Disclaimer: Is this even necessary anymore. I don't own anything.
The sky was still a grey hue when the two of them passed through the gate. Without a word, The Girl made her way straight to the grave of her mother, kneeling down to put the flowers on the cold surface. She hated graveyards, had always felt more than a little uncomfortable when she had to attend a funeral as a part of her duty, but that discomfort had developed into a full-blown hatred since her last visit, after she lost mother. Dying of poison in a world where there were a hundred and two much more dramatic ways of passing away -where soldiers still fought tooth and nail for each and every meters of land beyond the wall, where titans was the main reason for the terrible mortality rate of the population- was the lamest way to go, and it had taken her a long time to register that it was exactly the way her mother had passed away.
Mother had been a beloved queen. Yet, no one would be loved by all. It was just mother's horrible luck that the meager number of people who hated her was exceptional in concocting poison. One day, The Girl vowed, one day, she would find them, and she would destroy them all.
Behind her, The Boy stood with his face turning upward and his dark eyes trailing aimlessly across the sky. Dawn was coming; people would start wondering where they were soon. He wished that they wouldn't worry so. As long as he was by her side, there was no way anything would happen to The Girl. He would not allow it.
The Boy had wanted to pay his respect as well, but he knew, deep down, that he really didn't have any right to. He was not her son (he had his own mother, whom he loved), he was just a reminder of everything father had done wrong in his life. (People talked, everyday and every time father, mother, the former queen or The Girl was not there. He just chose to drone them out. For the most part, it was a successful feat.) Still, growing up the way he did, with a father and a mother that were rarely home (they had been devoting everything for the sake humanity, he knew that -didn't mean that sometimes it wasn't too much for him), the owner of this grave was the closest to a parental figure that he had ever had. She had been kind to him, even though she had no reason to. She had taught The Girl to love him, to love even his mother, and for that, he was forever grateful.
"Mother," The Girl was talking now, her voice quiet but strong as a smile lifted a corner of her lips, "All have been well. Our territory has expanded nearly twice the size of when you were alive. It's all thanks to father, I think. Sad as he was about your death, he has been devoting everything he has in spending as much time away as possible, killing as many titans as possible and securing our defense as flawless as possible. I have been a bit worried, but since Mikasa is with him, I doubt my concern is necessary."
She and The Boy shared a smile before continuing:
"She will save him even when he doesn't want to save himself. But you have already known that, haven't you, mother?"
Her voice cracked a little, involuntarily. She steadied herself as The Boy's warm hand tentatively touched her shoulder:
"Levi and Hange have officially embarked on some very awkward mating rituals that make everyone both relieve and deeply terrified at the same time. Sasha has just given birth to the third child, a girl this time, much to Connie's delight. Uncle Armin and Jean still dance around each other like doofuses that they are. Brother has become Captain Arckerman, in the process of being transferred into the MP. He said he wanted to be my personal guard, instead of living his own life like a normal person." She smiled again as she felt his quiet laughter echoed tersely across the graveyard. "I am fine, missing you terribly and wanting to murder my advisors in their sleep, but fine, nonetheless. So you, too, mother, you must be happy, all right? Wherever you are."
She faltered for a moment, before added in a breathless whisper:
"I love you."
She had not said those words enough, not when it actually mattered. Mother and Mikasa always teased that she was father's daughter through and through. She had always thought of it as a compliment, until the day she lost mother and the words stuck at the side of her throat like an ache that never really went away. The Boy was the only one she confided in, but he, too, had no idea how to sooth something that had already become permanent. Because of this, she understood what father had been going through. And so, she was grateful for Mikasa's presence beside him.
The Girl stood up, brushing the dirt off her hand and studying the ground beneath her feet. She had cried enough back then. She had cried enough even yesterday, so she would not cry now. She had just assured mother that she would be fine.
"Do you think she will be happy?" The Boy asked, his voice hushed and solemn, "That father and my mother..."
The Girl took his offering arm and shook her head, just a slightest jerk:
"I don't know. But there isn't anything between them yet, you know that."
He didn't say anything, just averted his eyes and tugged her along without a word. The unsaid 'Just a matter of time' hovered between them like a cloud.
Maybe because he was so quiet that she had always felt that she talked enough for the both of them. Liked at this moment:
"Perhaps. But I think she will be glad that he has found his happiness."
"..." The Boy offered The Girl a small smile and squeezed her hand.
She smiled back at him, green eyes twinkling with melancholic mirth. They would all be okay. Mother would have wanted that.