Until The End

༄ Freedom ༄

~ 𝑰𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒔 ~

A knock on my door practically jolted me from my sleep. Why was it so loud? My vision was greeted by sunlight that broke through the curtains of my window as I forced open my eyes, but I didn't get up right away. I glanced over at the clock on my bedside and noticed that it was ten thirty, not the usual time I woke, but early enough.

There was another knock, louder this time before the door opened. I didn't even sit up to see who it was as I already knew just by her voice. "Irma?" I tried to pretend I was still asleep. "I know you're awake, cutie."

I groaned, pulling the blanket closer to my body. I can hear her huff, then footsteps walking towards the bed that we shared. I expected her to crawl as it was something that she was used to doing due to being in her Titan form for long periods of time. Though now she can walk perfectly fine without the crutches, I would occasionally catch her crawling on the floor, but only around me.

I tried to keep myself from moving, even with my eyes closed, I can hear her moving closer to me. Then I felt her soft breath against my face as she made an attempt to get me to open my eyes. "Irma, wake up. I wanna see your pretty eyes."

"Hm...no..." I responded.

She then tapped the tip of my nose, and an audible 'boop' followed as I tried to hide my face before she could do it again. "Irma, please." I sighed. I can never resist those pleas. I lifted the blanket to see her smiling face staring back at me. "There you are, cutie."

Pieck hasn't changed in the last three years that I've known her, always keeping a positive attitude about most situations. While everyone else panics and freaks out, she was always calm and collected. Sure, there were times that I've seen her come close to breaking down, but seeing her smile always keeps me in high spirits somehow. With Eren's defeat and the end of the war with the Titans, she seemed more vibrant.

"Well, you look more energetic," I said, finally moving the blanket from my head.

She laid her head in her hand, her arm propping her up. "I'm just happy to see you. We were supposed to go to the cafe for lunch today and I wanted to see if you were awake."

I glanced at the clock again. Ten forty-five. "We still have time..."

"I know. I'm just happy to go out and not have the fear of seeing another Titan."

I chuckled a little. "Alright, alright...just give me another hour."

Pieck frowned, her bottom lip sticking out. I figured she wanted me to get up and prepare for our little date already. We don't remember the last time we had time to ourselves since the threat of the end of the world was constantly on our minds. But that's over now. I tried to fight a smile for a while, then moved over so she could climb into bed next to me. She jumped in without hesitation and immediately wrapped her arms around my waist.

After an hour as promised, we forced ourselves to get out of bed and get ready to go out, quickly showering the leftover sleep away. The bathroom felt like a suna by the time I got out the tub and I breathed in clear air once I stepped out fully clothed in a simple top and pants. At least I didn't have to wear that Scout Regiment uniform anymore. It's nice to wear what I want. She then informed me that she would be out soon before kissing my cheek and made her way to the bathroom.

I waited patiently for her, sitting on the bed again as my eyes wandered around the room until they landed on a picture on Pieck's side of the bed. I reached over to grab it to study it. My eyes soften at the picture of Pieck and I and some of our friends. Armin, Jean, Connie...even Annie. It was hard to believe that Eren was actually gone. I kind of missed him. I didn't even realize that I was crying until I saw tears hitting the glass of the picture. I almost didn't bother wiping them away.

"Irma...? Are you okay?" I forced myself to look at her, dressed in a flowy one-piece dress. She was shocked to see me crying as she quickly moved over to the bed, her hands on my shoulders; I haven't cried in a long time. "W-Why are you crying? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

I couldn't let go of the picture in my hands as more tears rolled down my face. But they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of happiness. A smile grew.

"Nothing. I'm just glad we got our freedom."