        "Sasha! You stole meat again?! I'm pretty sure they'll just give it to you if you ask!" Armin scolded her, but Sasha waved him off.

        "It's less fun that way. This way, it makes it more exciting!" She responded, dipping into her jacket to reveal a parcel of what Araminta assumed to be some meat.

       Araminta shook her head at her friend's antics, although she couldn't deny she agreed with her somewhat. Eren's fingers wrapped around her wrist as he began to lead her out of the stables, and as she passed by Jean, she mouthed one last "thank you" with a wave from the rabbit.

        Once they were outside, Eren's fingers slipped down from her wrist to lace themselves together with her own. She glanced over at him in surprise, but didn't say anything. She liked the feeling of his hand holding her's.

        "You know... I really thought I lost you... When Reiss' guys first took you..." She was the first to break the silence, glancing down to look at their interwoven fingers. "I thought, I had lost you once and managed to get you back before, what were the odds I'd be able to do it again?"

        Eren nodded. "When I was gone, I thought of you everyday. Even when I was about to give up, and let them kill me... I was still thinking of you." He glanced over, and a weak smile graced his beautiful features.

       She smiled, too. "Eren, I... I don't know what's going to happen in the next few weeks--hell, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I do know one thing." She came to a stop, and he followed suit, turning so he was fully facing her. "I'm tired of having regrets. Every time we almost died, all I could think about was all the regrets I had. But I don't want to do that anymore. I want to do the things I want to do now, rather than regretting that I never did when I'm seconds away from death."

        He took a step closer to her, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I understand. I don't want regrets, either."

        Araminta could feel her heart slamming against her rib cage. "What do you want, then?" She dared to ask, even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that.

         She watched as he dug into his pocket, then pulled out what had once been her worst enemy: a rose. At first, she felt her stomach lurch as the sight, but then she saw how excited he looked. "You know what it is, right? A rose? Um, Armin was reading a book about flowers, and he told me this one is supposed to be a romantic flower. Like, you give it to someone you have romantic feelings for."

        Suddenly, roses weren't the worst flowers in the world. No, in fact, it might have been one of the most beautiful. Her heart swelled at the sight, to the point she felt like the air had been knocked out of her. "Yeah, a-a rose. It's beautiful. Thank you, Eren." She smiled at him as she gently took it from him, her fingers grazing against his own.

        "Happy Birthday, Araminta." He whispered. "You asked me what I want? Well, I want to be with you. I don't think I can stand to waste another second not being with you."

        Araminta felt dizzy. "I want to be with you, too, Eren. So bad. I'm crazy about you."

        That was enough for him, as cupped her jaw and pressed his lips against her own. It was so different from their last kiss--that one had been so rushed, since they thought they were seconds away from dying. But this time, they were comfortable, and wanted to savor every second of this moment. She wanted to drink in every ounce of him, to memorize how every centimeter of his lips felt against her own.

        If ever there was a perfect moment in Araminta's life, this was it. With a stupid stuffed rabbit and a rose in one hand, and another laced through the hair that grew at the nape of his neck. With one of his hands resting on her hip, and the other delicately holding her jaw like she might shatter if he wasn't careful enough. Everything was absolutely perfect.

       Her sixteenth birthday was one she would never forget.

GUYS. i promise i didn't forget abt this. i
had writers block so bad which might be
obvious with some parts of this but idgaf
i had sm fun writing the last part <333 i
love araminta and eren so bad also i listened
to timeless by tswift so many times while
writing it and i think it is a perfect song for
then i feel sick to my stomach.

thank you for your patience and also thank
you for 20k reads?!?? i appreciate it so
much 🥺🥺