Flowers

When they were children, Karoline once taught him how to weave the stems of wildflowers together and to make long chains they would string about the front porch. They gathered the flowers when they collected firewood for Mother and knotted them together in their free time. Perhaps not the most fitting pastime for a young boy, gathering and playing with flowers like a girl, but he never cared. He loved sitting with Karoline and doing what she loved most.

He loved Karoline.

She left their house wearing a crown of bluebells and daisies on her head and white wild roses woven in her hair. Simple wildflowers, the same as the ones she held in her hands. A veil made from old curtains hid her face, and her dress was an old cranach style and pure white. Frau Jinn had made it herself, out of a snowy fabric embroidered with pale blue feathers. His breath caught at the sight of her, and only the scrape of bench when the assembly rose startled him into breathing again. Sina, she's beautiful. Mother walked her down the aisle and gave her away at the altar, then she darted to the space his friends had saved for her. He took Karoline's hands and kissed her fingers. She bowed her head, her face barely visible through the veil.

Then the elder priest began, a devout Wallist through and through, but it was the Wallist faith Karoline followed and the Three Sisters she prayed to. Father Barna had been her decision. "Dearly beloved friends and family." The man said, serenely folding his hands. "We gather here today in the sight of the Sisters Three in Heaven to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

As he continued on, Eld stood stock still, resisting the urge to look about lest he seem anxious and having second thoughts. He kept his legs slightly bent at the knee, remembering all the times he'd seen fellow cadets pass out during early morning roll call. Those three years in training had been difficult ones. Not because of the strenuous drills and exercises he and his classmates were put through every day, but because of his homesickness. He missed his mother and Karoline and the people they sheltered. Felicity, the poor, young prostitute and her two children. Harlan, the homeless drunk who loved Mother's peach cobbler. Brigitte and Camille, the orphaned twin sisters who made their living selling goods they'd had no choice but to steal. Cecilio, the young man who'd been expelled from the service of a wealthy family all because of false accusations. So many others. And he knew they missed him as well. They always seemed to inexplicably turn up on the Jinn doorstep on the rare occasions he was able to visit.

He'd never had any ambition to join the Military Place. Why would he when all he had was right here in Karanes? All he'd wanted was to join the Garrison to earn the benefits for soldier families. Tax deductions and the like, anything to alleviate his family's burden and to help them continue their care of the Karanes Strays.

"Karoline." He said, swallowing a hard lump in his throat. "I will never forget the day my father brought you to our home. Perhaps Isaia Jinn intended you to be my sister, but from the moment I first saw you and your crying, red eyes, I wanted to make you smile. I always have.

"I'm sorry I chose the Survey Corps." He swallowed, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I changed my mind last minute and decided to risk my life for a cause many see as hopeless. I'm sorry I decided against a secure and safe life maintaining the Walls in the Garrison. I'm sorry I leave you scared, that I choose to make you worry that I'll never come back to you. I know it will never make you smile, I know it will bring you grief, and yet I still stand here with the audacity to ask for your hand. It is a selfish thing to ask, my dearest friend.

"But I love you, Karoline Sonnen. That is my promise. For as long as we live, I am yours."

He had no idea what demon possessed to sign the Survey Corps roster. He remembered Rebekka Smith as the one on duty that hour and the dubious look on her face when she saw him, as though she wished to say, "Don't bother. You won't last five minutes." He might've signed his name just to spite her for that. To prove her wrong. But no…the real reason…was he wanted to see for himself what lay beyond their borders. To explore a childhood dream he'd long ago left behind.

It was a single selfish moment in his life.

Then again, he supposed everyone who signed up was selfish or irresponsible in their own way. Petra had run away from home, refusing to be caged by her mother's expectations. Gunther outright defied his father and completely renounced his inheritance. Oruo had never told any of them his reasons—only scoffing and claiming it was a boring yarn—but it couldn't have been any different for him. Not with a wife and new baby at the time.

Eld felt a pit in his stomach at the old man's earlier words. What if this was a mistake? That Karoline would just turn out to be 'his Maude' several years down the road. Would she grow to resent him? Would he live to be an irascible old man as his friend had become? Oruo must have loved Maude just as he loved Karoline, and that hadn't saved them.

Father Barna turned to Karoline. "Go on."

She gave a nervous nod and and opened her mouth, but no words came. Eld stopped breathing, and, for a long moment, everything seemed to stand completely still. In the corner of his eye, he saw the puzzled look on the clergyman's face and the bewildered faces on that of his friends and family. Then a cold pit of ice gutted him as she turned away, a chorus of indistinct whispers sweeping through the yard. Gunther and Petra exchanged confused glances, along with his mother and uncle, and three to five other pairs in the crowd. Felicity leaned over to whisper something to her neighbor, who quickly shook his head in turn.

"What is it?" Father Barna whispered, his nervous voice coming out in a troubled hiss. "Is something wrong, my girl?"

"Karoline?" Eld asked, hardly able to speak. His heart nearly stopped as Karoline lowered her eyes and gathered her skirt into one hand, then lifted it away from her feet as she stepped away from the altar. A collective gasp rose up from the guests, several of them wearing horrified expressions. He felt as though someone had tightened the knots in his stomach and punched him several times over before closing cold hands over his throat. "Karoline…" He tried calling after her, but his voice came at nothing more than a choking whisper.

His mother brought a hand to her mouth in shock and some of the guests towards the back actually stood up, some of them looking as panicked as he felt. There were more whispers now, neighbor to neighbor, husband to wife, lover to lover. And yet Karoline continued toward them until, again to everyone's surprise, she stopped before the four soldiers in attendance. "A cloak." She said, seeming with the same amount of difficulty he was having. "I….need a cloak."

Oruo rose to his feet, untied his, sparing a glance for the others, and promptly gave it to her.

Taking it in both hands, Karoline gave a grateful nod, and Eld breathed a sigh of relief as she turned and scurried back to him, her face flushed. Oruo resumed his seat and leaned over to mutter something to Gunther. Then he caught his eye and winked. What was going on? Eld looked at Karoline.

"Eld." She said in her usual small voice. "The day we met, I had just lost my family. You know the story. My brother, my father, my little sisters all went one by one. My mother, who I loved more than anyone in this world, was the last to leave me and I was devastated. I was alone at the funeral, no one to comfort me until Isaia came and brought me to this house. He told me I could be a member of the family, your sister if I wanted. And somehow you made me laugh when I didn't think I would ever smile again.

"I wish Isaia could be here today, so I could thank him one more time for bringing us together." Karoline swept the cloak over her thin shoulders, fastening it at her neck, and with the most serious face he'd ever seen her make, she saluted him. "From this day forward," She announced in a strong, bolder tone, clenching her fist. "I am the wife of a Scout. That is my promise, Eld Jinn. Come hell or high-water, for as long as we live, I am yours."

He could have kissed her in front of God and everyone in that moment. She was amazing! And the old man had been wrong about one thing. Karoline wasn't lucky for him loving her in spite of the hardships he saw in the field. He was lucky to have her. Her love and trust. Her faith in him, despite the odds.

Father Barna was the first to recover, starting as though someone had knocked him over the head with a walking stick, and he hastily set aside his tome, "May the venerated Sororal Trinity, Maria, Rose, and Sina, grant you their divine protection, guard you from strife and misfortune, and bless you with long and healthy lives." The old man took their hands and placed them together, gently enclosing them between his withering fingers. "Die Parzen entscheiden."

As soon as those final words were spoken, Eld lifted the veil from his wife's face and cupped her face, kissing her as sweetly as he could bear. The assembly erupted into applause, dotted here and there by cheers and whistling throughout the crowd, but they went entirely unheard, fading into the back of his mind like morning fog. Then Karoline pulled away and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry I scared you." She whispered in his ear. "I didn't mean to, I just…"

"I know, love. I know." He murmured, holding her close.

"I love you."

"And I you." He said and kissed her forehead and both cheeks, then her nose and finally her mouth again. "I won't ever let you go."

"I know."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: This one's been in progress for a long time, and I'm so glad I was finally able to finish it. I wanted to post this one quickly because of Oruo's previous chapter. The favor Karoline asked of him was that he wore his cloak for the ceremony, so she would be able to do what she did.

Another big thank you to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed. Please let me know what you think. Love you all!

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin belongs to Hajime Isayama.