Always and Forever.

Chapter Fifteen: Last Minute Shopping

                    The walk there isn't too long but long enough for the three of them to decide to make a quick pit stop along the way to grab some Ice cream. They are already late so what's the rush? Might as well make being late worth it.

"Where the hell are they?!" Connie yells. The gang are still waiting in the outside heat. The temperature has picked up since the last time we checked in with it and the cool breeze is far less frequent. Connie and Sasha decide enough is enough. They make their way over to Christa, their eyes locking in on her electric hand fan. Her beautiful, wind blowing, cool breeze producing, hand fan. They fight for the space behind her trying to catch the stray gusts of wind. Unfortunately, that space already has a champion. Ymir pushes them both away and takes what she refers to as her rightful place by the queen's side.

"Beat it, losers," Ymir says before resting her chin on Christa's shoulder. The cool wind from the fan blowing her hair away from her face.

"Not fair, Ymir! We're dying here!" Sasha cries out.

"If you can't handle the heat, the mall has AC inside," Annie says. They all look at each other. Wait. This is stupid. They all have the same thought, no one saying anything. Instead, they start making their way inside.

"Not all of us. Someone needs to stay outside for Mikasa and the other two since we told them to meet us outside," Jean says stopping Sasha and Connie. Their shoulders sinking. Ymir walks behind Jean and pats him on the back.

"And that makes three. Thanks for volunteering guys," Ymir chuckles before quickly catching up to the others.

A few minutes pass. Connie is sat on the concrete floor cross legged with Sasha sat on his slouched upper back playing games on her phone. Jean is a few paces away taking a phone call. "Okay, yeah. It is pretty good," a familiar voice says. The dynamic duo looks towards where they heard the voice come from and spot Eren, handing Mikasa an ice cream cone, with Armin by their side.

"Finally!" Connie stands up causing Sasha to nearly hit the deck. She quickly catches herself and, after a bit of juggling, her phone too. "Took you guys long enough."

"Hehe, sorry. We got caught up at the café," Mikasa says. She explains how the café was hit with a surprise swarm that kept them held back way longer than they originally thought. They gloss over the part where they decided to get ice cream to avoid explaining more. Mainly why they didn't grab some for the two.

"There's a whole lot of cops here," Eren says. The five of them look around and, now that they are looking out for them, they spot a dozen or so officers in uniform. Mikasa recognises a few more, thanks to her dad's at home meetings, that are dressed in normal clothing. They blend right into the thick crowds. It's hard to say an exact number of how many there actually are.

"huh, we never actually noticed that."

"Oh yeah, my dad told me about this. Apparently, security everywhere is going to be on the up because of an increase in activity from those guys in masks," Mikasa says. Eren scans the surrounding area. He feels police gazes on his nape. It tingles his skin yet burns it. He checks over his shoulder.

"Oh, hi mini Yeager!" a short woman with long, dishevelled black hair that comes roughly shoulder length says. She is dressed in a simple white shirt and a long beige skirt that reaches her ankles. Black boots completing her simple yet effective outfit. She stumbles slightly but Eren catches her. "Sorry, still getting used to walking on just two again," she smiles.

"Hurry up, Pieck! He's waiting for us!" the gang and the mystery women look over to where their attention is loudly dragged towards. They spot a man. It's hard to make out any of his distinguishing features besides his blond, combed back, undercut.