Two men sat in the shallows, fully clothed with their eyes half open, strangely content. They stared out onto the horizon, the warm water lapping only slightly. Their breathing was slow and ponderous, like they were searching for something new to think about.

These were men with battle scars.

The larger of the males was missing an arm and the other while not obviously scathed hid scars under his clothes. Old men in experience, young men in average. They were so tired, and now they could rest. Truly. Only when they reached the ocean would they fall and here they were. Playing with dissolution and watching the farther away waved. They broke and frothed and fought for space on the calm water. The sun somewhere in the distance was setting, a sight neither of the men had ever seen, but had yearned for all their lives

They had wandered away from the camp and nobody had stopped them, nobody had dared. Perhaps they knew that the two men were done. They were finished, and tired. Their mission accomplished and complete they were ready to punch everyone they had refrained from punching and get fat. Very fat.

"They're probably going to ask you to do a speech" The larger man remarked, his eyes never swaying from the sight of the sun sinking down under the horizon.

"Fuck it" the smaller man replied, his permanent frown not wavering in the slightest.

"You'll hurt their feelings"

"They'll survive" The larger man chuckled and the smaller man cracked a smile. Both of them were wet and sandy, but neither of them were cold. Hangi had referred to this area as the tropics, where it was perpetually and consistently hot. It was only winter and already most jackets had been discarded.

The smaller man lent into larger man instinctively and the larger man shifted closer to him.

"There will come a time when we are very very old" the larger man began, his voice barely a rumble in his chest and the smaller man closed his eyes to listen to his heart beat, comfort him did it so. "and when that time comes I would like to be on my deathbed with you" the smaller man smiled. Only now would Erwin allow himself to think of the future, to turn his eyes away from weapons and efficiency and onto what Nile had thrown himself into on day one. Only now when he was sure that, maybe, just maybe, he was capable of loving and being loved in return. Only now that the threats were diminished and the hardships pushed through.

"I'd rather not think about your deathbed, thank you, but the bit in between then and now I wouldn't mind" The smaller man yawned and wound his arms around the larger man's waist. He would as well let his walls fall. Nothing could hurt him now, nothing that was more painful than what he had lived through. Yes, he would have nightmares. He would be haunted by the ghosts of soldiers lost in battle. But he would live on, because there was nothing to kill him anymore.

The larger man smiled and kissed the head of his love. In the distance a trio was playing in the water, washing the blood from their hands and smiling. The children that had grown into adults and survived just as the two men had. Surprisingly.

"That would be lovely"

Suddenly the smaller man stood and the larger man looked up at him in shock.

"I'm going to go retire, you want to come with?" The larger man raised an eyebrow and quickly followed. He was so done.