I'm sorry for taking so long to update this fic. I had the epilogue written for ages, but it was just finding the time and motivation. So much has happened to me the last few months.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the epilogue.

Epilogue
🌹

The sky was a dismal grey as Historia walked the sycamore-lined path of Sina Campus, carrying a warm latte in her hand.

Pumpkin trotted alongside her on her leash, her pink tongue sticking out of her mouth as they arrived at Historia's favourite bench. She sighed and took a seat, peering at the clean wood.

The awful graffiti drawing of a man's willy had long gone, scrubbed away by none other than Levi Ackerman, the school janitor...

Historia's heart plummeted at the thought of Levi, and now she closed her eyes, sucking in a trembling breath. A lump formed in her throat.

It had been a month since she lay dying in his arms...

Her stab wound had healed in the end, and the moment she was discharged from the hospital, she went straight to her father.

A man she hadn't seen in years.

His men had been waiting for her outside the hospital, ready to drive her to his luxury mansion in the inner wall. He promised he would keep her safe from now on, but Historia couldn't rejoice.

To accept her father would be to deny her true self. He still forbade her from using her real name. The only reason he allowed her to finish her degree was if she still went by the guise of Krista Lenz, everyone's favourite good girl.

She even got to meet her siblings, all except for Frieda Reiss, who worked for the government.

They never learned who she was. Her father pretended she was the bastard of his dead brother Uri Reiss instead, and it shamed Historia.

He may be willing to take care of her, but he was still ashamed to claim her as his own daughter.

She was not Uri's mistake. Why couldn't her father be a real man and own up to his mistakes for once?

Still, it was good to be back. Historia had missed her friends, missed campus life.

The campus had thrown a huge party the night she returned, and the celebrations had gone on for days. Historia had hoped they would leave an epic mess just in case she would see his face again...

Except Levi didn't turn up to clean in the end. Instead, a middle-aged man by the name of Hannes arrived, and he smelled of whiskey.

The police didn't arrest Levi. In fact, she never told them where she was or who had been keeping her while she'd been gone, deciding to keep that information to herself.

Still, she was no freer than she was before. She had to give up her room at the chapter and stay with her father, and he had given her strict curfews.

Also, he wouldn't let her go anywhere without bodyguards. Even now the guards kept their distance, ready to lay down their lives should someone attack her.

It seemed freedom was but a distant dream now.

It was something she always saw whenever she looked into Levi's eyes, and she swore when she'd lost consciousness that day on his estate, he had a pair of wings like an angel.

One wing blue, and the other white.

But that was just absurd.

Every day, she came to this bench, hoping she would see him again. She even thought about drawing another penis just so he would show up to chastise her.

If was foolish of her.

She didn't blame him for keeping away. He was probably afraid that the police would find out that he was the one who took her, thus disappearing entirely.

To where? Heavens knows.

Pumpkin yapped restlessly, and Historia sighed, extending her lead. "Make it quick."

The dog scampered across the grass, finding the perfect spot to have a poop. Historia had her poppy bags on the ready.

"Tch, you better clean that up when the mutt's finished, Miss Lenz."

Historia's heart almost exploded at the sound of that emotionless, baritone voice, and she whirled around, coming face to face with the one she missed the most.

She gazed into those grey eyes, the only part of his face she could see as the rest of him was hidden by a mask, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Levi..."

The hard steel of his eyes melted at the sound of her voice. "Hey, Krista..."

No one was around, but he still practiced caution, using her alias so she was safe, and it touched Historia

He was still concerned for her safety.

It appeared he hadn't quit his job; he was still the campus janitor. Once again he wore his baby blue overalls, and Historia liked that colour on him.

It made him look like Little Boy Blue...

Historia wanted so much to run into his arms, rip that mask off and kiss his lips, but she couldn't. No one could know about them. No one could know that he was the one who had taken her.

If it weren't for her father's guards, they could run off and find somewhere private, maybe the janitor's supply closet, but they would risk exposing their secret.

Instead, she would opt for a friendly handshake.

She could tell that Levi had the same thoughts running through his mind, his metallic eyes raking up and down her pink skirt and cute blouse.

Historia wore a simple pink tartan skirt today and a matching beret, and they were pink and blue.

She wished she could see the well-defined muscles beneath that baby blue overall, but instead she reached her hand out. Levi gazed down at her fingers, raising a quizzical brow.

She smiled. "This is the part where you take my hand and shake..."

His eyes sharpened as he scowled at her for a few moments, then sighed, taking her well-manicured hand.

An electrical jolt ran up her arm at his warm touch.

Silence fell between them again, so many things left unspoken. She faintly remembered his words before she fell unconscious.

"I love you, Historia..."

She smiled, turning back to the bench. She patted the seat beside her.

Levi glanced at the bodyguard several feet away by a tree. He spoke into a walkie talkie, keeping a sharp gaze on Levi.

Historia followed his gaze, rolling her eyes. "Sit, Levi. We're nothing more than two friends having a talk..."

His eyes fell back on her, and she grinned, tapping her fingers on the empty space of the bench. He exhaled and sat down at last, and now they both watched as campus life played out before them.

Historia observed her fellow students and a pinch of jealousy formed in her gut. She envied them, truly. They were so blissfully ignorant to the truth, believing the lies that the government fed them every year.

In their eyes, it was still 1999.

Not that it wasn't a good song, but Historia did not want to party like it was 1999 for the rest of her life.

One day. They would all find out the truth.

But that was a while in the making.

Something caught her eye on Levi's uniform, and she spied that fancy broach. A silent gasp left her lips when she spotted a pair of angel wings, one wing blue, and the other white, just like in that vision she had.

She knew that emblem... She'd seen it in a dream, the one where she flew around and slashed the napes of titans like a cute little badass.

Levi caught her staring at the broach, a tight smile forming on his face.

"W-where...?" she breathed.

A twinkle flashed in his eyes. "It's a secret, Lenz..."

Silence passed between them again.

When he was sure the bodyguards weren't looking, Levi reached inside his own pocket, pulling out a similar broach. He passed it to Historia, and a tingle spread through her spine the moment their fingers brushed. How she had missed those calloused hands...

"Dean Erwin asked me to give you this when we next saw each other."

Historia gazed at the emblem, and something came over her when she studied those embossed wings. There was just something about them. They drew her in like a magnet.

"What is it?" she asked.

Levi didn't respond at first. Instead, he assessed her as if trying to ascertain whether she was ready. Then he sighed, offering her a lopsided smile.

"It's freedom."

Her eyes enlarged. "Freedom?"

"Yes. There's a reason I've been MIA the last month, Krista... I was being initiated."

Historia was confused. Initiated into what?

Before she could ask him for further clarification, he growled. "Tch, for god's sake, Lenz. Are you going to clean up your dog's shit or what?"

Startled, Historia jumped to her feet, getting a poopy bag out ready. It was pink and smelled of daisies.

"I'm on it!"

Levi muttered under his breath as she proceeded to clean up Pumpkin's mess, and she couldn't help smiling to herself. Once again everything felt right with the world now that Levi was back by her side.

One day, they would seek freedom together.

Thank you so much for your patience the last few months and for sticking to Wilted Rose. It means so much to me. This ship doesn't get a lot of love, so this is a shout-out to all the lovely RivaHisu fans over at Discord for keeping this ship alive. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met in any fandom and so understanding; It was just nice to finally realize I wasn't the only one who loved this ship.

SNK season 4 part 2 is out in the new year. Also, Funimation finally got the rights to the OVAs, so they will be dubbing them too. Finally, I can't wait to hear Matt Mercer in No Regrets 😍

Thank you for reading.