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Stroll on the Beach
Armin Arlert and Sasha Blouse were taking a walk on the beach, trying to give themselves a rare moment of reprieve. A lot had been going on since they returned from Armin's birthplace. Armin was now a Titan (not only that but the Colossal Titan as well), most of their new recruits into the Survey Corps had been killed in a suicide mission by the Beast Titan, and Armin had once again been on the receiving end of a bombardment of insults and verbal abuse by Floch, the only new member of the Survey Corps who survived the suicide mission. But believe it or not, that wasn't even the worst part.
Armin found out that due to now being a Titan, he now only had 13 years to live, which was a complete shock to his system. But he also felt like Sasha somehow overheard this conversation as well. Sasha had not said a word to him since they got onto the beach, preferring instead to look over at the sea, with a blank expression on her face, making it near impossible for Armin to make out what she was thinking. Armin decided to shoot his shot and begin talking to her, but before he could even open his mouth, Sasha beat him to the punch.
"Armin...are you OK?" Armin was caught off guard by the question, as it was kind of an obvious question to ask. They were trying to start a war with a country they never knew existed until recently, he had this overwhelming guilt over being chosen to live over their old commander, Erwin Smith, and he just found out he had 13 years left to live. So, safe to say, he was not doing OK and felt pretty shitty all things considered.
"Well, to be quite honest with you Sasha, no I'm not," Armin responded, joining Sasha in looking at the small waves of the ocean, with the clear blue water occasionally coming close enough at them to wet their feet.
"Armin, that thirteen years left to live thing, is it true?" Sasha once again asked. Armin's heart nearly came to a complete stop. So, she did overhear that conversation he had with Eren and the others. Armin took a deep breath and looked at Sasha before responding, even though Sasha seemed incapable of looking back at him.
"Yeah, it's true." That was all Armin could say. Armin wanted to go into a further explanation, but his voice muted itself when he saw tears starting to pool around the corners of Sasha's eyes. Armin's mind was now doing gymnastics, trying to think of a way to make Sasha feel better about the whole situation, but while he was still going through a million ideas a minute, Sasha grabbed Armin by his cheeks and pulled him into a passionate yet sloppy kiss. Armin quickly melted into the kiss and after around a minute, the two let each other go, with the need for air being the only motivation for the two separating.
"Armin, if that whole '13 years to live thing' is true, then that only means that we need to make your last years on Earth count. I don't know if we're going to win this war or what, but Armin, I was thinking…maybe until this war actually happens, we can…live together?" Sasha asked, keeping a vice-like grip on Armin's hands, accidentally squeezing too hard due to stress. Armin was so touched by what Sasha was telling him, that he couldn't even feel his hands being squished like grapes.
"That does sound really nice Sasha. I know we only just started our relationship during the whole military coup, but you've been a shining light for me during this whole…mess," Armin admitted. Eren and Mikasa were practically his life-long friends, but he noticed that they were slowly starting to become more distant. He didn't know whether it was the stress of the upcoming war, the secrets found in Eren's basement, or something else that he didn't know, but Eren, and to a lesser extent Mikasa, hadn't been talking to him as much as they used to. In fact, they spent a lot of time cooped up in their rooms, doing God knows what and leaving Armin completely out of the loop.
Sasha was completely different though. They had become even closer since deciding to turn their friendship into a romantic relationship, and since then, Sasha had been a shoulder to cry on, and someone who he could talk about regarding his problems. No matter how long or how often Armin felt the need to vent, Sasha was always there for him in a way that Eren and Mikasa just…weren't anymore. Armin wasn't upset with them or anything, he knew that the events of the past few weeks have been full of stress and worry, but at the same time, they were his friends and he missed them. Before he could dwell on those thoughts any longer, Armin felt the center of his forehead getting poked.
"Armin, what's up? You kind of spaced out on me there."
"Oh! It's nothing, its just…thanks for always being by my side Sasha," Armin said, causing Sasha's eyes to widen for a moment before she smiled at Armin with that warm smile that, in Armin's completely unbiased opinion, could rival the summer sun with the warmth it radiated, and it made Armin feel better just by being in the presence of Sasha's smile.
"Of course, Armin, you've always been there for me when I needed it, why wouldn't I return the favor. We are a couple, after all, it's what couples do," Sasha responded before grabbing Armin by the hand and leading him further down the beach. Armin didn't know how much longer this tranquility was going to last, and he honestly wished that it could last forever, but with Sasha by his side, Armin was sure that he could handle whatever else this fucked up world had to throw at him.