"What?!" Petra shrieked as Levi relayed to her the news he'd just received, "We're getting married in two months?! If even that?!"
"Petra, darling, I know how sudden this is," Levi tried to console, "but you need to understand that we don't have a say in the matter."
"I'm not ready for this, Levi! This is all happening way too fast! I can't take it!"
Levi tried to bring Petra into a hug, but she pulled back the moment that his hands touched her arms. The action caught Levi genuinely off guard, rendering him unable to figure out what to do next. He hated watching as Petra held herself as a means to try and comfort her inner turmoil. Especially when he wanted to comfort her but she wasn't allowing him to. But what could he do?
Sighing, Levi asked, "Petra,...do you want to end the engagement?"
"We can't," Petra reminded, "There's no way to."
Knowing he was risking treason, Levi replied, "Erwin's collaborating with Historia Reiss, whom you know as Krista Lentz, to overthrow the government the day of the mass wedding. I was told not to tell you, but you had to know. But you can't tell anyone else that I told you this. Erwin would kick my ass."
Stunned, Petra dropped her arms and said, "So, the reason you asked me was because of that?"
Levi nodded in confirmation.
"Okay. Suppose this coup goes according to plan. What'll happen to the new marriage law?"
"Historia's going to throw it out and reinstate the old one. No forced marriages, no deadlines, none of it. We can get married on our time, whenever we're ready."
Sitting down, Petra sighed, "Levi, this has just been so taxing on me. Should we even get married once this is all over?"
Kneeling down in front of Petra, Levi added, "There is common law marriage. We don't have to have a ceremony, get a license, or anything. To outside eyes, we'll be a married couple, but it'll legally be one long as hell engagement."
"That would disappoint Dad. And me, to some extent. I've always wanted to wear my mom's wedding dress at my own wedding, but not like this."
Levi nodded in understanding, "You still didn't answer the question, though. Do you think we should end the engagement after this is done? It wouldn't mean the end of the relationship as a whole. We'd just be postponing a potential marriage."
"I think that would be the best thing to do. Honestly, I'm not even sure I want to get married after this is over."
"The common law marriage still stands. But I won't bring it up again if that's what you want."
Petra looked down at Levi and said, "I just want you, Levi. No formalities, no weddings, none of that crap. All I'm ever going to need is you."
Levi smiled, knowing that Petra was sure of her decision and that she wouldn't regret it in the long run. He stood up, pulling her with him, and embraced her tightly. Petra returned the gesture, not wanting to let go of the man she loved with all her heart. She felt Levi rubbing her back as a means to console her, which prompted her to nuzzle his neck in return.
"Petra, I just want you to know one thing," Levi said, earning her attention, "No matter how long it takes for you to be ready for marriage, I'll wait forever for you."
Levi's words brought fresh tears to Petra's eyes, and she held him even tighter to reaffirm her love in her own way. She felt Levi rub her back again and was finally able to smile despite her sadness over their current situation.
"You mentioned a minute ago that you wanted to wear your mother's wedding dress," Levi suddenly commented, making Petra pull out of the hug to face him.
She nodded in confirmation, "My mom died when I was eight years old, but one of the few memories I have of her was getting to see her wedding dress. It was so beautiful, but different. It had pink accents in it, mainly a ribbon around the waist and a pleated modesty panel on the chest."
Levi nodded as she described the dress, "I think you'd look beautiful in it, Petra."
"I don't know. Mom was a very beautiful woman, so I think it would probably look better on her than me."
"Doesn't mean you should pass on the opportunity to fulfill that dream." Walking over to his desk, Levi added, "Is the dress still with your father in Karanes?"
Even though Petra was confused, she nodded in confirmation.
"Some of the girls from the Survey Corps are going into town tomorrow to start shopping for dresses. I know Hange and Mikasa are going, but I think you should go too. Mainly to keep Hange under control."
Petra giggled a little and replied, "If you think that's best, then I'll go."
"But I do think you should go to Karanes and get your mother's wedding dress. Something tells me you'd really regret not wearing it."
Petra fidgeted with her fingers nervously, "Do you really think so?"
Levi turned and faced Petra, a knowing expression on his face, "Petra, I've known you for years. There's very few things you regret. I know this would be one of them."
"Well, if you're sure…"
"I am. Go to Karanes the day after tomorrow and get the dress. I'll sort out all the paperwork for it."
Smiling, Petra walked over to Levi and hugged him again, which he returned with one arm. Even if she was stressed about the upcoming wedding, Levi knew he could at least give her one good thing to remember the occasion by. After all, it would probably be the only time he'd ever get to see Petra in a wedding dress.
The Following Night
"Mikasa, have you found your dress yet?" Eren inquired as he started settling in for bed, "You went with Hange and Petra into Trost, right?"
"Yeah," Mikasa confirmed, "I found a dress I like and Hange's getting a suit."
"Sounds like Hange."
"But Petra's going to go to Karanes tomorrow and get her mother's wedding dress from her father. She wanted to wear that instead of getting a new dress."
"That's sweet." Eren pulled the sheets up to his waist and said, "Well, it's lights out for me, Mikasa. Get a good sleep, okay."
"I will," Mikasa reassured, her expression turning to irritation seconds later.
"What is it?" Eren asked, confused.
"Do we really need an audience?"
Eren then realized that Mikasa was referencing Oluo, who was waiting for Mikasa to wrap it up so he could lock Eren up for the night. Realizing that Mikasa was getting shy with the former around, Eren decided to remedy that the best he could.
"Oluo-san, can you give Mikasa and I a minute, please?" he pleaded, "We won't do anything we're not supposed to, I promise."
Yawning, Oluo responded, "You know I don't care if you two make out, right? Aren't you two gonna get married in the next month or two? Better start practicing now, if you ask my opinion."
"Well, Mikasa's a little shy about being affectionate. She prefers us being alone."
Before Oluo could respond, Petra appeared and said, "Oluo, the Captain needs you. He's having a hard time deciding on which cravat to wear for the wedding."
Oluo's eyebrow cocked up in confusion, "Shouldn't he ask you? You're his fiancée."
"I think he looks good in any of them, Oluo. You wear them on a daily basis, so you'd be better suited to help him decide."
Feeling a sense of pride, Oluo replied, "Well, if the Captain really does need me, then who am I to ignore his orders? Let's go, Petra."
Petra, Eren, and Mikasa watched as Oluo left, the latter two confused as could be over what just happened. However, they soon got their answer when Petra turned to them with a smile and winked before departing. Eren smiled at the gesture while Mikasa sighed in relief.
"At least she looks out for you," Mikasa said once Petra was out of sight.
"They all do," Eren reassured, "but Petra-san's the most loving out of all of them."
Mikasa nodded then sat on the edge of the bed, her nervous blush still prevalent on her face. She could hear the sheets ruffle and the mattress squeak, which meant that Eren had moved to sit next to her.
"Hey," Eren called, getting her attention, "Everything's gonna be okay."
Even though Mikasa didn't completely believe Eren's words, she still gave a nod and a small smile in return. Not long after that, she could feel Eren's lips on hers; his kiss was gentle and soft, just like the hand that was holding hers. She returned it with that same gentleness, wanting to savor the moment as much as possible.
When Eren broke the kiss, Mikasa knew that it was time for her to go, no matter how much she wanted to stay with him. Regardless, she stood up and waited for Eren to get settled in again before returning to his side and giving him a second kiss.
"Try and get some sleep," Mikasa said, her usual stoic tone returning.
"You do the same," Eren responded, "And don't worry. I'll be fine."
Mikasa nodded, then turned and left the room, shutting the door quietly so that it wouldn't disturb Eren. As she headed back up the stairs, she spotted Petra at the top, a smile on the latter's face.
"Thank you for getting rid of Oluo," Mikasa thanked once she caught up to Petra.
"Oluo's dense at times, but he's a good person," Petra said as she and Mikasa began the journey to the barracks, "And I know what it's like wanting a moment with your significant other. They're hard to come by with our line of work."
Nodding Mikasa pressed, "The Captain needing Oluo was a lie, wasn't it?"
Petra smiled even brighter, "Of course it was. I had to get him away from you two lovebirds somehow."
Mikasa's blush returned twice over and all Petra could do was laugh heartily at the sight.
"And now it's our turn to be sent to the gallows," Ymir said as she, Sasha, and Historia all walked through Trost towards the bridal shop their friends had gone to the day before.
"Don't look at it so harshly, Ymir," Historia said, "I'm actually quite excited."
Ymir scoffed, "I still can't believe that you agreed to marry Reiner."
"And you agreed to marry Bertholdt. Speaking of that, what about you, Sasha? Have you found anyone yet?"
"No," Sasha admitted, "Connie asked, but he's like a brother to me. Same with Jean. Plus, there's only so much of me they can handle. I don't want either of them to be stuck with me as their wife for the rest of their lives."
Historia placed a hand on Sasha's shoulder, "I'm sure you'll find someone in time."
Before Sasha could respond, she stopped in the middle of the road and began sniffing the air, confusing Historia and Ymir. Sasha, on the other hand, couldn't believe what she was smelling. It was so unique and different from anything else she'd ever smelled. Her nose drew her to a building just a few feet away; a humble restaurant, from the looks of it. Cautiously, she entered the place and began enjoying the many different smells coming from inside. All of it was heavenly and Sasha didn't ever want to leave.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" a young man a few years older than Sasha called to her, breaking her from her trance, "We're not open yet."
Embarrassed about being caught, Sasha began stuttering, "I-I'm so sorry for intruding! T-The smell was really good, so I…"
"Niccolo, is that any way to treat a customer?" a second man many years older than the first interrupted, his skin as dark as chocolate, "I'm so sorry for him, young lady. He's being unusually rude this morning."
"O-Oh, it's nothing!" Sasha nearly shouted back, still nervous, "I was just taking in all the wonderful smells in here. They're nothing like I've ever smelled before!"
"That's all thanks to Niccolo here. He's one of the finest chefs I've ever met."
Sasha smiled then asked, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why is your skin so dark?"
"Because Our Creator gave it to me. He made people of so many different colors and backgrounds and He loves us all the same."
Even though Sasha was confused, she smiled in response before saying, "Again, I'm so sorry I intruded. I really need to get going, though."
As Sasha turned to go, the man cried out, "Wait a moment, please. Since you were so fascinated by all the scents in here, perhaps we can give you a small sample of what it is."
He turned to Niccolo and said, "Niccolo, why don't you give her a sample of the oyster stew?"
Sasha's head tilted in confusion, "Oyster? What's that?"
As Niccolo scoffed and turned away to prepare the stew, the man answered, "An oyster comes from a body of water called the ocean. You can eat them out of the shell or in a stew like this."
Upon hearing the word "ocean", Sasha's eyes widened in realization, "My friend Armin talks about seeing the sea all the time! He says there's so much more beyond the walls than we could ever imagine!"
The man chuckled and responded, "Well, he just might be more right than he realizes."
Sasha then watched as Niccolo came out and handed her a small teacup of stew, a scowl still present on his face. With a smile and a timid "thank you", Sasha took a bite of the stew and immediately froze. The stew was amazing, the best she'd ever had. Flavors foreign and familiar blended together in harmony, one not overpowering the other.
Niccolo flinched upon seeing tears fall from Sasha's face before shouting, "H-Hey, if it's that bad, then…"
"THIS IS AMAZING!" Sasha cried out, surprising Niccolo but not the other man, "I NEVER KNEW FOOD COULD TASTE LIKE THIS!"
"Niccolo's our head chef here," the man explained as Niccolo blushed profusely, "He's an expert in the kitchen even though he's just nineteen."
Sasha took another bite and exclaimed, "Niccolo, you're a food genius!"
To say that Niccolo was flustered was the understatement of the day, to be sure. Never in his life had Niccolo ever had someone compliment his cooking the way Sasha was. And she was savoring the few bites of stew he had given her as if it would be the last meal she'd ever consume. When she was finished, she handed the cup back to him and bowed.
"Mr. Niccolo, thank you for the snack!" she said, "It was the most delicious thing I've ever had!"
Niccolo struggled to find any words to respond, but ultimately said, "T-Thank you."
"Hey, Sasha, come on!" Ymir shouted from the doorway, "We're gonna be late!"
Sasha giggled and explained, "Wedding dress shopping. New law and all that."
The man behind the counter smiled and said, "You're all welcome here at any time. We give discounts to all military personnel as well, so that they know we appreciate all they do."
Bowing again, Sasha replied, "Thank you, sir! I'll be sure to stop by next time I have the chance!"
"You and your friends will always be welcome. Ask for me by name, Onyankopon, and you'll be very well tended to."
"I will! Thanks again! See you, Niccolo!"
Niccolo watched with wide eyes as Sasha departed the restaurant, his eyes following her and her friends down the street until he could no longer see them. His heart was beating a mile a minute and his breaths were slightly heavy as well. Was this what love felt like? He could barely hear Onyankopon chuckling as he approached him.
"She's something else, isn't she?" Onyankopon inquired.
"Yeah," Niccolo whispered.
"I hope she comes back. Something tells me she'd make the perfect wife for you in the future."
Niccolo couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, I think she would."
Surprise! I brought in Niccolo and Onyankopon! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I'm so close to the ending that I can grab onto it. I've said two or three chapters left, but I think three's more accurate with how this is progressing. Can't wait for the next couple of chapters. Things are gonna get real intense really quick. Thank again for all the favorites, follows, and comments. You guys are amazing!
As per usual, constructive criticism is always welcome.
"Attack on Titan" and its characters belong to Hajime Isayama