A.N: Happy New Year! A bit late, but still. It would've been nice to get this up on the third day when this story turned a year, but I was nowhere near done with the chapter at the time. But now it's up!

Chapter 19

"So Nikolo, what brings you back so suddenly?" his father asks as the whole family is gathered at the dinner table.

"I got a transfer" Nikolo answers "I'll be working closer to home for the time being, so unless I'm specifically ordered to move to dorms, I'll be staying home."

"That's wonderful news honey" his mother said "Just please don't overexert yourself."

"I won't; I've been fine so far, have I not?" he asked calmly, thinking that the stew had too much salt as he took a bite "Whatever, still better than what we often get at work."

"Will you be doing something different?" Viktor asks. Nikolo had hoped that wouldn't come up, but it was likelier it would, so he had prepared. He had decided to not beat around the push and just blurt it out and try to make it sound like it was by no means a big deal "Yes, my new position will be a little different."

"In what way?"

"I will be working in the interment zones, keeping an eye on the Eldians" a silence followed, just as Nikolo had expected. He also knew that his mother would start protesting any second now.

"The interment zones? How can they do that to you!?" just like he had thought "It hasn't even been that long since you… since you got back home! They can't make you deal with those devils again, not this soon!"

"Do not question the leaders of our military" Nikolo's father cut off his wife "They would not force our son to a position like this after what happened. He must've been given a choice and accepted. Isn't that right, son?"

"That's right, father" Nikolo confirmed "I spent nine years on Paradis and made it out. I don't want what I learned there to go to waste."

His father nodded approvingly, giving a look of warning to Nikolo's mother who still looked like she wanted to protest. In the end, she didn't, and the soldier was grateful for that.

"Then, what did you learn?" Ulrich asked. It sounded like it could be a jab at him, but the tone of his voice didn't suggest that… it was like he was curious, but tried to hide it.

"That Eldians are people just like us and we were raised to be assholes to them for no reason" of course, there was no way he could say that aloud "Patience, most of all" that wasn't exactly a lie; he was using the skill even now "Diplomacy, too, as well as how those in a less favorable position think. Being a war prisoner teaches some tricks about survival."

As Nikolo said the last piece, he noticed that his family seemed to get a little uncomfortable, his mother looking even more worried.

"I should've worded it differently" he cursed at his own stupidity, but couldn't come up with any better way he could've used to get the message across. Thinking it'd be better to change the subject, even if it was plain as day that he was doing so on purpose, Nikolo cleared his throat and asked: "So, Victor, how are your studies coming along?"

Victor, of course, caught on immediately and proceeded to tell about his studies. Nikolo was safe, for now. From the look on his mother's face, he could tell she'd want a word with him once they were alone.

XXXXX

"Are you okay, Sasha?" Connie asked her after dinner. Smiling, the woman answered: "Sure; why wouldn't I be?"

"You've seemed a little distracted today" her friend says "Did you do something stupid agai-? Wait no, Shadis would be after your ass if you did. It's something else."

"There's nothing, really" Sasha tells him, but as Connie stares back at her, the woman can't help but avert her gaze, unable to look him in the eye. And that, she knows, will give her away to him. It always does.

"Yeah, I don't think so" Connie says "Now what's wrong?"

"…You won't like it" Sasha knows. Connie has no faith in Nikolo, so if she tells him the truth, he'll just pity her. But Sasha doesn't need his pity "So I'd rather not say."

"You know that makes me even more interested, right?" yeah, she knew "You can tell me anything, regardless if I like it or not. And then I can help you."

"…" he could not, Sasha knew. There was nothing he could do and, for once, Sasha wasn't sure if he'd even want to. Since early training days, she'd always trusted Connie to have her back, but now she was no longer so sure. At least, not on this matter.

"Sasha?"

But he meant well, she knew.

"I can't always rely on you; I have to learn to solve my own problems" she said, smiling "But don't worry; if I need you, I'll be surely to come over to you!"

Connie frowned, but then sighed in what Sasha knew was defeat.

"Fine, but I'm holding you to your word" he said "If you need me, come to me. Even if it's in the middle of the night."

"We could get in trouble for that."

Connie snorted.

"We'll get in to trouble for something eventually anyway, so might as well get our asses kicked for a reason."

They both laughed.

XXXXX

Nikolo heard a knock on his bedroom door. His mother, no doubt. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to look relaxed and carefree, preparing to reassure the woman "Come in."

"How are you feeling, Sweetie?" his mother asked as she opened the door, stepping in. Nikolo shrugged "A little tired, but otherwise fine. Do you need something?"

"I was hoping we could talk" he knew it "Unless you're too busy?"

"Not at all, mother" Nikolo smiled, hoping that it didn't look too fake "What do you want to talk about?"

His mother closed the door, which he supposed wasn't the best sign, before sitting on his desk chair.

"Stay calm and don't let anything too honest slip" Nikolo reminded himself "…Wait no, this isn't some interrogation!"

This was his mother, not some prison warden.

"Are you sure it was a good idea for you to accept this new position of yours?" straight to the point "Can you really handle it? Maybe some job not including those devils would be better for you."

"At least call them Eldians" Nikolo thought, but didn't say it "Yes mother, I'm sure I can handle it. I am not frightened by Eldians."

"So you've said, but that's not what I'm worried about" she said "Are you sure you can keep order properly? You won't have any… thoughts that'll keep you from doing so?"

Nikolo frowned, not quite understanding.

"Are you sure you won't… feel sympathy towards the devils?"

"…"

Ah, so that's what this was about. Around a year ago, he'd made the mistake of wondering if Eldians were really evil or not in front of his mother. And she remembered it "I need to be very, very careful now."

"Mother…" he started "I know I might've sounded a little out of it when I came back home, but I'm alright now" it wasn't a lie; he now knew what he wanted and needed to do "Having a job like this back then would've certainly been a bad idea" because back then, he wouldn't have had the guts to defend the Eldians "But now, I assure you, I will be able to do it" he'd do his best to treat the Eldians fairly.

Even so, his mother wasn't convinced. Her face told him as much.

"And if it does become too much, I won't force myself" he told in order to reassure her "If that happens, I'll ask for a transfer. Alright?"

His mother looked at him in silence for a long time and, just as he was sure she'd protest, she smiled sadly.

"My little boy is all grown up now" she started to get teary eyed "I'll trust your judgement, then. But please, don't overwork yourself."

"Of course not, mother" Nikolo assured, hugging his mother. He supposed that even if it was small, this was a victory for him. Perhaps, with time, he'd get his mother to understand.

"Don't get ahead of things"

XXXXX

Sasha was laying on her bed, staring at the group photo again. She had come to the conclusion that she was in love, so now what? What was she supposed to do? Normally people would probably go and confess, or try to spend as much time as possible with the target of their love, but as Nikolo wasn't around, she couldn't do either of those. So, what was she supposed to do? Or would it be okay to do nothing and just continue her life normally until Nikolo came back?

"But I don't want to do that!" now that her feelings were clear to her, she wanted to be able to do something. Was there a way to send a letter to Nikolo? One that would actually get to him and wouldn't cause trouble for either of them? "Think, think, there must be something!"

But she came out empty. Thinking was never her strong suite, after all.

"But I know whose it is" she thought, jumping up from her bed. Taking a second to confirm that her night gown was on properly and wouldn't reveal anything, she snuck out. She didn't exactly have strict curfew, she wasn't a cadet or average soldier after all, but if Shadis caught her, he'd think she was up to no good, even this one time that it really wasn't the case.

Sneaking up to the right door, she knocked, hoping that he was still awake.

"Yes?" Armin opened it rather fast, so he hadn't been asleep. He looked a little tired, though.

"Hi" Sasha said with a smile "Can I come in?"

Armin blinked, clearly having not expected her. However, he didn't question her sudden appearance.

"Sure" he let Sasha in "Sorry about the mess."

It was indeed surprisingly messy, especially considering that Armin would be here only for a few days. There were paper everywhere, along with books.

"I've seen worse" Sasha said with a shrug. Her own room was usually fine these days, but in the past…

"I know" Armin said with a laugh. Sasha didn't need to wonder what he was getting at; he knew what she'd been like "What did you want to talk about?"

Sasha opened her mouth, but then closed it, not knowing what to say. She knew what she wanted to talk about, but had no idea how to start "I should've thought this through!"

"Umm…" she thought for a while, then decided to start with: "Can you keep a secret?"

Armin narrowed his eyes, asking: "What did you do this time?"

"What? Nothing!" Sasha denied, waving her hands frantically at Armin's sceptic look "Seriously, this time I've done nothing!"

"…Alright" Armin said "In that case, I can keep a secret."

"Promise?"

"Promise"

"…Well, the thing is... umm…" she came all the way here and bothered Armin late at night, so she had toget it out now. With a blush, she managed: "I'm in love."

Armin blinked.

"And?"

"…Huh?"

"Sasha, the whole squad's known for years" Armin said, a small, smug smirk on his face "But what does it have to do with me?"

"How can everyone has known for years!?" Sasha asked, ignoring Armin's question "I just found out yesterday!"

Armin stared at her, clearly dumbfounded, before bursting out in laughter. Mortified, Sasha shrieked: "It's not funny!"

"Sorry sorry" Armin finally managed out "Well, I'm no expert, but I suppose it's hard for some people to identify their own feelings."

Sasha pouted, waiting for Armin to calm down before saying anything more. She wasn't offended, not really, just embarrassed. Armin had no ill will as he laughed; it was just a spontaneous reaction, she was sure.

"I just wanted to know what am I supposed to do now" she finally said "Do you know?"

Armin seemed to think for a moment, but Sasha wasn't sure if he was wondering the question itself or already had something he wanted to say, yet he wondered how to say it. Biting her lip, Sasha hoped Armin wouldn't be too hard on her even though she was pretty sure he didn't trust Nikolo any more than Connie did, possibly less.

"Well, normally I'd tell you to confess or do other things that might make him answer to your feelings, but since Nikolo isn't around, that's out of question" she hadn't even given him a name, yet he knew anyway. He wasn't kidding about the whole squad knowing, then "He said he'd be back, right?"

"Yeah"

"Then for now, try to figure out the best way to tell him when he comes back so you won't get cold feet" the blond said, tapping his chin "Though it might take a while, so if you want, we can look up ways for you to get to visit Marley someday, too."

"Really!?" Sasha asked, suddenly excited "You think that I could go?"

"Not any time soon, but I don't see any harm in looking through possibilities for the future in case he can't find a way to return" Armin smiled. Sasha smiled back as she realized that Armin actually believed in Nikolo's return. But why? As far as she knew, they hadn't been all that close "But I didn't know about the letters either."

"Armin?"

"Yes?"

"You really believe he'll come back? Why?"

"Why do you?" Armin asked back, but Sasha didn't answer. She couldn't, for she didn't know. Somehow, she had always just taken his word of return for granted.

"I've seen the way he looks at you" Armin told her "I know it's not my place to tell you this, but he's a man in love. In love with you."

"That's what Kaya said… wait, you also think that!?" Kaya saying it was one thing, but Armin was so perspective and unlike Kaya, didn't joke with this stuff, so it was different.

"I know that; I'm not stupid" he smiled apologetically "No offense."

Sasha ignored the not-so-subtle insult, too busy progressing the information.

Nikolo was in love with her.

She was in love with Nikolo.

They both loved each other.

"No way…" she whined, sinking to sit against the wall as she held her head "How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I notice earlier!?"

She could hear Armin take a few steps, and then felt him patting her head.

"It's not like it's too late for anything, it'll just take a bit time" he reassured her "You both survived the war; you have the rest of your lives to make your feelings known."

Sasha supposed Armin was right. She was young; she had time to arrange her love life.

Unlike Armin.

Suddenly, the brunette felt very guilty. She shouldn't be wasting Armin's already very limited time with her own problems.

"Thanks Armin, really" she told him with a smile, standing up "Sorry for bothering you so late."

"As long as it's not to pull you out of some trouble you've caused, I don't mind helping any time" the man said with a yawn "Though it is getting really late, so you should probably go."

"Yeah" Sasha said. Before she could step out, Armin added: "If you need to talk, you'll know where to find me."

"Okay" Sasha said "Thanks."

She had to wonder what she'd done to deserve a friend like Armin.

XXXXX

"Nervous, new guy?" Nikolo's new partner asked him with a grin as they walked towards the interment zone.

"A little" Nikolo admitted "But I'm under the impression that any serious trouble is very rare."

"Sure, fortunately, but times are changing" the guy, Nikolo forgot his name, unfortunately, said "Personally, I blame it on the Paradis devils. The local ones are starting to think too highly of themselves because of them."

"…" it was better not to comment.

"Anyway, it hasn't gotten all that bad yet. And as long as we do our jobs properly, it never will" he grinned "Gotta show them who's the boss, got it?"

"Sure" Nikolo said. Thankfully, they just reached the gates. He just hoped his new partner didn't plan to put on any demonstrations for the newcomer.

"Yo!" his partner greeted the guards at the gate. Friends of his, do doubt. Looked to be around the same age too, but as one of them clearly outranked Nikolo, he saw it best to salute.

"Just in time, Jonas" right, that's what the name was. The soldier turned to Nikolo, saying: "Take it easy new guy; no need to be all formal."

"Yes, sir" was Nikolo's reply as he dropped his salute. The man studied him for a moment while his partner snickered.

"One of those serious types, eh?" he said before shrugging "Ah well, makes our jobs easier, especially since Jonas can be a little lazy."

"Hey!" the guy protested "I'm not lazy."

"Debatable" the other guard at the gate said, pointing inside "Off to work, you two."

"Yes, sir!" Jonas and Nikolo chorused, though the former were clearly mocking. Nikolo already felt like his partner was going to get him in to trouble someday. Hopefully, it wouldn't be today.

"Most days, we just patrol around the town" Jonas explained "If we see trouble, we deal with it. If the Eldians are arguing among themselves, let them do so if there's no violence. Saves you trouble."

"Got it" Nikolo said, thinking that it made sense to not to put in to every banter "Does that also apply if they're really loud and disturbing others, though?"

"You can interrupt if you feel like it" Jonas said with a shrug "Personally, I just keep walking. It's not like I have to stay and listen, so I don't care either way."

"Yeah, he's lazy alright" Nikolo thought. If there was a really loud argument, the chances that it would escalate to violence were high. At the very least, he should stay around and keep an eye on the situation for a while "Better not to say it to his face, though."

Wanting something else to think about, Nikolo proceeded to do his job. He had only been to an interment zone few times during his training days. Back then, he couldn't wait to just get it over with so that he could get out, so he hadn't really paid much attention to his surroundings. Now though, he was actually curious to know what the communities of Marley's Eldians looked like. He doubted there'd be any significant differences aside from the place being poorer than other areas, but he could be wrong.

Looking around, he noticed that the place did look like any city in Marley, just clearly poorer with the state of the houses, people's clothes and what little he could see of the market right now. And of course, more Eldians with their armbands in sight than what one would usually see in one place outside of battlefields. Eldians that avoided looking at them, he noted. Not that he was surprised; that was usually the case, and the fact that they were soldiers just made things worse. On a positive note, as long as no one tried to talk to him, he was less likely to say anything unnecessary.

"Peaceful days are easy and all, but sometimes this can get boring as hell" Jonas complained "I wonder if getting a short mission on Paradis would be fun…"

Nikolo looked at his partner in surprise, asking: "You'd actually want to go there?"

"I'm curious" Jonas said with a shrug "And having gotten out of that place alive would be considered impressive. I mean, three months in the devil's den? How many people's nerves could handle that? Sure, we have peace now, but what if it happened to break while I was there? Scary idea, but that's what'd make it so impressive."

"…Is that so?" Nikolo said, wondering how the guy would react if he pointed out that he'd survived nine years in the so-called devil's den "He'd probably think I'm lying."

"You don't sound too convinced" Jonas pointed out "Not afraid of the island devils?"

"Not in general, no" Nikolo said "Though their army has some scary individuals."

Jonas looked at him oddly, and only then did Nikolo realize his mistake.

"I mean- "

"You've been there, haven't you?" the man concluded, clapping him on the shoulder "Respect, man! No wonder you didn't seem skittish coming here; most people don't like the interment zones. So, how was it?"

"…Which part?" there was no way out of this conversation anyway, Nikolo supposed.

Jonas thought for a moment.

"Well, they say the place is behind with technology. That's true, right?" Nikolo nodded "What about the devils themselves? How do they treat Marleyans?"

"…Varied greatly depending on the individual" Nikolo found himself hesitating. If he said something too careless, he could get in trouble. However, this was a great chance to give Jonas a more realistic picture about the people of Paradis.

It was worth the risk.

"Some were total assholes, no questions asked. Mostly the MPs, the ones who handle the safety among the public I mean" Nikolo started "Most had a bit hostile attitudes, but didn't cause trouble for us as long as we didn't do so for them. And then there was this handful of, well…"

How should he describe Sasha and the others?

"Handful of…?" Jonas pressed on as Nikolo didn't continue.

"…Overly curious and optimistic ones, I suppose. Few kept trying to make friends with us" Nikolo chuckled lightly "Bit annoying really, but at least they weren't a threat to me."

"Until I seriously pissed them off with the wine" Nikolo thought, but kept it to himself, especially since Jonas looked at him in a way that seemed to be a mixture of amusement and disbelief "They tried to make friends with you? Really?"

"Just a few of them" Nikolo pointed out "But yeah, they did, their commander included. Quite pestering one, that one."

Jonas burst out laughing, and Nikolo wondered exactly what he had said. Once the guy calmed down, he said: "Okay, I admit you got me first, but now I know that you're bullshitting me."

"Huh?"

"Their commander tried to make friends with you?" Jonas repeated, rolling his eyes "Sure thing, man."

"I suppose that does sound pretty unbelievable, especially since he doesn't know I was there for nine years" Nikolo thought. He could've been offended for not being believed but, he reminded himself, he probably wouldn't believe Jonas either if their positions were the other way around. With a shrug, he said: "I'm being serious, but whatever. I gain nothing even if you do believe me."

Except if Jonas believed him, he'd be likelier to believe other things he said as well. He had time to get the guy's trust, though.

"Uhhuh, sure" he said "We better get moving. They're trying to be subtle, but the devils are staring at us."

Nikolo looked around, noticing that people were indeed looking at them from the corners of their eyes or giving them glances. Some parents were clearly trying to keep their children from staring, too. Blushing, he hissed at his partner: "It's because you laughed so loudly!"

"You're the one telling jokes while on duty" the man shot back "But you did get me at first. Try to rope in some others too later, won't ya? I'm not the only one who's curious about the place, you know."

Should he? It could be a good chance to influence the way people thought, with small steps of course "But first I'd have to get them to believe me."

"I'll keep it in mind" he said. Wanting to make sure they got their job done, he asked: "Is there a regular patrol route we're supposed to take today?"

"There are few regular routes we usually use, but we don't have strict schedules on which to use when. As long as none goes unused for too long, all's good" Jonas said, grinning "Can you tell why we have this system, rookie?"

Nikolo rolled his eyes. He might be new to this position, but he wasn't a rookie as a soldier, not even close.

"So that people can't see a pattern and learn to know when to avoid certain areas" he answered.

"Bingo!" Jonas said "That's also the reason why the regular routes aren't completely set in stone, either. We can take odd turns here and there- actually, let's go down that alleyway."

Jonas was pointing ahead, and Nikolo went on with it without complaint despite the place looking a little shady, sure that his partner knew what he was doing.

"Shady in the literal sense, too" the place was dark, and it smelled. The smell came from the trash no doubt; it seemed like a place where the trash was gathered before taken out from the interment zone "I wonder how rarely they do that; the smell is so bad…"

"Did we really have to use this alleyway? Surely there would've been cleaner ones, too…" Nikolo didn't want to whine on his first day, but hygiene was important. Jonas just laughed.

"Well no, most of us don't use these, but that's exactly why it's good to do so every once in a while" he explained "The devils don't expect us to go through places like this, so sometimes they get careless."

Nikolo raised a sceptic eyebrow, saying: "Please don't tell me you tend to go through the trash to find something."

Again, Jonas laughed.

"Nah, I meant that they sometimes have unpermitted meetings in these places. Or talks that they don't want us to overhear" he said "Most of the time though, it's just fun to see them freak out when they see a Marleyan soldier come out of the kind of place they'd never expect!"

And just when Nikolo started to think that Jonas might not be as lazy as he had thought. Apparently, the guy's laziness was simply come over by his mischievous side.

"But if it actually leads to him finding out important things, then it's a good thing, right?" well, he supposed it depended on exactly how mischievous the guy had the habit of getting. If he didn't actually hurt anyone, then it was probably fine "But somehow I have a feeling that he might hurt an Eldian just for fun… am I being too judgmental?"

No, he was being realistic. The chances of that happening were high. However, before anything actually happened, he would not assume the worst.

"And there's the light at the end of the tunnel!" Jonas cheered as they reached the end of the alleyway. For a moment, Nikolo saw a smirk on his face, one that made him rather uncomfortable "What is he- "

"Good morning!" the soldier bellowed from the top of his lungs to the unsuspecting Eldian merchant that had his stall right next to the street, scaring the man half dead "There are no problems here today, no?"

"N-no, sir" the man stammered. One look at Jonas' smug face told Nikolo all he needed to know.

"Geez, this guy's going to be a real piece of work."